Author's note:
Hello again, my dear readers! :) I know it has been more than a week, but I had some trouble writing this chapter. The thing is that I didn't have it mapped out in my head and that slowed the process a bit. The good new is that I know what I want to write in the next chapter, so I should have it up faster this time. Thank you to all who are following, favoriting and reviewing. I appreciate every single one of you. This is а pretty long chapter. I hope you like it! :)
The next morning, or a few hours later to be more exact, I was woken up by the annoying ringing of my phone. I slightly opened one eye and looked at the clock. Seeing that it was barely after ten, and considering that Logan and I didn't actually fall asleep until around six-thirty, I growled and turned on my side to bury my head into Logan's chest. I felt his arms wrapping tightly around me, just as the phone stopped ringing. I took a deep breath, the scent of Logan's skin invading my senses. I loved the scent of him. He always smelled like home to me. I was kissing the naked skin on his chest when the damn phone started ringing again. Logan sighed and I felt him moving, outstretching his hand to grab the miserable piece of technology that just wouldn't stop ringing. Whoever it was on the phone, he sure was enthusiastic.
'It's your mother.' I heard Logan mumble near my ear. Ugh… I take that back. The person on the phone wasn't enthusiastic. The person on the phone was insane. And because I damn well knew that she wouldn't stop until I picked up, I placed one last kiss onto Logan's neck and reached for the phone in his hand.
'Hello.' Although the rules of civilized society suggested that I should answer with "Good Morning, mom!", or something of the sort, I just simply didn't have enough energy to do it. "Hello" was as far as I could go. She should be happy I didn't answer with an "Hmm".
'You know, I always dreamed for a daughter who is a celebrity.' I heard mom's voice over the phone. I normally understood her antics, hell I full on used them myself, but since I was more or less out of it, I had no idea what she was talking about.
'Mom, what the hell are you talking about?' I asked her.
'You're on Page Six.' At first it didn't really register what she was saying.
'Wait, what?' I asked after a few seconds. My eyes shooting wide open. That couldn't have been right. Maybe I heard it wrong. God knew I wasn't really listening.
'You're on Page Six.' She repeated. Nope, there it was. So, I heard just right. It just didn't make any sense. Why would I be on Page Six? I started to move. I wiggled my way out of Logan's arms, who loudly protested my doing so, and sat up against the head board. It wasn't until I did that, I felt the dizziness. Oh, please God no! I knew that feeling. For the last few days I've become quite acquainted with it, but when I felt fine yesterday I kind of hoped that it was gone for good. I guess I should have known better, because now it was back, and I had that bitter taste in my mouth again. But if I was going to get to the bottom of this Page Six thing, I needed to suck it up. And that is exactly what I did.
'What do you mean I'm on Page Six?' I asked her
'Exactly what it says. I opened my Facebook to get my daily dose of gossip, and as you know well I follow Page Six, and there it was. My daughter, being called the "new woman into the life of the media mogul heir, Logan Huntzburger".'
'Oh, shit.' I managed to mumble. Something in my voice must have alarmed Logan. He opened his eyes to look at me, and I saw a frown quickly forming on his face.
'Ah, I never thought I'd see this day.' Mom sounded… dreamy like. I didn't have time to deal with her right now.
'Mom, I'm going to have to call you back.' I had already put my phone down, about to press the "end call" button, when I heard her threaten me with a "You better". I didn't respond. I just hung up and looked at Logan. I didn't even gave him the time to ask what was going on. 'We're on Page Six.'
'Come again?' I was already pulling up Page Six's official site. He sat up, his back against the headboard next to me, looking over my shoulder.
I found the article pretty quickly. The title read "Huntzburger heir, finding love again!". The cover photo was one of Logan by himself. I had to admit, in my totally biased opinion, it was a good photo. They had pictured him at one of his family company's events, he was wearing a tux and was smiling at the camera. I swear, if I wasn't safely tucked in bed, I would have dropped to the floor at the sight of that smile. I had the power to bring me to my knees.
I opened the article, and I let out a breath of frustration. Just below the title and the photo of Logan, was one of the two of us. It was a shot from last night at Finn's club. We were at the balcony railing, looking down at the stage. Or, I was. I was looking at the band, my hands in the air, and a huge smile on my face. Logan had his hands loosely wrapped around my middle, my back pressing onto his chest. But the thing that got to me, was the way he was looking at me in that picture. The soft smile on his face, the gleaming sparkle in his eyes. That man was whipped, as Finn so kindly put it last night, and everybody who got one look at this photo could see it. I smiled and gently ran my finger over the photo. I scrolled down to the text, and started reading out loud.
