Logan woke up that morning, feeling a bit more optimistic about his future. He wasn't the only one feeling lost without his better half. He wasn't the only one thinking of what could have been, he wasn't the only one hurting, and that feeling, that he wasn't alone, that made him feel better. Logan was surprised to see Rory show up at his door, but he was even more surprised with how she looked. Granted, the transcontinental flight would have had an effect but what he saw went deeper than that. He didn't see the same glimmer in her eyes, that glimmer that made him want to do everything in his power to keep it there. He didn't hear the same infectious enthusiasm in her voice; instead it was replaced with desperation and sorrow. More importantly, he didn't feel the Rory that he knew was the one standing in that hallway. What was even worse was that he didn't know if that old Rory could come back, or even if he would like to see her back.
It wasn't as if Logan would ever want Rory to feel broken for the rest of her life, no, as hurt as he was he would never wish that upon anyone, especially Rory. He just wasn't sure if the old Rory, the one that ran, the one that broke up with him over the phone, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see that one again. He found the idea of a Rory that fought for what she wanted, that wasn't scared to lay out all on the line and go for it appealing and incredibly sexy. Logan liked knowing that she was now playing the role of the chaser, he just didn't know if he could evade her, or if he wanted to.
Logan still loved Rory; he tried forgetting her, tried replacing her with work, and while work was now a big part of his life, and it wasn't the same as having Rory. Work would never leave him though; it was always going to be there. It was steady, it was constant, and it was dependable. The events of September shattered this image with Rory. Logan didn't know if Rory could be trusted again. He didn't know if he could put himself out there as much as he did in the past for her, because he didn't want to face another phone call. As Logan got into the car, off to the office for another day at work, a single thought ran through his mind: How many times could he put himself out there, before there's nothing left to put out?
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A knock on Logan's office door interrupted him from a solitary late lunch, and from thoughts on a particular guest at the London Hyatt. "Come in," he said.
The employee opened the door and stood just steps inside the office. Logan looked at him quizzically, grinned and told him: "Jason, you know you can come closer. I'm not going to bite, and I did shower so I'm spring time fresh."
The employee, the same Jason Sohen that Logan had scolded just weeks before, was puzzled but slowly stepped forward towards Logan's desk. Jason took a few seconds before he began speaking, "I just got a call from the record archive, and those files you asked for aren't going to be ready by today. Noon tomorrow they said."
Logan looked at Jason, who was sweating profusely, and wondered as to why. His first few months in London, Jason and him had developed a nice camaraderie, but now Logan sensed nothing. Logan remembered the last few dialogues between the two and couldn't blame Jason for his nerves. "Relax Jason; you aren't the one responsible for the hold up. You can stop sweating now," Logan started to chuckle, and Jason began to laugh as well, but a nervous one, not sure of his footing in front of his boss. "So tomorrow they'll be ready?" Logan asked.
"Yes, definitely," something on Logan's computer caught Jason's eye, "is that…are you playing Freecell Mr. Huntzberger?"
"Damn, you caught me. I just needed to take a break from the work of this morning and I thought this would prove to be a good way to decompress. Don't tell my father," Logan asked in a jovial manner.
"Okay," Jason smiled, still not sure of what had gotten into Logan, but not nervous anymore, "if you won't tell Richard it was me who put his stapler in the jello," both shared a laugh at this. "Do you need me for anything else?" Jason asked.
"Nope, I'm good. Thanks for the info."
Jason was just about to leave the office, when he turned back to see Logan, now moving the mouse around to position the digital cards, "Mr. Huntzberger?" Logan looked up, "You seem," he paused not sure where he stood and not wanting to draw his boss's ire, "you seem happier, today, I mean. It's a good thing." Jason panicked, not liking how that came out and quickly left.
Logan just grinned and went back to his game, confirming what Jason said to Logan's empty office, "Yeah it is a good thing."
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It was 8 p.m. before Logan got off the elevator on his floor in his apartment building. It was a good day at the office, it was less tense than before, making it more productive, and people smiled at him, a departure from their recent cowering and shuffling by him. What was standing by his door made him smile, but he made sure to keep that internal, his face remained expressionless, not ready to show any feelings.
"Do you always get home this early?" Rory asked as he came to the door.
"Not usually, but this month is kind of slow," he didn't look at her, needing more time to subdue his happiness and fumbled for his key.
"So how was work?" Rory hesitantly asked.
Logan sighed, opened the door, dropped his suitcase by the door and turned around back to face Rory, "It was fine."
"So, this London weather is different, does it always seem this gloomy." Rory tried desperately to make small talk.
"Rory, what are you doing?" Logan asked, not comfortable with seeing Rory this out of her element.
"Look Logan, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know how to do this. Make awkward small talk with someone I hurt. I'm just trying to talk to you. Trying anything, I want what we had back again, and I now it's not going to be easy. But I've got to try something, and I'm not going to give up just because I get a few doors slammed in my face."
Logan felt better upon having Rory say that, her awkwardness and her persistence was welcomed. He, too, was feeling uncomfortable with this conversation. Logan wanted the tangible feeling of unease to be over, but he couldn't do it how Rory wanted, so he went down another avenue.
"So, how long are you staying in London for Rory?"
The sudden shift caught Rory off guard for a moment, but she recovered quickly, "I'm in town for a month, then who knows. School starts up again, so I'm probably going to go back for that, but who knows."
"I'm sure you'll get bored of London in a week or two," Logan said sounding defeated.
Rory caught the subtext in that Logan wasn't really talking about the city, "I'm sure London has enough to offer, so that I could spend my entire life here and never get bored."
Logan's eyes grew large at the implication, and decided that in order for his expressionless face to remain in tact, he needed to end this talk immediately, "I'm willing to bet otherwise," Logan's tone gave off a hint of sadness. "Anyway, I have some more work to do, good night Rory," Logan nodded his head at her and stepped into his apartment, once again leaving Rory behind a closed door.
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Author's Note: Sorry for the shorter chapter, I just wanted to get it up quickly so that I can start working on future ones which I ensure you fine readers will be larger and more significant. It won't be long until you know one way or another what's going to happen between the two of them. As always, reviews are appreciated.