Here's the end! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! you guys totally made us smile.
Epilogue
Three Years Later
As the first snowfall of the year began to release itself from the calm gray sky, the city of Philadelphia looked more like a snow-globe than Rory Gilmore had ever remembered. Glancing at the newly restored City Hall, Rory couldn't help but marvel at how far her life had come in just 3 years: near-Yale drop-out to youngest Philadelphia Inquirer staff member to date. Who had just interviewed red-hot mayoral candidate Michael Nutter, thank-you-very-much. Rory sighed contentedly, but then hurriedly kept walking. Despite the lengthy walk home she had ahead of her, Rory knew that no amount of exposure to winter's elements would be nearly as bad as her mother's dismay at choosing the subway over a walk in the oh-so-wonderful first snow.
"Hey Luke, it's Jess."
"Hey! How are things in Philly?"
"Not bad, not bad… actually, pretty great. How's the diner?"
"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Taylor's being a pain in the ass about trying to get me to hang some Christmas—I mean, HOLIDAY—decorations, but as there's only about a week until the holiday, I think I'll win this one."
"Ha, good to hear."
"So not that it's not great to hear from you, but any particular reason you're calling?"
"Um, yeah, actually…"
"You gonna tell me, or do I have to guess?"
"Yeah… well, you see…Rory and I…" Jess' voice trailed off, unsure how to phrase the next part.
"Jess Mariano, if you are going to tell me that you broke that girl's heart again, I'm going to fly—no, LORELAI will fly—all the way down there and tear you to pieces!"
"No, no, no! It's nothing like that… Quite the opposite, actually, though you make a good point about Lorelai attempting to beat me…"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Luke was optimally confused at this point.
"Well, Rory and I are good…really good… In fact, I want to get her a ring for Christmas…"
"Wait—you're going to ask her to marry you?!"
"Yeah, thinking of it."
"Jess, that's fantastic!"
"Really? Cause I'm thinking Lorelai might not be so thrilled…"
"No. Just call her. I think she might surprise you."
"Ok, but if you end up seeing my head on a serving plate, it's your fault."
"Deal. But if they stick an apple in your mouth, I'm laughing."
"And on that note, I'm hanging up."
"Hey Jess, wait—"
"Yeah?"
"Congratulations."
"Thanks," Jess smiled. "If I don't call again soon, I'll see you in a week."
With that, Jess hung up the phone, feeling relieved. One down, one to go… He took a deep breath, and braced himself as he dialed the second Star's Hollow number that afternoon.
"Lorelai Gilmore here, proudly servicing the men of Star's Hollow since 1987!"
"Er, hello?"
"Oh, God, Jess, hi! I'm so sorry, I thought you'd be my mother!"
"Eh, nope—sorry to disappoint you."
"Oh, please. I am NEVER disappointed to not hear my mother's voice on the other end. Though, I must admit, her reaction to my new favorite version of "hello" does promise to be rather entertaining…"
"Ha, you'll have to let me know how that goes," Jess smirked, Lorelai's crazy sense of humor helping to calm his nerves.
"Don't worry. Not only will I be telling everyone, but I'm thinking of making t-shirts and banners… you know, to commemorate the occasion. Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
"Wow, that even sounded genuine," Jess joked nervously.
"Oh, come on—you know I've secretly loved you ever since you sent Rory home to me."
"Ha, this is true," Jess agreed, reflecting on the many conversations they've had since then that helped to smooth over their far-too-rocky beginning.
"Ok, so now that I've professed my sincerest love for you once again, what can I do for you?" Though they were finally on good terms, Lorelai knew that Jess wasn't the small-talk type.
"Well, I wanted to ask you something," Jess said slowly. He paused, but amazingly, Lorelai did not cut in with a remark. "Ok, well, um… I want to ask Rory to marry me, but I, uh, wanted to make sure it's ok with you first," he finished quickly.
"Aw, Jess," Lorelai smiled, both touched and proud at how far he had come since their first disastrous meeting. "Of course you can marry her… it's about time!"
"Really? That's it?"
"Of course. I've never seen Rory happier than these past three years. And thank you for asking."
"Not a problem… Well, I better go—things to take care of, you know."
"Ah, gotcha… Wait—when are you asking? I don't want to tell her before you do."
"Yeah, that would be bad. But I'm asking her tonight, so you don't have to keep this a secret too long."
"Whew, thank God! Well, you have things to do, so get to it! I'll see you both in a week!"
"Yeah, see you then."
"Goodbye, my future son-in-law!"
"Ha, bye," Jess laughed, hanging up the phone.
Rory burst through the door, frantically shaking snow off herself as she stepped into the warmth of the apartment.
"Coffee, coffee, coffee, need coffee now!" she exclaimed through chattering teeth.
"Uh… no, you definitely don't," Jess began as he came up to greet her. "It sounds like you're hyper enough as it is!"
"I'm f-f-f-freezing!" Rory shivered. "P-p-please?" she asked with her signature pout. Jess sighed, clearly about to relent. "Ha! Yesssss!" she exalted in victory.
"And it's already brewing for you… somehow I knew you'd need some," he smirked.
"Jess Mariano! I knew there was a reason I love you," Rory smiled back while drawing him into a light kiss. "Ooo, I almost forgot!" she squealed, breaking away. "How was your last final?"
"Not bad… The poets of the 18th century still aren't my favorite people in the world, but at least they brought me one credit closer to my diploma from Penn."
"Aw, that's my boy," she responded with a playful pat on the head. "And then in just one semester you'll be an Ivy League grad with his own publishing company… not too shabby!"
"Eh, I do my best. Anyway, I've gotta run—I stole your bracelet out of your jewelry box so—"
"Jess Mariano! Still stealing my bracelets after all these years!"
"I guess some things never change… that and it broke and you've been bugging me to get it fixed for the past 3 weeks," he smirked again.
"Oh, that's my big-strong-provider," she laughed, taking extreme pleasure in the fierce red rising in Jess' cheeks. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"I actually have a few things to do first—meet me there in an hour?"
"Sounds perfect—we can go from there to dinner!"
"Sounds like a plan. See you in an hour, and be gentle with that coffee!" he playfully chided before kissing her once more and then dashing out the door.
Rory finished her coffee (it was ONLY her fifth cup that day), and got ready a lot faster than she expected. This left her with just enough time to call her mother.
"Lorelai Gilmore here, proudly servicing the men of Star's Hollow since 1987!"
"Mother! I really hope you're only… uh… doing… Luke!"
"Rory! God, that's the second time today… sorry, I thought you were Emily!"
"What? You actually want Grandma on the phone? Ok, who are you and what have you done with my mother?"
"Ha ha, very funny… Come on, you know it will be entertaining if she ever actually catches me saying that!"
"You make a good point," Rory mused. "But who exactly was it that caught you saying that the first time?"
"The first time?" Lorelai asked as innocently as she could muster.
"Yeah, you said that this was the second time today. Who was the first recipient of your oh-so-modest greeting?"
"Oh, um… no one you'd know," Lorelai lied quickly, hoping to avoid the subject.
"Yeah, right, uh huh," Rory said disbelievingly. "Anyway, how are things in Star's Hollow?"
"Oh, well, if you bothered to check in more than every other year, you might actually know!" Lorelai admonished in a mock-hurting tone.
"Mom! You know as well as I do that I just saw you two weeks ago!"
"Ah, yes, must have slipped my memory."
"Uh huh… We give you a perfectly unhealthy Philly cheesesteak and you forget so soon?"
"Well, I remember the cheesesteak—it's you that I forgot!"
"Ok… so next time, you can just skip seeing me and Jess and go straight to your beloved cheesesteak… Now do you want to tell Luke you're cheating on his burgers or should I?" Rory asked as seriously as possible (yet trying to hold in her chuckles).
