When Finn Met Rory
A/N: I don't own anything, some characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino, the story and the title were inspired by the Rob Reiner movie "When Harry Met Sally".
Rory had always liked Logan's friends, and they had all reciprocated this feeling. Therefore, when the couple broke up, it was hard for all of them. They didn't really want to take sides, but it was difficult to see Rory as much as they used to, so they all went their way and finally lost touch. It was without counting on fate.
January 2010
The first time they met was at JFK airport. Rory was waiting in line for a cab when she heard a male voice whispering in her ear.
"Penny for your thoughts"
She distinctively recognized this accent and turned her head to the source and beamed.
"Finn!"
"Hello love" they hugged each other fondly. "Do you want to share my ride? I'm heading to Manhattan, what about you?"
"Midtown, I have to go to the office before heading home"
"Then come with me love, we'll drop you off and we can catch up in the car" He grabbed her suitcase. He was already two feet ahead and she was still dumbstruck. She hadn't seen him since the summer after his graduation four years ago. She hurried her steps and ogled him to come to the conclusion that he hadn't change that much, just a little tanner than usual, but still with his communicative grin. They arrived at the town car where a gorgeous blonde was standing talking on the phone. Rory turned to Finn with a quizzical look.
"Rory, I would like you to meet my fiancée Samantha Reese" Rory stared at Finn in total disbelief and turned to Samantha who was just ending her call. The brunette extended her hand to the blonde.
"Honored to meet the woman who was able to tame the beast. I guess Finn changed a lot since I last saw him"
"Nice to meet you too. Finn is a sweetheart, we only met a few months ago and he just proposed to me when we were in Australia visiting his family. He's so romantic"
Rory couldn't believe her ears, things can definitively evolve a lot in four years. Finn was grinning and totally hooked. The driver took their suitcases and the Aussie opened the door for the girls.
"So Love, where are you working now?" Finn asked once they were seated in the car.
"I've been at the New York Times for a few months now".
"Wow, so you finally did it. Congratulations Love, you see, no need to hurry, you still got what you wanted. I have never doubted that you could do it" Finn said while sitting next to her.
"What about you Finn, still in med school?"
"Yep, finishing this year, I'm waiting to know where I'll do my residency"
"I'm impressed and what residency did you choose?"
He told the driver to stop first at the New York Times building.
"I applied for surgical and emergency medicine. I haven't made up my mind yet. It'll depend on which program I get in. And what about you, are you dating?"
"Well, I have been dating an ABC reporter for about a month now"
"Where is he? Why didn't he pick you up at the airport? It's usually what guys do at the beginning of a relationship" Rory laughed.
"Because you know that too? You've read the rule book of how to be the perfect boyfriend? Well, he's shooting in Yemen right now. What about you Samantha, what are you doing?"
"I'm in law school, also finishing this year."
"Wow, I'm impressed Finn, beautiful, intelligent"
"Do I have to feel offended, love? I don't understand why you're so impressed. Samantha is the kind of girl a man loses his heart to"
"I'm sorry Finn, I guess we haven't seen each other for too long. How's the old gang? Do you still see them?"
"Well, I don't see Logan that much as he's still in California. Colin finished law school last year and is now working with his father in Boston. He hasn't settled yet though, still changing to a new flavor about every month if you get my drift"
"Wow, so you're the first one to get married? What about Robert?"
"Robert is the campaign manager for a senator in Vermont. He's not dating anyone special to my knowledge. I still see Steph sometimes because she's also in the city, she works for a PR agency"
Rory enjoyed catching up with Finn. They exchanged their phone numbers and promised to get in touch, but she knew it would be difficult as she would probably be traveling a lot, or, if everything worked as planned, being based abroad.
November 2013
Rory and Jess were rummaging on the first floor of a bookstore. After almost three years being based in Cairo, she was now an international correspondent at large and was living in New York again. About two weeks after she was back stateside, she realized that she had drifted away from James. She was ready to move in with him in New York, he wasn't. Therefore, she told him it was over and Jess helped her find her own apartment. He was living in Brooklyn since Truncheon had opened an office in the City. They spent a lot of time together, and developed a truthful friendship. Now that he was family, all the awkwardness left by their past had finally lifted off. He tried to convince her to start dating again arguing that the faster you get back on a horse after a bad fall, the easier it was.
"Someone is staring at you from the history section," Jess whispered to Rory flipping pages from a book.
She looked up and saw Finn hiding behind a bookshelf pretending to read a huge volume.
"I know him" she gazed back to the book she was holding.
"Who is he? He could be your rebound guy, he's cute"
"No can do. He's one of Logan's best friends from Yale and he's married. You think he's cute?"
"How do you know he's married?" Jess was sure she was trying to get away.
"Because I was invited to the wedding two years ago"
"So, he might not be married anymore. You know the rates in New York."
"At Yale, he was the biggest manwhore"
"So, it's been more than seven years, people can change a lot during that time"
"Rory Gilmore, are you pretending you didn't see me?"
"Hi Finn"
"I'm glad to see you, it's been what? Almost four years?"
"Yes, about that… This is Jess Mariano" She turned to him but he was already on his way down stairs.
"This was Jess"
"How are you?"
"Fine"
"How is James? I only met him once but I liked the guy"
"Fine" She looked down and pretended to be interested in another book. "I hear he's fine"
"You're not with James anymore?" Finn asked trying to catch her gaze.
"We just broke up."
"Oh, I'm sorry, that's too bad."
"Yah...well, you know...yeh." Rory was fidgeting.
Finn felt sorry for her. He could see she was embarrassed so he kept fumbling for a few minutes.
"So, what about you?" Rory finally asked.
"I'm fine." He answered matter-of-factly.
"How's married life?"
"Not so good. I...I'm getting a divorce."
"Oh, sorry. Oh, I'm really sorry." Rory gazed at him deeply concerned. He looked so happy and deeply in love with Samantha last time she saw them.
"Yeah, well, things change, you know. What happened with you guys?"
"Okay, if we're getting into this kind of talk, I need coffee," she smiled at him and he remembered she used to be a good friend and he could use a friendly ear.
"Let's go, Love"
They found a coffee shop and sat in a booth. Rory was taking a bit out of a huge cinnamon roll which made Finn smiled. He remembered how at Yale she was all about comfort food. She finally decided to answer Finn's question.
"When James and I started seeing each other, we wanted exactly the same thing. We aspired to be free, to be able to dive into our work. We both were so eager to report from overseas. You know, we met in an Arabic class because we wanted to be embedded in the middle east. Contrary to our friends, we were in love but didn't want to get married because every time anyone we knew got married it ruined their relationship and their work, and more over they practically never had sex again."
Finn looked at her with a quizzical look.
"It's true. It's one of those taboo stuff that no one ever tells you. We thought we were young and we wanted to report on location without worrying. And you know, each time we were back together after being apart, the sex was mind blowing. We had this sexual impulse that they had lost."
Finn was listening to Rory carefully, wondering if what she was saying about married couples was what happened to Samantha and him. She paused to take a sip of her coffee.
"James and I used to talk about it and thought we were so lucky we had this wonderful relationship, we could have sex on the kitchen floor and not worry about the kids walking in, we could fly off to Paris on a moment's notice, being sent on location anytime. And then after my three years in Cairo, the Times offered me to be a correspondent at large based in New York. I thought I would move in with him as he had an apartment in the city but he told me that he wasn't ready for such a big step"
She took another bite from her roll and gazed back at Finn.
"And that was it for him. The thing is, surprisingly, I... I feel really fine. I am over him, I mean… I really am over him. Nothing like after when I broke up with Logan. That was the most that he could give. And every time I think about it, I'm more and more convinced that I did the right thing."
"Jeez, you sound really healthy and mature," Finn answered impressed.
"Yep" Rory nodded, pursing her lips. She actually was a little proud of herself because she had avoided the depressed state she was in after the Logan debacle.
Following that bosom talk, Finn and Rory quickly became friends, really close friends. He became the first person she would call each time she was back from reporting. What probably got them closer was that they were both frequently out of sync with regular people, him because of his night shifts as an ER resident, Rory because of the time difference with the different locations she was reporting from.
That mid-December Saturday morning, they were having brunch when Finn casually asked Rory.
"Would you like to go to the movie with me tonight?"
Finn could see that Rory looked embarrassed and wondered why. They had been seeing each other every day when she was stateside. They were so comfortable together, she could understand how heartbroken they both were and talked for hours about almost everything.
"Oh, oh. Well I'd love to Finn, but I... I can't"
"What do you have, a hot date?"
"Well as a matter of fact I do. Jess fixed me up with one of his coworkers" she answered sheepishly.
"Really?" He stared at her dumbfounded.
"Yeh, well I... I was going to tell you about it but I don't know I just... I felt strange about it." She said avoiding his gaze.
"Why?"
"Well, because we've been spending so much time together. It felt I was kind of cheating on you. I know it's weird"
"Oh… I think it's great that you have a date" Finn understood what she was saying but tried to be the cool guy and not look disappointed. He got used to be the only one besides Jess that she was hanging out with.
"You do?" she asked a little surprised. She thought that they were developing slowly toward more than a friendship but it seemed that she was mistaken.
"Yeah."
Rory looked around nervously, a bit struck by the answer.
"Is this what you're going to wear?" he asked eying her up and down.
"Yeh. Well, I... I don't know, why?" she raised her eyebrows.
"I think you should wear more skirts. You look really good in skirts and you have great legs."
"I do?" So, he was paying attention at her legs?
"You know Finn, I think you should get out there too."
"Oh! No I'm not ready" he shook his head.
"You should" she said sternly.
"I would not be good for anyone right now and I don't feel like dressing up trying to woo anyone"
"It's time Finn"
Nevertheless, he listened to her and started dating again. Their friendship shifted to talking about their failed dates. After spending Christmas in Stars Hollow, Rory was back in the city. This year, Finn couldn't go back to Australia so he took the Christmas shift in the ER. As usual, they spent their evening together, this time drinking eggnogs and watching Christmas movies in Rory's apartment.
"It was the most awful night of my life," Finn complained.
"The first date back is always the toughest Finn" Rory said trying to cheer him up.
"We only had one date. How do you know it's not going to get worse?"
"How much worse can it get than finishing dinner, having him reach over, pull a hair out of my head and start eating it?" She described her last date rolling her eyes.
"We're talking dream dates compared to my nightmare. It started out fine, she's a very nice person, and we're sitting at this super hype French restaurant that everybody was talking about. The waiting list is about three months long but I managed to get a table on a Friday night, thanks to Steph. And there she was ordering a green salad. You heard me, a green salad at a three stars restaurant. But then I thought, maybe she had a great sense of humor and I delivered all my best jokes, the charming ones. You know I can do that right?"
Rory grinned at him and nodded. She always had so much fun with him.
"But I got nothing from her, not even a smile. So, I down shift into small talk, and I asked her where she went to school and she said Brown and it reminded me of Samantha. All of a sudden, I'm in the middle of this mess of an anxiety attack, my heart is beating like crazy and I start sweating like a pig."
"Sam went to Brown?" She was sure she had studied in New York.
"No, she went to Columbia like me, but they're both Ivy League schools. I got so upset I had to leave the restaurant."
"Finn, I think this takes a long time. It might be months before we're actually able to enjoy going out with someone new."
"Yeah..." he sighed and gulped his eggnog.
"And may be longer, before we'll be actually able to have sex with someone new."
"Oh! I did bed her." He said wondering how Rory could imagine that he wouldn't relieve himself.
"You went to bed with her?" Rory asked surprised.
"Of course, I did» Finn stared at her not understanding her stupefied look.
Rory was kind of flabbergasted that Finn was already having sex and felt weird because she thought they were at the same stage of recovering from their heartbreak. She wasn't ready at all but obviously men were different.
"So, are we still on for New Year's Eve?" she asked
"Sure", he grinned at her.
As they were both single, Finn had invited her to the Vanderbilt New Year's Eve party. He even told her that all the following years, if neither one of them was with anybody, he would be her date.
# # #
Their New Year resolution was to meet new people. Therefore, they decided to introduce new people to each other, not necessarily dates, but just broadening their horizon. Rory proposed to start by meeting each other's friends. Besides Finn, she only had Jess in the City so it was easy. Concerning the Aussie, he brought Carolyn, a childhood friend from Australia, who had arrived in New York a few weeks ago.
It was freezing, Jess and Rory were walking to the restaurant by themselves their hands jammed in their pockets.
"Where is this place?" Jess asked grumpily.
