"No, Rory." Venus' head shot up, panic, a feeling too dangerous to know, rising within her. Afraid the escorts would see, she swallowed it down before it could completely take over, and focused on the fragile woman in front of her.
"No, Rory." The woman repeated. "I couldn't. You know that. You know the reason I'm here. Please, just come home." As if that would be so easy. This was not Rory anymore.
"Last chance," Venus snarled. "I made you an offer, and now is your last chance to take it."
When the woman didn't react, Venus knew she had made up her mind. And as if the woman had foreseen Venus' next decision, she shook her head and sighed.
"Rory." A pause. Then, "You were such a good kid."
A bitter laugh escaped Venus' lips. Whether she was a good kid or not didn't matter now. Whether she got into Yale or not didn't matter now. The fact that she had been happy before did not matter now. It was too late.
The woman stood upright, ready to embrace what whas coming.
Finally, Venus ordered, "Shoot her," and turned away. Not wanting to watch, she ran up to the limo and stepped inside, without looking back, knowing the escorts will have taken care of it. The two gunshots rang in her ears, their echo following her all the way to base, lingering in her dining hall as she ate, haunting her mind as she lay awake in her bedchambers, haunting her dreams as she finally managed to close her eyes for sleep.
Sleep didn't last long. It must have been an hour until Venus woke up, the Rory that had been suppressed resurfacing for the first time in years, suddenly all scared and alone, facing the midnight city. "I killed my mom. I killed my mom. I killed my best friend. I killed my mom."
"Lorelai," Luke breathed as he approached his injured love. "Lorelai, hold on."
"I'm okay," she replied, slowly but steadily standing up, leaning on Luke for support, who worridly took off his flannel in an attempt to stop blood from gushing out of her arm. "I'm alright. Paris will look at it. I'm okay."
"You were lucky, this time. Please, for me, be more careful. At this rate, you'll get yourself killed!" The fear for her in his tone became more and more evident as Luke's voice rose.
Lorelai, in her early forties just stood and stared at the road Ror- No, Venus' limo had just left behind. "I know. But if that is what it takes to get my daughter back, I am ready."