What's Next?

Check-Up

Rory picked up her car keys as she headed out the door for her appointment. This was her three month check-up.

"Bye, Jess. Bye, Haeven." She said as she kissed them both. "I should be back by 1:00 p.m and I'm thinking about taking Haeven to Paris's so she can play with little Kara."

"Oh, right. Paris and Doyle got re-married, right?"

"Yeah, last Tuesday actually. They were seeing each other again a little before that, though; explaining Kara." Rory laughed. "She's such a sweet baby. Hopefully her and Haeven will grow up to be good friends."

Rory kissed her husband and baby once more and drove to the doctors'. She gave her name and signed in, then picked up a magazine to pass the time. Halfway through the June 2017 edition of Cosmopolitan magazine, she heard a slight cry of a baby. She looked up to see two women with their small infant.

"She's precious." Rory said.

The woman with blonde hair smiled. "Thank you."

"How old?"

"2 months."

"I remember when my little one was that small." Rory reminisced.

"How old is she now?" The other woman, with brunette curls was the one to ask this time.

"Nine months."

"Aw, is she your only child?"

"Yes. But I'm expecting another in about 6 months. And by the way, I'm Rory."

"Aw yay! I'm Diane. And this is my wife Karen. We adopted little Serena when she was 3 weeks old."

"That's amazing, congratulations."

Diane and Karen both smiled. "Thank you."

"Miller's?" The nurse called.

"That's us." Karen and Diane waved bye.

What a sweet couple. Rory thought to herself.

After twenty minutes, Rory was called for her appointment.

"Hello, Rory." A nurse with short red hair began checking her vitals. "In for a check-up?"

"Yes."

"Three months, I see?"

Rory smiled. "Yes."

"Well, congratulations. I'm Cynthia by the way." The nurse did the rest of the check up and left Rory waiting for the doctor to come.

Rory sat patiently in till the doctor came in.

"Mrs. Mariano, how nice to see you." Dr. Fields walked in the door, shaking Rory's hand.

"You too."

"We checked everything and you're progressing wonderfully. The baby looks healthy. You can come back in one or two months and we can find out the gender, if you'd like?"

"Yes, I would."

Doctor Fields helped Rory down and she made an appointment to determine the gender.

*****

Luke grabbed some wine and set it down in front of him and Lorelai.

"Looks good, Luke."

"Thanks. I found a bunch of new wines we should try out. You know this one is from Italy. It's Barolo." He grabbed another bottle. "And this is Spätlese from Germany."

"Why thank you Dionysus." Lorelai quipped. "Since when did you get so cultured about wine?"

"I don't know. Just thought I'd get something special tonight. Considering the occasion."

"Our anniversary."

"Come here." Luke looked seriously sexy. "Lorelai."

Lorelai stood up. Luke then picked her up and swept her off her feet. "Lets go...upstairs."

Lorelai squealed with delight. "Okay, Luke!"

*****

Haeven and Jess were watching Dora and Haeven was watching intently.

"Hola I'm Dora, and I'm Boots!"

The small child clapped and giggled in reply. When she laughed, the whole room lit up. Her smile was contagious and Jess found himself smiling. When The Map began singing, Haeven began moving side to side, supposedly dancing along with the cartoon. Jess held her arms as she bounced up and down, extremely thrilled.

"Are you going to be a ballerina?" Rory walked in, setting her purse and keys down.

Haeven was very excited to see her mom and she squealed.

"Come here sweetie." Rory picked her up, but she didn't want to be held. "Guess she's at that stage now...no more momma." Rory sighed.

"No, it's just she was really into Dora." Jess laughed.

"I wonder how she'll be in kindergarten?" Rory contemplated.

"We don't have to worry about that for a while Rory." Jess turned off the Television. "Let's get some lunch."

*****

Christopher Hayden jumped in his car as he headed over to Starbucks. Rory told him she had big news and wanted to get together with him.

He ordered a Caramel Mocha and sat down.

"Hey, dad." Rory walked in, sitting across from Chris.

"Hey, honey." He got up and hugged her. He noticed her belly slightly protruding from her shirt, but he didn't think much of it. Stress weight?

"So. I have big news," Rory smiled. "In 6 months, Jess and I will be the parents of two children."

"That's wonderful, Rory!" He embraced her again. "Do you know the gender?"

"Not yet. In a couple months Jess and I will find out."

"That is just fantastic. I am extremely happy for you two."

"Thanks, dad." Rory brushed her hair aside. "So, how's life?"

"Not as much of a train wreck anymore." Chris laughed. "I will be married next fall."

"Congratulations. Is it to Ammarie?" Rory recalled a woman she had met a couple of months back during an evening out with her father.

"Yes. She has two kids. And a dog. You need to come meet them sometime. They're such good-hearted people."

Rory felt some sort of jealousy. She felt awful for these thoughts, her dad was just getting his life together. "Well I'm happy for you dad. I love you."

"I love you to, kid."

*****