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Jess looks up as the door opens. Rory comes in, her expression slightly taut.

"Hey."

"Hi," Jess says, putting his notebook down. "How was Lane?"

"Fine." Rory pauses, going over to the bed and sitting down. "I talked to Dean."

"You did?" Jess tries to sound neutral. "And?"

"And...and I told him nothing was ever going to happen."

Rory is looking earnestly into his eyes but Jess can't help asking, "If I hadn't shown up, would you have been with him?"

Rory drops her gaze and says quietly, "I don't know. Maybe."

Maybe. Jess knew it. He loathed how Dean made out to be the good guy of Stars Hollow, telling Jess with a smirk he and Rory were just friends. Like hell. Jess saw through his act even if no one else could. And now he's ready to cheat on his wife! Jess is quiet, waiting, and Rory lets out a long breath.

"I know he's married...I know it would have been wrong. But I wasn't thinking, that night he walked me home." She stares into space for a moment and then looks back at Jess. "Whatever it was, it's done. I swear."

"I know," Jess says and he smiles to show he believes her. "Come here."

Rory moves over to him and sighs into Jess's kiss. She still seems as tense as he feels, even after they've pulled off each other's clothes and he's pushed inside her, kissing her breasts and moving his hips to hers. Their rhythm isn't as uncertain now, their bodies are known. Before, when they made love, it was more off-balance as they moved. When they slip apart Rory lies on the pillow and looks over at Jess.

"I love you."

"I know," Jess says quietly. Rory's eyes are sad so Jess leans over to kiss her, and rests his head on her shoulder. "I love you too," he promises and finally Rory smiles. She takes his hand and they lie still until the daylight deepens and Jess has to get up for work.

"We're cutting your shift."

Jess stares in disbelief at the restaurant manager and dumbly says, "What?"

"Summer rush is over."

"The summer rush?" Jess echoes furiously. "People eat all year round!"

"Point is, numbers are down. I don't need to pay two people."

Jess exhales, trying to even his tone. "You got any other shifts?"

The manager hesitates and Jess resists the urge to beg. He only half-succeeds as he desperately says, "Please."

If Jess loses this job he's screwed. The rent isn't high but it's not as if he and Rory have a lot to spare and Jess really, really needs that money.

"How about this," the manager finally says. "You can start an hour earlier but leave two hours earlier you do now."

"Okay," Jess says automatically. "Sure."

"And don't take this as a permanent thing," the manager warns and Jess swallows the urge to snort.

"No. Thanks."

Jess is in a bad mood, snapping at Brad all through work and the thoughts spin in his mind as he walks home. He's lost an hour's pay. At least he hasn't lost the job, Jess guesses, but this is still bad. The pressure of his thoughts combined with the heat of the night have created a hell of a headache to go with it.

Jess climbs the stairs to the apartment, pinching his nose. The heat has really brought out the stench of urine soaked in. Eyes watering, Jess opens the door to see Rory lying on the bed with a book in her hands. She puts it down as he comes in, concern filling her eyes.

"What happened?"

"I almost lost my job."

"What?" Rory exclaims and Jess hastily adds, "It's okay, I still have it. But I'm down by an hour and seriously, I don't know how long that'll even last."

"Can you try talking to the manager?"

"That was me talking to the manager. Guy's not exactly generous."

Rory bites her lip. "I'll have to get more hours at the cafe."

"Do they have any?"

"I'll ask, I guess."

Jess kicks off his shoes. All he can think about is a shower. He had one before work but Jess wants another one - a decent shower, with real water pressure and no cracks in the tiles. Then he wants a hot meal and a to watch a movie and go to sleep without worrying. Jess thinks back to living at the diner, finishing a slice of pie some customer didn't want before going to bed. Luke usually went to bed ridiculously early, before Jess most nights, but sometimes he'd stay up, working on accounts. Luke would mumble to himself in an annoying fashion, scribbling away as Jess eventually fell asleep. It was stifling yet secure, and Jess misses that right now. He tries to channel his frustration into making dinner and swears as his knife nicks the edge of his finger.

"Are you okay?" Rory asks anxious and Jess says irritably, "I'm fine."

"Did you cut yourself?"

"I said I'm fine."

Rory nods and Jess closes his eyes. "Sorry...I'm just..."

"I know," Rory says gently. She walks over to Jess, taking the uninjured hand and squeezes it. Jess squeezes her hand back, pushing away the rest of his thoughts. He badly wants to pick up the phone and call Luke, have him fix it. That's what Luke does. But if Jess does so, it would be giving in. It would be admitting that he can't do it, look after himself and Rory and that Luke and Lorelai have a right to be as mad as they are. Screw them! And what's their solution going to be? Jess doesn't need their help. He's not going to prove them right - he and Rory can figure this out on their own. Jess takes a steadying breath, letting Rory anchor his thoughts.

"Hey, we don't have to stay here."

"What?"

"Maybe we could travel...see more of the country."

Does Rory know how crazy that sounds? Jess loves the spontaneous side she has hidden but can't believe she's serious.

"How could we do that?"

"You did it last year!"

"With what money?" Jess demands. "It was different last year!"

"Because I'd be there? We could figure it out. Come on, why not?"

"It wouldn't work," Jess says stubbornly and turns around as Rory argues, "But you want to. In your notebook -"

"In my notebook?"

"It fell off the bed and I picked it up. I just wanted to see what it was - I didn't read a lot, I promise."

Rory sounds cautious and Jess nods. The notebook isn't private, exactly, but he doesn't feel like sharing it either. He settles on saying, "I'm just writing random stuff...it's not secret or anything."

"But it's great, I mean it," Rory says eagerly. "You could write more like that and maybe turn it into a book. We could travel and write about what we see."

Jess snorts, feeling his bad mood return and Rory looks hurt. "What?"

"I'm not you. I'm not looking to become a correspondent."

"Then become something else," Rory argues. "You're smart enough."

"No," Jess says angrily. "You know what I'm smart enough to know? We can't just go on a roadtrip together. We don't have any money! What, are we going to sleep in my car every night? Or take yours?"

"I could sell mine," Rory says quietly. "Then we'd have money."

"And who's going to buy it with that scratch on it?"

Rory drops Jess's hand, hurt filling her eyes. Silently, she turns and walks back to the bed and Jess screws up his eyes. It makes his headache worse, which he welcomes.

"I'm sorry," he says, sitting down beside her. "I was being an ass."

Rory shrugs and Jess says tightly, "I'm worried about money. When I left, last year, I only had to worry about me. And I had money to start with."

"I know," Rory says quietly. "But Jess...even if this roadtrip is a stupid plan, what about the other stuff I said? Your writing is really good. Why don't you do something with it?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. You could write something, I know you could. Maybe you could enrol on a course or -"

"I don't think so."

"But you can write," Rory insists, looking up. "Jess, you're so impulsive. Why are you afraid to take a risk with this?"

Jess looks at her but stays silent. He doesn't know what to say, so settles for, "Rory, you're the smart one. I wish you'd go back to school...finish what you started."

"You're smart too," Rory counters. "And Jess...it's all different now."

They lie down, picking up their books. Jess can't concentrate and it seems Rory can't either, as she kisses Jess's cheek and puts her book down earlier than usual. Jess hears her breathing deepen into sleep but his hand throbs, along with his thoughts. Jess stares at the ceiling and stays awake long into the night, ruminating over Rory's words. Yes - everything is different.