Gilmore Girls: More in the Life

Chapter 78

Logan stood in front of the bedroom mirror, surveying the clothing Rory chose for their baby shower. He wore gray slacks and a teal long sleeve, button up shirt. While this color wasn't exactly his first choice, he knew it had been selected to mimic Lora's nursery theme.

At that moment, Rory emerged from the adjoining bathroom. Her beauty took Logan's breath away. She was dressed in a shin length dress that perfectly matched the teal of his shirt. She had pinned her hair at the nape of her neck and put on light makeup that accented her eyes but that let her natural tone shine through.

How did he get so lucky?

Logan crossed to meet Rory in the middle of the bedroom. He placed a hand on the small of her back and leaned in to place a kiss on her cheek. "You look beautifully radiant, Ace. Pregnancy certainly agrees with you."

"Yes, well, I'm to that point where discomfort is an everyday feature and I'm ready to be able to sleep more than an hour at night without having to pee. And I have eight more weeks of this left."

"Lora will be here before we know it. Want to get some new pillows or one of those big body pillows that seem to be advertised to pregnant women?"

Rory thought for a minute. "Maybe. It wouldn't hurt trying."

"After the baby shower, I'll head out to see if I can find one."

Rory moved her face to his. "You're too good to me."

Logan chuckled. "And you're too good for me."

*****

Early that afternoon, most of Stars Hollow came out to celebrate Lorelai Gail Huntzberger. Vibrant music blasted over the speakers of Miss Patty's Dance Studio as groups of guests hovered around stations or visited with others. Lane pulled out all the stops, wanting to make Rory's shower as memorable as her own.

In addition to the onesie painting table, which currently occupied several residents, Lane added a few of her own. She set up an area for guests to offer pieces of advice as well as try to guess the size of Rory's baby bump via yarn. As Rory did with Steve and Kwan, Lane morphed together images of Rory and Logan to come up with a funny, albeit hideous, photo of what Lora would look like. Thankfully those computer programs were seldom right on how they merged photos.

Lane stood in the corner of the studio and looked around at the scene before her. She zeroed in on Rory and saw the joy on her face, making all the work completely worth it.

Rory's laugh broke out, rising above all the ruckus. The sound transported Lane back to elementary school and playing on the playground with her best friend. While so much has changed in the years between then and now, she was ever thankful that she and Rory were not like the statistics that usually said friends from school would grow apart once graduated. Even when Rory was busy traipsing around the world, hunting for a story or seeing Logan, Lane knew it was only a matter of time until she was reunited with her best friend.

Stars Hollow offered that blanket of protection to Lane's friendship with Rory. It had even suckered Rory back in to make a permanent home for her own child.

Some may think Stars Hollow had little to offer, but Lane would definitely disagree.

Shaking her head, the present returned to her focus and she realized it was time to wheel out the cake. Lane moved toward Rory and offered up a short, loving speech about her friend of 27 years and all that life had in store for her and Logan.

Guests clapped and offered their congratulations as they waited for the cake to get cut. Soon, it was time to move onto the gifts, which were brought in full force.

It wasn't hard to imagine that Rory was the beloved daughter of the beloved Lorelai. Lane smiled, happy to have been a part of something so wonderful.

*****

Late that night, Logan helped Rory get into bed with her new pillow sets. He moved the blanket up around her, ensuring she was as settled in as he could make her before crossing to his side. He shifted and shimmied until he was in his usual position, thinking back to the events of the day.

The baby shower was wonderful. Rory made it clear she enjoyed herself and, to Logan's surprise, he did too. It was evident why Rory wanted to settle into this town. You were hard pressed to find this type of community anymore. More often than not, people became more focused on themselves and not what they could to do make their town a better place. Stars Hollow was full of charm and full of loving, caring people who put others first.

This was the perfect town to raise their daughter in.

"So, about the gifts—"

"I'm not sure why Kirk got us cat food dishes or the carpet cleaner."

Logan laughed. "I heard him say he wanted to think outside the box. Maybe he thought we'd eventually get the baby a cat or that kids are messy."

"Yes, but baby showers usually lead to gifts like crib bedding or clothing. Not cat food dishes or carpet cleaners. Especially when the expectant parents didn't register for either of those."

"I'm beginning to understand why everyone treats Kirk with kid gloves."

It was Rory's turn to laugh. "Yes, well, Kirk is usually sticky so gloves of any kind are encouraged."