A/N: Okay, I'm back, and with a fic I never really intended to write! A rewatch of Season 3 at the back-end of last year made me want to write a one-shot, based on the final episode. I made notes for that, expecting to write it sometimes, but not sure when. Fast-forward to a few weeks ago, when I realise that maybe it should be more than a one-shot, and then, I decided it definitely should be. So, here goes nothing...

Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and dialogue from Gilmore Girls belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other folks who aren't me.

Chapter 1

"Jess, is that you? Jess, I'm pretty sure it's you and I'm pretty sure you've been calling and not saying anything but wanna say something. Hello? You're not going to talk? Fine, I'll talk. You didn't handle things right at all. You could've talked to me. You could've told me that you were having trouble in school and weren't going to graduate, and that your dad had been there, but you didn't. And you ended up not taking me to my prom and not coming to my graduation and leaving again without saying goodbye again, and-"

"I'm sorry."

Rory's ramble halted immediately she realised she had heard someone else speak, heard him speak, at last.

"Jess?" she double-checked, almost having convinced herself she was hallucinating his voice - after all, it wouldn't be the first time.

A heavy sigh on the end of the line finally convinced her he really was there.

"Yeah, it's me, and... and I'm sorry, Rory, for... everything," he admitted. "The whole damn mess, all of it, I'm just... I'm really sorry."

She honestly didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she took in his words, his voice, his sincere apology that she couldn't doubt for a second. He was really there. She wasn't just giving her life story to a wrong number or a gross heavy breather. It really was Jess and he really did care enough to call, enough to even speak now and tell her he was sorry. It made it that much easier for her to do the same.

"Me too."

That caused his breath to audibly catch, almost making her smile, but only almost. She rarely got to surprise him like that.

"What do you have to be sorry about?"

Then it was her turn to sigh and make confessions. "I'm sorry that you felt you couldn't talk to me, I'm really sorry that you left the way that you did, and... and I'm sorry you're not here right now to see me graduate and tell me how great it is that I'm valedictorian."

"You made valedictorian," he said, with a smile she could see so clearly in her mind's eyes, as if he were standing right in front of her, where she wished he was. "I told you that you would."

"I know that you did," she replied softly, a smile on her lips even as tears filled her eyes.

The silence that followed made her a little nervous.

"Jess?"

"Still here," he confirmed, accompanied by the sound of coins being added to a payphone.

"Where is here exactly?"

"California"

"California?" Rory echoed, not as surprised as perhaps she should have been. "You went with your dad?"

"Came to see him, didn't leave yet," he explained. "Kind of don't have any place else to go right now. Rory, I don't... God, I wish I knew what to say other than I'm sorry, like, a million times."

"It's fine." Rory sniffled a little and blinked very fast. "You said it once and that's enough. I'm not saying I forgive you for everything, that will take time, but at least you said it. I wanna understand, Jess, I really do," she told him honestly. "I mean, you and me, it was so great sometimes, and other times not so much, but I still think that..." She paused, just for a second, before realising there was nothing to do but plough on, be honest and tell him what she felt, hoping maybe he learned from the example somehow. "I'm pretty sure I loved you," she confessed at last. "I probably still do, though I admit I have been trying really hard not to, since you left."

"Understandable," said Jess immediately, then a beat of silence before he added; "For what it's worth, me too, on both counts."

At that, Rory's own breath caught, and before she could quite get it back, there was a distinct beeping sound from the phone. "Was that...?"

"I'm running out of change," Jess confirmed, sounding equal parts sad and angry about the fact. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Can I call you again?"

"Yes. No," Rory corrected fast, her free hand on her forehead where a tension headache was building. "I-I'm going to Europe tomorrow."

"Right, the big Europe trip." Jess clearly recalled it well - he ought to after all the time she spent telling him about it before. "Well, have fun, okay?"

"I'll try," Rory promised, "and you take care of yourself, please, and... and call Luke."

Another patented Jess Mariano sigh. "Rory, he wants to hear from me even less than you do."

"That's not true," she insisted, so sure that she was right. "Trust me, please, just promise me you'll call him. Jess?" she prompted, when no immediate reply came.

"Okay, I promi-"

It was all he managed, before the line went dead. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Rory trusted that he would keep his word. After all, she had finally got him to talk today, not just to say he was sorry, but in a roundabout way, to even admit that he had loved her, that he probably still did. If that didn't prove that miracles could happen, Rory didn't know what ever could.

He didn't expect her to show up. Luke couldn't help but think it was a little too much like the dream he had, which only made him wonder if that was all it was. A quick pinch to his own arm seemed to prove otherwise, but still, it was tough to convince himself that Lorelai could really be knocking on the diner door, for any of the reasons he might hope for.

She had made it very plain back at Chilton that she thought he should take his vacation with Nicole and commit to her already. Chances were good all she had come over for now was to borrow something she and Rory had forgotten for their Europe trip. Something crazy like a flashlight or an electric plug adaptor or...

