A/N: I've been blessed with some awesome, top-notch reviews and readers! Glad you liked it and thrilled are still with me. Just a quick note to clear something - of course Mitchum knows who Rory is. He's Mitchum Huntzberger trust him to vet her. But he wanted his son to tell him.
Okay, so if you haven't been re-reading, you might want to refresh your memory on chap. 2, 5, 13. It's time to start closing threads. This chapter is packed with musical references. Some are very carefully hidden. I might post the list it later in a review entry for his chapter.
September 2013
Seattle
His phone rings just as his muddy hiking boots enter the apartment late Sunday evening. Logan dropped his camping gear on the floor next to the door.
Colin.
"Ah! He answers. I've been trying to catch you all weekend. What's up?"
Logan stepped out of his shoes and flopped down on the couch.
"Nothing much," Logan knew Colin was fishing for particular information and opted for the diplomatic answer. It wasn't untrue, anyway. "Gone camping with Ben. I just got back."
He had to get out of the city.
"How's Rory?"
"Not pregnant."
It's been months, and nothing was happening. Logan tried to hide his disappointment better since his less than stellar reaction at the Zoo. Before Rory, when a cycle failed, saying 'Okay, next' was a piece of cake.
Rory, he suspected, was extremely relieved when the next cycles failed.
"That's all you have to say?"
"Pretty much."
Apart to Monday dinners with color-coded files, quizzes, and medical jargon communication.
The relative comfortableness they seemed to achieve in New York vaporized in a heartbeat. They got lost in translation. He tried to broach the subject and neutralize it. Rory shot him down with a 'wrinkle in time'.
It cuts like the knife. He offered her an unbiased glimpse of his world, and she rejected it.
He didn't want to tell Colin. Colin will gloat. Ben did, and Colin was much better at gloating than Ben.
"New York spooked her, didn't it?"
Logan rubbed his face tiredly. It would have better if she would just freeze him out like Chelsea used to do. But no, Rory accommodated him from a safe distance - Keeping it strictly business.
Each time and she did it every time, she said they were business partners irked him.
Logan was more concerned about fixing Seattle first. New York and its implications could wait. He knew he fucked up in New York. He was under-equipped to contain the negative news, her emotions, and the Huntzberger's power-play at the same time.
"Are you coming to see Finn anytime soon?" His friend continued to ask cautiously, "Please give me an answer longer than two words at a time."
"Stop pestering me, Colin."
Finn's happy ever after was a too bitter pill to swallow.
"Four words, that makes a sentence. We're making progress."
~w~
Seattle was beautiful in Autumn.
September signaled the end of a successful summer with a selection of short film projects coming Rory's way - thanks to Chip. She met the producer upon returning from New York's baptism of fire. He took her under his wing professionally, giving her the first refusal for projects he was involved with.
Projects she got paid for.
Rory liked hanging behind the scenes. She loves the ability to look at a scene out of context.
Explore it as a stand-alone.
On Friday, Chip asked her out. They went out for late-night drinks the very same day.
Chip was a great conversationalist. He was funny. They shared interests. He told her stories about movie sets he worked on, crazy directors, actors with diva attitude, and life in general. She told him about hers.
So different to Mondays with Logan. With Logan, talking about work was first - off-limits; Second – Logan kept the cards close to his chest. Only answering when asked. And even then, more often than not, he answered questions with a question, or a smart come back. Third – he always alluded his true intentions peppering her with film trivia and riddles.
Mondays left Rory dazzled.
The next night, Saturday, Chip suggested a stand-up comedy club he wanted to check for a while. It was awesome fun.
Monday's dinners weren't fun. They were excruciating, that was partly her fault.
On Sunday, Rory spontaneously met up with Chip for casual drinks again. They flirted heavily; Chip didn't shy away from PDAs. He was at ease with the camera, making goody faces. It was easy.
Mondays sometimes felt like the 'no touching' rules in Seattle were re-instated.
x
Now, it was Monday afternoon, and Rory was confused. Last night ended with a good night kiss at her door, and Chip said they'll be in touch. What did 'we'll be in touch' mean?
"We need a guy's opinion." Nicole determined after listening intently.
They have been conspiring about the various possibilities of what made him backtrack when things were going so well.
