A/N: Hello! I just wanted to let you guys know that this is basically a filler chapter. It needed to be done for now, but I will post chapter four by the end of the night so stay tuned!
The girl woke up startled a few hours later, trying to figure out where she was. As she looked around through sleep-filled eyes, she recognized the dreary office-turned-apartment and remembered everything that had happened the night before. As she sat up, she felt as if her head was going to be the death of her as the migraine pounded on the walls of her head with all of its might. She hissed and put a hand to her forehead as she stood up and tiptoed around to find her belongings. Rory wanted to stay so badly, but she also thought about all the terribleness that would become of the situation if she stuck around much longer. Jess would probably kill her, she knew that for sure. At the same time, she was already feeling her guilt grow inside the bottom of her stomach, making her feel more and more nauseous by the second.
Rory walked softly over to the kitchen area, trying her hardest not to make a single peep. When she found a sticky note, she scattered the sorry on it in a rather sloppy fashion and left it near Jess' bed. She contemplated writing more than that, but she didn't want any evidence of her short-lived visit back home left behind. As she walked towards the door, she turned around and looked at the man who was sleeping soundly with his arms crossed against his chest. For a second, her mind showed her old polaroids of the two together and she remembered everything about Jess that made him special. She always carried a torch for him, but it was hidden so deep down that she couldn't even feel the flame of it any longer. She shook her head and snapped out of the thoughts and quickly opened the door and headed downstairs.
Her heart pounded as she rounded the corner and saw that the lights to the diner were on. She thought that Jess had turned them off before going upstairs, but she could have been wrong about that fact… That was until she heard a gasp coming from behind the counter.
"Rory." He said her name for what felt like the first time in decades. His eyes lit up as his jaw dropped. He had no clue how to react upon seeing her.
"Uh, Luke," she gulped, "hi."
As silence and awkward tension formed between the two, from upstairs she heard the door slam and footsteps running down the wooden stairs in a hurry. "Where do you think you're go-" Jess yelled before he noticed Luke standing behind the counter, looking like he had seen a ghost. "Hi." Jess filled with guilt. He didn't think it was possible to feel guilty over something he didn't cause, but now he did. The three of them nodded and tried to think of something — anything at all — to say, but there was nothing but the sound of the oven starting in the background. "I'll make some coffee," Jess offered as he walked behind the counter.
Luke still stood in the same spot with his jaw on the floor as he stared at Rory. He knew this day would come, but he didn't think it would take so long. "I need to call your mom," he stated, not knowing whether or not that was the right thing to do.
Rory shook her head violently. "I need to go to her. Please. Before anyone else sees me." She shot her blue puppy eyes to Jess, knowing it'd make him weak. He scoffed and Rory took that as an agreement as he poured coffee into two to-go cups knowing that no matter what Lorelai's reaction would be, the coffee would help soothe her.
Instead of taking the normal five minute walk to the Gilmore-Danes residence, Rory begged Jess to drive instead since she didn't want anyone else in town to see her. She knew they'd all be excited and warm up to her quickly, but that'd make her feel a thousand times worse than she already did. When she abandoned Stars Hollow, she didn't realize she had left all of the characters and souls that made up the place until she was sitting in a restaurant in England, wondering what the hell happened to her life. She quit Yale, joined the DAR, and worst of all, she married the wrong man. She knew that she screwed up big time, but until she had Jess forcing her to make amends, she was too scared to come around and fix all the broken relationships she left behind.
Rory started to tremble as soon as she stepped out of the passenger seat. Jess took note that her hand was shaking so much that he thought the lid on the coffee cup would soon pop off and scorching hot coffee would spill everywhere. He held out his hand to Rory, as if she were a little kid that needed help crossing the street, but she shook her head and continued onward up the steps.
"Mom?" She yelled the moment she walked through the unlocked door. Her heart was about to pound out of her chest and she was sure that her body was about to explode at any given second. "M-" she stopped and cocked her head at the shaggy gray dog who looked scared out of his skin.
"Paul Anka." Jess confirmed, though his voice was filled with confusion every time he had to say the dogs name.
"Hello?" Rory shouted up the stairs, waiting for her mother to say anything at all.
"Rory?" Lorelai called and ran down the steps. Before they knew it, both of the women had tears streaming down their faces. "Rory, baby, I'm so glad to see you." She wrapped her arms around her only child, wanting to weep harder than ever before.
"I'm so sorry, mom. I didn't mean to do all of that. I'm sorry." Rory stammered through her apology, but her mom shook her head as if to say that all was forgotten and forgiven. "I don't know what's wrong with me," she admitted and looked over to Jess to find an answer, but the man was shifting uncomfortably and looking at the floor.
After minutes, the girls unlatched and wiped their tears. "Oh, Jess," Lorelai forced out a laugh, "I didn't even see you there."
He shrugged, suddenly acting like his seventeen year-old self once again. Something about the Gilmore house made him go back into his shell. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was definitely a weird feeling. "I'm gonna leave you two alone." He nodded towards the door and rubbed the back of his neck out of a nervous habit. "You two have a lot of catching up to do." With that, he headed towards the door and back to his car. As soon as he was about to get in, he saw a happier than life Lorelai running towards him.
"Look, I don't know what you did to bring her home, but I'm glad you did. You're not so bad after all." Lorelai flashed a genuine smile and quickly wrapped her arms around him, taking them both by complete surprise. "Thank you."
Jess shrugged once more and mentally kicked himself for doing so. "It's no problem."
