CHAPTER TITLE: Picking Up Where You Left Off

SUMMARY: Jess took a deep breath and glanced down at the letter. He knew he wouldn't be able to ignore it forever. He sighed again and started to read.

DISCLAIMER: No rant this time, I just own none of this. I just watch, read and write about it.

Sorry it took me so long to update everyone. High school teachers have decided to all give homework every day in every class the past few weeks, plus I've been sick AND FanFiction decided not to let me upload for a few weeks. So, here's the second chapter…enjoy.

end of the beginning, spikeslave, atram, OrangePunk, satelliteblues21, Megzzz05, Kaypgirl, jakeepsteinsguh – Thanks for reviewing!

dlsnotes - Here's your answer to what he does after the letters

GilmoreObsessedMe - Thanks; sorry it took me so long to update

Sagebeth - Well, now you get more letters, sorry it took so long.

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tm7 - Your begging worked...enjoy the next chapter!

PICKING UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF

Jess woke up the next morning with feelings of guilt, sadness, happiness, and confusion in his gut. Those letters had gotten him thinking and he hadn't slept well. Every time he started to fall asleep, a memory from a note came into his head, jolting him awake again.

As he had been with the first half of letters, he wanted to continue reading, but on the other hand, didn't. If that makes sense, that's what he felt like. He poured a cup of coffee, trying to figure out what he was going to do. He pondered the matter for a little while and then came to a conclusion.

"I have to read the rest," Jess said to himself. He knew that if he didn't, his mind would go haywire imagining what the other half of the letters contained. He wouldn't feel right until he did.

He refilled his mug and sat down on the couch after grabbing the letters off of the kitchen table. Again, he took a deep breath and began to read more about Rory's life.

----

September 21, 2004

Dear Jess,

Sorry I haven't written all summer. I had to look back at my last letter to see what I hadn't told you yet. I'll try to pick up where I left off.

My grandmother informed Mom and me that she and Grandpa are separated. She then told us that he would be moving into the pool house. I couldn't believe it! So, they were separated by the pool!

I can't remember if I told you this or not, but Mom and I are not speaking. We haven't really talked since the Dean incident.

I am in Europe right now, but am coming home in a week or so. I came with my grandmother to get away from Mom and the prying eyes of Stars Hollow. Please don't judge me too harshly when you read this.

Missing you,

Love,

Rory

----

Jess hadn't heard this part of the story and was shocked when he read it. The two younger Gilmore Girls weren't speaking? That idea seemed foreign to him. Those two talked a lot. To each other, to themselves, to anyone in the surrounding area, or whatever. And Rory went to Europe again? With her grandmother? The only part he could understand was that she wanted to get out from under the watchful eye of Stars Hollow. There are no secrets there.

----

September 28, 2004

Dear Jess,

I just got back from Europe and was assaulted by Lindsay and her mom. Hold on; let me backtrack for a second.

While in Europe, my mom and I made up. Then, I decided to try and fix things between Dean and me by writing a letter telling him how I didn't regret that night, but that since he was married, I was going to take myself out of the mix. I thought it was a good idea, until I found out that Lindsay had found it in Dean's jacket.

Now, back to the assault. Lindsay's mother yelled at me, saying how I had ruined a marriage and how could I have gone after her daughter's husband; there were other guys in the world and so on. It was horrible and very public, since this happened in the town square.

Okay, now for happier news. Luke and Mom are together! I didn't get the whole story, but Luke kissed Mom at the Inn's test run and boom! They're together! I am so happy for her. She was upset for awhile, because Luke had to go help your mom and TJ at the Renaissance Faire. I think they were in an accident and each broke an arm and a leg, so Luke went to help them. FOR SEVEN WEEKS! Mom was dying here at home, not seeing him.

That's it for now.

Missing you,

Love,

Rory

----

Jess wasn't as surprised by this letter. He winced, imagining the confrontation between Lindsay, Rory and their mothers. But, that feeling was gone hearing about how happy Rory was about Lorelai and Luke together. He knew some of that story, but not a lot of details. He was out of the loop on that one.

