AN: So I actually intended to do more with this chapter but it was just too emotionally heavy for me. I read a few articles on cheating and divorce and whatnot to try to get some insight into the different ways people could deal with this, and I think Abigail has viewed their marriage as a partnership for a very long time which is why she is able and willing to continue being a part of the "Team" that is raising their kids no matter what. Dean for his part views marriage more traditionally. So...that should be fun. Please red, review, enjoy. I am laying sod in my backyard this weekend so in addition to the fact that I physically feel like I am dying, I'm not near my computer as much so updates might be a bit slow for the next week. Ontario has had their lockdown extended though so ... I've got nowhere else to be ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter Six

Abigail was furious as she paced around their master bedroom. She couldn't do this on the main floor for fear of being seen by her parents having this epic breakdown, and she also couldn't go to the basement for fear of seeing her kids. She knew if she tried to run out for a drive, her father would tell her it was too late or too snowy or too something and that she needed to stay home with her family, never mind the fact that they had just arrived a few hours earlier and it was only late afternoon.

Her family

What a fucking joke.

"You cannot be doing this Logan," Abigail spat through gritted teeth. "You want a divorce?" He had told her a few minutes earlier and she had been processing the information. Sure, it had crossed her mind, but she had imagined it would be her telling him, not the other way around.

"I'm sorry," Logan stood where he was, he was about five feet from Abigail but also standing between her and the door, if she wanted to leave she would have to go through him. Not that he would stop her, she could do whatever she wanted, but he wanted to at least give her a moments pause to consider what would happen if she went downstairs. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the timing, I'm sorry that your parents are downstairs…we can go through the motions of the holidays, but I will be calling my lawyers on Monday to start drafting things. We have the prenup, it's ironclad, custody expectations were drawn up in that agreement," he thought back to when they were just a couple of twenty somethings getting married and they had, at the request of his father put a plan in place for every situation. They had thought this was such a silly document, so ridiculous to have every painstaking detail decided beforehand. They had created separate agreements depending on how the marriage broke down. Luckily for Abigail in at least one way was that Logan was admitting he cheated, he would be paying her more so she would continue in the lifestyle she was used to. "Once your parents are gone I will move to the city for a little while so you can look for a new house," he told her.

"Are you kidding me?" Abigail hissed, "you are seriously going to kick me out of the marital home? What, are you going to move your little tramp in here? Newsflash buddy, Noah and Lily are too old to simply believe they have a new mommy because you drop her in the kitchen."

"Abs," Logan cocked his head to the left, "do you love me?"

"What a stupid question to ask me right now," she rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her long blonde tresses before taking the hair elastic that was semi-permanently on her right wrist and tying her hair in an effortless topknot on the top of her head. "I have been by your side, I have helped you, I have stepped up, I have known the name of every business associate and their spouse and their children…I have done everything for this family! And you have the nerve to ask me if I love you?"

"Abigail, are you in love with me?" he repeated it calmly. He knew what she did for him, he knew how much she managed in his life, but it didn't change the fact that he was no longer in love with the woman standing in front of him and they both deserved more than that.

"I can't even stand the sight of you," she straightened her posture and walked so that she was closer to him. "Get out. I want you gone today. We will tell the kids an appropriate version…but the reality is Logan, you are leaving. You have made this choice. If you wanted to stay through the holidays you shouldn't have told me you wanted a fucking divorce. You can spend the night on Christmas Eve for the sake of our children. You will cancel your parents and your sister. They can come on Christmas Day for dinner, and I will tell my parents what a cheating piece of garbage you are because I will not listen to anyone spout another word about what a wonderful husband you are. You don't get to pick and choose how this goes. I told you yesterday," she thought back to the day before when she so naively thought she could just ask him to be discrete, that he would understand that she was willing to look the other way so long as he was willing to put his family first. "I told you that we would deal with this after the holidays under the assumption that you wanted to make this work. Where was the talk of divorce then? Or what, did you just need me to get you through another night…"

Logan exhaled, he could feel her breath on his face as she spoke. It was miraculous that she wasn't yelling but somehow she was doing this all with a faint hiss, it was possibly worse than if she were screaming at him. "I can't do this. Our kids deserve to see parents that are happy."

