AN: Times are crazy at work right now (plus I am getting hay fever and part of the time my eyes are all runny), so there might be some delays.

Chapter 173

May 4th, 2022

Logan made his way across the Isham Road, followed by a low sound of the horn of an approaching truck, who'd been in a bigger hurry than Logan had anticipated. Logan had hurried his step and it had been fine - it had simply made Logan miss central London for its relaxed policy on crossing the street with a red light.

"Rory's going to have my skin if you keep that up," Honor commented in a sisterly manner, having witnessed his crossing just as she'd parked her car.

Logan shrugged, knowing it wasn't something Honor was expecting a meaningful answer on.

"How did your meeting with Shayaan go?" Logan asked, knowing she'd had a meeting with a major textbook distributor on Monday, which had delayed her departure.

"Alright I guess," Honor shrugged, unenthusiastically, as they made their way towards a coffee shop, intending to have a lunch meeting with his brother this time. It wasn't just about catching up though she'd wished she'd had more time to do that while they'd both been in London. But besides having dinner once over there, time had gotten away from both of them during those evenings, and the work days hadn't always had them working together. Logan didn't exactly need any hand-holding once he got past the security gates at HPG. "He had his own ideas which didn't necessarily fit with our usual strategies, but Josie was snappy enough to explain that to him even without me having to intervene - so it's fine," she added, as she picked an outside table, enjoying the spring weather.

"Good," Logan commented. "So, anything specific you wanted to go over with me?" Logan got straight to the point as he sat down across from her. The sun was in his eye a bit, but he'd survive.

"Well…," Honor exhaled. "I guess I just wanted to check in on how did you feel about that whole thing? Do you think it's something you'd be willing to do again?" Honor asked, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden. "I mean you were a huge help, I felt like I had a clone of myself on the field. I don't have to babysit you like I would with anyone else…," Honor explained, placing the menu she'd picked up for a moment down in front of her.

"Give a finger…," Logan teased.

"Well at least I am asking, not telling," Honor objected, having heard him say something similar to their father once.

"I didn't mind it, it was fine… and I don't mind helping you. But I am not sure London is where I want to be right now, even if it's in the form of trips like this. Sure, I'll go if you need me, but the less the better," Logan replied. He was glad he had been able to help - and while Honor truly hadn't needed a lot of it - he could see where his experience had come in handy. As a leader Honor was surprisingly good - she had the empathy that perhaps he and his father had lacked which made her a lot more approachable, but also that strong leadership ability with the longer goal in sight at all times. Honor had gotten a very similar education base than he had, but Honor had also had the freedom to experiment - take art, design and media courses as her electives. She'd skipped sitting in on board meetings unlike he had, but she'd had her own non-profits and an executive position in HPG's New York office for years now. She was no stranger to hard work and it seemed like she truly seemed to be infused with the same personality traits that came in handy in this line of work.

Seeing Odette had lifted the heaviness that came with the city, but it still lingered - the anticipation of sooner or later being caught in front of the lens of a paparazzi camera came with the city too. And he liked this anonymity he had here - well almost - a lot of people still knew him here. But here he was given his space - everyone who was anyone, or had been anyone was given their space around here.

"I pretty much figured that," Honor exhaled, not hiding her disappointment. "I don't want to be over there either. And the web-conferences… it's just not working unless everyone is working from home," she explained. "Two weeks ago we were having a budget discussion and once I logged off Christian showed up with some fresh data but I had logged up by then. So of course I am the one out of the loop later on. It just doesn't work as well," she elaborated, shaking her head.

"So what do you think? You're thinking about moving?" Logan asked his sister. He didn't like that prospect either, he liked having her close by. This way he actually felt like he had a family too, one that didn't just include Rory. He'd missed the birthdays and holidays being that far.

"I don't really know what other choice I have," Honor exhaled. "And with Linus it'd be fine, he's just really starting actual school and he might need to change anyways because everything they teach him where he's at now he already knows. But Conrad… he'll throw a big fit, I just know it," she said. "He has his friends and practices all close by…," she added.

"I'm sorry I put you in this position, you know," Logan confessed, but their moment was interrupted by the waiter who came to take their order.

They both got them something to drink and a simple salad, not really being there to indulge.

"I am sorry," Logan felt he needed to repeat himself after the waiter had left.

"Don't be. It's not just on you, Logan," Honor said, having that spark in her voice. She was the kind of person who never let anyone see that she had any doubts in any situation having a way out. She was full of power and positivity.

"How's Josh going to take it?" he asked.

"Not ideally, but he knows the option has always been on the table. And well I could just keep traveling - but I don't want to spend so much time apart, I just don't. It'll go like that," she said, snapping her fingers. "And the boys will be all grown up and going through puberty next and then they'll probably never talk to me again. I don't want to miss the time that I have left," she continued.

"They'll talk to you," Logan assured. Even he'd talked to his mother, and Honor was nothing like Shira, who was far less likable. Logan hadn't ever really thought about being in that position himself - having to deal with someone's teenage mood swings but it was slowly, very slowly, beginning to sink in that he was going to have to. He could only imagine how much trouble his son was going to be if he was anything like him, and if it was a girl - how the hell was he going to protect her from guys like he had once been. It was a scary side thought.

Honor chuckled lightly, adding a shrug. Raising boys was hard enough.

They got their food and both began to eat, taking some much needed time to think.

"What about..," Logan suddenly began speaking without having thought things entirely out in his head, and then paused. "What about moving management to the New York office?" he suggested.

"Just the management?" Honor reflected, swalloing her bite quickly.

"Yeah, I mean - everything else can stay there, but you'll move the decision making here. There'll still be some travel, but nothing major I don't think," Logan said.

"It'd take some convincing. I doubt Carol will be exactly thrilled," Honor discussed.

"But that's Carol, she's never thrilled about anything. They'll get a generous offer, we'll cover the expense of the move, get someone to help to get them settled," Logan discussed, slipping into 'we' form without noticing it.

"I guess..," Honor reflected, thinking it over.

"We might need to get some more office space, move a few departments around. But that's minimal disruption. And this could all possibly be done over the summer with people on holidays, so everyone with kids and schooling needs could transfer from the beginning of the school year," Logan discussed.

"But isn't it kind of unfair - me and my family moving versus all of them?" Honor hesitated. This meant moving around 10-15 people and their families to the US, and it wasn't going to be easy. But there were a few aspects that spoke in favor of this. Two of those people were originally American anyways, and since the Brexit people were being less and less content. There was also the matter of housing prices being astronomical in London, but in that New York beat even London. But for ten people - this was something the company could assist with either by covering their living expenses or raising their pays. Naturally a move like this would also mean that some of the administrative staff would be out of a job, it was easier to hire new people across the pond. But changes always came with a price.

"But you're in charge. It's up to you. You don't have to make the sacrifices that I made," Logan continued.

"I'd still need to convince the board. It's a big step. It also comes with a message that we might be shifting our focus back here," Honor discussed, worriedly. As a woman, she was not entirely comforable with a the board, who consisted of mostly older white men - their father's legacy - as they usually had the attitude towards her like she was some girl playing around with pretend money. And while things had improved, it was still not her favourite seen to go proposing things like that to.

"Or leave Carol behind, signaling that the old focus is not shifting, just the management is," Logan added with a light chuckle. Carol was a department head, but despite her skills and excellent knowledge of her field, she wasn't usually a lot of fun to be around.

Honor chuckled, nodding along.

"You know what might convince them…" she began, referring to the board, after a few more bites, but didn't finish her sentence forcing Logan to look at her.

Logan didn't reply, beginning to sense what she meant.

"I mean, you wouldn't have to be involved full time. But there's a big chunk of stock just sitting there… That'd be all the convincing they'd need. They've asked about you, you know? You have the name which I don't too," Honor tried to convince him.

Logan took a deep lungful of air, having worried about this moment. He was frankly running out of excuses. He no longer hated the company, he no longer hated London - and this seemed to resolve itself with the move anyways. New York would be manageable, wouldn't it? Especially part-time. His father's shadow was fading, and it certainly was less abhorrent now that he'd let go of a lot of negative emotions.

Logan also knew that accepting his stocks also came with accepting the rest of his father's inheritance. He had no use for the rest, not really - the money from the sale of the house in Martha's Vineyard was sufficient for him, and having set most of it in investments would ensure he wouldn't really lack for anything if he managed it skillfully. But still, accepting the rest of it felt heavy. It felt like forgiveness, even though he wasn't quite sure he was there yet.

"I'll think about it, okay? That's the best I can do, so don't get your hopes up," Logan said, unsurely.

"You should also talk this over with Rory," Honor suggested just in case.

Logan eyed at her skeptically, not really being used to having to run his business decisions by Rory like this.

"I will," he replied, sensing her wisdom in this case. He did see how this might affect Rory, especially now with the baby on the way. He would've told her naturally, generally he was just used to Rory simply acceping whatever he decided to do.

"How's she doing otherwise?" Honor asked, taking a few more bites, letting the former topic rest for a moment.

