Lorelai moved closer to her daughter, �Honey? Rory, wake up, I�m here,�
�Mom!� Rory screamed, and then opened her eyes, looking around frantically.
�I�m right here, darling.� Lorelai said, and Rory collapsed in her mother�s arms, tearfully.
�Mommy, don�t go away.� Rory said, clutching her mom for dear life.
�I won�t, honey. I�m right here.� Lorelai said, soothingly, cuddling her daughter close.
�A young woman�s body was found in the country outside Hartford this morning. Officials say it is not the body of Rory Gilmore, the Stars Hollow woman who has been missing since Thursday. They have not made a positive identification yet, and the state of Connecticut continues to be scoured for the missing woman.�
Lorelai sat on the couch, surrounded by her parents, Sookie, Jackson, and Luke. Baby Davey was sleeping in his car seat in the chair. Everyone was exhausted, from searching and worrying and the sheer panic they�d experienced before discovering the body wasn�t Rory�s.
�There they go again. Calling Rory a woman. She isn�t a woman, yet. She�s still my baby, always and forever.� Lorelai snuggled into the arm of the couch, wanting to go to sleep and never awaken from the horrible nightmare that was now her life. She buried her nose into the cotton fabric of Rory�s pink ice-cream pajamas. They smelled like her daughter. Lorelai thought back to when Rory had run away to her grandparents� house because they had fought. �I miss those days. Please, can I have those days back? Please?� Lorelai asked.
Lorelai got up from the couch, shuffling out of the living room, through the kitchen, and into Rory�s room in her blue fuzzy slippers. She heard her mother call her, but Lorelai ignored her. As she shut Rory�s door, she heard Sookie saying, �Leave her be. She needs to be alone.�
Lorelai sniffled as she turned on Rory�s CD player. She turned it to the radio station that played Christmas songs this time of year.
I don't want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need, I don't care about the presents under the Christmas tree, I don't need to hang my stocking there above the fireplace, Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas day, cause I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know.
Tears began to make their way down Lorelai�s cheeks, dripping onto Rory�s pajamas. She sniffled, and went over to Rory�s bed, crawling under the covers. She reached for Colonel Clucker, and held the stuffed chicken to her face. Breathing in deep, she started to cry. Tears streamed in little rivers down Lorelai�s cheeks as she listened to the familiar song.
Make my wish come true; all I want for Christmas is you,
You, baby!
Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas, I don't need a wish for snow, I just wanna see my baby, underneath the mistletoe.
I won't make a list and send it to the North Pole...
Cause I just want you here tonight holding on to me so tight, make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you!
Lorelai had cried herself into an exhausted slumber by the time Sookie came to check on her an hour later.
Lorelai watched her seven-year-old daughter out the window of the small potting shed that was their apartment. She was sitting on a tree stump, feeding the ducks in the pond. She watched as Rory reached out to the ducks, teetering a little. She bolted for the front door, but before she got there, Rory had sat back, deciding that wasn�t such a good idea. She watched Rory a little more, smiling at the peaceful look on her daughter�s face. The microwave pinged behind her and she called out, �Hey, honey, it�s lunchtime.�
Rory turned back, and smiled, but before she came, she leaned over and picked a yellow dandelion and ran with it to her mother. �Here, Mommy. It�s for you.� She said, her blue eyes sparkling.
�Thank you, darling.� Lorelai said, and gave her daughter a hug.