When Luke woke up the next morning, Lorelai was still asleep next to him. He moved slowly and managed to get up without waking her. He went into the kitchen and started to make his breakfast. As he waited for the kettle to boil, he thought about his decision to temporarily close the diner until Lorelai completed her treatment. He didn't tell her that he had actually gone through with it.

He had called Mia last night to talk to her about it. Mia had scolded him when he told her that he and Lorelai had argued and that he left. She told him to stay by her no matter what, even though he had already decided he would never leave her before he talked to Mia. They talked about his stress from the situation and his fears. He brought up closing the diner and asked Mia what she thought about it. Mia told him it was his choice, but she said that she could tell he really wanted to focus on Lorelai, that he would be distracted working at the diner.

Luke knew she was right. He thanked her and promised to call her once a week. He didn't want Lorelai to get upset when they had just made up, so he didn't tell her about closing the diner last night. As soon as he sat down and started eating, Lorelai walked into the kitchen.

"Morning hon." She greeted him.

"Morning, I didn't think you'd be up this early."

Lorelai shook her head. "Well, I woke up and you weren't there… and I felt weird without you next to me." She smiled softly.

Luke smiled back. He knew they couldn't always sleep so peacefully next to each other, but last night was fine.

Lorelai sat next to Luke. "Are you going to make me pancakes?" She asked in a flirty tone.

"Sure." Luke replied. He finished his oatmeal and his tea and got up.

Lorelai reached out to him. He let her grab his hand. He looked down at her, waiting for her to say something.

"Thank you." She whispered, smiling up at him.

He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head. As he made her pancakes, Lorelai remembered Emily's phone call last night.

"Oh, my parents invited us to dinner tonight." She told Luke.

"You mean you and Rory?" Luke asked.

"No, all three of us, you're invited too. Believe it or not,"

"Hmm, okay." Luke responded.

"You'll come, right?" Lorelai asked a little hesitantly.

"Of course," Luke assured her.

"Good." Lorelai smiled.

Rory came out of her bedroom at that moment. She was already dressed because she would be embarrassed if Luke saw her in her pajamas.

"Oh pancakes! Are you making some for me too Luke?" She teased.

"You bet." Luke answered, giving Rory a small smile.

"Aww, you didn't have to." Rory said quietly.

"I want to." Luke said gently. He wanted to take care of both of them.

Rory didn't say anything; she just smiled and sat at the table.

"Did Logan call last night?" Lorelai asked gently.

Rory just shook her head and looked down. The truth was he did call, but she ignored his call.

Lorelai reached out and placed her hand on top Rory's and gave it a squeeze.

Once Luke had finished cooking, they all sat down at the table. Luke enjoyed another cup of tea as Lorelai and Rory ate their pancakes and drank coffee.

"Lane is supposed to be coming back from her tour today, so I'm gonna head into town." Rory announced after they had finished eating.

"Oh, okay hon. Say hi to everyone for me." Lorelai said.

"I will." Rory stood up then leaned in and kissed Lorelai's cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too." Lorelai responded.

Rory got her purse and left.

"We need to talk about something." Luke said seriously.

"What is it?" Lorelai asked.

"Remember how I said I wanted to close the diner until you finish treatment?"

Lorelai nodded.

"Okay… so I've decided to do it." Luke glanced at her. He bit his lip as he waited for her reply.

"Oh… are you sure?"

"Yeah. Are you okay with that?"

Lorelai thought about it for a few seconds. "Well, I can't decide for you… I mean I can't stop you." She muttered.

"But you understand why I want to do it?"

"Yes." Lorelai answered simply.

Luke nodded. "I talked to Mia about it last night and she thought I would just be distracted at the diner… she's right, I'd be thinking about you all the time and I wouldn't be able to focus." He said in a low voice.

"That's… sweet." Lorelai smiled and reached out and took Luke's hand. "I'm fine with it, really. I'd probably want to take a leave from my job if you were the one that was sick."

Luke gave her a small smile and brushed the back of her hand with his thumb. He was glad that they didn't argue about his decision. They would get through this together, he knew they would.

Later that night, Lorelai, Rory and Luke arrived at the Gilmore house. Rory knocked. The maid opened the door and escorted them to the living room. Emily and Richard were not there. Luke and Lorelai took seats on the couch and Rory took a chair.

"I told you to let me know when they arrive." They heard Emily speaking to the maid, sounding angry.

The maid apologized. Emily entered the living room.

"Hello Lorelai, Rory, Luke. How are you all?" She asked.

Lorelai was a bit surprised that Emily was being so pleasant. "We're all fine, Mom thanks." She answered at the same time Luke said:

"We're all right, thanks, and you?"

"I'm fine, thank you Luke." Emily sat down across from Lorelai and Luke. She looked at Lorelai. "Your father should be joining us soon; he's just finishing up a phone call."

"Okay." Lorelai nodded.

"Would anyone like a drink?" Emily asked.

"I'll have a soda, thanks." Rory responded.

"I'm fine, thanks." Luke answered.

"Water would be nice." Lorelai replied.

Emily got up and poured water for Lorelai and a soda for Rory. She didn't get a drink for herself. She passed the drinks to Lorelai and Rory, who thanked her.

"Aren't you going to say anything about my hair or lack of it?" Lorelai asked in a low voice. She was wearing one of her headscarves.

"Well… last time I saw you, you still had hair." Emily muttered.

"Yeah, sorry about that, uh it started falling out so I just decided to shave it off. Rory helped me actually." Lorelai looked over at Rory.

Rory just nodded and smiled sheepishly at Emily.

"I understand hair loss with treatment isn't something you can control. It's alright, Lorelai. You look fine… just a little tired. Are you getting enough sleep?" Emily replied.

