AN: The first half of this is Paris' POV and the second half is Rory's. This scene has been on my list to write for a long time so I'm glad I finally did. Hope you enjoy.

Breathe, Paris reminded herself and she watched Barbie and Ken slink away towards the elevators. Terrance would remind her to do her breathing exercises. She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth and inhaled to the count of four, held it for seven, and exhaled to the count of eight. She repeated the exercise three more times, but her anger wouldn't dissipate. She wasn't surprised. All this woo-ey breathing, mindfulness, meditation crap was, well, crap.

How could Rory have kept this from her? How long had she been lying to her? She was her best friend. And her doctor! Well, okay she wasn't technically her doctor. Paris had gone straight from med school to law school, never completing an internship or residency. She had never actually wanted to be a practicing physician, sick people freaked her out. But still, she was coordinating Rory's medical care. She'd hooked her up with the best doctors money could buy, despite the fact that Rory didn't have any money. Maybe she could get Huntzberger to foot the medical bills.

Every bone in Paris' body wanted to march into that delivery room and tell Rory off. A father's medical history could have important ramifications for the baby. Rory should have trusted her with this. But what she'd told Logan was true—stressing out a woman in labor was a bad idea. It's why she'd left for coffee in the first place. She wasn't sure why, but some people found her presence to be…grating. Rory was usually a pro a dealing with Paris and her quirks, but labor seemed to diminish her patience, so Paris had decided to give her a break. She was only 5cm dilated anyhow—just barely in active labor.

But it was time to head back now; she'd been gone too long as it was. A lot could change with a delivery in thirty minutes. Plus, she couldn't risk chancing that Huntzberger would change his mind and come barging in uninvited. Not that Paris could blame him if he did.

Paris took a couple more ineffectively calming breaths before heading through the swinging doors to the maternity ward. "How's it going?" she asked the nurse as she made her way back into the room.

"Fine. She's at six cm now, and the contractions are getting…."

The nurse was cut off by an ungodly scream. Paris turned her attention to Rory. Lorelai was holding her hand. "Breathe," the soon to be grandmother instructed. "Do you want me to get you some ice chips to throw?"

"Get…me…some…freaking…pain meds," Rory grunted.

Paris evaluated the monitors. "Everything looks good, I think we can get you an epidural," she replied. She turned back to the nurse. "Why don't you make yourself useful and see about getting the anesthesiologist in here."

The nurse glared, "I'll need to check with Dr. Butler," she informed Paris. Paris rolled her eyes. Like Dr. Butler knew better than her just because he did an obstetrics residency at the Mayo Clinic. Paris doubted the man could even find a woman's clitoris.

"Then do that," Paris barked at the woman, before turning her attention back to Rory.

The contraction seemed to be over. "You're doing great," Paris replied dryly, trying to summon up as much pep as she could, and failing miserably. "Lorelai, can I have a word?"

"Sure," Lorelai replied, looking slightly confused. She didn't stand up.

"I meant outside," Paris replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Why do you need to talk to Mom outside?" Rory asked, panic in her voice. "Is something wrong? What don't you want me to hear? Is it the baby? There's something wrong with the baby? Is she going to be alright?"

"There's nothing wrong with the baby," Paris snapped. "Quit your whining."

"Are you okay if I go?" Lorelai asked. "It's probably just a paperwork issue…Right, Paris?" Lorelai glared at Paris with a protective mother bear look that said you damn well better agree because if you upset my baby there will be hell to pay.

"Yeah sure, whatever. It's paperwork."

Rory took a couple of deep breaths. "Fine," she nodded. "Don't be long."

"I won't be," Lorelai promised, standing up.

Paris walked out of the room with Lorelai following.

"What's going on?" Lorelai questioned once the door was closed behind them.

"Did Rory tell you anything about the father?" Paris asked, keeping her eyes trained on the older woman. Lorelai winced, just barely. Paris wasn't great at reading people, but if there had been any doubt in her mind that Lorelai knew, it was gone now.

"Umm, not much. I, uh, I don't think she knows much herself."

"Right, well, the thing is, there are a lot of genetic diseases out there. The baby could have hirsutism for all we know."

"Hirsutism?" Lorelai questioned.

"Excessive hair growth," Paris clarified.

"Umm Paris, you do realize it was just a regular guy in a Wookie costume and not an actual Wookie, right?" Lorelai asked, slightly befuddled.

