Title: You're Beautiful

Disclaimer: I own nothing; the title is from James Blunt song of the same title. No infringement intended.

Summary: Jess sees Rory on the train in New York five years after his last encounter with her. (Set after let me hear your Balalaikas ringing out episode

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Mr. Mariano, sorry I'm late.' A voice says, and when I look up there she is. 'Rory? What are you doing here?' I asked her and she sits down. 'I'm your editor.' She said and I just stared at her.

'What?' I say and I look at Rory, and it was like I was frozen completely. She sat down and I saw that she had the exact same manuscript that i had, of course she had it, she had been editing it secretly for months. I could feel the anger flare up at that thought. How dare she think she had the right to do this?

'What the hell do you think your doing Rory?' I seethe and Rory doesn't even react to my anger. 'I am looking for a waitress to order my drink and then I will explain to you the circumstances.' She says lightly and she doesn't even look worried.

'So there are circumstances? Did you just wake up one day and decide I am going to take something of Jess and taint it!' I said and I could see some of the people in the restaurant looking at us in interest. 'No Jess, I was mourning the loss of my marriage, when I got a call from my boss telling me I had a new author, I should have told him that I didn't have the energy or the mind to take on another egotistical writer, but before I could, Ethan threw your first copy on my desk, and I was enthralled.'

I just stared at her and she looked at me and her blue eyes managed to hit home and I had to look away. 'So you liked it, so what. This isn't just some book Rory, this means everything to me.'

She nodded and didn't say anything for a minute and then she smiled. 'I haven't seen you in awhile Jess. Six years, and I didn't even know you were married. And when I saw what your book was about, I wanted it to be the best it could be.' She shrugs and takes a sip of the coffee that a waitress had put on the table a few moments before.

'That may be, but what right do you have to keeping your identity secret? Was it a running joke at your work?' I say and she looks surprised. 'No, no one even has an inkling that I know you, I knew that if you figured out who I was, you wouldn't let me be apart of this, and I want to do this. For you and for Sarah.'

I glared at her. 'Don't you dare presume that you can even begin to understand…' I started but I saw her face. 'I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that from what I read, she deserves to be honored, and I want to help you.'

I tried to see if she had some sort of sign that she was deceiving me. But her face looked so innocent and there was nothing to indicate that she was. But I just couldn't imagine that she was here.

We ordered some food and Rory was basically silent. She smiled at me a couple of times but she never initiated the conversation, and all of this silence was beginning to drive me crazy.

'So how's your mom?' I ask and she swallows and looks surprised. 'She's good, Luke and her are having their third and last kid apparently.' She says and I smiled. 'I've met Will and Emma.' And she smiles this huge smile at the names of her siblings. 'Will is reading all the time now and he's only five. And Emma is two and she likes to point and shout what it is …' Rory's face brightened as she described her sister's new annoying habit and I just found myself watching her.

This was crazy, I was over her. I've been over her for a long time, ever since I saw Sarah, but here sitting with her now, that feeling I had, seems so far away. And here she was, living and breathing and looking just as beautiful as ever. I think back to my infatuation with the faceless Mrs. James person, and it seemed to fit that this Mrs. James was really Rory Gilmore.

'So how did it happen?' I asked her and she looked up from her meal and smiled. 'How did what happen?' She says and I continue to look at her. 'How did your marriage fall apart?'

I watch her face contort from shock to sorrow to anger. 'It's none of your business.' She says in a clipped tone and I just look at her and she sighs. 'He wanted to move to Paris, and I wanted to stay here. End of story, end of marriage.' I look at her and I don't see how that sentence could have come out of Rory Gilmore's mouth.

'So he just left you? How is he still alive with Luke and your father around?' I asked and Rory looked pale but she tried to smile. 'I didn't tell them until Kyle was in Paris. Kyle just wasn't it for me, you're lucky to have found her. Even if it was for a short time.' She says and if anyone else had said that to me, I would have shouted and ranted and stormed off, but from her, I knew what she meant.

'Sometimes the right person, isn't the one we are supposed to be with.' I said cryptically and Rory looked startled, and then she started going through her notes for the new changes. 'Alright, let's talk about the book?' She asks and I could have said no and stormed off, and told Ethan about her deception, but for some reason, I knew that with Rory as my editor, this was going to be the best of my work.

'Alright, let's get down to business.' I say and she looks up and she smiles.

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The minute I walked into my apartment I felt my knees go. Ever since I left Jess at the restaurant, I knew it would happen. Seeing him, and speaking to him and having to deal with all of these emotions. I had what if moments, but I never had to deal with the possibility that Jess would be in my life again. I knew I had blown it when I let him walk away from me.

He came to show me how I had changed his life, and I let stupid actions from two stupid kids, effect how I felt. Logan and I didn't speak for a few months after Jess left. Finally Logan realized he wanted to be with me, and he managed to convince me, but I was never totally convinced that it was a good idea.

