Every chapter until the end of this story has the potential to trigger readers. Please proceed with caution.

Chapter 21

November 24, 2004 – Hayden Residence – Hartford

"Oh!" Francine audibly gasped when she opened the front door to find a rather gruff looking man dressed in a cheap brown suit and yellow shirt crushing a cigarette butt under his shoe.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Detective Horn from the Hartford P.D. ma'am. I'm here to give a case update." He spit off to the side into the bushes and Francine held back a cringe.

She motioned for the man to come inside and ushered him down the hall to the study, "We were expecting Detective Samuels. She's been with my granddaughter's case since the beginning. Is she alright?"

"Samuels put in her notice, so we're all pitching in until her replacement starts."

"Ahh…" Sean was the first to notice the new arrivals in the study. He looked up from the papers he had spread out in front of himself and Rory at the large desk, "Eric. Where's Samantha?"

"Quit."

Sean masked his surprise well, "I see. Are you taking on lead or will SVU assign a new detective?"

The balding man didn't look at Sean, instead gazing around the rich mahogany study/library, falling back into a wingback chair near the roaring fireplace, "No need for a new detective. Made an arrest this morning."

Rory, who had been sitting quietly in front of the desk, audibly gasped, "W..Who?"

"Marty Wilcox. Apparently, he was a friend of yours?" The detective smiled to disarm, but Rory felt like she was talking to a cobra in human skin.

She nodded in response.

Sean was ready with questions, "Has he signed a confession? What's the evidence look like? Are we heading to trial?"

"He's with one of the ASA's now. Charge was aggravated sexual assault. They were pushing for a plea bargain. 10 years with option for parole in 5."

The two started discussing the case more while Francine came over to sit beside Rory.

"Rory?"

Ghostly white, Rory turned to her grandmother, "I just can't believe it."

The redhead smiled a watery smile, "Believe it sister. They got him. Your grandfather will want to hear about this and make some calls. Whoever the judge is will need to make sure this swine of a boy pays for his crimes."

Rory stared blankly for a moment, "He's really in jail?"

"Yes dear. You're safe." Francine pulled Rory in for a hug, squeezing tightly as she felt her granddaughter shake with tears.

"I didn't know I needed this. The relief…" She pulled back and smiled the first real smile Francine had seen on her face in months. "I've got to call Logan and Finn and all the others! We've got to celebrate!"

Francine nodded, "Absolutely, you go call them and I'll go call your grandfather."

Rory quickly dug out her cell and pressed 2 on her speed dial, "Logan…"

"Ace!" He poked at the fire anxiously, "What's the update?"

"They…" She took a deep breath, "They got him Logan."

The blonde felt like he might pass out, "Wait, they got him? Like they arrested the person who attacked you?"

"Yeah, they arrested Marty this morning."

"Wow…Marty?!"

"I know…" She sighed and then smiled widely, "Logan, it's over! They got him!"

"Give me fifteen minutes."

XXX

Eleven minutes later, Rory heard the doorbell ring and took off at a sprint. Jennifer was just opening the door when a red-cheeked Logan dressed in a cashmere sweater and dark wash jeans walked in. He was practically buzzing with energy when he spotted his girlfriend.

She slammed into him and he lifted her like she weighed nothing, spinning her around as they laughed freely. Logan took a mental image of the look of pure joy and relief on Rory's face and felt his heart sputter.

"I'm free, Logan! I'm free!"

He set her on her feet and brushed some hair from her face, "They got him Rory. I know once the state's attorney hears who the victim is, they'll have plenty of assistants working on the case if he doesn't sign a plea. God, I hope he rots in prison. Marty…man, did they figure out how he got the cameras in? Or the heart? Or…"

Logan noticed Rory's face start to fall so he quickly changed his tune, "Whatever, it doesn't matter. We're going to celebrate! Whatever you want to do. We'll pick a place and take a long vacation. Anywhere in the world, you decide."

A smirk took over Rory's face, "Anywhere?"

He sighed, "Oh no…I'm scared of that look, but yes, anywhere you want."

She beamed, "Australia."

Logan cackled and his eyes crinkled with his grin, "Want to see Finn's homeland eh? You know he's going to be insufferable about this right?"

She nodded excitedly, "Exactly. I also want to go to New Zealand and see the Lord of the Rings tour."

He shook his head, "When did I fall in love with such a nerd?"

November 26th, 2004 – 1AM – Colin and Stephanie's Apartment

"I'm coming!" Stephanie tied the strings of her robe in a haste as she stumbled towards the large thudding sound at the door. She fumbled and swung it back to reveal Rory bundled up from head to toe, grinning from ear to ear.

After staring for a few moments in sheer surprise, Stephanie exploded with a mixture of worry and outrage, "Rory, is everything ok?! What the hell are you doing? Get inside!"

Rory shuffled in and as soon as Stephanie closed the door, she gripped the blonde in a tight hug, "I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been a good friend to me during all this and I haven't seen you in weeks and I haven't called to check in and what if something really bad had happened to you? I can't just stay in this selfish little bubble and ask everyone to take care of me without taking care of you guys too. I'm just really sorry."

The two had migrated to sit on the couch and Stephanie grabbed Rory's hand, "First, take a breath. That was quite the Rory rant. I've missed those." She smiled brightly. "Second, do not apologize! We just thought after…well after Finn told Colin you didn't want to see him anymore; we just didn't want to make your life more difficult."

Rory felt her cheeks redden with a touch of anger, "I never told Finn to ban Colin from coming over. I never said that! You guys are my friends…" She huffed, "That makes sense now. Finn's so overprotective."

"Ya think?" Her smirk made Rory swat at her arm. "Anyways…why show up at 1 in the morning to do this? Not that I don't love you…but I need my beauty rest, ya know?"

Rory grinned mischievously, "We're going Black Friday shopping."

Stephanie stared for a half a second before squealing, "Give me ten minutes!"

Rory leaned back as Stephanie took off for the bedroom, brushing past a disheveled Colin.

"Rory, is everything ok?" He looked uncharacteristically sheepish.

Rory bit her lip before giving a quick update on the case. She'd tell Stephanie in the car on the way to the mall.

Colin sat down in the chair across from Rory with an unreadable expression, stewing silently.

Rory decided to break the silence, "I'm sorry for snapping at you a couple weeks ago. You were just being a friend and I shouldn't have gotten mad. I…" Her voice quivered a bit, "I honestly probably owe you more than you think. If you hadn't told Logan, I don't know how long I'd have kept going down that path."

His brow furrowed in confusion, "Should I know what you're talking about?"

She shook her head, "No, you shouldn't. Your discovery started a serious of dominos that ultimately helped me start to get better. I'm going to see a counselor next week. Logan lied to you to protect me; I hadn't actually told him what happened to me, so if you hadn't figured it out, I don't know when I would have told him."

He blew out a deep breath, "Damn Gilden, I told you you needed me, but who knew how much?"

The tension popped like a rubber band and the two friends were laughing like nothing had happened.

"You're insufferable!"

He answered with a smirk, "Ehh… you know you love it."

"Whatever." She smiled as she rolled her eyes. "I'm also going to talk with Finn. I never told him to ban you or Stephanie from coming over. He's just overprotective."

"No shit Sherlock." He shrugged, "All water under the bridge though." Colin wouldn't dare let her know how his heart felt relieved knowing she hadn't been mad at him. He wasn't a smuck after all.

Rory's phone starting ringing, so she quickly answered, "Yes Mother, we will be down in five minutes."

"Tell Stephanie all us commoners do not look like fashion models when we Black Friday shop and she owes me some serious cash if I miss out on that luggage set at Macy's." Lorelai bantered back quickly, sitting in the idling Jeep outside the apartment building.

Rory flipped her phone shut, "Steph! Come on!"

"Almost ready!"

Colin gave Rory a look, "You know you're going to be waiting for another half hour, right?"

November 28th, 2004 – Finn's Apartment

"Alright, so we're all set right?" Rory whispered softly, her phone to her ear as the shower ran and her boombox played songs from the radio. Finn, still insisting she needed to have protection, was right outside the door and Rory knew she'd have to be sneaky to pull off her plan.

"Yeah, I just called Finn and told him Colin had car problems and gave him an address 45 minutes away. Probably 30 the way he drives though. You'll have about an hour-hour and a half tops, so hope you can talk fast." Stephanie whispered back, even though no one was around to overhear her in her own apartment.

A knock at the door made Rory jump.

"Hey Love?"

She turned down the radio and yelled back, "Yeah?"

"Colin needs a lift, so I'm going to run out and be right back. I called Logan and Stephanie, but neither answered. You won't be here by yourself long, but I'm going to ask the doorman to come sit outside the door."

She smirked, "Don't worry Finn! I'll be fine for a few minutes alone."

"I know you will, but I'm still going to talk to the doorman. Back soon!"

She heard his footsteps fade and turned back up the radio, "Okay Finn's on the way. How long now?"

"I said 1:30, so you've got five minutes. Go GO!" Stephanie laughed manically and hung up.

Rory waited for the door to the front door to slam and then she was off humming the Power Rangers theme song under her breath.

XXX

"Rosemary?"

The redhead turned around in the local coffee shop to see Rory Gilmore. Rory was the last person she really wanted to see right now, but it wasn't entirely the girl's fault.

"Hey Rory. What, no backup today?" The jab was almost instinctual, and she saw the brunette flinch. Bitch move, but that was her right?

Rory shook her head and sat down across from her, "No, it's just me. Stephanie's not coming if you can't tell. I wanted to talk with you alone."

"Rory, whatever this is. I'm not interested." Rose stood up to leave.

"Wait! Just..." The brunette grabbed at her arm, "Give me five minutes?"

Against her better judgement, Rosemary sat back down and glanced at her wristwatch. "Five minutes."

Rory sighed, "I wanted to see what it would take for you to consider giving Finn another chance? He won't tell me what happened, but he's my brother and I know he loves you. He misses you, but he's just been so worried about my case. They…" She took a deep breath as she felt the tightness creeping into her chest. Counseling couldn't start quick enough.

The tingles in her hands and feet started and the constricting in her chest wound itself tighter.

Rosemary grabbed her hand, "Five things you can hear—describe them in your head in detail. You'll keep it going with four things you can see, three things you can touch, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste until it stops."

Rory, puzzled but curious, followed Rosemary's instructions and as she took a sip of the latte in front of her, her anxiety attack was gone.

"How did you know?" Ashen faced Rory stared widely at a somber Rosemary.

"I've been there Rory. Look," She sighed loudly, maybe it was time they really talked, "I know what you're going through. Do you remember last year at the LDB Halloween party how I said I had a bad boyfriend?"

Rory's eyes grew wide, "Yeah, I do."

"Well…shit." She rubbed her face with her shaking hands, "I don't like talking about this bullshit. Makes me feel weak. I've been in your shoes, Rory. When Finn told me exactly what happened and told me there's 'no way I could know what you needed', I just lost it. I hadn't wanted him to know that part of me, but it hurt when I saw the way he was with you. I didn't want it to change the way he looked at me, but somehow it had completely backfired. I just needed some space to regroup." The redhead gripped her coffee, sipping and calming herself.

Rory's eyes burned at the new information, "Rosemary, I'm just so sorry. If he had known, I know he would have never said that."

The fighting spirit spurred to life, "Well, he shouldn't just assume he knows everyone's life! He's an asshole."

"Yeah…" Rory nodded, "…but he's your asshole, right?"

"I don't know."

"You're his first girlfriend. He's bound to make mistakes, but I think you can trust him with your life. Your whole life." She reached out for Rose's hand. "No one's perfect. Just give him a chance to be there for you like he was for me."

"That's part of the problem though Rory. Your relationship gets weird. You guys say it's a sibling thing, but the way he's been? It seems like more. I'm not dealing with any bullshit anymore. If it makes me uncomfortable, I'm not dealing with it. These insecurities are enough to drive anyone crazy."

Rory shook her head, "There's nothing else there for either of us. We've been through hell and back and it shows. Finn's never had a normal family, so he doesn't know exactly what that looks like. To me, he's just another member of my family. For him, well…sometimes I wonder if I'm the first person who's ever really loved him for him."

Rosemary gazed thoughtfully into her empty mug. After a few moments of simply listening to the hustle and bustle of the coffee shop, she looked up, "I'll talk with him. I'm not going to get in the way of having a relationship with his sister, but I am going to get more vocal to you about the shit I don't like."

Rory smiled tentatively, "I think I can handle that. Friends?"

"Friends." She nodded and stood up. "So how long do I have?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you little conniving bitches would have planned for Finn to show up here too. How long do I have before he gets here?" She smirked knowingly.

Rory sheepishly glanced at her watch, "I expect him in five minutes or less."

Rosemary cackled and walked to the counter. She returned with two more lattes and blueberry muffins.

"You're looking too thin. Eat up." She pushed the plate towards Rory.

"Thanks Rose."

"What's the update with your case?"

"They arrested the man who attacked me and charged him. He has a bond hearing this week, but we're going to get a restraining order too."

"Who was it?"

Rory's voice was soft, "Marty."

"Wow." Rosemary whistled, "Did not see that coming. You ok?" She looked up to see Rory's eyes closed and her mouth open as she took deep breaths again. "Don't answer that, I know you're not ok. You're going to be okay though. You're going to start counseling soon, right?"

She nodded, "I start Tuesday." After a few more breaths, she opened her eyes. "That trick really does work. Where'd you learn it?"

"Therapy. I'm a firm believer. That shit works." She smiled. "You should think about group therapy too. You might make some friends who can relate and help the process. I met my best friend Anna in group therapy."

"I'll think about it." Rory's phone started buzzing in her purse. She smiled and answered, "Hi Finn."

"Love! Where the hell are you?!"

"Coffee shop down the street. See you soon!" She slapped the phone shut. "You ready?"

Rosemary nodded, "Yeah, I think I am. I appreciate this Rory. If you decide you want to go to group therapy, let me know and I'll go with you for the first session at least. I could always use a tune up." She shrugged off the gesture, but Rory knew how much strength that took.

"Thanks Rosemary. I hope you guys can work it out. I might take you up on the offer sooner than you think. In the meantime," She stood up and grabbed her second cup, "I'm going to run before I get mauled by the Australian who's bound to show up any moment now."

Rory almost made a clean getaway, but she wasn't fast enough. Finn bounded into the coffee shop, eyes wild and hair windblown. He was breathing like he'd run all the way from the apartment. He probably had.

"Love! What the hell were you thinking?" His voice echoed and several patrons looked back at them curiously.

She drug him to the back corner table where Rosemary was sitting, stone-faced.

"I was thinking it was time you made up with your girlfriend."

Finn looked past Rory, "R..Rose. Hey. Fancy seeing you here."

She smirked, "Stephanie and Rory are meddling."

He looked back at Rory, "Ah… I should have known. You never play the radio in the shower."

Rory realized in that moment that maybe their relationship had gotten a little weird, "You stay here and talk. I'm going to walk home and watch something stupid on television."

Finn went to protest, but Rory cut him off, "I'm going to call someone and talk to them on the way home. Don't worry."

They hugged and she whispered in his ear, "Don't screw this up."

He kissed her forehead and nodded his response, sitting down beside Rosemary instead of across from her.

Rory smiled happily and headed back towards the apartment. She pulled out her cell and called Logan.

"Hey beautiful!"

"Hey there, want to hear what I just did?"

"You've intrigued me…" Logan plopped down on his sofa and listened as Rory went into a rant about her matchmaking adventure. He grinned as he listened and was happy to hear that the task had taken Rory's mind off everything she was dealing with.

Just as Rory was about to tell Logan about Finn's call, her voice stopped.

"Ace, you still there?"

He heard a scratching noise and then Rory's voice from a distance, "Marty?"

AN: We have ourselves the identity of Teddy! AH! We've got a few more chapters before this story wraps up, so don't give up just yet! We've got the who, so we'll get the how and why in the next chapter(s).