Thank you so much for all your support! I'm so happy you're all still interested in this story. :) Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 9

Lorelai woke up in Rory's room the next morning. She glanced over at her daughter who was still asleep. She then smelt something coming from the kitchen so she slowly got up and went through to the kitchen. "Oh, hi mom..." She said surprised to see her mom sitting at the table drinking coffee and eating some pancakes.

"Good morning, Lorelai." Emily said.

"You made coffee and pancakes?" Lorelai asked.

"No. I came in here to get a drink and found these on the table with this note." She said handing Lorelai a piece of paper.

Lorelai took it and smiled softly as she read it. I had to open the diner today so I'm sorry I couldn't be there. But I came by early to drop these off for you all. I'll see you later. L x

Emily watched her daughter as she read the note. "I wondered how he got it..." She said cautiously.

"Oh, he's had a spare key for years." Lorelai said.

"He has?" Emily said surprised. "I thought that when you two..uh..weren't together anymore..." She said hesitantly.

"He still had one." She shrugged. "I knew he wouldn't use it so..."

"Oh." She said.

"This is sweet of him." Lorelai smiled sitting down next to her mother.

"Yes, it was." Emily acknowledged.

"How did you sleep?"

"Surprisingly, quite well." She said.

"Yeah, me too." Lorelai admitted. "Although, there was a moment when I woke up that I forgot about...everything." She sighed.

"Yes. I had that too." Emily sighed.

"Yeah?" Lorelai said.

Emily nodded. "I..I know I need to go home but I just...I can't face it yet..." She admitted.

"Well...that's ok, mom." Lorelai said softly. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"I won't cramp your style?" She raised her eyebrows.

"What?" She said confused.

"Well, as long as I'm here, I'm assuming Luke won't stay over." She said.

"Oh..uh.." Lorelai said surprised.

Emily smiled slightly. "I'm only teasing, Lorelai." She said. She then sighed. "Look, I know I wasn't always a big fan of Luke..." She said.

"Understatement of the century." Lorelai smirked slightly.

Emily rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, I know I wasn't always a big fan but...I saw how devastated you were when you and Luke broke up and then when you and Christopher were together, you seemed happy but I don't know how much that was for show and then when you two broke up, you weren't...well, you weren't devastated. That was when I knew that it was always meant to be Luke." She said.

"Wow...mom..." Lorelai said stunned.

Emily sighed. "What this last day has shown me is that life is definitely too short and you should seize the day while you can. If you love Luke, you should be with him. I...I want you to be happy, Lorelai. I want you to be as happy as I was with your father." She said quietly.

"Thank you, mom." She said softly, blinking back some tears. Emily nodded and gave her a tremulous smile. "I meant it, mom. You can stay here as long as you need. And...if you would like some company when you feel ready to go home, I'm here." She said.

"Thank you, Lorelai." She said as Rory appeared from her room.

"Morning." She said.

"Morning hon. How did you sleep?" Lorelai asked.

"Weirdly well." She admitted.

Lorelai and Emily exchanged a small smile.

"What?" Rory said.

"Nothing. You hungry?" Lorelai asked.

"You made pancakes?" She said surprised.

"No, Luke did." Lorelai smiled.

"Aw, he's sweet." Rory smiled sitting down with them.

"So how are you doing, hon?" She asked.

Rory just shrugged. "I'm ok." She said.

"I'm going to go and have a shower and get dressed. Make sure to tell Luke thanks for the breakfast." Emily said, getting up.

"I will, mom." Lorelai smiled at her, watching her leave the kitchen. She then looked back at her daughter. "Ok, how are you really doing?"

"What do you mean?" Rory said.

"Hon, I saw you and Jess outside last night..." Lorelai said softly.

"Oh..." She said quietly.

"You know you don't have to pretend with me, Rory. I know how close you and your Grandpa were." She said.

Rory took a deep breath. "I just..." She sighed. "I miss him."

"Yeah, me too." Lorelai sighed.

"How's Grandma doing?" Rory asked.

"She's ok. Well, she's as ok as she can be in this situation." She said.

"Poor Grandma."

"Yeah. She said that she can't face going home yet so I told her she can stay here as long as she needs." Lorelai said.

"Yeah, of course." Rory said. She glanced at the pancakes and coffee. "So, you and Luke huh?"

Lorelai smiled slightly. "Yeah...me and Luke..."

"So are you two...you know?" Rory asked.

"Yeah...we've agreed to give us another go. There was a lot of talking that needed to be done but...we want this. We both do." She smiled softly.

"Aw mom, I'm so happy for you." Rory smiled. "You deserve this."

"Thanks hon." Lorelai smiled. "And you know...I think Luke finally got your Grandma's blessing as well."

"Well how can he not? He's been great with everything. He stayed by your side all day yesterday." Rory said.

"I could say the same about Jess..." She said cautiously.

"We're friends..." She said quietly.

"Just friends?"

"Mom..."

"I'm not prying, I just...he was with you in New York, he stayed by your side all day yesterday..." She said.

Rory sighed. "I...kissed him last night." She admitted.

"You did?" Lorelai said surprised.

