Elliotlvu

Sorry it took me longer then expected to get this one ready. Had a few crisis at work and am now job hunting (still have a job just want a new one because mine is well… but you don't wat to hear that ! You want to read more so here you go! ;) Enjoy!

googleaddict

LOL Thanks! I hope the bot doesn't disappoint! Enjoy this next one!

Shawn-n-Bell

LOL Seems like we have a lot of anti-Chris radars in working order. Glad you like the story!

kiss and tell xo

Well, wait no more. Here's another one for you! Thanks and enjoy!

SephoraGal

LOL I am glad you like the story so far. Here's more for you!

froggy moe

I am so glad you like it! It will be one of my longest stories that's for sure. So far I have 18 chapters written (still have a LOT of editing to do to what is written so far) but I am not done so who knows how long it will be. It's all in the details. Glad you like it and I hope you will continue to R&R

elliv16

Can't tell you that! You'll have to read! LOL Hope you enjoy this one! ;)

CharmedGurlie

Wow that's some list. pulls out her own list I think I may have missed a few LOL Hope you like this chapter too! Thanks so much for reading!

7thgirlgal

Thanks! And here is another one for you!

LukePlusLorelaiEqualsL O V ...

Ah yes I loved that too. I figured since he went away to think when things were bad as he has done in the past then he would have to have a safe place he felt he could go to to do just that. He strikes me as a very introspective man. I hope you like this next chapter too. Enjoy!

Lorelai Danes

LOL and I think no one deserves it more then Christopher. I will get any shots you miss or just add to 'em. ;)

hehehe doesn't it just make you wanna jump up and down. LOL I hope they get it together on the show soon man. This waiting is killing me!

Can't say too much about this right now. Sorry! ;)

Well, here is a good long one for you that has more details in it. Hope you like it!

reader

Thanks!

GiLmOrEgIrL129

Thanks so much! This is my first really big foray into suspense like this and I am very glad that it is turning out to be as good as I think it is. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Please continue to do so. I love hearing them good or bad. I learn from them either way. I hope you enjoy this chapter too. It is very long in comparison to the others and a fw things are revealed. Enjoy!

LorLukealways

Yup. I feel like for that to happen between them immediately after a break up with Luke, she would have to be blotto! LOL No other way to explain it for me. As for lovin' Luke ROFL I am right there with you. That man is HOT!!! As for clues, there are a few more below. I hope you like this chapter!

ggpassion

Yeah that was another conversation UI was worried about. I wanted to convey the message of what Chris did without getting too graphic about it. And I can totally picture Luke comforting her this way too. He is a nurturing soul I think and he loves her so he would be there. But never fear more to come about how he feels about it all. But gasp Scroll down, I think I see it now! LOL More is revealed with this next one. I hope you like it!

lizzie

Yeah I was hoping that it would flow well. So far I think it does but I am constantly worried it won't flow simply because of the jumping around. But so many people are involved in Rory's life that I had to doit. I am glad you like it and hope you like this next one as much. Enjoy!

hollowgirl22

Hmmm. Interesting question… I am so glad you like this story. Keep reading for more tidbits! Enjoy!

Curley-Q

Thanks! That is very gratifying to hear. Hope you like this one. It gives may more details, but of course not all. They will trickle out as I go. So enjoy tis and I look forward to your feedback on it! ;)

coffeeberry

Thanks! ;) I am so glad you like it. Sorry about the cliff hangers but, man they just worked so well, I couldn't resist. ;) BTW I have here for you the longest chapter so far. Hope this makes up for the hangers. (Sorry but this does not mean I promise no more cliff hangers – if they work they work! LOL) I promise to make 'em as good as I can though! Enjoy!

justawritier

Thanks so much! I am glad the conversation turned out as well as it did. I felt like they had to talk about things at some level so they could focus more on Rory. It would have to be hard IRL if this situation played out and not be reminded of the things that had happened to cause so much pain. I mean can block out feelings for a period of time but under those conditions I would think it impossible. Glad you like it!

Aleta

Thanks! Well, I don't ee Francine Hayden giving a damn about Rory but it is an interesting thought. Can't say more for now but I hope this long chapter makes up for that. I am happy with how Richard and Emily have turned out. I hope that I am staying as close to the characters as I can but letting them change in a way that could happen (I hope on the show)

Elliotlvu

Hehe. I love the insight of readers ;) Well, here is a nice long one for you. Hope you like this one!

