"Mom?"

Shira stepped past Logan and entered his hotel room without asking permission.

"Logan… you look stressed." Shira gave her son the once over.

Logan sighed and shut the door. He turned to Shira.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to try to talk some sense into you."

Logan crossed his arms. "How'd you even know I was here?"

"Jack called me after your interview."

Jack was the man who had interviewed Logan earlier that day. He had no idea that the man knew his mother.

"Jack knows you? Or Dad?" Logan asked.

"He knows us, yes." Shira said tonelessly.

"Well he didn't tell me he knew you."

"Anyways, I can't believe you're here Logan. I can't believe you're doing this."

"Doing what? What am I doing?" Logan kept his arms crossed.

"Throwing everything away for some girl you had a fling with in college! Odette is a wonderful girl Logan, you two could be very successful. I can't believe you want to leave her to have some sort of fairy tale life with a woman you had an affair with."

Logan raised his eyebrows. "Rory is so much more than fling or an affair. She's the only woman I've ever loved!" He shouted. "And we have a child together. Owen needs me and I want to be with Rory." He lowered his voice. "But I can't."

"You can't?" Shira pondered, clearly intrigued.

"No, Mom I can't be with her right now because she's in a coma." Logan's voice broke as an image of Rory in the hospital flashed in his mind.

Shira was shocked into silence. She moved to take a seat on the bad.

Logan stared at her. He was a little surprised that Shira hadn't said something like Rory being in a coma was karma for going along with the affair, getting pregnant and keeping the baby.

"How did that happen? Is her child all right?"

"Our child you mean." Logan sputtered. "He's doing great, Lorelai and her husband are caring for him temporarily. Rory was in a car accident almost a week ago and they delivered Owen via C-section."

"Hmm. So Lorelai is raising your son with her husband?"

"Temporarily, yes, just until I get a job and a place." Logan answered calmly.

"Maybe it would be better if they raised him until Rory wakes up." Shira said.

"No. You don't get to come in here and tell me that." Logan raised his voice again.

Shira stood. "Come on Logan, you know nothing about raising a child. You've barely interacted with Honor's children." She smirked. "I can only imagine what Emily must think about this whole situation.

Logan frowned. He didn't know what to say. He just knew he no longer wanted to talk to his mother.

"You can't change my mind no matter what you say, so you might as well just leave." He said bitterly.

Shira made a 'tsk' sound. "I really can't believe you want to disgrace the Huntzberger name like this."

"Disgrace? How? By being a good father?"

"By leaving a good relationship for something so… second rate."

Logan made a sound that a mix of a cold laugh and a cough. "I didn't love Odette and she didn't love me. I never stopped loving Rory and I want to be with her and Owen. Those are the facts Mom and I could care less about you opinion. I am a thirty five year old man perfectly capable of making his own decisions."

Shira raided her eyebrows and pressed her lips together. "All right. I'll leave. Clearly I won't be able to change your mind. Have a nice life, Logan." With one last look at him, she was out the door.

"I will." Logan said to himself as he flopped down on the bed. If Rory wakes up, his brain said.


The next morning, Owen's crying woke Luke and Lorelai up. It was only a little after six, so Luke said he would take care of Owen so Lorelai could sleep a little longer.

"Thank you." Lorelai said sleepily. She kept her eyes closed as she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

He quickly kissed her forehead then got out of bed. After he picked up Owen, he left the room and shut the door behind him.

Luke made a bottle with one hand as he held Owen. Owen didn't stop crying until the bottle was in his mouth.

Luke woke Lorelai an hour later. He offered to cook her breakfast but she said she'd just eat something quick. She was expecting traffic on the way to Hartford.

Once Lorelai was gone, Luke sat down on the couch, holding Owen.

'Well, it's just you and me for a little while, bud." He whispered.


Once Lorelai arrived at the hospital, she pulled up next to Sookie's car. Sookie was still inside and she got out once she noticed Lorelai.

Sookie immediately pulled Lorelai into a big hug. Lorelai smiled softly and felt herself tear up.

"Thanks for coming Sookie." Lorelai said when they pulled apart.

"You know I'm always here for you honey. And I love Rory."

They began walking to the hospital's main entrance.

When they were about twenty feet away, Sookie gasped.

Lorelai was lost in her thoughts. She looked up, "What?"

"Isn't that Christopher?"

Lorelai squinted and looked ahead. It was Christopher. He was sitting on one of the benches outside.

Lorelai was surprised to see him. He never visited after she told him about Rory. She and Sookie slowly walked up to him.

"Christopher. Um hi." Lorelai muttered awkwardly. She hadn't seen him for a long time.

Christopher looked up then smiled when he saw Lorelai and Sookie. "Hey Lor. Sookie."

"Are you here to visit Rory?" Lorelai asked although that was obviously the reason he was there.

"Yeah. I finally got a day off work. Is her condition the same? I haven't heard for you for a couple of days."

"Yeah sorry about that. I've been so busy with Owen and everything."

"Oh yeah? You brought him home right? How's he doing?"

"He's fine." Lorelai replied. She was becoming inpatient with this small talk. She just wanted to get inside and see Rory.

Sookie noticed Lorelai was uncomfortable. "Let's head in, shall we?"

Christopher glanced at his watch, "The nurse on duty told me visiting hours start at eight so I decided to wait out here in the fresh air."

It was just about eight so they went inside and headed to the ICU. Lorelai went in first, followed by Sookie, then Christopher.

When Christopher joined Lorelai and Sookie outside of the ICU area, he let out a slow breath.

"I still can't believe this happened to her. And it was at the worst possible time, when she was about to meet her son." He said.

Lorelai gave him a sympathetic look. She knew he loved Rory although he hadn't always been there much when Rory was growing up.

"I can't imagine how this must be for you, Lor." He added. "Rory's not only your daughter, she's your best friend."

Lorelai gave him a small smile. Sookie said they had better get to the Inn.

"Oh yeah. You haven't seen the Inn in a while, Chris. We're currently in the process of expanding… I bought another property actually." Lorelai said slowly.

Christopher frowned. "I was thinking I'd go meet my grandson, actually. Is he with Luke or?"

"Yeah. Owen's with Luke."

"Oh maybe I won't go then. I think I'd need you as a buffer." He chuckled.

Lorelai knit her brows. "Chris, come on. You know Luke isn't bitter anymore. He can be civil."

Christopher didn't say anything. He just waved his hand, dismissing the idea.

"Michel will be upset if we aren't there by nine. We should really get going. It was nice seeing you again, Christopher." Sookie said.

"You too," Christopher flashed her a smile. He leaned in and gave Lorelai a quick one-armed hug. Then he left.

"Hmm that was…" Sookie trailed off.

"Typical Christopher," Lorelai shrugged. She reached out and put an arm around Sookie. They left the hospital.

"Are you okay?" Sookie asked when they got back to their cars.

"I won't be okay until Rory wakes up… but I have to be okay, for Owen and Luke."

"For Luke?"

"Luke and I have to raise Owen together, at least until Logan is settled."

"You guys can do it. I know you can." Sookie praised.

"Thanks Sookie. Did I tell you how happy I am to have you back?"

Sookie laughed. "Only about twenty times."

They got in their cars and drove to the Inn. Lorelai asked Sookie to remind her to call Luke at lunch time.


At around noon, Luke was having a hard time trying to put Owen to sleep. He wouldn't stop crying although Luke had fed, burped and changed him.

"Come on buddy, what's wrong? Grandma will be upset that I couldn't calm you down… I don't want to have to call her."

Owen was in the bassinette so Luke picked him up and sat down. He shifted Owen so that his head lay on his chest. He made sure to support his head and under his bottom. Then he swayed a little.

After about a minute, Owen started to quiet down. He stopped crying after a few minutes.

Luke couldn't help but smile. He felt so relieved. Then, he suddenly thought of Rory and his smile fell. He wished Rory could be here to witness this. He thought she would be a good mother. He sat carefully on the bed and listened as Owen's breathing became even and he fell asleep.

He didn't get up for another ten minutes, worried he would wake Owen if he moved. Owen didn't wake as Luke carefully placed him back in the bassinet.

He kept an eye on Owen as he backed out of the room. Once he stepped on the first stair of the staircase, his cell phone rang. He almost jumped. He quickly pulled it out of his jeans pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hey Luke? It's Logan."

"Oh hi Logan,"

"I'm almost in Stars Hollow so I should be at your place in about ten minutes. Is that okay?"

"That's fine. Wait. Are you driving and talking on the phone?"

"Ah no I'm using a driver service." Logan sounded embarrassed.

"Oh okay. I'll uh see you soon then."

"Okay." Logan hung up.

Luke rushed downstairs and cleaned up the kitchen a little. His phone rang again after he put a few dishes in the dishwasher. He looked at the caller ID this time. It was Lorelai.

"Hey. How's it going at the Inn?"

"Fine. How's it going at home?"

"Good. I just put Owen down for nap."

"Oh that's good. You're doing okay then? With him? I mean I have faith in you of course… it's just-"

Luke interrupted. "Lorelai, there's no need to explain. It's fine if you're concerned. It's my first time alone with a newborn. But I'm doing fine. It took a little longer than I thought to get him to sleep, but I figured out he just wanted to be held."

"Okay." He could hear the smile in Lorelai's voice. "I miss you guys."

"We miss you too."

"I'll be home around seven. Is Logan there yet?"

"He should be here any minute."

"Ah okay. See you later then."

"Bye."

"Bye doll." Lorelai ended the call.

Luke pressed the screen and put his phone back in his pocket. There was a knock at the door. He rushed over and pulled it open.

It was Logan.

Logan smiled softly. "Hi."

"Hi." Luke gave him a little nod. "Uh come on in." He stepped aside.

Logan stepped inside the house and Luke lead him into the kitchen without a word.

"You want a drink? Coffee?" Luke asked.

"Coffee would be great thanks." Logan took a seat at the table.

Luke made a cup of coffee for Logan and set it in front of him. Logan didn't notice. He was looking at the door to Rory's room which was closed.

Luke took the seat across from Logan and gently bumped his knuckles against the table to get Logan's attention back.

"Oh…" Logan brought his gaze to Luke. "Sorry uh so is Owen sleeping?"

"Yep. I just put him down twenty minutes ago." Luke replied.

"And Lorelai's at the Dragonfly?"

"Yeah,"

It was awkwardly silent for a bit until Logan took a sip of his coffee. He grimaced. "Sorry, I should have asked before, do you have any cream?"

"Oh right." Luke got up and got a carton of cream from the fridge.

Luke placed the carton next to Logan's mug and Logan said a quick thanks.

Logan poured in some cream then sipped his coffee while Luke awkwardly looked around.

"So how long does Owen usually nap for?" Logan asked.

"Oh uh a couple hours or so I guess. It's varied."

Logan nodded slowly. He quickly gulped down the rest of his coffee.

"So I guess I could just go walk around the town a bit and come back in a couple hours."

"You sure?" Luke asked. "You can stay here if you want."

"No that's okay. I could use a walk."

"Suit yourself." Luke said. "I can call when Owen wakes up."

"All right." Logan pushed his chair back and stood up. He left the room and walked out the door.

Luke decided to call Caesar and check up on the diner.


Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. He wondered if Logan was back already. When he opened the door, he found Emily standing on the porch.

"Hello Luke." She greeted him.

"Hi Emily. Come on in."

"Thank you."

Emily looked around and walked into the living room. Luke could tell she disapproved of the mess. There hadn't been time to tidy up since Owen came home.

Luke stepped in front of her and took one of Lorelai's blouses off the couch. Emily sat down.

Luke sat next to her. "I assume you're here to see Owen."

"Didn't Lorelai tell you I was coming?"

"Yeah. She did. I just didn't know when to expect you. Owen's napping right now." Luke informed her.

"Upstairs?" Emily asked.

"Yeah he's in the bassinet in our bedroom."

"Do you have a baby monitor on?"

Luke silently cursed himself. The baby monitor was off and it was in the kitchen.

"Um would you like anything to drink, Emily?"

"Sure. I'll have a bottle of water if you have it. The cab I took here's air conditioner was broken and it's hot outside." Emily answered.

"Sure thing," Luke got up and went into the kitchen. He found the baby monitor and turned it on. The other one upstairs was already on thankfully. He found a couple of bottles of water and took them back into the living room.

"Thank you." Emily said when he passed her a bottle. She opened it and sipped it slowly. Luke did the same with his. He sat on a chair across from Emily.

"Lorelai's at the Inn?"

"Yes."

"And you're doing all right with Owen by yourself?"

"Yes. Everything is fine. I'm… managing." Luke responded.

"All right. You could leave him with me for a little while if you need to do any errands or anything." Emily offered.

Luke was surprised. Then he thought maybe Emily thought he was incapable of caring for Owen. "That won't be necessary." He said calmly.

"Luke, please. You and Lorelai are in far over your heads. Taking care of a newborn at your ages,"

Look who's talking. Luke almost said. "I know you're fully capable of looking after him for a bit, but Lorelai trusts me to take care of him. And I want to be here. We're in this together and we're taking turns during the week."

"I know about your schedule." Emily affirmed. "I want to be a part of it. I want to be more involved in Owen's life."

"But you live in Nantucket." Luke protested.

"I asked an old friend of mine if I could stay with her temporarily and she agreed. Just until Rory wakes up," Emily replied.

We don't know when that will be. Luke thought.

"Your friend wouldn't mind having a newborn in her house?" Luke pondered.

"Well no, I'd stay here for a few hours maybe once or twice a week. Give you and Lorelai a break." Emily's expression changed. "I hope you aren't expecting Logan to keep his word. I doubt he'll be involved much."

Luke bit his lip. "Uh actually, he was just here."

"What?" Emily exclaimed.

"He called yesterday to tell us he planned on visiting today. He's somewhere in town right now."

"You're serious?" Emily didn't believe him.

"Yes. He'll be coming back in an hour or so… when Owen wakes up."

"Humph. I'm surprised he actually came all the way here so soon after Owen was released from the hospital."

"Well he did say he wanted to be involved."

"I know. I just don't trust him." Emily scoffed. "Not after all the bullshit he put Rory through."

Luke was sipping his water and he spit it out when he heard Emily swear. Most of it went on the floor but a bit touched Emily's pant leg. She glared at him.

Emily cleared her throat. "Well if Logan's coming back here, I don't want to see him. May I peek in at Owen before I go?"

"Sure." Luke answered. He didn't want to argue with Emily and try to make her see that Logan was just a father who wanted to be involved in his kid's life.

Emily came back downstairs a few minutes later. She said a quick goodbye to Luke and left.


Logan returned just as Luke was coming back downstairs with Owen an hour later. He knocked at the door again.

"You can just come in." Luke told him.

"Ah no that doesn't feel right," Logan rubbed the back of his head. He looked down at Owen and grinned.

"Hi Owen," Logan said gently.

"Do you want to hold him while I make a bottle?" Luke asked.

"Sure." Logan took Owen.

They went into the kitchen and Luke began making a bottle.

"Do you think he remembers me?" Logan asked suddenly.

"Dunno." Luke muttered.

"Yeah I don't know how a baby's mind works." Logan laughed as Owen grabbed his finger in his tiny hand.

When the bottle was ready, Logan asked if he could feed Owen.

"Uh I guess." Luke wasn't sure.

"Just show me how to do it. I need to learn."

Luke showed him and Logan did great. Owen stopped sucking after a minute and started crying.

"Aww what's wrong, bud?" Logan bounced him gently.

"Maybe he isn't hungry?" Luke said.

Logan passed Owen back to Luke and Luke tried to burp him. Owen only burped once.

Logan sighed. "Well, I should get going. I have to get back to New York tonight."

"Ah okay well thanks for coming and have a good night." Luke said as they walked to the front door.

"Thanks for letting me do this. I can tell you and Lorelai aren't pleased with my track record but I'm trying to do better." Logan emphasized

Luke could tell Logan was serious by the look on his face. "I know." He said. He shifted Owen and offered his hand.

Logan shook Luke's hand. "Bye."

"Bye."


Later that night, Lorelai came home to find Luke asleep on the bed and Owen asleep in his bassinet.

She didn't want to wake Luke, but she slipped off her shoes and slipped in next to him. She cuddled up close to him and breathed in his scent.

The sound of Lorelai's sobs woke Luke up. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times.

When he noticed Lorelai, he pulled her closer and whispered: "Hey, shh. It's okay."

"I miss Rory. And all of this is so hard…going back to work and everyone asking about her… seeing Chris…feeling sad for Owen because his mother can't be with him."

"I know." Luke pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Wait, Christopher was at the Inn?"

"No the hospital,"

"Oh."

"He wanted to come see Owen but then decided not to." Lorelai didn't tell Luke why.

Luke shrugged. He didn't really care with Christopher did or didn't do.

"How was it with Logan today?" Lorelai asked as she wiped at her own tears.

"Fine. He learned how to feed Owen. Oh and Emily came by too."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows, "My mother and Logan were here at the same time?"

Luke shook his head. "Logan came first then came back later after Emily had already left. She didn't want to see him and I didn't tell him she was here."

"Good. You avoided conflict. I trained you right." Lorelai teased.

"It was Emily's choice not to confront Logan." Luke replied.

Lorelai sighed heavily and pulled away from him.

Luke rolled onto his side and put an arm over hers. She twined her fingers thorough his.

They lied in silence for a bit until Owen woke up. Lorelai got up and changed his diaper and fed him then put him back down. She got back in bed and curled up to Luke again.

He nuzzled her neck and she lifted her head and kissed him. They kissed passionately. Luke was the one to pull away.

Lorelai reached down and unbuttoned her skirt. Luke gave her a puzzled look. Lorelai leaned in to kiss him again.

Luke didn't question her as she removed her clothes then helped him remove his. If she wanted to make love, he wouldn't complain. Even if he was sure it was just for comfort.


Rory still didn't wake up four weeks after her accident. Luke and Logan had started to lose hope but Lorelai and Emily still had some. The doctor called Lorelai in to discuss Rory's condition.


Author's note: I'm gonna leave it here as this is a long chapter and it's a cliffhanger. Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated.