Title: What You Get
Disclaimer: Yet again, not mine.
Chapter 13: Midnight Dreams
Author's note: I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter. I'm trying to keep some excitement (I guess you could call it drama) in the story without making it too dramatic. Of course, I don't know if I'm being successful, but eh, it's fun to write.
As always, comments and criticism are always welcome.
A few nights later:
Luke makes his way to his room after cleaning up in the kitchen. He walks into his room and turns on the light, sighing as he realizes that one of his light bulbs has burned out. He changes into his pajama pants and throws on an old tee-shirt. Quietly, he unscrews the burned-out bulb and walks downstairs to grab another one. On his way back up he hears soft cries coming from Rory's room. As he nears her room the cries get louder, and he can hear her shouting in her sleep.
"Mommy! No! Mommy come back! Don't leave me! Mommy! Mommy!" Luke quickly opens her door and rushes over to the bed, gently shaking Rory out of her nightmare.
"It's ok Rory, it's ok. You're safe. It's ok. I'm here." Luke calls to her as he rouses her from her dream. Rory's eyes open slowly, leaking tears onto her cheeks. She immediately reaches for Luke, who sits down on the bed and pulls her into his lap and holds her while she cries.
"It's ok Rory, it was just a dream. It's ok." Luke murmurs as he strokes her hair and back to calm her down. Slowly, Rory lifts her head to look up at Luke.
"Do you want to tell me what happened in your dream Ror?" Rory nods her head, but doesn't loosen her grip on Luke.
"You, me and Mommy were walking in a street with lots of people, and then you were gone. We went to look for you, but then mommy was gone too, and I was all alone. I called for you and for mommy but you didn't come back. I was so scared, and there were people everywhere." Rory begins to cry again. "Is mommy here? Where's mommy?"
"She's in her room. Do you want to see her?" Luke asks her. Rory nods and continues to cry into Luke's shoulder. He gently lifts her off of his lap and carries her to Lorelai's room. He opens the door and walks over to the far side of the bed and turns on the desktop lamp. Lorelai's eyes open and then squint in his direction. Just as she's about to ask him why he's there she notices Rory in his arms. She sits up and beckons them both onto the bed. Rory crawls over to her and wraps her in a hug that could rival the hulk's grip.
"Rory, what happened sweetie, are you ok?" Lorelai asks as she strokes her sobbing daughter's back. She looks over at Luke who mouths the words "bad dream" at her. She nods her head understandingly and looks down at Rory, who's beginning to calm down a bit.
"What happened in your dream Ror?"
"You me and Luke were walking in a street with lots of people. Then Luke was gone, and we went to look for him, but then you were gone too. I called you but you didn't come back. You just left me, just like daddy!" Rory cries as more tears spill down her cheeks.
Lorelai hugs her tightly and Luke scoots closer to them and strokes Rory's head comfortingly.
"Rory sweetie, we'll never leave you. It was just a dream. We'll be here with you forever." Lorelai states lovingly to Rory. She and Luke exchange saddened glances. Rory had been making real progress over the last couple days, she'd been much happier than she had been since her dad had left, but obviously, some wounds were still running deeply in the little girl.
"Your mom's right Rory. We will never ever leave you Rory. You mean more to us than anything else. We love you, and we'll always be here." Luke says to her as she lifts her head and looks at them.
"Promise?" Rory asks quietly. Both Lorelai and Luke nod.
"We promise." They say together.
"Mommy, why doesn't daddy love me?" Lorelai and Luke look at Rory sadly.
"Why do you think that daddy doesn't love you?" Lorelai asks, trying to seems sure of herself, when she's not really sure at all whether or not Christopher cares in the slightest.
"He left." Rory states simply.
"But that doesn't mean that he doesn't love you Ror." Luke tells her, keeping his own feelings about her father at bay. Every little girl deserves to at least think that her father cares for them.
"Yes it does." Rory states indignantly. "If he loved me, he wouldn't have left. You won't ever leave me, cause you love me right?" Rory asks them both.
Lorelai and Luke are lost for words. Rory's logic makes perfect sense, but neither of them wants her to grow up feeling like her father doesn't love her.
"We won't ever leave you Rory, that's true. But your dad, he, well, he has other things in his life that keep him from being here. But he does want to be." Lorelai lies. It hurts to lie to her little girl, but it hurts more to watch her be in pain.
