Title: It All Starts With A Kiss
Chapter 20: Welcome Home
~~~
"Tony, you sellin' my paper?"
"Now why would I sell drivel like that?" the man behind the newsstand smiled at Jess. "You want your copy?"
"Not today; I know what I wrote. I'll take a Post, though."
"Checking out the competition, good deal." Tony handed Jess a copy of the New York Post, Jess handed Tony some money, and then he walked home.
After three years at the New York Times, his editor had tried to fire him. Jess had spouted some cynical views at her, and she'd laughed and given him a column. The column consisted of him ranting in his satirical way about the world. Well, everyone else thought he was satirical; Jess knew he was cynical. He knew why he was cynical too. It was the reason he couldn't watch CNN or visit Stars Hollow very often. Five-year-old Diane looked exactly like Rory, down to the eyes, hair, and books.
As Jess was unlocking the door to his apartment, one of his neighbors yelled, "Hey, Jess! Great column today!"
"Yeah, whatever," Jess nodded as he pushed all his weight against the door and entered his tiny one-bedroom apartment, perpetually empty.
~~~~
"Rory! You're home early," Carla, Rory's roommate of two months, exclaimed as Rory entered their apartment at three in the morning. "I wasn't expecting you until at least eight."
"Well, the bombing ended early, so they sent me home." Rory said as she slammed cabinets in her rush to get coffee.
"It's a little late for coffee. Maybe you should drink decaf." Carla said as she leaned on the kitchen counter.
Rory placed the coffee cup in her hand on the counter. Well, maybe 'placed' is a bad word. More like, 'practically broke it with the force she used to set it down on the counter.' She set her steel-blue gaze directly at Carla, and when she spoke, she spoke in a harsh whisper that would send chills down anyone's spine.
"I have been awake for the past fifty-two hours. Thirty-seven of those hours I spent in a different part of the world, bombs thrown by druglords going off behind me. But I was supposed to stand in front of the camera, and look awake, and peppy, and not like I was scared and wanted to go home. On top of all that, the coffee in Colombia sucks, so I do believe I have reason to get my own coffee without my damn nit-wit roommate trying to take that away from me too!"
"You're tired, so I'll let that nit-wit comment slide!" Carla, no chills down her spine, smiled at Rory before running back to the couch and returning to her magazine.
Rory sighed and continued making coffee. She looked at the bag of grounds as she poured some into the coffee maker. She'd have to call Luke in the morning and get him to send her more. He'd started sending her bags of coffee after she'd gotten the promotion to on-air reporter at work. After the first three decaf bags, Lorelai had worn him down and he'd started sending the good, caffiene-filled kind. Rory usually brought a bag with her when she was sent somewhere, but this time it had started really quickly, so they'd stuck her on a plane and the next thing she knew, she was in Colombia. She'd called Carla twice, once when she'd found out she was leaving, and once when they told her what time she'd be going home.
Carla was only her roommate because after four years working behind the scenes, her boss had heard her talking about her desire to travel, and she'd started sending Rory all over the world. Rory, being something of a worrywart, felt better when someone was home, so she'd gotten a roommate. It wasn't like she'd had anything that would die if she wasn't home to feed it; she didn't even have any plants.
"By the way, your mom called demanding you visit them soon."
"Thanks for the message, Carla."
"Why don't you ever go see her?" Carla set down her magazine and walked back into the kitchen.
Rory sighed. "Well, Carla, I'm very busy, and I'm hardly ever at home."
"I know that. But you don't even stop by there when you fly up there for a story."
"Well--how do you know that?"
"Your mom and I got to talking."
"Oh. I just never think about it."
"Whatever." Carla returned to her magazine while Rory pondered her words. The real reason she never went home was because she couldn't. Six-year-old Sam always gushed about Jess. Rory couldn't handle that. Jess still meant too much to her.
~~~~
"What do you mean you can't tell me? That's my mother giving birth to my little brother!"
"I'm sorry; I don't know what room she's in."
"Don't give me that crap! My great-great-great uncle founded this hospital, and you can't tell me what room she's in?"
"Well, you can go to Maternity and ask them what room."
"Thank you. There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
The receptionist meekly shook her head. Rory nodded.
"Good." She stalked past the reception desk in the emergency room and into the hallway. She passed someone and didn't even realize who it was until he started talking.
"Labor and Delivery Room 1."
"What?" Rory spun around. "Oh, Jess."
"Lorelai's in Labor and Delivery Room 1."
"Thanks."
Jess nodded and started walking off. Rory called after him.
"It's not because of you, you know."
"What?" Jess turned to face her again. Rory walked a few steps closer to him.
"It's not because of you that I haven't been to Stars Hollow in a while."
"You haven't? I didn't notice."
"Oh."
Jess continued his walk towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
Jess turned around once again. "Relieve Sookie of the twins."
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll go see Mom."
"Probably a good idea."
"Yeah. Bye." Rory spun on her heel and started for her mother's room, willing her breathing to get back to normal. Jess watched her go, hoping his heart would beat in rhythm again soon. God, she looked beautiful.
"Mom!" Rory smiled as she walked into Labor and Delivery Room 1.
"Hey, babe."
Rory hugged her mother as she reached her bed, wary of the machines attached to Lorelai's large stomach. "How are you doing?"
"Pretty good, except the large bursts of pain every few minutes."
"That's gotta be a downer. Where's Luke?"
"Getting ice." Lorelai answered, a mischevious glint in her eyes.
"For the nurses." Rory said at the same time as her mother, an equally mischevious glint in her eyes.
"Where were you when I called?"
"At a play, with a friend."
"Oh, really? Which friend?"
"Kyle," Rory responded, gazing down her floor-length dress at her matching shoes.
"Was this a date?"
"I think Kyle thought so."
"And what about you?"
Rory shook her head. "I'm not ready yet."
"Sweets, it's been five years."
"I know, I'm just...not ready yet."
"Okay. But you're gonna have to get over him sometime."
Rory nodded, still looking at the floor.
