Title: And it Begins Again

Author: Silver Blood (Yes, it's lil ole me again.)

Summary: Beautiful things happen in times of celebration. The gift of Christmas, the beginning of a new year, the romance of a wedding… and it begins again. Lit.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, places, or things. Some of the ideas are mine; most are not. I am not making any money from the distribution of this story.

A/N: This is set right after the Thanksgiving episode—but April doesn't exist.

Chapter One:

Snow was falling, clinging to dark eyelashes. Blades of grass sparkled with moonlight's illuminated frost. Alone in the town's darkened square, Rory cried.

She'd almost missed the first snow.

The loneliness was overwhelming. For months, her entire focus had lain on a certain blond. To be fair, it hadn't been Logan's fault. The blame was solely on Rory's shoulders, and she was well aware. As far as others knew, she'd fixed her mistakes and her life.

But Rory knew; she was still broken.

Her quiet misery was interrupted when her phone rang shrilly, piercing the peace she'd been enjoying after being away so long. She hurried to silence the sound she'd recently discovered was amazingly annoying. But it was too late.

Her perfect bubble of misery had been shattered.

She wiped tears off her cheeks with her gloves as she checked her caller ID. She thought about ignoring the unfamiliar number, but her gut told her to answer.

"Hello?"

There was a moment of silent déjà vu. Suddenly Rory knew. She waited, unsure if he would speak.

"Hey, Rory."

For a moment Rory stood frozen in the middle of the street; a solitary silhouette against white twinkle lights and bright piles of snow. For nearly a minute she found herself entirely disoriented, shivering from something intangible. For now she'd blame the cold.

His voice made her feel as if time had been reversed and they were 17 again; it was now as unfamiliar as it had been familiar.

"Hey, Jess… You called."

"Was I not supposed to?"

"Well, I can't say that I mind. But you might ruin your reputation."

There was an incredibly awkward silence.

Ouch.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"It's ok, Ror. I know."

She shivered at the nickname. Her teeth were beginning to chatter as she reached the steps of her front porch.

"I was going to just write you, but I thought it would be better to call… I'm sorry about being so hard on you. I was being a hypocrite."

When Rory spoke, he could hear the smile in her voice. It was a quiet, sweet change. But it thrilled him beyond words.

"No, you weren't. You were right. And thanks to you, I got my ass into gear."

"Yeah?"

He was grinning.

"Yeah."

"Huh. What gear would that be?"

She couldn't stop a ridiculous smile from overtaking her features. She'd missed his flirtatious banter.

"Well… I got a job at the Stamford Gazette, moved out of my grandparents' house and back home, arranged to go back to Yale, and… I figured out that you were right about Logan. He's a dick."

Although he felt a little awkward and unsure what to say, he fell back on the banter.

"Oh yeah? I'm so proud of my little Rory. It looks like you're all grown up after all. I may have to get you a treat."

Rory laughed.

"You're gonna get me a present! Ooh ooh—give me a hint!"

Jess tried his hardest to get rid of the grin that had entirely taken over his face, but he was feeling too elated.

"How about I send you a nice Christmas card instead?"

Rory was taken aback slightly by his response.

"Are you staying in Philadelphia for Christmas?"

Jess paused. He hated the underlying pity in her voice.

"Well, yeah. I've got the rats in my apartment to keep me company, don't sound so sympathetic."

She knew he had said it in jest, but something in his tone broke another little part of Rory.

"I'm sure Liz and Luke would love to see you over the holidays. Have you talked to them about it?"

She could practically feel his guard go up.

"I talk to them once a week, at least. If they wanted me around for Christmas they would have asked me: Luke wants to spend Christmas with Lorelai; Liz wants to spend Christmas with T.J, ok?"

Rory didn't think before she spoke.

"Well maybe I want to spend Christmas with you."

What followed could officially be marked as the longest thirty seconds in the history of humankind.

Jess didn't think he'd ever been more surprised in his life. She wasn't trying to backpedal, she wasn't trying to clarify, and for once in her life Rory had seemingly made a conscious decision not to babble. She simply left it hanging.

A smile slowly spread over Jess's face, and he felt butterflies start to swarm in mass numbers within his stomach. But when he spoke, his voice was even.

"Yeah… Okay."

A/N: So let me know what you think. I really like where this story is going, and I'm eager to continue. So tell me your opinions. I'm having trouble with the title. If you've got ideas, corrections, constructive criticism, let me know. I'll really appreciate it. Thanks. I know I have a weird style. You like?