Author's Note: In the last chapter, I wasn't trying to make Rory melodramatic and making a big deal out of the cold to get attention; I am aware that cold affects people differently, especially people of different body types. Taking into account the fact that Rory appears to have a significantly lesser level of body fat, I assumed that she would be more affected by the cold. But, like everything else, it is open to your interpretation.

Chapter 3 – Little White Flowers

Rory awoke early in the morning to find herself tucked comfortably under Jess's arm, in his bed. She panicked. She remembered kissing him the night before, and although she didn't regret it at all, she felt guilty. As much as she liked Jess, she didn't like the idea of cheating on her boyfriend. She gently pried Jess's arm off of her and slid out of bed without waking him. As soon as she moved out of the bed, she noticed that she was freezing.

She stood up and wondered where Luke was. Better yet, why her mother hadn't come into the room looking for her. She went next door to the room her and Lorelai were supposed to have shared, only to find that her mom wasn't there and the room was exactly as she had left it the night before. She was curious and wanted to know her mom's whereabouts, but decided to wait until breakfast. She put a thick sweater over the one she was already wearing and headed down to the kitchen.

She pulled a pan from under the stove and settled on making scrambled eggs for herself.

"Early riser?" The voice from the doorway nearly made her jump out of her skin. Luke was standing there in his pyjamas.

Rory nodded and turned back to the eggs she was scrambling in a bowl. "Mom doesn't understand it. I just feel like I'm wasting most of the day when I sleep in. You want some eggs?"

"Sure," Luke said, coming into the kitchen. "I know what you mean. I get up at four every day. Even in my teens, I never slept later than ten."

"Did you sleep well last night?" She asked, adding milk to the mixed eggs.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yeah, just fine, how about you? Not too cold?"

It was her turn to be uneasy. She turned to pour the eggs into a pan to hide the flushing of her face. "Yeah, I warmed up a bit later,"

"That's good…"

She could tell Luke didn't know what else to say; he wasn't the best at small talk and chitchat.

"Do you know where my mom is?" She asked, thinking of something to fill the silence. "She didn't come back to the room last night." Rory had never been alone with Luke before outside of the diner, and she was finding it increasingly awkward.

"Uh…" he was hesitant.

Rory turned around and looked at him, her eyes wide, understanding. "Oh!" She blushed.

"No, no, it's not what you think," he said, a hint of red creeping into his cheeks.

"It's okay. I'm happy for you guys," she said. She smiled and turned back to the eggs, amused and still flushed.


Jess woke to find himself clutching a pillow. He briefly wondered where Rory had gone, but then shook himself as he remembered the finer details of the previous night. He didn't expect Rory to have waited around until he woke up. They had slept in the same bed, but they hadn't 'slept together'.

Yet, he found himself thinking hopefully.

The last night had been painful for him. To have her so close to him but without being able to do what he wanted. He had kissed her and she had kissed him back, but he didn't think she meant it. He had almost taken advantage of her; she had been asleep. Afterwards he had lain awake, against her, imagining what it would be like to have her in that position for other reasons. He had imagined she was there not because she was cold and needed his body heat, but because she wanted him, and wanted to be pressed against him. The thought had caused his whole body to stiffen and Rory to shift. After that, he decided it would be best not to think about her at all. He had eventually gotten to sleep.

He realized that Luke hadn't come back to the room, and after thinking about it for a bit realized what had most likely happened.

He looked out the window and saw that it had stopped snowing, but the snow was piled to the top of the first story. It didn't look like they'd be going anywhere for a while.


Luke had ventured into the Inn's basement and came up with three space heaters. He positioned them around the kitchen table.

Breakfast that morning was awkward. Rory and Luke had eaten the eggs in silence, and when Jess and Lorelai both emerged four hours later, Lorelai made toast and Jess poured himself a bowl of Cheerios. Rory and Luke joined them at the table, and all four sat in silence. Luke was making obvious faces at Lorelai; Lorelai was pretending to be fascinated with her toast; Jess was staring at Rory; and Rory was looking at the wall.

"So, Mom, have a good sleep?" Rory asked suddenly, and Luke looked nervously at Lorelai, trying to get her attention.

"As a matter of fact, yes, it was the best sleep I've had in quite some time." She beamed and Luke put his head in his hands.

"Dirty," Jess said, crunching the dry Cheerios.

"How is that dirty?" Lorelai asked. She shot a glare at Jess.

"Because it's obvious where you slept last night."

Lorelai looked accusingly at Luke, and Jess smirked.

"Can I have a word with you?" Luke muttered to Lorelai, and the two left the room leaving Rory and Jess alone.

