She Always Takes Me Back
Chapter 21: One Long Night
The police, fire and ambulance had not been called to Stars Hollow since the Independence Inn caught fire in 2003. Half of the residents flooded the streets to see the town's historical gazebo burn to the ground while the other half were trying to look into the windows of Luke's Diner to see what was happening.
Lorelai had been taken by ambulance to the hospital, but Luke was not allowed to go with her since he had to talk to the police. Christopher was also still in the diner, taped up and quivering in a ball.
"Can we make this fast please, I need to get to the hospital and call Rory because she doesn't know yet," Luke said as he paced in the diner, trying to avoid looking at Christopher. He feared if he looked at him again he was going to beat him to death for this.
"Sure, Luke, I just need to go over what happened," said Sheriff Palmer. "It will only take a few minutes. I know you want to leave."
It took Luke about five minutes to explain what happened to the sheriff. He then released him to leave, but Luke went upstairs first to put on a new shirt, saying he didn't want to see Rory with her mother's blood all over him.
"It's going to be hard enough trying to explain that her dad shot her mom."
After Luke changed and left, the sheriff turned his attention to Christopher, who only said the same words over and over again.
"I had to. She's the devil. I had to. She's the devil. I had to. She's the devil."
The sheriff decided his burns weren't severe enough and chose to take him to county instead of to the hospital, but was afraid he was mentally unstable. He figured he could lock him up for the night, and have him transferred to a hospital later, if necessary.
Francine was fast asleep when she heard the door bell ring. Any friends would know better than to appear at this late hour, so she knew it could be one of two people, either Christopher or Georgia.
"This can't be good," she said as she put on her robe and answered the door to find Gigi "Georgia, what are you doing here. How did you get here?"
"I hitchhiked. Christopher has failed. He did not kill Lucas Danes."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"Apparently, he hit that woman he is always moping about."
"Lorelai?"
"Yes, her. I don't think she'll die. Her life force is very strong. It's too strong. I am going to be unable to open up the fissure in Stars Hollow, but there is another one in Port Charles, New York, and a boy named Michael Corinthos that will be just as valuable as Georgia has been."
"Does this mean, you'll be leaving her body?"
"Yes, when Georgia wakes up tomorrow, she'll be returned, and I'll have a new host."
"Thank heavens, and thank you for keeping your word."
"Christopher did try," Georgia said as she walked up the stairs to her room. "He just messed up. I really should have taken his full history into account before I chose him. Goodnight, Grandmother Hayden. You'll have much to explain to Georgia in the morning. She has missed a few weeks. Christopher was taken to the Sheriff's Office. I don't know if he'll make bail or not."
Francine sighed as she watched the creature pretending to be her granddaughter walk up the stairs. She was happy this was about to be over, but feared what Christopher was telling the police. If he was going on about devils and possessed children, she was afraid there would be nothing for her to do. He'd probably end up in a mental institution.
As she went to bed, she prayed Lorelai Gilmore did not die, or he might be facing life in prison.
Rory was asleep in her dorm room when the phone rang. It was 11:15, and she had fallen asleep waiting for Logan to call her.
"Logan, it's about time you called."
"Uh, Rory, it's Luke."
"Oh, Luke. I'm sorry, I thought you were --"
"Logan, I got it. Uh, Rory, I have some news and I need you to stay calm."
"Oh my God, what's happened to Mom."
"There was an accident at the diner tonight, and she was hurt. She's been taken to the hospital. I'm on my way there now."
"What hospital?"
"Hoffman Memorial in Woodbridge. It was the closest trauma facility."
"What happened, Luke? Is she okay?"
"I don't know. There was an attempted robbery at the diner tonight, and your mom surprised the robber and she was shot in the shoulder. The bullet was still in her, so she'll probably need surgery. The hospital is going to need consent from you or your grandparents."
"Have you called Grandma yet?"
"No, I didn't have the number."
"I'll call her, Luke. I can't imagine it would be good coming from you."
"Thank you, Rory. I'm headed to the hospital right now."
"I just need to put on some clothes, and I'll be there. I'll call my grandparents from the road."
