TITLE: The Harsh Light Of Day

PAIRING: R/J

SUMMARY: Rory's 27th birthday is approaching, and Jess, who seven years before left her life, suddenly enters it again. But things are very different from the way they were before… (yea, I know this summary sucks, but I'm no good at these things)

SPOILERS: None that I know of

DISCLAIMERS: I don't own anything you recognise from the show. Basically just the characters I've made up, e.g. Pete, Mel, Cate etc.

RATING: R

A/N: This is the last chapter. This isn't my first attempt on it, I wrote one version with great pain and trouble, but then after consulting 'Knowhere' I decided to write it again. Take two on this chapter was easy (or at least easier) to write, it felt right to me, and I hope you guys feel that way, too. This chapter takes place a few weeks after Chapter Nineteen.

Chapter Twenty

*New York, Rory's apartment, Thursday 8pm*

Rory sat on the couch and looked around in her new home. It was considerably smaller than her old apartment had been, but she liked it. There was a spacious living room, a kitchen and a cosy bedroom. When Rory had got back from Chicago a few weeks before, Mel had surprised her by telling that she had found her the perfect apartment. Rory had moved in practically right away and now that everything was on its appropriate place, it was really beginning to feel like home.

Rory warmed her fingers around the coffee mug she had in her hand and looked at the clock. Jess was coming to New York tonight, she hadn't seen him after the previous weekend which Jess had spent with her in her new home. He had helped her with little things that needed to be done at the apartment. It had been great having him around, especially now that she was starting a new life for herself. She wanted him to share it with her from the start, she wanted to integrate him into her life, and not only in Stars Hollow, but also in the world she lived in every day.

Rory took a sip of the coffee just when she heard keys turning in the lock. Rory had given him the keys to her place as soon as she got them, it had felt natural to do so. Rory didn't even know it herself, but hearing him enter her home made her smile. He came into the living room and leaned against the doorframe to look at her. She looked comfortable, wearing her sweatpants and a tank top, her hair was high on a ponytail and she was beaming happily.

"Hey" he said quietly, almost afraid to break the silence and calmness in the room.

"Hey" she replied and her smile grew wider. "Come here"

Jess walked to the couch and sat down next to Rory. He put his arm on the back of the sofa and then pulled her to him so that her head rested against his chest. Rory cuddled closer to him, wrapped her arm around his waist and closed her eyes.

"Next month"

"Really?" Rory said and lifted her head to look at him.

Jess saw the excitement in her eyes, it was so genuine that it made him feel warm. He nodded at her and she nodded, too. When she again rested her head down, she heard him sigh.

"You're gonna be a published author"

"Yea"

"Can you understand it?" Rory said pensively and made Jess chuckle. He really couldn't understand it. "Next month someone's gonna read your novel the same way we read others'"

"That sounds scary" he said quietly and made Rory nod against his chest.

She knew what he meant. Not only was it scary that it was his first book and he had no idea about how it would be received, but it was also so personal, so close to him, that it was terrifying to think that now anyone would be able to read it. After the book was published, his whole life would be accessible to practically anyone.

"But it's gonna be good" Rory said and the determination was evident in her voice.

"You think?"

"I know"

Jess smiled and placed a kiss on her hair before saying that she wasn't really the best person to give an impartial opinion about the book.

"Maybe not" Rory said and then shifted so that she could look at him properly.

Jess wasn't looking at her, but at the bookshelves, which covered the living room walls. Rory noticed how his gaze stopped at one particular spot and she knew what he was looking at.

"You never came to get your books"

"I think they're ours" he said quietly and then looked at her to see her smile.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he helped her climb onto his lap and straddle him. Rory looked at him with her tilted and there was nothing to be done about the smiling that kept rising to her lips.

"Do you remember when we were young and things were simple?"

"When we had no troubles in the world?" Jess asked her curiously and Rory responded by nodding. "So, you mean the time when Lorelai hated my guts?"

She grinned and her happy face made him laugh aloud. He placed his hand behind her head and pulled her face to his. His lips brushed against hers and she leaned closer to him to deepen the kiss. His fingers got down to her neck and caused her to gasp in the middle of the kiss. He pulled away from her and felt her fingers entangling in his hair.

"Rory?"

"Yeah?" she said as she kept concentrating on his hair.

"Things are pretty good now, right?"

Her fingers stopped whatever it was that they were doing and her gaze slowly came to his eyes. She looked at him silently for a while and then nodded. Things were good. Better than she had ever dared to hope they would be. And it was because right now she was sitting on Jess's lap and he had his arms around her. She wondered how she could say it, how she could tell him how she felt. She wanted him to know exactly what was going on inside her, but there didn't seem to be words.

