A/N: Sorry if you like shorter chapters, this one is a long one (compared to what I usually post. I also will admit that some dialogue is pulled directly from the series - sorry writers. I also apologize if your someone who reads my other stuff because you will know this has happened again, but I can't seem to keep my stories very short. This one got away from me again. I keep getting ideas. But I think the wedding will be the final chapter. Thank you all for the reviews, favourites and follows. I can't tell you what it means to me despite being awful about replying.
Enjoy!
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The holidays were over and most of the world was back to their regularly scheduled programming. Rory was at Yale, diving into her final semester and trying to keep Paris calm within Project Finish Line. Luke was happy knowing the house was done, so his focus was only on the diner and helping Lorelai with any last minute wedding details. Lorelai herself was doing her best to avoid being called a Bridezilla. She let her bridesmaids pick their own dresses once they all agreed on a colour scheme. Sookie had total creative control of the menu AFTER she agreed to listen to Luke's requests. She even agreed that her Mother's contact for linens and rentals was better than hers and used the man from Hartford. The wedding was two weeks away and all seemed to be going smoothly.
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It was a bright Wednesday morning. The Town Square was covered in snow and the sky was blue. It hadn't snowed in a few days so the streets and sidewalks were clear, letting people get around with smiles on their faces. The breakfast rush had died down and the morning lull began in the diner. Caesar was in the kitchen, cleaning and singing along with the radio that Luke pretended to hate. Luke was wiping down tables and singing Under The Boardwalk quietly enough that Caesar would never know.
The door flung open and Lorelai called out, "I need coffee, STAT!"
Luke shook his head and made his way behind the counter. "Good Morning! How are you today?" He said pointedly.
She smiled sheepishly, "Hi."
He held a mug of coffee just out of her reach and leaned down to her. She lifted off the stool she had nabbed and kissed him. He then placed the mug in front of her.
"Sorry," she said before taking a long sip of her favourite drink on the planet. "I missed you last night."
"Are you talking to me or the coffee?" He leaned against the back counter, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Both of course," she answered. "The Petersons' Anniversary party went so late. They reminded me a bit of Buddy and Maisy if they lived in my Mom's world. It was a lot of fun, but so much work. Especially since Michel insulted them and I couldn't have him near them."
"I'm surprised that doesn't happen more," Luke gruffed.
"In all fairness his dog is sick and it freaked him out. I actually kind of get it. Thank YOU for being with Paul Anka last night. Admit it, you love him."
"I'll admit that I love you, how's that?"
She smiled and exhaled, "Can I actually get a cup to-go? I didn't sleep most of last night. I'm going to go home, take a long hot bath and get some sleep. Are you working the dinner shift too?"
"Yeah," he started to answer as he filled her order, grabbing an extra large to-go cup, pouring the brew with ease and carefully attaching the lid. He picked up the tongs and placed a cherry danish into a small paper bag and placed them both in front of her. "I want to give Lane as much time off as possible before the wedding. She's been so great and she trained Joe, so now I have two really competent people here in addition to Caesar. Plus Joe can cook, so he can also help Caesar if it gets busy."
"That's awesome," She stood and leaned over the counter to kiss him again. "I'll call you later and let you know if I'm coming here for dinner or if you should just bring me home some food."
"Okay."
Her phone began to ring in her purse.
"Out," he barked.
"No one is here and it's cold out." She batted her eyes at him.
He shook his head as she answered the phone, "Hello?"
"MOM!"
"Rory, what's wrong?" The panic in her voice not only grabbed Luke's attention, but Caesar came out from the kitchen.
"I'm in an ambulance. I was in Grandpa's economics class and he collapsed. We're heading to the John Skinner Medical Center."
"I'm on my way, Sweets. I'll be there as fast as I can!"
"Mom, wait. I can't get a hold of Grandma. You gotta find her! The maid said she was at the club, but she's not answering her cell and I was just left on hold when I called their front desk. Paris keeps calling me though, asking me what she can do and telling me things to ask the paramedics."
