Thanks for all of the great reviews…keep them coming! "Accidents Happen" is based on the wonderful "Gilmore Girls" television series and the amazing characters created by…not me!
Accidents Happen
Chapter Nine Sprung in Stars Hollow
The time quickly came when Jess had to leave Rory and return to Philadelphia to go back to work. Their goodbye was a sad goodbye. He promised to come back the next weekend and vowed to call her every night. Jess told her goodbye and kissed her deeply and left quickly, afraid that if he didn't that he would be able to otherwise. Rory never told him, when he left, she told him goodbye and a small part of her didn't expect him to ever return or to contact her again.
He kept all of his promises. He called her at least every night during the weeks while he was in Philly and he came back to the hospital every weekend to see her, promising to stay a lot longer and more often when she was up and around. She didn't know that in addition to working, he was busy putting out feelers for job opportunities that would be good for a recent Yale University graduate and finding an apartment of his own. He hoped that it wouldn't stay his alone for long.
Two weeks after Jess first came back to see her, Rory Gilmore was released from the hospital. Her face had healed, only revealing one thin scar through her eyebrow. She was out of traction and her arm was out of the cast, but she was still bound to a wheel chair with two broken legs. Both of her legs had been reset and required a few more weeks of healing. Each of her doctors gave her a clean bill of health and a calendar full of appointments, including physical therapy and sessions with a psychiatrist specializing in recovering lost memories.
The police were still trying to solve the hit and run that landed Rory in the hospital in the first place. Rory spoke with the police several times and each time was met with the same result: she could not remember anything about the car that hit her. She still could only remember stopping to try to help the dog. The police hoped that Rory might remember more details from the accident if she was under hypnosis, which is why she was going to see the therapist.
The information the police had gathered from witnesses to Rory's accident. Although no one saw what actually happened, they concluded that there had been a sliver sports car seen traveling very fast in the vicinity of the accident scene in the moments before and after the accident happened. Forensic investigators at the accident scene confirmed that the car was silver from the paint transfer as the car scraped along Rory's car before hitting her.
Tire track analysis told the police that the car had stopped and sped off again and that the tread of the tire matched a tire used on several high-end sports cars. Forensics also found footprints that had not been accounted for in the gravel near the tire marks and in the dust next to where they found Rory. The sole impression matched a size 10 men's Bostonian dress shoe, so the police concluded that their suspect was between 5'9" and 5'11" tall. Unless Rory could narrow it down, their pool of suspects was about 10,000 men in the greater Connecticut area.
Jess left Philly as soon as he heard that Rory had been released from the hospital and he didn't stop driving until he arrived in Stars Hollow. When he got there, he went straight to Rory's house. He knew it was going to be full of townspeople: Sookie, Jackson, and their kids, Lane, Zack, and their twins, Taylor, Kirk and Lulu, Miss Patty, and Babette and Maury would be there along with Luke and Lorelai to welcome Rory home in what could only be called true Stars Hollow fashion.
When Jess saw the crowd of people at the house, a huge part of him wanted to hang back. The old Jess, the Jess that the majority of Stars Hollow knew as their former resident bad boy, would have left without a word. The old Jess would have felt uncomfortable around all those people, unsure how to relate to their eccentricities. The old Jess wouldn't have even tried to relate and wouldn't have gone into the house. This Jess, the grown-up Jess, the real Jess, however, needed to put that part of himself aside, grow up, prove to himself and show the world, or at least Stars Hollow, that Jess Mariano was back and that he was back for good.
He pulled in and parked his car in the driveway behind Luke's truck. He stood and stared for a few moments before he forced himself to go into the house. It was going to be the first time in over four years that he would be in that house. A small part of him was afraid of that house and everything that it represented. There were a lot of memories in that house, and a lot of them were not the best of memories for either Jess or Rory. He avoided the front door and snuck in through the kitchen, which was where Luke was hiding out.
"Hey. You're back," Luke said.
"That I am," Jess replied. "And you're hiding, aren't you?"
"There are too many crazy people in there."
"Which is why I slipped in through the back, totally undetected," Jess explained. "How is she? How's Rory?"
"Rory's doing just fine," Luke said. "Lorelai and I got her settled in on the couch before all the crazies arrived. I think she's glad to be home, but I know she'll be even happier to see you. She was wondering when you'd be back." Luke left out the fact that he had wondered if he would be back.
"I told her I'd be here when she got home. I hit some traffic getting out of Philly. Want one?" Jess asked as he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator.
"Sure," Luke said.
Jess grabbed a beer for Luke and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Thanks," Luke said, taking the beer from Jess and opening the bottle. "Ah, this really hits the spot."
"I'll be back in a minute," Jess said. "Watch my beer."
"Is it going to do tricks?" Luke asked as Jess left the kitchen in search of Rory.
Jess crept out of the kitchen and casually leaned against the archway next to the stairs, listening to the gossipy and inappropriate stories that Babette and Miss Patty were subjecting Rory to. Rory's back was to him, but Lorelai was in clear view from her chair at the end of the couch. She smiled and winked hello to Jess while she continued to listen to the raunchy stories and Jess waved back in return.
Lorelai nudged Rory and indicated that Jess was there. Rory turned to look over her shoulder and smiled broadly at Jess.
"Jess, you back! You're here! I wish that I could greet you. Come on! Get your butt over here."
At the mention of his name, the room went silent and all heads turned to gape in amazement at their black sheep's gallant return to town. Lane smiled at Jess and nudged Zack. Miss Patty and Babette put their heads together in an intense whispered conversation. Sookie and Jackson smiled warmly, their gaze daring between Jess, Rory, and Lorelai.
Jess obliged Rory's request and he crossed the room to see her. He leaned down and gently kissed her.
"Hello," Jess said, smiling.
"When did you sneak in?" Rory asked.
"About ten minutes ago," Jess said.
"Did you sneak in through the back?"
"Yeah, I've been keeping Luke company in the kitchen. How are you feeling?" Jess asked Rory, his voice concerned.
"Oh, so much better. I'm off the heavy pain killers now, so I might actually be able to carry on an entire conversation in one setting and stay awake! I'm glad to be out of that hospital, and especially out of traction. I thought I was going to be there forever! It's so much easier to move now. Well, sort of move, anyway."
"I'm so glad you're out of there. That place freaked me out."
"So, Jess," Taylor said, breaking into their conversation. "How long will you be in town?"
"Butt out, Taylor," Luke yelled from the kitchen.
"Enquiring minds in Stars Hollow want to know," Taylor said, raising his voice so that Luke could hear him. "So, how long will you be here?"
"Why, do you want to throw me a party?" Jess asked.
"Well, I had never thought of something like that," Taylor said, stroking his beard. "I suppose that we could put something on the agenda for the next Town Meeting."
"Taylor, he's joking," Lorelai said.
"I've got this week off work," Jess told Rory, ignoring the rest of the people in the room. "I have some proofing of the layout to do, but I can do that online from anywhere. Then I'll be doing the weekend thing again for a while, if that's okay."
"Of course, it's fine. Now, go back and hide in the kitchen," Rory said with a smile. "And thanks so much for coming back!"
"I'll talk to you later," Jess said, smiling as he retreated to his hiding place.
"I tell you, I've never seen that boy smile that much," Miss Patty said in a stage whisper to Babette.
"He's really back?" Babette asked no one in particular as she addressed the entire room.
"Yeah," Jess answered loudly from the kitchen. "I'm really back."