A/N: A chapter you've all been waiting for. Thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming. Enjoy!
They were laying in bed. It had been two months after her diagnosis, two months after the news of his relapse. They'd gone a day at a time, knowing they needed to make the most of it. She didn't know about his meetings with Colin about his will or the house - Colin being the one to help him finish it up before he told Rory about it. They'd met with Max Martinez, talking about options. It had been decided that Logan wouldn't go through any unnecessary treatments. They knew there was going to be a high infection risk, knew it was going to get dicey at times. But they were ready to handle it. Max had sent them home with different pamphlets, all ones neither of them wanted to be reading.
His hand was resting on her stomach as her head laid on his chest. Their son had decided he didn't want to be still for longer than a few minutes at a time, leaving Rory out of breath as he continuously kicked her diaphragm. It was Thanksgiving and they were laying in bed at Lorelai's house. She'd finally replaced Rory's twin bed with a queen for when they stayed over. She could feel their son kicking hard, and so could Logan. He had a smile on his face.
"Did you have a good time?" she asked him, finally breaking the silence. Their day started at Luke's who had set them up with some breakfast pancakes. Then, they moved onto the Kim and Van Gerbig household for some Korean dishes. The twins were getting big already, and Rory couldn't believe that Lane was a mom. They swung over to Ms. Patty's for some beverages and then to Sookie's for the main course. By that time, Logan was nauseated, but he powered through like a champ. Rory tried to stay somewhat healthy, checking her blood sugar when she needed to, making sure everything was okay periodically.
"That was definitely something," he told her. She knew what Thanksgivings typically entailed for society children. Stuffy, boring parties where they had to form sub-parties until the food was served, at which point they'd be forced to sit through course after course of boring conversation and being told how much of a disappointment they were - or at least that was how Logan had explained it. "He is definitely being rough," he then said in regards to their son. They had the names narrowed down, but weren't going to make a decision until they saw him.
"Yeah, he sure is. I wish he'd just calm down for a minute for me to breathe." She closed her eyes as a wave of pain rolled over her. She figured it was just him kicking as usual. Logan rubbed her stomach in hopes to calm him down. He was definitely a daddy's boy, always calming down for Logan. But there was no luck this time.
"Ace, you okay?" he asked as another wave of pain wrapped around her abdomen. There was no way she was going into labor. Not now, it was too early. Way too early. Okay, maybe not way, but still too early for her to be comfortable. "Do we need to go to the hospital?"
"No, I'm fine," she assured, mostly herself. She knew Logan was worried, but she hoped it was just the fact her diaphragm was currently their son's soccer ball. She repositioned a little bit, trying to get comfortable so she could sleep. She groaned as another wave of pain wrapped around her, this time, she could definitely feel the crampy feeling.
"We're going to the hospital," Logan finally said after the fifth wave of pain. "I'm going to go get your mom." He stood up, walking out of the room. She looked at the clock. It was a little after eleven at night. Sitting up, it happened again, but it was different.
"Oh my god!" she practically yelled, fists gripping the sheets. For sure a contraction, she thought to herself. She was having their baby. Standing, she walked towards the bedroom door when she knew she was in trouble. "Logan!" He rushed into the room as she was slightly bent over, both hands on her stomach. "My water just broke."
"What?" he asked, eyes wide. She walked over to the dresser, pulling out a pair of her maternity sweatpants and a new set of underwear. "You mean you're having the baby?" Lorelai showed up behind him, obviously having just been woken up.
"No. My water breaking has nothing to do with me having this baby," she said sarcastically. She quickly changed, not liking the audience. "So, go grab the 'go' bag and then we will head to Hartford Medical," she told him calmly. Her contractions seemed to be spaced out at fifteen minutes, so she wasn't due for another for a little longer.
Lorelai left the two, Logan going over to Rory, helping her out to the car. Her knees buckled slightly as another contraction hit, Logan supporting her as she rode it out with a cry of pain. "You're never touching me again," she told him through clenched teeth. Once the contraction finished, they continued walking out to the car. Lorelai had put the 'go' bag in the backseat of the Porsche and was currently sitting in the Jeep.
"I'll meet you guys there," the woman said, pulling out of the driveway as Logan helped Rory into the car. She buckled up as he got in the driver's side. She thought of everything that was going to come. They were going to have a baby… soon. Sooner than they had originally anticipated. She was nervous. How were the three of them going to fit into that apartment? She knew they'd figure it out.
