Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Gilmore Girls except for this story.

A/N: I love everyone's reactions to the last chapter! Thank you all so much for your kind comments and reviews. This chapter is very light-hearted and I felt the story deserved it after so much angst in the last few chapters. But, the drama isn't over for our favorite couple yet by a long shot. I also wanted to point out that the only name of Jess' co-workers I believe that was mentioned on the show was Matthew, but the names Leo and Chris have stuck in my mind, so I'm not sure if they are from another fic or are also mentioned on the show at some point. I apologize if I have inadvertently stolen the names from another fic author.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Jess opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the harsh sunlight streaming in through the cracks in his blinds. He didn't have one of those clichéd disoriented moments where he didn't remember the previous nights' events or wasn't aware of the still form lying next to him. He immediately remembered every glorious moment of the last night and the beautiful woman curled against his side.

He propped himself up on one elbow and gazed down at her, her breathing rhythmic, a soft smile on her face. Her back was to him, but she was snuggled against him tightly, her legs tangled in his. He couldn't resist the temptation to run his hand softly down her arm, her skin silky beneath his touch. He pressed a soft kiss on her bare shoulder and he felt her stir.

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned to focus on him. Her smile deepened. "Hey."

He smiled and traced a lazy pattern down her arm. "Hey." His voice was soft as he met her eyes.

She turned towards him and brought her hand up to his face, gently tracing his cheekbone. He leaned into the palm of her hand, briefly closing his eyes, reveling in her touch.

"It's not fair for you to look so good in the morning." She teased.

He opened his eyes and grinned. "I look good?"

She blushed. "Yes."

He laid back down and pulled her against him, his hand tangling in her hair as she rested her head on his chest. "You look pretty good yourself."

He felt her smile against his sternum, and she wrapped her arm around his waist.

They lay in silence for a few moments until Rory spoke again, softly. "This feels like a dream."

"If it's a dream, I don't want to wake up." He kissed the top of her head and they settled into a comfortable silence again, just enjoying the others' presence.

Rory sat up, bringing the sheet with her to cover herself. "Jess?"

He couldn't help but smile at her modesty this morning when she had all but stripped for him the night before. "Yeah?"

"I'm hungry." She pouted.

He raised an eyebrow and pulled her back down to him, lightly biting her neck. "So am I."

She giggled. "That's not what I meant."

"Ah, the infamous Gilmore appetite rears its ugly head."

She swatted his chest playfully. "I need coffee, too."

He nipped her shoulder once more before answering with a groan. "Fine, fine…we can get up. Do you want to take a shower first?"

She nodded and then grinned as he released her and stood up, staring unabashedly at his naked body, the muscles rippling with his every movement.

He smirked as he pulled her up beside him. "Like what you see?"

She wrapped the sheet she had been clutching firmly around herself and felt the blush creep back into her cheeks. "I didn't exactly get a good look last night."

Still smirking, he grabbed his boxers and slipped them on. "Well, I can't exactly walk across the hall naked, so you'll have to control yourself for a bit."

She laughed. "Okay, I'll see what I can do."

He opened the door and peeked his head out to make sure there was no one in the hallway. He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him and into the bathroom, Rory giggling the entire way.

"Are you planning on joining me in the shower?" she teased as he locked the door behind them.

He didn't answer immediately, but turned the water on and adjusted the temperature. He turned back to her, raising an eyebrow again. "Any objections?"

She dropped the sheet she had been wearing. "Nope." She smiled and stepped under the warm spray of water, beckoning him to follow.

He wasted no time in stripping off his boxers and joining her.

The water felt warm on his skin, but it was nothing compared to the heat he felt having Rory beside him. He lathered her hair with shampoo and she sighed as he worked it through her scalp, leaning back against him briefly before returning the favor.

He grabbed a washcloth and covered it with soap before proceeding to run it slowly all over her body. He took his time, teasing her with his touch, enjoying the way she bit her bottom lip and her breathing was becoming ragged. Not being able to take much more, she pulled him up to her, her eyes darkened, and took the washcloth from his hands. "My turn."

He leaned back against the cold tile, trying to control his arousal as Rory mimicked his earlier movements. He groaned her name as she slid her way back up his body, her hand lingering below his waist. He pulled her to him roughly and crashed his lips against hers, her arms instantly twining around his neck.

The need for her overwhelmed him and he could sense the same urgency in her as she deepened the kiss and clung to him. He turned them around so that her back was against the tiled wall, and he ground his hips against hers, breaking their kiss to run his tongue down her jaw line to the hollow of her neck.

