Chapter Nine

Lane had gone home Sunday afternoon and found Zach pacing the floor with concern. He said that he had looked everywhere for her. Every where except the one place Lane actually was. Though, they has essentially talked everything out, Lane still felt like something was off. She felt like something was missing.

Lane couldn't stop her thoughts from only going to the negative points in their relationship as she worked Friday night. Zach barely seemed to know her at all. The basic facts, he knew: her favorite color, her best friend, about her mother. But Zach didn't notice much else.

Lane's thoughts were so involved that she didn't hear the bell above the diners door chime. She just continued with the menial task of refilling the coffee pots.

"One coffee, please." A voice said quietly, causing Lane to jump with a small shriek.

Lane began her apology before turning around, "I am so sorry! I didn't even hear the bell…"

When she saw the man sitting at the counter, Lane almost dropped the coffee pot she was holding, "Dave?"

Dave smiled at Lane, thinking even after almost two years she was almost exactly the same . Even while he was going to school in California, even after they had decided long distance wasn't working, Dave had thought of Lane almost constantly. No, he hadn't been living the life of a monk after they ended things but every girl he dated he compared to Lane. And every girl had fallen woefully short. "Hey Lane."

Lane's mind was caught between reeling and frozen. What was Dave doing here? They hadn't ended in a bitter way but it had been understood that it was best that they didn't talk. Which made seeing him sitting in front of her in Stars Hollow beyond shocking. "Dave?"

Dave hid a small laugh at the look on Lane's face. She looked like one of the ladies from 'Gone with the Wind' calling out for smelling salts when Shearman was bombing Atlanta. "How about that coffee?"

Lane shook herself out of the stupor. "Oh, sure, coffee… Wait, I thought you didn't drink coffee."

Dave was pleasantly surprised that Lane remembered that fact. He'd only mentioned it once to Mrs. Kim in the long speech he'd prepared in order to get permission to take Lane to the prom. Dave shrugged the joy off and explained, "My stance changed when I realized at three in the morning that I had a paper due in six hours and I hadn't even started it."

Lane smiled picturing Dave frantically working through the night. She poured his coffee and asked, "How did that work out?"

"Actually really well. I got a 'B' on the assignment. Coffee and I have been pals ever since."

The banter lost steam as Lane began to wonder what exactly Dave was doing back in Stars Hollow. She was fairly sure that it wasn't just a quick visit because classes were still going on at all the other colleges. "Dave, I have to ask…."

"What I'm doing here?"

Lane nodded. Seeing Dave again, having him seem to know exactly what she was thinking wasn't helping her to remember all the good parts of her relationship with Zach.

"Well, unfortunately, UCLA is getting really expensive. Upside, is UCONN has the degree I'm working on at almost half the total price, so I moved back."

"You…moved?" Lane couldn't make it all fit together in her head.

"Back. Yea, plus I actually missed my family and… a whole bunch of other stuff. So moving back seemed like the beat solution."

Lane thought she knew what the 'other stuff' that Dave missed. She hoped she knew, at least. "You missed other stuff?"

"Yea, I missed other stuff." Dave said quietly, looking Lane in the eyes. Hoping she understood his implication.

The pair looked at each other with small smiles. It was as if there had been no time, no distance between them. They were both barely resisting the urge to lean in and kiss each other.

In the moment where Lane had almost forgotten everything but Dave the bell chimed again and broke the spell.

Rory was still trying to understand everything Jess had told her on the drive back from Hartford. "He really read your book?"

Jess was still chuckling at Rory's disbelief. "Not only did he read it, he liked it, too."

Lane couldn't believe the excellent timing fate had. It had delivered the one person Lane needed to talk to at the exact moment she needed it most. "Rory!"

Rory turned away from Jess expecting to have to talk about the whole "dinner" with Lane, until she saw who was sitting at the counter. "Dave? You're back?"

Dave knew that he only had a few seconds to greet Rory before Lane whiskered her away for a little 'girl talk'. "Hey Rory! Yup, Just moved back this week."

