Hi. Um, I just wanted to thank everyone for all the reviews I've been getting. I am also glad you guys are intrigued as most of you put it. I'm trying to get these chapters out as regularly as possible but I do have a life (cough cough) and spring break has begun as of today so...that means the next chapter may or may not be out until next week. It all depends on what my vacation is like, just please dont lose patience with me. I have started chapter four so at least we are already somewhere. I hope you all have a wonderful vacation as well and please keep up the reviews. They keep me going.

-PMB

Memories

The brain can't help but remember what it remembers and forget everything else. After the doctor leaves Lorelai tries to place her memories in some sort of chronological order. She asks herself what she remembers. She remembers waking up after an exciting night with Christopher. She remembers sneaking out of her window to go hang with him the night before. She remembers sneaking back in through the same window when the night had finally ended and she remembers crashing in her jeans and t-shirt. After she woke up she remembers going down stairs and having another silent breakfast with her parents. She remembers her mother telling her that they were going to have her fitted for her debutant gown for her coming out party. She remembers huffing and yelling that she didn't want a coming out party and losing the argument because Emily didn't care what she wanted. She remembers going to school and talking to her friends, she remembers being the only one to get an A on that history paper. She remembers throwing out her lunch and stealing coffee from the teacher's lounge in the middle of the day. She remembers taking her last midterm. After school she remembers walking home with Christopher laughing all the way about whatever. She remembers that no one was there when she came home from school. She remembers the drink Chris made her being rough. She vaguely remembers something about Paris and sleeping on a park bench. She remembers kissing him so hard that they could have been permanently fused together. She remembers how they hardly parted all the way up the stairs to her bedroom. They made it onto her balcony shedding clothes from the moment they entered her bedroom door, she remembers the chill of the winter air. She gasps as she remembers something else and then sighs because the breath she contracted hurts to let out. She knows that was months ago. She remembers watching the stick turn pink. She closes her eyes tightly as the memory resurfaces and then grazes her hand against her expanding tummy.

The doctor leads Emily back into Lorelai's room while the others waited outside the door. Just before the door closes behind them Lorelai locks eyes with a gruff diner owner in a backwards baseball cap and she smiles at him. She doesn't know why. It just sort of happens.

"Lorelai?" the doctor asks her. "How are you feeling?" Lorelai takes in the question. She wonders how he would be feeling if he woke up in a hospital bed in unspeakable pain surrounded by people he didn't know, but then she determines that it's probably not what he meant.

"Bloated," she answers honestly while tensing up. "and there is this pain that is continuous, everywhere, all over my body, all the time, and I was really hoping you could make that go away. You've heard of morphine haven't you doc?"

The doctor laughs. "We'll see what we can do? In the meantime, someone here would like to see you." Lorelai glances over to her mother. She gives her a once over and wonders if they told her mother that she's pregnant and concludes that they probably had but if they did then she would most likely be really mad about it. Lorelai notes that she doesn't look mad before she speaks.

"Hi Mom," she sighs with her muscles still clenched. "Are you mad?" she asks immediately.

"Why would I be mad?" Emily asks as she sits down next to her daughter.

"Because I…um." she breathes trying to think. "Am I grounded? Because I don't think that it's fair to ground me when I don't even remember doing whatever it is that I did to end up in here so then the whole reflection part of the punishment is gone and that defeats the purpose," Emily smiles with tears in her eyes as her daughter rambles. Lorelai takes another breath and then looks up at her mother.

"We'll see," Emily says. We'll see like as in maybe or maybe not, Lorelai thinks a little confused. This woman was her mother, the same one she'd had her entire life yet…there was something different about her, something different besides the fact that she looked like she gained 20 years over night. She decides not to push it.

"You look different," Lorelai notes.

"Do I?"

"Yes." A pregnant pause lingers, "…Mom?"

"Yes?"

"What happened?" she asks innocently knowing that she is missing a large piece of the puzzle.

"You don't worry about that. You just get some rest."

"Who were those people?" Lorelai continues to push.

"Lorelai," Emily says in a sharp manner which closely resembles stop talking. Lorelai huffs and then cries out because she forced her lungs too hard. She keeps forgetting not to do that. "Relax," Emily demands a little harshly. Lorelai wonders how she is supposed to relax with her head pounding, and the pain surging, all while growing a human being. She closes her eyes anyway and tries to go back to sleep.

Emily exits the room. "Well?" Rory asks in an annoyed tone after Emily closes the door.

"She's fifteen," Emily answers.

"Wonderful," Rory says letting her arms fall down beside her. "Can I go in now?"

"She doesn't know who you are?" Emily says.

"But I am her daughter," Rory defends, "She has to know who I am,"

"You aren't born yet," The older woman argues.

"Oh really because I am pretty sure that I am," Her granddaughter counters.

"You don't have to take that tone," Emily says quickly. "Tomorrow,"

"What?" Rory asks.

"Tomorrow, after she sees all the doctors and the psychologist, then you can see her."

"Erg," Rory groans. "I hate this,"

"I know, but you should just go home, get a good night's sleep and come back tomorrow," Emily says trying at compassion.

"Whatever," Rory retorts. "My stuff is still in there,"

"I'll get it," Emily offers as doctor approaches with a chart in his hand.

"We can give her Roxanol for the pain." He says. "Its morphine. Now while there is no evidence so far that a pregnant woman's short-term use of MS Contin can harm her unborn baby, we don't usually administer it because of the effect it could have but because Lorelai is in so much pain the benefit to her outweighs the possible risk to the child." He explains to them.

"Your mother asked for pain medication," Emily tells Rory.

"She doesn't know that she is pregnant," Rory states. "She wouldn't take it if she knew, you have to tell her."

"Why me?"

"Because I don't exist remember." She replies sharply.

"She knows that she is pregnant," the doctor chimes in.

"What?"

"The first thing she asked me was if her baby was okay,"

"Oh my god," Rory groans realizing that her mother thinks she is pregnant in a different decade. "She thinks she is pregnant with me,"

Emily sighs.

"Rory I need you to sign off on this. You are 21 and your mother isn't married so that gives you power of attorney." The doctor explains handing over the forms.

Emily gasps in shock, "But she is just a child, and Lorelai is my daughter," she protests.

The doctor nods, "But Rory isn't a child, she's grown up and Lorelai's next of kin, I need her to sign off on it or I can't give her mother anything,"

Rory looks down at the documents in her hand. "Do you think it'll hurt the baby?" she asks.

"In my medical opinion after everything, the accident, the surgery…no I think the baby will be fine,"

"And it'll make Mom feel better, right?"

"Yes," he answers simply.

Rory sighs, "Okay," she takes the pen from the top of the clip board and presses it to the paper before stopping.

"What is it?" Emily asks noticing her granddaughters sudden pause.

"Luke should have a say in this, don't you think?" she starts, "I mean after all, it is kind of his baby,"

Emily huffs and storms off to the waiting room to find the father of her unborn grandchild. He is sitting in the waiting room on one side of the room and she spot Christopher sitting on the other.

"Luke!" she calls out before waving him over. He stands up and put the magazine he pretending to read down in the chair next to him and jumps up. Emily doesn't speak. She hardly even looks at him. He follows behind her at a close pace until they both find themselves in Rory's presence.

"Is she okay?" he asks.

"Yeah Luke, she's okay," Rory answers while her grandmother rolls her eyes. "It's just she's in a lot of pain and the doctors said they can give her something and they don't think it will hurt the baby but it's your baby so I thought I'd run it by you before I sign anything."

"You want my opinion?" he asks a little confused.

"Well yeah I mean…" Rory takes a deep breath wondering what the hell he means. If they were still together this would be his job anyway. Rory thinks about the events that the last few have caused. "…erg!" she stresses getting frustrated. "This shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't have to make these decisions." She rants. "God, she should be your wife anyway, If you would have just married her like you were supposed to none of this would have ever happened."

Emily and Luke stare at Rory wide eyed as she pouts. "Rory…I"

"Yes or no, Luke?" she asks again.

"Yeah sure, go ahead." He tells her, thinking that he only wants Lorelai to be happy. It's all he ever really wanted. "Yes," he repeats, a little more firmly.

"Fine," Rory huffs, still a little worked up. She signs her name on the line at the bottom of the page and stalks off to find the doctor.

"I'm going to go," Rory says to her grandmother, Christopher, and Luke, a little later after she's calmed down. She doesn't want to admit to them how hurt she is mainly because she doesn't want to seem like a baby. Like the doctor said she really isn't a child anymore. She wasn't really upset with Luke earlier either she just couldn't make sense of her jumbled emotions.

She knows that her mother didn't block out her entire existence on purpose. It however, still hurts to think about it. Rory turns back to her grandmother, "She's asleep right?"

Emily nods. "Yes."

"I'll be right back," she says as she slowly approaches the think wooden door. She turns the medal handle and pushes it open. Emily was right; Lorelai is again out like a light. Rory takes a slow step inside not wanting to wake her. She just wants to say goodnight. It doesn't feel right to just go home and leave her mother in this cold, clean, hospital but she convinces herself that she needs sleep and she'll be no use to anyone if she stays this crabby. Rory pulls the covers up over Lorelai and then leans over and kisses her forehead. "Goodnight Mommy," she whispers.

Luke sits in the waiting room with Christopher. They have spent more time together in the last few weeks then either of them would personally care to but neither of them could leave. This is the first time they sat alone. Rory had just left and Emily was planning on staying in the room with Lorelai. Luke clears his throat intending to speak.

"I…um…I'm sorry about….you know," Luke starts.

"Sucker punching me first thing in the morning," Christopher retorts way to quickly, "Yeah I know exactly what you mean."

"I was…really…mad…and I don't know…all of a sudden I standing outside you apartment and you were…right there…and I needed and outlet. It shouldn't have…I shouldn't have done that…I'm sorry." Luke repeats.

Chris shrugs. "Forget about it,"

That was the only conversation the two of them shared and surprisingly it was enough.

The following day comes and brings with it an enormous headache for Lorelai and visits from several prestigious doctors that her mother took it upon herself to hire. She sits through all the tests her doctor gives her and then she is forced to talk to three different psychologists that all conclude the same thing, she has amnesia. Explaining this to Lorelai is going to be a hell of a task, Emily thinks to herself as she finishes her conversation with the last doctor.

Rory comes back to the hospital around lunch time. She thinks that because she went home and gave herself a chance to sleep in and did a little studying now is the perfect time to go check and see if her mother has gained her memory back yet. It is a long shot but Rory fancies herself pretty optimistic. She presses the number 3 on the elevator and heads upstairs. As she steps out she turns her head toward the waiting room and sees Luke, asleep. Poor guy, she thinks as she walks past him wondering if her dad went home. She doesn't see Christopher or her grandmother, or anyone else recognizable besides Luke who is asleep. She decides that she isn't going to be the one to interrupt his moments rest. She smiles thinking to herself that there is no one to stop her from seeing her mother. She approaches Lorelai's room and feels the apprehensive about going in. Reluctantly she sucks in a deep breath and enters.

Lorelai is eating pudding. Chocolate pudding which Rory knows she loves. She wonders who she conned into giving her the sugary treat and closes the door behind her. Lorelai's eyes shoot up at the stranger who isn't really a stranger at all and gets a little annoyed.

"I'm sorry," Rory says after she sees the look in her mother's eyes. "I should have knocked."

Lorelai shrugs and sets her pudding cup on the table. "You hear to ask me about my childhood?" she asks.

"What?"

"Or my relationships, or my school, or my baby?" Lorelai continues.

"I don't know-"Rory starts but is cut off.

"What kind of doctor are you?"

"I'm not-"

Lorelai sighs, "Are you here with more meds? Because if you are you just might be my favorite kind of doctor." Lorelai smiles which causes Rory to smile because she missed it so much.

"I'm not a doctor," Rory says quickly before Lorelai can cut her off with anymore questions.

"hmm," Lorelai hums as she picks her pudding cup back up and sticks another spoonful in her mouth. "Are you a lawyer? You look like a lawyer."

"No, I'm not a lawyer. I'm a student."

Lorelai raises an eyebrow, "A law student?"

"No," Rory laughs. She doesn't realize how nervous she really is until she looks down at her trembling hand.

"Where do you go to school?" Lorelai asks.

"Yale," Rory blurts immediately.

Lorelai rolls her eyes. "Not this again?"

"What?"

"Did my parents put you up to this? Is that why you're here? I must say they have impeccable timing, getcha while you're strapped to a hospital bed relying on nurses to point where you can't even go to the bathroom by yourself."

"No, no, you've got it all wrong. I'm not here to talk you into going to Yale."

Lorelai sets the empty cup down and lays back on her pillow. "You aren't?"

"Not at all," Rory laughs.

"Then why are you here? Did you get lost at the vending machines or something?"

"Not quite," Rory answers timidly as she sits beside Lorelai's bed.

Lorelai looks at her, and then turns her head to the side, "I know you!" she exclaims with very little energy. Rory smiles thinking this might just be some sort of break through. "You were here when I woke up, yesterday? I think you called me Mom."

"I…"

"No, I am actually pretty positive about it." Lorelai reiterates. Rory doesn't speak, if she did, what could she say? Deny it? Lorelai continues to stare at her, "You know…you're really pretty."

"Thank...you" Rory manages.

"Welcome, but you still haven't told me why you're here." Lorelai grins because she thinks she is finally going to start getting some answers but their mini moment is interrupted by Emily walking through the door.

"Rory," she gasps, not expecting to see her granddaughter there.

"Um, hi," Rory replies. Emily approaches her daughter and granddaughter.

"Uh oh," Lorelai whispers to her daughter. "She has that look on her face. Which one of us is in trouble?"

"What's going on in here?" Emily asks.

"I was just talking to your friend here, Mom." Lorelai answers.

Emily huffs. "I think it's time we stopped playing charades, Lorelai."

"I didn't realize we were, Mother."

"We need to talk." Emily says as she pulls the other chair up beside Rory's.

"I agree," Lorelai states. "Are you ready to tell me what happened?"

"Yes," Emily says shortly. "Are you ready to listen?"

"I am all ears,"

Rory notices that the way they talk to each other is almost like a challenge.

"You were in an accident," Emily begins to explain.

"So I've gathered." Lorelai replies.

"Lorelai!"

"Sorry, I'll be quiet,"

Emily sighs wondering what the best way to break news like this to someone is. "Lorelai, you were in a car accident and you lost your memory." She says just spitting it out.

"I lost my memory," Lorelai repeats.

"Yes,"

"I lost my memory?" she says again with a little more force behind her voice. It isn't that she doesn't believe what her mother just told her. It would actually explain a lot, except for the fact that she remembers stuff.

"Yes Lorelai, you were thrown from your car because you weren't wearing a seatbelt and ended up with a serious concussion that gave you amnesia."

Lorelai laughs but then stops because it hurts. "I don't have a car, Mom." Lorelai declares. "I don't have a driver's license. Hell, I'm not even sixteen."

"You're thirty-eight." Emily retaliates. Lorelai has to hold her breath to keep from laughing again.

"Thirty-eight, Mom, really?" she says when she regains her composure. "You couldn't come up with anything more ridiculous."

"Lorelai, I am not making this up," Emily tries.

"She really isn't," Rory says speaking for the first time.

Lorelai rolls her eyes. "I don't even know you," she says harshly to Rory.

"Exactly," Rory rises.

Lorelai looks at her confused. "Should I know you?" Lorelai says softening her voice.

"I should say so," Rory says looking down at the floor. They all sit quietly for a minute.

"Thirty-eight, huh?" Lorelai asks trying to freak herself out.

"Yes," Emily says and Rory nods.

"So it's not 1984,"

"No," Emily says quietly.

"What year is it?" Lorelai asks not wanting to do the math herself.

"2006," Rory answers.

Lorelai sucks in a large breath but is very careful about releasing it. "You swear?"

"Cross my heart and kiss my elbow," Rory says quickly.

Lorelai smiles at the Holly Golightly reference and then lets it fade as a whole new series of questions pop into her head. She doesn't know where to start. She turns her head and looks carefully at the young brunette sitting beside her. She makes her think of Christopher. "Where's Chris?" Lorelai asks.

"He'll be back soon," Emily sighs softly.

"You look like him," Lorelai says to Rory putting the missing puzzle pieces back together in her mind. Emily and Rory are quiet giving Lorelai a moment to process the information she was just given.

"Thirty-eight?" she says again. She says it out loud to try and make her words connect to her brain but there is nothing, it doesn't compute, she can't comprehend. She thinks about how much time has passed. "Twenty-two years." She says and then dwells on that for a few minutes. So much can happen in twenty two years. Most thirty eight year olds aren't still in high school. Did I go to college? Did I get married? Did I marry Christopher? Do I live as far away from my parents as I always dreamed? And what about….She cuts off her thoughts and raises her hand to her stomach and then turns to her head to the right. Rory has tears pooling and Lorelai thinks she knows why. "How old are you?" Lorelai asks as soon as the thought dawns. It makes so much sense. Why she called her Mom when she first woke up, why she looks so much like Christopher, Why she's even here in the first place. Lorelai can't believe it took her this long to put it together.

"Twenty—one," Rory answers slowly.

"Lorelai—" Emily tries.

Lorelai stare off blankly offering her mother no response. "….Lorelai….."