"Hey Grandma, Grandpa, do you have a minute?" Rory asked as she joined her grandparents in the dining room for breakfast.
"For you my dear, we have all the time in the world." Richard told her.
"That was such a fun party last night, wasn't it Richard?" Emily asked as Rory sat down next to her at the table.
"It was. It was a great idea to throw a doctor party for Logan's birthday." Richard agreed.
"That was all Honor actually. I had very little to do with it."
"Oh really? I thought for sure you were the architect of that event. It seemed like it was your style."
"She bounced ideas off me, but that was it. But anyway, Logan and I were talking a few weeks ago, and we had this idea. Grandpa had mentioned that you guys wanted to be here more when the baby is born, and we love the idea of having you here, but we kind of feel bad because Mom has the suite downstairs for her and Luke, but the bedroom you guys have been staying in doesn't have an attached bath. So Logan and I came up with a solution."
"Where is Logan?" Emily asked.
"He's on the phone in his office, he should be here in a minute. He told me to go ahead and get started without him."
"Alright. . ." Richard prompted.
"So we had this idea to help make the two of you more comfortable while you are here. I know that you were planning to head home this morning, but we were thinking that if you had some extra time, maybe you could come meet with our contractor with us."
"Your contractor?" Emily asked.
"Logan and I decided to build you guys your own apartment. We can either add it to the side of the house, or even build you your own space like a granny flat out in the backyard, whichever you would prefer. We actually just got building permits to do both things, thinking that the city would only approve one of them, so we thought we would let you choose where you would like your New York apartment to be."
"Rory, this is all very sweet, but completely unnecessary." Emily told her.
"I know Grandma, but we want to do this for you. You guys were talking about getting an apartment in the city anyway, so why not just stay here with us? You'll have your own place right next to ours, with your own private entrance. And because we are building it, you can choose whatever you want put in it, whether it's a special toilet, or some kind of fancy faucets. Whatever you want, we'll do. And if you choose to do the house addition rather than the flat in the backyard ,we can give you both a private outside entrance of your own, as well as a door to go between your apartment and our house without you having to even step outside. You'll of course be welcome in the main house whenever you want, we would never lock the door unless you wanted it locked, and you would of course never have to stay in the apartment, at all, you would have full access to us whenever you want it. We just thought that it might be nice to give you your own space to come and go as you wish, without having to ask us if it's ok to visit.
"Hey guys. Sorry about that, I was on the phone with the contractor." Logan said as he walked into the dining room with a cup of coffee, and sat down at the table.
"That's ok Logan, Rory was just telling us about your building plans." Richard told him.
"So what do you guys think? If you have time, the contractor can meet with us today to get your plans drawn up, and then get started on building first thing Monday morning. We might even be able to get all of this done before Ayribella makes her grand entrance. Emily, you can work directly with the contractor on all the building designs, and decorate the apartment anyway you would like. I'll give you a credit card to purchase things with, and my accountant's phone number to set up an account with whatever store you want. We want you guys to feel completely at home here. I don't care how much it costs, Rory and I are going to take care of it."
"Logan, that is completely unnecessary. We are happy to pay for the things we want." Richard told him.
"Don't be silly. After everything you've done for us over the years, especially for Rory, this is our way of doing something nice for you. We want to do this for you guys. Lorelai would never want her own apartment. She is perfectly content having a bedroom downstairs, and being surrounded by chaos. You guys are more reserved, and like having more privacy, so giving you an attached apartment seemed like a good idea. I have the basic plans if you want to see them." Logan said as he turned his iPad on and placed it down on the table. "This one is the house addition. We would put your apartment on the far side of the house next to the garage, that way you could have direct access to the garage for your car. It would be a two-story apartment, with at least two bedrooms. We can do more if you'd like, but we thought two would be a good number for you. You can use the second room for guests, or an office, whatever you want. Maybe you can even take the baby sometimes, to give Rory a break, if you'd like to. We'll do a double master that way both rooms have their own bathrooms, and we'll of course have a bathroom downstairs as well. We'll give you a nice living room and a small kitchen. We know that the two of you don't cook much, and you are of course more than welcome to join us for any and all meals if you would like to. We will also be sharing our housekeeper with you, unless you would like one of your own. We can build further out into the backyard if you want to, to give you more space, it's entirely up to you on how much space you want. We can always adjust the building permits. You will have a direct entrance to both the garage and the main house, right from inside your house, so you will never need to go outside if you don't want to. But you will also have an outside entrance for guests, or whatever. We have options of putting your outside entrance on the front of the house, or the side. I think we can even have it on the back of the house, if that is what you want to do. Everything here is fully customizable, and you will have about 800-1,000 square feet for each floor."
