Time After Time - A Gilmore Girls Fanfic #1

Chapter 8

When Rory arrived, she found London cloaked in gray, its pavements dark from recent rain. As she sat in the back of a cab on the way to Logan's apartment, she gazed out at the gloomy streets, unable to shake the feeling of heading to a funeral rather than paying a visit to the father of her child.

Her hand instinctively went to her stomach as she neared her destination. When the taxi pulled to the curb, Logan emerged from the apartment building in his expensive blue suit, walking over with a smile on his face.

He opened the door for Rory before handing the driver some cash.

"You didn't have to do that," she said as they watched the taxi pull away.

He shrugged in that nonchalant way of his, always so confident and sure. She had been the same way once. "So how are you?" he asked.

"I'm good." She motioned to him, admiring the impeccable cut of his suit. Logan had always had style. "You look good. Like you're about to head a meeting in a board room full of stuffy big wigs."

He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Got me pegged, Ace." He touched her elbows and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "So what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"We have some things to talk about." Rory wrapped her arms around herself, eyes darting around. "Can we go upstairs?"

"Of course." He led the way back to the building, holding the door open. Perhaps sensing the gravity of the situation, he said nothing as they boarded the elevator. Both were quiet as they rose up to the top floor, saying nothing until they were inside the closed door of Logan's apartment.

"What's going on?" Logan asked, the mirth all but gone from his face.

Rory did a quick check of the rooms then stood at the foot of the steps, listening for any signs of life upstairs.

"She's not here. She's in Nice for the bachelorette party," he said.

Rory's skin prickled at the mention of Odette and the impending nuptials. Again Rory wondered if she was doing the right thing, if coming here two days before his wedding was the wisest decision. She'd thought about this moment so many times during the eight hour flight, she could no longer tell if she was being selfless or selfish. Was she really here to be considerate or was she, as she secretly feared, intentionally ruining his chance at a happy marriage?

"Rory?"

"Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom. Or the loo as you Brits call it, though technically you're not a Brit," she said, mumbling and stumbling over her words as she walked away. She stopped. "I'll be right back."

She spent a long time in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet lid, trying to gather her wits, her thoughts going round and round in dizzying circles. When she stood up, she was lightheaded and even more unsure than before.

Nevertheless, she squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Fake it 'till you make it, kid," she told herself before marching out.

"Okay, so I gather this isn't a social call," Logan said, leaning against the back of the gray couch that looked almost identical to the sectional upstairs. He stood up as she neared, the skin between his eyebrows wrinkled. "Are you all right? Did someone die?"

"No," she said. And before she knew it, the words were tumbling from her lips: "Logan, I'm pregnant."

His face registered shock from her words but, a moment later, a smile began tugging on the corners of his mouth, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Did Colin put you up to this?" he asked. He walked over to the window and looked out, as if expecting his Life and Death Brigade friends to suddenly Mission Impossible off the roof, jump through into his apartment, and yell "Gotcha!"