A/N: This chapter was a beast to put together. I attribute it to working with the script of the series finale -there's so much in there I wanted to keep. My story will likely be complete by the time the revival is released in what I'm guessing will early winter, so don't be expecting me to change my story to fit it. Perhaps I'll be inspired to write another story based on what the revival does. Anyway, I'm super happy to be done with playing around with scripts from here on out; it's REALLY hard work. Next chapter will mark the beginning of post series.
"Why would Christiane Amanpour be hanging out at the Dragonfly?"
"I don't know."
"Because she wouldn't be."
"But she is!"
"You went up to her and said 'Hi,' and she said, 'Hi, I'm Christiane Amanpour, nice to meet you'?"
Jess laughed quietly sitting beside Rory in Lorelai's Jeep. She'd woken them up at nine, bursting into the house like a tornado, because Christiane Amanpur was at the Dragonfly and they had to come right now! Jess almost lost an appendage hurrying to put proper clothes on. Rory was in actual pajamas, but Jess couldn't very well venture out of the house in nothing but boxers.
"No, I didn't go up to her at all," Lorelai explained. "I looked and saw that it was her and I went to get you."
"So I could look at a fake Christiane Amanpour?"
"She might be real, Ror," Jess winked.
"She is real," Lorelai insisted
"I guarantee you it's not her," Rory said as they entered the Dragonfly.
"You doubt my ability to recognize a glamorous, international war correspondent?"
When Rory peered into the library, she was stunned. "Oh my God, that's Christiane Amanpour!"
Jess chuckled as Rory squeezed his hand in excitement. "I'll be damned," he whispered.
"I can't meet Christiane Amanpour in my pajamas!" Rory said, suddenly embarrassed. "How long has she been here?!"
"I don't know –I just saw her eating breakfast and I went home and got you. Hey Michel," Lorelai tapped Michel's shoulder, "how long has Christiane Amanpour been here?"
"Ah. She checked in late last night, room seven."
"She's staying here? You didn't tell me?"
"I wanted to avoid yet another embarrassing incident," Michel said sneeringly.
"What are you talking about?"
"You always embarrass yourself when celebrities stay at the inn."
"I do not."
"Jane Pauley, Harry Belafonte, Marisa Tomei … I could go on."
"No, no," Lorelai said, trying to keep her cool, "Marisa Tomei's mother's best friend is my hairdresser's cousin's roommate. That's just freaky."
Jess held his breath to keep from laughing out loud.
"You make them uncomfortable," Michel said.
"I run an inn. These are my guests. What am I supposed to do –ignore them?"
Michel smiled at this. "I think that might be best."
"I'm gonna go over and see if she'll meet you," Lorelai said to Rory.
"What? Okay. Wait. Don't be funny," Rory warned her. "Come on, Jess," she said, yanking him by the hand to hide behind the reception desk.
Jess laughed. "We don't have to hide. You're gonna go over there and meet her in a second."
"Don't touch anything," Michel said disapprovingly to Jess.
"Oh don't worry, I'm just gonna mess up your entire booking system, hide your Post-Its somewhere in the kitchen and run all your pens dry," Jess smirked.
"Insipid author man," Michel narrowed his eyes and gathered up the Post-Its and pens with him before disappearing. If he could have, he'd have taken the computer too.
Jess and Rory laughed as they watched him leave, before turning their attention to Lorelai.
"Excuse me, Ms. Amanpour?" Lorelai asked, tentatively approaching her where she sat reading a book.
"Yes?" Christiane Amanpour answered.
"Hello, I'm Lorelai Gilmore. I run the inn."
"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Gilmore. You have a lovely inn."
"Oh no, please," Lorelai said with a flick of her wrist, "Mrs. Gilmore is my mother. Call me Lorelai. I'm sorry to bother you, but my daughter is a huge fan of yours, she always has been."
"That's very nice to hear. Thank you."
