A/N: thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for reviews! I don't know if you understand what they mean to me and how excited I get each time there's a new one. You all are amazing. And incredibly patient so as a present, the next chapter will be up -hopefully - in a day or two. I'm snowed in for the weekend and have already started the next chapter. I really hope you think its worth it!

Jess grabbed the final paper off of the printer and piled them all together. He shuffled them and made sure they were in order as he checked the number on the bottom of each page. When he was satisfied

with them, Jess stuffed them into an envelope with another small, folded piece of paper.

As he wrote the name on the outside of it, he stalled his hand from movement. Jess sighed a moment before continuing the words. He wanted to immediately get it sent out so Jess grabbed his jacket and walked downstairs.

The day was chilly for November. He'd been back in Philadelphia a little over a month now. At first, it was weird adjusting to his apartment again and going to Truncheon. But he quickly picked up the usualness and it almost felt like he never left.

The mailbox wasnt that far from his building but he still held it close to him. He'd never done this before, sent something of this magnitude through the mail. He wasn't even sure it was the right way to send it but he knew her. Jess knew she'd want it in her hands rather than an electronic screen.

After finally reaching the mailbox, he stared down at the envelope. This was too impersonal, he thought. Sending it like you would a Christmas card to someone you don't even talk to anymore. And just throwing it down into an out of town mailbox was like cherry on top.

Jess shook his head once and backtracked to where his car was parked. He wasn't stupid enough to go drive to see her at this very moment. She was probably at work, too, so he'd be waiting for her. He was just determined to get this out to her already. It needed to be on its way.

It didn't take him long to get to his car. He was thankful his keys were in his pocket as well as his wallet. This could have ended up way worse had he not. Jess started the car and pulled out, prepared to drive to the post office.

He was never sure of their hours but he knew they must be open. It was only early afternoon so they couldn't close that early, right?

The drive wasn't too long and Jess pulled into a space. He waited in line patiently once he got inside and finally was called to the front. The girl smiled at him and he handed her the envelope. She weighed the package for him and looked at the location - New York City - and told him how much it'd be.

Jess gave her a smile as he grabbed cash out of his wallet. He couldn't believe he forgot packages needed to be weighed. Grateful for her help, he told her so and walked out the door.

The ride back to his apartment, Jess spent it thinking about the reaction to what he just did. He wasn't even sure she'd care about it. He just knew they were on good terms again. They talked almost every day on the phone since the decision. Although they haven't seen each other since California, it still hadn't changed how he felt about her.

When he pulled up to his apartment building, Jess thought once again how if he's at home, he's gonna be thinking of her and her reaction. It worried him that she'd hate it or hate that he sent it. Worse, he worried she wouldn't even comment and pretend it didn't exist.

He made the quick decision to drive over to Truncheon Books. The drive there wasn't long, either and he was glad for it. He suddenly had the urge to dive into usual banter with his coworkers and ignore the envelope he left back at the post office on its way to New York City.

The place was quiet when he walked inside. There was customers roaming the shelves or talking amongst themselves. Matt and Chris were nowhere in sight but he spotted Drea by a corner and walked right to her.

"Hey," she said as she turned around. "I thought you were coming in later."

Jess shrugged. "Decided I'd come by now. Got bored."

"Oh," she pouted. "Well, I could use help organizing these new books."

"What are they?" He asked and she tilted a few of the covers over so he could see. "Oh, I know where they go."

Drea smiled brightly. "You're a lifesaver."

"Just call me candy," he smirked and took some of the books from her hands.

"Its a mint," she corrected.

He smirked. "Potato, pototo."

"Matt and Chris here?" Jess asked.

Drea pointed upstairs. "Matt's here. Chris went out."

He sighed, not really exactly excited Matt was the only one there. He'd cleverly avoided any chance at Rory mentions since coming back here. Either Chris had always been around when she was brought up or he changed subjects. He probably wouldn't get so lucky when they find out what he sent.

Jess nodded to Drea as he took two steps at a time upstairs. Matt was in the kitchen with a bowl of cereal when he found him.

"You're here early," Matt looked up from his bowl and remarked.

Jess simply nodded in return. "Figured I'd come check out the place."

"Still standing," Matt grinned.

"Color me surprised," he smirked.

