Title: Shadows Of The Past
Author: Kathryn
Summary: Six years ago Jess had broken up with her, and Rory had always wondered what went wrong. Now, on the eve of Luke and Lorelai's wedding, he returns to town, and Rory must piece together exactly why he left, while being drawn to him through mysterious circumstances. Will the two of them find their way back to each other?
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, because if I did, Jess would obviously be getting a lot more screen time. ;)
Authors Note: Well, if you couldn't already guess, this fic takes place in the future. Everything will be explained, so just read on. ( Oh, and leaving a review would be nice as well, keeps me motivated!
~*~
"Where did I put those hair pins? I know they've got to be around here somewhere."
"Mom, relax. You look beautiful," Rory Gilmore assured her mother, who was in the process of frantically running around the house; a cheese sandwich sticking halfway out of her mouth. It was not a pleasant sight, to see her mother absorbed in such total chaos. "Why don't you relax? Sit down, have a glass of water, put your mind at ease."
"How can I relax when the wedding is TOMORROW?" Lorelai asked in exasperation, picking up her checklist off the coffee-table and running her eyes down the table of contents. "Do you realize how soon that is? Do you?"
"Mom, Luke loves you," Rory said, as if she were talking to a little girl. "He's not going to care about tiny little details such as whether you got the right icing for the cake. So chill. You're just stressing yourself out."
Lorelai threw her hands up in the air, before plopping herself down on an oversized sofa, apparently having given up. She took a bite of the sandwich and chewed stiffly, not looking relaxed at all. "You're right, you're right, okay? I -am- making a mountain out of a molehill. But I can't help it. I'm just so happy."
"I'm glad you're seeing things my way," Rory said with a laugh, knowing her mother would never change. Even at age 40, Lorelai Gilmore had more energy than most teenagers. "This is the night before your wedding, you should be enjoying yourself."
Finishing up the sandwich, Lorelai nodded her head. "I know. So from here on out, I'm gonna be Miss Party Gal. Nothing can stop me.from, uh, partying."
Rory chuckled. "That's the spirit."
Lorelai's eyes locked back on the checklist, her face growing paler. Rory had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. So much for Miss Party Gal.
"So, I checked with Sookie to have someone watch over the Inn while you were on your honeymoon," Rory told her, hoping that mentions of the word 'honeymoon' would bring her mother out of her stressful state.
"Good. I just hope I don't lose too much money from my time away."
Rory was now growing exasperated with her mother. "Mom! This is your honeymoon. You're supposed to be thinking happy thoughts, not worrying about work. Besides, the Inn has been doing great lately. In fact, it has been for the past four years, so stop worrying."
"It has ever since you came to work," Lorelai commented with some pride. Although co-running the Inn with her mother hadn't always been Rory's ideal job, the past few years it had skyrocketed in profit thanks to the youngest Gilmore daughter. Apparently people from all across the country loved the idea of a mother-daughter business, and had flocked from every which way to visit. Years later, Rory loved now her job, and was happy that she had taken the job her mother had offered to her.
Things had a funny way of working out. Six years ago, Rory could have never imagined herself working alongside her mother at the Inn. That had been the last thing she had wanted. She had had dreams back then - big dreams, in fact, and she thought that she would actually have a chance to fulfill them. Boy, was she wrong.
She wasn't sure when things started to spiral out of control, or how, just that they did. Her dreams of going to Harvard had been just that - dreams, as she had soon found out when she had received their rejection letter. Same thing with Yale. And since didn't have any backup schools, she was without a clear path.no directions to follow. For the first time in her life Rory had been without a gameplan, and that had scared her shitless.
But things had all worked out for the best. Here she was, six years later, co-running a successful business with her mother. She had nothing to complain about. Still, she had to wonder sometimes, what her life might have been like if she had chosen a different path.
"So, I suppose I should tell you," Lorelai's voice interrupted Rory's thoughts, jolting her. "Jess is going to be at the wedding. Luke told me earlier this afternoon, and I didn't know how to break the news to you. I just thought you should know."
Rory nodded her head, although she wasn't really paying attention to anything her mother had to say after that. Her stomach lurched, and she thought she was going to be sick. Jess - here in Stars Hollow? At the wedding? After all this time? Rory's head was buzzing with questions she knew she would never get answers to.
The one thing she did know is that she wasn't ready to see Jess. Not yet. Even though their breakup had been over five years ago, the pain was still raw. He had hurt her bad, in ways he could never imagine, and she had never fully recovered. Sure, she had dated from time to time, but nothing had ever been serious. Not as serious as what she and Jess had shared, anyway.
