Author's note: A reviewer noticed that Rory's husband wasn't mentioned in the last couple of chapters. I was focusing on the Lorelai and Luke aspect of the story, so I kind of forgot about him, and I forgot to mention that he's still in Chicago (where him and Rory live, she's just visiting Stars Hollow) and he couldn't get out of work… it kind of a sorry excuse not to include him, but I wanted to focus on Lorelai/Luke also, I forgot to mention that Rory has crutches because of her broken leg… Anyways thanks for reading and please feel free to leave a review.
A couple days later, Luke went to see his doctor. When he returned home in the late afternoon, he found Lorelai and the kids watching T.V. together.
"Hi. How'd your appointment go?" Lorelai asks him.
Luke sits next to Sam. "Well, he said it's most likely arthritis. He recommended I try some exercises or massage therapy and Tylenol might also help."
Lorelai nods. "Okay. So it's manageable then?"
"Yeah, as long as I follow the doctor's orders," Luke replies.
Lorelai nods again. "So, do you mind if we order pizza for dinner? It's all I feel like having and the kids want it too."
"Sure." Luke agrees right away, he was too tired to cook dinner.
A few hours later, as Luke got ready for bed, Lorelai sat in bed and asked him:
"Did you think about going back to the diner?"
Luke steps out of the bathroom and walks over to the bed. "Yeah. I think I'll wait until next week." He says in a low voice.
Lorelai shakes her head, "Luke, I'm fine. I can wake the kids up and take them to school. I can handle it. Don't worry. You should get back to the diner, it's been too long. I know you worry about how Caesar and the others run the diner. You want everything to be in your control."
Luke stares at her, "I don't know… I think you still need time to grieve. And, I want to be here to help you any way I can. You shouldn't have to take care of everything when you're still upset. The diner can wait, Lorelai. I need to stay here with you."
Lorelai lets out an exaggerated sigh, "I don't need you hovering around me, waiting for me to break down. I'm fine, Luke!" She raises her voice. "I can handle the normal daily activities and I think I'll go back to the Inn soon… please, just go back to the diner, I need space, and I need to get back to normal!"
Luke's brow furrows, "Fine. I'll go tomorrow… good night." He says in a quiet voice, lacking of emotion. He walks over to his side of the bed and gets in. Once he pulls the covers over himself, he turns off the lamp on his nightstand and lies down, facing away from Lorelai.
Lorelai bites her lip and looks down for a second. She frowns then turns off the lamp on her side without saying a word. She settles in the bed, far from Luke's side.
The next morning, Luke wakes up early without the use of an alarm clock. He sighs as he looks over at Lorelai, who is still asleep, clutching a pillow. Luke gets ready in twenty minutes. He looks at Lorelai one last time before leaving the bedroom. He tells himself that everything will be fine by the time he returns home.
One hour later, Lorelai wakes up to the sound of the front door opening. She hears Rory's voice shout, "You're here!"
Lorelai quickly gets out of bed and walks downstairs. She finds Rory and her husband, Jeremy embracing in the front entryway. Rory pulls back and wobbles a little, her crutches forgotten on the floor. Jeremy reaches out and steadies her by wrapping his arm around her.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't be here before. I missed you so much." Jeremy says to Rory.
Rory sighs softly, but she says: "Well, better late than never. I missed you too." She leans in and kisses him. At that moment, Sam and Will walk down the stairs.
"Hi, mommy." Sam says.
Lorelai turns to face her and she bends down to lift her up. "Good morning, honey."
Rory and Jeremy turn to face Lorelai and the kids. "Hi, Lorelai." Jeremy greets her with a friendly smile.
"Hi, how are you?" Lorelai answers.
"I'm fine. Happy to be back with Rory, of course, I'm, uh sorry for you loss." Jeremy says gently.
Lorelai gives him a small smile; she was used to people saying that. "Thank you"
"Mom? Where's Dad? In the kitchen making breakfast?" Will asks, looking between Lorelai and Rory and Jeremy.
"Oh, uh no he went to the diner. We're going to have cereal today and then I'll take you to school, okay?" Lorelai replies.
Will nods, "Okay."
They all go into the kitchen and eat breakfast together. Afterwards, Lorelai drives the kids to the school. Sam hugs Lorelai tightly. Lorelai is surprised and Sam says, "You look sad, Mommy."
Lorelai feels heartbroken, but she puts a smile on her face for her daughter. "Aww, thanks for the hug. I love you; have a good day at school." She kisses her goodbye and watches her walk into the kindergarten classroom.
Hours later, Luke returns home, walks in the door and finds Rory and Jeremy in the front entryway, putting on their shoes. Luke greets Jeremy with a handshake and they chat a little. Rory tells him that they're going back home.
"Oh, so soon? Is your leg healing up okay?" Luke asks Rory, concerned.
"Yeah, I had that checkup the other day and the doctor said I was fine. I think… well it's time for me to go. I need to move on, you know. Grandpa wouldn't want me to stay sitting around forever. I need to go back." Rory tells him with a sad expression.
Luke nods. "Well, we'll miss you around here."
Rory just smiles at him. Lorelai walks in, the kids behind her. Luke watches Lorelai bend down and whisper something to the kids. They walk over to Rory and carefully hug her. Rory seems surprised, but she hugs them back. "Bye, you two."
After the kids step back, Luke steps closer to Rory and gives her a quick one-armed hug. Rory turns to Lorelai and Lorelai walks up to her slowly.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" She asks.
Rory nods, "Yeah, don't worry. I, um… I know the accident wasn't anyone's fault but the drunk driver. I just wish there was something I could have done to prevent it. But, I know I can't change anything. I just need to move on." Rory lets out a deep breath and gives Lorelai a small smile.
"Okay, hon." Lorelai says simply then she carefully pulls Rory into a hug. When they pull apart, Rory says: "Love you."
Lorelai smiles, "Love you too, sweets."
Jeremy helps Rory with her bags and they walk out the door together.
"Daddy, do you want to see the picture I drew at school today?" Sam asks, looking up at Luke with a smile.
Luke glances at Lorelai and then smiles down at Sam. "I have to talk to Mommy for a few minutes. Can you and Will go play for a little bit?"
Sam nods and Will takes her hand and leads her away.
"Hi." Lorelai whispers, looking at Luke with a pained expression.
"Hi." Luke whispers back. He steps closer to her. "I'm sorry. I know… you're strong and you don't always need me to help pick up the pieces. But, I don't want you to have to feel like you have to push me away because enough time has passed and you feel like you need to get back to normal. I'm always here, Lorelai. You can talk to me." He reaches out and puts a hand on her arm and gently rubs it.
She looks up at him. "I'm sorry too. I know you're here for me and I appreciate that. But, I meant what I said, I need to try to move on… and you going back to the diner and things going back to normal will help me. I called Sookie today and she said I can come back to the Inn when I'm ready. I'm going to go tomorrow. I'm fine, really."
Luke just looks at her, he frowns at first, but then he smiles softly. "Okay." He whispers. He quickly kisses the top of her head. When he pulls away, she smiles at him. They walk into the family room and sit down and watch T.V. with the kids for a little while before Luke cooks dinner.
Later that night, in bed, Luke kisses Lorelai goodnight and pulls her close. They fall asleep in that position. No words were needed to show their love and compassion for each other.