Having Rory home did help Lorelai feel better, but three nights after Rory arrived, her nightmare reoccurred. She woke up in a cold sweat and jolted upright. Luke was fast asleep next to her, snoring softly. He didn't stir as she moved out of the bed.

Lorelai headed out of the bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen. She squinted as she approached the kitchen. The light was on she swore that she had turned it off before she went to bed. As she stepped into the kitchen, she noticed Rory sitting at the table. It was the middle of the night and Lorelai wondered how long Rory had been here.

"Hey hon. Couldn't sleep?" Lorelai walked up to the table and stopped in front of Rory's chair. She touched Rory's shoulder.

Rory jumped at her touch. "I didn't hear you walk in." She said.

"Oh sorry," Lorelai muttered. She took a seat next to Rory. "Are you having trouble sleeping?"

Rory nodded slowly. "I was fine last night and the night before… but tonight I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to have a midnight snack." She shrugged.

Lorelai frowned, "Are you okay?" She hoped Rory would talk to her.

Rory took a few seconds to answer. "I'm… no, not really. I'm trying my best to be okay but it's hard. I think about Grandpa every day and I just wish he was still here."

Lorelai just pressed her lips together and nodded. She placed her hand on top of Rory's. Rory pulled her hand away and put it on top of Lorelai's.

"How are you?" Rory asked her mother. "You don't seem to be okay." She lowered her voice and tried to look into Lorelai's eyes but she didn't meet her gaze.

"I um…" Lorelai let out a breath. "I've been having a reoccurring nightmare."

"Oh." Rory said softly. "Is it bad…? I mean it must be bad, you're up in the middle of the night and it's happened more than once."

"Yeah… um well in the nightmare, you me and your grandma and grandpa are all in the car and when I take my eyes off the road for a second, we go off a cliff. Then I wake up in the hospital and… and Luke tells me that all three of you have died." Lorelai spoke slowly.

"Oh Mom, that's awful." Rory whispered.

Lorelai didn't say anything. It was silent for a minute before Rory spoke again.

"Did you tell Luke about it?" Rory questioned.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, hon. Maybe I feel like he won't be able to help me… let's face it, all he can do is comfort me but it's not like the nightmare became a reality." Lorelai sighed. "I just don't know why this is happening. Did Dad's death make me afraid of death in general? Am I afraid I'm going to lose the rest of my family?"

Rory didn't know how to respond. "I just think it will get better in time… we need time." She bit her lip, thinking she had said the wrong thing.

It was silent again and they heard Luke coming down the stairs. He entered the kitchen and looked at Lorelai than Rory.

"What are you two doing up? Couldn't sleep?" He asked.

Lorelai and Rory both shook their heads. Luke took a seat at the table.

"I'm gonna try to get some sleep." Rory stood up. She gave Lorelai a look that said 'tell him about your nightmare.' "Goodnight Luke." She touched Lorelai's shoulder before she left the room, "Night Mom."

"Night Rory," Luke and Lorelai said simultaneously.

Luke reached out and rubbed Lorelai's arm. "I'm worried about you." He admitted.

"Let's go back to bed. I'll try to get some sleep." Lorelai said. She got up quickly and headed upstairs.

Luke sighed and followed her back to the bedroom. Once they were settled back in bad, Lorelai turned to face him. She touched his arm, her fingers running up and down it gently.

"I'm not okay… you're right to be worried." She told him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Is this about the nightmare you had before?"

Lorelai nodded.

"Tell me about it." He ran his hand down the length of her hair.

"Well… we were driving in a car, me, Rory and my parents. And I took my eyes off the road for one second, Rory screamed then we went flying off a cliff… and it ended with me waking up in the hospital and you telling me that they had all died." Lorelai took a shaky breath.

"Oh Lorelai," Luke said gently.

"And I just had the same nightmare tonight."

Luke pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I don't know why… why did I have this nightmare twice? It must mean something."

"I don't know." He whispered.

"I mean Dad died of cancer but in my nightmare everyone but me died in a car accident and you were the only person I had…" She stopped and gazed at Luke in the dark. "Am I scared that every one of my relatives is going to die?"

"They won't." Luke tried to assure her.

"You don't know that. Anything could happen."

"I think you… just need more time to heal. Everything's going to be fine." He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

Lorelai didn't believe him. But she didn't tell him that. She felt so strange. Losing her father had affected her deeply. More than she thought it would if she was being honest with herself. It wasn't that their relationship was bad. It had grown deeper over the years as Richard and Emily both came to understand why Lorelai had to leave home all those years ago.

Lorelai's relationship with both of her parents had really improved during the past few years. Although they still had disagreements and the occasional outburst, things had been better than they ever were. But Richard's sickness and ultimately his death had made Lorelai feel regretful, she realized. She wished they had had more time together. More time to mend their relationship, to make it more like a normal father/daughter relationship.

I'm not sure that would have been possible. Lorelai thought to herself.

She brought herself back to the present and pressed her face into Luke's chest before she kissed him on the lips.

Luke kissed her back, but he was the one who pulled away. He gazed at her, his face etched with concern.

Lorelai gave him a sweet smile and kissed him again. She was trying to distract herself. She knew Luke would always be there for her. He was her rock and though it felt like he couldn't make things right at the moment, he could still make her feel better. Making love with him comforted her. She guessed that was because it was a way to show him that she loved and appreciated him. It was comforting to have someone to share such a deep connection with. Luke was the one man in her life who was a constant and she felt like she needed to let him know that her love for him would never fade.

They kissed passionately and Luke took the lead, sensing that she needed physical comfort. He held himself above her and kissed her lips then her cheek then her temple before moving his lips to her neck. She ran her hands up and down his back, letting him know that she appreciated the fact that he didn't object to comforting her in this way. They took their time, making love slowly.

Afterwards, they both feel into a deep sleep. Lorelai managed to get three more hours of sleep before she woke up. The day before, she had decided that she would go back to the Inn today. She would try to focus on work, but she wasn't sure if her thoughts of Richard would distract her or not. She would have to wait and see if she could handle going back to work.

Rory decided to come along to see Sookie and Michel. She wouldn't be leaving again for another few days. Luke woke up before Lorelai and left a note for her. It said to call him on his cellphone if she needed anything.

At first, Lorelai easily fell back into her routine. It was as if she had never taken a leave of absence at all. After lunch however, thoughts of Richard struck her. As she was making the rounds of the Inn, checking on things, she was reminded of Richard. She was remembered when he came there for an insurance matter. Stop thinking, just get back to work. She told herself.

An hour later, when Rory was planning on heading back home, she went looking for Lorelai. Michel told her that Lorelai was in her office. Rory walked to the office and found the door closed. She knocked.

"Mom? Are you in there?"

Rory heard a noise that sounded like something falling.

"Mom? I'm coming in." Rory turned the handle but it wouldn't budge. The door was locked.

"Mom? The door is locked… can you let me in?"

"I just… need a minute, sweets. You can head home. I'll see you later."

Rory was worried. She didn't head home.

"I'm staying here until you come out."

"Rory no, please… you don't have to do that. I'll be fine. I'll get back to work soon."

Rory didn't reply. She just stood outside the office and leaned against the wall. She allowed Lorelai some time to herself. Ten minutes of silence passed and Rory was still concerned. She decided to call Luke. Maybe he could help.

She called Luke's cell phone and he picked up on the second ring.

"Rory? Hey. Are you okay?"

"Hey Luke, I'm fine but I don't think Mom is."

"What do you mean?"

"She won't come out of her office and I think she might be having some sort of a breakdown or something…" Rory's voice broke. "I don't know. I just… can you come here?"

"Of course, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thanks Luke."

"There's no need to thank me." Luke hung up before Rory could respond. She assumed that he would get out of the diner as fast as he could. She prayed that he would be able to help Lorelai.

Author's note: Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated.