Code of Silence || chapter 9 || What's Done Is Done
by Jewls13 and Taylor
Luke and Lorelai sat in silence. The diner was practically empty.
"I have no idea what to do," Luke sighed.
"Maybe you should talk to him," Lorelai suggested weakly, sipping her coffee.
"Right. Talk. With him," Luke argued. "He rarely talks."
"This from the monosyllabic man?" Lorelai laughed. "You say HE doesn't talk?" Luke frowned at her, and she quickly snapped her mouth shut.
"It's the only solution, Luke," Lorelai said to him. "You have to tell him what you know."
Luke sighed in resignation, looking up the stairs where he knew Jess, Bree, and Dom were watching TV. He groaned, burying his face into his folded arms. Lorelai put her hand on his back, rubbing it soothingly. "Just talk to him. Tell him you're worried."
He raised his head and nodded solemnly. "Later. When he's alone�later."
With Dom temporarily distracted in the kitchen, and Bree out somewhere, Luke gathered up his courage and asked Jess to talk with him. He fiddled with the bag of pills in his pocket.
"Okay, what's up?" Jess asked him. Luke glanced around the empty diner, a look on his face Jess couldn't read but knew meant there was trouble.
"Whoa, what's with you?"
"I think we need to talk," Luke said.
"We're not breaking up, are we? God, how can you do this to me?" Jess deadpanned.
"Jess," Luke said seriously. The smile dropped from Jess's face.
"Okay, what is it?"
Luke hesitated before saying, "It's about Bree."
Jess nodded, "What about her?"
Luke racked his brain, thinking of what to say. "I think�well, there are a few things. Why don't you sit," he suggested, motioning to the stools by the counter.
"I'll stand, thanks," Jess said, a defensive tone edging into his voice.
"Well, first, I found these," Luke began, bringing out the bag of pills. Jess's eyes went wide, which Luke mistook for guilt. "Then you were in her room instead of on the couch. And I talked to Liz�Jess, this girl is bad news."
Jess looked at him incredulously, "You asshole!"
"Jess, don't talk to me like that."
"Where do you get off stealing things, assuming, talking to Liz behind my back? You don't trust me?"
"I've trusted you for awhile now. It's her I don't trust."
"YOU don't trust her? She shouldn't trust you! Sneaking through her things, taking something so important to her."
"It shouldn't be important to her, Jess. She shouldn't be taking drugs."
Jess laughed, a coarse, brutal sound, "You know nothing."
"I know she takes these pills. I know she made you miss school. I know she's the reason you got sent here. I don't want her near you!"
"That's bullshit! You can't do that!"
"I can! She's going to ruin you, Jess. She made you miss taking the SAT's, right?"
"She didn't make me do anything."
"But you were with her right?" Jess just stood there silently. "See? She's bad news."
"It's none of your business!"
"It is my business! Maybe Liz was right," Luke said.
Jess started screaming, "Can you hear yourself? Basing your opinions on pills and a conversation with my MOTHER? You're just as bad as she is!"
"She's not welcome in my house!"
"Well then neither am I!"
Luke started to yell right back at him, but broke off. Jess turned around to see Bree standing in the doorway.
"I'll pack my stuff and be out of your way," she said in a low voice.
"Bree, wait!" Jess protested, starting towards the door as she went across the diner and up the stairs.
"Jess!" Luke said, grabbing his arm.
"Get off of me!" Jess yelled, breaking his uncle's hold and running out of the door, bumping into Lorelai as she entered.
Luke watched him run off, as Lorelai walked over and stood next to him. Dom stood in the entrance to the kitchen, and his lips started to move.
"She was sick."
Luke looked sharply at him. "What?" he and Lorelai asked in unison.
"Bree. She got sick," he said slowly, carefully, as if the words might break. "She had this thing�an ovarian cist? Jess and I took turns going to the doctor with her. Last September, that's when she had the surgery."
"Surgery?" Luke asked.
Lorelai winced, "Hysterectomy."
"Yeah." Dom confirmed. "Bree doesn't really like hospitals and the anistisia, you know the gas that they give you that knocks you unconcious�that stuff really freaks her out. Jess promised that he'd stay with her, and he did. The whole time, he never let go of her hand."
"Why didn't he say something?" Luke asked angrily.
"Well, Bree's folks, they aren't around, and she didn't want anyone finding out, especially the school. They would call her father and she really didn't want him to know. Only Jess and I knew. So we swore we'd keep it to ourselves, not tell anyone. Bree likes to keep her personal life personal." Dom explained evenly. "Besides, Jess isn't the kind of guy who feels the need to explain himself. Especially when he's being attacked...but I'm sure you already knew that."
"And the pills?"
"They are probably hormones, right?" Lorelai deduced.
"Yeah, ummm, premarin, I think it's called" Dom said. "She didn't have them for a little while�some stuff happened and�she didn't have it. She fainted because her body was suffering from the hormone loss. She really isn't supposed to go long without them. After the surgery there was some post-op infection..she's ok," he assured, "but she's still weak, no matter how much she denys it, you know?"
"Shit," Luke swore, looking down at his feet.
"Yeah," agreed Lorelai.
"I'm going to go check on Bree," Dom said, walking up the stairs.
Luke stood there, frozen, "I really screwed up, didn't I?"
"We both did," Lorelai sighed.
"Can you�?" Luke asked as a few customers came in.
"I'll watch the diner. You go find him."
Luke ran out of the diner, his eyes scanning the town. Ideas ran through his head of where he could be, but he rejected all of them. In a flash of inspiration, Luke broke into a run, heading for the park. He slowed as he neared his destination, the large trees granting him shade to cool down in.
He stopped, seeing Jess. He was sitting on the bridge over the pond, skipping pebbles over the otherwise still, calm water. The sun peeked through the overhanging trees, casting strips of light across the bridge and water.
Luke walked over and stood next to him. Jess didn't acknowledge his presence, but Luke noticed the muscles in his jaw tighten.
"Dom told us. Everything," Luke said to him, but no reaction came from his nephew. "You know you have to stay, Jess. And Bree, she's welcome anytime."
Jess stayed silent, just skipped another rock and watched it sink in the water.
"You know what? I would have done the same thing," Luke said.
"Huh?" Jess asked, finally acknowledging Luke.
"Blowing off a test, no matter how important, to be there for someone I cared about? I'd have done the same thing," Luke told him. Jess shrugged and just sat, having run out of rocks. "For what it's worth, I'm proud of you."
Jess looked at him, not saying anything. But he, the master of hiding his feelings, didn't succeed this time. It was obvious in his face how much those words meant to him.
"You really love her, don't you?" Luke said to him.
"Yeah, but�" Jess trailed off, but Luke knew what he meant.
"Never the right time, huh?"
Jess looked at him quizzically.
"Let me guess. You guys really care about each other, but you've been through too much, and it's too late."
Jess nodded, "How'd you know?"
Luke sighed and sat down next to him.
"Her name was Rachel�."
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