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.
Okay, well as a great person once said…"All good things must come to an end." That end is here, the final chapter in the Unconscious Fears story. This story took from mid-January to mid-March to write, sustained a few touch-ups, and you have the final product…wow, what a long one. Thank you so much to each and every one of you who took time to review this story. It meant so much to me and I'm very grateful. I'm going to take a break from long fan fictions for awhile, and focus on writing originals, but there should be short ficlets from time to time. Thank you to everyone again!
CHAPTER 19/EPILOGUE
Lorelai stirred the next morning, the sun streaming through the window and into her face. She groaned, thinking 'It must be past ten.' The sun always was in her face past ten in the morning. Shifting, she realized that she couldn't move more than two inches to her left. She looked down and smiled. Rory was scrunched up against her mom, her face buried in the blankets and pillows, one arm stretched across Lorelai's stomach. She looked so sweet and peaceful, and Lorelai didn't dare disturb her. Instead she simply stretched out momentarily, and snuggled back into the pillow, listening to Rory's soft breathing.
Rory felt herself lifting slowly out of slumber. She opened her eyes, aware of her mom's fingers slowly stroking her cheek. Looking up, she caught her mom's blue eyes, "Hey." She said, smiling broadly.
"Hey, babe. Sleep better?" Lorelai asked.
Rory nodded, "Much. No more dreams."
Lorelai smiled down at her daughter, "Do you want to go to Luke's soon?"
Rory hesitated, and then slowly nodded, "First, can we talk?"
"Sure, honey. What do you need to talk about?" Lorelai asked, "Boys? Plans for today? Lipstick?"
Rory chuckled, rolling her eyes, "When have we ever talked about lipstick?"
"Um, well, never? But there's a first time for everything." Lorelai grinned devilishly.
Rory smiled, and then her face turned serious, "I need to talk to you about…"
Lorelai looked perplexed, "About…" She was only confused for a moment before she realized what her daughter meant, "About the whole thing we had after the party?"
Rory nodded, "Yeah. I'm so sorry, Mom."
Lorelai made a sympathetic noise, "Its okay…"
"No, I really am sorry. I don't like the feeling I get sometimes. You look at me whenever Dean is mentioned, and your face…I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, and I definitely don't ever hate you." Rory said, her eyes looking wide and Bambi-like.
"It's okay, baby. I just get worried sometimes that you're not acting like high school Rory, but then I have to remember that you're changing and growing and maturing and you're in college. I may not like it, but I'll have to remember it." Lorelai said, smiling reassuringly.
Rory smiled back, "You don't have to worry. I may not always act the same, but I'll always be your daughter. I'll always be Rory."
Lorelai nodded, "That you will. You will always, always be Rory." She opened her arms to her daughter, who slipped into them gratefully, "I love you."
"I love you too." Rory said as she flopped back onto the pillows.
After a few moments, Lorelai noticed Rory looking directly at her mom's face, seemingly judging what was going on behind her eyes. She was staring so intently, Lorelai had to smile, "What, baby?"
"Talk please?" Rory requested, letting her mom know she wasn't getting away with hiding.
Lorelai smiled reassuringly, "I'll be okay. It was scary for me and for you. I just didn't want to scare you even more when you were scared enough."
Rory nodded, "I appreciate you wanting to shield me, but like you said, I'm growing up. I can handle more now."
Lorelai nodded her head, "I'm beginning to realize that slowly but surely. I'm really okay, though. All I really need is a certain blue-eyed, 5 ½-feet, brunette college student around, and I'm good."
Rory smiled, "Good." After a few seconds, she grinned, "Coffee?"
"Race you!" Lorelai said, hurrying as fast as she could out of bed. For someone who was recovering from a head injury, she moved quite fast. Rory was on her heels, the joyous shrieks echoing through the house as they ran down to the kitchen, ready to start a new day.
THE END
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