Author's note: Thanks again and again to all of you who took the time to review. Special thanks to those of you who review every chapter and still hang on. I'm not sure I'll make twenty chapters, but so far, so good.

Another thing: I've never been to the USA and I have no idea how the college system works there. So I have no idea if it's even possible to transfer colleges in the middle of school season and how the proces of applying goes. So if it's wrong...for the story's sake: just go with it! Thank you.

Disclaimer: Own nothing, except Kat. Oh, and Ginny. You'll meet her.

One with it...

That afternoon, Jess dropped Rory of at the beginning of Rodeo Drive, so she could go shopping. Which meant looking at shops, there was no way she could afford as much as a lipstick around here, but she insisted on seeing the famous street anyway.

He gave her a kiss and told her he would come and pick her up at the same spot in two hours. He figured that would give him enough time to handle a few things at school and give him some time to do his own Christmas shopping. Coming home with gifts seemed like a smart idea to him.

But first things first; he had an appointment. He parked his car at the UCLA parking lot and worked his way over to the school's guidance counselor. He had already met ms. McLean when he applied for college a month late. She had not been convinced he could make it, but had granted him a chance based on his grades and his SAT scores.

His knock was answered with a soft "Come in."

Jess smiled at the woman in front of him.

"Mr. Mariano. Have a seat. What can I do for you?"

"I need to transfer schools."

"I see. May I ask for a reason?"

"I'm moving back east with my girlfriend."

Ginny McLean could hardly suppress a smile. She'd heard about the mystery girlfriend through the grapevines. Did this boy know how many hearts were broken just yesterday? Probably not; and she was not about to tell him.

"And now you need to find a college that can take you in after the Christmas holidays."

"Basically, yes. You think that'll work?"

"No idea. But I'll try my hardest. What schools are you interested in?"

"Any school close to New Haven."

"So your friend is an Ivy League girl."

"Yeah. She's in her freshman year at Yale."

"Yale. Sounds a good place to start."

"Start what?" "Getting you into college."

"You mean…me…Yale?"

"With that vocabulary you won't stand a chance, but why not? Your grades are remarkable, you showed you're not afraid of hard work, your SAT scores are certainly not disappointing. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't at least get you an interview there."

Jess sighed. He hadn't counted on the possibility. He wasn't sure he was Ivy League material. But usually Ms. McLean had excellent judgment so if she said he could… what the hell, no guts no glory, right?

"Nope, can't think of any reason."

"Good, neither can I. So here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna make some phone calls, send some faxes, e-mails on your behalf to Yale, Hartford Community College, NYU and I'll let you know what has come up in lets say…an hour?"

Jess nodded. He was amazed at her straightforwardness. She sure was some help to him. He thanked her politely and told her he'd be back in an hour to hear the news.

Outside, he let go of his breath. Yale. Yale?

Jess spent the hour in between buying gifts. First just to calm his nerves, later because he started to enjoy buying presents for the people he cared about. And it did calm his nerves for a while. Not that he would ever admit he was. Nervous that is. Nothing to be nervous about, right? Of course not. He was only applying to Yale. Big deal. And there were so many options left. Really, nothing to be nervous about.

Still, when he knocked on the counselors door an hour later, his palms were sweaty. If Ms. McLean even noticed, she was too diplomatic to mention it. She kindly let him sit down again and took out some papers.

"Relax, Mr. Mariano. This is not a death penalty here. I even think I might have some good news."

"Good…how did it go?"

"Well, both NYU and Hartford Community are willing to let you in based on the faxes I sent them. All you have to do is give them a call when you want to register there. And as for Yale…"

She looked at him intently. He was fidgeting, trying to hide that fact by stuffing his hands between his legs. She decided not to tease him any longer.

"I got you an interview for December 19th at one-thirty. So that makes it next Friday. I assumed you would be east by then."

"I will be. But, could you tell me what to expect from this…interview?"

"I already faxed them your scores, literature list, major study, things like that. But usually Yale wants more of a personal motivation. Just be honest and open with them and you'll have no problem."

"You really think I can do it?"

"I wouldn't have called them if I didn't think that. And they would never have agreed to an interview if they weren't impressed by your progress so far."

"Then I guess I should give it a try."

"You should, Jess. You're a smart kid."

Jess grinned. Kid. To this woman, all students would always remain kids, her kids. He pushed away the urge to hug her and instead shook her hand gratefully.

"Thanks ever so much Ms. McLean. You're a great help."

"That's my job, Mr. Mariano. Good luck."

Jess grabbed his bags from the floor and turned to leave, when she called him back.

"Jess?"

"Yes?"

"Give me a call after the interview, will you? I'd like to know how you've done."

Jess gave her a genuine smile before he closed the door. "Will do. And thanks again."

Outside, he wanted to scream. One step closer to Yale. Yale?

About half an hour later he picked up a very exited Rory, who had actually bought some of her Christmas gifts at LA's most expensive shops.

"There goes my entire tuition for next year, but who cares? I just felt like doing some serious shopping. "

Jess smiled and kissed her, hoping she wouldn't notice anything wrong with him. She didn't, excited as she still was about her shopping spree. She broke herself free from his embrace and gave him a smile that made his knees wobbly.

"So…how did your school appointment go?"

Jess shrugged. "Okay, I guess. The counselor said she'd get me a few interviews with colleges close to you." "

You'll get in. You've come this far."

"Thanks for your faith in me."

He meant it. Rory's answer came quickly and truthfully.

"I always had faith in you, you just never noticed." Jess didn't know what to answer, so he just squeezed her hand tightly.

