A/N: So, it took me 6 months but I finally finished this chapter! I apologise greatly for the delay but I have had major writer's block with this story. To be honest to you all, I'm not entirely sure where I want to go with this story, so if you have any ideas or suggestions then please PM me or leave a review!

All the reviews for this story have been so lovely, I greatly appreciate them! Thank you to SpencerReidFan89 who kindly gave me a lot of very useful background information on the operation itself and to PuppiesRCute for your interest in this story. And thanks to cloismycel for the beautiful quote – your question has been answered in the author's note at the end of this chapter! :)

Please leave a review and let me know if you are still interested in this story!

To my wonderful beta, Mo and of course, Lizzie and Nora; you're the best.

"If you are whole, you will argue: Why wouldn't they [newly healed disabled people] rejoice? Don't the poor miserable buggers all want to be like me? Not necessarily, no. The arrogance of the able-bodied is staggering. Yes, maybe we'd like to be able to get places quickly, and carry things in both hands, but only because we have to keep up with the rest of you. We would rather be just like us, and have that be all right." – The Poisonwood bible, Barbara Kingsolver.

Chapter three: The moment of truth

October 1996

Lorelai sat on the couch, laughing quietly to herself at Eloise. She had laid her on a blanket under the mobile that hung from a small plastic frame. Stuffed Winnie the Pooh characters dangled just inches from Eloise. Her big blue eyes were wide, fixated on the brightly coloured toys, as they swayed precariously on the string that attached them to the frame. Every now and again, a bright smile would spread across Eloise's face, causing Lorelai to giggle. She loved how easily amused babies of this age could be and that smile was something else altogether. That smile was something that could cause Lorelai's heart to melt in an instance, something that made Lorelai want to hold Eloise close and never let her go, and something that made Lorelai marvel at how she had gotten so lucky.

Eloise shot her plump hand in the air, trying and failing, to grab onto Tigger's tail. Lorelai laughed again, out loud this time, as Eloise's arm flailed desperately in the air, her back arched and her face red with concentration. Once Eloise had surrendered, her arm dropping to her side and her face returning to its usual shade of pink, Lorelai leant back on the couch; her eyes never leaving Eloise as she swung her legs onto the coffee table, sending the glass of water previously situated there to the floor with an extremely loud 'Smash!'.

"Oh, shit," Lorelai muttered, the last thing she needed was for Eloise to start screaming the house down; she had been so peaceful. She ran over to where Eloise lay, ready to start another round of shushing and back rubbing. However, she stopped abruptly in her tracks when she realised that the serene smile that rested on Eloise's face had not faltered.

"That's weird," Lorelai contemplated aloud. Maybe she had just recovered quickly, Lorelai thought, slightly confused. She soon realised however, as she replayed the scene in her head, that she had seen Eloise's reaction; she hadn't even flinched.

"Mommy!" Rory called brightly from the front door, jarring Lorelai from her thoughts, "I got an A! The science test, I got an A!" she squealed excitedly, as she skipped into the living room.

"Whoa, whoa, Honey, be careful of the glass!" Lorelai exclaimed, carefully leaping to Rory's side, just in time to stop her from stepping on the broken glass that had spread across the living room floor and under the couch, but fortunately, not in the direction of Eloise.

"An A! That's amazing, sweets!" Lorelai continued brightly, giving Rory a one armed hug and steering her further away from the debris, "Do you mind doing Mommy a favour and go get the dust pan and brush from under the sink?"

"Sure," Rory replied, making her way carefully into the kitchen, as she rambled on excitedly about her grade, oblivious to the fact that her mother was barely listening in the other room. Lorelai's brows furrowed in confusion, as she looked down at her youngest daughter. She sighed heavily, before shaking her head, brushing the incident aside.

November 1999 (Present Day)

"Dog, that's right! Well done Eloise!" Rory spoke and signed slowly, her confidence making up for her lack of fluency. She smiled warmly at Eloise in praise. They both sat cross-legged on the fluffy rug in Eloise's small room, opposite each other with a large open paper pad between them. In this moment, Lorelai couldn't help but feel a surge of pride for both of her daughters as she watched the scene unfold from the doorway.

Ever since they had made the decision for Eloise to have the cochlear, almost six months ago now, Lorelai knew that they really had to start properly teaching Eloise to sign, as well as learning themselves. Luke, Lorelai and Rory had taken up ASL classes at the community college in Hartford. Rory, of course, had taken to it instantly. She began researching it outside of class, steaming further ahead than most of the people in the class despite the fact that they were almost twice her age. Her efforts had paid off and her signing was coming along beautifully.

