AN: Sorry you guys, I messed up. I had Lorelei say that Rory was 20. She's not sorry. She's only 19. This is going to be her birthday chapter. So she'll be turning 20. Thanks for all the reviews everyone, especially Encarta, Utopist, PookieBlue, Literaiever, and Nora17, you have just reviewed so, so much. Thanks to everyone.

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I stood in the doorway of the bedroom dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Rory lay on the bed, still asleep. God, she was the prettiest sleeper I had ever seen in my life. She stirred, beginning to wake up. I crawled onto the bed, laying on top of her, holding myself up with my arms. I kissed her lips, and she smiled. "Happy twentieth birthday Lorelei Leigh Gilmore; I love you more than anything."

She grinned, scooting over so that I could lay down next to her. "Aw, Jess, you remembered."

"Of course I did," I assured her, wrapping my arms around her, "I actually have this whole day planned out."

"Yeah?" she smirked, yawning.

"Yeah. Today is Rory Gilmore Skip Day," I declared.

"I have to go to class."

"Oh no you don't, I took care of that for you," I said. She looked at me questioningly. I explained, "I bought a tape recorder and called Marty and Paris and, collectively, I made them agree to tape all your classes for you."

"You called Marty and Paris?"

"Yeah," I mumbled.

She took my face into her hands, kissing my cheek. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, go take a shower."

While Rory was getting ready, I started to make her breakfast. I thought about what I had gotten her: the signed PJ Harvey CD. I had asked for a favor, and discovered that what they say is true: there are few connections between anyone in the world. I made a friend in the bookstore, some flake, a girl always in their looking for romance novels. I was a little distracted one day, trying to figure out what to buy for Rory. She asked me what was wrong. I figured I'd indulge her, some people might say that my and Rory's story was romantic: I told her the whole thing, all the way back to the first meeting when we were seventeen. She wanted to help, so I told her about Rory and her favorite bands, PJ Harvey, Clash, and Bjork. She said she might be able to get me a signed PJ Harvey CD, she just had to call in a favor, for the sake of romance, as she said. Apparently, her brother knew a guy who knew a guy who was dating the sister to one of PJ Harvey's assistants. Anyway, three days later, she came in with one signed copy of PJ Harvey's best CD. I also bargained with Jace to give me an early 1940's printing of Anna Karenina; I knew it was Rory's favorite book.

Then there was the book. I hadn't really done anything with it yet, just written up a, I guess you could call it, a first draft. I thought I'd show it to Rory; it'd make her happy.

"Did you make me chocolate chip pancakes?" Rory asked, from the doorway.

"Yeah," I said, pulling some whip cream out of the fridge and putting it on the table next two plates of pancakes, a chocolate coffee, and an orange juice. She kissed my cheek.

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"Jess, this is the record store!"

"It is?" I asked, innocently.

"You did it on purpose too," she accused, pulling me in.

"So what if I did?" I blushed. It's crazy, the place is right out of High Fidelity… Let's go…Okay. That day had been the reason we now stood here. The reason I went back to Star's Hollow. I hadn't been sure before, but now there was no question about it: Rory liked me, she was interested in me. I didn't know how, romantically or platonically, but I knew that I wanted to be with Rory Gilmore, romantically or platonically, preferably romantically. I knew that Washington Square Park wouldn't make that happen: I had to go back. So I did. And I got her, romantically. "It was a big day for us."

"Oh my God," Rory said, shuffling through the records. I looked over her shoulder. "Jess…do you know what this is?"

"Looks like a Go-Go's album."

"Jess!" she laughed, "Look, it's signed by Belinda. Like the one I was going to give my mom-"

"Why didn't you give it to her?" I had to know.

"I left it on the bus. But look," she went on. "Here it is. I said that I would find her another one, and here…here! I found it."

"Nice job," I congratulated, leading us towards the check out. "Maybe now you can show me your withering stare."

"I just might."

"I'm a lucky man."

