A/N- I hope you all enjoy this chapter, as it was one of my favorites to write. Please keep reading and reviewing, let me know you're still here! I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of its concepts or characters. But I love what ASP created so much that I like to meld the universes.

Chapter 36

A week later, Jess felt considerably less optimistic. Matt and Chris had been putting Rory through the ringer. One example:

Matt: Rory, would you please go reassemble the Sanders stack?

Rory: No problem.

(two minutes later)

Matt: Rory, someone knocked over the Sanders stack. Would you be a doll…

Rory: Absolutely

(three minutes later)

Matt: Rory, it happened again.

Rory: On my way

(four minutes later, Jess approaches)

Matt: Rory…

Jess: Matt! For Christssake, why do you keep barreling into the Sanders stack like a bull in a china shop?

Matt: I have no idea what you're talking about. Rory, would you mind…

Rory: (wordlessly, walks toward the table)

Jess: (glares at Matt in mad fit of rage)

Matt: (innocently shrugs and walks towards the office)

There had been several similar occurrences regularly. Chris and Matt's distaste for her had become more pronounced once they realized that she was, in fact, planning on staying more than a few days, and most likely for a number of weeks. Their complaints about her were becoming repeatedly more ridiculous.

"She hogs all the coffee!"

"She alphabetized my files."

"She made coffee and put in in cups."

"She turned down the thermostat 2 degrees."

"She was reading during her break." "And?" "Russians, Jess! Godforsaken Russians!"

"Can you two please stop acting like children?" Jess finally exploded, after one particularly trying day, "Jesus, if this is you trying, I'd hate to see what you not giving a shit looked like."

"This is our business. We can't just change things because of a new, supposedly temporary employee," Chris countered.

"Doesn't she have a job somewhere? One that pays money? I'm sure they're less abusive than we are," Matt said hopefully, "Perhaps she should consider returning to a more friendly workplace."

"Lay. Off." Jess' eyes shot daggers at the two of them as Rory entered.

"Hey guys," she said tentatively. Chris nodded noncommittally while Matt rolled his eyes. Matt was being more problematic. At least Chris could appreciate her productivity, whereas Matt seemed completely spiteful, determined to really hate her rather than just be doubtful and wary.

"Hey," Jess responded weakly, "Want to grab a bite? I'm starved."

"Sure," she nodded, "Let me grab my coat."

"Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out," Matt muttered under his breath once she exited. Jess stared at him.

"I swear to God, Matt, just…" Jess looked at him with disgust, "Fuck you. Really. You must not give the slightest shit about what matters to me if you can act like this, even once I've talked to you. I'll be back later to close. Don't help."

And with that, Jess walked out the door, leaving Matt staring after him and Chris shaking his head at Matt, a frown on his face.

"I'm sorry about them. Especially Matt," Jess said apologetically when he met Rory outside, "I swear, I'm trying."

"Don't worry about it," she smiled, "Honestly, they have a reason to dislike me."

"You've never done anything to them."

"That's not the only decent reason to dislike someone."

"True. But Matt especially is being unreasonable. I'm sure they'll come around," Jess reassured her, "So, where to?"

"Indian?"

"God, fine. But then tomorrow's Thai and I won't hear a single complaint."

"I can deal with that."

Jess closed Truncheon alone at about ten, after finishing some inventory that he'd been neglecting for a while. Earlier Chris had explained to Jess that Matt had taken the afternoon to meet with one of his writers, and Jess had barely nodded in response. He could not give less of a fuck right now. Matt was crossing lines at this point, and Chris knew what was going through Jess' head.

"Look, I'm sorry about him," Chris had said tentatively, an hour or so earlier, "But try to cut him some slack. He's only being like this because he cares about you."

"Thanks, Dr. Phil," Jess had snarled in return, "God. But really, he acts like she killed someone. It's insane. At least you treat her like a human being."

"You trust her," Chris shrugged, "And she's certainly not lazy. She does her part and she puts up with us and even though I have my reservations and don't like her much either, I'm not out to get her. Let me try talking to Matt again."

"One more time," Jess threatened, "And after that it's my turn to talk to him. And it won't be pleasant for any of us."

"Alright, cool it," Chris smirked, "This isn't Reservoir Dogs."

"In my head it is," Jess muttered darkly, to Chris' great amusement.

"Never took you for a Tarantino fan."

"He appeals to me at certain moments."

After turning off all the lights, he headed upstairs. "Still up I see," he nodded to Rory, whose head was buried in a book, "What is it this time?"

"The Odyssey."

"What the…"

"I haven't read it since grade school," Rory defended, "It's classic."

"It's Greek. And ancient. And the Odyssey," Jess stressed, his eyes wide.

"So?"

"So, that's…" Jess gave up, "Whatever."

"Why, what are you reading that's so insightful?" Rory challenged. Jess picked up the book on his desk and held it up to her. She sighed loudly.

"Really? Again?"

"The short stories were some of his best work," Jess defended, setting the book down while he walked over to the dresser. He grabbed a pair of boxers from the drawer and a tee. After a brief, only semi-awkward discussion the first day, the two had come to the mutual discovery that they both dressed semi-inappropriately for sleep. Rory in large tee shirts and nothing else, and Jess in boxers. They'd agreed that considering their familiarity it would be stupid to make a big deal about it, especially since they each wanted the other to be comfortable. He grabbed an ACDC shirt and tossed it to Rory, who smiled gratefully. "I'll take the bathroom," she offered, and he nodded. A few minutes later, she reemerged to find him in bed, curled up with Ernest.

Looking from the bathroom doorway at him, she smiled. The way he focused had always blown her mind. He was exactly like her, the world could be moving at the speed of light around him in spirals tap dancing to maracas and he'd still be caught in the words, loath to extract himself from the life he was living in the pages. It was how she'd fallen for him in the first place. Of course, when they'd first met there were the stolen glances that exhilarated her to her core, but she really fell the most when she watched him read. Most of the times Rory would be at Luke's with Lorelai and he'd be slacking off, reading a chapter while Luke slaved away to handle the traffic, and she would just watch him. Whenever her mom would catch her she'd say she was thinking about the book, but usually she was really thinking about what Jess could be thinking about the book, what they might say to each other about the book, the world in the book that they could enter together. It was a little world she could inhabit with him even when she wasn't available without feeling guilty. Now that she was fully free to do so, watching him still made her heart slow a little in her chest, instilling a type of comfort that had seemed very far away for a long time. Jess finally looked up.

"Are you gonna sit there staring all night or read your tenth grade English assignment?" he mocked, and she shot him a mock-glare as she got into her bed and picked up where she left off. After about an hour, Jess called out, "You ready?"

"Yeah," she nodded, and he turned off the lamp.

"Goodnight, Rory," he said slowly, in that lazy, low voice of his reserved for right before he fell asleep. She ignored the flutter.

"Goodnight, Dodger."

She turned onto her side and went to sleep, unable to see the grin on Jess' face.