You've given me lots of love - and hate- so here it is. The next chapter.seeing as how I've been nice... maybe leave a review and let me know what you think.again any views expressed here are not necessarily my own.

Chapter 28

Those ten minutes felt like the longest of Finn's life. Waiting to find out if he was going to be a father or not. He meant what he said to Rory, they would deal, if there was an it, it would be loved. But he wasn't ready to be a dad yet. He was scared. He needed to be here with Rory, holding her hand being strong for her. But he wanted his dad. He wanted to cry and be scared and have his dad hug him, tell him he was a bloody idiot but that he loved him and it'd all be okay.

Rory's phone beeped bringing him out of his thoughts.

"It's time." Rory said quietly. "I think I'm going to be sick again."

"Come on kitten. Let's go see. It'll be okay. Whatever happens it'll be okay. I promise." Finn said rubbing her back slowly. He might have been scared, but he meant it, whatever happened they were in it together. They'd get through it together.

Shakily Rory stood and made her way to the bathroom, Finn was right behind her, Lorelai behind him. Finn knew Lorelai wanted to be the one holding Rory's hand and doing this with her, but if he stopped, if he wasn't being that person for his kitten right now then he was going to freak out.

Rory took the test and looked before instantly breaking into tears.

Finn felt like he was falling down a hole. This couldn't be happening. This could not be happening. They were too young.

A tiny, small, minuscule part of him was excited, but it was very small. The rest of him was just terrified. And sick.

"It's okay love, it's okay. We'll manage. It'll be okay." Finn heard himself saying from a long way off as he hugged her small frame to him and rubbed her back gently.

"Oh Rory." Lorelai said and a quick look showed that she too was crying.

"No, its not... I'm not... I'm not pregnant. Its negative." Rory hiccups between sobs holding up the pregnancy test.

"You're not?" Finn asked, his kitten shook her head no. "Then why are you crying?"

"Because I'm so relieved!" Rory said starting to laugh. Finn laughed along with her. He had never felt so much weight fly off his shoulders so fast. He was not going to be a dad!

"Oh god. Me too kitten, me too." Finn said kissing the top of her head, he hugged her just that little bit tighter. It really was all okay now. "God, I need a drink."

"Me too Aus." Lorelai breathed colour returning to her cheeks.

"So, no more sex till we're married right?" Rory said.

"Love the way I'm feeling right now I'm happy to go along with that." Finn chuckled.

"Now the mommy is very happy. If only I believed you'd stick to that." Lorelai laughed. "Right, I'm going to actually go to dinner now and drink my weight in wine."

"I'm going to puke again. I really do think I still have that stomach bug." Rory moaned looking a little green.

"Have fun with that Aus." Lorelai laughed. "But seriously, if you need me, call."

"Will do, don't worry I'll take care of the exorcist impersonator here." Finn said.

/\\\/\\\

"Love. We're supposed to go down to breakfast." Finn tried waking Rory again.

"No, too early." Rory groaned putting her head in the pillow adorably.

"Aren't you hungry? They'll be food and coffee... lots and lots of coffee." Finn coaxed.

"Nope. No coffee. Only sleep." Rory insisted. "You go eat."

Finn chuckled; it was normally the other way round in their relationship. She was the one trying to drag him out of bed. But then she had been up half the night being sick.

"Alright angel. Do you want me to bring you something up?" He asked. "Besides your charming and very handsome boyfriend?"

"No. Wait. Maybe. I don't know. Bring me something that's not going to make me sick again." Rory mumbled.

"I'll see what I can do. I've got my cell kitten. Call me if you need anything." Finn said pressing a kiss to her hair.

"Sleep." Rory said.

Finn left the room in high spirits. He was happy. He wasn't going to be a dad. He could carry on his hedonistic life style. Life was good.

When he got down to breakfast, he saw his dad, Luke and Colin. The females though were noticeably absent. And the two older males were frowning at him. Damn.

"Good morning Finnegan." His dad said gesturing to a seat for him. Shit.

"Morning. Where are the fairer sex this morning? There seems to be an overabundance of testosterone." Finn asked helping himself to a coffee, adding sugar.

"How's Rory?" Phineas asked, ignoring Finn's question.

"She stopped being sick about three this morning she's sleeping in." Finn said looking over the spread on the table.

"Mia's got the bug back too." Colin said, shooting Finn a 'what the hell' look.

"Lorelai and Janice spent the night drinking. And talking." Phineas said sternly.

"Oh?" Finn asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, oh." Luke growled.

"Next time you might not be so lucky. I know you know what you should be doing to protect yourself and Rory. I know you do. So why the hell was this an issue!?" Phineas burst out. "You bloody idiot. Next time just wrap up."

Colin spat out a piece of croissant he'd started chocking on.

"Oh god. Mothers going to be a mother?" Colin asked.

"No. She is not. It was just a scare." Finn reassured his best mate.

"There shouldn't have been a scare at all." Phineas added sternly.

"Dad." Finn moaned. "We're careful, we have two different types of birth control."

"Hmm..." Phineas hummed. "Just be extra careful, please son. I don't want to be a grandfather for at least another five years."

"I don't want to be a dad either. Believe me." Finn grinned sensing the reaming had finished.

"I'm extremely uncomfortable with this conversation." Luke said stabbing a bit of fruit salad a bit aggressively with his fork.

"So, Mia's ill again too huh? That sucks. Maybe we should stick them in together." Finn said changing the subject.

/\\\/\\\

"Urgh. This is the worst." Rory said from the bathroom, where once again she was hugging the toilet.

"Right there with you girlfriend." Mia called from the bed. "But it could be worse, you could be having a baby."

"How do you know?" Rory groaned feeling sick all over again.

"Your mom. She got drunk and told Janice, really loudly." Mia called back from the bed. Everyone else was out sightseeing so they'd put the two girls in a room together. Rory thought it was so they didn't get anyone else sick.

"You're kidding? So, Luke knows and your dad?" Rory said deciding whether to try dragging herself back to the bed.

"Oh yeah. Luke went mental by the way." Mia sounded much too happy about that. "Dad was steaming mad too though."

"Great." Rory moaned unhappily.

"How was Finn?" Mia called as Rory shakily stood up. She walked very slowly into the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed with Mia.

"He was so great. Really great." Rory smiled; Finn really was perfect. She couldn't imagine going through that with anyone else. "He held my hand, kept telling me that it'd all be okay."

"Would you have kept it? If you were?" Mia asked quietly.

"Yes." Rory said without any hesitation. "I couldn't... I mean I am totally for it being a woman's choice. And I'd never judge anyone who did go through with that. But my mom was sixteen, she could have easily got an abortion but she didn't and I'm here because of that." Rory rolled on her side to look at Mia.

"Mia, Mi? What's wrong?" Rory asked, Mia had tears streaming down her face.

"I... I did... I... I was pregnant and I... I got an abortion." Mia sobbed.

"What? When?" Rory asked completely shocked.

"I was seventeen." Mia said still crying.

"Oh Mia." Rory said hugging her friend. "Its okay."

"No, it's not." Mia sobbed. "I... it was my first time... I don't even remember my first time. The only reason I even knew I'd done it was when I found out I was pregnant."

"Mia?" Rory frowned, that sounded terrible.

"I'd gone out with someone. I thought they liked me. They made me feel special. He made me feel special. We had some drinks. It was my first-time drinking. I don't remember much after the club he took me too. I don't remember having sex with him." Mia said holding Rory's hand tighter, her face screwing up in anguish. "I couldn't have it... I didn't want a baby... I didn't want this reminder of something. The guy... he didn't want anything more than a one night stand, he made that perfectly clear when I tried calling him after."

"Mia. Oh Mia." Rory didn't know what to say. "I'm here. I love you. You're okay now."

"I regret it." Mia whispered.

"What?" Rory asked.

"I regret getting the abortion. I regret not having the baby. The baby wouldn't have had a dad, it wouldn't have been wanted, I'd never have gone to Yale but I'd have loved it anyway." Mia cried harder.

