Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual.

Thank you all so much for the reviews on Chapter Two, I really appreciate it!

I hope you all had a good Valentine's Day.

Well, here's Chapter Three!

Enjoy!

:)

Jess entered the diner, the annoying bell above the door alerting all to his arrival. Luke looked towards the sound, spotting his nephew sluggishly making his way through the door. Jess was still exhausted, school wearing him out even more. The thought of working his shift made him feel even worse, there was no doubt in his mind that he would fall asleep while pouring someone their coffee, in the end spilling it all over the customer. There wasn't really any way out though, if he told Luke he didn't want to work the shift, he'd face the interrogation that he had thankfully avoided last night. He couldn't take any more questions or talking, he had had enough of that from his English teacher.

"Hey Jess," Luke greeted his nephew as he walked towards the counter, the man standing near the cash register, going through orders.

"Hey," Jess gave his uncle a weak smile and peered over the counter, glancing down at the pile of orders Luke held in his hands.

"How was school?" Luke asked the boy as Jess made his way behind the counter, the diner owner following the kid with his gaze. Jess grabbed a coffee pot from off the maker and an order pad and pencil.

"It was school," Jess shrugged, the words coming out dry. He glanced over towards his uncle with tired eyes before quickly rushing off.

"Thanks for the details there, Jess. Very descriptive," Luke mumbled to himself as he flipped through the pad in his hands. His nephew had really improved on his conversational skills. Well, Luke thought, at least he didn't get the famous grunt and nod of the head that his nephew tended to grace most others with. Thankfully, they had moved on from that stage and Jess decided to grace the man with actual sentences. Given they were short and cryptic, they were definitely an improvement from the conversations the two had shared during the early months of the boy's stay. Luke was truly glad for that, he felt that he and his nephew had gotten much closer, and Luke hoped that the boy would feel that he could confide in the man when he needed someone to talk to. He wanted the boy to know that he wasn't like Liz, he wouldn't toss him out when the going got rough, that he'd always be there for him, whatever trouble he managed to get himself into.

Jess made his way listlessly around the diner, bumping into chairs and tables that magically seemed to appear in his way. He just wanted his shift to end. He needed to come up with some sort of way to get to sleep without getting trapped inside one of his nightmares. He needed a full night's sleep that night, no question about it. He felt like he was about to collapse at any moment.

He bumped into an unnoticed chair as he made his way over to the table where Miss Patty sat, the chatty woman calling out to the boy, waving him over with her right hand, an empty mug in her left. A smile formed on her face as she saw the young rebel heading her way.

"Hey, handsome," she teased, placing her mug down on the table. Jess gave her a quick smile and mumbled a weak greeting.

He tilted the pot and began to fill the mug with the hot brew. He watched the liquid pour down, his eyes shutting for a brief moment, his body screaming for him to go sleep. All he really wanted at that moment was to get a quick minute, even a second, of rest. Damn those stupid nightmares, they'd be the end of him.

"Jess, honey!" Miss Patty yelped, causing the teenager to open his eyes wide, the boy startled. He looked down at the table, realizing he had accidentally overflowed the coffee mug, the brew spilling out everywhere. Yep, he thought to himself, he had definitely called that.

Luke looked up from his order pad at the sound of the woman's cry, quickly dropping the pad and grabbing a rag as he noticed the dark liquid that had spilled all over the table. He rushed over to the two and began to wipe down the table. He quickly glanced behind him towards his nephew. The boy just stood there, unresponsive and completely out of it. He held the pot in his hands as he stared down at the table, as if he was still taking in what had just happened. What was up with him, Luke questioned, wearing his clothes backwards and now almost pouring coffee all over Miss Patty? His concern for his nephew was increasingly growing, he needed to get to the bottom of this, and soon.

"Sorry," Jess finally spoke up, his voice a mumble, at last snapping back into reality. His expression was back to its usual look of apathy. "I wasn't paying attention," He added shyly.

"Got a girl on your mind, handsome?" Miss Patty asked, winking at the boy, trying to shrug the whole ordeal off. Jess rolled his eyes, of course he should expect that response from the town's man-crazy dance instructor.