"So what, you'll run off with this woman?"

"We stopped," Logan told her vaguely. "There is no her and I right now…"

"So you're blowing it all up for nothing?"

"No Abigail, I'm blowing it up to be happy, and I want the same for you and I hope that one day our kids can understand that I can be their Dad and love them and not be in a relationship with you. I hope that one day they can see that we," he gestured between them, "are better off as coparents and not as a couple. I hope that you can find the happiness you deserve because you deserve so much better than a man who can carry on a relationship with someone else for two fucking years."

"Who was it?" Abigail glared. She had avoided asking the question. She knew he wouldn't lie to her if she asked directly. She knew that the lies he had told her, in his mind he was protecting her, but he wouldn't balk if she asked him specifically. "It wasn't Jenny…you aren't involved at school enough to have met a mom in the carpool line, so who is it?"

Logan exhaled, "Rory."

Abigail felt her eyes widen, "and they wonder why women aren't taken seriously. Fucking their way to the top," Abigail spat through her teeth. "Go. Pack a bag and go. I will tell the kids you have work to do. Do not be seen by my parents."

"I'm saying goodbye to our children," Logan told her adamantly.

"You don't call the shots Logan…not here, not today!"

Logan closed his eyes for a moment to maintain his composure, "Abigail, I know you are hurting, but I will say goodbye to my children before I leave this house. I will avoid your parents. I will be back tomorrow at an agreed upon time to spend time with the kids."

"I'm going to get a drink."

With that, Abigail walked away from him and Logan put his head in his hands and questioned what he had just done. Rory had ended it, or paused it, however you wanted to put it but the reality was, he couldn't carry on in his marriage. No matter what the future with Rory held, he couldn't continue in his marriage and he needed a clean break. If he walked away today and he and Rory figured things out in the future, they would be doing it with a clean slate on his end at least. He walked to his closet and started grabbing clothing. Nothing in particular, he would be back the next day but he had something to sleep in, something to wear the next morning. Next he moved to the en-suite and grabbed some basic toiletries, tossing them all on his bed while he pulled out his phone and booked himself a room at the closest Hilton. He couldn't go to Manhattan if he planned on spending time with the kids, so the hotel was about ten miles away and even with traffic he knew he would be able to get back and forth quickly. "Two fucking queens," Logan rolled his eyes as he quickly selected the available room and booked it. He would ask for an upgrade at the hotel if it was available. He pulled out a black Louis Vuitton suitcase and filled it with the few things he was bringing before he went downstairs, he steered clear of his in-laws and went to the basement where he found Lily playing on her tablet and Noah seemed to be texting vigorously while the television as on in the background. "Guys," Logan announced his presence and Lily was the first to put her device down and smile at her father. "I'm going out for the night. I will be back tomorrow afternoon to see you guys, ok?"

"Whaddyahavetodo?" Noah asked quickly his eyes barely darting from the screen. Logan reached over and took the phone from his son, pressing the button on the side to lock it and raising an eyebrow. "Sorry. What are you doing that you have to go?"

"Work stuff," Logan lied.

"I thought you were on vacation?" Lily countered, she had been counting down the days to some one on one time with her father.

"Don't worry about it Lily bean," Logan gave Noah back his phone, "c'mere," he extended an arm to Lily who willingly came to him for a hug. "I love you both, be good for Mom…call if you need me."

xxx

Dean took a deep breath and dropped the garment back down on the open suitcase. He felt like he wasn't in control of his body as he stormed down the stairs, he walked right by the kitchen where his wife and daughter were still washing up, shoved his feet in his boots and then left the house, slamming the door behind him as he went out to the detached garage that he had adopted as a man cave and workshop. He closed the door behind him and braced himself against the wall, a mixture of sadness and frustration as he thought about it all.

Who was it?

How long had it been going on?

Why?

