Title: Back in Stars Hollow

Chapter 7: He's Baaack!

A/N: Sorry it's late. Hopefully the chapter's good enough that the pitchforks and torches can wait till I go out of town for three weeks.

The time-line's wonky. Let it go.

I am going to be abandoning this story and all others from updating only as I leave town for three weeks. I will continue to be writing, but I will not be updating. I will update as soon as I get back.

I know the ending of the story…I think I'll give you guys three more chapters.

Jess walked out of the airport, his eyes scanning the signs held up by the drivers picking people up. After a minute, he recognized the handwriting on one and grinned at the message.

Transportation for the loser straight guy who made me gay.

"Baylor!" he grinned, edging through the crowd and scooping his friend into a hug.

"Mariano," she grinned back. "Come. I'm driving you."

Jess plucked her chauffeur hat from her head as they started walking to the parking lot. "Why are you all decked out like Mary Stuart Masterson in Some Kind of Wonderful?" he asked, situating her hat on his head.

"Because my girlfriend looks like Lea Thompson."

"Uh-huh. And when do I get meet Ms. Thompson?"

"Hopefully when you hire her for your next starring role."

"Oh, of course."

"So…how are you?" Mark asked, sipping his coffee. Rory just sat there, her arms still crossed over her chest.

"I'm okay," she said frostily.

Mark nodded. "I don't blame you for being distant."

"Oh, good. You don't blame me."

"Tristan told me everything you've been up to for the past few months."

Rory paused. "Everything?"

"Well…not everything. He told me about the baby." Mark gestured at her stomach with his head. "But he didn't tell me who the father is."

"He doesn't know."

"Oh. Is…is it me?"

Rory snorted. "We never had sex."

"Ohh."

"Di—Did you think it was you?"

Mark shrugged. "I didn't know. You see…." Mark trailed off, and for the first time seemed to realize that he and Rory were in a public place. He leaned in close to her and whispered. "Not here. Do you have a car?"

"I don't trust you enough." Rory shook her head.

"Fine. Your mother's house?"

"Here, or nowhere," Rory said firmly.

"There's too many people around. How about your mom's house?"

"Sure. If you can find Mom's house, I'll meet you there." Rory stood, and gathered her purse and coffee cup. "Whaddya think, an hour? Yeah."

Without waiting for an answer, she stalked from the café and exited the airport.

Lorelai was sprawled out on her couch, shouting obscenities at Long Duk Dong on the television, when Rory burst into the house and stalked angrily up the stairs.

"Rory?" she called, wondering why her daughter, who had left a message a little over half an hour ago saying she wasn't gonna be home for hours, was running upstairs.

"I'm taking a shower!" Rory called down the stairs before slamming the door to the bathroom.

"Okay," Lorelai said hesitantly, before turning her attention back to the movie.

"Where is au-to-mo-beele?"

"Okay, so since you're here for another week, judging from your plane ticket, I figure tonight we'll eat in, and tomorrow we'll eat out." Baylor walked into Jess' old apartment, Jess trailing silently behind her. She disappeared into the kitchen while he sank silently into the couch.

"I was thinking either Chinese or Greek…I can't decide. Ideas?" She looked up from the take-out menus as she entered her living room; he stared blankly at her. "Mariano?"

"Did you see what they offered?" he asked in a reverent tone.

"Oh." She sat next to him and swung her legs onto the couch, until she was sitting cross-legged and facing him. "It's just Hollywood. Are you seriously thinking about taking the job?"

"You want to work in Hollywood."

She paused, her argument broken. "Ooh, what about the girl?" Her eyes lit up as she remembered.

"God, Rory," he groaned, slapping his head with one hand. "What am I gonna do about Rory?"

"I dunno. So, Greek or Chinese?"

"Italian. I'm calling Rory." Jess pushed himself from the couch and headed into the kitchen to find the phone. Baylor remained on the couch, going over the conversation mentally.

"'Greek or Chinese?' 'Oh, well, I'll have Italian, cause I want it, and you'll do whatever I want.' Ugh. Men. I'm so glad I'm a lesbian."

