When you were only six

I was your big brother

I moved in with my Uncle Luke the summer I turned seven. My father had abandoned my mother and me and Mom took it extremely hard and started drinking a lot. The day after she got in a car accident with my in the care, the child welfare people took me. To this day I don't know how Uncle Luke found out I was in the system but he came and claimed me. Then he brought me to live with him and his wife, Lorelai and Lorelai's daughter Rory.

Rory was a pretty cute kid as I recall and a very smart one. Usually four years olds can't read yet, but this four year old was already reading Judy Blume and Laura Ingalls Wilder, a strange combination of authors and a very feminine one, but still it was refreshing.

It was refreshing to have a father again and a mother that was very attentive and concerned with my well being. It was also refreshing to have another kid around the house, even if it were an annoying little sister.

I remember a few years after I moved to Stars Hollow, I went to the town square with some friends. Uncle Luke went to the diner and Aunt Lorelai was interviewing new concierges for the inn. Rory was getting bored at the diner and Uncle Luke walked her down to the square.

"Jess," he called out to me. "Bring it in."

I called a time out and walked over to Uncle Luke. "Huh."

"I wish you'd use a real word when you answer me instead of Huh," Uncle Luke scolded.

"Huh," I repeated just to annoy him.

"Can you watch Rory for awhile?" he asked. "Just keep an eye on her until I get through with the lunch rush."

I looked down at little Rory, dressed in a little denim skirt, yellow top, and sandals. She was a cutekid and she stayed out of trouble.

"Sure, Uncle Luke. She can watch us play," I said taking her hand in mine.

"I don't want to watch I want to play too," she protested when Luke left.

"You can't play too, Rory," I replied all ready knowing never to use gender as an excuse with a Gilmore girl, so I said. "You're too little."

As it turned out Rory didn't like that response either. She wiggled her hand out of mine and held it up along with a thumb on her other hand. "I'm not too little. I'm six."

I sighed. I couldn't let her play, she'd get hurt. "Rory, you hate sports," I reminded her.

She giggled, "Oh yeah. Can I read your book?" she asked. I always had a book.

"What happened to your book from this morning?" I asked.

"I finished it," she answered shyly.

"Of course you can read my book," I told her, leading her over to the old oak tree. Underneath it I spread my jacket so that she wouldn't have to sit on dirt, then I handed her my well worn copy of Oliver Twist. "Here. I'll come over and check on you between innings," I told her.

She didn't answer me. She was all ready starting reading.

I went back to my game. Most of the guys had younger brothers or sister s so they understood the need for time out. The only kid that had a comment about me taking care of little Rory was Alan Lowry, the grandson of Stars Hollow grocer, Taylor Doose.

Alan hated me, he hated Luke, and for some reason, he really hated Rory. He was always picking on her or trying to make her cry. Usually she ignored him; she is such a calm kid.

"Have to watch the little bas…?" Alan began, but another one of Jess' friends, Kyle through a glove at his head.

"Shut up and play!" Jess barked and too his position in the field.

The game went on and I made sure to do as I promised and check on Rory between innings. I would usually find her engrossed in Dickens or watching our game.

Halfway between the sixth and seventh innings I got this uneasy feeling in my stomach so I looked up to check on Rory. I couldn't see her, but I could see Alan blocking her from my view. I dropped the bat by home plate and sprinted towards them.

I could see Rory as I got closer. She was trying to advance on Alan, seemingly to recover my book from his grasp. He was holding her off though, each time she moved to get closer, he'd move back. He didn't scare her though, she kept yelling at him.

"Give it back! It's Jess'," I heard her yelled. She had her mother's set of lungs.

"Give it back! It's Jess'," he mimicked in an imitation childlike voice.

Rory made another try for the book, and this time, Alan moved back and held the book higher as she advanced on him. I ran even faster my stomach in knots.

It turned out I didn't run faster enough. Rory tripped over a loose tree branch as she moved in on Alan and fell hard on the ground. Almost immediately she started to cry and Alan moved closer to her as she struggled to get up. As if he hadn't done enough to hurt her he used to opportunity to pull her denim skirt over her head, exposing to the world her tiny Barbie underpants.

