Chapter Thirty Two – The Proper Child

32.1

Rory looked nervously at her parents as their salad plates and soup bowls were taken from them ready for them to begin the main course. Over the time they had eaten their salad, Shira had given all types of ideas to Rory about how to make the perfect wedding and it was such a shame that Christopher's and Lorelei's wedding seemed like an in the moment thing because that wasn't the proper way to have a wedding.

When their meals were served, Rory looked aside at her parents. She could see her father with his head down rather sad and guilty because of the way that he hadn't been there for her daughter and even in the small moments that he had, he hadn't been able to provide for her until the death of his father.

Christopher had always loved Lorelei and had been happy and willing to go along with the plan that their parents had set out for them. He would have gone to work as soon as he graduated high school and tried to balance work, college, and being a father. When he heard that Lorelei had left with their daughter and had never come back to the house, his heart had been broken with the loss of his girls and not knowing what else to do, had taken his bike and driven across the country hoping to find some way to soothe himself.

He had always known how stubborn Lorelei was and his showing up in Stars Hollow would have only felt like him suffocating her. In a way it was sort of a relief that Lorelei could take care of Rory all by herself but he would have wanted to see her more often.

Rory could see her mother trying to find ways of not exploding and acting argumentative towards these people who obviously felt that she wasn't up to their level. Rory knew that if she hadn't been there and they hadn't been in a fancy and elite restaurant, there would have been an argument. Lorelei would need to vent all the way home and perhaps for a week afterwards.

What really surprised Rory however was the anger that Logan was showing towards these insults. He, more than anyone, should be aware of what his parents were capable of but he just sat there with his palm flat on the table and his fingers twitching.

"It really is a shame that Rory didn't have a better upbringing," Shira finally said bluntly as she looked at Lorelei and Christopher. "To think that her father didn't love her. To think that her father didn't want anything to do with her." Logan watched as Shira drank perhaps her fourth glass of wine for that night. She was going to embarrass herself if she continued.

"It's very important for a father to show what is right and wrong and have that strong hand on the reins when it comes to child-raising." Mitchum said and Logan stood up alerting not only their table but the table around them.

"I don't know the circumstances of Rory's childhood but she is the most amazing woman that I have ever met and I can't just sit here quietly whilst you talk badly about her parents. I've done a lot of immature and childish and wrong things in my life. I've acted out. Do you think though that Honor and I ever felt particularly loved? We were raised by a nanny and had each other to rely on," he looked to Rory before mouthing an apology.

"I feel happy to call Christopher and Lorelei my future in-laws. I know that I'm not really the ideal future husband and father and son-in-law to them but I'm trying my best just as they are. You're not perfect," he stated and Rory looked at her parents.

Christopher watched him in shock but had a kind of guilty smile on his face. Lorelei had never looked at Logan with so much admiration before. He was standing up to his parents and more importantly, he was standing up for them, whether it was for Rory's benefit or not, it showed his true colors.

"Logan," Mitchum coughed, "Will you sit down," he said and Logan sighed before taking his seat, he had said what he had wanted to anyway.

"What do you mean you never felt loved. I provided the best for both of you. You were never in want of anything important. If you're referring to the fact that we don't want you to laze around and benefit from belonging to a wealthy family," Shira told him and Logan frowned.

"I like working," he admitted and then sighed, "sometimes the work is hard and not as enjoyable as other times but I feel pride that I am able to work, that I am going to be able to provide for my wife and child and you know what, having the best of everything doesn't make a child into someone perfect. Rory didn't grow up with the best of everything but she is kind, she's hardworking, she cares about others and about social change."

"I can't believe that you are marrying someone not following the heart of the Republican party," Shira said and Rory looked down. Yes, her choices were more moderate and sometimes liberal but she identified as an independent voter. Her grandparents were most definitely conservatives but that didn't mean she had decided her stance on all politics. She was a thinker and that was why she supported a bipartisan government structure, the more thinkers and debaters, the stronger policies should ideally be.

"She was in the Daughters of the American Revolution," Logan said, challenging his mother with that information.

