Chapter Two - Abrupt Awakenings (Part One)

[tigermaus]

Hey :)
We are finally back with the first part of chapter two :)
Sorry, for the long wait, but life is a real bitch right now and I do not have as much time for this as I want to. But be assured that we work on the story constantly and will not abandon this till it is finished ;)

We hope you like chapter two as much as the first one!

*hugs*

Chapter 2 - Abrupt Awakenings

Saturday June 10th, 4:30 PM, Hartford Memorial

During the whole drive to the hospital Luke felt as if he had left his body, had been pushed out by someone else and was now just a casual bystander. He could see himself down there in the ambulance, the lifeless hand of his nephew in his totally calm and strong one as they sped off towards the hospital. But inside he was dying of fear and panic.

Somehow he was glad that ‘the other Luke’ had taken over, because otherwise he didn’t know what he would have done when he rounded the counter. Jess had been so pale, and then there was the blood. So much blood, it even made his bodiless self dizzy thinking about it.

But this was Jess who needed him, and deep down he knew that he loved the kid like a son. So he just switched to autopilot and did what had to be done, like always.

Then they had arrived at the hospital and a doctor who didn’t look much older than Jess had wheeled the gurney with his nephew away into a room behind a frosted glass door and a motherly nurse had asked him a lot of questions and given him a form to fill out.

That was when he crashed back into his body and started shaking. The nurse led him to a chair in an empty waiting area and asked if she should call anyone. Luke just shook his head and after a moment she left. He took out his cell phone and without thinking pressed the first speed-dial number.

“Luke…” Her voice let him breathe a little slower again.

“I am going to kill Taylor!” he blurted out, too anxious to let her say whatever it was she was about to say, hoping she wouldn’t hang up. He needed to talk to her.

“Eh, what?”

“And Kirk! Both. He looked so pale Lorelai. And all the blood. I hate blood! And Liz is on that trip to Memphis and I… I don’t know…”

“Luke, calm down! Who looked pale? What happened? Where are you? Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m ok. I’m at the hospital, Kirk drove a car into my diner and Jess…”

Lorelai frowned. “A car…Jess?”

Luke sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Look, I understand if you…but I didn’t know who else to call and you know…I…”

“Which hospital?” Lorelai cut him off.

Luke was quiet for a moment and then looked down at the forms he had been given to fill out. “Hartford Memorial.”

“I’ll be right there,” Lorelai said. “Just hold on, ok?” And with that she hung up.

Saturday June 10th, 4:35 PM, Dragonfly Inn

“What was that about?” Sookie asked worriedly when Lorelai hung up.

“That was Luke,” Lorelai said numbly.

“Yeah I heard.” Sookie nodded. “What happened? Where’s Luke? Is he ok? Are you ok?”

“Sookie, breathe,” Lorelai interrupted the questioning and looked around her, searching for her purse. “I have to go, Luke’s at the hospital with Jess.”

“The hospital? Jess?” Sookie asked, more confused than ever.

“Yeah, Kirk drove into the diner and hit Jess,” Lorelai said absentmindedly, grabbing the purse from the counter by the door and dug out her car keys from it.

Sookie stared at her. “Kirk did what?” she exclaimed in horror.

“The madman sat down in a car and inevitable disaster occurred,” Michel said dryly behind them and Lorelai jumped, not having heard him enter.

“My God!” she exclaimed, turning around to glare at him. “Don’t do that.”

“I was just informing Sookie of what happened,” Michel said, unfazed.

“Great, do it after announcing yourself next time,” Lorelai said and kept glaring at him. “I should hurry.”

“Where are you going?” Michel asked, sounding worried. “You can’t leave,” he whined.

Lorelai stared at him another moment and then shook her head.

The door to the dining room opened and one of the staff walked halfway through the opening. “The Mastersons are back with their luggage,” he said, eyeing Michel warily. “They’re asking for their room.”

“You can’t leave me here with those insufferable people.” Michel begged.

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Lorelai smiled at him. “And I’m sure you’ll show them what a friendly place this is,” she added pointedly.

There was a shrill call from the lobby and Michel cringed, sending one last pleading look towards Lorelai before huffing and walking out of the kitchen.

Both Lorelai and Sookie giggled as the door closed, but Lorelai quickly stopped, turning serious again. “I really should go now,” she said, turning towards the door.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Sookie asked, stopping her mid step looking at her skeptically.

“No,” she said quietly, half turning around again looking down.

“You just ended your relationship,” Sookie reminded her gently. “Maybe this isn’t the best thing to do right now.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Lorelai said and then smiled sadly. “But I somehow feel like I should be there. He’s always been there for me. I just can’t let him do this alone.”

“Ok,” Sookie said and smiled back. “I’m here whenever you need me.”

Lorelai gave her a sad smile. “I know, thank you.” Then she bowed her head and hurriedly walked out the door.

Saturday June 10th, 4:45 PM, Lane’s Apartment

Lane pulled a sweater over her head and smiled as Rory walked past her out on the porch, balancing two cups of tea and a stack of CD’s. Then she turned back to Zach, giving him a stern face.

“This is girls only time,” she said firmly. “Don’t come out unless it’s an emergency, and I mean a very severe emergency, involving lots of casualties or the destruction of priceless music. Understood?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Zach nodded.

Lane watched him for a second before turning around, walking over to the front door. “Go unpack or something,” she called back as she opened the door, smiling as Zach grumbled behind her.

“I hope you don’t mind I started without you,” Rory said when Lane appeared in the doorway and nodded towards the stereo they had brought with them outside.

Lane smiled and sat down beside her. “No, it’s fine.”

They relaxed on the bench, both sipping on their tea and listened to the music, smiling at each other when they heard Zach curse the heavy bags as he moved them into the bedroom.

“This song is really good,” Rory said suddenly, startling her friend.

“Told you so!” Lane exclaimed after a second, a triumphant smile on her face.

“Yeah, you did,” Rory laughed and shook her head. “I should have learned by now not to doubt you when it comes to music.”

“You really should,” Lane agreed matter-of-factly, trying to keep a straight face. It lasted for about two seconds and then they looked at each other and started laughing.

“It’s great to have you back,” Rory said when she could talk again.

“It’s great to be back,” Lane nodded. “Though these past two weeks were amazing.”

“Oh, they were?” Rory asked innocently. “I hadn’t noticed,” she added with a sweet smile.

Lane looked over at her and blushed. “I did go on a bit, didn’t I?” she said apologetically.

“I’m just teasing you,” Rory laughed. “I loved to hear about it and would’ve dragged every last bit of information out of you if you hadn’t told me yourself.”

“It was great,” Lane smiled happily. “Best honeymoon ever.”

“So I’ve heard,” Rory smiled with her.

Lane kept smiling at her, but the frowned. “Of course I don’t really have anything to compare it with,” she said thoughtfully.

“Oh, I’d not say something like that with Zack in the room,” Rory laughed.

Lane’s frown deepened as she thought about that. “You’re probably right.”

“I’d skip the probably as well,” Rory said with a smile and shook her head at her. “I’m really glad you had such a great time.”

“Me too.” Lane smiled brightly again. “Oh!” she exclaimed then, quickly reaching for the remote beside her and turned up the volume. “This song’s even better than the other one.”

Rory grinned as response, settling down more comfortably and listened. “This song is amazing,” she said finally when the last notes died out.

“I know,” Lane nodded enthusiastically.

“It always amazes me how you find everything,” Rory said, shaking her head in admiration. “I’ve never even heard of most of these bands.”

“Secret of the trade,” Lane said with a wink and they both laughed again, continuing to listen to the CD.

“Are you waiting for something?” Lane suddenly asked, giving Rory a curious look.

“What?” Rory asked, surprised, and blushed a little when she realized she had once again glanced at her watch. “No, it’s nothing,” she shook her head. “I’m just…” she trailed of.

Lane’s curious look turned worried. “You’ve been here for more than two hours and you’ve looked at your watch every five minutes for the last one,” she said, a concerned wrinkle forming on her forehead.

“I…” Rory began to protest, but Lane just looked at her and she sighed. “Have I really?” she asked instead. At Lane’s confirming nod Rory sunk back against the back of the bench. “I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on?” Lane wondered, turned the music down and faced her friend.

“It’s nothing important,” Rory shrugged. “And besides, today is about you,” she added, sitting up again and smiling brightly.

“Something’s up and I can’t believe I didn’t notice it earlier,” Lane said and shook her head. “We’ve already talked about me, now it’s your turn. What’s going on?”

“It’s just…” Rory began, but didn’t finish her thought.

