A/N: No excuses this time... I suck at updating. Sorry. Hope you'll enjoy it. As always, your reviews are like sunshine and tulips and chocolate cupcakes in my dreary boring everyday life. Lots and lots of love to all of you, A.

By your side

Rory was staring intently at the stick, willing it to change form with her mind. So far, she had only managed to look somewhat cross-eyed and give herself a mild headache. She had called Stephanie before taking the test and was now waiting for her to show up to tell her that she had a problem with her eyes and there was not two blue lines on the damned stick.

"Okay I'm here, what's the big emergency" Stephanie yelled from the entrance hall. She had let herself in, something she had done since the second time she had visited the apartment.

"In here" Rory called. She might have neglected to tell Stephanie the nature of her emergency.

"Ok, what's going on" Stephanie asked, stepping out into the bathroom. "If you're throwing up, I'm gonna leave. Vomit makes me ill."

"Is it blue?"

"What?"

"The stick. Is it blue?"

"Oh my god, Rory! Is that what I think it is?"

"Is. It. Blue?"

"Um… Yeah. There are two blue lines. Does that mean?" Rory nodded. "Okay oh… wow. Wow." Stephanie sat down next to Rory. "That's… Wow."

"I know."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"But you can't be sure from just one."

Rory pointed at a bowl full of tests, all showing the same result. "It's like they're mocking me."

"All of them?"

"All of them" Rory confirmed.

"Wow. How do you feel?"

"Not pregnant."

"Okay. You didn't even have just like a slight hunch that you were?"

"I've been feeling sick for a couple of days, nothing major. Thought it was because I ate something bad. And I've been sleeping a little more, I guess. Nothing out of the ordinary though."

"So why did you take like what, fifteen tests?"

"Twenty two, actually. I missed my period last week."

"Does he know?"

"No he just threw away the shrimps because he thought they were bad."

"You're gonna tell him right?"

"Of course I am. It's his fault!"

Stephanie made a fade and looked at the incriminating stick again. "I just… wow… And you of all people."

"I know! I have plans, good plans. Great plans! And now I can't do that anymore, because I have to be pregnant instead and oh god…" Rory's expression changed into one of horror. "What's Finn gonna say? What if he doesn't want it?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Rory, relax. He's gonna be ecstatic. This is great!" Sometimes Rory was too insecure for her own good. After four years together, she really should know her boyfriend better than to think he would be anything less than thrilled with such news. As long as she gave him time to properly freak out and worry about how to baby-secure a Porsche, everything would be fine. "Don't worry Gilmore, it'll give you lines" Stephanie said, sounding like Finn.

"This is not funny, Steph. I have just gotten that amazing job at the paper and now this. I'm gonna kill Finn! I don't have time for this."

"Being pregnant is a blessing" Stephanie said solemnly.

Suddenly Rory felt incredible guilty. She knew Stephanie and Colin were having trouble getting pregnant and here she was, pregnant without even trying (okay, there had been trying, obviously, but it wasn't like this was their goal). "Steph, I'm sorry, I didn't think…"
"It's okay. Just because we're having a little… trouble, doesn't mean anyone else is not allowed to be pregnant. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks" Rory sighed.

"How are you gonna tell him?"

"I think I'm gonna send him an email."

"Honey, I'm home" Finn called in a ridiculous southern accent as he entered their apartment. He looked around at the empty apartment. "And you're not?"

"In here" Rory called from the bedroom."

"Oh honey, you know me so well" he yelled and started to loosen his tie and pushed off his shoes. He was halfway through the buttons of his shirt when he reached the bedroom where he stopped dead. "I had a different scenario in mind" he said when he noticed Rory was sitting in the closet.

"We need to talk."

"About?"

"Us."

"You maybe wanna come out of the closet" he asked and sat down on the bed. He had been dreading this for the last four years; that someday his beautiful and smart and amazing girlfriend would wake up and toss his drunken ass out on the street.

"No I'm fine here" she mumbled.

"Okay, what's the problem" he asked with a sigh.