Luke hung up the phone and was extremely grateful he wasn't going to have to be the one to break this news to the Gilmores. It was going to be hard enough to tell Rory that it was Christopher who did to her mother. He took a deep breath before turning over the engine to his truck and said a prayer that Lorelai would be okay.
Emily Gilmore had been raised that is was never a good sign when the phone rang after 10 p.m. It only could mean trouble of some kind. When Lorelai was growing up, it meant she had been picked up by the police for public intoxication or borrowing Richard's Mercedes without a license. Now, it was ringing and Emily was awakened and fear instantly lodged in her throat.
"Emily, will you get that?" Richard said rolling over away from the noise.
"Fine, Richard," she said picking up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Grandma?"
"Rory? What's wrong?"
"It's Mom. There's been an accident and she's in the hospital."
"How bad is it?"
"I don't know. Luke just called me and I'm on my way?"
"Do you know what happened?"
"She was shot?"
"Shot? Was she carjacked or something?"
"No. Someone tried to rob the diner."
"I knew something like this would happen from her fraternizing with that diner owner."
"Grandma, Luke didn't shoot her and he's very upset about this, so can we leave the blaming until we know Mom is okay? She's in Woodbridge at Hoffman Memorial. I'll be there in about 10 minutes."
"We're on our way," Emily said, hanging up the phone. "Richard, get up. We have to go to the hospital. Lorelai has been hurt."
"Oh dear lord," Richard said, getting out of bed.
When Luke arrived at the hospital, he was unable to get any information because he was not immediate family, so all he could do was pace the waiting room. Five minutes later, Rory arrived, who went to speak the doctor and to give consent for surgery. She found Luke pacing.
"Hey Luke," she said, walking over to hug him in their usual awkward fashion. "Have you heard anything?"
"No, the doctor wouldn't tell me anything since I'm not family."
"Well, I spoke to the doctor, and he said they are keeping her sedated and are going to take her into surgery in just a few minutes. They were waiting for consent for surgery since her injury was not life threatening."
Luke sat down, and started to breathe heavily.
"Hey, Luke, it's going to be okay. He said it should be a quick surgery, and she should be fully recovered after a little physical therapy."
"This shouldn't have happened to her, Rory. He wasn't there to hurt her."
"Luke, you couldn't have predicted some crazy person would try to rob the diner."
"No, Rory, you don't…"
"Where is my daughter?" said Emily's Gilmore's booming voice could be heard through the hospital's corridors. "I demand to see someone in charge."
"Grandma, I'm over here," Rory said, stepping away from Luke to see her grandparents headed her way.
"Rory, this hospital is deplorable. We should have your mother moved to Hartford as soon as possible."
"Grandma, Mom is in good hands. She's about to go into surgery, and she'll be fine. This is a good hospital."
Emily looked around and then noticed Luke sitting down, his head in his hands.
"And you, if she hadn't been involved with you, this would never had happened," Emily said as she walked over to Luke.
"Emily, please, this is not the time," Richard said, grabbing her arm, but she pulled away and kept walking toward Luke.
"She should have been at home, safe with her family instead of slumming it in your diner."
"You don't know what your talking about," Luke said standing up. "We are not going to discuss this now."
"Oh, yes, we are," she said, her voice rising. "If Lorelai had done what was expected of her and gone back to her real family, this wouldn't have happened."
This was all Luke could take. He could feel the volcano starting to rise within him. If she didn't stop soon, there was going to be an explosion.
"And who should she have been with, Emily?"
"You know full well she should have been with Rory and Christopher. If she had been, she would have been at home and not in the middle of a crime scene."
"Well, I hate to break this to you, Emily, but it was Christopher who shot Lorelai."
This little bit of information caused everyone in the waiting room to silence. It took Emily a full five seconds to formulate a response.
"That is a bald face lie, Luke. How can you say such lies about Rory's father?"
"Luke?" Rory said. "Is this true? My dad did this?"
