Entering the hospital, the two older Gilmore girls were assaulted by the bright lights and hustle-bustle of a busy hospital lobby, lights not at all subdued even though it was now officially night. As Lorelai veered towards the Information Desk, Emily steered her away, towards the elevators.
Lorelai stopped, and tugged at Emily's arm. "Mom, where are you going? We need to find out where Luke is…"
"We'll just go up to the ICU," Emily retorted.
"But we don't know that he's there. Listen to me, Mom, Luke is somewhere in this hospital and it's huge."
Lorelai stalked off back to the Information Desk, and caught the eye of the young volunteer staffing the desk.
"I need to find someone…" Lorelai started. "He was in an accident." She was barely maintaining her composure.
"Are you family?" the volunteer responded.
"Accident victims brought into surgery, where would one go? Luke Danes, his name is Luke Danes." Emily's voice commandeered and took over the conversation. Her attitude and demeanor left no margin for doubt that this was a woman in charge.
"Let me see…" the volunteer consulted a computer screen. Seconds later, the response came, along with a pointing finger, "Take the elevators on the east side up to Floor Five. When you get there, the halls will be color coded. Follow the red lines, around the corner from the elevators."
"Follow the red, around the corner…" Lorelai repeated. "All righty then."
When they reached Floor Five, they were greeted with a color grid on the walls.
"Follow the red line, then around the corner, Mom," Lorelai instructed.
Rounding the corner, they were greeted with huge stainless steel swinging doors, and the words 'Intensive Care'. Seeing the words hammered the seriousness of the situation into Lorelai's consciousness, and she sagged slowly against the wall.
"He's really hurt, Mom…"
"Come, Lorelai, let's see what we can find out." Always matter of fact, Emily pushed through the doors and Lorelai followed.
They found themselves in a large waiting area. A television set droned softly in a corner, a small family huddled around it. Over at a table, a man hunched over a laptop, and a woman adjacent to him was playing a board game with a child. At the far end, there was yet another set of doors.
Emily marched straight through the room and pushed open those doors as well, beckoning Lorelai to follow her. They both ignored the sign that read, "Only One Family Member per Patient."
The scene that greeted Lorelai was overwhelming and unfamiliar. A series of rooms lined the far wall, and various medical personnel were walking about. Luke. Where was he? Surely she should be able to sense where he was?
Lorelai looked to Emily for help. This situation was tailor-made for her. And Emily did not disappoint.
She accosted the first person that passed close to her. "Excuse me, Miss, I am looking for Luke…"
"Sorry, Ma'am, you need to go over there. Nurses Station." She pointed out the appropriate desk.
As they walked to the desk, Lorelai snuck glances into each room they passed. Most of the doors were open, but the lights were subdued, so she couldn't figure out if a particular patient was Luke. Reaching the desk, Emily again took over.
"Nurse! Nurse! Luke Danes, please."
"Excuse me," the woman at the desk replied, "may I help you?"
"We're here to see Luke Danes. He was in an accident," Lorelai supplied.
"Danes. Danes." The nurse checked yet another computer screen. "Over there, Number Seven."
Lorelai turned to head towards Number Seven.
"Not so fast," the nurse answered. "First of all, only one at a time. Second, only family members are allowed. Are you family?"
Lorelai hesitated a beat. 'Not yet, but soon,' she thought.
The nurse interpreted Lorelai's hesitation as evidence that she was not family. "I'm sorry ladies, I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about his condition. Only family is allowed. Perhaps you can try and contact…"
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Emily burst in, "she's his WIFE!"
Lorelai shot her mother a look of gratitude. Emily did have balls, she thought.
"Y-y-es. We were married last June, June 3," she stammered.
"Well why didn't you say so in the first place, Mrs. Danes?" the nurse, now exasperated, replied. "Number Seven. And you," she pointed at Emily, "stay back here. Only one at a time."
"It's OK, mom. Why don't you go out into the hall and see if you can reach Dad."
-----
Lorelai tiptoed into the darkened room, lit only by low-level lighting and a myriad of machines and monitors.
Various tubes seemed to protrude out of a number of places along the bed. 'God, Luke will freak out when he wakes up,' she thought.
Shaking, she crept closer to the bed. It was Luke.
Breaking down, Lorelai began to softly cry, as her eyes surveyed the beloved person before her. His head looked fine, and he wasn't on a respirator. It was a good thing that she watched a lot of medical shows on TV, she decided.
Whatever had happened to him, must have happened to his chest or torso, she decided, because she could see the outline of his legs under the thin thermal blanket. And his arms, except for the IV, looked fine as well. She reached out to the hand that was closest to her, that didn't have an IV in it, and softly touched it.
He felt so warm. He was alive.
"Ma'am?" Lorelai was startled by the voice of a young woman entering Luke's room. "And you are…?
"I'm his fi…his wife."
"I am Dr. Sivakumar, I'm Mr. Danes' intensivist."
"Intens…"
"I specialize in intensive care," the doctor explained. "Can I help answer any questions?"
"How is he? What's happened to him?" Lorelai asked.
"Hold on." The doctor reached for a chart at the foot of the bed. "He's in serious condition, but stable right now. He was brought in with a concussion, and more seriously, a lacerated liver," she ruffled through the chart, "consistent with blunt force trauma to the abdomen."
Lorelai swayed, unstable on her feet.
"Are you alright, Mrs. Danes?"
"What does that mean, lacerated liver…"
"We attempted to repair it in surgery. We'll know more over the next forty-eight hours. It's looking good."
"Will he have any problems afterwards?"
"If he follows his doctor's orders, three months of recovery and he'll be as good as new."
Lorelai sighed, swaying once more.
"Ma'am, are you going to be all right? Let me have one of the nurses bring you a chair."
-----
When the chair came, Lorelai sank into it, pulling it up as close to Luke's bedside as she dared. "Oh Luke," she whispered, then became too choked up to continue. She pressed a soft kiss on the back of his hand.
She sat in silence, stroking his hand, looking at his face, making sure he was breathing.
"Where is my daughter? I demand to see my daughter!" Emily's voice pierced the calm of the ICU.