A.N. Hello my people! I hope this chapter finds you well. I'm slowly but surely getting over the cold that came from hell. Thank you for all the continuous support with comments and views. I'm constantly overwhelmed by all of you. This story really would not exist without you guys. I'm sure a lot of you are going back to school soon, or are already back, so Good luck! School can be overwhelming at times, hell life can be overwhelming at times, so sit back and relax with Stars Hollow.

Please enjoy and review!

December greeted Stars Hollow with a dusting of snow. The entire town had been blanketed in comforting, white snow flakes. The Danes/Mariano residence however, was anything but peaceful.

"I think you should stay here over break." Luke said abruptly, after dinner.

"So, she didn't call?" Jess asked Luke evenly.

"No, she did. Your mom wants you to come visit this Christmas. I told her, I didn't think it was a good idea." Luke rushed to explain.

"Right." Jess said quietly.

"You're doing okay here, Jess. I don't want you going back right now."

Jess silently applauded Luke for his efforts. His words almost sounded genuine. Jess knew his mom and Luke well enough to know, she didn't call. Luke probably hadn't even spoken to Liz in months. I'm not her problem anymore, so to hell with her son. Jess thought.

"I'll stay here." Jess agreed, between bites of apple pie.

"Okay. Uh, good. You're staying." Luke gave a half smile.

"I'm staying." Jess sighed.

"Are you okay with this?" Luke thought to ask next.

"I never get a choice." Jess shrugged, walking out the door.

"Great, Liz. You never call your brother, you never call your son." Luke said, speaking to the empty apartment.


"Mariano, live a little. Come to the party." The student tried to convince Jess who was sitting on a bench with a book in hand.

Jess scoffed at the irony of his words. The kid had no idea how much "living" he had done in New York.

"My brother's bringing a keg." Kyle said proudly.

"Good for him." Jess said, rolling his eyes.

"Just come. Have a drink. Leave the books at home." Kyle said, thumping Jess in the chest good naturedly.

"You got it." Jess said, opening his book again.

The teenager took his words at face value, and left Jess alone.

"Horny teenagers in close proximity. My favorite." Jess sighed. But they have beer, he realized as an after thought.


"It's a party?" Luke asked Jess, who had told him about the gathering.

"It's a Stars Hollow party." Jess felt the need to correct.

"You've never had Miss Patty's founder's day punch if you think all Stars Hollow parties are harmless." Luke said, a hint if a smile in his voice.

"It's at Kyle's house." Jess supplied now.

"Okay. Fine, you can go." Luke relented.

"Music to my ears." Jess said, sarcastically.

"But you will not drink or smoke. You will not be in any compromising situations with a girl." Luke listed.

"Really, Luke? Compromising situations?" Jess smirked.

"Anything that'll make the Reverend frown in disapproval is not permitted."

"Sure, Uncle Luke." Jess said, pursing his lips together.

Luke was confident that Jess hadn't listened to a word he had said.

"Just be smart, Jess." Luke said.

"Don't do anything you would do. Got it." Jess said.

Luke reached around and smacked the back of Jess's head lightly. "Watch it."

"Don't you trust me?" Jess asked impishly.

"Not in the least." Luke responded lightly, but there was truth to his words.


Jess walked into the house party already regretting his decision to go. Stars Hollow High students filled the entirety of Kyle's house. For a minute, Jess scanned the room for Rory, but then realized, the straight laced book worm, wouldn't be caught dead at a party like this. Jess wasn't even quite sure how he ended up there.

"You made it man." Kyle said in a congratulatory tone, holding a red solo cup that probably wasn't his first of the night.

"Yep." Jess said shortly, already bored.

Wandering into the kitchen, Jess filled a cup with the dark substance for himself.

The party blurred together for Jess. Half the room flying higher than a kite, and the other half, drunk off their asses. Teenagers making out filled the room, and every bedroom in the house, was no doubt occupied.

Keeping his distance from the rest of the group, Jess secluded himself outside. He briefly checked his pockets for a pack of camels, but remembered Luke had confiscated his last pack. Jess looked down at the beverage in his hand, and exhaled through his nostrils.

"Your mom does care Jess". Jess downed the contents in his cup with one gulp.

"Go outside Jess." Another glassful.

"I know you care." Jess filled his cup again.

"Your mom wanted you to come. I told her it wasn't a good idea."

"Yeah, right." Jess scoffed, taking another sip.

"You're a waste of space."

"Only good for one thing, just like your mom."

"She's my whore kid."

"Get off her!"

"Never get a choice."

"Fuck up."

Jess drank more with every thought. Finally looking up from his mind's eye, Jess stopped hearing noise from the inside of the house. Everyone's home by now. The town was completely dead. Jess had never been in a place that closed it's streets as early as this cracked town, and even though he had been there for a while, he still wasn't used to it's strange habits.

Steadying himself as best he could in his current state, he left the house and stumbled home. How he found his way back was a miracle in and of itself.

Jess staggered into Luke's apartment at close to 3 am. If Jess was sober, he would have seen Luke standing there with folded arms, ready to throttle the kid in front of him. As it was, Jess wasn't thinking clearly at all.

"Hey Luuuuke." Jess slurred. Luke didn't have to ask Jess to know he was drunk. Between his slowed speech, fumbling around, and dilated pupils,, the writing was on the wall.

Luke went over to Jess immediately and had to steady him as he wobbled forward.

"You're plastered." Luke stated angrily.

"It's fiine, Luke. I'm good." Jess said, tilting again.

"Jess, go to bed. I can't do this right now." Luke decided.

"Whatever you say, Uncle Luke." Jess said with a stupid smile on his face.

"Jess, what the hell?! Your mom's a drunk. Do you want to become just like her?! Luke yelled now, deciding it was the time and place.

"As opposed to becoming just like you?" Jess shot back.

"You're gonna end up like her, you know. Better yet, you're gonna end up like your dad. Knock up some girl and leave just like that."

"Shut up!" Jess screamed.

"No. Jess, I keep trying to get you to care and you just don't. I'm just waiting for the day you come home in the back of a police car, or In a body bag. It could go either way at this point." Luke said, less than a foot away from Jess.

"Caring about people gets you nowhere. I keep telling you to stop, but you just keep trying to fix me. You can't! Don't you get that?!" Jess screamed again, the veins in his neck popping out.

"I'm done trying. Go to bed, or go back to New York. Makes zero difference to me." Luke said, breathing heavily.

Jess blinked. Luke wanted him gone. "How did you fuck this up too?" Jess attempted to move from his spot, but the room tilted and swirled around him. The countless drinks Jess had consumed, were taking their toll on him.

Sighing, Luke put an arm around Jess for support and put him none too gently into his bed. However mad he was, Luke couldn't just leave the kid to fend for himself.

Luke scrubbed a tired hand over his face, threw on his jacket and left his drunk nephew to sleep off the alcohol.

Once he got outside, he grabbed his cellphone, and started dialing a number.

"Pick up, you stupid woman." Luke demanded.

..."we're sorry. The number you have dialed has been disconnected." Came the automated voice message.

"You ruined him. You were never there for your son, and all he knows is your drunken stupidity! You screwed up, and made me have to fix him, but I don't know how to fix this, Liz. You didn't even call about him spending his break with you. He needs you. God knows why, but he needs his mom. God dammit Liz!" Closing his flip phone angrily, Luke slammed his fist into the nearest wall.