Unconscious Fears

By: Alyson Tierney

Disclaimer: I do not own Lorelai or Rory Gilmore, or any other character associated with Gilmore Girls the way it is seen on television. Those characters and other related things and ideas belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB Network. However, Alicia and Arielle's characters are figments of my own imagination, so I do own them. Please do not use them without my permission. Thank you.

Author's Note: This story is the sequel to my story "Arielle." Everything that has happened up to the Gilmore Girls episode "Not as Cute as Pushkin" is consistent with this story, but after that, it takes its own path, so relationships and other facts may be different than on the show. I am not a dream doctor, or a medical doctor, nor do I know anything about dreams or medicine, so if the information is way off, please don't shout at me.

Thank you to those who reviewed the first chapters, I'm glad to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones. It's each and every one of yours' feedback, comments, likes, and dislikes that helps this story. I'm not making Rory pregnant, I'd never do that, but the big drama is coming up very soon. Enjoy and please review if you wish!

CHAPTER SIX

Lorelai kissed Arielle's head before laying her in the crib. After a few hours of playing, watching about five seconds of Teletubbies, and a quick meal, Arielle was sound asleep. Lorelai kneeled next to the porta-crib, brushing her hand over Arielle's auburn curls, before covering her with a pale yellow blanket. She was glad Arielle was mostly out of the danger zone for SIDS, because blankets were such a vital part of sleeping. They kept you covered and warm, and it was something to snuggle with. She still wouldn't be ready for a pillow until she was in a big-girl bed, which Lorelai hoped never happened. She loved being with a baby again, and it suddenly made her envision having one with Luke. She laughed as she remembered her dream a few years back, she and Luke had been married and she'd been carrying twins. When Lorelai had told her daughter about that dream, Rory had just laughed and remarked on how fat Lorelai was going to get.

Standing, Lorelai walked over to the window, and looked out at the yard. The snow was quickly melting now, leaving wet puddles all over the town. It still got chilly at night, though. She watched as a stream of headlights beamed over the driveway, and smiled. Rory was home. Alicia's Toyota drove up, stopping at the end of the driveway. Alicia got out, hurrying over to Rory's side of the car. Lorelai's brow crinkled as she watched her daughter stumble out of the car and head unsteadily towards the house. She sighed, Rory had gone and gotten plastered again. Lorelai knew it was partially her fault, because she encouraged it, but part of it had been because she knew Rory wouldn't do it anyway. At least she used to be like that.

The door opened, and Lorelai turned, a concerned look on her face, but then smiling, "Hey, Alicia! Hey, babe! How was the party?"

Rory jumped up and down with delight, and then stumbled to the side, "It was great! I had so much fun! Kissing Logan…dancing…drinking…oh the drinking was the best!"

Lorelai's brows arched as she looked at Alicia, who shrugged, "She and Lane were like that all the way home." Alicia informed Lorelai.

"Being like this is fun! You should have had some happy stuff too!" Rory grinned, "Boy, I'm pumped. Do we have any chocolate? I feel like chocolate!" Rory took off her jacked and dropped it to the floor, stumbling into the kitchen.

"How much did she have?" Lorelai asked Alicia in a sotto voice.

Alicia looked uncomfortable, "Too much. She and Lane were like some of those girls who can't control how much alcohol they take in. I actually had to make them leave."

Lorelai sighed, "Great."

The two walked into the living room, and Alicia carefully picked up her daughter, "How was she?"

Lorelai smiled, "She was great. We played and watched a little Teletubbies, and she had a snack before she went down."

Alicia smiled back, "Good." They whipped their heads around as a crash resounded from the kitchen. Rory muttered a profanity, and Alicia rolled her eyes, "I'll leave you to it." Alicia said, pulling Arielle's coat around her.

"Thanks, Alicia. Drive safe." Lorelai said, giving the baby a kiss before sending the two on their way. She hurried into the kitchen, where Rory had knocked a whole bunch of things off the counter in her search for chocolate, "Babe! What are you doing?" Lorelai asked, surveying the mess.

"I want chocolate!" Rory said, as she rummaged through a cabinet.

"Rory, sweetie, let's get to bed." Lorelai said, helping her daughter down from the shelf she was kneeling on.

"But I want chocolate. It completes my lovely night of drinking." Rory slurred, as she turned to look in a different cabinet.

"Honey, let's get to bed." Lorelai said, gently, trying to tug her daughter towards her bedroom, but Rory wouldn't have it.

"Oh, so you're trying to ruin my fun? Why are you doing that? I need my fun, Mommy, I'm in college!" Rory said pulling away and opening the oven door so she could look in, "Did you make any chocolate chip cookies?"

"Babe, I'm not trying to ruin your fun. Let's go to bed." Lorelai gently closed the oven door, and tried to lead her daughter towards her bedroom again, but to no avail.

"Yes, you are! You don't want me to have fun! You don't want me to drink! You don't want me to party! You just want me to sit home and knit or study or whatever." Rory said, her voice rising.

"Honey, I'm not trying to ruin your fun. I'm just a little worried by your state tonight. Well, I worry about your drinking state a lot, but that's not important right now. You need sleep and a chance to cool down." Lorelai said, her tone staying very calm. If Rory had been sober, she probably would have been worried about how eerily calm Lorelai was right at that moment.

"You worry about my drinking state a lot? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rory asked, anger evident in her voice.

"I just worry about how much you've changed in the last year. You're supposed to grow and mature, I know that, but you've done almost a complete 180 degrees since…" Lorelai was starting to get a little annoyed that her daughter was pressing the issue, but she did understand that she was drunk and irrational.

"Since when? I slept with Dean? Oh, say it, Mother! You're embarrassed and ashamed and angry with me because I slept with Dean! Well, you were sleeping with Dad when you were about five years younger!" Rory's voice became loud and shrill, her face turning red.

"Hey! Don't turn this around and blame it on me! You are a sensible girl and can make your own decisions." Lorelai said, her temper starting to rise.

"Oh, I am blaming it on you. It's your fault. I hate you!" Rory screamed. She pushed past Lorelai and stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her, "I hate you!" Rory screamed at the door, and then threw herself on the bed, sobbing. She was hurt and angry and all she'd wanted was some chocolate. Biting back tears, she slipped out of her clothes and into her pajamas, and crawled under the covers. Her chest shook as she cried herself to sleep.

Lorelai's mouth was open in shock as she listened to her daughter yell and then march into her room. She could hear her crying, but made no move to comfort her. She wasn't sure why, but her mind told her Rory needed to be alone right now. She slowly picked up the mess on the floor, straightening everything up. Turning off the lights, she headed upstairs to her room. She was soon ready for bed, and lay there listening to the water drip outside. She'd have to do something about those rain gutters tomorrow.