"What? What do you mean?" Rory asked, feeling her blood run cold in her veins. Her head darted back and forth between Jess and Alex, who was still curled up on the couch, now holding a sleepy Ellie like a teddy bear as they watched TV together.

Jess ran his hand across his face and up into his hair, making it stand on end in random places. "A pipe burst in the middle of the night and flooded the place."

"Oh my God…" Rory breathed, covering her mouth in horror. "Is everything…?"

"Gone," Jess said, waving a hand out in front of him. "Papers are mush, electronics are fried, the whole place is a waterlogged mess."

"But… but what about repairs? Can't most of it be replaced?"

"The insurance money doesn't even begin to cover the equipment we lost," Jess sighed. "The landlord knows someone whose cousin is a building inspector or something. They came and checked everything out, found water damage and mold in the walls and the foundation, more damaged pipes… Repairs to the building are going to take up to five months. That's five months of no clients, no work, no income."

"But what about existing clients?" Rory asked, desperate for solutions.

"You mean Allan? Our one remaining client whose book is going to print next week? We're referring him to the Philly location."

Rory felt sick. "But…"

"Rory. There's nothing we can do."

"No! No, there has to be something," Rory argued, her voice shaking.

"Dammit, there isn't!" Jess said, voice getting close to shouting. "Look, I don't want it to be true either, but we were getting close to closing anyway and now with the flood, there are no other options. Okay?"

Rory shook her head, blinking her eyes to stave off the burn of tears. "No, it's not okay. Jess, this was your dream."

"Rory, I really don't want to talk about it anymore. Please?" Jess said, voice laden with pure exhaustion.

Rory nodded reluctantly. "Um… I'll order dinner. Chinese okay?"

Jess nodded, shucking his jacket and tossing it on the counter.

"Alex?" Rory asked.

"Sure," came a small, muffled voice from the couch.

Rory picked up her phone from the counter and Jess started to make his way to the bedroom. Before entering the restaurant's number, Rory quickly stopped him with an arm on his elbow. He turned around just to be pulled into her embrace, her arms coming around his middle and holding him tightly, securely. Jess let himself fall into her, the weight of the day finally drawing him down. He snaked his arms around her and buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply, taking in her scent – a combination of citrus shampoo and spicy perfume and a little bit of sweat – letting it envelop him and block out the world around them. All that existed right then was them, and for that moment, that was all he could handle.

It was at least thirty seconds before Rory released her hold on Jess and let him make his way to the shower while she ordered dinner. As Jess closed the door behind him, Rory called their favorite Chinese restaurant and ordered just about the entire menu. It dawned on her too late that they were now down to just her paycheck and that she'd just spent a great deal of money, but she was a little too exhausted to care much at that moment. She wandered over to the couch to check on Alex and found her watching kids' TV with a glazed over expression, Ellie asleep in her arms.

"Want me to take her?" Rory offered.

Alex shook her head ever so slightly.

"Can I sit with you?" Rory asked tentatively, opting for sitting in awkward silence instead of standing around not knowing what to do.

Opting for actions rather than words, Alex scrunched her legs up to allow room for Rory to sit on the couch at her feet and Rory gratefully took the seat. She was a fixer. A problem solver. If there was something wrong, she was used to having a solution. But this… there was no solution for this situation, and it made me feel lost and useless. So, she sat and watched PBS with Alex and Ellie, hoping the physical company offered some sort of comfort.

Jess closed the door behind him, falling back against it for a second before mustering the energy to turn on the water and get undressed. He stood in a daze as the steam rose, feeling a little disconnected from himself and reality. Had today really happened? Truncheon was closing? Just like that? It didn't feel real.

Jess absently went through the motions of washing his hair before just sitting down on the floor, propping up crossed arms on his knees and holding his head in his hands. He closed his eyes and let the hot water run over him, let it turn his skin pink and let the air fill with a cloud of steam.

Ten months. Not even a year. He couldn't keep a business open for a year. Now he was basically unemployed. Alex was unemployed. He'd let the business go under and now his 18 year old employee was jobless.