"Oh Mia. You did the right thing for you. You did what was right at the time." Rory said sadly.

"I want to believe that." Mia sniffed.

"It was the right thing at the time." Rory said.

The girls were silent for a long time just laid together holding hand and staring at the ceiling.

"Mia, who was the guy?" Rory asked quietly, finally breaking the silence.

"It doesn't matter now." Mia whispered back.

"Was it Logan?" Rory asked softly. It was the only thing that made sense.

"What does it matter?" Mia asked.

"Mia hon, you need to tell Finn." Rory said gently.

"What!? No. No way. And you can't either." Mia yelped sitting up.

"Mi, Finn is Logan's best friend. Imagine I'd done something terrible to Finn, you'd want to know right? You'd want to be able to bitch me out or scream at me or even stop being friends, right?" Rory asked.

"No. No one can know." Mia said firmly.

"I won't say anything. I promise. But I really think you should." Rory reassured Mia. Or tried too anyway.

/\\\/\\\

"You're sure you're up for this love? I really don't mind spending the night in the room with you. I'll even let you stomp on my feet a few times for old times' sake. We'll feel like we're there without actually having to be there." Finn asked Rory making her giggle.

"Yes, I haven't been sick in more than twelve hours. The whole reason we came was for the Gala, we're going. Plus, I've got a fabulous new dress." Rory grinned up at Finn feeling much better now.

"Damn it." Finn frowned. "Fine, go get ready. But I am getting sloshed if I've got to put up with the who's who of boring, rich, snobby people."

"That is to be expected." Rory chuckled grabbing her garment bag, makeup and hair products.

"Right, I'm going to get ready with Blossom. I'll pick you up in an hour. Alright kitten?" Finn asked.

"I'll do my best to get pretty in that hour." Rory smiled up at him.

"You're always pretty angel. Tonight, you'll be stunning." Finn smirked leaning down and giving her a long, soft kiss that had her knees buckle and seriously considering recanting her vow of celibacy.

Rory went into the bathroom, running a hot shower and tucking her hair up, she'd washed it earlier after she'd finished being sick for what seemed like the millionth time.

It took a while for Rory to be happy. She wasn't great with makeup or doing her own hair. She fixed her hair into a simple up do, her makeup she tried for a smoky eye look but had taken that off when it looked more like she had two black eyes. Instead, she'd gone for a light look which she added plenty of blusher to, giving herself some colour. Finally, she put her dress on and heels. Rory looked at herself carefully in the mirror. She was happy, she thought Finn would like the end result and she looked like she'd fit in with the high society people downstairs. Or at least she hoped she did. She knew Finn wouldn't care either way, but she didn't want to embarrass the Morgan's in front of their shareholders and investors.

Rory stepped out of the bathroom and picked up her purse. She was running a little late but then so was Finn so she didn't worry.

Rory didn't have to wait long before the door opened and Finn came in looking very handsome in his tuxedo. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him. His long curly hair was brushed back but not slick, Rory wanted to run her fingers through it so badly that she actually clutched her purse tighter to stop herself.

"My god you look absolutely stunning love." Finn said. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay in. That dress looks perfect on you but I'm sure it would look almost as good on the floor."

"Not tonight Mister." Rory smiled at him. "Though the way you look makes it hard to say that."

"Is that so, cause the way you look sure is making something hard." Finn smirked.

"Working blue tonight, are we?" Rory giggled.

"If you let me, I'd love to." Finn grinned.

"Come on, your dad will be cross with us if we don't make an appearance." Rory said walking to Finn and taking his arm.

"True, but seeing as he's already annoyed a little longer won't hurt." Finn said his voice getting a husky edge to it. He leant down and gave her a searing kiss that left them both breathless. When they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers. "You really do look beautiful love."

Together they made their way down to the function room that the Gala was being held in. The place looked very elegant, whites, blacks and silvers. And as predicted it was full of high society types.

Finn was a consummate charmer when he wanted to be and he worked the room like a pro. Leaving everyone he spoke with smiling though only taking a few minutes with each person. Rory was glad that she had little else to do than smile and say hello. Though she supposed she should probably get use to this type of event and start working on her own charm.

Finally they made their way to Mia, Colin, Lorelai and Luke.

"You look stunning Mia. Mom you look beautiful as always." Rory said.

"You look very elegant this fine evening mother." Colin smiled at her.

"And you look dashing Mr McCrea. I wouldn't know that under your debonair visage lay such a rouge if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." Rory joked.

"You've seen his rouge? When did this happen Buttercup, I thought I was the only one allowed such privileges?" Finn mocked being outraged.

"Now Blossom, you known I can't be tied down to just one man." Colin joked back.

"You better be tied down to just one woman." Mia butted in.

"Of course Little Red." Colin said looking at Mia with softened eyes. "My eyes are only for you, my heart beats just for your own, my soul-"

"I think I'm going to be sick." Lorelai joked. "That was much too Wordsworth for my liking."

"Thank god for that. I'm more of a Wilde man myself." Luke smiled at Lorelai.

"Dirty." Everyone but Luke present said together.

"You've spread your brand of crazy, I hope your happy?" Luke sighed to Rory's mom.

"Very." Lorelai giggled.

"I think it may be time for cigars and scotch?" Colin asked Finn nodding in the direction of Logan who stood on the outer edge of their little group.

"Indeed. Kitten I shall return. Have... I was going to say fun, but have champagne, that's as close as the night will get to being fun." Finn said kissing her chastely.

"How very disappointing for you Rory." Mia smirked at her brother.

"Enough of that. Please." Luke said shooting Mia a look.

"How about we dance babe?" Lorelai interjected quickly.

"Sure." Luke smiled and took Lorelai's hand.

/\\\/\\\

Finn stood once again outside smoking cigars and drinking scotch with his best mates. Once again, he couldn't help but take stock of things, he was a very lucky guy. His girlfriend was the hottest girl there and she wasn't pregnant. And this time he was getting laid. Or he had been, he wasn't too clear on what his chances would be in the future.

"Here we are again then men." Logan grinned, his mind apparently running along the same wavelength as Finn's.

"Here we are again." Colin nodded.

"At least this time you've got a real date Colin. And at least this time you're both getting laid. Or at least I sincerely hope you are." Logan chuckled.

"A gentleman never kisses and tells." Finn smirked.

"No, but Rory's mom does. Man, you must have been absolutely terrified." Colin said to Finn.

"What's this? Did your girls mom catch you at it?" Logan asked excitedly. He could be a woman sometimes when it came to gossip.

"Worse, she caught them taking a pregnancy test." Colin laughed.

"No!" Logan asked with his own laugh.

"Oh yes." Finn nodded with a smirk.

"Man get out of there before she traps you. First its the pregnancy scare, testing the waters, then she forgets to take her pill and tries to trap you." Logan said sounding serious.

"Not mother. She's way too into her studies for that." Colin disagreed.

"Rory wouldn't do that mate. You have never seen anyone as freaked as her last night." Finn added.

"You'll see." Logan said knowingly.

"Got a few mini Huntzberger's running around we don't know about Logan? You seem to speak from experience." Finn raised his eyebrows.

"Some who have tried to claim as much. Never actually produced the child though." Logan rolled his eyes. "Trying to catch what cannot be caught, tame that which cannot be tamed."

"I'm already caught mate." Finn took a drag of his cigar. "And kitten really doesn't want to tame me."

"Sure man, whatever you want to tell yourself." Logan smirked. "I hope you bag it up too Colin, I know you're getting it this year at least."

"Huh?" Colin asked taking a sip of his scotch.

"I'm just saying I know Mia puts out." Logan laughed.

"Hey, watch what you're saying there mate. That's my sister." Finn frowned not liking the direction this was going.

"What do you mean you know Mia puts out?" Colin frowned at the blonde.

"Finn complains enough about her conquests." Logan said.

Finn wasn't sure he quite believed Logan's explanation; years of friendship meant he knew when Logan was holding things back. But he wanted to believe it enough that he accepted it. Logan wouldn't sleep with his sister and not tell him. They were best mates; you didn't do that shit.

