Double update, enjoy :)

Jess went quiet on his side of the phone. His fingers were skimming over the printed pages. His train of thought went a hundred miles a minute, but it wasn't his usual type of over-thinking - his fingers weren't itching for a cigarette. His focus hadn't gone with the wind. His mind was crystal clear.

"Great," he replied. "Can we get together tomorrow night? After the reading?"

"Sure."

"Great."

"Jess-" her voice hitched on the other side of the line, and his heart fluttered at the possibilities of what she was going to say next. "Thank you." She finally settled, and he felt a minor tinge of disappointment he couldn't fully explain to himself yet. "See you tomorrow."

"Thank you." He said, with his heart in every word. "I'm looking forward to it."

Her breathy chuckle, almost unbelieving, did something to him. "Bye, Jess."

"Bye, Rory."

She hung up.

He laid back on the bed in Liz and TJ's extra room, resting his arm on his uneasy chest. It wasn't exactly right to say that he was still hung up on her or anything. Over the many years that had passed since they even interacted on a romantic level, he'd had some relationships. Some had even evolved beyond just dating.

But never had he ever felt so strongly about anyone. Anyone but her.

Maybe it was the amplifying effect of his dramatic 'nobody gets me' teenage agenda. Maybe he had unrealistic expectations as to what love is in the adult world. Maybe he idealized her in his memory, making her the ultimate excuse as to why he cannot form a lasting bond with anyone else. Those were the things he told himself every day.

But reading her story that day, lingering on every part in which she mentioned him, almost hearing her voice through the printed pages - he felt as if her writing was flying him gently, giving him a bird-eye's view on the deep emotional trauma he always suspected she and her mother were harboring under layers on top of layers of sharp-tongued humor. Her words slipped easily into the depths of his very soul, leaving a warm trail as they went, like a hot beverage.

Some editing was definitely required, but he was almost mad at himself for thinking that. Her book was something else. She was something else.

He didn't know whether or not he still loved her. But he did know that being near her was intoxicating for him. Reading her personal take on her life - it was nothing short of that - made him realize that the space she had carved out for herself in his heart all those years ago wasn't still there for nothing. Life with her and life without her were just not the same, and he had probably known it all along, from the very first time she turned to look at him from the desk in her old room, when they were 17. "Don't I look trustworthy?" She asked him, and those big blues shone upon him like crazy diamonds.

When they met for Luke and Lorelai's wedding, that November morning years ago, he still thought something might finally happen with the two of them. When he asked her to dance and she said yes, still the same wide-eyed doe she'd always been, he felt something click inside him, as if an old key had unlocked some secret door. His arm around her waist, her fingers in his palm, the two of them moving in sync, even though he respectfully kept a friendly distance between their bodies. And then, later, sitting on the steps of her mother's balcony with her head in her hands, she told him she was pregnant.

He tried to stay around for a little longer after that, but it always felt as if he was keeping an already burnt hand too close to the fire that had burnt it in the first place. He'd heard more about her daughter than he had actually seen of her. He kept his life completely separated from hers, thinking it was probably for the best.

But those last few hours, listening to her talk, reading her writing - everything suddenly seemed worth it. Maybe he could try that again, having her in his life. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad this time.

Later that night, Lorelai met Rory in the living room with two steamy mugs. Rory reached out for her in gratitude, and her nose wrinkled at the clear liquid inside it. "Tea?"

"Yeah, well. I am an old lady."

"Too much time with Luke?"

"Oh, definitely," Lorelai laughed. "But it really rubbed off on me. It's actually pretty good."

Rory took a sip, sighing. "It's no coffee."

"Well, it is 23:00."

"Has it ever stopped us before?"

"Point taken." Lorelai looked at Rory with a tinge of worry in her gaze. "Hon, is everything okay? I mean, I know it's not the okayest right now, being homeless and all, but insurance-wise? You came back looking pretty broody after that phone call. And you know that we can help. Hell - Logan can help. You're the mother of his child, and god knows you didn't try to force him into anything if that's how you're afraid it's going to look." She put a reassuring hand on Rory's arm. "Nevermind that. All I'm saying is that you're not alone in this."

Rory looked Lorelai in the eye, mustering up the courage to speak her mind. Lorelai noticed that and allowed her a second to regroup. "Mom," the words came out with great difficulty. "It wasn't the insurance company on the phone earlier."

"Then, who was it?"

"It was Jess," Rory confessed. "I ran into him earlier today, after I went all mission impossible in our house to try and save stuff. And I showed him… I showed him a copy of my book."

"Gilmore Girls?" Lorelai asked, and Rory confirmed with a nod. "Those three chapters you've written?"

"Actually, mom," Rory paused for a deep breath before she proceeded. "I showed him the whole thing. I completed it during my pregnancy and haven't told anyone about it. Well, until today that is."

Lorelai seemed to have lost her words for a second. It was seemingly even more for her to take in than Rory had anticipated. "Kid… This is huge." she finally concluded her thoughts. "So, what did he want?"

"What did who want?" Rory got confused for a moment.

"Our favorite 'lil James Dean-Hemingway hybrid, why did he call you?"

"Mom, he wants to publish it."

Lorelai blinked. "He does?"

"Yeah," Rory let out a little unbelieving laugh. "He does."

"And do you want him to publish it?" The older Gilmore inquired further.

"I do." Rory said, completely solemn. "I really do."

"And do you want him to publish it?" While the wording remained the same, the last question carried an entirely different meaning.

Rory felt herself blushing. "Yes."

"Good." Lorelai seemed surprisingly content at the short answer.

"That easy?" Rory asked in disbelief.

"Everything doesn't have to be so hard with me," Lorelai replied, placing her palm on her chest, mock insulted.

"Yeah, it does."

"Yeah, it really does, doesn't it?"

Rory let out a short, breathy laugh. It felt so good having her mother back in the loop, not having to hide anything anymore. Lorelai's reactions have softened over the years, over the course of her relationship with Luke. Rory almost regretted not having told her about the manuscript years ago, sharing this one last secret with her mom, her ultimate partner in life, but something inside her told her that it went exactly how it should have gone. She leaned on Lorelai's shoulder, and Lorelai kissed the side of her head out of habit.

"I love you, mom."

"Love you too, kid."

No matter how important other people in their lives might have been, the hard core of everything had always been just the two of them. Rory vowed in her heart never to forget that.