Thanks for the great reviews…keep them coming! This story "Accidents Happen" is based on the wonderful "Gilmore Girls" television series and the amazing characters created by…not me!

Accidents Happen

Chapter Four A Mother's Advice

Jess woke up in the middle of the night with a crick in his neck and to the sound of Luke's snore and the horrid stench of Luke's feet. He intended to check into a hotel the night before, but the last thing he remembered was sitting down on to rest his eyes. He put his feet up on the coffee table and that was it. Somewhere through the night, he got covered with a blanket, a motherly act that had Lorelai written all over it. It wasn't something he was used to, but he enjoyed it.

He crept out of the family room. With the lights from the hallway outside the family room, he could see that Luke and Lorelai were sacked out on the couches. The couches were pushed close together to give them enough room to sleep, but they were close enough together to share a blanket. He smiled at how happy they were and he was absolutely thrilled that Luke and Lorelai were finally together. They were meant to be together.

Jess stopped outside Rory's room and watched for a few minutes while a nurse was taking her vital signs. He left a quick note at the nurses' station that he would be back by mid-morning. He needed to get something to eat and wanted to take a shower and change his clothes. He debated checking into a hotel, but since Luke was obviously staying wherever Lorelai was, he didn't think he would mind if he used his shower.

On the ride from Hartford to Stars Hollow, Jess thought about what Lorelai and Luke had told him the day before. Rory was looking at jobs in Philadelphia. He couldn't believe that she was looking for a job where he worked and lived. She knew that he was there, so she must have had a plan. Rory Gilmore never did anything without making a pro-con list or without a detailed agenda. For her to even contemplate a move across the street, yet alone a move across state lines, meant that there had been at least days of serious pondering.

He pulled into a parking spot across the street from Luke's. Since it was so early, the diner wasn't open yet and Caesar was not even awake yet. He grabbed the spare key from above the door jam and let himself into the diner. It was amazing. Jess hadn't been back to Stars Hollow in three years and nothing had changed. He took the stairs two at a time up to the apartment, pulled the key from above that door jam and let himself in. He dumped his stuff on the bed, grabbed a clean t-shirt, boxers, and socks and headed to the bathroom and a hot shower. When he got out, he got dressed and set the alarm clock for seven o'clock so that he could get a little more sleep before heading back to the hospital.

He sacked out on Luke's bed. While he slept, he dreamed about Rory. He dreamed that she was in bed beside him. She was curled up in his arms and sleeping soundly. Her skin felt soft and smooth and she smelled like bacon and pancakes. When her hair turned into hash browns, he woke up and felt hungry. He realized that Caesar was downstairs with breakfast on the grill. He pulled himself out of bed, pulled on his Chuck Taylor sneakers and headed down to grab some food before he headed back to Hartford.

"Jess, what are you doing here?" Caesar asked. "What am I thinking? Of course! You're here to see Rory, right? How's she doing?"

"She's okay, I think. I'm going to bring some food up to the hospital. You know how Rory gets about pancakes. They might make her wake up!"

"I'll send you back with a whole batch. Come on, have a seat. What do you want to eat, Jess? Your usual?"

"Sure. And whatever you think is best for Luke and Lorelai, too."

"You got it, Jess."

"Oh, my God! Look at what the cat dragged in." Jess' stepfather, TJ, walked into the diner with a baby carrier.

"Hey, TJ. How's it going?"

"It's going okay. We're getting ready to visit some of the Fairs this season, you know, show off this little girl! Wait a minute, you haven't seen her yet, have you. Hey, Doula, it's time for you to meet your big brother, Jess."

TJ put the baby carrier down on a table and scooped her out. She was a tiny little thing with a lot of brown hair and big brown eyes.

"Jess, this is Doula. Here, hold her." TJ thrust the baby at him without giving him the opportunity to get out of it.

"Hi, Doula," Jess said uncomfortably. She was the first baby he had ever held. She was cute. Very cute. "I'm Jess."

"You're not going to hurt her, Jess," a voice called from the doorway. "I was wondering when Luke was going to get you to come to town."

"Hey," Jess said to his mother. His cousin, April, was standing beside her. "Hi, April. It's nice to see you again."

"Hi, Jess. How's Rory?"

"Yeah, Jess. Have you seen Rory yet?"

"She's okay, but she's still not awake yet."

"Luke and Lorelai have been so worried about her," Liz said. "I can't imagine how I would feel if something like that happened to you or Doula. Come here, let me hug the only two perfect things I've done in my life." Jess crossed the diner and let his mother hug him. When she let him go, he handed Doula to her.

"How long are you in town?"

"Indefinitely," Jess said. "I need to make sure Rory's okay. We've got some things to sort out."

"What's there to sort out?" TJ asked. "You love Rory, just like how I love your mom and how Luke loves Lorelai."

"It's not that simple, TJ," Jess said. "But, boy, do I wish it was."

"It is, Jess. Why don't you think it's that easy?" Liz asked. "I haven't been the best mother to you. I know that and I'm sorry. You don't have any reason to trust me or to listen to me, but I think in this case, you should listen to me and take my advice. I know that I don't have the best track record with relationships. The one thing I did wrong was that I did not trust myself. I knew, deep down, that I wasn't really happy until I met TJ. Jess, I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy, Jess, and I think that you will be happy with Rory."

Jess pulled his mother into a big hug. "Thanks, Mom," Jess said. "Thanks so much."

"Hey, Jess, you're breakfast's up," Caesar called from the kitchen. "I'll get the pancakes ready to go when you're done eating."

"Hey, Liz, we need to get back," TJ said. "Nice to see you, Jess," he said.

"I want to see you before you head back," Liz said, kissing her son on his head, smoothing his hair. "Tell Rory that we're pulling for her."

About a half hour later, Jess was back on the road to Hartford. He was loaded down with enough breakfast food to feed an army, or at least Lorelai. When he got to the hospital, he dropped the food off in the family room. Lorelai and Luke were still sleeping. Instead of waking them up, he slipped out to see Rory.

Jess sat down beside Rory. He pulled the chair up close to her and held her hand.

"Hi, Rory. I'm back," Jess told her.

"Jess," Rory mumbled and there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

"I went to Luke's to shower and stuff and had breakfast. I brought back some pancakes for you. Caesar made them, but he did put chocolate chips in them just for you. I never realize how much I miss Stars Hollow until I come back. That has to stay between you and me, though. If I hear anything about his on the street, I know where it came from!"

"Pancakes," Rory said as clear as a bell.

"I saw Doula and talked to my mom. She's really cute: Doula, not my mom. I saw April, too. She's apparently been staying with my mom, so you need to wake up and get out of the hospital so that April can get back to staying with Luke. You need to wake up so that your mom and Luke can finally get married."

"Married?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, Luke told me that he and your mom are going to get married. But, Rory, you need to wake up first."

"I'm so tired," Rory said. She was now speaking in complete sentences.

"I know Rory, but you've been sleeping for a month. You need to wake up so that I can talk to you.

"Jess," Rory said, starting to sound stronger.

All of a sudden, the monitor started to whir louder and began beeping. Two nurses ran in and kicked Jess out.

"Rory? Rory! What's going on? What's happening? Oh, my God, Rory!"