A/N: Thank you for the reviews and welcome to the new story followers! I really enjoy hearing your thoughts about where things are going. Please keep it up. In any case, here's chapter 8. I had a lot of fun writing this one! I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 8

"Long time no see, nephew." Jess was surprised to see Luke wide awake when he re-entered the room.

"Well fall off more ladders, and maybe you'll see me more often." Jess made his way to Luke's bedside.

"I'll keep that in mind." Luke reached up with his good arm and patted Jess' arm. "Thank you for getting Lorelai out of here. She's been suffocating me all afternoon."

"Yeah and you enjoyed every second of it." He paused. "You were asleep. How did you..."

"Just had my eyes closed. I knew if she thought I was asleep, she might sleep a little herself."

"Of course. You two are cracked, you know that? You're perfect for each other."

"Well..." He answered, sheepishly. "You know, Lorelai mentioned that you and Rory were driving here together."

"Yeah, so?"

"So you picked her up in New York?"

"Shouldn't you be resting or something?" Luke smirked, having missed their rapid fire game of avoidance.

"I've been resting all day, and I'm fine." He growled, before changing the subject back to Rory. "She met you halfway?"

"Should you really be talking this much? Lorelai is really rubbing off on you."

"You went to see her, didn't you? You were already in New York?" Jess tried to remain composed, but Luke could tell that he was close to giving up the game.

"Wow! Do Miss Patty and Babette know about you?" Jess hopped up from the chair and paced around the room a bit before stopping in front of the large window overlooking the parking lot. "She came to see me."

"And?" Luke smiled, enjoying his victory.

"And what? I woke up this morning and she was on my doorstep."

"So, how long have you two been back together?" Luke pushed himself up in the bed, wincing from the pain of his aching muscles.

"Whoa, slow down. No one said anything about that." Jess turned away from the window and paced back towards the bed.

"So, she came to see you?"

"Yes." He held Luke's gaze.

"And you were happy to see her?"

"Yes."

"Good." Luke nodded, a prideful grin lighting his face. "Don't screw it up this time, Jess."

"There's nothing to screw up. There's nothing going on. My god, it's been a long time since I've even thought about her like that." Exasperated, Jess threw his arms in the air and started pacing again.

"Right." Luke responded, sarcastically. "This is Rory we're talking about."

"And it hasn't been that long since...you know." He stopped and glanced over at Luke, willing him to understand.

Luke nodded. "It's been a year, Jess."

"It's not something you get over overnight."

"I'm sure Kate has moved on." Luke waited, hoping that hearing the truth didn't trigger Jess' defenses.

"Not to mention this is the first time I've seen Rory since you're wedding," Jess continued, ignoring Luke's last comment. "Eight years is a long time."

"You know, that's how long it took me and Lorelai to figure all of this out."

"We're not you and Lorelai."

"You're right. You win. You're absolutely nothing like us." Luke nodded, sarcastically.

"So, what's gonna happen with the diner while you're like this?" Jess circled his outstretched hand over Luke's plastered arm.

"I haven't given it much thought. Can't let Lorelai anywhere near it. I'll be hearing cutesy food names for months. I'll probably just close until the new year."

"You can't close up shop, Uncle Luke." He mocked. "Where will Kirk get his artificial sweetner?"

"Very funny. I guess I could call Liz and T.J. They do owe me. Lord help me. I never thought I would have to resort to relying on T.J."

"Now that's funny. Look, don't worry about it. I'll just stick around for a little while, make sure that everyone is served with the same ol' disgruntled smile."

"Seriously? I'm not an invalid. You don't have to do that."

"Just tell me that you have internet service in this god forsaken town."

"Yeah, and we just got color television last week, smart guy."

"I don't have to be home in order to do my job. I'll keep the diner running and do some editing at night."

"Jess..."

"It's done. Might as well give up. You're not gonna win this one."

"When have I ever won an arguement with you?" Luke resigned.

"Exactly. Now go to sleep." Jess leaned back in the chair and threw his legs up on the side of Luke's bed.