"She just graduated from Yale. She was the editor of the Yale Daily News."
"That's great!"
"Anyway, she'd love to meet you, if that's okay."
"I'd love to. Is she here?"
"Yes, she is. Rory, come here," Lorelai said, enticing Rory over. When she was too stunned to move, Lorelai sighed. "Jess, could you remind our girl how to walk please?"
"Ror, your idol's right over there. Go!" Jess chuckled light-heartedly.
Rory looked at Jess, excitement spreading across her face, quickly replaced by panic. She grasped his hand tightly. "You have to come with me, please?"
"Fine, silly girl," Jess said, kissing the side of her head quickly.
Lorelai smiled proudly. "This is my daughter, Rory Gilmore and her boyfriend Jess Mariano –he's an author, he runs a publishing house in Philadelphia. Rory, meet Christiane Amanpour!"
"Hi, Rory. How are you?" Christiane Amanpour smiled pleasantly, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Rory said quietly. "I'm sorry to meet you in my pajamas. I don't usually walk around town like this."
"That's okay," she laughed. "It's nice to meet you too, Jess," she extended a hand to him, "you're an author and you run a publishing house?"
"Yeah," Jess shrugged. Underneath his calm exterior he was star-struck too.
"Which publishing house is it? What kind of work is published? What kind of work do you write?"
"Truncheon Books. It's just a small press –five guys putting out about five books a month. I've written two short novels of fiction. We publish mostly fiction prose and poetry –and a monthly magazine. We have deals with a few local artists who like to hang stuff up on our walls because we don't rip them off on commission."
"That's quite impressive for someone so young. You can't be over twenty-five!"
"Not quite twenty-three," Jess answered bashfully.
"Well, it sounds like a most interesting place. Do you have a card I could take with me? I wouldn't mind stopping in if I get a chance, next time I find myself out in Philadelphia."
"You want a –you want my –my card? You want my card?" Jess asked, stunned.
"Yes, I do," she laughed.
Jess pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed her a card.
"Thank you."
"Ms. Amanpour," Rory smiled, "I think you are so inspiring. Your reporting is so bold and moving and fascinating and I know you've won nine Emmys, but I just don't think that's enough –not that you care about that kind of thing, but I just want to say thank you."
Christiane Amanpour smiled gratefully at Rory. "Thank you. Your mother says that you've graduated Yale, editor of the Yale Daily News –that's not bad."
"Oh, thank you. I'd love to work for a major daily one day."
"Do you know which one?"
"Don't have my heart set on any particular one right now. I actually got offered a pretty amazing opportunity a few weeks ago to cover Senator Obama's presidential campaign for an online magazine I've been doing freelance pieces for."
"Oh my goodness! Countless journalists would kill for that job; everyone wants the opportunity to chronicle Obama's historic campaign. I didn't get any opportunities nearly as remarkable as that at such a young age. Did you take the job?"
"Yeah I did. I leave for Sioux City Iowa in two days."
Jess smiled, both out of pride and because of how right he was –Rory was a rock star.
"You know Rory," Christiane Amanpour said sincerely, "being awarded this opportunity indicates that you've built up quite the reputation for yourself professionally, even before technically entering the workplace. Your writing and journalistic integrity must be exemplary. Working on Obama's campaign will open up all kinds of doors for you; you'll be proving to everyone that they'd best not judge you for being as young as you are. I imagine you'll be quite the force to be reckoned with. You'll be building up what I'm sure will be a stunning reputation with every story you file.
"After Obama's campaign, I have no doubt that you to find a job almost anywhere you want. You'll be filing high quality stories and bolstering the site's reputation within journalistic circles. Whoever your boss is was incredibly wise to ask you to do this. I have no doubt that after this campaign, you'll have your pick of choice of almost any daily you want."
"That's so nice of you to say! Thank you!"
"I don't often do this, but I'm going to give you my card. If you want to send me some stuff, I'll gladly have a look at it and stay in touch."
