A/N: picks up right before Rory's graduation party/ill-fated proposal. Turns out, everyone who hated the building she lived in was spot on when Rory misses her own graduation party.

"Lorelai, there you are, is Rory with you? I've been looking absolutely everywhere for her, I swear, you would think that she'd make more of an effort to be on time for her own graduation party- I blame you for not teaching her the importance of proper manners."

"Hi, Mom, nice to see you too- oh, you like my dress tonight? How nice of you to say." Emily just rolled her eyes in exasperation at her daughter's sarcasm.

"Lorelai, please be serious. We wanted to give her her gifts before all of the guests arrived, which will happen in 15 minutes, unless the Sudburys show up early like they always do- so tacky."

"Sorry Mom, I haven't seen her; we talked this afternoon after her last exam and she was just going to finish packing up before meeting us here… I know she had to wait for someone from Craigslist to come pick up their table or a lamp or something? Not sure, maybe that person was a little late and that's why she isn't here yet. Oh, look, there's Logan, maybe she's with him."

"From Craigslist? Why not just invite homeless people into her apartment to rob her? I swear, I do not understand the way this generation conducts business." Lorelai looked around the room, desperate for someone to take over the conversation before Emily Gilmore got going on yet another way Lorelai had failed in her maternal duty to Rory.

"Oh, Logan, thank God you're here! I mean… Logan, you're here!" She motioned for him to come join them, eyeing him suspiciously as he walked- he was looking around the room for Rory and seemed a bit fidgety and nervous.

Then again, she'd been on edge ever since he asked for her permission to propose- every time she got a call or a text she was sure it was going to be Rory saying it happened, and she honestly wasn't sure how she'd handle either response; if Rory said yes she would worry because she was so young and just starting real life, but then again, she didn't want Rory to lose him either- despite their differences, she'd actually come to see Logan as a good guy who genuinely loved her daughter- just because Lorelai couldn't make a relationship work to save her life, even at 40, that didn't mean she wished the same for Rory. Who knows, if her and Chris had managed to get it together sooner, maybe things would have been different.

"Well, if it isn't the two most beautiful women in the room- you both look particularly lovely tonight."

"Why thank you, Logan, how sweet of you to say." Emily smiled at the charming blond who was a little too smooth for his own good.

"Don't let my daughter hear you say that, you'll be in the doghouse for sure." Lorelai poked back.

"Well, I actually haven't seen her yet, I can't get in trouble if she isn't even here." Weird how just a few weeks ago Lorelai found that smile of his to be too smirky and annoying, she had to admit that ever since they bonded over pie during the Spring Fling, she was beginning to understand a little bit better what Rory saw in him. Despite her opinion on whether it was too soon for them to get married, and her fear of Logan whisking her daughter off to California… He really had grown on her in the last year.

"Ah, Emily, there you are, I've been looking all over for you- I have Rory's gifts all wrapped and ready to go, where is she?" Richard walked up to the group gathered by the piano and the makeshift stage.

"Well I don't know Richard, that's what we were just trying to figure out."

"She isn't here yet? But the party starts in 15 minutes, she's the guest of honor, she should be here by now."

"Well I know that Richard, but it seems that our granddaughter wasn't raised to appreciate the importance of manners and courtesy and enough common sense to understand that if one is being honored at an event, it's appropriate for that person to attend said event."

Lorelai was rolling her eyes at the jab on her parenting skills when Logan stepped in.

"It's no problem, her apartment is only 5 minutes from here, I'll give her a call and see where she is, find out if she needs a ride." He had come straight from having coffee with Honor nearby, he had wanted to talk to her about the ring that was burning a hole in his pocket and get some advice on how and when to actually propose, and Rory had been trying to finish up packing so they had agreed to meet at the party.

He took out his phone and dialed her number, surprised that it went to voicemail. He texted her a quick "you on your way?" but after a few minutes when she didn't respond he started worry a tiny bit. She had been practically surgically attached to her phone lately, hoping to hear back from papers she had sent resumes and writing samples to, and it was awfully close to the party for her to be in the shower or something.

Lorelai had also tried to call and text and she had a similar look on her face to Logan. They stood around, trying to make small talk for a few minutes, waiting to hear from Rory, while Emily looked like she was about to throw a fit. And while Lorelai always enjoyed someone else having to bear the brunt of her mother's verbal badinage, she was starting to get a weird feeling- her Mother's Sense was tingling.

Lorelai grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray while her mother looked around for servers she could yell at for something and Richard was looking for a scotch. Logan was fiddling with his phone and toying with something in his pocket that had Lorelai pretty anxious and trying not to say something in front of Richard and Emily.

And then the tension was broken by mooing. Lorelai jumped a little, having forgotten about the new ringtone she had just loaded the other day and picked up her phone without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Really, Lorelai? Cows mooing is your ringtone?"

"Yes Mom, because they're fun and they sound happy, and no one else has cows mooing as their ringtone so I don't hear 40 ringtones a day and think they're all my phone, it's distinctive."

"Hello?"

"Lore, hey, it's Chris."

"Chris? Hey, where are ya', the party is about to get started, if we ever find our missing guest of honor that is- she seems to have gone AWOL, she's probably taking a page out of Lady Gaga's book, you know, really make a grand entrance. I tell you, college graduates these days can be so overdramatic."

"Lore, I'm at Rory's apartment- I came by to give her her graduation present before the party, I thought maybe she would want to wear it to the party, if it worked with her dress, so I decided to swing by and give it to her and when I got here there were cops and an ambulance and crime scene tape and…Lore, I don't know much, but it's Rory- Rory was hurt or attacked or fell or something, I don't really know what, but the cops are here and they're telling me she's already been taken to the hospital and I can go there and talk to them there or I can wait here and talk to them, but something happened to Rory and the cops want to talk to us."

Lorelai's heart stopped beating. For the rest of her life she would swear that her body went into total organ failure instantly when she heard Chris say those words- something happened to Rory - she couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she went pale and she dropped the phone, her eyes wide.

"Lorelai, what on earth?"

Logan was the only one who the presence of mind to pick up Lorelai's phone and he heard Christopher on the other end.

"Hey, it's Logan, Lorelai is… well, I don't know, what's going on?" And as Chris repeated what he had just said to Lorelai, Logan got a similar look on his face to Lorelai, except he didn't freeze. No, whereas Lorelai went into shock mode and was frozen like a statue while Emily and Richard were standing around, trying to get her to speak, Logan asked Chris, "Which hospital?" The second Chris told him Logan was looking for his keys and was about to sprint out the door.

"Rory's been hurt, or something, she's at New Haven General, Chris is going to drive over and speak to the cops there, I'm going to meet him. Lorelai, Richard, Emily, does anyone want to come with me?" And then he realized, he hadn't driven here, his car was all the way across Campus. He swore as he pulled out his phone and called a cab service, figuring the others could figure out what was happening and how to get there themselves. As he gave the address to the taxi dispatcher he reached out for Lorelai's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze and gently pulling her along with him- she needed to get to the hospital, he needed to get to the hospital and Emily and Richard could figure out what to do with the 300 guests they had invited to this party that Rory would hate.

Even in crisis mode, Logan was the consummate gentleman, he opened Lorelai's door and helped her in, made sure she had her purse before he got in the cab himself and gave the driver the address and promised him $100 if he could get them there in under 10 minutes. They were completely silent on the way there, Lorelai barely moving, just staring out the window, straight ahead, in a very trance-like way. Meanwhile Logan's thoughts were racing a million miles a minute (unlike this damn cab, how could traffic in New Haven be so ridiculous?) . What the Hell happened? He had just talked to her about two hours ago, she had told him all about her exam that day and was telling funny, nostalgic stories from her first year at Yale as she packed up, tearing up a bit and unwilling to admit it really was her last day of College Living.

At the hospital Logan wanted to run and find Christopher and Rory, but Lorelai was still frozen, didn't even move to get out of the cab until Logan came to assist her, he couldn't leave her on her own. He helped her out of the cab and started walking as quickly as he could towards the Emergency Room, grabbing her hand and squeezing it gently, wanting to say it would be alright, but he had no idea what he was saying or doing, he didn't know what was wrong, how could he know that it would be fine?

