"Um Jess?"

"Yes Rory?"

"Today has been so wonderful but right now I really need to..." Rory hesitated. She didn't want to waste the precious time she had left here with Jess but she had an article to write and a deadline to meet. He'd been right to remind her she was here for work. This had begun to feel, well, comfortable? Escapist? Like some long awaited dream on its way to coming true? There were no perfect words to fit, everything fell short somehow and failed to encapsulate these last 24 hours.

"Need to what Rory? Go? Do you need to go? We brought your bags, remember?" she broke out of her meandering thoughts at the sound of his voice. It was earnest again, bordering on worried.

"Of course I remember. It's just I need to work. I have to mold my notes into some kind of article and get it off to my editor before it becomes yesterday's news."

"Hey, don't let me stop you. You can borrow my desk if you like." Jess offered without hesitation, relief etched on his beautiful face.

"And you're sure you don't mind?" silently promising herself she would write this article in record time and be back to him soon.

"How can I mind Rory? You're here for work, I know that. I'd be lying if I said I don't want you to lose your job but..." Rory cut him off by kissing his boyish smirk.

"Thank you Jess, for everything," she told him sincerely.

"It's a P.A.'s job to keep his employer happy right?"

"That would be one way to look at it." Rory conceded.

"Making sure all your needs are met?"

"That sounds amenable..." How did he do this to her so easily? She'd already forgotten the article that had been her top priority just moments earlier and was now painfully aware of how long it had been since she'd last had her needs met.

She slapped him playfully on the shoulder as he gave her a knowing smile. Damn him and his effect on her. She couldn't help but smile back at him though and she felt herself falling more deeply into love with him. How much further could there possibly be to fall?

"There's spare pens and paper in the top drawer and if you get hungry check the bottom one." He took her hand and led her into his room, pulling out his desk chair for her to sit.

"What will you do while I'm working?" She suddenly felt like a child who didn't want to miss out on any fun by giving in to nap time.

"This and that." he answered vaguely. "Call me when you're done?"

"You know I will." Rory assured him.

"Huh. I guess I do." He bent down to give her one last gentle kiss before turning to leave the room. Rory could tell he was about to say something else but changed his mind and smiled instead before he walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

Rory pulled out her notes and recording from her bag and got straight to work. It was no easy feat but she managed to put Jess out of her mind for the next hour as she wrote the first draft of her article. It actually came together pretty easily, she was definitely finding her voice but was also aware of keeping her writing interesting and captivating. It would be easy to get stale on a trail like this where everything was understandably repetitive but it was the little details that made all the difference and they were the reason her editor kept praising and paying her. She put down her pen and stretched back in the chair, raising her arms up over her head and letting out a massive yawn. Remembering Jess's earlier instructions she opened the bottom drawer to find a white confectioners box tied with a burgundy organza ribbon. She undid the box, opened the lid and lifted it to her nose to fully appreciate the sweet chocolatey fragrance. She devoured 3 caramels before putting the lid back on then opened her laptop and got back to work.

Another hour passed as she typed then referenced then triple checked for any errors she may have missed. Finally as happy as she ever could be at this stage of the writing process she attached the file to an email and sent it off to her editor. She celebrated her effort with a few more caramels then went to the bedside table where she'd left her phone to charge.

"Finished?" he picked up on the first ring.

"Arriving in my editor's inbox as we speak," she affirmed.

The connection was lost and Rory was about to dial him again when the bedroom door opened and there he was standing there, a tea towel over his shoulder and a sheepish grin on his face.

"Are you hungry?" he asked while she was still processing his presence.

"Have you been here the whole time?"

"Not the whole time but yes, most of it."

"Huh," was all she could manage to say. She didn't know what she'd imagined he would be doing without her but she certainly hadn't expected him to sit around the apartment waiting for her. It was a good thing she hadn't known he was right outside her door though, his door actually, or there would be no sent email and still a night of work ahead of her.

"You didn't answer my question," Jess prompted her.

Rory just looked up at him.

"Are you hungry?" he repeated.

"Isn't that question a little redundant coming from someone who claims to know me better than anyone?" She teased him as she crossed the room to wrap her arms around his waist and snuggle into his chest. He returned her hug, placing a kiss atop her hair before resting his head against hers. They stood there for several minutes enjoying the comfort of the embrace after spending the last 2 hours apart. Rory had no idea how she was going to handle getting back on that bus in 3 days time. Everything was going so well, almost too well. Did they have what it took to make this work when these physical moments were taken out of the equation? She had to believe they were more than their physical connection.

It was Jess who let go first and Rory felt his absence more acutely in that moment than she had all afternoon. He led her into the kitchen and she let out a surprised gasp as she took in the table set for two and the pots simmering away on the stove. The smell hit her senses next and her mouth watered in expectation.

"This is what you've been doing all afternoon?" She asked incredulously.

"I did go out at one point to get a few things but yes, this is what I've been doing while you were busy working." Jess admitted shyly.

"Oh Jess. Wow. This...All of it...I..." she was lost for words again. He'd always had that annoying effect on her. When she spotted the vase of sunflowers on the bench the tears began to fall.

"Hey, shhh, hey Rory?" Jess was back at her side, his arms around her, his voice full of concern. "Did I do something wrong?"

Rory held him tight and reached up to kiss him.

"No Jess, you...this...it's perfect." Suddenly she found her words and they all spilled out at once amidst her tears. "Everything's so perfect Jess. Everything's so perfect and I have to leave in three days and I don't want to leave you now, not when we're finally here and it's like I always thought it could be and you're right, we are just you and I am just me when we're here and I'm so afraid that we're going to lose that when I have to go and we won't be able to hold on tightly enough and one day it won't be enough for you. I won't be enough for you."

A/N the next chapter will be up really soon I promise.