Disclaimer: Still not mine. Some of it is, but mostly not.

Rory knew the hug was most likely considered excessively long at this point, but she didn't care. No matter how old she got, or the reasons behind it, she hated leaving her mother. It never got easier. She knew she'd probably see her in a couple of weeks, and then again for another stay at Christmas next month. Lots of visits close together were definitely a plus of the holiday season. She pulled back a bit, smiling at Lorelai.

"You just got here," Lorelai complained.

"You sent me off to Martha's Vineyard!" she reminded.

"You think he'll be okay?" she eyed Jess.

"We'll make sure Jess and the kids are fine," she said adamantly.

"Hey, did Jess and Tristan iron out their issues from what Erin said?"

"Not yet. Why?"

"Danger, Will Robinson," she said, pointing Rory's attention back towards Jess. Tristan was approaching him, and neither woman could read his expression.

"Should I go over there?"

"Nah. They're adults. If they start a slap-fight, we'll break it up."

"Deal," Rory had to laugh at her mother's choice of words, as they continued to watch the exchange unfold.

&&&&

"Hey."

"Hey."

"So, she didn't come back."

It wasn't a question, just a keen observation. Plus it was all Rory and her mother had been talking about on the phone all morning.

Jess shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he offered.

"Tristan, she explained a little more to me. There's another guy, she worked with him—anyway, he was the reason she wanted to go to California."

"She's cheating on you?"

"Not exactly. I mean, I guess I'm not sure. She said nothing really happened, he just made the offer, wanting them to be together. . . I don't know. But I think she was trying to make her thoughts okay by looking for ways to blame me for doing the same thing."

"Projecting."

"What?"

"Psycho-babble term. She was projecting her own insecurities onto you, making her feel justified in her own neurosis."

"Right," Jess rolled his eyes, "I mean, I guess what I want you to know is, I don't love Rory," he thought for a moment, realizing this was probably never going to sound completely right. "Well, I do, just not in the sense that makes you want to take me out to the wood chipper."

Tristan smirked, "Ah, you know me so well."

Jess smiled as well. "So, we're good?"

"We're good."

"Should we hug or something?"

"Think we could get away with a smoke?"

Jess noticed Rory and Lorelai inconspicuously watching them. Well, they'd probably thought they were being inconspicuous.

"I'd say probably not."

"You guys going to be okay?" Tristan asked, turning serious again.

"We'll be fine. She's in Boston, thinking. Jules and Am seem to be taking it okay."

"Call us, either of us, if you need anything. At all."

Jess nodded, happy for the support he knew he had. "Thanks. I will."

&&&&

Billy jogged up to the front lawn of the inn, glad to see that the large group was still saying their goodbyes. He was trying to ignore the feeling of dread in his stomach, and nervously approached Ella, who was talking to Jules.

"Ella, hey," he got her attention.

"Hey, Billy," she smiled, then turned to Jules. "See you tomorrow?"

Jules nodded, smiling at the two. She'd listened to Lia drone on and on about the crush Billy'd developed. She knew what it was like to have a crush on one of the Dugrey's and was happy that he was doing something about it, after all this time.

"So, you're leaving?"

"Yep. Got school tomorrow," she said, moving a little closer to him. He could smell her shampoo, and the faint scent of coffee. He didn't care how many adults were around, as he knew his opportunity to kiss her was slipping away by the moment. He put his arms around her, and kissed her. She responded, and he pulled her closer to him, one hand in the small of her back, the other between her shoulder blades. She was so happy he'd come to see her off. They'd talked the night before about everything imaginable. After their meeting on the bridge, he'd called her and they'd stayed up late into the night talking about college, life, music, movies, and basically everything except the fact that she lives in New York and he in Connecticut.

When the kiss ended, she looked into his eyes.

"Call me?"

He nodded. She smiled and gave him one last quick kiss before turning to rejoin her group.

"Ah, shit," Tristan sighed.

"Want me to break his legs?" Jess mocked.

"You think it's funny now, but wait 'til it's Jules kissing some guy like that."

"Ella knows how to cripple a guy that's bugging her, I made sure," he assured Tristan, "Obviously, that was welcomed."

"See, I was feeling better until that last part."

Jess shook his head, patting Tristan on the back. As Ella approached, he whispered into his goddaughter's ear.

"Good luck."

Ella gave him a look, then glanced at her father. Her eyes widened and she scurried over to hug her grandmother one more time before they took off.

&&&&

Both cars finally pulled away, leaving Will, Luke, and Lorelai alone. Luke put his arm around Lorelai supportively, knowing she hated the goodbyes.

"What are you up to today? How about dinner with your old parents?"

"Uh, sure. I just need to run home first."

"Why?"

"Anna's leaving. I wanted to say goodbye."

Lorelai's face clouded over with concern. "How's she doing? Did she tell you what's bothering her?"

Letting out a sigh, he nodded. "But I can't tell you. She's not dealing with it very well, I'm afraid."

His parents nodded, knowing he never gave up other people's secrets. Lorelai had often tried to get him to crack in his youth, with no results. She joked that she had no idea who instilled her children with their values.