----

October 5, 2004

Dear Jess,

A lot has happened this week, but none of it to me. Let's start with my mother.

I almost don't know where to begin with her. I think that I should start with the story of their first date. It seemed great, starting with Luke taking Mom to 'his Luke's' (Mom's words, not mine), a place called Sniffy's Tavern. He goes there two or three times a week. So, since Mom goes to Luke's often, she dubbed Sniffy's, Luke's Luke's. She needs help. I'm gonna skip a lot of this, but in the middle, Mom asked Luke if he remembered the first time they met. He retold the entire story, not leaving out any details, and when he finished telling it, he pulled out a horoscope that Mom had given him that day, seven years ago. Mom had told him that if he kept it in his wallet, that it would bring him luck. Apparently, he followed her instructions. Mom was struck silent with shock. (Try saying that five times fast.) And, to make a long(er) story short(er) they ended up (cough, cough) in bed. The next morning, Mom woke up, wanted coffee, put on one of Luke's flannel shirts and went downstairs to get coffee, not knowing that the diner was open. Can you say disaster?

Then at the town meeting the next night, Taylor led a group discussion, complete with charts and graphs, on whether or not they could allow the relationship. According to Mom, Luke got all defensive and told them all to leave them alone. Again, GO LUKE!

Paris's boyfriend, Professor Flemming, passed away while they were in Oxford. She had a wake for him in our dorm, and I spent most of the evening trying to get people not to call Professor Flemming 'the old dead dude'. Paris, being Paris didn't notice this. I'm eternally thankful.

I just realized that this is a very long letter. Oh well, maybe next week, nothing will happen so you will get a short letter.

Missing you,

Love,
Rory

----

Jess read the paragraph about Luke and Lorelai and rolled his eyes. He knew that he had said that he wanted details, but good grief! She didn't have to add the 'morning after' part! Or the 'ended up' part! But, since this is a semi-diary, then maybe details were understandable. Just to follow her instructions, he did try to say 'struck silent with shock' and found that as usual, she was right and he could only do three before messing up the words. He could practically hear her telling him this story and actually coughing where it said she was in the letter. Jess had to laugh though, at the town meeting information. The stuff about Paris and her boyfriend was slightly amusing, and he could picture Paris just oblivious to everything going on around him. He chuckled to himself at Rory's worried closing. Rory could never write too long of a letter.

----

October 12, 2004

Dear Jess,

As I figured, it was an uneventful week. The main thing that happened was that Jackson ran against Taylor for town selectman. And won! Nobody has ever run against Taylor. It hadn't even been considered until Taylor made Jackson unbelievably mad about some nitpicky detail.

Other than that, the only thing I did was see Dean.

Missing you,

Love,
Rory

----

Jess smiled at the size difference between the two letters. The other one was practically a short novel, and this one would've fit on a postcard. He hoped the next one would balance out the two.

----

October 19, 2004

Dear Jess,

Some very odd things have happened this week. First off, Grandma got a panic room. Yes, like Jodie Foster. It was hilarious, because I walked inside their house and was greeted by Mom calling out, "I know how to protect you from shrapnel and Agent Orange; ask me how!" She sounded like a really bad infomercial.

The other weird thing was that Dean and I went on a double date. With Mom and Luke. It was doomed from the start. For some reason, Luke and Dean don't like each other and both guys were sullen the whole evening. We had to pull out the Bop-it for goodness sakes!

Missing you,

Love,

Rory

----

"Rory's doing it again," he sighed after reading the answer to his unasked question as the third sentence. How did she know that he was going to say 'Like Jodie Foster?' Jess smiled after reading about the dating disaster. He liked that Luke and Dean didn't get along and was surprised to find that he understood the whole Bop-it thing. Amazing woman.

----

October 26, 2004

Dear Jess,

Another week, another letter. This one might be a little short.

I got a great story for the Yale Daily News! It's on this secret society here at Yale. It's called the Life and Death Brigade. I got a contact inside, deep inside. It's Logan Huntzberger. You know, Mitchum Huntzberger (the newspaper magnate)? Well, Logan is his son.

Sookie is pregnant. Again. She found out when she overreacted about lunch at the Dragonfly being canceled. She blew up at Norman Mailer. I so wish I had been there.

Missing you,

Love,

Rory

----

Jess couldn't believe it. She does another story, and not only does she get a contact deep inside for the story, but she gets someone deep inside the newspaper business. Jess wished that he had been there for the blow up also, but also wanted to meet Norman Mailer.

----

November 2, 2004

Dear Jess,

Okay. I did my research for the Life and Death Brigade and it didn't quite turn out the way I had figured. While, yes, I did get some great information, I also attended one of their big events. There was a safari themed party, tents with actual beds and sinks in them, and a giant stunt. There were people getting shot by darts, tuxes and ball gowns, and a giant stunt. I can't get off the stunt.

Here's the part that you won't believe. I participated in the stunt. We jumped off of an eight story platform and landed on the ground, with our only support being a cable running to the top of the platform. And, I did it all in a full out, sky blue, evening gown.

My news seems like nothing compared to the stuff your poor uncle had to go through. He had to meet Mom's parents. Ugh, one evening a week is bad with the Gilmores, but he had to have dinner with Grandma one night, and then a few days later, had to go golfing with Grandpa! Luke doesn't even know how to golf!

Poor guy.

Missing you,

Love,

Rory

----

Jess couldn't stop laughing after this letter. The image of Luke playing golf with Rory's grandfather was too hilarious. And then, Lorelai, Luke and Emily all eating dinner? Jess forgot about Rory's stunt until he reread the note. He didn't believe it, but at the same time, couldn't get the picture of Rory in the evening gown out of his head. He wished that he was Logan right then.

----

November 9, 2004

Dear Jess,

Well, another week has come to a close. My life is coming to an end. And, yes, I know that I am being overly dramatic, but that is how I feel right now. My news is bigger than my mom's, so I'll tell you hers first.

Mom found out that while Luke cooks great food at the diner, he is also practically a gourmet chef! So, Luke made Mom a fantastic meal, and who interrupts? TJ and your mother! They had fought about something, and TJ busted into the meal, killing the mood, and Liz had to come get him later, but he refused to leave. Mom was cracking up in between telling me tidbits of the story and kept talking about her own cheesecake, whatever that means.

Now, onto my news. This will be brief, because I really don't want to talk about it.

Dean and I broke up. I know what you are thinking. You are thinking 'Again? What did she expect? He was married!'

Well, you are right. I don't know what I was thinking. The worst part was that he broke up with me at a party my grandmother threw me. It was like a mating ritual, Jess! I was the only girl under twenty! It was me and a bunch of Yale guys and their families! A bunch of guys I knew led me to the pool house to form a sub party. It was fun, until I went to meet Dean. He saw me come out of the pool house with all of them, and talked about how he didn't belong there anymore. And dumped me in front of all those guys!

I can't write anymore. Too upset.

REALLY missing you,

Love,
Rory

----

Jess sighed, not only because he felt bad for Rory, and not only because he missed her, but also because he was right. He knew that the Rory and Dean relationship (for the third time, he thought) wouldn't work. He was glad they were over, but had an uneasy feeling that Logan would be stepping up very soon.

----

November 16, 2004

Dear Jess,

Not an eventful week. One thing that bugged me though was the fact that my grandmother wants to date! Not something you want to hear! Mom and I split up, to try to get Grandma and Grandpa back together, and Grandma told Mom that she wanted to date! The very IDEA creeps me out.

Mom, Dad, Gigi (his daughter with Sherry) and I had a lunch. It was horrible. I was so mad at Dad. I had told him to stay away from Mom, but he didn't listen! I couldn't believe him.

Nothing else to report.

Missing you,

Love,
Rory

----

Jess laughed. He wouldn't want to know if his grandmother decided to date either! He wasn't too surprised to hear about Chris. He had heard from Luke that the guy wasn't the greatest person in the world and had a bad habit of showing up at some of the worst times possible. He hoped that Chris wouldn't be stirring up anything between Luke and Lorelai.

