AN: I made a small correction a few chapters back because I forgot Lorelai wasn't actually going to Friday night dinners. But this doesn't really change anything major. We've got bigger fish...

Chapter 46

Despite being utterly distracted the whole week, Rory had drowned herself in work, trying to push the possibility - that she didn't dare to think - to the back of her mind. It helped that Logan had been again pulled to NYC for some meeting, hence it was easier to pretend everything was fine.

She hadn't told a soul that her period was late, but she had read and googled her ass off trying to prove to herself that sometimes cycle length could vary even if she was on the pill. She'd also gone back and thought about when this could've technically happened and while she usually stuck to her schedule on pill-taking like clockwork, there had been one night when things hadn't exactly gone according to plan. It had been that unfortunate night of Finn's birthday party when she'd emptied the content of her stomach several times during the night. Maybe that had been what it had taken? Maybe she'd thrown up the pill too? And even though her memories were fuzzy, she was pretty sure they'd had sex that night too. Not to mention that it had been less than glamorous - hungry, messy club bathroom sex with her state of mind having not been in an admirable state.

You could even say that she was in denial, as actually going to a pharmacy hadn't even occurred to her yet. The act felt so much more shameful than the first time she'd bought condoms. This couldn't be happening. She was by no means ready for this to be happening, not to take it forward that extra step to confirm or deny anything. At the very least - she didn't seem to be having any other symptoms beyond feeling bloated and her period being late.

It was easy to hide behind simple excuses such as having too much homework, having too much writing to do or preparing for next week when she'd be back at the Stamford Eagle Gazette.

It also didn't help her distractedness that her grandmother had somehow managed to pull together the Huntzberger-Gilmore and to her surprise Hayden dinner, which meant her dad and Francine were also coming, to take place this Friday, a.k.a this very night.

What could possibly go wrong? Especially considering her mother and her father weren't exactly friendly right now. She'd even considered pretending to fall mysteriously ill, catching something contagious, but in their calls and texts Logan had been insistent that they should just get it over with as quickly as possible. And she knew she couldn't pretend being sick with him - he'd know. And at best that would only postpone the dinner not avoid it.

Logan came to pick her up with some time to spare, like he often did - just wanting to be around her after being away from New Haven for a few days. He was dressed in a formal suit, as per ger grandmother's instructions, not that he needed any etiquette lessons.

"Hey," Rory greeted him, but what Rory hadn't expected the bang of guilt hiding this worry from him, and her avoidant glance betrayed her.

"Hey?" Logan replied, seeing in an instant that something was up.

Rory pulled him into her room, away from Paris' room.

"Hey?" Logan repeated trying to get her to look at him in the eye, and gave her a quick peck in greeting. But it was like her fire was out - the kiss was all wrong too.

Rory was already all dressed, her blue dress, silver strappy heels and her hair curled to fall beautifully just onto her shoulders. She'd even worn the earrings Logan had given her.

"Uh?" Rory asked, still playing oblivious for a second. Was she seriously supposed to tell him about her bodily functions in detail while knowing he'd most likely freak out at the worst possible time? Would he blame her? Would he hate her? Would he even leave her? And her mind kept getting stuck at the stupid practicality - who would she then take to dinner and what would she say to everyone there if he did freak out and bolt?

For a moment Logan decided to dismiss it - perhaps it was a headache she had or maybe she was just tired.

"You know, I actually meant to show you these before," Logan began, unfolding two printout sheets he'd had in his coat pocket.

"What are these..?" Rory asked, took the papers from his hand, realizing he was showing her apartments.

There was one that was obviously his favorite - a large open-space apartment with one bedroom, beautiful finishes which looked like a dream located right on Temple Street. But he'd also included another, less pricey alternative on the other side of the campus which while not as modern also looked like a gorgeous place with arched windows and a deck. The other was more affordable too, especially if Rory dipped into the credit card she had a little. And while Rory wanted to feel all excited about the prospect of living with him - god, she wanted nothing more than to spend every night in the same bed as him - right now that just made her face drop even more. What if that dream was gone for good?

"What's wrong? You don't look good...," Logan made an observation.

"Gee, thanks, just what a girl wants to hear after having gotten ready for an hour and a half," Rory groaned, pulling out of his arms to go check herself in the mirror once more. She wished she could just go on ignoring it - it had to be a glitch.

"That's not what I meant.. You look beautiful. But you seem off somehow? Something wrong?" Logan asked with concern.

"I don't want to get into this right now… we should be getting going.. Tonight's going to be dramatic enough," Rory explained.

"We have time," Logan insisted, taking her hand, and pulled her along towards her bed onto which he decided to sit. Rory remained standing in front of him, clearly nervous, her eyes slowly drifting, still not quite daring to look at his.

"You can tell me … whatever it is?" Logan asked, already worrying about her possibly having found someone else.

"Can I?" Rory reflected. "As this just might be something… I am not sure if I can. I can't even say it.. And I'm afraid of what you'll say and do..," Rory expressed her concerns.

"Is there someone else? It isn't that Marty guy is it? I know I've been away a lot these past few weeks… we have had so little time together…," Logan began.

"No, it's not that…," Rory said, erasing at least one concern for him.

"Then, what?" Logan asked.

"It could be nothing… it could be just an abnormality or something. But I'm late…," Rory blurted, still not feeling entirely comfortable actually saying it out in more detail.

"Late? I just told you..," Logan wasn't following, this being the first of a kind situation for him too.

"My period is late, Logan," Rory repeated, becoming all flustered as a result. She hated having to spell it out for him. "It's never usually late like this, so I don't know…," she added, biting her lip nervously, her hands crossed on her stomach.

Logan was out of words. "So you could be…?" he asked, not quite being able to spell it out either.

"Uh-huh," Rory nodded nervously, placing her hands on her hips as she walked back and forth the room, trying very hard not to cry.

It took Logan a moment but he too soon stood. He stood so abruptly that Rory almost thought he was just going to bolt - that was what she expected him to do, even if she didn't like to admit it. This was what she was used to the guys in his life doing when faced with something difficult. Act out, yell, storm off. And she wouldn't have blamed him - it was not what he had signed off on, she knew even being in a real relationship with her had been such a new thing for him to pull off just to name one. They should've been picking out their first rental apartment, gusing about which apartment had the nicest view or most modern bathroom - that was already like rushing things along at the speed of light for someone like Logan. But this was just crashing into all of their dreams and thoughts.

"Well, have you taken a.. um... a test?" Logan asked, beginning to walk back and forth the room now too.

"Not yet..," Rory shook her head.

"Okay.. so we don't really know," Logan said as he set into problem solving mode.

"I've been just feeling like… there's just constantly this feeling like I might start my period any moment but I've been just waiting and waiting," Rory admitted how nervewrecking this week had been for her, still feeling awkward admitting such intimate details to him. She knew she probably shouldn't be - but her brain was playing tricks on her.

"Hey," Logan said, pulling her up close, and wrapped his arms around her. "Just breathe, okay? We'll figure it out. I don't want you worrying about this all by yourself. We'll go get a test later and figure it out from there..," Logan assured, trying to calm her.

"You're not mad?" Rory sniffled, not quite crying yet, looking up at him.

"Mad?" Logan frowned. "I mean I'm not thrilled… This was what I was always told to stay clear of and I really did hope I didn't have to deal with big life changing decisions like this at least for a few years.. But it certainly takes two to get into a mess like this, so we'll just have to suck it up, take one piece of information at the time and we'll figure it out," he assured. He wasn't entirely convinced that he could, nor was he calm - but seeing Rory this stressed - he knew he wanted and needed to be the rock, at least on the surface.

"Okay..," Rory just sighed, feeling indeed relieved to have shared it. She almost couldn't believe it, thinking back, she'd considered not telling him. Had she seriously planned on waiting until there was no hiding it?

"Now, come on… let's go watch this theater performance we're expected to attend tonight," Logan suggested, hoping that both she and him could just push through it with the knowledge that they didn't quite yet have proof of this being real.

The prospect of facing everyone at the same evening was daunting to say the least. Even more so because Honor was off with Josh at some weekend getaway in Lake Tahoe, having not planned on a repeat of family dinner this soon. To Logan it was also the first time to meet the Haydens, but at least he felt like their presence was somehow protecting Rory.