"My daughter was brought in here, Rory Gilmore, I'm her father, I need to see her, I need to know what happened! She was with the police and in an ambulance and I don't know where she is, but she's my daughter and I need to see her right now!"

"Sir, I understand you're very upset right now, but she's in Triage at the moment so they can assess the extent of her injuries- there is a police officer with her at the moment and it's hospital policy not to let anyone in while she is unconscious until they have determined the-"

"I don't give a fuck about your protocols, that's my daughter and she's hurt and she's probably terrified and I'm her father!"

"Sir! Until the police say it is ok, or she comes to and asks for you, you are going to have to sit down." The nurse was not at all intimidated by Chris' outburst, which was impressive because he looked genuinely terrifying and she barely hit 5' tall.

That's when he turned and saw Lorelai and Logan walking towards them, Lorelai looking shell shocked and not talking- he'd never seen Lorelai not talking; normally she would be the one doing the whole Mama Bear protecting her cub routine while he was a quiet mess in the corner, but right now it almost looked like Logan was literally propping her up or she would pass out. Logan gently sat Lorelai down and went over to Chris.

"Hey, have you seen her? Do you know what happened? Did she fall or something? I caught her earlier standing on the window ledge trying to patch a hole and warned her she'd fall and break her neck. God, I hated that apartment, I hated it from the first second I saw it, I mean, no apartment that needs 8 locks to get into it and feel safe, should be lived in- and Doyle and Paris moved into their new place yesterday, so she was by herself in that horrible, shitty apartment with the drug dealers and the gang and…" Logan was cut off by Chris.

"I know, I wanted her back in a place like your's, I offered to pay for a place like yours, I begged her to let me pay for one with a doorman and all of that, but she insisted that it was the College Experience and something about George Orwell and London and Paris- I don't know, I think it's a book he wrote? Anyways she said it was important to experience life and scrub dishes and she would be fine…"

"Yeah, I got the same speech when I tried having the same conversation." And then it was quiet for a minute, both knowing how stubborn Rory could be. They got quiet, neither having anything else to say until a uniformed member of the New Haven Police Department came over.

"Excuse me, are you related to one Lorelai Leigh Gilmore?" It was so weird for Logan to hear her called that- she was Rory, Ace, not Lorelai- Lorelai was over on the chairs, silently crying, although when the cop came out she stood and moved closer towards them. It didn't seem to just be him though, Chris was obviously thrown for a second too.

"Rory, yes. We call her Rory. I'm not sure that it matters, or if you need to know that- her name is legally Lorelai, but that's her mom's name too, so she goes by Lorelai and our daughter is Rory and that's how we avoid the confusion… but if you need to call her Lorelai, that's fine too, she'll answer to that." He stopped and took a deep breath, trying to calm down before speaking again.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just feeling pretty anxious. Yes, we're Lorelai Gilmore's family. I'm her father, Christopher Hayden, I went to her apartment tonight and the police and ambulances were already there and they told me my daughter was here and I don't know what happened. This her mom, Lorelai, but I guess we already covered that one. Anyways, can you tell me what happened?" The cop had a look of pity in his eyes, a look that made Logan's heart skip at least two beats- it was bad.

"We're still trying to piece it together. It seems that was found by a neighbor approximately 35 minutes ago- the door was ajar and the neighbor thought it was odd for this apartment. Apparently they have a fairly elaborate system of locks and deadbolts on the door?" Logan nodded to confirm. "The neighbor walked in and saw on the floor, injured and unresponsive to hearing her name. She called 911 and police and EMTs were on the scene within 7 minutes. At first glance it looks like she was attacked by one or maybe two individuals. The doctors are still looking her over, trying to determine the extent of her injuries and the police are working on processing the scene and canvassing for information from neighbors. She's pretty banged up, it looks like she suffered blunt trauma to the head which explains her state of unconsciousness but there was no evidence of a gunshot or knife wound. A doctor should be out here to speak with you shortly."

