Chapter Four Starts Now

Earlier...

Rory walked ahead of Lorelai, who was weighed down by the huge paper bag filled with various junk foods. Rory stopped suddenly, and Lorelai crashed into her.

"What is it, sweets?" She asked. She looked over her daughters shoulder. There was her car, crashed into a telephone pole. The drivers side was crushed entirely. Dean was standing next to the car, scratching the back of his neck and frowning, staring at the drivers seat. He turned and saw her, his face breaking out into a worried smile.

"God! Rory- I came home early and saw the car- are you OK?" He asked, scanning her for injuries.

"Don't get mad." She told him immediately, holding up her arms. "Jess was driving-"

"JESS!" Dean shouted, eyes popping comically.

"Calm down, please." Rory said in a calming tone. "A deer came out into the road, and we swerved to avoid it. We hit a pole. But I'm ok, Jess is ok, the deer is ok."

"Is- is that Jess's blood?" He asked, looking back over at the car. Rory was close enough now to see the nearly ridiculous amount of blood that covered the driver's seat. Rory let out an anguished noise and buried her face in her mother's chest. Lorelai stood in shock, having not fully comprehended the damage done to Jess before this moment.

"Yes, it's his." Lorelai answered, rubbing circles on Rory's back. "The wind shield wiper- it went threw him." She finished. Dean sat down heavily on the sidewalk, and was silent for a moment before standing up again.

"I'm going to the hospital to... discuss this with Jess." He muttered tightly. "I'm glad you're OK." He hugged Rory lightly again and walked off.

"Dean! Don't..." Rory called, searching for the right words for a second. Dean paused to stair. "He made sure I was ok. He called the paramedics and everything. He- He didn't even notice he was hurt until the medics told him." Dean stared for a long moment, then nodded slowly and walked off.

Now..

"Yah caught me," Luke said guiltily, sitting down next to the young man, who nodded.

"Yup. So, you're Uncle Luke, huh?" Mark said.

"Yeah."

"Nice to meet you." Mark said, shaking his hand. "Thanks for taking care of Jess."

"If you want to crash in Jess's room for the night, you're welcome to it." Luke offered, standing after a brief and comfortable silence.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'm near broke after the trip down here." Mark muttered gratefully, standing up with Luke.

"Alright, my trucks in parking lot B."

The walk to the car was very quiet, and so was half the drive home until finally, Luke got the courage to ask it.

He took in a breath. "So. Jess has a brother."

"He didn't tell you?" Mark asked in surprise.

"He doesn't tell me much of anything." Luke grudgingly admitted.

"Oh. Well, yes. I'm his brother." Mark conceded. That conversation was surprisingly painless, and ended there.

They arrived at the diner shortly after that, and Mark set up camp in Jess's room. It was strange talking to Mark, as he put down his duffel bag and fished out a cd player. He could be Jess's twin, and yet when you talked to him, you knew the difference.

Mark was somehow less defensive than Jess. He seemed calmer, and like he cared more, and was much more open about caring than Jess ever was. By this, Luke could tell that the two brothers had had different life experiences. Jess had probably been betrayed one too many times. Hurt more. Either Mark had somehow avoided those offenses of life, or he had dealt with them and made peace with them.

That gave Luke a small glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Jess could come to terms with his own past.

"Alright, thanks. See you in the morning." Mark said, turning off his light and laying in Jess's bed. Luke pretended for a moment that Mark was Jess, that this whole night never happened and Jess was here, home, safe and warm and uninjured and sarcastic and whole. That everything was all right. He quit pretending after a moment and left the room, closing the door lightly behind him.

End Chapter

Sorry that it's a bit short