"This looks very well thought out."
"Do you want to see the layout for the flat?"
"Oh no, I don't think that is necessary, do you Emily? I very much like the addition idea."
"Yes, I think the addition sounds lovely." Emily confirmed.
"Excellent!" Logan smiled. "Would you like to meet with the contractor this morning? It's only 8:30 now, he is able to meet with us at 10, if that works for the two of you."
"Ten o'clock sounds good to me." Richard agreed.
"This is so exciting! A new decorating project sounds amazing!" Emily said excitedly.
"Hey Grandma, while you are decorating things, now that I no longer have to worry about Mitchum possibly coming back to the office, I was thinking that maybe you could help me redecorate? It's a little gaudy."
"I would love to!"
"Thank you Grandma, I really appreciate it! I know that you don't need it, but I'll add you to the HPG payroll so you can get paid for all the hours you spend working on this project, and I'll get you a company card to use as well."
"That sounds very nice, thank you Honey."
"I am going to go call the contractor back to let him know that we will be meeting him at ten, and then I am going to make some real food. Would you guys like anything other than the fruit and pastries you are already eating?"
"Logan, there is a ton of food leftover from yesterday. It's all in the fridge." Emily told him. "Go open it up, there are a ton of breakfast options in there. And Sookie is making omelets across the street and bringing them over when they're ready."
"Sookie just likes Honor's kitchen better than ours." Logan chuckled.
"Partly because Luke isn't in it, and she doesn't have to fight him for space." Rory commented.
"Where are Luke and your mom anyway?" Logan asked.
"Probably across the street with Sookie. You know how mom likes to watch people cook."
"Your mom is with Sookie. Luke is in the garage working on something." Emily told them.
"Probably that insane dollhouse Shira ordered for the baby." Rory said rolling her eyes.
"Shira ordered the baby a dollhouse?"
"The thing is gigantic! I'm not sure where in the world that woman thinks it's going to go. It might need its own room." Rory told her.
"Now why would Shira do something like that?"
"Because she has gone Amazon crazy! She keeps buying things and having them sent here. I don't even open the boxes anymore, because I'm afraid of what is inside."
"Where is all this stuff?"
"In the garage."
"Would you like me to help you go through it all?"
"I was thinking about donating a lot of it to a women's shelter, or a family in need. There is no way that we need all of it."
"Have you thought about just sending it back?"
"I did, but I didn't want her to see it appear on her account as returned, or on her charge card. I don't want to upset or offend her, so I figured quietly getting rid of whatever we don't want might be our best option."
"What do you think about all of it Logan?" Emily asked.
"I think my mother needs her amazon account restricted. She just learned how to use that thing, and she's lost her freaking mind!"
"Well don't you worry your pretty little head about it Rory, we'll help you go through everything."
"Grandma, I was also thinking that maybe for a baby shower, which I know that you and mom are dying to throw for me, maybe since we are so fortunate, we could either not ask for gifts, but instead for a charitable donation, or for baby items that can be given to someone else who needs them. We could pay it forward instead of hogging everything for ourselves. I know that there are certain things that you and Mom are wanting to get for Ayribella, and that is completely fine, but everything else, Logan and I can more than afford to buy for ourselves, and I think it might be nice to help someone else out."
"Rory, you never cease to amaze us!" Emily smiled, looking at her granddaughter with tears in her eyes. "Of course we can do that. You have always been so selfless with how much you care about others."
"I think it is a wonderful idea Sweetheart." Richard agreed. "You are definitely in a great position to give back. We can throw you a nice big party to honor you, Logan, and the baby, and donate all gifts to any charity you would like. We'll sit down and pick our favorites when the time gets closer, alright? I'll have my secretary get us a list."
"Thank you Grandpa, that is perfect! Mom and Grandma can plan the party for whenever they want, and Logan and I will be happy to just show up."
"Rory, Honey, what can I get you to eat?" Emily asked. "You can't just have coffee for breakfast."
"I know Grandma, I'll grab something. I'm still waiting for the nausea to go away before I eat."
"You are still getting sick?"
"It comes and goes. Today seems to be worse than other days, but I'm surviving. I've only thrown up twice."
"Logan, she's thrown up twice this morning?"
"I'm monitoring it. If she throws up again, she'll be going to either the hospital, or the clinic to get fluids." Logan told them.
