Thanks for the feedback! I'm enjoying revisiting Rory and Jess!

Rory jumped when Jess called, despite her anticipation. She pushed her charred vegetables to the side and answered,

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rory?"

"Hey, Jess."

Rory swallowed and settled on the chair. She heard Jess pause and she added,

"Luke gave you my number, then."

"He said you told him it was okay."

"It was," Rory said awkwardly, feeling foolish. "It is, of course it is. How are you, Jess?"

"I'm okay," Jess said simply. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," Rory said automatically. "I'm good."

"Good."

There was taut silence and then Jess said,

"Listen, I'm coming to work here. Here in New York, I mean."

"What?" Rory blurted out and then, more calmly, "You got a new job?"

"No," Jess said, sounding amused at her outburst. "We're working with another company. I'm here for six months."

"Oh," Rory said and then, because it was too small a word, "That's great."

"Thanks."

There was another pause and then Jess asked,

"I wondered if you wanted to get some coffee or something."

"Coffee?"

"If you want," Jess said. "I figured you're still crazy about coffee."

Rory smiled in spite of herself.

"I am," she said. "I'd like to, but –"

Rory caught herself and Jess asked,

"What?"

"Nothing," Rory said awkwardly. Jess didn't reply and she asked,

"So when are you moving?"

"Two weeks."

"Oh," Rory said again. "Great."

"Rory, I need to go," Jess said, saving her. "I'll call you soon."

"Bye, Jess."

Rory's heart was thudding heavily in her chest. But aren't you mad at me? Aren't we going to argue? Rory recalled the way they had flung words at each other before, almost exactly a year before. She had fought with Paul, more than just argued, and everything seemed to be whirling out of control. Rory found herself reaching for her cellphone, not thinking about how awkward it could be, and there was no trace of surprise in Jess's voice when he said she could come over.

Rory had been with Paul for a year. She met him on the campaign trail, two fellow journalists who were teased for being new to the game by the veterans on the trip. He was tall with dark hair and light, grey eyes which seemed almost transparent. Rory and Paul would smile shyly at each other but didn't have a real conversation for several weeks. One night, after a particularly gruelling day in Georgia, Rory sank down wearily on the steps outside the motel they were staying at. She'd been working since five that morning, often without a friendly reception, and the last person she'd asked for opinions had slammed his front door in Rory's face, telling her to 'git back to her fancy school.' Rory simply wrote no comment on her opinions sheet but, to her shame, found a lump at the back of her throat she couldn't swallow. She wanted to go home. She wanted to 'git back' to Connecticut, to Yale, to all that she knew. She missed home and she missed her mother but Rory didn't want to talk to anyone about it. They already teased her enough for being so young and fresh-faced. Rory got out her phone to call Lorelai but after staring at the screen for a moment she put it away. It just seemed to add the way they teased her, needing to call her mommy every night, and Rory put the phone back in her pocket, feeling a big tear trickle down her cheek.

"Coffee for your thoughts?"

Rory jumped. In the half-light she saw Paul, the guy they also liked to tease, standing behind her. He smiled uncertainly and said,

"I hear you like coffee."

"No," Rory said, quickly wiping the tear away. "I mean yes. I love coffee."

"I knew seeing you drink an entire pot every morning wasn't an illusion," Paul said, making Rory blush. "Mind if I sit?"

"No," Rory said, and feeling foolish, "Yes. I mean, please sit. If you want."

He laughed and did so, handing Rory the cup.

"Want to talk?"

Rory did. She halting talked about being homesick, feeling ashamed for wanting to go home when she had this job and Paul nodded, letting her get it out before saying he felt the same way sometimes.

"I can't wait to go home for Christmas."

"Really?" Rory asked curiously. "You always look so happy."

"You've looked at me?" he teased her, making her go red again. "I bet half the people on this trail want to home. I miss my mom and dad and my brothers and sisters, even though I want to strangle them sometimes."

Rory smiled and learned all about his life in New Jersey before telling him about Lorelai and Stars Hollow. They talked until their hands were pimpled with cold and their voices hoarse. Within two weeks they were dating and in another two they were sleeping together.

"Tell me," Paul asked one Saturday as they lay in bed together. "What made you choose this?"

Rory looked up at his grey eyes and he tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"They offered me the job right after graduation," she said. "It was an amazing opportunity."

