Watching the Watchers – Chapter 6

Standard Disclaimer applies – I have not acquired them since two days ago. Maybe tomorrow, if I'm very good…?

A/N – so, last chapter (I mean it this, time :-) )! Thank you guys SO much for being such lovely reviewers so far and for those who have put the story in favourites or on their alerts. It's really made this story easier to write, reading all your fabulous and very kind comments. I'd like to carry on with more in this vein but I'll have to wait for inspiration to strike, I guess.

I hope I replied to everyone who had an email address but thank you also to Lyn – hope you do like the Peter one if you decide to check it out, but thanks also for your lovely comments on this one!

Hope you guys enjoy!

When he arrived upstairs, he was pleased to see Jess waiting for him, right where he had left him. The kid looked up when he saw the apartment door open. Though he would never admit it to his uncle, there was a small part of Jess that jumped now, whenever he heard a sudden noise. It was only momentary though and Jess knew that, given time, it would fade completely.

"Glad to see the communication thing's starting to work," Luke joked, lightly, indicating where Jess still sat. The boy rolled his eyes.

"Yeah – don't go getting used to it."

Luke chuckled. "That's not likely." He disappeared into the bathroom for a moment and returned with the first-aid kit. The older man mentally prepared himself for an argument. "Now," he announced pulling up the footstool and seating himself opposite his nephew. "Let's take a look at you." Immediately, Jess drew back, his expression guarded and tense.

"I already told you," he half whined, half insisted. "I'm just a little bruised. There's nothing in that kit," he said, indicating the white plastic box with a nod of his head, "that's going to help me." Jess flicked his eyes to his uncle, alarmed to see a look of resolved determination on his features. Obviously, Luke had already made up his mind.

"All the same," Luke announced. "I want to check, so let's get that shirt off." Again, Jess shook his head, pressing himself further back against the couch. Luke sighed. "Jess, I promise this won't take long."

"Why won't you believe me?" the kid shot back, hotly. Luke rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you're obviously still in pain and it seems to be giving you trouble breathing…and moving, come to think of it." He glared at his nephew who was, in turn, glaring back at him. Glare all you want, Luke thought, grimly. I swear I can out-glare you any day of the week, Junior. And sure enough, his nephew's eye contact slowly wavered until, once more, the boy looked down at his lap, an irritated expression on his face. Luke was starting to recognise it as a sulk. Well that was okay, he decided. He could cope with a sulking Jess. It was quite endearing, actually, in an annoying sort of way.

"Now lose the shirt," he insisted again, voice just starting to rise.

Scowling mightily, Jess took a hold of the hem and started to ease it up past his stomach, muttering as he did so. "I usually get the money up front, you know."

Luke bit back a chuckle, forcing his face to remain serious. He watched as Jess worked the material up to his chest before his breath seemed to hitch, suddenly. Concerned Luke noticed the colour drain from the kid's face and the pained look of concentration on him. Pausing for a second to catch his breath and regroup, Jess tried again but the moment he forced his arms up past his chest, again, he gasped. Damn it! It hadn't been this difficult getting dressed earlier, he thought to himself.

Gently, but firmly, he suddenly felt Luke's larger hands on his and looked up in surprise at his uncle.

Luke's voice was soft and reassuring. "Relax, Jess. Put your arms down." Gratefully, he did so as the pressure eased from his sides. When Luke was sure he had regained his composure, he shuffled forwards on his footstool, so that he was closer to the boy.

Jess watched him, apprehensively, but without alarm. Whatever Luke was going to do, he didn't have the energy to try and fight. It was gone three in the morning, he'd had an emotionally and physically exhausting night, he'd cried like a god damned infant, for pity's sake and he just wanted to go to bed. At this point, it was all he could do to just sit there.

Luke saw the weariness wash across his nephew's face and smiled. "We'll get you to bed as soon as we can," he told him. "I promise."

"Mmm-hmm," he mumbled.

"Now lean forwards a little for me." And Jess did so. Very carefully, Luke took a hold of the fabric and pulled it up to the boy's chin, holding it there with one hand. Jess watched his uncle's face, carefully as the man inspected what he knew was covering his body. Luke's eyes widened and his jaw ground and Jess suddenly found that he couldn't look at his uncle any more. He didn't want to witness the disgusted, sympathetic expression. Instead, he moved his gaze to the side of the room, purposefully ignoring the man.

Luke remained silent as he gently ran his fingers across the large, purple and black patches, like ink stains, marring his nephew's sides and chest. Jess was tense and rigid and Luke instinctively knew how difficult it was for Jess to have his weaknesses exposed. However, he couldn't worry about that right now.

He was no doctor but he surmised that, while most of the bruises looked painful, but harmless, there was one along the lower ribs of his chest, that gave him concern. Not so much for the way it looked but for the instant recoil from Jess, the moment his fingers brushed anywhere near it.

Inwardly, Luke knew he wasn't going to be able to avoid a visit to the ER as much as Jess was going to hate it. He looked, sympathetically at the teenage boy, still tense and detached in front of him, understanding just how much he simply wanted to fall into bed and sleep till morning. Suddenly, the notion that, not so long ago, the kid had been preparing to wait at a freezing bus station for three hours, made Luke want to hit something, or cry, or both.

Applying a light pressure to one side of Jess' chest, Luke led the boy to turn slightly, allowing him to inspect his sides more fully. Again, similar bruising, though smaller in size and less frequent in number, peppered his skin. One, in particular, stood out. It was long and narrow but darker than the others. He narrowed his eyes and hovered his fingers over it.

"Jess?" he asked. "What's this one?" Jess brought his attention back to his uncle and spared the mark in question, a quick glance.

"Boot."

Very calm, very cool, Luke simply nodded. "I see." Then his eyes fell upon the tiny white lines, criss-crossing in patterns along the skin, mixed in with redder, more recent looking ones. Jess saw where his eyes had fallen and immediately flicked his gaze back to staring blankly into space. The message to Luke was clear: don't ask.

For now, Luke respected it.

The urge to hold him again was almost overwhelming but, seeing what he saw now, the older man knew that he couldn't. Not only might it have caused more pain than comfort but Jess was far too tense and guarded to allow it. He'd been vulnerable before, unable to protect himself from others. But now, his defences were coming back up and a part of Jess' mind had retreated to a place where Luke was almost certain no one else was allowed in to.

Luke moved to sit next to his nephew on the couch. "Turn around," he instructed. Jess complied as best he could until his back was facing his uncle, glad that he wouldn't have to catch the grimaces and darkening eyes. Instead, he continued to stare ahead.

Luke had let the front of the shirt drop and now pulled the back as far up as he could, revealing a few minor bruises and a selection of shallow cuts. Luke winced.

"I'm sorry, Jess," he said. "There are some cuts here that need to be cleaned up." Jess nodded. He'd not seen the state his back was in so he just took Luke's word for it. Luke leaned in to inspect them carefully. If it happened when the pictures broke then there might be glass still inside. He couldn't see any but this light wasn't brilliant and his eyes weren't the sharpest. "Let's move this to the bathroom, Jess," he said. "The light's better in there and I need the sink." He let the shirt go and Jess stood, silently, following his uncle into the bathroom.

As he stood facing the counter, Jess now realised he would have the mirror staring him in the face, every time he looked up. He caught a quick glimpse of his reflection: dark circles under his eyes, pale face and tousled hair. Perhaps it was the bathroom lighting, but he could swear he looked positively gaunt. Jess quickly cast his eyes down to the granite counter.

Quickly and efficiently, Luke cleaned the wounds grateful to see them reduce in severity once the excess blood had been washed away. Soaking a cotton swab in antiseptic, Luke began to dab and swipe at the cuts. From the reflection in the mirror, Luke could see Jess screw his eyes shut at the first pass of the stinging antiseptic but otherwise, he gave no outward reaction.

