He gazed at her, breathed her in. How cute she looked in her pink, fuzzy slippers! That's the Rory Gilmore he knew…and loved.

"I had done a lot of thinking. I was going to break it off with Logan tonight, but he cut me off because 'he had too much to do to talk right now'."

He could see the pain in her face at that statement, and he couldn't stand it. He couldn't see the shimmer disappear from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. You don't deserve to be treated that way. I have been thinking, too, but I've come to the same conclusion I've been feeling for awhile. All of this time away, something has been missing. Then, I saw you working the other day at the paper, and my heart became whole again. You…you are what has been missing from my life, and I cannot let you go again."

He pulled her close, and she didn't fight it. The time he didn't hold back. He kissed her with all the emotion that he had been holding in his heart, and she crumbled into his arms. This is what I've been missing.

"Oh, Rory, I love you so much. I'm sorry I hadn't made that more clear earlier."

This time, she kissed him. She ran her fingers over his torso and pulled him even closer. He had never gone this far with her before. They were never this close. He hesitated, not wanting to take advantage of her, but he wanted this more than anything else in the world. He just needed to know if this is what she really wanted.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"This may come as a shock coming from me, but not everything needs to be analyzed."

With that, he let himself go. All of the passion and love that had been building up inside of him exploded into actions of affection. All of the hurt inside of Rory melted away.

………………………………………

She opened her eyes and stretched her arms above her head. She looked around, but instead of an empty apartment, she saw him. So it wasn't just a good dream! He stirred briefly and then looks her straight into her gorgeous eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful."

"Good morning. Do you want breakfast?"

"Mmm…I have never been so satisfied in my life. I love you."

"I love you, too. Thank you."

"For what?"

"This is the first morning in quite awhile that I haven't woken up filled with dread at the empty apartment."

"I should be the one thanking you. Seeing that smile on your face again has made me whole…has filled me with happiness that I had been denying myself the majority of my life."

She giggled at that statement…

"Mmmm…well then…"

…and let's just say they didn't get out of bed that morning.