The Fall

Ch. 1--Jess and Luke

By Steph ()

A/N--I’m branching out a little with this story. It’s got hospital scenes (no one dies!), dream sequences, not a lot of dialogue and may or may not end up an L/L. Oh and another thing. I have no medical knowledge. I’m trying to be as vague as possible about injuries and operations, but I still probably got things wrong. Please keep that mind and ignore medical impossibilities and inconsistencies.

All was quiet when Jess walked back to the diner. No surprise there. It was 11:30 p.m. on a Wednesday evening. He had been out walking. He liked his late-night walks and considered it his reward for living through another day in Stars Hollow. Another day of suffering through summer school being lectured and tested on information that he already knew; another day of serving food to people that he hated and who hated him.

Luke usually had him work the dinner shift, meaning that Jess would have a couple of hours to himself after school ended before he had to work. When Jess had sarcastically asked Luke how he should fill these precious two hours, Luke had suggested studying or reading quietly. Luke suggested that if that wasn’t challenging enough, maybe Jess could start dance lessons at Miss Patty’s. Luke had heard Patty was looking for someone to play a giant for some summer dance festival. Jess told Luke that he wasn’t interested, but would pass the information along to the giant working at Doose’s Market.

And that led to Jess’ other favorite activity. Hanging out at the market annoying his two favorite people in town: Taylor and Dean. He would slowly wander the aisles, picking up one item and putting it back. Picking up another item and putting it back. Every few seconds he would look up and see Taylor watching him like a hawk. After the first ten minutes had passed, Taylor would follow him, zigzagging through the aisles, asking him if he was looking for something in particular. Jess would shrug him off saying that he was food shopping for Luke and they all knew how picky an eater Luke was. Taylor had seen some of the things that Luke had picked up at the market and had to concede that point. He still watched Jess like a hawk and sometimes asked him to empty his pockets before he was allowed to leave.

No trip to the market was ever complete without Jess throwing a shit-eating grin at Dean. Dean would turn so purple with anger that Jess wondered if one day his head would just explode. He hoped that if it did explode, it would happen soon, preferably before Rory returned from Washington.

The light in the diner was on, but the door was locked. That was bizarre, Jess thought as he opened the door. He had never known Luke to leave the light on. He turned the light off and walked upstairs.

Bizarre event number two. It was pitch-black and perfectly quiet in the apartment. Usually Luke left a night light or something on so Jess wouldn’t kill himself or Luke while trying to find his bed. And it was quiet. It was never quiet in the apartment at night. Now that Luke had banned Jess’ loud “going to sleep” music, Jess had become painfully aware that his uncle snored loud enough to wake the dead.

So maybe he wasn’t here. Jess turned on the overhead light and found out that he was right. Maybe Luke had gone somewhere. Maybe there was a note taped on the fridge. Saying something like:

Jess, Lorelai and I made up and I went to her place for a booty-call. Luke

Something simple like that. Not that Luke would ever use the word booty-call, but that was besides the point. There was no note on the fridge, no nothing anywhere. This was a little weird, he had to admit. And though he wasn’t worried, he was definitely curious.

He walked back into the diner and turned the light on. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. He walked into the kitchen and saw nothing. This was stupid, he told himself. He should go back up to sleep. He had to go to school tomorrow morning. He walked out to the front of the diner and decided to check the storage room. He told himself that if Luke wasn’t there, he would forget it and go back to sleep.

“Luke,” Jess called. “Ollie ollie oxen free.”

No response. He walked a little further into the room and saw his uncle flat on his back. Asleep? Unconscious? Dead? He didn’t know. “Luke?” he asked softly. Nothing. He leaned in until he was sure that Luke was still breathing. So he wasn’t dead. There was still the possibility of being asleep. No, that was stupid. Luke did strange things occasionally, but would never lie down on the floor of the storage room. He probably had slipped and smacked his head on the way down. That was a much more logical explanation.

So what now? Calling 911 would probably be a good idea, because there was no way that Jess would be able to lift Luke up and drag him into the truck to a hospital. It would be like trying to move a tree. Scratch that idea.

So 911 looked like the way to go. “Don’t go anywhere,” he told Luke and went to the phone.

It was now one a.m.. Luke was in a hospital room with Jess sitting outside in the empty waiting area. The television set was on, but only static was coming through. He went and turned it off.

His mind wandered. Should he call someone? Should he call Lorelai?

Possibility number one. If he did call her at one a.m., she could yell at him for waking her up, hang up without hearing what he had to say, tell him that she didn’t care about Luke being injured (they were still fighting, after all) and that if Jess ever looked at Lorelai again she would somehow conspire with Dean and plant a tracking device on Rory that would shock her any time she came within ten feet of Jess.

