Missing Pieces

Chapter 1: Chance Meeting

Rory Gilmore has a beautiful four-year old daughter who has never met her father.  When Finn and Rory run into each other at the zoo, he quickly puts the pieces together and realizes that life has taken crazy turns that no one could have predicted.  How will he fit into the lives of Rory and Emma?  How will Emma's father react when he runs head first into the reality that is his ex-lover's and daughter's lives now?  Will Rory finally get her happily ever after?  This story takes place 5 years after AYITL.  Rory's trust fund was never addressed in the revival, but for the sake of this story we're going to pretend that she still has it and had not spent through it.

I do not own Gilmore Girls or the characters in this story.

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"Mommy, lions!" Rory heard from the stroller that she was pushing through the Hartford zoo.  Inside the stroller was her four-year old daughter, Emma Leigh Gilmore, who was the light of her life.  She was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, intelligent, precocious little girl who had changed every member of her mother's family for the better.  She was the missing puzzle piece that brought peace to the Gilmore family finally set Rory's life back on a stable path, surprisingly enough.  Her feet had gotten tired on their long walk and she had decided to take a turn riding in the stroller despite her insistence that she was a big girl.

"That's right, Em!  What do the lions say?" Rory asked her daughter.

"Roar!" they both roared together as they giggled.  Rory knelt down next to her daughter.

"You're such a smart cookie, Emma," Rory said as she tickled her daughter lightly.  "Ready to see the tigers?"

"Tigers!" Emma enthused as her mom stood back up began to navigate to the next exhibit.  They were just arriving at the tiger enclosure when Rory heard her name.

"Rory Gilmore?  Is that you?"

The accent was unmistakable; it had to belong to no other than Finn Morgan.  Rory thought for a moment trying to dodge him given how awkward the situation was bound to be, but if she knew Finn at all she would put money on him not giving up easily.  She slowly turned her head to the direction that the voice had come from and met his blue eyes not fifteen feet away from her.

"Finn?" Rory finally managed to choke out.  "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you as well, kitten.  This lovely little lady riding on my shoulders is my niece, Ava.  Ava, can you say hi to my friend Rory?" Finn asked of the little girl.

"Hi, Uncle Finn's friend Rory!" Ava giggled.

"Hi, Ava.  It's nice to meet you.  Umm...this is Emma," Rory said pointing to her daughter.  She had no idea whether or not Finn knew who Emma was.

"It's nice to meet you, Emma," Finn said as he extended his hand to her.  "Are you Rory's sister?" Finn asked as he looked back and forth between Rory and Emma.

"No, silly!  She's my mommy!" Emma giggled.

"Wow, I bet Rory's a great mommy, huh?" Finn asked.  "So tell me, little love, how old are you?  Ava here is five."

"I'm four!" Emma exclaimed.

"And what a beautiful four year old you are," Finn replied to Emma before shifting his eyes to Rory.  "I didn't realize that you had a daughter, kitten."

"Oh, yeah, I guess I haven't seen you guys in a while, huh?"

"Since about five years ago at that inn in New Hampshire when..." Finn's voice suddenly trailed off and Rory could see from the look on his face that he was beginning to ask the right questions.