A/N : Sorry, for leaving you on a cliffhanger, but I can be just as evil as Gigi (evil laughter here). Thanks again for all the wonderful feedback and support. You guys keep the torture alive.

She Always Takes Me Back

Chapter 15: When Stars Turn Black

Gigi was waiting and growing impatient. Her father had been gone for four hours, and she could tell that nothing had happened yet. She could feel it in her bones that Christopher had not yet accomplished his mission.

The barrier still surrounded Stars Hollow. The fissure was still closed. When Mr. Luke Danes' heart stopped beating, she would know. Her dreams told her where the fissure would open. It was only three blocks away from her current location. When Caleb Danes closed the fissure 200 years earlier, he marked it with a white gazebo. Gigi and her kin had thought it a mockery, and she couldn't wait to destroy it.

Her true father had been waiting to stake his claim on Earth, but it had been impossible as long as the fissure remained closed. And it would always remained closed as long as a male Danes resided in Stars Hollow. She figured he probably knew nothing of his special purpose, but she also knew Mr. Luke Danes rarely left Stars Hollow even though he had the opportunity due to his other gifts. His father before him had been the same way. He opened a business in sight of the gazebo. He was subconsciously keeping watch on the fissure. It was in the nature of a Danes man.

Now, Gigi had a way to stop him, and restore her true father's natural place on Earth. All Christopher had to do was aim and pull the trigger. If he hit his target, odds are she would be in control of this world in a few short hours. Gigi went the window of the apartment, and looked out. There was a full moon, and she could see a million stars outside. She hoped it would be the last night the stars would shine on Stars Hollow.

"Mom, are you home?" Rory said as she entered the house.

"Kitchen, Hon," Lorelai said from the kitchen table.

When Rory turned the corner, carrying a laundry bag, she found Lorelai staring at the microwave.

"Whatcha doing?"

"Waiting for my popcorn to pop so I can start my movie."

"What's on tonight?"

"Heartbreakers."

"Oooh, Weekend at Bernie's meets The Grifters, but without the creepy incest. I'm in as soon as a I get my first load in the washing machine."

"Good, but I'm not sharing my popcorn."

"Well, it's a good thing I know how to work the microwave. Is Luke going to join us?"

"I don't know. When I talked to him around dinner, he said Taylor was getting on his nerves."

"Well, if he does, can you save the dirtiness until I'm asleep?"

"Oh please, like I could get Luke to do anything dirty to me with you in the house. He still thinks of you as a 12-year-old princess. I'll have to steal his car keys just to get him to spend the night."

"Okay, can we change the subject, please? How did the thing with the magazine go?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, and this is a big secret, so don't tell anybody yet. They are going to put the Dragonfly on the cover for its May issue."

"Mom, that is so great!"

"I know. I get to be interviewed and everything."

"Do you want me to run a practice interview so you'll be ready?"

"Oh, no. I like to fly off the cuff, but thanks for the offer."

"All right, but be careful what you say. They tape everything. You don't want to make Michel cry or antying."

"Duly noted, now get in here, so we can watch the movie."

As his frying pan smashed the glass between the two establishments, Luke felt something graze his arm. He instantly forgot about it as chaos broke out next door.

The pan flew over Taylor's head to hit the shoppe's lone patron, a man dressed in a black hooded sweat shirt, square in the face.

Luke winced as he saw the man go down, and walked over to the now partially broken window.

"Hey buddy, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

When Christopher fired the gun, he didn't expect to meet Luke's frying pan face first. The recoil from the gun didn't give him time to react to the flying fry pan. It hit him in the face, and he was pretty sure it broke his nose. His gun flew out of his hand, and he couldn't see it. Actually, he couldn't see much of anything due to the overwhelming steaks of pain in his face.

"Sir, are you all right?" Taylor said as he brushed glass off his uniform. "Lucas, you could have killed me or my customer. I'm calling the police."

The word police pulled Christopher out of his stupor. He quickly got to his feet, spotted his gun behind a barrel, picked it up, stuffed it in his pants and ran out of the shoppe with Taylor calling behind him.

"See what you did, Lucas?"

"Jeez, Taylor, I didn't see that guy. He didn't look too hurt. I'll pay to have the window fixed and help you clean up the mess. Do you have some newspapers and some duct tape?"

It took him about an hour to help Taylor cleanup the mess, and that meant an hour of Taylor lecturing him on almost killing him and that other guy. His headache had now grown. All he wanted to do was go to Lorelai's and forget his crappy day.

As blood flowed out of Christopher's nose and onto his sweatshirt, he wasn't sure if he should go home or to the hospital. He was afraid if he went home, Gigi would send him back out to make another attempt on Luke's life. He opted for the hospital first. He stored his gun in the trunk and made another trip to the hospital, where the ER nurses were no longer asking for his insurance information. He was now practically a regular, who was getting close to beating Sookie's record for number of visits in a month to the hospital.

The doctor informed Christopher his nose was broken and reset it, but refused to give him any pain medication, saying he should have some left over from his earlier visit.

As Christopher left the hospital, he feared the wrath of his six-year-old daughter more than anything. He was afraid, she might shoot him for failing in his mission.

center /center

When Luke arrived at Lorelai's, he saw Rory's Prius and thought about going back to the diner. Then he remembered Taylor, and thought he'd rather deal with his discomfort over sleeping at Lorelai's when Rory was home than mess with Taylor again.

He knocked on the front door even though he possessed a key, fearing someone might not be properly dressed.

"Come in," he heard Lorelai say through the door.

"Why isn't this door locked?" he asked, but was greeted with stares from both Gilmore girls.

"Because I knew it was you," Lorelai said as she left the couch to greet Luke with a kiss. "What took you so long?"

"Oh, there was a little accident at the diner, but it was nothing important. Is it okay if I just go up to bed? I've had a doozy of a day."

"Sure, babe," she said, running her hands up and down his arms. "Hey Luke, what happened to your shirt? There's a tear in the arm, and oh my, you're bleeding."

"I am?"

"Yeah, take off your shirt."

"Not in front of.."

"Oh my word, Luke, you have a t-shirt underneath. Plus Rory has seen men without shirts on before."

"Don't tell him that, Mom!" Rory said covering her eyes and laughing. "That is not true. I'll go get the first aid kit."

Luke rolled his eyes and unbuttoned his shirt as Rory headed upstairs to the bathroom. There was a small wound on Luke's left arm, just below his tattoo. It was bloody, but had stopped bleeding. When Rory came back with the kit and a warm washcloth, Lorelai cleaned the gash.

"What did you do? It's not a burn. It looks like something grazed your arm."

"I have no idea," he said, trying to avoid the lecture he would receive from Rory about throwing heavy metal objects at Taylor.

"There, all better," Lorelai said, giving his bandaged wound a kiss. "Why don't you go upstairs and get in bed, and I'll join you in a minute."

"All right, goodnight Rory."

"'Night, Luke."

Luke went upstairs, changed, brushed his teeth and got into bed. Lorelai joined him about 10 minutes later. She quickly brushed her teeth, but instead of changing, she took off her clothes and joined him.

"What do you're doing?"

"I'm getting into bed. Boy, Luke, did you get hit in the head today or something?"

"Come on, Rory's downstairs," he said as she began kissing and sucking on his neck.

"Trust, me baby, you won't have to do any work, and Rory won't hear a thing," she said as she straddled him. "I'll do it all. Now take off your pants."

It was after midnight when he returned to the apartment, and Gigi was waiting for him.

"Why did you fail, Daddy?"

"I tried, honey. I really tried, but I missed. Then he broke my nose."

"You really are useless, Daddy. It looks like I have to do everything myself. If you can't do it, I'll kill him instead, and I'll do it right the first time."

Christopher's blood ran cold. His daughter was the devil in disguise.