Rory could see the skittishness in Lane's body language and couldn't wait to hear all the details of what was going on. She was trying to silently ask all the questions using the best friend telepathy. But in Lane's emotional state nothing was getting through. "Wow, that's cool."

Jess knew that the girls needed a few moments to catch up but they were trying to find the best way to extricate themselves without seeming too obvious. He decided to try and score some 'cool points' with Lane by giving them the opportunity. "Hey Lane, why don't you take a break? I'll cover for you here."

Lane couldn't believe that she actually felt gratitude toward Jess, but she did. "Thanks, ummm, Rory, want to run with me to Doose's to pick up that thing?"

Rory was trying to play off the obviously fabricated excuse. "Oh, yea. The thing from Doose's. Sure, let's go."

Lane rushed around the counter, grabbed Rory's arm and started dragging her towards the door. "Thanks Jess! We'll be right back."

Rory smiled at Jess then hurried off with Lane.

Jess took Lane's place behind the counter and watched the girls run out of sight with a smile. Some thing really did never change.

Dave turned back to look at Jess. "They are going to go talk about me, huh?"

"Oh yea, you can bet on it."

Dave laughed imagining what there were going to say. "Oh, what I would give to be a fly on the wall."

Jess had to agree with that statement. He'd often wondered what Rory said about him. "It would be helpful in figuring those two out."

Dave had been wondering about a few things himself. "So, you are Rory, huh?"

Jess glanced in the direction the girls ran off in, "Yea, trying not to screw it up this time."

Dave nodded thinking about all the things Lane had told him about what happened when Jess vanished. Dave had to admit that he and Jess had a lot in common at the moment. "Yea, I'm right there with you one that one."

Jess began to wonder if Dave had any idea what he was getting into. "Trying to get Lane back?"

Dave looked at his coffee and asked, "Am I that transparent."

"Only to those with eyes." Jess never understood how girls could sometimes not grasp what guys were up to. Men were fairly simple creatures. See problem, find solution.

Dave really hadn't tried to hide his intentions. Dave had a thought if Jess was with Rory than he might know a little about what was going on in Lane's life. "Any obstacles I should know of?"

Jess did actually like Dave. That was the only reason he was about to, in essence, divulge privileged information about Lane's life. "Only one major one that I know of."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yup."

Dave took a moment to try and think of who could have caught Lane's attention. He came up blank. "Do I know the lucky guy?"

Jess really hated gossiping, he felt like he should be wearing a skirt and saying 'like oh my gawd!' but he understood where Dave was coming from. Hell, Jess had been in his place a few weeks ago. "Yea, Lane is with Zach."

Dave spit out the sip of coffee he had just taken and coughed out, "She's with who?"

Jess laughed at the look of shock on Dave's face.

"She's with who?" Dave repeated, trying to get Jess to stop laughing and answer.

"Zach. You know, the guy in your old band." Jess explained, still chuckling.

Dave tried to picture the two of them together but it just wouldn't compute. "How is Mrs. Kim handling that?"

It dawned on Jess that Dave must be really out of the loop if he didn't know about Lane's revolution. "Ok, you're really far behind, aren't you?"

The way Jess asked that question made Dave wonder just how much he'd actually missed. "What do you mean?"

Jess shook his head and held up his hands defensively, "Oh no, I am not getting involved in this. You ask Lane."

Dave had momentarily forgotten who he was talking to, Jess was never into the town talk. "Reached your gossip limit?"

Jess smirked and nodded. "And then some."

Dave laughed remembering how talkative Jess was. "Ok, so tell me what's been going on with you?"

Lorelai walked into the diner with her arms full of bags. She'd picked up movies, junk food and other necessities. "Ok, I got The Shining, Mommy Dearest and Snow White: A Tale of Terror…. And Rory is not here, so who am I talking to?"

Jess grabbed a cup for Lorelai and poured the coffee before she even asked. "Interesting choices. I get the sense that it has something to do with our fun filled evening."

Lorelai sat at the counter and was about to compliment Jess' ability to make obvious connections, when she recognized who she was sitting by. "Oh! Dave!"

"Hey Lorelai. Bad night?" He asked, eyeing all the junk food.

"Depends on your definition of bad." Lorelai turned back to Jess and asked, "Where did Rory run off to?"

Dave fielded that question. "Lane kidnapped her to talk about me in private."

Lorelai understood in an instant. "Ah, emergency girl discussion, got it."

Luke came into the diner from upstairs when he heard Lorelai's voice. He looked at her and Jess, "You guys are back early."

Lorelai laughed, "Turns out, the sight of Jess has the power to make my mother run and hide. Now that I know this, I shall put it to use more often."

If Lorelai was joking about keeping Jess around, even for selfish reasons, it was a good sign that she was warming up to him. "Well at least I know I serve a purpose."

Dave nodded. "It does, generally, help to give them a reason to keep you around."

Lorelai was gulping her coffee like it was water. When she came up for air she pointed to the kitchen and demanded, "Burger and fries."

Jess looked at Luke with a half smile, "Demanding isn't she?"

Luke started walking to the back, muttering, "You have no idea. And Rory's no better, so you might as well get used to it."

Jess raised his eye brow and looked at Lorelai for confirmation.

Lorelai smiled. "I taught her everything I know."

Richard quietly entered the bedroom looking for Emily, after everyone had left. As much as he agreed with the others that Emily's meddling had gone a little too far, he didn't want to have her upset. "Emily?"

Emily was sitting in front of her dressing table, staring at nothing. She was rapidly growing more and more angry. Not just about the ruined dinner but also about the fact that no one else could see that Rory was throwing her future away. "I don't want to talk to you, Richard. Please, leave me alone."

It hurt Richard that Emily was shutting him out. "Emily, please."

Emily snapped, with no one to buffer, she unloaded. "How could you embarrass me like that? Telling that no-good boy that you enjoyed his horrible book! Not agreeing with me when I said Rory should be with him. Don't you understand that she is ruining her life? Why can't anyone else see that?"

Richard wanted to calm Emily down before she did something she would later regret. "Emily, Jess has grown into-"

Emily was not going to listen to Richard defending that wretched person. "I don't care what he has grown into. He is nothing but a bad influence. Rory should be with someone like Logan! Not the nephew of a filthy diner owner. Don't you see that?"

Richard sighed. Emily had always been a bit of a snob, She had high expectations of everyone around her. "Rory is a smart girl. She has a good head on her shoulders. Rory will not loose sight of her goals, no matter who she is with."

"That boy will do nothing but drag her down, Richard. She'll end up pregnant just like Lorelai. Then he will leave her again and all her dreams and plans will be washed away."

Emily was blowing everything out of proportion, as usual. "Jess isn't going any where, Emily. And he wants Rory to achieve everything she's been dreaming of. Anyone who looks can see that."

Emily would never believe that. To her Jess was nothing but a low class, blot on humanity. He had no business even knowing Rory. "I will not let him ruin my granddaughter! Even if I'm the only one who cares, which it is becoming obvious that I am. I will protect Rory, Richard. And you can't stop me."

Richard was worried that Emily was planning something that would push Rory even farther away. "Emily..", he said in a warning tone. "you will leave those two alone."

"I will do no such thing."

"This meddling has to stop, Emily. You're just pushing the girls away."

Emily knew that was the down fall of trying to show them how things were supposed to be. But she also knew that when they saw she was right, everything would go back to normal. Or even better than normal. "I will stop interfering when they see I am right and start listening to me, Richard."

Richard sighed, there would be no winning this battle tonight, with the mood Emily was in. "Jest let this one go. Jess has done nothing wrong, Emily. Let them be."

Emily smiled. Richard had just inadvertently given her an idea. "Fine, Richard. I'll let this go… for now."

All Emily needed to do was to plan out the details. This plan would work. It had to work.

Lane dragged Rory all the way to the front of Doose's, just to be safe. This was not a conversation for anyone else's ears.

"Lane! Stop! What is going on with you?" Rory asked rubbing the raw spot on her wrist that Lane's death grip had left.

"Dave's back." Lane sputtered. Still unsure of what that meant.

"I know. I was able to cleverly deduce that with my eyes." Rory was trying to get Lane to say why she was so freaked out by the reappearance of Dave.

"Very funny. What am I going to do?" Lane could feel the panic rising in her chest. Dave was really back.

"About what?"

"About Dave!"

Rory thought about it for a moment, every girl had a momentary flip out when an ex came back into the picture, but Lane was on a whole different level. The only reason for her to be this upset about Dave was that she still had feelings for him. "Wait, Lane, you don't have those kinds of feelings for him anymore, do you?"

Lane hadn't gotten that far into her own reaction. Did she? She thought of the moment, the almost kiss. "I don't know." She whispered, more to herself than to Rory.

Rory saw the confusion in her friends eyes. Rory wished she could give Lane all the answers and make everything better. But all she had to offer her was, "You have to figure that out, Hun."

Rory was right. Lane knew she had to get this all straight in her head. As much as Lane enjoyed being with Zach, was it the same way she felt when she was with Dave?

Rory broke into Lane's chaotic thoughts, "We should get back."

Lane nodded and silently followed Rory back towards Luke's. Rory was right, Lane had to get her head straightened out.

Just before they walked into Luke's, Rory abruptly turned around and gave Lane a tight hug. "You think tonight, we talk in the morning. Ok?"

Lane hugged Rory, grateful to have such a good friend. "Definitely."

Lorelai watched the girls walk in and could tell something big was brewing. It only too a glance at Lane's face to have an idea as to what. Lorelai glanced over at Dave, she knew that the two had a lot to talk about. And she felt the motherly urge to help them out. "Ok so, we're going to go back to the house and have a major movie marathon. You can handle closing up, right Lane?"

Luke was confused, Friday night movies usually only included Lorelai and Rory. Now suddenly it seemed he and Jess were demanded to be there. "Huh?"

Rory knew exactly what her mom was doing. It may not have been exactly what Lane needed but it was what she wanted. So Rory tried to help ease things along. "Yea, come on boys! We're making an exception to the 'No Boy Allowed' Rule. So, let's go."

Lorelai pointed to the bags by the door, "Luke, sweetie, will you grab those? Come on, Jess, let's hustle we have, like, nine hours of movies to get through!"

Luke quickly followed Lorelai to the door saying that he wasn't going to watch them shorten their lives by eating all this junk but he picked up the bags and went along, anyway.

Before Jess left he looked at Dave and quietly told him. "Now's your chance. Talk to her and please don't blow it. I am not a huge fan of Zach, ok?"

Dave nodded, "I hear you, man. I'm not to fond of him right now myself."

Dave and Jess had formed some sort of bond in the last few minutes. It was unspoken but understood that they had each other's backs.

Just as Jess was about to close the door and go after Rory he said to neither Dave nor Lane in particular, "Good luck."

And then it was just Lane and Dave, alone.

During Snow White Jess and Rory had gotten comfortable on the pallet they had made on the floor in front of the couch. As far as Jess was concerned laying there on a makeshift bed with Rory in his arms was as close to Heaven as he could get without physically dying.

Rory had felt so safe and comfortable that she had fallen asleep quickly. She had dreamed of doing this several times and the reality was far better than she could have ever imagined.

When the credits rolled Lorelai looked over at her daughter and Jess and couldn't help the smile breaking out on her face. They looked so peaceful and content. Lorelai may have had issues with Jess in the past but it he put that look at the contentment on Rory's face, then Lorelai knew he couldn't be all bad.

