Authors Note: I wanted to thank everyone for reviewing. I really loved reading through them. And for those of you who are wondering: Yeah, it's a baby/pregnant fic, but I am hoping to take it somewhere else besides that. The babyportion is just to let them (and everyone surrounding them)explore another angle of their emotions. Thanks!

Chapter 2 – Some Friends!

She arrived back at the apartment that she was again sharing with Paris and Doyle and dropped her bag of clean laundry on the floor before letting herself plummet down on the couch. She decided that she couldn't move. Not even if she really, really, really wanted to, although she really, really didn't. The throbbing in her head hadn't ceased since she got back from Philadelphia.

Lorelai had waited up for her, worried over what had happened or could happen between Jess and Rory and wanted to be there in case she wanted to talk. She knew she was vulnerable and didn't want Rory to make a bigger mess of her emotions until she dealt with what had happened with Logan.

When she had walked into the house the night before she had started to walk straight for her room before Lorelai stopped her in the foyer. She asked her how it went and Rory just answered that it was fine, but that she was tired from the drive. She had answered her curtly and mentally kicked herself for it.

"I'm sorry mom, it's just that it was a long drive and I have a really bad headache. Can we talk tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah, sure. But you're starting to worry me, kid."

"I'm okay, mom. I'm just tired from the drive. I'll feel better tomorrow."

"You're not hiding something from me, are you?"

"Of course not. What would I be hiding?"

"Okay, you want me to get you some aspirin?"

"Sure. No, wait. You know what? I think I'll just sleep it off."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. See you in the morning."

Well the morning came but her headache hadn't left her. She didn't mention it to Lorelai though. She had thought of taking something for it but decided against it. She told her mom how well the opening had gone for Jess and his friends and how he mentioned that Luke had asked him to be best man. She was happy that her friend was finally doing well. They planned to meet mid afternoon on Friday at the Gilmore's. The three of them were supposed to go for the first fitting of their dresses, and were meant to come back just in time for dinner. She kissed her mom goodbye and left for school.

She took advantage of the fact that she was alone and took a nap on the couch. When she woke up she took a shower and got ready for class followed by a full day at the paper. She and Paris were also supposed to go out and have dinner tonight. She hoped her headache would be clear by then, otherwise they'd have to do it on a different night.

Rory walked into the newsroom after class and it was obvious the group was having a meeting without her. They all jumped when they heard her voice.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?"

The rest of them hesitated before Paris spoke up.

"Rory, have a seat. We have a proposition for you."

"Well, as long as it's not indecent," she tried to joke. She pulled a chair to sit on, but having everyone's eyes on her was making her a tad bit to uncomfortable. She wondered if the shirt she was wearing was too tight and immediately made sure she sat up right and sucked her stomach in.

"Rory, over the past few weeks the board has noticed that things in this newsroom have changed. With the exception of today, you're generally here before anyone and are the last to leave. There have been a few occasions that Doyle and I have noticed that you don't come home at all."

"Paris…"

"We know that you have almost doubled your work load in order to make up for last semester, and now we think…"

"My academic work load had never affected my performance as editor-in-chief. I have dedicated more hours to the paper than I have to my personal life…"

"Well that's the thing Rory," Sheila spoke up. "You've turned the newspaper into your personal life and we're worried about you."

"I don't get it. I still don't feel that my personal life or lack thereof has affected in any way my work on the paper."

"Rory, the board feels that you might need to take a little break. Give you time to mentally whined down…"

"What!"

"It's only temporary…"

"How temporary? Temporary how? We are already approaching the end of the year!"

"Our point exactly," chimed in Doyle. "Now, you don't have to worry about who's going to run the paper. I will be happy to temp for you as guest-editor-in-chief."

"You're starting to look sick Rory. You don't need that…" started Paris.

"You! You are trying to get back at me taking the editorship from you, aren't you?"

"Rory…"

"I am not looking sick!"

"It's only for a week, Rory. Think of it as paid vacation. You can come back Monday feeling fresh and rested." Doyle grabbed the back of Rory's chair and gingerly pushed her in it towards the door.

"Vacation! I don't need a vacation!"

"Rory, we're your friends, and we're just trying to do what's best for you!" said Paris.

And with that she was out of the newsroom, the door soundly closed behind her.

"Friends? Some Friends!" There was a guy passing by that saw her sitting in the chair outside. "What are you looking at? Keep walking!"

In her righteous indignation, she dialed her mother's cell phone number on her way home.

"They kicked me out! Paris and Doyle and the board kicked me out!"

"Kicked you out? Kicked you out of where?"

"The paper! They actually rolled me out the door while I was still sitting in my chair and closed the door behind me!"

"But why would they do that? You're a great editor. What brought this on?"

"'You're looking tired, Rory. You never leave the newsroom, Rory. You need a life outside of the paper, Rory. We're your friends, Rory!'" She was totally freaking out.

"Rory…"

"'Who needs the headache, Rory, when finals are so close by. And with all your extra work load?'"

"Hun, you are starting to, um, freak me out here. Can you stop referring to yourself as…"

"'Think about it as a paid vacation, Rory. Next week you'll feel so refreshed!'"

"Wait, so it's only for a week?"

"A week! A whole, entire, week!"

"A week is a week, kid. The paper's not going to disappear in a week. It'll give you time to finally take care of yourself and rest a little."

"I'm not tired, mom. Do I look that tired?"

"Sweetheart, you feel asleep on me halfway through our conversation this morning. And last night you were all snippy and in a crappy mood because you were tired."

"No, that was because I had a headache."

"No, you had that headache because you were tired. Tired and overstressed."

"Some help you are. You probably put them up to this."

"Hun, honestly, I think that they're seeing what I'm seeing, and are just making sure they give you the time to deal with anything that you might need to deal with that you otherwise might not give yourself the time to do because you've been so busy with the newspaper."

"I already know where this conversation is quickly heading to. I'll talk to you later."

She locked the door to the apartment and walked into her room dejectedly. She dropped her book bag next to her bed and let herself fall over the bed. Her headache was ever so slowly disappearing. Just as she couldn't figure any way for this day to get worse, her cell phone rang. It wasn't a phone number she recognized, but it wasn't private either. She decided to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hello Miss Gilmore. This is Diane from the Yale Medical Group. I'm just calling to remind you of your appointment at three o'clock this afternoon?"

"Appointment? I haven't made an appointment."

"Your assistant Paris called early this morning and scheduled it for you. She told me to just give you a reminder phone call an hour before your appointment. Also, remember to bring your insurance card and a list of current medications you are taking. We'll see you at three."

'Well then, I guess I have a doctor's appointment.' It was probably best that she got it over with once and for all. On her way over to her appointment she kept going back and forth over what could be causing her complaints, burring herself into a deeper denial over what was truly happening.

The nurse brought her back and after the official taking note of the weight, blood pressure and peeing in a cup, they ushered her into an examining room and told her to sit tight while the doctor came in.

"Hello Miss Gilmore, I'm Dr. Ravie." He offered her his hand.

"Hi Dr. Ravie. Call me Rory."

"Okay Rory. I understand you've been feeling a little under the weather lately."

"Yeah, it's probably just a virus that's still not out of my system and it's just wrecking havoc in my body."

"The nurse mentioned that you've been feeling very tired lately. Care to expand on that?"

He knew. She was so sure he knew.

"Well, I think the tired thing is because I've been working very long hours and just haven't given myself the time to rest. But I'm off work for the next week, so that should help…"

"It's probably a sign of something else, given that you do have other symptoms…"

"Well, maybe…"

"When was your last period, Rory?"

She looked up at him sheepishly. "I don't really remember…" He met her eyes for a moment, asking her if she was sure. "It's been a little while…" He held the look a little longer. "Maybe a month ago? Maybe two months? It's been a little hectic. I always keep track. I do. It's just that it's been a while, and I haven't felt well, and I've been so tired, all of the time."

"And you think this is a virus you caught?"

"Yes… maybe?"

"Is that all that's crossed your mind?"

"Yes… no," she was finally honest.

"Okay, Rory. Your urine test shows that you are pregnant, and I had a feeling you knew that might be the case. I'm going to send you to the lab to run some more tests, just to make sure there isn't anything else going on. I'm going to refer you to Dr. Roths. She is an excellent OB/GYN. I would suggest you make an appointment as soon as possible so you can find out how far along you are and start your prenatal care. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, I guess that's it. Thank you very much Dr. Ravie." They shook hands once more.

"Good luck to you, Rory."

She walked out towards the check out desk and waited for Dr. Roths information.

"Aw, he's sending you to Dr. Roths. Congratulations!" said the older woman sitting behind the counter.

She didn't know what to respond. It was like, inside she was frozen, but her mouth jumped at an answer before her brain did. "Thanks."

"Here's Dr. Roths information. She's on the second floor. You should probably just go down there and make an appointment now. I'll give them a call right now just to give them a head's up, in case she wants to speak to Dr. Ravie." She handed Rory another paper. "This is for you to take to the lab. You need to do it in the morning, don't eat or drink anything after midnight, and that means no coffee no tea, until after your tests. Got it?"

She was starting to get dizzy with all of the information. She just wanted to get out of there. "Okay, thanks."

