AN: I think that this chapter had a lot to do with them understanding each other and being able to trust each other. Reviews are greatly appreciated so don't hold back. (and yes Trading Yesterday is the name of a band. Credit goes to them)

Rory and Jess sat out on the beach looking out at the Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the big day the young couple had in front of them. Today they agreed to cross a new bridge in their relationship. They were going to talk. They were going to ask and answer each others questions openly. Jess had decided that this was that they really needed. Ever since he had showed up on her doorstep with the offer to come with him, they had misunderstood each other in every way possible. They didn't remember how to trust each others hearts like they had before. Today was their new beginning, their fresh start. Both sat in a comfortable silence as they thought of questions.

"You're so much different. What happened in California?" Rory had mustered up the courage to ask the first question. It was a reasonable question. Jess knew that he wasn't that same bad boy that Stars Hollow knew and despised. He often tried to pass it off as being a phase that he had simply outgrown, but he had promised himself that he wouldn't lie to Rory.

"Well I wasn't in California for long, but when I was there I had so much going on in my head that I decided to write it out. I started writing in a notebook, all of my thoughts and stuff. When I got back to New York, I worked until I earned enough money for a laptop. When I did I began to write my story, the story of how I got to be the broken man I was." Jess paused as he remembered the days he wouldn't move from his mattress on the floor in an apartment he shared with five other guys. He would sit there and type the words of his story all day. "I found that writing eased my soul. When I wrote it all out, I was able to clearly know what I wanted and what I didn't. It didn't take long for me to know that all I wanted was you, but it took awhile for me to build up the courage to come to you."

Jess broke he gaze from the ocean and glanced over at Rory. She looked shocked. He was normally so quiet but today he had promised to talk. To tell his story if that's what she wanted to know.

"You wrote a book?" She asked, taken aback. Jess Mariano was writing? He sorted out his emotions through writing? That was the last thing she'd ever expect to hear from him, Mr. monosyllabic speaking in full sentences and writing books? Even Lorelai would be impressed.

"Not exactly a book. More like a short novel." Jess chuckled as he corrected her. He knew she was shocked. He was even surprised when he finished it. He had considered sending it to Rory, or even setting it on fire, but eventually he decided to send it to the damn publishers. At the time, he had thought, 'Maybe they'd help decide what to do with a whiny emotional book…'

"Jess, that's amazing. I knew that you could do something incredible if you'd just sit done and do it. You have a great brain, Jess, you always have. It's wired unlike anyone else's…" Rory ranted and raved about Jess until he decided to cut her off.

"Well someone once told me that I could do more and I figured, why not?" Jess said with a small smile. He remembered the first edition copy of his book that he had in his messenger bag. He had it for her. When he was ready for her to know his story, she could read it. Rory smiled, Jess took her silence as it being his turn to ask a question.

"I know I'm tempting fate by asking but… what made you decide to come with me?" Jess asked inquisitively. She had said no so many times as he spoke to her that night. What made her change her mind? He heard Rory take a deep breath and watched her look back out across the horizon.

"It was what you said. You told me to only say no if I didn't want to be with you and that made me think. I thought about what I really wanted. I didn't chase you when you went to California, and I hadn't acted when you told me you loved me. I figured that this might be my last chance…fate was telling me to take this chance." Rory finished her rant with a huff of breath, making Jess smile.

"Fate, huh?" Jess asked with a familiar smirk. Rory nodded.

"Don't mock, you know fate brought us here." Rory said, laughing lightly. She loved that they were getting back to where they used to be. They sat in a comfortable silence until Jess spoke.

"We are going back to Stars Hollow. It's where you belong and if that means that I have to get on better terms with them then consider it done. I just want to be with you, Rory." Jess spoke softly and glanced over at her with a small smile playing on his face. Rory took his hand in hers. She wanted to say thank you, she wanted to kiss him, but instead she said nothing. She gave him a genuine smile that seemed to talk for her. When she was with Jess, all her words could be silenced and he still seemed to understand what was going through her mind.

"You know what I love most about you?" Rory asked him with a smile. He shook his head and she continued, "It's like with you, I don't have to say a word but you always seem to understand what's on my mind." She said it dreamily and Jess laughed lightly.

"Our unspoken bond?" He mocked her, smiling.

"Jess!" She laughed and hit him playfully, "You know what I mean!" She smiled as he nodded his head in understandment. He always understood.

"So what do you love most about me?" Rory asked him lightheartedly. She turned to face him, her smile shining through his world. He smiled and looked out over the ocean where the sky had turned a brilliant array of colors awaiting the sunset.

"I love how just your smile can make my day; and how you can make my worst day my best with just your touch. I love how when you're near, I can't be happier…I love the man you make me." Jess spoke softly and listened to the waves break before he turned to look back into her deep blue eyes. Rory brought her hand to his cheek and stroked it gently before leaning in and kissing him lovingly. He kissed her back but reluctantly pulled away. He stood up and held out his hand to help her up.

"I have something I want to show you." He said with his authentic crooked, Jess Mariano, smile. They began to walk down the shoreline until they were behind the motel. They made their way back into the dim room. Jess flipped on the light and picked up his messenger bag, laying it onto the bed. He pulled out a thin book and handed it to Rory, his coffee brown eyes hopeful.

Rory took the book in her hands and smiled as she read the title aloud. "Trading Yesterday… by Jess Mariano?" She said it as a question but he knew it was pure shock. "So not only did you write a book but you got it published?" She asked still in shock.

"It was either get it published or burn it. Decided that the guys at the publishing house could do what they want with it." Jess shrugged at his own thought process. He only sent it to the publishers so that he could impress Rory. He just wanted her to be proud of him for once. She was right all along; he could do more if he had applied himself. He looked over at Rory who stood in front of him, flipping through the book.

"Jess this is amazing the story starts on-" Rory started but he interrupted her.

"-my first day in Stars Hollow." He finished for her with a smile playing on his face. Rory smiled and looked up at him.

"So what is your favorite paragraph from your book?" Rory asked with hopeful eyes. Jess smiled and decided he'd surprise her by complying for once.

"My life has been defined by mistakes, wrong decisions, wrong choice; but I can try to do the right thing now. I can return and apologize for my mistakes; I can hope that she forgives me. If I'm lucky, if I'm the luckiest man in the world, one day she will decide to trust me with her heart again. If that ever happens, I'll know it was fate; that she and I were meant to be." Jess spoke each word from memory. It was written at the end of his book; on the last page perhaps. He knew that it was the paragraph that would show Rory who he was and how he felt about his mistakes. The entire book was an insight on his life. He said that he wrote it for himself, to write out his story, but he had written it for her so that she would know who he was.

For the first time today, they locked eyes. Coffee brown met ice blue and every memory came rushing back. Jess always believed that this kind of interaction was one made to get a glimpse of another's soul, but all he saw was heart. He knew that he and Rory shared something, a connection that no one else would ever know. No one else would ever understand what they had. They had everything and until today they had been too blind to see what was in front of them all along. Love had come through all the heartbreak, hate, and arguments.