A/N: HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! I am back! Yay! Hereeeee we go!

Eight and a Half

By Imagine Backstory

Chapter Twenty-Two – Time Off & Good Timing

Jess

When I woke up the next morning, I was momentarily disoriented about where I was. Sunlight was pouring in through open blinds, creating fingers of light over the sheets that were tangled at my feet. Groggy, I rolled over onto my back, stretching my arms above my head, my brain rushing to catch up and process that I was awake and in a strange environment.

"Ow," came a small voice next to me as my stretching arm came into contact with something solid.

I glanced over and everything fell into place when I saw Rory peering at me. One eye was screwed shut against the invasive sunlight, but there she was. It was her, curled into my side, looking fresh and radiant in the morning sun. I never thought I would see Rory like this: soft and supple and radiating endorphins.

I turned over and pulled her into my arms, crushing her naked body to mine. Her hair tickled my chin as she settled her cheek on my collarbone, sighing contentedly and wrapping her arms around my middle. She seemed to still be halfway between sleep and awake, so I just kissed her on her forehead and closed my eyes…

I must have dozed off, because when I opened my eyes again, Rory was gone. Confused and disoriented for the second time that morning, I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, yawning. The smell of coffee and bacon reached my nostrils and I smiled, knowing exactly what the Gilmore girl was up to.

She wasn't hard to find, as the small studio space barely allowed us to be more than fifteen feet from each-other at any given time. She was in the kitchen wearing nothing but my grey button-up, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders and still slightly mussed from her night of sleep and our...activities beforehand. She was standing at the stove, prodding at the frying pan with a spatula. Inside, bacon hissed and sizzled as it cooked, emitting the fabulous aroma that had lured me from the bed. I loped up behind her and wrapped my arms around her middle, nuzzling at her neck affectionately as she giggled. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Smells good," I replied, nipping playfully at her ear. "Never thought I'd see the day where Rory Gilmore would be cooking for me."

"Well, you'd never slept with Rory Gilmore before," she teased as I helped myself to a cup of coffee.

I smirked over the rim of my mug, sipping the hot black liquid gratefully. "You cook bacon for all your conquests?"

She made a face. "Conquests?! What do you think I am, promiscuous?"

"If the shoe fits…" I ducked as she chucked an oven mitt at my head. "Well, hey, I mean technically you slept with me on the first date…" Sensing danger, I turned to run. With a sound that was half-giggle half-battle cry, she leapt on me from behind, her legs locking around my waist and her arms closing around my head. She squealed as I ran and jumped for the bed, tossing her onto it with ease. She tried to escape, brandishing her pillow against my advances, but I closed in, pinning her onto the mattress and hovering my weight over her body. We were both laughing at this point, and she squirmed beneath me as my fingers came to tickle at her sides. She shrieked and I silenced her with a hot kiss that immediately turned us in a completely different physical direction.

We let the bacon burn as we lost ourselves to each-other again.

"Someone got laid last night," Isabel chimed as soon as I set foot into the Truncheon office hours later.

I spread my hands, quirking an eyebrow. "How the hell could you possibly know that?"

"So it's true." She put down the box she'd been carrying and placed her hands on her hips. Her blond hair was down for probably the first time ever, and it bounced on her shoulders as she tried to suppress her laughter. "Was it everything you'd dreamed it would be?"

"Shut up." But I was smiling. I couldn't help it. I'd been grinning like an idiot all day. I'd actually chatted with the barista at my favourite coffee shop for the first time in the five years I'd been going there almost daily, and I didn't even get annoyed at the totally mundane small-talk chit-chattiness of it. I felt like there should have been little animated birds and bunnies chasing me all the way to work, pulling people off the street to come dance behind me to celebrate the fact that I had finally experienced the girl of my dreams. Of course, I wasn't living in a goddamn Disney movie, but you get the idea.

Isabel also had a cheeky grin plastered on her face as she watched me get settled at my desk. She hadn't moved from her Peter Pan position in the middle of the room and she was just watching me expectantly. "Well?!" she demanded when I didn't say anything more.

