AN: Thank you for all of the love and reviews. It means so much, genuinely. We are going to see a character, and we are going to see some goodness...but please let me know, do you want the next chapter to pick up where we left off, or my original plan which was to jump forward a bit of time again? One of my goals with writing a pandemic fic is to acknowledge the privilege, and I know that I have an insane amount of privilege being able to safely work from home and not worry about that, and so many people have struggled, so I'm trying to do that justice and I send all my love to anyone who has struggled throughout this past year. As I've mentioned, we are in lockdown 3.0 here in Ontario and it's a bit of a mess, but more people are being vaccinated by the day so that is promising. For those of you waiting for EHC - I am hoping to have that out tomorrow or Tuesday
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls
Chapter Four - Out of the Coals, Into the Fire
May 18, 2020
"I'm going to be back in the late morning, lunch at the latest" Rory told Nathan who was looking at her with a certain amount of worry in his eyes. "I have to pick up my stuff from work," she told him. Rory had been laid off a few days earlier and given that her stay in Hartford was lasting longer, she needed more things from her place in Brooklyn. "I'm spending the night and then driving right home," she told him. She didn't want to just turn around and drive back. She knew that picking up her things would be exhausting, even if her boss had promised her if things picked up again she would be called back. He had even suggested that he might be able to hire her back for some freelance work, but he couldn't keep her on staff - he had to let go 60% of his writing staff and bring things back to the bare bones. She supposed that was what happened when you wanted to work for a small publication instead of taking advantage of your baby daddy running a newspaper conglomerate. She had called Mark a couple of days earlier to let him know she would be coming and agreed that they could have dinner that night. Rory had explicitly told him that she would sleep on the couch or in Nathan's room and Mark had said he could sleep on the couch, but she didn't see that happening. It wasn't her bed anymore, no matter how else she looked at things and the complicated nature of their relationship at the moment, it was more his bed than hers. Her bed was in Hartford.
"You have your mask?" Nathan asked, the same way his mother asked him every time he went to do a curbside pickup or a distanced visit with a family member.
"I have my mask," Rory told him. "Don't worry. I will not come in contact with anyone. They scheduled the office pickup so we're all alone and don't have to worry about anyone." Rory turned to Logan and smiled, "you boys good for one night?"
"Jess dropped off freezer meals," Logan joked. He had been paying his housekeeper the entire time, but in the last few weeks she had started preparing freezer meals and dropping them off in the freezer in the garage so that everyone was fed. Logan was sure that it wasn't an entirely altruistic endeavour. Jess was probably getting bored, and also probably concerned that Nathan wasn't eating any vegetables if his mother was cooking for him. "Just uh…" Logan put a hand on the side of her shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "call when you get there and be safe."
Rory nodded. The tension between the two of them had risen and fallen over the weeks. They got along, and Nathan had been spared most of their drama, but they had bickered on a few occasions about trivial things even thought they both knew that they weren't in fact bickering about whatever was at hand. "Bye," she nodded.
"You've got gas?" Logan called as Rory walked to the mudroom, he saw as she smiled at him and assured him she did. "I just don't want you to have to stop when you're there."
Rory turned completely towards him and walked back, pulling him in for a hug. Things might've been weird, or complicated, or many other ways that you could describe it, but they cared about each other. Nothing else mattered because they would always be there for each other. "Thank you."
"Be safe."
xxx
Rory walked through the door of her Prospect Heights condo and walked immediately to the kitchen. She hadn't brought anything. Her keys, ID and credit card were all tucked in her pocket and she immediately went to the sink and began washing her hands. She didn't even look up to see that Mark was now standing in the living room at the bottom of the stairs that led to the Nathan's bedroom and the makeshift office of their home. She rigorously washed her hands and then carefully removed her disposable mask before throwing it in the garbage, she couldn't be bothered with doing laundry when she was barely in town for a full day so she had brought a few disposables. "Hey," she gave Mark a smile when she was done her routine.
"Hey," Mark smiled warmly at her. "How was the drive?"
