A/N: Thanks for the latest reviews, folks. Just a few loose ends I'd like to tie up before we wrap up, so about a half dozen chapters of this left to go, I think. Hope y'all enjoy :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 22

Rory had really hoped she was wrong about what she thought she saw a couple of months ago, after the Yale-Harvard game. It really had seemed like Paris was kissing a guy that looked a lot like Doyle, the editor of the Yale Daily News, but she had convinced herself that couldn't be true.

Even if it were true, it could easily have been a mistake, a moment of madness brought on by Yale winning the football game, or over-indulgence with a fun flask, or something. She didn't really believe any of that, but Rory told herself it was true, because it had seemed easier that way.

Paris never said anything, never talked about it or opened up to Rory about her romantic life at all. She spent winter break skiing with Jamie and his family, which seemed like a clear indication that everything was fine. Except now, Rory knew that it wasn't.

There was tension in the air from the moment they walked into the newspaper office. Rory wasn't exactly nervous, but she was very much aware that she was entering into a new phase here, a very important one where she became a true member of the Daily News staff. She also had Jess on her mind, wondering how his first day at the library was going.

Paris' vibe was completely different. Self-satisfied, haughty, a little too much of something, but Rory couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was. Then she started dropping hints. Not subtle hints either. Anvil-sized hints. The kind that you didn't need Nancy Drew smarts to get. In fact, a three-year-old could probably have figured out that Paris and Doyle had something going on.

Not that he was making it obvious, but she wasn't being even remotely coy about it. At least, not to Rory. She doubted anybody else noticed, because they had their own things going on, but Paris seemed more than happy for Rory to know that something was going on, something sexual, if not deep and meaningful. It made her a little nauseous, and after a while, she just knew she had to say something.

When Doyle was otherwise occupied and nobody else was really paying attention to either her or Paris, Rory grabbed her friend by the sleeve and dragged her towards the open door, then out into the less-populated hallway.

"Geez, Gilmore, what's your damage?"

"You. You are my damage," she told her crossly, folding her arms across her chest. "I know you're just going to say it's none of my business and, ordinarily, I would agree with you, but by pushing this whole thing in my face so damn obviously, you're making it my business. So, I have to say this - Paris, I think what you're doing is awful!"

"Oh, really?" she asked, eyes growing hard when she heard those words, her stance not dissimilar to her friend's by now. "Sure you're not just jealous? Because the editor of the paper prefers a woman like me instead of a baby blue-eyed waif like you? Because you actually think I'm low enough to get with a guy just to secure my position at the paper?"

"Paris, I don't care if you want to date Doyle. Trust me, he is far from my type, and even if I did find him attractive, I already have Jess. The comments about my looks? I'm not even going to dignify those with a response. As for thinking you would use your... womanly wiles to get what you want, I know better than anyone you wouldn't need to do that, even if you wanted to," she explained in short order. "My problem with your little situation," she said pointedly, "is very simple. You're cheating on Jamie!"

The last part came out kind of loud and Paris immediately shushed her.

"No, I won't!" Rory protested, backing up when Paris' hand shot out as if to try to cover her mouth. "Maybe you're keeping Jamie a secret from Doyle, and I'm guessing vice versa, but that is your problem, not mine. If you wanted to move on, you could do that, nobody's judging, but God, Paris, have the good grace to tell your boyfriend it's over before you start sleeping with the next guy!"

"Oh, because you're such a sweet, perfect little angel." Paris rolled her eyes. "I know you said you didn't get that far with either of them back then, but I do know you were dating Dean and making eyes at Jess at the same time. It's the high school version of what I did, so this whole thing just makes you a huge hypocrite, you know what, right?"

Rory took a deep breath and tried to let that particular barb slide off her. She didn't have much of a choice. She couldn't deny that what Paris said was true enough. She did string Dean along, all that time that she was having feelings for Jess, but then, it was because that happened that she knew whereof she spoke.

"I did the wrong thing," she admitted, nodding her head. "I'm not denying that, but Paris, trust me, I made such a mess of everything by acting the way I did. As your friend, I'm just... I'm worried you're going to do the same thing, only worse, in some ways, because what you're doing is a lot more serious and potentially has way more consequences. Yes, I was flirting with Jess, I even kissed him once, and that was wrong, because I was with Dean," she admitted, "but you're sleeping with two different guys, at least one of which thinks you're in an exclusive relationship. That's not good. It's not you, at least, not the you that I thought you were."

