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iscahmckrae · 4 years

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Perhaps Akin to Shylock - fanfic AU scene from 'Teach Me Tonight'

A/N: Scene I've always wanted to see, though I'm not sure why. During every rewatch, during a particular conversation in 'Teach Me Tonight,' I start visualizing something like this... and wish we could have seen how it actually would have gone down. Clearly, slightly AU. Don't know if I'll ever do anything more with this. But here's what spilled out of my brain:

Jess should have known it was the wrong day to set foot outside the diner… or even inside it, for that matter. Granted, that was the reason he was heading out the diner’s back door to begin with—to find someplace devoid of people and stay there with a couple of books until closing time. But the fact that he never should have left the apartment was abruptly reinforced by menacing, growled words.

“Hey, kid!” As the words were spoken, a fist grabbed the lapel of his jean jacket, effectively spinning him around.

Jess’ fists flashed upwards along with his gaze—reflexive and unaware that he gave the appearance of a cornered wild animal. His breath quickened and pulse pounded, a momentary flash of a dozen or more similar scenes flooding his mind's eye before the man's voice brought him back to the present.

“Woah…” the stranger said, raising his other hand, but not releasing the jacket, “kinda quick with the fists there, dontcha think?”

The teenager remained frozen in his defensive stance, not changing expression as he sized the man up. He didn't have many inches on Jess, nor a great many pounds… 30, maybe. And there was some muscle there, but the angry face was a soft one, with a weak set to his mouth. Jess knew he'd still come out considerably worse for wear, but also that he could hold his own if he had to.

"You’re the one who grabbed hold of me! Who are you, and what do you want?” he demanded in a tone that was as caustic as it was cautious.

“I’m Christopher Hayden, the father of the girl you put in the hospital last night! And, honestly? I want a pound of flesh—your flesh. So I guess you should keep those fists up, kid, ‘cause you're gonna need ‘em.”

Despite the violence inherent in the threat, the voice that spoke it didn't sound capable of carrying it out. (Nor did it sound like the voice of someone who would know the etymology of their own reference, and thus understand if he asked whether there was a stipulation regarding ‘one drop of Christian blood’ that could serve him as loophole deliverance. ) Still… Jess’ fists sank without a word.

“What—all of a sudden you're not gonna defend yourself? What gives?”

No beating around the bush. Jess shrugged. “I hurt your daughter,” he conceded, and his eyebrows rose and fell in defeat. “Accident or not, it's your inalienable right to clobber me… even if your dad card is long expired.”

The man standing in front of him looked a little impressed by the teenager’s willingness to accept both blame and retribution, even if his last words struck a nerve. “My dad card is expired---excuse me? What right do you have to sit in judgment--”

“I’m Rory's friend. She's never mentioned you—so, I didn't know if you were dead or alive, or if you even knew you had a kid. That indicates card-expiration,” Jess elaborated, tipping his head, as if toward his point. “Then again, I don't know whether my dad’s dead or alive either. But I do know that if he suddenly showed up and tried to make some kind of amends by beating up a friend of mine... I wouldn't take it too well. Your choice, though.”

"You have got a smart mouth, you know that?” Christopher snapped, eyes narrowed.

“Better than a stupid one…” Jess muttered, as if to himself.

"What exactly is going on out here?” Luke asked as he strode out of the diner, looking every inch ready to make good on his promise from the night before, to make anyone who came after Jess regarding the accident ‘go through him.’

“I was about to have a discussion with your nephew here about vehicle safety. With additional points on the liability a responsible person faces after crashing another person's vehicle, and about his proximity to my daughter… or, more importantly, the lack thereof,” Christopher stated evenly, managing to sound equal parts reasonable, congenial, and threatening--and it so happened that he still hadn't released his hold on Jess.

“Speaking of responsibility,” Luke began, his head tilting to one side, while pushing up his sleeves alternately, and utilizing the same vocal qualities as the man who had laid hands on Jess, “any discussion of those points will be taking place between him and me, though most of it we’ve already covered. If you want to put in your own two cents, you and I can have that discussion, and I’ll gladly relay the pertinent details to Jess; since I am his guardian. Meanwhile, I would strongly suggest that you let go of him.”

“Thanks for the friendly advice; but since I’m the one whose kid he hurt, I will deal with the situation as I see fit.”

Luke took a single step forward. “Over my dead body.” The words were spoken mildly, considering what they were; but, still, they were spoken.

Jess raised a hand. “Can I vote for no killing to take place, on my behalf, or otherwise?”

Christopher ignored the teen’s interjection and kept addressing Luke. “You are so begging for a lawsuit right now.”

“For what? I’m payin’ for the car and whatever medical bills come out of this; so what is it you’re gonna sue me for? Not lettin’ you take it out of his hide?”

“Pain and suffering, for starters,” Chris drawled.

“Whose?”

“What do you mean, ‘Whose?’—Rory’s!” he spat out, leaning toward Luke and tugging Jess along with him.

“Hey, I’m the last guy who’s gonna stand by and watch Rory suffer, and do nothin’ about it. But, last I checked, you’re not Rory's guardian. Now if Lorelai wants money to compensate for Rory's suffering, I’ll discuss that with her.”

“Yeah, well you better lawyer up, because I will have my attorneys on her side.”

“You don't seem to understand that Lorelai and I are on the SAME side, Rory's side, taking care of whatever she needs. You wanna help with that, that’s great. I’m sure Rory would enjoy having you around for a change. But I’m not fighting Lorelai for anything; and she KNOWS that.” He turned to Jess. “Could you please go in and pour some coffee?”

Jess raised his eyebrows quizzically. “Gladly, if…” he gestured toward Christopher's hand.

“Would you please take your hands off my nephew and employee so he can get back to work?”

Christopher glared for a moment, then dramatically released his grip, stepping backward. “Fine...but I don't want him anywhere near my daughter, ever again. You got that?” He addressed the last part to Jess, leveling a hard look at him.

Jess’ head fell forward. “I’ll leave that entirely up to Rory,” Jess said acidly, stepping quickly inside the diner before Christopher could respond.

"You make sure he stays away, unless you want to deal with a restraining order.”

Luke rolled his eyes and followed Jess into the diner.

#gilmore girls #jess mariano #christopher hayden #luke danes #the merchant of venice #teach me tonight

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