Rory walked home, feeling alright. Despite the near disaster between Jess and Dean, she was happy. She knew if she wanted to, she could walk back over to the bridge and sit, and Jess would probably still be there.

"Rory."

Dean's voice.

She turned. "Hi."

He sighed as he caught up with her. "Hi."

"What's up?"

He sighed again, and walked next to her. "I wanted to... apologize for today... wires were crossed. I heard wrong."

Rory nodded. "It's okay. No fists thrown. No blood shed."

Dean nodded back. "Yeah." He sighed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why take him back?"

Rory sighed. The question on the entire town's mind.

"He hurt you really badly," Dean went on. "In more ways than one. And now he's back, and you just take him back like nothing happened."

"My head kinda... went into overdrive when he was in a coma," Rory explained.

Dean nodded.

"I pictured all this stuff... I pictured him lying there, just... dead to the world... vegetable. I pictured his funeral and all sorts of other crazy things, and it made me realize how much I'd miss him if he wasn't... It made me realize how much I..." she sighed. "I guess you get the picture."

Dean nodded slowly and looked down. "Yeah."

"So... how's Lindsay?"

*****

"I can't believe it!"

Jess sighed as he cooked lunch for them at her house. "It's a B, Rory. It's not that big a deal."

"Says you!" she cried. "Everything else was an A! And that... that..." she fumed.

"I was lucky if I got B's."

"If you actually cared, you could have gotten straight A's."

He shrugged.

"I bet if you studied, you could take your exams from last year and pass them."

He sighed. "Rory..."

"No! I bet you could pull it off if you made a deal with-"

"No, Rory."

"Why?"

"Because I don't wanna go back to school," he told her. "You know that."

"This doesn't involve going back to school," Rory replied. "Did you even bother to show up for your finals last year."

"Nope."

"If you took them now and passed them, maybe they'd give you your diploma."

"There's one problem."

"What?"

"I don't care enough to do that."

"Why?"

"Because, I just don't," he told her, turning from the stove. "Why are you pushing this?"

Rory sighed. "You're so smart, I just feel like-"

"I'm a waste."

"No."

He turned back to the stove.

"Mad?" she asked.

He nodded. "A little."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Whatever." He took the pot off of the stove and served her some macaroni and cheese and then set it down. "I'm going for a walk."

She sighed. "Please don't be like this."

"I'll call you."

"Which means you won't."

He walked out of the kitchen and out the front door, shutting it behind him.

******

"What're you doing here?"

"Working."

"It's your day off," Luke replied as he set some food down in front of Ms. Patty. "Where's Rory?"

"At home."

"Trouble in paradise," Patty muttered.

Jess didn't reply, just kept stocking the doughnut display.

"You walked out on her, didn't you?" Luke said.

Still, he didn't reply.

"Did you even try to talk things out?" Luke asked.

"Shut up."

Rory walked into the Diner with a bitter expression, and Ms. Patty leaned forward to see what would happen next. Rory walked up behind Jess and kicked him in the shin.

He dropped a doughnut. "Ow!" He spun around, almost falling. "Rory! What the hell?!"

"Jerk."

"You just kicked me!"

"Yeah, because you left before I could apologize to you!"

That shut him up.

"I didn't know you would take it like that," she told him softly. "I didn't mean to push. I'm sorry."

He looked down.

"Still mad?"

He shook his head and she kissed his cheek and hugged him.

And at the point, most of the diner (except Luke, who was rolling his eyes), was applauding.

*****

"You have to be kidding!"

Rory shook her head. "Nope. Whole diner started clapping." She laughed. "Jess looked like he was gonna eat someone's brains."

Lorelei laughed as she shoveled the leftovers from Rory's lunch into her mouth. "So you guys are okay?"

Rory nodded. "I think so. He's been kinda quiet. I think he might still be shocked that I kicked him."

Lorelei rolled her eyes. "He'll get over it."

"So, I never got to ask," Rory said. "How was lunch with Jason?"

Lorelei sighed. "It was okay... He really, really wants to tell my parents about us."

"What is it with you?" Rory asked in an amused tone. "Why don't you just get it over with?"

"Because! What if they freak?!"

Rory shrugged. "Then they freak. They'll get used to it."

Lorelei blinked. "Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?"

Rory laughed a little.

"It's that boy, isn't it?" Lorelei asked in mock anger. "He's doing this to you."

"Yup, he's brainwashing me."

"I knew it!"