Before Rory: A Gilmore Girls Prequel

Chapter 7

Monday, May 14, 1984

It had been three weeks since Lorelai learned she was pregnant. Emily called and made her an appointment with an obstetrician for later that afternoon. Lorelai was both excited and nervous, as she had no idea what would happen at the appointment.

After getting ready for school, Lorelai grabbed her backpack and flung it over her shoulder. She flew downstairs and crossed the foyer to the front door as Emily exited Richard's office.

"Don't forget, Lorelai, I'll be picking you up from school at 2:15pm so we can get to Dr. Gray's office on time."

"I know. I will plan to be in the office waiting for you."

"Yes, that would be good."

Opening the door, then hesitating, Lorelai looked at her mother. "Mom, thank you. I'll see you later."

"Later, yes." Emily was taken aback by her daughter's comment. "Have a good day."

The door closed softly behind her and Lorelai rushed to the bus stop, eager to get this day going.

As she stood waiting, she thought about her child's father. She told Christopher about the appointment several days ago but he said nothing else about it. She had begun to wonder if Christopher was somehow trying to detach from her—at the urging of his father, most likely—because he had spoken to her very little since news of her pregnancy had been come out.

She noticed her thoughts drifting to her baby quite often. She was almost certain she was carrying a girl—just an instinct she had. Names filtered through her mind often but nothing quite fit.

Passing at a decent clip, the day carried on with several classes actually capturing Lorelai's attention. Before she knew it, the time had come for her to head to the office to wait for her mom.

As she walked through the quad, Chris stepped out from behind a column. "Lor," he said simply.

Slowing, Lorelai allowed him to reach her. "Hey."

"So, today's the day, huh?"

"Yep. I'm headed to meet my mom now."

Chris shoved his hands in his pockets but said nothing.

Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Well, if that's it, I'll be going. I don't want to keep my mom waiting."

Nodding, Chris shifted his weight but didn't move. "Can you let me know what happens? What the doctor says?"

Without hesitation, Lorelai assented. "Chris, I'll never shut you out. Anything you want to know or be a part of, you're welcome to."

He started to respond when Emily's voice broke in. "Lorelai, we need to get going. You can talk to Christopher later."

A faint smile formed on Lorelai's lips as she turned and walked toward the doors. Before it closed behind her, she turned and looked at Christopher one last time.

°°°°°°

"Lorelai Gilmore."

She stood and made her way to the nurse holding the door open. As she neared, she realized her mother was behind her. "Mom, you don't have to come with me."

"You're sixteen years old. I'm going with you." Emily's look stopped further debate from Lorelai.

A little ways down the hall, the nurse stopped at a scale. "I need to check your weight." Lorelai climbed on the scale and waited for the nurse to jot the number in the chart. She pointed to an empty room across the hall. "We'll be in that room."