Chapter Fourteen

Luke pushed open the door of the diner, surprised to find Jess sitting atop one of the barstools, his head resting in his arms. Jess startled as the bells rang as Luke closed the door behind him.

"Good morning?" Luke said, placing his hand on Jess' shoulder.

"If you say so."

"You look like hell. How long have you been down here?"

"Not sure. I didn't want to miss when you came in."

"I'm honored." Luke walked behind the counter. "Coffee?"

"No, thanks. Actually, I was hoping you could give me a ride to the train station. The bus doesn't run this early."

"What's the rush?" Luke asked.

"No rush. You said you didn't need me to stay, so I'm going home."

Luke adjusted the strap holding the sling around his neck. "You're going home? Not to New York?" Jess nodded. "What happened?"

Jess chuckled softly. "When did you become so chatty in the morning?"

"What happened, Jess?" Luke pushed.

"Nothing. I'm going home, she's going home too."

Luke was overwhelmed with the urge to smack Jess upside the head. "You did it again."

"What? No! Can you just give me a ride?"

Luke grabbed his keys and headed towards the door. "Get your stuff."

Rory woke the next morning, feeling surprisingly rested for someone who had spent most of the night revisiting her past. She had always been the one to plan and prepare for all the big moments in her life. As a child, she had planned her entire future. She had planned on graduating from Harvard, and becoming an overseas correspondent. She had pro/con lists and flow charts mapping out her entire path.

Sitting on their bridge, just an hour after Jess had walked away, she came to realize how empty her plans were without him and that her decision was already made. It had been decided two days before, when Jess opened the door, smiled and invited her in.

She dressed quickly, said her goodbyes to Lorelai and drove off with a new plan. She didn't stop until she pulled the car behind Luke's truck.

"Hey, Rory!" Luke greeted her, as he refilled a coffee cup at the counter. "Can I get you some coffee?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you've seen Jess this morning. Is he upstairs?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "He didn't tell you, did he? No, of course he didn't tell you. He wouldn't be Jess if he had."

"Tell me what?" Rory's eyes widened.

"He's gone. I drove him to the train station this morning."

"Oh." She wanted to yell, and curse and scream, but instead she twisted her fingers together and glared down at the counter.

"I'm sorry, Rory. I didn't realize that..."

"No, it's okay. I knew he was leaving. I just..."

"Why don't you sit down? Let me fix you something to eat?"

"No, I'm okay. I have to get out of here." She walked around the counter, and awkwardly hugged Luke. "I'm glad you're okay. Take care of yourself, and my mom."

"I will. Drive safely. Call us when you get home."

She pulled open the door, turned and waved one last time and headed out to her car.

Jess tipped the cab driver and collected his bag from the trunk, before making his way up the front stairs. He was relieved to be home, but nervous with the way that he had left things.

He swung the door open, threw his bag down and made his way to the couch. No sooner had he closed his eyes, the phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered groggily.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Just in case you're wondering, I made it home okay."

"That's great! Did you bother to tell Rory that you were leaving? Don't answer that. I already know you didn't, and that's why she's out in her car crying in front of the diner right now."

Jess pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, trying to block out the visual.

It had only taken about 5 minutes on the train for him to regret his decision to leave. He knew that she would never understand his reasons for leaving without saying goodbye, and he realized that he may never get a chance to explain.

"You have to make this right, Jess. If you don't, you'll have more than just Lorelai to answer to. You may be my nephew, but Rory is like a daughter to me and I won't let you hurt her again."

"I have to go." Jess ended the call and immediately dialed Rory's number.

"Damn it, Rory." He muttered, as he listened to Rory's cheerful voicemail greeting.

As disappointed as he was that she didn't answer, he was also relieved. He had no idea what he would say to her if she had answered, and he wasn't prepared to hear the hurt in her voice.

"Hey. Luke told me you stopped by the diner this morning. I'm sorry that I missed you, and I'm sorry that I...I'm just sorry. Call me?"

He spent the next hour pacing from room to room waiting for her call. As he paced, he focused on the stack of papers, her book, which had been all but forgotten as they rushed out to Stars Hollow.

Knowing that it could be hours before he heard back from her, he picked up the papers and thumbed past the dedication page and started reading.

A/N - Sorry it took so long to update. I had to sit on this one for a little while, because I wasn't exactly happy with having Jess leave like that. My problem was that once I wrote it, I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Thank you to those of you who continue to read and review, as well as those of you who have recently started following the story. Stick with me. The angst will be over soon. I hope to update again soon.