"Thank you Officer... ?" Chris continued speaking to the officer but Logan's brain was running off- he couldn't figure out what the fuck had happened? Rory had been attacked in her apartment? Rory had been hit over the head with something, she was unconscious… why had he let her move back in with Paris and Doyle- why hadn't he fought her more about staying in the apartment they had together? He knew something like this was going to happen- come on, The Wire wouldn't have filmed in that building! The officer left, back behind the doors where everyone seemed to disappear so Chris, Lorelai and Logan went to find seats, Chris' arm around Lorelai, guiding her and holding her to him as she wept. Chris was crying too, but much more quietly, while he stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.

None of them had any idea how long they had sat there before a doctor and a Detective came out, asking for Chris and Lorelai. Logan stood to go with them to a private area but was stopped.

"Are you family? I'm afraid only family can come with us." And she would never be able to really say why she did it, but Lorelai took Logan's hand and said,

"He's her fiance. It's fine." That made Chris and Logan do a doubletake and Logan knew he was going to have to answer some questions later from the man, but the Detective honestly didn't seem to care, he just shrugged and let him join them in the alcove.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore-"

"Umm, I'm Mr. Hayden, this is Ms. Gilmore. And, this is, her fiance-" he glared at Logan, "Logan Huntzberger." It was a strange thing for Chris to say and for Logan to hear, felt almost surreal- but in different circumstances would probably have Logan grinning like an idiot, until Lorelai finally said something.

"Chris, for the love of God, they can call you Toucan Sam right now, what the hell does it matter? Please, what happened to my daughter, what do you know, is she alright?"

"Ms. Gilmore, I'm Detective Noonan with the New Haven Police. We responded to a call tonight for an unconscious female, one Rory Gilmore, in her apartment. The door had been left ajar and there were signs of a fight or a struggle of some kind- it appears she was in the process of moving out of the apartment?" Everyone nodded. "When we got to the scene we noticed that she had been hit pretty extensively, including a large wound to her head. She had scratches on portions of her body indicating she fought her attacker." Lorelai grasped Chris' arm, holding on for dear life as she listened to this Detective continue telling her about how her biggest fear in the world seemed to have happened. Then he looked around, making sure they weren't going to be overheard. "Look, Sir, Ma'am, there really is no easy way to say any of this, but there were signs of sexual assault at the scene and if she doesn't come to soon, we would like permission to begin processing a SAFE Kit."

Logan couldn't hear anything after that for a minute, it was like that time that he got caught in the undertow while surfing with Finn in New Zealand- there was just a roaring sound in his ears, everything seemed blurry and undefined, his face was hot and breathing was suddenly very difficult. He missed the Doctor's analysis of her condition almost entirely, he caught snatches about subdural hematomas and a fractured tibia…

"I'm sorry, a SAFE Kit?" Logan interrupted whatever he was in the process of saying.

"Yes, sir, a sexual assault forensic evidence kit. The sooner we begin gathering the evidence, the more we should get, and sometimes it's actually better to gather it all while the victim is unconscious to avoid any further trauma."

After a moment the doctor walked away, as did the Detective, after giving Lorelai and Chris a card, saying something about forms and DNA exclusionary evidence and then he just left the three of them to stand there and process what they had just heard. They looked at each other, everyone at a complete loss for words, unable to do anything but stand there and cry.

Lorelai backed up against the wall behind her and slid down, becoming just a heap on the floor. Chris ran his hands down his face and through his hair, trying to pull himself together, his hands shaking as he tried to pull out his phone, he needed to call his mother, she was watching Gigi, she'd have to stay the night.

And Logan just stood there, his hand in his pocket, grasping the blue velvet box with the gorgeous engagement ring he had purchased only a few days ago. He had been wandering around in San Francisco, thinking about how much she would like the city, he was drinking a cup of incredible coffee that made him think about her and how much he missed her and all of a sudden he realized he was standing outside of a jewelry store and everything sort of just clicked- he didn't want to just ask Rory to move to California with him, to live together- he wanted to marry her and have a family with her- it all fell into place.

He walked into the store and saw a display of art deco inspired rings and there was one with a 1.5 carat asscher cut diamond, flanked by two smaller diamonds, and sapphires set into the band. The second he saw it, he knew that was her ring, he didn't try to haggle, he didn't look at any others, he bought it on the spot- paying extra to have something engraved inside before he left the city.

