A/N: Still don't own it!
Allessandramari: It always bugged me too, how much Rory changed when she was with Logan. I liked him as a character and liked how in the beginning he helped break her out of her shell a bit but, for them to work as couple there needed to be a lot more compromise.
Merdarkandtwisty: Thank you for the review! I don't think Zack and Lane ever made too much sense to me either but I'm still figuring out where I want to go with Lane. But she and Mama Kim will be making more appearances because I love them both to pieces!
Lorelai had her speech planned in her head before she walked into the diner. She knew she had been over protective. Luke was right, Jess and Rory were both adults and they had to make their own choices. She no longer had the right to dictate who could and could not be in Rory's life. Even though as a mother she would always want to shield her daughter from any potential harmful thing. But Lorelai needed to accept that there would be times when she couldn't step in. And this was one of those times.
Lorelai moved to sit quietly at the counter to wait for Luke to stop cursing in the kitchen. It took just long enough for the Lorelai's well thought out speech to sound rambling even in her own head.
When Luke came out of the kitchen, he stopped immediately when he saw Lorelai. No matter what they had said to each other, just the sight of Lorelai always brightened his mood. "Hey." He said quietly.
"Luke, I am so sor-" Lorelai's apology was cut off by Taylor charging up to the counter.
"Luke, is it true that you are allowing that vagrant nephew of yours to stay in Stars Hollow?" The older man accused, puffing out his chest.
"Why is it any business of yours, Taylor?" Luke's voice became testy almost instantly.
"As head of the Stars Hollow Community Crime Prevention Watch and Town Magistrate, I need to know how long he will be here, so the necessary precautions can be put in place." Taylor didn't care how much that ruffian seemed to have changed, he was not to be trusted.
"Precautions for what?" Luke bellowed forgetting about Lorelai's previous lightening effect on his temper.
"Precautions to keep Jess," Taylor said the name like it was the most vile insult in the universe, "from repeating his past antics and crimes, Luke. Let's not forget the business he lost my market with that fake murder of his."
Just as Luke was about to break his record for volume when yelling at the town busy-body Lorelai stood up to face Taylor head on. "I know I'm repeating myself here but, back off, Taylor!"
Taylor was shocked, "I would have thought you, of all people, would be behind me on this whole Jess situation, Lorelai. Especially, after the way he treated poor Rory!"
"No, Taylor, you don't get to say anything about that. Or anything about Jess being back in town. The last time I checked, it was still a free country. You aren't Stars Hollow's very own version of Mussolini, no matter how much you may want to be. You don't get to control everything and everyone!" Even if Lorelai wasn't overly fond of Jess she was over Taylor's meddling and she knew she wasn't the only one. After all, the town did recently elect Jackson as selectman, rather than Taylor.
"As a business owner, I have every right to take steps to prevent crimes and protect the community from a known vandal. You own The Dragonfly, do you want that boy anywhere near your establishment?" Taylor puffed out his chest even more, thinking he had won this argument, Lorelai would never let Jess step foot on her property.
As usual, Taylor deeply underestimated Lorelai's habit of defying expectation. "You know what, Taylor, Jess is more than welcome at The Dragonfly! In fact, I'll give him a free room, just because it will irritate you." She poked him in the chest to emphasis her message.
Lorelai didn't know where that came from. It just spilled of her mouth without thought but she decided even as she said it, she would follow through.
Luke looked on, speechless. A few hours ago Lorelai was telling him to keep Jess away, he thought Taylor and Lorelai would be on the same page. Now, she was giving him a place to stay at her Inn. "What are you talking about, Lorelai?" Luke asked hesitantly.
The more Lorelai thought about it this was the perfect revenge for all the hassle Taylor put her through when she was starting the Inn. "I'm talking about giving Jess a free room at the Dragonfly. If Taylor doesn't like it then, maybe, he'll remember all the things he's done to me and think twice next time."
Taylor's jaw dropped, "I've never done anything to you, Lorelai. Besides ensure you follow all the town codes and bylaws."
"What about the ribbons? And that horribly unnecessary walk through with the Historical Society? Constantly denying me extra parking? Changing the Inn's street name to Sores and Boils Alley? Would you like me to keep going? 'Cuz believe me, there's more."
Taylor stood in the now silent diner, staring. Lorelai may have been a nuisance to him on a small scale but she'd never done anything of this magnitude. "You are getting more like Luke every day." Taylor said in a huff.
"OUT TAYLOR!" Luke finally screamed, having heard enough.
Once Taylor stormed out mumbling to himself about town codes and bylaws, Luke turned to Lorelai, "Are we good now?"
