Thank you for your continued support! I hope you're all still enjoying this! :)

Chapter 6

Lorelai, Gemma and Rory were all sat at dining room table at the Gilmore Mansion for their weekly Friday night dinner.

"Don't tell me this is what it looks like." Lorelai said.

"It's escargot." Emily said.

"Urgh, that's what it looks like." Lorelai groaned.

"Snails?" Gemma screwed up her face.

"Escargot." Emily repeated.

"Slimy thing by any other name..." Lorelai said.

"They taste like garlic and butter." Richard said.

"I'm pretty sure food should not have pronouns." Rory said.

"I agree!" Gemma nodded.

"Give it a try." Richard encouraged.

"But if I do and we're having road kill for the main course, then I will already have used up my allotment of gross-out food for the day so I'll abstain." Lorelai said.

"I guess we should strike escargot off the list of Friday night dinner foods." Richard sighed.

"Sweetie loved escargot. That's funny how we remember those things." Emily said.

"Hmm.." Richard said.

"Sweetie?" Lorelai questioned.

"Sweetie who?" Gemma asked.

"Sweetie Nelson, one of my oldest friends. She passed away yesterday." Emily told them.

"Oh I'm sorry, Grandma." Gemma said sympathetically.

"Yeah that sucks. I'm sorry." Rory said.

"Yeah, I've heard you mention her." Lorelai said.

"Was she sick?" Rory asked.

"She'd been ill for some time, but still..."

"The family is pretty overwhelmed." Richard said.

"By the way, Davis called late today. The funeral is going to be Sunday." Emily told them.

"Oh, Sunday?" Richard hesitated.

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Well, Mr. Hamoto is in town and Jason has set up golf for him and then there's lunch after that. What time is the service?" He asked.

"Noon."

"Oh, noon. That's cutting it very close. How important is it for me to be at the funeral?" He asked.

"Not important at all." Emily said stiffly.

Gemma glanced between them and frowned. "Can't you change your appointment, Grandpa? I'm sure they'd understand."

"No, not really. Your grandmother will be fine by herself." Richard said.

"Right..." Gemma said quietly.

"Be sure to give them my condolences." He told Emily.

"Of course. Eat your food." She said changing the subject.

Lorelai suddenly gasped. "I think one of them is still alive!"

"Lorelai!" Emily sighed.

"No, seriously. He was over near the radish like five minutes ago!"

"They're actually quite tasty." Gemma smiled at her grandma, making an effort to try the food.

"Thank you, Gemma." Emily smiled softly at her.

Sunday morning, Gemma appeared from her room wearing a smart black dress.

"Whoa, why are you wearing that?" Lorelai laughed. "Bit morose for a shift at the diner, isn't it?"

"I've changed my shift to this afternoon so I..uh..could go to Hartford." She said.

"Hartford? Why would you go to Hartford on a Sunday?" She said confused.

"Because a certain woman has to go to one of her closest friend's funeral by herself." Gemma said.

Lorelai's expression softened. "You're going to Sweetie's funeral?" She said softly.

"I just felt bad for Grandma that Grandpa isn't going with her. Sweetie obviously meant a lot to her. I mean, if Sookie passed away, you wouldn't want to go to her funeral by herself, would you?" She said.

"Well, no...but honey, I don't think Emily was close to Sweetie like I'm close to Sookie." Lorelai pointed out.

Gemma shrugged. "Even so, she obviously meant a lot to her so I thought I'd go to give her moral support."

"Well...that's very sweet of you." Lorelai smiled.

"Hey, how did the talk with Luke go by the way? Are you two a thing now?" She asked.

"Well...we're taking things slow. He's asked me to go to dinner with him next week."

"Aw that's great! Mom, I'm so happy for you!" Gemma smiled.

"Thanks hon."

"I better go, I don't want to be late." She said.

"Hey hon?" Lorelai said.

"Yeah."

"You're a great kid, you know that right?" She smiled softly.

"I try." She shrugged. "See you later.

"Bye."

Gemma rushed up to the church where the funeral was taking place. "Grandma!" She called, spotting her stood outside waiting.

"Gemma?" She said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you might like some company." She said. "You shouldn't have to do this alone."

Emily smiled tremulously at her granddaughter. "Thank you." She said.

Gemma smiled sympathetically at her. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm ok." She said.

Just then, people started heading inside so Gemma followed her in. They found some seats and sat down. The eulogies started and Gemma felt her grandma reach for her hand. She glanced up at her and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue so she squeezed her hand comfortingly.

Soon it was over and they all exited the church.

"I'm really sorry, Grandma, but I have to head back or I'll be late for work." Gemma sighed.