"Yes, Lorelai, that was my attempt at a joke." Why didn't anyone ever get her humor?

"Oh, you really should warn people."

"The point is, without a medical history of any kind, we'll need to run a lot of tests…invasive tests…" Paris informed her.

"What? What kind of tests? And why are we just hearing about this now?"

"Well I didn't want to worry Rory…make her think her baby could be nearsighted, or asthmatic, or just genetically prone to nerd-ism. But we really should know what's going on. We'll draw some blood for a DNA test. And we'll want to do a spinal tap too."

"A what?" Lorelai screeched. "Isn't that dangerous, I mean how would you keep her still."

"She'll need to be anesthetized."

"Paris, no!" Lorelai replied firmly.

"Well, there is one other option…" Paris prodded, giving Lorelai one last chance to confess.

"It better not involve invasive surgery," Lorelai warned.

"Nope. It just involves asking the father."

"And, uh, how exactly do you suggest we go about finding him?" Lorelai asked, looking anywhere but at Paris.

"Well, you could check the third floor waiting room," Paris suggested helpfully.

"Huh?"

"Well, that is where he said he'd be."

Lorelai's eyes widened in shock, her mouth falling open. "What?" she finally breathed out.

"I know you know, Lorelai. Does anyone else know? Or is just Logan and me you guys lied to."

"How? Why? When?" Lorelai stuttered.

"About 20 minutes ago in the cafeteria. I ran into him and his perfect, petit, Parisian princess…"

"This is bad…" Lorelai stated, starting to pace. She turned back to Paris for just a moment, "also, nice alliteration."

"Thanks, it just called to me," Paris replied. "Anyhow, when I saw him, I may have mentioned I was here because Rory was in labor. Maybe if someone would have let me in on the secret I would have known I should keep my mouth shut."

"But how did he know it was his?"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that transatlantic booty calls are fairly memorable," Paris rolled her eyes. "Add in a basic knowledge of human gestation periods and the ability to count to nine, and it's not a far leap."

"This is bad…"

"You think?"

Lorelai fidgeted uncomfortably. "How'd…How did he take it?"

"Like a man who just found out he had a secret love child."

"So…he was happy?" Lorelai asked with fake hope.

"He was pissed. He tried to bogart his way in here. I nearly had to knife hand him in the throat."

"Well, you and your Krav Maga moves could probably scare away Chuck Norris, so it makes sense Logan Huntzberger would duck and cover." Lorelai chuckled nervously.

"Very true. But I don't think he's gonna just slink back to Merry Old England and forget this ever happened."

Lorelai stopped her pacing and glanced back at the door to the delivery suite. "How are we going to tell her?"

"I don't know," Paris answered.

"I think it should come from me," Lorelai said.

"That works for me," Paris replied. It was taking all her energy not to burst back in that room and give her friend a severe tongue lashing as it was. If she got started, there was no telling what words would come out of her mouth. Restraint was never one of Paris' strong points.

"But we should wait, right?" Lorelai asked uncertainly. "I mean, until after the shoving of the human being from her uterus."

Paris rolled her eyes. "Yes, we should wait, but we're going to have to rip the band aid off soon. He's waiting and he's going to expect to meet his daughter before he leaves this building. He actually seemed…"

"What?" Lorelai asked anxiously.

"God help me for admitting this, but…he seemed…like a man about to have a baby." Paris hated to say anything nice about anybody, especially Logan Huntzberger. But she'd actually gotten the sense that for once in his life, Logan cared about something other than himself. She'd been a little impressed.

"Oh god!" Lorelai suddenly exclaimed.

"What?"

"His fiancée! You said she was there."

"Oh, right."

"And she heard the part about another woman having his baby?"

"Yeah, she got the news bulletin."

"How'd that go?" Lorelai asked.

"Hard to say," Paris admitted. "She was pretty stoic. Outwardly she seemed pretty 'stand by your man,' but…"

"But what?" Lorelai asked anxiously.

"The girl had…backbone." Paris admitted unexpectedly. She'd read about her, of course. The engagement had been big news in society. And she knew she was actively involved in her father's company—but she still somehow expected a vain, simpering, porcelain doll who just wanted to shop and marry rich. The woman she'd met had shown a strength and astuteness that had taken Paris by surprise. Perhaps it shouldn't have. The only thing about Logan that Paris had ever really respected was that he had fallen for Rory. He wasn't looking for some girl to feed his ego; he was attracted to women who were smart, strong-willed and ambitious. It seemed his new fiancée fit the bill.

