About a week later, Rory and Lorelai were sitting on the couch watching TV when there was a knock at the door.

"Are you expecting someone?" Lorelai asked Rory. Luke was at the diner.

"Just go answer the door." Rory said with a knowing smile.

Lorelai could tell that Rory obviously knew something. She raised her eyebrows at Rory before got up and walked over to the door.

She opened the front door and she gasped when she saw the person standing there.

"Mia?"

Mia grinned. "Surprised to see me?"

"Um yes, pleasantly surprised," Lorelai reached out and gently guided Mia inside.

Mia followed Lorelai into the living room.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit?" Lorelai asked. She felt guilty for not telling Mia about her diagnosis. But she knew it would be hard to tell her over the phone.

"Actually, I called Mia last week." Rory said as she stood up. She walked over to Mia and gave her a quick hug.

Lorelai realized she hadn't hugged Mia yet, so she gives her a quick hug too which Mia returned.

"Rory wanted to surprise you. We planned my visit together." Mia said as she smiled at the girls.

Lorelai smiled. She looked between Rory and Mia. "Well I'm glad you're here. I have something to tell you."

Mia nodded. "Rory mentioned that."

Lorelai glanced between Rory and Mia. "What did she tell you?"

Rory spoke up: "I just told her that you're not doing well, that you needed it would be good for Mia to visit."

Lorelai nodded. She and Mia sat on the couch. Rory sat in a chair.

Mia looked at Lorelai, a brooding expression on her face.

Lorelai took a deep breath. "Okay, I might as well come out and say it." She kept her eyes on Mia. "I have breast cancer."

Mia stared at Lorelai. She took a few seconds to react to the news. "Oh my… I." She stopped.

"It's not what you were expecting, is it?" Lorelai said with a sad smile.

Mia's eyes were shiny. "No. I'm not sure what to say."

"Well, I'm receiving treatment and everyone has been very loving and supportive." Lorelai's voice cracked a little. "Thank you for coming Mia."

"Of course, honey. I could tell Rory was distressed about something. I knew I had to come. Are you… handling everything okay?" Mia cringed like she regretted asking that.

Lorelai smiled. "I'm doing the best I can. Like I said, everyone has been really loving and supportive. I don't think I could go through this without them." She wiped at the corner of her eye as she felt a tear escape.

Mia reached out and touched Lorelai's knee. "You have many people that love you. You can get through this, I know you can." She patted Lorelai's hand. "You let me know if you need me for anything. Anything at all"

"I know." Lorelai replied simply.

Mia gave Lorelai a sympathetic smile then turned to Rory. "Are you handling this okay?"

Rory let out a breath. "I'm okay. Like Mom said, we have a great support system." She gave Mia a small smile. "I'm glad you came too."

Mia smiled back. They sat in the living room and spent some time catching up. Luke walked in the door about an hour later. When he saw Mia, he grinned.

"Mia. I didn't know you were coming to visit." He said

Mia stood up and Luke walked over to her. Luke gave her a hug.

"My visit was a surprise for Lorelai actually. I thought Rory would have told you about it." Mia told him.

Luke looked at Rory. Rory smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I didn't tell you Luke."

"It's all right." Luke replied with a small smile on his face.

"So Lucas, Lorelai tells me you've moved in?" Mia asked.

Luke's face turned a bit red. "Uh yeah, I moved in a few weeks ago…" He didn't meet Mia's eyes. "I'm sure Lorelai's told you about um-"

Mia cut him off. "Yes. I know." She said seriously.

Luke nodded slowly. Lorelai got up suddenly and walked up to Luke. Luke frowned at her until she gave him a quick kiss.

"Didn't get my hello kiss," Lorelai said with a grin.

Luke smiled at her.

"Lucas, why don't we catch up while Lorelai and Rory get some rest?" Mia suggested.

"But-"Lorelai started to protest.

Mia looked at her warily. "You told me you were exhausted, both of you need rest." She gave Rory a pointed look.

"She's right Mom, we both need sleep." Rory conceded.

Lorelai looked disappointed, but she gave Mia another hug. "I know you're just looking out for me and I love you for it." She said quietly.

Mia just smiled at her. Rory gave her a hug too. "See you tomorrow."

Lorelai and Rory left the room.

Luke sat next to Mia.

"Lorelai told me that you've stayed by her side through all of this." Mia said, sounding amazed.

"Of course I have." Luke said matter-of-factly.

Mia smiled. "I didn't expect anything less." He smile fell. "It's just that I saw how your father's cancer affected you. I'm just worried about you."

Luke looked down. "Yeah, it's not easy to see Lorelai like that. It does bring back awful memories of my dad, but Lorelai needs me. I won't leave her." He said solemnly.

Mia nodded slowly. "I'm happy that she has someone like you to be there for her at a time like this. But if you ever need someone to talk to Lucas, I'm here for you."

Luke pressed his lips together, "I know." He said gently.

