FIVE

The next few days were almost blissful, Rory mostly stayed in the house, writing, and Jess was mostly at the diner, working, but the hours between work and sleep were an impenetrable bubble. They ate, they read, they watched, they kissed. They waited, waited for the end to come because as soon as the whirlwind that is Lorelai Gilmore came back to Stars Hollow, it would be over. For a while at least.

When Rory wasn't writing, she was getting things ready. It only took a few days to round up all the loose ends, all except one. She'd told Taylor she was quitting the paper on Friday so that it wouldn't be discussed at a town meeting she would be present for. She'd moved the few things that had actually been moved out of boxes back into them and into the back of Jess's car, now glad that she had never really bothered to unpack, glad that the voice that had said I'm not back had actually been right.

Somehow, she had to tell her mom. Tell her mother, who had just learned that she was going to be a grandmother, that she was leaving again, moving to New York without so much as a dollar to her name.

"Hey," Jess sat down on the coffee table across from Rory. "You ready for tonight?" He lightly knocked a fist against her knee and then started tracing a design against the spot.

Rory gave a small smile and moved the mug in her hand from one to the other. Decaf coffee was horrible and all of it should immediately be burned, but Jess had gone to the effort of bringing her some and even making it this morning. Either way, it was still horrible. Just having to finish this cup of decaf might be enough to put her off it for the next seven months.

"It's that bad?"

"No, it's-"

"You hate it."

"It's the worst thing I've ever had." She looked up at Jess, leaned forward to be a little closer to him. "It won't be easy. She's going to be really upset and hurt, but it has to happen. She and everyone else in this town still think you're a no-good miscreant."

"I am a no-good miscreant," Jess said, stilling his hand and laying it over hers, "just look at how my presence has made you decide to up and move away from your mother. She'll find a way to blame it on me, just wait." He reached up one of his hands and traced her jawline from her ear to her chin when he tilted it up towards him. "I've got to go to the diner. Luke's gonna stop by there first, so you should have your mom to yourself for a bit if that makes it easier."

She nodded as much as she could and leaned forward to kiss him. "It does, thank you. See you tonight." Jess pulled her back for another kiss and then took off to the diner.

"Mom, I'm going to New York. No. Mom, I was . . . doing a lot of thinking while you were gone, and I really want to start over . . . on my own. No, that's horrible too. I could start by explaining the situation with the Gazette and how Jess—no, no that's a bad idea. I shouldn't start with Jess. So, I was thinking that I wanted to raise a child in a place that wasn't toxic for the brain and filled with small town 'Kill the Beast!' mentality," Rory sunk to a chair with a sigh. "I can't do this."

With a glance up and through the window, she saw Luke and her mother walking towards the house.

"Shit," Rory ducked and ran as quickly as she could through to the kitchen. "They're home early." She opened the back door before she heard the front door open followed immediately by calls of her name. The front door closed, and Rory quietly closed the door behind her and ducked towards the back of the house to the diner.

Tk transitional scene about Rory walking to and into the diner

"Jess, Jess, they're home, they're here. Mom and Luke, they're back, they're early. I can't take them on alone when they're together." Jess turned from putting the coffee pot back on the burner. Rory ran around the counter, breathing heavily; Jess put his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. "Mom and Luke walked into the house when I was trying to figure out what to say to Mom, and I got out before they could see me but they're there together and I can't do it alone."

He shook his head, shouted to Caesar in the back, and started walking towards the door, nodding for Rory to follow him. As soon as they were out the door, Jess swung his arm around Rory's shoulder, and she leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"So how are we gonna do this?"

Her head lifted off his shoulder, "I don't think we'll have to," and she pointed across the street towards the high school, where Luke and Lorelai were walking—now stopped—hand in hand. Jess's head dropped and then rolled back up, "C'mon, it would've happened eventually."

"Yeah, I just didn't want it to happen like this." Jess leaned to peck her temple then unwrapped his arm from around Rory, stuffing both into his pockets. "Let the games begin."

Rory kept her gaze on her feet until the last moment, when they stopped walking, and yep, there it is. The disappointment, the shame, the judgement: the withering stare of Lorelai Gilmore. Most of it wasn't even directed at her; most of it was directed at Jess.

"How dare you. You found the weak antelope of the pack and when it was alone and fragile, you attacked. You attacked the baby antelope," Lorelai started shouting at Jess, "what kind of person attacks the baby antelope?"

"I am not a baby antelope," Rory tried to interject, but Lorelai continued to talk over her.

"Lorelai, please," Luke tried to calm her as well, but the cries of the wounded could not be overtaken.

"How are you so calm about this?" she rounded on Luke.

Tired of how her mother was acting, she just shouted, "Stop!" Lorelai quit talking and turned to her daughter with a broken gaze. "Please, just stop. This was no one's decision but mine. I couldn't stand the idea of staying and working at the Gazette until I die like Bernie. I can't be Bernie. There's so much more to do and see and . . . and I want every possibility for my child. I can't do that in a fishbowl."

Lorelai let out a breath and took her daughter's hands, tears welling up in her eyes. "So where are you gonna go?"

"New York. I talked Taylor into back-paying me for all the time I was working at the Gazette, so I'll have some savings. It's not far, so I can visit or you can visit," she squeezed her mom's hands, "This isn't the end, Mom. This is just right for right now. It just . . . it fits." She was pulled into her mother's embrace.

I love you.

I love you too.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed. This one's a little bit shorter, and it's been a while since I've posted. I'm halfway through finals, and I'm completely and utterly drained. See you after Tuesday.

Talk to you soon!

x Star