Chapter 9
A/N: This is a big one ladies and gents! I mean a BIG one! (Well, big for me anyway. Let's just say it took a long time to write…) I can feel it wrapping up in a few chapters time, so keep reading so you don't get confused! Just a quick word to my faithful reviewers:
ProFfeSseR: hehehe your always one of the first to review! Yes, definitely, the point is to keep you guessing until the very end…
LukeNlorelaifan: hello new reviewer! Thanks for reading a commenting – always appreciated!
anonymous: this isn't exactly the place to ask these questions… but JavaJunkie means Luke and Lorelai!
masamor99: I work as quickly as I can :D
Petra79: thanks for reading
Bloomin Daisy: bigger chapters (hopefully) shall be coming your way soon…
JerseySaint19: there might be a bit more L/L later on… we'll just have to wait and see!
As usual a few less reviews than one can hope for (probably coz this fic is so confusing), but if you're reading I urge you to review! It really makes my day to know you guys are reading my stuff!
This chapter is pretty much about Emily and her relationship with the family… I just sorta felt that I needed to explain how their situation was… enjoy!
5 months, 3 days, 9 hours and 25 minutes after the birthday
"I promise it won't be forever. I'll come back."
"No you won't."
"I promise."
2 days before the birthday
Lorelai sat on the couch, nervously jiggling her leg. Just waiting, sitting and waiting, and jiggling that leg. A knock on the door immediately snapped her into action. She jumped up from the couch and walked quickly towards the stairs.
"Kids, she's here!" Lorelai called, clapping her hands to hurry them along. Within a few moments Hew came bounding down the stairs with Rory, Marty and Lori in tow, and Luke, Amie and Jay emerged from the kitchen vicinity.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry," Lorelai said, quickly lining them up in age order, Rory and Marty closest to the door with Lori. Lorelai thought it best to open to a cute baby. That would surely keep Emily in a good mood.
"Hew, what is wrong with your sweater?" Lorelai fussed, pulling down the sleaves of his sweater. "And what's that on your face? Hew, you're 12 years old, can't you eat without getting food all over yourself?" she said, quickly wiping a smudge of chocolate spread off Hew's cheek.
"Geez," Amie muttered, "I feel like the Vontrapp family."
Luke stood a foot behind Lorelai as she took a deep breath, and quickly opened the door.
"Hi mom," she said with a false smile.
"Lorelai," she replied, "Luke."
"Hi Emily," Luke said giving a small hesitant wave which he immediately regretted. Emily looked at him blankly before quickly turning her attention to Rory.
"Hello Rory, wonderful to see you again," she said with a smile.
"Nice to see you too Grandma," Rory replied politely.
"And Marty, still keeping my granddaughter safe I assume?" Emily questioned.
"Of course Mrs Gilmore."
"Oh and look at this little one!" Emily cooed to Lori who was sitting comfortably in her daddy's arms, "My hasn't she grown."
"She's two now, grandma," Rory informed.
"Children are wonderful at that age. I wish I could've said the same for your mother," Emily added nonchalantly. Lorelai visibly winced, and Luke gave her a look of sympathy.
"So, um, how's dad doing mom?" Lorelai asked, quickly trying to turn the conversation around.
"Fine, as usual," Emily replied without turning around, "he's on a business trip in Paris."
"Well that's… nice," Lorelai responded.
"Jayne, you're looking tall," Emily said as she moved on from Lori.
"Ah, mom, that's Amie," Lorelai said awkwardly.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry, you two just look so alike!" Emily apologised to the twins.
"That's okay," Amie said, "people get us confused all the time."
"Well you shouldn't be confused by your own family. My deepest apologies."
"It's alright grandma, really," Jay said nervously. Emily moved on, and coming to Hew, she looked down her nose. She recalled this one very clearly. He was the muddy baseball playing hoodlum.
"And Matthew," Emily said slightly snobbishly. "Are you still playing… baseball?"
"Not today, grandma," Hew replied, his hands clasped tightly behind his back, trying his best to be good, not forgetting his last encounter with this grandmother.
"Well, good." Emily moved on and looked a little confused when Hew was the end of the line.
"Where's the older boy?" she asked.
"Dan, mom. Your grandson's name is Dan," Lorelai replied, crossing her arms angrily.
"Of course," Emily replied unflappably.
"Ah, he's at college Emily. He said he'd try and make it back this evening," Luke added.
"That's right, he's at Yale. I should remember, I am paying his tuition after all," she replied flippantly. Everyone in the family's eyes immediately widened.
"What?" Jay let slip out.
"Mom, can I speak to you outside for a minute," Lorelai said through gritted teeth.
"Is it really necessary Lorelai?" Emily replied.
"Yes, it's necessary," Lorelai said, nodding her head in the direction of the kitchen. Emily reluctantly followed her.
"Come on, lets watch some TV, huh?" Luke suggested, quickly ushering everyone into the living room.
"Grandma's paying for Dan's tuition?" Rory asked Luke quietly.
"Let's not talk about it right now Rory, I've got to get everyone away from the inevitable blow-up," Luke said, lightly pushing Hew towards the couch and turning the TV on loud enough to cover any loud voices from the porch.
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday
Rory sat on the couch, quietly studying, as Hew sat next to her, staring up at her, a gurgley expression on his face. Dan was outside playing with his soccer ball, and the girls were in their room playing with their dolls. Luke and Lorelai had gone out for the day, and asked Rory, who had decided to come home for the weekend, to watch the kids for them. Lorelai was hesitant about leaving baby Hew, but Luke had convinced her that Rory was responsible enough to look after her little brothers and sisters for a couple of hours.
Rory tapped her pen against her lips, deep in thought, and tucked her hair behind her ears. Hew let out a small gurgle, and Rory turned to look at him with a smile.
"Got something to say there buddy?" she asked. The baby just smiled in reply.
"Rory! Sugar!" Babette called frantically, as she came rushing through the slightly ajar front door.
"Hey Babette," Rory said, and noticing her worried expression, added "what's the matter?"
"It's apricot. She's stuck under the couch! Maury tried to get her out, but his weak old bones just aren't strong enough anymore, and we need a young hotsie-totsie like yourself to help get her out," Babette said in a panting mess.
"Of course, of course I'll help," Rory said, getting up. She followed Babette out the door, and on the way, grabbed Dan.
"Dan, can you please watch Hew and your sisters for a minute while I go and help Babette? I won't be long, it'll just be for a second, I promise," Rory said. Dan nodded and headed on inside as Rory rushed over to Babette's house.
2 days before the birthday
"What do you think you're doing?" Lorelai said, as her and Emily reached outside.
"What are you talking about Lorelai?" Emily replied with a frustrated sigh.
"Yale! Why did you tell everyone about paying for Dan to go to Yale!"
"I didn't tell everyone Lorelai, I just mentioned it," Emily said nonchalantly.
"We had an agreement not to tell the kids and Rory, mom, you broke that agreement," Lorelai replied.
"There was never such an agreement."
"Yes there was! This was important to me and Luke, it was important that we kept it quiet," Lorelai said angrily.
"Why, because you didn't want anyone else to know that once again, you needed help with money?" Emily replied bitterly. Lorelai winced at the bite in her mother's voice.
"That's not it at all -"
"I think it is, Lorelai. You're too proud to let anyone know that you need help," Emily said in a know-it-all tone.
"You can't just come in here and disrupt our lives with this, it's just… wrong," Lorelai argued.
"I didn't come to disrupt anything! I came to see my grandchildren, who you so obviously try to keep from me."
"That's not true!"
"Your grandfather and I hardly ever see them anymore. We never usually speak to them, except on public holidays. I just want to keep in touch with my family," Emily reasoned.
"That's not it mom, that's not it at all. I know you, and I know that there's always an ulterior motive. There's always been."
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday
Emily turned into Maple Street with determination. She was going to talk some sense into that daughter of hers. She was purposely avoiding Friday night dinners, and was keeping Emily's grandchildren away from her. She pulled into the driveway to notice no car there. Deciding to check if there was someone home anyway, she got out of the car and headed to the front door. She knocked on it twice before it was opened.
"Grandma?" Dan said, through the door.
"Hello Daniel," Emily replied, "may I come in?" Dan nodded and opened the door wider, allowing for Emily to enter. She walked into the living room, but noticed no Lorelai or Luke.
"Is your mother home?" Emily asked. Dan shook his head.
"They went to New York for today," he added. Emily turned to him, slightly shocked.
"Are you here alone?" she asked. Dan gave a small nod and Emily's eyes widened.
"I don't believe it," Emily said, quietly to herself, "how could Lorelai leave her small children alone?"
"Where are your sisters?" Emily asked the quiet boy.
"They're in their room," he replied. Emily gave a small nod and stood in thought for a moment, before turning to face Dan with a smile.
"How would you like to go get some ice cream?"
2 days before the birthday
"You always do this Lorelai, whenever I try to get to know my grandchildren, you always come in and accuse me of something terrible!" Emily protested.
"It's happened before. I don't trust you, I don't trust you around them, around anyone in this family," Lorelai said coldly.
"What about Daniel, then? Why did you come to me when you so obviously don't want me anywhere near your life?" Emily asked.
"That was Dan's idea. He needed the money, and suggested it. I didn't want to, but he's my son, and I had to put my own stuff with you aside to help him," Lorelai replied. "He's my son."
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday
Rory walked quickly up the steps of the porch and through the front door. She headed into the living room.
"Sorry I took so long Dan, I -" she cut herself short noticing there was no one in the room. "Dan?" she called. She walked towards the stairs and called up them, but still, no reply.
"Dan!" her eyes widened and she walked quickly to Jay and Amie's room to find the room empty, except for their dolls lying on the floor, abandoned.
"Oh god."
2 days before the birthday
"Why do you hate me so much, Lorelai? What did I do that made you want to hurt me this badly?" Emily argued.
"I don't want to hurt you," Lorelai reasoned.
"Then why are you doing all of this? Why are you keeping my grandchildren from me? Why are you trying to block me out of every aspect of your life? I don't understand it!" Emily protested. Lorelai simply crossed her arms. Emily knew what that look meant.
"That was over 10 years ago Lorelai," Emily said quietly, "and you know I didn't mean any harm by it."
"That didn't stop you," Lorelai replied, mirroring Emily's volume.
"I was concerned."
"Well, it's too late now."
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday
Lorelai slammed the car door and ran towards the porch. Rory ran out of the front door and met her at the bottom steps.
"What happened? Tell me exactly what happened," Lorelai panted.
"I was sitting watching Hew, and Babette came over and she said she needed help saving Apricot, I went over for a few minutes, and when I got back the were gone," Rory said, her brow furrowed worriedly.
"I'm gonna go back into town, see if anyone's seen them," Luke said, getting back into the car. Lorelai nodded as Luke headed out the driveway.
"Mom, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I'm so sorry," Rory said, her voice cracking. Lorelai pulled her into her arms.
"It's alright hun, it's not your fault," Lorelai comforted, rubbing Rory's back, tears coming to her eyes. Lorelai quickly brushed them away and pulled out of the hug.
"Come on, let's go see if Mr and Mrs Brodsky saw anything," Lorelai said, flicking into almost-frantic-parent mode, grabbing Rory's hand and leading her in the opposite direction to Babette and Morey's house.
2 days before the birthday
"Lorelai, I'm your mother. Can't you just forgive me?" Emily pleaded.
"It's not that easy."
"Well can't you at least try, Lorelai, just try to forget about it?"
"I can't forget about it mom, it was horrible what you did, and it hurt. All those things you said really hurt, and I wondered why even my own mother didn't trust me, I – I mean…" Lorelai took a deep shaky breath, trying to fight off tears, "why have you never trusted me? Why have you never trusted my judgement? You're always interfering at every turn, telling me what I'm doing wrong – can't you just let me be? Please?" she choked. Emily looked at her daughter, who was nearly in tears, and gave a small sigh before walking down the porch steps and out towards her car.
"Oh, and Lorelai," Emily said, before turning around and walking back to Lorelai.
"Yeah?"
"Give these to Jay and Amie," she said, handing Lorelai two small, neatly wrapped parcels, before turning to go. A bittersweet smile came to Lorelai's face as she realised this was the first time Emily had ever used her granddaughter's nicknames.
11 years, 9 months, 3 days before the birthday
Lorelai stormed into her parents' house to find Emily in the living room with Dan, Jay, Amie and Hew.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Lorelai demanded.
"Lorelai!"
"Kids, go wait in the car," Lorelai said, and her children quietly obliged.
"Lorelai, you shouldn't talk like that in front of your children -"
"What the hell were you doing, taking my kids?" Lorelai commanded.
"They were at home by themselves -"
"They weren't by themselves, Rory was with them."
"Well she wasn't when I got there," Emily reasoned.
"That's not the point mom! What did you think you were doing! You can't just take someone else's children! Luke and I were worried sick, and you sure as hell scared Rory!"
"You can't just leave your children Lorelai, they're your responsibility. You're letting them run wild in your house, you and that diner man obviously have no control over them whatsoever. You need to be watching them at all times, especially at that age –"
"Don't you dare tell me how to raise my kids, and speak so lowly of Luke. You are in no place to tell me what to do," Lorelai scowled.
"I'm their grandmother, I was keeping their safety in my best interests."
"Their safety? Their safety! They barely know you! You're almost a stranger to them!"
"And who's fault is that Lorelai?" Emily accused.
"Don't you dare try to pinpoint this on me! You came to my house and you… took my children! What on earth was going on in your head to make you do that," Lorelai said, confusion and anger in her voice.
"I didn't want them to be at home alone, wondering when you would return -"
"They knew what time we were coming home, Rory was watching out for them, they were doing FINE!" Lorelai said angrily.
"Lorelai, I -"
"No, stop. Just STOP mother. I can't believe you would do something like this. I can't believe you would stoop so low as to physically try to take my children away from me. I thought, maybe… maybe you cared just a little about me… maybe somewhere deep down you maybe… loved me… but this, this, mother is the end. It stops here. I don't want you anywhere near me or my children ever again," Lorelai said, her voice breaking, before storming out of the house leaving Emily standing in the hallway, shell-shocked.
A/N: Well… there's another chapter. Let me know what you think with a friendly (or even not-so-friendly) review. They are ALWAYS appreciated (especially the ones with constructive criticism in them!)
