Hope for Hearts | PG | Gilmore Girls/Grey's Anatomy
Title: Hope for Hearts
Prompt: second opinion, Richard's heart, getting through to Emily, comfort
Fandom: Erica Hahn/Lorelai Gilmore, Grey's Anatomy/Gilmore Girls
Requested by: mrschimpf
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1403
Disclaimer: Not mine. Wish they were. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: This is set in season seven when Richard had his second heart attack. I had to resort to youtube clips, so if I got information wrong, please forgive me! This was really hard to write, especially in trying to get Erica's voice (there is a reason why I don't write Callica fan fiction…certain people from certain communities would probably have me killed if I got her wrong). Er, also, this is in no way inspired by current events.
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Lorelai clutched the crumpled flyer in her hand, staring at the door in front of her. It wasn't an imposing door. It was just a regular old door in a regular old building. Nothing scary. Not the gateway to Hell. Just a simple door.
She walked back down the stairs and headed to where the Jeep was parked, her hands shaking as she searched inside her purse for her keys. She pushed aside a packet of gummy bears and a snack size pack of cheetos, mumbling to herself about the elusive keys.
"I knew I should've taken the other bag," she grumbled. She shook the bag and heard them jingle at the bottom. "You will be mine, keys."
Three minutes later, Lorelai still had not found her keys. Squatting in the middle of the sidewalk, she dumped out the contents of her purse and frowned when she realized that the jingle had been about three dollars worth of coins. Her keys were nowhere to be found. Tossing the large pile of assorted objects back into her purse, she stood up and peered into the window of the Jeep. There, in the center console, gleamed the keys.
"You've got to be kidding me."
She tried all the doors, hoping that her forgetfulness would for once come in handy and allow her to get into the car. The doors were all firmly locked.
She banged her head against the door. "Why? Seriously, right now? Why?"
Lorelai considered calling Christopher or Rory. She even briefly thought of calling Luke but discarded the idea immediately. That was the last thing she needed.
With a resolute groan, she pulled her cellphone out of her jacket pocket and called AAA. She gave the bored-sounding representative her exact location and even offered to make it very worth her while to send help immediately, but she was told that the car would be there in no less than thirty minutes.
Lorelai looked once again at the building and, deciding that she'd rather be warm and uncomfortable rather than frozen and uncomfortable, she headed inside.
It wasn't difficult to find room 8; it was the only room in the hall with light spilling into the dimly lit corridor. She walked slowly and peeked her head inside.
There was a circle of about fifteen chairs set up, though only three of them were filled. A young woman with pink hair sat cross-legged on one of the chairs, a tissue pressed to her nose as a steady stream of tears streaked down her cheeks. Several seats down sat a balding man, whose shoulders shook slightly. Across from him sat a blonde woman, whose hands were folded in her lap. She was seated straight up against the back of the chair. Lorelai took her posture to mean that she was in charge. She looked over at the door and smiled.
Lorelai jumped at being seen. "Uh. Hi. Um. Is this, er, the," she held up the flyer and inspected the bolded title at the top, "Hope for Hearts support group?"
"Yes," the woman said. "Why don't you take a seat?"
Lorelai took the woman's commanding tone and quickly found an empty seat. She crossed and uncrossed her legs and moved her purse from the seat beside her to the floor.
"Please go on, Sylvia," the blonde woman admonished.
The girl with the pink hair continued. "I guess that's it…I…I'm just so worried that she won't get the transplant in time."
"Listen to me, Sylvia," the woman stated, leaning forward. "I know that the odds never seem to work in our favor when we need them to. It's a very real possibility that your mother's heart may not come in time, but it's also a possibility that it will."
Sylvia nodded and blew her nose. "I…um…need a minute."
"Shall we take a short break?"
Both of the others nodded and stood, swiftly leaving the room. Lorelai stared awkwardly at the woman.
"I swear I'm not Edward Norton."
"Excuse me?"
"You know, like in Fight Club…"
"This is a comfort."
"Um." Lorelai wanted to run out the door, cold weather be damned. "I, uh, got the flyer at the hospital today." She took a bracing breath. "My father had surgery yesterday. Heart surgery. Coronary bypass surgery, I mean."
The woman nodded. "I'm Dr. Erica Hahn."
"Lorelai Gilmore."
"I take it this is your first time at a support group?"
"Yea…I wasn't even going to come in but I locked my keys in the car…waitin' on AAA, ya know?"
"Sounds an awful lot like you were meant to come here."
"I don't know if I believe in that fate kind of stuff," Lorelai said, looking awkwardly at her hands. "It's just….this isn't my dad's first heart attack. He's an old guy and…and this time they had to open his chest." She was surprised at the tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "We don't have the best relationship, him and I, and I keep having these dreams where he doesn't make it. My daughter looked up the procedure on her phone. They stopped his heart! Just turned it off like it's a coffee pot or something."
"It's not as barbaric as it sounds, I assure you. It's a very common procedure."
Lorelai nodded dumbly. "Are you a counselor?"
"A cardiothoracic surgeon, actually."
"So you know all about this kind of stuff."
"I do. That's why I attend these meetings…to clarify the medical procedures and simplify the information overload. I can give a perspective that our counselor can't. She's not here tonight, by the way."
"Oh."
"Many people who come out of a bypass surgery can expect to live for quite a few years."
"Even an old man who's had a heart attack before?"
"Longevity is certainly increased for younger patients, but there's nothing necessarily to suggest that your father can't come out of this perfectly fine."
Lorelai wiped at a stray tear on her cheek. "He's always been there…he's so solid, and tall, and strong. To see him so small like that…"
"It's scary."
Lorelai nodded.
"All you can do right now is follow the advice that the doctors are giving him. Keep him eating healthy, keep him exercising, keep him relaxed. All you can do is support him, Lorelai."
"I guess that's better advice for my mother. I don't see him as often as I should."
"Have you considered changing that?"
"Well yea…but it's not that easy."
"Neither is the regret you'll feel for not spending more time with a loved one after he's passed away."
Lorelai was quiet. "You're a little harsh, aren't you?"
Erica laughed softly. "So I've been told. I owed the counselor a favor, which is why I come to these meetings once a month. She's got the warm, fuzzy bedside manner, not me."
Lorelai looked at her, studying the woman's round face and glittering blue eyes. "I can't speak for anyone else…but I feel a little better having talked to you."
"See…and you were afraid to come inside." Erica reached into her bag and pulled out a card. "If anything happens with your father and you need a second opinion, give me a call."
Lorelai took the card and went to stick it in her purse, but placed it into her pocket instead. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
"I hope you won't need it."
Lorelai smiled. "I'd better meet AAA….thanks again, Dr. Hahn."
"That's what I'm here for. I hope your father gets better."
Lorelai gave a final smile before heading back out into the cold Hartford air. AAA had not yet arrived and she took the moment to pull out her cell. When a chipper young woman answered, Lorelai said "Richard Gilmore's room, please."
"One moment."
Lorelai shuffled her feet anxiously. She held her breath.
"Hello?" His voice was laden with medication, but he was there. Solid. Big.
"Hey, Dad. It's Lorelai."
"Lorelai? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to tell you I love you, that's all."
Richard paused. "I love you too."
"I'll let you get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow though, okay?"
"Thank you, Lorelai. Good night."
Lorelai disconnected the call and spun the phone in her fingers. A light snow began to fall and she felt…better. She wasn't convinced that her nightmares would cease or that her father would make it or that she could make things work with Christopher…
…but she certainly felt better.
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