"Hey kid? I miss ya," Lorelai smiled sadly, this silly exchange reminding her of the days she and Rory actually lived in the same state.
"I miss you too," Rory said sincerely. "But you do know it could be worse, right?"
"Worse?! You're 4 hours away from Mommy!"
"Hey, I could have taken that job covering the Obama campaign and traveled the country, you know!"
"Yes… but instead you decided to move in with your darling Jess," Lorelai teased.
"Hey, the Inquirer's a great paper! And since it's a stationary position, I can visit you anytime I want!"
"This is true," Lorelai pretended to relent. Secretly, she was thrilled for her daughter, but she enjoyed their banter too much to ever admit otherwise.
"Speaking of which, Jess and I will see you in a week for Christmas. So, as much as I would love to continue this productive conversation, I have to go, and we can continue this very very soon!"
"Ooo, wait, where ya going?" Lorelai asked a little too eagerly.
"Probably just for a casual night at Cosi."
"Oh, the place you've raved about but still haven't taken me to? Right, I see how it is."
"And on that note… Bye Mom! I'll talk to ya soon!"
"Bye kid… love ya!" With that, they both hung up the phone. As Rory skipped out to her dinner date, she had no way of knowing that at the same time, her mother was marveling, "Wow… my daughter's getting engaged… in a restaurant with a coffee-bean handle!"
"Ah, that was the best double-brownie sundae yet!" Rory sighed contentedly.
"You say that every time!" laughed Jess.
"And every time I mean it," she said with a flourish.
"Oh, wait, before I forget… Your Christmas card," he said softly, passing her a small red envelope.
"Jess! I thought we were waiting until Christmas in Star's Hollow to do this!"
"Yeah, I know, but… you'll see—just open it."
Rory tore into the paper, revealing a cream white card that simply read:
To the girl that is more amazing than any character in all of literature, thank you for being here. And Merry Christmas!
PS—Since that night, I knew… DIC 1030
"Aw, Jess… wait, what's with the number?"
"Come on, you went to Yale and lived in these things… I know you know what a call number is," he said mischievously.
"Ok," she said slowly. "But to what library? And you need me to find a book why?" This little treasure hunt was taking all the fun out of the pretty card.
"The library right in front of you," he said, gesturing to Penn's Van Pelt Library that was still open to students cramming for their last final. "And you'll see."
"Ok, what are you waiting for? Let's get a move on!"
Jess smiled as he paid for their meal and chased after her; in all their years together, he had never seen her this eager to get into a library (and that's saying something).
Not even five minutes later, Rory had successfully navigated her way to the fiction section of Penn's vast library. She scanned the shelves, desperately searching for the D's. Meanwhile, Jess lurked behind her, simultaneously amused and nervous.
"Ooo, ok: DIC 1025… 1028… Ah ha! DIC 1030!" Rory exclaimed triumphantly, pulling out the mystery book. "Oliver Twist!"
"Yep," Jess said, walking a little closer.
"You stole my copy of Howl, and I called you Dodger, from Oliver Twist," Rory reflected, trying to figure out what his point was.
"Yep," Jess said again, reaching into his pocket.
"But the card said—"
"Since that night I knew," Jess finished, opening a tiny black box to reveal an antique and shimmering diamond ring. Getting on one knee, he continued (to a breathless and amazed Rory), "You're the only girl I've ever loved… the only one that's believed in me… Will you marry me?"
"Yes! Of course I'll marry you!" Rory exclaimed, pulling him off his knees and drawing him into a tight embrace.
"Oh, wait," Jess said, considerably relieved. "Before we get too distracted," he smirked, "you wanna put this thing on?"
"Of course!" As Rory lovingly plucked her gift from its velvet cushion, she couldn't help but notice something written on the inside of the band: You're the only one for me. As she slipped it on her finger, she whispered, "And you're the only one for me, too."
Okay, so that's the end! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!
Oh, and stay tuned… we're planning on writing a Grey's Anatomy/ Gilmore Girls crossover in the near future.