Can You See Me Now?
By Powder
Email: usagi@bellatlantic.net
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Gilmore Girls. The only thing I own is the idea behind this story. If any made-up characters should appear, they belong to me and should not be used without permission. This story is for non-profit purposes and is simply here to amuse and give people something to do with their time.
Note: This is my first published work on Gilmore Girls or any other subject so please be nice. Review pleeeeeeease! I want to thank the people who have already given me advice – I have considered all and appreciate it more than I can say. As a newbie writer everything is greatly appreciated, thanks :)
Look to my personal page on fanfiction.net for updates on progress--I promise I won't forget about the story, but as I want to make each chapter as good as it can be, it may be a few weeks between each chapter. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter--seems a bit slow to me--but I have run out of ideas for right now and I'm eager to progress. Perhaps I may re-edit it later on, but for now this is it!
In the following chapters I'm hoping to relate the events that are happening in the last few episodes into this fic. I won't follow everything to the letter because circumstances are different now (of course), but I think it would be interesting to take a different spin on these topics. If you have another opinion, I would gladly listen. Thanks!
Chapter 2: Show Me Love
Harsh beeps and soft whisperings assaulted Rory's foggy senses and her mind was a blur of color and images. She groaned softly and shifted her body weight, causing a murmur to arise in her room. What was that awful buzzing?
A soft voice cajoled Rory into opening her eyes quite reluctantly. For a moment, all she could discern was the face of a kind nurse in a white uniform staring back at her. The bright lights seemed blinding and she was forced to close her eyes before the panicked voice of her grandmother brought them open once more. Emily's teary-eyed gaze met her own for a brief moment and she managed to croak out, "Gr'ma?" Her throat felt sore and she grimaced.
"There, now..." the nurse soothed, holding a cup of water to Rory so she could take a small sip and ease her burning throat. A doctor had pulled Emily and Richard aside and was talking quietly to them. Richard had his arm around Emily, supporting her slight frame as it shivered under the doctor's gaze. Something he said made Emily give a raspy sob and fly from the room, Richard hot on her heels.
"Mom?" Rory groaned and blinked against the harsh atmosphere. The nurse shook her head and put a hand on Rory's shoulder. "You'll see your mother later. Just try to get some rest." Rory mumbled something incoherent before blackness overtook her once more.
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The next time Rory awoke, there were more people in the room and her mind felt clearer. She slowly opened her eyes without making a sound. Emily and Richard were still there as well as the doctor, but now Jess was also present and a familiar coat over an empty chair signaled the existence of Luke.
"--be fine," the doctor was explaining something to Richard. "Minor bruising and concussion, full use of limbs...She'll be fine, I think. We just have to wait to see if there's any memory loss..." Richard's face was pale and haggard as he listened to the diagnosis. Emily's face looked like it would never dry again and Jess was bent over his knees, his head in his hands. Luke was nowhere in sight. The doctor looked up and his eyes fell on Rory's tired, curious blue eyes. "Rory! My dear, I'm Andrew. How are you feeling?" This simple question caused every eye in the room to fall on Rory's prostrate form, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious lying helpless in the huge white bed.
"I...I...uhm..." Her voice was soft and scratchy, but grew stronger with use as her scattered mind also tried to piece together the events of the previous day. There was dinner and then the discussion...er fight...and then the deer... "Mom? Where's Mom? I want--what happened? The car and--" The doctor placed his hand on Rory's shoulder to try and ease the flow of words from her mouth.
"Rory, slow down. All of your questions will be answered, but first I have to ask you a couple." Rory felt like her head was spinning and clouded with the memory of that night and that deer. "Now, do you remember the accident?"
Rory turned her incredulous blue eyes on the doctor as if he had two heads. She was angry and belligerent, answering "Remember? I was in a car crash...Who's gonna forget that?" Emily, Richard, Jess, and Andrew were now all crowded around the bed and exchanging worrisome glances. "Where's Mom? How long have I been here? Where's here?"
"Okay, one thing at a time. Do you remember what happened before the accident?" Andrew spoke to Rory as if she were a mental case and he the kindly man in a white uniform come to rehabilitate her.
Rory was suddenly livid. Who was he to withhold information from her, especially when it concerned her absolute best friend and mother? "No!" She squeaked, her weak voice cracking under the pressure and excitement. She could feel her vision begin to blur and her breathing quickened. "I want my mother!" Emily sobbed and turned away, a hand covering her mouth. Richard looked down, unwilling to meet Rory's eyes. She looked to the last person in the room it seemed she could trust, but even Jess didn't have an answer and turned away sadly. "No..." Rory could feel herself getting hysterical and then the words just couldn't stop. "No, no, it couldn't happen...My fault...It's my mother and it's me and I'm fine and Lorelai's fine and the car is--"
"Rory, stop!" Jess interrupted, his face drawn and pallid.
"Jess?" Rory's watery eyes pleaded with her boyfriend, willing her darkest fears not to be true.
"Lorelai is alive."
"Oh, God..." Rory sighed gratefully and closed her eyes as the warm blanket of relief spread over her. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that no one else was sharing her moment of bliss. That's when she realized that not everything was a-OK. "Wait...why do you all look like that? What happened? Grandma?"
