Note from the Author--First of all, I'd like to say that this fanfic was supposed to be finished before season 6 started. That is not that case. Episodes 1-2 have already aired (though I missed #2) and I still feel that this is the way it should have gone, though with the G.G. writers doing their pop-culture references they do so well and all that. I have tried to include many of the characters from the show. Also, you might notice that I have a lot of respect for Paris and I think Paris would have reacted more like this than how she did on the show. The kidnapping of Rory was written prior to watching any of season 6. I don't think I wrote Doyle completely right, however, this is a different sort of situation for him than working in a newspaper office and barking out commands. I haven't handled much of the Luke/Lorelai wedding plot, or the grandparents' subplot, because...this story is about Jess and Rory mostly. Anyway, I just wanted to clear a few things up. This is the final chapter. On with the story!...

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"Rory, you okay?"

She was silent.

"Fine, but we're doing this for your own good," Paris said, grabbing Rory's arm and helping her out of the car.

"Hey! Not so rough," Rory complained, her voice muffled due to the black hood over her head.

He shook his head dispondently. Rory was still whining and fighting. She had even biten Doyle, who in true sissy form had bellyached to Paris and then went on and on about how Paris didn't care about his injury or well-being. Paris, on the other hand, was all business. If she wasn't pre-med and destined to be an intimidating lawyer, doctor, senator, or what have you, she would have made an excellent police officer. No b.s., no distractions. She set her eyes on a goal and followed it through.

"This way," he said, gesturing to the large sliding door and pushing it back. He could almost sense Rory recognizing this sound.

"No. No, no, no, no." Rory protested.

She tried to escape, and almost accomplished it, but Paris was quick to bend Rory's arm painfully behind her back.

"Want to try anything like that again?" Paris asked, ignoring Rory's grunts of pain. "I didn't think so."

Paris lead Rory up the steps and into Miss Patty's, followed closely by Doyle. A cacophony of whispers immediately swept through the assembled crowd and Jess immediately felt a little scared. The town as a whole had never liked him and now here he was, dragging their princess handcuffed and hooded up to the podium. The fervent of excitement was heard from every corner.

He let Paris lead Rory the rest of the way up to the dais and he removed the hood. Rory's hair was mussed and her cheeks tinged red, as though she had been a little warm under the hood. Her eyes were filled with scorn for him, her lips formed a terrible grimace. Then, she looked out at the crowd and cheeks became even more red. A certain indefinable terror crossed her beautiful countenance.

"Why does she have that plastic on her wrists?" Babette asked in her raspy, but charming voice.

Jess rolled his eyes discreetly, placing Rory on a wooden chair.

Paris stepped up to the podium. "Before you is a girl you all know and love. Rory Gilmore. Rory has decided that college is not for her and that she is quitting Yale."

The clamor that ensued was deafening. Clearly, no one in the town had been told anything about Rory's plans. Lorelai and Luke were the only ones who were silent. Others barked out questions, demanded answers. Paris let them uproar go on for a few moments, seeming to enjoy the commotion.

"Paris," Doyle whispered. "Maybe we should free her wrists. The crowd seems a little--"

"A little what, Doyle? Perturbed, confused, throw into an uproar? Kinda the point."

"It's making me a little nervous."

"Then have a seat."

He did as he was told and looked anxiously at the floor.

Jess watched calmly as Paris addressed the town meeting hall.

"Quiet people. Now, I'm sure this is all news to you, so let me give you the highlights," Paris said in her shut-up-and-listen-to-me authoritative tone. "Rory feels overwhelmed at school, feels enormous pressure that comes from going to a prestigious school like Yale. I, for one, know very well the kind of pressure she is under. However, Rory here is buckling under the strain."

He winced inwardly. This was not going exactly the way he had envisioned this. He hoped Paris would soon back off Rory a little. She was aggressive and liked to make her point in strong way, but Rory was not likely to respond well to being bullied like that. Of course, they had kidnapped her and held her prisoner and dragged her out in front of her town like a sheep at auction, so maybe a few strong words didn't matter. Maybe he had gone about this the wrong way.

He glanced at Rory. She was not looking at Paris, but at him and she was positively seething. The Saint Bernard in Cujo was less menacing.

