Disclaimer: I don't own the show. I don't own the characters, except for David and Will and the ones that you don't recognize from Gilmore Girls. No, I have nothing creative to say today. But I do own Howl now, so I'm happy about that. I didn't write it, obviously, but I own a copy.
A/N: I'm cake! Thank you Arianna(555), Smile(1) and Gythien Elven Babe! I love you guys!! The rest of you non-reviewers(except for Just A Reader because you already explained), *shakes finger* I should make you all talk to David. Okay, I'm not that mean, but still. Although you guys probably took one look at I'm With You and decided that I'd been taken over by some evil force. So I understand, I wondered too. But I'm back and I'm updating and I would appreciate reviews *puppy dog eyes* Please? If I don't get some reviews I might be tempted to bring back Dean and his floppy haired infants. You don't want that, now do you? Lol, sorry, I'm a bit loopy and mean. Anyhoo, read and enjoy! And I have to say, I'm beginning to understand the WB, you get more feedback from being evil! Muahahahaha! Okay, I'm officially too loopy. Sorry, read! I'm not mean. I'm nice. Sometimes.*grin* Sweet and sour, sugar and spice. Read!!
****
The rest of the night Rory and David basically avoided each other. Lorelai kept looking at them with a slightly worried look, then marking down another reason to hate Jess on her already long list.
That night, to fit the mood, there was a storm. Rory couldn't fall back asleep after waking up. She had to fight the urge to go crawling into her mother's room a few times after reminding herself that she was a grown woman who had been through many storms since moving out. But there was something about being back in Stars Hollow that made her time warp. She had won the fight to not go to her mom, but she still couldn't fall asleep. She crawled out of bed, careful not to wake her sleeping fiancé and went in the living room. She turned on the light and opened a book. After only three pages the power went out. She sighed.
"Great," she mumbled to herself. Then she got an idea.
She stood up and put the book on the couch, carefully walking in to grab her phone. She looked at the phone. Dead battery. Wonderful, she thought. Well, there goes that idea, she thought. Then she noticed David's cell phone. It was fully charged already. She picked it up and pushed the numbers.
"Hello?" answered a sleepy voice.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked.
"Rory?"
"Yeah, who else would call at one in the morning?"
"One of my many adoring fans. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just...um, the power went out and..."
She didn't have to complete her thought, he already knew it. "Oh, okay. Is Frankenstein in the kitchen again?"
"No, I broke up with Dean a long time ago," she teased.
He chuckled at that. "Right, now I remember."
She smiled. "I missed you," she blurted.
That comment he was taken off guard by. "I missed you, too," he replied after a small silence.
Another short silence lingered on the line. Neither sure of what to say.
"Do you want me to come over?" he finally asked.
"Could you?"
"I'll be right over," he said.
She smiled. "I knew you'd say that."
"You're crazy."
"Thank you," she said with a grin.
He couldn't fight a smile as he hung up and shook his head. She was crazy, but that's how he liked it.
**
Rory waited by the window until she saw Jess' car pull up. Then she went to the door so he wouldn't wake anyone.
"Hello," she greeted before he could even make it to the porch.
"Aw, couldn't wait to see me, huh?"
"Put the ego away."
"I'll try," he said, nodding, as he walked in the house. "So, how do you deal with storms in New York?"
"Very easily. I don't know, there's something about being here..."
"Stars Hollow, the black hole of Connecticut."
"It's not a black hole, it just...it makes me feel younger than I am."
"Me too."
"Good, it's not just me."
"And your mom's lived here for most of her life, so that would explain her."
Rory smiled. "Be nice."
"I'm always nice."
"Yeah, sure you are."
"When have I not been nice?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to," she said.
"Right. I'll keep that in mind. So, why weren't you asleep by the time the storm hit?" he changed the subject.
"I was, but I woke up and I couldn't fall back asleep."
"So your first instinct was to call me?"
"Yes," she answered simply.
"Where's David?"
"Sleeping. I didn't want to wake him up."
He smirked. "Oh, so you wake me up?"
"Exactly. I figured you owed me one anyway," she said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I probably owe a lot of ones around here."
"Then it's not one."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure of an exact count. I'll go with a lot of ones."
"Well, Luke would be at the top of that list," Rory said.
"Luke would be at the top of that list," Jess agreed.
"Anything you plan to do about it?"
"Yeah," he began teasingly. "I think I'll steal you away from David, marry you, become Lorelai's son-in-law, have a few little Jesses and finally drive her to the insane asylum."
Rory laughed quietly. "And how do you intend to do all that?"
"By using my charming wit and good looks."
She grinned. "There's the ego again. At least we know that grew."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, not really wanting to disturb it.
Finally Jess shattered the comfortable silence.
"Why are you with him?"