Possibility number two. If he waited until later to call her, she could yell at him for not calling her sooner, tell him that he should be thinking of poor, injured Luke instead of himself, and that if Jess ever looked at Lorelai again she would somehow conspire with Dean and plant a tracking device on Rory that would shock her any time she came within ten feet of Jess.

Neither possibility was too appealing, but he decided he would wait until later to call her. Postpone the inevitable. He sighed and went to turn the television on again.

He awoke to someone shaking him. It was a doctor. The doctor explained to Jess that his father (“My uncle,” Jess had quickly pointed out) had slipped on something. His head and back had hit the ground hard. The doctor said that Luke was conscious and knew who he was and where he was. A mild concussion, but nothing was permanently damaged.

“So can he go home?” Jess asked.

“No,” the doctor said. They were worried about his back and wanted to operate on him. They would schedule the operation for later in the morning, to give Luke some time to rest.

“You can go see him if you want,” the doctor told him. “He’s in Room 12.”

Jess nodded and walked into the room. “It’s okay,” he told his uncle. “Don’t get up.”

“Funny,” Luke said frowning. “Have a seat.”

Jess sat next to the bed. “How’s the head?”

“It hurts. The back really hurts. But the medication should be kicking in soon.”

“Good,” he said.

Neither knew what to say. Finally Luke said. “You were the one who found me, right?”

“Yeah, in the storage room. Do you remember what happened?”

“Not really. I remember going in there to get something and then I woke up here. How long was I there before you found me?”

“Assuming that you locked up at ten, finished cleaning at 10:30 p.m…I’d say about an hour.”

“Oh,” he said. “Jess, I need to talk to you.”

Jess grinned. “Is this where you tell me that I’m like the son you never had and as soon as you’re up to it, you’re going take me to a baseball game so we can finally bond?”

“No, this is where I tell you what’s in my will,” Luke said seriously.

“Your will?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because the doctor has informed me that I will be having an operation later this morning.”

“For your back.”

“Yes.”

“I never thought of you as a drama queen before.”

“I’m not being a drama queen,” Luke said. “I’m being practical. Things happen in hospitals. Doctors make mistakes. People have their own agendas. You can‘t really trust anything or anybody.”

“Nicely put, Mulder,” Jess said.

“Stop being a smart ass and listen up. This is important. If something were to happen to me, you can close the diner and stay in the apartment as long as you need to, maybe until you go to college. If you can’t find someone to buy the place to keep it as a diner, just sell it to the first person who isn’t Taylor. Take that money and give a little bit to Cesar. He’s helped a lot over the years.”

“Got it,” Jess said.

“Take whatever’s left from the sale and add that amount to what I have in accounts. Divide it up three ways. You get one-third to use for college or to make bail or whatever. Give another third to your mother.”

“And the last third?” he asked curiously. “Shall we erect a huge memorial statue of you in front of the diner?”

Luke looked down trying not to smile. “No, but if something were to happen to me, mention the statue idea at a town meeting. Just to freak Taylor out.”

“I promise,” Jess said. “So the last third?”

“For Lorelai and Rory to split,” he said. He didn’t meet Jess’ eyes.

“Really,” Jess said.

“I know she sometimes has some financial problems and she wouldn‘t ask anybody…” he stopped forgetting that the person he was talking to probably couldn’t care less.

“Okay,” Jess said. “I’ve got it. Sell the diner to anyone who isn’t Taylor and with that money give some to Cesar. Add what’s left to what’s in your accounts and split it three ways. I get one-third, Lizzy gets one-third and Lorelai and Rory split the last third.”

“You forgot the most important thing,” Luke said.

“What?” Jess asked. “Oh, right. Tell Taylor and everyone in town that I’m planning a huge Luke Danes Memorial Statue complete with flannel, backwards baseball cap and scowl. The statue will be life-size and will hold a coffee pot in one hand and a plate in the other.”

“Perfect. Jess, I should probably get some rest before the operation.”

“Yeah.” Jess was just out the door when he heard Luke call him. “What?”

“Did you tell anybody else that I’m here?” Luke asked.

Jess was plenty of things, but stupid was not one of them. He could read between the lines. “No I didn’t tell anybody. I thought anybody hates me enough as it is and if I woke anybody up she might hang up on me without listening.”

Luke nodded. “Anybody usually gets to the inn at about nine. Maybe you should try then.”

“I will,” Jess said. He closed the door behind him.

Jess was actually able to sleep off and on in the uncomfortable hospital chair. He woke up at about eight and walked down to the cafeteria for some coffee. When it was nine, he found the pay phone and put some change in.

A snooty, heavily-accented voice said, “Independence Inn.”

“Can I speak to Lorelai please?” Jess asked. “Lorelai Gilmore?”

“Yes, I knew which Lorelai you meant. Hold on please,” he said.

He was put on hold which gave him some time to think about what he would say to Lorelai. And some time to think about how much he hated the French.

He heard her pick up the line. “Hello, this is Lorelai.”

To be continued…