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, Dr. Magnant, Dr. Lockham, Nurse Sayde, 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 hope you like this chapter! Enjoy and please review if you wish! It's each and every one of yours' feedback, comments, likes, and dislikes that helps this story. Thank you all! This story is winding down now; there are two chapters left after this one, both to be posted in the next few days. I'll probably go back to writing short one-shots for Gilmore Girls, Buffy, and possibly ER after that.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Luke and Logan walked briskly up the path to the Gilmore house. They had closed the diner shortly after the dinner hour, and left Caesar to the clean-up. Both wanted to get to the house and check on their respective girlfriends.

Luke knocked on the door lightly, but there was no answer. Logan noted that the lights were on, so they must either be at home, or huge wasters of electricity. Logan turned the knob, and the door opened easily. He smiled as Luke muttered under his breath about burglars and easy targets.

They found the girls in the living room, and smiled. Luke glanced around at the state of the living room, and turned, seeing the state of the kitchen. He grumbled again, muttering some more, this time about dirty kitchens and dirty rain gutters. He excused himself and walked towards the kitchen, as Logan continued to watch the women sleep. The TV screen was blue, meaning the DVD was long over. Sookie was in the easy chair, her feet propped up on the ottoman. Alicia was in the loveseat next to the portable crib, fast asleep. Her daughter was in the crib, asleep with her rear in the air and a stuffed pig underneath her. Lane snoozed in a corner of the couch, her left arm tucked underneath a pillow. Lorelai and Rory were snuggled in the opposite corner of the couch, Rory using Lorelai's shoulder as a pillow, her arm draped across Lorelai's stomach possessively. Logan knew Rory hadn't been sleeping well, even before her mom's accident, but now she looked so peaceful. He didn't dare disturb her, so he went into the kitchen after Luke. They cleaned up, and then Luke excused himself to go outside and check out the rain gutters. Logan figured that was a good idea, since they were what had started this whole mess. He continued cleaning, smiling as he saw the pictures of Lorelai and Rory hung up in random places.

Lorelai woke up slowly, looking around at everyone. She heard a noise in the kitchen, and slowly untangled Rory from her. Rory stirred, "Mommy?" She mumbled in her sleep.

"Shh. Sleep, baby." Lorelai whispered, kissing her forehead and gently leading Rory's head to a pillow. Rory snuggled into it and sighed contentedly.

Logan heard a noise behind him, and turned, nearly jumping out of his skin before he saw that it was only Lorelai, "Hey, Logan." Lorelai said, smiling at him, "What are you doing here?"

"Luke and I closed the diner and let Caesar clean up. Luke's out looking at your rain gutters now." Logan explained.

Lorelai smiled gratefully, "It's really nice that you gave up your spring break to help Rory and me out."

"I didn't give it up. I said I was going to hang around and be with Rory, and this was how I could be there for Rory, by helping out. Besides, I kind of like this little town. It's really odd, but fun." Logan said, grinning, "I like the giant slinky."

"You saw the slinky, huh? Well, thanks for everything, anyway." Lorelai said. She liked this boy so far. He definitely had something no other boy her daughter dated had.

"Anytime." Logan said, and they both looked up as Luke came in the back door.

"Lukie, my man!" Lorelai crowed, and flung her arms around Luke. They hugged, and then met in a searing kiss. Logan finally looked away, not sure how comfortable he was watching his girlfriend's mother kiss her boyfriend.

Lorelai finally pulled away from Luke and looked him in the eye, "Thanks."

"You're welcome. The rain gutters are now spotless, and water should run through there like Niagara Falls. How are you doing?" Luke asked, concern on his rugged face.

"I'm feeling much better. I have a little headache though, and was scouting for some Ibuprofen. I don't get my prescription filled until tomorrow." Lorelai said.

"Well, we'll get you some. Logan—upstairs bathroom, medicine cabinet." Luke said. Logan gave a nod, and headed towards the living room.

"Are you good?" Luke asked, looking into Lorelai's blue eyes.

"I'm good. I've got Rory, Sookie, you, and everyone else here for me." Lorelai smiled at Luke, who smiled back.

"I got the Ibuprofen." Logan said, walking back into the kitchen and producing the bottle.

"Thanks, Logan." Lorelai said. She smiled as Luke got her a glass of apple juice from the fridge. She downed the drink and the pill and smiled, 'I think we should wake everyone up, so they can go home. It's been a rough few days."

"Good plan." Luke said. He and Logan followed Lorelai into the living room. Lorelai got down on her knees next to Rory, "Babe? Time to wake up, angel."

Rory grunted and buried her head into the pillow, "No."

"Don't you want to say goodbye to Logan?" Lorelai asked, and grinned when

Rory's eyes popped open.

"Logan?" Rory asked, as she sat up. She smiled as she noticed her boyfriend hovering behind her mom, "Hey."

"Hey, Ace." Logan said, "I'm just saying goodnight before I go home."

Rory stood and engulfed her boyfriend in a hug, "Bye, Logan."

"Goodnight, Ace. I'll call you tomorrow?" Logan asked, catching her lips in a lingering kiss.

"Tomorrow." Rory said, nodding. She let her lips touch his for a fleeting moment more, and then walked him towards the door. She could hear Sookie, Lane, and Alicia being woken up behind them as she said goodbye to Logan.

"Night, Rory." Lane said, hugging her friend. She and Sookie headed out into the night, followed slowly by Alicia carrying a sleeping Arielle.

"Night, Rory. Night, Lorelai." Luke said. He caught Lorelai's lips in a kiss, holding it for a few seconds. He smiled, "I'll see you two at the diner tomorrow."

"See you, Luke. Thanks!" Lorelai said, putting her arm around Rory.

"Night, Luke." Rory said, as Luke pulled the door shut behind him. She sighed deeply, listening to the quiet that ensued.

"What a long couple of days." Lorelai said, as she turned the two back to the living room.

"Long, scary couple of days." Rory returned, as the two flopped down on the couch.

"Long, scary, exhausting couple of days." Lorelai finished. She sighed, relaxing into the cushions, as Rory flipped on the TV. She soon settled on a Discovery Channel movie about panda bears, and stopped. Smiling, she rested her head on her mom's shoulder. Lorelai began subconsciously tracing lines on her daughter's back and shoulders as she thought about the last couple of days. There the two sat, basking in the comfort and safety of each other's company.