He took her by surprise with that question. She wasn't sure how to answer it. Finally she said the only reason she could think of. "Time waits for no man, Jess. Not even you."
As if on cue the power came back on.
"Power's on," she said, pointing out the obvious.
"I see that."
"And I need to reset clocks and sleep and ..."
"Yeah."
"So... you should probably get back and get some sleep."
He nodded.
"Thank you for coming over," she said.
"No problem."
She walked him to the door. "So, I'll probably see you tomorrow."
"Probably." He nodded.
"So... bye." She went to close the door.
"Rory," he stopped her.
"What?"
He hesitated for a moment as if contemplating, then he apparently decided to say it. "I'd take it back if I could."
And with that he walked out, leaving her standing there in the doorway watching after him. "Jess, wait," she called, stepping out onto the front porch.
He stopped and turned around, walking back to her. "What?"
She paused, fighting the knot in her stomach. "Why did you leave?"
He looked at the ground. As often as he had tried he had never come up with an answer good enough to actually tell her. So he stayed silent.
"Do you have a reason at all? Or did you just leave because there was nothing keeping you here?"
He decided to go with the most truthful answer he could give. After all, she deserved that. "I didn't know how to tell you."
"Tell me what?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat.
"That I love you," he said simply, before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking back to his car.
Rory was too stunned to stop him this time. He said it, she thought. He finally said it. She watched him pull out of the driveway and sadly looked at her finger. He said it, but he waited too late. Now she had promised herself to someone else...
Someone else who was standing in the hallway looking out at his fiancée` with an unhappy look on his face before he turned and went back to their room.
******
A/N: Okay party people, PLEASE REVIEW! It will make me smile... and it will make me want to write. Plus I think I was fairly Lit-generous in this chapter. I NEED YOUR OPINIONS! I get opinions in reviews. See how that works. Without opinions/reviews I don't know if I'm doing things how you guys like them and I therefore do not know when to fit in Rory and Jess' wedding. :D Hehe, okay, that time I was teasing you. If I don't get some reviews it's going to be Rory and David's wedding. *stern face*
I'm going to start writing the next chapter here very soon because I already know what's going to happen. Let me just tease you by saying David is so not as Dean as I had initially intended to make him. But I REALLY need to know what you guys think. If you're loving it, if you're hating it, if you have the overwhelming urge to yell at me, tell me about it, because otherwise I'm not going to know. Even if you're my best friend and you hate something I'm doing I need you to tell me. Hey, if you don't want me to know you want to yell at me don't sign the review! I just need opinions! [/begging]
A/N: I'm cake! Thank you Arianna(555), Smile(1) and Gythien Elven Babe! I love you guys!! The rest of you non-reviewers(except for Just A Reader because you already explained), *shakes finger* I should make you all talk to David. Okay, I'm not that mean, but still. Although you guys probably took one look at I'm With You and decided that I'd been taken over by some evil force. So I understand, I wondered too. But I'm back and I'm updating and I would appreciate reviews *puppy dog eyes* Please? If I don't get some reviews I might be tempted to bring back Dean and his floppy haired infants. You don't want that, now do you? Lol, sorry, I'm a bit loopy and mean. Anyhoo, read and enjoy! And I have to say, I'm beginning to understand the WB, you get more feedback from being evil! Muahahahaha! Okay, I'm officially too loopy. Sorry, read! I'm not mean. I'm nice. Sometimes.*grin* Sweet and sour, sugar and spice. Read!!
****
The rest of the night Rory and David basically avoided each other. Lorelai kept looking at them with a slightly worried look, then marking down another reason to hate Jess on her already long list.
That night, to fit the mood, there was a storm. Rory couldn't fall back asleep after waking up. She had to fight the urge to go crawling into her mother's room a few times after reminding herself that she was a grown woman who had been through many storms since moving out. But there was something about being back in Stars Hollow that made her time warp. She had won the fight to not go to her mom, but she still couldn't fall asleep. She crawled out of bed, careful not to wake her sleeping fiancé and went in the living room. She turned on the light and opened a book. After only three pages the power went out. She sighed.
"Great," she mumbled to herself. Then she got an idea.
She stood up and put the book on the couch, carefully walking in to grab her phone. She looked at the phone. Dead battery. Wonderful, she thought. Well, there goes that idea, she thought. Then she noticed David's cell phone. It was fully charged already. She picked it up and pushed the numbers.
"Hello?" answered a sleepy voice.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked.
"Rory?"
"Yeah, who else would call at one in the morning?"
"One of my many adoring fans. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just...um, the power went out and..."
She didn't have to complete her thought, he already knew it. "Oh, okay. Is Frankenstein in the kitchen again?"
"No, I broke up with Dean a long time ago," she teased.
He chuckled at that. "Right, now I remember."
She smiled. "I missed you," she blurted.
That comment he was taken off guard by. "I missed you, too," he replied after a small silence.
