A/N: Warning this story deals with the violent crime of rape in a graphic nature. If you may be upset by reading about it, please, please, please DO NOT read this story. Having said that, I also want to point out that this story also deals with love and support and the human spirit.

A/N#2: Okay, I want to explain a few things. First of all, one reviewer suggested that my detailed description of the rape made it disgusting, well rape is a disgusting, terrible violent crime and if I was going to write about it, I definitely wanted to get that across. I want to treat this subject with all the seriousness and the respect it deserves. However if you can get past the first terrible chapter, I think you will find the love and support that Rory and Lorelai share and encounter from the people around them, heartwarming.

Summary: Set sometime in Rory's third year at Chilton, however it does not follow the story line of the show at all.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 3

As soon as they came out into the sunlight, police men grabbed them and led them to safety. One of them picked up her mom and carried her to a stretcher and Rory ran with him, refusing to let go of her mother's hand. She got in the ambulance with her mother. "Look Mom, we're in an ambulance." She stroked the back of her Mother's hand. "You're going to be okay now. These people are going to help you." One of the paramedics reached for Rory's arm. There was a large bruise beginning to form where one of the gunmen had kicked her while they were lying on the floor. Rory immediately snatched her arm away. "My mother is the one that needs help." She looked at the paramedic like she was crazy. "Can't you see that?" She turned back and stared at her Mother's face. "Please help her." She said quietly.

On the way to the hospital, Lorelai drifted in and out of consciousness, but every time she opened her eyes, she panicked until she saw Rory, and her eyes fixated on her daughter until she couldn't keep them open any longer. Rory held fiercely to Lorelai's hand, no one was taking her mom away from her again.

When they arrived at the hospital, the paramedics rushed Lorelai into an emergency room and again Rory ran along beside them, holding on tight. She became hysterical when they tried to force her to leave her mother and they gave in to her demands. Even though her mother was unconscious, Rory stroked the back of her Mother's hand and talked quietly into her ear as the doctors completed their examination. The nurses asked if there was anyone they could call for her and she gave them Luke's number. She didn't give them her grandparent's number or Sookie's number, or her Dad's number, she only wanted Luke there and she knew that her mother would too.

After the doctors finished their examination they explained to Rory that her Mother needed surgery and that she couldn't go with her but they would allow her to wait outside the door. Rory understood that she couldn't go into the surgery room and she knew that her Mother wouldn't wake up and want her there, so she reluctantly agreed and went with them as far as she could. They stopped for a minute and Rory bent down, kissed her mother on the forehead and assured her that she would be fine. "I love you Mom." She mouthed as her mother was taken away from her for the second time that day. Rory quietly slid down the wall, wrapped her arms around her knees and began to shake uncontrollably.

"Rory." Luke called as he turned the corner and saw her sitting on the floor. He had talked to the doctors and the nurses and even a psychiatrist on staff and he knew what they had been through. He was so angry and so filled with grief he was shaking from head to foot, but right now, as he saw Rory, all he could think of was helping her. The psychiatrist had explained that Rory was in shock and that after what they had been through, being separated from her mother was almost as traumatic for her as what had happened in the bank. The psychiatrist had stopped by to see Rory but she wasn't talking. She wouldn't even look at him.

"Rory." Luke said quietly as he kneeled in front of her and put his hand on her knee. She flinched under his touch and he instantly withdrew.

"Hi Luke." She said, acknowledging his presence but looking right through him at the door her mother had disappeared behind. "Please move." She asked kindly as she realized that she couldn't see through him.

"Sure." He sat with his back against the wall beside her. They sat silently for over an hour before Rory spoke again. "How much longer?" She asked quietly.

Luke looked at her with tears running down her face and his heart melted. She was so small and so stoic, never moving an inch since he had arrived. "I can go ask." He volunteered, but he didn't know if it was a good idea to leave her alone.

"Please." She accepted, still not allowing any emotion in her voice. Just as Luke began to stand up, they wheeled Lorelai out of the operating room. Rory was up in a flash and at her mother's side, once again taking her hand in her own.

Luke followed them closely, stopping only when they entered the recovery room. He watched through the window as the orderly pulled a chair up to Lorelai's bed for Rory and then left the two of them alone. A tear escaped and ran down Luke's face as he watched the two of them. That's what it always came down to for them, the two of them alone facing the world together. It had always been like that and no doubt they thought that it always would be.

Rory pulled the chair as close to her mother's bed as she could get it. She leaned over and rested her elbows on the bed and brought Lorelai's hand up to her face. She rested her mother's hand against her cheek and stroked her arm gently. She sat like that for hours, all the while talking softly into her ear. The nurses stayed away as much as they could, respecting their privacy. They marveled at the devotion and love they saw in Rory's eyes and wondered what she was saying to her mother. Rory didn't notice the nurses or Luke, looking in through the window. She was focused solely on Lorelai. She talked to her mother about things that they had done when she was a little girl, she talked about the future and Harvard and her hopes and dreams. She talked about silly things like their new catch phrase 'Oy with the poodles already!'. She talked about the Inn her mother wanted to open and finally she talked about how much she loved her and how she was going to help her through this and how she remembered her promise and was never going to let go of her ever again.

After what seemed like forever to Rory, she felt her mother gently squeeze her hand. Rory kissed the back of her Mother's hand and gently squeezed back. She stood up and stroked her mother's hair, quietly tucking a stray curl behind her ears once in a while. After a few minutes, Lorelai's eyes slowly fluttered open and she saw Rory crying above her. "Hey." She whispered and although it was a gigantic effort on her part, she reached out to embrace her daughter. Rory lowered herself into her Mother's arms and huge sobs engulfed her as she hugged her mother tightly. Lorelai's entire body was sore, but she welcomed the pain she felt as her daughter hugged her and she tried to calm her. "It's okay." She kissed the top of her daughter's head. "Mommy's here. Don't worry sweetie." Rory nodded and eventually sat back down in her chair, but she took her Mother's hand and again brought it up to her face. Lorelai put her hand on her daughter's cheek and stroked it, as Rory's hands held tightly to her arm. They looked into each other's eyes and found solace in the quiet strength each of them held.

The nurse walked over to check on Lorelai. She talked to them for a minute and took Lorelai's blood pressure and temperature and Lorelai talked to her and answered her questions but she never looked away from her daughter. The nurse smiled even though she new neither of them would see it, and retreated back to her station.

They moved Lorelai to her own room after that and the doctor arrived about half an hour later. The girls were still holding on to each other. It was as if they needed each other to breathe. The doctor greeted them and Lorelai knew she would have to look away from her daughter. She squeezed Rory's hand and Rory shifted her chair so that she could lay her arm on the bed alongside her mothers. Lorelai watched her daughter hook arms with her and clasp her hand tighter. She smiled and forced herself to tear her gaze away from her daughter. She looked up at the doctor, not quite ready to face what he had to tell her.

After dispensing with the pleasantries, the doctor got down to business. He looked over at Rory, not sure she should be present while he talked to her mom about her health. "Maybe we should talk alone." He suggested.

Lorelai felt her daughter grasp her hand tightly. "It's okay." Lorelai answered. She new there was no use in trying to start protecting her daughter now. It would just make Rory worry about her more. "We tell each other everything." Lorelai looked into her daughter's eyes briefly to see if she was okay, then she nodded and turned back to the doctor.

"Okay," The doctor was satisfied. "You had several tears to the wall of your vagina. During surgery we repaired them and you have quite a few stitches. There are many microscopic tears that will heal on their own and the bruising is going to be extensive. You lost a lot of blood and you are going to be very weak and very sore for a while. I want to keep you here for a few days, to make sure you have strict bed rest and to let the healing process begin." He paused and took a breath.

"Can my daughter stay here with me?" Lorelai asked, a hint of panic showing in her eyes.

"Yes she can." The doctor alleviated her worries. "We can set up a small cot in here for her if you like."

Lorelai nodded and he continued. "I have some other concerns I would like to talk to you about if you're up to it." Lorelai knew what he wanted to talk about, but she was fairly certain that Rory knew nothing about it. She turned and looked at the panic on her daughter's face, as she imagined all sorts of things wrong with her mother and Lorelai knew that they needed to talk about it now. Up until now she was some what aware of all that the doctor had told her about her physical condition. This next discussion was what scared her out of her mind.

"Can I sit up a bit?" She asked the doctor and he nodded. He walked to the end of her bed and raised the top of it until she was almost in a sitting position. Lorelai carefully and slowly moved over to allow room for Rory to sit beside her. She patted the empty space and Rory cautiously joined her mother on the bed. Lorelai put her right arm around her daughter and held her close. Rory took her mother's left hand in both of her own and held it tightly. "Okay." Lorelai nodded to let the doctor know they were ready.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you want me to do. Should I continue, if so why or should I stop, if so why stop. I am still undecided, however in the show, the character Lorelai never shies away from talking about anything just because it's uncomfortable. Granted, they have never had a topic as serious as this, but… Let me know what you think.