God, she still loved him. Even after all this time, even after he had broken her heart, she still loved the bastard. How could she not? They had never gotten proper closure for their relationship. One minute he was breaking up with her, and the next, he had left Stars Hollow altogether. That was it. No good-byes. No thanks-for-the-two-year-relationship. Nothing. After all the time they had been together, she had never expected him to break up with her. As far as she knew, they had been perfectly fine. Sure, they had fought like most normal couples do, but it was never anything major. Never anything she could have seen him ending their relationship over.
And the breakup had been so abrupt, too. One moment, they were happy and in love, and the next, he was saying things just weren't working out between them. What the hell was that? Be damned if she knew. He had never given her a proper explanation for their breakup. Was there even one? Maybe he had just gotten tired of her. Decided she wasn't good enough for him. That was entirely possible. After all, her mother had warned her about Jess. Maybe she should be listened.
It was too late to dwell on that now, though. Years had passed and she doubted he even thought of her anymore. He sure as hell hadn't bothered to call. Not that she expected him to. What would they have to talk about, anyways? It was better just to leave it alone. Who cares if she still loved him? Love was for fools. That's what her inner-cynic was telling her, and she was starting to believe it was right. After all, her social calendar hadn't exactly been bursting the past several years. Maybe that was some kind of sign - that she was supposed to run a successful business and nothing more. Who needed romance? She sure didn't.
At least one good thing had happened over the years. Luke and Lorelai had finally admitted their feelings. It had taken awhile, but once everything was out in the open between them, nothing had stopped their relationship from blossoming. They had been going out the past three years - engaged for one - and finally their wedding night was upon them. Rory was glad her mother had finally gotten some happiness. She deserved it.
"Honey, are you okay?" Lorelai asked her daughter, concern evident in her voice. Lorelai knew how hard the breakup had been on Rory, which was why she hadn't wanted to reveal that Jess was coming to Stars Hollow. It would only cause unnecessary pain, and tomorrow was supposed to be a happy occasion.
"I'm fine, Mom," Rory said stiffly, not wanting to reveal any emotion. She was through crying over Jess Mariano, that was for certain. "Just fine."
Author: Kathryn
Summary: Six years ago Jess had broken up with her, and Rory had always wondered what went wrong. Now, on the eve of Luke and Lorelai's wedding, he returns to town, and Rory must piece together exactly why he left, while being drawn to him through mysterious circumstances. Will the two of them find their way back to each other?
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, because if I did, Jess would obviously be getting a lot more screen time. ;)
Authors Note: Well, if you couldn't already guess, this fic takes place in the future. Everything will be explained, so just read on. ( Oh, and leaving a review would be nice as well, keeps me motivated!
~*~
"Where did I put those hair pins? I know they've got to be around here somewhere."
"Mom, relax. You look beautiful," Rory Gilmore assured her mother, who was in the process of frantically running around the house; a cheese sandwich sticking halfway out of her mouth. It was not a pleasant sight, to see her mother absorbed in such total chaos. "Why don't you relax? Sit down, have a glass of water, put your mind at ease."
"How can I relax when the wedding is TOMORROW?" Lorelai asked in exasperation, picking up her checklist off the coffee-table and running her eyes down the table of contents. "Do you realize how soon that is? Do you?"
"Mom, Luke loves you," Rory said, as if she were talking to a little girl. "He's not going to care about tiny little details such as whether you got the right icing for the cake. So chill. You're just stressing yourself out."
Lorelai threw her hands up in the air, before plopping herself down on an oversized sofa, apparently having given up. She took a bite of the sandwich and chewed stiffly, not looking relaxed at all. "You're right, you're right, okay? I -am- making a mountain out of a molehill. But I can't help it. I'm just so happy."
"I'm glad you're seeing things my way," Rory said with a laugh, knowing her mother would never change. Even at age 40, Lorelai Gilmore had more energy than most teenagers. "This is the night before your wedding, you should be enjoying yourself."
Finishing up the sandwich, Lorelai nodded her head. "I know. So from here on out, I'm gonna be Miss Party Gal. Nothing can stop me.from, uh, partying."
Rory chuckled. "That's the spirit."
Lorelai's eyes locked back on the checklist, her face growing paler. Rory had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. So much for Miss Party Gal.