"Yeah but he pushed me away." She said quietly.

"What?" She frowned.

"He said that I was upset and that he didn't want people to think he took advantage of that. He said that my head must be all over the place at the moment and that it wasn't the best time..." Rory sighed.

"Wow, well that was very...mature of him." Lorelai said surprised.

"Yeah, well I didn't take it like that. I shouted at him and then told him to leave. But then I saw you with Luke and then Grandma in the living room in bits and I just...I knew I needed him. I don't know what that kiss meant but I know I want Jess in my life. And at the moment, if that's just as friends, I'm good with that." She said.

"Wow...you and Jess huh?" Lorelai said quietly.

Rory glanced at her. "I know you were never his biggest fan but he really has grown up, mom. He's getting ready to publish his second book. I mean, who would have thought Jess Mariano would be an accomplished writer of two novels?" She gushed.

Lorelai smiled slightly. "Definitely not me." She admitted.

"Yeah I know and I know he was a jerk to you back in the day but what happened between us both wasn't just down to him. I just...he's grown up, mom. And I...I think there might still be feelings there." Rory admitted.

Lorelai looked at her daughter and smiled softly. "Well, if that is the case, then you should go for it." She said.

"Really?" Rory said surprised.

She laughed slightly, thinking back to her conversation with her mom. "Life's too short, hon. If you think Jess is the one for you, you should tell him." She said.

"Thanks mom." She said softly.

Luke looked up from the counter at Luke's and was surprised to see Emily Gilmore standing by the door, alone. He put the coffee jug down and slowly walked over to him. "Mrs Gilmore..." He said.

"Oh please, Luke, it's Emily." She said.

"Ok...Emily." He said. "What can I do for you? Are Lorelai and Rory coming as well?"

"Probably later. Lorelai was talking to Rory and it sounded personal so I thought I'd leave them to it." She said.

"Oh ok." He said. "Well, can I make you something to eat?"

"No, I'm ok. Your pancakes filled me up." She said.

"Ok..uh.." He said not really sure what to say.

"I was actually wondering whether I could talk to you?" Emily said.

"Oh..uh..yeah, sure." Luke said surprised. "Is everything ok?"

"Could we maybe speak in private?" She asked.

"Uh..yeah ok." Luke said. "We can go upstairs to my apartment if you like?"

"That's fine." She nodded.

Luke glanced at her before nodding and leading her upstairs to the apartment. He went inside and saw Jess lying on the couch with his laptop. "Hey Jess, would you mind helping out Caesar for a bit?" He said.

Jess looked up and saw Emily standing there. "Sure." He said, getting up and leaving.

Luke glanced at Emily. "Is everything ok?"

"Lorelai told me that you and her are giving it another go..." She said.

"Oh..uh..yeah, we are." Luke said. "I mean, I know we had a lot of talking to do and we did that but...we want this. Both of us." He said.

Emily smiled slightly. "Yes. That's what she said."

"Oh...right..." He said awkwardly.

Emily sighed. "Luke, I wanted to apologise."

"What?" He said surprised.

"As I said to Lorelai, I wasn't exactly your biggest fan and I know that probably came across..." She said.

"Oh, no, you were fine..." Luke said.

"Thank you but you're as bad at lying as Lorelai is." Emily smiled slightly.

Luke smirked slightly. "Sorry."

"Look, Luke, with everything with Richard, it's made me realise that life is short and it can be taken away from you like that..." She said quietly.

"Yeah...I know the feeling." Luke sighed, thinking about his parents.

"You make Lorelai happy. And that's all I want for her. So...I wanted to apologise for my part in your break up." She said. "I know I wasn't always accommodating to you..."

"No, Emily please." Luke said. "Ok, maybe you weren't always my biggest fan. But I do know that you always had Lorelai's best interests at heart. I know you love your daughter and I can't be angry at that. And our...break up...yes, maybe our first break up was something to do with you but our last one. Well...that was a lot to do with me..." He admitted.

"I feel like Lorelai had a play in that as well..." Emily said cautiously.

"Well, yeah..." Luke sighed, not really wanting to talk about Christopher with her. "But, I guess that wouldn't have happened had I not pushed her away." He said. "But I want you to know that I won't do that again. I love Lorelai and when I'm with her, I feel like life is worth living..." He said before cringing at his way of words. "Sorry, I didn't mean..." He said.

"No, it's ok." Emily gave him a small smile. "You know the last thing Richard said to Lorelai was that he was proud of her and that she should follow her heart with you."

"Wow..uh..she didn't say..." Luke said, sitting down on the couch.

Emily nodded and sat down at the table. "You know, Richard did like you, Luke." She said. "I know we gave you a hard time but he really warmed to you. He saw your devotion to Lorelai, and to Rory as well. He respected that."

"Well...thank you. He was a good man." Luke said.

"Yes, he was." She said quietly.

Luke glanced at her. "I'm really sorry for your loss, Emily. Richard was a good man and he meant a lot to Lorelai and Rory." He said softly.

"Thank you, Luke." Emily said tremulously.

