AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to every single one of you who reviewed "On a Quiet Night." Every one of them made me feel so wonderful. You have no CLUE how much they mean to me. I'm going to leave that story as it is, as I felt was right, and you all convinced me it was. The idea for this story just popped into my head, and I hope you like it. PLEEEEAAAASE review!

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The rain falls upon my roof, pouring down, down, down and making a splat! with every new drop. It sounds as if it's actually trying to anger me. The nerve of that god-forsaken rain: it is now taunting me. I can hear it laughing, I swear I can. Trying to remind myself that I was raised by a woman who could hear ten-thousand termites yell, "charge!" in the night, I turn over restlessly and try to bury my head into my pillow in order to block out the noise, sighing irritably when this proves to be unsuccessful.

There was a time in my life when I didn't mind rain so much. I tolerated it. Hell, there may have even been a time when I enjoyed it. There was nothing more comforting than curling up under the blankets with a good book and a steaming mug of strong coffee, the rain keeping a regular pitter- patter, pitter-patter on the roof above.

But now, it's going Bam! Bam! Bam bam bam! on the roof, and things are running through my mind that I've spent the last five years trying with no avail to forget.

Why doesn't something that I can control remind me of you? Something I could just put away, hide from my sight, and therefore never think of you again: out of sight, out of mind. And of course, other things do remind me of you. But naturally, naturally, the one thing that hammers the memories into me like no other is a natural weather occurrence that no one has any control over, except maybe God.

God, help me! Please? Like, create some new way to hydrate the earth without it actually raining. I know you can do it. C'mon, God!

Oh, I give up. I do every time, but each time it seems like such a travesty. Slowly and deliberately, I turn over, and surrender. Surrender to the rain, to the aching feeling inside me, and to all of the memories. Some are good, some are bad, and all are hard.

* * *

"I need to go now," I said, reluctantly pulling away from, if they ever did some official study on the matter, must be the world's best kisser.

"Ok," you reply, with a glint in your eye. I look at you suspiciously, and then climb to my feet. Just as I'm turning away to go to the door, you grab my arm and pull me down, smothering my squeals with your kisses. I can't help but give in for a moment, but then I push you away.

I stifle a giggle, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to take over my face. Me smiling in a situation like this was like this huge green light for you, saying, "You win! Now proceed to kiss Rory senseless yet again, so that she will never return home!" That's how you seem to take it, at least.

Sure enough, you're looking at me with that little boy look, unblinking, as if you're just counting down the minutes until I break down and you win.

"I'm leaving now," I say, getting up. "Wait!" You grab my arm. "Ten more minutes."

"Jess."

"Fine, five."

"I'm already late." This doesn't seem to persuade you, so I add, "And Luke's due for his half-hourly inspection any minute down. He'll really be on your back tomorrow if you make me late."

"And how on earth does he know that you're not up here, pinning me to the couch, kissing me with loads of passion, while I am struggling so hard to remind you that we never would want your dear, dear mother to worry."

I maintain my amusement at this, looking at him pointedly.

"You're right. Come on, let's get you home."

"Jess."

"Geez, what is it now?"

"Jess, it sounds like it's pouring outside."

"So?"

"So, your car's in the shop, Luke let Jackson borrow the truck, and I have no car. I'll just call mom to come get me."

"Rory. You astound me sometimes. Are you really afraid of getting a little wet? You aren't a witch, are you?"

"Well, now that you mention it."

"Come on, it'll be fun. I promise."

I cast a longing look towards the phone, and you roll your eyes, sighing.

"I'll let you wear my coat, okay?"

Before I can answer to this, you jump up, grab your coat from atop a chair, and help me into it. I love the way it makes me feel-small and secure. It smells just like you-oil and gasoline from your car, smoke, and just enough a hint of some unidentifiable sweet thing.

You open the door, and we make our way down the stairs together. When we get into the diner, Luke immediately sees us. I brace myself for the Jess- Luke badinage hour, which has become routine in these past couple of months.

"What the hell are you two going to do? It's raining out."

"Is it really? Well, golly geez."

"Jess."

"We thought we'd just go out for a little stroll. Or maybe, if the mood strikes us, we'll go singing in the rain. You know, try the whole Judy Garland bit?"

"Jess."

"Relax. I'm just going to walk Rory home."

"Why doesn't Lorelai come pick her up here?"

I intervene briefly here. "That's what I said."

Jess shoots me a death look, clearly saying Why Are You Not Helping Me?

"Jess, if Rory doesn't want to do this, then you are not doing this. Do you hear me?"

"Jesus, it's not like I'm forcing her to-"

"Luke, it's fine. I was-I was just kidding. It's really alright." I smile in what I hope is reassuringly. I must have failed, because I still manage to get a dirty look from Luke.

"Fine. Just go. Straight there, now. No doing-well, no doing anything else."

"You mean we can't even-"

"Jess, I am serious."

"Relax. It's under control."

"Oh, and that is so reassuring coming from you." He storms off, muttering about stupid kids, and suckers, and messes. Well, that's what it sounds like. Who knows what Luke thinks about? Besides thinking about my mom.

Jess waggles his eyebrows up and down, making me giggle. He reaches over and pulls up the hood of his jacket that I am wearing so that it covers my whole head. It's so big it droops over and covers my eyes.

"Ready?"

"I am so ready."

"Then, come on. What are you wasting time for?" He grabs my hand, opens the diner door, and pulls me outside into the showers with him. It's freezing, and the rain is coming down really hard, but I feel excited and full of adrenaline for some reason.

We sprint-or, run as fast as two people can who despise running and are holding hands on a wet, dark, slippery night-through the square. The hood on your jacket is so big that it already fell off, and the majority of my hair has slipped out from the elastic that was keeping it up and plastered itself to my face. You are-or look-soaked straight to the bone, as you have no coat. At the gazebo, you slow down, and we both pant for breath.

All of a sudden, I cannot stop laughing. Nothing is funny, and when I think about that, the whole situation just seems that much more hilarious. You stare at me, puzzled.

"What?" I can't stop laughing long enough to answer you.

"What the hell is so funny?"

I finally manage to get in between hiccupy-giggles; "I have no clue!"

You look at me for a moment, then burst out laughing yourself. I love seeing you laugh, and you don't do it nearly enough. I never thought that the two of us would be outside, the rain beating down on us in the middle of the square, laughing like two hyenas at nothing in particular. It sounds like something I would end up doing with my mother, but yet, I'm here with you.

After what seems like a decade of laughter, you pull me close, pressing your dripping forehead onto mine. I feel your strong fingers lace themselves around my tiny ones, and you kiss me just slightly.

"Hi," you say.

"Hi."

All of a sudden you start swaying slightly, putting my hands on your broad shoulders, and placing yours on my waist.

"Now, I know that neither one of us are quite up to the whole singing in the rain thing, but how do you feel about dancing?"

"Dancing in the rain? Rebelling against the great Garland tradition?"

"I do believe we are up to it. I am, according to Luke, James Dean. So I think I can handle the whole rebelling part."

"Yes, you can handle it. I, however, have no James Dean in me, and did not inherit neither my mother's nor my father's rebel gene. It must have skipped a generation. Also, I have had extremely bad experience with dancing in the past. So, oh well, too bad, I'll just have to sit over there in the gazebo and watch you dance." I attempt to break away from you, but you stop me.

"I don't think so, Mrs. Dean. You're with me now, which makes you a rebel as well."

Before I can further protest, you grab one of my hands and twirl me around clumsily, resulting in another laughing fit from me.

"See? I suck, too," you say.

"No, you don't."

"No?"

"No. You're perfect."

"No. You're the perfect one."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah."

"We're both perfect. Let's just say that."

Anyone just passing by or looking out a shop window would think we were crazy. Out in the square, probably close to midnight by now, in the hardest rain we've had here in a while, and if that wasn't enough, we were dancing on top of it all. Probably breaking at least a dozen town rules. Taylor would have an absolute fit if he saw us. My mom was probably worrying herself half to death about us, and Luke was most likely practicing his lecture for Jess when he gets back. That didn't matter, though. None of it did. We were just concentrating on that single moment. We were just happy there, dancing in the rain.

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I felt a smile play on my lips, as I always did, recalling that memory. Some are just happier to remember than others are, and that was one of them. Although happier, not happy. There are no happy memories left, as they all cause me so much pain to recall them.

Because we were perfect. Maybe not individually, but we were. We were absolutely perfect together.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Depending on how you guys respond to the first few chapters, I will continue to build on it. I thought I could do a few of these type chapters, memories and all, and later get up to her and Jess meeting again somehow. PLEASE send me reviews and ideas. They really make my year, and God knows I need them. Please with chocolate-covered espresso beans on top!! I love you guys.