I told myself no more multi-chaptered fics until Yales was done. But I was trying to describe Lorelai's wedding dress (spoiler alert) and I just needed to write the first scene in this. I've been planning it for ages so hopefully this won't suck. Basically Jess shows up a heck of a lot earlier and things go from there. How old is Luke, anyway? Since Lorelai is nineteen in this scene I've decided Luke can be in his mid-twenties, but I have no specifics.
Three
In the two years since his father had passed, Luke Danes had made a life for himself. It wasn't as exciting as his little sister moving to New York the day she graduated, or as glamorous as his ex-girlfriend Rachel's photography gig in Malaysia, but it was his life and he was proud of himself. His father's hardware store had been transformed into his very own diner in which he sold food that he would never eat. Some people thought it was strange that the self-confessed health nut would open a greasy diner in a town he didn't seem to have much love for, but those remarks were met by gruffness and a mumbled 'no one notices the salads' from the flannel-clad owner.
Luke's life was going exactly as he had planned after his father's death, which is why he thought nothing of his 22-year-old sister Liz calling to see if she could visit. It wasn't exactly ordinary, with the last time the two had spoken in person being at their father's wake, but Liz wasn't the most predictable type. She hadn't even told her family when she was pregnant until the day her son Jess was born, knowing very well that the two Danes men would not approve of her having a child barely out of high school. Nor did they approve of her husband, Jimmy Mariano. They'd married a month after meeting each other and, like everything else in Liz's life, both Luke and his father William hadn't known until after the fact.
A few days after Luke was dealing with a sizeable lunch rush when Liz arrived. Gripping onto her hand was a small boy with curly dark hair and bright brown eyes. He was practically clinging to his mother's leg so it was hard to see him, but Luke could tell that little Jess was more Mariano than Danes.
"Big brother, what have you done?" Luke rushed to place down some plates as his sister pounced on him with an enormous hug.
"Dad told me to make this place something I wouldn't grow to resent. I guess this was my best idea," he replied modestly with a shrug.
"Dad would be so proud!" She turned to her son who was staring at the ground shyly. "Jess, say hi to your Uncle Luke."
"Hello Uncle Luke." A small voice said after a moment. Luke was impressed with the kid's speech, but for all he knew all three-year-olds knew how to speak clearly. He wasn't exactly the most kid-friendly guy.
"Luke, could you watch Jess for me?" Liz asked abruptly, confusing him. She wanted him to mind her kid? A little kid, whose hands were probably sticky with jam?
"Uh…"
"He's a good kid, big brother. He'll just sit in a corner and colour, or read."
"He can read?"
"I taught myself." Jess piped up suddenly, matching Luke's gaze with his own. There was fierce determination in his eyes, as though this was a point of pride to him. Luke had to remind himself that the kid was three and was probably proud when he went potty. Which reminded him…
"Is he, uh… housebroken?"
"He's not a dog, Luke!" Liz said with a laugh, though there was a tightness around her eyes. "To answer your question, yes. Jimmy made sure of it." A twinge of bitterness leaked into her voice as she said her husband's name. Luke was too busy staring at his nephew to notice. Jess' shirt was a size or two too small, which contrasted with his baggy pants and oversized backpack. Sometimes Luke questioned his sister's ability to care for anyone other than herself, or even care for herself for that matter, but beyond his shabby clothes Jess didn't seem in any way worse for wear.
"So you're saying if I give him some fries and a milkshake he'll just sit quietly?"
"Banana's my favourite!" Jess piped up yet again, feeling less afraid of the tall and scruffy man called Uncle Luke.
"You're the best, Luke! Jess, be good, okay?"
"As long as there are fries, I'm an angel." Luke was surprised by the kid's smart mouth, but more than anything it made him smile. Liz had indulged in a few too many vices during her pregnancy, but it seemed the kid was pretty bright. He didn't know any other three-year-olds who knew how to read, that was for sure.
True to his word, Jess had a plate of fries and a banana milkshake and had been the perfect child. He'd started off colouring in one of his books held in his backpack, but after being continually frustrated at not being able to colour within the lines he turned to something he was getting very good at: reading. About halfway through a re-read of 'Great Day for Up' he noticed a green envelope stuck next to his crayons. 'LUKE' was written in big letters on the front, so Jess decided to bother his uncle just a little bit.
"Uncle Luke?" Jess asked timidly. The tall man hadn't laughed a lot like his mom did, but he was a lot friendlier than his dad. He hoped he wouldn't yell like his dad did when he came home from work sometimes.
"What kid?" Luke said in his normal gruff tone, until he noticed Jess visibly flinch. Trying to be friendlier, he knelt down to Jess' level and gave him a small smile. "Sorry, Jess. I know it's scary to be in a place you don't remember."
"I don't think I've been here." Jess said, puzzled.
"Not since you were a tiny baby. Besides, we sold hammers then."
"I think fries are better."
"Me too, kid."
"This has your name on it. Is it for you?" Jess handed over the envelope, and Luke recognised Liz's handwriting immediately. Assuming it was some sort of instructions on keeping Jess happy, he tucked it into his pants pocket. They were doing okay on their own, he decided.
"Looks like it's from your mom. She's probably just worried I'll forget to feed you or buy you a pet snake or something."
"My friend Anton's big brother had a snake. It ate their bird and they had to sell it."
"Well lucky for you I don't have a snake or a bird."
"Neither do they." The small boy grinned, and Luke couldn't help but laugh. Where did this kid get his brains from? Luke was considered the genius of the family, and he barely graduated a twelve day business school.
He would have to wonder about this later though, as the bell to the front door clanged as some late afternoon customers walked in. In amongst Miss Patty and Babette a young woman came through the door with a little girl on her back. She couldn't be older than twenty and the girl looked to be Jess' age, though with children Luke just guessed and hoped he was right. After spinning around quickly and shouting about 'evacuation procedures must be adhered to!' she let the girl out of the piggyback ride to walk dizzily on the floor, giggling like crazy.
"Don't bump into anyone sweetie, this will be a great life lesson for when you're twenty-one and stumbling everywhere."
"What happens when I'm twenty-one?" The girl asked clearly, and Luke started to wonder if he'd underestimated three-year-olds his entire life.
"You, uh… Go to the moon!"
"Nuh-uh! This is one of those grown up things, isn't it?"
"Rory, what did I say about being smarter than mommy?"
"Not until kindergarten! Sorry mom." The girl had a silly smile on her face like this was a joke they shared. Luke was still busy trying to comprehend that this girl who looked younger than Liz was not an older sister or babysitter, but a mom. He barely had time for that to sink in before the woman in question approached him at the counter.
"Can I get a coffee and a slice of whatever pie you think is the best please? With two scoops of ice cream if that's at all possible? I feel like celebratory pie should come with enough celebratory ice cream to go around." She flashed Luke a grin and he was startled at how beautiful she was. Her eyes were the bluest he'd ever seen, and even though her dark hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail and she wasn't exactly dressed to go to the ball she was definitely making an impact on him. He hadn't noticed any girl's attractiveness since Rachel left almost a year ago.
"Well if it's a celebration I think I can manage that. Are you new in town?"
"No. Well, yes. I mean, kind of?" She rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. "We've been living at the Independence Inn for the last two years or so, but we haven't really managed to visit Stars Hollow beyond an emergency drug store run or two."
"You live at Mia's inn?" Luke was confused. Then he remembered bits of gossip he'd heard in the last few years. Not one to really care about whose garden was looking a bit wilted he didn't often listen to gossipmongers like Babette or Miss Patty. But he'd heard stories of a young mother Mia had taken in to live in a potting shed, and the responses ranged from sympathy to disgust.
"You know Mia?" The woman was surprised, then shook her head. "I will never get used to this small town 'everyone knows everyone and their cousin' thing. I'm Lorelai, by the way. And somewhere at my feet is my daughter, Lorelai." She smiled as he laughed a little at that.
"You named your kid after yourself?"
"Men do it all the time, you know."
"That's actually a really good point."
"We call her Rory, lest she be called up to clean room seventeen by accident."
"So you're a maid?"
"Not anymore. Thus the celebration. Mia's promoted me to concierge."
"Wow, that's great. Mia's really fussy with who she lets talk to customers."
"Tell me about it. But it's just step one in my plan to be day manager by the time I'm twenty-five. Twenty-three if I poison the current guy, Jeff."
"Jeff Robson is the day manager? Good for him."
"There are like five people in this town, I swear."
As the two adults bantered in a somewhat flirty manner, Rory noticed a small pile of books sitting at a seemingly empty table. Adjusting her tutu (Lorelai had let her choose her own outfit today, resulting in a bright orange tutu, pink t-shirt and a pair of old green sneakers that had light-up heels. The perfectly tied orange bow in her hair was her mother's attempt at tying the outfit together) she walked over to find that the table was not actually empty after all. In fact, the inhabitant of one of the chairs was staring at her intently, his brown eyes never wavering from her blue ones. Rory's eyes widened in shock and fear: she did not like meeting new people.
"What are you looking at?" Jess asked as he glared at the girl. He might be scared by big people like Uncle Luke or his father, but he wasn't afraid of a tiny girl in a tutu. Rory's eyes widened in fear for a split second until she noticed a familiar book on the table.
"Are you reading The Cat in the Hat?" She asked shyly. "It's my favourite."
"No way, I bet you can't even read!"
"Can too!" Rory felt very defensive of this, considering reading was her new favourite thing. Her mom had been teaching her and she was really starting to get the hang of it, though she still needed help with some of the big made-up words Dr Seuss wrote. And a few of the littler real words.
"Prove it!" Despite sounding like an angry little kid, Jess was actually incredibly excited to meet someone his age who might like to read too. His friends were fun for playing in the dirt, but sometimes he wished they'd all start learning to read the alphabet already.
Lorelai watched as her often painfully shy daughter sat next to the small boy as they both read out loud from the same book, in some weird competition to outdo each other in what they could read. Sometimes she wondered if Rory needed friends her own age, and if the way she was keeping her close was actually smothering her. Rory liked the adults in her life, like Mia and Sookie the sous chef.
"That's my nephew, Jess." Luke said, taking her concerned look at face value. "He seems like a good kid. A little quiet, but it looks like your Rory has given him something to talk about."
"He can read?"
"Self-taught, or so he says. He seems really proud of that anyway, and if you can't give a three-year-old their pride what can you do?"
"Rory's the same. Except I taught her, I think. But the look in her eye, I never had that. My girl's destined for big things."
"Already mapping her life out?"
"After we buy a house I'll get her into a good school and then it's Harvard, grad school and eventually either president or the first person to walk on Mars."
"Well as long as you're setting realistic goals."
"It's funny; I don't care if she ends up an astronaut or telling fortunes at renaissance fairs. I just want her to be happy, you know? Like, I wish my parents had… sorry, I'm rambling on and we've only just met!"
"It doesn't bother me."
"You're a man of few words, Luke Danes."
"And you're a woman of many, Lorelai Gilmore."
Later that night Luke was making up the couch for Jess to sleep on as the boy himself walked around the tiny apartment above the diner in one of Luke's older t-shirts. Liz had naturally forgotten to pack pyjamas for Jess and that was their best option. Soon he'd put him to sleep and made his way to his bathroom to get ready for bed. The fact that he went to bed at the same time as a small child had not gone unnoticed, but he had an early delivery and it wasn't like he'd ever been the type to stay up past midnight.
As he changed he pulled the forgotten green envelope from his jeans pocket. Curiosity getting the better of him Luke opened it to find one of the most terrifying and unexpected things he'd ever read:
Dear Luke,
I can't believe I'm doing this. Jimmy's gone. I don't know where, but I don't care. I'm going to find him Luke. He's my world and I can't live without him.
I know he left because of Jess. He never wanted to be a dad, and to be honest I never wanted to be a mom. Jess just sort of happened. He was this weird accident that happened for three years until everything messed up. That sounds horrible, like I'm blaming the kid. Maybe I am, I don't know. But I know I can trust you more than anyone else in the world. I know I can trust you with Jess.
I don't know when I'll be back. Maybe you'll never see me again. Please take care of each other. I know you won't get it, you're too smart for the stupid things that I get myself into. But I can't just sit here and let Jimmy run away from me. It hurts too much.
Liz.
Luke's little life was not so little anymore.
Boo Jimmy and Liz, boo! Though really, the best place for Jess is with Luke, right? Especially with an adorable little girl in a tutu and light-up sneakers. I hope I wrote three-year-olds okay, I'm not really around them a lot. I was a lot like that when I was that age, but I was very precocious. And obnoxious. Especially obnoxious. Next up will be kindergarten, and a new friend perhaps?
