Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls
AN1: Thank you, always for the reviews and kindness. I have a question for you though, a lot of the reviews tend to start with "I didn't think I would like this...but I did..." so I'm curious, what kept you around? Please, read, review, enjoy. I am back to work this week after a week off so my updates will become a bit more sporadic.
Chapter Thirty Two
Rory looked at her watch, she had looked at her watch at least once every ten minutes for the last two hours. Paris had told her she would rush it, what exactly did rush it even mean? Rory regretted not asking Paris exactly what a rush entailed on this kind of blood work. She had googled. Plenty of googling. What is the likelihood of a false positive? What is the likelihood of six false positives? Are digital tests as accurate as other tests? Had she checked the expiry date on them? She didn't dare go down the rabbit hole that was her advanced maternal age which google had so lovingly made her aware of. Rory was slowly driving herself crazy. What difference did it make if she found out in two minutes, she wouldn't see Logan for another week at the earliest, maybe a week and a half depending on how being back east went. What would she do? Would she call him? FaceTime him? Send him a giant cookie that read Daddy on it? Rory exhaled. What if the test was negative? What if she wasn't pregnant? Would she be able to manage that on her own? To say that her hopes were up would be an understatement. How would she even feel about it…disappointed? Would she even tell him that she had thought she was pregnant? Rory shook her head, trying to push the thoughts from her mind. She needed to wait until she heard from Paris, and then she could process the information accordingly. In the meantime, she had work to do. She head a deadline for Hugo, and the twins had two birthday parties this weekend, so she wouldn't have time to write it she didn't get started soon. She went to her office and pulled out her laptop, she didn't normally work from her office but some days she felt like she needed to in order to dedicate herself to writing. Rory pulled up her document and started typing furiously, her mind swimming as she flipped through her colour coded notes that she had left out. Her article was another in her series about climate change and the importance of banning single use plastics, what kind of world would she be bringing another child into? Another child, how would her boys feel about another baby? A baby with someone who was not their Dad. Sure, the boys liked Logan, Eli certainly loved Logan, but how would this change things? Perry, how would Perry take this? They were in a good place, would this mess with all of that? Did their new house have enough space for another baby? Rory thought back to the floor plan, all while still typing away about recyclable straws. Six bedrooms upstairs, three in the basement, the pool house and the bonus space above the garage, there was room. Then there was Logan…Rory smiled. This was what was most important but also the easiest thing to think about. Logan would be thrilled. Could she imagine anything more perfect than finally getting her happy ending with Logan? Having his baby. She thought back to when she overheard her Grandmother squealing with delight to her Grandfather, his blonde hair, her blue eyes…
Rory smiled. While Lorelai had certainly been happy that Rory was happy, she was pretty sure her mother would have been happy had Rory stayed single the rest of her life, or met another nice man who was good to her children. Lorelei didn't necessarily believe that Logan and Rory had been destined to find their way back to each other. But Richard and Emily Gilmore, they would have been over the moon if they had been around to see this. Logan knew Rory. He knew her in ways that she didn't think anyone else ever had. He knew when to push, he knew when to offer a shoulder. He knew that she was meant to go back to Yale and that she loved school too much to give it up. He knew when she had said no to his proposal all those years ago that she wasn't completely out of line, even if it hurt. Logan had known when he saw her at Emily's funeral that he shouldn't bother her, he knew that approaching her there would have been like throwing a live grenade right in front of her and then hopping on a private jet as it exploded. Logan was almost always a step or two ahead of what Rory needed. Not in a controlling way, not in a creepy way that made Rory long for independence. Their success was entwined. Logan viewed Rory as the person who made him successful, and he wanted her to have whatever professional and personal success he wanted. It wasn't that Perry hadn't wanted Rory to be successful, but he was more focused on his own success, and he allowed her to become too enthralled in his career and supporting him, no one was supporting her best interest.
Rory thought back on their relationship, flirting when she was with Dean, kissing at the vow renewal, Chinese food with Marty. She remembered when they basically lived together during her estrangement with Lorelai. They spent their nights curled up on the couch watching movies in the pool house, or kissing in the street after a night out at the pub. Logan pulled her out of her shell in a way she never could have imagined. Having a baby with him, it simply seemed like the best representation of their relationship and the love that they felt towards each other. Rory was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of her phone vibrating against the desk, "I thought you said quick?"
