Thanks for the reviewing! As before, all rights belong to ASP. The story is
based on spoilers for the February episodes with the Luke/Nicole/Lorelai
story. Jess is back, but not based on spoilers.
Without further ado. . . .
Stars Hollow. Day
Jess stands stock-still. He wants to run in and follow Luke, but his feet aren't letting him. He appears to be staring into the diner. After a moment of holding the diner door open to no avail, Luke turns to see Jess frozen in place.
"Jess, c'mon, let's get a move on. These boxes aren't going to unload themselves."
Nothing. Then footsteps, turning into a run. Luke looks up to see Rory running towards the direction of the Gilmore residence.
"Shit."
"You said that right. I'm sorry, Luke, I thought she'd be at school, not, well, right there."
"I know. Don't worry about it. She saw you, no harm, no foul. Let's get your stuff upstairs."
Jess nodded. He wasn't so sure about the no harm, no foul thing. He was pretty sure he'd caused some more harm. If only he could talk to her, find the words, any words to explain to her. If only she'd listen if he tried. Deciding Luke was right about the more pertinent task at hand, he grabbed his bags and followed Luke into the diner.
Gilmore residence, moments later
"MOM!!"
"MOM!!!"
Rory Gilmore had never needed her mother more than she did right now. Where in the world could she be? Why, oh, why had she come home? She had a long weekend, and she could have stayed on campus to work on any number of things-articles for the Yale Daily News, reading for her numerous classes, but no, no she had to come home for some of Luke's coffee and girl time with her mother. She was going to surprise her mom, but the surprise was on her. No mom in sight. Just Jess.
She reached instead for her cell phone and called her mom.
"This better be good."
"Mom?"
"Rory?"
"Yes, where are you?"
"Where are you?"
"Stop that-I'm at home."
"OH, well, I'm not."
"Gee, really? Could you be a little more vague?"
"I'm in Hartford."
"At Grandma's?"
"Rory. I know you've been at school a while now, out of the loop, and well, you do remember my mother don't you?"
"Mom, where are you, I need to talk to you."
"Sorry, honey. I'm at Jason's. Do you need me to come home?"
"No, I don't want to interrupt your date, or whatever dirty things you might be doing, but I just-well, I came home to surprise you, and stopped by Luke's to get some coffee first, but all I saw was--,"
"Luke isn't in town." Lorelai grimaced. Why hadn't she at least told Rory that Luke was out of town? She mentally kicked herself. 'Because how would you know she'd come home and not mention it?' she thought to herself.
"Well, yeah he is. He was going into the diner, his truck was out front filled with all these boxes, and Jess-Mom, Jess is here."
"I'm sorry, Look, I'll be right home, okay? We'll get some movies and buy out the candy aisle at Doose's. I promise. Start all that laundry I'm sure you brought, and I'll be right there."
"Thanks mom. You don't have to," Rory started.
"I'll be right there."
Lorelai jumped into her Jeep and dialed her cell phone expertly, while pulling onto the interstate.
"Hello?"
"Luke, it's Lorelai."
"Oh, hi, look, I'm back and--,"
"OH, I know all about that. Rory just called me."
"I know, I figured she, wait, where are you?"
"I was out, she called on my cell. You know she saw Jess?"
"Yeah, poor guy just stood there staring at her reflection in the glass and she took off."
"What am I going to do? Should they talk? I know he's going through a rough time right now, but I want to kill him for making Rory nuts like this."
" I know. Let's just keep them to their respective quarters till they are ready to deal with seeing each other again, okay?"
"Okay, I'll be in tomorrow morning, for lots of to-go coffee."
"Good. I'll see if I can't throw in some Danishes for Rory."
"Thanks Luke."
Gilmore Residence, later that evening.
"Okay, child, I'm home, where are thee?"
"Kitchen!"
Lorelai walked into the kitchen, to see Rory in her pink bunny slippers and cake pajamas rummaging through the freezer.
"Honey? What are you doing?"
"Looking for ice cream. When was the last time you went to the store, there is nothing in here."
"Rory, you do remember the first eighteen years of your life, right? I'm your mother. I don't cook. Sometimes I manage to keep three items in both the refrigerator and freezer at the same time. I've been busy with the new Inn, dating Jason, spending a few nights a week at his place, and I haven't had much time."
Lorelai looked sheepishly at her daughter at the last admission. Sleeping at a guy's place was a new realm of discussion for them.
"Oh, I didn't realize you, I mean, um. Wow. Okay."
"Hey, why don't you get changed back into normal people clothes, and we'll go to Doose's, then you can change back into that lovely ensemble you're currently um, ready to mope in?"
"I'm not moping. I'm just a little shell-shocked. I mean, Mom, he's supposed to be in California. Far away from here. Not standing in front of the best coffee place in the whole world. He's not a part of my life anymore, and he's supposed to stay away. He went away, he chose to go, not to tell me, so now he should have to stay gone."
"Honey, I know this is hard for you to see him. I know it was really rough on you when he left, but I've talked to Luke, and he does have a good reason for being here. Just don't be too rough on him. He's not here to make your life weird or hard. Okay?"
"Are you sticking up for Jess? You hate Jess! I can't believe this," Rory paused, thinking about how softly her mom had just tried to talk her down, actually defending her ex-boyfriend who should previously would have loved to had shot.
"He has a good reason, huh? Nothing to do with me?"
"Well, I can't promise there's NOTHING to do with you, but yeah. It's not my place to tell you. If he wants to, he can."
"Okay, let's go to Doose's. I'll change."
Luke's Diner. Two days later.
Lorelai came into the diner. Luke was behind the counter. It was a slow day, just a few patrons scattered about. Luke's head popped up when he saw her, and reached to get coffee.
"Ah, you're good. No ordering needed. Where else do I get such service?"
"How is she?"
"She's good. She came home because she has a long weekend from school. She wanted to have some girl time with old mom. She wanted to surprise me. Poor thing."
"Not what she bargained for, huh?"
"No, I mean, last time she came home unexpected, she ran into Dean when he was getting married. You'd think she'd get the hint from the universe and start calling ahead." Lorelai smiled at Luke.
"So, uh, how's he?"
"Well, he's okay. He's different, well, he's been though a lot, but mostly he just talks more. Less sarcasm. It's sort of nice."
"Huh. There's a shock. Never thought I'd see the day he actually spoke in full sentences."
Jess came down the stairs five minutes later, as Lorelai sat sipping her coffee, talking on her cell phone to Sookie. Luke had given up trying to tell her to get out when a group of people walked into the diner. He left to take their orders, giving Lorelai one last warning look.
Lorelai glanced up when she saw movement at the curtain and wrapped up her conversation. She smiled at Jess, and he looked confused for a moment, wondering if she was mistaking him for someone else.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"So, how was California?"
"Uh, it was fine I guess. Can I get you something to go with that coffee?"
"Hmm, oh, no, I have to get going. Guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah, I guess so." Jess shook his head, unsure of what had just transpired.
Luke looked back at Jess. They shared a bewildered moment and went back to their work.
Luke's apartment, night.
"So, uh, what did Lorelai say to you?"
"She asked how California was."
"Oh. And you two, you know, talked?"
"Not much. I didn't expect her to talk to me at all, though."
"Yeah."
"I was thinking of trying to talk to Rory."
"Jess. . ."
" I know. Not right now. I'm going to start school first, get my life set up some more, and figure out a way to get her to listen. I know it has to be good, and I'm not going to try to get her back. I know I don't deserve that, I just; I just need her to be able to talk to me. To look at me and not run away."
"I know."
A week passes. Jess doesn't see Rory; he assumes she's gone back to school. Lorelai comes in same as she always has. He's seen all the same townspeople; no one really seems to have changed. Patty still harasses him, or rather his posterior. Babette and Morey still come in and talk about their cats. Taylor comes in for his and Luke's weekly screaming match and Kirk comes in with a girl he keeps announcing to everyone as his girlfriend. That sort of freaked him out, to be honest. He went to Hartford to see about starting the next quarter classes there. He filled out paperwork and talked to a dean in the English department. He was thinking of majoring in English and seeing what he was really interested in.
Feeling pretty positive in general after meeting with the dean, he heads to a bookstore not too far from campus. He stays in there for a couple of hours, letting the smell of the used books wrap around him like a comforting blanket. He wanders over to the poetry section to see what kind of selection they have. He sees a copy of Howl and smiles. For a moment, he's lost in a memory, of taking her copy to make notes in it for her. When he gave it back to her, her only response had been 'hey, you've read this before!' That was the start of their friendship. She didn't look at him as a thief who'd taken her book. She'd been interested to see what he'd written in the margins, to see what his opinions were.
Suddenly, Jess got an idea. It might not work, but anything was worth a try. He left the bookstore and went back to Luke's to find what he needed to get Rory to talk to him again.
AN: Don't worry, there will be some RJ interaction soon. This felt like a good stopping place-besides there's a new episode on tonight, I can't be missing that!
Without further ado. . . .
Stars Hollow. Day
Jess stands stock-still. He wants to run in and follow Luke, but his feet aren't letting him. He appears to be staring into the diner. After a moment of holding the diner door open to no avail, Luke turns to see Jess frozen in place.
"Jess, c'mon, let's get a move on. These boxes aren't going to unload themselves."
Nothing. Then footsteps, turning into a run. Luke looks up to see Rory running towards the direction of the Gilmore residence.
"Shit."
"You said that right. I'm sorry, Luke, I thought she'd be at school, not, well, right there."
"I know. Don't worry about it. She saw you, no harm, no foul. Let's get your stuff upstairs."
Jess nodded. He wasn't so sure about the no harm, no foul thing. He was pretty sure he'd caused some more harm. If only he could talk to her, find the words, any words to explain to her. If only she'd listen if he tried. Deciding Luke was right about the more pertinent task at hand, he grabbed his bags and followed Luke into the diner.
Gilmore residence, moments later
"MOM!!"
"MOM!!!"
Rory Gilmore had never needed her mother more than she did right now. Where in the world could she be? Why, oh, why had she come home? She had a long weekend, and she could have stayed on campus to work on any number of things-articles for the Yale Daily News, reading for her numerous classes, but no, no she had to come home for some of Luke's coffee and girl time with her mother. She was going to surprise her mom, but the surprise was on her. No mom in sight. Just Jess.
She reached instead for her cell phone and called her mom.
"This better be good."
"Mom?"
"Rory?"
"Yes, where are you?"
"Where are you?"
"Stop that-I'm at home."
"OH, well, I'm not."
"Gee, really? Could you be a little more vague?"
"I'm in Hartford."
"At Grandma's?"
"Rory. I know you've been at school a while now, out of the loop, and well, you do remember my mother don't you?"
"Mom, where are you, I need to talk to you."
"Sorry, honey. I'm at Jason's. Do you need me to come home?"
"No, I don't want to interrupt your date, or whatever dirty things you might be doing, but I just-well, I came home to surprise you, and stopped by Luke's to get some coffee first, but all I saw was--,"
"Luke isn't in town." Lorelai grimaced. Why hadn't she at least told Rory that Luke was out of town? She mentally kicked herself. 'Because how would you know she'd come home and not mention it?' she thought to herself.
"Well, yeah he is. He was going into the diner, his truck was out front filled with all these boxes, and Jess-Mom, Jess is here."
"I'm sorry, Look, I'll be right home, okay? We'll get some movies and buy out the candy aisle at Doose's. I promise. Start all that laundry I'm sure you brought, and I'll be right there."
"Thanks mom. You don't have to," Rory started.
"I'll be right there."
Lorelai jumped into her Jeep and dialed her cell phone expertly, while pulling onto the interstate.
"Hello?"
"Luke, it's Lorelai."
"Oh, hi, look, I'm back and--,"
"OH, I know all about that. Rory just called me."
"I know, I figured she, wait, where are you?"
"I was out, she called on my cell. You know she saw Jess?"
"Yeah, poor guy just stood there staring at her reflection in the glass and she took off."
"What am I going to do? Should they talk? I know he's going through a rough time right now, but I want to kill him for making Rory nuts like this."
" I know. Let's just keep them to their respective quarters till they are ready to deal with seeing each other again, okay?"
"Okay, I'll be in tomorrow morning, for lots of to-go coffee."
"Good. I'll see if I can't throw in some Danishes for Rory."
"Thanks Luke."
Gilmore Residence, later that evening.
"Okay, child, I'm home, where are thee?"
"Kitchen!"
Lorelai walked into the kitchen, to see Rory in her pink bunny slippers and cake pajamas rummaging through the freezer.
"Honey? What are you doing?"
"Looking for ice cream. When was the last time you went to the store, there is nothing in here."
"Rory, you do remember the first eighteen years of your life, right? I'm your mother. I don't cook. Sometimes I manage to keep three items in both the refrigerator and freezer at the same time. I've been busy with the new Inn, dating Jason, spending a few nights a week at his place, and I haven't had much time."
Lorelai looked sheepishly at her daughter at the last admission. Sleeping at a guy's place was a new realm of discussion for them.
"Oh, I didn't realize you, I mean, um. Wow. Okay."
"Hey, why don't you get changed back into normal people clothes, and we'll go to Doose's, then you can change back into that lovely ensemble you're currently um, ready to mope in?"
"I'm not moping. I'm just a little shell-shocked. I mean, Mom, he's supposed to be in California. Far away from here. Not standing in front of the best coffee place in the whole world. He's not a part of my life anymore, and he's supposed to stay away. He went away, he chose to go, not to tell me, so now he should have to stay gone."
"Honey, I know this is hard for you to see him. I know it was really rough on you when he left, but I've talked to Luke, and he does have a good reason for being here. Just don't be too rough on him. He's not here to make your life weird or hard. Okay?"
"Are you sticking up for Jess? You hate Jess! I can't believe this," Rory paused, thinking about how softly her mom had just tried to talk her down, actually defending her ex-boyfriend who should previously would have loved to had shot.
"He has a good reason, huh? Nothing to do with me?"
"Well, I can't promise there's NOTHING to do with you, but yeah. It's not my place to tell you. If he wants to, he can."
"Okay, let's go to Doose's. I'll change."
Luke's Diner. Two days later.
Lorelai came into the diner. Luke was behind the counter. It was a slow day, just a few patrons scattered about. Luke's head popped up when he saw her, and reached to get coffee.
"Ah, you're good. No ordering needed. Where else do I get such service?"
"How is she?"
"She's good. She came home because she has a long weekend from school. She wanted to have some girl time with old mom. She wanted to surprise me. Poor thing."
"Not what she bargained for, huh?"
"No, I mean, last time she came home unexpected, she ran into Dean when he was getting married. You'd think she'd get the hint from the universe and start calling ahead." Lorelai smiled at Luke.
"So, uh, how's he?"
"Well, he's okay. He's different, well, he's been though a lot, but mostly he just talks more. Less sarcasm. It's sort of nice."
"Huh. There's a shock. Never thought I'd see the day he actually spoke in full sentences."
Jess came down the stairs five minutes later, as Lorelai sat sipping her coffee, talking on her cell phone to Sookie. Luke had given up trying to tell her to get out when a group of people walked into the diner. He left to take their orders, giving Lorelai one last warning look.
Lorelai glanced up when she saw movement at the curtain and wrapped up her conversation. She smiled at Jess, and he looked confused for a moment, wondering if she was mistaking him for someone else.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"So, how was California?"
"Uh, it was fine I guess. Can I get you something to go with that coffee?"
"Hmm, oh, no, I have to get going. Guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah, I guess so." Jess shook his head, unsure of what had just transpired.
Luke looked back at Jess. They shared a bewildered moment and went back to their work.
Luke's apartment, night.
"So, uh, what did Lorelai say to you?"
"She asked how California was."
"Oh. And you two, you know, talked?"
"Not much. I didn't expect her to talk to me at all, though."
"Yeah."
"I was thinking of trying to talk to Rory."
"Jess. . ."
" I know. Not right now. I'm going to start school first, get my life set up some more, and figure out a way to get her to listen. I know it has to be good, and I'm not going to try to get her back. I know I don't deserve that, I just; I just need her to be able to talk to me. To look at me and not run away."
"I know."
A week passes. Jess doesn't see Rory; he assumes she's gone back to school. Lorelai comes in same as she always has. He's seen all the same townspeople; no one really seems to have changed. Patty still harasses him, or rather his posterior. Babette and Morey still come in and talk about their cats. Taylor comes in for his and Luke's weekly screaming match and Kirk comes in with a girl he keeps announcing to everyone as his girlfriend. That sort of freaked him out, to be honest. He went to Hartford to see about starting the next quarter classes there. He filled out paperwork and talked to a dean in the English department. He was thinking of majoring in English and seeing what he was really interested in.
Feeling pretty positive in general after meeting with the dean, he heads to a bookstore not too far from campus. He stays in there for a couple of hours, letting the smell of the used books wrap around him like a comforting blanket. He wanders over to the poetry section to see what kind of selection they have. He sees a copy of Howl and smiles. For a moment, he's lost in a memory, of taking her copy to make notes in it for her. When he gave it back to her, her only response had been 'hey, you've read this before!' That was the start of their friendship. She didn't look at him as a thief who'd taken her book. She'd been interested to see what he'd written in the margins, to see what his opinions were.
Suddenly, Jess got an idea. It might not work, but anything was worth a try. He left the bookstore and went back to Luke's to find what he needed to get Rory to talk to him again.
AN: Don't worry, there will be some RJ interaction soon. This felt like a good stopping place-besides there's a new episode on tonight, I can't be missing that!