Eighteen
By week thirty-eight, Rory was pretty sure she couldn't get any more uncomfortable.
The baby moved constantly, stretching her already taut skin and jabbing her in the ribs at all hours. Her back ached. Her feet hurt. She had raging heartburn. Her bladder felt the size of a grape which, ironically, she had begun craving again with a newfound vengeance. She couldn't sleep, thanks to the pain and the discomfort and the constant need to pee. And, to top it all off, she no longer fit in even her maternity clothes. She was just… kind of over it.
Jess offered as much sympathy as he could, giving her back massages and going to the store on craving-runs and reading everything there was to know about supporting your partner in the end stages of pregnancy. There was just really nothing to do but wait until baby girl decided to make her debut.
But, that being said, the pain and discomfort was made easier by the small moments.
Moments when Rory woke up in the middle of the night and found Jess reading to the bump from an old favorite or something he was editing for work or one of the children's books they'd gotten. Moments when Jess surprised Rory with breakfast in bed after a particularly rough night. Moments when she remembered that soon this would all be over, and though she was over the moon excited to meet her baby girl, in those nostalgic, bittersweet moments, she thought she might almost miss being pregnant once it was all over.
Then came the end of February, bringing with it an introduction to Braxton Hicks contractions.
The first time it happened, Rory was home alone. She was settled on the couch with a snack and some homework when felt a pain that was not unlike that of a really bad period cramp and promptly panicked, assuming this was it. This was labor. But, her car was in the shop and Jess was in Philadelphia for one last set of meetings before his paternity leave, so Rory did the only thing she could think of and called her mom.
When Lorelai picked up, Rory spewed an anxious ramble of words, none of which were exactly "I'm in labor" but between the many utterances of words such as "ow," and "pain," and "cramp," and the fear in Rory's voice, Lorelai got the gist and was at Rory's apartment in fifteen minutes.
By then, the pain had passed and not come back, and Rory felt a little silly for overreacting, having remembered the section of every pregnancy book she'd read that discussed the false contractions. They pretty much sucked, but it was comforting to know that it was just her body preparing for labor and not actually labor.
But, really, they did suck. A lot.
The day Jess returned from Philadelphia, Rory was sprawled on the couch, attempting to find a comfortable position to do the assignments that would be due during her maternity leave, but had no such luck on finding comfort. He sat down on the couch next to her with a cup of coffee, which Rory did her best not to look to sadly at and Jess felt entirely guilty for needing the caffeine from after the drive from Philly, when Rory grimaced and groaned.
"What's wrong?" Jess asked quietly, concernedly, trying to reach and take her hand. He shrank back, however, when she batted him away, wanting anything other than to be touched in that moment.
Rory let out a breath as Jess leaned to put his mug on the coffee table, keeping a worried eye on her.
"Nothing, it's fine, just a contraction," Rory dismissed casually.
The mug crashed to the ground as Jess released it midway to the table, breaking into a dozen pieces and spilling coffee all over the floor.
"A what?!" Jess asked, his eyes wide in panic.
"Braxton Hicks! Fake! Not real! Not time! Sorry!" Rory quickly corrected.
Jess sank back into the couch as he clutched his heart and resumed breathing.
"Jeez, start with that next time…" he said, still looking a little pale. He leaned down to clean up the broken shards of glass with a frown. "Damn, I liked that mug…"
"I'm so sorry for scaring you," Rory said, her voice shaky with suppressed giggles. "If it helps, I reacted pretty similarly the first time it happened."
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked as he discarded the mug and sopped up the spilled coffee.
"I guess I just forgot," Rory said sheepishly. When Jess looked hurt, she quickly backpedaled. "It was over so fast! Mom came over and by the time she got here everything was fine. Then we watched a movie and fell asleep and that was a couple days ago. But I promise to tell you every time from now on, okay?"
Jess nodded warily as he sat back down on the couch, still looking apprehensive.
