Chapter 9: Please Say Yes
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Chapter 9: Please Say Yes


Disclaimer - I don't own anything!

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(Previously)

Rory pushed through the crowd, using her "I work for the Times" excuse as people gave her looks. She finally reached the center and finally saw what everybody else was seeing. Her heart stopped and she just stared at this sight in front of her.

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(Chapter Nine)

Rory couldn't believe her eyes. It was magnificent:

There was Jess, sitting calmly and patiently on the edge of the fountain, reading a book. It was almost like a picture or something and Jess was a statue. Rose petals surrounded him. It was dreamlike.

Jess had a sense that Rory was there, he slowly looked up and his gaze fell upon her. The crowd went silent. This mystery girl was the girl Jess was waiting for.

Rory hesitantly stood there not too sure whether she was what Jess was waiting for or not. However, the intense stare that Jess had on Rory reeled her in. She involuntarily walked towards Jess and stood there.

"Jess, what is -," she started off.

He put his finger to her mouth to quiet her. "Rory please, it's my turn to talk." Jess got down on one knew and took Rory's hands.

The crowd around them fell silent.

"Rory Gilmore, it's been 10 years since I met you and you haven't left my mind once. The day I first laid eyes on you, I knew you weren't like every other teenage girl, and I knew that we clicked, I don't know if you felt it but I felt like a zap to me. I went through a lot after you left for college, too much that I regret but the only place I felt like I fit was Stars Hollow and you were the reason. That night when I saw you, just a few weeks ago, I got that feeling again, a painful zap, I didn't know what to expect, were we going to be friends or not? And we were, everyday I could feel us getting closer and closer. Then there came the day that broke my heart and it was all because I didn't listen and I regret every word I said that day. For the last 2 months I have been beating myself for thinking the wrong thing. You would never do that to someone; lead them on then turn them away; it's not in your nature. I decided, Rory, that I didn't want to lose you again."

Jess pulled out a little box from his chest pocket and opened it to Rory. "Will you marry me?"

Rory stared straight into Jess' eyes, back to the ring and back to his eyes. A tear slowly ran down her cheek.

"Yes," was all she could manage to get out.

Jess slowly slid the ring onto her finger, it fit perfectly. He quickly embraced Rory in a warm hug while the crowd cheered on the side.

Luke, Lorelai, Richard and Emily were also on the side too, watching and of course the girls were crying.

Rory and Jess were still hugging and by the time they let go, the crowd had dispersed, they'd seen enough. Jess wiped the tear stains off of Rory's cheeks and gave her a soft kiss.

Rory was still lost in the moment but the kiss from Jess brought her back. She took Jess' hand and led him to sit on the fountain.

"Surprised?" Jess asked to his fiancée.

"Extremely. How did you know I'd come down here?"

"I called your boss and asked him to send you. Looks like it worked."

Luke, Lorelai, Richard and Emily who were standing nearby came over to give their best wishes.

"This is a fine young man you have here, Rory," Richard said as they approached the couple. "You two will be very happy." He handed Rory an envelope.

"Oh Grandpa, you didn't have to." Rory said as she accepted the envelope.

"Splurge, you both deserve it."

"Thank you, sir." Jess said.

"Well, we must be heading off. We hope to see you two for dinner sometime. You too Lorelai. Best wishes."

"Bye," everyone said in unison.

"Well, what you say we go grab some coffee, I'm cold." Lorelai said once the elder Gilmore's left.

"Sounds great. I could definitely use some." Rory added.

"I can't believe you guys are getting married!" Lorelai said as they walked away from the park. "The little high school crush has once again emerged."

"What high school crush?" Jess asked curiously.

"Oh you know you were crazy for Rory when you were 17. Don't try to hide it Jess." Luke laughed.

"I'll admit to it," Rory piped in.

Jess looked over at Rory. "You liked me?"

"Yeah, and I was really sorry to lose you, but now I have you back."

"I promise I'll never leave," he said with a tad of sarcasm even though he truly meant and he knew Rory did too.

The four headed to the local coffee shop to talk and catch up. Once again they were back to normal.

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That night the gang headed back to Stars Hollow to tell everyone the good news. Rory had gotten a few days off of work because of her previous assignment. After a little gathering at Luke's diner, Rory and Jess headed off to the bridge to talk.

"They're gonna be really happy," Lorelai said as she was Rory and Jess leave.

"Like a match made in heaven. I'm just happy they both finally came to their senses," Luke responded as he cleaned the tables.

***

"I'm exhausted," Rory said as they walked. "Way too much has happened today."

"I'm just glad to have you back." Jess took Rory's hand as they walked.

She looked at the ring on her finger. "Wow, I can't believe we're getting married. Everything happens so quickly, you never really get the time to process it."

"Well as long as you're happy. . ." Jess added.

"Of course I'm happy. It's just - wow - I can't believe it! We're getting married. That's so exciting. I will be the future Rory Gilmore Mariano."

"Mr. and Mrs. Jess Mariano, I can see it now. We'll have to buy those cute little stationary sets with our names, oh and don't forget the return addresses. People will want to know where we live."

Rory hit Jess playfully. "I know you want all that stuff. Stop trying to hide it." Rory thought for a moment. "By the way, where are we gonna live?"

"New York, of course. I mean, you still work for the Times if I'm not mistaken and that's where my publishing company is so it works. We're only a car ride from Stars Hollow so we can come down whenever we want."

"You've really thought about this haven't you?" Rory asked.

Jess slyly avoided the question. "Well, here we are, back at the famous bridge. We really do seem to have a lot of memories here, don't we?"

"Yeah we do, and I'm sure we'll still have more to come."

"What are you suggesting?" Jess wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh you wish Jess." Rory sat down and pulled Jess with her. "It's so warm for a fall night here in Stars Hollow. It was colder in New York earlier."

"What I can I say, weather is unpredictable."

Rory stared at Jess for a few moments. This was her future, he was going to be her everything. When she was 17, Rory always wondered in the back of her mind if she and Jess would have be anything more than friends and now they were.

Breaking Rory's train of thought, Jess jumped up from next to Rory and started taking off his jacket and shoes.

"Jess! What are you doing! You're crazy."

"Come on Rory, live a little, let's go swimming. You just said yourself that the weather was nice."

"Yeah but I didn't mean that nice."

Jess jumped into the water with a splash that got Rory wet. "No fair! You did that on purpose."

"Ah, you catch on quickly my friend. You gonna get in?"

"Umm, no thank you, I prefer not to get the flu."

"If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane." Jess said looking straight into Rory's eyes.

"Aww, following in Luke's footsteps." Rory laughed. "Here he is folks, the one and only Parrothead, or Buffetthead, as some may say," Rory screamed.

"Oh that's it, you are so dead." Jess made a grab for Rory's legs before she could say anything. "You're going down."

"JESS! NO! Please!" Rory begged.

*SPLASH*

"Wow, it is really warm," Rory commented after she recovered from her graceful plunge.

"Told you so," Jess laughed.

"You're acting like your 5 years old, you know that."

"Sorry, but I can't help myself."

Rory smiled at Jess. She leaned against the bridge and took her shoes and jacket off which were now completely sopping with water, and placed them on the bridge, purposely on top of Jess'.

When Rory turned around she noticed that Jess wasn't around. "JESS! Where are you! This isn't funny." She began turning around like a maniac screaming for him. "JESS!"

Jess took a deep breath before he went back under. He was hiding under the bridge. He slowly began to swim around until he reached Rory. He came up behind her and grabbed her legs under water.

"AHH!!!" Rory screamed as she jumped about 5 feet in the air. She started jumping around trying to get away from Jess who was still trying to catch her feet. She quickly caught onto Jess' game and swam far away from him. Jess popped out of the water gasping for breath. He looked around and saw Rory lying still on the water, just floating there like an angel.

Jess was quiet while he swam over to her. He carefully picked her up in both arms. Meanwhile Rory kept in this 'death' position while Jess carried her.

He got out of the water, Rory still in his hands, and laid her gently on the bridge. He leaned down and gently kissed her. Rory's eyes slowly opened at his touch, her body shivered.

"You're beautiful when you're wet," Jess whispered as he moved the hair out of her face.

"I love you," Rory said in response. It was their first time.

"I love you too." Jess said as he stared straight into her eyes. He got lost in the depth of their blueness.

Rory broke the silence and sat up and shoved Jess in the water. When he composed himself in the water he looked at Rory dumbfounded.

"You're beautiful when you're wet too," Rory said.



****THE END****





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