Disclaimer: The Stars Hollow gang doesn't belong to me, but I'm not making any money off of them so don't sue.
Luke kept waiting for Rachel to show up at the diner again the next day. He assumed she would be back, since she did come to town to see him.
Although he wouldn't have blamed her for driving to Hartford and taking the first flight out. Luke just didn't understand why Rachel was so caught up with Lorelai. It probably had something to do with the fact that she left Luke because she thought he was in love with Lorelai.
As he cooked in the diner's kitchen, Luke shook his head at the notion. He was not in love with Lorelai Gilmore. And she was especially not in love with him. Not if she could randomly leave town with a complete stranger if ever the occasion arose.
But a small voice in his head caused Luke to wonder what if Lorelai hadn't left? Would Luke have been so eager to see Rachel again? He dismissed the voice, rationalizing that he and Rachel had a long history and he didn't want to shut her out of his life. He'd tell her that, when she came to the diner…if she came to the diner.
When he walked out of the high school and started walking back to the diner, Jess noticed Rachel standing on the sidewalk near the dance studio, taking photos of one of Miss Patty's tumbling classes.
"Know them?" he asked as he came up behind her. She glanced back and smiled, lowering her camera.
"No, but Patty loves these kind of shots for advertising," she explained, raising the camera to her eye again.
"You're a professional?" he asked.
"You're certainly curious," she said. "What's on your mind?"
"Just being polite. I'll let you work." He turned to walk away, but Rachel was quickly at his side.
"I was just finishing up, can we talk?" she asked.
"Sure, we have that capability."
Rachel chuckled at his joke. "So, what do you think of Stars Hollow?"
Jess shrugged. "It's too clean, too wholesome, the people are fascists. But I guess you get used to it. Why'd you leave Luke?"
"Get to the point, why don't you," she retorted.
"I wasn't kidding about the Aunt Rachel thing, what happened?"
Rachel didn't know Jess well enough to know that this sort of sincere, serious manner he was displaying was unusual to see. She sighed and said quietly, "Well, which cliché do you want? I wanted more, we grew apart, there was another woman-"
"Luke cheated on you?" Jess exclaimed.
"No, not exactly. I just got the feeling that he would have been happier with someone else."
Jess nodded. "I think I know what you're talking about."
Rachel hesitated. "Um, can I ask if anything ever happened with…them?"
"No. I guess that's partially my fault."
"You?" she asked, looking confused.
He sighed. "It's a long story."
Rachel glanced at her watch. "What do you know, I have the time." She smiled, and Jess felt comfortable enough to tell her.
Without realizing it, Jess and Rachel had walked several times around and through the center of town as Jess talked and she listened. He hadn't been able to talk to anyone like this since the accident with Rory. Rachel would occasionally nod, but she hardly spoke.
"So that's it," he finished, then glanced over to see her face. "What do you think?"
"Jess, you certainly are your uncle's nephew," Rachel laughed a little. "Have you actually told Rory how you feel?"
"No. I can't. She has a boyfriend, she doesn't feel the same way-"
"How do you know unless you tell her?" she asked.
"I just know."
"But how do you know?" Jess didn't have an answer for Rachel, so she continued. "You need to tell her. Before it's too late. Can you contact her?"
"I could probably get her phone number from Lane," Jess said quietly. "You think I should?"
Rachel smiled. "Yes. The sooner, the better."
Jess nodded, reassuring himself. He glanced over at Kim's Antiques. "I'm going to talk to Lane; are you going to the diner?" He saw her smile fade. "What?"
"Oh, just, I have to get going, my flight leaves tonight and I have some-"
"You're not going to say goodbye Luke?" he asked.
"It's no big deal-"
"Come on, Rachel. You spend all afternoon convincing me I need to tell Rory before it's too late. Shouldn't you be heeding your own wisdom?" He paused. "I'll buy you a cup of coffee when I get over, to thank you."
She nodded, although still not sold on the idea of going to the diner again. She watched Jess cross the street towards Lane's house and started towards Luke's.
"Is this burger rare?" Kirk asked as Luke set down his plate.
"Kirk, all the burgers are medium-well, we've been over this," Luke sighed.
"I asked for rare," Kirk stated.
"And I told you all the burgers are medium-well, so putzes like you don't get sick from undercooked meat and put me out of business!" Luke shouted, and waited for Kirk to speak. "What? Don't you have something else to complain about?"
Kirk meekly picked up his glass. "The soda's gone flat."
Luke snatched the glass out of Kirk's hands, and was tempted to toss the drink in his lap. But he managed to turn away without any violence.
Of course, the moment he turned, he was able to see Rachel walking in. He actually smiled, but she looked less enthusiastic. He walked over.
