Disclaimer: Not mine, and I don't even want Jason.
Author's Note: Huge thanks to my betas, JeSouhaite and CineFille for being willing to give this story a chance.
Jason turned to look at Lorelai as he lay half-reclined on his pile of pillows, "I'm not sure what I did to deserve it, but I'm really glad you came over tonight. I didn't think I'd see you."
Lorelai turned toward him and pulled the sheet around her. "Rory was at Yale today finishing up the obituary, so she's staying there tonight, and my parents were starting to freak me out-"
"I'm not complaining. You're welcome anytime."
"Yes, you've made that perfectly clear," Lorelai grinned as she ran her fingers down his chest, making haphazard patterns before resting her palm on his abdomen.
"I'm happy to continue making you feel welcome," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
As much as Lorelai wanted to let Jason's easy banter and 'other' talents help her to escape from mock turtle soup and headstones, obligation and exhaustion tugged her back into reality. "I need to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow," she said with a tired smile.
Jason nodded sympathetically, though she could see his disappointment as well.
Lorelai started to slide out of bed, then hesitated, biting her lip before asking, "So you're really not coming to the funeral tomorrow?"
"Didn't we talk about this earlier? I suck at death. It turns me into a stammering idiot. I told you about-" he gave her a pleading look.
"I know, your year of funerals. I know. It's okay." She paused, about to get up out of bed, before turning for one last attempt. "But it's my grandmother's funeral, and you're my boyfriend."
"So now you're willing to admit it," he said, with a touch of sarcasm.
"Jason," she sighed, not wanting to have that discussion now, "You're also my Dad's business partner. Don't you owe it to him?"
"But he might hug me again, and that would be…"
"Well, at least he won't be in his bathrobe," she quipped. He gave her a defeated look and she sighed with resignation. "Well, I'm just going to…I should really go home," she gestured vaguely toward her clothes."
Jason reached for her wrist and held it gently, "Don't go home. I'll make you breakfast in the morning. Eggs, or that french toast bacon wrap thing that worked so well before."
"I'm tired, and I have a bunch of stuff I have to do in the morning." She met his eyes briefly before pulling her hand away and reaching for her clothes.
"You're mad. Don't be mad. I know I'm a horrible boyfriend, but I'll make it up to you. We can go see that ridiculous movie you wanted to see, or I'll take you to that restaurant with the-"
"Jason, stop. You're not a horrible boyfriend." She looked at him sadly, then added, "You're a neurotic freak, but you're not horrible."
"You are way too understanding. Which god did I bribe to get you?"
Lorelai just shook her head as she pulled on her skirt and sweater, "I'll remind you of that the next time you tell me I'm being difficult. Now, start figuring out what you're going to say to my Dad about the funeral service." She leaned over and gave him a small peck on the lips. "Good night Jason."
On her way home, Lorelai tried to convince herself that she had just gone to Jason's house for some company, for a distraction from the stress of the funeral preparations. She really hadn't expected to convince him to attend the funeral. He could be so damn stubborn sometimes.
In all honesty, she told herself, she hadn't really known her grandmother well enough to be terribly broken up by her death. Besides, though she did like the idea of having someone to support her during the funeral, Jason wasn't really that person. Yes, he was her boyfriend, but since her parents didn't know that, it's not as if he would have been able to be there as her boyfriend. She really didn't need Jason, or anyone, with her. It would just be nice, for once, to have someone she could lean on, someone who was there just for her.
It was all Lorelai could do the following day to get her family to the funeral. Between her shell-shocked father, unpredictable mother, and the search for "fresh" underwear, Rory was the only dose of sanity in the whole debacle. Rory looked after her grandfather and helped Lorelai calm her mother. Someone must have flipped a switch in Emily, however, because the moment she walked into the church, she was all poise and dignity. She reached for Richard's arm and directed him to a seat, whispering comforting words of support.
The service was a sufficiently impressive send-off for Lorelai Gilmore, the first. Richard managed to speak glowingly about her, and Emily only grimaced once during the speech. The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur for Lorelai as she watched a few people share their memories of the grandmother she knew very little about.
Before long they were standing in the cemetery, as the casket was carried from the hearse and placed next to the Gilmore crypt. Emily held Richard's hand, speaking to him softly, and Lorelai thought she could see tears welling in her father's eyes. It struck her then that she didn't think she had ever seen her father cry. His mother's death truly had affected him deeply.
At the same time, Lorelai found herself in rare admiration of her mother. Her grandmother had never treated Emily well, and the discovery of 'the letter' had been a huge blow, but in spite of all of it her mother stood like a rock by her husband. Lorelai wondered if her father knew how lucky he was to have found someone so willing to devote herself to him, if he felt lucky to have such a partner.
It made Lorelai feel almost jealous of her parents and their closeness. Almost.
Lorelai glanced over at Rory and then wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders. "Hey kid, you okay?"
"Yeah," Rory said softly, "It was a nice service, wasn't it?"
"Yeah it was. Gran was a pretty impressive woman." She gave Rory one more squeeze before turning her head to look at the crowd assembling around the casket. Limousines continued to arrive and spilled out one after another of Hartford's elite onto the red carpet that led to the group of mourners gathered around the casket. Stoic men in expensive suits walked across the grass while uniformed drivers escorted elderly women with carefully coiffed silver hair. Lorelai saw few familiar faces amongst the many anonymous strangers. It wasn't until she had scanned the whole crowd and was about to turn back around that she saw him, walking behind a women with an ornate cane, an uneasy expression on his face.
Lorelai met his eyes and he gave her a supportive smile. She waved him forward with her hand and he walked toward her, looking only a bit less nervous. As he approached, she gave a small smile, "I didn't expect to see you here."
He shrugged. "It's your grandmother."
"Well, I appreciate it," she said, smiling warmly.
"But I do have one question," he whispered.
"Yeah?"
"That casket is not going to fit in that crypt."
"That's not really a question," she answered playfully, then added softly, "Well, Gran is going to be cremated and half of her ashes are going to be buried in the crypt with her husband, and the other half are going to sit on my parent's mantle."
"You're serious." He raised his eyebrow skeptically before realizing she wasn't joking.
She nodded, stifling a chuckle. She noticed he was having the same struggle. Lorelai wrapped her arm around his and whispered more seriously, "Thank you for coming."
"Anytime," he replied, placing his free hand over hers.
Lorelai marveled at how she felt both fortunate and somewhat unsurprised to have Luke by her side.
EndAuthor's note: As a writer, one of the most valuable things to me has been the feedback I've gotten from my beta readers. I've been inspired, encouraged and at times amused by their comments. But the following are the most memorable comments I have ever received: "Ick. Shudder. Blech." and "Aw, ewww! Didja have to write them in bed?" and "The image of Lorelai running her hands over Jason's naked chest and abdomen did make me want to vomit a little." So, I have to give an extra big thanks to my betas, JeSouhaite and CineFille for putting up with this story. I hope that the ending took some of the pain away and that I haven't made you afraid to beta for me again.