"I still am," Rory reminded him. She looked to him and held his hand for support.

"I'm just saying that you should have more support, you should have strong and capable grandparents for your child who will be able to offer them the best." Logan rolled his eyes, Christopher had already offered them money and help but Logan wanted to do things himself and most importantly with money which he had earned himself. "I mean, what kind of life has Rory lived so far, explain to me why you feel that they give more support than us."

"You know that our family is more stable with a concentration of wealth," Mitchum added and Logan laughed bitterly.

"You're looking for an example of their support?" he asked and his parents both nodded. Logan made sure to keep his voice at a tone that others in the restaurant wouldn't be able to hear. "Look at the glasses in front of you," he said as his parents looked confused. "Think of the only two people who had wine at this meal."

"They probably don't drink," Mitchum said as he gestured to Lorelei and Christopher. Lorelei shook her head and sighed whilst Christopher turned towards his daughter with a smile.

"The reason they are not drinking tonight, the reason that I'm not drinking tonight is in solidarity. We are doing everything we can to keep the baby healthy before they are born. No caffeine, no alcohol. Rory can't drink wine and so I don't drink wine, beer, or anything else. I'm a supporter of this pregnancy because it's my son or daughter in there."

"Son," Mitchum said and Lorelei laughed.

"I was hoping for more of another Gilmore girl," she told him and Logan laughed. Honestly, to him it didn't matter what gender the baby was or if they were born as one gender but then later in life they decided that they fit with the other gender. He just wanted his baby to be healthy and to feel happy and loved and safe.

32.2

As they sat in the doctor's office, Rory looked back at Logan as she sat there with only a gown on. They were supposed to find out the sex of the baby today and both had said that they wanted to know. They would also be able to take home a sonogram and Rory suspected Logan was going to ask for a copy to put in his home office.

Logan had officially moved back to the US a couple of days ago so Rory had made the earliest appointment with the doctor she could. School was going to be starting in a couple of weeks and she was nervous what being pregnant at one of the top Ivy League schools actually meant and how people would treat her.

"You shouldn't worry, Ace," Logan told her as he massaged her shoulders. "You're tough, you've endured a lot, and we're going to be together for the rest of this."

Rory smiled as she heard that and then looked up at him. "I really think that it should be a girl," she told him.

Logan laughed. He couldn't think of much more that would be as beautiful as a little girl just like her mother. He saw the doctor come in and took a seat next to Rory, still holding her hand which now had her engagement ring on it. He smiled as he saw the monitor show what was going on inside of Rory and froze as he saw the little baby there.

"That's ours," he said as he kissed Rory's hand excitedly. He pointed to the screen to where the unborn baby was and Rory nodded. She loved having him here by her side but most of all, she loved his excitement about becoming a father.

"Do you want to know the sex?" the doctor asked and they nodded, "Well if you look right here," she said and Logan stared at the baby…boy. He laughed. That was his son. He didn't want to become like the father that he had but he was going to have a little boy, someone who he could inspire hopefully.

"Ace," he said as he saw her sitting there with her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. He stood up and embraced her. He knew that both she and her mother were hopeful for a baby girl, another 'Gilmore girl' despite them being a Huntzberger. "Ace."

"He's really cute," Rory said and Logan smiled with relief. "I hope that I can still take care of him even as a boy."

"It doesn't really make a difference with babies if they are boys or girls, in fact, sometimes a baby boy can be easier for some mothers to take care of," the doctor said and Logan continued to hold her in his arms.

"Do you still want to call your mother when we get home?" he asked her and Rory nodded.

She hoped that her mother wouldn't really be disappointed that their child was going to be a little boy. Her mother had been excited when Suki had had Davey and he had been a boy. Plus, boys could still do all the things that girls did and she wanted to support his choices. She nodded. The next thing to do would be to call her parents and inform them. Yes, the Huntzbergers would be relieved and her dad would have been excited no matter what but Rory worried about her mother's reaction.

Would she love her future grandson as much as she would have loved her future granddaughter?

End of Chapter Thirty Two

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