A/N:It took a little longer than I expected, but here's the next chapter. To be honestI already finished most of this chapter even before I wrote the last one, but then I remembered that Luke and Lorelai were still living above the diner so I had them move back to their own house first. So once I finished that chapter, I only had to write the second half of this one. Lorelai wakes up with the flu and Luke ends up taking Lucan to Emily for a visit. So a big part Luke/Emily and of course some Luke/Lorelai and Lucan as well! I finished the chapter Monday when I was on the train, but I didn't got to posting it until now. So anyway, I hope you all like it, and don't forget to let me know what you think of course. And oh yeah, thanks to all who read and reviewed the last chapter!

Chapter 24 – Sick

"Ugh…" Lorelai opened her eyes feeling horrible. She tried to lie still for a few moments, hoping she would feel better, but then felt her stomach turn and had to jump out of bed. She ran towards the bathroom, waking up Luke in the process. He got out of bed as well to see what Lorelai was doing. He found her on the bathroom floor, emptying the contents of her stomach in the toilet. He kneeled down behind her and held her hair while she threw up. When she was done she fell in his arms, and he didn't had to ask what had caused the vomiting when he felt her body heat.

"You're burning up."

She had just enough strength to nod.

"Do you think you're ready to go back to bed?" When she nodded again he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. She was almost asleep again when he placed her onto the mattress and put the sheets around her. He placed a kiss on her forehead and whispered. "You stay in bed all day. I'll take care of you and Lucan." She didn't hear it as she was already asleep.

Luke checked the clock and decided to stay out. It was already 7 o clock and he knew Lucan would wake up soon, if he wasn't awake already. Luke took a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt out of the closet and walked towards the bathroom for a quick shower. After that he went to check on Lucan. He saw the boy sitting up in bed, playing with his stuffed bear. He looked up at his father and smiled. "Dada."

Luke turned off the baby monitor before walking towards Lucan's bed and taking the little boy out. "Good morning baby. Did you sleep well?" The boy placed his head on his father's shoulder for a few seconds before looking up. "Mama."

"You're mommy's still sleeping. You have to be quiet because she's not feeling well today. How about we go downstairs for some breakfast and call Caesar that we're going to stay home to take car of mommy today huh?"

Lucan smiled in response.

Luke walked downstairs and put Lucan in the playpen. Then he walked into the kitchen to warm up some milk for the oatmeal. While he was waiting for the milk to boil, he picked up the phone.

"Luke's diner."

"Caesar, it's me. Luke."

"Hey boss."

"Listen, I can't come in today. Lorelai is sick and I have to stay home to take care of her. Do you think you can handle the diner by yourself?"

"Yeah, Jake's here and I can call Lane if I have to. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks. I call later to check how things are going."

"No reason to. We'll let you know when something goes wrong or when we need your help. But there won't be any reason to call you."

"Ok." Luke hung up and went to check on the milk. It wasn't quite done yet, so he started taking plates out of the cabinet. Just then Lucan started crying in the living room, not liking that he was left alone. Luke turned the stove to a lower temperature and went to check on his son. "What's up buddy?"

The boy was still crying as he was standing in the playpen, his arms in the air indicating for Luke to pick him up.

"You have to wait a little while longer. Daddy's making your breakfast okay. I'll be right back." He took a toy car and handed it to Lucan. "Here." Lucan threw the car out of the playpen as he remained crying. Luke doubted what to do. He didn't want to take Lucan into the kitchen, but he also didn't want him to wake up Lorelai so he decided to take the boy out of the playpen. The boy stopped crying immediately. "You're playing with me." Luke shook his head as he walked into the kitchen and placed Lucan in the high chair. "You sit here, I'll be right there with breakfast."

Luke walked to the stove and checked the milk. The temperature was perfect so he filled both plates with milk, then added the oatmeal and stirred until it was thick enough. He took two spoons out of the drawer and walked towards the table where Lucan was studying him. Luke sat down on the chair next to him and placed both plates on the table. He started feeding Lucan while he himself ate in between.

