Lorelai looked at her daughter's suitcases with her hands on her hip and a questioning look. She made a face and tilted her head back and forth. Evan watched her from the couch while Rory walked in from the kitchen, pop-tart in hand, and looked at her mother.

Rory stepped closer. "What's wrong?"

"You sure you got everything all packed?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes," Rory nodded. "I made sure to get everything I came with or bought."

"And there's none of my stuff mixed with your stuff?" She continued.

Rory laughed. "You gave me stuff!"

Lorelai pouted and Evan laughed. "But I plan on fitting it again one day."

"You still fit in it now, Mom," Rory smiled. "You didn't have to offer until you got bigger "

"I'm pregnant," she defended at being told she'll get bigger. "Its only a matter of time."

Rory laughed. "And with that, I should get my car ready to go."

"Wait!" Evan shouted, finally getting in the conversation. "Rory say goodbye?"

"Of course," she smiled at her little brother and walked over to him, hugging him tight to her as she kneeled in front of him.

"Aww," Lorelai said. "My two babies. Where is my camera when I need it?"

Both of them looked over at her. Rory smirked. "Hormones?"

"I got dust in my eye," she sniffled.

Evan spoke first this time. "Sureeeee, Mom."

"Shush," Lorelai told them with a smile. "I can't have all my kids ganging up on me "

Rory stopped teasing her mom, Evan too, and carried her suitcases out to the car. Evan held onto his mother's hand and Rory looked at them with a smile on her face.

"You'll be back soon?" Lorelai asked her.

Rory nodded. "Before you know it."

"Okay, sweets," she nodded with tears in her eyes. "Drive safe. Call every two hours."

"Mom," she laughed.

"Mom," Evan mimicked.

Lorelai gasped. "They're both turning on me! Maybe the new one will be nice."

Rory shook her head and went forward to hug her mom and little brother. Each hug lasted more than the usual few seconds. She turned to her brother after they hugged. "I'm gonna miss you so much, little man."

"I'll miss you, too, big girl," he told her.

She laughed, hugging him again. "Tskr care of mom. Make sure she stays out of trouble, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted and she laughed.

Rory let go of her brother and climbed into her car. Lorelai walked to the window. "You gonna go see Luke before you go?"

"Was planning on it," she said. "I already saw him this morning but I want to actually say bye to him. I went to go see Lane too so I should."

She nodded. "Love you, sweets."

"Love you, too," Rory smiled then looked to the little boy. "Love you, Evan."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied which caused both women to laugh.

They said their goodbyes and she drove off to the middle of town. The diner was full with the lunch rush but she parked her car and got out anyway. Just as Rory was about to open the door, she saw someone walking beside the building and went over to them.

"Jess?" She asked when she found him. He looked up at her and smirked.

"Thought you would be gone by now," he told her.

"I just came to say bye to Luke," she explained. "Wasn't sure I would catch you but I'm glad I did."

Walking away further from the trash he just discarded, Jess walked to her. "Me, too."

"I really did have a good time last night," she told him. "Even the hangover included. It was fun."

"Yeah, it was," he agreed.

Something unspoken hung in the air, the way it always had between the two of them. She didn't think it had anything to do with last night anymore. It was just...them. What he had say all those years ago?

It is what it is. You, me.

The memory pained at her and Rory pushed it aside. "We should do it again sometime. When I come back in tow. And if you're still around."

"I'd like that," he nodded and smirked at the same time. Some things never change, do they?

She leaned forward and hugged him. It was only something she'd done a couple times before. Only once after that night in Philly, when her mom had Evan. "Bye, Jess."

Jess hugged her too, his hands resting on her lower back as he pulled her to him. "Bye, Rory."

They stood there for a moment, just holding each other tight. Something about it felt right. Rory's head rested on his shoulder until finally, they broke apart. Even then, they still held each other and their faces were so close to each other. Rory wasn't even sure who leaned in first but before she knew what had happened, she was kissing Jess.

His lips felt like electricity, shocking her with each second. Her hands removed themselves from his back and slid up his arms to his neck. Rory made a mental note of how good his arms felt under her hands and how much he had grown physically since the last time they'd been together.

The kiss got even deeper and Rory somehow felt herself pull apart. They were both out of breath and neither said anything. They just looked into each other's eyes with an apology on both of their lips. A voice interrupted and the two of them jumped apart.

"Someone told me they saw you park," Luke explained as he walked around the corner.

Rory nodded. "Yeah. I was coming to see you but then I saw Jess and...came to say goodbye."

Luke didn't notice her slip but Jess did. He pretended it didn't happen for her sake...well, and for his, too. He wasn't sure how his uncle would react if he knew what just happened. Who was he kidding though? He wasn't even sure of his own reaction or if it even started.

"I'm glad you did," Luke replied. "You heading out now?"

"Yeah," she smiled at her stepfather. "You were my last stop."

"Oh, last," Luke grinned. "I feel special now."

"Oh, come on," Jess hit his arm with a smirk. "Last could be a good thing."

"Like save the best for last!" Rory said excitedly.

"I wouldn't tell your mom about that," Jess remarked.

"Right," Rory widened her eyes. "Don't tell her."

"Your secret's safe with me," Luke nudged her. She smiled up at him then leaned up to hug him. "Have a safe drive, okay?"

"I will," she agreed. "Bye, Luke. Take care of mom no matter how crazy her cravings or hormones get, okay?"

"I always do," he smiled at her and they broke apart.

She looked over at Jess and gave a small smile. She felt bad simply just giving a wave but as much as she wanted to hug him again, she knew she couldn't. Or more that she shouldn't, not after what just happened.

He waved back at her and both men watched as Rory climbed into her car. She gave them both another wave and was off. Luke moved first, telling Jess he should go back in. Jess watched as the car disapeared and finally went back inside when Rory and her car were gone.

...

Jess thought he was imagining things. He stared out the window of Truncheon books at a parking spot that had just been occupied. He thought he saw a familiar car parked exactly there. But more than that, he thought he saw a familiar person. A girl, to be exact.

Rory.

He really believed he would know her anywhere but right now, in this second, after seeing that car and being pretty sure he saw her...Jess thought he was losing his mind. How much had he wanted to see her in the past year and a half since that night? How much had he not wanted to see her? Maybe his mind was trying to give him what he wanted, a closure with her.

That had to be it. Why else would he see her? But then again, he hasn't really seen her either. It was just his imagination, or so Jess kept telling himself.

"What are you looking at?" He heard Jen's voice ask from behind him.

Jess shook his head and turned around. "I'm not sure."

She nodded. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I think I did," he pointed out.

"Wanna talk about it?" Jen watched his face for his reaction. He was quiet and his face gave nothing away once she pointed out how he looked. His face turned back to the perfect mask he usually composed.

"Not really," he shook his head and made this expression with his lips. It was kind of like a pout but not. "What's going on? They need me?"

"Yeah," she smiled as she tried to lighten the tension. "Chris wanted you to come look at the final edit of the zine before he publishes it."

"Right," he said. "I forgot about the zine."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jen asked as Jess started walking away from the window without a look back. She held his arm and stopped him in the middle of the room.

"I'm fine," he told her.

"Jess..." She knew him so well already. They had only met four months ago when she applied to work with Matt on the poets. He didn't understand why she understood him so fast. Especially since the last time someone did so soon, they took their turns breaking each other's hearts.

"I'm fine," he repeated. "Really. Don't worry about it."

She nodded, treading carefully. "Okay."

He went to go help Chris on the zine and a half hour later, he was already finished. Jess walked back to his desk downstairs and took out the red notebook. He wasn't even sure why he still had the damn thing. It was over four years old and it was filled. It had all of Jess' thoughts and feelings about high school and leaving her, California, his dad. It was where The Subsect started.

Jess flipped through the pages. His writing was so terrible then that he had to laugh. All the emotions that came to him back then shot back again and made him think about seeing her - or what looked like her - outside Truncheon today. What if he didn't imagine it? What if Rory had been here? He wasn't sure he could bare it either way - if she was or she wasn't. He just knew those feelings were back and he wanted to push them aside but couldn't.

Finally, he shut the notebook. Jess shoved it back where he found it and stood up. He walked up to Matt and Chris where they were working. They both looked up at him with no clue what to say so he spoke first.

"You guys wanna go out tonight?"

...

Rory never really liked the drive to or from New York city and Stars Hollow. She wasn't even sure why. Maybe because after all this time of living in the city, it didn't exactly feel like home. She felt like she was leaving home rather than going to it. That put an uneasy thought in her stomach.

There was one thing making this drive even more unbearable. That kiss. Her and Jess kissed. They had kissed before, plenty of times, more than enough for this to be a surprise. But yet it was. It was the first time they had kissed in nine years. And if that night in Truncheon hadn't happened, it would have been twelve years since the last time they kissed.

Why had she kissed him? Rory questioned herself over and over. No matter how many times she thought it over, she still wasn't sure if she should regret it. It was a good kiss. Hell, it was great kiss. But that was no surprise either. Jess had always been an amazing kisser.

The cars parted and she drove a little faster with the car in front of her gone. The speed took away the thoughts for a few seconds until she had to slow it down again. Even though she couldn't regret it just yet, she had lots of guilt. There was finally no boyfriend, or actually no husband either, but there was them and rebuilding their friendship. How awkward would that kiss make them? She wasn't sure she could take it if it went back to how it was. Rory had really wanted Jess in her life.

Her phone rang and she glanced over at it. Hitting speaker, she answered. "Hey, mom."

"Hey, sweets," Lorelai said from back in Stars Hollow. "How's the drive?"

"There's a lot of traffic," Rory laughed. "But its good.I should be home soon."

"That's great," Lorelai replied. "I just wanted to check in, see how you were."

"Mom," Rory shook her head. "I've only been gone a little while so far."

"I know," her mother half-whined. "But I miss you. When are you coming back?"

Rory laughed again. "I'm not sure. I'm gonna ask my boss if I can write away from the office more often."

"You'll do that?" Lorelai gasped. "For little ole me?"

Rory smiled. "Of course. But since I'm not the pregnant one, it might be hard."

"Blasphemy," Lorelai said.

"So you want me to get pregnant so I can stay home with you?" Rory asked.

Lorelai made a face. "Yeah, not a good plan."

They talked for a few more minutes until Luke walked in the door.

...

Rory sat in her car staring at the same building entrance for the past half hour. She told herself she shouldn't be here, that it wasn't a good idea. But yet here she was, in front of the one place she should never be allowed to go to ever again.

It looked the same as the last time she was here. Rory assumed there was no interior designer or exterior for that matter. He never seemed like the kind to care about that stuff, even when Luke fixed up the upstairs apartment. She took deep breaths to calm herself and maybe gain some courage. But so far, it wasn't working.

Last time she was here was with the campaign. A friend and co-worker of Rory's had found this amazing bookstore that was run by these cute guys. She dared say one of the guys was insanely gorgeous with tanned skin and dark hair. She knew someone who fit that description who owned a bookstore and happened to live right here in Philadelphia too.

The door opened and a girl walked in. A couple of guys walked in. Another group of girls. A guy and a girl. So many people so much business. She was proud of what he had accomplished here. She didn't want to get in the way.

Somehow she was, though. She always was. There was times she believed she helped his path to here but right now, staring at the place where she tore out his heart and stomped on it only to continually torture it - she wasn't so sure. Its not like she was even supposed to be here. Rory was on break for the campaign. It was close to elections and they gave her a couple extra breaks. For some reason, she jumped into her car and came here. To Philadelphia. To Jess. It was becoming less and less of a good idea.

Rory stared at the wedding ring on her hand. She knew she can't talk to him. He didn't come to the wedding. She understood completely. If Jess was getting married and had invited her, she wouldn't want to see it either. There was too much there to watch it.

She dialed a number on her phone, waiting for them to pick up. Finally a familiar voice from Rory's childhood answered and she smiled. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lane," she said.

"Rory!" Her friend said happily. "Hi! How are you? How's Obama?"

"Everything is good," she answered and could hear the part that's a lie in her voice. "I'm on a break and was gonna come see you guys, actually."

"Seriously?" Lane exclaimed. "Come! Everyone will be so excited to see you!"

Rory put the car into drive after starting and talked over her cell's speaker. As she pulled out of her space, she could have sworn that she saw someone who looked remarkably like her Dodger by the window.

A/N: I hope you liked it! Just remember the flashbacks bounce back and forth, if you have any questions about them, feel free to ask ;) And I'll get to the important ones definitely. They will be in every chapter and the longer the fic goes, the bigger the reveal :) Plus, not much happens in the flashbacks of this chapter per se but it's still pretty big (maybe? possibly? what do you think? lol)

You guys rock, btw. I've said it before but thank you so much for everything! I'm glad you're all on board with my story and my writing and it makes me so happy that you're sticking with me through this xoxo