A/N: I created a series on A03 containing all of the stories in this universe. This is the first part of the story surrounding the debutante ball referenced in Expecting Felicity. Originally it took place a year before. But I decided to make it the first formal event that the Bartlet Administration hosted since taking office.
In the timeline, it takes place over one day approximately one week before Expecting Felicity starts. Abbey is pregnant and no one knows except Jed and Millie at this stage.
This story adds depth and backstory to the characters I introduced in Expecting Felicity and the Fourth Time Around. You do not have to be both a Gilmore Girls and the West Wing fan to enjoy the story. If you haven't read Expecting Felicity, Emily is the older sister, by two years, of Abbey Bartlet.
Lorelei has a sister named Alexandra. They are 13 years apart. Alex is a little over 2 years older than Rory. Logan's age is a bit unclear in Gilmore Girls. In this universe, he is the same age as Alex which is 16. She's about to be 17. Lorelei and Alex have a very complicated relationship, not unlike Emily and Lorelei.
I'm posting this in parts because story is longer than I thought.
Happy Reading!
February 6, 1999
The Morning of the National Daughters of the American Revolution Charity Ball
Something woke Jed up from a relatively sound sleep. When he opened his eyes, the Master Suite was still dark. But he could see that the bathroom light was on. Getting out of bed, he padded toward the bathroom and found Abbey sitting on the floor by the toilet, looking nauseated.
"You okay there, sweet knees?"
"Just dandy, Jed," She murmured. "Baby girl hasn't decided if I need to throw up yet."
Jed walked over to the sink and wet one of the hand towels hanging by it before returning to Abbey. He sat down beside her and placed it on the back of her neck.
"I thought you said you wanted to wait to do the test next week before calling the baby a girl."
Abbey shrugged, "I thought about what you said. The baby probably will be a girl, with our track record.
"If the baby is a boy, we're in trouble. The only baby boy we've taken care of in recent memory is Will," He said, referring to their nephew on his side of the family. "I'm content to be the father of four daughters."
"Maybe we should take the baby to Egypt when she's older. I'm sure you'll be given all the tea the country has to offer."
Abbey reached over and squeezed Jed's hand, thinking about that family trip to visit the pyramids. It still ranked among their best family vacations.
"It would be something. I know it won't be easy raising a little one here, but think about all the things we'll be able to expose her to."
"She's going to be too young to remember most of it by the time you leave office. But a post-presidential trip to Egypt should definitely be on our list of things to do."
Jed raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, "Are you sure you're up to tonight? Playing hostess wasn't originally in the cards for you."
The National Daughters of the American Revolution Ball was originally scheduled to take place at the Four Seasons. After the election, the DAR contacted Abbey to ask if she wanted to host the ball at the White House. Given their special connection to this year's ball, saying no wasn't an option.
"Jed, Alex may be the last woman in our family who participates in this ball. I am not missing it under any circumstances. Besides, my role is basically to host the event. I borrowed Donna from Josh and assigned her to help with the rehearsal this afternoon. Thankfully, the DAR committee decided to hold the debutante breakfast at the Four Seasons since most of the girls, their families, and escorts are staying there."
"100 years is a pretty good run. If Alex is the last one, you couldn't ask for a better ending."
"No, you couldn't," Abbey agreed. "Hosting the ball here almost makes up, missing Alex's coming out across the pond."
"I can't believe she met the Queen before we did."
"To be fair, it was a much smaller, private affair. She didn't even know until her Majesty appeared. That reminds me, I might have Alex help me brush up on my courtesy. It's been a long time since my finishing school days."
Jed grinned, "I would have liked to have met you back then."
"Lucky for you, I didn't change very much."
At that point, Abbey turned a bit green and promptly threw up in the toilet. Jed stayed by her side the entire time.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this," He said after it was over.
"It's bad now but compared to Zoey and even Ellie, this is mild. I was so sick with Zoey."
"I remember. You were positive there were two babies. Could you imagine if we had twins?"
"Oh, don't say that," She groaned. "They would have killed us from sheer exhaustion."
He smiled, "And yet here we are again."
"God, I hope we don't screw this one up."
