Lorelai was standing in the doorway of the emergency waiting room, coffee cup in hand. She, Christopher and Katrina had ventured off to find food while Logan called Honour and Rory checked to see if she could find out what was going on with Sophie. She'd been about to approach her daughter and ask how she was holding up when Logan stepped up to her. Lorelai watched them interact from the doorway, surprised at the easy way they touched each other.
She looked up as Christopher rested a hand on her shoulder, right around the same time Logan stood and headed purposefully towards the group of female nurses. "Hey."
Christopher waited until Katrina started making her way towards Rory before he spoke. "How is she?"
Lorelai shrugged. "I didn't ask. Logan came in right as I was going to head over."
"Do we know about him?"
"They met at a fundraiser that he sponsored at the last minute. The way she tells it was that they went to coffee the next Monday morning and they've been friends ever since."
"Friends?"
Lorelai chuckled. "She swears by it. They've been going out at least once a week."
"That doesn't sound like just friends."
"And what guy would drive a girl to the hospital if he didn't care?" Lorelai agreed.
"Do we like him?"
Lorelai shrugged. "She seems comfortable with him."
Comfort to Rory, Lorelai knew, was trust that Rory didn't give freely. While she made friends easily, she didn't trust them all the same. Lane and Paris, for example, were her best friends and knew sordid details that Rory had kept from Honour, not because she didn't trust Honour, but because Rory's trust in Honour didn't run as deep. The fact that Rory trusted Logan enough to allow him to a) comfort her and b) touch her the way Lorelai had watched, went a long way to calming Lorelai about the potential danger Logan was to her daughter.
They watched as Logan came strolling back, confidence in every step he took. Rory looked up at him, her blue eyes hopeful and Katrina on her lap and the hopeless romantic in Lorelai couldn't help but see them as a family waiting on the diagnosis of a loved one.
"Looks like he brought back good news," Christopher observed, watching his eldest daughter's shoulders slump in relief.
Lorelai nodded her agreement. "Come on, let's go see what he could find out."
Rory looked up as they approached. "They've got her hooked up to IVs and stuff," she revealed. "They're going to send her doctor out in a second to talk to us and give us the full story."
Lorelai looked at the way Logan and Rory sat and felt the corners of her mouth tip up. Logan's arm rested on her chair and Lorelai would have bet her in on the fact that his fingertips were touching her, maybe even tugging on the tips of her hair. Rory was leaned into him, albeit marginally, drawing the strength she needed from his presence.
"You're all here for Sophie Wilson?" a voice interrupted.
Rory looked up eagerly at the woman before her. "Yes. What can you tell us?"
The woman sighed. "I'm Rachael Brooks, I saw to Sophie when she came in. Are you all family?"
"Please, just tell us?"
"We've got her on drugs and nutrients. It was basically dehydration mixed with the cold she's got, so she should be fine. She's had radiation?"
"Yes," Rory agreed. "Chemotherapy."
Rachael nodded. "If it's okay with you I'd like to run a few more tests before we let her go. I might suggest she stay overnight, just in case. However, you can go see her. Room 314."
Logan felt Rory tense beside him and against him even as he thanked the woman. He watched the doctor walk away before turning to her. "Ace?"
"Tests? Keeping her overnight?" Rory said fearfully.
"I'm sure it's nothing, sweets," Lorelai tried to reassure her. "They're just being careful. You go see her, we'll stay here."
Logan watched as Katrina slid off of Rory's lap and headed over to Lorelai. He was surprised when she held her hand out for him. "You sure you don't want to go by yourself? Sophie doesn't know me." And this is something huge. Of course, he'd known that the minute he started dragging her out of his parents house. He wouldn't drive just any girl to the hospital and stay when her family was already with her.
Rory sighed. "I know you probably feel like an outsider, and I swear I'm not usually this helpless or clingy, but I need you with me. Please?"
Her plea was so simple, yet it hit Logan hard in the gut. He couldn't leave her, not when she looked so helpless. He took her hand, pushing himself off the chair and meeting her fearful blues. "I won't go anywhere if you don't want me to."
Rory felt the churning in her stomach calm slightly with his reassurance and pulled him along to the room Dr Brooks had mentioned. She felt Logan squeeze her hand as she pushed open the door and caught sight of the little girl in the hospital bed. Rory was always struck with how small she looked when she was hooked up to an IV and was almost instantly transported to a time when Sophie just stayed, when no one was sure if she would ever be able to go home again.
