Nobody Said it Was Easy

- Guinevere -

A/N: Thanks to all of you who reviewed - I'm glad you like it, and let me know what you think of this chapter. And just to clarify any confusion: Tristan WILL NOT be making an appearance in this fic. P.S.: I'm not a Trory, per say, it just always seems that I develop Tristan better than any of the other guys and end up liking him more. Anyway, on with the show.

Disclaimer: Hey, if you're offering them to me, I might be persuaded, but in the meantime, I don't own anyone.

~*~*~

- 2 - What To Do While Pregnant and In Europe

Luke Danes sat at the desk in the apartment over his diner, trying to decide whether or not to call his nephew Jess. His favorite kid in the world, Rory Gilmore, had found out the day before that she was pregnant and told him that she couldn't handle speaking to her ex-boyfriend right now. He knew that Rory would eventually tell Jess – she wasn't the kind of person who would keep such things from someone – it was just a matter of when. She had boarded a plane this morning, headed for London, and it was undecided when, exactly, she would return.

Luke finally convinced himself to pick up the phone and dialed the ten-digit number that would connect him to Jess' father's house.

"Hello?" came the voice of a young girl.

"Hi, is Jess there? This is his uncle, Luke." He hadn't yet decided what he would say.

There was a shuffle, a refusal from Jess, and then finally came the, "Hello?"

"Jess, hi. How are things on the West Coast?"

"Luke, it's only eight o'clock. What do you want?" Jess' voice was hoarse and his words were muddled with yawns.

"I just wanted to see how things were going. Have you talked to Rory yet?"

There was a pause on the other end. "No, actually, but I called the other day and she pretty much told me where to go."

"Oh. I see. Well, have you decided what to do with yourself yet?"

"Not exactly. Really Luke, what do you want?" he seemed to be annoyed now, so Luke figured he'd end the conversation.

"Just wanted to check in. Call me if you need anything."

"Will do," Jess said sarcastically, then hung up.

Things shouldn't have happened the way they did, he thought to himself. He should have let Jess stay, even if he had refused to go back to school. He probably wouldn't have stayed anyway, though, not with Jimmy Mariano calling his name. That kid was bound and determined to mess up every good thing he had going in his life.

~*~*~

Rory threw herself down on her bed while her mother went to take a shower. They had been in London for a week, staying in a hotel in the heart of the city. No decision had been made as to the ever-growing baby, but even Rory had insisted on not having an abortion. Morning sickness was beginning to afflict her, but she was still adamant as ever about having the baby.

As to telling Jess, she - oddly enough - couldn't find the words. Rory had hoped that she would wake up one morning to find that it had all been a horribly awful dream. So far though, she had only awoken to the dire need to run to the bathroom.

As she heard water come pouring out of the shower, Rory picked up the phone and requested an outside line for a call to the US. Until she heard the dial tone in her ear she hadn't decided who she was calling. On the first ring, Luke answered.

"Hello," he stated, obviously preoccupied with something.

"Hi Luke, it's Rory."

"Rory. How are you feeling? Any jet lag?" his attention immediately turned to her.

"Only a little, and I'm pretty good. I was kind of wondering if you had Jess' phone number, you know, if I decide to call him or something?"

"Sure do, hold on a second," Luke sounded almost relieved at her request. "Still there?"

"Yeah."

"It's 804-555-7863. It's his Dad's place and he should be there. I talked to him last week."

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"No, I thought I should let you do that."

"Thanks Luke, for that, and for the number. I'll call you soon, let you know how things are going." Though he wouldn't explicitly ask her too, Rory knew that Luke would want to be updated.

"Okay, bye Rory."

"Bye Luke." Rory hung up and contemplated the number in front of her. He needed to know, and she needed to get it off her chest. She again requested an outside line and dialed the number. After a few rings, the phone picked up, but all Rory could hear was Jess' muffled voice telling someone to 'pipe down'.

"Hi Jess," Rory ventured.

His voice returned to the mouthpiece. "Rory," he said in return.

"I'm sorry," she began, "About yelling at you."

"Rory, why are you calling? You said you were over me, and this doesn't exhibit it very well."

"You know, you really hurt me. I knew something was wrong, you had been acting weird for the past few months, but you never said anything, so I assumed everything was fine. You should have told me what was going on, why you weren't going to school – I would have listened."

"Yeah, you probably would've listened, but what would you have done? There was nothing you could do. I screwed up, that's that."

"We could have thought of something; you didn't need to run to the other side of the country."

"I didn't run, Rory, I left. There's a difference."

"Jess, you sound like a snotty little kid. Sorry, but you do. Anyway, that's not why I called, to rehash the past." He was really beginning to annoy her.

"Then why did you call?" This sounded particularly nasty.

"I thought you should know that I'm pregnant. Not that you'd take responsibility or anything." Rory paused, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she trudged on, "Seems you never do. So I'm not getting an abortion, but I haven't decided what to do yet. I might let you know, but you'd be better off speaking to Luke. Bye Jess." Rory hung up, proud of herself for actually going through with it, even if she had been a little harsh.

Her mother opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom in her robe. "I called him, Mom," Rory told her.

"And what did he say?" she took a seat on the bed opposite Rory.

"Nothing. Typical of him lately."

"Don't let it bother you. I'm sure he'll have something to say when he gets over the shock."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

~*~*~

"Hi, this is Luke," he answered, juggling five plates piled with fries and burgers.

"Luke, it's Jess," he sounded slightly frantic. Luke had been expecting this call for a few weeks now, ever since Rory had asked for the number.

"Hey, what's up?" he tried to sound nonchalant.

"Rory's pregnant? And you knew and didn't tell me? What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

Luke set down the food in front of the hungry family, then went into the kitchen for some privacy. "Calm down, first."

"Calm down? She called me and told me that she was pregnant a week after she told me she never wanted to see me again."

"Hey, don't yell at me; I'm not the one who messed up here, you are."

"Well, Yoda, tell me, please, what does my future hold now? Am I supposed to come back to Stars Hollow and work for you for the rest of my life?"

"Is that any worse than your current prospects? I think not."

"What, then, do I do?"

"That's your decision Jess, not mine. But you've got your own kid to worry about now, so if Rory calls you again, you better not screw it up."

"What does she plan on doing? Raising a kid by herself? Giving up Yale?"

"No, she's still going, no matter what she decides. All I know is that by January, you'll be a dad, so now is the time to start considering growing up."

"Thanks, Luke, for all your wisdom," Jess said acerbically, then slammed the phone down.

I'll be there for Rory, Luke thought, but Jess is not my problem.

~*~*~

The Gilmore girls had been in Europe for just over two and a half months. They had seen the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pizza, gone to used record stores in Berlin and Prague, even tasted watered down, in their opinion, decaf cappuccinos in Brussels and Paris. Rory had even been writing about her travels for a six-part story her grandmother had arranged for her about things to do while you're pregnant and in Europe for Motherhood magazine, under a false name.

Currently, the two were shopping for maternity clothes in a small boutique in Amsterdam, as Rory had just begun to really show. They were headed back to London the following day to see Dr. Lancaster who was on vacation and had arranged for a sonogram to take place at a local hospital.

"You know, Rory, you really should just get everything. Lord knows you're going to need it," Lorelai was trying to convince her daughter to spend over 300 US dollars on clothing.

"I don't really think I will Mom," Rory replied, grimacing at the pair of stretchy pants her mother had just added to the pile. "Those are disgusting, put them back, please."

"But everything else is so great. The Europeans know how to dress their pregnant women – flaunt it if you've got it. You still have almost six months to go, and you've got to wear something. Besides, your grandmother is paying."

"Fine, if it will get you off my back, but that fur thing is staying behind."

"God, live a little," Lorelai laughed and tossed the coat/shirt onto the nearest rack. The two took their items to the counter and paid, then carried their bags to their hotel just up the street.

"Mom?" Rory asked when they were settled in their room.

"Yeah kiddo?"

"I don't think I want to do this," Rory said quietly.

"Do what? Have a kid?"

"Yeah, raise a kid, give up my preordained destiny for someone else. I know it sounds selfish, but I was not planning on this."

"You're having the baby; it's too late to back out now." Lorelai didn't know what to say, but she figured she better ask the next question now, just to give Rory the option. "Do you want to give it up for adoption?"

"What if you had given me away? I couldn't do that," Rory was now almost crying over her indecision.

"My parents would never have let me give you away – they would have taken you themselves if I had even thought something like that. But I am giving you the option. If you want to have it, then walk away, no strings attached, say so."

"No way; that's not an option."

"Then what do you want me to say? There is only one alternative, and that is you taking it. Unless…" Lorelai trailed off, considering the idea that had just come to her. It was bizarre, and there would be no explaining exactly where a newborn baby had come from, but it would be a solution to Rory's quandary. But she needed to discuss it with a sane, in control person before she proposed it to her vulnerable daughter. "Hun, I'll be right back, I need to go call your grandmother." That was as close to sane as she could get on such short notice.

Lorelai ran downstairs to the phones in the lobby and dialed her parents' home in the Hamptons. Emily was called in from a tennis game, but was happy to take the call as she hadn't heard from the world travelers in almost a week.

"Hi Mom, are you sitting?" Lorelai asked, almost giddy with the idea of her plan actually solving any and all problems.

"Of course I am. What is it?"

"Well call me Dr. Strangelove 'cause I've just hatched a plan."

"Really, will you speak English and tell me what you're up to already?"

"I know how Rory can go to Yale in January, have a baby, and not have to worry about anything. I'll take the baby."

"What? How could that possibly solve anything?"

"I'll take the baby, we'll tell everyone that it's mine, and Rory can go off to Yale."

"Really Lorelai, that is an insane idea. First of all, where, pray tell, is the father? How would you explain the rather large growth in Rory's midsection? Why would Rory give up her child? And how would you open your new inn?"

"I haven't got it all figured out yet, but it is the best idea I've come up with yet."

"Well refine it and get back to me, because as it is, it will never work."

"Oh, believe me, it will work," Lorelai reassured her mother. "It has to work."

~*~ To Be Continued ~*~