After the movie ended, Rory left Lorelai to sleep on the couch. She didn't want to wake her because she knew she needed the sleep. She went to her bedroom to call Logan. It was only a little after ten PM, so he should still be awake. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey." He said gently.

"Hi." Rory smiled.

"How's it going? How's your mom?" He asked.

"We're hanging in there." She said quietly.

"Is there anything I can do to help? I mean I'm no doctor or anything but-"

Rory interrupted him. "Just talking to you is helping me. I'd like to see you again though…"

"I don't think my dad will let me get away anytime soon, sorry Ace. But I can talk to you every night." He sounded sympathetic.

"Oh um that's okay." Rory tried not to sound upset. She reminded herself of the fact that she had many people to talk to. "So how's that going, work with your dad?"

Logan sighed. "It's a pain in my ass, but it has to be done. At least I get to hang out with Colin and Finn on weekends."

Rory frowned. "You see Colin and Finn on the weekends?"

"Yeah, I just saw them last weekend and I'm hoping to see them tomorrow. I get some time off on weekends." Logan said nonchalantly.

"Wait, you're telling me that you spend your free time with Colin and Finn instead of me? I need you Logan." Her voice broke.

"Woah woah, I like to have fun with Finn and Collin sometimes… that doesn't mean that I can't be there for you too."

"Yeah but you chose to spend time with them instead of me. You'd rather have fun with them instead of comfort me, that's it, isn't it?" Rory accused.

"What? No Ace." He grunted. "I just… I don't know sometimes I just want to relax and forget about my responsibilities. That doesn't mean that I don't want to be with you."

"Hmph. We all have to do things we don't want to do. Not everything in life is fun." Rory barked.

"I know that." Logan sighed. "It's hard for me to see you upset, ok?" His voice was low.

"We all have to go through hard things… I have to watch my mother fight cancer every day, Logan!" Rory wiped at the tears that had started falling down her face. "You've allowed me to vent and talk to you before, why can't you do it again? I need you but you'd rather get drunk with your friends."

"No, Ace come on."

"Forget it Logan, I'm done talking to you. I'll call you when I need you, if you even want to come that is."

Logan started to object, but Rory ended the call. She lied down on her bed, pressed her face into her pillow. She told herself not to cry, but tears escaped her eyes. She managed to hold back a sob. Don't cry over Logan, he's not worth it. She told herself.

Once she had stopped crying, she cleared her mind and got up to get ready for bed. Ten minutes later, she lied in bed and tried to fall asleep. Her thoughts changed from Logan to Lorelai. Everything is going to be okay she told herself so that she wouldn't start crying again. She fell asleep fast.

Lorelai woke with a jolt. She squinted at her surroundings, confused for a few seconds. Then she realized that she must have fallen asleep on the couch. She yawns then slowly gets up. In the kitchen, she grabs a muffin and debates whether or not to make coffee. She decides to make it, praying that it will taste better than it has in the past few days. She sat down and took a bite of the muffin before sipping the coffee.

Once she had swallowed the coffee, she grimaced. The taste didn't improve much. She still gulped it down with the muffin though. As she glanced at Rory's door, she wondered what they were going to do today. Maybe we could go shopping. She thought.

They did end up going shopping about an hour later after Rory woke up. Rory told Lorelai a little bit about what happened with Logan, but she told her that she didn't really want to talk about it and Lorelai accepted that. They went to a few stores in town. Lorelai bought a couple pretty headscarves and a baseball cap. She joked that her and Luke could be a cute matching couple now. When they returned home, they saw Babette and sitting on her porch. Babette walked up to them immediately.

"Lorelai, doll I haven't seen you in forever. How have you been?" Babette looked deeply concerned.

"Oh, I'm all right Babette. Hanging in there, you know." Lorelai shrugged and gave Babette a small smile.

"Oh. Well you let me know if you need anything. I'd drop anything to help you out."

Lorelai felt herself tearing up. "Thank you Babette, that means a lot, really."

Babette's face changed, she looked alarmed. "Oh! Before I forget, Luke's waiting for you inside. He came looking for you when he saw no one was on the house. I told him that you and Rory probably just went into town for a bit, that he should wait here… he looked worried."

"Well we'd better get inside then, thanks again Babette." Lorelai said.

"Anytime, sugar." Babette reached out and gave Lorelai a hug which was a bit awkward because of their height difference.

When Lorelai and Rory stepped in the house they immediately heard footsteps. Luke appeared. He looked relieved.

"There you two are." He exclaimed.

"Hi hon. We were just out shopping." Lorelai told him.

Luke nodded. "I came here looking for you but you weren't here… I was worried something had happened. But I asked Babette where you were and she figured you just went into town so I decided to wait here."

"Sorry. I should have told you were we were going." Lorelai looked away.

"I'm going to go to my room." Rory said quickly before she walked away.

"Let's talk." Lorelai gestures to the living room. Luke just nods and they walk over and sit on the couch.

Before Lorelai can speak Luke leans in and gives her a quick kiss. Lorelai smiles softly.

"I missed you last night."

"Me too." He replied.

"How's the diner?" She asked.

"It's fine. I actually closed up; there were practically no customers all morning. It's lunch hour, but people can go somewhere else, it's not like the diner is the only place that sells food."

"Oh." Lorelai replied simply. She was a little surprised that the diner wasn't busy.

"Actually, I was thinking of closing the diner… until you're finished treatment." Luke told her.

"What? No Luke you can't just drop your life to take of me." Lorelai objected.

"I think that's my decision." Luke said angrily.

Lorelai shook her head. "Luke, you've been amazing these past few weeks… but I feel like I'm bringing you down… I don't know." She looked away.

Luke reached out and took her hand. She looked back at him. "Hey." He said gently. "I want to stay by your side; I'm not staying with you because I feel like I have to… Lorelai, I want to be here."

Lorelai pulled her hand away. "But I feel like I'm a burden. I just don't want to hurt you… I can tell I'm stressing you out and that's not okay." She sighed.

"Lorelai, you are not a burden. I want to help you; I want us to get through this together. Please, you can't push me away like this. It isn't fair."

Lorelai couldn't look him in the eye. She started crying. "I don't know it's just that our time apart has made me realize that you're suffering because of me. We can't even sleep in the same bed anymore. Maybe it would be better if we spent time apart while I complete my treatment." She regretted saying that immediately.

"Are you breaking up with me?" The look on Luke's face reminded Lorelai of when she called him her 'ex-boyfriend.' It hurt her a lot.

"No. I just think it might be easier for us to take a break for a little while." She said quietly.

Luke glared at her. "That's not what I want." His expression softened. "I want to be here with you, I don't care about the diner. You're all that matters."

"I just want to be alone right now to think. Please, can you just leave me alone for a while?" She asked gently. She just needed time to try being away from him, even though it hurt her.

"Okay." Luke whispered. With one last look at her, he got up and left.

Rory heard the front door shut. She walked out into the living room and saw Lorelai sitting very still on the couch, staring off into space.

"Mom?"

Lorelai turned slowly. "I pushed him away and I don't know if I did the right thing. But I could tell he was hurt and I never meant to hurt him and I just hate all of this." She sputtered, sobbing.

"Hey, hey. It's okay." Rory tried to soothe her. "It's Luke, he'll come back. You two can't stay away from each."

"Maybe not this time," Lorelai fretted.

"I think he will." Rory tried to assure her.

Lorelai didn't respond. Rory sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her. Lorelai leaned her head on her shoulder. They sat in silence for a little while.

Some time later, the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Lorelai said, her voice lacking of emotion. She was silently hoping that it would be Luke.

"Hello?"

"Lorelai, hello," Emily answered.

"Oh Mom. What's up?"

"I was just calling to check up on you and ask if you and to ask if you and Rory are able to have dinner with us tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Monday." Lorelai pointed out.

"I know that Lorelai, but you told me that your next treatment is on next Friday, that's correct isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Lorelai replied.

"So are you and Rory able to come to dinner tomorrow? I understand if you can't." Emily said.

"No, no we should be able to come. I'm feeling okay…"

"Are you sure?" Emily sounded concerned.

"Yes, Mom, I'm sure." Lorelai was touched.

"All right we'll see you tomorrow then. Oh, and will Luke be joining us?"

"Is he invited?"

"Yes." Emily said simply.

Lorelai was a bit taken aback. "Oh, well I don't know. He might be busy." She mumbled.

"Well, it's all right if he can't come. I can tell the maid to set an extra place at the table just in case."

"All right, thanks Mom." Lorelai didn't want to talk about her Luke problems with Emily.

"You're welcome." Emily replied.

"See you tomorrow, bye."

"Goodbye Lorelai."

Lorelai hung up.

"That was Grandma?" Rory called from the couch.

Lorelai walked over to her and sat back down. "Yep. We're going to have dinner over there tomorrow. That's okay, right?"

"Of course,"

They were silent for a few seconds.

"Luke will come back." Rory said softly.

Lorelai exhaled. "I don't want to talk about it." She said bitterly.

"What do want to talk about?" Rory asked.

"I don't know." Lorelai admitted.

"Well how about we go for a walk?" Rory suggested.

"All right," Lorelai managed to smile. "We should eat lunch first though."

They ate leftovers for lunch then left for their walk. Lorelai wore her new baseball cap. She was still feeling a little self-conscious. They walked in the opposite direction of Luke's. They ended up picking up a pizza for dinner. Rory didn't want to admit that she had gotten used to eating the dinners that Luke cooked for them on most nights, that she missed him. She didn't want to upset Lorelai.

Later that night, Lorelai was a little restless. Rory came up with the idea to play Monopoly.

"Monopoly?" Lorelai was a bit appalled by the idea.

"Yeah. We can't just sit around and watch TV all night, why not play Monopoly? We can stop if we get frustrated." Rory responded.

Lorelai just shrugged and told Rory to set up the game. A half an hour into playing and a few shared giggles later, they heard the front door open.

"Didn't we lock the door?" Rory whispered.

"I thought we did." Lorelai whispered back. They heard footsteps. They were in the kitchen, the game board spread across the table.

"Stay here." Lorelai told Rory as she got up.

"I've got a baseball bat and I'm not afraid to use it!" Lorelai shouted as she walked towards the front door. She didn't actually have a bat; she was just trying to scare the intruder.

She gasped when she saw Luke standing in the entryway. Without saying a word, he walked up to her and embraced her.

"Luke? Is something wrong?" Lorelai asked, the sound of her voice a bit muffled as her face was pressed into his chest. She clung to him, savouring the familiar warm feeling of being in his arms.

"I'm staying with you. I will be here. I don't care… you need me and I can't just think about you going through this alone. I can't leave you." He said softly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to push you away. Everything is just so confusing and-"

"Shh." He soothed her. "It's okay, I understand." Luke held her tighter.

"Mom? Is everything okay?" Rory walked in and saw Luke and Lorelai hugging.

Luke met her gaze and Rory smiled. Luke smiled back. Rory left, she knew they would need some privacy.

Lorelai pulled away after a minute. "Luke." She whispered. She looked up at him. "Are you going to stay?"

"Of course," He answered. He kissed the top of her head.

Lorelai gave him a small tearful smile then wrapped her arms around his waist. Luke pulled her close again.

"Let's go sit down and talk." She whispered in his ear.

He pulled back and nodded, but then his face changed. He leaned in and kissed her.

Lorelai kissed him back, deepened the kiss. Luke's hand rubbed circles on her back and Lorelai's hand knocked off his hat and she ran her fingers through his hair.

When they finally pulled apart, Lorelai took a step back. "Wow, that was some kiss,"

Luke just smiled.

"I'm just going to go talk to Rory for a minute." She told him.

"Okay." Luke walked over to the couch and sat down.

Lorelai returned a few minutes later. She sat next to Luke.

"So…" She said awkwardly.

"I never should have left." Luke said quickly.

Lorelai shook her head. "I never should have told you to leave. But I did need some time to think."

"I hate that you feel like you're a burden." Luke disclosed.

"Well, I hate to see you suffer. I know this is really affecting you, Luke. I hate that I'm causing you pain." Lorelai looked down.

Luke reached out and gently cupped her chin. "You're the one suffering. It hurts me to see you like this. I hate it, but I can't just leave you while you got through this. We're in this together."

Lorelai smiled. "I guess I'm stuck with you then." She teased.

Luke smiled back, "It's not so bad is it?"

Lorelai shook her head. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss.

"I'm sorry." She said again.

"It's okay. I forgive you." He told her. He took her hand. "And I'm sorry too."

"I forgive you too." She whispered. She dropped his hand and got up.

"Where are you going?" He asked, worried.

"Just to the bathroom, don't worry hon."

He nodded. As he waited for her to return, he put his feet up. He felt exhausted.

When Lorelai returned, she saw Luke lying down. He started to sit up, but she stopped him with a hand motion.

He frowned, confused. She moved and squeezed next to him, then shifted so that most of her body was on top of his.

"Lorelai," He muttered. He didn't think they could fit on the couch.

"I know, it's hard for two tall people to lie on a small couch, but I think we can make it work." She moved again. "There, better right?"

Luke didn't say anything. It was more comfortable. They lied in silence for a few seconds before he pointed out: "You do know there's a bed upstairs, right? It's much more comfortable."

"Hmm. I don't want to move. I want to stay right here." She pressed her face into his neck.

Luke didn't want to argue with her. He pressed a quick kiss to her temple and wrapped his arm around her.

Lorelai pressed a kiss to his neck then lifted her head. "What if I die?" She asked.

He started at her. How could she ask me that? Answer her, don't stay silent! He told himself.

"You're not going to die."

"You don't know that." She said as soon as he said the last word.

"Lorelai, you can't think like that. You need to stay strong… I know that's hard, but I'm here. You can talk to me." He started to rub her back.

Lorelai almost jumped at his touch. He could always comfort her with little touches. "I know… I just get scared sometimes."

"That's okay." Luke replied.

They lied there in comfortable silence for a long time. Lorelai fell asleep and Luke didn't want to wake her up to move so he closed his eyes and eventually fell asleep too.

Author's note: I glad to see that people share the same opinion about Christopher with me haha. Thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this story. Reviews are appreciated.