Chapter Text
Rory woke up a little later than usual. She had stayed up, finishing another interview with a person she had found interesting, after she had stayed on the phone with Logan until he had fallen asleep. It had been four days since she had left him in the hospital.
He was being transferred into a regular room today, if he had yet another uneventful night. His body was healing, but she missed being near him, helping him recover. They had discussed the person she had met and it had led them into a deeper discussion of “what if” in terms of his accident.
The group of reporters had left Topeka and arrived in St Louis after a 4 ½ hour trip. Yesterday evening was a huge event, and this evening was supposed to be the same.
Rory had seen a gentleman in a wheelchair leaving the event early through a side exit. She had followed him and stopped him. He was what she would have described as a Southern gentleman. He was well spoken, made her laugh and even flirted with her plus more than willing to answer her questions. He was in High School when he was injured during a football game. He was paralyzed from the waist down. He had joked about his story being sort of a Friday Night Lights sort of thing, except his injury was less severe than the character Jason Street. He even had the same initials. His name was James Simmons.
Now, he was a Youth Counselor and married to his high school sweetheart.
His wife, Jennifer, was home taking care of their sick baby girl. They went to one of the rooms off the main concourse and talked for 2 hours.
When she got back to her hotel room, she immediately called Logan to tell him about James and his story. Even though Logan hated hypothetical reasoning, the discussion turned to what would have happened if he had a more severe injury either after the Costa Rica trip or this accident. They had come to the conclusion that they would have had a difficult time, but they would have figured a way through it. He admitted that at the time he needed to grow up and mature, especially in a relationship. He pointed out that even after the trip, he made some pretty monumental mistakes where he didn’t communicate, especially after his failed business venture, and making plans without involving her. Rory had confessed that she had not communicated her struggle with graduating, not really knowing what to do next and her real desire to have the New York Times Fellowship. They had made some headway in learning how to communicate with each other.
This morning though, she had woken up with a feeling of dread hanging over her head. She looked at the clock and quickly decided to give Logan a call.
“Good morning, Ace.” Logan answered on the second ring.
“Good morning to you too.” She replied as she made her way out of bed to the in room coffee pot and began making her first cup of coffee. “So any news on your room transfer?”
“Well, Dr Hawkins and Nic came in to see me this morning. They both say Hi by the way. But Dr Hawkins told me that since there were no incidents last night and I am recovering well, I will be transferred this afternoon, after I have a PT session, RT session and concussion evaluation here. So by this evening I’ll be in my new room” Logan explained.
“That sounds great Logan, I am so glad you are getting better.” Rory answered.
“Rory, I can tell by your voice something is going on. What is it? Please talk to me.” Logan replied.
“Oh, I just woke up this morning with a feeling of dread over the day. I think I am waiting for a shoe to fall.” she said.
“Um, in what way?” Logan asked.
“This afternoon is when Colin is supposed to get some of my stuff from Stars Hollow to take to Palo Alto. I am waiting to hear from my Mom.” Rory explained.
“Oh. You think there is going to be a problem?” Logan questioned.
“Logan, I know there is going to be a problem. We are talking about Lorelai here. This is the woman who has hated “society people” my entire life. She has never been too fond of you or your friends, especially since the only time that she met them was at either a police station after we stole the yacht or at a society event. And she has been very vocal in her opinion about me moving my stuff.” Rory said.
“What has she said?” he asked.
“Well, it has all been over text message or email, but I haven’t opened the emails. After the 10th text, I sort of open them, skim them then delete them.” Rory explained.
“That bad?” Logan questioned.
“Oh yeah. She’s been in true Lorelai form. She started with anger, then moved to questioning. Then came the demands that I talk to her or respond, followed by the accusations that I’ve been brainwashed.” Rory told him.
Logan sighed audibly. “Wow. And here I thought she liked me, or at least was starting to like me after my trip to Stars Hollow.”
“Well, I think she was starting to like you, she really was never on board with you asking her permission to marry me, then with the way you proposed, and finally with your ultimatum. She’ll definitely take a while to get her back on our side.” Rory stated.
