The morning after the party, Lorelai was waiting on the sidewalk as Charlotte and Rory walked out of the house with a backpack.

"Have you see these guys? They're hilarious." Lorelai grinned watching Kyle and Marshall clean up the front garden.

"I got it, we can go." Rory said.

"Why are you holding it like that?" Lorelai asked.

"Because when Lane left it here last night, it was a very different colour." Rory said uncomfortably.

"You never said why you threw up over Lane's backpack." Lorelai said.

Rory exchanged a glance with Charlotte. "I think I might have just drunk a bit too much." She lied.

"Ok..." Lorelai said buying it. She then grinned. "Your first cop-raided party. I am just so proud." She said.

"Mom..." Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"I just wish I could've been there." Lorelai joked.

"It was no big deal." Rory said quietly.

"So tell me more about this party last night. I mean, I know the end, but what happened in the middle?" She asked.

"Lane's band played, they were great, and then people just hung out and talked. And then...uh...there was some sort of fight, I guess. The cops came, that's it." Rory said.

"Hmmm..." Lorelai said.

Just then Luke walked up to the house.

"Hey Luke!" Lorelai said surprised to see him

Luke stopped by them looking frustrated. "I'm in bed. I have ten more minutes to sleep. Not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things, but still, ten minutes is ten minutes. You know what I mean." He ranted.

"Sure, yeah." Lorelai nodded.

"Ten minutes is great." Charlotte agreed.

"And then the phone rings, and it just rings and rings and rings and rings, so I pick it up." He continued.

"And then hopefully got your hearing checked." Lorelai quipped.

Luke gave her a look. "Can I finish my story?"

"I'm just saying, that's a lot of rings." She said.

"And on the other end of the phone is someone named John who says he's Kyle's father, and Kyle threw a party last night without permission. And three guys got into a fight and tore the place apart, so John wants me to come down and take a look at the damage and discuss some sort of solution to the problem of the damages. Now, I don't know John, and I certainly don't know Kyle but I do know someone who would get into a fight at a party and leave the place completely trashed. It's a wild guess, but I think his name rhymes with Tess. So here I am, heading in there to talk to John about Kyle and discuss what is to be done about the Hummel." He ranted.

"The what?" Lorelai asked confused.

"Exactly." Luke said before walking inside the house.

Lorelai looked at her daughters. "Uh...so let's get back to the party recap. Any little details you want to tell Mommy?" She asked.

"Jess and Dean got into the fight with Chuck Presby." Charlotte admitted.

"Why? Why were they fighting Chuck Presby? And why was Dean involved?" Lorelai asked confused.

Charlotte glanced at Rory who looked uncomfortable. "Chuck was saying stuff about me and Rory. Jess defended us and Dean overheard as well and the next thing I know, they're having a full scale fight." She lied, covering for Rory. She knew Rory wouldn't want their mom knowing what really happened.

"So it was over you?" She asked.

"Sort of." Charlotte said.

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No." Rory said.

"And that's why the cops came and broke up the party?" She asked.

"Yes." Charlotte said.

"So not only did you go to a cop-raided party but you started the raid?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes." Charlotte repeated.

"This fence is broken because of you, this crap is on the ground because of you."

"What's your point?"

Lorelai grinned. "Did you ever know that you're my hero?" She started to sing.

"Oh my god!" Charlotte exclaimed walking away with Rory.

"You're everything I would like to be. And I could fly higher than an eagle, because you are the wind beneath my wings." She sang running after them.

The priest was leading a service at the front of the church as Charlotte and Rory walked in with Lane's backpack and took it to Lane, who was sitting at a table at the back of the church.

"Hey." Rory said.

"Hi." She said.

"Here. And I'm sorry again." Rory said.

"Forget it." Lane said. "How are you doing?" She asked softly.

"I'm ok." Rory said.

"Did you tell your mom?" Lane asked.

"No." Rory said quickly.

"I told her she should." Charlotte said.

"You totally should. Chuck shouldn't get away with it." Lane said.

"I just want to forget it ever happened." Rory said quietly. "I know that's crazy but if I told mom, she'd freak out and I don't want the hassle at school. We're graduating soon and I'm never going to see him again. There's no point."

"Fair enough." Lane sighed. "But you're really ok right?"

Rory gave her a smile. "Yeah I'm ok." She said softly.