"You don't think he's going to expect to bring her to…you know…meet Lila," Lorelai whispered as though she was afraid saying the words out loud would make them come to pass.

"Now that would be awkward," Paris replied, almost gleefully. She was still pretty pissed at Rory for hiding this; was it so wrong for her to take a little pleasure at the thought of seeing her squirm? She didn't really want it to happen.

"Paris," Lorelai scolded.

Paris came back down to reality. "Listen," she said astutely. "Would you want to walk into a room with your fiancé, his mistress, and their newborn love child?"

Lorelai visibly shuddered. "No."

"Yeah, me either. So, I wouldn't work yourself up worrying about that. Besides, he doesn't have any actual rights yet. Rory gets to say who comes into that room and who doesn't."

"You're right," Lorelai said with a somewhat relieved sigh. There was silence for a moment before an ear-splitting cry could be heard coming from the delivery room. "I guess that's our cue to go back in," Lorelai pointed towards the door with a shudder. "I sure hope that anesthesiologist gets here soon or my hearing will never recover."

"Breathe," Lorelai instructed her daughter. "You can do this."

"I don't…think…I can," Rory sobbed. She was so exhausted and every muscle in her body that wasn't numb, ached. And even with the epidural, the pressure down below was unbearable.

"Oh stop being such a friggin' wuss," Paris bellowed. "Who's the bigger baby here, you or that kid you're pushing out of your vagina?"

Rory sent and icy glare Paris' way, but it only lasted a split second before another contraction had her squeezing all the circulation out of Lorelai's fingers.

"She doesn't need to be here," Dr. Butler reminded Rory. "She's not an official part of the medical team."

Rory didn't know what to say. Paris was…Paris. But she had decided at some point that she wanted her there—right? Though for the life of her she was too exhausted to remember why.

"You need me, Rory. You're almost there but you're flagging and no one can motivate you the way I can. Operation Finish Line?" she reminded her friend. "Let's push this baby out!" Paris argued. Rory's whole body clenched tightly as she pushed again.

Oh yeah, that was why. As annoying as Paris was, she actually had the ability to push her in just the right way to get her where she needed to go. "She…can…stay," Rory ground out.

"You're the boss," Dr. Butler replied with an exasperated eye roll. "but don't blame me if this baby hears her haranguing and immediately tries to climb back inside."

Rory saw Paris give him a withering stare, but then the feisty blonde turned her attention back to the woman in the hospital bed.

"I can see her head," Paris told her. "Don't stop now. I had both the twins out in less time than this."

Rory summoned up the strength to push again.

"You're almost there, Kid," Lorelai soothed, gently stroking her hair. "I know it feels like you're doing the splits on a crate of dynamite right now, but in a few minutes it will all be over and you'll have a beautiful, baby girl that will be worth all the pain and agony. I promise."

"I can't," she cried.

"I'd say quit being a pussy, but I think given the current circumstances a pussy is a pretty damn amazing thing to be. So be a pussy!"

In all her crassness, Paris was right again. She could do this—her body was made for it and it was an amazing thing. She sat up part way for leverage and squeezed as hard as she could.

"You got this, Kid." Lorelai gripped her hand for support.

"We've got a shoulder, Gilmore. Don't quit on me now."

"Just a couple more," Dr. Butler added. "Your baby's almost here."

And he was right; after only three more pushes, a sharp cry filled the air and Rory collapsed, exhausted on her bed.

"Congratulations, Mom," Dr. Butler said, clamping and cutting the umbilical cord. He handed the baby off to the labor nurse to suction her nose and mouth.

"She's beautiful," Lorelai sniffled.

"Where is she?" Rory asked. "Where's my baby?" Her brief second of exhaustion induced calm was suddenly overtaken by panic. She needed to see her baby. To hold her. The know that she was alright.

"We're just cleaning her up," the nurse said. "She's doing great. I promise, you'll be holding her in just a second." The nurse finished cleaning and drying her, then placed a stethoscope to her chest to listen to Lila's heart. She took a couple of recordings and brought Lila over to her mother. "Her Apgar score is 8, that's great," she told the new Mom, handing the baby over. "Put her right on your belly. Skin to skin contact is important." She placed Lila gently on Rory's bare stomach and covered her with a blanket.

