Chapter Started: September 1, 2015

Chapter Finished: October 11, 2015

Author's Note: This is the 3rd billionth time I've attempted this chapter so, let's see if this one sticks. Between this chapter/story, I am working on something totally out of my comfort-zone and writing a story that is dark and…just not something that I thought I would be writing. I hope that you all will like it when it comes out, I'm working on the three trailers right now. It will be a trilogy that's first story is called "Haunted", followed by it's two sequels (in order): "One Last Night" & "Fight Song".

SHOUTOUT: To my "twin sister", Cloe (Girly411), who without I wouldn't be me, or have anyone to bounce my ideas off of. You give me the confidence, spunk, and encouragement to go out of my comfort-zone and write this story, which is different than I have ever wrote. You are the blinding light, guiding hope and muse to keep working on a new trilogy called "Haunted" which is going to be different than anything I've EVER done.


=Highway Don't Care=

-Chapter Three-

Medical grade cleaning materials, Clorox bleach, Lysol, hand-sanitizers, and an undertone of rusty-copper were the most distinct smells to hit Honor's nose as she walked into one of the waiting rooms for the Intensive Care Unit beside her husband. They were both carrying carry-away carriers and goodie bags from the nearest Starbucks to the Yale-New Haven Hospital, knowing that the people in the room would be in need of better substance than hospital food and drinks. Sighing the blonde looked around the filled waiting room. It seems that after demanding a private ICU room for their granddaughter, Richard and Emily had also tossed around the names Hayden, and if her grandfather, Elias, was being truthful then her father must have thrown in the Huntzberger name as well to get them a waiting room all to themselves that looked to have the comfiest of furniture pieces and better stocked vending machines.

"You know if Hartford's Elite, Washington's Elite, and your father's business competitors could see this scene now," Josh whispered in his wife's ear and she could just hear the smirk in his voice as they looked over the scene before them.

The waiting room was just like every other waiting room with its simple comforts, but it was also a bit different as well. From where the couple stood in the pine wood, gold, grey accents, and Yale-blue accented room's Yale-blue doorway, on the left of the wall was a coffee, hot chocolate and hot water dispenser of the highest quality with Styrofoam cups, plastic spoons, and the various coffee and cocoa add-ons on a glossy black tray beside the machine. On the left end of the pine table the dispenser was on, nearest to where they were standing, two almost high quality drink vending machines were sitting there. One machine was catering to what looked like Coke products as well as several water brands like VOSS, Dasani and various flavored waters, while the second machine looked to be catering to Pepsi products as well as several water brands as well too, such as FIJI, Aquafina, and Smart Water. On the other end of the table stood two more vending machines, these both laden with snacks: one machine catering to the junk food addicts, and the other catering to healthier "junk" food options. The cream colored walls had various pictures of Yale's, New Haven's, and the hospital's history in black and white pictures around the walls while there were two flat screen Sony TV's hanging, one on the right wall by the door and one on the back wall, both were turned down low and on to the news channel.

The Yale-blue carpeted floor gave way to an open floor-plan with pine wood and grey colored, high-quality furniture consisting of tables, chairs, and couches scattered throughout the room, which just happened to hold the scene her husband was referring to.

On the couch closest to where Honor and Josh were standing, facing the vending machines and drink dispensers, Stephanie was laying curled up in the middle of Colin and Finn. The blonde's knees ending up curled up against Colin's legs with someone's jacket thrown over her, and her head was on top of Colin's who had his head on her left shoulder while Finn's head was on her right shoulder and the rest of his body curled up around the female's.

On the couch to the right of Finn, Colin, and Stephanie's, sat Emily and Richard. Emily was curled up against her husband, his jacket thrown over her.

Honor assumed that to the right of the Gilmore's couch, on a couch facing the big bay windows, laid Francine and Gigi. The awake Lorelai and Christopher were standing in front of the same windows, looking out over the early morning skyline of New Haven. She realized then that her parents must be on the last couch that had it's back facing where she and her husband were standing, and it's front facing a TV.

"It looks like no one left last night," Honor whispered back to her best friend, noticing everyone's clothes.

"Well we did have a hard enough time last night getting your grandfather to go home last night Valkyrie," the young doctor replied with a slight chuckle and a shake of his head at the thought of the stubborn patriarch of the Huntzberger household, "I guess it's a good thing you brought Starbucks."

"Yeah," Honor agreed with her own giggle and seeing that Richard was awake and staring at the TV, she approached him first out of everyone, "Hello, Mr. Gilmore."

"Oh Honor! Enough of that!" The Gilmore patriarch replied, "I thought Emily and I told you to call us Richard and Emily! Now how are you this morning, dear?"

"As well as can be expected given the circumstances, which is how I think we are all feeling," Honor replied before looking at the carry away items she and her husband held, "I brought you and Emily something from Starbucks if you want it, sir."

"Why, yes dear that would be very much appreciated," Richard told her with a soft gentile smile. Slowly, the Gilmore Insurance Company CEO and founder started to wake up his sleeping wife.

"Hello, Emily, sorry to have Richard wake you," Honor apologized, "Josh and I just got here and we brought some coffee and warm food for everyone."

"Oh it's alright, Honor," Emily gently told her as she sat up and righted her clothes beside her gently smiling husband.

Handing Richard his de-caff black coffee and apple scone before giving Emily her black coffee and coffee crumbcake, Josh and Honor moved on to Francine and Gigi who had woken up during their hushed conversation with Richard. The two-some gladly accepted a black coffee and coffee crumbcake, and a hot chocolate with extra chocolate sauce and two chocolate donuts.

"Thank you, Ms. Honor and Mr. Josh," Gigi thanked them before digging into her chocolate delights causing the married couple to gently smile.

Seeing her husband nodding his head in question to Lorelai and Christopher standing by the windows, Honor shook her head 'no' to tell him to give them a few more minutes of seclusion before she approached her parents, who just as she expected and was shocked to find, were still in their clothes from yesterday.

"Honor, Josh," Mitchum greeted them, moving his glazed over sight from the CSPAN to his married daughter and her husband, "you're back early."

"Of course we are," Honor replied, a little colder than she meant to, trying to ignore the dark maroon, almost black spots and coppery smells on her parents' clothes, knowing that those just made why they were here just that more real.

"Your father didn't mean it like that, Sweetheart," Shira gently told her daughter, she too trying to ignore the dried spots and coppery smells coming from them, "How are you two this morning? Did you sleep okay? And what about your grandfather?"

Not letting the shock show to the gentle and loving tone that still housed sadness coming from her mother, and her husband handing her father his black coffee and lemon scones, Honor answered her mother while handing her her hot chocolate and pumpkin scones, "I'm sorry, Mom; I'm just a little on edge which I am sure we all are. Sorry Dad. We're okay, we didn't really sleep all that well which is to be expected I guess, giving the circumstances and Grandpa's fine, he's down at his doctor's appointment, he wanted me to bring this up and check on Rory and Logan. I'm heading down there after I finish handing out the rest of the Starbucks and I go see Logan."

"Don't worry about your grandfather, I'll go to his doctor's with him and then your mother and I will head home to change and maybe get some more rest," Mitchum told his daughter, shocking the younger married couple, who both knew that Mitchum stopped going to his father's appointments a long time ago, but they also didn't miss the subtext to Mitchum's statement: your mother and I are just as effected by the young woman's blood on us still as you are.

"Okay, if your sure," Honor told her parents.

"We are, Sweetheart, and we'll call you to get everyone's lunch orders and bring it with us when we come back," Shira told her daughter, standing up on her tired and shaky legs with the help from her husband, giving him his blazer back that she had used as blanket while she slept in his arms for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Come on Valkyrie," Josh gently pushed his stunned wife in to the direction of the sleeping three-some that were her brother's childhood best friends, who had become the strongest supporters of Rory and Logan's relationship, only after Honor and Josh themselves, quickly becoming Rory's big brothers and big sister.

"You might want to stand back, Babe," Honor told her husband with a smirk.

"Uh, okay. Why?" Josh asked doing as he was told, noticing the glint in his wife's brown eyes.

"Stephanie, hey Steph, you'd better wake up. There's a 75% off shoe sale going on right now," Honor poked the blonde girl in her ticklish sides with the classic, mischievous Huntzberger smirk on her face.

"EEP!" Was the shrieked reply to Honor's tickling causing the blonde to bolt up off the couch and shout excitingly, "Shoe Sale?! Where?!"

CLUNK!

"Ouch! Urgh! Stephanie!" Finn and Colin hissed together, their heads having banged together when their pillow had moved away from them.

And just like that, everyone had their first real, full belly laugh since the accident. Everyone realized in this moment, that it was something that was much needed to break some of the tension and somber atmosphere since yesterday's tragedy.

"Oh God, that was great! Better than I expected," Honor commented wiping the tears from her eyes, thanking heavens she wore waterproof makeup.

"Honor," the three whined and pouted together.

"Sorry guys, I just had to do something to wake you up so you guys could have the goodies I brought with Josh and I before I go see Logan and Rory," Honor told them with a smile as Josh handed out their munchies, a coffee crumbcake to Finn, lemon scones for Colin, and a glazed donut for Stephanie.

"Rory. Has there been any more news on how she's doing?" Stephanie asked as Colin received his Earl Grey Tea.

"No, I'm sorry, Steph, but if there is I'm sure Logan or Josh will tell me and I will inform you guys right away," Stephanie said handing the blonde and Australian their matching drinks, a drink that the two of them, along with herself and Rory, had come to love at Starbucks, white hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and foam.

"Thanks Honor, Josh" Colin told couple for the goodies.

"It's no problem," Josh told him with a smile, "why don't you three head back to your places to change?"

"We can't," Finn protested.

"How about this," Honor began to negotiate, "we'll go give these to Lorelai and Christopher and then we'll go check on Logan. We will tell you what we find out, if anything, and then you three can head back to your homes, get a shower, some more sleep, and change. You guys can come back and while on the way back stop at Rory and Logan's apartment to pick up Logan some clothes and stuff for a shower as well as a few other things that I will text you to grab because we all know he won't leave until she's awake."

"Deal," the three said, sitting back down to enjoy their delights from Starbucks.

"Alright, now for the hard part," Honor mumbled before turning on the heel of her tan suede Ugg's from UGG Australia and heading in the direction of the couple standing by the window. This was one stop she didn't want to make, ever since she had been privy to Rory, Logan, and then the couple's joint rantings of how Lorelai had been treating them, more so since she found out they were staying together with Logan's move to London and just doing a long-distance relationship. The blonde just shook her head, she didn't know why Lorelai was so against the young couple, who both admitted separately and apart that each other was the best thing to happen in their lives, all Honor knew that Lorelai Gilmore was walking a very thin tightrope, especially after what had conspired at the country club just yesterday before the accident, and one wrong move would have the newly married Huntzberger showing the brunette mother just what she thought of her.

"Mr. Hayden, Ms. Gilmore?" Josh said, taking the lead from his wife, knowing his wife had a very thin pressure point for the woman they were standing in front of.

"Chris and Lorelai," Christopher told Josh as he turned around with his high-school sweetheart to face the married couple.

"We stopped at Starbucks and picked everyone up something," Josh said.

"From my times with Rory, I like to think I had an idea of what to get you two," Honor told Chris, not even looking at the brunette. Taking one of the last five to-go cups from the carry-away, she handed Chris and then begrudgingly Lorelai their drinks, "A de-caff black coffee for Chris and a black coffee for Lorelai."

"Thank you, Honor," came Lorelai's soft reply, letting the coffee cup warm up her cold and shaking hands.

"You're welcome," Honor replied with a fake smile.

"And apple and lemon scones for Chris and a coffee crumbcake for Lorelai as well as chocolate glazed donut," Josh said handing them two of the last five goodie bags in his hands.

"Thank you," Chris told them, accepting the bags seeing as Lorelai had already turned back to stare out the window.

"You're welcome," Josh told him with a smile before he and his wife started to headed back out of the waiting room, only to be stopped as they heard Lorelai sigh.

"He really does love her, doesn't he?" Lorelai spoke quietly and clearly, but it seemed that everyone had heard the Gilmore's daughter and waited with baited breath for almost everyone in the room knew that Honor was on her last nerve with the brunette.

Why did she have to open her mouth? And to ask a stupid question at that? I am done, absolutely done with holding my tongue. Proper, Classy Lady I should be be damned! Honor turned around and approached Lorelai. Raising her brown eyes that held such a blazing intensity filled with dark, stormy emotions, to meet the dark blue eyes of Lorelai, she let the infamous Huntzberger temper fly, "Does he love her?! Does he love her?! You seriously did not just fucking ask that question! Of all the idiotic, moronic, stupid things to say, especially when everyone in this room – hell who know Logan – know that there isn't anything he wouldn't do for Rory, and she him. But wait a minute you can't fix stupid, I forgot that! But then again, you wouldn't know or have an inkling as to how he, she, they feel, now would you, Ms. Gilmore?

Ever since Rory started seeing my brother, even when they weren't official and you found out, you have done nothing, but bad-mouth him and trash talk to him to anyone who would or wouldn't listen – even your own daughter! You haven't – not once – made an effort to get to know him, and don't say you have because we both know that you haven't. Oh sure you could say a Friday night dinner with your parents, who according to my inside source, that you openly display as 'Hitler and Mussolini', and the society events where everyone – my brother and yourself included – wear masks of the highest design, counts, but it doesn't! So please spare me!

