A/N: As some of you already know, this story was originally only supposed to be a one-shot - a vignette that gave a glimpse into Luke and Jess' past, and some insight into how they viewed each other, life, family, etc. I decided to continue the story (it will probably be about 10 chapters long), mostly because of reader response. I was surprised at how many people loved, reviewed and favorited this little snippet, and also that the main objection people had to it was not the one I had expected. Almost universally, they told me that although they loved the story, they couldn't see Luke and Jess being that close at that point in time, or Luke being that involved in Jess' life because of their stiff standoffishness and awkwardness in dealing with one another in "Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy," because of the tenor of their communication about smoking in that episode, and because of Luke's statements about dealing with children. All of these were things I'd reconciled in my own mind, but I then realized that they would be anything but obvious to a reader. And, the more I thought about explaining them, the more I realized that this story simply wasn't finished…that there was a thread here, which, if I decided to follow it, would lead me through Luke and Jess' entire relationship.
The plot and dialogue that I've written so far can't make up their mind whether to be comedic, sentimental or sad, so I'll just present it to you as it has been presented to me in my own mind, and see what all of you make of it.
Hope you enjoy! Feedback, both positive and negative is always welcome.
Chapter 2. Green Mohawk and Exploding Head
"So, your nephew went home." Rachel lifted the glass of pinot noir, swirling it gently in her hand and watching the light catch its garnet refraction as it shone even in the vaguely green tinged light from the fluorescent bulb that flickered slightly in the old kitchen. She had a habit of making statements that were really questions.
"Yep." Luke lifted the savory smelling lamb chops from the pan and onto his mother's china, then switched them, taking the chipped plate with the smaller chop for himself, putting the larger cut of meat onto the unblemished china. "Really botched that one up," he grumbled, his expression bitter.
"What do you mean, Luke?" she asked, finishing her sip of wine and setting it back on the table, settling back in her seat with a look of concern. Luke set the plates in their respective places, but nervously remained standing. The tenor of his gravely voice matched his stance.
"Catch him smoking out on the back step. Figure he's hiding it from me, sitting out there. So, I explode all over him!" he explained, gesturing rather wildly toward the back yard, and around randomly, indicating his own explosion.
"Kid must be pretty stupid." Luke's head snapped up with an angry scowl. How dare she call his nephew stupid! "Well, if you thought he'd be hiding from you, sitting in front of a glass door," she explained simply, pointing through said door and out into the yard.
Oh.
"Okay. Now, I feel like even more of an idiot!" Luke bellowed, taking his seat with a huff. Rachel merely replied with a slight inquiring raise of the eyebrows. "I spanked the kid! Hard." The guilt written clearly all over the man's face kept Rachel from opening her mouth, or even changing expression. "I figured he was sneakin' smokes, startin' a habit that'll give him lung cancer, start him off on the path to God knows what, just like his mom, and I've gotta stop it! I can't let him throw his life away! So, I wailed on him good…" His voice broke on the last word, and he looked away from Rachel, jaw turned to granite, lips trembling slightly, looking out the sliding glass door at the step his nephew had been sitting on that night…the step he'd dragged him up off of…
"I really blew it, Rach," he told her, eyes faltering to the ground.
Her neatly manicured eyebrows raised and lowered once again, taking this in, and she rubbed her lips together, trying to figure out what to say to this. Finally she shrugged her shoulders slightly taking a breath before looking back at Luke with an assessing gaze. "So, it's okay with you if he smokes," she asked levelly.
"No!" Luke responded vehemently, sitting forward in his chair with a slightly wild look in his eye. She was baiting him so he would analyze his own responses, but Luke had never been able to understand the way she worked him, no matter how frequently she did it.
"So, you think that spanking is an inappropriate punishment for a boy his age," she deduced with deliberately flawed logic.
"Well, no. I-" Luke was more reluctant on this point, feeling like he was slowly hanging himself, answering her questions. "I think it could have been fine if I hadn't been such a moron and flown off the handle before I knew what was-what he-" He was spluttering now, and his arms waved about haphazardly, to the peril of the dishes and the lovely dinner he'd prepared.
"So, you were angry?" she queried calmly.
"Yes, I was angry!" he spat.
"So, you're upset with yourself for punishing him in anger?"
"Yes!-No!-Yes!" Luke covered his face with his hands in aggravated confusion. "I'm angry at myself for getting so angry that I didn't think! I didn't talk! I didn't ask! I just hit him…I just assumed that I knew what was right, I knew how to handle the situation! Didn't bother to check if he even knew what he was doing was wrong! -Tell me, what eight-year-old kid thinks it's okay to smoke-not just that he can get away with it, but actually thinks that it's all right?" His tone had risen to a small, almost high pitch, only to resonate with blasting bass next. "What kind of a nutcase raises her eight-year-old kid to think that smoking is just fine! MY SISTER, THAT'S WHO!" Luke's hands covered the entirety of his face once again, and he pulled them down slowly, trying to regain some semblance of calm, steepling his fingers in front of his chin and breathing deeply and raggedly.
