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Jess stops by Luke's on the way back. His uncle is finishing up in the diner and, after greeting his nephew suggests, "You want that last piece of pie? It's not too old."

"When you put it like that..." Jess teases but grins. "Thanks."

Luke slides over the slice with a cup of coffee and Jess digs into it. He was more hungry than he thought. As he eats, Jess is suddenly thrown back to all the evenings helping at the diner - undoubtedly not enough - and eating pie at the end of the day. He feels strange doing so again, as though he's stepped back into an old life, a younger version of himself.

"So," Luke says cautiously and Jess looks up.

"So," he echoes and Luke exhales.

"How'd it go? Did you see her?"

"Yeah," Jess says, putting his spoon down. "We caught up."

"And?" Luke prompts and Jess shrugs.

"Not that much to tell."

Luke raises his eyebrows and Jess focuses on sipping some coffee before eventually saying,

"It was fine."

"Fine?"

"It was good to see Rory," Jess says honestly. "I'm glad I did."

"Good," Luke says, smiling. "It's been a long time."

"Yeah," Jess says. He finishes off the last of the pie, wanting to share more of his thoughts, such as when and why did Rory start dating a jerk, but he resists. Jess figures Luke'll probably ask why it's his right to ask, and Jess can't argue that he does. His uncle finishes wiping down the counter as Jess drinks his coffee before asking, "What did you talk about?"

"Not much," Jess says. "Her boyfriend showed up when I took her home."

The somewhat sour tone creeps into his voice and Luke says, "Ah. Logan. What did you think?"

Jess snorts. "I think Rory could do better." One glance at that guy and Jess had him pegged. A spoilt rich dude who throws money at problems, most of which he causes out of boredom. Jess practically burst out laughing when Logan put his around Rory's neck like that, but was also pretty pissed off. What is she, his property? Why isn't that bothering Rory? Why's she even going for a guy like that? Says a lot that Logan was threatened just by her having a ex-boyfriend. Jess wonders how much Rory has told him about them. Something makes him think she hasn't said much.

"I see," Luke remarks, breaking Jess's thoughts.

"What do you think?" Jess presses and Luke coughs.

"It doesn't matter what I think."

"Come on, Luke. What do you think of the guy? She's been with him for what - a year?"

It's painful to say aloud. It hasn't been much more than a year since Jess and Rory were together. Did he push her to him? Jess ignores that thought as he stares at Luke who finally says, "I don't know what to think of him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Lorelai's always been off and on about Logan...she didn't like him at first but then she seemed to come round to him a little. He and Rory were supposedly just casual at first."

So that's what they're calling sex these days. Jess didn't think Rory would go for that. Luke sighs and admits, "I can't say I love him. He's a very wealthy guy, always buying Rory whatever she wants but I don't know if it is what she wants. If that makes sense."

Jess frowns and Luke suddenly says briskly, "But it's not my business."

"Yeah. Sure," Jess says quickly, disappointed but not surprised that Luke hasn't offered more of his thoughts.

"You want more coffee?" Luke asks, holding up the jug, but Jess shakes his head.

"I've got to get back. Thanks though. Give my best to Lorelai."

"Oh, I will," Luke says, corners of his mouth twitching. "Honestly, she's so focused on that house renovation I don't know if you'd even register."

Jess suspects he would but doesn't want to test that theory. He imagines Lorelai has a shovel somewhere with his name on it.

"How's it going with you guys?"

"Good," Luke says, and a goofy grin appears on his face. "Kind of chaotic right now with the house and the dog and -"

"There's a dog?"

"Yeah."

"You let Lorelai get a dog?" Jess can't even picture it.

"I don't think my permission was ever involved."

"Rory's in there too. Why did either of you agree to that?"

"She was excited and hey, the dog's fine. He's called Paul Anka."

Jess can't help laughing at that, curious to see him. He bets Luke is a sap around him too. Getting up from the stool, Jess passes the plate and grabs his bag before hesitating.

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"When did Rory get so into that stuff? You know, enjoying going to fancy places? She seems kind of preppy."

"I guess when she met Logan," Luke says thoughtfully. "But she's still Rory, Jess."

"Yeah, I know," Jess says quickly. "Night, Luke."

"Night."

Jess is pensive as he drives back. Since when does Rory like dudes who own Porsches? They used to make fun of guys like that! He's so caught up in memory of being with her, before they were together and were simply friends, that he's back in Philadelphia in what seems two minutes. Mounting the stairs to the apartment, Chris and Matthew clap his shoulder as Jess enters and asks, "So how'd it go?"

"How did what go?"

"Meeting the elusive ex!"

"It's just Rory," Jess says in irritation. "It was fine."

His friends exchange glances. Jess throws his bag into his bedroom and tosses off his jacket before saying, "She's dating an asshole."

"How do you know he's an asshole?"

"Trust me. I know."

Jess kicks off his shoes and goes into the cramped kitchen, moving piles of plates and pans in the attempt to make some coffee. It's hardly cosy but he's gotten to like living here, despite the lack of space. It's good having friends around, something Jess never trusted in before.

