The Thrill of the Chase

forty three

Four Years Later

"Rory you will be fine, you aren't going to fall. This isn't your first time doing this." Robert said, trying to calm down his anxious girlfriend.

"I know, but there will be so many people there. I want to make a good impression," she said, coming out of their master bathroom.

"Babe, you are the Valedictorian of your class, you already have made a good impression. And you know exactly where you are going to work already." Robert pulled her into his arms, trying to get her to relax.

"That's why I want to make a good impression. I want people to know that I earned my position even though there is a lot of nepotism involved," she said with a sigh. "I just want to make my grandfather proud."

Straub had passed away two years earlier, leaving Rory as head of the firm even though she was still in school. She had taken his passing hard, having seen him as relatively invincible like Richard. It made her even more determined to do well in Law School, and show that she knew what she was doing.

"He was proud of you," Robert said into her hair, pressing a kiss against it. "Now come on, we can't get all maudlin this morning, it will ruin your makeup and make us late, and I am not taking the blame this time."

"You know you would if you needed to," Rory said, putting on her best doe eyes and looking up at him, as he forced himself to avert his eyes.

"Nope, I'm not looking. Now hurry up and finish, the car will be here in a few minutes."

The penthouse apartment that Rory and Robert shared on the Upper West Side of Manhattan wasn't very fair from Columbia but Robert knew that Rory would have heels on today, and was likely to be flustered and running late, so he had arranged for a car service to pick them up. As soon as Rory had told Robert that she was going to be attending Columbia, he had begun searching Manhattan real estate for the perfect apartment for them, finally deciding on a three bed three bathroom penthouse near central park. He did wait for Rory's approval before placing an offer on it, but she had also agreed that it was perfect when she first saw the listing. By the time Rory was attending Columbia full time, a year later, the apartment was fully renovated and decorated to suit them.

Rory's grandparents had not been thrilled by the idea of their granddaughter moving in with Robert with no rings involved but they had listened to reason and accepted that Rory was grown up enough to make her own decisions, they also trusted Robert to stand by her, should any situations arise.

By the time Rory and Robert arrived at the University, Rory only had time to quickly brush a kiss across his lips, before running off to find the rest of her class, leaving Robert to locate her family. Thankfully, due to this class being a smaller graduating class than Yale, Rory was allowed more tickets and they were able to accommodate the seven of them. It didn't take long for Robert to find them, being able to hear Emily's complaints from far away, making him actually hesitant to join them.

"Robert!" Lorelai exclaimed, spotting him in the crowd, and latching onto the distraction. "Where's our girl?"

"She had to go join her class, she didn't want to miss them lining up, so she went straight there when we arrived." Robert said, greeting the group, all the men with hand shakes, and kisses on the cheek for the ladies.

"I hope you didn't make her walk, she would end up all sweaty and disheveled before it even started." Emily said, in a chastising tone.

"No, we used a car service today, I didn't want her to get flustered and rush."

"Just right, Robert. Thinking ahead," Francine said, trying to stick up for the young man who had been a firm fixture in her granddaughter's life for over six years.