"Wow, okay," she said, "We should now definitely start a conversation that we have never had before."

"I bet even if you hadn't missed your mom's graduation you would have told her you skipped school," I wondered aloud.

"I might have," she thought. "Do you know what my mom told me that day?"

"Huh?"

"She said that she thought I was falling for you. Yeah, she looked at me and said, 'Look, nobody wants to say this any less than me, but maybe you don't have a medical condition or a mental problem. Maybe, honey, you are falling for Jess.' That's what she said," Rory finished as we left the store.

"She was right."

"She was," Rory agreed, stopping me with her lips.

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"Twenty Questions."

"Alright," I laughed, recognizing the game we would play during the hours spent in the car on the way to San Francisco. The questions usually ranged from anything light to really personal, but I played along. I answered her questions. She answered mine.

"Why did you come back to Star's Hollow the day of Sookie's wedding?" Rory asked, stretching out on the couch next to me as I wrapped my arm around her.

"Well see, you came to New York to see me," I explained, "so I knew that you missed me, that you thought we had a…thing going. I needed to be with you, to see you. Washington Square Park just couldn't compare." I paused, thinking, "My turn: why did you kiss me at Sookie's wedding?"

She leant her head against my shoulder as if considering the question. "I don't know. I…just I missed you, and I… thought that I'd never see you again. Then it was just…at Sookie's wedding and you were…there. I'm not entirely sure…I guess the same reason I went to New York."

"Which was?" I asked.

"I was falling for you." She went on, asking the next question, "When you called…on the day of my graduation, did you hear what I said?"

"When you said you loved me…yeah, I-"

"Why didn't you say anything back?"

"I," I sighed, getting up, "I was stupid. I was a stupid kid. If I wasn't stupid I would never have left in the first place. You know that right? I mean," I paused sitting back down, "just…I was standing there in Venice beach dying because I wouldn't take off my leather jacket, no matter how hot it was. I was in this stupid phone booth in this stupid, God so stupid, place that I hated, and I could just picture you at Chilton, in that big castle, in your cap and gown and it was killing me that I was there, in that stupid, stupid place and not with you at your graduation. It was killing me that it was probably killing you, and…I just didn't know what I could have said to make it better, because it was my fault that it was hurting you. I just…"

"Okay," she whispered, kissing me.

"Rory?"

"Jess?"

"Yes," I answered, getting up again.

"It's my birthday," she giggled, walking up to me.

"I got you a present," I said, walking into the bedroom. "A few actually."

"Really?" Rory giggled, flopping onto the bed, belly down feet up, "How many?"

"Two and a half," I replied, pulling them out of the closet. "Yes, I hid them," I admitted, acknowledging her questioning stare, "I know all about your little insane present addictions. Don't try to pretend you wouldn't have gone looking."

"Oh I would have," she laughed as I laid down next to her, placing two wrapped presents in front of her. "Aw, look Jess, you wrapped them and everything," she teased, pulling on a piece of ribbon and watching it bounce back into its curl.

"Open it," I nudged. She did, first opening the CD.

"PJ Harvey! I love PJ Harvey," she shouted, opening it. "Jess! It's signed!"

"It is?" I asked, looking over her shoulder in mock-surprise. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. What else did you get me?" she moved on to the next package. "I bet it's a book."

"Well you'll just have to find out."

"Anna Karenina! Ooh, it smells funky," she noticed, wrinkling her nose.

"Thanks. That was actually pretty hard to get you know," I pointed out.

"No, funky smell is good. It means it's old," she said, brushing her hand over the cover, moving to open the book. "How old is it?" she asked, looking up at me.

"Um, sixty years or so," I said, taking the book from her and turning it over. "I wanted to get you a first edition," I explained, handing it to her, "but it was written like 200 years ago, so it would cost about a thousand dollars. Sorry."

"For what? I love it." She said, kissing me again. "What else?"

"What?" I asked.

