AN: Where I live it's a little easier with psychiatric situations - if one is a danger to themselves or others then there's a right to intervene. I am not sure of all the details of how it works in the US and I won't go too deep into them because of lack of time/expertise, let's just assume that there's that 72 hour thing 52shari mentioned or he'll co-operate. But I think we'll get to a diagnosis soon enough, even if not in this chapter yet.

I have some personal experience with one of my ex-s who just changed overnight. This was more than a decade ago and I was in my early twenties, but it was a very weird time. He wasn't violent or anything, just became reckless and paranoid… you expect it to be the person you thought they were but then he suddenly no longer was. I stuck around for a while for support but in the end it just wasn't the same anymore. The meds helped, but he wasn't the same person anymore. It breaks the trust, you can't just lean on them the same way anymore. But I am not saying Luke is like that, but I can expect Lorelai and Rory at least thinking about these scenarios.

Today however - I'll have a go at some Em and Logan bonding.

Also, those of you who have read Balancing Act - Jess' place is exactly the same except for some changes in decor (so old renovated firehouse with bookstore on first floor and kitchen in the back, second floor with livingroom and study, third floor with bedrooms). I have it so vividly in my brain, describing each detail almost felt unnecessary.


Chapter 102

January 1st, 2022

Logan's wake up call that morning was an abrupt one, causing him for a moment to breathe rapidly and taking him several seconds to comprehend. There was the couch-induced stiffness, the fact that he'd never changed out of his clothes last night - the tightness around his body caused by them not being particularly comfortable. There were the unfamiliar surroundings of the red brick walls. He'd also never woken to find a little girl staring at him. The wordless stare was almost a little creepy.

"Hi," Em said, once his eyes had blinked a dozen times or so.

"Hey," Logan replied. His voice felt hoarse.

"Where's daddy?" Em asked.

"Um…," Logan gathered himself and pulled himself up to sit. His mouth felt dry and his teeth fuzzy, the lack of dental hygiene last night making itself known to him. "He had to go help out Luke last night, I said I'd help look after you. Is that okay?" he added. He didn't like being this hesitant, but he was just finding the right amount of confidence in handling anything to do with Em.

"It's okay," Em replied, still standing in front of him, looking at him like a world wonder, barefoot and dressed in her pajamas.

"Have you been up long?" he asked, as his eyes began to make more sense of the room around him. He hadn't really bothered to look around a lot last night - just enough to get himself a glass of water and used the bathroom, before awkwardly, not feeling at home, settling on the couch. After all, for an hour at least last night, he hadn't known how long he'd be staying in the first place.

Jess' place was definitely a manly place - one leather tuxedo couch, another something out of the IKEA line up, together forming a L-shape were the central elements of the room. Nothing in here was too desperately coordinated but still fitting the overall industrial style of the place. The furniture items weren't fancy, but at least some of them seemed to be refurbished or custom made. There were pictures of Em on the dark blue sideboard and some of her books and toys on the iron-legged dining table and floor softening the place up a little. The entire one wall of the second floor, where this living room was, was a gigantic bookshelf, but Logan hadn't really expected anything less. He was curious to what the man had on his shelves, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't have much time to study him. There was also the bookstore downstairs, naturally, but that he hadn't really seen except for from the outside.

Em shrugged as a response.

"Are you hungry?" Logan asked the little girl, whose eyes truly were an exact copy of Rory's, almost eerily so.

"Uh-uh," Em nodded, eagerly.

"Alright then, let me just go wash my face," Logan replied, excusing himself to the guest bathroom for a minute. The sight in the mirror was not terribly trustworthy. A walk-of-shame kind of look minus the healthy glow - he thought jokingly. But relieving the fullness of his bladder and spraying some cool water on his face truly helped. Finding a bottle of mouthwash was only a bonus.

"Can I have cereal?" Em asked, as he emerged. It almost looked like the girl had just been waiting for him. Obviously the setting - Logan in her dad's house was what was so strange for her, otherwise he'd seen her a lot more relaxed around him, having recent experience from Nantucket.

"We'll have to see what your dad has in the kitchen," he said, not wanting to make promises unless he knew what he was dealing with. "You want to call your mom? Or your dad?" he asked, as he walked downstairs, Em trailing after him.

Naturally the girl wasn't going to say 'no' to a phone call, the situation of waking up in a different setting than she'd gone to be in, being so unusual for her, and after handing her his phone, Logan continued to make the two of them a simple breakfast.

As the breakfast was ready - simple cornflakes with a small dash of cocoa-puffs - Em handed his phone back to him, and Logan finally got a word in with Rory.

"Hey," Logan exhaled.

"Hey," Rory sighed, feeling tired, but relieved to hear his voice.

"How is he?" Logan asked.

"He's okay, considering…," Rory replied. "They're still running some tests, but I can't really imagine what mom is going through. This must be so rough," she added, sounding worried. She explained roughly what the doctor had said and that she'd already sent the info to Paris, hoping she'd have some helpful insight. She knew that Tristan would've probably also been an 'in' but she didn't feel that comfortable just picking up the phone and calling him, despite spending the evening together last night. The matter was a personal family matter - and if there was anyone she trusted with this type of information beyond the immediate circle, it was Paris.

"Anything I can do to help?" Logan asked.

"You're already doing it," Rory sighed. "Though… I don't know, Jess is pretty beat. He could probably use a few hours of sleep and if you feel up to it, maybe entertain Em for a bit?" Rory suggested, Jess still sitting there next to her and hearing the whole thing. The trouble with having a 4-year old around was that she was in charge of the time - that included not being able to just take a nap whenever one felt like it.

"Here?" Logan asked doubtfully, unsure how he felt about spending the day at Jess'. This was already weird.

"I was supposed to pick her up tomorrow, but we could probably change things around this once," she added, glancing at Jess as she spoke. Jess shrugged and nodded, understandingly. He didn't like the idea of Logan at his place much either.

"So I should just drive her back to Hartford?" Logan replied.

"I guess…," Rory replied, letting out an audible yawn.

"You sound pretty sleepy too," Logan noted.

"Can't argue with that," Rory replied. Logan had a few hours on her, since she'd already been at the hospital for a few hours by then.

"It is nice outside, maybe I could just take her to a playground or something so you could get some rest too," Logan suggested, glancing out the window and then at Em at the same time, unsure if he was crossing some line suggesting something like that. Was it okay for him to have one on one time with Em that wasn't essential caretaking?

It was a brisk January morning - sunny, and not too cold or windy by the looks of it.

"Yeah, you should, I'm sure she'd love that," Rory assured.

"Should I let Jess know?" Logan asked.

"Oh, he's here, he overheard, so no…," Rory replied, lightly.

"Okay, we'll be fine," he agreed, beginning to think about what this all involved. Sure, he'd hung out with Honor and her sons every once in a while, but him alone with a kid, out and about, for at least a half a day - that was a first.

"Oh, and drop Jess' keys in the mailbox when you leave," Rory added, having gotten the suggestion from Jess.

After breakfast he realized that getting out of the house was not quite as easy as it normally would be. This meant that he needed to motivate Em to get dressed, and optimally so for the weather outside.

Em's room at Jess' house was on the third floor, and while it still had one brick wall like most of the rooms in this building, the other wall was painted a shade of dark yellow - butterscotch or honey or something similar. Here, unlike at Rory's house, the girl's bed was an actual super-single-size bed. No wonder Em sometimes talked about wanting a big girl's room, and Logan began to understand the importance of making sure the place they did find for them, being one that she loved too. It wasn't about out staging this place, but it was definitely something that needed to be equal to the hot-air balloon themed paintings and the abundance of plush toys and cute yellow-dotted bedding. In Rory's place her room was more like a toddler room, and significantly smaller and more full of stuff which was often not too well organized.

"So, we should pack your stuff," Logan sighed, having explained the general plan to Em a few minutes ago."And get you dressed," he suggested. He wasn't even sure what exactly they should bring, not how to go about dressing a 4-year-old.

Already these little interactions - having breakfast with her, cleaning up and explaining the plan felt so different to him. He wasn't constantly double-checking everything he said with Rory, he was just doing it - being a person in Em's life.

"Can I pick out my own clothes?" Em asked.

"As long as they're warm," Logan replied and smiled.

Thankfully Em was pretty sensible, mostly caring about the colors and pictures on her clothes rather than objecting their thickness. Ten-fifteen minutes later, putting on her My-little-pony-themed tunic, a pair of jeans and putting on her sweater twice, once inside out and then the right way, Em was set. Logan had tried gathering up her little packback that he knew she usually took back and forth between two houses, and that was actually something he didn't envy about her. Picking up and moving once a week couldn't be all that nice, but this was all this little girl knew. Logan packed her favorite toys, the book she was reading, and a few clothes Em herself wanted to include in the bag. It would just have to do - he thought.

Logan was driving Rory's car, which was convenient as it had Em's car seat. But it did make him think that perhaps he'd need to get one for his car as well - a little detail he'd never really thought about before. Thankfully the girl was pretty self-sufficient in strapping herself in.

What Logan struggled with a bit was making conversation as he drove, the road to Hartford being not the most fascinating one. He was also a little surprised the girl hadn't inquired about Luke at all, and he didn't feel he should either. Thankfully, he got the idea to call Honor on speaker phone, in part to wish her Happy New Year but also in part to inquire whether she could get Conrad or Linus on the phone who maybe care to chat to Em for a minute. The plan actually worked.

There was also the question about his own, definitely rather formal outfit, hence the first stop they made was to his apartment. There was a certain awkwardness in bringing a little girl into his current bachelor pad, but he really didn't want to go to a playground in slacks and his wool coat. And he knew Rory wouldn't have an issue with it. A real shower would have to wait, but he quickly brushed his teeth and changed into a pair of jeans and a warm sweater. As he emerged from his bedroom, having left Em sitting on the couch in the living room watchign cartoons for a few minutes, her feet dangling down from it playfully.

"So are you getting the dog soon?" Em asked, being an observant child. The room was full of unpacked pet gear, making the development pretty clear.

"I am. Tomorrow actually," Logan shared, that excitement lighting up his eyes as well.

"Can I come?" Em inquired excitedly, making puppy-dog eyes.

Logan smiled widely, loving how badly she seemed to want to join him. "We'll have to check with your mom," he replied. He hadn't really planned on it, knowing the day would be full of newness for the dog already. But maybe there was something he could do - after all the dog should also get used to Em as well, shouldn't he?

They went to the same playground they'd been to once before, the three of them at the time. Logan didn't exactly have a good overview of the places where kids liked to go play around town, so he stuck to what he knew.

Em ran off to play as soon as they reached the playground, finding some kids she apparently knew. In that sense she was in that perfect age that she didn't need to be watched for not being able to climb, run and slide on her own, but just kept an eye on. And Logan certainly felt that responsibility. This was the most important person in Rory's life, and she had trusted him with her.

But it was the casual question, that he truly hadn't expected, that threw him - "Your daughter was just really kind of my son over there, let him take the slide first like that," a curly-haired blonde woman, with a hint of a Southern accent, noted, approaching him. But it wasn't the flirtiness of that question that he was flattered by this time. It was the fact that he'd actually left the impression of being Em's dad - someone's dad.