Disclaimer: I just can't own anything! I'm too far away from hollywood!

A/N: I wrote this for a challenge almost a year ago, it got lost in my computer, and now I've come to its rescue to post it, enjoy!

To Include:

- a lost wallet

- "You don't know how lovely you are" (from Coldplay, it doesn't have to be spoken, it could be a thought)

- Lily

Not to Include:

- for either Rory or Jess to have kids

- a meeting in a bookstore

Rating: PG

Serendipity

He was stuck here, of all places, Hartford airport, he was going back to New York after visiting his dad, Sasha and Lily in California for the holidays. It was awkward, going there and spending a couple of weeks there every year. Especially with Lily, she is like a little sister to him now, very much like him when he was little evading reality with her nose in a book. Of course, now on his way home, he was stranded for more than 12 hours in this airport, and he couldn't help it, thinking about her.

It had been 5 years, but she was still fresh in his mind. He couldn't believe that everything related to this town, this area, or if he stopped lying to himself, everything in the whole word reminded him of her. She was in his blood, mind and soul. As the one who changed him, the one who make him love, the one… just and simply that, the one. The one for him, the one… whatever, he was done overanalyzing it… he needed to stop lying to himself, the one that got away.

Now, five years later, he stood in an airport close to her home town, because it was where his uncle lived he told himself. His uncle, Luke, her mom's boyfriend, soon to be husband, his informant. Luke was the link between them, Jess casually asked about her everytime they talked. Sometimes, there was no need to ask, the silence made Luke realise that he wanted to know, so he would tell him, she is good… graduating… she read your book and loved it… she is dating a Yale socialite, they broke up, or she just asked about you. That last one stopped his heart, and he started rethinking the possibility of popping up in her life again. He decided against it, it would be too painfull, to hard, on him, on her, on Lorelai, Luke even, or both of them. He'd failed them, all of them, and now he is a man, he made a man out of himself, this holdlum, this rebel, this young deliquent cliché. But now he didn't know how to come back, so he is just passing by.

He didn't remember why he had a stop at Hartford airport, the ticket was cheaper this way, he lies to himself before muttering under his breath, "you don't have any problem affording first class tickets, so no, that it not the real reason, she is."

You need this, to punish yourself for leaving her, or letting her go, or pushing her away, or what ever happened between you two. You are a glutton for punishment, for agony, to be close, but not there, to know about her, but not from her. You love to feel this complex and dual feeling of closeness and distance, love and hate, melancholy and numbness about her.

While he reflected his life in the middle of the awful airport bar, he saw her, or someone who resembled her. Then again, every woman he saw looked like her. Every brunnette had her hair, but were never her. Every pair of blue eyes could be hers, but are not. So it was with this woman, who looked like her, sitting there, reading a book, sipping a big cup of coffee…

Ok, it may be her, too many coincidences for not being her, but maybe his mind was playing tricks again on him, as usual.

Once, he got off the subway in the city way before his stop and arrived late to work all to follow a young brunette that looked just like her, but when he caught her he realized his mistake and made a fool of himself, no to mention scared the hell out of that tourist.

But this time, today, here, it may be, but now it is too late, because when he dared to look up again she was already gone. She had left something on the table, a brown, feminine leather wallet. He hurried up to her table, grabbed it and with fear and expectance opened it to find that his instinct had been right. Sitting there, at the Harfrod airport, for half hour, reading, two tables away from him was no other than Rory Gilmore.

He needed to sit down, he felt his legs shaking, and an opportunity slipping. No wait, arising! He looked in her wallet finding her phone number, her address, a picture of her. Pictures… and she looked beautiful, grown up, but still young and alive. He thought to himself "You don't know how lovely you are, Rory Gilmore" and then cursed himself for sounding like a ColdPlay song.

Inside her forgotten wallet was her boarding pass, to London. He knew she was a foreing correspondant to the Hartford Courant; he had subscribed to it just to read her pieces. She was on her way to London, maybe to cover some big international news; the boarding pass said she had a couple of hours to kill before she had to get on the plane.

So he quickly got up from her table, picked up his things, paid his drink, and with a new strength went inside the airport to look for her. What he didn't realise was that while he was going out of the bar, Rory was coming back to look for her wallet and got a glimpse of him leaving the bar. They played cat and mouse, looking for each other in the big airport. She stalked, like a cat to his pray, inspecting him, noticing all his moves, while she worked up the courage to talk to him.

Finally feeling defeated he sat on one of the chairs as she slowly approached to him, and quietly said to his ear,

-"Are you gonna give that back, or do I have to use Luke to get it back?"

He hadn't seen her approach, but he sensed her. He always could after they first met, he could always sense her eyes on him. As usual he decided to ignore her comment, he really didn't want to start a fight with her tonight...

-"So London, huh, so Harry got a new girl or the Queen a new set of China?" he said picking up her boarding pass. He was teasing her, he knew she wasn't a social writer, but he wanted to see they old banter back.

-"Actually…" she said picking up the cue, "William learned how to drive and we are doing a big piece out of it! How about you, Writing more about books? Do you really need to keep idolizing Hemingway, or are you past that phase?"

-"Never" he answered, "so are you reading anything good lately?"

They were off… for two hours, discussing books, music, Stars Hollows, Luke and Lorelai, all safe subjects until they heard her flight being called...

and now he was desparate he didn't want to let her go, and he sensed she didn't want to go, or not like this, he wanted to tell her, He loved her, he still does. So she got up, and he grabbed her hand and said:

- "Don't go, you can take a later plane, I still have a couple of hours left we can talk some more."

-"No, Jess, I'm sorry, but being able to talk books and music doesn't solve anything, maybe next time we can have the guts to open up. If destiny is in our side we'll get another chance."

With those words and a sad look on her eyes, she boarded her plane and left him, like he had done a couple of times in their tumultous past. When she was out of sight, he whispered,

-"Maybe, maybe at Luke and Lorelai's wedding, I hope..." and he got up and went back to the bar, to drown his sorrow in a beer, or two...