Paris laughed, "don't get your panties in a bunch. In my line of work, having test results back in under a day, without actively saying who they are for is a small miracle. So unless you wanted me to tell the lab tech that this baby would be the heir to the Huntzberger fortune, and arguably the most genetically blessed child person I can think of…"
"This baby…" Rory smiled, "so there is a baby?"
"Do you want to tell Daddy, or should I leak it to TMZ?"
"You're sure?"
"Rory it is science, if there is anything in life that I am always sure of, it's science."
"So I'm," Rory exhaled, "I'm having a baby. Logan and I…we are having a baby?"
"Are you sure you graduated from Yale?"
"Sorry Paris, I'm just…having a baby with Logan."
"Is he the only option for Daddy?"
"Don't be gross," Rory laughed, "of course he is."
"So you said mid January?"
"Mid to late."
"So you'll have a November baby, maybe late October."
"Holy shit," Rory exclaimed.
"Do you need an OB in LA?" Paris asked, it was as close as excitement as Rory would get from her, "you had the boys in Manhattan…"
"If you could send some suggestions along, I would be eternally grateful."
"I'll send them tonight, from home. I don't want anyone hearing anything. The walls have ears in this place."
"Where are you now?" Rory had assumed that Paris was calling from the office.
"I'm walking around the block so no one hears me and puts two and two together."
"You are paranoid."
"You won't be laughing if some trashy gossip magazine outs you before you tell him."
"I will tell him, why do you think I wouldn't tell him? I'm not 16."
"I'm just trying to put some urgency into the situation."
"Urgency received…I have to go Paris, thank you. I appreciate the recommendations, and remember I'll be back east before I am due, so I need someone who is willing to transfer care back to the same doctor who delivered my boys. Don't worry about Logan…or this getting out, I will tell him today."
"I'm happy for you, Rory."
"Thank you."
Rory almost couldn't believe the news she had gotten. Sure she had no reason to doubt a positive pregnancy test, but it almost felt like a dream was coming true, and maybe it was a dream she didn't fully realize she had. Rory thought back, she wasn't even sure how to tell him about it. When she had found out she was pregnant with Luca, Perry had been standing outside the washroom as she peed on the stick, he had gone with her to the OB that Paris had suggested to confirm the pregnancy. When she found out she was pregnant the second time, she had gotten shirts for Eli and Luca. Eli's said The Original, and Luca's had said The Sequel, and she had a onesie made to say The Remix - the joke however was on her when she and Perry had gone to their first ultrasound and found out that it was in fact twins.
Twins…Rory exhaled. Were you more likely to have twins again after having one set? Or did that only happen on the TV shows on TLC? She would have to ask Paris later, but she knew that she couldn't call Paris again until she had told Logan. Rory looked at her watch, it was a little after noon, if she got going right away, she would be able to make it to Palo Alto by the time he was getting home from work. He had told her that he had meetings until late. Rory picked up her phone again and dialled the number that belonged to her former sister in law, Perry's sister who lived in California.
"Rory?" Kelly answered the phone, her voice was peppy.
"Hey Kel, sorry to bug you, I need some help."
"Are you ok? Is it the boys?" Kelly immediately jumped to the worst case scenario, which wasn't entirely unfair because Rory calling her wasn't a particularly regular occurrence.
"Everyone is fine," Rory assured her, "but…a thing has come up, and I need to get to Palo Alto. Do you think that you can pick the boys up from school and spend the night with them? I will be home late tonight, or early tomorrow? I would need you to take them to school in the morning."
"But everything is fine?" Kelly repeated.
"I just…it is a thing with Logan," she admitted, and also hoped that this wouldn't detract Perry's sister from wanting to help, "and I really need to talk to him…"
"Ok, well…can you call the school and tell them that I'm getting them. Is there food at your house or can I get pizza."
"I will call the school now," Rory was relieved, "and there is food here, but they would probably like pizza. I'll leave cash on the counter, and the keys to the Land Rover on the counter."
"What will you drive?"
Rory cringed for a moment, there was no normal answer to this question. Oh I'll hop on Logan's plane, was so incredibly absurd, "Logan left a car here the other week, so I'll just drive it down." Rory was telling the truth, Logan had left his Porsche there before they had gone to London. Somehow, her fiancee having spare cars felt a lot more normal than hopping on a jet.