"No. It's hard for me to sleep some nights. I'm exhausted and lethargic at the same time. But I'm pushing through." Lorelai told her.

Emily looked upset, but she just said: "All right. And everything is going okay at your treatments?"

"Yes Mom." Lorelai replied simply.

Richard entered the room then. "Hello everyone, how are you?" He asked as he walked over to the drink cart to pour himself a drink.

"Fine," Lorelai, Rory and Luke answered simultaneously.

Richard sat next to Emily. "Lorelai, I have something to ask you." He said in a serious tone.

"Yes Dad?" Lorelai asked a bit hesitantly.

"Your mother has told me that your next treatment is this coming Friday, correct?"

"Yes."

Richard met her gaze. "Would it be all right if I come to your next treatment?"

"Of course, Dad," Lorelai said gently.

Richard smiled softly. They chatted until dinner was ready.

At dinner, Lorelai noticed that Emily was a little off.

"Are you okay, Mom?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Lorelai." Emily replied. Her voice was quieter than usual.

Rory exchanged a look with Lorelai. They were both worried about Emily.

After everyone finished eating, Emily excused herself and left the room.

Lorelai also excused herself and went to go look for Emily. She headed upstairs and saw that the door to Emily and Richard's bedroom was closed. She knocked.

"Mom? Are you in there?"

"Yes." She barely heard Emily whisper.

"Can I come in?" Lorelai asked.

"I suppose." Emily muttered.

Lorelai opened the door. She walked in and saw Emily sitting on the bed.

Emily looked up and Lorelai noticed her tear-streaked face.

"Mom? Are you okay?" She knew it was a stupid question as Emily obviously was not okay.

Emily shook her head. Lorelai sat next to her. "What's wrong?"

"It was a shock… seeing you without hair." Emily admitted.

"Oh." Lorelai whispered.

"And I hate that I wasn't there with you. I wanted to be…" Emily trailed off, wiped at her tears.

"I'm sorry Mom." Lorelai said gently. "It was a spur of the moment type thing. Rory was the only one there with me… Luke wasn't even home."

"I hate seeing you suffer, Lorelai. You may not think so, but I do." Emily confided.

"Mom I don't think that…" Lorelai took a deep breath. "I appreciate that you're supporting me as I go through this. You and Dad have both been great."

"But I want to be there for you more often! I want to be there every step of the way." Emily raised her voice.

"I'm not stopping you from doing that. All you have to do is ask and I'll let you in." Lorelai kept her voice low.

"But I feel like you'll shut me out if I try to be involved." Emily fretted.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Mom, but I won't shut you out. I need my family now more than ever." Lorelai said softly.

Emily looked at Lorelai and nodded slowly. "It's just that I wish I could do something to help." She said quietly.

"Mom, you're helping by being here." Lorelai told her. She stood up.

"You want to go back downstairs and have some dessert?"

Emily stared at Lorelai then slowly stood up. Lorelai surprised herself and Emily when she reached out and wrapped her arms around Emily.

It was a very brief hug, but it meant a lot to both women. They walked back downstairs together, Lorelai with her arm around Emily.

When they arrived home and pulled into the driveway, Luke was the first one to notice Logan sitting on the porch.

"Rory," He said gently to get her attention.

Rory was talking to Lorelai; she finished her sentence then looked up. "Yes?"

Luke cleared his throat then pointed at Logan, who didn't seem to notice that the Jeep had pulled up.

"Oh," Rory whispered.

Luke pulled the key out of the ignition and turned around to face Rory. He wasn't sure what she wanted to do.

"I'll talk to him. You guys can go inside without me. Just tell him I'll be a minute." Rory said.

Luke nodded. He got out of the Jeep and walked around to the passenger side to help Lorelai out. He opened the door and she took his hand. He didn't let go of her hand as they walked towards the porch. Logan noticed them and before he could ask where Rory was, Lorelai told him:

"Rory will be out a minute."

Logan nodded. "How are you Lorelai… and Luke was it?"

Luke raised his eyebrows. Lorelai let go of his hand. "We're fine, thanks for asking…." She looked him in the eye. "If you hurt Rory or you'll be dealing with both of us."

Logan just swallowed and nodded.

Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand and he lead her inside.

"Sit down; I'll make you a cup of coffee if you want." Luke said once they'd shut the door behind them.

"Sure." Lorelai replied.

Luke came into the living room a few minutes later and handed Lorelai her coffee. He sat down next to her.

Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and grimaced.

"Not good?" Luke asked.

"Still doesn't taste right." She muttered.

Luke reached out and patted her knee.

"You think Rory will be okay out there?" He tilted his head towards the door.

"Yeah, she can handle herself."

"But do we trust Logan?" Luke wondered.

"She loves him…I don't know." Lorelai sighed. "I just want this to work out. I want her to be happy."

Luke nodded. He was still a little worried about Rory. Lorelai moved closer to him, snuggled into his chest.

He kissed the top of her head. "Is your mom okay?"

"Yeah, she was feeling a little left out and she was worried about me. We sorted it out though." She answered.

"Good." Luke said simply.

"We're all worried about me, I'm worried about me. But we're getting through it. Everyone's support and love is really helping me deal with it." Lorelai's voice broke.

Luke rubbed her back. "You have a good support system." He agreed.

Lorelai lifted her head and pressed her lips to his. They kissed passionately for a couple minutes.

When they pulled apart, Lorelai had a sad look on her face.

"It's okay." Luke whispered. He knew what she was upset about.

She gave him a small smile then rested her head on his chest.

Meanwhile, Rory got out of the Jeep and walked over to Logan.

"Hey." Logan greeted her, his voice gentle.

Rory crossed her arms, "Hi."

"We need to talk." Logan said.

"Then talk." Rory said bitterly.

Author's note: Another cliff hanger…
Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated.