Disclaimer: ASP and the WB.. yaddada yaddada.

Author's note: I am soooo sorry! I am a bad girl, I know. Each semester I tell myself: This semester you are going to do your stuff right away and each semester I end up spending the last three weeks of semester with constant studying and less than six hours of sleep each night. I guess it's my fault… I promise I'll update more frequently again now.

Anyways, thank you soooo much for your reviews. I love you guys! I am sorry I didn't reply to all of them, but I'll do it again this time. I promise.

As always this chapter is dedicated to lilienprinzessin, who is the best Beta ever and very understanding, too. It is also dedicated toxxAllyxxand Riska, who are very faithful and amazing reviewers!

And now I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter!

Breakthrough

Richard carefully walked into his daughter's room in case she was sleeping. He instantly spotted Lorelai in her bed. She was watching television, but when she saw her father, she turned it off and sat up in her bed.

"Hey Dad."

Richard smiled at his daughter as he sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"How are you Lorelai?" He asked while looking at his daughter's bandaged head.

"Better than you, I'd say," Lorelai answered, smiling at her father sympathetically.

"I am fine, Lorelai," He replied and tried to smile convincingly.

"How often did you say that today?" Lorelai questioned him. She knew her father and wasn't fooled by his attempt.

"About one hundred and twenty two times I think," Richard chuckled softly.

"I thought so. Have you eaten anything?" She looked at her father's tired and pale face.

"No, I am not hungry," Richard sighed heavily.

Lorelai didn't know what to do. She wanted to tell her father that her mother was going to be fine, but she suspected that he had heard that too often today. She gently put a hand on top of her fathers', and was glad when he didn't pull back.

"I am sure the surgery will be over soon."

"Yes…. . I am just glad that you are alright. Your mother would never have gotten over it if something had happened to you." Lorelai was touched by her father's words.

They fell silent for a few minutes until Richard suddenly put his face in his hands. Lorelai wasn't sure whether or not he was crying, and she didn't know what she was supposed to do now. She wasn't used to witness her father showing emotions. He had always been the proud and strong one. After hesitating for a second, she put a hand on her father's arm and patted it.

"Dad, I know everyone is saying it, but I am sure she is going to be fine. There are so many things you two have left to do, I am sure she doesn't want to miss them," She offered helplessly.

Richard took a deep breath and then looked at his daughter again.

"Do you know that I had to promise her that she would be allowed to go first?" Richard asked with a thick voice.

"Oh Dad, that doesn't mean anything," Lorelai hated to see her father like that. She didn't even want to think about what would happen, if her mother died. Lorelai was surprised to find her own eyes filling with tears. Even though she had known that her mother's condition was serious and the possibility of her death had occurred to her, this was the first time she was really afraid that it could happen. She remembered her father's words, that you only had one set of parents.

"I don't want to lose her," Lorelai finally said and a single tear ran down her cheek. When her father leaned forward and opened his arms for her, Lorelai wasn't sure what to do for a second. She couldn't remember the last time her father had hugged her. It had probably been when she had fallen off her bike at the age of six.

She finally gave into his hug and was surprised to find out that it felt good. She felt strangely protected as she allowed her father to hold her and pat the back of her head.

Luke and Rory sat in the hall quietly. Luke had gotten them two cups of coffee. Even he had felt like he needed one now. He felt ten years older than he had in the morning.

"Are you okay, Luke?"

"Yeah… it's just, I hate this hospital," He answered Rory's question with a sigh.

"Because of your parents?" Rory asked carefully. Even though she had known Luke almost all her life, and he was her mother's fiancé, they had never really talked about personal matters.

"Yes, they both died here," Luke inevitably had to think back to the time. He had been sitting here just like Rory and he did now. He had waited and hoped, and then found out that his father had died. The most important person to him had left him.

"I am sorry," Rory didn't know what else to say.

"It's okay. It's been a long time ago…. but it still hurts sometimes," Luke replied and then smiled shyly at Rory. He wasn't going to tell her what was going on his head. Not in this situation.

Before Rory knew what she did, she put her head on Luke's shoulder.

"I don't want her to die. Not now…. I've been so ungrateful."

Luke put his arm around Rory's shoulder.

"I am sure she is going to be fine, Rory, I really do. Even though it would be more like Emily to die and leave you feeling guilty for the rest of your life," Luke said dryly.

Rory didn't want it to happen, but she still had to laugh.

"Luke, you are evil," she said and dried her eyes.

"I know, but you laughed," he smirked and squeezed her shoulder. He was just about to say some more, when he saw a doctor walking purposefully towards Lorelai's room.

"Rory, I think the surgery is over." He nodded into the direction of the doctor, and was surprised that Rory wasn't jumping up at once. Rory wasn't sure she could take it if her grandmother had died. The waiting had been horrible, but getting the news wasn't easy either.

"Come on, Rory, we'll find out sooner or later anyway." He said and pulled Rory up. Both went to follow the doctor into Lorelai's room.

Richard had gotten up, when the doctor had entered and now stood in front of him with a hopeful look in his eyes. "Do you have news on my wife?"

The doctor smiled at him, but then Luke and Rory entered, and the doctor turned around to look at them.

Luke and Rory moved to stand besides Richard, which left Lorelai in the background complaining about the fact that she wasn't able to see anything.

"Well it looks like the complete family is here," the doctor nodded to all of them. Richard was sure he would kill him if he didn't say something soon.

"I am glad to tell you that the surgery went well. Your wife is stable and started breathing on her own right away. That is always a good sign. She is in the intensive care unit right now, but that is routine after such an operation. I am very positive she will make a full recovery." The doctor smiled as he watched the family's reaction.

It had taken Richard a few seconds to let the meaning of the doctor's words sink in, but when it did, he broke into a broad smile. He hugged a tearful Rory to him as he felt all the pressure of the last hours leaving his body.

Luke had moved and hugged a clearly relieved Lorelai to him.

"Can I see her now?" Richard asked eagerly.

"Of course, I'll have a nurse come and bring you to your wife."

Richard shook the doctor's hand enthusiastically. "Thank you very much."

The doctor simply smiled and then left the room.

Rory was sitting with her mother now and both were smiling brightly. Luke had gotten up again and moved to stand next to Richard.

"I am happy for you, Richard," he offered Richard his hand, but instead of taking it, Richard clapped Luke's back so hard that Luke almost lost his balance.

"Thank you Luke."

The nurse entered and Richard was just about to follow her, when Lorelai held him back.

"Say hi to mum from us," Lorelai smiled a private smile at her father and was glad to see her father smiling back at her.

"I will." With that he turned around and followed the nurse.

After he had slipped into one of those green robes that were compulsory in the intensive care unit he was finally allowed to see his wife.

She was still very pale as she lay there on the huge bed, attached to all kind of machines, but the doctor's words made the sight bearable.

Richard sat down next to his wife, and gently took her hand in his. He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest as he gently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb.

After a few minutes her eyes began to flutter open, and the first sight she saw was her husband's smiling face.

"How are you, my love?" Emily smiled at him in response and was surprised to find his eyes tearing up. She gently put her hand up to his face and patted his cheek lovingly. Richard took her hand and brought it to his lips. He allowed some of his tears to fall freely, before he wiped them away. "You gave me a really big scare, do you know that? Don't ever do that again!"

Emily nodded quietly. Her chest was hurting, and she was trying to find a position that was comfortable. After she had found a more bearable one, she turned to her husband again.

"How is Lorelai?" She needed to know.

Richard smiled at her reassuringly: "She is fine. A mild concussion, nothing serious. She is allowed to go home tomorrow. And you are going to be fine, too. I am supposed to greet you from Rory, Luke and half of Stars Hollow."

Emily raised her eyebrows questioningly, so Richard told her the story of hers and Lorelai's rescue.

"It looks like I owe a big thank you to Luke, doesn't it?" Emily asked after Richard had finished his story.

He nodded. "He is a fine man. He was very worried about Lorelai. We owe him an apology, too," Emily agreed quietly.

For a short moment both fell silent, before Richard took his wife's hand again: "Emily, I owe you an apology as well, but I want to do it properly, not like this," Emily studied her husband's tired face for a few moments, before she started to pat his hand softly.

"I love you, Richard"

Richard gently bent down his head. "I love you too, Emily, more than you'll ever know." With that he kissed her gently.

Shortly after they had broken the kiss, Emily started to cough, so Richard helped her drink some water.

"You should get some sleep, dear," he said and gently put an errant strand of hair out of her face. "But before you do, there is one more thing I have to tell you."

Emily eyed him questioningly.

"Emily Gilmore, I hereby break my promise to you. You are not and will never be allowed to go first," Richard said with a serious face.

"One of us has to go first, Richard," she reminded him and smiled at him gently. She knew how he felt.

"Well then if that is the case, we will go together. We'll decide on a date, and then we will…. I don't know jump of some cliffs."

"You are completely crazy, Richard, I hope you know that," Emily smiled as Richard kissed her hand again.

"Sleep now, love."

It didn't take Emily long to follow her husband's order. Richard continued to sit beside her. He didn't let go of her hand again.

When Lorelai woke up again, it took her a moment to realize where she was. Her gaze finally fell on Luke, who had fallen asleep in the chair next to her bed. His head rested on her bed, and his baseball cap had fallen onto the floor.

Lorelai watched him sleep for a few seconds. She had told Rory to go to her grandparent's house and get a few hours of sleep there, but when she had told Luke to do the same thing he had given her the look she always gave him when he proposed that she ate something healthy. The look that said "Only over my dead body… and maybe not even then."

Deep down inside she was glad that he hadn't left. She knew that they were far from having solved their problems, but seeing him here, besides her, made her believe that they could do it.

Lorelai was wide awake and she knew what she wanted to do. She tried to slip out of bed, but woke up Luke in the process. His head jerked up and he tried to focus for a few seconds.

"Lorelai, what are you doing?" He got up to help her out of bed.

"I wanted to get up." She answered and allowed Luke to help her into her dressing gown.

"Lorelai, you are supposed to stay in bed. So unless you want to go to the one place where I really don't want to accompany you to, I suggest you lie back down."

"Luke, come on, I am fine. I want to see my mother." Lorelai pouted at him.

"She's probably sleeping, Lorelai. She's been in a long surgery today." He tried to convince her, but knew he had lost the argument before it had even started.

"Yes, and if that is the case I will come back right away and lie down like a good girl." Luke sighed in defeat and Lorelai chuckled softly.

"Alright, but I'll bring you there." He offered her his arm and she took it with a bright smile on her face.

It had taken Lorelai at least five minutes to convince the nurse in the intensive care unit to allow her to see her mother, but after Luke had suggested the nurse should just let her do it, because that would save all of them a lot of time, the nurse had nodded.

Luke sat down in one of the waiting chairs and watched as Lorelai knocked on the door to her mother's room softly, before she entered.

Lorelai was surprised to find her mother awake. Emily had adjusted her bed so that she was almost sitting in bed. When she saw her daughter entering, she smiled at her, but then put a finger to her lips to motion Lorelai to be quiet.

Lorelai smiled, too when she saw her father in the chair next to her mother's bed. His head had fallen onto his chest and he was snoring softly.

Lorelai took herself the other chair and moved to sit besides her mother's bed.

"Hey Mum, looks like you managed to take it out of dad." Lorelai said quietly, but couldn't manage to keep the laughter out of her voice.

Emily's gaze rested on her husband's sleeping form for a few moments, before she looked back at her daughter.

"I suggested he should go home and get a few hours of sleep there, but he downright refused to even think about it."

"I know what you're talking about." Lorelai laughed quietly and when her mother raised her eyebrow questioningly, went on to explain. "Well you know I think I'll just have to live with Luke as my new shadow from now on. The only place I may go to on my own is the bathroom."

Emily smiled at her daughter. She was surprised to find Lorelai suddenly putting a hand on top of hers.

"Mum, how are you? You had us all worried you know." Lorelai asked as she looked at her mother intently. She looked exhausted.

"To be honest, I have been better. It hurts a little." Emily admitted.

Lorelai instantly got up and walked towards the door.

"Lorelai, where are you going?" Emily asked.

"I am going to get a doctor. They have those nice little blue pills you know and they make all the pain go away." She grinned at her mother.

"Lorelai, get back here. I don't need more medication. The pain isn't that bad. Please come back again."

Lorelai followed her mother's order and sat down again. Emily's gaze rested on her daughter's forehead. She was so glad her daughter had fastened her seatbelt. Emily didn't even want to imagine what could have happened otherwise.

"It doesn't hurt, Mum. I am allowed to go home tomorrow." Lorelai said softly. Emily averted her gaze quickly, feeling caught.

"I am just so glad that you are alright." Emily said quietly. Lorelai took her mother's hand again and gave it a gently squeeze.

Both women enjoyed the moment. Emily couldn't remember the last time she had felt so comfortable around her daughter. The feeling of constant tension between them seemed to have vanished and there was a deep understanding between her and her daughter.

Lorelai silently smiled at her mother. Seeing her in the vulnerable state she was in reminded Lorelai rather violently of the fact that her mother wasn't immortal. Fighting seemed so useless now.

Lorelai watched as her mother's gaze wandered over to her father. She was glad when she saw a soft smile playing on her mother's lips as she watched her sleeping husband.

"How are things between the two of you?" Lorelai asked carefully. She knew she was walking on thin ice again, but she felt like she had to ask her mother again.

"I wish I knew." Emily said honestly and looked at her daughter again with an indescribable look on her face.

"He loves you." Lorelai stated simply. She didn't know what else to say. Her father's face said it all. She had never seen someone looking as exhausted as her father did, even in his sleep.

Emily was about to say some more, but before she could do so, she started coughing again violently. Lorelai instantly jumped up from her chair and hurried to get the glass of water that stood on her mother's bedside table.

She gently helped her mother to drink a little, and was relieved when her mother's coughing seemed to subside.

"Lorelai, what is wrong? Did you have a fight?" Richard had awoken from his wife's coughing. He hurried around Emily's bed and came to stand next to his daughter. The concern for his wife was showing clearly in his face.

"No, Dad. Nothing's wrong. She simply started coughing." Lorelai defended herself. Emily nodded and smiled a tired smile at her husband to assure him she was fine.

"I am sorry, Lorelai. The doctor said that could happen." Richard apologized quietly. He walked around the bed and sat down again. He rubbed his eyes with a deep sigh.

"Dad, you should go home and get some sleep." Lorelai said gently. She turned to her mother for support, but was surprised to find her asleep again.

"Now look at that. She isn't the centre of attention for five minutes and falls asleep right away." Lorelai chuckled.

"It's the sedation. She has been drifting in and out of sleep all evening." Richard explained. He got up and pulled up his wife's blanket a little bit. Lorelai watched him with a wistful look on her face.

"Dad, I am serious, you should get some real sleep," Lorelai urged.

"No Lorelai, I am not going to leave her tonight," Richard said and Lorelai knew it was futile to argue with him. She got up and put a hand on her father's shoulder.

"Okay then. I will go down again. I am surprised that Luke hasn't barged in here and dragged me out already," Lorelai said with a smile. "We will stop by again before we leave tomorrow."

Richard brought up his hand and patted Lorelai's hand for a moment.

Without another word Lorelai left the room to find Luke asleep in one of the waiting chairs. She gently put a hand on his cheek and caressed it for a moment. It didn't take Luke long to wake up again.

"Hey there sleepy head." Lorelai said to him with a tender smile on her lips.

"Was your mother awake?" Luke asked and stretched lazily.

"How long have you been sleeping, Mister?" Lorelai asked and slapped his chest playfully. "Yes she was awake. We talked a little, but she fell asleep again. She's still exhausted from the surgery."

Luke had gotten up and Lorelai put her head on his shoulder. He put an arm around her shoulder and led her down the corridor.

"You are still worried, aren't you?" Luke inquired softly.

"Yes I am. I just hope they'll manage to solve their problems." Lorelai answered softly.

Luke simply tightened his hold on her shoulders. He couldn't quite shake off the feeling that Lorelai wasn't talking about her parents alone.

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