Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual.

Sorry it took me so long to get this up. My week ended up being pretty busy.

Thank you all so much for the reviews, I really appreciate them all and I'm so glad to here you liked the story!

Like I stated before, I did do some research for this story, but don't flip out if there are some mistakes. I tried to be as accurate as possible.

Alright, well, here's chapter three. Enjoy!

About an hour into the drive, Luke noticed Jess getting antsy. The boy had given up on the radio forty-five minutes ago and had instead pulled out a book. The book had kept him occupied for quite some time, but being stuck in the cramped truck was really getting to the kid. From his mirror, Luke watched the boy kick his legs around, trying to fight the cramps. The feeling was mutual: Luke felt he too was definitely in need of a stretch.

"Take this exit!" Jess suddenly screamed, startling the man. The kid's finger tapped on the window steadily as he pointed to the right. "Luke, there's a gas station. I need to get out this car. Come on, take the exit!"

Luke obeyed and merged onto the exit ramp. He drove into the parking lot of the gas station and pulled up next to a gas pump. Once he shut the engine off, Jess unbuckled his seatbelt and swiftly exited the car. He stuffed his book into his back pocket and stretched his legs.

"Thank God," he mused aloud, "my legs were about to go numb." He turned to find his uncle putting the gas pump into the car. Jess made his way over to Luke's side of the truck and leaned against the pump.

"Hey Luke," Jess called, causing Luke to glance over at him, "You think I could borrow a few bucks, to buy some food, you know? A growing boy's got to eat."

"Uh, yeah sure," Luke dug into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped the black leather billfold open and pulled out a ten, "Here."

Jess snatched the bill from his hand and stuffed it in his pocket, "You want anything?" he asked, still facing his uncle as he took a step back towards the convenient shop.

"No thanks," he told the boy as he placed his wallet back in his pocket, "I'd rather not clog my arteries."

Jess snorted, "I forgot; you're a health nut. All greens and no fats."

"It's not a bad thing, you know!" Luke informed the boy, waving a finger at him. Jess turned and walked towards the store.

"Yeah, yeah," He shrugged his uncle off, "Suit yourself then." He opened the door to the store, the sound of a bell above his head greeting him. It reminded him of Luke's diner's bell, except the bell there was more of an annoyance. He made his way over to the counter and spotted what he really came in for: cigarettes. He eyed the pack that he craved, those Marlboro Reds. He had almost begged Luke to buy him a pack of cigarettes after he ran out, but the man resisted. He gave him the speech about how smoking was bad for him and how he wouldn't "feed into his addiction." Jess found the speech quite hilarious looking back now, but at the time he almost jumped Luke for refusing to get him a new pack. Once he was done staring at the beautiful display of Marlboros, he quickly made his way around the store, grabbing candy bars and chip bags. He even grabbed a bag of trail mix for Luke. That was healthy, wasn't it? Once he had completed his shop for food, he made his way to the counter and placed the items down. The man behind the counter was younger, which was good, Jess noted. It meant it was less likely that he would check for ID.

The man greeted him with a quick hello and began ringing him up.

"Could I get a pack of Marlboro Reds?" Jess asked, eyeing the packs behind the man. The cashier studied him for a moment, his eyes darting up and down. The man nodded and grabbed a pack from behind him. Jess smiled, a genuine smile. It had been the first time in days that he had really felt good enough to really smile. Sure, he'd given Luke the occasional assuring smile, to ease his worried uncle, but those were never real. This was the only time in days that he could actually remember really being happy. Maybe that meant he was getting better?

Once the cashier had finished ringing up his items, Jess handed the man the money and thanked him with a smile. He stuffed the pack in his pocket and pushed the door open. He made his way back over to the truck where Luke was waiting for him patiently.

"Bought you a bag of trail mix," Jess threw Luke the bag and made his way over to the passenger side. He opened the door and threw the chips and candy bars into the backseat of the truck.

