Chapter 5

Christopher sat on the edge of his bed in complete shock. The phone call was brief. She told him an address and to hurry. He was left with more questions than answers. He could hear the fear and weakness in her voice. He promised his life that he would be there to get her.

Chris was now pacing vigorously across the floor in his office. His promise to Rory was turning out to be very difficult to keep. All flights in and out of turkey were grounded. It was now 5 a.m. and he was losing hope quickly. He was making call after call, trying to find someone that could possibly drive there to get her. He knew Syria was out, but possibly Romania or Bulgaria. Money was no object and Christopher Hayden never felt more grateful for that than at this very moment.

One thing Rory did tell him was repeating over and over in his head… Please don't tell mom. What did she mean by that? How could she expect him to keep this from her mother? She had to know she was going crazy with worry. It was 6 a.m. now and he knew he had to make a call.

"Hello?"

"Richard, it's Christopher Hayden."

"Christopher, it's barely 6 a.m." There is a slight pause as realization hits him as to what topic of this call may be about. "Oh my… is it Rory? Is everything ok with Rory?"

"No, everything is not okay. She needs help Richard and I can't get to her. She called just over two hours ago, the call was brief. She gave me an address and told me to come right away."

"But, there are no flights in or out of Turkey right now." Richard said with a sigh.

"Exactly."

"Ok, just stay calm Christopher, I have several international contacts. They are what, 7 or 8 hours ahead of us? I'll make some calls. Why don't you come over and we'll figure this out. Can you give me the address she mentioned?" Richard immediately started towards his study.

"I'll be there shortly."

Twenty minutes later Christopher arrives at the Gilmore residence. Richard met him at the door and the absence of one Emily Gilmore berating him for information told him that she was not aware of the incident.

"I take it you haven't told Emily."

"No, I haven't. I am hoping for some positive news before I go there. Now, I have news, some good and some bad."

"Ok, Richard give me some good news. I'm about to lose my mind right now."

"Well, I hadn't told anyone, but I hired a security team to keep an eye on her while in Turkey. I know she explicitly told me not to, but I knew what she was heading into and I had to. I would give my last breath to protect that girl."

"Are you telling me you have known where Rory was this whole time?"

Christopher was instantly furious.

"No, I didn't. They lost her the night all the gunfire erupted downtown. However, I called them immediately after we hung up. I gave them the address, they are on their way as we speak to get her and move her to a secure location until we can figure out when and how to get her."

"Well, that is good news. Can you trust these guys Richard?"

"Yes, there was a very intensive background investigation before I hired them. I also did weeks of personal reference calls and they cleared with flying colors. So yes, I do trust them."

"Okay, so that is great news. We will finally have a direct line of communication to her. I have tried the number she called from several times since she hung up, nobody answers. Now, do I dare ask what the bad news is?"

"Well, it seems the address she gave you is a hospital."

"A hospital?! Oh no, what happened to her? She didn't say anything."

"Christopher, speculating right now does us no good. Now, can I assume by the fact that Lorelai isn't beating down my door that you haven't told her yet?"

"I haven't."

"Why in heavens not, Christopher. That woman is a total mess right now."

"I know, it's killing me too. But…"

"But what?"

"Well sir, the thing is that Rory said all of 3 sentences to me in her call. Dad please help me. Here is the address. Hurry and please don't tell mom."

"Well, I can understand your hesitation son. But, there is no question on what you need to do here. And, you need to do it this instant. I will call you with an update as soon as I hear from my team."

Christopher stood outside Lorelai's home in Stars Hollow. He was a wreck and not looking forward to this conversation. He took a deep breath and knocked.

"Chris, what are you doing here? It's 6:45 in the morning, ever hear of that silly new invention called a telephone?"

Christopher's face showed no expression. Lorelai looked at him and it all clicked.

"Oh God, it's Rory." Tears started falling down her face. "Chris, please tell me Rory is okay."

"Lor, let's go sit down. Is Luke home?"

"No, he went to open the diner at 5 this morning."