"Just, come on over to the diner when you're ready," Lorelai instructed her son, rubbing her hand over his arm encouragingly.

He nodded, and left as well. Luke turned to Lorelai.

"I should get to the diner."

"Yeah, I have paperwork to catch up on here," she made a face, indicating her level of excitement about the prospect. After days filled with people around her constantly, the idea of sitting alone in her office didn't appeal to her much.

"Go," he nudged her.

"Don't wanna."

"And I thought all the kids had gone," he teased.

"Fine. But no fun for you later," she huffed, turning to go inside.

One arm easily circled her waist, stopping her before she took more than a step. She waited patiently for his next move. He pressed himself into the back of her body, tightening his grip around her waist.

"Got any spare rooms?"

"If not, there's always my office," she managed, pulling him into the inn with her.

&&&&

Will sat on the edge of the couch, flipping through channels at warp speed using the remote control. His foot was bouncing on the floor as well.

"My, my, if it isn't the poster boy for ADHD," Dave commented, coming into the room to join him.

"Did Anna say when she was coming over?"

"No, she didn't exactly. Is that why you're so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous."

"O-kay. Why don't we turn the TV off?"

Will obliged, and sat back against the couch. Dave moved to sit beside him.

"So, what's bothering you?"

"Remember how upset Anna was when she got here?"

Dave nodded.

"I just want to make sure she's okay."

"Will, did something happen with you two?"

"No!"

"You can tell me, if it did. It's obvious that there's something going on between you."

"Look, for whatever reason, she confided in me. We've just sort of been there for each other this week."

"Okay," Dave relented, "And you can't tell me what is going on with her?"

Will shook his head. "She made me promise."

"You're making sure she's okay?"

"I promise."

Dave nodded. He knew there was no one else he'd rather see with his sister with. They obviously cared deeply about each other. Even if they weren't going to do anything about it.

Hearing her car pull up, Dave moved to the look out their front room window.

"She's here."

Will grabbed a jacket, and began to leave. Dave told him to let her come in, but he said she'd probably want to have this conversation in private. He reached the car just as she was unbuckling her seatbelt. He knocked on the passenger side window, startling her a bit, but she unlocked his door. After sliding into the passenger seat, he turned to face her.

"Hey."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Thanks for coming over here before you left."

"No problem. Is there some reason you came down here?"

"Dave's home, I just, thought it best if we talked alone."

"Oh, all right," she struggled to keep her tone of voice even as she could feel her insides starting to betray her. Her stomach was in knots and she felt sort of light-headed.

"Ann, I just want you to know, I couldn't sleep last night, thinking about you," he began, and she honestly thought she was going to pass out.

"How are you feeling?"

"Uh, well," she started, not knowing quite how to respond.

"I mean, have you been able to tell anyone else about what happened last weekend?"

Her heart fell back to a normal rate suddenly, making her vividly aware of the fact that she was crazy for thinking he was saying what she'd hoped he was saying.

"No," she looked down at her lap. "I started to tell Mom last night, but she was just so happy about Davey," she explained.

"I'm glad you could tell me, but I don't have the skills it takes to get you through this. You need to tell someone that can really help you."

"I know."

"And you're going to?"

She hesitated. She wasn't quite sure she could do that, but he wanted to hear that his burden was lifted, she decided. She nodded, mustering up the best smile she could manage.

"Call me, anytime, day or night. I'm just a couple hours drive, I can come be there for you, if you need me."

"Thanks."

He looked at her for a beat. She looked. . . disappointed somehow. He knew she was dealing with a lot, and he suspected that this weekend had allowed her to take her mind off the horror of what happened somewhat. Going back to school had to be hard, after getting away from it all for a few days.

"You sure you're okay to go back? 'Cause you can hang out here for a while."

"Nah, I have to get back and study. Tell Dave I'll call him later, okay?" she said, hoping he'd get out of the car soon. She could feel the heat and stinging hit her eyes, signaling the onset of tears soon.

"I will. Drive safe," he said softly, wanting to hug her, but held himself back. She looked like she might not take it right now. Her body language was very withdrawn, and she didn't meet his eyes. She nodded, and he got out of the car silently, making his way back into the apartment.

Dave looked at him expectantly, pretending not to have been watching the whole scene, waiting for one of them to get over themselves and make out a little. "She gone?"

"Yeah."

"You don't look so good."

"I think I did something wrong."

"What?"

"Anna—she's got a lot on her mind, but I think there's something else bothering her too."

"Huh. Wonder what that could be," he said sarcastically.

Will looked questioningly at Dave, who just flipped on the television and sat back, leaving Will standing there in his thoughts. Shaking his head, he decided a long walk to the diner would do him some good, and headed off to join his parents.

AN: You guys must love it when my workdays are slow. . . I just get to write. As for the solution of me quitting my job and writing. . . well, let me tell you, if this actually paid anything, even five cents, I probably would:) Until then, I'll update as soon as I can, around my life. And we aren't done here, just because Thanksgiving is over, no, no. Got me some more tricks up my sleeve. . .