A/N: Thanks to those who did leave reviews on the previous chapter. I do think I lost a whole bunch of my reader-peops when the breaking up happened though. C'mon, you do trust me, don't you? ;)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 21

"There are too many jerks in this place!"

Rory slammed the door behind her as she entered the dorm, not even managing to startle Paris one iota.

"Well, that's a given," her friend agreed from her spot sat lotus style on the couch, books and papers spread everywhere. "Anyone specific?"

"Ugh, that stupid Logan Huntzberger," Rory complained. "He's just so..."

"Handsome, intelligent, rich?" Paris tried.

"Annoyingly right about things he has no right being right about!"

Rory realised too late how badly phrased that sentence was and couldn't even be bothered to correct herself. Tossing her book bag into the chair, she threw herself down after it and growled with frustration.

"Wow. If he's making you this mad, you must really like him."

"Paris, you're not funny," Rory told her crossly.

Paris rolled her eyes. "What, am I Krusty the Clown? I wasn't trying to be funny, just stating a fact. Come on, Huntzberger's reputation with the female half of the alumnus is legendary. He's interested and you're playing hard to get-"

"I am not playing hard to get!" Rory yelped. "I could not be less interested in the guy."

"You sure about that?" her friend checked, eyes going back to her assignment as she continued. "Studies have shown that the whole 'getting under someone new to get over someone else' thing might actually have a real scientific basis."

"Paris!"

Once again, Rory wondered how she could find herself shocked by anything that came out of Paris' mouth. After knowing her so long, she was well aware that whatever she was thinking would be stated aloud to the room, no filter and no remorse involved, and yet, there were still times when Rory could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Maybe it only bothered her so much that Paris was making suggestions about her and Logan because she might actually find herself tempted in different circumstances. Rory wasn't blind. She saw that Logan was very good looking and, of course, he was charming and clever, even if his knowing these facts a little too well about himself knocked his appeal factor down a notch or two.

If Rory had met him last year, or if she hadn't got back together with Jess this summer, then maybe she would've been interested in Logan in some way, though his reputation would still have made her wary. He wasn't exactly the commitment type from what she could tell, just the one-night-stand, love them and leave them kind of a guy. Since Rory really wasn't that kind of a girl, she hardly thought she and Logan would be a good fit anyway, and with things the way they were, with her heart still healing, very slowly, after what happened with Jess, there was just no way she had any interest in dating anybody else.

"By the way, I have somebody coming to pick that up later," said Paris then, hiking a thumb over at the printing press without ever looking up from her work. "I figure it's about time."

"Probably," said Rory with a sigh. "Seems like a shame though, doesn't it?"

"Maybe," Paris admitted, "but I've never exactly been the sentimental type. Besides, it's just a reminder and... and at some point, I'm going to have to move on, I guess."

Rory nodded her head, a pointless act, since her friend wasn't even looking her way, but then, maybe that was a good thing. After all, Rory wasn't so sure she really did agree with what Paris had said. Maybe it was good to have reminders of people you loved, even if things did end badly in one way or another. She was sure the boxes that lived in the hall closet at home, the ones marked Jess #1 and Jess #2, would always matter way too much for her to ever just toss them out.

"It's not too late for you, you know?"

Paris caught Rory unawares and she looked at her so quickly she almost gave herself whiplash.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Paris insisted. "Jess isn't dead, he's just not physically here right now. I still don't understand this stupid 'It's better if we're just over' crap that you're giving me. This entire summer aside, I know what I saw when you two were together the last time. Hell, even before you were actually together. He drove you crazy, which absolutely proved he was the one, and then, he broke your heart, and I was at the front of the line with Lorelai and Lane to want to kick the guy in the balls for that particularly craptastic behaviour, but it was always pretty clear that you were never happier than when you two were together. He loved you, he just had problems. From what you said about this summer, he worked a lot of that out."

"He did," said Rory, swallowing hard. "He really tried. We both did."

"And it worked," her friend reminded her. "You told me yourself, you had all these great conversations, you shared all your secrets, and apparently, he's as good in the sack as you'd expect of a guy with that kind of smoulder going on."

"Paris!"

Rory was sure she looked as scandalised as she felt then, but of course, she couldn't deny that her friend was right. Not that she exactly had a frame of reference when it came to sex, but as far as she knew, Jess was pretty damn good at it. They were good together, he said that himself, and not just in bed. They worked, they fit, despite what anyone else might say or think, they just went together perfectly. Unfortunately, the one problem that the two people who had been all over the country in the last three months really had was location. They just couldn't find one that suited them both.

"Long distance never really works, does it?" she said with a sigh, even as she considered the possibility. "I mean, look at you and Jamie."

"Me and Jamie?" Paris echoed, shaking her head. "You can't even compare me and Jamie with you and Jess. It wasn't the distance that broke us up, it was... well, it was a lot of things, but distance wasn't even five percent of the whole. Any more excuses you want to make for not trying to fix this mess you two made before it's too late?"