"Rory, call Paris back. Tell her to go to the club and find Grandma. If anyone can get through to those snooty buggers for an emergency, it will be Paris. Plus she can then drive Mom to the hospital. I'm getting in the car now and I'll be at the hospital as fast as humanly possible."
"Good idea," Rory agreed. "Thanks Mom. I love you."
"Love you too kid. Stay strong, Mommy's on her way."
Lorelai closed her phone and looked at Luke with wild eyes, "My Dad collapsed in class, in front of Rory. She's on her way to the hospital in an ambulance with him."
"I'm driving," Luke commanded. He turned towards the kitchen and saw Caesar was there.
"Go!" Caesar waved. "I've got everything here under control."
Luke patted Caesar on the shoulder as he went to the back to grab his coat, "Thanks. Do me a favour and call Sookie."
"Will do." He then looked at Lorelai, "I hope your Dad's okay."
"Thanks Caesar, we'll stay in touch," Lorelai smiled weakly.
Luke drove faster than he normally would. The quiet in the car was unsettling. Every other time they drove she was either chatting away or singing along to the radio. He wanted to say something to make her feel better, but he couldn't find the words.
"I was so happy that he was going to walk me down the aisle," she finally broke the silence. She gasped after the words left her lips and covered her face with her hands. Her sobs broke his heart. He reached over and rubbed her arm,
"He's going to be okay," Luke said softly. "I know it sounds crazy. But I had this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach when my parents died. Both times, it was like I knew it was going to be that day before it happened. I knew it when I was driving to the hospital, I knew it as I told them both that I would take care of Liz."
"I love you, Babe. But I don't think you're going to have the same connection to my Dad as you did to your own parents."
He sighed as he pulled into the hospital parking lot and found a spot near the door.
Lorelai's phone rang, she flipped it open, "Rory?"
"Hi. Just wanted you to know that I'm not in the E.R. anymore, I'm in the cardiac intensive-care unit, the C.I.C.U.. It's on the first floor. Follow a reddish orange line."
"Okay, we're here. We parked the car and are heading into the hospital now. I see the line," Lorelai narrated as Luke followed beside her. "Oh hi," Lorelai said into her phone as she laid eyes on her daughter. The two women embraced.
Luke rubbed Rory's back as Lorelai held her. Rory turned to Luke with a sad smile, "Hey," she greeted him. She then looked serious and started reporting, "So um, they're doing tests, that's where he is - blood tests and another E.K.G. They did an E.K.G. In the ambulance, but I guess they're still trying to determine how much damage was actually caused by the heart attack. But that's definitely what it was. It was a myocardial infarction, which is a heart attack. And I guess the E.K.G. tells them how bad the blockage of his arteries is and what degree of coronary-artery disease he has, or C.A.D., As they're calling it, because, apparently, everything is - what do you call it? An anagram? What's the thing with the letters? Acronyms! The C.A.D., C.I.C.U., The E.K.G." She took a breath, "I'm sorry. I'm so frazzled. It was so awful. He just fell down."
Lorelai smiled, "It's gonna be okay Sweets." She pulled Rory into another hug.
Luke motioned to the seats, "Let's sit."
The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes before they heard Paris saying, "This is the cardiac intensive-care unit, they should be here."
Rory jumped to her feet and caught Paris' eye. "Grandma," she called out as Paris directed Emily to the group now standing waiting to greet her.
"What do you know?" Emily asked as a greeting.
"He's in for tests, that's all we know." Lorelai said.
"Are you the family of Richard Gilmore," a man asked from behind them.
Everyone turned to see the doctor as Emily answered, "I'm Emily Gilmore, Richard's wife."
"I'm Dr. Goldstein. We just sent him to the cath lab to get an angiogram. After that, we should be able to get a better sense of what kind of blockage is around his heart. And then we'll figure out where to go from there."
"Where would we go," Lorelai asked.
