"There you guys are," Lorelai got up from the porch bench to greet her daughter and granddaughter as they appeared in the driveway. "Kiss for grandma?" She fluttered her eyelids at Sylvie, who was more than happy to oblige with a loud smack before she ran inside. "Kiss for mommy?" She raised an eyebrow at Rory, who rolled her eyes ever so slightly but leaned in to kiss her mother on the cheek with a small, tense smile. "Well, aren't we just a bucketful of sunshine today," Lorelai teased as she wrapped her hand around Rory's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I don't know if you've heard, but my house burnt down last night." Rory pursed her lips into a sarcastic smile, not telling her mother the other part of the reason for her tightly wound nerves.

"Oh, yeah, I think East Side Tilly might have mentioned something like that," Lorelai didn't drop the ball on the ongoing joke between the two, and Rory sighed and rubbed her forehead tiredly.

"You are such an enabler, mom. And people wonder how I turned out the way I did."

"Ah, you love me for it. all of it." Lorelai dismissed her daughter's pouting with a wide smile and a regal wave. "So, how was your day, offspring?"

"I went over there to see the damage," Rory replied while setting two large cups on the table and starting up the coffee maker. "It wasn't pretty, mom. The house is a mess. The kitchen… Oh my God, you should have seen the kitchen. I'm not sure if I can even call it a kitchen anymore, it's more like how I thought hell would probably look like."

"Hell for a kitchen, huh? So Gordon Ramsay finally met his true calling."

"It's Sir Gordon Ramsay for you, young lady." Rory waved at Lorelai with a teaspoon she had just pulled from an open drawer, and opened the freezer in search of ice cream. "Anyway, I don't think we can go back to living there any time soon. We'll probably need to stay here until we find a place to rent, but you know Stars Hollow, this can take a while." Rory searched for her mother's blue gaze, and once they locked eyes, she continued. "Mom, I don't want to be a burden or anything. We'll only stay as long as it's okay with you."

"Stay forever." Lorelai got up to get a spoon of her own, then dunked it into the ice cream. "This is as much your house as it is mine, honey, you know that. I love having you around, and having your magical fairy genius child around as well doesn't exactly hurt your likability around here."

"Thank you, mom." Rory sent her hand across the table and Lorelai grabbed it and stroked it with her thumb. "Paul Anka!" Rory exclaimed as the furry friend made his first appearance of the day.

"It's Sir Paul Anka for you, young lady."


Rory stared at her mother's cell phone screen long and hard. Logan's number was displayed and the 'call' button was large, blue and intimidating. She counted to three and pressed it, secretly wishing he wouldn't answer. Three rings, four, five… Rory considered hanging up, she gave it a fair shot, after all, no one could blame her.

"Hello? Lorelai?" Logan's voice came across the line and Rory's heart stopped for a second. She cleared her throat.

"Hi, Logan. It's me. My phone is… dead."

"Ace," He sounded happy to hear from her. He always did. "How're you doing?"

"I'm good, we're good… How is everyone?"

"Really great, the kids are super excited for summer vacation, we're taking them to the vineyard next week. Odette is over the moon to be leaving the city. How are things with you girls over there?"

Deep breath. "Um, actually, we had a fire at our house last night. That's actually what I've been calling to tell you-"

"A house fire?" Logan sounded upset. "Way to bury the lead, ace. What happened, are you alright?"

"Yeah, we're both fine," Rory pressed her thumb and finger over her eyes, not having the strength to deal with his stress as well as her own. "The firemen said something about the oven's socket being too old or something like that. We're staying at my mom's."

"Ace, this is a big deal," Logan's voice was dead serious.

"I know that, Logan," Rory snapped at him, immediately regretting her acute reaction. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my plate today."

"No, I know. I was out of line, I'm sorry. I know you got it covered. House fire's got nothing on you, ace."

She smiled faintly. "Yeah, it doesn't know who it's dealing with."

"Sure as hell it doesn't. Tell me if you need anything from me."

"Okay, thanks."

"This must be a big deal for Syl too. I'd like to come over and see her."

Rory's heart jumped in her chest. Was he going to come visit them to see if they were doing okay? Was he finally getting more involved? "She'd love that. I would love that."

"Great. I don't think I can make it there before our trip to the vineyard, but maybe next month. I'll be in touch about it, okay?"

Rory couldn't help the surge of bitter disappointment. Of course, he would come check on Sylvie after he comes back from a long vacation with his wife and his perfect, blond, athletic, tennis-playing, horseback-riding children. "Sure."