"You said two and a half," she pointed out. I sighed, rolling off the bed, walking over to the dresser and opening the top drawer.

"Okay," I said, my back to her as I fumbled with the corners of the manila folder in the drawer, "whatever you think about this, please don't mock it. It might totally suck, but I really worked hard, so don't mock me."

"Why would I mock you?" she asked, perking up.

"You'll see in a minute, but before I show you just say you wont mock it."

"You're cute when you're insecure," she teased. I didn't turn around. "Fine, I wont mock it or you."

I nodded, turning around with the folder still in my hands. I walked over and sat on the bed, tossing it to her.

"What is this?" she giggled, turning to face me as she pulled the stack of paper out of the envelope.

"You should read it because-" I began.

"You wrote it," Rory screeched, jumping off the bed. "I mean of course you did," she went on, ecstatic, "because you told me you were, that night…on the bridge, but…. now it's here. I'm holding it!" She held it up at me, "This is it?"

I nodded, head in hands, elbows resting on my knees. She gingerly set in on the dresser, carefully, and walked over to the bed, kneeling down in front of me. She took my hands, forcing me to hold my head up, "It's perfect."

"You haven't read it yet," I muttered, looking up.

She pulled me down off the bed so that I knelt down on the floor with her. She cupped my face in her hands, bringing her head dangerously close to mine. "It's the best present anyone could have ever given me."

"I love you Rory," I whispered, holding her hands.

"Why?"

I pulled her into me, holding her close to my chest. "What?"

"Why?"

I closed my eyes, thinking. "Because…you're you. You're strong and you're forceful but you're you and…"

"But I don't put out," she pouted.

"Beautiful and driven…"

"I never was as crazy as you."

"Smart, real…"

"And I could never keep up with you."

"Sweet and sexy and giving…"

"Your crazy," she said, getting up and snuggling under the covers of the bed.

"Oh yeah, look who's talking," I accused, climbing into bed next to her.

"If I could sing, I would sing to you like that guy did in 10 Things I Hate About You," I admitted.

"You saw that?" she giggled.

"Like you haven't."

"I have, its just not something I can see you seeing," she said. "You would sing to me?" I nodded. "What song?"

"I believe that lovers should be draped in flowers," I began, simply saying the words. She giggled. "Laid entwined together on a bed of clovers. Left their to sleep." She buried her head in my chest, and I smothered her with myself. "Left there to dream of their happiness."

I could feel her kiss my neck and them mutter, "I'm not going anywhere you know."

"I know, I just…"

Her head snapped up, meeting my eyes. "You what?"

"I worry about that sometimes. That some successful, smart, well off Yale guy with his nose too far up in the air will ask you out and convince you that you're better off with him than with me."

"Jess…" she began, touching a hand to my cheek. I looked away.

"Or," I went on, "while I'm waiting for you to come back from Friday night dinners, I worry that you'll be with your mom and you'll be sitting in your house laughing about how stupid I was to believe that you would ever take me back and love me again, that it was all just a façade."

"But I-"

"Love me, I know."

"And I would never, ever-" she began.

"Do that to me? I know," I finished.

"And a hoity-toity Yale guy? Like I-" she started again.

"Would ever date one. I know," I finished again, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"And I wouldn't just up and-"

"Change your mind about something as important as this just because of some guy?" I asked. Rory nodded. "I know."

"You know, this whole you finishing my sentences thing-"

"Is sickening?" I offered.

"She doesn't even hate you anymore," Rory offered.

"Who?" I asked, kissing her shoulder.

"My mom. Actually, since I told her about the first time I stayed over here, you know, to sleep, she's really taken a liking to you."

"Huh."

"She would never tell you that, of course," Rory giggled.

"I really do love you a lot, Jess. I'm here. I want to be. Really, I mean it."

"I know. I really do love you a lot too."

"Rory?" I continued.

"Yeah Jess?" she whispered, drifting off to sleep.

"Happy birthday," I answered, feeling her lips curve into a smile against my arm.