Running After Kansas by Oregano

All of them knew that the moment would come in one way or another, but none of them had the slightest idea of how it would turn out. Dorothy had to face the Wizard sometime. The plot quickly unfolded and thickened like cream. Luke had just gotten back from his forced walk with Lorelai, and they were already bickering when the door closed behind them. Jess had been out back, helping Caesar make some of the orders, leaving poor, clueless little Nicholai Stratt, to man the tables all on his own.

Just as the elder couple settled into their seats at the counter (which was a totally new feeling for Luke, who had never even touched the wooden seats with his ass), the rusty little bell rang throughout the diner. It was like time had gone into slow-motion; the tinkling lasting for an endless forever, as she entered the establishment. Nicholai turned his head to greet the customer, but instead let out a surprised, "Mom!"

Jess was just looking up to see who it was that entered, too, and once he saw the person, and heard Nicholai's greeting, he dropped his pencil, as well as his jaw. Slightly.

Luke fidgeted, ready for anything, from tears to a football tackle.

Lorelai, however, sat beside the old man with a somewhat curious, if not amused expression. "Hey, honey!"

Jess had a creeping suspicion that Nicholai Stratt would be somehow related to the Gilmores. From Luke's two close calls for cardiac arrest at the news of the boy wanting to work at the diner, to the way he basically threw Lorelai into the storage room, it was actually pretty obvious. However, he wasn't quite as prepared to see her right then and there as he had initially thought.

Rory Gilmore entered the diner with a slight nod and a shy smile at Jess. At forty, Rory Gilmore was slow to show her age, just like her mother, who still could pull off stilettos and that old B-52's shirt. She had already heard about the man who saved Stars Hollow from Al's nail rampage from her son and from her mother, but she wasn't quite as ready to face him as she had thought. What do you say to the boy who you left on a bus more than twenty years ago, not knowing that it was going to be the last time you would see him? She knew that she should have been angry as hell to see him, but after a few years of furrowed brows and growing up, the hurt had already eroded, giving way to only discomfort and unease.

Rory Gilmore was over it. Because putting Jess Mariano next to what she had just previously experienced would be like putting an ant next to an elephant.

Julian Stratt had been a very nice young man with funny ears. She had met him in her final months at Yale, and he was working towards becoming a lawyer, leading him to become the butt of many of Lorelai's jokes. He got through it, though, and then realized that being out where the action was, was what he had truly wanted to do. Donning the kickass black vest that read, "NARC" in big, white block letters was his true calling, it seemed.

It had worried Rory that he was constantly risking his life for others, but also saw the thrill of it, and just why Julian loved his job so damn much. So she chose to be the supportive wife, silent as he went out the door with his little bagged lunch every single day.

Rory Gilmore was still not over that. Because losing her other half hurt more than losing a boy she thought she knew long ago.

But now she stood in front of an audience, all waiting for her to move. So she simply went over to her son and hugged him tight. "Hey, kiddo. How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Mom," the boy moaned, easing her embrace away from him like all boys do. "Not in front of Mr. Mariano…" Nicholai stole a small sideways glance at his employer and swore to himself that he could die with horror right then and there.

Jess looked away at that, a twinkle of amusement washing over him. He let out a small guffaw. That was, until Rory straightened up to face him. Neither of them had any idea what to do, much less say, so they just stood facing each other in silence.

Nicholai, not knowing the two's history, decided to take things into his own hands and did so with a start by clearing his throat. "Mom, this is Mr. Mariano, the diner's new owner." He glanced at Luke Danes who squinted an eye at what that really sounded like and rushed to fix his blooper. "I mean, um, manager?" he weakly offered.

Rory decided to play along and offered her hand to Jess. "Hi," she said softly.

Jess dipped his head towards her slightly and took her hand in his. "Jess Mariano."

Unfortunately, Luke didn't quite catch on. "Oh, cut the crap, you know who she is Jess! You dated for, what, a year? And then you jumped on a bus and broke her heart, for Christ's sake!" he exploded, with a hand motioning to Rory.

Jess ignored his cantankerous uncle and gave Rory a pensive look. "I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"Hang on the box," Nicholai's disbelieving voice cut through them both, "you guys know each other? You guys dated?"

"Remember when I told you I used to live here? That was during your mother's time."

"Which was not that long ago," Lorelai clarified, with a glare at Jess.

"So you're like the next-generation version of Lucas Danes," Rory finalized with a final sweep at him. From the counter, she heard Luke snort. "I expected a bit more flannel."

But Jess wasn't paying attention to her attempt at levity. His eyes falling to his hands, which were wringing a rag, he said, "I'm sorry about what happened to your…"

Rory quickly looked away at that. "You… you know about that?" she stammered.

Jess nodded slowly. "Nicholai told me just a little while ago." He took a deep breath and trudged on. "I know I'd be the last person you'd believe when I say this, but if you need… anything, I'm sure I can steal something from Luke or Taylor for you," he finished, adding a joke in the end, just to remind her of the old times.

"Well," she started, looking at him, "I actually need a really big cup of coffee right now."

He didn't smile, for the effort of tricking him into a façade did not escape him. With a glance at Nicholai, he said, "She's all yours, kid," and turned back towards the kitchen.

Nicholai jumped in his place and started to bring coffee to his mother, who had turned to sit next to Luke by the counter without a word.

It had been a stressful day for everyone involved, from the Danes-Mariano clan to the Gilmore-Stratts. When it was time to close, Luke realized that he didn't have to do that crap anymore, since, hey; it was Jess's job now. No more overturning chairs and refilling ketchup bottles for him. So he trudged up the stairs like the tired, old man that he was, and left his nephew alone downstairs to do the dirty work.

The thought of Jess Mariano blowing up some sort of gas tank crossed him mind for a second, but then remembered Lorelai's request. Right. Second chances.

And this left us with our hero, our Dorothy, alone in the big empty diner, waiting for the ketchup to fall.

Jess's thoughts were like a glass bowl of jawbreakers that had somehow fallen to the floor: scattered and messy, shards of glass and sugar everywhere. Between being the diner's new owner (which had at least sunken in a little) and reuniting with the Gilmore girls like Lassie and that stupid kid with the bandana, he was emotionally and mentally kaput. Then add the Nicholai kid and his dad's recent death—Rory Gilmore's husband's recent death, well…

Suddenly, he heard pounding at the door, the wide glass shaking with a fury at the fist that pounded it like a boxer's. Jess ripped his face away from the bottles, thinking that Stars Hollow finally found the serial killer that it very much needed to take it out of the "Most Boring Place On Earth" category. Alas, he was so wrong, as it turned out to be Rory Gilmore, running away from a blind date.

"Oh, God, please let me in!" she cried.

Luke's Diner being a Gilmore sanctuary for bad dates still seemed to be a popular concept. He walked over to the door and quickly yanked it open and her inside. Once in the diner, she basically threw him against the door and slapped his mouth closed with her hand.

"Rory?" a voice called from outside. Jess saw her close her eyes tight at her name. When the voice finally started to grow weaker, Rory let go of Jess.

Again, as they had earlier, Rory and Jess stood facing each other in awkward silence. But this time, Rory broke it with a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I… Sookie's been trying to set me up with these guys, and now Miss Patty's… they just don't…" she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

Jess simply upturned the side of his lip, nodding slightly in comprehension. "She's been trying to marry Lorelai off for years, and now she's given up on her and focused on you."

"They just don't understand that I'm stil…" She bit her lip and looked at him with a smile, "Luke is a dense man."

Jess laughed at that, and said in reply, "That, he is. Cranky and annoying, too." He stood holding her in his arms for a moment, and then later grasped what he was doing. Breaking the small bubble of "the good old times," he peeked outside. "I think the coast is clear."

Rory looked around her shoulder, too, and sighed. Jess always knew how to ruin things. She nodded. "Okay. Well, thanks for saving me, Jess." She suddenly grinned and looked him in the eye. "Messiah."

"Excuse me?"

She let out a small, laugh, one that could not be forced back in. "That's what Nicholai first called you, before he found out your name."

Jess blinked at that and slowly smiled. Rory always knew how to bring him back to a smile. "Goodnight, Rory."

Rory nodded and opened the door. "Goodnight, Dodger."

Author's Note:

Thanks, Lipton Lee.

Very ugly dividers. I prefer asterisks. :/