Jess' First Christmas

Jess was seventeen years old during the time he was dating Rory, but despite his age, it wasn't until Rory handed him a present on December 25th that he had experienced any kind of Christmas.

He could thank Liz for that. Her constant slew of new boyfriends, new jobs, and new apartments didn't leave a lot of time or money for things like holidays. Jess remembered that once, when he had asked, Liz had told him point-blank that Santa didn't exist and that's why he never visited. Jess had only been six years old at the time, and he had learned about Santa in his kindergarten class.

"You got me a present?" He asked, his hands reaching out for it while his mind was still processing the gesture. Rory had wrapped it in red paper, and stuck a green sparkly bow on top.

"Of course I got you a present," Rory told him. "It's Christmas."

Jess had gotten Rory a gift, of course. He had bought it a while ago, when he had gone back to New York. But then the kiss at Sookie's wedding, and Rory's summer in Washington, and Shane had all happened, so he had been hanging onto it for quite a few months by that time.

It was a signed, first-edition copy of Anna Karenina. Whoever had owned it before had loved it well; the leather of the front cover was soft and worn. There was still a bookmark tucked towards the back of the book. Inside the front cover, someone had pressed flowers that Jess though had once perhaps been blue, though now they were a grayish-white. He had left them inside for Rory to find.

He had found it at one of New York's many thrift stores. Jess was certain the bored-looking teenage boy working the checkout counter of the shop had no idea how much the book was really worth. It had been sitting on a shelf of two-dollar books.

But his gift for Rory was upstairs, sitting on his bedside table. Rory had come by the diner to give Jess his gift after spending part of Christmas with the Kims and the other part with Sookie and Jackson.

Jess stood behind the counter while Rory sat on a stool in front of him, turning the present around in his hands.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Rory asked, watching Jess curiously. Her brows folded together when Jess shook his head.

"Come with me upstairs, so you can open yours too," Jess explained, reaching over the counter for Rory's hand. She followed him upstairs and took a seat on Luke's couch while Jess received her present.

While Rory pulled tissue paper out of her gift bag, Jess began pulling the wrapping paper away. Underneath he found a box, and when he opened the box he found he was being spoiled. Inside was a wrapped batch of sugar cookies—his favorite, and baked by Sookie, an attached note reassured him—as well as a DVD copy of Balto, which had been his favorite movie as a kid.

Digging deeper, Jess also found a gray beanie. He had lost his own a few weeks back. A new copy of The Catcher in the Rye rounded out the little gift set. Jess' original copy of the book had become a casualty of his moving back and forth between Stars Hollow and New York City over the past few months.

If it wouldn't have mortified him, Jess could have cried he was so touched by the gift. Lucky for him, Rory was so engrossed with her own gift that she didn't notice the fact that Jess' eyes had gone watery.

"Do you like it?" He asked, nodding toward the book in Rory's hand. Jess was trying to distract from his own present.

"Yes!" Rory enthused, a radiant smile on her face as she looked up at him. "It's so cool! I didn't even know there were any signed copies. My grandpa is going to be so jealous."

Jess was grateful when Rory leaned forward and kissed him happily. It meant he didn't have to talk, or even think about, the fact that she had given him a present.

That was the first happy Christmas Jess had ever had, yet at the same time it made him sad that it had taken so long for him to have a chance to enjoy the holiday.