Luke put Caesar in charge of the diner and made his way towards Maple Street, and his new girlfriend.

He shuddered. "Girlfriend". What a scary word. "Girlfriend" said "commitment". "Girlfriend" said "relationship". "Girlfriend" said "Move out of your stupid one person apartment and single bed and move in with me".

Then again, "make-out partner" was a little sleazy.

Some twenty-something guy was pacing Lorelai's porch, Luke noticed as he walked up to it.

"Can I help you?" he asked harshly. The guy jumped and turned to face Luke.

"Uh, no. I mean, maybe."

Luke stalked up the steps and faced the guy. "Well? Which is it? No or maybe?"

The guy inhaled and then exhaled sharply. "Does Rory Gilmore's mother live here?" he asked in a rush.

Luke crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to know?"

"Okay, so she does live here."

"No, I didn't say that."

"But you did get all defensive, so she does."

"No, she doesn't."

"Yes, she does."

"Nope, sorry. This is my house." Luke glared at the guy and stalked into the house. The guy just stared as the door was slammed in his face.

"Luke?" Lorelai asked, sitting up straight as he walked past the living room and into the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's me," he grumbled from the kitchen. She distinctly heard pots and pans making noise. She grinned.

"What are you doing?" She turned Sixteen Candles off and waited impatiently for his answer.

"Making dinner."

She squealed quietly and jumped from the couch. "You're so sexy when you cook." She grinned as she eased herself until she was sitting on the kitchen table. Luke turned around from the sink and glared.

"Get down from there."

"No," she said gleefully. "But it's so cute that you think I would."

Luke shook his head. "Stop calling me cute and sexy."

"Oh, but you are," she announced, grabbing him around the waist and pulling him towards her as he started to walk past her.

"No, I'm not," he half-grinned, trying to pretend to struggle but failing.

"You really are." Lorelai leaned up to kiss Luke.

"I'm out of the shower," Rory announced, coming down the stairs, "and I'm going to wander around town for a while." Rory walked into the empty living room. "Mom?" she asked.

"In here," Lorelai called wearily. Rory headed in the direction of her mother's voice to see Luke at the stove and Lorelai sitting on the table.

"Oh. Luke. Hi." Rory stalked to the fridge and grabbed a bottled water. "By the way." She sighed and leaned against a counter. "Have either of you seen Mark?"

Lorelai slid from the table and stared at her daughter. "Mark? Why would Mark be here?"

"No reason." Rory shrugged.

"There's a reason, and you're not telling me what it is." Lorelai said.

"No, there's no reason."

"Ye—"

"I think I saw him outside." Luke interrupted Lorelai. Lorelai glared, while Rory went pale.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap," she grabbed a coat and flew through the back door.

"Did you interrupt me?" Lorelai asked, still glaring at Luke.

"Yes, I did," Luke answered, half-staring her down while still cooking. She grinned.

"You know, you shouldn't interrupt me."

"I can interrupt you if I want. I'm your sole source of food."

She grinned again and slid from the table. "You're right."

As Luke turned around, she kissed him, fiercely. He grinned through the kiss.

"Well, I'll try to interrupt you more often," he mumbled, his lips still attached to hers.

"You do that."

"Mark! Mark Miller!" Rory called as she stalked up to a brunette strolling dejectedly down the streets of Stars Hollow. He paused when he heard her voice.

"Mark, turn around, dammit!"

He grimaced at the tone in her voice and slowly swung around to face her. She ground to a halt in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing here? No, I don't mean here here," Rory held up a hand as Mark opened his mouth to argue, "I mean here. In Stars Hollow. In Hartford. In Connecticut. What the hell makes you think that after all the crap you put me through that I would want to see you again?"

"Look, I know—"

She held up her hand again. "No, I don't want to hear it. What the hell kind of man drags his girlfriend, the girl he says that he loves, through the goddamn mud, flying her off to stupid France and then stupid New York and England and then New York again and then disappears and won't talk to her anymore? What the fuck kind of man does that, Mark?"

