A/N: YOU GUYS! MILO FAVOURITED A TWEET I POSTED ON TWITTER! If you don't hear from me for awhile after this chapter, it's because I've DIED. OH MY GOD. Also, I forgot to mention the song in the last chapter. Sexotheque by La Roux. It's been on repeat for hours. I'm so diverse.

Eight and a Half

By Imagine Backstory

Chapter Thirteen – The Thanks

Jess

"I'm just trying to mentally prepare you for what's about to happen," I told Nora, holding onto her wrists as she playfully tried to escape my car. We were sitting parked near the town square, and I was attempting to give her a review of all the reasons why she should never have been so eager to meet my 'family'.

"Jess," she whined, lifting her knees up to her chest and sinking into the seat. "It can't be that bad. Let's just go!"

I unbuckled my seatbelt so as to better lean over her, cupping her cheek with my hand and holding her down with the weight of my shoulder. I lightly kissed her forehead. "I'm serious, Nor," I insisted. "The last thing I want is for you to get pissed at me because I accidentally forgot to mention some tiny detail. I just wanna review before we go any further."

She blew a raspberry and pushed me off of her, sitting up straight in a huff. She peered up at me under her lashes as she swept her mass of hair up into a bun on the very top of her head. "Fine. Go." She took the pencil from behind my ear and used it to secure her hair in place.

I smirked at her choice of hair accessory. "Really?"

"You always have that thing behind your ear," she quipped. "It was begging for a change of scenery."

"Suffocating in your hair is a decent change of scenery?" I raised an eyebrow. "Poor thing. It's gonna get lost in that rat's nest."

She smacked me on the chest with the back of her hand. "Shut up. Talk."

"That's a little contradictory."

"Jess!"

"Fine," I said, grinning at her cheekily. I smacked my palm down on my steering wheel, running my fingers along the seam of the leather as I pieced my thoughts together. "So, there's Luke. He's my uncle. He's the one I lived with for awhile when I was a kid."

"At the diner," she said. As if she would forget any detail I had already told her.

I nodded. "He's my mom's brother."

"Liz."

"Right."

"And she's married to TJ?"

"Yup."

"And they have a daughter...Doula?"

"Bingo." I had to admit, it turned me on a little that Nora remembered so many things about me. It was nice that she cared enough to hang on to every detail I provided her about my life.

She wrinkled her nose. "I'm sorry, but what kind of a name is Doula?"

"I have no idea," I mused, looking sidelong at her. "My mom is weird. I mean, what kind of a name is Jess, for a guy?"

"A sexy one," she said, smiling. "Continue."

"Now..." I paused. Nora knew all about Rory and her part in Luke's life. It just felt even weirder to mention her now, especially after seeing her a couple months ago. "Luke is married to a woman named Lorelai. They've been friends for years, but finally got together about a year after I opened the Philly Truncheon."

"She's Rory's mom, right?" I didn't miss that some of the light had gone from Nora's eyes. I nodded. Nora thought for a minute. "So...your uncle is Rory's stepdad?"

"I guess. Technically."

"So what does that make you two?"

I grimaced. I didn't really like thinking about the fact that Rory and I could now be considered related, however distantly. "Uhh, step-cousins-in-law?"

"Complicated."

"Just a little." I reached for a cigarette and lit up, passing it to Nora when her fingers reached for it. I watched her as she took a drag. "Lorelai's friend Sookie will probably be there—"

"The chef?"

"With her husband, Jackson, and their kids. I know there's three of them, but I honestly can't remember their names right now."

"Okay."

"Besides that, I don't really know who else will be there. Rory's best friend might be. Lane."

"And Zach? They're the ones with twins, right?"

"God, you remember everything, don't you? Hey, do you remember Sookie's kids' names?"

She smacked me again. "Far be it from me to try and remember things! You don't talk about the people you know very often. I gotta savour the information when I get it."

I leaned over and kissed her fully on the mouth then, a flutter arising in my stomach when she moaned lightly in response, one hand burrying itself in my hair while the other reached over her head to flick the cigarette out the window. I increased the urgency of the kiss, the bitter scent of the cigarette mixing with the sweet taste of her lipgloss driving me crazy.

She smiled into the kiss and gently pushed me away, her green eyes gleaming knowingly. "You're not getting off that easy."

"I beg to differ, you sexy thing," I purred, kissing the corner of her mouth.

She rolled her eyes and pushed me away again. "Jess. We are going to see your family! Stop distracting me. Now finish your debrief so we can go."

I turned over so as to rest my head in her lap, staring up at her with puppy dog eyes. "Fine." She ran her fingers tantalizingly through my hair as I spoke. "This town is not normal, nor are the people in it. They have weird holiday traditions and even weirder non-holiday traditions. Town events are town events. As in, the entire town participates in everything. They're, like, a cult or something. And everyone is always so happy. And everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows everything about everyone else."

"Hmm, seventeen-year-old you must have loved this place," Nora said sarcastically, passing me the cigarette.

I took a thoughtful drag. "I hated it. But, I dunno...if you stay long enough, it starts to grow on you. It probably casts an evil spell or something. Makes people stay forever. I was one of the lucky ones—I escaped." I said it jokingly, but I still felt a guilty pang in my gut. As much as I had hated Stars Hollow when it had served as my sanctuary from exile, it felt odd to trash it now. After all, without my time here, I certainly never would have made it to where I was now. And, I wouldn't have met Rory. And I most definitely wouldn't be where I was now without having met her.

"You secretly like this place," Nora said with a smile. She gazed lovingly down into my eyes, her thumb gently caressing my hairline. "Admit it."

I blew a tiny stream of smoke into her face. "Never."

She laughed. "Anything else I should know?"

I snapped my fingers. "James."

She frowned. "Who's James? I don't remember you ever mentioning a James."

"Rory's fiancé."

Her eyes widened. "Ohh. He's going to be there?"

"Of course." I smirked at her. "You mean you don't remember him from the wedding invitation?"

She rolled her eyes. "So I forgot one person. Give me a break. To be honest I kinda forgot she was engaged."

"Yeah, I think she did too." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Nora tensed under my weight, a frown creasing her brow. I rushed to explain myself. "I just mean Rory's always been a little indecisive with guys. She gets distracted easily." Fuck, I really wasn't helping my case.

Nora raised an eyebrow. "Distracted?"

"Well, like. She didn't tell James she was in New York over the summer."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. They don't seem to have the best communication with each-other."

Nora looked out the window, taking the cigarette from me and dragging on it. "Is there anything else I should know about Rory, Jess?" she asked quietly, avoiding my gaze.

I sat up, sighing, and ran a hand through my already tousled hair. I had let it grow since cutting it all off over the summer, and it was now getting a bit shaggier than I would like; I just hadn't bothered to get it cut. It now resembled something remniscient of the teenage hairstyles in the Beatles era, with straight bangs hanging low over my eyes and it growing longer down my neck and curling around my ears. Somehow I had become Jess, the Beatnik. Man, I really was a hipster. "I've told you all about Rory," I replied. "I know she's kind of a touchy subject for you, Nor, considering our history. But it was a long time ago, and she's a good person. She was a huge influence on my life. I hope you can understand that."

"I know. I do. It's just..." She trailed off, shaking her head.

"What?" I prompted.

She sighed. "It's just that it's sometimes a little intimidating, knowing you've been with a lot of people and that you loved someone before me...and I haven't. Compared to you, I just feel...inexperienced sometimes." I didn't know what to say to that. When I told her so, she just smiled at me ruefully. "It's okay. It's just how I feel. It's silly, but it is what it is."

"How you feel is never silly to me," I replied softly, brushing her chin with the pad of my thumb.

She grabbed my hand and kissed my open palm. "Can we go now?"

I looked at her for a moment, then sighed. "I guess so."

She clapped her hands together excitedly as I put my car in gear and pulled away from the curb, careful to look in my mirrors this time. I still hadn't gotten the dent pulled out of my bumper from the last time I visited Stars Hollow.

When I pulled into the driveway of the Gilmore residence, I thought for one crazy moment that I had pulled into the wrong driveway, that I had somehow forgotten where it was. After a moment, upon recognizing Lorelai's familiar Jeep, Luke's truck and Rory's Prius already parked in the driveway, I realized that I did in fact have the right house. It just looked completely different. The exterior had been repainted and the porch expanded—there was now a stylish sitting area there, complete with a brand new swing and a few other seats. It looked like the upstairs had also undergone some expansion, and someone—most likely Luke—had been gardening up a storm. The property looked like something out of a goddamn home magazine. I wondered fleetingly if they were planning on selling it for some reason, but then I realized this was probably Luke's way of homemaking.

"It's beautiful," Nora breathed, leaning forward to peer at the house through my window.

"It didn't look like this last time I saw it," I remarked. I then realized that the past few times I had come to Stars Hollow—for Rory's not-wedding, for Liz's wedding, and to get my car back—I hadn't actually been to the Gilmore house. I hadn't actually seen the place in over ten years.

I put the car in park and shut it off as Nora unbuckled her seatbelt. We sat there for a few moments in silence. She reached out and took my hand, giving me a knowing look. "You ready?" she asked gently.

"Nope," I admitted, and mentally kicked myself when my voice broke.

She squeezed my hand. "Want to sit for a minute?"

"You were super eager five minutes ago," I said, smiling weakly.

She chuckled. "I know. But I can wait, if you need to."

"No point," I said, shrugging. "Let's get this over with."

We exited the car, opting to leave our bags in the trunk because I figured we would be staying above the diner. In restrospect we should have gone there first to drop stuff off, but I realized Luke had probably closed early for the holiday weekend and was in fact at home cooking dinner. Thanksgiving was tomorrow, but I was willing to bet that the Gilmore-Danes-Belleville clan was planning on dragging the festivities out as long as possible.

As we climbed the steps onto the porch, Nora halted and grabbed my arm suddenly. "Oh, my god," she whispered. "We didn't bring anything."

"What?"

"We're empty handed," she cried, pointing to our respective hands, which were in fact empty, except for my car keys, which I then pocketed. "We are the worst. You don't just show up to dinner and bring nothing to contribute! It's so rude."

I chuckled, touching her back lightly. "Relax. Trust me, they probably already have more than enough food. Sookie would probably take one look at anything we brought and accidentally dump it in the trash."

"Still," she mumbled. "Would have been nice to at least make an effort." She took my pencil out of her hair, letting her thick red hair tumble down around her shoulders. She fluffed it for a bit and looked at me. "How do I look?"

I growled and kissed her temple. "Good enough to eat," I whispered.

"Ready?" she asked, giggling.

Nodding, I approached the front door. I could hear their voices from inside; Sookie's boisterous laughter, Lorelai rambling on about something or other while Luke's voice barked some sort of instruction, and kids giggling and screeching. It sounded like some sort of goddamn zoo. I exchanged a look with Nora before raising my fist to the door and knocking.

Predictably, nobody inside heard my knock. Rolling my eyes, I turned the knob and pushed the door open myself. "Hello?" I called out, trying to be heard over the din in the kitchen as we stepped over the threshold into the house.

"Who's that?" Sookie asked. Just then her head popped around the corner. Her eyes practically bugged out of her skull when she saw me. "Jess?"

Luke came barelling around the corner at the same time as three kids did—I could only assume they were the Belleville offspring. The oldest one, a boy, looked to be about thirteen, while two younger ones, both girls, were probably about seven and ten, respectively.

"Jess?" This was Lorelai's voice from the kitchen, sounding rather incredulous.

Luke wildly gestured at Sookie and the kids to scram before approaching me. "Hey, how you doin'? Glad you could make it." He shook my hand and pulled me in for an awkward man-hug, patting my back rather roughly. Upon pulling away, he regarded me with scrutiny. "You look like Ringo Starr. I've never seen your hair that long."

"Jeez, compare me to the ugliest Beatle," I muttered.

Luke ignored me and turned to Nora. "You must be the girlfriend."

"Nora," she said with a smile, offering her hand.

Luke shook her hand firmly. "Nice to finally meet you. I've heard...well, I haven't heard to be honest. This one's not the best communicator."

"Look who's talking," I grunted, cocking my head to the side as I regarded Luke coolly. "They didn't know I was coming, did they?"

He turned to look in the direction of the kitchen. "Who, them? Yeah, they knew. I mean, they knew you'd been invited. It just kinda donned on me that I never really confirmed whether or not you were actually coming, because, well, you didn't, really—confirm, that is."

"Well, your threat over the phone kinda made it seem like I didn't have a choice," I shot back, keeping my voice low.

He sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "Well, whatever, you're here now, that's what counts. Glad you came."

"Again, no choice." As Luke retreated to the kitchen, I helped Nora out of her coat before shrugging off my own, hanging them both up on the hooks by the door. "Last chance to run," I murmured into Nora's ear as we crossed the front entrance towards the kitchen.

She smacked me on the best for the third time that day and let me lead the way into the kitchen. Like the outside of the house, it had also been completely redone. It felt odd, to me—in the limited time I had spent at the Gilmore house, most of it had probably been in the kitchen. Now, it was barely recognizable. The table was laden with dishes, some full, others empty, and the stove was covered with various pots and frying pans all in varying stages of cooking something. It smelled amazing, I had to admit.

God, everyone was looking at me. The room had gone eerily quiet. Sookie and Jackson and their kids, Luke and Lorelai all stared at Nora and me as we stood awkwardly at the kitchen entrance.

Lorelai was sizing me up; I could tell, she, like me, was feeling very awkward and unsure about the situation. She wasn't exactly my biggest fan, and the last time I'd actually had a conversation with her she had pointed out that she wanted to kill me and had then proceeded to rub in my face the fact that Rory was so over me.

Luke broke the silence first. "Look who decided to show up. You guys remember Jess."

What a stupid thing to say. I grit my teeth, refraining from once again pointing out that I had had no choice in the matter. I did however manage to bite out, "How on earth could they forget me, Uncle Luke?"

"We couldn't," Lorelai said, offering me a tiny smile. "It's nice to see you, Jess."

"Likewise," I said, because as awkward as the situation was, it really was nice to see her, in a weird way. Even though we had never really gotten along, I had always had respect for Lorelai. She was, after all, a single mother, much like my own mom. She had obviously done a better job at raising Rory than Liz had done raising me, so Lorelai was all right in my books. Save the fact that she'd felt she could parent me when I was young, even though she had known nothing about me. The threats on my life after I'd broken her daughter's heart hadn't really helped, either.

She was still surverying me. "You look good. You look old."

I grimaced. "Gee, thanks."

"It's the hair," Luke put in, a smug smirk on his face.

"It's everything," Lorelai corrected. Her gaze as softened, as if she had finally decided she was okay with my presence. "You look good, Jess," she said again.

"Thanks," I murmured. I place a hand on the small of Nora's back, pushing her forward slightly. "This is my girlfriend, Nora. Nora, this is Lorelai, and Sookie and Jackson." She gave them all a shy little wave. It was unlike Nora to be shy, but I guess considering the circumstances it was to be expected. "And...sorry, but I'm totally blanking on your kids' names," I said, looking apologetically to Sookie.

She laughed. "Don't worry, there's so many of them I sometimes forget too!" she chirped. "That's Davey, there, the oldest. And that's Martha, and Cadence. Ellie is upstairs, sleeping. Which reminds me—we should get them up, Lorelai." She threw the dishtowel she'd been holding over her shoulder and beckoned at Lorelai to follow her out of the room. "We'll be right back."

As Lorelai and Sookie exited, I fixed Luke with an inquisitive gaze. "Them?"

"Uh," he stammered, straightening his baseball cap. "Them?"

"There another kid here?"

"Oh!" his eyes went wide. "Yeah! Uh, Emerson's up there, too."

"Emerson?"

Luke looked confused. "Yeah?"

"Who is Emerson?" I asked, impatient.

He looked utterly confused for a moment longer, and then something like horror crossed his face. "You don't know?" I shook my head, throwing my hands up in exasperation. Luke took off his cap and ran a hand through his thinning hair, exhaling loudly. "Aw, jeez. I thought we'd told you."

"Told me what?" Please don't say he's Rory's kid. Oh please, oh fucking please don't say it.

"Emerson is my son," Luke said finally, bracing his hands on his hips. "Mine and Lorelai's son, that is. He's eighteen months old."

"Eighteen months?" I asked incredulously. "He's a baby?"

"He was kind of a surprise," Luke admited, his gaze training on the table in front of us instead of on me. "The best surprise there is, really."

His voice had gone all soft. I ran a hand through my hair. The pencil behind my ear fell to the floor with a clatter. "Holy shit. Why didn't you tell me I have a new little cousin?"

Luke shrugged. "You weren't around. It just...didn't really occur to me. I'm sorry."

I nodded and stooped to pick up the pencil, tucking it safely back behind my ear. I pulled Nora to me, then, wrapping a reassuring arm around her waist. I suddenly really wanted out of here.

Moments later, Lorelai and Sookie once again emerged in the kitchen, each with an armful of child. Sookie's was still groggy—she looked maybe four or five years old. In Lorelai's arms, though, was a wide-awake baby, his curly dark hair tousled from sleep, his huge Gilmore-blue eyes staring right at me as his mother bounced him gently.

"That's him?" I asked, feeling my grip on Nora loosening.

"That's him," Luke confirmed proudly. "My boy."

I took a tentative step towards the baby in Lorelai's arms, unsure what the boundaries were. Lorelai didn't seem too concerned, though, because she lifted Emerson and placed him directly into my arms. Surprised, I propped him on my hip, leaning back with a smile as he immediately reached for my face. "Hey, buddy," I murmured, the affection in my voice surprising everyone, including me.

"He's adorable," Nora cooed, standing at my elbow and smiling at the baby in my arms. I smirked. She'd always been a sucker for babies.

I watched as Emerson curled all his tiny fingers around Nora's pointer finger as she pulled faces at him. "Where's, uh..." I trailed off, hoping someone would get my drift.

Lorelai knew. "Rory and James went out for a walk. They should be back soon." She turned her gaze to Nora. "So, Nora. Jess has kept you a bit of a mystery to us. What's the story, here?"

As Jackson took the bored-looking kids outside, Nora took a seat at the kitchen table and automatically began helping Sookie with the devilled eggs. I realized that I had unconsciously been bouncing Emerson on my hip. He gripped my shirt tightly; he had a strong grip for such a little guy.

"Well, Jess and I met when I came to a poetry slam in Philly...god, what is it, five years ago now?" She looked to me for confirmation; I nodded. "We hit it off right away, and we've been together ever since."

I knew Lorelai was thinking it; but she wasn't likely to ask, but I could see her studying Nora and doing math in her head. "And what do you do?" she asked instead.

"I write a fashion blog," Nora explained, whiping her long hair back up into a bun. "And I manage the Café below Truncheon."

"Truncheon?"

"My publishing house," I said quickly. "In Manhattan."

"Your publishing house?"

I rolled my eyes. "Guess you don't talk about me much, huh, Uncle Luke?"

Luke glanced over from his position at the sink, pealing potatoes. "Lorelai, I told you about Jess' business."

"I didn't know he owned it," she said with a small laugh. "That's really incredible, Jess."

I shrugged, then winced when Emerson grabbed the pencil behind my ear. It clattered to the floor. "Oops!" I cried, smiling at the tyke.

Lorelai laughed and bent to pick the pencil up. Taking it from her, I pocketed it this time. "Want me to take him?" she asked me.

Somewhat reluctantly, I handed him over. I could feel Nora watching me with curiosity, but I didn't meet her gaze. Didn't want her getting any ideas. I really didn't like kids all that much. This one was just...different.

"So, yeah, we run the place together," Nora continued as Lorelai placed the baby over her shoulder and rocked. "It's actually doing pretty well."

"Glad you guys could make the trip out here," Luke said roughly, glancing over his shoulder again. "Nice that you can get away from a business you own."

"We have awesome staff who all live in New York," Nora explained. "They were okay with covering for those of us who had to travel."

My head snapped up on impulse when the front door slammed. "Hello?" called a familiar voice.

"In the kitchen," Lorelai called back. She met my eyes for a brief moment, giving me a knowing look.

I went and stood behind Nora's chair, brushing the hollow of her ear with my fingertips. She glanced up at me and gave a reassuring smile, reaching up to squeeze my hand before returning to the devilled eggs.

"Oh—hi," Rory breathed as she and James entered the room. "You're here." Her eyes landed on me, and I got a sinking feeling remniscient of forgetting to put pants on before leaving the house. I let my gaze drop to the table.

"They were on time," Luke chimed in with a grin. "Can you believe it? Jess, on time."

"It's not that unbelievable," I muttered, shifting my weight uncomfortably.

James stepped forward, eyeing me. He was taller than I had pictured; not Dean's height, but he definitely had a few inches on me. His blond hair lay in loose curls on his head, and his Crest-worthy smile didn't quite reach his blue eyes. "I'm James," he said, offering me his hand to shake.

I took it, gripping his hand a little tighter than I normally would have in a handshake. "Jess." As I let go of his hand, I watched smugly as he flexed his fingers once before stuffing his hand into his pocket.

"Nice to meet you, mate." James lowered his gaze to Nora.

"Nora," she said, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you. Hi, Rory," she added, merely glancing in Rory's direction.

Lorelai, Luke and Sookie were glancing between the four of us as if watching a tennis match. The tension in the air was thicker than butter, and they all looked extremely uncomfortable. Finally, Lorelai spoke. "Okay, is someone going to tell me what the heck is going on here? You've met?" She directed that question to Rory and Nora.

Rory opened her mouth to speak, but Nora chimed in first. "Oh, yeah, in New York. Briefly," she added, flashing her most charming smile.

Knowing she was caught, Rory rushed to catch up. "Yeah, very briefly. Hi."

Nora kept smiling. "Hi."

"Jesus Christ," I blurted out, knocking my fist against the back of Nora's chair. "Does anybody in this goddamn family tell the fucking truth?"

That shocked the room into silence. Everyone's eyes were on me, even Emerson's. Pushing off Nora's chair, I strode from the room, calling over my shoulder, "I'm gonna show Nora around." I heard her muttered apology and her chair scrape back as she rushed to follow me out the door.

"Jess," she called after me as I stalked down the Gilmore driveway to my car. She caught up to me as I struggled to turn my key in the lock. "What the hell?" She was exasperated, I could see it all over her face. Probably embarrassed, too. She slapped her arms against her sides, waiting for my reply.

I paused, leaning my palm againt the door of my car, taking deep breaths. "There's a reason why I never brought you here, Nor," I said quietly. "I just...I can't stand it."

"We were doing fine until you exploded!" she accused, rolling her eyes skyward.

"Fine?" I spat. "You call that ridiculous awkward tension fine? Not to mention the fact that Lorelai, Luke and Sookie had no fucking clue what was going on. Rory didn't tell them anything." I turned sharply and leaned back against the car, playing with my keys. "God, you know, she never used to lie about anything. And when she did, she was fucking bad at it. Everyone knew. I don't know what's changed, but now lying seems to be her favourite passtime."

Nora folded her arms over her chest. "It's not lying so much as withholding information. You're probably a touchy subject around here," she added bitterly.

I glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, Jess," Nora sighed, the fight seeping out of her. "It means nothing." As a silence followed, she looked down at her feet, toeing the ground awkwardly. "Did you even tell them about me?"

"I told them I was bringing you," I said. "I wasn't going to just show up with an extra guest. I'm not that rude."

"I don't just mean for Thanksgiving." Her voice was low, soft. Expecting the worst from me, as usual. "Did they know about me at all, before this?"

I took a breath, glancing at her, and sucked my bottom lip into my mouth. "Yes."

"They knew nothing about me."

"I didn't tell them much."

"Why not?"

"Because," I snapped, throwing my hands out in front of me. "Because, Nora. I don't talk to these people. This is the most I have—literally—in almost nine years. I didn't even know Luke had had a fucking baby for Chrissakes."

Nora frowned. "It bothers you," she said.

I shook my head. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"No, I do," she insisted. "It bothers you that Rory didn't tell her folks she saw you. It bothers you that Luke didn't tell you about Emerson. It bothers you that no one knew you'd been invited to the wedding. You miss them, at least sometimes. Admit it." She took my hand, lacing our fingers together and tugging so that I would look at her. "There's nothing wrong with missing your family, Jess. There's nothing wrong with regretting the way things have been. There's still time to change it, reconnect."

"You don't know," I repeated, looking down at the ground and taking my hand out of hers. "You just don't."

She gave me a long look, her full lips set in a hard line. When she looked away, she was shaking her head.

We stayed like that for a moment, each stewing in our respective emotions. I mostly just felt numb. I hated this. I hated being here, I hated the situation. I hated subjecting Nora to the dysfunction that was my previous life. I hated James' fucking face. I hated the helpless look Rory had given me, silently begging for me to go along with her stupid games. Fucking why whenever Rory was concerned did I always end up feeling like a dirty little secret?

God, she hadn't even met my fucking mother yet, and already every fibre of my being was screaming to get the fuck out of town. What was it about Stars Hollow that always gave me the incredible urge to flee?

"I'm sorry," I finally said, my hands in my pockets. "We shouldn't have come here."

She sniffed, and I realized with an inward groan that she had been fighting tears this whole time. "I wanted to come," she whispered, wiping her eyes with her thumb. "I want to know your family."

"Nora, I don't even know my family," I said softly, turning to face her and cupping her face in my hands. "What does it matter anyway? It's not like they're a part of me anymore."

She shook her head, blinking furiously to clear away the tears in her eyes. "They're more than I've got," she said evenly, looking me right in the eye.

I closed my eyes. Just like that, I was the asshole. Again.

Folding her into my arms, I pressed her to me, gently rubbing her back as she clung to my shirt. Kissing the top of her head, I pulled away a little, looking down at her. "Come on," I said, sliding my hands down her arms to twine my fingers with hers. "There's a place I really want to show you."

A/N: This chapter was a BEAST. Sorry it took so long. Got distracted and this just took me forever for some reason. Anyway, the next one will be all or mostly Rory. I don't know how I ended up staying in Jess' POV for this whole one, but I generally just prefer writing as him, anyway. Please review! The next chapter should be up sooner than this one was.