Chapter 2: Something's not right

The aroma of coffee hit her nose. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming but it was definitely a pleasant way to wake up. Wake up. Oh my god! I've got finals! Rory thought as she opened her eyes. Her neck hurt and she realized that she had been sleeping on the living room floor. When did she end up on the floor? She groaned and stood up. She felt like she had just fallen asleep. Looking at her watch she realized she was going to be late and she bolted into the kitchen. Lorelai was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee.

"Good morning sleepy head," she said with a smile.

"Mom! Why did you let me sleep? You know I have finals today." Rory headed for her bedroom, searching for something to wear. She didn't have time to shower or eat breakfast. "I'm going to be so late!"

"Sweetie, you didn't tell me what time you had to get up so I thought I'd let you sleep in a little. I'm sorry." Lorelai was now caught up in her daughter's frenzy. "Look, I'll fix you a huge cup of coffee to go and some breakfast."

"No offense Mom but you can't cook," Rory called out as she rushed passed Lorelai, heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth and run a brush through her disheveled hair. As she hurriedly finished getting ready she could hear the sounds of her mother fixing her breakfast in the kitchen. How long has she been up? She's dressed for work even! Why am I so tired? I've gotta wake up. I hope Mom is filling me a gallon sized to go cup of coffee cause I need it today.

Rory bounded down the stairs and gathered up her books. As she loaded up her book bag she heard her mother calling from the kitchen. "Coffee is ready and breakfast is packed for your traveling convenience. I'm really sorry Hun for letting you over sleep. If it's any consolation, I overslept too."

"You're the boss and owner so I think you're allowed to get away with it. Who's gonna write you up? YOU?" Rory remarked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Good point," Lorelai said, handing Rory a huge travel cup of hot coffee. "I packed you some Pop Tart Sticks so you could dunk them in your coffee."

"Pop Tarts comes in dunkable sticks now? How did I not know this? I hope you know that dunking while driving is probably a crime in many states. I hope I don't get pulled over." Rory joked while searching in her purse for her keys.

"That would depend on what you're dunking them into," Lorelai grinned. She handed Rory a paper bag. "Here are some muffins from Luke's, and an apple."

"An apple?" Rory responded with raised eyebrows.

"What?" Lorelai looked at her daughter. "Like I'm going to eat it! It'll give you energy."

"So will a gallon of coffee. You're just trying to get rid of it so Luke will think you ate it." Rory squinted her eyes as her mother smiled from ear to ear. "You are evil!"

"Are you coming over after finals are done?" Lorelai asked as she followed Rory to her car. "We have to plan your big graduation reenactment party since the whole town won't be able to attend."

"I have to get the last of my things out of the apartment but I'll call you later when I finish my finals." Rory noticed the jeep was parked behind her in the driveway. "Mom! I'm really in a rush." She said pointing to the jeep.

"Oh crap! Sorry! I should've moved it when you were getting ready." Lorelai ran back into the house to get her keys. After she moved her car, she got out and ran up to Rory who was about to pull away. She leaned into the car and kissed her daughter on the cheek. "Don't worry. You're going to do great. It's almost over. I'll talk to you later. I love you kid."

"I love you too Mom. I'll see you later. Thank Luke for the muffins for me." Rory called out as she drove away.

Lorelai headed back into the house. She had fed Paul Anka but needed to take him out before she went to work. "Paul Anka," She called, dropping her keys on the table in the foyer. When her dog didn't appear, she called again. "Paul Anka! Where are you? Mommy needs to get to work. This is no time to play hide and seek." She glanced around the living room for her quirky dog. A bump and scrape sound came from the kitchen so she headed in that direction. What she saw made her burst out laughing.

Paul Anka had climbed up on the chair as usual since that was his favorite place to sit when Lorelai was eating. On his snout was Lorelai's coffee cup, which had become stuck. The cup was full when Lorelai went to move her car but now it was empty. Paul Anka had never shown interest in her coffee before but now it was apparent that he loved the caffeinated beverage after his first ill gotten taste. There he sat, trying desperately to dislodge the now empty cup from his nose. The more he shook his head and pawed at the cup the harder Lorelai laughed. She yanked the cup off her dog's nose and put it in the sink. "No more coffee for you buddy!" Lorelai giggled. She hid Paul Anka's leash, carried him down the porch steps then attached the leash to his collar when he wasn't looking. After Paul Anka did his business Lorelai brought him back in the house and headed off to work.

Today seemed like any other day but something was not right. It wasn't just that her dog had developed a penchant for her favorite caffeinated beverage either. Lorelai couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. She didn't want to alarm Rory but she didn't sleep well which was why she was up and dressed so early. She awoke from a nightmare that she couldn't remember now but it made her feel very uneasy.

The morning went along as usual but Lorelai still could not shake the feeling that something wasn't right. It was a general uneasiness that kept her on edge like she'd forgotten something but didn't know what. All she knew was that it had something to do with Rory. At least that's what she could remember from her dream. She was at the front desk checking in a guest while Michel was on his break when the phone rang.

"Dragonfly Inn. Lorelai speaking. How may I help you?"

"Lorelai! Thank god!" came a familiar voice on the line.

"Hi Babette. What's up?" Lorelai greeted her neighbor as she handed the guest his keys. "I hope you enjoy your stay at the Dragonfly, Mr. Corso. If you need anything please let us know. Sorry Babette. What's up?"

"Lorelai, sugar, I don't know how to tell you this but I think your dog is possessed or something! I was eating breakfast with Morey on account of him having a late show to do last night so we were sleeping in," Babette began. "He made me pancakes. Can you believe it?"

"Babette, sorry but I don't have all day. I'm working remember?" Lorelai sighed as Babette went off on one of her tangents.