"Oh god," she groaned, doubling over as much as she could, almost halfway to Hartford. She squeezed his hand, trying to breathe through it. "Why does it hurt so much?" she asked, out of breath.
"We're almost there, Ace," he assured her. She knew he was lying, knew they had a little longer to go. Not that it really mattered. Their son wasn't coming out anytime soon, but she just really wanted drugs at that point. More like needed, especially when the next contraction hit and she cried out.
He parked the car in the emergency room parking lot, grabbing the bag as he got out. Walking around to the other side of the car, he opened the door, helping Rory out. She could see her mom's Jeep, knowing the woman would get there before them. Especially considering he had pulled over with almost each of her contractions because he couldn't drive with only one hand. And her grip made it where he was.
"Hello, my name's Logan Huntzberger. My wife is having a baby," he told the nurse when they walked in. As if on cue, another contraction hit. She squeezed her eyes shut, yelling in pain. She could feel him kiss the top of her head as he held her up.
She was brought a wheelchair where she sat down, still refusing to let go of Logan's hand. The nurse wheeled her up to the maternity ward where her mother was waiting for them. She smiled as she changed into the gown and laid down on the bed. An IV was hooked up and a fetal monitor wrapped around her waist. She knew she would have to wait a few more minutes before an epidural.
"How you feeling, Rory?" Linda Andrews asked as she walked in, pulling on a pair of gloves.
"In pain," she said. Wasn't that obvious? How else was she supposed to answer? It wasn't as if contractions were all sunshine and rainbows.
"Let's see how far along you are," she said, sitting on a stool at the end of the bed. "How long have you been having your contractions and when did your water break?" Rory's breath hitched as the doctor checked how dilated she was.
"Umm… My water broke about… an hour ago. I noticed some cramping this morning, but he's been… wow… umm…. Playing soccer with my diaphragm the past couple days, so I thought that was what it was," she answered. She relaxed when Linda stood up.
"Well, Rory. You're pretty far along. I'd say his soccer playing was labor this morning. You're about seven centimeters dilated." Seven centimeters? Logan looked at her, jaw clenched as she held his hand. "I'd say within the next few hours. I'll be back in a little while to check on you, but I'd rather not do an epidural because of how far along you are."
She groaned, not out of pain but because she couldn't have the epidural. As Linda walked out, she looked at Logan, her mom walking into the room. "Why didn't you say anything this morning?" he finally asked, sitting in the chair next to her.
"Exactly what I told Linda. I didn't think it was contractions this morning. He's been a little miscreant in there recently, and it's tiring and makes me sore when he won't stop. So sorry if I'm a bad mother for not knowing when I go into labor!" She was yelling at that point. Lorelai looked between the two, backing out of the room slowly.
"I didn't say you were a bad mother, Rory. You know I want to be there for you. You have to be able to be like 'Wow, Logan. He's really doing a number on me. It doesn't feel so good right now' and I would have told you to let me know if it got worse." He sighed. She knew she was overreacting.
"I'm sorry," she told him softly, pulling him closer and kissing him softly. She felt him relax a little. "You know I get crabby when I'm sick, and this is a thousand times worse." He nodded, sitting back down. She still couldn't believe she hadn't known she was in labor. As another contraction hit, she was glad they weren't like this earlier in the day.
Logan kissed her forehead as the contraction slowly wound down until it was nothing but a dull ache. After a few minutes, he sat back down, pulling out a notebook. She'd seen him writing in it every once in awhile over the past few months, but she never asked what it was. She probably wasn't going to. She knew that he'd tell her when he wanted to, and she didn't want to push it.
"Hey, babe," her mom said, walking in with a cup of what she could assume was coffee, an hour later. How cruel, her mom getting to have coffee and all she had was the ice chips. She debated pelting the elder Gilmore, but decided against it. "How's it coming along?"
"Still at seven. Linda says it's common for fast-pace labor to hit a stand-still for a couple hours. He finally got to sleep a few minutes ago," motioning to Logan asleep on the couch on the other side of the room. "Can't blame him. Wish I could sleep, but nope. Not to mention no drugs. Mommy, doctors are cruel." Lorelai laughed, sitting next to her.