Shiri voiced her agreement and fanned Nicole's nails dry, "This color looks gorgeous on you, Nic. Rory's best color is called Prostitute Red."
"I'll come back another time." Logan involuntary cringed and stopped and in his tracks at the door of the break-room
"Logan. Just in time." A smile speeded on Nicole's face. Shiri's wore a matching smile.
Logan was trapped.
Rory meekly forced a smile. Out of all the men in the world.
"Ladies," He quickly recovered, his eyes rapidly scanned the beauty shop laid out on the table. "Should I remind you this is your workplace and not a nail-salon. Pack it up. Or I'm starting to charge you rent."
Now that she met his father, Rory gets where he get that attitude from.
"They're not paying customers; it can't be considered a business." Shiri started brushing Rory's fingers with the red color. "It's a non-profit."
"I can fire you; you do know that, right?" he grumbled, going on with his business of making himself a cup of tea. Rory noticed for a while he switches to tea or decaf after lunch.
"On what cause?" Shiri sparred back.
"Slacking. Intrusion. Sass. Hijacking my golf club." Logan was sore about the golf club. He was still looking for it four months later.
"No one around here gets fired for slacking." Shiri tongue clicked. Rory lowered her eyes when Logan's fleetingly met hers. She needs to stop playing hooky.
"We need a guy's perspective on something." Nicole cut the banter short.
"You don't want Logan's. Let's ask someone else; let's ask Keith or Gabe." Rory protested. She didn't plan to ask either Keith or Gabe, but she especially didn't want Logan to know she went on a date.
Three dates.
Not that she owed him anything. She could date whoever she wanted. Their lives are separated aside from their joint venture. Rory took Colin's advice seriously when he told her to protect her interests within the contract. Hence the clause stating she can do whatever she wanted, with whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
Unless it was Monday, today was a Monday. God, she's having dinner with him tonight.
"Why not?" Nicole questioned her objection, "Logan is a single, young, hot-blooded, relatively handsome male."
"Relatively handsome?" He turned around with a freshly prepared cup of tea, feigning offense.
"Those guys are geeks. Logan dates around. Which makes him a perfect candidate." Shiri offered additional arguments.
Logan doesn't date. Rory thought bitterly.
Logan has bed-guests as his five years old niece precisely pointed out.
"He's divorced." Rory pointed out. Her fingers were hostage under Shiri's mercy and wet, prostitute red nail-polish. Sadly, she couldn't physically remove herself from this conversation.
"Hence, experienced." Nicole offered a dismissive wave.
"His ex-wife is a lesbian. Shows you the rate of his success." Logan raised his eyebrow at her.
"She's bi, to be specific, although most of the LGBT community prefers not to be defined or boxed. Or so I'm told." Logan taunted. "You know, most people wait until I leave the room to rehash the sordid details of my marriage."
"I'm not most people." She shoots at him.
"We need a guy's opinion." Nicole started again. "I went on a date with this guy."
"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Logan asked, confused, "Who is like sitting two doors down."
"Completely irrelevant. I went on a date with a man who is not my boyfriend."
"Yeah?" Logan asked unconvinced, "What's his name? Where did you meet him?"
"Chip." Nicole gave Rory a careful side look, "At the gym."
"Chip. At the gym." Logan repeated skeptically. "Was he with his good friend Dale?"
Rory rolled her eyes at his cartoon reference. Chippendales. Clever.
"Yes. It doesn't matter where. The date was great, but at the end, after we kissed, he said he'd call me."
"But it's not Patel."
"No, Logan, it's not Patel. How can it be Patel? Pay attention."
"Okay, so?" Logan shrugged, "What's the problem? Sounds okay. Either wait 'till he calls, or call him yourself."
"She can't call him," Shiri said knowingly. "The guy is supposed to call."
"Says who? Dear Deirdre?" He asks, casually entertained, "Did he say when he is going to call? Did he say 'I'll call you on Tuesday?' or was it more 'a keep in touch' vibe."
The three girls shared a thoughtful look.
"No. Just, I'll call you."
"Was it the first date?"
"Third."
"Third date? Third out of consecutive dates?" Logan fished for more details, "Where did he take you?"
