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 have been reviewing! 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—especially those of you who can guess what's going to happen next. Damn, that was scary. Enjoy and please review if you wish!

CHAPTER SEVEN

The images were going through her head again. Her mother's body was limp and cold, lying in a casket. Everyone around her was crying—her grandparents, Sookie, Lane, Alicia, and Luke. She didn't cry, though. She could barely move. She watched as the pallbearers closed her mother's casket, pounding each nail in place. Choking back sobs, she rubbed her temples. The noise was getting louder and louder. Rory was sure she was dreaming, yet, she couldn't force herself to wake up. Come on. Wake up. This is all a dream. I know it is. Wake up!

Rory awoke with a start, her pounding headache aggravated by the pounding noise outside. She groaned, stumbling out of bed. She slipped into some comfy sweats, and slowly walked out to the kitchen. Unbelievably, the noise was even louder there. Yawning, she downed a few Ibuprofens before wandering outside, "Mom!"

Lorelai stopped pounding on the rain gutter, "What?" She looked down at her daughter, looking completely refreshed and alert, wearing jeans and a comfy long-sleeved shirt.

"The pounding? Headache?" Rory said, grumpily, squinting as she looked up at her mom. The sun was streaming through the trees, making her headache even worse.

"Well, the rain gutters have to be cleaned sometime." Lorelai shot back. She seemed to be deliberately pounding the gutter with the trowel, hitting it harder than she should have to.

"Clean them later!" Rory whined, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'd rather do them now, so I can get some other things done later. Like the laundry for example." Lorelai said, turning away from her daughter and back to the task at hand.

"Fine!" Rory snapped, turning on her heel and storming into the house. Lorelai sighed, she knew herself how painful hangovers could be, but part of her wanted Rory to see the downside of drinking so much.

Rory stormed back into the kitchen, opening and closing the refrigerator for some cheese singles, and grabbing a box of macaroni from the cabinet. She filled a bowl with water and some macaroni and popped it into the microwave. She had discovered macaroni and cheese did wonders for hangovers. She quickly mixed the cheese into the macaroni, and sat down at the table to enjoy her meal. The pounding overhead suddenly stopped, and she smiled, her mom must be finished with the roof.

Finishing her macaroni, she poured a cup of coffee, heading outside again. She'd just offer her mom some coffee as a peace offering, "Mom?" she called out, starting down the stairs. She noticed the ladder was on the ground, and thought her mom may have gone into the garage to put the tools away, "Mom!" Rory called again, coming closer, so the bushes that were now blocking her view of part of the ladder were out of the way. She froze at that instant. Her body just stopped as she stared, the mug of coffee falling to the ground and shattering, coffee flying everywhere. Lorelai was lying spread-eagled on the ground, the ladder on top of her. Rory pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It hurt, she was wide awake. Lorelai wasn't moving.

Rory's muscles finally reacted, "Mom!" she screamed, rushing forward. She pushed the ladder off her mother, almost as if it was a feather, and kneeled down next to her, "Mom!" She felt for a pulse, and felt a small wave of relief when she found one, "Mommy?" Rory said in a quiet voice.

Help, I need to get help. Rory's mind raced as she rushed inside, grabbing the phone out of its cradle. With shaky hands she dialed 911, hoping that no one else was having an emergency at the moment, because Stars Hollow only had two ambulances.

"Stars Hollow Emergency Room, what is the nature of your emergency?" a woman's voice asked.

"My mom. She fell…or something, she's hurt. I need help." Rory's voice quivered slightly.

"What's your mom's name?" The woman sounded very calm as she asked. Rory realized that she probably got a lot of these panicked calls a day.

"Lorelai Gilmore." Rory said.

"This is Rory?" the woman asked, after a short pause.

"Yeah." Rory answered in a small voice.

"Okay, Rory, I'm going to dispatch an ambulance to your house, I have the address right on the computer. Can you tell me if your mom is breathing or if she's bleeding anywhere?" the woman's voice asked.

"She's breathing." Rory said yanking a blanket from the back of the couch, and rushing outside with it. She checked for blood, and not finding any, told the woman so.

"Okay, that's good, Rory. Did you cover her with a blanket or something else warm?" the voice asked next.

"Yeah. I just did." Rory said, tucking the blanket around her mom. She was afraid to touch her, for fear of paralyzing her or breaking something. She began stroking her mother's hand gently, as she heard the wail of ambulance sirens, coming closer and closer by the second.

"Good. Can you hear the sirens?" The woman asked next.

"Yeah." Rory said.

"Okay, good. Just sit tight until they come. Are you outside? Where did she fall from?" The woman was clearly just trying to keep Rory's mind busy, keep her from panicking.

"She fell from the roof. She was cleaning the rain gutters, and I went inside, and when I came back out, she was on the ground." Rory said in a shaky voice, as the ambulance pulled into their driveway. She noticed Babette and Morey out of the corner of her eye, as the paramedics rushed over to help, "They're here. I've got to go." Rory said, and she beeped the phone off.