The car ride was quiet and quick. Lorelai couldn't complain about his speed this time. Her mind was racing, she was trying to hang on to Luke's theory that Rory had to be okay because she called herself, the call wasn't from someone at the hospital. But there was a huge feeling of dread that she couldn't shake and was desperate to see Rory with her own eyes.

Once there Luke parked as fast as he could and they both were jogging to the door. As the sliding doors whooshed open Lorelai saw Emily standing there.

"MOM!" Lorelai called.

"Come with me, I waited here so I could lead you to her. She's fine, just a few cuts from some glass and a sprained wrist. I made sure she had every test available and the best doctor is treating her. All of the tests are done so you can see her immediately." Emily was talking at the speed of light while walking as fast as she could, leading Lorelai by the hand with Luke close behind, his hand never leaving the small of Lorelai's back.

They got to a room and Emily pointed, "Rory's in here with your father. The baby is still being looked at and both Christopher and his wife are in surgery."

Lorelai rushed into the room, "Oh my God, Sweets! Are you okay?" She saw Rory sitting under the covers of the bed, with a bandage covering the stitches in her forehead, smaller cuts all over her face and her left arm in a cast. She rushed past Richard and hugged Rory. She sat on the bed beside her and kissed her forehead gently. Luke and Emily came into the room a half a second after Lorelai and Richard saw the pain in Luke's face to see Rory in this state.

"How the hell did this happen?" Luke almost screamed.

"Dad, calm down. I'm okay," Rory said softly as she reached out her good arm. He got closer to the bed and took her hand in his.

"I'm sorry, Kid. It just scared me seeing you like this." He softened and caressed her face, "What happened? Will it hurt if I hug you?"

Rory pulled Luke to her and hugged him with her free arm. Lorelai was still on the bed with her gently holding her hand with the cast.

Rory took a deep breath and leaned back into the pillows Emily had procured for her.

"So we left the party, everything was fine. I was in the back watching Wendy giggle and play with her toys, Dad and Sherry were in the front talking and laughing, telling me funny stories about the random people from the party. Dad was driving through an intersection, we had a green light, there was no reason to not just keep driving," she suddenly burst into tears and curled into Lorelai's arms.

"Someone ran the red light and plowed right into Christopher's car," Richard continued for Rory. "They were in one of those Hummers and there was a lot of damage. Both Christopher and Sherry are in critical condition, the baby should be fine because Rory threw herself over her. That explains why Rory has all the cuts and scratches from the glass and the baby has hardly any."

Emily beamed with tears in her eyes, "Our girl is a hero."

"No surprise there," Luke added.

Rory, who wasn't comfortable with the praise, shook her head, "To be honest, it wasn't a well thought out plan. I just went on instinct."

"Exactly," Lorelai said, "It was your instinct to protect her, not yourself. That's why none of us are surprised."

There was a small knock at the door and a tall, handsome doctor came in. Lorelai smiled thinking how much he looked like Denzel Washington.

"Well, you seem to have a full house here," he nodded. "I will need your permission to say anything in front of all these people, Rory."

"We're her family!" Emily barked.

The doctor smiled at Emily immediately disarming her, "I appreciate that. However, Rory is over 18-years-old and has the right to keep her medical records private."

"It's okay Doctor. Um, oh, I'm sorry, I forgot your name," Rory shuttered.

"That's alright, you did bang your head pretty hard. I'm Dr. Reynolds. So here's the recap, since you are giving consent for everyone here to know."

"Yes," Rory nodded.

Emily had pulled out a notepad and pen to take notes.

"You have a mild concussion, but after your battery of tests I'm happy to report that is the extent of your internal injuries. Your wrist should only need that cast for a few weeks. We'll keep you here overnight to keep an eye on the concussion but you should be released first thing tomorrow morning."

Rory nodded, "How's everyone else?"

When the doctor looked nervous to say anything Rory assumed it was due to privacy, "Christopher is my father, I have the right to know. Sherry is my step-mother and Wendy is my sister, Please!"

Dr. Reynolds sighed. "I'm so sorry. Sherry didn't make it."

The room made a collective gasp.

"It has been touch and go with your father, I'm not sure where they are at right now."

"And Wendy?" Rory asked with a shaky voice.

"Well, thanks to you and the carseat, she hardly had a scratch. The impact to the car was focused on the front half of the car which is why you and Wendy are doing ok physically. We could release Wendy now, but there's no one to take her."

"Thank you Doctor," Rory whispered.

"Let me know if you need any help. I will check in later tonight and then before you check out. The nurses are here for anything else." With that he left and the room fell silent.

"I can't believe she's gone," Rory said in a stunned voice.

Noone knew what to say.

"Oh my god," Rory gasped, "If something happens to Dad, I have to raise Wendy!"

"Why would you say that?" Luke asked.

"Surely you don't have to take that on at such a young age," Emily added. "What about Sherry's parents? Or Straub and Francine?"

