Here's the next chapter. Lorelai meets a very special person who will change her life and Emily Gilmore appears. Dun dun dun! Please note: the story will contain elements of metaphysics and spirituality. It will be very general and acceptable by all faiths. Please continue to read with an open mind and enjoy! As always, thanks to all my reviewers. New reviewers are always welcome so please read and review. Let the healing begin!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters I create. All others belong to AS-P.
Chapter 8: Maria
Life went on as usual in the following weeks. Lorelai was adjusting to her new routine now. She went back to work part time at the Dragonfly and then went to the hospital to visit Rory. She would often do paperwork while keeping an eye on her unconscious daughter. Even though she had the support of her family and friends, Lorelai still felt a deep loneliness inside and her guilt continued to eat away at the pit of her stomach. Yet, she still kept a brave face on. The longer Rory remained in a coma, the more depressed Lorelai became and the more she hid her feelings.
Lorelai sat, watching the rise and fall of Rory's chest, as the respirator pumped air into her daughter's lungs. The rhythmic sound was comforting in an odd way. Rory was beginning to look more like her old self. The brain swelling was gone, the shunt now removed from her head. Rory had undergone surgery to have bone, taken from her hip, grafted over a mesh patch covering the section of brain where the skull was removed to accommodate Rory's swollen brain. In time, new bone would grow and fill in the hole. Rory managed to survive the past six weeks without having a stroke or any other serious complications.
As Lorelai gently ran a finger along Rory's cheek, she looked for any sign of reaction from her daughter, a twitch or a sign of a smile, anything to let her know that her beloved Rory was in there somewhere. The swelling and bruising were gone and, despite a bandage covering her fuzz covered head, Rory looked like her old self, only suspended in a deep sleep. She leaned over and tenderly kissed her daughter on the cheek.
"Wake up Sleeping Beauty," Lorelai whispered in Rory's ear, remembering one of Rory's favorite childhood stories. "Rory honey, I know you like to sleep in on the week ends but this is ridiculous," Lorelai joked. "You've had enough beauty sleep to last a life time." Rory continued to lie motionless as Lorelai sighed.
The door to the room opened, startling Lorelai. She was expecting her parents or Christopher. Chris kept his word and was a regular visitor. Sometimes they would talk, Lorelai telling him stories of Rory's childhood, other times they just sat quietly, both understanding each other's unspoken pain. Lorelai looked up as a woman she'd never seen before entered. She knew all the nursing staff by name and chatted with them as they checked Rory's vitals or changed her position to prevent bed sores. She knew them all, but this person was new to her.
"Hi," said the woman, stretching out her hand. "My name is Maria."
"I'm Lorelai Gilmore, Rory's mother," Lorelai said, shaking hands with the woman.
"I'm Rory's physical therapist. Dr. Harper feels that Rory should have her muscles exercised to prevent atrophy and to strengthen them. I will be working with Rory and teaching you how to do range of motion exercises so you can work with her yourself."
"You know, I don't do the whole exercise thing," Lorelai said with a smirk. "I'm allergic to it."
The woman beamed a brilliant smile at Lorelai and laughed. "Well then, you must have great genes because you look fabulous."
Though they had just met, Lorelai liked this woman. She had a friendly manner and an infectious laugh. Maria was dressed in blue scrubs with teddy bears on it. She had short brown hair and chocolate brown eyes that lit up when she smiled. She was slim and muscular in a well toned way. She was definitely someone accustomed to exercise.
"Are you flirting with me," Lorelai said smiling, "cause I'm taken."
Maria got the joke and laughed. "Ah! You have a sense of humor. It must come in handy for when you can't deal with things."
"Wh-what," Lorelai stammered, her eyes as big as saucers. How does she know that! She doesn't even know me yet. "I'm dealing with things just fine," she said, getting defensive.
"I know a great deal about you just from reading your body language. Like right now you're closing down. Your arms are crossed over your chest and you're looking away. I can see the pain in your eyes, behind your smile and jokes. This must be incredibly hard for you, seeing your only child like this every day."
