AN: Hello, Gilmore lovers, fellow JavaJunkie shippers! Here it comes... brrrrrrrrr (yeah, that's the drum roll slash helicopter noise): The new chapter! As always: I don't own the rights to these characters, doesn't mean I can't play with them like they're my puppets! Thank you so much junienmomo for your excellent beta work. You make me a better writer! Now, enjoy the new chapter!

Previously:

"Luke, this is the money I was gonna ask you for. I can't take it."

"Why? Why can't you take it?"

"I have a boyfriend. I asked him last night, and he gave me a check."

Chapter Two: A Friend in Need

As if all the things on her to-do list weren't enough, Lorelai had to deal with the death of her grandmother, and the family crisis it had in tow on top of the usual craziness and busy schedule the opening of her inn brought with it. She sighed. Yet again. She wondered if the 74th sigh of the day would qualify for calling it her new hobby. Maybe she could join a club. Nah, she didn't have time for club meetings. Ooh, maybe she could make a bumper sticker. Honk if my driving makes you sigh. That's it, she thought. Brilliant. She sighed. 75 and counting.

Lorelai stirred in her mug with only coffee, no milk, no sugar. Luke came to stand behind her. He frowned.

"If you continue stirring, you'll soon hit the table with your spoon", Luke grunted.

No reaction. "That would be the point where the brown liquid of death flooded the table", he said.

No reaction. "Your shoulder joint would probably be dislocated by then."

Still no reaction. "Because you would have stirred so much that all the ligaments would be used up."

No reaction whatsoever. Just stirring. "Just bone on bone, rubbing against each other."

She looked up. Her expression was bland. Luke kept talking. "You'd have to lick the coffee off the table, because I certainly won't get you another cup."

"What do you think fresh clothing means?", she asked quietly.

"What? Why would I-?", he asked before she interrupted him.

"Neither do I! Is it new clothing? Freshly washed clothing? Dry-cleaned clothing?", Lorelai wondered.

"I wouldn't know. Why, what do you need fresh clothing for?", Luke asked, and dreaded her answer, as he often did.

"My grandmother wants to be cremated in fresh clothing."

"Why would she talk to you about that?"

"She didn't. She died. And because my grandmother was possibly the most evil woman in the world, my mother stopped making the funeral arrangements for her. Which made me the Gilmore in charge. Sounds fun, doesn't it?", she said sarcastically.

"Oh gosh, Lorelai, I'm so sorry", Luke said, mentally kicking himself, as he turned to stand beside her, his hand firmly grasping her shoulder. "Is there anything I can do for you?", he asked sincerely.

She winced a little under his touch. Somehow, in spite of the pain, the warmth of his fingers sent a wave of solace through her veins.

"I'd like that new cup of coffee in case I stir a hole in this mug", she said with a weak smile.

"You got it", he answered with a wink as he left her alone with her thoughts.

After a sleepless night, Lorelai didn't exactly know what to expect of the day. In her head she was going through different scenarios. The range was wide, from public breakdown to silent suffering. She knew her mother was terribly hurt, and when people are hurt, they are unpredictable. Lorelai once again felt like she had to shoulder the weight all by herself, a weight that was too much to bear for one person. Most of all, she was glad that Trix's death itself didn't hit her that hard, which was a good thing.

There were quite a few things that were certainly going to happen that day. Since Sookie was responsible for the catering, the food would be amazing. Rory had assured her that if Richard didn't feel strong enough for the eulogy, she'd be prepared to deliver it. Lorelai's thoughts went back to Rory's high school graduation. Almost a year ago, she had said that Richard and Emily were her twin pillars that gave her strength. A feeling of emptiness spread in Lorelai's chest as she pondered the thought. Rory was a pillar for her, but she had already trusted her with enough for this funeral. This crisis definitely was a two pillar crisis. One simply wasn't enough.

Sookie had always supported her, but it wasn't the same as having a partner who could make sure that everything was double checked. Sookie was her best friend and business partner. Lorelai was very grateful to have her by her side. But that pillar didn't quite measure up to Rory's or to the one of a husband. Could Jason be a pillar for Lorelai? She simply didn't know. They have known each longer for a long time, but their relationship was new. Was it enough that he sent her flowers for every possible occasion?

