***Author's note: I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I wrote it and rewrote it and rewrote it three separate times. Then I had an unplanned major surgery on 4/12 and I'm finally feeling well enough to sit with my laptop on the couch again and write. I'm back at work but Physical Therapy and stuff is taking up a lot of my free time. But, being in the hospital for several days definitely gave me motivation to get Rory out of the hospital as soon as possible. She was going to remain asleep for a while longer, but my personal experience changed things! This is a happy chapter. I hope you enjoy. Best wishes to all of you in all of your little corners of world.***

During the summer when Rory dropped out of school and lived in the Gilmores' pool house, she and Logan spent many nights together. More times than not, he woke up alone during the night. He always found her on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, reading Jane Austen's books. The first time it happened, he asked about her choice of literature. She explained that Jane Austen's books were timeless. Jane Austen always transported her to a time when things were peaceful and calm – Emma was her favorite. That night, and every time afterwards, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close while she continued to read. He never questioned anything; he merely did his best to support what she was doing to cope during the difficult time. When Finn was having a tough time, he drowned his sorrows in tequila and redheads. Apparently, Rory drowned her sorrows in 18th century British literature. While Logan preferred Salinger, he certainly understood. It was the same reason he liked re-reading books. The story was always the same, there were no surprises, and the characters became his friends. Books were reliable.

But tonight at the hospital, Logan wracked his brain for the things that calmed Rory the most. She wasn't a religious person. She loved music, but the Clash, the Ramones and Sonic Youth weren't exactly calming. So, somewhere around 10pm on Wednesday night (Eastern Time), Logan sat by Rory's bed. He pulled a chair as close to her bed as possible then downloaded a copy of Emma on his iPad. With all of the love and hope that he could muster in his heart for his future wife and unborn child, Logan held her hand while he read to her. At first, tears streamed down his face while he read to her. Somewhere into the second chapter, he managed to calm down as well. Logan hadn't read Emma since high school, so it was a blast from the past for him. He could see why Rory liked it so much. He squeezed her hand and occasionally kissed her cheek. The swelling had begun to subside and her face had begun to look more like, well….. her face. Even with the scratches, cuts, and abrasions, she was beautiful.

Paris went to the ICU to check on her friend and stopped by the door of her room. She watched Logan, holding vigil, reading to her, and holding her hand. Paris was truly impressed at the care he showed for her friend, and as much as she hated to admit it, he was going to be a hell of a husband – and an even better father. Hell froze over, pigs flew, and Logan Huntzberger apparently grew up and turned into a real man.

Finally, she tiptoed into Rory's room. "Hey," she whispered.

"Paris, hey," Logan said as he looked up without letting go of Rory's hand. "Any news?"

Paris shook her head. "Nothing new. Everything is still improving little by little. Her last set of labs look great." Paris gave him a half-smile.

Logan nodded, "Ok." He sighed and hung his head while he stared at Rory's limp body. "Thank you."

"So… I'm supposed to kick you out. Visiting hours were over a long time ago." Paris glanced at him while also observing Rory.

Logan peered up at Paris with pleading eyes. "Are you going to? I can't leave her."

Paris crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll make you a deal. If you grab a shower and eat something, you can stay as long as you don't speak above a whisper while you're in the unit." She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You can shower in private bathroom in my office. I'll order dinner for us through Postmates." She looked down at him. "Ok?"

"Thanks, Paris." He sighed deeply then turned to look at her. "She's going to be okay, right?"

Paris pursed her lips. "Well, there is no medical reason that she shouldn't be okay. And I believe that she will."

Logan stood up and pulled Paris into a hug. "Thanks Paris. One day soon, I'm going to tell her about how nice you've been, and she will be so proud."

Paris pushed him away and said, "Like hell you will. You're going to ruin my street cred."

Logan smirked at her. "My mistake. I wouldn't dream of it."

"Come on. I'll show you where you can shower." Paris waited for him by the door.

"Be right there," he said as he bent to kiss Rory softly on the lips. Then he whispered, "I love you, Ace. I'll be right back."

About 30 minutes later, Logan resumed his post at Rory's bedside. He held her hand and read to her until he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. Finally, he set his iPad down and rested his arm on the bed with his forehead on his arm. After about a thousand silent prayers and a million whispered "I-love-you's", he finally gave in to exhaustion and fell asleep.

Super-early the next morning, before the sun came up, Logan got his next miracle. "Logan? Logan?" He woke up to a very scratchy whisper. He looked over to see Rory's blue eyes open and alert.

"Oh my God, Ace! You're awake!" Logan was astonished.

As she tried to move, she quickly became aware of the tubes, IVs and other things attached to her body. "What happened? Where…..?" She asked in a strangled voice.

Logan jumped up. "Um, you probably shouldn't try to talk. Let me get someone." He ran out to the nurses' station and informed them that Rory was awake. He also insisted that someone find Paris.

Once he returned, he went to her and said, "Hey, everything is okay. Let's wait for the doctor before we talk too much…" Then he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. She nodded and blinked at him.

Amanda (who had apparently returned to the hospital) walked swiftly into the room with Paris in tow. Rory finally said, "What is happening? Someone needs to tell me what's going on."

Logan glanced at Amanda who nodded quickly. "Ace, you were in an accident, and you've been asleep a while."

Rory's hand flew to her mouth, covering it. "How long? Am I okay? What about…?"