"Happy Birthday, by the way. I would have called, but...well you know."

"Thanks." Jess mumbled, already half asleep.

Lorelai pulled the car up to the house, and glanced at her sleeping daughter in the passenger seat. She reached over and gently nudged her arm until Rory woke.

"Where's Jess?" She asked, startled.

"Gee, could I maybe get a "Hey Mom" before you ask about Jess?"

"Hey Mom. Where's Jess?"

"He kicked me out. He's staying with Luke tonight." Lorelai opened the car door and hopped out.

"That's nice of him." Rory said the words, but she didn't feel them. She wasn't ready to spend alone time with her mom, and Jess knew it.

Lorelai had always had a special talent for getting Rory to talk about things, even when she didn't want to, and she wasn't ready to start talking about the mess that was her life.

"I guess we should get inside before Babette notices we're home."

"Yep." Rory got out and met her mother in front of the car.

"So you went to see Jess for Christmas?" Lorelai wrapped an arm around Rory, and the two walked to the front steps arm in arm.

"No, I went to see him for his birthday."

"Oh crap. That's right. So how long has this been going on?"

"Can we at least get inside before you interrogate me?"

"Lorelai!" Babette shouted, as she swung open her front door.

"Run." Lorelai whispered to Rory, who smiled and waved at Babette as she continued up the steps.

Rory grabbed the turtle and freed the spare key from it's hiding place. It felt strange using the spare key for the house she had grown up in. Once inside, she looked around, finding nearly everything exactly as she remembered it.

She walked through the kitchen into her childhood bedroom. Everywhere she looked, she came face to face with framed photographs of the self-assured girl she used to be, smiling unaware that her lifelong winning streak would someday come to an end and her future would be nothing like she dreamed.

"Rory?"

"In here!" Rory shouted back. "What's with the Rory shrine?" She asked as Lorelai joined her.

"It's your room. Always will be." Lorelai looked around with pride.

"Yeah, but where will I sleep?" She waved her arms over the pile of sporting equipment, fishing poles and books that now covered her bed.

"Luke has a lot of stuff, and he had no place to put it."

"I guess I could stay with Lane and Zach." Rory reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone.

"That's crazy talk. You'll stay here. Luke's not coming home tonight. You can sleep in our room."

"No offense, but that would be a little weird for me."

Lorelai pressed her hands to her chest, feigning a heart attack. "I'm crushed. Heartbroken. My baby is too good to share a room with her momma."

"The couch will be fine."

"You know, we would have had this cleaned up if we had known you were coming."

"I would have been here if I had known that Luke was going to take a flying leap."

"I'm glad you're here. I'm sorry I kinda freaked out on the phone. I was scared."

"I know." Lorelai wrapped her arms around Rory and pulled her close.

"I never thought I would say this, but I understand now how my mother must have felt when she came to the hospital after Dad's heart attack."

"It's funny how that happens."

"Yeah, isn't it?" Not wanting to think of any other ways that she was becoming her mother, Lorelai quickly changed the subject. "So, Jess?"

Rory braced herself. "What about him?"

"You went to see him instead of coming home to Mommy?"

"I'm sorry?"

"No, don't be sorry. I just don't understand. I didn't know that you and Jess were still...close."

"We're friends. I know you'll never believe it, but Jess is a good friend."

"You're right. I don't believe it. The two of you have never been able to stop at just friends."

"Well that's all we are. We haven't even seen each other since your wedding. A lot has happened since then."

Lorelai recognized the look of denial on Rory's face, having seen it many times after her daughter returned from Washington. Not wanting an argument on their first night together, she quickly changed the subject. "So, tell me about the fabulous New York."

"There's a lot of lights and basically no one sleeps there, which means I'm really tired. Would you be mad if we just went to sleep?"

"No, that's fine." Lorelai grabbed Rory's hand as she walked past her to the kitchen. "Get some rest. Love you."

"Love you too." Rory called after her, as Lorelai climbed the stairs to her room.