Jess observed her, as she seemed to be lost in her thoughts, pondering about something vigorously. She had her eyebrows knit together and her eyes were intensely fixed on his.

There were no words to say it, at least not words that were good enough. Nothing was good enough for him, she thought, as she slid her hands to the back of his neck again and leaned in. She rested her forehead against his and with her eyes closed, she was so aware of the way he had his arm around her back to hold her and his other hand still stroked her neck. Slowly his hand moved, it found the pulse on her neck, which seemed to jump from contact with his fingers. She let her lips skim against his again and she brought her hand to cup his other cheek. The tip of her tongue traced his bottom lip and got him to open his mouth slightly for her. She kissed him, and felt both his hands at the small of her back, tightening their grasp of her. The kiss was deliberate, it was meditative because it was meant to tell him what she felt. She leaned toward him again, to close the distance of a few inches between them. Her chest was against his, and he felt warm. It was the kind of warmth that could be addictive, and it was.

Breaking the kiss gently, Rory rested her cheek against his and then allowed herself to bury her face in his neck, taking a deep breath in the process. He pulled her even tighter against him and Rory felt her head spin because of his proximity. And she wondered, again, if there was a way to describe the way she felt with words. But there wasn't.

He heard her sigh quietly, and he had the urge to pull her even closer to himself although it wasn't humanly possible. Her body was relaxed on top of his, her breasts crushed against his chest and he remembered feeling like this once, a long time ago. He had felt like they had been glued together, like he couldn't pull away from her even if he wanted to. But he had never wanted to pull away.  

She nuzzled her face in his neck, causing him to sigh quietly. He felt her lips touch his skin lightly, then her tongue came out and left a wet line where she had tasted him. Carefully he slipped his hand under her tank top and let it move on her warm skin. She took a deep breath as she lifted her head and looked at him. He was slightly amused by the look in her eyes, it was a mixture of a million things. Seductive, amused, mischievous as well as questioning. It was a familiar look to him and he knew how to respond to it.

He smiled when he pulled his hands from her back and instantly Rory got off him and stood up. He regretted the loss of her warmth around him, but when she reached out her hand to him he grabbed it without hesitation and followed her to the bedroom.

They stood by the bed, just a few inches separating them from each other, gazing into each others eyes in the dimly lit room. Jess saw her chest rising when she inhaled deeply and brought her hands to the buttons of his shirt.

Removing each others clothes was time consuming, but once the mission had been accomplished and they were both only wearing their underwear, Jess placed his hands on her hips and pulled her to him. Rory wondered how his body could always be so warm, but she soon forgot the thought when his lips cautiously brushed against her forehead. Instinctively she closed her eyes when his lips skimmed her face, moving slowly from her forehead to her eyelids, to her nose, her cheeks and finally her lips.

Rory smiled when he kissed her, making his job slightly harder. Hearing him snort made her smile even more and she opened her eyes to see his slightly amused eyes. She brought her hands to his waist, placed them just above the waistband of his boxers and placed a light kiss on his chin before moving to his lips. She let her tongue glide over his lips, but when her tongue met his she abandoned her playful tactics and deepened the kiss bringing her hands to his upper back when he did the same only stopping by the clasp of her bra.

The muscles of his back tensed under her touch, her fingers traced them gently while he undid the clasp of her bra. They pulled apart to help Jess's task of removing her bra, and when he had completed it, he slowly lowered his gaze from her face to her bare chest. He looked down and Rory felt a need to move under his intense stare. He sensed her discomfort and looked up at her. He could have sworn that she had blushed, but in the darkness it was hard to tell.

Rory placed her hand on Jess's chest, but before she had the chance to move any further, he took her hand and sat down on the side of the bed. Still holding her hand, he placed it on his shoulder as she looked at him curiously. Rory was standing between his legs when his eyes travelled from her face slowly downwards. She felt his touch behind her knees and instantly she was glad that she could support herself on his shoulder. His fingers made small circular ministrations on her skin, tortuously slowly moving up the back of her thighs. Rory closed her eyes when she gave the skin at the back of his neck the same attention as he was giving her. His hands moved higher, reached her buttocks and felt the cotton of her panties covering her soft skin.

She looked at him when he placed his lips on her abdomen. He made her want him in a way that overcame everything. Even thought the way he touched her was gently and almost innocent, it seemed that he brought her body to life like nobody else could. He knew exactly how she had to be touched, and she wanted to make him feel the same way that he made her.

His hands were on her hips when she sat down on his lap, once again straddling him. He looked at her with curiosity, when she ran her hands down his back and leaned in to kiss him. Slowly her hands roamed his back and finally came back to his chest when she pushed him on his back. She loved seeing him like this, the anticipation and questioning which were reflected on his face. Her hands moved across his chest, then she straddled him with her arms as well, and moved her hips slightly, only to settle herself above his groin.

There was nothing between them but the thin fabric of their underwear. When she leaned downwards to place her lips on his chest, she grind her hips against his tentatively, until he encouraged her to continue by letting a groan escape his mouth. Her lips moved up slowly but determinedly and once they met his lips, he pulled her into a deep kiss while his hands went down her sides to her waist. His hips shoved against hers, causing her to moan into his mouth and finally pull away to catch her breath. She buried her face in his neck caressing his skin with light kisses and at the same time calming the rhythm of their hips by her gentle actions. She felt his hands roaming her back and when she lifted her head to look at him again, he laid her next to him on the bed. Her eyes followed him when he reached down to her panties and she inched her hips up slightly to help him get them off. After having removed his own underwear, he climbed on top of her, laying between her legs, but not closing the distance between them.

He was still, just looking at her. His hand searched hers, their fingers entwined and Rory wondered if this was a bad moment to start crying uncontrollably. He saw the tears in her eyes and heard her inhale deeply to calm herself. Gently he pressed his lips against hers and squeezed her hand when he finally moved into her.

Before she even realised what had happened, Rory found herself frantically curling up around him. His face was buried in her neck and his breath felt hot against her skin. Rory felt a desperate need to get closer to his thrusting hips, but no matter what she did, it didn't seem to bring her close enough to him.

Her hand ran down to his buttock and she moved against him. She was so fully aware of the fact that this was Jess, he was moving inside her, his skin met hers with every movement they made, and he was covering her with his body in a strange mixture of passion and protection. She felt his lips move against her skin and for a moment she forgot how to breathe, how to move, how to think. Because he was too much, so much more than she could handle.

Jess let his lips skim over her skin and when he lifted his head to look at her, he brought his hand between her legs. Her blue eyes looked straight into his and she gasped at his actions digging her fingernails into his lower back without even realising it herself. His lips were once again on hers, but she simply couldn't kiss him back. She felt like her breath was catching up in her throat. She felt like she dying of the overload of emotions running inside her right now.

And then she heard his whisper in her ear. Both his gentle words and the soft tone of his voice was in such contradiction with the passion and desire she was feeling right now that he managed to bring her out of the stupor and back into this moment with him. She felt her body move again, finding the rhythm with his. Their touching bodies created friction which made Rory pull his mouth to hers and she wrapped her legs around his hips so he would never be able to leave her again.

*1am*

He felt warm against her back, his arms around her, and his face nuzzled in her neck. Rory was somewhere in between being awake and asleep, her eyelids were heavy, but she didn't want to fall asleep just yet. She didn't want to lose this moment just yet. Their legs were entwined and she felt him move slightly causing her to roll on her back and open her eyes drowsily to look at him.

His head rested against the pillow and his hair was an incredible mess. Rory definitely felt like smiling at the adorable sight, but she was too tired. Again she rolled over on her side so that she was facing him and she felt his lips brushing over hers. Jess pulled her slightly closer to him and then felt her drape her arm on his waist. He opened his eyes once more to steal a peek of the woman beside her. The seven years he'd been away from her were becoming only distant memories when she shifted slightly to rest her head against his chest. Taking in the scent of him, she finally drifted off to sleep.  

EPILOGUE:

Ten years later

Lorelai and Luke still weren't married, but they were happily together and living in Stars Hollow.

Mel had been in a serious relationship for five years.

Lane and Mark, who were still living in Chicago, had three kids and three triumphant music stores.

Pete still worked for the same architect firm in Washington. He lived with his fiancée, also an architect with the same firm. The couple had no children, or plans for any.

Cate moved to Seattle and five years after the break-up with Jess she married a widowed Italian with two small children. Her husband started an Italian restaurant in the centre of Seattle while Cate worked for the local newspaper. She gave birth to a baby girl on their third wedding anniversary.

Rory and Jess had returned to New York after their four-year stay in London, England, where Rory had worked for 'The Economist' and Jess had continued as a freelance writer and a novelist. He had published three successful novels after his well-received debut and following their return to the US, he got a permanent job at 'The New York Times'. Rory on the other hand returned to NBC and found herself working as the head of the department of foreign affairs. They had 8-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, and these two had a 7-year-old little sister. The whole family usually spent weekends in Stars Hollow, and occasionally just the kids visited Lorelai and Luke when their parents wanted some time alone. And to the joy of their family and friends who had already given up on the hope of ever seeing Jess and Rory married, a wedding was scheduled for the following spring.  

A/N: Thank you for reading this story, and thank you so much for all the feedback you've given me. Knowhere and LukeRules deserve special thanks for help and consultation on the writing process of this last chapter. It didn't turn out as NC-17, but I hope you guys don't mind. Please review once more and tell me what you thought of the chapter and/or the whole story…:)