Finally where we should be

Beware the fine print

"Go get them, tiger!" Rory encouraged joyfully, watching her mother getting out of the car and heading towards a small group of people.

While Lorelai engaged in a conversation with an older man, Rory turned away to observe the lake. It took only a sec for her to recognize the scenario. That was the exact place she used to call home when she was a little kid.

Of course the old shed didn't exist anymore. It was probably torn down together with the remains of The Independence Inn. Still, she couldn't resist hopping off the car to give a closer look around.

Rory was once so proud of this part of her story, she even dared to share it with her grandmother. That's why it was funny how the girl didn't give it much thought in years. Until the book adventure, this piece of her past completely slipped her mind. Perhaps, the most solid evidence of how disconnected she's been from her own roots.

But the journalist was forced to think about it all in order to put those memories down in words for the book. So, everything was now fresh again in her head. From the colourful window curtains to the fresh air of the quiet nights with her mother by the lake. As a result, standing here was such an overwhelming experience as coming back to Richard's old library in the empty Gilmore mansion.

Rory felt like these two realities suddenly started to collide inside her. But she wasn't sure if every piece of such contrasting backgrounds could coexist in just one person.

The girl was still silently contemplating the view, absorbed in her thoughts, when Lorelai touched her shoulder.

"Hey, Houdini! Nice trick disappearing from the car. I went back and puff! You were gone..." Lorelai's good mood faltered after she noticed her daughter's anguished face. "Something wrong?"

"No... I'm alright. I was just... trying to find some balance," the girl exhaled and paused for a moment to put herself together. "Don't worry." She added firmly, already on her way back to the jeep. "We gotta get going anyway. It's time to solve the mistery about the sex of this baby. Otherwise you'll end up with a grandkid named Bennie Gilmore."

-o-

For someone wearing such a fancy suit, Logan didn't seem so confident today. Anxiety truly got the best of him and the girls found the man pacing next to the reception desk at the doctor's.

Rory has never seen Logan so nervous, not even when he proposed in front of her entire family. However, the reaction wasn't a surprise to the young Gilmore. She knew exactly what was going on. The girl felt the same hearing Bennie's heartbeat in the first ultrasound. Now, it was Logan's time to put a face to his child - or, at least, get a sight of a blurred baby.

No matter how much they've talked about the pregnancy in the past months, this is the moment about to make everything real for him. A nervous breakdown was totally acceptable under the circumstances, since kids were never discussed even when they used to be a couple.

Sympathetic towards Logan's current state of mind, Rory abandoned all formalities and approached him humorously to lighten up the moment.

"What's the occasion?" Rory teased the elegant outfit.

"Er... I don't..." He glanced at his suit and shook his head. "I was seriously so wired earlier, I couldn't think of anything else. I grabbed the first thing I saw. I think it was either the suit or me showing up only in my boxers, Ace."

"It wouldn't be the first time you parade in public half naked. Back in college, Finn showed me some compromising pictures of one of your crazy trips..."

The memory instantly made the young Huntzberger laugh and instantly the initial tension was gone. Logan was prepared to say something else, but he didn't get to it. Before the man could speak another word, the doctor's assistant opened the door and called for Rory's name.