"Have you spoken to Tristan?" Lane asked.

"No." Rory sighed.

"What actually happened?" Charlotte asked. "You didn't say."

"We got in a fight. He was hanging out with Duncan and Bowman again. I told him he was an idiot and he told me if I didn't like it, maybe we shouldn't be together." Rory said quietly.

"He broke up with you?" Charlotte asked surprised.

"I don't know." Rory admitted.

"Well he's a jerk if he has. You don't deserve him." Lane said protectively.

"I guess I'll have to talk to him at school. God knows how that will be." Rory sighed.

"Well I'll have your back." Charlotte said. "He messes you around and you tell me. Friend or not, he doesn't get away with treating you like this."

Rory smiled at her sister. "Thanks Charlie." She said softly. "Talking of boys, have you spoken to Jess yet?"

"No." Charlotte sighed. "He's been in such a mood. I don't know why he's been like this."

"I'm sure there's an explanation. Hey, he defended me yesterday. He's not a bad person." Rory said.

Charlotte smiled slightly. "Yeah I know." She said.

"We should get going. See you later?" Rory said to Lane.

"Yeah see you later." Lane smiled.

Luke walked into a packed diner to be greeted by an annoyed Jess.

"Where the hell have you been? The place is a freaking zoo. Every table's full and I've got Sammy Davis Jr. here thinking it's the Desert Inn." He grumbled.

"I had to run an errand." Luke said.

"Everybody's complaining, we're out of ham, Caesar's suddenly decided to join the Slow Food Movement and I've got a guy who's moved in at a table for four. He just sits, making it impossible for me to turn over that table, and if I can't turn over that table then that cuts way back on my tips." Jess said.

"I'm sorry, don't you mean my tips?" Luke said following him behind the counter.

"What?" Jess said.

"You know where I was this morning?"

"No."

"I was at Kyle's. His parents called me this morning."

"Oh yeah?"

"Seems a little party you went to last night got a little Animal House, huh?" Luke said.

"Chuck started it." Jess grumbled.

"Oh, you're not really gonna use that one, are you?" Luke said.

"Well, he did! He...well he was fighting Dean and I was helping Dean." Jess said.

"Oh, apparently you defended yourself all the way through the house and out into the front yard. You defended yourself with a chair that is now broken. You defended yourself with a coffee table. You defended yourself with an ottoman." Luke exclaimed.

"I don't need a recap."

"Do you have any idea how much damage you caused?"

"It wasn't just me." Jess said.

"The place was trashed. Are you trying to kill me?" He exclaimed.

"Nope, it'll just be a perk." He said dryly.

"Ok, well here's the deal. From now on, every cent that you make here goes toward paying them back." Luke said.

"Hey, what about..."

"Dean's paying them back also." Luke said.

"What about Chuck?"

"I don't know."

"Figures." Jess grumbled.

"You are making good on this, Jess. I mean it!" Luke said.

"I have to get more coffee out of the store room." Jess said walking away.

"Every cent is getting paid back. I never want those people calling me again!" Luke called after him. He let out an exasperated breath. He noticed the man at table four get up and leave. He noticed that the man left his wallet on the table so he went and picked it up and then rushed out the door to catch him. "Hey, you left your wallet! Hey!" He called but the man didn't turn back. He opened the wallet and checked the ID and was shocked by what he found.

Rory rushed into the Franklin meeting that evening. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" She apologised for being late.

"The issue is a disaster. It's our last issue of the Franklin and it's a complete disaster!" Paris exclaimed.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Rory said.

"And that's why you won't need to botox your frown lines on your nineteenth birthday." Paris said. She turned to another student. "Not that picture, no, put it down. Put it down now!" She exclaimed walking away.

Rory walked over to Madeline and Louise. "How's it coming?" She asked.

"Very frustrating." Louise said.

"We just can't seem to get exactly the right combination." Madeline sighed.

"Alright, how about blue dress, blonde guy, black limo? Works best for me." Louise said.

"Yes, however green dress, red-haired guy, white limo works best for me." Madeline said.

"White limo with blonde guy totally doesn't work. It's too washed up."

"I'm assuming this conversation veered off of the cover page placement?" Rory said smirking slightly.

"How about black-haired guy, green dress and tan limo?" Madeline suggested.

"Tan limo?"