The original Truncheon was still open, sure, but it wasn't like they could commute to Philly every day. They could try working remotely, but face-to-face meetings were pretty important.

He gripped his hair in his fists and pulled until it hurt, the pain bringing him back to the present moment. He suddenly realized the water had gone cold and he was shivering, so he turned off the water and stood up, dragging himself across the bathroom to get a towel and dry off and get dressed. He took several deep breaths to try and calm the trembling in his hands and the tightness in his chest before emerging from the bathroom to find Alex asleep on the couch clutching a dozing Ellie with her feet in Rory's lap as Rory stared into blank space. Upon noticing Jess, she looked up, the fog clearing from her eyes but the line between her eyes stubbornly adhering to her brow as she offered Jess a small smile. He walked over and leaned down, bracing himself against the arm of the couch as he bonked their foreheads together and closed his eyes, trying to block out the world.

"You're dripping on me," Rory whispered after half a minute.

Jess huffed out a breath of laughter. "Sorry," he whispered, sitting up and wiping the water his damp hair had left on her face with the pad of his thumb.

A knock sounded on the door and Jess answered it, taking the many bags of takeout from the delivery person and placing them on the counter.

"Should we wake her?" Rory asked in a hushed tone, looking at Alex with a kind of parental concern in her eyes.

Jess shook his head with a frown as he took everything out of the bags. "Let her rest, I told her she could crash on the couch tonight."

"Good," Rory said, nodding vaguely. "So, uh, do you guys… know what's next?"

Jess let out a derisive snort. "Not in the least."

Rory nodded, pulling on the sleeves of her sweater and sticking her thumbnail between her teeth. "We'll figure it out," she whispered.

Jess returned her nod, though his was filled with much more uncertainty. He was glad Rory felt like everything would work out, because for the first time in a while, he felt like he was stepping off a cliff without knowing how far away the bottom was.

He hadn't missed this feeling.

The rest of that night felt like it was moving in slow motion. They ate little bits of food, not really feeling all that hungry, before putting away the leftovers. Alex woke up and nibbled on an egg roll before asking if she could borrow some clothes and take a shower and Rory had immediately sprung into hostess mode, getting Alex a towel and showing her where everything was and then making up the couch for her while she was in the bathroom. They got Ellie to bed with no issue before they all retired to their beds feeling exhausted only to lie awake with thoughts swirling through their minds.

When Rory dragged herself out of bed the next morning, every part of her being felt slow and heavy and thick, like even her thoughts were swollen. She made an extra large pot of coffee, filling up her thermos to the brim and then set another pot going for Alex and Jess to share when they eventually got up. Pressing goodbye kisses to Jess and Ellie's heads, she left the apartment and robotically went through her commute to work. She got in and barely had time to drop her things at her desk before she was due in George's office for their meeting. Speedwalking down the hall, she stopped just outside his office and took a second to catch her breath and fix her hair before knocking on the door, hearing her boss invite her in. She entered with a polite smile and sat in the seat George gestured to across from himself. They exchanged polite and professional morning greetings and Rory tried not to fidget too much in her chair, full of an anxious energy and a little desperate to get back to her desk so she could focus all her attention on accomplishing tasks before going home as soon as possible.

They sat in a kind of awkward silence for a second until Rory cleared her throat, chuckling uncomfortably.

"Um, so, what can I do for you?" she asked.

George leaned forward, placing his elbows on his desk and folding his hands in front of him. "Look, Rory, this isn't easy for me…"

Rory cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed. "I'm sorry, I don't think I know what you mean."

George cleared his throat and shifted in his chair. "Obviously, we're all aware of the things happening financially in this country right now. Many businesses are having to cut down on staff to save money and stay afloat. And though we can't say how much we enjoy having you on staff…" George trailed off, eyes darting around uncomfortably.

Rory froze in place. "You're… you're firing me?" she asked, voice cracking as her throat was suddenly dry as a desert.

"No, not firing," George said, holding his hands out in front of him. "But we are letting you go. I'm so sorry, Rory."

Rory shook her head, trying to clear it of the thousands of half thoughts flying through her mind. "I don't understand, did I do something…?"

