The next morning, Rory and Lorelai went to the diner as requested, but Lorelai stopped short before going through the door. Rory turned to look back at her mother.
"You coming in?" She asked sarcastically.
"Why don't we eat upstairs? Less noisy." Lorelai offered as a suggestion.
"Mom, I've been cooped up there for days." Rory rejected.
"Please?" Lorelai whined. "I'm not ready to share you yet. You go in and place our orders and I'll head upstairs."
"You're lucky you birthed me so I can't say no to you," Rory grumbled as she went into the diner.
"Oh, don't I know it!" Lorelai smiled as she walked around to the back of the diner and headed up the stairs into Luke's old apartment.
Inside the diner, Luke's face lit up when he saw Rory walk in, and he quickly started looking around for Lorelai, to no avail. Jess had already started pouring a cup of coffee for Rory, but Luke walked over anyway.
"Where's your mom?" He asked, interrupting their morning greeting.
"She went upstairs. She wanted to have breakfast up there, instead. I just came to put our orders in." Rory explained as Jess walked off to deliver a few plates and she took her first sip of coffee.
"You two have any plans for the day? You and your mom?" Luke asked, suspicious but trying not to show his hand, at least not yet.
"None to speak of," Rory answered succinctly. "Probably just lounging around the house, watching movies. Pop tarts. Red vines. You know us. It's kind of our thing. Tomorrow's her first day back at work, right?" Rory asked casually.
"Supposed to be," Luke murmured, and Rory gave him a questioning look.
"What's the grumbling about?" She asked.
"She's barely been out of the house in the past week." Luke answered. "I'm not upset or anything, but she drives Paul Anka over to the dog park in Litchfield to walk him. She hasn't come into the diner once. She's barely even talked to Sookie. I'm just nervous for her, is all. Withdrawing like this isn't in her nature." Luke explained.
"Luke, she just went through a huge trauma. We all did. I wouldn't be all that surprised if she wasn't up to being the peppy, bubbly, Lorelai Gilmore this town has come to expect from her." Rory pointed out.
"So you don't think I should do anything about it?" Luke asked.
"I didn't say that," Rory corrected. "I don't think it's unusual but I still think you should talk to her about it." She elaborated. "Go. I can sit here and wait for our pancakes." She smiled, encouraging him to go upstairs. He nodded to her and made his way to the staircase, taking the steps two at a time but still knocking when he got to the door. When he didn't hear an answer after moment, he swung the door open, worried something had happened. He found her sitting at the table, knees tucked into her chest, fiddling with her thumbs while her arms were wrapped around her folded legs.
"Lorelai?" Luke asked gently, and Lorelai looked up immediately.
"What're you doing up here?" She asked quickly, placing her feet back on the ground and her arms at her sides.
"Just wanted to talk to you," he told her softly."Is that alright?"
"You should go back downstairs, babe. Middle of the breakfast rush," Lorelai tried to deflect, smiling at him to try and tell him that everything was fine even though they both knew that it wasn't.
"I don't care about the diner and you know it." He refused to let her deny him.
"Of course you care about the diner. It's your diner. You own it. You've spent the last 23 years running this diner. I care about the inn that i've only spent 6 years running, so I know you care-" She tried to rant to delay the inevitable, but Luke cut her off.
"Lorelai," He said simply, and Lorelai knew all her deflecting and avoiding was useless. She wasn't getting out of this one. Luke loved her too much to let her out of it. "Are you sure you're ready to go back to work tomorrow?" He asked, and Lorelai answered immediately.
"Of course I'm ready, Luke. It's my inn. It needs me." She told him.
"Your name being on the deed doesn't make you any more ready." He argued.
"Luke," She pleaded.
"Lorelai, I'm just worried about you. You haven't talked to anybody in this town for the past week but you're ready to go back to work? And I don't just mean physically ready. Are you emotionally ready? Because it doesn't feel like you are. And that's fine, Lorelai. I just want to help you." He asked of her.
"You're right.I'm not ready, Luke. I'm not ready to face this town without a baby in my arms. I'm not ready for all of their condolences. But none of the guests at the inn are going to know that I was pregnant, and I had planned on locking myself in my office and working on paperwork, anyhow." Lorelai admitted, looking at her lap.
"Lorelai," Luke started, but Lorelai stood up and started pacing away from him.
"I know, Luke. I know. It's not healthy, and you're concerned for me, and quite frankly I'm concerned for me, too, but this just is what it is right now, okay? I'm doing my best right now, and it's not ideal, but right now my best is hiding in my office and hoping nobody I know shows up at work. That's the best I can do right now." She ranted, turning back to look at him.
"Do you at least feel like you're getting better?" He asked softly, and she took a moment before she responded.
"Yeah," She whispered back.
"Yeah?" He asked, not sure if she really was or if she just wanted to tell him what he knew he wanted to hear.
"Yeah," She confirmed. "I mean, it hurts. And it might always hurt a little. But it's starting to hurt less. So. yeah. I mean, not that I'm over it, but little by little it's getting easier to pretend it's easier, so easier must be just around the corner." She admitted, rubbing the toe of her shoe against the tile of the floor.
Sensing that she needed the comfort, Luke wrapped Lorelai in his arms and kissed the top of her head, whispering to her a promise of all the time she needed.