AN: Thanks for the reviews, apparently they do actually make you write faster. Who knew?

"So, what's happening with Rory?" Tristan asked as Jess climbed into the passenger seat of his Porsche. Tristan had texted him the night before when he'd gotten home, saying he would pick him up for school. He knew exactly why, too.

"Nothing," Jess replied, shifting some books in his bag, trying to avoid his friends gaze.

"Nothing? Are you kidding? There was a kiss!"

"I remember I was there."

"So, what's happening with Rory?" he repeated.

"She didn't say anything and since I haven't been to the diner this morning, I haven't seen her today. So, like I said nothing."

"Ok, I guess we'll be making a pit stop then."

"No!"

Tristan pulled over and turned in his seat to look at Jess, more closely. "No? Why not?"

"Because it… it was just that stupid, bottom of the cake thing. It didn't mean anything."

"A kiss always means something."

"Says the guy who kisses a different girl each day of the week," Jess retorted.

"And every one of those kisses means something." Tristan replied, trying to defend himself. "Ok, well maybe not all of them. But this one did. You like this girl Jess, and she kissed you, which leads me to believe she likes you too,"

"That or I was the closest male body in the room."

"No. I refuse to believe that. What does Lane think of the situation?"

"I don't know. There really wasn't time to discuss it, because she had to get home. And there is no situation! Can we please, please stop talking about this now?"

"Fine," Tristan rolled his eyes, before putting the car back into drive. He liked Jess, a lot. And he had a feeling that maybe one day he could also like Rory, if she stopped fighting friendships. So as he drove through Stars Hollow, he decided that he was going to make the two of them face facts. It wasn't just a stupid bottom of the cake thing, he thought. I'll show you.

Lorelai spent Monday morning at the inn with Sookie, trying to avoid what she knew she had to do. But then she mustered up the courage to call her mother and tell her she was forty minutes away. Her dad was home from the office by the time she arrived, and this time, it was clear he wasn't going to hold back.

"Hi, guys, I hope this isn't too inconvenient, but I just thought we should talk about-"

"Oh, no. Heaven forbid that we be inconvenienced," Richard returned, glaring at her as he poured himself a drink. His manners and upbringing had forced him to be polite and offer drinks to the women before he made his own, but now he was just back to being a pissed off father, chastising his daughter. "I am astounded that you thought that this would be ok, Lorelai! Walking out of our lives and not once looking back? What made you think that would be alright?"

"I didn't think-"

"That's right," Emily interrupted. She'd had her say the night before, and didn't think it necessary to be present for this. "You didn't think. Not about anyone but yourself, just as you've always done. Now, as I told you over the phone, I have an appointment, so I have to leave. I trust that the two of you can speak to one another with minimal maiming? You see, I've just had this room re-done Lorelai and I would prefer that it not be blood-stained when I return."

"Sure, Mom. We'll try to avoid the blood-staining…" Lorelai replied quietly before she watched her mother pick up her purse and walk out of the room. For a few moments there were no sounds, other than the ticking of the grandfather clock and the tapping of the maids heels as she moved around the house, going about her duties. Finally Lorelai looked up at her father, glowering from his chair.

"I suppose you're here because you need something? Money, a new apartment? A lawyer perhaps?"

"I don't need anything dad. I just thought that we should talk."

"Talk, yes. You said that. What would you like to talk about, hmm? The state of the stock market? The disaster that is your daughter? Or how about the hell that you put your mother and I through for the past sixteen years?"

"We've all been going through hell dad."

"Your whole life, we did nothing but support you. We gave you everything you could ever want. And how did you repay us? By getting pregnant and running off with our granddaughter. Do you have any idea what it was like here, for us, after you were gone?"

"I-it must have been awful, I'm sure."

"I had to inform everyone that my only daughter was gone, just vanished in the middle of the night. We spent almost an entire year, sick with worry until your mother ran into Sookie. Naturally she thought we'd heard from you, and she made some passing comment, so we at least knew that you were still alive then. But then another thirteen years went by with no word, nothing. Do you have any feasible explanation for that?"

Lorelai massaged her temples, taking a deep breathe. "I was a stupid kid. I screwed up, in what is maybe the worst way possible. And I'll never be able to apologize enough, to any of you for what I took from you. But I am so so sorry. I hope that you at least know that."

"I need to be getting back to work, if you're finished."

Nodding, Lorelai removed a slip of paper from her pocket. She had carefully written her phone number down for them. "Here, this is for you. Just in case you want… to talk again, I guess." She explained, handing it over. She watched as he studied it for a moment, before slipping it into his own pocket. Then she left the house to return to the inn for some Sookie comfort.

The rest of the day she walked around the inn and the town, reacquainting herself with everything.

As she lay on the couch that night trying to sleep, she realized what she had to do next. I need to talk to Luke. I have to thank him, apologize. For everything.

But after the confrontation with her father, that thought did nothing to calm her and she spent the rest of the night counting sheep in a (failed) attempt at finding sleep.

Since Kate was expecting her at work first thing on Wednesday, Lorelai was planning on getting the bus back to the city Tuesday afternoon, which meant that for all her procrastinating, that day, she was now severely pressed for time.

Rolling onto her side, she buried her face in the cushions, forcing herself to just stop thinking all together. Tomorrow. I'll figure it out then.

Luke looked out the window again, and saw that Lorelai was still pacing at the gazebo. She'd been there for a while now, and he was still trying to figure out what she was doing. But it had been a long time since he'd last tried to understand the reasoning behind her actions, so he just turned away from the window, choosing to concentrate on his work.

They hadn't spoken much at the party; after he'd yelled on the porch, it seemed that all three Gilmores were avoiding him, and then Emily and Richard left very soon after cake. Lorelai stuck around longer, but somehow they kept missing one another. Although, that probably wasn't a coincidence, he thought.

"Are you busy right now?" Luke spun around to find Lorelai standing behind him, "I mean, I know you're working, but would it be possible for you to take a break for a few minutes? I was hoping we could talk."

"Uhh, sure. Let me just go check that Caesar can take care of things, I'll be right back." Quickly moving to the kitchen, Luke spoke with Caesar for a moment, before returning to the floor where Lorelai waited. "Ok, let's go."

She led the way back to the gazebo and they both sat down, silent for a moment as Luke stared at his shoes and Lorelai kept her eyes trained on the diner.

"The place looks amazing; you've done a great job." She finally said and he looked up, following her gaze. "He would be so proud of you."

"Thanks. I like to think so."

"I'm sorry I didn't call you when... I just didn't think you'd want to hear from me. But I am really sorry. That I wasn't here, that you had to deal with it all alone and most of all that I did what I did. You didn't deserve that, none of you did."

"You're right; we didn't. But I wasn't alone. Liz was here, we helped each other; Jess was a really good distraction for us both too."

"Luke, stop doing that!" Lorelai yelled, jumping off the seat and stomping her foot.

"Doing what?"

"You're being nice about this, the same way you were on Sunday, and you shouldn't be. That's the last thing you should be to me. Yell, scream or kick something. Just please, don't tell me its ok, because I know that it isn't."

"What's the point? You're leaving again today and I get it, ok. You're going back to your life, which is fair enough. But I really don't see what my yelling at you could possibly achieve. The last time I did that I got a hysterical call from your dad, and you were gone. I don't want to be the reason you say away for another fourteen years."

"You wouldn't be! You never were. God... Trust me that had so much more to do with me and my issues than it did us. I didn't plan it, not really. You know I spent my entire childhood dreaming up ways to get away from my parents, but it wasn't something I thought I'd actually put into action. Not after meeting you, Sookie, finding this town. And that fight... I remember that. And there is no way that that's what sent me away or kept me from coming back. We were tired and said things that didn't mean anything and I left. But please believe me when I tell you those instances were not in anyway connected."

