Time After Time - A Gilmore Girls Fanfic #1

Chapter 18

When Rory awoke, she found herself tucked into Jess' body, his arms wrapped around her back. She pressed her lips to his chest, a smile spreading over her face when she felt the steady beat of his heart.

"Morning," he said in a sleep-roughened voice, kissing the top of her head. "You sleep okay?"

"Best sleep I've had in a while." She tilted her head back to look at him. "You?"

He grinned down at her, his face wrinkled from sleep. "Oh yeah."

When she tried to pull away, his arms tightened around her like steel bands. "Let me go," she said with a laugh. "I have to pee." She laughed again when his fingers danced along her sides; she squirmed in his arms until he finally let go.

She rolled away, grabbing the first shirt she could find—the Smashing Pumpkins shirt he'd been wearing last night—and slipped it over her head before heading to the bathroom.

Just as she closed the door, his phone rang. Through the closed door she heard him answer, and even if his voice was muffled, she could detect the change in his tone. Whoever was on the other line was definitely not calling just to say hi.

After flushing, Rory stood at the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror. A few short weeks ago she was in this same place, emotionally and physically exhausted, wondering how she had allowed herself to fall so far. And now here she was, not all that different-looking, but feeling a little more hopeful about the direction of her life.

When she emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, she found Jess sitting up, pinching the bridge of his nose as he continued with the call. He looked up when he noticed her, his dark eyes following as she made her way back to the bed.

"Em? Yeah, I have to go. Yes, I'll be there." He hung up and threw the phone aside before twisting around and dragging Rory down onto the bed, kissing her for a long, unhurried time. "Morning," he said as he hovered above her.

She smiled up at him, head foggy with desire. "You already said that."

"So I did," he said. But while his voice sounded playful, his face revealed that his thoughts were elsewhere.

"Everything okay?" she asked, brushing away hair that had fallen over his eyes.

He let out a breath. "Yeah. Well, no. That was my business partner, Emmeline, on the phone. Said there's an issue at Truncheon." His eyes flicked to hers before he said, "I need to get back to Philadelphia."

Too soon! her brain cried out, but she asked, "When?"

"As soon as possible."

"Oh," she said, sure her face was not doing a good job at hiding the disappointment she felt.

"One of the plate making machines is malfunctioning and we have a huge print run scheduled in a week."

"And nobody else can fix it?"

"They've tried. They've called in the pros but nobody can figure out how to get it running again."

"So what can you do?"

"I've worked on those machines for years. I know them inside and out," he said. "If I can't get them to work then we have to purchase a replacement. And that means time and money."

Rory's stomach lurched. She'd toured printing presses before and knew that the process was more complicated than simply unplugging the malfunctioning machine and sticking a new one in its place. "How long will it take?"

"I don't know." He stared off into space for a time, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth. Then his eyes flicked to hers. "You should come with me. You can stay at my place and we can do Christmas in Philadelphia. We can go see the Liberty Bell or run up the steps of the Art Museum like Rocky. Hey, I'll even get you a Philly cheesesteak, since you're so fond of regional fast food."