Author: Lady Eliza
Characters: All Characters
Rating: T
Summary: Total AU Rory and Logan Spoiler Warning
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of its characters.
AN:Thank you to all my reviewers for the wonderful feedback. The link to see the ring should be up bynow, but if it'snot thengive it time since it takes a while for it to upload on my profile page. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please continue to review.
Chapter 29: The Cold Hard Truth
Rory was tired; she had been running around helping Honor out with some last minute wedding details. Honor didn't trust her mother to take care of a specific detail that had both Rory and the bride-to-be on the Huntzberger jet. The two women were headed to New York to pick up Honor's wedding dress from Vera Wang's house. Honor had asked Rory to accompany her because Shira would've gotten too sentimental and would've gone down memory lane on the plane ride to and from the big apple.
Honor looked at the woman who she thought of as a sister and would soon become her sister-in-law. She knew the ring was burning a hole in Logan's pocket, but her little brother would not propose until she was married. She had asked Rory to accompany her instead of her good friends because she wanted to spend some quality time with the person who was her kindred spirit.
Rory didn't know this, but the rest of the bridesmaids were going to join them tomorrow for a bachelorette party spearheaded by Honor's best friend and maid of honor Cecelia Roosevelt. Today was going to be Rory and Honor's time together and tomorrow the entire bridal party was going to have some fun.
"So Ror, do you like the dress Vera designed for you?" asked Honor.
"Oh yeah, I love it. I can't believe she went to so much trouble for a bridesmaids dress when your dress is the most important one," said Rory.
"Vera believes that the entire wedding party's ensemble will reflect on how the guests perceive the wedding. If they like it then wedding was a great success, if they don't then it was a bust."
"I didn't know the outfits that the entire wedding party wears is reflective or your and Joshes personal taste."
"Apparently so."
"I can't wait to see your dress Honor, your mom kept gushing about it and Vera wouldn't let me see it because she said an artist does not show his portrait when it is in the process of being painted. It must be some masterpiece since there is an air of mystery surrounding it."
Honor laughed. The two of them started discussing the latest gossip to come out of their circle of friends. Honor was a world-renowned gossip and Rory was no better since she had all the juicy gossip come to her from her relatives in England.
Rory received most of her gossip from the Marchioness of Kent, Sarah Gilmore-Hartsworthy, was Rory's second cousin twice removed and was the biggest gossip in England especially when it had anything to do with the aristocracy. Honor and Sarah got on wonderfully when they were in each other's company since they were both wretched gossips.
Rory was telling Honor about Sarah's latest phone call two days prior. Sarah had been excited to tell Rory that Harry was dating that lovely Kensworthy girl. Rory had listened to her cousin Sarah go on and on about the best thing that had happened to the royal family in such a long time.
"No way, Sarah actually said that Harry was serious about this one. Are you sure she wasn't projecting her opinion of the girl on to him?"
"She probably was since she likes to brag that she will spot Harry's future bride before he does. She likes to drop not so subtle hints that she is related to the royal family and that she will be in attendance at any royal function."
"She sure is a piece of work. She was the first person to RSVP to my wedding."
"That doesn't surprise me since Cousin Sarah likes to be in attendance at all the major weddings of the season no matter which side of the pond it's on."
The girls continued chatting about this and that. The plane landed at a private airstrip near the city and when the two women came down the stairs and touched land they were whisked away in a limo and driven to Vera Wang's home.
Jess was furious. He had gone Yale to talk to Rory, but had been told by an angry Paris that she was not on the premises. He had tried all of Rory's other friends and they had refused to tell him where she could be found. Jess had wanted to grab the whole lot of them and shake some sense into them. He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs that he had proof that Logan was cheating on Rory with a blond bimbo.
After two hours of rejection he had decided to head home. He had passed a bookstore and went in to buy another copy of 'A Tale of Two Cities' since his last one had mysteriously disappeared. Jess went straight for the classics section and on his way to pay for the book he passed by the magazine section. It was a good thing that he had since he happened to glance at one specific tabloid, which showed Rory and some blond lady climbing into the back of a limo. He glanced at the captions and it said that Rory was in New York. It looked like he would be going home for a while. He hoped he would be coming home with Rory on his arm.
If Jess happened to read the rest of the article on Rory's trip to New York he would have thought twice about following her. The article mentioned the Huntzberger Wedding and that bridesmaid, Rory Gilmore, was with the bride to pick up her wedding dress at an undisclosed designer. If Jess bothered to open up the tabloid he would have seen the woman that he saw Logan with in the mall walking side by side with Rory, but he didn't do any of those things and he would eventually pay the price.
Several hours, many gas stops, and plenty of diners later Jess arrived back home to New York. He had to admit he had missed the city, but it looked exactly the same even after a year and a half away from it. He couldn't believe he drove all the way to New York for Rory Gilmore, but the girl was worth it.
Jess had no idea how he was going to get a hold of Rory. She probably wouldn't welcome him with open arms if she found out he had followed her to New York. Besides here in the big city she probably had a slew of security personnel surrounding her since she was at risk of being kidnapped. He had no idea where she would be staying, I mean there were a number of places that she could've booked into, buts it's not like the receptionist would tell you if billionaire heiress Rory Gilmore was staying there. Discretion and privacy were very important to the rich and famous.
Jess was at a standstill. He tried to think like the new and improved Rory Gilmore. Where would she want to stay when she was in New York? The usual places such as The Hilton, The Waldorf Astoria, The Plaza, and hell even Trump Penthouse if Rory asked nicely. But luck was on his side since there were only a handful of places that Rory could stay in without attracting unwanted attention.
Jess parked his car in a nearby parking lot to where he used to live and decided to take a cab since he wasn't stupid enough to drive in downtown Manhattan. He decided to work his way down the list of posh hotels that he had made in his head. The first stop the Hilton.
Jess tried to find any sign of the paparazzi at any of the hotels that he had seen thus far and couldn't see any signs of them. When the cabbie arrived at the Plaza he had this feeling that she was here and then it was reinforced when he saw men with cameras across the street from the hotel. He asked the driver to park on the side and wait.
Jess got out and went to buy a hot dog at a vendor that was nearby to the herd of men and their cameras. He placed his order and waited for the sausage to be cooked. He listened in on the conversation two men with cameras were having.
"Ted, how long do you think she's going to be?"
"I have no idea. Rory should be going to the local hospital to donate two million dollars to the neurological department or so I've heard."
"It wouldn't surprise me if she buys the New York Knicks. The girls got more money than god and she's still making more since she gets paid a cool million for showing up at any of the local hotspots and movie premieres. I swear Earl; these high society debutante types are taking over the world. They've got the name, the pedigree, the connections, and the class to pull it off. What's the world coming to?"
"I don't know, but Gilmore's great-granny Lorelai was very fond of the hospital that Rory is going to donate money to, so I would assume it's in tribute to her. I just wish she would get to it already so we can get a picture of her."
Jess decided the six bucks that he had spent on worst sausage he had ever tasted was worth the little tidbit of information he had gained from the motor mouths. So Rory was going to do some charity work while she was in New York, a rather hefty donation of two million dollars was going to make the six o'clock news.
Jess would simply follow the vehicle that would take Rory to the hospital and go check out the heiress in action. He had never seen Rory in such a public venue live. Yeah, he had caught her on the news or at a trendy restaurant but he had never seen it in person. To him she was still the shy Rory that he had first met. After she had taken care of her public duty Jess would ask to have a few minutes of her time.
When Rory arrived at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital there were media outlets from every part of the country and numerous foreign contingencies as well. She didn't understand how her donating money to the hospital could be news. It was just money.
There were many police officers guarding the perimeters so the press and many of the onlookers wouldn't cause problems. She just wished the money she had donated had been kept quiet instead of being leaked to the media by the hospital PR department. The media made everything into a big deal and this donation was agreed upon by the Gilmore family, it was something Lorelai the 1st would have wanted.
Rory went to meet the head of the neurology at the hospital and present the cheque to him. Dr. Mason Rikkart, head of neurology, told Rory she would be getting a private tour through the neurology ward. She smiled and nodded at the doctor.
Dr. Rikkart didn't know much about Rory Gilmore except that she was an heiress so he assumed she was a brain dead bimbo that would rather party then do anything worthwhile with her life. But he was pleasantly surprised when he met Rory and realized she was a highly intelligent young woman. She asked him intelligent questions and it seemed she had done her homework and learned about the latest technology and treatments in his field.
"So Rory, where do you go to school?" asked Dr. Rikkart.
"I attend Yale," replied Rory.
Dr. Rikkart was impressed. He had paid his way through Princeton and it had been tough especially with astronomical Medical School fees. But the heiress Gilmore wouldn't have to worry about money. "What's your major?"
"I'm majoring in journalism. Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to be an overseas correspondent like Christiane Amanpour."
"Well that's refreshing. I have never before heard a young lady say she wanted to be an overseas correspondent."
"I don't think I'm actually going to be an overseas correspondent. It would be awkward with me reporting on current events and the paparazzi taking picture of me. I'll just settle for being journalist."
"I'm sure your going to be a great journalist."
"Thank you."
Rory spent an hour making rounds with Dr. Rikkart and she had to admit she was learning a lot of things. When the doctor was done for the day, or done his rounds for the day he would still be on-call, Rory handed over the check.
"I appreciate you and your families generosity Miss Gilmore and we will never forget your kindness. Anytime you want to come and see how your money is being spent you just come on down and see," said Dr. Rikkart.
"My family is happy to help. I appreciate your offer and I might take you up on it. Your doing wonderful work here Dr. Rikkart keep up the good work. Goodbye sir," said Rory.
"Goodbye, Miss Gilmore," said Dr. Rikkart.
Rory decided to head to the lounge area where she could grab a cup of coffee. She really needed a caffeine fix. She had poured her first cup of coffee when the lounge door opened and shut. She turned around and found Jess staring back at her.
"Jess, what the hell are you doing here?"
"Rory, I was trying to find you all day and your friends were no help. I had to find out from a tabloid as to your location. But there is something I think you must see."
"Jess, you followed me to New York. If you needed to talk to me you could have waited for me to return to Stars Hollow. Was it absolutely necessary for you to track me down in such a fashion?"
"Rory it's urgent. I know this is going to come as a shock to you, but Logan is cheating on you with a blond bimbo," said Jess as quickly as possible.
Rory was silent for a full thirty seconds before she burst, "How dare you say such a hurtful, despicable, mean-hearted, thing. I want you to get the hell out of my face right this moment before I do something that will make you quite uncomfortable."
"I'm not lying to you. I saw him with my own two eyes; he was shopping with another girl at the Hartford mall. I saw them Rory, I swear I'm not lying."
"Then you need to get your eyes checked, you stupid jerk. I love Logan and he loves me. I should have listened to him when he warned me about you. You had an agenda all along didn't you? The early return to Stars Hollow and the constant appearances in my life. I have been nothing but nice to you since you came back and this is how you repay me. By accusing my hus-… the man I love of being unfaithful to me."
Jess was silent since he knew she was about to say 'husband' in that sentence, it seemed like it was a Freudian slip. He needed to convince her, so he took out the pictures out of his back pocket. "Rory, it's because you were nice to me that I'm trying to tell you the truth about Logan. I have never liked him and have said again and again that he is not good enough for you. Logan is not the type of guy to commit to anyone he's a playboy and with these pictures you will realize that he hasn't been faithful to you." Jess then proceeded to hand over the pictures to Rory.
Rory didn't want to take it since she knew that Logan would never cheat on her. He valued their relationship more than anything. She took the pictures so she can throw it in Jess' face but Honor's face caught Rory's attention. She went through each picture and become more and more angry. She couldn't believe Jess had taken pictures of the private moments between brother and sister. Rory was too angry that she didn't notice Logan showing Honor the Tiffany's ring in the last picture.
Rory threw the picture in Jess' face, "How dare you, you bastard. I can't believe I ever loved you. Right at this moment I despise you and don't want to see you again. I'll tell my security to never let you within a ten-yard distance between Logan and I. Paris was right when she said that I should tell you straight out to leave me the hell alone. You don't have a chance with me since I have no feelings for you. I am in a committed relationship and will eventually marry Logan in the near future. I want nothing to do with you or you pathetic attempts to win me over. Now I would like you to leave."
Jess stared at Rory he didn't get it. "Rory don't you see that woman with Logan. Are you blind? Or is it that you're going to be a proper society wife and turn a blind eye to Logan's affairs. What kind of marriage will you have if your husband is not faithful to you? Do you want to be Mrs. Logan Huntzberger so badly that you will sacrifice your happiness?"
Rory didn't know how it happened but she raised her hand and slapped him as hard as she could. She didn't know who was more surprised Jess or she. "I want you to know something you pathetic attempt of a human being. That woman in the picture is Honor Huntzberger, Logan's sister. You intruded on their time together by taking pictures of them. I want you to know something you ass, when Logan and I get married we will be the happiest pair of people you have ever seen. If I didn't hear your voice or see you for the rest of my life I would die a happy woman, but since life is not so perfect I want you to stay away from me and mine. You can leave and make your life so much easier since I will be informing Logan and the rest of our families of exactly what took place today. Get this through your head for the last time: I don't love you, I loathe you with every fibre of my being, I want you to disappear and never return, and I've had just about enough of you and stupidness. Leave voluntarily or my security will escort you out"
Jess could just listen as the woman he loved said all those terrible, despicable, horrible things to him. One thing reverberated in his mind though, 'That was Logan's sister.'
AN: Please, Please, Please Review