"I believe you. But that doesn't change anything."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm still not going to yell. It might make you feel better, and me too, maybe. Because I would love to; don't get me wrong. There are a lot of things I've thought of over the years that you should probably hear. But I'm not going to bother. Because none of it means anything now. All you really need to know is that I missed you. Every day since I last saw you I've thought about you and wished you were here. But you weren't and I understand that. Because it doesn't matter how we felt then, or how we feel now. All that's important is that you're ok, and Rory get's the care she needs. I'm fine. I've accepted that our time has passed, so whatever you're worried about, just don't be. Go back to your life and I'll talk to you the next time we need to discuss something about Rory."

Luke stood up and walked away, having said his piece. There were a lot of other things he had running through his mind that he would have liked to mention, but there really wasn't any reason to do that now. She would be gone again in a few hours and he would continue getting on with his life.

Lorelai didn't move as she watched Luke walk across the street.

Somehow, even when Luke kept his voice at a normal volume, when he was trying to keep his emotions in check, it was so much worse than having both of her parents yelling like they had the previous two days.

It wasn't that his opinion meant more, but she just knew that if she had gone about things in a slightly different way, he would have been hurting less. Her parents would have been angry with her, no matter how she'd done it, but if only she'd spoken to Luke first, then, maybe she could have minimised some of the damage.

"But I didn't. And now they're all going to hate me forever." She muttered, slowly standing up and walking back to Sookie's house. She needed to finish packing before returning home.

Sookie stood outside Rory's classroom, waiting for her to come out. She'd spoken with the principal earlier, and although he tried to point out that Rory really couldn't afford to miss any more school, he had reluctantly agreed when she'd explained that it was a family emergency.

"Sookie, this really isn't necessary." She started as soon as she'd shut the door behind her. "We talked this morning, and everything's fine. She understands that I have school, and she knows I can't come say goodbye."

"But you can come. I talked to your principal and he told the teacher, so you've got the rest of the afternoon off. Now, let's go. You don't want to miss her."

Rory grudgingly followed Sookie down the hall. The truth was, she didn't want to say goodbye, not that she wasn't able to because of school. The last time she and her mom had been faced with a farewell and a bus was involved, she'd felt like throwing herself under it, because it just wasn't fair. But this time, she didn't want to, because unlike when she'd been sent away, she had a feeling that she was actually going to miss her mom a little this time around.

"Ok, fine. But if it turns out that I miss a quiz or something, I'm holding you accountable." Sookie glanced at the girl beside her and smiled. "What?"

"Nothing, sweetie. It's just... your mom said that you loved school, I just didn't really believe her. Until now, what changed, why did you start skipping?"

Rory shrugged. "I just got bored. They were going too slow for me, and this place isn't much better. But there isn't much of an alternative in this town, so I figured I might as well just go."

"Well, I'm glad. Maybe we can work something out so you could go to Chilton, with Jess. He says it's more challenging there, would you like that?"

"I don't think that would be possible." Rory replied, suddenly right back in Liz's living room, her lips pressed against Jess' for a second or two. "It doesn't matter. Stars Hollow High is fine, I guess. It doesn't matter." She repeated, more to herself, trying to will away the moment.

"So, you'll think about Christmas at home?" Lorelai asked, hugging Rory tightly.

"Yeah, sure. I guess a few days wouldn't hurt."

"Good. That's great. Well... I guess I'd better get going. Thanks again Sookie. For everything. And, I already spoke to Luke, but I didn't really get to say everything I was going to say. Could you let him know that I'll pay for whatever Rory needs while she's here? He shouldn't have to do that, not when he's already giving her a place to live."

"I'll tell him." Sookie replied, hugging her friend. "It was so good see you honey."

"You too. And I'll be better about staying in touch this time around, ok? I promise."

"Well, weekly calls is pretty good, but, sure. If you want to step it up a notch, you go right ahead. I won't say no."

