Rory spent the next week caring for her mother. Against her better judgment, she had allowed Lorelai to keep a bell in her room to summon her whenever she was needed. To Rory's surprise and disappointment, Lorelai did not take to the bell with the childish wonder that had so often gripped her when it came to new objects that made noise. Instead, a dark cloud hovered over the house, letting its misty gloom spread misery into every corner. Lorelai had sensed the chill radiating from her daughter, and though she did not know the cause, she felt it best to ignore the situation, as things with Rory usually came to a head on their own. Besides, there were much bigger decisions looming over her future. She was content to let Rory stew in her own bedroom as she lay ensconced in her desolate tower of dark dreams and exhausted emotions.
Although Sookie and Babbette visited frequently, it was astonishingly Morey who had lent his services the most in the past week. Rory could take care of most of the chores necessary to care for her mother, but picking her up to transport her was just something her delicate frame was not capable of. He even had extended his neighborly courtesies to include driving the both of them to Lorelai's physical therapy. Each time he picked her up, Lorelai's heart lurched at the feeling of awkwardness and unfamiliarity of it. It just wasn't right. Her heart didn't flutter like it did when Luke had held her in his secure and loving arms. She didn't suddenly feel all of the weight being lifted from her spirit. She didn't feel the soaring freedom that instinct told her was love take over entire being. Despite Morey's good intentions, his hold on her made her feel insecure, unstable, empty, and cold.
At the physical therapist's office, she continued to improve drastically with each visit, but had yet to be able to stand. Just yesterday, she had amazed her therapist by pulling her upper body into a sitting position. Although everyone that had been watching gave her a thunderous applause, she couldn't help but feel the bitter, frigid disappointment freeze her heart. All of this exhausting work, and she still had not regained her independence. Was this some sort of punishment for the mistakes she had made with her life? Some cosmic joke had been played upon her- Lorelai Gilmore had spent her entire life with pride in her independence and self-reliance; and now she could barely sit up on her own. Rory had always been able to rely on the fact that her mother would always be there for her, a shelter and a rock during the many trials of becoming an adult; and now she was stuck in her childhood home taking care of her shipwreck of a mother.
Was this what had been bothering Rory? With all of Lorelai's experience with her now grown-up daughter, she doubted it was bitterness about having to take care of an invalid. But they had seemed to be on good terms when she first woke up, so why during the intervening days between her waking and going home did she seem to grow so cold and distant? And more importantly, when were they going to talk about it?
True to his word and character, Luke had stayed away from Lorelai, allowing her the space she needed to figure things out on her own. He finally went back to work at the diner, but his mind was so taken captive by his numerous predicaments that he often found himself burning things or cooking the wrong orders. Caesar and Lane, accustomed to running the diner on their own now, tried to keep Luke away from the kitchen appliances and the customers as much as possible, but didn't dare to order him out of his own business completely. The entire town was, of course, aware of the situation- as Luke had one of the gossip queens of Stars Hollow spying on Lorelai for him. They regarded his tumultuous outbursts with a wary eye and kept their distance, but their hearts went out to him. It seemed as though the only time he allowed the shadow of his former self to crawl to the forefront was when he was speaking to his daughter. Though the emotional strain was heavy and difficult, he had so far managed to keep his promise to Anna by keeping in contact with April by phone at least once a week. He had even had her over a few days ago for a visit, and although he had been polite and cheerful, it had been obvious that he was distracted. Pouring coffee into her orange juice that morning had most definitely led her to that conclusion.
He had wanted desperately to go and see her every day since he had dropped her off from the hospital; and the desire to do so was consuming him. It didn't feel right to leave her alone in that house with Rory. Although he knew that Rory would care for her to the best of her abilities, he couldn't help but feel the sting of worry- sharp and painful in his gut. Perhaps it had been a bad idea to leave the two of them alone while Rory was treating her mother so coldly- and he still couldn't understand how or when the behavior had started. He also couldn't understand Lorelai's explanation for the condition in which he had found her on the floor that day. She hadn't meant to commit suicide, but she had said that it wouldn't have mattered if she had died as long as she was connected to him? It was a possibility that he had missed something in her explanation, but those two statements together had not made sense to him. What bothered him most was that history seemed to be repeating itself. Here he was, unable to go to her house; and there she was, pushing him away again. What if Rory didn't watch her well enough? What if she wasn't eating again? What if she was so distraught from pushing him away that she tried to starve herself again? Only Sookie's and Babbette's frequent reports kept him from running over there and breaking the door down. If circumstances continued to improve with Lorelai, then perhaps she really was using this time to assess her life and choices- and he knew he had to give her that. He himself had needed time to process and understand after finding Lorelai on the floor that dreadful day, it made sense to him to give her that same opportunity. But he wouldn't wait forever- if any reports came back negative, or if he started to feel that too much time was beginning to pass, he would finally give in to his barbaric urges and break her door down. He wouldn't hesitate to fight for her again- but for now, he felt that she needed the space, despite how much it was killing him to give it to her.
Poor Sookie was completely swamped with work. The inn had been running fairly smoothly, but Lorelai's suave business manner and attention to detail was something that Sookie had never been able to understand or mimic. Ever the source of great contradiction, Michel was both a hindrance and a help to the process of running the inn without Lorelai. He constantly whined and complained about having to handle two jobs without having a raise, but was the picture perfect representation of a high class French concierge towards the customers. He would often be able to settle disputes and minor issues without seeking Sookie's help, which was a blessing, considering that Sookie often had no idea how to handle such situations and had to guiltily resort to calling a weak and distracted Lorelai to find a solution.
She was also cooking for three households, not including the inn of course. Luke had been too unfocused to cook anything edible lately, and Rory and Lorelai were naturally helpless when it came to providing food for themselves. Lorelai's strict diet made matters even more difficult: no refined sugars, no red meat, very little white meat, nothing greasy, and everything had to meet a specific nutrition requirement. When this stress was added to the pressures of feeding her own family, she found it too much to handle. Eventually, Patty, Babbette, Al, Pete, and other neighbors heard about her predicament and began to chip in.
Rory was entirely grateful for the assistance that they received from the town. Even in a small city like Woodbury, the neighborly love and support was something that just couldn't be found. Still, despite the town's overwhelming support, she hadn't failed to notice that Lorelai had hardly been taking in any visitors. Every meal was a taciturn event, with Lorelai meekly consuming every nutritious repast placed before her without so much as a whimper for a cheeseburger. Every moment between tending to her mother's needs was heavy with silence and fraught with despair. She had grown tired of this weary routine. They had barely spoken to one another since she had come home. It felt like their connection had been severed as soon as she had woken up at the hospital, and she needed to find a way to repair it. Her mother had continued to push away the people that loved her the most- namely Luke, and she had a plan set to fix it, she just needed to set the plan in motion. Rory had decided- it was finally time to talk.