Finding Rory

Chapter 79: Almost a Family

"Aunt Mary!" Kayla yelled excitedly as she ran into the house, Abigail and Marcus hot on her heels. 

"Sorry, I told her to wait until you answered the door, but she was so excited," Abigail apologized with a laugh.

"No worries; she knows that she's always welcome at our house," Rory said as she braced herself for Kayla's impact.  As expected, Kayla flew into her arms, almost knocking her to the ground, and Rory wrapped her arms around her and hugged her.

"Thank you so much for letting them stay with you for the weekend while Greg and I get everything moved into our new place in DC.  They'll be a lot happier here than they would be with us this weekend," Abby said gratefully.

"We're happy to have them here with us for the weekend.  Tris will be home from work shortly, and then we'll take them out to dinner and a movie.  Then tomorrow we'll get them all set with their wedding attire and see what other fun things we can find to do."  They had decided to make Kayla and Marcus junior attendants, much to Kayla's delight.  Marcus was more outwardly neutral to the idea, but you could tell that he was really excited to stand up for his Uncle Tristan.

"Alright, I have to go meet Greg," Abby said quickly.  She turned toward her children.  "You two behave for Uncle Tristan and Aunt Rory.  I want to hear good things when I get back, understand?"

Kayla and Marcus both hugged their mom goodbye and then ran into the living room to play with Romeo and Juliet.  The puppies had already grown quite a bit in the month and a half they'd had them, and both of them loved playing.  Rory walked into the living room and laughed as she saw the puppies standing on top of Kayla and Marcus, both of whom were lying on their backs and giggling as the puppies licked their faces.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Rory asked, eyeing the puppies.  They both instantly looked up at Rory, trying to figure out if they were in trouble. 

"They're playing with us, silly!" Kayla exclaimed.

"Well then, if they're just playing with you then carry on," Rory replied with a smile.  She sat down on the couch and rubbed her still-flat belly, thinking about the two babies who were growing safely in there.  She was seven and a half weeks pregnant now, and other than getting sick in the morning she was doing really well.  She hadn't had any other scares since the day she found out she was pregnant, and she and Tristan were very excited about their growing family.  Things had shifted between them in the last few weeks - it was as though having a quickly-approaching wedding date and two babies on the way had made their relationship even more real and permanent for them both.  They had finished combining their assets and had traded Rory's old Prius in for a new dark blue Escalade with all the bells and whistles and were talking about nurseries and dreaming of baby names.  Rory had never been so happy in her entire life.

Rory looked up as she heard Tristan walk in from the garage and she smiled and crossed the room to meet him.  "Hey there, handsome," she whispered.  She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him sweetly and then wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.

"Hey, Mare," he replied with a smile.  He hugged her close and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment.  He loved having her in his arms.  "I see the kids are having fun."

"Yeah, they went straight for the puppies," Rory said with a laugh. 

"Are you hungry for dinner yet?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Rory chuckled.

"No, I don't," he replied with a smile.  "Kayla and Marcus, wash your hands and we'll go eat dinner," he continued.  He walked toward their bedroom and changed out of his work clothes and came back in the living room a few minutes later to see Marcus and Kayla standing next to Rory ready to leave, Kayla holding Rory's hand and chatting her ear off.

Tristan led them out to Rory's new Escalade, Kayla talking all the way, and they loaded the kids in and got them buckled up.  Tristan got into the driver's seat and began backing down the driveway.  "How does pizza sound?" he asked, glancing into the rearview mirror at Marcus and Kayla.

"Yes!" they both exclaimed in unison.  Tristan chuckled and shook his head as he pointed the car toward The Flying Pig Pizza.  "I thought we'd get pizza and then go for ice cream, and then when we get home we can have an official Gilmore girls movie night."

"What's a Gilmore girls movie night?" Marcus asked.

"Well, it's a night with lots of movies and silliness and fun, and even more junk food," Rory replied.  "Think you're up for it?"

"Of course!" Kayla replied happily. 

They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later and ordered three large pizzas and drinks.  The kids were quite animated and chatty as they told Rory and Tristan all about their new home in Washington, D.C. and talked about their excitement over the upcoming wedding.  Rory looked over at Tristan and snuggled into his side, sighing happily.  This was what their life was going to be like, and she couldn't wait. 

They finished their pizza and walked a few blocks to a nearby ice cream parlor where they all got huge ice cream sundaes. 

"I don't think I can eat any junk food for movie night," Marcus groaned as they walked back into the house.

"We'll just start the movies for now, and we can see about junk food later," Rory replied with a laugh. 

They all got situated on the couch with Rory next to Tristan and Kayla in her lap and Marcus on Tristan's other side and turned on The Secret Life of Pets on Netflix.  About halfway through the movie Tristan looked down to see all three of them sleeping.  Rory had been very tired, being in the first trimester of her pregnancy, and often fell asleep on the couch before they made it to bed.  He carried Marcus and Kayla to their rooms and tucked them in and then came back to the couch and scooped Rory up into his arms and carried her into their bedroom.  He put her down on the bed gently and rubbed her back.

"Mare?  You need to get ready for bed," he said softly. 

She slowly stirred and stretched her body.  "Did I fall asleep?" she asked.

"You all did," Tristan chuckled.  "I got the kids into bed, but I knew you'd need to take your prenatal and brush your teeth so I thought it was best to wake you up."

"You're right," she agreed.  She got up and walked toward the bathroom, stripping on her way.  She grabbed Tristan's old Harvard t-shirt that he'd loaned her on their first run off of the hook in the bathroom and pulled it over her head.  A few minutes later, she snuggled into his arms in their bed.

"This is going to be our life before we know it - getting the kids to bed and then snuggling up together," Rory said softly.

"It's going to be great," he agreed in a whisper.

"Yeah, it is."