"Well what?" I asked innocently, taking a sip of my latte.

"Dude!" she cried, grabbing her desk chair and dragging it over to sit opposite me. "Details!"

"I'm not giving you the details," I retorted as I started up my Macbook. "I am a busy adult with many important things to do."

Isabel shut the lid of my laptop and leaned her arms on it. She was now officially in my face. "Talk now. Work later. I'm waiting."

It was then that I noticed she wasn't wearing any make-up. Normally she looked like she belonged in a 40's pin-up photoshoot. But today, her face was bare, her hair was down. And she was wearing yoga pants. Isabel never wore simple clothes in public. "Izzy…is something going on?"

"Oh no you don't mister," she cried, pouting up at me. "You're not getting off that easy. Don't try and turn the attention onto me."

I looked hard at her, letting all the joke leave my face. "Isabel."

She sighed, sitting back in her chair. "I don't want to talk about it. Can you please just tell me about your night? I want happy news."

"Not until you tell me what's going on. I don't wanna look like an asshole here."

She avoided my gaze, fiddling with the pencils on my desk. "I didn't get an ensemble part in that show I auditioned for," she said in a monotone voice.

My face fell. It as Isabel's dream to be on Broadway, but she had yet to have any luck being cast. "Oh, Izzy. I'm sorry."

"Yeah," she said, shrugging sadly. Then, she added: "I got a lead role instead."

I blinked, stunned, my brain rushing to process this. "What?"

"I got a motherfucking leading role, Jess!" she shrieked, leaping up and jumping onto the couch. She shrieked, her arms sticking straight out above her head. "A lead role on fucking Broadway!"

Once my brain had had a minute to catch up, I stood and laughed loudly, holding my arms out to her. "Oh my god, Izzy! Congratu-fucking-lations!"

She squealed and jumped into my arms, letting me twirl her around as we celebrated her huge news. When I put her down, she was breathless, her cheeks pink with excitement. "I know this is kinda shitty timing, but rehearsals start next week," she said, sweeping her hair up into a bun on the top of her head. She was starting to look more like Isabel already. "I will help in any way I can, but, Jess… I guess this means I have to leave."

I was too happy for her to be upset. "Don't worry, Izzy. We will take care of everything here. I'm just so fucking happy for you."

Her eyes were gleaming. "I have to go to a wardrobe fitting," she said. "It's a slow day, so you should be fine, yeah? Dimitri is coming in at five."

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Have fun, babe."

After she'd gone, I settled behind my desk and sighed deeply, rubbing my temples, already feeling the stress of an impossible situation coming on. The place that barely run with four people working here now suddenly had to operate with two. And Dimitri wasn't even trained on manager duties or anything. I'd either have to hire someone quick, or temporarily shut down Truncheon so I could focus on the Café until we sorted it all out. My heart sank as I opened my laptop again and saw all the emails wanting my attention. It quickly became apparent that shutting down Truncheon was not an option. Which left hiring someone ASAP as the top priority.

Of course I immediately thought of Rory, but she was still working at the Times, and would be until they let her go, if they even ended up letting her go. I couldn't see why they would—they'd be crazy to let her go. And I couldn't ask her to work here part-time on top of her regular job. Plus, this thing between us was just starting; I wasn't ready to let her see the stressed-out-at-work me yet. It wasn't pretty.

My next thought was Katie. I was apprehensive, of course, given what had almost happened between us last time she'd been here, but she was the easiest solution as she'd already been trained by Isabel and worked here a couple nights so she had a head start on getting a feel for the place. Still, I had a weird feeling in my gut just thinking about her being here and Rory maybe being here, and it just all felt very wrong, and I was determined to start trusting my gut more. It seemed to be very right nowadays.

I thought about contacting Matt or Chris and seeing if one of them could come up for a bit, but that would leave them shorthanded at the Philly branch, which I heard was pretty busy at the moment.

I was left with two options. Hire someone brand new, or contact Nora.

My spine tingled as I held my phone in my hand. I had to call her anyway. I wanted my apartment back. It had been months. I really couldn't put off speaking to her any longer, and this childish silence she was pulling was really starting to drive me nuts. Set in a determined state of mind to put my business first, I called Nora.

She picked up on the third ring. "Hey," she said somewhat breathlessly.

"Hey," I replied, feeling my stomach clench with nerves.

"I was just gonna call you," she said, and it sounded as though she was cradling her phone between her shoulder and her ear. "I booked a moving van for next week, so I'll be out of your hair soon."

"Oh." I didn't really know what else to say. "Yeah, I was actually calling about that."

"I figured. Thanks for giving me this time, though, Jess. I really appreciate it."

There was a loud noise on the other end of the line, and Nora cursed under her breath. "What's going on over there?" I asked.

"Just packing," she replied quickly. "I dropped a box. On my fucking foot. Ow."

I grinned in spite of myself. Then quickly reverted back to business. "So I'm also calling about the Café."

"What about it?"

"Isabel is leaving."

All the activity on the other end stopped. "Isabel is leaving?"

"She got a part in a show," I explained. "Long story short, she's gone as of next week when rehearsals start, and then will be away for as long as her contract runs, and who knows how long that will be. In any case, it leaves us super short-staffed."

"I thought you hired a new bartender," Nora sniffed.

I didn't miss the contempt in her voice. "That didn't work out."

"Well, what do you want from me, Jess? I'm not coming back, if that's what you're asking."

I blinked, taken aback. "I wasn't going to ask you to come back."

"Okay, so what?"

My fists clenched as I tried to bite back my anger. "This is your business too, Nora. You opened this Café. If you care about it remaining above ground, I'm gonna need your cooperation here."

She sighed, long and low. There was a brief silence. When she spoke, her voice was calm and even. "Jess, what you do with the business now is completely up to you. I trust you to do the right thing, whatever that means."

"Oh, save the high horse shit, Nora," I spat. "I just wanted to know if you had anyone in mind to hire on. Maybe any of the other people you interviewed or even one of the regulars or whatever."

"Oh." She paused, her voice small now. "I can't think of anyone right now."

"Great," I snapped. "When are you moving out?"

"I'll be gone by next Wednesday."

"Wonderful. Slip your key through the mail slot at the Café, would you?"

"Sure."

"Bye, Nora." I hung up, letting my boiling blood reduce to a simmer.

Rory

"I have to tell you something."

I glanced up from my large plate of sushi to look at Jess, who was giving me a very serious look over salmon Sashimi. "I have something to tell you, too."

"Crap," he said, biting his lip. "You go first."

"No, you."

He sighed. "Okay. Uh… I called Nora today."

I tried to keep my reaction minimal. "Why?"

"Isabel got a part in a Broadway show," he explained, forward in his chair. The hole-in-the-wall sushi place we were at was practically empty, but he still kept his voice low. "She starts rehearsals Monday."

"That's incredible!" I said. "I didn't know she was an actress."

"Yeah, she's been auditioning for awhile but never got anything. This is her big break. It's huge." He ran a hand through his hair, which only made it stick up on top of his head. "So, I called Nora to see if she had any ideas for who to hire to replace Izzy. And also to find out when the hell I'm gonna get my apartment back. Which is next Wednesday, by the way," he added with a grateful grin. "Finally."

I felt my heart sink in a weird way. I poked at my California roll with a certain amount of trepidation. "Jess, you know I can help out, if you need me." I couldn't help but feel slightly hurt that he hadn't immediately asked me to fill Isabel's spot. He was the one who'd brought up me working at the Truncheon in the first place, and I had grown strangely attached to the idea since. It was just such a cool place and I couldn't help picturing he and I working there in tandem. It was romantic and intoxicatingly appealing.

