Logan Huntzberger hating waking up to surprises. Waking up to someone else yelling his - he couldn't even think of a proper description for his relationship with Rory right now - whatever's, name had to be the worst surprise wake up he'd had in a long time.
It had been more than a minute now, and she was still hugging, who ever that was. He'd finally had enough; he stood up and cleared his throat.
"Oh," she said quickly. "Logan, this is Jess."
Now he recognized the guy. It'd been a year and a half, and it was the middle of the night. The florescent lights of the hospital cast everything in a harsh glow.
He stuck out his hand politely. "Hi, Logan Huntzberger, nice to meet you." He wondered if he could pull off pretending not to remember the guy. Of course he remembered him, but he also remembered his appalling behavior from that night, and Rory's subsequent trip to see him in Philadelphia.
"We've met," Jess said with a sneer, extending his hand anyhow. So much for that plan.
"Right, right. Good to see you again. Sorry it's under such horrible circumstances," Logan said offering his condolences.
"Rory, what is this guy doing here? Luke said you two spilt up." Jess looked to Rory for an answer, completely ignoring Logan.
"We, uh, did. Logan's just here as a friend to support me," Rory explained. Logan winced, he didn't like being "here as a friend," not that he didn't want to support her, but he wanted to be more.
"Geez Rory, haven't you learned your lesson with him yet?" Jess asked.
"Hey!" Logan interjected, not liking at all where this seemed to be heading.
Jess turned toward Logan. "I'm here now Richie, you can go back to your castle. This is a family matter."
Logan took a deep breath and stepped backwards. Man he wanted to hit this guy. If things had gone differently he would be family, and not dismissible like this. He looked to Rory to find out what she wanted only to find her staring at Jess. In his just woken state, he couldn't tell if she wanted to kiss him or kill him.
"Just shut up Jess," Rory scolded. "I didn't even know Logan was coming."
"You know what, Jess is right, this is a family matter," Logan started bitterly. "I'll just see myself out. Call me if you need anything Ace." Before waiting for a response from either of them, he headed toward the door. He saw the smug look on Jess's face as he passed him, and slowed briefly considering actually taking a swing at the guy.
"Logan, wait!" Rory called before he could get to far. He stopped, but didn't bother to turn around. He heard the tap of her shoes, and felt the hand she placed on his shoulder when she reached him. "Don't go. Not yet, not like this."
"Rory," he started, not really knowing what to say. He didn't want to leave her, but he didn't know what good it would do if he stayed. He gave up trying to find the words and shrugged.
They remained silent for a minute, frozen in their positions, him facing the door, and her standing behind him with her hand on his shoulder.
"Please?" she asked finally.
He nodded and turned to face her. They walked together back toward Jess.
"Why do you even want this guy here, Rory?" Jess asked snottily when they reached him.
"I just do."
Logan stood beside her not knowing what to say. She didn't know what he could do for her either, but she knew she wanted him there, and that made his heart beat accelerate slightly.
"Fine. I'm going to go find a nurse and see what I can learn about Luke's condition," Jess said. He then turned and stalked back down the hall to the nurses' station leaving Logan and Rory alone again.
"Why do you want me to do here Rory?" Logan asked hesitantly. He didn't want to upset her, but he didn't want to get into a family mess either. He knew it would probably be worse when Lorelai showed up in the morning.
A look of hurt filled her face. "If you don't want to be here, then by all means feel free to leave," she told him sharply.
"Rory," he started, reaching out to grab her arm before she too could stalk down the hall. "I didn't mean it like that. I just, I don't want to cause any problems for you," he tried to explain.
"Oh," she mumbled. "I want you to…" she trailed off looking up and meeting his eyes. He held her gaze, but didn't let her off the hook. "Damn it Logan, I just want you here. I would never have called you and asked you to come here, but now that you're here, I don't want you to leave yet." She turned slightly red at this admission.