These were the moments Lorelai felt she has to share with someone who loved Rory as much as she did. "Luke! Luke!" She whispered, poking him until he jumped awake.

"Wha-!"

"Shh! Look!" Lorelai pointed to where the kids lay. Then pointed to the kitchen.

Luke nodded tiredly and walked with Lorelai to the other room. "Why did you wake me up again?" He grumbled.

The realization was so huge to Lorelai that she thought it would be flashing over her head in neon lights. "He really loves her, doesn't he?"

Luke knew exactly who Lorelai meant. It may have taken her a few years to catch on but at least she finally did. "Yes, he does."

Lorelai thought of all the time and energy she wasted fighting the Jess and Rory pairing and laughed. "I can't believe I didn't see it before."

Luke wanted to tell her that it was easily missed, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to her. "I sort of figured it out when he out bid Dean at the stupid basket festival the town had."

With hind sight Lorelai could see it too but how did Luke see it then. "How?"

"What else would make him want to go to one those ridiculous town things?"

Lorelai took a second and thought about that. The basket festival, the dance marathon, the winter carnival, the firelight festival. Every time Jess was there it was for Rory. "Wow, I guess you're right."

Luke didn't have to guess, he knew. He and Jess were similar in that way. The only person outside of his family that could get him to go to those things was Lorelai. It always had been that way, and hopefully it always would be that way. Luke held out his hand wanting to get Lorelai upstairs, "Let's let them sleep."

As they passed by the sleeping figures on the floor Lorelai stopped Luke and whispered, "They're going to be ok, huh?"

Luke looked down at them. He saw Jess' arms wrapped around Rory, holding her close even in his sleep. "Without a doubt."

Lane took the stool next to Dave with a small sigh. Now, that they were really alone her nervousness had returned ten fold. "So…"

Dave knew this conversation was going to be hard. Part of him wanted to back out and just let things be. But he knew that if he did that he would regret it for the rest of his life. "Tell me what's going on with you? What's happening in the life of Lane Kim?"

Hearing those questions out loud made Lane realized that she didn't have a lot to say. "Not a whole lot. Work. The band. We've actually gotten a few bigger gigs."

Dave hadn't heard that but he wasn't surprised. Lane had a huge passion for music and you could tell when she played that she loved what she was doing. "That's great. New guitarist?"

Lane nodded, thinking about Gil. "Yea, he's a bit older but very cool."

Dave was still trying to work up the nerve to get to the big question. He was just enjoying Lane's voice and obvious pride in her music. "So, how is your mom dealing with the band? Or are you still hiding it?"

Lane had to laugh, her mom was dealing with it better than she could have hoped. "Well, we've actually just started talking again, since I moved out."

""You moved out?!" Dave couldn't believe it. Mrs. Kim letting Lane move out? He was pretty sure he missed the news report about hell freezing over, pigs learning to fly and King Arthur returning to the throne.

Lane winced remembering the disaster that followed her running away to Yale. "Actually, she kind of kicked me out. But we get along a lot better now."

Dave couldn't believe most of what he was hearing. Jess hadn't been lying when he said Dave was way out of the loop. "Wow, big changes, huh?"

Lane thought of the other major change and inwardly cringed. Zach. She looked down at her hands and mumbled, "Yea, changes."

Dave looked at Lane's downcast face, he easily saw the wave of sadness wash over her features. He had Jess' voice ringing in his head, 'Don't blow it'. That gave Dave the courage to finally dive in. "Ok, one last question…"

Lane shook off her sad thoughts and refocused on Dave. "Ok, shoot."

"Are you really happy?"

There is was again. The one question Lance couldn't seem to answer. She wasn't unhappy, but she couldn't honestly say that she was happy.

The silence dragged on for several minutes. Lane's lack of response was all the answer Dave needed but he also wanted her to see the answer on her own. "Tell you what, you take a day to think about it and I'll come back tomorrow for your answer, ok?"

Lane looked at Dave with a sigh of relief. He knew that she needed a little time and space to think. She nodded, almost in a sad way.

