Road to Love

Chapter 20 – Hollow Prayers and a Gilmore

Disclaimer: We've been through this numerous times, but once again, I will say it: I do not own Gilmore Girls in all it's quirky goodness.

AN: I'm SO sorry about the late update! I promise to try to update sooner next time! Sorry!

Hey there everyone! Thank you so very much for all of the reviews I received for the last chapter. And I realize the last few chapters have been a little depressing to say the least, but hopefully things will turn around soon enough, you never know. So school has started for me, I'm going into week six (I think) of the new school year, exciting you'd think, but not really, it's pretty boring, well some things are. Anyways enough about me, the newest chapter to this story is below, and below that is personal responses for your reviews! Byez!

She was awoken by a soft voice not too far away from her, repeating the same thing over and over again. 'I'm sorry… I'm so sorry.'

Opening her eyes her brain kicked into a relatively high speed despite the lack of somewhat decent coffee.

Sitting up, she spotted Luke, standing at her mother's bed, whispering apologies to her, the hurt and fear on his face evident. Never before had he looked so worn, so tired, so scared. It scared her to see him, of all people like that.

She had always known that Luke loved her mother. What she didn't understand was how Luke ended up at the hospital. Surely neither of her grandparents would've called him, and Logan wouldn't have either, so how'd he know?

Confused she stood up, walking slowly towards Luke, completely forgetting about her previous reporter-like question as her eyes once again settled on the disturbing image of her mother and an obviously distraught Luke.

"Luke…" She called out to him in a small voice, a voice that sounded completely foreign to her.

She could see him go rigid with surprise she could only assume, as the silence that had settled in the room shattered into a million and one pieces. But his surprised feeling slowly ebbed away as he turned to face her, tears gleaming brightly in his eyes, a pained expression engraved upon his face making him look at least twenty times older than he actually was. It seemed the spark in his eyes were gone, his usual grumpy kindness she loved was gone as well.

It wasn't right to see him like this; she couldn't help but think that he felt worse than she did.

She couldn't even begin to imagine how despondent he was feeling right now.

It was a few minutes until he finally responded to her with a sort of dead tone, one that held just a shred of undying hope, but that was all it was, a shred.

"Rory I- I can't lose her… I'm so sorry…" He cried into her shoulder as she enveloped him in what she hoped was a comforting hug. She could feel his tears soaking through her shirt as her own tears stung at her eyes cascading down her face like a waterfall of salty tears bit by bit, silently.

She couldn't help but feel a little better that Luke was here, her feelings of hope for her mother making it through this and waking up were returning, but still she couldn't shake those feelings of doubt. They were like blood-sucking leeches, clinging onto her not letting go until all of her hope was lost, but this was one battle they were going to lose.

Ignoring her own tears, she patted him on the back awkwardly, not really knowing what else to do.

They stayed like that for what seemed to be a good five minutes, then Luke pulled away, his face cold, hard and emotionless. And what color that had previously resided on his face had drained, leaving him looking pale and ghost-like.

When he spoke his voice was completely unrecognizable by Rory, it took her usually quick brain at least thirty to realize that it was Luke talking to her. "She's going to be okay right?" He asked, looking unmistakably like a scared little boy.

All Rory could do in reply was to nod her head as if to say, 'Of course she will be. She's a Gilmore!'

He moved his hand in a sort of odd, robotic motion before thinking twice about it and dropping it quite suddenly back to his side, standing just as uneasily at Lorelai's bedside, starring at her bruised and limp form.

Never would he have imagined that he would be in a situation like this, especially one involving Lorelai being injured.

His head hung slightly as he made an obviously forced, half grunt as he fought back his tears. He refused to let them fall again. Slowly he looked up at Rory standing beside him, tears streaking down her porcelain-like face, her body stood frozen as her eyes once again locked on the sight of her mother's frail state.

"So… uh Logan seems alright. Let me know if he tries anything, I'll be more than happy to put him in his place." Luke told her and for a second it seemed as if the Luke she knew and loved had resurfaced, but alas it was only for a second.

She smiled as brightly as she could without making it obvious that she was faking. "You got it." She said in reply to his previous words.

"Well uh… I think I'm gonna take off. I just- I can't stand to see… bye…" He tried to tell her, but the pooling in his eyes and the sobs he was desperately trying to swallow was making his ability to make coherent sentences rather difficult. But he assumed that Rory got the gist of what he was saying as she nodded her head in an understanding manner, giving him a slight wave as he made his way to the door with a last look behind him before leaving.

It had been at least a week since Lorelai had fallen into a coma. Emily had taken to decorating Lorelai's hospital room and reading to her, hoping that any day now she would wake up.

