TITLE: Familiar Feeling

AUTHOR: Annabel

PAIRING: R/J

SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any

DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)

RATING: PG-13 for now.

INFO & SUMMARY: This is an AU fic. Rory has just graduated from Harvard and is living in New York with Alicia, a new colleague. Both girls are working at the New York Times. Rory has never met Jess before (meaning Jess never came to Stars Hollow, although he is Luke's nephew) and they have not even been aware of each other's existence. Lane and Dave live together in New York, Lorelai and Luke live together in Stars Hollow. Briefly put, pretty much everything that's happened on the show up to season 4 has happened prior to the time of this story, with the exception of everything involving Jess.

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for the feedback! I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love you guys and how thankful I am for all the kind, incredible things you've said!

Chapter Two introduces a few new characters, by the end of it you'll have met all the main characters of this story. I wanted to have the basic stuff sorted out before venturing to the proper R/J interaction. Hope you like it!

Familiar Feeling

Chapter Two

He stood by the door of the storage room and he actually felt desperation. He'd been away for three months and this is what had happened. He wasn't even able to see the floor from all the boxes covering it, and the towering shelves seemed to be in danger of collapsing from the overload of boxes and books. He shook his head just as he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see his boss who had a grin on his face.

"Welcome back, Jess. Great to see you" Mike pulled him into a quick hug and made Jess look at him awkwardly.

"Huh, I see this place isn't doing that great" Jess nodded to the direction of the storeroom.

"We've missed your organisational skills, I admit. But hey, I wanna hear everything about California"

Jess had been on a road trip of a sort with his two best friends. They'd spent almost three months travelling around California and making a small detour to Mexico, just living out their childhood dreams and never knowing what the next day would bring. It'd been great, an experience he wouldn't have missed for the world. 

"There's not much to tell, Mike" Jess however said casually said as he leaned his back against the doorframe. "It was hot and sunny and the girls were…"

"Blondes with huge breasts?"

"I was actually gonna say boring, but I guess it's the same thing" Jess said amusedly. "But you shouldn't really care anymore. I heard from a very reliable source that I should congratulate you on your engagement"

If he hadn't known better, Jess would have thought he saw Michael blush. His boss was about 40-years old, the owner of a bookstore that he'd inherited from his own father and where Jess had worked for the past few years. He and Jess were good friends, despite their age difference. They'd lived in the same building since Jess had been a kid and in a way, Mike had also served as a father figure for Jess when he'd felt that Jess needed one. They knew each other well, so Jess knew that Mike had been trying to get Kathy to marry him for ages.

"Set the date yet?" Jess asked as he followed Michael out of the storeroom and toward the shop, which was set in two floors.

"I told Kathy that any day good for her is good for me. I'd get married tomorrow if she'd agree to it"

"I bet you would" Jess smirked as he checked the latest releases by the counter.

"But it'll be soon, since we're gonna… We're sort of planning to have a baby as soon as possible"

Jess looked up at Michael and didn't even try to hide his amazement. He wasn't really sure if he'd heard right, but when he saw Mike nodding he simply shook his head with a smile.

"You know, I'm not that young anymore and Kathy's biological clock is ticking, too…" Mike talked somewhat bashfully.

"You're full of surprises, that's all I'm gonna say"

Mike laughed wholeheartedly and Jess thought to himself that he'd never before seen him this happy or relaxed. He seemed really tranquil, like he was so content with his life that he couldn't ask for anything more. It was strange to see his friend like this, but at the same time he was really happy for him.

"You need to come over for dinner. Kathy said she'd pop in here to welcome you back, but believe me, she's dying to know about your trip as much as I am"

Jess said he'd be glad to come when a customer asked for Mike's help and Jess was left to himself. He looked around and inhaled deeply. The familiar scent of books was calming and he'd missed that while he'd been away. He'd been so grateful when Mike had agreed to give him a three-month sabbatical and told him to go out and have fun when he needed a change. But now he was back and he was really looking forward to "normal" life again. 

"Jess! Why don't you do your wonders on the storeroom this week? I can handle the shop with Molly" Mike's voice came from upstairs and Jess looked up at him with a grateful smile.

