Exhausted after a long day of dealing with two crabby toddlers, Lorelai was already half asleep when she stumbled into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail and grabbed her toothbrush. While she was brushing her teeth, she leaned against the counter and let her eyes drift close.

When Luke threw open the bathroom door, letting it bang against the wall, Lorelai jumped. Suddenly wide awake, she watched as Luke appeared in the mirror behind her. Turning to face him, Lorelai raised one eyebrow in a silent question and continued to brush her teeth.

"He's infuriating!" Luke whispered angrily. Speaking louder than a whisper would wake up Jess and Rory, which would irritate Lorelai. Luke was unwilling to incur the wrath of Lorelai, no matter how upset he was with his father.

Lorelai turned to spit into the sink, then asked, "Who's infuriating? Your father?"

"Yes," Luke answered, nearly growling.

"Why is William infuriating?" She rinsed off her toothbrush and put it away before facing Luke again.

"It's been over two months since he told me he saw a doctor and he still hasn't told me what the doctor said. He's walking around here like nothing is wrong, but he's still tired all the time and he's lost even more weight. Not knowing what's going on is driving me crazy."

"I can see that," she said, her lips twitching as she fought back an amused smile. Growing serious again, she added, "I thought we agreed to trust him."

"Clearly that's not working. I think I should talk to him again."

Lorelai stepped close to Luke and wrapped her arms loosely around his waist. "Calm down. I'm sure if he knew something, he would tell us. Why don't we give it a couple more weeks and then, if you're still concerned, we'll talk to him together?"

"I don't like it," he pouted, grabbing Lorelai by the hips to pull her even closer.

"I know you don't. You're a good son who loves his dad."

"You make me sound like a pansy."

"You're not a pansy. You're a good man. Part of what makes you a good man is that you're a good son who loves his dad. Part of loving your dad is wanting to take care of him. It makes sense that you're frustrated that he won't let you take care of him."

"Why won't he let me take care of him? I can't just sit around waiting. I need to do something."

"You need to trust him."

"I meant something productive."

"Trusting him is productive. You've already tried to talk to him and he made it clear that he wasn't ready. If you try to force your dad to talk before he's ready, you'll only make him angry again and you might even make whatever is wrong worse. He knows that you care and that you're worried, so you need to trust him to come to you when he is ready. I know it's hard for you, but it's what he needs right now."

"I still hate it."

"I know."

"Two more weeks?"

"Two more weeks."

"Then we push?"

"If that's what you want."

"It's what I want."

"Then it's what we'll do."

Having finally calmed down, Luke let his forehead rest against Lorelai's. "I love you."

"I love you too," Lorelai replied, smiling up at him.

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"Yay, Rory! You drew a blue card, so we can finally get out of the Molasses Pit," Lorelai explained as she helped Rory guide their gingerbread man around the Candy Land game board. "Good job! Now it's Daddy and Jess' turn."

Jess was concentrating hard on picking up only the top card from the deck when the front door opened, signaling William's return from the hardware store. The front door closed and then William called, "Where is everybody?"

"Living room," Luke called back. Then, to Lorelai, he quietly added, "Six more days."

"I can't believe you're counting down the days until we talk to your dad."

"I really want to know what's wrong."

"Gween," Jess announced triumphantly, having successfully freed a single card from the deck.

Before Luke could help Jess move their piece, William entered the living room. "Luke, Lorelai, I need to talk to the two of you tonight. After the kids go to bed."

Luke and Lorelai shared a look, then said in unison, "Okay."

"Good. I'll start dinner," William stated and quickly left the room.

"I told you to trust him."

"How do you know that's what he wants to talk about?"

With a shrug and smile, Lorelai replied, "I just know."

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Lorelai followed Luke out of Jess and Rory's bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind her. She turned to face Luke and, before he could walk away, she took his hand in hers, forcing him to stop in the middle of the hallway. "Are you ready to talk to your dad?"

"I was ready in June. I was ready last week. I'm ready now."

"Okay. Let's go find your dad."

"Finally. Once he tells us what's wrong, we can fix it and everything will be okay again. Let's go." He started dragging her down the hallway.

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"We're here," Luke announced as he burst into the kitchen still dragging Lorelai behind him. "Let's talk."

"Take a seat," William said, gesturing carelessly at the chairs around the kitchen table without looking up from his crossword.

"Just tell us what's wrong!"

Putting his pen down, William looked up at Lorelai and asked, "Are the kids asleep?"

Lorelai pulled free from Luke and sat down next to William. "Yes. Two stories each did the trick."

"Good," he responded with a half-hearted smile. Turning back to his son, he said, "Luke, take a seat."

"Just tell me what's wrong," Luke pleaded.

"After you sit down."

"Fine." Luke sat down next to Lorelai, so that he was directly across from William. "I'm sitting. Tell us what's wrong."

"You get less patient every day."

"It's her fault," Luke quipped, nodding his head toward Lorelai.

"Hey!" Lorelai protested.

"Tell us what's wrong," Luke demanded again, ignoring Lorelai.

Sighing heavily, William began, "I saw a doctor."

"We already know that."

Lorelai silenced Luke by covering his hand with hers. "If you want your dad to tell us what's wrong, you have to let him talk."

"Thank you, Lorelai. As I was saying, I saw a doctor because of the fatigue and the weight loss that you've noticed. There were also some things you didn't notice, like pressure in my chest and trouble breathing."

"Why didn't you tell us you weren't feeling well?"

William waved off Luke's question. "The first doctor I saw sent me to another doctor who sent me to another doctor who ran a bunch of tests." He paused to take a calming breath.

Luke and Lorelai exchanged a worried glance. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Luke asked, "When will you get the results?"

"I already did. I met with the doctor this afternoon."

"And?" Lorelai prompted.

"And it seems I have a kind of cancer called Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It's in my chest."

For several moments Luke and Lorelai were too shocked to speak. "No," Luke stated vehemently when he finally recovered his voice.

"Luke, don't," Lorelai begged, her voice tight with emotion.

"It's true," William calmly assured them.

"How can you be so calm?"

William shrugged. "Getting upset won't change anything, Luke. I can't control this and neither can you."

"You'll be okay, right?" Lorelai asked desperately.

"I hope so. The doctor is confident, but said that nothing is guaranteed with cancer. He said my best chance is chemotherapy. My first appointment is in Hartford next week."

"When? I'll take you. The kids can go to the inn with Lorelai for the day."

"It's on Tuesday, but, Luke, you can't take me. I need you to watch the store."

"I'll watch the store," Lorelai offered. "I'm sure I can work it out with Mia and I think we'd all feel better if Luke went with you."

"It won't just be one appointment," William warned. "It's going to be every Tuesday for weeks, maybe months."

"We'll figure it out, but for your first appointment, Luke will take you," Lorelai said decisively.

"Okay," William readily agreed. He didn't want to admit it, but he really would feel better having Luke go with him.

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"I knew something was wrong. I told you something was wrong. Didn't I tell you was something was wrong?" Luke rambled, frantically pacing back and forth across his and Lorelai's bedroom.

"You did," Lorelai answered from where she was sitting on the bed, watching Luke pace. "Would you sit down? You're making me dizzy."

Luke sat down next to her, but immediately stood up again and resumed pacing. "This can't be happening. My dad isn't sick. The doctor made a mistake. That's all it is. A mistake. Doctors make mistakes. He can see another doctor."

"He's seen three."

As if Lorelai hadn't spoken, Luke continued ranting, "There have to be other tests that can be done. We'll find a doctor who can figure out what's actually wrong and fix it."

"Luke, you can't fix this," Lorelai explained patiently.

"Of course, I can. I have to. We have to." He sat back down on the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. "He can't be sick."

"Oh, Luke," Lorelai murmured, running her fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to comfort him.

"He's my dad." The first tear rolled down Luke's cheek and he hurried to wipe it away.

"I know, babe. I know." Not knowing what else to do, Lorelai pulled Luke into her arms and held him while he cried.

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The drive to the hospital in Hartford was made in tense silence. It wasn't until Luke was parking the truck that William broke the silence. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

"I'm not waiting in the car."

"I know. I want to talk to you about what happens if the chemotherapy doesn't work."

"The chemotherapy will work. It has to."

"Luke, you know that treatment isn't a guarantee. We need to talk about what happens if I don't get better."

"You mean, if you…," Luke trailed off, unable to even speak the words aloud.

"Yes. I mean, if I die."

"We don't need to talk about that. The chemotherapy is going to work and you're going to be fine."

"If I die," William began again, stressing each word. "I want you to close the hardware store and use the building to open a diner."

"A diner?"

"Yeah, it's something Lorelai suggested a couple years ago. I thought it was a good idea and it has stuck with me, so, if I die, I want you to do it."

"You're not going to die," Luke insisted.

"Fine, but if I do, I want you to promise me that you'll open a diner."

"No, because you're not going to die."

"Promise me, Luke."

Seeing the stubborn glint in his father's eyes, Luke conceded, "Okay, Dad. I promise."

"Good. Now, let's go inside."