"Now, people, we have assembled you here for an intervention on Rory's behalf," Paris continued. "I know that the manner in which the subject in question was brought here might seem a bit barbaric to you, but I assure you that drastic actions needed to be taken. She's misguided and at a fork in the road, about to choose the wrong path. I've known Rory since Chilton and this girl before you is no longer the same."

"What do you mean?" Miss Patty inquired. "She looks the same, except maybe the hair is a little unkempt--"

"What did you do to her, Jess!" A voice piped through the crowd. It was Andrew's and it was very accusatory. They always looked at him like he was guilty of something, no matter what.

Taylor was not silent long. "This is an outrage. You cannot tell everyone to come for an emergency town meeting and then drag Rory's name through the mud like this! I am appalled at this behavior and--"

"Oh, shut it, Taylor," Babette said, her husband Morey nodding cool-headedly.

"People!" Paris boomed. "This is not some silly prank. Now, I know how much you all love Rory and that is why you are here. Rory has not only decided to drop out of Yale and not continue her education, but she has also committed a felony. This girl--"

"Quit calling me 'this girl', Paris," Rory interjected hotly.

"Rory spent a night in jail for stealing a yacht. She's done many things that I'm sure none of you are aware and don't need to hear the ugly details."

"Honey," Miss Patty again. "Did you really steal a yacht?"

Rory looked guiltily at the floor.

"It was because of a guy, wasn't it?" Babette asked/declared.

Rory continued to stare at the floor.

"So she did a crazy thing out of love," Kirk said, surprising everyone. "Who hasn't? I once covered myself in olive oil and streaked through the town for love."

"I remember that!" Babette exclaimed.

Kirk went on. "Maybe stealing a yacht was a bit illegal, but Rory is a smart girl and it'll never happen again. I never covered myself in olive oil again. Cats followed me everywhere for a week."

Jess walked to the podium. "Listen, I'm not saying people don't make mistakes," he said, looking at Rory pointedly. "But her mistakes are snowballing, and I, for one, do not want to stand by and watch it happen. Rory is intelligent, too intelligent for the way she's acting. She has a real shot of being somebody important in the world, who'll make a difference in people's lives. If any of you care about her at all, you'd try to stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life."

Finally, Rory had had enough. "This is ridiculous! I'm not making a mistake. I'm taking a break from college. A break. I never said I'd never go back. Right now, I just have too much on my plate. I'm under too much pressure. It's not unheard of for people to take a break from college."

"Rory," Paris said. "Most people who take a break from a four year college never return. Do you really think bumming around with Logan and working at Burger King is going to make you happy?"

"Leave him out of this, Paris."

"No, Rory," he said. "He's a part of why you don't trust yourself enough to stay in school. He's made you lower your worth and think you aren't good enough. You have to believe in yourself."

Rory scoffed. "Are you almost through with your after-school special, Jess?"

The crowd made a small gasp at her words. Clearly they were not used to Rory speaking that way, in that haughty, self-important tone. She looked to the residents of Stars Hollow, an apologetic expression on her face.

"I'm sorry. I know you all care about me, and I know that you might be concerned, but you can imagine how I might be testy after being kidnapped and shackled and held against my will." Rory stood up and edged Paris and Jess away from the podium as she took it over. "Yes, I made a mistake and yes, it won't happen again. However, I'm an adult. I'm free to make my own choices, from whether or not I take a /break/ from school to whom I date. My life is not open to public debate."

"Rory, listen to me," Jess pleaded. "I'm willing to help you in any way I can. Everyone in this room is willing to help you."

"I don't need help! What I need is for everyone to leave me alone and let me run my own life!"

"Boy, this guy really did turn her all around, didn't he?" Babette whispered loudly to Miss Patty, who nodded in agreement.

"Logan had nothing to do with my decision."

"Didn't he?" Lorelai stood up, her eyes challenging. "I seem to recall you saying something about your high-society boyfriend agreeing with his father about you not being cut out for journalism."

"Mom..."

"Rory, did your boyfriend really say that?" It was Kirk again, who seemed very out of character today.

Rory looked to Paris for help, who only crossed her arms against her chest determinedly.

"That's not right, Rory!" Gypsy exclaimed, her accent crisp and lilting. "Who is this pig-headed jock? You tell me his name, I'll take care of him."

"People, people!" Taylor cried. "This is ridiculous. No one is going to 'take care' of anyone."

"Rory, you're the best writer I know," Andrew said earnestly. "How could you let anyone tell you otherwise? You've always had pure, inborn talent."

Rory attempted to explain: "The writing part is fine...I'm just not cut out to be a international journalist."

"That's crap," Jess stated. "Pure crap."

"Jess."

"No, Rory. You have always been great at everything you put your mind to and I don't want to hear 'I can't', 'I won't' or 'I'm not good enough'. That's bull, and you know it. You're just letting these uppercrusts tell you what you can and cannot do and the Rory I knew would never allow someone to stand in her way."

A uproarious, "Hear, hear!" came from the assemblege.

Tears started to well in Rory's eyes. The corners of her lips were quivering, but, strong as ever, she fought them back.

"Let's put it to a vote, shall we?" Taylor addressed the crowd. "Those who say Rory has more talent in her pinky finger than those posh, well-to-do types, raise your hands."

The entire room shot up their arms, including Luke and Lorelai, both of whom had tears of their own welling in their eyes.

Sarcastically, Taylor added, "Nay?"

"There you have it, Rory," Jess said. "You have an entire town behind you, who believe in you. Are you really going to let them down?"

Rory could hold back the dam of tears no longer. She wept openly, yet a wistful smile played on her lips. She looked truly touched, more beautiful than he had ever seen her. Her vulnerability was exposed to all and she let it, unashamed.

"Rory," Paris said. "We are willing to do whatever it takes to keep you from quitting school, even if that means less dates with Doyle so that I can help you study, or letting you use the shower first, or borrowing my notes--anything you need, really."

Rory smiled at her, her eyes still shining with tears.

"Any books you need are on the house!" Andrew called out.

"If you need a bookshelf built, you just call me." Tom proclaimed.

"You need to dish and have a girl's night of facials and manicures, Babette and I will rush over anytime, even if it's 4 am!" Miss Patty offered.

"Luke's take-out is yours. A phone call is all it will take." Luke said.

Rory's angry facade was all but gone, replaced with shocked amazement and tenderness.

"I'll study with you, Rory," Jess said. "Or run out and get you coffee for those late-night cram sessions."

One after another, everyone in the meeting hall offered this thing or that, each one seeming to have more impact than the last. Finally, everyone had offered some sort of help and Rory gazed out at them, positively beaming and self-assured.

"Thank you," she said, her voice a bit choked up. "It means a lot to me, and clearly, my going to Yale means a lot to you. You have my word that I'll go back to Yale. I-I can't believe you all--" She couldn't hold back, she started to cry again.

Jess truly believed they had gotten through to her, had brought back her confidence in herself.

"And you'll dump that no-good boyfriend of yours?" Babette asked.

Rory laughed through her tears. "Already done."

"Seriously?" he whispered to her.

She nodded. "That's what I was doing right before you and the Scooby Gang kidnapped me."

He shook his head with a smile. "Sorry we interrupted."

Rory looked up at him earnestly. "You'll really stay, Jess?"

"If I have to get a job and an apartment near campus, that's what I'll do. I meant what I said, Rory. Anything you need, I'll be there."

She beamed at him. "I love you, Jess."

"You don't need to say that, Rory. I'm happy just to be in your life, to be your friend."

She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him toward her, surprising him with a tender, passionate kissed that made him dizzy. Their tongues did battle for dominance, each moment more thrilling than the last. Finally, he pulled away.

"I can't catch my breath," he said.

She smirked at him. "You're not supposed to."

The town burst into applause and cheers, all clamoring to go to Rory and hug her. He gave her a quick hug, followed by Paris and then the rest of the town. Rory's tears started anew as everyone came to say something to her, to give her words of advice and confidence. All the while, her gaze would land on him, sparkling and beautiful.

She mouthed the words, "I love you."

This was the moment he had waited for all his life, and he had a feeling that there would be more wonderful moments like this in the future. This time, he wouldn't run away.

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Quick A/U Epilogue--Rory goes back to Yale. Jess moves to Hartford-area, taking his community college classes at a nearby Hartford Community College. Richard, impressed by Jess' actions in getting Rory back to Yale, gratefully sets Jess up with some kind of job at Yale making good money. Paris and Doyle become engaged, though no definite date is set and they don't plan to marry until they are both out of school.