Another short silence lingered on the line. Neither sure of what to say.
"Do you want me to come over?" he finally asked.
"Could you?"
"I'll be right over," he said.
She smiled. "I knew you'd say that."
"You're crazy."
"Thank you," she said with a grin.
He couldn't fight a smile as he hung up and shook his head. She was crazy, but that's how he liked it.
**
Rory waited by the window until she saw Jess' car pull up. Then she went to the door so he wouldn't wake anyone.
"Hello," she greeted before he could even make it to the porch.
"Aw, couldn't wait to see me, huh?"
"Put the ego away."
"I'll try," he said, nodding, as he walked in the house. "So, how do you deal with storms in New York?"
"Very easily. I don't know, there's something about being here..."
"Stars Hollow, the black hole of Connecticut."
"It's not a black hole, it just...it makes me feel younger than I am."
"Me too."
"Good, it's not just me."
"And your mom's lived here for most of her life, so that would explain her."
Rory smiled. "Be nice."
"I'm always nice."
"Yeah, sure you are."
"When have I not been nice?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to," she said.
"Right. I'll keep that in mind. So, why weren't you asleep by the time the storm hit?" he changed the subject.
"I was, but I woke up and I couldn't fall back asleep."
"So your first instinct was to call me?"
"Yes," she answered simply.
"Where's David?"
"Sleeping. I didn't want to wake him up."
He smirked. "Oh, so you wake me up?"
"Exactly. I figured you owed me one anyway," she said with a small smile.
"Yeah, I probably owe a lot of ones around here."
"Then it's not one."
"Yeah, but I'm not sure of an exact count. I'll go with a lot of ones."
"Well, Luke would be at the top of that list," Rory said.
"Luke would be at the top of that list," Jess agreed.
"Anything you plan to do about it?"
"Yeah," he began teasingly. "I think I'll steal you away from David, marry you, become Lorelai's son-in-law, have a few little Jesses and finally drive her to the insane asylum."
Rory laughed quietly. "And how do you intend to do all that?"
"By using my charming wit and good looks."
She grinned. "There's the ego again. At least we know that grew."
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, not really wanting to disturb it.
Finally Jess shattered the comfortable silence.
"Why are you with him?"
He took her by surprise with that question. She wasn't sure how to answer it. Finally she said the only reason she could think of. "Time waits for no man, Jess. Not even you."
As if on cue the power came back on.
"Power's on," she said, pointing out the obvious.
"I see that."
"And I need to reset clocks and sleep and ..."
"Yeah."
"So... you should probably get back and get some sleep."
He nodded.
"Thank you for coming over," she said.
"No problem."
She walked him to the door. "So, I'll probably see you tomorrow."
"Probably." He nodded.
"So... bye." She went to close the door.
"Rory," he stopped her.
"What?"
He hesitated for a moment as if contemplating, then he apparently decided to say it. "I'd take it back if I could."
And with that he walked out, leaving her standing there in the doorway watching after him. "Jess, wait," she called, stepping out onto the front porch.
He stopped and turned around, walking back to her. "What?"
She paused, fighting the knot in her stomach. "Why did you leave?"
He looked at the ground. As often as he had tried he had never come up with an answer good enough to actually tell her. So he stayed silent.
"Do you have a reason at all? Or did you just leave because there was nothing keeping you here?"
He decided to go with the most truthful answer he could give. After all, she deserved that. "I didn't know how to tell you."
"Tell me what?" she asked, her heart skipping a beat.
"That I love you," he said simply, before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking back to his car.
Rory was too stunned to stop him this time. He said it, she thought. He finally said it. She watched him pull out of the driveway and sadly looked at her finger. He said it, but he waited too late. Now she had promised herself to someone else...
Someone else who was standing in the hallway looking out at his fiancée` with an unhappy look on his face before he turned and went back to their room.
******
A/N: Okay party people, PLEASE REVIEW! It will make me smile... and it will make me want to write. Plus I think I was fairly Lit-generous in this chapter. I NEED YOUR OPINIONS! I get opinions in reviews. See how that works. Without opinions/reviews I don't know if I'm doing things how you guys like them and I therefore do not know when to fit in Rory and Jess' wedding. :D Hehe, okay, that time I was teasing you. If I don't get some reviews it's going to be Rory and David's wedding. *stern face*
I'm going to start writing the next chapter here very soon because I already know what's going to happen. Let me just tease you by saying David is so not as Dean as I had initially intended to make him. But I REALLY need to know what you guys think. If you're loving it, if you're hating it, if you have the overwhelming urge to yell at me, tell me about it, because otherwise I'm not going to know. Even if you're my best friend and you hate something I'm doing I need you to tell me. Hey, if you don't want me to know you want to yell at me don't sign the review! I just need opinions! [/begging]