“Awe, Ace. You said ‘Our side’. Do you mean it? Even if your mother never agrees with us being together and us making decisions together, would you be able to be in this relationship? I know how much she means to you and I don’t want you to regret cutting her out of your life. I remember what it was like for the 6 months you two didn’t talk when you dropped out of Yale. You were miserable. I am not worth you being miserable.” he said.
“Logan, you are worth fighting for. You are worth so much to me. I love you. And I think it is time for me to grow up a little and decide for myself, and I decide I want you. I want a life with you. Yes, I choose you and our relationship. We are a package deal now. And if my mother never agrees on our relationship, we can continue to grow a family of our choosing, expand our little circle of Colin, and Finn. We can include the guys you work with now and their significant others. We can find more to join our Lost Boys family. I think it is time for me to put up boundaries with my mother. She did it with her mother. She ran away with an infant to get out from under Emily Gilmore.” Rory began.
“I hope it doesn't come to you running away, but I guess in a way it is, because you are moving out here to Palo Alto. Or making our house your homebase. But I want you to always have Emily and Richard in your life. They’re important to you.” Logan stated.
“There’s a part of me that still resents my mother for keeping me away from them until I was 14. The only reason I got a chance to get to know them was because she needed tuition money for Chilton. If that hadn’t happened, then I don’t think I would have ever got to know them the way I have. But she had made that decision for me. I am an adult. I graduated from Yale with Honors. I can sign a contract. I can go to war. I think I can make some decisions on my own without her approval.” Rory replied.
“I hope you don’t go to war, Ace.” Logan attempted to lighten the mood a little, “But if you decided that is what you wanted to do, be a war correspondent, I would be here on the home front waiting and cheering you on.”
“And Logan,” she began.
“Yeah?” he responded.
“You are worth so much to me that I can’t put it into words. Please don’t question that or put yourself down. Because you are putting down someone whom I love and I don’t want to hear bad things about him. You are a good guy, and you have a big heart. You are so intelligent, caring and kind hearted. You are definitely not the playboy, frat boy, butt-faced miscreant that I thought you were. You are the love of my life. You are my supporter and sounding board. And we will learn how to be in this relationship together.” Rory stated.
“I love you too, Ace. But our conversation has sort of taken a turn. Are you still worried about Collin going to your Mom’s house to get your stuff?”
“Worried? Yes. But is there anything I can do about it? No. Plus I don’t think Colin will be a pushover. Loralei might be in for a shock this afternoon.” she responded.
Colin drove into the small town of Star Hollow with a sense of awe and trepidation. He had enough from Rory about her hometown to realize that it was unique. Her description of the various town events was proof of that. But part of him was getting ready to face Lorelai Gilmore, mother of his best friend’s girlfriend, the person who had run away from society to do her own thing, the woman whom he had met for the first time at a police station and had only seen briefly at various society events where she had a permanent scowl on her face.
He had offered to get help Rory move her items to Palo Alto, there was no problem with that. It was getting the stuff from her mother. That was causing him to rethink his proposal.
He had managed to temper his nerves as he pulled into the driveway. He looked out his front windshield at the house Rory had called “the crap shack” in more than one of her vivid stories of her childhood home. It was a far cry from what he and his friends were raised in, especially since most wouldn’t call their childhood house a home. He took a deep breath as he reached for the handle of his car door and opened it to get out. At the same time Loralei also stepped out of her house and onto the porch, her arms crossed over there chest, scowl firmly placed on her face. She was good looking, as he remembered thinking when meeting her at the Police Station. But she definitely didn’t look happy. He put his best society smile on and prepared for battle.
Walking up to her porch, he began, “Hello, Ms Gilmore. I’m Colin McCrea,” as he reached out his hand to shake her hand. She just stood with her arms crossed and scowl firmly placed on her face. So Colin continued as he dropped his hand to his side, “Rory had arranged for me to pick up some of her items for me to take back to Palo Alto now, then also for me to arrange with you for my mover to pick up the rest of her belongings in 2 weeks.”
“Yes. My daughter was considerate enough to let me know what was going on. What I don’t understand is how you guys talked her into this in the first place.” Loralei growled.
