Disclaimer: I own nothing, as usual!

Thank you all so much for the reviews for last chapter, I really appreciate it.

Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, I was super sick the first half of this week.

Well, I hope you all enjoy the last chapter!

Please review!

:)

Rory entered the diner, the bell ringing above the door. She eagerly looked around, trying to spot the familiar black gelled hair. Her mind had been stuck on Jess since their small chat the day before. It pained her to see her friend so off, and she was really worried about him. Sadly, she hadn't had time to come to the diner that morning, she had promised that time to Dean. The time with her boyfriend hadn't been bad, really, but every time she looked at him, she was thinking of Jess. Was he okay? What had he meant yesterday? No matter how much she tried to pay attention to Dean, her mind couldn't get off her black haired friend.

She made her way over to the counter and sat down on a stool. Luke walked out from the back, two plates filled with food in his hands, giving her a smile. She watched as he placed the plates down in front of two hungry customers before he headed behind the counter.

"Hi," she greeted him cheerfully, resting her elbows against the countertop. She took another quick glance around the diner, trying to spot Jess.

"He's upstairs" Rory snapped her head back towards Luke. The diner owner pointed towards the stairs with his thumb, a smirk on his face.

"Oh," she nodded, glancing over towards the curtain before looking back towards Luke, "How is he?"

"He's...good," Luke hadn't really spoken to his nephew since their conversation the night before. Sure, they had a few brief interactions, the usual sarcastic banter, but he and the boy hadn't really talked about how he was since the night before. In Luke's eyes, his nephew seemed much better, less tense and more at ease. Sure, he knew Jess felt a bit exposed since their talk the night before, but he felt like the talk was really what the boy needed. He needed someone to open up to, that secret was a hard burden to carry alone.

Rory smiled and glanced back over towards the curtain. For some odd reason, she was dying to see her friend. She had been so worried and she had felt like she should have been with him, helped him in some way. She wanted to be with Jess the whole time she was with - - no, she had wanted to be with Dean, she had. She was just worried about Jess, that was it. Her friend was troubled and she wanted to help him, wanted to be with him. There was no other reason than that, right? The thought continued to bother her as she looked up the stairs.

"You can go up if you want," Luke caught her attention with the suggestion, her head quickly turning to look at the man. Her cheeks turned a light pink and she stood up.

"Alright," she nodded, taking a few steps back, "Thanks, Luke." She gave the man a quick smile before making her way quickly towards the stairs. She pushed the curtain aside and headed up to Luke's apartment. She could hear music blasting from the door. She smiled.

"The Clash," she mumbled to herself. She could hear 'The Guns Of Brixton' playing loudly. Stepping towards the door, she grasped the handle. She could see her friend's blurred form sitting on his mattress, a book in his hand. She turned the handle and opened the door, Jess perking up at the sound of its creaking.

As Jess saw the blue-eyed girl enter the room, a smile appeared on his face. He had first thought it was Luke, his uncle had been coming up a lot lately, but Rory was quite a pleasant sight. He shut his book and placed it on the ground.

"Hi," she spoke first, giving Jess a smile. She shifted from heel to heel as she watched the boy smile at her.

"What brings a girl like you up to a place like this?" he teased, giving his friend a smirk.

Rory was flustered, "I thought I'd risk the danger to see how you were." She took a few steps closer to Jess and sat down next to him. "And from what I can see, you look much better," she smiled, "Less corpse-like."

Jess chuckled, "I was going for a new look. Thought since the cadaverous look didn't seem to work too well for me I'd try out a more lively appearance," he smirked, "Glad to see you like it."

"It's very suiting," she acknowledged. She looked over to the pile of books that sat near his bed, "You get through that lengthy Dickens yet?" she sweetly inquired, picking up the book that sat at his bed.

"Making my way through it," he watched as she opened the book, skimming the pages.

She shut the book and handed it over to Jess, "So," she lingered on the word, "I came to see if you kept your promise." Jess placed the book back down on his bed.

"You did, didn't you?" He only smirked in response. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ears and watched him carefully, waiting for an answer.

"Well...did you?" she asked, watching her friend pull a cigarette out of his pocket. He placed the stick in-between his lips.

"I promised, didn't I?" he pulled out a lighter and flicked it open, an orange flame igniting and lighting the end of the stick. He took a drag and smiled at her, "I keep my promises."

She watched as Jess inhaled and exhaled, a cloud of smoke escaping his lungs. Her heart raced. She couldn't help but notice how sexy--no, she stopped herself, she couldn't think that, not about Jess. Dean, yes. Jess, no. Jess was just a friend, she couldn't notice those things about him and besides, she had to remind herself, he was smoking a "cancer stick"--not very becoming at all. Dean was her boyfriend, not Jess. She sighed. But she had to admit, there was something about Jess. She wasn't sure whether it was his appearance, his attitude, his eyes, but something about him that lured her. Something that wasn't Dean...

"Rory?" Jess called her name as he waved a hand in her face. Rory blinked and noticed the amused expression on his face.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized as she watched Jess take another drag, a smug smile plastered on his face, "I was just thinking."

Jess chuckled and let out a sigh, "Oh, that prep school of yours," he mockingly shook his head, "Teaching you to think too much."

Rory playfully smacked his arm. Jess laughed and took another drag.

"Don't tell Luke I'm smoking in here," he told the girl, "He's not to keen about my bad habit in the first place."

"I won't," she swore. She watched as Jess stood up and opened the window. He swiftly flicked the stick out the window and turned his attention back to Rory.

"Everything's alright now, right?" she asked. She felt sure that everything was, but she had to hear it from Jess. She had to hear it from her friend's mouth before she could truly believe it was.

"Yes," Jess smiled as Rory stood up, "I'm fine, really." Rory still didn't look too convinced. Jess leaned against his dresser, his hands gripping onto the edge. "I talked to Luke."

Rory smiled at him, her blue eyes gleaming, "Good," she nodded her head, "I'm happy to hear you opened up. Guess you're not a Holden Caulfield completely after all..."

Jess returned the smile and looked down at his watch, "Don't say that," he nonchalantly remarked. A thought suddenly struck him, "Shit," he mumbled, "I've got to get back to work." He walked towards Rory and laid a hand on her back, "Would you like to escort me down the stairs?"

Rory giggled and began to walk with him, "It'd be my honor," she teased as they walked out the door, Jess shutting the diner door behind them.

Jess sat on the couch in the apartment, a book opened on his lap, the boy holding the pages down with his hands. He had helped Luke with the dinner rush, the man now closing shop downstairs. Jess had offered to help, but Luke had turned him down, suggesting that the kid head upstairs and wait for him. Jess had decided to read as he waited, grabbing a book from his pile and plopping down on the couch. His mind could not concentrate on the typed words though. He was eager to find out if Luke had called Liz. He knew Luke was going to call her, probably yell at her for enabling the abuse. Jess had wondered that time-to-time when he was younger, never quite able to wrap his mind around the way his mother acted. She told him that she loved him, that he was her 'baby,' but she never stopped any of her boyfriends from hitting him. If she loved him so much, why didn't she stop them? He pondered the thought for years, never truly coming up with some logical explanation as to why she didn't stop them. Maybe he just deserved it. Maybe he was truly a bad kid.

Jess peered over the apartment door, looking to see if Luke had come up from the diner yet. He was starting to get a little impatient, eagerly wanting to hear what Luke had said to his mother. He sighed and looked back down at his book. Reading would make the time go by faster. After about three pages, the sound of the door handle turning caused Jess to perk up. He looked towards the door as Luke walked in. The man gave his nephew a tired smile and shut the door behind him. He made his way over to the couch and sat down next to the boy, letting out a sigh as he plopped down.

They sat silent for a moment, Jess pretending to be trapped in his book. Luke sat beside him, his eyes closed, resting comfortably against the soft cushions of the couch.

"Talk to Liz?" Jess finally asked, breaking the silence. He glanced up at his uncle, trying to act like it didn't matter to him if the man had or not.

"Yeah," he nodded, watching his nephew fidget, his legs not seeming to want to sit still. "We talked." Thinking back to his earlier conversation with the woman made the man inwardly shudder.

"How'd that go?" Jess asked as he closed his book and gave the man his full attention, "Did you two fight?"

Luke sighed and removed his cap from his head, running a hand through his hair. "You're not going back with her, I'll make sure of it," He assured his nephew. He didn't want to tell the boy what Liz had said, even if the kid already knew it; he wouldn't let the words fall from his lips. The woman had practically told Luke that Jess had deserved every hit, every beating. She was probably the one who put that thought in Jess' head. Liz was definitely not on his good side right now. He couldn't believe his sister would just sit back and watch her only son be beaten by some drunk asshole.

"To tell you the truth, I really don't want to go back with her," Jess shrugged, leaning back. "Never really felt safe when her boyfriends were around," He added. Things still felt incredibly awkward between him and Luke; his confession had changed things between the two, that's for sure.

"Jess," Luke started, the man not knowing if he should bring the subject back up again or not. He felt the need to ask more about the abuse. He wanted to know the name of every man that had even laid a finger on the kid so he could personally beat them senselessly. "When was the last time one of them hurt you?" he asked, looking over at his nephew.

The boy sat silently, his brown eyes staring straight ahead. Jess was trying not to think of the last time it had happened. He really didn't want to think about the last time he was punched, the last time he was whipped. In reality, it hadn't been that long ago. Since his arrival to Star's Hollow, events from his life in New York seemed so far away. He thought harder and it struck him: his last beating was only a few days before Liz had forced him to pack his stuff and sent him here.

Luke could tell he may have brought it up too soon, noticing how Jess seemed almost trapped in his thoughts. He didn't want to make the kid relive it, he knew it was definitely not the fondest memory to think of.

"You don't have to answer if--" he started, trying to get Jess to snap out of his trance. Jess put up his hand to stop the man.

