"Mom?" Rory called out when she awoke from her sleep.

"Right here sweetie." Lorelai spoke from the side of Rory's bed. "You okay?"

Rory gazed around the room remembering where she was. "Yeah." She replied. "What time is it?"

"5:30 in the morning." Lorelai replied as she brushed away a hair from Rory's face.

"Can we go home now?" Rory asked.

"Not yet... but soon." Lorelai smiled.

Luke walked in and noticed the girls were talking, so he quietly walked back out. He met Sookie in the hallway, and held his finger up to his mouth to indicate being quiet.

"What's going on?" Sookie asked in a low whisper.

"They're finally getting to talk." Luke replied.

Luke and Sookie walked down the hallway, leaving the Gilmore girls alone.

"I'm sorry." Rory began.

"Whoa." Lorelai held up her hand. "There is absolutely no need for that."

"If it wasn't for me, Matthew would be the man of your dreams. He could give you everything you ever wanted and make you happy" Rory said ignoring her mother's gesture.

Lorelai crawled into the bed beside Rory. "Sweetie, no..." Lorelai protested "You're looking at this all wrong. You're the one that gives me everything I want. You're the one the makes me happy." Lorelai smiled. "Matthew was nice, I'll admit that. He had me in his hands... I'll regretfully admit that as well. But somewhere, deep down, I suppose I knew it was all too good to be true. I feel horrible for what you've been through. I'll never be able to make up for it."

Rory paused for a moment and then looked down at her fidgeting hands. "I didn't know what to do." She replied. "When he touched me." she added.

"When he what!" Lorelai jumped from he stillness.

Rory took a deep breath. "That night at the cabin..."

"Oh my god..." Lorelai's eyes widened. "Rory... tell me right now... everything... everything he has done."

Rory was becoming nervous as she saw the panic in her mother's eyes. "That's all. He touched my breast at the cabin and told me I was soft and fragile... and beautiful. Then last night he drove somewhere out of town and made me take of my pants... so he could beat me with his belt." Rory had began crying.

Lorelai held her daughter closely. So many things were running through her mind at once that she couldn't distinguish one from the other. This was the man who had kissed her, and held her. This was the man who bought her a ring and wanted to marry her. This was the man who was kindest man she had ever met. What a fool Lorelai had been. A damn fool. She could feel the pain and anguish floating off from Rory's body like steam. She could hear the sound of Rory's heart breaking into a thousand pieces as she recalled the intolerable acts preformed upon her. Lorelai's heart was breaking as well. It was enough to see the suffering her daughter was partaking, but to know that she could have stopped it, yet didn't, was far too much to bear.

(Later that day)

"Okay, I'll drive back to the diner, get Cesar to cover today and then I'll be by your place." Luke replied.

"I'll run home, change clothes, cook up something special... you know a bunch of Rory's favorites... and then I'll bring them over." Sookie smiled.

"Thank you guys." Lorelai answered.

"Anytime." Luke replied.

"No problem." Sookie added.

They waved goodbye and all went their separate ways. When the Gilmore's reached their house, they found a disturbing letter nailed to the door.

"Who on earth would nail a letter to a door?" Lorelai asked. "Wouldn't tape, or even a thumb tack suffice?"

Lorelai slowly opened the letter and read it to herself:

My darling Lorelai,

I don't know why you choose to believe this horrible allegations that have been formed against me. I have always loved Rory as if she were a daughter of my own. If you say that she has been beaten, then I believe you. This pains me in two different ways. It pains me to know that sweet, fragile Rory has been caused harm, and it pains me that you believe I'm the one that has done it to her. Nevertheless, I realize our relationship could never be the same. There would always be a wall of tension between us, and as I have learned time and time again, it's better to fade away, then burn out. I hope that perhaps, one day you and I will cross paths again. Til that day comes, good bye Lorelai Gilmore you were and may always be my heart, my soul, my love.

Matthew.

"What does it say?" Rory asked curiously.

"It's just someone trying to sale something." Lorelai half teased. "But believe me, I'm not buying it."

"Is it from Matt?"

"No, sweetie..." Lorelai covered. "It's nothing." Lorelai believed Rory had been through enough, far too much actually and it would be best to keep things under the table for a while. "Why don't you go on in, I'll check the rest of the mail in the mail box and I'll be right there."

Rory did as she was told and questioned nothing about it. Lorelai ripped the note into several pieces and put it inside her pocket.

A few minutes later Luke pulled into the driveway. Lorelai's face smiled as she saw him step out of his truck. "Luke..." She whispered to herself. "Good ole Luke."

"Hey." Luke greeted walking towards here. "I actually got here sooner than expected."

"That's good." Lorelai noted.

"Yeah." Luke agreed. "So, where's Rory?"

"Inside."

"Oh.." Luke nodded. "Okay, we'll, is there anything I can do for you guys?"

"Just be here." Lorelai smiled.

Luke grinned. "Well that sounds like an easy job."

As they began walking towards the house, Luke stopped her for just a moment. "Lorelai... honestly, do you think Matthew is going to try something crazy?"

Lorelai paused for a moment, not sure how to answer this question. "I'm not sure." She admitted. "I don't know him as well as I thought I did. I'm a little fuzzy on how to judge him."

"Man, when he came into the diner and asked me to serve coffee at your wedding... geeze..." Luke trailed off.

"He asked you to serve coffee at our wedding?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah. Some nerve, huh?" Luke added becoming annoyed. "I told him no, of course. I knew he was a jerk from day one."

"You're getting angry." Lorelai smirked.

"Are you kidding, I've been angry since this whole thing started. I'd love choke the last breath out of his body with my bare hands. I mean Rory..."

"You were angry over the wedding." Lorelai clarified.

Luke paused... his eyes wondered. "I... well...yeah... I guess so."