"Okay, I'll stay." He released his hold on her arm, and returned to the bench they were sleeping on before Jess's unpleasant arrival. She came and sat down beside him. "Do you want to try to get some more sleep?" he asked.
"No I'm good," she returned. "I think I'll go grab a cup of coffee though, do you want me to get you one?"
"Sure," he said resigned to being awake for the rest of the night. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. "Here. It's on me." He handed her a twenty.
"No way, you're here for my crisis, your coffee's on me Buster," she told him with a smile, then stood up and headed towards the cafeteria.
He watched her walk away, then leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. It was going to be a very long night.
**********
He wasn't sure how long his eyes were closed for, but he opened them when he heard footsteps coming in his direction. Jess. Great, and Rory wasn't back yet.
"What are you still doing here?" Jess asked with his ever-present sneer.
"Rory wants me to stay, so I'm staying," Logan told him firmly, trying not to sound too aggressive, as he really didn't want to start a fight. "Did you find out anything?" he asked trying to change the subject.
Jess leaned up against the wall across from the bench staring at him. "The night nurses don't know shit," he said roughly. "He's in a coma, and if I want to know anything more than that I have to wait for the doctor to come on shift in the morning."
"You want me to try to find something out?" Logan asked, offering a tentative olive branch. Jess gave him a dirty look. "No offense, but you're not exactly the nicest guy in the world."
"Fine Richie, go see what you can find out," Jess practically dared him.
Logan passed Rory on his way to the nurses' station. "You're not leaving are you?" she asked in a worried voice.
He wanted to scoff at her, he'd said he'd stay and he would. "I'm just going to see what kind of information I can get out of the nurses on Luke's condition. I'll be right back," he told her.
She nodded at him. "Well hurry back, if this fine brew gets cold it's completely undrinkable," she told him lifting up the coffee cups in her hands.
**********
He reached the nurses' station to find only one person present. A man. He was really hoping for a woman. With a woman he could probably charm information out of her, but with a man, he'd probably have to intimidate the information out of him. He waited patiently for the man to look up at him. A full two minutes later Logan finally cleared his throat to call attention to his presence.
"Can I help you sir?" the man asked tiredly.
"Yes, I'm just here to inquire into Luke Danes' condition," he said politely.
"And who are you sir?"
"I'm a friend of the family," he said trying to avoid having to give his name.
"Like I told the guy who just asked, Mr. Danes is in a coma, and if you want to know more you'll have to wait until tomorrow." The nurse looked down and returned his attention to his paper work.
"Can I see his chart?" Logan asked nicely. Between himself, Colin and Finn, they'd had numerous head injuries and hospital stays, he could surely decipher some information from the chart alone.
"Are you a doctor?" the nurse asked snidely.
"No, but-" before he could even finish his sentence the nurse cut him off.
"Well then no, you most certainly cannot see his chart."
"How about you call the on-call doctor then?" Logan said insistently.
The nurse was clearly irritated now. "And who should I say is calling? The family friend?"
"Logan Huntzberger," he said firmly. He watched as recognition overtook the man's face. He could practically see the gigantic sign that graced the entrance to the Huntzberger wing of the hospital appearing in the guy's mind.
"Huntz- Huntzberger?" he stuttered.
"Yes, Huntzberger. Do you need me to spell that for you? H-U-N-T-"
"No sir, not at all. Let me call the on-call doctor." He picked up the phone.
"If you'd rather not call the doctor you can just let me read the chart," Logan offered helpfully.
"Of course," the nurse said, suddenly helpful as could be. "If you need any help reading the doctor's messy handwriting, please let me know." He pulled a file from a stack behind him, and slid it across the counter to Logan.
"Thanks," Logan said as he flipped open the file and began reading the charts.
Ten minutes agonizing minutes later Logan closed the file and handed it back to the nurse that had been watching him eagerly the entire time. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" the man asked.
"No, I've got enough information for now," Logan told him. He turned on his heels and headed back to Rory, Jess, and his hopefully still warm cup of coffee.
**********
Rory and Jess were in deep conversation when Logan returned. They both looked up when he arrived, and Rory blushed furiously. They were talking about him.
"So Richie, did you learn anything?" Jess asked.
Rory looked at him eager for news, and held out a cup of coffee for him. "It shouldn't be frozen just yet."
"Yes I did as a matter fact," he said to Jess. He paused and took a sip of his coffee, mainly just to annoy Jess further. "Ugh, this coffee is horrible!"
"Sorry," Rory apologized. "I should have warned you more thoroughly."
He shrugged.
"Well, what did you learn?" Jess finally asked impatiently.
"They think the swelling in Luke's brain is causing his coma. It's decreased between scans taken Sunday night and the same scans taken Monday afternoon. They're planning to scan again in the morning. If the new scans show further decreased swelling and he still doesn't wake up, they're going to have to start looking for alternative reasons behind the coma," Logan explained. They both stared at him. "And it's Logan, NOT Richie."
"How did you get that information?" Jess questioned him.
Logan merely smiled at him.
"Was she cute?" Rory asked, clearly knowing Logan's methods of operations.
"No, HE most definitely was not cute."
She looked over at Jess, "He Huntzberger'd the poor guy," she said with a light laugh as though that explained everything.
"What the fuck does that mean?"
Logan shrugged. If Jess couldn't figure that out, he surely wouldn't stoop to explaining it.
Rory however was not of the same mind. "It means he used his name to get information."
Jess narrowed his eyes at Logan for a moment, still trying to process the information, then his whole face changed. The light bulb finally went off. "Your last name is Huntzberger?"
"Hence the term," Logan said coolly.
"Huntzberger Pub-" Jess started.
"Yes." Logan cut him off, not wanting to discuss it.
"Thanks for getting the information Logan," Rory said softly.
"Hey, I'm just here to help," he said.
Jess grunted in annoyance, then got up off the bench and pulled a book out of his back pocket. "I'm going to go get a cup of coffee," he said pointedly, clearly giving Rory a look for not bringing him a cup earlier.
"Sorry," she said completely unapologetically.
Logan chuckled and took Jess's place on the bench when he walked away. He set the coffee on the floor and ran his hands through his hair.
"I'm really glad you're here. I mean it," she told him.
"So am I."
"Did you get the poor nurse shaking in his white Easy Spirits?" she asked in a joking tone.
"Not really. It's been such a long time since I've Huntzberger'd anyone I think I forgot how to do it," he told her.
"Really?" she said incredulously.
"Really I forgot? Or really it's been a long time?" he asked for clarification.
"Yes." She wanted the answer to both questions. "But more the latter."
"Of course I didn't really forget, I'm just a little rusty," he told her in answer to the first part.
"And?" She clearly wasn't going to let him off the hook.
"The whole making it on my own thing wouldn't exactly work if I constantly dropped my daddy's name to get my way now would it?" Sarcasm coated his answer.
"Well," she started, "I guess not."
He looked down at his shoes and reached to pick up the coffee cup again. "This really is horrible coffee," he attempted to change the subject.
"For what it's worth, I am really proud of you," Rory told him. She put her hand on his arm patting it kindly.
"Thanks," he said. It came out snarky but he honestly meant it to be sincere. "So, what were you and Jess talking about when I showed up?"
"Oh you know, just catching up…" she said vaguely.
"Rory…" he shook his head, letting her know he wasn't buying it.
"It was nothing Logan, can we just drop it?"
"Fine. So what do you want to talk about?"
"Are you coming to my grandparents anniversary party?" she asked suddenly.
"Did you get my last email?"
"When did you send it?"
"Saturday night," he told her.
"Nope. I've been too stressed out to bother."
He was shocked. He'd never known anything to bother Rory to the point of not checking her email. "Well I sent you my answer there."
"Why don't you just tell me what it is?" she asked curiously.
"I don't want to go into it here," he stated simply but firmly hoping she'd just let it go.
She searched his face for a reason, but finally just nodded at him in acquiescence and let it drop. "You know, you can go to your hotel if you want," she told him after a few moments.
He looked down at his watch, it was almost 6 am, 3 am at home. "Since Jess is here would you come with me?"
"I can't."
"It's just sleep Rory. I promise." He sighed exasperatedly.
"No, it's not that. It's Jess. If something happens he won't call my mom, he hates her," she explained.
Logan understood. He'd never be that mean, but he could appreciate the sentiment. "Will you come with me after she gets here? You really need more than the few hours of sleep you got earlier," his voice was filled with concern.
"We'll see."
He could accept that. He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through emails. If he was stuck here, not sleeping, the least he could do was work. He had no desire to have a serious conversation with Rory in this setting.
Rory seemed to get the hint and resumed a novel she was reading earlier. When Jess returned thirty minutes later, they were both engrossed in their own things. Logan glanced up at the sound of footsteps but didn't say a word. Jess slid down to the floor on the opposite wall, and read his book.
Around 8:00 the wing of the hospital they were in began to come alive. More than the occasional nurse came by, and visitors who actually obeyed the rules began to arrive.
Logan stretched his arms and rolled his head from side to side. "I'm going to go find some drinkable coffee," he announced. "Do you want me to bring you any?"
"Yes please," Rory replied immediately.
"Jess?" Logan asked.
"Uh, sure. Black is fine from where ever you go. Thanks."
Logan walked down the hall to the elevator realizing that that was the first sentence he'd ever heard Jess speak that wasn't completely dripping with sarcasm or snark. Progress.
**********
He returned 20 minutes later with a full tray of large drip coffees knowing how quickly Rory could go through coffee. He also brought a box of pastries and an equally large latte for himself.
"My hero," she greeted him happily when he returned. She took a coffee from the tray, and tried to take a Danish from the box.
"Can you at least let me set the box down?" he asked teasingly. He set the box down on the bench, and handed Jess a cup of coffee.
"Thanks man."
"No problem." He smiled as Rory almost ripped the box open to get to the pastries. "I thought Colin and Finn were feeding you!" he exclaimed.
"They only bring healthy food," she told him with a snort that indicated that they should know better.
"How dare they!" he said in mock astonishment.
Jess laughed and Rory said, "I know, right?"
Soon the gravity of the situation hit them again and they all returned to their beverages. They were silent until they heard the click of high heels coming down the hall.
"Jess?" he heard a young voice ask.
Rory looked up. "Mom!"
Logan turned toward the footsteps to see Lorelai Gilmore, and a teenage girl he didn't recognize approaching them.
"April, hey!" Jess said in return. She flew at him almost knocking him over.
"Jess," Lorelai said coldly. "Glad you could make it."
For once Logan was grateful for Jess's presence, seemed like Lorelai hated him just as much as he hated her, so maybe Logan would look a little better by comparison.
Lorelai walked right by him to hug Rory. He stood perfectly still hoping she wouldn't notice him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in a tone just as cold as the one she used on Jess. But unlike Jess, Lorelai expected an answer from Logan.
"I, uh, came to make sure Rory was okay," he told her honestly. She couldn't get upset about that could she?
She opened her mouth to speak, but Rory cut her off. "Leave Logan alone Mom, he's being a good guy. Look, he brought coffee and pastries." She pointed down to the cups of coffee and the box of pastries.
Lorelai pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep exhale. "Kid…" she started.
Logan decided to speak up before Lorelai could go any further. "Ace, I'm going to go check into my hotel, take a shower, grab a nap and make a couple of phone calls. I'll be back in a few hours. Okay?" he said to her softly. He really didn't want to cause problems.
Her eyes met his, and she smiled hopefully because she understood what he was trying to do for her. "Can I come with you?" she asked quietly. "It's been… too long since I've had a shower."