"Okay, but… how do you know it's not real?"
"Well, it's only happened a few times over the course of multiple days, so they're not consistent. Plus, I haven't had any other signs of labor. And if it is real, I have an appointment with Sofia before we go to Stars Hollow tomorrow, so we'll find out then," she said with a shrug.
Jess looked at her skeptically. "How come you're so calm about this?"
"Because. I'm sure it's not actually happening. As soon as they start happening every few minutes and I, y'know, lose my mucus plug and my water breaks and all that fun stuff, I promise I'll be panicking plenty."
"Alright, well, just… keep me informed, I guess," Jess said, trying not to grimace.
"Will do, Captain," Rory chuckled.
That night, Rory went to bed thrilled for the next day.
The next day held two of the most important things ever. In Rory's mind at least.
They would be going to her appointment to determine how close she was to, put plainly, giving birth, and the appointment would be closely followed by Lane's baby shower in Stars Hollow.
Despite the possibility of Rory giving birth at any moment, she was insistent on throwing Lane a shower. She and Zack were stressed beyond belief at the concept of expecting the twins in two months and they deserved a blowout of a party to relax and have fun. And, as Lane's best friend, Rory took it upon herself to plan and throw it.
That morning, they loaded up their weekend bags for the trip to Stars Hollow, as well as their hospital bags – just in case – and made their way to the doctor's office.
Once they arrived, she waddled to the front desk – because there was no walking that didn't involve waddling anymore – and checked in before taking a seat in the waiting room. Seated across from her, she spotted a young woman, perhaps not that much older than her, watching her in a combination of fear and amazement and completely unaware of her staring. How strange it was that not that long ago, Rory was the one staring at the women with round bellies and fearing her future. Now, though, she just couldn't wait to meet her little girl. She could do without the impending pain that came with her daughter's arrival, however.
Once they were called back, the nurse took her vitals and handed her a gown for her to change into for the more invasive part of the checkup. She started to change when she suddenly felt bashful.
She stared at the gown in her hands before turning to face Jess.
"Um, could you turn around?" she asked shyly.
Jess smirked. "You do know the reason we're here says I've seen you naked at least once."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but this is different somehow," she mumbled, not wanting to admit she didn't want him to see her undressed when she felt uncomfortable in her own skin.
Jess, though confused, obliged and faced the wall, waiting for Rory's okay to face her again. When she gave it, he turned around to find her struggling to lift herself onto the table. He darted to her side to give her a hand in leverage.
"I got it!" she grumbled, though accepted the lift he offered her.
"Okay, sure, you got it," he said with a smirk.
She huffed a breath once finally seated on the crinkly paper, adjusting the flimsy hospital gown in an attempt to not expose herself.
"Shut up," she muttered with a glare.
Jess raised his hands in defense. "I said nothing."
Sofia knocked and entered the room with her smile, bringing a grin to Rory's previously grumpy face.
"Hey you two! How are we?"
"Huge and exhausted," Rory answered without missing a beat, her frown returning.
"Yep, sounds about right for being full term," Sofia laughed. "And Jess, how are you?"
"Staying quiet," he said with a small smile.
"Smart man. Now, Rory, any new discoveries this week?"
"Braxton Hicks suck," she grumbled, crossing her arms like a petulant toddler and resting them on her stomach.
"That they do. How often you feeling those sucky buggers?"
"Only a few times in the past couple days," she sighed.
"Good, good. Any changes in discharge?"
Jess wrinkled his nose while Rory answered with a short, "No," shaking her head and trying not to laugh at Jess's expression.
"Alright, well, if there haven't been any other new discoveries, time for the not-so-fun part where Jess may want to move."
Jess looked up from where he sat, confused.
"What? Why?"
"Well, sir, you've got a front row seat for Rory's cervical check," Sofia said as she had Rory begin to adjust her position, scooting her down the bed and filling the room with the sound of the scratchy disposable sheet.