"Somewhere in the next block," Rory answered.
"Uh... I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered.
"Look, Finn is becoming one of my best friends and you're my only other best friend in the city so if by any chance you two hit it off, then we could all hang out together instead of me having to share my time between you two. And the bonus you'll meet a new woman"
"You and I are family now and since Luke has proposed to Lorelai, we will see each other at all the holidays anyway"
Finn and Carolyn were already seated in the restaurant.
"I don't know about this, you know, I'm kind of a loner, I don't need to meet new people," Carolyn said.
"It's just a dinner" Finn stated.
"You know I came in the US to start a new life. I'm comfortable with the fact that it's just me and my work," she insisted. "And tell me again why you're not dating her if she's so great?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, we're just friends."
"So, you're saying she's not attractive."
"No, I told you she's very attractive."
"Yeah but you also said she had a good personality."
"She absolutely has"
Carolyn rolled her eyes "When someone is not that attractive, they're always described as having a good personality."
Finn shook his head. "Anyway, we're having this dinner to meet new friends, not to talk about my love life." He saw Rory enter the restaurant and waved at her. He stood and kissed her on the cheek and shook Jess' hand. At the beginning, they felt uncomfortable and Finn tried to lightened up the mood by serving wine.
"Carolyn, Rory is also a book lover you know," Finn said in an attempt to bond the girls.
"Oh, I just read this absolutely amazing novel from an author I just discovered from a small publisher"
Jess raised his eyebrows.
"The author is a Jess as well, Jess... Mariano I think"
"That's me" Jess smiled at Carolyn.
"Get outta here!" Carolyn's eyes brightened up and she stared at Jess in awe.
"No, it's my second book and I'm also a partner at Truncheon, the publishing company"
"I've never met an author of a book that I love in flesh and blood. It's amazing, don't you think that's amazing?" She turned to Finn beaming, and then back to Jess "And you wrote it!?"
"I also wrote a poetry book."
"Get over yourself! I absolutely adore poetry" Carolyn eyes widened and couldn't leave Jess.
"I did!"
"You know your book had a real impact on me, I mean I, I don't know that much about writing but..."
"Well, well, it spoke to you, and that pleases me," Jess eyed his admirer more carefully and was pleased that her features were as pleasant as her enthusiasm for his writing.
"I.. I mean, I'm really stunned by your words, how you articulate the plot, the characters. I admire people who can be as precise and thorough with words"
Finn and Rory simultaneously looked at each other. They each knew what was going on, they were witnessing what everybody was looking for. When they got out of the restaurant, Jess and Carolyn hurried into a cab and drove off, leaving Finn and Rory bewildered looking at each other on the sidewalk.
A few weeks later, Jess moved in with Carolyn, while Finn and Rory kept trying dating other people that they thought could fit them. She found Julian, a lawyer that she'd met at a work party, while Finn was seeing Mary, a young nurse from the pediatric ward. They were truly happy for Jess and Carolyn and witnessing their happiness gave them hope that someday maybe they would find that kind of unconditional love. It was without counting that Finn hadn't got closure. That week-end they were having brunch at their usual diner, at their customary table by the window. Rory was ranting about how the new interns couldn't write a sentence without typos when she noticed that Finn had stopped listening to her and was staring at a couple kissing in on the sidewalk.
"Finn? Who are you staring at?"
He didn't move or say anything for a few seconds, so Rory followed his gaze.
"Isn't that Sam?"
Finn nodded still unable to speak. Outside, his ex-wife was still kissing a man passionately.
"She's with the lawyer she dumped me for. She looks weird, doesn't she?"
"Well, I can't see her very well" Rory couldn't say that Sam actually just looked in love. Finally, the blonde and her new boyfriend walked away, but Finn was still staring into space.
"Finn, are you sure you're okay?" Rory asked worried.
"Oh! I'm fine. Look it had to happen at some point, in a city of more than eight million people you're bound to run into your ex-wife. So, it was meant to happen, and now I'm fine."
Rory could see Finn was upset but she refrained from saying anything sensing he wasn't ready to talk about it. She felt bad for him. At least, James didn't leave her for somebody. She finally put her hand on Finn's arm.
"She has moved on Finn, you should do the same" Rory said softly.
"If it is that easy why don't you do it" Finn snapped at her. She was caught by surprise by his strong reaction.
"Hey! You don't have to take your anger out on me," she replied a little hurt.
"Don't you ever get upset about anything?" he asked with an interrogative gaze.
"Of course, but I don't take it out on other people"
"Really? And do you ever get upset about James?"
She shook her head.
"How is that possible? Don't you experience any feelings of loss?" Finn pried.
"I told you I was over him" Rory reacted loudly.
"If you're so over James, why aren't you seeing anyone?"
"I see people! And I don't have to take this crap from you!" Rory retorted.
"Have you slept with anyone since you broke up with James?" he asked with a crooked smile.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Rory replied clearly upset now. "Do you really think that fucking somebody would prove that I'm over James? Because in that case Finn, you will have to move to another state because you've slept with every fuckable women in New York and I don't see that that's turned Samantha into a faint memory for you! Besides I will make love to somebody when it is 'making love', not the way you do it like you're out for revenge or something!"
"Are you done now?" Finn asked sternly.
"Yes." She said in an irritating tone.
"Can I say something now?" Finn asked in a calmer voice.
"Yes"
"I'm sorry, love" He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.
After that episode, they went back to their usual selves. Rory with Julian, Finn with Mary and some other ladies. Jess and Carolyn got engaged which made Rory truly happy. Finn on the other hand was still a little crabby, nevertheless deep down he was also thrilled for his friend.
A few days later, Finn was in bed, finishing a book when his phone went off. He smiled when he saw the caller ID.
"Hello love"
"Are you alone?" Rory whispered.
"Yeah I just finished my book."
"Could you come over?" she asked barely loud enough for him to hear.
"What's the matter?" Finn straightened in his bed beginning to wonder what was wrong.
"He's getting married."
"Who?" Finn, now concerned.
"James"
"I'll be right there." Finn jumped out of bed and twenty minutes later he was buzzing at her intercom. Rory opened the door covered in tears.
"Hi" she greeted him letting him in. She was wearing a pink robe, her eyes red.
"Are you alright?" Finn asked worried.
"I'm sorry to call you so late" she couldn't look at him.
"It's alright" he answered trying to catch her gaze. She blew her nose loudly.
"I need a Kleenex" and she walked to her bedroom with Finn at her heels and he held the tissue box. She paced in the room weeping.
"He just called me up, saying he wanted to see how I was. Blah, blah, blah. And I was sitting on the phone thinking, I was over him, I really was over him, I couldn't believe that I'd ever be remotely interested in any of his small talk. And then he said 'I have some news'. She's an intern at the office, her name is Kimberley." Rory sobbed and couldn't talk for a while.
"He just met her. She's supposed to be his rebound girl, she's not supposed to be the one. All this time I've been saying that he didn't want to live with anybody, not just me, but the truth is, he didn't want me. He didn't love me." She then burst into tears and sat on the bed next to him.
"If you could take him back right now, would you?"
Rory raised her eyes to Finn.
"No, but why didn't he want to live with me? What's the matter with me?"
"Aw, nothing love," he pulled her to him.
"I'm difficult"
"You're challenging," he retorted.
"I'm a control freak, I'm completely closed off," she continued.
"But in such a good way," he replied still holding her.
"No, no, no, I drove him away, and I'm going to be forty and an old maid"
"Never and you still have more than ten years love"
"But it's there. It's just sitting there like this big dead end. And it's not the same for men. Charlie Chaplin had babies when he was seventy-three."
"Yeah, but he was too old to pick them up."
Rory laughed a little, then turned into sobbing again.
"Come here love, it's going to be fine. You'll see."
He hugged her letting Rory sniffle all over his sweater.
"Oh! Go ahead, it's not one of my favorite anyway. It's going to be okay. You're okay?"
She looked so fragile he didn't know what to do. He so wanted her to feel better because he couldn't bear watching her hurting like that. Then running out of words, he kissed her forehead.
"I'll go make you some coffee" he started to get up when she looked at him.
"Finn, could you just hold me a little longer?" she pleaded with her doe eyes and he was sent to mush. He lowered his head again, but this time he reached her lips. They were salty at first, but so soft and surprisingly demanding. He delicately run his tongue between them when she offered him entrance. They deepened the kiss while she reached the back of his head and gently raked his hair with her fingers and moaned into him. All the reservations he was feeling because she was vulnerable just lifted when she arched to get closer to him. His hands were roaming on her back and he became mesmerized by her intoxicating scent, the softness of her skin, her helplessness. He gently pushed her down on the bed and decided to show her the only way he knew how to make a woman feel better. He took his time to be the sweetest lover that this amazing woman deserved. Rory progressively let herself dive into the sensations he was generating in her. She more than appreciated his gentleness and all the distress that she had felt few moments earlier shifted to liberating carnal vibrations.
After this exquisite moment, Rory was ecstatic, but it dawned on Finn that what they just had would definitively change their relationship and it scared him to death. While Rory was wearing a huge beam, Finn was staring blank straight in front of him.
"Are you comfortable?" Rory asked him softly, her head on this chest, not noticing his concern.
"Sure" Finn answered still scared to look at her.
"Do you want something to drink or anything else?" she cheerfully proposed.
"No, I'm fine" he answered still in a state of shock.
"Well, I'm going to get up for some water so it's really no trouble you know"
"Okay, water then"
While Rory was in the kitchen, Finn scanned her room while wondering what he should do. He knew he couldn't just bolt as he used to with the other women he hooked up with. But on the other hand, he really didn't know how to behave and was fearing a panic attack. Rory came back and handed him a glass of water.
"Do you want to watch a movie?"
"No, not unless you do"
"No, that's okay," she answered still smiling at him while snuggling back into bed.
"Do you want to go to sleep?"
"Okay" he replied still paralyzed by the situation.
The next morning Rory opened her eyes and saw Finn putting on his clothes about to leave.
"Where are you going?" she asked surprised.
"I got to go home, I have to change my clothes before going to work and so do you. But after work I'd like to take you out to dinner if you're free" He didn't even know if he actually wanted to do that, but he felt he had to say something like that, that it was expected of.
"Yes" she smiled at him. She couldn't believe the sensation of wellness that was flushing into her. Just a few hours ago, she was depressed but Finn had succeeded to cheer her up by just being the perfect lover. It wasn't just how good he was under the sheets, it was how safe she'd felt held by his strong arms.
"I'll call you later then," he bent to kiss her on the forehead.
"Fine."
He turned around and left while Rory stayed in bed watching him walk out. The night before kept coming back to her in flashes as she was still lying in bed. His eyes caressing her body. The softness of his lips on hers. The weight of his head buried into her shoulder when he couldn't hold back any longer. She definitely hadn't expected this intimate end up, but it happened and she didn't have any regrets. Therefore, she was perky and relaxed when she sat in front of him at the restaurant. Nevertheless, when she gazed at him beaming, she immediately felt that he wasn't reciprocating her cheerfulness. She suddenly felt uneasy and began to fear that maybe he wasn't reciprocating her feelings.
"Rory, I'm not saying last night wasn't great, but I think we made a mistake" Finn said carefully.
"You do?" She felt like all the joy she had felt that day had been sucked out of her in a second.
"I'm not saying it didn't mean anything. I just think that we have to be honest and see that it was just two friends that needed some cheering up. I don't understand why does it have to mean anything?"
"Because it does! And you should know that better than anybody because the minute that it happened you walked away!"
"I didn't walk out," he denied.
"No, you're right, ran is a better word," she replied coldly.
"Then we both agree it was a mistake"
"The worst mistake I've ever made!" She yelled at him
"Love, what do you want from me?"
"I don't want anything from you! And stop calling me that, or any other pet name, I'm not your love!"
"Fine. Fine, but let's just get one thing straight. I did not go over there yesterday to make love to you, that is not why I came. But you looked up at me with these big teary bambi eyes, don't go home Finn, hold me a little longer Finn. What was I supposed to do?"
"What are you saying, you took pity on me?" her eyes widened.
"No! I was..."
"Fuck you Finn! Go to hell!" and she stormed out of the restaurant.
He was so…infuriating! Well actually she was angry with herself for being just another brainless chick having fallen for this ungodly handsome man and his Aussie charm, his drop-dead smile, his unique sense of humor. She couldn't believe that in just a single day she had learned that the guy she had dated for more than three years didn't find that she was marriage material and that she had joined Finn's hook up club. Was she only good enough to be a bedding buddy?
In the morning, Rory woke up and swore that she was done with men. At the office, she went directly to the chief editor and asked him to be based overseas again. In less than a week, she had moved to Beirut.
Finn was lost. What was happening to him? He always had thought that women were easy to understand or at least to charm the pants off of them. He never had any problem to get what he wanted from them. But then he met Samantha, was head over heels for her and she left him for a tax attorney. For the first time, that he had loved a woman, she had broken his heart in a billion pieces. Then he became friends with Rory, and he thought that this time he was safe. They had this incredible connection and everything was just great, but he had to screw this up and pull out his dick. He cursed himself. It took him about a month between talks with Carolyn, Logan, Colin and Steph to come out with the conclusion that the only way to go back to normal was to apologize to Rory. When he finally got the nerves to call her, he found out that both her landline and her cell line were disconnected. He tried her work but they told him that she was no longer working at the New York office. He begged Jess who had promised Rory not to give him her cell number. Nevertheless, he took pity of the man and told him that she'd left for Beirut and suggested him to write to her. After a thousand of unanswered emails, Finn finally gave up and went back to his regular life
October 2015
After fifteen hours straight of outpatient consultations in the Azaz district of Aleppo in Syria, Finn finally got the opportunity to lay down on a cot. The Syrian army airstrikes had killed at least 70 people, most of them civilians. Even with the bombing, he was so exhausted that he could still find some sleep. It was his second mission for Doctors without Borders and despite the danger, he almost felt like home. Since his first assignment, the city was almost totally destroyed and healthcare had been pared back to the basics. After he got his attending position at NYU, he'd managed to be allowed at least three months a year with this humanitarian organization.
Rory had left Damascus where she had stayed for two weeks and was planning to report from Aleppo before going back to Beirut. She had met people from Doctors without Borders who had convinced her to show how the Syrian Army was killing its own citizen.
"Rory, let me find my American colleague, it's his second mission here, he will be able to tell you how dramatically things are degrading here" She watched him reach the corner of the room where a man was sleeping and she wondered how he was able to find some rest with all the bombing. The man woke up from his slumber and sat on his clot. He was tanned with a dark stubble and wore jeans and a button-down shirt that probably used to be white. When he stood and walked in her direction, she suddenly recognized his gait and stared at him awestruck.
"Finn?"
"Rory?" he couldn't believe his eyes. They hugged each other tight.
"What are you doing here? Are you following me?" She teased, but she was actually happy to see him. "How long have you been here?"
"About a month, I should be back in New York in December. How have you been, still in Beirut?"
"Yes, but I'm heading back to the City for good in two weeks. They offered me to be editor of the International Desk."
"Congratulations, Rory. So, I was told you wanted to report on our work here?"
"Your colleagues convinced me to meet you because they said that your team is doing an amazing job for the civilians here, but I didn't know they were talking about you."
"Disappointed?" He raised an eyebrow. She cursed herself. Despite the time passed and dramatic situation, she was still finding him charming as hell.
"Absolutely not, just surprised."
They spent the day together and she was impressed by what these humanitarian workers could accomplish in those terrible conditions. Slowly, the memory of her friendship with him was coming back, but it also dawned her that he had obviously changed. He didn't seem as carefree as she remembered, but it was probably not the best place to be. It was an understatement to say that Finn was disconcerted. Since he had lost her, he had moved on to a new life, free of her, and there she was, unexpected, right in the midst of the Syrian tragedy.
Finn got back to the city mid-December. Since his unforeseen encounter with Rory, he had a lot to think about and came to the conclusion that he had to have her back in his life. During the two years that she had disappeared, he had tried different ways to adjust. He had experienced the workaholic way, the womanizer style, dating and even abstinence which was definitely very new to him. Each time it helped him to forget about her at the beginning, but after a while, he was always ending up missing her. First, he tried to call her at the New York Times but she was never available or on location. Then he tried to get her new number from Carolyn and Jess who were tired of his persistence and gave up. They had a baby now and were fed up of his childish behavior. Anyway, it didn't help that much, as all his calls were sent to voicemail. He left dozens of messages, each time fighting hard his way to her heart.
"Hi, it's Finn. It's the holiday season, you know the season for charity and forgiveness. And although it's not commonly known, it is also the groveling season. So, if you feel like it, call me back, I'd be more than happy to do the traditional Christmas grovel. Give me a call."
"Rory, please pick up the phone, I really wish I could talk to you. The fact that you're not answering leads me to believe that you're
a) awfully busy
b) not busy, but don't want to talk to me. Or
c) home, desperately wanting to talk to me, but trapped under something heavy. If it's either
a) or c) please call me back."
That evening, she finally picked up.
"Hi Rory, it's Finn"
"Hi," she stayed silent. Finn gulped and understood he had to do all the talking.
"What are you doing for New Years? Are you going to the Vanderbilt's party? Because I don't have a date, and if you don't have a date, we always said that if neither one of us had a date, we could be together for New Years. And we... could... you know... Why don't... »
"I can't do this anymore Finn, I am not your consolation prize. Goodbye, stop calling me" She ended the call and buried herself under her comforter.
Finally, on New Year's Eve, Finn stayed home drinking alone watching TV. Rory had been dragged to a party by Jess and Carolyn. They were her only friends in the City and it was their first night out since the baby. She wasn't in the mood for partying but at some point, she knew she had to get back out there, meet new people because she was going to live in New York for a while now. Without telling her, Carolyn had tried to convince Finn to join them as well, but he was hurting and didn't think it was such a good idea to ambush her.
She felt awkward at the party. Everybody was tipsy, happy. She only wanted to slip under her comforter and watch a movie drinking hot chocolate with a lot of marshmallows, but instead, she was wearing heels that were killing her feet and dancing with a guy that had put on too much musk. Finally, around 11:30, she kissed Jess and Carolyn and decided to go home. When she walked out of the building, she saw Finn arriving, puffing, obviously looking for the party. For a second, she wondered how to hide from him but it was too late, he had spotted her and was going straight to her. He stood just in front of her making sure she would listen to him.
"Rory, I've been doing a lot of thinking since Syria, and the thing is, I love you." Finn said staring straight in Rory's eyes
"What?" her eyes widened as big as saucers.
"I fell in love with you." Finn repeated firmly.
"How do you expect me to react to this?" Rory answered upset.
"How about 'I love you too'?" He raised an eyebrow.
"How about 'you're delusional Finn'." She then broke eye contact and started to walk away from him.
"Doesn't what I said mean anything to you?" Finn asked raising his voice to make sure she could hear him. Rory halted but didn't turn around.
"I'm sorry Finn, I know it's New Year's Eve, I know you're feeling lonely, but you just can't show up here, tell me you love me and expect that to make everything alright. It doesn't work this way. Go find your usual hook ups and leave me alone"
Her voice was trembling, she was trying hard to keep her composure. She couldn't believe his nerves. Burst like that and throw at her face that he loved her after all these years. Did he know how late he was? She had sworn to herself so many times that she was over him. All this time in Beirut alone in her room hoping that she wouldn't dream of him.
"Just like that? A guy tells you he loves you and you just shove him under the rug?"
"You're not just a guy Finn, I'm sure you can handle a rejection"
"Well how about this: I love that you can drink gallons of coffee a day, I love that you smell books in every library or bookstore, I love that when you read you're oblivious to everything around you, I love that your gaze sends me to mush every time you look at me, I love that after I spend a day with you I can still smell your perfume on my clothes and I love that you are the first person I want to talk to when I wake up in the morning and the last before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want to start the New Year with her"
Rory had turned around in the middle of Finn's rant and all the feelings that she had tried so hard to discard were flying back in her head.
"You see, that is just you Finn. You say things like that and you make it impossible for me to hate you. And I hate you Finn... I hate you so much, you make my life impossible."
Tears were filling Rory's eyes with intense emotion and she looked up at him, fidgeting, and immediately gazing down trying to avoid his sparkling blue gaze.
"Get over here" he told her with his low husky voice, softly grinning. After all those years dancing around each other, he finally felt they were in the same place. Still, she just locked eyes with him without moving. He gave her a stern look and started to frown his eyebrows which made her smile and stepped up to him. Finn wiped away her tears with his thumb and lowered his lips to hers while she put her arms around his neck. He then embraced her waist to pull her closer to him and brushed her mouth gently to finally kiss her lovingly.