"So, I checked with Sookie to have someone watch over the Inn while you were on your honeymoon," Rory told her, hoping that mentions of the word 'honeymoon' would bring her mother out of her stressful state.
"Good. I just hope I don't lose too much money from my time away."
Rory was now growing exasperated with her mother. "Mom! This is your honeymoon. You're supposed to be thinking happy thoughts, not worrying about work. Besides, the Inn has been doing great lately. In fact, it has been for the past four years, so stop worrying."
"It has ever since you came to work," Lorelai commented with some pride. Although co-running the Inn with her mother hadn't always been Rory's ideal job, the past few years it had skyrocketed in profit thanks to the youngest Gilmore daughter. Apparently people from all across the country loved the idea of a mother-daughter business, and had flocked from every which way to visit. Years later, Rory loved now her job, and was happy that she had taken the job her mother had offered to her.
Things had a funny way of working out. Six years ago, Rory could have never imagined herself working alongside her mother at the Inn. That had been the last thing she had wanted. She had had dreams back then - big dreams, in fact, and she thought that she would actually have a chance to fulfill them. Boy, was she wrong.
She wasn't sure when things started to spiral out of control, or how, just that they did. Her dreams of going to Harvard had been just that - dreams, as she had soon found out when she had received their rejection letter. Same thing with Yale. And since didn't have any backup schools, she was without a clear path.no directions to follow. For the first time in her life Rory had been without a gameplan, and that had scared her shitless.
But things had all worked out for the best. Here she was, six years later, co-running a successful business with her mother. She had nothing to complain about. Still, she had to wonder sometimes, what her life might have been like if she had chosen a different path.
"So, I suppose I should tell you," Lorelai's voice interrupted Rory's thoughts, jolting her. "Jess is going to be at the wedding. Luke told me earlier this afternoon, and I didn't know how to break the news to you. I just thought you should know."
Rory nodded her head, although she wasn't really paying attention to anything her mother had to say after that. Her stomach lurched, and she thought she was going to be sick. Jess - here in Stars Hollow? At the wedding? After all this time? Rory's head was buzzing with questions she knew she would never get answers to.
The one thing she did know is that she wasn't ready to see Jess. Not yet. Even though their breakup had been over five years ago, the pain was still raw. He had hurt her bad, in ways he could never imagine, and she had never fully recovered. Sure, she had dated from time to time, but nothing had ever been serious. Not as serious as what she and Jess had shared, anyway.
God, she still loved him. Even after all this time, even after he had broken her heart, she still loved the bastard. How could she not? They had never gotten proper closure for their relationship. One minute he was breaking up with her, and the next, he had left Stars Hollow altogether. That was it. No good-byes. No thanks-for-the-two-year-relationship. Nothing. After all the time they had been together, she had never expected him to break up with her. As far as she knew, they had been perfectly fine. Sure, they had fought like most normal couples do, but it was never anything major. Never anything she could have seen him ending their relationship over.
And the breakup had been so abrupt, too. One moment, they were happy and in love, and the next, he was saying things just weren't working out between them. What the hell was that? Be damned if she knew. He had never given her a proper explanation for their breakup. Was there even one? Maybe he had just gotten tired of her. Decided she wasn't good enough for him. That was entirely possible. After all, her mother had warned her about Jess. Maybe she should be listened.
It was too late to dwell on that now, though. Years had passed and she doubted he even thought of her anymore. He sure as hell hadn't bothered to call. Not that she expected him to. What would they have to talk about, anyways? It was better just to leave it alone. Who cares if she still loved him? Love was for fools. That's what her inner-cynic was telling her, and she was starting to believe it was right. After all, her social calendar hadn't exactly been bursting the past several years. Maybe that was some kind of sign - that she was supposed to run a successful business and nothing more. Who needed romance? She sure didn't.
At least one good thing had happened over the years. Luke and Lorelai had finally admitted their feelings. It had taken awhile, but once everything was out in the open between them, nothing had stopped their relationship from blossoming. They had been going out the past three years - engaged for one - and finally their wedding night was upon them. Rory was glad her mother had finally gotten some happiness. She deserved it.
"Honey, are you okay?" Lorelai asked her daughter, concern evident in her voice. Lorelai knew how hard the breakup had been on Rory, which was why she hadn't wanted to reveal that Jess was coming to Stars Hollow. It would only cause unnecessary pain, and tomorrow was supposed to be a happy occasion.
"I'm fine, Mom," Rory said stiffly, not wanting to reveal any emotion. She was through crying over Jess Mariano, that was for certain. "Just fine."