AN: Before I write the next chapter, I just wanted to thank everyone for welcoming me into this fandom 😊 I know that some of my characterization and details might be off and I'm trying to get better at the quips, but thank you for your support. It makes me feel able to write so thank you 😊 I hope you enjoy
Chapter Four – Family Ties
Rory sat numbly on the bed of her hotel. She knew that Logan needed time to clear his head and figure things out. She knew that she would see him for dinner that night and that they would discuss things, but maybe there was a better way of dealing with it than just telling him. Maybe she should have met with his family or discussed the pregnancy with her grandparents. Maybe it was the influence that her mother had shown her throughout her existence that had led to her hopping aboard a plane to a foreign country without ever really talking to her own father.
Then again, her dad was caring and kind, he was sweet and he did love her, but he hadn't been there for her whole life. Gilmore women were supposed to be independent and assertive. That's what being Lorelai Gilmore was.
Rory bowed her head and sighed deeply as she looked over the information about studying in school when one was pregnant. She also had a pros and cons column about whether she would be able to study and to be pregnant. This time she didn't need it, she would continue going until she was forced to stop.
Then there was the newspaper. She knew that it was in the Huntzberger name and that she wouldn't be kicked out of the paper for being pregnant with Logan's child or Mitchum's grandchild, but was it wise to stay there? On the other hand, maybe Mitchum would see her as trying to tear down the Huntzberger dynasty.
Rory sighed. Hopefully it wouldn't take Logan too long to wrap his mind around this. It was better if they were together to talk about this and discuss their options. Rory placed the computer on the small bedside table in her hotel room and made sure to bookmark the pregnancy book list and the novels she had found about women in her condition.
Reading always allowed her to escape.
It had done so in the past and she would continue to use it as an escape.
She just hoped that her child would be a reader as well. She knew that Logan had a list of books that he enjoyed, she felt that if they raised this child together that he would encourage a healthy appetite of literature. She just hoped that their child would get a chance to take advantage of the world that only these famous playwriters, poets, and authors could fashion.
Rory picked up her phone and smiled as she saw the pictures of her and Logan together. They were so happy and she had to admit that if she were to have anyone's child, she was glad that it was his. She stared at the ceiling.
If this had been when she herself was a teenager and she had had Dean's kid then she would have had to make do with whatever city or town that they could afford to live in. She knew that Dean would need a yard to play ball with the kids and she could imagine them having a dog. Dean would be the kind of dad that was shown on all of the 'happy family' commercials.
Still, even if she had lived with Dean, even somewhere in Connecticut, she didn't know if she could see him being happy that she was working. He was one of those traditional men who would have wanted to contribute to his family's happiness. Even though she had loved him in the past, Rory knew that she would have never been happy wearing an apron and getting food on the table every night. It was too limiting.
Then she thought about Jess. Jess was sweet but defensive, he was passionate and yet extremely impulsive. She had the feeling that one day he would be a good father, he would probably be a little reckless and encourage his kids to be rebellious, but he would care about them. Jess would encourage them to follow their dreams and not to let anyone hold them back. Yes, Jess definitely would have cared but even as an author he hadn't matured enough.
Which led her here. Logan was caring and smart, but he sometimes wasn't even as mature as Jess. None of that would be directed towards the child, but was he taking all of this time because he was trying to be responsible and that it wasn't an instant decision for him.
….
….
"Well, can I say that I am a little frustrated, Logan" Honor had said when Logan had called her to tell her the news and to ask her to keep it private. Logan knew that he had to tell a family member and Honor had always been close to him when he had really needed someone. He knew that she was interested in having children with Josh. Somehow he had beaten her to that.
"Frustrated?" Logan laughed as he sat in the empty office room with his phone. "Honor, I'm here and I'm freaking out," Logan laughed weakly. "I mean, I'm supposed to be working in this company as some kind of hot shot because I'm Dad's son and I get told that I'm going to be a father. How am I supposed to do something like that?"
"Logan, the best thing to do is to think about the present. You aren't going to become a father overnight, you know," Honor tried to calm her younger brother down.
"But I'm going to become one a lot sooner than I was planning," Logan replied as he ran his hand through his blond hair yet again. "I have no idea how Mom and Dad are going to take this news."