When?

Inside the house Emma looked at her mother and then in the direction of the front door. "What did the laundry do to him?"

Rory smiled and shrugged, "I'll go see, maybe something is broken?" Rory walked up the stairs, she knew it was unlikely anything was broken upstairs because the laundry was not up there. She saw the light was off in Emma's room and then she made her way into her office. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she saw her open suitcase from the trip to Miami. The stupid suitcase that she had kept meaning to take care of but kept forgetting because she hadn't needed anything. She certainly hadn't needed the LaPerla that her husband had clearly found based on its presence on the top of the pile. Rory tidied up the contents of the suitcase, carefully zipping it back up and tucking it in the corner, turning off the light she went back downstairs. "Em why don't you go finish up the homework you have so you don't have to worry about it while we're in Chicago? I'm going to go talk to dad." Rory hoped Emma couldn't notice the tears in her eyes as she spoke. Emma agreed and walked slowly up the stairs, Rory waited until she heard the door click shut before she slipped on a pair of shoes and walked across the yard to the garage. She would normally knock, it was his space after all, but she knew he probably wouldn't answer the door if she did that and so she took a deep breath and opened the door. Dean was standing with his hands braced against the wall, his head down, he was breathing heavily and although Rory knew that he had heard the door, he wasn't acknowledging her. "Dean…" Rory began shakily.

"Do not speak to me!" Dean told her, his voice was calm but Rory also knew this was how he got when he was truly upset, and she couldn't blame him for being upset. He had just found definitive proof that his wife was having an affair.

"I just…" she began only to be cut off by the booming voice.

"Just get out!" Dean shouted at her and stared at the door. Rory stood her ground as Dean stood up from his spot. "I can't even look at you," he added his voice softer. A day earlier they had been happy, or he had been happy, evidently he had no idea what Rory felt about anything because he would've guessed a lot of things were wrong with his relationship, but he never would've guessed this.

Rory closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, she opened them again and saw the pained expression on his face, "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"How…how long have you…have you been wearing those things for someone else?" he was gritting his teeth as he spoke. He waited a moment as he saw Rory thinking, "do not lie to me," he warned her, his voice was firm and angry.

"A couple of years," Rory admitted, "a bit longer."

"You have been screwing around behind my back for a couple of years?" Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing. He wasn't sure what he had expected given that he never expected this. "How could you…why? Why would you do this? Who is it?"

"Dean," Rory paused.

"You know what," he ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, "forget it. I don't…" he pointed at her, "I don't want to look at you."

"I'll sleep in my office," Rory told him.

"I think that is for the best."

"Can we please," Rory inhaled, she knew she wasn't in a position to ask him for anything, "can we please keep this from Emma for now…"

"You probably should have thought about that before you started fucking someone else Rory," Dean shook his head, "don't worry, one of us keeps Emma ahead of ourselves."

Rory nodded and went to the door, she opened it slowly and closed it after her. She waited a moment just outside the door in case Dean changed his mind and wanted to talk. She wasn't sure though what that would mean. If Dean wanted to talk, she would talk, but what did she want? If Dean wanted to talk, she could answer questions about the affair, or she thought she would be able to, but the question of what she wanted was a whole different situation. What did she want? Rory walked to the house and went to her bedroom, grabbing the basics to get her through the night without having to disrupt Dean. She changed into her pyjamas and grabbed her book and a couple of other things from her bedside table before she went upstairs. The crappy mattress in the office would have to do. She walked slowly up the stairs and opened her computer. She could hear Emma in the room next door and it was another reminder of how screwed up things were. What about Emma? What did this mean for her marriage? She had thought for so long that it was over, but it was easy to say that from the comforts of still being in the marriage. Surely if they split she would have to pay spousal support to Dean, and she had no problem with that, but could she afford to maintain two households? Where would she live? Would she stay in Farmingdale to be near Emma? Would she try to find somewhere in Manhattan to be closer to work? She didn't think she could afford that. Would she rent a place in Farmingdale for the time being? Was there much available to rent? And what about Logan? Rory didn't even know where to begin with Logan. She had just told him the night before that they needed to take a break, they needed to clear their heads…and now here she was with everything out in the open. She didn't know at this point how much Abigail knew, but from what Logan had said, at the very least she knew something and Rory could only imagine how things were going there. Opening her e-mail, Rory could barely focus but she also knew she needed to focus. She needed to focus on something, anything other than what was happening. She looked down at the rings on her finger for a moment, thinking of all of the times that she had slipped them off and put them in her pocket or in her wallet while she wandered somewhere hand in hand with Logan, or the nights she had spent with them on the bedside table in his apartment…those rings had always felt like such a weight on her, and now she was in a position where she could have what she had thought for the past few years was what she wanted.

Rory had a restless sleep, she tossed and turned, she stared at the ceiling, she opened and closed so many text messages to Logan she felt like a teenager again. She had woken around five but stayed in bed until seven when she decided she needed coffee at the very least. She hadn't heard anyone moving downstairs so as she crept down the stairs and into the kitchen she was surprised to see Dean standing there in his pyjamas, his hair was mussed and he looked like absolute hell, "I…" Rory wrapped her cotton duster tightly around her body, "I didn't realize you were awake."

Dean mumbled something under his breath before he shoved a coffee cup under the Keurig and pushed the button, "here," he stepped away from the machine with his own cup. "I'm going back to bed," he told her.

"Dean," Rory sighed, "I'm sorry. You have to believe me that I'm sorry. I never…I never meant for you to find that."

"You're sorry I found the stupid lingerie?" Dean laughed, his voice remained low to avoid waking Emma up. "Or you're sorry you've been cheating on me? That you made a mockery of our marriage? That you cared more about yourself than our daughter? That while I was home, taking care of things here you were out screwing someone else?" Dean spat. Rory stood and listened, a willing target for whatever he wanted to throw at her. She deserved it, she deserved worse. "I know you've never thought particularly highly of the fact that I didn't have a big job like you, or the kind of job your Grandpa thought I needed to take care of you, but…I thought we had a thing that was working for us. I was home and working a bit, and you were working, you were fulfilling your dreams or whatever in publishing. But all of those late nights… you were out with what…your fuck buddy? Your boyfriend? What would you call it Rory? What was this to you." Rory let a few tears fall from her eyes and she tried to wipe them as quickly as they fell. "Yes, please, cry…try to make me feel bad for you. You're the victim here, right? I didn't pay enough attention? I wasn't intellectual enough for you? What lie did you tell yourself to justify ruining our fucking family?"

"I fell in love with him," Rory managed to choke out. "I loved you both, and…I'm sorry. There is no good excuse. I felt like absolute garbage for doing what I did to you…but it wasn't a cheap thrill, it wasn't…it wasn't just sex," Rory began to sob as she let her emotions flow out of her. "I fell in love and as much as I'm sorry I hurt you…I…I don't know what I want."

xxx

Logan cut the engine to his Mercedes S560 coupe as he pulled in his driveway. He had arrived at the hotel the night before and much to his disappointment he hadn't been able to pay for or talk his way into an upgrade at the Hilton Garden Inn, evidently they were down to their last couple of rooms so two queen beds would have to do. Logan had almost laughed when he walked into the supposed suite he was staying in. Apparently suite was a term they used for having about five extra feet of width in the room. He had spent the night working, he didn't really have many other options. He had told his parents and his sister that their sleepovers were cancelled and they they could come on Christmas Day. His mother put up a fuss of course but he had told her that was the new plan and no amount of complaining would change it, and his sister had immediately realized what was happening. She had told him if he needed to talk to call, but they both knew he wouldn't. The person he wanted to call was Rory, and she was the person he couldn't call. He let himself in through the garage and could hear noise coming from the kitchen. It was almost lunchtime now so at least he could pretend he had worked all morning, he wouldn't admit that he was just ten miles away. "Hey," Logan smiled as he walked into the kitchen and saw his kids and wife. His in-laws were nowhere to be found which was a relief.