My whole life, I had been doing what was the best for everyone, rather than what I wanted. And when I did what I thought would be best for me, I managed to get a permanent police record, and alienated a lot of people I cared about. But in the end it showed me that I could do it, if I was forced to.

I went back to school, to home and I acted like the old Rory was back. I tried to remember what she looked like, what clothes she wore and how she would react to certain situations. And eventually the new and the old merged into the version people saw now.

I immediately got into the shower and when I closed my eyes as the water washed away the sorrow of my past and the anger that seemed to burn through me from Jess, I saw his eyes, and they were so full of pain. I knew that somehow I had the power to change that, and secretly, I prayed that in the process, Jess managed to heal me too.

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I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I groaned as I stretched to get it and I mumbled a greeting while trying to hold onto the slippery dreamscape. 'Ace, you up?' The voice asks and I grumble.

'Logan, it's a Saturday and it's early, unless you have a reason that doesn't mean your untimely murder, go away.' I grumbled and he chuckled. We broke up and it took us awhile to get to a place where we could be friends, and now he and I had dinner together. He was one of the people who managed to help me get through Kyle's departure from my life.

'Ace, it's noon, get your lazy ass out of bed, and come let me in your building. I need help with the new layout of the paper Dad just acquired.' I groaned and stumbled to the call button and I heard the buzz that would let Logan into my building, and he would let himself in.

Logan always came to me with newspaper stuff. He never really got the hang of layout and I felt obligated in helping him. He needed to look like he knew what the hell he was doing, especially to the board of directors.

'Ace, I come bearing gifts.' Logan yelled as I stepped in the shower. 'Thanks, I'll be out in ten minutes, then I will help you this last time.' I shouted and he chuckled. I had been saying that, since the first time I ever helped him. Which happens to be the first time we took the first steps to becoming friends.

'Yeah yeah. Hurry it will get cold.' I shake my head and step into the shower. When I walk out fifteen minutes later, Logan has his feet on my coffee table and reading Jess's manuscript. I run and snatch it from his finger. 'Logan, hands off!' I shout and he looks startled. 'Whoa Ace, it's just a copy. No big deal.' He puts his hands up in a gesture of surrender, but I just glared at him.

'It's work, and this author is really protective of his work. No touchy alrighty?' I say and he shrugs. 'Whatever you say Ace, now I have Luke Coffee and the layout on the kitchen table.'

I begin to sip the coffee and look at the pieces of print and try to find the perfect layout. Each Newspaper that Logan takes over now, tries to have a perspective special to the area. I begin to change things around and then I sit back down and wait for Logan to praise my genius.

I look over at the Manuscript that I had placed lovingly on my kitchen counter. It's binding was broken, and it had been read and reread millions of times. In fact I knew pretty much most of it by heart, and with each new addition to it, I made sure that I knew it just as well. Logan looks at what I am staring at and he chuckles.

'Is this new author a guy or something?' He asks and I look panicked. I don't think that Jess would appreciate if I told Logan. Not that they would ever cross paths unless I enabled them to do so. 'Sure, but let's talk about this layout.' I said and Logan pushed the newspaper stuff aside and reached for the manuscript.

'Logan, I told you to leave it alone!' I cried and Logan just opened it and turned the pages. 'What is with you and this writer, you would think you were in love with him?' Logan started to laugh and I just watched him with my arms crossed. He noticed that I wasn't laughing and then his laughter turned to a scowl. 'Tell me you didn't fall in love with this twerp.'

I grab it from his hand and I go and put it in my bedroom with Logan following me. 'Who is this guy, you've always joked around with me about the authors.' Logan said and I put the manuscript in my drawer beside my bed.

'This time it's not some loser, this guy is talented and he doesn't deserve to be mocked.' I said and Logan just looked at me. 'rory, come one tell me what's going on? I haven't seen you this fired up since before Kyle.'

I smirked at that. Logan loathed Kyle. At first I thought it was because Kyle was serious competition when it came to my time. And then Logan saw what was going on. Kyle loved me, but I didn't love him equally.

'Logan, if I tell you something, do you promise not to do anything about it or comment on it ever again?' I asked and Logan chuckled. 'Sure why not.' He says and I quirk an eyebrow at him and he sighs. 'Fine Ace, I promise. Now tell me what's going on.' He says and I sit on my bed.

'You remember when that guy Jess came to see me when I was doing the time off thing?' Logan nodded. 'Well the author, it's him. And last week he found out that I was his editor.' Logan just stared at me.

'So why is this a bad thing? You're an amazing editor.' Logan asks and I sigh. 'Because I kept it a secret, and the book, it's about his wife who died. And the worst part is that I am jealous. I think I fell in love with Jess again, without my knowledge.' Logan just looks at me and then he sighs. 'Well let's see what we can do about this.'

So it seems that my muse is not so elusive. Hope you guys like this. I tried to put more conversation in here. Have a good read and review!