Rory looked down at the red, wrinkly, smooshed looking human and immediately started to cry. She had a full head of fine blonde hair, just like Logan's. She wished he could have been there with her—to hold her hand, to kiss her forehead, to see his eyes light up as he looked at his daughter for the first time. She knew without a doubt that Logan would have loved this little girl as much as she did.

But he wasn't there. It was her fault—her choice—she knew that. She'd questioned her decision so many times throughout the pregnancy, but no matter how many times she wanted to call him, she never did. It was over between them and bringing him in to this would only bring them both pain. And she didn't want her and Logan's issues to become her daughter's. Rory couldn't be what Logan needed and having him in her life halfway—well she'd seen what that kind of relationship between parents could do to a child.

Lila's legs were kicking gently over Rory's belly and small bubbles started to form at her mouth.

"There are bubbles! Why are there bubbles? Are there supposed to be bubbles? Is something wrong?" Rory panicked again.

"Chill, Drama Queen," Paris told her. "That just means she's hungry."

"Already?" Rory asked.

"Well, her name is Lorelai Gilmore," Lorelai reminded her.

"Newborns are ready to nurse almost immediately. It may take her a couple of tries to get it right though; don't worry too much about it. If she has trouble, we can give you two some help, but for now just let her do her thing," the nurse informed her.

Rory just stared in awe at her daughter. She still couldn't quite believe she'd made an actual human being. She wasn't religious, but her daughter really did seem like a miracle.

"Do you want me to go tell the others?" Lorelai asked. Rory knew Luke, her father and her grandmother were all in the waiting room. As much as she loved them all, she wasn't ready for any more people. Though on the other hand, she could only imagine how leaving those three to their own devices for too long would go.

"You can tell them," she said, "but I'm not ready for visitors yet."

"Right," Lorelai said. Rory thought she looked oddly nervous. "I'll, uh, I'll be right back, then. Paris…" she called, as she headed towards the door. "Maybe we should give them a moment of privacy."

The two women headed out towards the waiting room. Rory thought she heard some hushed whispers as the door swung shut behind them, but she paid it no mind. All she cared about at that moment was the tiny, pink, bundle in her arms.

The nurse performed the second Apgar test, then excused herself, letting Rory know she'd be back to check on them shortly.

Rory was mesmerized as Lila continued to squirm, finally making her way to her breast. The baby tried to latch on a couple times before stopping to rest again. After a few minutes she made another attempt and this time she succeed, starting to suckle. The sensation was strange, and slightly uncomfortable, and yet Rory couldn't help the huge smile that made its way onto her face. Her baby was feeding. Not only had she grown this child inside her, but now she was producing the very food the would nourish her.

She'd never felt closer to another living being as she did in that moment. The only other person she'd ever felt even remotely this connected to was Logan, the night that Lila had been conceived. She felt a swell of melancholy mingling with her joy as she thought of the one thing that could make this moment more perfect. It would have been so much easier if she didn't love him. Then it wouldn't hurt so much that he wasn't there. Then again, if truth be told, if she hadn't loved him so much, she probably would have told him, and then he would be there.

Rory heard the door open and close as Lorelai made her way back in.

"How you doing, Kid?" her mother asked.

Rory sniffled. "Great."

"That was convincing." Lorelai laughed.

"She's just so…perfect."

"Yeah," the reigning Lorelai replied. "She is pretty damn perfect."

They were quiet for a moment as the both reveled in the site of the newborn. Lorelai took a seat in the chair next to her daughter.

"Rory…" she started hesitantly. Rory looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"I…uh…I don't know if this is the right time to tell you this, but…"

"What? What's wrong? Is Lila okay?"

"Lila's fine," Lorelai said. "This isn't about her."

"Oh, okay," Rory replied, confused but relieved.

"Paris ran into someone in the cafeteria earlier…"

"Who'd she piss off this time?" Rory laughed.

Lorelai paused uncomfortably and Rory straightened up at alert. She had no idea what was about to come out of her mother's mouth, but she knew it was serious the second a witty quip didn't emanate from her Lorelai's lips. "It was Logan," she finally said.

Rory thought she felt her heart stop beating. If she weren't blinking, she'd be sure she'd just died. A million different emotions were coursing through her. It was her wildest dream and her worst nightmare all rolled into one. Logan. Here.

"Logan…Marshall-Green?" she asked, still hoping there was some explanation for this.

