Chapter Six

"You know, there are a lot of other books here. I'm sure you want to look around too. You don't have to stay here with me. I don't want to bore you." She had spent the past two hours browsing the shelves of one of the biggest used book stores she had ever seen. A large stack of books, which she intended to purchase, rested on the table behind them.

"Am I giving you a complex?" He grinned. "This is one of the first places I visited when I moved here, and it's been pretty high on the "Places to visit with Rory" list." He tapped the side of his head, referencing his mental list.

"You've kept this list for a long time, without knowing if you would ever see me again. Dare I bring it up, but the last time I was here didn't go so well." She continued browsing the shelves as they talked.

"I knew I would see you again. Took a little longer than I thought it would, but I knew you'd be back." He slipped a copy of "A Farewell to Arms" under a couple of the books on her stack.

"You sound so sure of yourself." She placed another book down on top of her "to purchase" pile. "And don't think I didn't notice you slip in that dreaded Hemingway book."

"And to think...he speaks so highly of you." He smiled.

"So I've heard." She turned to face her growing stack of books. "Maybe someday you'll share with me the good things he has said."

"Someday." He promised.

"I should stop." She grimaced. "I won't have room for these in my carry on, not to mention the closet that I call home."

"Let's not talk about that." He mumbled, as he picked up a book from the nearest shelf and began thumbing through it mindlessly.

"What? Going back to New York?" Rory fidgeted, not wanting to think about New York either.

"I don't need a running countdown clock in my head, reminding me in that however many hours, you'll be gone."

She had left New York so quickly that morning that she hadn't even thought about when she might go back.

He scooped up the stack of books. "Ready?" He asked, as he headed towards the registers.

"Jess, wait," She smirked. "I've changed my mind." He deposited the stack back on the table, and waited.

"Let's see, I've read every book here, and I've loved them all." She picked through the stack, compiling a new stack of rejected books, before picking out one book. "All of them, but one." She turned it around to show him the cover before taking the copy of "A Farewell to Arms" to the register.

"Is it always this warm in December?" The temperature was remarkably warm, despite the overcast skies.

"Never." He answered, as he scouted out an empty bench in Washington Square, the irony not lost on either of them. The park was full of people in t-shirts and shorts, enjoying a brief respite from the colder weather.

"Guess there's zero chance of snow." She sighed, suddenly missing her mother.

"We could have rain. Does that count?"

"I don't think so." She answered, resting her head on his shoulder. As if led by muscle memory, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and leaned into her.

"You know, this place used to house the majority of the city's publishing industry. Everything from Bibles to Farm Journals and text books." He said, softly.

"You've really fallen in love with Philadelphia, haven't you?"

"Well it is more than 20 miles south of Stars Hollow. What's not to love?" He answer sarcastically, as he twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers.

"You really hated Stars Hollow that much?"

"I didn't hate everything about it. I did move back there voluntarily, you know."

"I remember." She offered, thinking back to their first kiss at Sookie's wedding. Remembering the way that her heart jumped when she first noticed him at the edge of the pond, as if he had never left town. "When was the last time you went back?"

"The wedding." He answered, surprising her. "You?"

"Last Christmas." She sat up, and turned her body to face him. "Every Christmas actually, since I moved to New York, but just once a year, and never long enough for me to fully relax. Even still, I always hated going back to New York after Christmas."

"You didn't seem to mind it all that much when you visited."

"I was with you, and we were young. Everything was new back then." She paused. "You know, it's funny. I've always loved New York, until I moved there that is. It's a terrible place to be alone."

He nodded, silently acknowledging his understanding. "You mentioned failed relationships, so you must not have always been alone."

"I wasn't." She said, without offering further detail.

"So, what happened?"

She chuckled, thinking of how he so freely asked her about her past, all the while keeping his past a mystery. "Gee, I don't know. What happened with your dog, Jess?" She smiled, happy to shine the spotlight on him for a change.

"He was never mine." He paused, hoping that she wouldn't realize that he didn't completely answer the question.

"Go on." She encouraged.

"He belonged to Kate. That didn't work out either, but I'm sure Luke told you all about it."

She shook her head. "Luke hasn't really changed. He's always been a man of few words."

"And Lorelai? There's no way that she didn't..."

She stopped him before he could finish. "Nope. Which means that she doesn't know either, because there's no way that she could keep good gossip to herself."

"Huh." He raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"I swear she hasn't. So tell me about Kate." She pushed, pressing her hands into her lap.

"You know, we don't have to do this, Rory."

"Do what?" She smiled, innocently.

"Dredge up the past. There's so much more that I want to do, places I want to show you. Can we just leave the past alone?" He sounded desperate to do something else, anything else.

For a brief moment, the clouds parted just enough for the sun to peek through. She closed her eyes, and turned her face to bask in it's light.

"Okay," She said, reluctantly. "It is your day. What should we do next?"

He grabbed her hand, sending a shock straight up her arm, and pulled her up from the bench. "I know exactly what I want to do."

They walked in silence, their hands still laced together until they found themselves across the street from Independence Hall.

"I never took you for much of a history buff, Mariano." Rory laughed, surprised when he pulled her in the opposite direction.

"I'm not." He led her just a little further down the street, where a horse drawn carriage sat waiting for it's next passengers. The driver was dressed in period clothing, complete with powdered wig. "There was a time that I told Luke that the idea of a horse and carriage ride would cause eternal vomiting." He laughed at the memory. "What do you think?"

"No vomit, please." She nodded her approval, thinking back to the night of the Bracebridge Dinner. She had continued to deny her feelings for months afterwards, but in her mind that night was the first time she realized that there was more than a physical attraction between them.

"Are you just gonna stand there, Gilmore?" He reached out his hand to help her in the carriage. "I mean, you can if you want, but I'm pretty sure there's a no refund policy, and I can't ride around the city alone. There's a rule, 2 people to a carriage, no more no less."

She smiled and took his hand, climbing into the carriage seat.

Jess climbed in beside her, thankful that she didn't require him to run and jump in like he had done so many years before. Just as she had done in the park, she leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice." She said, as she laced her fingers in his. "It just feels right, doesn't it?"

"It does." They continued in peaceful silence for the first half of the ride, until the silence was broken by the ringing of Rory's cell phone.

"It's Mom." She announced, her eyes wide as she contemplated whether or not she was ready to tell Lorelai everything, including where she was and most importantly, who she was with.

"Hi Mom." She answered, sheepishly.

"Rory, I need you to come home. I need you here, now."

"What's wrong?" The urgency in Lorelai's voice was not something she had heard since her grandfather had passed away. She raised her hand to her head, and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the worst.

"There's been an accident. It's Luke...They're not telling me anything. I can't do this, Rory. I can't...Please come home..."

"Mom, calm down. I can't understand you." She clapped her hand over her free ear, in an attempt to block out the sounds of the street around her.

"I need to call Jess! Do you know how to...Oh god, I've got to call Jess. He needs to..." She could picture her mom pacing around the waiting room of the emergency room, alone, freaking out and rightfully so.

"Calm down, Mom. Jess is here. We'll be there as soon as we can. Did you call Sookie?"

"Mrs. Danes?" She heard someone ask in the background.

"I have to go." The call ended abruptly, leaving Rory's head spinning.

"Luke's been in some sort of accident. We need to..." She fidgeted in the seat of the still moving carriage, tears brimming her eyes.

He leaned over the seat,tapped the driver on the shoulder, and explained that they had to cut the carriage ride short. He gripped Rory's hand, helping her down, both of them fearing the worst.

A/N - I've been sitting on this chapter for 3 days, trying to figure out if I really wanted to injure poor Luke. Your feedback will determine the future of the story. Please don't hate me.