Rory and Charlotte were resting their heads on the kitchen table very early on Saturday morning.

"Could you please just make some coffee?" Lorelai called from the other room.

"No! We're not doing anything for you ever!" Charlotte shouted.

"Don't be mad." Lorelai called.

"You set our alarm for 5:15 a.m!" Rory exclaimed.

"I know, but I did it for purely practical reasons." Lorelai said walking into the kitchen.

"Which are?" Rory asked.

"My alarm is just not as reliable as your screams." She joked.

"You will pay." Rory scowled.

"I hate you." Charlotte mumbled.

"That's fine, girls. Now, coffee?" She grinned.

"Tell me again why we have to get up at this hour." Charlotte grumbled.

"Because Luke wants to make the most of the day and besides we're coming home tomorrow. We want as much time there as possible."

"Here's the coffee." Rory scowled at her mother before giving a mug to Charlotte as well.

"I love you." Charlotte exclaimed sipping the coffee.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"That'll be Tristan." Rory said heading towards the door. She opened it and sure enough, there was Tristan stood on the porch. "You're not a bed."

"Someone's cranky." Tristan smirked.

"We're all cranky." Charlotte said appearing from the kitchen. "Because someone decided to set our alarm earlier than it needed to be set."

"Ah..." Tristan said. "I will try not to feel too unloved then by that welcome." He joked.

"Sorry." Rory said smirking slightly. "Hi." She said again, giving him a kiss.

"Hi." He smiled following them through to the living room.

The doorbell rang again causing Lorelai to rush through from the kitchen. "Showtime!" She said, opening the door to find Luke and Jess stood there.

"Hi." Luke smiled.

"Hey!" Lorelai smiled giving him a quick kiss.

"Coffee and donuts." He said holding up a takeout bag.

"I love you!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"I assumed you've already had coffee but thought I wouldn't hear the end of it if I didn't bring any." He said.

"Yeah well I've actually only had half a mug because some people refused to make me any!" She said as she led them through to the living room.

"Because you set our alarm just so we would wake you up!" Charlotte said. "And don't think you're off the hook!" She said pointing at Luke. "I knew it was your idea to leave this early." She scowled.

"Good morning to you too." Luke smirked.

"Seems to be a good morning for just the two of you then..." Jess grumbled.

"Aw what's up with you?" Lorelai asked.

"He set my alarm an hour early." Jess scowled.

"Because you take like an hour getting ready! I didn't want us to be late!" Luke said.

"Whatever." Jess grumbled sleepily.

"Ok let's get going. You guys can sleep in the car." He said.

"Sounds good." Lorelai said. "Let's get this show on the road!"

It took them a couple of hours and several coffee stops on the way but they finally found themselves at Luke's cabin. Everyone was a bit more awake than they were before.

"Wow it's amazing!" Charlotte exclaimed taking in the scenery and already thinking about the sketches she could do.

"Yeah it's really pretty." Lorelai smiled.

The four teenagers headed off together after dumping their bags by the cabin, leaving Luke and Lorelai to unload the rest of their stuff. "Do you come here lots?" Lorelai asked Luke.

"Not really." He said. "I've only actually been here once since my dad passed away." He admitted.

"Oh Luke, I'm sorry..." Lorelai said.

"No it's ok." Luke said. "I wanted to show it to you. And to Jess." He smiled. "My parents would have wanted that."

Lorelai smiled at him. "Well I'm glad you've brought us." She said softly.

Luke smiled and they carried their stuff to the cabin. "Fancy a walk before we unpack all this?" He asked.

"Sure." She nodded.

"Good. Let's go." Luke said, smiling as he felt Lorelai link arms with him.

They walked for about an hour before they decided to sit down on a bench overlooking the lake.

"It really is beautiful here." Lorelai smiled leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know." Luke said.

"Did you come here lots as a kid?" She asked.

"Most summers, yeah." He nodded. "And the odd weekend as well."

"That must have been fun." Lorelai smiled softly.

Luke smiled slightly. "Yeah it was." He said. "My parents loved it here." He admitted.

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked turning to him.

"Yeah." He said softly. "My dad and I would go off fishing and my mom and Liz would often stay at the cabin or go off for a walk. And then we would meet back at the cabin for dinner."

"Sounds lovely." Lorelai smiled.

"Yeah.." He said quietly, swallowing a lump that was forming in his throat due to talk about his parents.

Lorelai glanced at him. "Were the four of you close, you know, when you and Liz were kids?" She asked. She was genuinely interested but she didn't want to upset him.

"Yeah I guess we were." Luke said thinking back to that time. "Mom and Liz were very close, I guess that's why Liz went off the rails. Losing mom was hard on all of us but Liz just couldn't cope." He said.

"I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you all." Lorelai said quietly.

"It was really hard. Dad was devastated but was trying to stay strong for us and trying to keep Liz from falling apart and me...well I was just trying to to stay strong for all of them." Luke admitted.