Lorelai looked over at Maria, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "You have no idea what I'm going through." She said, her voice breaking with emotion. She turned to look at Rory. She didn't want to lose control in front of this woman. If she lost control, she'd never regain it again. "You were going to show me some exercises for Rory," she said, changing the subject.
"You know she's here with us," Maria said standing next to Lorelai.
"Uh yeah, I know. I'm looking at her," Lorelai said rolling her eyes, the Gilmore sarcasm coming through.
Maria smiled. "I mean Rory is still here even if she can't tell us. She may be in a coma, but her soul is very much here in this room, listening to everything we say."
"Ok now you're starting to freak me out," Lorelai said.
"We are all energy beings," Maria began. "Every cell in our bodies contains that spark of life given to us by the Creator. Even our thoughts are pure energy, capable of manifesting our deepest desires or darkest fears. Just because Rory isn't conscious, doesn't mean she's not here. Before I show you some exercises, I want you to try something. I want you to place your hands just above Rory's body and close your eyes."
"Is this some kind of new age mumbo jumbo, cause I don't really believe in that stuff," Lorelai said, her arms still folded across her chest.
Maria just smiled at her. "Lorelai, do you mind if I ask you if you have any belief in God or a loving creator?"
Lorelai looked down at her feet. "I went to church services with my parents as a child but I've never really thought about it. I don't really pray or anything and I don't really follow any religious beliefs but yeah, I guess I believe."
Maria placed a hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "I'm not talking about religion. I'm talking about faith, a belief in something greater, an inner knowledge that guides us."
"What does this have to do with Rory's physical therapy," Lorelai inquired, "cause I don't see the connection."
"The body has the innate ability to heal itself, because it is designed to do so," Maria began. "Energy is that Divine Spark, if you will, that creates health in body, mind and spirit. When we learn to connect to that healing energy inside us, we can heal ourselves not only of our physical ailments, but of our emotional ones as well. I'd like you to feel the connection to your daughter, feel that, despite the fact that Rory is in a coma, she is still very present here with us."
Lorelai was still skeptical, but she did as Maria asked. She stood next to Rory and placed her hands just above Rory's body and closed her eyes. Maria told her to feel her daughter's presence and listen to the sounds of Rory's spirit trying to reach out.
"Now, do as I do," Maria instructed. "We are going to gently put Rory through some range of motion exercises. As you hold her hand and rotate her wrist and fingers and bend her arm, I want you to feel connected to her. Talk to her: she can hear you even if she can't respond yet."
Lorelai felt rather silly, but she followed Maria's gentle, fluid movements and found that it was actually quite soothing to perform these actions. She felt herself relaxing, getting into the flow of the motions as she spoke to Rory.
"Hey Babe, Mommy's here. I can't believe I'm doing this, but I want you to wake up, so I'll do whatever it takes. I miss you honey. I miss seeing you smile when I do something funny. I miss our movie nights, filled with junk food and laughter. I miss teasing you about the plethora of laundry you'd bring home from school to wash." Lorelai felt herself becoming emotional, as tears welled up in her eyes. "I miss giving you hugs when you've had a bad day and sharing in the wallowing just so you wouldn't be alone." Lorelai's voice cracked as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Most of all, I miss the sound of your voice and seeing your beautiful blue eyes looking at me. I love you so much honey. Please wake up. Please come back to me. I miss my best friend."
It was then that Lorelai felt it: a moment of peace and tranquility came over her. She could feel Rory there with her. She couldn't explain it if she tried, but she was there. Lorelai felt her whole body tremble and, as comforting as that moment was, Lorelai was suddenly filled with a wave of grief and pain. She could feel Rory with her but she couldn't bring her back to her.
Maria could sense the pain from Lorelai. "You've felt the connection now. Keep talking to Rory, have faith and she will heal."
Lorelai looked over at the woman whose face wore an expression of loving, kindness. "Why won't she wake up?"
