A couple days have passed; the house appears the same expect it's the brilliant morning sunlight that sneaks between the curtains and spills into the floor. Lorelai comes down the stairs purposeful, her very stride measured to assure it give away nothing. She is dressed in the usual way one attires oneself for work especially if one happens to be a Gilmore. The only thing unusual being the rather large sunglasses hiding tired and bloodshot blue eyes. Lorelai grabs her bag, keys and cell from the table in the hall. Noticing the phone still unplugged, she bends to reconnect the line. With a deep breath she opens the front door and rushes to her jeep.

At the Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai attempts to sneak quietly in through the back door. Regrettably the back door leads directly into the kitchen, Sookie's kitchen and she is ambushed within seconds.

"Sookie!" Lorelai screams in response to being grabbed by her best friend.

Sookie holds her by the arms moving Lorelai this way and that, looking her over carefully. "Sookie? Ow! What on earth are you doing?"

"Let me see your face!" Sookie demands unceremoniously yanking the sunglasses from Lorelai's face.

"Ow! I would have assumed you'd want to see my face still attached to my body. Do the heads of airport security know about you? Because you'd be a real asset. Can I have my face back now?"

Sookie relents begrudgingly.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on here?" Lorelai asks setting her bag on the counter.

"No black eyes, no bruises . . ." Sookie mutters still staring at Lorelai.

"At least not when I walked in here."

"And we know your audio still works. Your fine. Right? Your fine?"

"Yes, of course I'm fine." Lorelai looks at her friend questioningly. Then the events of that night coupled with the events of the last five minutes come together like a puzzle. "Sookie, you weren't honestly expecting to find . ."

"Lorelai! Do you have any idea what people are saying? I don't know what I was expecting to find but I was expecting it to be bad." Sookie confesses her voice wavering.

"Oh, Sookie. That's crazy."

"Don't "oh Sookie" me! You drop off the face of the planet for three days! You won't talk to anyone! You won't see anyone! You leave some lame explanation of the flu with the night manager! I can't call you because you unplugged your phone!"

"Sookie…"

"Babbette said she heard the two of you screaming at each other and when she opened the door Luke was standing over you with a screwdriver! I know it sounds crazy. But you were AWOL and the evidence was piling up. I was really worried, Lorelai." Sookie finishes stifling her tears and wiping her nose with the corner of her apron. Lorelai smiles contemplating just how many heath codes she was breaking. Then the smiles gone as the gravity of the situation can no longer be ignored.

"I'm sorry." Lorelai begins gently wondering just how many times she is going to have to utter that sentence. "I didn't mean for you to worry. I just needed some time. I'm sorry." Lorelai leans in and gives Sookie a comforting hug of apology.

"It's okay. I understand, I guess. So all of that, everything Babbette said, was crazy? Like, never happened crazy?" Sookie asks.

Lorelai is silent as she shifts uncomfortably under Sookie's gaze.

"Lorelai?"

"There was a screwdriver." She says so softly that Sookie is not even sure she spoke.

"Lorelai!"

"He just happened to be holding it, it's Luke." Lorelai defends. "We fought. A giant, ugly, horrible fight. Am I missing an ear? I feel like I'm missing an ear." Lorelai notices the alarmed look on Sookie's face. "The punches were emotional only, I promise. Although, I wonder if it would have been easier the other way around." Lorelai sighs sadly.

"Honey, what happened?"

"I really, really, really don't want to talk about it." It was Lorelai's turn to have her voice break.

"I'm afraid somebody has to."

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Michel walks into the sitting room of the Dragonfly carrying an extremely large wine glass filled to the brim, he hands it brusquely to Sookie. "I told you we didn't have anything stronger than this."

"It was the last convention we had. They cleaned us out." Sookie says apologetically to Lorelai offering her the glass.

Lorelai lifts her head from her hands to except and takes a long sip. "That's fine. Thanks Michel."

"Yes, thank you Michel. I wonder where we could have found someone more qualified to serve beverages. Could it have been in the kitchen, where we have an entire wait staff standing around, waiting for just such an opportunity?" His voice rich with sarcasm.

"Are you finished?" Sookie snaps glaring up at him from her position next to Lorelai on the couch.

Lorelai shakes her head in disbelief. "It can't be that bad. It just can't. That's ridiculous. That's ludicrous."

"Oh, I like him." Michel gushes.

"Not the rapper!" Sookie admonishes.

"I know." He snaps back.

"I don't believe it." With that small statement Lorelai regains their focus.

"Believe it. I had to drive by there to have my lunch at Weston's, the place was a ghost town. I think I even saw a tumbleweed blow by the door." Michel's French accent giving an unque color to the old west references.

"Not helping, Michel." Sookie warns before confirming Lorelai's fears. "I heard yesterday that Luke handed the keys over to Caesar, in hopes of keeping what little business they have."

"I heard," Continues Michel. "That Luke won't leave the house for fear of getting assaulted on the street." Lorelai looks at him completely horrified.

"You did not hear that!" Sookie yells casting a worried glance at Lorelai.

" Well I could have, if I paid any attention to all the yammering that goes on in this town." Michel pouts then points out to Lorelai. "On the upside everyone just loves you."

"As if he didn't hate me enough, the entire town is persecuting him for my sake. It's biblical. I am the martyr." Lorelai sinks deeper into the couch wanting simply to disappear entirely.

"There's more . . ." Sookie says carefully.

"No."

"Taylor has called a special town meeting."

"No!" Lorelai pauses. "I have to go to that meeting. I have to stop this."

Sookie nods her head.

"I have to go to that meeting?!" Lorelai cries burying her head into Sookie's shoulder.

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