"Course," Logan replied simply. He was ready to leave, but he wanted to give Rory a second to talk to Lorelai. "I'll go call Colin's car service."
As he walked away he could hear Lorelai's resigned sigh. Regardless of how she felt about Logan, she knew her daughter needed the rest.
**********
Despite the atrociousness of the situation, Logan Huntzberger couldn't help but smile. He was finally making progress.
**********
Christopher Hayden pulled into the parking lot of Hartford Memorial Hospital around 1:30 pm for his daily visit. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration; he never thought he'd be making daily trips to see Luke in the hospital. He sighed and fixed his hair in the rearview mirror before getting out of the car. He knew he wasn't really going to go see Luke, but that's what it was starting to feel like. He pulled a tray of coffees off the passenger seat, and two bags of tacos off the floor. Both Lorelai and Rory would probably be hungry. When he got out of the car, he beeped the doors locked, and headed towards the sixth floor, hoping today was better than yesterday.
**********
Yesterday
When Christopher arrived at the hospital on Monday afternoon everyone seemed to be on edge. Rory was anxiously pacing the hall, while Lorelai was just as anxiously sitting on the bench bouncing her legs to relieve some of the excess tension. April seemed to have taken after her father in his motionless state, as she sat rigidly beside him, holding his uninjured hand in a death grip.
"Dad!" Rory said when he approached, making a detour from her circuit and hugging him. "What are you doing here?"
"Just came to check on my girls and see if there was anything I could do to help," he replied lightly as he hugged her, hoping Lorelai didn't choose to go off on his word choice.
"I'm doing okay Dad, but could you try to get Mom out of here? She hasn't left the hospital since Saturday morning, and neither she nor April have slept at all," Rory whispered confidentially.
"Have you slept recently?" Christopher asked suspiciously.
Rory ducked her head slightly, "Well, no. But I'm more practiced in the art of pulling all nighters, I'm a recent college grad."
"Ror, I want you to get some sleep too," he told her.
"I will Dad, I promise, but Mom first." He nodded accepting her wishes. He released her from his hug and went to sit next to Lorelai on the bench.
"How's Luke?" he asked, knowing that was likely the best way to start.
She blinked twice and looked up at him. "Christopher?" She seemed surprised to see him. He wasn't sure why, as he was there Saturday night, and then stopped in to check on her Sunday morning before he and Gigi headed back to Boston.
"Nope, Santa Claus," he said with a grin.
"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"I came to make sure you were okay, and see if you needed anything."
"You didn't have to," she told him.
"I know. I wanted too. Plus, my daughter is here too," he reminded her. She looked up at a pacing Rory. "So, back to my original question, how's Luke?"
"He's…" she sighed, "no better, no worse."
"When was the last time you ate or slept Lore?"
"I've had coffee," she started weakly. She continued before he could scold her. "Rory grabbed some snacks from the vending machine a few hours ago, and I'll have plenty of time to sleep later, it's no big deal."
He could tell she aimed for a dismissive mark, but it fell far short. "What about April?" he asked.
"She hasn't left Luke's bedside except to use the bathroom since she arrived."
Christopher exhaled sharply, and said a quick silent prayer for the nastiness he was about to exude, hoping it didn't cause any damage and only reached his goal. "You and Rory are adults Lorelai, you can sustain yourself on coffee alone and not sleep if you want to. But that girl in there is a child. You need to suck it up, go in there, and drag her out. Go make her eat some real food and take her to get some sleep. It's not healthy."
Fire blazed in Lorelai Gilmore's eyes, and Christopher was afraid she may actually rip his head off. But almost as soon as the flames arrived, they disappeared. She looked at him sadly. "You're right. When did you become the authority on parenting?" she asked wryly.
"I'm not," he admitted. "I just have a clearer perspective on this one little thing."
She met his eyes, and he could see the realization dawn on her, he knew she'd just seen through his whole charade.
"Dirty pool Christopher. You've made your point though."
