Note: Thank you all for your reviews and follows. This chapter is for Nancy. Ask and you shall receive. Thanks for reading!
Chapter Nine
Awake? Need coffee?
The text woke Jess from a not-so-sound sleep. The whole night had him wishing that he had driven straight to the house instead of stopping to relieve Lorelai of her bedside vigil.
He quickly typed back. Yes and YES
He quietly stood up, smoothed the wrinkles from his shirt and slipped out the door. The phone buzzed again with Rory's response.
Meet me in the waiting room.
She was already there when he turned the corner, sitting on a pink plastic couch flipping through the channels on the tv.
"How long have you been here?" He asked, as he pushed open the door.
"I couldn't sleep." Her gaze lowered, as she handed him a cup. "Too many things on my mind."
"Talk." He ordered, as he sat down beside her.
"I just have a lot to figure out." She sipped her coffee. "I had thought that coming back here would make things clearer, but not so much."
"Well, you've only been here for 7 hours. Give it time."
"I'm going back to New York tomorrow." She bit her lip, bracing herself.
"I asked you not to tell me." He said, feeling as if someone had sucked all of the air out of the room.
"I thought that we threw that rule out the window when we crossed the state line."
"Why do you have to go back so soon?" Now faced with her imminent departure, he found Luke's advice playing desperately on a loop inside of his head.
"Well, everything is under control here. Luke's going to be okay, and I only rented the car for a couple days." She said, apologetically. "And there's loose ends in New York. I need to figure out..."
"I told Luke that I would stay to take care of the diner." He turned to face the tv, which was showing some mindless infomercial.
"I know that Luke appreciates that. My mom will too."
"So you're going back to New York, and I'll see you again, in what? Another ten years."
"Why are you upset with me? Did I say something wrong?"
"I don't know. I haven't slept, and I asked you not to tell me."
"I'm sorry?"
"Don't be." He leaned over, elbows braced on his knees and his palms pressed into his forehead. "I just wish that I had known that you weren't going to stay once we got here."
"You told me not to tell you."
"I don't want to be here, Rory. Not without you." His confession surprised her. "This place is almost tolerable, because of you."
She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, and placed her free hand of his knee. "You need sleep. I'm such a jerk, going on and on about my problems. Did you sleep at all last night?"
"Nope."
"I'll take you back to the apartment, if you want. The diner is closed today and the town should be quiet. You'll be able to rest. With all of these doctors and nurses around, Luke will be fine until Mom gets here."
He nodded in agreement, and stood up, catching her hand in his as he stood. "Let's go tell him we're leaving." He pulled Rory up and they walked back down the hall.
As they approached Luke's room, they could hear him arguing with the nurse who came in to take his vital signs. "You've woken me up every ten minutes all night long. I'm fine! Write that in your chart." They stood just outside the door and waited for the nurse to leave.
"Looks like you're feeling like your old self again." Rory laughed, peeking her head around the door frame.
"Rory!" Luke practically yelled out when he saw her. "I'm so glad you're here. Thanks for getting this one back here."
"It's good to see you, Luke." Rory walked to the bed and picked up Luke's hand, covering it with her own. "Speaking of this one, would you mind if I borrowed him for a little while?"
Luke shot Jess a glance, and then smiled at Rory. "Be my guest. He's all yours."
"Thanks, Luke. I'm glad you're okay. Mom will be here, as soon as she wakes up, I promise." She leaned over carefully, avoiding his broken arm, and kissed his stubbly cheek. "We'll see you later, back at the house."
"Yep, see you later."
Turning to Jess, she tugged at his sleeve and pulled him towards the door. "Alright Mister, you heard the man. You're all mine."
"Merry Christmas, Jess." Luke shouted, as he watched the two of them escape the room and disappear down the hall.
Rory parked the rental car behind Luke's truck, along the curb outside of the diner. It hadn't taken Jess long to fall asleep on their 30 minute ride from Hartford.
She gently nudged his arm until he slowly opened his eyes. "We're here." She whispered. "All you have to do is unlock the door, walk up the stairs, and you can go back to sleep."
"Thanks." He mumbled, remaining in his seat.
Rory hopped out of the car and worked her way around to the passenger side door. She opened his door and held out her hand to Jess. "You have to get out, Jess."
Jess took the hand she offered, and dropped it only to reach over the door frame for the key. Rory watched as he fumbled with the lock, nervously. Finally opening the door, Jess turned to her. "You want to come up?"
"No, you need to sleep."
"I don't want you to leave, Rory." He moved closer to her, quickly closing the gap between them.
"I know." She whispers, lowering her gaze. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"I really don't want you to leave." He lifted his hand to her cheek and with a finger at her chin, raised her to meet his gaze.
Rory closed her eyes, anticipating his next move. He kissed her softly at first, gently nipping at her lips.
"What was that for?" She smiled, resting her forehead against his.
"Just wanted to see if it still worked."
"Oh, it does. It sure does." This time Rory took the lead, kissing him until she was breathless and a little dizzy.
She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Sure you don't want to come in." He spoke softly, stroking her hair.
"I don't think that would be such a good idea at the moment." She quickly kissed him again, on the cheek this time. "Get some sleep, and call me later."
Note cont'd: Not to jinx myself, but mother nature has decided to dump 3 feet of snow on us this weekend. What else to do but write? Expect Chapter 10 soon.