"Wow." Luke breathed.
Lorelai grimaced. "You hate it don't you? It looks awful." She looked away from him.
"No. I just… why did you do it when I wasn't here?" Luke asked calmly.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to get it over with… it wasn't a well-thought out decision. You hate it don't you?" Lorelai replied.
Luke shook his head. He walked over to her. "I said no, I don't hate it. It's just going to take time to get used to."
Lorelai got up out of bed and stood in front of him. "I should have waited until you got home. You didn't get to um say goodbye to my hair." She whispered.
Luke frowned. He turned around and walked to the bathroom. Lorelai didn't know what he was doing, but she followed him.
Luke stood in the doorway of the bathroom. He was looking at the floor. Lorelai followed his gaze.
"Oh." She whispered. Her hair was still on the bathroom floor. She didn't sweep it up yet. She watched as Luke stepped inside the room and bended down to the floor. He stood up a second later. His fist was clenched.
He stood in front of Lorelai and held out his hand. A piece of her hair was in his hand.
"Oh, Luke," She said gently. It was obvious that he wanted to keep a piece of her hair.
Luke just nodded.
"Rory took a picture of me… before she cut my hair. I didn't think you'd want to keep any of my hair. I didn't think at all before I did this I'm sorry." She stammered.
"It's okay." He said quickly. She stepped aside. He walked back into the bedroom. "It's not like you did it to hurt me. I'm okay, really Lorelai. I knew this day was coming."
Lorelai walked over to him, watched as he placed the hair on his nightstand. He started unbuttoning his flannel. "Did you and Rory eat?" He asked.
"Um yeah, we ordered Chinese." Lorelai replied. She was a little shocked by the fact that he had seemed so nonchalant about her hair. "Um you're not mad at me then?"
He looked at her. "No. I mean, I would have liked to be here when you did it, but I understand that you just wanted to get it over with. I'm fine. Did everything go okay at the hospital?"
Lorelai gave him a small, appreciative smile. "Yeah everything was fine. Sookie was there for a little while and I met this thirteen year old girl who was way braver than I am." She smiled again. "I missed you though." She admitted.
Luke had changed out of his flannel and jeans and into a t-shirt and sweatpants. "I missed you too." He said gently. He walked back over to her.
She put her hand on the side of his face and leaned in to kiss his cheek and the spot below his ear.
When she pulled back, he said: "I'm gonna go get ready for bed, okay?"
She nodded. He went back to the bathroom.
Luke returned to the bedroom to find Lorelai in the bed. He got in his side and turned to face her. "Hey" He whispered to get her attention.
Lorelai turned her head to face him. He leaned in and kissed her gently. "Goodnight. Love you." He said.
"I love you too. Goodnight babe." She pecked his lips. She turned off the lamp and lied down. Luke reached for her and she automatically moved closer to him. She draped her arm across his torso and his arm came around her shoulders. They fell asleep in that position.
When Luke opened his eyes in the morning, he immediately noticed that Lorelai wasn't next to him. He heard a noise coming from the bathroom so he got up and walked over to it.
He found Lorelai standing in front of the sink, looking at herself in the mirror. She turned when she heard him step inside the room.
"I look like an alien." She deadpanned.
"You do not look like an alien. " He told her. She was looking in the mirror again, frowning. He stepped behind her and wrapped one arm around waist, pulled her against him.
Lorelai couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She loved when he was affectionate. And she loved that he was trying to cheer her up.
When she brought her gaze back to the mirror, her smile was replaced by a frown. I don't feel pretty anymore. She couldn't say in out loud and if she did, she knew Luke would protest.
"You're beautiful, hair or no hair. I mean it." Luke told her.
Lorelai let a tear escape her eye. She needed to hear that, but she still didn't feel very beautiful. "Now I can't flip my hair to get you to do things." She joked.
Luke chuckled a little. He looked in the mirror to see that she was looking down.
"It'll grow back." He mumbled. He wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say.
"I know." She whispered. Their eyes met in the mirror and she put her hand on top of his, making him tighten his hold of her. She smiled. "This reminds me of when I pretended you were my 'special friend' when Sookie tried to set me up with the poultry guy."
"Hmph. The conversation we had after that made me buy a self-help book… which made me realize I was in love with you. It's why I asked you to come to Liz's wedding." He admitted.
Lorelai pulled away from him. She hit him playfully. "You never told that! I thought that was Jess' book!" She grinned.
Luke smiled back. "I was kind of ashamed of it… you made fun of the book when you thought it was Jess'. I didn't want to admit it was mine."
Lorelai shrugged. "Well, at least it made you realize you were in love with me. It brought us together." She smiled sweetly. "That dance at Liz's wedding made me see that I had been lying to myself when I said you were just a friend. That was our real first date, wasn't it?"
Luke just smiled and nodded. Lorelai looked back at the mirror. She released a deep sigh. Luke kissed her cheek. She started crying. Soon, there was a steady stream of tears falling down her face.
"Hey." Luke said gently. He gently turned her around so that she was facing him. She pressed her face into his chest. Her shoulders shook as he held her. After about a minute, she lifted her head and whispered:
"I miss my hair."
"I know." Luke said simply. She pressed into to him again, curving her body into his. He held her until she stopped crying.
Rory was awoken by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She groaned and opened her eyes. She looked at the clock on her nightstand and groaned again. Who's calling me at 8 AM? She thought. She slowly moved in the bed and reached for her phone.
"Hello?" She answered, her voice a bit hoarse.
"Hey Ace." Logan's voice was cheerful.
"Logan? Why are you calling me so early? You woke me up…"
"Oh, sorry, I just thought you might want to see me. I'm standing outside your house." Logan replied. He still sounded very happy.
"Really?" Rory asked excitedly.
"Come see for yourself."
"Okay." Rory said simply. She hung up. She got of bed and threw a sweater on over her pajamas then left her bedroom. She didn't see Lorelai or Luke in the kitchen so she walked quietly as she didn't want to wake them. When she stepped outside, she saw Logan standing in front of the porch.
She ran down the steps and into his arms. They had kept in touch over the phone, but they had not seen each other since she had told him what had happened between her and Mitchum.
"I missed you too." Logan chuckled. Rory leaned in and kissed him. They shared a few lingering kisses.
"What are you doing here?" Rory asked when she pulled away.
"I'm here to see you of course. My dad gave me a day off, believe it or not. I want to spend the day with you. That's okay right?" He smiled.
Rory smiled back. "That's more than okay. Let me just leave a note for my mom, okay?"
Logan nodded. He pulled her in for another kiss before she turned around and walked back inside. Rory changed and left a note for Lorelai and Luke, letting them know where she'd be, telling them that she's have her cell phone with her so she could be reached.
About an hour later, Logan and Rory were at a restaurant in Hartford, waiting for their breakfast. Rory had updated him on Lorelai on the drive there.
After they chatted about what Logan had been up to, his facial expression changed, he looked serious.
"What's wrong?" Rory asked, concerned.
"I want to talk to you about the thing with my dad. I think we need to discuss it again." Logan met her gaze.
Rory opened her mouth to speak, but her cell phone rang. "I better get that, it could be my mom." She said quickly. She got up and walked out the door. She answered on the fourth ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey. We need to talk. Is this a bad time?" It was Paris' voice on the other line.
"Paris? Um sure I can talk. What's up?"
"I have to put down a security deposit today or we lose our place." Paris told her.
Rory was confused, "Our place?"
"Yes, our place." Paris replied.
"Our place where?" Rory had no idea what she was talking about.
"Our off-campus place. Come on Rory, you know about our place. I need to know that you still want our place." Paris sounded angry.
"Oh… Listen, Paris can I call you back later? I have a lot going on right now."
"But I need to know today!" Paris raised her voice.
"I know I'm sorry, Paris. I'll try to call you tonight. It's just… my mom isn't doing very well right now and everything is just… wrong." She let out a breath. "I promise I will let you know as soon as I can." Rory sniffed.
Paris took a few seconds to respond. "Oh um… I guess that would be okay. Is your mom all right?"
Rory had barely heard the end of Paris' sentence before she pressed the button to hang up the phone. She knew it was rude to hang up; she just didn't want to talk to Paris right now. She didn't like talking about Lorelai, just thinking about her cancer made Rory anxious.
Rory stood there and took a shaky breath. She tried to hold back her tears but couldn't. Logan stepped out of the restaurant at that moment. He saw her right away. He put a hand on her arm.
"Rory? What's wrong? What happened?" He asked frantically.
She stepped into his arms. "Um that was just Paris, my mom's fine. I just I had to tell Paris that my mom isn't doing very well… and I don't like talking about or even thinking about it but…" She stammered and stopped when Logan pulled her closer.
"Shh. It's okay." He whispered. He held her until she pulled away.
"I'm okay." She told him as she wiped at the tears on her cheeks.
"You sure?" He asked as he tried to meet her eyes.
"Yes. Thank you." She said in a low voice.
Logan leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Are you okay to go back in?" He gestured to the restaurant.
Rory nodded. They walked back in together. They hardly talked as they ate. Logan told Rory that he would drive her home after their meal. She protested, telling him that she wanted to spend the day with him. He told her that he could tell she really wanted to be with Lorelai and that he was okay with that.
They stood in front of the house.
"Ace, before you go, I just want to make sure you know that you know that nothing my father said to you matters. You're an amazing person, Rory. Don't let my father influence your actions." Logan said gently.
Rory stared at him for a few seconds. A smile slowly spread across her face. "I know you told me before. Don't worry, I won't let what he said bring me down. I'm going to talk to my mom about it. I'll be fine, I promise."
"Okay." Logan nodded. He smiled softly then leaned in to kiss her. "Bye" He said after he pulled away from the tender kiss.
He turned around and started to walk away. "Wait!" Rory called out.
Logan stopped walking. He turned to face her, worry etched on his face. Before he could ask what was wrong, Rory spoke,
"I love you." She said quietly.
Logan smiled. "I love you too."
Rory was surprised that he had said it back. She just grinned at him. He gave her a little nod and turned and walked away. Rory went inside.
Luke and Lorelai were sitting cuddled together on the couch when Rory walked in. Lorelai pulled away from Luke when Rory walked in the living room. Lorelai was wearing her pink hat.
"Hey hon." Lorelai smiled. "We weren't expecting you to come back for a while. How's Logan?"
"Um yeah, I wanted to come home earlier. Logan and I had breakfast in Hartford, he's fine… Can I talk to you alone?" Rory replied. She smiled sheepishly at Luke. She felt bad for excluding him.
Luke gave Rory a small smile back. He understood that she wanted to talk to Lorelai alone. He gently squeezed Lorelai's thigh before he got up and left the room.
Lorelai patted the spot next to her. "What do you want to talk about hon?" She asked Rory.
Rory sat next to Lorelai. She took a breath. "Um okay so I never mentioned this before since the last few weeks have been so hectic and nothing mattered except you." She stopped and looked at Lorelai with a troubled expression.
Lorelai reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Rory's ear. "You can tell me anything, you know." She said solemnly.
"I know. Okay… so when I had my internship with Logan's dad, something happened. He told me that I didn't have 'it', that he doesn't think I have the drive… and it made me think about my dream of becoming a journalist. I told Logan what he said and he said not to listen to him, but Mitchum still got to me." Rory looked at Lorelai, waiting for her reaction.
Lorelai pressed her lips together. "Logan was right; you can't listen to one man's opinion, Rory…even if that man is your boyfriend's father, even if he is a top newspaper guy. Please tell me that you didn't change your mind about becoming a journalist."
Rory kept her eyes on Lorelai. She knew Lorelai was right; she just needed to hear the words spoken. She had decided not to leave Yale after talking with Logan, but hearing Lorelai's opinion meant the world to Rory. She wished she hadn't kept this from her for so long, but she knew it had to take a back seat for a while because Lorelai's health was more important.
"No. I didn't change my mind, you and Logan are right. I can't change my goals completely just because one person thinks I can't succeed." She smiled. "I'm going back to Yale in the fall and I'm going to try my best… for you." Rory's brow furrowed, but she gave Lorelai a small smile. Tears were welling up in her eyes.
Lorelai understood what Rory was trying to say. She stood up abruptly. "Come here, I think we both need a hug." She giggled a little.
Rory practically leaped up off the couch. They hugged each other, swaying a little bit and giggling.
"I am so proud of you kid." Lorelai told Rory.
"Thanks Mom." Rory sniffed. Then her face changed. "Oh, how did Luke take the whole hair thing?"
Lorelai's face dropped. "Well, it's a big change; it'll take a little while for him to adjust to it… um I actually had a little breakdown about it earlier." She bit her lip.
Rory frowned. "Oh Mom," She said sympathetically.
"It's okay. Everything's fine… or it's going to be fine." Lorelai tried to assure herself and Rory.
Rory nodded. "It will be."
Lorelai pulled Rory back into her arms. They sat back down and watched the movie. Luke returned a few minutes later.
A few days later, the side effects of the chemo started to hit Lorelai again. She couldn't eat much as a lot of foods tasted metallic or she lost her appetite. She became a shell of herself. She was no longer the lively, witty, and enthusiastic woman she was known as before. Luke and Rory hated to see her like this and they felt a little useless, as there wasn't much they could do to help her.
One night, Lorelai couldn't sleep. She kept tossing and turning in the bed, but no matter how she lied, she couldn't fall asleep.
Luke groaned. "Can you stop moving around?"
"No, I can't. I can't sleep and I'm just… so tired of this." Lorelai said angrily.
"I'm sorry about that, but I can't sleep either with you moving around so much."
Lorelai quickly turned on the bedside lamp. She glared at him. "Wow. I can't believe you right now. I'm the one who has to go through this Luke! I'm the one suffering!" She shouted.
"I know! But there's nothing either of us can do about it… I wish I could take your place and take away your pain, but I can't." He choked
Lorelai blinked. She started crying. "I just don't want to deal with this anymore, but I have to. I'm so lethargic and wide awake at the same time and I just want it all to stop." She sobbed.
Luke took a shaky breath. He felt terrible. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He reached out cupped her cheek. She met his gaze. "I just don't know what to do anymore." He admitted.
"Maybe I should just go downstairs and lie on the couch… you need sleep too, Luke. I can't let you lose sleep because of me." She whispered.
Luke looked down. "Yeah, I think that would be best." He whispered back. He didn't want to hurt her, but he knew that this was the best solution.
"Okay." She mumbled. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek then turned the lamp off and got out of the bed, taking a pillow with her.
Lorelai walked downstairs slowly. When she got to the living room, she placed her pillow on the couch and lied down. She pressed her face into the pillow and sobbed.
Author's note: This is the longest chapter yet! I was going to finish it on Wednesday, but as I was typing it, I saw the sneak peek pictures of the revival in Entertainment Weekly online and I freaked out. Without spoiling too much, the picture of Luke and Lorelai made me cry and scream haha. Feel free to message me if you want to talk about the revival.
Anyways, thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review, feedback is encouraged.