Andrew looked to Richard and Emily, neither of which seemed to give an answer to his probing look. "Rory, your mother took the brunt of the accident and is now in a coma. She has a broken leg, but all her other limbs and her spinal cord are intact. There was minor bruising and some shallow cuts to her legs and arms as well as a large gash on her left leg. She appears to be very healthy with good vital signs. Only time will tell now." He stated all this in a very blunt manner, knocking all sense out of Rory's already confused brain. "Now, may we address your own injuries?"
"What?" Rory's eyes unfocused and blurred as hot tears welled up, stinging and clouding her vision. "I...I don't know..."
Andrew sighed, "Would you excuse us for a few moments, please?" Emily, Richard, and Jess were ushered out of the room by the nurse from before and the door shut. The nurse tottered around the room, checking Rory's IV, opening her curtains, and clearing away the trash while the doctor talked. "Rory...you have to listen to me. In order for you to help your mother, you have to get better first. Now, you suffered a mild concussion, but nothing was broken. If you'll look down at your arm, you'll notice the bandages. You'll have a slight scar from that injury, but nothing extreme. You're probably feeling pretty sore from all the bruises, but all in all, you fared pretty well. Any questions?"
Rory blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. Andrew politely checked his charts for a moment while she wiped it away with the hand of her uninjured arm. "I...how long have I been here?"
"You've been in and out of consciousness for approximately three days. It is Monday morning, eleven o'clock."
"Three days?" To Rory, that seemed liked a lifetime. She had never slept for three days before. And what about Lorelai?
"Yes...Three days. You are in the Point View Hospital, just outside Stars Hollow."
The nurse came over and gently touched Rory's shoulder. "Honey, I need to change your bandages now. You may want to look away." Rory didn't seem to comprehend her words, but her eyes remained fixated on the doctor.
"I want to go home..." Rory's voice sounded small and weak, pleading and desperate, willing this whole experience to be a dream.
Andrew bent his head and scanned the chart, "Well, if you just follow everything that you're told and try your best to come to grips with the accident, then I think you should be out of here in about a week, though probably a little bit more."
Rory looked down at her lap before her arm seemed to scream in pain. She looked over with a gasp and felt like she would faint at the sight. Her slender arm was blotched with ugly dark bruises and a long bloody gash ran from her elbow to her wrist. The nurse was cleaning the wound with a solution that stung and made Rory's eyes burn with more tears. "Darling, you shouldn't look. This will heal in time, but for now it will hurt."
Rory sighed and gulped back a sob of pain. Whether it was the pain of her arm or that of her heart, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that this day couldn't get any worse.
Andrew recognized the panicked, trapped look that began to invade Rory's eyes and he made a motion to the nurse. "Rory, you should try to sleep now. The more you rest, the easier the pain will get."
"But I can't..." Andrew nodded, but didn't seem to hear her as he inserted a needle into her IV. A warm, fuzzy sensation took Rory's mind away from the pain and she seemed to float above all her troubles before her eyes closed and the familiar blackness returned.
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The next day, Rory awoke feeling more a part of her own body. Well, at least the pain certainly seemed more real. A flutter of movement by the corner of her room made Rory turn her eyes to the other occupant. Jess's dark eyes met her own and he slowly stood up. He moved toward the bed as if he had wooden legs, slow and clunky.
"Hi." His soft voice was an immense comfort to her. He took her good hand within his own and squeezed it lightly. She squeezed back and mumbled a welcome. Jess shifted where he stood and seemed a bit uncomfortable. "How are you? I mean, well, you're here and lying down, obviously, but I mean are you okay? Well, not okay, but you're...okay?"
Rory managed a half-smile at Jess's blundering attempts to have a conversation. "I'm fine...kinda. I've been better, though." She stole a glance behind Jess and noticed that Luke's coat was still there. "Where's Luke?"
"He's with Lorelai. He wasn't allowed in her room because he wasn't family, but didn't let that stop him. Hasn't left her side since."
Rory's face drained of color and she looked down at their clasped hands. "Has anyone else come?"
"I don't think anyone else knows. Emily only told Luke because he called when she was at your house."
"At our house?"
"Yeah, she thought you might want your own pillows and blankets, if you hadn't noticed already. And your clothes were bad, so she brought you some more..." Rory raised her eyebrows at the fountain of information Jess appeared to be. He sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes, "Your grandmother wouldn't leave until I promised to tell you all this and then your grandfather drilled it into my head some more, happy?" She managed a half smile, knowing it must have been some feat in order to get Emily to leave her or Lorelai's side. "So...you need anything?"
"No...I'm fine."
Andrew came in next. "Miss Gilmore, I'm pleased to see you awake. Could you wait outside, Mr. uhhm...?" He looked at Jess pointedly, who shot his own daggers at the taller man.
Jess looked at Rory who helplessly shrugged. "I'll be outside. Call if you need me."
She nodded, but as he turned to go, "Um, wait...Can you call Lane for me?" Her dewy eyes pleaded with his own hard ones as he groaned painfully and bent his head in what might be interpreted as an affirmative.
Andrew turned to her when the door was closed and smiled cheerfully. "How are you this morning, Rory?"
"I feel a bit more like...myself." She smiled her half-smile and tried to find anything to look at other than his smiling face.
"Well, that's good...Think you could eat a bit? And I emphasize a bit. Don't want to put too much pressure on your stomach." As if on cue, a nurse came in with a tray of mild yogurt and two slices of toast. A cup of milk sat precariously on the end. Rory felt like an infant. Andrew stayed with her as she drank the milk, ate the toast and jam, but left the gloppy- looking yogurt. He talked while she ate, updating her on the weather status, her visitors (Emily, Richard, Jess, and Luke), and her mother. Lorelai's leg was apparently mending well along with her other injuries, though she was still unconscious. "I think you should actually be going home next Thursday or Friday..."
The words were barely out of his mouth when a tornado burst into the room in the form of Lane, Miss Patty, Sookie, Jackson, Morey and Babette. Half of them carried flowers and the other half had baskets of food.
Everyone burst into conversation at once. Jess led the tail end, coming in silent and grim. Andrew's face darkened in anger. "You can't all come bursting in here, you know. The patient must be kept--" but his voice was drowned out and he was pushed to the back by the throng of visitors.
"Rory, sweetie, oh this is dreadful! And Lorelai--"
"Oh, Rory, baby, those deer! Menaces!"
"Very uncool deer."
"Rory, can I get you anything? The food here looks awful--"
"Definitely not organic."
"Are you okay?"
The room hushed as Rory's eyes welled up with tears again. Lane was instantly at her side and Rory clung to her friend for the small amount of comfort she provided. Suddenly she was surrounded by a flood of hugs, embraces, and soothing murmurs of compassion. Jess hung back uncomfortably. He glanced up at the group and, through the mass of bodies, he could see Rory's pleading eyes. The sight wrenched at his heart and he turned away though guilt began to invade his heart as well.
Later that day, Lane, Jess, and Luke were still there playing cards with Rory. Luke was silent and ragged, his grunts becoming few and far between as he listlessly moved through the motions and the teenagers talked around him.
Sookie and Jackson came in a few minutes later as the last to visit Lorelai. Sookie's eyes were rimmed in red and she was sniffling into what looked like Jackson's handkerchief.
"Oh, Rory, sweetie, we have to go. We'll be back with some...some proper food tomorrow. And...and some coffee. Yes. You'd like that, right?" Sookie gasped and forced a smile through her tears. Jackson glanced worriedly between Sookie and the rapidly dimming Rory. "Okay, time for us to leave. Rory, we'll see you tomorrow."
Rory shook her head, "Oh, no, I mean...You can come if you want to, but if you have work..."
Sookie forced a very unconvincing laugh and said, "Nonsense! Of course we'll come back and see you guys tomorrow! But right now I just need, um, uh, coffee, yes, you know? So, we'll see you later!" Jackson smiled briefly at Rory and nodded goodbye before taking Sookie by the shoulders and steering her out the door.
Luke finally spoke up, "I wonder if I should...get back to work..." Rory recalled the day a couple years ago when Richard had a heart attack and Luke drove Lorelai to the hospital. He was extremely uncomfortable then and seemed even more so now. The accident had certainly taken a toll on his consciousness and Rory was beginning to see the hardened lumberjack in a whole new light. "Luke, it's okay if you want to go," she told him, "I know hospitals aren't really your thing..."
Luke looked up at Rory and she could see him flinch, his eyes falling on her ragged countenance and ashen complexion. "You know what, screw the doctors. I'm getting you coffee, even if I have to insert it into that damn uh...bag...thing..." He motioned towards the IV, taking painful cares not to look at it.
Rory found herself smiling and she nodded, "Ok. That sounds good." Luke nodded, his face composed and unemotional. Luke looked to Jess and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question. "I...I think I'll stay till you come back." Luke frowned, but didn't say anything, simply stood up and nodded to everyone and left, his eyes firmly planted on the ground.
************************************************************
The week continued with one visit after another. Rory was rarely left alone and never lacked company. Luke kept her stocked in coffee and Sookie kept her in healthy foods that didn't taste like cardboard, and Lane came over every day after school to keep her in touch with the Stars Hollow social situations. Jess stopped by every day and cut school twice to be with Rory. He received an earful every time, but both visits kept Rory's spirits high.
On the first Jess visit, Rory received an unexpected visitor.
It was Thursday. Jess was sitting on the side of Rory's bed and holding her hand, making quiet conversation when the door opened. Lane walked in, accompanied by none other than Dean. At the sight of Jess, Dean's eyes narrowed and hardened, while Jess's face turned into a grimace. They both glanced at Rory--whose expression was tired, expectant, and worried-- instantly feeling guilty.
"Hey, Rory, Jess..."
"Lane...Dean."
"Hey, guys, sit! Have a cookie, Sookie made them this morning." Rory's face smiled expectantly at the new visitors as she held out a tin container of fresh chocolate chip cookies. Lane and Dean each took one before sitting on the other side of the bed from Jess.
The room was awkwardly silent for the moment as its four occupants stared at each other. Lane frowned and proceeded to nibble on her cookie, suddenly finding the tiny crumbs that landed on her lap very interesting.
Dean was the first to break the awkward silence, "I'm sorry, Rory...about the accident, I mean. I would have come sooner, but I only just found out..." Jess coughed a word into his hand and Rory shot him a look. Her hurt blue eyes and pained countenance instantly wheedled a guilty feeling into his stomach and Jess quickly looked away.
"Have you seen Lorelai yet, Rory?" Lane asked, attempting to move the focus from the Jess and Dean drama.
"No," Rory's face fell at the thought. "I haven't been allowed out yet. The farthest I've been allowed is the bathroom. The doctors say the weekend...maybe." The tears that never seemed to go away welled up behind her eyes and Rory bit her lip to keep them from falling. Her three companions reflected Rory's mood in their own expressions – even Jess looked down and squeezed Rory's hand lightly.
