Gilmore Girls
These Things I Know
A/N: Happy reading! Genevra.
Summary: You might finally have what you thought you always wanted but the truth is this- you don't know what you've got 'til its gone.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Gilmore Girls in anyway.
Chapter Eight: Vigil
"Mrs. Huntzberger?" the doctor asked, walking up to the group. He looked at Honor expectantly but she pointed at Rory.
"I'm Mrs. Huntzberger," Rory said, shaking herself out of her reverie. There had been silence, except for an excited gasp from Honor, amongst the group ever since her little proclamation. She stood up and shook the doctor's hand, her coat feeling heavy and her scarf making her too warm. She removed it and looked at the doctor. "I'm Rory Huntzberger."
"I have his wife down as Lorelai. Lorelai Leigh Huntzberger," the doctor said. "I assume Rory is a nickname?"
"Well, she is his one and only wife. Not that anyone could tell," Finn said bitterly. Rory looked away as Honor and Stephanie glared at him.
"Right, well," the doctor said, trying to appear nonplussed. "I'm Dr. Reynolds and I'll be Mr. Huntzberger's doctor for tonight."
"How's our boy doing?" Colin asked. Stephanie snaked her arm through his and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Rory couldn't tear her eyes away from them. She and Logan had been like that once, always touching. It was just something that happened naturally. Sitting as close together as possible or linking their legs discreetly under the table at the dinner parties the frequented. It was just a part of them, until Rory began pushing him away.
"He's in a stable condition," Dr. Reynolds answered. "He'll be one sore boy when he wakes up though."
"Can you tell us exactly what's wrong?" Honor asked. "I mean injury-wise?"
"I'm afraid it all depends on Mrs. Huntzberger," he said, glancing over at Rory who was fidgety. "We can do this here or privately."
"Here's fine," Rory stammered, ignoring the stares from Colin and Finn. "This is Logan's family. He'd want them to know."
"Glad you still remember, love," Finn snorted as Stephanie leant across Colin to slap him.
"Finn, you bastard," she hissed.
"Not now, Finn," Rory pleaded. "I promise when this is all over and done, you can publicly flog me. I swear."
"You have to admit, that's kind of kinky," Colin piped up. Finn caught Rory's eye.
"Parking lot at four," he mouthed.
"You're on," she mouthed back. She smiled comfortingly at Honor who looked worried and squeezed her arm lightly before turning back to Dr. Reynolds who looked slightly disturbed and uncomfortable. "Sorry about that. Private joke. You were saying about Logan…"
"Yes, Mr. Huntzberger was very lucky. He escaped with only a broken rib and a mild concussion," the doctor said.
"He'd have been luckier if he hadn't hit a deer," Colin muttered.
"He's be even luckier if-" Finn continued but was interrupted by a furious Honor.
"Finn, just stop it, okay? I mean it," she snapped. He looked at her darkly before addressing the doctor.
"When can we take him home?" he asked.
"Both are injuries which will heal themselves in time if, and I stress if, Mr. Huntzberger takes it easy for a few weeks and that means no pranks. I'd like to keep him in overnight for observation but due to the nature of the accident," Dr. Reynolds told them. His voice was monotone and bored and they all knew he had given the speech a hundred times before.
"Can we see him?" Stephanie asked. The doctor looked at Rory and she shrugged almost imperceptibly.
"I'm afraid he's already asleep," the doctor said.
"That's fine. I just want to see him," Stephanie continued. "Please. Just for a second."
"In that case, it's up to Mrs. Huntzberger," he said. Rory nodded tiredly, feeling very suddenly drained.
"Of course," she said. The four stood up and left her sitting. Rory watched them walk towards Logan's room. "Oh, Dr. Reynolds, Finn said something about some forms needing signing."
"Yes, insurance forms," he replied. "If you want to wait out here, I'll just take your friends in too see Mr. Huntzberger and then I'll get that all sorted out."
"Okay," she said, feeling weepy. Finn must have seen how distressed she looked because he said nothing but actually shot her a sympathetic look. Stephanie whispered something to Colin before walking back to Rory.
"You going to be okay?" Stephanie asked, pulling her into a hug.
"I'll be fine," she said, brushing the comment away.
"You'll call us if you need anything?" the blonde asked. "The rest of us are going to leave after we've seen Logan but we'll be here early in the morning."
"I'm probably going to go soon too," Rory answered. "But thanks."
"You and I are okay," Stephanie said. "You know that?"
"I kind of figured," Rory commented with a wry smile.
"And Colin and Finn will come around, I promise," she continued. "You'll see."
"Maybe in a few thousand millennia," Rory sighed.
"I doubt that. More like a few hundred," Stephanie laughed. She stuck her middle finger up at Colin who was motioning for her to hurry up. "It's true love, I swear."
"I can tell," Rory laughed. She accepted a kiss from the blonde. "Good night, Steph. And thanks."
"For what?" she asked, winking. "Night, Ace."
She walked off to Colin and leaned into him briefly before following him through the door into Logan's room. Rory watched the door swing shut as she slumped back into the chair and waited for Dr. Reynolds to return with the paperwork. She heard the door to Logan's room open soon after and watched as the four piled out.
"You want me to wait with you?" Finn asked, surprising everyone.
"So you can rip more strips of flesh off?" Rory asked, tilting her head at him.
"That was a joke right, love," the Aussie asked.
"It was a joke," Rory smiled. "I'm good, thanks. I'm a big girl and besides, if you stayed I might force you to give me your rendition of The Passion of the Christ."
"But I'm sober, love," he said.
"Exactly," she deadpanned. "But thank you."
"You're welcome," he said, patting her on the head. She smiled and blinked away the tears that pressed against her eyelids. She looked at the group. "How did he look?"
"You'll see," Colin answered. "Don't think we don't know you will."
"Do you really think I should?" she asked, her vulnerability shining through and wounding them. She really was naïve, their girl. They could see it now. She had been duped and she felt stupid and she regretted it but she knew she had a long way to go to rectify the situation.
"Yes," Finn said, finally, surprising them all again. "I do. We all do."
"Okay," she said, simply.
"But if you're not out of here by 4," he warned, playfully.
"Good night, guys," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Night," the all chorused before walking towards the lift. Rory felt a pang as she watched them go and she nearly called them back when Dr. Reynolds finally returned with the papers. She signed them quickly and silently.
"Would you like to see him?" he asked, softly.
"I might just sit with him for awhile," she answered, staring at the wall. She felt drained. "Do you have a phone I could use first but?"
"You can use the phone at the nurse's desk," he said, taking her arm and guiding her in the direction.
"Thanks," she said when they reached it. She executed two quick phone calls and turned to the doctor.
"You ready?"
"I'm ready."
-
"Oh, Logan," she whispered as she entered the room. "What did you do to yourself?"
"Can I get you anything?" the doctor asked. "A pillow or some coffee. Something to eat maybe?"
"Tell me," Rory smiled. "Are we by any chance in the Huntzberger wing of the hospital?"
"That obvious?" the doctor asked dryly.
"Not really," Rory smirked. "I just wondered. A pillow would be great and a cup of coffee would be most, most appreciated."
"Not a problem," Dr. Reynolds replied. "I'll have Lydia bring some in. Now I have to make rounds. Will you be okay here?"
"I'll be fine. Thank you," she said, trying to make herself comfortable.
"I'll be back during the night to check Logan's vitals."
"You have to wake him up for that, don't you? I don't want him to know I'm here. We've been having… problems."
"Not to worry. You can step outside while we do them. He'll never know," he replied kindly. "You won't get much sleep though."
"I don't mind," she said, suddenly wishing the doctor would just leave them alone. As if reading her mind, he smiled and left the room, closing the door lightly behind him. Rory immediately pulled her chair closer to the bed and rested her cheek on the empty space of bed next to Logan's head. She stared at him and watched as his nostrils flared slightly every time he took a breath. She jumped a million feet when the door opened and a tiny blonde appeared with a pillow under one arm and a steaming mug in the other hand.
"Mrs. Huntzberger?" the nurse asked. Rory used to hate being called 'Miss Gilmore' and would almost always insist people called her Rory but that had changed since she'd married Logan. There was something so fantastic, so final and comforting about being called Mrs. Someone. "I'm Lydia, the night nurse. If you need anything, just push this button and let me know."
"Thanks, Lydia," Rory whispered.
"I'm sorry for scaring you," she whispered back. Rory wanted for everyone to just leave her alone but she pasted on a polite smile anyway.
"I'm fine. I'm just a bit jumpy tonight," she explained, barely veiling her contempt.
"Understandable," Lydia replied. She walked to the door and opened it. "I'll be just outside if you need anything."
Rory forced what she hoped looked like a grateful smile onto her face. She was sick of being polite and sick of saying thanks. She paused for a moment and pressed her eyelids shut. She inhaled and exhaled before resuming her vigilant position next to Logan and she watched him sleep before she found herself drifting off.
She was gently woken what seemed seconds later and she blearily stumbled outside. It happened four more times during the night and despite drinking coffee each time she waited for Logan to fall back into his heavily medicated sleep, she still found herself drifting off within seconds of her head hitting the bed.
A gentle knock on the door woke her just before 7.
"Come in," she croaked. Her throat was dry and her eyes were bleary and barely open. The door opened and a nurse, not Lydia, entered carrying a box of pink Oriental lilies.
"These came for Mr. Huntzberger," she said, timidly.
"Just put them on the table here," Rory said. The nurse hurried over and did so. She looked so nervous, Rory almost sighed. "Thank you."
"Of course, ma'am," she replied meekly and Rory rolled her eyes. The nurse left the room quickly without the curtsy that Rory half-expected. She yawned and looked at her watch. She stood up and stretched before taking her coat and scarf off the back of the chair and putting them on. She picked up her handbag and the pillow before leaning over and kissing Logan softly on the cheek. He stirred and she froze but he quickly went back to sleep.
"Get better," she whispered. She left the room and walked straight up to the desk where the blonde was sitting. "Hi."
"Hi," she replied.
"Can you do me a favour?" Rory asked, placing the pillow on the counter.
"Sure," the blonde agreed.
"If anyone asks for me, can you please tell them I'm in the cafeteria and if I'm not there, I'll be on the roof," Rory said. "And can you please get rid of this pillow? I don't want my husband to know I was here."
"No problem, Mrs. Huntzberger," the nurse replied, suddenly assured of Rory's position.
"Thank you," Rory replied, smiling her first genuine smile in hours. She quickly walked off towards the cafeteria where she poured herself two cups of coffee and sunk into a booth.
"I thought I'd find you here," a familiar voice said, standing above her. There was no anger or accusation in the voice, only knowing.
"Finn," Rory smiled. And suddenly, she was grateful.
