Chapter 23: Season Finale: The Return of a Hero

* Wanting you the way I do

I only want to be with you

And I would go to the ends of the earth

Cause, daring, to me that's what you're worth

*

She walked down the hall to his door. It read: Room 103. She breathed in, and knocked on the door. From the other side she heard a muffled response. She breathed heavily again, and tightened her grasp on The Old Man and the Sea. She grabbed the knob, and pushed the door open.

So many thoughts filled her mind in that second between her knock on the door and when she pushed it open. She thought about how her life had changed since last summer. It was getting close into summer again; it'd been almost a year. So much happened in that time; some of the things were good, and some were bad. It had made her realize life's uncertainty and how you couldn't always count on things.

*

And where you lead, I will follow

Anywhere that you tell me to

If you need, you need me to be with you

I will follow where you lead

*

"Hey, Jess." She said, attempting a smile.

He was there in the hospital bed, not exactly laying, but not exactly sitting up. He was propped up with several pillows and his arm was held tightly to his body, most likely because of the bandaged shoulder. "Hey," he replied softly. With his good arm he reached for the remote, and clicked off the T.V. that hung from the ceiling across the room.

"Discovery channel, huh?" Rory replied trying to break the ice. She looked around for a chair, and pulled one over to the side of his bed.

"Yep, almost everything else was mindless." Jess responded.

They sat there in silence for a while. She looked at her shoes, still holding onto the book.

"How are--- I won't ask that, sorry," she apologized.

"How come you have one of Ernest's books there?" He asked. She looked up at him. He looked mostly fine, a little tired maybe. The only thing noticeable injured was his shoulder, since his legs were under the blanket hiding the kneecap wound.

"I was gonna ask you if I could borrow it." She said softly, afraid to look him in the eye.

"You want to borrow a book by Ernest?" He seemed surprised.

"Yes."

"You know you can, you don't have to ask, Rory." He paused. "Why the sudden change of heart? I know you're not a Hemingway fan." She was afraid he'd ask that question.

"I've done a lot of soul searching lately, Jess. Especially since this happened. I wasn't sure whether you'd be all right. I thought about all those times that you'd told me to read Hemingway, and I know it's stupid but all I could think of was the fact that I would never be able to tell you that I'd read it, or talk about it with you. If you had---" Her lip began to quiver and her eyes got moist.

"Well, Ernest and I are happy that you are finally gonna take a chance. It's Sunday night; shouldn't you be driving back to Yale, though?"

"I can miss a day of class. There are people I can get notes from. I have to make sure you're gonna be all right. I'll go back Tuesday."

"Rory, I'm all right. It's just a shoulder injury and a busted kneecap." He lifted her chin with his free hand. Her lip was still quivering, and her eyes still wet with tears held back. She looked at him; she looked right into his eyes. Eyes are the window to the soul, as the old saying goes. Instantly she felt comforted by his deep hazel-brown pair. "You came here to do something more than borrow Ernest, didn't you?" He asked.

"I came here to see you, to make sure you were okay." She replied frustrated that he had asked that question.

"There's more than that though, I can see it on your face."

"I---you put yourself in harm's way for me at the diner, you did it without even a thought to how it might effect your own life. When he shot you, I just felt helpless and that's I feeling I hate. I also felt like---"

"Like what, Rory?"

"Those bullets were meant for me. If you hadn't come down and done what you did, then he might have shot me instead. Then I'd be here, not you. You saved my life---" She left that to hang in the air.

"Of course I did. Did you think I'd let that psycho shoot you?" He asked.

"No, but---I'm sorry you put yourself at risk like that."

"It wasn't you're fault. I chose to do it." He replied.

"I know, but---"

"I did it, because I care about you. You should know that by now, Rory."

She sniffled a little and looked up at him through her tears. He gently wiped one from her cheek with his thumb.

"I do." She looked up and mustered a smile. "When do you get out of here?"

"I think the doctor said I could leave before lunch, tomorrow. He said something about doing observations tonight."

She nodded her head and sniffed in a little.

"I'm really glad you're all right. I was afraid after all we've been through, that I wouldn't get---"

"You were worried that I wouldn't say goodbye?" He asked.

"Yeah, I don't know what I would have done." She replied.

"I'm okay, Rory. I'm here."

"I guess I'd better get going, it's probably past visiting hours." She pointed towards the door.

"You can stay. The nurse will come in and tell you to leave, if she really wants to." He replied.

"I doubt she will." She replied remembering the woman's sympathy to her before.

"Well, that's better than isn't it?" He added.

She smiled and made a confused expression, "How so?" she asked.

"Don't you want to read Ernest?"

"Well, yes. I can do that at home, though."

"You can." He nodded.

"Or I could read it out loud. It'd be a good use of my knowledge skills, which I have newly learned at Yale. Plus it'd be a nice thing to do for you being not able to hold a book very well and all." She smiled.

"Think of it as public service." Jess nodded.

"Only if anyone asks", she replied. Here she was being happy, when not twenty minutes ago she was on the verge of crying. Jess had a way of doing that. "When you get better, will you show me some of your magic tricks?" She asked out of the blue.

"Still no coins from the ear?"

"No coins from the ear." She replied.

"I'd love to." "Thanks." She smiled as she snuggled down into the chair. She flipped open the book, cleared her throat and began to read aloud. "He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty and he always went down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and harpoon and the sail that was furled around the mast. The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled; it looked like the flag of permanent defeat." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------

Luke awoke and glanced at his watch. It was nearly eleven. Lorelai was asleep on his shoulder. He put a hand on her head and touched her hair gently. She stirred at the touch. "Lorelai, it's late. We better get Rory." He whispered.

The night shift nurse was on and she didn't know that Rory was still inside Jess's room. Lorelai rubbed an eye and yawned.

"I'll go get her." She walked down the corridor to his room. She gently opened the door. Rory was sitting in the chair next to his bed. They had fallen asleep. Rory was still loosely holding onto The Old Man in the Sea, her finger marking a page about a third of the way through. Lorelai bent down next to her daughter. "Rory, it's late. Let's go." Rory awoke and noticed Jess was asleep as well. She nodded and followed her mother out the door.

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"She'll probably be at the hospital today, yes. He gets out a little before lunch." Lorelai replied to someone on the other end of the phone.

Rory came out of her room, only hearing that much of the conversation. "Who's on the phone?" She asked her mother. Lorelai covered the mouthpiece.

"It's just someone seeing if you are okay, asking about you and Jess."

"Is it anyone in particular?" She replied pouring herself a cup of coffee from the coffeemaker.

"Nope, it's just someone." Lorelai responded uncovering the phone. Now she spoke in the mouthpiece. "Well, thanks for calling. Bye." Lorelai added hanging up the phone.

"What was that about?"

"Who knows, my dear? Who knows?"

"Clarissa?" Rory proposed.

"That's a definite possibility; she seemed pretty smart for her age." Lorelai retorted.

There was a knock at the door. Rory answered it. It was Luke.

"Good morning, Rory. I figured I'd bring some coffee over, since I'm sure yours is either a week old or not made right."

"Our coffee is just fine. But thank you!" She responded cheerfully taking the big bag from him. "Oh, there are donuts in here too."

"Yep, I just thought I'd bring them to you. Save you a trip today. Since you're probably going to the hospital, right?"

"Well, yes. Everyone seems to care a lot about that for not liking Jess."

"They care about you, Rory." Luke replied.

"Well, thanks for the donuts and coffee. You want to come in?"

"Sure, your mom is here, right?"

"She's in the kitchen." Rory replied.

"Good."

They entered the kitchen and Lorelai was reading a magazine.

"Luke's here." Rory said.

"I see that; hey there, handsome!" She stood up and kissed him.

"I suppose I better be going, Jess will be expecting me. You coming along, Luke?"

"No, ah--- I have diner business to take care of. I've got official, important diner business to do."

"You're a terrible liar, Luke. See you two later. Have fun!" Rory smiled at the two and left out the back door.

"I thought she'd never leave. You almost ruined it. She's right, you are a terrible liar. Come on we've gotta get the stuff from Patty's." Lorelai grabbed his hand. He reluctantly followed. Participation was not his deal.

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The two sat in his room for a few hours, just talking about things and reading a bit of Ernest.

"You know what?" Rory asked stopping reading.

"What?" Jess asked in the same sarcastic, but funny tone he always used.

"This Hemingway guy is all right."

"Huh, I had no idea." Jess replied.

"Don't say I told you so." She added.

"I won't." He said. She smiled. There was a knock on the door. "Come in." Jess answered.

The doctor entered the room.

"Mr. Mariano, Miss Gilmore." He greeted them. "How do you feel this morning?" He addressed Jess.

"No worse than before." He answered.

"I suppose that's to be expected." The doctor looked confused.

"What he means, is that he's fine. You really have to understand him, to understand how he talks." Rory replied.

"What she said." Jess added looking at the doctor.

"All right, it seems everything is in order. You are free to leave whenever you wish. Your clothes are in the closet over there." He pointed to a small closet in the corner of the sunny hospital room. Rory hadn't noticed Jess's hospital attire until now. She had been slightly preoccupied.

"Thanks doc." Jess replied.

"Oh, and you'll need a crutch to walk on with that knee for a while. That'll be in the closet as well. Have a nice day." He replied and left.

"A crutch, huh?" Rory replied. "Think you'll use it?"

"Nope, I'm tougher than that." He replied almost smiling.

"Of course you are." She answered. He got up carefully, and hobbled his way over to the closet. He found the crutch and leaned on it as he grabbed the clothes.

"I'll just go change." He replied going into the bathroom. She heard a few words of pain, and a few profanities come from inside the door a few minutes later.

"You okay?" She asked knocking on the door. He opened it just as then.

"Do I look okay?" He asked. He had the same clothes back on that he'd worn the day he'd gotten shot, except they had apparently been laundered. They'd been done most likely by the nice brunette nurse. There was not a blood stain on them.

"You look great!" She smiled. "Let's get you home." She helped him steady on the crutch a little and they left the Stars Hollow Hospital through its sliding doors.

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A huge crowd had gathered in the square. A big banner hung up on the gazebo. The hospital was less than two blocks from the square, so Rory and Jess had decided to walk back to Luke's.

"Be quiet, here they come!" Kirk told the crowd.

"So what are you gonna do when you get back to Yale?" Jess asked.

"Finish up classes and stuff. Nothing major, since it's almost the end of the year. Then I get to spend the summer with you. "

*

And if you care to stay in my little corner of the world

We could hide away in my little corner of the world

I always knew that I'd find someone like you

So, welcome to my little corner of the world.

*

"Yeah, I suppose you will."

"How about you, Jess?" She asked.

"Graduation, I guess."

"You're graduating, that's so great. Can I come?" She asked.

"Only if you want to," he replied.

She breathed in the fresh late spring air. "I do." They had reached the square now and Rory noticed the large crowd gathered there. "I wonder what's going on here." She asked.

"I didn't die, so it can't be a celebration." Jess retorted sarcastically. Rory made a face and they walked up to the crowd. Patty spotted them, and looked at the crowd and then she spoke into the microphone.

"It's Rory and Jess, everyone." The whole crowd cheered. Rory left Jess at the bottom of the stairs and walked up to Patty.

"What's this?" She asked.

"Why it's a celebration, dear." Patty replied.

"It's a celebration for what?" Rory asked. Jess casually looked up at the gazebo and noticed the banner.

"I think this might answer your question, Rory." He said. She came back down the stairs and looked up.

"Welcome home, Jess." She read. "You're throwing a party for Jess? Don't you hate him?" She asked.

"I admit we didn't exactly like Jess at first, but since you brought him back last summer he's proven to be a much more likeable young man than we thought. Taylor, would you like to come up here?" Patty asked.

"Taylor?" Jess and Rory both exclaimed looking puzzled.

A somewhat reluctant Taylor emerged from the crowd. He came up and took the microphone from Patty.

"Jess, sentiment is not my specialty, especially with those who I extremely disliked at one point. Nonetheless, what Patty said is right. You've turned out okay after all. You saved Rory's life, and the whole town thanks you for that. I guess that makes you all right in my book." Taylor finished.

Rory looked at Jess, and smiled. "Looks like they like you, now." She replied.

"I saved the life of town's pride and joy. What'd you expect?"

"Thanks for that." She smiled. "I guess you're like the town hero, now."

"I guess so." He replied setting his crutch on the ground and wrapping his uninjured arm around her. So this is what her mother had been up to. She noticed her mother and Luke in the crowd. Lorelai smiled at her daughter, and Rory smiled back.

Patty and Taylor droned on forever, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Jess was finally accepted, he was no longer the outcast he had been. The whole town finally could see him, as she did. The moral of the story is? Life is uncertain; she'd definitely learned that over this year. You can't waste your time, don't put things off, and don't assume they'll be there later. Appreciate what you have, and seize the day. While everyone's fate is uncertain to them, it is still there's.

Jess had told her Grandfather once that every story didn't have to end badly. He was right. Not every story has to end that way. Some of life's stories end in happiness, and Rory felt sure her life would be one of those. She didn't know where it would lead, where the summer would bring her, or what the rest of the years of her life would teach her, but she had a feeling that her story would have a happy ending.

A/N: That's it, # 23. It's done. *cries a little* I'd like to thank everyone who read, and reviewed. I'm not sure about my plans for another "season" or other stories. I'll most likely write more. I'm just not sure of what or when yet. Be on the lookout though, there will be something. Lyrics credits are "Where You Lead" By Carole King and Louise Goffin, as well as "My Little Corner of the World" by Yo La Tengo. I'm off to take a break from this writing stuff. Goodbye all! I'll see you very soon!