"Don't cry, ladies, but there is a new woman into the life of the media mogul heir, Logan Huntzburger. Barely a month after he and his former fiancé Odette de Garmeaux called off their engagement, he was seen in the arms of a new beauty. Or some people might say, not new at all.
Last night, the young Huntzburger was seen in the company of his close friends Colin McCrea, Robert Spencer and Finn Astor, in Astor's swanky club downtown, "RED". Nothing to see here. The boys have been seen in each other's company quite often over the years. They are childhood friends after all.
The interesting part came when Logan Hunzurburger was spotted being very affectionate with a mysterious girl. We did some digging, and we not only found out that they have known each other for years, we learned that she was also his college girlfriend. They dated throughout his last two years in Yale University and for an entire year after he graduated.
The name of the woman in question is Lorelai Gilmore, and it turns out they have a lot in common. They are both from Hartford society families, Ms. Gilmore is the granddaughter of both the Gilmore and the Hayden families. They are both Yale graduates, and they both share a love for journalism.
Lorelai Gilmore, or Rory Gilmore, as she is known among her friends and family, graduated from Yale in 2007 with a degree in journalism. After college she went on to be a reporter on the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign, and has been working as a freelance reporter ever since.
Ms. Gilmore was well in her element among the boys. It sure seemed like she was quite close with Huntzburer's closest friends. It does makes sense. After all they all went to college together. And when you're in a relationship with someone for three years, you naturally become acquainted with his friends too.
We don't know what brought those two college sweethearts back together, but they sure looked awfully cute. And very much in love! If the past ten years are any indicator for those two, it appears it is true what people say: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder". Or was it Thomas Bayly? Either way, we wish them both better luck this time."
I finished reading and just stared at my phone for a moment. I didn't know what to say. Technically, everything that the article said was true. I just wasn't sure how I feel about it. Or to be more clear, about the last paragraph. Was really what Logan and I felt for each other so obvious that even complete strangers, with a very expensive camera lens, could see it. And what did it say about the both of us, and our relationship, that we haven't admitted it to one another yet. I looked at Logan. He had the same thoughtful expression on his face, like the one on mine. Knowing him, I'd bet that he was thinking stuff in the lines of mine. I decided to wait for him to speak first.
'So…' He started after a while has passed. There was something uncomfortable in the silence between us, and I didn't like it. 'That could have gone worse, right?' Logan asked a little unsure, and just that spoke volumes. He was never unsure.
'I guess so.' I mumbled. I opened my mouth to say something, I don't know exactly what, but the ringing of his phone, this time, stopped me. Logan reached for it and looked at the caller ID. At the sight of it he moaned in frustration and banged his head lightly on the headboard.
'Right on schedule.' He murmured and turned to phone to me to see who was calling. Mitchum. I frowned. Logan pressed the "answer" button and put the phone to his ear. 'Hi, Dad.'
'Logan.' I heard Mitchum over the phone. I laid my head next to Logan's, so I can be close and hear what his father had to say. I knew I was eavesdropping, and that was wrong, but I couldn't help it. I wanted to know what Mitchum was saying, and I knew Logan well enough to know that if it was bad, he was going to try to sugarcoat it, or not tell me about it at all. 'I just saw the article about you and Rory on Page Six. I wish you would have called to tell me you two were photographed together last night, maybe there was something we could have done to stop it.' He scolded.
'I didn't know about it. And I'm sorry. I know you're not a fan of that kind of publicity.' Logan sounded sincere. I guess he and his father really were on better terms now.
'And neither are you.' Mitchum pointed out, and he was right. Logan hated that kind of stuff. 'And neither is Rory, I'm sure of it.' I gave him points for nailing that. 'Anyway, what's done its done. I'm calling to invite you and Rory over for dinner tonight.' Wait, what?
'Dinner?' Logan sounded just as baffled as my words sounded to me in my head. Logan looked at me confused. I just shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know what to say to that.
'Yeah, dinner. At home. Me, you, your mom, your grandfather and Rory. I'll even check in on your sister and see if she and Josh want to come.' A family dinner at the Hunzburger's. Yayyy!
'Umm… do you think that's a good idea, or am I the only one remembering how the last shindig with this particular guest list turned out?' Logan asked his father, rather sarcastically.
'Logan, that was over ten years ago. It's water under the bridge. Besides, it only seems fitting since you and Rory are back together.' His father retorted.
'Dad, if this is just another one of your, mom's and granddad's plots to butt into my personal life…' Logan started to say, but his father cut him off.
'I promise you it's nothing of the sorts. We made a deal, and I'm going to stick to it. Besides, I've kind of been planning for this dinner ever since you called your engagement off.' With the risk of repeating myself: Wait, what?
