Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Gilmore Girls, actors, characters, plots, etc, that would be the wonderful people at WB. Although if I did, I'm pretty sure they'd be some big changes coughChadcough. Nor do I own anything involving 'Charlie and Chocolate Factory', Johnny Depp, Freddy Highmore or the Trojan horse. Anyway if you do feel inclined to sue me, some people have strange urges and we must accept them for who they are, I'm currently flat broke so all you will get is a used textbook, on organic chemistry.
Aphi: Thank you reading, enjoying and reviewing! Can't tell you anything because I think this chapter will answer a lot of people's questions.
FairyGirl07: It's cool to have a plan, even if you're only fifteen. The day I turned fifteen I had a mini-freak out that I was half way to thirty and I had been wasting my life! It's true, everyone laughs when they hear that, but I can be a bit too goal-oriented at times. Oh and I have a plan too, it just keeps changing. And everything sounds better in my head, so I know what you mean. Thank you for reading.
Red Dots are Awesome: Thank you for reading and reviewing! Read on to find out what happened
LoVe23: I seem to be making this sadder and sadder and I'm very sorry about that, no one wants to read depressing stories, but thank you for reading and reviewing anyway.
Rish: Thank you for reading and enjoying. Oh read 'The burning issue', it's the AN before the dedication for this chapter, let me know what you think.
Absentia-varia: Thank you enjoying and reading and reviewing. I'm glad to have made your day. Oh and thank you for story-alerting too!
Charmedone: Read on to find out. Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Chelle5: I have no idea what you think is going to happen. But if you think what I think you think then you'll find out when you scroll down and read. Thanks for taking the time.
Fallen Heart: Some people are just too smart, I thought I was being subtle and then there is the avalanche of responses suggesting that people are inside my head. Get out people, I need to learn how to be more subversive! I have said it many times, I'm weird and I know it. Thank you reading and indulging me.
Yourlastkiss: Long update today! Thank you for enjoying, please come again. Sorry about the short response.
Finnlover: oh no, I left you hanging on a cliff again, silly me, bad teabean. Takes this chapter as an apology… I'm hungry now…
Mamashirl: Read on and find out! Oh and read the last AN before the dedication for the chapter, let me know what you think.
Mrs Boyscout: Thank you, darling! I always did have issues with the line 'life's like a bed of roses', it'd be mighty thorn-y unless you had thornless roses… And watch out, I'm planning a Rogan story, coming soon!
GGluvr1987: Updated, scroll down. Thank you for reading.
MackeyPac: I'm not sure what you meant by it being 'wrong on many different levels'. If you're talking about abortion, I believe that is a woman's choice and we all make choices.
Bethany Inc: read on to find out what Rory does, but fear not this is a Trory. I want to spork someone too, maybe not to death, but just so I can say I sporked him/her! You're very funny and I am in now way mocking you. Really, I'm not… serious… please believe me.
Festis7: Scroll down to see what happens. Thanks for reading.
Ravens Writing Prophecies: you'll find out in this chapter, so read on. Thanks for reviewing.
Photoboothromance: Thank you for your reviews and pm. It seems we might have had a misunderstanding or at least I did. Thank you for taking the time to read and review and I'm sorry for taking offence when you didn't mean to offend me. I appreciate constructive criticism, I really do, just some of the things you said caught me off guard. As for IMDB, I don't think it's very reliable, it also says 'DuGrey' and 'Dugray', so I don't really take it too seriously.
AN: The burning issue: okay so the question everyone wants to know is did she or didn't she? I have to admit I had a plan all worked out, I had pretty much written drafts of all the remaining chapters and then I was hit with this avalanche (not literally). It was like one of those choose-your-own-adventure stories and I could either go with what I had always planned or I could be swayed into rewriting everything. Trouble was, I kinda, really liked how the first way went, but the response I got from everyone (thank you!) opened up a whole new idea. And if I rewrote it, would the integrity of the story be lost? Anyway, I hope you like or at least accept the route I take. But if there maybe an alternate story/continuation posted in the future.
The chapter is for photoboothromance, I'm sorry to have reacted the way I did …
Chapter 16She smoothed her skirt for the hundredth time, it had taken her two hours to choose an outfit. The blue silk dress was completely inappropriate for the weather and she turned too many heads as she made her way to his dorm, but she wanted it to be absolutely perfect so that when he saw her, he would never forget her. Mustering her courage she knocked on the door and prayed that he would be home alone.
"Rory?" he greeted her, surprise evident in his tone.
He opened the door wide, letting her in. The suite appeared to empty of its other occupants.
