A Series of Different Events

Waiting Game

AN: I apologize in advance.

Lorelai, Paris, and Lane sat in the emergency room waiting area, waiting for someone to come talk to them. They'd been waiting there for over 4 hours, it was 6am, and all they'd heard was that the doctors were still running tests, and they'll let them see Rory as soon as possible.

"Tell me again" Lorelai said. That was the 4th time she asked Lane to tell her what happened.

"The story isn't gonna change the more you ask" Lane said

"Tell me" Lorelai insisted.

"She asked me to call her when I got home, so she'd know that I got there safe, but when I called her she didn't answer. After a few more tries, I got a little worried, so I called Paris and asked her to make sure Rory was ok since she lives close to her" Lane said. "She was fine when I left her. She wasn't drunk, she didn't even have a whole beer. Her walk home was 3 minutes, she was fine"

Paris hasn't said a word the whole time they were sitting there. Lane had called her, asking her to make sure that Rory was ok. Paris called Rory a few times, both on her cell phone and the landline in the apartment. No answer. Paris only lived 2 blocks away, and she had a spare key so she went over there, expecting to find that Rory fell asleep, but when she got there the place was empty. There was nobody there. Young woman, alone, after being in a bar, never makes it home. Paris had heard enough bad stories to not have to think twice before calling the police. She was there when the cops found Rory. She saw her.

Before anyone could say anything else, a doctor came out and walked over to them. "You're here for Gilmore, right?" She asked. "Lorelai Gilmore?"

"She goes by Rory" Lorelai said, under her breath

"I'm sorry?" The doctor said

"Rory. She goes by Rory"

"Noted" The doctor said. She knew that already because she'd spoken to Rory, but she had to use the full name to insure she was giving the right information to the right people. "Are you her family?"

"I'm her mother" Lorelai said

"Ok. First of all, I'm Dr. Ryan, I've been working on Rory since she came in a few hours ago. When she first came in, she had a CT scan that showed she had some internal bleeding. We were waiting, hoping it would get better on its own, but repeat scans show it's getting worse, so she needs surgery. She also has a pretty severe fracture in her right arm and torn ligaments in her knee that'll also need surgery to repair"

"God" Lorelai ran her hands over her face

"She also has 4 broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a fractured cheekbone, and a concussion" Dr. Ryan continued. "Other than that just some cuts and bruises"

"I'm sorry" Lorelai said. She knew that Rory was badly hurt, but nobody had actually told her what happened. "What happened to her? Nobody told us"

"I'm sorry, she asked that we don't disclose that information" Dr. Ryan said

"She's awake?" Paris asked. That's was the first time she spoke since being at the hospital.

"She was. But she was in a lot of pain, so we sedated her" Dr. Ryan said.

"Can I see her?" Lorelai asked

"We have to take her into surgery soon, but you can see her for a few minutes before we do. Just you though" Dr. Ryan said

Lorelai followed Dr. Ryan to the trauma room where Rory was. Dr. Ryan stopped just outside the door. "I want you to prepare yourself" she said. "I promise it looks worse than it is"