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—I hope you like this, and have a very good holiday season. The last chapter will be available soon, but if you guys want to check out my other stories you can access them on my profile.
I finally completed this story last night, after two months of planning, writing, and posting. There is one more chapter after this one (twelve total chapters), and then I hope to be able to go on to other stories, school permitting. Thanks to you guys who have been reviewing! Keep it up! I hope you like this addition.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"Rory! Rory! It snowed last night!" Lorelai's excited shout could be heard as she threw open Rory's door and jumped on her bed. She bounced a few times, before lying next to her daughter and poking her rapidly, "Get up!" Rory's response was a moan, and she buried her head into the pillows, "Rory! It snowed and it's Christmas Eve! We gotta go build a snow creature!"
Rory turned towards her mom and opened one eye, "Mom. It has been snowing for the past month, and now suddenly it excites you?" she asked, sleepily.
"Yes, because now it's just you and me, I've had coffee, its vacation, and it snowed last night!" Lorelai picked up Rory's stuffed chicken and made it do a dance on her daughter's stomach, "Wake up!"
Rory opened the other eye, "What do I get if I wake up?"
"You get to build a snowman with me?" Lorelai said, and Rory looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "You get…coffee?" Rory's other eyebrow rose to join the first, "You get a Strawberry-kiwi flavored candy cane with your coffee and snow?"
Rory rolled her eyes, "Fi-i-ine," she groaned, sitting up and yawning.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! No clothes, just a coat and boots!" Lorelai reminded her daughter, who smiled as she got out of bed and followed her mom into the kitchen. After a few sips of coffee, they got their coats and boots, stepped outside for about two seconds before deciding they needed mittens and hats, too. Grabbing those, Lorelai bounded out the door, Rory following slowly.
Rory watched as her mom picked up a handful of snow and scrunched it to make a snowball, "Okay, do you want the top or the middle?" Lorelai asked her daughter.
"I'll take the middle. Last year I spent 20 minutes perfecting the shape of Jack's head, and then some psycho lopped it off. I will not make that mistake again." Rory smiled at her mother as Lorelai chuckled.
"Okay, I'll take the head this time, but if any of the neighbors even goes near it, I'm calling the Snowman Decapitating Police." Lorelai said, looking stern.
Rory cracked up at that point, "Well, we'll be sure to put a "Danger" sign on the lawn then."
Lorelai giggled, "Yes, very good idea," she agreed. Rory smiled at her mom, who smiled back at her daughter. Rory turned back to her snowball before she began rolling it into shape. She grinned inwardly; finally she was getting time with her mom. She knew she was being selfish because she did realize that if her mom ever got serious with some guy—most likely Luke—and they settled down and had children, she wouldn't be the center of attention anymore. She was just going to have to take some time to get used to the idea of having to share the woman who'd been only hers for the last 20 years.
Lorelai and Rory played in the snow for hours before they began to get chilly. Trudging inside, Rory ran to the kitchen to get some hot cocoa, while Lorelai checked the messages. Rory was putting the mugs of milk in the microwave, when she heard her mom call out to her, "Rory! Come here a sec!"
"What is it?" Rory asked, as she punched in the numbers on the timer and pressed start, the mugs beginning to rotate as they warmed up.
"Come here! You've gotta listen to this!" Lorelai sounded like she was laughing.
Rory headed into the living room, where Lorelai was standing next to the answering machine, "Four people called while we were outside! Four!" Lorelai exclaimed.
Rory smiled, "Well, we are well-liked."
Lorelai chuckled, "That is true." Lorelai smiled as she pushed the button.
Emily's voice sounded on the tape, "Hi girls. Just wanted to let you know that we got to Miami safely. We're so excited to see the ocean from a new perspective. The beaches are so much cleaner here. Have a good Christmas, and we'll see you for dinner the first Friday in January."
Lorelai pouted, "They're where it's all nice and warm and I'm freezing my butt off."
Alicia's voice came on the tape next, "Hey, Lorelai and Rory. I just wanted to say thank you for taking such good care of Arielle. She seems so happy to have been with you guys. Have a good Christmas, and see you on Monday."
Rory smiled, "She was so well behaved, wasn't she?"
Lorelai nodded, "She was fun." Rory noticed her mom seemed a little detached whenever Alicia leaving Arielle with them was mentioned. She wondered what that was about, but before she could ask, Luke's voice could be heard on the tape.
"Hi, Lorelai. Hi, Rory. I'm off to visit with Liz, Jess, and TJ for Christmas this morning, but I will be back on Sunday. Please don't break into the apartment for any reason while I'm gone. I like my stuff just the way it is. I hope you have a great holiday, and see you at the diner later. Bye."
Lorelai pouted and then grinned, "We're not going to actually listen to him and not break in are we?"
"Mom!" Rory admonished her, and then the timer on the microwave beeped. She turned towards the kitchen
"Wait, Rory! There's one more!" Lorelai called after her.
"I'm sure it's just as interesting as the rest…" Rory trailed off as she heard Logan's voice on the machine.
"Hello, this is a message for Rory. Hi, Ace, it's Logan. I just wanted to call and wish you and your mom a happy holiday. I really would like to meet your mom soon, maybe when I get back before next semester. I'll give you your present then, too. Talk to you soon, Ace. Merry Christmas." Rory walked back into the living room with a smile on her face.
Lorelai grinned, "I get to meet Limo Boy?"
Rory rolled her eyes, "He's just a friend, Mom."
Lorelai chuckled, "Yes, that's what you kept saying when you first met Dean and you first met Jess, so uh-huh, I really believe that."
Rory blushed as she raced into the kitchen to get the mugs, as her mom called after her, "And now you're blushing and running away! Yep, you're just friends!"
"Two scoops of cocoa or three?" Rory called out.
"Three!" Lorelai called back.
Rory scooped the cocoa into their mugs, and then waiting for a few moments for it to cool enough to carry, brought them out into the living room. She stopped; smiling at the sight of her mom snuggled under a blanket looking through Rory's baby book. "Good pictures in there?" Rory asked, coming over to the couch and handing Lorelai her special mug. It was blue with "World's Greatest Mom!" written on it in pink sparkly lettering.
"Yeah, of the most beautiful baby in the world who grew up to be the most beautiful young woman in the world." Lorelai smiled at her daughter, who sat next to her, and pulled the blanket over herself.
Rory blushed, but allowed the comment. She took a sip of her cocoa, tracing the outline of Snoopy on the mug. Snuggling closer to her mom, she laid her head on her mother's shoulder, and looked down at the pictures, "Oh, that's a good one." Rory pointed to a picture of her and Lorelai when Rory was no older than 6 or 7 months old. Lorelai was holding a toy out in front of her daughter, but instead of playing with it, Rory was trying to grab onto her mom's earrings.
"It is. A little advice, though, don't wear earrings while breastfeeding an active 7-month-old baby." Lorelai smiled.
"Noted." Rory said, as her mom flipped to the next page. They sat there for awhile, both basking in each other's company. Lorelai pointed out a few pictures and they laughed about them, Rory smiling at the cuteness and innocence of them both. There was a sudden lull in the conversation and Rory closed her eyes for a moment, resting against her mom. She could hear Lorelai's soft breathing, and her mom swallowed a few times, causing Rory to raise her head so she could look at Lorelai, "Mom?"
Lorelai blinked hard a few times before looking at her daughter, and Rory could tell she was trying very hard not to cry. Lorelai rarely cried in front of her daughter. Rory knew she cried to Luke and Sookie more often than she cried to Rory. Rory understood that it was her mom's way of protecting her and shielding her from thinking that her mom wasn't always the tough woman she came across as. "Yeah, babe?" Lorelai asked, swallowing again as she tried to smile reassuringly.
Rory wasn't buying the smile this time, "What's the matter?"
Lorelai put on a brave smile, "It's nothing."
Rory put on her best stern face, "It's not nothing. Come on, Mom, tell me."
"Okay. I just…I love you so much you know? I loved you from the day you were born and I never want to be apart from you ever. Obviously now, with Yale and everything, we're going to be apart more and more, but…anyway, the point is…I took a break, too." Lorelai said, softly, looking down at the pictures on her lap.
"You did?" Rory asked, more concerned than angry.
"Just for two days. I left you with Mia when you were about a year old. I was just so tired and needed a break so badly, so I went to the beach, stayed in a hotel overnight, and then came back to you the next morning." Lorelai admitted, "I know it's so not me to get upset about this but…it just felt like I was abandoning you…even if it was just overnight. I still…haven't forgiven myself for even thinking I wasn't ready for you."
Rory's face softened, "Mom, so you took a break. You came back. You would have come back no matter what. You've gone out of town a few times in the last few years, but I never doubted you coming back, so clearly, you didn't scar me."
Lorelai chuckled at that, "That's true."
Rory smiled, "Everyone needs a break. I can understand that with Yale…and I'm just going to school. I can't imagine having a baby and having a job at my age. You're amazing, Mom."
"Well, I have had a lot of practice being amazing. All those lessons while you were asleep at night." Lorelai smiled at her daughter, "I didn't know you were so good at the inspirational speeches."
"Well, you were always a little self-centered." Rory grinned.
Lorelai swiped at her daughter playfully, "I love ya, kid."
"I love you, Mom." Rory said, as she turned to look out the window, "Oh, hey, more snow!" she exclaimed. Lorelai turned around and followed her daughter's gaze, at the freshly falling snow landing on the lawn. It was beginning to get dark, but there was just enough light to watch the flakes. Mother and daughter sat wrapped in a blanket together as they watched, the sun's setting meaning they were only half a day away from Christmas morning.