A/N: I thought I'd put down all these ideas on paper, finally. It's told completely from Jess' point of view and set in season 6, around Lorelei and Luke's wedding.

The whole diner moved their heads in unison towards the door as the former town hoodlum entered with an emphatic, "Jess!" from his uncle behind the counter. The bell on the door hadn't even finished ringing.

Jess nodded placidly and gritted his teeth as Luke walked towards him to give him a big hug. This "happy Luke" was scary. "Upstairs?" he asked, gesturing with his head towards the staircase.

"Oh, yea, sure, kid. I had most of the stuff moved into the new house, but I fixed it up enough for you to stay for a few days. How long are you staying? Just until the wedding? Have you seen your mother?"

The younger man put his hand on Luke's shoulder and commented slyly, "Chill with the 20 questions," before manuevering towards the upstairs apartment. He threw his well-travelled duffle bag unceremoniously on his old bed and waited for his uncle's footsteps to follow his up the stairs.

He didn't wait long. "You look great, Jess. You really cleaned up. I can't believe you're that same, sour kid who got off the bus four years ago."

Jess scowled and busied himself with unpacking. "Sentimental, much? What's gotten into you?"

"Me? Oh, nothing- I guess Lorelei's rubbed off some. And the wedding, you know. Stop packing for a minute and talk to me. I want to know how you've been. You look like you've finally moved out of that rathole of an apartment."

Jess did look better. His hair was cut neatly, more akin to what it had been when he first arrived in Stars Hollow. His clothes were less likely to be wrinkled. He had stopped smoking, and it was evidently a rare flash of a smile, or even a sarcastic grin. His eyes were no longer wild, tortured or pleading. Instead they carried comfort, confidence and maturity with his patented brand of sardony. This was grown up Jess, doing the grown up thing by coming to his uncle's wedding without the guilt trip previously required for his mother's. Luke had asked, so Jess had come.

"Yea, I moved out about six months ago. My girlfr- the landlord was a real ass, and I managed to find a job that could pay for an apartment without four other roommates. It's this tiny bookstore that sells mostly rare books. The proprietor's too old to run it now, so I do it." Jess conceded enough to talk to his uncle, but he wasn't about to sit down and have a heart-to-heart. Instead, he kept unpacking.

"That's great, Jess. Good for you. Your mother told me you were taking classes at a community college too. Does that mean you finally finished your GED?"

Jess wrinkled his nose at this. He wasn't mature enough to dislike where this was going. "Yea, I got my GED, but the classes, they're not big deal. I'm not going to get a degree for them, I'm just taking a few writing courses." Jess dropped the last of his clothes in the drawer. He had discovered when he moved into his new apartment that this process was easier and less painless when he bothered at least half-fold them. With nothing to do with his hands, and desperately hoping for a change of subject, he diverted Luke's attention to the wedding. "So, what are the plans for this week? I was planning on leaving Saturday, after the wedding. My boss had to hire a temp while I was gone."

"Tommorow, we need to drive into Hartford to pick up my tuxedo and make sure yours fits half-decently. Lorelei promised us lunch at the inn afterwards, for all the torture her mother's cronies will inevitably have us suffer through. After that you need to visit your mother. Thursday evening there's a family dinner at the new house, and the Friday morning is the wedding rehearsal. Saturday, of course, is the wedding."

Jess walked over the fridge, searching for alcohol at the mention of "family dinner." He pulled out a beer and sat down at the table with no comment from Luke. "Family dinner?" he questioned, skepticism visible on his features.

Luke shifted uncomfortably in his chair, mirroring his nephew's dislike. "Yea, Lorelei really wants to do it. It'll be low-key, Sookie, Jackson, your mother and TJ..." Luke shifted again, before moving on, "I don't think the elder Gilmores will show."

"And Rory?" Jess inquired with about as much stealth as his uncle displayed leaving her out, muffling the question with a swig of beer.

The man across the table just shrugged. "That's a tough situation. A lot has happened since you've been gone...I wouldn't worry about it too much."