Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden III
Pairing: Rory/Finn
Summary: Rory's back from Australia and finally has time to meet with Francine and boy is she in for a surprise!
Rory POV
My trip to Melbourne had been exhausting. We ended up staying for 2 weeks. The bad part is we'd be back Christmas day. We'd be spending two weeks for the holiday. Surprisingly, Logan had been nice during the trip. He'd gotten the exclusive for HPG just like Mitchum wanted and he and Finn had even patched things up. I was glad to be home though. I'd had some things to take care when we'd first gotten home but I'd finally managed to find time to call Francine and set up a visit. I hoped that she had been genuine about wanting to get to know me.
I was currently sitting in Francine's living room drinking a cup of coffee while she'd gone to grab a couple of things that she said she had for me. When she came back, I was surprised that she had an armful of stuff. "What is all of that?" I asked her.
"Most of it is from me, however, after Straub died, I was cleaning in his study and I found a small box of envelopes that had your name on them. I have no idea what's inside them." She said. I nodded.
She sat everything on the coffee table. "Feel free to look through things here or you can take them home." She said.
I decided to go through the scrapbook at home. I grabbed the small box and sat it in my lap. I opened the box and pulled out the top envelope. I opened it and pulled out a letter. I sat there and read the letter. It was an apology letter from Straub. I folded it back up and put it back in the envelope. I pulled the next one out and opened it. I looked at it was dated the day after my high school graduation. It said that he'd heard from Dad that I'd been named my class valedictorian and that he was proud of me. I closed the letter and put it back in the envelope. I pulled the next letter out of the box, noticing that there was only one more after… that I had to read. I opened this letter. It said that he'd heard that I'd decided to attend Yale. He said that he would have preferred that I go to Princeton, since that's where all Hayden's went at least until Dad but that he understood that I'd chosen Yale…as an honor to Richard. He said that he was proud of me. It said that he'd found Francine's scrapbook that she'd been making of things about me. I wasn't sure why but I could feel tears running down my face. I closed the letter, putting back in the envelope and grabbed the final one. I had a feeling that even though I hadn't really known the man that this letter would be hard. I slowly opened the letter and began to read.
"Dear Rory -
I feel that once again I must apologize. There is no excuse that I can give for the way that Francine and I have behaved. I was at the doctor today. Not good news apparently. I'd been sick for a while. Things haven't been good. I've been having these really bad headaches. Sick to my stomach. Not a good time at all. Your grandmother finally convinced me to go see my doctor, so I did. He did a complete physical and ran some tests. He made sure to put a rush on everything. He comes back and tells me that he's referring me to a Neurological Oncologist. That can't be good. He tells me that they can see me this afternoon. I go see the Oncologist and after he looks at my labs and test results he tells me that I have a brain tumor and that I have approximately less than six months to live. Then he apologizes to me. As I'm driving home so that I can explain all of this to your grandmother, the only thing that I can think of is that I'll never get the chance to know you. I'll never get the chance to see you graduate from Yale. Get married. Have children of your own. I just hope that one day, Francine will find the letters that I've written to you, and make amends. I know that Christopher could have been a better father to you, something that he regrets and that's my fault. I wasn't exactly the best father to him. Hopefully, you can forgive him too. One last thing that I must tell you. The day that you were born, I was so excited. After I got the news of your birth, I called my accountant and I set up a trust fund for you. There's an envelope in my safe that has everything in it. Today, I called my attorney and had my will revised. I've officially named you, my heiress. Everything (well almost everything) goes to you. Your grandmother will keep the Hartford house, but when she dies you will get it as well. The family law firm is yours. You will be named CEO once you've read this letter and contacted my attorney. I'm sure you'll show this letter to your grandmother, and she'll want to throw you a party. Maybe she and Emily can coordinate…I have no doubt that Richard will name you his successor as well. I don't want you to worry. Don't worry about me. Don't worry about anything. Everything will be fine and I will be watching over you.
Love,
Grandpa"
I looked up from the letter over at Francine. I quickly wiped my eyes before I said anything. "Would you like to read it?" I asked her.
"May I?" She asked and I nodded. I stood up and walked over to her chair handing her the letter before I went to sit back on the couch. I drank some more of my coffee while she read the letter. When she'd finished reading, she gave me the letter back before she took off down a hallway. She came back a few minutes later with a large envelope. She handed it to me. I looked at it before I opened it. On the front of the envelope, Straub had written my name on it: Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden III. I turned the envelope over and opened it, dumping the contents onto my lap. The first thing I picked up was a business card. It had the attorney's information on it. I made a mental note to call him and set up an appointment to go over Straub's will. I wanted to know exactly what was expected of me. The second thing I picked up, was a single sheet of paper. I quickly scanned over it, realizing that it was my birth certificate. It clearly stated that my legal name was Lorelai Leigh Gilmore-Hayden III. I sat it down with the business card. The third thing I picked up, was a thin stapled pack of papers. I turned it so I could read the front. It was the bank information about my trust fund. I decided to read through that later when Finn could help me decipher it. The final thing that I picked up looked to be a list at first glance. Upon closer examination, it was a list of everything that Straub had left me. I was in complete shock. I'd figured as I read the last letter that majority of everything he had would either go to Francine or Dad. I never imagined that that he would leave me so much. After I'd looked through everything, I put it all back in the envelope and secured it back. Then I looked to Francine. "Are you okay with all of this?" I asked her.
"It's what he wanted. How do you feel about all of this?" She said.
I shrugged. "Still trying to process I guess." I said and she nodded.
"Well, after you speak with the attorney and the rest of your family, let me know. I would be happy to coordinate with Emily on a party announcing your new status." Francine said.
"A party really isn't necessary." I said.
"It is. Hartford needs to know that you are now the head of the Hayden family." She told me. Wow…I was the head of one of the most wealthiest families in Hartford. I couldn't believe it.
I gave her a small smile. "Okay." I said.
Later that night when I walked in the front door of my townhouse, it didn't take me long to find Finn. I guess I had a mixed expression on my face, because he looked up at me confused. "Everything okay?" He asked.
I shrugged. "I don't really know what I'm feeling right now." I told him.
"What do you mean?" He asked. I handed him the box of letters from Straub and told him to read them. While he was doing that, I walked over to our wet bar and poured myself a large glass of scotch. I didn't drink the stuff much but tonight definitely called for it. When he'd finished reading the letters he looked up at me again. "You just became the richest heiress in all of Hartford."
I nodded. "Yep. Think Shira will still hate me? Or should I have her blacklisted?" I asked him with an evil grin.