"Dad!" Lily smiled and practically bounced away from her mother to embrace Logan.

Logan and Abigail had talked on the phone a bit that morning. They had agreed that they needed to tell the kids, they couldn't pretend to be together when they weren't, and they couldn't pretend that Logan was simply working through Christmas. They couldn't be sure which would be worse, having your parents tell you they were getting a divorce over Christmas holidays, or the point where they realized that it had all been a lie when Logan and Abigail told them they were separating in January. Ultimately they had decided that the truth and an amicable split was best for the kids, "Mom and I need to talk to you guys," Logan nodded to the living room. Lily looped her arm through his and walked with him to the expansive space. Lily and Noah sat on the couch, Abigail took her seat on the chair by the window and Logan perched himself on the coffee table with his hands on his knees. "Look guys, there is…not a good time for this," he looked at Abigail who was sitting up straight with her lips pressed shut, she had told him if he was so adamant to tell them, he could be the one to do it. Logan had waffled all night on what he thought was best. His kids weren't easily tricked, they were old enough that they understood that it was odd for him to be gone this time of year, and the more Logan thought about it, he realized that waiting to tell them, while it might feel better in the moment, it would create distrust. They may not have worked out all of the details yet, but at a very basic level, they knew that for the time being Logan would be spending most of his time in Manhattan. Abigail would buy a new house nearby, an amendment that had been made to their prenup when they sold their first home. The initial agreement gave Abigail the house because she had loved it so much, but Abigail wasn't as attached to this house and so as the one who had liked the house more, Logan got to keep it and Abigail would be bought out once she had found something suitable. "Mom and I have decided that we aren't going to be married anymore," Logan explained, "and…I'm sure that you have questions and Mom and I will answer them all in due time, or…whenever you have them, but I want you to understand that this is my doing. I screwed up, I am asking your Mom for this…and you guys…if you are angry, you need to take that out on me, not on Mom…she…she is going through this too."

Lily was the first to crack, she made a noise that Logan hadn't been prepared to hear. It was a combination of a scream and a sob as she ran to Abigail who embraced her. "Why Mommy? Why does Daddy have to go?"

"Lil," Logan moved to a seat beside Noah who was still silent, "this is on me…it is not on Mom." He paused for a moment, "I made some bad choices, and…"

"Did you cheat on Mom?" Noah broke his silence. "Because if it is something else…if you guys just like…stopped liking each other or whatever…you would wait until after Christmas. So Dad…you're either getting arrested, or maybe you murdered someone…or you cheated on Mom?"

"Daddy?" Lily looked up from her mother who had now protectively placed her hand on Lily's shoulder, "did you?"

"When Tommy's Dad got arrested his parents got a divorce so they couldn't take her money," Noah continued, "I think they got back together after he got out?"

"I am not being arrested," Logan hated that his kids lived in a world where it was a casual comment that the parent of a friend had been indicted for a crime. He sucked his lips into his mouth and surprised himself when he felt tears coming to his eyes. He had wanted to tell them, and he still thought that was the right decision, but apparently he had underestimated their maturity level. "I did, I cheated on your Mom," he nodded finally, "…and I'm really very sorry for what I did to your Mom, and to you kids. It…I'm sorry."

"So what…we stay here? You move out? Or…what?"

"We have to talk to the lawyers about that," Logan answered vaguely and then looked at his daughter who was still curled up with her mother. "For now, I'm going to spend some time at a hotel so that I can be close by, and then when I go back to work, I'm going to stay in Manhattan for a bit until we have a plan."

"So you're leaving?" Noah continued.

"Noah stop," Abigail finally stepped in, "this is a complicated time, but what you and Lily need to know is that we both love you. We love you more than anything, and no matter what else is going on, we are your parents and we will be there for you. So Christmas is going to be a bit different this year, but we will celebrate together, and Dad and I…we have been partners for a long time, so we will always put what is best for you guys above anything else. The only thing that is going to change right now is that we aren't going to live in the same house," she put her hands on Lily's cheeks, "but we will be at dance recitals and school pays and everything else…you don't have to choose. There is no side here…we are your Mom and your Dad and we love you, but…" she looked at Logan and gave him a reassuring smile, the same smile she had given him every other time they had managed to seal a deal together over the years, "this will be better for me too, and your Dad…he is a good man."

xxx

Emma had gone to see one of her friends who lived down the street, Rory was relieved that even thought it meant she and Dean were alone together, it meant they could fight. They could yell, they could say what they needed to say to each other and that terrified Rory but it also gave her a sense of relief, knowing that with time this wouldn't all still be hanging over her head.

"So," Rory sat in the chair in their family room, Dean was sitting where he always sat on the couch. Rory had managed to get herself dressed although that was partially in case he asked her to leave. She wanted to be able to make a hasty exit if necessary. "What…do you have any…" she wasn't sure what to say, how to ask him what he wanted to know, what he needed to know, "questions…?"

"Questions?" Dean rolled his eyes, "this isn't AP English Rory," his eyes settled on the floor and he nervously bounced his foot off the ground. "You fell in love…so…you and I have been…"

"Dean we…" Rory had a couple of choices and as much as she wanted to take the easy route, not only would that route spare Dean but it would also spare Rory admitting how she had felt for a long time, well before Logan was in the picture, she knew she couldn't take that route. "I love you," she told him firmly, "a part of me will always love you. But…we were kids. We got married as children, and I think we both wanted that to work. You wanted…you wanted the life your parents had, and…well, clearly I couldn't offer it. I worked more, and more…and some of it was because I needed to. To be able to…pay for this house, and the stuff, and I know that you were at home with Emma so this is not a slap in the face to what you did here, but…you never worried about the money because I was busy worrying about it. It's just the last few years that things have really gotten easy on that front; you know that." Rory thought back to before she was a Vice President, before she was a manager, when things were hard and things were tight. She remembered asking her father for a loan, but she had never told Dean that because he felt he was doing his part raising Emma. It all fell on Rory. "When Em was about five, maybe six" Rory gave him a half smile, "she wanted to go to some camp…and we couldn't afford it. You promised her she could go," Rory paused for a moment, "I had to ask my Dad for the money…and I have never felt so…I don't know…I felt like I had let you guys down," she explained. She knew rationally that she hadn't, but the idea that she wasn't providing for her family was enough to destroy her at the time. "So I worked harder. I never worried about money again. About six months later I got the manager job, and then you know the rest in terms of my jobs…but the harder I worked, the less connected I felt here."

"So what? These last six years have been pity? You say that it happened over a camp and a loan…why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have cared if you borrowed money…"

Rory had to try not to show a change in her expression. That she thought, was the problem. He saw no problem with asking for handouts, and Rory felt the opposite. "I didn't want to borrow money, I wanted us to provide for her, and for ourselves. And…then eventually I just…I checked out. You were involved with all of the school stuff and the extracurriculars and you had all these neighbourhood friends…I just didn't fit in. So there was my life here…and then the life where I was in charge of big deals and I was…staying in penthouse suites at hotels and flying in business class and that life…it wasn't the money, it still isn't the money…it's the challenge. It's the exhilaration of making the deal…and…I couldn't tell you about that. You didn't care. Do you remember when you made the leave work at work rule at dinner? You asked me not to talk about my job?"

"So you're blaming me for this? Unbelievable Rory. You can't blame me for you ruining our family!"

"Our marriage was already ruined," Rory told him honestly. "Our family is who we are with Emma, and…we need to figure out how to coexist with her…"

"So what, you've just decided that you want a divorce? That's it…?" Dean shouted. "You don't just get to decide everything for me Rory!"

Rory couldn't believe what she was hearing. One minute he hated her, the next he was shocked at the idea of not being together. She knew this was all a shock to him, and she tried to give him the grace to manage those emotions, but she wished desperately that he would admit that things hadn't been perfect for a long time. "I don't know what we're going to do!" Rory shouted back, she didn't want to raise her voice but she was beyond frustrated and beyond tired. She didn't know if she was fighting against him, or fighting for them, or what he wanted. "What do you want?"

"I want to know everything."

"Dean, no."

"I need to know everything Rory. Don't you owe me that? You were screwing someone else. The least you can do is explain to me how it happened. Who was it? Who is the guy? Where did you meet him."

Rory paused. She licked her lips slowly and wished she had some chapstick, or anything in her hands that would buy her some extra time. "It…Logan," she swallowed hard, "it's Logan."

"Your boss…the man we went on vacations with?" Dean growled, any part of him that wasn't enraged was now gone as he thought back on the last decade of his life.

"We…." Rory exhaled, "it started after that. We haven't seen them socially since it started. I promise you. Please…Dean, I never meant to hurt you."

"Well then," Dean shouted, "if you didn't mean to hurt me then it's ok, right? Fuck…Rory…how could you do this to me? So when you work late…you are with him?"

"Sometimes, yes," she nodded, "and sometimes I'm working late and sometimes…sometimes it's both."

"Who knows? Does your mother know? Luke? What about his wife? He has a wife Rory! You two just didn't care who you hurt? Did you? He has two fucking kids!"

Rory looked down, "I know, I know I hurt…everyone. No one… no one knows. My Mom and Luke don't…just Lane."

"Great, so you just didn't care? What you were so fucking horny that you couldn't keep your wits about you?"

Rory shook her head. She deserved whatever he threw at her, but it didn't make it hurt any less. "Dean it wasn't just the sex. Logan…he understands…he under-"

"Bullshit Rory!" Dean shouted, "he understands you? What? Was I so horrible? How did you justify this in your head? Poor stupid Dean is at home and he doesn't understand your big corporate world so you have to fuck your boss?"

"I never thought you were stupid," Rory cried, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…I didn't mean…I don't even know who I am anymore," she admitted. "I'm so sorry I did this."

"So…what now? What do you want?"

"I don't know."

"Well you have to quit your job," Dean stated simply. Rory's eyes darted to him with a look of pure horror. "You can't seriously expect me to stand by while you keep working for him? You can't see that guy every day."

"Dean I can't just quit." Rory felt like she was going to throw up and its isn't because she was worried about finding a new job, it was the idea of not seeing Logan every day that was enough to make her sick. "It is my job, a good paying job, and I have responsibilities!"

"Rory…you can't work for him…I can't…I can't wonder what you are doing every day with him. You can find another job all the time. You say you get offers, people try to poach you…so tell them you're available," he added bitterly, "shouldn't be that big a stretch!"

Rory flinched at his words, but she knew it was what she deserved. "Dean…"

"Look, do you want this to work? Do you want me to forgive you?" Dean asked, he didn't give her time to answer, mostly because he didn't want the answer. "Because it can't be all about you Rory. I matter too."

Rory wasn't sure what to say as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Here she was and her husband was offering her another chance. All she needed to do was sever ties with the man she was sleeping with. "Of course you matter," Rory bought herself some time.

"So don't you want this to work?"

"I…," Rory bit her lip and once again felt tears start falling, "I don't know. I have been so unhappy for so long…before Logan…and I don't…I don't know if we can fix that. I think that we would need to go to therapy. But if we're just staying for the sake of Emma…"

"We don't need therapy, we can sort this out together," Dean shook his head. "And of course it is better for Emma to have her parents together. What are you wanting to teach her? Things get hard and you run…"

Rory shook her head, closing her eyes as she inhaled. This was it. The fundamental cracks in their relationship. Where she had grown and spread her wings, he had rooted himself in his ideas. "Dean, I cheated on you for over two years…and you don't think we need to discuss that with a professional? This…this is so much bigger than cheating…and as for Emma. I'm teaching her that you can change, and grow and still look back on things with love and support people…but maybe Dean…maybe we've just outgrown each other?"

"I can't talk about this right now," Dean exhaled sharply as he stood up. "Why don't we talk tomorrow?"