Paris asked, "Hey, my friend," as she sat down on the bed next to her. "So, I have to ask you some basic questions. Can you tell me your full name?" Rory responded correctly. "What about the year?"

Rory said, "2016." And then she got nervous and looked around, "It IS still 2016, right?"

Amanda nodded, "Yes. So, I know that you know Paris and Logan. But I'm Amanda Burks. I'm the Chief of Neurology here at Hartford Memorial."

Rory nodded, "Okay, so I'm in the hospital? How long have I been here?"

Logan said, "About a day and a half." Logan pursed his lips as they continued to establish her mental status.

Amanda continued, "Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

"Well," Rory started fidgeting and glancing around. "I….. I….." she continued looking around, clearly overwhelmed.

Paris grabbed her hand and said, "Rory, slow down. Take your time and gather your thoughts."

Rory pursed her lips. "Am I okay? Medically, am I okay?" She ran a hand over some of the lines going to her body.

Amanda nodded. "Yes, you are. You were in a bad car accident, and you have a lot of bumps, bruising and lacerations from the accident. Most of this stuff is here to care for you while you were unconscious. Now that you're awake, we can get rid of most of it. How do you feel? Does anything stand out?"

"I have a horrible headache, a lot of sharp pains here and there, and I feel weak, but never mind that." Rory then asked, "Is the baby alright?" Logan exhaled a huge breath. He was dying to know whether she remembered bits of knowledge like that.

Logan squeezed her hand. "Yes, Paris has been making sure that the baby is perfect. As a matter of fact, that monitor shows the baby's vital signs." He gestured to a machine that was gently beeping.

"Logan," Rory breathed. "I thought we…..," she glanced at her left hand, looked at him, and then looked at the blanket on her chest.

"Ace, are you looking for your ring?" he asked.

"Yes. I was hoping I wasn't confused or remembered wrong." She frowned at him. "Where is it?"

Logan grinned at her. "Don't worry. I have it."

Paris said with a smirk, "Rockefeller can give it back to you once you leave. We do a lot of imaging, and you probably don't want it to get lost."

Amanda said, "So I need to give you a bit of a physical exam if you feel up to it. I need to make sure everything is completely okay. Okay?"

Rory nodded and looked at Logan, "Will you stay?"

"Sure. I will stay as long as you want me to. But I need to contact your family and a bunch of other people. They are worried sick and deserve to know you're awake." Logan rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. "Ace, I'm so glad you're okay." He leaned forward and kissed her temple.

"What day is it again?" Rory furrowed her brow as she asked.

"It's early on Thursday morning," he replied.

"You're not supposed to be here yet. You weren't getting to the U.S. until tomorrow, right?" she asked.

Logan nodded, "Yeah, but you had an accident and I needed to be here."

Rory nodded, "Of course." She looked over at Paris who was typing different items into Rory's medical chart on an iPad. "Wasn't I driving to see you? I think."

Paris nodded, "Yep. And you never showed up." Paris made a face at her best friend. "Rude!"

But Paris couldn't wait anymore. She rushed over to Rory and hugged her. "I'm SO glad you're okay!"

"Thanks Paris," she said with raised eyebrows directed at Logan over Paris's shoulder.

Logan stepped out into the waiting room to make his calls. His first one was Lorelai.

Lorelai was still sleeping, but saw it was Logan calling and answered the phone groggy but frantic, "Logan, what's wrong?!"

"Nothing! Lorelai, she's awake! She's talking and seems very well. They are doing her neuro exam right now, but I wanted to step out and call you." Logan was ecstatic and couldn't wait to share the news.

Logan could hear Lorelai rushing around already. "I'll be right there. I just need to find my shoes."

"Lorelai, she's having an exam right now and then they mentioned a CT scan and something else. Why don't you take your time getting dressed, eat breakfast, and then come? Between Paris and I, I promise she won't be alone. Its still dark outside. I'll tell her that you will be here soon." Logan didn't see the need to have everyone in the family sitting around antsy and waiting.

"Okay, Huntzberger. I'll see you by 8am." Logan could practically hear her smiling over the phone. "And Logan?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Thank you so much, not just for calling but being there for her."

Logan was surprised but didn't want to show it. "Lorelai, there is no where else I would rather be. She and the baby are my whole world."

"I'm starting to see that." Lorelai smiled into the phone. "I'm also going to text all of our family. Will you reach out to yours? Since she's doing well, I don't want to call and wake up everyone right now. They can get the good news as they wake up."

Logan said, "Sure. And what about Chris? Did you get a chance to reach out to him like we talked about?"

Lorelai was rather vague on the subject. "I called but he didn't answer. I left a message for him to call me back, but he never did. I even said it was about Rory and it was important. I'll text you his number. Maybe he will answer your call?"

Logan raised his eyebrows. He didn't realize that things were that tense between them these days. "Sure, I will give him a call."

Paris found him in the hall and said, "Rory said she won't get the CT unless she gets pancakes afterwards. Can you make pancakes happen? She said she's starving!"

Logan nodded. "Yep. I'm on it!" as Paris rushed back.

Lorelai heard the exchange and laughed. "Yep, she's definitely okay if she's demanding food."

Logan smirked. "I agree. I'll see you soon?"

Lorelai replied. "Yep! Bye, Logan. Best news ever!" and she disconnected the call.

Logan texted everyone else he had to text about Rory and set out to find pancakes, bacon, and lots of fresh coffee. His sweetheart was going to be okay! He practically skipped down the hall.