A/N: Thanks to those who continue to send me awesome reviews! Now, I present to you, The Incredible Sinking Lorelais, with a twist!

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 7

Rory was pretty sure she blacked out somewhere during the teacher's speech about dropping a class. The words resounded in her head like a gong and then faded into a blur of nothingness. She was Rory Gilmore, she didn't drop a class. It wasn't in the plan, it was never okay to give up like that.

Sure, recently, Rory had to admit she had been tired a lot, and that having one less non-essential class to deal with would be helpful, but it wasn't acceptable, it wasn't okay to make that choice. She had the same kind of schedule that her grandfather kept when he attended Yale, and Rory had to make him proud, her grandma too. Then there was her mom. It was so long since Rory talked to Lorelai. At least a day, maybe two. Suddenly it seemed like years and all Rory wanted to do was yell for her mommy and cry like a baby.

A million scenes seemed to run through her head of their own accord and Rory felt dizzy just watching them whip by behind her eyes. Her grandparents, so proud when she announced she had chosen Yale over Harvard. Her mother, here with her on her first night in college to ensure she settled in okay, telling her she was capable of so much. Then there was Jess, the way he talked to her about college and her future, so confident that Rory was going to do all the great things that she ever wanted to, believing implicitly that she would one day be the next Christianne Amanpour if that was what she wanted. Now the whole of Rory's future felt uncertain and shaken loose from its foundations. Drop a class. She felt sick.

Rory didn't know how she got out of the office. Maybe the teacher picked her up and put her out into the hall at some point. She was pretty sure she wouldn't have noticed if he had, though it was more likely she got here under her own steam, she supposed. One hand fumbled in her bag for her cell and immediately she dialled Lorelai's number. Rory waited and waited, practically begging her mom to pick up. When the answer machine kicked in, she very nearly cursed, trying Lorelai's cell phone instead. Voicemail was all the reply she received.

Rory threw her phone into her bag and sniffed hard to avoid tears as she hurried down the hall. Drop a class. She couldn't breathe.

Lorelai was pretty sure she blacked out somewhere during Gran's speech about money and the fight between Trix and Richard that followed. It was horrible, worse than horrible, it was the nightmare of all dinners at her parents house, and Lorelai had been through her fair share of bad ones of those. So much for calling yesterday a hell day, today was turning out to be infinitely worse. She just wanted out, as fast as she could.

Recently, Lorelai's life hadn't exactly been going so great. Between money troubles, fighting with Sookie, being so very busy all of the time, and now this dinner, she just couldn't deal anymore. She needed help, which was exactly what she had just denied to her Gran and what had started this whole debacle at the dinner table. It was awful, and Lorelai just wanted to yell for everybody to stop it already. Jason was trying, and not only now in attempting to bring some calm back to the Gilmore house. He tried all the time to help her in any way he could, to be there for her, but mostly she wouldn't let him. She kept him in one corner of her life, someone to be with when she wanted to, but away in a box where he couldn't mix with the other parts of her life. It was wrong, it was one more mess in her currently mesed up world, and Lorelai hated that too.

It was so long since she talked to Rory, that was the worst part in all this. At least a day, maybe two. Suddenly it seemed like years and all Lorelai wanted to do was yell for her daughter and cry like a baby.

A million scenes seemed to run through her head of thier own accord and Lorelai felt dizzy just watching them whip by behind her eyes. Her parents, so proud when she announced she was starting her own inn. Rory and Sookie, there with her at the Dragonfly when they first bought the building, talking about how wonderful it could be. Then there was Luke, the way he talked to her about the inn and her future, so confident that Lorelai was going to do all the great things that she ever wanted to, believing implicitly that she would one day make a real success of her own business and be ridiculously happy in her life. Now everything felt much less certain, and it was coming to a head here in this room, with everybody yelling around her. She felt sick.

Lorelai didn't know how she got out of the house. Maybe Jason picked her up and put her out on the driveway at some ponint. She was pretty sure she wouldn't have noticed if he had, though it was more likely she got here under her own steam, she supposed. One hand fumbled in her bag for her cell and imediately she dialled Rory's number. Lorelai waited and waited, practically begging her baby girl to pick up. When the voicemail kicked in, she cursed, throwing her cell back into her purse. She checked her watch and sighed.

"I have to go," she told Jason, not giving him a chance to answer as she jumped into the Jeep and set off for home.

Lorelai had a meeting to keep with Luke. She wasn't looking forward to it, but it mattered more now than ever. She needed money and Luke was the only one Lorelai could turn to now. She couldn't breathe.

Rory was sat in the hallway when she heard a car pull on the drive. Coming home tonight for the weekend had been the plan all along, but it became a doubly desperate mission after her talk with her professor and then her counsellor at Yale. They all seemed determined about her dropping a class and Rory just didn't know where to turn. She needed her mom, more than anything, she just needed to be able to talk to someone who would understand. Unfortunately, the house was empty, but car wheels on the gravel outside had to mean salvation. Rory went running from the house to greet Lorelai, getting a real surprise when she realised the car before her wasn't her mom's Jeep at all.

"Jess?" she said with surprise as he got out of the car. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just running the car around the block. You remember how temperamental she can be, I just thought... Are you okay?" he asked, forgetting anything else as he approached her on the front porch.

