Lorelai stares as Luke runs around the diner, letting out great huffs of air and side eyeing semi-annoying customers. She figures something is up because the last time he was this on edge and distracted, it was because Rachel had come into town.

Lorelai scrunches her mouth, wondering at the possibility, and finally decides enough is enough.

"Luke?" She asks as he passes her, trading a plate given to one customer with another, handing the original plate to Kirk on the opposite side of her.

When he doesn't answer, she furrows her brows and tries again.

"Luke!" She calls, waving her hand around by his face.

This works effectively and he looks at her half startled, half mildly annoyed.

"I'm working here, Lorelai," he mumbles with the raise of an eyebrow. Lorelai gives him a look.

"Yeah, and you're not doing a very good job at it! You've already given six people the wrong order," she points out, gesturing to the other customers with an arm.

"I'm still waiting for mine," Kirk chirps from next to her, earning him a murderous glare from the diner owner.

"Kirk, I just gave you your order," Luke growls.

"Oh…. My mistake.." Kirk mutters, looking down at the food he knows belongs to Babette. He takes a bite of the eggs that aren't scrambled just the way he likes, and Lorelai looks at him sadly before turning her attention back to Luke.

"Kirk, you don't have to eat them."

"It's fine, Lorelai. Luke is right."

"See Luke? Not only are you screwing up plates, but you're scaring Kirk into eating something he doesn't like!" Lorelai defends, pointing a finger at the man next to her.

"What else is new!" Babette yells from her table with Ms. Patty.

"Alright, that's it, if you can't appreciate the har—Lorelai, what are you doing?" Luke scrambles as Lorelai rounds on him and pushes him out of the diner door.

"What are you doing? I have a diner to run," Luke protests, gesturing towards the establishment he was just forced out of.

"What is up?" Lorelai demands, hands on her hips.

"Up?"

"Yes, up. With you."

"Some crazy lady just kicked me out of my own diner!"

"Luke!"

Lorelai and Luke stare at each other in a firm standoff before Luke sighs, lifts up his cap, and smooths his hair back before replacing his signature hat.

"It's Jess."

"Jess...ica Alba?"

"I have a nephew," Luke explains, rubbing his hands together nervously. Lorelai looks surprised. Why was this the first time she was hearing about this?

"You have a nephew?"

"I have a nephew."

"Which means you have siblings?"

"A sister. Liz. I've told you about Liz," Luke insists.

"Nuh-uh," Lorelai defends, shaking her head incredulously. "So you have a sister and you have a nephew? Are you close?"

Luke makes a face, almost like he's considering something unclear to him.

"My sister, not so much. Jess… I don't know, I mean we aren't you and Rory or anything, but we talk here and there," Luke says thoughtfully, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay, so you have a nephew that you talk to here and there…"

Luke can see the wheels turning in Lorelai's head. If he weren't so stressed, he might have found it cute like he usually did.

"Yes, Lorelai, I have family. Is that so weird?"

"I mean, you can, it's just, we've known each other for a while and I didn't know you have a nephew that you kinda talk to or a sister that you basically don't," Lorelai explains, waving her hands around for good measure. Luke gives her a tired look and she realizes that she needs to let it go for now.

"Okay, okay. So, what is it about Jess?" Lorelai asks to Luke's original statement.

"Right, so Jess is coming here."

"Here where?"

"To Stars Hollow. Where else is here?"

"Well, I don't know, he could be in another country and he's coming to the United States."

"Why would my nephew be in an—you know what, nevermind, I need to get back inside," Luke starts to respond before thinking better of it and admitting defeat.

Lorelai holds up her hands in surrender, grabbing Luke's shoulder before he can go inside the diner.

"Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm just still kinda shell shocked. So Jess is coming to Stars Hollow. Why is that bad?"

"It's not bad, it's just. He's coming here. To stay. With me. Me. I can't grow a tomato, let alone a kid," Luke confides, throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Jess is a kid?"

"Well, no, he's seventeen."

"So he's already grown, Luke, you don't have to do much beside put a condom in his wallet," Lorelai jokes lightly. Luke's face twists into a strange feral look and she realizes this wasn't the joke to make.

"He will not have sex, do you hear me? He will go to school, he will come home, and he will do his homework!" Luke barks, waving a firm finger in his friend's face.

"See you'll do just fine," Lorelai jokes, patting Luke on the shoulder. He sighs and her expression softens. "Luke, it'll be okay. How long is he staying?"

"I don't know. For now, I guess. He's getting into fights and Liz can't handle him anymore."

Lorelai's face drops a bit.

"Do they have a good relationship?" She asks, shifting her weight.

"Let's just say Liz isn't getting mom of the year," he shakes his head. Lorelai pouts. She felt bad for the kid.

"Well then maybe it's good he's coming to you, you know?" Lorelai pipes up, gently touching Luke's shoulder before returning it to her side. "You're one of the good ones, Luke. I'm sure you'll be good for him."

"You think?" Luke asks hopefully, biting back a smile.

"I know! And hey, I think my kid turned out okay so I'm here if you want any advice."

Luke smiles and nods.

"Thanks Lorelai."

"Anytime."

"I guess I'll be getting back to work," Luke says uncomfortably, shifting his weight after the two share a sweet smile.

"Yeah, and hey, Luke?" She asks, heading in after him.

"Yeah?"

"Get Kirk his actual food before he chokes."

"Right."


It felt like pure bullshit to Jess that he still had to go to this anger management even though he was transferring schools. Once he found out his mom was shipping him off, the thought of being cut loose from the hippy shit was one of the only highlights.

But the thought had ended quickly when his principal refused to allow him to simply pay for the damage in installments. In a last effort to get one over on him, Principal Jeffrey's had said that Jess was in a paid contract with the Intrepid Center and he had an obligation to complete.

Liz had tried to tell him it would be a positive outlet for him, but Jess had simply walked out of that meeting. He had zero desire to speak to either of them.

He and Liz hadn't talked in a week as he prepared to leave for good. Maybe Liz didn't know it was for good, but Jess did; he was almost eighteen, and he'd be damned if anyone was gonna force him to live with the drunk again.

Jess sighed as he walked up the block towards the Intrepid Center. He had missed both of his sessions last week to make preparations. Well, he had missed Tuesday to do that; Thursday he just didn't want to go. He was moving tomorrow officially, so he needed to tell Ms. Leon that he would be missing today and Thursday again.

Oh, how Jess wished he could just walk into that place and tell Ms. Leon that he wasn't coming back for good either and then skip away gleefully. Just thinking about it all and knowing it wasn't possible put him in a bad mood.

As he walks into the parking lot, deep in his thoughts, he passes a very familiar jeep. Jess stops for a second, turns, and sees Rory in her car, looking down at something intensely. Jess smiles and back tracks. He raps lightly on her window.


A week had passed and Rory hadn't seen Jess at group. He also hadn't gone to his therapy session. Rory had had to work on a piece for the Franklin so she hadn't gone, but Denise—the social work intern on Jess's case—had let her know that he'd missed since it affected Rory's assignment.

She taps her pen impatiently, wondering where he is. She had arrived early to her group session, trying to have a quiet space to do her homework. She sits in her mother's jeep, legs crossed in the front seat with her book closed on her lap. Rory was having trouble concentrating lately.

She told herself it had nothing to do with Jess not being there. Admittedly by this point, they were several weeks into the group. Rory had internally determined her favourites in the group, and it hadn't been long before her annoyance at Jess's demeanor turned to intrigue.

He didn't talk much in group or counseling, but he did talk to her a lot afterwards. Most of the time he infuriated her with his sarcastic quips and stupid smirks, not to mention his utter lack of interest in the group. But there were other times he wasn't so annoying.

Sometimes he saw a book she was reading and offered his thoughts, always making her think more deeply about them. Other times he made small jokes when he noticed she wasn't in a particularly stellar mood. And then there was when he remembered her birthday, shoving a paper in her book when she wasn't looking to wish her a good day. She couldn't remember when had she told him that, or if she even had.

Rory sighs and realizes she'd been thinking about him again.

It's normal to think about people who are absent when you're used to seeing them every week, she assures herself. She isn't convinced but instead of processing this, she instead chooses to get annoyed at the thought of Jess and turn back to her work. She opens her book and begins trying to read again.

A tap at the window makes Rory jump out of her skin. Her face softens when she sees a familiar smirk on the other side of the glass.

Rory rolls down the window and smiles.

"Hi," Rory says from inside of her car, her eyes bright.

"Hi," Jess offers back before nodding towards the building. "You're here early."

"Yeah, I just needed some homework time," she explains gesturing at the book in her lap. "You are too, actually."

Jess shrugs, rocking on his heels. "I got a call from Ms. Leon about missing, and I gotta let her know about today and Thursday, too."

He watches as her eyebrows rise and fall, knitting together in thought and confusion. If he didn't know better—and really, he didn't, she was hard to read—, he would think there was a silent look of disappointment on her face.

"Oh," she finally says softly, biting her lip. She looks up at him.

"Are you missing again?" Rory asks in a small voice, curiosity in her tone.

Jess is pretty certain he detects disappointment this time. He gives Rory a look that tells her he won't be there. Her face falls ever so slightly, and he can't help but let his lips curve into a smirk.

"You gonna miss me, Ms. Gilmore?" He asks lightly, feigning shock as he holds a hand to his chest.

The feistiness he hasn't seen in awhile rises.

"I'm gonna miss drawing doodles of you getting anvils dropped on your head for being disruptive," she quips, a smile playing at her lips.

Jess laughs and leans down and in towards her, resting his arms on the window sill. Rory holds her ground and doesn't scoot back.

"You draw me dying? That ain't very friendly, neighbor."

"You always survive," Rory laughs. "It's just how I channel all my annoyed thoughts about you."

Jess locks eyes with her.

"At least you think about me," he says softly. She gives him a strange look before looking down and away from him. He notices goosebumps on the arm that's resting on the steering wheel and raises an eyebrow.

"I think about all of you," she recovers, turning back to face him with a smile. "You're all kind've like my adopted kids. I think about everyone's process a lot for my assignments."

Jess laughs. "You know, most of us are probably older than you."

The brunette shrugs as if that's the most irrelevant thing he's ever said to her. "So?"

Jess considers this and shrugs back at her, leaning in a little more in the window.

"So you write about my sessions, right?" He asks, looking around the inside of Rory's car.

It doesn't seem like her, he thinks before scolding himself. He mentally rolls his eyes. As if he really could say what her car should look like.

"Yeah, for my class," Rory replies simply, grabbing a notebook from the passenger seat side. She holds it up and wiggles it a little. "It's not very filled though."

"I don't have much to say," Jess shrugs at her, looking down at the books in her lap.

She leans in towards him and squints her eyes in mock annoyance.

"You say plenty to me, just not to Ms. Leon or Denise," she challenges, waving the notebook again. "And I can't use anything that isn't in the session."

"I don't like talking to them," he says simply. She looks at him and he can tell she understands what he won't say. He feels her breath on him, and suddenly he feels like there's less air to breathe between them. It's not dissimilar to what happened a few weeks ago, when Rory'd grabbed his hoodie.

You don't even know if she's single, his subconscious reminds him. He hears it but he doesn't back away.

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you only nice to me?"

It's almost like an alarm goes off inside of him, and everything he was thinking about before drains from his head. Everything says to shut down and back off. He isn't good at emotions; never has been, never will be. He won't answer her question because it means admitting to himself that some way, somehow, this perky, bubbly girl has wormed her way into his head.

He shrugs and leans away from the car window, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket.

"Don't smoke that so close," Rory protests, crinkling her nose.

Jess looks at her dully, rolls his eyes, and puts it away. He holds back a smile; operation dodge the question was a success.

"You're such a prude," he comments lightly, a sarcastic tone blanketing his words.

Anger flashes through Rory's eyes and Jess holds back a smile. He didn't know why he liked getting her so riled up.

"I'm not a prude because I don't want to smell like gross cigarette smoke," she counters, frowning. "And anyways, don't you have a meeting to miss?" she adds annoyed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

Jess shrugs and sighs, looking over at the doors to Intrepid Center, where the ever-persistent and perky Ms. Leon was waiting for him.

"Okay," he says in mock surrender, holding up his hands. He starts backing away from the car and turns on his heel to head inside.

"Jess!"

Jess turns around to see Rory waving from inside her car. He raises his eyebrow in confusion and takes a step or two forward in her direction.

"You're coming back, right?" She calls. "Next week?"

Jess bites back a smile and nods. "Yeah."

Rory nods and rolls her window back up, going back to her books.

Jess shakes his head and turns again to go inside. He really didn't get her.


"Rory!"

"Mom!"

"You'll never guess what I have to tell you," Lorelai says with a bounce as she takes leftover Chinese food out of the refrigerator.

"Yeah?" Rory mumbles, walking slowly into the kitchen before dropping her bag heavily on the floor.

Lorelai's mother senses are tingling, but Rory had been really distracted lately. Any time Lorelai pushed, Rory pushed back, so she figured she should just let this one go tonight.

"Yeah!"

Rory waits and stares at Lorelai.

"Well?"

"Guess!"

"I can't guess."

"Why not?"

"Because you said I'll never guess, so I may as well not try," her daughter points out, taking a seat and a box of rice from the middle of the table.

"You're no fun," Lorelai pouts, placing plates at the table before she takes her own seat.

"Mom," Rory laughs. "Just tell me."

"Okay. Get this," Lorelai declares, lightly slamming her hands down, fingers spread, on the table. "Luke has a nephew."

Rory cocks an eyebrow as she digs into the General Tso's chicken. "Like, biological?"

"What other kind is there?"

"I don't know, Luke is kinda like a dad to me. Maybe it was one of those things?"

"Nope. He has a blood-related nephew."

"But that means he has a sibling," Rory says in disbelief.

"I know. A sister."

"Which means he's had a sister the whole time we've known him and we've never met her."

"I know!"

"Why haven't we met her!"

Lorelai shrugs and picks at an egg roll. "Maybe he's embarrassed by us."

"Nah," Rory shakes her head, smiling. "Luke adores us."

"We are adorable," Lorelai agrees, offering Rory an eggroll to which she shakes her head.

"So a nephew, huh?" Rory repeats thoughtfully, chewing.

"Yep. And it gets better! His nephew is coming here."

"To our house?"

"Well. He's coming to Stars Hollow so basically."

"Wow. You think there's a reason Luke also hid having a nephew? Like maybe he has a freakish extra arm or something?" Rory giggles at her own suggestion and Lorelai smiles.

"It's Luke. You know how he is," she says softly, thinking about her friend.

"Yeah, I do," Rory agrees before putting her fork down.

"So when is he coming?"

"Apparently he'll be here tomorrow. Hey, you don't have to go to your group session, right? Since it's so close to Thanksgiving?"

"Mom, we have like, two weeks before Thanksgiving," Rory points out, shaking her head.

"Okay so get sick. Play hookey!" Lorelai insists, giving her daughter the best pookie face that she can muster.

"Mom, I can't."

"Please?"

"Wait, why?" Rory asks suspiciously, pointing a piece of chicken accusingly at her mother.

"Luke asked us to check in," she explains. "He said his nephew is around your age, might be good to see a young face. Seems like it's not a good situation for the guy."

Rory makes a sad face. Lorelai loved that about her, how clearly empathetic she was for anything that blinked.

"Well… I guess I could—"

"Yay! I'll call Luke!" Lorelai exclaims, running out to the living room to grab the phone before Rory could change her mind.

"Mom, I didn't agree yet!" Rory calls after her.

"Honey, mommy's on the phone, don't be rude!" Lorelai quips, giggling to herself.

This was definitely for Luke, but this was also for her. She missed Rory a lot and wanted to spend time with her. If it was under the guise of solely helping out Luke's nephew, she was willing to do that.

As Lorelai looks down at the phone, she notices a missed call from Dean.

"Hey hon?" She calls out to her daughter, starting to dial Luke's.

"Yeah?"

"Dean called babe."


Rory knits her eyebrows in confusion before a bright panic falls over her. She had completely forgotten that she had promised to call Dean as soon as she got home.

She sighs and waits for her mom to finish calling Luke. She hadn't really spent time with Dean lately. She had hung out with him a few times, but her heart really hadn't been in it.

Rory didn't know why or what it was, but hanging out with Dean hadn't been as fun lately. She loved him, sure, but something was just off. Maybe it was her and how distracted she was with school and studying.

Or maybe it's who you're distracted by, not what, her subconscious offers.

Rory's eyes open wide and she rushes over to the phone, hearing her mom end the call.

No.

"No, no, no. Not happening," she mumbles as she grabs the device and runs into her bedroom.


AN: SORRY that this took so long. I got caught up wanting it to follow Season 2 super canon, but then couldn't find time to go back. So I hope you like the elements of it in this chapter :) I had fun writing it. I hope you like all the dialogue! Stay tuned for Jess's appearance in your favourite little town in Connecticut! Reviews appreciated!

p.s. Please check out You Can't Protest Everything if you're into politics and a Jess being a protester ~swoon.