"Hey, I was hoping you'd come in," he said quickly. "Are you hungry, I'll get you something-"
"Luke, no, thanks. I'm just waiting for Jess."
Luke was stunned for a second as he watched her sit at the counter. "For who?"
"Jess. Your nephew. Dark-haired kid in the Tool t-shirt," Rachel clarified when he still looked confused.
"I'm sorry, why are you meeting Jess?"
"Because. We talked."
Luke was suddenly worried. "Oh no, what did he say now?"
"Nothing bad, Luke. Give the kid some credit, you are raising him now. It was just a problem he was having with a girl."
"Oh, no."
Rachel laughed out of desperation. "God, stop saying that!"
"Look, you don't know the whole story. Jess would not be good for Rory-"
"But Rory is obviously good for Jess!" she interrupted. "What are you afraid of, Luke? That if they are a couple, Lorelai would definitely not want to be with you?"
"I never said that!" he argued.
"That's what Jess thinks. It's probably what Lorelai thinks. That after the accident, you didn't take her side so you don't love her as much as she imagined-"
"Lorelai doesn't imagine anything about me, except that I have her coffee ready each morning!"
"How do you know unless you tell her?"
"I just know!"
She shook her head. "So much alike." When she looked up, Luke saw how tired she was. "Look, tell Jess I'm sorry, but I had to get going." She stood up.
"No, Rachel, wait," Luke said as he caught her arm, and turned her to face him. "Apart from Liz and some of the wackos in this town, you have known me longer than anyone. And I don't want you to walk out of that door again, for good. I…I want to stay in touch."
"I thought Luke Danes was never one for letter-writing," Rachel said softly.
He smiled. "You're quoting a twenty-year-old kid, you know. That was…a long time ago, you know. Things change, people change." He chuckled. "Like you said, I'm raising a kid!" He saw that she was warming to him. "Please, just let me know where I can reach you."
Rachel paused. "You can send any letters to the National Geographic headquarters in DC, they'll be forwarding my mail every few weeks."
"Okay, I will write."
"Why?"
"Because…you stay in touch with friends." Rachel smiled, and leaned forward to hug Luke. He didn't mind it, even in a diner full of patrons.
Jess had some difficulty getting Mrs. Kim to let him see Lane for even a few minutes. He finally told her was interesting in joining a Christian youth group, so she left them alone.
"You do know that lying is a sin," Lane reminded.
"See, that is why I need a spiritual leader," he said.
"So, what do you want?"
"I was wondering if you could give me Rory's phone number."
Lane considered this for a moment. "Alright. But you better call her soon, since I am going to talk to her and if you haven't called her by then and I tell her that you were going to call but haven't and get her hopes up-"
"I think I get the idea; I will talk to her," Jess promised.
Jess went back to the diner, but didn't see Rachel. Or Luke for that matter. He went upstairs, and found Rachel and Luke sitting casually at the kitchen table, talking and smiling about something.
"Hey," he said slowly.
Rachel smiled as she stood up. "Hey. I wanted to ask for a rain check on the coffee, I'm running late."
Jess walked over, nodding. "Thanks again."
"It was very nice to meet you, Jess," she said before hugging him. Jess glanced at Luke, who seemed rather amused at Jess's uncomfortable look. Rachel leaned back. "Good luck," she said, then started for the door.
"I'm giving Rachel a ride to the airport," Luke said. "You do your homework."
Jess rolled his eyes quickly. "Whatever."
"Well, whatever, but some mail came for you today." Jess regarded Luke's face carefully before he was left alone in the apartment. He went to the counter, where Luke's assortment of bills and junk mail accumulated.
Jess picked up the postcard with a picture of the Capitol building. He flipped it over, knowing he would see Rory's handwriting, but still unsure. The only message was 'Oh, I should never have come, never. I'm here against my better judgment.'
He smiled as he read the quote, then glanced around the apartment. He picked up a pen and a piece of scratch paper where he quickly scribbled a note to leave on the kitchen table.
Luke came in with a pizza. "Jess! I got mushrooms on your half!" he called towards Jess's room. "Come on, it's getting cold!" Luke set the pizza down on the table and noticed a slip of white paper on the table.
'Liz called, wanted me to visit. Taking the bus. Back by Thursday night, latest.'
Luke would have been the first to point out how odd it was that Liz wanted to see Jess, since her phone calls were so random to begin with. But the first thing Luke realized was how alone he was feeling.
The phone rang, and for a second, Luke was worried that something had happened to Jess. He jumped up to answer it. "Hello…Lorelai?"
Author's Note: Did I leave yall in suspense? Don't worry, I have more stories ready to continue the series. I am going to try to have them all written and posted by the Season 3 premiere on Sept. 24 so you won't have to wait too long.