a/n: If you've been reading this story already and were a bit thrown with the ghost crap in the last chapter, go back and reread the chapter, starting with where Mark came in, and the authors note at the end.

Chapter Three

"I've come to take you back to Philadelphia with me."

"No. Really?" Jess asked weakly, laying back farther.

Threw the apparently brothers conversation, Luke had marveled at how young Jess seemed when he talked to his older brother. It seemed as though all of Jess's defenses melted away when he was around his brother. And this Mark character didn't seem all too bad. Luke thought back to the fight comment he had made. He didn't want to imagine how any kind of fight between the two would end up.

Luke still couldn't get over the brother part, and each time he thought about it, his head hurt. Around the age of 16, three years before she had Jess, Luke recalled that all of Liz's friends had started teasing her about her weight- calling her pregnant and stuff. Luke, with a growing sense of dread, wondered if she really had been pregnant. It happened about a year after she'd met Jimmy. Luke's face twisted up at the thought of the smirking teen that he had first met so many years ago.

"Don't worry,'' Mark laughed vaguely."I don't need you making any decisions right this second. Let's play catch up for a while first. Tell me, do you like it at sleepy hallow much?"

"Stars Hallow," Jess corrected absently, ignoring his brothers grin. "And- Mark I swear to god they've got a porcelain unicorn shop in town!"

"No way!" Mark laughed. Jess joined him, but quickly cut himself off, gasping in pain.

"Man- I still can't get over it. The wind shield wiper really did-" He cut himself off, staring at his mid section in awe. Mark's eyes were full of concern briefly, and then he continued the conversation.

"And the people?"

"Completely out of their minds. I like a few people though." Jess said, shrugging.

"Oh? Like the arm-in-cast girl in the lobby?" Mark asked slyly. Jess winced.

"Yeah, she's- she was a good friend. She was in the accident with me. I broke her arm." Jess said slowly. When Mark opened his mouth to say something, Jess waved his hand absently. "I also like Uncle Luke, who I have been staying with. And no," He said when Marcus opened his mouth again. "He owns a diner. In no way shape or form is he a lumberjack."

Mark groaned in faux disappointment. When they were young, they stole a photo book from Liz before she could burn it with the rest of her pictures after Frank left her for the third time. There were only a few pictures in it, much to their disappointment, and it was all 'family members'. It had a lot of photos of their grandfather, and a lot of an annoyed looking youngish man in flannel and a baseball cap who scowled at the camera.

On the back of one, in Liz's scrawling handwriting, were the words, "My Brother Luke, 1994". They called him Lumberjack Luke, even when they'd discovered that he was their uncle. They weren't the most respectful children. Hell, they weren't the most respectful teenagers, either.

"And he treats you well?" Mark asked, pulling out one of the photo's of Luke that he kept in the front pocket of his leather jacket, next to his photograph of his grandfather. He fiddled with the beat up upper left corner absently.

"Very. He tries really hard to- I don't know. Take care of me? I think he feels guilty about Liz being such a flake. He gave me his bed when my blow up bed broke under him. He's nice and everything. A little surly, and isn't exactly the kind to open up and spill his guts, but.. he tries. That's more than I can say about a lot of people who've 'taken care of us'." Jess said slowly, taking the photo from Mark and staring at it. "He didn't even try to kick me out after the accident. I mean, he might just be waiting til I'm no longer hospitalized to do it, but I really don't think he will."

Mark grinned. "He sounds sweet."

"He is in love with the cast girl's mother, Lorelai."

"Alluring?" He snickered.

"Yeah- I thought it was amusing too. Lorelai isn't so bad, either. Completely insane, but fun, even if she wants to kill me right about now for breaking her daughters arm."

"Oh! That black haired girl out there, who was signing the girls cast. She's not her mother, is she?"

"She is. Don't act so surprised. Liz had you when she was 16, too."

"Yeah, but that girl out there is so un-Liz like. She's got it totally together; even if she signs her daughters cast 'Gorbachev."

"Yeah. She's a bit crazy. She named her daughter after herself. Rory- short for Lorelai. She claimed it was a feminist thing. Luke totally has a thing for her."

"Anyone else?"

"Ah, well, there's Kirk. Who named his cat Kirk." Jess listed. "He actually gave me the cat- I hope Luke doesn't find out. Kirk's mother claimed to be allergic to it, even after they'd had it for a solid year, and threatened to dump it in the local lake. He said no one else would take it, since it bites and it's got a growth problem that makes it look like this little kitten thing forever."

"And you couldn't let a poor little kitty die, could you? Mariano, you still have that saving-people thing, even after all these years." Mark marveled. "You know what kind of trouble it gets you into."

"Of course I do. I didn't get kicked out of Liz's for nothing." Jess murmured bitterly. He shifted. "I find some of the characters in Stars Hallow amusing and yet not to the point of annoying. Miss Patty, this crazy old large woman, has had quite a sex life in her day, and she's not shy to share it with you, even if your a ten year old girl in her ballet class."

"Jesus," Mark chuckled. "Sounds interesting."

"It is. Then there's lane who- you'd love her- she's the teenage Korean girl version of Smith."

"The record store guy? But he's a total freak- an encyclopedia of music! You better hope she lives up to that comparison."

"She will, if you stick around long enough to meet her. There's an eternally annoying figure named Taylor, who is like a poster boy for fascism." Jess smiled.

"My favorite part of the town is the little independent book store. They have a great sale every year, and I bought books for like 35 cents. And a little bridge out on this lake, not too far from the diner. I was pushed into that lake by Luke once, actually." Marcus's eyebrows flew up. "Ah- I sort of had it coming. I was acting like a real jerk."

"Acting?" Mark joked, and ducked the playful swat that came at his head. The door opened again, and Dean slowly slunk in. Mark ducked into the shadows, observing the scene in a cat like poised fashion. Luke held his breath, hoping he wouldn't be found, since Jess's older sibling was only a few feet away from him.

"Jess, I'm gonna kill you." He informed Jess in a slow, low voice, breathing heavily threw his nostrils.

"I'd probably have it coming." Jess conceded slowly. Any happiness that had found its way onto his face had departed as soon as Dean entered. Luke swallowed. Wasn't he going to defend himself at all?

"You would." Dean nodded.

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Going to kill me."

"I don't think so." Dean said, and sat down in Mark's vacated seat heavily. Jess took in a breath.

"Look man. I'm really, really sorry. A deer ran out into the road, and I swerved the car to avoid it. We hit a pole and Rory's arm hit the dash. I'm sorry about her arm and your car."

"I talked to Gypsy. She actually said that the front is only damaged. I won't have to replace the engine or anything." Dean said absently. "And I'll probably have to replace the left wind shield wiper." Dean stared at Jess for a while.

"Well, that's good. It's a nice car."

"That it is." Dean agreed.

"I was a real jerk to you, ok? I know. I'm sorry about that too. There was no excuse for it."

"I'm not forgiving you," Dean said slowly, eyeing Jess seriously. "But I won't strangle you, either."

"Good to know." Dean let out a long sigh before standing up.

"I wasn't exactly Stars Hallow Single Man Welcoming Wagon, either." Dean admitted, looking down. "Truce?"

He offered his hand. Jess shook it.

"I'm sorry,'' He repeated firmly. Dean nodded and left. Jess lay back and closed his eyes. Mark stood from his hiding spot and sat where Dean had been.

"I was afraid I'd have to bust in there and save your ass," Mark joked. When he got no acknowledgement at his attempt at humor, he frowned. "You don't look too good, little buddy. I'll head out, find a motel or something in sleepy hallow to stay in. Don't look for me, I'll get into contact with you." With that, Jess's older brother ruffled his hair affectionately and left.

Jess, sure he was alone, shifted in the bed and let out a low whimper/groan. He bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood, and closed his eyes tightly. He constricted in pain, and moaned again. He took a few gasping breaths, and soon relaxed, even though he was shaking still.

Positive his nephew was asleep, Luke snuck quietly out of the room. He let out a huge sigh of relief when he was clear of the room. He was sure he was going to get away with hiding in the shadows like he did, when a voice startled him.

"Jess's spidey sense may not be up to par, but I knew someone was sneaking around that room. I could hear you breathing. It was a bit disgusting, actually." Mark commented with a smirk forming on his face from where he sat in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs.

End Chapter

R & R I need encouragement if I want to keep posting this stuff.

A/N: I know a LOT of you are gonna be mad that Dean and Jess (even in his state of health) didn't go on and duke it out just now. But y'know, I completely despise stories where Dean is a complete jerk around this period of time in the Gilmore-verse. Truth be told, he wasn't a jerk until around the fourth & fifth season, and it was after so much heart break. I have a lot of sympathy for Dean. I mean, what kind of guy, after finding out all that crap in the episode after teach me tonight goes and invites her in for dinner? That takes a lot of goodness. I won't keep them together, but I won't make Dean into and OOC jerk off who hits Rory and beats up a kid in the hospital. It's just not Dean. Even if I don't like him and Rory together. I think I may rewrite that bit with Dean later, cos it was too friendly. But then again, I've got an 'earlier..' segment planned for the next chapter. It explains a lot, I think.