Hello everyone! I have had so many of you asking for more, so here it is. I apologize for the time between the updates, but sometimes my characters are silent and I apologize for that. I hope that you like what I have for you today and I hope to get the next update out to you soon.
All rights go to those who own the content. I am just borrowing the characters.
Chapter 8
Outside of the hospital room
Finn and Mitchum sit in chairs on separate ends of the same row of chairs in contemplative silence. Donny had left the room over an hour before to take Rose in to see her mother. Over all Rose hadn't been fussing that much, but she refused to eat and the doctors thought it would be best for mother and daughter to be in the same space as each other. Since their little outburst and the doctor's statements about Rory's condition, the men had yet to speak to each other again. Finn stares into space thinking about all the statements he had made to Rory and hating himself for recanting them. He knew that now may not be the right time for them, but that it may be the only time for them. She couldn't have just been thrown back into his life for no reason. He knows that he was wrong for arguing with Mitchum, but after all Mitchum was the one who had broken Rory all those years ago. He wonders what could have happened to cause Mitchum to turn his opinions around on Rory. Was Sally so much worse then he thought Rory was that it could create this relationship between them?
Mitchum sits staring down at his phone pondering and wondering about the future for Rory and Rose. He knew of the possibility of her being in danger from Sally from the stories he had heard about Tristan, but he never thought that she would get hurt. He is not even sure if this has anything to do with her connection to his son or if it was random. To his knowledge, Sally is still in London and Logan is now returning to her. He looks briefly over towards Finn and knows that he was being harsh to him about the situation. He just wants to protect both of the girls and he isn't sure if Finn being around would be best for either one of them. He believes that if Finn is around it may mean that Logan is pulled back into the picture of being near Rory and that could make Sally feel threatened. He also doesn't want Logan around Rory because he doesn't think that he would be a good match for her or a good father figure to Rose. Mitchum has come to realize the mistakes he made in his raising of Logan and he can see that Logan has taken the same traits he had when was that age. That is one of the things he regrets the most with Logan and Honor. In the past few months, he has been working harder to apologize to both of his children, but it has been much harder to do since Logan is in London and has been hiding away from both his parents to protect Sally from them. Mitchum finally stands up and moves to a chair across from Finn. He looks at Finn and says, "I'm sorry for what I said, Finn."
Finn looks up at Mitchum and says, "It's alright. You were right. When Rory walked away from Logan in New Hampshire, I stayed away from her because I had to stand by Logan's side in all of it. I should have never stayed away just because she was done being his side piece and I should have reached out. I was a horrible friend to her and while I haven't been there for her recently, I was before and I hope to be again."
Mitchum nods his head and says, "You were doing what you thought was right. I think the same could be said for many people in Rory's life."
Finn looks up at Mitchum and says, "I hate to ask this question, but I know back in college Shira and you were both so against Logan and Rory's relationship. I also know that you weren't overall Rory's best fan. What changed between then and now?"