"Yes, but I don't think your mother was his target. I think he was going to kill me. I think he thought if I was out of the way, she would take him back eventually. I didn't even know she was upstairs. When I went up there, it looked like she was making a special dinner for us. I was cleaning up when a guy in a mask came in, started waving a gun and demanded money. When I went to the cash register, it got stuck. After I got it open, I went to put the money in a bag when Lorelai came down the stairs and scared him, causing him to pull the trigger. I threw a pot of coffee at his head and disarmed him and pulled off his mask. It was Christopher. I tied him up and called the police while I tried to stop the bleeding. Your mom was in and out of it, but she didn't make much sense. I guess you dad is at the police station. I left as soon as they were done questioning me."
Emily sat down, not knowing what to think.
"How could he do this? He said he loved my daughter."
"Like I said, I don't think he meant to shoot her," Luke said. "It was an accident. Rory, do you want some coffee? I need some tea."
"Thanks, Luke."
Luke headed down the hall to find a vending machine. He couldn't bear to be around Emily much longer, and he needed a place to go and pray.
"I can't believe this," Emily said. "Richard, can you see if he's telling the truth."
"Of course, Emily," he said, heading toward the door to make a call.
"Grandma, Luke wouldn't lie about something like this, but I'm now very worried about Dad. I didn't realize he had gone crazy. Who is going to take care of Gigi."
"I always knew your father was a little too invested in Lorelai, but I never thought he turn into a murderer."
"Let's wait until we have the all the facts before he tar and feather him. How will I ever face my own father again if he did this to Mom?"
"I don't know, Rory. I don't know," Emily said as she took Rory's hands in her own.
Luke found the chapel empty on the hospital's first floor. He hadn't been in one since his dad had been sick. He prayed for him too, but he still died in the end. He hoped the outcome would be different this time.
"Uh, God, this is Luke Danes. I know it's been awhile, but I think about you from time to time. Look, I hate to be one of those people who only talks to you in an emergency, but Lorelai doesn't deserve to be in there having a bullet dug out of her. It should have been me. I love her so much and I can't bear to lose one more person I love. Please make her well. I'd do anything. Just think about it."
Luke continued to sit in the chapel, unable to look at the judgmental look on Emily Gilmore's face yet. He knew, however, if Lorelai was going to be in his life, he had to make it work. He had once told Jess, all these people come with Lorelai and if he wanted her, he had to take them as well. He took a deep breath, got up and walked out of the chapel. He knew Rory was going to need him now. Her mother was in surgery because of something her father did. She needed support.
In a jail cell in the Stars Hollow police station, Christopher was trying to get them to understand the danger they were in. He had overheard about the gazebo fire, but they didn't think he had anything to do with it. They just thought he was a stalker out to get rid of his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in a somewhat creative manner.
"It's just too bad you hit the wrong person," the deputy said as he closed Christopher's jail cell. "You can call your lawyer in the morning. Good night."
He had yelled about the demon that had forced him to commit this act, but the officers just shook their heads at him.
"She is going to kill me," he screamed. "You have to find my daughter and stop her before she kills me."
"Rory? I don't think Rory is going to kill you," the deputy said. "She's too smart for that."
"Not Rory, my other daughter, Gigi"
"You mean that little girl I've seen with you around town? She forced you to try and kill Luke Danes? I'd be more worried about Luke than a little kid."
"Please, I need help," Christopher continued to wail, but all he got for his trouble was the lights turned out and the door shut in his face.
Lorelai was in surgery for less than an hour. The Gilmores, Rory and Luke were sitting in silence. Rory had attempted to call Francine to see if what Luke had said was true, but she didn't answer.
When the doctor finally came out, the silence was beginning to grow unbearable.
"Doctor, what can you tell me about my mom," Rory said before Emily could take over the conversation.
"She's going to be fine," the doctor said. "We were able to remove the bullet without damaging her shoulder. She lost some blood, but she won't need a transfusion, and it will not affect her pregnancy."
"Pregnancy?" the Gilmores, Rory and Luke said in unison.
"My mom is pregnant?" she asked Luke.
Luke felt all the blood leave his head and the room began to spin before the lights went out and he hit the floor.