She half-expected Paris to continue to be indignant, but the mask started to crack somewhere towards the end. She didn't look shame-faced exactly, but she did seem a lot less sure about what she was doing when the facts of the situation were laid out at her feet like that.

"I guess I am being a little unfair," she considered aloud, eyes shifting to the door, presumably to glance at Doyle in the office. "God, I don't even know how this happened. At least I understand what it is I liked about Jamie. He was so sweet and cute, and I know he loves me so much. It was so easy to love him back. With Doyle..." she stopped and shook her head, eyes moving back to meet Rory's own. "It might be the power, at least in part," she explained, squirming some even then, "but he's nice too, you know? We got to talking, at the Yale-Harvard game. We both went there because we felt like we should, neither of us were really interested at all. We just ended up talking about all kinds of things, and it was nice. Really nice."

The smile that came over her face then at least proved to Rory that whatever was happening between Paris and Doyle wasn't just physical. There were feelings here, big feelings, the kind that meant she was probably going to have to break Jamie's heart sometime. That part really sucked.

"So, when it came to winter break..." she said carefully.

Paris heaved a sigh. "I already said yes to Jamie's family invitation weeks ago. I didn't know how to get out of it. Besides, dumping a guy on Christmas? Seemed pretty harsh... even if I was sure I wanted to do it," she admitted, squirming some.

"You're not sure?"

Though she opened her mouth to answer, Paris pressed her lips back together soon enough, with no response given. A step to the side put her close enough to the door, she could peer inside again, presumably looking at Doyle, going about his business as editor of the paper. The expression she wore then made it plain to Rory that she really was having those big, big feelings.

"You say you're not sure," she said, shaking her head, "but I know that look, Paris. I've worn that look and I've pretended that I still love my boyfriend, when all the time I knew, deep down, that it belonged someplace else..."

"So, in the end, I think I convinced her she just has to be honest, with both Jamie and Doyle, but first of all, with herself," said Rory firmly, around a large bite of the sandwich she was evidently enjoying more than a little. "I mean, I get it, obviously," she continued, the moment she had chewed and swallowed enough to be able to get more words out. "Being torn between the old boyfriend and the new guy. I more than get it," she said pointedly.

Jess tried not to smile, but it didn't come easy. He knew exactly what she meant and how that situation had turned out. Not well, to begin with, of course, not least because Rory never exactly chose him over Dean, so much as Dean made the choice for her.

At least, this time, they had picked each other without any other factors involved. Though he wouldn't say it, he hoped Paris and this Doyle guy could work it in much the same way. For Rory's sake, if nothing else. He knew how much her friends really meant to her, even if Paris was kind of annoying, a not-small part of the time.

"Anyway, enough about my room-mate's love triangle drama," she said, grinning at him from further along the bench in one of Yale's many courtyards. "How's work?"

"It's fine." Jess shrugged, taking a bite of his own sandwich, big enough that she couldn't expect him to say more, and yet, he knew she still would eventually.

"Come on, you can do better than that," she urged him, playing the part of probing professor to the reluctant student a little too well for the sake of the bit. "With the vocabulary you have? I expect a little more than just 'fine'."

"Gee, Miss Gilmore, I'm sorry if my answers aren't up to your standards," he told her, the moment he swallowed, playing along with her for now at least. "Maybe you'll let me make it up to you later," he suggested, leaning in closer and talking in a low voice close to her ear. "You know, I'll bet we could come up with some assignment that could get me all kinds of extra credit."

Even though nobody else could possibly have overheard, she was still turning red when he pulled away enough to see her face more clearly. She gave him a shove, but didn't actually say yes or no to his suggestion, trying to pretend her lunch was suddenly much more interesting than anything else. He let it go. After all, he had enough confidence in their relationship by now to realise she wasn't embarrassed about being with him, only about everybody knowing what they got up to behind closed doors, which was fair.

"Seriously though, I have zero problems at the library," he told her honestly. "Ms Maris is far from the old stuffy type you might expect in this kind of place. She's got some really great ideas about modernising the systems, you know, on the computers and everything. Not that she needs a computer. I swear she has a catalogue of almost every book worth reading right there in her head. We're talking encyclopaedic knowledge of American literature."

