Lorelai woke up in the middle of the night and reached for Luke. When she encountered cool sheets instead of her husband's warm body, she realized she was in bed alone and had been for quite a while. Sitting up, she looked around the bedroom, becoming concerned when she discovered that Luke was nowhere to be seen. She rolled out of bed and grabbed her robe while sliding her feet into her fluffy slippers.

Creeping quietly through the house, Lorelai searched for Luke room by room. She found him in the living room. The sight of him sitting on the couch with his elbows propped on his knees and his head in his hands caused her concern to escalate. It was clear that whatever had been bothering him all evening was still bothering him. He hadn't wanted to talk earlier, but Lorelai hoped he would be willing to talk to her now, if only to be able to relax enough to fall asleep.

As she crossed the living room, Lorelai whispered, "Luke, honey, are you okay?" Her voice betrayed the worry that she was feeling, but Luke didn't seem to notice. In fact, Luke didn't give any indication that he had heard her at all, so, when she reached his side, she gently ran one hand across his slumped shoulders in a soothing pattern until he moved his arms to let her sit on his lap.

After Lorelai was settled in his lap, Luke fell backwards to lean against the back of the couch, pulling Lorelai with him. She cuddled against his chest and waited patiently for him to tell her what was keeping him awake. Several minutes later, Luke took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The heaving of his chest roused Lorelai, who had nearly fallen asleep.

Thinking that Luke was ready to start talking, Lorelai blinked the sleep from her eyes and tried to sit up, but Luke held her tight against his chest. Instead of speaking, Luke remained silent and began curling strands of Lorelai's hair around his fingers. Lorelai relaxed again when it became evident that Luke had decided he wasn't quite ready to tell her what was bothering him. Eventually, Luke took another deep, steadying breath and said, "I don't think Dad's appointment with Dr. Davies went very well."

"Why?"

"This appointment was different than all the others he's had since his cancer went into remission."

"What do you mean?"

"I take him to see Dr. Davies every month and the appointments are always the same. Dr. Davies asks some questions and takes some blood for testing. This time, Dr. Davies seemed upset by Dad's answers to the questions and drew more blood than usual. He said it was a precaution in case they needed to do additional testing."

"Well, it has been a year since the cancer went into remission and this is William's last monthly appointment. After this he is only supposed to have to see Dr. Davies once every year, so maybe it's normal for them to draw extra blood for additional testing."

"Maybe," Luke conceded uncertainly.

"But?" prompted Lorelai.

"I was hoping Dr. Davies would tell me not to worry about Dad being tired or his coughing or the times he seems to have trouble breathing. I wanted him to say it was all in my head and that my dad is okay, but he didn't."

"Oh, babe," Lorelai sympathized.

"I'm more worried than I was before."

"I noticed, but we shouldn't borrow trouble. I love how much you care about your dad, but let's wait to really worry until we get the test results from the doctor."

"That's easier said than done."

"I know, but losing sleep over something that hasn't happened yet, and may not happen, isn't going to help anyone. It'll just make you grumpy."

"According to you, I'm always grumpy."

"True, but I don't think sleep deprivation is going to help your mood and I know it won't help your dad or the rest of us."

Luke covered his eyes with one hand. A moment later, he dragged his hand roughly down his face and let it fall heavily onto the couch beside him. "How do I just not worry about him when something is obviously wrong and I can't fix it?"

"Hmm," Lorelai hummed. "Well, I can help you relax and distract you for a little while, but I'm not sure how long that will work. It might be a better idea if you focus more on things you can control and less on things you can't control."

"You mean just ignore the fact that my dad's cancer is probably back?"

"We don't know the cancer is back," Lorelai insisted forcefully. "Right now, there's no use in worrying obsessively about it because you can't control it or fix it. All you'll end up doing is making yourself sick. Everything that can be done at this point is being done by Dr. Davies. He will let us know if we need to worry."

"I know you're right, but I don't think I can just stop worrying. I might need you to distract me until I can find something else to focus on."

"I can do that," Lorelai told him with a smile. She shifted so that she was straddling his lap and combed her fingers through his hair, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Soon, the kiss deepened and Luke begins to run his hands up and down Lorelai's thighs.

Breaking the kiss, Luke said, "I could use a lot of distraction."

Lorelai smiled mischievously and moved her hands to the hem of Luke's T-shirt, slowly pulling it upwards. "I don't think that will be a problem."

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Two weeks later, Dr. Davies had still not called with the results of William's blood tests. Most of the time Luke was struggling to stay busy and not worry about his father, despite Lorelai's best efforts to keep him distracted. However, he was currently plenty busy helping Lorelai get Jess and Rory ready to meet Richard for a belated Christmas celebration.

This meeting had taken a monumental effort to plan due to everybody's conflicting work schedules and Lorelai's desire to exclude Emily. Lorelai hadn't spoken to Emily since their confrontation at the mall. In return, Emily had refused to have any contact with her daughter since learning of Lorelai's adamant refusal to attend the annual Christmas party that Emily considered mandatory. It was only because of Luke's persistence that Lorelai hadn't cut her parents out of her life completely and had agreed to have lunch with her father.

Jess and Rory were so excited to be visiting Richard for the first time in over three months that they couldn't stay still long enough to get their shoes and coats on. Rory was sitting on the floor in front of Luke with one foot resting on his knee. Squirming restlessly, she whined, "Daddy, we have to see Grampa."

Luke held onto Rory's foot when she started to climb to her feet before he had finished tying her shoe. "I know, but you need your shoes and coat first."

"Hurry, Daddy," Rory pleaded.

"Be still, Rory," Luke replied, mimicking Rory's plea.

Nearby, Lorelai was having a similar battle of wills with Jess over his coat. Luke and Lorelai were so busy trying to get the kids ready to leave that neither of them heard the phone ring. They were unaware of the phone call until William appeared behind them and said, "Luke."

Hearing the distress in his father's voice, Luke immediately dropped Rory's foot and turned to look at William, who was still clutching the phone. "What's wrong?"

"That was Dr. Davies on the phone. He wants to see me right away."

In an instant, Luke was on his feet and in front of William. "Did he say why?"

"He just said that my test results are back and he wants to discuss them in person. He can see us in an hour."

Luke looked over his shoulder at Lorelai, silently asking if she would be okay on her own for the day. From where she was crouched on the floor with the kids gathered close to her sides, she nodded her agreement. Turning back to his dad, Luke said, "Just let me help Lorelai get the kids into the car, then we can leave."

"Thank you," William said quietly, leaving the room.

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Lorelai and the kids met Richard outside a restaurant in Hartford. The restaurant was nice, but not nearly as upscale as those normally frequented by Richard. It was, however, kid friendly, a fact for which Lorelai was grateful.

Richard greeted Jess and Rory affectionately and gave Lorelai a slightly awkward hug. Looking around the parking lot, he asked, "Where's Luke? I thought he was joining us today."

"He was supposed to, but William's doctor called while we were getting ready to leave and asked to see William right away. Luke went with him."

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure. All we know is that Dr. Davies drew extra blood for additional testing at William's last appointment and now he wants to discuss the results."

Richard accepted Lorelai's explanation with a firm nod, his mouth set in a grim line. "We'll order something for you to take home to them."

"That would be nice. I know they were too worried to eat before they left and I'm not sure they'll even think about it afterward."

"Then, it's settled. We'll take care of it for them. Now, let's go inside," Richard suggested, opening the door and allowing Lorelai and the kids to precede him into the restaurant.

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"The kids are asleep," announced Lorelai, as she walked into the kitchen. She sat down next to Luke at the kitchen table, gratefully taking the cup of coffee he had prepared for her. William sat across from them.

For a long time, they sat in silence. No one was eager to start the dreaded conversation about William's test results. Lorelai was certain the news was bad because Luke wouldn't have insisted they wait to talk about the test results until after the kids were in bed if the news was good. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and asked, "What did the doctor say?"

William set down the cup of tea he had been drinking, took a deep breath, and solemnly answered, "The cancer's back."

"Oh!" Lorelai gasped, instinctively gripping her coffee cup tighter with one hand while using her other hand to grab Luke's wrist.

"And it's worse than before," Luke added quietly, placing his left hand over Lorelai's, which still rested on his right wrist. His attempt to soothe her was only marginally successful.

Lorelai's eyes darted anxiously between Luke and William as she tried to understand what they were telling her. Her gaze ultimately settled on William. She began to plead with him, her voice becoming increasingly desperate. "But you'll be okay, right? I mean, you'll have more chemo and that will be awful, but then you'll be okay. Right?" Neither William nor Luke answered her. They refused to look at her, causing Lorelai to become even more anxious. "Right?" she demanded again.

"The prognosis isn't good," William stated bluntly.

"But, but," Lorelai stammered. "You can't just give up."

Luke gently squeezed Lorelai's hand, while William reassured her, "I'm not. I'll have another round of chemotherapy, but Dr. Davies said it will most likely just prolong the inevitable."

"Did he, um, did he say how long?"

For a while, William didn't say anything. He stared into his cup of tea, letting the question linger in the air between them. When he looked back up at Lorelai, his eyes were filled with an almost indescribable sadness. "The chemo might give me another year."

Choking on a sob, Lorelai automatically turned to Luke for comfort, but seeing the terrible pain that was etched onto his face, Lorelai understood she couldn't depend on Luke to comfort her this time. The idea that his father would likely die within the year had turned her normally steady husband into a scared little boy. This time she would have to be the strong one. She would have to be the one comforting him.

Sitting up straighter, Lorelai pulled her hand from between Luke's and moved it to his back, rubbing lightly between his shoulder blades. Suddenly, Luke twisted in his chair to wrap his arms around her in an awkward hug. He pressed his face against her neck and started to cry. Lorelai glanced at William only to find that he was also starting to cry.

Pushing his chair away from the table, William wiped the tears from his face. He walked out of the kitchen, pausing only briefly to pat Luke on the shoulder.

For the rest of the night, Lorelai sat at the kitchen table, holding Luke while he cried and, eventually, while he slept. She spent the time staring at William's abandoned cup of tea and doing her best to focus on the ache in her lower back rather than the thoughts of a future without William, which were threatening to overwhelm her.