Disclaimer: We know the drill by now, all the characters are owned by the people who own them. Just my musings, so I'm grateful to be able to borrow them to clean out the plot bunnys that won't leave following the rewatch before the revival.

AN - A companion piece of sorts to A New Phase, exploring some of the things that Emily and Lorelai spoke of in that story. You do not have had to read that for this, though you might want to read it after because it's much fluffier then this will be. This story is told from Emily's perspective following Lorelai's pregnancy with Rory and beyond. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think

Prologue

Emily opened her eyes as she heard the sound of her husband's sob. It was muffled by the dressing room door. But it was the loudest sound in the world. It stabbed at her, making her squirming insides freeze and jar in pain. Richard Gilmore never cried. No that wasn't true. Richard never cried in front of her. That wasn't true either. He had only cried in front of her once. He had only cried in front of her when he had held their baby girl for the first time and his joy had overcome him. The other times, when he cried in sadness and grief he did that alone. He wouldn't let her see him as weak. He had to be the strong one. He was the provider. That was his job. Emily slowly sat up in the bed. She had been pretending to sleep hoping that the darkness would bring her comfort and she would eventually succumb to slumber. She was lying to herself. Just as if she was honest herself that she had been lying to herself for the past few weeks. Deep down she had known something was wrong. Deep down she had known what was wrong. Deep down she had known the news their fifteen year old daughter had delivered to them today had been coming. She'd just ignored the signs she herself had suffered, ignored Lorelai and what she was suffering, because to face her to actually see it, would meant she had to face up to it. Had to face up that she had failed her baby girl. Just as she had failed the others. Emily ran her hand across her face. She was too young. For a moment she wasn't sure if she was thinking about Lorelai or herself. You don't have babies when they are sixteen, you don't become a grandmother at 42. People her and Richard's age had babies. It was just…it was… With great effort she pushed herself from the bed and stumbled across to the dressing room. She slipped inside. Richard didn't even look up. He was sobbing, his hands wet with tears. Emily collapsed to the floor beside him, she felt too heavy to walk. Everything was too much. Her head came to rest on his knee. After a moment one of Richards's tear soaked hands fell onto the back of her head, his fingers twisting her long hair around his thick fingers. Normally she would find it comforting. Nothing could comfort them now. She gave a soft gasp of surprise as Richard suddenly grabbed her, lifting her off the floor and pulling her onto his lap. He buried his head into her chest, his sobbing started afresh. Emily wrapped her arms around Richard as best she could and rested her head on his. She started to cry. Thick fat tears rolling down her cheek and onto Richard's hair. In the back of her mind she knew she should be down the hall in the bedroom comforting her terrified fifteen year old daughter. But she couldn't. Not tonight. Tonight she had to try and comprehend what was happening. She had to be with Richard as they grieved over their failure as parents. Their little girl was pregnant. A month shy of her sixteenth birthday and she was pregnant. Her life was over. Emily wasn't sure if she meant her own or Lorelai's.