Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls is the creation of Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Chapter 12: London Calling

Hartford, Connecticut, Downtown Marriott, Thursday, May 18, 2017, 5:30 pm EST

Once back at the Marriott, Logan shrugged off his jacket, unbuttoned his top button and made himself comfortable, settling on one of the sofas in living room of his luxury suite. After a day spent with Rory and his son he knew exactly what he needed to do, which was to let his father and his fiancee know that the wedding was off.

While Rory was certain Mitchum was responsible for the blocked phone, Logan knew it wasn't his dad's style. Mitchum would just lay down the law with an expectation that it be obeyed. This sly, underhanded maneuver seemed more Odette. He could see his mother doing it as well -provided one of her more technologically savvy friends explained to her how to do it. Though Odette had unfettered access to his phone, his mother did not. But he always could've left it on a table while at lunch or dinner with his parents. While Odette could've had - and, indeed, was likely to have - suspicions about there being another woman in his life, he didn't know whether or not his father had ever told his mother about his reconnecting with Rory.

Powering up his laptop, Logan decided he'd better jump online and check the London society pages to see if anything on the rehearsal dinner had made the papers. He found a few small mentions but they were filled with facts only -who, where, when, etc. There was no mention of his abrupt departure from the evening's event and nothing intimating a possibility that the wedding wouldn't happen.

Good to know.

Seeing new emails since the last time he'd checked, Logan clicked on the new messages. He was pleasantly surprised to see the DNA lab had already completed the expedited paternity test. Opening the attached lab report, Logan smiled when he saw that the likelihood of him being Lucas' father was over 98% - which - according to the accompanying report - was the highest percentage possible.

Next he replied to an email from the management company of the Hartford apartment complex he'd decided to rent from. They didn't do monthly rentals, nor furnished apartments but Logan knew those two shortfalls could be easily remedied for the right price. The best part was that the development was a five minute drive from the hospital, less than the current drive from the hotel. Located downtown the hotel had good access to restaurants and bars but getting around the area could be a traffic nightmare at certain times of day.

Those tasks done, Logan knew it was time for the inevitable. At a little before six, he switched on his cell phone. Even though it was after eleven in London, considering what he'd pulled he assumed both his father and Odette were expecting to hear from him.

To the extent the dynastic plan prioritized 'begetting' the next Huntzberger heir, on a purely practical level it made more sense to claim Lucas and marry Rory than it did to go through with the wedding to Odette. Logan had to believe even his parents would see that.

But his family had always been a bit strange when it came to Rory. Thank God Elias at least was long gone. He'd have to contend with his mother's prejudices but really, with her background, Shira had no right to cast aspersions on Rory.

Mitchum Huntzberger's reaction was a bit more of wild card. Yes, Rory had given birth to his grandson. But Rene Lamontagne was an important HPG investor. Logan was well aware how much Mitchum had appreciated the coincidental strategy of the proposed union.

Logan would have to make it clear to his parents that this time around there was no room for any of the nonsense they'd subjected Rory -and him -to in the past. He and Rory would be a united front. They would have to be. They were Lucas's parents. Logan smiled at that. Unexpectedly he found himself taking more pleasure in thinking of Rory as his son's mother than he thought he even would from referring to her as his wife. He might even start calling her 'Baby Mama' to see her reaction. If her reaction was what he thought it would be, it might be a good strategy for getting her to buy into the idea of getting married.

Logan hit his father's number before bringing the phone up to his ear. He wasn't surprised when his father answered immediately.

"Dammit, Logan! You better have a good reason for this stunt! Blowing off my calls. Not answering my texts. If I wasn't stuck in London running damage control on your goddamn mess, I would've been in Hartford first thing this morning to drag your ass back here. Now what the hell is going on?"

"The wedding is off."

"Like hell it is! This has been the plan for two years! I don't care if you're getting cold feet. Really who the hell cares if you marry-"

"I'm not marrying Odette on Saturday." Logan paused. What would resonate with his father? The truth? "Listen -Rory gave birth to my son three days ago."