He didn't mention his interview at Yale to her, though he wasn't quite sure why. Hadn't she just said she had faith in him? But in the car on his way to pick her up, his old feelings resurfaced again, rearing its ugly tail. If he was totally honest, he knew very damn well why he hesitated telling her. He didn't want to disappoint her. Didn't want to make any promises he couldn't keep. Didn't want to get his own hopes or hers up too high, just to come crashing down again. It would mean another let down, and he had grown out of places to run to for cover every time one of his plans went down the drain. So he decided not to make her overly happy with half a promise. If he got into Yale, IF with very big capitals here, it would be time enough to tell her. When he actually deserved her faith in him.

They spent the rest of their evening with Kat, on her request. Yes, she had made her peace with the fact her one and only friend would be leaving soon, but she was damned if she didn't suck as much fun out of his last days here as she possibly could. Luckily, she really started to enjoy Rory's company as well, so she could set aside the lion share of her jealousy.

The three of them decided on a classical Gilmore movie night. Complete with high dosages of coffee and every kind of junk food known to mankind. Rory snuggled up close to Jess and was fast asleep by the time the movie was halfway through. Jess's features softened immediately as he watched her sleeping form against his chest.

"Wow."

Kat's voice was nothing more than a whisper, but Jess looked up with a warm smile still plastered on his face.

"Wow what?"

"You really do love her."

"Yeah. I really do."

"So I guess I never stood a chance in hell then."

"Sorry, but no. Not you, not anybody."

He kissed the top of Rory's head. She didn't even stir.

"She does that to you. I can't help it."

Kat smiled. "Don't apologize for being in love, Jess. I'm glad you're happy now."

"I am. And you'll be soon too. There has to be a guy out there for you somewhere…"

"Don't give me that, Mariano. Don't cheat me out of my precious sulking time here. I'll just wallow, eat lots of chocolate, watch lots of sappy movies until maybe one day your identical twin will come along."

"I'll tell him to drop by."

He gently let go of his girlfriend to give his best friend a hug.

"Stay in touch, Mariano, you hear me? Remember, the Mendosa clan can track you down anywhere."

"Is that a threat?"

"Nope. It's a promise. Now promise me the same."

"We'll stay in touch, Kat. I promise."

Next day was spent in a total packing frenzy. Jess was done in half an hour; never having brought too many stuff with him to campus. He still had to pick up some of his books and other stuff at Jimmy's, but basically, he was done. The majority of his stuff had never left Luke's apartment. Most of his books had never left Rory's old bedroom.

Packing Rory's suitcase was an entirely different challenge. She ended up having to borrow one of Kat's old suitcases to stuff all her belongings and newly bought assets into. Neither Jess nor Rory spoke much while they packed her stuff and waited for Kat to arrive. Kat had said she didn't want them to spend good money on public transportation or a taxi, so she would take them to the airport.

Seated in the backseat of her car on his way to the airport, Jess remained silent, while Rory and Kat were talking about… whatever they were talking about. He hadn't listened. He had been too preoccupied.

He was going home. Home to Stars Hollow. To a place he had never figured he would ever call home. And to a man he would never have called a father, but who was more of a father to him than his real father ever tried to be. He had missed Luke. Almost as much as he had missed Rory. And even though Jimmy really had tried and had made a real effort toward his stepdaughter Lily, he had never opened his heart and mind to his oldest son, who in return never opened his. There had been relative peace and quiet in the Jimmy Mariano household, but nothing more than that. Jess had settled for it for as long as it took him to get his GED. Then it was a real relief to him when he found out there was an open spot for him at the UCLA campus.

Since he had moved in there, he had occasionally called Jimmy to keep him updated. His biological father tried to sound interested, but Jess could interpret his tone of voice and knew he wasn't sincere. Or even listening. So he stopped calling. That was that.

But the result of this less than cold behavior was that he did miss the only father figure in his life more than he cared to admit. He missed Luke's guidance, his silent pride when Jess did something well, his gruff but solid presence in his life. He only hoped he could convince his uncle of that. Maybe, if he went to Yale, it would make a difference.

After a quick drive-by at Jimmy's, where he collected his last things, Kat took them to the airport, where they stalled their goodbyes until final boarding call. She made both Jess and Rory promise to stay in touch.

When the plane took off, Jess heaved a sigh and rested his head against the soft fabric of his chair. He wasn't too fond of flying as it was and traveling into an uncertain future made him even more nervous. Rory noticed his discomfort and smiled at him, while taking his restless hand in hers.

"You okay?"

"Just glad when we get there. Have some solid ground underneath my feet."

"Is that all you're nervous about?"

Jess gave her hand a small squeeze. "No. I'm nervous about everything. Seeing Luke again, your mom not to mention. Getting into another school, doing well there. Us."

"What do you mean? What about us?"

"I want to do it right this time Rory. I want to be a perfect boyfriend this time, I'm just afraid I'll do something to screw it all up again."

Rory was amazed by his honesty. The old Jess wouldn't have told her anything about his feelings. She would be led to believe he didn't have any to begin with. Now she obviously knew better. Now she knew that he indeed did have strong feelings. And exactly that was why she knew he wouldn't screw up at all.

"You will do it right, no, WE will do it right. I know we will. And you'll find a great school to go to, Luke will be glad to have you back, my mom even encouraged me to go see you…and I love you even more now than I ever did before you left. Everything is more than perfect, Jess. So there's no reason whatsoever for you to worry."

"I know that. I just…worry. It's like…suddenly there's so much at stake. There are actually people who have faith in me and I don't have enough faith in myself."

"You should. You should be proud of yourself. Look at what you've accomplished already. Please Jess don't start doubting yourself now."

Jess didn't answer. He didn't know how to. He just leaned over to give his girl a simple gentle kiss on her lips before smiling at her. It was a promise and Rory knew it. For her sake, for their sake, he would try anything.

AN: Long, long, very long chapter. A lot to review...