Author's Note: I wrote this in August 2015. I was in the middle of "Defining All In" and experiencing a bout of writers block. I decided to watch a few late season 6 eps to torment my soul. After "Driving Miss Gilmore", I decided I could not take the particularly acute pain of "Partings" just yet, and challenged myself to prevent it from happening entirely. And then I thought, "And you have to do it in 5 chapters, because the last thing you need is another epic-length fic." I did it in 4. *fist pump* Angst ahead, but hang in there.

Chapter 1: Luke's Diner

A black car pulled up in front of a diner.

From a stranger's perspective, the occupant would have appeared to be some kind of celebrity given her large, dark sunglasses worn in the evening and the self-confident way in which she carried herself. She exited as her driver held her door open for her and told him she would only be a few minutes; the business she had to take care of would not take very long. Observing the "closed" sign on the glass door in front of her, she squared her shoulders and approached with a determined look upon her face.

The doors chimed as she entered the establishment, and she seated herself at the counter next to a man who was slowly and methodically sipping a glass of water.

"Be with you in a minute," called the proprietor from the kitchen.

"Is he always here this late?" the woman projected loudly enough to be heard by the man in the back.

Luke Danes' surprised face appeared in the cut-through to the kitchen.

"Emily."

"Hello, Luke."

"Kirk, what are you doing?" Luke asked as he exited the kitchen.

"Finishing my water," Kirk replied, offended.

"Why are you still here? Where's Lulu? I thought she said you were going out tonight," Luke questioned him with a frown.

"Oh. I think she was waiting for me. I don't really know where she went."

"Go find your girlfriend, Kirk," Luke sighed, grabbing the glass of water.

Kirk stood, nodded, and walked out the door.

"And you, Luke, why are you still here? Where's Lorelai?" Emily asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen her today. Probably at home."

"Your home?"

"No, her home."

"Which is still not your home? I was under the impression you had it renovated for the two of you," Emily's right eyebrow quirked upward.

Luke hesitated.
He didn't have much of an answer for that.
He wasn't entirely sure himself.

"It's complicated," he muttered, moving past her to flip the sign hanging on the door to "closed".

"I see. And your girlfriend is there," Emily pressed, her eyes following Luke's every move.

"Fiancée. And yes, unless she's still at work."

"Fiancée implies a future wedding; no such date exists. Lorelai left work early today. She's been running me around much of southern Connecticut on various errands. I had surgery on my eye that didn't go particularly well. Did you know that, Luke?"

Luke was feeling a combination of impatience and confusion, which was quickly merging to become outright aggravation. Still, he felt an obligation to keep his cool with his future mother in law, particularly as she'd just had a surgery he hadn't know about, and let out a sigh.

"No, Emily, I didn't. I'm sorry to hear about your eye. I guess that explains the sunglasses. Is it better?"

"My eye will be fine. My daughter, however, is not at home, nor is she at her inn. I stopped at both places first. I did not intend to come in here initially, but seeing as I'm out of the most likely options for my daughter's whereabouts, I thought perhaps I would visit with the man intended to be my son in law."

"What are you getting at?" Luke retorted.

"The last time I sat here, I made you a promise to stay out of your relationship with my daughter. I've kept that promise. And now, I'm going to break it," Emily laced her fingers together in front of her on the counter, "I'm going to break it because I wonder how much of a relationship there is left to stay out of."

"What do you mean, how much of a relationship is left?"

"You're losing her. If you haven't lost her already. I'm not sure where she is either. I seem to recall her ending one engagement with a last minute road trip. She may be on another one for all I know. Her phone is off, her car is gone, her house is dark. Her fiancé is oblivious, going about his evening... " Emily shrugged, "It's all very familiar."

Luke felt like he'd been hit with a bucket of ice water. His instinct was to kick Emily out of the diner and race for the truck. However, common sense prevailed, and he knew that if Lorelai had truly left, she wasn't going to be found until she wanted to be. Instead, he would continue to argue with the all too calm and collected woman in front of him... who seemed to be implying she knew far more about Lorelai than he did.

"And you think you know her better than I do? I'm not sure she'd agree. The two of you don't have the closest relationship," he argued.

"Close enough that I held her while she wept on my shoulder this evening, which is closer than I've been to my daughter since she was a child. And I wasn't the source of her tears, Luke."

Emily felt her jaw clench as she recalled the scene in the realtor's office not two hours ago. Lorelai was strong and had never been in need of an overprotective mother. However, there had been a few times when the men in Lorelai's life had driven her to enough pain that Emily had stepped in. She had been ready to physically remove Christopher from her house once, and now she felt herself nearing the point of tearing Luke apart with her bare hands.

"What… why... why was she crying?" Luke stuttered, feeling himself growing increasingly uneasy.

"My daughter made room for you in her life. The house she has always been so proud of being able to afford herself without our help was opened up and expanded so you could join her there. Rory is a part of your life and has been for at least half of her's. I recall you were at her graduation. Tell me, if your daughter were graduating this year, would Lorelai be there with you?"

"Emily, it's… complicated."

"That's the second time you've said that. To which complications are you referring?"

Initially, learning of April's existence had made Luke's world upend itself, and everything had seemed confusing. It wasn't confusing any longer, but he'd been so out of sorts, he wasn't even sure what he'd settled and what was still left to sort out. Or if there even was anything left.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"I suggest you figure that out very quickly. Maybe Lorelai can provide some insight and help make 'it' less complicated. Whatever 'it' is. You used to make my daughter extremely happy, Luke. It annoyed me that she could find that kind of happiness in you. However, I find that you making her sad exceeds my annoyance and rather infuriates me. Particularly when she's been very obviously sad for the last several months."

Emily stood.

"She still wants you, Luke. She still chose you. My daughter did not do so indiscriminately. Figure out your answer fast, and bring her home. And make sure she calls me in the morning. I am, actually, worried. She didn't look at all well when she dropped me off tonight."

And, having said her piece, Emily Gilmore returned to the car she'd hired in order to lecture the love of her daughter's life.

For Lorelai's sake, she hoped he'd heard what she was trying to tell him.