Jess was seriously impressed how well Celeste handled the manual transmission of his BMW, hence their driving lesson that Tuesday evening, while April babysat, had begun with high expectations. It had literally been nearly three years since Celeste last drove, and the last she'd done it it had been in the UK with left sided traffic - sure she'd had enough time to adjust to which way to look at a crossroads but there were things that puzzled her. She was clearly rusty, though the obstacles didn't seem to be so much controlling the car but just the general fear of other drivers, especially those in large SUV-s, signs that were slightly different from what she had once learned or simply placed differently.

"Oh fuck! Where did that bike-messenger just come from?" Celeste reacted as she breaked to halt abruptly, the cyclist having just given her the finger after skillfully avoiding a collision by hopping onto the sidewalk. This had been one of the many times during the past hour she'd ended up cursing - missing a sign that Jess later pointed out or simply not being able to think where she was driving and driving at the same time, not to mention the amount of reckless driving even Jess agreed that she'd encountered in that short time. She simply wasn't used to doing this anymore and it really didn't help that Brooklyn's traffic was essentially an overflow of information.

Jess didn't say anything, just breathed a little easier that his car was still intact and no humans were hurt in the process of this.

A minute later Celeste parallel parked the car at a random free spot, surprisingly well, exclaiming loudly, "I'm so not doing this again," and walked out of the drivers side, indicating she wanted to switch seats with Jess so he could drive them back home.

Jess got out of the car with some delay, his hand resting over the car door, waiting until she got there.

"You're cute when you curse, you know that?" Jess smirked, having gotten a momentary flashback to one time Celeste had dropped a bottle of olive oil, splattering it's content all over her favourite, or so she'd said at the time, pair of Jimmy Choo's during one of their early dates at his tiny Brooklyn apartment when they'd been cooking, that having followed by a long list of French profanities mixed in with some international ones. Besides, in the past two days they'd regained a refreshing flirtatious tension, both of them quite enjoying the chase it had turned into.

Celeste huffed demonstratively, her arms crossed on her chest, a slight pout on her lip. Celeste was frustrated, just wanting to get into the passenger seat and go home. Her noble plan to gain some independence when it came to mobility had gone out the window.

"Come here," he said, with a smile, pulling her close by her chin and kissed her, her arms relaxing and uncrossing as he did.

"Still, I'm not doing that again!" she added, a weak smile lurking just under the surface.

"Oh yea," Jess replied teasingly, kissing her once more.

"Hm-hm," she mumbled, her eyes falling shut.

"Why don't we just say that you're not doing that again here," Jess corrected, as the kiss broke, not wanting her to give up completely, realizing New York was perhaps not the best place to ease her into this.

Celeste grumbled in response, rolling her eyes, but she knew Jess was right.

His hand moved to her waist, just under her denim jacket, his thumb gently caressing the bare skin between her broderie top and her jeans, pulling her closer and kissing her again, this time with more depth.

Within seconds almost the entire negative driving experience was wiped from Celeste's brain, the familiar sensation in her abdomen taking over.

"God, how I missed this," she said in a low voice as the kiss broke, their mouths still staying close.

"Uh-uh," Jess murmured affirmatively.

"I think we're going to have to do something about that tonight," she cooed, curving the corner of her mouth as she leaned in to kiss him again, but only brushed his lips teasingly leaving him gasping in anticipation.

It was a miracle they'd made it this long, Jess' words of caution about her having the right mindset for doing this echoing in her brain, and him wanting to not rush this until she was ready. But they'd never really been good at waiting.


"Mom, hi," Rory called Lorelai, as she sat outside on the penthouse terrace, her legs propped up onto the lounge chair, watching Finny experiment with a bucket kinetic sand and water next to her. Maya was around too, and Rory was beginning to truly appreciate the idea of having a full-time helper around now that Logan had been away a few days. This pregnancy was way harder than with Finny, when it came to moving, lifting, carrying - basically all the things one would need to do with a toddler in the house.

"Hey hon," Lorelai replied, as she was just fixing herself a cup of coffee, occasionally hearing the sounds of Luke teaching Leo how to catch a baseball outside.

"How's everything?" Rory asked.