Rory couldn't help but laugh as Jess's face flushed bright red and he quickly stood and walked to the complete opposite side of the room, staring very purposefully at a spec on the floor and not daring to look up until he heard it was safe.
Sofia did her check and then indicated for Rory to sit back up, a thoughtful expression resting on her face.
"Well, you aren't dilated at all and only about twenty percent effaced, so…"
"No baby yet?" Rory asked, slumping her shoulders.
"No baby yet," Sofia said, shaking her head. "You'll almost definitely make it to your due date."
Rory sighed and shifted uncomfortably, just crinkling the paper on the exam table further. "Well, at least I'll make it through Lane's baby shower today."
"Yes, looking on the bright side, love to see it!" Sofia cheered, offering Rory and encouraging grin. "Alright, I'll see you guys next week, same time same place, alright?"
Rory quickly dressed and then they were on their way to Stars Hollow. There, however, they ran into a complication.
"She's on bed rest?" Rory cried after her mother delivered the news.
Lorelai nodded, frowning.
"It's a little too early for the babies to come but they made a valiant effort at an escape today."
"Crap! Poor Lane and poor baby shower!" Rory pouted as she sat at the kitchen table.
"It can happen after the babies come!" Lorelai exclaimed joyfully in an attempt to console Rory.
"When I have a newborn?" Rory asked dubiously, running her hand up and down her itchy belly.
Lorelai grimaced. "Yeah, probably not the easiest time to throw a baby shower."
Rory sighed and pouted, feeling herself get closer and closer to throwing a legitimate temper tantrum because things just couldn't seem to go her way.
"First I'm not even close to being ready to have the baby, next the baby shower's cancelled… today sucks," she grumbled.
Jess came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders, easing some of the tension that had gathered there. "Well, what if we do it at their place so she doesn't have to go anywhere?"
"Their house is way too small, and plus she can't even be on her feet," Rory said sadly. "She'd be stuck in her bedroom the whole time."
Lorelai's eyes brightened and she shot out of her chair and out the door, calling over her shoulder.
"I have an idea!"
Lorelai's idea, though crazy as Lorelai's ideas often were, ended up being the perfect solution.
Lane's bed was rolled through the streets of Stars Hollow by Zack, Jess, and Lorelai while Mrs. Kim cleared traffic, and then up into Miss Patty's dance studio, where Rory had set up decorations, food, music, and a huge onesie-decorating station. Even at nine months pregnant, she was a party-planning force to be reckoned with.
The party, from then on, went off without a hitch. People decorated onesies like it was their job and the smile never left Lane's face. Rory spent the evening mostly by Lane's side on the bed, watching everyone mingle and have fun and happily keeping her best friend company.
As they sat and looked on, Lane turned to Rory.
"Hey, I have a favor to ask."
"Please don't ask me to get up and get you anything, my feet and back and, well, just about everything hurts too bad to even think about moving," Rory groaned with a tired chuckle.
"Oh, no way, that's what my husband's for," Lane laughed. "No, um, I'm sure you heard about all the drama with Mama today."
"Yeah, Mom told me something about the Great Kim Household Blowout of 2007," Rory teased.
Lane rolled her eyes, poking Rory affectionately.
"Well, your mom kind of saved the day. She got me and Mama talking again and just... it made me realize that I really wanted someone like that for my kids…" she said, getting a little emotional. "So, I was wondering if you would be my babies' Lorelai."
Rory blinked in surprise. "What?"
"I'm one hundred percent going to butt heads with these boys from time to time. I'm not even being self-deprecating here, I'm just being realistic. And I need them to have someone to run to and hide secrets and be there for them. In every way your mom was to me."
Rory smiled as her eyes misted over. "Yes, Lane, of course I'll be their Lorelai. Already got the name and everything."
Lane leaned to hug Rory and they embraced awkwardly, their pregnant stomachs and seated position getting in the way of a true hug.
"Oh my God," Rory laughed. "I cannot wait to hug people normally again."
"Preaching to the choir!"
The two fell back into a content silence as Rory found the words to convey the idea she'd been mulling over.
"You know… I have a similar request, actually," she said softly.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I mean, I'm definitely not going to get along with this one all the time either, as much as I hate to admit it," Rory said, chuckling. "When this little girl needs a place to hide after she skips school for the first time or… when she tries to dye her hair blue or pierce her nose or something… she's gonna need an Auntie Lane."
Lane blinked quickly, dispelling the moisture that gathered in her eyes.
"You want me to be her cool aunt?" she asked in a wobbly voice.
Rory smiled through her own tears.
"If that's alright with you."
"Yes! I'd be honored to!" Lane exclaimed, nodding enthusiastically.
Rory giggled and leaned to wrap her arms around Lane a second time.
Across the room, Jess watched the interaction fondly. He held up the camera he'd been entrusted with and snapped a picture of the friends' embrace, knowing Rory would want it later, before moving to get some pictures of the mingling that was occurring. Because for some reason that Jess couldn't figure out, Rory expressed that she needed at least a hundred photos from the evening, no matter how mundane the moment in the photo. Lorelai had objected when Jess was chosen over her to be the photographer, but Rory had quickly defended her decision citing Lorelai's history of taking blurry photos of things, far too zoomed in and half obscured by fingers covering the lens.
Jess quickly snapped a few more photos of Lane and Rory and the onesie station, honestly enjoying a baby shower way more than he ever thought he would. But, perhaps that was because he wasn't being forced to participate in any of the inane activities. Instead, he wandered around the room, stealing snacks and taking pictures and avoiding social interaction. Mostly.
He was snapping some photos of a group decorating some onesies with rock and roll lyrics when Lorelai snuck up behind him.
"She's got you trained well, young Padawan."
Jess smirked and held up the camera, taking a closeup photo of Lorelai and making the flash go off in her face, giving her a taste of her own medicine.
Lorelai squawked indignantly, squinting against the bright light.
"How's it feel?" Jess asked.
"Watch it, mister, just because you're kind of my step-nephew and the father of my grandbaby doesn't mean I won't hurt you. Because I will!" she said, pointing at Jess in a way that was probably supposed to be threatening.
Jess just batted Lorelai's hand away and turned back to the onesie table.
"Whatever you say, Grandma Lorelai."
"Hey! You want me to tell Luke on you?" Lorelai asked, shooting him a playful glare.
"Tattling? Oh come on, you're better than that and you know it. Plus, I'm not sure Luke will have a problem with me calling you Grandma, because that's what you are."
"Not until the baby comes, and until then I am as young and beautiful as ever. Plus, I haven't decided what she's going to call me yet!"
Jess rolled his eyes. "We all know you're going to end up having her call you something weird and cutesy, so just get on with it."
"I'll announce it when she's born," Lorelai said with a dramatic flair.
"Jeez…" Jess grumbling, shaking his head despite the amused smirk persistently stuck on his face.
The rest of the weekend in Stars Hollow was spent peacefully, mostly just hanging out in the diner or at the house and working in hopes of getting ahead before the baby came. But the change in atmosphere was refreshing, and the time around the Stars Hollow natives filled up Rory's bucket.
That full bucket was necessary in the coming weeks.
Rory dutifully went to her appointment every Friday, hoping the stupid, annoying fake contractions that came once or twice a day were doing something to progress her, to get her closer to getting her baby girl outside of her where she could meet her and cuddle her and where she wouldn't be constantly kicking Rory in the spleen. But, at every appointment, Dr. Gunderson would give her a sympathetic look and shake her head, letting Rory know that she'd barely progressed if at all.
By March 14th, four whole days after her due date, she was done.
She decided to take things into her own hands at that point and try every trick and hack to induce labor that had ever existed. She ate the spiciest food she could tolerate, which did nothing but make her heartburn worse. She drank some disgusting raspberry leaf tea that no amount of sugar made better and that just made her have to pee again. She bounced on a big yoga ball that only made her a little dizzy and made her legs tired. She walked constantly – up and down stairs, awkwardly along the curb outside the apartment, inside in circles around the couch while she watched a movie. She and Jess even tried to induce labor by doing what got her pregnant in the first place, but it proved to be not only unsuccessful, but also just plain awkward due to the obstacle that was the bump.
Much to her dismay, nothing worked.
At least not for a couple days.
By the 16th, Rory thought she'd finally made it to the next phase as her contractions intensified and started coming regularly every forty-five minutes. The minute they started to follow a schedule, she and Jess threw their things in the car and raced to the hospital, full of nerves and excitement. But, when Dr. Gunderson checked her, she was still not progressed enough to be admitted to the hospital.
To say Rory was disappointed would be a huge understatement.
"What do you mean I can't be admitted?" she shouted.
Jess stepped to her side. "Hey, it's okay—"
"No, it is not okay!" she cried, and Jess almost stepped back at the intensity of her tone, eyes wide. "I'm done! Alright? I am a week after my due date, I hurt constantly, I'm exhausted, and I'm done with this crap, so someone better get this kid out of me one way or another because otherwise I'm gonna force her out, dammit!"
The room was silent as Rory tried to catch her breath, recovering from her rant and just out of breath from existing as a human incubator.
Jess sheepishly turned to Dr. Gunderson, almost a little afraid to speak or move for fear of setting Rory off again.
"Is there anything you can do?" he asked quietly.
Sofia sighed. "I can schedule you for an induction. If she doesn't decide to come on her own over the weekend, we'll have you come in on Tuesday. Alright?"
Rory's eyes welled with tears of hope for relief as Jess gently rubbed small circles on her back.
"Really?" Rory whimpered. "You promise?"
Sofia took her hand. "I promise. By this time next week, one way or another, you will have your baby girl in your arms." She handed Rory a pamphlet. "Until then, here's a list of ways you can help ease the pain at home."
"Thank you."
Jess helped Rory out to the car, pausing in the hallway at one point for a contraction, and after a silent ride home, they returned to their apartment.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you," Rory said quietly, ashamedly, as they walked in the door.
"Hey, you've got plenty of reason to yell. You don't need to apologize."
Rory shrugged. "Still."
Jess took Rory's hands in his.
"Listen, I'm pretty sure there's going to be more yelling where that came from, so if you're going to say sorry – which you sure as hell don't need to – save it for later."
Rory chuckled just as another contraction hit her. She hissed in pain and leaned against the kitchen counter, squeezing Jess's hand so hard his fingers went white and just trying to breathe through the cramping sensation. Jess stood there helplessly, hating that there wasn't really anything he could do to help as she endured the worst pain a human could experience and gladly letting his hand be bruised in the process, as long as it helped Rory even the slightest bit.
Rory did her best to keep her mind at peace through the pain, but she was exhausted – she wasn't sleeping more than an hour at a time, she was constantly in some sort of pain, she barely had an appetite, and she only tired more when she realized this was just the beginning and the worst pain was yet to come. She was incredibly ready to meet her baby girl, and incredibly ready to not be pregnant anymore.
Jess flipped through the pamphlet the doctor had given them as Rory leaned her head against his collarbone, her eyes burning with tears.
"Hey, this says a hot bath can help some, how's that sound?" he asked gently, stroking her back and placing a kiss on her head.
Rory sniffed and nodded, and they made their way to the bathroom.
As Jess ran a bath for her, Rory started to undress but paused, frowning at herself in the mirror as she stood in her bra and underwear.
She had big, angry red stretchmarks that curved around the roundness of her previously flawlessly flat tummy. Her bust had grown exponentially leading to stretchmarks there as well. Her hips had even widened.
Her body was almost unrecognizable to her, and she couldn't help but grimace at the sight.
Jess came up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder and his hands on her hips. He hummed thoughtfully as that soft smile she loved so much spread across his face as he gazed lovingly at her reflection.
"What?" Rory asked, a defensive edge to her voice.
"Nothin'."
"Jess…" Rory whined.
"What? It's just…" He trailed off, his face tinging pink as he avoided looking Rory's reflection in the eye. "You're kind of breathtakingly beautiful, that's all," he said quietly, kissing her shoulder.
"Stop it, no I'm not."
Jess looked at her, dumfounded. Obviously, they couldn't have been looking at the same thing.
"Yes, you are. Do you really not see it?"
"See what? I'm massive, I have big, ugly lines everywhere, I haven't showered in days, I—"
"Stop that," Jess said earnestly. "Your body changed, I get that. But it so does not mean you aren't as beautiful as you've always been. Not a single part of you is ugly, Rory."
His voice was so soft, so kind, and yet so serious, that it brought tears to Rory's eyes.
"You really think that?" she asked in a wobbly voice. If only she could see what he was seeing.
"I know it. Now get in the bath and we can fix the lack of showering you mentioned."
Rory whimpered and leaned her head back against Jess's shoulder. "But I'm too tired to shower…"
"Then I'll do it for you."
"Huh?"
"I'll wash your hair for you. C'mon, the water's gonna get cold."
"But you'll get all wet," Rory objected.
"Then I'll take of my shirt."
"Wow, a shower with a view," she giggled, grateful for the levity.
Jess rolled his eyes and smiled, kissing Rory's cheek. "Would you just shut up and get in the tub?"
And even though their tiny apartment bathtub was too shallow to let the water cover all of her at one time, once submerged Rory actually did feel a little better. The heat was lovely on her aching joints and it helped relax her muscles and made the contractions a little more bearable.
She'd almost never felt so loved by another person than she did as Jess helped her bathe. He washed her hair so carefully, so gently, so reverently, making sure to massage her scalp and then rinse out every last bit of shampoo. He applied conditioner to the ends of her hair and rubbed firm circles into her lower back as the contractions came and went. Even as the water grew cold and the contractions came closer together, now every ten minutes, Rory felt a strange sense of comfort and peace. As long as she had Jess by her side, everything would be okay.
After her bath, Jess helped her dry and braid her hair and get dressed in an oversized nightshirt before going to make them dinner, offering his hand to her as she paced the kitchen and breathed through the increasingly painful contractions. Something about the bath seemed to have kickstarted something, and there was a faint bit of hope deep within Rory that maybe this was it. But after all the past times in which she felt failed and disappointed, she didn't let herself get too excited.
They both stood in the kitchen, eating the grilled cheese sandwiches Jess had prepared, Rory reluctantly so due to her lack of appetite. But, grilled cheese was such a comfort food, and she knew she needed sustenance for energy as the night wore on, so she nibbled at the sandwich in between rounds of pain.
As she finished the crust, yet another contraction took hold of her, and she groaned and leaned against the counter, apologizing to Jess for killing his hand and doing her best to remember to breathe. It was just like the others, just as searing and overwhelming and just really annoying, only this time as it faded, there was a faint popping sensation followed by a small gush of fluid onto the floor.
Rory and Jess stared at the puddle on the floor as it continued to form, not quite able to process what was happening. A little bit in shock.
"Shit…" Jess whispered. "Did your water just break?"
"Pretty sure that's what just happened, yep," Rory answered, still frozen in place and staring as the liquid trickled down.
"So…"
"Yeah, um…" she stuttered, looking up into Jess's wide eyes. "I think it's time?"
A/N: AH SHE'S ALMOST HERE! No really you have no idea how excited I am to introduce you to this little girl and for Rory and Jess to be parents. Thanks so much for reading and for all your incredibly kind reviews! They mean the world.