The drive between Stars Hollow and Hartford had become routine for Luke and Lorelai over the several weeks they had been driving William to his chemotherapy and other doctor appointments. However, this time, as Lorelai made the familiar trip to Hartford, William wasn't in the passenger seat. Instead, Jess and Rory were sitting in the backseat, happily chattering to each other.

Coming to a stop in front of her parents' house, Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief and realized this was the first time in her memory that she was glad to visit her parents. She figured her happiness in visiting her parents was due more to the fact that she was in Hartford for something other than a medical appointment than any actual joy at the prospect of spending several hours at her childhood home.

Lorelai quickly ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to straighten her wild curls and used the rearview mirror to apply her lipstick before stepping out of the car. She helped Jess and Rory climb out of the backseat and held their hands as they walked to the front door. On the front step, she carefully straightened their coats and smoothed their hair. Finally, when she couldn't stall any longer, she knocked on the door.

The door was promptly answered by Emily. "Good evening, Lorelai. Hello, children. Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy, um, Thanksgiving," Lorelai stammered, watching in shock as her mother took Jess and Rory by their hands and guided them into the house.

After leading the kids into the foyer, Emily knelt in front of them and began helping them remove their coats. When she stood up to hand the coats to the maid, she realized Lorelai was still standing outside. "Are you going to stand out there all night, Lorelai?" she asked, raising one eyebrow. Then, trusting that Lorelai would follow, she turned and walked with Jess and Rory into the sitting room.

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Richard entered the sitting room to find his wife and daughter sitting in peaceful silence while his grandchildren played quietly on the floor at their mother's feet. He smiled when he saw that Jess and Rory were amusing themselves with the new toys that Emily had purchased specifically for this visit. It pleased him that she was starting to make a real effort to have a better relationship with Lorelai and the kids.

Seeing that drinks had already been served, Richard poured his own scotch on the rocks before moving to take his seat next to Emily. As he crossed the room, he paused to kiss Lorelai's cheek. "Happy Thanksgiving, Lorelai."

"Happy Thanksgiving," Lorelai replied automatically, blinking away the exhausted stupor she'd been lost in for the last several minutes.

"We're glad you and the kids could join us for dinner, but we are sorry Luke couldn't make it."

"Luke wanted to be here," Lorelai hurried to assure her parents. "And he would have been here, but we don't like leaving William alone. We didn't think it would be right to ask a friend to stay with him today. It didn't seem fair to ask someone to leave their family on Thanksgiving or to let William spend the holiday without any family."

"I hope William is alright," Emily said, her concern obviously sincere.

"Papa sick," Rory informed her grandmother without looking up from the tower of blocks she was building.

"Shh," added Jess, holding one finger against his lips.

Lorelai chuckled at Jess and Rory's recitation of the reminder they had received frequently since William's diagnosis, then explained, "He is doing as well as can be expected, but the chemotherapy makes him sick and leaves him feeling very weak."

"Well, I, for one, think you and Luke made the right decision, having him stay home with William this evening," Richard stated matter-of-factly.

"Your father is absolutely right," agreed Emily. "You will let us know if there's anything we can do to help, won't you?"

"Um, sure. I'll let you know."

"Do you need money? We could help with William's medical expenses," Emily offered.

"No, thank you. We're managing just fine on our own," Lorelai answered, her voice taking on a tense edge.

"Okay. Well, maybe we could babysit Rory and Jess some time. Possibly during one of William's appointments."

"Maybe. Usually either Luke or I take William to his appointments and the other stays with the kids. Besides, William only has a couple chemotherapy appointments left."

"Oh, well, I'm sure he has other medical appointments. Or we could watch them while you and Luke are working."

"Luke has been working more hours lately because he's been filling in for William at the hardware store," Lorelai admitted. "Jess and Rory go to work with us though."

"What about when you and Luke go out? Surely, you're not asking William to babysit two active toddlers. Not in his condition."

"Of course we haven't been asking William to babysit! We also haven't had time to go out recently."

"It's important that you take time for yourselves," Emily insisted. "Your father and I can watch Rory and Jess while you and Luke take a break. Perhaps dinner at a nice restaurant."

"Maybe," Lorelai replied uncertainly. "I'll talk to Luke and let you know if we decide to go out."

"Excellent," Emily responded enthusiastically, a wide smile spreading across her face.

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Following a surprisingly pleasant dinner with her parents, Lorelai carried Jess and Rory to the car and strapped them into their car seats. She got into the car, but instead of driving home right away, she stayed parked in her parents' driveway for several minutes trying to comprehend her mother's strange behavior.

"It just doesn't make sense. No sense at all," Lorelai muttered under her breath. "She was actually nice. My mother is never nice. She's like a completely different person," Lorelai told the kids, glancing over her shoulder.

Jess and Rory remained silent, so Lorelai turned in her seat to take a better look at the kids and noticed they had already fallen asleep. She turned back around to look at the dashboard clock and gasped when she realized exactly how long she had been sitting outside her parents' house. Knowing that Luke would worry if they weren't home soon, Lorelai immediately started the drive back to Stars Hollow.

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Later that night, after Jess and Rory were tucked into their beds, Lorelai found Luke bent over the kitchen table working on the hardware store's accounts payable. Lorelai leaned over the back of the chair to massage Luke's shoulders. "It's late. Come to bed."

"Soon."

"You can finish in the morning."

"I'd rather finish tonight. I'm almost done. You go to bed. I'll be there soon."

"I'll wait," Lorelai informed him. She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down.

Luke looked up from the books and smiled at her. "I thought you might. There's fresh coffee."

Lorelai hurried to pour herself a cup of coffee and proceeded to drink it in one long gulp. "Bless you," she sighed, pouring herself a second cup.

"Was that for me or the coffee?" he asked, returning his attention to the ledger in front of him.

"Both," she answered with a smirk as she sat back down. "But mostly the coffee."

"I thought so."

"How was William tonight?"

"The same. I hate seeing him so weak."

"He's almost done with chemotherapy and then he'll start regaining his strength. He'll be back to his old self before you know it."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right!"

"Ha ha, sure you are," Luke mocked derisively. "How was dinner with your parents?"

"The Gilmores hosted an unusually happy Thanksgiving."

"I thought Emily was going to be there?"

"She was there."

Luke looked up at Lorelai, one eyebrow raised in question. "Would your mom agree that it was a happy Thanksgiving?"

Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know what my mom would say, but the pod person that showed up to dinner seemed happy enough."

"Pod person? I'm guessing Emily wasn't acting like her usual charming self."

"Not at all. She was nice. It was very confusing."

"What do you mean she was nice?"

"I mean she helped Jess and Rory with their coats. She bought toys for the kids, both of the kids, and actually let them play with the toys. She asked about William and offered to babysit during his chemotherapy appointments."

"She offered to babysit?"

"Yes! I think she meant it too. When I told her that William was almost done with chemotherapy, she suggested that we let her babysit while we go to work or out to dinner."

"What did you say?"

"That I would talk to you and let her know."

"Do you think it's a good idea to let her babysit?"

"I'm not sure. It might not be so bad, if pod person Emily sticks around and my dad is there."

"How about we just wait and see how things go?"

"Good idea."

"Thanks. How was the rest of dinner?"

"It was fine." Gesturing toward the books Luke was working on, Lorelai asked, "Are you almost done?"

"Just about. You really don't have to wait for me."

"I don't mind."

Luke and Lorelai lapsed into a comfortable silence. He finished his work while she sipped her coffee. Eventually, Lorelai fell asleep on the kitchen table, using her folded arms as a pillow. When the hardware store's accounts payable were completed, Luke closed the ledger, took Lorelai's empty mug to the sink, and carried Lorelai upstairs to bed.