Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or the characters. This is just for fun.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed!

Enjoy!


Chapter Four

It was only by luck that Rory's boyfriend, Dean was not involved in an accident himself as he frantically drove back to Stars Hollow. When he got there though, Dean realised that he didn't know where to go, he wandered around for some time before finally ending up at Lorelai and Rory's house. There he sat down on the front stairs, his heart breaking, for how long he sat there Dean did not know, it was only as he heard a car pull into the driveway that he snapped out of state of shock.

Luke climbed out of the first car, going to the passenger side, where he had to physically carry Lorelai, who was simply beyond functioning. Luke didn't seem to notice Dean sitting on the stairs at first.

It was Chris and Sherri who saw him, Chris recognised Dean as being Rory's boyfriend, and so when to talk to the teen; Sherri followed him after parking Lorelai's jeep, feeling a little out of place.

"Dean," Chris said as he approached him, not wanting to startle the teen.

He shouldn't have worried though, as Dean all but pounced on him, seeking information. "I read in the paper about the accident. Please, you've gotta tell me, how's Rory? ...Is she alive?"

Chris motioned for Sherri to head inside, as he sat down beside Dean. "Rory's alive, Dean." Chris began, but that was all the positive news that he could offer. "We just got back from the hospital. Rory's in the intensive care unit, in a coma; she was hurt very badly."

"What was she doing in the car with Jess?"

"We don't really know. They apparently were meant to be studying at the diner; neither of them can tell us now."

"Jess died didn't he?"

"Yeah, he died. He was trapped in the car, it caught fire. Were you two friends?"

Dean shook his head, "Couldn't stand the guy." He paused, "I knew that punk was going to do something like this. Damn it!" Again Dean paused, before asking, "Is Lorelai alright?"

"Her daughter's on life support, she'll never be alright."


After he put Lorelai in her bed, Luke headed back downstairs to talk to Chris. Chris was sitting in the living room with Dean and Sherri; seeing Luke, Chris asked him, "How's Lore?"

"Ah, she's wrecked. I'm pretty sure she was asleep before I even got her to bed." Luke paused, "I'd better get going. I've got to start making the arrangements and everything, pack up Jess' stuff. I haven't even called his mom yet. Can you just let Lorelai know that I'll call her later?"

"Of course mate."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Sherri asked the grief stricken man.

"No, I've just got to get all this done," Luke said with a sigh.


Back at the hospital, Emily and Richard were watching over their beloved granddaughter's comatose body with absolute vigilance. Every time a machine sounded or a new medication was started, Emily would be hounding the nurses, seeking an explanation, any explanation, fearing the worst.


After leaving Lorelai's house, Luke drove back to his diner; he parked out the back, and headed up to the apartment. Jess' stuff was everywhere, as usual. For the briefest moment Luke felt anger towards his nephew, how could he just have left everything there for him to deal with?

Of course logic said that Jess didn't leave his possessions around the apartment so his uncle would have to deal with them; he never could have imagined that he wasn't going to come home that night.

Luke finally let his emotions bubble over, and he just screamed, "WHY DID YOU DO THIS? Damn it, Jess! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING OUT THERE, DRIVING RORY'S CAR? I DID EVERYTHING FOR YOU, I TOOK YOU IN WHEN YOUR MOTHER DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOU! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO DO THIS?" Luke punched the drywall, breaking his hand, "God damnit!" Luke swore as he dropped to the floor, overwhelmed and out of his mind with grief.

Some time later, nursing an injured hand, Luke called his sister; Liz didn't even answer his call.


By midday in the Kim household, Lane was climbing the walls, desperate for information about her best friend. By the afternoon, Lane slipped out of the house, and walked over to Rory's house, unable to wait any longer.

When she reached the house, Lane was met by Sherri, who showed her through to the living room, where they had gathered. Lane saw Dean sitting alone in Rory's bedroom, she excused herself to go talk to him.

"Dean," Lane said, making her presence known to Rory's distraught boyfriend.

Dean looked up from where he had been going through Rory's books; he wanted to find a book to take up to the hospital with him to read to Rory. "Lane, hi."

"Has there been any news? All my mother would tell me was that Rory had been in an accident, do you know what's going on? How is she? Why aren't you with her?"

Dean sat down on Rory's bed, motioning for Lane to do the same. "Jess was driving her car, we don't know why. He's dead, and Rory's in the ICU down in New Haven; they took her there in the helicopter. She's in a coma, on life support; they don't think she's going to get better." Dean did his best to recap what he knew, trying not to let his feelings get the better of him. Sighing he added, "Lorelai and Chris were at the hospital all night, I'm going to go back with them later."

"...Life support?" Lane questioned in disbelief.

Dean nodded, "Apparently she hit her head in the crash, there was bleeding in her brain."

Lane stood up, she paced the room anxiously, "We can't just sit around here. Come on, you've got a car, we should just go there ourselves."

Not that he had admitted it, but Dean was actually afraid to go to the hospital; the idea of seeing Rory in the hospital made Dean feel sick.

"Dean, please."


On Chris' advice Dean opted to take the longer route to the hospital, there was no need for them to see the accident scene. When they arrived at the hospital, a volunteer showed the teens upstairs to the SICU. They were met by a nurse as they entered the unit.

"Hi, who are you here to see?" The nurse asked kindly.

"Rory Gilmore," Dean replied, casting an uneasy glance around the foreboding space.

"Alright. Can I just ask who you are to Ms Gilmore?"

"I'm her boyfriend, this is her friend."

"And have you seen her at all since the accident?" The nurse wanted to make sure that the teens were prepared before she showed them through.

Lane and Dean both answered in the negative.

"Alright then. I'll take you back in just one moment, but firstly I just want to let you know what to expect." The nurse paused, she took the teens aside to a quieter spot. "Rory was brought in here after being in a very bad car accident, as I'm sure you're aware. Now, what you can expect when you see her. She is not awake. There is a tube in her throat that goes to the ventilator that is breathing for her. She has another tube just under her collar bone, which lets us give her the medications. There are also several drains, one in either side of her chest, one in her stomach, one in her head; there's a catheter in her bladder. We have also have quite a few leads attached to her, monitoring her heart, oxygen levels, and the pressure in her brain. She has a bandage around her head, from where the neurosurgeon operated. There are burns on a large area of her body, they're covered by dressings. It can be quite a confronting sight, but try to remember that all of the equipment, it's all there to help her. ...Do you have any questions?"

Dean sighed; he already knew the answer, but there was one question that he felt he needed to ask, "Is she dying?"

The nurse offered a subtle nod; she then escorted Dean and Lane through to Rory's bed.


TBC...

Please let me know what you think! I'll take all plot suggestions on board.