A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, they were really great. Hope you like this chapter too.

Chapter 9

Luke watched as Jess and Rory made their way into the diner. He nervously stood to greet them.

"Hey guys, uh, is everything okay?" He asked looking for any sign pain or anger.

To his relief he saw Jess give a slight smile before saying, "Everything's great."

Oh thank goodness, I guess I did the right thing after all. Now the only question left was, what happened.

"Why not fill me in here?" Luke asked.

He watched as Jess looked over to Rory before facing him. What was he looking for? Confidence? Reassurance? Was he afraid?

Jess took a deep breath before he began, "On my fifth birthday I had woken up to my parents fighting. My father came into my room to tell me that he was leaving. Soon after he left I found my mom lying on the couch. She blamed me, and told me it was my fault he walked away. She never celebrated my birthday again after that and I didn't want to either. It was just a painful reminder of that day. So, we kinda fell into a routine. When it was my birthday she would just stay in the house drinking. I would usually go out; she wasn't really friendly drunk. One day I stayed out too long. I ended up getting beaten and I later found out that they had stolen my wallet."

Jess paused to take a deep breathed then continued, "That's why I was upset this morning. And I'm sorry about that."

When Jess finally finished, Luke stood there stunned. There were a ton of different thoughts going through his mind.

I can't believe this. I never thought it had been this bad. First his father leaves, then his mother starts drinking, and finally he's mugged. No wonder he was so pissed this morning. At least he is able to talk about it. That's like the first step, right? And did he just apologize? That's a first. Maybe this will all turn out all right.

Now what am I supposed to say to him?

Luke sighed and said, "I'm really sorry you had to go through that. But I'll try my best to make your future birthdays better."

Now lets see if he agrees.

Jess gave a small smile and said, "Thanks, that means a lot."

There's hope after all. Suddenly an idea struck Luke. Perfect!

"Good, I'm glad your feeling better about all this. And while you're in a good mood, could you do me a favor?" Luke told him.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" Jess said, eager to help in return.

"I need you to cash a check for me," Luke said pulling an envelope and handing it to Jess.

Jess took it and said, "I'll be back later." And with a wave he was gone.

Okay, that should keep him away long enough. "I wanted to thank you," he said turning to Rory.

"It was nothing, he just needed someone to talk to," Rory replied.

Luke shook his head and said, "It was definitely something."

Rory just smiled in return. Luke continued by saying, "And I have an idea, but I need your help."

"Oh, sure," Rory said. She was more than happy to lend a hand.

"Great." Okay, with Rory's help I can put my plan into action.


A/N: Hope you liked this chapter; I should have the next chapter up before the week is over. And please Review!