"Sounds like the Luke I know." Lorelai said strongly.

Luke gave her a small smile. "Anyway, Liz continued acting out and then we found out she was pregnant..."

"How did your dad react?" Lorelai asked.

"He was shocked but he got his head round it and vowed to support her. We both did." Luke said. "Liz actually improved a bit and she felt like the old Liz again but then Jess was born and she turned back to her old habits. Left Jess with us to look after while she went out drinking with her mates. Don't get me wrong, dad adored Jess and loved looking after him but she took no responsibility at all. Next thing we know, she's buggering off to New York with Jess with Jimmy, the deadbeat father, to make a life for themselves. Well of course then Jimmy deserted them almost straight away but Liz stayed there with Jess. Dad begged them to come home but she wouldn't. She wouldn't even come when she found out he was ill. She said she couldn't face it all again." He said quietly.

"That must have been hard for you." Lorelai said softly.

"Dad wanted to see them one last time but Liz refused to come. I will never forgive her for that. Never." He said.

"I'm sorry." She said sympathetically.

Luke sighed. "It just gets to me. Dad was dying and all he wanted was to say goodbye to his daughter and see his grandson one last time. She refused. Who does that?" He exclaimed.

"I don't know..." Lorelai said.

"I mean I know you had bad times with your folks but if your mother rang you saying your father was dying and wanted to see you and the girls, whatever crap you were going through with them, you'd go right?" He asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Of course. I'd be straight there." She admitted.

"Exactly." Luke said.

They suddenly heard laughter coming from across the water. They looked across to see the four teenagers having changed into their swimming clothes and were now swimming in the lake. Lorelai smiled as she watched Charlotte push Jess in and then, in return, Jess held out his hand to her for her to help him out but he ended up pulling her into the water himself.

"I got him so wrong, didn't I?" Lorelai said softly.

Luke glanced at her and smiled. "You had every right to worry. She's your daughter." He said.

"I know. But I held the grudge too long. I let that first impression of him cloud my whole judgement." Lorelai sighed. "Everyone tried to tell me..."

"Lorelai, it's ok. I'm sure Jess himself would admit he didn't exactly give you a reason to like him." Luke said smirking slightly.

"I know." She laughed. "But still..." She said looking across the water. "They really do make each other happy, don't they?"

"Yeah." Luke said smiling as he watched his nephew. "Yeah they do."

After grabbing their towels and drying themselves off Rory and Tristan headed back towards the cabin as Charlotte and Jess sat on a bench for a bit.

"I'm glad you came." Rory smiled as she walked holding hands with Tristan.

"Well thank you for inviting me. I was happy to come." He smiled.

"You can thank Luke for that. It was all him." Rory said.

"Oh and there I was thinking my girlfriend actually wanted to spend the weekend with me." Tristan smirked.

"Sorry!" Rory smirked.

Tristan chuckled. "I'm still glad I came."

"Me too." Rory smiled up at him.

Tristan smiled picking up her hand and kissing it. "I love you." He said.

"I love you too." Rory smiled softly.

Meanwhile, back by the lake, Charlotte and Jess were sat snuggled up to each other just taking in the view.

"Did you ever come here when you were young?" She asked him.

"I'm not sure. I think I might have done when I was a baby but I don't remember." Jess shrugged.

Charlotte glanced at him. "Do you remember Luke's dad?" She asked.

"Vaguely but I'm not sure if that might just be because of photos. I wish I'd known him better." He said.

"Yeah?"

"Luke had to go through a lot with him being ill and stuff. I just wish I'd been around to help." Jess shrugged.

"Jess, you were just a kid..." Charlotte said softly.

"I know but still..." He said.

"Well I think it meant a lot to Luke that you agreed to come here. He obviously wanted to share it with you." Charlotte smiled.

"Yeah." Jess said. There was a moment of silence. He glanced across at her. "I don't think I'm going to graduate..." He said quietly.

"What?" Charlotte said shocked, turning her head back round to him.

Jess sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "I found out yesterday."

"I don't understand..." Charlotte said.

"Apparently I haven't attended enough classes in order to get enough credit." Jess admitted.

"What do you mean haven't attended enough classes? You go everyday!" Charlotte exclaimed. She saw his guilty look. "Or not..." She frowned.

"I've taken the odd shift at Wal-Mart." He admitted.

"Jess!"

"Only the odd one! I thought I'd gone to school enough. I thought it was ok!" Jess exclaimed.

Charlotte let out a heavy breath. "Ok, well can't you make it up now? You're smart enough. Just make it up now!" She said.

"I can't. I've missed too much." Jess admitted.

"Have you told Luke?" She asked.

"No and I'm not going to." He said.

"What? Why not? You have to!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Because he's made it clear before that if I don't graduate, I'm out. That's it!" Jess said.

"No he won't. You need to talk to him."

"No I don't."