Dave couldn't help himself when he gently kissed Lane's cheek as a way of saying good night. "Tomorrow night."

Lane sat there frozen on the stool, watching Dave leave. His question was still pounding in her head. 'Am I happy?' she kept asking herself over and over.

Jess felt his phone vibrate in the pocket of his jeans and stealthily untangled himself from Rory. One-Thirty am. He was glad that he had thought to set an alarm. Usually he was a light sleeper and could wake up in an instant using only his own internal clock but laying with Rory had been the most comfortable he had been in years.

Jess stood, stretched and silently moved to the front door. Before he left he turned to look back at Rory. She was heart breakingly beautiful. Jess wished he could freeze this moment for ever.

It took Jess a few moments to remember why he was leaving and find the motivation to actually so. He didn't really want to leave Rory but he knew it would only be for a few hours.

When Jess opened the trunk of his car he actually got a little excited, he felt his adrenaline start pumping. He opened the bag to make sure he had everything he would need and then slipped off into the still sleeping town.

Jess was going to show Lorelai that he could keep his word. The fun he was going to have while proving it was just an added perk.

Hours later Rory woke to find herself alone in the living room with the sun streaming in through the curtains. She began to panic thinking Jess had disappeared again. Until she found a note on the pillow that he had been using.

'Rory, went to help open the diner. I'll have the coffee and pancakes waiting for when you wake up.'

Seeing Jess' handwriting made Rory smile and remember her old worn copy of Howl. The small book had been read more often after that than when Rory had first gotten it. She had read his notes so many times after he left, she knew most of them by heart. She looked at his notes just trying to feel connected to him in some small way.

Rory got up and almost rushed to start getting ready, impatient to see Jess again. To reassure herself that he really was still here. But her mom stopped her when she walked into the their kitchen. "Morning, Sleepy. Want some coffee?"

Rory nodded, "Always. What are you doing up?"

Lorelai had gotten up when Luke left and waiting for Rory to join the land of the living. Ever since last night, Lorelai felt the need to talk again with Rory, "Baking, cleaning, laundry, you know, the usual."

Picturing her mother doing anything like that was laughable. So, Rory tried again. "Oh so you weren't waiting in here to corner me when I woke up?"

Lorelai hated that Rory knew her so well sometimes. She handed Rory a fresh cup of coffee and smiled, "That may have been a motivating factor, yes."

The fact that Lorelai was building up to a mom-daughter/friend talk had not escaped Rory's notice. Rory tried to pretend to be annoyed, "Ok, let's get this over with. I have to go find Lane and do some serious best friend time."

It was hard for Lorelai to actually say what she was thinking out loud. If anyone told her two years ago that she would be standing in her kitchen championing Jess' attempt to win Rory back she would have died from laughter. "It's about Jess."

Rory knew this talk was coming, but she still had no answers. She tried to get around the question as quickly as possible. "What about him?"

Lorelai hated it when Rory evaded questions like this. Sometimes Rory was too smart for her own good. "Rory, you know what I'm getting at. What's up with you two?"

"I don't know, Mom. I mean it's just… he's always so… complicated. I think I really love him but I'm scarred, What if we have a fight and he disappears again. I don't know if I could take that."

Lorelai sat and the table across from Rory, hating the fear Rory was feeling. Justified it may be, yes. But it killed her that Rory was so confused. "Calm down, sweets. Just calm down."

Rory took a deep breath and looked at Lorelai, "What should I do, mom?"

Lorelai knew exactly what to say. "You, of all people, know that I have had my concerns about Jess. I think the entirety of Stars Hollow would be shocked if they heard what I am about to say. But give Jess a chance. He deserves a chance."

Rory stared at her mother dumb founded, "Really?"