Lorelai could tell that Luke didn't want to talk about this subject anymore. He just wanted everything to go back to normal, or as normal as it could be in Stars Hollow. "We will be when you pour the coffee."
Luke made her coffee while contemplating everything that just happened. Her standing up for Jess was better than any apology. "Were you serious about the room thing?"
Lorelai smiled wickedly, thinking of all the positively funny things Jess being at the Dragonfly would cause. Taylor annoyed: check. Michel irritated: check. Watching Sookie make Jess nervous on many, many levels: check. "More than serious. Send him around when he gets back, k?"
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Logan stormed past Rory into her dorm's common room. He couldn't understand why seeing Rory with someone else made him so angry, it felt like his blood was boiling. "Who was that guy?"
Rory watched Logan pacing the length of the room. She could see he was upset but for some reason she was just terribly amused by it. "That was Jess."
"I don't like him." Logan said, expecting Rory to apologize or do something, anything, to make this situation better.
"I couldn't tell. Thank you for clearing that up for me." Rory was smiling on the inside, thinking Jess would be proud at the improvement in her sarcastic comments.
"Are you two dating or something?" Logan had seen the way they were before he'd said anything. There was no way they were just 'friends'.
"Something in that realm, I guess. We haven't really discussed the details." Why was Logan acting this was? Rory couldn't understand it. She had seen him with someone else and it was expected for her to be perfectly fine with it.
"I don't like it." Logan was trying to find the right words, he didn't like seeing her standing there with another guy touching her. Logan felt like it meant she was going to lose interest in him. He ran his hands through his hair trying to calm himself down.
Rory sighed, this was going to get complicated, apparently. "Don't like what?"
"I don't like you with him. It bothers me."
"Logan, you're the one who said-"
"I know what I said. I also know that you said you weren't looking for anything serious. From what I just saw you and Jess looked pretty serious." Logan said with no small amount of venom. Logan couldn't help but feel passed over. As much as he didn't want anything serious with anyone, he thought that if Rory wanted to be serious he wanted her to be serious about him. Not someone else.
Rory wanted this to end. These were the messy complications she wasn't ready to deal with. She tried to keep her voice calm knowing that is she got Logan any more riled up this argument could go on for hours. "Logan, we agreed. No strings. It's not really your business who I spend my time with when I am not with you. At least not until it effects our 'arrangement', I guess is the best term."
Logan became quiet. He knew Rory was right. If she came at him this way, Logan would have run the opposite direction as quickly as his feet could carry him. Rory Gilmore was turning his world around and he didn't know what he was doing anymore.
Logan sighed, "I just… I don't know, you're special, Ace."
"You've said this before. I just need some time, Logan. Ok?" She sighed.
"Yea, time." Logan said quietly. Knowing that if he gave her too much time it would basically end any chance he had with Rory.
"I promise I'll tell you if things need to change. And I'm sorry that you're so upset about this but you're the one who wanted no strings, so you can't come in here telling me you don't like who I'm spending time with. It's not fair. I didn't do that to you." Rory rationally pointed out.
"You're right. I don't know why I pulled this jealous boyfriend act." It was a lie. Logan knew why he was so upset. He just didn't have the right to be. Not yet, at any rate.
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Jess walked into the diner and conversation still stopped. 'This town needs to lighten up.' Jess thought. "Hey Luke, I'm back"
"Oh, hey. Umm…" Luke was still trying to decide the best way to talk to Jess about the Lorelei thing.
Jess could always tell when Luke was struggling to say something. "Spit it out. What happened?"
"Lorelai wants you to go by the Inn. She's got something she wants to run by you." Direct and to the point was always best with Jess, Luke knew that.
"You mean she has something she wants to run me over with, right?" He looked at his uncle with a brow raised.
Luke couldn't help but chuckle. "No, that was her plan earlier. Then she has a run in with Taylor."
"And they came up with a more interesting plan?" Jess couldn't see anything good for him coming from Lorelai and Taylor talking. Those two were constantly battling over who hated him more. He was fairly certain they had secret buttons.
Shaking his head, "Nothing like that. Just go talk to Lorelai. She's the one with the crazy idea. I'm staying out of it."
Jess thought about it for a moment. He knew if he was really going to try with Rory he'd have to, at least, be civil with Lorelai. He still remembered the stern warning Rory had given him while he was cleaning her gutters. "Ok."
He decided to head over there now and get this over with. Like ripping a band-aid off.
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"Lorelai, that horrible boy who hurt Rory is in the reception area for you." Michel said, walking into the Dragonfly's kitchen. As much as Michel pretended not to care about these things he had a protective streak when it came to that girl. He had watched her grow up into a slightly less annoying version of her mother. "Would you like me to have him thrown out or should I just ignore him?"
"No, I got this one, Michel." Lorelai had already told Sookie about her idea, which is why she was already making the five course 'Thank you/Welcome Home' feast.
"Send him back here when you're done!" Sookie called, without turning from her stove.
"Jess." Lorelai said by way of greeting.
"Hey." Jess stood when Lorelai came in. "Should I have put on body armor before coming or…?"
Lorelai laughed a bit, remembering how entertaining Jess really could be. "No, no protection necessary, promise. I just need a small favor. Teeny tiny, no big deal."
"What's that?" The only things he could think she'd want from him was to stay away from Rory, which he wasn't going to do no matter what or his head on a platter. He was amazed when he heard what she had to say.
"I need you to stay here, at the Inn, and cause a small amount of trouble with Taylor. Nothing too big, just you know, something like the fake murder but new." Lorelai rushed out.
"Huh. Did I enter an alternate universe when I crossed into town or something?" It took quite a bit to genuinely surprise Jess. However, the ability to do so seemed to run in the Gilmore girls' genes because they never seemed to stop surprising him.
Lorelai was ready for his suspicion. "Taylor needs to pay for a few things and, well, let's be honest, you're better at that sort of thing than me. So, free room, free food, I'll even throw in a book or something in exchange for you causing a little mischief. Deal?" Lorelai smiled brightly and held out her hand like this was a business deal.
Jess processed this. Then felt he should ask a few questions just to make sure everything was clear. "You want me to pull a prank?"
"On Taylor." Lorelai nodded.
"Huh. I'll do it. No bribe needed." He shook Lorelai's hand. Today just kept getting better and better. He as making progress with Rory, then he gets to simultaneously make amends with Lorelai and make Taylor crazy.
"I insist. You're in room seven." Lorelai handed him a key. "And Sookie has already started to assemble your, what can only be called, buffet. Head back to the kitchen, before she starts adding more courses."
Seeing Jess, and hearing him actually talk, Lorelai was starting to see what Luke was saying. Jess was different. He wasn't Andy Hardy, by any means. But he was less 'lock up your valuables'.
"Uh, do I have the option of saying no?" Jess would never say it out loud but Sookie almost scared him. She was nice but just barely on this side of sane. She, also, waved knives around. Jess was a big believer in keeping sharp objects out of slightly disturbed hands.
"Not really, she'll just hunt you down and drag you back." Lorelai shook her head, smiling.
Jess nodded, "Figured. Which way is the kitchen?"
Lorelai was a bit stunned. Not only did Jess carry on a full conversation with her, he was even going to humor Sookie. So she just pointed.
"Hey Lorelai." Jess said in a mock whisper.
"Yea?"
"If I'm not out of there in, say, an hour, send search and rescue."
"No promises." Lorelai actually laughed.
Jess just shook his head with a smile and trudged to the kitchen.
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After Rory's Friday classes and a little studying, she got ready to head to her grandparents. She loved seeing her grandfather but having to sit with Emily was nerve wracking.
'And so it begins' Rory thought as her grandma walked into the foyer.
"Rory, you look wonderful." Her grandmother walked over and gave an unreciprocated hug.
"Thank you." Rory was still keeping things glacially cold with Emily.
Emily was trying her best to pretend everything was normal. The last time she talked about this subject things had quickly turned to yelling. "How is school?"
"Fine." Monosyllabic Rory struck again.
"And the paper?"
"Also, fine."
Emily was sure this would have continued if Richard hadn't come out if his study. "Rory!"
"Grandpa, Hey! How are you?" Rory's entire demeanor changed. She happily hugged Richard.
"I am wonderful. How are you?" Richard loved seeing Rory. She was an angel in his eyes. Even though she and Emily were fighting or some such nonsense, having Rory here Friday nights was the highlight of his week.
"I'm doing very well." Rory smiled.
"Let's move this to the living room, shall we?" Emily interjected.
"Fine." Rory could easily switch from bubbly to cold in an instant. Being friends with Paris had taught her that trick.
Richard tried to start a new conversation, "So tell us, what is new in your life this week?"
Rory began talking about her classes and a few funny anecdotes from the paper. Then she realized Jess' news might actually interest her grandfather as well. "An old friend is also opening a new bookstore near Yale."
Richard's ears perked up. "One that I've heard of?"
Richard loved perusing different bookstores, especially smaller independent ones. You could always find a new treasure on the shelves.
"I don't think so. Truncheon Books. They are originally based out of Philadelphia. The company is buying three new locations in New England."
"What old friend?" Emily asked trying to become involved in the talk.
Rory barely glanced in her direction before saying, "Jess."
"Jess?" Emily repeated, voice rising. She remembered that disgusting boy, Emily had been glad when he seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth years ago.
"Luke's nephew."
Richard didn't make the connection, having never met this Jess. Nor did he notice Emily's face. "That sounds incredibly exciting. Where, exactly, will it be?"
"No, Richard, this is not exciting." Emily interrupted the flow of the conversation before turning to look at Rory. "Rory, you can't honestly tell me that you still speak with that horrible thug."
Emily couldn't understand this. She had thought Rory and Logan were making a connection at her vow renewal. No one thought that Emily had noticed Rory and Logan dancing but she had. And now, this Jess reappears to ruin everything.
"Yes, he and I still talk occasionally. He actually showed me where the store is going to be and it's going to be amazing. He still has some work to do before it opens but, you can really tell it's going to be beautiful." Rory told her grandfather.
Emily didn't care a thing about all of that. "Rory, that is just unaccepted-"
Rory didn't even let her grandmother finish the though before saying calmly, "I'm really not interested in your opinion, Grandma."
Before Richard could jump into mediate Emily said, "Excuse me? Young lady, I am your grandmother, my opinion should, most certainly, interest you."
"In most cases, I agree, a grandmother's opinion does matter but not in ours." Rory kept her voice modulated. When arguing with Emily Gilmore the less emotional a person was the more off balance she got.
"Rory!" Emily was shocked, just because Lorelai was upset with her, Rory was acting like a sullen, rebellious teenager.
"Emily, let's just change the subject." Richard didn't want this evening to end badly. He wanted to enjoy a pleasant time with his wife and granddaughter.
"I will not be spoken to like this in my own house. If I think Rory shouldn't be spending time with someone then she should listen to me. I am her grandmother. I am, also, absolutely right." Emily was tired of pretending everything was fine. If she thought Rory was about to go down the wrong path, Emily felt it was her responsibility to step in and stop it.
Just as Rory was about to explode in a Lorelai worthy rant, Richard stood up. "Emily, we are not discussing this tonight."
"Thank you, Grandpa." Rory smiled at him, grateful that he stopped this argument before it got too ugly.
Emily sat, seething in her chair, listening to Rory and Richard talk. Knowing that no matter what anyone said that walking disaster should be nowhere near her granddaughter. Not if she could do anything about it.
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Jess, actually, enjoyed staying at Lorelai's Inn. Sookie, while still crazy, was friendly. Plus, annoying the stuck up French guy was a perk. Jess was pretty sure he was learning quite a few French obscenities.
Jess went to the diner to help Luke with the lunch rush and to wait for Rory to get done with her grandparents. He had her surprise wrapped and in his bag behind the counter. While Jess wanted to give it to her, he was incredibly nervous.
Luke watched Jess standing behind the counter reading a book. It was like the years melted away. He couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing here, Jess?"
Jess looked up from his book with a small smile, "Aw jeez, Uncle Luke, didn't miss me? I'm hurt."
Luke sighed he was tired of not knowing exactly what Jess was up to. This evasive crap was over. "You know what I mean."
"Well, since you asked so nicely…" Jess was really enjoying this. He loved watching Luke flustered. It was kind of like a game, to push him so far without pushing him over the edge.
"Come on, Jess." Luke ground out.
"I bought a place near Yale."
"What are you talking about?"
"I work for an independent bookstore. We're opening another store near Yale." Jess explained like he was talking to a really small child.
Luke thought about it for a moment. He wasn't shocked Jess worked with books, so that wasn't really news. "Wait, Yale?"
Jess knew he was going to have this talk with Luke eventually, so it may as well be now. He put his book down and gave Luke his full attention. "Yes, Yale. The store is geared toward college students, so it's usually a good idea to have the venue near a college. Just some good business advice."
"Rory goes to Yale." Luke deadpanned.
"Thank you for the bulletin, Captain Obvious." Jess tried to turn back to his book. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to Luke about it, he just didn't know if he was ready to actually say everything out loud.
Luke walked over and took Jess' book away. "Jess, are you doing all this for Rory?"
With a sigh Jess answered honestly. "She's the reason I'm here, personally. If she wants me to stay, I stay. If she doesn't I'll go back to Philly or one of the other places we're opening and another guy will come run the New Haven store."