"Straub is sick," Rory told them. "That's why they weren't at the party. They're somewhere in Europe trying some alternative treatments. And Sherry's parents passed away years ago, she was an only child. I'm the only family they have. And because I'm over eighteen they told me that I was listed in their wills if something happened to them that Wendy would go to me."

The room fell silent again.

"Let's just take a beat," Lorelai said. "Chris is a fighter. Plus if it comes to that, you're not alone. We're all here."

"You would raise Chris' daughter?" Emily asked.

"She's Rory's sister." Richard stated and added, "She's family."

"Plus, she's a baby. What other choice is there? We can't abandon her," Luke added.

Rory and Lorelai looked at Luke with eyes so filled with love. They both knew that he was never a huge fan of Chris but neither of them had any doubt that he would want to help raise Wendy, or any kid in this situation.

Again there was a knock at the door and Dr. Reynolds entered with a solemn look on his face.

"Oh no," Rory gasped. She turned her head and borrowed into Lorelai's shoulder since Lorelai still had her arm around Rory's shoulders.

"I'm afraid I have bad news."

The room went very quiet. Rory heard the Doctor's voice but couldn't focus long enough on all the words, "Did all we could."

"Too much internal damage."

"Oh my God!" Rory cried. She sobbed into her mother's chest for a few minutes but then jumped off the bed. "I need to see Wendy."

"Honey, maybe just wait." Emily said.

"Now!" Rory demanded.

"I'll take her," Luke offered. "You three stay here and talk to the doctor."

With his arm wrapped around her, Luke led Rory to the nurses' station.
"Hi, we need to see Wendy Hayden," Luke smiled. "This is her sister, and now legal guardian, Rory Gilmore."

The nurse gave them a sad smile, "I'll take you to her." The nurse led them to a room with a tiny bed and a candy striper sitting there to keep an eye on the even tinier girl.

"You can go," Rory said sweetly to the young girl in stripes. "I'm not leaving her side again."

Luke smiled as he watched Rory peek over the side of the small bed to see her baby sister sleeping soundly. She reached out and smoothed the blanket Wendy was swaddled in and the tears began to flow.

"Now comes the time in my life that I really feared," she confessed to Luke. "People always say I'm so much like my Mom. But I'm not."

Luke stroked Rory's back, "What do you mean? You and your Mom are two peas in a pod."

"Luke, I couldn't do what my Mom did. If I was pregnant at sixteen there's no way I would have left. She had all the money and help she could have asked for at my grandparents' house, she could have gone to college, but she chose to leave just so she could do things her way and live the life she wanted. I wouldn't have that courage. I'm two years older than she was when she had me . . . I just don't think I can do this. But how can I not? Wendy needs me, she just lost her parents."

Luke pulled Rory into a hug and held her as she sobbed, "Don't worry, I've got you. Your Mom and I are not going to let you go through this alone.

Rory was given a two week bereavement leave from school. She was expected to complete the assignments because it is Chilton afterall, but she had those weeks to miss classes. She was shocked at how helpful Paris, Madeline and Louise all were with giving her notes and checking in. Rory had a long talk with Christopher's lawyer and with Luke and Lorelai.

Rory wanted to do all she could to help raise Wendy, but everyone agreed that being eighteen and just about ready to go off to college wasn't a time to become a Mom. Luckily, Chris and Sherry had written "Lorelai Gilmore" in their wills so it was decided that it could be interpreted that Wendy was left to Lorelai and not Rory. For the first time in her life Chris' parents were actually treating Lorelai well because they were so grateful that she was willing to raise Wendy when they knew they couldn't.

Richard and Emily were even helping out and grateful to Luke and Lorelai for ensuring this wasn't going to affect Rory's education. As a way of saying thank you or to be supportive they bought all the furniture required for a nursery. Luke was putting together the crib and changing table while Lorelai was feeding and playing with Wendy on her bed.

"Hey, I'm almost done here, come check it out," he called.

"We're coming!" Lorelai scooped up Wendy and hurried to the room across the hall. When she saw all the furniture set up and the place all ready for a baby to live in Lorelai smiled. "Oh my God! We have a baby!"

"Yeah," Luke said in a confused voice, "You're holding her."

"I know, it just all happened so fast."

Luke wrapped his arms around Lorelai from behind and looked over her shoulder at the baby sleeping in her arms. He kissed Lorelai's neck, "It's not how we planned or pictured it, but we knew we wanted kids. This just fast tracks it, and you didn't even have to give up caffeine this time!"

"Why would I ever give up caffeine?" Lorelai asked.

"You know that doctors say that you should cut it out as much as possible while you're pregnant. They were even saying it back when you were pregnant with Rory, which I'm guessing you didn't since she's as addicted as you are."

"Well with you around from day one with this little angel I'm sure you'll have better luck instilling your healthy eating habits."

Luke laughed, "I don't know, between you and Rory I'm sure you'll manage to get her hooked on some type of junk."

"Another Gilmore Girl, how will you survive?" She smiled in a teasing voice.

"Very happily!" He answered truthfully.
The two stood there a little while longer, both looking at the beautiful baby cooing up at them.