"Oh sorry Sugar. Anyway, we were eating breakfast when we heard a loud bang coming from your house! Then we heard a crash. We thought someone was trying to break in and steal everything but then we thought, 'why would they make all that noise breaking in? Lorelai doesn't even lock her house up.' We ran over to check it out and found Paul Anka going nuts I tell ya! He was running around, crashing into things. He even did a back flip off the couch and took out a couple of lamps in the process! Morey tried to catch him but he was too fast! When he started chasing his tail in circles he got so dizzy he fell over. That's when Morey picked him up and brought him outside so he wouldn't tear up the house any more. He's tied up in the yard right now. It's like he's on speed or something!" Babette excitedly recounted the crazy dog fiasco.

"Close," Lorelai said, trying to stifle a giggle. "He got into my coffee and drank the entire cup. I'm talking I had to yank an empty thirty two ounce travel cup off his nose this morning."

"Wow! That explains it," Babette said. "He might as well have been drinking rocket fuel the way you make your coffee! Look Sugar, we'll keep an eye on him til he calms down then we'll put him back in the house."

"Thanks Babette. I owe you. The next time you need a sitter for Apricot I'm there."

"No problem Lorelai. We'll see ya later then. I just wanted to make sure Paul Anka wasn't freaking out cause he was possessed or something. Bye Sugar."

Just as Lorelai hung up with Babette she heard a commotion coming from the kitchen. She left the desk to refill her cup of coffee and, as she entered the kitchen, she found Sookie chasing Michel around the room swinging a frying pan.

"Get away from me you crazy woman!" Michel shouted as he dodged Sookie's frying pan.

"Oh my god! I'm going to kill you! You've insulted my food for the last time!" Sookie yelled back, her face beet red.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! No one is killing any one. What is going on in here? I can hear you all the way from the front desk," Lorelai said as she jumped in between the two. "Sookie. Honey. Put down the frying pan before someone gets hurt."

"That's the whole point," Sookie said. Seeing the look on Lorelai's face, she sighed and put the frying pan on the counter and sat down.

"What's going on that involves the death of one of our valued employees?" Lorelai said as she filled her cup with fresh coffee.

"I came in here to grab the lunch I brought from home and someone had eaten it!" Michel pouted.

"I offered to make him something else and he refused!" Sookie glared at Michel.

"That is because you do not know my specific dietary needs. You think your food is so wonderful but I have a sensitive stomach and can only eat certain foods prepared according to my dietary requirements. I do not eat gluten and only low fat dairy. I do not like chemicals in my food because they are toxic so I eat organic." Michel continued his rant.

"Hello! All of Jackson's vegetables are organic!" Sookie shot back.

"Well I did not know that," Michel said in a more calm tone

"You never asked," Sookie said calming down herself. "Look Michel, if your diet is THAT specific then give me a list of things you can and can't eat and I will try to accommodate you." Michel smiled. "I said I would TRY. I'm not going out of my way to make you special meals but in a pinch I could fix you something if I have it on hand." Sookie concluded.

"Since you say your produce is organic and I need to eat before my blood sugar drops too low, I will have a salad if you have one prepared." Sookie gave Michel a salad. He picked out a dressing and returned to man the front desk.

It was then that Sookie noticed her best friend and business partner sitting lost in thought at the counter. When Lorelai was quiet something was wrong. "Lorelai? Are you ok? You look kind of lost."

Lorelai sighed. It's probably nothing. It has to be. It's just a dream, a nightmare. Maybe I'm just too tired from working and preparing for Rory's graduation. It couldn't happen. But Rory was really exhausted this morning. Sookie's words brought her out of her thoughts. "Sookie, can I talk to you?"

"Sure Sweetie," Sookie said as she shooed the kitchen staff outside. "What's wrong? You look really distracted all of a sudden."

"Last night I had a nightmare. I didn't remember it this morning but now it came to me. I remember it. I had a dream that Rory was in a bad car accident. We stayed up late watching movies after she finished studying for her last finals. She was really tired this morning." Lorelai shuddered at the recollection of her dream.

"Lorelai, you've had nightmares before and they're just that, nightmares. It doesn't mean it's going to happen. Besides, those dream books all say that dreams are symbolic and not what you think it's about," Sookie said rubbing Lorelai's arm. Lorelai smiled at the thought of Sookie reading dream books. Even though she kept a dream journal, Lorelai never thought much about trying to interpret her dreams. All she knew was that this one really freaked her out. She felt uneasy all day and was looking for her friend to put her mind at ease.

"I guess you're right. I shouldn't worry. It's probably nothing." Lorelai smiled and hugged her friend. "Well I've got paperwork to do and you've got chopping and sautéing to do so I'll get out of your way. What would I do without you?" Lorelai pondered as she grabbed a piece of pie to go with her coffee.

"Probably starve," Sookie giggled. "At least while you're at work" she added, handing her friend a fork. Lorelai returned the smile and headed for her office.

Rory grabbed the last of her belongings and put them in the trunk of her car. Finals were over and she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was go home and take a nap. She remembered that she was supposed to call her mother when she was done with finals so she grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and dialed her mom's cell.

Lorelai's voice mail picked up so Rory left a message. "Hey Mom. It's me. Of course you knew that. Anyway, I finished packing up the last of my stuff from the apartment and I'm heading home. I'll probably be home before you so I'm gonna take a nap when I get in. I'll see you later and we'll hit Luke's for dinner. Love you Mom."

Rory drove while fighting to stay awake. I knew I should've grabbed a coffee to go before I left. Rory yawned and closed her eyes.

A/N: I hope you like my story. Things are about to get very dramatic as the story unfolds. please review and let me know how you like it. Thanks.