AN: I've skipped some time, so please make a note of it.
Disclaimer: Amy owns it, not I...please don't sue!
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Three weeks later
When Jess opened the diner on a cold Monday morning, he realized it had been almost a month exactly since they had signed the lease for their perfect apartment. He hadn't left Stars Hollow, but Rory came down every weekend to be with him…and Lorelai. When Rory told Lorelai the news, she was ecstatic and insisted they go shopping. He let the girls be girls, knowing that they'd get everything they would need.
Jess opened the front door to Luke's after flipping the closed sign over and popped his head out to check the mail. There was a large white envelope waiting for him and he almost collapse out of happiness. He grabbed the envelope along with the rest of the mail and rushed inside. "Pick up, pick up," he said to the phone as it rang.
"Oh. My. God. Die," Rory's voice carried to him, obviously upset that the sun was barely over the horizon.
"I got in," Jess said, excited. "I got in!"
"What?" She said, startled.
Jess practically danced around the diner, causing the phone cord to catch on multiple items, knocking them over. "I got the big envelope. I remember when you were waiting for the big envelope and I thought it was bunch of crap but I got it!" He barely breathed as he talked to her, it was like he had been holding his breath until he got the letter.
Rory squealed with delight, "Well open it!"
Jess's fingers tore at the seal, too excited to go about it rationally. "Jess Mariano, we are proud to accept you in to Yale as a new student to the School of English!"
"You made it!" she laughed.
Jess leaned up against the doorframe to the kitchen and finally breathed. "I was worried… I mean, I let the cat out of the bag to a whole town before I knew. I even got an apartment!"
"We got an apartment," she corrected, "And you'd live there even if you didn't make it in."
"You know I would," Jess sighed. "I don't have to worry about that now." There was a long silence, Jess focusing on the letter in his shaking hand. "You should go back to sleep."
"Jess? What day is it?"
He looked down at the mail scattered on the counter, finding the most recent postmark. "November 20th, why?"
"It's thanksgiving this weekend," Rory said, returning to a groggy state. "We'll celebrate then."
"Go to sleep Ror," he told her, "We'll celebrate whenever you make it down here. I love you."
"I love you too," she said and hung up.
Jess sighed and put the phone back on the hook.. He looked around and noticed the donut container had been knocked over as well as some salt and pepper shakers on the counter. Too much excitement, he realized. After he cleaned up the mess, Jess gathered up the rest of the mail and put it under the counter. He started up the coffee maker and waited.
When the first customers entered, he pushed his excitement down and treated them as usual. He didn't need to spread the news anymore. Rory knew and that's all that mattered.
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Rory woke up with a smile on her face, remembering the early morning phone call with Jess. He was so happy and she was happy for him. She couldn't wait until two days later, when she'd be back in Stars Hollow for Thanksgiving. Rory realized they didn't even have any Thanksgiving Day plans, they hadn't thought that far into the future. She was sure Sookie and Luke were having separated dinners…two they can handle. Rory remembered the one year that they went to seven dinners. That was one crazy day. It would be her first thanksgiving with Jess by her side and she was excited.
After going to her morning classes, Rory settled into her couch with a textbook and her cell phone. After dialing Lorelai's number, she just waited.
"Sweetie," Lorelai answered.
"Mom!" Rory was excited to hear her voice. "I had an evil, evil man call me around six this morning."
"Should I go kick his but?" Lorelai said defensively, while laughing. "Why so early?"
Rory giggled, "I've got good news!"
"You just saved a bunch of money on your car insurance?"
"I knew you were going to say that," Rory sighed. "I do have good news though."
"Well don't keep Mommy waiting,"
"Jess got into Yale," Rory said as a wide smile spread across her face. "He is officially in Yale now."
"It wasn't official before?" Lorelai asked. Rory could hear the concern in her voice.
"I know we were taking a lot of risks, but we figured everything would work out in the end, and it did!"
"It's not the end, you know…"
"Come on Mom, it was supposed to be good news,"
Lorelai sighed, "It is, I'm happy for you. Let's just leave it at that for now, okay?"
"Okay," Rory agreed. "I was thinking about Thanksgiving…"
"Sookie's then Luke's or Luke's then Sookie's?" Lorelai said, reading her mind. "I vote Sookie's then Luke's. Then we don't have to worry about rushing it with Luke."
"Dirty,"
Lorelai laughed. "I know, I know. What do you think?"
"It's a plan. I'll see you Wednesday night, okay?"
"Kay honey," Lorelai said and hung up.
Rory placed the phone on her lap in case she got any calls and opened up the Econ textbook she had with her.
Stupid boring subjects, she thought, reluctantly reading the assigned chapter for the week. The numbers and words on the pages meant nothing to her; all she could think of was the future, not the past.
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Rory spent as much time in the YDN office as she could before she left on Wednesday night. She ran into Logan once, literally, and completely ignored him when he tried to speak to her. After that his desk was always empty – she knew she was the only reason he had ever come to the office.
After she handed in the final copy of her article, Rory rushed back to her dorm to pack for the weekend. Instead of putting the clothes in her backpack, she shoved them in her laundry bag. Rory left her textbooks on her desk and put her iMac and makeup in the messenger bag.
Looking into her room from the doorframe, Rory made sure she didn't leave anything necessary behind. She checked her pockets and felt her phone and wallet; she was ready to leave. "Have a good Thanksgiving," she called out to Paris before heading out the door.
"Wait, when will you be back?" Paris asked from the couch.
"Late Sunday night…why?"
"Doyle's coming over tomorrow with dinner and he's probably going to stay, I just wanted to let you know in advance,"
"Well Paris," Rory said cautiously, "Why are you being so nice?"
Paris stood there, hands on her hips defensively. "I'm always…Ah, I'm not that good of a liar. I'm asking Doyle if he wants to live with me, so you'll either come back to me wallowing or worn out from all the sex."
"That's the blunt Paris we know and love," Rory said and opened the door. "I'll see you Sunday!" She took her bag of clothes and hurriedly walked to her car. She plugged in her iPod and headed on the road to Stars Hollow.
Rory liked to use the time on the road to think. She smiled uncontrollably whenever she thought of Jess and their apartment. It seemed too good to be true. Rory had thought of Jess a couple of times while he was gone, but she tried not to focus on it. It was hard to believe he came back to her; it was weird that she half expected it. When he came back two years ago and asked her to run away with him… She knew she should have. Now she was getting a second chance, a third chance actually.
Rory promised herself she wouldn't screw it up this time.
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Well you guys didn't much like 22, did you? I don't know how you'll like this, so yeah.
Please review, I need to know what you think.
