Carlisle's Travels

Meeting the Gilmore Girls

This one wasn't in my plans at all but it just came to me... It's not much, but you know how it is. The idea is stuck in the head until you manage to write it down and publish it so here it is.

The second story in my Carlisle's travels series.

Merry Christmas (Happy holidays).

Enjoy ;-)

Lorelei Candice Black

It had been a long day for Carlisle. He was working in Hartford General's Hospital, in Connecticut and had spent his day running between patients in the ER because 2 of the other doctors had called in sick (the irony!) and because he was the most qualified.

It was a quiet place with small woods close enough and they had chosen it because, since it was just him, Esmee and Edward for the time being, it was enough and a nice change from their usual places. Alice and Jasper were traveling through Europe with Rosalie and Emmett and Edward hadn't wanted to go. He didn't want to feel like the fifth wheel and Carlisle understood the feeling well. All in all, it was pretty nice to be just the three of them once again like it had been at the beginning.

At the moment, Carlisle was hunting, on his own. Esmee and Edward had gone earlier, while he was working and he wanted to go now because Alice had warned him that he'd be called in earlier than planned for a big bloody emergency. He had just drained a deer when the smell of human blood caught his nose. It wasn't much blood but it would have been enough to drive crazy any other Cold One who had just hunted and fed. Thankfully, Carlisle wasn't really bothered by the small anymore and he decided to go and check it out. Even though he doubted the situation was a life or death one, he wanted to see if his help was needed.

The smell pulled him to a small road where a teenage girl, no older than 18 was cursing by the side of her car.

"Dammit, why don't you want to work you stupid car thingy! Don't worry Rory, we'll be back in time for your bottle, I promise." she spat, dropping the wrench on the floor.

He couldn't help himself, Carlisle chuckled, informing her of his presence as he did so. The young woman jumped and that's only at this moment that the doctor noticed the baby asleep in the car-seat. The baby couldn't be older than 10 months.

"Sorry Miss, I didn't mean to startle you. I was taking my weekly walk through the woods when I noticed you might need some help." he apologized with a smile.

"Thank God you're not some crazy ax murderer. I mean, not that you couldn't be, you certainly look strong enough to be one but I mean that you look like a good guy and an ax murderer wouldn't apologize or try being polite, he'd just murder us." She replied, blushing slightly, making Carlisle wonder why she'd even consider the possibility of an ax murderer around, he hadn't heard anything.

"Is this even a possibility around here?" he asked her with a smile.

"I don't know, nothing ever happen's so far but it could always start and I'd hate to be his first victim. I mean I'm too young, you know. I still have a lot to do before I leave this world, a lot to do to leave a trace." She replied, glancing at the sleeping child.

"Anyway, you want me to help you change your tire?" he asked her, trying not to chuckle too much at her.

"I'd love that, thanks. Usually, I'm pretty good at handling things on my own, you know. I mean, I'm only 17 but I had my Rory on my own, left my parent's house and found a job and a place to stay without Richard or Emily's help, that's my parents by the way. I did everything on my own because I didn't want them to rule my life, I wanted to live it freely. I mean, it's my life, not theirs, right? I didn't want to be a mini them. Anyway, I was trying to change the tire myself but the damn thing just refuses to work for me. I'm Lorelei by the way. Lorelei Gilmore." She told him.

"Nice to meet you Lorelei. I'm Carlisle Cullen." he shook her hand before taking her jack out of the open trunk of her car and putting it in place, making sure she could see what he was doing so she could do it again on her own later.

"I think I've heard your name before... Are you or your parents friends of my parents?" she asked him.

"I don't know, who are your parents?" he asked her.

He had, actually, made a few temporary friends among the people of Hartford.

"I mentioned them earlier during my babbling, I do that a lot. Babble I mean, not mention my parents. They're Richard and Emily Gilmore." She told him.

"Ha, yes, I have met them once at a charity for the hospital. I work there." he replied, doing his best to work at a human speed.

"Oh, you're THAT Carlisle Cullen, the doctor!" She exclaimed.

"I am, why? Have you heard of me?" he asked her.

"Well, you started a couple of days before I gave birth to Rory. I heard a few of the nurses saying how handsome you looked and how sorry they were that you were married. I get what they mean, you are one very good looking doctor." She replied with a smile.

"To tell you the truth, I have had to remind a few nurses that I was married." he chuckled.

"Well, a doctor and a chivalrous man is a rare thing. Thank you for stopping by and helping me, really." She smiled, holding a paper tissue to her bleeding hand.

"Do you want me to look at it?" He asked her once he was done changing her tire.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it. It already stopped bleeding. I'll clean it off with one of Rory's wipes and do it better once I get back home." She waved it off.

"So, I gather from your babbling that you don't live with your parents anymore. Why is that? Surely it would be easier for someone as young as you are." he asked her, not judging her by her age, as he placed the broken tire and the tools back in her trunk.

"Well, Richard and Emily might be nice people deep down but they don't get me. They never understood who I was and they wanted me to marry Rory's father. They want my life to be like theirs but it's not what I want. I don't want my daughter to grow up like I did. I want her to have more freedom... not that I was unhappy, I mean, I had everything I needed and all but... I don't know how to explain... They are too demanding, authoritative and suffocating." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I understand. Well, your tire is changed but you should go to a garage as soon as possible." He advised her.

"I'll drop the car at Gypsy's tonight." Lorelei nodded.

"I don't believe I know this place... Where is it?" He asked her.

"Not in Hartford. It's in Stars Hollow, where I live." She informed him.

