Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Warner Brothers or Dorothy Parker Drank Here or anyone else attached in any way with Gilmore Girls.

Chapter 5 – Selecting the Pieces

Lane knocked on the door to Luke's private apartment. They needed nickels and pennies for change in the diner and she knew that Luke kept some rolls in the safe.

It was the lull right before the dinner rush and no one had seen Luke all day. Lane, along with everyone else in Stars Hollow, knew that Lorelai and Luke had broken up. Lane figured that Luke was hiding up in his apartment hoping to avoid everyone.

Lorelai had left town on some sort of vacation according to Babette. No one knew exactly where she was except that she was with Rory and they had taken Paul Anka with them.

Lane knew a little more. Rory had called her. After Lane heard how upset Lorelai was, she got really pissed at Luke. No one, including Rory, was privy to exactly what had transpired between Lorelai and Luke but Lane had decided that it was Luke's fault.

She had seen how he had been treating Lorelai ever since April showed up; everyone in town had seen it. It made her heart break. Lorelai was so patient and supportive of Luke and he was just oblivious to how upsetting this was to her.

But what could she do, he was still her boss?

She knocked on Luke's apartment door but there was no answer. She knocked again louder and said, "Luke, Luke it's me, Lane. We need some change. Can I come in?"

There was still no response. She thought that maybe he had snuck out.

Lane tried the door handle. It wasn't locked. So she figured that she would just go in and get the money. She knew the combination to the safe. He had given it to both Caesar and her when he left town to help Liz and TJ at the Renaissance Fair a couple of years ago.

When Lane opened the door, the room was quiet. Lane called out again, "Luke?" but this time she heard a sort of moan. She followed the sound to the big leather chair and saw Luke setting in it looking half dead.

"Luke, Luke, are you alright?" she asked

Struggling for coherent thought, Luke opened his eyes (well one eye, the other was swollen shut) and looked curiously at Lane. He was trying to figure out why she was standing there with such a strange look on her face.

Rory's cell rang just as she was pulling out of the driveway. She had finally got everything packed. It had been a long day, starting with the call from her father in the morning. She had driven to Boston and had been confronted with the situation with Lorelai. After she agreed to take up Christopher's offer of the Hayden Lodge, Rory had a lot to do.

First she had driven back to New Haven and packed up all of belongings at Logan's apartment. Then she had driven to Stars Hollow where she was greeted by a very upset Paul Anka whom she had to calm down.

She had taken Paul Anka out for a walk when she first got home. Poor guy, he had been stuck in the house all by himself for over a day. She felt bad that he had been forgotten in the turmoil. She didn't even scold him when she discovered and cleaned up the "accidents" in the kitchen.

Unfortunately, just as she and Paul Anka were returning from their walk, Babette caught her. Rory employed all the evasive maneuvers that she had acquired over the years but to no avail. Babette already knew of the breakup.

Rory shared with Babette that she and Lorelai were taking a vacation, just the two of them (with Paul Anka, of course). Their itinerary was unscheduled, according to Rory, and they had not decided how long they would be gone. Rory promised that they would keep in touch.

Rory did not tell Babette anything else, like where Lorelai had spent the night last night.

Once Rory had broken free of Babette there was still a lot to do. She first had to unload all her stuff out of her car that she had brought from the apartment. Then she had to pack for Lorelai, Paul Anka, and herself. Since she didn't know how long they would be gone, she, of course, packed just about everything they owned in the way of shoes and clothes. Plus she selected about two dozen books for herself and a bunch of CD's and DVD's to afford a wide selection of entertainment. "Best be prepared!" she thought.

Now everything was loaded in her car, including Paul Anka. She was heading off for the last leg of her journey. She was driving back to Boston. Then her cell phone rang.

"Hello.'

"Rory it's Lane."

"Hey."

"Listen Rory, I know it's a bad time and everything but do you have a number for Jess?"

"Huh? Why do you need Jess's number? What's going on Lane?"

Taking a deep breathe, Lane replied, "It's Luke, he's not doing so good. I found him hiding in his apartment this evening and he'd been drinking. He's kind of a mess. I just thought if Jess could visit him, it might help. I guess I am a little worried about him."

"Oh no, poor Luke!" exclaimed Rory. "He's going to be all right, isn't he? I mean I know everything is a bad right now, with Mom and him, but she still loves him. I still love him!"

"Rory, I don't know. He's worrying me a little. He hurt his arm. Actually, I think he hurt it by punching a hole in his wall. Anyway, it looks really painful. Then I guess he slipped and fell and hurt his back. He also seems to have gotten a cut over his eye from somewhere. He's kind of looking right now, you know, like one of those boxers after a big fight."

"Anyway, I guess with all that plus the stuff with your Mom, he is really a seems bad. I know that he was drinking but I think he might have also been taking some stuff, you know like muscle relaxers or pain pills. That's really dumb to do, you know?"

"When I saw him this afternoon, he was just out of it. He just kept going on and on about how he misses Lorelai and how he needs her. It was kind of pathetic, sad, but pathetic."

"I got kind of afraid that he might do something stupid. Not on purpose, mind you, but because he is so miserable."

Rory did not like what she was hearing. It sounded like Luke was as in as bad of shape as her mom. "This is so stupid!" she thought, "They truly love each other. Why did they let all of this stuff get in their way?"

"Lane, you got a pen and paper handy, because I have a number for Jess? It's the bookstore where he works. Promise that you will keep me informed, okay. And when you call Jess, let him know that he can call me for any reason if he wants to, okay? Maybe he has some ideas how to fix this."

When Lane hung up with Rory, she immediately dialed the number to Jess.

Jess was shocked when he answered the phone and found Lane Kim of Stars Hollow on the other end. Lane, Rory's best friend, who never really liked him much, was calling.

Then Lane explained the reason for her call.

Jess immediately told her that he would be there as soon as possible. He told his partners that he had to leave and ran upstairs to his living quarters above the store and threw some clothes in a bag. He was on his way about 20 minutes after he hung up the phone.

On the drive to Stars Hollow, Jess had plenty of time to think. He thought about Luke. A couple of years ago he would have never believed that Luke would ever get the nerve to actually ask out Lorelai.

Oh sure, even seventeen year old Jess had recognized when he first came to Stars Hollow that there was this thing between Luke and Lorelai. Everyone knew it but those two. The air was full of electricity every time they were in the same room together. Jess just never thought that his uncle would have the balls to do anything about it.

Yet Luke had surprised him. Luke had asked Lorelai out and they finally saw what everyone had always known; that they were meant to be together. So what the hell had happened?

He knew he probably shouldn't call Rory but after everything Lane had told him he did anyway. If anyone knew what the hell had happened it would be Rory. He needed to know as much info as possible if he was going to help Lukesince he knew he would have a hard time getting much out of Luke directly if he went in there blind.

It was a good call, a little awkward at first given the circumstances of their last meeting. Neither Rory nor Jess touched on that subject.

They talked about Lorelai and Luke. Rory confided everything that she knew to Jess. It was a good talk. It helped both of them. They ended it with an agreement to keep in touch. Rory sincerely wanted to be kept informed of Luke's condition and Jess wanted to know how Lorelai was doing.

When Jess arrived in Stars Hollow, he immediately headed into the diner. He saw Lane and nodded. She indicated that he should just go on upstairs. He did.

He didn't knock but just walked into the apartment. It was quiet. Jess found Luke prostrate in bed.

On the bedside table was a prescription bottle (expired) for muscle relaxers and a couple of empty bottles of beer. Jess shook his head in frustration and annoyance before picking up all of the bottles and depositing them all in the trash. Then he took a seat on the sofa and waited.

A couple of hours later, Luke began to stir. The pain in his back had returned and it woke him. Luke's hand reached out to find the pill bottle but his hand came back empty. This forced Luke to actually open his eyes (well, eye since his left one was still swollen shut).

When he did, he was stunned to see his nephew calmly reading on the sofa.

Ever the stimulating conversationalist, Luke uttered "Hey!"

Jess responded in kind with his own "Hey!"

"What are you doing?" asked Luke incredulously.

"Reading" was Jess's response.

"Couldn't find anyplace in Philly to read that book?"

"Nah, it was too noisy. It's quieter here."