"Thanks," Luke said as he got into the truck. Luke and Jess both shut their doors and buckled their seat belts. Luke looked over at the boy and gave him that all-too familiar worried look. Jess had been receiving that look for days, and it was driving him insane. Luke didn't need to worry about him, he wasn't the diner owner's problem. He should be Liz's. But no, his mother had gone ahead, been selfish, and died instead.

Jess ran a hand through his hair and glanced back over to Luke. The worried stare still greeted him, this time much more apparent. "Fuck," Jess cursed under his breath. Time for the fake smile and sarcastic remark.

"What can I say?" Jess followed the cue, giving Luke a smile as the man started the engine, "I'm a giver."

As the uncle and nephew continued their drive, the scenery began to become much more familiar. They were nearing Stars Hollow. The ride had been silent for the most part, Jess occupied with his book while Luke concentrated on driving. Once Jess saw the sign reading Stars Hollow 10 miles, however, he shut his book and turned his attention to his uncle.

"So..." he started, his voice trailing off, "Who in the town knows?"

"Uh," Luke glanced over at Jess for a quick moment before focusing once again on the road, "I told Caesar of course. He had to know that the diner wouldn't be open for a few days. I also made a quick call to Lorelai--"

"Good job, Uncle Luke," Jess sighed as he cut Luke off and rubbed his temples, "Tell the chatty Gilmore. You should've of just called the press, given me the front page of the newspaper. The whole town probably found out anyway within five minutes of your call." Jess shut his eyes tight and rubbed harder.

"Jess, it's a small town--"

"And gossip spreads there like virus, I know," Jess sighed and leaned his head against the head rest, "You didn't tell anyone about, you know...?" He couldn't remember what it was called, the thing he had. The name slipped his mind.

"The Acute Stress Disorder?" Luke glanced over at his nephew, "Lorelai knows, but she also knows to keep that between us." Luke recalled his quick call with Lorelai. He had felt the need to call her that night at the hospital, after the doctors had told him everything. He needed someone to talk to, and he knew Lorelai would be the one to listen. He told her about Liz's death and Jess' problems, and she had given her condolences and advice on what he had to do. She told him that she would help him in any way she could, and even offered to come down to New York and assist with Jess and the funeral arrangements for Liz. He had turned her down, knowing that Jess probably didn't want to see Lorelai at that moment. Besides, Luke knew he had to keep his full attention on Jess, and if Lorelai was there it would have been a diversion. In the end, she promised to keep quiet about Jess' disorder and vowed to help the two once they returned. That was something Luke liked about Lorelai: she was always there for him, and even though she was still a bit upset with both Luke and Jess after that accident, she pushed all that stuff behind her and volunteered to be there for both of them.

Jess let out an exaggerated sigh and stuffed his book in his pocket, "Great, thanks Luke." He flipped on the radio and laid back in his seat. He looked out the window and watched the familiar scenery pass by. They were driving through Town Square now, Ms. Patty's Dance Studio to their right and Luke's to the left. Jess noted that there was no mob of townsfolk waiting outside of the diner for Luke's return. Maybe no one really knew yet. Maybe he was wrong about that Gilmore, maybe she kept it all to herself.

Luke pulled the car up to the curb and shut the engine off. He looked over towards his nephew, who had already unbuckled his seatbelt and was now opening the door, before doing the same. Jess met him on the other side of the car and Luke pulled out the boy's duffle bag from the back. He handed it over to Jess and the boy slung it over his shoulder.

"Oh, Luke!" the familiar but unpleasant voice of Taylor Doose called from behind. Both Jess and Luke turned to see Taylor hastily make his way over to them. He wore his usual cardigan and khaki pants, and greeted the two with a somewhat apologetic smile.

"Taylor," Luke spoke the name with a hint of annoyance. He wasn't in the mood for any of the man's annoying antics. All he wanted to do was get inside the diner and up into his apartment. He'd reopen the diner tomorrow, in the meantime he thought he'd try and spend some quality time with Jess.