Lorelai had put together a book for Eloise, which contained many of the basic signs: animals, colours, numbers, food, places and occupation signs; adding to it as her own knowledge increased. There was a picture of what each sign represented, for example in this case a dog, next to it would be the word written out in large, clear handwriting and also a picture of the sign itself. Lorelai, with Rory's help, had been using this to teach Eloise ASL. She loved how involved Rory was with Eloise and most of all how much she wanted this for Eloise. Recently, Rory had been spending an hour everyday quizzing Eloise on different signs and had just begun to sign some of Eloise's books for her; as best she could, anyway. Lorelai would never truly be able to express how grateful she was for Rory's input.

Eloise noticed Lorelai in the doorway and waved at her happily in greeting, a wide smile on her face. Lorelai smiled back as she made her way into the room towards the pair. "How's it going?" she spoke and signed; like Rory her signing wasn't fluent, but she moved her hands with confidence.

"Dog," Eloise signed in explanation, grinning brightly at her sister and mother.

"I think she can pretty much do all the signs in the book. It's just using them in sentences that she's struggling with at the moment, but she'll get there," Rory said proudly, signing the words she knew.

"That's great, hon!" Lorelai signed and spoke softly, bending at the waist to kiss Eloise's and then Rory's cheek. Walking over to Eloise's closet she pulled out the tiny suitcase and laid it on the bed. She held a letter from the hospital in her hand. Scanning her eyes across the page she saw the list of items that Eloise needed to bring: pyjamas, slippers, dressing gown, a cuddly toy of the child's choice, etcetera, etcetera. Lorelai began to pack the required items into the small suitcase.

"Mom, I can do that," Rory said softly from behind Lorelai, picking up Eloise's pyjamas and beginning to fold them before placing them neatly into the suitcase.

"No sweets, it's fine, I can do it, but thank you." Lorelai said with a sincere smile, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Do you not have any homework you need to do?"

"No, I've done it all. I wanted to have tonight free, spend it with Eloise," Rory said softly, averting Lorelai's gaze as she attempted to roll up Eloise's robe.

Lorelai could tell that Rory was nervous about tomorrow, as much as she and Luke were. Although, she hadn't really put much thought into how Rory would be feeling. Suddenly feeling stupid, she placed a finger under Rory's chin, using it to guide her face, so that she was looking directly at Lorelai. Her eyes were laced with hurt and concern.

"Rory, you know she'll be okay tomorrow, right? Everything's going to be fine," she said reassuringly, her voice coming out much stronger than she felt.

Rory drew in a small breath, looking over her shoulder at Eloise who was still sat on the rug, playing happily with one of her Barbies. "Yeah, I know," Rory said unconvincingly. "Do you think she understands what's going to happen tomorrow?" she asked softly, her eyes never leaving Eloise.

Lorelai looked up sharply from the suitcase she was packing, drawing in a breath. It was the one thing that Lorelai had really been concerned about, "To some extent yes, but it will still be a shock to her. It's surgery after all."

"Yeah," Rory breathed. Turning back to face her mother, she noticed the worried look that had crept onto her face. "How about you?" Rory asked.

Lorelai continued to pack the suitcase, avoiding Rory's knowing look, "What about me?"

"Will you be okay tomorrow?"

"Oh, hon, I'll be fine," Lorelai dismissed with a wave of her hand. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Okay. Well, you know you don't have to hide anything from me, right? It's okay if you're scared or hurt. I'm not a kid anymore. You don't have to trick me into thinking that you're this superhuman."

"Hey, who said I wasn't superhuman?!" Lorelai exclaimed in a mock offended tone. "And I'm sorry to break it to you, but you're still very much a kid."

Rory rolled her eyes at Lorelai. "Says the woman with the Hello Kitty waffle iron."

"Hey! Do not insult the waffle iron. You have had many a waffle thanks to that fine piece of Hello Kitty embellished machinery," Lorelai pointed out teasingly.

Rory held her hands up in mock surrender, "You're right, I'm sorry. I will never again insult the waffle iron."

"Good girl," Lorelai said jokingly.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. I learnt the sign for waffle and taught it to Eloise when Luke made them for breakfast the other day. We've got a bit, watch."

Eloise was on the floor still busily playing with her Barbies. Rory knelt down next to her, keeping a good distance. Eloise looked up expectantly.

"Eloise?" Rory signed, "Do you like waffles?"

Eloise smiled, remembering, sitting up. She signed the word for waffle and then hummed a quiet 'hmmm', wrapping her arms around her belly and hugging it tightly, her eyes rolling back into her head from pretend delight.

Lorelai laughed loudly, "My, my, you have trained her well."

Where am I going? What's going on? Who are all these people?