'Dad, what are you talking about?' And again Logan's baffled tone matched mine.
'Logan, I'm not stupid. In fact, I am a very smart man. I knew there was something going on again between you and Rory when I ran into the two of you in London. And again when you called me to ask to set up that meeting at Conde Nast for her. You're not that good with hiding your emotions, son. Especially where that girl is concerned. So, let's just say that I had a feeling about the two of you, and why you called your engagement off.' "Wait, what?" times three. Damn, this man was on a roll today. 'So, dinner? Come on, yes or no? I have a call waiting for me on the other line.' Mitchum insisted. Logan looked at me, the question in his eyes. We were going to have to do it sometime, so why not do it tonight and just get it over it. I gave him a slight nod.
'Okay. What time?' Logan asked him.
'Seven.' Mitchum responded. I felt a tiny panicky feeling starting to creep on me. We had an appointment with Dr. Rose at six. If we made the appointment, we were going to be late for dinner, for sure. We could reschedule the appointment, but I kind of really wanted to see the baby, and I knew Logan was looking forward to it too. On the other hand, I didn't want to turn down Mitchum and Logan's family. Especially not when they were extending me and olive branch. Sort of. Luckily for me, Logan jumped in before I could delve into this predicament any longer.
'Can we make it seven-thirty? Rory and I have another appointment before that, and we're not going to make it before then?' Logan asked his father. He was good in a crisis. Quick to react and take charge of the situation at hand. I've always loved that about him.
'Sure. I'll let your mother know. I'll see you tonight.' Mitchum responded.
'Thank you. Bye.' Logan said and hung up. He looked at me.
'So, dinner huh?' I said.
'Yeah.' He sighed and pulled me to him. I wrapped my arms around his middle and placed my head over his heart. Logan kissed my hair and ran gentle hand through it.
'You don't look so good.' He observed. 'Are you feeling alright?' The tender tone of his voice spread warmth through my entire body. Starting from my heart.
'Not really. I feel a little nauseous.' I answered him. I felt his soft lips on my forehead. I moaned. It felt so good. 'But this helps.' I smiled and lifted my head up to look into his eyes. He smiled back. 'Can we just stay like that for a while?' I asked him. Logan smiled at me and kissed me softly. He tightened his hold on me, and I buried my face at my favorite plate, at the crook of his neck.
'As long as you want!' I heard him whisper in my ear, and closed my eyes.
We woke up from our nap about an hour later. After we took a shower and put some clothes on we went into the kitchen to get something to eat. My stomach was having none if it though, so I just stuck with the saltines, and Logan being the gentleman that he was, had only a toast with a little butter on it. While we were chewing down on our extensive lunch I figured it was about time I called my grandma. I needed to go and see her. It was bad enough hearing about me and Logan from the press, because no doubt if she hasn't already, she will soon, I didn't want her to hear about the baby from somewhere else too. And I really felt like I owed her more than a phone call. Turned out she was still in Hartford. After mom's wedding she had some business to take care of here and was flying out tonight with the last flight out of Bradley. And since we had our appointment with Dr. Rose tonight, and her office was in Hartford, we agreed to meet grandma at four for coffee.
We were meeting grandma at Sarah's Coffee House. It wasn't really her scene, but she really had mellowed out after moving to Nantucket. I guess the Massachusetts air was treating her good. When we got into the coffee shop she was already there, sitting on one of the tables by the window, steaming cup of tea in front of her. She saw us, walking hand in hand towards her, and stood up to greet us. She was wearing a semi-casual pants suit, and it was the most casual outfit I had ever seen her wear in public. It took me a little by surprise, because to her that was like normal people wearing sweats. My line of thought was interrupted when she came to me and enveloped me in a hug.
'Hi, Rory.' She said and kissed my cheek before releasing me.
'Hi, grandma.' I smiled at her. 'You look great.'
'Thank you. You too.' She smiled back at me and turned to Logan. 'Hello, Logan. You look well. It's nice to see you again.' She extended her hand to him and he took it before greeting her back.
'You too, Emily. You look exquisite, as always.' Logan smiled at her with that million dollar smile I loved so damn much.
'Thank you. You're too kind, as always.' Grandma smiled back at him. 'Come on, come on. Let's sit. Seems like there's a lot for me to catch up on.' She said, the smile never leaving her face, while we sat down across from her. 'I wasn't sure what the two of you would like so I didn't order.' Grandma explained.
'That's okay. I'll go get us something to drink.' Logan jumped in. 'Coffee, Ace?' He asked me.
'Yes, please!' I replied, all too excited. After my call with grandma earlier in the day, I abstained from getting my dose of caffeine for the day, and opting to drink it here. I knew I wasn't going to be handle the aroma of the heavenly liquid around me, and not being able to have some. Logan chuckled at my enthusiasm.
'Can I get you something, Emily?' Logan turned to grandma.
'No, thank you. I'm good.' She answered him, nodding toward her cup of tea. He nodded and walked away. 'So, you and Logan are back together.' Grandma turned to me with inquisitive eyes.
'Yeah.' I answered a bit sheepishly.
'Would have been nice to know before the tabloids started spreading it out.' She remarked.
'I know. And I'm sorry you found out about it that way. I was going to call you today to tell you, but they kind of got ahead of me.' I said apologetically. And I really meant it.
'I always knew you two belonged together, and sooner or later you were going to find your way back to each other.' She smiled at me, and I couldn't help to return the smile. 'How long?' She asked next.
I was afraid of that question. I didn't want to lie to her, but I was also not very keen on letting her know that I have been cheating on my boyfriend for the last two years with Logan, and that he has been cheating on his fiancé with me. Grandma was mellowed, yeah, but I doubted she was mellowed enough to be okay with this. And honestly she would be right. What we did was wrong. But the heart wants what it wants. I was sorry about the way that we did it, but I wasn't sorry that we did it. It lead us here, and I was holding my breath that it would lead us on our greatest adventure yet.
'Actually, grandma, Logan and I have been seeing each other again for the past two years.' I just ripped the band aid off.
'Ohh.' A few different emotions ran through her futures, before she masked them all. First, there was shock, then realization, disapproval was next, and after that I saw a twinge of disappointment. That hurt. She was silent for a couple of minutes. Contemplating, I could only assume. 'I'm not going to lie and say that it was okay for you two to be together, while the both of you were in relationships with other people.' She finally said. The disapproval in her voice could have been heard quite clearly. 'But, you're both adults and have made your own choices. And those choices led you to today. To this moment. And right now I believe that things are the way they should be.' She said and looked me in the eyes. A little smile forming on her lips.
'Thank you, grandma.' I reached for her hand and she took it.
'You're welcome, honey.'
That was the moment Logan chose to come back with our coffees. And I'm saying chose, because I'm well aware that getting two coffees doesn't take quite that long. I knew he watched us, and knew that it was best to just give us a minute to ourselves. He was always considerate and I really appreciated that about him. I offered him a grateful smile after he sat back next to me and placed the coffee mug before me. He just smiled back and nodded and I knew he understood me. He always understood me. I took a sip from the mug and it was all that I could do not to moan in satisfaction. I swear, sometimes that first sip was better than sex. Logan was looking at me amused. I stuck my tongue out at him. He just shook his head and took a sip from his own mug, while grandma was conveniently playing dumb.
'So, tell me. What's new with the two of you? Anything interesting going on?' Grandma asked us, after we were finished with our little exchange. And I guess that it was time to tell her the big news. I looked at Logan and he gave me and encouraging smile.
'As a matter of fact, there is something Logan and I wanted to tell you.' I paused and smiled. I felt Logan's hand come onto my back, stroking it. We were both smiling, and grandma's eyes were glinting with excitement. With that opening I think I could have guessed what she thought our announcement was about. 'Grandma, Logan and I are going to have a baby.' I watched as the glint in her eyes and her smile disappeared in a flash of a second, replaced by shock. But that only lasted for about a second, before she smiled at us with the happiest of smiles I have seen on her face in a very long time. And certainly for the first time since grandpa died.
'Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you!' She exclaimed and clasped my hand into hers again. 'Both of you.' She turned to Logan with a warm smile. 'That little baby is going to be beautiful and you two would be amazing parents. Congratulations!' She said.
'Thank you, Emily.' Logan said with a smile. I just nodded, tears prickling at the corner of my eyes. What was happening to me these days? It seemed like everything could make me cry. People weren't kidding about those pregnancy hormones after all. Grandma turned back to me and looked into my eyes.
'Your grandfather would have been very proud of you, Rory. And he also would have been very happy about this little baby.' I saw the tears shining in her eyes as she said that to me. Okay, I was full on crying now.
'Thank you, grandma.' I wiped away a tear and I felt Logan moving closer to me, squeezing my shoulder. I leaned into him, without letting go of grandma's hand.
'No, honey. Thank you!'
Grandma left for the airport a little after that. Since we still had time until our doctor's appointment we stayed at the coffee shop for a little while longer. Either way, we made it there with time to spare. Logan parked our car around the back of the building and we walked hand in hand towards the entrance. However, we weren't the only ones there.
'What are you three doing here?' Logan asked the three boys, standing outside of the doctor's office, looking very out of their element.
'We want to go in with you.' Colin proclaimed.
'Boys, this is very sweet of you, but I don't think it's a very good idea.' I didn't want to disappoint them by outright turning them down. I mean it was pretty obvious they were excited for them to show up here, but I wasn't quite comfortable having them with me during my first checkup. No matter how close we were, that was a little bit too close. 'Look, I'll make you a deal. If they give us photos, I promise a copy for each and every one of you. That sound okay?' I asked them
'No, love. We want to be there for you, and we want to meet our nephew, or our niece, first hand. We promise, no peeking.' Finn said. It seemed like they weren't moving on this. 'And yes, we'll take the pictures as well.' He added. Logan and I shared a look. He just shrugged his shoulders. We both knew that there was no way we were going to talk them out of going into that office with us.
'Alright.' I gave up. I was going to think of something once we were inside. Maybe I'll get Dr. Rose to help, or a nurse. A mean one. Sure they wouldn't dare to get on a mean nurse's nerves. I hoped.
'How did you know about this anyway?' Logan asked them as we were walking inside the building.
'You told us last night.' Robert answered him.
'Wow. It seems you have finally become a man, Robert. The amount of alcohol you drank last night would have had you forgetting your own name back in college, let alone remembering doctor's appointments.' Logan teased him.
'Piss off, Logan.' Robert responded with a look of annoyance on his face. I tried to contain my laugh, but Finn and Colin were not quite so subtle.
We walked inside the waiting room and I headed straight to the reception desk.
'Hi, Janet.' I greeted the girl behind it. She was a few years younger than me and was working here for about three years now. She was a cute little blonde, and I could see the interest that she spiked in Colin. What he didn't know was that she was perfectly happy with her boyfriend. They were together since high school, and I've heard the way she talks about him. The girl was head over heels for him, and Colin was about to be mighty disappointed.
'Hi, Rory. You have an appointment with Dr. Rose?' She smiled warmly at me. She was one of those people who you know you're going to like from the minute you see them, and she had that sweet smile that was just daring you not to smile back.
'Yes.'
'Go ahead and take a seat and I'll let her know that you're here.' I nodded, smiled at her and let her get back to work.
The waiting room was pretty much empty. Our group of five took a seat by the wall on the other side of the room. I was trying not to look at the numerous posters on the wall, showing women in different stage of pregnancies. They were making me more nervous than I already was. I was fidgeting and it seemed like I couldn't find a place to sit still. I felt Logan's hand on my knee, squeezing it, steading me. I looked at him. He didn't seem nearly as nervous as I felt. Quite the opposite, he looked excited. I tried to draw strength from that, because I knew that whatever happened next, he will be right there beside me.
'Okay, it's done.' Colin exclaimed all of a sudden. I turned to look at him and saw him pocketing his phone with a triumphant expression on his face.
'What are you talking about?' I asked him.
'As of now, The King's Head Inn is officially owned by yours truly, Baby Huntzburger. Or is it Gilmore – Huntzburger? Colin inquired. I didn't answer him, because frankly I didn't know how to answer him. Logan and I hadn't discussed names yes.
'Wait you still own that? I figured you would have sold it by now.' I said to Colin.
'Yeah, me too. Turned out the market for British themed bed and breakfasts in New Hampshire is not as big as I imagined.' Colin retorted sarcastically.
'Huh, go figure.' I tried to act baffled. Inside I was trying really hard not to laugh at him. I saw Logan and the other two boys suddenly finding the wall with the posters very interesting. Colin threw me a mean look.
'Anyway, I'm just glad that in the end it seems like there's a reason why I bought the damn thing in the first place.' He said with a giddy smile, obviously pleased with himself.
'What, you mean other than alcohol?' I asked him with a smirk. This time the boys couldn't help themselves. They each tried to mask their laugh with a cough or something like that, so I gave them points for making an effort.
'Are you done?' Colin snapped back at me.
'Sorry.' I mumbled and looked down at my lap, otherwise I was going to burst into laughter and I didn't think that would sit well with the other few occupants of the waiting room. I wasn't sorry and Colin very well knew it.
'Rory Gilmore.' I heard my name being called. I looked up and saw a woman in her mid-sixties. Small, with her hair tied in a tight bun and scowl on her face. Yes. She was exactly what I needed right now. A mean nurse. And by the looks of it, she was as mean as they get. Looked like luck was on my side today after all.
'I'm Rory Gilmore.' I stood up, along with my escorts, and walked to her.
'Follow me.' I started following her, the boys trailing behind me. She suddenly stopped, causing me to almost bump into her. She turned and glared at the boys. 'And where do you think you're going?' She pierced them with an ice cold stare. I actually saw them gulp.
'We're going with her to see the baby.' Bravo, Finn. A brave man this one.
'Are all of you the father?' She asked them. Sarcasm and more ice dripping from her voice. She was piercing Finn's face with a death glare.
'No, Ma'am.' He answered with a small voice.
'Then who is?' She asked, and looked all of them over. Her eyes paused on Logan, who was closest to me, and his hand was on my back.
'That would be me.' Logan said. 'Just me.' He added in a moment. I bit my lip, trying not to laugh.
'In that case you're the only one that's going to be going in.' The mean lady said and spun on her heels, resuming her walk down the hallway. Logan and I followed after her.
'But we're the uncles.' Finn refused to let go.
The mean lady opened a door and ushered her inside. 'Not my problem.' She turned to them, before slamming the door in their faces.
Once inside the exam room the mean lady instructed me to strip my clothes, put on the paper gown provided just for me and then get on the table. She said that the technician will be right in and left. I did as I was told. I didn't want to provoke her. Sure, her evil spirit turned out in my favor a few minutes ago, but I didn't want to set her off against me. After I changed into the hideous paper thing I went and laid on the table. Logan sat on the chair beside me and took my hand in his.
'Are you nervous?' He asked me, stroking my hair.
'Yes.' I didn't bother trying to lie to him. He was just going to see right through me, besides what was the point. I wanted him to know I was nervous, because then he could say something to calm me down and make me feel better.
'I'm right here. Everything is going to be fine!' He said that with such a confidence, I couldn't help but believe him. At least a little bit.
'How come you're so calm about this?' It really was amazing how well he was handling everything. He was always good at going with the flow. I needed plans. And that baby, no matter how happy I was about having it, was not a part of my plan. And I was freaking out. But he, he was always good at adjusting his life, and living in the moment. And I admired him for that.
'Because I'm happy. This is all I've ever wanted.' He answered, and the look of pure joy on his face took my breath away.
'Hi, Rory.' A chipper brunette came into the room. 'My name is Molly. I'm going to do your ultrasound for the doctor to review it with you later.' She explained.
'Okay.' There really wasn't much else I could say.
'And you must be dad?' She turned to Logan.
'Yes, Logan. Nice to meet you.' He stood up and offered her his hand.
'You too.' I saw her give him a once over while she was shaking his hand. I know that maybe I should have been irritated by that, but to be honest, I couldn't blame the girl. She was young and perky, and he was… yummy.
'So, your file says that you are six weeks along, but since there was no ultrasound done we can confirm the gestational week today.' She said to me.
'I'm six weeks. I'm sure of it.' I said with a knowing smirk and threw Logan a look, his face matching mine.
'Well, a lot of parents think they are sure, and then they come here and find out that they were completely wrong.' She retorted with a condescending smile that just screamed "I know a lot more about this than you do".
'Oh, we're sure. No doubt about it.' Logan chimed in. Molly pursed her lips and I could tell that we were annoying her, but she didn't say anything more on the matter.
'Okay. Since it's so early in the pregnancy I'm going to do an internal ultrasound to take a look at that baby. It might be a little uncomfortable, but we'll get a better look at the baby.' She explained.
Once I was settled and everything was "up and running" I turned my head to the screen to look at the black and white picture moving on the screen. It made no sense to me, but Molly seemed confident. Logan was leaning, close to my head, my hand in his, and his eyes were glued to the screen as well. Though I doubted he knew what he was looking at any more than me.
'It's a little early to hear the heartbeat, so don't worry about that. I can tell you though that you are indeed in your sixth week.' Molly said, and Logan and I shared a knowing look. I bit my tongue to not tell her "I told you so". I returned my look back at the screen.
Molly did her thing for a few more minutes, before I saw her pressing a few buttons on the machine and looking more intently at the screen. A little frown formed on her face. She was staring at the screen like she was looking for something. And then it dawned on me that maybe she wasn't looking for anything. Maybe she was seeing something that was not supposed to be there. I turned to Logan. He was paying no attention to her. His eyes were glued to the screen.
'What is it?' I turned to Molly.
'What?' She jumped startled and looked at me. She had a sheepish look on her face. My palms went instantly damp. Something wasn't right I could feel it. Logan looked at me and saw the distressed look on my face. He went on instant alert.
'You saw something. What is it?' I stared her down and demanded an answer. I felt Logan's hold on my hand tighten.
'I'm not allowed to tell you anything specific, I'm just a technician, but I promise you it's nothing bad. Everything looks exactly as it should.' She probably realized that she was freaking me out, and tried to calm me down, but it wasn't working. I didn't know what she saw on that screen, but she did see something. And no matter what she said to me now, it wasn't going to make me feel better until I knew what it was. I took a deep breath and tried not to think about it too much. Dr. Rose would tell us soon enough. 'I'm finished. You can go change back into your clothes now and Dr. Rose will be with you in a moment.' She announced and I nodded.
When I came back to sit on the table, fully clothed this time, I was still thinking about what Molly saw on the ultra sound. Logan moved with his chair to sit before me. He took both of my hands in his and looked straight into my eyes.
'Don't worry about it. You heard her. Everything looks exactly as it should.' He sounded so confident. I took a deep breath in, hoping that maybe some of that confidence was flowing through the air and I could breathe it into my body. 'It's going to be okay.' He kissed my knuckles and I nodded.
I heard the door crack open and my breath hitched. "This is it", I thought. I should have known better. I saw a familiar curly head stuck its way through the crack, and familiar blue eyes look around the room. At least I had clothes on.
'Is the mean lady gone?' Finn whispered.
'Long gone.' Logan answered him, without even looking at his direction.
'Oh, good.' Finn sighed in relief, opened the door wide open and walked in, Colin and Robert hot on his heels. It took one look at us for him to know that something was up. 'What happened? Why do you both look like that?' That got the other two boys attention. All three of them came around the exam table, surrounding and hovering over me like mother hens.
'Nothing yet. We're still waiting for the doctor.' True, and yet not entirely. But I didn't want to get into that with them.
Just in time, the door opened again, but this time at least, it was Dr. Rose. She was going through some papers on a clip pad.
'Hello, Rory.' The smiled that she was about to greet me with fell right off as soon as she looked up from the clip pad. 'Oh.' She stopped dead in her tracks, by the door. She looked shocked. I guess testosterone filled room, wasn't a daily occurrence for her.
'Hi, Dr. Rose.' I offered her an apologetic smile. 'Don't mind them.' I waved a dismissive hand towards the boys.
'Okay.' She nodded, shaking off the initial shock. Her eyes landed on Logan, and sparkled with recognition. I wondered if she would remember him. It seemed that she did. 'Logan, if I remember correctly. Hello.' She extended her hand.
'You remember right. Hello.' Logan took her hand and shook it.
'The mother hens behind me are Robert, Colin and Finn.' I introduced the boys. Logan snickered under his breath.
'Hey' Robert and Finn exclaimed, acting hurt.
'We're the uncles.' Colin chimed in.
'Very well.' Dr. Rose laughed. 'Now that we all know each other let's get started shall we.' We all just nodded. 'Good. Okay, normally I first start with gathering the patient's health history information. You know, gynecological health details, also some other aspects of your medical history. Things like drug allergies, chronic conditions and other stuff like that. But since you, Rory, have been my patient for the last ten plus years, I already know all that. So, what we are going to do know is I'm going to give you and Logan two forms to fill. They concern your families medical history, whether any of your relatives have had any chronic or serious diseases. That way I can keep an eye out for some of them being passed down on the baby. That sound good to you?' Dr. Rose looked at me and Logan.
'Yes, that's good.' It was Logan who answered her. I just nodded.
'Good, you can e-mail the forms to me, or fax them, or even bring them with you on your next appointment. Whatever works for you, I'm fine with it.' She offered us a soft smile. 'Okay, now that the paperwork is out of the way, let's go and have a look at your sonogram.' Dr. Rose moved to sit in front of the machine, while me and the boys turned to look at the screen. She played the recording and started to point things out for us. 'That little dot right there is your baby.' Like one, me and the boys all leaned forward, to take a closer look. 'There is not much to see yet, because the baby is just starting to form its mouth, nose and ears. Its hands and feet are shaping like paddles on each side of the body. But we can see the heartbeat. And it's beating strong. 120 a minute to be exact. And this is great.' I was smiling. And yet again crying. God, I hated those pesky hormones.
'What is the other dot?' Logan asked pointing to the screen. Until now I hadn't paid enough attention to notice it. I was too occupied staring at the one Dr. Rose was pointing to. I turned to her, waiting for her answer. She turned to look at us and smiled warmly.
'That is your other baby.'
'Our what?' Logan and I exclaimed simultaneously.
'Congratulations.' Dr. Rose said with a wide smile.
OH MY GOD! Molly saw something on the screen, alright. Twins! I turned to look at Logan. His eyes were sparkling. In a second he was on me. Kissing every part of me he could get his hand on. Or lips on. In the background I could hear the boys cheering. I tried to smile, but my brain and my facial muscles were just not making the connection. I had enough doubts how I was going to be able to raise one kid, and now turned out I was having two. And sure, when I thought about it two sounded nice. The relationship Logan had with his sister was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Having a second baby always sounded like a dream for the future. But here I was. Having two kids. At the same time. How was that supposed to work? I had no idea and I was freaking out. Logan saw it and started to say something. I shook my head. Later. I didn't want to talk about it in front of everybody.
