A/N: Apparently I'm not as up on my state nicknames as I would have you believe. Thanks for the correction, hieisdragoness18. California is definitely the Golden State.

Rory would have been less surprised to see Leonardo DiCaprio waiting for her outside the Hilton in Louisville. She stood, frozen to the spot, until Sonia shoved her in the right direction and walked away. "See you later," she whispered, nodding slightly at Jess.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked immediately, concern etched all over her face.

"Nothing," Jess shrugged. "Just wanted to see you."

Jess was probably the only person in the world who could strip Rory's ability to speak away from her. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but her mind was too warped to come up with anything to say, so she threw herself into his arms. "Are you mad at me?" she asked, her voice muffled by his t-shirt.

Jess snorted. "Nah."

"How did you know where I was? We just got here; I hadn't even texted you the address yet!" Rory exclaimed, pulling back slightly to look up at him.

"Just followed the crowd of admirers." Jess tilted his head toward a group of people Rory hadn't noticed yet, all shouting and holding signs that said some very rude things about the senator. Rory snorted.

"That's just great," she said. "Come inside before they decide to attack us." She grabbed his hand and led him inside the hotel lobby. "I'm so happy you're here!" she squealed, plopping down on one of the couches there. "I was so worried you were mad at me," she said more seriously, plucking at her skirt. Jess shrugged again.

"It's not a big deal," he said. "Sorry if you thought I was upset. You write a lot more than I do. The letter wasn't so short on purpose."

Rory nodded. "I know that now. I guess you borrowed that concise, to-the-point style from Hemingway, huh?"

"I learned from the best," Jess smirked, wrapping an arm around her. Rory glanced at his hand on her shoulder and he pulled back immediately. "Sorry…"

"It's okay, Jess," Rory assured him. "I guess…never mind."

"What?" Jess shifted, moving so that he was facing her.

Rory sighed. "I just thought of when I went to see you in New York and I was on that bus and you asked me why I came…you remember?" Jess nodded. "So I guess I'm wondering…why did you come here?"

"Well…I can't parrot you. You did say goodbye." Jess pressed his lips together tightly. "We lost the business," he said quietly, staring down at the floor.

"What?" Rory said, stunned. "Truncheon?"

"Yeah. Bad economy and all that. Bookstores are tough to keep up."

"But…but you were expanding!" Rory protested, her eyes wide. "I thought everything was going so well!"

"It was," Jess shrugged. "We tried everything we could to stay afloat. Then some chain offered to buy the space for triple what we paid for it. And Matt and Chris thought it was for the best."

"But you didn't," Rory guessed.

Jess shook his head. "Two against one," he said softly.

"I'm so sorry, Jess," Rory whispered, pressing a hand to her mouth. "That's awful. When did it happen?"

"It's been building for a while, but we officially sold it yesterday. And I just…I didn't know where else to go. Luke's all happy and white picket fences with your mom, and I didn't really want to admit I failed to Liz, so…"

"You didn't fail," Rory said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You published a book. Truncheon helped you do that." Jess gave a half-shrug and Rory's heart broke for him. "What now?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jess said helplessly. "I don't have a backup plan. Normally I'm fine with just floating around from place to place and finding work where I go, that's what I did in California, but I guess I got soft…got used to Truncheon…" He put his head in his hands. "Fuck, I swear, if I end up working at Barnes & Noble for the rest of my life…"

"You won't," Rory said confidently. "Do you want a drink?" Jess nodded vehemently, even though it was just two in the afternoon. Rory led the way to the hotel's bar and ordered two beers, but Jess shook his head and ordered a shot of whiskey. Rory bit her lip. "Me too," she told the bartender after a pause.

After an hour and a half of steady drinking (more so on Jess' part; Rory stopped after two shots and one vodka soda), Rory sighed. "Well, I would invite you up to my room, but Sonia's there, so…"

"So no funny business?" Jess said hoarsely, a ghost of his old smirk flickering on his face.

Rory blushed. "I didn't mean – "

"I know, Rory. I'm just teasing you."

"Oh." She pasted a smile on her face and gazed into the cup of melted ice in front of her.

Jess stared at her for a moment – she noticed out of her peripheral vision – then said, "You know, if Truncheon's gone under, that means I'm a free agent again. No ties. Nothing left for me in Philly."

"That's not true!" Rory protested. "I'm sure there are lots of great places you could work that would love to have you. And what are Chris and Matthew doing, all the money from the sale can't keep them afloat for long – " Jess was laughing quietly. "What?"

"You don't get it," he said, a slight smile on his face for the first time since he'd arrived. "I don't have to stay in Philly. I don't want to stay in Philly." He looked at her expectantly, but Rory's mind was chugging sluggishly, her wit dampened by the alcohol. "I wanna be with you, Rory," he said, sliding off the barstool and gathering her in his arms.

"Oh…" she said, the realization finally pouring over her like a bucket of ice water. "But…but you can't just follow me around while I'm doing this."

Jess pulled back. "You don't want me to."

"It's not that," Rory insisted. She wished he would look her in the eye. "It just doesn't make any sense. What, you'll follow the bus around from state to state in your car? Get a room in whatever hotel I happen to be in? We don't know how much longer we're going to be on the trail, Jess; if Obama keeps doing well, it could be a very long time! I don't want to put you through that!" She broke off with a huff of frustration, but Jess heard it as a laugh.

"Oh, you don't, huh?" he spat. She was standing now, her inch-and-a-half high heels enabling her to look him right in the eye as he spoke. "I don't want to go through it, either, but I'd do it for you, Rory! Don't you see? It doesn't matter where we are. We can be in Stars Hollow, or New York, or Philadelphia, or Kentucky, for fuck's sake, but it doesn't matter as long as we're together!" He paused, his chest heaving and his eyes burning.

Rory stared back, her lower lip trembling. "I can't ask you to follow me," she whispered. The bartender, too engrossed to interrupt, cleaned the same glass over and over. No one else was around.

"You're not asking, dammit!" Jess half-shouted, his shoulders hunched in frustration. "I'm offering!" They stared at each other, each of their faces holding a stony glare.

"Um…Rory?" Sonia said tentatively, stepping into the bar. Rory whipped her head around and stared at her friend, making the other girl step back. "Sorry, sorry," she said. "I just – Tim says we're supposed to be working, and he was wondering where you were, so I said I'd find you – " She stopped at the look on Jess' face. "I'll just go make up an excuse," Sonia said quickly, practically running out of the bar. Before Rory could reply to Jess, her phone started ringing.

"Not now, Mom!" she shot into the receiver.

"Rory, Luke was in an accident. You have to tell Jess to come here," Lorelai said, her voice shaking. All of Rory's anger deflated and was replaced by fear. She looked at Jess, her eyes wide.

"How did you know – never mind. I'll be there too, as soon as we can." Rory hung up and bowed her head. Her hands were trembling.

"What is it?" Jess asked, his voice much softer than it had been just minutes earlier.

"Luke…it's Luke. We have to go."

A/N: 1. No offense to Kentuckians. I don't mean to generalize with the protesters. It's hard not to get a little bit political in this story, considering Rory's job. It's probably obvious which way I lean, but I try to respect everyone's opinions.

2. I knowww, when are Rory and Jess gonna get it together? Those crazy kids!

3. Luke! :(