The truth was, Rory could probably come up with a hundred reasons to call Jess and try to salvage some semblance of what they rebuilt from the wreckage of their painful break-up in San Francisco. She could also come up with another hundred not to. In fact, that was pretty much all she had been doing every night this week and the one before. No amount of pro-con lists seemed to give her a conclusion she was happy with. Sometimes, Rory wondered if happy was even possible for her at this point.

A knock on the door got both her attention and Paris' too.

"Ten bucks says it's Huntzberger." Paris smirked. "His kind really don't take no for answer."

Rory heaved a sigh of pure annoyance as she levered herself up from the chair and stomped to the door. As she pulled it open, she was already in full flow.

"Logan, I already told you-"

She stopped very abruptly when the guy in the hall turned to look at her, unable to find her voice enough to say anything, not even to tell Paris that she very definitely owed her ten dollars.

"Huh," said Jess, just a little bemused by the reaction he got when Rory opened the door and found him on the other side.

He was prepared for most outcomes. For her to be happy, for her to be mad. Everything from a kiss on the lips to a slap in the face were on the table. Plus, he was also aware from what Luke and Lorelai told him that Rory was rooming Paris again, so it could just as easy have been her that answered his knock. Thankfully, he did get Rory and she was clearly mad at somebody, just not him right now, apparently.

"Jess?"

She was staring at him as if she barely recognised him, or maybe she just thought he was a mirage or something. That couldn't be a bad thing, Jess considered. After all, people saw mirages because they were hoping to find they were real. Maybe Rory really had missed him just as much as he missed her these past couple of weeks, though he had wondered if that would be physically possible.

"Please tell me I didn't just travel three thousand miles for you to slam a door in my face," he said warily, still not quite sure he knew what to make of the expression Rory was wearing, especially when her eyes seemed to fill with tears.

"Are you kidding?" she asked, suddenly in motion, flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him so hard, Jess could hardly breathe - honestly, he didn't care at all.

He held her just as tight, eyes closing of their own accord as he breathed her in, marvelled at the feeling of her in his arms once again, and then she was kissing him and he was kissing her back, and never had there been a more perfect moment.

"Well, I guess it's true what they say. Speak of the devil and he doth appear."

The moment was soon shattered by the voice of one Paris Geller, though honestly, even as he and Rory broke apart and both turned to see her standing there, Jess couldn't keep the smile from his lips.

"Always a pleasure, Paris," he told her, completely dead-pan as usual.

"Don't worry, Mariano, even I have enough tact to realise this is the point where I go finish my paper in the library," she said, squeezing by the reunited couple with her book bag hoisted high on her shoulder. "Just figure this thing out, okay?" she told both Jess and Rory as she walked away. "I can't deal with Mopey Gilmore anymore. She cries more than I do and my boyfriend actually died."

In the next moment, she was gone, and despite the much more important conversation he and Rory needed to have, Jess couldn't help but ask about her parting shot.

"Was she serious? About the dead boyfriend?"

"Sadly, yes." Rory nodded. "You remember I told you he was older? He passed away while they were on vacation in England."

Jess continued to frown. "Not when they were...?"

"Paris says no," Rory confirmed.

It seemed to occur to both of them as their eyes met then that they were completely on the wrong topic given the circumstances, and completely in the wrong place too having stumbled out into the busy hallway during their mini-make out.

"Um, you should come inside," she said, gesturing that way and moving back into the dorm.

Jess went with her, without a moment's pause, taking a deep breath as he crossed the threshold and hoped he remembered every part of what he came here to say. He didn't want to admit he had been practising a speech in his head for the past couple of days, but he kind of had, actually. There was a lot he felt he needed to say, which was a new thing for him in a lot of ways, but if there was anyone in the world that he would actually want to share with, it was always going to be Rory.

"So, I think my first question has to be, what are you doing here, Jess?" she asked as they faced each other from around six feet apart in the middle of the dorm room. "I mean, if this is just a flying visit, something of yours you think got into my luggage by mistake or-"

"It's not," Jess told her fast. "Geez, Rory, like I would do that to either of us," he said, shaking his head. "I'm here because... because it's where I need to be."

This wasn't how he meant to start, so vague and undefined. He needed Rory to know what he had been thinking, planning, hoping for days now, which meant he had to start at the beginning. Taking another of those deep breaths that seemed to be essential in situations like these, Jess tried starting over.

"Look, you had been gone for less than a day when I realised I was an idiot," he said definitely. "I mean, seriously, Rory, what the hell was I doing when I told you we were better off breaking up? After everything we'd been through already?"

"I thought you made a lot of sense," she said, awkwardly shrugging her shoulders. "Come on, Jess, if we had tried to go on, if you had come back here, or I'd agreed not to come back myself, we just... we would've blamed each other. It would've been so bad."

"Yeah, because the past two weeks have been so completely painless," he told her, sarcasm in full effect. "Please, tell me I'm not the only one here who spent the last sixteen days feeling like hell, because if I am, say it fast and I'll just go before this gets any more embarrassing."

He should've been hurt that she looked surprised, but then, even in his most giving moments, Jess knew he had never been quite this honest with her. He just wasn't that guy, the one who explained just exactly what he was feeling, though he had emotions enough that ran so deep he felt like he was going crazy sometimes, especially where Rory was concerned.

"You're not the only one," she told him then, same shaky, quiet voice as before. "Jess, I have missed you so much. So much," she emphasised. "I wanted to call you. Honestly, I wanted to get on a plane or in a car or on a train, anything, I just wanted to be where you were, but it... it seemed so impossible, so unfixable," she said, shrugging helplessly. "Well, isn't it?"

"Maybe not," Jess admitted, meeting her eyes. "Rory, you know that when I was here before... all the times I was here before, it never worked out, not with me and you, not with me and Luke, certainly not with me and your mom. The whack-jobs in Stars Hollow, they pretty much hate me. Your friend Paris sure seemed less than thrilled to see me."

"That's just Paris." Rory literally waved away his concern on that point at least. "She's like that with everybody, you know this. In fact, of all my friends, she's probably the one who most understands the attraction of you."

It took Jess a moment to process that one and by the time he had, Rory had already moved on to other points, other people.

"And you know Luke loves you, plus my mom is so much more comfortable with you and me dating now, you know that too. As for the rest of Stars Hollow, well, who cares about them? I mean, I do, kind of, but not if it means me not being with you," she rambled the way only a Gilmore girl could. "Jess, if you're even thinking about coming back here, about staying here-"

"I'm not thinking about it," he told her fast, continuing just as quickly before she got the wrong idea. "I mean, I already thought about it, a lot, and I figured that if you wanted me around... well, maybe not Stars Hollow, but Hartford or New Haven, just somewhere closer. You know, if you wanted."

"If I wanted?" Rory echoed, a smile beginning to curve her lips. "Are you serious?"

"Couldn't be more serious if I tried," he promised her. "Rory, I love you, you know that," he reminded her, reaching to take a hold of her hand. "You know it because I told you, but I'm not sure I made it all that clear because... well, I've never exactly followed through on proving it too well."

"Jess, you have," Rory insisted, but he went on anyway.

"I figure if what it takes to be with you is to be here, I can probably handle that now. I couldn't before, but I can now," he said, stepping in closer to her. "The day we left for that crazy road trip, I told you that you could depend on me. I want that to be true, Rory. I wanna be where you are, and if that has to be Connecticut right now, then that's where I wanna be. Does that sound okay?"

The silence that followed made Jess more than a little nervous. He had hoped for some enthusiasm, something genuinely positive and excited, but Rory was so still and quiet, it was really starting to freak him out. A part of him wanted to do what he always did, just run, run and never look back, but this was Rory, and with her he didn't want to do that, he didn't need to. He just had to give her a minute to process.

"Yes," she said eventually, though it was more of a squeak than a word at first. "Jess, that is so much more than okay," she promised him, suddenly throwing herself into his arms and kissing him hard on the lips.

That was something Jess was certainly not going to argue with as he kissed her back with all the passion he possessed. He vaguely thought how it was probably a good thing Paris had gone out when she did, as he and Rory stumbled in the direction of what he assumed was the bedroom. When they landed on her bed in a tangle of limbs, he knew he was right.

"I can't believe you're actually here, that we're actually doing this."

"Doing this?" he said pointedly, gesturing between them.

"No, not this exactly," Rory told him, rolling her eyes even as she blushed a pretty pink. "You're here. We're going to really make this work, Jess, I just know we can."

"Yeah, I actually think maybe we can," he agreed, hand sliding into her hair as he pulled her down with him and kissed her again.

It seemed so stupid that they had wasted even a couple of weeks of time when they could've been together, but even when Jess had started to realise what a fool he had been, there was no way to get to Rory any sooner. Later, he would have to explain that. How he was stuck in California watching Lilly until Jimmy and Sasha came home, and then there was the flight back to San Antonio, and a long drive cross-country that he probably made in much less time, with much less sleep, than he ever should have.

Rory would be mad about that, but she would forgive him, and in the end, Jess would learn to love life in Connecticut because he loved her. Somehow, some way, it was all going to work out. For once in Jess' messed up life, he really did believe he was onto a good thing here, something he could and would deserve.

"Jess, I love you so much," she told him as they lay down together, half their clothes already gone and the others set to follow.

"You know I love you too," he told her, kissing her soundly, "and I missed you so much, you have no idea."

Rory gasped as his lips found the point on her neck that never failed to undo her.

"Show me," she urged him.

Jess didn't hesitate. "As you wish."

A/N2: And that's how this story ends... kind of. I have an Epilogue, though I'm not 100% sure it's necessary. I'll probably end up posting it in a couple of days anyway. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the happy ending and that you'll leave me a review to let me know :)