After two days had passed and Rory hadn't called Logan back, he had decided to go visit her. Luke and Rory were eating breakfast while Lorelai slept when there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Rory told Luke. She got up and walked to the door.

She opened the door and saw Logan standing there.

"Oh, Logan, hi,"

"Hey, can we talk? You never called me back." Logan replied.

"Oh, yeah sorry about that… things have kind of been crazy. Come on in, we can go to my room." Rory said slowly.

Logan followed her inside when they went through the kitchen, Rory told Luke:

"Uh, Logan and I are going to talk in my room."

Luke stared at Logan for a few seconds. There was a bit of tension in the room. "Okay, I was just about to head to the diner to make sure Caesar handled the deliveries okay. Tell your mom she can call me if she needs anything."

Rory just nodded and she and Logan went into her bedroom. Rory shut the door behind her. Luke got up and left the house.

Logan sat on the edge of Rory's bed. "We need to talk about what happened at your internship. My father said some things t-"

Rory interrupted him: "What did he say?" She asked angrily.

"I was getting to that." Logan glowered at her. "He said that you weren't cut out for the job, that you don't have enough drive or whatever. And I just couldn't believe it, I mean I know you're passionate about becoming a journalist and I know you're smart and a hard worker, so I just couldn't believe that he could think that lowly of you." Logan's brow furrowed as he stared at Rory, waiting for a response.

Rory bit her lip. "Well, he did say that to me. He told me that I don't have 'it', that in the real world it's not good enough to just do what's asked of you…" She sighed.

"And you listened to him?" Logan asked.

"Yes, I did." Rory whispered hoarsely. She looked down. "What if he was right…? I mean he's a professional, he should know what he's saying."

Logan stood up and shook his head. He started pacing around the room. "Rory… my father is a bully! He doesn't care what people think and he doesn't care if he hurts them… he just says what's on his mind, what he thinks is right." He told her, raising his voice.

Rory reached out and stopped him from pacing. "Logan, please. What if he is right, maybe I'm not cut out to be a journalist." She looks him in the eye.

"Rory, no, come on you can't change your dream just because one person thinks you can't do it… especially if that person is my father." Logan scoffed.

Rory sighed deeply and walked over to sit on her bed. "Well, I'm sorry Logan… but he could be right. I just want to forget about this for now. I want to focus on my mom. She needs me right now."

Logan walked over and sat next to her. "Ace," He said gently. She looked at him.
"That's fine, I understand that you want to focus on your mom, but you still should have told me what happened with my father. He shouldn't get away with treating you like that."

"But I don't want it to become a big thing between you and him, so please just forget about it for now." Rory replied.

Logan sighed. "Fine, but don't go making any rash decisions because of what he said."

"Okay." Rory said quietly.

Logan stood up. "I have to get going. My dad said he wants me to graduate this coming year. He said he wants me to start attending shareholder meetings and things like that." He groaned.

Rory stood up. "Oh, well try not to sound so excited." She joked.

Logan frowned. "Just call me if you need to talk or anything okay?" He said quickly.

"Um okay, bye," She leaned in for a kiss.

Logan pecked her lips then quickly left the room.

Rory lied down on her bed and pressed her face into a pillow. She felt like everything was starting to fall apart.

The next day, Lorelai decided she wanted to attend the town meeting and tell them about her cancer. Luke asked if she was sure and she told him she was. She even went into the Soda Shoppe and told Taylor that she would like to announce something at the meeting. Taylor was curious and told her that that wasn't usually allowed, but she told him that what she needed to say was important, so he gave in.

Lorelai waited until the end of the meeting to stand up in front of the town.

She looked out at all the familiar faces and tensed up. She decided to start with a joke to defuse the tension and ease her nerves.

"Um, I have to tell you something important, but I'm going to start off with a joke to make this easier."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Luke's face. He knew that it was easier for her to do it this way.

"Uh, what does a skeleton order at a restaurant?" Lorelai asked.

The room was silent. Everybody looked worried.

"Spare ribs!" Lorelai laughed nervously. Only one person laughed. "Sorry that wasn't funny was it?"

Miss Patty, who was in the front row, gave Lorelai a sympathetic smile. "Just tell us what you want to tell us, honey, we'll understand."

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay. I have breast cancer and I started treatment a couple of days ago."

The room was silent again. A minute passed before Miss Patty spoke again,

"Oh honey that's awful…I don't know what to say."

Taylor stood up and walked over to Lorelai. "Why did you announce this at the meeting?" He whispered so only Lorelai could hear.

"Because I wanted to tell everyone at once, I didn't want it to spread around town… I wanted people to hear it from me without thinking it was a rumor." Lorelai said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Well if you ever need anything, you let me know sugar." Babette piped up.

"You can talk to me too, Lorelai." Miss Patty said.

"Me too," Lulu said quietly.

Other town members started to show their support too. Lorelai was overwhelmed by their reaction. She started to tear up. Since she had arrived and had gotten to know everyone, she had truly felt at home in Stars Hollow. The people could be a little wacky sometimes, but they were also kind and caring. She knew they'd have her back no matter what.

Luke got up and went to stand next to Lorelai. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You all right?" He asked.

"I'm fine, just a little overwhelmed by everyone's reaction." She told Luke, tears making her eyes look shiny.

Luke just pulled her to his side and pressed a quick kiss to her temple.

A number of people came up to Lorelai and showed their support. They offered her hugs and she was so grateful to have friends and neighbours like them. She and Rory both thanked them. Taylor apologized for what he said earlier and offered to start a fundraiser for the cost of her treatment. Lorelai told him that Emily and Richard would be handling the cost of treatment.

A couple days later, a few side effects of the chemo hit Lorelai. She experienced nausea and some fatigue. The nausea led to an occurrence of vomiting which Luke was there to hold her hair back. As recommended by the nurse, Luke picked up some prescribed anti-sickness medication which helped. Both Luke and Rory joked that they were surprised Lorelai experienced the sickness since she had an iron stomach. That made Lorelai smile.

A few days before her next scheduled treatment, Lorelai went to Friday night dinner. Luke and Rory also came. Over drinks, (Lorelai opted to have just water) they discussed Lorelai's treatment a bit, but they also talked to Luke about how the diner was doing. Richard even offered to franchise the diner again, which Luke politely declined.

"How's Logan doing, Rory?" Emily asked

"Hmm?" Rory seemed to be lost in thought.

"Logan, how is he?"

"Oh, he's fine. His dad's keeping him busy this summer." Rory told her.

"That's nice. Is he graduating from Yale this coming year?"

"I think so." Rory replied vaguely.

Emily nodded. "And how about your friend from Yale… Paris?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen her since school finished. Why are you asking about them?"

"Oh, your grandfather and I were just wondering if you had anyone to talk to beside us… we'll be here for you if you need us of course. I just thought you may not always want to talk to us or we might not always be able to." Emily divulged.

Rory's eyes softened. "I know Grandma. Don't worry, Mom and I both have a great support system and that includes you and Grandpa." She smiled softly.

Lorelai also offered Emily and Richard a smile.

"That's nice to know." Emily admitted.

"And you're handling everything okay so far Rory?" Richard asked a bit hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You know… it's hard to see Mom go through this." She glanced at Lorelai who gave her a sympathetic smile. "But, everything's going to be okay, I know it."

Richard nodded. "Your mother is a strong woman." He looked at Lorelai. "I know you can get through this Lorelai." He said sincerely.

Lorelai was touched, "Thanks Dad."

Richard gave her a gentle smile.

"He's right." Emily said. "Your strength is one of your greatest qualities, Lorelai."

"I agree." Luke chimed in.

Rory also agreed. She nodded.

After dinner, Emily pulled Lorelai aside and asked to talk to her. They went into Richard's study.

"Luke and Rory were there when you received treatment, right?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai confirmed.

"How would you feel if… may I come see you when you have your next treatment?"

Lorelai was a little shocked. She didn't think Emily would be interested in seeing her receive chemo.

"Well, I don't know Mom… it's not exactly a fun thing to see."

Emily frowned. "I know that Lorelai. I just… would like to be there."

Lorelai could tell that Emily just wanted to show that she cared.

"Okay, Mom you can come." She told her the date of her next scheduled treatment.

"Thank you." Emily said simply.

"No Mom, thank you." Lorelai said sincerely.

Later on that night, Luke and Lorelai watched TV in bed. Luke didn't really pay attention, as he didn't really have an interest in the show Lorelai was watching. Lorelai absently played with his hand while she watched.

"Hey, have I ever told you how happy I am to have you here every night?" She asked.

"No, I don't think so but it's nice to hear." Luke smiled.

"So it looks like my Mom is going to show up at my next treatment." She told him.

"Hmm, when you were talking to her, your dad asked me what it was like to watch you receive treatment… he said he couldn't imagine having to watch your Mom go through that."

"What did you tell him?" Lorelai asked slowly.

"That it was hard to watch you of course… but also that I would never leave you."

Lorelai smiled as she felt tears well up her eye. She reached out and touched his cheek. "What did my dad say?" She asked gently.

"He actually said that he was glad that you have me in your life… I was a little surprised to be honest. And he said he might want to visit you in the hospital too…" He replied.

Lorelai couldn't help but smile. "My parents aren't actually so bad, are they?" She didn't know how else to say it. She really was amazed by the love and support Emily and Richard were showing her.

Luke nodded and smiled back. He yawned and blinked.

"Ready for bed?" Lorelai asked with a small smile.

"If you are,"

Lorelai nodded and turned off the TV. She moved in the bed to get comfortable then stopped. She turned to face Luke.

"Kiss." She requested.

He gave her a quick, sweet kiss.

She lied down close to him, facing him. He lied down too.

"'Night," He said gently.

'Night," She said back as she closed her eyes.

Author's note: Thank you for all the nice reviews, I really appreciate them. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this chapter.