When it Snows
By TheBlueSwan
A Very Merry Epilogue
And so life, as it always had, carried on as time passed by. Rory Gilmore's pregnancy continued apace until one cold wintery morning, late in the month of February of the year 2005, she went into labour. By the time the sun had set that day, Rory had delivered two healthy newborns. A chubby faced son, christened Arthur Forester-Gilmore and a beautiful daughter named Lorelai Jane Forester-Gilmore. In time, the babes grew into precocious children who delighted in vexing their parents, and greatly amused their grandparents in the process.
It must also be noted that, although Emily and Richard Gilmore had been less than pleased by the announcement that their beloved granddaughter was pregnant, none cherished the children more than they. In fact, the twins had so endeared themselves to their great-grandparents that the pair was often convinced into lending a helping hand with whichever scheme they cooked up. Needless to say, by this same avenue, Arthur and Lori often escaped a well-deserved scolding.
As for Rory, well she resumed her studies full-time in the fall of 2005. This required certain sacrifices on the part of both Dean and Rory. For Yale, being quite a distance away from Stars Hollow, necessitated Rory to live near campus during the school term. Whereas Dean's work required him to remains mostly close to Stars Hollow. This, unfortunately meant that the two lived separately for the better half of the year, handing off the twins to the other on alternate weeks. Neither the couple nor the children took too well to such an arrangement. Rory and Dean, because they had grown used to each other's support when caring for the pair of mischievious babes. Arthur and Lori, because when they were with their mother, they missed their father. And when with their father, they always missed their mother. And so it was that Rory and Dean spent the next two years juggling living arrangements, learning and adapting to their ever changing situation. Life in those days hadn't been particularly easy, but the end result had been very much worth it.
Their relationship slowly rebuilt and their love for one and other, the pair decided to move in together properly once Rory graduated from Yale in the spring of 2007. The better part of the summer of 2007 was spent searching for a suitable place for their family to live. In one of life's greatest ironies, that suitable place wound up being a lovely house situated on the borders of Stars Hollow. The home was spacious and grand yet retained some small town country charm to it. Although great attention had been given to the finer details of its architecture, comfort hadn't been sacrificed in the name of style. But what made the home so unique was the land on which it stood.
The home boasted slightly more than two hundred acres, three-quarters of which were untamed woods. The lands immediately surrounding the house had been tamed into a beautiful field, sprinkled in flower bushes and clusters of tree here and there. Rory's favorite feature had been the gazebo located on the edge of the woods. It was of a style with the town gazebo and had a beautiful flowing river not far from it. Dean, however, much like his mother, had a fondness for the orchard found on the right hand side of the property. With more than six hundred apple trees of varying breeds, the couple had more fruit than they knew what to with. So much so that, after that first year, the couple decided to sell off the excess to local business' such as Doose's Market, Luke's Dinner and, of course, The Dragonfly Inn. These endeavours were mostly spear-headed by Jane and Matthew Forester, who cared for the trees and were greatly rewarded for their work.
As for her career, once Rory graduated, she went on to become a respected journalist for the New York Times. And although she did work as a correspondence journalist for a short time, Rory ultimately decided the allure of such a life quickly faded in comparison to her children's bright little smiles. Her career, however, did not come at end with this decision, but instead broadened into horizons which she had never considered. When Rory was not working on pieces for the New York Times, she worked on several of her own projects. These were mostly biographical in nature and did quite well on the market. But it wasn't until Rory decided to turn her focus closer to home that she truly reached remarkable heights. And so, in 2014, her self-biography entitled Gilmore Girls topped the best-seller charts. It made such an impression on its readers that in 2016 Rory signed a contract with a production company. Gilmore Girls would air its pilot episode in the winter of 2018 and everyone expected it would do quite well.
For his part, Dean Forester went on to graduate himself in the fall of 2008, at which time he founded his own construction company. The company itself was quite successful and Dean himself had gained quite a reputation for restoring historical buildings and constructions. Despite all of his success, it wasn't until he married Rory Gilmore on December 14th of 2010 that Dean fulfilled his greatest dream. The surfeit of joy Dean had felt that day had only been matched on three occasions; the birth of the twins, the birth of his youngest son, Richard, in 2012 and the birth of his youngest daughter, Elizabeth, in 2016.
As for the rest of the motley crew, well…
In June of 2005 Lorelai Gilmore had married Luke Danes in a beautiful summer wedding. In the three years that followed, Rory found herself welcoming not one, but two little sisters. Naturally, Marie and Victoria were well on their way to becoming just as eccentric as their mother and elder sister – and just as addicted to coffee, much to Luke's ever growing horror.
For Jane and Matthew Forester life did not change all that much in the ensuing years. Oh, they raised their daughter and took great joy in their grandchildren. But the Foresters were simple people and they took joy in the simple pleasures, never wishing for more than what they had. Clara Forester life, on the other hand, saw many changes. Naturally, the girl graduated from high school, attended college, fell in and out of love and such. But the biggest change in Clara's life, and its biggest surprise had been her decision to pursue writing. Although, her pursuits were more fictional in nature, she knew just as much success as her step-sister did. However, much to her parent's exasperation, at twenty-seven Clara remained just as impish and precocious as she ever had. To this day she still insisted that she would never truly grow up – at least not in the traditional sense.
As for the Listers, well, life did not improve following the events of December 8th 2004. In fact, they actually worsened quite a bit. In June of 2004, Reginald Lister was found guilty of embezzlement and fraud. As a result he was sentenced to another twenty years in jail. Naturally, the Listers blamed the Foresters for this unfortunate event. Ironically, in this instance, there was some truth to it. In 1989 the FBI had suspected that Reginald had embezzled money from several of clients, but had been unable to prove it as they could not locate the stolen funds. When matters with the Forester escalated in 2004, lacking other funds, Reginald accessed his ill begotten gains. In his pride and conceit, Mr. Lister had convinced himself that he had fooled the authorities long enough for them to lose interest in him. Unfortunately, this proved to be a grievous mistake on his part.
With all of their funds frozen, Mrs. Lister had no choice but to begin selling off some of their assets. She began with smaller, but expensive items, hoping that the case against her husband would crumble and her funds would be returned to her. When Reginald was sentenced in June of 2004, Shannon Lister no longer had a choice – she sold the townhouse. Unfortunately, due to mounting debts and the fifty-thousand dollar fines warranted to her husband and daughter, Shannon was left with little money from the sale. Her options limited, Mrs. Lister had no choice but to obtain employment in order to stay afloat. However, due to her temperament, she was unable to hold a steady job and, for lack of experience, the only jobs Shannon was able to get only ever paid minimum wage.
Roughly six months after her incarceration, Lindsay gave birth to a healthy baby boy, much to her displeasure. In the aftermath of downfall, Lindsay blamed everyone and anyone but herself for her fate. Her son, likewise, also shared the blame in her eyes. As such, the selfish blonde was no predisposed to care for the child. Unwilling to take on responsibility for the bastard that had brought about her downfall, Lindsay used her mother's financial woes as an excuse to do away with the child. And so, unwanted by his father and mother, baby Lister was put out for adoption. Thankfully, the child proved to be quite lucky and was adopted by loving parents who taught him right from wrong.
Lindsay, on the other hand, proved quite unlucky in the following years. Due to her behavior, the blonde never qualified for parole and was not released before she had served out the full of her sentence in jail. Upon her release, Lindsay attempted to continue with her life as she always had. However, the altered circumstances of her family made this entirely impossible. And so, to her great dismay, the snooty little blonde found herself living in a derelict apartment in a crumbling city, working for minimum wage alongside her mother. And like her mother, rather than learning from the experience, Lindsay simply derided those individuals which she blamed for her present circumstances and continued to live her life in perfect misery.
As for Francine Hayden, feeling ill used by the Gilmores, she made several attempts at regaining her lost inheritance. Naturally, each ensuing attempt failed more spectacularly than the last. This, in conjunction with her spendthrift ways, ensured that within two years' time the woman had not only gone through all of her own cash reserves, but had spent the inheritance left by Arthur Hayden. Unable to live a moderate lifestyle, Francine had latched onto her son for financial support. And Christopher, although he did his best, was never quite able to deny his mother. And so, proving that he was just as reckless a spender as he had been in his youth, with the aid of his mother, Christopher saw to it that the majority of his inheritance was lost before 2012.
As for his relationship with Rory, it hardly needs mentioning that the breach was never repaired. Following his attempt to trick Rory into signing over her inheritance, Rory severed all ties with Christopher. This, however, might not have been such a permanent outcome if the man had even attempted to show a shred of remorse. But, as always, Christopher only acted in a manner which suited him. And so, rather than apologizing, he attempted to convince his daughter to do what was right several times throughout the year of 2005. Once he realised that his daughter would never accede to his wishes, Christopher Hayden simply couldn't be bothered with her and dropped all contact with Rory. In 2012 Christopher attempted a reconciliation, but only because he hoped to convince her to fund the lavish lifestyles of both himself and his mother.
Rory, needless to say, did not acquiesce to his requests.
Sunday December 24th 2017, Stars Hollow (Orchard House) 7:54 p.m.
In her home, seated at the dining table, Rory Gilmore watched as her family laughed and enjoyed each other's company. Seated at her right, her husband of seven years fed their sixteen month old daughter. At her left, her mother, Lorelai, and her step-father, Luke, spoke to each other in hushed tones. Her little sisters, the twins and little Richard were running about the room, playing with one and other as Jane and Matthew Forester attempted to convince them to take their seats. Emily and Richard Gilmore looked on the children with indulgent smiles. Her step-sister Clara smirked and egged the children on from her seat at the dining table.
It was a mad house, shrieking with joyful screams and laughter.
And Rory wouldn't have it any other way.
Once More - A Very Merry Christmas To All and To All A Good Year.
Love, TheBlueSwan
Posted December 24th 2017