Gilmore Girls: More in the Life

Chapter 91

Luke had never felt so torn apart in his life. Not when his mother died, nor when it was his father's time to go. He was off for a long time during the break up's between himself and Lorelai but nothing topped the battle that his emotions were fighting now.

Emily surprised him by picking up his unease. Calling him out on it was more in line with her personality but even that somewhat shocked him. He had no way of knowing his stress was quite so obvious or of knowing that when asked if he was planning to leave Lorelai and the twins, he wouldn't be able to answer right away.

Looking back, Luke was fairly certain that his response rocked Emily to her core. She made several trite comments but Luke knew he deserved them. In a half-hearted attempt to contradict her impression, he went into damage control mode and said his lack of response was solely because her question floored him. She didn't look like she believed him but she finally dropped the interrogation after he repeated himself several times.

Was it the truth or was he only fooling himself into thinking he would stick around?

Luke pulled his cell phone out of his pocket to check the time. He guessed Logan and Rory would be on their way home right now. Lorelai had driven to Hartford to help gather the last things from the hospital but planned to stop at a few shops before heading back to Rory's for the evening.

As Luke moved to put the phone away, it began to ring. The caller was a Connecticut number that he didn't recognize. Deciding it may be important, he answered.

"Is this Luke Danes?"

"Yes." For some reason, a pit formed in Luke's stomach.

"This is Candice Rodibaugh, a nurse at Hartford Hospital. I'm afraid that your wife, Lorelai, has been in a car accident."

Luke dropped the phone, frozen at the thought of what this might mean for Lorelai and the babies.

*****

Shira looked at the picture that Honor sent to her via email. Rory had delivered Logan's baby and she was the epitome of perfection. Lora's light hair and bright blue eyes made for a beautiful combination, especially when paired with her fair complexion.

Her heart ached. She wanted nothing more than to go see the baby. However, she wasn't sure if Logan and Rory would welcome her with open arms after her demands for a DNA test. Yes, Rory had extended an olive branch when she attempted to keep Shira apprised to the pregnancy but part of her suspected that was at the urging of Logan. When looking back over her treatment of Rory, she could not be upset if Rory didn't want her around.

Spying her cell phone sitting on the desktop, Shira debated on whether to make contact with her only son.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled up her contacts and found the entry for Logan. Another few breaths were taken before she found the courage to send the call.

After two rings, the call went to voicemail. Wasn't that a sign that the call had been declined?

Shira's heart sank. Perhaps the silence said it all.

*****

As Logan parked in front of their house, he heard his phone begin to ring. As he exited the SUV, he pulled the phone from his pocket and saw that Luke was the caller.

The call brought unexpected news. Lorelai had been involved in a car accident and had been taken to Hartford Hospital. Luke told him to keep Rory home, that it was important for them to be with Lora, and promised to keep them updated.

Rory had been sitting in the backseat with Lora and was preoccupied with simply staring at her so she seemed oblivious to the call.

Logan slowly walked around the vehicle and opened the rear passenger door. He held his hand out to Rory and helped her move off the seat. Next, he reached in and released the baby's car seat from its base and began the walk to the front door.

This moment should have held all sorts of warm and fuzzy feelings for both of them to look back on. Instead, Logan would always remember how he was preoccupied with how to inform Rory that her mother had been in an accident when she had just left their presence a mere forty minutes ago. He decided to wait until they were inside and he had his girls situated before saying anything.

Fifteen minutes later, Rory was nursing Lora in a recliner in the living room. Knowing that the news couldn't wait any longer, Logan opened his mouth to speak just as his phone rang again. He saw that it was his mother so he pushed a button to ignore the call. He could talk to Shira later.

"Boy, you're popular today. Are people checking in on the baby?"

"Not exactly. I have something to tell you. The call I got as we parked was Luke."

"I'm sure Mom told him we were heading home. Was he calling to see if we needed help?"

Logan closed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. This wasn't going to be easy. "No, Rory, he wasn't calling to see if we needed help. Luke called to let us know that Lorelai was involved in an accident and had been taken to Hartford Hospital."

Rory's eyes widened, tears threatening. "What? Is she okay?"

Logan rattled off the little information he knew. "Luke doesn't want us to come. He said it's more important we stay here with the baby." He paused for a moment. "You know that's what your mom would want too."

The tears escaped, falling down Rory's cheek. Logan's heart broke more with every tear, knowing that nothing he did could make this better for his fiancée.