Although I have to learn I update... it's my escape from reality when I get too nervous.. honestly I am a nervous wrack and the exams are next monday and Tuesday... god I am nervous!

Chapter 26: Believe it or not

The next morning Lorelai had packed Laila and Will and was in the hospital before eight o' clock in the morning. She was missing Luke and Sara so badly that she couldn't stand being away from them for one second longer.

When she had woken up William and Laila they had both been confused because it had been six o clock on a week-end and their mother was already awake. Laila had pointed out that this was unusual and William had asked if something was wrong.

Lorelai had had an internal debate with herself about how to tell the kids that Luke was awake and decided to talk to Luke first.

It was important that he was ready to see them and he should decide how and when, although she had no doubt in her mind that he would request to see them immediately.

At the hospital she hurried them to Sara's room and William had complained that their legs were too short to run so fast and that Lorelai would get a heart attack if she would keep running, because she was not in training. Lorelai just laughed and chased William the rest to Sara's room while he was giggling and Laila was trying to hurry after them.

Sara was already awake and the psychologist Dr. Diaz was with her and surprised of the early visit. Laila and William started to tell Sara everything that had happened and the doctor took Lorelai aside.

"You decided what to do Mrs. Danes?" she asked and observed Sara while the girl listened to the tales of her siblings. She seemed more awake when they were around, payed attention to what they were saying and glanced over at her mother from time to time.

"No, I haven't decided on it yet. My husband woke up yesterday and I want to discuss this with him after he saw the kids. I was actually just going over to him to check on him" Lorelai said.

"I would not take Sara to her father, it could upset her even more. Don't tell her before she starts to speak."

"Are you serious?" Lorelai asked stunned.

"Yes, don't stress her that much. Wait until she speaks. I am sure that they can help her in that clinic. She is still apathetic from time to time and as long as that remains we have to be careful, because otherwise it would be possible that she fleds in her own little world totally"

"Doctor Diaz, I am not a doctor and certainly not a psychologist. Although I think that all psychologists are slightly crazy which would enable me to be one as well. Well.. anyway. But I know my daughter and I know how much she loves her father. I don't know how she is reacting when you are with her, but when we are here she is reacting just fine. No separate world of her own at all. Do you see that?" Lorelai asked and pointed to the bed where the kids were laughing while tickling each other.

"This is her family, we are her family and call me crazy, egoistic or intuitive, but I don't want her in that clinic separated from us. I want her home and I have the feeling that only the daily routine at home will help her. Her father is awake and I will take her to see him if he wants that. And he will want that." Lorelai said with force and looked at Sara, who stared at her. Lorelai gave her a smile and her daughter smiled back.

"I can not tell you what to do, but you might regret this decision later" the psychologist said.

"I know, but if i don't trust my intuition I will regret it as well." Lorelai said and turned towards her children.

"Honeys, I will go and say good morning to your daddy. I will be right back. Okay? Be good!"she said and kissed them.

"Don't worry mommy, I've got them under control" William said in a snotty tone, which caused Sara to slap him lightly.

"Mmh, own world, I see that!" Lorelai said quietly at Dr. Diaz and left the room.

When Lorelai arrived at the intensive care they told her that Luke had been transferred to a normal room and gave her the directions, which cost her ten minutes and made her want to see him even more.

When she arrived she just opened the door without knocking and a smile crept on her face when she saw him sitting in his bed, a doctor by his side.

Luke had heard her opening the door and turned his head towards her, smiled when he saw her.

That was all Lorelai needed before she threw herself at him again and hugged him as hard as she could.

When she pulled back she was still smiling and looked into his eyes, just to see again that they were open.

Then she tentatively brought her lips to his and her hand found it's way to his cheek. She felt his stubble under her fingers and only the presence of the doctor caused her to pull back.

She didn't let go of him completely though and kept his hand in hers when she faced the doctor.

"Good Morning Mrs. Danes. We were just talking about the results of the tests we were doing this morning" the young doctor smiled at her.

"Test already this morning? Wow, you're fast and that on a week-end" Lorelai said and squeezed Luke's hand.

"Yeah they woke me up" Luke said.

"Mr. Danes the nurse told me that you were already awake" the doctor said.

"No they woke me up"

"Who woke you up?" the doctor wanted to know.

"They... I don't know. I don't remember, but I was woken up. It was too early to be already awake." Luke said.