“Just what?” Lane urged.

Rory sighed and looked up at her friend. “Logan left for London this morning.”

“Oh,” Lane said, “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” Rory said with a weak smile. “It’s just…he hasn’t called yet and…”

“And he said he would,” Lane finished.

Rory nodded. “He said he’d call when he got there. He promised. The plane landed several hours ago and he hasn’t called yet.”

“Maybe they got delayed?” Lane suggested.

“Yeah, I thought of that too,” Rory nodded. “But then why didn’t he call and tell me that?”

“I don’t know,” Lane said. “Maybe he had a lot to do when he landed?”

“Yeah…” Rory sighed. “It’s just that things have been a little weird between us lately. And now with him being in London, it’s just hard.”

Lane offered her a small smile. “I’m sure he’ll call soon, and have a really good explanation for why he didn’t do it sooner.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Rory agreed, but didn’t look convinced.

“I’m sure he’ll call,” Lane assured her. “And I’m here if you want to talk.”

“Thanks,” Rory said, giving her a trying smile.

“Hey, cheer up,” Lane urged. “You still haven’t seen the movie we made.”

“Oh.” Rory’s smile immediately brightened. “Let’s go watch.”

“Yay!” Lane exclaimed and they both laughed and got up from the bench, heading back inside the apartment.

Saturday June 10th, 5:15 PM, Hartford Memorial

Luke leaned back in the hard plastic chair he was sitting in and rested his head against the cold wall, his eyes straight to the ceiling so he didn’t have to see what happened around him. He had been sitting there for what felt like an eternity, but in reality couldn’t even have been half an hour. He felt drained, and more than a little uncomfortable.

He was just about to check his watch again, hoping that it would tell him something new, when the same nurse who had led him to his chair came back with a glass of water in her hand and a concerned look on her face.

“You don’t look so good,” she said, giving him the glass. “Here, drink this. Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone?”

Luke accepted the water, grateful for the interruption, and took a long sip before shaking his head. “No, no thank you. I…” he started.

But at that moment Lorelai burst through the doors looking around. When her eyes met his she rushed to his side. Luke quickly stood up, surprised that she actually came, and gave her a trying, and somewhat relieved, smile. Neither of them noticed when the nurse smiled, took the glass and left.

“I’m sorry to drag you here…I don’t know if… I just didn’t know who else to call,” Luke blurted out, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. He could see her eyes were a bit red and the events of the night before were suddenly very vivid in his mind.

“No, of course I came. You don’t have to…” Lorelai started with a weak smile, but trailed off.

“Thank you for coming,” Luke said, smiling faintly.

Lorelai nodded. “I went past the diner on my way here. It looks like a disaster zone,” she said, sounding worried. “Are you ok? I mean, you didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“I’m fine,” Luke assured her. “It’s not me. It’s…Jess.”

“Jess?” Lorelai asked. “I mean, you said on the phone, but I didn’t…”

“Yeah, it’s a long story,” Luke offered uncomfortably. “And it’s a bit…complicated.”

“Ok,” Lorelai said quietly. “That can wait. Just tell me what happened,” she said and motioned towards the chairs beside them.

Luke nodded and they both sat down. They sat quiet for a while, but then Luke took a deep breath and told her about Taylor’s unveiling ceremony, the car and Kirk driving it into the diner.

“My god!” Lorelai exclaimed, amazed. “He drove straight into the diner? Through the wall?”

Luke nodded and shook his head. “He said the flash blinded him.”

“And Jess?” Lorelai asked awkwardly.

“He was right in front of the window. Didn’t see the car ‘til it was too late. I ducked behind the counter when it came through the wall. When I got up I couldn’t see anything but the car. I found him lying on the floor by the storage room entrance. How he managed not to end up right under that car I have no idea.”

“Is he…?” Lorelai started, not finishing the sentence, finding herself worried, despite everything.

Luke shook his head. “I don’t know. He was unconscious, his leg was broken and he was bleeding from somewhere on his head. Apart form that I have no idea and no one has told me anything.”

“I’m sure they’ll be right out to tell you what’s going on,” Lorelai tried to assure him.

“Yeah, I know,” Luke agreed with a heavy sigh. “It’s just frustrating, and I hate hospitals and I…I hate feeling this useless.”

“Luke, you’re not…” Lorelai began, but the shrill signal of her cell phone cut her off and she jumped in her chair. “Damn, I’m sorry,” she apologized as she fished it out of her purse and checked the caller ID.

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Luke waved it off.

“It’s Rory,” Lorelai said, motioning with the phone. “I should take this, I’ll be right back.”

Luke nodded and Lorelai gave him a tight smile as she got up from her chair and walked out in the corridor, answering on the way.

“Hey mom,” Rory’s voice filtered through the phone almost before she had time to say hi.

“Hey Rory,” Lorelai greeted back, stopping out of hear shot from the waiting room.

“Are you ok?” Rory wondered. “I called the Inn, but they said you left in a hurry.”

Lorelai nodded, before she realized Rory couldn’t see her. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said instead, glancing back at Luke.

“Are you on your way home?” Rory asked, and continued before Lorelai had a chance to answer. “’Cause I thought we could order something to eat and continue our movie marathon.”

“Oh, right,” Lorelai said, trying to decide what to tell her. “Well, no I’m not, but I can meet you there in…40 minutes,” she finished after checking her watch. “What about Lane?” she asked then, remembering about Rory’s hastily departure a couple hours earlier.

“Lane and Zack are going to Mrs. Kim for dinner,” Rory said with a laugh. “They looked less than happy when they left.”

“Yeah well, that’s understandable,” Lorelai agreed.

“So…where are you?” Rory asked, curious.

“Um…I’m in Hartford,” Lorelai said, and hurriedly added, “I’ll tell you when I get home, ok?”

“Yeah, sure,” Rory agreed with a slight frown. “Chinese ok?”

“Perfect. I’ll see you soon.”

“Ok, see you soon,” Rory said, more than a little confused.

Lorelai slowly put her cell phone back in her purse, closing her eyes for a second. She looked back towards Luke, who was still sitting in the same chair, in the same position she left him, and sighed. Then she took a deep breath and walked back over to him and sat down in her still warm chair.

“That was Rory,” she said.

Luke quickly looked over at her. “Yeah, you told me,” he said.

“Oh, right,” Lorelai mumbled. “Sorry, it’s just…”

“Yeah, I know,” Luke said.

“Yeah,” Lorelai said with a small smile. “I really should tell her about this. I mean, I don’t want her to find out from someone else. I’m…”

She stopped abruptly, seeing the nurse coming back over to them and Luke quickly got to his feet.

“Mr. Danes,” the nurse started, but Luke interrupted her.

“Are there any news?” he asked, looking at her expectantly.

The nurse offered an apologetic smile and shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I haven’t heard anything yet.”

“Oh,” Luke mumbled, looking down again.

“It hasn’t been that long, and Doctor Daniels is really good,” she reassured him. “If I hear anything I will tell you.”

“Thanks,” Luke nodded and gave her a small smile. “I’m sorry, I interrupted you before.”

The nurse looked at him sternly, but then shook her head, dismissing it, and smiled back. “Yes, I wondered if you had filled out the forms yet.”

“Oh,” Luke faltered for a second, looking down on the papers in his hand, and then shook his head. “No, I’ve never…”

“It’s ok,” the nurse quickly assured him and motioned towards the nurses’ desk. “If you follow me I can help you fill them out.”

Luke looked up and smiled gratefully. “Yes, thank you. That would be great.”

Then he turned towards Lorelai again and gave her a small smile. “You should go and talk to Rory.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, hesitating.

Luke nodded and smiled reassuringly. “Yes, you should go. I’ll be fine. Thank you for coming. It means a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” Lorelai said and squeezed his hand briefly.

Luke’s eyes quickly darted to their hands, but before he could return the gesture she let his hand go, and they stood awkwardly for a moment, neither knowing what to do.

“Ok, I should go,” Lorelai finally said, motioning towards the exit. “Are you sure you’ll be ok?” she asked, taking a step away.

“I’m sure,” Luke said and Lorelai nodded, halfway turning around.

She stopped mid step and turned around again. “Keep me posted, ok?”

“Yeah, I will,” Luke said and watched as Lorelai left before following the nurse, letting out a heavy sigh.

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Download links for the PDF Files with pictures and all - which is much more fun!
CHAPTER ONE here Mediafire
CHAPTER TWO here Mediafire

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Coming up next on The domino effect:


A big THANK YOU to Jess for the banner *hugs*