'I can see that this comes as quite a surprise for you, Rory.' Dr. Rose said to me with a gentle voice.
'Yeah.' I admitted.
'Well, what I can tell you is that your babies look to be in perfect health. And I know that you must be freaking out now, but everything is going to be alright. A big part of being a good parent and raising a good kid is having good support system. And what I can clearly see it that you have a great one.' She said. And she was right. She had no idea how much. I tried to smile again and this time I think I even managed to pull it off. 'So, try not to stress too much about it. I know it must seem like a lot now, but everything will fall into place. Just give it some time and be calm.' I nodded. I turned to Logan and he smiled at me. I gripped his hand tighter and he gripped mine right back. I turned to look at the boys. All of them smiling encouraging at me. I smiled back and turned to Dr. Rose feeling a lot better than I had a moment ago. And she saw it. 'Alright. Let's talk photos. How many do we want?' She asked, her eyes roaming over our humble group.
'One for me.' Finn shouted out first, raising his hand
'And me.' Colin followed, close second.
'And me.' Robert raised his hand last. The look of the three of them, standing in the middle of the room with raised hands, and excitement in their eyes, they looked like kids in a candy store. Or Disneyland. It was adorable. Logan and I laughed.
'Okay, so we start with three.' I nodded towards the boys. 'One for me. One for Logan?' I turned questioningly at him. He nodded enthusiastically. 'One for Logan. I want copies to give to mom and Luke, grandma and Dad, so that makes three more. One for Honor, and do we get one for your parents?' I asked him.
'I don't know, but it wouldn't hurt to have one extra.' He said after he thought about it for a minute.
'I agree. So, that makes… ten I think?' I wasn't that good at math, but I think I got it right.
'Ten it is. You can get them in a few at the reception desk. Would you also like a copy of the video?' She asked.
'Yes.' Logan answered in a heartbeat.
'Very well. The copies of the photos and the video will be waiting for you at the reception desk in a few minutes.' She smiled and stood up. Logan and I followed. All of us making our way to the door. 'Rory, we will schedule you're next checkup in a month. Until then, remember to stay calm.' Dr. Rose said and patted my shoulder.
'Dr. Rose?' I turned to her, suddenly remembering that maybe I won't be in the states next month. Logan said his move back home would take at least three months, and I didn't want us to spend that time apart. I was planning on staying with him in London during that time, and that meant that I was going to need another doctor for the time I was there. 'Logan lives in London, and though he has decided that he would like to move back home, it's going to take a few months. We'll be back before the baby comes, but I was wondering if you could give me a few names of good OB's in London? Just until we move back.' If she could give me a few names that would make my pro/con list so much easier to do.
'Of course. Why don't you call me tomorrow morning? I'll have a few names for you by then and we can hash out the details.' Dr. Rose answered.
'Great. Thank you.' I said with a grateful smile.
We said our goodbyes with Dr. Rose and went to the front desk. In a few minutes Janet gave us the video and the photos and we left. Leaving the building we stopped outside. The weather was getting cold. I shivered and Logan wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
'Now, how am I going to divide the inn between the two of them?' Colin moped.
'Oh, Colin.' I laughed. It was cute how serious he was about this.
'I got it.' Excitement sparked his eyes in a few seconds. 'The first one out gets the inn, the second the tango club. Yes! Man, I'm smart.' He admired himself. We all laughed at that.
The boys took their photos and wished us luck for dinner with "the Dark Lord and his minions" as Finn so kindly put it, before they left too. Logan and I went to our car and drove off towards his family's house. I stared outside the window. We were driving by Bushnell Park, and I thought about how beautiful it looked in the autumn. I felt Logan's hand on my thigh.
'Are you okay?' He asked me softly.
I thought about it before giving him and answer. I wanted to tell him the truth. And the truth was that I was scared. I didn't know how I was going to handle being a mom to twins. I was afraid I would fail and I would screw them up somehow. But I also knew that I had Logan right by my side to help me and support me through anything. I had my mom, my grandma. I had the boys and Honor. I had dad and Luke, I had Lane. And like my mom said, I even had Paris. And somehow, knowing all that made all the difference.
'I will be.' I said, feeling confident in my answer. I squeezed Logan's hand and he smiled lovingly at me. Yeah, we were going to be just fine.
So, what do you think? You like it, you hate it? Let me know. :) Next up: dinner at the Huntzburger's. That should be fun. Prepare for lots of drama.