Previously on "My Immortal"…
"Are we ready for this?" Lorelai asked.
Chapter two:
"I don't think we'll ever be ready for this." Rory answered.
"You're right."
She took a deep breath and opened the door. They walked in and there he was. In the middle of the room. Plugged on a number of machines Among them; the ventilator, heart monitor, tubes and needles were sticking in and out of him. This made it much more real, seeing him lying there.
"Oh my god, mom." Rory said and turned her back to Luke and the machines and hugged her mom.
"I know, baby." Lorelai said hugging Rory and started to cry again.
"C'mon, we gotta say goodbye to him now."
Lorelai felt like this was a terrible nightmare she just wanted to wake up from.
"Pinch me!" She said to Rory.
"What?"
"Pinch me! I want to make sure this isn't a nightmare." Rory pinched her mom. "Ow, that hurt!"
"You wanted me to pinch you."
"Yeah, I know. So I guess this isn't a nightmare, huh?"
"Mom, what will happen to Luke's?"
"Oh, hon. Don't you think about that now."
They started to walk over to Luke. It was terrible. Lorelai sat down on a chair next to Luke. She started talking to him. Even though she knew that he was dead and couldn't hear her, she felt that in some weird kind of way he could her every word she was saying.
"I can't believe that I'm doing this. You never had the chance to know just how much I really care about you." She looked up and started to cry yet again, even though she was trying not to. "I thought I was done crying."
"Mom." Rory said quiet and put a hand on her mother's shoulder.
"You wanna say anything to him, babe?"
Rory didn't know. It felt pretty weird talking to a dead person, even now when it was Luke. But she tried.
"So, I guess this is goodbye. I don't really know what to say, but…" She could feel the tears forming in her eyes. "You'd probably say in the kindest way that we should stop crying and life goes on." She smiled at the thought. "I just want you to know that you weren't just the 'coffee-man' to me. You were like my uncle."
The room was quiet. None of them said a word. Then a nurse entered the room…
"Are you ready to turn off the ventilator?" She asked.
"Could we have more time?"
Lorelai looked the nurse right in the eyes.
"I'll be back in a few minutes."
"No!" Rory said loudly and got up. "We decide when we're ready to say goodbye to him!"
"Okay. I'll be back later." The nurse said and left.
"What was that about?"
"I don't know." Rory replied, shocked by her own outburst.
The silence came over them again.
"I remember the morning before he took off. He said he was going camping and all I did was make fun of him! It was the last thing I said to him!"
Rory was about to say something, when an annoying beeping sound came from the heart monitor. They both jumped up from their seats by the shock.
"What does that mean?" Lorelai asked.
"I don't know." Rory answered.
"Well, you watch all the hospital shows."
"Well, all I know is that that sound is not Asystoli, V-fib nor V-tack. So that's a good thing, but we should get a doctor."
Rory ran out of the room and bumped into the nurse who was there earlier.
"Whoa, take it easy. What's going on?" The nurse asked.
"C'mon, something is happening. I don't know what it is."
The nurse ran with Rory into the room Luke and Lorelai were in. Lorelai was holding Luke's hand and tears ran down her cheeks. The nurse walked over to Luke and checked him.
"I'll be right back." She said.
Rory turned to her mom. Lorelai reached her arm out motioning Rory to come over to her. Rory walked over to Lorelai, took her hand and sat down. The nurse arrived with the doctor while explaining what had happened. She was in the middle of a sentence, when she and the doctor came in…
"… He's got a heart rhythm and a pulse."
"What's his BP?" The doctor asked.
"60/70."
The doctor took his stethoscope and got ready to examine him, but then he turned to Lorelai and Rory.
"Could you leave while we examine him?" The doctor asked them kindly.
Lorelai nodded and walked out with Rory close behind her. When they got out, they looked through the window and watched the nurse and the doctor discuss what had happened.
"Come on. Let's get something to eat." Lorelai said.
They turned and walked to the elevator. A couple of hours later, they went down and walked to the room Luke used to be in. He wasn't there anymore. They walked to the desk.