"Alright, I have to go pack. You call the school."
"Thank you Kel."
xxx
Rory felt her excitement turn to nerves as she drove through the residential neighbourhood that would lead to Logan's house a few hours later. She was thrilled, she knew that Logan would be over the moon, but what about everything else? All of the logistics. They weren't married yet, although that was something they could change quickly. The house in Stars Hollow wasn't anywhere near done. Logan was just getting into what might be the busiest season of his career, merging HPG and LHM, all of the other things that he had up in the air…did he have time for a baby right now? What about the Huntzberger thing? Not that Logan would ever have any out of line expectations for his child, but could the same be said for his parents? Logan had told Rory in the past that Mitchum and Shira were decent grandparents to Honor's kids, but their expectations for Logan had always been different than what they had for Honor. Rory closed her eyes as she pulled into the driveway and then into the four car garage, from the outside it looked like at two car, but it was a tandem set up, so the Escalade was parked in the back, and Rory could see that Logan's Tesla was still with him at work as she pulled the Porsche into it's spot. She used her phone to disarm the alarm system, and then wondered if this would be a giveaway to him that she was there? Did he get notifications when the alarm was turned on or off? She wasn't sure.
Rory walked into the house and exhaled as she looked around. There were new things, photos, she noticed on the shelves and the console table by the front door. The six of them at Christmas, the two of them at the Huntzberger Christmas party, a couple of photos of them from Yale had popped up in frames, and photos with the Life and Death Brigade. Rory smiled. This, she thought. This is what matters. They were what mattered. Not work, or deadlines, floor plans or familial expectations. They mattered. The family they had created with Logan and her children, and soon to be their child. That was all she needed. Everything else could be gone tomorrow and as long as they were together, Rory Gilmore would be content.
She walked upstairs and looked at her watch, he would be home any minute from what he had told her earlier when they spoke. She dropped her purse in the bedroom in hopes that she wouldn't leave a clue to her arrival before she saw him. Rory washed her face and reapplied her mascara and lipstick before taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror. She was casually dressed, the same outfit she had worn to take the boys to school that morning. Dark blue skinny jeans, a black silk camisole and a navy blue blazer she had ordered from JCrew a few weeks earlier. Rory felt a bit more like herself than she had the week prior when she lived in sweatpants and spent all hours of the day throwing up with her father dong his best to offer assistance or support. She looked at her stomach and smiled, she didn't look pregnant, which was a relief, she knew from experience that she would start showing sooner rather than later, yet another reason she didn't want to delay telling Logan. She knew that with his schedule being as hectic as it was, any plans they had to see each other could easily be delayed or modified, even turned into business dinners instead of romantic date nights until his deal was closed.
Rory was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the front door opening and closing. She smiled and hurried out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, glad that she had slipped her shoes off because they would have drawn attention to her presence in the house. Her clunky black loafers were on the floor of the closet rather than clanking on the hardwood floor as she saw his shadow in the living room.
"Hello?" Logan was sure he heard movement and smiled as his eyes found their way to the stairs, "Ace?"
"Hey," Rory smiled broadly as she slowed her pace and looked at him. Logan looked good but she supposed he always did. "Surprise."
"Surprise is right," Logan pulled her into his arms, "to what do I owe this pleasure? Is everything alright?" Rory nodded as he kissed her and then he took a look at her left hand, "still wearing your ring, so you can't be here to tell me that Johnny is finally going to marry you and you are done with me…"
Rory shook her head and smiled, "I do have to tell you something."
"Good or bad?"
"Good, I think."
"Wine? Scotch? Tequila?"
Rory shook her head and noticed the smile spreading over his face. He knew. "You have to let me say it."
"Oh, I have waited so long to hear this that I plan on making you say it over, and over and over," Logan told her.
"I'm pregnant."
"Pardon?"
"Oh come on," Rory laughed as he stood with a stupid grin on his face.
"Just once more."
"I'm pregnant."
"And…"
Rory rolled her eyes, "and you are the father."
"Cast your mind back to when you first met me and tell me that is a sentence you thought you would say?" Logan looked euphoric, his hands were rubbing her arms, along her back, he couldn't keep still but just wanted to stay connected to her however he could.
"Never." Rory smiled, she could see that he was almost giddy over the news, "so I know the timing is…"
"The timing?" Logan repeated, "Ace, the timing is perfect. I don't…this is it," he pulled her close, "you, the boys, this baby…you are all that matters. I don't need Anders or the merger or anything else if we're good."
Rory smiled, she appreciated the sentiment, but she also knew that Logan wasn't exactly a man who was great at doing nothing. "So Paris is sending me some recommendations for OBGYN's in Los Angeles, and then when we move I can transfer care to my doctor in Manhattan."
"Manhattan?"
"It's close enough…trust me, the amount of people who see when you are pregnant…if I can keep that number down, I will."
"Is this why you were sick?" Logan asked, "oh my god, sit. Sit down, I can't…I'm making you stand here while I talk, come on, sit."
"Logan, I'm pregnant, I'm not ninety."
"But don't pregnant people need to rest?"
"Have you ever been around a pregnant person before?" Rory laughed, she appreciated his concern, but it was also entertaining to see a man who always seemed to know everything about everything seem so off his game.
"I saw Honor a few times when she was pregnant."
"Steph?"
Logan shook his head, "something tells me she saw you more than she saw me."
"Well, for tonight, we will just enjoy this, and relax and be excited…when you are done with this psychotic work stuff, we can talk about the realities of pregnancy."
"What do you mean realities?" Logan grinned.
"You just told me you thought I needed to sit for the next nine months."
"I didn't say that."
"Implied it."
"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" Logan kissed her once more. "Have I told you how happy I am right now?"
Rory pursed her lips and pretend to think for a moment, "mmm…not explicitly."
"Well, let me, Logan Elias Huntzberger, explicitly tell you, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, that I have never been happier in my life."
"How long are you here? Should we go out? Celebrate?"
"I have to head home in the morning, Kelly is watching the boys tonight." Rory stroked his cheek, "you know what I want to do tonight?" she spoke softly.
"Have ice cream and cereal?" Logan joked, thinking back to one of their first dates at Yale.
Rory smiled at the memory. Those moments were so long ago, but they still seemed so fresh. She could close her eyes and see them running around the campus. Kissing in corners, flirting in the newsroom. "You know," Rory paused, her thoughts becoming jumbled, "one thing I didn't really count on was having to compare so many things in my mind?"
Logan made a face, "oh?"
"I just mean…I've been pregnant before, twice, and neither of those times did I really get to do what I wanted to do. We made calls, we ran around…"
"Focus, Rory," Logan was confused to say the least, "I'm just glad you are here, and we're together. What do you want to do?"
"I want to get in bed and talk about baby names," Rory smiled as she looked at him, "I want to look on Pinterest at nurseries and plan out all of the different things we can do. The room…if we keep everything the way it is, it will have this beautiful window seat…"
Logan smiled, he understood what she meant. Maybe it was age, maybe it was the different relationship, but Rory just wanted them to enjoy the pregnancy for a moment before they brought everyone else into it. He remembered how Honor hadn't told anyone about her pregnancy the second time around until she was halfway through. She had explained to him after that she felt suffocated by the opinions and the advice the first time and she just didn't want to listen to it again, he supposed Rory was having that moment for herself. Only this time the difference was him, she knew that he would listen, she knew that he would support what she wanted. "That sounds like the perfect room if we have a girl…"
"It does, doesn't it?"
"Go upstairs, Ace," Logan kissed her, "I'm going to go get some ice cream and some spoons. When I get upstairs you better be in sweatpants in bed with your iPad, we will make lists of nursery themes and names that we like and eat ice cream in bed, how does that sound?"
"Perfect."
AN2: So for the record, this piece is a bit of experience from me. I have been pregnant 4 times and have 2 children, the first time we immediately got on the phone, called my parents, our immediate family, close friends...and then it wasn't meant to be, so my next pregnancies I just hunkered down, my husband and I were over the moon privately and a couple of close friends knew, but other than that, it was just us. We would spend our nights on pinterest and chatting about hopes and dreams, but it was like we didn't want it to become news for anyone else yet...so that is a bit of where the inspo for Rory wanting to just lay low comes from. The next chapter will be a straight continuation of this moment, so we won't miss those sweet chats.