I don't like this room; it's small, callous and dazzlingly white. They make me lie on an uneven bed, in a scratchy nightgown, which doesn't close properly, so that if I were to stand up, I would be revealing a large amount of flesh to these strangers. It's odd though, I'm not exactly tired; are they expecting me to sleep?

One of the strangers is smiling at me now, a smile too wide to be sincere; the light isn't quite reaching her eyes. Her lips are moving now, slowly, her sham smile still intact as her lifeless eyes look steadily into mine. I grasp Mr Gee tighter, his beige fur bright in the colourless room and his smell the only familiar thing in this suffocating haze of unknown.

Then I feel a hand on my arm. I jolt abruptly, turning to face the source. I'm met with a smile, but not a fake smile this time, a reassuring smile, a heartfelt smile, one that is undeniably true; the light always reaches Mommy's eyes. My body is flooded with relief. She is knelt on the floor, leaning over the bed, holding my hand in hers as she begins to softly stroke my hair with the other. Her smell is intoxicating and full of familiarity. I breathe deeply, thankful for any fragrance that isn't of antiseptic. Despite all this, I can't help but notice the pain in her eyes. My lips part subconsciously; I want to thank her, thank her for being here, tell her that there's no need to be sad, but I don't know how.

I feel another hand on me now, but this person's touch isn't as light as Mommy's. He grabs my other wrist, so that it lays flat on the bed, holding it there. I turn my head slightly to face him and out of the corner of my eye I see a glint of light reflecting off a needle as one of the other outlandish people hand it to him. My heart pounds against my chest. I don't know what that is, but I don't like its proximity to me. I see him slowly lower the sharp point to my wrist. My breathing quickens and I attempt to wriggle my arm from his grasp, but he holds on tighter, not stopping in his quest. I squirm fiercer now, small tidal waves collecting in my eyes as I thrash, in search for freedom.

I feel two hands on my face, guiding me away from the scary man. The person is looking intently at me now, but the mixture of tears and the bright light overhead obscures their face. I blink rapidly and begin to make out the soft outline of my mother's face. She is calm, a small smile on her face as she soothingly strokes my cheeks with the pads of her thumb. Once she realises that she has gained my attention she smiles again, wider this time and begins to gesture to her eyes. She gestures again. First, pointing to both of mine with her index and middle finger and then pointing to her own identical eyes. I understand. I do as she says, gazing into her bright blue orbs, blinking to brush the tears away, yearning for more clarity. Her irises are mesmerizing, a blue that reminds me of a sea so beautiful that I have only ever seen in pictures. They are glazed slightly due to the unshed tears that have settled there.

I don't notice the man clamp my wrist down again and quickly inject the needle into it, until I feel a small sharp prick, similar to the pain I had once endured from a scratch left by Cinnamon. My eyes well up again, but I force back the tears, not wanting to blur my vision. I continue to gaze into her eyes and suddenly, I feel overwhelmingly sleepy. My eyelids start to flutter, closing involuntarily, as if someone else is controlling my body. But I don't want to sleep. I unsuccessfully try to keep my eyes open, still staring into Mommy's as I fight the losing battle against the anaesthetic that will inevitably take over my body; and suddenly, the blue turns to black.

Eloise's eyes slowly shut and her tense body relaxed. Lorelai released a breath of relief as she allowed the unshed tears to flow freely down her cheeks; no longer needing to mask her pain. Still holding Eloise's face in her hands, she leaned forward and placed a firm kiss to her forehead, breathing in the sweet scent of her. She had almost forgotten where she was when a young nurse tapped her on the shoulder. "I'm afraid all you can do is wait now," she said sympathetically, indicating to the exit with her head.

"Right," Lorelai said distractedly, turning back to look at Eloise again; she looked surprisingly peaceful. The tears started to build in Lorelai's eyes. It didn't feel right, somehow, to hand her daughter over to these strangers. She leant forward again placing a firm kiss to her hairline and two feather-light kisses to her cheeks. Lorelai stood up quickly and walked towards the exit before she could change her mind, sniffing and blinking back the tears. She stole one last look at Eloise as she was pushed through the double doors and into the operating theatre, before exiting the room.

She trudged mindlessly back down the corridor towards the waiting area. Her whole body felt numb, her legs felt like someone else's as she was steered down the long empty corridor. Even her tear ducts had frozen and not a single tear fell from her eyes. The scene that had happened not moments ago, replayed in her mind as she made her way down the corridor. The scared look on Eloise's face as she tried to make sense of what was going on; her thrashing body, controlled by her newly arisen fear; and the look in her eyes as she slowly faded into unconsciousness, were all things Lorelai would not be forgetting in a hurry.