Colin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “Who do you assume talked Rory into anything?”
“Well, it just seems that every time my daughter gets around you boys, she makes the worst decisions. Decisions that are not like her. So, I figure that you all, as in you, Logan Huntzberger and the other society jokers, brainwash her into making decisions that are out of her character.” she explained.
“Firstly, may I suggest that we take this discussion into your house, or would you rather the whole town knows more than they already do?” Colin politely suggested.
Loralei uncrossed her arms and motioned for him to proceed through the still open front door. She followed him into the living room. Colin was standing, just taking in the decor of the living room, a slight smirk on his face.
Loralei watched as he took in the living room. “What? My house doesn't live up to your society standards?”
Colin quickly turned to look at Loralei, “Actually, I was thinking that it is decorated just like the people that live here.”
“What shabby and trashy?” she retorted.
“Don’t put words in my mouth.” he began, “I was thinking of all the stories Rory has told us about growing up here and you raising her. Plus some of the whispered comments of the society set in Hartford, those that knew you or thought they did.”
“What are you talking about?” Loralei barked.
“Look, I consider Rory one of my closest friends. She is in a relationship with my best friend. Yes, all my friends were raised in Hartford Society and could be considered trust fund brats. And we have done some stupid stuff in the past. But isn’t that part of growing up? And no one has control who they are born into, including yourself. Plus we all don’t have the strength or desire to just run away from society.’
Loralei opened her mouth to comment back, but Colin stopped her with a raised hand, “Let me finish, please. I have met you formally once, at a Police Station after my best friend helped his girlfriend steal another acquaintance’s yacht. Probably not the best time for you, but not entirely Logan’s fault either. And I have heard the entire story from both of them. Now you of all people know what it is like being raised in society. You chose to leave. I chose to act out until I found a place that I liked and fit in. I also chose my friends, who are closer than family. Rory is one of them. She and Logan are good together, no matter what you think. They want to be together. Maybe you will get the whole story from your daughter, because it is not mine to tell, but their being together is something they want. I am going to help them in any way possible for that end. You, judging us for our past, the way we chose to buck a system you know all too well, is rather hypocritical for someone who is as intelligent as you are. You would have to be in order to get yourself to where you are today and raise a remarkable person like Rory. Just one piece of advice, you better get over whatever issues you have with us, especially Logan, because we all plan on helping them be together for the rest of their lives. If you don’t, you just might totally lose your daughter, just the way you did when she dropped out of Yale or the way Emily Gilmore lost you. I know her and Richard personally.”
There were a few seconds of silence. Finally Colin asked, “Which way is Rory's bedroom? And do you know which boxes she wanted me to take?”
Loralei motioned towards the kitchen and the bedroom door. Just inside the door was a stack of 6 boxes with yellow sticky notes on them. Colin moved to grab the first 2 boxes then walked out of the house to put them in his SUV. He continued to do that until the marked boxes were loaded. All the while, Loralei stood to the side, her arms still crossed not saying a word.
Colin closed the back of his SUV and walked back up to the porch, where Loralei had moved out to.
“Thank you for letting me get Rory’s things. I know she will appreciate them. She was complaining about a lack of variety of clothing the last time I saw her.” Colin reached into his pocket and pulled out an appointment card handing it to her, “Here is the mover’s information and appointment to pick up the rest of her items. There does need to be someone here who can make sure the correct items are taken. My cell number is on the back, please let me know if there is a problem with the date or time. It was nice to officially meet you, Ms Gilmore.”
Loarlei scoffed as Colin turned and began to walk away. He stopped and turned back towards her.
“Ms Gilmore, I would suggest you listen to what I told you. Rory will make up her own mind. We, Logan, Finn and myself have not been pressuring her to make this choice. We would not do that. And I would think that you of all people would understand the need to make your own decisions and create your own life.’ Colin finished as he motioned to the house and the town. He then walked to his car, and got in.
Colin took a deep breath as he turned the ignition of the car. He hoped that something he said to his friend’s mother would sink in. But he also knew that if it didn’t and Rory decided to cut all ties, then they would support her as a chosen family would.