"If you don't get over your Christopher, how are you going to find your Luke?"
Rory looked at her mother, tears in her eyes. "But what if he was my Luke?"
"Oh, sweetie." Lorelai held out her arms, and Rory leaned down into them. "If he was, you'll find a way to be together again. Not even death stops true love."
"Been watching The Princess Bride again, huh?" Rory laughed as she stood up.
"Well, anyone who marries Sean Penn and stays married to him deserves my morbid fascination."
"Like watching a car wreck?"
"Exactly."
"Well, I gotta go."
"No, you don't. You have to stay. Come on, you know you want to!"
"I can't, Mom, I have work."
"Ugh, work. You act like they pay you or something."
"I'm sorry, Mom. I have to go."
"Fine. I love you, ya big lug." Lorelai pulled Rory into another hug. Rory laughed.
"I love you too, you bigger lug."
"You're only saying that cause I'm pregnant."
"That and the whole age thing."
"Whatever."
"Bye, Mom."
"Bye."
Rory walked out of the room and almost directly into Luke, returning from getting ice chips.
"Hey, Rory."
"Hey, Luke."
"Are you staying?"
Rory shook her head. "Work."
"Okay. Did you see him?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I saw him," Rory answered, a slight smile playing on her lips. She waved and turned, heading home. Luke shook his head and entered Lorelai's room.
"She saw him."
"She loves him."
"He loves her."
"And they're too stupid and stubborn to admit it."
"And that's partly my fault."
"And my sister's."
Lorelai sighed.
"Here, ice chips." Luke handed her the cup. "I'll go get the mean nurse."
"Thank you, sweetie."
"No problem."
Lorelai sat up gleefully as Luke hurried to get her target.
~~~~
Jess set his laptop down on the floor and reached for the remote. He turned on the TV and started channel surfing, which he detested, but the cable company had switched the line-up again and he didn't know what was where. Something caught his eye, and he switched back. Sure enough, there she was, just staring at him. She'd won some award and was standing at a podium thanking people. Her name flashed across the bottom of the screen.
Rory Gilmore
Jess listened to the end of her acceptance speech, and she said his name.
"...and I'd like to thank Jess, who loved me enough to send me on my way six years ago. If he hadn't I never would've gotten here, and I certainly wouldn't have this!" Rory held up her award. "Jess, I still love you just as much as I ever have, I just want you to know. And Mom, this award is for you; you can keep it on your mantel. Thank you." Rory walked down the steps back to her table, and Jess leaned forward intently. He recognized the dress--it was the one she'd worn in Sookie's wedding. He watched as she made it to her table in time for the entire ballroom to get on their feet and give her a standing ovation. She blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The clapping went on and on, for what seemed like hours, but eventually it died down and Rory was able to sink into her chair. They started announcing the next presenter, and Jess picked up the remote and turned off the TV. He just sat there, looking at the black screen where Rory had been seconds earlier.
~~~~
"Carla, don't you have work?" Rory asked her roommate, who was sprawled on the couch watching TV.
"Mnh-mnh, it's Saturday. You couldn't get me within a mile of work today."
"Oh." Rory just continued picking things up and shoving them in her overnight bag. She had an early meeting. She looked around once more, grabbed the half-empty bag of Luke's coffee from the kitchen and started for the door. "Could you do the dishes later?"
"Sure. After Barbra."
"What?"
Carla pointed to the screen, where Rory recognized a scene from Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand.
"Oh. Sure. After Barbra." Rory walked out of the apartment. She got in her car, drove to work, and started towards the conference room for the meeting, all the while humming something. When she was in the elevator, someone finally adressed her about it.
"I'm the greatest star." The woman next to her said.
"Hmm?"
"I'm the Greatest Star, from Funny Girl. That is what you're humming, isn't it?"
"Oh. I guess I am."
"God, that's the best show. Have you ever seen it?"
"I saw it on Broadway about six years ago."
"I saw it a week ago. God, it was great!" and the girl was off, rattling about the show and the songs from the show and the people in the show. Rory just nodded politely, watching the numbers on the elevator grow higher. The elevator doors opened on her floor, and she thankfully stepped out and headed for the conference room. She sat in her chair at the empty table, set her bag on the floor, and started drumming her fingers. She was early. Very early. She looked around the table, her eye finally falling on a paper at one end. She could read from where she was that it was the New York Times. She looked around. No one was even glancing in her direction. She leaned over and slowly pulled the paper towards her. She remembered Lorelai mentioning something about Jess having his own column. She looked through the paper and finally found it. She laid it on the table and began to read.
Welcome Home
By Jess Mariano
Let me stray from my cynical views on the world for a day. Instead, I'm going to tell you a story.
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Lorelai. She lived in Hartford, Connecticut, where her parents were the toast, bread, and butter of Hartford high society.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Eww, Connecticut! I think so too, and so did Lorelai, so, in between trying on her dress for her 'coming out' party and learning the Vienese Waltz, Lorelai discovered she was pregnant.
Her first reaction was complete and total shock. Her second reaction involved her getting the hell out of Hartford. Not long after her daughter, Rory, was born, Lorelai went with her second reaction.
Fast-foward sixteen years.
Lorelai is a thirty-something single mother. She runs an inn and exchanges flirty banter with the owner of the local diner, who, in turn keeps her in coffee and pancakes. She does all this in small, quirky, Stars Hollow, Connecticut, 06492. Now, it's in Connecticut, so it loses some of its charm, but it's not Hartford, and it's not high society(far from it), so it gains a lot of points from Lorelai.
Her daughter, Rory, is perfect. She gets perfect grades at perfect Chilton in Hartford on her way to perfect Harvard. Rory goes out with Perfect Boyfriend, the kind of perfect guy who holds doors open for girls, and doesn't let them pay. Perfect Boyfriend is freakishly tall, and has this great Frankenstein scowl when you really get down to it, but that's not the point.
