It's short up drama packed. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else to fill it up. I wrote the original and it was only 2 pages. But I managed to add some more drama to make it approx. 4 pages. Sorry. Enjoy!
And a very big thank you to all my reviewers. You always make my day so much better, especially when it's particularly sucky. xxBree
Australian Summer
Chapter 9:
Blissful Ignorance & Its Consequence
Finn drove in silence the entire trip back to the hospital. Many times I'd tried to get any noise from. I finally received a 'Please.' meaning to drop it.
Before we entered the hospital, however, I made him talk to me.
"Finn, please. Say something." I pleaded.
"What do you want me to say, Rory?" He exclaimed, accent still thick. "Do you want me to bare my soul to you or something? Haven't we done that enough today? Or do you want to hear about how shitty I feel right now, knowing that I'm the reason he married her, and is still with her? I'm the reason he cheats on her 5 out of 7 nights a week… and she's blissfully ignorant to it all! I was a mistake! And because of that my parents are unhappy!" I had tensed during his words.
"Finn, who am I?" I asked, my muscles coiled tightly, waiting for that sweet release.
"Rory… my girlfriend… where are we going with this?" He was confused as to what this had to do with our current conversation.
"Rory Gilmore… the living breathing Hayden-Gilmore scandal. My grandparents didn't want me, Finn! They tried forcing my parents to get married. They didn't choose that fate themselves. Would you rather your parents have chosen to get married and your mother be blissfully ignorant and happy, or have your mother run away… live in a shed with you until you were 6? Never find someone else she could happily marry because your dad decides to come back when ever he feels like and break her heart every time he leaves? Which would you prefer Finn? Personally, I'd rather watch my father cheat on her, than see her heart break every time."
"Really, Rory? You love your life. Until Tristan, you seem to have had a pretty happy fucking life. You had to live in a shed, but look at the bond you and your mother have! Do you know how many society people around the world there are that want that kind of relationship?"
"I never said I didn't want that relationship. I'm happy with my life, and I know had they gotten married Mom and I wouldn't be that close-"
"Could you stand to see her smile lovingly at him in the morning only to know that when he was 'working late' that night, he'd be fucking his latest whore? Could you stomach that? Could you stomach knowing you were the reason?"
"It's not your fault, Finn!" I screamed at him. People in the parking lot around us had stopped to watch in interest but we paid them no mind. "I know how you feel. You feel like everything that's gone wrong in your parents' lives is your fault. That what Aryn's lived through is your fault. That your grandparents have had to deal with so much because of you. They've probably faced a lot of scandalous shame. But they love you. They don't blame you. It is not your fault.
"My father's parents, they blamed me. I ruined my father's life. Not even my mother. I did. Not until I had to deal with that situation myself did I understand it. It was no ones fault but my own. My birth was the consequence of my parent's actions. Yours was the consequence of your parents'. The baby's-" I gestured toward the hospital, "is the consequence of Aryn and Logan's. Do you blame that baby for being born?"
"No." He replied immediately, almost appalled at the suggestion. "How could I blame her? She didn't ask to be born… she just was." I gave him a pointed look. "Oh. Point taken, Love. I still feel guilty, though."
"Well, that will go away with time. You just have to make sure that doesn't happen to Aryn… the baby. Damn, I never realized how having the same names could be so confusing. I mean, there's Aryn, your mother. Aryn, your sister, and Aryn, your niece. My family, there's Lorelai, Trix, my great grandmother. Lorelai, my mother, and Lorelai, me. Even you! Finnegan your father's father I'm assuming. Your father, and you! Damn. Our children are not to be Finnegan or Lorelai." What I said made no impact on me until I saw him smirk.
"Our children, Love?" I blushed realizing what I said. "You think about us having kids together?"
"I, no, I don't think so…maybe. I don't know?" I was utterly confused.
"C'm'ere." He pulled me to him and kissed me soundly. "Don't think about it. Just if it comes to you it comes you. Don't force it."
"Sounds good to me." I just smiled at him for a while. "You know we've had an audience for a while now, right?"
"Let's give them something to watch then."
We sat there for an eternity just kissing, letting everyone watching us get quiet a show.
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When we finally reentered the hospital everyone looked ready to fall over from exhaustion, as a few were already asleep. My grandparents and Rose were no where to be seen.
"Where did Grandma and Grandpa go?" Finn asked, he didn't notice Rose's lack of appearance. I smiled softly to myself at this.
"They took Rose to the airstrip. She felt like she was imposing, so she booked." Colin yawned.
"Oh, I hadn't notice she wasn't here. Oh, well." Finn sat in a chair, pulling me on to him. I giggled a little, but laid my head against his chest. He yawned deeply and laid his head back against the wall.
"Miss?" A nurse stuck her head into the doorway. Everyone looked at her.
"I've got to take the babies back to the nursery. Is Aryn ready to go?" Ari nodded and handed the little baby over. We all cooed a bit as she left.
Steph began to pout. "I want one…" Colin turned whiter than a ghost. "Oh, not yet, Col. Relax." Everyone busted out laughing as Colin let out an enormous sigh of relief.
"Thank God! I think this group can only handle one baby at a time." We all smiled to ourselves. He was right.
"So, I propose we all go home and get some rest. What do you all say to that?" Gramps suggested. Everyone nodded their sleepy agreement.