It wasn't until she saw Luke that she had realised that she wasn't paying the slightest attention to where she was going. He was sat in the waiting room chair with his head in his hands, his eyes averted to the floor. She slowly walked over to him, and slumped into the seat next to him. He looked over at her and she was surprised to see the same shell-shocked expression on his face as was on her own.

As Luke looked up at Lorelai, he noted her stunned face; her usually bright eyes expressionless and her pink cheeks abnormally pale. He gave her a small sad smile, placing a comforting hand on her knee and spoke softly but reassuringly, "She'll be okay."

Lorelai's lip began to tremble and her eyes welled up once more. Luke wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her gently towards him. She complied, slowly lowering her body onto his tiredly. Small, silent tears escaped her eyes and streaked down her cheeks, leaving a shiny trail on her face. Luke placed a tender kiss to her temple, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. They stayed like this in each other's embrace for a while, enjoying the comfort they brought each other.

"She was so scared," Lorelai said in a choked whisper, her voice barely audible, muffled by Luke's flannel.

Luke drew in a sad breath. He wanted to say something to soothe her, something comforting, something to erase what she had just witnessed, but no words came to his lips. There is nothing that anyone could say to expunge that from her memory.

Lorelai paced steadily up and down the corridor, as she played nervously with her hair. Eloise had been in the operating theatre for three hours now and Lorelai couldn't handle the waiting.

"Lorelai?" Luke said softly.

She didn't seem to hear him and continued to pace.

"Lorelai?" Luke tried again, louder this time.

"What?" Lorelai asked shortly.

"The pacing. You're doing it again," he said sympathetically.

She sighed tiredly and he gestured for her to come over to where he was sitting. She wordlessly complied, clambering into the seat, crossing her legs and turning sideways so that she faced him. Resting her upper arm on the back of the chair, she lent her head against her hand.

Luke gave her a small smile and then pulled a deck of cards from his coat pocket. "Five card draw?"

Lorelai's eyes widened in excitement. "Oh-ho, you're on!"

Luke let out a laugh and dealt the cards. Lorelai picked up her own and looked and them; her eyebrows furrowed disappointedly. She rearranged the cards in her hand and then removed four, handing them to Luke. "Four more."

Luke silently agreed, placing the cards she had just given him to the back of the deck and handing her four new ones from the top.

Lorelai crinkled her nose at the new cards. "Ah, no, four more."

"You can't have four more, those are the four I dealt you," Luke said firmly.

"Well these don't help me and I have vowed to discard anything negative in my life—first hospital coffee and now these four cards," Lorelai said pointedly, a small smile playing at her lips.

Luke rolled his eyes at her and tossed her four more cards. "Whatever you say."

"Ooh much better, thank you!" Lorelai giggled.

"Mr and Mrs Danes?" the young female doctor who had just entered the corridor asked.

Lorelai turned around so quickly she practically pulled a muscle in her neck. "How is she?"

"Eloise is doing well," she said reassuringly.

"And the surgery? Were there any complications?" Luke asked worriedly.

The doctor smiled kindly, "The surgery was successful. Of course we won't know if it was truly successful until the implant is activated. But for now, everything seems to be as it should be."

Lorelai exhaled deeply in relief, placing her hand to her heart. Luke's whole body relaxed, part of the pressure having eased. He wrapped an arm around Lorelai's shoulder and placed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Can we see her?" Lorelai asked quickly, failing to keep the emotion from her voice.

The doctor smiled and said softly, "Of course, right this way."

A/N: just wanted to mention that I got the idea for the book that Lorelai made for Eloise to help teach her ASL from my mum who made an identical book when I was 18 months old and she found out that I was deaf.

To answer your question, cloismycel:

I'm really glad you picked up on this, because it represents how easily many hearing people can simply forget that the Deaf CAN'T HEAR (I'm not even kidding; the naivety of some people is astounding) Not being able to follow other people's conversations is one of the banes of my life, let me tell you.

In this case, Lorelai and Rory are ignorant to this—they don't mean to not include her but having to remember that Eloise will struggle in these kinds of situations is something that they have to get used to and in the beginning would not always remember. For example, I have a friend who still every now and then will ask me what the teacher said in the middle of class—because she had misheard—and I'll be like 'you do realise who you're asking, right?'. It just simply slipped her mind.

Also, in this situation, in chapter one, the diner scene, Lorelai and Rory's signing is not great, they probably know a few of the basic signs, so this also would have been one of the reasons why they weren't signing in this scene. However, in the Deaf Community, if you know sign language, it is considered rude to not sign if a Deaf person is present. Even if your knowledge of signing is very small, some is better than nothing. So to answer your question, yes—as you've seen in this chapter—there is an effort for hearing people to sign to include the Deaf person in the conversation.

-also I changed my pen name since I uploaded this story, in case that confused anyone-