"So who are you here with this evening anyway? I haven't seen." Finn asked.

"I am here with Fallon. My mom set us up. She's really boring, but she's also really easy, so I'm alright for the night." Logan smirked.

"Just make sure you bag up yeah? Don't want any more accusations of tiny blonde haired mini Dark Lords." Finn winked.

"Don't worry man, I've got that well and truly covered." Logan joked and they all laughed.

/\\\/\\\

Phineas once again was stood in a hotel in a Gala for himself and his family, for the business they had made through lots of hard work and a little luck. A glass of champagne was in his hand as he once more looked out across the room at his family.

He spotted Janice talking to Lorelai their heads together as they cackled over something. Those two together were dangerous and he was so glad Janice had that. That his darling wife to be was happy.

Phineas caught sight of Mia dancing with Colin and smiled. They seemed like a good match, already falling for each other despite the brevity of their relationship. He pulled her out of her shell that little bit more, made her dance and laugh that little bit harder. He approved, not that Mia needed his approval. Though he was glad that she still sought it.

Lastly Phineas looked for his son and what he was now sure would be his future daughter in law. They were stood together laughing over a glass of champagne which they were taking turns drinking from. He shook his head at them with a fond smile. They had certainly been lucky. Phineas had meant what he said, he had no desire to be a grandfather anytime soon but he had no doubts that if the test had come out differently that the couple would have made it work. Instead, though they got to experience more of life first. For that he was glad.

"Phineas!" Phineas winced at Higgenbottom who boomed his voice from behind him. Taking a deep breath and putting on his society smile Phineas turned.

"Derek! How wonderful to see you here tonight!" Phineas said.

"Thank you for inviting me my friend."

"Well of course, how could I have not?" After all Derek had more contacts on his roster than Phineas had, and Phineas had an awful lot of contacts.

"It's a wonderful party, as always. And I see Amelia has taken up with the McCrea boy. That's a very good match I applaud you." Derek said self-importantly. "And Finnegan is still with the receptionist I see? Interesting."

"Receptionist?" Phineas feigned confusion, he'd dealt with this question more often than he would ever admit to Finn. "Oh, you mean Rory. Sorry. Yes, Lorelai Gilmore the third, she took a summer job for some experience and a reference last summer, but with the passing of Straub Hayden, her grandfather she didn't think it was a suitable course of action this year, taking care of family is of course much more important." Phineas hated these people. Why they cared so much about young people's relationships he'd never know.

"A Hayden?" Derek asked impressed. "And a Gilmore. Hmm... yes perhaps that is a good match too. And I see you have yet to make your dazzling fiancé your wife?"

"Janice is working on that Derek, don't you worry." Phineas faked a laugh.

"I'm sure she is!" Derek laughed as well.

"Oh, I've just seen Mr Danes. I'm so sorry Derek but I really do need to speak with him about a mutual beneficiary." Phineas said gesturing to Luke.

"Oh yes of course." Derek said puffing out his chest.

God Phineas hated these things.

/\\\/\\\

Later that night, after lots of dancing, drinking and very little food Finn and Rory were back in their room and mercifully alone.

Finn was unzipping Rory's dress very slowly, kissing each new bit of skin he uncovered.

"Finn!" Rory moaned gently as he reached her lower back.

"Did you mean what you said love, about waiting to have sex again?" Finn paused his lips grazing her skin deliciously with every breathy word he spoke.

"Do you have condoms?" Rory gasped as he unzipped her further.

"Packs of them." Finn promised dropping to his knees as the zipper grazed her ass.

"Well, we can't let them go to waste now can we?" Rory said her voice husky and wavering in her desire. She really had meant it earlier but now with his hands sliding down her dress, and his mouth doing sinful things to her skin her resolve was a thing of the past.

"Are you sure love? Because I can stop." Finn smirked kissing round to her navel.

"No... no... please... don't stop... don't stop please!" Rory begged as he got lower.

 Hope you all enjoyed this.