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~~~ Self Quarantine Day 67 ~~~
I've had A LOT going on lately! Sorry I haven't posted anything, but I've definitely been writing in the little bits of time that I've gotten.
I hope you are all doing well, and continue to remain healthy and happy
"Rory! Hey doll! What are you doing here?!" Babbette asked as she walked through the diner door with her husband Morey.
"Hey Babbette! We're here for Mom's Christmas party tonight. We figured that after raising me for so many years, making an appearance tonight was necessary. You guys remember my husband, Logan, right?"
"Of course we do!" Morey answered. "How are you Doc?"
"I'm doing well, it's nice to see you both again." Logan greeted.
"Babbette, Morey, you two here for lunch?" Luke asked.
"Of course! What else would we be here for?" Babbette answered.
"You want your usual?"
"You betcha, Sweet Cheeks! So Rory, Honey, what is new with you?"
"Not too much. Just a lot of working, and a little bit of growing."
"Growing? What are you growing? Most plants don't do much growing in the winter."
"Plants, that's cute!" Lorelai laughed.
"No, we're definitely not growing any plants . . . Actually, we're growing a baby."
"A baby!?" Babbette screeched. "You're having a baby!?"
"We are! A little baby girl!" Logan told them.
"Morey, did you hear?! They're having a baby girl!"
"Who's having a baby girl?" a voice asked, as the bell on the diner door jingled and more people walked in.
"Rory and the Doctor." Morey answered.
"Hey Kirk! Hey Lulu!" Lorelai smiled as their little family was suddenly surrounded.
"Rory, you're having a baby?" Lulu asked.
"I am. A little girl."
"How exciting! You must be over the moon!"
"We are. We are very happy."
"Patty, guess who's having a baby!" Babbette screeched as the diner door opened again.
"Who's having a baby?" Miss Patty asked.
"Rory and the Doctor! They're having a little girl!" Kirk told her.
"Rory is having a baby?!"
"Rory is having a baby." Lorelai laughed in confirmation.
"Rory, Honey! Congratulations Sweetie! When are you due?"
"Right before Memorial day. May 23rd."
"You feeling ok, Honey? You been sick or anything?"
"I'm ok at the moment. The sickness comes and goes. Some days are better than others. But I got the good nausea drugs. It pays to be married to a doctor."
"I bet it does! And a hot one at that! Isn't Rory's doctor just gorgeous Patty?!"
"He looks a lot like my first husband. Especially with that chin."
"Wait for it . . ." Lorelai whispered in her daughter's ear.
"Rory had better watch herself, or I might have to make him number 7."
"Did you hear that Logan? You can be the next Mr. Patty!" Luke laughed as he set burgers down in front of Logan, Rory, and Lorelai."
"As great of an offer as that might be, I'm pretty happy right where I am." Logan laughed, sliding his arm around Rory.
"Well Doctor, you know where to find me if you ever change your mind." Patty told him.
"I'll try to remember that."
"Eat up you guys. Rory, you need to eat some of this salad. And by some, I mean half." Luke told her.
"Yes, Father!" Rory laughed as she turned toward her food, reaching for the fork sitting on the counter in front of her.
~~~ Scene 2 ~~~
The Inn was covered in a fresh power of snow, with twinkling Christmas lights strung along the roof line, and around the windows. Fresh pine scented wreaths adorned the doors, decorated simply with large red bows. Lorelai had gone all out to make the property look like it was welcoming you to the North Pole. There were large candy canes and lollipops lining the driveway, with a large red sleigh sitting right in front of the building, complete with 9 light-up reindeer in front. Everything looked magical as Rory as Logan sat on the large wrap around porch, snuggled together under a thick blanket, enjoying a peaceful moment before guests were due to arrive for the party. Sookie had given them large mugs of hot chocolate to drink, filled to the brim with the warm beverage and marshmallows.
"This place looks completely amazing!"
"Mom and Sookie did a great job!" Rory agreed. "It reminds me of that little Christmas village you took me to in London.
"That place was amazing! Remember how much gingerbread we ate that day?"
