A/N: I just want to say that I am not a doctor so facts in this chapter may not be accurate. Forgive me?
Classic
Chapter 11
Rory strode through the stark white corridors of the Yale New Haven Hospital still clad in her dishevelled dress with a look of great determination on her face. She walked straight into the Emergency Room which was in a bustle of activity it was TBS there – never a dull moment. She came upon a Nurses' Station right inside.
"Excuse me," Rory said tensely to a woman sitting behind the counter. "I'm here to pick up three guys, they remind you of the stooges?"
The woman opened her mouth to respond when they heard the unmistakeable sound of a slap.
"Ow, love," an Australian voice said, "what was that for."
"Never mind," Rory said to the woman. "I found them."
The nurse shot Rory a sympathetic smile. "Have fun."
There was no mistaking that Australian accent. It was Finn, no doubt hitting on some unsuspecting but strong will nurse.
She rounded a corner and there was Finn, leaning against another Nurses' station counter smiling charmingly at the nurses apparently unfazed by the rejection not two minutes earlier. Colin was sitting and it appeared to be in deep thought.
She was angry there was no doubt about that. She couldn't believe they would be this irresponsible. The trouble they had cause – that he had caused – was expected from middle schoolers who got a hold of the key to their parent's liquor cabinet but not from them.
Colin jumped to his feet the moment he saw her, "Rory," he said. "I am so sorry we had to call—"
Rory held up her hand. "I don't want to hear it." She looked around the corridor. "Where is he?"
Colin pointed to the room behind her. "They wanted to keep him from moving too much."
She nodded. "Get him ready. I'll just have a quick word with the doctor."
She didn't wait for an answer she just walked straight over to where Finn was flirting and asked who Logan Huntzberger's doctor had been. The kind nurse pointed a balding man out. Rory thanked the woman and headed over to the doctor.
"Excuse me, sir," she said. "You were Logan Huntzberger's doctor, correct?"
The man nodded, taken aback by her abruptness.
"I just need to know if there is something I need to know about his condition?"
"Just keep him hydrated. He'll most probably spend the better part of tonight vomiting so be sure to have a lot of water on hand," the doctor told her. "It was just a little too much to drink."
"A little?" Rory said in disbelief. "They never just drink 'a little.'"
The doctor chuckled. "It seems he didn't have anything to eat today so the alcohol hit him a lot harder than usual. He'll be weak for a few days. It'll be almost like getting over the flu. Don't feed him anything too heavy. Start with soup, maybe some crackers and when he feels up to it some toast."
What did she look like? His mother?
"Thank you, doctor," Rory said politely.
She turned around and saw Finn still flirting and Colin supporting Logan. It was time for her to once again play Bo Peep for her heard of sheep.
"Let's go," she said and started walking out. "I said, 'let's go,' Finn!"
She didn't wait to see if they were following. She, quite frankly, did not care.
-
She looked down on him, her expression halfway between disgust and pity. He was sprawled chaotically on her couch. She could have brought him back to his dorm room and left Colin to fend for him and no matter how much she wished she could do that, she couldn't. So she had brought both him and Colin back home with her and Finn.
He looked pale and weak: pathetic. But then, why did she care?
After she had sent Colin and Finn to bed she had turned to the third stooge. Rory didn't know why she just didn't leave and go to bed but she stayed. She carefully removed his coat and shoes. She placed a pillow under his head and a blanket over his body. On the coffee table she had a bottle of water and Aspirin.
He had not yet been completely coherent so she wasn't even sure if he knew she was taking care of him or if he even cared that she was.
Rory was snapped out of her thoughts as Logan gave a loud groan and curled into a tight ball. She knew what was coming before it happened. Logan sat up quickly, one hand going to his stomach the other to his mouth. She pointed a lazy finger in the direction of the bathroom as she saw him look around the room frantically.
She couldn't help the wave of sympathy that rushed over her as she heard the sounds of Logan retching. Sighing she grabbed the water bottle and followed him into the bathroom. She knew he hated it when he was sick whether it was a simple cold or the flu. He didn't like to admit that something could hurt him; he liked to think he was invincible. She shook her head at that thought.
He was practically hugging the porcelain God when she entered. He had finished vomiting by this time but she could still see his shoulders shaking as he coughed and spluttered attempting to get any remains out.
She knelt down next to him and started rubbing circles on his back. He jumped at the contact.
"Go away," he muttered. "Please, just go. I'm fine."
She shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Here," she said handing him the bottle of water. "The doctor told me to keep you hydrated."
He didn't move from his position he simply opened one of his hands slowly. She placed the bottle there.
"Rory, I—" he had began but was interrupted as a wave of nausea over came him.
"That's sort of like a thank you but different," Rory said as she began rubbing his back again.
Logan clutched tightly at his stomach as he moaned in pain. Rory could have sworn she heard him whisper, "Make it stop."
He began coughing and heaving but nothing was coming out. She heard him gasp and whimper.
"It hurts," he snivelled. She saw a few tears escape his eyes but there was nothing she could do. They had to wait it out.
Seeing Logan as he currently was, was breaking Rory's heart. She was still angry with him but she couldn't bring herself to yell at him while he was like this.
To her he looked almost defeated.
-
Morning dawned. Logan was currently sleeping soundly on the bathroom floor and Rory was still wide-awake. She couldn't bring herself to go to sleep. Not even on the couch. Every time she went to lie down she thought she heard noises coming from the bathroom but when she would check on Logan he was always fast asleep.
Thus began her night of pacing by the bathroom door, of sitting on the floor next to him running her hands through his hair, of sitting on the couch pretending to read while really listening for sounds coming from the bathroom.
She was still wearing her dress from her date with Sean. She was angry about that too. Not only because she slept with him but also because she regretted it. Why was Logan able to do the same thing and not regret it? She didn't think it was fair. And now here she was taking care of Logan after she spent the night with another man. Was she trying to balance her conscience? Was this her way to redeem herself?
She needed coffee. She needed to calm down. She paused on her way to the kitchen. Oh she needed a lot of coffee.
As she flipped the switch on Timothy she heard a soft knock at the door as though the person on the other side were unsure.
Curious, Rory answered the door.
"Sean?" She said in disbelief.
Not wanting to wake anyone in the house she stepped onto the porch and closed the door.
-
Logan frowned as he awoke. He was lying face down on spotless white ceramic tiles. They felt cool to the touch. He was thankful for that as he felt he could fry an egg on his forehead, he moved his head so his cheek was flat against the tiles. It felt good.
He groaned though as he remembered how he got to where he was. It all started and ended with Rory Gilmore. Who else could make him fall to pieces like he was?
She had gone on a date. He had gone to the pub and drank and drank before he drank some more. Then things got fuzzy but he remembered waking to be sick and his Ace comforting him.
A small smile made its way onto his face but it disappeared almost as soon as it appeared.
He heard a door open and Rory say, "Sean."
The small repair his heart had just made shattered.