"So you'll take April to go get some food and some sleep? And maybe get some yourself while you're at it?" he asked hopefully.
"I will take April to get some food, and sleep. Not right now, but before the day is up, yes."
"Pinky swear?" he asked holding up his hand toward her in a childish manner.
"What, are you six Christopher?" she asked him incredulously. He merely flexed his little finger at her inviting her to link her own with his. She sighed, and finally locked her own pinky with his. He smiled at her and she returned his smile with a small one of her own.
"You remember the consequences of breaking a pinky promise don't you?" he asked casually as he got up off the bench.
"Christopher!" she exclaimed. "You wouldn't!"
"You don't really want to find out do you?" She scowled at him. "Is there anything you need me to do for you while I'm here?"
"No. I think you've done enough," she said coolly.
"You need anything before I go, Kid?" he asked Rory.
"You're leaving so soon?"
Lorelai was giving him dirty looks, he could tell she wasn't truly upset, but she wasn't happy with him either. "Yeah I think so. Do you want me to get you some real food before I go?"
"Colin and Finn will be here soon, I'll be okay… but if you're coming back around this time tomorrow do you think you could bring lunch?" she asked hopefully.
"Anything for you." He hugged her once again and kissed her on top of the head. "Goodbye Lorelai," he called waggling his pinky at her in reminder. She glowered at him and he chuckled lightly as he left the hall.
**********
He entered the hallway to Luke's room to find Lorelai again sitting on the bench, and some dark haired guy leaned up against he opposite wall with a book.
"Hey," he said lightly when he reached her.
"Christopher," she said in a tone that wasn't exactly frigid, but not exactly warm in greeting.
"I brought you some coffee and a couple bags of tacos," he said, setting them down beside her.
Her eyes lit up at the mention of coffee. "Thanks." He took a second to look at her, she had changed her clothes and the dark circles around her eyes seemed to have dissipated slightly.
"So…" he started, then flexed his little finger meaningfully.
"Yes, Chris, I took April to get some real food and some sleep," she sighed.
"I'm glad."
"Me too," she said quietly.
"So tacos?" he asked, gesturing to the bag. "They're from the place by Yale that you and Rory like."
"I suppose," she said with a small smile opening the gigantic bag. "Jess, you want a taco?"
The guy sitting on the floor looked up, "Uh, that's okay," he hesitantly declined.
"I brought plenty," Christopher responded politely as he wracked his brain trying to figure out who this guy was.
"He really did Jess," Lorelai assured him.
"Okay." He stood up and walked over to the bag pulling out a taco.
"Chris this is Jess Mariano, Luke's nephew," she said by way of introduction. "Jess, this is Christopher Hayden, Rory's dad."
Jess stuck out his hand to shake Chris's and Chris suddenly realized who the guy was. He shook Jess's hand briefly, then looked at Lorelai. "He's the one who broke her arm!"
"It was an accident!" Jess exclaimed.
At the same time Lorelai spoke, "It was a long time ago Chris, let it go."
He nodded, and took a seat next to Lorelai, taking a coffee from the tray. "Help yourself to a coffee if you want Jess."
"Uh thanks," Jess mumbled with his mouth full of taco.
"So speaking of Rory, where is she?" he asked.
Lorelai groaned and Jess snickered. "Richie showed up and dragged her off to go take a shower and get some sleep," Jess explained.
"Richie?" Christopher repeated, having no clue who that was.
"Logan, Chris, Logan showed up," Lorelai told him.
"I thought Logan was in California," Christopher said, honestly confused.
"Apparently his friends that have been hanging out here and taking care of Rory called him because they thought she needed him," Lorelai said in an annoyed tone.
"Sounds like they made the right call."
"What?" Lorelai snapped.
"He got her to leave the hospital, and get some rest, Lore. Even you have to admit she needed it."
"I guess," she replied.
"Sometimes we all need someone a little older and a little wiser to come in and take charge for a minute," he said in a teasing tone, putting his arm around Lorelai's shoulder and squeezing her lightly reminding her about yesterday.
