The bell had rung at 2:30 PM, just like it did any other day. She'd grabbed her book bag, walked toward her locker, and spent exactly 83 seconds waiting for Tristan and his girlfriend of the week to surrender in the Battle of Tounge-ker Hill. She opened her now-christened locker, grabbed her books, and left the building. Walking toward the bus stop, she heard a horn honking, but ignored it. Five seconds later, she saw a figure running toward her, out of the corner of her eye. She turned to find Luke approaching her and a panicked look washed over her face.
"Luke? What's wrong?"
"Hey, kiddo," he said while trying to catch his breath.
"What are you doing here?"
"Come sit in the truck. I have to talk to you."
They got into the truck and he turned to look at her, his eyes serious and worried.
"So, I'm uh…here to pick you up…because your mom was involved in a pretty bad accident."
"She WHAT?"
"She's in the hospital right now. She's pretty beat up, but she's gonna be okay. Compared to the others, she was lucky."
"One of the others? How many were involved?"
"Four total. Your mom, a truck driver, another woman, and her daughter. The woman was taken into emergency surgery.
Lorelai Leigh Gilmore had never been so furious with Luke in her entire life. No amount of chocolate chip pancakes, chili fries, pie, or coffee could take away the anger she felt for him at that very moment.
"What the hell are you waiting for?! Turn the key and floor it, damnit!"
Starting his engine, he shifted to drive and exited the parking lot at the speed of light.
He heard her begin to lose control of her breathing and looked over to see her eyes filling with tears. Taking his right hand off the wheel, he moved it to her shoulder and cleared his throat, in hopes that his words would be audible.
She barely heard him say, "She's okay now. It's not critical. Five hours ago, I felt the same way. I don't think I've ever been more terrified in my entire life. But I promise she's the same, crazy mom you've always had. You'll see. She's going to be okay."
"Is she in pain?"
"Yes. They've had her on meds but when they wear off, things get a little rough until the new ones kick in."
"Oh," she replied, her voice becoming increasingly dejected.
7 minutes and 24 seconds later, she'd been fixated on her watch the whole ride, they pulled into the hospital parking lot. She got out of the car before it came to a complete stop and sprinted toward the doors, coming to a stop upon realizing that she had no idea where her mother's room was.
Luke eventually caught up to her and guided her to the elevator and down the 9th floor hallway.
Lorelai's eyes lit up as her daughter entered the doorway, but her expression turned to sorrow as soon as she saw Rory's red, swollen eyes. Rory gently fell into her mother's embrace, sobbing into her shoulder.
Lorelai stroked her hair whispering, "shh, it's okay, baby. I'm okay. Everything is okay."
Through a weak voice, she managed to find the words, "I love you, mom."
"I love you too, Kid."
Two days later, Rory sat in classroom, listening to her chemistry teacher give a never-ending lecture on the periodic table. Nerves led to pencil tapping led to nail-biting led to teeth-clenching. Her mom was going home today and she refused to let her skip school.
"Rory. I'm fine. I'm just as shocked as you're going to be when I say this but mom will take good care of me."
"But I -"
Lorelai held up her hand.
"Hon, I'll be okay. If I need you, you'll be the first to know."
"Promise?"
"May The Bangles break up again if I'm lying."
"Woah."
"Exactly."
Emily was gathering the last of her daughter's things while Lorelai attempted to dress herself in the bathroom.
"Hey, mom, can you come here for a minute?"
She walked through the bathroom door to find her only child still wearing her hospital gown.
"Getting dressed right now is going about as well as that time you tried to squeeze me into a debutante gown while I was 3 months pregnant. And while I know the last time you saw me completely naked was probably when I was 4, I could really use some help right now."
Two hours later, they pulled into Lorelai's driveway. To her surprise, Luke appeared through the front door and walked over to the Jag to help her get inside.
An audible gasp widened Emily's eyes. She did her best to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"What did you do?"
He shrugged. "I mean you can't get upstairs for a while so I brought upstairs down to you."
She pointed to a recliner chair situated next to the TV.
"That's not mine."
"You don't say…"
"Well then whose is it?"
"I got it from this guy's tree-lawn. You wouldn't believe all the dead rats I had to fish out of from in between the cushions."
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest.
"It's mine."
"You don't say," she mimicked.
"And what did you do? Dismantle my bed and re-assemble it down here?"
"No, I used my magical powers of floor removal to make it fall right through the ceiling. It landed pretty well, don't you think?"
"Your precision is impeccable."
He used one hand to grab hers and placed the other on the small of her back, walking her to the bed and helping her get situated.
"Good?" he asked.
"Perfect," she replied, using her good hand to pull his face toward her and kiss his cheek.
Moving her lips to his ear, she whispered "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Her mother, who never fathomed she'd approve of her daughter being with a non-businessman, watched in awe of the exchange she saw through the front window. Lorelai, despite multiple injuries, was wearing a happiness that she'd never seen on her before.
Why am I not appalled by this?
Why am I not vomiting on this lawn right now?
Where the hell did that scuff mark on the toe of my pumps come from?
Why do I feel like he's the one?
She walked toward the house once she saw him exit into the kitchen, not wanting to disrupt them a second time.
"Lorelai, where would you like these things?"
"You can leave my purse and cell phone over here by me and the rest of the things can go in the closet. Tell Dad thanks again for going to the yard and cleaning out my car."
"I will. Did you want me to stick around or?"
"I'm fine, but you're more than welcome to stay if you'd like."
"Why don't you give me a call if you need me. I should let you two have some time to yourselves."
She tried to hide the content smile that was obviously displayed across her face while Lorelai simultaneously attempted to conceal the bashful redness that was taking over hers.
"Thanks, mom."
"You're welcome. I'll call you later to check in. Take care."
As Emily walked out the door, Lorelai watched her, dumfounded by the feeling that her mother approved of Luke.
"Woah."