He sighed. "Just let me explain—"

"No, I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. And that's the truth." She smiled a little. "There's no reason for me to care anymore, because I've fallen in love, and he's a wonderful man, and there's no way—no way—that he would pull the same crap you did." She unconsciously ran her hands over her stomach, remembering her conversation with Jess from a few days before. Mark, noticing her far off dreamy look, sighed and hung his head.

"God, Rory, I never thought I would do this. And I certainly didn't mean to."

She slammed her hands to her sides, balling them into fists as she did so. She glared at her ex-boyfriend. "What the hell do you mean, 'you didn't mean to'? How do you do something like that, even without meaning to?"

"They thought I was getting too close to you," he said quietly.

"Who?" Rory demanded.

"My bosses. The…government."

Rory paused as she remembered what Jess had said about Mark and Tristan. "You really work for the CIA?" she asked.

"No," Mark said too quickly. She stared him down, and he melted. "Yes."

"But…what do you do?"

"You ever see The Bourne Identity?"

Rory nodded.

"Well…I'm like that. Only, I work for the CIA, and they're not trying to kill me."

"Huh." Rory shifted her gaze from Mark's face to a tree over his shoulder. "Huh."

"Yeah. And they thought I was getting too close to you, so I had to throw you off the track, cause…something. That's pretty much where I black out."

"You…black out?" Rory asked the tree.

"Yeah. I've got selective amnesia, kinda. I can't remember anything after my boss told me I was getting too close to you. Tris told me that you were pregnant, and you'd come back here. He also said you might be a little pissed off."

"Well…I am!" Rory looked back at Mark. "You treated me like crap."

"I know," he said quietly, his eyes on the ground. "And I'm sorry. I just had to set things straight."

"Well…things aren't exactly straight, but…I don't think you deserve to die anymore," Rory said softly. Mark half-grinned.

"Well, that's good." He looked up and smiled. She gave him a tight smile.

"But…don't come near me. Ever again. Okay?"

He ducked his head and nodded. "Yeah. I understand," he said quietly.

"Okay." She turned to leave, but then called back to him. "Goodbye, Mark Miller. You were…an interesting boyfriend, to say the least."

"Goodbye, Rory Gilmore," he called back. "You were a wonderful sport."

She grinned, and disappeared around a corner.

"Rory, Rory, oh, my God, Rory!" Lorelai called, running from the house and practically knocking Rory down in the front yard. "You won't believe what Jess just told me!"

"What? Jess?"

Lorelai jumped up and down, holding Rory's arms so that she bounced too. "Big news! Big news! Such big news!" Lorelai squealed.

Luke appeared in the doorway to the house, talking on the phone.

"Luke?" Rory asked, turning to the older man, her mother squealing behind her.

"Here she is, Jess." Luke handed Rory the phone and grinned. Rory took the appliance hesitantly.

"Jess?" she asked.

"Rory. The studio loves the picture. They've signed me for three more."

"Oh, my God, that's great!" Rory grinned at Lorelai, who was still bouncing on the grass.

"That's not even the best part. They've offered me seventy five million dollars for all of them."

"That's…that's twenty-five million each movie," Rory stated, shocked.

"Yep."

Rory could hear Jess' grin over the phone. "$75 million dollars for three movies."

"Isn't it great?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it's great." Rory grinned. Seventy five million dollars, and her and Jess' little family would be set for life. "So great," Rory enthused.

"Yeah, it's such an amazing opportunity. There's just one problem…." Jess cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Uh-oh."

"I…I'd have to move out here for at least a year."

"Oh," was all Rory could manage, staring across the yard at Lorelai and Luke, who were grinning happily.

A/N: I'm evil. Mwa-hahahahahahahahaha! And you don't get any more for the next three weeks! Don't worry, it's ending soon, and I know how to do it. You guys are gonna love it, I promise. And this was a good chapter, wasn't it?

No, don't tell me, tell the review board thingamajig. Thanky much!

Samantha