Perfect life for Lorelai and perfect Rory. Everything's going good, life is normal, and...Mr. Bad Boy himself shows up. Most of the reason I was bad was because I was bored. Oh, wait, didn't I mention? I'm Mr. Bad Boy. Surprise, surprise.
Most of the reason I was bad was because I was bored. I was getting into some trouble here in New York. It was mainly stupid stuff, but it kept getting bigger and bigger, and before long my deadbeat mother noticed, and, since she can't handle anything herself, she sent me to Stars Hollow to live with my uncle Luke, owner of the previously mentioned local diner.
Luke and Lorelai are good friends, so the second night I was there we were invited to dinner at Lorelai's house with Lorelai, Rory, and two of Lorelai's friends. Lorelai's friend prepared an insane amount of food, too much for twenty people, let alone six.
Before the actual consumption of the food began, I wandered into Rory's room and met her. She politely introduced herself, I ignored her, tried to get her to bail with me...normal dinner. I stole a beer from Lorelai and bailed before dinner. Luke came home not long after that and yelled at me about my smoking. I went out and ran into Rory. After I returned the book I'd stolen from her, she called me Dodger.
Pretty soon that was the basis of our relationship. The books, not the stealing. Not that we really had a relationship; it was a friendship. After all, she was going out with Perfect Frankenstein, and who wants to mess with a good thing?
Being in Stars Hollow didn't have any effect on my stealing. After five hundred baseballs mysteriously left the high school, gnomes were kidnapped from their homes in front yards, money for stupid causes (like the damn bridge which didn't need any help) disappeared, and chalk-lines for fake murders just showed up in front of the local market. All done by yours truly.
I admit these were stupid, but not as stupid as the car accident I got into with Rory in the car. It was Rory's car, made by Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend. She was tutoring me, and after a very long evening, I finally convinced her to go for ice cream. There was a rodent in the road, and I swerved, and her arm hit the dashboard....
I moved back to New York. I figured she'd never want to see me again, so I left. Packed up a bag and got on a bus that same night. I called her one night not long after that, and she didn't seem that mad at me, so I wasn't very surprised when she showed up in Washington Square Park the next day. I just looked up and said, "How ya doin'?"
We wandered around, got hot dogs, went to a record store, and then she went home. I found out that the reason she'd come had been the fact I hadn't said goodbye. So I told her goodbye, already thinking that she might just see me again some time soon. Really soon.
I moved back to Stars Hollow.
I freaked Luke out by going upstairs without him seeing me, and he told me that Rory and Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend were doing good. I said that was great and walked out. 'For a walk,' I said, knowing I was really going to crash a wedding I'd heard about. So I crashed the wedding. I stood off to the side, didn't even really go into the actual wedding part, I just waited for Rory to notice me. She was talking to her dad, but then he walked off. She looked around for a while until she finally noticed me, and then she came over and we had the following conversation, which is written here almost word for word, because a very surprising kiss came out of this conversation, and I still remember that kiss.
"What are you doing here?" Such a nice greeting for me, the guy she hadn't seen in forever. Except for that little trip she took the day she skipped school.
"Hello to you, too." I said, as if I hadn't heard her greeting. Or maybe I was just being annoying Jess. Huh. Works both ways.
"Is everything okay?" Typical Rory, worried about everyone.
"You look nice." Typical Jess, ignoring her.
"Thank you. What are you doing here?" Ah, yes. The eternal question springs up yet again.
"I moved back."
"What?"
"I moved back." I stated clearly, wondering if she hadn't heard me the first time, or she was so deliriously happy she couldn't believe it. She stuttered for a minute, and then asked why. I shrugged. "Just wanted to."
And then she surprised me by leaning in for a kiss. I returned the favor. Then she remembered Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!"
"Rory."
"Don't say a word!" That's a flattering thought: 'Don't tell anyone I was crazy enough to kiss you! But I loved her, so I agreed.
"Okay."
"I have to go." She was, after all, in the wedding party. So she dashed off, only turning back once to announce, "Oh, welcome home!"
I still consider that her declaration of love. She called Stars Hollow my 'home,' basically signifying that the short time I'd been gone I'd been missed terribly. I deduced from this that she loved me, which worked out well, cause I loved her too. Unfortunately, I didn't get any more declarations of love, since she just left, almost immediately after the wedding. She didn't talk to me or anything, she just packed up and headed off for some stupid school government thing in Washington D.C. I did the only thing anyone can do in those situations: I got a girlfriend.
I guess you can call her a girlfriend, although I can't for the life of me remember her name, so I think I'll call her my make-out partner. That's all I did with her. Make out.
I guess you can say I flaunted her in front of Rory, which I did, just trying to show Rory that I didn't need her--that the kiss had meant nothing, although I did need her, the kiss had meant something. I never told her 'Welcome Home,' although I wanted to.
Things worked out in my favor, though, since she obsessed about make-out girl in front of Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend, so he yelled at her in front of the town at a stupid dance marathon and walked off. She hightailed it out of there and went to the bridge to cry. Her bridge. My bridge. Our bridge.
She did cry over the demise of her and Perfect Boyfriend--he was her first love--but not for long, since a few days later was the beginning of what Lorelai likes to call 'Rory and Jess: the Early Years.'
We went out for almost a year, and then we broke up. Twelve hours later, we were making out once again. We were then together, happily, for three and a half years. We went on a road trip with Luke and Lorelai, who are pretty happily married right now, with three kids. She transferred from Yale to NYU and moved into a three-bedroom apartment with me. After graduation, however, she recieved a job offer from CNN in Atlanta, and so she moved away.
I saw her on TV the other day, recieving an award for something, in the same dress she wore at the wedding I crashed. She thanked me in her speech, even though we haven't talked to each other in over a year and we haven't had a civilized conversation in six years. She said she still loves me as much as she did.
The reason I chose today of all days to bore you with this is because today is Rory's birthday--she's twenty-eight--and I was feeling a little nostalgic.
Happy Birthday, Rory, wherever you are. Welcome Home.
Rory looked up as her boss entered the room.