"Can someone cover for him? You should call him and have him come over."

"Chris... I am warning you. Tell me right now what you know."

"She's okay, as far as I know. But, there are definitely more questions than answers. Please call Luke and I'll tell you everything I know."

Luke rushed home immediately and Chris spent the next ten minutes telling them everything he knew and everything that Richard told him. Lorelai sat silently, processing everything she was hearing. She finally interrupted Chris.

"So… you are telling me you found out our daughter is alive at 3:30 this morning, you have made calls, went to my father's house, but you are now just telling me 4 hours later. 4 HOURS CHRIS! I am her damn mother!"

Lorelai was angry, she flew off the couch and was now pacing the floor.

"Please calm down Lorelai. I may have left out the part where Rory asked me not to tell you."

"She what!? She would never do that. Are you sure it was even Rory?"

"It was Rory, Lor. That I know for certain."

"Why didn't she call me?"

"I don't know; I've been running it through my head every minute since she called. Now, I could fumble out a few guesses, but I don't want to put words in her mouth. Let's let her tell us."

Just then Christopher's cell phone started to ring. It was Richard. Everyone was instantly quiet and gathered around Chris's phone.

"Richard, is she ok. Is she safe? Lorelai and Luke are with me, you are on speaker."

"Dad, please tell me she's okay."

"Yes, I just spoke to my team. They haven't released her from the hospital yet, the administration has strict orders to keep an eye on her. They did tell me she was brought into the hospital only two days ago, they have no other information about her health. They have seen her through the window, but have not had any contact yet. They confirmed it's her and she is moving somewhat in her bed. In countries like Turkey, everything comes down to money. They are negotiating a bribe to take her."

"A bribe?! That does not sound good, Dad. Is it even safe for her to leave the hospital, what is wrong with her?"

"Lorelai, getting her out of the hospital and away from anything ran by the Turkish government is the only thing in her best interest right now. Now, I'll call again when I know more. But Lorelai, I have to ask you something very important. The security team will need to grab her quickly and she is going to be scared. What is something they can say to her that she would know would have only come from you?"

Lorelai paused for a few moments. Her mind just wasn't able to focus, finally something came to her. "They can tell her I said 'Oy with the poodles' and that I love her and she needs to come home to us in one piece."

"Very good, I'll be in touch soon."

Christopher got up to leave but was surprised when Luke asked him to stay. It was another hour before Richard called again, the longest hour of their lives. Finally, the phone rang again.

"Dad, is she ok?"

"Yes, they have her in a secure location and have brought in a private nurse to look after her."

"Can I talk to her, can I call her or can she call me?"

"It seems she is completely shaken up right now, she doesn't want to talk to anyone. All her communication is non-verbal, basically head nods."

"What happened to her?"

"Lorelai, we don't know. Now, I was notified by a colleague while they are not allowing public airfare, private jets seem to be going in and out for a fee."

"Richard, I don't care what it costs. I will buy the damn plane myself." Said Christopher.

"I figured as much, I'm working with a guy in the insurance business that has connections. Now, in order to save time, it doesn't make any sense for any us to fly there. If she can get medically cleared to travel, the security team and the nurse will fly her here. They are arranging for the plane to be ready at 11 p.m. our time and she will be home in 2 days."

"I feel so helpless, Dad. Thank you for everything. You too, Chris. Now, to wait for the next 48 hours for some answers."

Author's Note: The events related to Turkey are very loosely related to the coup that happened last year. I have exaggerated the details for the benefit of my story. Now, I have no issue with Turkey so I hope I don't offend anyone. It just happened to work for my story.

And yes, to all my fellow ROGAN shippers... I will always and forever be 100% team Logan. I LOVE all the fabulous stories about them, but I chose to write this where they didn't meet at Yale. It allows for something different, and I can be a lot more creative.

After Logan, my second favorite male character is hands down Finn. I just love his quirkiness. He is really fun to write. Finn will have a big part in Rory's life.

Any other questions, just ask. Now… make a new writer happy and stop and review. It really means the world to me. ~T.