"Bye you guys." Lorelai took one last look at Rory before getting onto her bus and finding a seat.

"So, I don't have to go back to school today?" Rory asked, as she and Sookie got back into the car.

"Nope. There's not much point anyway. There's only forty minutes left." The other woman replied, glancing at the clock on the dashboard.

"Ok, well, would you mind leaving me here?"

"Here?"

"In Hartford. I heard Lane talking about this record store that sounded pretty good, and last time I was here, I saw a couple of bookstores that seemed ok. I thought maybe I could just spend a couple of hours wandering around, and get the bus back to town later. If you think that would be ok with Luke."

"I'm sure it would be fine. Are you working this afternoon?"

"Tonight, which gives me more than enough time to get back, do my homework and rework my Joey Potter impression."

"Joey Potter?" Sookie questioned, pulling over.

"She's this girl on a teen soap opera. She works in her family's diner and hates every minute of it. The only reason she's there is because she'll never earn enough money for college without that job and everyone in town thinks her family is trash."

"Oh, well... have fun then, I guess. And I'll see you later."

"Sure. Thanks Sookie." Rory jumped out of the car and started walking along the street, trying to remember the address of the store Lane had gone completely gaga over.

Rory sat in the back row of the bus, flipping through David Copperfield. She'd had a copy of it at home, but had lost it about a year ago, and since she'd found a new one, pretty cheap in a shop next to the record store, she'd figured it was about time to revisit Dickens' world.

The record store was great, as was the book store, but she hadn't had a lot of money on her, so they quickly lost their appeal when she couldn't take everything home with her. And getting busted for shoplifting wasn't on the agenda for the day, so she'd bought the book and decided to walk away, leaving the rest for another time.

Looking out the window for a moment, Rory dropped her book as she realised where they were stopping.

Big stone buildings, gargoyles, Hartford.

Jess' school.

And there he was, standing on the side of the road, his hand out, hailing the bus; the bus that she currently sat on.

He hadn't been into the diner since the weekend, Luke seemed to think he had too much school work to concentrate on, but Rory was convinced he was avoiding her, because of that stupid cake thing.

Scrambling to pick up her book, she watched carefully as Jess walked inside and took a seat. As they resumed movement, he looked around a bit. She saw that he'd seen her, but she pretended to be looking at the book again as he made up his mind about coming to join her. The battle within seemed to be a strong one, but eventually he came to a decision, and stood up, walking passed the other seats to stand before her.

"Hey, Rory. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, mom left today. Sookie said I didn't have to go back to school, so I just hung out at that place that Lane was talking about for a bit."

"Record Breaker, Incorporated? Find anything good?" he asked, sitting down.

"Tonnes. But I had exactly eighteen fifty, so that severely limited my buying power. I didn't really want mom to arrive home to Luke's 'your daughter has been arrested I don't want to deal with this. Come and take her away' call, so I figured I'd just save up and go back another day."

"Good call." He looked out at the street passing by for a bit as Rory fiddled with the book in her hands. Chewing his lip, Jess gave Rory a side-long glance, trying to work up the courage to bring up her party.

But then he was out of time.

"Stars Hollow!" the driver called out as they came to a stop.

"I've gotta go do my homework before work, so I'll see you later." Rory explained, jumping off her seat and heading for the door.

"Yeah, see you..." he replied, but she was already gone. He stood and followed her direction off the bus and turned towards home. "I need to talk to Lane." He decided, turning back around and walking to his best friend's house, just across the street. As hard as it was to think of actually discussing this, when he didn't even know what this was, he needed help. And Lane knew him better than anyone, besides his mom. I'm not quite ready to open that can of worms though, he decided. Lane will understand. She's a girl she'll know what's going on. He told himself.

AN2: I hadn't actually set out to use Tristan in the get-Rory-and-Jess-together plan, but it seems that he is very interested and may just prove to be helpfful after all. I hope uu enjoyed. Review?