"Rory! You're here early. Excited to be on your way?"
Rory looked back down at the last line in his column. "Happy Birthday, Rory, wherever you are. Welcome Home." She looked back at her boss.
"Can I talk to you after the meeting? I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
~~~~
"The Dragonfly Inn is..." Lorelai started.
"Officially open for business!" Sookie finished. They both cut the red ribbon in front of the door, and the town of Stars Hollow started filtering into the newly-renovated inn, most of them stopping to offer congratulations to Sookie and Lorelai.
"It looks wonderful," Miss Patty gushed as she walked in.
"You girls did a good job." Babbette said as she and Morey entered.
"Very quickly. That's the kind of thing the Stars Hollow Business Owners Association likes."
"Thank you, Taylor. Have you tried the cream puffs?" Lorelai showed him the cream puffs on the table. He headed over to try one.
"I thought he was allergic to coconuts." Sookie said.
"He is."
"The cream puffs have coconut in them."
"They do? Huh."
"You knew the cream puffs had coconut in them."
"Ah, don't worry about it. He'll just get a rash."
"You've been hanging around Luke too long."
"You know, I think that might be true." Lorelai smiled at Sookie. Sookie smiled back, and then they both headed inside.
Half an hour later, the party was in full swing. People were eating Sookie's food, Taylor had gone home with a rash, Kirk was searching for his megaphone. Everything was normal. Jess was standing in the hallway in front of the open door when he was approached by eight-year-old Diane.
"Jess, will you dance with me?"
"Sure, Di."
"Okay. My mom taught me how to waltz."
"Well, the waltz doesn't really go with this song."
Lorelai was singing 'The Coffee Song' along with Frank Sinatra.
"Mom said the waltz goes with everything."
"Okay."
Jess and Diane started waltzing to 'The Coffee Song' and then continued when the song changed to 'Sadie, Sadie' from Funny Girl.
"Did your mom decide on these songs?"
"Her and Aunt Sookie."
"Ah. I thought so."
The second song ended, and Diane stopped.
"I'm going to play with Jake," she said, referring to her little brother. Jess nodded, and she ran off. He felt someone watching him and he turned to look out the open door. It was her. Rory.
He walked to the doorway, and stood there, leaning against the doorjamb. She walked up the stairs and then stopped on the top step.
Gazing at the ground, Jess said, "Stay."
Rory nodded, and then, realizing that he couldn't see her, said, "Yes."
He looked up in surprise. She nodded again, and then they both ran into each other's arms. They kissed each other, their first kiss in six years, and after they clung to each other as tightly as they could.
"Welcome home," he whispered in her ear. She laughed.
"I love you, too."
~~2020~~
Luke and Lorelai Danes were very busy. She had her inn, he had his diner, but on top of that fifteen-year-old Diane was going to be presented into society in a few months, and fifteen-year-old Sam was escorting his girlfriend Rebecca at her own debutante ball. Luckily, eight-year-old Jake was too young to be coerced into anything by Emily who, after all these years, could still manipulate with the best of them. Insane grandparents aside, the Danes were a very happy family. Every once in a while, though, Lorelai thought Luke was being too much of a Schnicklefritz, and so she stole hat and he couldn't get it back until he fell down with her, which usually resulted in some kissing.
Sookie and Jackson Melville were also pretty busy. Sookie had three children in five years, and then refused to have any more. Jackson agreed that three in five were enough, and they settled down to work on the inn. Sookie was the main chef at the inn, freaked out when she had to leave for even a little while, but she was helped by Jackson, who was still her produce guy after all these years.
Dave and Lane Rygalski--well, what can I tell ya? They were made for each other, through and through. After Lane graduated from high school, she told her mother about the band. Her mother practically disowned her, and they didn't talk for almost two years as Lane traveled with the band. When Dave proposed, however, Lane and Mrs. Kim also made up, and as a wedding present Mrs. Kim sent the couple a rocking chair, half-price. Lane and Dave got married with Rory as Lane's maid of honor and had one child, because after the baby was born the band's schedule was off for months. You can find them on MTV and VH1, and every once in a while they make a guest appearance on a prime-time or talk show.
Paris Gellar and Jamie...whatever the hell his last name is. Paris broke up with Jamie--he was, after all, a Princeton man--and they never talked again. Paris found comfort in Ben, a nice guy from Yale. They got married with Rory as a bridesmaid and had two children, both named after mutual professors, although the little girl's middle name is Ashley, after Paris' roommate in college. After all, she was the reason they met.
Christopher and Sherry Hayden--well, now it's Christopher Hayden and Sherry Tinsdale. After about ten years, Christopher finally remembered why he was going to break up with Sherry in the first place and they got divorced. G.G.--or Georgia, as she prefers to be called--now lives with Christopher full-time and Sherry on some weekends and holidays. Georgia also visits her big sister in New York quite often.
And there was someone else...let's see. L/L, S/J, L/D, P/J, C/S...who else? Hmmm. Hmm hmm hmm hmm--oh! You wanna know about Dean? Okay, here goes! He married some girl, very severely beat her, and is now in Illinois State Penitentiary for a long time. Fun!
And I do think there was someone else. I do believe....Ah, yes. Rory and Jess. They got married not long after she showed up at the Inn. They had a private, very quick ceremony on their bridge very early in the morning. The only guests were Luke and Lorelai, as their witnesses. They threw a big party later that day, and invited the whole town, including all their friends. Rory moved to New York but stayed with CNN; she flew around the world a lot but somehow still managed to have two children--well, two and a half. They have one on the way. Six-year-old Nick's thrilled about his baby brother, because he wasn't so happy about his sister, Nora, when she was born. Nora says she can't wait for her little brother, but you never can tell with three-year-olds.
Well, that's it. It's over. I hope it's to your satisfaction. I have worked many many many many many hours on this, and my computer wouldn't let me put it up yesterday, so I had to rewrite it today. My personal favorite part was the newspaper article...that took a lot of time and over sixteen hundred words. Please review; maybe I can make it to two hundred.
Chapter 20: Welcome Home
~~~
"Tony, you sellin' my paper?"
"Now why would I sell drivel like that?" the man behind the newsstand smiled at Jess. "You want your copy?"
"Not today; I know what I wrote. I'll take a Post, though."
"Checking out the competition, good deal." Tony handed Jess a copy of the New York Post, Jess handed Tony some money, and then he walked home.
After three years at the New York Times, his editor had tried to fire him. Jess had spouted some cynical views at her, and she'd laughed and given him a column. The column consisted of him ranting in his satirical way about the world. Well, everyone else thought he was satirical; Jess knew he was cynical. He knew why he was cynical too. It was the reason he couldn't watch CNN or visit Stars Hollow very often. Five-year-old Diane looked exactly like Rory, down to the eyes, hair, and books.
As Jess was unlocking the door to his apartment, one of his neighbors yelled, "Hey, Jess! Great column today!"
"Yeah, whatever," Jess nodded as he pushed all his weight against the door and entered his tiny one-bedroom apartment, perpetually empty.
~~~~
"Rory! You're home early," Carla, Rory's roommate of two months, exclaimed as Rory entered their apartment at three in the morning. "I wasn't expecting you until at least eight."
"Well, the bombing ended early, so they sent me home." Rory said as she slammed cabinets in her rush to get coffee.
"It's a little late for coffee. Maybe you should drink decaf." Carla said as she leaned on the kitchen counter.
Rory placed the coffee cup in her hand on the counter. Well, maybe 'placed' is a bad word. More like, 'practically broke it with the force she used to set it down on the counter.' She set her steel-blue gaze directly at Carla, and when she spoke, she spoke in a harsh whisper that would send chills down anyone's spine.
"I have been awake for the past fifty-two hours. Thirty-seven of those hours I spent in a different part of the world, bombs thrown by druglords going off behind me. But I was supposed to stand in front of the camera, and look awake, and peppy, and not like I was scared and wanted to go home. On top of all that, the coffee in Colombia sucks, so I do believe I have reason to get my own coffee without my damn nit-wit roommate trying to take that away from me too!"
"You're tired, so I'll let that nit-wit comment slide!" Carla, no chills down her spine, smiled at Rory before running back to the couch and returning to her magazine.
Rory sighed and continued making coffee. She looked at the bag of grounds as she poured some into the coffee maker. She'd have to call Luke in the morning and get him to send her more. He'd started sending her bags of coffee after she'd gotten the promotion to on-air reporter at work. After the first three decaf bags, Lorelai had worn him down and he'd started sending the good, caffiene-filled kind. Rory usually brought a bag with her when she was sent somewhere, but this time it had started really quickly, so they'd stuck her on a plane and the next thing she knew, she was in Colombia. She'd called Carla twice, once when she'd found out she was leaving, and once when they told her what time she'd be going home.
Carla was only her roommate because after four years working behind the scenes, her boss had heard her talking about her desire to travel, and she'd started sending Rory all over the world. Rory, being something of a worrywart, felt better when someone was home, so she'd gotten a roommate. It wasn't like she'd had anything that would die if she wasn't home to feed it; she didn't even have any plants.
"By the way, your mom called demanding you visit them soon."
"Thanks for the message, Carla."
"Why don't you ever go see her?" Carla set down her magazine and walked back into the kitchen.
Rory sighed. "Well, Carla, I'm very busy, and I'm hardly ever at home."
"I know that. But you don't even stop by there when you fly up there for a story."
"Well--how do you know that?"
"Your mom and I got to talking."
"Oh. I just never think about it."
"Whatever." Carla returned to her magazine while Rory pondered her words. The real reason she never went home was because she couldn't. Six-year-old Sam always gushed about Jess. Rory couldn't handle that. Jess still meant too much to her.
~~~~
"What do you mean you can't tell me? That's my mother giving birth to my little brother!"
"I'm sorry; I don't know what room she's in."
"Don't give me that crap! My great-great-great uncle founded this hospital, and you can't tell me what room she's in?"
"Well, you can go to Maternity and ask them what room."
"Thank you. There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
The receptionist meekly shook her head. Rory nodded.
"Good." She stalked past the reception desk in the emergency room and into the hallway. She passed someone and didn't even realize who it was until he started talking.
"Labor and Delivery Room 1."
"What?" Rory spun around. "Oh, Jess."
"Lorelai's in Labor and Delivery Room 1."
"Thanks."
Jess nodded and started walking off. Rory called after him.
"It's not because of you, you know."
"What?" Jess turned to face her again. Rory walked a few steps closer to him.
"It's not because of you that I haven't been to Stars Hollow in a while."
"You haven't? I didn't notice."
"Oh."
Jess continued his walk towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
Jess turned around once again. "Relieve Sookie of the twins."
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll go see Mom."
"Probably a good idea."
"Yeah. Bye." Rory spun on her heel and started for her mother's room, willing her breathing to get back to normal. Jess watched her go, hoping his heart would beat in rhythm again soon. God, she looked beautiful.
"Mom!" Rory smiled as she walked into Labor and Delivery Room 1.
"Hey, babe."
Rory hugged her mother as she reached her bed, wary of the machines attached to Lorelai's large stomach. "How are you doing?"
"Pretty good, except the large bursts of pain every few minutes."
"That's gotta be a downer. Where's Luke?"
"Getting ice." Lorelai answered, a mischevious glint in her eyes.
"For the nurses." Rory said at the same time as her mother, an equally mischevious glint in her eyes.
"Where were you when I called?"
"At a play, with a friend."
"Oh, really? Which friend?"
"Kyle," Rory responded, gazing down her floor-length dress at her matching shoes.
"Was this a date?"
"I think Kyle thought so."
"And what about you?"
Rory shook her head. "I'm not ready yet."
"Sweets, it's been five years."
"I know, I'm just...not ready yet."
"Okay. But you're gonna have to get over him sometime."