And now? He found himself sitting down in the waiting area again, the ring box in hand, just staring at it. He had a plan, he was going to ask her tonight with her mom and dad and grandparents all there...they could celebrate the end of their Yale years by beginning the next step in life- it was so perfect. He had spent days writing and re-writing what he would say, going back and forth about whether to get on one knee; fuck, he'd stressed about whether he should address her as Rory, Rory Gilmore, or go super old-fashioned and use Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. He looked at the clock on the wall above the doors that made everyone disappear. It was 8:00- he would have proposed by now, had some champagne and hopefully be in the horse-drawn carriage he had rented for the night, his ring settled and safe on her finger where it would stay for the rest of her life. Then,they'd ultimately end up at the suite he reserved at the Omni in New Haven for them to continue the celebration more privately.

As Logan sat on the least comfortable chair known to mankind, thinking about the hideously cruel twist the night had taken, Chris was beside himself- screaming inside, having trouble sitting even remotely still. His daughter, his beautiful, brilliant daughter who had studied so much and worked so hard for tomorrow's graduation; instead of being out tonight and celebrating and enjoying her success, she was lying in a hospital room with doctors and police combing every inch of her for injuries, for evidence… This couldn't possibly be happening, it was so much worse than just about any nightmare he had ever had.

And almost as scary, if not scarier, Lorelai, his and Rory's rock, the bravest woman he had ever known, was a crumpled heap on the floor next to him- alternating between racking sobs and silently staring off into space, almost catatonic. She just couldn't process what was happening, Rory was her daughter and her best friend in the world- the idea that someone had hurt her precious girl was more than her brain could handle. Chris was rubbing her back, holding her hand, but he didn't think she even noticed he was there. He was going to have to be the rock for a change, at least for the time being- and he was not a rock, that was Lorelai- not him.

Sighing in acceptance he stood and walked back to the quiet alcove they had stood in while the doctor and the Detective delivered the news- taking out his and Lorelai's phones to get started. Chris let out a long breath, trying to reclaim some semblance of calm before making his first call, a call that he never thought he would have to make. He dialed Emily's cell phone- she picked up instantly, making him feel guilty for not calling sooner, they must have been terrified.

"Emily, you and Richard should come to the hospital. We're still in the Emergency Room, but we talked to the police and the doctor… she's unconscious and apparently pretty banged up- we haven't seen her yet, but we're hoping we can soon." He wasn't going to bring up any conversation about the attack. "I know you have a lot of people there-"

"Don't be ridiculous, if Rory is there, we are on our way. We'll see you shortly." And she hung up- he heard her calling for Richard as she did- they would be there soon. Now he could call his mom and ask her to keep Gigi for the next few days, he kept the details as minimal as possible, he called and left a message for his assistant in the office telling her to cancel anything he had scheduled for the next week, he let Gigi's preschool know she wouldn't be coming in the rest of the week, he called Sookie to tell her that Lorelai wouldn't be able to come in to work for the next few days, giving as few details as he could- he just couldn't explain over and over. He remembered to phone Babette and ask her to take care of Paul Anka, just saying that Lorelai was going to be in New Haven overnight. By the time he was done making calls he felt like he had just run a marathon, he was exhausted and scared and angry and completely powerless.

He walked back over to Lorelai who was staring into space, completely unfocused, seemingly cried out and numb. He knelt down next to her, trying to get her to look at him.

"Lore, I called Sookie and told her you won't be able to go to work the next few days, she said no problem, just give Rory a big hug for her, she's going to send cookies for us. I told her that Rory fell, we can figure out later what to say. Oh, your parents are on their way over, I don't know what they're doing with the party guests, but I'm sure if Emily Post had an article about this, your mother knows what it said. Oh, Babette has Paul Anka, she said don't worry about that one at all. And now, I'm going to go see if I can find something resembling coffee around here, I promise I'll be back soon. If the doctor comes out, go ahead and go in with him if they'll let you, I'll find you." He kissed the crown of her head and walked off in search of something useful to do so he wouldn't lose his mind just sitting around waiting for word.