Rory's face showed a range of emotions and none of them good. Jess was immediately worried. If there was one thing Rory was good at, it was talking. She rambled when she was nervous or even when she was a little upset. The silence was reserved for truly terrible moments, and Jess almost dreaded what came next. His hands were deep in the pockets of his jacket as he stood before her now, watching Rory sink down to sit on the steps, shaking her head.

"I... I'm fine," she told him, an out and out lie and they both knew it.

"Rory, c'mon," he urged her, sitting down on the step beside her. "This is me you're talking to. If something's wrong, maybe I can help."

"It's stupid, I just... I can't find my mom," she admitted, voice shaking a little as she forced out the words. "I really, really need to talk to her and she's not here."

"Lorelai was headed to your grandparents and then meeting Luke for dinner," he supplied all the information that he had. "I don't know when they'll be back, but not before closing at the diner, since that's my job tonight. I left Lane and Caesar to deal whilst I took the car out but I should get back soon. Er, you wanna come with?" he offered, not feeling great about leaving her alone in this state.

"No, thanks," said Rory, looking everywhere but at him as she swallowed hard. "I'll be fine, I... I will."

"Rory?" Jess' gentle tone and his hand at her cheek finally broke her and one tear streaked down from her eye. "What's wrong?"

"Everything's falling apart," she admitted at last, openly crying through the words that followed. "I thought I had it all under control, but I don't."

"What was under control?"

"Everybody else can handle the classes, but I can't," she said sadly, wiping at her face with her sleeve. "And I'm supposed to. I'm supposed to take five classes. Everybody else does. I mean, my grandfather did. God, how am I gonna tell my grandfather that I failed?!"

Jess looked as confused as he felt, he was sure on that.

"You failed?" he checked, sure that could not be true at all.

"No." Rory laughed a painful laugh. "I didn't even get a chance to fail. I mean, I had to drop a class. I was told to drop a class."

Jess opened his mouth to say that wasn't such a big deal, but this was Rory he was talking to. Of course it was a hell of a big deal to her. Education was her life, Yale was her dream, and she was hard-wired to live up to everybody's expectations of her, most especially her own almost-impossible ones. Still, he had to offer some comfort.

"I know how tough that is on you, but Ror, the world won't end just because you had to drop a class," he told her as gently as he could.

"I know that," she said, sighing heavily. "But I'm not supposed to drop a class. Jess, you know I'm not the drop-a-class person. I get good grades. I... I handle things."

It broke Jess' heart to see her like this. It killed him to know he hurt her before, but at least that he had some control over, he could apologise and try to make up for it. This thing with Yale, it was out of his hands. There was a limit to how much he could help and Jess hated that more. Against his better judgement, he wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulders as she cried and rambled on.

"And Lane, she's not around anymore, and I know she had to go, but I miss her, and I liked her there, and I haven't talked to my mom, and I need to talk to her, and she's not around," she sobbed, pushing her face into Jess' shoulder now. "And I'm failing. I'm failing everything. I can't do it. I can't handle it. I'm messing everything up!"

Jess held her tight, not knowing what to say to make it better. She was so beyond upset about all of this, and he couldn't fix it. He wasn't the guy who gave people comfort in the time of crisis, that just wasn't him, but for Rory he would try, always.

"You're not failing," he told her definitely. "Dropping one class so you can cope better, it's not failing. You're Rory Gilmore, okay? And you can do anything. You're gonna get exactly where you wanna be in life and then you're gonna look back on this moment and laugh at those professors that said you couldn't handle five classes. You're made to be great, Rory. You're the most amazing woman I ever met my whole life. That's as true now as before they made you drop a class, okay?"

It was debatable whether Rory was laughing or crying as her head came up from Jess' shoulder and she met his eyes. He meant what he said, she didn't doubt it for a second. He told her lies before, or at least withheld the truth, but this she believed implicitly. Jess really did care that much, he believed in her that much.

Without thinking about it, Rory leaned in closer and kissed him.

Jess knew he was a fool if he didn't react and maybe a bigger one if he did. This was not the way him and Rory should be getting back together, if that were even to happen at all. She was vulnerable right now, quite literally needing a shoulder to cry on. That he would provide, but nothing else, it was too dangerous.

"Rory," he said, pulling out of their brief kiss. "As much as I hate myself for saying this, it's not a good idea."

His eyes were closed when he spoke, all because Jess needed a moment when he wasn't looking at her in order to regain his bearings. The second he saw Rory's tear-stained face he knew he had hurt her, but it would be all the worse if he let anything else happen here tonight.

"I'm sorry," she told him, tearful still. "I do, I screw everything up!"

She moved as if to get away from him, but Jess held her fast. There was no way he wanted to hurt her, but Rory needed to stay and listen, not bolt from him when there was more to be said.

"You do not screw everything up," he promised her faithfully. "Rory, you know how I feel about you, but now is not a great time for this. You know it's not."

She nodded slowly, fresh tears brimming in her eyes.

"I hate this, Jess," she told him. "I hate how I feel so useless and stupid."

Rory all but fell back into the arms of one person in a very few who always seemed to understand. Jess was fine with holding onto her, rubbing her back and whispering whatever words of comfort that he could. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Rory Gilmore. That was as true now as it had ever been.

The pair had no idea that just a few streets away Lorelai was in a similar position in Luke's arms. She felt she was failing too, drowning in debt and so very alone. She confessed to Luke about how alone she felt and about the thirty thousand dollars she so desperately needed. It seemed the Gilmore girls were both sinking in the mire of their lives right now, but if anyone could get them out, it had to be Luke and Jess.

To Be Continued...