Author's Note at the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls. That honor belongs to the brilliant Amy Sherman-Palladino and company.
Detour
Chapter 1: Road Work Ahead
Rory Gilmore had a good life. She didn't have many complaints. She was content or at least that is what she forced herself to believe.
She had a great career. In fact, she was well on her way to having the career she had always dreamed of. She had spent a year and half following Barack Obama on his campaign trail. And although she would never give up the experience, she had been truly grateful for its end. She needed permanence. She needed roots. Her articles on Obama and his campaign had gained national recognition for their fresh, bold, and intelligent outlook. After the campaign ended, she had entertained several job offers from newspapers across the country, but had eventually accepted an offer from an up and coming newspaper in New York City named The Global Observer. The past nineteen months had been spent as the lead features writer for The GO (what the staff called it) and she had enjoyed every minute of it. Rory had flourished in the casual and relaxed, yet professional atmosphere of The GO. Her writing was better than ever and had helped establish The Global Observer as a reputable newspaper in the extremely competitive journalism community.
She had a beautiful home. A brownstone on the Upper West Side with a fabulous view of Central Park that her grandparents, Richard and Emily Gilmore, had coerced her into accepting as a gift – a rather extravagant gift. Her grandparents had insisted that a young woman of a "certain standing in society" must have a suitable home and their idea of a suitable home did not include bars over the windows or a local bodega on the corner. She had argued vehemently against her grandparents buying her any place let alone the one she ended up with. However, they had insisted she at least look at suitable places with them. The brownstone had been the last place they looked at and she had fallen instantly in love. She had found herself grudgingly, but eagerly moving in only days later.
She had a family. She may not have what some would call a traditional family, but they were her family nonetheless and she treasured them. She had her mother and best friend, Lorelai, and along with her came her step-father Luke. She had her father Christopher and her sister Gigi. She had her grandparents. She had Lane and Zach, and their twin boys Steve and Kwan. There was Sookie and Jackson and Davey and Martha. There was Paris and Doyle. And there was the entire town of Stars Hollow. She even had Colin and Finn.
She still wasn't quite sure how that had happened. Maybe it had been a fluke or maybe it had been divine providence. She'd never know. About a month after she had moved to New York City and started her job at The Global Observer she had bumped into Colin and Finn at a coffee shop by her home. It turned out that they were both working in the city and lived together only a few blocks from Rory.
She had been hesitant at first to reestablish any sort of relationship with the two, they were after all Logan's best friends and the last thing she had wanted to do was cause anymore hard feelings between her and Logan. But Colin and Finn had been persistent and had eventually quieted all her protests.
A friendship she felt had probably begun as an attempt for all three of them to fill the void Logan had left in their lives by packing up and moving across the country to San Francisco, had quickly become so much more. They saw each other as much as their busy schedules allowed, which surprisingly was quite often. The three of them had formed a tight bond.
She knew Logan was aware of their friendship. Although Colin and Finn didn't see Logan very often they still talked to him regularly. The two had insisted from the beginning on being honest with Logan about their friendship and she had agreed. She didn't know how the specific conversation had transpired, she hadn't asked, but Logan must have at the very least grudgingly been okay with it. They hardly ever talked about Logan, which was fine by her. The times he did come up in conversation were brief and always left her with a feeling of emptiness she did her best to ignore.
She had a good life. She was happy. She was…
"Rory! Earth to Rory!"
She jumped, startled out of her weighty thoughts, and turned her head to look at the culprit. "What?"
Cameron Mitchell was leaning over the side of her desk cubicle in the newsroom of The GO, looking at her quizzically. Rory had met Cameron on her first official day at The Global Observer and they had immediately hit it off. Cameron was a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, vivacious woman the same age as her and Rory considered her one of her closest friends. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Rory answered.
"Are you sure? You were miles away. I called your name several times before I got your attention." Cameron stared intently at her.