--------------------------------------------------

After work Rory had met with Lane, like she normally did on Mondays. They'd begun walking to the direction of the nearest park, enjoying the crisp air of the autumn afternoon. The girls stopped by a coffee-stand and after getting their steaming cups, they continued walking toward the park.

"Things are really good for you. I mean, you look really happy" Rory said when they sat down on a bench and lifted their coffee cups to their lips.

"Yeah" Lane said and nodded determinedly. "Yeah, I am"

"I thought so" Rory said and smiled at her friend.

Lane was happy, it was clear to everyone who saw her. She had everything in her life that she had always wanted. A job she loved at a music magazine, and a man she was absolutely crazy about. She and Dave were perfect for each other, two great people and Rory's best friends.

"What made you think of it?"

Rory had a great job at the New York Times, she'd got the ideal job for someone who had just graduated from Harvard. She had great colleagues at work, she had great friends, and she had a great family. She didn't have a man to love, she hadn't even had a "serious" relationship after high school, but that had never been a problem for her. She'd dated, gone out and had fun. She'd enjoyed being young.     

"I don't know. I just… Things are really great but I feel like maybe I need a change"

Lane looked at her friend observantly, Rory was warming her fingers around the coffee cup and looking at the kids playing further away on the grass. Lane's gaze followed hers and she giggled slightly when she asked if Rory was thinking of having a baby.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking about" she replied laughing and turned to her friend, tucking her legs under her on the bench. "I just… I'm feeling restless"

"Maybe it's just that this is all so new. I mean, you just moved together with Alicia…"

"Three months ago isn't really just" Rory interrupted Lane and smiled.

"Well, it's pretty just. And you have a new job, a stressful job. And Luke and Lorelai just got engaged… It's a lot of changes, Rory. Maybe that's the problem, too many changes, instead of too few"

Rory looked at Lane and nodded. Yeah, maybe. A lot had happened in the past few months, a lot of great things had happened in the past few months.

"But hey, why don't we go to your place and then I'll call Dave to get me from there when he gets off work? We can babble some more since he's gonna be late anyway"

"Sounds like a plan. I'll just finish this coffee, first"

"So, any news about Alex? You gonna see him again?" Lane asked excitedly.

Rory shrugged and said she wasn't really interested in him.

"Besides, dating a colleague can get really awkward, especially if it doesn't work out"

"It might work out, you shouldn't give up on it right away"

"It won't work out, believe me" Rory said solemnly.

"Why so?"

"Remember the first time you met Dave? Well, of course you do. And if I remember correctly, you knew from the very beginning that he was something special, something worth having, something that was really made for you"

Lane nodded when she listened to Rory, and a small smile rose on her face.

"It was 'the thing', the strange feeling you get. Something you can't put your finger on, but something inside you just tells you that the person is somehow… right"

Again, Lane nodded and said she knew exactly what Rory meant. The feeling had been there right from the start with Dave, and it was still there every time she saw him or just heard his name.

"So, I guess you can't say the same about Alex?"

Rory shook her head and then stood up throwing her now empty coffee cup to the nearest trashcan.

"I guess I haven't really felt that way about anyone, but I'm sure the feeling isn't there with Alex. And it never will be"

The girls begun walking toward the nearest subway station, talking about work, Dave, their plans to head home to Stars Hollow for the weekend. While walking, Rory looked at the people sitting on the benches, couples cuddling, and old man reading a newspaper, a guy reading a book. Although she was still listening to Lane, Rory squinted her eyes to see the book he was reading. He was holding it so it hid his face, but offered her a good view of the cover. They were still so far away that she couldn't see the title of it, but it looked like… When she got closer, she felt victorious. The book was Bukowski's Postoffice. 

"Hey, Rory, we could order pizza before Dave comes, right?" Lane asked and Rory turned to look at her and nodded enthusiastically.

----------------------------------------------------

It was already 7 o'clock when Jess opened the door to his apartment , an airy studio, and quickly threw off his shoes and coat. He went to the phone, picked it up and dialled the number of a local pizza place. He was starving, and it was no wonder since he hadn't eaten after lunch. He'd expected to get home earlier, but instead he'd stopped at the park for a while to catch up on his reading and familiarize himself with his favourite spots again. Knowing that the pizza would arrive in twenty minutes, he went to the shower and by the time he'd got out and had the pizza and a beer in front of him, he felt like a new man.

It was good to be home. He liked his apartment, it was just big enough for one person, his friends lived nearby and his workplace was in a walking distance. Jess was just congratulating himself on his ideal place when he heard a knock on the door. He went to the door and wasn't surprised to see Tom leaning against the doorframe.

"Hey, man, you abandoned us on Saturday"

Jess laughed at his friend and then went to the fridge to get two beers. When he turned to his friend again, he saw Tom sitting on an armchair with a slice of pizza in hand.

"Hey, help yourself to the food" he said sarcastically and Tom mumbled something in reply. "So, you guys went home alone?"

"On Saturday? Yeah, we left the bar pretty much right after you'd disappeared" Tom replied referring to himself and Chris, the third member of their "gang".

Jess, Tom and Chris were friends from childhood, they'd all lived in the same building and all had pretty unstable family backgrounds. Jess had lived with his alcoholic mother, Tom had been taken care of by his older brother and Chris had lived with his grandmother. But despite their not so happy childhoods and turbulent teenage years, they'd all managed to get themselves pretty much together by now. Jess had his job at the bookstore, Chris was a bartender and Tom had a good job at his uncle's coffee shop. But despite being grown-ups, the guys still had their wild side, which was nowadays mostly apparent when it came to women. 

"So, have you seen Angie yet?" Jess asked quietly, not sure how his friend would react to the question.

Angie was Tom's girlfriend, or at least she had been for two years before he went off to California. They'd decided to get some distance to their relationship and see how they felt about each other after Tom got back.

"Yeah" Tom said and although he was clearly trying to sound nonchalant, Jess could see that he was fighting a smile.

"God, you're gone for good!" he laughed, but he was pleased to hear that Tom and Angie were giving it another try.

Tom had always been the wildest of the three guys, and Angie had done a remarkable job in taming him and still letting him be himself. Yeah, Jess liked Angie, and he knew that Tom would never manage to find a better girl for himself. And he didn't want to, judging from the grin on his face right now. 

"What can I say? There's no explaining of the things she does to me. But hey, what about the girl you hooked up with on Saturday? Your first day back in New York and right away, you get some action"

Jess shook his head at his friend, but smiled nonetheless. Trying to give Tom as little detail about the night as possible, he rubbed his face pensively.

"It's just…" he started trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "The weirdest thing happened when I was sneaking away in the morning…"

"The girl ran after you and declared her undying love?" Tom suggested jokingly, but got an annoyed look from Jess as a reply.

"I went to grab some water and in the kitchen there was a girl, probably the other girl's roommate or something"

"Awkward, huh?" Tom said sympathetically.

"Not really. I mean it was… Ah, I don't know what I'm saying" Jess shook his head to straighten his mind. "And then today…"

Jess wanted to smack himself for being so childish. He'd seen her at the park today, after work. He was sure it'd been her, she'd been with another girl, although not the one Jess had… well, had sex with just the other day. Anyway, Jess had seen her and hid behind his book so she wouldn't recognise him. And all the while he'd wanted to peak and take a look at her. He'd even considered saying hi, but then he just hadn't had the guts. And there was no reason to say hi to someone he didn't even know. The girl probably wouldn't have even remembered him.

"Ah, forget it" he eventually said impatiently. He didn't know why he was thinking about it anyway.

"Hey, why don't I give Chris a call and tell him to get his ass here with another pizza?"

"Sure. And if you're hoping to get more beer, tell him to bring some. You're drinking the last one" Jess told him when Tom grabbed the phone.

A/N: So Rory is working at the New York Times and Jess works at a bookstore. I know, it's been like that many times before in many other stories, but there's a reason I chose those exact careers for them. Let's just say that this is a story about changes in all areas of life. You'll see what I mean later on…

And if you want to make me very happy and motivated to write, please do review!:)