AN: So I've come up with a way to decide which fics to update. I'm not sharing but make sure to keep reading if you want to keep reading 😉
Chapter Twenty Six – Views on a Childhood
26.1
"Come on, now" Mia smiled as she looked at the tiny three-year-old. "You really are an adventurer, aren't you?" she said and Rory laughed loudly. The young brunette girl held a book in her hands and Mia knelt down to take a look at her. "What's this?" she asked and Rory laughed again.
"Mommy was reading it," Rory said and Mia looked up as she heard the sound of the twenty-year-old coming behind them. "We were reading together."
"I see," Mia smiled as she saw Lorelei coming behind the child breathless from rushing after her. Mia chuckled as she kissed Rory on her cheek. "I love exploring myself."
"You go on adventures?" Rory asked and Lorelei placed a hand on Rory's upper back and took the book back from Mia with a grateful smile. "Like Alice," Rory pointed to the Alice in Wonderland book which Lorelei had been reading to her. Maybe it was something silly but to Lorelei it was about escaping from the real world where you had to follow certain roads and carving out your own future.
"Oh, hundreds, I should tell you about them someday," Mia laughed and Rory smiled with excitement in her eyes. Lorelei wrapped her arms around Rory and the little girl squealed with excitement.
"Sorry Mia, I'll bring her to the day care soon." Lorelei said as she turned Rory around in her arms so that she could kiss her daughter all over her face. Rory looked between them and snuggled closer to her mother.
"You know I don't mind the laughter of a young girl," Mia said honestly and then tucked a strand of Lorelei's hair behind her ear, "and that includes for you too." She told her and Lorelei blushed. She handed Rory the book back and the small girl looked up at her mother as Lorelei went around to their home.
"Did she really explore?" Rory asked and Lorelei kissed her again, this time her face was filled with conviction and deep belief in her response.
"Of course, Mia is incredible."
26.2
"Ace?" Logan asked as he leaned forwards at their table. Rory had seemed to stare off in front of her after she had looked at the menu. He turned to see that she was looking at a young four year old girl with a book in her lap. He laughed and held Rory's hand, squeezing it a little. "You know, we should pick out those bookshelves now because if our kid is anything like their mother, we'll have to have a -"
"That scene in Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney scenes," Rory said
"So, you're suggesting that we try to increase the wall space," Logan said before Rory smiled. "I wonder what kind of books kids like best. I mean -"
"Well, before you two set up a reading list -" Colin coughed and Rory looked towards the other two young men, the ones whom they had personally invited to eat dinner with them.
"And a library card," Finn added.
"Yes, well of course it can't be the type of library card that a regular citizen might have. They need exclusivity if they are to belong to the same type of social class as their dear Daddy," Colin winked to Logan who looked at them with a roll of his eyes but he laughed as well, having a sip of the soda in front of him. Despite Rory telling him that she was fine with him drinking, he didn't want to have her be the only one who didn't run the risk of being completely inebriated.
"Somewhere in Europe perhaps," Finn commented.
"Perhaps, but even those libraries aren't the best. This child needs something crafted for them," Colin noted.
"So we're back to expanding the walls again," Finn said and Colin nodded. Rory rolled her eyes as she heard them say that. She had wanted help with deciding how to make a special place for Logan but when it came to her, just a tree and a book would make her happy. She had always considered that a good investment, paying someone for her special study tree. Hopefully this child would be intelligent with an excitement and passion for learning. She wanted to be one of those parents who learned alongside their child when they went to museums or when they went to school.
Logan turned to the two of them, "You know that I'm going to consider you our child's uncles," he winked to them and Rory smiled. "I mean, you might not be my brothers technically but I don't think we should end this bromance."
"Never," Finn shook his head.
"Not a thought in my mind to end it," Colin smiled and Rory laughed.
"As long as you don't endanger them, it should be fine," she said before pointing to the two of them. "But you boys better listen to me when I say that if you dare to do anything to put our child in danger I do not have a problem with capital violence towards either one of you."
"We couldn't possibly," Finn shook his head.
" Quite out of the question," Colin nodded. Rory smiled softly. Despite the two of them having a laid back attitude where they seemed to prioritize the fun and play in life, they were both smart and well educated and they had been brought up in the 'right' way. Maybe she could only base her parenting on her mother's examples but that was best, right? She didn't have to worry about how the child was to fit in with the elite upper tier of society.
"I don't know if my grandfather knows," Logan suddenly said out of the blue and Rory turned to him. She hadn't been expecting that but that was a problem if he didn't. She had only met the patriarch of the family once but that dinner left a sour taste in her mouth. She had heard that she wasn't good enough to be associated with them, she had been talked down to as if she were a commoner, that feeling was something that had shaken her and Logan had attempted to assure her that he chose her but if that were ever to go to their child.
