Chapter 10: In the meantime [Part B]: Leia's Christening

[The Huntzberger residence, New York City, Saturday the 7th of October 2017]

Leia was sleeping in the nursery after an eventful day of celebrating her name: Lorelai Honor Huntzberger, Leia for short.

After the reception, most of the old Yale-gang decided to go to Rory and Logan's place, to get the baby to sleep, order take out and just hang out together. Since April lived in Cambridge, MA, and Sunday was Rory's birthday, she was staying with Rory and Logan for the weekend.

- Where do you keep the napkins, Logan? April yelled from the kitchen as she was setting the table before the takeaway arrived. Rory was walking in circles trying to unpack all Leia's things from the long day, as everybody else was settling in for cozy evening with friends.

- 3rd drawer! Logan yelled back with his head in the china cabinet, as he was getting plates for everyone.

- I'll get that Logan. Please make your wife sit down before she collapses, Stephanie declared firmly as she to the plates out from Logan's hands.

Logan paused for a second to break out of his determined trace of mind that was defining his actions. He looked at Steph, kissed her cheek and mouthed "Thank You, Steph". He took a deep breath and walked to the laundry room to help Rory and have her relax.

The last few months had been a big change for them as a family. Getting back together, starting a business, getting married, having a baby etc. It was mostly good, but also very overwhelming. Rory had a tendency to go into survival mode and do things with all the determination she could manage, shutting herself down and forgetting to be good to herself in the process. Stephanie was right: Doing laundry and washing bottles could be done by someone else or it could wait. Rory needed to sit down, relax and be with her friends now.

- I'll get it, Finn called as the doorbell rang with the food delivery, - Oy, Colin, come give me a hand, will you. Mother ordered food enough for 8 pregnant Gilmore girls here!

Finn couldn't help laughing at all the food Rory had delivered for 8 people. She had both pizza, tacos, Chinese and sushi enough for everybody. He paid and tipped the delivery boy before bringing the food in.

Stephanie and April ware setting the table when Colin and Finn walked into the living room, all loaded with the food delivery. They couldn't help giggling at the sight, Rory had really outdone herself here, ordering food for at least 30 people.

- Let me take that, April offered Finn through her laughter, as April and Stephanie unloaded the guys from takeaway boxes and filled the table in the process.

- Robert, we need some sodas. They are in the fridge, Stephanie ordered, when she saw Logan and Rory get back into the living room again, - SIT! She commanded the two, pointing at the armchair with her manicured finger.

Rory fell back in Logan's arms in the big armchair in the living room of their New York house. It had been a long day and she could not hold herself up anymore. She smiled as she took a look at the coffee table that was covered with pizza, tacos, Chinese and sushi, and then moved her gaze to Colin, Juliet, Robert, April, Stephanie, and Finn, who were casually getting seated in the couch and on the floor. This was her safe haven: Logan and their friends.

Everyone was getting something to eat and drink and the pace was settling down. Rory had just taken a bite of pizza as the baby alarm went off with the sound of a crying Leia. Despair was evident in Rory's face as she froze in the middle of her bite by the sound of the bay. Any fool could see that right now this new mother just needed food, sleep, and love.

April was no fool. She looked up at her sister and without any hesitation, she put down her sushi and held her hand up to signal for Rory to stay seated and keep eating, - Let me, Rory.

- Really? You are the best, April, Rory looked at her stepsister with gratitude. She hadn't been sleeping much lately and eating pizza as she sat there in Logan's arms was just what she needed right now, - Call me if she needs to eat.

- I could feed her a bottle from the fridge, if you want me to? April offered an exhausted and very hungry Rory. Rory agreed with a nod and formed the words "Thank you" silently with her mouth and sent finger kisses to April in appreciation. Logan put down his pizza and gestured to get up and get the bottle, but Finn beat him to it and made Logan stay seated, - Let me get the bottle, you two relax and eat. Uncle Finn and Aunti April are on baby duty tonight, Finn told them firmly in his most authoritarian CEO-voice.

- Would that go for my babies too, Colin asked Finn in a mocking tone.

- As much as I love Neil, Laura and Tony, I really don't think they would appreciate a bottle of breastmilk, a song nor a clean diaper, Finn glared at Colin with a raised eyebrow.

- No but they would like to watch cartoons at 6, Finn, Stephanie teased.

- Baby duty was tonight, not in the morning. If I'm to have open eyes at 6 I need to be under the influence of scotch and have my eyes aiming at a naked sheila. But now I really have to go get that milk for the lovely miss Leia Huntzberger.

- It needs 2 minutes in the microwave, Logan yelled to Finn who was already in the kitchen.

When Finn walked into the dark nursery, only lit by the Minion night light and the moon through the window, he found April in the rocking chair by the window with a whimpering Leia in her arms.

- I've got her bottle, Finn whispered softly, handing April the warm bottle of breastmilk.

- Thanks, I just changed her diaper, so I guess she really is hungry now since she keeps whimpering.

Finn just nodded his head for an answer.

Seating himself next to April, with Leia in her arms, Finn couldn't help appreciating these delightful girls in the serenity of the moonbeams. As April fed Leia her bottle, Finn sat there listening to the monotonous sounds of Leia nursing. Finn enjoyed this Saturday night and all the new feelings that came with it, taking in the comfortable feeling of this domestic scene. And it didn't scare him. Being the eccentric, he is, Finn paid great tribute to anything natural, unreflected and intuitive. At this moment he realized, that this was what he needed in his life.

