Chapter 1: Fast Forward

Emily Gilmore move regally around her sitting room, her tongue clicking disapprovingly as she picked up her husband's discarded paper. Folding it, she fought down the surge of annoyance she felt as she often did. Although they had separated for a short time the weight of responsibilities and expectations had brought her back home from Europe and then her husband back in from the pool house. As much as she might have liked to have been as free spirited as her daughter, she couldn't. So here she was, swallowing the discontent and disappointments while she tried to ignore the awkward silences.

And things were what they were.

What they normally were.

There was too much blame between them.

Too many things not said for things to ever be truly right..

And yet, there was too much time already invested to just give up on their marriage.

Sighing, she sorted the paper and folded it. Usually she wouldn't pay much attention to it. She was never able to relax enough to sit and read an entire paper. Emily Gilmore was a woman who preferred to listen to the news on the radio or television, but the picture caught her eye. Curiously, she flipped the paper over and started to read the headline and article that went with it, ignoring the other sections as they fluttered to the floor while she staggered backward towards a chair that she managed to collapse into. "Richard," she called as she tried to assimilate what she was reading. "RICHARD!" she called out again impatiently.

"Oh for pity's sake, Emily, I was in the middle of an overseas business call," he complained as he came into the room, distractedly pulling off his glasses as he did. "What in the world. . ." he complained only to stop short as he took in her expression and pallor. "My G-d, Emily, are you all right? Should I call a doctor?"

"No. No, I'm not all right, and a doctor won't be able to fix this," she answered as she pushed to her feet. "Have you seen this?"

"Seen what?" he asked as they crossed to each other.

"THIS!" she shouted as she slapped his chest with the paper. "I swear Richard, if you were purposely keeping this from me. . ."

"Keeping what from you? Emily, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Read it, Richard," she deflated as she turned and went to the window.

Confused he put his glasses back on before he looked at the slightly crumpled paper, reading the headline before looking at her back. "I still don't understand."

"The picture. Look at the picture!"

"First you tell me to read the article and then. . ." he stopped as he realized what had gotten his wife so wound up. "My G-d, it can't be. . . she wouldn't. . ." he gasped as he dropped the paper.

"What? What do we do?" Emily asked in a small voice. "She didn't. . .why hasn't she. . ."

"We'll ask her when we see her."

"Richard?"

"Well, we can't just pretend can we?"

"Isn't that what we've been doing?" Emily questioned as she spun around to face him. "Haven't we just acted like she was never here? Never ours? Pictures put away. Doors locked. Memories ignored."

"I did everything I could at the time, Emily. I didn't want to have to lose her anymore than you did."

"Well, you wouldn't let me leave with her!"

"You would've been running. . ."

"For two years, Richard. Two years and then it wouldn't have mattered!"

"And where would we be? I would've had to stay. I would've had to answer the questions and deal with the mess, all without knowing where you two were. If you were ok, because if I did know someone else could've found out," he argued. "And what about Rory and Lorelai? If you weren't here. . ."

"You would've just given her the money and there'd me no Friday night dinners," she sighed. "Why did we have to lose one to have the other? Where did we go wrong?"

"I don't think we did anything wrong," he countered on a sigh.

"Well, we certainly didn't do everything right for something like this to have happened. For her to not even let us know that she was in trouble."

"Go and pack, Emily."

"While you do what? You're horrid at making arrangements. You get yourself packed and I'll make the arrangements before packing my own things. Then I'll cancel Friday night dinner. Somehow, I don't think that Lorelai or Rory will be too disappointed."