Chapter 12

Logan slammed his study door and sat down heavily in his chair when he arrived home. He took out his bottle of scotch and poured himself a double as he thought about what his life had become. He'd had it all with Rory. She had kept him in check, brought out the best in him, always believed in him. And then he had gone and screwed it up epically. He had pushed her out of his mind and focused solely on work and moving on, and that was easier when she was in an unknown location and completely out of his life, but now that she was tangentially back in his life through her relationship with one of his best friends it was remarkably harder.

He sighed as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out the pictures he had stashed in there so long ago and hadn't taken out in over a year. His London going away party. The jump off of the scaffolding at the LDB event. Events at the Gilmores' home. Christmas in London. Seeing her with him in all of those memories brought back the pain of losing her. He'd tried to mask the pain for a while with obscene amounts of booze and women, but both had made him even more painfully aware of her absence. Finally he had thrown himself headfirst into his work after returning to HPG just a few short months later. He had made work priority one and scarcely had a social life outside of work for months until his mother set him up with Stacey, and finally tired of fighting he had agreed to the date.

Stacey was a nice girl, but she lacked in the qualities that really mattered to Logan. He reached in another drawer and set out the engagement ring he had purchased for Stacey just yesterday, and he was suddenly struck by what his life had become. Somewhere along the way, he had begun to turn into his father. Here he was working insane hours, practically married to his job, and considering marrying a woman who would no doubt end up just like his mother. His life was on a precipice, and he realized with startling clarity that he had some major decisions to make regarding who he wanted to become in the future.

He clicked over to his work files to see where the Obama campaign reporters were now and knew what he had to do.

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Rory sighed as she kicked off her shoes and dropped heavily onto the bed in her hotel room in Detroit. They had just checked in, and she was exhausted. She opened her messenger bag and dialed her boyfriend.

"Kitten!" came Finn's excited voice.

"Hey, Finn! How was your afternoon?" Rory asked as she relaxed at the sound of his voice.

"It was fine. I went for a long run and I'm just relaxing at home now. You sound tired."

"I really am. There's something about being on that bus that is exhausting, not to mention dealing with Emily today," Rory chuckled.

"I can only imagine, love," Finn said with a laugh. "All checked in, I assume?"

"Yep, I just got in my room. I must say, it's missing a certain Aussie," Rory mused.

"And my apartment is missing a certain blue-eyed brunette," Finn said softly. "But we will get to spend this weekend together, so it's not all bad, right?"

"No, I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend."

"You seriously sound like you're about to fall asleep, darling. I'll let you get to bed."

"You're right, I am. I just wanted to talk to you," came Rory's sleepy reply.

"Call me when you get up in the morning and we'll talk then as well. And really, you can call me anytime. If I'm in a meeting I'll have my phone on silent, but otherwise I'm completely accessible to you, love."

"You're the best, Finn. Sleep well."

"You too, love. And hey, hop on Facebook when you get a chance," Finn replied. "Talk with you in the morning."

Rory hung up and grabbed her laptop out of her bag, booting it up and getting online. She opened Facebook in her browser and clicked on her notifications, and she smiled as she saw what was waiting on her. She quickly clicked to accept Finn's friend request and confirm their relationship and couldn't help but feel happy at the declaration that she was in a relationship with Finn Morgan. She clicked on his profile and lit up at the pictures that he had apparently just uploaded from their trip to the zoo. He had cropped a picture of the two of them smiling widely to toward the camera as he gave her a piggyback ride at the zoo and set it as his profile picture. She quickly swiped the photo for her own profile picture and looked through the rest of the photos from their day. She had to admit that she looked incredibly happy in all of them, happier than she had felt in a long time. She shared the pictures to her own profile and closed her laptop, cuddling up with a teddy bear that she could swore she'd seen in the hotel gift shop that Finn had apparently snuck into her suitcase at some point and drifting off to sleep with a smile on her face.

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Finn was on his laptop half an hour after hanging up with Rory and closed his work email after reviewing the latest staffing and budget reports. He opened Facebook in his browser and smiled broadly to himself at what greeted him. Not only had Rory confirmed their relationship online, she had also used one of the pictures from their trip to the zoo as her profile picture.

He happily closed his laptop and trudged off to the bedroom, stripping down to his boxers and falling into bed. He and Rory hadn't slept much the previous night and he was exhausted. He tossed and turned for the longest time, seemingly unable to get comfortable in his own bed. As he laid there unable to sleep, it suddenly occurred to him why sleep was evading him. Was it possible that after just under a week of sleeping next to Rory he had already grown so accustomed to having her there that he had trouble sleeping without her? This was certainly new territory. He finally drifted off to a restless sleep in the wee hours of the morning, acutely aware that his arms were empty for the first time in four nights.

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Rory awoke the next morning almost more tired than she had been before she went to bed. She had drifted to sleep easily, but she had subsequently tossed and turned and slept fitfully for most of the rest of the night. She just couldn't get comfortable, and she suddenly realized that she very much missed having Finn next to her. She picked up her phone and dialed the number that was quickly becoming familiar.

"Happy Sunday, kitten. Did you sleep well?" came Finn's soothing voice.

"Not as well as I needed to. Apparently I've already grown quite accustomed to sleeping next to my boyfriend, who sadly was not there," Rory said in a flirty tone.

"Thank God I'm not the only one, love," Finn chuckled. "I had the hardest time sleeping. Crazy to think that a week ago we hadn't seen each other in well over a year and now it's hard to sleep apart."

"It is crazy, but it's good, right?" Rory asked.

"It's very good, Ror. It's just a few days and I'll be there in Des Moines with you. We can sleep all weekend if you'd like."

"Mmm...as tempting as that is, I think I have other plans for you, Mr. Morgan," Rory said seductively.

"I do like the sound of that, Miss Gilmore. Care to enlighten me as to what these plans may entail?"

"Lots of time in bed, but very little sleep, Finn," Rory teased.

"I'll look forward to it, kitten. I'll talk with you later today, okay?"

"Sounds great, Finn. Enjoy your day," Rory replied as she ended the call.

Rory made coffee and showered, dressing in jeans and a casual shirt for a lazy Sunday. She checked her e-mail and laughed as she saw the notifications of Colin and Steph's comments on the pictures of she and Finn. It appeared that they were truly happy for their friend. Rory clicked over to her friend requests and stopped dead in her tracks. It appeared that the declaration of her relationship with Finn on Facebook had brought her out of the woodwork to their old Yale friends. She had friend requests from Steph and Colin, which she happily accepted, but she also had one from Logan. She hovered over the request for several minutes, trying to decide what to make out of it. Finally she closed her laptop, pulled on her tennis shoes, grabbed her phone and walked toward her door. She sent one quick text before she walked out the door.

Logan sent me a friend request on Facebook. This is weird, right? -R

In an instant she had her answer.

It's very weird, love. Don't let it worry you too much. Enjoy your day. I'll see if I can figure out what's going through his head right now. -F

Rory decided to carry on with her day as planned and walked to Kate and Laura's rooms to let them know that she was ready for their day on Des Moines. The three shared a love of books and coffee and, and they had plans to go to a couple of bookstores in the area. The friends headed out, grabbing coffee on the way, and walked the short distance to the first bookstore on their list.

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Finn quickly dialed Logan as quickly as he hit send on on his text to Rory only to get his voicemail. He left him a message asking him to call back and battled with himself for a minute, finally deciding to go over to Logan's and see what was going on. He had a very uneasy feeling about Logan seeking Rory out after the conversation they had the previous day.

Finn grabbed his keys and phone and hailed a taxi to Logan's apartment. He knocked and waited for several minutes and finally used his key to let himself in.

"Logan? Are you home, mate?" Finn yelled as he walked in the door.

There was no answer. Finn walked from room to room looking for Logan, finally ending in the study. When he finally walked in the study he found an almost empty glass next to an empty bottle of scotch, an engagement ring, and pictures of Logan and Rory fanned out on his desk. There sitting on a piece of paper in Logan's neat scrawl was "US Airways flight 2519 Des Moines".

"Shit!" Finn cursed to no one in particular.

Finn quickly dialed his other best mate.

"Colin? We have a problem. Meet me at the airstrip in an hour. Pack for a couple of days. Logan has flown to Des Moines."

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Rory, Kate and Laura were laughing as they got off the elevator on their floor at the hotel. They had spent the last few hours working their way through several bookstores. Rory stopped in her tracks as she approached to the door.

"Logan? What are you doing here?

Logan just stood there and looked at her wordlessly for a minute.

"Wait, is this THE Logan?" asked Kate.

"Yeah, one and the same," Rory replied. "And again I'll ask, Logan, what are you doing here?"

"Can we talk in private?" Logan asked her.

"Umm...I guess," Rory told Logan. "Kate, Laura, I'll catch up with you a little later, okay? This shouldn't take long."

Rory unlocked her door as the two girls walked down the hall and held the door open for Logan.

"You can come in, I guess. I don't know where else we could speak privately."

"Thank you, Ace."

Rory was surprised to find that the use of his old nickname for her didn't have the same effect that it had when they were dating.

"Sure. Now, care to fill me in on why you're standing in front of my hotel room door when I haven't seen you in almost a year and a half?" Rory asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just...I needed to see you," Logan said sheepishly.

"You suddenly needed to see me the day after you find out I'm seeing Finn?" Rory questioned.

"Yeah. I...are you happy, Rory?"

"Am I happy? What the hell kind of question is that? You fly to Des Moines after all this time to ask me if I'm happy, Logan?"

"Yes. Because you know what? I'm not happy. I haven't been happy since the day things ended between the two of us."

"You are seriously unbelievable, Logan! Sixteen damn months without a word from you and you're standing in front of me wanting to have this conversation now. What the hell happened?"

"I thought I had moved on, Rory, but I haven't. Hearing that you're dating Finn now and thinking about proposing to Stacey...I just couldn't. I have to know. We were good together, Rory."

"Logan, I've moved on. I'm in a relationship now, and yes, it's with your best friend. And you're about to propose to your girlfriend. What exactly were you hoping to accomplish here?"

Rory was practically yelling now, and neither realized that the lock on the door had disengaged and it had been cracked open.

"I want us again, Rory. I don't want to become my dad, and I don't want to marry someone because my parents think she makes a good match. I want more than that. We can have that together, Ace. I love you," Logan pleaded as he walked toward Rory.

Rory stepped backwards until she found the wall with her back as she answered.

"No, Logan! We can't have that together! I've moved on and put my life together. Yes, I loved you then, but I don't anymore. Even if I wasn't dating Finn we couldn't try again, but I am dating Finn, and I'm happy, Logan, really happy. God, he's going to be furious when he finds out about this stunt you've pulled!"

"He doesn't have to know," Logan started.

"Like hell he doesn't have to know, Logan! I'm not your girlfriend; I'm done covering for you," Rory yelled back.

Having heard enough, Finn opened the door the rest of the day and walked in the room followed by Colin. Logan's back was to his two friends and he was unaware of their entrance into the room, but Rory saw them instantly. She pushed past Logan and flew into Finn's arms, tears springing to her eyes, and Logan turning to watch her as she moved across the room.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Logan asked incredulously.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Finn asked angrily. "Considering this is my girlfriend's hotel room and she left word downstairs that I could have a room key when I arrived I don't really think I have much to explain, but I'll fill in the blanks for you, mate. After our conversation yesterday and finding out that you sought Rory out on Facebook I left you a voicemail and then went to your place to check on you. Obviously I didn't find you, but I did find the empty bottle of scotch, the pictures of you and Rory, an engagement ring, and flight information. It didn't take a genius to figure out you were coming to see her."

Finn turned his attention to Rory.

"Are you okay, kitten?" he asked as he pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Pissed off, but fine," Rory responded quietly. "Sorry, I cry when I'm angry or overwhelmed."

"You have nothing to apologize for, love," Finn said tenderly as he rubbed small circles on her back.

Finn then turned his attention to Logan.

"Mate, I think you should take a walk with Colin. I'll deal with you later; right now I'm going to spend some time with my girlfriend and make sure she really is alright," Finn said tersely.

Logan started to speak, but seeing the looks on the faces of his two best friends he decided against it and followed Colin out of the room wordlessly.

"I had no idea he was coming, Finn. I don't want to be with him," came Rory's meek voice after the door shut.

"I know, love," Finn said as he gathered Rory in his arms and sat down on the bed with her in his lap. "I heard enough to know that you told him in no uncertain terms that you guys were over. Did you get my text?"

"What text?"

"I texted you before we took off to let you know that I suspected he might be headed this way."

"Shit. No, my phone was in my purse and I didn't hear it. I'm sorry."

"Hey, look at me," Finn commanded as he tipped Rory's chin up so they were eye-to-eye. "You have nothing to apologize for, okay? You and I are good. I'm not even the littlest bit upset with you. I'm just glad that I could get here quickly and that you're okay."

"Thank you, baby," Rory said as she laid her head back down on his chest. "We are okay, Finn. This doesn't change anything for me. He's long in the past, and seeing him today just confirms that. As crazy as this sounds, this whole situation just makes me realize even more just how happy I am to be with you," Rory whispered.

"I'm glad to hear it, Ror. He's not going to change anything for us," Finn replied as they curled into each other, both finding their safe harbor in the storm in the other.