Disclaimer: I've lost all originality for any of these, so here's the redudant, "I don't own anything but the plot..."
Chapter 21
By the time July rolled around, the town was gossiping in relation to Rory's pregnancy. It was blatantly obvious that she was expecting a child, the bump now a hill she couldn't hide under flow-y shirts and light jackets. It was also obvious that Dean was the father, from which stemmed many rumors often pitying the young couple, especially Rory. At the beginning, people thought they were together because they'd managed to find each other again - the whole star-crossed lovers deal. But then, after the apparent news of her pregnancy, people assumed that she was staying with Dean just out of the sake for the child and Dean, since he was the father.
Rory and Dean did their best to ignore the rumors.
By the end of July, Rory's professors had allowed her to finish her summer courses online as well as her fall courses when they rolled around. Rory was relieved she didn't have to travel all the way into Hartford on a daily basis anymore. She spent the first couple days in the house, often visiting Dean at work and bringing him lunch.
"Are you sure about this?" Dean asked, cautiously lifting the basket to his nose and inspecting it for any strange odors.
"Yes, I can cook now," Rory said, swatting him playfully.
Dean just grinned, intertwining his hand with Rory's, and led her out to the shade of an oak tree at the far end of the yard of the house he was working on. He was about to sit on the grass when Rory stopped him, tipped up the lid from the basket, and pulled out a soft blanket she'd tucked away in there.
"Think of everything, don't you?" Dean asked, setting up the blanket and sitting down. He patted his lap and Rory happily obliged, laying back against him.
"Of course."
There was silence for a moment, where Dean's fingers danced across her belly. She placed her hand over his, flattening it over her clothed stomach.
"This is your daddy, little one," she said in a voice almost as soft as a whisper.
Dean smiled watching her.
After a second, there was a distinct kick from the baby inside Rory. Dean pulled his hand away, a little shocked.
Rory laughed and replied, her hand still on her stomach, "Aww, you scared your daddy," to the baby. She shifted her position so she could get a better read of Dean's face and smiled. "I just discovered that this morning," she answered the amused shock in his eyes.
Dean shook his head and reached out again, laying his hand over her belly. There was another kick, but he didn't yank his hand away this time. Instead, he pulled Rory closer and kissed the top of her forehead, whispering, "I love you."
"I love you, too."
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Dean's lunch break didn't last too long. He regretfully gave Rory a hug and kiss goodbye, kissing her belly too. Even though Rory was now almost six months into her pregnancy, it was just now starting to feel like the baby was an actual person and not an 'it' anymore.
Rory looked around and noticed that she wasn't that far from the Dragonfly. She smiled and headed in the direction of her mother's other baby - the one she shared with Sookie and possibly loved more - realizing how grateful she was to have something to do, even if it was a little walk.
"Hello Michel," Rory greeted, stepping up to the concierge desk where Michel was typing away on the computer.
Michel looked up, expecting a new guest, and frowned seeing Rory. "Oh, it's only you," he muttered with a leer, returning to his typing.
Rory rolled her eyes with a smile and headed towards the kitchen. "Hey Mom, Sookie," she greeted the two excessively chatty woman.
"Rory!" Sookie exclaimed, diving in and wrapping her arms tightly around Rory.
"Um, Sookie, you're suffocating her," Lorelai joked when Sookie didn't let go of her daughter right away.
"Oh, sorry, sorry." Sookie pulled away and brushed off Rory's arms and shoulders like she'd spilled something on her. Then she stepped back and took a look at Rory. "Wow, look at you," she gushed happily, "Having a baby and - " she did a quick, sweeping arm motion " - everything."
"Yeah," Rory grinned, resting her hand on her stomach. "Strange, I know."
"Aww, you're going to be such a good mom," Sookie replied. "Just like Lorelai."
"Talk about me as though I'm not here," Lorelai said.
Sookie and Rory both rolled their eyes, and Sookie's attention was called to by one of the kitchen staff setting her duck on fire. Lorelai gently guided Rory out of the kitchen and away from possibly flying frying pans.
"So, what are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.
Rory took a seat in one of the chairs by the concierge desk while Lorelai rifled through some papers and Michel ignored the two of them. "I came to visit," she said simply.
"What about Dean?"
"I visited him, too. Made him lunch and then we sat out under an oak tree and ate."
Lorelai looked up, a look of fake hurt laced into her features. "You took your boyfriend lunch - an actual meal you cooked - but you couldn't bring your mother one?"
Rory let out a laugh and nodded her head towards the kitchen. "You have a whole restaurant twenty feet away. And you're in a nice, cool building, working. Dean's been in an un-air-conditioned house in the heat all day."
Lorelai pouted, "Still."
"Actually, I was hoping I could do some secretarial work for you… maybe earn a little extra money, too?" Rory asked hopefully.
"What about your classes? No homework?"
The grin on Rory's face grew broader. "That's the beauty of taking them online - I get the assignments and don't have to wait until the end of a lecture or until I get home from the paper to do them."
"How's that going? The paper, I mean."
She shrugged, "Paris sent me a couple topics to write about actually. It seems the staff hasn't forced her to walk the plank yet."
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, you can do some desk work for me."
"What?" Michel asked, turning to face the two of them. "But that's my job!" he objected agitatedly.
"You can escort the guests to their rooms, or show them the stables or the good hiking paths," Lorelai offered.
"Do you have any idea what the heat'll do to my roots? And I have this very bad dry skin that I must put lotion on or I peel like a potato."
"Then, put some lotion on and get outside to help the guests."
"Why does she get to stay inside?" Michel whined, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Uh, okay, let's see. A) she's my daughter and B) she's pregnant."
"You like her better."
Lorelai rolled her eyes and started to push Michel towards the door. "Yeah, well, when you're six months pregnant, I'll be sure to let you do all the desk work, too. I promise."
Rory laughed and stood, abandoning her seat in the armchair for a seat on the chair behind the desk.
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"Long day?" Dean asked, entering the kitchen and seeing Rory reclining on their bed through the open bedroom door.
Rory got up and entered the kitchen where Dean was placing two bags full of containers of food from Luke's on the kitchen table. She gave him a quick kiss before settling into a chair. All the walking she did today made her legs just a little sore, though that was expected with the extra weight she was carrying around.
"Not really," she said with a shrug.
Dean headed into their bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes, asking, "What'd you do after lunch?"
"Worked a couple hours at the inn for my mom," Rory replied nonchalantly.
Dean came back into the kitchen, a not so happy look on his face. "Rory," he said firmly, "I thought we decided that my salary was enough right now. You don't need to work. You have school and the baby to worry about."
"A baby that's not here yet," she pointed out.
Dean frowned at her and took a seat across from her. "The doctor said not to over-exert yourself."
Rory reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. "It's fine, trust me," she said. "It was just secretary work anyway. Mom wouldn't let me be on my feet for more than a minute and thirty seconds. Believe me, I timed it. And you know how fast I do the assignments my professors are sending me."
"You sure?"
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I was getting bored waiting for you all day. You know, I don't want to turn into - " She stopped abruptly, not wanting to mention the name.
"You're not," Dean stated, kissing her hand. "Besides, you have good reason for not working; Lindsey didn't."
Rory was getting uncomfortable with the topic of conversation, so she changed it. "So, dinner from Luke's?"
"Yeah, I stopped by on my way home to get you dessert since you brought me lunch today," Dean said with a smile. "Luke says he has to work late because Caeser left early. So, he sent dinner home with me as a - condolence, I guess." He started pulling the containers from the bags.
"Well, Michel got testy because Mom let me take over his job today - "
"Bet he liked that," Dean snickered, opening Rory's dish and placing it in front of her.
Rory laughed, "Yeah. Well, he called an emergency meeting between he, Mom, and Sookie to 'discuss this grievance against him,'" she said, quoting the last part in Michel's french accent.
Dean was laughing, "Sounds, productive. So, no Lorelai and no Luke tonight." He turned around and set Lorelai's container in the refrigerator.
"Nope, just the two of us. Or rather, three of us," she said, referring to her stomach.
Dean turned back around and opened his own dish. Before he started eating, he looked over at Rory. She was picking at the salad Luke had placed on the side, insisting that it was good for her and the baby. Dean just smiled and quietly replied, "I believe that's all we'll ever need."
Rory heard him, though, and smiled down at her plate.
Author's Note: Gah! I'm so sorry for making you guys wait! Gosh, I could kick myself... and I bet you guys could give me a nice kick too, huh? Heh. Well, this is mostly... bleh, I don't know what this is. I just felt like writing it. I'm almost finished with the next chapter, so you won't have to wait long for that one and LOOK-- I kept my promise! -- I updated before Thursday.
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