Jess shot Rory a smile.
"Seriously?" Rory asked, taking her card in shock.
"Yes, yeah! In fact, email me with the web address of the online magazine you're covering the campaign for –I'll be very interested to read your coverage."
"Wow! Thank you! I will!" Rory smiled
A car honked its horn. "That's my cab out there, so I have to get going now. It was really nice to meet you," Christiane Amanpour reached out to shake Lorelai's hand.
"Nice to meet you," Lorelai said with a grateful smile.
"Nice to meet you," she said to Jess next, reaching for his hand. "All the best."
"It was great to meet you," Jess said, smiling.
"Rory, it was my pleasure to meet you. Congratulations on everything you have accomplished. You have an exceedingly bright future ahead of you in journalism –I have no doubt. I look forward to reading your coverage of Obama's campaign."
Rory blushed and smiled as she shook her hand. "It was so nice to meet you!"
"Good luck. Take care."
"Thank you," Rory said again. After she was gone, Rory was buzzing with excitement. "I can't believe I just met Christiane Amanpour in my pajamas!"
"I can't believe Christiane Amanpour asked for my card!" Jess exclaimed.
"See? You both made an impression," Lorelai smiled proudly.
"I don't know, I think it would have made more sense to get a regular-sized shampoo bottle instead of twenty tiny ones," Rory said as she walked along the street with Lorelai.
"With the big bottle you'd have to lug it off and on the bus."
"Lug?! How big do they make them?"
"The little bottles give you just as much shampoo without the weight. Perfect for travel –plus, they're cute," Lorelai reasoned.
"Fine. Oh, I want to stop by the post office. I want to get tons of blank postcards. You are gonna get so many postcards."
"You could just e-mail me."
"It's always nice to get real mail."
"Just make sure you don't mistakenly send me a postcard meant for Jess," Lorelai winked.
"Mom!" Rory blushed. "You think I have no appreciation for the type of correspondence that has no business being written on a postcard?"
"Sexy emails?"
Rory said nothing and just walked faster.
"Ha!" Lorelai laughed. "Sexy emails! Good girl. You gotta keep the fire burning somehow. Okay, so, back to our original topic. What else do you need?"
"A mini book light –I had a mini book light, but I lent it to Paris. And by 'lent', I mean she totally stole it."
"I think we have a mini book light in the lost and found at the inn. Maybe you should adopt it and give it the love it needs. Hey, I have a great idea," Lorelai crossed the street and headed towards Miss Patty's. "Remember last year when Miss Patty hurt her back during rehearsal for spring fling?"
"Yeah, she should have never demonstrated the Jetés for the little daffodils," Rory laughed.
"She has one of those back support things that you put on top of chairs. I bet she'd loan it to you."
"Do I really want to be known as 'back-support-thingy girl'?"
"Hello, two-hour speech, metal folding chairs, and 'Now I'll take questions for an hour.'"
"Just call me 'back-support-thingy girl,'" Rory sighed
Lorelai was surprised that the door to Miss Patty's was locked. "That's weird. She never locks this," she said, knocking on the door. "Miss Patty?"
"Miss Patty?" Rory called.
Miss Patty yanked the door open just enough to poke her head out. "Hello, girls."
"Hi, is everything okay?" Lorelai asked.
"Oh, yes, everything is fine," Miss Patty assured her. "I'm consulting with my muse."
Rory cocked her head. "Your muse?"
"Yes! Whenever I want to think up a new dance routine, I come in here alone, lie down on the floor in the dark and I let the muse inspire me. Did you want something?"
"That's okay," Lorelai said. "We'll come back when you're not with your muse."
"Okay, good."
"Okay, well, so we'll –"
Before Lorelai could finish speaking, Miss Patty slammed the door shut.
"Odd!" Rory said in surprise.
"Very odd," Lorelai agreed as they walked away.