"I'm staying." Finn and Logan said together.
"Never mind, then. We'll all leave you two alone. Call us if you need anything." Finn amended as we all gathered our things and left.
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Finally alone, Logan sat next to Aryn on the bed. He leaned forward, kissing her softly on her forehead. She sighed in contempt. "I love you." He whispered with his lips still against her body.
"I know."
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"I won't leave."
"I know." She smiled. "I know."
"Come back with me." He didn't ask, but his voice was still pleading.
"What?"
"At the end of the summer, winter… whatever. Come back to Yale with me."
"Logan… what about school, for me?"
"I, I don't know. You can finish school in America."
"Logan…"
"Come on, please? I can't stay here and you know that. My dad would kill me if I quit school." Suddenly Aryn's eyes flared with renewed anger.
"Does he even know, Logan? Does he?" He wouldn't look her in the face. "You didn't tell him? You piece of shit, you didn't tell your father that your girlfriend was pregnant?!"
"Aryn, it's comp-"
"Get out."
"What?"
"I said, get out. I don't want you near me or our baby until you grow up, Logan. I don't give a damn if your father disinherits you! Because of you my brother got himself disinherited! Grow up! Leave, now!" Her tone steadily grew until she was practically screaming at him. Tears threatened to fall, but she wouldn't let them. She just stared at him.
"Aryn-"
"Go, please." She replied weakly, not having much more energy to fight him off. He only nodded, and turned away.
"I'll be outside if you want me. I love you, Ari, I do." He closed the door behind him.
Aryn cried herself to sleep. She should have known he was still the immature boy he'd always been. How can she expect him to be a father, when his own still pulls his puppet strings? She shouldn't have ignored the warning bells in her mind.
-
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Colin and Steph waited in the car as Finn and I made one last visit to the baby.
"I can't believe she's so tiny. And healthy. Ya know, for a premature baby… someone up there is looking out for her."
"She'll be different, Finn. She won't be like us. Her parents won't regret her. And they'll be happy. And even if they're not we all will be around to make sure she knows its not her fault. Okay?"
He pulled me into his arms and held me close. "I love you." He whispered so softly I barely heard him. As far as he knows, I never heard it.
I didn't want to hear. I couldn't handle it. He couldn't feel that way. I wasn't going to let him have the power to hurt me. So I was blissfully ignorant to his words.
I often wonder what might have happened had I replied to them. Would we have ended the way we did? Would we have lasted forever? I imagine that I will wonder that for the rest of my life. It's a regret I will always have. The consequence to my blissful ignorance.
-
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Logan left the room sadly, hoping everyone was gone already. He knew she was right. He couldn't keep his daughter from his parents forever. The truth was he was afraid they'd take him from Aryn and the baby if they knew. They'd force him to give up all rights to his daughter or spend the rest of his life fighting to keep a roof over their heads.
He realized suddenly how selfish he was being. They couldn't force him to give up his daughter. And, true, they could take away all of his money. But he had trust funds they couldn't touch. So did Aryn. And Finn had put his own wealth and happiness on the line for him. He knew what he had to do.
Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly dialed the number of his house, bracing himself. He allowed himself a brief laugh as Hell flashed across the screen. At least until someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mother."
"Logan, what a surprise. What can I do for you?"
"I, uh, is Dad around?"
"Yes. He's in his study."
"Can you ask him to pick up the phone. I need to tell you both something."
"What is it, Logan, what have you done?"
"I… is Dad on the line yet?"
"What do you want, Logan? I'm busy." At that moment Logan swore to never be like his parents, especially his father.
"I… I have a daughter."
There was a pause.
"I'm sorry, what?" Shira asked first.
"I have a daughter."
"Logan, serious, what did you call us for?" Mitchum asked.
"I am serious, Dad. Finn's sister-"
"So, Finn's sister got herself knocked up and you being the best friend you are stepped in and offered to claim it as your own?"
"She, Mom, not it." He gritted out. "And it is my daughter. I'm the only guy she's ever been with."
"Are you sure about that? We all know how Finn gets around, maybe his sister does, too."
The phone call was definitely the safest choice. He couldn't hit his father through a phone.
"God damnit. I have a daughter. I'm in love with her mother. I still don't know what we're doing, but I swear to God if either of you try to convince to leave her, I will never speak to you again, and you'll have no one to take over your fucking empire, Father. If you'd like to know your granddaughter's name is Aryn Amelia Huntzberger. She has reddish blonde hair, and the most beautiful blue eyes you'll ever see." With that he closed his phone.
Suddenly, he was exhausted. He knew he told her he'd be outside, but he needed to be near her. He slowly made his way back into Aryn's room. The dried tears showed on her sleeping face. His heart broke a little at the sight, knowing it was his fault.
He laid next to her on the bed, and she unconsciously shifted closer to him. "I love you." He whispered, before closing his own weary eyes.
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When we arrived home, the power was back on, but it didn't matter to us much. We all headed off to bed, completely spent. The last thing I remember that night, is closing my eyes, in Finn's bed, his arms wrapped tightly around me. He was already sound asleep.
I whispered back to him, finally, "I love you, too. I'll just never admit it while you're awake." I finished sadly, knowing it was true. I didn't think I'd ever say to him for him to hear. He couldn't have the power over me like Tristan had.