"Are you all right, love?" Finn asked as he leaned forwards and Rory blinked in surprise, "You've turned quite pale."
"Rory?" Logan asked as he tilted his head to the side with concern in his expression.
"I…it's nothing, just the thought that our child might be turned away by a family member," Rory commented and Logan placed a hand on her belly and looked at Rory in a very protective manner.
"Nobody is going to hurt our child. I choose you. My father already knows about the baby. He already is aware and in his own way, I think he's as supportive as he can be. No one is going to insult our child," Logan said and Rory looked at him. Was she supposed to be cast out of their families lives? Was this how her mother felt before she had run away. Rory knew that her grandparents on her father side didn't consider her as much more than the reason her father's life had gone off track. Even though her grandfather on that side had passed away, the only memories she had had of him were how she had been a disappointment. It was her grandmother who had made her feel better.
"Logan," Rory said as she found tears in her eyes unexpectedly.
Logan took her hand, "Rory, let's go step outside, okay?" he asked and gave a look back to his friends before walking out the front of the restaurant. He saw Rory about to break and wished that he could do something more. She seemed to fragile at this point. Was this his fault for not being there for her when he was needed? He sighed. He couldn't really do much to turn back time and change that.
"What is it, Ace?" he asked, "How can I help? What do you need? I'm sorry that I'm not here for you as much as I want, I'm trying to get back to our family as soon as -" Logan was stunned when Rory kept him from speaking further by kissing him. She pulled back and laughed weakly though it was obvious she had been crying. "As much as I love that interruption -"
"I think I need to actually talk to my grandmother," Rory said and Logan blinked.
"Emily, we can go and see her - did you want me to tell those two that we're going there? Did you need to go tonight?" Logan asked. He wasn't sure why Rory needed to see her grandmother but he knew that he would do absolutely everything for her. There was something that was bothering her, triggering her, and although Logan didn't know what it was, he did want to be that supportive shoulder for her.
"No. I can wait but -" Rory looked at her fiancé, "When I finally did meet my dad's parents, they really didn't think much of me. My grandparents that you know ,the Gilmore side, they've always been protective and supportive of me. Emily and Richard Gilmore would always do whatever they could for me and I know that that love will go towards our child as well but -" Rory looked away and Logan sighed.
"My grandfather is not going to live forever," he tried to reassure her and Rory knew that he would have his own bias against his great grandchild. "And as for my mother and father, as much as I don't want them to have that much contact with us, they will love our child as well. Maybe my mother will make some tremendously inane comment about how to make them prettier and my father will – I don't know what standards he'll set for his grandchild but they aren't going to act as if we've created something wrong and I'm sorry but they lost out," Logan said as he repeated what everyone else had said to her at that point. "They really lost out because Ace, you're as close to perfect as they get."
"Thank you," Rory said as she threw her arms around him. Logan held her close to him. "Thank you."
"Hey, Ace, you don't need to thank me for that," Logan laughed.
Rory took a few deep breaths in and before she could say anything in response, there was a woman's voice and she looked up to see a very fashionable and elegant woman who looked like she had come out of a classic painting. "Oh, my gosh, Logan."
Rory looked away but Logan wrapped his arms around her.
"Jennifer," he laughed at the girl before she coughed and looked at Rory. "It's been a while, this is my fiancée, Rory Gilmore." He introduced and Jennifer looked between them. She studied Rory's hand where there was no ring on her finger.
"Did you say fiancée?" Jennifer asked and Rory laughed weakly.
"Girlfriend, he said girlfriend," she said and Jennifer shook her head. She looked at Logan and reached out to readjust his tie.
"Big deal then, girlfriend is far from marriage," she said and Logan took a step backwards and away from her. He put his arms around Rory and tried to move away from Jennifer before she could do anything else to them.
"Please get away from us," he requested. "This is my girlfriend and we were just about to head inside and have dinner with our group. I hope that you have a good night," he said and Jennifer looked between the two of them.
"So you really have gone with a tramp," Jennifer hissed and Logan turned. His eyes showed how much those words had affected him but Rory pulled him back and into the restaurant.
Logan stared at her, "No one gets to call you that," he argued and Rory looked at him with a weak smile.
"Maybe not but you're right, she doesn't matter and honestly, your grandfather doesn't either. All that matters is you and me" Rory told him and Logan laughed.
"And whoever our child or children might be," Logan said wishing he had done more to step up and protect Rory but she was right. Whether it came from a vapid hound or his grandfather, all that mattered was them.
End of Chapter Twenty Six
Thank you for reading
Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Twenty Five
Bserial, December Jeffries2, KathyMesser, Kellybras, LukeandLorelaifan2021, Rori Potter
