AN- Sorry I took so long to update. I know I've kinda been torturing you all with this next part. I want to thank you all so much for the great reviews. Even the bad ones, ouch, but thats life, huh? Anyway, On with it... ~~Lis







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Patty sat down. Jess sat down, too, never taking his twinkling eyes off Rory. That tiny, amused smile played at the corner of his lips.

"Miss. Gilmore, I'd like you to meet my husband, Mr. Mariano." Patty said cheerily. Rory's heart fluttered as Jess held out his hand. She reached out, and took it slowly, never taking his eyes away from his. He sqeezed her hand tightly, and held it for a bit longer than the normal handshake. Rory glanced at Rubin, but he just grinned. Apparently he hadn't made any name connections. Rory cleared her throat.

"Nice to meet you." She managed, with a faint smile, "This is Rubin, my...um, well, my..."

"Boyfriend." Rubin finished for her, shaking hands with first Patty and then Jess. Rory thought she might die. She wanted to crawl under a big rock somewhere. Actually, what she wanted was to grab Jess and kiss him. But that wouldn't have been the best thing to do, considering.

"Well, shall we get down to buisiness?" Patty asked, reaching over and taking Jess' hand, "This is the culprit. It's pretty much all his fault I'm even in this mess, right honey?" Jess smiled at her.

"Right." He replied. Rory felt faint. It had been so long since she had heard that voice, yet it was in her dreams everynight. Rory forced herself to laugh.

"Well, like I said, I'm going to have to know the names of your neighbors, and all the information..." She began, and Patty pulled out a huge file. They began going over it, while their meal came. Jess and Rubin began a conversation about whether the Rangers had any chance this season. Then Rubin glanced at his watch.

"Oh, God, Rory, I gotta get back to work." He told her, standing up and kissing Rory quickly. Jess raised his eyebrows so that only Rory could see. Rubin didn't notice. Rory thanked God that he was a little off today.

"It was nice to meet you two." Rubin said to Patty and Jess, and he left the restaurant. Patty smiled at Rory.

"He seems really nice, doesn't he, Jess?" She asked, turning to Jess. Jess didn't smile.

"You bet." he said flatly. Patty shot a glare at him and punched him lightly in the shoulder. Turning back to Rory, she added,

"Sorry about my husband. He's socially constipated. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment, I need to find a washroom." Patty got up, and made her way to the back of the restaurant. Jess smiled.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hi." Rory replied in a whisper. She looked down at her lap, but Jess reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Don't look away from me, Rory. How are you?" He asked, not letting go of her hand.

"Not married." Rory replied.

"Ouch." Jess said. Rory shrugged. She was trying to seem like she didn't care, but it was killing her. He didn't love her anymore, and she still loved him. She didn't want him to know that, but she couldn't help it.

"You...you didn't write or call..." Rory began, her voice shaky. Jess sighed.

"You know the drill, Rory. I didn't want to mess up your life. Do you know how much it killed me? Thinking of you everyday and not being able to call. Without me, you were free to find another guy, one who would be better for you..." He reasoned. Rory took a deep breath.

"You thought about me?" She whispered, but Jess ignored her.

"..And you did. This Rubin guy. He looks... successful." Jess finished.

"And Patty's very nice." Rory told him. Jess looked at her skeptically.

"Bullshit. She's not nice. She's hyper, annoying, she listens to the Backstreet Boys, and she hates to read. And as you know, she so damn vocal when..."

"I don't need to hear about it." Rory interupted him, looking away, "If you think that then why did you marry her?" Jess sighed.

"I got her pregnant, Rory. It was a quick thing, one night...but then she was pregnant. So I married her." Jess shrugged, saying it like it was no big thing.

"Well, that's just great. That's the responsible thing to do I guess." Rory replied, flatly, " I'm glad you got your life together and I hope that you and Patty are happy."

"Rory, I still love you." Jess interrupted. Rory stopped in the middle of her sentence.

"You.you still." Rory managed, fighting back tears.