Rory started to cry harder when she felt Alan's hands on her. She pushed him, but he rolled on top of her, trying to pull down her underpants.

I never stopped that day to think about what kind of damage had been done to that boy to make him so hateful. I only know that the Doose genes had to have something to do with it. I think also, Alan was the genius and the pride of Stars Hollow before Rory grew up a bit, so one could factor in jealousy.

What in reality was only five minutes, seven at the most seemed like hours to me. When I finally reached the two of them, I wanted to comfort Rory also as much as I wanted to give Alan a lesson in the proper way to treat my girl.

Impulse won out and when I approached I pulled Alan off of Rory and the two of us rolled around on the ground, me punching and smacking, Alan biting and pulling hair. I couldn't help but think during that time he fought like a girl, no wonder he picked on one.

"Get off me!" Alan snapped as I landed another punch to his jaw.

"What the Hell is wrong with you?" I shouted. "She's just a little girl. Pick on somebody your own size."

Alan never got to respond, because by that time the game broke fully and the rest of our friends had gathered around and were trying to pull me off of Alan. Normally, once I got going, it was hard for me to stop, I had a hot Danes temper. It was only the sound of Rory's sad little voice calling my name that helped me leave Alan to the others while I tended to her.

I knelt down next to her and started to gently brush her ponytail with my hand. "Where does it hurt?" I asked gently.

She sniffled and worried about her skirt, "It doesn't hurt that much."

"I didn't ask how much it hurt silly," I teased with a smile. "I asked where it hurt?"

Rory buried her face in my shirt, "My knees."

I could see both of her knees were scraped, the left one badly so much so that it was bleeding pretty heavily.

"Rory, we have to let Uncle Luke look at them, okay Sweetie?" I asked gently near her ear.

"My knees hurt. Can he come and get me?" she asked, now getting shaky and shy.

"No, but how about I carry you to the diner? Would you like that?"

A little head nodded and she burrowed closer to me. "Put your arms around my neck," I told her. "And hold on."

Two tiny arms wrapped around my neck and I carefully carried my precious burden back to the diner. Luke had heard about the raucous from Taylor, who no doubt heard about it from Alan.

"Jess, what do you think you're doing starting fights…" Luke trailed off when he saw Rory. He took her from my arms and hugged her.

"What happened Baby?" he asked, kissing her hair.

"Alan happened," I replied for her. "I thought that he deserved a good ass kicking…sorry," I cringed at Uncle Luke's grimace.

Luke smiled at me once Rory explained in her six year old tones what happened between her and Alan, and I knew I was forgiven the logistical snafu or fighting with Alan Lowry.

Luke bandaged Rory's knees and gave both of us ice cream cones. I didn't go back to the game that day, I stayed at the diner with Rory and taught her to play Scrabble. That night when I said good night to her, Rory put her arms around my neck and hugged me as tight as she ever had.

"I'm sorry Jess," she whispered into my shirt.

"For what?" I asked. What did she have to be sorry for.

"Because Alan took your book and because I messed up your game," she said.

"Alan's a jerk," I told her, running my hand down her hair. "I've got other books."

She smiled for the first time since she'd fallen that day and hugged me again. "Anyway," I added, "I like sticking up for you. It's what big brother's do."

"Are you my big brother, Jess?" she asked me.

"Not technically, because we don't have the some mommy and daddy. But I love you like a big brother, if that helps. And I'll always, always be there to protect you," I assured her, confident in my nine year old wisdom.

"You promise?" she asked me, snuggling down in the covers.

"I promise," I replied and turned out the clown light on her nighstand. I moved to the doorway to leave, so that Lorelai could finish the good night process. Rory's voice stopped me at the door, "I love you, Jess."

"I love you, Rory," I replied. And I realized then for the first time, that I really meant it.

A/N: The next chapter will be Rory's POV. I'll try and be less repetitious. Please review.