Hell Week: Part One
Rory Gilmore was having the week from hell; she was considering going home to Stars Hollow. She was also considering, however faintly, transferring to Harvard.
On the way back from the Life and Death Brigade meeting she had been pulled over by the police, for the first time ever. They told her that her car had been reported stolen. Of course, it wasn’t stolen and it was quite quickly sorted out, surprisingly Colin had been the most help, pulling up behind her with Finn and Robert.
The morning after, at four am she’d been woken up by not one but two mariachi bands. One in the dorm common room she shared with Poppins, Kat, Dan and Charles, the other band in the common room next door.
On her way to dinner that evening with Gary, Charles and Nika they’d had firecrackers and smoke bombs thrown at them. Rory had slept at Finn's that night but had still been woken up at four when Irish or Mia as Rory kept forgetting to call her, called panicking that her room was full of chickens. Rory had tried to help catch the birds, with Finn, Colin and Robert, who were also suffering from a lack of sleep.
Rory staggered to her classes the next day, her eyes had bags under them and she started falling asleep in one lecture, elbowed awake by a slightly more rested Kat. Kat had not been chasing around poultry at four thirty in the morning after all.
On the way to the coffee cart, she ran into Tristan. Or he had run into her, on purpose again she thought. She was going to bruise again, one on her shoulder and one on her ass. Coffee in hand, eyes barely open Rory made her way to her dorm, planning on sleeping through the rest of her lectures.
Rory almost walked past her underwear. And diary pages. Almost.
They lined the walls of the vestibule, with other underwear Rory recognised as Kats. Trying not to cry, she was so tired, she pulled out her phone and called Kat, who didn’t answer as she had actually gone to class. She tried Nika then and when she’d got no answer from her she dialled Finn. At least he’d already seen a lot of her underwear. But then she guessed most of the building had by now.
“Please tell me there’s not been another prank Kitten,” Finn answered the phone tiredly.
“Okay, there’s not been another prank,” Rory told him, starting to take down her diary pages and underwear. She noticed the pages were all about her sexual life. First with Tristan then with Finn. Great. Just great.
“What’s happened?” Finn sighed.
“My underwear is all over the walls and pages from my diary, they’ve been copied and are spread everywhere,” Rory sighed as well, they were stuck on good, she was having to tug hard.
“I’m coming,” Finn said and she heard him groan.
“Yes, in some of these pages you are,” Rory said absently, her brain fuzzy due to the sleep deprivation.
“Kitten, are you telling me you write in your diary about us?” Finn said and she could hear a smirk in his voice.
“Yes and now my whole building knows intimate details I’d rather they didn’t,” Rory grouched.
“Okay, I’m coming to read them. I mean help,” Finn chuckled as Rory groaned. She’d rather he didn’t read them; however, she also needed the help and he wouldn’t see anything defamatory, she’d been quite effusive in her praise while writing. A bit too graphic in some of them too, which she had thought hadn’t mattered in her own private diary.
Rory stood ripping down underwear and diary pages for five minutes before she had help in the form of Glenn. Which had been mortifying. She tried to get him to take down Kat’s things, some of which were very risqué. She didn’t want Finn to get his hopes up that they were hers.
“Glenn stop reading and start helping,” Rory complained, catching him reading a page that depicted the first time she had gone down on Tristan. She was never writing a diary ever again.
“You’re a really good writer,” Glenn said blushing red and ripping the paper down as Rory reached for the last of Kats underwear.
“I am going to skin whoever did this. I am going to find the Nancy boy, I want him dead. I want his family dead. I want his house burnt to the ground. I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna piss on his ashes,” Rory grumbled.
“You have got to stop watching The Untouchables,” Glenn said, ripping down one of her bras.
“I feel like you have better quotes than that Bambi,” Rory turned to see Finn smiling at her, his hand casually taking down a pair of panties.
“Probably, but I haven’t slept in days, I had come back to do just that, yet here I am, thanks for coming to help,” Rory smiled back at him pulling down another extract from her diary.
“Still nothing on the cameras?” Glenn asked.
“I don’t know about today but not yet,” Rory sighed. She didn’t know how whoever was doing this was doing it. Or why. All of the second year and most of the first year LDB members were getting pranked, badly, but she was taking it personally, after all, she was the only one to have woken up on a roof.
“Huh, you enjoyed that? Good to know Kitten, I’ll be sure to do it again,” Finn said, holding one of the pages in his hand, his eyebrows high and a smile on his face.
“Finn...” Rory groaned knowing it was no use. If she were being honest she’d want to read his diary too.
