Author's Note: Thanks to dimoreien for taking the time to beta for me. Thanks again for the support. I've never asked for a review or withheld my story in hopes of getting some, so I thank you for taking the time to put down a few comments. I truly appreciate it. So thank you, Babs25, jennatheJesusfreak, Robinpoppins, ShortiLuvsRedSox, scubaluver, BluJPlover, sapphirestar820, Sweet-little-devil-one, LaurenIsMe, Alyssa1120, Javajunkieness, squiddrude, and lemonade113. I'm glad so many of you are willing to go with my crazy little story. I can't tell you what joy it is to write. And don't worry, the story ain't over yet.

jennatheJesusfreak: Thank you for your comments. Gigi is older in this story. It is one of the only changes I've made in regards to Gilmore Girls canon. But I had to since babies don't talk.

She Always Takes Me Back

Chapter 12: Bogged Down

Christopher didn't know what to do. He could barely breathe. He was drowning in dirt. He tried to move his arms, but it was difficult. How had he ended up underground? He could barely think. It was getting harder to breathe, and he was getting tired.

He took every ounce of strength he had, and attempted to move his body. He felt the dirt give. He wasn't buried very deep. He had a chance if he could just hang on for a few more minutes.

Francine stared at the gnomes. One was sleeping under a mushroom. The other was holding a shovel. She thought the tiny, smiling men were so gauche. Only people of the lowest common denominator would have such foul creatures in their yard. The finest yards should be decorated with only flowers and possibly fountains.

"Grandmother Hayden, stop thinking about gardening and start digging," Gigi said, her voice sounding a little deeper than usual.

"Excuse me?"

How did she know my thoughts, Francine said to herself. This child was getting stranger and stranger by the minute. While she looked like a perfectly normal six-year-old, her manner was something else. She had a coldness and a manner of speaking far beyond her years. She was going to be happy to be rid of her.

"I can't touch the little men. You have to do it. Your son needs you. Dig."

Francine sighed in disbelief and picked up the first gnome. She really hated their smug little smiles. She dropped the gnome off the mound, and kicked the second one over with her foot before she stuck her hands into the freshly dug earth. Six years were taken off her life as a hand reached out from below the ground and grabbed hers.

"Christopher, can you hear me?" Francine said as she wiped dirt off of his face.

Gigi grabbed Christopher's hand and shut her eyes. She began to make strange noises in a voice not her own.

Almost immediately, Christopher began coughing and gasping for breath. Then, he passed out again.

"Put him in your car, Grandmother. We have to take him to the hospital."

"Shouldn't we call 911?"

"No, we can't wake the tall man and the cat lady."

Francine sighed and slapped Christopher hard across the face. He immediately came to.

"Dammit, Mom, that hurt," he muttered as he coughed up a little more dirt.

"Can you walk, Christopher. We have to get you to the hospital."

"Get up, Daddy," Gigi said in her sweetest voice. "The sun is coming up, and the man with the spatula will be leaving."

"Christopher, what on earth is she talking about?"

"I don't know, Mother," he said between gasps. "I think I can walk."

Francine, her once clean pantsuit now covered in dirt, helped Christopher get up. She had never seen him like this before. He was bruised, bloodied and limping. The back of his head was oozing blood. What had happened to her beautiful boy?

"I'm glad you're not dead, Daddy," Gigi said. "If you were gone, I couldn't go home."

"What Gigi?" he said.

"I just want to go home," her voice sounding like a little girl for the first time that morning.

Francine put Christopher in the back of her car, secretly praying the dirt wouldn't stain the interior. Christopher gave her directions to the nearest emergency room, but wouldn't say what happened.

"Christopher, we have to call the police. Someone tried to kill you tonight. They have to pay."

"No, mother. It was just a misunderstanding. I don't want the police involved."

"What sort of misunderstanding ends with you buried under gnomes? Really, Christopher, what have you gotten involved in? Is it drugs?

"Oh, mother, really. Just turn left at the next light. The hospital is right there."

It was still dark out when Luke got out of Lorelai's bed for the second time. He had had less than three hours sleep and his body was aching from the lack of sleep and other nocturnal activities. Lorelai was still fast asleep. He considered waking her up again, but he was already late and still needed a shower. He gave Lorelai one last kiss on her cheek before he followed his trail of clothing down the stairs.

Before he walked out, he went back into the kitchen, left a note and grabbed his spatula. Secretly, he thought his missing spatula was another reason his cooking game had been off.

As he left the house, he noticed a pair of tail lights leaving the driveway. If that punk Christopher was still sniffing around, he'd pay with more than just a punch to the face.

The doctor at P.S. Hoffman Memorial Hospital didn't believe Christopher's story for a minute. He said that he fell, hit his head and got trapped in a bog. First, there weren't any bogs in the area. Second, the man had aspirated dirt and grass which seemed to be of the lawn variety.

Since his last visit, he had sustained a concussion, a head wound and a hairline fracture of his skull which would require an overnight stay and a CAT scan. The man was also missing a tooth. Francine and Gigi took up residence in his room since the staff was too scared to tell them to leave.

As he slept, he had horrible dreams which made no sense. Dreams of shovels, gnomes and a black-eyed Gigi saying he would soon have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Lorelai woke up from what she thought was the best dream ever . She dreamt that she and Luke had reconciled and had made love numerous times until they passed out from ecstasy. As she opened her eyes, Lorelai felt soreness throughout her body and realized she was naked. Her bed was in major disrepair. She smiled and remembered it was no dream. Luke had been there, and they had reconciled. Boy, had they reconciled.

Just then, the heavenly aroma of coffee hit her. She pulled on her robe and followed the smell to the kitchen. As she entered, she noticed a note sitting next to the pot in Luke's neat print.

