"Well, I'd better get back to the chicken." Sookie left the room and pulled Jackson along with her.
Rory turned and walked out of the living room and through the kitchen, exiting out the back door.
"Lorelai," Luke began. "I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay." Lorelai interrupted. "Chris can really be a jerk sometimes"
"Just sometimes?" Luke replied.
"Can you imagine the pain she's feeling right now?" Lorelai asked as she gazed in the direction of Rory.
"You should go talk to her." Luke suggested.
"I don't know what to say." Lorelai exhaled deeply. "I've been putting it off and putting it off, and now I can't put it off any longer. She needs to know about her father, and why we're not married. I don't want her to think she's causing Chris and I problems because she can't remember. Chris and I have always had problems."
"She'll understand." Luke soothed. "She's still Rory, she just doesn't remember."
"You're right." Lorelai agreed. She walked towards the back door.
Before walking out the door, Lorelai grabbed a throw blanket from a chair. When she walked out onto the porch, she found Rory sitting on the steps, crying.
Lorelai walked over and wrapped the blanket around Rory. "It may snow soon." Lorelai said as she sat down beside her daughter. "It would be nice to have snow for Christmas." Rory only sniffled and wrapped the blanket tighter around her, for she was cold. Lorelai gently stroked the back of Rory's head, playing with her hair as she did so. "Tell me what you're thinking." Lorelai replied. Rory shrugged her shoulders "Come on, sweetie, we talk about everything." Lorelai paused. "Or at least, we used to."
"Sometimes, I think waking up from the coma has only made things worse." Rory's eyes began to whelm up with tears again. "Everyone wants me to remember so much, but I can't remember anything at all."
Lorelai pulled Rory closer to her. "You waking up from the coma was second best thing that's ever happened to me."
"What was the first?" Rory asked a little unsure.
"Having you." Lorelai smiled. "Rory, you'll remember one day. I know you will. We just have to keep going. No matter how rough it gets, no matter how many feelings get hurt, or memories go unremembered, we can't just give up."
"I want to be the person everyone thinks that I am." Rory continued. "But I don't know how."
"You are that person, sweetheart." Lorelai confirmed. "You've always done anything possible to please other people. You just said you want to be the person everyone thinks you are. See, there you go again trying to please other people." Lorelai joked. "You can't escape yourself, kid."
Rory smiled and wrapped her arms around her mother. "I'm sorry about confusing Luke with my real father." Rory replied. "I didn't mean to make him so mad."
Here it was. Here was Lorelai's chance to clear her daughter's conscience. "Christopher and I have had problems for years." She began. "And believe me, you're the not the reason behind any of them. When we were younger he and I were so much alike in so many ways, that it was kind of scary. We used to do everything together. Then after you were born, he wanted one thing, and I wanted another and our parents wanted their way. It was all very confusing. The best thing to do was for Chris and I to each go our own way and it that worked out great. He got to go after his dreams, and I got to go after mine. I'm happy with my life, Rory. Managing the inn, seeing Sookie and Jackson every day, eating at Luke's and spending every day with you, that's the perfect life. I couldn't have asked for anything more. What happened this morning is not your fault. If anyone is to blame it's me. I should have showed you a picture of Chris, or drawn you a picture, find a really good look alike."
Rory wondered how her mother could always turn a serious moment into a light hearted joke. It was definitely something that she admired. "I guess it was just all a misunderstanding."
Lorelai shook her head, yes. "Chris will get over it. He always does."
"What about Luke?" Rory asked hopefully.
"Luke will always be around." Lorelai inhaled deeply. "He's one of the best people I know."
Rory paused for a moment, then pulled away from her mother's arms. "Do you love him?" she asked directly.
Lorelai's heart suddenly sank, and her face went pale. She was not expecting that. "No." She quickly replied. "I mean, I love him as a person and as a friend, but not like that." Lorelai fidgeted with her bracelet.
"I think he loves you." Rory replied sweetly. "He reminds me of you."
Suddenly, Lorelai was very interested. "He does? How?"
"When I first woke up from the coma, you were the only one who seemed sincerely happy. You made me feel that you had actually been worried about me the whole time. When I looked in your eyes, I could see so much more than when I looked into other people's. At first I thought it was just where you were my mother, but when Luke came in to see me this morning, I saw and felt all those things again. I guess that's why I was so convinced he was my father." Rory stood up from the porch step. Lorelai stood up as well. "When you walk into a room Luke's face lights up like a Christmas tree." She continued. "It's so sweet."
Lorelai was left speechless, Rory was obviously paying much more attention to things than Lorelai predicted. "Maybe Luke does love me." Lorelai admitted. "But as for right now, we're just friends. Really good friends."
"I understand." Rory smiled.
"Good. You've stopped crying, do you feel better now?" Lorelai asked in a playful tone.
"I do." Rory confessed.
"Alright, let's go inside. I'm starving." Lorelai placed her arm around her daughter's shoulder and they walked inside to the kitchen where Sookie had a delicious dinner awaiting them.