"We did it three times before. Number four shouldn't be that difficult. There are two of us and only one of her."
"I should get up. Emily, Richard, and the girls will be up soon. We're having a spa day. It will also keep Emily from bothering Alex too much. The poor thing is nervous enough as it is."
"She made it through the inauguration balls and meeting the Queen. What's there to be nervous about?"
"Oh, I don't know, Mr. President. Maybe it has something to do with being in the White House, wearing a priceless family heirloom, or the fact that everyone is going to have their eyes on her from the moment she walks into the room."
He chuckled, "The Queen's necklace has that effect as I recall. You looked breathtaking when you wore it at our rehearsal dinner," He said, kissing Abbey's temple.
"It hasn't seen the light of day since then."
"That's right. Lizzy changed her mind about wearing it for her wedding."
"Did I tell you mom made the staff take her to the secure room to watch them put in the vault?"
"Well, it is a priceless piece of history. How many members of the DAR can claim that their ancestor raided a ship that included a custom necklace ordered by King George for his wife, Queen Charlotte?"
"Just us," Abbey admitted. "There's no mistaking what family you hail from when you're wearing it."
"Are you going to tell your mother about our little secret while she's here?"
"I'm considering it. If I'm going to tell her, it will be tomorrow. Today is for Alex."
"Maybe I should make the extra Secret Service agents assigned to her permanent," He mused. "It would make her potential suitors think twice."
Abbey ribbed him, "Jed, the extra security is for the necklace. And in case you haven't noticed, she's essentially spoken for."
"Oh? Did Mr. Huntzberger finally make his move?"
"No. But you never know what might happen tonight," She said, her eyes sparkling a little despite still feeling sick.
"I know that look. Your sister won't appreciate your attempts to corrupt our niece."
"Stop it. That's not what I meant. I'm merely pointing out that deb balls are known for their own special brand of magic."
"And how would you know?"
"15 cotillions and 18 debutante balls worth of experience, jackass."
Jed smiled, "See, now you've sparked my curiosity. I want to hear those stories."
"If you're a good boy, maybe you will," She said and got up from the floor.
"Your wish is my command," He said, getting up with her.
Jed did a quick clean of the bathroom before turning off the light and leading Abbey back into the bedroom. They returned to bed and slept in each other's arms for another hour, preparing for the festivities to come.
7 years earlier….
10-year-old Logan Huntzberger pulled at his tie impatiently as he sat in the auditorium of the Richfield-Green Academy on Friday afternoon. He felt silly wearing a suit in the middle of the school auditorium. But his mother promised him that he could try one class and if he hated it, he could drop it. This contravened his father's instructions about attending for the entire year. But he was too busy working most of the time to notice what Logan was doing.
The main doors at the back of the auditorium opened, and the girls filed in, dressed in tea-length party dresses with white gloves on their hands. In one straight line, they walked in front of a row of chairs and stood in front of them, facing the boys.
"Ladies," their teacher, Ms. Daniels, said. "You may sit."
As one, the girls sat down and crossed their ankles, their hands folded in their laps.
Logan looked at the girls and quietly sighed to himself. He joined the class a few sessions in, and he could tell that this was going to be a long afternoon. When it came time for the dancing portion of the class, they were learning the waltz, he was without a partner.
"Mr. Huntzberger needs a partner," Mr. Ross, the teacher for the boys, said to his counterpart.
"Miss Gilmore," Ms. Daniels called.
Logan waited by his teacher, bracing himself to meet a dance partner who was going to be the worst. A girl wearing a blue party dress approached him. Her brown hair was swept away from her face into a bun, and she had warm brown eyes. She offered him a sympathetic smile.
"Mr. Huntzberger, meet Miss Gilmore," Mr. Ross said. "She'll be your dance partner from now on."
"Hi," Logan said, extending his hand. "I'm Logan."
"I'm Alexandra," She said, reaching to take his hand. "But you can call me Alex."
"It's nice to meet you, Alex."
"It's nice to meet you, too, Logan.
Mr. Ross left them to get acquainted and start learning the dance.
"Do you know the waltz?"
"Not really," Logan said sheepishly. "My mom put me in this class."
"I can teach you. We'll be like Anna and the King in the King and I."
