AN: Sorry for the wait. I've been busy planning things for my aunt's wedding. Again, thanks for all of your wonderful reviews! The next chapter should be up sooner than this one. Please enjoy and review.

Chapter 4 – Taking Care of The Bug

The next couple of weeks had passed slowly. She never heard back from Logan. After a couple of days her calls had gone straight to voicemail. Eventually she wasn't even able to leave messages on his cell phone or at home. It horrified her to think that she had finally pushed him over the edge and now it was he that didn't want to know anything about her. She thought about going to the apartment to look for him, but decided against it many times, scared that he would humiliate her by turning her away. She had finally come up with the courage to go yesterday. She was desperate to talk to someone about what she was going through, but she felt Logan should be the first to know.

After knocking on the door for a few minutes with no answer, she used her key to get in. She had never seen their apartment in that shape. There were clothes discarded over chairs and on the floor. There were a few dirty shot glasses in the sink, and the dishwasher was full of dirty dishes. She went to the bed where she recognized one of her nightgowns tucked under a pillow. Still no sign of Logan. She cleaned up the place a bit before leaving. George, their doorman, greeted her on her way out. He was very happy to see her, and asked how Mr. Huntzberger was doing. He hadn't seen him in a few weeks, and even then, they were never there. He mentioned how Logan had told him he was looking into moving them into a bigger place, and he hoped they were enjoying it. She thanked him and told him she would pass his regards to Logan.

Rory walked into her apartment and Paris immediately jumped on her.

"Rory, talk to me."

"About what?" She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a banana. She turned to the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of milk and served herself. What else did she want that went good with milk? Oh, pop tarts and frozen pizza! She threw the pizza in the oven without preheating it, setting the temperature a little higher than suggested in the box.

"Is there something going on that maybe you want to talk about?"

She froze for a second before continuing nonchalantly. "No, why?"

"Look, I'm just going to be straight with you…"

Oh no… Paris.

"Are you bulimic?"

"What!"

"Accepting it is the first step, Rory. Doyle and I are here for you, and we want to help…"

"Paris…" She grabbed her glass of milk, banana, and the box of pop tarts. The pizza would take half an hour. She went to sit at the table.

"You're not denying it, so it's got to be true. He is just a stupid guy, Rory. He doesn't deserve you doing this to yourself! You are a smart, talented, beautiful woman that he obviously never deserved."

"Paris, I'm not in the mood for this." She bit into the banana hungrily. "I went to the doctor to humor you the other day, and then another doctor to humor that doctor." She bit into it again. "I am not bulimic, it's just a bug, and that's as far as this conversation is going." She got up to throw the banana peel and serve herself more milk and started heading for the table again before going back into the kitchen and grabbing the bowl of strawberries and bottle of whipped cream from the refrigerator and then back to her room. She walked back again to get the box of pop tarts.

"Rory, please don't do this to yourself…"

"I'm not doing anything to myself; I'm hungry and I'm trying to feed myself."

"You are trying to soothe the soul of a hurt little girl that…"

"The door is closing, Paris. See you in thirty minutes."

Paris stood there for a moment, frustrated that she couldn't do anything. Then she got an idea. She went into her room and pulled her cell phone out.

"Hello, Diane? Hi, this Paris from Rory Gilmore's office. I'm trying to rearrange a few things on Miss Gilmore's schedule for next week, and she knows she has an appointment coming up, but she doesn't remember for what date she set it, could you confirm it with me?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't release any information. She will have to call back herself."

"Well she's traveling and doesn't plan to be back until her appointment, and if she doesn't know when her appointment is for, she might not make it back in time. I need to confirm that for her or I'll be accused of not doing my job, and then that intern will sweep in and take my place. That's going to leave me without the job I feed my five kids with."

"Okay, okay, let me check." Paris could hear her typing away. "Well she's not in the computer."

Dammit.

"Let me check her chart and make sure we're not waiting for any results back from the lab before scheduling. Please hold." She went and pulled the chart before getting back on the line. "You know what sweetie? You're probably calling the wrong office. Try reaching Dr. Roths, she's in the same building."

"Thanks for all you help Diane."

She went on line and pulled Dr. Roths information, just as she had done when she scheduled the appointment with Dr. Ravie. Dr. Maria Roths, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine. "No…" she said to herself incredulously. "No way!"

After a few days in a Costa Rican hospital, Logan was finally out of the woods enough to be airlifted to a New York City hospital. He had yet to regain consciousness, but was otherwise stable. It was a miracle he was still alive. As if the alcohol poisoning wasn't enough to almost kill him, he had a partially collapsed lung filled with liquid, a severe concussion, internal bleeding, and a full set of broken ribs. But he was young, and after some emergency surgeries, his family was promised a full recovery.

Colin and Finn stayed by his side until he had regained consciousness. They debated on whether they should contact Rory. When they asked the girls for their opinion, they drew blanks.

"Well maybe we should call her," said Rosemary.

"I don't think so. Last I heard, she was avoiding him like the plague," replied Juliet.

"All I'm saying is that she might want to know."

"Why would she? She's been acting like a total bitch to him," added Colin angrily.

"Whoa, calm down mate. All we're saying is that she might want to know if he got hurt."

"Finn, you know she's partially responsible for this."

"No, can't say I follow."

He hesitated for a moment, wanting to be careful with the words he chose. "You know that she's the reason Logan has been acting the way he's been acting. She's the reason he's been getting fucked up every night, pulling crazy stunts while he's drunk."

"Yeah, but this was planned. It was a Life and Death Brigade event. You can't blame Rory for that," said Steph.

"Try to reason with me here for second. Logan was drunk off his ass with a phone in his hand the last time I saw him the night before. I tried to get him to talk to me and he wouldn't. He was upset. He was also drunk when he jumped. So drunk he barely managed to get his parachute open, and even that I think he did accidentally."

"But Colin, you can't blame her for that…"

"Juliet, didn't you tell me you heard him crying?"

"I saw him crying. Of all things, I never thought I'd see him that way."

"And I know he was talking to Rory because Rosemary and I were eavesdropping," admitted Stephanie.

"So whatever they talked about pushed Logan off that cliff," reasoned Colin.

Just then Honor showed up. "Hey guys, how is he?"

"He's much better. He's resting right now, they're looking into releasing him either today or tomorrow," Colin answered.

"Are my parents here?"

"Nah, they haven't been here in a few days. They pretty much made sure he was going to live and left."

"Has someone called Rory? I think Logan would like her here."

"I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not? I know they're not really talking right now, but she might want to know, and I'm sure Logan wants her here…"

"Logan and Rory talked the night before he jumped off the cliff. And it wasn't good."

"Oh no…" she said with regret. She was both sad for her brother and sad for Rory. She knew that the humiliation she went through on her wedding must have been difficult, not to mention painful. She had a right to be upset. But Logan was also her brother and she knew he loved her. She knew they were both suffering over their separation, not just Logan. She decided that depending on the feel she got from Logan when she talked to him, she would call Rory. She wouldn't tell him though, just in case the outcome wasn't what she expected. "Before I forget, did anyone find his cell phone?"

"No, it never turned up," said Stephanie. "I think I saw him throw it at the river, so he can kiss that baby goodbye."

"Dad's going to be pissed when he finds out. He had a lot of contacts in that phone, and loosing them is going to be on the list of irresponsible things Logan has done. I'm going to go in with him to see how he's feeling. Are you guys going to hang around much longer?"

"We're going to go get some breakfast right now, but we'll head back to see if he's leaving today or tomorrow."

She walked into Logan's room and saw he was awake.

"Hey there Mr. Stunt Man. I hear they're ready to kick you out of this place."

"Yeah, I don't mind though. The food kinda sucks. So where are Colin and Finn?"

"They left you for better food." She drew the chair next to him closer to the bed and sat with him.

"Eh, can't say I blame them."

"So how are you feeling about going back home?"

"Well, I'm not looking forward to cramming finals…"

"You know what I mean, Logan."

He took a deep breath but couldn't answer. He looked straight into the air, trying to formulate an acceptable answer, but he couldn't lie to his sister.

"Maybe Rory…"

He shook his head slowly. "No, Honor. I don't want to talk about Rory."

"But Logan…"

"Rory… hates me." Hates me. She could see how it pained him to say and admit that. "She's never going to forgive me. She's made it painfully clear she never wants to hear from me. She doesn't want to know that I even exist, or cease to exist.

"Logan," she started quietly. "I think that she just needed some time to cool down and think. Sort through her feelings and process how things happened, and how you did not cheat on her."

"No Honor, she really does hate me. She's never going to forgive me. She finally talked to me the other night. I was drunk and I needed her so I called her. God Honor, the things she said to me…"

Honor couldn't help but try to remain positive, but it was heartbreaking to see him so demoralized. She didn't know what to make of things. She knew Rory had every right to be angry and upset, but she could also see why Logan never told Rory what had happened during their break up. She knew he never cheated, but understood how Rory could feel cheated. It was all a big mess of things and who knew when it would be resolved. She tried to lighten the mood by changing the subject.

"You're graduating soon, that's got to be exciting."

"You know, I'm not minding the thought of London as much now. I think today I was actually looking forward to it."

Rory woke up the next morning to the smell of pancakes and bacon. She wasn't quite sure how her stomach was going to continue to take to the smell, but she wasn't feeling any worse than any usual morning. She turned to see the time on the nightstand and was surprised to see a tall glass of milk and three selections of saltine crackers.

She sat up slowly on the bed, not wanting to get dizzy. After sitting there for a moment and having some crackers and a few sips of milk, she opened the drawer of the nightstand and pulled out a folded piece of paper. The Pro-Con list and her ultrasound picture. She went through the list one more time, but none of it computed in her head. She folded the list back up and left the picture out, wanting to make more out of what she did see. There were moments when none of it made sense, and she had trouble believing what was actually happening. Right now she had trouble believing that there was actually a little person growing inside of her. She could see and feel the changes in her body, she just couldn't believe it was for that reason.

Today seemed like it wasn't going to be as bad with the nausea. It was probably the crackers she knew Paris had gotten out. Why she'd done it she didn't know, but she knew she was up to something. After making sure she wasn't going to have to run to the bathroom, she got up and walked out to the living room.

"Good morning," chimed Paris in a very un-Paris sort of way. "Breakfast is almost done, so you can go wash your hands before we start."

"Um, Paris, don't you have finals to get ready for? What's with the breakfast?"

"I wanted to make sure that you were eating right with all the correct vitamin intake and folic acid, because, you know, with a bug like yours, you need to make sure you're consuming enough folic acid. Here, have some fruit." She had diced fruit in a bowl and handed it to Rory. "So how are you feeling this morning?"

She knew something, she was sure of it. She either knew something or was trying to find out something. "I think I'm starting to feel better. I was able to keep down everything I ate last night without a problem. Hey, I'm sorry I snapped at you last night."

"Don't worry about it. I understand that when you've got a bug going on you just don't feel well, and that can make people snappy sometimes. Doyle and I just want to make sure you are okay…"

"Well I'm okay." She went into the kitchen to get some coffee. She was surprised to see there wasn't anything but some decaf instant coffee left. Ugh! Well, that was going to have to do until she left the apartment.

"Are you sure?" she tried to get her to open up a bit more. "Because you're still pale and those eating habits of yours worry me. I don't think you're using the proper diet to take care of that bug. You should probably be seeing a nutritionist. Has the doctor specified any diet changes?"

Here we go again. "I don't need any diet changes!" Here she was, getting testy again.

"I think you do. For example, you should stop drinking coffee. Coffee is bad for bugs."

"Paris, I don't need this right now. What I need is coffee, and there isn't any of that here, so can we just do this later?" There she was. She was snapping again.

"Just as long as you realize that I am your best friend, and as your best friend, I'm here for you, for whatever you might need to share, or not share, as the case may be."

"Okay, I see your point!" She stormed into her room and shut the door, only to open it back up immediately and run to give Paris a tight hug. "Thank you for sending me to the doctor and watching out for me and my bug."

"Don't you worry. Doyle and I are going to help see you through that bug." They retained the hug for a moment without saying anything, one friend lending out the support, and the other friend opening up to receive it.

"Okay, now I think the pizza from last night is gonna be coming up." They released each other from the hug and Rory ran to the bathroom.

"You go on and do that while I finish breakfast!" said Paris through the other side of the door.

Logan was released that afternoon from the hospital and traveled back to New Haven by helicopter. Honor traveled with him, wanting to make sure herself that he was well situated and settled in. George greeted him on his way in as he had greeted Rory on her way out.

"Mr. Huntzberger, are you alright?" He was alarmed to see the young man in a wheelchair.

"I'm doing okay, George. Just a little accident, but thank you for asking."

"I saw Miss Rory just yesterday and told her I hoped you two were enjoying your new home. She said she was here to settle a few things." Added the older gentleman.

"Oh, she was?"

"Mighty pretty lady you have in your hands, Mr. Huntzberger."

"Thanks, George."

They went into the elevator and reached the 12th floor. After Honor opened the door to the apartment, a different air could be felt through out. He could tell Rory had been there, even if George hadn't told him. She had straightened out the apartment and left it in a much better condition that he had left it in. He could see she had gone as far as making the bed, clearing the table, arranging papers and cleaning the kitchen. Not what he would expect of her visit. He thought she would come to pick up the rest of her things and leave her keys, but it seems that's not what she did.

Once Honor propped him up in bed, she moved into the kitchen to see what needed to be thrown out and what she'd need to buy from the store. She left to go shopping when Colin and Finn got there. When she got in her car, she hesitated for a moment before pulling out her cell phone. She dialed, and after six rings her call went to voicemail.

"Rory, hi. It's Honor Huntzberger. I was hoping I could talk to you. Could you please call me?" Just then her other line started ringing. She looked at her display and it was Rory returning her call. She clicked over.

"Hello, Rory?"

"Honor, hi. How are you?"

"I'm doing good. I was hoping I could talk to you, do you have a minute?"

She was sitting at her desk in the newsroom. There wasn't anywhere private that she could go to and talk. She decided to just stay there for now, hoping the conversation wouldn't get too awkward for her to handle semi-publicly.

"Sure, what's going on?"

"It's about Logan…"

"Well I figured as much."

"He had an accident. I just thought you'd like to know."

She felt her stomach drop and a cold chill engulfed her. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words wouldn't come to her.

"What… what happened? Is he okay?"

"He jumped off a cliff a few weeks ago in Costa Rica."

"Oh no, Logan!"

"I mean, he's going to be okay. He was released from the hospital today. Listen, I know things aren't good between you two right now, but I thought that maybe you'd like to know. He might be leaving for London soon, and I thought that maybe you two should talk before he leaves…"

"I want to talk to him. I've been trying to get in touch with him all this time. I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago, then I called him back fifteen minutes later and he never answered me. I've left him messages and he never called me back."

"That's probably because he lost his cell phone after that. The guys say they knew you talked the night before he jumped, but that's all they know. He's under the impression you don't want to talk to him."

She could feel the rush of blood leave her face. "That's probably because of what I told him at first. But I called him back immediately…" she tried to explain.

"In any case, he was leaving for London right after graduation, but with his accident, he's probably going to be in therapy for at least the summer. Like I said, I understand you're both upset, and I don't want to get between you two and your problems, but maybe you two want to sit down some day and have a chat before he leaves. Because Rory, he is leaving."

Rory could feel the tears in her eyes begin to form, but didn't let them drop.

"Thanks for letting me know, Honor. I really appreciate it." It was evident in her voice that this was upsetting her.

"You're welcome. Take care Rory."

Rory closed her phone and held her head down with her hands. Sheila walked to her desk to give her some notes back, covering her face with the manila folder when she sneezed. Paris immediately jumped up from her chair with a bottle of Lysol and sprayed the air around Rory and Sheila.

"Paris! Stop that!" screamed Sheila.

"You're going to get Rory sick."

"They're my allergies, I'm not sick."

"Says the person who's been sneezing."

Sheila was about to put the manila folder in Rory's desk when Paris snatched it with a latex gloved hand. She made sure she sprayed it thoroughly inside and out before setting it down on Rory's desk.

"Paris, I told you, I'm not sick!"

"Rory has a bug, and to you that might not mean anything, but I have to make sure no one around her is sick to get her sick."

"If she's the one with the bug, then she's the one that can get the rest of us sick. You should be spraying her with Lysol."

Paris held the bottle of Lysol up and pointed it to Sheila. "Step away from Rory and the bug." Sheila turned and walked as fast as she could in the other direction. Paris looked down to Rory. "What's the matter, do you feel a cold coming on? Because I don't think you can take any cold medication."

Rory looked up to Paris, a tear finally escaping her eyes. She wiped it away but thought it was best to get up and walk outside for a while to collect herself. She felt horrible at the thought that maybe her last conversation with Logan could have been the last. At least now she knew why he never called her back. Honor told her they talked the night before he jumped, so his accident must have been the day after that.

In any case, she knew he was back, and she knew where to find him. Now that she knew that, she felt more at ease about when to tell him. It allowed her to concentrate on her finals, and let him finish with graduation.