Luke tuned out as the doctor explained what tests they were doing at how they would solve any of the problems that might arise. He wanted to be strong and pay attention. But he kept thinking back to the times his parents were taken for tests, and he was losing his fight to stay positive. The doctor left after answering some of Emily's questions. Then Rory and Paris left in search of hot beverages.
Emily finally sat down, Luke and Lorelai following suit, as Emily ranted. "You would not believe the incompetence I've dealt with today at the club, I'm telling you the young men and women that work there must have a combined I.Q. Of a grapefruit. You ask them for a towel, and they look at you with the most vacant eyes. I'm telling you I thought the girl at reception was blind the entire first month she worked there – blind but very enthusiastic about the application of eyeliner."
"She sounds pretty," Lorelai said absently.
Emily ignored her and went on, "My husband has a heart attack, and how long does it take them to find me? Forty minutes! The nitwit probably got lost between the front desk and the tennis courts."
"I'm sorry Emily, that sounds terrible," Luke offered.
"I mean none of this would have been a problem if I'd been allowed to keep my cell phone. But no cell phones have been banned allegedly because of noise pollution. Well if that's the reason, they should ban Rupert Montgomery. Because I'm telling you every time that man hits a ball, he grunts like a rutting hog. I mean he's twice as loud as my cell phone. And they won't even let you leave your cell phone on vibrate, it's preposterous. I mean what do they think we're doing, making drug deals?"
"I doubt that's it," Lorelai chuckled.
"Which, by the way, are absolutely, 100% taking place. I saw Evelyn Inwood handing Cardum Kelly a small, blue pill in the ladies' locker room while they made shady eyes at each other." Emily ranted on.
"Drug deals at the club? Mom, I don't think so. But yeah, no cell phone rules are awful," she smirked at Luke.
He shook his head at her.
"Absolutely," Emily insisted. "The whole place is going to the dogs. Oh, and now apparently they want to start charging us for meals, on top of the king's ransom in dues. It's appalling. I mean the very idea of charging extra for the junk they serve there. Oh, and you know what really irks me?"
"Hmm?" Lorelai responded.
"They very rarely serve fish."
"That's terrible, especially for people who love fish."
"In a way it's their fault that Richard's here."
"What do you mean?" Luke asked.
Emily looked at him seriously, " Two months ago, I read an article that said fish has been shown to prevent heart attacks and stroke and has innumerable other health benefits. It's the omega-3 fatty acids, and it's an incredibly lean source of protein. So I had the maid cut out the article so I could show it to Richard. He agreed to eat more fish, but he said not for dinner. My spineless kitchen staff caved."
"Fish is definitely better for you than red meat. Maybe you can offer chicken as a dinner option if he is refusing the fish though," Luke offered.
Emily smiled and nodded at Luke, "I will, yes. Thank you."
Rory and Paris returned with a tray of hot drinks. As they handed them out Luke pointed over Rory's shoulder, "Dr. Goldstein is coming."
"Doctor, what can you tell us," Emily asked as she rose from her seat.
"Well, the blockage is worse than we'd hoped. I think the best course of action, really the only course of action, is to do an emergency bypass surgery."
"Open-heart surgery," Lorelai gasped.
"Let him finish, Lorelai," Emily said stoically.
The doctor tried to smile to keep them calm, "We'd like to go into surgery as soon as possible. So now would be the time if you'd like to visit him."
"Yes, yeah, we'd like to see him," Rory said immediately.
"I'll stay here and start making calls," Paris nodded.
"If you'll follow me please," Dr. Goldstein said as he started to walk.
Lorelai grabbed Luke's hand as she began to walk. He squeezed her hand and looked back at Paris, "Call Sookie first. Her number will be saved in Rory's phone."
"Feel free to ask me any questions you might have," Dr. Goldstein offered as they walked down the hall. He didn't realize who he was talking to and Emily started her questioning.
"Are you the one who will be performing the surgery?"
"Yes, along with a team. I'll be the chief surgeon."
"And where did you go to school?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You did attend school, didn't you?"
"Mom!" Lorelai scolded.
