A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you are all great. I'd tell you I love you all but that might be somewhat inappropriate, so I'm going to stick to you're awesome! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Fishing expedition

Almost three months later, a warm September morning, Jess was sitting on the couch in his living room, mindlessly browsing through the channels on the TV, annoyed with his friends who had even taken his computer away from him. Drinking from his coffee mug, he stopped on a random channel, picking up the book that was next to him on the couch and opening it, starting to read. After a few pages he heard a knock on the door and put the book back down, now officially angry.

"If it's a singing telegram, I swear I'll kill him." He muttered under his breath, walking to the front door and opening it, only to find Rory standing on the other side of it, a huge happy smile on her face and a bag at her feet. When she saw him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, crushing her mouth to his, not giving him a chance to say anything. Putting both his arms around her, he hugged her close to him, not breaking their kiss until they were both out of breath. She was the first one to pull back, the smile still there and then leaned closer to his ear.

"Happy birthday!" She trailed kisses on his cheek until she reached his mouth again. "I missed you." She kissed him, cupping his face in her hands.

"Really?" Jess smirked, placing a quick kiss on her lips, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Missed you a lot." She lowered her hands and wrapped them around his waist. "Can I come in or are you still too shocked to remember your manners?"

"I never had any manners." He pushed her hair out of his way, kissing her neck quickly and she laughed.

"Then I will tell you that it is customary to invite your guests inside the house, not let them stand in the doorway all day."

"Even if they're uninvited guests?"

"Yeah, well, I missed that class at etiquette school. But I can always leave, if you don't like my surprise."

"I might never let you leave again." He admitted, his usual sarcasm forgotten for a second and she smiled, kissing him.

"Can't say I'd mind it."

"Good. This way it's not kidnapping." He smirked again, kissing her, then picked up her small bag and walked in, his hand holding hers tightly. Dropping the bag on the floor, he sat on the couch and she followed, sitting as close to him as she could, but he picked up her legs and draped them over his, one hand wrapped around her waist and the other one resting idly on her knee. Running her fingers though his hair, Rory smiled and he leaned in, kissing her.

"So you're the reason for Matt's new rule?"

"What new rule?"

"No working on birthdays."

Earlier that morning, Jess walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen, picking up a cup and filling it with coffee. Looking up from his bowl of cereal, Matt sighed.

"What are you doing up so early?"

"Work. You might remember that concept."

"You don't work on your birthday, Jess, it's the rule!"

"Since when? And speaking of which, how the hell do you know it's my birthday?"

"We work together, you had to put your date of birth on a lot of forms. We had this conversation last year, when I wished you a happy birthday and you decided to be confused by it. And the year before that and the year before that. And no working on birthdays is my new rule, aptly named Matt's Birthday Rule. Don't fool yourself into thinking that this has anything to do with you, but my birthday is a couple of months from now and I want the day off. However, since it would be illogical and selfish to have that rule only for me and your birthday is first-you're not working today."

"Couldn't you have at least told me last night, so I didn't wake up this early?"

"Yeah, well, I never said I'd worked out all the details. You're just the prototype. Some things are bound to go wrong."

"And what the hell am I supposed to do all day?" Jess sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Not work. Read a book, watch TV, smell a rose. I'm sure you'll find something." He paused for a second, drinking from his mug. "Just for the record, no work means no writing either."

"Oh, great."

"I know, isn't it fantastic?" Matt replied sarcastically. "And we're making sure of that." He pointed behind Jess and he turned around to see Chris standing in the doorway, holding a laptop in his hands.

"He's taking that downstairs, to remove temptation." Matt laughed again, waving at his friend as he walked away. "Now we can't take all your pens and scraps of paper away from you, and even if we did, we're sure you have enough of a brain to realize you can buy more, but we trust you not to. Breaking the rules is crime, and crime doesn't pay, kids!" He laughed, picking his cup of coffee and walking downstairs, leaving Jess annoyed.

"I don't know anything about that." She smiled, kissing his shoulder. "I only asked him for the day off for you."

Three weeks before, on a Saturday afternoon, the phone in the Truncheon office rang. Picking it up and getting himself ready for yet another pointless conversation, Matt sighed.

"Truncheon Publishing, Matt speaking. How may I help you?"