Rory was grateful for the attention Jess gave her, but it simply wasn't the same knowing...how her mother was. Lorelai was what seemed to keep her world together. What if she never--No, must not think of that. But as Rory's eyes dried and filled with tears again, she knew her life could never go back to the way it was. She would be forever changed by the experience--Not to mention that venison would turn her stomach whenever Sookie cooked it up at the inn.
A few harsh beeps brought Rory from her depressing thoughts and she turned toward the source--Dean. He was checking his beeper and flushing slightly.
"Sorry, Rory," he mumbled an apology, "I have to run. I...uh...Lindsay and I had stuff planned..." Rory couldn't determine how she felt about this. When she discovered them at the hockey game, she felt betrayed and discarded. But it was simply absurd--they weren't together! They were still friends, though, right?
"Oh, sure, I understand." She forced a smile and gave his shoulder a weak, but playful shove. "I'd rather be anywhere but here, too."
Dean's face betrayed his guilty feelings and he looked toward the door with a sense of longing...and foreboding. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Rory smiled briefly and watched Dean walk out the door, uneaten cookie still in hand. Rory turned to Jess, whose eyes were also on Dean's retreating form. "Geez, that was nice. You'd think he couldn't bear to stay another minute..."
"Jess!" Rory exclaimed weakly. "Dean takes what time he can. You can't expect him or anyone to stay for a long time...It was very nice he came in at all given...." But she couldn't bring herself to say it and turned quickly away from Jess's probing gaze.
Jess sighed and shook his head, "Well, I gotta get to work." He bent down and gave Rory a quick, light kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow." And then there were two. Neither Lane nor Rory knew quite what to say.
************************************************************
The week passed quickly. Rory moved on to physical therapy and the bandage was finally removed from her damaged arm. The sight was still a bit unpleasant, but at least it wasn't oozing blood and puss anymore and the stitches were helping to heal the wound nicely. The swelling and bruising on her body had also receded and she no longer looked like a newspaper.
The next Thursday was the day she was due to leave and Emily was rushing around her hospital room in a frenzy, gathering blankets, pillows, clothes, and flowers for the car. Rory had changed back into a comfortable pair of sweats and her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. Before she left, the doctors had promised her a small visit with her mother. She had been prevented from venturing down to her room on the charge that she was in a "delicate condition" and needed to stay situated as much as possible.
Jess sighed and turned away from watching Emily yell at the nurse. Rory stood at his side, hesitantly testing out legs that hadn't been utilized much in over a week. "Are you ready?"
Rory looked to him with an uncertain look in her eyes. How could she ever be ready for something like this? "Yes."
Already in Lorelai's room was Luke, head in hands once more. His disgust of hospitals and his concern for Lorelai forever battled in his head. He slowly raised his gaze to look at the lone bed in the room and the pale figure occupying it. The shine and curl had gone from Lorelai's hair and her face had lost its luster. She would have looked like she was sleeping except for the pale cheeks and sallow countenance. Luke quickly ducked down again, rocking slightly in his seat. His eyes were dry--he had never cried-- but the wretched feeling in his gut seemed a permanent resident that would never take its much-wanted leave.
He hadn't seen or spoken to Nicole since a few days after the accident, when he gave her a quick excuse and rushed back to the hospital. He felt guilty about that, too. He hadn't seen her since who-knows-when and she probably wanted to break up and had begun to harbor intensely harsh feelings against Lorelai, who seemed to take precedence in Luke's thoughts even when she couldn't respond to human attention. That last thought caught Luke by surprise. Lorelai and him were just friends. He cared for her as only a friend could. He must get his life back on track and go see Nicole.
Luke picked up his head for another quick glance at Lorelai. In the movies, the doctors always said that talking to a patient helped. They might hear and find the energy to come back to the real world. Personally, Luke found talking to a person who couldn't respond a bit embarrassing and pointless. But this was Lorelai. It wasn't just anyone. Lorelai meant...well...something. To see her without the usual spark and life that so defined her character pained Luke. Would he risk looking like an idiot to take a path that probably was 1% effective in its curative qualities?
But if it helped Lorelai...
Luke hesitantly stood up in a jerky fashion, like he was using joints and muscles that hadn't been used in over a decade. He sighed heavily and slowly stepped over to the end of the bed where Lorelai lay, still and unchanged. The sight of her lying there, helpless, hurt Luke more than he could say. How could he express how he felt in words when he didn't even know how he felt at all?
But he didn't get the chance to figure it out as a startled sob sounded from the doorway. Rory had a hand over her mouth in shock and she leaned heavily on Jess's arm. The sight of Lorelai was more than she could bear. What Luke had managed to block out, Rory saw clear as day. Her mother's left temple was heavily bruised, tiny cuts dotted the left side of her face, and her right arm was in a cast. Her left arm was bandaged, but tiny spots of blood seeped through the cloth, alluding to deep gashes from the broken Jeep window. Hot, painful tears slid down Rory's cheeks unchecked as her eyes gazed at Lorelai, horrified by the destruction one stupid deer could cause.
Jess turned Rory away and she buried her head in the collar of his sweatshirt, one hand gripping its front and other his back. Luke's eyes met Jess's over Rory's head and they agreed. Jess led Rory out and back to Emily, who helped her to the car and drove off for the mansion.