Rory emptied the contents of her pocket on the counter and walked towards him, she took him by the shoulders and then pulled him in for a hug. "It was fine, are you…are you alright? Things here are…"
"I'm fine," Mark rubbed her back, his lip twitching upwards in a smile. "Don't worry about me. You worry about you and Nate, your parents…"
"I worry about you too," Rory told him, "I know…things are…complicated, but I care about you."
Mark smiled at her as he dropped his arms from around her waist, "did you get your stuff from your office?" he asked. Rory had told him about being let go when she let him know she was coming for the night.
"I did," Rory nodded, "it was weird…surreal. Like one day, not that long ago, we were all there and it was bustling…and it's empty. I think there were some people on one of the other floors, but it was completely empty, and…I mean…I'll be alright, I can freelance…I might write a book, who knows. I have some time, and I have the money for the mortgage…"
Mark swallowed slowly. It was her place. He had moved into her place. Sure, when he moved in, they started sharing a bank account and they were both responsible for paying half of everything, but it was still hers. "Do you think you're going to sell?"
Rory hadn't thought of it. She couldn't imagine house hunting during a pandemic, and even if she was staying with Logan, she still needed a place to live, a place that was hers, because one day this would all be over and she would go back to her regular life. "You stay," Rory told him, "I don't know what I'll do long term, but for now…we'll keep going like we have been."
"I'll pay more," Mark told her, "if I'm living here…"
Rory shook her head, "no," she told him, "it's my house, I'm responsible for it. It's fine. I'm fine, I'm good."
"I ordered dinner," Mark changed the subject.
Rory smiled at him, "I'm afraid to ask how many places have closed," she admitted.
Mark moved to sit down at the small kitchen table they had to eat at and pulled out his phone, "it should be here soon, and I know what you mean…I never know what is closed to be safe, or what is closed because of exposure or what is closed because they're never opening up again…it's all so depressing." Rory gave him a sympathetic smile. It was easy to lose perspective of just how good they had it. Even the Logan factor aside. If Rory had stayed in Brooklyn, she and Nathan would've been safe at home. No one would've needed to go anywhere, sure it would've been cramped but they had the ability to stay safe. There were people who had to leave to work, people without access to food, people who had lost everything…as much as she didn't like to admit it and as much as she had tried to be self sufficient, her worst case scenario was calling Logan, which she had done, or calling her grandmother, or even retreating to Stars Hollow which was thriving and seemingly Covid free under Taylor. "I got you a panini." Rory's eyes lit up in response, she had been dreaming of this particular panini the week that she left for Hartford, in fact, they had plans to get one, but hadn't because of the fight over Rory leaving.
"Is it the trieste?" Rory asked, referring to her favourite menu option at Pisillo Panini. Mark nodded as if to say of course and Rory grinned even more. "When will it be here? I want to pack my things tonight, and then I can just leave tomorrow."
"Another half hour," Mark told her. "You go, I'll make coffee. Unless you want a beer or wine or something? I just got a new bean and I thought you would like it? I joined a coffee club…they send you a bunch of stuff each week, delivered straight to your door. I should send you the details…"
"I would have to repatriate my French press," Rory smiled and nodded to the shelf in their kitchen that held three of the coffee making device.
"I think I can spare one," Mark laughed, "no coffee in Hartford?"
"Oh there is coffee," Rory smiled as she walked towards the bedroom, "but it's very European and fancy, and doesn't really hit the spot when you just want to be consuming it through an IV."
"Understood," Mark ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her. It almost felt normal. Having her back. She had been gone almost two months. He had missed her. Seeing her walk down the hall to their bedroom felt like the most normal thing in the world. "I'll yell when food is here. Do you want to do anything tonight or…?" he asked, waiting awkwardly for a response.
Rory paused in the hallway, a few steps away from their room, "why don't we watch a movie or a show? Something…there must be something decent on Netflix?"
"I'm pretty sure you'll throw something at me when I ask this, but…have you watched Tiger King?"
"Mark!" Rory glared at him as she started walking into the bedroom, "that is such trash, and I don't want to commit to a full series!"
"Coming from the woman who watches RuPaul? Tiger King is where we draw the line?" Mark shouted after her. "At least be honest with me," he laughed, "you promised to watch it with your mom!"
