171A/N: Don't own anything - though I wish I owned Milo - actually thats kind of freaky. Hmm... own nothing. Also forgot to mention last time, that I got the title from Enrique's song "She'll be the one" Have a huggge Enrique obsession!
OKK... so enjoy - here's chapter Two!
Jess cleared his throat nervously as he moved to stand in front of her, the counter between them. She had never made him nervous before, but things were different now, and he wasn't sure how to react.
Seeing the uncertainty in his demeanor, she grinned and took a sip of her coffee. Giving the warm liquid time to flow through her body she looked up at him. He hadn't changed at all since the last time they had been together. Some might argue that he looked older and more mature, but she would say that the look had been on his face since his troubled childhood years.
Deciding she wasn't going to make the first move, he took matters into his own hands, "Hey."
"Glad to see your oral vocabulary is still the same. One would have thought that out of all the words you write, some might've sneaked into your conversations. I guess not. What can you say though?" she shrugged. "You're Luke's nephew after all. I," she emphasized the word by pointing at herself, "know not to change you. I treasure my beer. Or in this case coffee. I don't think it helps that I'm actually drinking it, you'd still steal it. Who knows how many unsuspecting people have had their stuff stolen just because they were trying to be nice."
Rolling his eyes at the fact that she had to refer to their first disastrous conversation, he replied, "I was right though. You did want to get into Luke's pants. Who knows," he imitated, "if it wasn't for me, you'd have never thought about it, and we wouldn't have been on our way to being related." He paused, "Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut."
"Oh please. Don't flatter yourself. Luke and I getting together had nothing to do with you."
"Really? Ask him why he went out with Nicole."
"What does that have to do with anything? Paris Hilton and underwear are more closely related."
"If he didn't go out with Nicole, you wouldn't have gotten jealous, and he would have never known you liked him."
"What do you do? Spend an hour in front of the mirror everyday telling yourself that the Earth revolved around you? Sorry to disappoint you buddy, but Galileo proved you wrong ages ago. Move on. Oo, and while you're moving make sure you get me a refill." She drank the remainder of her coffee in a huge gulp, and handed the mug to him.
Shaking his head and doing as she requested, he set the refilled mug before her. Turning away to find Luke and tend to the rest of the customers, he was stopped when he heard her say, "Thank you Jess."
"What? You've finally admitted that I was the reason you're getting married?"
Joking aside, she looked at him sincerely, "I know it's kind of late, but I wanted to thank you for sending Rory back. She told me how you made her realize her mistakes."
"She would have figured it out eventually," he shrugged and walked away; though not before muttering a 'You're welcome.'
Draining her second cup, she caught Jess' eye before she left the diner and sent him a quick smile. No matter how hard he tried to hide his inner change, she had seen it during their conversation. She had promised Luke that she would try to get along with Jess as he meant so much to Luke, and now seeing the 'new' him; the small smile he'd returned; and the fact that he was responsible for Rory coming back, she was beginning to think that getting along with him might not be too hard.
Not able to find Luke who had mysteriously disappeared, Jess stuffed his hands into his worn out leather jacket and headed to his car. Turning the engine on, he started to drive in the direction of his mother's house.
His talk with Lorelai had definitely been strange; a good strange. Seeing that they would now be related, he had wanted to start over. He was planning to practice a talk and deliver it in good circumstances, but their meeting in the diner had thrown the plan right out the window. Not that he was complaining; it had brought them on good terms. They would never be the best of friends, but atleast they could be a bit more than civil.
Pulling into the driveway of his mom's house he got out of the car and was about to ring the doorbell when the door flew open.
"Liz, come on! I want to meet this famous girl. Doula will have to learn some tips from her. She's going to be the next town's sweetheart," he yelled to his wife, not noticing his step son before him.
"TJ, she's only two! And I'm sure Rory can fit in some one on one with her. O Jessie! Honey, I didn't know you were here! Doula, say hi to your brother," Liz exclaimed, enveloping Jess into a bear hug.
"Jess! Man, I didn't even notice you there. You practicing to be James Bond? All sneaky and quiet? I totally think it will work for you!"
Giving him a nod, Jess returned his mother's hug and knelt before his sister, pulling out a lollipop. "Hey Doula, Luke told me you liked cherry."
Nodding shyly not accustomed to her brother, Doula's chubby hand reached out and took the candy.
"So…you're going to see Rory? I didn't know she was here," he said indifferently not looking at his mother.
Snapping out of her daze at seeing her children together, Liz replied, "O yeah, the town is throwing her a huge welcome home party. TJ is convinced that since Rory, the town's previous 'good girl' is gone, Doula has to take her place." Rolling her eyes, she added, "That and we just had to meet her. She's Lorelai's daughter after all, and Luke can only praise her. You going to come, honey?" she asked tentatively, knowing that Rory was a touchy subject with Jess.
