Another oneshot! This is from Charlotte's POV, set right after Annie is born. Hope you enjoy!
Charlotte decides little sisters are severely overrated. Annie has been home for a week and aside from crying, does nothing but sleep. She sleeps, cries and needs her diaper changed and everyone acts like she's done something incredible just by lying there. They're calling her smart! Did they call Charlotte smart when she recited The Jabberwocky poem? No! They just told her not to wake her sister!
They are settling down for dinner. Rory is feeding Annie as they sit down, giving her older children an absent smile. It looked weird the first time Charlotte saw her mother feed her sister, but she's used to it now. It's how I fed you, her mother had told her. And your brother. Annie lifts her head and Rory uses her spare hand to awkwardly button her shirt until Jess goes over, lifting his younger daughter up and winding her.
"There we go," he says, kissing her cheek. "There's my smart girl."
Charlotte takes a grumpy gulp from her glass. Until Annie came home, she was her father's smart girl. She was the only girl, period, and is annoyed as Jess smiles at her and says, "How's my big girl?"
"Okay," Charlotte shrugs. She doesn't like this amendment, being the big girl, but hasn't said so and no one has asked. Her parents had teased her a little over when Richie was born and Charlotte had demanded that he be taken back, and remarked that she must be thrilled to have a sister this time around. You're my big girl, Jess had said. Not going to smash a bowl this time, right? Charlotte had smiled but has secretly harboured a desire to do so since her sister's first morning home. Not that anyone cares what she thinks. It was bad enough that Annie was born the day after Charlotte's birthday and nothing has improved since. Richie doesn't seem to mind that he has a new sibling. He's only five but when Charlotte asked if he got mad at Annie crying all night he'd just said she was okay. He likes to drop toys in Annie's bassinet, despite the fact that she can't even sit up yet. Jess and Rory keep lifting them out again, saying she's too small, but Richie isn't deterred. Charlotte seems to be alone in her uneasiness.
Jess piles food onto Charlotte's and Richie's plates, letting out a loud yawn. He was up most of last night and had to go to work today.
"Practically fell asleep on the boxes," he chuckles. "How was school?"
"Okay," Charlotte says and Jess grins.
"Anything to add to that?" he asks but they are interrupted by Richie delving into a long ramble about his morning at Kindergarten and painting butterflies. It's punctuated with a lot of pauses and Richie requesting a butterfly as a pet, but Charlotte doesn't get frustrated. She doesn't feel too much like talking. Rory gets up to put Annie down and no sooner has she returned Annie starts crying.
"Oh boy," Rory says, voice thick with exhaustion. "Or girl, even. I bet she needs a new diaper."
"On it," Jess says. He gets up and Rory rests her head in her hand.
"Hey guys," she says sleepily. "Did you have a fun day?"
"Mommy, can we have fun this weekend?" Charlotte asks just as Richie starts his butterfly story again. Rory nods, not indicating to whom, her eyes fluttering shut. Charlotte waits but then sees that her mother has fallen asleep. She stares, disappointed, and then Jess comes back in.
"Finish your food before it gets cold," he says, nodding at their plates. Neglecting his own, he sits by Rory, softly touching her hair. Rory wakes up, emitting a sound of surprise, and says sheepishly, "I fell asleep?"
"Out for the count."
Rory picks up her fork and finishes the rest of her food before yawning loudly.
"I think I'll go lie down."
Jess waits for Charlotte and Richie to finish their dinner, asking Charlotte if she has any homework.
"I did it before dinner," Charlotte says truthfully and he nods. Usually he'd add smart girl but today Jess picks up their plates and says they can watch television for a little while before going to bed.
"What about dessert?" Richie asks after Jess doesn't come back. "Charlotte! Daddy forgot dessert!"
"Get used to it," Charlotte tells him. Richie bites his lower lip but cheers up once Charlotte puts on a cartoon for him. Charlotte watches with him for a little while before wandering upstairs. She peeks around her parents' bedroom door to see them stretched out on the bed, fast asleep, along with Annie in her bassinet. She stirs, opening her blue eyes and stares at her sister. She has a locket to match Charlotte's but inside is a picture of Jess. Charlotte's holds pictures of Rory and Lorelai instead and she liked it until she saw her sister's. Charlotte makes a face at her and Annie starts crying, breaking their parents' slumber. Charlotte makes a guilty retreat, as though her sister is old enough to tattle.