"Is she there now?"

"Yeah, she's right here. Wanna talk to her?"

"Yes, please, ace."

Rory laid the phone on the table. "Syl!"

"Yeah!" she screeched from upstairs.

"Your dad's on the phone!"

"Coming!"

Rory picked the phone back up. "She's coming."

"Yeah, I heard," Logan sounded amused. "And I think I didn't hear it over the phone. You Gilmore Girls sure have good lungs." Rory wasn't in the mood.

"Yeah, well." She replied, somewhat dryly. "Here she is. Bye, Logan." And she handed the phone over to Sylvie's eager hands without waiting to hear him say goodbye. She's had just enough goodbyes from him. Enough for a lifetime.


"Have you called your grandmother?" Lorelai asked over the dinner table.

"Shoot, no, I forgot." Rory pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'll call her tomorrow. She's probably sleeping by now. Pass the Tater Tots?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Lorelai tilted her head as she passed the plate. "Ketchup, please."

"She'll understand, I've just had one of the most hectic days of my entire life." Rory said, trying to convince both herself and her mom of that while handing her the red bottle.

"Yeah, 'cause that's what Emily Gilmore is best known for. Understanding."

"Give grandma some credit," Rory tried to sound like someone who has the moral high ground, but it came out more wishing than anything else. She sighed. "I'll call her tomorrow."

"You better." Lorelai gestured towards the hot dogs. "Take care of your poor old mommy, would you, hon? Thanks."

"I'll take care of you, grandma!" Sylvie pushed the plate in Lorelai's direction.

"You're the light of my life, kid." Lorelai kissed her palm and then pressed it to her cheek. "And you." She said to Rory, then turned to Luke. "And you. All in all, t'was a good life."

"You're not dying, mom." Rory laughed. "We still need you."

"Oh, whatever shall I do without my precious little girls!" Lorelai imitated a southern accent dramatically. Suddenly, the phone rang. Lorelai and Luke's house was one of the only places in Stars Hollow to still have an active landline. "And at suppertime, how rude!" She kept the bit going, to Sylvie's loud giggles and Luke's amused snorts.

"It's probably for me, I called the insurance company earlier and gave them this number," Rory excused herself from the table.

"You better hope it isn't Emily!" Lorelai called after her, half-gloating, half-worried.

Rory picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Rory?" His voice hit her again, twice in the same day. Hot waves rushed through her body.

"Jess?"

"Yeah. I tried your cell, but I knew it was a long shot, so I called you here, I hope it's okay."

"Yeah, of course it's okay." she replied, blushing to the sound of his voice over the line just like she did all those years ago, but this time it wasn't all about him. Or perhaps it was, but the fact that he was in possession of the most intimate thing she had ever created was definitely a contributing factor. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Listen, I finished reading your book."

"Already?" She was having trouble closing her mouth. "But… it's like… 500 pages."

"Well, this is what I do for a living," She could hear his arrogant smirk over the phone. He just loved the fact that his reading speed impressed her like that, she could feel it.

"Oh really? because I thought you were just walking around Philly, selling your autograph for 5 bucks a piece, Mr. important." She met his sass with some of her own.

"Touche, Gilmore."

"Jess. Be serious."

She could hear him breathe. "Rory, it's good."

Her heart sank. "It's good?" she repeated, trying to grasp the full meaning of his words.

"It's really good, actually. I think it might be one of the most unique works I've ever read, and believe me, I read plenty of crap that tries to be unique. It's extremely well-written. There's always room for edit, of course, but I think you're really onto something here."

Rory gulped, not quite sure what to think of the tears that began stinging in her eyes. "You're not just saying that. You wouldn't, Jess." She wanted him to promise. To swear.

"I'm not just saying that, Rory." She could almost hear his conflicted mind at work as he was trying to decide whether or not he should continue. But finally, he did. "Rory, I want… I want to publish it. I want to print it in Truncheon. I know it has so much potential, and it would be an honor for me to work with you. If you'll let me. If… If you want."

There was something so intimate about the way he put himself out in the open like that. His desires, his thoughts. It was so much like the time he had told her that he loved her, out on the street. His sincerity raw, exposed to her and her alone. There he was again, but this time it wasn't his storming, out-of-control young love he was offering her, but his mind. His beautiful, powerful mind, his means, and his expertise. He was willing to go all in for her, for her work.

"Rory?" he softly checked up on her, sounding slightly worried.

"I agree," she spoke in a low voice. "I want to work with you. I want us to publish it together."