Mia stayed in town for the next couple days. On the night after Lorelai received her next treatment, she couldn't get to sleep. Luke was fast asleep next to her and she watched him sleep with a smile on her face. She gently touched his cheek. How did I get so lucky to have him in my life? She asked herself. He was the man she could picture spending the rest of her life with she realized. She probably realized that before, but the current situation made her see that she had never loved any man the way she loved him.

Just as Lorelai moved to get out of the bed, Luke stirred suddenly. He jolted awake and sat up in bed. He gasped. Lorelai saw sweat on his brow.

"Luke?"

Luke didn't seem to hear her. He seemed lost.

"Honey? Are you all right?" Lorelai implored.

Luke slowly turned to face her. "Oh um, I just had a little nightmare. Go back to sleep. I'm fine." He said quickly.

"Actually I wasn't sleeping." Lorelai admitted. She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. "Tell me about it."

Luke looked away. "It was nothing. Don't worry. Let's just go to sleep okay?" He pulled away and started to move to lie down.

Lorelai put a hand on his arm. "It was not nothing, you're sweating and you gasped. Please, tell me Luke." She pleaded, her brow furrowed.

Luke saw the concerned look on her face and sighed. "Okay." He gazed at her. "In my nightmare, you… you died." His voice cracked on the last word.

"Oh Luke," Lorelai said softly. She didn't know what to say to try to comfort him.

Luke let out a shaky breath. Lorelai moved closer to him and kissed all over his face. She didn't know what else to so.

Luke pulled away and got out of bed. Lorelai was hurt. She squinted in the dark, watched his figure move to her side of the bed. He turned on the lamp that was on her nightstand.

He reached out to her. She got up quickly. Lorelai stood in front of him, waited for him to say or do something. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into him.

Lorelai let out a sigh. She put a hand on the back of his head, pulled his face down to her shoulder. He pressed his face into her.

"Oh hon." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"What are you apologizing for? You can't always be the strong one." She replied.

"But I'm supposed to be strong… for you." He said gruffly.

"Shh. It's okay." She said simply. She didn't want him to feel like he couldn't break down or be vulnerable in front of her.

She rubbed his back. Luke made a noise that was muffled as his face was pressed into Lorelai's shoulder.

Lorelai could tell that he was crying. She kept rubbing his back as she whispered. "Shh"

They held each other for a while before they finally went back to bed. They shared a few tender kisses before they fell asleep.

The next two weeks flew. Luke had to help Caesar in the diner, so Rory drove Lorelai to the hospital for a scheduled treatment. She was now receiving treatment in a bay with other patients. She had gotten to know a couple patients last treatment, but there were different patients there this time.

There was a young girl also receiving chemo who kept looking at Lorelai. Lorelai smiled at her. The girl looked away. Lorelai watched as the woman next to her, who Lorelai assumed to be her mother, whispered something in her ear. The girl nodded.

"I like your earrings." She told Lorelai with a tiny smile.

Lorelai grinned. She was wearing the earrings that Luke had given her at the Firelight Festival. "Thank you. I like your T-shirt."

The girl grinned back. Her shirt had the word 'warrior' printed across it. "Thank you."

"I'm Debra and this is my daughter Lexi." The woman introduced herself and the girl.

Lorelai smiled. "I'm Lorelai and this is my daughter, Rory."

Rory smiled. "Hi."

"Actually her name's Lorelai too, but that's a long story. How old are you?" Lorelai said.

"Thirteen. I got diagnosed with leukemia when I was twelve and I was in remission for a while, but my cancer came back so here I am." Lexi told her.

Lorelai was shocked that Lexi had told her about her cancer. She was shocked that someone so young could talk so openly about cancer. Lexi didn't seem upset or scared.

"She's a little trooper." Debra said as she patted Lexi's hand.

"I can tell. I think she's braver than I am. I'm new to this whole thing and it's a little scary for me." Lorelai said slowly.

"I was scared at first too, but the doctors helped me and I was really sick for a while but I got better. I'm sick again, but I believe I'll get better again. You will too." Lexi said quickly. She smiled at Lorelai again.

Lorelai was amazed at how positive she was. She was inspired by her courage. "Thank you for saying that honey, it really means a lot."

They chatted some more. Lexi noticed that Rory had a book and that got her talking. She was also a reader and Rory recommend some books to her that she enjoyed at her age.

A little while after Lexi and Debra left, Lorelai and Rory saw Sookie walking towards them. She looked relieved when she saw them.

"There you two are. I was directed here but I got lost on the way and I was panicking and." She took a breath.

"Woah, Sookie relax. You found us. Everything's okay now." Lorelai said calmly.

Sookie took a seat next to Rory. She glanced at Lorelai and Lorelai saw her swallow. She looked nervous.

"Wow. I… this is weird seeing you like this… I mean not weird just different. I haven't come seen you here and I feel like an awful friend and…" Sookie trailed off as she saw Lorelai smile.

"It's okay, Sook, really, don't worry about it." Lorelai said sincerely.

