Chapter 12: My heart is the worst kind of weapon

Rory left her "lunch" with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Finn's sister was… Scary, if not downright mean. Stephanie definitely hadn't been lying. Rory hadn't even dared to order anything in fear off Ryder might poisoning her food! Their meeting had ended with Ryder presenting Rory with legal papers, she just happened to be carrying around, saying that Rory would grant Finn full visitations rights and that they would work out a schedule for the holidays and when Daniel could visit Finn in Australia. It had made Rory's head spin just thinking about it.

It didn't help her aching headache that she had to stop by work on her way home, where her mother would surely be waiting for her. She hadn't been spending very much time with Daniel this week, which was making her feel guilty, but she would just have to make up for that the next week, when she wasn't dealing with hangovers and Finn's evil twin sister and Stephanie's wedding and her feelings for Finn… By the time Rory made it to her work, she was seriously regretting even getting up that morning.

"OMG Rory you dirty minx" Lisa, one of Rory's colleagues (and not her favourite) said with a wicked smile.

Rory just gave her weak smile and continued towards her own floor. In the elevator several people gave her weird looks and she was starting to feel really uncomfortable. By the time she reached her own floor she was blushing. "Caroline, what is going on" she whispered, as she met one of the colleagues she got on with.

"Oh, yeah… Um, this is really embarrassing, but Lisa saw the pictures on the net of you and that guy, Finn Morgan, and she sent them around the whole office. And um… George is kinda upset, because he's been trying to an interview with him, and now he thinks it's a no-go" Caroline explained. "What happened, how do you even know the guy? Isn't he like the Australian Paris Hilton?"

"I went to Yale with him, some of our mutual friends are getting married tomorrow. It was just a stupid mistake" Rory said. "Have everyone seen the pictures?"

Caroline nodded. "I'm sorry, Rory. George wants to see you and be warned, the dark lord is in there too."

"Mitchum Huntzberger" Rory asked, suddenly feeling a little faint.

"Yeah… Good luck."

Rory swallowed and nodded, she would need that. She took a deep breath and knocked on George's door, before entering. "You wanted to see me" she said in a small tone.

"Yes, please sit down" George said and Rory noted that he sounded a little nervous as well. Maybe it had something to do with the tall figure standing with his back to them, looking out the window. She almost felt like snorting at the cliché-like pose he struck.

"What's this about?"

"I think you already know, Miss Gilmore" Mitchum said and turned around. "I trust that you are well?"

Rory didn't answer the question, she just gave George a look. "Obviously we can't tell you how to handle your personal life, Rory, but you must understand that this reflects badly on us" he said. "I've been trying to land an interview with him ever since I found out he's in the city and this…" George sighed. "His lawyer has already contacted all the major media outlets, banning them from publishing the pictures, they're being removed from the Internet as we speak."

Rory was pretty impressed by that; Ryder must be the most efficient woman in the world. "If they're being removed and not published in our paper, I don't see the problem" Rory argued feebly. She really wanted to keep her job, but getting scolded by your boss, in front of the über-boss, because you got drunk at a private party was definitely not her idea of fun.

"Rory, we all know Finn has had some trouble in the past" Mitchum started, and again she had to refrain from snorting. Yeah, Finn had a pretty wild past, but there was a reason for that. She wondered how Mitchum explained his own son's troubled past. "It's likely he will return to Australia because of this and then we haven't gotten the interview."

"Couldn't you just have Logan ask him" Rory asked. It kinda made sense, Finn and Logan were friends, Finn would probably do the interview if Logan asked.

"Both Logan and I have talked to Finn, well actually, I had the great misfortune of talking to that endearing sister of his, but the answer was the same; he doesn't want to" Mitchum said.

Rory briefly imagined how a conversation between Mitchum and Ryder would have looked like, she almost hoped Ryder had made him cry. "Oh, well… Then that's it, I suppose."

"Are you good friends with Finn" Mitchum asked, and a smile crept up his face and made him resemble a shark again,

Rory shrugged. "It's not like we have sleepovers and braid each other's hair" she muttered. "If he said no to Logan, he's gonna say no to me."

Both George and Mitchum seemed to mull that over. "Well, next time you see him, bring it up, try to persuade him. He seems to like you" Mitchum said, still smiling, and left the office.

Rory and George were left staring at each other. "Something you want to tell me, Rory" George asked with a knowing look. "I promise it won't leave this room."

Rory thought it over. Should she tell George the truth, maybe just some of it? "I um… had kinda a thing with Finn, back at Yale. I think we just got carried away last night. He's engaged, so…"

George just nodded. "You're off the hook until Tuesday, then I want that story about the councilmen."

Rory nodded and left the office, hoping her legs wouldn't suddenly turn to jelly from all the stress and tension.


"Miss Vanderbildt, Mr. Morgan is here to see you" one of Stephanie's mother's many maids announced.

"Hey Finn, what are you doing here" Stephanie asked.

"Needed to clear my head a bit, love. What are you doing?"

Stephanie looked at the cakes in front of her. "Eating…"

"You haven't ordered your wedding cake yet? You do know you're getting married tomorrow, right" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow. He was by no means an expert on weddings, but he was pretty sure Jane had already ordered theirs. They might need to cancel that now, he thought. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"No, we have, but because I couldn't decide I ordered three. And I meant to decide sooner, but there always seemed to get something in the way" Stephanie complained. "Help me?"

"Sure" Finn said and sat down. He took a bite of the first cake. "Pretty good, but then again, I do like chocolate."

"If I got something on my dress my mom would take me out back and shoot me" Stephanie said. "You had fun last night? Saw the pictures…"

Finn sighed. "Who hasn't? Ryder is working on getting them removed right now."

Stephanie gave him an uneasy smile. "That sister of yours, such a busy bee, huh?"

"You do know Colin's allergic to coconut, right?" Finn eyed the second cake.

"Oh… I knew that…" Stephanie gave the cake a look. "How allergic?"

"Love, he's gonna swell up like a giant Colin sized balloon."

"Right, no coconut cake, got it" she said. "So, is there still gonna be a wedding in Sydney in three months?"

Finn sighed and rubbed his eyes. Hangovers and very important emotional talks really didn't mesh well. "I don't think so. She's really mad at me, as she should be."

Stephanie shrugged. "And if she forgives you?"

"I'll probably still have feelings for Rory" Finn admitted.

"Do you want to marry Jane?"

"I don't know."

"Do you want to be with Rory?"

"I don't know."

"This really sucks" Stephanie said and Finn definitely had to agree with her on that. "Have some more cake." They sat in silence for a little while, eating cake, until Stephanie couldn't contain herself anymore. "I don't think you should marry Jane!"

"And why is that?"

She sighed. "Because, Finn, she's just not the right one for you. And I'm not saying Rory is, but Jane? She's even more uptight than my mom, she calls you Finley, she doesn't surf, she hates being in the States, she doesn't understand that you have demons and that you'll probably always have them. And I don't think she'll ever be able to truly accept Daniel as a part of your life."

"I don't drink anymore" Finn mumbled, feeling a little embarrassed. He knew he had been out of control while attending Yale, his parents had tried to force him into rehab and counselling several times, but he had been too proud and too stupid to acknowledge that he had a problem. His father's sudden illness had been the breaking point and he had forced himself to change his life drastically.

"I know Finn, and I think it was amazing that you turned your life around on your own, but…" Stephanie wasn't sure how to say this without hurting him. "What happened to you when you were 16, the drinking, the partying… It doesn't just go away because you want it to. And I know you got completely trashed last night. And I don't think Jane can handle you when you're down. Rory can."

"You make it sound like I belong in a special home" Finn muttered.

"You know I love you, that's why I'm telling you this. Jane needs a boring husband whose idea of fun is scrabble! And you're anything but boring, Finn. And you deserve to be happy too, you deserve something great in your life! When was the last time you took out Jessica?"

"Hey guys, what are you doing" Colin asked.

"No, you can't see me" Stephanie yelled and shot up from her chair, holding her own eyes, like that would hide her from Colin, who looked a little concerned. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!"

"Honey, you're wearing pink snoopy pants and a the Grateful Dead t-shirt. Unless you're planning on wearing that tomorrow, I think we're fine" Colin reasoned.

"Still" Stephanie yelled. "I already have my mother working against me, I don't need anymore bad luck." She promptly fled the room after that.

"You're a very lucky man, McRea" Finn said.

"Did you bring over cakes to freak her out? She hasn't eaten anything in two weeks" Colin said, taking Stephanie's seat.

"No, she hasn't decided on the cake yet."

"She did that last week, she probably just forgot. We're going with the chocolate-strawberry one. So, what are you doing here?"

"Just out for a walk, I'll be going now. I need to talk to Jane anyway" Finn said and stood up. "I guess I'll be seeing you tonight at the rehearsal dinner?"

"Which reminds me, my mother kindly asked me to ask you to not mention that incident in Thailand."

"Which means your mother will have me shot on sight if I talk about how you got arrested with a ladyboy" Finn snickered.

"I agree with my mother on this" Colin said coldly. "It's seven, don't be late, Steph is already freaking out."

"She's marrying you, I would be freaked out too" Finn yelled over his shoulder.

When Finn arrived back at his hotel room, Jane was sitting in the living room. "We need to talk."

Finn just nodded and gingerly sat down. He wasn't sure what to expect.

"Ryder is out threatening people with lawsuits" Jane answered Finn's unasked question. "I want to know why you kissed her."

"I can't tell you" Finn said. "I don't know why I did it."

"Are you gonna keep seeing her?"

"I have to, because of Daniel."

"Did you have feelings for her, when you went to Yale together?"

"Yes. I was in love with her."

"Are you still?"

"I don't know…"

"And what about me?"

"I love you, you know that. But… Rory is always going to be in my life now…"

"Yes, she's certainly made sure of that" Jane said in a sour tone.

"Jane, please don't bitch about this."

"You expect me to make friends with some woman who you apparently still have feelings for? How is that fair? I love you and I want to make a life with you and you're ruining everything right now."

"I'm sorry" he said in a small tone. "I wish I could tell you that it was over between me and Rory, that I'd never do this again and we'd be happy, but I can't."

Jane wiped away a tear. "It's not fair, what you're doing. You have to decide. If you choose me, I'll forgive you and this will be a thing of the past. Daniel can come and stay with us whenever he wants, but I don't ever want to see her ever again! And you'll only see her in regards to Daniel."

Finn nodded. It was only fair.


A/N: Okay, this got out kinda late. I've been really sick and then a friend borrowed me the Sookie Stackhouse books and I got kinda hooked on them and read three books in like three days. I'm sorry I neglected you all, I promise to be quicker with the next chapter (unless this evil flu kills me). A million thanks for the reviews, alerts and faves, I really really love them all and I hope you keep them coming.