One week after Richard had his heart attack he was home dressing for his son-in-law's funeral.

"Now I told you that you don't have to go today," Emily said as she walked into the room fully dressed.

"I've known him since he was a boy, he's the father of my only grandchild, and since Lorelai is refusing to tell Rory about Chris' final days -"

"Oh it's so horrible. I cannot believe our strong, independent Lorelai was," Emily couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud.

"Well, I never would wish death on anyone," Richard breathed, "But I fear what I would have done to him if I ever saw his face again after finding this out."

Emily kissed Richard's cheek, "You are the most wonderful man in the world Richard Gilmore. Don't ever let someone so beneath you pull you down to their level."

"Darling, nothing matters more to me than you, Lorelai and Rory. If anyone hurts you on any level they have given up the right to my gentlemanly side. Just the image of my daughter being slapped and then thrown down the stairs is more than I can bear."

"I know, but Lorelai wants you to keep that out of your mind today. Which is also why you shouldn't go. Francine doesn't need to find out about this today, if ever."

Richard shook his head, "Being proper isn't always the best way to go. Life isn't a tea party Emily! Doesn't it bother you that maybe if you and I were more accepting of Luke that she would be happily married to him right now?"

Emily shook her head, "Must we constantly blame ourselves for all the bad things that happen to Lorelai? We were planning on buying her and Luke a house!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Lane knocked on the front door and then walked in. The house was quiet which gave Lane an eerie feeling because this house was never quiet. There were always voices talking or music playing or a TV blaring, silence was so rare here.

"Hello?" She called out.

She turned when she heard footsteps coming down the staircase.

"Hey Mama, how are you?" Lorelai asked with a small smile.

"Besides being the size of a house, I'm good. How are you?" Lane asked as she embraced her second Mom.

"You know kid, of all the things I thought I would be, I never imagined being a widow. Not at this age anyway."

"Lorelai, I'm so sorry." Lane sighed. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"You can have the babies today so I don't have to deal with a funeral!"

Lane laughed, "I'll try."

Lorelai shook her head, "Oh man, you are great. But don't force them out. Keep them in there as long as possible. It's the last time you'll feel like you can actually protect them."

Lane took Lorelai's hand, "You did an incredible job protecting Rory AND me! You gave us both great childhoods, please don't ever doubt that."

Lorelai hugged Lane again and tried to swallow the lump stuck in her throat.

"How's Rory?" Lane asked.

"I let her sleep in."

"There's a lot of talk that I have been doing my best to shield her from. But if any of it is true, she should know." Lane said softly.

Lorelai sighed, "Not today. There's already so much that she needs to process. Thank you for helping me keep that from her. But I can think of something you could do for me today."

"Anything!"

"You could go for some of Luke's coffee. And I'm sure Rory would love some too."

Lane tilted her head, "You should GO to Luke's!"

"Please, Lane, please!" Lorelai begged.

"Okay, I'm on it." Lane turned to leave. "Let Rory know that I'll be back with coffee."

"Of course."

When Lane left, Lorelai headed to Rory's room to wake her. She knocked on her door and entered when Rory said "Come in". She was shocked to see that Rory was dressed and ready to go.

"Hey, I thought you were sleeping."

Rory smiled yet there was so much sadness in her eyes, "I don't think I slept at all last night. I went for a walk around midnight and I bumped into Dean."

"Oh god!"

Rory shook her head, "We talked, that's all. He asked me if the rumours were true and how I was handling it. He was very concerned about you."

Lorelai's stomach dropped.

"It's true isn't it," Rory whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Lorelai sat at the foot of Rory's bed and sighed, tears were stinging her eyes, "Why didn't I tell you? Because there was already so much for us both to process. Grandpa's heart attack, my injury, and then suddenly Chris was dead. I honestly didn't know the point in telling you once he was gone. He only slapped me twice and both times we were fighting about Luke and how I still had feelings for him."

"So you didn't tell me because you thought it was your fault?"

"Yeah, I guess. And because you and your father never had the best relationship so I didn't want to tarnish his memory even more."

Rory sat next to her Mom and wrapped her arm around her, "Mom, it's not your fault. And any time you think it is your fault just put me in your place and see if you blame me for a guy hitting me."

"Rory!"

"No. Look, we will deal with this funeral and then put this all behind us. Hopefully Dad will rest in peace and we'll move forward. Just don't let me catch you blaming yourself, okay?"