The older scars were more numerous and pronounced across his back and Luke bit his tongue to avoid commenting on them. Some looked suspiciously knife-like. Liz hadn't mentioned them but then Liz never would. Oh, for five minutes in a room with some of her boyfriends, he thought to himself, grimly.

"So, Jess," Luke began, cutting some gauze into small strips. "I think we're just about done here." He watched as Jess gratefully nodded, eyes starting to slide shut, making Luke feel guilty for having to crush his hopes.

"The rest of this we're going to have to let the doctors at the hospital handle."

Unsurprisingly, Jess' head shot up and he tried to turn to face him. Luke's strong hands held him in place, however. "We're not done quite yet," he informed him, taping the gauze neatly in place.

"I don't need to go to hospital!" Jess argued, for the first time seeming panicked. "You've fixed me up – I'm fine now."

He was done with the tape and he turned Jess to face him, keeping a firm hold of him by his arms. "No you're not. Not yet. I want them to check your chest." He hurried on when he saw Jess about to protest again. "You're having trouble breathing and don't bother denying it, Jess – I'm not blind! One of these bruises is obviously causing you more pain than the others and I want to know why."

"But..."

"No!" The older man glared, forcing Jess to look at him. "You remember the my way's the only way speech? That wasn't just talk. You're sick, you're injured, you do whatever I say until I'm happy you're okay again – end of story. Now we are going to the ER and you are not storming out of this apartment, nor are you going to argue with me. I will physically put you in the car if I have to."

Jess was tired, Jess was in pain and Jess did not feel up to being bundled into a car or listening to any more lectures. Very reluctantly, still scowling and looking thoroughly miserable, he nodded.

When he was sure of his nephew's cooperation, Luke smiled, warmly at him. "Good." He wrapped a hand around the boy's neck and pulled him towards him, smoothing the back of his dark hair. In testament to the kid's exhaustion, he didn't try to stop him, just rolled his eyes and sighed.

Hospital chairs were not built for comfort, Luke decided. The clock on the corridor wall read five am but it felt later. There was something so detached about hospitals –so insular that it made gauging the passing of time to be difficult. Luke gazed at the red and white tiled walls for a moment longer before deciding that he would have to brave another cup of coffee from the machine down the hall. It wasn't much and in fact, it tasted horrible, but he needed the boost.

He wandered the short distance to the machine. Jess was still in X-Ray and Luke had been instructed to wait in the world's most uncomfortable chairs, outside. The hospital had been fairly quiet when they had arrived – some minor accidents and the occasional Christmas drunk comprising the majority of the patients – so Jess had been seen mercifully quickly. Luke wasn't sure if he would have been able to keep him quite so quiet if they'd been in for a longer wait.

Coffee in hand, Luke ambled back to his seat and dug out the paper work they had handed to him once Jess was admitted. He'd intended to do it while Jess was in his appointment as the boy had insisted he didn't need his uncle in the room with him. However, as it had turned out, when not being examined by his uncle, Jess reverted to his usual charming, uncooperative self.

Not five minutes into the examination and the frazzled doctor was poking his head out from behind the curtain, eyes desperately scanning for the man who had brought his patient in. When Luke had seen the expression, he almost smiled. Yup, my friend, he thought. That was me three months ago.

Without a word, Luke had uncrossed his legs and followed the grateful doctor into the cubicle. On seeing his uncle enter, Jess had frowned but immediately and quietly sat back down on the bed. Luke wasn't sure what had transpired before he had entered the space but on seeing the doctor creep forward and tentatively hold his stethoscope up to the boy's chest as if at any moment, his hand would be taken clean off, the diner owner could fathom a guess. He tried very hard not grin. No, his Jess was not a happy camper.

With the last of the forms filled in, Luke looked back towards the X-Ray room and sighed. What was taking them so long? He wondered. Were they x-raying each bone individually? At least Jess seemed to be behaving himself in there, though Luke couldn't really blame him for being snappy. He was feeling tense and wound up and he wasn't even the one in pain.