"I see. Tried to move as far away from your parents as you could." he smiled.

"It's only 30 minutes away but it feels like another world sometimes. I fit in Stars Hollow, I'm happier than I've ever been with them, not that they care." She shook her head.

"I'm sure they do care. They might not be good at showing it to you or anyone else but they are parents, they have to care."

"Then why didn't they try to contact me after I told them where I was staying?" She asked him.

"Maybe they didn't think that you really wanted them there, maybe you leaving hurt their pride. The holidays are coming, you could reach out to them for this occasion. If not for you, for your daughter. She deserves to have some knowledge of her grandparents, no?" Carlisle advised her, imagining himself in her parent's situation.

"Do you really think they'd want to see me?" She asked him with a frown.

"I do and if they are half as smart as they appeared to be when I met them, they'll be proud of you for going this far on your own. They might not show it, but they will most definitely be proud." He assured her.

"You might be right... I'll call them tomorrow, or send them a letter or something."

He could see that she wasn't a fan of the idea so he offered another solution:

"If you're afraid of their reaction, you might consider just sending them a Christmas card with a recent picture of you and your daughter, see how they react to that."

"Now that's a great idea! Thanks!" She exclaimed happily.

"You're welcome, Always happy to help." He smiled.

"Can I at least drop you off somewhere to thank you?" She asked him.

"That's nice of you but my car isn't parked far from here. I'll just continue my walk and go home." He shook his head.

"Well, it was very nice to meet you Doctor Cullen, I hope I'll see you again. Not at the hospital though, I don't want to have to go there. I meant cross you on the street. Well, I don't walk the streets of Hartford often anymore but you never know, right?" She blushed at her own babbling.

"Have a safe drive home and don't forget to go to a garage." He reminded her with an amused smile before he watched her drive off.

She was amusing, a breath of fresh air and he knew that she'd have been at least a friend to Edward, unfortunately, she had a child who needed her and she seemed to love life way too much to become a vampire.

When he finally got home, Carlisle told Esmee and Edward why he was late and Esmee told him that she had heard of Lorelei Gilmore from the high society gossip.

"I crossed her parents a couple of times. They were thinking about her. I don't think reconnecting will be too easy. It will take time. They're both very attached to their pride and she seems to take after them in that department." Edward explained to him with a frown.

"Well, I wish her the best. She truly was a breath of fresh air." Carlisle smiled.

.

Years later, Carlisle and Esmee went back to Hartford for a romantic get-away week-end. Edward was on vacation in Alaska with Bella, Renesmee, Jacob and Charlie, Emmett and Rosalie were visiting their friends from the Amazon forest and Alice and Jasper were visiting Peter and Charlotte. It was the perfect time for them to spend some alone time.

"Do you think someone will recognize us?" She asked him.

"Alice said it would be fine." Carlisle shook his head, trusting his daughter with her previsions.

"But you're hopping to find out what happened to Lorelei Gilmore, don't you?" She asked, knowing him well.

"Well, obviously I can't let her see me but yes, I'd love to find out what became of her. Too bad we don't have Edward with us to read her parent's minds."

"Maybe we could go and visit Stars Hollow. They do have an antic store there. If she still lives there, you'll be able to find something out."

"What if we cross her? She can't see me." He shook his head.

"You'll be faster than her and hide. It'll be fine otherwise Alice will see it and call. Don't worry too much." She replied, knowing she'd convince him.

"Fine. But don't pretend this is for me checking on the young one, I know you're just dying to check out this antic store." He joked.

"You know me so well!" She exclaimed before kissing him quickly and leading him back to their car."

When they arrived in town, it looked like something was being prepared. They could hear most of the town in Miss Patty's studio.

"What can you hear?" Esmee asked him, knowing that he was better than her at separating different sounds and voices.

"Rory Gilmore is leaving town to follow the presidential campaign as a journalist and they're throwing a party to see her off. It's a surprise. Apparently, Lorelei now owns the Inn in town." he told her.

"It's a good thing that we didn't rent a room there then." She smiled.

"Apparently, everything is fine for them. They're happy." he guessed.

"You want to go and try to see them?" She asked him.

"We won't have to, look, here they come." he pointed out in front of him while back off to hide in the shadows of a nearby tree.

From afar, they could hear that Rory was trying to say goodbye to everyone and they chuckled as Miss Patty said that she couldn't see then right now because she was 'consulting her muses' in the darkness of her dance studio.

"Will you keep on going to Friday night's dinner with grandma and grandpa?" They heard Rory asking her mother and Carlisle listen closely, wanting to know if the young woman had fixed her relationship with her parents or not.

"Yes, of course. I'm used to it now and I think I'd miss it if I stopped going. I think that's why they keep on trying to find excuses to give me money. They want to make another deal like we did for your schooling." Lorelei replied.

"Well, that's the reason why things got better. They don't want to lose you again and they're afraid that without me, you won't show up anymore." Rory smiled.

"I know, don't worry, I'll find a way to reassure them later." Lorelei replied, leading her daughter to another corner of the town.

"Reassured now dear?" Esmee asked her husband.

"I am. It's nice to see that they ended up fine, that the baby that was in the car is now a grown woman about to go off in the world." he replied.

"And knowing you, you'll keep an eye on them to make sure they're fine."

"We'll just check on them every few decades." he chuckled before leading his wife to Ms Kim's antic shop.

I know that it was short but it's all I have for now. I hope you still liked it.

A little review please? They're better than candy to me.

Happy holidays to all!

Lorelei Candice Black