AN - Thank you everyone. A point on Emily, this is season 5 Emily before the reconciliation who I always felt was the meanest and most erratic Emily (or at the very least we didn't get the redeeming moments for Emily we got in the other series) we saw so while it doesn't justify her behaviour it at least hopefully explains it, I do have a soft spot for Emily so she will get better it just has to happen organically. Also Dean sigh just no but I disliked the male Yale party so I had to have a new way to get rid of him so another divergence. Hope you guys enjoy. Let me know what you think. x

Chapter 4 - Floundering Gilmore's

Emily scowled as Lorelai resolutely looked at her plate and refused to look at her. Their conversation this evening had been the bare minimum and Lorelai had only engaged in conversation with Rory before Rory had excused herself to go back to school to carry on revising for her exams that she had over next few weeks. She knew that Lorelai was upset, the angry conversation she had had with her daughter over her visit to the silly little store that Luke's ex ran had been a sour note and while she had apologised and promised to never visit again unless she needed one of the ridiculous knickknacks the woman sold Emily knew that Lorelai still hadn't forgiven her.

"Really Lorelai, must you insist on acting like a petulant child!" Emily set her knife and fork down and gazed imperiously at her daughter. "I have apologised. Now move on, we are supposed to be having dinner that typically involves conversation."

Lorelai closed her eyes steeling herself in an attempt to prevent the angry diatribe she wanted to shoot at her mother. The last two weeks had been a nightmare. Luke had had a massive fight with Anna over Emily's visit and as a result she was back to having to stay away on April weekends as Anna had threatened all sorts and Luke, rightly, was putting April first. His fight with Anna had put him a foul mood and she just hadn't been able to shake him out of it. Lorelai missed her warm tender Luke, she was upset about having to go back to being in the background and the last thing she needed was her mother behaving like nothing was wrong. She hadn't even wanted to come tonight only coming because it was the only chance that she would have to see Rory.

"Well?"

Emily's voice shot through her like nails on a blackboard. It was the last thing she needed, the last thing she wanted to hear and her resolve snapped. Lorelai slammed her knife and fork down on the table. "You don't even realise what you've done do you! You think saying sorry is enough? Luke and Anna have had a massive fight because of what you did, Mother. Anna is threatening to change their custody arrangement if Luke stays seeing me because of what you did!" She opened her eyes and looked at her mother. Emily looked stunned but Lorelai could see the frown beginning to creep back in as her outburst sunk in. "You don't even see what you are doing do you? You can't see how crazy you are behaving. You're getting worse and worse. So why don't you do us all a favour and move on, move out, whatever, get a divorce, just split up from Dad properly because you are driving us all crazy, and making us all miserable!" she stood up, kicking her chair backwards. "You need to sort yourself out, and stay away from Luke and April and Anna because they are nothing to do with you!" She stalked out of the dining room, a glimmer of petulant satisfaction kicking through her as she realised that her mother wasn't following her, that she had properly stunned her mother into silence. She was too mad to think about what she had just said or about how dangerous it was that her mother wasn't following her, she just needed to get out of this house.


xXx

Rory glanced at her phone as buzzed to show a call yet again. Dean. She was trying to study, she had a final on Monday and she was just not ready for it. The last thing she needed was Dean calling, again, to try and have a chat. She let the call ring out and tried to focus on her notes, trying to understand what on earth she had scribbled in haste during a lecture. As her phone began to buzz yet again she slammed her pen down on her notebook. She stared at the screen in disbelief. Dean. Again. The phone rang out once more and almost immediately began to buzz again. Dean. "Oh come on!"

As the fourth call from Dean flashed up on screen she snatched it up. "I'm trying to study," she hissed annoyed down the phone.

"You said you would call."

"I said I might call, IF, I could finish studying, I haven't finished so I haven't called you." Rory slumped in her seat.

"You're always studying!" Dean gripped down the phone.

"I have finals," Rory retorted. "I told you the next two weeks are insane."

"God Rory," Dean shot angrily down the phone at her. "I left my wife for you and…"

Her eyes widened sharply. "You did not leave your wife for me!" Rory interrupted him.

"I slept with…"

"No, do not do this, do not put that on me. We both screwed up then and I told you to figure out what you wanted. I wasn't the one who left the letter where his wife could find it." Rory stood up, her muscles tensing and her having the sudden desire to be moving. She started to pace as adrenaline coursed through her.

"So it's my fault?" Dean shot back at her. "You were the one who asked me to Miss Patty's, you were the one who came to me after me and Lindsey split up."

Rory's mouth dropped open, she could feel the tears burning the edge of her eyes. He was right but it was him too, his failed marriage wasn't all on her. "Are you serious?" she whispered, her voice unable to go over a certain level or she would start crying. "I tell you I have to study and you blame me for breaking up your marriage."

"You're always…" Dean gave a huff. "I made sacrifices for you."

"Sacrifices, you don't think I'm sacrificing?" Rory sniffed and wiped the corner of her eyes. "All I'm doing right now is studying because I need to pass my courses so I can get a good job. I don't do anything except study, eat, and sleep a few hours and study some more. I spent twenty minutes with my Mom this week. That's it."

"And she's more important than me. Studying is more important than me." Dean muttered childishly at her.

Rory gulped she couldn't answer him. Of course her Mom was more important than him, of course studying was more important than him. Studying was for her future and her Mom was her Mom, the most important person in her life.

"I figured," Dean muttered at her silence. "Well forget it."

"Forget it," Rory repeated as the tears started to trickle down her cheeks.

"This is over," Dean muttered and Rory could hear the shrug in his voice. The casual dismissal of the last few months. "It was stupid anyway."

"Dean?" Rory whispered but she was greeted with the sound of an ended phone call. She lifted the phone away from her ear and stared at her screen. Her chest was seizing and she wasn't sure what she should do. The rational part of her mind was telling her to sit back down and study, but she couldn't, she needed to move, she needed to get away from everything. She grabbed her jacket and keys and ran from the dorm. She just needed to get out of here.


xXx

Richard pulled his long coat that around him as he made his way round the corner of the house on his way to the pool house. It was late and the air was frigid, sharp fingers scraping at his cheeks as he moved as quickly as he dared on the slightly slippery ground.

A smashing noise filled the silent night air and he froze. Carefully he made his way back to the side gate and peered through onto the frozen patio. There was a dim light issuing from the main house and he cautiously approached, peering through the window. His eyebrows rose as he saw Emily on her knees on the floor by the fire which was the only light in the room. There was glass on the floor surrounding her, sparkling in the flickering light.

Richard pulled open the back door and rushed over to her. "Emily?"

He paused trying to see the safe place to crouch beside her. Emily laughed and he frowned. She was drunk. Very drunk. Her laugh had taken on the weird mix of low and high noises that almost made her sound deranged. He hated that laugh. It was a dangerous laugh.

"Emily, come on you silly goose," he adopted a warm jovial tone, knowing that it was the only one that worked with his wife when she was this inebriated. Carefully he reached to place his hands under her arms so he could lift her away from the glass but she gave a screech and flailed her arm. A splatter of bright red blood hit his white shirt. Concerned he tried once more ignoring her screech and hauling her off the floor and away from the glass. "Emily, you've cut your hand," he tried to look at her face but her hair had fallen across it shielding it from view. "Come on now let me see," he tried to coax her hand open.

"No," Emily hissed childishly, pulling her wounded hand out of his grip.

"Come on now," Richard tried once more but Emily turned away from him. In doing so her hair fell away from her face and Richard frowned as he took in how red and puffy her eyes were. She had been crying. He glanced around the house. Half eaten dinner plates were sat on the table. Richard closed his eyes for a beat in despair and understanding. She had fought with Lorelai. Emily was always at her most fragile after a fight with their daughter. He scanned the plates, they had barely started the main course, it was ten thirty now; Emily had probably been drinking for the past two and half hours. "Come on now my silly girl," he leaned forward to pick her up knowing that the only thing to do now was to get her away from the alcohol and into bed so she could sleep it off.

"Not yours," Emily hissed trying and failing to focus on him.

"Of course you are," Richard smiled weakly at her crouching in front of her. "Come on Emily it's bedtime.

"No," Emily scowled petulantly folding her arms and letting her wounded hand stain her blouse, "just a pain in the…" she hiccupped and seemed to forget what she was saying. Instead she stared at him blearily, her dark brown eyes filled with tears. "I want to love you but it hurts too much."

Richard rocked back on his heels and looked at her with sad eyes; Emily was doing what she did best closing herself off because she couldn't handle the emotions that were hitting her so hard. He had seen from a distance her erratic behaviour, watched as her appearance became more and more armour like, her hair bigger and bigger to the point it looked like a helmet, her suits more crisp. She was trying to protect herself. Their separation had been decided in a heat of a blazing row brought about from the fear of losing their daughter and following months of him essentially neglecting her. He had thought those weeks apart while she toured Europe would have been enough to fix the rift but she had come home and hadn't asked him to come back to the main house. Their rift was widening and widening and both of them were floundering having spent 6 months without the other yet neither of them knew how to come back to each other.

She laughed suddenly and he winced, he knew what was coming, after the heartfelt admittance there always came something hurtful it was how Emily operated Emily couldn't show too much of herself to anyone not even him.

"You don't care," she shrugged. "I was never supposed to be a Gilmore, I'm not good enough," she slurred and let out a high little laugh. "I just make everyone miserable."

"Come on now Emily," Richard tried to embrace his fragile wounded wife.

"No," she pushed him savagely nearly making him fall over, "don't want you."

"Emily," Richard righted himself with a sigh. "Stop this now."

"No," Emily stood up and staggered towards the stairs. "Go away. It's over. It has been ever since …" she stumbled on the stairs and fell with a heavy thud and a drunken laugh.

Richard rushed to her side and after a moment's hesitation he scooped her up.

"No," Emily screeched at him before giving a shuddering sigh and resting her head on his shoulder. "Where did my Richard go to?"

"I'm right here," he whispered as he carried her up the stairs.

"No," Emily yawned and placed her bloody hand against her chest. "He left a long time ago."


xXx

Lorelai pulled the car to a stop outside Luke's House, she had been driving for hours, but she couldn't bring herself to go home. She didn't want to go home by herself, she wanted Luke. She had tried to tell herself that everything would be Ok, that once Anna calmed down it would all be alright but she didn't believe it. She wanted to but she couldn't. Her phone had been ringing nonstop, but it wasn't him, she had assigned him his own ringtone, the star trek theme so she could tease him. No it was just her plain old ringtone. It was most likely Emily calling to demand an apology. She didn't want her mother or anyone else. She just wanted Luke.

She stared at his door for the longest time, there was still a light on; someone was still up. Even though she shouldn't be here, it was an April weekend, she had said she would stay away but she couldn't. She slid out of her car and made her way up the walk. She made to ring the bell but at the last moment pulled her hand away and instead knocked softly on the door.

The door opened after only a few moments and he stood there with a beer in hand. His blue eyes fixed on her, filled with sadness, framed by stress.

"I know," she burbled tearfully. "I'm not supposed to be here, but…I…but…I've wanted this for so long and I…I don't want this to end."

Luke lowered his beer onto the table by the door and stopped onto the porch beside her so he could wrap his arms around her. "I don't want it to either."

Lorelai pressed her face into his chest and tried to cry which just made her cry even harder and soon she was a bawling mess. Tears cascading down her cheeks and soaking the front of his T-shirt beneath his open flannel.

"Come on," Luke pulled her towards the inside of the house.

"April," Lorelai managed to burble.

"Is asleep and won't wake up till seven. As long as she doesn't see you, who's gonna tell Anna," Luke mumbled guiding her to the couch.

"I don't want to sneak around," Lorelai hiccupped and wiped her sodden face with her hand.

"I don't either," Luke settled beside her. "Come on." he wrapped his arms around her shoulder and pulled her into to lean against him. "I'll speak to Anna," he kissed her softly, "we'll work this out."

Lorelai snuggled into his chest. She wanted it to be true but she could hear the hesitation and nervousness in his voice. Everything relied on one woman. Her happiness was in the hands of a woman who probably hated her and it was all just too much. The tears kept flowing, but safe in his arms they were silent.


xXx

Rory glanced over her shoulder with nervousness. When she had left her dorm, she had wandered the frozen campus for a few hours before she had found sanctuary in an open coffee house. There had been only one other customer, and he had tried to chat her up which was wholly unwelcome. She wanted someone to talk too but not some random stranger who didn't understand the word no. She had barely finished her coffee before the barista kicked them out to close. She glanced at her phone. She had worn out the battery trying to get hold of her Mom but Lorelai hadn't answered and now her phone was tantalisingly close to dead. The random stranger looked like he was following her, and her despair at her break up with Dean, her frustration at not being able to get hold of her Mom was giving way to panic as she felt like she was being pursued. The campus was empty, it was nearly midnight and most people if they were up were busy cramming or if they were old enough to be partying were in the bars. Part of her wanted to run but she was useless at running and the guy looked like he could outrun her in a heartbeat.

She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. Her chest was starting to seize and she couldn't remember which of the buildings were open 24 hours or where the security would be so she could get help. He glanced over her shoulder once more. He was still following, still walking at the same speed. She gulped as she realised nothing had happened yet because she was walking in the light in the open but she was heading straight for the bit of slightly shaded alleys between buildings. Bile rose in her mouth. She was trapped there was nothing she could do.

Suddenly up ahead there was a noisy cacophony of whoops and cheers sounded and round the corner came four young men on roller blades wearing the most ridiculous clothing she had ever seen. It was December and they were wearing silver short shorts and gold string vest tops. They wore Halloween wigs in punk styles in pink and luminous yellow, their faces covered in multi-coloured face paint. She yelped as one of the men careered into her. He steadied himself holding onto her shoulders to stop himself from falling. Laughing he looked at her and she realised it was Logan Huntzberger, from the paper.

"Hey Ace," he grinned at her before his obnoxious smile wiped off his face as he took in her terrified face and his eyes moved beyond her down the path to the man who had stopped in his tracks. Any mirth that had been in his face vanished. "Guys!" he called alerting the three other young men, the tone of his voice alerting them that something was wrong. The mood changed dramatically and Rory suddenly found herself surrounded by the strangely dressed young men who were all staring down the path at the retreating back of the man who had been following her.

Rory released her breath and tried not to burst into tears. "Thank you." she managed to whisper.

"Our pleasure love," one of the young men drawled to her in an Australian accent.

"I got a picture," another muttered as he stared at his phone.

"We'll take you to security so this can be reported," Logan smiled at her reassuringly, maintaining a secure distance without actually touching her. "And then wherever you need to go," he gave a slight shiver. "We're your guard tonight."


xXx

Rory woke with a start to the sound of Paris yelling. She glanced at her clock and groaned it was 6.45am. After dealing with Campus security she had finally got home at just before 2am by which point she had been out of it from tiredness and shock and she had just collapsed fully dressed on her bed.

"Listen love."

She lifted her head away from the pillow as she heard Finn's loud antipodean twang sound from the common room. She quickly stumbled out of bed and rushed to the room. Paris was stood her hands on her hips berating the barely awake young men who were stretched out across the sofas.

"Paris!" Rory grabbed her friends shoulder. "They're here with me."

"What? why?" Paris scowled at her.

"I needed help last night, they helped me out," Rory told her simply.

"These idiots?" Paris scanned the four scantily clad men with disgust.

"Nights in shining armours we are," Finn muttered scratching himself as he yawned.

Logan pulled himself out of the chair, he fixed Rory with a concerned look ignoring Paris. "Your phone rang a few minutes ago. It said Mom," he flicked his eyes towards a table.

"I should call her," Rory glanced in the direction Logan had just looked at surprised to see the phone plugged in to the charger. "Thank you, for last night. You didn't need to stay."

"We told you, we were your guard." Logan smiled at her. "I put our numbers in your phone, if you need us, any time, day or night call us. We have no problem coming and escorting a fair maiden in the dark." He glanced at Paris. "I'd say you also but you look like you could kill anyone on your own just fine," he took a step back and kicked a still asleep Robert in the leg. "Gentlemen we take our leave."

The four young men left with a clatter and raucous laughter as if they had just fallen asleep at a party and hadn't spent the night keep watch over her following her scare.

"What was Warren Beatty junior and his ingrate friends doing in our dorm room?" Paris demanded as she folded her arms across her chest.

Rory took a deep breath and wiped her hand over her tired face. "I was being followed by someone last night, Logan and the other's ran into me and…" she paused and sighed. "They were making sure I was safe."

"Followed?" Paris looked at her nervously, the anger dropping from her voice "did they try…"

"No," Rory shook her head, "the guys got there in time."

Paris opened her mouth to respond but Rory's phone started to ring and the pair stared at it. "Are you going to tell Lorelai?" she asked studying Rory intently.

Rory shook her head and moved to the phone to answer the call she knew was from her mother "No, there's no point in worrying her. Nothing happened, besides I left her a gazillion messages about splitting up with Dean."

"You broke up with the beanpole?" Paris looked her friend up and down. "Good, he wasn't good enough for you," she scanned Rory. "Answer that, I have to revise and she'll only call again," she gave a curt nod and marched into her bedroom slamming the door behind her.

Rory quickly answered her phone. "Hi Mom,"

"Hey Babe," Lorelai's overly cheerful voice sounded, "sorry I didn't answer last night. Sounds like we both had a rough night."