TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
Rory on the campaign trail or perhaps not, something I think could have happened had ASP ended the tale herself with Rory pregnant at 22.
Disclaimer: Nope not mine, just borrowing them to make my tales fun for everyone.
A/N: Thanks in advance to all who follow, comment and favorite, you make my day!
Chapter the first - Musings
Rory rode quietly on the bus, is was past eleven pm and as her fellow reporters snoozed the bus was making its way to Cleveland, OH, she had no idea why she was awake, but she tilted her head to the window and watched as the world rolled by.
Logan sat in his home office and lamented the empty desk that sat in front of him. It may have been weeks, but no amount of work could release her from his heart and mind. He clicked through his RSS feed and read a few of her articles, this is what she had said no for, her life on the road, her wide open future. He had to admit, her voice was new, her optimism a breath of fresh air to a dank topic, she had chops. She didn't just regurgitate the speeches, she ruminated on their true meaning, the impact each candidate could offer, her words invited you to see the campaign as she did and opportunity to learn. She wrote in a way that the reader experienced it as if they were there. She had a bit of Edgar J. Morrow to her only sweet. He knew this was really why she wanted to wait to get married, not that she didn't love him, but that she truly loved the 'story' and she had a true gift in telling it. He also conceded that she was right in her refusal, he had gone about it all wrong, he could see that now, hindsight really is 20/20, what he really wished was that he had taken her offer that she would be there, someday, just a little bit later.
Lorelai looked at Rory's empty room and sighed, it had always been the plan, but now that Rory was truly gone, she was lonely. Sure she had Luke and Paul Anka, but it wasn't the same as having her baby, her best pal around. The mini-her that could mock movies, guzzle coffee and all while eating copious amounts of junk food just to waste time. While she knew it was time to let go, to let Rory test her wings, it wasn't easy. Still it meant she had to finally let go.
Tristan was walking the shoreline he had just read a very thought provoking article, it wasn't the content, politics he could live without, it was the author, R. Gilmore, his Mary, that is what piqued his interest. That girl had filled his imaginations and musings for so long he had written teen fiction about it. She was his 'what if?' the one that got away as it were, he wondered if now was the time to find out.
Rory found her energy was off, she couldn't sleep well and some days all she could do was fight to keep awake, it was frustrating. This morning she was in line for the breakfast buffet supplied by the hotel, coffee, help yourself waffles, cereal, scrambled eggs, bacon and fruit, the fruit seemed to call her name and she piled it high on her plate. She was going for her fourth serving when her friend Sally laughed, "Wow, Gilmore you are devouring that fruit as if you want to ward off scurvy, off to become a pirate soon?" Sally laughed and Rory froze momentarily. She loaded her plate again and sat across from Sally eating in sudden contemplation.
"Sal, what day is it?" She asked off handedly.
"Why it's Christmas sir" she retorted with a poor Cockney accent, then replied seriously "July 15, why do you ask, our days all meld into one eventually, at least until November second next year." This wasn't her first Rodeo at fifty she had seen plenty in the political realm raise and fall.
Rory chuckled at the joke, it was something her mother would say and why she and Sal had become fast friends, "Really I was just counting down from my graduation party, odd I know but it seems so long ago when really it has only been a few scant weeks."
Sally was just as perceptive as Lorelai, "Any significance to that time?" she twitched her brow as if guessing the significance.
"Well truth be told it has been a stressful time and confidentially, I am a little late, if you get my meaning." Rory quietly supplied.
"Well kiddo, I say we stop at the local PP for a quick looksee, and then you will know, we don't have another puppet show until tomorrow and you need to know today." Sally reached across the table and patted her hand, she had been there herself and wanted the cub to know she had a momma bear on the road.
Rory nodded in agreement, a trip to Planned Parenthood was not a bad idea, her insurance bill would send a notice to her mom and she really needed her privacy, "That is a great idea Sal, mind coming with, I can really use a hand to hold?"
Sal laughed, "As if I'd let a pup like you wander around on your own, I'm right with you kid."
Rory was oddly relieved that she would have company on her visit to the clinic.
The few minutes that had past since they arrived, were through intake, had blood and urine taken seemed like hours, Rory suspected, hell Sally suspected, and Rory wondered what this all would mean.
The doctor entered the room and asked if she could speak freely in front of Sally or if Rory wanted to hear the results with her friend there. Rory looked to Sally who nodded.
"It's okay doctor, I trust her, you can say what the results are and we can discuss it freely." Rory unconsciously reached for Sally's hand.
"Well Ms. Gilmore you are pregnant, we will have to do an ultrasound to determine how far you are exactly but based on your intake responses I would estimate 8 weeks." The news was almost expected by both women and response by both was affirmative.
"Can I get the ultra sound to confirm?" Rory had a small childlike voice and Sally was reassuring with a hand pat.
"Well, you may want your friend to leave the room, it is an internal exam." The doctor explained.
Sally quietly nodded and left, Rory slipped out of her lower garments and draped the sheet over her lower half while placing her ankles in the stirrups, the doctor wrapped the wand in a condom and entered her, it was cold and uncomfortable but Rory turned her head to the screen. An odd whooshing sound filled the room and Rory looked to the monitor and saw a blip with a butterfly action happening.
The doctor pointed to the screen, "That is your baby, the sound you are hearing is its heart, by the look of things you are about nine weeks, and the fetus is healthy and strong."
Rory just watched the screen wishing Logan was beside her, a baby, she was going to be a mom, he needed to know, they had so much to discuss. Her mind wandered to the bus schedule, Ohio, Denver, Nevada, then California, three weeks, it was too long, she would show by then, he needed to know now, he needed to decide if he was in or out, she knew he would be in, but did he still want her. The doctor printed out seven copies of the image, handed her a cd and left her to redress and decide her next step.
Rory walked up to Sally in the waiting room, "Confirmed, I even heard its heart, she held up the CD, oh and here is a picture." she showed sally the blurred blob image with the odd butterfly center.
"So kid, are you keeping or sweeping?" Sally was no nonsense that way.
"I have to see the dad, then I will know, but in my heart I want to keep, I love it already, because of its dad." Rory had a far away look.
"Look, I will record the next speeches, you can forward your reports, but you need to go now, today, see this baby's daddy and decide your next step. I envy you kid, it looks to me like you know daddy will step up to the plate, I was never that fortunate. I will cover for you, but kid you have to know." Sally held Rory in a brief hug.
"Thanks Sal, I really do need to tell him ASAP, I can't tell you how much your support and help means to me." Rory flipped her phone and sent a text to Stephanie, "need a jet plane, any available?" the response was quick, 'where and when'.