A/N- Hi guys! Sorry again for the late update...still sick but rapidly improving, so thanks for the thoughts! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews yesterday, and I'll probably expound on that soon, either by message or here, because I thought that a lot of the recent reviews have been really touching and I want you all to know how much that feedback means to me. Unfortunately between feeling like crap and personal life drama I'm kind of not as attentive as I should be, but I promise to fix that very soon! This chapter gets you where you need to be, but I hope you enjoy it. I also liked reading some of the speculation based on the last chapter...keep guessing! As always, read, review, recommend if you feel the urge. And I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of its characters or concepts, though I would very much like to belong to Jess Mariano and have him belong to me :)
Chapter 29
After a few hours Jess arrived at his destination. Parking on the street, he smiled at the silence around him. This place had always been so quiet at night. He grabbed his bag from the back and locked up, walking towards the familiar building. He grabbed the key above the door and let himself in.
He left a note on the counter, having noted that Luke's truck wasn't on the street, letting him know that he was there for the week and that he'd be down to help by 7 at the latest. Then without wasting any time he headed up to the apartment, dropping his bag and not even bothering to look at the books before he crashed.
The next morning he woke up at 6:00, and after getting dressed and showered, headed down to help Luke. As he walked down the stairs, he heard the familiar clanging around that was an indication of the morning rush. He smirked at his uncle's expression when he finally reached the end of the stairwell.
"Jess," Luke smiled, walking over and hugging him quickly, "Grab some plates, would you?"
"Of course," Jess nodded, quickly taking up his usual place in handling the crowd. This was one of the things Jess liked best about Stars Hollow, and Luke, of course. Luke wasn't going to face him with an inquisition when he randomly showed up in town and planned to stay for God knows how long, but would give him the time to explain on his own. And he was always welcome. Well, with Luke, that is.
"Jess Mariano!" Taylor Doose exclaimed as Jess approached the table, "What in the world are you doing here?"
"Hi to you too, Taylor," Jess smirked, pouring some coffee, "What can I get you this morning?"
"What you can do for me is tell me why you're insisting on poisoning the atmosphere of our lovely hamlet," Taylor accused, "Luke! Why is this hooligan here? Didn't you kick him out years ago? To the great benefit of the general population, might I add."
"Cut it out, Taylor," Luke groaned, "Jess is my nephew. He's here to visit. Or stay as long as he damn well pleases. Either way, it's none of your concern."
"But he stole…"
"Taylor, either drink your damn coffee or get out!" Luke pointed to the door, the smile quickly evaporating from his face. Taylor huffed and sighed, returning to his mug. Jess exhaled and continued onto another customer.
A couple hours later, during the late-morning lull, Jess stood behind the counter, perched over with one of the books from the storage upstairs.
"Anything good?" Luke asked, looking towards him.
"Not really," Jess answered, returning Daisy Miller to his pocket, "Just some research. Hey, can I ask you something?"
"You can ask," Luke said, emphasizing the last word. Jess grinned.
"Alright. When did Rory sleep with…him?" Jess gestured towards Doose's, not knowing or caring whether the indicated individual still worked there. Luke sighed.
"Jess…"
"It's not like that. I just…it'll help."
"It was right after she got out of school freshman year," he answered. Jess inhaled deeply, putting the pieces together. Something was starting to connect, though he still needed more time and information to work it all out together.
"Luke, would you…would it be okay if I helped you out here this week? Things are pretty slow at Truncheon and I could use a break," Jess said quietly, refilling the donuts. Luke looked up at him in surprise.
"Have you ever taken a vacation?" Luke asked incredulously, "Because if you have I don't remember it."
"Precisely why it's the right time," he answered, "Look, if it'll freak out Lorelai or something, or you need the space, I can…"
"Of course not," Luke put his hand on his nephew's shoulder, "You're staying. That's all there is to it. Now, help me clean these dishes."
A couple hours later, Jess was serving coffee at the counter when suddenly Lorelai entered in the throes of a caffeine-deprived frenzy.
"Luke!" she beckoned, "I NEED coffee!"
"Here," Jess said quietly, filling a mug instantaneously and handing it to her. She drank it before even registering his presence.
"Thanks," she replied. Then, looking up, her expression changed from gratitude to surprise. "Jess? What are you doing here?"
"Vacation," he answered, "As long as you don't mind me being here…"
"Not at all," Lorelai smiled, "In fact, if you can get me coffee faster than Luke I might have to invent some type of machine that keeps you here."
"Never thought I'd hear that coming from you," Jess smirked, "Oh, by the way, Rory's safe and at home in New York. I don't have much more information than that, but if I hear anything else I'll let you know."
Lorelai looked up at him in astonishment. "Thank you," she said quietly, "Really. You didn't have…"
"I didn't do anything," he nodded, "Don't worry about it. She'll be fine. Just…give it some time. Okay?" Lorelai nodded back.
"Anyway," Lorelai continued, regaining her usually Tazmanian volume and speed, "It's good to have you here. In fact, if you're free, maybe you could join us for dinner at my place?"
Jess looked at her doubtfully. She grinned.
"Don't worry, Luke's cooking," she assured him, and Jess laughed.
"Well that's a relief," Jess conceded, "You know, I'll check with Luke, but sure, that doesn't sound half bad. Maybe this time I won't have to steal your beer."
"I'll have Luke send a pie with you just in case," Lorelai promised, "Can I get another cup to go?"
"Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery," Jess called as he filled the to-go cup.
"Good thing I'm so vehemently opposed to self-improvement then," Lorelai replied as she grabbed the cup and flurried out the door, newly energized.
Luke reappeared from the kitchen.
"Did she leave?" Luke asked, looking confused. Jess nodded.
"Apparently you take too long with the coffee. She threatened to glue me to the counter if you don't improve your efficiency," Jess smirked, "Oh, and she also invited me to join you guys for dinner tonight. Is that okay?"
Luke nodded. "God, I'm screwed now that you guys get along. By the way, I heard you mention Rory. Did you…"
"I don't have any news to report yet, at least nothing you didn't overhear," Jess answered, "But I'll let you know if I find anything out. I was gonna tell you before I told her, but she just looked…"
"Yeah, she's looked like that a lot lately, especially since that fight," Luke nodded, looking worried, "It's taking a toll on her. So how did you…"
"I saw her," Jess answered directly, "She called me, I went to see her, and we had it out, and now I'm here, and you're caught up. But she's safe and fine and I don't know what's wrong but I'm sure it'll be okay."
"Okay," Luke affirmed. He didn't ask anything else or put any pressure on Jess to tell more of what happened. Instead, the two men refilled the salt and pepper shakers until the lunch rush began.
