Thank you for all of your support so far! Please do let me know if you're still reading this as I feel this might be losing steam a bit. Let me know if you're still with me. :) Here's the next chapter! :)

Chapter 17

"Rachel? Wait, that Rachel?" Lorelai said her eyes widening. "Rachel, your childhood sweetheart Rachel? Rachel, the love of your life Rachel? That Rachel?" She said.

"That's me." Rachel said.

"Wow..uh..ok..." Lorelai said glancing at Luke who was still looking stunned. "I..uh..I should leave you two alone. There must be a lot to talk about." She said getting up.

"Lorelai, wait." Luke spoke for the first time.

"I guess I'll catch you later." She said quickly before walking off.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything..." Rachel said hesitantly.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Luke demanded, turning to her.

Meanwhile, the teenagers were all having a dance having fun by the bonfire. Ben was dancing with Olivia, Rory was dancing with Jess and Amy was dancing with Lane.

"I'm so happy you're finally here." Olivia grinned at Ben.

"Me too." Ben smiled. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." She smiled.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if we could swap for a dance?" Jess said appearing beside them.

"Sure." Ben said. "One dance though." He smirked.

"Deal." Jess smirked.

"Should I feel honoured that you want to dance with me?" Olivia teased.

"I'm never going to live this down am I?" He chuckled.

"Nope!" She grinned. "So to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I..uh..well I wanted to make sure we were ok." He admitted.

"What?" She said confused.

"I mean, I know we've moved past everything. All the..uh..awkward stuff. But you're one of my best friends. I need to be sure you're ok with me and Rory because...well...because I really feel like me and her...well, we're doing really good." Jess said hesitantly. "And I know you and Ben are starting something. I just..I don't want things to be awkward. I just wanted to make sure you were really ok."

Olivia smiled softly. "That's really sweet." She said.

"I care about you." He said honestly.

She smiled. "Jess, I'm not going to lie and say my feelings for you have just disappeared because I think that will probably take a long time. Feelings linger, everyone knows that. But I've see you and Rory. You're really happy together and I'm happy for you. Honestly." She said sincerely. "And well...I think...no, I know actually, that I really like Ben. We've got so much in common and he makes me laugh."

"Ok." Jess said.

"We're good, Jess. We always will be." She smiled softly.

"Ok good." He smiled. "I just wanted to make sure. Because I don't think I could lose you."

"You won't." She promised him as the music came to an end. "Hey Jess?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for checking." Olivia smiled. "Hey, what's going on over there?" She said gesturing over to Luke and her mom who were with another woman.

"Oh my god, that's Rachel!" Jess said surprised.

"Rachel? You mean...?"

"Yup. Luke's ex, Rachel. That Rachel." He nodded. "Geez, she hasn't been here for years!"

"Do you remember her?" She asked.

"Not really. I was young when they were together. She came a few times but then left pretty quickly. When I was older, Luke would get phone calls from her but nothing ever happened from them. She really messed him around." He frowned. "Why is she here?"

"Mom looks freaked..." Olivia said as she saw their mom walking towards them. "Hi mom..." She said hesitantly as she approached them.

"Fancy a walk?" She asked her daughters. "Let's take a walk." She said.

"Uh..sure, ok." Olivia said exchanging a glance with Rory. "We'll..uh..catch you guys later." She told the others as the three of them walked off.

"What was that all about?" Ben asked walking up to Jess.

"It's a long story." Jess said. He frowned as he saw Luke and Rachel walking towards the diner. "I'll be right back." He told him before heading towards the diner.

"So that woman..." Lorelai as she walked along the pavement.

"Is Rachel." Olivia said.

"What?" She said surprised. "How did you...?"

"Jess told me." Olivia said.

"Oh." Lorelai said.

"Wait, Rachel? The Rachel that...?" Rory said shocked.

"That Luke was going to marry according to the town, yes. The one woman he's been head over heels in love with. Yes, that Rachel." Lorelai said.

"How are you doing?" Olivia asked cautiously.

Lorelai just shrugged. "I mean...Luke loved her. They've known each other for years. She's back so she obviously wants him back. I knew I shouldn't have acted on my feelings. I knew it! I knew it was too good to be true."

"Whoa, slow down, ok?" Olivia said. "Yes, Luke might have loved Rachel. Once. But he's with you, mom. He's known you for years as well. If he was still hung up on Rachel, he would never have gotten with you. He's not like that."

She just shrugged again. "Love can make you do weird things. He was in love with her. And now she's here. His feelings will probably come back. It's only natural."

"Mom, you're being silly. Luke wouldn't do that to you." Rory assured her.

"She's right, mom. Luke isn't like that. He's not dad!" Olivia said.

"What?" She said shocked, looking at them.

Olivia sighed. "You always get hurt by dad. And I feel like you think dad's the norm when it comes to men. But he's not. You're so used to getting hurt by dad that you just assume you'll always get hurt by guys. But Luke's not dad, mom. He's the complete opposite to dad. He's with you because he wants to be with you. And to be honest, he's probably as shook up by this whole situation as you are." She pointed out.

"Why are you two so team Luke?" Lorelai asked glancing at them.

"Luke's been there for us. Not because he wanted you to like him but because he actually cares about us. And he really cares about you, mom. I get why you would be jealous about Rachel..." Olivia said.

"I'm not jealous." Lorelai said quickly.

"You are jealous." Rory said. "But that's natural. Do you think Luke wouldn't be jealous if suddenly dad showed up again while the two of you were dating?"

"Exactly." Olivia said. "But don't...just don't push Luke away yet. Talk to him. Tell him how you feel and you never know, you might just be surprised. I mean you trust him right? You trust Luke?"

Lorelai sighed. "Of course I trust Luke." She said. "I just...this is a lot to take in. The whole town has gone on about how Rachel was meant to be the one for him. How they all thought they were going to get married..."

"Yeah meant to be the one." Rory said. "They have thought you're the one for him for years now!"

"What?" She said surprised.

"Oh come on, mom. Ever since you two met, the town have been talking. You must have heard them." Olivia said. "Yes, maybe once it looked like Rachel might have been the one for Luke but that's in the past. He chose you, mom. So please, don't throw it all away because you think he's going to choose Rachel. Give him a chance to talk. Go be honest with him and see what he says. Don't just...give up." She said.

"She's right, mom. This is the happiest we've seen you ever. And we're pretty sure that's down to Luke. Talk to him." Rory said.

Lorelai sighed and glanced at her daughters. "You're right." She admitted. "I should tell him how I'm feeling." She sighed. "Thanks." She said softly.

Jess went to the diner and up to the apartment and was shocked to see Rachel unpacking her bag. "You've got to be kidding me..." He said.

"Jess..." Luke said surprised.

"You can't seriously be falling for it again? You're letting her stay here?" Jess exclaimed.

"It's not like that." Luke said.

"Oh really? Because to me, it looks like you're letting your ex stay with you. An ex that has broken your heart numerous times before! What about Lorelai, huh? Don't you care that she's upset? Don't you care that she's freaking out right this moment?" He said angrily.

"Jess, I..." Rachel tried.

"No, don't you dare! You don't get to talk!" Jess snapped.

"Jess!" Luke frowned.

"I knew life was going too well for me. I knew it! I knew it would get screwed up at some point but I never thought it would be because of one of your decisions." Jess said angrily. "I can't believe you! This woman broke your heart so many times I can't remember and you finally moved on and now you're screwing it up again! Lorelai is the best thing that ever happened to you and you're throwing it away because your ex decided to come back to visit for god knows how long. How long will it be for this time, Rachel? Two days? A week?"

"Hey, don't talk to her like that." Luke frowned.

"Jess, I promise you..." Rachel tried.

"No! I trusted you! You took me on when you didn't need you and you gave me a life Liz should have given me. You actually gave me a good childhood. I'm happy for the first time ever. I'm really happy! Does that mean nothing to you? Lorelai's been like a mom to me and now you're just going to break her heart like Rachel broke yours! That really sucks! And then Rory and Olivia will be on their mom's side and I'll have to be on your side because you're family and everything will be screwed up between me and Rory as well. Why? Why would you screw everything up? Why?" He exclaimed.

"Jess..." Luke said stunned.

Jess just shook her head. "I thought you were different." He said quietly. "You were the first person in my life that I trusted, the first person I actually looked up to but...but you're just like every other man in the world. I should have known." He said. "I should have known."

"Jess!" Luke called after him as he watched him walk out. "Rachel, I..."

"Go." Rachel told him. "Go talk to him." She said.

"So you think everything is going to be ok?" Ben asked Olivia as they sat in the square with Rory and Amy.

"I hope so." She sighed. "Nothing like some drama on your first day here, huh?"

Ben smiled slightly. "I guess you're always going to get some drama in a small town like this."

"Oh yeah." Olivia nodded.

"Did Jess say where he was going?" Rory asked.

"Nope, but it looked like he was headed towards the diner. That was like an hour ago now though." Ben frowned.

"Oh." Rory frowned. "I hope he's ok..."

"I'm sure he is. He's probably just trying to talk sense into Luke as well like we did with mom." Olivia assured her.

"Yeah...probably." Rory said. "I guess he'll show up soon."

"Of course he will." Amy smiled. "He probably won't want to be around when your mom and Luke talk."

"And make up." Ben smirked.

"Eww, seriously?" Olivia exclaimed playfully hitting him.

"Just speaking the truth." He grinned.

"Well stop! That's our mom!" She said.

"Sorry." He smirked.

Luke finally spotted a familiar figure sat on the bridge looking out at the water. He slowly walked up to him. "Mind if I sit?" He asked.

"It's a free country." Jess mumbled, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, I thought you stopped that last year?" Luke frowned.

"I needed one." He said.

Luke sighed and sat down next to him, dangling his legs over the side. "You were right." He said.

"What?" Jess said, glancing at him.

"Everything you said, you were right. I wasn't thinking about how you would feel and that was wrong." Luke said.

"I don't care about myself. I care about..."

"Lorelai, yeah I know. You made that pretty obvious." He said. "She's been like a mom to you, huh?" He said softly, glancing at him.

Jess ducked his head slightly. "She's the only mother figure I've had. She's always looked out for me. Isn't that what a mom does?" He mumbled.

"Yeah. She's great." Luke said softly. He sighed. "Rachel's dad is sick." He told him.

"What?" Jess said surprised.

"Her dad's not doing so good. That's why she's back and that's why I offered her somewhere to stay. She doesn't want to burden her mom by staying at their house. Besides, her mom is at the hospital all the time anyway." Luke said. "She said she just wanted to see me because...well, I knew her parents. And she knew...well, she knew that I would know what she was going through." He said quietly. "But you were right. I shouldn't have let her stay at the apartment."

Jess sighed. "It sucks that her dad's sick. But there must be somewhere she can stay that's not...here." He said. "I'm not trying to be harsh, I just..."

"No, you're right. I wasn't thinking about you and I definitely wasn't thinking about Lorelai." Luke said. "I thought I was doing the right thing. I've always just wanted to do the right thing." He said before sighing. "Look Jess, I will always care about Rachel. Feelings like that won't just go away." He told him.

Jess thought back to what Olivia had told him. "I guess..." He said.

"But I love Lorelai." Luke told him. "I will always care about Rachel but me and her, that's very much in the past. Lorelai's who I want to be with, not Rachel."

"You mean that?" Jess said quietly, glancing at him.

"You were wrong when you said Lorelai was the best thing that ever happened to me." Luke said.

"What?" He said confused.

"I mean, she comes a very close second but top of that list has always been you." He said sincerely. "And I hate that you think I would want to screw that up. You're the most important person to me and I would never want to upset you."

Jess ducked his head. "I...I shouldn't have said what I did. You're not like every other guy. I just...I was angry and I could just see everything..."

"Falling apart?" Luke guessed. He saw Jess nod slightly. "Yeah, I know the feeling." He said. He glanced at him. "I've been trying to look for you this whole time but I couldn't so I went back to the apartment and Rachel and I talked. Like we really talked. And I told her that she couldn't stay at the apartment. Obviously I empathise with her, what she's going through. Her dad...he's a decent guy. He was always good to me. But you were right. It would be too weird having her here, especially when I want things to work between me and Lorelai." He said. "She understood and she apologised to me. For...everything. For leaving, for...leading me on only to leave yet again. Many times."

"Really?" Jess said surprised.

"We've both grown up a lot. It was nice to finally have some closure on everything. She told me she could see things between Lorelai and I were real and she didn't want to mess that up." Luke said. "So...she packed her bags and booked herself into a hotel. So..."

"She's gone?" Jess said glancing at him.

"She's gone." He nodded.

Jess sighed. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You were...trying to protect me." Luke said.

Jess glanced at him. "I just...I've seen how you've been when she's called you, promising to come and see you. And when she does, she stays for like a day and two and then leaves. And then you're left broken again. And then she kept calling you, giving you false hope. It wasn't fair on you."

"I know. I realise that now." Luke said. "But you know what changed that?"

"What?"

"Lorelai." He smiled softly. "She made me feel happy again. I mean, obviously I thought she was way out of my league. I mean, why on earth would someone like her even look at me twice right? But then when she came and kissed me that day. It was one of the best days of my life. I...I love her." He admitted.

"Have you told her that?" Jess asked.

"What, that I love her?" Luke said. "No, not yet." He admitted.

"You should." Jess said. "She'd like to hear that. She'd probably like to hear everything you just told me."

"Yeah. I guess I should go find her, huh?"

"If you don't, I definitely will kick your ass." Jess said smirking slightly.

Luke chuckled slightly. "I have no doubt you would as well." He said getting up. "Come on, I'll walk you back to the square. Everyone's probably wondering where you are."

"Luke?" Jess said, getting up.

"Yeah?"

"Lorelai isn't out of your league. She's lucky to have you as much as you're lucky to have her. You..uh..you shouldn't put yourself down so much." Jess said awkwardly.

Luke smiled softly. "Thanks." He said. "We're good, right?"

Jess smiled. "We're good." He said.

They then walked back towards the square. As they were walking back towards the bonfire, they saw Lorelai sat on the step infront of the diner. "I..uh..I'll catch you later ok?" Luke told Jess.

"Ok." Jess nodded. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't mess it up." He said smirking slightly.

Luke chuckled. "I'll try not to." He said, smiling as he watched Jess walk towards where Ben, Amy, Rory and Olivia were. He took a deep breath before turning towards the diner and walking towards Lorelai. "Hey.." He said nervously.

"Hey.." She said quietly.

"Do you..uh..do you want to come up to the apartment?" He asked.

"Wouldn't that be awkward? I mean, Rachel..." Lorelai said hesitantly.

"Is gone." Luke said.

"What?" She said surprised.

"She's gone." Luke repeated. "And I'd really like you to come up with me so I can make it up to you for dealing with this so badly. That's if...well, if you still want anything to do with me?" He said nervously.

Lorelai smiled softly. "Lead the way." She said.

So I hope you liked it! :) Please do let me know what you think. I really do enjoy reading all of your reviews so thank you! And thank you for your continued support so far. I really do appreciate it! :)