The Last Spark
By Joan Powers
Rating: PG/K
Genre: Drama
Timeline: Post Gilmore Girls Netflix reunion.
Summary: Rory tells Logan about the baby.
A/N: I always thought Rory brought out the best in Logan.
"A baby?"
Logan placed his wine glass on the lace tablecloth. "Are you kidding?"
He'd wondered why Rory had suddenly shown up in England after a year and a half of no contact. After she'd supposedly made a clean break from him.
She opened her purse to extract a photo then handed it to him.
He examined it, wondering if it was his child. If that could be substantiated, he'd support the kid. It was the right thing to do. His fiancée, Odette, might be briefly offended but she'd accept it. It was within the terms of their agreement.
He was skilled at those. Making agreements. Convincing vendors to sell their goods at lower prices. Manipulating executives to make favorable arrangements for his firm. Getting married to unite their family fortunes and open new business mergers. Setting terms for an open marriage.
How could anyone lose?
Essentially, he'd become his father. A less ruthless, more attractive version, but his father, nonetheless.
At one point in his life, he felt he might've become someone different. A better, more noble person. Rory had been his chance. As corny as it sounded, the love of a good woman could make all the difference in the world.
If they'd stayed together, if they'd gotten married after graduating from Yale, he felt he could've become more focused. Less selfish. He could've remained a faithful partner. He would've wanted to be a loyal husband. When he was with Rory, he'd always felt driven to become a better person.
However, after she'd refused his proposal, it had been all too easy to fall back into his frat boy ways. Extravagant spending. Lavish parties. Erratic behavior. A different, gorgeous woman every night.
He'd closed the door on the possibility of that life of respectability and had never looked back.
When he first saw Rory in that hotel lobby years later (after he'd just spent several hours in a hotel room with a woman that wasn't his girlfriend), there'd been a brief bittersweet moment when he was reminded of this.
The missed opportunity.
The potential for more.
It had been wonderful to see her. They'd talked for hours, having drinks, sharing memories. Then she said she wanted to show him something in her hotel room.
He suspected this might be a ploy, for he'd often used it himself. But that didn't sound in keeping with the Rory Gilmore that he remembered. However, he played along. When she nearly attacked him in the elevator, kissing him passionately and aggressively grabbing at his clothes, he reminded her that he had a girlfriend.
That was when she set the terms.
"What happens in London, stays in London."
Without question, he went along with it. It was something he would've come up with.
He enjoyed being with her whenever she was in town. But it made him sad that she'd lost that spark over the years. Her innocence, her belief in the world, her zest for knowledge.
She was struggling.
And she'd become jaded.
Like him.
Would this have happened eventually if they'd married?
He'd never know.
Back to the present, he looked across the table at Rory.
"Wait a minute. You had the kid a few months ago and you're telling me now?"
If she had any intention of being in his life, surely, she would've said something much sooner. Afterall, she'd known for at least nine months.
Once again, she'd set the terms. She was the one who had broken off their affair. She'd never asked him to choose between her and Odette.
And honestly, during their final weekend together, if she'd made such a plea, would it have made a difference?
It would've been too little. Too late.
He wasn't even completely sure that this was his kid. He didn't know this version of Rory Gilmore as well.
"Get a paternity test. If he's mine, I want to be part of his life. I'll send you whatever you need. If not, let's move on."
THE END