Lorelai thought about how well Rory and Jess fit. She'd seen it while they were laying on the floor together. They were like puzzle pieces. They completed one another. Jess was the only person who shared Rory's passion for reading, added a little wildness, mischief and spontaneity to Rory's life. And Rory was the only person who could tame Jess' wild way to a manageable level. They kept up with each other's quick wit. "Yes, really, just hear me out."

Rory couldn't believe her mother was telling her Jess deserved another chance. "I am listening."

"After Jess left you were a mess. You buried yourself in your school work. And I must say you played the part of a cloistered nun beautifully. When he told you he loved you, it all got worse. You really perfected the hermit routine. And I'm pretty sure Jess was worse off. He probably made Scrooge seem charming and kind. I see how he looks at you, it's like you're an angel who just saved his life. He dedicated his book to you. I don't think Jess is going anywhere, sweetie. I don't think he is letting you go without a fight."

Rory wanted to believe her mom. She wanted to believe Jess was here to stay. "But what about-"

Lorelai held up hand to silence Rory. "Shh, dearest. Mommy is still talking. Jess made mistakes in the past. He hurt you when he left. But that was then. This is now. I think Jess has learned a lot and realized that your relationship never actually ended, at least not for him. "

Rory knew exactly what her mom meant. "I guess that goes for me too. I always felt like I was waiting for him to come back."

"There ya go. Give him a chance, sweets, or you may always be waiting."

Knowing her mom would be behind her, supporting her, gave Rory the courage to make the decision. Jess really did deserve a chance. An honest chance. "You're right, you're right."

Lorelai got up, walked around the table to hug her daughter tightly. "So when are you going to tell Jess he is officially off the market?"

Rory laughed thinking that her mom knew the status of Jess' love life before he did. "As soon as we get to Luke's."

Lane sat in her kitchen staring into space with a, now cold, cup of coffee. The question of happiness had kept her awake, tossing and turning, most of the night. It dawned on her that if she had to think about the question this long then the answer was obvious. She wasn't happy.

Lane was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't see the Bryan come out of the bathroom, she jumped when he said, "Morning, Lane."

"Oh, uh, yea. Morning."

Bryan watched as Lane got up and busied herself, cleaning the already spotless kitchen. He could tell there was something on her mind. He decided to try and help. "What's up with you?"

Lane wanted to pretend that she didn't know what Bryan was talking about but she also wanted to talk. To get all these thoughts out of her head. She needed to talk this out. "I don't know. I guess I just don't feel right."

Bryan had noticed how off Lane had been, he had kept his questions and comments to himself. He didn't want to get in the middle of this drama. But if Lane was this upset, he felt like he had to listen to her at least. They were friends after all. "Why?"

This mood had started when Zach lied to her. Even if it was a dumb lie, it still showed Lane how little they actually knew each other. "It's just that thing with Zach. I guess, it's still bugging me."

Bryan stayed silent, knowing Lane had more to say.

"I just don't think he really knows me. At least not the little things. And I know something about him, sure, but not really. I don't know it's just weird."

Bryan was still sitting quietly. Which was making Lane nervous. "What? Am I crazy? I'm crazy, you think I'm crazy."

Bryan shook his head, "You want my opinion?"

"If I didn't want your opinion would I have just told you all of that?!"

Lane had a point, Bryan thought to himself. "Fine. I think you could do more."

That didn't give Lane any answers. "What do you mean, more?"

It was a vague answer. But it was the best way Bryan could think to say it. "Just more."

"More, what, Bryan?" Lane asked, voice rising in exacerbation.

Bryan sighed, Lane really wanted specifics here. "You dropped out of school. You work at a diner. You work so hard and get almost no where."

"I don't understand." Lane was confused.

Bryan was on a roll now that he had gotten started. "Lane, you should have more. Better, I guess. You and Zach, sure, you guys get along but I just don't see the chemistry."

Lane was getting it now. "I should have more?"

Bryan was relieved that he didn't have to think of any examples.

Lane suddenly needed air. "I have to go."

Bryan watched Lane scamper out, wondering if what he said would help her out at all.

