"Okay so let me get this straight." Lorelai tried unsuccessfully to keep the amusement out of her voice. "You dropped the baby bomb on Logan's family under the assumption of your grandparents being out of town and then just left? Leaving them completely free to share this news all on their own?"

Rory glared at her mother. "Did I miss you telling Grandpa about your own blessed event?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

Lorelai backed down quickly. Clearly Rory was still upset with her. She held out a bowl of Goldfish crackers as a peace offering and grinned satisfactorily when Rory grudgingly took the bowl and sat down on the couch next to her. They snacked in comfortable silence for several seconds as Logan stared at them in disbelief.

"What are you doing?" he asked finally. "Is this your big plan? To sit here and eat?"

Lorelai threw a licorice whip at him. "Got a better plan, Richie Rich?"

"The baby is kind of hungry," Rory admitted sheepishly. "Oh don't give me that look Logan! You're the one who dragged us out of there before dinner was served!"

"Look, this is what's going to happen," Lorelai interrupted, shoving a bowl of pretzels at Logan. "There is no time for a plan, it's all about going on the defensive now. Or is it the offensive?" She shook her head and turned to Rory. "I shouldn't ever use sports references, they mean so little to me." Again, Logan looked on incredulously as the two women discussed which term she had meant to use.

"Girls!"

Lorelai looked up. "Oh right. Anyways, my point is, there is nothing we can do. Trust me, my parents already know and probably are on their way here this very second to no doubt confront me over my failure at raising a proper young lady." She glanced sideways at Rory. "No offense."

"None taken," she answered with a wave of her hand.

"Good. Anyway yeah, my parents already know your exciting news and in fact..." her voice trailed off as they heard a car pulling into the driveway.

"How did you know that?" Rory asked, her head tilting sideways.

Lorelai shrugged. "I have that whole pregnant psychic thing going on. That, and my cell phone has been going off constantly for the last half hour." She got up and opened the front door. "Mom! What a pleasant surprise it is to see you tonight," she said with fake cheerfulness as Emily stormed into the living room.

"Well just look at you!" she said indignantly, placing her hands on her hips. "The Huntzbergers were right! You're pregnant."

"Hey!" Rory elbowed Logan. "You said I didn't look pregnant," she hissed.

"Aw, he told you that?" Lorelai cut in. She turned to Logan. "That was very sweet of you, good job!" she praised.

"Wait! Can you tell I'm pregnant?" Rory demanded. "Am I fat?"

"No sweetie, of course not, but you are a little rounder than before," Lorelai said soothingly. "But it looks good on you," she added quickly.

"Oh for Godssakes, hello!" Emily snapped. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on here?

"Sounds to me like you already know," Lorelai pointed out logically.

"Lorelai, enough already." Emily moved further into the room. "I want to know why I come home from a perfectly pleasant dinner out with friends to an answering machine full of messages from Shira Huntzberger! Would you like to know what those messages said?" Her voice was becoming more shrill with each word. Nobody answered her. "I will tell you what they said, they said that my granddaughter is pregnant! Pregnant, and as far as I can tell, no ring on her finger." She shook her head exasperatedly. "You are lucky your grandfather is out of town, I don't know that his heart could have taken this! Finding out you're pregnant on an answering machine message? Honestly!" Emily stamped her foot. "How could you tell that woman fist? You can't even have the decency to tell me yourself?"

"We're sorry Emily." Logan finally spoke up. "Of course we planned to tell you. Friday night at dinner in fact. We decided to tell my family first because we weren't sure of how they would react and well," he shrugged. "They didn't take it very well at all, obviously. We had to make a quick exit, there wasn't any time for us to ask them not to say anything." He smiled at her then, turning on the charm. "We really are very sorry Emily, we wish we could have been the ones to tell you but now? I'm just happy that you know and can celebrate with us."

"He's good," Lorelai mouthed to Rory, who could only node her head in agreement.

"Well," Emily huffed. Her icy expression softened as her gaze fell on Rory. "Oh, another baby," she sighed finally, clasping her hands. "How far along are you?" she asked.

