Come Back...Be Here (Gilmore Girls Post-AYITL)

Chapter 5

Rory sat nervously in the foyer of her father's smart offices and waited for him to come out and greet her. It felt like a lifetime ago that she had been sat there in front of him, having the awkward conversation about her childhood and she hadn't seen him at all since then but time had passed and as she was nearing the eleventh week of her pregnancy she thought she ought to let him in on the news before he found it out from anyone else.

"Rory! There's my girl, how are you" Christopher asked her, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.

"I'm – I'm okay dad but I do need to talk to you." She said "Privately" She added, suddenly aware of Christopher's secretary sitting nearby.

"Sure, sure" Christopher ushered her into his office and took his place behind his desk. It was odd for Rory to see her father like this and she still hadn't got used to the fact that he had finally settled down and given in to working for the family firm. "What can I do for you, Rory? Do you want some coffee? That's a stupid question right, I'll get you some, hang on..."

Rory interrupted her father.

"No, no coffee Dad"

Christopher looked puzzled, it's true there really is a first time for everything – a Gilmore girl refusing coffee?

"Firstly, Dad, I want to apologise. I know when I came here a few months ago and asked you those questions, well it might have felt like I was criticising you and your involvement in my life, but I wasn't, I really didn't mean it to come out like that or sound the way it did".

"Rory, it's fine..." Christopher started before Rory put her hand up to stop him.

"Dad, please let me get this out as if I don't say it now, I may never" Christopher looked intently at his daughter. "I wasn't being completely honest with you at the time. The reason I came to you and asked you about how you felt when mom raised me alone is because I had just found out I was pregnant." Rory took a deep breath and paused "Am pregnant" she corrected herself at the end.

"O-kay" Christopher responded and paused for a moment "Okay. Well, I guess, that's good news isn't it?" Rory half-smiled "Or isn't it? I'm not entirely sure how I should be responding here kiddo, help me out"

"Well, it's news, that much can be said" Rory laughed nervously "I don't know Dad, it wasn't planned, god knows it wasn't planned, and the father doesn't know. There's a very real chance that I will be raising this baby on my own, just like mom. I have no job, I have no real home. Everything is just a mess" She said as tears welled up in her eyes.

Christopher jumped up to join her around her side of the desk and tenderly put an arm around her.

"Rory, we can sort this out, can't we? Things aren't always as bleak as they seem. Have you considered telling the father? Do you know how he will react?"

"It's complicated Dad, he's engaged to someone else".

"Oh" Christopher's face drops.

"Yeah. And he lives on another continent, which isn't exactly ideal. This doesn't feel like the kind of conversation you should be having over email" she joked.

"Logan Huntzberger" Christopher stated.

Rory looked  down at her hands as the tears started to free-fall from her eyes. She looked at her dad and nodded. They sat in silence in Christopher's office while he held her and let her cry it out until she was ready to talk again. The intimacy of the situation made her even more emotional. It had been a long time since she had shared this closeness with her father. She couldn't even be sure that she'd ever felt this level of comfort from him and it surprised her.