Collide Chapter 54: The Loss Of a Great Man, a gilmore girls fanfic

A/N: I am jumping the story ahead about six months. It's prom time and the gang (Audi, Tarah, Camille and Ryan) make plans for the big day. But there is heartbreak, reencounter with a dangerous enemy, and well just some good old fashioned prom. I'm also intoducing Hunter Davis, Camille's boyfriend that I mentioned in passing during the summer chapters. I hope you guys enjoy it! Please no tar and feathers! (You'll see later)

Chapter 54: The Loss of a Great Man Leads to Prom Time

"What about this one Audi?" Tarah asked, from behind a rack of prom gowns. Tarah held out a silver gown that had black butterflies stitched into the side. "I think you's look great in it."

"Maybe. I don't know," Audrey Avery Danes sighed. "I don't know if I even want to go to prom."

"Not go? Are you crazy? Audi you have to go to prom!"

Audrey thought about her mother and older sister. Neither got to go to their proms. Lorelai didn't get to go because of Rory and Rory didn't get to go because of Jess being stupid. It would be disloyal to partake in an event that they didn't get to go to. Plus with her schedule as Miss America, there was a possibility that she would be called to host Saturday Night Live or something.

"It's just that I don't want to make too many plans in case I get called to MA duty," Audrey explained. "Plus I've had my fill of fancy events for one lifetime. It'll be just like the Govonor's Ball or the any of the other things I've had to do this year."

"But it's prom with Camille and Hunter and Ryan. Is everything all right with you and Ryan? I mean since the baby scare last fall?"

Audrey cringed at the thought of last October. Her relationship with her father had been touch and go for months. It took a long time for Luke to trust her and Ryan again. Nothing in her house was the same. She was still walking on eggshells around her parents.

"There are going to be some rule changes around here," Luke had said after she came home from the doctor's and told them that she wasn't pregnant. "One Ryan is not allowed here in the house unless your mother or I are home. Two the treehouse is no longer an acceptable place for you and Ryan to meet. If he is to come to town you may meet at one of the inns or at the diner, in plain sight for all of the loony toons in this town to keep an eye on you."

"Now Luke don't you think that's a bit much?" Lorelai asked her husband.

"No. My orginal plan was to build a tower 300 stories high with only one room and a window and lock her in until she's thirty!" Luke snapped.

"I'm fine with this arrangement Mom," Audrey said. "Besides I have more important things to worry about then my relationship with Ryan Turner."

That was six months ago. Ryan resisted the new rules at first but his love for Miss America was worth the rescrtitions that Herr Danes put on them. He was supportive of Audrey while she was crusading for DADVSC. When she was out of town with her mother Ryan would call her every night to bid her goodnight and to tell her that he loved her.

Days in the Danes household got harder to deal with after the baby scare. There was little laughter coming from Luke or Audrey when they were together. They stopped working on her car together, they stopped going to the park to hit the softball around. Lorelai hated to see her daughter's relationship with her father turn into hers. There had to be a way to fix it.

"Luke why don't you and Audrey go to the park tonight after she finishes her homework?" Lorelai suggested one night after a rather akward dinner. "You guys haven't done anything together since the scare."

"If she wants to," Luke said softly.

He like Lorelai hated the way his relationship with his daughter had gotten. He thought of the big picture screen his parents and sometimes son would watch and wondered what they were thinking. He knew he must be disappointing them again with his actions. He had let this wall build between himself and Audrey, he would be the one to take it down.

He went to Audrey's door and knocked on it. He waited for her permission and came into her room.

"Hey Audi, would you maybe want to go to the batting cages with me tonight? Give us a chance to talk?" Luke asked.

"Sure Daddy. Just let me get changed," Audrey replied, smiling. She had been waiting for this moment since October. They were finally going to get to clear some things up.

Audrey came out wearing for the first time in months, holy jeans, a raggety old B-52's tshirt, one of Luke's flannel shirts and a Red Sox cap. She did not even resemble the young lady she had grown to be. Luke was half afraid that she wouldn't go near dirt anymore. That was far from the case. Once they arrived at the batting cages she offered up the first challange.

"First one to hit five in a row buys the other a soda," Audrey annouced dropping her money into the machine. The first pitch came to her and she hit it. "That's one Daddy!"

Soon the wall was gone. The two were laughing and joking with each other again. It was a perfect evening. Audrey felt like Luke's little girl again. Little did she know that this was the last moment she would have with her father for the rest of her life. All night Luke had felt a tight pain in his left shoulder, but he had shrugged it off as muscle pain from not swinging the bat for so long. As the night wore on he knew it wasn't just shoulder pain.

Audrey had her back to her father. She was lining up to get a good hit in when she heard him gasp behind her. She turned around and saw Luke collapse to the ground.

"DADDY!" Audrey screamed. She ran to his side and pulled him to her. "Daddy! Somebody get some help please!"

Audrey pulled off her father's hat and undid a few of the buttons on his flannel shirt in a vain attempt to help him breathe. The batting cage attendant was on the phone to the hospital and several other people gathered around Audrey and Luke.

"Daddy, you're going to be fine," Audrey whispered over and over. "Daddy, you'll be fine."

Soon the paramedics arrived and pulled Audrey aside and began to work on Luke. They cut off his undershirt and apply the AED (Automated External Defibulator) to his chest. It takes two tries but they get him stablized and into the ambulance. Audrey started to climb up with her father when the paramedic stopped her.

"That is my father and you will let me go with him," Audrey cried.

The paramedic offered her his hand and Audrey and she was instantly by her father's side. She held his hand and watched as he was hooked up to IVs and monitors.

"What's happening to him?" Audrey asked, through her tears.

"Your father is having a heart attack," the paramedic explained. "We have him on IV medication but until we get him to the hospital we can't do too much but keep him stable."

Audrey looked down on the Superman that was her father. This was the man that chased monsters from under her bed, lifted her with one arm. This was Luke Danes. Luke Danes who ate so healthy that Euell Gibbons was calling for advice. There was no way he was having a heart attack. Her thumb caressed his hand hoping that he could feel her presence.

"Audrey?" Luke called out, weakly. "Audrey?"

"Daddy! Daddy I'm here. I'm right here," Audi said leaning down and kissing Luke's sweaty forhead. "Daddy."

"I'm of good stock kiddo," Luke said, trying to be funny. "I'll be fine. You'll see."

A few hours later Luke was gone. Beyond hearing, feeling or speech. Never again would he make burgers for his girls, coffee for his wife, cookies for his grandkids, cupcakes for his neices and nephews. Luke Danes was gone and Audrey watched him go. He was lying still talking to her then his eyes closed and the horrid beeping of the heart monitor started.

Testing had shown a blood clot had started in his leg and travled up to his heart. The clot was small enough to not be noticed as anything but large enough to block his artery and caused the attack.

"Daddy, you're going to get better," Audrey had told him. "I graduate in a month, top of my class, just like Rory. Aunt Paris said I could wear my Miss America crown instead of that stupid flat hat."

"You look so great in that crown," Luke commented, weakly. "I was so proud of you that night, princess. You looked so beautiful and grown up."

"Daddy, shh. You need to save your strength. Mom and Rory are going to be here any minute."

Luke looked up at his daughter. The one thing in his life that had always been his. He had watched this little girl grow up into the amazing young woman that she was. She was beautiful, smart and witty like her mother and sister, creative like her aunt Liz, rebellious to a point, like her cousin Jess, sweet, loving and caring like her grandmother Avery. Somewhere in the back of his mind Luke knew that tonight was his last day on earth. It was his time to join his parents and son. He brought his hand up and ran his fingers through Audrey's long brown curls.

"I love you, little girl," Luke whispered. "Always know that."

"Daddy you're going to get better."

The monitors began to sound as Luke closed his eyes. Fear crossed Audrey's face as she knew what was happening. She crawled up into the bed with her father and cuddled close to him as the doctors came in.

"Sweetheart, I need you to move so we can work on your father," the doctor said gently.

Audrey wouldn't budge. She couldn't leave him. Her father hated hosptials. She already knew what the doctors were going to say. She felt it. Luke was gone. Gone from her life. Audrey had never imagined a day when her father wouldn't be there for her, her mother and sister. Audrey buried her face into his strong chest and sobbed. She clung to the hospital gown that he wore. It was a cold unfeeling scrap of cloth. Not warm and inviting like her father's flannel shirts.

A few minutes after Luke had passed Lorelai and Rory ran in. Rory was the first to enter the room. She saw her sister lying in the bed with their father. Her tearstained face said it all. He was gone. Rory was stunned. The man that in so many ways was Superman, was gone. Lorelai would be devestated.

Rory retreated out of the room and into the arms of her mother. How could Rory be the one to tell Lorelai Danes that her beloved Luke was gone? How could she form the words? There was no way. There was no way.

"Mom," Rory quivered. Rory ran to her mother unable to form the words. "Mom, I think..."

"No Rory," Lorelai said through her tears. "I know. I knew the minute we came into this awful place. I just want to get Audrey out of here."

The Lorelais walked into the hospital room. The room was void of all color and warmth. It was not the place that Lorelai wanted to lose Luke too. Lorelai went over to Audrey who was still in tears. Audrey had a hold on Luke's hand, never to let go.

"Daddy, please come back," Audrey was whispering over and over. "Please come back."

"Audi, honey," Lorelai said quietly. "Come on. We'll mourn at home, away from this awful place."

Audrey nodded and climbed off of the bed. A small bag lay at the foot of the bed. In it contained Luke's ratty old blue hat, the one Lorelai had given him so many years ago and his other clothes. Lorelai wrapped her arm around her daughters and together they left the hospital.

Once at home and away from her daughters, Lorelai collapsed on to their bed and sobbed into his pillow. She couldn't believe he was really gone. She never thought she's ever have to go a day without Luke in her life. She knew she had to start the preperations for his funeral. But she didn't have the heart. To begin calling the rest of the family to tell them that Luke was gone would only cause her more heartbreak. She couldn't make Rory or Audrey do it either.

Rory was unable to go home that night. She needed to be with her mother and sister. She stood on the bottom of the stairs and could hear her mother sob. There was no one who could take away this pain. Lorelai without Luke would be hard to live with. There was no way she could take this pain away from her mother. She sat in the living room on the phone with Marty.

"Please don't tell the kids until I get home," Rory said softly. "I want to be sure that Mom's going to be fine before I leave her."

"I understand, Rory. Take all the time you need," Marty replied. "I know how much Luke meant to you."

"I love you Marty," Rory whispered. "I haven't said that enough lately."

She hung up the phone and slipped into her sister's room. Audrey was lying on her bed curled in a small ball, crying softly. Katie was lying next to her nuzzling Audrey's arm.

"Audi? Are you ok?" Rory asked.

"I watched him die Rory," Audrey cried. "I was there. He said he was fine. He said he was of good stock. How can he be gone?"

"I wish I could explain it Audi, but I can't. We need to be strong for Mom. She's not doing very well. She may never be herself again," Rory said rubbing her little sister's back. "She's going to need us to be strong and help her stay strong. Mom has never loved anyone as much as she loves Dad. A huge part of Mom died with Daddy today."

"I don't want him to be gone Rory. I want my daddy back!"

"I know Audi. I know. I do too."

Things in the Danes household after the loss of their beloved head of house. It was a sad day and there was no chocolate chip pancakes to drown away the pain. Rory had gone home to tell Laura and Matty that Grandpa Luke was gone. It was the hardest conversation she'd ever had. The kids had cried and Rory had cried with them.

The entire town had gathered to say goodbye to Luke Danes. Rory, Marty and their kids stood beside Lorelai. Jess, Annie and their kids stood beside Audrey. Camille, Hunter, Tarah, and Ryan stood in the back as silent support for Audrey. She hadn't been in school since Luke had died. Tarah had brought her the homework she's been missing but they sat unfinished on Audrey's desk. She didn't have the heart to do anything related to school. Not without her father. Nothing in Audrey Avery Danes' life mattered anymore without her father.

"Lucas Danes was a beloved member of this community. A devoted husband and father," Jackson said at the graveside service. "He was the best friend anyone could have asked for. I don't know of a single person who wasn't a frequent visitor of the diner. It was the diner where Luke and his Lorelai met for the first time. Stars Hollow has lost an amazing man."

It was too much for Lorelai to watch the casket be lowered into the ground. She broke away from the group and ran off by herself. Hidden in an outcropping of trees, Lorelai fell to the grass sobbing. She couldn't do it. She couldn't watch the only person in her life that meant anything to her at all be put to rest. She had planned on them going out together like in The Notebook so neither one of them would have to deal with this pain. But fate never had been kind to Lorelai Gilmore. Fate had a way of messing things up for her on so many occasions.