"Maybe you could have the equipment you need brought to the house, and you could just treat her here when needed." Emily suggested.
"I'll talk to Paris about it. I can't order that stuff for Rory myself, I'll have to get Paris to do it for me. I thought about doing it before, but its' been just as easy to take Rory over to the hospital for a quick IV."
"Sweetheart, if you need to go to the hospital for treatment, your Grandmother and I are more than happy to go with you." Richard told her. "You don't need to hold back on our account."
"I know, and I appreciate it. I'm really ok. Logan is monitoring me. If the nausea doesn't go away soon, I'll let him take me in. I just don't want to be that girl who is always in the ER for fluids her whole pregnancy, and I really don't want to be admitted either."
"Rory, you need to do what is best for both you and the baby." Emily told her.
"I know Grandma, and I am. Logan has everything under control."
"Have you talked to Paris this morning?"
"I think Logan probably texted her. We try not to alarm her unless absolutely necessary. I've already got the Hyperemesis Gravidarum diagnosis, so we have all the medication we need to treat it. The only thing we don't have, is the IV set up for the dehydration. I just drink as much water as I can, and then switch to juice when I can't stand any more water."
"Has it always been this bad?"
"It comes and goes. I've only had 3 really bad days where I've needed fluids."
"Honey, if you aren't feeling good, then maybe we shouldn't go meet with the contractor today. We can do it another day."
"Grandma, I promise, I'm fine. Even if I'm not feeling better by the time we need to leave, I'll stay here with Mom, and you and Grandpa can go with Logan. We need to get your plans fully drawn up, so the crew can start building."
"Your health comes first young lady. Both you and the baby."
"I know Grandma. That's why I married a doctor."
"Rory, why don't you go show Emily and Richard the wall of boxes in the garage, while I call the contractor, and figure out some breakfast." Logan told her.
"There is a wall of boxes?" Richard asked as Rory got up from her chair.
"Like we said, Shira has lost her freaking mind!"
"It can't possibly be that bad." Emily said as they followed Rory out to the garage.
"Hey Rory, what's going on?" Luke asked as the trio entered the garage.
"Grandma and Grandpa are going to help me go through all the amazon orders that came in from Shira."
"Good luck with that! A couple more were dropped off this morning. I added them to your pile."
"Thanks Dad. How's the dollhouse from hell coming?"
"Would you like me to burn it down now, or later?"
"Either option works for me. Maybe we can roast marshmallows over the flames, and make smores."
"That sounds like a lot more fun than putting this damn thing together."
"You really can burn it Luke. I won't tell anyone. I'll even help you."
"No no, every little girl deserves a doll house."
"Yeah, but I would have at least paid for assembly so none of us had to do it."
"I am so happy to know that we raised you to have a brain."
"Do you want to help us open the rest of this junk?"
"Are there any more dollhouses inside?
"I honestly have no idea. I quit opening them weeks ago."
"Which explains the wall." Luke said as he followed Rory to the far side of the garage.
"Behold, the wall!" Rory said, holding her arm out toward the wall of boxes.
"Oh good lord!" Emily exclaimed in complete shock.
"I told you!"
"Why don't you two head inside, and Luke and I will start bringing these inside for you. This garage is much too cold for us all to be sitting out here." Richard said as they all started at the massive wall of boxes. There were boxes of all size, piled about five feet high and spread over about a ten foot feet long and three feet deep.
"This is just ridiculous! This is going to take hours!" Emily told them.
"Pretty much." Rory agreed.
"Well we might as well get a jump on it. You two head back inside, and we'll bring some boxes in to you." Richard said as he began reaching for boxes with Luke, then followed the ladies back into the house where Rory took a seat on the couch with Emily next to her.
"Should we make a list of some kind?" Emily asked.
"For what? I figure whatever we decide to keep, we can put on one side of the room, and the rest of the stuff can go on the other side.
"I guess that works."
"How horrible is it that I'm afraid to open this stuff?"
"It can't possibly be all that bad." Emily said as she reached for a box, and began peeling the tape back.
"Would you like a knife or some scissors?" Logan asked as he walked into the kitchen and saw what was happening.
"Yes, please." Rory answered as Logan headed their way with a couple pairs of scissors.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Someone needs to."
"I'll come help after I figure out what to eat."
"Now why in the world would a baby need a fancy jewelry box with a dancing ballerina?!" Emily asked.
"She doesn't." Logan answered.
"Good lord!"
"Just put it on the floor next to the couch, and we'll figure out where to donate it."
"An easy bake oven . . . Please shoot me!" Rory said as she set down the next gift. "The baby isn't ten, she isn't even born yet! And if several of these boxes are accessories for the easy bake oven, I might scream!"
"You're serious?! An easy bake oven?" Logan asked.
"Would you like an easy bake oven?"
"I think Honor had one growing up."
"I am so sorry!" Rory said as she reached for the next box.
"Do you want to keep these books?" Emily asked.
"Books we can definitely keep, unless there are multiples."
"Actually you may want to keep the multiples. If your baby latches onto one specific book and then loses it, you'll lose your mind trying to replace it." Luke told them.
"That's a good point." Rory agreed as she pulled a bop-it out of the box. "Oh geez! We need to give this to Mom."
"A bop-it?" Logan asked.
"It's kind of a funny story, I'll tell you later."
"This one is clothes." Emily said as she pulled some clothes out of a box.
"What size? Anything above 12 months, we don't need to keep."
"There are different sizes, but this dress for sure, I'm not sure if I should laugh, or be completely terrified of."
"What the hell is that?!" Rory asked, looking up to see a mound of lacy ruffles in Emily's hand.
"Burn it!" Logan told them. "Burn it quickly!"
"And now you know why I stopped opening things after the first few days of deliveries." Rory told them. "Anything that you think is acceptable to keep we can set aside, everything else, get rid of it. Hey Logan, would you like a giant teddy bear? I think it's about as tall as you are." Rory said as she pulled a gigantic stuffed bear out of a box.
"That's a big no from me."
"What is a Teddy Ruxpin?" Emily asked.
"Oh hell no! That thing is creepy as hell!" Rory told her. "I'm afraid it may come to life one night, and try to murder me."
"That's a no from me too." Logan agreed. "The ones we had as kids were ok, but these new ones are really creepy looking."
"Hungry Hungry Hippos game can find a new home too." Rory said after opening another box.
"Why in the world would you buy this kind of stuff for a brand new baby?!" Luke asked as he set down a few more boxes in front of the women.
"Hey Luke, call mom and tell her to bring Sookie over here. Maybe Sookie's kids want some of this junk.
"Doesn't Hungry Hungry Hippos have marbles in it?" Logan asked.
"Yep!"
"That's a choking hazard!"
"She's your mother!" Rory reminded him.
"If she wasn't getting on a plane this morning, I would be taking that thing, and throwing it at her!"
"You might still be able to. Has she left yet?"
"She had an 8am flight."
"Damn! Maybe her therapist could have talked some sense into her."
"Oh, I promise you, Gayle will definitely be getting a phone call about all of this. And an email, with pictures!"
"Do you want a rocking horse?" Emily asked.
"How big is it?" Rory asked, looking up from the box she had just cut open. "Logan, I'll leave that one up to you."
"It looks like it makes noises."
"Oh hell no! That's just asking to be terrified. Get rid of it." Rory told her as she opened another box. "Oh crap, it's a my size Barbie!"
"What is a my size Barbie?" Luke asked.
"It's a 4 foot tall Barbie doll."
"And a baby needs that why?"
"Exactly!"
"It's like this woman bought an entire toy store!"
"Exactly! She's insane!"
"Who wants a box of Legos?" Emily asked.
"Oh now that's just ridiculous!" Logan said as he sat down in the chair next to the couch with a donut in his hand. "It's like she's purposely trying to kill our daughter with all the choking hazards."
"Hey, what's going on?" Lorelai asked a couple minutes later as she walked into the house with Sookie. "Anyone want omelets?"
"Yes please!" Logan answered. "Hey Sookie, we've got a crap ton of toys in here for your kids."
"Joseph, Mary, and the camel, what the hell is all of this?!"
"Baby presents from Shira." Rory told her.
"You really weren't kidding about her being crazy, were you?!
"Wait, all of this is for your baby?" Sookie asked.
"Technically, but now it's for your kids. Please, take whatever you'd like." Rory told her.
"My kids are too old for most of this. Except maybe Josie."
"Davey is definitely too told for this stuff, but Martha and Josie might enjoy some of it." Lorelai told her.
"There's an easy bake oven." Rory said as she opened another box, and pulled out a couple Barbie dolls. "Do your girls like Barbies?"
"Josie still plays with Barbies, but Martha is pretty over them. She's ten now, but thinks she's a teenager. She's into slime, makeup, and music."