"And how was Rory? Come on, you've talked about her enough that we know she's kind of a big deal."

"She's -" Jess pauses, hand on the coffee jug. "She's different."

"Because she's dating a jerk?"

"That and other stuff." Jess fills the jug whilst trying to form some thoughts. "I don't know. It's been a while."

"You know," Matthew says confidently and Jess sighs, unable to deny it. He knows.

Jess goes to bed early, not feeling like hanging out and talking. Unable to sleep, he hears the sounds of his friends laughing and drinking beer and Jess almost gets back up, but he doesn't feel like chatting. Jess isn't exactly gregarious but he likes hanging out more than he did, tossing questions back and forth. Before he met Rory, Jess hardly hung out with anyone. He'd never had real friends. People in New York never stuck around and then it was Jess who was moving. Then he had Rory in Stars Hollow, making the place bearable, and he convinced her to be with him in New York. That was enough until it wasn't. After Rory left, and everything had gone to hell, Jess knew something had to change, or he was going to be one of those guys with empty eyes on the street corner. He started writing more, taking his time more seriously, and hung out with Brad even after he quit the restaurant. The two have kind of lost touch now but Jess feels safe that Chris and Matthew aren't going anywhere. He knows if something's up he can talk and they'll listen, even if they don't have advice, but Jess doesn't feel like talking. Rory has always been more private anyway. They know they lived together, that he loved her, but Jess has never gone into how much she means to him. There's something private about it.

Jess is finally dropping off when his cellphone rings. Annoyed, he almost ignores it, wishing not for the first time that he'd never bothered with one, but as he sits up Jess sees it's Rory. He looks at the phone for a moment before answering, "Hey."

"Hi." Rory sounds kind of shy but Jess thinks he hears her smile as he asks, "What's going on?"

"Not much. How about you?"

"Not much."

They pause and Jess asks, "Why'd you call?"

"I..."

"I'm glad you called," Jess says sincerely and Rory asks tentatively, "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

There's a silence and then Rory says, "It was good seeing you."

"Yeah, you too."

"I've been reading your book again. I love it."

Jess smiles, settling into the conversation. Her opinion of the book matters more than anyone's.

"You do?"

"Jess, it's great. There's so much I -" Rory's stops and asks nervously, "Hey, do you want to meet up again sometime?"

"Sure." Jess is a little thrown but isn't going to turn down seeing Rory. "When?"

"I don't know...I have some classes this week but not much else. How about Friday? I could drive to where you are this time."

"Friday's good." Jess smiles to himself, remembering seeing Rory after her Friday Night dinners, along with the terrible one where he came with a black eye. He'd been willing to go back again, all the same.

"Great," Rory says, sounding a little embarrassed. "Sorry to call so late."

"Nothing to be sorry about."

"Good." Rory sounds shy, a trace of that young girl from Stars Hollow hanging in her voice. "I'll let you go to sleep."

"We can talk for longer if you want."

There's a pause of consideration but then Rory says firmly, "No, it's late. I should go to bed too."

"Okay," Jess says, a little disappointed. "Sleep well, Rory."

"You too, Jess."

After hanging up Jess doesn't put the phone down. A dumb smile has spread across his face. If Chris and Matthew came in they'd doubtlessly tell Jess he's still hung up on Rory, and Jess knows he can't deny it. It's been a long time with a lot of pain, but Jess can't dismiss it. With Rory, time changes yet something remains. His mind is held on the promise of Friday as Jess finally succombes to sleep.

On Friday Jess is kind of nervous, despite it all. It's just Rory but it's Rory. Jess stares at himself in the mirror for a stupid amount of time before meeting her. Rory has called him to let him know where she and smiles awkwardly upon Jess coming into the coffeeshop, lifting her hand in a half-wave.

"Hey."

"Hi. Was the drive okay?"

"The drive was great - I mean, it was fine."

Rory sounds nervous. Jess can hear the start of a babble on the edge of her voice.

"Good," Jess says, sitting beside her. "Coffee sound good?"

"Coffee sounds great."

"Always," Jess says, making her laugh, and he orders two coffees and a slice of cake each. Rory grins at him, taking a large bite, and Jess asks, "So how's it going?"

Rory puts down her fork and says, "It's okay."

She doesn't sound convinced and adds, "Logan and I had kind of a fight."

"Oh." Jess is intrigued but doesn't want to pry, or rather, he does but holds back. Rory sighs and says, "It's been a little rocky lately."

"Yeah, you said."

Rory nods and before he can stop himself Jess asks, "What made you want to date him? He seems like a jerk."

"Logan's not a jerk!" Rory exclaims and Jess snorts. "He's not!"

"We used to make fun of guys like that! He has a Porsche!"

"That doesn't make him a bad guy!"

"But why?" Jess insists, leaning forward. "Why him, why all this stuff?"

He gestures vaguely but Rory gets the picture. She looks angry for a moment and then says, "I was lonely after I went back to Yale. Mom was being so frustrating about it, kept saying about how I'd made such a mistake, and I didn't want to talk about it to her. I still don't. And I was sad and I missed you and I knew you weren't coming back - at least, not for a while. And then I met Logan and he's beautiful and so smart and he made me forget about everything."

Jess highly doubts Logan is smart but he gets it, and nods, feeling a little bad. God knows, he's no one to judge.

"He's not perfect," Rory says defensively. "But who is?"

Jess spreads his palms, not saying that someone not being perfect is a pretty low bar for a relationship. He sips his coffee and feels shy when Rory asks, "So what about you? Have you dated since we were together?"

"Not really," Jess says honestly. He's had a couple of dates here and there and one stupid one night stand. He wanted to move on, in his head if not his heart, but it's never felt right with anyone. Matthew and Chris and Katie, who works in sales, gave him a hard time, saying he wasn't giving anyone a chance. They didn't say it but Jess knows they all think it's because he only wants Rory. They aren't wrong either. Jess doesn't know what to do about that. Rory seems to be moving on just fine.

Rory nods, looking uncomfortable and Jess sighs, eager to change the subject.

"So you let your mom get a dog?"

"It wasn't my idea," Rory says, laughing in relief. "And hey, he's very cute."

"And he's okay? You two don't have a great history with pets."

"He gets fed probably twice as many meals just in case. I didn't think I was a dog person but Paul Anka's very charming."

"He has that reputation," Jess jokes. "Sounds like he's good for your mom."

"I'm glad he's there too," Rory admits. "I get to walk him sometimes and if I'm feeling stressed, like if I have a big paper or fighting with Logan, Paul Anka just really makes me feel better. I don't know why. I wish he'd been there last year."

Rory seems fine but Jess winces inwardly all the same, knowing how much he hurt her.

"I'm sorry."

"You've already said that, Jess," Rory says softly. "It's okay. It was a while ago."

"I still wonder if I should have gone with you."

"No - you made the right call," Rory says, sitting up. "You would have been miserable in New Haven and you know if you'd gone with me, you wouldn't have what you've got now. And it's so great, Jess, the book and your publishing place and living here...it's so great."

It is, Jess can't deny it, but his heart still misses her. He missed her so much last year it was like a constant, dull ache. But Rory's right. He's made a home here, a life here, and Rory announces, "I'm envious, Jess."

"What? But you're in Yale."

"I know. But you've got this whole independent thing."

Jess frowns. Rory sounds wistful, tucking a brown curl over her shoulder, and she says, "Sometimes I wish I had my own thing. Away from Mom, from Logan, from Grandma and Grandpa..." Her voice trails off until she seems to shake herself and adds, "But I'm glad I went back to school."

"You're one step closer to the foreign correspondent thing."

"Yes," Rory agrees. She sounds happy at that but her eyes are sad. The two finish their coffees in silence until Rory says, "I should probably go. I'm seeing Logan later."

Jess would bet all his money she hasn't told him about her trip here but he doesn't ask. He wants to tell her she doesn't have to be with him but knows that would be a mistake. Rory looks at him and seems to know as she says, "He's not a bad guy, Jess. He treats me to all this stuff, he's funny and we have a good time. He's smarter than he acts."

Jess raises his eyebrows but doesn't question that. Instead he says, "You know him better than I do."

"A year," Rory agrees. "He's never committed to a girlfriend before either. I thought I didn't want to be a girlfriend either but it turns out I do, and when I said so, Logan said he'd try being a boyfriend for me. He's never done that for anyone."

That doesn't surprise Jess. He suspects Logan is pretty hit and miss at the whole boyfriend thing. He pushes his curiosity back and says, "Are you sure you have to go? We could go see the Liberty Bell."

"But you can't touch it now, right?" Rory asks and upon Jess shaking his head says, "Then the appeal's gone."

She seems sad as she gets ready to go and Jess asks, "Can't you call Logan? Tell him something came up?"

Rory pauses, looks at Jess and shakes her head.

"I can't," Rory tells him ruefully. "Logan won't understand."

Jess doesn't know what he was thinking, asking that. As if Logan would be understanding. Jess suspects neither of them really go for the deep talks anyway. He walks out with Rory, both of them taking their time and as they say goodbye, Rory pulls Jess into a quick hug. He breathes her in, her body and soft hair as familiar as he remembers, and smiles as he steps away.

"See you."

"See you." Rory pauses before getting into her car. "Maybe we could do this again? Catch up?"

"I'd love that," Jess says automatically and looks away, shy. "I mean, that sounds great."

"Good," Rory smiles, her hair haloing her face. "Today was fun. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," Jess says. "Bye, Rory."

"Bye, Jess."

Jess watches as he pulls away, giving her a kind of wave. He waits even after she's pulled away, unwilling to head back. He'd missing her more than he'd known. What is this, yearning? Jess tries to ignore it as he turns away. She's moved on, he has to too. Yearning for Rory Gimore isn't wise. Jess walks back to his apartment but can't lose the longing. With Rory, everything seems to come into clear focus. It's ironic, Jess thinks, that for him she brings clarity when her own life seems to be blurred.