"No. I just came to say hi. I guess I'll see you guys later."
Turning into Stars Hollow, Rory caught glimpses of landmarks she hadn't seen in the past two years and missed sorely. Craning her neck around the corner, she was greeted with a sight that had Stars Hollow written all over it. The entire town had gathered in the town's square, and a huge 'Welcome Home, Rory' banner hung above them. Pictures of her hung from every tree, and there was an enormous throne at the foot of the gazebo.
Laughing at their antics, she gathered her belongings and eagerly made her way up the bus as it came to a halt before the bus stop. A teen sitting a couple of rows ahead commented as she passed, "What a bunch of wierdos. Man I feel sorry for this Rory person."
Sending him a death glare, she got off the bus, and was knocked to the ground the minute she stepped out. Lorelai had thrown herself at her daughter, and they both ended up in a heap on the ground, cushioned by Rory's bags. Luke stood beside them chuckling, waiting for two of them to get up.
"Honey you're home! We have so much to do today. Well, after the town's party," Lorelai scrunched her face. "Luke threatened to beat them up, saying that you deserved to rest, but they wouldn't hear it. They actually locked him up in Miss Patty's until they got the town decorated. I had to rescue him. Poor thing, he spent a good twenty minutes hollering, and then gave up."
Pulling her daughter up and finally letting her go, she allowed the laughing Rory to give Luke a hug. "I'm so glad you're home. Seriously, your mother has been driving me crazy. She always talked a lot, but without you to take away some of her steam, she won't shut up."
And that was the last they got of her, as the town whisked her away for the show they had planned.
Extremely exhausted, Rory dropped onto the couch of her home, never truly appreciating its familiar indents and comforting feel of the fabric until now. The town had really outdone its self: They started of the night by blaring "For she's a Jolly Good Fellow" and Hep Alien belted out their new tunes with the Lane and Zach's twins at the front playing mini guitars. Things softened for Miss Patty's ballet girls' rendition of Rory's life; which would have been quite pleasant if Kirk hadn't been playing Rory. They were replaced by Lorelai, Babette, Miss Patty, Sookie and Taylor in a play of Pippi Longstocking who, instead of having super strength had super writing skills, and she scared away all those who threatened her career: apparently Rory was supposed to be Pippi. Kirk ended the night with a freakishly long poem about Rory's life; from start to finish. It lasted 45 minutes, and Rory still couldn't figure out how accurate the details were – if he wasn't in love with Lulu, she would have left town at that very minute. As soon as Kirk went off, Taylor came back on, to announce that Andrew would be having a special at his store, with all of Rory's articles published into a book, where all proceeds would be going to Stars Hollow. Sookie wrapped up the night with an enormous feast of Rory's favourite foods: Rory never actually had a chance to eat anything as she spent the time telling of her unadventurous two years away, that everyone was eager to listen to. She also had a hard time trying to escape from TJ, who followed her everywhere with a pen and notepad. Liz apologized profusely for him, and then ran off to stop him paying Kirk for the poem. The only good thing about the night that she could see was that she had met every single member of Stars Hollow.
"Okay, Sookie is an angel. She saved you a plate of everything she made. I cannot believe she actually make Indian for you! We had to air out the inn for days and I swear there's still a faint smell." Lorelai exclaimed as she laid a tray with food that threatened to fall on their table, plopping down beside her daughter and stretching her legs. "Luke's at the apartment, he said that the two of us should spend some time together."
"He's totally amazing. Uhh! Mom, I'm dead! But I'm so glad to be home."
"You're glad? I've been saving movies for two years. Don't think I'm letting you sleep tonight!"
He'd managed to escape the craziness before it started, and sneaked off to the bridge. Even though the two of them had left on fairly 'good' terms, he still couldn't bring himself to face her. Not yet. When he did, they would have to be alone, so they could actually talk. Like the time when they had been in her room and he had given her his book. That had been good. Yes, he would wait for a moment like that.
Almost 4 o'clock in the morning, Lorelai and Rory were barely able to get themselves up let alone go to their respective rooms. After standing on their feet for five seconds, they fell back onto the couch, evidence of food around them, not bothering to move. On the brink of unconsciousness, Lorelai mumbled, "Oh, honey, I forgot to tell you. Jess is back."
"Mkay," unable to fully understand what her mother was saying, Rory drifted off to a much needed sleep.
A/N: k - how many of you thought that Lorelai was Rory? There will be R/J action, but later on. This is my story, and I want to do it how I wanted. So if any of you didn't like the Jess/ Lorelai talk, and where their relationship is now - sorry, but thats the only way I think that R/J will work. Lorelai has to approve.
K - I'm done ranting - now goo REVIEW!