Jess was clearing tables, waiting for Rory to walk through the door. It was interesting being back in the diner, working and waiting. For a few moments Jess felt like he had never made the mistakes he had.

Everyone noticed the change in Jess' out look. He wasn't going to be winning any congeniality awards but he wasn't snarling at people, either. In fact, he was almost polite to Kirk.

From outside Rory could see Jess smoothly going about business. Just seeing him made her heart skip a little. In her head she heard her mother saying, 'Give him a chance…'

Rory followed her instincts with out thought and thought and rushed into the packed diner.

When Jess looked up and gave her a small private smile, Rory walked up to him and kissed him with all the emotions she was feeling. Trying to tell him without words that she was in this.

It took Jess seconds to react, pull Rory closer to him and deepen the kiss.

This was all that mattered to Jess. This girl in his arms was his entire world, if she knew it or not. Even when they had been apart Rory had haunted his thoughts, dreams and choices.

Everyone in the diner stopped moving or talking to watch the kiss of the year. In unison they broke out in applause. Babbette wolf whistled from the corner and yelled, "It's about damn time."

The sudden commotion ended their magical moment. Jess pressed his forehead to Rory's. "So, we try?"

Rory stared into Jess' eyes and nodded, "We try."

Lorelai had walked in after Rory and watched the whole reunion. It made her proud that her daughter had grown into a person that had courage to go after what she wanted.

Just as everyone was going back to their breakfast the diner's door slammed open with Taylor rushing in, pointing at Jess. "You!"

It took a great amount of effort for Jess to keep from laughing at Taylor's obvious rage. Jess just calmly looked at the older man and shrugged, "Ok, me,"

"You glued everything in my store to the shelves! You broke into the market and glued everything!"

Lorelai had no such luck holding back her laughter. Picturing how Taylor reacted when he discovered the situation was better than a morning cup of coffee.

Jess remained calm and asked, "Can you prove it?"

Taylor was inwardly cursing himself for not installing cameras around town years ago. "I know it was you."

Lorelai had recovered enough to step in. After all, it was her request that Jess do something like this. "Do you have proof, Taylor?"

Taylor gave Lorelei a look that should have told her to stay out of it. "Who else would do something as depraved as this?"

Lorelai giggled again, picturing Jess taking the time to glue everything together. "So, I take it you can actually prove it, beyond a shadow of a doubt?"

Jess jumped in again, already having thought up something to say that would make Taylor so angry he would storm out. "Since you don't have proof, you are technically committing slander and if Luke looses business because of it, he could sue you, Taylor."

Rory was still upset about what Taylor had done when her mother and Luke had a fight, so she jumped in to take a jab at Taylor, too. "And with how Luke is feeling about you, he would enjoy it."

Jess nodded, "Relish in it."

Lorelai laughed at the small group ganging up on Taylor, "Take delight in it, even."

Taylor couldn't take this badgering anymore and stomped to the door. "I will catch you next time, your horrible prankster!"

When Taylor slammed the door behind him not a single person I the diner could hold back laughter. Mrs. Patty got up from her table to hug Jess. "This town missed you, Jess. We really did."

Jess was still as a stone, Mrs. Patty hugging him was something he had horrible nightmares about when he was younger. "Uh, thanks, I think."

Mrs. Patty went to talk to Babbette, smiling about the joke. The crowd was all talking and laughing still. This was the biggest thing to happen in the sleepy town in quite a while.

Lane walked in, not caring about the giggling around her. "Hey, Rory?"

Rory looked at her best friend's pale ad depressed face and rushed to comfort her.

Lane hugged her friend like she was an anchor in a storm, then tearfully said, "I'm ready for that talk now."

Author's Notes: Review please. They actually do make me write a little faster.

Also I am co-authoring an X-Men story with siennaraven87. It will be starring Gambit and Wolverine. With special guest appearances from Deadpool. You guys should check it out when we get the first chapter up.

Don't judge me. I have weird tastes.