"You know, please don't think about those two, there are a lot better things to think about, believe me," Honor sighed. Her smile could be heard over the phone, "I know it's sudden, but are you happy? I'm happy. You know how much I love you and Rory together. If you hurt her -"
"I'm not going to hurt her," Logan said. The blond moved slightly on the office chair and picked up a book that he had bought about how to stay calm when becoming a father for the sake of your expecting partner and child. There was even a chapter on what to do with a surrogate. "This is just a lot to take in. I love Rory though, I thought I would propose to her one day but…this…"
"Did she say that you had to be part of it?" Honor asked as Logan pushed himself to a more upright position.
"She said it was my choice, but I choose her. Honor, could you please just give me some advice on how to approach the home front with this kind of information?" he asked. Logan sighed and closed his eyes, pressing two fingers to his forehead in an attempt to try to maintain a physical calm.
"Wait a little, we'll do it Thanksgiving when both you and I come home as long as that's alright with you and Rory," Honor commented she smiled softly. "After all Josh needs to talk to Father about something," she said as she did an impression of the upper crust business types. "It might soften the blow."
Logan chuckled softly, "Alright," he said, "Thanks Honor."
"You're welcome, Daddy" she said as Logan scoffed at that.
"Wow, of all the men that you've said that to," he teased her, "Love you, Honor" he said before ending the phone call. He was terrified of the future. He was beyond scared of holding a tiny little baby in his arms and introducing the world to his son or daughter. However, this baby was only going to be fifty-percent him, the other half would be Rory and that was enough to keep him going.
….
….
At ten to seven, Logan came to where he would be meeting Rory for dinner. He was glad that he hadn't gone overly fancy and was wearing a button-down shirt and black pants with a designer belt. He hadn't been sure where Rory would want to go, although he was thinking of ruling out a pub, and so had tried to choose an outfit that would work for anything.
Rory was currently sitting and reading 'The Scarlet Letter' wearing a cute and business casual appropriate dress. She hadn't seemed to spot him coming down the elevator. She could always be distracted by a good book and he hoped that whether she was carrying his son or his daughter, she would encourage their child to love reading and have an open mind.
"You do know that you're not a slut if you're with your long-term boyfriend," Logan grinned to her. "I thought you knew better than that, Ace" he grinned as she closed the book and looked at him.
"Oh are those the rules?" Rory told him, "I thought that as long as it was consensual you didn't get judged," she hummed with a smile. She stood up and leaned into his kiss. She noticed how one of his hands smoothly cupped the bottom of her belly as if holding the unborn child at the same time.
"So, are you…alright?" she asked him kissing his cheek and then his neck. "Is it polite to do this in public?" she asked as she looked around. She knew that in The United States people would often kiss one another and show public displays of affection freely, she was forgetting what the rules were in Britain. Well, she knew that she should always curtsey if the queen came along but that wasn't likely to happen.
"I can tell you that it's going to still take some time to get used to, but as for us, I am good," Logan tried to assure her. "I think it's unexpected, but I hope that the three of us will be a good family and I would love to marry you one day, Rory."
Rory smiled, "Are you trying to get out of a proper proposal, Huntzberger?" she laughed as Logan shook his head.
"Oh, trust me, Ace" he grinned as he kissed her cheek again. "I would stop time to give you the proposal that you'd want, lassoed moon and all. That's just a promise that it will happen in the future," he smiled to the woman he loved. "Rory, I want for the three of us to live together as a family."
Rory smiled, "I want that too, but I'm not ready to move to London. I do want to keep working as a journalist, but I'd…"
"We can go to New York," Logan grinned thinking that was where the conversation was leading. "I can find a way to work in New York and then…"
Rory sighed and shook her head, "I want to be in Connecticut or at least near my mom. I want her to be around in case I need help. I don't want to live in Stars Hollow though, I think I need to start a new life away from the small town charm."
"Our new life," Logan smiled. "I'll see what can be arranged." He smiled as he wrapped an arm around her and placed his hand on her belly, "I love you, Ace."
"I love you, Jack," Rory smiled as she leaned back to kiss the father of her child.
