Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.

CHAPTER 6: IT HAD TO BE YOU

"Thanks," Rory said, gratefully accepting the cup of coffee that Jess handed her.

"No problem," he said, sitting down opposite her at the table. Jess sat quietly and waited until Rory was ready to talk. He was on his second cigarette when she had a coughing fit. He paused only a moment before putting it out, his eyes flashing with momentary annoyance before returning to a cool gaze.

"Um, you didn't have to - "

"That's fine," Jess said, cutting her off. "You cold?"

Rory looked down at her clothes; she was thoroughly soaked, and even though Jess had given her a blanket to wrap around herself, somehow it wasn't enough.

"Well…" she said uncertainly.

"Come on," Jess said, standing up. He walked over to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. It was a short walk since it was a studio apartment. "Put these on."

"Oh, I couldn't, I mean - "

"Rory," Jess said firmly. "You're obviously freezing, so go shower and put these on."

Rory meekly accepted the clothes.

"I promise they don't have cooties," he added wryly.

Rory had to grin. "Thanks," she said, heading into the bathroom.

Once she shut the door, Jess started to light another cigarette, then thought better of it. His mind was racing at the mere thought of Rory taking a shower in his shower.

"Get a grip," he said out loud, disgusted with himself. He turned on the stereo and put in a CD before flopping down on his futon and picking up the latest book he had to review.

"I could be your DJ."

"No, Kirk," Lorelai said, walking away from him and sitting at the counter of the diner.

"Or I could sing," he offered seriously.

"Sing, Kirk?" Lorelai said with a wry smile.

"Lulu says my shower voice is exceptional; do you wanna hear? 'It had to be you,'"

"Oh God," Lorelai said.

"I'm not done yet," said Kirk. "It had to be you; I wandered around, and finally found the somebody whoooo," he sang.

"Kirk, get out," said Luke from behind the counter.

"But, Luke, I haven't gotten to my big finish," Kirk protested.

"You stick around, I'll give you a big finish," Luke threatened.

"I can dance," Kirk offered.

Lorelai exchanged glances with Luke. "Um, Kirk, what kind of dancing do you do?" Lorelai asked sweetly.

"I can break dance," Kirk said, moving to the empty middle of the room.

"Aw geez, you're not gonna let him - " Luke started.

Lorelai put her hand over Luke's mouth. "Get your freak on, Kirk."

Kirk proceeded to do his best MC Hammer.

"Ok, turn it off," she said.

"Don't you want to see me do the robot?" Kirk offered.

"No!" Lorelai and Luke said in unison.

"Fine," Kirk said, miffed. He left the diner.

"So, any news from New York?" Lorelai asked nonchalantly, sipping her coffee.

Luke looked at her. "Nothin' interesting as far as I know…"

Rory emerged from the shower amid a cloud of steam. Jess looked up momentarily before returning to his book.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Much!" Rory said emphatically. "Um…I hung my clothes in the bathroom; I hope that's ok."

"Not a problem," Jess said. It was all he could do not to pounce on her. There was nothing sexier than seeing Rory in one of his t-shirts and boxers…well, maybe the Chilton uniform, but at this moment the uniform was coming in second.

"So…" Rory said, unsure of how to start.

"So," Jess said, almost mocking her. He sighed, put his book down, and patted the spot next to him. Rory sat down, tucking her legs underneath her body and turning to face Jess.

"Um, what are we listening to?"

"The Shins."

"Hm," she said, looking around.

"Wanna tell me what happened? Or should we pretend to not talk about it all night?" Jess said in mild exasperation.

Rory looked down at her hands. "Well, I mean, now it seems almost silly…" she said.

"What does?" Jess said, his patience wearing thin.

Rory finally looked up, looking him straight in the eyes. "Well, I think Logan and I might have broken up, but I'm not sure," she said really quickly.

"How can you be not sure? You either did or didn't," Jess said matter-of-factly.

"Well, he got a phone call in the middle of everything," she said defensively.

"He took a call?" Jess said incredulously. "What could be so important?"

"His dad had a heart attack…they were calling him to come to the hospital," Rory explained.

"Oh," Jess said, unsure of how to interpret that.

"God, I feel so guilty," Rory said, her hands flying to her face. She moaned. "I mean, here I am, wondering if he meant he was breaking up with me or if he was just freaking out about his mom, and I shouldn't be that selfish! I mean, his dad just had a heart attack! What kind of girlfriend would I be to not understand that?" she cried.

Jess tried to assimilate the story from the bits she gave. "So, ok, he broke up with you, then got the phone call and left?" he guessed.

"Um…I think so," Rory said, replaying the scene.

"You think so," Jess repeated slowly.

"I don't knowwww," Rory said, pitching backwards and then curling into a ball. Jess laughed at the absurd sight. When Rory lifted her face, there were tears in her eyes.

"I shouldn't be mad at him; I feel so guilty because I'm mad that he couldn't deal, but he's about to go through a really tough time, and I shouldn't add to that," she said quietly. Rory laid her head on Jess's shoulder. He looked surprised, as if he didn't know what to do or how to comfort her.

"Uh, you know, your feelings are valid, and, um, open two-way communication is the foundation of..."

Rory laughed out loud. "Wow, not to be mean, but this is so out of character. Listen to you, James Dean over here sounding like a self-help book!"

Jess tried to recover. "Hey, don't knock self-help books. We gotta appreciate all books; it's our job."

"Right," Rory said, rolling her eyes. She wiped the tears from her face.

"Look, here's some real advice; forget about Richie Rich, ok, it sounds like he wasn't the guy for you," Jess said, remembering the conversation he overheard at BondSt.

"Richie Rich?" Rory said, laughing. "Why is it that you feel the need to assign demeaning names to all my boyfriends? Dean gets to be Bag Boy, Logan gets to be Richie Rich…so what does that make you, hm? What did you call yourself?" Rory asked.

"Lucky," Jess responded seriously.

There was a long pause, and suddenly Rory realized how close her face was to his. They shared an intense gaze before she turned her head away so that now she was leaning her back onto his chest, her head in the crook of his shoulder. Jess casually dropped his arm to curve around her waist as she lay there.

"Jess?" she asked, suddenly brave now that they weren't face to face.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I don't understand you," she said, remembering the last time Jess left:

'Look, you know we're supposed to be together. I knew it the first time I saw you two years ago, and you know it, too. I know you do.'

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Jess asked.

"Well," Rory began uncomfortably. "Ok, so, you remember last year when you came back for your car?"

"Yeah," Jess said slowly.

"And Yale?"

"Yeah."

"Well, ok, so, here's the thing. You make these wild proclamations of love, and disappear. I mean, what is up with that?" Rory asked, sitting up and facing him.

"Well, I - "

"You know what, forget it…" Rory said nervously, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"No, I mean, if you wanna talk about it," said Jess.

"No, you know what? I think I need to sleep. Sleep sounds good," Rory pronounced. She got up.

"Um…where do I sleep, exactly?" she asked, pausing in the middle of the room.

Jess silently gestured to the futon he was sitting on.

"Look," said Rory. "I just… no more drama tonight, ok?"

"Ok," said Jess. He looked unsure for a moment. "So, you wanna…"

"Yup," Rory said, nodding. "Yup, sure do."

"Alrightie, then," said Jess. He got up and adjusted the futon. Rory crawled on as Jess pulled off his shirt.

"Whoa, there," she said, averting her eyes. "Um, what are you doing?"

"Getting ready for bed…not like that," Jess said, sarcastically. "What, is that a problem?"

"As long as you don't sleep in the nude, no, it's not," Rory said, still not looking at him.

"Geez." Jess walked over to the dresser and changed into some pajama pants. "Are you going to be overwhelmed by my male-ness or should I sleep on the floor?"

Rory threw a pillow at him. "Get over yourself," she said, smiling.

Jess raised one eyebrow, catching the pillow, but kept back any related remarks. "Do you have any nighttime rituals you gotta do first? Put on a face mask? Bay at the moon?"

"Ha ha," Rory said sarcastically. "Nope, all ready," she said, clasping her hands behind her back.

"Ok, then," said Jess. He got into bed, lying on his back with his hands behind his head. Rory cautiously climbed into the opposite side of the bed.

"Thanks for letting me stay," she said quietly.

"Anytime, Rory…anytime," Jess said, turning off the light and watching her fall asleep.

Rory woke up to loud music and the smell of coffee. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She looked around, momentarily disoriented in the unfamiliar surroundings. Suddenly, the previous night's events came rushing to her head. She got up and saw Jess pouring two cups of coffee.

"What is this delightful music we're waking up to? Grieg it is not," Rory remarked.

"You got a problem with the Killers?" Jess asked.

"Not after coffee," Rory said with a sweet smile.

Jess said nothing, offering her a full mug.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Jess spoke. "So, feel like some breakfast?"

"This is a bagel," Rory said approvingly.

"Sure is," Jess said with a full mouth. He swallowed. "This is my favorite deli. I stop here almost every morning before work."

"It sure beats dorm food," Rory said without thinking. Her thoughts immediately flooded back to Yale and the whole Logan situation.

"Yeah, well," Jess said, at a loss for words.

Rory quickly finished her bagel and stood up. "Well, thanks, this was...nice," she said, almost surprised. "Um, I should go. Thanks for...everything."

"Wait, Rory," Jess said, grabbing her arm as she turned to walk away. "Look, why did you come?"

"What?" she asked.

Jess scratched the back of his head. "Just... why did you come to me?"

"I told you... I didn't know anybody else in the City, and I know we have all these unresolved issues, but you're the only person I could think of - "

"That's bullshit, Rory, and you know it," said Jess caustically.

"No it's not," she said defensively. "It's the truth!"

"You could have gone home; you could have taken the train back to Hartford or Stars Hollow or spent the night with one of your yuppie friends. But you know what I think?" Jess said, not letting it go.

Rory crossed her arms. "What?"

"I think, on some level, that you feel what I feel," Jess said.

"You mean what you felt," Rory corrected.

"No," Jess said, taking a step closer. "What I feel." Before she could react, Jess kissed her in broad daylight.

Oh ma goodness! How will Rory react? Click and see...