"Just a bar. Casual." Nicole played it off nicely so far. "Yes. Friday, Saturday, Sunday."
"Did you wear heels or flats?"
"Heels."
"Sparkly heels?"
"What does it matter?" Rory interjected. He figured it out.
"Was the kiss good?" He ignores her continuing to conduct his indirect inquisition.
"Yes. It was good." Shiri jumped in instead of Nicole.
"Were you on this date too? With tongue?" The question clicked harshly on his.
"Logan, come on." Nicole cried impatiently. "What's with the twenty-one questions?"
"You want my help or not? It's an important detail."
"Yes," Nicole said, exasperated, "With tongue."
"On the third date? And you didn't ask him in?" He inquires.
"No. He didn't expect to be asked in." Nicole peered at Rory as discreetly as she could.
Logan took a deliberated sip from his beverage. He could hear the penny drops.
"Yeah," He paused for effect, "You're a tease. He decided it's not worth the hassle anymore if he's not getting any. I'm surprised he held on this long, must have wanted in your pants pretty bad. I wouldn't wait by the phone - if I were you."
Shiri held the nail-brush in the air looking at her boss astonished. Nicole wore an equally stunned expression. Neither thought he'd put it as bluntly as that.
"Always happy to help. I'm only a Kropog away." He threw the Yale phrase over his shoulder, stepping out of the break room towards Ben's office. "Get back to work!"
Rory bit her lip agitated, her eyes blazing at his retreating back.
"What's a Kropog?" Nicole wondered.
"It's a measurement unit used at Yale," Rory responded in a clipped tone. He used it intentionally.
"The two of you are doing it again?" Shiri asked Rory once his back was sufficiently far away. Nicole eyed her with interest.
"Do what?" Rory asked defensively. "Just give him his golf stick back already."
"The I-want-to-fuck-you banter."
~w~
"You have to come out with us tonight. Ryan said he'd watch the kids. I think he just wants to watch the game without interruptions, but who am I to deny a night of freedom?" Kate re-applied her lipstick in front of the mirror in the washroom. "Never have kids. They suck out the fun out of your life."
Rory soaped her hands again after washing them.
"Yesterday, you said they are the best thing that ever happened to you."
"That was yesterday. You can't hold me responsible today for what I said yesterday." Kate popped her lips and turned to the brunette, "Please, please say you'll come, I really need a 'girls just wanna have fun' night! Just us girls, drinking margaritas, flirting shamelessly. Dancing! God, I miss dancing."
Nicole and Shiri called Rory out at lunch for blowing off the regular Friday nights of fun for some photography action. After the Chip incident and Logan being a jerk in the break room, and in general, Rory could use a girls' night.
Maybe Logan's ex-wife was right about switching teams.
"Alright."
"Yeay!" Kate clapped happily, "I'm going to find you the perfect guy who'd make you forget all about that star boy you are so hanged up about."
Rory worried her lip. She was not hanged up about him.
xx
"Are you going to let him take you home?"
His voice rasps next to her. Rory's blue eyes meet his brown in the long mirror hanging behind the bar. Joel once told her most bars installs them so the bartender could see the bar even with his back turned.
What was he doing here? His Mitchum call always ran late on Fridays.
Girls night didn't end up a pure girls night once the venue chosen for the party was one of the regular places. Margarita at half price, who could say no? Soon after, Patel stopped by, followed by some other office peeps.
Kate stepped out to call Ryan and check that the house wasn't on fire. So much for not 'acting like a mom' night. Rory just finished telling a random guy she was only after a good time with her girlfriend.
"You're not jumping on the wagon; someone better do it."
Logan squeezed himself between the two bar stools leaning his elbows on the bar facing her.
"Don't put words in my mouth. It's you who pulled the 'wrinkle in time' card." He lowered his voice, "You shouldn't be drinking."
"You set the rules for Seattle." She narrows her eyes at him, "Dr. Pence said I'm allowed to enjoy a glass of wine or beer in moderate amounts, Dad."
"Looks like you're planning on more than one." Logan eyed the second pink margarita next to her.
"It's Kate's. Did you come here to pick a fight?"
"No. But if you want to pick one with me, then I suggest we take this somewhere else, because I had enough drama for one week." He cocks his head at her alluding to their explosive Monday dinner.
