Hey guys, i know it's been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. Between the flu, my birthday, an my sis's wedding, (and a little bit of writers block) i hope you guys will 4 give me, and keep reading. I know that you prob don't want 2 go back to all the previous chapters to figure out whats going on, so I'm gonna do my best to give you and overview right here.
Prologue: Rory an Lorelai get into an accident and Lorleai is comatose. Rory goes to Live with Luke.
Chap 1: two years later, Lorelai is still comatose, and Rory and Luke have fallen into a comfortable routine. Rory is dating Dean. Jess comes to live with Luke. He is curious about Rory, but she doesn't want to talk about why she lives at Luke's.
Chap 2: Rory and Jess get used to living together. Jess discovers an album of Rory and her mom, and Rory finds him and angrily kicks him out of her room. she goes to visit her mother, where she speaks to the still figure.
Chap 3: Jess follows Rory to one of her hospital visits and finds out the truth.
Chap 4: Rory finds him and is furious. She admits that she didn't want him to feel sorry for her, and she forgives him. a few weeks later, Rory asks jess to drive her to the hospital, where she takes him into to "meet" Lorelai. She says really nice things about him. he goes outside for air, and they kiss.
Chap 5: As soon as the kiss is over, Rory freaks out and demands Jess take her home. She feels guilty about lying to Dean andshe tells him about the kiss. Dean confronts jess at school and the get into a fistfight. When Luke is picking up Jess from the principle's office they get a call to come to the hospital because Lorelai is dying. Luke picks Roryup from school and they head over. However, instead of dying, Lorelai wakes up with amnesia.
Chap 6: Lorelai can't remember anything since she was sixteen, so Luke calls Christopher, who comes and tells Lorelai a little bit about her life. Rory and Dean have a big fight.
Chap 7: Rory brings Lorelai the album with pictures of them growing up, and she tells Lorelai that she's been living with Luke. Shocked, Lorelai confronts Chris about why Rory doesn't live with him. Chris admits that he hasn't been stable enough to be a good father, but that he is ready to be here for Lorelai and Rory now. He asks Rory if she wants to move back home with him and her mom, and she readily agrees.
Chap 8: Jess gets upset when he lears that Rory is moving out and picks a fight with her. she and her dad prepare the house for Lorelai's homecoming, and they have a nice dinner. Rory goes out to pick up a cake, and on the way home she trips and ruins the cake outside of Dean's house and Dean comes outside. Evreything that has been happening has built up onside Rory and she ends up breaking down and sobbing. Dean takes her inside where they talk for a long time. As she is leaving, they start kissing, and at the end she realizes that Jess has been watching from across the street the whole time. She goes back home. After dinner, Lorelai announces she is ready for bed, but she finds her room without any of them showing her, indicating that somewhere she still remembers.
Chap 9: Lorelai meets Luke. Jess asks Rory about her night with Dean, to which Rory happily admits that they are back together. When she gets back from school, Dean asks if he could go home and meet her mom. Rory reluctantly agrees. When they get to her house, Dean offers to pick up the food. Rory goes into her room to do some homework while she waits, and Jess comes to her window. He complains that since Rory has moved out, they don't spend anytime together, and he asks her to sneak out with him, but she replies that she can't.
Whew! I'm out of breath! And that is where we left off, and where we will continue... don't forget to review!
And now....
Chapter 10: Living, Really Living.
Rory stared out the window at Jess's retreating figure, the breeze from the window kissing her bare arms.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" With a start, Rory whirled around. Dean stood there, his massive height filling her doorway.
"N-nothing," she told him, flashing him a smile.
"Okay, well, dinner's here," he announced.
"I'll be there in minute." She told him. Dean ducked out of her room. She heard him laughing with her parents. Taking one last deep breath of the cold, wild air, she reached up and pulled her window down. It shut with a snap.
After dinner was over, Dean had left, and Rory had retired to her room to study, Lorelai and Chris lounged on the couch in the den.
"Dean seems really nice," Lorelai commented. Chris nodded.
"Yeah, he does."
Lorelai sighed deeply.
"What?" Chris asked warily, throwing her a sidelong glance.
"I just don't think Rory likes him as much as she should."
"She's a smart girl. She'll figure it out eventually."
"Teenage love," Lorelai laughed. "So complicated, so innocent."
"Just like ours was," Chris said, leaning in towards her. Lorelai gave another laugh and glance down at her lap, as if half-expecting to see a pregnant stomach protruding. She looked up at Christopher.
