Rory awoke to find a note on the pillow where Jess's head should have been. She let out a tiny groan as she rolled over to pick up the slip of paper and she strained her eyes in the dim light to read his message.

Take the aspirin, have a shower, I'll be back soon with burritos.

I'll drive you to New York when you're ready.

J x

Rory's head was beyond aching and she had a sudden flashback to the night before. She followed Jess's instructions and swallowed down the two aspirin he'd left on the bedside table with the still warm cup of coffee he'd made for her. She stood under the shower until her head started to clear then shut off the water, stepping out onto the mat. As she dried herself she caught sight of her face in the mirror, still etched with the worry she'd felt the night before. Apparently 12 shots of tequila wasn't enough to take it away. Turning her back on her reflection she went back into the bedroom to get dressed. She collected her various items from around the apartment and re packed her bags, propping them against the lounge wall where Jess had put them just a few days earlier.

She walked over to the bookcase, she never had got around to checking out the rest of Jess's collection. Time was not on their side in so many ways. She spotted Jess's notebook on the coffee table and picked it up, turning it over in her hands, debating the ethics of reading his words without his permission. She decided he would let her read it when he was ready and bent to put it back where she'd found it. A scrap of paper fell from the book, an old receipt from a sandwich shop. She smiled when she saw the danishes recorded there and recalled the moment she'd wondered how much further there was to fall. She turned the paper over and saw his familiar scrawl on the back.

Not all luggage can be packed in zippered cases. Some things are far too delicate for that. I gave her my heart to carry with her and trusted she would know where to keep it.

This was exactly what she was afraid of. She let the tears she'd tried to drown last night fall freely this time in the privacy of Jess's apartment. She had no idea how long she stood there, clutching his words to her own heart. It was the sound of the key in the door that eventually shook her out of her moment of misery. She didn't make any effort to hide her tears or the piece of paper that she accidentally read. Jess put the takeaway packets on the table in the kitchen then approached Rory quietly.

"Hey, are you okay? I didn't mean to take so long. I decided to get you a cheeseburger too."

"This fell out of your notebook," Rory held the page out to him.

"Oh. I'm assuming you read it?" he asked, taking the slip of paper from her, his tone not giving anything away.

"Not your book, only that," she assured him.

"I thought you'd have known better than to read the last chapter first," he joked but Rory could tell he felt uncomfortable. She'd unintentionally crossed an invisible line.

"I...it was an accident. I wasn't..." her eyes pleaded with his for understanding, forgiveness.

"It's okay Rory, honestly. I trust you," his eyes softened and she knew he was speaking the truth.

"It's really beautiful Jess. Your words are always so moving and inspiring to me," she stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and enjoying the warmth of his hands on her hips when he placed them there.

"My words wouldn't exist without you," he admitted.

"Well then I guess you're stuck with me then," Rory kissed him sweetly.

"Well, yeah, I'll keep you around for a while yet. I mean, I've got a book to finish. There's still a few chapters missing before I can find a place for this." Jess held the receipt up for emphasis.

"In that case I'll just have to hope this one is longer than the last," Rory kissed him again.

Jess led her into the kitchen and pointed to the bags of food on the table. "How about you eat while I grab a few things for our little road trip. Annie told me you've got a function to attend at 6 so I figure if we get on the road within the next hour you'll have a bit of time at the other end to nap and get yourself ready."

"Hey Jess? Thank you for coming to get me last night. Thank you for looking after me."

"As if I have a choice Rory," Jess's tone was gentle and she looked away at the raw emotion in his eyes.

"Bukowski was wrong, I don't feel like laughing at all," Rory's voice came out just above a whisper and she looked up in surprise when she heard Jess doing exactly that - laughing.

"You will soon enough, trust me," Jess assured her.

A/N I get to a point where I really want to switch views which can lead to unbalanced chapter lengths. This one was pretty short but I think I made up for it in the next one so I'll update them both together so I get my POV change and you can keep reading. :)

Also, Rory references the same Bukowski quote from last chapter because these two great minds obviously think alike in a literary sense.

Lastly, the words in italics from Jess's notebook are my own pretending to be him.