Rachel waited while Luke pulled himself together, taking up her knife and fork and starting to cut her meat. She took the first chunk of lamb with her fork and dipped it sparingly into the mint jelly before taking her first bite. Half a second later, her eyes closed, and she moaned in appreciation of the symphony greeting her taste buds. Indicating the lamb chop with her knife, she looked up, clearly impressed. "This is incredible, Luke."
His expression softened slightly at the compliment. He heaved a large breath, expelling it loudly, and a moment later picked up his own knife and fork. After another few bites and several moments of relative silence, Rachel looked up again.
"So, what you're saying is, you regret your haste and lack of communication." Luke loved the way her mildness and calm logic counterbalanced his own blustering bluntness and tendency to raise a ruckus over things. She never mistook his storminess for malice or took his gruff speech personally. The two of them may have argued frequently, but it was always on equal footing and with mutual respect.
Luke nodded at her statement, then shook his head, remembering. "He called me on it." Rachel watched him and waited for him to elaborate as she continued to eat. "Said, 'next time there's something you don't want me to do, tell me.' I've never felt like such a heel." Luke cut into his lamb chop savagely. Despite Luke's self-condemnation, Rachel smiled softly.
"Doesn't sound like an uncooperative kid," she mused.
"He's not, it's just-" He pushed himself away from the table, filled with frustration. "I don't know what to do with him." He threw his hands out at his sides in helplessness as he said this. And during the next portion of his speech, Luke began shifting side to side, and eventually pacing back and forth in front of the table. "I mean, it's all well and good to say that I'll tell him what he's not supposed to do - but does that give him carte blanche to do whatever I haven't mentioned he's not supposed to? After all, I can't punish him for it if he didn't know it was wrong! And, if he didn't know smoking was on the 'you're not supposed to do this' list, how do I know what he knows is or isn't? I can see it now: 'But, Uncle Luke, you never told me I wasn't supposed to BOMB the police station or BURN DOWN the school! How was I supposed to know? You mean, I shouldn't KILL ANYBODY, Uncle Luke? You're not THRILLED I got a GREEN MOHAWK, 5,000 PIERCINGS AND 10 TATTOOS? Why is your HEAD EXPLODING, Uncle Luke?"
Rachel threw back her head and laughed until her eyes were full. "I love you, Luke!" she said, shaking her head, unable to stop laughing. He sat back down with a grunting sigh as if he'd completely depleted his reserves. He watched the beautiful woman in front of him as she slowly regained her composure, and in the end, was just smiling at him, eating her green beans and mashed potatoes. He raised both his palms and his eyebrows toward her, as if to say, Well?
"I think you're overcomplicating this," she told him. Luke inclined his head for her to continue. "What Jess needs is a list of rules, so he knows what's expected of him. And, he needs to know what's going to happen when he breaks those rules. You may want to reconsider whether physical punishment is a good idea for him." Luke nodded as he chewed his food, taking in and processing what she was saying. "I'm not trying to say that I know what's best for the kid. I barely know him. That's for you to decide. I'm just saying you need to think about it."
Luke swallowed his current mouthful of food and took a swig of his beer. "I'm kinda lost when it comes to makin' a list, though. How can I possibly know what kinda situations we're gonna be dealing with?"
"You don't," she replied simply. "That's why the rules have to be broad and basic. That way there aren't many loopholes for him to dodge through. Make sure each one is easy to understand. For example, if one of the rules was that he's not allowed to do anything that's against the law, that would rule out smoking, drinking, drugs, theft, vandalism, assault… It would actually rule out everything you mentioned except the hair, piercing and tattoos." Luke lifted the wine bottle, silently asking if she wanted a refill, to which she shook her head, and he set it back down again. "And, don't worry about anticipating every possible scenario. Just talk to the kid. Help him to reason on right and wrong. That way you can add to the list together. And don't give him any consequences unless it's for something that's already on the list, or unless you determine by talking to him that he was fully aware it was something he shouldn't have done." By the time she'd finished saying this, Luke sat slumped with his elbows on the table, one hand resting on the other, his mouth and chin leaning on his hands. After a pause, he glanced up at her with a slow, relieved sigh.
"Thanks, Rach." He let out a heavy, painful sigh. "Wish I knew when he was coming." He scraped the plate with his fork, absently gathering up the remaining mashed potatoes and gravy. Rachel's eyes asked him what he meant. "Everything is so unpredictable with Liz. I never know where they're gonna be living, or when I'll see her or Jess again." He shook his head sadly. "It's no kind of life for a kid."
"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?" she asked as he looked off into space, not seeing the things in front of him. He closed his eyes and drew a sharp breath.
"You have no idea." She reached out and covered his hand with her own, gentle and warm. Luke glanced down at the slender, tapered fingers, and then up into the soft, serene understanding of her amber-green eyes, and wished that she loved being here in this place with him as much as he loved having her. She made everything make sense…even him and Jess.
