Having exchanged letters for some months, Rory and Jess reconnect in Stars Hollow for Doula's birthday party. A follow-up from The Key is in the Timing but should stand alone.

The characters aren't mine; they belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and co.

A/N: I apologise for the cheesy title. I wanted a reference to time and it just kind of fit.

Chapter 1

Rory was driving along the interstate, the oh-so-familiar stretch of interstate, with an unfamiliar feeling in her stomach. Rory hadn't felt like this for a long time, felt the building anticipation and gentle nausea that came with the knowledge that she was about to see a boy she really, really liked. A boy (man?) she loved. Her fists tightened on the steering wheel as she willed herself to be cool. She was supposed to be all grown up now - Ms Gilmore reporting for Obama - but she didn't think she'd ever felt more teenage.

She wondered how Jess was feeling: probably calm, collected, ready with a smirk and his quick wit. But Rory shook her head at that image. That was Jess as she'd known him first, or rather how Jess had appeared to her at first; after all, he'd left without saying goodbye which was enough to prove a lack of calm and collected. She had to remind herself that that wasn't Jess now. She may not have seen him for long at her grandparents' house or at Truncheon but she knew that Jess had changed; she knew that she had changed. She and Jess had discussed as much early on in their recent letter-writing, their need to relearn each other. It pained and excited Rory in equal measure.

Maybe that's why she was so nervous: the man she was meeting this weekend (she didn't know if he'd be there yet tonight) was an unknown entity. Sure, they'd been writing letters and had even spoken on the phone but, this early on in what really did feel to Rory like a new relationship, she didn't feel like she knew the man behind the words. And she wanted so badly to. She wanted so badly for things to go right this time.

Rory had turned off the interstate by now and the roads were getting thinner. She tried not to think too hard as she drove through Hartford. Tried not to think about how much how grandparents had like Logan and wonder how they would react to Jess. Tried desperately not to see an imprint of herself walking the streets in her, now discarded, DAR gear. She'd purposefully driven in on a Thursday to make sure she didn't have to go straight to a Friday night dinner and deal with being in that house again, so soon, while also combatting her nerves at seeing Jess.

The roads were so empty as she drew into Stars Hollow that she took them slowly, drinking in the view. She felt like she'd been away for years, which in some ways she had. But there was Al's, just as it had always been, and Miss Patty's and the gazebo and the street lights, turning red, of course, just as she approached to allow for the crossing of no-one in particular. There, too, was Luke's. Rory couldn't help but smile. She was home. Sure, travelling the country was great but hotel food and accommodation couldn't match up to the feeling of being surrounded by family. She waved giddily at the cockerel statue as she turned into her driveway, cutting the engine and pausing for a moment to stare up at the house. `It felt right knowing her mom and Luke were inside in a way that it never had with her mom and dad when they were living there. She couldn't deny that. It may have been her childhood dream for her parents to get back together and live in her house but she was an adult now and she knew better.

Rory slid out of the driver's seat and pulled her bag from the trunk then walked up to the front door. She felt weird knocking but probably would have felt weirder walking in unannounced after months away. This may have been her home but it wasn't really her house anymore. She heard a distinctive clatter from inside and saw her mother's silhouette glide into view. Lorelai opened the door, smiling.

"Rory, honey," she said as she pulled her daughter to her.

"Hi Mom." Rory hugged her mother tightly. She hadn't realised just how much talking on the phone did not compare to having her mother there in person.

"Missed you, baby. Come in. I slightly misjudged my timing coming down those stairs, nearly turned into a repeat of the great stair tobogganing of '03…"

Lorelai led the way into the kitchen, still talking, while Rory instinctually dumped her bags at her bedroom door before sitting opposite her mother at the table.

"I swear, I should have found some time trials for the Winter Olympics because I made real time coming down the stairs that year. You remember?"

Here, Lorelai paused and smiled at her daughter, her face softening.

"He's not getting in 'til late."

"Huh?" Rory was confused.

"Jess, Rory. He's not getting in until late so you can relax for a bit."

Rory tried to sound affronted but couldn't deny the straightness in her back or how closely her ears were listening out for the sound of an engine, or the front door.

"I am relaxed."

"Sure you are."

"Well I was. Right up until I remembered there was a reason I might not be."

"You're sure about this though?"

"Mom."

"I just want to make sure. I trust you and I've seen the change in Jess but…"

"I've told you. We're good. We're starting from the beginning again."

Lorelai looked as though she might say something else but was interrupted by the front door opening and a deep voice declaring: "I'm home."

Lorelai called back to the voice, summoning it into the kitchen. Luke stepped through from the hallway and Rory stood up to greet him. They hugged before Rory sat again and Luke moved over to Lorelai, who turned to kiss him.

"It's good to see you Rory. You want somethin' to eat?"

Rory grinned. She'd barely been home five minutes and already one of her favourite men in the world was offering do what he did best: feed one half of the Gilmore girls.

"Yes please. It's good to see you too, Luke."

Luke started to bang around pots and pans, opening the fridge to reveal it filled with food from all five food groups. Some things had changed.

"You want to watch a movie tonight? Your pick?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah - how does Willy Wonka sound?"

But others never would.