Jess sat for a while, turning the letter over in his hands. His thoughts hovering somewhere between hope and fear. Carefully, so as not to tear the paper, he unfolded Rory's offering. He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, looking out across the lake into the pitch black beyond, knowing on some level that his life was about to change but uncertain of which way it was going to go. Moving the page so as to capture the light from one of the small lanterns that lined the bridge he allowed his eyes at last to focus on the familiar neat handwriting it contained.

Dear Jess,

I think I understand now what you mean when you say the verbal thing comes and goes. I've been staring at this blank page for far too long without a single word to say despite at least 78 half coherent thoughts rattling around in my head right now. I kinda thought if I just start to ramble the right words will soon make their way out onto this page so please just bear with me.

Washington is a strange and wonderful place. Have you ever been? I think you might actually like it here. I went to The Library of Congress last week and it was incredible! I wish you could have seen it with me. That's just it Jess, I have so many moments in my day when I want to share things with you - a book, a quote, a picture, Paris's latest moment of insanity, the greatest library in the world, the best hot dog I've had since that day I met you in New York - all my thoughts come back to you.

I'm in Washington but wishing I was in Washington Square Park with you.

I don't even know if you stayed or left - are you in Stars Hollow or New York right now? I don't want to ask my mom because there'll be too many questions attached to her response that I don't have answers for so I'll just imagine you there, in your park, on that bench in the sunshine, reading Rand because it's my fantasy so you'd be discovering that you and Howard have quite a few things in common and then we can discuss the pros and cons of objectivism and discover out mutual love of modern architecture when I get back.

Other times I imagine you sitting on the bridge reading some random paperback I've not heard of yet and writing your thoughts in the margins to show me next time you see me. I wish I could just walk over and sit by you and share the sunshine in silence with you. Maybe we can have a picnic again there one day with actual edible food this time and, as I recall, you offered but I never did push you into the water then so maybe I'll try that too then I'll call you Mr Darcy for the rest of the day.

When you asked me why I came to see you in New York I wasn't completely honest with you. The accident, you leaving like that, I felt like it was all my fault and everyone was so concerned over whether or not I was okay but no one seemed to be worried if you were okay. Luke told me you were but I needed to see for myself. I needed to see you just in case it was the last time I ever would. I didn't want my last memory of you to be the crash. Something changed for me that night, a feeling I'd been trying to ignore for quite some time was suddenly so inconceivably strong I couldn't think straight. When I told you to keep driving I don't know what I wanted to happen I just know I didn't want to break the spell that seemed to be hanging over us all evening. Did you feel it too? I think somewhere in between the silly apple trick and the moment the car hit that bench we stopped being just friends.

I can almost hear your voice in my mind asking me "what about Dean?" All I can say is I honestly don't know but what I do know to be true is I have never felt for him what I feel for you and it terrifies me to have these feelings and that's why I ran away after I kissed you at Sookie's wedding. That was the most exhilarating and terrifying moment of my life. Why did you come back Jess? Did you come back to be with me? I wish I'd asked you that day but there just wasn't any time with the music starting and then there was Dean and Washington and time just disappeared and now here I am trying to write this jumble into some kind of sense for you because I don't want to miss out on feeling like I felt that night in the car or that day under the willow tree again. You made me feel almost unbearably alive.

Why did you come back Jess?

Rory

Jess read the letter three times through before carefully refolding it alongside its existing creases and tucking into his shirt pocket. He sat there a while longer contemplating a cigarette that he never bothered to light, rolling it back and forth between his thumb and forefinger, eventually sliding it back into his jeans pocket before rising to leave his spot on the bridge.

Before he could change his mind he let his feet lead the way to the place where he had first laid eyes on her. This time he wouldn't be trying to escape out the window but rather hoping to be invited to climb in through it.

There were no lights on at the Gilmore house as he quietly made his way to her window. He tapped gently on the pane, wary of waking the wrong Lorelai. When he saw the curtain move and his Rory's beautiful face appear on the other side of the glass he couldn't help the uncharacteristic smile that spread across his own face. He waited for her to open the window and raised an eyebrow in a silent request to be invited in.

Rory nodded shyly, stepping back from the window to allow him to enter her room. She'd been unable to fall asleep - too worried over thoughts of him reading her clumsy, rambling words.

Jess reached out to take Rory's hands in his, looking deeply into her blue eyes finding the innocence and sincerity he needed to see there.

"I came back for you." Jess whispered into the dark room before closing the distance between them and kissing her the way he'd spent the entire Summer imagining.