Another certain thing for the day was that Jason wouldn't be there. Lorelai could understand his reasoning, she couldn't say she was a fan of funerals herself. She had hoped that Jason's loyalty to her father had been big enough to overcome his uneasiness. She had hoped he could overcome it for her, for them. Maybe he wasn't as much in this relationship as she was. Maybe he had different priorities. Maybe she was too sensitive right now.

Lorelai dragged herself out of bed, she took a quick shower, and was on her way to Luke's. His night hadn't been much better than hers. After a huge fight with Nicole, he had decided to sleep in his old apartment above the diner. Nicole had wanted him to accompany her to a lunch given by one of the named partners in her law firm, and he had tried to explain to her that he simply couldn't do it because he had an important business meeting himself. The more he had repeated the sentences the night before, the more he believed them. They sounded so much better than the truth. Luke had preferred a night in his old bed to the route their conversation would have taken if he had told her the truth.

"I need to be there for a friend."

"Who? Who is so important that you can't be there for me, your wife?"

"It's Lorelai."

"You've got to be kidding!"

"No, I'm not. She was there for me when my uncle died two years ago, she actually saved the funeral. So now, I need to be there for her."

"She saved the funeral? Come on, there is no such thing as 'saving a funeral'! What did she do? Murder your uncle? Make the casket? Carve his name on the headstone?"

"Stop! Don't yell at me, Nicole! You have no right to talk about her like that!"

"Can you even hear yourself? You talk about her like she's the wife, and I'm the mistress, not the other way round! Because that's what she really did, right Luke? She comforted you afterwards, distracted you a little? Showed you you could still feel something other than pain?"

"Did you just insinuate that I'm sleeping with her? Seriously? We're married here, Nicole! I'm no adulterer! I'm merely helping a friend. And she does have a boyfriend."

"That bugs you, admit it! OK, go help her, be there for her. Maybe I'm lucky and my grandma will die soon so that you can show your loyalty and support to someone other than her!"

Yep, the lie that had come across his lips certainly was better than the truth. The truth was that Lorelai was his best friend and that she had done countless nice things for him. The truth also was that if Nicole ever found out that Luke had offered to loan Lorelai thirty thousand dollars, their marriage probably would be over. Not to imagine what would have happened if Lorelai had taken him up on the offer. Luke honestly didn't know what it was with women. Why did they think there was something going on between him and Lorelai? He had gotten used to the nosy yentas from Stars Hollow. Was it so hard to believe that a man and a woman could be friends?

Besides, Lorelai Gilmore was absolutely not his type. Granted, she was a beauty, but that loud personality of hers? She was neon pink with rhinestones, and he was plaid flannel.

Lorelai sat on a stool on the counter, Luke silently poured coffee into her favorite mug.

"No lecture?", she asked carefully.

"Not today", he answered calmly.

"Because my grandmother died?"

"Yes."

"Thanks."

Sometimes the exchange of ten words was enough.

"What can I get ya for breakfast?", Luke said with his notepad in his left hand and his pencil in his right.

"I'm not hungry", Lorelai replied.

"I'm making you eggs. You can't have only coffee and nothing else in your stomach. Funerals are tough, OK. Even if you're not that sad about the death, they're sad. They mean goodbye. Believe me", Luke said with his eyes set on hers.

"I believe you. Can you scramble my eggs?"

"Yes."

"Add a little cheddar?"

"Yes."

"Bacon on the side?"

"Yes."

"Will you say yes to anything?"

"Yes."

"Thanks, Luke."

"Don't mention it."

The one thing she didn't ask for, he had already agreed to. He assumed it was an understanding. He'd be there for her at the actual funeral. He had picked up his suit at the dry cleaner's yesterday, he had given his dress shoes a shine and pressed his white shirt. Sometimes the exchange of no words was enough.

Lorelai wolfed down her eggs, and before he realized it, he found a ten dollar bill next to the empty coffee mug, and saw her walking to her jeep.

