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 Seven Second Chances

"My parents finally left," Lorelai said when she stepped back into the family room. Jess was listening to Metallica on his iPod and was jotting notes down in one of his many notebooks.

"They did? Gee, that's too bad," Jess said, glancing up to see Lorelai's beaming smile.

"You sound so broken up about it. I'm sorry that they didn't stop and say goodbye. I bet if you hurry, you could catch them in the parking garage!"

"Nah, I think I'll pass."

"Where's Luke?" Lorelai asked.

"I think he's taking a nap," Jess said, indicating the pile of blankets with a baseball cap on the couch.

"Oh, we can have none of that!" Lorelai rushed over to the pile and jumped on it.

"Ugh!" Luke moaned from under the pile of blankets. "Lorelai, get off of me!"

"How did you know it was me?" Lorelai asked as she got off him.

"Just a wild guess. Hey, I've got a crazy idea," Luke said with a smile. "Let's go home."

"What? Luke, we can't go home."

"Why not? Rory's awake. We haven't been out of this hospital in weeks. I say we go home, take a long, hot shower. We can both slip into something more comfortable and then slip between the sheets."

"Too much information," Jess said, turning up the volume on the iPod.

"I don't want to leave Rory alone," Lorelai said, "but sleeping at home sounds really good!"

"Rory wouldn't be alone," Luke said. "Jess is here."

"You're volunteering your nephew's babysitting services?" Lorelai asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Isn't that like putting the fox in charge of the hen house?"

"Come on, be serious. You don't want Rory to be alone, and I get that. Jess is here and they have a lot of stuff to talk about and this would give them the opportunity to talk and it would give us the chance to sleep in a real bed!"

"I don't know," Lorelai said. "What if something happens?"

"Okay, plan B. We could stay in a hotel in Hartford and Jess will call if anything happens."

"Does Jess know about this plan?" Lorelai asked.

"Plan B was his idea."

"I guess it would be okay," Lorelai said. "Can we go to dinner first? Make it like a date?"

"Sure. Come on, let's go." Luke got to his feet and took Lorelai by the hand. "Hey, Jess, we're going to get going."

"Yeah, get the hell out of here," Jess said. "Get some sleep."

"Jess, promise you'll call if anything happens," Lorelai said, grabbing her jacket. "And tell Rory that I'll call to say goodnight."

"Everything will be fine, Lorelai. We'll see you in the morning."

It took about fifteen minutes for Jess to get Luke and Lorelai out of the hospital. When he got to Rory's room, she was taking a nap. Jess settled into the chair with a book and propped his feet up on the bed. He read for about an hour before he fell asleep.

Rory woke up when a nurse came in to take her vitals and give her the evening dosages of her medication. Rory saw Jess asleep in the chair next to her bed and she smiled.

"Is there any way I can order food?" Rory asked. "Some real food? Like a pizza or something? I'm so hungry!"

"I'll see what I can do," the nurse said. "I'll have to check with your doctors."

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Jess mumbled groggily.

"I was wondering the same thing."

"How are you feeling?" Jess asked, getting up from the chair and perching on the side of the bed. "Is this okay?" he asked, hoping that he could sit closer to her.

"It's fine and so am I. I'm really glad you came back, Jess."

"I'm glad I came back, too. Rory, can we talk for a little while? About us?"

"What about us?" Rory asked.

"Luke told me that you had a job interview when you got hurt."

"He did?" Rory replied and flushed slightly.

"It's okay. Why didn't you tell anyone you were looking for jobs in Philly?"

"I was scared," Rory admitted. "After I graduated and didn't find a job right away, I started broadening my horizons. You know, thinking outside the box. I started to think about where else I could look for work. I was focusing on cities close to Stars Hollow and to places where I knew people. The more I looked, the better Philadelphia looked to me."

"Why didn't you call me? I could have gotten you a job at the publishing house, just something to tide you over until you found something more permanent."

"I didn't know if you'd even talk to me after I saw you in Philly. I led you on and I am so sorry."

"Rory, it's fine. All is forgiven, I promise. I wouldn't be here otherwise. You know me better than that."

"Thanks," Rory said.

"We're alone, you know," Jess said.

"What do you mean?"

"Luke took your mom to dinner and to sleep at a hotel."

"Good. She looked awful. I can only imagine how I look. I'm well-rested at least!"

"You're beautiful," Jess said softly.

"You lie, but you're nice."

"I'm serious, Rory. You're still the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Why did you come back, Jess?"

"I told you before, you asked for me."

"So I've been told. But you didn't have to come. And you kissed me earlier today. Jess, what's going on?"

"I want another chance," Jess confessed. "I want another chance for us. We were kids before, Rory. I couldn't be honest with myself back then, so there was no way I could be honest with you about how I was feeling and what was going on with me. I made some bad choices then and if I could go back and change anything, I would say goodbye to you and tell you that I love you."

"We can't go back, Jess," Rory said quietly.

"You're right," Jess said, disappointed and deflated. "We can't go back." He started to get up, ready to leave Rory forever.

"But we can move forward."

"What?" Jess asked, sitting back on the bed feeling as though he missed a crucial step.

"I can't change what happened between us, Jess, and neither can you, but we can change what will happen between us. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or next week or next month, but I know that I want to try to see if there could be something between us. I'm just going to need some time to piece my feelings together."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that," Jess said as he leaned down and kissed Rory softly and deeply. "You'll have all the time that you need, Rory. I promise."

Rory kissed him back. She cursed her broken body, wishing that she could hold him close or at least have him in the bed beside her.

"This can't be comfortable for you," Jess said, pulling back reluctantly. "I'm sorry, Rory. I'm sorry that you're hurting."

"I feel okay," Rory said. "I just can't move. I can't believe I have been in this body cast for a month!"

"Yeah, but you've also been healing for a month," Jess pointed out. "And you'll be sitting on the bridge with me in no time."

"I just want to be with you, Jess," Rory said. "I want to be with you and be comfortable at the same time. This traction thing really sucks!"

"I know, Rory, I know," Jess said, kissing Rory softly on the forehead. "Wait," Jess said, hopping off the bed. "I've got an idea."