A/N: You know I'll only let Luke & Lorelai fight for so long, right? C'mon, peops, they'll be cool ;) Of course, a story always needs drama so...

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 20

"Hey, you surfaced," said Jess with a wicked smirk when he opened the door to find Paris on the other side. "I was starting to think you and Doyle were hibernating in there."

"Please! As if you never spent so long holed up with Rory that we thought you guys were never coming back to reality," she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, since we haven't seen much of each other lately, for a lot of reasons, I thought I should check in. How're things, Jess?"

"Things are fine, Paris," he told her, leaning on the door jamb with his arms folded much like hers were. "Seriously, they are" he insisted when she made a face like she thought he was messing with her. "Me and Rory are headed to Stars Hollow for the weekend, I'm working on the second draft of my manuscript, and everything's cool."

"Luke and Lorelai?"

"Happy as the proverbial clams last I heard."

"That's good." Paris nodded, and yet she still looked like she had more to say. "I just... well, like I said, we haven't seen much of each other lately, and I'm aware that we aren't required to live in each other's pockets, nobody wants that, but I also don't want you to feel that just because I have a boyfriend now I don't have time for... for family."

Jess smiled at that, he couldn't help it.

"Thought never crossed my mind, sis," he promised her.

"That's good," she replied, smiling right back. "So, a weekend home with the folks, huh?"

"That's the plan. If I don't show up at least every other week, Luke gets antsy, and you know how Rory and Lorelai are."

"Don't I just?" Paris rolled her eyes, though her smile remained.

"You can come along, if you want?" Jess offered then. "Of course, if you have plans with the boyfriend..."

"We're not joined at the hip," Paris protested, struggling to maintain any kind of angry expression when she saw the smirk on her brother's lips. "You're disgusting."

"I didn't say a word!" he told her, hands held up in mock surrender, though they both knew just precisely what he was thinking. "The offer stands, Paris. You're always welcome in the Hollow, but if you have plans, don't stress. It's cool to have you around, but I'm a big boy, I won't cry if I don't see you for one weekend."

Paris nodded in understanding, smiling yet. It didn't suck to know she and Jess were still as close as ever they had been. It was true that they didn't have to see each other every minute of every day, but they were there if they should need each other. That was never a bad feeling, and one that Paris had grown so accustomed to, she would hate for him to go away at all.

"You know, Doyle says he's sorry you left the paper," she said suddenly. "If you wanted to come back-"

"Paris, it's not gonna happen," Jess told her, for what felt like the twentieth time. "I'm not the journalist type. You heard the part about the second draft of the short novel, right?"

"Right, the one I'm not permitted to read."

"When it's done, then you can. In the meantime, Rory is enough of an editor for me, thanks."

"I'll bet she puts smiley faces in the margins and grants you favours for really good punctuation or something."

"To quote Lorelai, 'dirty,'" said Jess, making a face. "You keep the kinky games you play with McMaster to yourself, okay?"

Paris moved to slap him in the shoulder for that remark, but Jess moved away too fast, anticipating the move. They were both laughing then as Paris said she should go already and eventually walked away. Jess watched her disappear down the hall and sighed. He would never tell her, but he had kind of missed seeing so much of his sister this past week or so. It was good to catch up, just to have that reassurance she was still there. It was too easy to assume any and all family or friends that were supposed to have his back would disappear before long, but Paris wasn't like that, any more than Luke or Lorelai or Rory would be. Still, it was a tough habit for Jess to break after the example set by his own parents and so many others that came before.

Luke needed somewhere to channel his rage and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Besides, it wouldn't really be vandalism. In fact, he kind of saw it as public service. Not one person in Stars Hollow was enjoying the ridiculous bells anymore, even those that had loved them when they first started to ring again. They were a menace to all and Luke was doing everybody in a fifty-mile radius a favour by breaking them. That was the story he was telling himself, in any case.

Inside the church, he checked nobody had seen him enter and crossed to the stairs that would take him up to where the bells resided. He nearly jumped completely out of his skin when a shadow moved across the wall and suddenly he realised he wasn't alone.

"What in the-, Lorelai?"

"Luke? What the hell are you doing here?" she asked him crossly.

"Don't say 'hell'," he advised, nodding towards the crucifix hung on the wall.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "They have Jewish services in here, also. I don't think it's consecrated Christian ground."

"Either way," said Luke pointedly. "Why are you here?"

"I'm guessing the same reason you are," she told him, lifting a small toolbox into view.

"That's mine."

"So?" she countered. "We are supposed to be engaged, so we share, right?"

She turned towards the stairs, but stopped short of going up when a clanging sound made her jump. Looking back, she saw that Luke had dropped his much larger toolbox onto the ground.

"What?" she asked. "What's with the folded arms glowery thing you've got going on? Because I am not getting back into a fight with you right now, not here, not now."

"Lorelai, I don't want to fight with you at all," he told her, shaking his head. "Come on, this whole thing has got way out of hand. I know I got mad about Friday Night Dinner, but I thought you would see my point on that eventually."

"I do," said Lorelai, sighing as her gaze dropped to her shoes.

"And when I brought up those bills and all the money stuff, I just... I only wanna help, you know that, right? I mean, you just said we're engaged. That means sharing everything, at least, I thought it did."

"It does," Lorelai muttered, not looking up yet, even when Luke stepped right over his toolbox to stand before her.

"Then can we please stop fighting and just be reasonable with each other already?" Luke suggested, one hand going to her head and encouraging her to look at him. "Please?"

"I'm sorry, Luke," she said, finally meeting his eyes in the dim light. "I just... I don't know, I'm not used to having somebody to lean on like that. I mean, you've always been there for me, I'm not denying it and I'm grateful, but... but this inn and everything, it's my thing, mine and Sookie's. I still want to be your wife, I absolutely do, but it's hard. It's hard for me to admit that I'm struggling, that... that I'm seriously running out of money," she confessed at last. "I really am."

"I figured." Luke nodded, his hand cradling her cheek as he pulled her closer. "I just wanna help, Lorelai. I mean, come on, when we're married, what's yours is mine and what's mine or yours. Does it matter if we start on that a little early?"

Lorelai smiled at that innate kindness, forever present in her fiance. He really was kind of amazing.

"I love you, Luke Danes," she told him, dropping the toolbox to the floor near his so she could reach her arms up around his neck. "You're the greatest guy in the world, and I know, I know that sometimes I make no sense, and I get all crazy about stuff that you don't get, but if you can deal with it, I promise, I will try to be different-"

"No," Luke cut in, his thumb placed gently on her lips so she could say no more for the moment. "I don't want you to be different, Lorelai. I love you because you're you, crazy and all," he promised with a smile. "I just wish you would let me help you once in a while with the stuff that matters. That's what couples are supposed to do, right? Lean on each other, stand together, be a united force."

"Yeah," she said, nodding her head. "That sounds good. I guess it's just tough for people like us who are so used to standing alone."

"Then we need to get better at remembering that we're not alone anymore."

"Agreed," she said, smiling widely as she moved in for a good long kiss.

When they parted, there was a look in her eyes that Luke knew too well, and yet her words surprised him when they were spoken.

"Hey, Luke? You wanna lean on each other while we seriously break some bells?"

"Oh, God, yes!" he agreed with real enthusiasm, picking up both toolboxes and running after her up the stairs.

"You're smiling a lot considering where we are," said Rory, standing across from her mom on the doorstep of the Gilmore Mansion.

"I'm happy, so sue me," Lorelai countered.

"Hey, I thought you were supposed to bring Luke along this week, what happened there?"

"Long story. Short version is that he's coming next week instead, and hey, maybe we convince Emily and Richard to invite Jess also, make it a real party."

"I'm now not sure if you're teasing, but you are scaring me," said Rory, even as she rang the bell. "I'm glad you're happy, but I still say it's kind of bizarre given where we are."

"What can I say, kid? I had a really great night with my man last night."

Rory's phone buzzed in her pocket then and she scrambled to get to it and shut it off before the door opened. Thankfully the maid must've been slacking.

"Anyone important?" asked Lorelai curiously.

"Um, Lane. Which is weird because she knows I'd be here and couldn't answer." Rory frowned. "I'll call her just as soon as we get out."

"Sounds like a plan. Geez, don't tell me Emily fired the maid and actually forgot," she said then, reaching to ring the bell again.

Given she had a few seconds, Rory fired off a speedy text to Jess before shutting off her phone, just as the door opened.

"The way Kirk told it, I expected to walk in here and find blood on the walls," said Jess looking in through the doorway to the diner apartment. "Either you did a real good clean up or he was exaggerating about the way you and Lorelai have been fighting."

"Hello, nephew" said Luke, rolling his eyes at the way Jess had spoken. "Those gossips are still on that, huh?"

"That and something about the destruction of public property, which for once I can't be blamed for," he explained, shrugging his bag off his shoulder onto the bed. "Something about bells?"

"Oh, that's nothing," Luke waved away the query. "Er, so, if you want the whole story, yes, Lorelai and I had a difference of opinion on some things, but it's all fine now. You know how it is, all couples fight."

"Sure." Jess nodded, deciding not to prod any further.

If even half of what Kirk said was accurate, that had been more than a simple fight between his uncle and Rory's mom. It seemed they had been yelling and screaming about everything all over town for the better part of two days, but so long as they had it figured out now, Jess figured there was no point in making a big deal.

"So, other than fights that are now resolved, anything else going on that I need to hear?"

"Not that I know of." Luke shook his head. "Things okay with you?"

"Yup. I just dropped Rory at her grandparents, she's getting a ride back with her mom. I don't know how much we'll see each other. Pretty sure they're going to have some kind of girly weekend or whatever. So, if you need a hand in the diner?"

"Sure, I could always use a hand," Luke agreed. "You didn't bring Paris?"

"The new boyfriend is monopolising her time," Jess explained, rolling his eyes. "I guess it's cool that she's happy."

"He's a decent guy?"

"Sure."

"Good."

Jess smiled at that. It was kind of cool that Luke was looking out for Paris too. They were the unlikeliest people to have become buddies, but then Jess supposed himself and Paris were quite an odd pairing for brother and sister also. Like the saying went, 'it takes all kinds to make a world.'

Luke said something about leftover pie and headed downstairs to fetch it and Jess pulled his phone out of his pocket when it buzzed. Rory had sent him a text, presumably seconds before she went into dinner with her grandparents.

'Please check on Lane? I think something's wrong.'

Jess frowned at that but figured he wasn't getting any more information. He and Lane were not exactly close but he liked her well enough and if Rory wanted him to check on her, he absolutely would, though he wasn't clear on what trouble she could be in that would require his help.

"Luke?" he called as he ran down the stairs. "I need to-"

He stopped short of saying anymore as he realised there was no need to go in search of Lane. There she was with her arms wrapped around a baffled looking Luke, crying into his chest like her heart would break, a bag on the floor by her feet.

"Huh."

To Be Continued...