G didn't know where she was, just an echo of some of the familiar voices ringing in her ears. The room was spinning, making her feel like she was going to fall off... of something… There was anxiousness, paranoia of getting in trouble - of everything that would follow if she got in trouble. The latter was probably half true, but at that moment it seemed like a matter of life and death. But no - she didn't feel like throwing up, she hadn't thrown up, even though she looked like she was about to - her skin covered in cold sweat, eyelids feeling heavy...and again the spinning.
"G!?" she heard Rory's voice ask a couple of times, each time sounding louder but equally echoey.
G mumbled something drowsily, words not coming out the way she thought them. Not that her thoughts were making a lot of sense right now. She felt a cold tile under her arm, and someone attempted to dab her forehead with something cool and wet, but still the room wouldn't stop turning.
"What's wrong with her?" Rory's voice asked in a panicky voice. "She had some wine, but she seemed fine when I left her," she added in a shaky tone, guilt shining through.
"I don't know…," Honor replied, having only found her like this by accident as the door had been ajar.
"Everything okay in there?" Logan's voice inquired from a distance, unsure what state the girl was in, deciding to give her some privacy.
G heard Rory's voice mumble something about Charlotte, but she couldn't quite make out what.
For a moment G must've lost consciousness as the next thing she realized was being on the floor, the cool tile now against her back, and someone was shining a phone's flashlight to her eyes, one by one, which to her sensitive eyes felt like a stab.
"G? What did you take?" Charlotte asked seriously, apparently having already asked repeatedly, as it finally reached her.
G felt Charlotte pat her cheek to get her to react. Her mouth felt dry, but what she wanted to say didn't come out quite right. But at least something did.
"I think she's coming around," Charlotte noted, and for a moment G looked at her.
"Shouldn't we call an ambulance?" Rory pondered, having heard Charlotte suspect drug use. She'd thought about calling it at least a dozen times already but Charlotte, who was a registred nurse after all, had assured that her vitals seemed within norms - pulse slightly elevated but she was breathing and showed no tell-tale signs of overdose.
"I think it's just…" Charlotte began, sniffing G's fingers suspiciously, adding, "...pot?" in a slightly confused voice.
"Can you have too much of the stuff?" Rory asked, as she stared at Charlotte in confusion.
"A bad trip?" Charlotte shrugged. "Rare, but possible...," she added. "G, did you smoke something or eat something?" she asked.
"Where did she even…," Rory began, but for a moment G slipped out of it again, missing the rest of that sentence.
Rory had seen her dancing, eating, and then she'd lost track of her - and was beginning to blame herself for not paying more attention.
"G, did you smoke something?" Charlotte repeated.
"Spinning...," G managed to mumble.
"Nod, if you smoked pot," Charlotte instructed, deciding to take a different route. If this was the case at least there was nothing seriously wrong that wouldn't pass with time. She'd done her internship at a fairly busy ER, and she'd seen her share of OD-s - this wasn't it, and she'd read and heard about people getting odd reactions to either cannabis itself or whatever it was laced with, hoping it was rather the former. People's brains were different, this happened.
G nodded nervously, nodding more times than she thought she was doing it.
"Just try to relax, okay? I'll keep an eye on you, make sure nothing bad will happen, okay?" Charlotte assured, assuming she was experiencing paranoia as well. Charlotte was now sitting on her knees on the bathroom floor, her gown having ripped slightly from the seam, and kept checking G's pulse.
"Rory, can you get her some water? Oh, and lemon, if they still have it…," Charlotte instructed, recalling lemon sometimes helping in cases like this.
"Hold my hand and let's focus on your breathing, okay?" Charlotte suggested to G, after Rory left.
Rory and Logan made their way back towards the grand ballroom, where the servers were cleaning out the empty trays, the rest of the people still very much in party mode. Rory quickly picked off the couple of lemon wedges some of the trays still had, unsure what Charlotte was planning with them, and then headed over to the bar and asked for a bottle of water.
"Where the hell would she get marijuhana here?" she pondered out loud to Logan, sounding clearly nervous and upset.
"She hasn't before…?" Logan asked, frankly knowing very little detail about what G did or didn't do.
"Not that I know of. Alcohol, sure, I've smelled cigarettes on her once or twice after parties but…," Rory said with a shrug. "This could be serious - we don't know what she took, or if that's all she took. God, I am so scared," she added.
"Excuse me. I'm not really supposed to bud in like this, but I couldn't help overhearing..." the bartender spoke.
"Yeah?" Logan asked, encouraging him to speak.
"One of the waiters just got sacked for smoking a joint. I'm not sure - maybe he's still around, his name is Carl," the bartender shared, gesturing towards the service hallway.
Rory left the bottle of water on the bar and marched towards the gestured direction, Logan grabbing to bottle himself. They passed the bathroom anyways, and Logan made sure they got the supplies, before following Rory who was clearly ready to give someone an earful, along the service hallway.
"Where can I find Carl?" she asked a random waiter who passed her.
From the first person she just got a shrug, from the second, however, a gesture towards a storage room that also doubled as the server's temporary locker room.
"You! Carl?" Rory stopped the foggy-eyed dark-haired man, who was actually a little shorter than Rory while she was wearing her heels. The guy reminded her a little of the actor who plays Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things - so not G's usual type as far as Rory knew, making her even more confused. What had she been doing hanging out with him?
"Yeah?" the guy muttered, unenthusiastically.
"Did you just give drugs to a minor. My sister, G, is out there right now on the floor of the bathroom..." Rory huffed, louder than she'd expected.
"She asked if she could try, nobody forced anyone," he shrugged.
"Fine," Rory relented, seeing it wasn't really going anywhere. "Was it just pot or something else?" she focused on the important facts.
The guy's eyes were bloodshot, clearly high himself. "Yeah, just pot..," he said, and took his bag and turned to leave.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. You don't just walk away from me!" Rory insisted.
"Hey, lady, what is it that you want?" the guy suddenly turned, appearing borderline aggressive.
"I'd reconsider that if I was you," Logan stepped in.
"Is it a habit of yours to just leave girls who are not feeling well alone like that? She's having a bad reaction to whatever it was you gave her. I swear, if anything happens to her I'm so looking up your name from the caterer and reporting this," Rory threatened.
"Hey, I barely know her, she insisted, I had no idea she was a minor, okay? So back off!" the guy huffed, making a rather rude hand gesture.
"Well you just ensured you'll never work in this line of work ever again," Logan added in a calm manner.
"You don't threaten me! I know who you are," Carl hissed at Logan. "I'm pretty sure the press would have a field day of you serving alcohol to minors at your company parties - she was obviously pretty wasted already," he insinuated. "Besides, she looked like she'd put out… It'd make a fine addition to Page Six," he added.
Logan wasn't sure what stopped him. He had wanted to say a number of things. But somehow he just felt powerless right there. He didn't have the strength to fight the press on something like this right now. Maybe it was the lack of sleep from last night or simply seeing this was not worth the fight - he wasn't even sure.
Carl walked out of the room without further ado.
"What? You're just going to let him leave like that?" Rory huffed at Logan, but he knew that as much as he had underreacted, she was overreacting too.
Logan shrugged. "We got what we wanted - he says it was just pot, that's good news right. Now let's go check on G and take her home if she feels up to it," Logan suggested, looking forward. If it hadn't caused the reaction it had, neither of them would've been in there nagging like some sheltered parents. These things happened.
As they returned, Honor and Charlotte were now both in the bathroom, Charlotte still holding G's hand by her side, while Owen waited in the hallway. The guests had already slowly begun to scatter, with a few of them asking what was going on, to which he'd replied briefly that someone wasn't feeling well.
The positive was that G was doing a lot better than before, now positioned to sit with her back against the wall, sucking on a piece of lemon on Charlotte's request, having already drunk most of the water.
"How's she feeling?" Rory asked, as she switched places with Honor, the bathroom feeling too crowded with this many people.
"Coming around, she's feeling dizzy and it might be a while before she's ready to move," Charlotte explained.
"Sorry…," G managed to mouth.
Rory didn't reply. What was she supposed to say - that it was fine? Of course it wasn't fine. G had scared her - she had been responsible for her and she'd done something even worse than she'd warned her against before they got there. Was she supposed to tell her parents? Was she supposed to keep it to herself to preserve their relationship? She had no idea what she was supposed to say or do.
"I can run an in-home drug test tomorrow or something, just to make sure there wasn't anything else in there," Charlotte explained practically.
"Thanks," Rory said to Charlotte.
Having a medical professional in the family was certainly more useful than she would've thought. And in crisis mode Charlotte had been more than capable, keeping her head cool unlike Rory herself.
"And sorry about the dress," Rory added, seeing the lining of Charlotte's dress peek out from the torn seam.
"It's fine.., I was beginning to regret wearing this a little anyways," Charlotte replied, humbly.
"Oh?" Rory inquired.
"Too many comments and questions…," she replied briefly, having gotten one too many comments. The worst part of this was that they'd all been sort of underhanded comments, which definitely had made it clear to her how much in this world was about impressions.
Rory had a pretty good idea what the issue had been.
"Sorry. On the positive note though - you're lucky Shira isn't around. She was the master of snide remarks," Rory commented, compassionately.
"Yeah..," Charlotte noted with a exhale, not even having thought of that. She probably wouldn't have been around if Shira had been.
"I'm so hungry..," G muttered next, as if nothing was seriously wrong, causing a small burst of laughter from the two others.
"I just can't seem to catch a break, can I?" Rory exhaled as they all finally got to their bedroom that night, having taken off her shoes the second she'd stepped through the front door.
G was still a little out of it - but doing much better after having eaten a large taco in the limo, the other's keeping a watchful eye on her the entire time. They'd all headed upstairs to their rooms and Charlotte, thankfully, had promised to check on G from time to time over the night, which Rory was deeply grateful for. Perhaps Rory should've just counted that as her 'break'.
"Yeah, you're pretty much parenting four right now," Logan commented, hanging up his jacket. He honestly didn't know how she did it. "But you know, this means you'll have all the experience once Leigh and Emma are old enough," he added, optimistically but got just an eye-roll in reply. Rory really didn't want to be struggling this much by the time the girls were 16.
"All I can think of when I think of a pair of twin girls partying is spring break 2004, where there were these two girls kissing to get what they wanted. Madeline and Louise hated them," Rory recalled, shaking her head. That was cheap on so many levels.
"That sounds like quite a spring break, I'm sad I missed that…," Logan said with a smug grin, trying to imagine Rory at spring break. Plus the thought of some college girls kissing really didn't hurt - he was a man after all, pushing any thought of his own daughters very far corner of his mind.
"Oh I'm sure you were having plenty of fun yourself somewhere," Rory noted realistically, trying to recall how much she knew of Logan's around the world trip with Colin and Finn that had taken around that time. "The Sea Spirit Motel would've hardly been your choice in venues," she added, imagining waiters and champagne instead of cheap beer from red plastic cups.
He pulled her close then, just wanting her to relax now - it had been a long and tiring day and he could tell how wired her mind still was.
"Ah… but not as much fun as I would've had with you," Logan replied, laying a kiss on her neck then, his warm hands that felt her, bringing her back to life. Her neck immediately curved to the opposite direction, having needed that.
Rory knew that he really wouldn't have - she had been still a virgin back then, barely able to go speak to a hot guy, let alone properly flirt, but she appreciated him saying it. She wouldn't have known what to do with Logan Hunzberger back then, but she felt particularly proud right then that these days she knew exactly what to do with him.
She allowed her fingers to trail down his firm biceps, feeling the softness of the extra long staple cotton of his Eton shirt, which she was quite surprised she knew by feel. Her fingers continued along his sides, down his stomach and then up again and began to unbutton the shirt in question, and then slipped her slightly cool hands along his skin which felt hot in comparison.
Logan nibbled along her neck and her breath skipped, Logan being the only man who'd ever known that spot on her neck, the re-discovery of which made her let out a breath that came with a sweet and humble moan.
A kiss on the lips followed, the taste and feel being so familiar, while his hands desperately grasped at her ass through her dress, as if attempting to squeeze out all the air from between them and merge them into one with clothes and all.
Logan reached back and unbuttoned and unzipped her gown, allowing it to fall to the floor. Dresses like that were not supposed to be laying on the floor, but neither particularly cared, Rory even shoving the dress out of the way with one swift movement of her leg, making them both laugh through their kiss and Logan threw his shirt roughly in the same direction.
The falling dress had exposed a gorgeous grey sheer strapless bodysuit, hiding just enough of what she felt self-conscious about while hiding nothing excess, her perky nipples showing through its bra cups. Logan had really only seen the top back of what she wore, when he'd zipped her up earlier.
"Wow, had I known you were wearing that I would've whisked you away from that ballroom way sooner than I did," Logan whispered, letting his hand caress her waist and breasts, Rory smiling and gasping from pleasure as he nudged the aching nipples with the insides of his fingers.
She couldn't wait much longer, surprising him with a much forceful kiss next. Soon the tangled limbs left grace behind - the brace of desperation acting out the expression of withheld desire. His slacks were shoved down hastily and Rory took the moment to unbutton the snap closures of her bodysuit, and his fingers didn't really ask for further permission before diving between her folds, while she felt his hardness with her palm, both humming at the mutual touch.
They were too hungry to delay this any longer and all she managed really was to push him to sit on the bed, climbing to straddle him. For a moment, the change of positions slowed them, giving them a moment to really look at each-other.
"I love you," she murmured.
"Anywhere, anytime…," he replied, and kissed her again.
She gasped at the fullness she then felt - it felt so right. Slow steady thrusts followed, his fingers digging into her thighs for support, the pace picking up as each of them contributed. This wasn't going to be one of their marathon sessions. This was about the urgency, desperation and need, need to lose themselves in one and other. They'd never truly lost each-other, but still - being apart had been harder than either had imagined.
His member throbbed, pulsing in the rhythm of his heartbeats, and as she moaned, biting then into his shoulder to keep it down, he felt her convulse around him as the waves of climax hit her. As she came back to Earth from her own high, she could feel him spasm too, spurts of warmth filling her.
"So much better than phone sex," she laughed quietly into his ear.
"How on Earth did you manage to convince grandma to come to New York for Christmas?" Lorelai inquired via phone to Rory a few days later.
"I didn't, she offered," Rory replied.
"So she's just using your parlor as a bigger space or something. I bet she's having it catered, right?" Lorelai pondered suspiciously.
"She's sending Berta on Sunday and yes, someone is bringing the food - Sweet Basil or something like that," Rory clarified.
"Ah-ah," Lorelai reacted.
"What?" she asked. It wasn't like neither of them hadn't used catering companies for birthdays and events.
"She's taking over! Just make sure she leaves afterwards and take Berta along," Lorelai added suspiciously. "I can't believe the woman isn't speaking English yet," she added, pondering about Berta's English skills.
"She's not taking over," Rory replied, getting rather sick of her mother's attitude towards grandma by now. Emily wasn't the same person anymore. Neither was Rory. Ever since Emily was the first person who'd found out about Logan three years ago, Emily had become much closer to Rory than Rory was with her mother. Sure, there would always be topics that were off the table with grandma, but she actually felt like she was taking to another adult with her, sure, sometimes one that overreacted, but still. With Lorelai, she was just tired of the judgment that carried, even though she'd toned it down too.
"Fine, believe what you want to believe, or do I need to remind you of the dorm common room furniture incident," Lorelai replied.
Rory rolled her eyes, tired of hearing about it.
"How's Leo?" Rory decided to change the topic.
"Anxious…," she sighed. "I'm taking him to the movies later - they have a new version of Dumbo out," she added, hoping to hear some more excitement from Rory.
"When will you know?" Rory asked instead, focusing on Leo's custody discussion date.
"Tuesday at 3, " Lorelai replied.
"So it'll be a Christmas present or not..," Rory sighed. She really didn't envy them for having to wait like this.
"And the kids?" Lorelai inquired instead, not wanting to go there, It was painful for her.
"Good, growing… I swear Emma will be crawling like in weeks - I need a whole other set of safety gates soon," Rory discussed.
"And the big kid?" Lorelai asked about G, having heard Celeste mention something about her struggling a bit, though having not gone into specifics.
"She flew off to Paris yesterday," Rory sighed, in part with relief, knowing G wasn't her problem for at least two weeks. She scolded herself for thinking of her like 'her problem', but she was just tired.
G had come off her less than ideal high, which according to Charlotte's advice was just something that happened - it was either too much pot or too strong, or simply reacting poorly to her brain chemistry or hormone levels in general. At the very least it seemed to work as the best anti-drug campaign for G, who really sounded like she didn't want to repeat last night ever again.
"But has she been behaving herself - parties, boys, booze…?" Lorelai speculated.
Rory hesitated. "I can't really tell you that," she said.
"So she has, okay...," Lorelai reacted. "But why can't you tell me - maybe I could help?" she inquired, confusedly.
"Because I'm pretty sure you'd tell dad then," Rory said.
"I do not tell him things…," Lorelai argues.
"Well you do about me, or well you used to… you have the parent code or whatever," Rory said recalling well the time she'd moved in with Logan.
"That's because you're our kid. Gigi is his, not mine," Lorelai claimed, but she had to admit it - if she did knew details she might have been tempted to give him a heads up nevertheless. Damn, Rory knew her well.
"Yeah, but still..," Rory still had trouble trusting her. "Well - let's just say that she's working through some things…," Rory added, having decided to stick by her sister on this.
It was a matter of choices, and telling Christopher wasn't really going to help her maintain a relationship with G, having already come a long way. She had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't really her parent, but her sister, despite her reactions sometimes being parent-like.
After Rory had calmed down herself the other night, she'd realized that really trying a few draws of pot really wasn't that big of a deal - it would've been for her, but these days this hardly was for most people, or at least it wouldn't have been if she hadn't had the reaction she had. Allowing her alcohol had been on her anyways, allowing her to come - was on her just the same.
But before she'd left, they had had a long and serious conversation about trust, which wasn't too strong at that point. G had been apologetic, promising to tell her everything from now on. She'd even told Rory about how she'd gone to the Ulifeline clinic to talk to a counselor that week, and that alone deserved some praise. G was making mistakes - just like anyone her age - hell, Rory had made mistakes way later in life, probably was still making them, but at least G seemed to be making progress and in any progress stepbacks were to be expected, right?