Almost the entire town of Stars Hollow was standing in the dark with their backs pressed against the wall as they waited for Lorelai and Rory to move on.
"Let's get this meeting going!" Babette said excitedly.
"Once again, this is not a 'meeting', per se," Taylor said patronizingly. "We have already broken several Robert's rules of order."
"Who the hell is Robert?" Jess asked.
"I still don't know why he has to be here," Taylor sighed.
"I'm Rory's boyfriend, Taylor. Have been for a year and a half. Deal with it."
"Yes, well, I was hoping that was just a bout of temporary insanity on Rory's part,"
"Nope, you're stuck with me," Jess smiled sarcastically. "Believe me, I'm feeling some pain of my own. Get over it. Don't tell your imaginary friend Robert that we're breaking his 'rules'."
"Who cares about the rules? It's Rory, for God's sake," Lane piped up.
"So let's start divvying up the duties," Babette suggested. "Who's gonna do the food?"
"I've got hot dogs and hamburgers and a couple of big grills in the square," Luke said. "Sookie's got the rest covered, right Jackson?"
"She's at home baking right now. You name the fruit and it'll be in one of her pies," Jackson confirmed.
"I'd like a blackberry," Kirk said.
"She makes a wicked blackberry and cranberry."
"What about cherry?" Miss Patty asked. "Cherry is a classic."
"Please," Taylor yelled. "Could we stay focused? This gathering is unofficial and as such I would like to have it over with as soon as possible. Now Luke, I assume you've obtained permits to use two large grills with open flame on our town square?"
"I don't have any permits," Luke sighed. "Do we really need to go through all this, Taylor?"
"Outdoor barbecuing without a permit is a violation of town codes."
"If this meeting is unofficial, then whatever you say is unofficial!" Jess barked. "Luke's barbecuing. What else?"
"Music," Lane said.
"Lane, do you and Zach have a good sound system?"
"You know it!"
"Okay, what about decorations?"
"Lulu has a bunch of stuff left from a school birthday party –Mylar balloons, streamers," Kirk offered.
"Done," Jess said.
"There are not going to be any Mylar balloons. They are infamous for floating up and catching on power lines. It could cause an outage for the whole town," Taylor interjected.
"The closest power lines are six miles out of town," Luke said, getting annoyed.
"Nonetheless –"
"Nonetheless, Kirk, tell Lulu to bring those balloons and whatever else she's got!" Luke yelled.
"You people are violating town ordinances left and right. This is highly irregular," Taylor complained.
"Dude! You're highly irregular!" Jess screamed.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't know what your problem is, Taylor. But the town wants to throw this party. You're either gonna join us or you're gonna stay home and comb your beard," Luke spat.
Everyone in attendance hooted and hollered and cheered in agreement.
"We're gonna need chairs and tables and volunteers to set them up around the gazebo. We'll get started in the square tonight after dark, okay?" Luke told everyone.
"You should come along, it'd be fun," Rory said as she walked hand-in-hand with Jess.
"No, you need some alone time with Lane," Jess said softly.
"Yeah, but it's cutting into our you-and-me time."
"There's plenty of time."
"Thirty-six hours is not plenty of time."
"Ror, it's okay. I don't need to be with you every minute until you leave. Lane's your best friend. Besides, your mom asked me to go to Sookie and Jackson's to get you that fanny pack."
"Ugh, don't remind me. I can't believe she honestly thinks I'd wear a fanny pack."
"You think Tom Brokaw's mother sent him off to his first campaign with no fanny pack?" Jess laughed. "What if Obama wants a piece of gum, but no one has any? And then someone says, 'What about that girl with the lime green fanny pack?'"
"I would be 'lime green fanny pack girl.'"
"Yeah, but just imagine: they bring you over to him and he says, 'Hello young lady, what's your name?' And then you would get to say, 'I'm Rory Gilmore. Here's your gum.' And just like that, you're gum buddies with the future president of the United States!"
"Oh when you put it that way –gum buddies," Rory giggled.
"Billy Fink," Lane said.
"How did I not know this?" Rory asked.
"I was too ashamed to ever tell you. I mean how would you feel if your first kiss was Billy Fink?" Lane chuckled. "How weird is this? Yesterday we're sitting on your porch playing jacks and praying to grow boobs, and now look at us. I have a husband and two babies in there, and you're about to go off and conquer the world, or at least write about it."
"Babe," Zach said, poking his head out of the doorway. "Can I talk to you a sec?"
"Sure what's up?"
"In private."
"I'll be right back," Lane said, getting up.
"Sorry, Rory," Zach said.
"The kids okay?" Lane asked when they'd retreated inside.
"Sound asleep. But I just got a call from Luke and they want to start setting up the square for tomorrow."
"Yeah, so?"
"The honouree is sitting on our porch looking out onto the square and they can't set up until she goes home."
"It's my last night with my best friend," Lane snapped.
"Well, could you move it along, because it's getting late and we were just trying –"
Lane cut him off with a dirty look.
"You're done when you're done," Zach sighed. "I'll let them know."
"Sorry about that," Lane said, sitting down outside. She noticed that Rory looked sad. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," Rory sighed. "In the past two minutes, sitting here, I've managed to completely freak myself out. I haven't really had a chance to stop and think about it, but I just stopped and thought and I'm really nervous."
"Rory, you're gonna do an amazing job, okay? You always do."
"See? I hate that."
Lane was suddenly confused. "What?"
"Everyone thinking I'm gonna do an amazing job all the time, like it's a given. It's not a given. What if I'm a terrible reporter?" Rory asked, her eyes starting to well up.
"Then you'll figure out how to get better. Rory, the reason why everybody knows you're gonna do an amazing job is because everybody knows you. Yeah, you're gonna be nervous. I mean I was nervous before I had the babies. I was throwing up all the time."
"You were pregnant," Rory pointed out gently.
"True," Lane nodded. "But that was thirty per cent pregnancy, seventy per cent fear of being the world's worst mom."
"I just don't know about just picking up and leaving until who knows when and leaving Mom, and Jess –see? I'm not ready. What reporter freaks out about leaving their mom?"
"The lucky kind. And Jess will be fine –he loves you so much, Rory. I'll look out for him, I promise. Call him, check on him, make him hang out with me here –the works."
"Jess is your friend, Lane. He came to your baby shower and painted two adorable onesies, because he wanted to. He'll hang out with you because he wants to, not because you make him," Rory sighed. "But thank you. It'll make me feel better, you two looking out for each other."
"How's your mom holding up?"
"She's making lists and sending Jess to get fanny packs. She's not even a little bit sentimental."
"I'm sure she's freaking out on the inside."
"I don't know. Maybe," Rory sighed again. "Lane…"
"Yeah?"
"I just… your friendship means so much to me. It's so..."
"Me, too," Lane smiled, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Hey, guys, only six chairs to a table," Luke said. "Jess, can you help Kirk and Lulu with the lights?"
Jess sighed. "Do you want me to get arrested for murder? After everything I've done to get my life on track?"
Luke laughed. "Fair point. Go find Zach then, get him to do it okay? Kirk, be careful stringing those lights! One of those light bulbs blows and the whole thing's useless."
"Luke! Luke!" Babette screamed as she ran towards him.
"Babette! Over here."
"Oh, Luke! My ankles! Look at my ankles!"
"Should I ask why?"
"Bad news, doll, it's gonna rain. My ankles haven't been this swollen since hurricane Bob. I checked the weather channel, and sure enough, Nick Walker confirmed it. There's a storm front moving in over Connecticut."
"I walked in on the wrong part of this conversation," Jess said. "Wait, it's gonna rain tomorrow?"
"First thing in the AM, Nick Walker –you a Nick Walker fan, Jess?"
