Gilmore Girls: Another Year in the Life

[FALL] Chapter 1: The Dynastic Plan

Rory rushed into her mother's house and kicked off her heels immediately. It was just after Lorelai and Luke's wedding in the town square, and the big crowd of people at the grand outdoor reception was too much to handle right now, especially since she had been up most of the night before at their real, secret wedding. She threw herself onto the couch in the living room and laid her arm across her forehead, thinking about the gut-wrenching moment earlier that morning, when she had finally told Lorelai about the baby.

As if on cue, Lorelai came bursting through the front door and into the living room. She was wearing a gorgeous silk wedding dress that Rory had helped her pick out a few months back, and she looked positively radiant in it. She looked like she belonged on the cover of a bridal magazine, but right now with her hands on her hips and a stern expression, she just looked like a worried mom. 

"Yes?" Rory asked, looking up at Lorelai.

"So you just abandon me when we're talking to Babette and Miss Patty back there? I've been married for like two seconds and, as soon as you left, they started asking me when they can expect more good news! I'm MIDDLE AGED! I'm not some spring chicken who's getting knocked up on her honeymoon." Lorelai gesticulated wildly and then plopped down on the couch by Rory's feet. She continued. "Oh man, you just missed the wildest scene too. Kirk accidentally fell asleep in the gazebo since he was up all night prepping the decorations, and he had one of his night terrors and ran right through the reception screaming and flailing his arms! Then Petal ran after him and knocked Taylor into the h'orderves table! So of course Sookie was screaming at all of them... " She gasped with laughter. "Then Luke had to chase after Kirk because he said he's the only one besides Lulu who knows how to calm him down! I don't even want to know what the hell that means." Lorelai continued to giggle but noticed her daughter wasn't joining in on the fun anymore. "Hey, what's going on in that head of yours? This is a happy day."

Rory sat up next to her and looked down at her hands. "Sorry, the town was just getting to be too much. I needed some space."

Lorelai stared at her daughter and pushed a stray hair behind Rory's ear. "You feeling okay? Morning sickness?"

Rory squirmed. Even just hearing her mom ask if she had morning sickness felt like she was in some weird alternate universe. She still hadn't come to terms with being pregnant quite yet. "Yeah, actually. And...a lot on my mind."

"You haven't told Logan."

Rory looked at her mother incredulously. "How do you know it's Logan's? I never told you."

"Well, I know you two have been seeing each other. Which, by the way, I'm not exactly thrilled about given that he's engaged. And I know how you feel about him, and a rough timeline of events, so I just...knew."

A single tear fell down Rory's face into her lap.

"Aw, kid. Come here." Lorelai pulled Rory into a hug, and Rory sobbed quietly on her shoulder for a few minutes.

"Everything is falling apart," she choked out. "I can't hold down a career, my child's father is engaged to another woman..." she looked up into her mother's eyes. "Mom, this is really, really bad. I don't know what to do." She cried harder now, and the crying made her gag. A joyous symptom of pregnancy. "Oh, god, and now my body is falling apart!"

"Okay how about we just calm down. Take a deep breath." Rory took a few breaths and sat upright again, feeling a little calmer now. "Do you want to keep the baby?"

Rory looked horrified. "Of course I do!"

Lorelai raised her hands in defense. "I'm just asking! You always have that option. You don't have to do this if you don't feel ready."