"No," he said. "What made you choose this? You said that guy asked you to marry him."

"Logan."

"Right. Why did you take this instead of marrying him?"

"He didn't want to do both." Rory lay back in the bed, a little awkward at it being brought up. "I said we could try but he said he wanted me to move West with him."

"You didn't love him?"

"It wasn't that," Rory said uncomfortably. "I said Logan didn't want to try. Anyway, we were so young..."

Rory fell silent. She didn't want to be discussing this, naked, on a Saturday morning, with her new boyfriend. Paul went silent too and just as Rory began to think the conversation was over he asked,

"Are you sorry?"

"No," Rory said, her voice quietly confident. "I don't regret it."

Paul started playing with her hair again and Rory twisted her face around, out of reach.

"What about you?" she asked. "Have you been with anyone like that?"

"Ruth, in high school," he answered. "She wanted to settle down – not after college, right after high school. She thought we should get married after graduation."

"Wow."

"I said I'd always wanted to go to college and she asked why I couldn't go as her husband. It didn't work out."

Rory nodded silently, thinking of Dean.

"Did you ever see her after that?" she asked.

"She married a quarterback from the other high school," Paul said. "She has two kids now."

Rory didn't know what to say but the look in Paul's eyes indicated that he also wanted to change the subject. He put his arms around her, kissing her, and the day felt freshly begun.

Paul never asked about Logan again, nor any other old boyfriends, and Rory didn't offer any information. Paul thought Logan had been the big love in her life, like Ruth was for him, and there didn't seem to be any need to contradict. It wasn't even a contradiction, Rory told herself. She had loved Logan an awful lot and there wasn't any need for Paul to know about Jess. She didn't want an uncomfortable conversation about why it hadn't worked out and Rory certainly didn't want to discuss going to Philadelphia. When they did drive though, a few weeks later, Rory didn't say anything and Paul didn't notice. Jess was someone she kept private.

After the campaign trail the team found new jobs and split separate ways. Rory and Paul both found work at a paper in a New York. Paul found an apartment for one person, to Rory's relief. She liked being with Paul a lot but felt it was too soon to think about living together and she found a similar apartment a few blocks away. For several months, their relationship was smooth. They worked long hours and frequently stayed over at each other's apartments working on articles they'd been allocated. Then, one afternoon, Rory had been asked to go to the manager's office. She swallowed nervously, worried that she was going to be told off for working too closely with Paul, but instead there was good news. The paper had offices in Philadelphia and there was a new position.

"It's a great opportunity, Rory," the manager told her. "And there's an increase in salary."

Philadelphia. Rory's breath caught in her throat but she smiled normally and thanked her boss. Paul didn't think it was such a great idea.

"Why do you want to move when things are so great here?"

"It looks like it could be interesting," Rory told him. "And my pay would go up."

"Not by much. If you stayed here I bet it would go up even higher."

Rory stared at him where he stood with a sullen expression. His arms weren't crossed but Paul looked tense and Rory asked,

"Why does it matter if I move? Philadelphia's not that far away. We can see each other on weekends."

"It won't be the same! You know it won't!"

"Why are you making this so hard?" Rory demanded, determined not to let her voice tremble. "This is a good thing!"

"Not for our relationship!"

They argued back and forth all night and finally Rory choked,

"You're supposed to support me. If you can't support me –"

"I'm supporting our relationship!"

"But not me!"

Rory was out of words. She knew if she opened her mouth again it would be to cry.

"If that's the way you see it," Paul said, sounding the same way himself. "Then maybe –"

"Maybe what?" Rory demanded.

"Maybe we shouldn't be together."

They stopped, staring and then before Rory could respond Paul had got his jacket and slammed out the door. Rory looked long after he had gone but it was only when she sat down at the table that the tears began to fall. For a while she sat there, crying, before getting out her cellphone and calling the first person that she needed to talk to. Jess had answered almost instantly.

"Rory?" he asked, puzzled. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry," Rory sobbed. "I'm sorry to call like this."

"What is it?"

Rory paused, managed to stop crying and Jess offered,

"I'll come."

"No," Rory said, wiping her eyes. "I'll come. Is that okay?"

"Do you remember where the Truncheon is?"

"Of course."

Rory thanked Jess, hung up and got her keys. She considered leaving a note but there didn't seem to be any point. Rory got into her car and began to drive to where she wondered if she should be.