"Oh my, I heard about your loss," he spoke with a tinge of sorrow in his voice, "It's just terrible. My condolences to you both." His eyes darted from Luke to Jess then back again, "While I'm here, I wanted to talk to you about--"

"Taylor," Luke growled, "Not now." He didn't want to talk about or hear about any suggestions Taylor had about his diner or anything that had to do with the town. He noticed Jess give him an amused glance, the boy's arms crossed, waiting to see what would happen next.

"But Luke--"

"Taylor!" Luke threw his hands up in the air, "I'm not going to be accountable for what I do to you if you don't get at least one block away from me in ten! Nine! Eight...!"

"Alright, alright," Taylor started backing away, fear in his eyes, "We can discuss it tomorrow." He back up into the street and turned his back towards the two before hurrying off.

Luke heard a soft chuckle from his nephew and looked towards the kid. Jess stood there with a smirk on his face, his eyes following Taylor as the man continued to make his way towards the other side of the street.

"Thanks Luke," he gave the man a pat on the back and walked over to the door, "I really needed some comic relief right then."

"Glad to be of service," Luke retorted, pulling out his keys and followed his nephew. He unlocked the door and opened it for Jess. The boy walked in, Luke following close behind. Jess stopped in the middle of the diner and looked around.

"Wow," his eyes darted around from table to coffee pot to menu, "I see nothing's changed since I left."

"No," Luke shook his head, "We got a new special." He pointed at the chalkboard. Jess' eyes followed, and he read the special off the board.

"Bacon omelette," Jess nodded and looked back at his uncle, "You added bacon to the omelette. Wow, Luke, you really are taking a risk there."

"Jess..." Luke's voice trailed off, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Jess raised his hands up in defense and made his way towards the stair. He quickly disappeared behind the curtain and rushed up the stairs. Luke started to make his way up to the apartment, slowly following his nephew. By the time Luke made it in the room, Jess' duffle bag was spilled onto the floor and the boy was back to reading.

"Unpacked?" Luke asked, staring down at the pile of clothes, CD's and books that lay on the floor. Jess glanced up from his book to Luke, then down to the pile of clothes.

"Seems that way to me," Jess dropped his book onto his bed and stepped over to the pile. He began digging through it, tossing shirts and pants around the room. When he finally found what he was looking for, his lighter, he stood up and sat back down on his bed.

"Okay, Luke," Jess pulled out his new pack of cigarettes from his pocket and took off the plastic, "I'm going to smoke a cigarette and you're not going to say one word. I need one bad but I'm not going to go out there to take the chance of running into any of the mental patients that make up the inhabitants of this town." Jess placed the stick in between his lips and flicked the thumbwheel of his lighter. He lit the end of the stick and shut his lighter.

"Jess!" Luke scolded. Where had the kid got another pack of cigarettes from? He refused to buy his nephew any--he wasn't going to feed into that deadly habit--but somehow Jess found a way to get them. God, it was hard enforcing rules with that boy.

"Shh..." Jess stood up and opened the window. He sat down on the couch and took another drag. It felt good to smoke again. It had been days since he had had a cigarette, and he'd been craving one bad. He took a long drag and let it out slowly. God, it was relaxing. It amazed him how the simple motion of inhaling and exhaling could calm him so much.

Luke took a seat next to his nephew and watched the boy continued his death wish. The kid suddenly stood up and tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette out the window. He then sat back down and rested his head against the back of the couch, eyes shutting. The moment brought back memories of the old days: Jess and Luke sitting in the apartment near dusk, finally past the fighting and screaming part of the day, the boy reading a book while Luke was drinking a beer. The nostalgic calm he felt during those times was revived. This calm now, however, was different. It would never be the way it used to be, not for a long time. He watched as Jess brought his knees to his chest and wrapped his skinny arms around them. The boy stared out the window and took another drag.

"I was wrong," Jess suddenly acknowledged. Luke turned his attention to his nephew, waiting for him to explain. The kid's gaze was still focused on the window. He took another drag before continuing, "Everything's changed."

Thank you all so much for reading!

I'll try and get another chapter of this up as soon as I can, as well as a chapter from another story that I just started writing.

Thanks again for reading and please, please, please review.

:)