A/N: So I've been absent for a little while on this story simply because of lack of time to devote to it. But I need to work on some other creative works and going back to piece I've already done usually helps get my writing going. So hopefully there will be more of The L's Have It in the future. This piece will be finished one day. And also, in honor of the return of Gilmore Girls in the form of Netflix, I give you chapter 29. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GILMORE GIRLS.
The Huntzberger cabin on Martha's Vineyard was virtually the only one alive with the inner glow of a fire and smoke wafting from its chimney on the eve of 2009. Most other families who called the island home were away in warmer parts of the globe, but Rory and Logan couldn't think of a more remote or relaxing location for some much-needed reprieve.
"Yes, absolutely. Normally I'd have you come to our Connecticut offices, but it can be arranged for me to come see your set-up in person. I should have some time about a month from now, but after the holidays I'll have my secretary call you and make something official." Logan had been taking phone calls for an hour, unable to completely cut himself off from work. Rory didn't mind, as she needed to finish a feature piece she'd been working on and wanted some time to call Lorelai who was on her honeymoon in Hawaii.
Rory and Logan arrived in the living room simultaneously, done with what they promised was only one hour of necessary work correspondence.
"How's Lorelai?" Logan asked Rory, who curled under his arm as they got comfortable in front of the fire.
Rory smiled. "You can call her Mom, you know."
"I know but it sounds weird to me. I've only heard her referred to as 'Mom' when you're talking about her, or as Lorelai."
"She's good. They're good, really enjoying Hawaii. She says I have to go sometime."
Logan looked down at Rory, surprised. "You've never been?"
"No Mister Around the World in 80 Days. Some of us haven't been as fortunate in our traveling opportunities."
Logan smirked. "Next trip, we're going."
"Aren't we done with adventures for a little while?"
Logan's face darkened as the LDB's events of eight months ago replayed in his head. "Yeah. I guess we are." He took a deep breath. "Actually, I heard from the lawyer."
Rory sat up. "Why didn't you say anything? You've just been sitting on that this whole time?"
"He called me half an hour ago, so not exactly. I didn't want to dampen the mood."
Rory's heart sped up. "What happened?"
Logan took a sip of his scotch. "You're not going to believe this but…the Vogels dropped the suit. The trial's been on a hiatus for the holidays so it was supposed to wrap up on the third, but they came to some kind of agreement so we're off the hook."
Rory closed her eyes, trying to comprehend what it would be like without the loss of their reputations and friendships hanging in the balance of a terrible lawsuit, trying to remember what it had been like almost a year ago, before Mexico was just another exciting adventure for a group of friends instead of what it had become. "What's the damage?"
Logan grimaced as he took another gulp of his drink.
Rory scowled at the speed with which Logan was consuming alcohol, but didn't say anything. Who was she to deny him simple pleasures as long as they were only on occasion?
"No damage. Colin went over to their house two days ago with the lawyer and made some kind of impassioned plea. It seems that they were bringing the suit only so they could make enough money to provide long-term care for Stephanie at some facility, without having to dip into their own fortune. I mean, pretty sweet deal for them when they're up against some of the richest families in Hartford, right? So Colin goes over there and explains how even if we lose the suit, he's not going anywhere, and how he's going to care for Stephanie no matter how much the Vogels take from us and how he won't be leaving her to rot in some place without her friends or family. It took a lot of persuading and probably even some crying on Stephanie and Colin's part, but her parents signed over to Colin the right to care for Stephanie in any way he sees fit on the conditions that he marry her and that they don't live in Hartford. Apparently Stephanie's parents are having trouble seeing how she has a future being 'damaged goods' and all, but they think that at least in Colin's hands she'll be okay, and being out of Hartford will mean she won't be subjugated to the pity of the community."
Rory's mouth hung agape. "That sounds…surprisingly civil. And like her parents want to do the right thing by her is some strangely callous way. Wow, this is such a relief to just be able to go back to normal and…did you call Finn? I don't even know what time it is in Australia but he has to know."
Logan sipped his drink. "No." His attention was turned to the snow falling outside the window.
"Logan," Rory cautioned. She turned his head to face her; he wouldn't look willingly. "What's going on with you? We just got fantastic news, you just got free license to be with your friends again without having to worry if we're jeopardizing a lawsuit, and you're acting like somebody died."
Logan pressed his lips together. "Before the lawyer called me I was giving it a lot of thought. I think…I think we need a break from Colin and Finn. From the whole LDB, from the people that are tying us to the college-aged parts of ourselves that we should be getting over at this point. I just talked to a woman from Pennsylvania who owns a small media company. She asked if I could come see her offices, and even though I'll probably be negotiating a buyout deal with her, I realized that I want to go. The meeting's in February right around Valentine's Day when we usually get everyone together for a ski trip, and I want to be in Pennsylvania growing my business."
It pained Logan even as he said it—Rory could see it ingrained in the lines in his forehead. "Logan—I am so happy that your company is your priority. You're amazing at what you do, and I know you get such a rush from running the kind of business you always knew Huntzbergers could run. But you're not Logan Huntzberger without Colin and Finn. I know you guys like to goof around, but all you're doing is blowing off the steam from the pressure cooker you're all in what with your last names and important business pursuits weighing you down since, what, the age of ten? You think they won't still want to be friends with you if you have an honest conversation with them about what needs to change, even if you really want to cut the LDB out of the equation?"
Logan took Rory's hand in his own. "Rory, I appreciate how you're trying to rationalize this, but it's more than me. I'm not saying I'm going to cut off all communication with them, but I think a little break from the face-to-face interactions will be good. I have to think about keeping you, my wife, safe—from physical harm with the LDB, and from the press attention that comes when I step out the front door, let alone organize a trip that almost killed three people. I think my having a conversation with Colin and Finn will be taken the wrong way, in the exact way I don't mean it, and that they need to come to a few realizations on their own before we get the group together again. Colin's going to have his hands full until Stephanie is back to herself, and Finn's been in Australia for, what, six months now? It's not like we're not already growing apart, and these last eight months have gone beyond what I ever could have imagined in terms of stress. And it's more important for me to be building my reputation as a socially conscious businessman as opposed to the perpetual frat star Huntzberger heir. It's more important that I be spending time with you instead of figuring out my next stunt. By all means please still be friends with Steph and Rosaline and the girls from the LDB. But I need this. For me and for us."
Rory always had words, but not now. How could she argue with what Logan thought he needed to do for himself? She couldn't. She couldn't do anything except offer her support and be there for him if he ever faltered. She leaned over and kissed him, deeply. Deep enough so that he would know she'd always be there, no matter what he was going through. They would go through it together.
He responded warmly and passionately, grabbing the back of her head and twisting his fingers through her hair, pressing her lips against his, trying to bond their love even stronger.
"If you say you need this then all I can do is support you. But this is going to be really hard for you," Rory said when she broke away.
All Logan could do was nod. "I know."
Rory gave her husband a weak smile, already feeling his anguish. "I'm here, okay? Don't push me out. The suit might be over, but the attention's not. For one thing, I know my grandparents won't be speaking to the Vogels for a very long time, if ever, so that's going to make some Hartford headlines. Talk to me when you're feeling low, when you're having a hard day, when you need a memory from Yale to cheer you up. I was there for a lot of it."
Logan looked at Rory, feeling her earnest love for him in that moment and wishing he could return it to her ten-fold. He didn't know what he had done to deserve Rory. A rare string of good decisions and some really dumb luck, he thought. "I love you."
"I love you, too. To a better year," she said raising her glass of champagne that she'd been sipping.
"To a better year," he echoed, clinking their glasses together and settling in for a romantic evening.
