Disclaimer: I own nothing! The WB owns Gilmore Girls and lyrical genius Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes owns the title!

snaperules and biancaruth, Thank you so much for the reviews, I'm glad you guys like it! I also read Chapter One of Fire and Ice and realized that they did sound alike, it was completely accidental though.I love Polly's story and I really hope she updates soon!

Also, lax_chick and Aaron, thanks so much for reviewing! I'm really happy that you guys think it's good!

Alright, here's Chapter Two.

Please review!

:)

"Oh my, Luke, hurry up with the coffee please!" Lorelai yelled to the Danes. Luke was rushing around trying to get orders and fill up coffee mugs. The diner had its usual morning crowd. The infamous Gilmore girls were part of it.

"Oh, Luke, hurry! We're dying of thirst!" Rory added. Lorelai's daughter was the splitting image of her mother, all sass, but slightly less annoyance. Luke was thankful for this.

The man sighed, walking over to their table. He poured the coffee into their cups and pulled out his note pad.

"Oh, thank you Luke!" Lorelai responded, "What would a girl like me ever do without you?"

"Probably die from lack of caffeine," Rory suggested, taking a small sip of her coffee.

"What do you two want?" Luke ignored Lorelai's former comment, grabbing a pen from behind his ear.

"Hm," Rory pondered deliberately, "What to get?"

"I'll have the chocolate chip pancakes and a donut." Lorelai said, "Good way to start my day."

"With sugar," Luke sarcastically added, "You two should really eat healthier."

"Oh Luke, you know your attempts to play dietitian never work." Lorelai smirked, taking a sip of her coffee.

The girls laughed. Luke tried not to roll his eyes. Rory, looking to her mother, finally spoke up. "I'll have the same Luke," A smile, "but maybe a donut with jelly filling!"

"Yes! You see, Luke, intelligence runs in my family!" Lorelai cheered, "I'll follow the kid's orders--make mine jelly filled as well."

"Alright, you got it." He sighed as he finished writing their order on the pad and placing the pen back behind his ear.

"So Luke, where's our favorite rebel without a cause?" Lorelai inquired, taking another sip of her coffee.

"I gave him the morning off," Luke told them, crossing his arms, "He's probably still asleep."

"Oh," Rory nodded, "How is he doing since the, you know...?"

"He won't really talk to me about it. He told me he doesn't want to talk about it."

"Which means it's really bothering him," Lorelai cut in.

"I can't force him to talk to me about it, Lorelai." Luke said, walking over to the back of the counter and handing the cook Caesar their order.

"I know, eventually he'll talk to you about it," Lorelai called out to him, "Just give him time."

"Yeah," Rory agreed, "The last time we talked, he seemed a little distant, but I think he was still a little embarrassed by it."

"Poor Jess," Miss Patty commented, turning to face the group, "It must be so hard to live with a mother like that."

"Yeah," Babette added, "She seems like a terrible woman."

Jess appeared from behind the curtain and walked up to the coffee machine. He grabbed a cup, poured in the hot brew, and placed a lid on it. When he turned, he noticed most of the townsfolk were staring at him.

"What!?" he snapped, slamming his cup on the counter. He knew by the look on their faces they had just been talking about him or Liz. "Whatever, I'm out of here."

"Jess!" Luke called as the boy charged towards the door Jess just grunted and slammed the door shut.

"Dammit Jess. Put your coat on!" Luke yelled and grabbed Jess' coat from the rack. He barged out the door after him, leaving the diners occupants to gossip about Jess' outburst.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about him like this. I feel bad," Rory remarked, her head turned to watch as Luke chased after the boy.

Lorelai looked over at Miss Patty and Babette. They were both discussing the outburst, calling Jess a "poor troubled boy," and sharing their concerns for his well being.

Lorelai sighed and looked back over to her daughter.

"It must be hard for him to deal with all this attention. His mother did make quite the scene." She took a sip from her coffee and looked out to see Luke and Jess talking.

"Yeah," Rory sighed, distracted. She was looking out towards Jess and Luke with concern.

They had witnessed Jess' attack, his mother's drunken rampage. She kept hitting him, the boy taking every hit--a deadpan expression engraved on his face. It was as if he was used to it, and that really scared Rory. She remembered how he kept trying to calm his mother down, telling her that she was making a scene, but she just continued hitting him harder. It had been a horrible sight--watching her friend be hit to no end. It shook the town and showed a different side to Jess, one no one ever expected to see.

