Snatched

Part 87

Rory sat with her back pushed against the door of the toilet cubicle. Her head was pounding and the bathroom around her was spinning at what felt like a thousand miles an hour. Rory curled up into a fetal position, holding her head in her hands, and closed her eyes. It was taking everything inside her not to just scream out loud, but that would only add to her headache.

'Rory, Rory.'
Rory knew it wouldn't be long before her mom was knocking on the cubicle door. When she'd left the court room Rory had managed to catch a quick glimpse of Lorelai out of the corner of her eye. She was already picking up her handbag and getting ready to follow her daughter.

'Rory honey, you gotta open up'.
Not just yet. Just one more minute. Rory reached out and grabbed her handbag. She searched around for some gum, desperate to rid her breath of the smell of vomit, before Lorelai caught on to what was going on.

'Rory Gilmore, if you do not open this door within the next ten seconds, I will knock it right down!'

'Just one second mom!' Rory managed to croak, as she inched away from the door, just in case Lorelai followed up on her threat.

'10...9...'
'Oh for gods sake mom!' It took every ounce of the little energy Rory still had inside her to pull herself onto her knees and reach up to unlock the cubicle door.

In the split second that it took for Lorelai to get into the cubicle, Rory had already resumed the fetal position she had sat in before. But this time her back was against the side of the cubicle and she was doing everything she could to keep her head upright.

'Geez Rory! You could have picked a better place to have a meltdown!' Lorelai said, as she squeezed in as close as she could to Rory on the bathroom floor. 'I mean, look at that!'
Rory looked over to the small smear of feaces that Lorelai was pointing to on the bathroom floor. She gagged, as silently as she possibly could.
'And oh god, Rory! The stench in here!' Lorelai pinched her nose' It smells as if someone just threw up!'
Rorys stomach flipped at this comment. Surely her mom couldn't have figured it out already.

'Now, which cat got your tongue! You haven't said a word since you got in here!' Rory felt her moms hand fall onto her knee. 'Now tell me sweet, sweet daughter of mine what has gotten you into this state'. Lorelai reached a hand out to touch Rorys chin, but then stopped and pulled her hand back.
'Eww!' Lorelai flicked away the small flake that had appeared on her hand. Then, she moved her body around on the bathroom floor, wincing as she went, so that she was sat directly opposite Rory.

Lorelai pulled Rorys hands away from her knees and, reluctantly, Rory let her hold them in hers.
'Sweetie, did you just throw up?' Lorelai asked, as she reached up to push Rorys hair out of her face. 'Oh sweetie! It's all in your hair!' Lorelai flicked another peice of sick away from her hands. Rory just nodded.

'Now Rory', Lorelai grabbed Rorys hands in hers and looked directly into her eyes. 'You gotta tell me what's going on.... I know this case has been tough, but this is so not like you. You've been so strong this past couple weeks and...'
'Mom... I can't tell you.' Rory took her hands away from her moms and placed them on top if her knees, but Lorelai just placed her own hands on top.
'Oh, Rory', she said. 'You know you can tell me anything. I'm just so worried about you today.' Lorelai moved one hand to touch her own chest. 'This just really isn't like you. Your moods haven't been so up and down like this since..'
Lorelais face suddenly went white as a sheet. 'Since...oh! Damn it Rory!' Lorelai gave her daughter a playful slap on the knee.

**
'Mr Huntzberger, are you aware of how it looks to just walk out of a court room like that! First Miss Gilmore and now you...Can you imagine what that looks like to a judge!'

'I really don't care right now, Walter! I just need to know that she's ok!'

'But Mr Huntzberger, you do know that this could lose you the case, lose you Dylan! Now find Miss Gilmore and be back inside that court room in five minutes!'

'No, Walter! I'm so fed up of this! Rorys welfare is so much more important than this case! You know what Walter, take the rest of the afternoon off. I'm gonna call my father right now and get myself a new solicitor!'

**

Rory and Lorelai sat staring at each other, across the bathroom cubicle, tears already starting to spill down both of their faces. Rory wiped a tear out of her eye and took both of her moms hands in hers.
'Oh! Damn it, Mom!'