On the day of Lorelai's next chemo treatment, Emily kept her word and visited Lorelai in the hospital. She showed up when Lorelai was about half an hour into receiving the treatment.

"How are you feeling, Lorelai?" She asked as she walked in the room.

"Fine, Mom thanks for asking." Lorelai responded with a small smile.

Rory was sitting next to Lorelai's chair. Luke was in the chair that was a few feet away.

Emily took a seat next to Luke. "Are the nurses treating you right?" She asked, sounding concerned.

Lorelai nodded. "They've been great, so has my oncologist. Maybe you could meet her sometime."

Emily nodded. "Your father wanted to come too, but he had to leave town for a business trip unfortunately."

Lorelai smiled. "That's all right. I'm happy that you're here."

Emily gave her a small smile in return.

The room went silent for about a minute until Luke's cell phone started ringing.

He cursed. "I forgot to turn it off, sorry." He looked at the phone. "It's Caesar. I'll go answer it." He got up and quickly left the room.

"Rory, you look exhausted." Emily pointed out.

Lorelai glanced at Rory and noticed that she did look tired.

"Oh um, I'm fine Grandma. I just didn't get enough sleep last night." Rory murmured.

Lorelai bit her lip and looked down. She knew it was wrong to feel guilty, but she felt like she was the reason that Rory was losing sleep.

"Well, we could go to the cafeteria to get you something to eat." Emily offered.

"I already had breakfast before we came here. I'm not really hungry." Rory answered.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you had breakfast hours ago. You need to eat…" Emily rationalized.

Rory glanced at Lorelai, who gave an encouraging nod.

"All right, as long as Mom is okay with being left alone." Rory said, looking at Lorelai again.

"It's fine with me hon, don't worry. I'm sure Luke will be back soon anyway." Lorelai told her.

Rory nodded slowly and Emily stood up and walked over to the door. She waited until Rory walked over and they left the room together.

Once they were out of the room with the door shut behind them, Rory announced:

"I have to go make a phone call. Luke's call reminded me."

"What? You told me you were coming to the cafeteria." Emily interjected.

"I know I'm sorry. I promise I'll meet you there when I'm done." Rory replied. She started to walk away.

"Rory!" Emily raised her voice, but Rory didn't stop walking.

Emily shook her head and headed to the cafeteria alone.

About five minutes after Emily and Rory left, Luke returned to Lorelai's room. He stepped inside and looked around.

"Where did Rory and your Mom go?" He asked.

"The cafeteria. They're having lunch." Lorelai told him.

Luke nodded. He sighed.

"What's wrong honey?" Lorelai asked.

"Well Caesar just told me that he's having a hard time handling the lunch rush. Lane just left for her band's tour and my other employees are either out of town or sick. There's only one cook and Caesar there right now… I think I'm gonna have to go help them."

Lorelai nodded. "That's okay. There isn't much to do here."

Luke's eyes met hers. "You'll be okay without me… I mean uh-"

Lorelai interrupted him, "I'll be fine, Luke. Don't worry. I've got Rory and my mom to keep me company."

Luke started at her for a few seconds before he answered. He was trying to read her expression, but it was unreadable.

"Okay, as long as you're sure you'll be all right."

"Yes, I'm sure. I've got my call button in case I need a nurse." She held up the button.

Luke nodded. "Okay I'll see you later. I should be back on time to take you home." He bent down and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

Lorelai gave him a soft smile before he turned around and walked out of the room.

Rory arrived in the cafeteria twenty minutes after Emily did.

"Who were you calling, Logan?" Emily asked as Rory took the seat across the table.

"Yeah. I just wanted to catch up with him." Rory picked up the coffee cup in front of her and took a sip. There was also a sandwich on the table.

"And how is he?"

"Fine." Rory said quickly.

Emily decided to not to press her. "I got you a BLT. I hope that's all right."

"It's fine." Rory offered her a smile and picked up the sandwich.

Emily had already finished eating, so she just sipped her coffee while Rory ate.

When Rory had finished eating, Emily spoke: "I… it was very hard to see your mother like that. I still can't believe she's going through this." She said bluntly.

Rory took a breath before she spoke. "Yeah, it's still surreal to me too… to everyone. I was here when she had her first treatment, but it hasn't gotten easier… it's still hard to see her like that."

Emily nodded. "I forgot to ask her, does your father know about this?"

"Yeah. He came over and she told him."

"And how did he react?"

"I wasn't at the house when he was there, but she told me he had a normal reaction… he was shocked and he offered his support." Rory said slowly.

"Hmm, and you didn't see him at all while he was in town?" Emily asked with a frown.

"No. I was at Lane's and around the town that day. He didn't come find me I guess." She shrugged.

Emily looked appalled. "Well, that's not right. He should be there to support you. He should offer you his time…"

Rory sighed. "He knows my number… I don't know, I think maybe he sees that Mom has Luke and he knows she doesn't really need him."

"That's ridiculous!" Emily exclaimed.

"Grandma!" Rory whispered loudly, becoming aware that people were staring at them.

"Well I'm sorry Rory, but he's your father and he should be there for you at a time like this. Family should stick together when they need each other." Emily's brow furrowed.

"I agree, but in a way, I don't need him. I have Luke, and you and Grandpa and Lane and Logan and so many others. Dad will show up or call if he wants to. I can't tell him what to do." Rory replied in a low voice.

Emily pressed her lips together. "You really don't need him?" She sounded amazed.

Rory took a few seconds to respond. "No. Over the years, he's proven to be unreliable. Yes, I love him… he's my dad. But I feel perfectly fine without him here. I have a good support system."

Emily looked displeased and Rory expected her to protest. "All right, I mean as long as you're okay with that." Emily muttered.

Rory just nodded. She stood up. "We'd better get back to Mom."

Emily agreed. She followed Rory out of the cafeteria.

When Rory and Emily returned to Lorelai's room, they found her asleep. Emily took the seat next to Lorelai. Rory took the seat Luke was sitting in before.

"Did she sleep last time?" Emily asked, sounding a bit surprised.

Yeah, it's normal." Rory told her.

They sat in silence for a bit. Neither of them knew what to say and they didn't want to wake Lorelai.

Emily reached out and pushed a bit of hair off Lorelai's face. Rory smiled at the gesture.

Luke returned to the hospital a couple hours later. Lorelai was getting ready to head home when he walked into her room.

"Hey handsome," She smiled at him.

Rory was still there. Emily had left.

"Hey." Luke smiled back. He was amazed that she could smile after what she had just experienced. "Did your mom go home?"

"Yeah, she had to get back to Hartford. Some D.A.R business or something she had to attend to." Rory informed him.

Luke nodded. "Ready to go?" He asked them both.

They both nodded. They all left the hospital.

At home, the three of them ate dinner together and watched a movie. Lorelai feel asleep on the couch before the movie ended.

"I'm going to head to bed." Rory told Luke when the movie ended.

It was only 9:00, but Luke didn't ask why Rory was going to bed early.

"Okay. 'Night," He said.

"'Night," Rory responded and she left the room.

Luke stood in front of the couch and looked down at Lorelai. He debated whether or not he should wake her. He bent down and touched her cheek gently. He was used to falling asleep at least an hour before she did, so this was something new for him. He decided to carry her upstairs to bed. He figured she would be more comfortable there.

He put one arm under her legs and the other under her shoulders. He lifted her with little effort. As he carried her up the stairs, she stirred a bit, pressed her face into his chest. She was still asleep, but she seemed to be aware of his presence somehow.

Luke carried her all the way to the bed and placed her on the bed. He quickly brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. He pulled the covers over Lorelai and got in the bed next to her. He turned off the light and settled in the bed. He fell asleep fast that night.

Author's note: Thank you for reading. I'm a little amazed at how many followers this story has to be honest. Please feel free to leave a review. Thanks again.