She walked out the door and towards the elevator in a daze. She didn't even realize that she had subconsciously pushed the button for the second floor instead of the lobby. Once she figured what she had done she decided to just go along and schedule the appointment. When she reached the desk, an equally perky woman greeted her.

"Hi! You must be Ms. Gilmore. Here are our forms. I'm just going to need to make a copy of your driver's license and insurance card."

"Well, I'm only here to make an appointment for another time."

"Well Dr. Roths spoke to Dr. Ravie and Dr. Roths decided to make the exception and see you today."

'Well okay then, I guess everyone can go on and make my decisions for me from now on!' she thought.

So she was pregnant. Nine weeks, to be exact. Dr. Roths had performed a few test, given her some pamphlets, and handed her a starter kit with a video, a 'What To Expect When You're Expecting' book, a baby on board sign and refrigerator magnet, and some prenatal vitamins. She was told to come back in a week to get the results of her lab work.

She walked into the apartment with ice cream, a cheese cake, a coffee and a hoagie. She ignored Paris and Doyle and walked straight into her room and locked the door. She threw herself face down on the bed and cried into her pillow. What was she going to do now? She had school; she couldn't take another semester off, much less a year. She would never graduate on time. She was trying to catch up as it was. If she took the whole year off she might never return to school.

She didn't even like babies! She wouldn't touch Sookie when she was pregnant, much less look in her direction after she had gone into labor. They were tiny people with abnormally large heads compared to the rest of their body size. And they were smelly and sticky, and covered with jam and other equally disgusting substance that she didn't care to find out what it was. And all they did was eat and poop and sleep, and then cry because they wanted to repeat it again a couple of hours later. She couldn't keep a turtle alive, what was she supposed to do with a baby?

And her grandparents! She was going to make them relive all of the humiliation that they had already gone through twenty one years ago! She had become her grandfather's pride and joy and now she was going to be the cause for the second time in her life for the Gilmore's name being thrown through the dirt. Her grandmother wasn't going to be able to face her friends. They were going to hate her for doing this to them! They were going to blame her mom for not setting the right example!

Her mom. She was afraid of her mother's disappointment more than anything. She, who had sacrificed everything in her life to give Rory the chance for a future she had missed out on. She had thrown her future out the window the minute she turned out pregnant. The one and only thing she wasn't supposed to do, she had gone and done. It was the golden, silent rule. Don't. Get. Pregnant. She had done so well up until now. She was on the fast track for a promising career in journalism. Her dream. She was fulfilling her dreams, her ambitions. She was making them happen right now. There wasn't room for a baby in her dreams. Not right now.

Her cell phone rang and it made her jump back to reality. She sat up and looked at the display. It was Logan! She panicked again and quickly opened and closed the phone, hanging up the call. She hadn't thought about Logan in all of this. There was no place for Logan in all of this. He couldn't remain committed to her, much less a baby. His family would think she did it on purpose to tie him down or to at least get money out of them. It would be a lifelong tie to the person who had most hurt her in the world.

The phone ringing again brought her back out of her thoughts again. She decided she needed to make a pro-con list. She let the call go to voicemail this time as she reached into her book bag and pulled out a notepad. She immediately got o work on the con's list, adding everything that she had thought about already. The list was rapidly growing on one side. She figured she should try to find a few pro's. She racked her brain for a while, but anything she could come up with was immediately canceled out by a con. She put her pen down and looked around her room.

An overwhelming feeling of loneliness came to her. Who could she go to with this? She felt like she had no one to turn to for help. She was too ashamed to admit it to anyone. You could expect a teenager to be dumb enough to fall into this kind of trouble, but not this Rory Gilmore. She was going to be the new social pariah. Everyone was going to be gossiping about her and this was not the thing she wanted them to be gossiping about. Besides, they would want her to talk to Logan about it, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

She took the starter kit Dr. Roths' office had given her and dumped it all in her bed. She read through some of the pamphlets. 'Making a Choice', 'Medical Risks to Abortions', 'Keeping your baby', 'Choosing The Right Provider' and many more. They depressed her more, so she decided to give the book a try. It opened to the table of contents where there were a few copies of a black and white image. She picked them up and tried to make up what they were.

At the top it read Lorelai L Gilmore, F, 21, 9wk. She wasn't sure, but she thought she could make out the shape of a bean. Or maybe it was already looking like a tadpole? Yeah, it could be a tadpole. The sound of the heartbeat started thumping in her head, making her dizzy. She closed her eyes and put her head back. She opened her eyes again and looked up at the ceiling, not bothering to wipe the tears that kept rolling on the sides of her face. She had made up her mind, but it didn't make it any easier on her.