To Rory's surprise, they got there just at the same time as Christopher, who'd also picked up his mother, and considering there was a whole other dynamic there she was yet to deal with, including what had happened at the vow renewal, she was hesitant to say the least.

"Hey, kid," Christopher greeted her.

"Hey, dad," Rory replied. "Mrs. Hayden," she nodded in greeting.

"Rory! It's nice to see you," Francine said, more warmly than she had perhaps ever treated her.

"And this is Logan, Logan Huntzberger - I believe you haven't met? Right?" Rory said, knowing that introductions in the parking lot weren't quite the politest way to do things.

"Hi, how are you?" Logan offered to shake both of their hands.

Francine added some other pleasantries, how apparently she also knew his parents from some function or another.

"I didn't know grandma was planning on inviting you," Rory pointed out to her father as they all walked slowly towards the entrance. Her mother's car was already there and Rory expected her to be already missing them, being stuck inside all by herself.

"I didn't know either, I have to say it was all a bit of a surprise. You having a boyfriend and all," Christopher replied.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you… I just didn't exactly expect this type of dinners so soon," Rory managed to confess in whisper.

"It's okay..," Christopher replied, sounding genuine. Rory had known he'd been drinking, but that was no excuse.

Logan made some small-talk with Francine while he rang the doorbell. The benefit of this even was that these people around them were actually distracting her from much more serious topics on mind.

"Welcome, everyone - Francine, it's so good to see you!" Emily exclaimed, standing there ready and waiting as a very timid-looking maid took care of the door. It all felt very formal, Rory could tell that from the way the house was decorated with fresh flowers, candles and even from the way her grandmother was dressed in a longer dark burgundy evening dress. This was no ordinary Friday night dinner.

"Oh, it's so good to see you too… it's been too long," Francine exclaimed, whispering something more to her as they hugged in greeting. Clearly there was something about Straub mentioned there, and Rory still felt a little awkward about not having gone to that funeral, not wanting to stir things up unnecessarily. It was not like she'd ever really known the man.

They handed away their coats and made their way to the living room, finding Richard and Lorelai sitting there and talking. In between Lorelai had, in fact, gotten back together with Luke, but had yet to join them for Friday night dinner until now. At least between the two things seemed to be good.

Everyone took their seats.

But seeing her mother also caused Rory to recall the possible secret that she was keeping, carrying. It was everything her mother had tried to protect her against, she'd even talked to her about it rather recently. And she'd ended up in this position anyways. She could already think of what everyone around this room would say when they found out.

"This girl is just like her mother, what did you expect?" Rory expected Francine to comment.

"They'll get married and that's final, what more is there to discuss!" she could hear her maternal grandmother's voice follow in her head.

"I told you, you were not getting pregnant! You're in Yale, Rory. How could you throw your life away like that! Everything that we've worked for!" Rory could hear her mother huff at her in her brain like that one time when she'd stayed out all night with Dean.

But thankfully, she wasn't allowed to go too much down that awful train of thought.

"Rory?" Logan poked her with his elbow, trying to get her attention.

"Um? What?" Rory asked, having not realized she'd gone into her thoughts quite like that.

"Anything to drink, Rory? While we wait for the Huntzbergers," Richard repeated his question and Rory could already tell how Lorelai's eyes were asking her a question on what was up. The living room was also set up a little differently, Emily having added a couple of armchairs considering there were so many of them this time.

"Um, club soda, please," Rory requested, innocently, feeling relieved that really was her most frequent drink here, even though considering her nervousness she really could've used that drink.

"Logan, scotch for you as usual?" Richard asked.

"That'd be great, Richard. Thank you," Logan replied politely.

Both Christopher and Emily were about to say something at the same time, possibly some nondescript small-talk or in Christopher's case something concerning actually getting to know him a little better, but they were interrupted by the doorbell.

"Oh, that must be the Huntzbergers," Emily chimed, excitedly.

Both Rory and Logan took a deep breath, which Logan followed up by a large sip of his scotch.

They were both visibly nervous, but for more reasons than what was obvious to the rest.

"Shira, Mitchum - it's lovely to see you! It's been far too long," Emily exclaimed joyously.

"This is just what we expected - of course her sole plan was to trap our son into marrying him by getting knocked up like some gold digger," - Rory could picture Shira saying about her.

"Logan, I've thought you knew better than this!" - Rory could imagine Mitchum's voice resonating and going into a discussion on the importance of using condoms with Logan.

It was Logan's hand that slipped around hers, squeezing it gently, that brought her back, and as she looked at him, she could just see he was concerned about her. But unlike an hour ago, when she'd expected him to bolt at the first sign of trouble, she did feel more secure with his hand holding hers.

"Hello everyone," Mitchum greeted, stepping into the living room ahead of his wife and Emily, starting with Richard by shaking his hand.

"Mitchum - wonderful to see you," Richard chimed, gesturing onwards to introduce the rest of the group. "This is Rory's mother Lorelai, Rory's other grandmother Francine Hayden, father Christopher Hayden and I do believe you already know Rory," Richard finished, each person who'd been presented, having in between said their own pleasantries along with appropriate gestures.

"I do know Rory, nice to see you again," Mitchum replied.

"Likewise," Rory replied, but then did something she hadn't ever pictured doing voluntarily. Maybe there was something about this moment, knowing she had possibly way bigger things to deal with than meeting Logan's mother who didn't like her, that made her just want to get this part over with. "But I do believe, I have yet to have the wonderful opportunity to meet your wife," Rory rose and said, and walked right up to Shira offering her firm handshake that was met by a rather languid cool hand that was rather unpleasant to the touch.

"Why of course," Shira chimed, leaving no doubt in Rory's mind that she was lying through her teeth, but somehow it was no longer as high on her priority.

The introductions were followed by small talk - talk about both Rory and Logan and how they'd met in Rome, which in Emily's mind was utterly romantic. It seemed that Shira was watching her words, leaving the two to wonder whether it had been something Mitchum had said. Rory couldn't quite believe it - was it actually so that Mitchum was on their side?

There was a brief polite mention of Straub, but Rory was relieved they skipped the whole discussion about how the Haydens hadn't really been a big part of Rory's life. And Rory was fine with the pretense that things were fine, even if they were distant and cordial at best.

"You know, I don't know if you're up to it… I'd love to come and hang out with you two one of these days. I'd love to get to know Logan a little better," Christopher said, as they rose and made their way towards the dining room after some time.

"Yeah, maybe..," Rory said a little hesitantly, not quite being able to think ahead concerning her plans right now.

"Absolutely, we'll just have to see when our schedules clear up a little," Logan intercepted, saving Rory from appearing too much unlike her.

"Great," Christopher responded and Rory could just tell that Logan was to his liking.

They we placed around the dining table, which had been extended for the occasion, so that Rory and Logan were sitting side-by-side, right across from Mitchum and Shira, and Rory could observe first hand what an odd woman she truly was. She could see the not so subtle nip-tucks and even the slight tremor in her hand, which Logan had told her was mostly due to her issues with smoking and anxiety medication, so while Rory still feared what would commence if she truly was pregnant, the woman at least right now, didn't scare her half as much as the image she'd had of her. There was something about the way she appeared next to her husband that worried her though. She was well-spoken, polite and well-mannered, but it was almost like she was on a leash, and never to be contradicting her husband's opinion. Rory could only wonder whether that was something Logan, even if subconsciously, expected of her too, especially if they found themselves in a situation where they were pretty much forced to get married so soon.

She loved him, but getting married because of some other reason than genuinely feeling ready for it, was not what she wanted either.

Along with dinner - proscuttio-melon hors d'oeuvres, goat cheese on salad, roast beef and later mini pavlovas with strawberries - Mitchum had shown a surprising amount of interest in her, apologizing, without directly saying it, how he didn't have much time to get to know her during her internship even if that had been the original plan according to him. He was definitely earning some credibility in both of their eyes, while they maintained their watchfulness with him.

"So, Rory, I hear you're planning on becoming a reporter some day?" Shira suddenly asked, as the women had moved back to the sitting room for after-dinner drinks. Rory was reluctant to part from Logan, but that was apparently how these things were done, which made her a little sick to her stomach. She could only hope that feeling wasn't another symptom. But by now she didn't know how much of everything she was feeling she was imagining and how much was real anyways.

"That has been the plan, yes," Rory said, tentatively.

"I couldn't imagine doing that much traveling, flying is always so horrible for my skin," Shira commented, clearly meaning something other beyond just that. Rory could just imagine her following that up with that lifestyle not fitting in with hers resposibilities.

"Well, there are different kinds of reporting," Rory replied, shrugging lightly.

"She used to want to become a foregin correspondent like Christiane Amanpour," Lorelai budded in on her defense, sensing Shira's intentions being not entirely honorable. In this moment Rory wished her mother would just not say anything.

"That was then… being at Yale has really open up the world to me in terms of all the options out there. It's not like I'm the outdoorsy kind or terribly adventurous," Rory replied, more realistically. She wished, thinking back, she'd brought some examples and knew Shira could read it as something she hadn't intended too.

She knew, saying it was probably disappointing her mother, and in way she wanted to explain to her how this was not just coming from trying to please Shira. It was something Jess had pointed out first and time she too had begun to realize - a regular newspaper office was already pretty adventurous for her.

"Well it's a good thing you met Logan then," Shira pointed out, referring to the fact that the connection was sure to open doors for her.

"Oh, absolutely. Connections never hurt," Francine agreed.

"But connections work best when there's content to them," Emily added.

"That's right. I usually prefer to earn my spot wherever I go," Rory said, proudly.

"Yet, you're interning for my husband," Shira pointed out, and now for the first time Rory could see her grandmother pick up on something beyond politeness too.

"Well it wouldn't be very polite of me to refuse now, would it? Just like he's probably curious to learn to know me, I am too. His resume is incredible, who else to learn from than from the best in the business?" Rory replied, knowingly, feeling rather proud of herself for putting it like that.

Emily soon steered the conversation onwards to saferr topics - real estate and interior decor, sharing that they were considering getting a property on Cape Cod. There were little hints towards it being a great place for 'parties', which Rory's brain, much like everyone else's, was able to translate into 'weddings', and 'family' which hit a little too close to home in the light of her current situation.

Thankfully Rory was able to hold it together through the night, and felt the biggest relief as she and Logan finally sat back down in his sports car.

"So that's done…," Logan exhaled.

"And I thought regular Friday night dinners were hard," Rory sighed.

"And this was them at their best, believe me," Logan said, sounding a little relieved it had turned out as well as this. "Your dad seems cool," he commented.

"All things considered, yeah," Rory agreed.

"So, what's the plan? Back to New Haven?" Logan inquired, being reminded of their predicament.

"Yeah, I guess. But I guess it'd be smart to go get that test," Rory replied hesitantly, realizing now more and more how she wanted to get rid of the 'maybe' and have a real concrete answer whether they really needed to think about some important things pretty soon.

"We'll stop by at Wallingford, they should have a 24/7 place," Logan suggested, assuming Rory preferred some place they didn't know anyone at.

"Uh-huh," Rory agreed, her stomach feeling like it was full of nervous knots.

Thankfully the pharmacy was pretty empty, allowing the two to worry a little less about running into someone here.

"So which one should we get?" Rory asked, staring by the shelves full of different brands - pink, blue, purple, some pricier than others.

Logan shrugged. He'd never been in this position either.

He picked up one that seemed to be one of the pricier ones - trusting a well-known producer.

"We should get a couple to be sure that one is not faulty… or if I do it wrong…," Rory suggested, picking up a couple moderately priced ones too. She didn't want to be coming back here.

"Yeah, and for the sake of statistics..," Logan agreed, taking a few more of the ones he'd first picked up.

The pile in their hands was actually coming off a little comical, making them both chuckle lightly despite the seriousness of the subject. It felt good to laugh at their situation, truth be told, even if it was just superficial and deep down they were both concerned beyond anything else.

There was no weird look from the pharmacist like they'd both subconsciously feared and their purchases were packed into a nice plastic bag, hiding its contents.

"Thanks for going in with me," Rory said, as they sat down in the car again.

"It's no problem," Logan replied, looked at her, and for the first time since this mess of an evening had started, kissed her properly, assuring her that they were in this together.