"Logan," she replied with a smile.
Perhaps someone up there did like her, maybe it was a sign that things will be alright.
"What are you doing here?" he was startled not only by her appearance at his door, but also by her clothes, "You look great."
"Thanks," she replied softly, her heart swelling.
"So, um?" he raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"I had an abortion," there she said it.
"Oh, Rory," Logan's eyes filled with pity, an emotion that Rory did not want to see.
"You said that you'd take me back if I had an abortion, so I did," she reminded him, her heart slipping.
"I can't," he replied apologetically.
"Why not?" Rory demanded, on the verge of tears.
"I'm engaged," Logan replied softly, his voice full of regret.
"What?" asked Rory, disbelievingly.
"To Amy Robertson."
"You've know her for how long? We broke up just weeks ago and now you're engaged?"
"Our families have been friends for many years."
"So you get engaged?" scoffed Rory.
"Look, after everything that has happened, my family needs to get some things back on track."
"And I can't be part of that?"
"Amy and I are own the same page, she and I want the same thing."
"You mean, she's willing to give up everything for you and your career?"
"Just because she's not a career woman, like you – "
"I've met Amy before, she went Chilton, a year younger than me. Academic excellence in Math and Physics, MIT was begging her to go there. She's going to give that all up to be a trophy wife."
"Rory – "
"This is unbelievable!"
"Rory, I'm sorry this hasn't turned out the way you hoped."
"The understatement of the year," muttered Rory.
"And I'm sorry that we can't be together, but I can't break off the engagement."
"Whatever, Logan," replied Rory, annoyed at his attempt to smooth things over between them.
"Rory, please understand, I never wanted things to turn out this way – "
"Then turn them back!"
"I can't!"
"You said that you'd take me back as long as there was no baby. I had an abortion. I killed that baby for us!"
"And I'm sorry."
"That's not good enough!"
She stormed out then, refusing to cry. Once again Logan had stomped on heart and it didn't matter how many times he did it, the pain never lessened.
--
He packed an overnight bag with the essentials, a change of clothes, a textbook and his mp3 player as well as a couple of gifts. Glancing briefly about his room in case he had forgotten something, before a knock on his door drew his attention.
"Come in," he called.
"Hey," Chris, his suitemate said, opening the door slightly, "Ivy's here."
"Okay," he replied warily.
She came dressed in the pink cashmere sweater and jeans, she looked innocent and beautiful.
"Tristan," she fidgeted, unsure whether how to greet him.
"Ivory," he returned.
She avoided him since that incident in Hartford, ignoring his attempts to see her. Truthfully, he could have tried harder, he had more connections and ways of finding people than most of his peers.
"How have you been?" she asked softly.
"Good… you?"
"Fine."
"What can I do for you?" he didn't mean to rush her, but he did have a flight to catch.
"I'm sorry!" she burst out.
"Ivory, I – "
"No, I need to say this."
"I completely overreacted, I didn't give you a chance explain anything."
"It's okay."
"I was totally unfair to you."
"It's fine."
"You're so sweet," Ivory cried, bursting into tears, "I so don't deserve you."
Sighing, Tristan pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back he tried to calm her.
"Sorry," she mumbled into his chest.
Regaining her composure, she pulled away from him and turned a slow circle, finally noticing the overnight bag.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Uh, yeah, to Hartford."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Why?" Ivory asked bluntly.
"To see Arabelle and my grandfather and I've got a couple of things to attend to."
"What kind of things?"
"Personal things."
"That's why you're taking a the complete collector's edition of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?" Ivory asked, holding up the giftbox of the dvds of both the original and the remake.
"It's for Arabelle," Tristan lied convincingly, but that didn't matter to Ivory.
"She already has it," Ivory replied.
"Oh, well I can exchange it for something else."
"It's autographed by Johnny Depp and Freddy Highmore," Ivory commented, examine the giftbox.
"It is too," Tristan feigned surprise, wondering how he's managed to dig himself into this mess.
"Tristan, you're not as a good a liar as you think," Ivory shook her head, her expression rueful, "Why don't you just tell me the truth? You are always keeping secrets from me. I mean why do you think I thought you and Lorelai were having an affair, as ridiculous as that sounds. What is going on?"
And there it was, the conversation he had been putting off.
"Ivory, you're right, there is something I've been keeping from you," Tristan sighed, he motioned for her to sit, "And I know I should have been more honest."
"Well?"
"You remember Rory?"
"Yeah," Ivory replied apprehensively.
"Well, before we started going out, Rory and I, we, uh, we slept together."
"But you said that was before we started going out?" Ivory asked, hope creeping into her voice.