At school the next day the teacher announces a show for the end of summer. Every student will recite or sing something to round off the year.
"I hope all your parents can come," the teacher says and Charlotte bounces a little in her seat. She wants Rory to be there, hopefully minus Annie. Then maybe they can get a sundae, like they used to before Rory got too pregnant to do anything.
The class gets ready for recess and Ivy, Charlotte's best friend, asks, "What are you going to do for the show?"
"I don't know yet," Charlotte says, though an idea is forming in her mind. "What about you?"
"I don't know," Ivy echoes. "I'm kind of nervous about going onstage."
The girls get up to join the crowd forming at the door and Ivy asks, "Are you still coming over after school?"
"Sure."
"It's too bad I can't go to your place," Ivy says wistfully. "I want to play with Annie."
"She's totally boring."
"She's cute!"
"No, boring," Charlotte says firmly. She's glad Ivy isn't coming to her place - it's bad enough when all the adults come and coo at Annie.
"I wish I had a baby sister."
"She's too little to do anything."
Ivy's mom picks them up after school, instantly asking Charlotte all about her sister. The questions last all the way to Ivy's house, and upon arrival the girls scarf down the snack out for them and run upstairs to play. Charlotte begins to cheer up a little, pawing through Ivy's dressing up box. Not having to play quietly is already brightening her mood. After dressing up as queens, having a raging battle followed by dinner and dessert, Charlotte is beaming by the time she has to go. Ivy's mom opens the door and gasps, "Oh, you brought the baby!"
Charlotte's mood instantly drops as she sees her father holding Annie.
"Yeah," he tells Ivy's mother. "She wasn't settling and I figured a car ride might do the trick. Seemed to work."
Charlotte starts throwing things into her bookbag. She'd lingered over getting ready to go, having had such a good afternoon, but now she's ready to leave. Ivy is at her mother's side, jumping up and down in eagerness, and Ivy's mom is allowed to briefly hold Annie. It's just like when everyone goes to their house.
"Daddy," Charlotte says but Jess doesn't look up. "I'm ready." After nobody acknowledges this Charlotte goes to the bathroom and, to her disappointment, Jess and Ivy's mother are still discussing Annie when she gets back.
"She's beautiful," Ivy's mom says fondly and Jess grins.
"No argument."
"You must be so happy, having a girl," Ivy's mom adds and Jess smiles.
"Well, I already have one. But it's amazing having another."
"Oh, I know - but your own girl," Ivy's mother says, dropping her voice. Jess gives a non-committal cough and then Annie starts crying, to Charlotte's relief.
"We'd better go," Jess says briskly, looking up to see his daughter by the bathroom door. "Charlotte, you ready?"
"Yes, Daddy."
Annie cries all the way back to the car but settles once they're in motion. Jess glances back to where Charlotte is buckled up and asks, "Did you have a good time?"
"Yes," Charlotte says. Her bubbling happiness has burst to a wisp. "It was fun."
"Good. I'm glad."
Once the car is parked Annie starts howling again. Jess lifts her out of the carseat, a tired expression on his face, and once the front door is open asks Charlotte, "Can you be a big girl and start getting ready for bed?"
"Okay."
Charlotte waits for him to give her a kiss but he takes Annie straight into the kitchen, kissing her cheeks instead.
"There's my girl," Charlotte hears Jess say to her. "Here we go. Daddy's here."
Charlotte deliberately stamps upstairs and slams the door but no one tells her off. She is mad all over. In the corner of her bedrooms sits a bright pink dressing table. Charlotte hates it but it was a birthday present from Logan, in London, and Logan is her sort-of other father. He is her father but Jess is her dad. That's what Rory said. Charlotte sees Logan a few times a year and talks to him on the phone maybe once a month. He just sends her stuff which her mother says is too expensive. Charlotte usually doesn't think too much about it but now it makes her mad. Annie is Jess's real girl. They said Annie was a surprise, just like she was, but Charlotte knows it's different. She picks up the stupid unicorn hairbrush which came with the dresser and hurls it against the wall. It makes a loud sound and Charlotte waits for one of her parents to come and tell her off. Neither of them do. Charlotte waits and waits but no one comes, to tell her off or to tell her goodnight, and finally Charlotte switches off the light and crawls into bed. She normally gets a bedtime story from one of her parent but tonight neither remember.
After school the next day Charlotte tells Rory all about the show.
"I'm going to recite a poem," she says proudly and Rory nods absently.
"That's great, sweets. Have you chosen one?"
"The Jabberwocky."
"That's sort of long," Rory says, looking up. "I bet there's a shorter one you could recite."
"No! I want to do that one!"
"Okay, okay. Just ask your teacher if she's good with it."
Charlotte nods and says, "You'll come see me, right, Mommy?"
"I'll try," Rory says after a short pause and Charlotte pouts.
"I want you to come."
"I'll try my best," Rory says, giving her a kiss. "I promise."
Charlotte spends the weekend at Lorelai's house. They arrived late on Friday night, going almost straight to sleep, but after a large breakfast and walk to the diner and back it feels like a real visit. Charlotte and Lorelai are alone in the house, which feels strange and special. Everyone is still admiring Annie at Luke's, and Richie was busy playing with some neighbourhood kids outside, so Lorelai and Charlotte walked back alone. They've been practising the poem and Lorelai lets out a contented sigh.
"Word perfect. You'll knock it out of the park, kiddo."
"Is that good?" Charlotte asks and her grandmother laughs loudly, pulling Charlotte onto her lap and giving her a kiss.
"It means you'll do great. You're a Gilmore, of course you will. You know, when I was a kid, I used to recite that poem at my parents' dinner parties. I was always nervous I'd miss a line."
She runs her hands through Charlotte's hair and Charlotte leans into Lorelai's arms, enjoying the rare quiet. Her grandmother looks at her and her smile is a little teary.
"What's wrong?" Charlotte asks, alarmed and Lorelai shakes her head.
"Nothing...you just look so much like your mom. I could swear I was looking at Rory again."
Charlotte smiles and Lorelai lifts her onto the couch, getting up and finding a picture. The girl in the frame looks an awful lot like Charlotte.
"There's Rory," Lorelai says. "She could be your twin. It doesn't even feel so long ago that she was your age."
That seems impossible to Charlotte. It feels like forever ago that she was in Kindergarten, when she was five, and her mom was her age more than thirty years ago. That number might as well be a hundred to Charlotte. She nestles back into Lorelai's arm and says, "I want Mommy to come to the show."
"Have you asked her?"
"She promised to try."
"Hon, she's very busy," Lorelai says gently. "She's looking after your little sister. Annie's brand new!"
Charlotte stiffens slightly and Lorelai asks softly, "Do you like having a sister around?"
Charlotte shrugs and Lorelai says, "She'll be more fun when she's older. Well, I don't have a sister but that's what I hear. Anyway, a new girl in the family is pretty great, right? We always need more girls."
Lorelai's voice is light but Charlotte feels gloomy all over again. Of course they wanted another girl.
"Nana, I was a surprise, right?"
"Yes," Lorelai says, sounding confused at the change of subject. "You were."
"Was Mommy happy?"
"You were the best surprise," Lorelai says. "Your mommy was so happy when you were born."
Charlotte nods but she holds back her other questions; if she was such a good surprise why does her other father live away from her? Was Rory happy when she knew she'd have a baby? Instead, she looks back down at the photo of her mother, silently wondering how the girl in it became a grown-up. The door opens, shattering the peace, and Lorelai runs over to Rory, who is carrying Annie. Jess helps Richie take off his sneakers and then goes to sit by Charlotte.
"How's the show prep going?"
"Good," Charlotte says. "Nana said I'm going to knock it out the park."
That makes Jess laugh. He ruffles Charlotte's hair and says, "That's my big girl."
Before Charlotte can say anything else Rory goes over to them and Jess grins at the baby.
