Reflecting their own light: Rory and Logan

Chapter 23.5

After our honeymoon, we went back to the real world.  I worked and Rory wrote.  She was still fulfilling her duties as editor for the Stars Hollow Gazette.  She also wrote some articles, but most of her time was spent on her book.  She couldn't contain her happiness when it came to the book.  It filled me with joy to know she'd finally found work she truly loved.  The book collaboration with Naomi had quickly become toxic, but on her own, it was pure pleasure.

We continued our search for a bigger place to live.  All of the places we had looked at were ok, but nothing really caught our attention.  A couple had been good enough, but we didn't want to settle.  Bryce, our realtor, seemed frustrated with our rejection of everything he'd found for us.

"We're never going to find a place to live at this rate," Rory lamented.  "Every place has been nice, but I don't get the right feeling about any of them.  You know, the feeling where you know this is the place you've been looking for."

"I think we need to consider looking outside of the city," I suggested.

"Outside the city?  But I thought you wanted something in the city."

"We've exhausted most of the good options here and I'm with you, nothing feels right.  I want a place we both love."

"You're right.  I think a house would be nice.  I wouldn't mind if it were a little closer to Stars Hollow.  I've missed a lot of time with my mom traveling for work, and I know she'll want to be around to spoil her first grandchild," she said.

"I'll call tomorrow and give Bryce the new parameters.  How about this weekend we look at a couple of places and get out of the city?"

"That does sound good.  Don't forget that Friday is my ultrasound!" she reminded me.

"How could I forget?  You've been talking about it for two weeks," I replied with a smile.  This was the big one, where we could potentially find out the gender of Little Ace.  We had agreed to find out what we were having.  I knew Rory would want to plan for something like this, and I think Lorelai was more excited to find out than we were.

I hoped the baby would cooperate to get a good look at him or her.  I had phoned ahead because I wanted to surprise Rory with a gender reveal with our close friends and family.  She had no idea that we were going to the Gilmore residence in Hartford.  I had also made arrangements for the realtor to meet us there as it was the last stop for our house hunting expedition.  I wasn't completely sure she'd want to live there, but something told me it was the right thing to do.  I'd already discussed it with Emily and she was on board.

Friday had arrived.  I met Rory at the doctor's office.  She looked uncomfortable, and I'm sure it had to do with the fact they wanted her to have a full bladder for the ultrasound.  We walked into the darkened room.  She got ready as instructed and I watched as the tech prepared.  She moved the wand around as she tried to locate the baby.  Once she did, she took some measurements as we watched intently.

"Looks like the baby is right where it should be.  You are measuring right at twenty weeks.  I'm not an expert, but everything else seems to look good.  Would you like to know the sex of your baby?" she said.

We looked at each other and smiled.  "Yes!" we said excitedly.  I gave an extra wink to the tech.  It was our signal to not reveal anything.  She was to write it down and fax it to a bakery in Hartford.  I wanted the reveal to be a surprise, making it more special for her.

"Ok, this may take a few minutes," she replied, moving the wand around some more.  She had printed off a few pictures for us as souvenirs.  She clutched my hand in anticipation.  The baby was starting to look more human, but I couldn't really tell if Little Ace was a boy or girl.  I made out a food and the head, but it was a lot of fuzzy blurs.  She moved the wand around a bit more, and acted as if she couldn't find the angle she wanted.  She'd give me the wink and nod to indicate she saw what she needed to see.

"I'm sorry, Rory, but the baby is moving too much to get a good look," she said.  "Usually movement is good, but this one is sly and hiding the area I need to see."

"The baby must take after you, Logan<" she said to me with a smile.

"I guess the suspense will continue," I replied coyly.  I didn't want to give it away, but I was elated that my plan was going to work.

The tech helped Rory get cleaned up from the gel and showed her to the bathroom.

"You saw what you needed?" I asked the tech.

"Yes, I did.  I'll get that faxed to the bakery for you," she replied with a smile.

"So?"

"Oh, you don't get to know either.  It'll be a surprise for both of you!" she said.

This woman was good, and now, I'd have to wait to find out as well.  It was a sacrifice I was willing to make for Rory.  We'd find out together.  When she came out of the bathroom, I put my arm around her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the temple.

"Are you disappointed?" he asked.

"I was looking forward to finding out, but it's just a little extra excitement.  Ten years ago, this may have been more stressful, the not knowing.  I actually enjoy the unknown now.  My mom, on the other hand......."

"Lorelai will be disappointed, but it won't stop her from thinking Little Ace is a girl," I said smiling.

"She'll get over it," she replied laughing a little.

"Now, let's find us a new place to live!"

I led Rory to the car and we ventured out of the city.  I still wasn't sure if this was going to be right.  There were some beautiful homes, but it was still a bit too far from Stars Hollow for Rory to have easy access.  Bryce showed us three different homes, but none was quite right for either of us.  I knew we'd find a place that instantly felt like home when you walked in.  I wanted that more for Rory than myself.  I would be content living just about anywhere, so long as it was with her and Little Ace.  I wasn't worried because tomorrow was the day we'd go to the Gilmore residence in Hartford.  I had a really good feeling about it.

"I promise, we'll find something!  I've got a good feeling about tomorrow," I said.

On Saturday morning, we had a few more places to look at before we'd go to Emily's.  I didn't like seeing the look of discouragement on her face, but it was only for a while longer.  The seemingly bad struck of luck would come to a halt by the end of the day, I hoped.  I had pretty good instincts, but I've been wrong before.  The further we got from the city, the warmer the reception to the houses.

"We've got two more places to look at, and then we'll head to Stars Hollow to see your mom and Luke.  I've already made reservations at the Dragonfly," I said.  I really did have reservations at the inn, but I knew we had a big stop before we'd get to her hometown.

"I suppose I can handle a couple more as long as you promise me a burger and fries from Luke's," she said with a wink.

"Anything Little Ace wants, Little Ace gets!" I replied grinning.

"This isn't a baby request.  It comes directly from the ravishing beauty sitting next to you," she responded.

We pulled up to a house on the edge of New Haven.  Rory looked excited for the first time since we started looking for a new place.  The house was amazing and perfect, but there was something that just wasn't quite right about it.

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically to me.

"Are we moving in the right direction?"

"We are definitely getting warmer," she replied with a small smile.

One the way to Hartford, Rory fell asleep.  It made the trip quieter, but easier to carry out the surprise.  I couldn't blame her for taking a nap.  We'd been going strong for the last few days with the house hunting, and the tiny human growing inside of her was taking up any last bit of energy she might have.  I smiled thinking about how she was going to react.  She finally woke when we pulled into the driveway at Emily's.

"I thought you said we had one more house to look at," she said puzzled.

"We do," I replied.

We saw Bryce's car pull up.  He didn't need to be here, but if she said yes, I wanted to be ready to move swiftly.  I was grinning from ear to ear.