Disclaimer: This is an original story based upon the characters of Gilmore Girls. No profit will be made from this story, and no copyright infringment is intended.

Author's Note: Thank you all for the feedback, as always, it means a lot. Thank you for being honest with me too, as your feedback helps me to be a better writer. I hope you enjoy this next installment.

Rory. That was what her mind shouted when she first heard the screeching of tires. Rory was what she thought of when she heard the voices above her, telling her to stay calm.

"Can you tell us your name" someone from the left of her asked. She thought of the night Rory was born, how she felt in her arms. "Lorelai...Lorelai Gilmore."

"Can you tell us what day it is Lorelai?" She thought of Rory as a two year old--such long soft lovely hair.

"What day is it today?" they asked again. She had to think a minute on that one and then she remembered...she was on her way to her parent's house.

"Friday."

"What's the date?" She thought of Rory's graduation from Kindergarten, which her daughter had taken so seriously, insisting that they frame photo copied diploma and put it next to her own GED diploma.

"Lorelai, what's the date?" She felt as though her brain was filled with cotton candy.

"I don't know," she replied, and she felt a heavy sleep come over her. She thought of Rory's seventh birthday party--the teddy bear picnic she had put on at the inn, her Halloween costume that year--was it a witch? No, it was Dorothy. She felt herself nodding off to sleep.

"Lorelai, I need you to stay awake, talk to me okay? I need you to tell me if anything hurts," The man's voice sounded so far away, like he was in the far end of a tunnel.

As soon as he asked the question, it seemed like fire flamed up in her body, "My...my leg," she said and then realized that her chest hurt terribly and for the first time realized that it was hard for her to breathe,

"Can't...breathe," she gasped and heard an urgency in the man's voice. "We're going to get you out," he said, "We're going to get you out." The man's voice sounded further and further away.

...Rory

She didn't know if she was dead or dreaming, but she was in a green pretty place and started walking. Then she heard it, heart-wrenching, terrible sobbing as if the person who was crying's heart had been ripped out. She started to run towards the sound, and then came upon a coffin, covered in roses and lillies, there were chairs set up as if a funeral had just been concluded. When she hurried to the coffin, she came around the corner and saw that it was her daughter that was sobbing out her broken heart. She went to her, tried to comfort her, but the girl couldn't see her, she just kept sobbing over and over, "Mommy...Mommy,"

"Rory!" Lorelai sat up in bed and looked around at the dark surroundings. For a moment, she was terrified, wondering if she had really died and this darkness was her existence.

"It's alright," came the familiar voice from the corner.

"Mom?" she breathed.

Her mother came from where she had been sleeping in the chair across the room, "It's alright Lorelai."

Her mother switched on the light above her bed and Lorelai sank back against her pillow in relief.

"You were having a bad dream," Emily said, and started fluffing her pillow and smoothing out her blanket.

"I dreamed about the accident, and then dreamed I had died and was watching Rory fall apart at my funeral." She wasn't sure if she imagined it, but she thought she saw something cross her mother's features when she said, "I had died,"

"It was just a dream," Emily said. "Go back to sleep, you need your rest."

Lorelai nodded slowly and then watched as her mother turned off the light and walk back over to the chair.

She tried to sleep, but the image of Rory sobbing over her casket was burned in her brain. She bit her lower lip, trying to reason with herself that it wasn't real, she hadn't died...she hadn't died...she was going to be okay...she hadn't died. The darkness settled over her like a thick mud...she felt trapped again.

"Mommy," she whispered in fear and then felt idiotic for calling her mother like that. She was a grown woman; almost forty years old...she steadied herself for the tongue lashing that was sure to come.

"Yes?" came the reply from the darkness.

She suprised to her the tenderness in her mother's voice and heard the fear in her mother's voice as well. She heard her mother's footfall and then saw her switch on the light above her bed. She was suprised at the feeling of comfort that flooded into her at seeing her mother's face. Why did her mother look frightened?

"I'm here," her mother whispered and perhaps it was the medication she was on, but she could have sworn she heard her mother's voice break, "I'm right here."

"I'm scared," Lorelai whispered.

Her mother reached up a hand and brushed her cheek, the action felt so foriegn, but felt so good. It stirred something in her, a memory long forgotten.

"There's nothing to be scared of, you're going to be just fine," her mother said softly.

Lorelai bit her lower lip, "I can't leave Rory," she said, her voice shaking.

"Lorelai, you're not going anywhere," and this time she was sure she heard her mother's voice break as she whispered, "I won't allow it."

Emily reached down and clasped her hand on her daughter's wrist and the two of them were silent for a few minutes and then her mother spoke and her voice sounded bright, "Do you remember what I used to do when you were a little girl?"

It took Lorelai a minute and then the memory flooded into her, "The monster call," she said smiling.

Her mother smiled and released her wrist, "Calling all monsters, calling all monsters, come out come out wherever you are!" she whispered and then turned on all the lights. She looked under the bed, and adopting a tone as though she was speaking to a child, she looked up and shook her head, "No monsters in there." She looked underneath the blanket that was on the chair where she was sleeping, "No monsters here." She opened up the closet in the room, "No monsters in here." She opened up the bathroom that was off to the side of the room. "No monsters in here." Then she went back to the side of her daughter's bed. "No monsters are out tonight because..." she paused, waiting for her daughter to fill in the blank.

