Luke made sure to be as quiet as possible when he woke up and got ready in the morning to not bother Rory who was sound asleep in April's bed. He had heard her tossing and turning in the middle of the night.

He was in the diner before sunrise prepping for the breakfast crowd. Ever since his talk with Morey he was going through the motions of his life while every second fighting the urge to run to Lorelai and tell her that he would protect her for the rest of his life. He couldn't eat as the guilt made him sick. The thought that if he had just married her when he was supposed to, like he wanted to, this never would have happened to her. He wanted to throw up at the thought that not only did he mess up his relationship with her and break both of their hearts, Rory's heart and the hearts of the whole town, but he managed to make her run into the arms of a man who hit her. A man that has made Rory scared to sleep in her own home. At least he thought that was the reason, he wasn't 100% sure what Rory knew and there was no way that he was going to be the one to tell her. Or should he? It could save Lorelai the pain of having that conversation.

Once the kitchen was prepped, batter was made, coffee brewing and the grill warmed, he went to open the door. He was hoping the customers would be a distraction from his thoughts and guilt. When he unlocked the door he saw Sookie rushing towards him. He opened the door, "What are you doing here? Are you okay?"

"I'm pregnant and hormonal! Don't ask. But I need to talk to you." She looked around the diner confirming no one else was around. "I called Lorelai as soon as I woke up to see how her Dad was doing and how she was feeling." She shook her head in disbelief about what she was about to say, "Luke, Chris is dead."

"What!?" Luke said completely floored.

"Apparently he showed up at the hospital last night, Lorelai faked sleeping while he fought with Emily and he left. A few hours later Lorelai got a call from the police saying that he was in a car accident. I need to go there now to take her to the police station. Oh my God this is such a mess." Sookie was crying.

Luke instinctively hugged her. "Wow. This is unbelievable. What was he fighting about with Emily? I thought she was his biggest fan!"

"That's not important."

The friends were still hugging when Luke decided to let Sookie in on the fact that he knew the truth. "Were they fighting because Emily found out that he hit Lorelai?"

Sookie sucked in her breath and backed away from him, "What?"

Luke sighed "Lorelai's injuries, I know he slapped her and that her fall was because she was struggling to get away from him."

"Who told you?" Sookie cried.

"You just did." Luke covered for Morey.

"Dammit Luke, I'm pregnant and upset. It's not fair to trick me like that. Especially when I was sworn to secrecy. Lorelai is embarrassed, guilty and doesn't want Rory to know."

"Why is she guilty?"

"Chris was set off because he saw you two together with Doula and realized she still loves you. Then he found the character reference letter that she wrote for you yesterday."

Luke went white, "This happened because of me?" he whispered.

Sookie took his hands, "No Luke! This is not your fault! No matter what you or Lorelai did, it was Chris' choice to hit her."

"To WHAT?!" Rory gasped from the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh man,

" Luke said, his eyes wide.

Sookie just stared at him with terror in her eyes.

Rory walked up to them slowly, "Okay one of you is going to tell me everything that is going on and the other one is going to grab me a large cup of coffee!"

Luke turned to get the coffee and Sookie sat at a table with Rory, "Listen to me Sweetie, there is a lot to talk about, but the first thing you need to know is that Christopher was in a car accident last and well …"

"What?"

Luke set down the coffee and put his hand on Rory's shoulder and took over for Sookie, "The impact killed him. I'm so sorry."

"Wait, what?" Rory gasped looking completely confused. "My Dad is dead?"

Both Sookie and Luke nodded.

"But what were you saying when I came down? Something about -"

"Look," Luke pulled up a chair beside her, "Right now you need to focus on one thing at a time. Yesterday was hard enough and now you have this shock. You and your Mom can sit down in a few days and hash out the rest. Let me drive you to the hospital to be with her. Okay?"

Rory just sat in shock and nodded.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A few hours later, after speaking with the police, identifying the body, calming Rory, agreeing that Francine and Emily could handle the funeral arrangements and keeping tabs on her father, Loreali needed a moment of quiet. She sat alone in a corner of the hospital cafeteria with her eyes closed.

"I don't need much," she whispered. "Just give me the strength to get through these next few weeks."

Suddenly she felt hands on her shoulders, strong, warm and familiar hands.

"Hey," Luke whispered. "You are the strongest woman I know."

"You need to get out more," she laughed.