TrueLovex3LL

Well, here it is for you. And I think tell you a lot in this one. It is also the longest chapter so far. Can't promise no cliffhangers but… I think in spite of that you will be happy with more details. ;)

Chapter 14

Luke drove towards Hartford, his mind trying to wrap itself around what he had learned today. He wished he had known sooner. He wished Lorelai would have told him the truth then. Even if he would have reacted badly things may not have ended up like they had. He shook his head mentally kicking himself. He couldn't blame her. None of this was her fault.

Christopher had raped Lorelai that night. That's the only thing he could call it. He had done things to her she had not wanted. Hell had not been conscious for. He wanted to break the bastard in half. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. He knew it would have to wait until Rory was home safe. She had to be his top priority right now. But the very minute she was safe, Christopher was fair game.

His mind then turned to Richard and his phone call a little while ago. He tried to think of why he wanted to see them. The only thing he could think of was that it had something to do with Rory. He looked over at Lorelai and saw her staring at him.

He glanced back to the road then back again to her. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering the same about you."

"What?" He looked at her again. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He turned back to the road.

"Liar." He heard quietly next to him. "Talk to me Luke. Tell me what you are thinking." When he was quiet, she turned to look out the window. "Do you hate me after hearing…"

"No!" He said quickly and reached across the seat to take her hand. "No, not at all."

He rubbed his thumb over her fingers. "I know that none of that was your fault, Lorelai. It's very clear to me that you didn't want what happened to happen. I get that."

"But…" she prompted.

"But I want to kill the bastard for doing that to you." He growled and then sighed and squeezed her hand. "I also know that I have to let it go for now and focus on finding Rory before I let myself feel what I am feeling about all of this. She's too important right now."

"I understand completely." And she did. She herself had been pushing it as far away from her mind as she could but Chris was under her nose the last day and a half, just reminding her of what happened.

After a short silence Luke interjected another thought. "I am also wondering about why your dad wanted to see us."

Lorelai nodded at this. "Yeah me too. He was pretty vague on the phone."

"Do you think Mike and Dan found anything?" He asked still holding her hand in his.

"I was thinking the same thing. I mean it makes sense to me." She shrugged. "Although I don't have a lot of experience with private detectives." In a lower voice, "I am afraid to get my hopes up."

"Hey don't worry," he said squeezing her hand. "We'll get her back."

"She squeezed his hand in return and smiled at his use of the term 'we'. "Thanks."

"Yeah, you're welcome. And we'll be there soon, so I guess we'll find out before too long." He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers.

She scooted closer to him and put her head on his shoulder, hoping that what they would be hearing would be good news.

Paris Gellar sat in the news room, sifting through the mass amount of information she had been able to gather. She had gone through Rory's phone book and looked up everyone in it that she didn't personally know. She had found some interesting tidbits about many of the people she had lived around for so long. There was Miss Patty. She was a dance teacher and talked about Rory and how she used to take lessons when she was a little girl; then there was Mrs. Kim. She was very abrupt and straight-forward. She rather liked her. And then there had been Kirk. He had answered the phone at the ice cream shop and ended up questioning Paris as if she had taken Rory. Strange guy.

She looked over and watched Logan sift through his own pile of research.

He sat at the computer, lost in what he was reading. They had decided to run a check and gather as much information on Chris as they could along with anyone else that she knew that they didn't.

But just the fact that Chris was lurking around here rather then doing what he was supposed to do in New Haven was weird. Why would he be here? Chris knew he was here. What would he say if he had run into him? It made him wonder. And when he saw Paris, he got an idea to get her help in checking him out. If anyone could dig up information about someone fast it would be Paris.

Now he sat looking through the papers he had printed up on Chris and from what he had found his life was definitely interesting. He was the heir to the Hayden fortune. He had already received the bulk of the estate when his grandfather died and would receive the remaining upon his mother's death.

He had left for California right after Rory was born. He was still waiting for the results from Paris about California. He had apparently stayed out there for a while but had come back a few years ago. Since then he had met Sherry Tinsdale and she had him straightened out and on schedules and it seemed all was well. Then they had Gigi and soon after Sherry left him and their daughter and moved to Paris.

