Disclaimer: This is an original story based upon the characters of Gilmore Girls. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit will be made from this story.

Author's Note: Okay, okay, I know you are all probably upset with me as I promised an update yesterday and didn't do it. I am sorry! I was really busy all day and had a few hours to update last night but didn't want to rush writing this important chapter. So—here you go. I hope you enjoy this next installment. P.S. A connection to History Repeats is at the end, if you need a refresher.

"Emily, I will shoot you," she said, leveling the gun at me.

"And I will end this and end this now," I said in a low voice, "Now where is Alicia?"

She laughed, "And how do you expect to end this? I have the gun."

"Lorraine, you're not a killer,"

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"Because I know you're not a killer. You don't want to kill me," I said calmly as I could muster. I had to keep her talking. If killing me was what she wanted then I was ready. Rory, Lorelai, Luke, and Richard were safe. If killing me was what was going to end this woman's vendetta then that's what needed to happen. All of my married life I had never really protected those I loved. Now, I was ready to go if that's what was needed. However, if she killed me now there was little chance we'd find Alicia. I had to keep her talking.

"Lorraine, tell me something. This Children for Christ, it actually condones killing?"

"The righteous must prevail. The wicked must suffer," she replied with an almost robot like voice. Maybe I had hit on something, keep her talking about the cult, until the police got here.

"Why are you the ones that get to decide who is righteous and who is wicked?"

"The bible condemned the rich and so must I," she replied again in a robot like tone.

"So, why Lorelai and Luke? They aren't rich," I asked.

"Lorelai is the seed of evil. She is not fit to raise a child. Besides, the child was your grandchild. I wanted you to continue to suffer."

I noticed she was slowly lowering the gun as she was talking. Come on Detective Stevens, hurry!

"Tell me something else," I said. "What happened with Lorelai's kidnapping? How did we find her?"

"She was already too corrupt," Lorraine replied, "No one wanted her. So I left her in the alley."

"So, you're telling me it was righteous for you to take her from her parents, and leave her in an alley way?"

"She was corrupt," she replied nonchalantly.

"She was two years old!" I yelled for the first time.

Lorraine started laughing again. "Emily, Emily, Emily," she said, "Do you really think this is going to work?"

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Emily, I've spent over thirty years avoiding the police. Do you really think I would let you keep me talking, giving your granddaughter a chance to call the police? Sorry Dearie, not happening," she said as she started towards the bushes.

"Lorraine," I called after her. "If it's me you want you have me. Alicia belongs to Lorelai. Please, I'll do what ever you want. Just give my daughter back her baby."

She turned to me, "I'm sorry," she smirked, "I must have heard wrong, did the almighty Emily Gilmore just beg to lowly me?"

"Lorraine I have no idea what has happened between us in the past to make you hate me so much. But my daughter shouldn't have to suffer because of it. You wanted to make me suffer…well mission accomplished. Just leave my daughter out of this."

She turned and started again towards the bushes. "You'll never find her," she said

"You want me to beg?" I yelled. "Here is me begging!" I said throwing up my arms in the air. "Lorraine, please. Do what you want with me. Just let Alicia go back to her parents!"

"Emily, I can't do that," she said climbing back into the bushes. "But since you are so eager to end this thing with you…well then fine," She lowered the gun and fired the trigger.

Time seemed to just stop.

It was like one of slow motion moments in the movies.

Please Rory…keep running. Don't come back no matter what you hear.

Lorelai…I tried

Richard Darling, I love you forever.

Suddenly out of the blue I felt an arm come across my chest and force me down to the ground. It knocked the wind out of me and it took me a moment to realize that I really hadn't been shot. And then as I weakly lifted my head the panic that surged through my body couldn't have been any worse if I had been shot…

…because lying on the ground, conscious but holding a bloody arm, made from a bullet that was meant for me…was Luke.

"Oh Dear God!" I cried, kneeling next to him, taking off my scarf and wrapping it around the wound.

"Emily, it's fine, it's just a scratch…where did she go?" he breathed. I continued to try and help him, while looking up to where Lorraine was. She was gone.

Suddenly there seems to be a choir of police sirens, all around. And then I heard words that once again confirmed for me the existence of a God. It seemed to be far away but at the same time close.

"Lorraine Shetford, you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Alicia Danes, you have the right to remain silent,"

Thank God—I had kept her talking long enough.

I leaned over and put a hand on Luke's forehead, tears overflowing in my eyes at his sacrifice.

"Emily," he said again. "It's okay, it's just a scratch."

"Luke I…" I choked out.

"It's okay," he said again.

"Emily! Emily!" I suddenly heard Richard crying out fiercely. "Richard, I'm back here! Luke's been shot!"

I heard him crash through the debris in the alley and run towards us.

"Richard," Luke said wincing as he tried to sit up, "It's just a scratch,"

"Lucas Danes you lay right back down there!" I said fiercely. He obediently laid back down, and I don't know if the look on his face was from the pain or from the surprise at my motherly outburst.

Detective Stevens was coming around the corner, "Mr. Danes, an ambulance is on it's way," he said.

Keeping my hand on Luke's forehead I turned towards him. "You have Lorraine?"

"Yes, we have her," she's on her way back to the station right now.

"She confessed everything to me," I said. "I know she took Alicia."

He nodded, "We're going to find Alicia now,"

"Where's my daughter?" I asked, and then before Detective Stevens could answer I heard the answer to my question.

"Mom! Mom! Where are you?" I heard Lorelai screaming.

"Lorelai, I'm back here, Hurry!" I called back.

"Okay, so when you decided to stay here I didn't actually think that meant confronting Psycho Dragon Lady by yourself you crazy woman," she called as she came running.

"I mean who would of thought that I was the daughter of Rambo Emily, what were you thinking? Mom this was a new level of craziness even for…"

She came around the corner and seeing Luke started screaming.

"It's just a scratch!" Luke said exasperatingly.

She ran over to him, and knelt down next to him, tears running down her cheeks.

"It's okay," he whispered.

Suddenly we heard more movement and two ambulance guys were making their way back with a stretcher.

"Over here," I called. They gently placed Luke on the stretcher, and he winced in pain, Lorelai followed on the side of him, still crying. We followed around to the front where the ambulance was waiting. They carefully lifted him in the ambulance and Lorelai stepped in after him. Suddenly she turned to me, "Rory…" she said in a panic.

"We'll get her. She's at the McDonalds down the street with Jace. We'll meet you at the hospital,"

"Okay" she nodded and sat down next to Luke. As they were closing the doors I met Luke's eyes, and with a fresh batch of tears I mouthed, "Thank you,"

He smiled back weakly and then the doors shut and the ambulance sped away. As soon as they were down the street, my strength failed me and I collapsed into Richard's arms, sobbing out the fear and anguish.

Richard held me close to him, putting his hand on the back of my head.

"He saved my life," I choked out between sobs. "She had fired, I thought I was dead,"

Richard tightened his grip, and I felt his own body starting to shake. "We got here and I thought you had already gone," he said in a hoarse whisper. "I wanted to follow the police, but Luke decided to stay and look around the building more," his voice was thick, "If he hadn't stayed…"

I looked up at him, and saw the fear in his eyes—the fear that he had almost lost me for a second time.

He reached down and placed a shaking hand on the side of my face, and bending down to kiss me, I assured him that I was alive and well by kissing him with all the love and passion I felt in my heart. It was freezing outside but I felt warm all over.

"Richard," I said breathing heavily as I parted from him. He ignored me and brought me towards him for round two.

"Richard…" I said again after I had broken the kiss. "We have a granddaughter out there that is going to have a heart attack if we don't go get her.

"You're right," he said, and he put a hand on the small of my back and lead me to the car.

Please Rory, please…be at the McDonalds. I prayed that she had obeyed me and that she hadn't tried to do anything heroic. If Lorraine wasn't in jail, I would have been terrified she had tried to go after Rory. At least that was one worry that was off of my mind. We pulled up to the McDonald's and hurried inside. I prayed again that she would be there. I couldn't take anymore worry tonight. Between Luke in the hospital and Alicia still missing, I couldn't take anymore.

"Grandma!" I heard her cry out and I turned towards her voice and caught her in my arms. "Are you okay?" I asked, as I held her. She nodded as she sobbed on my shoulder. "Are…you…okay?" she choked out between sobs. I nodded and brushed my hand over her hair. "I'm just fine Sweetie," I said and once again I was mindful of the sacrifice that had made it possible for me to be there holding my granddaughter again. I held her tighter and my voice got shaky again. "I'm just fine,"

I finally broke her hug and looked at her. "Rory, Luke has been shot."

She gasped and brought a hand to her mouth.

"The bullet hit his arm and he is on his way to the hospital right now." I said, taking one of her hands and squeezing it. "We're on our way there now, come with us."

She nodded weakly and Richard stepped forward and taking her in his arms he led her towards the car. I turned towards Jace who had been standing towards the back.

"Thank you for taking care of her," I said and he smiled and shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.

"Do you need a ride somewhere? Can you get home safely?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he said. "I called my mom and she's coming to pick me up."

"Did you tell her the whole story?" I asked incredulously. He shrugged again and smiled, "Nah, my mom's one of those worry types. I think she would freak."

"Thank you Jace," I said and being on a motherly role tonight I stepped towards him and hugged him to me. He shrugged and smiled and I smiled back and then hurried out the door.

The hospital was about a fifteen minute ride away. Richard pulled up to the front and let Rory and I out and then went to find a place to park.

We hurried in, "Excuse me," I said to the receptionist, "I need to see Luke Danes,"

"Please take a seat," the woman said.

I don't believe this. You have no idea who you are dealing with here Honey.

"I'm sorry, I don't think you heard me correctly," I said once again affixing the stare. "Now, I have had a very bad night and I am the last person in the world you want to mess with right now. I need to see Luke Danes and I need to see him now."

"Are you a relative?" she asked and without hesitation I nodded.

"Who is he to you?" she asked.

"He's my son," I said.

Thankfully the receptionist knew she had met her match and she allowed us back. Lorelai met up with us and after a tearful reunion with Rory told us Luke was in surgery right then repairing the damage on his arm. He had been lucky the doctor had said, he would be in a sling for awhile, but he would be just fine. The relief washed over me like a wave. He was going to be fine!

It would be a few hours until we could see him. Lorelai was going to stay at the hospital and Rory wanted to stay with her. Richard and I said we would go back to Lorelai's house to wait for news of Alicia.

We were about halfway to Stars Hollow when Detective Stevens called my cell and asked us to come in. Our hearts were racing as fast as the car as we turned around and hurried back to Hartford. This was it! We were certain of it. Finally we were going to find Alicia! We grabbed each other's hands as we ran into the building but we stopped dead when we saw Detective Steven's face. It was anything but hopeful.

"What is it?" I cried out, paralyzed with fear that that he would tell us Alicia was already dead.

He lead us back into his office and motioned for us to sit down. "April Kelly talked tonight," he said. "She didn't say much, but she said that what the Children of Christ does is sell the babies to families they deem worthy, families who are so desperate to have children that they don't ask question on where they got them."

Suddenly it all made since—why so few had been found, Rory telling me that Brittany's new "parents" were deemed unfit.

"That is all the information we could get out of her," he said sighing. "We have every reason to believe your granddaughter has been sold as well,"

I drew in a sharp breath. I knew what was coming next.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore," he said, "We will continue to question Ms. Shetford and Ms. Kelly, we will continue to search, but you should understand that the odds of finding your granddaughter are minuscule. Considering your daughter was kidnapped in Paris and ended up in the U.S., it is likely that Alicia could be anywhere in the world right now."

"Thank you," Richard said huskily and stood up, taking me by the hand.

"At least we know she's safe," Detective Stevens said as he led us out the door. Richard and I nodded slowly as we took each other's hands and walked out.

Again we were defeated, true Lorraine was behind bars, true she could never hurt us again, but we were still lost.

"We have to go back to the hospital," Richard said as we got in the car.

"I can't Richard," I said, the fear of telling Lorelai causing me physical pain. "I can't tonight."

He nodded slowly and turned left when he got out of the parking lot—back to Stars Hollow.

We said nothing on the way, but as we got out of the car, we both held onto to eachother's hands for strength, wearily making our way to the front door.

"Please God Please don't make me tell Lorelai that it's hopeless. Please…we need another miracle."

And just then, my cellphone rang and I answered it as we walked inside.

"Emily? It's Missie, is everything okay?"

"Missie?"

"Yes, it's me. Is everything okay?"

Two months ago, Missie had moved to Los Angeles California, her first step in moving out from underneath her mother's thumb and away from her Enquirer nickname "The Bates Black Widow,"

"No, everything's not okay here," I said quickly, before another set of tears came on. "Why do you ask?"

"Emily…" she said in a serious tone. "Alicia, is she missing?"

My heart started beating wildly. There was no way she could have known that. There was no country-wide news on this case.

"Why?" I cried out, not daring to hope.

"I saw a new couple in the neighborhood today Emily. They had a baby with them. I knew she looked familiar, but I couldn't place why. Then it came to me who she looked like. I looked at the last picture of Alicia that you had emailed me and it was her, exactly. Emily…is Alicia missing?"

"Missie," I said, my voice shaking. "You're certain?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Don't talk to the police, don't talk to anyone. Richard and I are on our way."

"So Alicia really is missing?"

"Yes," I said swallowing hard, "We're on the next flight out,"

"I'll be waiting for you," she said and hung up the phone.

I turned back to Richard and he was already on the phone with the airline company booking us the next flight, telling them he would pay any fee to get us on the next flight to Los Angeles.

"Let's go," he said, once the confirmation was made. "The flight leaves in an hour."

"What about Lorelai?" I asked as we were heading out the door.

"We need to do this ourselves Emily," he said. "If it isn't Alicia, then I couldn't face Lorelai."