Luke sighed. He glanced at her. "You know I once made him say he'd have to look up Dick on the internet and see what he could find." He said, smirking slightly.

"What?" Emily said laughing slightly.

Luke chuckled. "It was when Lorelai and I first got together and he invited me to go golfing with him. He was asking me all these questions and he was asking about my hobbies so I told him I liked reading. He asked me what author I liked and all I could think about was this science fiction guy Dick someone or someone Dick." He said. "I was so obviously bluffing but he was really nice about it. I know I wasn't exactly what he thought of for his daughter but he was really nice that day."

"Except for setting you up with lots of different people to franchise your diner?" Emily said smirking slightly.

"What?" Luke said surprised.

"Lorelai told me." She said.

"Oh." He said. "Well, I guess he only wanted to help. I might not have agreed with it but he was only trying to help." He said.

Emily smiled. "Thank you."

"For what?" Luke said confused.

"For telling me that story. It was nice to laugh." Emily smiled.

"Oh, well, I thought you might like it." Luke gave her a small smile.

Emily glanced at him. "So now you and Lorelai are back together, are you going to give her back that ring?" She asked cautiously.

"Oh..uh..well, we haven't spoken about that..." Luke hesitated.

"But you've thought about it?" Emily prompted.

"I..uh.."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry..." She said quickly.

"No, it's ok." Luke said. "Lorelai and I haven't spoken about it. But I have thought about it. I...I know I want to give the ring back but I need to make sure Lorelai wants that too."

"Fair enough." Emily nodded.

Luke glanced at her. "I promise, you'll be the first to know when it happens. Well, I guess apart from Rory but you know what I mean." He said.

Emily smiled. "I know what you mean. Thank you, Luke." She said softly.

He nodded and gave her a small smile. "So...if I do decide to give it back..uh..would it be ok with you?" He said.

Emily smiled. "Yes, Luke, I would be honoured to have you join our family." She said.

Luke ducked his head slightly. "Thanks." He said gruffly.

"Well I should get back before Lorelai sends out a search party for me and let you get back to work." She said getting up.

"Thanks for coming round." Luke said.

"Thanks for hearing me out." She smiled. "I imagine I will see you later at the house."

Luke ducked his head again slightly. "Probably." He said.

"Well, I will see you later then."

"Yeah, see you later." Luke said watching her leave. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before slowly heading back down.

Later that day, Emily was watching Rory and Jess debating books at the table in the kitchen whilst Luke was cooking dinner for them. She watched Lorelai as she was stood there, watching Luke cook and she couldn't help but smile as she watched their banter. She refocused her attention on her granddaughter and she couldn't help but notice the similarities between her and Jess and Luke and Lorelai. She was surprised to realise that this was the same Jess who had arrived at her house years ago with a black eye. The same boy who she had been sure was a hoodlum. The same boy but it seemed like he had actually grown into quite a pleasant person and by the soft smile on her granddaughter's face as he spoke, he clearly meant a lot to her. She suddenly realised someone standing beside her. She smiled as she realised it was her daughter.

"How are you doing, mom?" She smiled softly.

"I'm getting there." Emily smiled. "Those two look close?" She commented nodding towards Rory and Jess.

"Yeah..." Lorelai said. "I think they are genuinely just friends at the moment."

"But that could change?" She asked.

"Possibly. In the future." Lorelai nodded.

Emily glanced at her daughter. "And you're ok with that? I seem to remember you not being the biggest fan of his when they were dating before."

"Yes, well, mom, a wise woman recently told me that life's too short and that people should seize the day." She said.

Emily smiled softly. "Right...so, you're doing that?"

"I'm letting Rory do that if she wants to." Lorelai smiled.

"Fair enough."

She glanced at her mother. "Hey, Luke told me you went to see him earlier at the diner..." She said softly.

"Oh..yeah, well I wanted to talk to him." She said.

"Thanks, mom." Lorelai said softly. "For what you said. It means a lot to me."

"Well, you're welcome." Emily smiled. "I have to say all this..." She said gesturing to Luke and Jess. "It just seems very natural."

"Huh...well I guess it is." She said. "Luke used to cook here a lot." She smiled.

"And I'm guessing it will happen a lot more now."

"I guess so." Lorelai smiled.

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"I think it's time for me to go home." Emily said.

"What? Are you sure?" Lorelai said surprised.

"I don't want to uproot your life anymore than I have. You and Luke are just starting out again but you can't even have him stay over because I'm staying in your room." She said.

"Oh no, mom, please don't feel like we're pushing you out. We don't mind. I like having you here. I told you, you can stay here as long as you need." Lorelai said.

"And I appreciate that. I really do. But I feel like the longer I leave it, the harder it's going to be." Emily said. "This is just something I need to do."

Lorelai looked at her mom for a moment and then nodded slowly. "Ok." She said softly. "But you're staying here tonight. And then I will come with you tomorrow." She insisted.

Emily smiled. "Ok." She said softly.

"Ok." Lorelai nodded, smiling.

"Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She said.

So I hope you liked it! Please keep the reviews coming as I love reading what you all think. :) Thank you again for your continued support! :)