"We haven't connected yet."
--☆--☆--☆--
The Gilmore household was in a funk. Rory and Lorelai were fighting, and they never fight. Sure they get in petty arguments sometimes but those are always resolved within an hour, not this fight. This fight has been going on for days.
It all started after the dance, which was four days ago. Rory had accidentally stayed out all night, with Dean. Now that on its own is bad enough, but of course that's not all that happened. Emily, who happened to be one who realized Rory was missing, yelled at Lorelai. Telling her that she was a bad mother and Rory would end up just like her.
Now not only were Rory and Lorelai in a fight, but so were Lorelai and Emily. Which meant that the Gilmore twins would now be attending their grandparents Christmas party without their mother.
Cassie, who had been busy playing the middleman for four days, had no interest in going to the party. She was annoyed beyond belief. For two of the four days Cassie spent going back and forth exchanging words for her mother and sister. It didn't seem to matter to either of them that Cassie had something she wanted to tell them, something she needed their opinion on. No, they were too focused on their fight.
But of course, being the girl she was Cassie pretended like it was fine. She played the role of least importance.
"I wish you'd change your mind," Rory said from the kitchen.
Lorelai who was sitting on the couch didn't even turn her head as she spoke to her daughter. "It's not my mind that needs to be changed."
Cassie, who was sitting beside her Lorelai, turned her head to look at her. Cassie hated the idea of going to her grandparents without Lorelai. "It's not my mind that needs to be changed," Lorelai announced.
"I don't think she meant it," Cassie guessed, but she hadn't heard the phone call between Lorelai and Emily.
"Oh, she meant it," Lorelai said, glancing over at her daughter.
"Well maybe she meant it at the time, but I bet she won't mean it later when we show up there without you," Rory told her mom.
"And without a map to follow that reasoning I say, Take a hat it's cold outside."
"Mom, please don't make us go alone," Cassie begged.
"You just wanna hold a grudge," Rory said looking down at the gift she was wrapping.
"Yes, it burns more calories,"
"That's not true."
"Yes it is, how do you think your grandma got those legs of hers? She's not exactly a Stairmaster gal."
"Mom," Rory said in a scolding voice.
"Never saw her on the running track,"
"We get it Mom," Cassie said, but of course Lorelai wasn't done yet/
"I don't remember the country club organizing a Tae-bo class.
"Fine, forget it. Should I put your name on Grandma's present?"
"Yes," Lorelai nodded, but kept her eyes facing the television in front of her. "Sign it the innkeeper formally known as her daughter.
"You know what I think?" Rory asked, walking into the living room.
"What?"
"I think you're acting a little immature," Rory said as she set down the present.
"I'm not acting."
"Well what about the apple tarts? You wait all year for those apple tarts," Cassie reminded her mother, hoping it would be enough to get Lorelai to join them.
"I can live without the apple tarts," Lorelai claimed, making Cassie scoff as she stood up from her seat on the couch. She grabbed her coat from the hanger, putting it on, still annoyed with her mother.
"You've made up songs after eating five of them with lyrics that contradict that last statement," Rory said, and it was true. Lorelai loved the apple tarts.
"Oh you know what? You have to go, you're late," Lorelai held out the keys to the jeep but neither of the twins took them.
"Mom please. We are your daughters who you love," Cassie gave Lorelai her best puppy dog eyes but unfortunately Lorleai grew immune to them when Cassie was about 12.
"You really won't come?"
"What, I'm sorry, is somebody speaking? Couldn't be my kids, they're already halfway to Hartford."
Rory took the keys from Lorelai. "Fine, we're going."
"Drive carefully. Watch out for ice," Lorelai said as her daughters walked towards the front door. "And bring me back one of those," Rory closed the door behind her in the middle of Lorelai's sentence but both twins knew she was asking for Tarts.
"What if we say we got a flat tire, and stay home," Cassie suggested, earning herself an annoyed look from her twin sister. "Or not..."
--☆--☆--☆--☆--☆--
Cassie and Rory felt out of place at the dinner table. They were the only people under the age of 45, and without Lorelai the twins felt even more awkward. They spent most of their talking time answering the same three questions, how's school, plans for college, any extracurriculars? Let's just say the twins were happy when the attention wasn't on them anymore.
"Emily, you've out done yourself yet again," A woman named Gigi complimented Emily.
"Yes, I can't imagine the hours you spent slaving over a hot stove."
"You're teasing me, Alan," Emily told the man sitting on her left.
"It's delicious Emily," He told her.
"A compliment for my chef is a compliment for me, thank you Alan."
"Or it's just a compliment for the chef," Cassie whispered, her words going unheard by all.
"I for one would like to know where Henry is at this hour. Probably gallivanting around London like a bull out to stud," Richard guessed. All night Richard couldn't stop talking about this man named Henry from his work, someone he currently despised.
"Richard please."
"Well how is he supposed to negotiate the contract tomorrow morning if he's been out at all hours with some cheap tramp," Richard declared.
"Knowing Henry, she wasn't cheap," Alan guessed.
"This is wildly inappropriate dinner conversation, especially in front of two young ladies," Emily said, looking at her granddaughters who she seated on opposite sides of the table.
"Is it unbearably hot in here?" Richard asked as he began fidgeting in his seat.
"Richard, don't loosen your tie at the table," Emily scolded him.
"So what are your plans for the Christmas holidays Girls?" A woman called Holland asked, looking at the Gilmore twins.
"We'll probably just be hanging out with our mom," Rory answered politely.
"Oh it's such a shame she couldn't come, she's always such a kick."
"It's a shame she was uninvited," Cassie corrected, earning herself a few confused looks and one 'what the hell' look from Rory.
"What she means is Lorelai wasn't feeling well so I suggested she stay home," Emily said, giving her granddaughter a stern look. One that is usually only meant for Lorelai.
"It is hot in here, I'm going to lower the thermostat," Richard stood up from the table, leaving the room.
"Poor thing, what's wrong with her?" Holland asked as they continued to discuss Lorelai.
"She has a touch of the flu. Richard forget the thermostat!" Emily yelled at her husband. The twins gave their grandmother an annoyed look, but they tried their best to just keep being the polite girls they were.
"I thought you said she was working?" Gigi remembered.
"Well she was supposed to work but then she caught the flu so one way or another she couldn't have made it," Emily lied.
"Tell her we missed her."
"We will,"
"Richard! For heaven sake," EMily set down her napkin as she stood up from the table to find her husband. "Richard! Oh my god!"
The next few minutes were pure chaos. After Emily's sceam everything went to hell. All the guests stood up following Emily's voice. Cassie backed up in fear when she saw her grandfather unconscious on the floor.
"Call 911!"
"Someone help him!"
Cassie rushed out the door, picking up the phone to call for an ambulance. For the entire ten seconds it took for them to answer the phone Cassie felt nothing but panic. "Hello? Yes, my grandfather collapsed. He needs, uh... he needs an ambulance," Cassie said then she turned her head seeing Rory on the phone with Lorelai.
Next thing she knew the paramedics were at the door and then they were gone. All of them were on their way to the hospital. Cassie hated hospitals, she hated being around all the death and disease. It freaked her out.
Which is why she was glad to have Rory. Who, one, knew that Cassie hated hospitals, and two, kept her busy with errands to find coffee and newspapers.
"Oh god," Cassie winced when she saw a man with his arm very obviously broken.
"Come on Cass," Rory pulled her arm, making Cassie look away. "I found the papers."
"I hate hospitals."
"I know," Rory put her arm around Cassie's shoulder, keeping her sister close. They walked back down the halls, trying to find their grandmother. Only they didn't find Emily, they found Luke.
"Luke."
"Luke?" Cassie looked up, and sure enough there was Luke sitting on a chair.
"I gave your mom a ride. We weren't on a date," He assured the twins.
"Oh. Okay," Rory nodded with a curious expression on her face.
