A/N: Response to a challenge from gilmorefanforever to write about a minor character from the show. Here is what my crazy muse came up with! About Liz.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. Even with my 14th story. Amazing isn't it?
Live, Love, Move
For as long as she could remember, she loved to move. Not sports; no sports were her brother's thing. She loved to visit different places. Even when she was a baby she would crawl all over the house. Her mother would constantly find her in closets, cabinets, and other unlikely places. When she was older she loved walking around town with her mother. When she discovered the woods next to the lake, that's where most of her time was spent. There was a sort of magic about being able to disappear into the thick vegetation, but always be safe because you know that every path out of the woods leads into Stars Hollow. She felt like she could go where ever she wanted to and it made her feel powerful.
When she turned eighteen the monumental birthday also came with monumental news. She was pregnant. No one was pleased. Her father wasn't expecting it. By looking at her brother she could tell though; he had expected it. It saddened her that he didn't expect any more from her. She almost snapped there, but knew she had to hang in and stick around. If only for her dad. But then he went to the hospital. He was in critical condition and she saw the truth. He wasn't going to make it. That night she really did snap. She had to get out of there. She couldn't stick around to watch her own father die so pitifully. After all, he looked so weak. It was all he could do to hold his own head up. She couldn't bear to be a disappointment to him, but if she stayed as a constant reminder of where his parenting skills went wrong, that would be all he remembered about her. She didn't want that, so she left. Packed her things and took off with her boyfriend to go to New York City.
Upon arriving, there was one thing about the place that she noticed. She was back in those woods again. Except, instead of being able to disappear into the vegetation, you would disappear into the crowd of people. The immense size of the city made her feel small and unnoticeable. It was such a change from Stars Hollow, but she liked it that way. One of the first things she learned to do was to navigate the subway. Once she figured that out she could go anywhere she wanted at any time. That magic was back.
She remembered the first time she started to dislike New York a little. After her baby's father had taken off she had gotten a new boyfriend. By this point her son was about five. She had just sent him across the hall to play when there was a loud pounding on her door. She opened it to see her current boyfriend standing there looking furious. He had obviously been drinking. Before she could say a word he simply slapped her across the face and stalked in. She followed him and before she knew it, he was starting to slap her again. He was hitting her, hurting her, scaring her. Finally she came to her senses and screamed. Someone heard her and was able to help her. The next week, she packed all her things and all her son's things and moved to a new apartment. It felt good to get away from that old apartment. It held too many memories for her. Upsetting memories that had to be escaped so that she could forget them. From then on, every time something bad would happen with another failed boyfriend or a lost job, she would move. Find somewhere else to live. It became her release in way. Everyone has a release. Something they do to get over the bad things in their life. Moving just happened to be her's.
When her son got in trouble she decided, without thinking about it much, to move him as well. Shipped him off to Stars Hollow. If moving was her release it might be his too. Unfortunately, that turned out to be exactly the case. Something bad happened in Stars Hollow and he ran off to California. It really wasn't fair the way her habits backfired on her. She ignored the fact that he was throwing his life away with relative ease though. She had a new boyfriend to concern herself with. He was great, so good to her. He watched out for her like no one else had before. Sure her brother had tried, but he always had that authoritive air to him. She loved him, but he couldn't give her the safety she longed for.
Now, she is married to that same boyfriend. He makes her so happy. Yes he is more than a little strange, but he would never dream of hurting her. She knows it. She sees him with their baby girl and how gentle he is with her. Her son is a published author. He settled down in a way and is actually doing something with his life. She can see now that even though she took the long way to get there, she finally has the life she always wanted. For the first time in a very long time, Liz Danes doesn't feel like moving.