Matt stood up and washed his bowl, drowning the milk into the sink. When he was finished, he turned around. "Really, though. You don't like to come in earlier than supposed to."

"Actually had some good news," he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Oh yeah?" Matt raised his eyebrow curiously.

"I was gonna tell you and Chris together but..." He sighed.

"Chris has a lunch date," Matt teased. "With some girl he met a few days ago."

"Good for him," Jess commented. "Really."

Matt crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. "So what's the news? You getting married?"

He shook his head, laughing. "No. Not getting married."

"Then what?" He waited.

"Remember the book I was writing?" Matt nodded. "I finished it."

"What?" He stepped away from the counter and closer to the small table. "When?"

"Today," Jess shrugged.

"Shit, that's fantastic," Matt grinned. "Well, where is it? Can I read it?"

"Not yet," he answered.

Matt's excited look fell away. "Why not?"

"I'm waiting on the first reader," Jess looked down at his feet as he muffled his words.

Matt didn't even take that long to guess. "Rory's reading it first?"

"If she wants to," he shrugged. "I sent her the pages as soon as I finished."

"So what?" He asked. "You're gonna hear back tonight?"

Jess shook his head. "It won't get to her that fast."

"What'd you send it by, real mail?" He laughed and stopped once he saw he hit the right answer. "You sent your new book in the mail?"

"Yep," Jess popped the p.

"So how long do we wait?" He questioned. "Do you know how long mail takes to get to New York?"

Another head shake. "I'm not sure. But it could be soon."

Matt sat back down at the table and looked up towards his friend. "Well, why didn't you go down there yourself? Show up at her front door, book in hand? Could have been romantic."

"I've got work here," he answered, trying to steer away from the real reason he didn't.

Matt eyed him suspiciously. "Uh-huh. That never kept you here before."

"It does now," Jess walked into the kitchen further and grabbed his own cup of coffee out of habit.

"Uh-huh," he repeated. "What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on," he told him. "We're both working and I think if I went there and she didn't like it..."

"But she still could not like it," he pointed out. "Whethee you're there or not."

"I want her read it without me over her shoulder," he sighed and told him the truth. "I want Rory to read it like she would read anything else and form an opinion on if its good."

"You do know she worships your books, right?" Matt said.

Jess cringed. He wouldn't use the word worship. "No."

"You're an idiot," he laughed. "And now we have to wait extra time for her to read it because you're one."

"Fine, I'm an idiot," he smiled slightly. "But I do want her to read it without me right there, pressuring her to like it."

"Oh, come on," Matt turned in his seat. "You know she'll like it no matter what."

He simply shrugged and drank some of his coffee. "Maybe."

...

Rory pressed send on her latest article and almost groaned in relief. She'd been writing all day and finally, she had finished it. There wasn't many people left in the building but she knew the last of the editors were there as well as her bosses. The place was almost deserted and it creeped her out a little.

She waited for a response and finally, one came. It told her to print it out and hand it to Leigh, who was one of the editors that arranged the articles. Rory smiled in relief, glad to be finished and pressed print.

Article in hand and purse on her arm, she walked away from her desk and out to the editing room. Leigh stood over a giant board as she tried to figure out where what went. Rory knocked lightly on the door and Leigh looked up.

"One more," Rory said as she handed her the paper.

"Thanks," Leigh smiled at her and looked down at the board. "I've been trying to figure this out for a while now."

Rory looked at the board, too and saw where she was having trouble. "You could put that one over there. And that article would look good there."

The other woman moved the pieces around and smiled. "Yeah. I like that."

Rory pointed to another. "Maybe that can go right there on the front."

"Yeah," she agreed. "That's a good idea."

Rory ended up staying another half hour as she helped move the articles to the right places. When she finally left, she smiled as she walked to the car. It was later than she hoped to go home but it was nice to feel like she helped with more than writing.

Her car chirped as she unlocked it with the remote and she walked right to it. Once inside, she leaned her head back and relaxed. Finally, she pulled out and drove home.

Rory picked up Thai food on the way home and settled in to eat on the couch like her and mother had used to years ago. Her phone rang as she settled in and Rory quickly went to check who it was. She smiled softly as she read her mom's name.

"Hey, Mom," she answered.

"Loin fruit!" Lorelai shouted.