“Let’s get this done love, then come back to mine,” Finn said onto his second page, his eyebrows somehow higher. “You’re very descriptive here love, not sure I’m enjoying reading about your ex though.”
“Finn!” Rory snatched the paper off him and put it in the trash bag they had, her face feeling hot. “I just need sleep.”
“Which is why I said come to mine, we’ve not had any pranks yet, and you can put your phone on silent,” Finn said, his voice softer.
“I hate this,” Rory said quietly, tearing down another bra viciously.
“I’m quite partial to it myself, black, with a bow, like a present for me to unwra-"
Rory shot him a glare, not in the mood right then.
“Shutting up,” Finn chuckled.
///\\\///\\\
Rory felt so much better when she woke up the next morning next to Finn, looking at her phone she saw that she had slept for almost twelve hours. Her thoughts were coming sharply again, her head wasn’t pounding anymore and the aches that had followed her around in her sleep deprived fog had gone as well.
Seeing she had messages to read as her phone had been on silent, she opened up the group chat, trying to be quiet and not move too much so she didn’t wake Finn, who’d been getting almost as little sleep as she had.
Life and Death Brigade Group Chat
Poppins: Has anyone seen Bambi?
Glenn: She’s gone to sleep at Finn's
Colin: Great, that’s us up all night again then lol.
Rose: Anyone going to the pub, I need a night out.
Seth: Already there
Rose: Save me a seat
Nika: guys....
Picture sent
Buttercup: Holy fuck, how the hell did that happen? It's the not even the middle of the night! It’s barely ten!
Logan: Anyone know any decent mechanics then? Or crane drivers?
Manbat: Who is doing this?
Jed: Whose is it?
Nika: Have a guess
Jed: Bambi’s?
Nika: Yup
Irish: That’s not the only thing
Picture sent
Irish: who changed my name?
Sam: I’ll go help Irish, does Bambi know?
Boss: Let them sleep. We can deal with it.
Kat: Crane and driver on way.
Poppins: you’re so hot and resourceful
Buttercup: Screw you Huntzberger
Logan: :*
Kat: You’re an ass Poppins
Rory closed the group chat shaking with anger, she knew who was doing this now. Now she was thinking straight again, and especially at this latest ‘prank’ one she’d seen before.
Rory slid out of bed, grabbing the t-shirt and jeans she had been wearing the day before and pulling them on.
“Kitten?” Finn asked, his voice full of sleep.
“Go back to sleep Aus,” Rory said to him, smiling at how cute he looked with his hair everywhere and his face lined from the pillow.
“Mmm... ‘k see you later?” Finn asked, his eyes still closed.
“See you later,” Rory repeated, pressing a kiss to his cheek, he was warm and soft, he smelt like sleep and Finn, just pure Finn.
Rory left the room as quietly as she could, closing it softly behind her, the smallest click coming from it.
“Sneaking out?” Colin said from the sofa, making her jump.
“Ah, god, wear a bell or something,” she gasped with her hand to her chest. “No, I’m not sneaking out, I said goodbye, but Finn needs to sleep and I need to see a man about a prank, or pranks, to be more specific.”
“What are you talking about Bambi?” Colin asked her.
“I think I figured out who’s behind the pranks,” Rory said, feeling angry once more.
“You have? Who?” Colin sat up straighter.
“Tristan,” Rory told him, the name coming out through a strained jaw. She thought they’d got to a place where they could ignore each other pretty well, she had no feelings, non-whatsoever towards him, she thought he probably felt the same. She had obviously been wrong.
“Your ex?” Colin asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The one and the same,” Rory nodded.
“Why do you think it’s him?” Colin said.
“Well, the first prank felt kind of personal, you know? The day before the prank he shoulder checked me, hard, I had a bruise, he did it the other day too. Then-"
“Hang on, hold up there sweetheart. This guy has been pushing you around?” Colin asked with a frown, his hands which had been together loosely clenched into fists.
“He shoulder barged me like twice, that’s it,” Rory shrugged, sure it had hurt and had been annoying but it was just basically just schoolyard bullying.
“Does Finn know?” Colin asked, his voice dropping the lazy drawl it normally carried.
“No, well he knows I was hurt the other day,” Rory said.
“You didn’t tell him?”
“That would be why he doesn’t know, yes,” Rory replied with another frown, what was the big deal here?
“Did you tell Poppins?” Colin asked still with a sharpness to his voice.
“No, I haven’t told anyone, well now you, I guess. But I forgot about it almost as soon as it happened,” Rory explained.