Chris had been left to raise Gigi. He didn't really put himself out there as daddy dearest. At least not with Rory. He had been the one left behind with Gigi and had to make due. Now it seemed he was going back to his old ways and leaving a daughter behind. Only now it was Gigi's turn. It had only taken a little longer.

Paris found a little bit on Chris' stay in California and printed it to show to Logan. She grabbed it and thrust it at him, startling him out of his thoughts. "Geez Paris. You wanna give me a heart attack?"

"Suck it up, Huntzberger. Here is a little bit about California." He took the pages she held out to him and started to look them over. Paris just stood there watching him and it was giving him a creepy feeling. He looked up at her and she just stood there staring at him.

"Oh here." He turned and grabbed some of what he found and handed it to her. "Here is a bit you might want to see." Paris took the sheets and shook her head as she read.

Logan stared at the papers Paris had given him and read more about Chris Hayden. He had apparently wanted to do nothing more then party and all kinds of juvenile activities that led him nowhere. He flipped pages looking at the things he had done and scoffed at it. He had done a lot of the things Rory's dad had done and to think he thought of them as childish when someone else did them was funny. He focused back on the computer screen before him. "Is this everything from California?" He asked Paris.

"No there's a lot more. Real estate acquisitions, more juvenile activities and… it appears a police record." She looked closer at the screen before her. "Check this out."

Logan looked over her shoulder at the computer and his eyes widened. "Print that." He puled out his cell phone and hit the speed dial.

Rory was jarred from her doze to the sound of the door flying open. "Hey," she heard footsteps jogging down stairs, "give me a hand with this stuff."

She heard the sound of the other man shifting where he sat as he got up. She could hear them making trips up and down stair putting things down and going back for more.

As they moved she was able to hear snippets of their conversation. "…so what do you think he wants with her, anyway?"

"Don't know. Just wants us to keep our hands off her." The creepy man said.

"So that means no fun for you, huh?" The other man said with a chuckle.

"Who says?" She could hear him get closer. "I won't hurt her." He crouched down and saw her start to shake. "I'll make you feel real good." He reached out and ran a finger down her arm as she shrank away from him as best she could.

"Come on, get away from her." He was near the other guy now, hopefully pulling him away from her. "I want my money, so don't touch her."

"Alright, alright. Don't worry, I want my money too." They moved away from her and sat down.

"Personally I'll take the money over fun with a girl anytime." He other man said.

"What?" The creepy voice asked.

"Yeah. Once you got the money then you can get the girl so why not have both?"

"Good point."

Their conversation was interrupted by the ring of a cell phone.

"Where exactly...?" Rory could hear the distinct scribble of a pencil on paper. "Yeah, yeah."

"Ok. Got it." He listened a moment. "Yeah." More scribbling could be heard. "Yeah ok. We'll take care of it."

"Come on," he said to the other guy. "Time to get everything ready."

Rory heard them begin to move around again. She listened to the sounds around her and started to shake as her imagination took hold of every word she heard.

Luke pulled up in front of the Gilmore mansion about 3:15 and Lorelai jumped out and ran for the door before he had even stopped the truck, having worked herself up to a near frenzy trying to figure out what they had to say to her. Luke jumped out and went after her, walking into the house to find her in the living room with her parents.

"Lorelai calm down. We just wanted to talk to you about something before the detectives arrive." She had a grip on her arms.

"Sorry, I just had all these things that ran through my mind on the drive here, I guess I got carried away." She sat down as Richard handed her a drink.

"Here Lorelai. It looks like you may need this."

She looked at him gratefully and downed her drink in one shot. "Thanks dad." She could already feel the warmth of the alcohol coursing through her and was grateful. She hadn't felt a lot of warmth at all over the last 2 days.

She sat back on the sofa as Luke sat down next to her with his own drink. "What's going on exactly?"

"Well, first let me apologize in advance…" He began.

"What… what is going on and why are you…" She was cut off by Richard this time.

"Lorelai, please, I will tell you if you can sit still and listen." She sat back and stared at him intently.

"Thank you." He turned to Luke. "It is you who I must apologize to, Luke."

"What do you need to apologize to me for?" Luke was a little puzzled by this.

"First, I have to say I am sure you won't like what I am about to tell you, but I just ask that you let me finish before you say or ask anything."