"No he doesn't. He doesn't have time for me. That's what you mean. I'm not important enough." Rory begins to cry again. Lorelai looks to Luke for help, but finds that he's just as lost for words as she is. Rory's a smart little girl, and it didn't escape her that her father doesn't have the time for her. And neither Luke nor Lorelai has a way to make the situation better for Rory. She knows what's going on, and no amount of bending the truth is going to fool her.
Rory slowly lifts her head and looks at Lorelai and Luke. "If he doesn't want me, then I don't need him. I've got you. I don't need anyone else."
"You've got us babe, we'll never leave you." Lorelai says as she hugs Rory tightly, her heart breaking for her little girl.
"We love you Rory." Luke says as he strokes her hair. Both of the adults are lost for words. They threesome sits together on Lorelai's bed in a sort of group hug for a few minutes until Rory begins to yawn and rub at her eyes.
"Are you sleepy sweetie?" Lorelai asks her daughter. Rory nods slightly, her eyes drooping. "Do you want to sleep in my bed with me tonight?" Lorelai asks her. Rory shakes her head, surprising both Luke and Lorelai.
"No, I'll sleep in my room." Rory responds.
"I'll take you back Ror, okay?" Luke asks. Rory nods. Luke gets off the bed as Rory gives her mom a kiss and a hug and an "I love you" which Lorelai returns as her daughter climbs out of the bed as well. Luke mouths to Lorelai that he'll be back and walks Rory back to her room and tucks her in.
"Hey Ror, why don't you want to sleep in your mommy's bed tonight?" Luke asks her. Usually Rory jumps at the chance to sleep in Lorelai's bed, but tonight, of all nights, she refused, and it has Luke slightly confused.
"My bed's more comfy." Rory states seriously. Luke chuckles. It's true, Lorelai's bed is not the most comfortable place in the world to sleep and Rory likes to be comfortable. Luke kisses Rory's temple and turns off her lamp.
"Night Ror. I'll see you in the morning."
"Night Luke, I love you."
"I love you too Ror. Sleep well."
Luke quietly walks out of Rory's room and back across the hall into Lorelai's room. Lorelai is sitting in her bed, in the exact same position that she was when Luke and Rory left minutes ago. Lorelai turns her head as Luke comes into the room and shuts the door. Luke walks over to the bed as Lorelai moves over making room for him to sit with her. Luke looks closely at Lorelai's face and can see small tears silently running down her cheeks. He gently puts his arm around her.
"God Luke. She knows that her dad doesn't want to be here, and that he doesn't have time for her. It's not fair. No little girl should have to think a that about her dad. Even my dad played with me a bit when I was little. I never felt like he didn't care when I was little. It's not fair. She doesn't deserve this. She's so sad, and I can't do anything to help her. She sees through everything I tell her. She says she doesn't need her father. It breaks my heart to hear her say that." Lorelai says while tears continue to stream down her face. Luke squeezes her shoulders lightly and strokes her head comfortingly.
"It's killing me too Lorelai. I just want to find him and beat him into the ground for this. That little girl is the most amazing girl that I have ever met, and you're right, she doesn't deserve this. I don't know how anyone could ever leave her."
Lorelai looks up at Luke with adoration. "She's got you though Luke."
Luke smiles at her but shakes his head. "She needs her dad Lorelai. No matter how much I love her, I can't replace her dad. Her hearts been broken and I don't think that I can make that go away. I can't fix the fact that Christopher doesn't have time in his life, or the desire in his life for his daughter. I wish I could fix that, but I can't. I could hurt him, but that probably wouldn't help."
"Would make me feel better though." Lorelai smiles at him.
"Me too." Luke says. They chuckle quietly but Lorelai sobers quickly. "What do we do Luke?" She asks him.
"I guess," he sighs "I guess we just wait it out. We give her all the love and time and energy that we can, and hope that with time her heart heals."
Lorelai nods her head. It's not much, but it's the best that they can do. But as she looks at Luke and sees the love for her daughter shining in his eyes, she knows that they'll be fine, and that everything will heal over time. Slowly both Luke and Lorelai fall asleep, Lorelai's head nestled in the crook of Luke's shoulder, an arm flung over his stomach, and Luke's arms holding her securely.
Note: Since many people have been asking me I feel as though I should explain: At this current point, Luke and Lorelai are not together. I'm taking my time with them. I enjoy exploring family dynamics, and the relationships between close friends. How in a way, that is the best relationship of all, and (at least I believe) the best of romantic relationships come from the strongest of friendships. Although this is of course, a bit more dramatic than actual life, I'm exploring the idea of a family that is not a traditional family (as is the theme Gilmore Girls itself) and I hope that you'll all continue to join me for the ride.