90 freaked out minutes later, Trix had on new, fresh underwear, and a Hello Kitty bracelet, and Lorelai sat down in the pew between her mother and Rory at St. John's. She turned around to see which relatives had shown up, and ultimately who she had to avoid. Another deep sigh. No Totsie, one less worry. Lorelai's eyes travelled further back, and froze when she caught a glimpse of a very handsome man in a black suit. He smiled at her and waved his hand.

"Hey, what's with the contortions?", Rory whispered.

"I forgot my glasses. There's a very handsome guy in the back who keeps smiling at me."

Rory turned around, and the man waved again. "Very handsome guy, huh?", she asked her mother as she waved back.

"Yeah, why? Do you know him? Who is he?", Lorelai asked with excitement in her voice.

"Seriously? Mom, that's Luke!", Rory said, trying to hide her mocking tone behind her smile.

"Are you kidding me?", an astounded Lorelai asked.

"You sound so surprised. You've seen him in this suit. And when he's shaved. And when he's not wearing his hat."

"Did you know he was gonna come?"

"No, but it's a very nice thing, don't you think?", Rory asked.

"Definitely."

"It's something you only do for very close friends. I mean, he didn't even know Gran."

"Shh, the minister's starting", Lorelai remarked.

After the service, Lorelai made a beeline for Luke.

"Isn't this a surprise! What are you doing here?", she asked him.

He pulled her in for a tight hug. "Just trying to repay the favor. After all what you have done for me when Louie died."

"I don't know what to say. Thank you, I guess", Lorelai said, touched, as she loosened the grip from his broad shoulders.

"If you thank me now, what are you gonna do when I tell you that I have a thermos filled with coffee in my truck?"

"I think I might say 'Did you ever know that you're my hero?' And by say I mean sing."

"Don't", he replied with a wink.

"So, are you gonna come back to my parent's house? Sookie's doing the catering, so the food will be fabulous."

"Sorry, I have to go back to the diner. Come out to the truck with me?", he asked.

"Sure", she answered as she followed him out of the church.

They talked a bit about the service while Lorelai drank the coffee he had brought her. Afterwards he drove back to Stars Hollow. Lorelai drove her Jeep back to the Gilmore mansion. She shook her head in amazement. That was such a sweet thing, such a Luke thing that he had done for her. He truly was a good guy, there for her in moments that mattered. When she arrived at her parents' house, Lorelai soon realized that Sookie had outdone herself. It was a lovely buffet, but the waiters had dead serious looks on their faces. Just when Sookie went to tell them to change their facial expressions, Lorelai was once again stunned by the appearance of someone.

"Hey there, Jason", she said in a forced nonchalant voice.

"Hey, Lorelai. It's a beautiful spread", he remarked.

"Thank you. What did you think of the ceremony?", she asked as if she was on an audition for Days of Our Lives.

"Uh, touching. Very, very touching", he said sincerely.

"And the part where the reverend forgot where he was?", she asked with knitted brows.

"A much needed flash of levity. Although, on the whole, I thought he did an excellent job. The whole service was dignified and emotional, but not maudlin. How am I doing?", he asked, meaning his performance.

"A little too well for my liking."

"Did you get my flowers?", he wanted to know.

"Yes, I did", Lorelai replied. "Thank you, they're beautiful", she added with a smile.

"I'm gonna go find my partner. I'll catch up with you later", he said and went away.

"OK", Lorelai said.

But she couldn't help but wonder why his last statement gave her a little pang in her heart. His partner. I'm his partner. And for the first time in the last couple months she regretted that their relationship was a secret. But he showed up, not for the church service, but this was nice too. Maybe Jason Stiles had pillar potential after all.

Yes, the DVD owners among you will have recognized the last scene. Unfortunately, it landed on the floor of the cutting room many moons ago. I think that's actually a shame, because it kinda set a different tone for Lorelai and Jason's relationship. As my beta junienmomo pointed out, we don't know if Lorelai's glasses actually are shortsight glasses or not. In my fantasy land they are. Maybe because mine are too... Have I told you how much I like reviews? Well, let me put it this way. Lorelai loves the coffee, I love the reviews.

So, anyway, reviews are always appreciated, if you are so kind and leave me one, that'd be great!