"Besides the obvious pain, how are you?" She sighed, telling her mom that she'd apparently been in labor the entire day and not knowing, of her going off on Logan, of her feeling terrible that she hadn't known. "Babe, none of that is your fault. Every pregnancy is different, therefore every labor is different. You're a lucky one, I can tell you that. You got through nearly almost all your labor with minimal pain. I had sixteen hours, sixteen hours, worth of pain with you." Both women laughed as another contraction hit her, this time worse than the others.
"Holy shit!" she cried out, startling Logan. Her hands gripped the blankets as her eyes squeezed shut. It continued for another minute before slowly dissipating. Logan had made his way over to her, rubbing her back, kissing the top of her head. When the contraction was done, he mumbled something about laying back down.
"Everybody who needs to know has been called. Your grandparents said they'd be by in the afternoon, I told your friends you didn't want anybody here until after the birth - Finn said he'd be by in the morning, birthed or not. Mitchum's out of town, so I left a message with his secretary, but I don't think she's just his secretary if you know what I mean," her mom informed her. She looked over at Logan who had easily fallen asleep again.
"Babe," Lorelai said, rousing Rory from her thoughts of Logan. He looked so peaceful and for a minute she could forget he was dying. For a minute, she could look at her husband with love and adoration without the feeling of impending doom. "How's he holding up with all this?" There went the lack of sad thoughts.
"He's writing again," she said softly. "I don't read what he writes. He has a journal now, and he writes nearly every day. I don't ask him about it, but I have a feeling that it's important. He's a good writer, Mom. Those few occasions where he'd write for the Yale Daily News… He gives me a run for my money, hell, he gives Christiane Amanpour a run for her money. I don't want to ask him about it, because I know he'll tell me when he's ready." She looked away from her mom and back to Logan with a soft sigh. Then, she turned back to her mom.
"It's been two months give or take, and I don't think he's fully grasped it yet. He goes about his day to day life like nothing's changed. He seemed so calm at Max's office when we went over treatment options. It's so unlike him."
"Have you ever thought that he actually has grasped it, and he's been able to come to terms with it?" She knew that was most likely the case, but she didn't want to think that it was true. She didn't want to think that he was finally okay with dying. Another contraction hit and she cried out in pain. She knew they were getting closer together, and she just wanted the pain to stop. Logan woke up again, taking his place at her side.
"Okay, Rory. Let's take a look again," Linda said, pulling on a pair of gloves as she walked in. A minute later she spoke. "We're going to go ahead and get you to a delivery room. Logan, you can go ahead and come with us, but Lorelai, you're gonna have to wait in the waiting room." She looked up at Logan who had a big grin on his face.
"You ready for this?" Rory asked him and he just nodded as he squeezed her hand. She was wheeled into the delivery room where her legs were places in the stirrups. Logan stood by her, hands still linked with hers.
"Okay, Rory. With each contraction I'm going to need a big push, okay?" Linda asked. She just nodded, knowing this was it. This was the end of her pregnancy and soon she'd be holding their son in her arms. As the next contraction hit, she gave a big push, yelling in the process and squeezing Logan's hand. He stroked her hair, giving her words of encouragement.
Leaning back, she took several deep breaths. "You got this, Ace," he told her, kissing her forehead. She nodded. Giving birth was painful, who would've thought. With the next contraction came more pushing. "He's crowing," Linda told her. It seemed to go on for an eternity. Between the contractions and the pushing and Logan encouraging her not to give up, it seemed to last forever. Until she heard her son's first cry.
Tears came to her eyes as Linda held him up for her to see. His hair was so blonde, just like his dad's had been. She knew it would darken to the dirty blonde Logan had now. He was gorgeous, their son was beautiful. The nurses checked him out, cleaned him up, and handed him to Rory. As she held him, she realized she held her future. Nothing was going to be the same, and that was fine with her. The baby she'd grown to love over the past nine months was now in her arms.
She handed him to Logan who had tears in his eyes. A smile on his face showed her exactly how happy he was. He was a natural with their son, and she knew what his name was. "I think we need to make a decision on his name," she told him, wanting him to tell her.
"I'm thinking Elias. He looks like an Elias, not a Finnegan," he said with a smile. "Hi, Elias Richard Huntzberger." It fit. Originally, she wanted his middle name to be Logan, but he had been against it. He said it was too weird having practically the same name as their son. So, they opted for the alternative. If Logan's middle name was his grandfather's then Elias' would be his great-grandfather's. It fit, he looked like an Elias Richard. He looked like their son, and she had fallen in love all over again.