She found herself out of the window often on days like these, escaping yet another political argument between colleagues. Rory believed travelling on a campaign bus would be a fun and exciting experience. But lately it was lacking something, and she missed her mom terribly.

Endless days of travelling on a humid bus with only your thoughts to occupy your time, and when that wasn't occupied it was ferociously typing her political pieces on the campaign. Any other moment was spent with her head firmly planted in a book.

Jane Austen would sweep her away from the hot seated bus and the constant arguing to the subdued feelings of Colonel Brandon as he patiently waited for Marianne Dashwood, Rory always believed at least in the books you could have a happy ending.

She looked up momentarily noticing that Mike still has his head deep in a book also, realizing a week into the campaign that she found someone who had the same passion for books as she.

Mike was a Harvard graduate and they found out soon that they did indeed have similar interests, discussing Hemmingway with a frown and Austen with a roll of his eyes. Moving from her seat she sat next to him with a nudge of her shoulder, trying to find out what he was reading. He shifted slightly and turned the book away from her.

"Oh come on; at least tell me what it's about?"

"No."

"Please Mike?"

He closed the book annoyed and pressed his lips together in a firm line.

"You know Gilmore; you have an inflammable curiosity that is downright annoying."Rory grinned and nudged him with her shoulder.

"Well I know that, so are you going to divulge what you are reading or am I going to snatch the book from you?"

"Fine." He turned towards her holding the book tightly in his hands.

"I will tell you about it, but you know my rule on reading the book first." Rory nodded eager to hear what had held Mike's concentration.

"Alright so you know I don't really read romance stories or at least if I do I don't own up to them." Rory nodded in acknowledgement.

"It's a story of this seventeen year old boy who arrives in a small town to live with his grumpy uncle and immediately he hates it, he is forced to attend a neighbor's dinner and there he meets this girl. They soon find out they have a common interest in books, they form a tentative friendship."

Rory listened carefully to Mike revealed the base of the story, the more he explained the more she became nervous. This was beginning to sound a lot like her and Jess a time in her life that seemed so long ago, she herself knew the ending.

"Who's the author?" Mike closed the front of the book slightly to read the front.

"Mariano, Jess Mariano." Rory sucked in a breath, her eyes closing momentarily.

"Hey listen to this dedication."

Mike and Rory would always share the dedication on any particular book, beginning various discussions on what the author was thinking.

"To RG, who was like the fire that burned and consumed me from within." He nudged her with his book and grinned.

"Pretty powerful dedication huh? Wonder what he was thinking? Or maybe that's the girl that broke his heart."

Rory laughed nervously and rubbed her forehead till it left a red mark; she looked around the bus and watched as colleagues worked tirelessly on their editorials.

"Is everything okay? You look a little pale Rory."

The truth was she felt nauseous; there it was in black and white their story.

"I didn't have much to eat this morning I guess." Mike nodded agreeably and stared at her for a few moments before he went back to the book.

"So what part are you reading?"

"Something about an auction."

"The bid-a-basket festival." She mused a small smile playing on her lips.

Mike turned the page and began to read silently, his eyes scanning the words across the page.

'Listen to this." Rory sat straighter in her seat waiting for him to read out loud.

I was officially living in the twighlight zone; this crazy town had finally surpassed themselves with another sociopathic town event. This crazy event that was invented had the women folk to create picnic baskets so that their intended/crush would bid on them and whoever bid the highest would win an afternoon with them. Seems there was still one town where you would find men dragging their women folk around by the hair, I found myself standing in the square to internally mock the festivities or at least this is what I told myself.

Standing at the back of the crowd I watched as her basket was lifted for all to see, her boyfriend who assumed no one would bid stood tall and proud. Competition such a loaded word, and when I shouted my bid all eyes quickly turned to the unwanted kid. I looked over at her and saw something flicker in her gaze, humor that anyone else besides her boyfriend would bid.

I had never met anyone that I could enjoy a conversation intellectually before, and every day I found myself liking her more than I should.

Mike closed the book and turned to face Rory, he could see her lashes glistening with un-shed tears. He would never understand women, even when he thought he knew something about them it would turn out he knew nothing. Only something seemed different Rory was not that emotional when it came to books or so he thought, that's when his mind worked the possible mathematics adding two and two together and coming up with double figures.

"Rory tell me it's not you, you're not RG?"

Rory couldn't betray the thoughts that were now going through her mind. Recalling the basket bidding and when they went to the bridge, the way he would look at her, the way his hair danced in the cool breeze.

"He never told me he'd written or intended to write a book about us. Now that I know I'm not sure I want to read it"

"Why?"

"I'm afraid of what I might find I guess, I treated him badly the last time we saw each other not because of the situation but more because of what he thought the situation was." Rory sighed finally voicing out loud what she was trying to deny.

She couldn't really talk to anyone else about Jess; they all had their own opinions including her mother. All she could do was speculate, and hope to god he didn't hate her and much as she thought he did. Mike placed the book into her hands his own hand covering hers, looking up she saw something that resembled pity but she couldn't be sure.

"I think you should read it, for your peace of mind at least Rory. I think you'd be surprised." All she could do was nod, holding the book tightly in her hands the skin over her knuckles stretching with the force of the hold on the book. Moving from the seat next to Mike she sat back in her previous seat and placed the book on her lap, the heavy paperback burning through the material of her trousers.

She couldn't read the book with Mike's gaze following her over every page, they would be staying overnight in the city it was then where she would take the journey and travel back into her past.