Utopist: Nope, not done yet. I've got some more ideas… And I'm very sure you have your share of unsexy men on your side of the ocean. Don't we all? Thank God we have Milo Ventimiglia somewhere in the US to balance them all out.

AnneTrinityRGJM: Why do people always threaten to kill me:Tells the FBI about you all:

smile1: Your praise always means so much to me. I love the reviews where people say 'you're so great, your story kicks ass', but you always tell me exactly what was wrong or right and not only does it help me out, it leaves me glowing. Glad you thought the last chapter was great.

S0m3thing-Pr3tty- Happy to make your day better.

OnLoveInSadness and Bex: Thank you for suggesting to up the rating…I really don't want to get in trouble. gulp I have followed through with your excellent advice, as you may have noticed. Thanks again.

Everyone: Thanks for the happy feeling I get whenever there's a new review alert in my mailbox.

Disclaimer: I was reading the TOS, looking for information about ratings and such, and I saw a lot of stern warnings saying something along the lines of "Disclaim or die" so, uh…I don't own? The characters, that is. And some of the plot. The occasional lyrics. But everything else is all me.

Rory sighed as she ran her fingers through Jess's tangled hair, trying to comb it gently. Hours after the hot water had run out, Jess had finally turned the shower off, wrapped her preciously in a towel, and they'd walked hand in hand out to the beach. Rory loved being so close to the waves and the sand. It wasn't surprising really, because her and Jess were alike in so many ways. They were like clock cogs, symbolically. They were into the same books and music, and had a lot of the same opinions. But there was enough difference to allow them to slide into each other's grooves, and just click.

They were lying in his hammock, wearing only towels around them. That was another thing Rory liked about this place – they were completely alone, and could act like it. There could have been a mass genocide that killed everyone else in the state, the country, or the world, and they wouldn't have known. They were the only two people alive as far as Rory was concerned.

His dark head was cradled in her lap like a child, and his arms were tightly clinging to her waist. She gave up on de-tangling his hair by hand and rubbed his back soothingly.

He mimicked her sigh of contentment, and she felt his hot breath on her leg. Watching the sun sink below the watery horizon with Jess half-asleep in her lap, Rory couldn't picture anywhere else in the world she'd rather be. She'd been all over the world for her work, and she'd seen some impressive cities. And of course, Star's Hollow was her beloved home. But nowhere else had she ever felt so happy.

A slight salty breeze sent a chill through her as it brushed her damp hair, and she mediated on it as she was warmed once more by Jess's arms around her waist. Anyone could tell her she was throwing caution to the wind here. She had been ever since she agreed to come with him. There were risks that they wouldn't work, and they'd be hurt, and one of the most dangerous risks of all- the risk that Rory would fall head over heels for him again.

'Too late' she thought with a sad smile, as Jess stirred, looked up at her with a smile hanging from his lips, and returned to his previous position. Lorelai, her grandparents, and all of Star's Hollow would be scared by the pace of their relationship. Rory knew, in the back of her mind, that it SHOULD feel like it was progressing too quickly.

But she didn't. She knew Jess already. He'd changed a little, but the more time she spent with him, she realized that he was the exact same diner boy who'd stolen her heart. And she'd carried feelings for him with her for a long time. He'd always been a memory, a both happy and sad chapter in her life. Now he was with her, in the flesh. He wouldn't run again, she knew this. She wouldn't run, she knew this also.

Things weren't moving too fast; they'd waited eight years for circumstances to align like this.

"Ror?" he whispered, and for a second she thought it was the wind. When she realized it was him, she touched his cheek in acknowledgement.

"I still love you. So much." She could die now, because she wasn't going to get any more content.

"I love you too," she whispered into the wind. She knew he heard her by the kiss on the inside of her leg. He sat up for the first time since they'd come outside to stare at the sea, and wrapped his arms around her upper body.

"You cold?" was the question, but he didn't wait for her to answer before pulling her closer and rubbing her arms. She smiled into his chest at his attentiveness, and hugged him back.

"I have decided to forgive you for leaving without telling me."

"Hey, better late than never."

"Yes. I wholeheartedly agree, better late than never." She raised her eyes so she could look at him, and he kissed her forehead.

"What do you think love really is?" she asked a few minutes later, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I think…it's a force, in many different forms, that holds people together. There's your standard parent-child love, boyfriend-girlfriend love, best friend love, pet-owner love, partners-for-life love, and I'm sure there's a few I left out."

"So he admits he doesn't know everything."

"Hey, I know them, I just don't wanna bore you with them." He smirked at her as she rolled her eyes.

"Which one are we?"

"Pet-owner love."

"Right. Why didn't I guess?"

