Disclaimer: GG isn't mine, it isn't mine, it isn't mine!

A/N: I'M SOOOOOO SORRY! I'm a terrible person who should be locked in a dungeon.

Thanx: To my wonderful beta, Molly! And of course to the readers who have stuck by me through this awful dry spell!

Chapter 8: Breakthroughs and Breakdowns

Rory took a deep breath as she walked down the hall towards her daughter's room. She hadcried all ofher tears out, and Luke made her eat a sandwich. Even though she wasn't hungry, she ate it for him and now she actually felt better. She suddenlystopped in her tracks as she witnessed Jess and her daughter in an embrace. They had always gotten along until Lori began to change. Rory weakly smiled, and Jess turned his head and saw her for the first time. Pulling away from Lori, he stood up to leave the two women alone. Women. He still thought of Lori as a little girl, but Jess knew she wasn't anymore.

"Hi." Lori whispered as her mother entered the room. "I'm sorry I worried you."

Rory sighed, "I know you are. I don't understand why you thought you were fat, though. You were perfect."

Lori lowered her eyes, still unable to believe those words. "I just... I just feel bad about myself. I don't know how to fix it, either."

"Well, you can start by telling me why you stopped eating."

"Okay, it was Josh," Lori admitted. "He told me I ate too much, so I started cutting down. Once I started, though, it was hard to stop. Anytime I was around him I avoided eating anything at all, and he seemed to like me more. I thought he loved me."

"It was Josh," Rory said, with anger in her voice.

Lori nodded and looked down, biting her bottom lip. She hated telling her parents this, but she knew that if she didn't, her disorder would never go away. Part of her didn't want to ever get better, but the stronger side was the one making her tell her mother about why it all started.

"I have to tell you something else."

"What?" Rory asked, almost afraid.

Lori took a deep breath. "Josh isn't eighteen, like I told you. He's twenty-four."

Rory's mouth fell open as she stared in shock at her naive daughter. That grown man had taken advantage of Lori. He had used her until she had nothing left to give, and then he left her broken and hurting. Rory couldn't imagine how much this had been tearing at her daughter, and she now saw that in a way it wasn't all Lori's fault.

"Oh, Lori. Why didn't you tell me?"

Lori sighed, "I thought you wouldn't let me date him. I really loved him."

Tears threatened to fall from her eyes and her voice cracked. The silhouette of a young man came into the doorway, and when Lori saw the concerned face looking at her, the tears started to pour. She sat there and cried for her family because of what she put them through. She cried for her friends because of how she had rattled their nerves. And finally, she cried for herself and what Josh did to her.

Jess sat down and ran a hand through his messy hair. Luke and Lorelai watched his internal struggle from the other end of the waiting room. They had never seen him so . . . lost before. Even when he was an angry teenager that had no direction, he still didn't seem as far off-course as he was at the moment. His brow was scrunched together like he was concentrating freakishly hard on the floor tiles below his feet. Luke knew Jess could probably use someone to talk to, so he gave Lorelai a peck on the cheek and then walked over to his nephew.

"How are you holding up?"

Jess was silent for a moment before he answered, his eyes never leaving the floor. "I could have killed him, Luke. I could have killed that son of a bitch."

Luke raised an eyebrow at his nephew. "Who?"

"That . . . that pervert, who made Lori turn into this," he stated firmly, lifting his eyes from the floor.

The anger radiating from Jess' dark eyes was enough to burn a hole into Luke's heart. Taken aback, Luke watched Jess look back down at the stark white linoleum. He seemed utterly defeated, as if it was all his fault that Lori had an eating disorder. Luke sat down beside Jess and put a hand on the young man's back. Luke's hand began to shake against Jess' hunched form, and he realized that Jess was crying. It shocked him at first, but then he pulled Jess into a sitting position and hugged him. Luke thought it might feel weird, but it actually felt relieving. The two of them had a strained relationship; even though they knew they loved each other, it wasn't something they vocalized.

Lorelai smiled from her seat as she watched the two interact. She was glad Jess could talk to someone. It was obvious that he was struggling with some personal demons. Movement in the corner of her eye made Lorelai turn her head. Her daughter was standing there looking completely exhausted. Lorelai stood up and hurried towards where Rory had stopped.

"Rory, honey. Are you alright?"

"She cried. She finally let out all the hurt and anger she's been feeling out."

Lorelai smiled knowing this was a breakthrough for Lori. The teen had needed a good cry for the last couple of months, and now she had it. Rory had hugged her and let her sob for a while, and she watched as Riley sat down on the bed next to Lori. Rory had felt hurt when her daughter pulled away from her, but she knew how close Riley was to her. Rory had watched them together for a moment before leaving to find her mother.

"That's great," Lorelai replied and hugged her daughter.

A doctor walked up to the two women and asked to speak to Rory. She timidly stepped away from her mother and found herself alone with the doctor.

"Your daughter is doing much better, physically. She will, however, need a few months of therapy before she can truly be over her eating disorder. The next month will be extremely hard for her, but you are going to have to make sure she eats well."

Rory nodded, and he continued. "If she continues to do well, she should be able to leave the hospital tomorrow. Luckily, you and your husband brought her in before her weight lossbecame too serious."

"Thank you, doctor," Rory said quietly, and she smiled.

The doctor walked away and she returned to her mother's side and repeated what the doctor told her. They hugged each other, but they both had the same fear.

What if Lori didn't get better?

Lori and Riley held each other for several minutes before finally pulling away. He tenderly wiped the tears from Lori's cheeks, and kissed her forehead.

"You scared me. I had no idea it had become so serious."

"Yeah," she said quietly. "Neither did I. It's just that I was hurting so much and I thought he might like me if I was able to get skinnier. I know it was stupid, but in my mind it was a perfectly sane idea."

"Lori, you are perfect no matter what. I love you, and if that jackass couldn't see how wonderful you really are then that's his problem."

Lori grinned, "Yeah, to heck with that asshole."

Riley was so happy to see her smile again. He had missed seeing her happy and that was the first true smile he'd seen on her face in several months. Grinning mischievously, he picked up a comb from the night table and brought it to his mouth using it like a microphone.

"So, Ms. Mariano. Now that you're feeling better and have your feet on the ground what are you going to do?" he asked her, in a mock gameshow host voice.

"Well Kent, I'm going to eat regularly and play music," she answered in an annoyingly perky voice.

"And what about Joshua?"

"To heck with that asshole!" she yelled.

"Well there you have it. I believe we have a fully-rehabilitated Lorelai Gilmore Mariano."

Lori broke into a fit of giggles. She actually wanted to go home and have amovie night with her mom and grandma. Food seemed to be calling to her and she couldn't believe how hungry she had been lately. Even when she would eat, but throw up the food, she was only full for five minutes before that hollow feeling would invade her body again.

"So, what movies are we going to watch when I get out of here?"

Jess pulled away from Luke and felt slightly embarrassed. Okay, extremely embarrassed. The last time he had cried like that was. . . he couldn't remember ever crying like that. Luke slapped him on the back, though, as if to tell him it was okay. Then he left. Jess was very grateful that Luke didn't make a big deal about it, and sent him a silent thank-you. Luke knew Jess couldn't turn to Rory, so he had just been bottling up his emotions.

Luke walked over to Lorelai, and Rory smiled and headed over to where her husband was sitting. She noticed immediately that his eyes were red and there were tearstains on his cheeks, but she didn't want to ask him about it. Rory knew Jess would come to her when he was ready and in the meantime, she would just try to send him silent support.

"Guess what? Lori should be out of the hospital by tomorrow."

"Really? Thank God."

"I know. Riley's with her right now. He's such a good kid."

"Yeah," Jess agreed.

He remembered how excited Lori had been when she came home rambling about joining a band. He hadn't really believed her, but the next day a young teen showed up at their house saying he was busy tracking down a drummer. Jess had immediately liked the guy because his relationship with Lori was purely platonic. He thought the boy could watch out for his daughter. And even through all ofthe terrible things that had happened to Lori, Riley was still sitting in her room with her.

The time passed quickly, and soon it was time for Lori to go home. Lorelai and Luke were going back to Stars Hollow after they got Lori settled back at home. They promised they'd come back the next weekend so they could bring her clothes with her. Lori had never felt so weak in her life as she tried to walk from the wheelchair to the car. Her dad actually had to help her into the back seat, and that frightened her a little. She felt old as she sat very still trying to catch her breath.

She was already starting to feel anxious about having to eat dinner that night, but she decided to focus all her energy on making it home. She would deal with eating once she got back to their apartment. Riley was going to be there for dinner, and that eased her anxiety. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't even realized they had stopped. Her dad helped her out of the car again and they walked towards the stairs. Lori internally groaned as she remembered the last time that she tried to climb these stairs.

Jess wanted to carry Lori up, but the doctor had told them to limit their assistance. Lori needed to realize how much she hadhurt her body, and the only way she could do that would be if she had to walk on her own. Jess stood behind her as she began to climb. He kept his hands out in case she fell, but he watched her pull herself up.

Lori felt like she had just ran a marathon, and now they were telling her she had to climbfifteen staircases before she could rest. Her entire body felt worn out, and she wished her dad would help her. She lifted her right foot up, but she slipped and found herself falling backwards. Lori let out a yelp, but she felt her father's arms around her. He scooped her into his arms and carried her into their apartment.

As he carried her, Lori thought about what her father had told her in the hospital. Her parents had been so in love, and she could feel the strain she had been putting on them. When her father reached the apartment, she leaned her head towards him.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I love you," she whispered.

Jess smiled and set her down, opening the door. Once he helped her inside, he hugged her small feeble frame.

"It's okay, Dodger. I love you, too," he whispered.

Lori smiled and slowly walked over to the couch. Rory walked in a second later, followed by Luke and Lorelai. Rory told them they were welcome to stay for dinner, but they knew they should get back. Although Nate had assured them he was fine, he was a teenage boy, after all.

"We should get going," Lorelai told the family as she hugged each member goodbye.

Luke followed her example, and soon they were out of the apartment and heading towards his truck. The small family on the inside of the apartment looked at each other, knowing the next few months would be hard, but that they could get through it together.