By Powder
Email: usagi@bellatlantic.net
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Gilmore Girls. The only thing I own is the idea behind this story. If any made-up characters should appear, they belong to me and should not be used without permission. This story is for non-profit purposes and is simply here to amuse and give people something to do with their time.
Note: This is my first published work on Gilmore Girls or any other subject so please be nice. Review pleeeeeeease! I want to thank the people who have already given me advice – I have considered all and appreciate it more than I can say. As a newbie writer everything is greatly appreciated, thanks :)
Look to my personal page on fanfiction.net for updates on progress--I promise I won't forget about the story, but as I want to make each chapter as good as it can be, it may be a few weeks between each chapter. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter--seems a bit slow to me--but I have run out of ideas for right now and I'm eager to progress. Perhaps I may re-edit it later on, but for now this is it!
In the following chapters I'm hoping to relate the events that are happening in the last few episodes into this fic. I won't follow everything to the letter because circumstances are different now (of course), but I think it would be interesting to take a different spin on these topics. If you have another opinion, I would gladly listen. Thanks!
Chapter 2: Show Me Love
Harsh beeps and soft whisperings assaulted Rory's foggy senses and her mind was a blur of color and images. She groaned softly and shifted her body weight, causing a murmur to arise in her room. What was that awful buzzing?
A soft voice cajoled Rory into opening her eyes quite reluctantly. For a moment, all she could discern was the face of a kind nurse in a white uniform staring back at her. The bright lights seemed blinding and she was forced to close her eyes before the panicked voice of her grandmother brought them open once more. Emily's teary-eyed gaze met her own for a brief moment and she managed to croak out, "Gr'ma?" Her throat felt sore and she grimaced.
"There, now..." the nurse soothed, holding a cup of water to Rory so she could take a small sip and ease her burning throat. A doctor had pulled Emily and Richard aside and was talking quietly to them. Richard had his arm around Emily, supporting her slight frame as it shivered under the doctor's gaze. Something he said made Emily give a raspy sob and fly from the room, Richard hot on her heels.
"Mom?" Rory groaned and blinked against the harsh atmosphere. The nurse shook her head and put a hand on Rory's shoulder. "You'll see your mother later. Just try to get some rest." Rory mumbled something incoherent before blackness overtook her once more.
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The next time Rory awoke, there were more people in the room and her mind felt clearer. She slowly opened her eyes without making a sound. Emily and Richard were still there as well as the doctor, but now Jess was also present and a familiar coat over an empty chair signaled the existence of Luke.
"--be fine," the doctor was explaining something to Richard. "Minor bruising and concussion, full use of limbs...She'll be fine, I think. We just have to wait to see if there's any memory loss..." Richard's face was pale and haggard as he listened to the diagnosis. Emily's face looked like it would never dry again and Jess was bent over his knees, his head in his hands. Luke was nowhere in sight. The doctor looked up and his eyes fell on Rory's tired, curious blue eyes. "Rory! My dear, I'm Andrew. How are you feeling?" This simple question caused every eye in the room to fall on Rory's prostrate form, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious lying helpless in the huge white bed.
"I...I...uhm..." Her voice was soft and scratchy, but grew stronger with use as her scattered mind also tried to piece together the events of the previous day. There was dinner and then the discussion...er fight...and then the deer... "Mom? Where's Mom? I want--what happened? The car and--" The doctor placed his hand on Rory's shoulder to try and ease the flow of words from her mouth.
"Rory, slow down. All of your questions will be answered, but first I have to ask you a couple." Rory felt like her head was spinning and clouded with the memory of that night and that deer. "Now, do you remember the accident?"
Rory turned her incredulous blue eyes on the doctor as if he had two heads. She was angry and belligerent, answering "Remember? I was in a car crash...Who's gonna forget that?" Emily, Richard, Jess, and Andrew were now all crowded around the bed and exchanging worrisome glances. "Where's Mom? How long have I been here? Where's here?"
"Okay, one thing at a time. Do you remember what happened before the accident?" Andrew spoke to Rory as if she were a mental case and he the kindly man in a white uniform come to rehabilitate her.
Rory was suddenly livid. Who was he to withhold information from her, especially when it concerned her absolute best friend and mother? "No!" She squeaked, her weak voice cracking under the pressure and excitement. She could feel her vision begin to blur and her breathing quickened. "I want my mother!" Emily sobbed and turned away, a hand covering her mouth. Richard looked down, unwilling to meet Rory's eyes. She looked to the last person in the room it seemed she could trust, but even Jess didn't have an answer and turned away sadly. "No..." Rory could feel herself getting hysterical and then the words just couldn't stop. "No, no, it couldn't happen...My fault...It's my mother and it's me and I'm fine and Lorelai's fine and the car is--"
"Rory, stop!" Jess interrupted, his face drawn and pallid.
"Jess?" Rory's watery eyes pleaded with her boyfriend, willing her darkest fears not to be true.
"Lorelai is alive."
"Oh, God..." Rory sighed gratefully and closed her eyes as the warm blanket of relief spread over her. When she opened her eyes again, she realized that no one else was sharing her moment of bliss. That's when she realized that not everything was a-OK. "Wait...why do you all look like that? What happened? Grandma?"
Andrew looked to Richard and Emily, neither of which seemed to give an answer to his probing look. "Rory, your mother took the brunt of the accident and is now in a coma. She has a broken leg, but all her other limbs and her spinal cord are intact. There was minor bruising and some shallow cuts to her legs and arms as well as a large gash on her left leg. She appears to be very healthy with good vital signs. Only time will tell now." He stated all this in a very blunt manner, knocking all sense out of Rory's already confused brain. "Now, may we address your own injuries?"
"What?" Rory's eyes unfocused and blurred as hot tears welled up, stinging and clouding her vision. "I...I don't know..."
Andrew sighed, "Would you excuse us for a few moments, please?" Emily, Richard, and Jess were ushered out of the room by the nurse from before and the door shut. The nurse tottered around the room, checking Rory's IV, opening her curtains, and clearing away the trash while the doctor talked. "Rory...you have to listen to me. In order for you to help your mother, you have to get better first. Now, you suffered a mild concussion, but nothing was broken. If you'll look down at your arm, you'll notice the bandages. You'll have a slight scar from that injury, but nothing extreme. You're probably feeling pretty sore from all the bruises, but all in all, you fared pretty well. Any questions?"
Rory blinked and a tear slid down her cheek. Andrew politely checked his charts for a moment while she wiped it away with the hand of her uninjured arm. "I...how long have I been here?"
"You've been in and out of consciousness for approximately three days. It is Monday morning, eleven o'clock."
"Three days?" To Rory, that seemed liked a lifetime. She had never slept for three days before. And what about Lorelai?
"Yes...Three days. You are in the Point View Hospital, just outside Stars Hollow."
The nurse came over and gently touched Rory's shoulder. "Honey, I need to change your bandages now. You may want to look away." Rory didn't seem to comprehend her words, but her eyes remained fixated on the doctor.
"I want to go home..." Rory's voice sounded small and weak, pleading and desperate, willing this whole experience to be a dream.
Andrew bent his head and scanned the chart, "Well, if you just follow everything that you're told and try your best to come to grips with the accident, then I think you should be out of here in about a week, though probably a little bit more."
Rory looked down at her lap before her arm seemed to scream in pain. She looked over with a gasp and felt like she would faint at the sight. Her slender arm was blotched with ugly dark bruises and a long bloody gash ran from her elbow to her wrist. The nurse was cleaning the wound with a solution that stung and made Rory's eyes burn with more tears. "Darling, you shouldn't look. This will heal in time, but for now it will hurt."
Rory sighed and gulped back a sob of pain. Whether it was the pain of her arm or that of her heart, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that this day couldn't get any worse.
Andrew recognized the panicked, trapped look that began to invade Rory's eyes and he made a motion to the nurse. "Rory, you should try to sleep now. The more you rest, the easier the pain will get."
"But I can't..." Andrew nodded, but didn't seem to hear her as he inserted a needle into her IV. A warm, fuzzy sensation took Rory's mind away from the pain and she seemed to float above all her troubles before her eyes closed and the familiar blackness returned.
************************************************************
The next day, Rory awoke feeling more a part of her own body. Well, at least the pain certainly seemed more real. A flutter of movement by the corner of her room made Rory turn her eyes to the other occupant. Jess's dark eyes met her own and he slowly stood up. He moved toward the bed as if he had wooden legs, slow and clunky.
"Hi." His soft voice was an immense comfort to her. He took her good hand within his own and squeezed it lightly. She squeezed back and mumbled a welcome. Jess shifted where he stood and seemed a bit uncomfortable. "How are you? I mean, well, you're here and lying down, obviously, but I mean are you okay? Well, not okay, but you're...okay?"
Rory managed a half-smile at Jess's blundering attempts to have a conversation. "I'm fine...kinda. I've been better, though." She stole a glance behind Jess and noticed that Luke's coat was still there. "Where's Luke?"
"He's with Lorelai. He wasn't allowed in her room because he wasn't family, but didn't let that stop him. Hasn't left her side since."
Rory's face drained of color and she looked down at their clasped hands. "Has anyone else come?"
"I don't think anyone else knows. Emily only told Luke because he called when she was at your house."
"At our house?"
"Yeah, she thought you might want your own pillows and blankets, if you hadn't noticed already. And your clothes were bad, so she brought you some more..." Rory raised her eyebrows at the fountain of information Jess appeared to be. He sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes, "Your grandmother wouldn't leave until I promised to tell you all this and then your grandfather drilled it into my head some more, happy?" She managed a half smile, knowing it must have been some feat in order to get Emily to leave her or Lorelai's side. "So...you need anything?"
"No...I'm fine."
Andrew came in next. "Miss Gilmore, I'm pleased to see you awake. Could you wait outside, Mr. uhhm...?" He looked at Jess pointedly, who shot his own daggers at the taller man.
Jess looked at Rory who helplessly shrugged. "I'll be outside. Call if you need me."
She nodded, but as he turned to go, "Um, wait...Can you call Lane for me?" Her dewy eyes pleaded with his own hard ones as he groaned painfully and bent his head in what might be interpreted as an affirmative.
Andrew turned to her when the door was closed and smiled cheerfully. "How are you this morning, Rory?"
"I feel a bit more like...myself." She smiled her half-smile and tried to find anything to look at other than his smiling face.
"Well, that's good...Think you could eat a bit? And I emphasize a bit. Don't want to put too much pressure on your stomach." As if on cue, a nurse came in with a tray of mild yogurt and two slices of toast. A cup of milk sat precariously on the end. Rory felt like an infant. Andrew stayed with her as she drank the milk, ate the toast and jam, but left the gloppy- looking yogurt. He talked while she ate, updating her on the weather status, her visitors (Emily, Richard, Jess, and Luke), and her mother. Lorelai's leg was apparently mending well along with her other injuries, though she was still unconscious. "I think you should actually be going home next Thursday or Friday..."
The words were barely out of his mouth when a tornado burst into the room in the form of Lane, Miss Patty, Sookie, Jackson, Morey and Babette. Half of them carried flowers and the other half had baskets of food.
Everyone burst into conversation at once. Jess led the tail end, coming in silent and grim. Andrew's face darkened in anger. "You can't all come bursting in here, you know. The patient must be kept--" but his voice was drowned out and he was pushed to the back by the throng of visitors.
"Rory, sweetie, oh this is dreadful! And Lorelai--"
"Oh, Rory, baby, those deer! Menaces!"
"Very uncool deer."
"Rory, can I get you anything? The food here looks awful--"
"Definitely not organic."
"Are you okay?"
The room hushed as Rory's eyes welled up with tears again. Lane was instantly at her side and Rory clung to her friend for the small amount of comfort she provided. Suddenly she was surrounded by a flood of hugs, embraces, and soothing murmurs of compassion. Jess hung back uncomfortably. He glanced up at the group and, through the mass of bodies, he could see Rory's pleading eyes. The sight wrenched at his heart and he turned away though guilt began to invade his heart as well.
Later that day, Lane, Jess, and Luke were still there playing cards with Rory. Luke was silent and ragged, his grunts becoming few and far between as he listlessly moved through the motions and the teenagers talked around him.
Sookie and Jackson came in a few minutes later as the last to visit Lorelai. Sookie's eyes were rimmed in red and she was sniffling into what looked like Jackson's handkerchief.
"Oh, Rory, sweetie, we have to go. We'll be back with some...some proper food tomorrow. And...and some coffee. Yes. You'd like that, right?" Sookie gasped and forced a smile through her tears. Jackson glanced worriedly between Sookie and the rapidly dimming Rory. "Okay, time for us to leave. Rory, we'll see you tomorrow."
Rory shook her head, "Oh, no, I mean...You can come if you want to, but if you have work..."
Sookie forced a very unconvincing laugh and said, "Nonsense! Of course we'll come back and see you guys tomorrow! But right now I just need, um, uh, coffee, yes, you know? So, we'll see you later!" Jackson smiled briefly at Rory and nodded goodbye before taking Sookie by the shoulders and steering her out the door.
Luke finally spoke up, "I wonder if I should...get back to work..." Rory recalled the day a couple years ago when Richard had a heart attack and Luke drove Lorelai to the hospital. He was extremely uncomfortable then and seemed even more so now. The accident had certainly taken a toll on his consciousness and Rory was beginning to see the hardened lumberjack in a whole new light. "Luke, it's okay if you want to go," she told him, "I know hospitals aren't really your thing..."
Luke looked up at Rory and she could see him flinch, his eyes falling on her ragged countenance and ashen complexion. "You know what, screw the doctors. I'm getting you coffee, even if I have to insert it into that damn uh...bag...thing..." He motioned towards the IV, taking painful cares not to look at it.
Rory found herself smiling and she nodded, "Ok. That sounds good." Luke nodded, his face composed and unemotional. Luke looked to Jess and raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question. "I...I think I'll stay till you come back." Luke frowned, but didn't say anything, simply stood up and nodded to everyone and left, his eyes firmly planted on the ground.
************************************************************
The week continued with one visit after another. Rory was rarely left alone and never lacked company. Luke kept her stocked in coffee and Sookie kept her in healthy foods that didn't taste like cardboard, and Lane came over every day after school to keep her in touch with the Stars Hollow social situations. Jess stopped by every day and cut school twice to be with Rory. He received an earful every time, but both visits kept Rory's spirits high.
On the first Jess visit, Rory received an unexpected visitor.
It was Thursday. Jess was sitting on the side of Rory's bed and holding her hand, making quiet conversation when the door opened. Lane walked in, accompanied by none other than Dean. At the sight of Jess, Dean's eyes narrowed and hardened, while Jess's face turned into a grimace. They both glanced at Rory--whose expression was tired, expectant, and worried-- instantly feeling guilty.
"Hey, Rory, Jess..."
"Lane...Dean."
"Hey, guys, sit! Have a cookie, Sookie made them this morning." Rory's face smiled expectantly at the new visitors as she held out a tin container of fresh chocolate chip cookies. Lane and Dean each took one before sitting on the other side of the bed from Jess.
The room was awkwardly silent for the moment as its four occupants stared at each other. Lane frowned and proceeded to nibble on her cookie, suddenly finding the tiny crumbs that landed on her lap very interesting.
Dean was the first to break the awkward silence, "I'm sorry, Rory...about the accident, I mean. I would have come sooner, but I only just found out..." Jess coughed a word into his hand and Rory shot him a look. Her hurt blue eyes and pained countenance instantly wheedled a guilty feeling into his stomach and Jess quickly looked away.
"Have you seen Lorelai yet, Rory?" Lane asked, attempting to move the focus from the Jess and Dean drama.
"No," Rory's face fell at the thought. "I haven't been allowed out yet. The farthest I've been allowed is the bathroom. The doctors say the weekend...maybe." The tears that never seemed to go away welled up behind her eyes and Rory bit her lip to keep them from falling. Her three companions reflected Rory's mood in their own expressions – even Jess looked down and squeezed Rory's hand lightly.
Rory was grateful for the attention Jess gave her, but it simply wasn't the same knowing...how her mother was. Lorelai was what seemed to keep her world together. What if she never--No, must not think of that. But as Rory's eyes dried and filled with tears again, she knew her life could never go back to the way it was. She would be forever changed by the experience--Not to mention that venison would turn her stomach whenever Sookie cooked it up at the inn.
A few harsh beeps brought Rory from her depressing thoughts and she turned toward the source--Dean. He was checking his beeper and flushing slightly.
"Sorry, Rory," he mumbled an apology, "I have to run. I...uh...Lindsay and I had stuff planned..." Rory couldn't determine how she felt about this. When she discovered them at the hockey game, she felt betrayed and discarded. But it was simply absurd--they weren't together! They were still friends, though, right?
"Oh, sure, I understand." She forced a smile and gave his shoulder a weak, but playful shove. "I'd rather be anywhere but here, too."
Dean's face betrayed his guilty feelings and he looked toward the door with a sense of longing...and foreboding. "Hey, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Rory smiled briefly and watched Dean walk out the door, uneaten cookie still in hand. Rory turned to Jess, whose eyes were also on Dean's retreating form. "Geez, that was nice. You'd think he couldn't bear to stay another minute..."
"Jess!" Rory exclaimed weakly. "Dean takes what time he can. You can't expect him or anyone to stay for a long time...It was very nice he came in at all given...." But she couldn't bring herself to say it and turned quickly away from Jess's probing gaze.
Jess sighed and shook his head, "Well, I gotta get to work." He bent down and gave Rory a quick, light kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow." And then there were two. Neither Lane nor Rory knew quite what to say.
************************************************************
The week passed quickly. Rory moved on to physical therapy and the bandage was finally removed from her damaged arm. The sight was still a bit unpleasant, but at least it wasn't oozing blood and puss anymore and the stitches were helping to heal the wound nicely. The swelling and bruising on her body had also receded and she no longer looked like a newspaper.
The next Thursday was the day she was due to leave and Emily was rushing around her hospital room in a frenzy, gathering blankets, pillows, clothes, and flowers for the car. Rory had changed back into a comfortable pair of sweats and her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. Before she left, the doctors had promised her a small visit with her mother. She had been prevented from venturing down to her room on the charge that she was in a "delicate condition" and needed to stay situated as much as possible.
Jess sighed and turned away from watching Emily yell at the nurse. Rory stood at his side, hesitantly testing out legs that hadn't been utilized much in over a week. "Are you ready?"
Rory looked to him with an uncertain look in her eyes. How could she ever be ready for something like this? "Yes."
Already in Lorelai's room was Luke, head in hands once more. His disgust of hospitals and his concern for Lorelai forever battled in his head. He slowly raised his gaze to look at the lone bed in the room and the pale figure occupying it. The shine and curl had gone from Lorelai's hair and her face had lost its luster. She would have looked like she was sleeping except for the pale cheeks and sallow countenance. Luke quickly ducked down again, rocking slightly in his seat. His eyes were dry--he had never cried-- but the wretched feeling in his gut seemed a permanent resident that would never take its much-wanted leave.
He hadn't seen or spoken to Nicole since a few days after the accident, when he gave her a quick excuse and rushed back to the hospital. He felt guilty about that, too. He hadn't seen her since who-knows-when and she probably wanted to break up and had begun to harbor intensely harsh feelings against Lorelai, who seemed to take precedence in Luke's thoughts even when she couldn't respond to human attention. That last thought caught Luke by surprise. Lorelai and him were just friends. He cared for her as only a friend could. He must get his life back on track and go see Nicole.
Luke picked up his head for another quick glance at Lorelai. In the movies, the doctors always said that talking to a patient helped. They might hear and find the energy to come back to the real world. Personally, Luke found talking to a person who couldn't respond a bit embarrassing and pointless. But this was Lorelai. It wasn't just anyone. Lorelai meant...well...something. To see her without the usual spark and life that so defined her character pained Luke. Would he risk looking like an idiot to take a path that probably was 1% effective in its curative qualities?
But if it helped Lorelai...
Luke hesitantly stood up in a jerky fashion, like he was using joints and muscles that hadn't been used in over a decade. He sighed heavily and slowly stepped over to the end of the bed where Lorelai lay, still and unchanged. The sight of her lying there, helpless, hurt Luke more than he could say. How could he express how he felt in words when he didn't even know how he felt at all?
But he didn't get the chance to figure it out as a startled sob sounded from the doorway. Rory had a hand over her mouth in shock and she leaned heavily on Jess's arm. The sight of Lorelai was more than she could bear. What Luke had managed to block out, Rory saw clear as day. Her mother's left temple was heavily bruised, tiny cuts dotted the left side of her face, and her right arm was in a cast. Her left arm was bandaged, but tiny spots of blood seeped through the cloth, alluding to deep gashes from the broken Jeep window. Hot, painful tears slid down Rory's cheeks unchecked as her eyes gazed at Lorelai, horrified by the destruction one stupid deer could cause.
Jess turned Rory away and she buried her head in the collar of his sweatshirt, one hand gripping its front and other his back. Luke's eyes met Jess's over Rory's head and they agreed. Jess led Rory out and back to Emily, who helped her to the car and drove off for the mansion.