Luke and Lorelai looked at each other and then back to Richard. "Ok."

"Well, you know I hired Mike and Dan to help find Rory… I didn't know what else to do you see. I had never been in a position such as this before. And there have been no calls for ransom so money couldn't be the motivating factor. It had to be something else. But I had no idea what or who I could trust."

He looked at Luke. "And when we arrived at Lorelai's house you were there. Even though you two had broken up, you put that aside to be there to help find Rory." He placed his hands on his knees. "And then Christopher showed up and something struck me as very odd. I still can't quite put my finger on it. And I couldn't tell from which direction the feeling in me came from."

"Well, when I talked to Mike initially I confided my misgivings to him." He got up and began to pace.

"He suggested I check out the people who I am most unsure about and that are closest to the situation. So a part of their job was to run background checks on a few people." He could see Luke's face tighten up and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I didn't know who to trust or who could really help us find Rory."

He looked over at Luke and Lorelai who were watching him with interest. "So I asked them to check the two of you out. Full background checks." He sat back down and sipped his own drink. "I admit it may have not been the best idea not to just ask you, but I needed answers I could trust and with Rory missing, so much was unsure. I hoped that this would help me get the answers that would help me sleep a little bit at night."

Luke just stared at Richard blankly, mulling over what he had told him. His face had relaxed slightly but there was still tension surrounding him. He downed his drink and got up and went to the bar to get another. Lorelai just watched him as well, wondering what he was thinking.

Just as she was about to speak up Luke did. "I'll admit," he said turning around. "I don't like the idea of someone digging around into my personal life. I like my privacy. If you had asked me I would have told you what ever you wanted to know." He took another drink and set down the glass and stood up.

"I would have told you about everything I knew about Rory. I would have told you about being there when she had chicken pox, and her caterpillar's funeral and her birthdays and graduation from Chilton." He stopped and looked at Richard. "I would've told you that I love that kid like she was mine. And that I would do anything to bring her home."

His voice softened. "But I do understand why you did it."

He walked over to Richard and stood in front of him and extended his hand. "So apology accepted."

Richard stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you for understanding, Luke. I know Emily and I haven't exactly been fair to you in the past and for that I also apologize."

Luke smirked at that. "Thanks." He went back over to sit next to Lorelai and she grabbed his hand and smiled at him, tears in her eyes. He squeezed her hand in response.

Just then the bell rang for the front door.

The more Rory listened the more curious she grew. She wanted to know what was going on. Her arms were tied over her head and she lay on the pillows; she decided to take a chance and use her arm to move the blindfold enough for her to get a peek at what was going on.

They had a door open across the room and were dragging cases into the room and stacking them along the wall.

She got a good look at the two men that were holding her. One was short and dirty looking and had a mustache. She could picture him as the creepy voice she heard. He really did look creepy to her. The other was taller, leaner and younger looking then the other guy but just as dirty. He seemed to have a gentler voice but she knew she couldn't necessarily trust that he would keep creepy away from her. As she watched, the shorter man looked over at her and stopped what he was doing. He thought he saw her eyes peeking out from beneath the blind fold and stopped, trying to get a good look at her face. He started walking over and Rory quickly closed her eyes feigning sleep so she wouldn't get caught watching them.

He stood looking down at her closely and when he was satisfied that she was asleep he moved away to finish what he was doing.

Not long after the noises stopped she felt a hand shake her shoulder gently. "Hey, wake up." This must be the other guy. His voice was not as menacing as the other man's was.

She moved her head and felt her binds being cut and felt herself being pulled to her feet. He began leading her to where she saw the door earlier. "Here's the deal." He said as they walked. "We have to go out for a while." They stopped as he opened a door. "We're putting you in the bathroom while we're gone." He sat her on a pile of cushions.

"We have you stocked up with supplies in boxes along the wall and your sitting on your bed." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not sure how long we'll be gone but this should hold you till we get back. These are our supplies too so don't go nuts. It has to last us all a long while."

He began to untie her hands and pulled the tape from her mouth, "When you hear the door close you can take off the blind fold. When we get back we'll knock and have you put the blind fold back on like before." She felt the cushions move as he got up. "Do you understand?"

She nodded her head and sat still, listening for the door to close. The minute she heard it click she pulled the blind fold off and she blinked into the light. Once her eyes became adjusted enough to see her surroundings, she turned to look at the boxes they had stacked up.

She thought about what the tall guy had said; if these were all of their supplies, why had they left them all with her? Why not just leave her enough for a day or two? They either were not coming back or not coming back for a long while.

She wanted to know what they had left and started going through them to see what they held.

Luke stood up as Mike and Dan came into the living room. "Please, don't get up." They were a little surprised to see him there but didn't let it show as they sat down. They didn't think Richard would tell Luke about the background check but obviously they were wrong.

"Would you gentlemen like something to drink?" Emily, unsure of just what to do so she went into hostess mode.

"No thank you Mrs. Gilmore." Dan said as he opened up his briefcase and pulled out a couple of files.

Emily went back over to the sofa and sat down. Richard took hold of her hand. "So, you said on the phone that you have a preliminary report?"

"Yes," Mike said, taking hold of one of the files. "Can I assume that you have told Luke and Lorelai what we have been doing?"

"Yes, I did right before you arrived." Richard nodded. "I thought it only fair to let him know since we would be discussing it."

"Yes, of course." He opened the file in front of him. "Well, Mr. Danes… it appears that you are an honest, upstanding member of your community; were born and raised in Stars Hollow; your mother passed away when you were 10 and your father when you were 19 years old." He turned some pages. "You have a younger sister named Elizabeth; a nephew named Jess Mariano, who you took in a few years ago to help straighten out; married once to an attorney for less then a year; and are financially secure." He closed the file and held it out to him. "There's more, if you want to see it."

Luke took the file and immediately held it out to Richard. "Oh, no Luke that's ok. I got the basic gist. I don't need to see it."

"Richard you paid good money for this. You should look it over." He looked him directly in the eye.

"Don't you want to see what's in it?" He asked.

"I already know what's in it. It's my life." He shook the folder. "I have nothing to hide Richard."

He nodded as he took the file from Luke and put it down on the table. "I'll look at it later." He turned to Mike and Dan. "Right now I am more interested in the other file you have there."

"Yes and a colorful one it is indeed." Mike said. He opened the other file in front of him. "Christopher Hayden…"

Lorelai's cell phone rang suddenly. "Dammit." She looked down at the caller ID. "It's Logan. I better take this."

"Hey Logan." She looked at everyone in the room. "Ok… you did what?" A smile spread across her face.

"Well, why don't you have her fax it to my dad's home fax? I'm over here now." She gave him the number. "Thanks Logan. I'll talk to you soon." She flipped her phone shut.

"You will never believe what this." She walked over and sat next to Luke. "Logan saw Chris at Yale in the library and met up with Paris and they both did research on him." She rubbed her hands on her knees.

"He's having Paris fax what they found to my dad's office." Just then they heard the fax ring and pick up.

"I tell you, that girls is something else." She leaned back on the sofa. "So let's hear what you guys have."

Mike cleared his throat at the thought of them checking Christopher out. "Most of what we have so far you know but there are a few things you need to know and I am pretty sure you don't."

Dan began reading. "After Chris moved to California he… well, he partied and fell in with a not so good crowd. He has been in trouble with the law and was arrested on drunk and disorderly charges, one misdemeanor battery charge and stalking." He turned to Luke. "This is the one I was most curious about so I got more information on it. Apparently he has an obsession. He stalked a young woman in California, who matches your physical description quite closely Lorelai."

She turned to look at him a stunned expression on her face. "What?"

"He stalked and tormented this woman for about 6 months." He flipped to the next page in his report. "He got her number and called her leaving creepy messages on her machine, calling her Lor; sent her gifts and followed her when she went out. He apparently used a telescope from the roof across the street from her apartment to watch her."

"The police caught him trying to break into her apartment and he was arrested. The young lady brought in the things she had accumulated from him and pressed charges." He looked up perplexed. "This is the part that confuses me; he got the charges dropped and had to move out of California, and the victim didn't press the issue. She also moved away."

"He got his parents to get him off." Lorelai shook her head. "His parents always got him out of trouble. They even supported him when ran off. They were ok with him not being a father to Rory." She turned away, picking at the fringe of a pillow. "They didn't even want anything to do with her either."

Dan nodded, "I was thinking that had to be it. But there's something else. I need to tell you what we found in his apartment in Boston…"

TBC...

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