"And there's my little girl," he says, kissing the top of Annie's head. "How's she doing?"
"Fine, but I think she's tired from all the attention."
"I'll go put her down," Jess says, taking Annie from Rory's arms. "There we go."
Lorelai comes back over with a cup of coffee for her and Rory and grins at Jess who is singing some Bowie under his breath.
"I never thought I'd see Jess dote like that. Until he had kids I didn't think it was possible."
"He's so in love with her," Rory says, taking a cup. "When Annie's asleep he just wants to sit by her bassinet to make sure she's okay."
"Well, she is his little girl."
Silently, Charlotte gets up to get a glass of water. She wonders if her father ever sat like that with her.
On Sunday Jess takes Richie and Charlotte to the icecream parlour. After tolerating some talk from Taylor Jess gets three sundaes, letting out a loud groan as Taylor disappears into the back.
"What is it, Daddy?"
"Nothing...just have the incredible urge to draw a chalk outline outside."
"Huh?"
"Forget it. Hey, eat your icecream before it melts."
Charlotte digs in. She has her own special sundae called the Princess Charlotte, concocted when she was born. Charlotte loves going to Taylor's for this reason - he always calls her royal and gives her free icecream, which is apparently unheard of. The three of them settle in a booth, Jess between Richie and Charlotte. He takes a spoonful of sundae and smiles at them.
"I know it's been a little crazy lately," he says. "How are you finding your sister?"
"She's okay," Richie says cheerfully. "I wish she pooped less though."
Jess laughs loudly, nodding. "I think we all do, bud."
"She's too loud," Charlotte says and Jess laughs again, making her frown.
"Charlotte, she's a baby, and she's actually pretty quiet, considering. Compared to you anyhow. You cried twice as long and loud as Annie!"
"I did?"
"Yup. You were trying out for The Clash," Jess teases but Charlotte doesn't smile. So she was a worse baby too. Suddenly, she doesn't want the rest of her icecream, but eats small spoonfuls all the same, watching the vanilla and chocolate melt into each other. Richie is slurping his down and says, "Daddy, we can go play in the park?"
There's no answer. Charlotte and Richie look up to see Jess has fallen fast asleep on the table, snoring slightly. His children giggle, piling packets of sugar on top of his head, until Luke comes in from next door. He raises his eyebrows at his grandchildren but smiles as he asks, "What's going on here?"
"Daddy fell asleep!" Richie shouts and Luke nods.
"So I see. What's all this?" Luke asks, gesturing at the sugar packets, and Charlotte says, "A prank."
"Uh huh. You're certainly Jess's children."
Richie grins but Charlotte feels a tightness in her chest, thinking of Annie being Jess's girl. She plays with her straw and Luke nudges her elbow. "Loosen up on the pranks, okay? He's pretty tired. I'm going to wake your dad."
Charlotte gets up so her grandfather can sit down beside Jess. She watches as Luke gently touches his nephew's arm. Jess sits up, blinking, sending the sugar packets flying, but Charlotte doesn't laugh. She feels a little bad.
"Hey," Luke says. "You were taking a nap."
"Jeez," Jess groans. "Was I out for long?"
"I don't think so. Jess, why don't you go back to Lorelai's and take a real one? I'll watch these two."
"You good with that?" Jess asks Charlotte and Richie. Charlotte nods, although a knot of sadness is forming in her stomach. She was excited to spend the afternoon with her father. They go next door to the diner where Luke makes them each a cheeseburger and entertains them with stories of pranks Jess did as a teenager.
"Daddy did that?" Richie asks, mouth hanging open and Luke nods.
"Pushed him in a lake once. If you two get like that as teenagers I say it's karma."
"What's karma?" Charlotte asks and Luke says, "Stuff happening to you which you did to other people, pretty much. And I'd say I got some karma with Jess."
Charlotte and Richie beg Luke to tell them what pranks he pulled, and their grandfather entertains them with a couple of stories before some customers come in. Charlotte turns the word over in her mind. Karma. She's not sure if she likes it.
The following Friday is the show. Rory comes in to kiss Charlotte goodnight on Thursday and, after finishing a chapter of her bedtime story, Charlotte reminds her, "Mommy, tomorrow's the show."