----

November 30, 2004

Dear Jess,

Okay, this one might be a bit long. A lot has happened.

First off, did you know about Luke's dark day? Apparently, every year, on November 30, he disappears. We found out today that it is the anniversary of his father's death. It was sad, because not only was it his dark day, but on top of things, he and my mom got into a fight with something having to do with Thighmasters and boats. They're okay now, thank goodness.

On to my week. It certainly has been interesting. It started out uneventful, but then I got a call from our headmaster at Chilton, and it turned out that he wanted me to host a future Yalie. Of course, I was flattered and said yes, but when the girl, Anna, came, everything turned into a disaster.

It started okay, with me giving her a tour of the grounds, but the fun ended when we ran into Logan in the library, although what he was doing there makes me wonder. He pressured me into taking Anna to the pub and I took her and it was all fine until the next day. I was in a six week long class, with only one class a week, and Logan made me miss one. He and some friends played a prank on me involving them fighting over me, saying that I was sleeping with them, and one of their other friends being security when they actually started physically fighting.

Butt-faced miscreant. Sorry, that's what I called him, along with some other things.

Patty had an anniversary party. Now, before you ask 'What husband?' let me explain something. This was an anniversary party commemorating forty years of Patty being in the show business. Don't laugh. You know what this town will do for a celebration.

Oh, and Paris and Doyle, my editor at the Daily News, are together. I don't want to share how I found out and should probably stop writing before this turns into a novel.

Missing you,

Love,

Rory

----

Jess was amazed on how much she could write. Her hand must cramp up eventually. He could almost hear her ranting as he read some of her letters. He was still shocked at how well she still knew him. She answered his questions before he could ask them. It was so weird; it was like he was a part of her.

----

January 25, 2005

Dear Jess,

As usual, sorry for not writing over the holidays. Just now have things started to pick up. Some good, some bad.

First off, the bad. Dad's dad, Straub, died. Mom and I went over to comfort him and while Dad and I had milk and cookies (don't laugh, by the way), when Mom went over, they had tequila. Mom was so hung-over the next day that my speaking got to her. She hid it from Luke though, so I hope they will be okay.

Better news. Grandma and Grandpa found a Jack Russell Terrier outside and taking care of it brought them closer together. Maybe they will actually get back together!

It seems that snow and Lorelai are over. Mom had some bad encounters with snow lately, from no guests at the Inn, to her car being snowed in, and proclaimed them over. Luke fixed things though, by building her an ice rink.

The annual war reenactment took place and it involved Kirk in a dress. It's a long story, and I would rather tell you in person, or at least on the phone. So, if you and I ever talk on the phone again, be sure to ask me about it.

Missing you,

Love,

Rory

----

Jess knew that Emily and Richard would be back together soon, and that something confusing was going to happen to Rory or one of her friends. The first was a fact; the other was a suspicion. Both were confirmed as he read the next letter.

----

February 1, 2005

Dear Jess,

Light week, but two major things happened. The first one happened to my grandparents. They are back together! They are going to renew their wedding vows on their fortieth anniversary to make it official.

Bad thing did happen however. It happened to Lane. Her mom told her to come to the celebration of the Lunar New Year at her house, and she brought the whole band. Mama Kim ended up bonding with Zach, and Lane felt out of place. I felt kinda bad for her.

Missing you,

Love,
Rory

----

Jess sighed. He was right. Grandparents back together? Check. Confused friend? Check. All systems were go. Now he was curious to see what would happen in the next letter.

----

February 8, 2005

Dear Jess,

So much to tell you and it all has to do with one night!

Well, it all revolves around the vow renewal. It started out great, the ceremony was beautiful, I was the best man (Stop laughing) and Mom was the maid of honor. Then, I saw Logan and we snuck out of the ballroom and into the dressing room, and I'm just going to stop there except to tell you that we were interrupted.

First by Mom, then Dad, then Luke. I know, poor me. I can't really put this in writing all that well, but something happened between Mom and Luke, and I think my lovely father caused it. I heard them arguing as Logan and I slipped out the back entrance and I caught the words be together, temporary, and Emily used repeatedly, and I'm afraid to find out how they are connected.

More news next week.

Missing you,

Love,
Rory

----

These letters were getting to where Jess didn't want to read them. He didn't need to know about Rory with other guys. She was still doing the thing where she predicted his reactions and reprimanded him. She knew him way too well.

----

February 15, 2005

Dear Jess,

Not much to write, but it involves your uncle.

Your uncle broke up with Mom, and she is not doing well. She has been in bed ever since, crying. I went over there to help her out, armed with Logan's limo (long story). Since your uncle broke up with her, Taylor decided that the town needed to take sides, so there are ribbons everywhere. Pink for Mom, and blue for your uncle. I can't write anymore.

Oh, have you noticed I'm mad at your uncle? I'm so mad that I can't even write his name.

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

"Why, no, I had no idea you were mad at Luke," Jess chuckled. She was so mad that she wouldn't even write his name! Poor Luke. Both Gilmore girls mad at him? He's in for a rough time.

----

February 22, 2005

Dear Jess,

Now don't laugh, but I'm in the middle of a triangle. No, not the Bermuda Triangle, but a 'love triangle'. Let's see, my friend Marty told me he liked me more than a friend, but I like Logan. No, Logan doesn't like Marty. I know you thought that.

Mom and Luke were on the road to making up, but Lulu interrupted. Long story and it has to do with the Stars Hollow Elementary School's production of Fiddler on the Roof. It also involved Kirk as Tevye.

What I wouldn't have given to see that!

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

Kirk playing a major part in a play surrounded by elementary kids. Rory wasn't the only one who wanted to see that. Jess kept laughing as image after image popped into his head. And, yes, he had thought that Logan might've liked Marty, and wasn't surprised when Rory caught him.

----

March 1, 2005

Dear Jess,

LUKE AND LORELAI ARE BACK TOGETHER!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, I found out from an ecstatic Lorelai Gilmore that Luke went to her and they were back together.

I am so happy for Mom.


Luke too. His food sucked when he was away from Mom. I had a burger of his, and couldn't believe that it had come from Luke's.

Lane is freaking out. Zach cooked her a romantic meal and then expected to get some, and they argued and it ended with Lane saying that she couldn't until she got married, which surprised both of them.

Hmmm… I just realized that many big things happened, but nothing happened to me.

Oh, one thing happened. I yelled at my grandmother. It was oddly liberating. I was so mad at her for breaking up Mom and Luke, and she was acting like nothing had happened, that I just snapped. You would've been proud.

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

Rory was right. Jess was proud. He wished that he could've helped too. He was glad to hear that Luke and Lorelai were back together; they belonged together. He couldn't help thinking of the girl that he thought belonged with him as he read through her letters.

----

March 8, 2005

Dear Jess,

Luke and Mom had a back-together-date, and my mother said that it was quite successful.

I, however, went to a Quentin Tarantino themed party with this guy Robert. Logan got insanely jealous, even though we had a no-strings-agreement.

That's about it, except that Michel won a motor home. He won it on The Price Is Right. The bad thing was, they delivered it to the Inn. And on the day of a photo shoot for a magazine!

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

Jess knew what 'quite successful' meant in Lorelai language and just shook his head. He began to wonder what Rory went to the party dressed as, and his mind went wild with possibilities. Michel and a motor home? That was a combo that didn't make sense to Jess.

----

April 19, 2005

Dear Jess,

Slow couple of weeks, which is why I am just writing now.

Not sure if you remember Old Man Twickham or not, but if you do, he passed away. Kirk sold Twickham 2005 souvenirs.

Thank you, Kirk.

How do I know this? My mother bought some. This town is psychotic.

Well, the town turned the beautiful Twickham house into a Stars Hollow museum. I went home to visit and see the opening of the museum, and was greeted with the fact that Paris and Kirk would both be staying at my house also.

We went to the museum, but I never saw the inside of it. That's because Lane, Paris and I were sitting outside, drinking Patty's punch (I know, right away, bad), and verbally bashing guys. No offense.

Paris ended up attacking a pretzel cart for some reason. Again, psychotic town.

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

Jess laughed, knowing that it was Logan that Rory was bashing. That thought made him feel a little better, except that he knew that they were still together now. Paris attacking a pretzel cart rivaled the image of Kirk in the play weeks ago. Too many visuals!

----

April 26, 2005

Dear Jess,

Well, my week sucked, how was yours? I went to have dinner at Logan's house, since now we were boyfriend/girlfriend (another long story) and was bad mouthed the entire time. Apparently, I'm not good enough to marry into their family! But I'm a Gilmore!

I can't think about it. Too confusing.

Onto some town news. Sookie's doctor put her on bed rest and Luke filled in for her as chef at the Inn. He did great, but Sookie was paranoid and kept finding ways to test his food. It was very confusing when Mom was telling me, so I gave up on trying to understand it.

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

"How could she not be good enough to marry into that playboy's family? And who said she was marrying him?" Jess asked himself, completely confused. A sinking feeling filled his gut as he read that Logan and Rory where now officially together. These letters weren't going all too well now. But he couldn't put them down.

----

May 3, 2005

Dear Jess,

Mitchum Huntzberger apologized to me and offered me an internship at one of his papers. I reluctantly accepted the 'pity offer' and now I am interning. My job is following Mitchum and just working around the paper.

Speaking of new jobs, Mom got a job offer to work for the Durham Group. Apparently it is a hotel chain, and she could sell the Inn to them, still manage it, keep the same staff, etc., and travel around the world advising other people on how to run their inns. She was considering it until she discovered Luke's reaction to the whole thing. He didn't like that she would be traveling, considering Luke won't leave Stars Hollow. I hope they will be okay.

We had a dinner at the grandparents. It was Logan, Mom, Grandma, Grandpa and me. And let me say flat out that it was horrible. The grandparents talked down to Mom the entire time. It was like Mom was me at the Huntzberger's last week.

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

Pity offer or not, Jess was shocked at the hesitation for taking that internship. And he could actually relate to Lorelai about being talked down about by the Gilmores. He knew by the dates that there wouldn't be many more letters, and on one hand, he was sad that he wouldn't be somewhat keeping in touch with her, and on the other, he was glad that they would be over.

----

May 10, 2005

Dear Jess,

"You don't got it." That's what Mitchum Huntzberger said about me having 'it' for the journalism business. I'm so frustrated that I can't write about it.

On the other hand, Sookie had her baby. It's a girl. Mom said that there are no names yet, but that there will be news on that soon.

An article on the Dragonfly came out and it had an interview with Mom in it, and she said some really mean things about Grandma in it. Of course, Grandma read it and there was an argument, but they are okay now.

My year at Yale is coming to a close, and I'm not quite sure what I'm doing this summer.

Missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

Jess shook his head in frustration. Sure, Mitchum was an experienced newspaper man, but telling Rory that she doesn't have it in her to be a journalist? Something was going wrong here and it was going to get worse, he could tell.

----

May 17, 2005

Dear Jess,

I am stupid. I stole a yacht. I was put in jail. Mom had to bail me out. I'm not going back to Yale. I can't write to you anymore. I don't think I'd be able to.

I'm sorry.

Will always be missing you,


Love,

Rory

----

Jess sat back and sighed. He couldn't believe all the stuff that had happened to Rory and her friends and family during these past two years. She had changed so much. She was no longer the seemingly perfect young girl that he had known. He couldn't believe that it was actually Rory writing the last few letters. The old Rory wouldn't have done half the stupid stuff she had. He looked back at the last letter, trying to make sense of what he was reading. He flipped through the pages and reread the most recent letter, the one enclosed in the beginning of the letters, took a deep breath and picked up the phone. Jess dialed the number he had called so many times before and waited nervously.

A familiar voice came over the line. "Hello?"

Jess took another deep breath and replied, "Hello, Rory?"

THE END!!!!!

How was it? Did I do okay? Did I leave anything major out? Remember, Rory didn't know about everything. Hope you liked the story! I was thinking about doing another chapter, but am not sure if I should. Let me know!

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