After breakfast Luke put the dishes into the dishwasher and took Lucan out of the high chair. "What do you want to do next? Do you want to play for a while or do you want to take a shower?" Of course Lucan didn't reply so Luke decided to put Lucan back in the playpen. But the boy started crying even before Luke had the chance to turn around. "Oh come on. What is it today? Normally you don't mind being in the playpen." He took Lucan out because he was still afraid the crying would wake up Lorelai. He put Lucan on the floor where the boy started crawling. Luke shook his head. "Why do you do that when you know how to walk?"

Lucan crawled around for a couple of minutes and then tried walking. When he was tired of that he sat down with some toys and kept himself busy while Luke caught up on some paperwork in their new office. Lucan was sitting in the door opening so Luke could keep an eye on him, while doing that. By the time Lucan was tired of playing all together, Luke had finished his paperwork and decided to check up on Lorelai and to shower Lucan.

Upstairs Lucan closed the small gate before the staircase so Lucan couldn't fall down the stairs and placed him on the floor in his bedroom. Then he went to check on Lorelai and saw she was still asleep. He watched her for a few seconds until he felt Lucan pulling on his pants. He looked down with a smile, picked him up and walked into his room again. He placed the boy on the changing table and took his clothes and diaper off. Then he put him in his bathrobe and walked into the bathroom. Lucan was used to the shower now. They sat him down and took of the shower head. It was much quicker than filling his bathtub and the floor stayed much dryer this way.

When Luke was about to wash Lucan's hair he heard the bathroom door open and saw how Lorelai ran towards the toilet. She threw up once again while Luke watched her. When she was done she sat down on the floor, exhausted again. Luke wanted to help her back to bed, but had to keep an eye on Lucan as well. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. Did you call Sookie that I'm not coming in today?"

"No, I forgot. I did call Caesar that I'm not coming in."

"You don't have to stay home."

"I want to. I'm not leaving you alone like this."

"I'm not all by myself." She placed her hand on her big stomach.

Luke smiled. "But they can't take care of you, and I can."

"Thanks." She smiled weakly.

"Do you think you can make it back to bed by yourself? I have to dry and dress Lucan. I'll see if he wants to play in the playpen for a while so I can make you some breakfast."

The thought alone made her nauseous again. "Please don't."

"It'll make you feel better. I promise."

She shook her head. "I'm going back to bed."

He nodded and walked towards her to help her up while he kept one eye on Lucan. Lorelai felt a little dizzy while she was standing and doubted if her legs could carry her all the way back to bed.

"Are you okay?" He felt how unstable she was.

She honestly shook her head so Luke lifted her up and carried her back to bed. He was almost there when they heard a crash in the bathroom. Luke quickly placed Lorelai on the bed while he ran into the bathroom. He saw Lucan lying flat on his stomach in the shower, while he was crying. Luke turned off the water and lifted the little wet boy in his arms, trying to sooth him. It seemed like the boy tried to stand up in the shower and slipped on the wet floor. Luke made a mental node to buy one of those anti-slip mats for on the shower floor.

"Luke?" Lorelai's voice sounded weak but it was hard enough to hear, even through Lucan's crying.

He walked into their bedroom. "He slipped and fell. I think it's mostly the shock. He's not bleeding or anything."

Lorelai extended her arms towards her son so Luke handed him to her. "Why don't you get his clothes and a towel, then I'll comfort him."

Luke nodded. "Just make sure he doesn't get sick as well."

She shook her head while she watched Luke walk away. Then she focused on her. "What were you doing in there baby? You're not such a big boy that you can stand up in the shower all by yourself." She kept talking to him while she hugged him close and that seemed to calm him down. When he was quiet she sat him down on her legs so she could look at him. As Luke told her he wasn't bleeding anywhere and he didn't seem to have any bruises either. "You were lucky."

Luke came back with a towel and some clothes. He took Lucan from Lorelai and dried him. Then he put on a diaper and the clothes. "All done." Lucan smiled and looked at Lorelai. He extended his arms, hoping she would take him again.

"I can watch him for a while. I think I could try some dry crackers and a cup of tea. And maybe some ginger ale to settle my stomach."

Luke nodded, happy she offered to eat anything. "I'll go downstairs to get that and call the inn. Are you sure you want to keep him here?"

She nodded. "Can you hand me the remote?"

"Sure." He handed her the remote. "As long as you don't make him watch those stupid cartoons."

"Which ones honey?"

"You know which ones."

She smiled. "I promise."

"Good." He walked downstairs and filled the kettle with water. He put it on the stove and then walked to the telephone. He dialed the number of the inn.

"Dragonfly Inn, Michel speaking."

"Michel, it's Luke."

"Luke?"

"Luke Danes."

"Lorelai's not here yet."

"I know, that's why I'm calling. She won't be coming in today because she's sick."

"She never seems to come in nowadays. Are you sure she's sick?"

"I'm sure. And I'm even more sure you don't want her to come in today because she'd be around you all day and you'd be sick tomorrow."

"Ah yes. Tell her we're sorry she's sick and hopefully she'll feel better soon." The sarcasm was obvious in his voice.

"I will." Luke hung up frustrated. He wondered how Lorelai could put up with the guy. Ever since he got to know Michel, it was obvious that he wasn't a people person. A quality that seemed necessary while running an inn. He heard many complains from Lorelai over the years but still she hired him to work for her. He must be really good at his work or she doesn't know that there are normal people out there. He was shaken out of his thoughts when the water started boiling. He filled a cup with water and decided to make herbal tea. He filled a glass with ginger ale and placed a few dry crackers on a plate. He put it all on a tray and carried it upstairs, where both Lorelai and Lucan were asleep in front of the TV. He smiled at the sight in front of him and decided to sit down on the bed next to them. He turned on his side and watched them sleep.

-xxxxxx-

Lorelai felt a little better that afternoon. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I promised to visit my mom today. Today was her first day of radiotherapy and I really want to see how she's doing."

"You're not going outside. You still have a fever and even though you made it without throwing up for a while now, doesn't mean that you're better."

"But I promised my mom."

"You can call her."

She sighed, knowing that Luke was right. "But she'll be disappointed that she won't be able to see Lucan. She was looking forward to that."

"How about I go and check on your mom? That way she can see Lucan and you have the house quiet for a nap."

"But I'm not tired."

Luke had to laugh at that. "You are. Look at yourself in the mirror Lorelai. I can see that you're feeling better than this morning, but if you go upstairs and lie down, I bet you'd be asleep within ten minutes."

She sighed, knowing he was right once again. "I'd appreciate that."

"Good. I'll go as soon as Lucan is awake okay?"

She nodded. "Can you maybe help me upstairs and lie down with me for a while?"

"Sure." He took her in his arms again.

"You don't have to carry me." She placed her head against his chest though.

He kissed the top of her head. "I don't mind." Upstairs he placed her on the bed and laid down on the other side. She snuggled close to him and placed her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice."

"Yeah it is."

"Maybe I should get sick more often."

"You're not serious about that."

"No I'm not, but it is nice to spend the afternoon in bed."

"I could think of some more fun ways to spend an afternoon in bed."

Lorelai smiled. "Why don't we ever do that?"

He raised his shoulders. "Because we hardly ever get an afternoon off at the same time, and when we do we're both too exhausted to even think about it?"

"I guess. Maybe when I feel better we can play hooky for one more day."

"Maybe." He placed a kiss on her forehead. "Let's focus on that now."

"What? Playing hooky?"

"No, on getting better."

She nodded and closed her eyes. Soon she was asleep.

Luke stayed in bed with Lorelai until he heard that Lucan was awake. He turned off the baby monitor and kissed Lorelai on her cheek. She opened her eyes. "Shhh go back to sleep."

She nodded and snuggled into her pillow, falling back asleep almost immediately.

Luke walked into Lucan's room and lifted the boy out of the bed. He decide to redress Lucan because he had a milk stain in his t-shirt and changed his diaper as well. Then he walked downstairs where he wrote a note for Lorelai, just in case. After that they went outside where Luke placed Lucan in his car seat.

"Mama."

"No, you're mommy's not coming. You and I are going to see your grandmother and mommy's sleeping because she's sick."

He looked at his father with wide eyes. "Gama?"

"Yeah, we're going to see grandma."

Lucan smiled happy and stared outside the window while Luke drove towards Hartford.

-xxxxxx-

"Hello Mr. Danes and young mr. Danes." Sophia opened the door.

"Hello Sophia." He looked down at Lucan. "Say hello."

The boy raised his shoulders shyly, which caused both Luke and Sophia to laugh.

"Please come in. Mrs. Gilmore is in the living room."

Luke stepped inside and followed Sophia into the living room.

"Mrs. Gilmore, there's someone here to see you."

Emily looked up, expecting to see Lorelai. "Luke." She sounded surprised. "I didn't expect you. Where's Lorelai?"

"She's sick so she asked if I could bring Lucan here. She was afraid you'd miss him."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Just a case of the flu. She's running a fever and throws up on occasion."

"Well, please sit down."

Luke did what he was told and put Lucan in his lap. But the boy didn't like to sit still so soon Luke put him on the floor. Lucan walked around the table to Emily. "Gama."

"Hello Lucan. How are you feeling today?"

He smiled. "Mama."

"You're mother is not feeling too well today according to your father."

He looked at her for a while, then started walking around the living room.

"So Emily, how did the radiotherapy went today?"

"It went fine. I spent more time in the waiting room than in the exam room. They positioned me on the table, then moved the machine a couple of times and I was outside again within five minutes."

Luke nodded. "It was the same for my father."

"They say you can get side-effects from the radiotherapy after a while. How was that for your father?"

"They gave him a very high dose at once becausegot the radiation therapy to ease his pain. But the pain became only worse for him, so he only went three times."

Emily nodded. "The situation was different, wasn't it."

"It was. My father had a very difficult type of cancer to treat and when they diagnosed him, they were already too late. At first we were still hopeful that they could help him, but nothing really worked. He went through surgery, he got chemo and radiation therapy. But nothing worked."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Now it was Luke's turn to nod. "He fought really hard, but in the end he just gave up. He changed a lot during those last months. He always was a strong man. He knew exactly what he wanted and he fought for everything. Of course he changed a lot after my mother passed away, but he really tried to make things as best as possible for me and my sister. He tried to take us to all the places my mother took us, only it wasn't the same. But even though we knew he was sad, he never showed us. And even when he was diagnosed with cancer he tried hard not to let me know how he really felt."

"It must have been hard on you."

"It was. And I wasted a lot of time with my father. It wasn't until the end that I started spending most of my time with him. I still regret that. That's why I'm so happy that Lorelai visits you so often now."

"I'm sure your father was a very good man."

"He was. He was a very good father, and a well respected man by the community. I'm sure you would have liked him if you had a chance to meet him."

"I'm sorry I was never able to meet your parents Luke."

"Me too. They would have loved to meet Lorelai, and to see our kids grow up. But unfortunately that never happened."

"Lorelai once told me you kept everything the same."

"I did. But slowly things are changing. Like the diner. I went without painting it for over ten years, but one day Lorelai convinced me to paint the diner. She ended up doing it by herself…" Lost in thoughts he remembered why that was. But he shook those thoughts away, knowing that was the past. "I lived above the diner for a long time. When my nephew moved in with me, I bought the building next to it so I could create some extra space to make him a room. The place was too small for us together."

"Jess." Emily remembered this boy. She didn't like him, but wisely didn't tell Luke.

"Yeah. He's a good kid. He really got himself together. He even wrote a book."

"He did?" This caught Emily's attention.

"Yeah. You should ask Rory about it."

"I will." They stared at each other for a few seconds. "But you know, I realized that it's good to move on. My father would have thought I was crazy if he knew I kept all those things the same all those years. And he would have been right. Lorelai let me see that change is good sometimes. And slowly everything is changing. There will be things I will always keep. Like the hardware store sign outside my diner, and pictures and some of my father's stuff, like his boat. But more to show Lucan and the twins so they can learn things about their grandparents."

"It's good to keep memories alive. I showed Lorelai pictures of my mother when she was younger. She loved looking at old pictures and hearing stories about the people on them. It was the only thing I could do to let her sit still."

Luke smiled as he tried to picture a young Lorelai with a big picture book in her lap and then when he pictured a little older Lucan doing the same thing.

"Luke?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're the man my daughter married. I know we had our differences over the years and that it was mostly my fault. But I'm glad things worked out the way they did. I'm happy to introduce you as my son in law and the father of my grandson and soon as the father of two of my other grandchildren. You're a great father and a good husband to my daughter."

Luke looked at Emily shyly. "I don't know what to say."

"Just accept my apologies for everything I did to you. I apologized to Lorelai many times, but I never personally apologized to you."

"That's okay. But thanks."

Emily nodded. Then they both turned to look at Lucan. He was sitting on the floor with an old stuffed bear in his lap.

Luke stood up and took the bear from him. "That one is grandma's. You're not allowed to play with it. There are toys for you in your bag. You know that."

Lucan turned to look at his grandmother, his eyes questioning. "Gama?" He pointed at the bear.

"It's okay Luke. Let him play with the bear."

Luke nodded, handed the bear to Lucan and walked back to the couch. "Was it yours or Richards?"

"Oh no. I bought it at an auction once."

"You don't have to let him play with it. I brought enough toys for him."

"It's okay. A bear is something you're supposed to play with. Lucan can have him if he wants to."

"Why don't you leave it here for him to play with, for when he comes over?"

"That would be nice." Emily looked at her grandson who was happily playing with the bear. "Did you and Lorelai talk about letting me baby sit once the twins are born?"

"We've talked about it briefly. We're not going to say yes or no just yet. We just have to see how things work out once the twins are born. It's very likely that we can't bring the kids to work every day, and we'd be more than happy to let you baby sit one or two days a week until they are old enough to go to school."

Emily nodded, happy to hear that they were seriously considering to let her baby sit. "Just let me know when you decide."

"We will." He looked at his watch. "If you don't mind I'm going home now. I send Lorelai to bed before I left, but I'm sure she'll wake up soon and I want to be home when she does. I want to try and get her to eat something."

"When Lorelai was a kid I always made her toast with squazed bananas when she was sick. It wasn't until a few years ago when I found out how disgusting that is." She smiled at the memory.

"A few years ago?"

Emily nodded. "It was the night Rory went to the Chilton formal. I went there to see her getting ready for the dance and to make some pictures. When I came there I found out Lorelai went through her back and couldn't walk so I decided to stay and take care of her. I made her the toast with the bananas, just like I did when she was a kid. She tasted it and said it was disgusting so I had to taste it myself. She was right." Emily left out the part where she fell asleep and woke up only to find out Rory hadn't come home, and the fight she and Lorelai had after that. But from the look on Luke's face, she knew that he knew that part of the story.

"I'll make sure not to make her any toast with squazed bananas then. How about some chicken soup? That's what my mother made for me when I was sick. It always seemed to help."

"That sounds much better."

-xxxxxx-

Lucan had fallen asleep in the car, so Luke placed him in the playpen after which he went upstairs to check on Lorelai. She was watching TV when he entered their bedroom.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better. The nap really helped."

"I told you it would." He sat down on the bed next to her and placed the palm of his hand on her forehead. "You're still a little bit warm, but not as hot as this morning."

"I didn't feel hot at all." She smiled devilish.

He shook his head and kissed her. "You're definitely feeling better, I can see that."

She nodded. "How was my mother?"

"She was doing okay. She said that the time in the waiting room was longer than the time she spend in the treatment room."

"So, it didn't hurt or anything?"

"No, you don't feel anything. And the side-effects won't come until after a few times."

She nodded again. "You stayed away long."

"I had a good time. We talked about my father and she apologized to me about the way she behaved when we first started dating. She said she apologized to you many times but that she never said it to me personally. She also said that she's happy that you married me."

"I'm happy about that too." She kissed him again. "So, what else did you talk about?"

"About the only way your mother got you to sit still as a child. And about her possibly baby sitting a few days once the twins are born."

"So how did she got me to sit still?"

"By showing you pictures of her mother and herself when she was younger and telling you stories."

Lorelai smiled, remembering this. "It's been a long time since I saw those. I guess I'll have to ask her about them when I see her again."

"You should. I'm sure she'd be happy to show them to you again."

Lorelai nodded. "Where's Lucan?"

"He fell asleep in the car. I placed him in the playpen downstairs. I think I'm going downstairs to make us some dinner and wake him up after that, otherwise he doesn't want to go to bed later."

"You better. Can I come downstairs with you? I'm tired of being in bed."

"Of course." He helped her up and let her stand on her feet for a few seconds. "No dizziness?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"Good." He took her hand and together they went downstairs.

T.B.C.