A/N – Thank you for all the fabulous reviews everyone!

This chapter is again dedicated to Starcastic as a birthday present :o) – Happy Birthday!

Disclaimer – I own a guinea pig named Polly. I don't own the Gilmore Girls.

And yes, while I own a copy of Oliver Twist, I don't own any rights to it or anything, full credit to Dickens. ;)

- Chapter Three -

- Pro's, Con's, and Floodgates? -

Rory woke up just after sunrise. The golden rays danced through her window painting everything they met a cheerful glowing orange colour.

She lay there for a moment, appreciating the beauty of it. She felt warm and content.

Alas, the moment passed too soon. She sighed as the floodgates that held back the memory of the previous night were opened.

She briefly considered making a pro-con list to help her decide whether to leave it, or try and find him and tell him how she feels too.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she got up and walked to the bathroom. 'Pro, he will know how I feel about him.' She thought, turning on the shower, and starting to get undressed.

'Con, he most probably will just leave me again.' She was now standing under the hot beads of water with her eyes closed, letting it run over her face, and down her neck, rinsing off all the negative emotion from the day before.

'Pro, I might finally get closure.' She turned off the shower and proceeded to dry herself.

'Con, if I see him again, I might not be able to let go.' She brushed her teeth and got dressed.

It was at this point she realised if she was going to think seriously about this, she would need some coffee in her system, and only Luke's would do. She grabbed a copy of Oliver Twist from her bookshelf, hoping to catch up on some reading while she was at the diner.

She went upstairs and left a post-it note on her mothers forehead that simply said "Luke's", then walked back downstairs, out the door, and off to the diner.

XXX

She entered with her eyes downcast, heading over to the counter. Luke came over to take her order.

"Hey Rory, you ok?" He asked.

"I guess mom spoke to you last night?" She replied.

"Yeah, you are alright about all of this though, right?"

"I'm fine. Really."

Luke thought she was handling all of this a little too well. Something seemed wrong. He thought Lorelai would have warned Rory that Jess was back.

"Okay then, what can I get you?"

"Blueberry pancakes, French toast, and lots of coffee, please."

"Sure thing." He poured he some coffee and then disappeared into the kitchen.

Rory pulled out Oliver Twist, almost draining her coffee in one gulp, desperate for the caffeine to kick in.

"Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small – "

"Refill?' A familiar male voice asked.

Rory's heart stopped beating for a second. Her breath caught in her throat, and she started to feel butterflies in her stomach.

It was the very same voice that said, "I love you" to her last night.

For a second she felt like running out of there. Running back home so she could curl up in a little ball on her bed and cry her heart out again.

But she knew she had to be mature about this, and instead she looked up, directly into his eyes, unable to suppress a little gasp at the sight of him. "Oh, um, sure. Yes. A refill would be good. Thank you."

He was staring intently at her. "You're welcome."

It took everything he had not to break his gaze. She was the first to look away.

He walked away to serve other customers, and she looked down at her coffee.

Luke came out of the kitchen carrying Rory's order.

"Here you go. Blueberry Pancakes, French Toast, and I see you've got more coffee?"

"Yeah, Luke, on second thoughts, can I get all this to go? There is some where I should be right now."

"Sure." He replied, looking pointedly at Jess who shrugged back at him.

He packed it up for Rory and gave it to her.

"Thanks Luke," she mumbled, and then left.

Jess saw the book she left on the counter. He picked it up. "Huh" he said aloud. He looked over at Luke, who nodded and said, "Be back in an hour."

XXX

Jess walked through town to the bridge. He was ninety-nine percent sure he'd find her there.

And sure enough, there she was. Sitting with her legs hanging over the edge of the bridge, her bag of food next to her, obviously forgotten about.

As he got closer he noticed she was crying.

" – Ror?" He began, somewhat hesitantly.

She looked up at him, shocked, and wiped her eyes, then looked back down, focussing on the brown soggy leaf that was floating in the water before her.

"You forgot your book." He tried again.

"Oh, well, thank you for bringing it to me. You can go now."

"You don't want to talk?"

"What is there to talk about? I left my book behind, you brought it to me."

"I'm not talking about the book Rory."

"What, you want to tell me you love me, and then run off? Again? You know, you're very good at that. Running away. Someone should give you an award or something. Perhaps a big novelty check."

"Don't be like this!"

"Like what? Angry? Upset? Hurt? Why can't I be like that? After what you've done to me I have every right to be like that!"

"I'm sorry! Okay? I screwed up big time. I should have done things differently. But I didn't. And I'm sorry."

By now Rory was crying even harder than before. Tears were spilling and forming like there was no tomorrow. She hid her face in her hands.

"Rory," Jess started. "Please don't cry. I'm sorry that I've treated you badly. I'm sorry that I didn't call. I'm sorry that I didn't say goodbye. But I'm not sorry about what I said last night. Okay? I do - " He faltered. It took almost everything he had to say it last night. He wasn't sure he could say it again now.

She looked up at him, wiping away the tears again.

He looked at the ground, then back up to her eyes. "I do love you."

Rory almost couldn't believe her ears. Twice in less than twenty-four hours. What had gotten into him?

"I see." She said coldly. Immediately giving herself a mental kick in the backside. 'Rory! You complete idiot! Just say it. You love Jess. He's right there. Tell him. Now.'

"Well. Here's your book. I'm sorry to have disturbed you miss." He said, matching her cool response, disappointed at her reply, or rather, lack thereof.

He handed her the book and walked away, fighting the urge to punch a nearby tree.

Meanwhile, Rory sat at the bridge, her sobs renewed, still mentally kicking herself.

The saying 'The road to true love is never easy' could not have been more fitting in this situation, even if it were to become a spandex jumpsuit.

A/N – Yay! Longest chapter yet! I'll update with chapter 4 when I get 5 reviews. ;)