Coffee and Chicken Soup (Gilmore Girls) G

[mhalachai]

Coffee and Chicken Soup
A Gilmore Girls story
by mhalachaiswords

Summary: Lorelai's got a new house, a sick daughter, and she has never been so panicked in her life.
Characters: Lorelai, Sookie, mini!Rory.
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls belong to the CW and Warner Bros. TV. No profit has been made from this fic.
Words: 1,990
Setting: Set pre-series.
Note: I'm not sure when Lorelai bought the house, but for the purposes of this story, it was soon before Rory started kindergarten. I also don't recall when Sookie came on the scene in the show... hence the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The Last Chance series:

One: Last Chance
Two: Life's No Dress Rehearsal

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did Rory need an ice pack? Lorelai thought, frantically digging through her paltry possessions. Rory had a fever and the doctor said that Lorelai needed to wait it out, but that if her temperature didn't drop in a day, or if it went any higher, to bring her back in to the clinic, but Rory was so hot and restless, so sick, that Lorelai couldn't wait. She had to do something, find some way to make Rory better.

She couldn't sit here and be helpless like this. She had to do something. But she didn't have anything to make it better.

The box in front of her didn't yield the phantom ice pack. Wanting to scream, to hit something, Lorelai sat back on her heels. What was she thinking? Buying a house when she didn't even have enough money to buy a couch, or a television, or anything. She'd bought Rory a bed and a desk, foolishly spending money that she didn't have, then Rory got sick and there were doctor's bills and medicine she had to buy and what if Rory got worse?

Lorelai's frantically spinning imagination stuttered and stopped. No. Rory was going to be fine. She just had a fever, kids caught fevers all the time and she was going to be fine!

"Mommy?"

Lorelai was on her feet in an instant, moving around unpacked boxes towards Rory's room. "Hey, sweetie," Lorelai said softly, pushing all her fears away. She couldn't let Rory see her scared. "How are you doing?"

Flushed with fever, Rory glared half-heartedly at her mother. "I'm hot!" she complained, pushing irritably at the covers. "I feel bad." The glare turned into a full-body pout, and Rory buried her face in the pillow.

"I know you do, babe." Feeling helpless and useless, Lorelai smoothed back Rory's damp hair. "Why don't you try and get some sleep?"

"Sleep is stupid!" Rory kicked at the covers, messing up the bed. "Don't want to be sick no more."

"I don't blame you," Lorelai said. "Would you like me to read to you?"

"No," came the plaintive response. "Don't want nothing."

"How about some..." What did they have? Lorelai hadn't gone grocery shopping yet, and they didn't have anything to drink, no ginger ale or orange juice or anything cold. "Water?"

The kicking stopped. "Water's okay," Rory mumbled. She turned her head to peek up at her mother. "Can I have my sippy cup?"

"Oh, honey, you're too old for your sippy cup," Lorelai said. "That's for little kids, and you're a big girl now."

Rory's face crumpled. "I want my sippy cup!" she wailed, regardless that it had been Rory's own idea to throw away the cup in the move, a scratched-up purple plastic cup she hadn't used since she was three.

"Shh, baby, it's going to be okay," Lorelai whispered, rubbing her daughter's back. Helpless frustration pushed at her, as her little girl cried over the loss of a cup.

The sobs gradually died down to sniffles, and Lorelai took the opportunity to duck out of the room to get Rory her water. The only half-unpacked box in the kitchen held a couple of battered plastic cups.

What was she thinking? Lorelai berated herself as she ran the water at the tap, waiting for it to run cold. She had two plastic glasses and three chipped plates from the inn. How could she run a house when she didn't even afford plates?

Rory's sniffles seemed loud in the stillness of the house.

How could she do this?

Lorelai blinked hard at the tears forming in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry. Rory needed her to be strong. She couldn't fall apart, not when Rory was sick and the house was a mess and she didn't even know how long she'd be sleeping on the floor before she could buy a mattress. She didn't know anyone in this town, didn't have a clue where to turn for help. She and Rory were alone.

She set the cup under the stream of water, watching as the liquid bubbled into the old plastic. It was all she had to offer her sick little girl, and all of a sudden Lorelai wanted to scream. She couldn't do this. How could she give Rory all the girl deserved? A house with toys, proper food, an outstanding education? And on a housekeeper's salary?

Rory deserved better than this.

An idea, one that stank of failure, brushed Lorelai's mind. She could make a phone call, one phone call, and Rory could have anything...

The sharp ring of the doorbell made Lorelai jump, spilling water over her hand. Shoving the sour taste of failure into the back of her mind, Lorelai turned off the tap and quickly checked on Rory, who was now blinking tearily at the ceiling, before heading to the front door.

The young woman at the front door, holding a small wooden crate with an assortment of bottles and boxes, beamed at Lorelai. "Hi there!" she exclaimed, cheek dimpling with her smile.

"Uh, hi," Lorelai stuttered. The woman was familiar, and it took Lorelai a moment to recall where she recognized her from. This was the new cook at the inn... what was her name? Susan? Sandra?

"I'm Sookie," the woman said when Lorelai remained silent. "From the inn? Mia told us you weren't coming into today and when she explained why, I just had to come on by after my shift."

