The next night Rory and Logan pulled up to the Gilmore house with Luke and Lorelai.  The group heard voices and laughter before they rang the doorbell.  "Ok, well, looks like we are late.  Tell her you weren't feeling well so she doesn't blame me,"  Lorelai said to Rory.

"Mom, I am going to tell her I am pregnant tonight.  If I tell her I am not feeling well, she will set up appointments with specialists!  No way!  Tell her YOU weren't feeling well,"  Rory countered.

"She won't believe me,"  Lorelai said anticipating her mother's disapproval. She sighed, "Maybe she won't notice."

Just then the door opened.  Emily stood smiling in the doorway, "Welcome!  It's so nice to see you all.  I am glad you could make it.  And almost on time too!  Luckily, I never tell Lorelai the actual time I want you to be here, so you haven't missed much."  Emily smiled pleasantly at everyone, " Come on in!"

"Thank you, Emily. It's nice to see you again,"  Logan said handing Emily a box of chocolates he had picked up that afternoon. He hoped she wouldn't comment on the lacking selection at Doosey's Market.

"Suck up," Lorelai whispered as she moved past him into the foyer.

"Thank you, Logan.  That's so thoughtful of you,"  Emily said embracing him.  She shot Lorelai a look as she shuffled everyone into the living room where Richard entertained the Huntzbergers and Francine.

Richard stood and greeted the late group, "Good evening everyone.  May I offer you all a drink?"  He turned towards the bar and said, "Logan, a scotch?  Luke, a beer?"  He then grabbed a bottle of wine.  "Lorelai, Rory, Emily and Shira are having white wine tonight.  Would you like to join them?"

"If you have the makings for a martini, I would rather have that," Lorelai requested. 

Richard nodded and began making the drink.  "Rory, martini or wine, dear?"

"Uh, I think I might just stick with club soda tonight, Grandpa,"  Rory said.

Not thinking anything of the nonalcoholic request, Richard said, "As you wish.  I can certainly provide that as well."

Just as they were all getting seated, the doorbell rang again.  "Are we expecting anyone else?" Lorelai asked.

A maid entered the room and announced the arrival of Christopher Hayden.  "Good evening everyone.  I apologize for running a bit late.  I couldn't get out of a meeting."

"No apology needed, Christopher.  Lorelai just barely beat you,"  Emily commented.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, but grinned.  She whispered to Rory, "Ha!  We weren't the last ones here!"

Richard rose to pour Christopher a drink. "This one is a young version of us, Mitchum!  Boy is chained to his desk most of the time,"  Richard said.  He smiled, "It wasn't always that way.  But since Strobe passed on, Christopher has really stepped up."

"Strobe was a very hard worker, went up against him myself a few times.  Hopefully, Rory inherited some of his negotiation skills.  I could use some of that talent at HPG,"  Mitchum commented.

"Christopher is filling his father's shoes very well," Francine interjected. "Filling them, but wearing them his own way.  He is changing the company to better suit the times, updating policies and procedures," Francine said proudly.

Shira smiled and scooted a little closer to Mitchum.  She patted his leg and said, "Children taking over family businesses are the true mark of success.  Mitchie has been slowly turning over the reins to Logan.  Not nearly fast enough, if you ask me!  I am really looking forward to some traveling when he finally slows down enough!"

"Yes, well, it's only a matter of time," Mitchum said taking Shira's hand in his own.  "Soon I will be handing over some to Rory too," Mitchum commented.  "Speaking of, are you still set to start early in the new year?"

Logan and Rory glanced at each other.  They hadn't discussed at all if Rory would work while pregnant.  And they had no plans for after the baby was born.  They didn't really want to have that conversation in front of their parents and her grandparents.

Lorelai noticed the glance.  She sat up a little straighter and wondered how they were going to handle this.  Mitchum also noticed the glance and hesitation.  He immediately asked, "Are you having second thoughts about working at HPG?  Did you get another offer? Is it Rolling Stone?  I can assure you we can match and beat any offer."

"What's this? Another offer?  Are you going to work somewhere else, Rory?"  Emily asked.  "I think you should think about that.  You are a Huntzberger now.  It wouldn't seem like you are being treated special with your history and work record if that's your concern."

"Certainly not.  We have been following the Rolling Stone  articles.  They are quite popular.  You have made a name for yourself.  It's no wonder they want to keep you on,"  Richard said.

"And we would surely love to use that name and expand on her readership," Mitchum said.  "You must tell us Rolling Stone's offer so we can counter."

"Well, I, um, I am not really sure..." Rory began.

Francine spoke up, "Rory, dear, it is not up to us to decide where you work, but I really think you should reconsider.  HPG is the leader in publications.  And it is also your family."

"This is just ridiculous.  Of course Rory won't accept the Rolling Stone offer.  She knows the importance of her position at HPG,"  Emily argued.

Christopher, who had been quiet, finally spoke up, "I think we should ask Rory why she would rather work at Rolling Stone."

Rory looked helplessly at her mother who was struggling not to laugh.  She had sat through too many conversations just like this in her youth.  She remembered feeling like she wasn't even in the room while people decided her future and her plans.  And this wasn't even a real conversation!  They had gotten some notion that Rory would work for Rolling Stone full time and were really running with it!  Lorelai wanted to laugh, but she knew she had to help her daughter.   She nudged Luke in the ribs.  Lorelai knew no one would listen to her, so she wanted to prompt Luke to make this madness end.

Clearing his throat loudly, Luke said, "I think Christopher makes a good point.  I think maybe we should be listening to Rory and what she might have to tell us instead of debating what she should do."