"Matt, hey, it's Rory. I'm not sure if you remember me but…"

"I always remember the women I ask to move in with me." He laughed, playing with a pen in his hand. "Jess is upstairs, want me to get him for you?"

"Nope, I could have called his cell if I wanted to talk to him."

"Oh, yeah. So I am going to assume from that that you want to talk to me. How may I be of service, she with the amazing power of making Jess cook?"

Rory let out a small chuckle, then went back to what she wanted to say."Jess' birthday is in a few weeks and I can take the day off and I wanted to come over and be with him for his birthday. But it's on a Friday and I need to negotiate the possibility of Jess taking the day off as well."

"And…why don't you just tell him? He knows he can take time off any time he wants, especially for important occasions."

"I kind of want it to be a surprise."

"Ah, why didn't I think of that? I'm sorry, I will go get more coffee after this conversation is over."

"So…can he take the day off?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll think of something to say to him. And talk it over with Chris, just to let him in on it and because I am awful with secrets and I might end up blabbing so he can keep me from doing that."

"Thank you!"

"Glad to be of service. And this way, I don't have to get him a birthday gift." Matt chuckled again and the two continued their conversation for a few more minutes, before hanging up.

"Not sure how much I like you conspiring with my coworkers." Jess smirked.

"It's not conspiring…it's people that care about you getting together to make something happen that will hopefully make you happy."

"Goal achieved." He nodded, smiling at her.

"Good. That was the point." She kissed him, running her fingers down the back his neck. "I love you, birthday boy." She ran her tongue over his bottom lip, smiling when he pulled her closer to him.

"So…when do I get my present?" He smirked again, starting to trail kisses down her neck.

"Which one? Because I have more than one present for you." Rory smiled back, pulling away from him for a second so she could look into his eyes, then attacked his mouth.

"The one I have in mind." He slipped his hand under her shirt, running his fingers across her skin and she grinned, looking at him.

"Right now."

Some time later, they were back in Jess' bedroom, with Rory lying next to him, her fingers running up and down his chest slowly. Placing a soft kiss on his shoulder, she smiled happily.

"So you found something to do with your no work day?" She laughed, looking at him and kissing his shoulder.

Jess flipped them over, propping himself up with one hand and putting the other one on her hip under the thin blanket. "You could say that." He replied. "Why? Any complaints?"

"God, no." She laughed, lifting her head and kissing him.

"Good."

"Any plans for today?"

"You mean other than this?" He ducked down and kissed her collarbone, making her smile.

"Yes. How do you want to celebrate your birthday?"

"By ignoring the fact that it's my birthday and staying here, with you, all day."

"Jess, be serious." She laughed, looking at him.

"I am." He leaned in and kissed her, then went back to looking at her. "I don't like birthday parties, unless they're yours and they end up with you kissing me…" He smirked, pulling her body closer to his. "…and I haven't seen you in a very long time."

"You kissed me back." Rory pointed out.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? Say no?"

"You could have." She smiled. "Pushed me away, told me I was crazy, all that."

"I don't believe I was doing much thinking at that moment." He chuckled, running his thumb over her skin. "In fact, I don't believe I'm doing much thinking right now either."

"You're allowed to not think today. It's your birthday, you should be spoiled and do nothing at all. Hence why I'm here."

"Huh…so you'll do anything I want?" He grinned, cocking an eyebrow, making her laugh again.

"As long as it's not cooking. I don't want to burn your house down and leave you homeless on your birthday."

"Trust me, not even close to what I have in mind." He kissed her again, smirking.

"And what do you have in mind?"

"Right now?" He smiled, lying back on his pillow, and she moved back to rest on his shoulder. "Just this." He placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "However, I will reevaluate that in a while."

"Ok." She smiled, placing a kiss on his chest. "Can I get some coffee before we…reevaluate?" She grinned playfully and he nodded.

"Sure. I can go get it for you."

"What part of you're not allowed to do anything on your birthday did you not understand?"

"All of it. Explain it again." Jess chuckled and she shook her head, sitting up.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a few minutes." She picked up his t-shirt from the end of the bed and slid it on, then got up, finishing getting dressed. "Anything I can get for you?" She asked, leaning in and kissing him.

"Nope."

"Ok." She smiled one more time, then walked out and into the kitchen. Picking up the coffee tin she poured some in the machine, then added water and waited for coffee to be done. After a couple of minutes, Jess walked in the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her shoulder.

"What are you doing here?"

"Got bored waiting for you."

Rory put her hands over his, smiling happily. "You're weird today. A good weird. Sappy weird."

"I missed you." He whispered, kissing her temple.

"Sap." She snickered, squeezing his hand.

"Way to be nice to me today."

"I thought you didn't like your birthday."

"It's been better than I anticipated it would be."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Don't go fishing. You know why." He replied, leaning in and kissing her neck. "Your coffee is done." He pointed to the coffee machine and she picked the pot, filling a mug.

"You want some?"

"Yeah."

Picking up a clean mug from the sink, she filled it up as well then put it down next to hers and turned around in his arms. "Done."

"Thanks." He let go of her and put his hands the counter, making her take a step small back until she was leaning against it as well and attacked her mouth. When he pulled back, she sighed, happy.

"Three months is too damn long."

"I agree. Quit work. Stay here."

"I can't." She smiled sadly and he nodded.

"I know. I just feel like being selfish and demanding completely unreasonable things today."

"A month and a half and it won't be unreasonable."

"And then you're staying here?" He smiled, looking at her.

"If you want me."

"Want you?" He pulled her earlobe between his teeth, getting a soft moan out of her. "You didn't get enough proof of that?"

"Want me to stay with you, Jess."

"Do I get to do this all I want?" He trailed kisses down her neck, his hand slipping under the shirt she was wearing and caressing her skin slowly.

"Until you get bored and tired of me."

"Fishing again." He smirked, putting his hand on her hip and pulling her closer to him. "And yes, I want you." He crushed his mouth to hers while she tangled her hands in his hair. "To stay with me, of course." He chuckled, making her laugh as well.

"So are we having the sharing a roof conversation now?" Rory smiled, escaping from his grip and picking up her mug, then walked to the living room with Jess right behind her, carrying his mug.

"Is there a conversation to have?" He asked, sitting down on the couch and pulling her as close to him as he could, while still being able to look at her.

"It feels like there should be. This is a massive decision."

"Ror, the only conversation we have to have right now is the one about you looking for a job outside of Philly. I want us to live in the same city, maybe even house. That's to be debated at a later date. But I don't want you to look for jobs just here, because you want to be with me. Got that?"

"Got it." She smiled back, kissing him as he rubbed her knee gently. "But if I find a good job in Philadelphia?"

"Then we can talk about living together, if you feel like there should be a talk. I think it's pointless to have a debate over something that, as far as I know, we both want."

"So you really think we can not drive each other crazy if we go from barely ever seeing each other to sharing a place?"

"I think there's only one way to find out."

"And if we hate it?"

"Then we have a problem." He chuckled, wrapping his arm around her waist. Rory tried to answer but Matt and Chris walked in the room, talking to each other. Seeing the two on the couch, her bag still abandoned on the floor, Matt sighed.

"Please tell me that you haven't been sitting on that couch since she got here. I expected more from you, Jess."

Elbowing him in the ribs, Chris stepped closer to him, trying to whisper. "T-shirt. His."

Blushing furiously, Rory looked away from them, hiding her face in Jess' shoulder and he placed a small kiss on her forehead, then shot the other two a glare. "My rules still apply, just for the record."

"Lunch. In there." Chris pointed to the kitchen, grabbing his friend's sleeve and they both walked into the room.

"You ok?" Jess looked at her and she nodded, biting her lip, her cheeks still bright red. Trying not to laugh, he rubbed her back slowly. "I thought I was the only one who could get that shade of red."

"What are they going to think of me?"

"You? Exactly what they thought until now. However, I just climbed about three places on the lucky bastard scale."

"Jerk."

"I really do prefer bastard." He finally chuckled, pulling her closer to him and attacking her mouth. They were interrupted by a male voice coming from the kitchen door.

"Get a room!" Jess pulled back, while Rory looked away, suddenly very interested on a spot behind the couch, trying to avoid Matt's eyes.

"Just came to tell you we're all going out drinking tonight."

"And if I say no?"

"You don't have a say." Matt snickered, then disappeared back in the kitchen. Looking back at Rory, Jess kissed the spot below her ear. "So, should we take his suggestion and get a room? Preferably before your cheeks cover even more of the dark red scale." He chuckled and she nodded, picking up their mugs from the table, before heading for the small room again.