"No, it's fine, I'll tell you," the boy stuffed his hands in his pockets and let out a sigh before speaking again, "It was a few days before Liz sent me here. Her latest fling, Phil, punched me a few times. I missed my so-called curfew, which had apparently had just gone into affect that day without me knowing." The boy tried to shrug it off as if it was nothing.

Luke was at a loss for words, so many thoughts wandering his mind. "Jess, I'm so sorry," Luke spoke, trying to hide the anger that was raging inside him. Anyone who hurt his nephew deserved to be beaten ten times worse, and Luke would gladly do it.

"Why?" Jess asked, looking over at his uncle as he slid down the couch, "You didn't do anything." He threw his book onto his pile and looked towards his uncle. They sat in silence for a moment, Luke not knowing exactly what to say next.

"I didn't have a nightmare last night," Jess spoke up, running a hand through his gelled hair. He thought he'd lighten up the mood with some relatively good news.

Luke smiled, relieved to hear that the boy hadn't relived another one of those terrible memories. "Good," he nodded, watching as his nephew rested his head against the couch, his eyes looking up towards the ceiling. "Do you think you won't have one tonight either?" Luke asked, watching his nephew adjust his position on the couch, sitting up and resting his elbows against his knees, placing his head in his hands. His eyes were focused on the ground, staring at his bare feet.

"Nah, I think they're gone for good," he smiled, looking towards his uncle, "Well, at least for now." He shrugged and turned his gaze back towards his feet, wiggling the toes on his right foot then left.

Luke nodded and studied his nephew. The boy seemed much calmer in comparison to how tense he had been the days before. It seemed revealing to Luke what had happened to him caused Jess to feel much more at ease, free of such a heavy burden to carry by himself. Luke was happy the boy had confided in him; he was happy the kid wasn't hiding it from him anymore. It killed Luke to know that the boy had once been dealing with the painful secret all on his own. He was going to make sure that the kid knew he was safe with him. He wasn't going to let Liz or any of her many boyfriends do anything to his young nephew ever again.

"You, uh, want to watch a movie or something?" Jess asked, looking over at his uncle. Jess wasn't in the mood to read anymore and he knew his uncle would like it if they had some sort of bonding time. The man seemed to have taken a liking to spending time with the boy, God knows why. He didn't mind it though, Jess kind of enjoyed it sometimes. Luke and him had a relationship that he and Liz never had, the relationship he used to crave for as a kid.

Luke smiled at the suggestion and nodded his head, "You can choose." Luke watched as his nephew got up and went to his duffle bag, digging through it. Luke was a bit shocked by the suggestion at first, watching a movie with his nephew was never something he thought the kid would suggest. Luke was happy that he had though, he wanted to bring some normalcy back into their relationship. Jess' confession had made things a bit awkward between the two.

Jess returned to the couch and threw a DVD case onto his uncle's lap. Luke picked up the case and read the title aloud:

"The Evil Dead?" he questioned, looking up at his nephew. Of course, the boy would pick this type of movie, the one with a man holding a chainsaw, covered with blood, on the cover. It wasn't like he'd pick something normal like Harry Potter or Cast Away.

"Give it a shot," the boy shrugged, plopping down on the couch next to the man, "The guy's got a chainsaw for an arm, not to mention the entertaining crappy claymation. It's a B-list masterpiece." Luke looked towards the boy, Jess anxiously waiting for a reply.

"Claymation?" Luke asked, a bit confused. Jess sighed and snatched the case out of his uncle's hands. He walked over to the TV and slid the DVD into the player, "Don't five year olds watch those claymation movies?" Luke questioned, crossing his arms.

"Luke, just watch it," the boy sighed, sitting back down on the couch. Luke leaned back and looked towards the screen. He'd give it a shot, for Jess' sake. It couldn't be all bad.

Luke payed close attention to the movie, trying to take in every odd and bloody scene. He had never seen a horror movie that was so odd. He thought the main character was a complete lunatic, but at the same time really enjoyed the man's crazy antics. All and all, by the time the credits had begun to roll, Luke had ended up enjoying the movie more than he thought.

The man looked towards his nephew, finding the boy fast asleep, his head resting against the arm of the chair. He understood that the kid must have been exhausted; he barely got any sleep during the last week. Luke decided to let him rest, turning off the TV and quietly walking towards the light switch. He flipped it down, the room going black. He looked towards his nephew once again and grabbed a blanket off the boy's bed. He laid it gently on top of Jess and smiled at his nephew's sleeping form.

He was relieved, watching the kid sleep peacefully as he ran a hand through Jess' gelled hair. Jess' dreams weren't interrupted by unwanted nightmares, and they hopefully wouldn't be ever again. The man sighed, glancing down at the kid, his lovable burden. He would always protect the boy, he'd never let anything scare him like that again. Luke leaned down and gently kissed the boy's sleeping head, walking off to his bed to finally get some rest of his own. He finally understood, it struck him, as he turned off his light. He finally understood what being a parent was and he could never go back.

Well, I hoped you guys liked the ending!

Thank you all so much for reading and please, please, please review!

:)