"Well if there is anything here that you want to take home with you, please, take it. You can give it to your kids, your friends kids, your kids' school, whoever you want." Logan told her as Sookie handed him a plate with an omelet on it. "Thank you, this looks delicious!"
"Rory, would you like one?"
"I'm still pretty nauseous, but I'll try to eat a little bit. No promises on if it'll stay down, or not."
"This box is onesies." Emily said as she pulled more baby clothes out of a box, then reached for another.
"Can I join the fun?" Lorelai asked.
"It's your nightmare." Rory told her as she reached for another box, and cut it open. "Logan, she bought a Barbie dream house!"
"I'll definitely take that one." Sookie spoke up. "Josie has been begging us for one of those."
"Sold! To the highest bidder!" Rory said handing the box to Sookie, and taking an omelet plate.
"Why would a baby need a Barbie travel camper?" Lorelai asked as she opened the next box.
"I'll take that too." Sookie told her. "Logan, your mother really bought all of this for your baby?"
"Apparently she forgot how old babies are. It's like she thinks that they come out as 6 year olds or something." Logan told them.
"Shira definitely bought out Amazon's toy department." Richard said as he set down a few more boxes.
"Hey guys, there's a giant box out there that says it's a ride on Barbie jeep. You don't want me to bring that in, right?" Luke asked.
"Nope! Do you think it's big enough for Josie to ride on, or would she be too big for it?" Lorelai asked.
"I have no idea. You guys can go look at it before we head out this afternoon."
"Here are a few more books." Emily said as she set a few more books down in the keep pile.
~* ~ * ~ * Later that afternoon * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Logan asked as he walked into his bedroom with Emily after the meeting with the contractor, to see Lorelai and Rory lying in bed, watching tv.
"I'm ok." Rory answered, looking up at him. "How was your meeting?"
"It was good, we got the building plans all finalized. The crew starts work here Monday morning."
"That's awesome!"
"Your Grandma is excited to start decorating."
"Oh, I bet she is." Lorelai commented.
"What about you, how are you doing?" Emily asked as she took a seat on the foot of the bed. "You still feeling sick?"
"She hasn't thrown up again since the omelets, but she's been laying here, sleeping off and on. I was thinking that maybe I shouldn't leave today with Sookie and Luke. I can stay and help out until Rory is feeling better."
"No, Mom, you need to get back to work. You've taken a lot of time off for me lately. I can't ask you to take any more."
"Lorelai, don't worry about it. You can go home, I'll stay with Rory." Emily offered.
"Mom, you and Dad were heading home today too."
"I know, but your father is fully retired now, so there is nothing urgent that we need to get back for. You've got your Inn to get back to. Don't worry about anything, your father and I will stay here and take care of Rory. You go home, go back to work."
"Are you sure Mom, because I really don't mind."
"Yes Lorelai, I'm sure. You need to get back to the Inn. I honestly have nothing that needs my immediate attention. I'll stay with Rory."
"Emily, you don't need to stay if you don't want to. I'll take care of her." Logan told them.
"Don't be silly Logan. We are happy to stay. Let us help out." Emily told him.
"Rory?" Logan asked.
"I have no complaints." Rory told them.
"Ok, if you're sure." Lorelai said as she started to get up. "I'm going to head downstairs and get everything together. We'll come say bye before we leave."
"Thanks Lorelai." Logan said as she left the room and Emily took her place on the bed next to Rory.
"What are you watching?" Emily asked.
"I have no idea. I've been mostly sleeping."
"Do you need some medicine, anything to drink?"
"No thank you, I'm ok."
"Rory, you've thrown up 4 times today. How much have you had to drink since we left?" Logan asked.
"I drank a little bit of water."
"From the bottle next to you? Is that the same bottle I gave you before leaving?"
"Yeah."
"Rory, the bottle is still full. You need to be drinking more. I'm going to have to take you down to get fluids."
"Do we have to?"
"Honey, I'll go with you." Emily told her. "I'll stay with you the whole time."
"Do you want to go to the ER or the clinic?" Logan asked.
"Wherever you and Paris won't be fighting the whole time."
"ER it is. I'm going to have to tell her because she's your doctor, but I'll let Doctor Greenley run the show today. And even if Paris shows up, I'm sure that Emily will keep her in line. I'll even see if Doctor Greenley will get the paperwork started for you to get IV therapy at home."
"That would be nice. I hate having to go sit in the hospital for hours."
"Honey, that is perfectly understandable." Emily told her.
"We won't go right away, ok? We'll wait until everybody leaves." Logan told her.