"What's that?"
Alex gave Logan a shy smile, "A musical. It's how I learned to dance."
Logan watched Alex's eyes light up with happiness when she said it. He smiled back at her, "I could use the extra help."
"You'll be dancing in no time"
"What if I'm bad at dancing?"
She shrugged, "Everyone has to start somewhere."
"I guess so," He said and extended his hand. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
She took it, "I won't."
Logan Huntzberger shared a different kind of relationship with Alexandra Gilmore. To call them friends would be an understatement because they were more than that. People who knew them, but who were unaware of how they met, thought they were dating. But they never crossed that line. It had occurred to him a few times. Alex wasn't like other girls he knew. She had plans and ambitions that proceeded any desire to date. She tolerated it, though, and Alex only went out with boys her parents set her up with.
This struck him as odd at first. When he learned about Alex's sister, Lorelai, and what happened, her position on boys made more sense. Alex didn't devote much time to dating anyway. Designing clothes was her first love. When she wasn't doing that, everything else seemed to lead back to it.
Alex spent most social events she attended with her mother quietly networking and building her client base. When it came to school, she took business classes at one of the community colleges in Hartford alongside her regular school work. He sometimes felt like a slouch by contrast. Working in his family's company was the last thing he wanted. But she never judged him for it or thought any less of him, and he genuinely loved her for it.
That was the one thing Logan was certain of beyond his place in the family business. No matter where life took them after high school, Logan was certain he would always love Alexandra Gilmore.
"It's too early to be social-able," Alex muttered, slipping her hand through his arm, suppressing a yawn.
"Did you sleep at all?" He asked as they walked down the hall.
"About two hours, I think. The butterflies flapping their wings in my stomach made it very difficult."
"You'll be fine. There's nothing to be nervous about."
"I've had dreams about falling on my face the last few nights. My mom's constant fussing doesn't help. I know she wants everything to be perfect. But it's not helping."
"You're not going to fall on your face, Alex," He assured her.
"You don't know that."
They reached the elevator, and he pressed the down button before squeezing her arm lightly with his own in a quiet gesture of reassurance.
"Have I ever let you fall flat on your face, once?"
"No," She admitted.
"There you go. I'm more interested in watching us wipe the floor with the other couples tonight."
"Logan!"
"Hey, I have to keep things interesting, Coco," He grinned, calling her by his nickname for her, a reference to the famed designer Coco Chanel.
They locked eyes. The minor annoyance she felt abated. For a split second, Alex forgot that she was nervous or that this was quite possibly the biggest day of her life. Time itself seemed to stand still. She opened her mouth to speak, only to have the elevator arrive at the same moment. They stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.
"I still don't think it's polite to say we're going to wipe the floor with those other couples," She replied as the doors closed.
"Did you know I hate ballroom dancing?"
"You never told me that."
"I still do most of the time, except when I'm with you."
"You are so full of it."
"I mean it."
The butterflies in Alex's stomach returned full force. But she was fairly certain that it had nothing to do with nerves about tonight.
"We're going to have to prove ourselves, you know. The committee doesn't choose just anyone for the first dance."
"I'm aware, Coco," He whispered in her ear, a little closer than was strictly necessary. His breath on her ear sent a shiver down her spine.
The elevator arrived in the lobby, and they stepped off into it. Even at this hour, the hotel was busy with guests milling about. Most were headed to breakfast or out sightseeing even though it was still cold out being that it was early February in Washington, DC. Alex managed to spot other girls with their escorts among the people in the lobby on their way to the breakfast being hosted by the DAR for the debutantes and their escorts. She couldn't help but notice that the other girls either seemed a bit awkward with their dates or they were obviously dating given their proximity to each other. Alex felt the urge to take her arm out of Logan's. But she couldn't bring herself to do it because it was as close to normal for her as this day would be.
Walking together arm in arm was a habit instilled in them in cotillion school. Granted, at the time, it was for the purposes of etiquette and learning how to walk together as ladies and gentlemen in a formal setting. They carried on with it mostly because every time Alex and Logan saw each other in person, it was usually at some function. There was really no excuse for them to be so close to each other now. But it felt more comfortable than she was willing to admit.