Rory rolled her eyes and walked into their bedroom. She noticed that it looked the same. Nothing was out of place or moved. Her quilt still covered the bottom of the bed, and it had been made that morning. Clearly Mark was dusting because everything was as clean and dust-free as when she had left it. She looked under the bed and pulled out a large suitcase and opened it on the bed. The last time she had opened this particular suitcase is when she and Nathan had gone on a two week trip to Europe a few years earlier. They had spent the entire time touring Italy and it had been the most amazing trip. She went to the bathroom and started grabbing some additional toiletries, having mostly ignored her skincare routine, she brought her night cream and day cream, her SPF, additional toothbrush attachments and the charger that she had forgotten. She had been borrowing Logans and he kept bugging her about ordering a new one, which she refused to do given that she already owned a perfectly good one. She grabbed a tube of toothpaste, she didn't like the ones that Logan kept, and her favourite hairbrush, she wasn't sure how she had forgotten that the first time. After packing her toiletries, Rory returned to the closet and grabbed a few things. Some more pyjamas, which seemed to be her outfit of choices these days, a couple of pairs of jeans that she didn't imagine she would use, she grabbed her only two bathing suits, Logan had reminded her that the pool would be open in a matter of days and in the meantime she could use the hot tub. She walked to her bedside table and picked up a framed photo from her graduation from Yale. A photo of her, both of her parents and her grandparents in an ornate, gold coloured frame. She ran her finger tip over the image, lingering on her grandfather before she put it in the suitcase and sighed.
"So you're really not coming back then?" Mark surprised her as he stood in the doorway, watching Rory pack what he had always considered her prized possession. It was the one thing she never considered moving or replacing, if it had been knocked over for whatever reason or moved Nathan, she always panicked until it was back where it belonged.
Rory shook her head and made a face, "Mark it's just a picture."
"It's not just a picture," he told her, "come on, dinner is here. We may as well enjoy it? For old times sake…"
Rory rolled her eyes as she zipped up the suitcase. She followed him to the kitchen and saw that he had done as they always did and simply tossed the wrapped food on the table and she smiled. They both hated doing dishes, they were both happier just throwing out the garbage after. It was one of the things that had worked about them. Mark had never tried to change Rory or domesticate her. He didn't expect her to cook for him or keep the house a certain way, they were partners. They cooked together, they cleaned together (sometimes), and they were more than happy to order out. Mark did his share of the laundry and the cleaning, he took out the garbage, he picked up his socks off the floor. He was a good man. "This smells amazing," Rory sat down at her spot and looked at the meal in front of her. It was strange in so many ways, to feel this sense of relief that one of her favourite little places was still open given how so many storefronts and restaurants had been closing with the lasting impacts of the pandemic as it dragged on.
"Eat," Mark nodded to the plate as he picked his up, "you know it's best when it's hot."
They fell back into easy conversation. If Rory didn't know any better, she would think it was February and Nathan just happened to be at a friends house, so the two of them had decided to order in and just have a relaxing night at home. They talked about everything. Work (for Mark, Rory obviously didn't have much to add on that front), his parents, her parents, her grandmother, they talked about how Nathan was doing with school and they both started talking about all of the things they wanted to do when this was over.
"I guess we just…as people, we can't take for granted all of these luxuries, you know? Seeing our loved ones, eating at restaurants, travel…"
"Man the things I would do to be in a tin can with recycled air right now," Mark laughed as he finished his panini.
"Right? To hear someone talk about the emergency exits…" Rory smiled, they had gone on a trip to Nassau between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and even though it was only a few months earlier, it felt like an eternity at this point. "That was a fun trip," Rory smiled as Mark took her garbage and she stood up with her coffee.
"What wasn't to love?" Mark asked from the kitchen as Rory made her way to the couch. "The beach, the pool, no distractions, no work…"
"No Nathan," she laughed. They had spent the week sleeping in, drinking coffee, relaxing, reading and enjoying decidedly adult meals without consideration for what her then eleven year old wanted as he was with his father. "I cannot wait to go back somewhere like that," Rory admitted, although she was careful not to say she was waiting for them to go back. Mark sat down on the couch beside her and handed her the remote, she turned on the television to see a PVR full of things that she had set to record, "you didn't delete any of this?" she laughed.
"You say that like it was an option," Mark scoffed as he sat in his spot on the couch and Rory sat in hers. "If I had deleted this, you would've come back and told me about the one thing you had just been dying to see about some obscure author from the nineteenth century and then you would walk around here with puppy dog eyes until I found it on the internet for you."
Rory made a face, "I wouldn't pout."
"No, you wouldn't pout, it would be worse than you pouting because you know I can't say no to those eyes."
Rory settled into her spot on the couch even further. She had missed it. The comfort, the feeling of accomplishment that was the home she had created for herself. She had bought it with some help from her father, that wasn't surprising, but she had worked hard, she had wanted to make sure that Nathan always had a home, no matter how chaotic things were with Logan and the way he travelled for work, Brooklyn was always there. "You sure everything is alright with you?" Rory asked as she moved and leaned her head onto his shoulder.
"I'm fine," Mark promised her. "Scared, but…I think we're all scared, right? I mean…my parents they don't get why we can't just go about our business. they aren't going full republican on me and pretending it's not a thing, but I worry that one day I'm going to go over to drop off food or their prescriptions and I'm going to find out they decided to do it themselves."
"I get it," Rory sighed. "I mean, that is why mom is with grandma. We don't want to risk her deciding to do something on her own, and Berta…bless the woman, she is lovely, but we just feel better knowing that mom is with her."
"Will Luke go soon?"
Rory nodded as she took the moment to flip through the recordings on the PVR, "I think soon. Things are still…nuts, and I think he'll leave Lane in charge of the diner with Cesar, and then he will go to help mom out. Then they'll both freak out and end up coming home," Rory laughed.
"I can imagine a lot of things…Luke and your grandma living together isn't one of those things."
Rory laughed and looked up at him, "that really is quite the image, isn't it?"
Mark nodded and gave her a smile as he looked down at her. "Ror…"
She shook her head and sat up a bit, their eyes met and Rory smiled at the familiarity of him. The way she knew his tanned skin and green eyes, the way she found his beard incredibly sexy, despite the fact that it had never really been what she was attracted to in a man. He was smart, he was kind, he was self assured, he was a good man. "We should," she turned her head back to the television, "why don't you pick?"
"You pick," Mark told her, he didn't look at the television, he kept his eyes on her for a moment before her head fell back on his shoulder and he moved to put his arm around her shoulder. He wanted to tell her to come back. He wanted to tell her they could figure out a long distance arrangement. That he loved her and that would be enough, but he also didn't want to fight with her. So if this was it, if this was what would probably be their last night together, he wanted to enjoy it.
"Back to the Future is on Netflix…" Rory thought back to some stupid Buzzfeed article that her mother had sent her a few days earlier.
"Sounds good," Mark smiled at her and they settled into a comfortable silence as Rory turned on the movie. she kept her body snuggled close against him. About halfway through she was parched, she walked to the fridge and grabbed them each a beer, she smiled as she noticed that Mark had extended his shopping local attempts to his beer. It was from a microbrewery in the city and Rory grabbed them each a can before returning to where she was before. They both cracked their cans and took long sips. "What do you think?" he asked her, "I was worried it was going to be too hoppy."
"It's not bad," Rory told him of the lager, "I'm just glad it's not another IPA."
"For a woman who and I quote 'doesn't drink beer' you certainly know your way around them," Mark laughed, thinking back to early in their relationship when he had taken her to a brewery on a date. She had protested, but with a bit of prodding she would later admit that she had enjoyed the beer, and maybe over the years she just hadn't had the right beer.
Rory smiled coyly and took another sip. She remembered the first time Logan had heard her ask for a beer at his place. Normally she would've had a cocktail or a glass of wine, but one day she simply requested a Stella Artois and that was the moment Logan had realized she and Mark had gotten serious. "Work is good?" Rory returned to a subject that Mark had steered clear of because he knew that work was not good for her.
He nodded his head, "it is. Weird not being in the office, I'm so sick of Zoom and Teams and FaceTime…but I have it pretty good."
"I'm glad you're not being sent back into the office," she told him. "It's just…scary."
"Hey," Mark adjusted his body to look at her. "Don't worry about me. Whatever we are or aren't right now…you don't have to worry about me."
"Everyone keeps saying that," Rory exhaled with a laugh.
"So take a drink, and for tonight, just don't worry. You can worry again tomorrow. But for now…don't worry."
Rory leaned up and gave him a gentle kiss. She wasn't sure what had come over her, but he was being too nice. He was being far nicer than she deserved, and here she was complicating it. Her lips lingered for a moment before they brushed up against his once more and she enjoyed the feel of his beard against her skin. "I," she breathed when they parted, "I'm sorry."
"No," Mark shook his head and pulled her closer. He kissed her once more and sucked gently on her bottom lip, "just don't worry. Not tonight," he murmured as his lips went to her jaw.
Rory tilted her head and as always loved the sensation of the softness of his lips, the warmth of his breath with the hard bristle of his stubble. "More," Rory murmured as she crawled into his lap and held his face in her hands, "I've missed you," she admitted before their lips met once more. Mark didn't speak. One hand was tangled in her hair and the other was slipping up the back of her shirt, feeling the soft skin that he had missed for the last couple of months. They were brought out of the moment by the sound of her phone ringing. She groaned. Ringing meant specifically that it was Nathan calling. Everyone else would just vibrate, "I just…" he nodded as she sat up on her knees and retrieved the phone from her pocket and swiped to pick up the call, "hey," Rory answered breathlessly, she pushed her hair behind her ears as the sound of her hysterical son filled her ears.
"Dad," Nathan hiccuped through his tears, "he hurt himself," he explained, "and i just…"
Rory didn't need him to finish before she rolled off of Mark's lap unceremoniously and stood up, "Nathan are you alright? Is everyone ok?" she asked frantically.
"He says," Nathan told her between the heaves, "he says he's fine…there was a lot of blood."
"Can I talk to dad?" Rory asked, Mark stood up and gave her a concerned look, she shrugged her shoulders because she wasn't sure yet what was going on.
"He's in the shower," Nathan hiccuped, "he told me he was fine and not to call."
"I'll be right there. Call Honor and talk to her, ok? She can probably talk your sense into your dad if it's serious. But i will be home. Just call me if you need me, alright? I'm leaving now," Rory was walking to her bedroom at this point, she pulled the suitcase off the bed and by the time she hung up the phone she was back in the kitchen. "Nathan is hysterical," she sighed.
"I heard," Mark shrugged. "Logan alright?" he had heard bits and pieces of what Nathan was saying.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But I think with everything going on, he's just…he's terrified."
"I get it, he's your family," Mark smiled as he walked towards her, "do me a favour?" she nodded her head in response, "just text me to let me know you're alright…"
"Thank you for tonight," Rory smiled, "maybe in a few weeks I can come back and we can do dinner again?" she suggested. Being with him, being in their home, it all felt like it as supposed to, it felt like normalcy, she missed normalcy.
"I don't think so," Mark shook his head. He may have been in love with her, but he was in love with her enough to know that she wasn't his anymore. "I love you Rory, but…this is going to have to be it for us," he pulled her in for a hug and a final gentle kiss on the lips.
"Mark, I'm just…I'm going because of Nathan."
"I know you mean that," Mark gave her a smile. "You think that is why you're going…but there is also a piece of you that can't imagine a world without him. A piece of you that will always think of him first."
"Nathan is first," Rory challenged him.
"Nathan is first, but Logan comes before anyone else. I can't fight that," Mark admitted, "these past few months…I've missed you, but I've also realized I can't win that battle. So be happy."
"I'll text you when I get back?"
"Be safe."
xxx
Rory had made it back to Hartford in record time. She had talked to Nathan a couple of times and he had seemingly calmed down, although he couldn't tell her what happened, and he wouldn't let her talk to Logan. She parked her car in the driveway, leaving her suitcase in the trunk and walked into the house, "Nathan?" she shouted from the foyer, "Logan?" she tossed her keys on the small console table by the door and locked it behind her before taking the stairs two at a time until she made it to the master bedroom where Logan was sitting on the bed with a rather large bandage on his hand. "You're ok?" Rory asked breathlessly as she stood in the doorframe.
"Ace?" Logan wasn't expecting to see her until the night before. "I'm fine, just a cut…"
"Nathan called," Rory explained as she walked towards him. Logan put his book on the bed and smiled as Rory gently took his bandaged hand and looked at it, "he said you were hurt, he was scared."
Logan winced as Rory applied a bit of pressure, "I had a run in with a knife, but I'm fine," he assured her, "there was a fair amount of blood though, so I think Nate was worried."
"He called me hysterically…"
"Well that might've just been Nate playing you like a fiddle," Logan laughed, "I promise, I'm fine. I FaceTimed with a doctor, he instructed me on how to wrap it…"
"So you're fine?" Rory kept his hand in hers.
"Sore, but yeah…I'll live to cut another cucumber…"
Rory put his hand down gently and burst into laughter, "a cucumber? The great Logan Huntzberger was almost brought down by a cucumber?"
"I don't think I was nearly brought down by a cucumber, but yes, I did injure myself cutting a cucumber…"
"I'm going to go talk to Nathan, bring in my suitcase, and then I'll check on you before I go to bed? Do you need anything?"
"Can you bring me a water when you come back? I mean…I'm perfectly capable of walking to the kitchen, but opening the bottle of Pellegrino might be hard."
"Poor baby," Rory rolled her eyes as she walked back to the hallway and knocked on Nathan's door, "so that is what we're calling dad being injured now?"
Nathan looked up from his iPad, surprised to see her so quickly, "you're home?"
"And you embellished what was going on with dad?" Rory took a seat on the edge of the bed, "what was up with that?" Nathan furrowed his brow and avoided her eyes as she took the iPad from his hand, "phone too," she told him and he groaned as he handed over the device. "Nathan, if you wanted me to come home you didn't need to give me a sob story about dad, you could have just told me." Rory felt bad taking the items away from him, but she also knew that there needed to be a consequence. Nathan was worried, he was worried about everything and she wished very much that she could take that worry away, but the chance to ask her to come home that night was before she left, not once she was already staying. "You can't lie to get what you want."
"I didn't lie."
"You pretty much did…I'm not looking to argue about the details. You can have these back in a couple of days, and tomorrow you can help make all the meals while his hand heals."
"Did you check on him?"
"Of course I did Nathan," Rory stood up. "I'm disappointed in you."
"I'm sorry," Nathan grumbled.
"No video games either. Only the computer for school, nothing else…"
"But mom!"
"Nope, no but mom…" Rory told him as she walked out of the room with the devices and closed the door. She turned them off instantly, knowing that if she didn't she would be subjected to pings at all hours of the night from the various games he played and friends he had. She went to her bedroom and pulled out her phone to send a quick message to Mark to tell him that she had arrived safely. She couldn't believe that a few hours earlier they were happy, they were together and happy for the first time in a few months, and then he was telling her they were done. She could understand his point, not wanting to play second fiddle to Nathan and Logan, but had she really put Logan first? Rory plugged her phone in and went back downstairs to get her suitcase from her car and a bottle of sparkling water for Logan, she figured Nathan would at least be happy that it was glass and not a plastic bottle. She started unpacking her things, getting most of them put away before she started to get change. Rory was frustrated. For a number of reasons. The first was that Nathan had pulled this crap to try to Parent Trap her into coming home, and the second was that her make out session with Mark hadn't done much to alleviate the frustration of being essentially single these last few months. Rory walked to her closet and got changed, taking a quick look at herself in the mirror before she peaked in the hall, she could see that not only was Nathan's door closed, but his light was now off and so rather than doing up the tie on her silk La Perla robe, she would leave it open as she walked with the bottle of Pellegrino in one hand and her Satisfyer in the other, she knocked gently on the door before walking in and putting the bottle on the table, leaving Logan to momentarily ogle her as she stood before him in a mesh demi bra and matching panties.
"Are you…" Logan once again put his book down and sat up, he wasn't sure if this was some sort of trap he was walking into, if it was another part of the game the two of them had been playing.
Rory let the robe fall off of her shoulders as she turned to close the bedroom door and click the lock shut, "there are two doors here Huntzberger," she told him boldly, "the first is that me and my battery operated boyfriend to and have some alone time in your big, lonely tub," she could see him swallow the lump in his throat as a grin came over his lips, "and the second is that I'm single, I'm here, and I'm horny and I'm yours."