"That's quite alright. You get going." She said.

"Are you sure? I can call Luke if you want..."

"No, no, you've done more than enough." Emily smiled at her.

"Ok..if you're sure." Gemma said giving her a hug. "Bye Grandma."

"Bye Gemma. And thank you."

It was Wednesday evening and it was supposed to be the night of Luke and Lorelai's date. Luke took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Oh hi Luke!" Gemma smiled. "Everything ok?"

"Uh..yeah, is your mom here?" He asked.

"Yeah we're all through here." Gemma said leading him to the kitchen.

Luke followed her and was surprised to see the kitchen table covered in papers. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Hey, you look nice!" Lorelai smiled. She glanced at the bouquet of flowers he was holding. "Why have you got flowers?" She laughed.

"You've forgotten." Luke said, disappointment evident in his face.

"Forgotten?" She said confused and then her eyes widened. "Oh my god, Luke, the dinner! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed.

"You forgot your date?" Gemma said shocked. "Mom!"

Lorelai groaned. "I'm so sorry, Luke. My gran passed away this morning and then my mother had a meltdown because we were going through her papers and she found a letter from Gran to my father telling him not to marry her and now she's refused to organise anything for the funeral on Saturday and so it's all down to me because my dad's holed up in his study, devastated, and I..." She stopped speaking, having ran out of breath.

"Take a breath." Luke said.

"I'm so sorry, Luke. I was really looking forward to our dinner and then all this happened and I lost track of time and I forgot. I'm so sorry." She said sincerely.

Luke sighed. "It's ok. It looks like you have a lot on your plate right now."

"I really am sorry." She said.

"Were you and your gran close?" He asked.

"Not particularly but she and my dad were. This has broken him." Lorelai sighed.

"Yeah, I've never seen him like this before." Rory nodded.

"Yeah, she really was looking forward to the date, Luke. She wouldn't stop talking about it all week." Gemma said.

"Gemma!" Lorelai said blushing slightly.

"Well, it's true." She shrugged.

"It's ok." He said. "Really."

"No, it's not. I don't want you to think I screwed you around because I want this, Luke, I really do." She said.

Luke looked at her for a moment and smiled. "It's ok. Why don't we rearrange it for Sunday?" He suggested.

"Are you sure?"

"Hey, I get what it entails to plan things like this and it's emotionally draining, especially if it's family. So it's fine." Luke assured her.

"Thanks." Lorelai said gratefully.

"And if you need anything, you know where I am ok?" He said softly.

"Thanks Luke." She said softly.

"And that applies to you two as well." He said glancing at Gemma and Rory. "You two doing ok?"

"We're ok. It's just hard to see Grandpa like he is." Gemma smiled sadly.

"I bet. Well you know where I am if any of you need food." He said.

"Thanks Luke." Gemma smiled at him.

"Take care." He said before leaving.

"Oh god, now I feel even worse!" Lorelai groaned, putting her head down on the table.

Jess looked up from the couch when he heard Luke come in. "Well, that was a short date." He joked.

"She forgot." Luke said.

"Ouch!" Jess chuckled.

"Jess..."

"What? Maybe you had a lucky escape..." He smirked.

"Hey, give her a little bit of respect. Her gran died this morning and she's in charge of all the funeral preparations. I don't blame her for her mind being elsewhere." Luke said.

"Oh.." Jess said. "Sorry."

Luke sighed. "She said they weren't that close but apparently her dad's in bad shape and that's affecting them all, especially Gemma and Rory." He told them.

"Never seen him like that before huh?" Jess said.

"Yeah..."

"That must be hard." He said quietly, knowing how much Gemma's grandfather meant to her. "So they're planning the funeral? What about Emily?"

"Apparently she's refusing after having found a letter from Richard's mother on their wedding day telling him not to marry her." Luke said.

"Wow." Jess raised his eyebrows. "That must sting."

"Yeah I think it did because now she's passed everything onto Lorelai."

"Huh." He said. "So when's your date going to be?" He asked.

"Sunday. The funeral's on Saturday so I thought Sunday would be good."

"Good plan." Jess said thoughtfully.

"What?" Luke said noticing him staring into to space.

"What?" Jess said coming out of his daze. "Nothing."

"Ok."

"Ok."

"Well, I'm going to get changed." Luke said.

"Ok." Jess said. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry your date got cancelled tonight." He said knowing how much he'd been looking forward to it.

"Thanks." Luke said softly. He sighed. "It can't be helped." He said before heading to his bedroom to get changed.

"Is he going to be ok?" Gemma whispered to Rory as they entered the church on Saturday for their greet gran's funeral.

"I don't know." Rory sighed.

"At least Grandma seems to have pulled herself together." Gemma said watching their Grandma lead him to their seats.

"Are you three ok sat on this row?" Emily turned round to them.

"Of course." Lorelai nodded.

"Oh god, what is that boy doing here? I thought he left." Emily frowned.

"Who?" Lorelai said confused turning round.

"Jess?" Gemma said surprised, seeing him standing awkwardly at the doorway in a black suit.

"What's he doing here?" Rory said.

"I have no idea." She said. "I..uh..I'll be right back." She told them before walking towards him.

"Hey..." He said hesitantly.

"Hey..." She said. "What are you doing here?"

"Luke mentioned the funeral was today. I..uh..I wasn't sure if you wanted some support..." Jess said. "As a...uh...well, as a friend..."

"Jess..." Gemma said touched.

"But it's fine. It looks like you've got all the support you need." He said nodding towards Lorelai and Emily who were glaring at him and Rory who was watching them. "I'll leave you to it. You probably don't need me here causing a stir." He said turning to leave.

"No, wait." Gemma said grabbing his hand. "I would really appreciate the support." She admitted. "As a friend..." She added, smiling slightly.

Jess smiled slightly. "If you're sure? I don't want to cause trouble..."

"You won't. I want you here." She said. "Come on." She said, leading him towards the others. "There's room for one more right?" She asked them.

"Well..uh..I'm not sure." Lorelai said.

"Mom, Jess came to support me, that's all. It was really nice of him to come and to be honest, I could do with all the support I can get right now." Gemma said. "Please? It's a hard enough day as it is."

Lorelai's face softened slightly. "You're right. Of course he can sit with us."

"Thanks mom." Gemma said softly.

They then all took their seats and waited for it to begin. Soon enough, it was time for Richard to deliver his eulogy and halfway through he started to struggle.

"Poor Grandpa..." Gemma whispered to Rory, her eyes welling up at the sight of their grandpa getting so upset. "Should we do something?"

Rory bit her lip before nodding. "I'll go help him." She said standing up and heading up to where he was stood.

"Are you ok?" Jess whispered to Gemma.

She nodded but after a moment, she reached out to hold his hand, sniffing slightly. Jess saw Lorelai glancing at them but focused on comforting Gemma by putting his arm round her.

Rory finished off Richard's eulogy for him and then helped him back down to their seats and let the service continue.

"How's he doing?" Gemma asked coming up to Lorelai and Rory at the Gilmore Mansion, watching Richard talk to his friends.

"Better I think." Rory said.

"Good." Gemma said.

"So where's Jess?" Lorelai asked casually.

"He's headed back to the diner. He didn't want to intrude." She said.

"Right." Lorelai said.

"Mom..." Gemma sighed.

"Hey, I'm not saying anything!" She defended.

"Good. Come on, let's mingle." Rory said walking over to a group of people.

"So, there she was, dragging poor Charles around Egypt of all places. I mean, the man detested sand. So, of course, Lorelai wanted to go and see the pyramids right away. Well, he was dragging his feet. He wanted to go to the hotel. He said, "Lorelai, those pyramids have been there for thousands of years, so they can wait another day." And she said, "Well, you didn't marry the pyramids. You married me, and I won't wait another hour." And she jumped on a camel and rode away. Dragged the camel's owner behind her for over a mile. Man almost died." A woman said. "Oh there she is! Lorelai, come here and say hello to your father's favourite cousin." The woman smiled.

"Hi, Marilyn." Lorelai laughed.

"Look at you. You look just like your picture. You know, your grandmother had this picture of you right smack-dab in the middle of her entryway. You would walk in the door, she would point to the picture, and she would say, "This is my granddaughter, Lorelai. She's not married.""

"Oh, that's a terrific story." Lorelai said giving her daughters a look as they stifled a laugh.

"You are stunning! My god, tell me you're an idiot, I beg you." Marilyn exclaimed.

"I have my moments. How's that?" Lorelai smirked.

"And you two as well! Am I possibly related to you both also?" She asked smiling at Gemma and Rory.

"Yes, these are my daughters, Gemma and Rory." Lorelai smiled.

"It is a thrill to meet you both. Horrible circumstances, I suppose. Anyway angels, tell me, when you were last over at your grandmother's house, did you possibly notice some darling little bar glasses?" She asked.

"Bar glasses?"

"Crystal, with this little gold-leaf pattern around?"

"No, I don't think so." Lorelai said smiling slightly.

"Oh, well, I was just wondering. They weren't valuable, just sentimental. I used to admire them as a small child." She said.

"Well, sure, what little kid doesn't have a fascination with bar glasses?"

"Well, if you ever do see them..."

"Yes, I'll let you know. I, I'm sorry, I have to go check the caterer." Lorelai excused herself.

"Go, go, go. I can visit with Gemma and Rory." She smiled.

"Ok. Hey, I heard you talking about Gran in Egypt." Rory said.

"Yeah, did she like it there?" Gemma asked.

"Oh, she loved Egypt! Actually, she loved anyplace exotic. Did she ever tell you about the time she was stranded in Istanbul?"

"No. Well, we actually didn't know her very well..."

"Oh, that's a terrible shame."

"Yeah, we think so, too." Gemma nodded.

Meanwhile, Lorelai had wandered over to Emily. "How are you holding up?" She said.

"My feet are killing me." Emily sighed, sitting down on one of the couches.

"How's the rest of you?" Lorelai asked softly.

"The rest of me?" She said glancing at her. "The rest of me is fine."

"Oh, you know, Mom, she may have written that letter but he picked you." Lorelai said softly. "He picked you and he would pick you again in a heartbeat."

Emily gave her a small smile and nodded. "I can't believe you wore those shoes to a funeral." She said glancing down at her feet.

Lorelai smirked. "On that note, I'm going to get a stuffed mushroom now." She said, getting up. She went over to the small buffet laid out and smiled as she watched her mother walk over to her father. She walked subtly a bit closer and smiled when she heard Richard speaking.

"I don't think the mantel is the best place for my mother's ashes." He said.

"What?" Emily said surprised.

"I don't think it would be appropriate."

"But her wishes..."

"Being buried with my father seems right. Don't you agree?" He said softly.

Emily smiled softly. "Whatever you want, Richard."

"Do you think they will be ok?" A voice said beside Lorelai.

Lorelai turned and smiled at Gemma. "Yeah, I think they'll be just fine." She said softly.

"Good." Gemma smiled.

"Where's Rory?" She asked.

"Listening to stories about Gran. Marilyn sure does know how to tell a story." She joked.

Lorelai laughed. "Doesn't she just?"

"Hey, drop me out here for a second..." Gemma said as they drove by the diner on their way home.

"Why?" Lorelai said.

"I..uh..I thought I could pick up some doughnuts and pie and we could have a movie night tonight." She said.

"Oh, good idea!" Lorelai said.

"I will only be a minute." Gemma said jumping out and heading towards the diner.

"I bet there's another reason she wants to go in there..." Lorelai said watching her daughter head to the counter where Jess was standing.

"She probably just wants to thank him. It's sweet that he came to support her." Rory said.

"Yeah I guess..." Lorelai sighed.

"Come on, tonight is going to be fun. After the hard day, it will be nice to relax just the three of us." Rory said.

"You're right." Lorelai smiled. "It's good to have you back for the weekend, hon." She said softly.

"It's good to be back." She smiled.

Meanwhile, Gemma was stood at the counter, waiting for Jess to bag up her doughnuts and pie. She glanced up at him. "Thanks..." She said.

"For what?"

"For coming today. You didn't have to.." She said.

"I wanted to." Jess said. "I...wanted to make sure you were ok." He said glancing up at her.

Gemma smiled softly. "Well...I appreciated it." She said.

He nodded. "Three doughnuts and three pieces of pie." He said handing it over to her.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Oh hey Gemma." Luke said appearing from the kitchen.

"Hi Luke." She smiled.

"How was it?" He asked.

"Sad. But we got through it." She said.

"Good." He said.

"And mom can't wait for her date tomorrow." Gemma teased.

"Oh..uh..right..." Luke said awkwardly.

Gemma grinned. "Sorry, you make it too easy for me." She teased.

Luke just shook his head. "So much work." He said. "Just like your mother."

"Why thank you!" She grinned.

"Are you still good to work the whole day tomorrow?" He checked.

"Of course!" She nodded.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"I better go as mom and Rory are waiting! See you tomorrow." Gemma smiled at them both.

"See ya." Luke said heading back into the kitchen.

"So I guess it's me and you tomorrow in charge of the diner then, huh?" Jess said.

"Looks that way. How will we cope?" She joked.

Jess chuckled. "I'm sure we'll manage."

Gemma grinned. "See you tomorrow, Jess." She said.

"See you." Jess said, watching her go, before smiling and then carrying on reading the book he was reading.

Gemma jumped back into the jeep. "Got them!" She said.

"Everything ok?" Lorelai asked casually.

"Yep, everything's perfect. Now let's start our movie night!" She grinned.

So I hope you liked it! Please do let me know what you think as I love reading your comments. Thanks again for all your support, I really do appreciate it. :)