"I need coffee before we go to breakfast. At this point, it's my only hope for survival."
"I already thought about that. Come on, I heard the café by the gift shop makes an excellent cup."
They started to walk in the direction of the café.
"Everyone is probably going to think we're dating at this breakfast."
"It's not like we haven't heard it before, Coco," Logan pointed out. "But I'm more than happy to correct assumptions if you want me to."
"If you keep calling me Coco, you won't have to."
He smiled at her again, "I like calling you that. One day, people will refer to you the way they do to Coco Chanel."
"I admire your optimism."
"You never know what will happen after tonight."
Alex's stomach flipped just thinking about it. After a minute, she composed herself and said, "Let's go get that coffee."
Sensing her anxiety again, Logan squeezed her arm and wisely steered their conversation towards a topic other than the DAR, the breakfast, or the ball.
One of the perks of being the First Lady of the United States was that many of the things Abbey would have traditionally had to go somewhere else for could be brought to her. While Liz, Ellie, and Zoey were in the den getting pedicures, facial treatments were set up for Emily and Abbey upstairs on the third floor of the Residence. Currently, they were laying on the treatment tables relaxing while the facials did their work. Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen.
"I can't believe Lorelei and Rory aren't here yet," Emily groused.
"They will be, Emily," Abbey said calmly.
"I hope she won't embarrass us. Mom's speech at breakfast was directed at me, I just know it."
"It was directed at all of us, Emily. Besides, Lorelei has been to her fair share of debutante balls. She knows what to expect."
"That won't stop her from acting out."
"Get all of it out of your system now, sister dear."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm referring to. Alex has been preparing for this night for years. Don't let your issues with Lorelei color it."
"It's easy for you to say that, Abigail. Lizzy didn't move to another town and shut you out of her life like Lorelei did."
"No," Abbey said patiently. "But that doesn't mean we have the perfect family. Doug is a wonderful father, but he isn't the man we imagined Liz would end up with."
"I suppose not," Emily sighed. "But at least she's married. I don't know it will ever happen for her or Alexandra for that matter."
"Lorelei is busy managing her career and raising Rory. I've always had Jed's help. I can't imagine raising the girls alone."
"It didn't have to be that way. She could have married Christopher."
"Given Christopher's track record, how do you think that would have worked out?"
Emily didn't say anything in response. Abbey's question hit the mark. The dynamics within the Gilmore family were complex. Lorelei's decision to raise Rory on her own caused a rift between Emily and Lorelei. There was also the relationship between Alex and Lorelei, which was its own brand of complicated.
"I don't know," Emily said finally.
"Lorelei never wanted this life, Emily," Abbey said after a moment. "It's not for everyone."
"It wasn't for you either, and look where we are."
"We grew up in a different time. I always knew I wanted to be a doctor and I doubted that years of debutante balls, cotillions, and etiquette lessons lent themselves to my chosen profession. Little did I know how wrong I was."
"I wish mom was here to hear you say that."
"Lucky for me, she had to finalize last-minute details with the committee ahead of tonight," Abbey smiled.
"How she deals with those women, I'll never know. After I was on the committee two years ago, never again. There are too many Mrs. Cotesworth-Hayes for my taste."
"I'm right there with you."
"Aren't you going to host the next two National Balls?"
"I don't have to be on the committee, sister dear. It turns out there are some perks to being FLOTUS."
"Good. I was beginning to think all anyone really wants you to do is smile and nod."
"Once the administration gets off the ground, I'm going to introduce some initiatives of my own. But first, we have to get through tonight."
"I still haven't seen Alexandra's dress. She won't show anyone."
"I'm sure it will be quintessentially Alex, Em. Let her have this one."
"You sound like mom. She keeps telling me to let Alexandra be as if I'm holding her captive."
"Putting your trust in her would go a long way."
"I do trust her."
"You had your minister over to discuss pre-marital sex over dinner, Emily."
"We did the same thing with Lorelei. Thankfully, it seemed to work with Alexandra."
"Perhaps a little too well."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I don't think I've ever seen Alex with a boy she's liked."
"Not every relationship has a spark, Abigail. You and I both went through our fair share of young men before we met Richard and Jed."
