Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or the characters. This is just for fun.

Hi folks, here's a new fic that came to me as I was watching 'Teach Me Tonight', thinking about how it could have been so much worse. Please let me know what you think!

Chapter One

Late that Thursday evening, and after some time attempting to make her tutee, Jess study, Rory agreed to go with Jess to get ice cream. It wasn't a light decision on Rory's part to give Jess her car keys, still Rory had no idea of what would happen next.

It was an accident.

One second they were driving on the practically deserted road that linked Stars Hollow to Hartford, just talking, then a small animal darted across the road in front of their car.

Jess swerved to avoid hitting the animal, and he lost control of the car.

They were spinning, the car left the road, and collided with an old oak with such force that it seemed to rock the otherwise still night.

Everything went black, and a strong smell of gasoline filled the air.

Long time Stars Hollow residents, Babette and Morey Bell were driving home from having had dinner at their friends' house in a nearby township, when they came across the scene of a horrific accident.

"What's going on here?" Morey questioned aloud.

"Looks like there's been some kind of accident. You know they really should clean up the road better, there are bits everywhere."

Morey brought the car to a halt. "Maybe it just happened. We should go, see if there's anyone down there."

The couple walked away from their car, searching for whoever had been involved in the accident, if help hadn't already come. They couldn't have foreseen what they would find as they approached the car by foot.

Babette grasped her husband's arm, "Morey, Morey, that's..."

"I know," Morey replied, saddened and shocked. The car was Rory's.

Smoke poured from the undercarriage and front end of the crumpled car, the smell of gasoline in the air was almost enough to make them sick; it was a volatile combination.

Knowing the danger, Morey called out for his wife to go back to their car to call for help, and put herself out of danger, but the woman had no intention of leaving. Rory was like a daughter to her.

Morey was at the passenger's side of the car, as he had reached there first, and after seeing that his wife had at least stood clear, Morey tried to help the trapped occupants of the car. He could see Rory and Jess inside the smouldering car.

Jess was conscious when Morey came to their rescue; he knew that the situation was grave, he'd thought that he and Rory were going to die there alone, but he also knew that he was being pinned by the steering column, the car could explode at any moment, and there just wasn't time to get him out. Knowing that, Jess told Morey, "Please, help Rory, you have to get her out. I can't move, please just get Rory out, she has to be okay, please."

Morey heard him; and he went to work to get Rory out, he would come back for Jess if there was time. Morey tried Rory's door, but it was jammed; Morey went to the back door, after a couple of tries he managed to get it open, he was able to reach to Rory from the backseat.

Seeing Jess in the driver's seat, Morey spared a moment to offer the kid a small measure of comfort, patting him on the shoulder as he said, "Hang in there, Jess. Just give me a minute to get Rory out, and I will be back to help you. Just hang on."

"Just make sure that she's okay, please," Jess replied, resigned to his fate.

Rory was unconscious, and it was immediately clear that she had sustained severe injuries, but leaving her in the car while they waited for help would almost certainly be a death sentence.

With that in mind, Morey released Rory from her seatbelt, and awkwardly pulled her limp body from the car. As he worked, a spark from the engine ignited the spilt fuel; Morey only just got Rory out of the car before the wreckage exploded.

Rory was airlifted to the Yale-New Haven Hospital directly from the accident scene, barely alive, Jess was certainly dead, his body still trapped in the burning wreckage.

Babette and Morey were left to watch as the firefighters worked to put out the fiery blaze; they were at a loss as to what to do, and so the couple just stood, watching the car burn.

Only as the adrenaline subsided did Babette remember that someone needed to notify Lorelai and Luke. Silently Babette stepped away from where Morey was being tended to by the paramedics, having gotten some superficial burns from the explosion, she took her phone from her purse, and searched through for Lorelai's number. With a heavy heart, Babette made the call. "...Oh Lorelai, dear. Oh honey, it's Babette sugar."

Oblivious, Lorelai spoke, "Hey Babette, how're you doing? I don't know, can you tell me what was the name of that Thai place that closed a few years back? I'm going through all the old takeaway menus."

"...Lorelai."

"Yes, Babette." Lorelai noticed the sadness in her neighbour's tone. "Are you alright?"

"There's been an accident, Lorelai. Rory's hurt."

Instantly Lorelai reacted, "WHAT? Where is she? What happened?"

Usually Babette would have tried to calm her, but there was nothing she could say that would make this situation better; instead she just gave Lorelai the answers she sought, "She and Jess were driving out here on New Haven road, it really bad sugar. They took Rory to the hospital in the helicopter."

"What hospital?" It was clear to tell that Lorelai was running for her car even as she spoke.

"Yale-New Haven," Babette said resignedly.

The emergency department of the Yale-New Haven was a constant hive of activity, amongst the organised chaos was a young girl, just seventeen years old, and now close to death.

In one of their specially equipped trauma bays, the staff worked with urgency to save their young patient. It was not as much of the matter what injuries Rory had suffered, as what had injuries she had not suffered.

Fractures, brain trauma, internal injuries, and severe burns.

Lorelai was in a panic as she drove towards the hospital, she didn't even think that the route she took would take her straight past the scene of the accident.

Only as Lorelai rounded the bend in the road did she realise her mistake.

Firefighters from the Stars Hollow volunteer fire department had extinguished the car fire; the night sky was now only lit by the lights from the trucks. The coroner was now extracting Jess' charred remains from the burnt out car.

Lorelai pulled up alongside the ambulance; shock setting in as she saw her daughter's car burning. She stepped out of her jeep shakily.

Babette must have seen Lorelai pull up, as within moments Lorelai was being tightly embraced by her neighbour.

"What're you doing here sugar? You shouldn't have to see this darl."

That's when Lorelai saw the coroner's assistant covering over Jess' remains. "Is that...?"

"I know, darl. It's tragic." Babette paused, "You know sugar, you don't look so great. Morey has to go get his hands checked out at the hospital; maybe I should drive you down to New Haven."

"Oh Babette, you don't have to."

"Come on, we can take my car."

Meanwhile at the hospital, Rory was having a scan to assess the extent of her internal injuries, when she came to. At first all that Rory was aware of was the pain; everything just hurt so badly, she couldn't even figure out where she was hurt, she couldn't think. But then slowly the fog started to clear, and Rory realised that she must be in a hospital, she looked around, she was in some kind of machine.

Rory tried to call out, but as her mouth moved the words just didn't come out.

Then someone was standing over her; a nurse if the uniform was any indication, the nurse was saying something, but Rory felt as though she was underwater, as hard as she tried, Rory just couldn't hear her.

Rory tried again to speak, she finally succeeded, "...Please, my mom, where's my mom?"

"Lorelai, just relax, we're taking very good care of you. Your mother is on her way here as we speak," The nurse assured Rory. "Are you in any pain?"

Not fully aware, Rory missed the nurse's question. "An accident. Jess?"

Knowing fully that Jess was the name of the driver of the car, the driver who had died on the scene, the nurse tried to distract Rory as she took her back down to the trauma room, "I'm just taking you back downstairs now, the doctors will need to have a look at your scans, and then they will decide if you need an operation, or if you will get better just with time."

Rory was remembering the accident. "They'll blame Jess. It's not his fault. Please make sure they know it wasn't his fault, it was an accident. Please they have to know."

The nurse saw Rory's eyes drift closed. Something was very wrong. "Lorelai, Lorelai!" The nurse rubbed her knuckles up and down Rory's sternum, to no response. "Damn it! I need some help over here! This kid's going down!"

TBC... If you ask nicely.