"I…" Rory took a deep breath. The mere words made her feel sick, but she figured she might as well get used to that, giving the circumstances. She tried again. "I… baby…"

"I'm not following" Finn said with a scowl. "What baby?"

"Pregnancy" she stammered.

"Yes, babies usually start that way."

"Me…"

"Rory, would you please just come out of the closet and tell me what's going on. I'm getting nervous!"

Rory slowly crawled out of the closet and sat down on the bed next to him. "I'm pregnant."

"Right… WHAT?"

"Yeah…."

"How the hell did that happen" he sputtered.

"You really want me to go into details?"

Finn swallowed the lump that had been forming in his throat. "When did you find out?"

"Earlier today."

"Right, well…" He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Are you happy?"

"Rory, I…. I don't know. We didn't exactly plan this."

"I know. Are you mad?"

"No of course not." He put his arm around her. "I think I just need to panic for a few days and then I'll be fine. What about you?"

"I'm okay, I think. I'm bit shocked" she told him honestly.

"Okay, so uh… What do we do?"

"I don't know, Finn. I… I had plans and I've just moved here and I'm supposed to start work on Wednesday."

"Love, you do know you can work and be pregnant at the same time, right?"

"Of course I do" she told him angrily and pushed him away. "I'm not stupid."

"Just pregnant" he teased with a small smile. "Love, we'll be okay. Whatever you decide, we'll be okay."

"Great, then you can tell my mother!"

Lorelai took it okay, given the circumstance of it all. Rory being pregnant at twenty-four (or pregnant at all) certainly wasn't exactly the way she imagined her daughter's life, but she knew Rory was happy with Finn and as Luke put it, at least they wouldn't be strapped for cash anytime soon.

Rory started her new job at the Washington Post three days after the "great revelation" as Lorelai had started to call it and Finn was still working impossible hours, trying to win Colin a seat in the Senate. Stephanie, who had been banned from their meetings because she made fun of almost everything Finn said (and one time brought pictures of him dressed as Little Bo Peep) was instead hanging out with Rory in her new office almost every day. Much to Rory's chagrin.

"So, I'm thinking about wearing purple for the inauguration."

"Steph, you do now Colin has to be elected first, right?"

"Yeah but of course he will. People love him."

Rory didn't have the heart to tell her that most people thought Colin was a spoiled brat with an inflated ego. It just so happened he was also extremely clever and well-spoken and that Finn had managed to scrape together perhaps one of the hardest working campaign teams ever known to man, working tirelessly to get people to overlook all Colin's faults. And there were many! But Finn had told her it was looking pretty good, since the democratic candidate had been caught with two underage prostitutes from Mexico a couple of weeks ago. Rory didn't really interfere in the campaign; she put most of her energy into covering the president and foreign affairs.

"It's a really nice office" Stephanie commentated.

"Yes I know. I'll have to buy Logan something to thank him" Rory said, trying to finish her story on the Egyptian rebellion in time. Logan was the one who had offered her a job in Washington so she could be close to Finn. The distance was slowly, but surely killing their relationship and it seemed more logical for her to be closer to the White House, seeing as she loved writing about that, then sitting in New York, waiting for her boyfriend to call and tell her he couldn't make it out that weekend either.

"So, you wanna go to lunch?"

"Steph, I'm really sorry and I know you're bored, but I'm really busy. I started this job six days ago! I need to make a good impression."

"Why" Stephanie whined. "You know the owner! Screw impressions!"

"That's exactly why I need to make a good impression!"

"Because you wanna screw your editor?"

"Because I know Logan! I don't want people thinking I merely got this job because of Logan."

"Rory, didn't you get this job merely because of Logan?"

"Yes but I don't want people to think that!"

Stephanie sighed and jumped of Rory's already overcrowded desk. "Fine, but you owe me, Gilmore! And you better show up when Colin wins!"

Rory just smiled and sent her on her way.

Being pregnant wasn't really that hard, Rory found out. She didn't really suffer from morning sickness and she wasn't tired or experiencing weird cravings, although Finn said that she had them even before she was pregnant, so that was really no surprise. The only downside was that Finn and her doctor had agreed that she weren't allowed to drink coffee, which felt a little like a deathsentence. And the lack of coffee brought on some serious mood swings and weird behaviour. Her editor, George, had caught her sniffing the coffee filter one day! But she was beginning to like being pregnant, despite the serious lack of caffeine in her system, and when Finn one evening brought home a teddybear she almost cried. They had made an appointment with a doctor and already started arguing about names (there was no way they were naming it Hurricane, as Finn had suggested like it was the world's greatest idea).

"Miss Gilmore, your friend is here to see you" their dispatcher Mary told her over the phone one bleary Friday afternoon. Finn and Colin were out of town, doing some photoshoot or something (Rory hadn't really paid attention when Finn was telling her about it, because he was standing with a cup of coffee in his hand and she was going over the different ways she might be able to pry it out them), so Stephanie would pick her up from work and they would go out to dinner and catch up.

"Thank you, just send her up" Rory said, massaging her stomach. She'd had an upset stomach for most of the day and figured that meant she probably shouldn't eat four jam donuts before seven anymore.

"Hey Gilmore, ready to go" Stephanie called as she entered the office.

"Sure, give me a moment, I just need to save this story and then…" She scrunched her face a little.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just been having cramps all day. I think baby is trying to tell me I'm not supposed to eat junk before seven in the morning."

Now it was Stephanie's turn to scrunch her face. "You sure that's it?"

"Yeah of course, what else could it be" Rory asked, shutting down her computer and ruffling through a stack of paper. "I'll be fine."

Stephanie just observed her a little more closely. "You look a little pale."

"I'm tired, it's been a long week."

Stephanie almost hit Rory over the head as she put a cold hand to her forehead. "You feel warm."

"And you feel cold" Rory said, pushing the hand away. "Can we go now? I just need to use the restroom before we leave the building."

Stephanie pursed her lips but didn't say anymore and just followed Rory to the restroom. "So, I was thinking maybe we should try that new Chinese place, you know, the one that the boys talked about last week…" Stephanie checked her makeup in the mirror. "What do you think? Rory?"

"Steph, there's blood…."

"Blood?"

"In my… There's blood!"

"Rory open the door" Stephanie said and was let in. "Oh god. Okay, we need to call an ambulance."

"Steph…"

Stephanie helped Rory to her feet and zipped her skirt for her. "Do you have your cellphone, I always forget mine."

"I don't feel so good" Rory complained.

"Okay, that's fine, sit down here honey" Stephanie soothed and helped Rory down on the marble floor. "It'll be okay, I'll call an ambulance." She riffled through Rory's bag and made the call, all the while holding Rory's hand.

Lorelai almost flew through the hospital doors four hours later. Stephanie was sitting outside Rory's room with a stone face. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah but…" Stephanie sighed and rubbed her eyes. "She's sleeping right now."

Lorelai took a moment to process that. "Stephanie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…" Tears started to fall again. "Lorelai, I'm so sorry. I should've known something was wrong the minute she complained about stomach cramps."

"No, Steph, that's… It's not your fault" Lorelai comforted. "Come on, we'll go see her."

They walked into the room together and Lorelai suddenly wanted to cry as well. Rory looked so small and fragile, lying in the hospital bed. Lorelai sat down gently and stroked a strand of hair out of her face. A thought suddenly hit her. "Finn! Does he know?"

Stephanie nodded. "He's on his way back now, I called him after I had talked to you."

"Good, that's good" Lorelai muttered, still stroking her daughter's hair.

Rory's eyes fluttered open about twenty minutes after and her first word was a croaked "mom" and then they were both crying. Stephanie slid out of the room silently to give them some peace.

"I don't know what happened" Rory cried.

"No one does" Lorelai told her daughter.

"But what if I did something?"

"Rory, honey… These things just happen sometimes. It's nobody's fault."

"But I had coffee yesterday! When Finn wasn't looking it took the last in the pot! What if…"

"It wasn't that…"

"Finn! I have to tell Finn" Rory suddenly said and a fresh wave of tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"Stephanie called him, he's already on his way."

"Okay…" Rory moved down on the uncomfortable bed again. "Mom, could you please stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere, honey" Lorelai whispered and kissed her daughter's hair before lying down next to her.

Rory fell asleep again and Lorelai eased herself off the bed to give her more space. She left the room to go find some coffee and found Stephanie on the phone. She gestured with her head in the direction of a coffee machine and when Lorelai came back she was hanging up. "Colin was just checking in" she explained. "Finn should be here soon."

"Right" Lorelai said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"How is she?"

"Sleeping again. I don't know." Lorelai sighed and they stood together in silence for a while. "I should probably go back in, in case she wakes up."

Stephanie nodded. "I'll send Finn in when he comes."

Lorelai stopped halfway through the door. "Stephanie? Thank you for being here for Rory."

Stephanie shrugged a little. "She's my best friend! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!"

Lorelai was flicking through the channels on mute when the door into the room opened and Finn walked in. He looked tired and he's usually pristine suit was wrinkled. Lorelai was almost glad to note that his eyes seemed just as red as Rory's.

"How is she" he asked in a hoarse voice.

Lorelai turned off the TV. "I don't know. Physically she's…" She had trouble forming a sentence.

"But the baby…" He pursed his lips and looked at the floor.

"Finn, I'm so sorry" she offered lamely and was taken completely by surprise when Finn, this tall and usually so gleeful young man almost collapsed into a hug and started to sob. She patted him on the back, remembering he didn't have a very close relationship with his parents (and even if he did, they'd be halfway around the world). She gave him an extra tight hug after that. "How are you?"

He shrugged a little and looked at Rory, who was still sleeping. "She had coffee yesterday" he said in a low voice. "She thought I wasn't looking…" He smiled a little and wiped his eyes. "But I knew, I just… I didn't want her to be so miserable. Like it was some kind of punishment, being pregnant."

"Finn, these things happen sometimes. It's horrible and unfair but… They just happen sometimes."

He just nodded a little, still looking at Rory. "Would it be okay if…" He sighed. "I just need to be alone with her for a little bit."

Lorelai smiled. "Of course. I'll be outside with Stephanie."

Lorelai left Finn alone with Rory and decided she should call Chris. She knew Rory had broken the news to him over the weekend and he had called Lorelai afterwards, sounding so excited that Lorelai had to hold the phone away from her ear.

"Hey Lor, what's up?"

"Hey, where are you" Lorelai asked.

"I'm just finishing up at home, gotta pick up GG at a friend's house in an hour. What's wrong? You sound weird."

"I'm at the hospital."

"What?"

"With Rory…" She sighed. "She lost the baby."

"Oh… Oh god. How is she?"

"Sad, obviously. Finn is with her now, they seem..."

"Oh man… Lor…"

"I know."

"Will she be okay?"

"Yeah, I think she will be, eventually."

Rory was discharged later the same night and asked that they all stayed, including Colin, who had surprisingly paused his busy schedule and showed up in a flurry of suits, ballons and bodyguards. After a severe scolding from Stephanie, he had been let inside the small room and given Rory a hug.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered and kissed her cheek.

"Me too" she said with a sad smile.

Finn stayed home with Rory the next few days. Lorelai had stayed two days, eating complete crap and watching horrible movies while Finn hovered and cleaned up their messes. Rory seemed uncomfortable around him and Lorelai had left with a concerned furrow of her brows and worried thoughts.

Lorelai called Lorelai the following Wednesday to check up. "Hey, how are you doing?"

"I'm okay" Rory said and for the first time it actually sounded like the truth."

"That's great, hon!"

"Why do you sound so weird" Rory asked suspiciously.

"No reason!" When Rory didn't say anything, Lorelai gave up pretences. "I wanted to ask if you are coming to Friday night dinner this week. I know you have a couple of days off and I know mom and dad really wants to see you and then maybe you could stay in Stars Hollow the weekend and…"

"Actually, mom" Rory interrupted. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Finn is taking me to Paris."

"Oh okay… Wow! How are things?"

"Better now, I think. It was…. Weird, I guess, the first couple of days. I don't really know. But he's been pretty great and I'm actually really excited about this, so… I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. Of course you should do something with Finn."

"You sure?"

"Yes! I want you guys to be happy, you know that!"

"I love you mom."

"Love you too, kiddo."

"Hello Lorelai" Emily greeted her at the door. "Where's Rory?"

"She's not coming" Lorelai said, handing maid of the week her coat. "Where's dad?"

"I'm right here" Richard said. "Where's Rory?"

"She's not coming" Lorelai repeated.

"Why not? I've left her a dozen voicemails and told her we really want to see her."

"I know mom" Lorelai said. "Can I get a drink?" The maid nodded and left to go make it, as it didn't seem Richard had any intentions of making her one.

"What is she doing that's so important that she couldn't even spend one night with her grandparents" Emily demanded.

"Why don't we go sit down" Lorelai suggested. She took her place on the posh couch and thanked the maid when she was handed her drink. "Rory is in Paris with Finn."

"What? Why?"

"Because they need some time to be alone and away after everything that's happened."

"Oh…." Emily had the good graces to look a little embarrassed. "Well, I hope she'll stop by soon, then."

"I'm sure she will mom. And when she does, try to be nice to Finn, okay? He's really not a bad guy!"

"If you say so" Emily snipped, taking a sip of her drink. "I just don't see why she broke up with Logan."

Lorelai had to restrain herself in order not to violently roll her eyes. "That was years ago, mom. Finn has a great job, he's amazing with Rory and he has put up with all the crab this family has thrown at him. If you want to continue to be in Rory's life, you're gonna have to accept him too." Emily and Richard just exchanged a look and luckily the maid arrived shortly after and announced that dinner was ready.

Lorelai got home late, after a pitstop af Luke's for some coffee and to deliver a status rapport on Rory. She turned on the computer Rory had forced her to buy and checked her mail, when she noticed the blue and white S icon jumping. Frowning, she clicked it and almost squealed when Rory's face appeared on her screen. "Hey mom."

"Oh my god, Rory. You scared me half to death!"

"Sorry mom, I guess I forgot to mention I installed Skype on your computer last time I visited. How are you?"

"Just got home. What time is it?"

"Oh, it's about six in the evening here" Rory said.

"You look good, kid!"

"I feel pretty good too. I think it was good for us to get away for a while. Although it's not really the same experience as last time."

"No, I guess staying at the Ritz isn't exactly like backpacking through Europe" Lorelai smiled. "Where's Finn?"

"He's in the shower, we've been out sightseeing all day."

"Yeah? Anywhere good?"

"Yeah, we went to Montmartre, which was pretty amazing. I uh, actually have to tell you something."

Lorelai frowned a little. "Okay, will I like it?"

"Yeah I think you will."

There was something about the smile tugging at Rory's lips that warmed Lorelai's heart. "Okay, lay it on me."

"Finn proposed."

"No? What? When?"

"Today. At the steps of Montmartre."

"No way! What did you say?"

"I said yes, of course."

"Oh wow Rory. Congratulations!"

"Thanks mom. I didn't really wanna tell you like this, but I wanted you to be the first to know."

"Can I see the ring?" Rory held up her hand. "Oh I don't think they're gonna let you through airport security wearing brass knuckles!"

"Ha ha very funny" Rory said, looking at the ring. "It's not that big."

"Rory, that's the iceberg that Titanic sailed into!"

"It's not that big! I kinda like it, actually"

"Are you happy?"

Rory tilted her head a little. "No… But I will be."

Lorelai nodded. "And Finn's the one?"

"I think so."

"That's good kid. He's a good one."

"Yeah, he is."

"I'm gonna go to bed. I want a million post cards and a full report the moment you get home! Uh, and macaroons! I definitely want some macaroons as well!"

Rory smiled. "I'll send you some first thing in the morning. Night."

"Night kid" Lorelai said and turned off the screen. She sat a little and just took it all in. She had a feeling Rory would be okay, despite everything.