"I don't know exactly what we are. I think it varies with each different couple. Who even knows if we're still going to feel like this when we wake up tomorrow?" Rory raised her eyebrows at him.

"Okay, we'll still feel like this tomorrow. I don't think I'll ever stop loving you. But my point is, with some people you can just tell that they're going to be together forever."

"Mom and Luke," Rory interjected, making tiny circles on his chest with her finger.

"Right. With some people, it's more complicated. People who haven't talked since high school and who live on opposite ends of the country have one of those very complicated relationships, that no one else understands."

"Yea, what are we going to do about that?"

"I don't know. We'll figure something out, because I'm never letting you go." To prove his point, he held Rory tightly as she tried to wiggle free from his arms. She shrieked and tipped the hammock over on purpose, landing underneath him.

"You just killed me," she said accusingly as he looked around, wondering how he'd gotten to be on the ground.

"Well you tipped us over, so I think you deserved it. Thank you for breaking my fall, by the way."

"Oh, any time."

"Really?"

"Not if you enjoy being intact." He rolled them over so she was lying on top of him, and she picked up a handful of sand. It dribbled out of her fingers and onto Jess's neck as he lay there, staring into her eyes. Once the sand was gone, she dipped her head and brushed her lips with Jess's. He locked his arms around her, keeping her balanced, as she cupped her hands around his handsome Italian face.

"Mama Mia," she whispered to no one in particular, and he didn't comment on it. Sometimes, it was best just not to ask what was going on in that cute little Gilmore-head.

Lorelai drummed her fingers on the counter, not enjoying the silence of the diner. She was trying to get some work done in Rory's absence, and Luke let her use her computer at the diner. The only customers there, however, had been strictly ordered by Luke not to talk to her. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, and it had showed when she nearly bit Dean's head off.

He'd heard her mention Jess and the F-word, and had become furiously possessive- with his wife standing right there. Lindsay didn't say anything. Lorelai could never get over how Lindsay had forgiven Dean for cheating on him. She even got along with Rory now. Truth was, Lindsay was too passive a person to show her contempt for someone. She'd forgiven Dean because she didn't know what else to do, and she pretended to have forgiven Rory because she didn't foresee her ever sleeping with Dean again.

Rarely did Dean obsess over Rory like this, but her being with Jess brought out a new, angrier side of him. Painfully, Lindsay and Lorelai recalled that Dean had been Rory's first. He'd won- for the time being. But not anymore, apparently. Now that she was with Jess, it became clear that Dean had won temporarily simply because he was there when Jess was not.

The old rivalry between the two was still alive in Dean, even though Jess wasn't exactly around to return it. And he'd reverted to his seventeen-year-old self who was furiously obsessed with keeping Rory and Jess apart.

He'd lost, in his mind. Rory was in California, Rory was sleeping with Jess. She'd walked away from Dean and all her friends at the bus stop, with Jess. In his mind, Jess had won. And he hated losing after all those years.

Lorelai had snapped when he asked her why she was letting her daughter ruin her own life. Rory was going to turn into Lorelai. Rory was going to end up pregnant, alone (because Jess wouldn't stick around, no way), and scared. That was when Lorelai had thrown a full napkin-dispenser at him, and shouted at Luke to come kill him.

Luke hadn't killed him; he'd shoved Dean out of the diner with instructions never to come back. Ever. Lindsay had followed him out, knowing what was going on in her husband's head. She'd been planning on telling him she was pregnant today. That would have to wait until he calmed down. Rory had ruined something important to her, once again. As much as Lindsay knew Dean loved her, Rory would never fade out of their relationship. And she'd known that when she married him –he'd proposed not long after the fight. She said yes, knowing that he'd still care about Rory years after the wedding. And she'd been right. For someone who'd married a man still hung-up on his ex, she was a smart girl.

Lorelai tried to put angry Dean, and the look on Lindsay's face, out of her mind. It was not doing wonders for her sanity. She was missing Friday night dinner without calling, because she hadn't been able to think of a good excuse. Luke now shuffled over to the counter, refilling her coffee mug for the tenth time. She'd been sitting and thinking and drinking coffee all afternoon.

"You told her to be safe, and she is Rory," he ventured, speaking about the call for the first time that afternoon.

"I know. I'm not worried about that."

"Then…why am I giving you pity-coffee?"

"Because you misread what my head is experiencing."

"And in the process, I gave you enough caffeine to power a small country. Great. So, what are you worried about?"

"I'm worried that Rory hates me now. I mean, she said 'love you' before she hung up, but what if it was a get-off-my-back sortof thing. What if she secretly hates me because she thinks I don't approve of this whole Jess thing? What if she never speaks to me again?" Luke sighed, and refilled Lorelai's coffee cup after she gulped the whole thing down and replaced it on the counter.

