Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls is the creation of Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Written in the Stars: Chapter 4
As Rory and Lane slowly made their way to Luke's Diner, Lane filled Rory in on her call with Logan.
"He said you emailed him asking him to call you. But then you wouldn't answer your cell. He thinks you turned off your phone." Lane studied her friend's face. "He sounded worried. I told him you were fine. I also told him that Luke and Lorelai got married and were on their honeymoon."
"So he knows I'm here alone?"
"Yeah. Why does that worry you? He hasn't become a serial killer, has he?"
"No, no. Nothing like that." Rory took a deep breath and pushed open the door to Luke's. "There?" Rory gestured to a table by the window that was her and Lorelai's favorite.
"Hey Rory!" Caesar called out from behind the counter.
"Hi Caesar!" she replied. "Things going okay?"
"You bet. Wanna cold banana?"
"We're gonna check out the menu."
Shrugging off their jackets, Rory and Lane settled into their seats.
"Did he say anything else?"
"He said you wrote something cryptic in your email."
"'Cryptic'? Your word or his?"
"His."
"Crap. I bet he knows."
"Knows what?"
"That I'm pregnant."
"What?! Oh my God! You're pregnant! Rory!" Lane discretely squealed at the news, leaning over the table to hug Rory. "Uh. Oh. Good news?"
Rory smiled. "Surprise news. Big, big surprise," she said with more than a little uncertainty. "But I'm getting over the shock."
"Oh, and he's the father! Is he still engaged?"
"Lane, please. You gotta tell me what else he said. And what did you say to him? I gotta know."
"Well he made the comment about you being cryptic. Then he asked if you were okay. I told him you were fine. But -" she broke off, pursing her lips.
"But...?"
"I said you seemed tired. But then I told him you'd switched to decaf and that I figured that was why."
Incredulous, Rory started to laugh. "You told him I switched to decaf? Oh my God! You totally outed me," she said, still laughing and shaking her head.
"Hey how was I supposed to know? I mentioned small benign facts. How was I supposed to know he'd put two and two together? Weren't you gonna tell him anyway?"
"I was. I just hadn't figured out how."
"What did your email say?"
"I said there'd been a small, unforeseen development and I asked him to call me when he had a chance."
"Wow. You really think he figured out you're pregnant from that vague message and my random observations about you seeming tired and switching to decaf?"
"I don't doubt it. He's got reporter instincts and -"
"And ..?"
"And he knows me. Really, really well."
"Hey," Caesar came over at that moment. "Ready to order? Oh Rory. A guy called for you earlier."
Rory turned her gaze from Lane to Caesar, a tight smile on her lips. "A guy? Did he leave a message?"
"He did. But it's not English. It was some weird phrase. I think it was Latin."
"Was it 'in omnia paratus'?"
"Yeah!" Caesar nodded, snapping his fingers. "That was it! You know what it means? You good with that?"
"Yes. And no." Her smile faltering, she sent a silent message to Lane. "I know what it means. Not sure how good I am with it. I'll have a burger and fries."
"You sure you don't want to get a salad? Or fruit?"
"Lane! Please! Not today." Rory turned to Caesar. "Well done please."
"You got it. Lane?"
"Same."
After Caesar walked away Lane turned her attention back to Rory.
"So?" questioned Lane.
"So?" repeated Rory.
"Is he still engaged? Why is he coming out to see you in person?"
"I'm sure he was still engaged at least up until yesterday. I don't know what he might've done since he cracked you -"
"Hey! I didn't know! He's good."
Rory smiled. "Yep, he is."
"So why do you think he's coming out?"
"He's coming out to ask me to marry him."
"He is?!"
"Yep."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"How do you know?"
"Wouldn't be the first time. And there wasn't a" she lowered her voice to a whisper "baby involved before."
"Who's having a baby, sug?" At the new voice both women's heads turned to the diner entrance.
"Hi Rory. How're Luke and Lorelai? Hey Lane."
"Hi Babette, Miss Patty." Both girls greeted the new arrivals who settled in at the table diagonal from theirs.
"Rory, Luke didn't knock up your mom did he?"
"No, no, Miss Patty. At least not that I know of."
"You heard from your mom? They having fun?"
"Yeah. She's called a couple of times to check in. Sounds like they're doing a lot of nothing and enjoying every minute."
"Oh good for them. They both work so hard. Need a vacation. And a honeymoon is a great excuse for one. Maybe that's why I got married so many times. Best excuse to take some time off."
"That's all good. But who's pregnant? I haven't had a scoop on East Side Tillie in way too long."
"Uh..."
"Burgers!" Caesar interrupted just as Rory was going to say something. Lane shot a quizzical look at her friend.
"Thanks Caesar."
"Looks good."
"So, doll, you got a scoop for me?"
Rory took a bite of her burger. Pensively she chewed until finally she shook her head.
"College friend is gonna have a baby. Nobody you know."
"Oh! But if you did find out something you would tell me, right?!"
"Oh course, Babette!"
"Thanks hon!"
"Yeah. Your mom is always really good with giving us a heads up."
"Good to know."
After lunch Rory walked Lane back to the antiques shop.
"Wanna come inside?"
"No. Can't. I'm afraid your mom will take one look at me and know."
"Good point. She does have a talent for sniffing out sin."
"Thanks a lot."
"You know what I mean. So what're you gonna say?"
"About what?"
"You know! To Logan! If he asks you ..?"
"I don't know. I suppose I'll say yes."
"You suppose? Why don't you know? Rory? Why'd you say no before? Do you love him?"
"Yes. Oh my God. Yes."
"I'm lost here. Then what's the problem?"
"Lane, he's so tied into his family. The family business..."
"It's not the Mafia, is it?"
"No. Well, not exactly. His dad -Mitchum -is kinda like Don Corleone. Last thing he said to me was a joke about sticking a shiv in his back." Rory let out a bitter laugh. "He is definitely not going to be happy about trading in Odette the heiress for Rory the writer."
"So he doesn't like you?"
"No. I think I've told him off one too many times."
"Go Rory! Just remember that. Don't let him bully you. What about Logan's mom?"
"Shira should be on one of those 'Real Housewives' shows. Totally vacuous. She hated everything about me but it wasn't personal."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm illegitimate. I was raised by a working mother. A teen mom no less. The Gilmores don't have as much money as the Huntzbergers. I'm a career girl. I travel all the time as a journalist."
"Hm. Well your parents did finally get married. Wouldn't that make you legitimate?"
Rory looked at Lane and laughed. "I have no idea and I never thought to check. They were barely married three months."
"Still. It might've erased your illegitimacy."
"That would be funny if it did."
"He has a sister, doesn't he?"
"Yeah."
"Is she awful?"
Rory chuckled. "No. She's cool. Her husband's nice. They have a couple of kids."
"That's good. It's something at least. He doesn't care about the money, right?"
"Of course not!"
"As for you working, you're writing books now. You don't even want to do the travel thing anymore." Lane shrugged. "With your small surprise on the way, you wouldn't have been able to continue with that anyway."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Well, they do sound horrible. But as annoying as they sound you'd say no to a man you love and deprive your child of having two parents just because you don't like your in-laws?"
"You make me sound insane when you put it that way."
"You do sound insane. Everyone hates their in-laws! You know how long it took for Zach and my mom to come to an understanding? I'm lucky Zach didn't have parents. I'm sure I would've despised them! And your grandma and Luke. I mean it's like in the dictionary. Or even the Bible! 'Thou shalt not like thy in-laws.'"
"Lane, it's more than that."
"Okay. Tell me."
"I don't like that world. I haven't been there in such a long time. I'm afraid I'll lose myself in it. Like I did that semester I dropped out of Yale and lived in my grandparents' pool house."
"So don't." Lane shook her head. "Rory, are you sure you love him? These reasons to not marry him are -"
"Weird?"
"Lame. Very lame. You dated him for - what? Two or three years? You never thought of marrying him in all that time?"
"Not seriously. I was nineteen when we met. Marriage was definitely not on my radar." Rory shrugged. "I said 'no' to his proposal back then. And he was moving to California and untethering himself from HPG and his family. And now? Now he lives in London and is fully re-tethered."
"Yeah. Can't he move back here? I thought his dad lived mostly in Connecticut and worked in New York?"
Rory sighed. "I don't know. I don't want to just be all on my own - pregnant -in London. And you saw how I was. I'm afraid I'll slip into that Lipitor thing again."
"Yeah, Rory, about that..."
Rory focused her attention on her friend. "What?"
"The Lipitor thing isn't so bad when it's your own husband. It's really just a problem when it's somebody else's."
Rory sighed.
"And then there's my mom."
"What about Lorelai?"
"I don't think she's gonna like this."
"What? She knows about the small, unexpected thing right?"
"Yeah."
"Does she know about your feelings for him?"
"Ha! That she's never fully gotten!"
"Do you really think she'll be disappointed you," Lane lowered her voice and eyeballed the area around them, "marry the father of your baby?"
"She's never liked Logan."
"Oh my God. Do you not remember what I said five minutes ago?"
"'Thou shalt not like thy in-laws?'"
"That's it!" Seeing Rory lift a hand to wave behind her Lane glanced over her shoulder to the antique shop. "My mom?"
"Yeah. I saw her head pop up in the window."
Lane threw her arms around her friend. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Thank you, Lane. I was freaking out. I'm still freaking out. But this talk has definitely helped."
"You gonna call him?"
"I purposely left my cell at home."
"Wow, I actually feel bad for him now. I couldn't have imagined it last summer."
Rory chuckled. "Yeah. Things changed over the past couple of months."
"What should I say to him if he calls again? Can I tell him we talked?"
"I doubt he'll call you again."
"But if he does?"
"Sure," shrugged Rory. "Say we talked. I better get back to the paper. I'm trying to get an issue out. I have all this terrific coverage of the wedding. I think mom and Luke - well, mom at least –will love the commemorative issue I'm doing on their wedding."
"Oh wow! That's perfect. When're they back?"
"Next week."
"Uh, so you'll still be here, then?"
Rory's eyes widened. "You're right. I have no idea. I don't know what's gonna happen." Glancing away, Rory turned her stricken face to Lane.
"Well, you get a say, don't you? You have to get a say. Whether you live in London or Connecticut. You have veto power. Just remind yourself of that. You are the master of your domain -"
"Ew. Really? That's the metaphor you're going with?"
"Sorry! Just remind yourself you don't have to go anywhere you don't want to go. Oh! I know! Wanna give me your passport? This way you can't leave the country. At least not without coming to see me first."
"You make me sound like a flight risk."
"Well, you kinda are, aren't you?"
"I guess." Rory hugged Lane once more. "Thank you! Being able to talk to you - . Just thank you."
"You're welcome."
AN: Thank you for reading.