“Shit,” Colin muttered under his breath but Rory heard him.
“It’s not that big of a deal, really, I just want to go and find out why he’s pranking us and make him stop,” Rory said, she didn’t know how she was going to make him stop, luckily, she had a whole group of creative friends who could help, she was sure.
Colin let out a sigh and palmed his face. "Hang on then, I'm coming," he said, getting up and looking put out.
"I don't need a babysitter," Rory argued, it was Tristan, she could hold her own against him. He was a bully at times sure but he wasn't violent.
"I beg to differ Bambi," Colin said with a roll of his eyes. "This guy has been-" Colin glanced towards Finn's door and carried on a whisper. "This guy has been knocking you around hard enough to bruise and if he did set up the pranks, he could have killed you. The person who did this didn't seem to care one way or another. I'm coming Bambi."
"Fine, but it's just Tristan," Rory rolled her eyes and failed to acknowledge, even in her head, that he had a point. Whoever did the prank really hadn't cared if she died, acknowledging it made it real and scary.
"Were there any other things you've kept back from our Finn?" Colin asked as they made their way back to Rory's dorm building.
"I didn't not tell him on purpose Colin. I'm not keeping secrets or anything else nefarious like you're thinking," Rory said with a sigh.
"I believe you Bambi," Colin replied unconvincingly. She really didn't know what she'd done to upset Colin, or if he'd act like this with any girl that Finn got involved with. Maybe he was jealous, thinking she was taking his best friend away? They had been seeing a lot of each other recently, maybe she should tell Finn that she was okay if he wanted to spend time with his friends?
The rest of the short walk, which felt a lot longer when she was running late in heels, was done in silence. Not a particularly pleasant silence either.
Rory knocked on the door to Tristan's dorm, Gary had found out where he was living, 'just in case', when they'd first moved in. Rory thought Gary had probably pranked Tristan the first week, but if he had he'd kept mum about it. Maybe that's why Tristan was pranking them? It was pretty obvious who'd been behind his misfortunes last year after all. And the underwear prank pulled on her was eerily similar to the one Gary, Poppins and Kat had pulled on Tristan.
"Hello?" A guy Rory had seen around but didn't know answered the door. He wasn't much taller than Rory, about the same height as Colin, with jet black hair and heavy black glasses.
"Hi, is Tristan in?" Rory asked pleasantly.
"Do you have a plan?" Colin asked quietly behind her as the guy went to get Tristan.
"No," Rory admitted, she was just running with her righteous anger and hoping it all played out well.
"Great," Colin sighed.
Tristan came to the door with a smirk on his face that she wanted to slap off him. "Well, well, well, Mary, what brings you to my door?"
"Knock it off Tristan, you know why I'm here," Rory snapped at him, her jaw clenched, shoulders tight.
"Uh huh, and… if… I did, your plan was what? Bring the new boyfriend round, get him to rough me up a bit?" Tristan smirked as he looked Colin up and down with a look that clearly showed he thought Colin didn't measure up.
"Not her boyfriend, you better hope the boyfriend never turns up here. Seriously," Colin said, his voice hard.
"Alright then, get a friend to rough me up a bit, Mary?" Tristan leant casually against the doorframe.
"Mary?" Colin asked.
"Oh yeah, on account of how she was a virgin before she got with me and everything," Tristan smirked again, he looked her up and down as well, more lavisciously than he had with Colin. Rory felt ill.
"A virgin, really?" Colin asked in surprise, his head whipping to look at her.
"Colin? Focus," Rory snapped at him.
"Right, yes, sorry," Colin smirked, facing Tristan again.
"I'm just here to tell you to stop. You're an asshole Tristan, but I could have died over your stunt. We're making diaries of all this and we will take them to campus security," Rory said, folding her arms as she spoke.
"Alright, drama queen. A bruise maybe, but you couldn't have died, jeeze. Look I got the message, I'll stop. I was a jerk, yeah, alright, hands up. We'll go back to ignoring each other okay? As in you and your little friends stop scaring away my dates and I'll stop bumping into you," Tristan drawled, holding his hands in the air.
"I'm not scaring away your dates, I couldn't care less who you're dating," Rory frowned.
"Sure, alright," Tristan sighed deeply, pushing his hair back from his face.
"Seriously Tristan I haven't," Rory insisted truthfully. She hadn't got a clue what he was talking about and as poetic as it was it wasn't anything she was doing and she didn't think her friends were either.
"Okay, getting bored now. I'll stop banging into you, alright, happy now?" Tristan said, standing straight.
"And the pranks, the ones that really could have killed me?" Rory insisted.
"What? What are you talking about?" Tristan frowned.
"The pranks, the ones that culminated in my car on a roof last night. Which is a prank I know you've pulled before," Rory said angrily, that's how she'd known it was him, he wasn't even original.
"Mary, I was at home last night, I got back about twenty minutes ago," Tristan said, folding his arms across his body.
"Alright then, you paid someone else to do it," Rory rolled her eyes, it must be him, it must be. It all made sense.
"Mary, I really haven't played any pranks on you," Tristan said and she could hear the sincerity in his voice. But she'd been so sure. It made sense. And if not him then who? Who was doing it and why?
"So you've only been pushing her around?" Colin asked, his drawling voice calm and relaxed.
"Yeah, I mean-"
Rory stepped back in shock as Colin punched Tristan who's nose exploded in a cloud of blood.
"You don't lay hands on a woman you piece of scum. You touch her again it won't be me coming round," Colin spat at Tristan.
Rory stood with wide eyes. What had just happened? Why?
"Come on Bambi," Colin said, walking off calmly with his hands in his pockets and a jaunt to his step.
Rory spared a wide eyed look for Tristan who was clutching his nose and moaning before following after Colin. Colin who'd just undergone a major personality transplant.
"What the hell was that, why did you hit him?" Rory asked, glancing over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming after them.
"He's not going to push you around anymore is he?" Colin shrugged with a small smile. "Look, I did it for Finn okay? Just… you can't tell Finn, not about Tristan pushing you round or me hitting him."
"I'm not keeping secrets from Finn, Colin," Rory protested, was he insane? Had he been doing drugs?
"Bambi, listen to me," Colin stopped on the stairway and turned to her, his face deadly serious. "You can't tell Finn, you really can't."
"Why? Why am I keeping this a secret?" Rory asked the crazy man.
"I can't tell you. I made a promise to Finn years ago and I'm not breaking it. But if you care about Finn, really care about him, you won't tell him," Colin said.
Rory studied Colin. He was serious. He was worried about Finn, Rory didn't know why, but he was really worried.
"Okay…" Rory agreed slowly and quietly, feeling like she was betraying Finn. She made a promise to herself, she'd keep it from him, unless it happened again. Both the Tristan bumping into her intentionally and the Colin randomly turning into Rambo, if either of those things happened again she was telling Finn everything. Including Colin's insane behaviour.
///\\\///\\\
“You look terrible.”
“Thanks Paris, just what I wanted to hear,” Rory sighed later that day as she finished off an article at the Yale Daily News. It was a piece on the new dining hall menus, it wasn’t going to win her a Pulitzer but she’d worked hard on it.
“You know what I mean, you look like you haven’t slept properly in weeks and you’re all jumpy, like someone’s put a hit out on you,” Paris said, leaning against her desk with a cup of water in her hands.
“I’m fine Paris,” Rory sighed, wondering who was doing these pranks and when the next one was going to happen.
“Uh huh, sure. This, Rip Van Winkle look you’ve got going on is just a science experiment gone wrong,” Paris said, narrowing her eyes, her face pulled down, which wasn’t much different from how Paris normally looked. “Is it anything to do with your car that was on the roof last night?”
Rory started looking at Paris, how had she known that?
“Oh come on, you can’t be that tired and I know for a fact you’re not that stupid. There was a crane getting it down, everyone saw. It’ll be the front page in tomorrow’s edition. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jonie asks you for an interview,” Paris rolled her eyes contemptuously.
“Jonie’s writing the story?” Rory asked, Jonie, who normally covered sports? She was the one writing a front-page article, since when?
“She was the first one there, don’t look like that, if you’d have wanted it you should have just written it and you know it,” Paris barked. “Now look, if someone is targeting you, you know I can help, as long as we meet up in secret, I don’t want to fall victim by association after all. I can help you devise a plan to take them down and then put them down. For good.”
Rory thought about it. Paris was the equivalent of the A-bomb being dropped on Hiroshima to this situation. If things got any worse, then Paris would be the logical weapon of choice. However, until then…
“It’s fine, thank you though Paris,” Rory said finishing her last sentence and sending the article to be proofread and edited.
“Okay, well call me, if you need to,” Paris shrugged and walked back to her own desk, still wearing the Rabbi's flip-flops. Rory shook her head with a smile.
Just as Rory was packing up her cell phone rang making her jump, and then feel silly for jumping.