"At which time did they wake you up?" Lorelai was confused by the interrogation and gave the doctor a funny look.

"At five thirty. I would never get up at five thirty by myself!" Luke huffed.

"Honey, you got up at a quarter to five for the last twenty years" Lorelai told him.

"No, I did not!" Luke yelled and Lorelai jumped and pulled away from him and then stood startled beside the bed, stared at him, confused by his outburst.

Mrs. Danes could I talk to you for a second outside?" the doctor asked and led her out without that she had a chance to say no.

"So, I think I have to tell you some things" the doctor started and Lorelai nodded, waited for him to go on.

"At first I have good news. According to the test we made this morning your husband is healthy,still recovering, but okay. The lung has healed, the kidney is working and the broken bones are whole again."

"But?" Lorelai asked to get him to the point she was dreating.

"I think nobody told you yet about the consequences which can follow a time in coma"

"Consequences?" she repeated and got pale.

"There is one test left which will show how much his ability to memorize and to speak are damaged but what we have until now looks very good. He knows who he is, he can move all parts of his body and with some training he will soon be able to walk again."

"Does that mean he can not walk?" she asked confused.

"No, he can't. The muscles which are required for walking aren't as strong anymore as they have been and he needs to train them before he will be able to walk. But there are other things I want to tell you..." Lorelai looked at him with fear in her eyes and the doctor smiled reassuringly and put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not as bad as it might sound. In the first time after waking up the patients who lay in coma for a while tend to have spasms or cramps. It looks scary, but it is not dangerous. They also tend to hallucinate, make things up that aren't true, talk to people which are not there or suffer from extreme mood swings. That he yelled at you was part of that. It is possible that he doesn't even remember it when you come back. Which brings me to another point: it is possible that he will be confused and that he will forget thing very easily. We will see about that this afternoon, but at the moment there were no abnormalities. Those are all things though that will be gone in a few days, no reason to worry. I told you yesterday to pay attention, did you notice anything?" he asked then while Lorelai still took all of that in.

"uhm... I don't know. We didn't talk that much, uhm, but maybe... I had the impression that it was difficult for him to find the right words sometimes" she shrugged.

"We will check that also this afternoon. Do you have any more questions?"

"Yeah, actually I do: How long will he have to stay here and are the kids allowed to visit him?" she asked.

"About the staying, I can't tell at the moment, It depends on the results of the tests. If everything runs smoothly I would say another week and then you can take him home. Although he will have to come back everyday for the first time for his physical therapy. And about the second question: it would be good if the people he loves come and visit him, just don't overdo it" he doctor smiled, gave Lorelai's shoulder a friendly squeeze and a wink and walked off.

When she opened the door Luke looked at her and gave her a small smile, which she returned.

"I'm sorry" he said then while she walked over to him and sat down on his bed. She sighed relieved, that he remembered at least that he yelled at her. That was a good sign, right?

"It's okay, you have nothing to be sorry for" she said and took his hand in hers.

"Those tests were just so damn frustrating, I was lying there and couldn't really move and they treated me like I was dumb or had lost the ability to think. They were asking stupid questions gin and again. You know I think they are abnormal, cause they asked me the same damn stuff for about three times! Did they even listen to what I was telling them? I told them at least three times that I own a diner and have four kids. Then they wanted to know the names and they asked for them. I told them. They asked again..." he ranted and Lorelai bit her lower lip and her eyes welled up. She finally interrupted him with a kiss. She pressed her lips to his and her hand glided into his hair, pulled him closer. She kept her eyes open only to see his close, before he opened his mouth and deepened th kiss and she had to close hers as well. It was just too much. Her other hand found the way under the hem of his T-shirt and she enjoyed how his skin felt under it. They both moaned when their tongues met and they couldn't get close enough. They clung to each other kissing passionately, nearly desperate.

They had to pull back at some point and both gasped for air, but stayed as close as possible. Lorelai lay her head on his shoulder and he pulled her with him when he lay back against the pillows.

"Luke I have to talk to you" she broke the minutes of silence that followed the kiss.

"Yeah?" he said. Mr. Mono-syllabic was back again.

"It's about Sara" she said and waited for a reaction.

"Luke?" she asked when none came.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Huh?"

"I have to talk to you about Sara" she said again, hoping th he would understand it this time.

"What? I s something wrong with her?" he asked worried and looked down at her.

"Since the accident Sara hasn't spoken a single word. At first she was just staring blanky ahead and refused to eat, that's okay now. You're still with me?" she asked.

