Piece by Piece - A Gilmore Girls Fanfiction

Chapter 12

"Rory has something called a subdural haematoma," The doctor explained, "This is when blood collects between the brain and the skull, and we need to do surgery to remove the blood."

She's never had surgery before, I thought, holding on tightly to Luke's hands. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to steady myself, and then said, "How long will she take to recover?"

"Every person is different, and we never know. If there are no complications, she should be fully healed within 3 months, but it could be as little as 4 weeks," He said kindly, but my mind was stuck on one small portion of his sentence.

'If there are no complications...'

The man continued talking, despite my distraction. He was discussing the possible complications of the surgery, and then he was handing me consent forms. My heart was hammering in my chest, my stomach threatening to empty itself. I looked up at Luke, who was looking at the sheets like they were bombs about to go off.

"What happens if she doesn't have the surgery?" I asked, wanting to know.

The doctor hesitated before telling me.

"She'll die."

After signing the forms, we were allowed through to see her for a minute. I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in her scent and trying to memorise everything about her, "You need a surgery, but the doctor is going to make you better. They need to prep you, and then we'll come and see you one last time before you go. Okay? I love you so much."

I stepped back out into the hallway and collapsed into Luke's arms, my heart breaking. His arms wrapped tightly around me as I cried, my whole body feeling weak. After a few moments, I pulled back, wiping my eyes. I then realised that Luke had been crying too, his eyes probably just as puffy as mine were.

"I need..." I stopped, wetting my lips before trying again, "I need to call Mia to get some time off, and I need to get someone to grab a bag for Rory because we can't leave, and I probably should call my parents, and you have the diner to deal with, and, and,"

I was starting to hyperventilate, panic setting in. Luke rested his forehead against mine, "Focus on my breathing."

After a few minutes of focusing on Luke, the panic attack started to subside. I felt no less scared, but I was able to control my breathing and able to focus on what mattered.

"Once she goes in for surgery, we can start making phone calls and sorting what we need. But until then, we wait," Luke murmured, leading me to a couple of chairs across from her room.

I rested my head on his shoulder, "Thank you for being here."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," He murmured, kissing my head.

Two doctors rolled Rory's bed out at that moment, and I stood up. Luke went around the other side and took her hand in his, wanting to take anything he could get.

"Mommy, I'm scared," She said quietly, looking at me with big eyes.

"I know, sweetie, and I am too, but you know what? You're going to be okay."

We stopped at 2 large double doors, and I knew it was time for us to go, so I bent down and kissed her forehead, "I love you so much, and I'll see you when you're out. Okay?"

She nodded, and it was Luke's turn, "We'll be here waiting when you get out. I love you, okay, more than you know."

The last part was said quietly, but I still heard it. Luke kissed her forehead, much like I had, and he smiled at her.

"I love you too," She murmured. His smile almost doubled in size since it was the first time that she had said that to him, but I think the situation weighed that down a bit. As they took her away, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him softly, wanting to feel his touch. And then I pulled away, already getting out my mobile.

By the time me and Luke had finished with our phone calls, Sookie had arrived with a large bag. I wrapped my arms around her, "You're a life-saver."

She smiled, "I know. How was she before they went in?"

"Slow," I responded honestly, "She was groggy, unfocused and slow to respond to anything. She's really not well."

"Please give her my love, and call me if any of you need anything," She said, even nodding at Luke, "I have to run, Mia said I could start late, but I've still got to drive back. Call me when she's out of surgery, and I'll get the message out."

"Thanks, Sook."

She nodded, squeezing my hand before dashing off. I reached into the bag and pulled out Colonel Clucker, breathing in Rory's scent.

"Lorelai!" I heard her call, and I stood up immediately. Mom.

I didn't really want to call her, but they deserved to know, "Hi, Mom. Are you okay?"

"Did you get to see her before she went in? Was she okay? What drugs were they giving her? And who is he?"

"I saw her before she went in, she was scared, I don't know what exact drugs, and he is Luke. Luke, this is my mother, Emily Gilmore," I introduced, slipping my hand into Luke's, "Did Dad tell you that he ran into us the other week?"

"Yes, but what about Rory?" She asked like she had a specific point.

I inwardly sighed, "Luke has known Rory since she was five years old. He has been there for everything Christopher should have been there for, and more. I've avoided dating him for years because I didn't want to affect Rory, but we gave in. Rory is my first priority, but this relationship has been good for her, too."

She made a sound, and went and sat down in the furthest chair away from me, sulking. As she sat down, my father appeared. He immediately gave me a hug in a way he hadn't since I was small, and then greeted Luke politely.

"Do you know what the surgery was called? Because I have a few friends in the medical field and they could give us some statistics," He offered, clearly wanting to be of help.

"It was a craniotomy, but I don't want to hear the statistics. I'm afraid it'll only make me feel worse," I admitted and Luke agreed.

"I feel sick enough as it is, I don't need statistics."

Dad looked at us for a moment, "How long have you been here?"

I looked at the time. 9 am. I sighed, "It's been about 5 hours since we arrived but I've been awake for 24."

"Why didn't you phone us when you arrived?" My mother demanded to know.

"I didn't know what was going on and didn't want to disturb you for nothing. I wasn't here alone, Luke was here the entire time, and once we knew what was happening, we started contacting the people who needed to know, including you."

"And how come Luke isn't at work? I'm fairly certain a boss wouldn't accept him taking a day off for his girlfriend's daughter."

And she's on a roll.

"I'm sat right here," He snapped unintentionally. He took a deep breath and started again, "I apologise for snapping, I've been up just as long as Lorelai has and I'm exhausted. To answer your question, I own my own business and can therefore take time off whenever I would like. Rory is very important to me, and taking time off for her or Lorelai is not an issue for me, nor will it ever be."

My mother nodded, effectively shut up by Luke. I stood up and headed for the coffee machine, with Luke following for some reason.

"I know you said your mother was hard work, but..."

I snorted, "If it helps, she's not any easier on me. Rory, yes, and she thinks the sun shines out of Christopher's arse, but she doesn't like me very much."

"It doesn't help, but thanks. And I'm proud of you; I know you didn't want to call them but you did it for Rory."

"I'm not quite sure why. I think it's because she has just lost Christopher for good so I want her to have my parents instead, even though they're not that much better. They're there for her, but only as long as she's doing exactly what they want."

I sighed. I drained the coffee and chucked the cup immediately, re-joining my parents as the surgeon came out and called Rory's name.

AN: If this is not medically accurate, I apologise, but I'm not a doctor. Just go with it. And let me know what you thought.