In August of 2030, Rory and Logan found themselves helping Nicky pack for college. Grace and Sammy were both at summer camp (Grace as a counselor and Sammy as a camper) but they'd be back before Nicky left for college.
"Do you know what your dorm is gonna be like?" Logan asked as he sat with Nicky on his bedroom floor, folding clothes.
"Kinda like a small apartment" Nicky said. "One common room, a bathroom, and then I'm pretty sure everyone has their own bedroom"
"I'm not sure how I feel about that considering that your girlfriend is gonna be two floors up" Logan said.
"Dad" Nicky groaned.
"Look, you're 18, you're an adult, you're in a relationship. I know that you're gonna do whatever you want, and that's all good and fine, but you need to be careful"
"Please stop talking"
"Nicky, I'm serious"
"I know, but I've heard you say this a million times"
"I don't care" Logan said. "You're about to go to college where you'll have the freedom to do pretty much whatever you want. Do what you're gonna do, but do it responsibly. Whether you're talking about alcohol, or sex, or whatever. You're smart, you have a brain in your head. Use it"
"Fine. Can we be done with this conversation now?"
"Yes"
——
On September first, Rory and Logan found themselves sitting at the table, eating breakfast with the kids.
"Can I have your room?" Grace signed.
"No" Nicky shook his head
"Please?"
"No"
"Everybody's keeping their own rooms" Logan said.
"Kate, do you want some breakfast?" Rory asked. Kate had been curled on in Nicky's lap since they all sat down.
"No! Nicky!"
"Hey, I'm gonna back, you know" Nicky said.
"No, stay"
A little before 8am, Honor arrived. She'd be watching Kate so Rory and Logan could get Nicky settled in at college.
Once Honor got there, Logan left to take Grace and Sammy to school and then he, Rory , and Nicky (and of course, Clover) headed to Yale.
"Did this place somehow get bigger?" Nicky asked as he got out of the car.
Logan chuckled. "You're gonna be fine"
"If it makes you feel any better, my first night here, your grandma slept on the floor in my dorm" Rory said.
"What? Why?" Nicky asked.
"Let's just say that I was very sheltered, and very not ready to be on my own"
"Huh"
5 hours later, Nicky's room was set up, he was mostly unpacked, and Rory and Logan were at an orientation for the parents.
Nicky was standing in his room, trying to finish unpacking when someone covered his eyes from behind. "Guess who"
Nicky smiled. He turned quickly so he could kiss Allie before she moved away. "Hi"
"How the hell did you get so much unpacked already?" Allie asked.
"My parents are here"
"Ah, you see my parents don't give a shit" Allie said. "They just dropped me off and left"
"Come on" Nicky said. He put his arm around Allie and Clover followed them as he led her out of the room.
"Where are we going?"
"To unpack your dorm" Nicky said as if it was obvious.
"You really don't have to-"
"Don't even finish that sentence, Al" Nicky said. He knew how lucky he was to have such supportive parents, and he hated that Allie didn't get that. But he couldn't change that so he was just gonna support her the best he could.
"So where are your parents now?" Allie asked.
"I don't know, some parents orientation thing" Nicky said. "Clover, front" he said and clover moved to walk in front of them.
"Nervous?" Allie asked.
"Oh yeah" Nicky exhaled. Not only was her nervous for the same reasons all the other freshmen were, but he was nervous about having clover with him on campus. "You?"
"Terrified"
"We'll be alright"
——
That's it. That's the end of the story.
I will be writing a sequel that's centered around Nicky as he tries to navigate adulthood. Rory and Logan will obviously be in it a lot, as well as Grace, Sammy, Kate, Lorelai and Luke.
I hope you'll enjoy it and I hope you enjoyed this.
Thanks for reading!!!