A/N: See? Soon, just like I promised!

Congratulations to Daphnetjuh, Kat, Mia, bamrocks, and AnneTrinityRGJM for getting the quote and movie! 1 million pointless points for you guys!

Londsay: Well, speak of the devil. We have some Rory stuff coming up pretty soon…

Mia: The kilt idea was good. Lol… I really did laugh out loud! I'll see if I can mention the kilt somewhere in the near future.

ultimategilmoregirl: See, the leprechaun ice sculptures had to do with the quote, so… yeah. And I'm sorry about my teeny tiny chapters, but I can get them up faster if they're shorter.

crazyfanfic: Don't we all wish we had a Luke? ; )

AnneTrinityRGJM: Let me guess… you're a Rory/Jess fan, right? (I had to ask… )

One last important part of the wedding hadn't been decided yet: Who was going to be in it?

Naturally, Rory, Sookie, and Lane were going to be bridesmaids. Georgia, after some discussion, was to be the flower girl. But one last position had yet to be filled.

The best man.

Luke thought about this for quite some time. His first thought was to choose TJ. He was Liz' husband, after all. But as soon as that thought entered his head, he erased it. A grown man with an Etch-A-Sketch was not going to be his best man.

Then there were the usual townies. Jackson, but he was a produce man. And that explained a lot. There was Andrew, but Luke hadn't spoken to Andrew since he'd hurried out of the diner after Luke had an angry reaction to his talking about the boat. Morey was an option, but he was married to Babette. There had to be something wrong there.

There were the almost unthinkable. Kirk, who would cause some sort of horrific disaster and probably want to be paid for his services. That man could make money doing absolutely anything. There was Taylor… but – well, you know.

And there was no way in hell that he would let that rich, loser boyfriend of Rory's be his best man. He loved Rory and all, but that guy was trouble. He knew it. Logan had certainly caused enough mischief already, and Luke didn't want him to drag Rory down with him.

This lengthy process of elimination left him where he'd truly started. With only one option. It left him with the one person who he'd wanted more than anything to be in this wedding. It also left him with the one person he most dreaded inviting.

Jess Mariano.

"No."

"Jess…"

"No. I'm sorry. I just… I can't."

"Why?"

It was a simple question. But answering it would cause Jess to open up, something he had avoided doing for as long as he could remember. So he stayed silent, hoping his uncle would understand the hint and leave him alone, just like everyone else had always done. But Luke wasn't 'everyone else'.

"Jess…?"

Jess still didn't answer and continued staring at his feet.

"Okay… I guess we'll do this like last time. So you don't hate me."

Jess sighed. "I don't hate you."

"Is it Lorelai? Do you hate her?"

"No, Luke, I don't hate her."

"Well, is it Sookie? Lane? Rory?"

When he heard Rory's name, Jess' head jerked up.

"No… Rory?"

Jess nodded.

"Well, you told her you loved her and ran. But I thought you were over that."

He took a deep breath. "After Lizzie's wedding, when I told you I was going back up to New York, I drove up to Yale. I found Rory with… Dean, and I guess that made me crazy. So I told her… I told her to come with me. To run away with me."

"Where?"

"Anywhere… back to New York, maybe."

"You couldn't take her back to that filthy apartment!"

"I know! I knew that the whole time, but… I so badly wanted her to come."

"Well… what'd she say?"

"She said… no. She said she really didn't want to be with me."

"Wow… And you haven't seen her since?"

"Haven't seen her since."

They sat for a moment in companionable silence, both busy with their own thoughts. The calm atmosphere was shattered when Luke spoke up quietly. "You don't have to do it, Jess. I just… I really want you to be there."

Jess didn't speak, and Luke stood to leave. When the door shut behind him, he felt the tears behind his eyes. He willed himself not to cry. He focused his eyes on the door to the staircase and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. This repetition was interrupted by a shout from down the hall.

"Hey Luke!"

Luke turned to see Jess leaning out into the corridor, one arm grasping the doorframe.

Jess yelled again. "I'll do it."

Not much to say here…

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