“Hello my wonderful daughter, best friend, person most likely to help me when I’m in need-"
“What do you want?” Rory chuckled, interrupting what had surely been a wonderful ramble.
“What makes you think I want something?” Her mom gasped and Rory chuckled again. Subtly was not something her mom was renowned for.
“Oh just a hint, so what is it?” Rory asked.
“Sookie sent a care package which should be there in the morning and Luke added some things and some tea for Poppins. And I put in-"
“What do you want mom,” Rory interrupted again with a smile on her face.
“The dance marathon is coming up-"
“No,” Rory said firmly.
“But-"
“No, I still don’t have any feeling in my left little toe from last time, three years ago,” Rory said.
“Please-"
“No, you have a boyfriend now, shouldn’t he be doing this with you?” Rory asked.
“Yes, because Luke just had his lobotomy,” her mom said with a short laugh.
“Shame, I’m not due for mine till after the marathon, good luck finding a partner though,” Rory chuckled, packing up her things from her desk.
“Fine, but I’ll remember this next time you ask me to give you life,” her mom sighed.
“Okay, see you soon,” Rory said, still smiling as she closed her book bag.
“Love you sweets,” her mom said and Rory could hear her smile.
“Love you too mom,” Rory said before ending the call.
///\\\///\\\
Finn: Zydeco music, cocktails and a drunk Juliet, you know you want to come.
Rory: I’m going to bed, have a good night though. And take pictures.
Finn: Bed hey? You want some company?? I can do that thing from your diary again.
Rory: Have fun with your friends, but tomorrow night I’m cashing in on that offer. Lol.
Finn: Alright Kitten, night, sleep well.
Rory: Have a good time, night.
Rory smiled as she put her phone down and climbed into bed, making sure the camera facing her door was on. Not that they’d done much good so far.
It felt like minutes later when her phone started ringing, sleepy eyed and annoyed she glanced at the time. It was only eleven, a reasonable time to call, or in their group eleven was reasonable anyway.
Rory frowned at the withheld number but answered anyway, who knew what kind of trouble one of the members had got into this time. They could be at the police station. Again.
“Hello?” Rory answered, her voice muffled with sleep.
“Am I speaking with Rory Gilmore?” A deep male voice asked professionally, she knew she’d never heard it before.
“Yes, this is Rory Gilmore,” she said sitting up.
“You are the next of kin of a Lorelai Gilmore?” The man asked, Rory felt her stomach plummet.
“Y...Yes, she’s my mom, what’s...?”
“Miss Gilmore, I’m Police Officer Kandinsky from the Hartford police department, this evening we were called out to a road traffic accident on the outskirts of Hartford,” the man was saying, and Rory felt her hands become slick and bile forming in her stomach.
“I’m very sorry to tell you that Lorelai Gilmore was unresponsive and passed away at the scene despite the best efforts of our first responders.-"
Rory didn’t hear anything after that, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t get any air. This... no. No. No.
Rory was running for the bathroom, didn’t make it and collapsed onto the common room floor, her stomach bringing up everything she’d ever eaten. She didn’t care.
No.
No.
Not her mom.
“Bambi!”
“Bambi?”
“Call a doctor?”
“Hang on, what’s she saying?”
“Mommy? Poppins call Lorelai.”
“You can’t, she won’t answer,” Rory whispered curling into a ball, her mommy was never going to answer again. Never going to leave a quippy message again. Never... her mom...
“Bambi? What’s wrong, what’s happened? Are you sick?”
“Mom... my mommy... she... police called,” Rory whispered. They’d called and wrecked her life. Stolen a part of her, her heart.
“Bambi? What did the police say chick?”
“My mommy... there was a crash,” Rory managed to get out before she couldn’t breathe again. She didn’t think she’d ever breathe again.
“No, oh Bambi, no,” she heard someone else crying. They didn’t understand, they couldn’t. It hurt, it hurt so bad. She didn’t want to do this without her mom. Didn’t want to do anything without her mom.
“I need to... I... what do I do? What do I do now?” Rory gasped. Would someone just tell her what she was supposed to be doing? What, did she have to go and... was she supposed to see her mom? Or was that Luke’s job? Luke, oh god Luke, she’d need to tell Luke. Oh god. And her grandparents. She needed to tell them. No. No. No.
“I need to go tell Luke,” Rory sat up, realising there were people around her. Poppins, Kat, Dan and Charles, they were all crowded around her. Poppins, Kat and Charles were crying. Why were they crying? Dan looked like he was going to.
“I need to go tell Luke,” Rory repeated, her voice sounding different. Odd. Her voice that was so like... no. She could not think of that. Not right now. She had a job to do now.
“I... we’ll drive you,” Poppins said, his hand on hers. When had that happened?
“Do you want us to call anyone? We can tell Luke?” Kat asked quietly.
“No, no. That’s my job... I have to... I have to tell him,” Rory started struggling for breath again. The air was so big and heavy. It was wrong. All wrong. Everything was wrong. How was everyone still moving. How was the world still turning. How?
“Okay, do you want us to call Finn?” Charles asked, he was sitting on the floor. They all were, how had they got on the floor?
“Finn?” Rory asked, her mom likes Finn... her mom had liked Finn. Had. Had. “Yeah.”
Charles got off the floor and went into his room, closing the door softly behind him.
“I need to... I’m... I’ve got to go now. Luke will be asleep but he should know...” Rory choked on a sob. How was she going to tell him? How? He loved her mom so much. How did she do this? What would her mom do? What would her mom have done?
“Come on,” Kat stood and held out her hand, tears running down her face in streams. Was Rory crying, she didn’t know. She should be.
Rory followed Kat back into her bedroom, where her phone was still on the floor where she dropped it. That had been rude. She shouldn’t have been rude. Her mom always told her off whenever she’d been rude. When she was little. When she had climbed into her mom’s lap for a cuddle and a story. One of the stories her mom made up about a young girl who lived in a tower and escaped two ogres who had locked her up and thrown away the key. But the Princess had run away with the love of her life, a baby princess with eyes just as blue and hair just as dark.
“Here... help?... Bambi... okay, but don’t tell the boys... arms up... that’s it... okay... step in... I’ve got you... sit down for your shoes... that’s it... that’ll be Finn... Bambi?... Okay then...”
“Huh?” Rory snapped her head up, surprised that she was on her bed, fully dressed. When had that happened?
“I just said let’s get you out there. We’ll drive you and you can change your mind at any time. Poppins knows Luke, he can tell him...” Kat was saying softly, still crying.
“No, I’ve got to do it,” Rory insisted. It was her job. “I said no... to the dance marathon... I said no... I’ve got to do this...”
Kat took Rory’s hand and led her back out into the common room, which was full of people. She wondered why. She hoped it wasn’t a party, she didn’t want a party. Not now. Not ever. Her mom loved to party. Loved.
Rory found herself in someone’s arms, the scent of them sinking into her brain and she tightened her arms around him, folding into him as sobs started taking over her body.
Rory wasn’t sure how she got in the car, or when. She was in the back seat Finn was one side of her and Poppins the other. They were both holding one of her hands. Dan was driving and Kat was in the passenger side. Rory saw a car ahead that looked familiar, and another and another...
“Here Bambi... don’t have to do this...” Rory's head snapped up and she looked around. She was home. Except it wasn’t home, it would never be home again. Because home was where her mom was and her mom was...
“Do you want us to go with you?”
“No... I not yet...” Rory was looking up at the pitch-black diner.
She was knocking hard and loud. He needed to hear her.
Lights flickered on and Rory almost smiled as she heard Luke ranting from inside and the pounding footsteps of an angry man. She clung to his rant.
“Rory? Jesus, Rory, what’s happened?” Luke was yanking open the door and bringing her inside.
“Luke...” She couldn’t breathe again. “Luke mom...”
“Come on, come on upstairs, whatever it is we'll sort it,” Luke said and she felt herself being led upstairs, she needed to do it. But she couldn’t. He needed to know.
“Rory?”
“M...mom? Mommy? Mom!” Rory couldn’t see through her tears that she brushed away roughly. Her mom was there in Luke's flat. Facing her. Alive and well. “Mom!” Rory sprang at her.
///\\\///\\\
Luke’s diner opened at two am that morning, for a group of the Life and Death Brigade, some of whom had jumped on Lorelai and hugged her almost as tight as Rory had. Rory who wouldn’t leave her mom’s side. Rory who had promised to do the dance marathon and come home every weekend and bring her mom presents for every visit.
A war council started that morning over Luke’s coffee and pancakes.
The prank had gone too far. Much too far.
The big guns were coming out now.
Rory messaged Paris. It was time to bring out the weapon of mass destruction.
YOU ARE READING
In Life and Death
Fanfiction"If you get into our little group, we are family. Not will become family we are family." Rory tries out for the Life and Death Brigade and everything changes. Fun, friendship, adventure and eventual Finn/Rory
