Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea.
A/N: See Chapter One for full premise. To sum up, this is an AU (Alternate Universe) in which Jess Mariano never existed. In his place, Jessie Danes, daughter of Liz, has come to live with her Uncle Luke for the summer. This is still not beta'ed to be gentle. I am very pleased that so far people are enjoying this. Reviews are always welcome, no matter how short or long. A special thanks goes out to Lindsay for letting me bounce all my crazy ideas off of her. This story would not be here without her. Literally. She had to talk me into posting it.
June: Arriving and Adjusting
Chapter Six
The next morning Luke made sure that he was in the apartment when Jessie woke up. He was washing dishes at seven when the door to her room opened and she stood there looking rumpled, sleepy and confused. As he dried his hands on a dishtowel he said, "'Mornin'. Sleep okay?"
With a great yawn and eyes that were still half closed, Jessie nodded and went to sit at the kitchen table. "How come you're not downstairs?" she asked groggily.
"I wanted to talk to you," he answered as he sat down across from her.
Yawning again, Jessie propped her chin on her hand and looked at him with sleepy eyes. "Okay," she said.
"Last night you said you hated Lorelai," he started.
Jessie didn't answer but she did squirm a little in her seat and shift her eyes away from his.
"Now, I know that that can't be true because you have such a good time with her," he continued gently. "So, if you don't hate her, I don't understand why you said you did."
With a frown Jessie admitted, "I don't hate her, I just…I just don't like that she came in and…" she searched for the right words "…and took over."
"Took over?" he asked, happy that they were talking, but still not understanding the cause of her upset.
"Yeah," she said. "Bedtime TV is something just we do and if she stayed for that, would she stay longer? And if she stayed longer there would be no room for me," she finished awkwardly.
"No room?" he repeated, wanting to be sure that she was really saying what he thought she was saying.
"Mommy's boyfriends always sleep in her bed and there's no room for me," she explained still unable to meet his eyes. She felt a little ashamed that she counted for so little in her mother's world.
Infuriated with his sister, Luke silently regarded his niece across their kitchen table and tried to keep his tone as even as possible when he spoke next. "Lorelai is not my girlfriend. So you don't ever have to be worried that there won't be enough room for you."
"But you might get a girlfriend," she pointed out impatiently, her eyes already silently accusing him of abandoning her.
"Yes, that is a possibility," he acknowledged with a nod, "but I can promise you that as long as you're living here I will never have an over-night guest."
Jessie looked at him doubtfully and said, "Really?"
"Really," he assured her.
Nodding her reluctant acceptance, she said, "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"That's okay, but next time try to use your words. Yelling won't get you very far in life."
"Okay," Jessie promised. Then, she stood and came around to his side of the table, crawled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. He returned the tight hug before she pulled back and scampered toward the bathroom. Luke smiled.
That Saturday, Lorelai and Rory came into the diner for breakfast. Jessie hadn't seen Lorelai since the day of the bed shopping so when she waved at them from her perch on the stool, Lorelai waved back and approached with a younger version of herself in tow.
"Hey, Jess," she said brightly. "This is my daughter, Rory. Rory, this is Luke's niece, Jessie."
"Nice to meet you, Jessie," answered Rory with a smile.
"Hi," Jess replied shyly.
"Rory! Back for the weekend?" Luke called from swing doors.
"Yup! Mom and I are having a full Stars Hollow day. Breakfast here, then a walk in the park, then video rentals, then candy shopping, then home to watch said videos while eating said candy. It's going to be fabulous."
"As long as you realize you're killing yourselves," he replied with a disapproving frown.
"Yep, we know!" Lorelai assured him as they sat themselves at the counter.
When they'd finished eating, Rory excused herself to make a quick stop at the bookstore before they went for their walk in the park. Lorelai savored her mug of coffee as she waited for her daughter to return. Jessie waited until Luke was in the kitchen, fidgeted for a moment and then said, "Lorelai?"
"What's up, sweetie?" Lorelai replied, concerned at Jessie's tone.
"I'm sorry I made you leave," she said quietly as she looked at her fingers.
"Made me leave?" Lorelai repeated, confused.
"You asked if you could watch TV with us and I told you no," Jessie explained. "I'm sorry."
"Honey, it's okay," Lorelai assured her. "Rory and I have stuff that we only do with each other. I completely understand that you have similar things you do with Luke."
"I know but," she fidgeted again, wanting this to come out correctly, "we both like you, so you can be his girlfriend if you want." Jessie felt this offer was more than generous.
Startled, Lorelai's hand shook a little and she set her coffee cup down too hard on the counter before asking, "What?"
"As long as you don't sleep over," Jessie added firmly.
"Sleep…what?" Lorelai stammered.
"Sleep over," repeated Jessie, wishing the adults would keep up.
"Why would I…sleep over?" Lorelai was confused. Absolutely and completely confused.
One thing Liz could be proud of was the fact that she'd always answered her child's questions as if she were speaking to another adult. "To have sex," replied Jessie solemnly.
"To…have…I think maybe you're…mistaken about…some things…." Lorelai faltered, but before she could continue, Luke returned from the kitchen and brought the coffeepot over to top off her mug.
Noting the silence he asked, "Everything okay here?"
"Uh huh," replied Jessie taking a sip of her juice.
Lorelai stared at Jessie, unable to speak, unsure what to say in front of Luke and completely unnerved. She had stayed away because she wasn't sure how Jessie would react to seeing her again. The last thing she'd imagined happening was getting permission to be Luke's girlfriend but only if she didn't have sex with him. Bizarre wasn't a strong enough word for what had just happened.
"You look a little shell-shocked," Luke observed as he took in Lorelai's expression.
"I'm fine," she lied.
"Okay, then," he replied, totally not believing her. As Luke left them to bring the coffee around to the rest of his patrons, Lorelai turned in her seat to face Jessie and said, "Jess, listen to me. I really appreciate the offer to…be…Luke's girlfriend…but we're just friends. So, I won't ever be…sleeping over. Okay?" Lorelai tried to keep her expression as blank as possible during this speech.
Jessie studied Lorelai's features and said, "Okay. Can I try your coffee?"
Lorelai blinked. Someone needed to teach this child about the art of transition. Too stunned by the change of topic to growl her customary, "Hands off!" she simply pushed the mug toward Jess and let her chin fall into her hand, still too bewildered and surprised to do anything.
Jessie took the mug and helped herself to a hearty sip. She immediately made a face and proclaimed loudly, "EW!!"
"Hey," called Luke, overhearing Jessie and seeing her with the mug. "What do you think you're doing? Lorelai, don't give her coffee!"
Jolted back into reality, Lorelai snatched the cup back from Jessie and called, "Sorry! Won't happen again!"