"Daddy killed them all last night," Lorelai said smiling. Emily reached up and brushed a finger down her daughter's nose. "Go to sleep Lorelai, everything will be alright."

Lorelai nodded, strangely feeling safe, as if suddenly she was a little girl again. Her mother's voice was calming, soothing somehow and it baffled her. Had she really forgotten what it was like to feel this way? She felt like a door had been opened and memories that were dusty suddenly began creaking out. She remembered the scent of her mother's hair, the feel of it brushing her cheek as her mother kissed her goodnight, she remembered climbing into bed with her parents, finding comfort in the silky sheets, the way her mother would reach up and caress her cheek as she snuggled next to her. What had happened she asked herself as she looked up into the face of her mother now. What had happened to tear them so far apart?

"Goodnight Lorelai," her mother said as she went back to her chair, "Get some rest."

"Goodnight Mom," she replied, and turned to her side. "What did you tell Rory when she called?" she asked after her mom had turned off the light again.

"I told her that I needed her to come home of the 15th of August if she could to help with the DAR luncheoun. It's a very important one and I could really use her help."

"Mother," Lorelai whined, "You couldn't come up with anything better than that?"

"Sorry, I'm not as good at hiding the truth as you are," came the reply

Lorelai snorted, "So did she believe you?"

"I think so, she thinks I'm a raving lunatic for calling twelve times to ask about a DAR luncheoun, but I think so."

"Thanks Mom,"

"Lorelai...she's going to find out, one of the town members...she might read it in the paper."

"They're having a town meeting to discuss how noone is to mention it to Rory."

"They're what?...never mind."

There were a few minutes of silence and then Lorelai spoke up again, "This is her chance Mom, if I tell her now, she's going to come home and never want to leave again. I don't want her to freak out."

"You underestimate her," came the reply a few moments later. There was another long pause after that and then Emily spoke quietly, "You can't protect your children forever."

Lorelai suddenly felt strange, were they talking about Rory still? Was her mother admitting something? When she said nothing else, Lorelai quickly took over, "I'll tell her Mom, when the time is right."

"Goodnight Lorelai," her mother said.

"Goodnight Mom," she replied, the words were right there...on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say them. "Thanks...thanks for staying with me."

"My pleasure," her mother replied.

Lorelai closed her eyes and soon she was asleep. She wasn't sure, but she thought she woke up during the night to someone crying...but it was probably a dream again.

"You are going home with us, and I don't want to hear another word about it," Emily said the next morning as the two waited for the Richard and Luke, the nurse with the breakfast tray, and the doctor to come and issue discharge orders. Lorelai had been in the hospital a week now and was itching for freedom. Going to her parent's house for recuperation seemed like another sentance to prison.

"I don't think so," she replied.

"Lorelai, you are going to have to stay down for at least a month, what do you propose to do?"

"I'll be fine, I'll have Sookie and Luke,"

"Sookie and Luke have jobs,"

"They'll come over at night."

"What about during the day?"

"I'll be fine."

"Lorelai, you have to eat, you have to go to the bathroom...oh wait, I forgot, you gave it up cold turkey."

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "Mom, I will work it out."

"I could order that one channel you like so much...what was it...RTV?" her mother said, trying to entice her.

Lorelai cackled, "Mom...MTV, M... after 22 years you still can't get MTV right?"

"You are changing the subject."

"Mom, I want to recuperate in my own house, with my own stuff."

Her mother stiffened, "Then I'm coming over during the day."

Danger Will Robinson, Danger

"Mom, you have a busy life, I can't ask you to do that."

"Lorelai, you are going to require help, I know that's a four letter swear word to you, but that's the fact."

"I'll get help," her daughter replied and then thought she saw the smallest flicker of hurt cross her mother's features. But...it was better this way, if they were together all day, every day for a month, and she with nowhere to run, they would kill eachother.

"Fine," her mother said sharply, and then looked at her watch, "What on earth is keeping that breakfast cart?" she demanded and then headed out the door.

She had been gone just a few minutes when Luke came around the corner, bearing a bouquet of yellow daisies.

"Hey" he grinned.

"Hey yourself," she grinned back.

He leaned down to kiss her and they both found themselves lingering, hanging on to the kiss.

"You look great," he said, "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes, my mother has this crazy notion that I'm going to go to her house, and I was able to shoot that one down, but now she wants to come over and help me during the day." she cried as if Luke would agree that it was the most ludicrous thing in the world but he was completely passive.

"Why not?" he replied. "You're going to need someone."

"No way," she replied. "Not her."

"Why?" he asked.

"Are you insane?" she countered. "I mean, yeah she's been great these past few days, staying with me, and she was great last night when I was up for awhile, but all day...every day, we'd just end up killing eachother. I'd have no way to run if I needed to." Suddenly when she said those words, a pang of guilt swept over her, "No way to run if I needed to." She thought back to that night in her father's study, when he had exploded at her, "And then you run away, and you treat us as lepers." And then you run away...run away...your mother couldn't get out of bed for a month, did you know that? Did you?

No...no I didn't.

"Breakfast time," her mother said brushing around the corner with a tray and setting it down on her lap.

How long had she been out there? Had she heard them talking?

"Well, I'm sure you two have everything under control here," her mother said, sweeping past Luke and picking up her purse, "I certainly don't want to be in your way," she brushed out the door, "Well goodbye, Lorelai, goodbye Luke," she said and then was gone.

Lorelai swore under her breath and smacked the tray, sending the cover flying off the sausage.