Rory looked across the table and saw Jess looking at her with a lopsided grin plastered across his face.

"Jess," she whispered. "Thanks. For last night."

He kept the grin and raised his eyebrows at her questioningly.

"…For letting me stay with you and keeping me warm."

"For you, anytime," he smirked and resumed eating his Cheerios.

She turned to the heater and spread out her hands, holding her palms to the heat and warming herself. "I'll hold you to it," she said daringly.


"Mom, have you seen my bracelet?" Rory sounded anxious as she burst into the kitchen after lunch.

"Which one?" Lorelai said, her hands under the warm water in the sink.

"The friendship one from Lane," She said miserably. "I took it off yesterday, and I can't find it anywhere."

"Well, Hun, I'm sure it'll turn up soon," Lorelai said. Rory headed into the parlour and sunk into an armchair, unaware that Jess was peering at her from over the top of his book.


"There's only three heaters," Lorelai said later that night when everyone was preparing for bed. "That means that someone will have to share," she added.

"Thanks for pointing that out," Jess said, "to all of us who aren't as good at math as you."

Lorelai scowled at him. "Luke, you and I will share; Rory, Jess, you guys each get your own."

"Uh, thanks?" Rory said. That meant that Lorelai and Luke would be sleeping elsewhere.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself tonight?" Lorelai asked once she and Rory were alone in the room. "I could stay if you want me to."

"I'll be fine. You go…be… with Luke, or whatever it is that's going on with you guys,"

"Goodnight, Hun," Lorelai left Rory alone in the room.

As soon as Rory had settled into her bed as was about to turn off the light, the door opened again and Jess came in holding his heater.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sitting up and holding the blankets against her body.

"Well, seeing how cold you were last night, I didn't want to risk anything."

Rory's eyes widened.

"So I thought, why have one heater when you can have two?"

"Jess, you'll freeze if you give me your heater!"

"Not if I'm in here too. You mind?"

"Uh…" she hesitated and then thought of how comfortable she had been the night before. She thought of Dean and what he would say if he knew what was going on. Then she told herself that nothing was going to happen, so it was fine. It was all innocent. "Go ahead."

Jess plugged the heater in angled it at Rory. He got into the bed beside her, and she reached up the wall and turned off the light.

He fell asleep almost immediately, and Rory lay beside him thinking. Her thoughts were short and in quick succession.

She wanted to break up with Dean. She wanted to be with Jess. She was in the same bed as Jess. What if Dean found out?

After about half an hour of the same thoughts going around in her head, she still hadn't been able to fall asleep.

Jess rolled over beside her and groaned. He was muttering something in his sleep, but his mouth was pressed against the pillow and his voice muffled. Rory found herself curious, and leaned closer to try and hear what he was saying.

She gasped as she heard her name.

Her heart was thumping and she didn't know what to do.

He flopped over so that he was on his back, and Rory found herself wanting to hear more.

"Mmm…" was all that came out of his mouth.

The room was dark, but a faint ray of moonlight shone through the window. Seeing the soft outline of his jaw made Rory's heart beat even faster. She stretched a trembling finger toward him and traced the outline of his jaw. He whimpered in his sleep and she bit her lip. She leaned over his face and tenderly lowered her lips toward his. She kissed him shakily, and through his sleep he responded. He bit her bottom lip and sucked it roughly, and she almost cried out. He moved his hands to her back and pulled her on top of him. He moved his mouth to her neck.

"Jess," she murmured, her eyes closed, wanting to savour the moment.

He mumbled something and began to wake up. Rory didn't move.


Rory. On top of him. He didn't understand. It's a dream, he told himself, it's still only a dream.

If it's a dream, then I can do whatever I want.

He opened his eyes and looked up at her. Her eyes were closed and she was more beautiful than she had ever been in any of his dreams before. She certainly looked real.

"I wish this wasn't a dream," he said out loud.

She looked surprised. "It's not,"

"That's what you always say, and then I wake up and you're not there."

She looked bewildered. "You've dreamt about me before?"

He sat up and she sat up as well. He kissed her so deeply that he realized it wasn't a dream.

"Jess," she was saying again, distracted.

"What?" he said as he licked her lips like he had been dying to do since the first time he'd seen her.

"I'm going to break up with Dean."

"That's good."

"Jess?" she was pulling back and looking at him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm happy. You make me happy."

He studied her face and saw that she wasn't lying. "We should go to sleep now,"

"Okay. Goodnight." She lay down and pulled the blanked over herself.

"Goodnight, Rory." He kissed her forehead and laid his head on his pillow, grinning to himself in the darkness.