Yes, Rory knew Lorelai wasn't Jess' biggest fan but her mother would never wish harm to him. Regardless, Rory and Luke saw something in Jess that the rest of the town didn't, and after the event, she noticed her mother was trying to see it as well. Lorelai was becoming more and more patient with the boy. He had truly good intentions--Rory always knew it, and she thought her mom was finally starting to see it too. Sure, he was a bit troubled and cocky at times, but it was his way of showing he cared. Well, on some level.

"Jess!" Luke screamed as he chased his nephew through the snow, "Jess!"

The boy turned around and crossed his arms, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Put your coat on!" Luke told him, holding out Jess' black coat for him to take, "You'll catch a cold."

Jess snatched it from his hands and put it on. "I'm surprised the whole town didn't follow you out here," Jess bitterly remarked as he zipped up his coat, "I mean, with their sudden concern for me and all."

"Jess," Luke sighed. He wished Liz hadn't done that in front of everyone. She had no right to come to Star's Hollow and wreak havoc trying to take her son back. She was the one that sent him here in the first place. Luke recalled Jess' mother had thought he was headed down the wrong path, but what irked him was that finally when Jess was making some progress, she had to come. It seemed to him that Jess was only convenient to Liz when he wasn't causing trouble.

"I'm sick of everyone worrying about me," Jess called, crossing his arms, "I don't need a pity party."

"I know," the older man sighed, taking off his baseball cap and running a hand through his hair.

"They never cared before, but now when they find out what a terrible mother I have they decide they should?" he snapped, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it, "You can't just do that!" He exhaled deeply and let out a cloud of smoke. He was shaking with anger.

Luke had never seen him this worked up before. Yes, Jess got angry on occasion, but never to the point where his whole body was shaking. "Give it a few days, people will stop talking about it soon," he finally said, laying a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I've given it two weeks," Jess sighed, taking a drag from his cigarette, his composure returning to its normal stance, "These people just won't shut up about it."

"It's a small town, Jess," Luke said, giving Jess a smirk, "These people go crazy over everything...just look at Lorelai."

Jess chuckled and stared down at the cigarette in his hands. "That woman is crazy," he admitted, rolling his eyes.

Luke laughed and smiled at his nephew.

"I'll be back later," Jess told him, placing the cigarette in between his lips and taking a drag, "My shift starts at three."

"I'll see you then," Luke nodded, "And you know, I'd prefer you didn't do that right outside of the diner."

The boy ignored his advice and walked away. Shaking his head, Luke retreated back to the diner.

"Is he alright?" Lorelai asked once Luke was inside, the Gilmore helping herself to another cup of coffee.

"Yeah," Luke told her, crossing his arms, "What are you doing pouring yourself another cup of coffee?!"

"When a girl's thirsty, she has to drink, Luke," she smiled, taking a sip of the steaming brew.

"You know that's not healthy," Luke shook his head, "Not that much anyway--you're taking in more caffeine than a five year old in a candy store."

"Wah, wah, who are you, my mother?" Lorelai crossed her arms, "I think the man's denying me my coffee, Rory!"

"Well, he has a point, Mom." Rory's mind seemed to be somewhere else.

Luke sighed and walked over to Lorelai. He grabbed the pot out of her hand and placed it back where it belonged--away from her.

"Where's Jess going?" Rory finally inquired, eyes gazing out the window, glued to the place Jess had been.

"I don't know. He didn't say," Luke shrugged, "I'm guessing the bridge though."

"Alright," Rory nodded as she stood up, "I'll see you later, Mom."

"Wait, young lady, where are you going?" Lorelai asked in a joking tone, "We still haven't gotten the doughnuts yet!"

"You can have mine. I'll see you later!" Rory laughed as she ran out the door.

Lorelai and Luke both looked at each other in silence, somehow knowing exactly where she was headed. There wasn't a word more to say.

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed it! There will be a bit of Literati in the next chapter, and more Luke and Jess!

I'll try and update as soon as I can, I have to edit the next chapter. I'm writing the ending pretty much right now, there will be about seven or eight chapters to this story, I think.

Well, thanks again for reading!

Please review!