Rory's mind was distracted as she finished getting ready for dinner with her Dad. She had promised him dinner last week when she had gone to his office to talk to him about how he felt about her mom raising her alone, and she was really regretting making those plans right about now.
Rory got the text that he had arrived and quickly went downstairs to meet her dad.
"Hey there, kiddo! How's my girl?" he asked as he enveloped her in a hug.
"I'm okay. Hey, I'm not really feeling much like going out. What would you say to take out from Luke's and having dinner in the apartment upstairs?"
"Sure, whatever you'd like, Ror. That sounds great."
Once they had settled in the upstairs apartment with their food, Christopher slowly began to look around and notice that the apartment looked a lot like Rory's space.
"Ror, is there a reason that all of your belongings seem to be here?" Christopher asked.
"Actually, there is, Dad. Luke is letting me stay here. It's good for him and Mom to have some space, and it's good for me not to feel like I'm intruding. I'm also going to be staying a while, so this works well."
"You're staying here? That's wonderful, Ror! It's so good to have you back home! When did you decide to stay?"
"About that, Dad. I'm sorry about the conversation in your office last week. I wasn't trying to hurt you, but I really needed to know how you felt about Mom raising me. God, this is hard. Dad, I'm pregnant."
"You're pregnant? Whoa, kiddo. That's unexpected. Care to fill your dad in on what's been going on in your life?"
When Rory finished bringing her Dad up to date, he just sat back quietly for a moment, taking it all in.
"So, I assume that you'll lecture me now on how irresponsible I am and tell me that I have to tell Logan?"
"I think you're probably doing a pretty good job of lecturing yourself, kiddo. Look, Ror. I know that we haven't always had the best relationship, but you're my daughter. I would do anything for you, including giving you unwanted advice. In all seriousness, you do have to tell him, Rory. What if we had never gotten the opportunity to know each other because your mom had chosen not to tell me about you? It wouldn't be right."
"I know, Dad. You're right, Mom's right, Luke's right, Lane's right. I know that I have to tell him. I just don't know how, and I don't want to ruin his life."
"Oh, sweetie. You're not going to ruin his life. He's an adult and can make his own choices. He can still carry out his family's plan for his life even after you've told him about the pregnancy, or he can choose to change his life to be closer to you and the baby. Either way, he needs to be allowed to make that choice."
"You're right, I know you're right. I promise that I will tell him, okay? I have my first doctor's appointment later this week, and then I will tell him."
"You're doing the right thing, kiddo."
"Thanks, Dad. And thank you for dinner tonight. I really didn't want to be alone."
"You know that I'll always be there, Ror. Now, you've been yawning all night. How about I let you get some rest and I will check on you after your doctor's appointment later this week?"
"Sounds good, Dad. Thank you. And Dad? I love you."
"I love you, kiddo."
Logan was surprised to see Odette awake before he left for work the next morning. He had come home from work quite late and in an awful mood after his run-in with his father.
"Hey, Logan," she said as he was walking out the bedroom door. "Are you okay? You came home late and upset last night and then you locked yourself in your study until long after I'd gone to bed. What's going on?"
Logan thought for a long moment before he finally turned around and came to sit next to her on the bed.
"Yeah, sorry about my mood. Mitchum came by the office and we got in an argument."
"Oh? Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Well, no. Odette, tell me the truth. Is this what you want? This arranged marriage? This life? Is this what you want?"
Odette hesitated for only a moment before she answered him. "No, Logan, it isn't what I want at all. You're a good man, but I don't want to marry for family or wealth or a business deal. I want to make my own choices in life."
"Really, Odette?" Logan asked with a smile. "That's fantastic news!"
"It is? I'm confused, Logan. How is being forced to live a life that I don't choose great?"
"Don't you see, Odette? I don't want this either. I want choose my life as well. You know that they can't make us marry, right? We can end this."
"But how do we end it, Logan? You know as well as I do that their threats and manipulation will only continue."
"You know, a lot of things became quite clear to me last night. Do you trust me?"
"Sure, I trust you. I still don't know what you're thinking, though."
"Okay, trust me a little longer and I will put an end to all of this. Okay?"
Odette hesitated for a moment and finally smiled and shook her head, looking happier than he had ever seen her.
Rory picked Lane up early Thursday morning to drive to her first OB appointment. She was a ball of nerves, which was only made worse by the morning sickness she was experiencing the last couple of days.
Having finally been settled in the exam room, Rory waited anxiously for the doctor. She had asked Lane to wait in the waiting room, and she was starting to regret that decision when the doctor entered the room.
"Lorelai? Good morning, I'm Dr. Murray. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Murray. Please, I prefer Rory if you don't mind."
"Of course, Rory. I've looked over your chart and don't see anything to be concerned about in your health history. Based on your last period I would put your due date in July, but we will get a better idea on the date in a moment when we take a look at that baby. Sound good?"
"Sure, sounds great," Rory answered.
A moment later, Rory was laying on the exam table covered with a sheet and was turning her attention toward the small ultrasound screen, unsure of what she should be looking at. Finally, the doctor stopped and smiled.
"See that right there, Rory?"
"That little jelly bean?"
"Yes, that's your baby," Dr. Murray said with a laugh.
"That's...that's my baby? I...I've never seen such a cute little jelly bean in my life."
"Yes, that's your baby, Rory. Now, if you'll let me get a couple of measurements out of the way, we will listen for your baby's heartbeat."
A couple of minutes later, the doctor pressed a button on the ultrasound machine and Rory heard the most beautiful sound she had heard in her entire life.
Returning to the waiting room with ultrasound pictures in her purse, Rory was almost in a daze.
Lane stood to meet her and spoke first. "You okay there, Rory?"
"I'm good. I'm having a baby. There's a little living baby in there, Lane. It's amazing. I will be a mom in July. It's amazing."
"It really is amazing, Rory! Everything looks good?"
"Everything looks perfect."
"And you're good?"
"I'm really good, Lane. And you know what? I'm going to tell Logan."
"You are?" Lane squealed.
"Yeah, I am. This little jelly bean needs to have a relationship with his or her father."
Logan had taken a couple of days away from the office in order to sort things out, have personal meetings, and make preparations to put his plan into action, and his father was none-too-happy when he returned to work the following Monday. Logan wasn't at all surprised to find Mitchum waiting in his office when he arrived Monday morning, ready to make some changes in his life.
"Where the hell have you been, son? I tried reaching you all weekend and your cell phone was turned off."
"Mitchum, nice to see you as well. I'm glad you're here; please, have a seat," Logan said calmly.
Mitchum eyed Logan furiously for a long moment before he finally settled into the chair across from his desk.
"You have responsibilities, son. You can't just go off the grid for the weekend and expect that I'll be okay with that."
"You're correct, Mitchum, I do have responsibilities. That's actually what I wanted to discuss with you. Your visit last week prompted me to do some reflecting on priorities in life, and I've decided that it's time that I dedicate myself fully to my priorities."
Mitchum opened his mouth to speak, but Logan continued before he could begin.
"I've worked for the last ten years at doing what you wanted from me, what was expected of me. I did this because I love the business, but primarily for you. I wanted your approval, to make you proud. But I've realized that I need do what's important to me, and that starts now. Odette and I have both packed our belongings and the movers are loading them up as we speak. Odette is moving back to Paris, and I will be moving back to the States within the next two weeks."
Logan could see the fury in his father's eyes, but he continued. "My engagement to Odette is off, the wedding is cancelled. I'm living my life for me starting right now."
"Like hell you will, Logan! You have responsibilities to this family, and if you think you're going to start calling the shots here then you're sadly mistaken."
"I wasn't finished, Father. I met with the board, and I've signed a contract to sell my stake in HPG. It's time for me to make decisions for myself rather than for the Huntzberger legacy."
"You can't be serious! If you think that I'm going to let you threaten me into giving in to what you want, you need to think again." Mitchum shot back.
"I am completely serious, Father, and I'm not threatening you with anything. My decision has been made and the legal papers have been signed between myself and the board. The only thing I want is the hope of potentially having a relationship with my father rather than Mitchum Huntzberger, media magnate sometime in the future."
"So you're really going to throw this all away to chase that Gilmore girl? Is that what this is all about?"
"No, Father. I'm moving on past all of this to chase my dreams, my aspirations, and yes, Rory is part of that. Now, if you'll excuse me, the only reason that I came in to the office today was to speak with you. I'll be going now."