Disclaimer: I wish I could claim Gilmore Girls as my own but I can't. I do own all the seasons of Gilmore Girls though.

Chapter 2: Questioning What Happened

At the Gilmore Mansion

After hanging up with Lorelai, Emily sits with the phone in her hand and thinks about Lorelai. She wonders if Lorelai and Luke broke up and decides to call Richard. She dials Richard's work number and waits as the rings.

Richard: Richard Gilmore.

Emily: Hello Richard.

Richard: Emily! Is everything all right?

Emily: Well, I'm not sure. It's Lorelai. Something's wrong, she's coming to stay at the house for a while.

Richard: Are you sure there's something wrong? Maybe she just wanted to take a break from everything.

Emily: Richard, we're talking about Lorelai.

Richard: Well yes I guess you're right. How do you know something's wrong?

Emily: It was her voice. She sounded so sad on the phone when she called. Plus when I asked her if she was ok, she said she wasn't ok. Usually she says she's ok even if she isn't.

Richard: Hmm. I wonder if something happened between her and Luke.

Emily: I was wondering the same thing. I'll try to talk to her later on.

Richard: Just don't try to push her, Emily. Whatever has happened has obviously upset her. Let's not upset her anymore.

Emily: I know. I'll just let her know that I'm here if she wants to talk.

Richard: Good. Let her know that both of us are here for her.

Emily: I will. I'm going to let you go. I want to make sure there are fresh sheets on Lorelai's be. She'll be here soon.

Richard: All right. See you in a little while. Goodbye.

Emily: Goodbye.

She hangs up the phone and heads upstairs looking for the maid.

Meanwhile, Lorelai is about halfway to Hartford. She had called Rory while she was packing and let her know she was going to stay with Richard and Emily for a while. She had left the house after talking to Babette about gathering her mail for her for a while. She thinks about all that has happened and can't believe she is going back to the house she can still call home. She gets to the house and pulls into the driveway. The front door opens and Emily steps outside to greet Lorelai. Lorelai opens her door and greets her mother.

Lorelai: Hi Mom.

Emily: Hello Lorelai. Do you need help bringing your things in?

Lorelai: Yes please. (Emily comes to Lorelai's side and Lorelai hands her a bag.) Here (Lorelai grabs another bag and her hanging bag. Emily and Lorelai head into the house.)

Lorelai: Am I going to be in my room?

Emily: Yes, the maid should be done changing the sheets.

The two of them head up the stairs to Lorelai's bedroom. Once in there, Lorelai lays the hanging bag on the bed and opens the bag she was holding. Emily puts the bag she's holding on the bed and picks up the hanging bag.

Emily: I'll put this in the closet for you.

Lorelai: Thank you.

Emily: You're welcome.

Emily goes over to the closet, takes the clothes out of the bag, and hangs them up. Lorelai heads into the bathroom connected to the room and puts her toiletries on the counter. She comes back in the room and finds Emily sitting on the sofa.

Emily: I know you probably don't want to talk right now, but I'm here if you want to talk. Your father asked me to tell you that he's here as well if you want to talk.

Lorelai looks at Emily and nods.

Lorelai (whispers): Thank you. Maybe in a little while I'll tell you but not right now.

Emily nods.

Emily: Ok. Whenever you want to talk just let me know.

Lorelai: Ok.

She grabs the other bag and heads to the dresser to put her undergarments away. She stands there for a few minutes with her back to her mother just thinking.

Lorelai: When I do tell you what happened, I want it to be with you and Dad. I don't want to have to explain it again and I don't want you to tell him. (She turns around and heads to the bed. She goes to the other side and lies down on the bed.) I want to able to tell what happened without either of you interrupting me. Also please don't judge me when I tell you what happened. I already feel horrible; I don't want to feel any worse.

Emily lies down by Lorelai and props herself up on her elbow to look at her.

Emily: Whatever you feel horrible about; there was probably a reason for it. I will not judge you no matter what you did.

Lorelai glances up at her mother and takes a deep breath.

Lorelai: Thank you.

Emily notices the shadows under her daughter's eyes, and that her eyes look dull.

Emily: You look so tired. Have you been getting any sleep?

Lorelai: No. Not since… (She trails off leaving the sentence unfinished.)

Lorelai: We still have 3 hours before dinner. Why don't you try to take a nap for a few hours?

Lorelai: Sleep sounds wonderful, but I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep. I keep having dreams that wake me up.

Emily: Well maybe you'll be able to sleep better here then when you did at your house.

Lorelai: Yeah maybe. If I do manage to fall asleep, will you wake me up an hour before dinner?

Emily: Yes. I'll make sure you're up. (She reaches out and brushes Lorelai's hair from her forehead. The gesture was something she didn't do very often because of the rift between Lorelai and her.) Try to get some sleep.

Emily gets up and heads out of the bedroom. She closes the door and goes down stairs. She grabs her book from the coffee table and tries to read, but her thoughts are on Lorelai. She was curious about what had happened that caused Lorelai to feel so horrible that she had to leave Stars Hollow and come back home. Before she knew it, an hour and a half had passed and dinner needed to be started.

