Sarah Gilmore is everything Richard and Emily Gilmore ever wanted in a daughter. She is as addicted to coffee as her big sister Lorelai, and maybe a little bit smarter than her Niece Rory. She is the apple of her parents' eye. Will that change when...
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Author's note: I started this story four years ago on A03 and decided to try and complete it!
Sarah Gilmore stands at the end of her parents' driveway, her bags by her feet. It's pouring, the onslaught commenced right at the start of her journey from Princeton; where her husband is a professor of literature, to Hartford.
As the rain soaks her Hazel curls, she just stands there. Staring at the giant house, where she spent many an hour with her parents. And very few hours with her big sister Lorelai. Lorelai Gilmore was ten years old when her baby sister was born. It was bad enough that her parents were 'doing it,' as her friends said; but they also had to announce to the world that they were still 'doing it' by having another baby. A baby that Lorelai didn't care for one bit, but one she grew to love.
Sarah was an angel. She did everything her parents asked of her. And that took some of the pressure off Lorelai. It didn't matter that she wouldn't do anything they asked of her because Sarah would do it instead. And that's why Lorelai didn't feel so bad about moving out when Rory was a baby; because as much as she knew it would cause her parents' pain, they would always have Sarah.
Sarah graduated Yale, just like Richard and Emily wanted. She was an artist and a good one. Emily proudly showed off her art and even gave pieces to friends as gifts. She was so proud of her baby girl. She needed everyone to know.
Sarah married the man her parents set her up with, and not just to keep them happy. She and Matthew hit it off straight away. They had many interests and they had fun together. They always had fun. That's something Sarah always appreciated. She knew her parents loved one another, but they never seemed to have fun. But maybe Matthew wasn't having as much fun as Sarah, after all.
She finally plucks up the courage, picks up her bags, and heads straight up to the front door; her shoes squelching as she walks. She presses a finger to the doorbell and barely waits a second before the door swings open, a concerned looking Emily standing in front of her.
"Sarah! My god, we saw you standing at the end of the driveway, and we were about to call the police!" She says, ushering her daughter inside. "What are you doing standing in the rain? You're going to catch a cold!" She exclaims, taking a towel off one of her many maids and wrapping Sarah in it.
"Hi mom," she smiles, shivering.
Emily tries to dry her daughter as best she can, not wanting her to get sick but mostly not wanting to ruin the floor. "You have suitcases, are you staying?" She asks.
"If that's okay," Sarah smiles shyly.
"For how long? I haven't even made up the bedroom!" Emily says with a tone that suggests she is annoyed. It is like Lorelai to turn up completely unannounced, but not Sarah. "Is everything okay, my girl?"
"I need to talk to you, mom. But" she looks at her sopping wet clothes. "Can I shower and get into some clean clothes first?" She asks, and her mother smiles.
"Well, alright, I'll have Greta make tea," she says, wandering off.
~
Sarah wanders down the stairs an hour later, in fresh clothes, and her hair and makeup are nicely done. At home, she would've been in her pyjamas about now, her hair in a messy bun and her face fresh. But not in the Gilmore house.
"Oh, there you are!" Emily says. "We were about to send out a search party," she smirks, hugging her daughter properly for the first time since she's arrived. "Oh, Sarah, you're getting a little chubby." She says matter of factly as she walks over to the drinks cart.
"The tea went cold. What would you like instead?" She asks as she pours herself a martini. "Martini?"
"No, thank you," Sarah says as she takes a seat on the sofa she spent many an hour lounging on as a child. "I'll have that tea though, if the offer is still there?" She smiles.
"What ever is the matter? It's not like you to turn down a martini, " the eldest of the Gilmore girls says. "Oh my god, you're pregnant," she grins. "Oh my god, you're pregnant. And you're here, " she mumbles as she looks at her drink.
"Where is Matthew?"
"Probably in his secretary's bed," Sarah says quietly, a hint of sadness in her voice as she stares at her hands. Emily frowns and sits down next to her, placing a hand on hers.
"What happened, my sweet girl?" She asks, and Sarah breaks down, all of the walls she had built on her drive over, all of her promises that she made to herself; that she would be strong. You couldn't show a sign of weakness in the Gilmore house. All of that was crumbling away now as she started to collapse into her mothers lap.
Emily is taken aback. She loves Sarah more than Lorelai, not that she would ever admit that. She has always been more loving and more affectionate with Sarah. But even for them, this seems too personal. But Emily goes with it. She can tell her baby girl needs her right now.
"You don't need to talk until you are ready," she says as she plays with a strand of her daughters hair. "Everything is going to be okay, Mommy is here," she says in a soothing, gentle voice that settles Sarah. "Just relax, I've got you."