She felt her knees start to give way beneath her and the ground rushing up to meet her head when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a solid chest. Rory rested her head against Logan's shoulder, allowing her mind to wander away from the helpless feeling of seeing Sophie in a hospital again.
Her mind landed on the man holding her up. Logan hadn't asked questions about what they were doing. He had been nothing but supportive, driving her to the hospital, using his influence to find out what was going on with Sophie and now, keeping her upright and carefully guiding her to one of the plastic chairs in the room. Usually those were roles reserved for her family, but Logan had stepped up and Rory was thankful to have him.
What startled her was the way she didn't seem to care that it wasn't her parents or Honour here with her, experiencing her best kept secret in her life. Instead it was someone who six and a half months ago had been a complete and total stranger, their only connection through Honour. It was the playboy that refused to tie himself down to one woman, even with the pressure from his parents. It was the one man who screamed instability sitting beside her as her rock.
"Ace?" he asked softly, pulling up a chair beside hers. "Everything okay?"
Automatically she took his hand and pulled his chair so he was right next to her, so close that she could feel his body heat and smell his scent. Their clasped hands she rested in her lap, not taking her eyes off of Sophie's sleeping form.
"Ace?"
She looked up at his concerned brown eyes and almost fell apart. She was thankful when he put a hand on her head to pull it to rest on his shoulder. She closed her eyes against the tears. This was the perfect cap to a more than stressful couple of weeks.
Logan didn't need an answer from her to figure out that this was taking a toll on her. He'd known Rory had a huge heart, but the depth of concern and terrified eyes he'd seen during their stay at the hospital told him there was still a lot to learn about the brunette currently using his shoulder as her pillow. And he intended to do just that.
Sophie's eyes blinked open and she squinted against the hospital lighting for a moment. When left without entertainment in a hospital room, it was inevitable that she would fall asleep. She looked over and locked eyes with a blond man. Her eyes darted to a sleeping Rory before meeting his again. "Hello," she greeted softly.
"Hello," he replied, his tone equally as soft.
Sophie shifted, sitting up a little bit in bed, vaguely recognizing the man as one that she'd seen interacting with Rory at various functions. "How long has she been asleep?"
He looked down at Rory, brushing a piece of hair gently behind her ear before answering with the hand not in both of hers. "Not long. How are you feeling?"
Sophie took a moment to take in her body's response to that question. "Doped up," she finally settled on. "Who are you?"
"Logan, a friend of Rory's."
Sophie knit her eyebrows in concentration. She'd heard that name somewhere else before. "Honour's brother."
Logan nodded. "That too. You know Honour?"
Sophie grinned. "You bet. Is she okay?"
Logan looked down at Rory again. "She was worried about you," he answered. "The doctor was thinking of keeping you over night."
Sophie groaned. "Please say Rory won't let them."
Logan chuckled. "I'm pretty sure Rory would make you stay if it meant you were one hundred percent when you got home," he answered frankly. "But Dr Brooks was just in here. After the tests the doctors are just going to pump you full of more drugs and send you home."
Sophie nodded thankfully. "Oh no!" she suddenly exclaimed, sitting upright then flopping back. "This was Rory's Vineyard weekend. That's why I was staying with Lorelai."
"Honour said she had no problem cancelling the weekend," Logan said, trying to reassure her.
"But Rory needs this weekend! She's done nothing but work forever and she needs a break. I'd been doing so well!"
Logan raised an eyebrow. "So well?"
"Rory worries too much. I didn't want her to have to worry about me this weekend because she's going on that trip with Honour and I so I guess I hid my cold so that she would still go and not think about me being sick and I promised her it was just a little stuffy nose…"
"The weekend can be rescheduled," Logan pointed out, smiling at the rant that reminded him so much of Rory.
"It can but now Rory's going to be all scared."
"I take offence to that," Rory's groggy voice sounded from his shoulder.
Logan looked down at her. "Welcome to the land of the living, Ace."
"How long was I out?"
"Not long, apparently," Sophie supplied. "I'm fine, I'm sure Lorelai's still in the waiting room, you go have fun on your weekend."
"Sophie Tessa Lynn Wilson, there is no way I will be going away on a weekend now! You're in the hospital."
"And I've been in hospitals before. I'll be fine. Lorelai can sign me out and I promise to do whatever the doctor tells me to."
Logan recognized this immediately as a battle of wills between an eight-year-old girl and a well accomplished twenty-six-year-old business woman. He resisted the urge to start chuckling at the blatant display of stubborn pride. However, their battle was interrupted by Lorelai's loud voice.
"Sophie, honey, how are you feeling?"
"I'm okay, Lorelai, and I'm trying to make Rory go on this weekend with Honour."
"Well, hon, I'm not sure if you'll be able to do that," Lorelai answered honestly. "She was pretty worried about you."
"It was just a cold. I promised to follow whatever the doctor said! You're supposed to be on my side," Sophie pouted. "Logan is."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Logan protested, holding up his free hand in surrender. "You're not bringing me into this."
"I just did," Sophie shot back stubbornly. "He thinks she should go away."
Rory looked up at him, eyes ablaze.
"I said no such thing," Logan defended himself. "Yes, you need a break, but I understand that it might not happen this weekend." He met Sophie's eyes. "I'm an innocent bystander."
"Innocent, my ass," Rory responded, though she kept her hand tucked securely in his.
"I'm fine!" Sophie protested for the hundredth time. "Doped up, but fine!"
"You and I are going back to New York as soon as they let you out of here," Rory said, her tone brooking no argument. "We're going to go home and I'm going to call Honour and reschedule. Honour!" She was tugging on Logan's hand now. "We forgot to tell Honour!"
Logan pressed an unconscious kiss to her temple. "I'll go call her now and my parents. You argue out where you're spending the next 72 hours."
Rory smiled as she watched him leave, then turned back to her mother and the girl that was basically her daughter. The curious looks on their faces scared her just a bit. "What?"
"Spill, Missy. What was that all about?"
"What was what all about?" Rory inquired of her mother. "Logan drove me here."
"And stayed here, and let you sleep on him, and called Honour to explain the situation, and supported you through this, even through it was a cold getting the better of Soph and nothing more serious than that…" Lorelai listed off, ticking the items off on her finger. "Oh, and icing on the cake? Apparently he looks at you like your father looks at me."
"Who told you that?" Rory asked, completely shocked.
"Kitty," Lorelai said matter-of-factly.
Rory groaned, dropping her head into her hands. "There's nothing more than friendship between Logan and I, Mom, okay? The same goes for you, Miss Sophie. We're friends."
"I don't know… you fell asleep on his shoulder and didn't pull away when you woke up," Sophie pointed out with a smile.
Rory shot her a glare. "You've been spending too much time with Honour if you're eight and dissecting human behaviour."
Sophie shrugged. "I was bored one day and Honour had a book on reading body language."
Rory felt the sudden urge to bang her head against the wall. "I needed the comfort, he was here. He's a friend."
"Look, sweets," Lorelai said, taking the chair Logan vacated. "Guys like him don't do for girls what Logan's done for you tonight unless they care. And I know you, you wouldn't let him come if there wasn't some extreme trust between you. You've known the guy six months."
"It was the perfect excuse to get away from his parents' meat market of a party," Rory protested. "And he's Logan Huntzberger, playboy extraordinaire, the one man that will not allow himself to be tied down by a woman, so what I may think doesn't matter and he definitely doesn't think more than friendship. That playboy thing, it's not me."
"It's not," Lorelai agreed easily, "but you can't stop what your heart feels, hon."
Rory mustered a smile. "Wise advice."
Lorelai grinned. "Why do you think I married your dad? I mean, he's connected to everything I hate."
"Do you hate Logan?" The sudden thought that her mother could hate him shattered everything and she couldn't figure out why.
Lorelai paused. She knew Rory's feelings for Logan ran deeper than friendship and she knew her opinion meant a lot to her daughter. "He gets huge points for being here and staying here for you, but I have to hate him on principle."
Rory's smile was full and genuine in her amusement. "You know he can keep up with me?" At Lorelai's raised eyebrow she continued, "in wit and with pop-culture. Jess, Dean and Robert never could."
"I never liked them," her mother agreed, referring to Rory's three ex-boyfriends.
"Robert pretended like I didn't exist," Sophie chipped in with an adorable pout.
Lorelai rested a hand on Rory's knee. "Even if you're not ready to admit you have more than friendly feelings for him, I want to point out a few things to you. Your eyes light up when you talk about him. You didn't think twice about going to him for comfort instead of your family. You take comfort from him so easily, physical comfort, Ror, not just emotional. I was standing in the doorway of the waiting room, you had Kitty on your lap and Logan beside you and Kitty's so right, hon. He looks at you like your dad looks at me, and I know that. That's not just friendship. Regardless of his status in society or his current take on relationships, he's been here and that gives him huge points."