"Huh?" Luke took a deep breathe before he asked again, "Jess what are you doing here?"

"What I can't I come to visit my uncle if I want to?"

"You know you are welcome anytime, but why now?"

"I heard about you and Lorelai. Thought that you might need a friend."

"How did you…"

"I have my connections. Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Fine."

As Luke attempted to sit up, a look of pained crossed his face. His back was really hurting him, along with his head and just about every other part of his body.

Pain tended to make Luke even more irritable and grumpy than normal. He looked over at Jess and said, "Did you do something with my pills?"

"Yep."

"Well, I need them. Get me my damn pills"

"Nope." With that comment, Jess put down his book and got up. He walked over to the kitchen area and got glass. He then opened the refrigerator and grabbed a carton of OJ and poured it into the glass.

Then he turned and opened a sack setting on the table. He took out a bottle of Advil along with a heating pad. He selected three tablets from the bottle and carried the pills, the heating pad, and the glass of juice over to Luke.

"Here."

With a definite look of irritation, Luke took the pills and drank the juice.

"How long has it been since you ate anything?"

Luke didn't reply except to look at Jess with more irritation.

Jess got up and started out the door saying, "I'll have Caesar make you something."

When Jess returned he found Luke up and walking. It was clear that Luke was in real pain and was having trouble even standing straight.

"Need some help there?"

"I can manage" Luke replied.

"Sure?"

"I've been able to go to the john by myself since I was three."

When Luke returned, he saw Jess standing next to the bed holding a tube of something. There was now a large towel covering the sheet. Luke looked at him enquiringly.

"Believe me," said Jess, "I find the thought of this as distasteful as you, but it will make your back feel better. Take off your shirt and lay down. I'll rub this crap on your back."

Luke looked at Jess like he was insane but then, with great resignation, slipped off his tee shirt and laid down on the towel.

Jess, unable to conceal his disgust at the idea of putting the liniment on his uncle, proceeded to give Luke a massage.

"If you ever tell anyone that I did this, I will kill you!" threatened Jess.

"Back at ya!" Luke mumbled

Luke was putting on his shirt again and Jess was washing the liniment from his hands when there was a knock at the door. Caesar had brought up a tray with food for both Luke and Jess. Jess took it from him.

Jess took a plate and bowl off the tray and put them on the table. He carried the tray with the remaining plate and bowl over to Luke. Luke was now lying back in bed on the heating pad. Jess placed the tray on his lap.

"What's this?" ask Luke.

"Dinner. Liz used to tell me that your mom would serve you tomato soup and a grilled cheese whenever you didn't feel good. So that's what I told Caesar to make."

Luke looked at his nephew warmly and said, "I haven't had this in years. Thanks."

They had finished eating and Jess had cleaned up. Luke was still in bed but he had to admit that his back felt better. Too bad his heart didn't.

He had turned on the TV, Lorelai's TV to try and watch the Red Sox game but he couldn't focus. His mind kept returning to Lorelai.

Suddenly Jess came over and turned off the TV. Luke barely even noticed.

"Luke, you need to talk about it?" asked Jess

"What?"

"You want to talk about Lorelai?"

"No."

"Okay, except if you ever want to get her back, you are going to have to figure out why she left."

"I know why she left."

"Okay, why?"

Luke looked so heartbroken that Jess was afraid he'd cry, "Because of April."

"What?" Jess responded incredulously. "No way. Lorelai Gilmore may be a lot of things, but she is not a hypocrite. She wouldn't care that you had a kid. Hell, she actually likes kids. That might have been a plus for you."

Luke sighed as he admitted, "Everything got so complicated after I found out about April. It was too much for her."

Jess looked at Luke with skepticism. "Complicated? Shocking, yes, maybe even scary but complicated? What's complicated? You find out you have a kid, so you and Lorelai get to know the kid. Simple."

Jess looked straight at Luke, "I mean April sought you out so obviously she already wanted to know you, right? And when you were in Philly, you and she looked like there was a real bonding thing going on. I mean, she seemed like she liked you and tolerated you and, okay, maybe she was a little embarrassed by you. But that's typical for 13 year olds. You know, she looked at you the way all teenage girls look at their dads."

Jess continued, "I'm sure that she went crazy over Lorelai because Lorelai acts like a 13 year girl half of the time. And, since April kind of reminded me of what Rory might have been like at that age, I bet Lorelai went crazy over her. So what's the problem?"

With his conscious obviously bothering him, Luke mumbled, "It was more complicated than that."

Jess was now getting a little irritated at Luke, "You know, you keep saying that but I don't get it. And I'm a pretty smart guy. So unless you explain these "complications", I am just going to assume that you did something really bad to mess up this relationship."

"There was Anna, April's mother." Luke stammered.

"Don't tell me you screwed around on Lorelai with your ex?"

"Oh God no! It's just that Anna never really wanted me in April's life. She was nervous that I'd mess it up and April would be hurt. I really needed to go carefully with April so that I didn't upset her or her mother. Anna is very protective of April."

With clear disdain in his voice, Jess responded with, "Protective? You mean possessive, don't you? 'Cuz this is the women that hid your kid from your for over twelve years! Of course she didn't want you around but there wasn't much she could do about that once you found out? I mean, April is as much your kid as she is this Anna's. She can't stop you from being with your own kid."

Luke looked miserable when he said, "Anna doesn't really trust me around April. She never thought that I would be a good father."

"Has this women ever met you? I know you had sex with her but seriously, was it like a one time thing? Because anyone who has spent over 5 minutes with you would know that's bullshit. Sure you play the curmudgeon but no one really buys that act. They all know that you're the biggest softy around. Hell, even Kirk. He thinks you're his best friend and you threaten him like five times a day."

Jess was on a rant now. "Did you ever consider that Anna didn't tell you about April because she wanted to keep the kid all to herself? That maybe she didn't want to share? Why else would she have not told April anything about you? "

"Do you really believe April never asked Anna about her father? I'd bet money that she asked but Anna brushed her off. I mean, the kid had to perform her own DNA test tofind you! And April did this without Anna having a clue what she was doing. How protective could she be if she lets the kid roam all over Connecticut by herself gathering samples from prospective fathers? "

"Get a clue, Luke, this bitch is playing you. She can't completely ignore your existence any longer since April found you on her own but she sure as hell seems to be doing everything to keep control of you. She didn't even want April to know Lorelai, the women that was going to be April's step mother."

With a conscience-stricken look across his face, Luke mumbled, "It wasn't Anna that kept Lorelai away from April, it was me."

"What? Why would you do that? I thought Anna told Lorelai to…"

"Because I thought as soon as April met Lorelai, she wouldn't even notice me. She's my kid and I wanted her to get to know me first, to, you know, bond with me. I know when Lorelai is around I just sort of fade in the background. Normally that's not a problem. Actually, I kind of like it. I'm not a "people person" so I'm more comfortable not being the center of attention and I love watching Lorelai shine. I was just afraid that April wouldn't ever want to get to know me with Lorelai around."

"Jeez man, insecure much? Don't you realize that Lorelai brings out the best in you? You're more, I don't know, pleasant around her. Lorelai is your best asset for being able to understand a teenage girl. Let's face it; you're pretty clueless when it comes to girls, especially the teenage variety. Lorelai could have helped you with that. You probably would have bonded with April a lot sooner with her help."

Humbly Luke responded, "I know that now. I threw this birthday party for April. I thought I knew what I was doing but it was a total failure! Lorelai tried to warn me, but, you know, I can be kind of pig headed and I just shut her down. Then, in the middle of this disastrous party, I panicked and called Lorelai to save it. And she did, it was magical. In like 5 minutes, she turned this party from a bust to a major success. And you know what? April hugged and thanked me, like I responsible for it!"

Jess began pacing across the room. After a minute, he stopped and looked at Luke. "So basically you're saying that for the past what six or seven months you have had this whole separate life with April that Lorelai wasn't allowed to be a part of, right? "

"No, it wasn't like that. I mean once Lorelai found out about April I didn't keep anything from her. I talked about April to her and told her everything. I wasn't hiding. I just wanted time alone with my daughter."

Jess looked at Luke like he was dense. "Where did you spend all this time with April?'

"Usually she came to the diner. She would do her homework and I would fix her dinner. Sometimes she would help around the diner or just play some board games. If I had time I would play them with her.

Sensing that the conversation was finally leading somewhere important, Jess asked, "And who played with her when you were busy?"

"Oh, sometimes Lane or even Caesar, I know that Patty and Babette played with her a couple of times. You know, whoever was in the diner at the time."

Jess began shaking his head in disbelief. "So, I guess everyone in Stars Hollow was able to met and talk with April except Lorelai. What did you do ban her from the diner while April was there? Make her hid and sneak around the town so April wouldn't accidentally run into her? And Lorelai was okay with this?"

Luke replied meekly, "Well, she never said that it bothered her." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew how lame it all sounded.

"So let me get this straight. First, you hide the fact that you had a kid from Lorelai for, what, two months? In fact, you never actually did tell her, did you? You just let her walk into the diner and run into April. But she forgave you and doesn't dump you, right?"

Sheepishly, Luke said," Yeah, that's what happened, but how do you know all this?"

Jess merely waved him off and continued, "I told you I have my sources. So after you basically let the women that you love get totally blindsided by this news, she doesn't leave you. In fact, she offers to cancel the wedding because you say that you are too overwhelmed, right? The wedding of her dreams but she gives it up to help you."

"It wasn't cancelled, it was merely postponed."

"Did you set a new date? No, you postponed it indefinitely, so in my book, you cancelled it."

Luke merely said "I didn't mean it that way."

"So, Lorelai basically turns her whole life around and does everything in her power to support you and you reward her by neglecting her so you can spend time alone with April. Except you're not alone. Every freaking loon in this town can hang with you and your kid except your fiancée."

Jess decided to sum up his rant with, "You tell Lorelai that she has to go hide because you don't want her near your daughter. Gee, I bet that was real ego boost for her. Then you just ignore her pain and humiliation for the next 5 or 6 months because you're what, confused or it's complicated? Wow, with all that love and support, I can't image why she's gone?"

Luke just hung his head.

The past few months started replaying in his mind. He began reliving all of the conversations he had with Lorelai, but this time he was looking at it from Lorelai's perspective. What he saw made him feel sick and disgusted with his self. He couldn't believe how totally oblivious he had been. All he had thought about was how it affected him and April. He never considered Lorelai's feelings.

"She never said anything." he thought to his self. "She just did what ever I asked of her. Why would she hide all that from me? She should have told me."

Then he realized that she did tell him, over and over again. He just didn't see it.

Suddenly he realized what she had been telling for months but he wasn't paying attention. It was there every time he would inform her when April was coming for a visit. It was on her face. She was the epitome of pure sadness and pain. He had just chosen to ignore its message.

"Oh god!" he thought, "I put that look there."

Lorelai and Rory had been crashing at the Lodge for almost three weeks. The place was everything that Christopher had said and more. It was beautiful and peaceful and only 30 minutes from an amazing Outlet Mall. Plus there were at least 25 day spas in the area!

The girls had been massaged, wrapped, sunk in mud and exfoliated numerous times. They had partaken of several "mani/pedi/facials" days (both of the girl's toenails were currently emblazoned with sparkling pink glitter nail polish). They had shopped 'til they dropped and their purchases threaten to overwhelm the car space capacity for when they returned to Stars Hollow.

There had also been a lot of time spent just talking. One most momentous talk had occurred about a week and a half ago after a "Godfather" marathon. Lorelai and Rory began seriously talking about their own mother/daughter relationship. They managed to clear the air of some misunderstandings. The conversation was at times painful but honest and the girls ended up closer than ever. It had been cathartic for both of them.

Rory felt more at peace and focused than she had in a long time. She even had a clearer picture of her relationship Logan. Though she still loved him, she did acknowledge her mother's misgivings about it were valid. Logan's year is England would be hard for both of them but it also gave her some space to really think about the future. Somehow this had empowered her with a sense of control that she realized had been missing for some time.

Lorelai had also seemed more relaxed after they had their talk, at least temporarily. Though she was still mourning the loss of Luke, she had shown more of the old Lorelai sparkle for awhile. Now it seemed to have receded again. Rory was worried about that.

There was something else going on with her mother and Rory decided that it was time to get Lorelai to talk about it.