"We were anything but innocent," she said. Chris grinned.
"We were amazing together," he contradicted. He leaned in, and their lips met in a soft kiss. They lingered for a moment, and Chris went for a more passionate kiss. Lorelai pulled back. "What?" Chris asked, disappointed.
Lorelai stared at her hands. "It's just that… well," she looked up at him, "you're old." She bit her lip nervously, not sure how that last comment would make him react.
"So are you," he pointed out, confused.
"Yeah I know," she said. "That is, intellectually I know. But in my mind I'm still sixteen. Every time I walk past a mirror and see myself I do a double take. You've grown up," Lorelai told him. "And so did I, except that the difference is that non of my maturing counts because it's all lost in the abyss."
Chris nodded, trying to understand. He pulled back, tucking a piece of stray hair behind her ear. "Well, you let me know when you grow up. I'll still be here," he promised.
Lorelai smiled. "I'm glad you're Rory's father," she said. She rested her head on his chest, and the two of them focused their racing thoughts towards the television.
The next day, Rory and her dad left the house while Lorelai slept, and made their ay over to Luke's for breakfast. They settled themselves at a table.
"I'll go get muffins," Rory said, getting up and heading over to the counter.
Jess was working the cash register. He grinned as Rory selected two muffins.
"Missed a hell of a night last night," he informed her.
"Did I now?" Rory answered, "I'm glad you had fun. That makes two of us."
"You don't know what real living is, Gilmore," Jess said.
"We'll see about that." she handed him the money.
"Yeah, we will," he challenged, handing her the change.
Throughout all her classes the rest of the day, Jess's words echoed through her head. You don't know what real living is, Gilmore. Maybe Jess was right. But she had had enough turmoil in her life for a while, and she had satiated her appetite for adventure for a long time. Right now her goal was focused on trying to get everything back to normal, and then maybe she could shake it up again.
"Yo, Mary!" Tristan waved his hand in front of her face. Rory came to with a start, realizing she had spaced out while she was putting books into her locker. "What genius thought are you thinking?" He leaned on the locker next to her.
"That I wish you leave me alone Tristan," she told him.
"Tsk, tsk," Tristan mocked. "What a waste of brainpower. Just think, in the time it took you to think that, you could have been thinking up the cure for cancer."
"I'll try to remember that next time you're annoying me," Rory promised, shutting her locker and turning the lock. Tristan laughed, and turned to go.
"Hey, Tristan?" Rory had no idea why she was asking him of all people.
"Ah, her highness calls."
"What do you think real living is?" she braced herself to be ridiculed.
Tristan leaned back onto the locker, sighing outwardly. "Well Mary, if you're asking for my humble opinion, real living… I would say it means having no regrets."
"No regrets…" Rory pondered.
"Yeah, like never second guessing yourself."
Rory considered this. The bell rang.
"Just in time," Tristan muttered, "this whole deep conversation thing is kinda creeping me out."
Rory rolled her eyes and headed to her next class.
Lorelai sat in her home. She heard Chris come into the door accompanied by a woman. She heard her laugh, a loud, bubbly laugh. She turned as the came into the room. Accompanying Chris was a short, stout woman, with dark blonde hair and a vibrant face.
"Hey Lor," Chris greeted. He gestured to the lady. "This is Sookie. You guys used to work together at the Independence Inn. Sookie's the worlds greatest cook."
"Stop it." Sookie blushed. "Hey Lorelai," she greeted her old friend.
Lorelai smiled politely at the woman who, to her, was stranger.
"Okay, well I have a couple of things to take care of," Chris announced. "So I'll leave you two to get reacquainted."
Sookie smiled vibrantly as she took a seat on the couch next to Lorelai.
"How are you doing?" she asked her kindly.
"A little out of whack, to be honest," she admitted. "For everyone else, I've been out for two years. For me, it's been sixteen."
Sookie nodded understandingly.
"Come on, let's get out of here," she said, gesturing to the confining walls of the den. "I'll take you around the town, show you all the places we used to love. It'll be fun!"
Having nothing better to do, Lorelai let Sookie lead her out into the cold air.
They walked around the town square.
"That's Taylor," Sookie said, indicating a man directing a bunch of guys where to hang decorations. "He's the town councilman. I think right now they're setting up for the end of winter carnival. We used to go there every year with Rory," she reminisced. Lorelai smiled. "That's the grocery store he owns" she guided, indicating Dosey's market across the street. "There's Fran's Pastries," she went on. "Fran is the sweetest old woman. And that…"
"Is Luke's," Lorelai cut her off. Sookie registered mild surprise. "I met him already," she told her. "I wanted to meet the man who practically raised my daughter."