He pulled up a chair and moved in close to her, "Can we talk?"

"I don't know if I have the strength."

"I get it. Just let me know that you're okay."

Tears slid down her face while she softly shook her head, "I don't even know what part of my life has me feeling the least 'okay'. My father's heart attack, my kid having to watch the grandfather she loves collapse in front of her, the guilt of keeping him out of our lives all those years, the fight I had with my husband, the fact that I ignored him the last time he came to see me or the fact that he died."

"Lorelai, I know that things are overwhelming now. But I need you to know one thing. I'm here. For you. For Rory. Always. I know that we aren't in the best place, but that doesn't change the fact that I will always look out for the two of you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it."

She shook her head, "I needed you to marry me last year." She stood up and walked away. He was left alone feeling like she had just simultaneously slapped him in the face, kicked him in the stomach and broke his heart.

Lorelai rounded the corner, pushed open the washroom door and found a stall to throw up. She hurled until she couldn't move and then cried on the floor. She didn't try to hide her sobs, which helped Sookie find her.

"Lorelai? Sweetie, open the door."

Lorelai emerged from the stall an utter mess. Sookie led her to the sink and cleaned her up. She gave her water in a paper cup and watched her drink.

"I'm taking you home. Your father has ordered everyone to go home and get rest. He said your Mom is allowed back to bring him good food for dinner but he doesn't want to see anyone else until tomorrow morning."

Lorelai nodded and silently followed Sookie to her car.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Rory kissed her grandmother goodbye and decided to grab a coffee at the cafeteria before heading back to Yale. Sookie had told her to go and figure out what she needed to do for scheduling some time off due to Chistopher's death. She had let Paris know, and Paris said she was on it so Rory was pretty sure most things would be taken care of when she arrived at the apartment. As she was leaving the cafeteria she saw Luke sitting alone at a table, looking dazed.

"Luke?"

He looked up at her, his face white as a ghost, "This is all my fault. She's right."

"What? How is any of this your fault? Who would blame you for any of it?"

"Your Mom. If I had married her last year none of this would have happened." He got up, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that you had to deal with all of this."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"You said what?" Sookie asked as she let Lorelai into her own house.

"He was just being 'Perfect Luke', saying that he would always be here for me and Rory. But I can't believe that anymore, I can't let him play the hero when it suits him. If he really was that guy we would be married now. He wouldn't have messed things up so royally when April showed up. He wouldn't have pushed me away and I wouldn't have run to Chris after being pushed away for so damn long! This is all his fault."

"Oh Honey. You told him all that?"

They flopped on Lorelai's couch.

"No. I didn't say all of that. When he said he would always be here for whatever I needed I replied with 'I needed you to marry me last year.'."

"So YES, you did say all of that, just not with as many words."

"Sook, you were here last year, right? Me wanting him, me giving him space, me being understanding, HIM doing everything he could to keep me at arms length, postponing our wedding and not even willing to elope! I can't let my heart trust him again."

Sookie nodded, "Yup, you can't trust the guy who has been there for you for all of your ups and downs for the last ten years. No matter who you were dating or what your relationship was with him, he helped you and Rory in any way he could. Then he had a bad year. Was it really bad? Yes. Did he handle it well? No."

"Sookie -"

"Rory was scared to sleep here alone last night and Luke let her stay with him. Your Mom asked him to go find your Dad's car at Yale, with no other instructions. AND HE DID IT. He's been worried sick about you and my friend, he still loves you! I would bet my life on that. Just as I would bet my life on the fact that you still love him.".

Lorelai signed, "I do still love him. I'm not sure I ever stopped. Doesn't mean we can work. Doesn't mean I can forget all the pain."

Sookie wrapped herself around Lorelai and kissed her head, "I'm going to run you a bath. You need to relax and process the last few days. I'm going to call your Mom and see what I can do to help with Chris' funeral."

"How is this all real? Hey, where is Rory?"

Sookie took Lorelai by the hand, helped her off the couch and led her to the stairs, "Rory is at Yale. She's getting some clothes and notes from Paris, speaking to a counsellor about taking a little time off."

"Time off!" Lorelai practically screamed.

"Honey, her Dad died. She's going to need time to process." Sookie was concerned at how dazed Lorelai seemed. If this was any other time she would have called Luke, but now that Lorelai was determined to push him away she hoped Rory would arrive soon.