"And eating our weight in candy while decorating the little gingerbread men."
"The men or the houses?"
"Both!" Rory laughed.
"We should go back there with Ayribella when she's old enough to understand Christmas."
"Logan, that would be so fun! I bet she would love that!"
"Maybe we can build some gingerbread houses with the family next weekend."
"Little do you know, we're doing that here tomorrow." Rory laughed.
"Sookie's idea?"
"She wanted to do it at the party, but Mom didn't think that was the best idea, so she told Sookie that we would all get together for lunch tomorrow, and build our own little houses."
"Sounds like we've got a busy rest of the trip."
"Pretty much!" Rory agreed as the door opened, and Lorelai walked outside.
"Hey, there you guys are!"
"Mom, this place looks beautiful!"
"I almost feel like I'm at the North Pole." Logan told her.
"You guys haven't even seen the best part yet! There is a cool surprise coming later!"
"Santa Clause?!" Rory asked.
"He'll be here too, but that's not the surprise."
"Did you get everyone sleigh rides again!?"
"Hey! How'd you know?!" Lorelai asked.
"Please, who raised me?! No Lorelai North Pole party is complete without a sleigh ride to see Santa."
"Really, a sleigh ride to Santa?" Logan asked.
"After everyone is here, and has mingled for a little while, we are going to load everybody up into horse drawn sleighs, and go for a ride around the town. Then, when we get back, Santa will be here waiting with presents for all the little kids!" Lorelai explained excitedly
"Is Taylor playing Santa?" Rory asked.
"Nope! I actually hired a friend of Grandpa's. The guy has a business where he plays Santa for any event you put together. He'll even dress up like surfer Santa for a fun Hawaiian style beach party."
"That is really cool!" Logan told her.
"Well thank you! Are you guys ready, or do you still need to get ready?"
"Logan is ready, but I still need to change. Is there a room upstairs that I can use?"
"We are actually all booked up, but you can use my office. Or, if you'd like you can run home really quick."
"I need a mirror to fix my hair and makeup, so we'll run home." Rory told her as Logan moved the blanket so he could get up, then held his hand out to help Rory.
"April may be at the house when you get there."
"April is here?"
"She's staying in the apartment above the diner."
"Really? Why isn't she staying at the house with us?"
"I think she's got a friend with her. She asked Luke if they could stay in the apartment this weekend."
"Maybe next time we are all in town together, Logan and I will stay at the apartment, and April can take my room at the house."
"Luke and I are actually thinking about adding on another addition, and giving April her own room. That way we have a big enough house for everyone to stay in together."
"That's a good idea." Rory agreed.
"You guys should get going so you can get back here on time."
"Do you need anything while we're at the house?"
"Just the two of you and April."
"Call me if you decide you need anything." Rory said as Logan led her down the porch steps to the car, and helped her get in.
"So, I was just thinking . . ." Logan started as he got into the car, and buckled his seat belt. "Tell me what you think about this. I was thinking that if April is staying in town through the weekend, maybe if she doesn't have any plans, she can come back home with us, and go to the hospital Christmas party. She's wanting to get a job there when she's done with school, and it would be good for her to hang around and network when she's got the time."
"I think that is a great idea! I agree, it is a great opportunity for April to network."
"Do you think I should bring it up to her, or would you rather do it or have her Dad do it?"
"One of us should probably bring it up to her. It doesn't matter if you do it, or if you want me to. It's a great idea though."
"I don't want to pull her away from spending time with the family, but I was just thinking that it would be a good opportunity for April to get her foot in the door with the hospital."
"No, I totally agree, and I think that Mom, Luke and April will agree with you too." Rory said as Logan headed down the Inn's long driveway. "Hey Babe?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for helping my sister. It really means a lot to me that you look out for her the same way that you do for me."
"You don't have to thank me. We're family."
"You are an amazing guy!"
"I would do anything for you."
"It's not even for me, it's for my sister."
"I've never had a younger sibling, but I'm happy to help your sisters, just like Honor has always helped me."
"I really appreciate you looking out for them."