It was a few minutes later that Logan returned. He took one look at the positions of mother and daughter before turning concerned eyes to Rory. "You okay?"
Rory smiled and nodded. "Honour?" The way Logan shifted from foot to foot made her nervous. "Logan?"
"Can I talk to you outside?" he asked quietly. He was absolutely terrified of what she may think of his idea. The fact that he was the one to propose it also scared him quite a bit. Even Honour had been blown away.
-----------------Flashback-----------------
"You want to do what?" Honour shrieked into the phone.
Logan sighed. "Sophie's adamant that Rory get her relaxing weekend and Rory won't leave Sophie with anyone. It won't take long for someone to make up my room and an extra guest room for Sophie and you and Rory get your relaxing girls weekend and I'll occupy Sophie. No one loses."
"You never volunteer to take care of kids. You hate kids."
"I don't hate kids, Honour. You've got nothing to lose and the office can be without me for a couple of days," Logan wheedled. When Honour sighed he knew he had her.
"Run the idea by Rory and Sophie before you call ahead about the rooms, okay? And call me when you know."
"Will do, Honour," he promised. He knew Rory was going to be the difficult one to convince and with a deep breath, headed back into the hospital to do just that.
-----------------End Flashback-----------------
"So let me get this straight," Rory said. "You want to come up to Martha's Vineyard with us, just to look after Sophie so Honour and I can have our relaxing weekend and then I'm not far from Sophie."
"Basically," Logan agreed.
"You're going to dump all of your weekend plans to baby-sit and eight-year-old."
"And I won't even charge you to do it." Rory still looked skeptical so he took her hands. "Look, Ace, you and Honour need this weekend. Sophie's right, you've been stressed to the point of frazzled. A weekend away will do both you and Honour good. This works as a perfect compromise."
"Giving up your weekend to baby-sit because I need to relax doesn't seem like a compromise to me, Logan. I can't ask you to do that, especially when that kid is sick."
"You're not asking, I'm offering. Sophie seems like a really great kid. I'm sure she won't be any trouble. And it's not like she can get into much trouble watching movies and relaxing to get better."
Rory breathed out a sigh. It was a very tempting offer and while she could spend the day with Honour, Sophie would be close enough to look in on whenever she needed to. But she couldn't ask Logan to do something like that. "Logan, really—"
"Your mom has a weekend bag for Sophie, right? I can get Honour to pack one up for me from the stuff I left at my parents and we'll be all set. It won't take long to get someone to make up the extra rooms. "He could tell she was still holding back. "I wasn't planning on doing anything this weekend that either can't wait or can't be done from the Vineyard. Plus, I make a mean chicken soup."
"I just…" Rory began. "Why?"
"Sorry?"
"Why are you so willing to sacrifice your weekend to watch an eight-year-old that you just met?"
Logan sighed. Why did she have to be so stubborn? "Because you're a great friend that needs a break. You need a chance to relax, so here it is."
Rory chewed on her bottom lip, her resolve already fading. "Sophie's never been to Martha's Vineyard," she said softly.
"Even better! C'mon Rory." Logan felt he was close to victory and when her shoulders sagged he had to refrain from crowing.
"I'm buying our meals for the next two weeks, no arguments. It's the least I can do."
He was pretty sure he could find a way around that. ""I just have to let Honour know and call to make up the rooms, okay?"
Rory nodded. "I'll tell Sophie."
He started to walk away when Rory caught his hand and hugged him. His arms automatically wrapped around her tiny waist, pulling her against his body. Logan breathed her in, surprised by the way she just fit.
"Thank you, Logan," she murmured into his neck.
The way her breath fanned across his neck made him shiver. She's just a friend, he reminded himself. You're just helping out a friend. "You're more than welcome, Ace," he replied.
Reluctantly, Rory pulled back, resting her hands on his shoulders. "You're one in a million, Huntzberger."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering just too long to be friendly then speaking against her skin. "Go tell Sophie and figure out if we have to stop to pick things up. I'll be right back."
Hours later they were on their way to Martha's Vineyard after stopping to pick up Sophie's weekend bag from Stars Hollow. Logan had insisted he drive and since he still had her keys, there really wasn't much of an argument. It hadn't taken long after getting on the road to the Vineyard that Rory seemed to fall asleep. Sophie had passed out long before from the drugs in her system and pure exhaustion. Logan took the chance to make a call.
"Hi, Sheila, its Logan. I need to cancel all my meetings for Saturday and Monday."
"Certainly, Mr Huntzberger. Should there be a message about where they can reach you?"
Logan sighed. "I'll have my cell, but I need some personal time so the minimal of interruptions would be well appreciated."
"When should I tell them to expect you back?"
"Tuesday morning."
"I have you written down for dinner with… Cassandra. Would you like me to cancel that for you?"
"No, that I'll cancel myself. Thank you."
"Sure thing, Mr Huntzberger."
Though Rory's eyes were closed, she was not asleep. Sheila must be his assistant. He promised he had nothing to do this weekend. She paused to listen as he made another call.
"Cassandra, it's Logan…I know I'm supposed to see you tomorrow night, but something came up and I'm going to have to cancel… I know, I'm sorry…"
He didn't actually sound that apologetic to Rory's ears. Definitely not as apologetic as he had the few times he'd cancelled on her. Nothing was adding up in Rory's head. Why would he say he had nothing to do when he had meetings and a date? And Steph and Honour had all but assured her that Logan never cancelled dates unless it was a dire emergency. She couldn't think of any way that this situation constituted an emergency. When he hung up, Rory couldn't help herself. "I thought you said you didn't have anything important to do."
Logan glanced over at her, surprised to hear her voice. "You're awake."
"You told me it was okay. You said you didn't have anything to do."
"It's okay, Ace. I just shuffled things around, that's all."
"You cancelled a date. You never cancel dates except in emergencies, " Rory argued, her eyes still closed.
"This is an emergency. Your sanity is important."
"Logan…"
"Cassandra will get over it," Logan answered with finality.
Rory shook her head in disbelief, finally opening her eyes and locking them on Logan's profile. "Since when is an eight-year-old more important than you sex drive?"
"Since she came attached to you," he answered bluntly though without malice. He sighed as his phone rang. Saved by the bell.
"Huntz, my friend, my pal, where are you?" It was Colin.
"In the car," Logan answered. If there was one thing he had learned from the media industry it was feed only enough information to satisfy the question.
"Perfect! We're at the usual spot. Where did you run off to anyway? Your mother was livid."
"The hospital and I'm not joining you guys."
"Not joining us? You never miss a night of good alcohol, especially after having to deal with your parents," Colin protested.
Logan could hear Finn yelling loudly in the background and rolled his eyes. "I'm on my way to the Vineyard until late Monday," he finally admitted.
"Even better! I'll grab Finn and some of the other guys from the LDB and we'll make a crazy weekend out of it."
Logan knew Colin was probably well on his way to being drunk. "No, Colin," he said forcefully. "You're not going to meet me for an LDB party weekend. I'm doing a friend a favour and to do that I need the house completely quiet, okay? Stay away from the Vineyard, clear?"
Colin was silent for a moment. "Crystal."
Logan looked to Rory for a moment, her eyes closed again. "I'll call you when I'm back in town."
There was a pause. "She'd better be damned good if you're spending the whole weekend locked away in the Vineyard with her."
Logan growled and hung up with a snap.
"What's the growl about?"
"Colin won't mind his own business."
Rory snorted opening her eyes to watch his profile. "Stick-up-the-ass Colin?"
"Hey!" Logan said, his voice offended but his face breaking out into a grin at Rory's accurate description of his friend. "Colin knows how to have fun."
"I never said he didn't," Rory answered. "That doesn't mean he isn't a little anal."
Logan graced her with a true and genuine grin. "You've got him pegged."
Rory shrugged. "What can I say? But you're avoiding the conversation."
"I agreed with you about Colin's less than pleasant personality traits. How is that off topic?"
"Logan, you said there was nothing for you to do this weekend. You cancelled meetings, you cancelled a date."
"And if you had a mental breakdown next week because I didn't help you out this weekend I'd feel horrible. Take it, Ace and have a fun weekend with Honour, okay? No more questions."
Rory watched his profile as he drove through the night. She still didn't understand why he was forgoing everything in favour of babysitting a girl he'd just met and barely knew if he got along with. However, she knew Logan could be just as stubborn as she. "No more questions," she finally agreed softly.
Logan grinned.
I have no idea if that's the way hospitals work. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's not the way it would work. However, I'm playing around with it, so ha.
And I couldn't wait to put this up so any issues are mine because I didn't read it through thoroughly enough. For that, I apologize.
And I have to thank EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED! You guys have been really receptive of this in its AU-ness and the idea that its my first foray into the Gilmore Girls world. For the boost of confidence, I owe you guys the world.