"No."
"Oh, you should be. He's just terrific –always dead on and so charming. Anyway, he says it's definite. Sorry for the bad news, but Luke knows my ankles."
Jess cocked an eyebrow at his uncle.
"It's true, Jess," Luke confirmed. "Babette's ankles are never wrong."
"Whatever you say," Jess said sceptically.
"Oh, what a shame," Babette sighed. "Too bad you can't fit the whole town in the diner, Luke."
"What we gonna do, Uncle Luke?"
"I can't believe it's gonna rain tomorrow," Luke sighed.
The wheels in Luke's brain were churning to find a solution, but it wouldn't hit him until he found his bait and tackle box under the counter in the diner. He ran outside to Jess and told him to gather everyone's raincoats and all the tarps he could find.
Luke and Jess stayed up all night, sewing everything together. Jess was actually pretty good at it, once Luke taught him how to thread the needle and what stitch to use. They bantered back and forth like two old ladies, just like they always used to. But unlike when Jess was a teenager, the banter dissolved into laughter a lot easier than it used to.
"I'm really going to miss her, Luke," Jess said quietly, without taking his eyes off the sewing.
"I know, Jess," Luke sighed. "Do you regret encouraging her to take this job?"
"Not in the least. It's what she needs to do."
"Are you worried that you might not be able to keep your promises to her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, that you can make it work for two whole years while she's away following a presidential campaign around the country?"
"I couldn't live with myself if I pushed her to do anything other than what I know she wants. I'll say the same thing to you that I said to her, which is that I would never want her to compromise her dreams for me. I'm not going to stop loving her for following her dreams. The Obama campaign is literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and if she passed it up, she'd regret it. I can't imagine my life without her, Luke –two years in the grand scheme of her whole career and our entire lives is nothing."
"Two years isn't exactly a short period of time."
"I know that."
"I can't think of many people who would willingly sign up for a long distance situation like the one you're about to be in."
"I love her Luke. That's it. Supporting her dreams was never actually a choice. She'll be gone for two years and I'll be in school the whole time.
"Working this campaign will open all sorts of doors for her –hopefully she'll be able to find a job relatively easily and wherever she wants. Rory and I have already talked about her focusing on finding jobs in Philadelphia after the campaign, since I'll still be at Temple.
"We have no idea what the next two years will be like, we just have to take it one step at a time. After that, I'm hoping we can just be a normal couple. Living in the same city would be nice. Really nice. I can't wait to fight about boring stuff, like hogging covers or whose turn it is to take out the garbage."
Luke couldn't help but smile. "You really do want to share your life with her."
"Why is no one picking up their phones? I want to say goodbye to everyone," Rory sighed. "Jess wasn't even in my room when I woke up this morning."
"Huh," Lorelai said, "Luke was gone this morning too."
"Weird. Holy crap, it's really pouring."
It was raining so hard that Lorelai and Rory could barely see across the street.
"We'll track them all down, I promise," Lorelai said. Suddenly, she gasped. "Rory, look!"
All of Stars Hollow was gathered under a giant makeshift tent, cheering at the top of their lungs. There was a massive banner that read Bon Voyage Rory!
"I think you're gonna get to say goodbye to everybody," Lorelai smiled.
Rory was speechless. "Did you –?"
"No, I didn't do a thing."
Jess and Luke came running out from the tent, each of them huddled under a giant umbrella. Jess grasped Rory's hand tightly and helped her out of the Jeep while Luke did the same for Lorelai.
"You did all this?" Rory shouted over the pouring rain.
Jess smirked and shrugged. "Luke, too."
Rory smiled widely in disbelief. She'd never loved Jess more than she did in this very moment.
Lorelai had tears in her eyes by the time she came around the front of the Jeep. All four of them made a run for it –both Gilmore girls hand-in-hand with their loves.
"We love you, Rory!" Lane's voice could be heard shouting above the crowd.
