Finn was not content to say goodbye in New Hampshire, he didn't want Luv out of his life, in just the few short weeks since they played golf, watched terrible cinema and tangoed, he missed the hell out of her. She couldn't just leave like that, they needed her. He determined they should get he back for all their sakes. (Post AYITL)
Disclaimer: Nope I didn't create them ASP did, I just borrow their likeness for my musings.
LUV – Keep Us Together
Chapter 1 - Logan
Finn was strolling the beach in Australia, a task that normally calmed him, today it just fueled the fire. Last time he had been in Sydney, they were all together, this was Fairy Bower, her favorite beach. He couldn't believe he would never walk it with her again. She was the Wendy to Logan's Peter, the Mother to the lost boys, she made things better. Nope, he was not happy about saying goodbye. He wondered what the HELL Logan was thinking, he had found his 99, his Pepper, his freaking Girl Friday, the one and the only Ace! Finn's mind raced, he had to put right what once went wrong, he would need conspirators though, fellow lost boys. That was it, he would call the boys and convince Wendy and Peter that all they need in this world was each other and the crew from Neverland.
Colin rapped on the familiar London door, Logan answered," Hey Logan, nice day, Can I come in or is Hook about?"
Logan looked at him perplexed, "Hook, what the hell are you talking about?"
Colin peered in, "Looks like the coast is clear the nemesis is not in at current."
"First Hook, now nemesis, are you saying you don't like Odette, you said just last week she was perfectly fine."
"Well, that was last week today it is different, you need to ditch the family plan and get Mother back! Finn, Robert and I agree, saying goodbye to her was a superbly dumb idea." Colin had grabbed him by the shoulders to drive home the point.
"Colin, she said goodbye, we have to let her go." Logan removed Collin's hands from his shoulders. He then proceeded to the kitchen to fill the tea kettle.
"I knew it, you aren't even drinking coffee, you miss her, you need her dumbass, get yourself dressed, go back to Connecticut and marry Rory, Odette will get over it." Colin had his hands on his hips and was glaring at Logan.
He heard a key in the door.
"Ah, Colin, so good to see you, were we expecting you to drop by?" Odette purred in her practiced way.
"Nope, I was just here to talk some sense into my dear friend, no offence Odette, but you two getting married would be a monumental tragedy.
Odette quirked a brow, "Really a monumental tragedy, why is that? Are you in love with my Logan, is there a secret you two have been keeping you want the world to know?" She laughed at the thought.
Colin shrugged his shoulders, "He has a great love, but it isn't me, she lives in a small town in Connecticut and you aren't even a passable substitute."
Odette turned to Logan, "You told me it was over, completely done, you promised you said goodbye. I can forgive you only once, be truthful."
"We said goodbye, I don't know what he is on about, he was there, she said goodbye to him as well." Logan confirmed.
"Well, Finn, Robert and I decided, that we can't say goodbye to the Wendy Lady and you are an idiot to let her go for a dynastic plan. You don't even love Odette, and she certainly doesn't love you if Pierre has anything to say about it." Colin was defiant.
Logan looked to Odette who paled a bit, "What do you know of Pierre? How could you know anything?"
"Well, you see Odette, in America we have these guys who snoop for a living we call them PI's. They will, for a fee, follow anyone, anywhere and dig up their dirty secrets. We had one on you and he had very interesting photos of you and Pierre in not so casual relations." Colin was self satisfied.
Logan looked from one to the other, "Odette, is what Colin implying true? If it is then the prenup is null and void, you forfeit a hefty sum and I am free to do as I choose. I have lived to my side of the bargain, the past six weeks I have been with no one but you, can you say that you have been only with me?"
Odette sat down and bowed her head, "No, I cannot, I expected that you could not be without her and I did not cut Pierre loose. I was with him this weekend, we cannot seem to quit each other."
Logan considered this new information, it hurt that Odette could not be faithful with their wedding only a few months off. "Were you ever going to try and be faithful, or just let me believe Pierre's children were my own?"
Odette did not answer and Colin handed her an envelope with photos from her weekend in Nice, she was caught, the time and date stamp were clear and the photos spoke volumes of her affection for Pierre.
"There would be no children, I had a surgery to assure..." Odette was cut off by Logan's response.
"You agreed to children in the prenup, you agreed to provide an heir for both our sakes, you had that possibility removed?! You are so disgusted by me you would rather be barren than have my progeny?" Logan was now disgusted and feared he might vomit.
"No, I did it for you, I did not want to be concerned who the father might be, to have you love and raise a child not your own. I could not do that to you, to me, to Pierre, so I took care of it." Odette explained.
"You made me end things with Rory, you told me you could be faithful if I was, you lied, you lied. We are over, you can have your Pierre, this contract is now null and void. I will be back in the morning, you shouldn't be here and leave your key with the doorman, I will tell him to expect it and remove you from the approval list. Have a good life, I will explain to my father, you can explain it to yours." Logan scoffed and left the apartment with Colin.
Colin placed his hand on Logan's shoulder, "Are we good man, I didn't want you to be duped like that, I had to do something."
Logan shook his head, "You are my best friend, without your interference, I would have been stuck with that." He waived his hand backwards and scoffed. "I ended things with Rory for her, I promised to be faithful and I was, I would have been and for what? It was a lie a complete and total lie, we wouldn't even have had children. You know how much I want children."
Colin patted his back, "Well, you know Reporter Girl will always be true' Finn and Robert are at the Sanderson as am I, I don't doubt Finn can get you a room."
Logan laughed, "You think, a Morgan can get me a room in his own hotel?"
Colin laughed in agreement and patted his friend on the back, it was going to be alright, now they just had to get Rory back.
Chapter 2 - Rory
Stephanie walked into the diner, it was cute, she loved how in the past ten years it hadn't changed at all, she could see what Rory loved about the place.
"Take a seat, I'll be right with you." The gruff man in flannel called to her. She sat at the counter and pulled a menu from the register and took note of the New Yorker story that filled the back page.
Kirk scotted over a seat to her, "Hey, don't I know you?"
"Maybe, but I haven't been here in a long while, I am a friend of Rory's, do you know her?" Stephanie observed the odd closeness of the man, it wasn't uncomfortable just off putting.
"Everyone knows Rory here, that guy there is her stepfather, officially since last weekend, her mom runs the Inn, actually she owns it." Kirk proudly stated.
"Is she in town, I would really like to catch up with her." Stephanie said as Luke approached for her order.
"Nah, she is in Hartford, she is working at the Gilmore house, writing a book actually, she finds her grandfather's study inspirational. Can I get you anything?" Luke explained.
Stephanie observed the man she had heard so much about over the years but only met once prior, "Yes, I would love a coffee and peach pie if you have it."
"Hey, aren't you Stephanie, aren't you a friend of Logan?" Luke inquired.
"Guilty as charged, and I am married to his best friend Colin." Stephanie confirmed.
"She might like a visit from you, it has been a rough few weeks, I can't say why, but she needs her friends right now." Luke poured her coffee and cut her a slice of pie.
"She's right you know?" Stephanie said and Luke quirked his brow, "You have the best coffee on the Eastern seaboard, possibly anywhere, I haven't found a coffee that rivals yours.
Luke smiled and topped her cup.
Stephanie enjoyed her coffee and pie, paid and then slipped behind the wheel of her Tesla and headed towards the Gilmore home.
Rory was in the study, she looked at the painting of her younger self, "Kid, you should have listened to your mother and stayed far away from society boys, they are nothing but trouble. " She rubbed her non-existent bump and wandered to the kitchen for a cup of chicory, it wasn't coffee but it was hot, dark and passable, added bonus, it was safe for her to drink even in mass quantity. The doorbell rang and Rory knew the maid would get it, probably an appraiser or someone for a furniture item they had purchased. As much as she hated watching the home her grandparents had made being pieced off, she understood her grandmother's need to begin her life anew. She was surprised to see Stephanie as she turned from the pot.
"Hi, long time." Stephanie approached for a hug.
Rory put her mug down, "Steph, you are a sight, you look good, how is married life."
"Well in the three years we have had it , pretty good, we are trying for a baby, have been for a while, but it will happen." Stephanie stepped into the hug.
"Try his new B&B in New Hampshire, it worked for me." Rory deadpanned.
Stephanie looked at her wide eyed, "Are you saying what I think you are saying? I am going to be an aunt?"
"Yup and Logan is going to be a father, but I can't tell him because he is marrying Odette. Ain't life grand?" Rory shrugged and took a deep sip of her chicory.
"Isn't coffee a no-no when pregnant?" Steph eyed her cup suspiciously.
"Not coffee, chicory, it's totally allowed and it satisfies my craving. Want a cup?" Rory reached for a new mug.
"You are drinking coffee that isn't coffee? Who are you and what have you done with Rory Gilmore?" Steph laughed.
"Coffee isn't good for the baby, at least that is what I was reading..." Rory was cut off as Stephanie realized what she learned.
"Rory Gilmore, you are PREGNANT! I can't believe it, you are going to be a mom, please tell me it's Logan's." Steph was beside herself.
"Yup, it's Logan's and he is marrying Odette, how do I tell him, what do I tell him?" Rory lamented as she pour her own cup and filled one for Stephanie."You know I think I cursed my whole sex life by sleeping with my married ex-boyfriend losing my virginity, I then entered a no-strings that became strings with Logan, then I said no to his proposal, then I went on the Obama trail, a few years in DC and then aimlessness, finally ending in New Hampshire with Logan and the unholy three, now I am pregnant, the other woman again and alone." Rory set her cup on the table and plopped on the couch.
Stephanie looked at her amazed by the sheer insanity of the tirade, "I have heard that pregnancy hormones make you crazy but you have achieved a whole new level of wacky. If Logan knew, he would be here in an instant, he doesn't love Odette, he loves you he always has, honestly he probably would have married you by now if he thought you would agree to it, you didn't the first time and it almost killed him."
"Stephanie, you know I couldn't marry him after graduation I was only 22 and I had never had a life. I only ever lived the life I was told to have, even now I am still testing my sea legs. I still don't know if I could do all of this, baby, motherhood and Logan, what will he want to do?" Rory laid her head back on the sofa.
"Ror, you are an idiot, I love you, but you are an idiot. Logan loves you, he has for years. You need to tell him and let him make up his own mind. If you thought for one moment he wouldn't be her, you are an idiot." Stephanie was indignant.
"Really, I am just hiding in Hartford, writing my book and trying to figure everything out." Rory lamented.
"You really aren't going to tell him?" Stephanie was incredulous.
"No, I will tell him, he needs to know I just won't ask him to leave her, he has a plan, I won't interrupt it. I have been in the shadows for so long, I need to step out into the sun, this book is my escape hatch, I found my path, now I just have to figure out what to do about the baby." Rory was looking at the ceiling as she spoke and did not see Stephanie react with wide eyes and open mouth.
"Tell me you aren't considering terminating at your age? Seriously I can't believe you, I have been trying for a year, you have an incredibly romantic goodbye with the love of your life and you aren't keeping the souvenir?" Stephanie was shocked.
"Oh god Steph, no, I am keeping the baby, it's Logan I don't know what to do about. My Mom and Luke say I should tell him, my grandma reminds me he is getting married. I just don't want to ruin his life with this." Rory states weakly.
Chapter 3 – Finn, Robert and Colin
"Logan you need to make it right, you need to get our darling Reporter Girl back, we need her, you NEED her!, Odette is no longer an issue, your free of the plan and you are taking over the New York office. What is keeping you from the love of your life, the women who fills your need and holds our hearts?" Finn was ranting over the bar as they poured scotch.
"Finn, we said goodbye in New Hampshire, how do I tell her it was a mistake, that I want her back, that Odette and I are over. That I am returning stateside, it all seems over planned." Logan took a swig of his scotch.
"Logan mate, you have to know that it was a bad plan to let her go, you have to know that Luv will be there, that no one replaces you. When you told us you found her again in Hamburg and started that stupid Vegas agreement, we thought it would be brief, we all thought you would take a real look at her and the two of you would get it right this time. You screwed up with the ultimatum and then you both screwed up with the Vegas agreement, you are idiots. " Finn poured everyone some more scotch.
"The happy drunk is right, you and Rory are idiots." Robert piped up.
"This place needs a little music, I think I will buy it and make it a 80's club." Colin drunkenly put forward.
"That's it Colin, you are cut off, this is my house, get to the guest room and sleep it off, at least I don't have a Colt to sell you." Logan laughed as he steered his drunk friend to bed.
Finn and Logan were the last men standing, "Logan, what are you going to do about Luv mate, you need her, we need her."
"I really don't know man, it isn't easy to go to the woman who ripped your heart out once, then let you go without a fight. I don't even know if I have a leg to stand on with her. It has been six weeks, maybe she and that Paul guy have moved to the next level." Logan was leaning against the counter, bottle of water in hand, second one after he stopped drinking earlier.
Finn popped him in the head, "Mate, she wouldn't do that, she only was with Paul because you were with Odette, he was a fallback. You my friend are the one, the guy she keeps coming back to again and again. It has to mean something she was willing to be the other woman for so long."
Logan hadn't considered that, he made Ace the other woman, sure he knew it, but to hear Finn say it... " I suck, she shouldn't be second to any woman in my life, how could I do that to her."
"No, you did what she asked, stupid as it was, you did exactly as she asked. However, now that you are a free agent, what are you going to do next?" Finn got them both another bottle of water.
"I think another trip to Stars Hollow is in order, what do you think?" Logan laughed and cheered with Finn.
Logan and Finn retired for the night, Logan looked around the room he had only recently shared with Odette. She had taken all of her things, her ring though, she left that on the nightstand with a note, I hope little Ms. Connecticut has better luck with it than I did. She had to get her dig in, couldn't just be classy and leave it at that, her note made it look as if he was the bad guy. She had got 'fixed' in order to deprive him the one thing the marriage would be worth an heir. A son, or daughter whom he could dote upon. Logan drifted off to sleep with hopes that maybe Rory would take him back and maybe, just maybe they could have a family together.
Chapter 4 – Lorelai
Luke and Lorelai had returned from their brief honeymoon, as business owners anytime away was appreciated. Lorelai had been happily distracted but now her concern over her daughter's predictiment weighed heavily on her.
"Luke, what are we going to do about Rory?" Lorelai was leaning against the headboard while her husband attempted to sleep.
"Lorelai, she'll be fine, her friend Stephanie is in Hartford with her. Now I have a 5:30 am delivery, can we talk about this at dinner tomorrow? Please." Luke turned and buried his head in the pillow.
"Okay, alright, I am sorry, thanks for telling me about Stephanie, I will just go downstairs and try to let this go." She climbed out of bed, leaned over and kissed him then pat her leg for Paul Anka to follow.
Sitting on the couch she flipped on the TV in hopes that TV would still the fury that was running in her brain. How could Rory be the other woman, again, had she learned nothing from the Dean debacle? Sure Logan wasn't married, but he was engaged, that should have been enough. Lorelai had seen the society pages, the engagement announcement and when Rory told her Logan was Didi she felt the full weight of what that meant. She had been sleeping at "Didi's" place for at least three years and could not bring herself to tell her mom, her supposed best friend, that it was really Logan. She wondered if Paris and Lane knew the truth and she was the only one in the dark. She absently pet Paul Anka, the dog, while she channel surfed. She stopped on a shopping channel only to mock the sales pitch, then a channel that sold adult 'toys' she actually was fascinated for a few minutes then realized Luke would NEVER, she laughed at the thought and changed the channel, 'Funny Face' was playing, she had a moment where she was melancholy about Chris, they might have worked, if only he could have realized, as Luke had, that she loved her home, she loved Stars Hollow, he did not understand her true person as Luke did. She had wasted so much time, she had lived with so much fear, she had given Rory fear of everything, now she felt guilty. How could she tell her child year after year a traumatizing story of her birth as a joke, sure, she wanted her to consider sex carefully, but did she really never want grandchildren. When Rory confessed she was pregnant, she sounded like she was apologizing, she had traumatized her daughter so much that at thirty-two she was afraid she disappointed her mother by being pregnant. Lorelai thought about the 'Birthday story tradition' and cringed, no wonder Rory didn't want marriage, children and all of it, she had made it seem anti-feminist. She didn't need a man, but she had several, she had Luke, he fed them, Taylor, he governed them, her Dad, he loved them, without condition... Lorelai realized that feminism is complicated. She pet Paul Anka and enjoyed his affection. She would have to figure out how to help her daughter. She finally felt tired and dragged herself to bed. Luke's arm fell protectively over her and she fell into a restless sleep.
Chapter 5 – Logan and Rory
Stephanie had texted Colin her location and that she was with Rory so the boys landed and headed to Hartford. Rory and Stephanie were enjoying s breakfast of honeydew, spicy linguica sausage and eggs, when the bell rang. The boys entered and Rory stopped eating.
"Don't stop on my account Ace, you are probably only just beginning." He took note of the two sausages and poached egg with garlic toast, not her usual, but she could be branching out.
"Logan, aren't you getting married in like three weeks? Wasn't our goodbye a part of the agreement?" Rory was astounded at his appearance.
"Well, as luck would have it, we had a fidelity clause, I lived up to it, she didn't, and thanks to the boys, I found out in enough time to end the farce." Logan was positively beaming.
"So you aren't marrying Odette? Are you still in London?"Rory felt the wave of relief, followed by inevitable nausea. She covered her mouth and dashed to the powder room, Logan was quick on her heels, he grabbed her hair and rubbed her back.
"Nice to know we share coping skills, but you should remember to drink water Ace." He said well he soothed her through the episode.
When she finally stopped retching she laughed, "I am not hungover, you left me with a parting gift." She splashed her face, brushed her teeth and changed her shirt.
Logan stood shocked and still, "Ace, are you, are we?" He fell to the floor.
"Yup, congratulations, it is a baby, New Hampshire will be proud." She patted his knee. She was completely freaked, how do you tell your engaged Vegas guy, that he is about to become a dad and not by his fiance?
Logan looked at her, really looked at her, her breasts looked large, her waist wider, her skin had a glow, " We should join the board of tourism, 'Sleep in New Hampshire awake as parents'. Colin will be so proud of his investment.
"I already told Steph, she should try it first, we have years of experience and apparently all gates were down, so little no-name here happened. Must be the Inn, it's all I can..." Rory's ramble was cut off when Logan pulled her to him in a searing kiss.
He pulled back and placed his hands on her hips, "I missed doing that, I missed you, your rambling and all of it. I am taking over the New York office next month and we can find a place and finally get on track."
Rory placed her hands on his shoulders, "That sounds perfect, I guess your days of rescuing me are on again. " They met in the middle and shared a sweet and loving kiss.
*END*