A/N: Wow, once again thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! I'm so happy you're all enjoying it. Well, I actually have this whole story written, it's just the matter of having my sister edit my chapters. Hopefully I'll be able to update every other day or so, but my sister, unlike me, does have a life. ;)

Chapter 3: Keeping family in the loop…

A cold wet day was Emily Gilmore's favorite time to plan her next DAR function. With the weather cool and the cloudy skies, it just made for a perfect day.

She was making notes about the various locations where the function could be held when her telephone rang. She decided to ignore it and let the newest maid, Keri, answer it. She went on with her business as usual until the young maid handed her the phone and walked away without a word.

That's it, she thought. She's fired.

Emily cleared her throat as she brought the phone to her ears. "Hello?"

"Grandma?"

"Rory?" Emily asked, rising to her feet as a smile spread across her face. It wasn't very often she received a phone call from her granddaughter. "Rory, it's so nice to hear from you. I missed you at Friday night dinner last week- someone needs to control your mother. I do hope you won't be too busy to join us tomorrow night. Your grandfather has been wanting to talk to you about that class-"

"Grandma!" Rory finally cut in. "Just stop it! Something's happened!"

Emily was taken back. Rory rarely- if ever- interrupted her. "Rory, it's rude to inter-" The words registered. "What happened? Are you okay? Is everyone all right? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine, Grandma." Rory assured. "It's not me that I'm calling about. I thought you should know that mom's kind of… well, missing."

Emily paused. "What do you mean she's 'kind of' missing? Either she is missing or she's not. What's going on? What happened?"

"Paul Anka died," her granddaughter said simply.

"Who?" Emily asked. She didn't remember Lorelai or Rory ever mentioning someone by that name. Was Lorelai dating someone new? She hadn't said anything but since when has her daughter told her anything?

"Paul Anka," Rory repeated slowly. "Mom's dog."

"Oh," she said, losing interest. "A mutt."

"Grandma, mom's really attached to that dog- we both are. Mom called while I was in class and I didn't listen to her messages until lunch. I tried calling her but she didn't answer. I called her at work- everywhere that she may have gone. Nobody's seen her today." She hesitated. "I'm really worried."

Emily sat down, taking in the news. "She probably just wants to be left along. Did you try calling your house?" Although she may not have understood her daughter's affections for a animal, she did know how much she loved him.

"No, she's not home. Luke said her car was gone."

"Luke?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes, I called him." Her tone got a bit defensive. "He went over to our house and she wasn't home. He's the one who found Paul Anka's body."

Emily blinked. "That dead animal is still in your house?" She demanded. "You should really call-"

"Grandma, that's not the point." Rory sighed. "The point is that mom's missing and she's probably not thinking straight. It's pouring outside and she's god knows where and not answering her phone. I just thought you should know. I have to go; I'm calling the police to see if they know anything. Luke's on the road trying to find her as we speak- I'll keep you informed, okay?"

"Yes," Emily said slowly, still digesting the shocking news. "Thank you for calling me." She hung up the phone and sat there in shock. There had to be something she could do- anything. Her only daughter was missing. What if something happened to her? What if she was lying in some hospital, hurt?"

"Richard!"

----

The cold finally hit her.

She hadn't noticed it until now. How long had she sat out in the rain? She tried to think what time she had left home, but she couldn't remember.

As she wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to warm herself, she thought about trying to find her cell phone in the mess of tree, twisted metal and glass, but she couldn't convince herself to move. The thick forest surrounding her would probably block any cell service anyway.

Lorelai wished her daughter were here, or anyone for that matter. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she surprised herself when she realized that out of everyone she knew who could be here to comfort her, she'd want Luke. She wasn't sure why, maybe it was because he had a way with her. Not just because he could make any bad situation feel like nothing with only a few comforting words, but he truly understood what Paul Anka meant to her. Not even Rory understood that.

Thinking of Luke brought back memories she wished she no longer had. At least then it wouldn't hurt so much now that he was gone. How could she have been such an idiot? Breaking off their relationship when she was so in love with him? How could she have thrown all that happiness away? So what if he wasn't there twenty-four/seven- he was trying to build a relationship with his daughter. At least then it was better to have him part of the time, unlike now when she had no one.

Why had she suddenly started thinking of Luke? She couldn't remember.

A sob escaped her. She was at the point where she couldn't tell the difference between her tears and the raindrops anymore. She felt herself shiver. She needed to get some help. There was no way her car would start and she was definitely too far from any civilization to walk. She needed a ride. Why hasn't she grabbed her purse when she left? Why hadn't she been thinking about what she was going?

Shivering, she tried to stand, but an overwhelming dizziness over came her and she sank back onto the ground. Was her head injury worse then she realized? Slouching further down, she looked up at the dark clouds, watching the cold raindrops fall and spatter on top of her. That's when a thought popped into her head. Her life was like a raindrop, beautiful and free, until she neared the ground. Then she would splash and start her journey all over again. But what made her fall to the ground? Why couldn't she just be in the clouds forever, where it was safe? Why couldn't her life be perfect like the rest of those raindrops who never had to fall?