He was just about to meander on back to drop the forms off at the Reception when a doctor approached him. Curiously, Luke halted. He wasn't nervous because he knew Jess wasn't in immediate danger but it didn't sit well with him when medical staff approached him.

"Mr. Danes," the man greeted him, shaking Luke's hand. "I'm Doctor Wilcox. I've been reviewing your nephew's records. Can we sit?"

Luke shrugged. "Sure," he answered. "I don't think Jess is coming out any time soon." But as he made to sit back down on the plastic chairs, Dr. Wilcox shook his head and held his hand out along the corridor, gesturing for Luke to follow.

"We'll be more comfortable in one of the exam rooms, Mr. Danes. If you'll follow me?" He shot a quick glance to the X-Ray door. "If Jess comes out before we're done, then one of the nurses will come and tell us – don't worry." Though the man was polite and smiling, Luke became nervous, his palms starting to sweat. This wasn't good, he thought. Private consultations with doctors weren't good.

However, he smiled and nodded, following the short, balding man into an examination room further down the hall. Once inside, Wilcox indicated a more comfortable looking chair for Luke to sit in and as he did so, the doctor closed the door behind him. Luke was starting to feel a little trapped.

"So," Luke began, trying not to sound nervous…or guilty. "What did you want to talk to me about? I've got the rest of his insurance and admission forms here, if that's what you wanted?" He held the sheaf of papers up, hopefully. Wilcox smiled and shook his head.

"No, that's fine, Mr. Danes. You can just drop those at the Reception before you leave." Luke nodded, feeling like he was floundering a little.

"Mr. Danes, the reason I've asked to speak with you is because we have a few questions regarding your nephew that I hope you may be able to help us with."

Luke took a deep breath. "Sure," he answered. "Whatever you need."

"Good." The doctor paused. "I've reviewed Jess' medical records and there appear to be some notable gaps."

"Gaps?" Luke repeated, leaning forwards.

Doctor Wilcox leant back in his chair and regarded Luke oddly. "Mr. Danes, how long has Jess lived with you?"

Luke frowned as he thought about it. "He came to me at the end of this summer – so about three months now." Wilcox seemed to be taking this in. Jess' file was open in front of him and every now and then, the man ran his pen down a particular section and tapped the page. He seemed to be weighing up his words.

"Does he ever go back?" the doctor finally asked. "To his home from before?"

Luke's eyes narrowed. "He hasn't yet and…I don't intend for him to, no." Looking at Wilcox, he knew the man understood.

Sighing, Wilcox shut the file. "Mr. Danes, I have to tell you that when a patient, particularly a minor, comes in with injuries consistent with an attack we feel obliged to look in to the matter. When we then find out this patient has previous unrecorded injuries…well you can see how this complicates things further?"

Luke simply nodded, numbly. He wasn't sure what to do, but if they insisted on calling the police, he wasn't going to stop them. Liz would just have to take her chances. It was her son who now had his priorities.

"I understand," Luke insisted. "Jess' welfare is more important to me than anything."

Dr. Wilcox leant forwards in his chair. "Mr. Danes, Jess is insisting that his injuries are accidental and while I don't believe this, I do believe that you had nothing to do with them and that your nephew is in no danger from you."

At this, Luke sat up straight. "I would never hurt that kid!" he exclaimed, appalled at the very idea that he was even, for a moment, insinuated with it.

Wilcox held up a placating hand. "As I said, Mr. Danes, I don't believe you would. And this is still a private matter between you and your nephew. As much as I would advise seeking action against your nephew's attackers, that's up to the two of you. Provided his home life is secure…"

"It is," Luke interjected, forcefully.

"Then that's all that directly concerns us. Just, now that he's safe, please make sure he stays that way." Then he rose and offered his hand for Luke to shake, which he did grateful to have ended the conversation and very keen to get back to his nephew.

Jess was back in his small exam room by twenty minutes to six. This time, Luke joined them from the start and was sat waiting for the small party to return. When Jess was led back in, he immediately sat next to Luke on the bed, not saying a word, but leaning up against him.

"Can we go home yet?" he asked his uncle, quietly. Luke brushed some hair out of the teenager's eyes and shook his head.

"Not just yet. We have to talk to the doctor again first – see what the x-rays found." Jess could probably have figured that out for himself, if he wasn't so drowsy and sapped of energy. His cuts had already been looked at again and inspected for glass before being properly dressed. It was only his ribs that had given them cause for concern.

His examining doctor, Doctor Bede, was yet to enter the room, presumably still going over the results of the exam. Jess sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head against Luke's shoulder. His uncle chuckled. "We'll get you to bed as soon as we can, Jess. I swear." Jess didn't answer him and Luke could almost have believed he had fallen asleep. Silently Luke relished the connection, wishing it didn't take something as drastic as an ER visit to establish it. Hopefully, he and Jess would find a way, once all this was over, to keep that connection but without the drama.

When Bede entered the cubicle, Jess did not bother opening his eyes. On seeing him, the doctor smiled while Luke gave him an apologetic look. "It's been a long night," he explained, needlessly.

"I understand. Well, Jess," he started, holding up the boy's x-ray and causing Luke to lean in a little closer. "I've reviewed the results of your chest CT scan and, as I suspected, you have a minor fracture to your fifth rib." He pointed out the small white line crossing the dark mass in question. "It's a common injury with blunt trauma."

Luke frowned in concern. "Will he have to stay in hospital?" At that, Jess did open his eyes.

"I am not staying here!" he cut in, voice rising. Luke shot him a deadly look, which silenced him, albeit begrudgingly.

Bede cleared his throat. "I'm not too concerned about it," he assured them. "Jess is able to cough and clear secretions." Jess rolled his eyes at the embarrassingly distasteful explanation as the doctor continued. "Provided he takes it easy for a week or so, there should be no further complications and I'll give you a list of signs to look out for when you leave. He can go home today."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's it?" he asked.

"Well, I'm going to prescribe some Ketoprofen for pain relief. It's a reasonably mild drug but you'll need to make sure he takes it in small doses – Jess does have a reasonably low body mass."

"I do not," the boy retorted, ignored by the adults in the room.

"Well, thank you, Doctor Bede." Making sure he was no longer propping Jess up, Luke stood and shook the doctor's hand, taking the piece of paper he handed to him as he did so.

"Not a problem. You two have a good Christmas." And with one last smile, Bede left to continue his rounds. The end in sight, Luke turned to look at his nephew.

"How about it Rip Van Winkle? Ready to get out of here?"

Ignoring the jibe, Jess pushed himself off the bed and grabbed his jacket from the nearby chair. "Finally," he muttered, exiting the cubicle and leaving an amused Luke behind, simply shaking his head.

At seven am, prescriptions and medical checklists in hand, Luke and Jess closed the door to their apartment. Luke discreetly locked it as Jess wandered over to kick his shoes off and sink down on the couch.

The apartment had never looked as good as it did then. Even his mattress looked like the most comfortable mattress in the world. It was familiar and safe and his. On the journey back, Luke had tried to persuade him to take the bed for a while, until he had healed but Jess had repeatedly refused until Luke had eventually given up.

Spying him on the couch, Luke grinned, walking over. "All right, Jess," he announced. "Bed time. Most definitely. Do you want a hand with your shirt?" However, unexpectedly, the boy was shaking his head.

"Not just yet," Jess insisted. Puzzled, Luke came and sat down next to him.

"I don't get it, Jess. You've been falling asleep for the last four hours." And Jess shrugged, a little sheepishly and looked away.

"But it's Christmas morning," he pointed out. "I don't want to spend Christmas in bed."

Luke laughed. "Jess, we can do Christmas when you wake up – it'll still be here." But Jess just shook his head again, stubbornly.

