He returned her to her apartment around twilight. The moon illuminated her beauty…and her smile…a smile she had not been wearing for quite a while now.

"Thank you. It's been a beautiful sick day."

"Hey. No problem. Whatever. I'm just glad to see you smile again. Look, Rory, before you go…there's something I must say. I know you are with Logan and everything, but if you were with me, I would never have made you as sad as you were last night. I saw you in that pub last night, and I was actually disgusted…not at you, never at you…but at the situation. I knew that something must have made you so upset that you acted the way you did. That isn't the Rory Gilmore I know. This right here, that beautiful smile and that sparkle in your eye…that's the Rory Gilmore I know and love. I know I have hurt you in the past, but you have to understand, I was young back then and had a lot of emotional baggage to go through. A lot has changed in my life, but one thing has always remained the same. I love you. Through everything I've been through, Rory, I have always loved you."

With that, she wrapped her arms around him in another affectionate embrace. I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I cannot help it. It's what the heart wants.

"I love you, too. Yes, you have broken my heart in the past, but even with all of that, I have always been the happiest with you, but then you disappeared, went off to California again, and I thought I would never see you again. And I've been lonely for so long now. As much as I thought I had missed Logan, I realized how insignificant that is when I saw you. My knees got weak, my heart raced, the wind got knocked out of me…all at the thought of you. And I didn't know what to do…I'm the good girl…I shouldn't be thinking of other men while Logan is away…but I would be fooling myself if I said I loved Logan. I realized last night that I don't love Logan, Jesse. I love you."

Tears flowed down her cheeks. He could sense her inner struggle. With Rory, there generally is an inner struggle. He could almost imagine her stomping her feet. He loved even that about her. Still holding her, he leaned down and gently brushed her lips with his…testing the waters…and then realized he shouldn't push her into an affair. That wouldn't be fair to Rory.

"I should be going now. We both have things to think about."

She watched him walk away until she could no longer see him before turning and going into her apartment building.

…………………………………..

She couldn't sleep. Why can't I stop thinking about him? She had just finished talking to Logan. She was going to break it off with him, but again, he had to hang up before she could get it out. He seemed even colder with her tonight. Was it that he is getting more distant or is it just that I am noticing more how he has always acted towards me? After about an hour of hopelessly laying in bed, contemplating this thought and thinking of Jesse, she heard her doorbell ring. She slipped on her robe and pink, fuzzy slippers, and opened the door.

"I'm sorry, Rory, but I just couldn't stop thinking about you. I had to see you. I couldn't wait until tomorrow. I just have been away from you for too long. I don't want to spend any more time apart."

He could see her face light up. She did a little dance and literally jumped into a hug.

"I've been thinking about you as well. I couldn't sleep. Come in, come in."