"A little over sixteen weeks," Rory confessed, immediately moving her hand to rest on her stomach.

"Sixteen we--" Emily sighed again. "Just how long did you plan on keeping this from everyone?"

"We only just found out ourselves." Rory went on to explain. "We really were going to tell you on Friday night."

Emily pursed her lips. "And you're okay? I take it you've seen a doctor?"

"Oh yes, Dr. Meadows," she smiled as Emily brightened at the name. "Everything is going very well." She hesitated. "Grandma, I really would like to be the one to tell Grandpa. Friday night, like we planned. Or sooner, if you think best."

"He won't be home until Friday afternoon and if you can be sure to keep Elias and Shira away from him, I will expect the three of you to dinner Friday night," Emily agreed.

"Wait, why me?" Lorelai asked.

Emily fixed a glare toward her daughter. "If I recall, you also have some news to share with your father," she reminded her.

"Yes, because telling Dad that both of us are pregnant at the same time is a really great idea," Lorelai said sarcastically. "Why don't we tell him you're pregnant too, Mom? Really give his heart a workout."

"Fine. Maybe you should want to be there to lend your support to your own daughter then," Emily amended. "In any case, I don't care what reason you use, I expect all three of you there in time for dinner."

"We'll be there," Logan promised. "Now Emily, I'm sure you have a ton of question and you will get answers to all of them, but it's been a really long day for Rory and I really would like to get her home and into bed before she falls asleep on her feet."

"Oh yes, of course, rest is important," Emily stammered. "Yes, I should be going myself. I was just in such a state of... yes, we'll see you for dinner on Friday." She gathered her purse and her car keys from where she had dropped them, and with a nod at the other three, she left just as quickly as she had arrived.

Rory and Logan said their goodnights and left the house. Out on the porch, Rory let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and collapsed against Logan. "So much for the game plan, huh?" she asked tiredly. They were both too drained to say anything more about it so he merely dropped a kiss on the top of her head and led her to the car.

Laying in bed later that night, Logan couldn't contain himself anymore, the sound rumbling deep in his chest as his body shook with laughter. "Did that really just happen?" he asked incredulously. "Seriously, that whole night, did that really happen?"

Rory turned over in bed and looked at him. Watching him laugh, she was unable to stop herself from giggling along with him.

"We had a plan!" he gasped. "What happened to the game plan?" They laughed a little while longer before he pulled her closer to him and settled his hand over her stomach.

"We should have just let Finn and Colin do a skit," she murmured into his chest. She looked up at him and smiled. "There's still time, we still have to tell my grandpa."

"Somehow I still don't think Colin and Finn are the way to go," he said. Relenting, she nodded and stifled a yawn. "At any rate, we've got a couple of days to come up with a new game plan, right?"

"I'm thinking our game planning strategy days are over, Ace," he said with mock regret. "How about we just sleep on it, and enjoy the next couple of days until we have to tell Richard?"

"Deal."

Logan was just on the brink of falling into a deep sleep when suddenly he was whacked over the head with a pillow. He shot up in bed and looked down at Rory. "Ace? What the hell?"

She smiled sweetly up at him. "That was for lying to me about me not looking pregnant," she said before turning on her side and closing her eyes again.

Logan sighed and lay back down. For the first time since he found out Rory was pregnant, he began counting down the days until her mood swings would stop.

"Lorelai!" Emily smiled as her daughter walked into the living room Friday evening. "You're late," she pronounced.

"Hi Mom, it's lovely to see you too." She handed her coat to the maid, and took her seat across from Rory and Logan. "Hey guys, how are you?" She raised her eyebrows, questioning if they had broken the news yet and was greeted with very emphatic shakes of the head in the negative. "So, what's going on? Dad, how are you?"

"I'm just fine Lorelai, just fine," Richard said with an agreeable nod. "Happy to be back in Connecticut, that's for certain. You know, I think Dayton, Ohio exists purely to make business travel absolutely wretched."

"I believe that is their town motto," Lorelai quipped just as the maid came back in and announced that dinner was ready.

Despite her joking, Lorelai sensed a tension in the room and glanced worriedly at Rory as they walked into the dining room. "Relax," she whispered, holding her daughter back slightly from the group. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

"We'll see," Rory muttered, pressing a hand to her stomach. Almost seventeen weeks into her pregnancy and she was still dealing with what she laughing referred to as morning sickness, since it seemed to occur pretty much any time of the day.

With Logan's help, Emily was able to keep the small talk going smoothly as everyone sat down for the salad course. Rory was only able to offer up a snippet of conversation every now and then for fear of opening her mouth as her head began to spin.

"You okay?" Logan whispered to her as Richard and Lorelai were engaged in Inn talk and Emily was checking on the main course. "You're getting whiter by the minute."

"I'll be fine," she muttered, even as the words passed through her lips she knew that she was lying. She reached for her water glass desperately, and for a moment she thought that she might be okay after all.

"Braised lamb!" Emily announced cheerfully as she followed the maid back into the dining room. Rory took one look at the platter of meat before and nearly knocked over her chair in her hurry to leave the room.

Logan and Lorelai exchanged looks while Emily frowned. "I'll go after her," Logan said, rising from his own chair and excusing himself.

"Has Rory been ill?" Richard asked, turning to Lorelai.

"Not that I know of," she replied, avoiding Emily's stare.

"There's no sense in speculating about the girl," Emily interrupted as she handed a knife to Richard so that he could begin serving. "Let's just continue on with dinner, I'm sure she's fine and she and Logan will be back any second."

Sure enough, several minutes later Rory and Logan both reappeared. Rory gave her mother a slight nod and smiled apologetically at her grandparents as Logan pulled her chair out for her.

"Rory, are you feeling well?" Richard asked. "You grew quite pale there for a moment."

"I'm fine Grandpa," she said as she took a sip of water. She took a deep breath and dropped her hand down into Logan's. She couldn't hold off any longer. "Actually Grandpa, Logan and I have some news."

"News? What news?" He set his wine glass down and looked at them expectantly.

She sighed. "Grandpa, Logan and I just found out that I am pregnant." She forced a smile onto her face as Logan squeezed her hand gently underneath the table. "We're going to have a baby."

The room was silent for an impossibly long time. Emily's eyes darted around the table from her daughter to her granddaughter to her husband. She studied him carefully, and from the look on his face, she momentarily feared for his health. "Richard..."

He held up his hand. "Not now Emily, I want to hear what Logan has to say."

Logan winced as Rory's nails broke through the skin of his wrist. "Yes sir," he said quickly as he removed her hand, settling it palm down in his lap.

"You and my granddaughter are having a child," he stated.

"We are," he confirmed. Rory kept her eyes downcast.

"And what preparations have you made for this child?"

"To be honest Richard, we've only known for a little while. As soon as we found out, I canceled my move to London and began work out of the Hartford offices."

Richard nodded. "Very commendable," he remarked. He took a deep breath. "And when will the wedding be?"

"There is no wedding Grandpa," Rory interrupted. "Not yet," she amended with a sideways glance at Logan.

"But soon," Richard pressed.

Rory's eyes leveled with his. "I won't lie to you Grandpa," she said softly. "There hasn't been any talk of a wedding. That's not to say it's not a possibility at some point in the future, but right now? I'm sorry, it's not something we're planning yet."

For an instant, Lorelai found herself transported back in time to when she herself had told Richard of her own pregnancy, and she knew that if he unleashed the same words on Rory as he did her, neither of them would be able to handle it. Whether she was still angry with her or not, Lorelai wasn't about to let her daughter be hurt.

"I'm pregnant too!" she blurted out.

"Lorelai!" Emily gasped as Rory dropped her head into her hand.

"Well I am!" she insisted. "And it's time Dad knew. I'm going to start showing any day now, it's not like I could keep hiding this."

Richard stared at his daughter for a long moment. Instantly, she could tell that her plan had worked, and his anger toward Rory was temporarily on hold. She flashed a small reassuring smile in Rory's direction and braced herself for her father's tirade.

