May 3, 2017
4:00pm
Huntzberger Residence
Text Message from Lorelai Gilmore
To: Sookie Belleville, , Luke Danes, Michel Gerard, Emily Gilmore, Richard Gilmore, Christopher Hayden, Francine Hayden, Georgia Hayden, Collin McCrae, Stephanie McCrae, Finn Morgan, April Nardini, Anna Nardini, Donna Rothschild, Honor Rothschild, Josh Rothschild, Lane Vangerbig
Announcing the birth of
Lorelai Ayribella Gilmore Huntzberger
May 3, 2017
2:47pm
5lbs 13oz
Anyone who wants to see pictures had better get to Rory and Logan's living room PRONTO!
For those further away, a FaceTime call will be coming later this evening.
Text Message from: Georgia Hayden
To: Lorelai Gilmore
Woman, WHEREIS MY PICTURE???
Text Message from: Loreali Gilmore
To: Georgia Hayden
They are going to FaceTime you later. I promise!
Give me a few minutes, and I'll FaceTime while I show the family.
Text Message from: Georgia Hayden
To: Lorelai Gilmore
I love you!
Text Message from: Finn Morgan
To: Lorelai Gilmore
Be there in 10
Text Message from: Stephanie McCrae
To: Lorelai Gilmore
CC: Collin McCrae
See you in 20 minutes
"Lorelai?!" Emily called as Lorelai walked in the door to Rory and Logan's house.
"I'm right here, Mom!" Lorelai called back as she headed through the house.
"I thought you were going to text me from the hospital, and have me share pictures?"
"I was. But then I thought you might need back up, and Rory and Logan wanted a couple hours of alone time with the baby, so I thought I would come here and help out for a while. There is about to be a stampede. Give me a minute before you open the door, I need to connect my phone to the tv."
"You know how to do that?"
"Logan taught me yesterday. Oh, would you mind getting Gigi on the phone? I told her I would FaceTime her."
"Do you want me to call her or FaceTime?"
"If you could FaceTime her, that would be great. Where's Luke? I need him to get April on the phone."
"Luke is out in the yard with your father."
"Would you mind sending them in here? And collect cell phones and cameras before letting Shira and Mitchum in here."
"Would you like me to perform strip searches upon entrance?"
"Actually, yeah, that would be great! Rory and Logan don't want any pictures getting out, and we know that those people can't be trusted."
"Really Lorelai?"
"Hey, you're the one who offered to do the strip searches. Don't offer what you aren't actually willing to do."
"Somedays I really wonder how you could possibly be my child." Emily muttered as she headed for the back door as a knock came from the front entrance."
"Hey, I heard that!" Lorelai called after her.
"I wasn't trying to hide it . . . Luke, Richard, Lorelai is here with pictures. Luke, she asked for you to video call your daughter for her." Emily said, opening the back door, and sticking her head outside.
"Wonderful!" Richard said, excitedly jumping from his seat on the patio.
"Richard, Lorelai wants phones and cameras confiscated at the door." Emily told him as she heard more knocking on the front door.
"No one is allowed to have pictures?"
"I guess not. Logan mentioned not wanting them getting out, but I guess that includes the family."
"Well they are Huntzbergers, Dear. You know as well as I do, that bad things happen when too much information falls into the wrong hands. We are here to protect our Granddaughter, so if she wants phones and cameras taken away, then that is exactly what we will do. Grab me a basket, will you?"
"There's a basket in the cabinet above the kitchen sink." Luke said as he stepped past the Gilmores and headed into the house.
"Luke, you are a Grandfather now. How does it feel?" Richard asked, following behind the younger man.
"It feels good. Kind of like a rite of passage. I've watched Rory grow up since she was a tiny little girl. This is the logical next step for her."
"That is very true." Richard agreed as continuous pounding started to come from the front door."
"Richard, hurry and grab the basket." Emily told him. "We can't hold them off very much longer. Lorelai, are you ready?"
"Just about. Go ahead and let them in. I need Gigi and April on the phone."
"I'm calling Georgia right now."
"I'll get April." Luke echoed as Richard hurried through the kitchen, grabbing the basket he needed, before moving to the front door.
"Well Hello there! It is nice to see you all today!" Richard said as he opened the front door to see everyone gathered outside.
"We're here for baby pictures!" Honor excitedly told him.
"Alright, well, before I let all of you inside, there is one request from the new parents that I need for all of you to honor. I need all of your cell phones, and cameras to be put into this basket. You will be able to claim them again when you leave." Richard told them, holding the basket out to the guests. "Please drop your devices into the basket, and then you will be allowed to enter. Lorelai is getting everything ready in the living room."