"What, so you just want to bury your head in the ground? Feel sorry for yourself? If you don't make the effort to make this right, Jess, yes Luke will probably kick you out. Is that what you want?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't need school." He argued.

"Oh my god! Jess, you need to graduate at least! I can't believe this!" Charlotte said getting up.

"Where are you going?" He exclaimed.

"Away from you! If you want to throw your life away, then fine! But don't expect me to be here to see it!" She snapped before storming off.

Jess returned to the cabin a lot later that afternoon, to find everyone outside having some food.

"Ah there you are! Where have you been?" Luke said spotting him.

"Just...walking." Jess said glancing at Charlotte who was avoiding his gaze.

"Well there's some food left if you're hungry." Lorelai smiled at him.

"Thanks." He grunted. He glanced at Charlotte again. "Can we talk?"

"No." She said getting up.

"Where are you going now?" He exclaimed.

"To sketch!" She snapped before walking off.

"Charlotte!" Jess exclaimed. He groaned before sitting down. He ate his food before getting up and walking towards Luke and Lorelai who were sat by the lake. "I need to talk to you." He said.

Luke looked up at him. "Uh..ok." He said.

"I'll go finish the unpacking." Lorelai smiled making herself scarce.

Jess took her place on the bench. "I need to talk to you."

"You've said that already." Luke said. He glanced at him. "What's wrong?"

"Why do you think something's wrong?" Jess retorted.

"Because Charlotte bit your head off when you tried to talk to her. What, have you two had a fight or something?"

Jess sighed. "You could say that."

"Why?"

"Because I told her I'm not graduating." Jess admitted.

"You're what?" Luke said shocked.

"Don't freak out..."

"Jess..." He warned.

Jess sighed. "I missed too many classes and I don't have enough time to make it up. I'm not graduating."

Luke was quiet for a moment. "You're not graduating." He repeated.

"No..." Jess said nervously.

"Ok, well then you'll quit Wal-Mart as of next week. And then you will retake the year, properly this time, and you will graduate." Luke said calmly.

"Wait, you're not kicking me out?" Jess asked surprised.

"Why? Would you rather get kicked out?" Luke asked.

"No but...I'd rather do anything than take another year of school. I hate school. It's not me." Jess admitted.

Luke sighed. "Jess, education is key for your future. You need qualifications."

"You didn't!" Jess pointed out. "And you're doing fine."

"Yes, I didn't go to college but I did graduate high school. I didn't have a choice about college but you do, Jess. You're smart! I want you to have more than I did. I want you to be able to do it all." Luke said.

"But I don't want that!" Jess exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Luke frowned. "Jess..."

"No, you don't get it! I don't want to go to college. I don't want to be better than you. I want to...well I just want to be you." Jess said quietly.

"What?" Luke said surprised.

"Or like you." Jess shrugged.

"Jess..." Luke said softly.

"You don't get it. I hate school but since I came here you made me go. You keep telling me I could be anything I want and do anything I want to do." Jess said.

"You can."

"Well I know what I want to do." Jess said.

"What? Work in Wal-Mart?" Luke said smirking slightly.

"No. Write a book." Jess admitted.

"What?" He said surprised.

"Huh. I've never told anyone that before." Jess said.

"You want to write a book?" Luke asked.

"I've been writing songs lately and it's reminded me that I've always wanted to write a book one day. Although I made the mistake of telling my mom that once. She laughed at me and said it would never happen." He sighed. "But being here and you...believing in me..."

"It'll happen." Luke said firmly.

Jess smiled slightly. "It's made me believe again."

"You need to graduate school first though." Luke said. "Look, I get that college isn't for everyone but you need to at least graduate high school."

"I know." Jess sighed. "Just don't expect me to enjoy it."

Luke smirked. "Oh I definitely wouldn't expect that." He chuckled. He then turned seriously. "But I do expect you to actually..."

"Show up. Yeah I know. I will." Jess said.

"Good." Luke said.

Jess glanced at me. "Thanks for not kicking me out."

"Thanks for coming to talk to me." Luke said.

"I've actually come round to that crazy town." Jess smirked.

Luke chuckled. "Yeah it does that to ya." He glanced at him and smiled. "Now go." He said playfully pushing his shoulder.

"Go where?"

"Go make up with Charlotte." Luke said.

Jess sighed. "Don't know if it will be that easy."

"It will. I believe it will so it will." Luke smirked.

"Ah geez! I should never have bigged up your ego!" Jess groaned.

"Go on!" Luke chuckled. "You two always make up after fights. You'll be fine."

"Yeah ok." Jess said getting up. He glanced at his uncle. "Thanks Uncle Luke." He said sincerely.

Luke smiled at him. "You're welcome. Now go! Unless you want to get pushed into a lake again."

Jess smirked. "I'm going."

"Meet back here for dinner ok?" Luke said.

"Ok." Jess nodded before walking off in search of Charlotte, leaving Luke looking out at the lake with a small satisfied smile on his face.