The recent events had really gotten Rory thinking about her relationship with her own mother. While statistically speaking she could have a few more decades with her mother around, at least, and besides her caffeine and unhealthy addiction to sugar she had no serious health issues that could sabotage that, she couldn't help thinking how devastated she would be if she did really lose her. While they called about once a week or so, these calls usually were just about the practicalities or Finny, or just the general overview of what either one was doing, these conversations were not very personal. They hardly ever discussed what they were feeling, what they wanted out of life, or what their significant other's were up to and how that influenced them. It was a far cry from best friends first, mother and daughter second - that they had had.

"Umm… It's good, the thing I told you about on Saturday - it doesn't seem to be an issue anymore. The guy pretty much disappeared as soon as he found out how little money was involved with this, and frankly - good riddens," Lorelai explained, feeling relieved, picking his words a little as she heard someone approach the door briefly just so Leo wouldn't overhear anything he didn't need to hear.

"Good," she replied. She'd only spent a few brief days with Leo, but overall he really did seem like a nice kid and she really didn't want him to just end up someplace horrible either. Living with her mother was fun, she was a lot more fun than most families as far as she knew, and she saw no reason why someone else less fortunate couldn't benefit from it. Besides, it seemed to make Lorelai a little happier too.

"Did you get my singing telegram?" Lorelai asked, after a few seconds of silence as Rory got caught up in her thoughts.

"A what?" Rory asked confusedly.

"You know, top hats and tails singing Gaudeamus something or other," Lorelai explained, beginning to understand that something about her ingenious plan to surprise her daughter after her graduation had not exactly gone according to plan.

"It's the first I'm hearing of this," she replied, pushing herself to sit a little more up. The evening sun stroked her face pleasantly - just warm enough, not hot, no wind - perfect May evening if only Logan were there.

"Damn it!" Lorelai grumbled. "Well, someone else must've gotten it then," she huffed disappointedly. She'd sent a regular text too, but that just didn't seem to do the momentous occasion justice. If Rory hadn't been so worried about Logan, she might have actually been disappointed herself - her mother always did go big on important occasions like this and she would've begun wondering whether those times were really through for them. While childish - she kind of missed experiencing that sentiment that her mother put into things like that.

"Did you have a nice day at least?" Lorelai asked, pouring out her coffee and taking it out to the porch to watch his men throw a ball a round. Ridiculous - but hey, Paul Anka was enjoying it, perhaps so could she?

"Emm.. not particularly, Logan's still in London and it felt a little inappropriate," she explained.

"Why? You worked so hard for this," Lorelai inquired.

"Logan's mom died," she confessed.

"Whoa… Shira's dead, like dead - dead?" Lorelai exclaimed, not quite believing her ears. She knew that Logan had been called and Shira was in a coma, but she really didn't have many details. While she knew Shira was a lot older than her, as they were both mothers of kids roughly the same age and Shira certainly looked young for her age thanks to a little nip-tuck here and there, she always sort of thought of her as her age. And hearing about people dying, she thought were 'her age', always felt weird.

"Yes," she confirmed with a sigh.

"When did this happen?" Lorelai added, almost wanting to add 'why didn't you tell me?'

"Sunday, but I only found out yesterday. They haven't officially announced it yet, I think," she replied, in her excuse.

"How's Logan holding up?" Lorelai asked a moment later.

"He seems okay. He's not very talkative though. So we'll see... He should get home tomorrow though," she said, hopefully.

"I guess that's good. People process differently…" Lorelai tried to say something from her own experience, but realized she really didn't want to go there in front of Leo in case she cried. While she knew what it was like to lose a parent, Logan's situation was an even more complicated one, she couldn't even imagine one processing that without some confusion.

"Mom, would you like to come to the City one weekend?" Rory asked. "Not this one. We're going to Robert's wedding, I think...," she recalled hesitantly, unsure whether it was okay to attend a wedding so close to someone's death in the family. "Maybe we could hang out, go shopping or something," Rory blurted, suddenly feeling a little nervous asking her that. It had been a while since they'd done something like that, just the two or them, or well the two of them and Finny in this case probably, and even on Sunday it had ended up being Luke who had driven her and Finny back home.

"Of course, I'd love to, hon," Lorelai replied. It had truly been too long and it really meant a lot of her that she would ask. Lorelai realized that Shira's passing had probably prompted this somehow but she took what she could at this point. She missed her daughter too.


