1 When she woke up at midnight, she knew Rory was gone. She could always sense whether her daughter was in the house or not. She slid out of bed, careful not to wake Luke. In the 9 months they had been married, he had not once slept later than her. She'd sworn that the day he did, she'd let him sleep. She wanted some time to mull over what had happened, and look for a note before she talked to anyone. She crept down the stairs more quietly than she ever thought it was possible to creep down stairs, as if being too loud would make any remaining clue, or goodbye, leave. The kitchen light was on, the door to the outside still slightly ajar, as if Rory hadn't wanted to chance anyone waking up and stopping her. As if the click of a door closing would wake her or Luke up. She was Rory's best friend, she would have run away with her without even telling Luke! Why hadn't Rory trusted her? She knew Rory thought that she wanted her married to Logan more than anything, but Rory had wanted her and Max married almost more than anything, and she had still come along an her crazy road trip. She stared at the three noted on the kitchen counter, each envelope sporting a different name. Logan. Mom and Luke. Grandma and Grandpa. She wanted to tear all of them open, see what was going through her precious girl's head. If there was any clue as to her whereabouts.

FLASHBACK

"I think you love him, and you got scared and ran and you're really going to regret it. And soon!"

"Rory!"

"Fine. Goodnight."

"I'm sure. I wish I did love him. You have no idea how much."

END FLASHBACK

"Luke! Luke! Get your butt out of bed and help me look for Rory!"

"Wha...? Rory's gone? But...her wedding! She's getting married today! To Logan!"

"No, she's not!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"She pulled a me."

"A me?"

"A Lorelai."

"You spent the whole day of our wedding sitting in your kitchen and talking to me on the phone because you were too superstitious to see me, but you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes, I did."

"So, where is there a phone she could talk to him all day on, that does not involve actually seeing him besides here?"

"No, not what I did when I married you, you idiot!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Max Medina. Rory's lit teacher. Ring any bells?"

"She left him?"

"And she didn't even tell me." She's crying now. "She left him, left to go on a random road trip, and she didn't even ask me to go with her!"

"Maybe she thought you would stop her."

"She must be so lonely right now, my poor baby, all alone on her wedding day. What if she comes back, because she's so lonely, and marries him?"

"I thought you wanted her to marry him!"

"Not if she doesn't love him!"

"How do you know she doesn't love him?"

"Well, the fact that all she thought about at dinner last night was Dean is a little tip off."

"How do you know that she was thinking about him?"

"I could tell she was thinking about something else, and I thought it might be Dean, so I tested my theory."

"When?"

"Rocky road cookies and round cakes? Dean things. She looked so guilty when I said that, I could see it in her eyes. She was thinking about him."

"Well, then how do you know she's not with him?" She grabbed her cell phone punched in Dean's parent's number. "Hello? Can I talk to Clara?" Rory had always talked about how sweet Clara was, and how much she loved Rory.

"This is Clara"

"Hey, Clara, it's Rory's mom, Lorelai."

"Why are you calling?"

"Actually, I'm looking for your brother's phone number."

"It's 562-0990"

"Thank you so much! You might have just saved my life!"

"Why does your life depend on knowing Dean's phone number?"

"Well, I think Rory ran away, and if she was going to tell anyone, it would have been him."

"Why?"

"Because she's running away because she loves him. But please don't tell anyone that."

"Okay. Bye Lorelai."

"Bye Clara." She hung up the phone and immediately picked it back up, dialing the number Clara gave her. "Hello?" She asked.

"Who's this?" A sleepy voice asked her.

"Lorelai. Is this Dean?"

"It's Kyle. Dean's not here. He left with that Rory chick awhile ago."

"Thanks. Bye." She slid the phone back onto the cradle again.

"Well?" Luke asked her.

"She went with Dean."

"Where?"

"A random road trip. Wherever they happen to end up."

"That doesn't sound like Rory."

"Oh my god!" She brightened like a 100-watt lightbulb. "I have an idea. You in?"

"YES!"

"It involves going to a creepy B&B with moving flowers on the wall named after a character from Alice in Wonderland. You still in."

"Uh, I guess so. Shouldn't you call Logan, though? It might be a good idea to tell him that his fiancee isn't going to show up." She grabs the phone again, and dials Logan's now-familiar number.

"Hey, Logan?"

"Lorelai? Why are you calling?"

"I've got some bad news. Some very bad news. I don't even know how to say this."

"Is Rory okay? Is she sick?"

"Um, yeah, she is."

"How bad is it? Is she going to be okay?"

"Oh, it's bad, it's really, really...oh, hell, why am I lying for her? You deserve the truth. She's gone."

"Where is she? Where the hell did she go?"

"Calm down."

"No! I can't calm down! I won't calm down! Where the hell is she?"

"I have an idea. Luke and I are going to look for her."

"I'm coming too!"

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am! My fiancee is gone, and I am going to look for her!"

"No, you're not. She left because she doesn't want to marry you. Luke and I will stop at your place in Hartford on our way and give you the note she left for you, and give my parents their note, you are not coming, and this conversation is now over, bye!" She slams the phone down and looks at Luke. "Let's go. We've got a lot to do."

I have no idea if this is actually someone's phone number, so don't you dare call it! I just hate how people always use 555 numbers in stories, so I made up a random number. If that makes people mad, leave a review saying so and I'll change it.