Closing her eyes, she let out a long sigh. Maybe she would never know…

----

"No accidents? You're sure about this? … Yeah, I'm looking for my mother, Lorelai Gilmore. She's missing and I just thought… no, I don't want to file a missing persons report… no, she's only been missing for five or six hours… thank you for you time. Bye."

Rory hadn't been having any luck so far. There hadn't been any accidents reported, unless her mom hadn't been driving towards Yale, in which case she could be anywhere and the police couldn't help her. Rory had tried asking about people who were arrested on that road, or who had been given a speeding ticket, or even a warning that morning, but the young police officer she'd been talking to wouldn't tell her.

Rory hung up and sighed. What she needed was someone on the inside or at least someone who could get on the inside…

Paris.

Rory quickly dialed her roommate's number and Paris, as though she had nothing better to do, immediately answered. "Hey, Paris, it's Rory… I need your help."

----

The roads were slick as Luke got back onto the highway.

He didn't know where else to look. He had already driven to Yale and hadn't seen any signs of Lorelai anywhere, but he wasn't going to give up and go home. He had to find her.

She probably stopped somewhere once the rain got bad, but where? Where would she have gone? Where would she go if she were in need of comfort? As much had he didn't want to admit it, there was a good possibility that Lorelai had gone to Christopher's. Although Luke didn't think they have talked since the divorce, he had been known to be wrong before.

Maybe he should call Christopher to see if she was there. If she was, he could let Rory know there wasn't anything to worry about. And if she wasn't… then what would he do? Drive around aimlessly looking for her? Of course he would do it, but he preferred to consider it his last option.

He reluctantly decided to drive to Christopher's apartment instead of calling. If Lorelai had started towards her ex-husband's house, maybe he would find her somewhere parked along the way. Or at least that was what he hoped. He couldn't imagine where else she could be, unless she hadn't been driving anywhere in particular. For all they knew, she could have jumped into her jeep and just followed the road.

Luke took the next exit for Chris's place – thankfully he knew where he was going. After all, he had stormed over to the man's place months ago and punched him in the nose. The memory brought a slight smile to his face. Finding the building wouldn't be a problem. But talking to Christopher without punching him in the nose again was an entirely different story…

----

Rory never thought she would be so relieved to hear from Paris.

She had called the young woman about a half hour ago and explained the situation about her mother, and how she couldn't make the police officer tell her if anyone had received a ticket on the way to Yale… would she try? Paris had quickly agreed to take on the challenge. And take it on she did; she had managed to get the officer to tell her about all police activity in the area for the entire morning. After thanking Paris profusely, though they hadn't found anything that would help their search, Rory called Luke to fill him in.

After that she wasn't sure what she ought to do next. Should she drive around and hopefully find her mom on the road, or stay at Yale, feeling completely useless, just in case she showed up? Since she was already in her car, she decided to join Luke for the search. She was about to drive off when her phone rang; quickly turning off the car, she answered it.

"Mom?" She prayed her mom finally realized that she had people really worried about her – Rory had been the last one to hear from her when she left the messages on her voicemail that morning.

"No, Rory, it's your grandmother." Emily said, her voice masking any amount of concern she may have been feeling. "I take it your mother hasn't called yet."

Rory bit her bottom lip. "No," she answered truthfully. "She hasn't." Though Rory didn't understand why that was, Lorelai had been the one to call her in the first place. Maybe her mom hadn't taken her cell phone when she left. She should have had Luke check. "I'm really worried about her."

"There's probably no need to be, she's probably just off doing the things she normally does, not caring that she has people worried."

Rory knew her grandma didn't believe that, but she didn't have the patience to deal with her right now. "Mom's not thinking straight right now." She defended. "Paul Anka was almost like another kid to her. When she found him dead, it had to have hurt." Rory almost wished she hadn't called her grandmother, but if something happened to Lorelai and they weren't informed, she knew her grandparents would be very upset.

"Has Luke found anything?"

"No," Rory replied tersely. "Grandma, I told you I would call you if I found anything out. I promise."

Emily sighed. "I know you did, Rory, I was just wondering if there was anything your grandfather or I could do to help, I don't like the idea of my daughter being alone at a time like this. I know how much she cared for that dog."

"I don't know what you can do, Grandma." Rory said. "I'm at loss of what to do myself. I thought about driving around, but what if she comes here and I'm gone?"

"I think you should stay there, just in case." Emily said decisively. "Richard and I will drive around and see if we can find her. Do you think there's a chance she's still in Stars Hallow?"

"Nobody's seen her today, so I don't think so…" Rory said glumly. "Okay, well, I should get going, Luke may have found something."

"Yes, well, I'll call you in an hour," her grandmother said before she hung up.

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Do, de, dum, de do… please review?