The haste in which Jess' clothes hit the floor, just leaving on his boxers for now, as he heard Celeste leave Evie's room after putting her to bed and go to wash up, indicated well how much he was looking forward to this. This was not one of their spontaneous encounters, though once a kid was involved, there was always a certain amount of timing and planning involved, but after missing her for a month and a half, it really held no significance.

Jess wasn't really sure what to do with himself, for a moment even considering whether to put his clothes back on, to not put pressure on her. Maybe she'd changed her mind?

But apparently she was still that woman who planned ahead, this becoming clear as she entered the room, wearing a simple but still very sexy light green nightgown with lace details on the hem and neckline, clinging to her beautiful curves, making Jess grin at the sight of her. She'd clearly stashed it into the bathroom earlier, the goal in mind.

She'd never seemed this humble, slightly insecure even, but he could see she was pushing through it on her old momentum, the muscle memory moving her body - a small hip tilt, bend of her neck and moistening of her lip with her tongue - all that in a way that didn't seem cheap - she was really good at that, and that was no news to him.

Jess rose to meet her, feeling uncharacteristically nervous, intertwining his fingers with hers, as he leaned close and brushed his lips gently against hers and then smiled. She returned the gesture with more urgency, leading into a long open-mouthed kiss, that went on for a while. His fingers slid into her dusty blonde wavy shoulder length hair, her own hand tracing his lean arms.

Jess pulled her in, as close as he could, Celeste tilting her neck as if on instinct so her hair fell away from the side of her neck invitingly and he buried his lips onto the side of her neck. His hands held her firmly, squeezing her hips under her slip and over her silky panties, drawing her as close as he could. She could no doubtely feel him, every firm part of him, making her bite her lip and legs feel weak, her head going a bit cloudy. Her arms rose over his shoulder, pushing herself onto her toes, caressing his neck and running her fingers through his hair, grabbing hold of it.

He wanted to whisper something in her ear - how good she felt, how beautiful she looked, how much he'd missed this, how badly he wanted her - but somehow all these statements didn't seem to do her, or the moment, any justice. It meant so much more and he was almost beginning to think, when he could think in the midst of this, that this time it was him just wanting to lose himself in her.

She lowered herself, pulling away from the kiss for a moment, placing her palms on his chest and looked him in the eyes.

"I love you," Celeste whispered.

"I know," Jess replied smugly, with a light chuckle. There had been a few days in their past where he had his doubts, but deep down he'd always know that that hadn't gone anywhere - he'd had faith. A second later his laugh subsided, replacing with a serious tone, adding "I love you. Always," assuringly.

They stood there for a moment, the statements having slowed them down, almost as if slowdancing, Celeste snuggling into the side of his neck as he kissed her temple.

It was as his digits slipped between the elastic of her panties, she returned to kiss him with the urgency she'd started with, being reminded of the need that burned in her gut. Jess' hands cupped her bottom, underneath her panties, squeezing it, clearly enjoying the slightly softer feel, the sensation of his assertiveness making her smile through the kiss. Jess was a man who preferred ass to breast, and sensing him fondling her like that was the biggest compliment. The boost in self-confidence was what she needed to push him down onto the bed, slipping off her underwear and climbing to straddle him, while he pushed himself up to his forearms, reaching out his neck to kiss her some more.

This was the woman she remembered - the take charge - fear nothing type of girl. It was almost like the years since they'd met had somehow melted away and they were back in his Brooklyn rental apartment, her confidence impressing him significantly each time he'd gotten to know that side of her.

As his fingers digged into her thighs, she curved her back, pressing herself more firmly against his bulge, letting, half by accident, one of her shoulder straps to slip over her shoulder, half-exposing her breast and nipple. She leaned down to kiss his neck and chest and he let his elbows relax, resting his head onto the blanket, as she did.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Jess warned, as her lips approached the edge of his boxers.

She glanced at him questioningly. He wasn't really the guy to ever turn her down when it came to that.

"I just figured you'd like me to last a little longer than that," he smirked.

"You mean you haven't…?" she asked in disbelief.

"I'm not a monk," he replied with a smug crooked smile. "A week and a half," he added.