This beautiful 24-year-old brunette by his side, was the woman he was supposed to spend the next future with. Somehow during the last 10 years, Rory's little nerdy stepsister grew up to be everything that Finn wanted and needed in a life partner. And somehow it just dawned on him at this moment.

Finn was never one for musing, but he couldn't help wondering if it was the moonlight, the new baby or the fact that he never had been sober in the presence of April, that made the difference. But from this moment on, Finn was hooked. He was all in on April Nardini.

When Leia finished up her bottle, April had Finn to take her for her burp. Being drowsy from sitting still in the dark nursery, April leaned back in the rocking chair and fanned out, lurking at Finn who was bouncing around the room stealthily humming Waltzing Mathilda.

April couldn't help thinking that this image didn't add up with the playboy that she knew that he also was. Picking up redheads in bars one night and putting his goddaughter to sleep humming Australian bush ballades. Finn is truly a complex character.

When Leia was back to sleep, Finn put her down in the cradle and April quietly bent down to kiss her niece goodnight. Standing there in the moonlight with joined attention on the newest Gilmore Girl in the cradle, Finn instinctively slipped his arm around April and pulled her closer. She felt his strong body against her own. It felt like a massive wall, that would protect her back from anything bad, and his firm hand on her opposite hip completed the feeling of utter consolation. April let herself surrender by the tranquility and her reaction was absolutely mindful when she leaned closer into Finn's soothing embrace.

After some time, Finn took April's hand and lead her out of the nursery. As they were about to walk into the living room, Finn held April back by her hand and pulled her closer. When she turned around and found herself looking directly into his green eyes. As Finn cupped her face and leaned in for a kiss, slowly closing the gap between them, she panicked as memories of her displeasure of his playboy ways hit her. The feeling from the wedding where she felt so rejected hit her with an unbelievable force. As his lips were about to touch her lips, she burst out, - The empty bottle! I forgot the empty bottle! And even before Finn realized what happened April was back in the nursery to get the empty bottle, - I need to go clean this!

Before Finn could object, April left him standing alone in the hallway, as she ran to the kitchen to clean the bottle.

A very confused Finn shook his head in confusion of what just happened. He had absolutely no idea what hit her, but he decided to go back to see if there was any food left. He sat down on the floor by the coffee table hoping that April would join him soon.

- All good with my little girl? Logan asked Finn, holding a dozy half-asleep Rory in his arms.

- Little-Love is full, clean and sound asleep, Finn assured him as April interred the living room,

- A clean diaper, a bottle of heated milk and Waltzing Mathilda performed by uncle Finn did the trick. I just boiled the empty bottle, Logan, April added.

April went to sit by Stephanie on the opposite side of the table, to the disappointment of Finn, who had hoped for a chance to sneak an arm around her and feel her body against his.

Robert and Juliet had left; Rory was fighting sleep in Logan's arms; Steph and April were girl chatting, and Finn had physically turned to Logan and Colin's conversation about house-shopping in Manhattan, even though his attention was mostly at April.

- I couldn't believe my ears, Stephanie. He is older than my father, unattractive, awkward and socially incompetent.

April was telling Stephanie about an almost 60-year-old physics professor at MIT who had asked her to stay after class one day to give her a very indecent offer.

- The worst thing of it all was, that he really thought that he made me an offer that I couldn't resist. He talked to me as if it was already a sealed deal. I had to cut his speech off in the most impolite way to stop the awkwardness and tell him that I wasn't interest in his "tutoring with benefits". He basically offered me straight A's for some sort of sexual relationship.

And you would think that the story ended there, wouldn't you? But no! Not long after a girl from my class tells me that she is dating this professor. I couldn't believe it. But I guess that some girls feel that the expectations on them are too big to handle and that they have no other way than a deal like this.

- You are a beauty, A. I would think that men threw themselves at you all the time.

- Hmmm… Not anyone that I wanted….

Stephanie wasn't surprised at all and felt that April was a bit naïve. She saw things like this all the time in life, school and business and she felt truly grateful that she grew up with a trust fund and married into an equal amount of money too. But she couldn't say this to April in that many words, so she came up with an empty cliché for an answer, - College is grooming you for life, on so many plans. Don't you think, Finn?

Finn didn't know that Stephanie had noticed that he was paying attention to the two women on the other side of the coffee table and was caught by surprise with Stephanie's question, but soon collected himself and answered her levelly, - I would really prefer to refrain from answering that, Steph

- Why? Finn, you never seem to lack of opinions. What is this all about?

- You can only have 2 possible interests in giving April that answer, and you wouldn't benefit from me explaining either of the two motives.

Stephanie couldn't help finding Finn odder than usual and she decided to be bold, or maybe stupid, only the future could show the answer to that, - Enlighten me then!

- Either you are refraining from admitting that this method is what makes the business world go around and it has since the times of yore. Or at least since the times of Jane Austen. Or maybe you are just refraining from giving an answer at all, maybe you didn't even really listen. It could be either of them, but I don't see any other possibilities.

- Isn't Mr. Morgan even more cryptic than unusual, this fine evening, Steph?

- I believe he is, April.

A/N:

Coming up is 3 more flashback chapters about Finn and April's budding relationship - but also a lot of ROGAN (Thank God that we know this ends ups good, since they had to dance around each other for 4 years :-O ). The next one is the New Year's party with a Gatsby-theme. I know how it is going to turn out, but I have a lot of words to write on it, so don't be too impatient with me if it has me busy for some days :)