A/N: Very, very sorry it took me sooo long to update. I wasn't sure where I was going with this story, so I had to write a few chapters to find out but all is well now, but I would still welcome any suggestions you might have. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the reviews so far. I LOVE getting reviews.
Anyway here is chapter 7, I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 7
"What if she's not there?" Lorelai stared straight ahead of her, looking out the window of the truck but not seeing any of the scenery that was passing by.
Luke turned and looked at her, not sure what to say. It was Saturday afternoon and they were on their way home to Stars Hollow. It had become painfully obvious over the past week how much Lorelai was counting on Rory being at the house when they returned. He had tried to talk to her about it. He had tried to get her to admit that Rory might not be there but she wasn't having any of it. This was the first time she had mentioned the possibility and he knew how scared she was.
"What if she didn't read my letter? What if she did read my letter and she doesn't care? What if…"
"Lorelai," Luke cut her off. "I don't want you to get yourself all worked up about this." He reached over and took her hand in his. "Why don't we just wait till we get home?"
Lorelai squeezed his hand, took it in both of hers and brought it to her lap. "But…" She continued to stare out the window.
"I know." He cut her off, not wanting her to get too upset. "Come here." He pulled her towards him gently and when she turned to look at him and he saw the tears slowly rolling down her cheeks his heart melted. "Come and sit close to me." He indicated the middle seat in the truck and she nodded and moved over.
She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her. He wanted to protect her from everything that hurt her, but he couldn't do it and it killed him that she was hurting so much. He loved Rory like she was his daughter but he hated what she was doing to Lorelai. He just prayed that she was at the house when they arrived.
"You know that whatever we find when we get home, we will deal with." He tightened his hold on her a little bit before he continued. "If she is not there, it is not the end, we will get her back." He put more determination into his voice. "We will never give up, right." When she didn't answer him he repeated himself, a little louder. "RIGHT!"
"Right." Lorelai answered quietly, but snuggled closer to him trying to feel like everything would be okay.
They sat quietly for a while and Luke thought that Lorelai seemed to be relaxing a little bit, but the minute they pulled into Stars Hollow he felt her body go stiff beside him. In minutes she would know the answer to all the questions that kept repeating themselves over and over again in her head. Was Rory there? Did she read the letter? Did she forgive her? Did she still love her? Was she there? Was she there? Was she there? Oh god, please let her be there.
Lorelai sat up straight as they turned onto her street. Wanting so much to see Rory's car in the driveway and yet so afraid that it would not be there. Luke tightened his arm around her and she looked at him briefly and smiled, then immediately returned her attention to the street in front of them.
When they pulled up in front of her house she jumped out and ran to the house. She fumbled with her keys, but finally got the door open. She stepped into the foyer. "Rory." She called out, but got no answer. "Rory." She called again and ran to Rory's room. She stopped dead when she got to the door of the room. She looked around slowly, but shook her head, refusing to accept what she saw. She ran to the fridge and opened it slowly and looked inside. It was only then that her mind began to accept it. "Rory." She said quietly and sank to the floor in a heap.
Luke got out of the truck a lot slower. Rory's car was nowhere to be seen. He stood watching as Lorelai ran to the house in denial. Once she had disappeared inside, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and looked around. He noticed the mail box overflowing with mail from the past week and he slowly walked over and removed it and headed towards the house.
He found Lorelai in the middle of the kitchen floor sobbing uncontrollably. He put the mail on the table and sat down beside her. "It's okay." He said wrapping her up in his arms and holding her tight. "We're not giving up. We'll get her back, I promise." He noticed the open door of the refrigerator and all the food they had left for Rory, untouched. And from where he was sitting he could see the note that Lorelai had left on Rory's bed sitting exactly where she had left it. Luke took a deep breath and brought Lorelai onto his lap. He reached out and slammed the door of the fridge in frustration and then immediately brought his arm back and held Lorelai while she cried.
"Hey," he said after a while, removing her hair from her face and trying to get her attention. He would have sat there till the end of time if he thought that that was what she needed but his legs were cramping and he thought it might be a good idea if he could get her to the couch. "Let's go into the living room." Her only response was to snuggle closer to him.
He held her tighter and tried to think of a different tactic. If he could just get her to stand up, he could carry her the rest of the way. Finally when he couldn't think of anything else he decided to tell her how uncomfortable he was. "Lorelai," he said softly "can you stand up for just a minute." She held him tighter. "I promise not to let go of you, but I," he paused briefly feeling a little guilty for making her move. "My legs are hurting a little."
Lorelai looked up at him then and her eyes were so sad, he just wanted to make everything better. "Sorry." She started to get up but held on to him tightly, forcing them to get up together. Once they were standing he wrapped her up again and she burrowed into him. After a few minutes, when the blood had returned to his legs, he bent down and putting one arm under her legs and the other around her back, he picked her up and carried her. He bypassed the living room and carried her all the way upstairs and set her down on her bed. She turned her head into her pillow and began to cry softly.
Luke gently removed her shoes and then her jeans, then he covered her with a blanket and lay down next to her. She immediately turned to him and once again he held her, this time until she fell asleep.
A/N: Okay, so how was that? Not very long I know but the next chapter will be up in no time. Pleeasse review!. Thanks for reading.