Rory laughed at her mother's excitement. "Please don't tell me that's back."

"It never left," she gasped. "You know, its not sexy. Justin Timberlake can't bring it back."

"And on the list of years ago references used by Lorelai Gilmore..." Rory mused.

Lorelai gasped again. "Hey! Sexy back will never go out of style!"

"If you say so," she said as she went to sit back on the couch.

"So I actually have a reason for calling," Lorelai explained.

"Do tell," Rory nodded once.

"Thanksgiving is next week," she replied. "And a while ago, Luke asked your kinda boyfriend about coming in."

"Take out the kinda," Rory corrected. "And carry on."

"Well, the take out the kinda boyfriend said you two would be coming," she finished.

"Oh," Rory said. She wasn't really sure what else to say.

"And I was just wondering if that...was still accurate?" She asked.

"We never talked about it," she answered. "Not even before everything. I'll have to ask him."

"Okay," her mother said. "But if he says no...would you still maybe come?"

"You have to ask?" She faked hurt.

"Just checking," she made sure. "I've missed seeing you. I haven't seen you since you left."

"You can visit me, you know," Rory pointed out. "You've been to New York City before for me."

"I know," she half-whined. "But hubby says he has to come with me because he doesn't trust me with all the coffee shops around."

"So basically, you're on probation," she clarified.

"Only a little." Rory bet that if she could see her mother right then, she'd be pouting.

"Uh-huh," she smiled. "You're on probation ."

Lorelai made a sound that sounded like slapping her hands against her legs. "How could he not trust me?"

"Because he's met you?" She suggested.

"Hey, I gave you life," she warned. "Watch what you say."

"Watching," Rory surrendered. "So put me down for Thanksgiving."

"Done," she said. "And Jess?"

"I'll talk to him, I promise," she replied.

"Okay, kid," Lorelai said. "Do it before the holiday comes, too?"

"I'll try," she told her.

They continued on for a little while longer. Rory called Jess not long after her and her mother had hung up. His phone went straight to voicemail and she pouted, sad she missed him.

She finally decided on a movie to watch, too. Having tried to call Jess and not getting him had left her itching for things they had done in high school. She spied Almost Famous in its cover and put it in. But right as William discovered his sister's music collection, something caught her eye.

The red notebook lay underneath magazines on her coffee table. Every so often since returning home, Rory flipped through it. Certain words or phrases had caught her eye but she never read it fully.

Rory reached out and pushed the magazines aside. She grabbed the red notebook and flipped it open once again. The page she turned to was mostly scribbles. There wasn't much sentence-wise besides a small statement on the bottom.

I never meant to hurt her.

Rory stared at the words as the entire meaning of the sentence sunk in. He didn't mean to hurt her. Which time, she wondered. The accident, when he left, everything with Dean? Or keeping the stuff about school and his dad from her? What if he meant the party? What if he meant it all?

Before she realized what she was doing, she read through each page. It wasn't until her eyes were exhausted and the movie was over did she see how much she read.

"I got to talk to him," she whispered and tried her phone again. It went straight to voicemail again and she sighed. Where was he?

...

Four days later, Rory walked into work and headed straight for her desk. She saw Leslie and Leigh whispering to each other which usually would not make her suspicious but today it was. There was also that they just looked over at her.

She sat down and started looking through the papers on her desk as Leslie came up to her. Rory looked up curiously at her boss. "Come to my office."

"Did I do something -?" She started.

"No, not at all," Leslie smiled at her. "I just want to speak to you in my office."

Rory slowly stood from her chair and started to follow her out. "Okay."

When she walked into the office, she saw the other boss, Harold Barker, standing beside the desk. Rory slowly sat down and instantly worried.

An hour later, she walked out of the office with a smile playing on her lips. When she walked into there, she had feared they were letting her go. But now, as she walked out, Rory realized she was happy. She couldn't wait for a chance to get on her phone and tell someone.

Her mind went instantly to the one person she'd barely talked to in the last four days. Sure, it wasn't like her and Jess didn't talk since the night she read the red notebook. But it was always brief or the other was busy. They'd made promises to call later but ended up even busier.

Lunch time rolled around and Rory grabbed her purse and instead of heading out for food immediately, she locked herself in the bathroom. She checked the stalls to make sure no one was there and dialed her phone.

