Title: The Ties That Bind
By: Rudy
Rating: PG
Chapter 7: Fly With Me
22 LONG HOURS LATER
Jess stood outside Rory's hospital room clutching a small bouquet of yellow roses. It was the first time he'd been allowed to see her since she went into the delivery room. He took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door.
"Come in," he heard Rory's voice call from within. Jess stepped quietly into the room and was greeted by a very tired but very happy Rory.
"Hi," he whispered. "I uh.brought you these." Jess held out the roses to her. He was blushing furiously. Rory's cheeks reddened to match his. Jess had always done sweet things for her but this was the first time she'd ever seen him so nervous about it. It was strange to say the least.
"Thanks. They're gorgeous. Um, you can put them in the water jug by the window." Jess did as he was told and returned to peer into the bassinets next to Rory's bed.
"Wow," he breathed totally in awe at what he saw. "Rory they're beautiful."
Rory smiled proudly. "I should hope so. After 20 hours in labour, I would expect nothing less than perfection." Jess laughed,
"So you gonna introduce me or should I just call them Rory's Kid Number 1 and 2." Rory sat up slowly in bed and gestured to the first bassinet. Inside, her 6lb 9oz baby girl peered around at her surroundings with her vibrant blue eyes. "This is Bethany Amelia Hayden and this." she gestured to the second bassinet. The 7lb little boy slept quietly inside. ".is Benjamin Jesse Hayden. Jess' eyes widened with surprise.
"Rory. I uh.I don't know what to say." Rory motioned for Jess to seit next to her on the bed. Her eyes watered slightly as he gently took her hand in his.
"You didn't have to say anything Jess. It's just my way of saying thank you for everything you've done for me. For the three of us." Jess looked down at his shoes,
"You really shouldn't thank me." Rory ignored his comment and continued on.
"Do you remember the day we met?" Jess nodded
"It was quiet easily the worst day of my life. I mean for crap's sake I was sleeping in a car!" said Rory laughing.
"But-." Jess tried to interrupt but Rory would have none of it.
"But nothing Jess. I had never felt so alone in my life. And then, out of nowhere, there you were. You took care of me, made me feel like I mattered to someone again. And for that I owe you more than I could possibly hope to repay." By now a few tears had slipped down Rory's cheeks, but she still smiled happily as ever. Jess wiped a few of them away with his thumb, but then quickly pulled away.
"Jess? What's the matter?" Rory asked watching him suspiciously.
"Nothing." He nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "It's nothing.It's just that you make me sound like some kinda hero."
"Well, as sappy as it sounds, you are to me Jess."
"That just it. My reasons for helping you were, are, totally selfish." Rory stared at him like he'd just grown another head.
"What are you talking about? As fas as I know, selfish people don't take complete strangers into their homes and take care of them!"
"Yeah well, this one does." By now Jess was pacing in front of Rory's bed. His whole demeanor screamed that he was fighting something. But much to Rory's chagrin, only he knew what.
"Jess, what is going on here? I mean you're gonna have to make yourself a bit clearer because at the moment, I have no idea what you're talking about. Now you say you've been helping me because you were thinking of yourself? How?" Jess moved to stand back at Rory's bedside. He studied everything about her face. Her lips, her cheeks that even now were going red under such close scrutiny, the little piece of her hair that she tucked behind her ear about a zillion times a day. And then there were her eyes. The bright blue orbs, that it her let himself, he could happily drown in.
"Jess?" Rory's voice snapped him back to reality.
"BecauseIloveyou." The words just tumbled out of his mouth.
"Huh? What? What do you mean?" Rory placed a hand on his cheek to keep him from turning away from her. Jess sighed and covered her hand with his. The more he looked into her eyes the more he knew. It was time to lay the cards on the table.
"What I mean is that the reason I did all that stuff isn't because I'm some hero. I did it because I loved you. Since the day you walked into my life you're the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. I wanted to be around you as much as I possibly could." Tears ran freely down Rory's cheeks as she tried to wrap her head around what Jess was saying. But before she could say anything in response Jess suddenly pulled away from her. The look on his face went from tender to hopeless in the blink of an eye.
"But I guess that all doesn't matter anymore, does it? As soon as you can, you're gonna take these kids and leave. Just walk out of my life as quickly as you came." Rory had never seen Jess look so upset. His face was a mask of complete brokenness. It literally hurt her to see him like that and doubly so, knowing she was the cause of his pain. What she wouldn't give to make the pain stop for him.
And then it hit her. And none to gently by the way, her breath caught momentarily. She loved him. She, Rory Hayden, was in love with Jess. Completely, totally, madly, deeply, insanely, whatever; she just loved him. Rory couldn't help but break into a smile at her sudden realization. It didn't go unnoticed by Jess.
"What are you smiling about?" he asked feeling a little bitter at her apparent joy in the middle of his misery.
"Oh nothing," she said trying to sound casual. "Its just that I'm in love with you too. That's all." Jess' jaw practically hit the floor. Never in a million years did he see that coming. Sure, its what he'd wanted to her to say with every fibre of his soul but he'd never allowed himself to even hope for it. Jess didn't even bother to say anything in return. Not like he had much choice anyway, breathing had become slightly difficult. He simply strode quickly back to her bedside and into her waiting arms.
His thumb gently stroked her bottom lip sending little ripple all the way to her toes. His face inched closer to hers agonizingly slowly until Rory couldn't stand the torture anymore. She brought her lips to meet his, closing the gap between them.
The kiss started slow and gentle but quickly grew more demanding, more passionate. Jess felt like he was flying. He was very sure his feet were nowhere near the ground anymore and he couldn't care less. He was kissing Rory. His best friend, the girl that he loved and that loved him, the girl.that was very soon going to have to leave him. Jess came skidding painfully back to earth. He forced himself to break the kiss.
"Rory." A slight moan of disapproval escaped Rory's lips at the broken contact and she leaned in to kiss him again. "Rory wait," he reluctantly protested.
"What is it Jess?" she asked trying to focus on what Jess was saying rather that the exquisite feeling of his lips on hers.
"You're still gonna leave in a few weeks Rory. I don't want to do all this if its just gonna end with you leaving me. I-." Rory's finger on his lips cut him off.
"Jess?"
"Umhm," he mumbled, his lips still being held shut.
"I'm not going anywhere. I decided yesterday that I was gonna stay in Stars Hollow but with all the craziness with my mom and going into labour, I didn't get a chance to tell you." Rory released his lips and waited for his response. Jess' face broke into an ear-to-ear grin.
"So you're not leaving?" Rory returned his grin with one of her own.
"Nope." Jess immediately wrapped his arms around Rory and held her. She buried her face in his neck as he lazily stroked her back. There was that flying feeling again and it was even better than before. But this time there were no abrupt intrusions by gravity or anything else. It would just be him, Rory and the twins. Together. Happy. That's it. That's all. That's the end.
AN: It's finally finished!!! I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to leave me emails and reviews. You're awesome! I hope you enjoy this chapter (took me long enough to write it, I know.) I'm pretty happy with it. Thanx again, Rudy (
Chapter 7: Fly With Me
22 LONG HOURS LATER
Jess stood outside Rory's hospital room clutching a small bouquet of yellow roses. It was the first time he'd been allowed to see her since she went into the delivery room. He took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door.
"Come in," he heard Rory's voice call from within. Jess stepped quietly into the room and was greeted by a very tired but very happy Rory.
"Hi," he whispered. "I uh.brought you these." Jess held out the roses to her. He was blushing furiously. Rory's cheeks reddened to match his. Jess had always done sweet things for her but this was the first time she'd ever seen him so nervous about it. It was strange to say the least.
"Thanks. They're gorgeous. Um, you can put them in the water jug by the window." Jess did as he was told and returned to peer into the bassinets next to Rory's bed.
"Wow," he breathed totally in awe at what he saw. "Rory they're beautiful."
Rory smiled proudly. "I should hope so. After 20 hours in labour, I would expect nothing less than perfection." Jess laughed,
"So you gonna introduce me or should I just call them Rory's Kid Number 1 and 2." Rory sat up slowly in bed and gestured to the first bassinet. Inside, her 6lb 9oz baby girl peered around at her surroundings with her vibrant blue eyes. "This is Bethany Amelia Hayden and this." she gestured to the second bassinet. The 7lb little boy slept quietly inside. ".is Benjamin Jesse Hayden. Jess' eyes widened with surprise.
"Rory. I uh.I don't know what to say." Rory motioned for Jess to seit next to her on the bed. Her eyes watered slightly as he gently took her hand in his.
"You didn't have to say anything Jess. It's just my way of saying thank you for everything you've done for me. For the three of us." Jess looked down at his shoes,
"You really shouldn't thank me." Rory ignored his comment and continued on.
"Do you remember the day we met?" Jess nodded
"It was quiet easily the worst day of my life. I mean for crap's sake I was sleeping in a car!" said Rory laughing.
"But-." Jess tried to interrupt but Rory would have none of it.
"But nothing Jess. I had never felt so alone in my life. And then, out of nowhere, there you were. You took care of me, made me feel like I mattered to someone again. And for that I owe you more than I could possibly hope to repay." By now a few tears had slipped down Rory's cheeks, but she still smiled happily as ever. Jess wiped a few of them away with his thumb, but then quickly pulled away.
"Jess? What's the matter?" Rory asked watching him suspiciously.
"Nothing." He nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "It's nothing.It's just that you make me sound like some kinda hero."
"Well, as sappy as it sounds, you are to me Jess."
"That just it. My reasons for helping you were, are, totally selfish." Rory stared at him like he'd just grown another head.
"What are you talking about? As fas as I know, selfish people don't take complete strangers into their homes and take care of them!"
"Yeah well, this one does." By now Jess was pacing in front of Rory's bed. His whole demeanor screamed that he was fighting something. But much to Rory's chagrin, only he knew what.
"Jess, what is going on here? I mean you're gonna have to make yourself a bit clearer because at the moment, I have no idea what you're talking about. Now you say you've been helping me because you were thinking of yourself? How?" Jess moved to stand back at Rory's bedside. He studied everything about her face. Her lips, her cheeks that even now were going red under such close scrutiny, the little piece of her hair that she tucked behind her ear about a zillion times a day. And then there were her eyes. The bright blue orbs, that it her let himself, he could happily drown in.
"Jess?" Rory's voice snapped him back to reality.
"BecauseIloveyou." The words just tumbled out of his mouth.
"Huh? What? What do you mean?" Rory placed a hand on his cheek to keep him from turning away from her. Jess sighed and covered her hand with his. The more he looked into her eyes the more he knew. It was time to lay the cards on the table.
"What I mean is that the reason I did all that stuff isn't because I'm some hero. I did it because I loved you. Since the day you walked into my life you're the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. I wanted to be around you as much as I possibly could." Tears ran freely down Rory's cheeks as she tried to wrap her head around what Jess was saying. But before she could say anything in response Jess suddenly pulled away from her. The look on his face went from tender to hopeless in the blink of an eye.
"But I guess that all doesn't matter anymore, does it? As soon as you can, you're gonna take these kids and leave. Just walk out of my life as quickly as you came." Rory had never seen Jess look so upset. His face was a mask of complete brokenness. It literally hurt her to see him like that and doubly so, knowing she was the cause of his pain. What she wouldn't give to make the pain stop for him.
And then it hit her. And none to gently by the way, her breath caught momentarily. She loved him. She, Rory Hayden, was in love with Jess. Completely, totally, madly, deeply, insanely, whatever; she just loved him. Rory couldn't help but break into a smile at her sudden realization. It didn't go unnoticed by Jess.
"What are you smiling about?" he asked feeling a little bitter at her apparent joy in the middle of his misery.
"Oh nothing," she said trying to sound casual. "Its just that I'm in love with you too. That's all." Jess' jaw practically hit the floor. Never in a million years did he see that coming. Sure, its what he'd wanted to her to say with every fibre of his soul but he'd never allowed himself to even hope for it. Jess didn't even bother to say anything in return. Not like he had much choice anyway, breathing had become slightly difficult. He simply strode quickly back to her bedside and into her waiting arms.
His thumb gently stroked her bottom lip sending little ripple all the way to her toes. His face inched closer to hers agonizingly slowly until Rory couldn't stand the torture anymore. She brought her lips to meet his, closing the gap between them.
The kiss started slow and gentle but quickly grew more demanding, more passionate. Jess felt like he was flying. He was very sure his feet were nowhere near the ground anymore and he couldn't care less. He was kissing Rory. His best friend, the girl that he loved and that loved him, the girl.that was very soon going to have to leave him. Jess came skidding painfully back to earth. He forced himself to break the kiss.
"Rory." A slight moan of disapproval escaped Rory's lips at the broken contact and she leaned in to kiss him again. "Rory wait," he reluctantly protested.
"What is it Jess?" she asked trying to focus on what Jess was saying rather that the exquisite feeling of his lips on hers.
"You're still gonna leave in a few weeks Rory. I don't want to do all this if its just gonna end with you leaving me. I-." Rory's finger on his lips cut him off.
"Jess?"
"Umhm," he mumbled, his lips still being held shut.
"I'm not going anywhere. I decided yesterday that I was gonna stay in Stars Hollow but with all the craziness with my mom and going into labour, I didn't get a chance to tell you." Rory released his lips and waited for his response. Jess' face broke into an ear-to-ear grin.
"So you're not leaving?" Rory returned his grin with one of her own.
"Nope." Jess immediately wrapped his arms around Rory and held her. She buried her face in his neck as he lazily stroked her back. There was that flying feeling again and it was even better than before. But this time there were no abrupt intrusions by gravity or anything else. It would just be him, Rory and the twins. Together. Happy. That's it. That's all. That's the end.
AN: It's finally finished!!! I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to leave me emails and reviews. You're awesome! I hope you enjoy this chapter (took me long enough to write it, I know.) I'm pretty happy with it. Thanx again, Rudy (