Rory nodded, still looking at the floor.
"If you don't get over your Christopher, how are you going to find your Luke?"
Rory looked at her mother, tears in her eyes. "But what if he was my Luke?"
"Oh, sweetie." Lorelai held out her arms, and Rory leaned down into them. "If he was, you'll find a way to be together again. Not even death stops true love."
"Been watching The Princess Bride again, huh?" Rory laughed as she stood up.
"Well, anyone who marries Sean Penn and stays married to him deserves my morbid fascination."
"Like watching a car wreck?"
"Exactly."
"Well, I gotta go."
"No, you don't. You have to stay. Come on, you know you want to!"
"I can't, Mom, I have work."
"Ugh, work. You act like they pay you or something."
"I'm sorry, Mom. I have to go."
"Fine. I love you, ya big lug." Lorelai pulled Rory into another hug. Rory laughed.
"I love you too, you bigger lug."
"You're only saying that cause I'm pregnant."
"That and the whole age thing."
"Whatever."
"Bye, Mom."
"Bye."
Rory walked out of the room and almost directly into Luke, returning from getting ice chips.
"Hey, Rory."
"Hey, Luke."
"Are you staying?"
Rory shook her head. "Work."
"Okay. Did you see him?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I saw him," Rory answered, a slight smile playing on her lips. She waved and turned, heading home. Luke shook his head and entered Lorelai's room.
"She saw him."
"She loves him."
"He loves her."
"And they're too stupid and stubborn to admit it."
"And that's partly my fault."
"And my sister's."
Lorelai sighed.
"Here, ice chips." Luke handed her the cup. "I'll go get the mean nurse."
"Thank you, sweetie."
"No problem."
Lorelai sat up gleefully as Luke hurried to get her target.
~~~~
Jess set his laptop down on the floor and reached for the remote. He turned on the TV and started channel surfing, which he detested, but the cable company had switched the line-up again and he didn't know what was where. Something caught his eye, and he switched back. Sure enough, there she was, just staring at him. She'd won some award and was standing at a podium thanking people. Her name flashed across the bottom of the screen.
Jess listened to the end of her acceptance speech, and she said his name.
"...and I'd like to thank Jess, who loved me enough to send me on my way six years ago. If he hadn't I never would've gotten here, and I certainly wouldn't have this!" Rory held up her award. "Jess, I still love you just as much as I ever have, I just want you to know. And Mom, this award is for you; you can keep it on your mantel. Thank you." Rory walked down the steps back to her table, and Jess leaned forward intently. He recognized the dress--it was the one she'd worn in Sookie's wedding. He watched as she made it to her table in time for the entire ballroom to get on their feet and give her a standing ovation. She blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The clapping went on and on, for what seemed like hours, but eventually it died down and Rory was able to sink into her chair. They started announcing the next presenter, and Jess picked up the remote and turned off the TV. He just sat there, looking at the black screen where Rory had been seconds earlier.
~~~~
"Carla, don't you have work?" Rory asked her roommate, who was sprawled on the couch watching TV.
"Mnh-mnh, it's Saturday. You couldn't get me within a mile of work today."
"Oh." Rory just continued picking things up and shoving them in her overnight bag. She had an early meeting. She looked around once more, grabbed the half-empty bag of Luke's coffee from the kitchen and started for the door. "Could you do the dishes later?"
"Sure. After Barbra."
"What?"
Carla pointed to the screen, where Rory recognized a scene from Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand.
"Oh. Sure. After Barbra." Rory walked out of the apartment. She got in her car, drove to work, and started towards the conference room for the meeting, all the while humming something. When she was in the elevator, someone finally adressed her about it.
"I'm the greatest star." The woman next to her said.
"Hmm?"
"I'm the Greatest Star, from Funny Girl. That is what you're humming, isn't it?"
"Oh. I guess I am."
"God, that's the best show. Have you ever seen it?"
"I saw it on Broadway about six years ago."
"I saw it a week ago. God, it was great!" and the girl was off, rattling about the show and the songs from the show and the people in the show. Rory just nodded politely, watching the numbers on the elevator grow higher. The elevator doors opened on her floor, and she thankfully stepped out and headed for the conference room. She sat in her chair at the empty table, set her bag on the floor, and started drumming her fingers. She was early. Very early. She looked around the table, her eye finally falling on a paper at one end. She could read from where she was that it was the New York Times. She looked around. No one was even glancing in her direction. She leaned over and slowly pulled the paper towards her. She remembered Lorelai mentioning something about Jess having his own column. She looked through the paper and finally found it. She laid it on the table and began to read.
By Jess Mariano
Let me stray from my cynical views on the world for a day. Instead, I'm going to tell you a story.
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Lorelai. She lived in Hartford, Connecticut, where her parents were the toast, bread, and butter of Hartford high society.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Eww, Connecticut! I think so too, and so did Lorelai, so, in between trying on her dress for her 'coming out' party and learning the Vienese Waltz, Lorelai discovered she was pregnant.
Her first reaction was complete and total shock. Her second reaction involved her getting the hell out of Hartford. Not long after her daughter, Rory, was born, Lorelai went with her second reaction.
Fast-foward sixteen years.
Lorelai is a thirty-something single mother. She runs an inn and exchanges flirty banter with the owner of the local diner, who, in turn keeps her in coffee and pancakes. She does all this in small, quirky, Stars Hollow, Connecticut, 06492. Now, it's in Connecticut, so it loses some of its charm, but it's not Hartford, and it's not high society(far from it), so it gains a lot of points from Lorelai.
Her daughter, Rory, is perfect. She gets perfect grades at perfect Chilton in Hartford on her way to perfect Harvard. Rory goes out with Perfect Boyfriend, the kind of perfect guy who holds doors open for girls, and doesn't let them pay. Perfect Boyfriend is freakishly tall, and has this great Frankenstein scowl when you really get down to it, but that's not the point.
Perfect life for Lorelai and perfect Rory. Everything's going good, life is normal, and...Mr. Bad Boy himself shows up. Most of the reason I was bad was because I was bored. Oh, wait, didn't I mention? I'm Mr. Bad Boy. Surprise, surprise.
Most of the reason I was bad was because I was bored. I was getting into some trouble here in New York. It was mainly stupid stuff, but it kept getting bigger and bigger, and before long my deadbeat mother noticed, and, since she can't handle anything herself, she sent me to Stars Hollow to live with my uncle Luke, owner of the previously mentioned local diner.
Luke and Lorelai are good friends, so the second night I was there we were invited to dinner at Lorelai's house with Lorelai, Rory, and two of Lorelai's friends. Lorelai's friend prepared an insane amount of food, too much for twenty people, let alone six.
Before the actual consumption of the food began, I wandered into Rory's room and met her. She politely introduced herself, I ignored her, tried to get her to bail with me...normal dinner. I stole a beer from Lorelai and bailed before dinner. Luke came home not long after that and yelled at me about my smoking. I went out and ran into Rory. After I returned the book I'd stolen from her, she called me Dodger.
Pretty soon that was the basis of our relationship. The books, not the stealing. Not that we really had a relationship; it was a friendship. After all, she was going out with Perfect Frankenstein, and who wants to mess with a good thing?
Being in Stars Hollow didn't have any effect on my stealing. After five hundred baseballs mysteriously left the high school, gnomes were kidnapped from their homes in front yards, money for stupid causes (like the damn bridge which didn't need any help) disappeared, and chalk-lines for fake murders just showed up in front of the local market. All done by yours truly.
I admit these were stupid, but not as stupid as the car accident I got into with Rory in the car. It was Rory's car, made by Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend. She was tutoring me, and after a very long evening, I finally convinced her to go for ice cream. There was a rodent in the road, and I swerved, and her arm hit the dashboard....
I moved back to New York. I figured she'd never want to see me again, so I left. Packed up a bag and got on a bus that same night. I called her one night not long after that, and she didn't seem that mad at me, so I wasn't very surprised when she showed up in Washington Square Park the next day. I just looked up and said, "How ya doin'?"
We wandered around, got hot dogs, went to a record store, and then she went home. I found out that the reason she'd come had been the fact I hadn't said goodbye. So I told her goodbye, already thinking that she might just see me again some time soon. Really soon.
I moved back to Stars Hollow.
I freaked Luke out by going upstairs without him seeing me, and he told me that Rory and Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend were doing good. I said that was great and walked out. 'For a walk,' I said, knowing I was really going to crash a wedding I'd heard about. So I crashed the wedding. I stood off to the side, didn't even really go into the actual wedding part, I just waited for Rory to notice me. She was talking to her dad, but then he walked off. She looked around for a while until she finally noticed me, and then she came over and we had the following conversation, which is written here almost word for word, because a very surprising kiss came out of this conversation, and I still remember that kiss.
"What are you doing here?" Such a nice greeting for me, the guy she hadn't seen in forever. Except for that little trip she took the day she skipped school.
"Hello to you, too." I said, as if I hadn't heard her greeting. Or maybe I was just being annoying Jess. Huh. Works both ways.
"Is everything okay?" Typical Rory, worried about everyone.
"You look nice." Typical Jess, ignoring her.
"Thank you. What are you doing here?" Ah, yes. The eternal question springs up yet again.
"I moved back."
"What?"
"I moved back." I stated clearly, wondering if she hadn't heard me the first time, or she was so deliriously happy she couldn't believe it. She stuttered for a minute, and then asked why. I shrugged. "Just wanted to."
And then she surprised me by leaning in for a kiss. I returned the favor. Then she remembered Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend.
"Oh my God! Oh my God!"
"Rory."
"Don't say a word!" That's a flattering thought: 'Don't tell anyone I was crazy enough to kiss you! But I loved her, so I agreed.
"Okay."
"I have to go." She was, after all, in the wedding party. So she dashed off, only turning back once to announce, "Oh, welcome home!"
I still consider that her declaration of love. She called Stars Hollow my 'home,' basically signifying that the short time I'd been gone I'd been missed terribly. I deduced from this that she loved me, which worked out well, cause I loved her too. Unfortunately, I didn't get any more declarations of love, since she just left, almost immediately after the wedding. She didn't talk to me or anything, she just packed up and headed off for some stupid school government thing in Washington D.C. I did the only thing anyone can do in those situations: I got a girlfriend.
I guess you can call her a girlfriend, although I can't for the life of me remember her name, so I think I'll call her my make-out partner. That's all I did with her. Make out.
I guess you can say I flaunted her in front of Rory, which I did, just trying to show Rory that I didn't need her--that the kiss had meant nothing, although I did need her, the kiss had meant something. I never told her 'Welcome Home,' although I wanted to.
Things worked out in my favor, though, since she obsessed about make-out girl in front of Perfect Frankenstein Boyfriend, so he yelled at her in front of the town at a stupid dance marathon and walked off. She hightailed it out of there and went to the bridge to cry. Her bridge. My bridge. Our bridge.
She did cry over the demise of her and Perfect Boyfriend--he was her first love--but not for long, since a few days later was the beginning of what Lorelai likes to call 'Rory and Jess: the Early Years.'
We went out for almost a year, and then we broke up. Twelve hours later, we were making out once again. We were then together, happily, for three and a half years. We went on a road trip with Luke and Lorelai, who are pretty happily married right now, with three kids. She transferred from Yale to NYU and moved into a three-bedroom apartment with me. After graduation, however, she recieved a job offer from CNN in Atlanta, and so she moved away.
I saw her on TV the other day, recieving an award for something, in the same dress she wore at the wedding I crashed. She thanked me in her speech, even though we haven't talked to each other in over a year and we haven't had a civilized conversation in six years. She said she still loves me as much as she did.
The reason I chose today of all days to bore you with this is because today is Rory's birthday--she's twenty-eight--and I was feeling a little nostalgic.
Rory looked up as her boss entered the room.
"Rory! You're here early. Excited to be on your way?"
Rory looked back down at the last line in his column. "Happy Birthday, Rory, wherever you are. Welcome Home." She looked back at her boss.
"Can I talk to you after the meeting? I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
~~~~
"The Dragonfly Inn is..." Lorelai started.
"Officially open for business!" Sookie finished. They both cut the red ribbon in front of the door, and the town of Stars Hollow started filtering into the newly-renovated inn, most of them stopping to offer congratulations to Sookie and Lorelai.
"It looks wonderful," Miss Patty gushed as she walked in.
"You girls did a good job." Babbette said as she and Morey entered.
"Very quickly. That's the kind of thing the Stars Hollow Business Owners Association likes."
"Thank you, Taylor. Have you tried the cream puffs?" Lorelai showed him the cream puffs on the table. He headed over to try one.
"I thought he was allergic to coconuts." Sookie said.
"He is."
"The cream puffs have coconut in them."
"They do? Huh."
"You knew the cream puffs had coconut in them."
"Ah, don't worry about it. He'll just get a rash."
"You've been hanging around Luke too long."
"You know, I think that might be true." Lorelai smiled at Sookie. Sookie smiled back, and then they both headed inside.
Half an hour later, the party was in full swing. People were eating Sookie's food, Taylor had gone home with a rash, Kirk was searching for his megaphone. Everything was normal. Jess was standing in the hallway in front of the open door when he was approached by eight-year-old Diane.
"Jess, will you dance with me?"
"Sure, Di."
"Okay. My mom taught me how to waltz."
"Well, the waltz doesn't really go with this song."
Lorelai was singing 'The Coffee Song' along with Frank Sinatra.
"Mom said the waltz goes with everything."
"Okay."
Jess and Diane started waltzing to 'The Coffee Song' and then continued when the song changed to 'Sadie, Sadie' from Funny Girl.
"Did your mom decide on these songs?"
"Her and Aunt Sookie."
"Ah. I thought so."
The second song ended, and Diane stopped.
"I'm going to play with Jake," she said, referring to her little brother. Jess nodded, and she ran off. He felt someone watching him and he turned to look out the open door. It was her. Rory.
He walked to the doorway, and stood there, leaning against the doorjamb. She walked up the stairs and then stopped on the top step.
Gazing at the ground, Jess said, "Stay."
Rory nodded, and then, realizing that he couldn't see her, said, "Yes."
He looked up in surprise. She nodded again, and then they both ran into each other's arms. They kissed each other, their first kiss in six years, and after they clung to each other as tightly as they could.
"Welcome home," he whispered in her ear. She laughed.
"I love you, too."
Luke and Lorelai Danes were very busy. She had her inn, he had his diner, but on top of that fifteen-year-old Diane was going to be presented into society in a few months, and fifteen-year-old Sam was escorting his girlfriend Rebecca at her own debutante ball. Luckily, eight-year-old Jake was too young to be coerced into anything by Emily who, after all these years, could still manipulate with the best of them. Insane grandparents aside, the Danes were a very happy family. Every once in a while, though, Lorelai thought Luke was being too much of a Schnicklefritz, and so she stole hat and he couldn't get it back until he fell down with her, which usually resulted in some kissing.
Sookie and Jackson Melville were also pretty busy. Sookie had three children in five years, and then refused to have any more. Jackson agreed that three in five were enough, and they settled down to work on the inn. Sookie was the main chef at the inn, freaked out when she had to leave for even a little while, but she was helped by Jackson, who was still her produce guy after all these years.
Dave and Lane Rygalski--well, what can I tell ya? They were made for each other, through and through. After Lane graduated from high school, she told her mother about the band. Her mother practically disowned her, and they didn't talk for almost two years as Lane traveled with the band. When Dave proposed, however, Lane and Mrs. Kim also made up, and as a wedding present Mrs. Kim sent the couple a rocking chair, half-price. Lane and Dave got married with Rory as Lane's maid of honor and had one child, because after the baby was born the band's schedule was off for months. You can find them on MTV and VH1, and every once in a while they make a guest appearance on a prime-time or talk show.
Paris Gellar and Jamie...whatever the hell his last name is. Paris broke up with Jamie--he was, after all, a Princeton man--and they never talked again. Paris found comfort in Ben, a nice guy from Yale. They got married with Rory as a bridesmaid and had two children, both named after mutual professors, although the little girl's middle name is Ashley, after Paris' roommate in college. After all, she was the reason they met.
Christopher and Sherry Hayden--well, now it's Christopher Hayden and Sherry Tinsdale. After about ten years, Christopher finally remembered why he was going to break up with Sherry in the first place and they got divorced. G.G.--or Georgia, as she prefers to be called--now lives with Christopher full-time and Sherry on some weekends and holidays. Georgia also visits her big sister in New York quite often.
And there was someone else...let's see. L/L, S/J, L/D, P/J, C/S...who else? Hmmm. Hmm hmm hmm hmm--oh! You wanna know about Dean? Okay, here goes! He married some girl, very severely beat her, and is now in Illinois State Penitentiary for a long time. Fun!
And I do think there was someone else. I do believe....Ah, yes. Rory and Jess. They got married not long after she showed up at the Inn. They had a private, very quick ceremony on their bridge very early in the morning. The only guests were Luke and Lorelai, as their witnesses. They threw a big party later that day, and invited the whole town, including all their friends. Rory moved to New York but stayed with CNN; she flew around the world a lot but somehow still managed to have two children--well, two and a half. They have one on the way. Six-year-old Nick's thrilled about his baby brother, because he wasn't so happy about his sister, Nora, when she was born. Nora says she can't wait for her little brother, but you never can tell with three-year-olds.
Well, that's it. It's over. I hope it's to your satisfaction. I have worked many many many many many hours on this, and my computer wouldn't let me put it up yesterday, so I had to rewrite it today. My personal favorite part was the newspaper article...that took a lot of time and over sixteen hundred words. Please review; maybe I can make it to two hundred.