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Kind of short chapter, but the next one is pretty long.

Enjoy! And please review!

Luke paced around the apartment, trying to figure out how he would start his third attempt at talking to his nephew. He didn't know exactly what was going on with the boy, but many possible theories had crossed his mind in the last few days.

Jess had left after his shift earlier that day, the boy wandering off, probably to go read somewhere, giving Luke some time to collect his thoughts and come up with an opening statement for their future conversation. He had yet to do either thus far, his concern for his nephew overpowering his attempts to come up with an organized argument. He just wanted to know what was wrong; he couldn't understand why Jess had to always hide things from him. It was torturous to know that something was bothering his nephew, and he couldn't do anything to help him.

Jess suddenly entered the apartment, his eyes glued to the page of yet another the book. He shut the door, his eyes never leaving the page he was on. He didn't seem to notice his uncle pacing back and forth, Jess' mind trapped in the book.

Dammit, Luke thought, he still hadn't figured out what he was going to start with. He needed five more minutes, then Jess could come in and hear his readied statement. He let out a soft sigh. He knew he would never be fully prepared with some sort of argument. His mind was too caught up in the dozens of explanations for his nephew's behavior that he had devised. He finally decided just to go with whatever explanation crossed his mind and spoke up.

"Jess, are you on drugs?"

Jess looked up from his book, a little taken back. After a moment to process the ridiculous statement, the boy started laughing. "Are you asking that seriously?" he inquired as he closed his book, a smirk plastered on his face.

"I don't know," Luke continued to pace around the room, "It would explain your odd behavior lately and unusual sleeping patterns." The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. That wasn't really the best way to start the conversation. He was hoping he'd be a little more subtle and ease his way into his theories of what was going on with Jess. Maybe he should have started with a 'hey, how are you' instead of his almost accusing statement.

"I'm not on drugs Luke, relax," Jess stated, sitting down on the couch and opening his book again, "I'm not like Liz." He glanced up towards the man for a brief second before looking back down at the open page. He hoped Luke didn't think he was like his mother, he'd seen her overdose way too many times to ever go anywhere near anything other than alcohol and nicotine.

"I know you're not," Luke sighed and stopped pacing. He took a seat next to his nephew, "It's just, I don't understand what could possibly be wrong with you. Drugs seemed like one of the only logical explanation."

Jess let out a sigh and shut his book. Hadn't he told his uncle to drop this? He turned towards the geezer and heaved a long sigh, "There's nothing wrong. Don't worry yourself over nothing, I'm fine. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"It's not nothing! You've been acting really off for the last couple of days," Luke spoke, taking his baseball cap off and running a hand through his hair, "The way you looked last night, Jess--I can tell whatever it is that is going on with you is torturing you." Luke looked over at his nephew, "I'm your guardian and your uncle so I can't help but worry, it's in the job description." He gave the kid a weak smile, the boy looking up and returning the gesture.

Jess leaned back on the couch and rubbed his temples, "Sometimes I wonder how you and Liz could possibly be related," he laughed and looked towards his uncle, "You guys are polar opposites. If I was still with Liz she would have dropped this the second I told her I was fine. She may have not even noticed anything in the first place."

Luke watched as the boy stood up and threw his book onto his pile. Jess sighed and gave the man a mocking smile, "Can you just believe that I'm fine and drop it already? Be like Liz for once." He grabbed a pair of flannel pajama pants and a white shirt from off his bed and headed towards the bathroom.

"No!" Luke courageously stated, standing up and following the boy. Jess turned around to face his uncle as he reached the bathroom doorframe, his arm crossed. "I will not be like my drug-addicted, abusive, no-life sister and choose to ignore that something is wrong with you. I'm worried, Jess, why can't you just talk to me about what's bothering you?"

"Harsh, Luke. Who's next on your hit list? The Gilmores? Oh wait, you and Lorelai..." The boy stopped. "I'm going to shower," Jess cooly told his uncle. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

"Jess!" Luke called from behind the door, banging on it with his fists, "Jess!" His nephew was not going to just walk away from this, nor was he going to pretend that everything was fine.

The boy simply ignored him and turned the water on, letting the sound of it rushing out of the faucet drown his uncle's calls out. He took off his shirt, his eyes falling down to the long scars on his torso. They were a regular sight by now, they'd been there since he was seven, but the always tended to send shivers down his spine. He'd never forget that whipping, oh, Tommy had made sure of that. Jess heard Luke call his name once again, a loud bang on the door following.

Jess sighed, Luke just didn't get it. He almost wanted to tell the man what had happened, feeling that maybe somewhere in the banter Luke could make it all better, make the scars disappear. That just wasn't the case. The cold water from the facet hit his hands, awakening him to the harsh reality: nothing could make the traumatic beatings of his childhood disappear, nothing could make those memories go away. Besides, he couldn't tell anyone about it, he couldn't let anyone know that at one point he was weak little Jessie. He was ashamed.

Jess heard his uncle bang on the bathroom door once again, the man's muffled call following. Dammit Luke, Jess tried to compose himself, stop it. He sat down on the toilet lid and placed his head in his hands. He rubbed hard at his temples.

"I'm in the shower," he lied, reaching over and switching the facet, allowing the water to rain down from the shower head, "Just stop it!"

Luke banged on the wooden door harder and harder, trying to make his nephew hear him. He called the boy's name one last time and finished with a final loud bang on the door.

"Dammit, Jess," Luke sighed, leaning against the wall, "Just talk to me."

Luke watched as his nephew slept, the boy adorned with blankets and sheets. The kid laid peacefully in his make-shift bed, adjusting his body into a comfortable position. Jess hadn't spoken to the man the rest of the night, the boy reading his book until he decided to sleep, stuck in his own little world. Luke's concern for the boy remained persistent, he just couldn't seem to get down to the bottom of the problem. His nephew seemed tired lately, maybe he had some sort of bout with insomnia. That would explain his falling asleep while reading in the diner. He had to scratch that theory though, the boy sleeping now made insomnia an impossible diagnosis.

His nephew's moan snapped Luke quickly out of his thoughts. Luke looked towards the boy, finding him tossing and turning feverishly in his bed. Jess started kicking at his blankets, his left hand clenching his pillow. Luke slowly got up and walked closer to the boy. Was his nephew having a nightmare? He reached down to touch the boy, feeling that maybe a comforting touch would calm him down. He ran his thumb across the boy's cheek, feeling the sweat that was running down them. Jess' eyes opened quickly then squeezed shut as the boy shot up.

"Don't!" the kid yelled, his eyes closed, his hands grasping his blanket. The boy's breathing was fast and panicked, his eyes opening once again and looking straight ahead. The fearful look in the boy's eyes scared Luke, he'd never seen the boy so terrified.

"Jess," Luke called soothingly, "Jess, it's alright." He moved to put a hand on the boy's shoulder, hoping that maybe a soothing gesture might break the boy out of his state.

"No, don't touch me!" Jess yelled, backing out of his bed and scooting as far as he could get from the man. He awkwardly bumped into a wall, the boy instantly grabbing his knees tight to him, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"Jess, it's alright, it was just a dream. You're awake!" Luke told the boy, walking a few steps closer to his terrified nephew.

"Don't hurt me!" Jess begged, his voice soft and scared, "Please, I'm sorry." He looked as if he was about to cry, his head rested on his knees, eyes wide with fear.

"Jess, it's me, Luke," he told the boy, confused at the regression, kneeling down in front him, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Jess blinked and slowly relaxed, realizing that he wasn't dreaming anymore. The man standing in front of him wasn't Tommy or Ron or any of the other men who had hurt him, it was Luke. "Shit."

Luke reached out cautiously to touch the boy's cheek. Jess didn't fight his hand away. The boy's breathes were harsh and shaky as he tried to clam himself. Luke quickly grabbed the boy into a hug.

"It's alright," he soothed the boy, holding him tightly, "Everything's alright."

He felt his nephew's hands cling to his shirt as he harsh breaths continued to escape the boy's lungs. Luke held him for a minute, waiting for the boy to calm down, steady his breathes. He felt Jess raged breathes slow as his body began to relax. Jess' hands released their tight grip against his uncle's shirt.

"Tell me everything," the man insisted, running a hand through the boy's messy hair.

Well, I hope you all liked it.

I'll try and update as soon as possible, like always!

Thanks for reading and please, please, please review!

:)