"It's not the same," he insisted, feeling a little silly for being so sentimental. Luke sighed, took his cap off and ran a callused hand through his hair. He could do with a shower, Luke thought to himself, feeling a week's worth of grime and sweat in only a matter of hours. The notion of bed and sleep was not unappealing to him, either but he knew he couldn't go before he had settled his nephew down for the night, first.

"Jess, we're both worn out," Luke began, attempting to reason with the boy. However, he was getting the impression that reasoning with an emotionally and physically exhausted teenager was not as easy as he'd imagined it would be. If anything, Jess' stubbornness and intolerance levels had just increased.

"And you've taken your meds at the hospital – Doc warned they could make you a little drowsy. Well, drowsier. Don't you think it would be best to just kick back and get some sleep for a little while?"

Jess simply set his jaw in a determined line and glared at him. Luke pushed down the little niggling signs of frustration. He was not going to snap at his nephew. If he wanted any kind of close relationship with him, the older man knew he was going to have to keep patience as paramount in his dealings with Jess. It wouldn't always be easy, but it would be worth it in the end.

Luke took a deep breath. "Fine," he said, watching as Jess smiled, triumphantly. He held up a hand to forestall the victory dance. "I'll make a compromise with you." Immediately, the wary frown reappeared across the young man's face.

"What compromise?"

"While you're still awake enough to do it, you get ready for bed now." Jess appeared somewhat annoyed but nodded his head with a disparaging tut.

"Then," Luke continued, feeling encouraged by the acquiescence, "we will sit round this tree – the tree is non-negotiable, by the way – and open presents." At that, Jess smiled and Luke got the distinct impression that was all the kid really wanted, anyway.

"And after that," Luke finished, "you will go to bed. No fuss. No stalling. Some time this afternoon you'll wake up, we'll have Christmas dinner and watch the Christmas movie." He sat back and regarded his nephew, carefully. "Deal?"

"You drive a hard bargain," Jess responded, thoughtfully. Luke smiled and shrugged.

"Which movie?"

Luke looked nonplussed. "Any one."

"Horror Channel?"

"The Horror Channel doesn't have a Christmas movie."

"Yes it does."

"Well, we're not watching the Horror Channel."

"You said any one," Jess pointed out, accusingly.

"Well, I didn't mean any one."

"I see. Indecisive. The Playboy Channel."

"Even if they did a Christmas movie, which I very much doubt they do, I don't subscribe to the Playboy Channel."

And Jess winked at him, conspiratorially. "I can fix that for you, at no extra cost."

"The Santa Claus!"

Jess stopped and looked in surprise at the sudden outburst. "The what?"

"The Santa Claus – that's what we're watching." Luke suddenly found living in a democracy to be too stressful.

"I've seen it," Jess protested.

"And you'll see it again," his uncle confirmed. "Until you can name every little elf's face."

After a moment's pause, Jess' mouth turned up at one corner in a smile. "So is this going to be our new Christmas tradition?" And the thought that he might have the kid back for enough Christmases to form a tradition, made Luke grin, widely.

"We'll try to arrange it without the hospital visits, next time," he agreed.

"And Tim Allen."

"If you say so," his uncle agreed. "So, if we've reached an understanding, let's get you ready for bed." Jess nodded and pushed himself up to his feet, swaying a little as fatigue and drugs caught up with him. Immediately, Luke's hand was at his elbow, not gripping but steadying. And Luke was, for a moment, taken aback by the honest, grateful look that he shot him.

Every step forward, no matter how large or small, was a step in the right direction, he reminded himself as he helped his nephew change for bed.

Piles of wrapping paper lay strewn over the floor, discarded with Jess' usual level of neatness. Luke barely believed that such relatively small packages could have produced such ridiculously large quantities of wrapping.

Jess had gone for the book-shaped present first, which didn't really surprise Luke. He'd grinned when he'd ripped the paper off and revealed the title. Giving Luke a curious glance, the older man supplied:

"I asked Rory. I had no idea. She wrapped it, too."

"Huh," Jess had replied, trying very hard to sound casually disinterested. Luke smiled, knowingly. Jess' crush was more than a little apparent and, as long as it remained a harmless crush, it was quite endearing. Jess had rolled his eyes when he caught sight of his uncle's amused expression but had thanked him, anyway.

The cell phone had been a big hit and Luke had had to stress, several times, that it was not for long distance calls or calling inappropriate numbers. Jess had then succeeded in eliciting a rather long, fumbling and awkward explanation from Luke about what he constituted as an inappropriate number. Finally, after several minutes, Jess had given up and started laughing, wincing at the pressure it was putting on his ribs but beyond caring. This caused Luke to groan wearily and swat him on the head with the empty box but his uncle took it all in his stride.

And as the last of the gifts were unwrapped, and Jess leaned back against the couch, Luke could tell the excitement was wearing down and the need to sleep, reasserting itself. He was once again extremely glad the kid was ready to roll into bed without manoeuvring t-shirts over heads and pulling off socks.

"So," Luke began, leaning back next to him, with a sigh. "You just about ready to lay down for a few hours?" Silently, Jess nodded. It was a small, slow gesture, indicative of the increasing tug of sleep taking hold of him.

"I'll wake you when it's time." Jess barely responded and Luke looked closer to see his eyes were closing. He chuckled and gently nudged him with his elbow.

"Hey," he coaxed. "You with me?" No response. Luke grinned, wickedly. "I can carry you to bed, if you want?" Finally, Jess opened his eyes a crack and mumbled something distinctly affronted.

"I got you something," Jess muttered suddenly, so quietly Luke had to lean in closer to the boy to hear him.

"It's in my closet. It's not much," Jess defended, quickly, suddenly embarrassed at the admission of having bought anything at all. "Not like what you gave me. But, well, you know…it's just… something." He glanced at Luke's surprised smile and shifted a little, uncomfortably. His uncle was looking far too pleased for what was actually awaiting him when he unwrapped it.

"Don't get excited," he warned again. "I told you – it's not much. Sorry." He spared another quick glance at Luke and was alarmed to see the man looking positively emotional. "Don't get mushy!" he insisted, forcefully, backing away an inch or two.

And Luke chuckled and, before Jess could react, leant forwards and kissed him on the top of his head. The teenager pulled back, in haste, muttering darkly at the subterfuge affection and rearranging his already messy hair.

"I've got enough," Luke insisted and Jess rolled his eyes, even as the warmth spread through his chest.

"Jess?" Luke announced, all of a sudden and the serious tone to his uncle's voice, made Jess regard him, a little apprehensively.

"Serious topic." Jess nodded and waited. "New rule and this one's non-negotiable until I say otherwise." Again, Jess narrowed his eyes warily but remained silent for Luke to explain.

"I know she's your mom and I know New York's your home but I don't want you going back there without me." He paused.

"If it were up to me, I don't really want you going back at all but I understand you've still got a life there. But you don't go alone – even to see friends. I know you may think I'm interfering, being paranoid, whatever. I can live with that." He fixed Jess directly in the eye.

"What I can't live with is anything like this ever happening again. You got me?"

Tentatively, he sat back and waited for Jess' response, prepared to lay down the law, hoping he wouldn't have to. But Jess simply shrugged.

"Whatever." He looked down at his lap. "Wasn't really planning on going back much anyway. You know?"

Luke simply nodded, a bittersweet smile just creasing his lips. "Yeah, kid. I know."

Right – that's it. I really hope the last part didn't disappoint. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm sorry if some of it seemed out of character – I haven't seen much of GG so I was basing it mainly on season 2 and some of season 3.

Please, please, please, I know there's a tendency to ignore last chapters of stories but if I could ask you guys to be as brilliant as you have been so far and to let me know what you thought of this, it would really help me for future fics and would totally make my day!

Thank you!