"Gilmore!" her editor shouted.

"Yeah?" she called back across the crowded newsroom.

"Simmons just called in sick, you need to go cover the governor's speech," he barked at her.

"Yes sir, I'm on my way." She grabbed her tape recorder and her notebook and stuffed them in her bag as she headed out of the newsroom, down to her car. She fumbled around in the same bag trying to locate both her keys and her cell phone.

She entered the parking garage and beeped open the doors to her aging Toyota, the one she'd gotten years earlier at her high school graduation. She threw her bag on the passenger's seat and started the car. She scrolled through her contacts list to find Jess's number, and pulled it up, waiting until she exited the garage to hit send.

"Hello?" he answered on the second ring.

"I'm going to be late tonight," she said foregoing a usual greeting.

"What do you have to cover this time?" he asked. "A kindergarten art show? A panda at the zoo giving birth?"

"Ha ha Jess," she said sarcastically. As a rookie she usually did get the 'human interest stuff' like that, so he wasn't being all that obscure. "Actually I'm covering the governator's speech."

"How'd that happen?"

"Simmons called in sick."

"Way to go Rory! Do you have a great question prepared for Arnold?" he asked in a faux Austrian accent.

"No Rainier Wolfcastle, I don't. Any ideas?"

"Something about the legalization of marijuana? Or maybe something on same sex marriage? Those are always hot button items."

"Yeah, but he always gets asked about them," she said wistfully.

"Ask about reviving the economy at Venice Beach," he told her.

"How are your dad and Sasha doing by the way?"

"Actually they're doing pretty well, except they want to go on vacation and think that I should run the stand while they're gone."

"Don't they know that you're busy?" She couldn't believe the nerve of his father. "And that you haven't served a hot dog in 5 years?"

"According to my father serving dogs is like riding a bike, once you learn to do it, you never forget."

"Well what did you tell him?" she asked impatiently, honking her horn at the Lexus that just cut her off.

"I told him I could do it for the weekend, but not during the week."

"Jess," she whined, "the weekends are our only times together, with me working days and you working nights."

"I know, but he's my dad, and I want to help," Jess explained. "Maybe you can come down there on Saturday and sling dogs with me?"

"Maybe."

"Well that's a start I guess. So what time will you be home?"

"Probably late, after you leave for work," she told him sullenly. "So how was school today?"

"Fine. Nothing major happened. It's just a state school Ror, I don't see why you care. It's not like Stanford," he said sharply.

"Hey don't knock my alma mater! And I don't care what school you go to, I'm just proud of you for going."

"Yeah, I know," he paused for a moment then continued, "so, I've got late bar tonight, I probably won't be home until around 3:00."

"I know the drill," she told him with a sigh. "Just kiss me before you go to sleep."

"Good luck on your press conference."

"Thanks Jess. I'll see you… later."

"Bye."

She tossed her phone into the passenger seat and leaned to the side, trying to see what was causing the gridlock, but to no avail. She sighed, cranked up The Killers and tried to think of an intelligent question for Ah-nold.

It was 10:00 by the time she finally pulled into the parking lot at their apartment building. She hauled her bag off the passenger seat and practically dragged it into the apartment. She unlocked the door, stepped inside and kicked off her shoes. Had she known about the press conference in advance she would have worn flats, or at least lower heels, her feet were killing her.

She flicked on the light and wandered into the kitchen. She noticed Jess's school books scattered across the dining room table, and decided to see what he was up to. After she got a snack. She opened the fridge to find it stocked with healthy ingredients. Luke had rubbed off on Jess, who did most of the cooking, and he mainly cooked healthy food. She pushed past some veggies to grab the carton of Chinese food left over from their dinner two nights before, checking to make sure it was still good before popping it in the microwave. She started the coffee pot while she waited for the food to heat, and soon the kitchen was filled with an interesting aroma that was part coffee part General Tso's Chicken.

She pulled the take out box from the microwave when it dinged, grabbed a fork and headed for the dining room table. She took a seat and a bite of the chicken, and examined the books. There was a calculus book, Plato's Republic, a chemistry textbook, and a well-worn copy of Catcher In The Rye. She instantly grabbed the novel and began to page through it, smiling at Jess's tiny scrawled notes in the margins. She couldn't help herself and she grabbed a pen and began to read as well, making her own notes next to his. The beep of the coffee pot, indicating that the nectar of life was now ready for consumption, brought her back to the present, and she set down the book to go get a cup.

When she retuned to the table she finished off the Chinese food, then dove back into Holden Caufield's world, not to be disturbed until her phone chimed around midnight with a text message from Jess. Night babe, hope your PC went well. Love you. She smiled at the phone and texted him back immediately. It went fine. Tell you about it tomorrow. Love you. Noticing the time she put down the novel and went to get ready for bed.

Jess crept into the apartment around 3:00, trying his best to be silent, not wanting to wake his sleeping girlfriend. He wandered into the kitchen for a snack, and ended up with an apple from the fridge when he found that the Chinese food he wanted was gone.

He sat down at the table to eat while he unwound from his day. He grabbed Catcher In The Rye, a novel he'd read several times before, but was now reading again for his Freshman Lit class, and flipped through it to find his spot. He chuckled aloud as he noticed Rory's neat writing in the margins next to his own. She never could resist homework.

"Jess?" she called from the bedroom. "Is that you?"

"No, it's the boogeyman," he teased. "What are you doing up?"

"I thought I heard laughing, then I saw the light on."

He got up and walked into the bedroom to find her in their bed in one of her Stanford tee shirts, and he knew she was wearing a pair of his boxers under the covers as well.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he said softly, "but your notes in my homework just made me laugh."

"Sorry," she apologized, "I just couldn't resist."

"I know. So how was Arnold?"

"Good," she said through a yawn.

"Did you get to ask a question?"

"Nope. But I had a good one."

"I'm sure you did. Why don't you go back to sleep babe?"

"Okay. Are you coming to bed soon?"

"I'll be in in a few," he assured her. She closed her eyes and he kissed her forehead.

"Love you," she murmured.

"Love you too." He started to walk out the door then stopped. "Hey Ror?"

"Yah?"

"Are you happy here?"

"Mmm-hmmm why?"

"Just checking. I mean Stanford and the LA Times were never on your list."

"Things change. They are what they are, we can't go back and change them now."

"But would you want to?"

She sat up in bed and brushed her hair back out of her face. "What's with the What Might Have Been bit tonight Jess?"

"I don't know. Your notes in my book just got me thinking. How could a girl like you end up with a guy like me, who's just now getting around to getting a college education?"

"Love works in mysterious ways," she told him simply. "Besides, if not for you, who else would I have great book debates with? Now can I go back to sleep?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah, sorry about waking you."

"Come to bed soon," she called after him.

AN: I still don't own the show or the song. I also don't own any of the books Jess was using for school. Okay fine, I might have a copy of Catcher in the Rye lying around, but that's it.

Please read and review – I know for the most part these are pretty happy pieces, but I hope you like them anyhow. (With such short snips – basically a day in the life I don't really feel the urge to go into the trials and tribulations of each relationship).

Anyhow – all feedback is welcome.

S