"She doesn't hate you. She's bound to know that this is hard for you, and she'll understand. Trust me, the two of you will speak again, many times, often about subjects that poke fun at other peoples belongings, such as my hat."

"Heh, it's a funny hat," Lorelai said, beginning to smile again. Luke rolled his eyes as she hopped off her stool and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going? Did I say you could go up there?" Luke asked suspiciously. When Lorelai was unsupervised in his apartment, she tended to move the furniture. Something about feng shui.

"Coffee is a liquid, I have to go potty," she pouted, looking and sounding two-years-old. Luke sighed and waved her upstairs, fully knowing that the next time he went up there the couch might be blocking the door.

While she was gone, Lane entered the diner and spotted Lorelai's monkey purse.

"Luke, is Lorelai still here?"

"It's my lucky day, so yes."

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine, she's just afraid that Rory will think she isn't supporting their relationship."

"IS she supporting their relationship?"

"She doesn't have a big, puffy hand to wave around, but she's not trying to interfere. She just wants what's best for Rory."

"I heard that you suspended Dean from your diner for life."

"Well, he was being a jackass to her. I can see why Jess never liked that kid." Lorelai poked her head out from the doorframe, asking Luke if he could help her move the bed.

"Not in a million years. But, look, Lane is here to see you." He shot Lane a look saying 'You'd better take her', before going to refill another customer's coffee.

"Hey Lorelai, I just heard about earlier."

"It took this many hours for you to find out? Patty must have got distracted by something tall, dark, and handsome."

"Well, we've been rehearsing all day, and no one thought of coming to inform us. I feel so out of the loop. I'm Rory's best friend, other than you, I should be in the loop!"

"I agree! You should be in the loop. You of all people are not supposed to be loop-less."

"So, are you doing okay?"

"If my daughter doesn't totally despise me for doing exactly what my mother did…ah, crap. My mother. I was supposed to go to dinner tonight, and I totally forgot to call to tell her I wasn't coming!" She pulled out her cell phone as Luke glared in her direction.

"Hi mom, it's Lorelai. I am so sorry, I've been out all day, and things are kind of hectic, you know, with this big…thing at the Dragonfly, and I totally forgot about tonight, but I'll make it up to you! No, Rory's not here with me, she's in California. Didn't I tell you, she had to go there this week." As she listened to her mother reply that there was never any mention of Rory going to California, she remembered what her daughter had said.

"Actually mom, she's not there for work, she's there for personal reasons."

"Oh really? And what might those be?"

"She's visiting an old friend."

"Which friend? Do I know her?"

"Actually it's a him. She's visiting Jess. Do you remember Jess?" Of course Emily remembered Jess, they both knew it.

"The boy who crashed her car?"

"That was a long long time ago, mother. But yes, the boy who crashed her car. And before you get started, let me help you. The boy who broke her wrist, didn't take her to the prom, failed high school, left without telling her, and charmed you with his social skills."

"What on earth is Rory visiting him for? I haven't heard either of you two talk about him in ages."

"Well, it's the weirdest thing. They ran into one another, and he invited her to come stay with him."

"In California?"

"In California, that's right."

"Lorelai, how could you just let her go running all over the country after some boy who did all that to her?"

"Rory may still live with me, mom, but she's an adult. Old enough to drive, vote, drink, and go straight to a grown-up correction facility. I'm serious, no more juvie for her."

"Well then how could you not at least try to stop her? You two are so close, it wouldn't be hard."

"She wanted to go, mom. Apparently Jess did a little growing up too since we last saw him, and I trust him to make sure Rory stays away from trouble for a few days."

"Give me this boy's phone number, I want to talk to them both."

"Mom, don't push Rory away."

"I'm trying to help her here, not push her away."

"Yes, but if you call her and try to convince her that she's making a mistake, she won't like it mom. I already tried to talk to her about this, she wanted to go."

"And you're okay with this?"

"Rory's a big girl. She can make her own decisions, and I'm proud of her for it."

"Are you okay with this or not?"

"I'm not thrilled, mom, but I totally respect her for doing this. And I am not going to let you push her away. It'll hurt her, but she'll go willingly. She's my daughter, after all." Emily was silent for a minute, before quickly picking up the conversation.

"Are they just friends, or are they dating?"

"Dating, I guess."

"You guess?"

"They're more than friends, but I'm not sure if they've come up with an official title for themselves yet, mom."

"Is Rory going to come back?"

"Of course." She'd felt sure when the words formed in her head, but as she said them, grew uncertain. Rory would come back, she was almost sure. Even if she found love with Jess, and fell for the California beach, she would come back to her mother. For some reason, a tiny flicker of doubt stuck her insides before disappearing all together. Lorelai hung up, and walked over to Luke.

"Coffee?"