Glad you liked the last chapter! To the anonymous reviewer who pointed out that rather silly mistake, I sincerely thank you. What was I thinking? And thank you also to the (lone) reviewer who hinted something nasty should happen to Jess. Unfortunately, you seem to be outnumbered. :)

Anyway, enjoy!

Their lips met hesitantly in a tender kiss.

Jess shifted slightly, cautiously wrapping an arm around Rory. Feeling no resistance, he pressed forward, deepening the kiss. Rory's eyes flew open and she quickly pulled away.

The two looked at each other. Her face was flushed, his cool and impassive as if nothing had happened.

Rory breathed in deeply, almost hyperventilating, her brain's furious messages finally reaching her mouth.

"Do you realise how crazy this is? We're in Lane's house!"

"So?"

"So?! So?!"

"Calm down, don't go all psycho on me."

"Oh my god, I am psycho! Why would I do that?"

"Hey!" Jess protested. "I'm standing right here."

Rory looked at him.

She adopted the only strategy she could. She ran downstairs.

Jess blinked. Was it just him, or was what just happened déjà vu all over again?

***

The sun was out, golden light pouring into the room, barely hindered by the pink curtains. Birds chirped merrily outside, underneath a sky that was as blue as it has ever been. Not a cloud dared cross it.

Unfortunately, it was lost on a happily sleeping Lorelai, dreaming of pixies and sunflowers.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding, the doorbell rang in the tune of Greensleeves. The person at the door shuddered.

Lorelai yawned, woken by the sound of the doorbell.

"Rory! Get the door!" There was no answer and Lorelai remembered with a groan that she was at Lane's.

Groggily pulling on a fluffy pink bathrobe, she walked towards the door.

"This had better be good," she called. "You disturbed my beauty sleep and I need that to look energised and rejuvenated." She opened the door.

There was no one there.

Lorelai frowned, scanning the area, then looked down. There, on the brown 'welcome' mat, lay a small, though beautifully wrapped present.

'To Lorelai Gilmore, from your K.K.' was written on a tag tucked into the corner.

The present turned out to be 3 sparkly bangles.

"Ooh," Lorelai murmured appreciatively.

It was to be the first of many gifts from the anonymous gift-giver.

***

Jess inspected the contents of the sock with interest, and then quickly switched a strip of paper from his own pocket with the last piece left. Seeing a familiar-looking, black-haired girl walk by, he smiled. Perfect timing.

"Lane…" Jess called.

She turned around, not exactly pleased to see him.

"What?"

"Just saying hi, there's no need to be testy." Jess feigned being hurt.

Lane looked suspicious.

"Make it quick, I need to clean up the house before my mom gets home."

"Yeah, you might wanna do that."

Lane's look clearly told him to go somewhere extremely uncomfortable.

"Have you taken one yet?" Jess gestured to the red sock, looking very forlorn by itself on the notice board.

"No, I haven't. How long has that been up there? How come I didn't know?"

"Calm down, there's enough for everyone. Here."

"No one told me," grumbled Lane.

Lane took out the single name left, looked, and groaned.

"Mrs. Needleman!"

"Bad luck. Well, gotta run." Jess walked away, leaving Lane confused, and not a little annoyed.

***

Lorelai and Rory sat at the counter. This wasn't because Luke's was particularly full, or particularly empty. It was because Lorelai had an enormous flow chart that had the names of everyone in town connected in web-like criss-crosses to everyone else in town. It was the size of a rug.

"This will solve the mystery once and for all," she announced, and taped the chart up on the side of Luke's diner.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but-"

Lorelai held up her hand, magically stopping the flow of words from Rory's mouth.

"There is no way you can finish that sentence without saying something negative."

"But some people don't want to know!"

"Pish-posh," scoffed Lorelai. "Everyone wants to know. Besides, I'm doing a service for the people of Stars Hollow by putting limits on their unease. They can come and cross off anyone they've ruled out, and so forth."

Rory nodded exaggeratedly.

"In fact," Lorelai continued, "you might call me a humanitarian. Dedicated to the well-being of the citizens of Stars Hollow."

"Taylor is going to throw a tantrum, you know."

Lorelai smiled cunningly.

"That's worth doing this in itself. Now, let's get down to business." Lorelai chewed her pencil thoughtfully, then crossed a line through Rory's name.

***

"Hey."

Rory looked up from her book, The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. She inclined her cheek, letting Dean give her a peck.

"Heading to work?" She asked.

Dean nodded somewhat dejectedly. Jess' nickname for him, 'Bagboy', had, rather unfortunately, caught on. Some of the other guys had made up an extremely unflattering rhyme based on the word and insisted on chanting it at inopportune times. Damn Jess, he thought, not for the first time.

"Why the long face?" Lorelai teased.

"Well, you know the sock?" Lorelai nodded. "It wasn't nice to me."

"It called you names?"

"Worse."

Lorelai looked at Dean quizzically. Slow realization dawned on her face.

"Come on, spill the beans. Who did you get?"

Dean looked around, and then quietly pronounced a name. Lorelai and Rory's mouths opened soundlessly. Lorelai's face worriedly amused, Rory's concernedly smiling.

"You are not serious!" They cried out simultaneously.

***

Rory recognised a familiar face browsing the shelves in her favourite bookshop, which she nicknamed 'Ye Olde Englishe Bookshoppe' because it only stocked ancient first editions, which she loved. Typically, he was cruising the automobiles section.

"Dad!"

Christopher looked up and smiled.

"Hi honey."

"What are you doing here?"

"Isn't a father allowed to visit the town where his daughter lives?"

"I suppose," she teased.

"Well, I've got to go, honey." Christopher paused. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks, dad."

***

Rory was sitting alone, nursing a cup of heavenly smelling coffee, waiting for Lorelai. Then, pulling out The Bell Jar again, she sipped her coffee and started reading from the beginning once more. She created a pretty tableau: sitting there demurely, lost in her own world. It seemed an eternity later when Rory heard the door open with the familiar chime.

"Finally!" She exhaled. "I've been waiting-" Turning around, she realized it wasn't Lorelai, rather someone darker, a little bit taller, and more … she stopped her rebellious mind there.

"Waiting for me?"

Rory smiled, a little embarrassed.

"Hey," she said.

"So, picked yet?"

"You always jump straight in to conversations, don't you?"

Jess shrugged.

"Chit-chat isn't really my thing."

"Well don't worry. It's not obvious."

"Except to you."

"Well, what can I say?"

"So, back to what we were talking about earlier…"

Jess waited for an answer.

"Not going to tell me, are you?"

"No, I'm just going to not … not share that particular piece of knowledge with you."

"Okay." He paused. "That's not different at all, is it?"

"Not unless different means the same," she replied. Jess grinned.

"So, who's Mrs. Needleman?"

Rory started laughing.

"You are kidding me!"

"I kid you not. See this face? Pure seriousness." Jess adopted a straight face.

"Okay, then. So, what now?"

"Would you like to hear something that'll make you totally crack up?"

"Always."

Jess took on a secretive look and gestured that Rory come closer. She leaned in, blushing slightly and felt a little tingly at his closeness.

"Luke has…" he whispered into her ear, and paused.

"What?"

Smiling, he whispered the last word.

Rory stared speechlessly, then burst out laughing at the delicious irony inherent in that one little word.

***

"Taylor has surpassed himself this year," Rory noted as they passed street signs adorned with festive-looking wreaths, poles draped with loops of sparkly tinsel, even the sidewalks had been decorated with gold stars.

"Yes," Lorelai agreed. "There's not nearly as many jolly Santas and faithful reindeer as the winter of '98."

"That was bad," Rory shuddered.

"It will forever remain as the benchmark for Christmas cliché at its worst."

"Indeed."

"Remember the Kim's? The life-sized Christ on his gold cross and 'Christ died for our sins' spelt out in fairy lights?"

"All too well." Rory brightened, remembering something. "Brace yourself. This was left in our mailbox," she said, handing her mom a cellophane-wrapped present.

"Double-dipped Belgian chocolate bon-bons! My absolute favourite!"

She frowned.

"Now who would know that?" Lorelai's eyes widened dramatically. "It's you, isn't it! Always the last person you expect." She cried, pointing an accusatory finger at Rory.

Rory gave her mom a look that is universally known to mean ' I have no idea why she isn't in an asylum'.

"Sorry honey," Lorelai apologised. "But you can't trust anyone. For all we know, there are private investigators lurking in the bushes, pinhole cameras embedded in trees, listening devices hidden on the wings of a butterfly!"

The pair were silent for a moment, listening to … well, nothing.

"Just one questions remains. Why would anyone bother?"

Lorelai looked upset that her concept had been punctured. "What have I told you about spoiling my idea?"

Rory grimaced.

"I know I'm onto something here," Lorelai pondered. "It's like Sleepless in Seattle!"             

Rory slapped her forehead comically.

"Of course it is! It's just so darn obvious I have no idea why I haven't spotted it before!" Rory decided to emulate her mom. "Spies noting down our every move is naturally the only possible answer!"

Lorelai looked at Rory.

"Are you mocking me?"

Rory sighed a long-suffering sigh. It happened all too often these days.

***

Rory opened the door.

"K.K by express courier mail." Jess delivered a small package to Rory with a flourish.

"My first present," Rory beamed. Every girl alive loved presents.

"I'll bet you're just thrilled."

"Thank you, kind postman."

Jess mock-bowed.

"So," Rory asked innocently, "I suppose you would know who has me."

"I might."

"Tell me?"

"No way. I would be in big trouble with … the U.S. postal system."

"Uh-huh."

"It's true, I tell you." Jess spread his arms in an act of resignation.

Rory paused.

"Would you like to come in?"

"Won't Dean mind?"

"I was just going to offer you some food."

"Ah. Leftovers from last night's binge?"

"As always, yes."

"Trying to get rid of the evidence, huh?"

"Kinda," Rory admitted. "My mom and I hate to see exactly how much junk we ate."

"Well, why not." Jess stepped into the house, smiling as he closed the door behind him.

Ahh…that Rory/Jess chemistry. Is there anything sweeter (or cuter)? It practically writes itself. :)  Sorry about the slowness of this chapter, I caught writer's block from a friend of mine. I can exclusively reveal, however, that there are exciting developments yet to come. What are they, you ask? You'll just have to keep reading to find out. Anyway, please review!