Luke leaned against the headboard, running his fingers up and down Lorelai's spine. Occasionally, he would sigh. His repeated sighing eventually roused Lorelai, who had been dozing on his chest. As she woke up, Lorelai stretched, pressing herself more firmly against Luke's side. Luke sighed again, prompting Lorelai to ask, "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about leaving you alone with the kids for a week. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"We'll be fine, Luke. Besides, we won't be alone. Mia will be around and we're having dinner with Buddy and Maisy on Tuesday."

"That's still a lot of time when it's just you and them."

"I doubt we'll be alone for very long. Half the town will probably stop by to see us."

"You're probably right."

"I am right. And you'll only be an hour away if we need you."

"You promise to call if you need me to come home?"

"I promise to call even if I don't need you to come home."

"Every day?"

"If you want me to."

"I want you to. I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too, but try not to worry about us too much. We'll be okay," she insisted. "You deserve this break and so does your dad."

"He has seemed more tired than usual lately," Luke commented. "I think he's really looking forward to this trip and getting away from the store for awhile."

"I know he is. He keeps calling it the best Christmas present ever."

"It is a good present. I'm glad you thought of it."

"I am too. Now, promise me you'll try to have a good time this week."

"I promise."

"Good," Lorelai said, swinging one leg over Luke's hips. She began pressing a trail of small kisses across his chest, up his neck, and along his jaw. Finally, she pressed her lips firmly to his, effectively ending the conversation.

L&L L&L L&L

Luke had insisted on loading the truck by himself while William finished reading the newspaper. William was reading the sports section and enjoying his second cup of coffee when Luke walked into the kitchen and said, "Everything is loaded and ready to go."

William put down the newspaper and asked, "Did you remember to grab my tackle box out of the garage? I forgot to put it with everything else."

"I remembered."

"Good. That's very good," William replied, though he seemed to have become distracted.

After studying his father for a moment, Luke was unable to figure out what had distracted William. Deciding it probably wasn't important, Luke chose to ignore William's lack of focus and simply asked, "Will you be ready to go soon?"

Shaking his head as he refocused, William said, "Yes, I'm just going to finish my coffee."

Luke watched William pick up his newspaper and sip his coffee. "Okay, well, I'm going to find Lorelai and the kids to say goodbye."

"Okay," William muttered into his coffee cup.

L&L L&L L&L

"Hey, Lorelai, can you come here?"

Lorelai looked up from the book she was reading to Jess and Rory to see Luke standing across the living room, looking worried. "Sure. Is everything okay?" she asked, handing the book to Rory and carefully disentangling herself from the kids.

Luke waited until she was standing next to him to quietly say, "I think something is wrong with my dad."

After quickly glancing at the kids and seeing that they were absorbed in their book, Lorelai pulled Luke out of the living room. "What makes you think something is wrong with William?"

"I told you earlier that he's seemed really tired lately and just now he was really distracted. I think he's been losing weight too."

Lorelai considered Luke's observations for a minute, then said, "He has looked a little thinner recently."

"See! Something has to be wrong. Right?"

"Maybe, but he might just be dieting and not sleeping well," she suggested half-heartedly. "You shouldn't jump to conclusions. Have you tried asking him if something is wrong?"

"No."

"I think you should."

"I guess I could try to talk to him this week."

"That's a good idea." Stepping closer to Luke, Lorelai wrapped him in a comforting hug. "I'm sure everything's fine," she said in an effort to reassure him.

Luke returned the embrace, holding her tightly against him, and buried his face in her hair. "I hope you're right."

They were still wrapped in each other's arms when William walked out of the kitchen and interrupted them by commenting, "You'll see her in a week."

Luke stepped away from Lorelai and turned to face William. "Hey, Dad. Did you finish your coffee?"

"Yes. Is everything in the truck? You didn't forget my tackle box, did you?"

"No," Luke answered hesitantly. "I already told you I grabbed it."

"Right, right," William muttered, wandering away.

Turning back to Lorelai with his brow furrowed in concern. "See what I mean?"

"He does seem distracted. You should definitely talk to him."

"So, you think something's wrong too?"

Reluctantly, Lorelai agreed, "Yes, I do."

L&L L&L L&L

"Rory! Jess! Come say goodbye to Dada and Papa!" Lorelai called to the kids from where she was standing near the front door with Luke and William. The only response was a thundering of tiny footsteps. When the kids appeared, they launched themselves at Luke and William.

"Dada!" Rory cried, pulling on Luke's pant leg until he lifted her into his arms.

"Papa!" screeched Jess, raising his arms toward William in a clear request to be picked up. William complied by swinging Jess high into the air and then holding him close. "Papa, Papa, Papa," Jess chanted, bouncing happily on William's hip.

"How's my boy?"

"I good."