"I know," he said, quickly taking my hands in his. "And I really appreciate it. And I still might take you up on that. It's just that you still have your job, and I didn't want to put too much pressure on you." He rubbed circles into my palms with his thumbs. "As it turns out, Nora was no help, big surprise. So we are still short. Dimitri has been a big help but there's just no way just the two of us can run the Café and keep Truncheon open."

I tucked a loose piece of hair behind my ear and flashed him a dazzling smile. "So, pause. Let me tell you what I had to tell you."

He blinked, amused, but conceded, nodding his head as permission to go forth.

"I had a very productive conversation with my boss today," I began. "He came into my office and told me that the paper in indeed cutting my column."

"No," Jess groaned. "Fuck."

"It's alright, just listen," I said. "They're cutting the column but they love me so much they want to keep me on the team in some way, shape or form. They don't want me running off to some other paper, not that I would, I mean, anything besides the Times is a major step down at this point. Anyway, instead of a weekly column, it will now be monthly, and it will include a small handful of shows rather than just one. And, they've given me full control of a new theatre blog they are launching on their website."

His entire face lit up at the news. "Rory, that's amazing!"

"I know," I replied, squeezing his hands in mine. "And it means I will only need to go into the office a few times a month. The rest of the time I can work from home. Which means, I am all yours at the Café if you need me."

He released one of my hands in order to cover his mouth with it, his eyes darting back and forth as he thought quickly. "Oh my god."

"Right?"

"Holy shit, Rory."

"Right?!"

"Could it be…could it be that we had good timing, for once?"

I smiled and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his nose. "I think we will from now on, Jess."

Jess

It was a busy Friday night, busier than most had felt recently. We had a strong set of live artists lined up and killer drink specials that were drawing quite a crowd. I only had one person ask where Nora was, so that was a plus. An even bigger plus was the growing interest in the pretty new face behind the bar.

Rory was stunning here. She and I managed the bar while Dimitri served the Café, and she settled into the crazy atmosphere with ease, never getting overwhelmed or frustrated. I swear, pigs would fly the day that girl couldn't do something and make it look easy. I had full confidence that she would be able to handle it all on here own on slower nights and during the lunch hour, when I would be upstairs taking care of the growing mountains of work waiting for me.

Tonight, however, it was all hands on deck. I was completely elated, though. I felt alive again. I felt passionate about my work again. As I looked across the bar and saw Rory perfecting three of our fancy cocktails, I couldn't help but feel a swell of pride in my chest. I couldn't be more thrilled to be inviting Rory into my life like this. And she fit perfectly, like that one missing puzzle piece you finally place to complete the big picture.

I had been worried about her coming to work here so soon after we'd established a relationship, but the timing had just worked out, and I couldn't ignore that fact. It had to be a sign or something, that the stars had finally aligned for us. Plus, we were nearing our thirties. There was no time to dawdle or second guess anymore. We knew who we were, and we knew what we wanted. And I, for one, wasn't going to waste any more time doubting that.

Lost in a moment of pure joy, I leaned over to plant a sweet kiss on Rory's temple. She glanced at me, surprised at the sudden show of affection, but smiled when she saw the loving expression on my face. The two guys who were sitting at the bar snickered. "Shut up," I told them, but I was still smiling. They were regulars who I'd grown to become buddies with, so the teasing back and forth came naturally.

Later that night, after we'd closed the doors behind the last of the patrons and I'd sent Dimitri home early, Rory and I had gone up to the office and promptly made love on the couch. As grown-up as this step we'd taken together felt, I also still felt like a teenager sometimes. The excitement of being completely smitten with someone took my breath away, and the eagerness to be close with her was a constant, sweet distraction.

As I drifted off to sleep on the couch, holding Rory to me, I pushed the last of my cynicism aside, and trusted that the cards would fall the right way from now on.

A/N: If you are still around to read and review this story, YOU ARE A SUPERSTAR. I don't know how fast more chapters will come, but with all the excitement with the revival, I am back on the bandwagon, so who knows. Please review and let me know what you think. Your thoughts keep me going!