But you know what finalized my anger, my disappointment, my dis-respect? The way you treated your own flesh and blood at the country club! But, again according to my same inside source, yesterday's events before Rory's accident weren't the first or even the tenth event where you have acted like this! No, it's been happening since they got back together and moved in together, and it's been going on ever since! You want to know what the funniest thing of all this is? Your criticizing your own daughter, your best friend, for entering into the world you and her father left behind, and yet here you are, engaged to a Hayden and not just any Hayden, but the son of the late Honorary Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Straub Hayden, Christopher Hayden, the father of your child. I mean come on, everyone in the nation – hell my parents know – the Hayden's are the most powerful and prominent Bluebloods! Not only from the Mayflower, but in today's modern world, they're a part of the Elite of the Elite in the world! Something else that's funny, yet such sweet, poetic justice – Karma. Sweet, sweet, sweet karma, she truly is a bitch and comes around to bite you in ass when you least expect it to! Doesn't it?! By pushing your own daughter away and criticizing her for every little thing, you're pushing her closer to the person who you have openly expressed hatred for. Thinking that my brother would screw up again and you can tell Rory 'I told you so', and then you two can go back to the way things were, back to being the best of friends.

Let me ask you this, after the scene at the country club, how is your plan working out for you, Lorelai?

I'm only telling you this once, and just this once, Lorelai Gilmore, so listen closely and take notes. Mother, Father, you too! My little brother has made so many bad decisions and mistakes in his life, and sure he's not the poser-boy for the perfect son, perfect gentleman, or the perfect heir, or hell even the perfect human being, but no one is perfect. Your own daughter told you she's not perfect either so, she doesn't expect Logan to be as well, but there is one thing they do perfectly and that is they love each other with unconditional devotion. They are always there for each other, to challenge each other, and to care for each other. They are each other's champions, challengers, best friends, and lovers, but most of all they are each other's soul-mates. And I will be damned if I let anyone stand in the way of my little brother's and my hopeful sister-in-law's happiness and future together because of something so petty as jealousy and bigot-ness."

Honor left the waiting room, not paying attention to the utterly stunned faces around her because in her opinion it was about time Lorelai Gilmore was put in her place about her opinions of Rory and Logan's relationship. It was about time that her parents learned as well, and that any doubters and haters did as well because in her heart she knew that her little brother and the woman that was truly the love of his life would make it out of this stronger and closer than ever before. The only thing she prayed and hoped for was strength and patience because she knew that her little brother would need her more than ever in the coming months as he and his lady love struggled through the tough times that were sure to be ahead.


Well there you all go! How did you like it? Was it worth the wait? I honestly don't think it was so I'm sad that I probably most likely 99 percent disappointed you all. Now I know, I know by the end of this everyone is like: why is every so against Lorelai?, why is Francine/Chris/Gigi/the Huntzbergers there, and what the freak happened at the country club, what is this incident Honor was referring to in her blow up at Lorelai?! Welllll, my lovelies you will just have to wait a tad bit or much longer for your answers! I will tell you that you will, of course, learn the answers to some of these questions in the next chapter (or will you ;) but the other answers might not come to 'till later on. What can I say I'm such a *itch? Hehe ;P

Now on quick side note: I recently had surgery at the beginning of Oct. for my Endometrosis (I know you probably thinking either a: what the heck is that?! And I won't explain it on here, just look it up lovelies. Or b: you're 22 and you have Endo, dang I didn't think you could get that at such a young age! Trust me you can and it's no fun!) and such so I have been struggling with getting around to doing much because I have been recovering. I have been in SO much pain and well I like to say "right now my health is pretty much shot because if it isn't one thing, it's the next," and my mom & brother describe me as "a 22-year-old woman in a 90-year-old-woman's body" and sadly, what they say is the truth!

BBUUTT, I promise that I am still continuing this story (I was just struggling with this part for a while so I had to talk to my muse, as you learned in my Shoutout – so don't be surprised if you see more shoutouts to her!) and I am also working on a new series as I told you up above.

Well, I'm going to go! Just know that yes, I am continuing this story (there is SOOOO much and SOOO many roads I want to take you guys on!) and that it just might be here and there with my updates, but I will try to get them out little faster and sooner, especially for the up-coming holiday season as you presents! Maybe I will wake Rory up as your Christmas present, hm…. ;)

~ Jessica LA

"The highway won't hold you tonight

The highway don't know you're alive

The highway don't care if you're all alone

But I do, I do.

The highway won't dry your tears

The highway don't need you here

The highway don't care if you're coming home

But I do, I do."

~ Tim McGraw (feat. Taylor Swift & Keith Urban playing guitar)

(Psstt: Haters, or flamers, who critise me and my writing, or even me putting these lyrics at the end of the story, just go away because I'm going to "Stay Strong. Let It Go. Be Fearless and Defy Gravity"! You just cause me to have an awesome workout and admittedly want to piss you off in the next chapter even more!)

Edited: October 12, 2015, at 1AM.