Second Chances

Part 6

Rory and Jess sat in the waiting room of an office that adorned several pictures of babies or pregnant bellies. There was an aquarium in the corner of the office. Jess kept rubbing his hands on top of his thighs. Rory's expression was slightly distant and nervous. Jess's fidgeting caught her attention.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah... It's just that places like these make me nervous. Everyone is all Stepford Wives and all teeth grins... It's just a bit creepy." Rory laughed. Normally she would have quipped back, but truth was, she was just as nervous. "How about you are you ok?"

"Just a little nervous. Not really sure what to expect." Jess nodded and pulled out this phone.

"So seems like it's pretty basic stuff; family history, physical exam. They will have to do blood tests and possibly an ultrasound or a Doppler to check fetal heart rate." Rory stared at him quizzically. "Hey I did my research and asked google. I needed to know what I was getting into."

"You 'asked google?'" she said teasingly. Jess nodded.

"Of course I did. I always do when I am curious about something. If I am curious about someone I search Facebook or Instagram."

"Fascinating. I never took you as a social media type."

"Oh I am not. But the guys I work with are and are constantly staying logged in so I just use their accounts to do my recon work."

"Rory Gilmore," a blond nurse called as she entered the waiting room. She greeted them with a big unnaturally toothy grin and gestured which way they were to go.

"If Glenn Close is your Dr. we bolt." Rory laughed as they followed the nurse behind the closed doors. They stopped in the hall to get height and weight. Jess acting as a catch all and politely keeping his back turned as the results were being notated. They were shown into a comfortable room, once again several pictures of pregnant women and babies covering the wall. The blonde nurse took her temperature and blood pressure and asked her several questions. Before leaving she instructed Rory to strip down and put a gown on and that the Dr. would be in shortly to see her.

"I will just..."

"You can't just leave me in here." Jess nodded stepped dramatically closer to the door and slid the curtain closed giving Rory some privacy. It took only a few minutes but she finally gave the all clear.

"I just want you to know I would appreciate it if you kept all of your wise cracks to yourself until we leave the building." Jess looked at Rory. He noted he would have to come up with some sort of wise crack before they left, because right now all he could think was how beautiful she looked. Vulnerable and beautiful.

"Eh don't sweat it. I am starting to think there is a definite purpose to the art they have in this place. Look at this? How awkward can you feel in comparison to this?" He said as he gestured towards a picture of a woman holding her opaque belly with a picture of a baby inside. Rory smiled; she was definitely glad Jess was the one who was with her. Poking fun at things was just the sort of distraction she needed to get her through. "Oh and look! Something to look at when they have you in the stirrups!"

"How did you.... Oh Google."

"Google." He said with an overly eager, for jess, tone. It seemed to take the Dr. forever to get to the room. Jess managed to entertain Rory with random anecdotes about the various things in the office. Finally the Dr. came in.

"How was your day?" Luke asked Lorelai as she made her way into the diner. She looked tired and grumpy. "Still no word from Rory?"