"Yeah, I'm just trying to finish this article before the end of the day and I got stuck on this last paragraph." Rory was fairly certain Cameron didn't believe her. Cameron could usually tell when she wasn't being truthful, but Rory hoped that she'd leave it alone today. She wasn't really in the mood to delve any further into her previous thoughts.
"Okay…well, you have twenty minutes before you have to be out of here."
"Are you sure you can't come to dinner tonight?" Rory asked. "Colin and Finn will miss having you around."
Cameron rolled her eyes. "You mean they'll miss having someone around to hit on that isn't like their sister or the ex-girlfriend of their best friend."
Rory winced slightly at the mention of Logan, but recovered quickly. "Well, now that you mention it…"
Cameron laughed. "I wish I could help ease their pain, but I promised my mother I'd come over tonight."
"I know, just thought I'd make the offer again in case your plans had changed." Rory looked at the clock on the bottom right hand side of her computer screen.
"I hope the boys aren't too disappointed and tell them I'll join you next week."
"Will do. Maybe Finn will stop pestering me for a moment then." Rory began to type while she talked with Cameron. She really did need to get her article done.
"I doubt it."
"You're probably right. He's like a two year old sometimes. Not that I know what having a two year old is really like, but he's what I imagine a two year old to be like."
Cameron was about to respond when she noticed out of the corner of her eye a tall brunette man approaching Rory's desk. "So Rory…how was your date the other night?"
"Fine, why?" Rory looked up at her puzzled. She had all ready filled Cameron in on her date.
"Eric's heading this way." Rory was very casually dating Eric Masters, a sports writer at The Global Observer. She liked him well enough, enough to be sleeping with him anyway, but she wasn't really interested in having a serious relationship and lately Eric had been hinting at more.
"Hello, ladies." Eric greeted when he arrived at the duo around Rory's desk.
"Hi, Eric." Cameron said as she took a step backwards to stand slightly behind Eric and glared at Rory.
"Hey, Eric. How are you?" Rory asked as she clicked the save button on her finished article and closed out of the document.
"Good." He smiled brightly at her. "So, I was wondering if you had any plans for the evening."
"It's Thursday, Eric." She always had plans on Thursday's and he very well knew it. Thursday night is what her, Colin, and Finn had dubbed "family dinner night" and they never skipped it unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes they would have other members of their "family" over, but Eric certainly didn't qualify in that category.
"Oh, right." He gazed at her expectantly. Cameron rolled her eyes.
Rory bit her tongue to stop herself from replying with a scathing comment. "I'll talk to you tomorrow; maybe we can go out Saturday night."
"Okay…well, have a good evening then." He turned and walked away his shoulders slumped.
"Rory—,"
"I know." She had to let him go, sooner rather than later.
"All right." Cameron nodded. "I have to go. Have fun with the boys and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye. Have fun with your mother." Cameron put her hand in the air acknowledging Rory and then waved at her dismissively. Rory began packing up her things so she could go home. She had a few things she needed to get done before Colin and Finn came over.
She had been happily anticipating this evening all day. Colin and Finn had just returned that morning from a rare two week vacation in San Francisco to visit Logan and she had missed them. She always did whenever one or the both of them were gone for extended periods of time. They spent so much of their daily lives together it left her unsettled when they weren't around.
Perhaps the knowledge that Colin and Finn would undoubtedly regale her with stories tonight of the two of them and Logan off gallivanting in San Francisco caused her melancholic mood through out the day. She knew there would be no way to avoid Logan as a topic of conversation this evening, even if they tried. She just hoped Colin and Finn would at least leave out the unsavory details.
She entered her bedroom in a hurry, striding directly to her large walk-in closet. She needed to change out of her work clothes into something more comfortable before Colin and Finn arrived. After contemplating for a brief moment what to wear, she pulled from a shelf situated in front of her a well worn pair of jeans and her blue "Reading is Sexy" t-shirt. She shrugged out of her work clothes and tossed them in the laundry hamper in the corner of her closet. She pulled on her jeans and t-shirt and walked back out into her bedroom over to her dresser pulling out a colorful pair of stripped socks from the second drawer.