"I still love you, "Jess went on, "and it's killing me. It should be us. It should be our happy life, and it should be me and you teaching Brandon about the sex pistols and "Obey the giant"." Rory smiled through her tears.

"Your son's name is Brandon?" she asked, softly. Jess nodded.

"That's cute." She remarked.

"So is he." Jess replied quietly. They sat in silence until Patty came back.

"Did you two find anything to talk about?" She asked, sitting down. Jess smiled at Patty.

"I just told her some more of the details of the lawsuit." He told her, glancing at Rory.

"Rory, dear, you're crying! What's the matter?" Patty asked, noticing. Rory wiped her eyes with her hand.

"Nothing.It's just that I hate to see injustice and misuse of the law." She stood up from the table.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the office." Rory told them, shaking Patty's hand. She turned to Jess.

"It was nice to meet you." She said softly, reaching out to shake his hand. He held it tightly.

"Likewise." Jess replied. Rory pulled her hand away and left the restaurant.



"Rory, you've been crying. What's wrong?" Rubin asked later that night, when he arrived home from work. He went to her and hugged her.

"Nothing..I..I'm just a little homesick, that's all." Rory assured him. Rubin held her a little longer before letting go and heading to the bedroom to put his briefcase there. He came out smiling.

"Paris isn't going to be home tonight."Rubin said slowly and suggestively, wrapping his arms around Rory's waist and leaning in to kiss her. Rory turned her head away.

"Did I do something wrong?" Rubin asked, pulling away. Rory sighed.

"No...I just.I had a weird day, and I'm not in the mood." She said softly.

"I can respect that." Rubin replied, smiling and hugging her tightly.

"I think I'll just go to bed." Rory told him, and she turned to walk into the bedroom before Rubin could see her tears.



The next day at work Paris noticed that something was wrong. At a slow part of the day when nothing was going on, she cornered her in a smaller office.

"Rory, what's the matter? You're unfocused and depressed. And don't give me any of this crap about you not feeling well, cuz something's up. I can feel it." Paris demanded. Rory burst into tears, and the whole story came pouring out. It felt good to tell some one. When she was finished, Paris gave her a hug and a Kleenex.

"Rory, it's Ok. You just have to be strong, and move on. You're with Rubin now. You just need some time." Paris said softly. Rory nodded.

"Now, I've gotta go do some location research. I think you'll be fine here by yourself, there isn't anyone scheduled for today. Just work on some of the paperwork. You'll be here by yourself. Listen, I'm really sorry to leave you here."

"Just go." Rory said, smiling and pushing her towards the door. Paris nodded.

"Ok. Well, I'll see you at home. We'll talk more then. Bye!" With that, Paris was out the door. Rory settled down for a long day of paperwork.

About an hour later, Rory heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" She called cheerily. The door opened, and two men in suits entered. Rory smiled.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?" She asked them. The first man walked around one side of her desk, and the other walked slowly around the other side.

"I'll need you to come with us." The first guy said, as the second guy pulled a revolver out of his pocket. Rory panicked, and backed up into her chair.

"Who the hell are you?" She demanded, grabbing the letter opener off her desk and holding it as a weapon. The first man grabbed her wrist and twisted it, and the letter opener clattered to the floor. Rory screamed as they hit her hard, and tied her wrists behind her back. She struggled, until the second man held the gun to her head.

"Don't move. You're gonna cooperate, Ok Miss?" He threatened. Rory nodded slowly. They put duct tape over her mouth and blindfolded her, before pulling her out the door.

Rory couldn't see a thing, but she knew she was pushed into a vehicle. If she could have talked, she would have asked where they were taking her. Since she couldn't, her mind began thinking through all the legal terms and the things that she would have the kidnappers charged with when she got away.

"Turn here." She heard one of the men say.

"I know where I'm going." The other one snapped back.

"How much are we getting paid for this?" The first one asked.

"Seven hundred dollars on delivery." The second one replied. Rory was confused, scared and curious. Where were they taking her? Who was paying them? Rory's mind brought up all of the cons, druggies and murderers that she had lost cases for over the past few years. Before she had time to really narrow down a suspect, the vehicle stopped, and Rory was pulled from the car.

"Are you sure this is the right motel?" She heard one guy ask.

"Yah. Room 37." The second guy told him. She was dragged in through a door and down what felt like a long hallway.

"Here it is." One of the guys said. Rory heard a knock on the door and the door being opened. She was pushed through it, and into the arms of someone.

"Where's our money?" She heard one of the men demand

"You hurt her." Replied the person that was holding her. Rory went numb. She knew that voice; she would know it anywhere. The tape was ripped off her mouth, and the blindfold was pulled of. Rory coughed, and took big gulps of air. When she could breath again, she looked up at her captor.

"Jess?" she exclaimed, her voice breaking. He ignored her.

"The deal was not to hurt her." Jess said to the guys. One of them smiled cruelly.

"She wouldn't cooperate. She's fine." He replied. Jess handed them an envelope.

"Pleasure doing business with you." One of the men replied, and giving a little salute, they both left the room, closing the door behind them. Jess turned back to Rory.

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded, "Dammit, untie me, Jess!" Jess did so, and Rory rubbed her wrists as she looked around. She was in a motel room. It was a cheap one, with bad art prints on the wall.

"Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Jess asked, stepping towards her. She stepped back.

"Don't come near me. I'm fine. No thanks to you." Rory said coldly.

"Rory, I'm sorry, but I had to talk to you."

"So you had me kidnapped?" She demanded, "Let me out of this room, Jess. You're crazy."

"I'm not stopping you. And I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Jess said, sitting on the side of the bed. Rory glanced at the door.

"You just meant to scare me half to death?" she asked him, calming down a bit, "You know, Jess, I don't know how you do this to me. You always have."

"Do what?"

"Make me so confused. Like right now I don't know whether to be scared of you, and run for the door, or to love you so much and run over to you and kiss you." Jess smiled.

"I like the second choice, "Jess offered, "Listen, Rory. I'm sorry. I couldn't go to your office, it would have looked suspicious. I do have a wife, and you have a boyfriend. I knew those guys, but I didn't think they'd hurt you. I would never have sent them if I had known that. I wasn't thinking, I just had to see you. I love you so much it hurts, and nothing..and I mean nothing Patty can do in the bedroom can help that." Rory walked over slowly to the bed and sat down beside him. He stared into her eyes, questioning her. Slowly, Jess leaned down and brushed his lips lightly over hers. Rory felt her whole body switch on. She reached up, grabbed his head ad pulled him back down into a longer, more demanding kiss. When she pulled away, he smiled.

"How do you feel about adultery?" He asked mischievously.

"I'm for that." Rory replied, breathing hard. She smiled softly, as she pulled herself up on the bed and lay back. Jess crawled towards her, stopped and looked down.

"God, you're still as beautiful as ever." He commented, leaning down and kissing her neck. Rory moaned at the sensation, and lost herself completely to him. Jess kissed her lips again, and pulled her shirt over her head. He unclasped her bra, and threw it to the floor. Rory grabbed the hemline of his shirt and got it off him. He kissed her neck again, going downwards to her breasts and taking a nipple into his mouth, he sucked. Rory moaned. The sound made Jess hotter.

"God, I love it when you moan." Jess commented, taking his mouth off her for a moment, " I love you, Rory. No matter what you do." Rory smiled.

"I love you too, Jess." She muttered, softly, as he continued with what he was doing. When he was finished with her breasts, he moved his mouth lower. When he put his hands to the button of Rory's pants, she pushed them away and took them off herself. When she reached to his to do the same, he stopped her.

"Not mine yet. I want to concentrate on you" Jess said softly. For the next few hours or so, Rory was completely lost in time. Jess made love to her, slowly, luxuriously, like they had all the time in the world. When they were both spent, they fell asleep in eachother's arms without a care in the world.