"Hi," she said, the moment he got the door open. "Can I come in?"

"Sure." He immediately stepped aside and let her in, closing the door behind her, never quite getting the chance to ask what she needed.

"I just wanted to say something to you, in case we don't see each other before you go on your trip."

The way she worded it made him shake his head, sure that, in spite of the pinch test, he really must be stuck in some kind of cyclical dream. Luke started to wonder if he really minded all that much, playing along because he didn't seem to have much choice in the matter anyway.

"Okay, what is it?"

Lorelai took a visibly deep breath and met his eyes before she answered. "Don't get engaged."

"What, why?"

This was the part where she didn't really give an answer, just left him standing there as she smiled and walked away without another word. At least, that was how it had gone the last time. As he stood staring at her for a few silent beats more, Luke started to hope in a way he hadn't let himself hope before. Maybe he was a fool for doing it, but he couldn't seem to help himself.

"Tell me why, Lorelai," he urged her softly, watching her struggle a moment more before she finally gave an answer.

"I don't know, or maybe I do, but... well, we were having this party, at my house, you know, for Rory," she explained, hands flapping around in that way they did when she got into a long, rambling tale. "Sookie was talking about you, about you and me, actually. She's said things before, a few times. I always told her she was crazy. Not that I... I mean, you're great, obviously," she said, laughing nervously, maybe feeling as nervous as he was, which ought to have been comforting, but it wasn't quite. "It's just we've never... You and me, that was never a thing. We were never... But she was saying it again and I was thinking about what you said. You know, about making a commitment, with Nicole. I was hearing what you said, in my head, and picturing you saying it, and it suddenly occurred to me that maybe, just maybe you were waiting for me to say something. That you were looking for some kind of sign from me? And now, I see the look on your face and I'm realising I am making a prize idiot of myself. Oh my God, thanks a lot, Sook."

She was turning to the door before Luke had hardly processed all the words, never mind their meaning and her next action. His hand shot out to keep the door closed, just as her own reached for the handle to open it.

"Lorelai..." he said, waiting for her to look at him, but she wouldn't. "Lorelai, please."

At that, she exhaled a long breath and slowly turned to meet his gaze.

"What if I was?"

She swallowed visibly hard. "What if you were?"

Nodding his head, Luke gently pulled her arm away from the door and brought her around to face him properly. "What if I was waiting for you to say something?" he asked her, hand now held in both of his own as he waited on what might just be the most important response he ever got from her.

"Um, well, then I guess I would've said what I did say, you know, when I came in here," she admitted, eyes darting left and right before coming back to meet his own. "Don't get engaged. Please."

"You still didn't tell me why," he reminded her, because at that point he needed it to be spelt out.

After all the other near misses, he just had to know for sure that they were completely on the same page. No maybes or misunderstandings, not this time.

"Because..." Lorelai began, a quiver in her voice that was seldom heard from someone so strong in her opinions, "selfish as it sounds, I can't lose you like that. The idea of you being married, even engaged, it just... something in my stomach ties in knots," she admitted, her free hand hovering at her middle, "and I can't... I can't handle it. And I could say that I don't know what that means, but the scary part is that I'm pretty sure I know exactly," she told him, desperately. "But it's you, Luke. It's me and it's you, and if it didn't work out, if we decided to go for it and-"

That was when he kissed her. Maybe he shouldn't have, maybe it was the wrong moment, but damn it, he had let what could have been the right one slip by too many times before, he just had to take the chance. So, he pulled on her hand, drew her close and just kissed her.

She didn't seem to mind. In fact, after a moment of initial surprise, she just seemed to sink into him, her arms going up around his neck as she enthusiastically participated in what he had started. It was a while before they actually came up for air, both gasping, both smiling.

"Okay, wow," said Lorelai, her hands now on his shoulders as she took a moment to steady himself, a feeling Luke well understood. "How long have you been waiting to do that?"

"Honestly?" he asked, pressing his forehead against her own. "About thirty seconds after I first met you."

"Seriously?"

That made her eyes widen so much it was almost funny. He might have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. If he wasn't so damn serious when it came to how much he adored her.

"It's always been you, Lorelai," he assured her, his hand in her hair, at her cheek as he stared down at her fondly. "C'mon, you have to know that."

"Maybe," she replied, her voice soft, her eyes softer. "Maybe it was just easier to pretend that I didn't, at least for a while."

"And now?"

"And now," she echoed, her smile growing wider by the second, "if you don't kiss me again, I think I'm gonna go crazy."

"You're already crazy," he pointed out, sure he was grinning like a fool too.

"Who cares?" she said, throwing herself further into his arms and initiating another kiss that went on and on.

Luke wasn't about to complain. This whole thing was quite literally his dream come true and he hoped to God he never woke up from the wonder of it.

To Be Continued...