"Good neutral backdrop."

"Well, this opens up a whole new set of options. Bring the golf team back in." Louise said.

"Ok, why don't I just get these pesky Franklin articles out of your way? There we go." Rory said.

"What are you doing?" Paris asked walking up to her.

"I am working on the front page placement."

"What are they doing?" Paris asked looking over at Madeline and Louise.

"Staying true to who they are." Rory smirked.

"Look, prom is once. It happens, it's photographed, and then it's there forever." Louise said.

"Planning is essential." Madeline nodded.

"By the way, Paris, we left a space for you in the limo. However, we're going need the colour of your dress." Louise said.

"And a picture of Jamie." Madeline said.

"And the amount of flexibility that you have with the colour of your dress."

"And with Jamie."

"Thank you, but we've already made our plans for prom night. Jamie hired a private car to drive us to the prom. We'll go in, take the picture, depending on the level of lameness, dance. Then he's taking me to dinner at Antoine's, followed by a helicopter ride to join his parents out in Martha's Vineyard for the weekend." Paris said.

"What colour's the helicopter?"

"As you were." Paris rolled her eyes. She turned to Rory. "So, have you figured out your plans for prom night yet?" She asked.

"Oh..well..." Rory said suddenly seeing Tristan walk in. She caught his eye but then looked away quickly. "I'm not sure yet." She told Paris.

"Well I can't wait." Paris smiled.

"Yeah.." Rory said watching Paris go off to check the progress of the paper. She sighed and got on with the front page.

"Can we talk?" A voice said next to her.

Rory looked up to see Tristan standing there. "Here?"

"Outside." He said.

"Sure." Rory sighed and followed him out into the hallway. "So?"

"I just wanted to make sure we're ok." He said.

"Well I don't know. Are we still boyfriend and girlfriend?" Rory asked crossing her arms.

Tristan sighed. "I never should have said that last night. I'd had a bit to drink and I was angry. I'm sorry." He said.

"Ok." Rory said still not uncrossing her arms.

"So how was the party?" He asked.

"I'd rather not talk about the party." She said quietly.

"Why?" He frowned.

"I'd just rather not." Rory said finally uncrossing her arms and looking anywhere but at him.

"Rory?" Tristan said. "Did something happen?"

"It doesn't matter." Rory said.

"It does! You're upset, I can tell. Is it because I wasn't there? Is that why you're upset? Are you still mad?" He asked.

Rory sighed. "No." She said. "I'm not mad." She said quietly.

"Then what?" He asked. "Rory, you can talk to me." He said softly.

"Can I? Can I really?" She asked finally looking at him, with tears in her eyes. "Because you made it clear last night that I had no right telling you what to do and you had no interest in what I had to say."

"I'm sorry." Tristan said ashamed. "I love you. I want to be with you. I was a jerk last night and I'm sorry."

Rory sniffed. "This guy who goes to Stars Hollow High..." She said. "He...he heard me shouting at you on the phone. He saw I was upset and asked if I was ok. He's a jerk so I just said I was and wanted to get back downstairs and away from him. But...but he wouldn't let. He...he..." She said, her voice shaking.

"He what? What did he do?" Tristan asked.

"He tried it on with him. I told him no! I told him I didn't want to. But he insisted. He told me to show you what you were missing. I swear I told him no! I told him I didn't want to! You have to believe me!" Rory said letting tears fall. "Please say you believe me!"

"Hey, come here!" Tristan said softly bringing her into a hug. "Of course, I believe you."

Rory cried into his shoulder. "I kept telling him no but he pushed me back onto the bed and I couldn't get him off..." She admitted.

"Please tell me he didn't..." Tristan said his blood boiling.

"No." Rory said quietly. "Dean heard him calling for help and came in and pulled him off before anything could happen. I legged it and ran downstairs as fast as I could. I was so scared, Tristan. He wouldn't take no for an answer. I thought...I thought he was going to..." She cried.

"I'm so sorry." Tristan said softly, holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there." He said feeling guilty. "I should have been there."

"It's not your fault." Rory sniffed, wiping some tears away. She looked up at him. "I'm sorry I shouted at you on the phone. I was annoyed. You only seem to have time for Duncan and Bowman at the moment and I was worried you'd get yourself into trouble. You had no time for me anymore and I was angry. But I shouldn't have said what I did."

"No, you don't need to apologise. I was being a jerk. You were totally right." He shook his head. "From now on, you're number one to me ok? I don't want us to end. And I'm so sorry you had to go through what you did."

"So you're not breaking up with me?" Rory asked quietly.

"God no. I'd be an idiot to let you go." Tristan said. "Although I'm feeling like an idiot at the moment anyway." He added.

Rory smirked slightly. "Nah you're not an idiot." She said. "You have been. But now, well I'm just glad you're here." She admitted.

"I'm so sorry." Tristan said softly. "We'll be ok, right?"

Rory smiled and leant forward to kiss him. "I'd really like us to be ok." She said softly.

"I love you. More than anything." He said.

"I love you too." She said softly.

Meanwhile, back in Stars Hollow, Charlotte walked over to the bridge where she found Jess sitting on the edge staring out at the water. She slowly walked over to him. "Hey." She said quietly.

He looked up at her. "Hey." He said.

"Can I sit?" She asked.

"Sure."

Charlotte sat down next to him. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again not really knowing what to say.

"How's Rory?" Jess asked.

"She's ok. Well, she's not. She's shaken by what happened but she's just keen to forget all about it. She's at school at the moment doing something with the paper." She told him.

Jess just nodded. He glanced at her. "I'm sorry I've been a jerk." He said finally.

Charlotte looked across at him. "What's going on?" She asked quietly.

"I couldn't get prom tickets." He admitted.

"What?" She said surprised.

"They said because I'm not graduating, I'm not allowed." Jess said quietly, glancing at her. "I'm sorry."

"Oh." Charlotte said quietly. She looked at him. "That's why you've been in a mood?"

"I felt bad. You were so excited about the prom and because I messed everything up, you can't go." Jess sighed. "I was angry at myself and I took it out on you and everyone else. I'm sorry."

Charlotte sighed. "You could have just told me." She said. "Am I disappointed? Yeah, of course. But it's not the end of the world. We can just do something else instead." She said.

"Really?" He asked looking across at her.

"We can make our own fun. Who needs prom?" Charlotte shrugged.

"You really mean that?" Jess asked.

Charlotte smiled at him. "I know you will have tried to get tickets. You had no idea that you wouldn't be allowed. It's not your fault." She said. She then smirked. "I still love you."

Jess smirked slightly. "Good to know." He said but let out a relieved breath.

"I wish you would have just told me. I was thinking all sorts!" She said.

"Sorry." He said.

"It's fine." Charlotte said. "Just know you can always talk to me ok? About anything."

"Ok." Jess said.

"Good." Charlotte smiled.

"You can always push me in the lake in revenge. I hear it's cathartic." Jess smirked.

Charlotte laughed. "I'll think about it." She smirked.

As Charlotte and Jess were hanging out on the bridge, Luke had gone to a motel and knocked on the door. The man who had left his wallet in the diner opened the door and was surprised to see him. "You left your wallet in the diner." Luke said tossing it to him.

"Oh, wow, did I? Look at that. I guess I did. Thanks for bringing it back." The man said.

"No problem." Luke said.

"You know, I really like this driver's license picture too, so you could imagine what a drag it would be to have to replace it." He tried to joke.

"What are you doing here, Jimmy?" Luke asked.

"Just passing through." He said.

"Passing through from where?"

"California." Jimmy said.

"California?"

"Yeah, I've been there for a few years now, seems to be working out." He said.

"Well, glad to hear it."

"Yeah."

"So what are you doing here, Jimmy?" Luke frowned at him.

"Nothing, really, just..." Jimmy tried.

"He hasn't missed you." Luke said.

"I'm sure that he hasn't."

"Never says a word about you."

"I wouldn't expect he would."

"Do you know why he doesn't miss you, Jimmy? Because you're a loser and nobody missed a loser!" Luke exclaimed angrily.

"It's been seventeen years, Luke!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Oh, you remember how long it's been. I am impressed." Luke said.

"Yeah, well, I always could count." Jimmy said sarcastically.

"And your list of attributes ends there."

"Ok, so I guess we're not playing nice anymore." Jimmy said.

"You know, the last time I saw you is right after Liz gave birth. You were going to go out and buy some diapers and meet us back at the apartment. Remember that?" Luke said angrily.

"Yes." Jimmy said.