"No, it's okay," Dr. Goldstein waved."Yes, I got my B.A. At Yale. I went to medical school at Harvard. I did my residency at Columbia Presbyterian before I became chief of cardiothoracic surgery here."
"See," Emily smirked at Lorelai.
"See what?"
"Now here we are," Dr. Goldstein announced outside a door, "I'll let you visit. A nurse will be by shortly to begin prepping Richard for surgery."
"Thank you, doctor," Emily and Lorelai said in unison.
Emily and Rory entered Richard's room while Lorelai paused for a moment at the door.
"You don't have to come in," she said to Luke.
"Do you want me in there?"
She nodded.
He squeezed her hand in response and nudged her forward.
Emily was at Richard's side, "How are you doing?" Before he could answer she continued, "I met your doctor. Now I think he's quite competent and I watched his hands closely and they're steady as a statue's. Oh, and, Richard, he's a Yale undergrad, Harvard medical school."
Richard smiled, "You don't say. Well, if he does a good job I'll, I'll forget the Harvard part. I'll write that off as a youthful indiscretion." He then turned his focus to Rory, "
"Now, Rory, I'm sorry I gave you a scare in class today."
Rory reached to touch his arm, "No don't be silly. I'm just glad you're okay. And you're gonna be more okay after the surgery."
Lorelai finally found her voice, "Are you okay, Dad? I mean how are you feeling, considering everything? You look okay."
"Well all in all, I think I'd rather be in Philadelphia," he answered.
Rory chuckled, "Ronald Reagan."
"Quoting W.C. Fields," Richard and Luke said in unison. Richard turned to smile and nod at Luke.
"Oh, I didn't know that," Rory mused.
"It would be great now," Lorelai piped up. "You know winter is a great time to see the Liberty Bell and the cream cheese. That's all I got on Philadelphia."
Emily rolled her eyes, "Lorelai."
"Oh the cheesesteaks," Lorelai added. "The Philly cheesesteaks."
"Lorelai please," Emily snapped. "Richard, is your neck getting enough support? It looks like you need another pillow."
"I can go ask at the nurses' station," Rory suggested.
"Girls, would you give me a moment alone with Luke," Richard asked in a raspy voice.
All three Gilmore Girls were wide eyed. Lorelai looked at Luke, he nodded and smiled.
"Not to worry, I'm not going to give him the kiss of death."
Lorelai turned to her Dad, "Did you just make a Godfather reference?"
Richard simply smiled, "Your future husband will be fine, I promise."
"I'll get you more pillows," Emily announced. She smoothed Richard's hair back and then turned to leave.
"See you soon, Grandpa," Rory placed a small kiss on his cheek and followed Emily.
Lorelai was still looking at Richard. He recognized the fear and love in her eyes.
"Dad, I just - I um"
"I know Lorelai," he smiled. "Me too."
Her smile widened for a moment, then she bit her lip and blinked back the tears. She turned to leave, squeezing Luke's hand before she left.
When the door closed behind Lorelai, Richard and Luke locked eyes.
"Those girls are my world," Richard started.
"I know." Luke nodded.
"I'm already beyond confident that you will do everything in your power to protect and care for Lorelai and Rory. I can't tell you how sorry I am for Emily's and my past actions in trying to keep you away from Lorelai."
"Sir, it's really okay. I understand."
"That's nice Luke, but I'm not sure I understand. I regret that I didn't take the time to get to know you better the instant I knew you were important to the girls. It is something I plan to rectify if I make it out of here."
Luke shuffled uncomfortably, "You can't talk like that. Everything will be okay."
Richard smirked, "I think we both know that there's always a possibility it won't be okay. So with that I mind I need to ask you a favour. I know I have no right to do so -"
"I'll do it," Luke insisted. "As long as your favour isn't that I stay away from Lorelai and Rory, I'll do it."
"And what if I ask you to kill someone?"
"Wow, I thought the Godfather reference was just a joke," Luke grinned.
