Disclaimer: ASP and the WB
Author's note: As always I want to thank all those of you, who reviewed! You are the best and you're the ones keeping me going!
Dedication: For lilienprinzessin again, who else? Thanks for all the great advice and the critique, which is always justified!
Family Ties
When Rory returned to the hospital the next morning, she felt refreshed, but not exactly better.
She hadn't wanted to drive to her grandparent's house the night before, but there hadn't been any other options for her. Driving back to Stars Hollow with all the snow and the ice had been out of question, and Luke had already occupied the chair besides her mother's bed. When she had arrived at her grandparent's house she had spent an hour wandering through the large and empty house. She had looked at the picture frames and noticed that she had never done it before. The pictures were different to the ones in her mother's house. These pictures were taken by professionals. The people on them looked either serious or they smiled such broad smiles that Rory instantly noticed they were fake.
There was nothing spontaneous or heartfelt about those pictures. Rory had just put the last picture frame back to the mantelpiece, when something caught her eyes. She pushed the other frames aside and was surprised to find another one, hidden in the back. She wasn't able to see the picture as it lay facedown on the mantelpiece. She carefully picked it up, and the picture she saw made her smile softly.
Rory instantly noticed that it had to be an old picture. The colours had lost their intensity, but the motive was touching.
There was her mother, not older than two or three years old. She was sitting on her father's shoulders, squealing with joy. Richard held his daughter firmly in place, smiling up to her, his pride evident in his eyes. Emily stood next to him, her arm gently wrapped around Richard's waist, smiling at her daughter and husband.
The picture was obviously taken without anyone of them noticing it. They looked so free, so unconcerned, and so very happy.
Rory studied the picture for a long time, and wondered what had happened to destroy this perfect picture. It didn't take her long to find the answer. The time she had spent living at her grandparent's house had made many things understandable, which her mother had told her about. The coldness Emily could show when something didn't work out the way she wanted it to. The disappointment and anger in her grandmother's eyes when Rory had disagreed with her. Rory had felt pushed into a corner, and the only solution she had seen had been the one her mother had chosen years ago. She ran.
But looking at the photograph made Rory remember other things as well. The pride and love in her grandmother's eyes, when she had graduated from Chilton. Her caring voice after Rory had run away from her mother. The panic in her grandmother's eyes when she had found her unconscious husband on the floor at her Christmas party.
Rory put the picture back and went to bed in her own private room, which was still decorated with the N'Sync posters and the Hello Kitty cushions. She noticed that there were fresh sunflowers in her room, and she felt all her guilt returning. She had lain awake in her bed for a long time, before sleep had come.
Rory entered the hospital slowly, and couldn't help shivering softly when the memories of last night returned. Before she was able to think about it any further, she heard her name being called. She turned around and was surprised to find her mother standing in the hallway. She was completely dressed and the bandage on her head had been replaced by a big plaster. She hurried to her mother, and hugged her tightly. Her mother returned the hug.
"Mum, I thought you were supposed to be released around noon," Rory said with some confusion.
"Yeah well, the doctor stopped by early this morning and said I was as good as new, so Luke and I decided to leave early. I was just about to go outside and call you," Lorelai said and smiled at her only daughter.
"Where is Luke by the way?" Rory asked and looked around.
"He went to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions. I am supposed to take it easy for another day or two. He's going to be back soon, and I wanted to go and see my mother before we left," Lorelai said and studied her daughter carefully. She knew that Rory was afraid of seeing her grandmother again, but Lorelai also knew that it had to happen.
"Uhm, okay, you go. I'll call Logan and tell him to excuse me at Yale. I completely forgot about him last night," Rory said quickly, and turned around. Her mother was faster though, and held her back.
"Okay, Rory. I know what you are trying to do, and I am afraid it's not going to work. You should go and see your grandmother now. Rory you can't ignore her forever. I know that, because I tried," Lorelai said and winked at her daughter with a broad grin on her face.
"Mum, I can't… not now. I am not prepared," Rory stuttered, and tried to get away from her mother.
"There are things you better do unprepared. I'll even buy you a nice large chocolate cake afterwards," Lorelai said, and intensified her grip on her daughter's arm. Bribing her had always worked when she had been younger.
"Mum, I am not five anymore, and I never got that pony you promised me after I had agreed to try and ride a two wheeler and fell flat on my face three times," Rory said, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Lorelai didn't reply to that. She simply put an arm around her daughter's shoulder and pushed her towards the elevators.
Lorelai had helped Rory into her green robe, and now put her arm around her daughter's shoulder again.
"Come on braveheart. Time for the battle," Lorelai said quietly and then opened the door. Her mother was awake and talking to her husband, who was sitting besides her. Both looked up when they saw the door open. Emily's face lit up when she saw her daughter, but her face became serious again, when she noticed the second visitor.
"Look who's here," Lorelai exclaimed and tried to sound extra cheerful to break the ice.
Rory stood next to her mother and couldn't remember the last time she had felt that uncomfortable. All eyes seemed to be resting on her and she lowered her eyes in order to avoid the stares.
"Uhm Dad, I found this amazing coffee machine outside. Maybe you'd like…," Lorelai was nodding into the direction of the door, while talking to her father.
It took Richard a moment to get the hint, but when he did, he quickly got up.
"Yes, a coffee would be wonderful," he said eagerly. He squeezed his wife's hand gently before he hurried to the door.
Rory stared hard at Lorelai. She couldn't believe that her mother had just done that. Lorelai smiled at her daughter encouragingly before she followed her father outside.
It seemed like an eternity to Rory till her grandmother finally addressed her.
"Don't you want to sit down?" Emily asked and tried to sound kind and friendly.
Rory looked up to take a closer look at her grandmother. She noticed the machines around her grandmother's bed and the tired look on her grandmother's face.
"Uh no, standing is just fine," Rory said quietly, and lowered her eyes again. After another moment of silence Rory had finally mustered the courage to look up again.
"How are you?" She asked and knew that it wasn't the most original thing to say. She still needed to know. The happenings of last night had made many things clear for Rory. She couldn't take her grandmother and her mother for granted. Even though they were still young, accidents could happen all the time. She had been terribly afraid that she wouldn't get the chance to talk to her grandmother again and apologize.
"I will be fine," Emily said and fell silent again. She wasn't willed to make it any easier for her granddaughter.
"Grandma, look," Rory began, but stopped again. She silently cursed herself. She had written hundreds of papers in which she had proven her ability to form complete sentences and state her opinion, but right now she felt unable to find a way to express her feelings.
"I am here to apologize," Rory finally said. She looked at her grandmother, and was relieved when her grandmother simply nodded and even smiled at her.
"I shouldn't have the left the way I did," Rory explained quietly and Emily noticed that she didn't apologize for leaving, but simply for the way had done it. She kept quiet though and waited for her granddaughter to continue.
"I know that it was a very ungrateful thing to do, and I whish I had left you a note. It wasn't right of me," Rory said.
"No it wasn't," Emily said and instantly whished she had sounded less annoyed.
"It wouldn't have worked, Grandma, and you know it. You tried to control my life, and that wasn't what I wanted," Rory said and her voice took a defensive tone. She felt pushed into a corner again.
"I didn't try to control you, Rory. I simply did what I thought was best for you," Emily explained.
"I know, but you had no right to do that. It is my life and I know what is good for me and what is not," Rory said with a firm voice. Emily had to smile sadly at that. She had heard all of this before twenty years ago. Lorelai had stood in front of her like Rory did now.
"You sound just like your mother, you know? Whatever you think about yourself right now Rory, you're not grown up yet. You've proven that during the last year. You can consider yourself lucky that you had your mother and your grandfather, who helped you through this," Emily said and fixed her granddaughter with her eyes. Rory stared back at her with hard eyes. She had wanted to apologize, but it seemed as if her grandmother had no interest in making peace with her.
"The truth hurts, doesn't it?" Emily asked in an understanding voice. She smiled as she saw her granddaughter staring at her with angry eyes.
"I do admit that it was partly my fault, though," Emily said when she realized that her granddaughter wasn't going to say anything.
Rory listened closer again at that one. This was probably the first time her grandmother had ever admitted a mistake.
"I wanted to prove that I could be a good mother, and in that way get back at your mother. I wanted to show that I was able to take care of a child, and that I was able to do it the right way. When I noticed that it didn't work I might have overreacted a bit," Emily admitted, even though it wasn't easy for her. She had always lacked the ability to apologize, but had never managed to change it. Her pride had always gotten in the way.
Rory didn't know what to say. Her grandmother's words rang in her ears, and she couldn't stop thinking about them. She really hadn't behaved like a very mature person during the last year and even though she didn't like to admit it, she owed her grandmother a lot.
"I still shouldn't have left that way, and I am sorry. I should have called and I had no right to talk to you the way I did," Rory offered quietly. Emily knew that this was her granddaughter's way of agreeing with what she had said earlier.
"Apology accepted," Emily said and smiled at her granddaughter. She was glad when Rory returned the smile.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Richard asked sceptically and looked at his daughter. Lorelai was staring at the plastic coffee cup in her hands. This was the worst coffee she had ever drunken.
