So, I know I said I wouldn't update till after the dreaded exams, but I couldn't help myself. I like the reviews too much!! Seriously, though, expect another update around Friday or so. That chapter will probably deal with the wedding (yay!) though I stil have to write it, so I might change my mind again. This chapter here is where Chris finds out. It's maybe not as high drama as some of you maybe expected, so I hope it lives up to your expectations!! Let me know!! Read and review as always!!
Disclaimer: Do not own a thing!
"Just make the call, Ace," Logan said, sliding her cell phone across the table where they had been enjoying breakfast that is until Logan brought up Christopher. Rory knew she had to tell her Dad someday, but really, couldn't it wait until she had the baby?
Her relationship with Christopher was lukewarm at best. At one point in her life, she thought they would finally be able to work on their relationship, make up for lost time and start being a family and not people related by occasional phone calls and fancy presents.
They came this close of actually having that happen, but then her parents got divorced. In the end it was for the best; Lorelai was very happy with Luke and Christopher was in a twisted relationship with Sherry.
Christopher and Gigi spent a good five months out of the year in Paris with Sherry, the rest of the time they lived in Hartford.
After the divorce Rory had cut ties with Christopher out of loyalty to her mother, though about a year ago she had contacted her father again. It was still her Dad, after all. They were working on their relationship, though Christopher's current living situation did not help much.
Rory bit her lip slightly, and looked at Logan.
"Why am I doing this again?"
"Because" he sighed sympathetically, he knew how twisted her relationship with Christopher was, "you still want your Dad to know."
He kissed the top of her head lightly and quickly rubbed her shoulders. "I'm just going shower, give you some time to call, okay?"
She breathed in deeply and nodded. Then, she flipped open her phone and scrolled through her menu, found her Dad's cell number, dialed and waited. Nothing. She sighed in frustration.
This was so like Christopher, getting a new number and neglecting to tell Rory. At least she still had the Hartford and Paris home phone numbers. She took a gamble and decided to call Hartford first.
"Hello?" a young girl's voice squeaked nervously into the phone. Rory was relieved; she always enjoyed talking to Gigi.
"Hi, George-eanie" Rory said lightly. She had never really liked the nickname Gigi, she thought George-eanie, or Jeanie sounded much better.
"Rory" the six-year old said seriously into the phone. "You know my name is Georgina!" Apparently, Gigi had entered the 'no-more baby nicknames' phase of childhood.
Rory had to do her best to stop from laughing, "I am terribly sorry, Georgina!" she managed with her best society voice.
"Nah, it's okay. So, what's up?" the newly named Georgina asked.
"Uh, well" Rory sighed. She had almost forgotten why she was making this call in the first place.
"I kind of need to talk to Dad."
"He is in a meeting. I am with the nanny," Gigi said disappointedly. "We were supposed to get new shoes.' She explained.
Rory felt bad for the little girl. Christopher was raising her to be part of Hartford society, complete with nannies and weekend meetings. Rory scrunched up her nose. She would definitely not raise her child like this.
"I'm sorry Jeanie. I mean, Georgina." Rory corrected.
Gigi laughed. "Well, you could tell me!" she said. The young girl loved talking to her big sister. Oh, how Gigi longed to grow up and lead a fabulous life like Rory.
Rory contemplated her half sister's offer. This could be perfect, an evil grin spreading across her face.
"Are you guy's home for dinner?" Rory asked hoping to sound casual.
"Uh huh" Gigi nodded into the phone.
"Well, then I think I might come over for dinner!" Rory said.
"Oh, awesome!" the little one squealed.
"And," Rory continued, "I am going to bring my, uh, friend" she hoped Gigi would pick up on this last part.
"Someone I know?" the ever-curious child asked.
"Yes, I think you should remember him." She waited for a beat and breathlessly said, "It's Logan"
Her revelation was met by a deafening squeal.
"I love Lou," Gigi screamed, using her four-year old nickname for Rory's then boyfriend.
Gigi had only met Logan a handful of times, but she had instantly taken a liking to him. If Rory made an excellent big sister, Logan made an even better big brother.
After Gigi's excitement died down, she asked with a trace of worry in her voice, "I thought you and Lou, uh…"
The little girl wasn't exactly sure what had happened between Rory and Logan, but she knew it was just like her Dad and her Mom and her Dad and Aunt Lorelai. It actually was quite a lot for a child to take in.
"You know," she continued, "like Mom and Daddy and like Daddy and Aunt Lorelai…." She trailed off hoping Rory would understand.
Rory felt her heart break a bit. She felt sorry for Gigi, not only did she get the Hartford upbringing but also the young girl was shipped between the U.S. and France, and had been through divorce twice.
'Aw, Jeanie, it was kind of like that. But Logan and I are back together. In fact, we are engaged!" Rory said excitedly.
"Really?" The excitement was back in Gigi's voice. Luckily, she was at an age where love wasn't complicated. In her world Logan and Rory getting back together wasn't a society shocker, it was perfect and meant to be. She did not question it, or wonder why or how it happened.
"Can I be your flower girl?" she asked eagerly.
"We'll see" Rory responded honestly, she wasn't sure what was going to happen with the wedding. She made a mental note to talk to Logan about it.
"So, this is what you wanted to tell Daddy?" Gigi questioned.
"Yeah," Rory replied, "Do you want to hear the rest of the surprise?"
"There's more?" Gigi's eyes widened.
"Uh huh, you are going to be an Aunt," Rory said excitedly.
"Huh?"
Rory smiled, maybe this concept was a little too hard for the six year old to grasp. The only "aunt" Gigi knew was Lorelai, so naturally Gigi did not see herself being an aunt anytime soon.
"What I mean to say, Jeanie, is that Logan and I are going to have a baby!"
Gigi's mouth literally hit the floor and she let out an excited scream.
"That's so cool!"
Rory laughed loudly; at least someone was thrilled upon receiving the news.
"Well, Jean, I've got to go. I will see you tonight, okay? Don't forget to tell Dad that Logan and I are coming to dinner!"
"Bye, Mamma Rory! See you later!"
Rory did a little happy dance as she hung up the phone. Now that Gigi knew the two big secrets Christopher would find out soon enough and the best part: Rory did not have to tell him anything. Sure, dinner would be awkward, since she would still have to explain everything, but at least she was not the one that was going to be breaking the news.
"Well, that went well," Logan smirked as he entered the dining area. Rory got up from her chair, walked over to him and pulled him into a hug.
"I told Jeanie" she beamed
Logan pulled back from the embrace and cocked his head to the side.
"Why? She'll just go tell Christopher anyway….."He trailed off, and Rory saw his expression change from complete confusion to absolute understanding. A sly smile spread across his face.
"Well played, Ace. Well played."
That afternoon Logan was cooped up in his office. Rory figured he was busy working; in fact, he was busy arranging the elopement. Rory, however, was working. She sat at the breakfast bar, a can of Cherry Coke next to her laptop, her editing program opened, when her cell phone buzzed. She looked at the caller-id. It was her Dad. .Gigi had let the cat out of the bag. Rory sighed and put her phone down. She was not going to talk to him now. That's what the dinner was for. About ten minutes later the home phone went, and ten minutes after that her cell phone again. Then Rory received a text message.
"Talk to me! Tell me Gigi is lying."
Rory chuckled as she could see her fathers' stressed out face. Maybe they did not have the best relationship, but Christopher wanted the best for his daughter and pulled through, most … some of the time.
"I take it Gigi told you the news. Gigi isn't lying. We will talk at dinner"
Her phone proceeded to ring one more time, but after that, it stopped.
"I think it's this street," Rory said as they drove through Hartford. "It's a big house" Rory said, as if that would make Christopher's house easier to find. Her Dad had moved back to Hartford, but Rory had never visited. Christopher normally took Gigi into the city, or they would meet at Emily and Richards for dinner.
"Oh, a big house" Logan said sarcastically. "I was looking for a shack!" He shot Rory a "just kidding" look. He did not want her thinking that he had been serious. Normally he never had to worry about things like this, but he read an article about pregnant woman and their crazy hormones so he did not want to take any chances. He had been lucky up to now, since Rory's only major problems were coffee related and baby induced "stupidness". The pregnancy had not affected her witty banter.
"It's this one" Rory said, ignoring Logan. "With those silver gates" she pointed towards the house.
A few minutes later, the couple stood in front of dark brown door.
"You ring the bell" Rory nudged Logan
"You ring the bell. He's your Dad" Logan nudged Rory back.
"I'm going to be your wife" Rory said as if that would make a difference.
"I'm going to be your husband" Logan replied, capturing her exact tone.
Rory turned to him and placed her hand on her hip. "I'm pregnant with your child"
Logan glared. "That's not fair. Baby card trumps any of my cards any time!" he exclaimed as Rory did a one-man wave and bowed to the invisible crowd.
'Thank you, thank you very much! I love you all," she said, blowing fake kisses to her fake crowd of admirers.
She turned to him, and smirked, "I love you, too" and pressed a small kiss on his cheek. "Now, ring the bell!"
"Unbelievable" Logan muttered, but rang the bell anyway.
Logan squeezed Rory's hand gently as they waited for the door to open. They had no idea what to expect. The door opened and Rory whispered, only so Logan to hear, "Bring on the crazy".
The maid took their coats and guided them to the foyer. Christopher's Hartford mansion was set up similar to the Gilmores. Emily had the best designers, so it was only fitting that Christopher had used the same designers as well, since he was on a mission to fit in with Society.
"I'd fix you a drink," Christopher said tightly as he made his way to the couple, "but a little birdie tells me you can't" He quickly glanced at his daughters' stomach and then disapprovingly towards Logan.
"Dad!"Rory exclaimed, slightly taken aback at his forwardness. What the hell did he know? Had her Dad been around during the break up? Right, of course not!
'Rory!" he yelled back before Rory had a chance to finish her sentence. "What the hell?" he shouted louder.
"Well, Dad," Rory raised her voice, slightly annoyed. "When a man and a woman love each other, sometimes they want to express these feelings…."She paused, she wasn't in the mood to be sarcastic. "Honestly, I thought if anyone knew about the birds and the bees you would be the one to know!" she shot him a death glare.
"Rory," Chris said again, though this time his voice softened, "I didn't mean it like that. I didn't know about you and Logan being back together. It's just so….sudden. I don't want you to rush into anything."
"Yeah, well. That ship has sailed." Rory spat, still angry with her father. It was twisted, since she wanted him to act like a Dad, though she did not want to be parented by him. She was 25 for god sakes, and if she needed advice, she'd go to her mother. She just wanted him to sit there and accept whatever she did.
A slightly awkward silence fell over them, so Logan took the opportunity to speak up.
"Look, Mr. Hayden"
"Chris" Christopher interrupted.
"Chris, the truth is Rory and I have only been back together for almost two months. The baby was…. " he paused, how could Logan phrase this right? He settled on unexpected.
"But, we are thrilled." He squeezed Rory's hand and nodded, hoping that would add sincerity to his plea.
"We really are Dad." Rory continued picking up where Logan trailed off. "We always wanted to have kids, it is just that after the first proposal everything got so messed up. But, this – this was just meant to be."
Christopher glared at her daughter and fiancé. The truth was he always liked Logan. He was good to Rory and in some ways Logan reminded Christopher of himself. The young man had also stepped up to the plate by proposing to Rory. They seemed happy. Besides, it was out of his hands, Christopher realized. He could stay angry but what was the point?
"What's your mother say?" he finally asked Rory.
"She's thrilled, she's making up grandma names as we speak" Rory nodded, smiling at the names Lorelai had been coming up with.
"And," Logan interrupted, "she told me she'll kick my ass if I do anything to hurt Rory or the baby"
Chris laughed, it sounded like Lorelai to threaten the boy. "Well, good. If she didn't I would have. I will" Chris glared at Logan, but in a less intimidating, friendly way. The men shook hands as to make their verbal agreement binding.
Dinner was pleasant. Christopher had calmed down quite a bit, after experiencing the couple together. He knew they were a good match, much better than he and Lorelai had been. He watched them interact with Gigi and knew that they both would make excellent parents; far better than he was.
"So," Christopher said, digging into his apple pie "when's the wedding date?"
Rory shot Logan a "we really need to talk about this" look.
"We aren't sure yet, But soon, definitely before the baby. We still haven't told the Gilmores. We are kind of deciding how to break it to Emily that we are back together, and expecting a baby, but no, she can't organize the wedding….." Rory offered her Dad a quick smile.
He nodded. "Quite a task, quite a task. Good Luck with that!"
"Any suggestions?" Logan asked.
"Just don't break it to them on their answering machine, or two weeks before the debutante ball." He said reminiscing on the time he and Lorelai told Emily about their marriage, and the time Lorelai told Emily she was pregnant.
"Noted" Rory said and dug into her pie.
Logan was waiting for the car to fill up with gas, and Rory was asleep so he whipped out his cell phone and texted Chris.
"Hope you are free the first two weeks of December.
Eloping if all goes according to plan.
Fill you in later.
Rory doesn't know a thing. Let's keep it like that!!"