A cool breeze caused Lorelai to look up. Standing in front of her was Luke. He was wearing her favorite blue flannel shirt, his faded jeans and the blue baseball cap she had given him so many years ago. She picked herself off the ground and ran to him. She was half afraid that she was seeing things and she would run right through him. But his warm, safe, stong arms caught her and held her close to him. She cried into his shoulder and he just held her and rubbed her back, like he had so many times before.

"What's with the tears? You're stronger than this," Luke whispered into her ear.

"Luke, I'm nothing without you here with me," Lorleai cried.

"That's not true and you know it," Luke said holding her out from him. "Lorelai Victoria Gilmore Danes, you are an amazing woman. You rasied Rory all by yourself and look how well she turned out. Your other daughter, our daughter was crowned Miss America. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I thank God everyday that you walked into my diner."

"Please don't leave me," Lorelai begged. "Please Luke. I need you with me."

"I'm always with you Lorelai. I'm the sunshine in Audrey's hair, I'm the shadow on the ground. I'm the whisper in the wind, I'm in Matty and Laura's laugh, the sparkle in Jeffy and Haylee's eyes, I'm the smartass comments from Jess, the words in Rory's booksand I'll be there till the end. I love you Lorelai."

He brought her closer to him and kissed her gently. He wapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. "I will always be with you, Crazy Lady. Always. I love you."

With that he began to walk away his image vanishing before Lorelai's eyes. She thought about all the things he had said. She would be fine. The best medicine would be time.

They say time heals all wounds, but for Audrey a month had passed since her father's death and nothing felt right. It was wrong to have Caesar running the diner. It was wrong that her mother made her own coffee in the morning. It was wrong that she was here and he was not. With the prom only a week away there was little hope that she would attend. Tarah, Camille, Ryan and even the silent sulky Hunter tried to lift her spirits. Nothing was working though. Audrey packed away all her baseball stuff and soon began packing away her pageant things.

Nothing mattered to Audrey anymore now that her father was gone. The once vibrant girl that outshone so many at Chilton had resorted to a quiet, barely readable, sad girl. She recieved her college acceptance letters; Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Sarah Lawerence. They sat unopened on her desk. She couldn't pick one. That was reserved for her and Luke to do together. They were going to crunch the numbers and see which one was going to be the most beneficial to her life.

Monday, six days before prom Ryan pulled Audrey away from Tarah and Hannah. He had tried to be supportive of her, but her complete change she had made without her father had taken a toll on him. He had talked to Jess, hoping that he had an answer for him. A way that would bring back the Audrey he had fallen in love with.

"Ryan, I can't make Audrey go back to the way she was," Jess had told him. "Audrey and Luke were very close. Closer than anyone else had ever been to my uncle, except for Lorelai. Without Luke in her life, I don't think Audrey will ever be the same again."

So Monday afternoon at lunch Ryan pulled her aside. They walked into the hallway.

"Audrey, I know you don't feel like it, but I don't think your dad would want you to be pulling away from everyone like this. Please Audi, go to prom with me."

"For what purpose? What good is it going to do? Dad still won't be here to see me in the dress or wait up for me to get home. Ryan nothing matters anymore. Not without him."

"Audrey, please. Your dad would want you to enjoy the last bits of your high school career. Please Audi. Do it for your dad and for yourself."

Audrey looked up into Ryan's eyes. He had a point. Luke wouldn't want her living in a box just because he wasn't there with her anymore. "Fine. I'll go."

Audrey went home to find her house in shambles. She had only seen it this way once and it was when her parents had seperated because of Max. Instead of fist holes in the walls, they were just bare, void of anything that used to hang there. Her parents' wedding photo was missing from over the fireplace, all pictures of Luke were gone packed in boxes. Things that once were so prominent in the Danes house were being packed away by a greiving woman. 19 years with a person would do that to you. Audrey instictivly reached for the phone to call her sister. Besides her father there was only one person that Lorelai would pretend to listen to.

"Rory? It's Audi. Can you come over? Mom's in bad shape. She's taken down everything that was connected to Daddy," Audrey explained to her sister. "I'm afraid of what she'll do next."

"I'm coming Audi. Make sure Mom doesn't hurt herself."

Audrey hangs up the phone and finds her mother sobbing on her bed, her face buried in Luke's pillow. She was wearing one of Luke's flannel shirts. Audrey crosses to her mother, climbing into bed with her, rubbing her back. Audrey knew that her mother was hurting even more than she was and there was nothing she could do to take away her mother's pain. In order to do that she'd have figure out a way to bring her father back from the dead. And that she can't do.

Rory was there in record time. Audrey quietly backed out and let the Lorelais talk.

"Mom, you can't do this to yourself," Rory said. "Mom try to sit up."

"He's gone Rory. Luke is gone," Lorelai sobbed. "I miss him so much."

"I know you do, Mom. But you have to think about Audrey. This episode really scared her Mom. You need to talk to her. Tell her that even though Dad is gone she can still go on with her life. Mom have you even talked to her about Dad's death? IF you haven't you NEED to."

"I know. But Rory it's so hard."

"Mom Audrey won't choose a college. She and Dad were going to make the Pro-Con lists together. Maybe that can be a start. You have to do something Mom. And put Dad's pictures back up. The house looks so bare without them."

"One thing at a time Rory," Lorelai said, sitting up. "It's going to be hard but if we all stick close I really think we can get through this."

"That's the spirit Mom. Together the Danes-Gilmore Girls can do anything."

Rory stuck her hands out to her mother and pulled her out of the bed. They walked together to the door and opened to find the youngest Gilmore girl waiting. The three embraced in a tight hug unaware that the man the glued them all together was in the embrace with them. Once she knew that her mother and sister would be all right Rory retreated to the home given to her by her father.

Lorelai and Audrey went back down to the living room and began the painful process of putting the photographs back on the walls. There were photos from Little League, camping, pageants. So many memories. So many happy times. Once all the displaced pictures were back where they belonged Lorelai and Audrey went to the kitchen table.

"Audi, go get your acceptance letters," Lorelai said quietly. "Let's make those lists."

"Mom we don't have to make the lists now," Audrey said. "We can wait a little while longer."

"Come on Audi, I know I'm not your dad but I have had a little experience in picking a college," Lorelai argued. "I'll make popcorn."

"Add the spray cheese and caramel dip and you've got a deal," Audrey teased going to her room. She returned carrying the envelopes from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Sara Lawerence, and UConn.

"I didn't know you applied to UConn," Lorelai said.

"Safety school," Audrey commented, going to the Lorelai pantry and pulling out the nacho spray cheese and the caramel dip. "Is this how you and Rory decided between Harvard, Princeton and Yale?"

"Yeah except no one believed in the power of the Pro-Con list," Lorelai said popping the popcorn bag into the microwave. "Not even your dad. You see when Rory was a kid all she talked about was going to Harvard. When she got the acceptance letters everyone kept telling her that no matter what the lists said the choice would be Harvard. But once we were done Yale turned out to be the best choice."

"What's your point Mom?" Audrey asked, sucking on a spoon of caramel.

"All your life you've wanted to go to Yale. I want you to think about this long and hard. Don't pick a school because it's what I would want for you or even what your dad would have wanted. I want you to pick the one that is right for you and you only. I dont care where Ryan or Camille or Tarah are going. I only care about where you want to go."

"I know Mom."

A few hours, four cans of frosting, three bags of popcorn, two pots of coffe and one frozen Luke coffee cake later they had made good progress on the lists. UConn was out and Princeton was hanging on by a small thread. Harvard, Yale and Sara were pretty close. It was well after midnight when they finally called it quits for the night.

"Mom," Audrey said before going into her room.

"Yeah sweets?"

"Thank you."

"No problem kid."

"I'm going to prom with Ryan this weekend. I think I'm going to wear the Napolenic dress I wore for the Miss Connecticut pageant."

"Audi, I could make you a new dress if you want," Lorelai said.

"I like that one and only wore it that one time and I would really like to wear it again."

"Ok kiddo," Lorelai sighed. "I'll see you in the morning."

The rest of the week came and went quickly. Soon it was Saturday the night for Chilton and Stars Hollow's proms. Audrey figured out a way she could go to both. All she and Camille could talk about since they were in first grade was going to prom together. Audrey and Ryan would make an appearance at Chilton's get their pictures taken with Tarah and her new guy Kent Howards, James and Hannah. Dance one or two songs then they were going to duck out and go back to the Hollow and finish off the night with Camille and Hunter. Fate, however had a different idea.

Once arriving at the Chilton prom site Audrey could feel that something was very, very wrong. She could just sense that something bad was going to happen. Walking into the gym she saw him first. On the arm of some stupid girl who didn't know who he was and what he could do. Audrey gripped Ryan's arm in fear.

"What is it baby?" Ryan asked, prying Audrey's fingers from his arm.

"Ricky," Audrey whispered. "Over there with Haylee James."

Ryan understood her fear. There was still a standing threat to Audrey from Ricky and Harris. Ryan led her to the side of the room. Hopefully Ricky hadn't seen her. There was nothing that Ryan wouldn't do to keep Audrey safe from Ricky Van Warner. Ryan signaled to James and Kent and pointed towards where Ricky was standing, his arm draped over Haylee's shoulder.

"Baby stay here, stay out of sight, I don't know why he's here but James, Kent and I will take care of it," Ryan whispered. "I'll be right back."

Unbeknownst to both Ryan and Audrey Ricky had seen them move off to the corner. He whispered something into Haylee's ear and walked away. He circled the room and came up behind Audrey. He put his arm around her waist and spun her around. Audrey looked eye to eye in the face of her most feared enemy.

"Well, well if it isn't Miss America, here to grace us with her presence," Ricky rasped into her ear. "Let's take a walk."

Ricky gripped her arm as he led Audrey from the ballroom and into the hallway. He pushed her into the wall and held her there tightly.

"Let go of me Ricky!" she cried.

"Shut up!" Ricky said bringing his hand across her face. "I got something to discuss with you. You see Miss America, you stole my life and now I'm going to take yours. Because of you I have a record, because of you I can't have a normal life. Because of you I spent time in jail."

Ricky raised his hand to strike her again when Ryan, James and Kent came into the hallway. Ryan flew at Ricky tackling him into the ground. Audrey ran into James' arms letting the tears she had been holding in pour out. Ryan pulls Ricky to his feet and pushes him against the wall. Soon more people join in the hallway. Hannah, Tarah and Haylee and a myraid of others.

"Get off me Turner!" Ricky yelled.

"What the hell is wrong with you Ryan?" Haylee asked.

"Tell her Ricky," Ryan said pushing off of him. "Tell her where you've been all this year and why you were there."

"Mind your own business Turner," Ricky snapped. "Let's go Haylee. Oh and Miss America, I'm never fully gone."

Ricky wraps his arm around Haylee's waist and leads her away. James, Hannah, Kent and Tarah watch them walk away. They all know what Ricky is capable of and they all fear for Haylee James. Inside the ballroom a slow song began.

I am here to tell you we can never meet again
Simple really, isn't it, a word or two and then
A lifetime of not knowing where or how or why or when
You think of me, or speak of me, or wonder what befell
The someone you once loved so long ago, so well
Never wonder what I'll feel as living shuffles by
You don't have to ask me and I need not reply
Every moment of my life from now until I die
I will think or dream of you and fail to understand
How a perfect love can be confounded out of hand

Ryan led her out to the middle of the floor and twirled her into his arms. He held her close to him as the song played. Like so many of the other functions that Audrey had drug Ryan to that year this by far had to be the best.

Is it written in the stars
Are we paying for some crime
Is that all that we are good for
Just a stretch of mortal time
Is this God's experiment
In which we have no say
In which we're given paradise
But only for a day

Along the wall, looking very angry and vengeful was Ricky. He wanted to hurt Audrey and Ryan for the crap they had put him through this past year. If Audrey hadn't stuck her nose where it didn't belong he wouldn't have been put in jail and he wouldn't have a record. All the girlsin Hartford that he had tried to date after he got out last winter were a part of Audrey's stupid campagin Debutantes AgasintDomestic Violence andSexual Crimes. They all knewwhohe was and what he had done to her and to Tarah. Miss America, Audrey Danes needed to be taught to mind her own shit and stay the hell out of everyone elses lives.

Nothing can be altered, oh, there is nothing to decide
No escape, no change of heart, no any place to hide
You are all I'll ever want but this I am denyin'
Sometimes in my darkest thoughts I wish I never learned
What it is to be in love and have that love returned

"You know," Audrey started, "aside from Ricky showing up, this is the nicest moment I've had since my dad died."

She stopped dancing and stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently. "I love you Ryan."

"I know you do Audi," Ryan answered, kissing her back.

The chours of the song played one more time and then some junk rap stuff came on and Audrey and Ryan cleared the floor. They had already gotten their pictures taken with Tarah, Kent, James and Hannah and they had their dance, they could leave and crash Stars Hollow's prom.

"I'll go get my car and I'll meet you out front," Ryan said, kissing her cheek.

"Ry, what about Ricky?" Audrey said still fearful.

"I'll just be a second," Ryan said. "You'll be fine."

They walk out together and Audrey wrapped her shawl around her tighter. It was too quiet outside. The parking lot was too far from the ballroom to hear the music. This was the kind of situation she had warned other girls about in her speeches around the country. Maybe it was just the cold night airbut sometthing chiller her to the bone It was then that she tunred arround and faced Ricky.

"What do you want Ricky?" Audrey questioned.

"I just want to talk Miss America," Ricky said calmly. "I know you don't like me and you know that I don't like you. You talk too much for your own good. You stick your pretty little nose where it doesn't belong. You turn friends against each other with your twisting of the truth."

"I saw what you did to Tarah with my own two eyes," Audrey snapped. "I did what any concerned friend would have done."

"Shut up! When you speak you just dig yourself into a deeper hole," Ricky snapped. "Just shut up!"

Ricky advanced on her rasing his hands at her. He brought his hand across her cheek again, harder this time. "You stole a year of my life you bitch!" Over and over Ricky beat on Audrey. "You think it makes you a good person?"

Ricky grabbed her wrists and pushed her into the pillar. She could in the places where Harris had bruised her ribs last summer beginning to throb. Once again she was all alone and not big enough to get away from Ricky. All she could hope for was the Ryan would be back with the car soon.

"Ricky please stop," Audrey cries.

"Shut up Miss America! No one cares about what you have to say. You're just a stupid little girl!"

"That's enough Ricky," a voice behind them said. "Let her go."

"James!" Audrey exclaimed. She shoves Ricky aside and runs to James. James pushes her behind him and stares Ricky dead in the eye.

"Where do you come off doing something like this?" James yelled. "I am a member of DADVSC and I will not allow you to harm this girl anymore."

Audrey grabbed James' arm and held him back. "Jay you hit him, you're no better than he is."

Ryan's car pulled up and Audrey ran for it. James stared at Ricky and watched Audrey get into the car. He could see that Audrey was trying to calm him down. The Cooper then drove off and was soon out of sight. James gave one last push to Ricky and then went back inside the ballroom with Hannah, Tarah and Kent.

"I could kill Ricky!" Ryan yelled in frustration. He beat the steering wheel venting his anger at the situation he had put Audrey in. "i'm so sorry baby. I should have just let you walk to the car with me. I am so stupid."

"Ryan, I just want to forget it happened," Audrey said looking out the window. She flips down the mirror and checks her reflection. "How bad is my face? I don't want my picture taken with Camille and Hunter looking a mess."

"Your cheek is a little red but other than that you look fine Audrey," Ryan reassured, pulling onto the freeway. "Audi, don't listen to a word that Ricky said. You are an amazing girl and I am damn proud to have you in my life."

Ryan reaches over and squeezes Audrey's hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed it lightly. "I love you Audrey."

He held onto her hand until they got into town. "Do you want to stop at the diner for some coffee before we crash the prom?"

"It's not the same without Daddy there," Audrey said quietly. "It's just not the same."

A/N: This has to be the longest chapter I have ever written. Now I beg of you please no tar and feathers for this chapter. If it makes you feel better I didn't like killing Luke or not letting Lorelai say goodbye. One more chapter and this story is done. I hope you all enjoyed it!

Who's with me on the assination attempt on Amy and Dan? This is going to be a long freaking summer! My thoughts: it's all a dream. She'll wake up at Sookie's and realize it was all a dream and go running to Luke. Off-topic-Smallville? Oh my God! I saw the Clark/Chloe kiss coming. Also another long summer of waiting and hoping for something good.

The pretty purple button is calling you!