"I am sure. They both want it," Lorelai said and smiled at her father. "And if Rory doesn't return in the next ten minutes you may go and check on them," she said and had to smile as she saw her father looking caught. She studied his face for another second, and then put a hand on her father's.
"I know I am sounding like a never ending CD, but you should really go home and sleep, Dad," she urged her father and allowed some of her concern to show in her voice.
"I will, Lorelai. The doctor said that your mother will be transferred to another ward later, and I want to wait till she got her new room. I just want to make sure everything is alright," Richard said and smiled back at his daughter.
"Yes, sure, and then you have to make sure she eats and that she sleeps at night and in the end you won't go home at all. Now I know that sharing a hospital room may sound terribly romantic, but I'd prefer you to stay out of hospital yourself," Lorelai explained quietly.
"Don't worry about me, Lorelai. I am fine, and I promise I will drive home today and spend the night in my own comfortable bed," Richard said and patted his daughter's hand.
"Good boy." Lorelai chuckled softly.
At that moment she saw Rory walking towards them. Rory was smiling at her mother and grandfather.
"How did it go, kid?" Lorelai asked carefully.
"It was good," Rory simply stated and Lorelai didn't ask any further. She knew that Rory would tell her if she wanted to.
"Grandma said she wanted to take a short nap before they'll bring her to her new room," Rory went on to explain.
"Yes, well, I'll go and ask the nurse whether there is anything left to sign or organize," Richard said and got up. He hugged Rory to himself and threw one last smile at Lorelai, before he left.
"You owe me one!" Rory growled at her mother, but Lorelai knew that secretly her daughter was grateful that she had intervened.
"I know you love Mommy," Lorelai said with a broad grin and together they went to find Luke.
When Luke pulled into her driveway, Lorelai instantly noticed the huge banner hanging over her door. It said "Wellcom home Lorelai" and was obviously done by Davey and Martha, because of the spelling and because there were tiny baby hands printed all over the banner with red colour. Lorelai could vividly imagine what the two children had looked like afterwards.
Lorelai waited till Luke opened the door for her and offered her his arm. Even though she was feeling as good as ever, she enjoyed his attention.
As soon as they had entered the house, Lorelai heard Sookie's squeal of joy. "They're here."
Lorelai jumped behind Luke's back when Babette and Ms. Patty came hurrying towards her.
"Don't let them get me," Lorelai whispered, as she hid behind Luke.
"Luke, get out of the way or we'll hug you, too," Ms. Patty roared, and watched with quite some satisfaction how Luke jumped out of the way. The last thing he saw of Lorelai was her pointing her tongue at him before she disappeared between Ms. Patty's and Babette's voluminous bodies.
"Okay enough you two. Others want to hug her, too," Sookie ordered and as soon as Lorelai appeared again, she drew her into a hug.
"Oh it's so good to have you back," Sookie said and hugged Lorelai even tighter.
"Sookie, it's only been a day!" Lorelai said and couldn't help laughing.
"Yes, but we were worried," Sookie stated and led Lorelai over to the buffet that was build up on the side of her living room. She handed Lorelai a cup of coffee and soon everyone had gathered around them to listen to Lorelai telling the story of her accident.
After the first euphoria had died down, everyone started to mingle.
"Mum?" Rory asked and waited patiently until Lorelai had stopped talking to Lulu and turned her attention to her daughter.
"Yes hon?" Lorelai asked and stared at the small package in Rory's hands.
"I've got something for you," Rory grinned at her mother and showed her the little item.
"A Hello Kitty plaster!" Lorelai squealed, and then bent down to make it easier for Rory to stick it to her forehead.
"I'll just put it over the big one you got in hospital, because I don't think we're allowed to take it off," Rory explained and then put the plaster on her mother's forehead gently.
With a broad grin she exclaimed: "Perfect!"
Lorelai smiled at her daughter and then pulled her into a hug.
"Are you sure everything is alright?" Lorelai asked softly and was glad when her daughter nodded.
"Yes, everything's alright," Rory said and for the first time in the last weeks she felt really good about her life. Even though she knew that her relationship with her grandmother had only just started to heal, she knew they were on the right track. They had even hugged before Rory had left.
"May I borrow her for a while?" Luke asked. He had walked up to them and was now looking at the two women in front of him.
"Sure, take her. I've got to talk to Lane anyway," Rory answered Luke's question and winked at her mother.
"Well stranger, do you want to kidnap me?" Lorelai asked and smiled at Luke flirtatiously.
"Yes, I do. Care to take a walk?" Luke asked and Lorelai noticed that he looked uncomfortable. She put her hand in his and then pulled him outside.