"Should I be jealous?" asked Rory, one eyebrow quirked. "I mean, I didn't meet Ms Maris yet. She's not the Mrs Robinson type, is she?

Jess sputtered a little, trying his best not to spit his food all over the place. "So far away from being that type," he promised her, as soon as he found his voice. "And hey, come on, even if she was, you know I would never..."

"I know," Rory told him fast. "I promise, I do. I was just kidding around," she swore. "But hey, I kind of like that I can tell people I'm having an illicit affair with an older man on the staff now. That has to get me all kinds of cool points around campus, right?"

"Older man?" Jess checked.

"Hey, your birthday is a whole month before mine, so you're older," she said definitely, like it was a perfectly reasonable thing to say.

"You're cracked," said Jess, with a smirk but also all the affection in the world, as he leaned in and kissed her lips.

"Would you really adore me like you do if I was all sane and boring?"

"Probably," he said, without even thinking about it. "But I like you just the way you are too."

"Good answer," she said, grinning, then she kissed him back. "So, on the subject of how much you adore me, I was thinking... about telling my grandparents that we're back together," she said, visibly squirming even as she told him her idea. "And I know we were letting it alone awhile, and of course, I remember what happened the last time, you know, with you and Grandma, but it's starting to get really awkward now. They ask me sometimes, you know, if I'm dating, and I hate to lie, and now that they know about Mom and Luke-"

"Rory, Rory," he tried to cut in before her ramble reached dangerous levels. "Seriously, if you wanna tell them, just do it."

"Just do it?" she checked. "Just tell them about us?"

"Sure." Jess shrugged. "I mean, I don't love that your grandma is probably going to disown you on account of me, or that your grandfather might suddenly decide he wants to take me golfing with him and Luke, but still."

"Yeah, apparently, that didn't go so well." Rory winced at the thought and shook her head. "But I really don't think Grandpa will want to take you golfing. Actually, if and when you do meet, I think you stand a better chance than Luke of keeping his interest. You know, he's as into reading as I am."

"Huh. Well, that's something, I guess. Maybe open with the fact I work in the library at his beloved Yale, that ought to help."

"Good idea." Rory nodded, playing with her food more than eating it by now. "So, I'll tell them, this Friday night?"

"As you wish," Jess agreed, suddenly not feeling quite so hungry either, truth be told. "I guess it's only fair they know about me, when my family knows about you.

"Well, it's not as if Luke could not know." Rory rolled her eyes. "You do live with him and he dates my mom, so..."

"I wasn't talking about Luke."

That earned him a really strange look from Rory, which Jess had been expecting, to be honest. "So, you were talking about...?" she asked, looking no less than bemused.

"Liz," Jess admitted, swallowing hard, unsure suddenly why this seemed like such a weird conversation to have with the woman that was his girlfriend. "Uh, we talk, sometimes. Mostly I call her, just to keep in touch."

"Wow." Rory looked stunned. "I... I didn't realise you were talking again."

"Well, a smart person told me I should try to open up more, talk to people," he said, smirking just a little as he looked sideways at her. "Works with you and with Luke, I figured I should at least try with my mother."

Rory looked uncertain a moment, then she smiled. "You told her about me?"

"More than I meant to." Jess sighed. "Apparently, when I get started, it's hard to stop. Let's face it, there's a lot of good stuff to say."

The pretty blush was back in her cheeks as she leaned close into his side. Jess put his arm around her back, squeezing her to him, kissing the top of her head.

"Full disclosure, I should probably tell you that Jimmy knows about you too, and Sasha and Lily. I swear, I didn't mean to have the whole world know about our relationship, but again, we keep in touch, and you were the one encouraging me to talk..."

He didn't get any further than that when suddenly he found his lips stopped from moving in the best possible way by Rory's own being pressed against them. He barely got a chance to react to her kiss before it was over and she was staring at him with what seemed like tears in her eyes.

"You mean so much to me, Jess Mariano," she told him softly. "You can tell the whole world that, if you want to, because it's true. It is so very true."

Smiling because he couldn't do anything else, he moved her hair back from her face and kissed her once more, just briefly. "Same here," he told her definitely.

She grinned back. "I know."

To Be Continued...