"Wow, how'd you know?" he mocked, pleasing the woman. That'll probably give her something to talk about, that woman lives on gossip, along with Babette, Jess thought. Those two were always spreading and starting rumors, he didn't blame them though, the small town was quite a boring place; nothing ever happened there.

"Excuse us," Luke told the woman as he grabbed Jess' shirt, dragging the boy behind the counter. Jess let out a sigh and crossed his arms.

"Jess, are you alright?" Luke asked nervously, laying a hand on his nephew's shoulder. He looked over at Miss Patty quickly, the woman now taking a sip of her coffee, acting as if nothing had even happened, "You almost drowned Miss Patty in coffee."

"I'm fine Luke, stop asking me that, jeez," Jess pushed the man's hand aside forcefully, "Mind your own business."

Luke grabbed the boy's shoulder quickly and turned him around fiercely, "When it involves you, it is my business. Now, tell me what's wrong," he ordered.

Jess just stood mute, arms crossed across his chest, a scowl adorning his features. Luke fought to resist the urge to shake the kid, the boy's stubbornness tempting him. Why was his nephew so against talking to him? Luke just didn't understand why his nephew couldn't at least give him a vague clue as to what was bothering him.

"Fine," Luke sighed in defeat as he took his hand off the boy's shoulder, "Don't tell me. But trust me, I will find out, this conversation isn't over."

"Oh," Jess teased, raising his hands up, "I'm scared."

"Get back to work," Luke ordered his nephew, quickly grabbing the coffee pot from the boy's hand, "But for now, just take orders." He handed the boy an order pad and pencil, "I can't have you burning my customers with the coffee."

Jess snorted. "Aye, aye, captain," he gave the man a mock salute, lacking his usual enthusiasm when it came to his witty jeers. The boy was just too tired to give the effort. He headed back over to Miss Patty and took her order.

Luke watched his nephew from afar, the boy making his way wearily around the diner once more. Oh, they were definitely having that talk later, and he was not getting out of it this time with some smart-ass remark either.

Jess took a drag, the burning sensation in his throat waking him up a bit. He had stolen his pack back from Luke, the man hiding them in his sock drawl of all places. Count on Luke to hide something in the most obvious spot. Not that he was complaining or anything; he was relieved he hadn't had to go on a man hunt through the trash. The pack Luke took from him was half full and he wasn't going to let those unsmoked cigarettes go to waste. He had taken off after his shift, quickly going upstairs to retrieve the pack of cigarettes before leaving. He had managed to get through his shift without any other spills, Luke forbidding him to touch the mug in fear of a repeated incident.

Jess laid down on the bridge, his feet dangling off the edge. He was back to coming up with a plan to make his nightmares go away. He had come to the secluded bridge to collect his thoughts. He needed to sleep tonight, there was no question about that. Maybe sleeping pills would help, he thought, except those may have the opposite effect, perhaps keeping him stuck in the painful dreams even longer. Jess sighed and shut his eyes.

"Goddamn, is the only way I can get some rest is if someone knocks me out with a pan or something?"

"Would you like me to help you with that?" Jess opened his eyes, startled, and was met by the image of the infamous Lorelai Gilmore standing above him, the woman looking down at him with a smirk. She held two bags of groceries under her arms, they both stuffed with junk food. Luke would have a heart attack he saw all the unhealthily, salty chip bags that were stuffed in the two paper bags. Jess sat up and regained his usual apathetic expression and looked up towards the woman.

"I didn't know you were there," he stated, taking a drag and looking towards the lake. He hoped Lorelai would just pass on by, leaving him to his thoughts. He really needed to work on that sleeping problem of his.

"I'm a master of espionage," she teased as she placed her bags down, much to the boy's dismay, and sat next to him, "Now, what's wrong?" she started, looking over at the kid. She was met by an almost horrified expression. "What?" she asked, raising her hands up defensively, "Can't a mother show some concern for a child?"

"You're not my mother," he stated dryly, pointing out the obvious fact. He exhaled a cloud of smoke, Lorelai watching him as he carefully lifted the cigarette to his lips once again.

"Obviously, or I'd be living in New York with boyfriend number twenty-eight," she smiled, trying to make a lighthearted joke. Jess exhaled the smoke through his nose, his eyes staring straight towards the water below.

"Thirty-three," he corrected, taking the cigarette from between his lips, "She's on boyfriend number thirty-three, maybe thirty-four now, I haven't talked to her in a while."

"Oh," Lorelai exclaimed, feeling a bit awkward bringing up a subject that was probably not something Jess would want to talk about, the boy nor Luke rarely ever bringing up the woman.

"She's married before," Jess started, looking towards the woman, taking a quick drag of his cigarette, "About three times. Almost married about ten." Jess took another frantic drag. Lorelai could tell he was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. So was she.

"Almost married?" Lorelai questioned, "What, was this a case of Runaway Bride syndrome?"

"No." He was quiet for a moment, shaking his head, "She, you know, got engaged, was supposed to marry the guy but ended up backing out of it," he clarified, tapping the ash off his cigarette, "Almost marrying." He shrugged and looked over at Lorelai.

For a second, the woman thought she almost caught a bit of secluded emotion behind the teenager's brown eyes. Maybe dejection? But as quick as it came, it left, the spark of sorrow disappearing as he quickly looked away from her.

Lorelai watched the kid with concern. As much as she couldn't stand the boy sometimes, there were parts of her that really felt for him. His mother was an alcoholic, maybe even a junkie. Luke nor Jess spoke much about the woman, but from what Lorelai had heard, she definitely didn't sound like she would be getting the Mother of the Year award anytime soon.

"That must have been tough for you," Lorelai consoled, Jess shyly looking over towards her, "Your mother moving from guy to guy almost days at a time." He stared at her for a moment, a little taken back. It was the sincerity in her voice, the absence of her usual sassy tone, startling him.

"I got used to it," Jess shrugged, staring at the cigarette in his hand, the stick almost completely gone. He had a feeling he was going to need another one. "Liz is just fickle," he added, same nonchalant tone as before, "I never liked any of the guys anyway."

"Were they like her?" she asked. When Jess didn't respond, Lorelai looked over at the boy, shocked by the expression that met her. Jess' eyes were glazed over, looking as if he was lost in some memory. They were wide and terrified. Lorelai had never seen the boy like this before, it scared her.

"Jess?" she called, trying to bring him back from wherever he had went. She laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, the kid flinching back quickly, startling Lorelai.

"Don't touch me," he stammered, backing up a bit. Lorelai noticed that he still seemed lost in some terrifying vision. Lorelai went to touch him once more, trying to comfort him, but the boy flinched back again, much more violently this time.

"Jess?" Lorelai was starting to panic, she didn't know what to do, how to get him to snap out of it. She watched as the boy shut his eyes tightly, his nails digging into his palms.

"They were worse than Liz," he admitted, his voice trembling, "Much worse." The boy looked so weak in that moment, Lorelai feeling as if she was looking at completely different person. This wasn't the Jess the town knew, this wasn't the smug, cold kid that she had become accustomed to seeing in Luke's diner.

"When you say worse--they didn't--" She didn't want to say it. She took a deep breath, "They didn't hurt you, did they?" His mother wouldn't let that happen, would she? The fear she saw in his eyes, the way the boy flinched back from her touch, it reminded her of a traumatized puppy, one that had been kicked too many times. She watched as Jess opened his eyes and calmed down. He avoided eye contact with the Gilmore, the question causing the boy to feel uncomfortable and violated. He didn't want anyone to know, especially her.

"I need to get back to the diner," Jess bluntly stated, standing up and throwing his cigarette to the ground. He quickly stuffed his hands in his pockets and rushed off.

"Jess!" she called after the kid as she stood up, watching his storm off. He looked back for a brief moment, eyes wide. Lorelai froze in that moment. She had gotten her answer--it just wasn't the one she had hoped for.

Well, there you have it: Chapter Three.

Thanks for reading and I really hope you guys all liked it!

I'll try and update sometime later in the week.

Please, please, please review! I really appreciate it!