"Luke's a great guy. A little odd at times, but he has a heart of gold."
Lorelai nodded. "I know. I'll never be able to thank him for taking Rory in."
"How's that going by the way?" Sookie asked. "You and Rory, I mean."
"I can't believe that she' my daughter. I mean, she's the exact opposite of what I was."
Sookie laughed. "Yeah, she's a pretty amazing kid. You did a really good job raising her."
They were now standing in front of a pretty, small house.
"This is where I live," Sookie told her. She went to the minivan parked in front and opened the door to the driver's side. "Get in," she instructed. "There's something I want to show you."
Lorelai complied, and it was not long before they into the parking lot of a refined-looking inn. Sookie led her up the front steps, into and through a door bearing a sign that said Independence Inn. They entered into a cozy lobby, where a few customers lounged on the couches reading magazines. A small black man stood behind a polished front desk, yelling into the phone in a heavy French accent. He slammed down the phone angrily and turned to them.
"Ahhh, Sookie," he complained. "Dis party we are catering iz driving me up ze wall!" Only then did he notice Lorelai standing next to Sookie. He stopped, stared at her a minute, and then burst out.
"Oh my! Lorelai!" he gave her a hug, Then drew away awkwardly.
"This is Michelle," Sookie explained to a shy Lorelai. "The three of us were planning on opening our own in someday." Lorelai smiled, imagining the three of them as a team. She didn't remember the first thing about running an Inn. "Come," Sookie commanded, pulling her by the hand. "There's one more place I want you to see."
She led her past the front desk, through the kitchen, and out into the back. There, among the flowers, was a small… well Lorelai wasn't sure what to call it. It looked like a miniature house, a little too nice to be referred to as a hut. Sookie led her to it, and pushed open the door, which creaked as it was aroused from its lifelong rest. They entered a large space. The bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom were all combined. There were no doors separating the areas. The sun shone though, reflecting off the dust floating around the air.
"This is where you and Rory first lived when you came to work at the Inn. You guys shared this little apartment until you bought your house in Stars Hollow. "
Lorelai was silent as she walked around. This place felt the most familiar of all the disorienting places she had been so far. As if in a trance, she walked about the room, running her hands over the bedpost, examining the patters on the wall. Curiously, she stopped at a burn mark on the wall right behind the stove.
"You did that the first and last time you tried to cook," Sookie told her.
Lorelai ran her fingers over it, and then pulled back, as if it was still scalding hot. She turned to Sookie slowly.
"Thank you for bringing me here," she said.
"You're welcome sweetie," Sookie answered kindly. She seemed to sense that Lorelai wanted to linger. "I'm going to head on inside, you take your time down here. Come find me when you're ready to leave ok?" With one last smile, she turned out the door, leaving Lorelai with the ghosts of her past.
Rory was in her usual position doing in her room, her homework spread out before her. Her dad, despite her ridicules, was stirring something on the stove, and she had to admit, it smelled pretty good. She heard the front door open, and headed out of her room. Her mother stood there, looking awkward in her unfamiliar setting. She still had her coat on.
"Hey," Rory greeted her. "Dad's making dinner, it'll be ready soon. There's no telling how that'll turn out," she joked.
"I heard that!" Chris called from the kitchen.
"I actually need to talk to the two of you," Lorelai said, not meeting Rory's eyes.
"O.., um, ok, then come into the kitchen."
Chris was standing above a pot, a red apron tied around his waist, is sleeves rolled up above his elbows, exposing his strong muscles.
"What's up Lor?" he asked. "How was your day with Sookie?"
"It was good. That's what I needed to talk to you about actually," she began.
"Go ahead," Chris prompted.
"Well, she said, taking a seat at the round table, "you guys have been amazing throughout all of this. You've been so kind, and loving, and patient as I regain my life back."
"But…" Chris added.
"But I feel like I'm trying to play the role of a life I don't know. It took my old self sixteen years to come to this point. I can't expect, and you can't expect me, to do it in a few months. Which is why I've made a decision," she announced. "I'm going to move back into the house behind the Inn, and work there as a maid. I'm going back to the beginning. "
The next Chapter will be up much sooner! As long as i get Reviews....;-)