Rory huffed, "But of course."
Monday night's dinner officially exploded when the subject of money came up.
"I need to be in New York earlier than expected, but I'll be back in time for the doctor."
To wait outside the exam room, because Rory upgraded the partition to this, or not come at all. Logan hated to be excluded. But he bites his tongue respectfully.
"Notification by e-mail or text would have been sufficient." Logan in New York meant no Monday dinner. Good, she needed a break from him.
"Rory – "
"Does Ben get a personal notification when you take off unexpectedly?"
"Since you insist on repeatedly making this stupid comparison - Yes. Everything that applies to Ben applies to you. Ben and I are friends first, business partners later."
"Good for you. We were never friends, Logan."
He took a stilling breath, "I'll see you Wednesday."
~w~
New York
Logan frowned at his caller ID. His phone was blasting with calls for the last hour from the same unrecognized number. He kept sending the caller into voice mail. The small icon in the top corner kept reminding him of at least one left there.
Mitchum sent his son an impatient look. The phone rang again. Same number. A New York number. Logan once again denied the call.
"Would you take that already?" The older man scolded when the phone vibrated again. His loud voice stalled the financial analyst reviewing the west-coast division performance.
Mitchum has especially requested this meeting, after he and Logan hushed out the particulars that would enable Logan to stay an extended period in Seattle. Dealing with his father wasn't this easy since London.
"It's not important." Logan rejected the call again. "Please continue."
"It's the 7th time it rang. Someone must think it's important."
Finn's name flashed on the screen for a minute. Usually, Finn and Colin hang up after just enough time for the call to register on his phone log. This time Finn stays on the line. Untypical.
"It's just Finn now," Logan checked the caller, "I'll call him back."
"Set it to airplane mode," Mitchum Huntzberger instructed despite deeming his son's response satisfying.
The phone buzzed again before Logan could hit the airplane icon.
Now Colin. Odd. Colin never calls on business hours, unless he is billing. Plus, Colin had back to back sessions in court all day; that's why they were meeting for drinks before his red-eye to Seattle.
Logan has to masturbate into a plastic cup by noon.
"Dad, I have to take this."
"You just said it wasn't important."
"It's Colin."
Mitchum shook his head. Less than pleased at how easily his son and heir still beckoned to his friends' shenanigans. "He's a lawyer; he can bail himself out."
Logan pushed his boardroom chair back, "I'll make it quick."
By the time he closed the boardroom doors behind him, Finn calls again.
"Finally!" Finn exclaimed, relieved through the phone. "Screening is rude, Logan."
"Is it urgent? I'm with the board," He answered, not missing a beat. "Am I on speaker?"
"Yes," Finn's voice sounded snappy, "I'm on my way to Mount Sinai. I'm driving down from Hartford; I need you to come. I need you there."
"The hospital? Is Kim okay?" Logan asked, alarmed, "Is something wrong with the…?"
"Kim is fine. The baby is fine. It's Chelsea."
"Then why the hell are you calling me for?" Logan couldn't keep the irritation out of his tone.
"Because you are still listed as her emergency contact."
xx
"You're her husband?" The experienced looking nurse blinked at him unconvinced. She pointed at an athletic woman glued to a plastic chair in the waiting area. "The women in yoga pants said she's her girlfriend when she came in."
Logan's eyes cast to Tammi, seeing her was a shock to the system. He knew of her, through third parties, but they've never met.
"Ex-Husband. She is. It's a long story." He corrected impatiently and slid his driver's license on the counter, "I'm listed. Huntzberger, that's me."
xx
"Logan! Thank goodness!" The Pilates instructor threw herself into his arms despite them being practically strangers. He caught her petite frame a little taken aback.
"I didn't know what to do! I found her in the bath. She passed out twice on the ambulance, they found stuff in her blood, and now they won't tell me anything. The police took her phone."
Tammi looked pale and tear-stained. Girls in crisis were a hot mess.
The police?
"What happened? Why are you in New York, anyway? What did she mix? Tammi, you need to give me something. Some information."
"I don't know! I didn't know what to do! Colin didn't answer. Finn is stuck in traffic driving from Hartford. He said that he'd call you. That you're in New York." She looked torn between feeling frantically distressed and deliriously happy to see him. "I found her in the bath."
Must have been a horrid experience.
"It's okay," He instinctively rested his hand on her arm to calm her. "A doctor will come to talk to us shortly. Don't worry about the police. Have you called her parents?"
Tammi shook her head slowly; Logan swore she looked like she's about to cry again.
"You don't know?" his expression implied that obviously, he didn't have a clue. "Her mother is out of town."
Not such a loss, Logan could do without the Mali Rosen showdown.
"And her dad … Her dad isn't very accepting of…" The Pilates instructor took a well-practiced breath, "She wanted to see him. They're not on good terms. At all. But he surprisingly agreed. I don't know what happened. That bitch Jillian Merriweather is screening my calls."
Logan nodded shortly. He squeezed her forearm in what he hoped was a comforting manner.
"I'll go call Aaron Rosen." He said, "Next time you say you need to discuss the same-sex bill. It'll get you straight through."
God, he hoped there wouldn't be the next time.
xx
Logan Huntzberger was a handsome man. Tammi wasn't sure if it was down to his charming smile, his charismatic mannerism, his family name, or the husband card he waved around, but the moment he set foot in the E.R earlier that day, things set in motion.
Suddenly, the police signed off their report with a few vague questions and returned Chelsea's phone.
Finally, Doctors were relaying information. To him. Mostly. Although he made a point to include her.
It surprised her.
She understood now what made Chelsea gravitate to him or never entirely quit him. Logan was a delicate balance of power and charm. It was one thing to know it, and another thing to witness it.
"Remind me, what time is the appointment?" Logan stopped his pacing and ran his fingers through his hair and waited with the phone pressed to his ear.
Tammi waited back, studying him. He looked even better in person than he did in his wedding picture, which decorated her living room. Because Tammi practiced an 'if you can't beat them, join them' mantra.
Once the doctor left them with an initial update on Chelsea's status, Logan started conducting a string of phone calls to re-arrange his schedule. He was staying. Shocking. Tammi recognized some of the names he spoke to on the other side of the phone. Mitchum, Ben, Natalie, Mali Rosen. Aaron Rosen.
Names that Chelsea mentioned from time to time.
Once Finn arrived, with Colin in toe, Logan disappeared into a secluded corridor where she found him pacing—conducting yet another phone call.
"Can we postpone it? I'm not sure I'll be able to make it." The blonde man rubbed his neck, waiting patiently for his turn in the conversation. "I don't know; it could be a couple of hours or a couple of days. There's a few days window, right? Pushing it back a day or two would be extra safe."
Logan listens to the invisible person on the other end, getting frustrated with the answer.
"Then ask to move both appointments." He suggested. "Rory, being there is my first priority. You know that it is, but I have to take care of this mess. I can't leave New York yet, but I'll make it work. Trust me."
He paused again, worrying his lip.
"Rory. Listen. I know Dr. Pence is the best, but Dr. Dar is equally capable…" Tammi was surprised to hear his voice turns softer. "Can you, please, call the clinic and check? Or do I need to ask Natalie to do it? So that I can strategize."
It didn't take much to deduct; it's not a business call.
Tammi coughed lightly to indicate his conversation was no longer private.
The blonde man turned and noticed his ex-wife's girlfriend, "I have to go. Call me back with an update, okay? Please? I'll have my phone on. Natalie can find me if I'm not available. She has super-powers."
"Your girlfriend?" The Pilates instructor asked in a friendly voice.
"No."
"The doctor said Chelsea's awake. She's asking for you." Tammi's timid voice sent shivers down his spine.
Logan sighed; he didn't have time for this.
"I think you should go first. I need to get my head together." He said, and Tammi felt washed by relief.
~w~
Chelsea finds him standing at the viewing gallery of the hospital's nursery. She didn't believe Colin when he said it's where he'd be; now she isn't sure why.
"Hi, Husband." She steps closer timidly, taking a stance next to him, "They're cute. Colin said I'd find you here."
"I think they are scared I'm going to kidnap one; they keep looking at me funny."
"Which one?"
"Third row, fourth to the left. Doesn't look too wrinkled."
"It'll make a good front page: Multi-millionaire heir steals a baby from the hospital." Chelsea finds it funny. "Mitchum will appreciate it for sure."
"The man has an eye for breaking news."
He smiles to himself; It's surreal, staring through the glass at his heart desire with the first woman he ever dreamed it. A woman with whom he's never going to share this with.
"Can you believe Finn has a baby? Who would ever think Colin and Steph will be solid? And there's us - stuck in a moment, and we can't get out of it."
I'm having a baby too. Soon. Hopefully. If he gets back to Seattle in time.
It crosses his mind, briefly, that he should tell her. But Logan Huntzberger had decided, a long time ago, that Chelsea Rose will have no access to that part of his life.
So, he doesn't.
Logan slides down the opposite wall and sits on the hospital floor, resting his head back. Chelsea follows suit at his side.
"Did my father ever told you you're an asset?"
"No, he said I'm a bad influence." She rests her head on his shoulder. "The only good thing I ever did in his eyes was breaking your heart because he won you back that day. He actually thanked me for it once. That man has a mean streak in his bones. He never liked me."
Mitchum confessed he likes Rory. A few times.
"How do you feel crackpot? You pulled a Whitney Huston on me." Logan kisses the top of her head, "I thought we had a deal. You didn't have to do something extreme to get my attention. You could have just called."
"Would you pick up the phone?"
"You know that I would. It's my turn to return a favor. There's always Natalie if I don't."
"They are releasing me tomorrow. Thank you."
"It wasn't me. Your dad made the call."
"Dad?" her voice shook, her tone is doubtful, resentful, and a little bit hopeful. It tags on his heart springs because it's the same he uses for Mitchum sometimes. "Coming down must have been a hassle."
"You know he can't, Chelsea Rose. It's a risk for infection." Logan says gently.
"Can't or won't?" Chelsea looked mad heart-breakingly sad. "Tell him I said thank you."
"Tell him yourself. Meditating between you and him doesn't fall under my responsibility anymore." Chelsea bites her lip. Logan breathed her in. "Better wash your hair when you get out of here, but don't use the bath."
"I fell in love, Logan. I'm done apologizing for that. To him and you."
"I'm not asking you to apologize." Logan takes a breath, and glance at her briefly, "I'm asking you to cut me loose. Chels, you need to remove my name from everything. No more ties. You go your way, and I'll go mine."
Her apologies didn't make a difference anyhow.
"We'll always have ties, Logan." She says, as a matter of fact, "If two-piece of the same type of metal touch in space, they will permanently bond. It's the only part of your wedding vows you didn't steal from a movie. It's the best part."
"I took it from 'Ten fun facts you didn't know about space' article." He confesses.
Logan runs his hand in his hair. This is going to be one tough conversation.
A long over-due conversation.
"Memories - yes, scars – for sure, but no ties." He can feel his mature bone pocking again. "We were each other's out, but we don't need that anymore."
"I'm holding you back." Chelsea plays with the hospital band on her wrist.
He never confirms.
"You were going to leave eventually anyway. It's what you do when things aren't going your way. You were out of his shadow. You didn't need me anymore; I served my purpose." She says.
"That's bullshit; my heart was set on you."
"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." She quotes and shakes her head at him sadly.
"Turns out, the rest of our lives were really short."
"It was the best rest of my life. Kim is convinced you're one romantic bastard. The rest of don't have the heart to tell her you are just a bastard stealing lines from Nora Ephron."
"She'll figure it out one day."
"Finn's best-man speech was a real dick move, Logan. It hurt, you know."
"It was meant to hurt. You asked me to marry you, Chelsea. I thought we had a shot at this."
"You can't monopolize heartache Logan; it's unbecoming. Your heart was a set on what Ben had. That was never part of the plan. People like us can't have what Ben has."
His heart stings like she threw acid on it.
She forces herself into his lap, and he doesn't fight her. They sit on the maternity ward floor, staring at each other straight in the eye.
"One day," Chelsea looks her ex-husband straight in the eye, "You're going to meet someone who will make your heart race. Someone that will color your world differently."
"I already did." He swallowed hard, "It happened with you."
"That was cocaine. It wasn't me."
He looks like she stumped on the last piece of his heart.
"I was just accelerating things. It was guaranteed at some point one or both of us will wanna get out of this thing."
"You need to cut the cocaine. I won't be here to throw my last name around the next time. I'm not sure he'll be around for much longer too." He stroke her hair gently, "He's really sick, Chelsea Rose."
"My father always said you are my greatest achievement. You're the boy my dad always wanted;" She caressed his cheek, "He got stuck with me instead."
"You know that's not true, Chelsea Rose." Both Logan and Chelsea knows how to hurt Aaron Rosen was when his daughter chopped off her father's name. It was her intentional aim.
"It is." She says in the same old stubborn resentment, "I don't fit in his vision. He was supposed to want to give that money to me. Not you. I was so angry at you for using it for 'Current.' We were supposed to start anew in California. Independent. No family on our backs."
"I know." They press their foreheads together, washed in the old memories.
"Can you imagine me there? In Seattle?" He knows what she's doing. They used to play this game all the time. The 'what if' game. What if they didn't have the life they had.
"No. You always hated the rain. And Ben." It doesn't mean he hadn't wanted her to, or could, at the time. But he's older, if not wiser now, and Logan knows that fantasy and reality rarely collide. It wouldn't have lasted. They made their love out of a stack of cards. "I didn't fit in your Californian dream, either."
"How's Ben?"
"He sends his love." The mutual loathing between these two ran deep. Logan appreciated they both loved him enough to tolerate each other politely once upon a time.
"There isn't a day I don't regret it. The way it went down. I needed out, but it doesn't mean I was ready to let you go. Because you not being in my life, in any capacity, is torture." Chelsea holds his face in her hands, "I got issues. One of them is how much I need you."
"I could have lived blissfully ignorant without this additional burden," Logan says.
"Every time I think of you, I always catch my breath, and I have to remind myself that if you wanted to talk to me - you would."
"Just because I don't talk to you doesn't mean I don't think of you, worry about you, miss you, care for you or wonder how you are doing." He admits, "Some days, I still feel like your man."
"You will always be my main man." Chelsea peered at him carefully, if he didn't know better, he'd say longingly. "You and me, we have a whole lot of history. Nothing could ever come between you and I. Besides you and I. It took me a long time to come to terms that you coming back to me is against all the odds."
"I think Phil Collins will charges you for royalties."
"Well, my burden to bear." She strokes his cheek, "You need a shave. Now give us a kiss Star-boy."
Their lips meet tentatively. Her familiarity feels like a distant memory, but it's comforting none the less.
"You don't love me anymore." She whispers as their foreheads pressed together again, "It's in his kiss. Cher is never wrong."
She was his queen since they were sixteen. It's hard to move on from that. But he can't keep sitting here, staring at his past when his future awaits him in Seattle.
It's time.
"She knows there's always be a special place in my heart, for her. She knows, no matter how far apart we are."
"Two hearts, living in just one mind. I'll tell Phil to put your royalties on my tab. Because I'm nice." She entwines her fingers in his, "Logan?"
"What?" He asks, smiling.
"You need to hear this. I need to tell you this. I don't know when I'll see you next." She plays with his hand, her wedding ring shines, "I love you. I love you for the man you want to be. And I love you for the man almost are."
"That's not how she says it in the movie." He gives a watery smile. He can't help it. "I love you too, Chelsea Rose."
"I slightly adapted it. I can't stand that movie. Jerry Maguire is a lousy film."
"It's the best film ever." He laughs.
"I know Finn isn't supposed to tell me things about your life. But I make him." He doesn't look particularly surprised at her admission. "You'll make a terrific dad."
He looks away. She still knows to read him best. "You think so?"
"I have no doubt in my mind." She says with such certainty he can't help but believe her, "My dad's not going to die before you get your kid, Logan. He is too stubborn, and he's dying to see it."
"Gees, Chelsea." Logan shakes his head disapprovingly.
"What? You don't appreciate my morbid sense of humor anymore? You better get your act together, Huntzberger."
~w~
Seattle
Logan walked fast through the busy street and traffic lights. He checked the time; he'll make it only a few minutes late. It was touch and go. He thanked his lucky stars they managed to push it back two days.
Biology sucked.
It was Friday, and Logan hasn't felt this light in years. The extra bounce in his step jerked him forwards with every step. He had a good feeling about today. It was going to work.
His face breaks into a huge smile when he sees the familiar brunette stepping out of the building.
"Great, you're here." Logan grabs Rory's wrist dragging her along with him back inside, "I'm here. Let's go make a baby!"
Rory dug her heels in the ground, not moving.
"You're late." She accused.
"Fifteen minutes." Logan pulled at her hand again. "My flight delayed at landing, there was an enormous line for taxi, and traffic. Don't get me started on the traffic; it was horrendous. Come on, let's get back inside. Chop-chop. They'll squeeze us in."
"No, Logan, time's up." She resists, trying to pull her hand out of his grip. Her heels skidded on the marble floor of the lobby. "Our appointment time passed. They pushed it back twice. They moved around patients. It's someone else turn now. You're too late."
"Don't worry about it. I'll pop in for a quick chat with the clinic manager. It's not a problem; nothing money can't sort. I just need ten minutes, seven, if I'm really fast. Piece of cake." He throws a glance her way, "You're all ready to go, right?"
Her face clouds like thunder, she shakes his hand off and steps out of her heels.
More balance to her feet.
"Rory, what are you doing? Put your shoes on."
"I'm going home." She announces shoes in her hand, "This isn't something a flash of your charm and throwing a bunch of money can fix."
"What? are you kidding me? No one's going home. I just got here." Logan counters, "This is exactly the type of thing throwing money fixes. We need an appointment, and we need it today, and money can make it happen. Why are we wasting time arguing about this?"
"You don't get it to do you?" She turned the pointed edge of her shoe at herself, "I'm not sitting in that awful room another minute. You said you'd be here on time!"
Logan can't help but remember the last confrontation they had with her pointing her shoes at him.
"No, I don't get it!" He snapped, "I'm sorry I got delayed, I took every precaution to try and avoid it. I can't control everything. I had to take care of that crisis, but I told you, this is my priority. And I'm here now. Fifteen minutes late - but here none the less. If I have to throw a couple of dollars to make it happen, I would. I promise you it doesn't make a dent. So let's go."
"No."
"What do you mean, no?" He checks the time impatiently, "Look, Rory, I don't know what's your problem with money. It doesn't matter now; we can hash it out later. But time fly and money talks. Let's face it - I have it. You have it. And whatever kid we're going to have is going to have it."
"No means no. It's not just about the money, Logan," Her blue eyes blazed with cold fire, "It's the principle."
"What principle?"
"The principle that there isn't just your way. You aren't the one to call the shots - if you don't get the shots. It's my body. My uterus. My way. My call. And I say none of your swimmers are going anywhere near it today."
"Rory, stop making a scene." Her mutters and her mouth set into a hard line.
"If you can't take the drama, then go find yourself another incubator and take your stand by embryos out of the freezer. Or go the fuck back to New York. I don't care." She spun around, with the shoes in her hand, "Don't you dare follow me!"
"Rory!"
Xx
"What do you want?" Rory wished she never answered the door two hours later.
It wasn't Pizza. It was Logan.
All she wanted was a quiet Friday night with pizza, ice-cream, radio-silence and no mentions of him.
"Get dressed. Pack your bag." Logan storms into her apartment like a Tasmanian Devil rattling a list. "You'll need your hiking boots. Your soft-shell jacket and running shoes. Might want to take your camera too, not that it ever leave your side."
"I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't even want to see you or talk to you. So please remove yourself from the premises." She says stubbornly. "And I don't have running shoes."
"No problem," He says, unfazed, already digging socks out of her dresser, "We'll sort you out on the way. Now get ready. You might need a warm hat too. And gloves. Extra batteries."
"On the way where?" She regretted her curiously when a triumphed grin spread on his face.
"We're going on a road trip! Grab you toothbrush."
Rory Gilmore stared at him. He couldn't act more like her mother if he intentionally tried.
"No we're not."
"Yes we are. Because you and I, we need to get out of Seattle."
"We can't just leave."
"The whole point of it is to be spontaneous to drive and land someplace we've never been and never expected to be!" He announced. "We leave in fifteen minutes. Leave the folders at home."