"We have to give you our phones?" Shira asked.
"Rory and Logan don't want any pictures of the baby being sent out."
"What?! I'm a grandmother! Of course I'm going to send pictures out! It's a right that I've earned as a mother!"
"Not today you aren't!" Honor told her, grabbing Shira's phone, and handing it to Richard, along with her own. "I already told you mother, Rory and Logan don't want the media to know about the baby, until they are ready. The ONLY people who are being notified about today's events, are immediate family. And if you can't honor their perfectly reasonable request, then you just won't have a phone anymore. Richard, I'll take my mother's phone with me when we leave. I'll be going through it to ensure Logan and Rory's privacy, and holding onto it until further notice."
"Now this is just ridiculous!" Mitchum protested as the group moved forward, with Blake, Honor and Josh dropping their phones into the basket.
"Keep complaining Dad, and you won't get to see the baby at all."
"We already aren't allowed at the hospital, and now we are being told that we can't have pictures of our Grandbaby." Shira told her.
"You aren't allowed at the hospital because if the media catches wind of the two of you going into the hospital, especially carrying gifts, it is likely to get out that you are there for the birth of a child, and Logan and Rory don't want anyone knowing about the baby, until they are ready. We've already had this conversation, mother."
"But you get to go."
"Because me, being pregnant, walking into the hospital is completely normal, and expected. Plus, I'll be entering and exiting through the emergency room. Come on mother, knock it off. This isn't the end of the world. I'll FaceTime you guys while I'm there. And I won't be going right away anyway. It probably won't even be until after dark. Now quit complaining already. This doesn't effect just you. Everyone here is abiding by the exact same rules. Rory and Logan have a very specific guest list, and are registered under an alias, so you couldn't visit them without that information, even if you wanted to."
"They have security all over the hospital as well." Lorelai told them as the Huntzberger family made their way into the living room. You can't get near labor and delivery without a medical escort right now."
"Lorelai, congratulations!" Honor said, excitedly wrapping Lorelai up in a hug.
"Hey! Congratulations to you Aunty!"
"How was it? How are they doing?"
"Rory and Logan are doing wonderful! It's been a long day. I'm giving them a couple of hours to rest, and enjoy being new parents. I'll head back with their dinner when it's ready."
"Can't we go with you?" Shira asked.
"Mother!" Honor scolded. "Do you have no manners today?!"
"Honor, I am your mother! You need to watch how you speak to me!"
"And you need to mind your manners and abide by Logan's wishes, or I will put you on a plane back to California, and you can go explain to Gail why we've sent you for further treatment! Now knock it off! You are acting like a petulant child!"
"Lorelai, I have April on the phone." Luke said as he walked into the living room holding his cell phone out toward his wife.
"I've got Georgia for you." Emily told her.
"Perfect! Thank you! Alright everybody, thank you for all being here." Lorelai said loudly, trying to silence everyone in the room. "As you all know, Rory and Logan have asked that there be no pictures of their new baby circulating around, so the only pictures of Ayribella that exist at the moment, are on my phone. Rory and Logan don't want any pictures of their daughter being released, until they are ready, so to ensure their privacy, my Dad has collected your phones at the door. So April and Georgia, please, no screen shots."
"No problem." Georgia answered, through Emily's phone.
"You've got it!" April agreed.
"Alrighty then. As promised, here is your first look at the new baby." Lorelai said, pressing a button on her phone, and bringing up a picture of baby Ayribella on the tv for everyone to see.
"Oh my gosh!!! Look how cute she is!" Honor gushed.
"She looks exactly like Logan." Shira commented.
"Really? Because I think she looks just like Rory." Emily told her.
"Dad, you're a Grandpa! How does it feel?" April asked as Luke held the phone toward the tv, for her to see the new baby.
"It's good. A little strange, but good. I've known Rory since she was atiny little girl. She's all grown up now, with a tiny little girl of her own."
"It's like coming full circle."
"Pretty much."
"Do you feel really old?"
"Not so much. Or at least not yet. But I'm sure it will feel different when it's you with a kid."
"You'll be really old and gray by that time."
"Gee, thanks April!" Luke said, rolling his eyes.
"Here's another cute picture." Lorelai announced, switching to the picture she took of Rory and Logan with Ayribella, right before she left the hospital.
"See, there, she looks just like Logan!" Shira said again. "She's got Logan's face."
"Mother, I think you've completely lost your mind. She looks exactly like Rory." Honor told her. "She might have Logan's nose, but that face is all Rory."
"Logan says that she looks like Rory too." Lorelai agreed. "But Rory did point out the nose thing."
"See! Even Logan agrees. Ayribella looks just like her mother."
"I'll agree with Logan's nose." Mitchum spoke up.
"She's just a baby now, we'll see who she looks like when she's a bit older." Shira told them. "But to me she looks an awful lot like Logan."
"Well I think she looks like a Gilmore." Richard spoke up.
"Speaking of Gilmore, why in the world is she using the last name Gilmore? Since when did they decide to have two last names?" Shira asked.
"Huntzberger is her last name. I thought Rory dropped Gilmore after becoming a Huntzberger?" Mitchum added.
"Rory must have done that, just to spite us. She takes over the family business, and then goes running right back to the Gilmore clan!"
"Are you for real right now, mother?! For the last several months, you've been so pleasant, and we all think that you've changed, and then as soon as the new baby comes alone, you completely snap and go right back to being the crude, snide remark Shira that you've always been! What the hell is wrong with you?! Who the hell do you think that you are fooling here?! I should have known that the new, much nicer Shira wouldn't last! I knew that it was too good to be true! I can't even stand to be around you right now!" Honor said disgustedly, before turning and leaving the room.
"Actually, that came from Logan." Lorelai told them. "Logan knows how much Rory's family means to her, and he knows that Rory is the last of the Gilmores. Rory had nothing to do with it. Logan wanted to Honor the Gilmore family, and to honor my Dad by giving the baby a second middle name. Logan asked Rory about it right before I left the hospital. Rory didn't know anything about it, until about an hour ago."
"So they didn't hyphenate the last names then?" Mitchum asked.
"No, they didn't. Rory's name isn't hyphenated either. Rory and Ayribella's last name is Huntzberger, just like yours. Gilmore is Ayribella's second middle name. Lorelai Ayribella Gilmore Huntzberger."
"Logan added Gilmore?" Richard asked.
"He did. He wanted to do it for you. He didn't want the Gilmore legacy to die out. He wanted Ayribella to have a piece of our family with her."
"Lorelai Ayribella Gilmore Huntzberger . . ." Emily said softly, a smile spreading over her face. "It's a regal name for a beautiful little baby girl."
"Lorelai, when can we go to the hospital?" Richard asked.
"I told them that I would give them a couple of hours. You, Mom, Luke and I will go as soon as dinner is ready."
"How come they get to go?" Shira asked. "They aren't even the baby's grandparents?"
"For the love of God, Mother! How many more times are we going to have this conversation?!" Honor shouted from the kitchen.
"Shira, you can't go to the hospital. You would draw media attention. Rory and Logan already explained that to you. Honor can't even go until after visiting hours." Josh spoke up.
"We would draw media attention? But the whole Gilmore family won't?!?"
"The Gilmore family isn't well known in New York. They aren't high profile like you and Mitchum are."
"None of us can use the main entrance right now anyway. Not even me." Lorelai told them. "I have to be escorted in by security, using a side entrance."
"Well how come we can't do that?"
"Because you can't." Josh told her. "Rory and Logan will be home in a couple of days. You can see the baby then, just like the rest of the family."
"Well this is absolutely ridiculous! I'm not allowed to see, or have pictures of my new Granddaughter! This is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Mom, keep it up and you'll be back in California faster than you can run that mouth some more!" Honor shouted.
*~ * In The Meantime, Back At The Hospital * ~ *
"Do you want to hold her?" Rory asked, looking to Logan as he sat next to her.
"I don't want to take her from you. She looks so peaceful."
"Logan, she's your daughter too."
"I know, but you did all the hard work, and she is pretty content right where she is."
"Logan, don't be ridiculous. Here, you need to hold her." Rory told him, carefully lifting her arms, trying to shift the baby to her husband. "You've held a baby before, right?"
"Only Valerie. And Stephanie made me sit down, like a child."
"I'm sure that was for the best."
"She's so tiny."
"I know . . ." Rory smiled, leaning her head on Logan's shoulder as he held their daughter.
"She hasn't cried at all since she was first born. Is that normal?"
"I have no idea. I've never had a baby before. All I know is that babies sleep a lot."
"Honor said something about introducing her to noise to teach her to sleep through it. She said that if babies are always in quiet places, they will get accustomed to it, and only sleep when it's silent. You need to make sure to make a ton of noise around them, and teach them how to sleep through it."
"That is probably a good idea." Rory agreed.
"Our house is pretty quiet though."
"Maybe we should invite Finn over more often. His voice carries."
"Hey, if we can teach her to sleep through Finn's antics, then we should be set for life." Logan agreed.
"She looks really happy with you."
"She's asleep."
"Yeah, but she looks happy."
"How can you tell?"
"Because I know from experience, what it feels like to sleep in your arms."
"And what does it feel like?"
"It's comfortable, warm, happy, safe . . ."
"So you think that Ayribella feels that way too?"
"How could she not? You're her Daddy."
"That word sounds so foreign."
"What word? Daddy?"
"What the heck kind of idiot allowed me to become a parent?!"
"Apparently Paris did." Rory chuckled.
"See, and that right there is exactly why she should have her medical license revoked! Paris knows exactly what kind of incapable moron I am!"
"Well then maybe we should have your medical license revoked too."
"Why mine?"
"Well you just said yourself that you are an incapable moron."
"You really just chose this moment to insult me?"
"I'm not insulting you. I'm just repeating your words back to you."
"You're the one who married me."
"Yeah, about that. You're not as good looking as you used to be."
"Says who?!" Logan asked, feigning offense.
"You're way hotter!"
"Good save."
"If you can look that hot holding a baby at 2am when she's refusing to let me sleep, I might think about marrying you again."
"I'll see what I can do." Logan chuckled. "You look really tired."
"I am. Why don't you try to take a nap. I'll take care of Ayribella."
"I'm sorry to interrupt you guys, but I've been told that we need to try breastfeeding." Veronica said as she walked into the room with another nurse behind her.
"She's asleep."
"Well, then we'll teach her how to wake up and eat." the second nurse spoke up.
"Doctor Huntzberger, you look adorable holding a tiny baby!" Veronica told him.
"Thank you! That's what I told him." Rory agreed. "And it would be even hotter if was holding her at 2am while I sleep and she screams in another room, right?"
"Oh yes! Most definitely!"
"I like your style." The second nurse agreed. "Hi, I'm Stefani."
"Stefani, this is Doctor Huntzberger, and his wife Rory." Veronica said, introducing the nurse.
"You're a doctor?" Stefani asked.
"I am. I run the Columbia employee clinic across town." Logan answered.
"Oh! That's awesome! It's nice to meet you. I've heard about that clinic, but I haven't been there yet."
"That's where I usually work. I used to work in the emergency room with Doctor Huntzberger, but then he stole me for the clinic when it opened." Veronica told her.
"That's awesome! How long have you two worked here?"
"I did my residency here. I'm a Columbia graduate." Logan answered. "I've been here for 5 years."
"I've been here for 7." Veronica told her. "I was here for Doctor Huntzberger's first day. I helped train him."
"How come I didn't know that?" Rory asked.
"If it makes you feel better, I didn't even know that you existed until you appeared in the ER."
"That's because my personal and work life are two completely different things. . . I hate to ask this, but I feel like I need to . . ." Logan started.
"She's already signed an NDA. I faxed it to Doyle." Veronica answered. "Morgan was supposed to be here because she's the nurse with the lactation training, but she had a family emergency. Stefani is credentialed, so she was able to step in. I hope that's ok. Wendy said that she'll come by when she finishes rounds."
"That's fine, I just wasn't aware. It's nice to meet you Stefani. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, but we're trying to prevent a media nightmare."
"Veronica was telling me about that. I'm new in the area, but she tells me that your family is a pretty big deal around here." Stefani told him.
"Unfortunately for me. Normally no one really cares what I do. But apparently a baby is a huge deal in my family."
"What about when you caused your Dad's heart attack?" Veronica asked.
"Yes, that was completely my fault. My Dad had his first heart attack a whole 24 hours before I asked my wife to marry me for the second time. It's hardly the smoking gun that the media made it out to be."
"Wow! Good for you for making him wait!" Stefani smiled, looking toward Rory.
"I wouldn't congratulate her on that one. 8 years is a really LONG time!"
"Dang! You guys have been together for a while then. And this is only your first kid?"
"It's a really long story." Rory told her.
"Well let's get this baby fed before she wakes up completely freaking out on us. I'm sure that is the last thing that new parents want to happen after a really long day."
"Rory, when is your Mom coming back?" Veronica asked.
"She said she would be back in a couple of hours. She took pictures home to the family."
"Well I am here until ten, and Stefani will be here until midnight. You will have a different overnight staff, but I will be back first thing in the morning. I'll make sure that whoever is taking over for me when I leave signs your NDA so I can fax it to your office before I head out."
"Thank you Veronica. I appreciate all your help today." Logan told her.
"It's not a problem. I remember what you went through a few months ago. Doctor Gellar said she hand-picked your care team, so I know that you will be in good hands."
"I wouldn't be surprised if Paris stays here over night." Rory spoke up.
"Something tells me that she just might." Logan agreed.