"We love you, Rory!" Miss Patty echoed.
"We're so proud of you!" Babette said tearfully.
"Wow," Lorelai said, taking in the sight.
"Wow," Rory whispered, completely overwhelmed.
"We couldn't let you go without a party," Jess whispered casually.
Rory looked at Jess and pulled him tight against her, catching his lips in a passionate kiss. The town 'ooo-ed' and 'ahh-ed' like high schoolers. Lorelai soon followed suit with Luke and everyone erupted into even louder cheers.
"I see your grandparents. I'll be right back!" Jess told Rory before running over to greet them. "Hey guys, thanks so much for coming."
"This is quite a party," Richard smiled.
"We couldn't miss this, Jess –we're her grandparents!" Emily said, taking in the sheer size of the event. "You and Luke planned all this?"
"Well, the whole town pulled together, but it was our brainchild, yeah," Jess said.
"It's just wonderful," Emily said, getting misty eyed.
"Hey Mom! Hey Dad!" Lorelai said, coming over to them. "Jess, Luke is looking for you. He needs help with the barbecues."
"On it," Jess said.
"I can't believe they did all this for her," Lorelai said quietly, shaking her head in awe as she stood with her parents.
"I don't think this is all for Rory," Richard said sincerely. "I think this party is a testament to you, Lorelai, and the home you've created here. I regret that you needed –"
"Richard," Emily cut in.
"Let me finish, Emily. I regret it. Recent experience has taught me –"
Emily sighed. "Oh, please don't become one of those 'I had a heart attack, let me express my every thought' types."
"Not every thought, dear, just this one. It takes a r–" Richard's voice cracked with emotion. He took a deep breath, "a remarkable person to inspire all of this."
"Thanks, Dad," Lorelai said, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Okay, that's enough," Emily said evenly, after a pregnant pause. "It's not as though the two of you are saying goodbye."
"May I have your attention, please?" Taylor said from the stage that was set up. "I'd like to welcome you all to this Bon Voyage party in honour of one of Stars Hollow's favourite daughters, Ms. Rory Gilmore!"
"Brava! Brava!" Richard cheered.
"Rory, would you like to say a few words?" Taylor asked.
Rory blushed, gave Jess a kiss and made her way to the stage. "I love this place. I just loved growing up here, and I love all of you. Thank you so much for doing all of this. It's amazing. I just –it's so –oh, I'm on the verge of gushing, so I'm just gonna stop myself here. I don't want to gush. But, –to my Mom, who is just everything to me –everything I am and who I'm gonna miss so much."
Lorelai locked eyes with Rory and gave her a tearful nod.
"Alright everyone, let's get this party started!" Jess shouted excitedly.
"I can't believe you and Luke did all that for me," Rory said quietly, wrapped in Jess' arms in her bedroom. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Jess whispered.
"How are we going to do this, Jess?"
"One step at a time. One day at a time."
"You sound awfully calm,"
"Rory, look at me," Jess said, propping her chin up. "I don't have a crystal ball. I don't know how this is going to go. Neither of us have done this before. I'm calm because of what I do know. I love you, Rory Gilmore. That's not going to change."
Rory sighed against Jess' chest. When her tears dampened his shirt, Jess could literally feel his heart starting to hurt. He missed her already and she was still wrapped up in his arms.
"I have something for you," he whispered.
Rory looked at him questioningly. "You didn't have to –"
"I know. But I want you to have something. Something –" he paused to swallow his tears, "something you can look at and see, to be reminded of everything I told you when we talked about you taking this job."
Jess reached into his pocket and pulled out a rose gold Claddagh ring.
"Jess, it's beautiful."
"Do you know what it means?"
"I –I don't remember, exactly –"
"The hands are for friendship, the crown represents loyalty and the heart is love." Jess took a hold of Rory's right hand and slipped the ring onto her middle finger. "Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to someone."
"Jess," Rory cried softly.
"Every time you look at this, I want you to remember everything I told you, okay? Whenever you need to be reminded of how much I love you and how proud I am of you, you just look at your hand. Anytime you worry that my feelings might be wavering –when we fight over stupid stuff because we're away from each other, just look at the ring Rory. Look at the ring and remember –you have me; you have my heart. I'm yours."
Jess kissed Rory, deep and slow. Shifting so that he hovered above her, he undressed her slowly, shedding his own clothing as well. When Rory tried to speed up the pace, he wouldn't let her; Jess was determined to make love to her –in every sense of the word.
He showered kisses all over her skin, wanting to taste every inch of her. He kissed the soft skin on the inside of her elbows and sucked gently at the pulse points on her wrists and neck. Rory whimpered and sighed underneath him.
Inching his way down her body with his mouth, he kissed her breasts and sucked on her nipples. Rory arched her back and massaged Jess' scalp with her fingers, telling him exactly what she wanted without saying a word. When he'd kissed his way down between her legs, Jess reached up and found both of Rory's hands with his, intertwining their fingers. He paused and pulled his head back slightly to breathe in her scent. Clenching his jaw at the intensity of his own emotions, when he exhaled his breath tickled Rory's sensitive skin.
Jess coxed her slowly with his tongue. He took his time, kissing her, licking her, drinking her in. Even when Rory started to writhe into his mouth, his intimate caresses were leisurely and worshipful. He had no desire for this to be over in a hurry –she could sleep on the flight to Iowa.
Jess took his time, which meant that Rory's pleasure was intense and lasting. Just when she thought the white-hot coil inside her was going to snap, he would change the movement of his tongue, holding her so close that his nose tickled her damp, delicate flesh.
When Rory peaked, it was signalled by small things: her breath hitched, she bit her lip and gripped Jess' hands tighter. Jess stayed right where he was, savouring every tiny twitch.
Releasing her hands only to crawl up her skin and align his body with hers, he captured her mouth in a fierce kiss as he interlocked their fingers once again and pushed inside of her. Jess moved within her in long, gentle and strong thrusts. His mouth never left hers. They swallowed each other's moans of pleasure with the depth of their kisses.
When Jess knew they were both close, he released Rory's lips and pressed his forehead against hers. They stared into each other's eyes and breathed in sync. As their breaths became ragged, so too did their emotions. Tears clouded their vision and they came together with a cry –actual, genuine cries.
The next morning, Luke opened the diner early for a very special breakfast. Lorelai, Rory, Jess and Luke all ate together while all of Stars Hollow were still sleeping.
The goodbyes at the airport were the hardest of Rory's young life. She clung to Jess' side until the last possible moment.
After saying goodbye to Lorelai and Luke, she embraced Jess last.
Rory's schedule with the campaign was still a mystery to her, beyond Iowa and the stops that followed immediately afterward. She had no idea when she'd see her loved ones next, but it would likely be a few months at least.
Lorelai could not contain her emotions, but Luke and Jess stayed stalwart and strong. Jess shed no tears of his own, but instead focused on wiping away Rory's. He placed a sweet kiss on her ring right before she had no choice but to tear herself away.
All three of them stood and watched until Rory disappeared into the departures area. When she was gone, Lorelai and Luke turned slowly to leave, but Jess didn't move a muscle. He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until he felt Lorelai's hand on his shoulder.
"Come on Jess," Lorelai whispered. "Let's go home."
"I miss her already," Jess choked out, "and she's still here. She's not even gone yet."
"I know. Me too. Love sucks, huh?"
"No," Jess smirked. "It really doesn't."
"That's exactly the right answer, kid."
"How am I gonna do this? I can't feel like this for two years."
"Yes you can. How you're feeling right now is how you'll survive two years," Lorelai assured him.
"But what about –?"
"The day-to-day of the next two years?"
"Yeah."
"That is the part, dear mini-Stallone, that remains to be seen."