"She went back to see if they could find the doctor," Luke told them as the twins sat on either side of the Danes man.
"Did they find out anything else about Grandpa?" Rory asked.
"I don't think so, but give your mom a couple of minutes back there, I bet she finds something out," Luke replied.
"Thanks for bringing her."
"You're welcome. Hey, you ok?" Luke saw the sad looks on the faces of both the Gilmore twins.
"I don't want him to die," Cassie answered. "We haven't connected yet."
"Well you tell him that when you see him ok? People like to hear that," Luke said, putting his hand on Cassie's shoulder in a comforting manner.
"Mom!" Rory jumped out of her seat quickly being followed by Cassie as they ran into Lorelai's arms.
"Hey, girls!" Lorelai wrapped her arms around her daughters, instantly feeling comforted by their presence. "Hi."
"It was horrible!" Cassie told her.
"And It happened so fast," Rory added.
"They're about to bring him out of the big test room any minute so just hang in there," Lorelai told her kids.
"Where's Grandma?" Rory asked, noticing that Emily hadn't come out yet.
"Kicking some patient out of the room with the good view," Lorelai told them.
"Why am I not surprised," Cassie commented, shaking her head.
"Really?"
"I hope they get him unhooked fast, otherwise he's going without the life support machine," Lorelai joked, making Cassie smile.
"So how long before they bring him back?" Rory asked.
"Very soon."
"I'd like to do something?"
"Yeah, we should do something," Cassie nodded.
"Like rollerblade?" Lorelai asked her.
"Like get some coffee or make phone calls or do something that isn't standing here waiting," Rory explained.
"Ok, got it. Well as partial as I am to the phone, I'm voting for the 'get coffee' idea," Lorelai told her daughters.
"Ok, good."
"Luke, tea?" Cassie asked knowing that Luke didn't like coffee.
"Ah, peppermint preferably," He told her, making her nod her head.
"We'll be right back," Rory once again took Cassie's hand, giving her comfort as they walked through the halls of the hospital.
--☆--☆--☆--☆--☆--
Cassie knew this moment wasn't about her. It was about Richard, only Richard. Yet she was standing there, looking at her grandfather laying in a hospital bed and all she could think about was the moments they didn't share. Richard didn't know Cassie, and Cassie didn't know Richard. They hadn't bonded yet like he and Rory did. If they were left alone it was always awkward, that's what Cassie was thinking about while she listened to the doctor talk about Richard's health.
"So he can go home?" Rory asked in a hopeful tone.
"We'd like to keep him overnight, just to be sure," Dr. Reynolds informed the young girl.
"But he's gonna be okay?" Cassie asked, making sure that she'd have time to get over the awkwardness between her and Richard.
"As long as he does what he's told," Dr. Reynolds assured her.
Cassie smiled, she liked knowing that she had more time. She needed more time with Richard, the entire Gilmore family needed more time with Richard. The twins walked out of the hospital room, finding their mom and Luke talking outside.
"He's gonna be fine," Rory said as she gave Lorelai a hug.
"Yeah, yeah. I think it was those financial papers that really did the trick," Lorelai said and they all laughed quietly. "So, um, Luke's gonna take you home ok, I'm gonna hang out here for a while."
"I'll stay too," Rory suggested but Cassie was ready to go.
"No, go, call Dean. Talk mushy to each other and then spend an hour arguing over who's going to hang up first," Lorelai teased.
"You are gross," Rory frowned.
"I'll call you later. And honey," She put her hand on Cassie's arm, "When I get home we can talk about the guy."
"Okay," Cassie nodded smiling, she thought Lorelai would've forgotten about her and Josh going to the dance together. "Tell Grandpa goodbye for us."
"And tell Grandpa we'll come back tomorrow," Rory added.
"Ok, I will, bye."
"Bye," the twins said at the same time.
"Ok, walk fast and look straight ahead," Luke said to the Gilmore twins who were on both sides of him. Cassie smiled up at him, and suddenly she remembered when Luke said he wasn't on a date without Lorelai. God, it would be amazing if they were.