Acceptance

by scarlet

A/N: Hi.

Chapter One

When Rory first began wondering what people would think and say when she finally started showing, she'd been sitting on her toilet holding a pregnancy test. Now, after freaking out about it for months, the day arrived.

"Rory, let's get you cleaned up," Madeline grabbed her hand quickly and rushed her into the girl's bathroom before Rory could even start to process what happened.

Louise, Paris and almost the entire female student body tried to follow, but a few extremely sharp words from Paris and the chair they jammed under the door knob changed most of their minds.

"I cannot believe you didn't tell us!" Louise just gaped at Rory, "Maybe we do like the same bands, Gilmore! So you must be back with Dean now, right?"

"No...he's not..."

"Oh my God, is this why he left?" Paris was already on a man-hating rampage, "What a jack ass! Who would just abandon their pregnant girlfriend?"

"My dad," Rory muttered, he was the first to come to mind.

The girls just stared at her, remembering for the first time who her mother was, how young her mother was.

"So you're gonna keep it, right? That's why you're still..." Louise gestured to her belly.

"Yeah...that's the plan."

"Clearly you're a great planner," Paris muttered wryly and Rory's stomach tightened as she remembered all those perfect, simple goals.

"I think you're brave," Madeline looked her in the eye for a second and then looked away, "I'd never be able to do that...that's all."

Sadness. Rory frowned and stepped toward the girl who'd tried to rescue her from the Lion's Den. "Madeline..."

The expression was gone when the brunette looked back and she smiled – sunny, friendly...and completely fake.

Rory's hand went to her stomach, perhaps trying to protect her child from the realization that just shot through her mind.

"They're going to eat you alive, Gilmore," Paris sighed, "I hope it's worth it."

"Me too," Rory nodded.


When she finally emerged from the bathroom, surrounded on all sides by people she didn't even fully consider friends all the time, she felt lucky – protected. But that was, of course, before she remembered that they weren't in all her classes.

Part of the problem with sitting in the middle of the class was the number of people behind you, whispering, without the advantage of being right in front of the teacher.

"So," the guy next to her leaned over and winked at her, "Guess you're not the prude we thought you were, huh, Mary?"

The kid had never even hung out with Tristan, but apparently the asshole void could be filled by anyone. "Luckily you are the moron we thought you were, Matt, so I guess the world is right once again."

Matt just smiled, "Honey, I use condoms."

"I'm sure your boyfriend appreciates it," Rory muttered under her breath.

"So what else did you learn from your Mom? Any tricks you'd like to show me?" he asked in a voice that surely he meant to be suggestive.

The girl next to him snickered and he winked at her. Rory just looked at the tittering idiot. Michelle was it? Males, she expected to be mildly retarded in any circumstance relating at all to sex, but another girl? It was disheartening.

"Hey, I didn't knock you up," Michelle sneered at her, "Maybe just keep your panties on next time."

Right. Rory looked forward as the class began. Her eyes stung but she just kept looking up and focusing until it went away. She'd expected this, at least in part. People sucked. That was just how it was.


Rory's pillow was soaked by the time her mom got home.

"Honey! What is it?" Lorelai rushed to rub her back as Rory shrugged. Her energy was gone, but tears still leaked from her eyes.

"They know," she muttered. "Everyone knows."

"Awww, kiddo. What happened?"

"Lots of staring and free advice," Rory shrugged, "Maybe I should keep my legs closed next time and all," she dug her head into her pillow as she relived the humiliation.

"Maybe they should keep their mouth closed next time, until they maybe have a fucking clue what they're talking about," Lorelai muttered.

"Fuck isn't a nice word, mom," Rory smiled.

"Shhh! Not in front of the baby!" Lorelai put her hands on either side of Rory's stomach.


"I changed my mind, we have to back out," Rory tried to figure out how to back their car out of her grandparents' driveway while her mother was still driving it.

"Ror, they have to find out some day."

"We can call them, we should have called them."

"We did call them. You chickened out."

"Right, but you can call them this time," Rory suggested.

"What happened to 'this is my responsibility?'" Lorelai looked amused.

"Screw it, let's go with experience."

"All due respect to, you know, me, but my experience? All bad. No silver lining."

"We could just never tell them! We'll say we just thought we'd adopt a kid off the streets."

"Sorry, hon, no control top pantyhose on earth will be able to help you in a week or so."

"That's only to people looking closely..."

Lorelai didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. No one but Lorelai knew better than Rory that Emily Gilmore didn't miss anything. The fact that she hadn't been previously aware of her granddaughter's condition was only due to their creative excuses for skipping out the last few weeks.

"I should have told her," Rory groaned as she got out of the car and they made the trek of doom up the sidewalk.

Lorelai rang the door bell. "Ten bucks says she blames me within 30 seconds of finding out."

"Only have ten cents."

"Might as well hand it over."

The door opened and the newest maid in the Gilmore household ushered them into the foyer.

"Well, well, if it isn't Lorelai and Rory," Emily stepped into the room, "Oh no Rory, go ahead and let Maybelle take your coat, I already know you're pregnant. Lorelai, what sort of drink would you like – you're not in the family way again too, are you? Perhaps I heard the story wrong?"

Rory froze and the maid slipped her jacket from her fingers.

"Well, don't just gape at me, young lady, surely you thought word would get around after your little display at school today – really, Rory, a food fight? Lorelai, what on earth have you been teaching her?"

"DING! And that's the game, folks. Your dime is mine, kiddo, pony up," Lorelai held out her hand and Rory rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Lorelai, does anything you have to say make sense?" Emily tisked, "Well, come on, then, what did you want to drink, Rory?"