"Not at all. We just… we're a small business. As much as we appreciate everything you do for The Weekly Briefing, we just can't afford to maintain the size of our staff right now, and that includes an additional editor. Again, we are so sorry."

Rory swallowed thickly, giving George a short nod as she kept her lips pressed together in a thin line. "I see."

"You'll of course get a small severance package, especially since this is so… abrupt."

"I appreciate that," Rory said quietly. "Is that all?"

George winced almost imperceptibly before nodding solemnly.

Rory rose from her seat on shaky legs and made her way towards the door before she was stopped by George.

"Please, Rory, don't hesitate to reach out for references for any future employment. I'm happy to give you glowing reviews."

Rory turned back around and gave George a sad, thin smile. "Thank you, George." She reached out and shook George's hand, doing everything in her power to remain professional until the end. "For everything."

George gave her hand a friendly squeeze before letting go and Rory turned to the closed door, opening it and stepping back out into the hall.

Jess felt weird not going to work. He kept having to remind himself that there was no longer a work to go to. After Alex went home, Jess felt a little lost with nothing to do, so instead of focusing on everything he couldn't do, he put his energy into just having the best daddy/daughter day at home. They read, they played, they cuddled, and in general Jess just soaked up all of the baby time he could with his little girl. Looking into her wide blue eyes made everything feel just a little better. She had so much joy and hope in her tiny face that it was contagious and made Jess's soul feel a little lighter every time she smiled or giggled or called for him. He'd never, ever get tired of being called Dada by his little human.

He and Ellie were reading together on the couch after lunch, Jess reclining with his legs up on the cushions and Ellie seated on his lap, laying with her back to his chest and a bottle in her hand, eyes dancing at the colorful images in her picture book. It surprised Jess when he heard Rory's key in the door so early in the day and he sat up, whispering in Ellie's ear as he sat them up.

"Mama's home, Lee! You excited to see mama?" he asked and Ellie responded with gleeful claps.

The atmosphere immediately shifted when Rory came through the door, however. Her face was drawn, her bag hanging loosely off her shoulder and a white, lidded cardboard box in her hands. Letting the door shut behind her, she made eye contact with Jess.

Jess felt his heart fall into his stomach. "No…" he breathed.

Rory glanced around the apartment, looking lost, mouth open but no words forming.

"C'mere," Jess said softly, reaching out to her.

Rory dropped her things on the floor and slowly made her way over to the couch, falling next to Jess and folding herself into his embrace. They sat there in silence, even Ellie staying quiet as she seemed to understand the gravity of the moment somehow.

"What are we going to do?" Rory whispered, her voice quivering.

Jess had to swallow past the lump of fear in his throat.

"I don't know."

The next couple of weeks passed in a feverish blur. They had no jobs, their lease would be up before they knew it, and between rent and groceries, their bank accounts were rapidly dwindling. Both Rory and Jess knew they should be making plans, looking for jobs, just figuring things out, but neither had the mental energy to do much of anything productive. Rory was so used to jumping into the next thing with gusto, but the double punch to the solar plexus that was both her and Jess losing their jobs in rapid succession had robbed her of her get-to-it attitude. They hadn't even told anyone yet, instead staying in their bubble. Maybe if they kept the news to themselves for long enough, it would just go away, or time would stay frozen. But deep down in their guts they felt the weight of responsibility and knew their period of silence and stillness would have to end soon.

They just didn't expect it would end as soon or with such an aggressive halt that it did.

They got the call one evening when Rory was giving Ellie a bath and Jess was cleaning up after dinner. As he finished washing the dishes, Rory's phone started ringing from its place on the coffee table.

"It's yours, you want me to get it?" Jess called into the bathroom.

"Please, your daughter has decided that the floor looks better covered in puddles and is doing her best to empty the tub one splash at a time," Rory called back, laughter in her voice.

Jess snickered to himself, crossing the room to get the phone, grabbing it just before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Jess?"

"Luke?"

"I thought I called Rory's phone…" Luke mumbled in confusion.

"You did, I answered because she's giving Ellie a bath," Jess said, holding the phone against his ear with his shoulder as he went around the living room picking up toys. These days, it felt like all he did was clean up messes.