"Excuse me?" Lorelai said.
"Yes?" The lady at the desk said.
"Umm… Luke Danes. Where is he?" Lorelai said with a shaky voice afraid that they'd taken him to the morgue.
"Luke Danes. Luke… Danes." The lady looked at the board and then turned to Lorelai and Rory. "He's in the ICU."
"Thank you."
Lorelai and Rory sighed with relief that they hadn't taken him to the morgue. When they entered the elevator, they heard a few nurses talk about what happened.
"After hours of being on a ventilator, he gets a pulse and a heart rhythm. Talk about some miracle!" One of the nurses said.
Lorelai took Rory's hand and said: "Thank you!" Both to Rory and to the higher power.
When the elevator stopped where the ICU was, they stepped out and walked to the desk.
"Excuse me? We're looking for Luke Danes."
"They're extubating him right now. It'll be a minute before you can go in." The female doctor said with a heavy French accent.
"Thank you." Lorelai said. "Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee."
A half hour later they were sitting in chairs. Rory was sleeping with her head on Lorelai's shoulder. A doctor came walking towards the waiting room."
"Miss Gilmore?" He asked and looked around.
"Yes?" Lorelai said.
"Mr. Danes is extubated and he is breathing on his own." The doctor started as he sat down beside her and Rory. "He's doing well, but he's still unconscious."
"He's in a coma?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes. There isn't much we can do more than to wait and see if he wakes up."
"What are the odds?"
"Well, he's been on a ventilator for hours. The fact that he's breathing on his own is a good sign." The doctor started.
"Yeah, I know. The odds? What are they?" Lorelai asked getting upset with the doctor.
"About 65-70 percent."
Lorelai sighed. "That's good."
"Yes, it is, but let's wait and see what happens. I've been doing this for twenty-five years and I've never seen a case like this. Mr. Danes is a fighter. If he goes on like this, he'll, without a doubt, survive this."
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
Rory woke up as she felt her mother exhale deeply. "What's going on? Is he awake yet?" Rory asked tiredness and hope evident in her voice.
"No, not yet, honey." Lorelai said.
Rory sighed disappointed.
"You're welcome to go in. He will be able to hear you talk to him."
"Thank you." They said in unison.
"So, do you wanna go in?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded. "Okay." Lorelai smiled.
Lorelai took Rory's hand and they walked towards Luke's room. Except for the paleness, he looked exactly how Luke was supposed to look…. Good! No tubes sticking out of him. And only one needle in his right arm for the I.V.
"Well, he looks al lot better now." Rory said as she sat down on a chair.
Lorelai nodded smiling and looking at Luke. "Yeah. All he has to do now is open his eyes and let us know he's okay."
Later…
Both Lorelai and Rory were sleeping on either side of the bed. Lorelai was holding his hand in both of hers. Suddenly, she woke up. She looked confused by where she was, but when she saw Luke lying on a gurney plugged on machines, she remembered. She saw Rory was asleep in front of her. She sat up and yawned. She longed for coffee, so she stood up and went out to get some coffee. Afterwards she sat down in a chair and thought about everything. Max, the engagement, Christopher, Luke, her parents, her life… everything!
She never thought she would feel like this if something terrible would happen to Luke. "He seems to like you." Her mother's voice echoed through her mind. "Cause everybody knows Luke has a thing for you." Lorelai remembered Rory saying, just a couple of weeks ago.
She had to do it. She had to call Max and tell him she couldn't do it. She drank the rest of the coffee, got up and walked to the desk.
"Excuse me, but is there a phone I could use?" Lorelai asked hoarsely and barely above a whisper.
"Yes. There's a payphone down the hall to the right."
"Thank you." Man, is that the 1000th time today I've said 'thank you'?
Lorelai walked down the hall and turned right. She put some quarters into the hole and dialed the number. She waited and after it rang the third time, the phone was picked up.
"Hello?" He said.
"Hey, Max, it's me."
"Hi. What's up?"
"We need to talk!"
.:TO BE CONTINUED:.