Luke and Holden's Secret

"Hey Luke," Lorelai says as they all turn around. "Have you met…"

"Holden?" Luke questions.

"Good guess," Lorelai says. "Wait?"

"Luke," Holden says shocked.

"Wow!" Rory replies. "This is weird."

"Yeah," LJ agrees.

"Holden," Luke repeats. "Umm, we should talk outside."

"Okay," Holden replies confused as she walks outside.

"Stay in here," Luke says warningly to Lorelai, Rory and LJ as he follows Holden out.

"What's going on Uncle Luke?" Holden asks confused. "I didn't know you lived here."

"What are you doing here?" Luke asks concerned.

"I have an English assignment," Holden explains. "LJ's my partner."

"Oh," Luke says in realization.

"How do you know LJ?" Holden asks still confused.

"Umm…" Luke say contemplating whether to tell the truth or not. "He's Lorelai's grandson," Luke replies half lying.

"Yeah," Holden replies. "Well I kind of already figured that out."

"I'm…" Luke starts, but stops. "I'm Lorelai's husband."

"Wow!" Holden says trying to let it all sink in. "Small world, huh?"

"Yeah," Luke agrees. "So, how long are you and LJ going to be working on this project?"

"I don't know," Holden replies. "A couple of weeks, it depends on when we finish."

"Umm…" Luke says nervously. "I have to ask you a huge favor."

"What?" I ask Luke concerned.

"You can't tell Jess anything about this," Luke says warningly.

"What?" Holden asks confused. "Why?"

"Your dad's doing good now, right?" Luke asks Holden.

"Yeah," Holden replies. "But I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"What has your dad told you about living with me?" Luke asks.

"Not much," Holden replies. "Just the basics."

"Well," Luke explains. "He left and didn't tell anyone. The people he left behind had to pick up the pieces and move on. Most things eventually got back to normal, but not everything."

"Okay," Holden says trying to take it all in. "But that doesn't sound like dad, I'm sure he wouldn't just leave."

"Well, he did," Luke replies sadly. "And it was hard, but your father has grown up a lot since then. I know he would never do half the things he did back then."

"Okay," Holden replies. "So, I don't tell him…" Holden prompts Luke.

"Don't tell him that you saw me or that you were in this town," Luke explains. "Even though he's changed I can't risk him showing up and ruining the life's of the people I love, again."

"Okay," Holden replies. "So, I guess this goes both ways."

"What?" Luke asks confused.

"I don't tell LJ or his family about my dad," Holden clarifies.

"You can talk about him," Luke says. "Just don't mention his name."

"So, what do we say to them," Holden says motioning towards the Gilmore family in the diner, who just happened to be watching them. "They know we know each other."

"Umm…" Luke says trying to think of an explanation. "I don't know, how about you come up with it."

"Okay," I reply as we walk back into the diner.

"So?" The three Gilmore's say impatiently. "How do you know each other?"

"Luke was my sponsor," Holden explains.

"Sponsor?" They all question.

"Drugs?" Rory asks and Holden shakes her head.

"Alcohol?" LJ asks and Holden once again shakes her head.

"Sex?" Lorelai asks.

"What?" Luke exclaims.

"People can have addictions to sex, Luke," Lorelai explains.

"Maybe the word mentor would have been better to use," Holden says trying to smooth things over. "When my mom died I was on the edge and one day I ran into Luke, he was my savior. He took me under his wing, as my dad started to slip. He helped me get through it and helped me help my dad to get through it."

It wasn't a lie. Luke had helped Holden through the death of her mother, whilst her father buried himself in his work. But it withheld one vital detail, they knew each other well before then, but this tragedy had brought them closer.

"Wow!" Rory says shocked.

"Yeah," LJ adds. "I didn't know you knew my grandpa."

"Well, it not something you go around shouting from the rooftop," Holden explains. "And I didn't know when you referred to Grandpa Luke that you were referring to Uncle Luke here."

"Uncle Luke," Rory muses, only Jess called him that.

"It's what he asked me to call him," Holden lies.

"When was this?" Lorelai asks trying to figure it out.

