"Mom, I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to talk to Luke. He needs to know what's going on. He needs to be a part of this."
"Rory, I appreciate what you're trying to say, I do and I understand your reasons, but I can't. More, I won't. It's not fair to him, and quite frankly, I don't want him to be a part of this. I have no right to ask him to do more that what he's already doing."

"But Mom, he is a part of this. Regardless of what you say he is a part of your life, because he is a part of our lives. Not only that Mom, he loves you! You're not asking him to do anything, you're merely keeping him informed with what's happening with you. He deserves that at the very least." Rory argued. Lorelai closed her eyes for a moment and chose her words carefully.

"And I deserve to hold on to my dignity."

"Mom…"

"Rory, your mother has her reasons. We need to respect that. There's more to this than what we see or what she tells us. Only she can gauge what she is ready for, and obviously she's not ready to share this with Luke." Emily intercepted. Rory opened her mouth but shut them again and continued to drive in silence, for which Lorelai was grateful. Though she understood Rory's point, she wasn't willing to open that door for Luke, for her sake much as his. Emily placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeezed. Absently Lorelai placed a hand over her mothers and held on to it tightly before letting it go, appreciating the support she offered.

"Ms Glimore, Dr. Reed will see you now." Lorelai and glanced at her daughter and her mother. She locked Emily's gaze and her lip quivered. Emily gave her an encouraging nod.

"Let's go." She said taking her hand.

"Rory, we'll be right out." Rory only nodded and sat back down on her chair. As much as she would have loved to have been there for her Mom, she was grateful that Emily had taken over, knowing that she could not guarantee that she would not fall apart if the worst case scenario was presented.

"It seems that the operation was not completely successful."

"What do you mean by that Doc?"

"We have removed most of the tumors. Those visible before and during the operation, but it seems since them a few tumors have come to surface."

"So how do we fight this?" she asked numbly. She thought it would be over by now. The first operation was hard enough, it was right before Rory's graduation. It took her weeks to recover from the first recovery, and she was scared that she wouldn't be well enough to be at the graduation. Between Zeik, the Inn, and everything else, she wondered if she had the strength. As though reading her mind, Emily had squeezed her hand tightly and nodded. The solidarity in her eyes brought Lorelai great comfort knowing that whatever the fight ahead was going to be like, and how hard the battle will be, she wasn't alone.

"We want to go in and operate again. Remove the tumors and immediately put you on radiation treatment, which I know you were opposed to before because you were breast, but unfortunately that is a luxury you cannot afford to have this time around. The tumors are small and operable, but aggressive in their own right. In only weeks they have returned."

"What are my chances Doc?" Lorelai felt herself ask,

"There is a risk with any operation Lorelai. Your cancer is rare, and hard to treat for it's delicate positioning, but it's not impossible to treat. I believe with the operation and the radiation we give you a fighting chance."

It was all Lorelai needed to hear. She was a fighter and she was going to fight. She had too much to lose. Too many loved ones to leave behind. She wasn't ready. She wanted to watch not only Rory get married but also Zeik.

"Sign me up then." Lorelai said quietly, but determinedly.

Rory stood up as her Mother and Grandmother emerged from the double doors that led to the Oncologists office. The look on her Mother's face made her want to curl up into a fetal position, suck her thumb and grab hold on to her mother as tightly as she possibly could.

"Round Two Kid." Was all Lorelai could say. Rory ran into her mother's arms and wrapped her arms around her waist as she did when she was little.

"Mommy…" she cried softly into her mother's embrace. Tearfully, Emily had ushered the duo to the corner giving them little but some privacy.

"Rory, why don't you grab the car dear, and we'll wait for you here." Dutifully, but reluctantly Rory detangled herself from her Mother and nodded. When she was clear out of sight Lorelai sunk to the nearest chair.

"Mom!!!" she cried out grabbing hold of her mother's hand. Emily spun to face her daughter and crouched down to meet her eye level.

"Listen to me Lorelai, we are going to get through this you hear. You are going to fight, and if when you're too tired to fight, I'll be there fighting for you." For the first times in almost 35 years Lorelai uttered the words

"Mommy." Emily pulled Lorelai into her arms and held her close stroking her hair.

"Shh, it's okay. It's okay. You're going to be okay." Emily said determined through her tears.

They were a quiet bunch on the drive home, all three of them were playing out the worst case scenarios in their heads.

"Rory, do you mind if you drop me off at Grandma's? Ask Luke if he can take Zeik with him tonight and Grandpa will pick him up tomorrow. I just can't see him right now. I just need time to think okay?"

"Did you want me to take Zeik back with me to Grandma's?" Lorelai thought for a moment. A part of her wanted to take Zeik and never let go, but she knew that she wasn't capable of taking care of him right then, and that being with Luke would be the best for him."

"No hon, he'd be better off with Luke tonight."

"Mom, can we just call him? I don't think I can face him like this."

"Sure hon. I'm sorry I should have thought of that."

"Rory, I'll call him for the both of you." Emily volunteered.

"Thank you Grandma."

When the Gilmore phone rang Luke hesitated before picking it up. Needless to say he was surprised to hear Emily Gilmore on the other line wanting to speak to him.

"Hi Luke, it's Emily. Lorelai has asked me to call you and see if it wasn't too much trouble if you could take Zeik home with you tonight. She's been held up and won't make it home in time. If it is too much trouble I can always come and pick him up."

"It's not a problem Emily. I can take him home. Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Richard will pick up Zeik sometime tomorrow afternoon. I hope that will be okay."

"Whenever he's ready."

"Thank you Luke."

"You're welcome Emily." Puzzled Luke hung up the phone and looked at his son who was in his arms.

"What is going on around here Little Man?" Zeik merely yawned and closed his eyes while Luke sat there worried collecting his thoughts.