Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I have any association with the Gilmore Girls or any of its characters. Dreaming about them is a totally different thing...

Chapter 20-A Rebel's Story

Jess stared out the window as they drove through the small town known as Stars Hollow. He spent the best years of his life in this town, though he'd never admit it to anyone. As Luke drove past Miss Patty's studio, Jess noticed there was a new sign in front about the story hour. It read: "The Luke and Lorelai Story will not be told today. It will continue tomorrow. Today's Story Hour: The Jess Mariano Story". The people of Stars Hollow had an obscured view on the real Jess Mariano story and they didn't want to know what the real story was. Because no matter how you heard it, it'd always end the same. Jess gone, Rory hurt, and Luke and Lorelai mad as hell.


Four years earlier…

Jess stared out the window as the bus neared his destination. Stars Hollow. He hadn't been to Stars Hollow since his grandfather died. But now here he was, sitting on a bus taking him back to the small town he didn't even remember living in all because Liz didn't want to handle him anymore. Well, that's how he saw it anyway. He was going to be living with his estranged uncle and his family. He hadn't seen, spoken to, or heard from Luke since he was six. There was the annual birthday card with a twenty dollar check, but that was mostly it.

Then there was "cousin" Rory. His childhood best friend. They did everything together growing up. But when Lorelai had another baby and Rory became big sister, she focused more on baby Kelly than she did Jess. On some level, that made it easier for Jess to move to New York after William died. When he was six, he was hit with the bombshell. He found out his most beloved cousin wasn't his blood cousin. Luke, Lorelai, and Liz didn't think it would make a difference if they were related by blood, but to Jess it made all the difference. He froze out Luke and his family from then on. That is, until now.

The bus pulled up to the stop and Jess headed toward the exit. There was a man, obviously waiting for someone, just outside.

"Jess?" Luke called.

Great, the lunatic is my uncle, Jess thought to himself. "Luke," he said.

"Ok. So, uh, this way…" Luke headed toward the diner and Jess followed. "So, this is my diner."

"Huh."

"It used to be your grandpa's hardware store."

"Hm."

"Yeah." Luke took a deep breath. This kid didn't have much to say. "I have to take care of the diner, but you can leave your bag back here and take a look around town or something."

"Whatever."

Just then, Lorelai ran into the diner. "Coffee!" she shouted. She froze when she saw Jess.

"No coffee for you and I'm glad you're here," Luke said. He walked over to Lorelai and put his arm around her. "Jess, you remember my wife Lorelai."

"Hi," Jess replied.

"Jess, it's so good to see you," Lorelai smiled. "Wow you grew up. I remember when you were just a little baby."

"Hm."

"Hey, you remember you cousin Rory don't you?"

"Yup."

"I bet she'd be real excited to see you. I know she'll be shocked." Luke glared at Lorelai. "I'm sure she'll be glad to show you around town."

"Ok."

The diner was silent. "Ok, well, I have to get back to work and I'm sure Lorelai does to," Luke said, breaking the silence. "I have to make Lorelai lunch so do you want something to eat before you…" Jess walked out of the diner before Luke could finish his sentence. "Go."


Later that day, Jess returned to the diner a few hours later. Luke let Caesar know he had to go and they headed to the house. Jess didn't even know Luke had moved out of the makeshift apartment above the diner and now he was living in a big house next door to Old Man Twickham. Sookie and Jackson had come over to help prepare dinner. Luke showed Jess to his room and they were getting ready to eat.

"Honey, do you think you can get Rory?" Lorelai asked. "She's been in her room for hours."

"Yeah, sure," Luke replied. Jess was surprised when Luke knocked on the door connected to the kitchen. "Rory? It's Dad. Can I come in?"

"It's open," Rory yelled from inside her room.

"Hey kido, dinner's ready."

"I'll be out in a minute." Luke nodded and went to join the other adults, leaving the door to Rory's room open. Jess looked around and headed to the room. Rory looked up and smiled when she saw Jess. "Hey, you're here."

"Yup."

Rory hugged Jess, shocking him by her gesture. "It's been what? Ten years?"

"Yup."

"So, how do like Stars Hollow so far?" Jess shrugged as he scanned the books on the bookshelf. "You like to read?" Jess nodded. "Who's your favorite author?" Another shrug.

Suddenly, Lorelai's voice could be heard. "Come on Luke! I'm eating for two people!" she yelled.

"Rory! Jess! Get out here before your mother eats all the food!" Luke yelled. "Lorelai! Put that down! Lor…stop it!"

"Ok Dad, we'll be there in a minute," Rory replied.

"Why do you call him dad?" Jess asked.

"Huh?"

"Luke. Why do you call him dad?"

"Because he's my dad."

"Not biologically."

"He was there. That's all that matters."

"You don't get it. It might be all that matters now, but we'll see how that goes."


Six months later…

Jess hated Stars Hollow. He hated Luke's attempts to keep track of him. He hated Luke's nagging. But most of all, he hated his new school. Although things were going fairly well between Jess and Rory, things weren't so hot between Jess and Luke and Lorelai. Of course Luke was more lenient toward Jess, but a man could only be pushed so far.

"Jess!" Luke yelled as he entered the house, slamming the door behind himself. "Jess, get your ass out here now!"

"What's going on? Is something wrong? What'd he do this time?" Lorelai asked as she rushed into the room.

"Jess, where is he?"

"In his room reading. Luke, what's wrong?"

"He's failing. He's going to fail and get held back. And he stole the school's baseballs." He took the stairs two steps at a time. He was moving quickly down the hall toward Jess's room. He pounded furiously on the door. "Jess! Jess, open this door right now!"

The door swung open. "What's your problem?" Jess asked.

"I talked to your principal today. He says you're not going to class. He says your failing your classes. He says you're gonna be held back. He said you stole the school's baseballs!"

"He sure says a lot."

"Don't you care that you're gonna get held back?"

"At least I'll know how what the homework is."

"You can't be serious. Don't you wanna do something with your life? Don't you want to go to college? Rory's going to college. She's going to Harvard."

"Rory this. Rory that. Don't you talk about anything other than your beloved step-daughter?"

"At least she has ambitions. Do you even know what you're going to do in ten minutes?"

"Hopefully I'll be far away from you to do it."

"You're getting a tutor. You are going to get your grades up. You are going to move onto the twelfth grade. You are going to return those baseballs! You are going straighten up and get back on track. If you don't, you're out." Luke didn't have anything more to say to Jess. He turned around and headed downstairs.

Once Luke downstairs, the door across from Jess's room opened and Rory stuck her head out. "What are you doing in Kelly's room? Were you spying on me?" Jess asked a little angrily.

"Kelly has my DVD and I was just getting it. I heard Dad yelling and I hid in here," Rory replied. "If you needed a tutor, why didn't you ask me."

"Because I don't want help."

"No, you don't want my help. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you treat me."

"I'm nice to you."

"Yeah, you are. I'm probably the only person you're nice to that you're not related to."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You treat me differently. You don't treat me like family. You treat me like I'm just your uncle's step daughter. Just because I'm not in his bloodline doesn't mean I'm not his daughter. Whereas you, the one that does share DNA with him, treat him like a piece of crap. He was there. He was always there and that's all I care about. I get it Jess. Do you?" Rory headed down the hall.

Jess sighed. "If you tutor me, I'll be nicer to Luke."

Rory faced Jess again. "You promise?" Jess nodded. "You got a deal. Meet me at the diner tomorrow at six. Have your books, a pen, some paper, and your brain." Rory was about to go downstairs, but stopped. "Did you really steal the baseballs?" Jess nodded. "Man you're weird."


The next night, Luke allowed Rory and Jess to study at the diner where there was no interruptions and no distractions. He and Lorelai tried staying awake for until they got home, but it was a failed attempt. Luke was suddenly awakened by the ring of the telephone. Luke- with his eyes still closed- reached over and searched for the phone.

"Hello?" he asked groggily.

"Dad?" Rory's soft voice said on the other end.

Luke opened his eyes and sat up, accidentally waking Lorelai. "Rory?" He glanced at his watch. "Princess, it's nine thirty. you two should have been home half an hour ago."

"I need you to stay calm." Rory took a deep breath. "I'm in the hospital."

Jess didn't mean to crash Rory's car or fracture her arm. It was an accident and Luke knew that, but he didn't know what to do. He found Jess at the bridge. He walked him to the bus station and put him on a bus back to New York. Two weeks later, Jess returned. Luke let Jess back, making absolutely sure he understood things were going to change. But Jess didn't have the chance to talk to Rory. She was already on a plane to Washington DC.


One year later…

Jess walked into the kitchen to get himself something to drink. He noticed Kelly at the table doing her homework and tried not to bother her.

"Hey Jess?" Kelly called. She didn't look up from her homework.

"Yeah?" Jess asked.

"You're going to stay right?"

"Stay where?"

"Here. You're not going to leave like you did last year are you?"

"I'm staying right here Kel. Why?"

"Because Rory's gonna go away for a while this summer and Mom and Dad are always busy. I'm not gonna have anyone to hang out with."

Jess sat across the table from his cousin. "Alright. This summer, it's you and me kid."

Kelly looked up at Jess. "What?"

"You heard me. This summer is about you and me. We'll hang out all summer and do a lot of fun stuff. Anything you want, we'll do it. That way we'll both have someone to hang out with."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Kelly got up and gave Jess a hug. "You're the greatest Jess."

"Anytime Kelly. Anytime."


You're not going to graduate. Those were the words repeating over and over in Jess's head. He was having one hell of a week. First he meets his estranged father for the first time in his life. Then he finds out he isn't going to graduate. He tried in the beginning. He really did. But something happened. Jess wasn't even sure what it was, but it stopped him from graduating.

He liked living closer to his family. He loved spending time with Kelly and Mikey. They adored him and he liked being adored. He and Rory were friends again. He had a good life going in Stars Hollow and it was all going to end right now. He made a deal with Luke. He was supposed to keep up with his grades. He was supposed to graduate, but he wasn't. He was a failure. To Liz. To Luke and Lorelai. To Rory. To himself.

He needed to get out of there. He needed to leave. He knew he would hate himself for what he was about to do, but hat more could he lose if he had nothing left?


"He's gone!" Rory yelled as she ran into the diner. Luke and Lorelai looked up. "Did you hear me? I said he's gone!"

"Who's gone?" Lorelai asked.

"Jess! Lane says he wasn't at school and all his stuff is gone. How could he just leave?"

"Luke, what if he's hurt?" Lorelai asked, generally concerned.

"We'll go find him. I'll get Liz's number and ask her for his friends' numbers. Hopefully he went to one of their houses or something," Luke said. He put his hands on Rory's shoulders. "We're gonna find him. It's gonna be ok."

Rory nodded and Luke went upstairs to get Liz's number. When he opened the door to the upstairs apartment, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The safe was wide open. No. Jess couldn't…he wouldn't…Luke slowly walked toward the open safe and squatted down to look inside. He couldn't believe it. Jess did the unthinkable. Lorelai arrived in time to see Luke looking through the various papers that he kept in the safe.

"He took it all," Luke said lowly.

"What?" Lorelai asked in disbelief.

"Jess took it all. He took everything. He cleaned out the safe. The savings bonds, the extra cash we've been putting aside for that minivan, anything with a cash value- he took it all."

Lorelai wanted to reassure her husband. She wanted to tell him someone else had broken into their safe and taken everything they had worked so hard for over the years, but she knew it wasn't true. It had been Jess. God knows why, but Jess had been the one that cleaned them out. And to think, she was actually starting to like this guy. Now she just wanted to tear his head off.

"We can't tell Rory," was all Lorelai said.

Luke nodded and put the documents back into the safe. He walked over to her and she wrapped her arms around him. "I thought he was doing better," he sighed.

"We all did."


One week later…

It had only been half an hour since Rory officially graduated from Chilton. She had never seen her family happier. They had all cried. Even Luke. She'd never seen him cry before and hoped Sookie got a picture of him all teary-eyed. She was in the middle of taking pictures with her family- and even one with Paris- when her cell phone began to ring. She looked at the caller ID.

"I have to take this," she said. She stepped aside and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey," he greeted. "I remembered you're graduating today so I wanted to say congratulations."

"Thanks." They were silent for a minute. "We've been worried about you. Where are you?" Silence. "Jess…"

"I gotta go."

"Jess don't. Please. Just…" Click. Rory sighed. She was about to put her cell phone away when she came up with an idea. She ran into the newsroom and turned on one of the computers. If Jess wasn't going to tell her where he was, she was going to find out herself.


Rory stood in the doorway to the livingroom, watching her parents from behind as she clutched the pieces of paper in her hands. They turned around when they realized Rory was in the room.

"Can I talk to you guys?" Rory asked.

Luke turned the TV off. "Is everything ok?" he asked.

Rory shook her head and stood in front of her parents. "I need to go to California."

"Ok. Maybe we'll go in a few weeks," Lorelai said.

"No. I need to go as soon as possible. Like tomorrow. And I need to go by myself." Luke and Lorelai looked at each other and then back at Rory. "I found Jess. He called me and I traced the phone number and I found him. Now I need to go get him. Please, I just need you to understand. I have to do this."

Luke and Lorelai remained quiet, worrying Rory. Suddenly, Lorelai stood up. "I'll go get the luggage out," she said. Rory could hear the hurt and disappointment in her mother's voice, but she knew she understood.

Luke remained on the couch. Rory couldn't tell what he was thinking. He always was a hard man to read. Finally Luke stood, but refused to look at Rory.

"Dad…" Rory tried to explain.

"I'm not going to pretend I like the idea of you going to California to look for him, but I'm not going to stop you," Luke said. "I'm going to make sure the car is ok for you to drive."


Rory stood outside a two story house surrounded by a wooden fence. She slowly headed to the gate where about a dozen dogs ran to bark at her. Rory took a few steps back.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked from the roof of the house.

"I'm looking for Jess Mariano," Rory replied. "Is he here?"

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

"Hold on." A minute later, the woman came walking toward the gate. "He's inside."

"Thanks." Rory followed the woman into the house, trying to stay away from the dogs.

"Jess, you got a visitor." Jess walked into the room and froze when he saw Rory.

"Thought you could get away huh?" she joked.


"That guy that walked into the diner a two weeks ago and didn't order anything, it was Jimmy," Jess explained. "I tracked him down and well, here I am."

"So you left to see your dad?" Rory asked. "Jess, I'm sure they would have understood. You didn't have to take off…"

"I didn't leave because of Jimmy."

"You didn't?"

Jess shook his head. "I wasn't going to graduate. The school said there was nothing for me to do but repeat my senior year. I couldn't do that. I couldn't not graduate. I failed. I couldn't face Luke with that news. He was pulling for me so bad and I let him down."

"We were all rooting for you Jess. It doesn't matter to us if you have to repeat your senior year."

"It matters to me." Jess pushed out of his seat and headed for the counter. "Then I had to go and make things worse."

"Sure, running away was a bad idea, but like I said, Mom and Dad will understand. Just come back with me and we'll explain the whole not graduating thing to them. Everything will be fine."

He stared at her for a minute before it hit him. "They didn't tell you did they?"

"Tell me what?"

"Rory, you need to go home. Right now."

Rory stood. "Jess, what are you not telling me? What didn't they tell me?"

"Damn it Rory! Would you just get in your car and go back to Connecticut?"

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because I don't want you to hate me. Please. Just go."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

Jess sighed. "How long you planning on staying?"


One year later…

Rory had stayed in California for a month the summer before she went to Yale and when she left, Jess told her why he couldn't go back to Stars Hollow in a letter. He said he was sorry that he had taken the money in the first place, but was desperate to get out of that town and he had nothing. He said he'd understand if she never wanted to speak to him again. It was about two months ago when she ran into him in New York. They met up three or four times a week and talked on the phone everyday. Rory didn't tell Luke and Lorelai in fear of their reaction. She may have forgiven him for the past, but they hadn't and probably never will.

She needed him today more than ever. So she picked up the phone and called him.

"Hello?" Jess answered.

"Jess?" Rory sniffled. "It's Rory. I really need you right now."

"Rory, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Mom and Dad just called me. They were in an accident."

"Are they ok?"

Rory tried not to cry, but it was getting harder not to so she stopped trying. "Can you please come? I really need someone right now."

"I'm on my way."


Present Day

Jess shook the memories from his head. He looked at little Mikey fighting sleep beside him. Thank God he and Kelly hadn't been in the car that night. He didn't know if he could handle it if he had lost them too. Jess looked toward Luke. He noticed he gripped the wheel as he drove and his hand twitched a little when another car would zoom past him.

They arrived at the fishing hole and they all got out of the truck. "Help me bring this stuff over there," Luke said as he started to take the equipment out of the back of the truck.

"Sure," Jess said. He took some of the gear and set it up beside the lake. Once they were all set up, they cast their lines. After a few moments of silence, Jess turned Luke. "Hey Luke?"

"What?" Luke asked.

Jess pulled an envelope from his back pocket and held it out to Luke. "This belongs to you." Luke hesitantly took the envelope and looked inside it. He couldn't believe what it was. "It's all there. Every last penny. I shouldn't have taken it in the first place."

Luke nodded and put the money away. "Thank you."

"Um hm." Jess cast his line again and smiled quickly. He may not have fixed everything, but it was a start.


Next time on "The Broken Road": 1985- Jackson asks Sookie out on a date. Luke and Lorelai double date with Jackson and Sookie. Present Day- Luke and Lorelai continue to get along. When Jess wanders into a part of the house (the "forbidden territory"), Luke lashes out at him.

A/N: I hope you've enjoyed this extremely long chapter. Haha. Ok, so I made a slight miscalculation. I was a year off on the whole Jess thing, but all is well and fixed. I said I was gonna drop one hint, but I thought I'd be nice and I dropped like three. All is not clear, but it should be getting there. If you have no clue what's going on, do the math (there goes another hint! Think four and eight). The big answer is coming. Can you sense it? Can you feel it? Can you handle the wait? Probably not, but you'll have to.