Lorelai nodded.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The funeral was somber yet quick, Lorelai sat between Rory and Richard. Emily comforted Francine and the chapel was packed to the gills. The wake was held at the Gilmore house so Lorelai and Francine wouldn't have to deal with anything. Rory stayed close to her mother watching as she skillfully handled all of Christopher's friends and co-workers talking about what an amazing man he was. Sherry promised to keep in touch with Rory and send pictures of GiGi. A small group from Stars Hollow came to show their support to Lorelai and Rory but besides Sookie, they didn't stay long. Luke was there but kept his distance from Lorelai, Emily and Richard. He found Rory and hugged her before he left.

Logan was either by Rory's side or Emily's doing what he could to make the day easier for them. He drove Lorelai and Rory back to Stars Hollow at 7:00pm.

"You should stay the night," Rory said, trying to pull Logan into the house.

"I think you and your Mom should have some time just the two of you. I'll call you tomorrow to check in. Besides, I promised my Dad I would pop by the office. Now that he's letting me work in The States instead of London I'm trying to be better."

"Okay, thank you for everything today. You were amazing."

They hugged.

"Nothing you wouldn't have done for me," Logan said as he kissed her goodbye.

Rory watched him leave and headed into the house. She found Lorelai standing in front of the fridge staring at the food Emily insisted they bring home.

"Mom? Are you hungry? I can heat something up for you."

Lorelai closed the fridge, "Na, it's all frou-frou food. I'm going upstairs to change."

Lorelai went up to her room and absently removed her clothes, dropped them on the floor and pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt. She went to the bathroom and washed her face. As she was drying off the pain in her wrist began to flare up and she grabbed the brace that she chose not to wear to the funeral and put it on. As she descended the stairs to find Rory she was greeted by the scent of burgers and fries.

"Oh my god, that smells amazing. Thank you Sweets, I didn't realize how hungry I was until I smelt that!"

"Don't thank me," Rory said as she set up the food on the coffee table, "Ceasar just delivered it. The food is from Luke, he figured we wouldn't have eaten much today."

Lorelai's heart sank, just the mention of Luke made her ache. She loved him so much, she wished the last twelve months had gone so differently. She was so hurtful the last time she saw him, basically blaming him for everything and he was still taking care of her.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

Lorelai nodded and sat on the couch beside Rory. "Yeah, I'm okay, it's just," she gestured to the food.

"Yeah, I know," Rory smiled. "He's still taking care of us."

They smiled at each other and then began their movie marathon. They picked some sappy movies, cried and stuffed their faces. When the second movie finished Rory was asleep on the couch. Lorelai covered her with a blanket and went to the front door. She slipped on her boots and coat as she walked out the door, her feet leading to the one place she didn't want to admit she wanted to go. The crunch of the snow under her feet was comforting and gave her the courage to power on despite getting more and more nervous the closer she got to the town square. She let out a sigh when she saw the diner dimly lit and Luke cleaning tables.

I should just go home, she thought.

She pulled her coat tighter around her neck and was about to turn around when she locked eyes with Luke. He made this way to the door and rushed out to see her.

"Hey is everything okay?" The concern in Luke's voice warmed her from the inside out.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just needed some fresh air. And I wanted to thank you for the food delivery. Rory and I hadn't eaten all day."

"Yeah, I figured. Do you want to come in for some coffee?"

She just nodded and followed him into the diner. She sat at her spot at the counter and he locked the door behind them. He put on a fresh pot then turned to face her, "Do you want some pie? A donut?"

She couldn't take any more of his kindness, she burst into tears and repeatedly sobbed "I'm sorry" every time she was able to catch her breath.

Luke came around the counter and for the first time in what seemed like forever, wrapped his arms around the woman he loved. He held her close to his chest and since she was still sitting, kissed the top of her head.

"Stop," he whispered. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

"What I said to you at the hospital," she said into his chest.

"What you said hurt, but you're not wrong. If I had handled things differently, we would be married right now and none of this would have happened."

"I made mistakes too, it is not all just your fault." Lorelai admitted. "I went to Chris in a fog of rage. I was mad that you didn't choose me so I wanted to hurt you. It's unforgivable."

Luke sat on the stool beside her and took her hands in his, "Lorelai, I'm still in love with you. I know you just buried your husband today, so I'm not expecting you to reciprocate anything right now. But I know the mistakes that I made and the ones that you made. And with all of that I know one thing to be true, I've never been happier than when I was with you. We're meant to be together and I will wait as long as you want to either pick up where we left off or simply start dating and try again."

Lorelai took a deep breath and shook her head as her eyes met his, "Luke, you know that my time with you was the happiest of my life. Not only was our love life amazing, you were my best friend, you were more of a Dad to my daughter than her biological father ever was. I've never felt safer, more content or right in my entire life. But …"

"No," he begged. "No buts. Just give it time. Mourn Chris, heal from the trauma of . . . you know. But I will still be here, by your side, as your best friend for now. Hopefully one day, as something more."

"I need to go." Lorelai got up and left the diner.