Time After Time - A Gilmore Girls Fanfic #1

Chapter 30

On Christmas morning, Luke got up out of bed, buttoned up his plaid shirt, fit his blue cap on his head, and went out to the dark house. Six o'clock wasn't exactly early by his usual standards, but he'd started sleeping in since he arrived in Nantucket, a fact that he hated and tried to remedy but never could. But today was Christmas and, as such, he had a very important job to do.

So at six-oh-five, while the rest of the house slept, he stood in the middle of the bright kitchen and looked over everything he'd bought at the store the day before, making a mental list of what needed to be cooked and in what order. He hated inactivity, had always felt antsy and out of sorts whenever he wasn't at the diner, so this vacation had been a little bit of a nightmare for him. He wanted—no, needed—something to do, and changing a few lightbulbs or tightening some screws wasn't going to cut it. Even if everything on this island was strange and unfamiliar (including the woman in whose house he was staying), this part—the cooking—was his domain.

A little while later, with the turkey already in the oven, Jess came shuffling in, his hair still wet from a shower. "Morning," his nephew said, heading straight for the so-called coffee-making contraption that produced more waste than it did coffee. Jess started making a cup and turned to Luke with one eyebrow raised. "Is it killing you to have to use this every day?"

With a snort, Luke reached under the counter and produced a french press. "Guess again."

"You've been holding out on me!"

Luke grinned, enjoying the look of indignation on Jess' face. "I thought you preferred the taste of boiled socks," he said all too casually.

Jess walked over and grabbed an apple from Luke's pile. "Karma's going to come bite you in the ass later on," he said, shaking the fruit at him before taking a bite.

"Hey, that's for the pie," Luke said, throwing a rag at Jess' head.

Jess put the apple back in the pile, much to Luke's chagrin. "Need some help?" Jess asked, his gaze flying over the counter.

Luke pointed with the knife in his hand. "Touch anything and you're dead."

Jess backed off, holding his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. No need to go all Gordon Ramsey on me." He sat down on a stool instead, sipping his coffee and staying the hell out of the way.

"So, now that you and Rory are together, you think you'll stay in Philadelphia?" Luke asked as he sliced the apples, cutting away where Jess' mouth had been.

"Yeah. I kind of have to, being that my livelihood is there."

"What about Rory and the baby?"

Jess bobbed his head with confidence. "We've got it figured out. We'll split the time between Philly and Stars Hollow."

"Ever thought about just staying in Philadelphia?"

"Nah," Jess said with a half smile. "Rory's life is in Stars Hollow; I can't ask her to leave. Besides, I'm pretty sure Lorelai and that quirky little town are her touchstones. Without them, she kind of loses herself."

"So you good with being third?"

"I'm just glad to be on the list at all."

Luke snickered. "I can't believe we're getting out of this vacation unscathed."

"Speak for yourself," Jess said. "I almost got voted off the island my second day here."

"Yeah, well, what can I say? You've always been a people person," Luke said with a grin.

"What I'd like to know is: How the hell did you, a curmudgeonly diner owner, and me, a punk kid from New York, end up here in this fancy kitchen with these fancy people?" Jess asked, shaking his head. "In what universe would a girl like Rory ever give someone like me the time of day?"