"True. But we enjoyed ourselves along the way. Maybe Alex would feel more at ease if she knew you trusted her to make good choices."
"You make it sound as if I frown upon her dating, which I don't. Alexandra has gone out with a few young men. We've even had one or two over for dinner."
"Did she show any sort of affection towards them?"
"Not that I saw, beyond a polite kiss on the cheek. But that doesn't mean anything. I never did anything more than that in front of mom and dad. You didn't either."
"Mom always knew who we liked, though."
"Yes, she did, like a sixth sense. Or she was simply too good at spying on us, and we never noticed."
"I'm sure it was a combination of both."
The facialist opened the door and entered the room, coming to remove the masks.
"How are we doing?" She asked brightly.
"Just fabulous, Anita," Abbey said. Strains of familiar voices reached her ears. Arguing voices.
Emily let out a soft sigh, "So much for relaxation. I need to go deal with my children."
Downstairs, Lorelei and Alex stood glaring at each other in the hallway outside the den.
"Typical," Lorelei said in annoyance to her baby sister. "You can never take a joke."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Alex said with a tinge of sarcasm. "I must have missed the punchline."
"Why do you have to be so difficult? If everything isn't just so, you have a cow."
"Lorelei," Liz said. "Let it go, okay? We were all having fun."
Liz, Ellie, and Zoey were standing just inside the den. Rory was behind them sitting in a chair, a book poised on her lap. She had just started reading when the argument started.
"You're calling me difficult. I'm not the one mom has to beg to come to every family holiday party."
"Why should I bother? You're the daughter mom wanted. The one she could dress in the frilly dresses and introduce to her friends. Little miss perfect who can do no wrong."
"Alex, come on. It's not worth arguing with Lorelei over this," Zoey said, trying to appeal to her practical side.
"Because mom and dad want you around. That's all they ever wanted!" Alex exclaimed. "But you don't care about anyone else. If you did, you wouldn't have shown up today making jokes about breaking me out of here like we're in some sort of prison."
"Get that stick out of your ass, Eloise," Lorelei said, calling her sister by her middle name just to annoy her. "Maybe then, you'd learn to have some fun and take a joke."
"Maybe if you learned to keep your knees shut, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all."
The look on Lorelei's face said it all. Her sister's words hit her like a slap. She looked stricken. But Alex made no move to apologize, nor did she have any satisfaction in her eyes.
"You're nothing but a little monster," Lorelei spat.
"That's enough," Emily said sharply, moving between her daughters.
"What happened?" Abbey asked, appearing beside her children.
"It doesn't matter what happened, Abbey. Both of you apologize," Emily said, looking at Lorelei and Alex. "Now."
Silence stretched in front of them. The Gilmore siblings said nothing to one another or to their mother.
"I apologize for what I said, Lorelei," Alex said, after a moment. She looked ashamed and a little embarrassed. "You didn't deserve it."
Lorelei shook her head, "I'm sorry isn't enough, Alex. You crossed a line."
"Lorelei," Abbey interjected. "It takes two people to have an argument. Apologize to your sister."
"No, Aunt Abbey," Lorelei said looking at her aunt. "Alex isn't going to get away with it this time."
"Lorelei, please," Ellie said. "Just apologize. You were both wrong."
Lorelei said nothing. Alex turned abruptly and walked away, back toward her room.
"I hope you're happy, Lorelei," Emily said, rounding on her oldest.
"No, mom. I'm not happy," Lorelei said, with hurt in her voice. "This is exactly why I wanted out of your world. I didn't want Rory turning out like Alex."
Emily pursed her lips, "I didn't realize that you were such a paragon of parenting, Lorelei."
"Lorelei and I are going to have a little chat," Abbey said in a tone that suggested this wasn't up for debate. She looked at her sister and a silent communication passed between them. More fighting wasn't going to help the situation.
Emily looked at Lorelei for a moment longer and then turned back to go to Alex's room. Abbey walked in the opposite direction towards her bedroom and gestured for Lorelei to follow her. Liz, Ellie, and Zoey went back into the den and attempted to resume the afternoon of pampering ahead of them while making sure Rory wasn't too terribly hurt by the conversation that occurred.
