Time After Time - A Gilmore Girls Fanfic #1

Chapter 12

Jess kissed Rory like a man drawing breath after years of being underwater, she the air that filled his lungs. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her closer until her body was flush with his, but it wasn't nearly close enough. Rory kissed him back with the same desperate kind of need, her hands smoothing over his face before moving up, threading through his hair.

And then it was over as soon as it began.

Rory wrenched herself away, looking as torn as she had when she'd kissed him at Sookie's wedding almost half a lifetime ago. She stared at him with wide eyes, holding a hand up to her mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"Why the hell not?" he asked, struggling to catch his breath. "That was a damn good kiss. I could live in that kiss."

"Because..." She bit her lips together, her eyebrows furrowed, and said nothing for the longest, most maddening length of time.

Jess set his hands on his waist and tried to breathe through the ever-increasing frustration. His body still vibrated from the kiss even as his brain struggled to make sense of the situation. "Well?"

She blinked at him, her eyes deep pools of uncertainty. Finally, after what seemed like a million freaking years, she spoke. "Jess," she began, her voice wavering. "I'm... I'm..."

"What, Rory?" he exploded. He caught himself and took a steadying breath. In a less strained voice he said, "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I'm having a baby."

His entire body turned to stone. Those four words felt so final yet he knew they signaled the beginning of something more.

"I'm seven weeks along," she continued.

He wanted her to stop speaking, to stop driving that stake into his chest, but he had asked to hear the truth and couldn't very well turn away from it now. His eyes flicked down to her stomach but her thick sweater revealed nothing of the secret. Suddenly all of those oversized shirts she'd been wearing lately made perfect sense. "You're pregnant?" he asked, feeling short of breath.

"Yes," Rory whispered.

"Logan's?"

She nodded, looking as wretched as he felt.

Jess turned away, trying to absorb the information, but it all floated on the surface, refusing to sink.

"Say something, Jess," Rory said, taking a step toward him.

He stopped her with a look. "You couldn't have told me sooner?"

"I was scared."

"Of me?" he asked. "What did you think I'd do?"

"I thought you'd give me that look," she said, motioning to his face.

"What look?"

"That! Like I'm some sort of screw-up."

He sighed, trying to school his expression. But he'd never been very good at keeping his face from reflecting his emotions, especially when it came to her.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" she asked, swiping at the tears on her cheek. "You think I've made a mess of my life."

"Don't put words in my mouth," he bit out.

She threw her hands up. "Then say something. Tell me you're disappointed. Tell me you expected more from me. Tell me I don't live up to expectation."

He stared at her, finding it difficult to reconcile the girl he knew to this woman before him. He couldn't speak, and even if he could, he didn't know what to say. To keep from blurting out things he didn't mean—and plenty that he did—he ground his teeth and stalked off, yanking the curtain halfway off the rails as he passed by.