Sookie nodded. "I actually came because of a work thing, sorry." Lorelai had gone to work on the days when she felt okay. They were starting to become few and far between. "I just need you to sign something, is that okay?" Sookie reached into her purse. She looked up at Lorelai before she pulled a folder out of her bag.

"That's fine Sookie." Lorelai felt bad that she couldn't be at work. Even though she knew it couldn't be helped, she hated that Sookie, Michel and the staff had to take on extra work due to her absence.

Sookie took a couple sheets of paper out of the folder and Lorelai quickly signed them.

"I'm sorry. Here you are, receiving chemo and I come rushing in asking you to sign papers." Sookie gasped. "I didn't even ask how you are. I am terrible."

A few of the patients glanced at Sookie. She was a little loud.

"Sookie it's fine, really. It needed to be done. And I'm fine, but you seem to be stressed out. Are you okay honey?" Lorelai answered.

Sookie's brow furrowed. "I'm all right. A little stressed out but I can handle it. All that matters is that you get better." She gently touched Lorelai's arm.

Lorelai smiled a bit hesitantly. She didn't know what to say.

The girls chatted with Sookie. Lorelai was touched when Sookie told her that Michel admitted that he missed her. They also talked about Jackson and Davey and Martha. Sookie left as Lorelai was starting to fall asleep.

A couple hours later, Lorelai finished treatment. When she stood up, Rory gasped.

"What is it?" Lorelai asked, alarmed.

Rory pointed to the chair. Lorelai saw that there was a clump of her hair on it.

"Oh," She whispered.

Rory looked at Lorelai, a concerned expression on her face.

Lorelai met Rory's eyes. "Well I guess it had to happen sometime." She murmured.

Rory looked at her mother. She wasn't sure how Lorelai was going to react.

Lorelai started walking out of the room. Rory had to walk fast to catch up with her.

"I guess we'll have to get an electric razor." Lorelai said on the drive home.

Rory didn't say anything, she just nodded.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" Rory asked as she held the razor up. They were standing in front of the bathroom mirror.

"Yes." Lorelai said simply.

"But Luke's not here to uh… see." Rory said a bit awkwardly.

"Oh yeah, you're right." Lorelai said slowly. Luke had left a message saying he'd be home late.

"Don't you think he'd like to be here for this?" Rory asked.

"He'll miss my hair, I know. He likes to play with it sometimes." Lorelai smiled sadly.

Rory didn't say anything. Her eyes met Lorelai's in the mirror.

"How about you just take a picture of me so we can remember what my hair looked like?"

"Um okay, but you could just wait until Luke comes home to shave your head…" Rory replied.

"No. I just want to get it over with. It's falling out in clumps and it will take a long time. It's better to just get it over with. I've read about people's stories online. They did the same thing." Lorelai told her.

"Okay." Rory said simply. She put down the razor and left to get a camera.

When she came back, she took a picture of Lorelai. Lorelai grinned for the camera. She didn't know how she'd feel after her hair was gone. She wanted to smile, for Luke.

They didn't say a word as Rory cut and shaved off Lorelai's hair. Once it was all off, Lorelai whispered, "Should I look in the mirror?"

"Yeah," Rory whispered back.

Lorelai brought her head up and looked in the mirror. She gasped softly. She definitely looked different. It would take some getting used to.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Rory asked gently.

Lorelai felt tears prick her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.

"I'll be okay." She whispered. She picked up the pink wool hat that was sitting on the counter. She slowly put it on. Lorelai looked at herself in the mirror again.

The room was silent for a minute. Lorelai turned and walked out of the bathroom. Rory followed her.

Rory stopped Lorelai by putting a hand on her arm. Lorelai looked at her. Rory pulled her into a hug. Lorelai giggled.

"Love you Mom."

Lorelai pulled back a little and kissed Rory's forehead. "Love you too kid."

Luke returned home a couple hours later. He didn't see Lorelai or Rory in the living room or the kitchen. He almost called out for them until he saw a note on the kitchen table. It said: "I'm upstairs." XO –Lorelai

Luke headed upstairs. He found Lorelai in the bedroom. She was on the bed with the lights off. He tiptoed in.

"Hey. Don't turn the lights on I have a surprise for you… you might freak out."

Luke almost jumped. He thought she was asleep. "Um okay," He said. Lorelai sat up and turned the bedside light on.

Luke glanced at her. He noticed that she was wearing a hat. He frowned.

"Okay, so my hair started falling out today." Lorelai took a deep breath. "So I asked Rory to shave my head."

Before Luke could say anything, Lorelai took the hat off. Luke started at her.

"Well? What do you think? I'm sorry I did it when you weren't here." Lorelai said in a low voice.

"Wow." Luke breathed.

Author's note: Little cliff hanger there hehe. Shout-out to the reviewer (Chloe) who said she would love to see Mia in the story, I never really thought about bringing her in before since she doesn't live in Stars Hollow. But I know she is important to the girls and Luke so I decided to include her. Thanks for reading, following, reviewing and favouriting this story. Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter.