Arielle

By: Alyson Tierney

Disclaimer: I do not own Lorelai or Rory Gilmore, or any other character associated with Gilmore Girls the way it is seen on television. Those characters and other related things and ideas belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB Network. However, I do own Alicia and Arielle, since I made them up.

Author's Note: This story idea is taken from the book "Baby" by Patricia MacLachlan, so I'd like to thank her for the terrific story idea, and I hope I did it justice in this story. It takes place this Christmas, and is an idea I've been working on for awhile. I hope you like this, and have a very good holiday season. The next chapter will be available soon, but if you guys want to check out my story "Gunshots and Secrets" you can access it on my profile. I hope you had a good New Year and thank you for all your reviews!

CHAPTER FIVE

Rory rolled over in bed to check the clock. It was three in the morning, and she could hear Arielle crying in the next room. In the past day, Lorelai and Rory had contacted the police and they'd gone around asking townies with new babies if they'd lost a child, but no one had. The police were lenient in Stars Hollow. Most big-city police officers would take the child and hand her over to social services, but here, everyone took care of everyone else. So, if Arielle's mom wanted Lorelai and Rory to take care of her daughter for a little while, they would do just that.

Rory got out of bed quietly; wanting to make sure Arielle's cries weren't going unheeded. She opened the door and peeked out, and saw her mom standing near the stove. A bottle of formula was warming up in a pot of water, and Lorelai was rocking Arielle gently, "Shh, Ari. Your milk will be ready in just a few seconds, sweetie. Oh…" Lorelai kissed the wailing child's head, "Shh, I know you're hungry."

Rory's heart clenched and she smiled at the sight. Now she could imagine what the look on her mother's face was when Rory had been a baby. She watched as the bottle heated and Lorelai tested the temperature. She sat in the chair and held Arielle to her chest, propping the bottle up and offering it to the baby. Arielle started to suckle, first slowly and then she gathered speed. Lorelai stroked Arielle's cheek as she nursed, an expression of pure pleasure on both faces. Rory watched with interest, she'd never seen her mom feed an infant like that before. When she'd been feeding Sookie's baby, Davey, she didn't hold him that close. Rory realized that her mom must be reliving when she'd been nursing Rory. Rory couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of Arielle, which was silly, because Rory knew she was her mom's one and only baby.

Lorelai looked up then, and spotted Rory watching. "Hey, babe," she said, quietly, "Did we wake you up?"

Rory came into the kitchen and sat down in a chair next to her mom, "No…well, yeah, but that's okay."

"You sure? I don't want to ruin your sleep." Lorelai said, smiling supportively at her daughter.

"I'm sure." Rory smiled back, "I kind of like being with Ari, anyway." Rory reached over and ran her fingers through the infant's hair. Arielle stopped suckling for a moment and looked up at Rory. She studied Rory's face for a few seconds before going back to her snack.

"She likes you." Lorelai remarked.

"And she likes you." Rory shot back, smiling.

"Hey, what was that phone call you got when I was bathing Ari?" Lorelai asked, referring to the evening before when the phone had rung while Lorelai and Rory had their hands full of slippery baby.

"Oh…Logan. He called to see how I was." Rory said, innocently.

"Uh-huh, and that's why you talked to him for half an hour." Lorelai looked at her daughter, meaningfully.

"It was not half an hour." Rory said, blushing.

Lorelai smiled wickedly, "Oh, yes it was. I had Ari bathed, in bed, and the living room cleaned up before you were off. What'd you guys talk about?" she asked.

Rory grinned and looked down, "Just…stuff."

Lorelai nodded, "Uh-huh." She looked back down at Arielle and kissed the baby's head. Arielle slowed her eating, and looked up at Lorelai, a hint of a smile on her lips. Lorelai smiled back and smoothed the baby's hair, "You should get back to bed, babe."

Rory nodded, "Okay. See you in the morning?"

Lorelai nodded, "You got it. Night, darling." Lorelai turned back to the nursing infant in her lap, "Hurry up and drink your milk so Aunty Lorelai and Aunty Rory can get some sleep."

Rory hesitated a moment, and then went back into her room, shutting the door and resting her back against it. She listened for a moment to her mom's soft voice, singing a lullaby to Arielle. Arielle responded with a few coos, and Rory smiled. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to get her mom to give Arielle back when her mother came for her. If her mother came for her. Lorelai seemed so positive Arielle's mother was going to come back, but Rory wasn't sure. She'd heard stories of mothers abandoning their babies every day.

Rory woke the next morning to hear music softly playing in the living room, and Lorelai's voice talking to Arielle. Rory yawned at looked at the clock, realizing it was almost eleven, and yawned. Even with a baby in the house, Rory could still manage to sleep in, which meant Lorelai was getting up with Arielle. Rory slipped into her slippers and shuffled out to the living room, where Lorelai was holding Arielle and looking out the window. Light flakes were falling outside, and Arielle and Lorelai were both watching with rapt fascination.

"Hey." Rory said in a quiet voice, as to not bother either of them.

Arielle responded with a quiet coo, and Lorelai turned around and smiled at her daughter, "Hi, babe."

Arielle smiled at Rory and waved her hands around. She giggled and cooed, pointing one finger at her. Rory smiled, and held out her arms, "Want me to take her?" she asked.

Lorelai placed Arielle in Rory's arms, and Rory held the baby close, smelling the powder-and-soap smell she'd grown to like. Arielle laid her head next to Rory's heart and sighed contently. Lorelai smiled and then groaned as the phone rang suddenly. She quickly swiped it up before it rang again, and answered it. Rory listened as her mom talked, it becoming apparent that it was Emily Gilmore, Rory's grandma, on the other end. Rory sat on the couch, and got one of Arielle's toys and handed it to the baby. She giggled and gripped the rattle, waving it about until she dropped it. Arielle gave a frustrated grunt and Rory picked up the rattle, handing it back to the infant.

"Okay, the world is now officially rotating backwards on its axis." Lorelai announced, hanging up the phone and sitting on the couch next to Rory.

"What did Grandma have to say?" Rory asked, picking up Arielle's toy yet again, and handing it back to her.

"Well, she and your Grandpa are having a trial un-separation." Lorelai said, looking bemused.

"A trial un-separation?" Rory repeated.

"Yes, see your Grandma and Grandpa talked in therapy, and then apparently last night Dad came over for dinner and they talked. They decided to have a trial un-separation for two weeks, and if they like this un-separated life enough, they want to not be separated anymore." Lorelai said, looking at Rory disbelievingly.

"Mmhmm, and the 40-odd years of marriage isn't going to clue them in as to what un-separated life is going to be like?" Rory asked, picking up and holding Arielle's toy in front of her, but not letting go of it.

"See, I asked that too! Mom just got exasperated and was like 'Lorelai, you have to be careful about these things.' I swear my parents need to be medicated. Perhaps I do, also." Lorelai rolled her eyes, but then smiled at Rory.

Rory smiled back, "But this is a good thing."

Lorelai nodded, "Yes, it's a very good thing. Not that I was worried about them divorcing."

"Of course not." Rory said, smiling at her mom knowingly. She knew that even though her mom joked her way through pretty much everything, her grandparents' separation had to be bugging her at least a little. Lorelai was an expert at hiding her feelings, but Rory could always read her mom like a book.

"So, anyway, Christmas dinner is back on." Lorelai said.

"What about Arielle?" Rory asked, concerned that her grandma wouldn't be too happy about them taking a baby in.

"She'll come with. Apparently, there's another small child who will be there, too, so she'll have company." Lorelai smiled.

"Good!" Rory smiled back.

The phone rang again, just as Arielle ripped the toy from Rory's grasp and tossed it to the floor. "Geez, that child is going to be a baseball pitcher." Lorelai remarked, as she picked up the phone and answered it. Rory picked up Arielle's toy and then stood; ready to take Arielle to the kitchen for a bottle.

"It's for you, babe." Lorelai said, "I can take Ari."

Rory let Lorelai take Arielle from her, and then picked up the phone. It was Lane, wanting to know if she could hang out with her and Alicia for awhile. "I don't know." Rory said, "I should stay and help with Arielle."

"No, you go." Lorelai interrupted, "Arielle and I can hang."

"You're sure?" Rory asked.

Lorelai nodded, "You go have fun." Rory relented, and told Lane she'd be right over. Glancing into the kitchen, she said a quick goodbye to Lorelai, who was focused on heating a bottle for Arielle before she started with the high-pitched hungry wail. Rory left the house, crunching over the snow to Lane's apartment. She was looking forward to spending time with Lane and Alicia, but she wished she could have some time alone with her mom, too. She almost felt a little resentful of Arielle's mother, taking away some of the precious time Lorelai and Rory had together before Rory went back to school. She could never hate Arielle for it, she was just a baby, but she could resent the child's mother all she wanted. Her own mom could handle being a teenage mother, but yet Arielle's mom couldn't? Rory sighed, her mom was different, though, a lot different, and very strong. Maybe Arielle's mother wasn't quite as strong.