"She's physically good, the baby is beginning to flutter a little. Kind of cool if you think about it," Logan admitted.

"Not long until you'll feel more, trust me," Honor said, feeling excited for her brother.

"Can't wait," he said.

"But otherwise? Did you tell her about seeing O?" Honor asked, using Odette's nickname which even she'd grown used to using for years every now and again.

"I did," Logan replied, taking another bite. "I guess she's a little… insecure," Logan tried to put it nicely, seconds later. He knew this seemed to be the root cause, but it was strange as in many moments in life he'd felt like she hadn't been that at all. He didn't know if she'd just hid it well or had it been something else.

"I don't blame her," Honor said, surprising Logan.

"What do you mean? Nothing happened," Logan replied. And he really believed that. It had felt equivalent to helping some random co-worker with a bag that was falling off their shoulder or helping his sister zip up her dress.

"You were married to her! That doesn't just go away. It was years of living side by side. Years of intimacy, both kinds. Even if in the end O didn't really know you anymore," Honor explained.

"Well of course there was, but she had her ex too. Hell, she had a child with him," Logan exclaimed. "But just as she is not going back to him, despite their history, I am certainly not going back to Odette," he added with a snort. The idea seemed that ridiculous. Though he had to admit that for him it was easier to think about Jess because Rory had indeed had the possibility of being with him quite recently when he'd showed interest in her and now with Jess in a relationship and beginning to move in with Lisa, he was even more content with the outcome of things on that front.

"It's not just about going to be with someone else, it's about not being good enough, not having some ability, property, that the other had, or being less successful. Besides, she's pregnant, her hormones are all over the place - she knows how this will not all be pretty - rainbows and sunshine and what not," Honor continued, pausing to eat for a bit. "You and Rory had London as a special place back in the day, you told me so yourself. But now that is gone - London became yours and Odette's, she already lost that. You chose O once… that's a hard thing to let go of," she added.

"She's thinking about staying home longer with the baby, you know. Putting her teaching on a hold, it's not easy for her," Logan said, taking another small bite. He didn't see much sense in going over and over the topic because it didn't seem to resolve anything. All he knew how to do was assure and assure some more.

Honor remained quiet, thinking.

"What?" Logan asked, knowing his sister never was much for silence. She always had an opinion.

"Just the idea of Rory Gilmore being a stay at home mom, not that there's anything wrong with that… that just sounds so off to me, but then again you know her better than me," Honor commented. "But don't get me wrong - she deserves to have time with the baby, I wish I'd had more, and I had a year and a half with both of them," Honor added.

"You organized the Christmas gala from your phone when Conrad was 4 months old," Logan pointed out.

Honor shrugged.

"She's never really felt content with what she's doing, you know. And she even told me the other day that she's been looking for approval by working so hard. And I totally get it. Her grandparents, her parents…," Logan explained.

"You…," Honor continued his list.

"She told me that too," Logan sighed.

"Do you think she's still doing that? Maybe she's trying to think of things you want her to do?" Honor speculated.

Odette had been successful at what she did, but her field was very specific too, hardly something Rory would ever be able to compare herself with. But she'd also cut down on big chuncks of that and exchanged it to family and HPG related resposibilities.

"She hasn't been really happy at Chilton, not recently, and it has been stressful on her," Logan replied.

"So it's essentially just a convenient time to step out of it. Okay, I get it," Honor discussed, nodding along, and took a sip of her sparkling water.

"She should really be writing. Whether it's this piece on her grandmother, that she's been working on forever now, or something shorter - I know that putting words on paper is what moves her. It makes her light up, I can tell," Logan said.

"Aw…. you're so in love..," Honor teased.

Logan rolled his eyes at this obvious note.

"But seriously - just make sure she knows it and keeps doing it. I mean there are not many more perfect things to do when you have a newborn at home, if the schedules are flexible enough," Honor advised.

"I try," Logan sighed. But he knew that beyond him telling her that he loved her writing, Rory required recognition from unbiased sources to really believe it. And he knew that the minute her name was no longer Gilmore, or at least solely Gilmore, as they'd more recently decided to hyphenate after they were married, people were going to judge her writing very differently whether they liked it or not. It was what Rory had wanted to avoid for as long as he remembered.


AN: I am stuck in writing discussions but I feel like I should be writing some more "action". Thow me some writing promts if you have any (in reviews or PM - both are fine)- interesting situations they might get into, so I can put their issues into some other modes than sitting down and talking. They have the therapy session coming up, but I just don't want this story to become dull with all this talking. With so much work to get done these days, my creative juices are running a little low.