Rory returned to hear Leah's cry already before the elevator doors opened and for those few seconds panic arose over her. Logan already had her in his arms, trying to show her the view from the window, but Leah was clearly cranky.
"I'm here!" Rory called hastily, grabbing her to her arms.
"She was just beginning to miss you I think, a few minutes, no more. I was just about to call Lorelai if you hadn't arrived," Logan explained. They'd managed fairly well until about five minutes ago, the small box of toys he'd bought had really helped, but as Leah began to explore the surroundings a little more, she'd realized Rory was no longer close by.
"Mommy's here, Leah, it's okay. Did you miss me?" she asked, as Leah wrapped her arms around her neck tightly.
"Thank you again, Logan," she said again, "you were a huge help," she added, pushing loose strands of hair behind her ear with one free hand.
"How did it go?" Logan asked, heading towards the kitchen, "Do you want something to drink?" he asked, grabbing himself a water.
"Water would be great," she replied. She had been too preoccupied to think about anything for the past hour. "I think it went okay, I went in, said what I needed to say, the questions I pretty much anticipated. For their side funding is available, they said they just got a new project that can be linked to mine. But they're still discussing the final decision and promised to let me know next week," she explained.
"I'm sure you'll do great!" he assured, as he handed her the water.
Rory gulped down half a glass in one sip, trying to protect the glass from Leah, who obviously had other intentions than letting her drink her water in peace.
"She's quite the handful, isn't she?" he asked, after observing the two for a few minutes. They looked so much alike, and he still wasn't used to seeing Rory as a mother. It suited her, despite the struggles she'd had.
"Tell me about it," she laughed.
"Do you have time to stay for lunch?" he asked, adding, "I took the day off."
Rory looked at her phone, to check the time. "It's her nap time soon, I either need to have her sleep in the car on the way back or we can have her sleep in the stroller while we eat, but somewhere quieter, at the park maybe?"
"Sure, I'll order us some take-away from the deli nearby and we can make a picnic out of it," he suggested.
"Sounds great," Rory said, smilingly. She'd been so stressed about her morning, but this was turning out to be a much nicer day than she anticipated.
Forty-five minutes later the three were strolling along a path in Central Park. Leah enjoyed the trees and dogs, pointing at each one she saw. Both Rory and Logan felt a little obscure in this new combination, yet both could feel that it wasn't something unimaginable that could easily become the norm.
As Leah settled down for her nap finally, they found a quiet spot near Cedar Hill.
"I could get used to this," Logan stated, leaning back with a wide smile.
"It's been nice," she commented, eating the last few bites of her chicken wrap.
"Do you have a plan yet, if you get accepted here?" he asked, slightly unwilling to return his thoughts to the real world of 'complicated' he knew she faced very soon, but he wanted to know.
"The house is for sale, no offer yet," she stated, "but where I should move is undecided still," she added as her mouth was empty.
"I'd offer you to move in, but I get it, you might feel it is too soon, and Finn probably wouldn't love the idea of Leah moving here." he explained.
"Thank you for saying that, and I agree. While it is tempting, the possibility of skipping the crazy NY real-estate market, I must say," she replied, adding,"The good thing is that I might not have to get something too permanent, as I might only been in town for like 2-3 days a week, a lot of the program is independent study, and it might be better in the beginning at least if I didn't have to bring her every time. I even considered their dorms for a brief time but that'd be just too weird and there would be no option to bring Leah along if I had to."
"Call my realtor at least, even for a rental if that's what you decide, she's excellent at rooting out the crap and she can show you things that haven't been officially listed yet," he offered.
"Thank you, that I might just do," she said.
"So what does Finn think about all of this?" he asked.
"Honestly, I haven't really spoken to him ever since that day, it's been just logistics and stuff about Leah," she sighed, "But I know I need to, because right now he has her in the weekends and I during the week, but when school starts I'd be away at least some workdays," she added, before taking a sip of water.
"You might want to do that at the mediator's if you have a feeling it might not go well," he suggested.
"Hadn't thought of that, but I think I'll first try on my own, I don't want him to feel ambushed or something," she added.
"Any regrets about that decision?" he asked carefully a minute later.
"Not one," Rory said, leaning her back against the grass. Sure it made things more difficult in more than one way, but she hadn't been able to shake the feeling that something would always be missing there, and the more she understood what that something was, the more difficult it would've been going on with the pretence that everything was fine. It would've been a disaster waiting to happen.
Logan couldn't help but to smile a little, trying not to smirk too widely, as he said, "I'm glad." There was a lot more he wanted to ask, there were entire conversations to be had. Some, more painful than others. But they needed that day just to co-exist, knowing that something awaited.
The conversation continued for an hour or so, Logan telling her about his projects at work and what Honor had been up to. It was like old friends catching up, with a sting of welcome anticipation in the air.
When Rory had secured Leah in her carseat at the backseat of her Toyota a couple of hours later, getting ready to leave, Logan asked, "when can I take you out, just us two?" with a smug smirk. "Not that I don't appreciate Leah's company," he added.
"Finn has Leah Saturday and Sunday," she replied.
"I'll pick you up at 6 on Saturday?" he suggested. He had to hold back, he would've gladly taken every minute of her free day, as if making up for lost time, but he reminded himself that slower was better in this situation.
"See you then, thank you, again. I got to go, she's going to get restless otherwise," she said hugging him briefly. He wrapped his hands around her tightly for a second, releasing her reluctantly, telling himself once again that there was no rush.
"Any hints on what I should dress for?" she asked, as she opened the car door.
"There's no reason to hold back, is there?" he said smugly.
Rory was dropping off Leah on Saturday morning at Zoe's where Finn's family was gathering for his sister's birthday. The caterers were carrying their things just as she got there.
"Finn, I need to talk to you. Can Zoe keep an eye out for her for a bit," she said as he had lifted Leah into his arms for a hug. Leah adored Finn.
"Honestly, I don't really feel like it, but if you insist," he replied resistantly, taking Leah inside and returning a few minutes later. Rory didn't feel like entering that house these days, feeling as everybody inside despised her. Finn's family had been wonderful to her, and it was as if she had broken up with them as well, and there were a lot of them. She wanted Leah to still experience that love, that it could offer her.
Finn returned, gesturing towards a small seating nook just around the corner of the house. They both took a seat.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Finn inquired anxiously. He just wanted to get this over with, hoping it wouldn't ruin his mood for the weekend.
"I went to NYU, it's looking optimistic. I should know for sure by next week." she explained, getting straight to the point. "But I just need to know where you are at. This silence is not getting us anywhere, we need to understand each other again, for the sake of her, so this doesn't get turned into something it doesn't have to be," she added worriedly, hoping this would never reach the courtroom.
"Can you really blame me for the silence? You really hurt me, Rory!" he began a little angrily, adding, "But okay, I'm not going to go there, I don't want to go there. Not now." He took a deep breath to gather himself and said, "For what it's worth, I am glad your plans seem to be coming true like you hoped." Even after everything she'd done, he was still in love, her happiness still mattered to him, yet it stung at the same time.
"I am sorry, Finn," she said sincerely.
"So you did get someone to babysit on Wednesday?" he asked, recalling her asking him the week before.
"Mom couldn't do it so I took her with me and actually Logan kept an eye on her for the brief time I was in the interview. I should've told you in advance, and I am sorry," she explained feeling like she needed to prepare herself for a scowling.
If it had been any other man his ex-fiance was seeing who she'd left alone with his daughter, he would have been furious, but somehow the fact that it was Logan, made it easier for him, even to his surprise. While he was perhaps not his favourite person on the list, he did trust him not to harm her daughter.
"You did what you had to do, and frankly I am glad it was him rather than some random nanny off the internet. But I'd appreciate the heads up next time," Finn said calmly.
Rory looked at him thankfully.
"I put the house on sale a few weeks ago," Rory said, "I need to start deciding where I'll move soon," she added.
"How much will you be away?" Finn asked, realizing the practical nature of the talk.
"It depends a little, some semesters 2-3 days a week, some maybe less but I'll probably need to start freelancing again as well," she described.
"So she'd have to either stay with me those days or with a nanny," he stated.
"That's just the thing - I am not sure if I need to rent places in both NY, which is crazy expensive as it is, or do I need to get two places - one nearby here and other where I'll study. I guess the main question is whether I'll be the one travelling with two places or should I just bring her back to my place by the university," she explained.
"Lot of travelling either way," he stated knowing too well that Yale would've been a much more convenient option. "Maybe there's some possibility for you to have a place in Stars Hollow, it's cheaper than Hartford at least, maybe check with Lorelai first," he suggested kindly.
"I will, thank you for being so helpful," she said.
"And for what it is worth, I can take care of the nanny part on those days you are away and she can stay with me. And we'll divide the remaining time later as it goes," he offered.
"Thank you," she said. Finn was as he'd been every time quick and constructive decisions had to be made, level headed and practical, leaving her once again with a guilty feeling in her stomach, for good reason. She knew she was to blame, but she also knew that, she'd done the right thing for herself at the time.
"Another thing, Leah's birthday is coming up," she began, "have you made plans already - I mean, should we do it together or have two parties?" she asked, realizing this was probably many of the first potential holiday debacles needing their cooperation as parents.
"I bought a few gifts," he said, adding "but I haven't given much thought about the party yet."
"She's just turning one, I doubt there is a need for something huge, it's not like she can really remember much of it anyways," she explained.
"A family party," he agreed.
"Do you think we can be in the same house and co-exist for that party?" Rory said.
"I think it would be wise, I still need to try to get my head in the right place, but you are right, we need to learn how to do this," he admitted.
"I'm glad you feel that way," she said, feeling pleasantly surprised.
"Would you mind if we did it here?" Finn suggested, referring to his family's house, not really feeling like returning to the house they used to share. "Mom is in party planning mode all summer anyways," he added.
"It'd be fine by me," she said, lying a little, as she didn't quite feel comfortable herself to be in the same room with all of his family, but she knew this was more than just a compromise, it was a peace offering. "It makes sense I suppose too, there are less people coming from my family and this place clearly fits all of yours better," she added.