Richard laughed and pointed at Luke, "Good one. But honestly. I need you to look after Emily the way you've been looking after my other girls."
"Oh Sir -"
"I know she'll put up a fight. I know she'll try to be strong. But she's terrified of losing the girls, especially Lorelai once Rory is done with school. The two of them can be so stubborn. I need you to try to keep the peace. I need you to remind Lorelai that you only get one set of parents and that despite all the differences, hers love her very much. I know you can't control anything, I'm just asking you to try."
"Of course," Luke agreed. "Believe it or not Sir, I do think that Lorelai is happier with both of you in her life. I'd overheard many conversations she and Rory had in my diner, things she may not admit to Mrs. Gilmore. But she loves you both too."
Richard cleared his throat, he tried not to blink, worried it would cause the tears in his eyes to spill out. "Luke, I need something else. If or when I go, be it today or ten years from now, I need you to let them know it's okay to sell the house. Lorelai won't want it. Who knows where Rory will want to put down roots, and the place is just too big for Emily to be alone. If she wants to stay, that's fine. But she shouldn't feel like it would hurt me or be a betrayal if she wanted to move on."
"Do you really think she would listen to me?"
"I put these wishes in writing. I just wanted you to hear this, man to man, so you can help them make an informed decision. I was in my right mind when I wrote my wishes. The house is just a building. Emily made it my home,"
Luke nodded, now unable to stop his tears at the sweet sentiment. He felt the same way about Lorelai, knowing he would live anywhere she asked, as long as she was with him, he was home.
"I give you my word. I will be there for all your girls till the day I die. And if there's ever talk about the house, I will tell them about this conversation."
"You're a good man, Luke." Richard extended his hand.
"Thank you, Sir." Luke shook Richard's hand.
"Thank you."
The men smiled at each other before Richard finally said, "You should let Emily back in here before she breaks the door down."
Luke grunted a small laugh and headed to the door.
Emily flew into the room with two pillows in her hands.
Rory was chatting on her phone and Luke mouthed "Where's your Mom?"
Rory pointed over her shoulder and whispered "Waiting room."
Luke nodded and left the room. He kept his head down until he reached the waiting room. He saw Lorelai speaking with Sookie, Babette, Morey and Patty.
"Hey everyone," Luke greeted.
"Hey," Lorelai smiled when she noticed him. "Are you okay? What did my Dad say?"
He saw the worry in her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder, "Guy talk. It's all good."
Lorelai brow creased, but she didn't push him for further information.
"Would you like a scone," Sookie asked.
It was then that Luke noticed the many Tupperware containers full of food that Sookie had brought.
"When we heard what happened we just had to come," Patty said to Luke. "Poor Rory, having to watch that 's awful. How is Richard?"
"I was just in there and he seems fine," Luke answered honestly. "The doctor is optimistic that this is a common procedure and everything should be okay."
"Morey's brother had the bypass surgery and he's as good as new," Babette said while rubbing Lorelai's back. Morey stood beside her nodding.
"It was so sweet of you all to come," Lorelai smiled.
"Michel wanted to come," Sookie said. "But I told him that it would do us good knowing that he was there holding down the fort."
"I'll call him in a minute," Lorelai nodded.
Emily and Rory joined the group.
"They took him down for the surgery, apparently it will take a while. Maybe you all should go home and I'll call you later."
Lorelai looked at her Mother like she was insane, "I'm not going anywhere."
"Me either!" Rory agreed.
Emily's scowl melted into a thankful smile, "Okay then. Oh! You know what? We need to get Richard's car! The Yale security will ticket if he's parked there overnight. Luke, you can drive to the Yale campus and pick up Richard's car while we wait here.
"Mom! He doesn't need to do that, I'll cover the cost of the ticket."
"It's not the cost, Lorelai! I'm sure your Father wouldn't want that on his Yale record!"
Luke touched Lorelai's shoulder, "It's no problem."