"She will when she's ready," Maria said softly. "You've learned the first step toward healing today: You've learned to have hope and faith, to believe in something outside yourself, that we are all energy beings. Where that energy comes from is a matter of personal choice. I believe that it comes from the Source of Universal Love and is everywhere, in everything and everyone. When you have faith, hope and abundant love, you have the tools to create everything you want in life."
Lorelai stared at the woman in awe. She had never met anyone like Maria: her gentle, loving yet fun manner had touched Lorelai deeply. Maria embodied compassion and love. If there is a God, then He sent Maria to me for a reason. Maybe this whole new age-y stuff isn't a crock after all. I'll take any help I can get right now cause I don't know how much longer I can stay strong. Lorelai was lost in thought when the door to the room opened again. This time Emily Gilmore entered.
"Lorelai!" Emily said, surprised to see her daughter there. "I thought you were working today."
"I left early and brought some paperwork with me so I could do it here."
Emily noticed the new hospital worker standing next to Lorelai. "Lorelai, aren't you going to introduce me to this stranger. I thought I taught you better manners than that."
"I'm sorry, Mom this is Maria, Rory's physical therapist. Maria, this is my mother, Emily Gilmore." The two women shook hands as Lorelai looked down at the floor.
"Why does my granddaughter need a physical therapist?" Emily inquired of the woman. "She's in a coma. It's not as if she can do exercises. It just seems absurd and a waste of time if you ask me."
Maria was about to answer when a very irritated Lorelai cut her off. "Mom! You don't have to be rude! Maria is here because Dr. Harper wants Rory to have her muscles moved so she doesn't get stiff or something like that"
"It's to prevent Rory's muscles from becoming atrophied. They're range of motion exercises. I was showing Lorelai how to do some of the exercises so she could do them when I'm not here. I could show you as well," Maria explained.
Emily didn't hear what Maria said. She was glaring at her daughter. "Why do you insist on attacking me in front of strangers Lorelai? I was only voicing my opinion. You've been impossible lately and I'm really getting tired of being on the receiving end of your snide remarks. Contrary to popular belief, I am NOT the cause of every trauma you've ever had in life, nor will I accept the blame."
"Mother you always put me down and treat me like a child…" Lorelai began.
"That's because you ACT like a child! And you treat me with less respect than you give that dog of yours! I don't understand you Lorelai. I'm trying to support you here and you do everything in your power to turn me away. I am not perfect but I'm doing the best I can. I love Rory as much as you do, and seeing her like this hurts me too, but you don't see that do you? You think my only function in life is to destroy everything good in your life."
Lorelai began pacing the floor. "Mom, how many times do I have to try and make peace with you! You still won't forgive me for taking Rory and leaving you and Dad when I was seventeen! You continue to treat me like a child and you don't respect me, or the choices I've made in my life! I've tried to reach out to you, but you push me away." Lorelai fought back the urge to cry with every fiber of her being. "Can't you see I'm dying inside Mom? Every day I come here and sit with Rory. I'm trying so hard to be strong for her but this is killing me!"
"Not everything is about you Lorelai," Emily said through pursed lips. Lorelai shook her head and headed outside. "Where do you think you're going," Emily called after her daughter. "We're not done talking yet!" Lorelai walked briskly down the hall, wiping the tears from her cheeks. The peaceful, loving moment she had only minutes ago, was now lost as her pain and darkness returned.
Maria had witnessed the scene between the mother and daughter and gently placed a hand on Emily's arm. "Can we go somewhere and talk?"
Emily looked at the woman and was met with an expression of concern. Maria seemed a very calm, gentle person, especially in light of the embarrassing scene she had just witnessed. Emily sighed. She wished Richard were here. He finally decided to go on a business trip out of town this week, since Rory had showed no change. She followed Maria down to the courtyard to sit and talk.
A loud alarm sounded in Rory Gilmore's room. Several nurses ran in to find Rory gagging on the respirator tube that had been in her throat for the past six weeks. Rory was breathing on her own. As Dr. Harper was paged, the tube was removed to allow Rory to breathe without obstruction. She coughed and gagged and then opened her eyes.