Mitchum shakes his head as he had known that this question would be coming and he knew that he could fight the answering of it, but also he knew he needed to give this answer. He owed to Finn after his behavior earlier in the night. He looks at Finn again and says finally, "Yes indeed back when Rory and Logan were together, I was against them because I wasn't sure she would have the strength to carry the Huntzberger name and I thought he deserved someone better for a life partner. In the last couple of years and especially the last couple months, what has really changed is me and my perspective on life. I see who I was as a father raising both Logan and Honor and how much I followed in my father's footsteps. I regret so much that I did or didn't do and now I can see Logan following in my footsteps. I had ran into them before New Hampshire and I could tell something was going on then. I didn't find out about Rory's pregnancy until I called Logan after the broken engagement with Odette. I was upset and angry, he was a little drunk and he told me that Rory came to him telling him she was pregnant. He then told me how he pushed her away because he had fallen in love with this woman named Sally. I was stunned hearing all of this and hung up on him. After that day, I started to look into Rory's whereabouts. I was working hard to be covert about it because I didn't want anyone catching on to what I was checking out. I was amazed by the possibility of her carrying the Huntzberger heir and the fact she was not supported by any of us. I first checked her town and discovered she had been gone for months. One of the locals told me of a rumor that her mother and her had gotten into an argument over something and Rory hadn't been seen since then. I then moved on to looking more into Rory's background and discovered the biggest item of knowledge that I had missed about her, her father's identity. I had never realized that her father was Christopher Hayden and that she was connected to the Hayden family. I started thinking about what I knew about her and knew that no matter where she was hiding that she would never stop writing. I also knew if she had some falling out with her mother that she most likely would not be using her mother's last name, so I started using my contacts to see if anyone had a new hire named Rory Hayden working for them. Just by luck, I found out she was working at the paper here in town. I drove into town still not 100% sure what I was going to say to her, but I knew I had to be there for her. By the time I located her again, she was already about six months pregnant. I went to The Cool Place where I first met Donny and asked about her. He wasn't really wanting to give out much information on her, but ultimately while I was enjoying a lunch she entered the dinner looking for nourishment. She was shocked to see me and tried to leave without talking to me, but I convinced her to stay. I apologized to her about my son's behavior, apologized for my behavior prior to that, and just asked for a chance to be in her and my grandchild's life. She accepted my apologizes and gave me the chance. She showed me her ultrasound and told me the gender. She told me that because she didn't want to ruin Logan's relationship with Odette, she wasn't going to list him as the father or give her daughter his last name. In that moment I knew I had to tell her about Sally. I informed her that Logan was indeed not with Odette, but with a woman named Sally and had been for some while. By that time, I had done research on Sally and knew of her past with Tristan, so I warned Rory of the possibility of the threat. Over the last few month's I have gotten to know Rory much more then I ever got to know her then. I have realized some things I never understood about her that have helped change my mindset and helped improve how I am as a father figure to my children. The first thing I realized about her is that she is extremely strong. She fights for what she believes, fights to protect herself and her child and fights for those she cares dearest for. She ran away from the life she knew because she knew the life that her child would be living if she stayed in that environment. She told me about the stories her mother had told her of Emily's thoughts on Rory's life and lineage and could see the disdain that the Hayden's held for her because her mother not only had her and kept her, but she refused to marry her father. She also saw what it had done to her life with having an on again off again father and did not want that for her child. Coming to this town she has worked for everything she has gotten and her strength has helped build the connections she has made. In conversations with Donny, he always laments on how strong she is and how she has always done whatever is best for Rose no matter what anyone else thinks that she should do. Also, I have come to realize that it was not Rory who was not good enough for Logan, but Logan who is not good enough for Rory. Logan has always been so willing to hurt Rory and didn't want to give up his ways. Rory always was trying to do her best to make him happy and give him anything that would keep him there with her. Some may say she screwed up by getting back together when she knew he was in a relationship, but she always loved him and if given a chance wanted to be with him. Now she has realized how wrong that was of her to do and she is growing from it. Logan, on the other hand, couldn't keep it in his pants and as soon as Rory was done being the other woman he went out and found someone else to fill that role. I have been trying to avoid observing his relationship with Sally, so I am not sure if he has been faithful to her or not. Ultimately though, Rory is looking for a person to be her one and only. She is looking for a person who can love her, be faithful to her, be a strong father figure for her daughter, and ultimately someone who she can trust without fail. She doesn't talk about it, but I know she avoids interacting with men of a similar age to her. I believe this is because she isn't ready to enter the dating scene again and it is such a risk to bring anyone into her daughter's life. Overall, my thoughts on Rory in college were completely false and deluded, so I have been working for months on apologizing for them."
