Author's Note: Okay confession time, I started working on this about eighteen months ago. And now that the revival is coming out soon, I wanted to finish this and finally post it before my ideas are colored by whatever A Year in the Life brings us. I wrote this as one continuous story, so I tried to make chapter breaks that made sense. Please review if you have any praise or questions or comments. I've loved writing this so much, and I hope you like it, too!

It's Hard to Heal

Chapter One

Emily was very busy when Richard left for work that day. She barely listened when he called out to her.

"Emily, I'm off to Yale. I'll be back at three." He waited by the front door for her to respond but no reply came. "Emily?" He put his briefcase down to go find her. He found his wife sitting at the dining room table, focusing intently on her day planner, furiously scribbling notes. "Emily, did you hear me?" he asked, louder this time.

She looked up. "I'm sorry, Richard, what were you saying?"

He frowned. "I'm leaving now."

"That's fine. I'll see you for dinner." She waved him away and returned to her notes.

Richard came to stand behind her and read over her shoulder. "What's all this for?" he asked curiously.

Emily dropped her pen with a loud thump and stood up from the table. "I am trying to plan this year's summer luncheon which you may remember is this single most important members-only DAR event of the year. And every year, something goes wrong. That damned Mitzy Lightfoot has been gunning for my position for three months now, and if this event doesn't go perfectly, she might be able to get enough support to oust me." She paused her rant and caught her husband's eye. He was trying to suppress a grin and his eyes were shining merrily. "What?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh nothing. You're just very cute when you get all worked up like this." Richard leaned in to kiss her, but she evaded him.

"Don't you have a class to teach?"

"The students won't mind waiting a few minutes. This is more important." He leaned in once more.

But this time Emily took a full step back and began shouting, "This is just like you! Why is it that you only seem to make time for us when it's inconvenient for me? I'm very busy, Richard, and I cannot believe that you still, after all these years, don't see any importance in what I do!"

Richard stood there, slightly stunned, but mostly angry. "Emily, you are planning a luncheon for a lot of other stuffy society ladies. I'm sorry if I'm missing how life-changing and vital that is to mankind!"

Now Emily was the one who was stunned. The last time Richard had spoken to her with that kind of harsh cruelty, he had been very upset and quite drunk. Now, he was stone-cold sober, and she couldn't imagine that he was emotionally compromised in any way. This was all coming from him. She took a deep breath and pressed her lips together. She turned to get her day planner to hide the tears that threatened to fall. "I have to meet with the chef to plan the luncheon, not that it matters. I'll be home for dinner." She rushed past him, grabbing her purse on her way out the door.

Richard stood there for a moment, realizing what he had said. Had he seen tears in her eyes? He felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach. He should know better. He did know better. Richard picked up his briefcase and went out to his car. Emily had already sped away. He made a mental note to buy some flowers and possibly some jewelry on his way home. He would apologize at dinner.

Emily took some slow deep breaths to calm herself as she sped down the highway. She needed to be in a stronger mood before she saw Lorelai. Lord knew she needed all of her self-restraint before an afternoon with her daughter. But nothing really helped. By the time she got to The Dragonfly, Emily was still upset. Even so, she put on a bright smile. She would just have to try a little harder to not let Lorelai's judgmental antics get to her.

"Emily, it is lovely to see you again!" Michel walked across the gravel drive to greet her.

"Michel, you're looking well," she greeted, receiving a kiss on each of her cheeks from the Frenchman.

"Thank you so much, Emily. You are looking wonderful as always. Come inside. I'll show you what we were thinking of for the setup of the dining room for your luncheon. Sookie will join us as soon as the lunch rush is over. She wasn't expecting you until two."

Emily glanced at the diamond watch on her wrist, noticing it was barely past one o'clock. "Yes, I'm earlier than I originally intended. I don't mind waiting for Sookie. It was incredibly improper of me to be this early," she apologized politely.

"No, it is not a problem at all. Not for you, Emily," Michel insisted with a smile.

Emily followed him into the inn, expecting to see Lorelai at the front desk. But she wasn't there. Emily tried to tell herself that Lorelai was just busy, but her heart sunk at the more likely reality that her daughter was deliberately avoiding her.

Michel took her to the dining room and began explaining how they would set up the tables and various decorations that Emily had requested for the DAR luncheon. Emily listened intently, reaching into her purse for her planner to take notes. But it wasn't there.

"Oh dear, Michel, I have to go back to my car for a moment to grab my planner."

The phone at the front desk began ringing. "Take your time. If I'm not done when you come back, feel free to go to the kitchen to see Sookie."

Emily nodded and went back out to her car. She sighed. Normally she was much more put together than this. But normally, she didn't have to deal with her daughter avoiding her like the plague and a husband belittling her very existence.

On her way to her car, Emily decided on a whim to visit the horses. She had loved riding as a young woman, but it had been years since she had been on a horse. Nevertheless, she still had a special place in her heart for those noble creatures.

"Hello, Cletus." The big brown horse came closer to the edge of his stall when she came near. She gently stroked his velvety nose and smiled.

Outside, a loud car roared up the driveway. Emily glanced out the barn to see a very old Mustang approaching. All of a sudden, the car backfired, emitting a loud boom. Scared from the noise, Cletus reared up against the door to his stall. Emily stumbled backwards, falling into a bench and onto the ground. Her back hurt for a few seconds but then everything went black.