"Will you be good for Mama while Dada and I are gone this week?"

"Uh huh," Jess answered, nodding solemnly.

"How about you, Rory? Will you be good for Mama?" Cuddling against Luke's chest, Rory shook her head. "No? You won't be good for Mama?"

"No bye-bye, Papa. Dada, stay."

"Awww," Lorelai cooed. "Poor baby. She's going to miss you guys."

"We're going to miss her too," Luke responded as he kissed the top of Rory's head.

"No go," Rory insisted.

"We'll be back on Sunday. That's only six sleeps."

Realizing that she was losing, Rory switched tactics. "Ro go," she demanded.

"Rory has to stay with Mama."

"No," Rory whined, sticking her lower lip out in a copy of her mother's signature pout.

"Lorelai, help me," Luke moaned. "You know I can't say no to the pout."

Giggling, Lorelai said, "I know. Say goodbye and give her to me."

"But she'll cry," Luke protested.

"She'll be fine," William stated matter-of-factly.

"Your dad's right. She'll be fine once you leave."

L&L L&L L&L

Grabbing the phone on its sixth ring, Luke struggled to find the correct button to answer the call. "Hello, Lorelai," he greeted when he finally managed to answer the phone.

Lorelai smiled at the huskiness of Luke's voice. "You were already asleep," she accused.

"We're getting up early to go fishing."

"You didn't even wait for my call."

"Why are you calling so late?"

"I promised to call every day," Lorelai explained as if the reason for her call was obvious. "And it's not that late."

"It's late enough," he argued. "So, how is everybody?"

"Rory is fine," she answered, proving she knew exactly what he was really asking. "We all miss you and William though. How is your trip going so far?"

"Fine. We're settled in at the cabin. Didn't get any fishing in today though."

"That's okay. You still have the whole week. Did you get a chance to talk to your dad?"

"Not yet. I'm not sure how to bring it up."

"That's okay. You still have the whole week," she repeated. "You'll find the right time."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you just do it. Timing be damned."

"You make it sound so easy."

"He's your dad, Luke. Easy or not, you owe it to him and yourself to ask him if something is wrong."

"You're right."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now, go back to sleep, old man."

"You should go to sleep too."

"I will."

"Good night, Lorelai."

"Good night, Luke."

L&L L&L L&L

William cast his line into the lake, complaining, "We've been fishing all week and we've barely caught a thing."

"Dad, we need to talk."

"We are talking."

"I don't mean about fish."

"Well, what do you mean?"

"I mean that I've been trying to find the right time to ask you if something's wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been more tired than usual lately. You've been losing weight. And on Monday, before we left, you were so distracted that you couldn't even have a conversation with me."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Dad, I know I'm not imagining things. Lorelai's noticed it too. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, Lucas," William asserted, reeling in his fishing line. "Let it go."

"I can't! I'm worried about you. Why won't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Because it is none of your business," William growled. He began gathering his fishing gear.

"Are you sick? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"I already have."

"And?"

"And what? What exactly do you want, Luke?"

"I want to know what's going on. What did the doctor say?"

"Nothing. He didn't say anything!"

"I don't believe that."

"Drop it, Lucas!"

"I can't."

William stood up and turned in the direction of the cabin. "You're too damn stubborn. You're starting to sound like your wife."

"What's wrong with that?" Luke challenged.

Without looking back, William answered, "Nothing. Nothing at all." He walked away, leaving Luke sitting alone beside the lake.

L&L L&L L&L

After spending most of the afternoon pacing the cabin, alternating between worrying about his father and being frustrated with his father, Luke finally broke down and called Lorelai. He continued pacing while he waited for Lorelai to answer the phone and breathed a sigh of release when he heard her voice. "Hey, Lorelai, it's me."

"Hey, babe. Is everything okay?"

"You know it isn't and it's creepy that you know it isn't."

Lorelai laughed. "It's not creepy. I just know that every other day this week you've waited for me to call you at bedtime, so for you to call me in the middle of the afternoon, there must be something wrong."

"You're good."

"I know, but I'm not good enough to guess what's wrong. You're going to have to tell me."

Collapsing on the couch, Luke rubbed one hand across his face and groaned. "I talked to my dad."

"And? What did he say? Is he okay? I need details."

"He got mad at me for asking if something was wrong. All he would tell is that he saw a doctor. Then, he stormed off."

"He didn't tell you what the doctor said?"

"No. I asked, but he said it was none of my business. What do I do, Lorelai? I need you to tell me what to do."

"I think we have to trust him."

"We trust him. That's it?"

"That's it. Since William's already seen a doctor, it sounds like he must also think that something is wrong. Now, we trust him to figure it out and tell us if there's something we need to know."

"You're sure that all we do?

"I'm sure."

"Okay. We'll trust him."