Emily reached into her purse and handed Luke keys, "I'm not exactly sure where it's parked, but it shouldn't be too hard to find. Check the faculty lot and wherever they have parking. It's a 2006 Jaguar. It's green. Oh, and I think it's a little low on if you wouldn't mind filling the tank on the way back to the house, that would be great."
Lorelai just glared at her Mother.
"Mom, he's supposed to drive the car to the house, then what? Take a cab all the way back to Yale to get his truck?"
"I have no objection to that. Do you need some cash?"
"Seriously It's no problem," Luke tried to assure Lorelai.
"See," Emily said to Lorelai. Then she went back to giving Luke instructions. "Now fill it with premium, not whatever sludge they try to pass off as regular. And you do know how to drive a European car, don't you?"
"Mom," Lorelai finally snapped.
"Oh and I need you to bring a check for the fish man."
"Mom, he's doing enough already. Why don't you reschedule the fish man for later in the week."
"Because this is important!"
Rory finally piped up, "I can go with Luke. I'll help him find Grandpa's car, we'll wait for the fish man and I want to get some of grandpa's stuff so he has it when he wakes up." She then noticed Lorelai's face. "Unless you want to go with Luke and I'll stay with Grandma."
"No, it's fine. She's my Mother, I should be here".
"Well, you're my Mother," Rory offered.
"Seriously Babe, go with Luke. You'll know the Yale grounds better than me."
Emily gave Luke a cheque and her house keys. "Now have him put the Salmon, Swordfish, King Mackerel, and Tuna in the downstairs freezer and the Trout, Sea Bass, Snapper, and Bluefish in the butler's pantry."
"Salmon, Swordfish, King Mackerel, Tuna downstairs. Trout, sea bass, snapper, Bluefish upstairs, got it. Rory, you ready?" He kissed Lorelai, "Call Rory's cell if you need anything. Are you sure you're okay with me leaving?"
"Yeah, thank you for doing this."
"It will help keep her calm," he smiled. "Plus as her almost Son-in-Law I gotta score points where I can." He kissed her again before turning to leave with Rory.
A few hours later, Lorelai sat with her Mom in the waiting room. They were nibbling on some of the baked goods Sookie had left them. Emily barely took two bites and placed the croissant on the napkin in her lap.
"Mom, you've gotta eat. Stop worrying about the car, the fish or all those other details. You need to try to relax."
Emily took a deep breath, "Lorelai, six years ago, when your father was in the hospital, we were completely unprepared, and we agreed to never let that happen again. So we made a plan, and I am simply following through on the plan."
"I'm sure, but we're here. Rory, Luke and I will help out. YOU don't have to do everything. This isn't all your job."
"Your father and I have been married for over forty years. For most of my life, I have been the wife of Richard Gilmore. I run his house. I plan his meals. I buy his clothes, entertain his business associates. When he loses his reading glasses, I find them. When he wants a nightcap. I make it for him. If he can't remember the name of a colleague's wife, I whisper it in his ear. That's what I do - I take care of him. That's my job. That's who I am. If I could be performing his surgery right now, I would be, but I can't - it's out of my hands." Her voice broke, "It's out of my hands, and there's nothing I can do but wait. I could lose him, Lorelai. He's my whole life, and there's nothing I can do!" The tears finally won over and slipped down Emily's cheeks.
Lorelai wrapped her arm around her Mother's shoulders and pulled her close. "Oh, Mom."
"I'm sorry. This is inappropriate," Emily sighed as she pulled away from Lorelai's embrace.
"No, it's not. It's fine," Lorelai insisted. "Let me be here for you."
Emily smiled weakly and rested her head on Lorelai's shoulder. "Thank you."
They sat for a few moments in silence, Lorelai almost drifted off to sleep when she heard a voice say, "Lor? Emily?"
"Oh my, Christopher," Emily sat up. "What are you doing here?"
"I was visiting my Mom and she said that Richard was taken to the hospital. I had to come see how he was."
"He's still in surgery," Emily answered. "In fact, I'm going to head to the nurses' station for an update."
Lorelai sat there in utter shock, "What the hell are you really doing here?" She stood up and tried to usher him away from the waiting area.
"Why wouldn't I come? He's my kid's Grandfather."
"That didn't bring you here six years ago, when something similar happened. Did Rory call you?"
"No. And that's another issue, shouldn't I have been notified? I'm family."
Lorelai burst out laughing, "You've got to be kidding me! Neither Rory or I have ever been a big enough pull to get you to be there for us when needed. You're only around when it suits you! So tell me why you're really here."
Chris sighed, "I'm telling the truth. I was in town visiting my Mom. She was at the Club when Emily was notified about Richard. She told me, so I came here to check up on you guys. Where's Rory?"
"She's running a few errands for Mom. WITH LUKE. So maybe you should get out of here before they come back."
"Luke," Chris almost shouted. "You're still with that guy? Do you know that he punched me? He came to my home, rang the bell and when I answered the door he sucker punched me and left. THAT is the type of guy you want to be with? You want him to have an influence on our daughter?"
"You will not do this now," Lorelai insisted. "Yes, I know Luke punched you. And I can't really blame him. You knew that I was engaged to Luke hours before I showed up on your doorstep. You knew I was distraught about the fight I had with him and you kept pouring the drinks."
"Hey wait a minute -"
"No! I may have come to you with a bad idea. But I remember saying to you that it might be a mistake for me to be there. That's when you brought out the tequila."
"For god sake, you're a grown woman."
"Who regrets every time I slept with you except for the time it gave me Rory! If you really cared about me, if you were really my friend, you wouldn't have wanted me to use you to get back at Luke. You would have told me to wait until I was sure. I'll have to live with my choices, thankfully Luke can forgive me. But if I never see you again, it will be too soon. Rory's an adult who can make her own choices. If she wants a relationship with you, that's her business, but it doesn't mean I have to. Goodbye Chris." She turned and came face to face with a stunned Luke, Rory and Emily.
"Rory, kid," Chris pleaded. "Talk to your Mom. She's gotta see reason."
"I think Mom sees things perfectly," Rory stated calmly. "That's why she's marrying Luke. Now I think she asked you to leave."
"Kid, you gotta help me here!"
Just then Emily stepped forward, getting in between Rory and Chris, "Christopher, I think you'd better go now."
"Emily, I . . ."
"Leave now, please," Emily commanded. "I'd hate to hate to call security."
Chris looked helplessly at Lorelai, then Rory. He bowed his head and walked away.
Lorelai smiled at her Mother, "You know, you need a mask and a horse when you do that."
"Yeah," Luke smiled. "You can be my bodyguard any day!"
Emily gave them all a genuine smile, "It was nice to be able to actually do something useful."
Rory put her arm around Emily's shoulders. "Come on Grandma, that earned you a coffee from the cafeteria."
Hours later, in Richard's recovery room, Emily had fallen asleep, Rory was reading and Lorelai was in the middle. Her eyes kept growing heavy as she tried to read the magazine Rory had bought. The door pushed open slowly and Luke poked his head in. He held out a phone to Lorelai and whispered, "Sookie wants to talk to you."
Quietly, Lorelai followed him out to the hallway and took the phone from him. He watched her plaster on a smile as she updated Sookie on her Father's condition. She then helped troubleshoot some issues at the inn and even made a few jokes. He was so happy to see her smile. But then Sookie said something and Lorelai's face dropped.
"Oh, um, yeah. I hadn't even thought of that." She looked at Luke with a sad smile, "I'll talk to Luke and get back to you. Thanks, Sook. I love you too. No, it's really okay. It's something I gotta think about. Yeah. Talk to you later."
"What was that about?" Luke asked worriedly.
Lorelai tried to swallow the lump in her throat, "Umm Sookie wanted to know if we were postponing the wedding to make sure Dad was healthy enough to be there and walk me down the aisle."
"Postpone," Luke asked sadly. It was his fault, they postponed the first time. He would do whatever she wanted, but he hated the idea. "What do you want to do," he asked.