It rang a few times before finally a scratchy voice answered and she felt her heart leap. "Yeah?"

"Hey," she whispered so her voice wouldn't echo.

She could imagine Jess sitting up straighter as he replied next. "Hey."

"Did I wake you?" She wondered. "I mean, its 12:30 but you sound tired."

"I didnt get to sleep until 7 am," he said. "Stupid Matt forgot to pay the printers so we were up all night."

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically. "I can call back -"

"No," he replied. "We haven't really talked that much the last few days."

She nodded in agreement. "No, we haven't."

"Is this just a hey or did something happen then?" He wondered out loud.

"Both," she smiled.

"Okay," she could almost hear a smile. "What's going on then? I hope good news."

"The boss just had a talk with me in her office," she explained.

Jess took a breath. "Just Leslie or the male one too?"

She smiled at how neither of them called Harold by his name still. "Both."

"And?" He wondered.

"And I got promoted," she smiled, saying it out loud for the first time. "To editor."

"Shit," he said but the way he said it was happy. Excited, even. "So you're -"

"Editor of The New York Times?" She laughed. "If I want it, yes."

"If you want it?" He sounded surprised. "You mean you don't?"

"I don't know," she said. "I mean, I love what I do. I love the writing. But editor. Oh, I want it."

"So tell them yes," he urged. "You know you want to."

"I do," she sighed dreamily. "I do want it."

Jess laughed at her tone. "What'd you tell them?"

"That I'll think it over," Rory said. "I didn't want to seem too eager."

"Be eager," he told her. "That's pretty fucking exciting."

"I know," she beamed. "I'm definitely excited. I don't even know how it happened."

"You were editor of Yale Daily News," Jess pointed out.

"This is New York Times," she gushed. "I never thought this would happen. I still pinch myself that I work here."

"So keep pinching," he chuckled. "Better yet, I'll pinch you. Fun for me and you both."

"Jess," she laughed and shook her head.

"I'm happy for you, Rory," he said. "Really."

"Thank you," she couldn't stop smiling.

There was a knock on the door and she looked over to it. Finally, she remembered that she was in the bathroom and that other people probably had to come in. "What's that?"

"I'm kind of locked in the bathroom at work," she laughed.

"You what?" Jess was laughing on the other end.

"Shut up," she laughed. "I have to go, I guess."

"Okay," he said, sobering up. "Do me a favor?"

She nodded. "Sure."

"Check the mail?" Jess asked.

She squinted her eyes at the phone in her hand. "Okay. Why?"

"Just check it," he said.

Rory agreed. "I'll check it, I promise."

"Okay," he replied. "Go back to lunch or what you got to do. I'll call you later."

Now it was her turn to ask. "Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise," he answered.

The knocking came back and they said their goodbyes and hung up.

...

When Rory got home that night, she checked her mail, as promised. There was a thick envelope nudged into the box and she pulled it out slowly. She wondered if that was what he asked for.

Sure enough, Jess' handwriting was scrawled across the top. As quickly as she could, she grabbed the rest of it and went up to her apartment. Once inside, Rory ripped the top of the envelope open curiously.

Inside was over two hundred typed pages. She pulled them each out and saw that it was yet untitled. But the first page said a novel by Jess Mariano and instantly she smiled. "Oh my god."

She put coffee on and waited impatiently for it to finish. When it finally was, she sat on the couch and started reading.

For the next week, she would read it every free chance she got. Work had been piling up but when she was home and had nothing else to do, she would settle in and continue reading.

...

Jess finished cleaning off his dish from dinner when he heard the knocking at the door. He looked over at the door in wonderment. He wasn't supposed to be at Truncheon tonight so it couldn't be anyone from work. Unless they were just coming over but he doubted that, too.

The knocking continued as he left the dish in the sink and went to check who it was. When Jess did open the door, he almost lost his breath.

Rory stood in front of him, fist in the air ready to knock again. She lowered her hand and looked out of breath herself. "Hey."

Jess felt a smile creep up on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I checked the mail," she replied.

He nodded at her, understanding. "And?"

"It was amazing," she smiled.

"You think so?" He smiled back and Rory nodded.

"It's..." She sighed, not able to find the words she was looking for. She gave up on her search and instead reached up and kissed him.