Lorelai answered sleepily and tried to focus on her clock. It was well past midnight, and she had just fallen asleep. "Hello?"

"Hey. It's Luke. Don't hang up."

"Why not?" she was wide awake now. Lorelai couldn't believe Luke would call her after their screaming match two weeks earlier. She hadn't seen him during that time. She and Rory had been going to Weston's and KC's instead of the diner.

"This will sound insane, but you and Rory need to come to New York."

"It's past midnight, Luke. What on earth..." the pieces fell into place. "No. Absolutely not.

Not Jess."

"Lorelai, it's way too much to explain over the phone. Please come? I would come to you, but I can't. Jess is stuck here for at least the night."

Lorelai could now hear the background noise because of the silence over the line. "Luke, where are you?"

Luke provided her the name of the hospital and the location. She scribbled it on her wrist with a pen and shrugged on a coat and an extra layer of sweatpants. She promised Luke that she and Rory would be there as soon as possible.

She flipped on the light switch in Rory's room. Rory woke after a moment to Lorelai digging through the closet for a sweater for Rory to wear under her coat. "Mom, what are you doing?" Rory asked.

"You and I are headed to New York." Lorelai said, very matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"Jess is in the hospital. Luke asked us to come."

"Oh." Rory was wide awake now, and dressed quickly.

The drive to New York was quiet. When they had reached the city, Lorelai ventured, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Rory answered.

"Rory, you don't have to see him. I'll go, and you can wait in the lobby or something."

"I want to see him."

"Okay." Lorelai said. "If you change your mind, it's okay."

Rory cradled her plastered wrist in her lap, contemplative. "No, it's okay. I need to see

him."

They reached the hospital, located Jess's room, and knocked on the door. "Come in." they heard Luke say. They entered, and Rory was unprepared for the sight of Jess.

He was asleep in the bed. Jess's usually well gelled curls were limp and spilled over his forehead. He had a black eye and a cast on his wrist. What shocked Rory to the core, however, were the stitches up his arm. Clearly, whatever had happened to him was deliberate. "Jess." she spoke his name and he stirred. She held back the gasp at her throat. He looked so tiny and helpless. He opened his eyes, and her heart melted.

"Rory." he smiled thinly.

"What happened?" she asked, oblivious that Luke and Lorelai were still in the room. He shook his head. He wasn't going to tell her. "Please, Jess. Tell me." she whispered. She pulled a chair up to the bed and settled into it. She reached across the bed and gently pushed his curls into their rightful place.

"It's not important right now." he replied. "I want to talk with you about something else. Your mom needs to hear this, too."

"Okay." Rory conceded. If Jess wanted to talk about something else, they would do so. She called Lorelai over and both Lorelai and Luke pulled chairs up around the bed.

"I wanted to start by saying I'm sorry." Jess began. "It was wrong of me to mess with you like I did; messing with Dean like that. I found your bracelet, Rory. On the bridge, after the basket festival. I kept it for a couple of weeks, and I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner."

"You're forgiven." Rory decided. "I shouldn't have flipped out about it like I did."

"And Lorelai, I'm sorry for causing trouble around town, especially for yelling at you on your porch that night. You were trying to help me, and I couldn't have been a bigger jerk."

"I forgive you." Lorelai said, surprised at her own words.

"Now, I want to share something with you that happened only a few hours ago." Jess said. He proceeded to explain salvation and everything Pastor Steven said, including the part about the angel rescuing him.

For some reason, everything Jess was saying made sense to the Gilmore Girls. They had always ridiculed Christianity, and never understood it. Now, it was like they could see an entirely different side of things. Christianity had always seemed judgemental, but Jess helped Rory and Lorelai see the loving side of God, too. They thought for a while, and Rory insisted on making one of her lists, but in the end they both confessed their sins to God and became daughters of the King.

"I'm so happy for you." Jess was practically speechless. God was already working so much in his life!

"Thanks, Jess." Rory leaned over him and hugged him gently. "Can we talk now about why you're here in the first place?" she leaned toward Jess as Lorelai and Luke left to search for caffeine.

"Rory." Jess said softly. "My mother makes choices. They may not be good ones, but they are the ones she makes. She has probably moved on, and no one will be able to find the guy who did this. I'm coming home to Stars Hollow with you guys, and I'll talk to my mom about this in the morning. I'm also going to tell her about what happened tonight. She needs to know the truth, too." Jess concluded. Rory realized that his mother's boyfriend had done this to him, and she also realized that that was all she needed to know.

"I'll be praying for your mom." she told him. "Now sleep." she rose from the chair.

"Rory?" his quiet voice stopped her for a moment.

"Yeah?" she paused.

"Thanks. For everything you tried to do."

"No problem." she smiled.