"You're pregnant," he said, his voice laced heavily with disappointment. "Could I dare dream that you're actually going to step up responsibly here and show your daughter what should be done in this situation? Is it safe for me to assume that your wedding is now back on?"

Lorelai stared hard at her father. "No," she said flatly. "The wedding is still off. Luke and I are not getting married."

Disappointment was quickly replaced by anger. "You're not a child anymore Lorelai, there's no reason for us to go through this again. We will not go through this again! Give me one good reason why you're not planning on going through with marrying Luke now."

"You want a reason Dad?" Under the table, Rory gripped Logan's hand even tighter, chanting a silent no, no, no! in her head. "How about this Dad, it might not even be Luke's child. Is that a good enough reason for you?" Rory put her head in her one free hand again. Had her mother gone mad?

"Lorelai!" Emily gasped again.

Richard's face turned a deeper shade of red than Rory had ever seen. "Who?" he asked in a tone she had never heard before.

For a split second Lorelai faltered under his glare. Perhaps this hadn't been her greatest idea ever. It was like being sixteen all over again. "Christopher," she admitted in a voice barely over a whisper.

"Oh for heaven's sake Lorelai!" Emily snapped. "Christopher? Have you lost your mind?" She stood up. "I can't deal with this. Not again."

"Emily stay," Richard commanded. He waited until she sat back down. "Your mother's right, we won't be going through this again. We barely survived it the first time."

Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do?" she challenged. "I'm not sixteen this time. I'm an adult."

"Exactly, you are," Richard agreed. "That's the very reason you're going to do the adult thing here. You're going to find out who the father of this child is and you're going to marry him."

Lorelai blinked furiously. "You can't make these kinds of decrees Dad," she snapped. "They didn't work when I was sixteen, they sure as hell aren't going to work when I'm thirty-eight."

"You said so yourself Lorelai. You're not sixteen anymore, You're old enough to realize the repercussions of your actions." Richard paused. "Now clearly you're still foolish enough to make these same mistakes again." Rory winced at his words. "But I hope you've garnered enough knowledge to understand what you need to do."

"What I understand is that it's time for me to leave," Lorelai said angrily, standing up so violently that she nearly upturned the table in the process.

"No Lorelai, sit please," Emily pleaded. "I won't have you driving so upset."

"Then I'll call a driver," she said through gritted teeth. She nodded at Logan. "You've got a spare, don't you?"

"Uh sure," he said hesitantly, unsure of what else to do.

"Great, call him and have him meet me outside. I can't be here any longer. I knew you'd be upset," she said, turning back to Richard. "But I never expected to find myself back in 1983." She whirled to face Rory for the first time since dinner started. "Did you get an earful Kid? Did you take notes?" she asked. "I sure as hell hope so, because soon enough, this-" she waved her hand around. "Is all going to be directed at you and I bet you anything that once the Huntzbergers' shock has warn off, their reactions are going to make the Gilmores' look like a fricken' tea party." Her eyes widened as the words flew out her mouth, realizing what she had done. Inadvertently, she had brought the attention back around to Rory and Logan.

"Lorelai, you're not hearing me. You will marry the father of your child. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it's high time you show your daughter the right way to handle a situation like this."

"Grandpa, it doesn't matter if mom gets married or not," Rory interrupted. "Logan and I will not base our decision on getting married on what my mother does."

"Seems to me you've imitated your mother just fine up until now," he remarked bitterly.

"Richard!"

Richard slammed his fist down on the table hard enough to send the plates and glasses rattling, effectively silencing Emily. "No, this needs to be said. All these years I've bit my tongue when it came to Rory and her foolish adoration of her mother. And you!" He turned to Lorelai. "You and your distorted views of your so-called independence. This is where I draw the line. I refuse to allow the both of you to disgrace this family's name again!"

"Dad!" Lorelai's voice was sharp.

"No Lorelai, I mean what I say. Its clear I've stayed quiet too long as it is. For years, your mother and I have supported you, both publicly and privately, in the way you claim to have raised Rory to be a brilliant and outstanding young adult when the truth is all you have done is brought her up to be another version of you!" All three Gilmore women recoiled at his words but he continued on. "Now it's obvious you couldn't learn from your own mistakes but good Lord Lorelai, I had hoped you would have at least taught her to do better than you." With that, he got up from the table and walked away, leaving them all stunned.

Logan started to get to his feet but Rory stopped him. "Don't," she whispered. She looked around at her mother and grandmother and saw the same look on their faces she imagined to be on hers.

"He has no right," Logan began angrily, but Rory stopped him again.

"He's upset," Rory said quietly.

Emily sighed. "Maybe I should have told him on my own," she said regretfully.

"He would have been angry either way," Rory said resignedly.

"Well, I suppose dinner is over." Emily sighed. "I should check on Richard," she said as she stood up. Her eyes settled on Lorelai. "Can you stay a few minutes?" It wasn't a request and Lorelai nodded mutely.

"We'll see ourselves out," Logan said as he placed a steadying hand on Rory's back.

She smiled at him gratefully and leaned into his touch, not realizing until then how unsteady she felt.

Emily nodded. She came around the table and stood in front of Rory. "He's upset," she said carefully. "And anything he said tonight he said out of anger. I'm afraid he's going to feel mighty ashamed when he realizes the extent of his words tonight." She smiled fleetingly at her granddaughter and touched the side of her face as she looked over at Logan. "You'll take care of her?"

Logan reached over to kiss the elder Gilmore's cheek. "I will," he promised. "Goodnight Emily." He nodded at Lorelai as they walked out. Rory barely acknowledged her.

She stayed silent until the were to the car and Logan was about to open her door for her. "Wait," she said, placing her hand on his arm.

"You want to wait and talk to Lorelai?" he asked knowingly. Sure enough, she nodded at him. It was a warm night so he nodded back and shut the door again. "Okay, we'll wait." They both leaned against the side of the car and she laid her head on his shoulder.

Emily watched as Lorelai stood in front of the window watching her own daughter. "You two are fighting," she said, mostly to announce her presence.

Lorelai didn't look up from the window. "What gave it away?"

Emily joined her. "Believe it or not, in the last seven years of weekly dinners I have learned a few things about the two of you. I know when something isn't right. What happened?"

Lorelai shrugged. "She's angry about Chris. Angry because I didn't tell her right away. Mad that I haven't told either Luke or Chris yet."

Emily sighed. "Do you have any idea at all, Lorelai?"

"You know what Mom, I really don't," Lorelai admitted. "I know that's not the answer you want to hear, but that's the answer I have."

"What are you going to do?"

She looked sideways. "That's it? No lecture? No Lorelai-you've-ruined-your-life-again? Just a what am I going to do?"

Emily nodded. "You said so yourself. You're thirty-eight years old. You don't need a lecture from me. Lord knows you wouldn't pay attention anyway." She smiled slightly. "May I offer you some advice though?"

"Sure." Lorelai braced herself for whatever was coming next.

"Tell them. Both of them. And the sooner you can find out, the better." Emily gestured out the window toward Logan and Rory, who were still leaning against his car. "Wouldn't it be nice to have that same support?" She didn't wait for Lorelai's answer. "It's getting late, and she's clearly waiting for you. Go talk so you can both get to bed at a decent time."

Lorelai nodded and picked her coat up from where she had dropped it earlier. She was halfway out the door before she turned back. "Hey mom?"

"Yes Lorelai?"

"The support I do have isn't so bad," she said softly. She watched as Emily's shoulders fell slightly. She didn't turn to face her as she replied, keeping her eyes out the window, but when she did, though her voice was thick, Lorelai knew she was smiling.

"Good night Lorelai."

"Good night Mom." She shut the door behind her and walked down the stone path to where Logan and Rory were waiting. "So, good times, huh?" she asked, hoping Rory would at least crack a smile. She didn't. "Oh Rory, I am so sorry," she said immediately. "I don't know what I was thinking, I just--"

"I get it," Rory interrupted her. She pulled herself out of Logan's arms and stood in front of Lorelai. "I get it, you didn't want him yelling at me."

"I really was trying to protect you."

"Sooner or later, he's going to yell," Rory pointed out. "You got through it, I will too."

"What he said in there?" She shook her head. "Rory, I'm proud of the way I raised you. I'm so proud of the woman you are."

Rory smiled, the first real smile Lorelai had seen from her in almost a week. "Thanks, Mom," she said, throwing herself into her arms. Moments later she pulled back sheepishly. "Did you want to come have dinner with us?" she offered.

"No," Lorelai said with a shake of her head. "Well yes, but there's something I need to go do." She squared her shoulders and looked straight at Rory. "I"m going to go see Luke."

Rory smiled again. "Good," she said simply. She reached out and gave her another hug. "Call me later?" With one last smile and good nights all around, the three of them headed their separate ways.

Once they were in the car, Rory turned to Logan and shook her head. "We're never going to actually make it through a family dinner ever again, are we?" she asked with a laugh.

He laughed with her. "Is that your subtle way of telling me you're still hungry?"

"Nothing subtle about it," she said sarcastically as he started the car. "I'm thinking we need to stop for tacos on the way home."

"Tacos?" he repeated doubtfully. "Weren't you just about to be sick not that long ago?"

"Yes, from the smell of lamb," she said disgustedly. Her face brightened as she spoke. "Tacos on the other hand, are exactly what this baby wants right now."

"The baby wants tacos?"

"Yes, the baby wants tacos."

He shook his head as he pulled the car onto the road. "How long do you think I'm actually going to buy this whole 'whatever the baby wants the baby gets' deal you've got going on?"

"Oh, at least five more months," she said breezily. She turned and smiled at him confidently.

"And then after that, I figure I've got a good eighteen years of 'but its good for the kid' to fall back on."

The sad thing was, Logan really couldn't argue with her.

"Well they're gone," Emily announced as the office door opened and Richard walked back out into the sitting room. "I do hope you're pleased with yourself."

"Not now, Emily," he said as he went straight to the wet bar and poured himself a drink. "Would you like one?"

"No, I don't want a drink!" She stared at him incredulously. "And when would you like to talk about this, Richard? When Lorelai shuts us out of her life once again? When Rory and Logan forbid us from seeing our great-grandchild?"

"There are proper ways to handle this, Emily. You of all people should know that by now."

"And you of all people should know that we were wrong all those years ago!" Emily snapped. "Oh I stood by your side, and I supported your decision on how we handled our daughter's so-called scandal, and because of that, we missed out on everything Richard! We missed moments and memories that we're never going to get back no matter how many pictures we see."

"You agreed with me that we were doing the right thing, Emily, don't turn this around now and-"

"We almost lost her, Richard, don't you see that? I'll be damned if I let that happen again!" He didn't respond to her so she took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm going to go upstairs and not say another word about this tonight. But before I do, think about this Richard. It took sixteen years to get them both back in our life before. How long do you think it would take this time?" She paused at the foot of the staircase and looked back down at her husband. "You may do whatever you want Richard, but this time I am putting my foot down. I refuse to turn my back on our daughter again."

Richard didn't look up from his drink. "Goodnight Emily."

After another long stare, she sighed and made her way up the staircase to their bedroom. Halfway there, she heard the sound of glass shattering against the wall and cringed. She turned, debated going back downstairs but thought better of it and retired to their bed for the night.

It was just after closing time when Lorelai finally made her way to Luke's Diner. She had walked around the block four times, waiting for the final customers to make their way out and was just coming back around to the front door when he stepped outside to lock it.

"Hey," he greeted her curtly as she walked up to him. "I'm just about to lock up and there's no coffee, so I ca--"

"Wait!" Lorelai held up her hand to stop him from talking. "Luke, please just let me talk."

He sighed. "I already told you Lorelai. There's nothing more we have to say to each other."

"Rory's not the only one who's pregnant!" She locked her eyes onto his as she waited for the realization of her words to sink into him. "We need to talk," she said softly.

Luke only nodded mutely as he held the door open for her, waiting for her to come inside.

Here goes nothing, she thought as the door closed heavily behind them.