"Thanks Luke," Christopher said.  "That's what I meant. I think we should hear Rory's ideas and explanations as to why she thinks Rolling Stone might be a better match for her than HPG."

"Dad, everyone, I don't know if Rolling Stone would be a good fit at this time.  Besides, I am not in negotiations with them,"  Rory said.

Mitchum gasped and said, "Is it the New York Times?  Are they trying to get you now too?"

Logan took a deep breath, ready to end the madness. But before he could speak, Rory blurted out, "No!  Rolling Stone is not negotiating with me!  The New York Times are not trying to get me!  I'm pregnant and we aren't sure what we want to do or how much I will want to work!"

"Pregnant!" Emily shrieked.

"Pregnant?" Shira asked excitedly.

"A baby?" Christopher asked in wonder.

"Wonderful!"  Richard said.

"So, definitely not Rolling Stone?"  Mitchum asked.

Everyone was chattering and asking questions at the same time.  Francine tapped her wine glass to get everyone's attention.  She said, "I think I can safely say we are all very pleased with this news.  You caught us a bit off guard as we thought you simply didn't not want to work under the Huntzberger name.  But, Richard is right, this is wonderful news!"

"No, of course not.  I would love to work at HPG.  I just don't know how things will work with me being pregnant and then having the baby..."  Rory said.

"Oh, that's not an issue!  Rory, you will essentially be a vice president.  You can pretty much make your own hours and you will have a full staff.  You'll have to check with the president, but since you are married to him, I doubt he would mind if you wrote stories and worked from home!"  Mitchum said with a smile.

Logan held her hand and squeezed it.  He gave her a wink and said, "We can negotiate."

"Can we talk about work later?  My granddaughter just announced she is making me a great-grandmother!  Can we please focus on the more important issue?"  Emily asked exasperatedly.

"I have to agree with Emily on this," Shira said excitedly.  "How far along are you?  When will the baby arrive?" 

"My due date is August 24th.  Logan and I went to the doctor earlier this week.  Everything is fine.  It is good size and appears healthy,"  Rory reported happily.

"We need to work on the coffee consumption and increase the fresh fruits and vegetables, but everything looks good right now," Logan said.

"I got the food covered.  She will be eating healthy.  Lorelai will not feed her until September," Luke said.

"Show the picture and record their bets!  I still have to talk to Finn, but we are totally having a pool!"  Lorelai said.

Rory dug in her purse and produced the ultrasound photo.  She said, "You can see it's head here.  And here is a leg.  I have copies for all of you, a first baby picture."

"Isn't this amazing?  They didn't have anything like this when we were expecting,"  Emily said.

"No, they didn't.  Why, you can see the whole baby!" Francine said.

"Oh, just wait until she is further along!  They have 3D ones now too!  We could see Henry so clearly when Honor was pregnant," Shira said as the women cooed over the photo.

"That is truly amazing," Emily remarked.  "How soon until you know the sex?"

"Well, now that is where the pool comes in..." Lorelai began.

"Oh no.  We are not betting on a baby,"  Emily said.

"You aren't going to find out the sex?" Francine asked.  "Won't planning and decorating be easier if you find out?"

"A wise man recently pointed out that cavemen didn't know what color to paint the cave and babies were just fine,"  Lorelai snarked.  "And with that, I open the betting!"  She pulled a small notebook and pen from her purse that she must have brought specifically for this purpose.  She said, "Alright, place some bets."

"Boy. 8 pounds even," Mitchum said.

"Boy. 8 pounds, 5 ounces," Richard said.

"Girl. 7 pounds 7 ounces," Christopher said.

"Hey! That's already taken!"  Lorelai protested.

"By who?" Christopher asked.

"Me!  You know that was Rory's weight!  I already called it!"  Lorelai said.

"Fine.  Girl.  7 pounds, 6 ounces," Christopher amended.

"This is ridiculous!  You cannot bet on a baby!"  Emily protested.

"Girl.  8 pounds 1 ounce," Shira said joining in the game.

"Oh...why not? Girl.  7 pounds 5 ounces," Francine said.

"You already have my bet.  You browbeat me into it at home.  Girl.  6 pounds, 10 ounces," Luke said.

"You are probably the closest, Luke,"  Emily said finally relenting.  "We tend to have smaller girls.  I will go with a girl, 6 pounds, 6 ounces."

Logan sat back laughing, not quite believing his mother and father were sitting around the Gilmore living room betting on the sex and weight of his child.  He made a mental note to call Finn and make this pool official.  Finn would surely make up some sort of official spreadsheet, complete with deadline for any changes.

"So, obviously, our news was part of the reason for wanting everyone here tonight.  We really wanted to tell you all together as a family,"  Rory said.  Then she continued, "I suppose it is up to you if you would like to announce this news along with our introduction to society on Saturday night."

Francine spoke first, "As most people know you are already married and have been for some time now, I think it is more than appropriate to announce that you are expecting."

"I agree.  The timing is quick, but not scandalous," Emily said.

"This is going to be such a fun party!" Shira said.  "We are going to formally welcome Rory to our family and announce a new grandchild!"

"And we will get to announce our first great-grandchild,"  Emily said to Francine.

"I suppose we need to update the plans for the party then.  We'll need to allot more time for speeches and announcements," Francine said.

"Yes.  And after this party is over, we will need to start planning the baby shower!"  Emily said.  "If you do decide to go back to work, I can have a list of acceptable nannies for you in no time, Rory."