"Oh my god!" Lorelai jumped to her feet and ran towards Rory. "What happened?"

Rory looked up into her mother's heavily concerned eyes. "I was jumped by a group of girls at the bus station." Rory replied in a dry tone.

"Why?" Lorelai asked quickly, her eyes squinting.

"Cause they were all upset over Jess and Dean." Rory sniffled a little. "They said it was all my fault." she sobbed.

Anger filled Lorelai to the brim. How dare someone harass Rory, and blame her for something she had absolutely no control over. Lorelai wanted to head down to the bus station and beat the hell out of every girl there, even if they were a group of sixteen year olds.

"Do you know any of the girls that did this?" Lorelai asked.

"A couple..." Rory paused. "Erin Shamblin and Elizabeth Endicott."

Lorelai's mouth gaped. "Elizabeth? Wow... I never knew she had it in her."

"Me either." Rory replied, wiping away a couple of tears and pulling herself back together. She started to walk off towards her room.

"Wait a minute." Lorelai began. "Are you okay? Do you need to go to the doctor or anything?"

"I'll be fine."

"I think you need some ice. I hope your face doesn't swell too much." Lorelai sympathized. "I'll talk to the mothers of the girls who did this."

"No..." Rory rejected. "It'll only make things worse."

"Rory..."

"No!"

"Okay." Lorelai surrendered. "Not talking."

"I just want to go away." Rory pleaded. "Please, let's just leave."

"Aw, sweetie running away wouldn't solve anything." Lorelai replied reaching out to put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "We'd look like we were ashamed if we did that."

"I am ashamed." Rory confirmed. "You should be too." With that Rory left the livingroom and slammed the door to her bedroom. Lorelai let out a deep sigh.

(Gilmore house later that evening)

"She'll come around." Sookie said handing Lorelai a cup of coffee. "It's a lot for a kid to take on."

"Sookie, two teenage boys are in prison... for life... and they're innocent." Lorelai took a sip of coffee. "Jess, I don't feel responsible for, but Dean..." Lorelai couldn't finish.

"It's still scarey to think that the true murderer is out there."

"I don't even care anymore." Lorelai replied. "There's been so much pain, and so much hurt."

Suddenly the phone rang. "Hello?" Sookie answered. "Yeah, just a second." She handed the phone to Lorelai.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Gilmore, this is Detective Cook. I was wondering if Mr. Danes was at your house?"

Lorelai found this question odd. "No... He isn't. Is something wrong?"

Cook sighed. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Lorelai pressed her hand to her heart, and closed her eyes. "What is it?"

"Jess tried to escape from prison this morning." A pause. "He almost succeeded..."

"What do you mean almost succeeded?" Lorelai asked quickly.

"He was about to clear the fence... It's the prison guard's duty to shoot when a prisoner is near escaping."

Lorelai's breathing became heavy and irregular. She swallowed loudly. "Is he dead?" she managed to ask.

"No..." Cook replied. "He's not. He's in the hospital."

"I'll tell Luke as soon as I see him." Lorelai said hanging up the phone.

Sookie only heard one side of the conversation, but it was enough to send chills down her spine.

"Lorelai?" she asked. "Who...?"

"Jess." Lorelai answered shortly. "He tried to escape. They shot him."

Sookie's hand covered her mouth immediately. "Is he alright?"

"He's in the hospital. I have to find Luke."

"I'll stay here with Rory." Sookie suggested. "But be careful."

"I will." Lorelai replied as she grabbed her keys and began to leave the kitchen. She turned and faced Rory's bedroom door. Something was wrong, something was missing. She slowly walked over and opened the door. Sookie stood back not sure what Lorelai was doing. When the door completely opened, Lorelai was left gazing into an empty room. Rory's window was open, and a note lay on the bed. Lorelai grabbed the note.

Dear Mom,

I understand that you can't just leave Stars Hollow. You have too much pride to do so. I on the other hand must leave Stars Hollow to save what little pride I have remaining. I'll be fine. I'll find somewhere to live and start my life over, just like you did.

Love Always,

Rory.

Lorelai held the letter close to her chest.

"Okay, new game plan." Sookie interrupted. "I'll find Luke... You find Rory."