Author's note: I just wanted to thank all of you for reading so far. I am really sadly enjoying this story, only because this is one of the stories that I have the ending figured out - the journey is the adventure. I wanted to explain that I had to manipulate the time schedule a bit - i put that Rory is still living at home, so this is during her Senior year at Chilton. Lorelei dated Luke, but then agreed to get married to Chris. i KNOW this pushes up the time limit, but i just needed to change a few things - and thats what fan fiction is all about.
Please please please review - I have more chapters to post but really would love to hear feedback :)
Thanks so much :)
Lorelai ran up to the desk in the emergency room. "Im here with Rory Gilmore. Well, her full name is Lorelai Gilmore." She said, watching the receptionist and waiting for her to start typing in the information into her computer to find out where Rory was. Impatient, Lorelai started rambling on, trying to convey just how imp0ortant it was. "She came in on an ambulance about…" She had no idea how long it had been since the attack. She had no idea what time it had happened. She frantically searched around the room for a clock, but then realized she didn't know the time the ambulance had left the house. "Well, shes really skinny. She has brown hair…"
The receptionist interrupted her. "Ma'am." Her voice was just a little bit calm for such a stressful situation. "We need to get you checked in, and then we can find out what the status on your daughter."
Lorelai barely glanced down at her blood-covered body. "No, you don't understand. This.." And then she started to stumble over her words. "This is… it isn't mine."
She felt a strong presence behind her. His voice spoke assuredly and with the clarity that she couldn't seem to muster. "The blood isn't hers. Its her daughters." Relief flooded over the receptionist's eyes. "She does need to be checked out, but its not an emergency situation. She would like to see her daughter first."
Nodding, she told them that the doctor would be out as soon as possible to give them an update on her daughter's care. Lorelai allowed Luke to lead her to one of the chairs, where she sat on the edge of her seat, jumping every time the doors would open or close.
"Please, ma'am," The receptionist said, "Let us at least get you checked in, and just make sure everything is all good while you're waiting on your daughter."
Lorelai shook her head to protest. I have to be ready when they are. What if they can't find me? But then Luke said, "I think it would be good. Get it out of the way."
She agreed, but said, "I want Luke to come back with me." He nodded in agreement – and the way he was sticking so close, she knew he wasn't going anywhere.
They led her back to a small exam room. They handed her a hospital gown and a clean blanket. "Just put these on, and set your old clothes over to the side. And the doctor should be ready then to come check you out." Lorelai didn't say anything, just nodded her head.
Luke went to step out of the room. Her heart started pounding. "Luke, please don't…" he turned around, and all she could see was Chris' anger at the mention of Luke's name. She lost her nerve. "Please.. don't go home yet." She finished.
"Im not going anywhere until we found out how Rory is." He said as the door loudly latched behind him. She was all alone.
She dropped the old blanket that Sooky had given her to cover up. And looking down at her torn blouse covered in blood, she realized why as her shirt was ripped all the way down the front. She remembered the violent way she had felt so exposed. Shuddering, she tried to speed up the process of getting out of these clothes. Pulling her arms through the sleeves, she winced in pain as her cut arms rubbed against the fabric. Now standing there in just her skirt and bra, she looked down her body, wanting nothing more than to shower and get al the blood and horrible feelings off of her skin. She started to remember how he had groped under her skirt, how he had tortured her with the fear of what was about to happen. She couldn't think. She just sat on the end of the exam table. And cried. And cried. Her body shaking. And she couldn't stop.
A soft knock on the door made her look up, but she could not stop crying. It was a nurse. "Is everything ok? Can I help you with anything?"
Lorelai didn't know what to say. She just allowed the nurse to genly help her out of her bra and helped drape the light hospital gown over her torso. She stood up and stepped out of her skirt and underwear, still crying. The nurse gathered up her clothes, put them in a plastic bag, and give her a warm blanket. "The doctor is going to come in soon." Then she paused, "Do you want me to send the gentleman that's waiting for you in the hall."
Luke. "Yes." She nodded.
The light was dimmed when he walked into the hospital room. She just stared at the wall by the door; she didn't acknowledge that he walked through the door. He was rather thankful for that. Because if she had noticed him, she would have seen the utter horror that came to his face when he saw what had happened to her body.
Without the giant blanket over her, he could see her arms, cuts from the shards of glass were open, although none were actively bleeding that he could see. Then he saw the handprints on her wrists, red and purpeling. Her neck was riddled with bite marks, and his stomach rolled when he realized that only one of them looked recent. Bruises in various stages of healing dotted all the way up and around her arms into her shoulders. Her legs hung off of the table, cuts and bruises just like on her arms – but only above the knee.
He walked over to her. She sat there, a blanket still folded in her lap, but her hands were just shaking with every breath she took. She crossed her arms, seeming to have somewhat of a coping mechanism to protect herself from something. He looked at her, wishing she would make eye contact with him. But what little conversation Lorelia was willing to carry on in the car was gone.
They both jumped when there was a knock at the door and in stepped the doctor. She extended her hand to both of them. "Hi. I'm Dr. Kepner. I'm your daughter's surgeon." The doctor's hair was pulled back into a scrub cap, her scrubs looked clean – like they had been changed.
Lorelai asked, "How is she? What's wrong?"
Dr. Kepner looked at Lorelai and immediately went into doctor mode. "We had to rush her into emergency surgery to deal with the multiple stab wounds and blood loss. There was some very extensive damage to her arms and abdomen." Lorelai gasped, even though she already knew it was going to be bad. The doctor continued, "She lost a lot of blood."
Luke could see Lorelai starting to crumble beside him. "We gave her multiple units of blood to try and get her blood count up." She paused, and Luke hoped that she was getting to the good part. But he wasn't hopeful. "Because of the loss of blood, her brain experienced a lack of oxygen supply." The doctor paused to look directly at Lorelai. "We were able to get her stabilized, but her body sent her into a coma induced by the lack of oxygen to the brain."
Lorelai's voice shook when she voiced her concern, "Is she going to wake up?"
The doctor told her, "Its just a waiting game. We cannot tell the extent to which the brain may or may not be damaged. So right now we just have to wait and see when her body wakes her up."
Luke had to ask, "Can we see her?"
The doctor said, "She is in the ICU, where we only allow family to visit her, but in a few minutes that should be fine." She turned back to Lorelai, "We would like you to finish your exam before we take you back to see your daughter."
In shock, Lorelai just nodded her head, almost giving up all hope or energy to fight for anything. The doctor stood up and said, "We will make sure and keep you updated on your daughter's progress."