Emily opened the door to the room Alexandra was staying in without knocking. She had changed out of her breakfast outfit and into jeans and a t-shirt. The perfectly applied makeup was also gone, presumably so that she could participate in part of the spa day before rehearsal that afternoon. She moved around the room now, busily assembling an outfit for it, as Emily stepped into the room and closed the door.
"Alexandra," Emily said in a gentler tone than the one she used with Lorelei.
Alex set a top on the bed and looked over at her mother, "I'm sorry," She managed to say. "I'll apologize to Aunt Abbey and to Lizzy, Ellie, Zoey, and to Rory. I was out of line. I should have never-"
"We don't have to talk about that now," She interjected, walking over to her youngest. Emily set the outfit Alex was putting together aside and sat down on the side of the bed. The younger Gilmore followed suit. "How was the breakfast?"
"Almost every girl there made a pass at Logan when I was talking to someone else. He told them he was taken. But I'm sure he'll call one of them up eventually."
"If you two are dating, you should invite him to dinner," Emily said, thinking of her sister's words earlier.
"We're not dating, mom. Logan and I simply agreed not to correct anyone's assumptions. I'm not his type, anyway."
"And just what is Logan's type?"
"The opposite of me, I suppose," Alex replied, looking down at her French manicure. "I'm not one of the fun, adventurous girls he gravitates towards. I'm— a monster."
Emily watched her daughter's face dissolve in tears as she repeated the barb Lorelei threw at her. She pulled Alex into her arms as she sobbed. The hurt in her voice was apparent. But it was more than just one fight. It was the accumulation of their relationship, the pressure of tonight, fear of failure, and her own high standards that brought Alex to tears. Emily didn't say anything. But in her mind, she cursed Lorelei and wondered if Alex slept at all the night before.
When they parted, the distressed look on Alex's face told her mother that she had not. Emily stood up and gently pushed Alex down onto the pillow.
"You need to sleep," She said finally, picking up a throw folded on the end of the bed. She draped it over Alex and sat back down on the bed.
"I don't have—" Alex started to say.
"Yes, you do," Emily countered, cutting off her daughter's protests. "Aunt Abbey will take one look at you and say the same. Go to sleep."
Alex closed her eyes. Emily stroked her daughter's hair, watching until her breathing became slow and steady. Once she was certain Alex was out, Emily left the room and returned to the den to spend time with her nieces and granddaughter.
Abbey walked into the Master Suite looking more than a little annoyed. Lorelei followed her inside and closed the door behind them.
"Both of you are lucky that your grandmother is otherwise occupied with the DAR," Abbey said grimly, turning to face her niece. "She gave us all a speech at breakfast about how everyone at the ball tonight will look to this family to set a good example. That display in the hall was anything but."
"I'm sorry, Abbey. Things got out of hand."
"Out of hand? You were practically screaming at each other, and then you wouldn't accept your sister's apology."
"Because she was out of line!"
"Don't think I didn't hear your suggestion about what should be done with a stick, Lorelei."
At this, Lorelei looked properly chastised, "I suppose I shouldn't have said that. But Alex can't take a joke. Rory and I were sitting with Liz, Ellie, and Zoey getting our pedicures when she came in to say hi. Everything was fine until we asked her how the debutante breakfast went. All I was trying to do was make Alex laugh by asking her to let me know if I should stage a prison break to get her out of this, and that's how the fight started."
"Alex is under a lot of pressure—-"
"I knew you were going to defend her!"
"Lorelei, I'm not defending anyone. As far as I'm concerned, both of you are equally guilty. But Alex did apologize to you, and you wouldn't accept it. What kind of relationship do you expect to have with her if you can't even accept an apology?"
"What she said was unforgivable."
"Your comments weren't much better, especially what you said to your mother."
"I don't want this for Rory, Abbey. I won't apologize for that."
"That's your choice as Rory's mother. But telling your mother that you don't want Rory to turn out like Alex is a low blow, and I know you know that. Blaming Alex's behavior on how she was raised isn't fair, considering you had the same parents."
"Richard and Emily are not the same parents to Alex as they were to me. They're a lot easier on her."
