"Oh, you see that skin?
It's the same she's been standing in
Since the day she saw him walking away
Now she's left cleaning up the mess he made."
- "Daughters" by John Mayer

Jess stood still, frozen and unable to move from his spot. He gave her a stare that chilled Rory to the bone. She wasn't sure what was worse: the disappointment in his eyes because of the thought of Elinor being Logan's or the sadness that he wasn't the father. Rory had no idea why she blurted out the lie. She was scared. She had been scared for quite some time. To come out and say that you've been hiding a child from the man you once loved wasn't an easy task. In fact, it filled her with anxiety and dread. She knew this day would come, but she couldn't predict the outcome no matter how many different scenario's ran through her head. Needless to say, those sad eyes and silence wasn't one of those scenarios.

"Okay," he said finally, coming to terms that he had nothing else left to say. He was hurt and angry. He didn't know why he felt the way he did - it could've been because he hated Logan - but there was something about sharing a child with Rory that excited him... even though hiding it was a rather large problem in his eyes.

Immediately, Rory felt the words bubble up through her stomach and to her tongue. "I'm sorry, she's not Logan's, okay? She's yours." Her blue eyes swelled up with tears as she crossed her arms and stomped her foot on the ground. She didn't know what she hated more in that moment: Lying about everything, blurting out the truth, or herself for even being in this situation. If she would've told him straightaway, it would've never had to happen like this. The secret wouldn't have been held on to for so many years. She wasn't exactly sure what she was hoping for or what was going to happen when the day she'd finally tell him came, but it wasn't this. There was no scenario in which she lied and told Jess that a little girl that looked like a perfect mix of both of them could be another mans. She watched him closely, studying his actions. His jaw didn't drop like she was thinking it would. Instead, he sucked in his cheeks and looked at the cement, kicking his foot back and forth as he nodded. This was a move she saw quite a few times, mainly when he was pissed off, but she swore she could actually see the wheels turning in his head as they stood in silence.

He wasn't sure what to do or what to think. The news hit him like a semi truck straight through the gut. It was what he had originally thought, but there was a part of him that was begging for him to be wrong. If he saw it right away, then why was it so surprising now? Hearing the words said out loud might've had something to do with it, of course, or maybe it was the lie about Logan that had him feeling the way that he did. The man loosened his jaw and slowly let it drop as he took a deep breath. "I- Why did you lie, Rory?"

"I got scared," she admitted before chewing on her bottom lip.

"Okay, then answer me this: Why the hell did you think that keeping a child from me for what - Ten years? - was okay? How is it that everyone knew this huge secret? Including Kirk, by the way, which is just the topping to this shitty situation. Not that Elinor is shitty. I'm sure she's great. How couldn't she be if you're her mother? But still, Rory..." He trailed off, looking into the distance. A sickening feeling filled his being. He didn't want to look at her in fear that he'd start screaming so loud that the whole town would wake up. It was way past their bedtime anyway. "I don't get it. What did I do to deserve this? I've changed. You saw it yourself. I'm not that asshole kid at the back of the classroom anymore. I'm not the guy who would up and leave you without warning. I was dumb then, but now I have my life together and I waltz in here just to find out that I have a ten year-old daughter? How do you think that's fair?"

Her eyes grew even wider as she shrugged. He asked questions that she didn't know the answers to. She hated to admit it, but she was the one to runaway like he did. "You're right, it wasn't fair. I'm sorry, Jess. I really am. I know that you've changed and I am glad that you grew to be the person I always knew you'd be. I just- I don't know why I hid it in the first place, but the longer it went on, the harder it was to tell you."

"Ten years, Rory." That's all he could say before clenching his jaw momentarily. "Ten years that I never got. Fatherhood probably isn't my forte, but this is bullshit and you know it. Lorelai knows it. Luke knows it. Hell, maybe even Kirk knows it, but hey, it's not like any of you bothered to tell me."

"Oh my God, will you stop bringing up Kirk?"

Jess rolled his eyes, wanting to smile, but forcing himself not to. "He instantly irritated me the moment I stepped foot into town. I'm not over it yet. But why don't we get back to the original topic, yeah?" She nodded as she pulled out her phone. Jess scoffed at her for doing so. Right now was definitely not the time for this. "Can you stop being so evasive?"

All she could do was hold up a finger, signaling to give her a second before holding up the screen to show him a picture. "This was right after she was born," she smiled. "I had to refrain from pulling a Lorelai and naming her Jess or Jesse or something along those lines. She looked just like you, didn't she?"

He was still angry, but his eyes lost their hardness the moment he looked at the picture. He was in absolute awe of it, but he was also dismayed by the time he didn't get to spend with her when everyone else did. He frowned as he closed his eyes, conjuring up what he was going to say next. He wasn't sure if he was going to go off on a rant about how hurt he was or tell her thank you for showing him the picture. Instead, "Can I meet her?" was the first question to run past his lips.

"She has no clue who her father is," Rory admitted, feeling terrible for having to say the words out loud. "But you can see her tomorrow. She seemed to like you more than anyone else did when they first met you. In fact, she wouldn't stop blabbering about you for a solid hour and a half." Rory let out a small chuckle as she thought about her daughter. She never thought that she'd be able to love anyone as much as she loved her mom, but that little girl had taken a large portion of her heart the moment she laid her eyes on her. "If you want to be a part of her life, I'm fine with that. I don't know what you want to do, but if that's it, we have to ease her into it. If you don't want this then I understand. You never seemed to take a liking in kids anyway."

Jess sighed before stepping closer to her and grabbing her hands. "I would never abandon a kid the way Jimmy did with me. I couldn't. It's not right."

Rory gripped his hands a little tighter, feeling more relived than she did guilty. The culpableness was still there, but she was over the moon about him wanting to be a part of Elinor's life. The fact that he didn't run away the moment that she spit out the truth was a sign that he had truly changed for the better.

"I need to get back to her before she wakes up and realizes that Lorelai's there and not me. She probably thinks I left again." Jess nodded, understanding the situation. "Meet us at Luke's in the morning, okay?"

"Okay." He smirked. It wasn't exactly a smirk that screamed happiness seeing that he dropped it two seconds later, but maybe to Rory it was a start. "Good night, Rory."

"Goodnight, Dodger," she grinned before turning away and heading home.