Her leg snaked up his and he slid his hands under her thighs, picking her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. She threw her head back against the tile, moaning his name as he slid into her, her legs tightening around him. She gripped his shoulders for support as he began to thrust into her.

Her nails dug into him, her hips rocking against his as they increased their pace. Last night had been about love and expressing their feelings, but this mating was raw and primal, almost animalistic in their need for each other.

Jess bent his head and took her breast in his mouth, circling the tip with his tongue. She cried out as his teeth skimmed her nipple, grinding herself into him harder. He felt her inner walls clench around him as she moaned his name, the guttural sound sending him over the edge.

He couldn't sustain their combined weight any longer and he slowly pulled out of her, letting her slide down his body. She cradled his head against her shoulder, both slightly panting trying to catch their breath.

Jess slowly felt the feeling in his legs return and he lifted his head to look at Rory. She smiled and pressed her lips to his briefly. "I really need some coffee now."

He laughed and turned the water off, reaching for two towels and handing her one. They both stepped out of the shower and dried off, wrapping the towels around themselves before heading back to Jess' bedroom.

Jess sifted through his dresser, pulling out a jeans and a t-shirt while Rory picked her discarded clothes off the floor.

"Jess, where's my shirt?"

They both stopped and looked at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter as the realization of where both their shirts were dawned on them.

"Shit." He went back to his drawer and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and another t-shirt which he handed to her. "Well, I'm pretty sure my room mates have found them by now."

Rory was blushing furiously as she slipped into the clothes Jess had given her. "I really hope they didn't notice. I can't face them if they did!"

He loved how adorable she looked, practically swimming in his clothes that were too big for her, her cheeks bright red with embarrassment.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine." He assured. "And you have to face them if they're in the kitchen, because as you can see, I don't have a coffee pot in my bedroom."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, coffee wins."

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Jess led the way towards the kitchen where a pot of coffee was already brewing, but none of the guys were in sight. He grabbed two mugs from a cupboard, poured the coffee, and set one down in front of Rory who had taken a seat at the table.

"Black, right?"

She nodded and took a sip. "Good coffee."

"Thanks." A voice said behind them.

Rory felt the blush creep back into her face and looked to see a dark haired man, about Jess' age, smirking at them.

Jess rolled his eyes at the guy. "Hey, Matt. Thanks for starting the coffee."

Matt grinned. "No problem. Thought you might need it."

Jess shook his head. "Rory, this moron is Matt, Matt this is Rory."

He stepped forward and shook Rory's hand. "Hi." She managed a smile.

"And you were just leaving, right Matt?" Jess motioned towards the door.

Matt opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by two other voices coming from the hallway towards the kitchen.

"Well, well, well…Jess has company!" Two more men joined them and smiled at Rory.

"Aw, jeez…can't you guys find something else to do?" Jess sighed.

"Of course, but it'd be rude not to greet your guest." The tall black man grinned. He leaned towards Rory and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Leo and this is Chris." Rory shook his hand and smiled at the blonde next to him.

"Hi, I'm Rory."

"Okay, you've all met, now it's time to go." Jess motioned them towards the doorway again.

The guys all promptly ignored Jess and sat down at the table with Rory. Rory bit back a laugh at the frustration on Jess' face.

"Come on, Jess! We just want to get to know your friend here." Chris teased.

Leo joined in. "Yeah, it's not like you bring home a pretty girl every…well, never actually."

Rory joined in the teasing. "So the girls he brings home are usually ugly?"

The guys laughed while Jess leaned against the sink with his arms crossed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Actually our boy here never brings home any females." Leo explained. "How do you two know each other?"

Rory looked at Jess, wondering how much he actually wanted his friends to know. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say whatever she wanted to say was fine by him.

Rory turned back to the other guys. "Well, Jess and I actually dated back in high school."

Chris clutched his heart dramatically. "Aw, high school sweethearts."

"And now he's my cousin."

Matt spit out the sip of coffee he had just taken, while Leo and Chris sat there with their mouths hanging open. Jess laughed at the looks on their faces.

"You've got to be kidding." Leo said.

"No, she's actually not." Jess's grin matched Rory's. "My uncle just married her mom."

"Wow…well at least it's not by blood." Chris finally spoke.

"Okay, now that we've figured out I'm sort-of related to her, excuse us, we're leaving." Jess pulled Rory up and towards the door.

She turned around and shrugged helplessly. "Sorry. Nice to meet you guys."

As they were about to enter Jess' room, Matt called to Jess. "What?"

Matt grinned and threw something at him. "Figured you might want these back."

Jess looked down and saw it was the shirts they had discarded downstairs the night before. He rolled his eyes at Matt as the latter laughed and returned to the kitchen.

Jess shut the door behind him when they entered his room. "Did you have to tell them the whole cousin thing?" he moaned.

She laughed. "You have to admit it's kind of funny."

He shook his head slowly. "I'll never hear the end of it."

Rory grinned and pulled him down to sit next to her on the bed. "I'm still hungry."

He gave her a brief kiss. "Let's get out of here then and go get some breakfast."

After Rory changed out of her much-too-large sweatpants and back into her jeans, they went to a diner down the street and settled into a booth in the back. They placed their orders and Rory worked up the courage to broach the subject that had been on her mind since they had woken up.

"Jess?"

He sipped his tea and looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"What are we doing?"

Confusion darkened his eyes. "Eating breakfast?"

She shook her head. "No, I mean us. You, me, last night, today… how is this going to work?"

"Do you still want to be with me?" His voice was soft, as if he was still afraid of her changing her mind.

She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "More than anything. I love you, please don't forget that."

He nodded and a smile played on his lips. "How do you want this to work?"

"I told you I'm done lying, so I'll just be honest. I know you have a lot going for you here with the publishing house and I don't want you to ruin that. I don't want to do the long distance thing either. I'm tired of being far away from you."

He tilted his head, his eyes searching hers. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She bit her bottom lip and nodded. "I want to move to Philadelphia."

"You're serious?"

"Yes. Would that be okay?"

Jess grinned and leaned across the table, pressing his lips to hers briefly. "That's more than okay."

The butterflies in her stomach settled at his approval. "I actually got a few job offers, and one of them is for the 'Philadelphia Inquirer', but I haven't accepted it yet."

"Call them and accept!"

She laughed. "It's Sunday, Jess. The personnel office isn't open today!"

"Well then, call them tomorrow."

Her smile mirrored his own. "I will."

Their conversation was interrupted by Rory's cell phone. She glanced down and saw it was her mother. "Hello?"

"Why haven't you called me?" Lorelei demanded.

"I've been a little busy."

"Ooh, dirty!"

"Mom!" Rory stood up and looked at Jess. "It's my mom, I'll be right back." He nodded and she walked outside to continue the conversation.

"Okay, darling daughter, spill. What happened?"

Rory smiled. "He still loves me, Mom."

Lorelei sighed. "Tell me something I didn't know already!"

"Well the short version is that we're back together and I'm moving to Philadelphia."

"Aw, honey, I'm so happy for you." She could hear the smile in Lorelei's voice. "Wait, did you say you were moving to Philadelphia?"

"Yes."

"But, what about the 'New York Times'?"

"The 'Philadelphia Inquirer' offered me a position too, and I'd rather be by Jess. We've wasted so much time already, Mom."

"I just don't want you to give up your dream, honey."

"I'm not. All of it means nothing without him. Plus, this is an excellent newspaper and it will be even more wonderful working for them if I get to come home to Jess." Rory explained.

"Fine, I just want to make sure you know what you're doing."

"I finally do."

"Okay, just don't forget your dear old mother. I want to see both of you soon. I have a few things I'd like to talk to Jess about."

"Mom!"

"Sorry kid, it's my prerogative as the one who gave you life. I'll go easy on him, I promise."

"Fine, just be nice. I have to go, okay?"

"Okay, sweets. Have fun and make sure to tell me all the dirty details!"

"Mom!"

Lorelei laughed. "Bye."

Rory hung up, shaking her head, and went back inside.

"So, what did Lorelei have to say?" Jess asked as Rory sat back down.

She rolled her eyes. "She wants to talk to you."

"Huh."

Rory laughed at the dread written all over his face. "I think she'll be easy on you. After all, she's the one who gave me her car to come up here last night."

Jess narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "You're kidding."

"Nope. She was actually relieved I said no to Logan and happy I finally admitted I was in love with you."

"What do you mean 'no to Logan'?"

Rory realized her mistake immediately and took a sip of her coffee before responding. "Logan proposed last night." She admitted quietly, staring into her cup.

"Huh."

She looked up at Jess, but couldn't read the expression on his face. "Say something, please."

Jess stared at her for a moment, and then managed a smile. "There's a great book store a few blocks from here. Do you want to check it out after we finish eating?"

Rory let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Of course."

They spent the rest of the day exploring different book stores Jess recommended and keeping to light-hearted conversation or debating authors and books, quickly falling back into the comfortable rapport from years past. But every so often, Rory would catch a far off look in his eyes. He brushed it off when she questioned it, saying it was nothing, just thinking about a manuscript he had to edit, but she knew there was more to it than that.

She couldn't place her finger on what was wrong, but she couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that had settled into the pit of her stomach.

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A/N: Feedback is delicious!