Note: Set after 'Teach Me Tonight'… Jess hasn't been sent to New York.

A Moment

"Mom, you can't avoid Luke for the rest of your life."

"I can sure try."

Rory Gilmore grumbled. "Mom, Luke supplies us with coffee. Without coffee, we can't survive. Avoiding Luke is like committing suicide."

"Well, bon voyage, oh daughter of mine."

"Come on, mom!"

"Rory, I'm not going into Luke's. You can go get me some coffee if you'd like, and then we'll drink it out here together before you leave for school, but I'm not going in there."

Rory grumbled again and pleaded through her eyes with her mother. "Do you remember how well that idea worked last time? One coffee, one danish. That's what I ended up with. Just come in with me and talk to Luke."

"Talking to Luke will do no good, Rory. I'm not going in there. I don't see us making up any time soon. We probably both just need time to calm down."

"If I go in there, will I get coffee?"

"Just show him the cast, and yes, you will."

"If I didn't have the cast, would I get coffee?"

"Well..."

"Mom! How bad was this fight anyway? Yelling, kicking, screaming, biting?"

"More like loud arguing and a little 'go to hell'."

"Are you kidding me? And all this over me?"

"No, hon, it wasn't over you. Well, not really. It was more over Jess than anything."

"Of course it was over Jess. I wish it hadn't been. This wasn't his fault."

"Rory..."

"Yeah, yeah, Jess was driving. He's to blame for the accident. Why don't you blame him for having to move here, and for having a messed up life, and oh hell, just blame him for 9/11 too."

"Rory, stop it. You know this accident would've never happened if Jess wasn't driving. I don't care how much this bothers you, I don't care how good of a person you believe Jess is, if someone else had been driving, this accident wouldn't have taken place. End of story."

"Fine, I'll stop arguing with you about it, but you're wrong. You'll never know the whole story because you weren't there."

"I'm glad I wasn't. You came out with a broken arm, and he liked you. I'd hate to think what I'd come away with."

"Oh, my God. You're making him sound a homicidal maniac or something. He didn't try to do this! He didn't wanna hit a little furry animal. You have to have some kind of compassion to risk yourself..."

"And my daughter..."

"Just to save a little animal." Rory finished with an eyeroll. She wasn't going to dignify her mother's reply with a response. She refused to see the truth because of her feelings about Jess. But, if she even tried to see the truth, she'd notice what a decent guy Jess really was. Sure, he had a huge attitude, and he didn't try hard at much, but he was very smart and a really good person once he got close to people. He wouldn't get close to Lorelai, though. He knew that she hated him.

"Okay, I'm officially changing the subject. We're not going to cause a big scene over this."

"Why? We already did at Grandma's party."

"Yes, and that was just so much fun. Unfortunately, though, this scene would cause much more damage."

Rory shot her mother a confused look. "Mom...?"

Lorelai nodded her head forward and mouthed, 'Dean's coming'. Rory gave her a knowing look and slowly turned towards her boyfriend. "Hey, Dean."

"Rory, Lorelai, hey!" A little overly excited Dean smiled. He kissed Rory lightly and nodded towards Lorelai. "So, coffee, Luke's?"

"Mom won't come in." Rory grumbled.

Playing dumb, Dean looked from the younger Gilmore to the elder. "Why not?"

"We had a thing." Lorelai shrugged. "A thinglet. No big deal, but I'm not going in."

Rory groaned yet again and pushed her backpack strap back on her shoulder. "Fine, I'm going to get coffee, then I'm going to school. You can just stand out here and pray that the coffee smell alone will fill you up. Have fun at work." She turned to Dean and offered a small smile. "Bye."

"Rory, wait," Before she could walk away, Dean grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, placing a small kiss on her lips. Rory forced a smile on her face and walked away.

Dean looked mildly disappointed, but he faked happiness as he turned back to Lorelai. "So, I guess I should be getting to school too. Are you gonna be alright here?"

Lorelai nodded as she took another whiff of the coffee smell coming from Luke's. "I'm fine," She assured Dean as she shooed him away. He smiled and left. Lorelai took one more look at Luke's, grumbled, and then turned around. "I'm just peachy keen."

Rory took a sip of her coffee and focused her gaze on the book in front of her. The Fountainhead was a book she'd read numerous times before, but it just seemed fitting at the moment. In a way, it reminded her of Jess, though even after reading it, he still couldn't stand Ayn Rand. Thinking about their conversation on the bridge the day of the picnic always brought a smile to her face, and the book helped keep that smile there.

Dean never read The Fountainhead. He scoffed at the idea when Rory asked if he'd ever read it. "No way!" He'd exclaimed. He wasn't too big on reading. That wasn't to call him stupid, but he never understood her love for books. No one did. Except Jess. He was the only person in her life, besides Paris or her grandfather, that she could even consider mentioning books to. Her mother didn't understand her love either.

The car accident had happened a little over a week ago. Probably ten days or so. Rory still hadn't gotten to talk to Jess. The last time she remembered seeing him was the night of the accident, when he was checking to see if she was all right before calling 911. He left shortly after, probably too afraid of Lorelai to stick around. It was understandable, especially given Lorelai's tendency to hit people when she was tense or upset. He made a smart move.

No one could believe that the accident had been Rory's doing as much as it was Jess's. Luke knew, but he wouldn't say anything about it to anyone. Jess knew, but he was gone. And Rory knew, but no one listened when she told them time and time again that if they were going to blame Jess, they had to blame her too. She'd told him to keep driving past Luke's. She could've made him go back, and then they'd never be in this mess. But she couldn't tell them. She just wasn't ready to admit everything to them. She couldn't explain that she'd just wanted more time to be with Jess. She liked talking to him. She liked not talking to him. The idea that two people, a male and a female, could just sit in a comfortable silence for long periods of time was unknown to Rory before Jess. With Dean, he always wanted to talk, or kiss, or something. Even during movies, he couldn't go the full hour and a half without talking. Whenever there was silence, it was never comfortable, and he always believed that something had to be wrong. It was quite frustrating for Rory.

The bus came to a stop right as Rory finished up Part I. Holding the book under her left armpit, she used her right arm to slide her backpack on, finally realizing why it was necessary to have two working arms. Why couldn't she have broken a leg or something less valuable? Shaking her head and taking the book into her right hand, she exited the bus and quickly made her way into Chilton.

She walked quickly past a few people she knew. Rory was in no mood to play nice with all of her peers. Her arm was achy, she was tired, and she missed him. She just wanted to go back to bed. Or rewind time ten days.

"Hey, Rory." Rory turned slowly, giving a friendly smile to Madeline and Louise.

"Hi, guys."

"How's the arm feeling?" Madeline questioned, eyeing the blue cast closely.

"It's okay, no big deal really."

Louise nodded. "It must suck to have it on, though. Applying makeup is so hard if you don't have two hands."

Rory nodded and forced a smile on her face again. "True, true. That's why I've mastered the art of using my toes to put on my makeup. Good thing my mother sent me to those learn-to-apply-makeup-with-your-feet classes when I was 12. She's my hero." Shutting her locker with her casted arm, Rory balanced The Fountainhead, a binder, and two textbooks in her right arm. She just prayed she could make it down the stairs without everything flying everywhere.

Thankfully she did, and as soon as she made it to class, she dropped her books onto her desk and plopped down into the seat, letting out an exasperated sigh as she tried to organize everything. The bell rang to start class and Rory tried to keep her mind on Othello for forty minutes.

Two hours and three dropped books later, Rory had promised to never break another bone as long as she lived. It was the most frustrating thing in the world. To rely on two arms for seventeen years and then suddenly only have one drove her crazy. And it was only 10:30. Thankfully, she had lunch in another half-hour. Maybe she could take a nap then. As she turned to go to class, she heard a ringing from inside her locker. Glancing down the hallway to make sure no one else had heard it, she entered the combination into her locker and reopened it.

She pulled her pager out and looked at the number. It couldn't be. But it was. It had to be.

Rory scanned the hallways once again until she was sure no one was coming. She dropped her pager into her backpack, pulled her coat of the locker, and slowly walked away.

Rory had never skipped school before. It was quite the exhilarating feeling. Well, once she realized that she wasn't going to have that heart attack she'd feared was coming as she walked away from school grounds. When she knew she was safe, all was good. She caught a bus and headed back home. She knew Lorelai would be at work, so there was nothing to worry about.

As the bus stopped in Stars Hollow, Rory stood and stepped onto the sidewalk, praying that she could get to her destination without being caught by anyone who would tell her mother that she'd been home at 11 o'clock in the morning. So, she had to make sure that the whole town didn't see her. She ran from the bus stop to the bridge, praying that no one would see a tall brunette with a blue plaid skirt, yellow backpack, and huge cast. Yeah, she wasn't noticeable at all.

As soon as she approached the bridge, she saw him. She could feel a smile form on her face. Her heart started to pound and she stopped running. She needed to play it cool. She walked slowly and quietly down the bridge to where he was sitting. She sat beside him and took off her backpack. She let her feet dangle over the bridge as she focused on her shoes.

"Hi." She whispered, not sure if he could even hear her. He did.

"Hey." He responded, pulling his hand out of his jacket pocket to reveal that he was holding a cigarette. He spun it around in between his fingers, eyeing it like he'd never seen a cigarette before. He put it back in his pocket and turned his head slightly, noticing her school uniform. "Half day?"

Rory looked confused, but when she saw him eyeing her outfit, she shook her head. "I, uhm... I skipped school."

"Wow, you're a rebel." Normally, Rory would respond with something sarcastic, but at the moment the only sound she could make was a small chuckle, which in turn caused him to smile.

They sat in silence for a few more moments until Rory finally had to speak. "Are you back for good?"

"That's not up to me."

"Who is it up to? Your mom? Luke? Taylor?"

"Nope."

"Who then?"

"Well," He turned his head and eyed her carefully, smiling when she met his eyes. He lowered his voice a notch and answered, "You."

"Me what?"

"It's up to you."

"You staying is up to me?"

"Yeah." He turned his head and focused on something in the distance.

"Jess, look at me. Why is it up to me?"

Jess smiled. "Do you hate me?"

"No, of course not."

"Does your mom?"

"No," she sighed. "Well, yes, she does."

"Does Luke?"

"No, he knows you didn't do this." She motioned to her arm.

"So, you and Luke are the only ones in town who don't hate me. Is that reason enough to stay?"

"I don't know, is it?"

"Rory..."

"Jess, what do you want me to say?" Rory stood as she started pacing back and forth. Jess also stood as he watched her intensely. "For over a week, I've been trying to convince everyone in this town that you're not a horrible, evil, screwed up kid. I've been trying to tell them that the accident was as much my fault as it was yours. I've fought with my mother numerous times; one of the fights actually being at this big fancy party my grandmother threw for my grandfather's new job. I've had to go from coffee place to coffee place because my mother refuses to make up with Luke because she's sure you're the Devil that she won't apologize for screaming at him after the accident. I have a broken arm, I've had to answer a million questions, and I had to write Dean a letter to tell him about everything because I couldn't explain it verbally. I've been so confused for ten days, and I had no idea what to do. The accident wasn't your fault; I told you to keep driving, as a matter of fact, I told you to drive in the first place. I agreed to tutoring you, which started this whole thing. No matter what, I helped all of this along. I caused fights between me and my mother, my mother and my grandmother, and me and my boyfriend. I've treated Dean like crap all because I refused to admit the truth. And do you wanna know what that truth is?"

Jess watched Rory carefully as she tried to catch her breath before continuing. "What's the truth?"

"The truth is... I like you. I have for a while. My mother noticed it, but I wouldn't listen --"

Before she could finish her sentence, Jess pulled her to him and pressed his lips against hers. Rory smiled into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing deeper and deeper. Jess forced his tongue into her mouth and tangled it up with hers. Rory obliged and pulled Jess's body as close to hers as she could get. A few moments later, they both pulled away, breathless.

"Rory, I..."

Rory's wide blue eyes slowly began to blink again. "Jess." Rory spoke his name as though that was the only necessary response to what had just happened. He looked guilty, as though she was mad at him or something. Rory shook her head and stepped closer to him. She smiled and pressed her lips to his in another kiss, this one just a small peck.

A wide grin on his face, Jess locked his eyes on Rory's. "So?"

"So?" Rory replied in the same tone. Looking down, she took her right hand and reached out for his left. She intertwined their fingers and held their hands to her heart. "So what?"

"So, what about everyone? What about your mom? And Luke? What about Dean?"

"Forget about them right now. We'll worry about all of that later."

Jess nodded and used his right arm to pulled Rory to him again. He pulled her close enough so that their intertwined hands touched both their hearts. He pressed another kiss to her lips, then hugged her tightly. Rory leaned against his chest and let out a content sigh as she looked out onto the lake. There would be ramifications for this, but so what? They were happy, even if it was just for a moment.

So... I haven't updated any of my stories in a long time, but I'm totally on a Gilmore Girls kick right now, so I'd love for everyone to give me their opinions on this. I actually wrote this a while ago... after watching the "Teach Me Tonight" episode on ABC family. So here it is. Hope you like it!