"God, do I have to say "uhuh" after every word?" he said upset and Lorelai took a deep breath.

"No, of course not. I'm sorry!" she said and gave him a peck on the lips before she went on.

"A psychologist is working with her, but without success and now they want to transfer her into a psychological clinic for children."

"No!" Luke said forcefully before Lorelai could go on.

"That's what I said. I have the feeling that it would be wrong and not helping. But I don't know what to do either. She is not speaking and something has to happen!" she sounded desperate and it was not lost on Luke.

"I want to see her" he said., only this.

"You want to see her?" Lorelai looked up to him.

"I have to see her so that I know how ...se..se..bad it is"he sad and sighed frustrated.

"It will get better honey!" she told him reassuringly and they both knew what she was talking about.

"What about Will and Laila?"Lorelai asked then.

"They got hurt also?" he panicked.

"No! No, they didn't, thank god! I just... do you want to see them also?"

"Of course!" he smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Did the kids see me like this?" he asked after another second of of silence.

"only William. He came here yesterday and gave you your birthday presents. Happy birthday again, by the way" she grinned and used the opportunity to kiss him again.

"What did I get?" he wanted to know when they broke the kiss.

"This" she answered and pointed to his nightstand where the nurse had put the presents, even the small baseball bat.

"I got the Barbie, the baseball bat and the.. uh... pig?"

"Piggy"

"Right, that was it.. piggy"

"Yeah, actually you did. Plus a photo of Meeko and Will and one of the three of them, which I can find here." she she said the last part confused.

Luke pointed up to the grip he had on his bed to pull himself up and attached to the grip was the picture.

"I wanted them with me and see them" he explained.

"Oh Luke" she sighed and kissed him for the third time that day, which was nothing to make up for the last weeks.

"I will go and get the monsters now" she grinned then.

"Hurry" was all he said and she left the room.

"Hey, you're all still alive?" Lorelai smiled brightly when she burst into Sara's room.

"Mommy, you were gone for so long!" Laila whined and hugged Lorelai's middle.

"Oh sweety I had to say good morning to your daddy. And guess what!" she said excited.

"What?" William and Laila yelled, while Sara only looked curiously at her.

"I have a surprise for you three!" she announced.

"A surprise! What?" Laila squeaked and jumped from one leg to the other.

"yeah, what mommy? What?" William yelled as well.

"We will go all four now and visit your daddy!" she told them and for some seconds they only stared.

"Really?" Laila asked then.

"Sure, come on let's go!" she grinned and picked up Sara from the bed, Laila took her right hand and William followed her.

"But mommy, daddy's room is over there!" William yelled when they passed the intensive care and Lorelai only winked at him.

"Will, go ahead, this door!" Lorelai encouraged him when they had arrived.

"This is not daddy's room!" William pouted.

"Well, believe it or not!" Lorelai shrugged.

"I'm walking on air..." Laila finished and giggled. Lorelai giggled with her and noticed the blank look on Sara's face. She wasn't sure if the girl even realized that she was out of her room. Maybe this wasn't a good idea at all. But it was too late now.

William had opened the door and carefully they stepped inside. Luke faced the window on the other opposite side of the door.

Again, when he heard the door he turned his head and looked at them.

Williams eyes got huge and he stared at Luke and Laila mirrored his position. Sara showed no reaction.

Seconds passed, but for Luke and Lorelai they felt like hours when finally William snapped out of his daze.

"Daddy!" he yelled, ran to his father and threw himself into Luke's arms, just as Lorelai had done it that morning. Laila followed and also climbed on the bed, while they hugged their father and both cried.

Lorelai waited until they had at least stopped crying hysterically when she neared the bed with Sara in her arms. She was stiff and her body shook, she seemed in a shock.

William was now lying on Luke's right side, Laila on his left, both had buried their heads into his shoulder, while he soothed them.

Luke looked up at Lorelai and Sara then. His daughter starred at him and was shaking.

"Sara, baby!" Luke called her and touched her leg. She flinched, relaxed and tensed again.

"Daddy!" she whispered then and Lorelai lay her down on top of Luke. Sara cried like Lorelai had never seen a child cry. So desperately and heart -broken.

"Daddy" the girl mumbled . Lorelai sat down on the bed and leaned her forehead against Luke's , while he held their sobbing kids. And that's when Luke Danes started to cry, just as hard as his family.

TBC