"Yeah, I did. Except that Rory is pregnant."
"What?" she breathed softly.
"Rory is pregnant," Tristan repeated.
"I heard you the first time," Ivory snapped at him, "Why did you keep going with us if Rory is pregnant? And don't say you were waiting for the right time."
"Because she doesn't know who the father is," Tristan grimaced, wishing he didn't have to say it aloud, "Rory had a sort-of on-again, off-again boyfriend."
"And is he on-again or off-again now?"
"I think he's off-again," Tristan replied, a little surprised at the question.
"Then what are you doing here?" Ivory cried standing up suddenly.
"Huh?" Tristan asked dumbly, standing up also.
"Rory must be all by herself and at a time like this she needs all the support she can get," Ivory exclaimed, hurriedly shoving things into Tristan's overnight bag.
"But, what about us?" Tristan asked.
Ivory sighed, letting go the bag, she sat back down on the bed.
"Tristan, I know this probably one the most overused lines and I don't want you take it the wrong way, but you are a truly, great guy," Ivory began, "And really I wish that we could be together, but we would both be lying to ourselves and to each other if we kept this relationship going. When I met you, even though I did all that modelling, I was shy and nervous and lacked self confidence and even though we've only been going out just a couple of months, I've changed so much. But now Rory needs you and that means we can't be together."
"I'm sorry."
"So am I."
"I wish things could have been different, for everyone."
"Yeah, me too, maybe in another lifetime," Ivory replied wistfully, "Come on, finishing packing, I'll drive you to the airport. Don't forget Charlie and Chocolate Factory."
"It's actually for Rory," Tristan admitted.
"I guessed as much," Ivory smiled, "Good bye, Tristan Du Gray."
"Good bye, Ivory Lancaster."
--
By the time she had reached her dorm room, she had filed away the morning under 'Never to be repeated'. What was done was done, she wouldn't think of it again. Of course that was a completely and utterly false, but even if it was just a façade, she needed to pretend it was all right. In her most clinical moment, she would think of the latest turn of events as a relief, her life was back on track, everything could go back to normal. At lowest time, she would remember this as her heartbreaking time. She rounded the last corner, plastered a neutral-to-slightly-happy expression on her face, took a deep breath and prepared herself to face Paris again. But first she had another unexpected encounter, slumped by the door to her suite was a figure she hadn't seen in too long.
"Finn?" she greeted the figure how moaned in response, "What are you doing?"
"Oh Rory," Finn moaned, squinting up at her.
"Are you drunk? Wait that's a really silly question to ask you," Rory sighed, "Come on, let's go inside."
"Actually I don't think I am drunk, but I could do with a drink, if you're offering," Finn replied, trailing after her.
"So what's wrong with you?" Rory asked, checking to see whether Paris was around.
"Theresa broke up with," said Finn mournfully, falling onto the sofa and burying his face a in a cushion.
"What? Why?" Rory gasped, sitting down next to him.
"Shezadzewanenteadyfarelasionzip," came the muffled reply.
"Finn, you going to have to sit up, I missed that entirely."
"She thinks I'm too serious. Me! Me and serious are on entirely different planes. She doesn't want to be in a serious relationship, I don't even know what a relationship looks like."
Rory let Finn rant, knowing he needed to get it all out.
"She wants to go out more, party more, she thinks I'm boring! When I met her, she liked foreign-language movies and poetry readings, but that's what I liked about her. Sure I had no idea what the poet-guy was going on about, but it was cool. I liked her cause she wasn't a wild party girl, she doesn't even drink!"
"Finn – "
"I told her I loved her," he admitted.
"Oh, Finn," Rory gasped.
"I've never told anyone that," he whispered, "Can we talk about something else?"
"Sure, I guess," Rory replied still concerned about him.
"How are you doing?" he asked, sending a pointed glance to her stomach.
"Can we not talk about that, okay?"
"Alright," Finn nodded.
"You want to tv?" Rory suggested, reaching for the remote.
They fell silent, lost in their own thoughts, pretending to be engrossed in the weather channel to avoid talking about anything.
--
He pulled into the car park, nerves firmly on edge. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself, but it came out ragged. He forced himself to open the door and step out of the car. He concentrated on walking, one foot in front of the other, tracing the steps he had taken just a week ago. A blur of dark brown hair near the coffee stand broke his concentration.
"Tristan?"
"Lorelai," Tristan responded, turning to her.
"You here to see Rory?" Lorelai asked, approaching him, a coffee in each hand.
"Yeah, I am," he nodded.
