Thank you so much for your continued support! It really does mean so much to me and it's what motivates me to continue writing so thank you! :) Just a heads up that this may be the last update for a week. The next two days at work are going to be really busy for me and then I'm going away for the weekend on Friday until Monday so probably won't be able to write until Tuesday, sorry! I hope you'll all stay with me though. :) Here's the next chapter to hopefully satisfy you until next week. :)
Chapter 22
"Come in!" Charlotte called as there was a knock on her hospital room door the following day. She was expecting the nurse with her lunch but she was surprised when she saw who it actually was.
"Have you got time for another visitor?" A familiar voice said.
"Wha...What are you doing here?" She asked stunned.
"Do you really think I'd be able to concentrate in London when my sister's going through something terrible here?" Rory said.
Charlotte blinked back tears. "I've missed you, sis." She said quietly.
"I've missed you too." Rory said tremulously, rushing forward and giving her sister a hug. "And I'm so so sorry."
"Thank you." Charlotte said quietly. "How did you get here so quickly?"
"Mom rang me last night and told me what had happened. I rang work and explained the situation to them and they were really understanding and told me to take some time off and spend it with you guys. So then I booked the first flight back here." Rory said. "Where's Jess?" She asked looking round.
"With Lizzie." Charlotte said.
"Lizzie?" Rory said confused.
"Oh...yeah...We decided to name our daughter Lizzie. It was Jess' suggestion." Charlotte smiled softly.
"After Liz..." Rory said understanding.
"Yeah."
"How's he doing?" She asked.
Charlotte sighed. "You know what he's like. He hides how he's really feeling. I know he's struggling but he feels like he has to be strong in front of me."
"Yeah." Rory sighed. "I can't imagine what he's going through. I mean, it could have been mom..." She said quietly.
Charlotte glanced up at her. "I know." She said quietly.
"So how is Lizzie?" Rory asked.
"Still critical." Charlotte said tremulously. "I just...I lost one daughter. I can't lose the other." She said, tears falling down her face.
"Hey, come here." Rory said bringing her in for another hug. "She'll be fine. She's your and Jess' daughter. That means she's definitely a fighter."
"I hope so." She sniffed. "I really hope so."
"Hey, so Rory's already at the hospital with Charlotte. I've dropped Jack and Mia off at my mom and dad's. They said they'll visit Charlotte after us." Lorelai said as she poked her head round their bedroom door. "You ready to go?" She asked.
"I..uh..I think I might give it a miss." Luke said hesitantly, sat on the bed.
"What? Why?" Lorelai said confused.
"Rory's just got back. She'll want to see you. And I'm sure Charlotte probably just needs her mom right now." He said.
Lorelai frowned. "Ok what's going on?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" He said, glancing over at her.
"Why are you avoiding the hospital?" She said.
"I'm not."
"Yes you are." Lorelai said. "Why? Jess needs you right now and Charlotte and Rory will want to see you as well."
"They won't mind." Luke said gruffly.
"Luke..."
"Just go."
"You're being stupid! Your nephew needs you more than ever now and you're the one who always says that family is everything so why are you abandoning your own now?" She exclaimed, not understanding.
"Because why the hell would Jess want me there when I killed his mom?!" Luke exclaimed. "I'm the reason Liz is dead and I'm the reason Charlotte and Jess lost their daughter! Why would they want to see me?"
Lorelai's face softened. "Oh Luke..." She said softly, going to sit next to him. "It was an accident..."
"I was driving." He said gruffly.
"Yes but anyone could have been driving. It could have happened to anyone. You weren't to know. It was an accident, Luke. No one blames you. Least of all, Jess." She said softly.
Luke swallowed a lump in his throat. "My sister's gone..." He said quietly.
"I know." Lorelai said blinking back her own tears. "But if she was here today, she would be the first to tell you to stop blaming yourself. And what do you think she would want you to do?" She said softly.
Luke glanced at her. "Look out for Jess..."
"Exactly." She said. "Jess needs you, Luke. And you need him right now as well. What happened was a tragic accident but it was an accident. Stop going through it in your head."
"I promised my dad I'd look out for her." Luke said quietly.
"And you did. You were an amazing brother to her and she would be the first to admit it." Lorelai said.
"I miss her." He admitted.
"I know you do." Lorelai said quietly. "I know you do." She said giving him a hug. "I'm here for you ok? Anything you need, I'm here for you." She said softly. "Now come on, let's get to that hospital."
Luke hesitated before slowly nodding. "Ok." He said quietly.
"So tell me, where could a girl find a really good book round here?" Rory joked as she walked into the bookstore.
"What the...What are you doing here?" Sam exclaimed.
"What, so you can do surprise visits but I can't?" She teased.
"No, I'm definitely not against surprise visits!" Sam smiled giving her a hug and leaning in for a kiss.
"Mom rang me last night." Rory said honestly. "I knew I had to be here. For Charlotte."
Sam nodded understanding. "I've been meaning to go to the hospital but I've had to man this place."
"Well I can help out for a bit if you want to go see Jess." Rory offered.
"Really?" He said.
"Of course. I think Jess could really do with his best mate at the moment." She said. "And..well..I guess you know what he's going through..." She said quietly.
"Yeah." Sam sighed. "You really don't mind?"
"Of course not. You go." Rory smiled softly, giving him a kiss.
"Thank you. I won't be long." Sam said softly.
"Take as much time as you need." She said.
Sam found Jess sat outside neonatal intensive care. He slowly walked up to him. "Hey..." He said softly.
"Oh..hey.." Jess said glancing up at him. "I'm just..uh.."
"Having a breather?" Sam guessed sitting down next to him.
"Yeah.." He said quietly.
"How's she doing?" He asked glancing towards the unit.
Jess shrugged. "She's still with us. She's fighting. But she's..uh..she's still critical." He said.
"I'm so sorry mate." Sam said. "How's Charlotte holding up?"
"She's...holding." Jess sighed. "I know she's hurting. I think we're both trying to be strong for each other."
Sam nodded. "I'm not Charlotte." He said quietly. He saw Jess glance at him. "I'm so sorry about your mom."
Jess felt a lump in his throat. "Thanks..." He just about managed to get out.
"I know what you're going through. If you want to talk at all..." Sam said.
"It's hardly the same." Jess said glancing at him. "My mom didn't give a crap about me for 19 years. Your dad...well he was the best dad you could have wished for. Me and my mom spent most of the time arguing. I resented her so much for so many years."
"Yes but you made it right with you. And...well, she was still your mom. So yeah, it might not be the same but it doesn't mean your loss is of any less significance than mine was." Sam said softly.
Jess glanced at Sam and blinked back tears. "She was my mom." He agreed.
Sam put his arm round his friend and pulled him towards him. "Do you remember what you said to me after my dad died?" He said.
"What?" Jess said.
"You told me that he would always be there because I have those happy memories." Sam said quietly. "You told me that he would be so proud of me and you told me that you would always be there for me if I ever needed to talk." He said. He glanced at Jess. "You were such a huge help. So I'm here for you, Jess. Whatever you need, I'm here."
"Thank you." Jess said gruffly.
"So...the doctor said I can go home tomorrow." Charlotte told Jess that evening.
"That's good." Jess said.
"Not that I will actually spend much time at home." She said quietly.
"Yeah.." Jess said quietly, knowing they would spend the majority of every day at the hospital with Lizzie.
"He mentioned how the hospital would be happy to offer a funeral...for...for our daughter...well, our other daughter..." Charlotte said her voice cracking. "Free of charge."
Jess swallowed a lump in his throat. "Ok..." He said glancing at her. "How do you feel about that?"
"I...I think I want to." Charlotte said. She glanced at him. "What about you?"
"I think I want to as well." Jess said quietly. "It would give us a chance to say goodbye."
"Yeah." She sniffed.
"Come here." Jess said pulling her into him for a hug. "We will get through this together."
Charlotte smiled tremulously. "Yeah. Together." She said. She glanced at him. "I was thinking we could call her Olivia." She said quietly. "I know we hadn't really thought of names yet but I've always liked that name. I was thinking Olivia Lorelai."
Jess gave her a small smile. "Olivia Lorelai Mariano. Yeah, I like it." He said softly.
"Really?"
"Really." He said.
"I love you, Jess." Charlotte sniffed, snuggling into him. "Please...please promise me you will never go anywhere."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm exactly where I want to be." Jess said kissing the side of her head. "I love you too."
"Surreal 48 hours..." Rory sighed as she sat down on the bed next to Sam in her old bedroom at the Crap Shack.
"You could say that again." Sam sighed. "Have I told you how good it is to see you?" He said softly.
"Numerous times." Rory smiled softly.
"Well it is." Sam sighed putting his arm round her and pulling her towards him. "It's times like these that you realise what's really important to you."
"Yeah..." Rory said quietly.
"And you are so important to me, Rory. I don't...I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you..." Sam said.
Rory blinked back tears. "Marry me." She said.
"What?" Sam said confused.
"Marry me." She repeated.
"Uh..have you forgotten that we're already engaged?" Sam chuckled slightly.
Rory smiled at that. "I know. But I want to marry you now. You were right. This has made me realise what is important in life as well. Who is important. And I love you so much, Sam. And I don't want to wait any longer." She said. "Work's going really well in London and..well, I don't know what the future might hold." She admitted. She glanced at him. "But I want to marry you and I don't want to wait to see what happens with work. I want to marry you here where all our friends and family can be there." She said. "What yesterday has shown me is that life's far too short to wait. So...what do you say?" She said glancing at him nervously.
"Are you being serious?" Sam said softly, smiling slightly.
Rory smiled softly. "I don't want to wait any longer. I want to be married to you and I want to be able to go back to London telling people I'm married. So what do you say? Are you in?"
Sam smiled and leaned in to kiss her. "I'm in." He said softly. "I'm so in."
So I hope you liked it! :) Please keep the reviews coming as I love reading what you think. Thanks again for all your support and I'll see you all in about a week! :)