"I'm just doing what my older sister does for me."
"Well thank you. I love you for it."
"You don't have to thank me Ace. We're family."
"I wonder if April is going to Grandma's party with all of us tomorrow."
"You haven't taught her to avoid the Gilmores yet?"
"She usually only sees them for holidays. They're at least polite to her. Grandma likes to buy April and I matching gifts."
"Probably because she doesn't know April very well."
"Exactly!" Rory agreed. "But I understand it. I mean, they're not April's grandparents, so it's actually really nice of them to include her."
"I'm glad they've accepted her better than they originally did Luke."
"They've definitely changed for the better. They're more mellow now."
"I think having Ayribella to spoil will mellow them out even more."
"They are super excited!" Rory said as Logan pulled into Lorelai's driveway, parking the car behind Luke's truck.
"They're not the only ones."
"It's nice that everyone knows now."
"And anyone who doesn't is about to, this weekend. Come on, let go get changed." Logan said as he got out of the car, then walked around to help Rory out, and escort her safely into the house, making extra sure she didn't slip and fall in the snow.
"Hey you guys!" April greeted, seeing Rory and Logan walk into the house. "Long time, no see!"
"Hey April! I'm so happy to see you!" Rory said giving her a quick hug. "We need to go get changed for the party, but we had an idea to run by you, when you have a few minutes."
"Ok, sure! We'll definitely have plenty of time to talk and stuff. I'm in town until New Year's."
"Mom said you have a friend with you."
"Uh, yeah, he's getting ready in your bathroom. I hope that's ok."
"Yeah, of course! That is totally fine! I can use Mom's bathroom upstairs."
"We're staying in Dad's old apartment so we don't over crowd this place, but Dad thought it was best to come straight here from the train station, rather than going to the apartment to get everything settled and get ready there."
"It's probably easier to get ready here. This house has more lights and mirrors than Dad's apartment."
"That is very true."
"If you want to, Logan and I can stay in the apartment, and you guys can stay here. We don't mind. I feel really bad that you're staying over there."
"We don't mind it at all, really. It's only for a couple days while Billy is in town. He's only here for the weekend. Lorelai said that you and Logan are leaving on Sunday, so I'll take over your room when you guys head home.
"Actually, that's what we wanted to talk to you about. Do you want to come help me get ready, and we can talk about it?"
"Sure!" April agreed, following Rory to her bedroom to grab her things.
"Hey Dad! Do you mind if I used your bathroom upstairs to get ready?" Rory asked.
"Help yourself!" Luke answered as he pulled a pan out of the oven.
"Let me help you take your stuff upstairs." Logan said reaching for Rory's makeup and dress bag that she had just pulled out of the closet.
"I can take those." April offered.
"I don't want Rory walking up or down the stairs alone." Logan said as April took Rory's things from him.
"I can help with that too. No pregnant sisters will be falling down the stairs today."
"Thanks April." Logan said as April followed Rory out of the room and up the stairs.
"He's really protective." Rory explained as they headed to Luke and Lorelai's bedroom to get ready for the party.
"It's because he loves you. How far along are you now?"
"13 weeks."
"So no kicks yet?"
"Probably not for at least a few more weeks from what I've read."
"Are you at least starting to feel better?"
"Most days. Logan got me the good nausea meds, so I'm doing pretty good. Now that I'm showing he's gotten even more protective."
"It's cute though. He might be really protective, but you can tell how much he adores you, just by looking at him."
"He is pretty great. And I'm not the only person he looks out for." Rory told her as she started to brush her hair, and fix her makeup. "When we found out that you are in town, Logan was thinking that if you don't have other plans already, you could come back to New York with us on Sunday. The hospital is having their big Christmas party that night, and it would be a really good opportunity for you to network with the other staff, and get your foot in the door while you are still finishing school. That way when you graduate and apply for a position in the lab, everyone already knows you. We think that it would really benefit you."
"No, I completely agree! That is a great idea! I can definitely do that! Billy is leaving Sunday morning, so we can drop him off at the train station to head home, then I can go back with you. I was just going to stay with Dad and Lorelai until Friday when they were planning to head to your place for the holidays, but I can totally come up early if it's not too much of an invasion."
"It's not an invasion at all. We love having you there! You can even come help me out at work if you want to. I have a ton of stuff to get done before Christmas, but I would love to have you there to help if you don't mind."
"Count me in then! I still have some shopping to do, so I'll just need a couple of hours to finish up."
"I need to do the same thing, so maybe we can go together."
"Yes! I love it! I'm in!"
"We have the office Christmas party this next week too. You are definitely welcome to join us for that as well. And if you need something to wear, Honor and I both have full closets for you to shop in, unless you want to buy something."
"That sounds perfect!"
"When is your mom coming up?"
"I think Friday."
"Perfect! Logan got everyone tickets to go see The Nutcracker."
"My Mom LOVES The Nutcracker! She will absolutely love that!"
"Oh yay, I'm so glad! We figured it would be a fun thing for all of us to do as a family."
"Most definitely! I am so excited. I love Christmas! It's my favorite holiday."
"Mine too. We are going all out. Apparently Mom had the same idea. The Inn is all decorated to look like the North Pole."
"You two definitely share a brain sometimes."
"Right?! Were you ever like that with your Mom?"
"No. We've always been close, but never like you and Lorelai."
"I'm excited to get to know her. I've only met your mom once."
"You have?"
"I went into her store once, right after we found out about you. Mom and I knew nothing about you or your Mom, but the entire town apparently knew who she was, so I did a little research, and found the store she owned over in Woodbridge, and I went over there to do a little shopping, and check her out."
"I never knew that."
"Only Mom knew about it. I tried to get her to go with me, but she refused, and told me to stay out of it, but I went anyway. Mom was pissed when she found out."
"So you went and met my mom anyway?"
"Yeah, my curiosity won out. Your mom was super sweet. She had no idea who I was. I bought Mom an old Pan-Am Stewardess bag. It was super cool."
"I remember that bag! Mom has always stocked one of a kind things. She's got an obsession with being the only one to have things. She calls it 'only child syndrome'."
"She said that to me. I totally get it! I was an only child until Dad had Gigi, and then you showed up, and it's been great, but I've still always been Mom's only kid."
"Did Lorelai ever want to have another one?"
"Yes and no. It was just never the right time. What about you?"
"No, my mom only wanted one. How many do you want?"
"Honestly? I have no idea. I actually never really thought about having a baby. At least not yet. This pregnancy was kind of accidental. Definitely a super happy accident. We are really excited to be having a baby, but other than my 3 godsons, I've never actually thought about having kids of my own."
"Really? You never thought about being a mother?"
"I've always been so hyper focused on school and my career, that it was never a priority to me. I guess I'm just weird. Most girls dream about when they'll grow up, get married and start a family. I was just never really one of them."
"You never dreamed of the perfect wedding?"
"Not really. I did a few times, when I first started dating Logan. I knew that I loved him, and I wanted to spend every second of my time with him, but it was never my plan to settle down and get married. I always dreamed of being a foreign correspondent, or a reporter at the New York Times."
"So none of this was your original plan."
"None of it. But that's ok, because I'm happy with the way things turned out. I got to work at the times, and now I'm the CEO of Huntzberger Publishing Group, and even though I got fired from the Times while I was on leave a couple months ago, because it was a conflict of interest to work for both, I could now buy them if I wanted to."
"That's kind of awesome!"
"It's a nice thought. Logan and his crazy friend wanted to buy it the day I was let go. They said that his Dad had been trying to buy the Times for a couple decades now."
"That's crazy!"
"Right?! It's nice to know that I could do it, but I really don't have any plans to take them over. I have more than enough to deal with already, I don't really need to take on another large company. The Times can keep running itself. They're only one big paper, I have over 200 papers. I'm much bigger than they are."
"I still can't believe that you are the CEO."
"Trust me, I can't believe it either. Honestly, it's only because Logan asked me to do it. It was always his 'destiny', but he never wanted it, and Logan loves being a doctor. He never wanted to be the newspaper prince. But then his Dad had the first heart attack, and someone needed to step up and take over things, and Logan didn't want to do it, so he asked me to. It's a huge slap in the face to his family, which is just an added bonus. Running the family company is definitely not what I ever wanted to do, but I still get to write whenever I want to, and I can pick any stories that I want. Logan even said that if I want to take on a big international story, we'll head overseas to wherever I want to go, and I can write from there. I can do the whole international correspondent thing whenever I want to."
"That is pretty cool. I love that he supports your dreams. You're really lucky."
"I am for sure. But tell me about you, and about Billy. I didn't know that you were dating anyone."
"Billy and I have been friends for a while. I've known him for a couple of years. We just started dating a couple months ago."
"So you like this guy? You wouldn't have brought him out to meet the family if you didn't."
"Yeah, he's pretty cool. I never actually thought about dating him until recently. We've always just been friends. But then one day we were hanging out, and he started talking about how he loves spending time with me, and he was thinking that maybe we should consider dating each other. He had all these reasons, and they completely made sense. We spend a ton of time together, we are both studying to be chemists, we are both graduating in May, and want to get a job in a hospital lab."
"What hospitals is he looking at?"
"He wants to go to John Hopkins. That's his first choice. Second is the Mayo Clinic."
"Wow! Prestigious!"
"Right?! I thought about applying there, but I actually really like New York, and I want to be close to the family. I was an only child my entire life, until I found Dad, and now I have you, and I love hanging out and getting to know you. And now you're having a little baby of your own, and I feel like I should be nearby and do the fun Aunt thing."
"April, that is so sweet! You should make your career decisions for yourself though. Do what you want to do, and don't worry about what anyone else wants. Let us figure out how to fit into your life, instead of you trying to figure out how to fit into ours. Wherever you decide to go, Logan and I will definitely come visit."
"My top choice is still Columbia."
"Well it if helps, Logan is all over getting you a spot there."
"I appreciate it so much! Columbia is the best hospital in the state."
"That's why Logan chose to go there. Did I tell you that he got accepted into Doctors Without Borders?"
"Really?! That is amazing! When was that?"
"Pretty recently actually. He turned it down. He applied over a year ago, way before we got back together. But now, being married, with a baby on the way, it just isn't a good time for him to go. It would be an 18 month commitment, and we have a lot of other stuff going on right now."
"That is an incredible opportunity though! If you guys didn't have so much going on, I would definitely say that Logan should go for it. Both of you could go."
"If we weren't married, with a baby on the way, I would definitely have pushed him to go. But now . . . We haven't been away from each other for longer than an 18 hour hospital shift."
"You guys are adorable! I hope I can have a relationship like yours one day."
"We weren't always like this. We've been through a lot over the years. We've definitely had some struggles. We've broken up, and gotten back together several times. This last time was the longest we were ever apart, and I actually think that it was really good for us. We were apart for 8 ½ years, and our lives are so different now than they used to be, so we had to figure out how to fit ourselves back into each other's lives, but we're doing it. It was actually really good for us to both get out and figure out exactly what we wanted to do with our lives, without trying to figure out what to do while still being together and trying to fit our career into someone else's life. It's been an adjustment fitting our lives together, but we do what we can to make it work. Logan cut back on his hours at the hospital. He went from working non-stop to working full-time with me at HPG, and 3 days a week at the hospital. And now we are working on opening up a private employee clinic at HPG that is connected to the hospital, so when we get that all set up and open, Logan will be working in the office full-time and only in the hospital as needed."
"I bet he'll be glad to be out of the emergency room."
"Yes and no. Logan loves his job, but it'll be better for us with the baby, for Logan to have a more normal schedule."
"When do you think the private office will open?"
"We are hoping for February. It would have been nice to get open in January, but we didn't think of doing it soon enough, to get all the construction done, and everything set up. The insurance coverage was actually the easiest part of the whole thing because HPG and the hospital use the same company for their employees, so adding one more office was basically just a mouse click. Getting the office remodeled and set up is a ton of work, but we are finding ways to get things done quickly, so we can get open as soon as possible."
"Is Logan excited to have his own private office?"
"He is. It's become his dream. Logan has always wanted to have a family of his own, so he's really looking forward to being able to be in the office with me and the baby all the time, and having his own medical clinic that he can work in during normal business hours, whenever he's needed by one of the employees of either HPG of Columbia Presbyterian. Everyone will be able to set their appointments either online, or over the phone, and Logan won't have to be in the ER running around like a chicken with its head cut off. He'll be able to work on different HPG projects, and then take a break to see patients whenever they need him."
"So you guys are taking the baby to work with you?"
"At first, yeah. I can work from home as much as I need to, but if I'm needed in the office, I can either take the baby with me, or leave her with Honor. I figure that until she's mobile and running around everywhere, I'll take her with me, and have Honor there to watch her if I need to go into a meeting or whatever. Babies cry, and it's distracting and everything, but then again, it's one of those things that you can't control. And if for some reason we have a day where the baby just cries and cries, and we can't get her settled down, then we'll either stay home, or take her home. But I think that having her with us for the first year, is completely reasonable. I can set up a playpen for her to hang out in, or I can wear her in a carrier. I'm really lucky to have a job that is flexible enough for me to be a mom, and for me to be there for my family. Logan's dad's first priority was always his job, but we are doing things differently. Our family is our priority, so we've taken steps to delegate things out to other people to make it so that we aren't so swamped and tied down with work the way that Mitchum always was. Our relationship, and our family are our top priority, and we do whatever we can to make sure that we can be out of the office when we need to be."
"I would say that you are really lucky to work for a company that is conducive to having a family, but you are actually the one making the company that way."
"It's the way things should be. Everyone should be able to make their families their priority. Having a career is important, but I learned from my mom that being a mom is super important too. My mom has always been there for me the second I needed anything. Even now. All we have to do is call or text, and my mom jumps to take care of things."
"And that's the kind of Mom that you want to be."
"Yeah, of course. I had an amazing childhood, and I want my family to have that too."
"Girls, it's time to go! Are you two ready yet?" Luke yelled up the stairs.
"I'm just finishing up. We'll be there in a minute." Rory called back. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah, I'm just here to help you. What do you need me to do?"
"Will you text Logan and ask him to grab my shoes?" Rory asked as she walked back into the bedroom to where she had hung her dress.
"I'm actually right here, can I come in?" Logan asked from outside the bedroom door that was cracked open.
"Yeah, of course. Come on in."
"Your shoes are downstairs next to the couch. I figured walking down the stairs in heals might not be the easiest thing in the world."
"Good call. I just need to get my dress on."
"Do you need help or should I meet you downstairs?"
"I'll meet you guys downstairs." April said, then quickly slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.
"I just need a little help zipping up." Rory answered as she removed her dress from the hanger, and handed it to Logan, then quickly slipped her clothes off.
"You look beautiful."
"I don't have any clothes on."
"My favorite outfit!" Logan smiled, giving Rory a quick kiss, then helping her into the red sparkly dress she had brought with them, to wear to the party at the Dragonfly.
"Thanks Babe."
"So can I still get a private party later?" Logan asked, admiring how his wife looked in the tight dress as he moved to zip her up.
"I think that can definitely be arranged."
"This dress looks incredible on you."
"It's not too tight?"
"No. It definitely shows that you're pregnant though. But as long as you can move and sit down, I think you're ok."
"You don't think it's slutty?"
"You will never look slutty to me. You're beautiful." Logan said as he wrapped his arms around Rory, gently rubbing her protruding stomach. "You and Ayribella look amazing."
"You look pretty amazing yourself." Rory smiled, admiring their reflection in the full-length mirror that Lorelai had in the corner, outside her bathroom door.
"Are you ready to go?"
"I just need to slip my shoes on."
"Let's go then." Logan said reaching for Rory's hand, placing a gentle kiss on it, then escorting her out of the bedroom and down the stairs.