"I know, sweets."
"You're going to come, right?"
"I'll try my best."
"Please," Charlotte begs and Rory smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear.
"I promise. You want to run through the poem one more time?"
Charlotte easily recites it and Rory says proudly, "You've got it. You're going to be perfect. Goodnight, angel."
Charlotte returns her kiss, snuggling down under the covers as her mother switches out the light. In the morning she anxiously watches the clock, earning a comment from the teacher to focus on her work. The show is at lunchtime. After some hasty sandwiches the children are taken to the gym, where they gather on the small stage. Charlotte is wearing her smartest blue dress and there is a blue ribbon in her hair. She has to severely resist the urge to pull it. The teacher quietly reminds them of the schedule and the order they're in, and makes them promise not to peek through the stage curtain. Charlotte is third up. She tenses as the teacher announces, "Next up we have Charlotte Gilmore reading The Jabberwocky from Alice in Wonderland."
Charlotte hears the applause before she walks onto the stage. Eagerly she scans the small crowd and then her heart drops. Lorelai and Jess are smiling at her but her mother is nowhere to be seen. Charlotte stares, speechless, until the teacher gently prompts her. Charlotte blinks, takes a deep breath and starts, "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves..."
Her breath hitches on the next line. Lorelai tries to mouth them to her and Charlotte starts to get them but can't help hesitating. Jess is smiling at her and Charlotte wants to get it right, wants him to tell her how smart she is. She had it last night but now she can't remember any of the poem. The blue of the ribbon is the corner of Charlotte's eye and nervously she begins to tug it at it until suddenly it's loose in her hand. Charlotte hears a giggle from the back of the room and, to her horror, can feel herself begin to cry. Turning on her heel and dropping the ribbon, Charlotte runs off the stage, ignoring her father and grandmother starting to get up in concern, past the teacher and out to the back of the building where she sobs and sobs into her arms. Charlotte cries until there's a hand on her shoulder and her father saying, "Hey. It's okay."
"Go away," Charlotte cries. "I want Mommy."
"I won't take that personally," Jess says. "Come on. Nana's waiting."
"I don't care," Charlotte sobs. "Leave me alone."
"Charlotte."
"No!"
Charlotte hears her father sigh and reluctantly she looks up to see him beside her and her grandmother standing nearby. Lorelai comes closer and says gently, "It was just a dumb school show. You know how many times I missed a line at those dinner parties? A lot!"
Charlotte can't stop crying. "I don't want you. I want Mommy."
"Your grandmother drove all the way here to see your show," Jess says angrily. "I know you're upset but you're making her feel bad. Say you're sorry."
"I don't want to!"
"Jess, it's okay," Lorelai says but Jess shakes his head.
"No, it's not. You came all the way here. Charlotte, your mother is going to be very disappointed with what you said to your grandmother."
Charlotte cries all the way to the car. Disappointed. She bets her parents were always disappointed with her until getting their real daughter. Lorelai hugs her, telling her she understands and she isn't mad but Charlotte can't talk. Angrily, she climbs in the back of the car and when they get home Jess puts his hands on Charlotte's shoulders.
"Look at me. I know you're mad about your show, but you can't take it out on your grandmother. You don't always get what you want."
"It's not fair," Charlotte sobs and, pushing past her father she runs into the house and almost directly into Rory who's walking around the hall with Annie in her arms.
"What is it?" Rory asks, alarmed. "What happened?"
"You promised!" Charlotte howls. "You promised you'd come!"
"I promised I'd try," Rory says, bending down to look at her. "Annie was up all morning and I couldn't get her to eat or sleep. She's only just got to sleep now. I'm sorry."
"I hate you!" Charlotte shouts, making her sister burst into tears. "And I hate her too!"
"Charlotte!"
Charlotte runs into her room, slamming the door and catches sight of herself in the mirror. Her dress has a patch of mud on it and there's a smear of dirt on her cheek from where she wiped her hand. Her hair is hanging over her face, free from its ribbon. She looks wild, cheeks red with fury. She picks up the music box Logan gave her once and flings it at the wall along with every piece of jewellery she knows came from him. Picking up the unicorn hairbrush, she starts slamming it on the pink dresser, drowning out the cries of her sister outside until suddenly her door flings open.
