Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything up to Jews and Chinese Food is fair game. Past that, it's just where my mind takes over.
Teaser: When Rory and Logan's arrangement goes prematurely sour, his friends take it upon themselves to intervene. Sequel to Keeping it Casual
Story Title: Nothing A Good Friend Wouldn't Do
Chapter Title: You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine
Rory took the last drink of her coffee and looked back to her car. It sat lonely in the large driveway, and she sighed loudly. Lorelai had said she would see her tonight, but obviously she'd beaten her mother to the Gilmore Mansion. She'd talked to her grandmother since the fiasco that was last Friday night, but it'd been kept to niceties--classes and weather. Nothing had been mentioned of Lorelai's outburst or Logan at all. She rang the doorbell, hoping her mother wasn't too far behind her and waited.
Emily opened the door herself, in lieu of the maid that normally greeted her. She smiled at the woman's pleased expression, and handed over her coat immediately.
"Rory, come in! How are you?"
"I'm fine, Grandma, how are you?"
"Well, I'm fine, tell me, are you alone this evening?"
"Uh, Mom's coming, didn't she call you?"
"Yes, yes, that's not what I meant. Is Logan going to be joining us again?" she asked, still holding onto Rory's arm as they walked into the living room. Richard was sitting, looking at the ready as the women walked into the room.
"Oh, no, he's not. He had other stuff to do this evening," she smiled, as her grandmother released her grip on her arm and allowed her to be seated. Richard sat after she did, and Emily tended to the bar.
"You are still seeing one another, correct?" she continued her probing, her voice more than hopeful.
"Yes, we are," she said, accepting the drink she was doled out.
"We were just so thrilled to hear that you two had begun dating," Emily gushed, sitting down next to Richard. "Ever since your grandfather saw you two together at the Yale alumni party, we had this feeling that you two had hit it off."
"I think you two make a fine looking couple, but I told you that that very evening, didn't I?" Richard asked, clearly proud of himself.
"You did," Rory nodded, amused at her grandparents' strong reaction. She hadn't seen them this excited since she told them she was Yale-bound.
"So, did he by chance mention that I spoke with his mother? She said she was dying to meet you," Emily took a sip of her wine, oblivious to the insanity that her one phone call had put into play.
"Uh, yeah, he did. We're actually going over there tomorrow."
"Oh, Rory, that's wonderful. You'll love them, the Huntzbergers are very good friends of ours. We've known them forever. It's actually surprising that you and Logan had never met before. We've known him since he was in diapers."
"You don't say," Rory took a sip of her soda, not quite feeling up to fielding many more questions about Logan. Even though she was feeling fairly secure in their relationship after this past week, it was still new to have to speak of it to others. She was thrilled when she heard the doorbell, knowing the pressure of conversation was about to be lightened.
XXXX
Logan wished he had done something to take the edge off before coming. He sat in his car, wishing he had a cigarette or some sort of alcohol that could do the trick in smaller amounts. Nothing he could consume in that house would do the trick. Sighing, he grabbed the keys and headed up to the front door, letting himself in. He saw no one as he roamed into the house, and considered heading up to his room, but thought better of it. His parents would be gathering in the sitting room about this time, and he figured he might as well get this over with. They were his parents, and he knew they did want him to be happy. They just wished he were happy doing things they approved of.
He was right, his mother was seated, sipping a dry martini, and leafing through a magazine. He moved over to kiss her cheek before heading over to the drink cart to see if she'd made enough to share.
"So, darling, how was the drive?"
"Fine, Mom. Anything exciting going on here?"
"Your sister called."
"Oh yeah? She never calls me."
"You're never home, sweetheart. She knows better."
"True. How's she doing?"
"Fine. She's going to try to make it tomorrow evening," she said, flipping another page with a manicured finger.
"Ah yes, tomorrow," he sighed, sitting down across from her with his own martini. "Where's Dad?"
"He isn't home yet. He'll be here shortly."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she looked up from her drink with interest at her son.
"Why is this such a big deal?"
"Logan, we should wait," she began, but he cut her off.
"Come on, Mom. Just level with me. It's not like I'm thinking of getting married, I'm just dating her."
"Not to be crude, but isn't that sort of not in your normal habits? When was the last time you focused on one girl?"
"Rory just happens to be able to hold my attention," he smiled.
"Exactly. And from what Emily told me," she cocked her head to one side, but he held up his hand.
"What exactly did Emily say?"
"Just that you two had come to her house for dinner, and you looked rather cozy. That you seemed to be smitten, and how wonderful you two looked together."
"And that made Dad feel the need to storm the campus?"
"He just wanted to talk to you, honey."
"Then why didn't he just leave when he didn't find me?"
"You know he's just concerned about you."
"He's concerned about his business. There's a difference."
"Logan," she sighed, just as his father walked in through the dining room. "Logan, you're here."
"Hello, Dad."
"Dinner ready?" he kissed the top of his wife's head, and moved to get a drink for himself.
"It should be, anytime now," she said, picking her magazine that had fallen shut in her lap back up.
"How's school?"
"Fine."
"Been attending some your classes, I hear."
"Yes, though I love that you know that somehow other than my telling you."
"What can I say; I have friends in convenient places."
"They're called spies, Dad."
"So, to what do we owe this superfluous visit?" Mitchum smiled at his son, ignoring his prior comment.
"I wanted to talk to you two, before Rory had to be involved."
Mitchum raised his eyebrows, clearly intrigued, and Shira put her magazine down on the table. He knew he had their attention. He cleared his throat and took another drink.
"It just seems to me that you overreacted to Emily's call."
"So, you didn't go to the Gilmore's for dinner?"
"No, I did."
"And you two are dating?"
"We are."
"Exclusively?"
"Yes."
"So, in what way are we overreacting? We need to meet her."
"And you would have."
"Before the wedding?" Mitchum raised a glass to his lips, looking smug.
"We're not getting married."
"Good."
"We just started dating."
"Look, Logan," he set his glass down on the table in front of him, and clasped his hands together in his lap. "I'm sure she's a nice girl, but is she really prepared to take on all she would have to do as your wife?"
"Do you mean does she make me happy? Yes."
"That is not what I mean."
"I know. Dad, being my wife isn't someone's career goal. At least, I don't want to marry anyone whom that applies to. Rory is smart and beautiful—she's going to make a life for herself, and I would like to be a part of that."
Mitchum raised his hands to his temples. Shira put a hand on her husband's leg and spoke up. "It's not that we don't approve of her having goals and aspirations, Logan. It's wonderful that she's smart and going to have a good career ahead of her. But for her to be in this family," she stopped again when Logan interrupted her.
"This is exactly why I came here tonight. I do not want you guys talking about things like this tomorrow. I don't want you talking about marriage and why she can't work after we get married," Logan ranted.
"After you get married? Logan, exactly how serious is this?" Mitchum demanded, catching every last syllable his son had spouted off.
"I love her. Okay? I love her."
XXXX
"So, Mom, great dinner as always," Lorelai managed, looking back to Rory, who'd remained rather silent through the whole meal. She was dying to chat with her daughter alone. Rory had seemed strange ever since she'd shown up, evading all questions about school and Logan from her grandparents, instead asking her about the Inn and home.
"Thank you, Lorelai. It's nice to have a nice family dinner," she said. "Do you two have to run off, or is there time for dessert?"
"It isn't anything weird, is it?" she asked, her nose scrunched up.
"It's chocolate mousse," Emily sighed.
"Then I'm completely free, no plans at all," Lorelai smiled.
"Me too, I'm free."
"Don't have to get back to Logan?" Emily probed, knowingly.
"Uh, no, we don't have plans tonight."
"Rory, are you feeling alright?" Richard asked, noting his granddaughter's increasing uncomfortable behavior.
"I'm fine, Grandpa, just got a lot on my mind."
"She's meeting the parents tomorrow," Lorelai supplied, giving a sufficient answer.
"I know that, Lorelai, but there is no reason for her to be nervous about that. Logan's parents are lovely people."
"Yes, Dad, I'm sure they are, however, it's always a little unnerving to meet the family of the person you're dating. I realize it's been a thousand years since you've had to do anything of the sort," she sighed, playing with her napkin in her lap as they awaited the maid to come out with the individual servings of chocolate mousse.
"Mom," Rory said, shaking her head. "It's fine, I mean, yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine."
"See, she's fine," Emily said, confirming it for everyone. "They'll just love you."
"Right. They'll love me," Rory said, not sounding as sure of herself as she would like.
XXXX
"You love her?"
"Yes."
"I know you think you love this girl," Shira appeased him.
"I think? This isn't something I decided to try, to piss you off, or see what it was like. She and I are in a serious relationship. And she's coming over here to meet you, not be interviewed by you."
Mitchum nodded. "Fair enough."
Logan looked up in surprise. "What?"
"I said, fair enough. You want us to smile and make polite conversation, we can do that. But I will say one thing, son. We are not done with talking about your future. I refuse to let you throw away your obligations over some girl, however you feel about her in the moment."
Logan set his jaw, as it was clear to him that this wasn't going to be easy. He had accomplished his mission—to get them to lay off of Rory, at least in front of her. He nodded, not wanting this 'conversation' to occur right this instant.
"So, are you staying for dinner?" Shira asked, hopeful as if this particular conversation hadn't happened. She'd perfected this tactic, after years of Logan and Mitchum's go-arounds.
"I should probably get back to school. I'll see you two tomorrow night."
"Yes, you will," Mitchum nodded, standing with his son. He walked him to the door, and patted his back before he got to the door.
"I realize you think I'm somehow out to ruin your life, but I'm not."
"I just don't want you guys to attack her."
"We would never," he began, but Logan shook his head.
"You would do anything to make me come around to your way of thinking."
"It's not prison, it's a profitable business. And when you grow up and see how much it takes to run this business, you'll be glad for a woman who knows this lifestyle to step in and take up the slack."
Logan stared at his father, and pulled his jacket on over his shoulders. "How long did it take you to come to that conclusion, Dad?"
"Watch it, Logan."
"I have to go."
With that, he left his parents house and got into his car. He started the motor, pulled out of the long driveway and headed out to a main road. He knew Rory was in Hartford, and he hoped she would come back to New Haven tonight. He couldn't count on the happenstance, and pulled out his cell phone, hitting the speed dial and waiting.
"Hello?" she answered almost immediately.
"Hey, it's me. Am I interrupting dinner?"
"No, I just got in my car."
"Any chance you're headed back to school?"
"Are you?"
"Meet you there in a half hour?"
"Deal."
They hung up, and both headed for the most direct route back to school. Rory had avoided all talk of Logan to her grandparents, fearful of Emily's next conversation with Shira only making the next night tenser for her and Logan. She had a quick, hushed conversation with her mother in the driveway, promising to call her after the dinner at his parents'. Lorelai gave her supportive hug, and said she would do fine. Rory pulled into the closest spot to her dorm, and hurried to her door, to find a tired looking Logan seated against her door.
"No one there?"
"Paris' light was on, but I was afraid to knock."
Rory smiled. "Probably wise. You want me to do a sweep before you come in, or do you just want to go to your place?"
He laughed. "You're here to protect me, and I'm too exhausted to move much farther."
"Need I ask how your evening went?"
"Nope. How about you? Did they miss me?" he smirked, as she pulled him up to his feet.
"Yes. And let me tell you, it's hard to fend off my grandmother when she's persistent."
"Why did you have to fend her off?"
"I'm sorry, did you want her calling your mother to ask her what color dress she wanted to wear at the wedding?"
Logan cringed. "We probably shouldn't even joke about that."
"Agreed. Let's go to bed."
"Right."
She opened the door and led him into the safety and comfort of her room. The land of no questions, only words and feelings they didn't need to put a name to or analyze tonight. There would be time enough for that tomorrow.