"Your mother would probably say the same thing about me. And, I bet, Liz will tell you something similar about how the way Jed and I approach Ellie and Zoey compared to her. It's the way families are. I'll admit that Alex has advantages you didn't have."
"Then why is it that Alex gets away with everything, and I'm always the bad guy? I'm not sorry that I built a life away from my parents for Rory and me. It was the best thing I ever did."
"I know you're not," Abbey said, releasing a breath. "I understand why you left. But I've told you this before, Lorelei. Every decision has consequences. You made the choice to leave and keep your parents at a distance because that's what you needed. Alex didn't choose to stay."
"She won't forgive me either," Lorelei replied, looking at Abbey. "It's like the moment I left, I stopped being her sister."
"Have you ever considered that Alex might feel the same way about you?"
"Abbey, we've tried everything. You've been there for most of it. So has Uncle Jed. We just don't get along."
"That doesn't mean you stop trying," She pointed out. "Alex is trying. She wouldn't have offered you an apology if she didn't want you to be here. I would argue that Alex needs you today more than anyone else."
"I'm the failed debutante, remember? I'm the reason Alex is putting so much pressure on herself. She feels like she has to work twice as hard because she has to make it up to mom."
"She's also scared, Lorelei. This night was only ever supposed to be a Washington society event, and that changed the moment I agreed to host it. There is going to be a spotlight put on every member of this family, including your sister, with the press in attendance. CJ has already received questions about Alex's work."
Lorelei looked uncomfortable with this realization. Unlike the Bartlet sisters, she and Rory hadn't appeared in the political limelight. Although she had a thriving design business and an extensive network of contacts, Alex, too, made a point of keeping a relatively low profile. She was known for being Emily and Richard Gilmore's daughter than anything else.
"Is that why you and Uncle Jed have spent all this time talking to lawyers and ethics personnel?"
"Yes, people will want to know more about your sister after tonight. We didn't want our relationship to become a political issue, given that we've disclosed our business relationship with Alex every year since she started her company."
"I would have loved to see their faces when you explained how she's never let you pay for anything."
"It was a process, to say the least. But they seemed satisfied with the arrangement we do have."
"I guess it's easier than telling Alex "no"," Lorelei replied with a little smile before her expression softened, "I really messed things up, didn't I?"
"It takes two people to have a fight and two to make up. Go talk to Alex. I'm sure she'll be glad you did."
Lorelei did as her aunt suggested. On her way to Alex's room, she stopped by her room to retrieve the gift she brought for Alex to mark the occasion. When she arrived in the bedroom she was sharing with Rory, Lorelei discovered that her sister had already beaten her to it. Two large clothing boxes sat on the dresser in the room. One was tied with a red satin ribbon and the other tied with a blue ribbon. She went to the red one first.
A white tag hanging from the center of the bow read Lorelei in Alex's familiar flowing cursive. Lorelei undid the ribbon and opened the box. She peeled back the red tissue paper inside to reveal neatly folded t-shirts, dress shirts for work as well as pants, some dressy tops, and a few cute skirts that could be paired with tights for winter. Every piece she pulled out of the box had a tiny tag with her name on it, followed by a heart with the letters AE inside. This was how Alex expressed her love for everyone in their family, including her.
Guilt rose in Lorelei just thinking about what happened. Alex had said terrible things, but so had she. Never once in that entire confrontation did Lorelei stop to consider that her sister needed her today. Putting the clothes back in the box, Lorelei left her gift where it was and went to her sister's room. She knocked on the door and opened it, poking her head inside. When she saw that Alex was asleep, she started to close the door and then slipped inside.
Lorelei walked over to the bed and saw her sister's tear-stained face. Her guilt intensified. She leaned down and kissed Alex's forehead.
"I'm sorry, squirt," She whispered.
As she straightened up, Lorelei noticed a familiar stuffed rabbit wearing a yellow ribbon around its neck, sitting on top of the pillow on the other side of the bed. Good Luck Rabbit, as Alex named him, was a gift from Lorelei to her sister when she was five. Even he was here today for moral support. Quietly, Lorelei left the room and returned to the den. Apologies would have to wait until later.