Rory stared out the window in anticipation as the bus pulled into the Star's Hollow station. "I'm home! I'm home! I'm home!" is all she could think of. The second the bus came to a full and complete stop, Rory jumped up, grabbed her bag, and ran from the bus. She was so glad to be out of Washington DC. No Paris for a month!

Lorelai couldn't pick Rory up at the bus terminal because the bus had been delayed and there was no telling when it would get in. So, Rory was on her own to walk home. As she walked down the streets of Star's Hollow, all she could think of was her warm comfy bed and her stacks and stacks of books waiting for her to read again. All she had brought on the bus was Seymour, An Introduction, and she found that the whole time she just wanted to be reading Franny and Zooey again.

With so much on her mind, Rory was surprised to find herself walking towards Luke's. She had somehow completely forgotten about the only thing she had thought about for the past three weeks: Jess. She had to go in and apologize to him and tell him that she loved him. Okay, maybe she wouldn't use the word love. That might freak him out. She would just say she had feelings for him. But as she approached the door, she felt her stomach begin to do somersaults. She couldn't do it, yet. She was just too nervous. Rory resolved to go home, spend some quality time with her mom and her books and talk to him the next time they went to Luke's.

When she walked in the door, she couldn't contain her excitement any longer.

"Mom! Mom! I'm home!" she shouted. Lorelai ran in from the kitchen and threw her arms around Rory.

"How was your trip?"

"Fine. No it wasn't it was horrible! It was hot and muggy and I shared a room with Paris for six weeks!"

"I'm so glad you're home. There've been a lot of changes around here. We have a new edition to the family. Come into the living room."

Rory had absolutely no idea what her mother was talking about and was afraid to find out. But when they got to the living room. There was no one in sight.

"This, my friend," said Lorelai in a serious tone, pointing in the general direction of the television, "is my new baby. Rory meet Mr. Satellite. Mr. Satellite meet Rory."

"You got a satellite dish?"

"Well I had to have something to occupy myself with while you were away. It's so great! The other day, I discovered this channel from New Zealand. And there's this one show. . .it's so funny." Lorelai chuckled to herself.

"Okay," Rory said in a tone that she would use with mental patients. "I'm going to go read for a while." But just as Rory said this, she realized she had no desire to read. She just wanted to go to Luke's and see Jess. Maybe not tell him how she felt, just see him.

"On second thought, I'm really hungry. Why don't we go to Luke's for dinner."

"Are you sure you want to do that? I mean we see Luke all the time. Don't you want to go to Al's or something?"

"What are you talking about? You hate Al's! Come on, let's go."

*~*~*~*~*~*

Rory had been starving all the way to Luke's, but when they finally got there, the hunger quickly slid away. The knots in her stomach were back. But she couldn't avoid Jess all summer and she did want to see him. She just wished that she hadn't said the things she did before she left; it would have made things a whole lot easier. For a second she thought of what it would be like if they were dating, and she could just run into the diner, throw her arms around him, and kiss him.

Just before they entered the diner, Lorelai tried to convince Rory to change her mind once again.

"Rory, are you sure you want to go here?"

"What is up with you?"

"Look, aside from the satellite dish, a lot of things have changed around here. I just want you to be prepared."

And when Rory entered the diner, she learned what Lorelai was talking about. Jess was walking down the stairs from the apartment, hand in hand with a sleazy-looking blond girl. And then, he kissed her! Rory sat down at their usual table and quickly averted her eyes. As the girl left the diner, Rory tried to pretend that she hadn't seen any of it. But about ten seconds later, she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Is that what you were referring to?" she asked Lorelai.

"Yeah. I'm so sorry honey. They started dating a couple of weeks ago. According to Luke, they spend every minute making out and probably haven't even spoken to each other. . ." Lorelai's brain caught up with her mouth and she stopped herself. "But you probably didn't need to know that."

"What's her name?" Rory asked tentatively.

"Phoenix."

"Phoenix? Who names their kid Phoenix?"

Lorelai chuckled to herself, lost in her own little universe. "Sikita and Leo would have named their kid Phoenix," she mumbled.

"Are these your new friends from Magical Satellite Dish Land?"

"Yeah sorry," Lorelai responded, coming back to Earth. "Well, at least you still have your sense of humor."

Rory turned her head away, trying to see where Luke was so they could order already. But Luke wasn't whom she saw. It was Jess. He was still standing there at the foot of the stairs, looking right at her. And it was clear that he had been since the moment they got there. He quickly looked away and busied himself with pouring someone a cup of coffee. The prospect of telling him how she felt was looking worse and worse by the minute.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Jess watched Rory as she and Lorelai got up from their table to leave. He had to talk to her. She had seen him kiss Phoenix, he just knew it.

"Rory, can we talk?" he asked, touching her on the shoulder.

"Yeah, sure," she responded reluctantly.

Jess led the way outside. He began to walk towards the bench, but then thought better of it, remembering the last "talk" they had had there. He led her, instead, down the street. Just as Jess opened his mouth to begin, he realized he had no idea what to say. So Rory began instead.

"So, you're seeing this girl Phoenix, huh?" she asked, cutting right to the chase.

"Um, yeah." What he really wanted to say was "well, since you're still in love with Dean, I had to get over you somehow, and this seemed like the best way." But he didn't.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what I said before I left."

Jess feared that Rory would think he was dating Phoenix to get back at her. He wasn't, he just needed something to keep his mind off of her. Not that it was really working. "My dating Phoenix has nothing to do with that," he blurted out, instantly regretting it.

"Oh, okay. Well, I guess I'll see you around," Rory said suddenly, ending the conversation. She turned around abruptly, and began to walk home at a brisk pace.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The minute Rory was out of Jess' view, she broke into a run. She didn't stop until she reached her porch, tripped over the step, and tumbled to the ground. She just lay there on the stairs, holding herself and crying. She hadn't realized until that moment when he said that dating Phoenix wasn't about her how much she really loved Jess. She had left so quickly because she didn't want him to see her cry. The kiss had meant nothing to him. He wasn't fazed by her saying that it was a mistake. As soon as Rory was gone, he just forgotten about her and found someone else.

Rory picked herself up with conviction and stomped into the house. She grabbed her copy of Seymour, an Introduction off the entry hall table. If it hadn't been for that stupid book, she never would have realized how she felt about Jess, and she never would have gotten hurt. She walked back outside and hurled the book at the hedges as hard as she could. Pushing Jess into the lake would have probably been more cathartic, but this was something.

Next time: Jess and Phoenix finally do something other than make out and he realizes how he truly feels.