"Two years ago," Luke explains.

"When I thought I was losing you," Lorelai remembers. "Why didn't you just tell me that you were helping a young girl with the death of her mother, I would've understood."

"It wasn't that simple," Luke explains.

"Umm," Rory says realizing an imminent fight. "Holden how about we go back to our house, then you and LJ can work on that assignment of yours."

"Sure," Holden replies. "I'll see you later Uncle Luke."

"Sure kiddo," Luke says as he hugs Holden. "Good job with the cover up," He whispers in her ear.

"Thanks," Holden replies and walks out the door.

"So, you know Luke?" LJ says again. "I don't think he ever mentioned you."

"LJ," Rory says warningly. "Be nice."

"Oh, don't worry," Holden replies. "Uncle Luke didn't tell me about you either."

"What?" LJ says in disbelief. "That must be a mistake."

Rory lets out a small laugh.

"What?" Holden asks confused.

"It's just there was only one other person that called Luke, Uncle Luke," Rory says dreamily. "And they did it to annoy him."

Holden knew she was talking about her dad. Liz's kids never called Luke that. So, she decided to try and milk some information out of Rory. Holden had little detail about her dad before he moved to Philly.

"His nephew?" Holden questions Rory.

"Yeah, you know him?" Rory asks surprised.

"A little," Holden replies. "Luke didn't discuss much about his personal life, but he did mention his nephew on occasion."

"Yeah," Rory replies. "He meant a lot to Luke. Even though they never showed much affection for each other, they meant the world to each other, until he left."

"Left?" Holden asks confused.

"In the middle of the night," Rory says sadly. "He didn't even tell anyone, not even his girlfriend of the time."

"Oh," Holden says sadly. "I didn't know."

"It's okay," Rory replies. "It's in the past now."

"Why have I never heard of this nephew before?" LJ asks confused.

"Because after he left," Rory explains. "No one mentioned him again."

"But shouldn't I have been told," LJ whines. "I'm family."

"Yeah," Rory replies. "But you're not like related, related to him."

"Did you ever see him again?" Holden asks Rory prying.

"Yes," Rory replies. "A couple of times, but we've had no contact in 16 years."

"Now," LJ says interrupting his mother. "I know this is nothing like your house, you could probably fit our house in your living room…"

"It's great," Holden replies as they make their way into the Twickham house. "And don't dis my house."

"Why?" Rory asks confused. "Where does she live?"

"A couple of blocks over from the grandparents," LJ explains.

"Ah," Rory says in realization.

"Hey," Holden defends. "We didn't choose the house. My dad said he didn't care where we lived, so he got the real estate agent to pick for us. But I'll have you know we put that house to good use."

"Yeah," LJ says sarcastically. "You play hockey around the piles of clothes strewn everywhere."

"So?" Holden defends. "Indoor hockey is fun."

"There's rollerblade scuff marks all over the floor," LJ argues. "You're never going to be able to sell that house again."

"We don't want to," Holden replies. "It has the best library in it this side of… the universe."

"Really?" Rory says interested. "Please explain."

"Oh, no," LJ groans at the first sound of book talk. "Whilst you two discuss that, I'm going to get some snacks."

"Come sit," Rory says as she leads Holden to the couch. "Tell me about this library."

"One of the finest collections," Holden explains. "Wall to wall and floor to roof lined with books. My dad actually had to make two rooms into one to store all his books in."

"Sounds like heaven," Rory says dreamily.

"My dad's read every single one," Holden explains. "He writes down his thoughts in them and when I was old enough to read he taught me the art of margin writing."

Rory was thinking of Jess the whole time, but she dismissed the idea quickly. Jess lived in Philadelphia or New York, not Hartford.

"And what is the art of margin writing?" Rory asks Holden intrigued.

"You write what you think/believe," Holden explains. "It doesn't have to be thought provoking or make sense. It just has to mean something to you."

"Hey?" Rory says excitedly. "You want to see our library."

"Sure," Holden replies excitedly as she follows Rory out of the room.

They walk into a medium size room and the first thing Holden notices is it looks the same as her dad's only scaled down a lot.

"It's probably not much compared to yours," Rory explains. "But it has the most important titles and that's what counts."

"So, true," Holden says as she begins skimming the books. "Huh?" Holden muses.

"What?" Rory asks intrigued.

"Oh, nothing," Holden replies. "It's just I found your Dodger Holden section."

By now there was no doubt in Holden's mind that Rory was the girl her father was talking about. The only person in the whole world who would know who the real Dodger Holden was.

"You know Dodger Holden?" Rory asks shocked.

"Who doesn't," Holden replies. "The Times call him the new Dickens, Austen, Hemmingway and Bronte put together."

"So, do you like his books?" Rory asks Holden.

"Sure," Holden replies. "What about you?" Holden asks Rory trying to gage her reaction.

"As you said," Rory begins. "The new Dickens, Austen, Hemmingway and Bronte."

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Holden replies. "I met him once you know."

"Really?" Rory asks confused. "No one knows his real name."

"My dad's his publisher," Holden explains. "He set it up for me."

"What he say?" Rory asks excitedly. "What's he like?"

"He was great," Holden explains. "He did make time for a 15 year old girl who shouldn't be reading his books according to him."

Rory wondered if Holden knew that the author she met was Luke's nephew, probably not.

"Really?" Rory asks intrigued. "Who I'd kill to get a chance to spend time with a great mind like that."

"Yeah," Holden replies. "I was lucky. He said that I could visit him whenever I wanted."

"I can't believe he's so friendly and down to earth," Rory says. "Most of his work is dark."

"Yeah, he had a tough beginning, but he said it all changed once his mother sent him away," Holden explains. "I see you have every copy, first editions too."

"Yeah," Rory replies. "They're going to be worth a lot of money one day."

"You're going to sell them," Holden asks confused as she looks along another shelf.

"No," Rory replies. "I could never part with them, they're too good."

"Huh?" Holden says as she pulls out her dad's first book The Subsect. "Jess Mariano, I've never heard of him."

"He's good," Rory replies. "He would have been in the same league as Dodger if he had written more than one book."

"I wonder why he stopped." Holden questions.

"Maybe he didn't," Rory supplies.

Holden took out the thin book and opened up to the dedication.

"To the one person who told me I could do better and never gave up on me," Holden reads from the book. "That's sweet."

"The book's autobiographical," Rory explains.

"Sounds cool," Holden says as she places the book back on the shelf.

"You can borrow it if you want?" Rory says to Holden.

"No thanks," Holden replies. "I'm sure if it's as good as you say it is then my dad will already have it."

"Food's ready," LJ calls from the living room.

"What took so long?" Holden asks as they make their way back into the living room.

"Had to go to the market," LJ explains. "We rarely keep food in the house."

Holden sits down on the couch and notices all the junk food in front of her.

"Who's eating all that?" Holden asks confused.

"We are?" Rory says simply.

"Need I remind you LJ," Holden says in mock anger. "That I have a problem with sugar."

"A problem with sugar?" Rory asks confused.

"Yeah," LJ speaks up. "Apparently Holden does some crazy things when she's hopped up on sugar."

"No way," Rory says excitedly. "Dig in then, I'm going to call mom she needs to see this."

"Hey," Holden defends.

"Tell her to grab some movies," LJ says. "Oh and some food from Luke's."

"Okay," Rory replies as she walks out of the room.

"When are we actually going to work on this assignment?" Holden asks LJ.

"Well, I'm guessing you've already read Romeo and Juliet," LJ explains. "And I've already read it, so we can skip that whole part and have fun."

"Okay," Holden relents. "Wait, you've read Shakespeare? You don't seem like the guy who'd pick up a copy of Romeo and Juliet."

"Hey," LJ defends. "I've read William Shakespeare.

"You have?" Holden counter reacts.

"Yeah," LJ replies. "It's just like reading Jane Austen, well not really, but…"

"Wait," Holden says surprised. "You've read Jane Austin?"

"Leave me alone," LJ says as he put a cushion over his face. "You're destroying my bad boy reputation."

"You mean your Chilton reputation," Holden clarifies.

"What?" LJ asks as he takes the cushion away from his face.

"You act different when you're at Chilton," Holden explains. "Like you're two different people."

"Yeah, well," LJ says trying to be evasive. "As I told you before, I come from two powerful society families and it's how they expect me to act, so that's how I act."

"How do they expect you to act?" Holden ask confused.

"Rich drunken playboy, like my father," LJ said this with spite. "And then they expect me to take over my father's business who I've only met three times before."

"Society sucks," Holden replies. "I'm glad I grew up in Philly away from high society and I hate to say this but my dad was actually right."

"About what?" LJ asks confused.

"That society people are not to be mixed with," Holden explains. "All they do is screw up the life's of others."

"Hear, hear," LJ rejoices. "Now it's time to load you up on sugar."

"Fine," Holden relents. "But I'm not being held responsible for my actions."

"Duly noted," LJ replies.

"Keep quiet," LJ whispers.

"What!" Holden yells. "You be quiet!"

"You're acting irrational," LJ says as he tries to lead Holden to the front door.

"I told you not to give me sugar!" Holden says loudly. "But you didn't listen!"

"I will from now on," LJ says as he manages to get her up the front steps and rings the doorbell.

"Holden?" Jess says concerned as he answers the door. "Is she alright?"

"She's not drunk," LJ defends quickly.

"Sugar?" Jess questions LJ.

"Yeah," LJ replies. "She warned us over and over again, but we didn't listen."

"Help me get her inside," Jess says as he puts his arm around Holden.

"Daddy!" Holden screams. "I'm home!"

"I can see that sweetheart," Jess replies. "How much sugar did she eat?" Jess asks LJ concerned.

"Umm," LJ replies. "I don't know, a lot."

"Oh, well," Jess says as he lays his daughter down on the couch and covers her in a blanket. "She'll be fine in the morning. Go to sleep, Ernie."

"Yes, daddy," Holden replies as she closes her eyes.

"Want some coffee?" Jess offers LJ as they walk towards the kitchen.

"No," LJ replies quickly and Jess looks pointedly at him. "I hate the stuff, soda's fine though."

"Here," Jess says as he hand LJ a drink.

"Thanks," LJ replies. "So, she has a problem with sugar?"

"Yeah," Jess answers. "The doctors don't know why, but it seems to have the same effect as alcohol does on the average person."

"So, she'll be fine?" LJ asks concerned.

"Yeah, she'll have a hangover tomorrow, but other than that she should be fine," Jess explains. "But if she doesn't go to school tomorrow, which she most likely won't, feel free to come over after and work on your assignment, she should be fine by then."

"Okay," LJ replies. "Sorry about getting her sugar… ah drunk."

"Its fine," Jess replies. "She knows what happens when she consumes too much sugar."

"What happens when she drinks, then?" LJ asks confused. "Does she get hung-over?"

"Surprisingly, no," Jess answers. "She has a kind of resilience to it."

"Weird," LJ replies.

"Well, that's Ernie for you," Jess explains. "Definitely not the norm."

"Well, I better get going," LJ replies. "I promised my mom that I'd clean up after our movie night."

"Okay," Jess replies as he leads LJ to the door. "Drive safe."

"Sure thing," LJ replies.

Jess walks over to his daughter and sits down next to her.

"Ernie baby, you know how you get when you eat sugar," Jess says as he puts a strand of hair behind her ear. "And combining that with watching movies, your brain must be in overdrive."

"I'm sorry daddy," Holden mumbles.

"It's okay," Jess replies as he kisses his daughter on the forehead. "Now get some sleep, you're going to feel like crap in the morning."

"Okay," Holden mumbles. "LJ was a gentleman, wasn't he?"

"Yeah," Jess replies. "Very gentlemanly, now go to sleep."

"Promise make me breakfast in morning," Holden says incoherently.

"I promise Ernie," Jess says as he kisses his daughter on the forehead again. "Sweet dreams."

As Jess went to bed he couldn't shake the feeling that a sugar coma combined with a movie night seemed all too familiar to him.