"Anything, it doesn't matter," Rory mumbled.

"Well, of course it matters, Rory," Emily lead them to the sitting room, "You obviously can't have alcohol or caffeine, but I'm not up to date on all the current pregnancy information, so I can't just pick something out of thin air, now can I? 50 years ago I could have handed you a glass of wine and the child would end up deformed-"

"Orange Juice," Rory spit out the first thing that came to mind.

"Ahh, good, I brought the juices out just in case. Lorelai?"

"The more alcohol, the better."

"Lorelai, Rory, it's good to see you," Richard Gilmore walked into the room, "I hear there are congratulations in order, Rory."

He made it sound as though she wasn't the biggest disappointment of his life and it made Rory love him that much more for it.

"Yes, well...I'm sorry that you had to hear it from someone other than me. The reason that I came here tonight-"

"Instead of canceling like last week," Emily threw in.

Rory ignored her. Lorelai slammed her drink.

"...was I wanted to tell you, myself, that I am pregnant, I am planning to keep the baby and I would appreciate your emotional support through this... And...I'm so sorry if I've disappointed you... I disappointed me too."


They melted. Lorelai watched as tears clouded her daughters eyes and her parents fell for it. How could they not? Rory had always been the sweetest child and she didn't deserve this. She should be having her first baby after she landed her dream job and married her perfect boyfriend.

Rory wasn't the rebel Lorelai had been in her situation, she was just a kid.

"Are you planning to stay in school?" Richard was the one to ask. It hadn't been a question he'd asked Lorelai, he'd just assumed that she would. He'd assumed a lot back then... apparently he wasn't planning to repeat the mistake.

"Yes, of course," Rory had nodded enthusiastically, "As long as I can. I may not be able to go to college right away... but I'll make it happen."

"Are you going to be all right financially?" Her mother's largest concern, of course.

"We'll be fine," Lorelai spoke up.

"So you are going to stay at home, then."

"It makes the most sense right now," Rory nodded.

"Are you and your boyfriend making any...long term commitment?" Emily tried to be tactful and Rory blushed.

"No, ma'am, not right now."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow at Rory, who refused to meet her eyes. Apparently Richard and Emily hadn't made the need-to-know list on the child's parentage and she really couldn't blame her daughter since they were pretty much guaranteed to throw a hissy fit. But if Tristan were ever going to come back to the picture at all... they were sure to find out and it begged a question that Lorelai hadn't really even thought to ask before.

Was Rory even planning to tell him?


"There's no way I'm going in there," Rory shook her head fearfully at Doose's Market, a place she'd been avoiding more and more as her pregnancy progressed.

"He'll find out. Once Babette gets wind of it, he'll be the next to know."

"So we'll hide from Babette too, please, Mom? I just want to eat my cheetos and watch TV right now."

"I can see my genetic code just popping out of you right now. Makes me so proud," Lorelai smiled, "One large bag of cheetos, coming up!"

She started walking in and Rory rolled down her window, "And oreos!"

"Well, yeah," Lorelai gave her a weird look, "No one gets just cheetos, Rory, don't be ridiculous."

The door closed and Rory started rolling up her window back up.

"Rory?" She knew the voice and wondered if she could still slip down in her seat without him noticing.

"Dean – hey," she smiled and wrapped her arms around her body in a gesture that she hoped he mistook as a sign she was cold. It was, after all, winter, and she was sitting there like a moron with the window open.

"Hey...I've been meaning to call you. We left things, kinda unsettled, awhile ago, right? I mean, we should at least be friends..."

They had left things unsettled, but Rory was fairly sure if she just lifted her shirt a bit all their issues would be resoundingly settled. Nothing to talk about. And friendship was most likely out of the question.

"It's been...a long time, but I sort of freaked out on you, I know, so if you don't want to or anything-"

"No, no, that's fine, we should get together sometime. Definitely."

"Cool, good..." he looked so hopeful Rory wanted to cry.

"Well, I should get back in...my break's been over for a few minutes and I'm freezing, but I'll see you later, Rory," he smiled.

She'd always loved the sweetness in his smile. It seemed unlikely she'd be seeing much of it in the future.


The end of Christmas break came way too quickly.

"You'll be brilliant, just ignore all the idiots, or, you know, kick 'em in the balls, whatever suits your fancy."

"You have an interesting parenting style, Mom," Rory smiled as Lorelai dropped her off at school as a kind of 'Welcome back to hell' present.

If Rory thought that people would have 'forgotten' or 'gotten over' the little drama with her pregnancy, it wasn't the case. The stares and whispers still followed her from class to class and people with no apparent problem with her pre-knock up now found it their duty to advise her on a little thing called birth control.

Lunch was a welcome change and Rory almost hoped for a food fight just to take people's attention off her for two seconds and she maneuvered belly skillfully into place under the table next to Paris.

Louise across from her and smiled when she sat down, "Start kicking yet, Gilmore?"

"Not sure," Rory shrugged, "Sometimes I think so, other times? No idea. I heard it feels like gas, though..."

Paris made a face, "Thanks for that."

"No problem," Rory munched on her fries.

"So, guess what," Louise got her attention, "No, no, you'll never guess, I'll just tell you. Paris just let me in on the next big thing."

"Did I miss out on an E! special over the break?"

Louise rolled her eyes, "No! The thing that gets attention off of you! The next big juicy scandal!"

"Oh. Cool, what is it?"

"Tell her, Paris."

"It's really not that big of a deal," Paris rolled her eyes, "Tristan got kicked out of military school."