Lorelai

Enjoy the coffee. Pancakes will be waiting for you at the diner. I cleaned your kitchen. It was a mess.

Luke

She smiled and looked around, but was confused about the kitchen. It hadn't been used since they broke up, so she wondered what he had cleaned up. After a few sips of liquid heaven, she opened her front door to get the paper.

While she was used to seeing strange sights in Stars Hollow, she was unprepared for what waited for her outside her door.

Babette didn't sleep very much. She tossed and turned and Morey kept yelling at her to stop. She had never killed anyone before. Murder had never been on her "to-do" list, and if it had, she would have started with Taylor.

As soon as it was light outside, she got up to check on Christopher's grave. She felt bad that Rory's dad would mysteriously disappear, but Rory might not even notice. She had said he was never very good with checking in, and she didn't hear from him for months.

"I'm sorry darlin'," she said to herself. "It's such a shame you had such a shmuck for a dad."

When Babette got to the marked spot, Jasper and Lorenzo had been moved and Christopher's grave was empty. Babette passed out.

Morey opened the back door to see Babette hit the ground.

"Babette," he said as he rushed to her side.

He elevated her head and began fanning her when Lorelai opened her front door.

"Babette, oh my," she said. "Morey, is she all right?"

Babette began to moan before he could answer her.

"Where is he? Oh God, where is he?"

"Who is she talking about?" Lorelai asked.

"Uh, Apricot. He vanished last night, and Babette's been very worried."

"Oh, Lorelai," Babette said as found her bearings again. "I hear you and Luke reconciled last night. Congratulations."

"How did you? Oh, hear. I keep forgetting to shut that window. I hope we didn't keep you up last night."

"No, you didn't," Morey said. "We were busy doing other things last night."

"Well, I better go get dressed as I'm sure gossip about me and Luke is probably already spreading, and I have to save Luke from answering all the questions."

"Okay, Doll, we'll see you later and we're real happy for you."

"Thanks, Babette. I appreciate it. Hey, what happened to the yard? I don't remember this last night."

"Uh--," Babette began before she was interrupted by Morey.

"Kids. Damn kids buried the gnomes last night. I just finished digging them up. I thought when Jess left our gnomes would be left alone, but apparently not."

"Are they okay?"

"Oh, they're fine," he said. "Just a little dirty. That's why Babette's so emotional."

"All righty, then, guys. I'll see you later."

As Lorelai reentered her home, Morey took a look at the ground.

"Where did he go?" Babette asked. "I thought he was dead."

"Well, apparently he wasn't, unless he's turned into a zombie."

"Oh shut it, Morey."

"If he wasn't dead, where did he go?"

"I don't know. I'm more concerned about him coming back, and what he's going to do if he does."

Lorelai loved her first day back at the diner. She ate the best breakfast of her life while she and Luke bantered and kissed and were harassed by the townies. They had even managed to work in a quick make-out session in the storeroom before she had to get to the Dragonfly.

Lorelai had just finished her pancakes when Luke handed her a napkin and headed toward the storeroom. The napkin said to count to 30, then follow him to the storeroom. He wanted to show her something. She smiled. It was good to be home, she thought.

After counting, she grabbed her purse and pretended to head to the bathroom, but went into the storeroom and closed the door. Luke was getting a box off one of the shelves when he saw her.

"Wow, you count fast," he said as he set the box on the floor and walked toward her until his lips met hers.

She tasted like coffee and maple syrup, but to Luke, those smells combined were erotic on Lorelai. While their lips were locked and their tongues dueled, his hands roamed along her back. She returned the favor by grabbing his ass and squeezing.

"It feels good to be back in your arms," she said panting from the lack of air. "Next time we fight, there will be no running away, okay?"

"Deal," he said, planting another kiss on her lips.

"I better get back out there before the town starts listening at the door."

"Okay," he said. "So, why do we have to wait until Sunday for our date?"

"There are weddings at the inn tomorrow and Saturday, and I'll be preoccupied. On Sunday, I'll have the whole night to devote to you and you alone. You just plan to take me to a kick ass restaurant if you want me to put out."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said with a smile.

"You know, we wouldn't have had to tell the town we got back together," she said, giving him a kiss before opening the door. "Your smile says it all, Luke. It looks good on you."

As she walked out, he knew she was right. There was a stupid grin on his face where a scowl had been for the past month. He couldn't hide his happiness if he tried, and he didn't want to. Lorelai was the best thing in his life, and he wasn't going to mess it up again.

While there were plans for a "back together" date on Sunday, there was no way Lorelai was going to keep her hands of Luke until then. As a matter of fact, she was already formulating a plan to get him naked as soon as possible.

Rory was happy to hear that her mother and Luke had worked things out, but she was getting worried about her father. After finding out he had been watching Lorelai, she had called him several times to no avail. Where had he disappeared to? She wanted to tell him what she thought of him. She had always cut him some slack in the past because he was her dad, but those days were over. He would hear her for once. She would be the most important person in his life, even if it meant she had to cut him out of hers forever.

Francine fell asleep in the chair next to Christopher's bed after about 20 minutes. She was physically and mentally exhausted, and wasn't capable of dealing with this right now. While she slept, Gigi began talking to her sleeping father.

"Christopher, you can't stop yet. She can still be yours. You just have to wait a little while longer. You'll also need a gun."

Christopher stirred and opened his eyes. Gigi and her cold eyes were staring right through him. A smile formed on her face, but there was no joy in it. It almost seemed evil.

"Gigi? What did you say?"

"A gun, Daddy. You need one. It's the only way she'll take you back. When he is gone, she'll take you back again."

"When who is gone?"

"The man with the spatula, of course."