She headed into the kitchen to tell the cook to start dinner. She heard the front door opening announcing Richard was home.

Richard (calls out): Emily.

Emily comes into the foyer to greet him.

Emily: Hello Richard.

Richard leans down and kisses her.

Richard: Well, did you find out anything from her?

Emily: No. She did say that when she wanted to tell what happened, she wanted to tell it to both of us. She also asked us not to interrupt her until she told us everything.

Richard: Did she say anything else?

Emily: Yes. She asked us not to judge her. She already feels horrible; she didn't want to feel any worse.

Richard: I won't judge her no matter what has happened. I might question some of her decisions, but I will never judge her. Why does she think we would judge her?

Emily: I'm not sure. Maybe it's because when we question some of her decisions, she may feel like we're judging her even though we aren't.

Richard: Maybe. I hate that she feels that way.

Emily: You and me both.

Richard: Where is she by the way?

Emily: Hopefully, she's upstairs asleep in her bed. She hasn't been sleeping very well at her house so hopefully she got some sleep. I need to go upstairs and make sure she's awake.

Richard: I'll go with you. I need to change shirts anyway. The air conditioning was acting funny at work so I took my jacket off. Well I was carrying my pen in my shirt and it apparently had a leak. This shirt is now ruined.

Emily: Oh. So apparently you need some more shirts.

She heads to the stairs and Richard follows her. They go up the stairs and Emily stops at Lorelai's door while Richard continues to their bedroom. She opens the door and turns on the lamp that sits on the dresser. She goes over to the bed and shakes Lorelai's shoulder a little. Lorelai stirs and opens her eyes. She rolls over and looks at her mom.



Lorelai (groggy): Hey. Has it been 2 hours already?

Emily: Yes. Did you sleep better?

Lorelai: Yes. I forgot how comfortable this bed is.

Emily smiles and laughs a little.

Emily: So apparently the bed did the trick. Good. I'm glad you got some sleep.

Lorelai: Me too. I think the lack of sleep was starting to catch up to me. That nap did the trick. (Pauses) I may be ready to talk to you and Dad after dinner if that's ok.

Emily: That's fine. Whenever you're ready, don't push yourself, ok?

Lorelai: Ok. (She sits up and moves her feet to the floor. Emily sits beside her.)

Emily: You have 55 minutes to make yourself presentable. Please be on time, you don't have an excuse this time.

She smiles at Lorelai who bursts out laughing and Emily starts to laugh as well. After a few minutes of laughter, Lorelai regains control of herself.

Lorelai (joking): You're right. (She snaps her fingers) Darn it. I should have thought this through a little more.

Emily gasps, grabs a pillow, and smacks Lorelai with it. Lorelai laughs when her mother hits her with the pillow.

Lorelai: Hey. Keep this up and I will have an excuse to give you.

Emily: Oh and what excuse would that be?

Lorelai: That my mother prevented me from getting ready.

Emily (laughs): Ok, ok, I'm gone.

She gets up and leaves the bedroom closing the door behind her. Lorelai goes to the bathroom to make herself look decent. Forty minutes later, she walks out of her bedroom and heads down the stairs. She finds her parents in the living room reading.

Lorelai (clears her throat): Hi Dad.

Richard (looks up at Lorelai): Hello Lorelai. How are you doing?

Lorelai (sits down on the couch opposite them and shrugs): I guess I'm doing ok.

Richard and Emily put down their books.

Richard: How about some drinks? What would you like, Lorelai?

Lorelai: The usual.

Richard: So a margarita. How many olives?

Lorelai: Two.

Richard: All right. Emily?

Emily: I'll have the same as Lorelai.

Richard: All right. (He walks over to the drink bar and starts making the drinks.)

Lorelai: So Dad, how's work going?

Richard: Oh it's the same old routine every day. How's the inn?

Lorelai: It's getting better and better every day. I haven't been to work since Friday. Not since everything came crashing down around me. (She glances down at the coffee table and doesn't notice the look her parents exchange.) I plan on going back to work soon, I just don't know if I can face all the questions everybody will ask.

Emily: Lorelai. (Lorelai looks at her mother) Go back to work when you're ready to go back. You hired people to fill in for you when you're not there. Let them put the training they have to the test. Your emotions are on the line right now and if you go back, you will wear yourself out. You need to deal with the breakup of Luke and you. (Lorelai gives her a questioning look as Richard sits down on the couch and hands the drinks out on the table.) You aren't wearing your ring. The only time you probably ever took it off was to wash the dishes or to take a shower. I've seen it on your finger every time you've been here and you aren't wearing it now. The absence of it only leaves one conclusion. The only thing your father and I don't know is what caused it?

Lorelai (quietly): You're right about the ring and you'll know the reason for it tonight. Can we talk after we eat though? I didn't really eat much for lunch and I'm hungry.

At that moment, the maid enters announcing that dinner is ready.

Richard, Emily and Lorelai head into the dining room for dinner.

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