"Charlotte Lorelai Gilmore! Stop that right now!"
"No!"
Jess marches over, takes the hairbrush from her and says, "Sit down!"
The tone in his voice stops her and Charlotte sits on the bed. Jess takes a deep breath and says, "You're mad. That's okay, but it's not okay to throw a tantrum and act younger than your month-old sister. If you're mad, you talk about it. You don't throw things and tell people you hate them."
Charlotte folds her arms, unwilling to make up and Jess says more gently, "You're my big girl. Act like it."
Charlotte feels even more upset than before. Her eyes are starting to brim when she hears her mother say, "Can I come in?"
Rory walks in, looking upset. Annie is still crying a little but Rory gives her to Jess, who gently takes her and leaves Rory and Charlotte alone, softly closing the door. Rory asks, "Can I talk to you?" and Charlotte nods. Her mother comes and sits on the bed with her.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"You promised."
"I promised to try," Rory corrects, looking into her daughter's eyes. "And I did try, Charlotte. But Annie needed me."
"It isn't fair!"
"Annie's still so tiny," Rory says gently. "She needs me there right now. Do you remember with Richie? It was like that with him, it was like that with you. It's not forever."
"I needed you there," Charlotte says and then big tears are falling down her cheeks. "I messed up the poem!"
Rory is exclaiming and then Charlotte is crying in her lap. None of it fair. It's not fair being the oldest, it's not fair having another father and it's not fair that she has a little sister she didn't ask for. Charlotte doesn't tell her mother this. She simply cries her heart out and Rory says, "I wanted to come. I almost brought Annie but I was afraid she'd cry, and then she finally got to sleep. I asked Mom to come for me instead."
"I wanted you," Charlotte says tearfully and Rory runs a hand through her hair.
"Do the poem for me now," she offers. "I'm right here."
Charlotte wipes her cheeks and goes to the middle of the room. Taking a wobbly breath she recites the poem, word-perfect. Rory applauds and then gives her a hug but it's not the same. They both know it. Still, Charlotte climbs back onto the bed and says, "I don't hate you, Mommy. Or Annie"
"I know you don't," Rory says gently. "You were just mad."
Charlotte sniffles. She guesses she loves her sister - she was excited when Annie held her hand in the hospital - but she's not crazy about her yet. Charlotte wishes everyone would stop saying how great she is. She wants to tell Rory but doesn't know how to.
"You want to hang out here a little longer?" Rory asks her. "Or how about some hot cocoa? I bet Mom would like some."
Lorelai is reading a magazine in the kitchen but she puts it down as Charlotte comes in.
"I'm sorry," Charlotte says sheepishly. "It was nice of you to come."
"Oh, it's okay," Lorelai says, giving her a hug. "I know what it's like to get mad. Here, I picked up your ribbon."
She hands it to Charlotte who tucks it in her pocket. Rory mentions the hot chocolate but they are out of milk. Lorelai picks her purse, saying it's on her, and heads out to the store. The house is suddenly quiet. Richie is at a friend's house and Jess comes back into the kitchen, Annie wailing in his arms.
"Speaking of milk, I think she's hungry," he tells Rory who sighs and takes her daughter into the living room. Charlotte and Jess look at each other and finally Charlotte says, "I'm sorry, Daddy."
"I know," Jess says gently and when Charlotte puts her arms around him he lifts her up, like she's little again and kisses her cheek. "But thank you for telling me."
Charlotte hugs him tightly and smiles when he says, "There's my girl."
Depositing Charlotte on the stool by the counter, Jess leans against it and says, "Did you know I threw up on stage once?"
"What?"
"Nasty, right? I was supposed to a sheep in a play of - damn, I don't remember. All I remember is that I had one line, baa, and I was so scared I lost my lunch. Pretty gross, huh?"
"Was your mommy there?"
"No," Jess says. He sounds sad and shakes his head when Charlotte asks if his dad had come.
"I didn't have one," he says. Charlotte bites her lip but Jess smiles, saying it's okay. Charlotte is sorry no one was there for his play.
"I wish I hadn't messed up my poem," Charlotte says in a small voice. "I wish Mommy had come."
"There'll be other plays," Jess says gently. "And your mom can come to some. It's okay."
Charlotte nods and Jess picks up a deck of cards resting on the counter. Flicking through, he asks, "Want to see something cool?"
He hands Charlotte a card without looking at it and then picks out the exact same one. Charlotte stares, eyes wide, and asks, "How'd you do that?"
"Magic. I learned when I wasn't much older than you. I can teach you."
"You can?"
"Absolutely. And then you can teach Richie and Annie, when they're older."
"You wouldn't teach them?"
"It's cooler coming from their big sister. They'll want to learn from you, not their dad."
Charlotte considers this and Jess adds, "You're going to learn everything first. That's kind of cool, right? Plus now you have a sister. You can teach her girl stuff."
"What's girl stuff?"
"I don't know, I'm not a girl," Jess says and Charlotte laughs. She laughs until Jess looks kind of embarrassed and he said, "You just don't seem that thrilled to have her here. You said you hated her."
Charlotte shrugs and says, "I don't really hate her. It's just...she's always here."
"She's a baby," Jess says. "Just like you were, even though it's crazy to think that was eight whole years ago. I sang lullabies to you until my throat went numb and sat up all night with you too. But I didn't mind - I was getting to know my girl. And I felt like I knew you already."
"Was I..."
"What?" Jess asks and Charlotte looks down. She wants to ask if she was a happy surprise but settles on, "Were you happy when I was born?"
"Charlotte," Jess says, taking her hand. "I was the happiest I've ever been in my life. It was the day I became your dad."
Charlotte smiles at that and nods when Jess asks if she wants to see another card trick. Maybe he didn't need another daughter. Maybe she was always his after all. Jess teaches Charlotte a trick and when she's able to replicate it, proudly says, "Smart girl." Charlotte beams. Messing up the poem doesn't seem to matter now.
That night, Rory tucks Charlotte into bed with a story and goodnight kiss. Her mother is about to turn off the light when Charlotte asks, "Is it going to be fun having a sister?"
"I might not be the best person to ask," Rory says honestly, sitting back down on the bed. "Seeing as how I didn't get a little sister until I was eighteen. But I think it can be a lot of fun. I was always sad I wasn't closer to Gigi."
"Dad said I can teach Annie girl stuff," Charlotte says and, just like she did, Rory bursts into laughter. Once she's stopped she says, "I guess that's true."
"Like what?"
"Like...you can help teach Annie be a Gilmore. She's part of a long line of us women, and there's a lot of rules." Rory sounds serious and Charlotte asks solemnly, "Like what?"
"No running with scissors. No pageboy haircuts. Never have lunch alone with Emily."
"What?"
"Forget the last one," Rory says guiltily. She stretches out on the bed with Charlotte and says, "You can teach her all sorts of things. School, coffee, family dinner fights, movie night rules...maybe you can help her get ready for a date when she's a teenager. Although that's sort of far off. Maybe forget that one for now too."
"I can teach her how to make a necklace out of gum wrappers," Charlotte says and Rory laughs, nodding.
"Good one." She runs her fingers through her daughter's hair and says, "Charlotte, you just have to be there for Annie, like you are with Richie. I know you will be."
"I don't know if I like Annie," Charlotte confesses in a small voice and Rory squeezes her hand.
"It's okay not to like her all the time. It's a big change, I know. Sort of scary."
It helps to hear her mother say it. Charlotte lies silently with Rory for a moment and then asks, "Was it scary when I was born?"
"A little," Rory says. "But I was so happy, Charlotte. I had my girl."
"Were you happy Annie was a girl?"
"Of course," Rory says. "Because I knew how awesome it was to have a daughter already."
Charlotte smiles and nods when her mother says it's time for sleep. She twists the chain of her locket, thinking of the pictures of her mother and grandmother inside. There are a long line of Gilmore women and Charlotte's proud to be part of it. She belongs.