That silenced Mitchum for a beat. Logan nearly guffawed at the confusion in his father's voice when he finally sputtered out his one-word response.

"What?"

"You heard me. Rory and I have a son. The next Huntzberger heir has already made an appearance. I'm not turning my back on him or Rory no matter what the prenup says. So the wedding is off."

Logan listened to his father's next words, which were mumbled, almost as though he were talking to himself.

"I knew something was up between you two. That's why I wanted Odette in London."

"Yeah, well. You like being right, so congratulations."

Mitchum fell silent; Logan listened intently to the sounds across the line. Or rather, lack of sounds. He waited, wondering what his father would say.

"Logan, you two weren't even together at the time. You were with Odette. Rory had other men she was seeing-"

Rory had other men. Logan briefly tuned out his father's voice as his mind focused on those words. There was one other, as far as he knew: Paul of "Dinner with Paul" fame. Were there other other men? And what the hell did Mitchum know about them?

"- and there's a lot riding on this. How do you even know it's your-"

"Stop. Whatever you were about to say, don't. Just don't. Aside from the fact he looks just like me, I had a paternity test done. He's mine. I'll forward you the results as soon as we hang up."

Mitchum sighed.

"Have you talked to Odette?"

"Not yet. Figured I'd call you first."

"You know she still might be willing to go through with it. Rene, too - "

"No. I don't even care about whether they're willing to overlook the prenup. I'm not marrying Odette. I'm not looking to start a family. I already have one."

After a brief silence, Mitchum replied.

"Fine. I understand that. What I don't understand is why you didn't call off the wedding as soon as you found out about the baby?"

Logan knew his father's innate reporter skills would zero in on this line of questioning eventually. He just wished it hadn't happened so quickly.

"I did."

"What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. I called it off as soon as I found out."

"You just found out now? Rory was pregnant for months and never told you?" Mitchum took Logan's silence for the confirmation that it was. "Logan, that doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense. Why would she do that? What kind of game is she playing?"

"No. No games. Not Rory." Logan wondered whether he should tell Mitchum about the phone tampering. His gut told him 'not yet'. "She tried to let me know. We got our wires crossed. Then they had some medical issues that came up -"

"What kind of issues?"

"He - Lucas - is fine. Rory's fine. He was born a little early."

"How early?"

"About a month."

"But he's okay?"

"He's doing great. They think he'll be in the hospital another two weeks but he's made a lot of progress in the past few days. I'm thinking it won't be that long."

Logan listened to his father sigh.

"You two getting married? You know it's better if the baby's not illegitimate."

Logan let out a breath. Of course, his father had a point. Logan preferred that Rory marry him -the sooner the better. While he was confident that convincing her was not beyond his capabilities, he was also intimately familiar with her stubborn streak. For all he knew, Rory intended on doing a replay of her parents' marriage. Maybe she'd hold off on agreeing to marry him until Lucas's college graduation. While Logan was willing to wait -he'd certainly put in a good amount of time already - he was not letting her postpone it until Lucas was of legal drinking age.

"Logan?"

"I heard you, dad. What can I say? I'm working on it. You and mom haven't exactly done me any favors when it comes to Rory."

"Please. Didn't I hook her up with Condé Nast? I didn't have to do that, did I?"

"No. You also didn't have to slam her on her internship only to name-drop her the following year. Not to mention all the crap mom -"

"Logan, let's get real here. That stuff is all - or it should be - water under the bridge. You two aren't in college anymore. You're not in your twenties. You're adults. You're parents for God's sake! I'm gonna trust that you realize this but does Rory? Your mother may have had a point with Rory. Does she realize what it means to be a Huntzberger? She -"

"Dad - "

"- can't just go on as though nothing's changed. Even -"

"Dad -"

" - if you two don't marry. Even if all she ever is is your son's mother, she'll still be expected to behave -"

"Dad! Enough! I got it! Yes, she's my son's mother but she is much more than that. Rory's never had any problems with being a Gilmore or being a part of my world. It's just when you and mom interfere. So I'm gonna ask that you not interfere. I got this."

"Okay, Logan. I hope you know what you're doing. It's still not too late you know."

"Not too late for what?"

"To walk away. Rory Gilmore doesn't care about our money. You know that. Hell, I know that. Even your mother –ridiculous as she can be- knows that. Rory would probably be relieved to sign something to the effect of 'let's pretend this never happened' and 'I agree that Baby Boy Gilmore is not the legal Huntzberger heir.'"

"No! Lucas Gilmore Huntzberger is my heir! Why shouldn't he be? He's my son. I'm not signing anything and I'm not walking away!" Logan fell silent and he considered his father's words. "I didn't peg you as sharing mom's ridiculous views. What is it with you two?"

"Logan, I have nothing against Rory. I never have. I do think she handles herself with a decided lack of maturity that - I'm sorry to say - I don't really see resolving. She should've told you about the baby as soon as she knew. Even if you had to do a DNA test while she was pregnant to make sure of the paternity." Mitchum grunted. "This is just a surprise. You were supposed to marry Odette. I like Odette. She's smart. Mature. Knows how to carry herself. I guess I got used to the idea of her becoming a Huntzberger."

Logan laughed. "That's terrific! You marry her! I was supposed to marry Rory! Odette is and has always been a runner up. Way I see it I'm getting a second chance with my top choice. I'm not gonna blow it."

Mitchum sighed loudly. "So you're serious about this?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. I'll talk to Rene. But you need to explain to Odette. I'll handle your mother too. You know, Logan, this will do nothing to endear Rory to your mother."

"Mom already hates her for no reason. What does this do? Give her a reason? Now she can blame Rory for the wedding she spent so much time micromanaging never happening? Hey tell her she can go for broke. She can blame me and Lucas while she's at it. Hell, tell her to punish the three of us by withholding her love and affection. Oh, I know. She can show us how angry she is by going to a spa for the next month. That'll show us."

"Point taken Logan. Your humor isn't appreciated." Mitchum snickered sardonically. "You don't realize how Rory influences you. You tend to become a sarcastic son-of-a-bitch whenever you're with her."

"Dad, if anyone's responsible for me being a sarcastic son-of-a-bitch, I think the answer lies in the mirror. As for the rest, if you and mom hadn't spent an insane amount of time and energy disliking Rory -and showing her just how much you dislike her- I wouldn't have to spend so much time and energy defending her. And it wouldn't have taken ten years to get us to where we are now. She's my son's mother. I have every intention of marrying her. She's not going anywhere. So you and mom need to get used to it."

"Your mother is not going to like this."

"Even the fact that she has a blonde, blue-eyed grandson?"

Mitchum sighed deeply. "Yeah, well, there's that. Send a picture when you get a chance. It's too late to call Odette. She already went to bed. I suggest you call her first thing tomorrow. Text me when you have so I know when to talk to Rene. If I talk to Rene before you talk to Odette, Rene may tell her. She definitely shouldn't hear it from him."

"Agreed."

"We're gonna have to figure out how we announce the wedding is off. I'll call in the PR crisis team. You need to talk to Odette first thing. London time. Otherwise you're gonna risk her hearing it from someone else."

"Good point."

"Oh, and Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"What hospital are they in? What name are they under?"

"They're at St. Joseph's. The Lorelai Gilmore Maternity wing as a matter of fact. Both under Gilmore."

Logan heard his father grunt. "Logan?"

"Yeah?"

"Congratulations."

Logan's lips twisted into a genuine smile for the first time during the call.

"Thanks, Dad."

AN: Thanks for reading. Please note the depiction of hospital staff as gossiping busybodies is for humor purposes only.

05/21/2017