Rory came to just as they arrived at the ER and the man in blue scrubs was helping her from her seat to a wheelchair. Luckily it was a slow night, and she was taken straight through, leaving Logan filling out her details. It was a long wait. He texted Lorelai, saying where they were, waiting to hear something more concrete before ruining Finn's evening.

"Logan Huntzberger? Rory Gilmore's fiance?" the tall bald male doctor approached.

"I am, how is she?" Logan asked.

"My name is Dr. Roberts. We ran an EKG, did some blood work and a chest x-ray. The good news is that there's nothing wrong with her heart. It looks like a panic attack. We'll monitor her for a few hours. You can go sit with her, but most likely we won't have to keep her overnight," he explained.

Logan sighed with relief, nodding and following his gesture towards her room.

"It seems this time of the year is not great for me," Rory said, trying to make a joke.

"Rory," he began, trying to be supportive. "You're going to be fine, we'll get you all the help you need," he added.

"Dr. Burg is booked solid for two weeks," she worried.

"Leave it to me," he added, kissing her forehead. "I'll go make a few calls and let people not to worry, I'll be right back," he said, taking his phone just outside her room.


"Good morning," Logan said, observing her carefully as if she was made of glass, as Rory came down the stairs the next morning. It was 10.30 AM already, but he'd let her sleep in. She had needed it.

"Morning," she replied.

"Coffee is still warm, and there are a few croissants left," he suggested. He desperately wanted her to talk to him, but he also knew she was fragile. Pushing her too much could result in another attack and he hoped to avoid it. While everything he had read about it between last night and now, was reassuring - that this wasn't going to harm her if she took the right medication and used the right techniques to calm herself, talked about it, the experience had shaken him as well. Seeing her face turn white and her going unresponsive were the longest six minutes of his life, had been terrifying. Taking care of her was a priority.

"I called a private therapist. She can come by tonight if you feel up to it," Logan said carefully.

"Isn't that like cheating on Dr. Burg or something?" Rory asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"No, Paris and Dr. Burg approved. He said he'd fill her in, on your approval, and this way the help will only be a phone call away right here in New Haven," he said, supportively.

"I guess it'll be okay then," she said. "Sure, make the call. And thank you, Logan," she added.

"We were supposed to go to your parent's tonight?" she asked worriedly, putting down her croissant a few minutes later.

"Don't you worry about it. I'll go myself, I'll just tell them you are not feeling well. Walking into that lion's den is the least you need right now," he said.

"I probably should talk to Mitchum though, tell him I need to take some time," Rory added, finally understanding that something did have to change.

"I can talk to him for you, if you want. I'll go into as much detail as you say it is okay," he offered.

"I don't think there is a lot of point hiding the reason from him, he is sort of my boss too, but I wouldn't mind if Shira didn't know I am having issues as such. Maybe talk to them separately?" she suggested.

"Sure, that I can do," he agreed.

"And tell him that I really would've wanted to talk to him myself, I just.. I am not sure if I am up to going there right now," she said.

"Alright," he reflected.

"And Logan," she began. "I do want to talk to you, I will… I just need to figure out what to say exactly, but for what it's worth, it's not about us. It's not cold feet or anything like that," she added, hoping to lift some of that worry from his face. That was in fact one of the few things she felt confident about. Being with Logan wasn't uncomplicated, but she knew that those were just the things she'd have to learn to live with. How she dealt with the accompanied issues was the challenge.


"Did you hear about Rory?" Paris asked Finn, stepping into his kitchen.

"I did," he said, rising from her seat to give her a kiss.

"Good," Paris said pacing around, unable to settle. She was worried.

"I don't think there is much we can do here other than keep an eye on her, make sure she is getting help," Finn said.

"I know. Logan already got her help," Paris commented.

"So why are you so stressed?" he asked.

"I feel like I might have kicked her while she was down. I don't know, I feel responsible somehow," she explained, leaning her elbows on the kitchen counter and holding her forehead.

"Paris, if she's drowning herself in her work that's not on you," Finn added.

Paris understood now that while Rory had been quite serious with Finn, his understanding of Rory was fairly superficial. She figured they'd been too preoccupied with her pregnancy and later with Leah, and his knowledge of the person Rory had been was patchy. He might have read Rory's book, but that was just a part of it, it was the part without complexities around her person that stood separate from Lorelai and Emily.

"She did ask about you last night, you know," Finn said, adding, "when they dropped Leah off."

"She did? I wish she'd called," Paris said.

"Now come on, you said yourself, she is getting help. So let us just enjoy our day. I haven't even had the chance to give your present yet," Finn said after a minute, trying to change the subject.

Paris felt a little reluctant to stray, Rory's condition seemed too significant to her. But she knew there was little she could do at this point. She'd already made plans to go see her the next day and sitting around pondering about what could've been done differently was not going to improve anything.

"Fine," she agreed, trying to push the negative thoughts aside.

Finn handed her an envelope.

"What is this? Not a spa voucher, is it?" Paris said jokingly. She never had been much of a gift giver or receiver, her bluntness not being her strong suit in these cases. But Finn knew this about her, and she knew he'd not be offended.

Inside there were plane tickets to Marrakech in her name.

"I want you to come with me, " he added.

"Wow, this is quite a gift, I must say. Thank you! Never been to that corner of the world. But is it okay if I think about it a little? I'll need to see how I can rearrange my work," she replied.

"Sure, take your time. I'm going either way, and even if you decide it is too soon or too long of a time to be away from the kids, it's not an issue, I just thought it'd be nice," Finn explained.

"Now, I'm going to have to warn you. My gift is totally going to suck in comparison. I am not that great with gifts," she said apologetically, handing him a large pack of whiskey infused coffee beans with a bow on it.

"Hey, what's not to like. My two favourite things in one," he replied cheerily, hugging her. She was tiny in comparison, especially without her heels, fitting right under his chin.


A short and dark haired woman in her forties with black framed wayfarer glasses had taken a seat in Rory's desk chair that she had moved out from behind her desk in her study, while Rory sat at the armchair. She'd identified herself as Dr. Cara Wright, Rory had even checked her ID.

"Rory, I've had a talk with dr. Burg, but I aim to make my own conclusions. But before I ask you to explain in your own words what has been going on, I'm going to show you a few techniques you can do if you ever start feeling like you did last night," she began, spending the next twenty minutes showing her some breathing exercises and relaxation techniques.

Rory didn't begin with her history with Logan, Finn and Leah which may have seemed more topical, but began with Lorelai. The way Lorelai's words always hit her the hardest, was still sometimes a surprise to her. But more than anything this was the question of the person she was, was before or was supposed to be. Everyone around her seemed to have a different idea of that. It was her own self image that was fuzzy.

"I know that you have written a book," Cara said. "I understand that it is autobiographical?" she asked.

Rory nodded.

"It seems writing is something that comes easily to you. So I have an assignment for you, and this is something I'd like you to keep doing for as long as it takes. It really can help. I want you to write a journal about the person you are now. And the key is to really stick to now. I know it is easy to fall back into describing the things that have led you here but this is not the assignment. Start with whatever comes the easiest, whether it is about being a mother or being a writer or being a student, doesn't matter. You don't need to think about the flow of the story, just write," she suggested.

"I can do that," Rory agreed.

"Also, taking some time off now is a good idea, but try to keep something going so the shock of being out of the real world wouldn't be too big in contrast. Other than taking it a little easier on yourself, try to keep your life going as much as you can, this is not the time to make big life-altering decisions, okay? If there is anything like that in your mind, call me first and we'll talk about it, day or night," she said, offering Rory her card.

"Okay, I will," she agreed.

"And I'll see you in a couple of days," Cara said before leaving.