Luke knew Jess wasn't over Rory. He's always secretly wondered if the two would end up trying again. But he didn't want to watch them possibly crash and burn again. Everyone assumed Rory was the only one who ended up hurt but Luke has seen that Jess hadn't walked away from their relationship totally unscathed.
"Three other places?"
"Yea, the others are going to be near Harvard and Princeton." Jess explained.
"You're really going to try this with Rory?" Luke wanted to gauge how serious Jess was.
"Yea, I really am." Jess said quietly.
Luke looked Jess in the eye, "Good. Don't screw it up this time. Got it?"
Jess laughed, "Aye aye, Captain."
After a few moments Jess cleared his throat. "So, Rory mentioned you got into it with her dad…"
Luke looked up startled. Luke had done his level best to forget that horrible night. And what sparked that verbal cage match. "Yea, at the Gilmore's vow renewal thing."
"Huh. I thought I was the only one in our family who got in fights at weddings. How'd yours go?"
Luke hesitated, telling Jess about the Logan guy was not something he really wanted to do. "Uh, we caught Rory in a well… it's complicated." Luke blushed.
Jess didn't need to be a mind reader to have a fair idea what they caught Rory doing. "Let me guess, it involves a certain blonde guy from Yale?"
Luke's eyes shot to Jess'. "How did you know about him?"
"Had the pleasure of meeting him today actually." Jess leaned back into the counter.
"You did?' Luke wasn't sure what to make of this. Jess was talking to him, openly.
"Yea, I showed Rory the shop. When I was leaving he showed up." Jess explained a bit.
"What happened?" Luke didn't see any bruises but Jess' past could mean that while Jess was unharmed the same couldn't be said of Logan.
"I was on my Sunday behavior." Jess smiled. Remembering the look casual guy gave him as he left.
"You're not upset about him?" Luke asked skeptically.
"I figured there would be a 'him' so, no I'm not upset." Jess shrugged. He figured Rory might have a guy, the fact didn't make him happy. But he was smart enough to acknowledge it as a possibility.
Just then the bell over the door signaled that they were alone anymore. Luke knew without turning around that it was Rory by the way Jess smiled.
"Hey." Rory said.
Jess grabbed his bag and went over to Rory. "I'm going to head out, Luke. I'll come back tomorrow to help open. That ok?"
Luke was already closing things up. "Sure, sure."
"Come on." Jess said opening the door for Rory.
Rory walked for a few minutes with Jess before she asked excited, "Are you going to show me that surprise anytime soon?"
Jess smiled at her impatience. "Soon enough. It really has been bugging you all day huh?"
Rory sighed, "Yes. As I said it was very distracting."
Jess put his arm around her shoulders and then decided to try and distract her. "You'll never guess where I'm staying."
Rory was suddenly confused. "I thought you were staying at Luke's."
"Nope. Change of plans. I'm at the one and only Dragonfly, now."
"My mom actually let you get a room there?" Rory knew her mom said that she wouldn't be evil to him but this was a far cry from that.
"She actually gave me the room." Jess was trying to draw out Rory's journalistic curiosity.
"For free?" Rory said still shocked.
"Yup."
There had to be more to the story than this. Something was missing. "Why?"
"That's a secret that stays between me and your mom for now." Jess knew a little mystery was good. Keep Rory guessing.
He had been instinctively walking to their bridge. It was the natural place for him to go with her. It was where they spent most of their time together in the past. So it seemed like the logical place to give her the surprise. "Ok, want your surprise now?"
Rory had also known where they were going from the moment they left the diner. This was their spot. Most of the important things in their relationship happened here. "Yes, please."
Jess reached into his bag and pulled out a simply wrapped brown package. He was still nervous about this one. More than when he showed her the store. This surprise was more personal than the store. He watched silently as Rory unwrapped it.
"The Subsect by Jess Mariano." Rory said almost to herself. Then she looked up.
"You wrote a book?" Rory's eyes sparkled with wonder.
All Jess could do was nod.
"You wrote a book!" Rory exclaimed bouncing up and down with her excitement for Jess.
Jess continued to stand there silently while Rory opened the cover. He knew she had seen it when she became so still she resembled a very beautiful statue. Then Rory whispered almost to herself.
"To Rory Gilmore. Ernest and I will always only have lovely things to say about you."
Rory knew in that moment, that some part of her had always loved Jess. She leapt into his arms and fervently pressed her lips to his.
Jess kissed her back with the same passion. Thinking this was his home. Where ever Rory was, that was his home.
"Why am I not surprised?" Jess and Rory heard Dean's furious voice coming from the end of the bridge.
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A/N: Read and review pretty please! The reviews really perk me up!