Celeste knew well enough what that meant, appreciating him trying to wait for her at least from the moment he'd learned that she might be coming home. She kissed him again - slowly and there was no denying that some level of appreciation carried as an afterthought.

He took charge then, and surprised her by rolling her around onto her back instead. She loved the feel of his weight on her. Jess kissed her neck, his fingertips caressing her bare skin, moving her gown upwards then moving his lips downward again, stroking her nipple with his nose, and onwards to kiss her belly, wanting to show her much he loved her body, hoping she would feel more confident in her skin again.

Soon enough his hand slid down her wet folds, making her gasp. Her appreciation could be seen in her face.

"Don't tease," she murmured after a minute or two, but he could tell she was serious. She too just wanted him, there were other times for those long games.

He stroked her just a few more times, him loving the feel just as much as she, before he pushed off his boxers and returned to kiss her once more before entering, exclaiming a low grunt as an involuntary response. Her breathing deepened, maintaining eye-contact, as her hands skimming over his body while his forehead rested on the side of her head, lips gently brushing her skin, allowing her to feel his hot breath. His movements were unhurried, wanting to savor this. It was like a slow delicate dance, her legs wrapping around him, linking her ankles, two people sinking into each-other as much as humanly possible.

What he didn't expect, was her cresting quite that soon. Her core clenched around him, and she bit into his shoulder gently to silence her moan. Jess couldn't help but to feel quite satisfied with himself, that certain cockyness making him even more eager to repeat it. He barely didn't make it, needing to slow down a few times in the process. Celeste could read it in his face and the groan that followed only confirmed it for her, and she squeezed herself tightly at the right moment, knowing that if he just kept up with it for a few more thrusts it would bring her over the edge as well. The tension that had formed in their muscles, released into a wave of warmth, transforming them into a joint puddle, both lost in their mutual pleasure until finally his cool lips kissing her shoulder once more.

"Yep," Jess stated determinedly, as he'd caught his breath and laid on his back besides her a minute later.

"Yep, what?" Celeste inquired, propping herself up to her elbow to face him.

"Worth the wait," he smiled smugly. He almost felt like he was in a position where he was still earning brownie points with her. He'd expected awkwardness, return to the same old, but the distance had done good in so many ways - she'd gotten help and it was almost like they'd gotten a fresh start.

She laughed at him, seeing well what he was doing. She'd seen this before.

"You know, I really love this, you know - this freshness that we seem to have," she replied, spelling it out as well.

"Oh yea, tell me about it," Jess replied with a smirk.

"But we need to realize that we can't be too disappointed if it disappears, we just need to remember that we dp have it and we can get it back if we really want it," she explained. In her experience, people either had chemistry or they didn't, and chemistry this good, wasn't worth forgetting about.

Jess didn't particularly like to discuss the 'what if's of this but as it was her condition they were dealing with here, he knew he needed to hear her out.

"It's all brain chemistry really - this new and exciting feel creates a surge in dopamine and seratonin, we're like tricking our brains basically," she explained. "I talked to Erica about this, and she just warned that we need to be a little careful, that I can't just linger on the wave of the euphoria that this brings, as sometimes people just forget about taking care about the rest of their lives when they feel like this. And if people feel bad about other things, that can cause this excitement to fade in return," Celeste explained, refering to her new therapist, Erica.

"Uh-uh," Jess noted, unsure what to do with that information.

"So if you can, please, I want you to remind me of this - how good this can be. Just remind me, okay?" she asked.

"Okay," he replied.

"Sorry for the reality check," Celeste added apologetically, feeling that perhaps she'd ruined the night by bringing all this up. But she couldn't really help it. In the back of her mind she was thinking a lot about these things, trying to make sense of it all, looking for triggers and ways to avoid setbacks.

"Hey. If you ever need to talk, you talk, okay? Even if it's in the middle of sex, I want you to talk to me. If you don't feel great, tell me. I can't help you if you don't, I don't ever want to feel blindsighted or helpless in this - I want to know you, really know you. But that is only something you can do, okay?" Jess said, as he held her face, his thumb caressing her cheek.

She kissed him in response, allowing her eyes to close as she settled into his chest. This was their new normal - the kind that was more aware, more concious - knowing both what could go wrong and what they had to gain by working on this.