"I am too," she smiled conspiratorially, producing a smile from Tristan, "Here have a coffee."
"No, I think I'm jittery enough as it is."
"Good, cause I need both of them."
"So are you and Rory talking again?" Tristan asked as they walked towards the dorm.
"We're getting there," Lorelai nodded, gulping the first coffee, "It's hard, but I want to be there for her."
"That's good."
"It is, we talked on the phone already, but that was just the first step. And you, how are you and my daughter doing?"
"I'm here, aren't I?"
"Well, there's her room," Lorelai motioned, "I think you should go first."
"Me?"
"Yeah, if we turn up together it looks like it's an intervention or something," she explained like it was the most obvious thing.
"And I have to go first because?"
"I've got the coffee, it's just plain cruel to take coffee into a room with a pregnant woman."
"Okay then, I'll go first," he inhaled deeply and took one step forward before he was distracted again.
"Du Gray?"
"I feel like the Trojan horse," Tristan muttered under his breath before plastering on his happy face and turning to the speaker, "Paris!"
"What are you doing here again? And Lorelai?"
"Hi Paris," Lorelai greeted her.
"Well isn't this a nice little reunion," Paris commented, "Well shall we go give the poor girl heart attack then?"
She didn't wait for a response before opening the door to the suite she shared with Rory.
"Rory I have a surprise for you," Paris announced, Tristan and Lorelai trailing after her, sharing a slightly concerned glance, "And it appears you have a surprise for us. Finn?"
"Hey Paris," Rory greeted her suitemate, "Finn and Theresa broke up."
"Oh," Paris replied shortly.
"Rory?" Lorelai began tentatively drawing her daughter's attention.
"Mom," Rory returned, embracing her mother and surprising them both.
"Who are you?" Finn asked eyeing Tristan suspiciously.
"Tristan Du Gray," Tristan introduced himself, hand outstretched.
"Aren't you – " Finn began, but Paris silenced him with an elbow to his stomach, "Uh, you. Aren't you, you? Is there anything to drink?"
"Beer, in the fridge," Paris pointed, but Finn was already there.
"So what are you doing here?" Rory said turning her attention to Tristan.
"I wanted to see you."
"Really?" Rory replied, her disbelief obvious, "And how does the perfect Miss Lancaster feel about this?"
"She drove me to the airport."
"Tristan – "
"We broke up," Tristan interrupted her, "I told her about you and the baby and she wants me to be here for you. So here I am."
"Well, that's wonderful," Lorelai exclaimed.
"No," Rory shook her head.
"No?" Tristan exclaimed.
"You need to go back to Stanford and get back together with Ivory," Rory replied firmly.
"It's too late and not to mention, you need all the support you can get," Tristan contradicted her.
"Not if there's no baby."
"What do you mean?" Lorelai asked her daughter.
"How can there not be a baby? You're pregnant," Paris frowned.
"I had an abortion," Rory revealed for the second time that day.
"What? When?" Paris gasped.
Lorelai pulled her daughter towards her, wrapping her arms around her, she tried to take the pain away.
"I need some air," Tristan said, walking out the door as if in a trance.
"When I told you I went Boston for the journalism workshop, I lied," Rory explained to Paris, "I did go to Boston, but not for a workshop."
"Why?" Finn asked.
"Because Logan said we could be together if I had an abortion."
"Oh honey," Lorelai gasped, "You should have told me, I would been there for you."
"And where is the almighty Huntzberger now?" Paris asked.
"Oi!" Finn exclaimed, Logan was still his friend.
"He's engaged," Rory said, reliving the morning.
"Huh?" Paris stared dumbfounded.
"To Amy Robertson."
"Amy Robertson, beeline-to-MIT, Amy?" Paris gaped.
"That bastard!" Finn exclaimed, heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" Paris called after him.
"I have a few choice words to say to Huntzberger. Rory, I'm so sorry about the way things have turned out. I'll see you later."
"I'm going to go look for Tristan," Paris said, also leaving.
"Are you going to yell at me now?" Rory asked, eyeing her mother apprehensively.
"No," Lorelai shook her head, "I think we've done enough of that to last a lifetime. I'm here for you."
She pulled her daughter into her arms, hoping that a mother's embrace would be enough to soothe pain. Finally, Rory felt the day's events coupled with her mother's love break her and tears coursed down her cheeks.
"It's going to be alright," Lorelai whispered, drawing her daughter closer.
--
AN: I know that this will be a controversial chapter and I expect some people will be ticked off that I took this route with the pregnancy. If there is enough demand and if I have the time, I might write an alternate story which would start from the end of the previous chapter.