Rory had gone back to school at her grandparents' request, though it had taken quite a few days of persuasion for her to grudgingly agree.

Emily had promised that she'd stay at the hospital with Lorelai, and call Rory the second anything happened to get Rory to go back to school.

During whatever spare time Rory had when she'd normally be writing for the paper she would be at the hospital, driving back and forth from her dorm to the hospital at least once a day. Sure it was a relatively lengthy commute but it was worth seeing and talking – or in her case crying – to her mother.

Knowing that her mother still had the strength left in her not to flat-line was Rory's reason to get up every morning, swearing off coffee for as long as she could because it just didn't seem right to be guzzling coffee knowing that her mother wasn't at that moment as well. She had half a mind to switch the water bag connected to her mother to a bag filled with coffee, the elixir of their lives.

It was like a daily ritual for her now. She'd get up, shower, and call her grandmother to check up on her mom, go to class, though she didn't see the point in going when her mind was elsewhere. Then after her classes for the day, she'd drive down to the hospital for a brief visit before going back to her dorm and bullying her mind to shutdown so she could get some sleep.

She hadn't talked to Logan for the last week, and quite honestly, she didn't really want to.

It wasn't that she didn't still have the same feelings for him; it was just that she didn't want to talk to him. He was like a constant, living reminder of that horrible day when she got the news of her mother. She jus couldn't stand seeing him right now.

Every time he'd called her during the last week she'd let his call go to her voicemail, or whenever he'd come by her room she'd ask Paris to say she wasn't in.

She felt bad, but it was just too much to take right now to see him, or even hear his voice, as sexy as it had once sounded to her, it seemed that it had lost its allure since the events of the week before.

Two weeks had past now as Luke stood at her bedside, holding her cold hand in his own. It always amazed him how perfectly they fit, whether it was their hands or their bodies, they just fit. He'd never thought he'd ever be so in love with someone, but then again he had never really anticipated his love for a quirky, spur-of-the-moment, caffeine crazed woman named Lorelai Gilmore either. But never, not even for a second would he ever regret falling for her. It was more than likely the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He did however regret being so foolish and not even hearing her out when he'd seen her and Christopher exchange a kiss. The kiss had been like a slap in the face, it had been the final straw for him; it made him realize then that he wasn't good enough for Lorelai. But he'd come to realize that without her in his life, he was nothing. He needed her.

Over the last two weeks Luke had visited off and on. He dropped by whenever he felt up to seeing her which was really every other day. He'd see her for a few minutes, chat with whoever was there just briefly and then be on his way. It had become a sort of pattern for him, one that he more than likely wasn't too keen on breaking anytime soon, not until he knew that she was going to be just fine.

He cast a worn, cheerless look at her, before placing a sweet and soft kiss to her temple, swallowing his urge to let the tears flow. Kissing her hand he put it back at her side, patting it softly before leaving the room, only to bump into Emily in the hallway.

"Hello Luke." She said as warmly as she could, casting a miserable look towards the door behind him, where Lorelai had been laying in a coma for the past two weeks.

"Hey. Uh, I was just leaving…"

He could see the tears welling up once again in her eyes.

"Emily… It's going to be alright, she's going to wake up. She has to." Luke told her, knowing full-well that he didn't believe a word of what he was saying, much less expecting her to.

She simply nodded, unable to even force any words out of her quiver lips which her shaking hand was covering as if she were trying to suffocate a sob.

"You'll call me if anything happens right?" Luke asked, doubting that Lorelai's condition would change.

Though he knew that he shouldn't be so pestimistic, especially about a situation like this, he couldn't help himself. Without Lorelai in his life, there wasn't much he could really do.

Once again she nodded as if to say that she would call if Lorelai's current condition did in fact change. Whether to tell him that she woke up or that she moved on. She hoped that she wouldn't have to call and tell anyone the latter, but now, she was somewhat sure that she might possibly have to do just that.

He cocked his head slightly, and gave a small wave as if to say, 'I'll see you later,' before heading for the exit.

She watched his retreating figure until finally she wrenched open the hospital door to reveal her daughter's currently frail state.

Once she'd shut the door, shutting out the murmur of noises you'd expect in a hospital she let her tears flow down her face, smudging her make-up ever so slightly.

A normally strong Emily could feel her front deteriorating, her hope that her daughter would wake up was now all but lost, her prayers were now hollow; they were simply words with no meaning behind them. Nothing mattered to her anymore; it was like the world around her was ending slowly, but surely, everything was caving in on her, Richard, Rory and Luke.

She sat with her back flat against the door until she heard a soft coughing sound coming from Lorelai's bed, followed by a whispered, "mommy…"

AN: Ah-ha! Another chapter finished. I'm seriously sorry about the long wait between this chapter and the last. I had started this one a while back, but with school and other things I've been really busy and stressed. I hope this was an enjoyable chapter. I really liked how I ended it. I think it's pretty obvious what happened at the end. But you never know she could just be hearing things. I might put in a twist somewhere, you never know! Oh the power of being a writer, LOL. Could someone please help me out by emailing me or giving me some idea of how to add some problems in Rory and Logan's relationship? I would REALLY appreciate it. Below are the replies to your reviews and of course my ever famous pointless rants. Before I forget, please review on your way out, it's really appreciated, and I promise I'm going to update sooner next time. Sorry if there are any mistakes, I didn't get a chance to edit properly because I really wanted to get this chapter up. BYEZ!

Personal Reviews:

Gilmorefan31 – Aw, don't be depressed, hopefully this chapter was just a little less depressing. I'm so happy you reviewed; hope this chapter wasn't too disappointing.

Tristian'jess'loganluver – Glad it was good, sorry about the late update and thank you so much for the review!

Gilmoregirl7878 – I'm so happy I was able to give you some form of a gift for your birthday, and by the way, happy belated birthday! I'm touched that you and others love my story! I enjoyed writing the Logan and Luke part as well; it was a bit lighter than the rest of the chapter! Thank you so much for the review! And I'm sorry for the long distance between this update and my last!

Aznangel4eva – Here's your update! Thank you for the review! And sorry for the late update!

Eternalgorithm – Thank you so much for the review:) Right back at you! LOL! Sorry about the late update!

Smartiepantz – Trust me I think I enjoy your reviews more than you enjoy this story! LOL! I'm being honest! Red Eye really was worth seeing, but then again so are chick flicks, which by the way, I'm a sucker for! I'm glad you liked Luke being nervous before seeing Lorelai! And I'm especially happy that you enjoyed the conversation between Luke and Logan, I thought that, that particular part was necessary, it just seemed like something Luke would do on the show. The premiere was really good, I enjoyed it. But just so you know, Gilmore Girls changed nights on Global, it's now on, on Tuesday's at 10 p.m. Just in case you didn't know I'm telling you, but I'm sure you know by now. I'm glad you love reviewing for me, and yes that review was long enough, but enjoyable to read! I appreciate your reviewing and thanks! Hopefully this chapter wasn't a disappointment!

Angel1178 – I cannot believe you read my story in its vast entirety in one sitting! WOW! I can't believe it held your attention for that long, so happy right now! I'm touched you read it all to be honest, thank you! I'm glad you thought it was worth reading, and that you love it! Here's an update, I hope it was good and not a disappointment. Thank you so much for your review and kind words!

Mrs Boyscout – So happy you this is a good story despite the angsty goodness, which to be honest, I think we all have some sort of soft spot for! I definitely want 'happy hour' for Rory and Logan to be up soon, I just can't figure out what is going to cause it. Thank you for the review, it was much appreciated!

Princetongirl – Here's your update! Hopefully it wasn't too long a wait! Glad you loved it! Thanks for the review!

Agel15 – I' m sorry but happy that you nearly cried, I'm happy because it's so cool to know that my story can actually cause tears! Sorry if it's weird to think that. I'm weird, so it might explain my previous statements, LOL! I loved the Emily part too! Thank you bunches for the review!

And now for my infamous rambling sessions:

So it's the just the beginning of the second month of school and already there's drama like you've never seen before. Yesterday I got some pretty bad news about a personal topic involving a 'special someone,' hint, hint. But I've been needing to get over him so, it all worked out for the best I guess, but now I officially think I'm considered repulsive to the male specimen. Meaning, I think I'm unattractive and pretty set in my opinion that I'm going to be alone forever and die with countless amounts of money left behind to no one and with cats. Horrible picture, but right now I can see it so clearly. If my friends heard me saying this they'd rip me a new one, because none of them agree with me and their all telling me I have the rest of my life ahead of me, which is true, I have a lot of years ahead of me seeing that I'm not that old. But… it's my opinion of myself, however pessimistic it maybe seem.

School is alright I guess. If there was one way to describe it, it would definitely be, 'a pain in the royal behind.' But that's just my opinion.

I saw Constantine a while ago, it was alright. I enjoyed it, but it was one of those movies that I would, personally only see once.

Well I think I've bored you enough with my pathetic life, so bye-bye! LOL! Oh yeah, and please, please review! I appreciate so much! Byez!