They walked out onto the patio and sat down on the bench. Lorelai pulled her coat around herself and waited for Luke to say whatever he wanted to say.
"Lorelai, I think we should talk about us," Luke began carefully and Lorelai felt a knot building in her stomach.
"You're not trying to break up with me, are you?" She asked fearfully.
"What? No! No, I am not," Luke was quick to explain and was relived when he saw Lorelai's body relaxing.
"I just wanted to explain why I agreed to postpone the wedding," Luke said and waited for a reaction from Lorelai. When she nodded, he continued: "You know that the news of April's existence has been quite some shock for me. I didn't know what to think or do. I never wanted children until… until I had met you. You've asked me once whether I wanted children and I told you that yes, with the right woman I could imagine having children. That woman was and still is you."
Lorelai felt her eyes tearing up at this, but she kept quiet and continued to listen to Luke.
"And then there was this day that April walked into my diner, and it changed everything. I have a daughter. You have a daughter, too, and you know that I love Rory more than anything, but this is different. I felt like I should put April on top of everything. I haven't seen her growing up like you have seen Rory growing up. Even I have seen Rory growing up and becoming the incredible woman she is today. I just felt like it would be my duty to experience the same thing with April. I don't want to be like Christopher. I want to be a good father and I want my daughter to love me," he looked at Lorelai helplessly, and she put her hand on his hand and squeezed it gently.
"I just thought that I couldn't do both things at a time. Building up a life for me and you and getting to know my daughter. You know, I've never been good at multitasking. I didn't want to risk ruining one of those things, because they are both so very important to me. When you suggested postponing our wedding, I thought it was the perfect solution. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just didn't know what else to do," he finished his speech and looked at Lorelai expectantly.
"I understand Luke, that's why I suggested it in the first place. It still hurt though. I was looking forward to marrying you. This was what I've been waiting for, it felt right for the first time. It just hurt to think that we'd have to wait even more. It hurt to think that there was a part of your life that I wasn't part of. You've known Rory since she's been a small child, you know every person in my family, but I don't know the one person that is so important to you. I know that this isn't you fault and that you need time to get to know her, too, but it's still hard. I guess I was a little jealous as well," Lorelai carefully smiled at Luke, and hoped he understood what she was trying to tell him. He had nodded all through her rambling, and now took her hand in his.
"There's no need to be jealous. You will get to know her. I promise you will get to know her and I hope you'll get along, but I don't really doubt that. You're so great with kids. She could be our flower girl, you know," Luke said and smiled at his fiancé.
"That would be lovely. I could go shopping with her and find a dress for her," Lorelai said eagerly.
"Sure, if she wants to and if Anna agrees. Oh, I've been meaning to ask you, do you like June?" Luke asked and grinned sheepishly when he saw Lorelai's puzzled face.
"Yes, June is a fine month… very sunny," Lorelai said and still didn't know what to think of Luke's question.
"That's good, because I asked Reverend Skinner and there happens to be quite a good chance we could get married in June," Luke said and looked at Lorelai expectantly.
Lorelai stared at him for a few minutes, not sure what to say.
"Are you? When? How? We can't plan a wedding in three months," Lorelai finally exclaimed.
"You planned the whole wedding in one day, so why shouldn't we manage to do it in three months? Sookie will do the food, we can marry at the Inn, and from what Rory told me you already found the perfect dress," he said and smiled at her. Lorelai thought about his words and then threw her arms around him.
"A wedding in June is just perfect! When did you organize all this?" She asked and couldn't believe her luck.
"Last night when you were sleeping," he explained and was glad that she liked the idea.
"Well diner boy, good job," She said and grinned at him.
"I've had some help with realizing what I'd done wrong," Luke said and had to think back to Richard.
"Thank that person, will you?" Lorelai said and then pulled Luke closer to her. They kissed lightly at first, but the kiss soon intensified.
"That's the best second birthday present I ever got," she said after they had broken the kiss and smiled at him tenderly. He returned her smile, and then pointed to the window behind them.
"You'll have to clean that," he remarked dryly and then quickly joined Lorelai's laughter. Kirk's face was pressed against the window as Ms. Patty, Babette, Sookie, Rory and the others were pushing from behind to catch a glimpse of Lorelai and Luke. Ms. Patty was handing tissues around and Kirk put up his thumb.
"Looks like you've done a good job, Danes," Lorelai said between her laughter. She accepted Luke's hand and together they walked back into the house.
So, that's it for today. For all those of you, who fear that this is going to turn into story that is only focused on LL: There will be a lot of E/R in the next chapter, I promise.
And now, you know the deal: Make me happy and leave a review ;)