Lorelai stared. "Sookie, yeah. Look, now's not a good time to visit, my kid's sick--"

"I know." Sookie hefted her wooden box a little higher. "Mia said you just moved in, and so I thought I'd bring by some chicken soup, ginger ale, all those things kids like when they're sick."

Lorelai looked at the array of thermoses and Tupperware containers in the box, and felt a little faint. "Are you sure you're not an angel?" she managed to say, at only a fraction of her normal cheer, but Sookie didn't seem to notice.

"I know all about being sick," Sookie confided as she followed Lorelai into the house. "Lying around the house, without anything to do--" She walked into a box, stumbling a little. "Oops!"

Lorelai eyed the woman as she set her box on the kitchen counter. Would she see how empty the house was? How little Lorelai had? Lorelai had only met the woman in passing, as she'd made one last spin through the inn before loading Rory and the last of their possessions into the inn's van, and she didn't know what this woman may think. More importantly, she didn't know what this woman may say where Rory could hear.

Sookie was intent on her bottles. "Now, I've got chicken soup, ginger ale, freshly squeezed orange juice, and coffee." She turned to Lorelai. "Mia told me you like coffee," she confided.

Before Lorelai could get a word in edgewise, Sookie was off again.

"Mia told me all of Rory's favorite dishes, and I wasn't sure what she'd like, so I made a little of everything. They can be refrigerated for a few days in case she's not up for them now. Oh, and for you..." Sookie pulled out a large plastic container. "Sandwiches."

Lorelai stared. She wanted to thank the woman, but what came out of her mouth was, "Why?"

Far from being insulted, Sookie shrugged good-naturedly. "I'm new in town, too, so I know what it's like." She smiled, handing Lorelai a thermos. "Does Rory like her soup with or without noodles?"

~~~

Rory wanted the soup without noodles, then complicated matters by refusing to feed herself. Alternating a spoonful of soup with a sip of ginger ale, Lorelai finally got a decent amount of calories into her kid before the girl fell asleep mid-protest about how she wasn't tired.

Her fever was going down, Lorelai noted when she removed the thermometer from Rory's mouth. She was two degrees cooler than she'd been that morning.

Lorelai wasn't prepared for the wave of relief that crashed over her. Her little girl was going to be okay. The fever would pass, she'd be up and running around in no time.

Rory was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.

Weak-kneed, Lorelai stumbled back into the kitchen. The dim light at the window told Lorelai she'd been in Rory's room for a while, and yet Sookie was still there, unpacking the boxes Lorelai had brought with her.

Lorelai wanted nothing more than to sink into a chair, but there was no furniture in the place, so she settled on leaning against the counter.

"How's she doing?" Sookie asked.

Lorelai sighed. She was so tired, but Rory's temperature was coming down and that was all that mattered. "She's going to be okay," Lorelai said.

Sookie beamed. "Excellent!" She gestured at the empty boxes, knocking a roll of paper towels to the floor in her enthusiasm. "I hope you don't mind, I have this thing about unpacking boxes."

"No, it's cool." Lorelai edged toward the thermos of coffee. "I hope I haven't kept you from anything."

In the back of her mind, Lorelai knew she was being a terrible host, and how her mother would have laid into her had she seen this! But Rory was the most important thing, and Sookie would have to understand.

Actually, Sookie did seem to understand.

"Nothing at all," Sookie said. "I unpacked all my stuff last week. And I'm on breakfast shift at the inn, so I don't have to be at work tonight. Although I'd love to do dinner, I've got some great ideas about using local produce with spring trout, with a lovely butter and dill glaze..." Her voice trailed off under Lorelai's questioning glance. "But breakfast is good too."

In spite of herself, Lorelai found the corner of her mouth twitching up. "You're new to Stars Hollow?" she asked, uncapping the thermos and pouring herself a shot of coffee.

"Two weeks," Sookie confirmed. "The things I've heard at the Independence Inn were too good to pass on, and here I am!" She leaned closer to Lorelai. "I hear wedding season is the best time of year," she said earnestly. "All those menu demands, plus the loads of guests?" She sighed happily. "I love it."

Lorelai crossed the floor to peek into Rory's room. The girl was still sleeping, arm flung out haphazardly. "Hey, do you want to go sit on the porch for a few minutes?" Lorelai asked after she closed Rory's door halfway. "Those sandwiches are crying out to be eaten."

Sookie picked up the sandwich platter. "Lead the way."

Lorelai headed for the back porch, leaving the door open. She was within hearing distance if Rory woke suddenly and called out. She sank to the steps with a groan, the fresh air of spring blowing the cobwebs from her head.

She and Rory would be okay. Rory would get better, Lorelai would save up the money for furniture, and they'd make a life here in Star's Hollow, the same way they'd made a life at the inn. On their own.

But just like at the inn, they wouldn't really be alone. At the inn, they'd had Mia and all their friends. And now, Lorelai knew that if she needed help, she could call on Mia for anything.

And then there was Sookie, who had the possibility to be a new friend, someone who'd appeared out of nowhere to save the day with coffee and chicken soup.

There was always something good that came from a tough situation, Lorelai was finding.

"So," Sookie said when she found a comfortable spot on the porch. "How long have you been at the Independence Inn?"

Lorelai thought back to that first day she'd appeared on Mia's doorstep, baby Rory in her arms, and smiled in spite of herself. "See, it starts a little like this..."

end