"Logan Huntzberger." Rory just stared, mouth gaping open. "I'm not sure why he's here, but he was in the cafeteria at the same time as Paris and, well, Paris didn't know about…so she didn't realize she shouldn't. So, you know, she did...mention...that you were here too...in labor. And Logan, being, well, able to do math, he just kind of…yeah…" Lorelai trailed off, her ramble dying awkwardly.

"Logan's here?" Rory asked again, still in shock.

"Yes."

"And he knows about Lila?"

"Yes," Lorelai confirmed.

"Where is he?" She asked. Why wasn't he here? He knew, and he was nearby. Why hadn't he come to her? Was he mad? That was a ridiculous question. Of course he was mad. But how mad? Mad enough to not love her anymore? Mad enough to not care about their daughter?

"He's upstairs in the one of the waiting rooms. Paris convinced him it was better that way."

"How…how mad was he?" Rory asked, trembling.

"Rory…" Lorelai replied cautiously. She could tell her mother didn't want to tell her.

"How mad?" she repeated.

"Not as mad as me," Paris bellowed from outside the door before stomping back into the room.

"How could you, Rory?" she pointed her finger menacingly. "I thought we were friends."

"Paris!" Lorelai scolded.

"What?"

"We talked about this. This is why you were supposed to stay outside."

"I didn't yell. That was not yelling," Paris argued. "That is the natural tenor of my voice."

"Paris," Lorelai said again.

"Fine," Paris sulked, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll go, but this conversation is not over, Missy," she told Rory warningly, stomping back out of the room.

"I'm sorry about that," Lorelai said.

But Rory's eyes were wide with fear. She'd lied to everyone, not just Paris. They were all going to know she lied to them. Everyone was going to be so mad at her. And Logan. Logan would hate her forever for this. "Does anyone else know yet?" she asked, her lip quivering in fear.

"No. But the news is going to get out, you know."

Rory nodded.

After a moment of silence, Lorelai spoke. "He's expecting to see his daughter."

"He's gonna hate me."

"There's a pretty good chance," Lorelai said her words true but sympathetic.

"He's going to yell."

"I would."

Rory's eyes widened again. "He's going to yell in front of Lila."

"No." Lorelai shook her head. "I won't let that happen. He's going to yell, he kind of has a right to, Kid. But I can take Lila outside while he says his piece.

"Oh god," Rory moaned. "What have I done?" What was she thinking for the last nine months? How did she ever think she'd be able to keep this secret? Why did she ever think it was a good idea to try? She'd had so many reasons. She'd had a pro-con list. And yet, right now, they were all failing her. Even the excuses she could remember seemed flimsier than rice paper. Logan knew, and she had screwed it all up.

She should have told him. Called him, sent him a letter, smoke signaled, something. Maybe they would have had a chance then. But not now. Now he would be in her life forever, but he would hate her. How was she supposed to live with him hating her?

Lorelai stroked her hair consolingly. "You made a bad choice and it backfired. But we'll get through this."

Rory mimicked the move, caressing her own daughter's head for comfort.

"What do I do, Mommy?" she pleaded, as soft and fragile as though she herself were a child.

"Well, I've been thinking about the best way to do this…" Lorelai informed her. "We want minimal interference. I think we should get your Grandma in here to see the baby. She's overdue for her afternoon nap, so once she's had a chance to meet Lila, we can convince her to go back to the hotel. Put that bombshell off until later."

Rory nodded in agreement. Her grandmother would not take any of this well, and the woman was punishingly cruel when bated.

"Then we'll have to tell your Dad and Luke so they understand what Logan's doing here. Then we'll clear the room and I'll go get him."

Rory felt her breath hitch in her chest. She was going to see Logan again. She was terrified, but if she was being honest, a part of her was also giddy. It was like Lorelai had said about Lila; all the pain and agony would be worth it for one look at his face. She nodded her head in agreement with Lorelai's plan, pushing back the tears welling in her eyes.

Lorelai took Rory's right hand in her left, her other arm reaching out to stroke her granddaughter. "You got this," she assured her daughter. "It'll all be okay. Just breathe."

AN: I just love writing Paris. She's so much fun. What did you guys think? Was she unnecessarily mean to Lorelai, making her think Lila would need all those tests? Or did she deserve it? And what about Rory? Is she properly contrite? Are you still mad at her for lying, or are you starting to feel for her a bit more? I'd love any feedback you've got. Thanks for reading.