Finn stares at Mitchum and thinks over everything that he had just been told. He mulls over Mitchum's thoughts on why Rory and Logan were really not compatible. He could totally agree with what he was hearing. He knew that Logan had stepped out of his relationship with Honor's bridesmaids and he had never accepted Logan's excuse that they were on a break. He also knew of a possibility of a few other times that Logan may not have been faithful that Rory had never heard about to his knowledge. He also remembered how hard Rory had worked to become someone Logan would want for longer then a one night stand. She even tried to be a no strings relationship type of girl which was totally not her. She should never have tried to be someone that she wasn't. Finn ultimately knows that he fell in love with exactly who she was which was what Mitchum just told her and a whole lot more. Rory was a force to be reckoned with when their was something she wanted whether it be a story, a good grade, or a relationship. Also, he loves the way her eyes light up when she laughs hard and how it seems to release the stress from her. After thinking over what Mitchum had said about Rory and Logan's relationship, he starts to think about what he had said about Rory and how she has been handling relationships since everything with Logan blew up. In thinking about that he realizes that she let him in without fear to the life she was living and he wonders when she had done that last besides Mitchum or Donny. In that moment, he regrets rescinding his earlier statements because if this woman who had been so hurt by everyone she thought cared for her could be open and honest with him, then he should have been open and honest with her. He looks at Mitchum and says, "Thank you Mitchum for answering my question and letting me know all of that. I think I made a stupid mistake earlier."
Mitchum looks at him carefully and asks, "What do you mean, Finn?"
Finn looks back at Mitchum and says, "I have tried to avoid the knowledge of my feelings for years, but running into Rory here in this town and at this time made me realize how much I love her. I was always on the sidelines watching the idiotic things that Logan did to hurt her from all the times he cheated to that idiotic proposal at her graduation party. I never stepped up to stop him and I think I now know ultimately why I didn't. I fell in love with my best friends girl through comforting her during the times where she was unsure of what she should do with her future, keeping her company while Logan was in London, and ensuring that she always had a smile on her face. Her eyes just light up so bright with a smile on her face and I love seeing that. Ultimately, the mistake I made earlier was that when I went in with Rose to Rory's room, we were alone for a couple minutes and I confessed my love to her then. She was still processing what I had said and before I let her respond, I idiotically recanted everything I had told her."
Mitchum looks towards Finn stunned and then stands up and walks around slightly shaking his head. After a couple minutes he looks towards Finn and is about to respond when a doctor comes out to speak to them. The doctor looks at Mitchum and says, "Well, it seems that Rory is progressing and is stabilized, but we are still carefully observing her and monitoring the visitors that come to see her."
Finn takes a deep breath of relief in hearing that and Mitchum responds by stating, "That is good to hear. Do you know how long it maybe before we can see her?"
The doctor looks at him and carefully says, "If everything goes as we hopes and if your behavior stays calm, hopefully in an hour we will be able to get both of you into see her."
Mitchum nods his head and the doctor walks away. He then looks to Finn and says, "It was an idiotic move you made recanting your statements, but ultimately if you want to be honest with her and tell her truly how you feel I will help you."
In the hospital room
Since Rose had fallen asleep, Donny and I continued to talk over everything that had happened since I came to the town and I told him about my life growing up. He seemed to understand why I was so reluctant to let anyone help. At one point in time, he let me know that he needed to step out to call Clarisse and give her an update on my condition. I continued to carefully hold the sleeping Rose and quietly sung a lullaby to her. My brain keeps circling back to everything that had happened recently and I appreciate both how blessed my life has been and how lucky I have gotten. The nurses come in every ten minutes or so to check on Rose and I and watch my progress. I can at times feel their judgment in regards to my being a single mother, but overall they seem to be focused on their job of keeping me alive to continue raising my daughter.
Outside the hospital
Donny walks quickly out of the hospital and calls The Cool Place as he knows that Clarisse will be there taking care of their customers. He goes to tell her the update about Rory when she says, "Hey Donny, there's someone here asking about Rory. She says her name is Lorelai Gilmore and that she is Rory's mother. What do you think I should say?"
Author's Note: I hope that you liked this chapter. What did you think? What do you think is going to happen now that Lorelai is in town? Feel free to review, follow and favorite as you desire