"Love, we're home!" The front door slammed shut behind Finn and she assumed Colin.
She smiled from her position on her bed and hastily finished putting on her socks. "Coming!" She yelled.
"Dirty!" Finn yelled back.
Rory rolled her eyes even though Finn couldn't see her and pushed herself up off the edge of her bed. She darted out of her bedroom on the second floor and down the stairs to the foyer - where she was sure Colin and Finn were waiting for her - as fast as she could without injuring herself in the process. Her stairs were a bit steep.
Her smile grew even wider as Colin and Finn appeared in her line of vision. They were both grinning widely back at her. She rushed down the rest of the stairs and flew into Colin's arms. "I missed you guys!"
"We missed you too, Gilmore!" Colin hugged her tightly.
"Love, where is my hug?" Finn pouted.
She pulled out of Colin's embrace and turned to look at Finn. She frowned. In her excitement she had failed to notice Finn's appearance. His left arm was in cast and nestled in a sling. His right eye had a faded bruise at the corner and he had a gash across his left eyebrow that was covered with butterfly bandages. "What the hell happened to you?!"
Finn smiled sheepishly at her and Colin snickered. "Well, you see I was drunk—,"
"Wait." She said holding up her hand to stop Finn from continuing. She then pulled him into a hug being careful not to jostle his arm. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long story and I'm starving. You can fill me in at the dinner table."
Colin laughed. "When aren't Finn's stories long and when aren't you hungry, Gilmore?"
"Never!" Finn and Rory both replied. They all laughed. Rory drew out of Finn's embrace and led the way to the dining room located in between the kitchen and living room.
She had set the table earlier, after she had ordered dinner from their favorite Italian restaurant. On the dining room table sat a bouquet of orange tulips in a short square vase, a couple of lit vanilla scented candles, and two bottles of wine, a red and white. Finn and Colin's drink of choice was normally scotch, but they always had wine at dinner with her and drank scotch during the movie portion of the evening.
"Have a seat. I have dinner warming in the oven. I'll be right back." Finn and Colin both grabbed chairs on opposite sides of the table from each other and took a seat. Rory always sat at the head of the table.
Colin and Finn looked skeptically at each other. They were both well aware that Rory didn't cook. Finn leaned across the table toward Colin. "Did she say she cooked?" Finn whispered frantically. He didn't want Rory to hear.
As Colin was about to respond, Rory entered the room again balancing three plates precariously in her arms. Finn stood back up and grabbed two plates from Rory's arms. The food may not be edible, but he didn't want Rory to hurt herself. He handed a plate over to Colin and then sat back in his seat and put his own plate down. Rory had all ready settled in her chair and was pouring herself a glass of white wine.
Finn and Colin both looked down at their plates. The chicken parmesan looked delicious, but appearances could be deceiving. They glanced up at each other and then looked at Rory. They both hesitated. Colin waded into the water.
"Rory," She turned from setting the bottle of wine down and looked at Colin expectantly, "Did you make this?"
"Why?" She asked innocently.
Finn glanced at Colin and then jumped in. "Well love, it looks positively delicious, but…last time we tried to eat something you cooked we all ended up sick for three days. And we love you and we'll eat it if you insist, but we'd rather like to avoid it if we can."
Rory laughed. "That's sweet of you, Finn, of you both really, but I didn't make it."
"You didn't?" Colin asked. She smirked and shook her head no. They both sighed in relief.
"But you said you had dinner warming in the oven." Finn looked at her confused.
"And I did. I ordered from Sapori D'Italia. I didn't think you'd appreciate a cold dinner so I put in the oven to keep warm." Rory offered the bottle of red wine to Finn, which he accepted gratefully.
"Oh." Finn poured his glass of wine and then handed the bottle across the table to Colin.
"So, now that we've cleared that up. Tell me what happened to you Finn." Rory dug into her food. After a moment with no response from Finn, Rory looked up in Finn's direction and burst out laughing. Finn was attempting to cut his chicken parmesan one-handed. "Do you need some help?"
Finn grumbled, while Colin looked on amused. "Yes, please."
Rory pulled his plate toward her and then motioned to him for his knife and fork. He handed them over, watching as she cut his food and then pushed his plate back toward him.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome. So…I'm waiting."
"Right, so like I said, I was drunk—,"
"All your stories begin like this." Rory interrupted.
"Do you want to hear this story or not?" Finn stared at her pointedly and she nodded. "Then, hush you."
Rory looked appropriately contrite. "I do apologize, please continue oh master story teller."
Finn glared at her and she smirked at him. "As I was saying, I was drunk…" He hesitated a moment waiting for her interruption, but none came so he finally continued. "We were stumbling home when I spotted a gorgeous red-headed sheila entering a bar we were just passing."
Rory snickered. "Of course. I should have known."
"Love," Finn said warningly, "So, I dragged Colin and Logan into the bar with me, sure they could find something to occupy themselves while I wooed my bedmate for the evening. I found her at the bar a few minutes later surrounded by a bevy of other women. I sidled up to her at the bar and offered to buy her a drink using all my good looks and exotic charm. It never fails me."
"Except for that night apparently." Colin said dryly as he took a bite of his food.
Rory laughed. "You got turned down, Finn?"
"Mates, she was almost ready to leave with me when her friend interrupted."
Colin laughed. "Really? See what I remember was her complete disinterest and your total disregard for her trying to brush you off thereby her need for her girlfriend to come to her rescue."
Rory looked at the two confused. "I don't get it."
"What our dear Finn here has failed to mention was that he had unknowingly dragged us into a gay bar, which Logan and I noticed right away."
"Mate, you never said anything. You didn't even come to save me until the red head's girlfriend punched me!" Finn cried dramatically.
"You got into a fight with a girl?!" Rory exclaimed.
Finn grimaced. "More than one."
"And you and Logan just stood and watched?" Rory looked at Colin indignantly.
"Hey, it's not our fault Finn couldn't take a hint or keep his trap shut after the girlfriend arrived!" Colin glowered at Finn. "Besides, Logan eventually entered the fray to rescue him."
"Yeah, mate, after I ended up with a gash over my eyebrow, a black eye, and a broken arm! And what about you? You just stood there like a coward!"
"I'm not a coward! Someone had to be able to bail you out of jail or take you to the emergency room if need be. And it's a good thing I did, as I had to take both you and Logan to the ER!"
Rory's head snapped to look at Colin. "Logan? Is he okay?"
"Yeah, he's fine. Just some bruised ribs and scratches." Colin said reassuring her. Rory sighed and then began laughing hysterically.
"What's so funny, love?"
"I-I can't believe you got beat up by girls!"
Finn moaned. "It's not that funny."
"Yes, it is!"
"No, it's not!"
"Yes, it is Finn." Colin said joining in with Rory's laughter. "You'll never live this down. We'll be mocking you for years to come."
"Mate." Finn whined. "At least my fortunes with women have increased dramatically since then. The sheilas love the cast."
Rory shook her head. She wasn't sure Finn would ever change. "Can I sign it later, Finn?"
Finn perked up. "Something naughty, love?"
Colin and Rory rolled their eyes. She loved Finn, but he probably deserved the ass kicking he'd received. Retribution for all the women he'd harassed over the years. "Sure, Finn."
Colin and Finn had entertained her with more stories of their time in San Francisco with Logan over the rest of dinner, albeit none as entertaining as Finn getting beat up by girls. She had caught them up on her rather uneventful two weeks in New York City without them.
Colin and Finn helped her clear the dining room table after they finished eating. They were currently in the kitchen preparing for the next phase of their evening. Colin was rinsing the dishes in the kitchen sink and then putting them in the dishwasher. Rory was gathering the necessary supplies for a pared down movie night. Finn was searching through the cabinets, for what she wasn't sure.
"Love, where's the scotch?" Finn called out to her.
"Same place it always is, Finn. In the liquor cabinet in the dining room." She said as she emerged from the pantry with an armful of edible goodies.
She saw Finn entering the dining room as she went into the living room. She put the food down on the coffee table and arranged the snacks in order of importance. She heard Colin start the dishwasher and Finn puttering around in the dining room doing God knows what. She picked up the remote for the large plasma screen TV Colin and Finn had insisted she buy if she wanted them to ever watch movies at her place and pressed the power button. She dropped the remote on the sofa behind her and picked up the wine glass she had placed on the coffee table after dinner.
"You two coming?" Rory yelled out to them.
"Just a minute." She heard Colin reply.
"Be there in a jiff, love." She heard the door of the liquor cabinet close and the clink of glasses hitting each other. She assumed Finn still needed to go to the kitchen and get ice for the scotch.
She turned her attention back to the television. She watched the scroll of the CNN ticker at the bottom of the screen for a moment and then glanced up to watch the muted telecast. Her eyes widened in shock and her hands began to tremble. The shaking caused the wine glass in her hand to slip out of her grasp. She stood transfixed as the glass hit the side of the coffee table and shattered on the wood floor of her living room.
She vaguely heard the pounding of Colin and Finn's steps rushing into the living room. Tears pricked her eyes. This couldn't be happening. The two boys arrived at her side, glanced at the shattered glass on the floor, and gazed at her in concern.
"Love?" Finn said questioningly and grabbed her hand with his free arm. "Are you okay?"
Their obvious concern for her caused sobs to rack her body. Colin grabbed her other hand and along with Finn, gently pulled her away from the broken glass at her feet.
"Rory, what's wrong?" Colin asked worry in his voice. This had to be about more than the spilled wine.
She couldn't speak, so she motioned to the still muted television. She watched as Colin and Finn's heads turned to the television and knew the exact moment the horror of the situation registered with them. Their heads turned back to stare at her as if in slow motion.
"Love," Finn started gruffly, "we—,"
"Y-you sh-should go." She managed to choke out. Colin and Finn stared at her helplessly. "Pl-please g-go."
"Will you be okay?" Colin asked quietly.
She nodded slightly. Even if she wasn't okay, they needed to go. She strangled back another sob. "I'll be fine."
They both stared at her indecisively, their concern for her outweighing their need to go. But then Colin pulled her into a hug and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "We're going to go, but we'll call you as soon as we can."
Colin pulled away from her, squeezing her hand tightly before he let go of her completely. Finn drew her into his arms disregarding his broken arm and gave her a bone crushing hug. She could hardly breathe, but she didn't want him to let go. He reluctantly pulled back, stopping her before she could move all the way out of his embrace. He moved his hands to her face, wiping away her tears with his thumbs and then placing one hand on each side of her face forcing her to look into his pained eyes. "It'll be okay."
This only caused her to cry more, but she moved away from Finn before he and Colin got stuck here any longer. "Go." She stated determinedly. They gave her one last troubled glance before they turned to leave. She watched in despair as they walked out of the living room, through the foyer, and out the front door.
She didn't know what to do now. She felt so weak. She stood in the middle of the living room for a moment before she collapsed on the couch, tears streaming down her face. She curled into a fetal position and pulled the throw blanket she kept on the back of the couch over herself. It was the middle of June, but she felt so cold.
The wine glass still lay shattered on the floor.
Author's Note: This is my second fanfiction and it will be a multi-chapter Rogan. I'm working on the second chapter right now and have about the first ten chapters outlined. I would love to have your reviews/constructive criticism. I'm always looking to improve my writing. Just an interesting note (at least to me), in college my roommates and I actually did have what we called "family dinner night". The core group was the roommates of course, but we occasionally had other people join us. We took turns cooking and we actually watched Gilmore Girls together. We were all really busy during the week and this was just a way for us to ensure that we got to spend at least one night a week together. It is one of my favorite college memories so I thought I'd use it for this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter features Logan!