The next morning, Luke woke up to find Lorelai still snuggled up next to him. Her arm was draped over his abdomen and her head was under his arm, on her pillow. He wakes her up gently by tapping her shoulder. She opens her eyes and moves her gaze to him. He smiles softly, "Morning" He whispers. She just gives him a small smile in response.

"Did you sleep well?" He asks as he runs his hand up and down her back.

"Yeah, I didn't wake up in the middle of the night." She replies.

"You still want to go to work today?" Luke asks, expecting her to say yes.

She nods slowly, "I want to try it out, see how it will go. I think I'm okay. And the work will distract me anyway."

Luke looks at her thoughtfully, but he decides to support her decision, "All right." He says simply. He kisses her forehead, then she lays her head on his chest. They lie in silence for a couple minutes as he runs his hand through her hair and she toys with his other hand.

Half an hour later, Lorelai was ready to leave for work. The kids were still asleep, as they didn't have to leave for school for another half hour. Luke and Lorelai stood at the front door.

"Okay. I'll see you later, hon." Lorelai says.

Luke nods, "Call me if you need anything, or even if you just want to talk. I'll be at the diner; you can call my cell though."

Lorelai smiles, "I will. Kiss." She says playfully. Luke lightly touches her jaw with one hand and leans in and gives her a sweet, long kiss.

"See you later." He says when he pulls back. Lorelai just nods and walks out the door.

Luke wakes the kids up and Sam asks where Lorelai is. Luke tells her that Lorelai went back to work. Sam doesn't say anything, but she frowns. They eat breakfast and get ready quickly then get in the car.

"Is Mommy going to come to school to say bye?" Sam asks.

"No, Sam, she's at work. She should be there to pick you up though." Luke tells her with a gentle smile.

Sam pouts, "No, I want mommy to take me to school…" She starts crying.

"Sam… it's okay." Luke tries to soothe her, but he doesn't know what to say. He starts the car and backs out of the driveway. Sam continues to cry as Luke drives.

"I want… Mommy!" Sam cries. Will reaches out and pats her hand to try to calm her.

"Sam, stop crying. You'll see Mommy later." Luke says, trying to stay calm. Sam keeps crying.

"Samantha, stop right now!" Luke raises his voice and Sam stops crying abruptly. She sniffles quietly.

The rest of the drive is silent. When they arrive at the school, Luke gets out and opens the back door. He helps Sam out of her car seat and Will gets out on his own.

"I can get to class on my own. See you later, Dad." Will says quietly.

"You sure?" Luke asks as Sam tries to squirm out of his arms.

"Yeah." Will replies simply.

"Okay. Bye, have a good day." Luke says with a small nod. Will turns and walks in the school. Luke sets Sam down gently on the ground. She looks up at him, her lip quivering a little. Luke gets a few tissues from the car and uses them to wipe Sam's face.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to yell. I just… needed to focus on driving." He tries to explain to her.

Sam just gives him a little nod.

"Okay, let's get you to your classroom." Luke takes her hand in his and they walk in the school. When they get to her classroom, Luke bends down to her level even though it isn't comfortable for him.

"Bye, have fun today, okay?" Luke gives her a tentative smile.

She gives him a tiny smile in return and he quickly hugs her goodbye. He watches her step in the classroom and walk over to the teacher.

Later, in the diner, as Luke sets a plate of food in front of Liz, who's sitting at the counter, his cell phone rings. He looks at the screen before answering.

"Hey, I was hoping you'd call. How's it going?" He answers.

"Hi. Everything is fine. I'm just starting to get used to the flow of things again. I thought I'd call to let you know I'm okay… and I just wanted to hear your voice." Lorelai admits.

Luke smiles softly. "That's… good to hear. I appreciate the call. Are you going to pick up the kids from school or do you want me to?"

Lorelai takes a few seconds to answer, "I'll do it. I haven't seen them all day and I miss them."

"Oh, it's Lorelai? Tell her that I said you guys can come over for dinner anytime, or I can watch Will and Sam if you two need alone time." Liz tells Luke.

Luke nods, "Hey, Liz is here and she says we can come over from dinner whenever or she can watch Will and Sam to give us a break, I guess. Also, practically everyone in town has come by and offered their condolences… I thanked them." He tells Lorelai.

"Oh, that's so sweet. This town is crazy… but their also kind and loving. I'm… glad I live here." Luke could tell that Lorelai was smiling as she said that. "Tell Liz thanks for me too."

"I will. So, I'll see you at home later. I'll try to close up early, okay?" Luke replies.

"All right, see you later. Love you." Lorelai says in a soft voice.

"Love you too. Bye." Luke says. He presses the screen to hang up and slips the phone into his pocket.

"Is Lorelai doing okay?" Liz asks with a look of concern on her face.

"Yeah, I think she's going to be okay. I think getting back to the Inn is helping her. "

Liz nods, "And I'm sure you're helping her too. You're her rock, Luke."

Luke smiles at her, "Yeah, I guess. So, how are Doula and T.J.?"

Luke catches up with Liz and the day passes slowly for him. He finally closes up the diner after the dinner rush. On the way home, he stops at Doose's to pick up some groceries. When he finally returns home, Will greets him at the door.

"Hi Dad,"

"Hey buddy, how was school?"

"Good. Mom already helped with my homework and we had Chinese food for supper." Will tells him with a smile.

"Oh, that's good. Where is Mom?" Luke asks.

"In the kitchen. She said I could go watch T.V., that's okay right?" Will seems hesitant.

"Sure." Luke responds, and he ruffles Will's hair before he walks away.

Luke finds Lorelai cleaning up the kitchen.

"Oh, you're back." Lorelai grins when she notices Luke.

Luke drops the grocery bags on the counter and walks over to Lorelai. He gives her a quick kiss and when he starts to pull away, she wraps her arms around him. He hugs her and whispers in her ear, "You all right?"

She nods into his shoulder. "I just wanted a hug." She whispers back. He rubs her back gently for a few seconds before she pulls away.

"Um, Sam told me that you yelled at her today?" Lorelai asks, looking for confirmation.

Luke sighs, "Ah, yeah. I shouldn't have but she was crying and I needed to focus on driving… I apologized to her. Is she okay?"

"I think she's okay. I put her to bed early, she seemed to be tired." Lorelai answers.

Luke nods, "I guess I'll go check on her. I feel bad… she said she wanted you to take her to school, but I told her you were at work."

"She was really happy to see me when I picked them up. She just told me that you yelled at her, I didn't ask her how school was or anything. I'm sure she'll forgive you, hon." Lorelai tells him.

"Okay, I'll go see if she's still awake." Luke leaves the room and heads upstairs.

In Sam's room, he finds her on her bed, her eyes closed but she doesn't appear to be asleep.

"Sam? Are you sleeping?" Luke whispers.

Sam opens her eyes and shakes her head. Luke kneels in front of the bed.

"Um, you know that I didn't like yelling at you… I would never want to be mean to you. I'm sorry." He says softly.

Sam nods, "It's okay Daddy. I know you're not a meanie."

Luke grins, "Thank you, sweetie. Go to sleep."

Sam smiles and closes her eyes. Luke tucks her in and grabs one of her stuffed animals from the floor. He places it next to her.
"Goodnight." He whispers.

The next morning, Lorelai is awoken by her cell phone ringing. Luke isn't in bed next to her, so she figures he's making breakfast. She answers the phone without checking to see whose calling.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mom," Rory answers.

"Hey hon. How's it feel to be back home?" Lorelai asks.

"Hey, you know Stars Hollow is my real home. It's good to be back here though. I'm going back to work today."

Lorelai smiles, "That's good. I went back to the Inn yesterday. It was… nice to start getting back to the old routine, you know?"

"Yeah. That sounds… kind of refreshing… So you're okay, right?" Rory asks, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine. Working got my mind off him… but I still think about him every day, you know?" Lorelai replies.

"Yeah, I know. I still miss him so much every day. I still can't believe he's gone…" Rory says in a low voice.

"I know. I miss him too. I wish he could be here to see Will and Sam grow up… I don't think Sam understands that he's gone. How could she at this age?" Lorelai frowns, thinking about it.

"That's one of the worst things about this; I know Grandpa loved them so much…"

"Yeah, and they adored him. Grandpa loved you too." Lorelai says softly.

"I know. He loved all of us." Rory replies, her voice breaking a little. It's silent for a few seconds, as neither of them know what to say.

"I have to go. Jeremy made me breakfast and I have to get ready for work. I'll call you when I get home." Rory says.

"Aww, I think Luke's making breakfast too, we have great husbands, don't we?" Lorelai says in a playful tone of voice.

"Yep. Okay, bye Mom."

"Bye, Rory. Have a good day." Lorelai hangs up and gets out of bed. She finds Luke and the kids in the kitchen. Luke is at the stove and the kids are sitting at the table. She walks over to the table and kisses both kids on the top of their heads. Then she walks over to Luke.

"Morning, babe," She greets him.

"Morning," Luke mutters, he turns away from the stove for a second to kiss her cheek.

Once Luke finishes cooking, they sit and eat breakfast together. Afterwards, Lorelai drives the kids to school and she drops Luke off at the diner before going to the Inn.

That night, when Luke and Lorelai are cleaning up after dinner, there's a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Will says. He comes back to the kitchen a couple minutes later, Emily walking behind him.

"Lorelai, I have something I want to discuss with you." Emily says.

"Grandma! Hi!" Sam says before Lorelai can respond. Sam runs up to Emily and gives her a quick hug.

"Oh, hello Samantha," Emily greets her and she manages to give her a small smile.

"Is Gampy coming too?" Sam asks Emily.

Emily frowns and looks at Lorelai and Luke, who have stopped cleaning.

"He's not ever coming back here." Will says with a bitterness to his voice.

Lorelai and Emily gasp, shocked. Luke walks over to Will.

"Will, you shouldn't say things like that in front of your sister, she doesn't understand." Luke tells Will.

"But it's true, right?" Will mutters quietly.

"What?" Sam asks, clearly confused.

Lorelai frowns and steps in front of Sam, she bends down to her level and looks her in the eye.

"Honey, remember we told you how Grandpa was hurt in the car with Rory and the doctors tried to make him better, but they couldn't?" Lorelai says gently.

Sam nods, "But I don't want him to be gone."

Lorelai gently rubs Sam's back, "I know, of course we don't want him to be gone. He didn't want to leave either, but he had to and it's okay if you miss him."

Sam starts to cry silently, tears roll down her cheeks. Lorelai starts to wipe them with her thumbs. Luke walks over and taps Lorelai's shoulder. She stands up. "I can take her and Will upstairs so you can talk to Emily." Luke whispers.

Lorelai nods, "Thank you." She rubs Luke's arm affectionately. Luke picks up Sam and she wraps her arms around his neck and presses her face into his chest, clearly seeking comfort. Will follows Luke out of the room.

Emily sits down at the table and Lorelai sits next to her.

"Well, that was… something." Emily says.

"The kids, uh, they're having a hard time understanding that Dad is really gone." Lorelai explains, although she doesn't feel like she needs to.

"I understand. They're so young; it must be awful for them." Emily says sincerely.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Lorelai asks. She looks at Emily and sees deep bags under her eyes.

"I want to sell the house." Emily says pointedly.

"What? You've had that house so long… oh I understand… it's not the same without Dad…" Lorelai responds, trying to imagine her house without Luke.

"Yes, and I don't need such a large house for myself… also your father, his will stated that he wanted me to do whatever I felt was best." Emily looks down for a second and when she looks back up; Lorelai sees tears welling up in her eyes.

"Okay. Do you need my help with anything?" Lorelai asks.

Emily nods, "I'll need your help organizing everything. Once the house is sold, I'll need to pack up everything I want to keep and move it."

"Sure, Mom anything you need, I'll help you… are you doing okay, otherwise? I know that might be a stupid question."

"I'm coping as best as I can. I… still can't believe he's really gone." Emily replies.

"I know. Me either." Lorelai says sadly. A minute of silence passes before Emily stands up.

"I should get going. I'll keep in touch." Emily says. They have had many phone conversations in the past week, short conversations, but meaningful ones.

"Okay, Mom, drive safe." Lorelai gets up and follows Emily to the door. Before Emily steps out the door, Lorelai stops her by placing a hand on her arm. Emily glances at her. Lorelai gives her a sad smile before she wraps an arm around her and gives her a quick one- armed hug. Emily is the one to pull away.

"Thank you, Lorelai." Emily says quietly.

Lorelai gives her a small smile. Emily doesn't say anything else before she leaves.

Lorelai goes upstairs and finds Luke in their bedroom. "Hey. How are the kids?"

"Well, I talked to them and explained things… Sam's upset, but I think she understands better now, it's just hard for a kid her age of course. I told Will to think before he says things, he's more angry than upset. He feels a little lost I think…like he doesn't know how to grieve or what to say. I think I helped him feel better... they're both in bed." Luke tells her.

"Okay… we'll all get through this together, right? It will be rough but we'll do it." Lorelai replies.

"Right," Luke says, resorting to his monosyllabic nature. Then he adds, "Come here."

Lorelai walks over to him and he holds her. When she pulls back, she gives him a thankful smile. They get ready for bed and lie down, exhausted. Lorelai snuggles up close to him and kisses him deeply.
She falls asleep in his arms once again that night.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, I think this is the longest chapter yet… Reviews are appreciated.