"Oh, gotcha, okay. Maybe best that you answered…"

"Why?" Jess asked, putting the blocks in Ellie's purple bin and grabbing the phone with his hand.

"Uh, well…"

"Luke, you suck at sharing information that you called to share."

"Lorelai and I were in a car accident."

Jess almost dropped the phone in his shock. "What? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine, for the most part."

"Waiting for the rest of that information…" Jess said impatiently, running a hand down his face.

"I'm a little banged up, just some bruises and sore muscles, but Lorelai… ah, jeez, Lorelai broke her arm and has a mild concussion."

"God…" Jess groaned. "Um… okay, let us get our stuff together and then we'll see you early as we can tomorrow."

"No, Jess, you guys are busy. Listen, she didn't even want me to call you guys, but I knew you or Rory or both of you would kill me if I didn't, so I just thought I'd call, I guess, but she's gonna be fine. Doctor says she needs to take a week or two off work and keep eye strain to a minimum for a while for her head and her cast comes off in a month or so."

"Good, I'm glad for all that, we'll still be there tomorrow."

"What about work? I know your stuff is more flexible, but does Rory have that much PTO to play around with?"

Jess closed his eyes and sighed to himself. Now was not the time to break that news, but he needed to find some way to get Luke off his case for the time being.

"It'll be fine, we'll work it out. I'll text you when we head out, okay?"

Jess managed to get off the phone call with Luke just as Rory emerged from the bathroom with dark water spots all over her clothes holding Ellie in a hooded towel as she kicked and giggled gleefully.

"Who was on the phone?" Rory asked as Jess followed her into Ellie's room for the bedtime routine.

"Uh, Luke," Jess said, pulling some pajamas out of Ellie's dresser.

"Luke?" Rory asked as she fasted Ellie's diaper despite the kicking legs and verbal protests coming from the toddler on the floor. "Why was Luke calling me?"

"I'll tell you in a minute, let's get Ellie set first." Jess traded spots with Rory and pulled a soft, purple pajama shirt over her head before wrangling her arms through the long sleeves and then wiggling her into a matching pair of pants. Ellie hated the process of getting dressed but loved the final result of being cozy and warm, so they'd set up a system where one did the diaper, the other did the clothes, and they did it as fast and smoothly as possible to reduce the amount of fussing and screaming that occurred.

"Jess."

Jess swung Ellie into the air as she giggled that delightful baby giggle. "Hand me her brush?" Jess asked, pointedly ignoring Rory's inquiries.

Rory huffed and rolled her eyes, grabbing the soft-bristled brush from the changing table and handed it to Jess who gently and precisely brushed Ellie's damp curls into some kind of order before they dried into a chaotic tangle.

"Her hair's getting so long," Rory mused wistfully.

Jess hummed in agreement, a soft smile crossing his face as he put away the brush and lowered her into the crib.

"Before we know it, she'll need a toddler bed."

"Hush, she's still too little for that," Rory pouted.

They got Ellie all tucked in and sleepy, reading her favorite stories to her before turning out the lights and quietly stepping out of the room. As soon as the door was shut, Rory pounced on Jess.

"Tell me why Luke called."

Jess set his mouth in a line and gestured Rory towards the couch where she went and sat down, though reluctantly and with a confused frown.

"Jess, you're making me nervous. What's going on?"

Jess sat down on the edge of the couch next to her and took a deep breath before speaking.

"They're fine, but Luke and Lorelai were in a car accident tonight," he said slowly, carefully.

Rory visibly paled, her entire body going cold as Jess's words washed over her. "What? What happened?"

Jess shook his head. "Luke didn't go into details. He's a little sore but otherwise fine."

"And Mom?" Rory asked, voice shaking and growing in urgency.

"Uh, minor concussion and broken arm."

"Oh my God…" Rory groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Jess ran a comforting hand up and down Rory's back. "I told Luke we'd be there as soon as we could tomorrow morning."

Rory nodded, not removing her hands.

"Hey, they're okay. K?"

"I know," Rory choked out, raising her head to reveal tears streaming down her face. The sight just about fractured Jess's heart in two. "God," Rory sobbed. "This sounds so selfish, but we really can't catch a break, can we?"

"Not selfish. We're dealing with a lot."

"Yeah, but it's not like we were injured."

"No, but your mom was hurt. You're allowed to be scared and be affected by that."

Rory nodded, rubbing at her face with the back of her hand. "Uh, so we should pack, right?"

Jess nodded.

"For how long?"

Jess shrugged. "It's not like we have to get back for work anytime soon."

Rory couldn't help but burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. And Jess couldn't help but join her.

They hastily threw together their bags and prepped for the trip, packing enough to stay in Stars Hollow for an indeterminate amount of time and cleaning out the fridge as much as possible so they wouldn't return to a smelly apartment full of rotten food before crawling into bed and sleeping restlessly. They got up with the sun to finish getting ready, feeling a strange sense of finality as they closed the door behind them despite knowing they were only going on vacation. The drive to Stars Hollow was silent for the most part – Ellie's favorite baby CD played quietly in the background while she babbled at things passing by outside, occasionally throwing in a "mama!" or "dada!" to which Rory and Jess would respond with vague acknowledgements. But they were both so deeply exhausted that the quiet was like a salve to their souls. This was more than just needing a day or two of rest before getting back on their feet; they were tired down to their bones. Honestly, a trip to Stars Hollow to spend time with family – despite the unfortunate circumstances – was a more than welcome respite.

Their tires crunched over the gravel driveway sometime between late morning and early afternoon and had to wake up a sleepy Ellie to extract her from her car seat before solemnly making their way up to the front porch. Rory didn't waste any time, opening the door and surging into the house, calling for her mother the second her foot was over the threshold. Jess followed slowly behind her with Ellie propped against his hip as she rubbed sleep from her eyes with her chubby fist, closing the door behind him and going in search of Luke.

Rory took the stairs two at a time when she heard her mother's voice coming from the master bedroom returning her calls as if in a game of Marco Polo. The door was open, revealing Lorelai sitting in bed in her sweats with the blankets crumpled around her, and Rory fumblingly toed off her shoes before launching herself onto the bed, carefully avoiding her mother's casted left arm.

"Mommy," Rory said, tucking herself into Lorelai's side. "Are you okay?" she asked, tilting her chin to look up at her mother from beneath the pile of their mixed strands of hair.

"Rory, I'm fine. Have I been making Luke wait on me hand and foot? Yes, but he knew what he was getting into when he married me."

"You brought out the bell?"

"Of course I brought out the bell. But seriously, you guys didn't have to come all this way for little old me."

"Mom, you got in a car accident, of course I'm going to come see you, no matter the seriousness of the injuries sustained," Rory said, sitting up on her knees.

"But what about work? You already had to take so much time off when Jess was sick."

Rory waved off her concern, shame and guilt sitting heavily in her stomach. "It'll be fine, Mom. You just focus on getting better, okay? And expect plenty of babying because I officially understand a little bit of how you felt when I broke my wrist in a car accident. Who was driving by the way? And what car was it? Do I need to yell at Luke for driving irresponsibly? Because I really can't see Luke driving irresponsibly, unless you were trying to be dirty, in which case don't give me any details because the insinuation alone is enough to cause nightmares for the rest of my life."

"No, nothing dirty," Lorelai laughed. "We were on our way home from running errands in Hartford when a freak rainstorm hit. The roads were slick, we hydroplaned, and the Jeep ran straight into a telephone pole."

"No, not the Jeep!" Rory exclaimed sadly. "What's the prognosis?"

"Doctor Gypsy is doing everything she can to save her, but it's not looking good," Lorelai said on a sad sigh. "It may be time to start looking for a new car."

Rory leaned back against the pillows and gently laid her head on her mother's shoulder. "The end of a vehicular era."

"You learned to drive in that car," Lorelai said wistfully.

"A deer hit me in that car. I wonder where he is today…"

"Probably mounted on a wall somewhere."

"Mom!" Rory shouted in offense, sitting up to glare at Lorelai.

Lorelai winced and put a hand to her head. "Gah, don't yell, remember Mommy has a concussion."

"Sorry," Rory grumbled, settling back against the pillows with her arms crossed.

The two sat in a contemplative silence for a while, listening to the muted sounds of Luke and Jess's voices from downstairs. Rory was beginning to wonder if her mother had fallen asleep when the shoulder that she was leaning on shifted and Lorelai was suddenly peering down into her eyes.

"Can I help you?" Rory giggled.

"When are you going to tell me about what's going on with work?"

Rory blanched. "What do you mean?" she asked, forcing her voice to stay as even as possible.

"Rory," Lorelai said softly. "Come on."

Rory let out a shaky breath and swallowed thickly. "I uh, I got laid off."

"Oh, hon…"

"They love me but couldn't afford to keep on an extra editor, they wish me well, all that crap," Rory said quietly.

"I'm so sorry, babe."

"And that's not all," Rory laughed bitterly.

Lorelai looked at her with a question in her eyes.

"Jess's work has been struggling for a bit with clients and stuff, and then they had a flood, and well… they had to close."

"Oh my God, Rory," Lorelai said, horror briefly flashing across her face as she sat up and turned to face Rory more head on. "So you're both…"

"Unemployed, jobless, out of work… yep. And please don't ask me what we're going to do, because we have no idea."

"How long ago did all this happen?"

"A couple weeks? We just… we didn't tell anyone because we're still kind of in shock, I guess."

Lorelai nodded understandably.

Rory forced a smile onto her face. "So, we're here as long as you need us or until you're sick of us."

Lorelai simply held out her good arm and Rory gratefully crawled into her mother's embrace, blinking rapidly to try and avoid completely falling apart for the fifth time that week.

Downstairs, Jess and Luke sat at the kitchen table, Luke bouncing Ellie on his lap while she giggled happily at her grandpa.

"So, uh, I'm glad you guys are okay," Jess said before taking a sip of tea. Luke had some scabbed over cuts on his face, presumably from the windshield, and moved with an extra degree of stiffness that made Jess's stomach twist a little, made a phantom pain arise from his own seatbelt derived bruises from years before.

Luke nodded. "You guys really didn't have to come all this way."

"Are you kidding? Rory would've walked all the way here if she had to," Jess said on a laugh. He was only partially kidding – Rory would have found any possible way to get to Stars Hollow to see her mom if they hadn't driven the very minute they could.

Luke chuckled breathily though his nose. "So how's life for you guys?"

Jess frowned and shrugged as nonchalantly as he could despite his insides coiling up in anxiety. He and Rory hadn't yet discussed how or when they were going to tell anyone about the current state of chaos their lives were in, and though he figured that Rory was probably going to want to tell her mom sooner rather than later, he didn't want to jump to conclusions and share anything to soon. Still, it was starting to eat him up inside, just keeping it between him and Rory. He felt lost and confused and afraid in a way he hadn't since he was a teenager, only now he had a girlfriend and a child to provide for.

"Jess?"

Jess startled at looked up at Luke. "Huh?"

"You kind of disappeared there for a second. You okay?" Luke asked, looking at Jess with a mixture of curiosity and a kind of parental concern that always made Jess feel a little bit naked.

"Rory and I lost our jobs," he blurted out in a gravelly voice. Huh, okay, guess it was out there now.

Luke's eyes went as wide as saucers. "Both of you?"

Jess nodded slowly as he fiddled nervously with his mug, spinning it on the tabletop just this side of haphazardly, making it slosh out a bit and create rings on the tablecloth. "We shut down the office one day and the next Rory came home with her cubicle all packed up in a little white box."

Luke leaned back in his chair with a slow exhale through pursed lips. He adjusted his grasp on Ellie a little and she suddenly became interested in the buttons on Luke's flannel. "Jeez, Jess… what are you guys… I mean…"

Jess let out a little derisive laugh. Wasn't that the question of the month?

"No idea. I mean, we obviously need jobs to survive, but we're still figuring out all the details."

"Meaning…" Luke urged.

"Meaning we need work, but we have zero leads," Jess sighed. "We've looked around a little, but no one's hiring."

"Well…" Luke said, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. "You guys are always welcome here."

"What do you mean?" Jess asked, knitting up his face in confusion.

"The apartment is already basically yours, you guys are the only ones that stay there. You always have a job at the diner if you need it," Luke said with a shrug.

Jess hemmed and hawed a little, wavering his head back and forth as he considered Luke's proposition. It was tempting, really, to just crawl home to the support and security he'd craved as long as he could remember. But the part of his brain that he labeled as more sensible and mature reminded him that he still had an apartment in New York and had loose ends to tie up there and things with Truncheon weren't really all that resolved, so it wasn't all that realistic to pick up his family and move them to Stars Hollow.

"I'll be honest Luke, as appealing as that sounds, we still have the apartment, and moving Ellie right now…"

Luke held out a hand in front of him in a kind of dismissive wave. "No problem, I just thought I'd put it out there."

"Thank you, Luke. Really," Jess said earnestly. "We'll be fine, figure something out. Just right now, it's…" Jess trailed off, mentally searching for the right word to finish his thought.

"Hard," Luke finished for him, summing it all up with one word.

"Yeah," Jess breathed. He turned his gaze from his mug towards Ellie who was slowly lifting the buttons on Luke's shirt towards her mouth and he gestured to Luke to stop her.

"Jeez, kid, gonna choke yourself on those…" Luke grumbled, prying open the vice of baby fingers surrounding the button. Ellie's face started to screw up and turn red, furious at her new favorite toy being so rudely taken from her, so Jess jumped in and swooped her off of Luke's lap and into the living room, making airplane noises the whole way and depositing her amidst an array of the toys they kept in Stars Hollow. Breathing a sigh of relief at the successful avoidance of a tantrum, Jess smacked a kiss to the top of Ellie's head then straightened up and turned around to find Luke watching him with a strangely fond look on his face.

"What's with that look on your face?" Jess asked, feeling a little uncomfortable with the amount of pride being sent in his direction.

"What look?" Luke asked with a scoff.

Jess gestured vaguely to Luke's face as he fell back onto the couch. "Your face was weird."

"Gee, thanks, Nephew," Luke said with a snort, the tickled smirk still present on his face as he turned to leave for the diner.

Jess zoned out and watched Ellie play contentedly for a while until Rory came down the stairs, her socked feet thumping mutedly down the steps.

"Hey," Jess greeted. "How's your mom?"

Rory moved sluggishly across the living room and plopped down on the couch next to Jess. When she got close enough, he noticed the pillow creases on her face and the bleary look in her eyes. Good, she needed the sleep.

"She's fine, for the most part. How's Luke?"

"Same," Jess said with a little nod.

Ellie toddled over and handed Rory a plastic cow from her Fisher Price barn before returning to her very important task of shoving the rest of the animals gracelessly into their stalls.

"Luke invited us to move into the apartment," Jess said quietly.

Rory turned to him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open. "Like… permanently?"

Jess gave a little shrug. "Maybe not forever, but until we can find work again."

Rory nodded, sitting back into the couch cushions and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt as she stared into space for a few moments. "What did you say?"

"I thanked him for the offer, but said no."

"Right…" Rory mumbled. "But… what if we said yes?"

Jess looked at Rory in surprise. "Really?"

"Maybe not right away, but, if by the time our lease is up in a couple months we don't have work yet…"

Jess took a moment to consider it. "It would probably be good to have a fallback plan."

"Yeah," Rory whispered. "You could work at the diner, I could find work somewhere, maybe at Andrew's or the inn. We could save some money and figure out our next steps."

"Okay," Jess nodded. "If, in two months, we don't have jobs, we move to Stars Hollow."

For the first time in weeks, the knots in their stomachs loosened a little.

A/N: Hey hi hello there! Sorry about that, didn't mean to upload a cliffhanger and then abandon you. Writing has been going SLOW lately, so uploads aren't going to be as regular as they've been in the past. But! I'm still writing! And will be posting as much as life allows! I love this story with my whole heart and could never and will never abandon it. Thank you for your patience and for staying around even with my unpredictable posting schedules :)