She shot him a quick dirty look, then laid her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for yesterday Christopher. You were right," she told him softly. "But enjoy this while it lasts, it may be the only time it ever happens for you." She then sat back up and shrugged out from under his arm.
"Do I smell tacos?" a voice came from down the hall.
"Hey Ror," Christopher called back at his daughter, as she and Logan headed toward them at a slightly quickened pace.
"Gimme gimme gimme," Rory said when she reached the group. Jess laughed and held up the bag for her.
"Nice to see you again Logan," Christopher said extending his hand.
"You too Mr. Hayden," Logan replied shaking his hand.
"Please, call me Christopher."
"Jess, why don't you go drag April out here for some tacos," Lorelai suggested.
Jess nodded, and went to get April. Soon the six of them were gathered around the tray of coffees and bags of tacos, all eating in silence. Christopher discreetly checked out Rory and Logan. Rory looked slightly rested, she too was wearing different clothes, and her hair was still damp. Logan was standing close to her, but not touching her.
A cough from behind made all of them look up. "I have the results of Mr. Danes' brain scan from this morning," he said calmly.
"And?" April asked eagerly.
"The swelling has gone down almost completely," he explained. The group around him started smiling. "He could wake up at any time, but if he doesn't wake up in the next twelve hours, we'll know that something else is causing his coma, and we'll have to start trying to find out what it is."
"Can't you start looking for whatever it is now?" April asked.
"I'm sorry, but no. We have to give the swelling time to counteract its own effects."
They all nodded somberly and the doctor headed back down the hall.
Lorelai's eyes welled up with tears, and Christopher leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Have you been in to see him at all yet?" She shook her head in response. "You need to."
"I can't," she whispered back. "It's my fault."
Christopher sighed and grabbed her hand. He dragged her across the hall and opened the door to Luke's room. He entered the room and pulled her in behind him, leaving everyone else in the hall staring after them. He shut the door firmly behind her.
"Lorelai, talk to him," he stressed.
"Why? He can't hear me, how does it help?" she argued.
"You don't know that, there are plenty of studies done on coma patients, several show that they can hear people depending on the type of the coma. But this isn't for him, it's for you. You need to get it all off your chest."
She lowered her eyes, and he knew she knew he was right. He walked towards the door but she called out to him. "Stay with me please?"
He nodded and went to stand next to her. She grasped his hand and began to speak. "Hey Luke it's me…"
Christopher tried to block it all out. He didn't want to hear what she had to say. How the hell did he end up here? He was moral support for the love of his life, while she confessed her feelings to her ex-fiance. What kind of sick twisted life was he living? He berated himself for his inability to let her go.
"… so I'm sorry. Please wake up," she said in closing. Then she promptly burst into tears, and threw herself into Christopher's arms.
He held her close and rubbed her back as he had always done. "Feel better?" he asked quietly.
"A little, yeah." She clung to him tighter still drenching his dress shirt in tears. "I need to go grab something, I'll be right back." She suddenly freed herself from his arms. He started to follow her out the door and she spun around. "Wait here please? If you're not in here, I may not be able to come back in," she pleaded with him. "I'll only be a minute," she promised.
He nodded and she left the room. He plopped himself down in the chair beside Luke's bed. A minute for Lorelai Gilmore was never actually a minute. He remembered once when they were teenagers and she told him to wait for 'just a minute' and it was two and a half hours. "Hey Luke," he said suddenly, deciding to unburden himself since he was there. "I know we're not even friends or anything, but I just wanted to say thank you and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for, well, you know what I'm sorry for. But thank you, for taking care of my girls, and looking after my daughter growing up. I owe you more than I can ever repay. There was a time when I thought I would wish this upon you, to be out of the picture and all, but not now. Please wake up, your family needs you. They're all here, Jess, April, Rory and Lorelai. Please, wake up," Christopher finished softly just as the door reopened and Lorelai reentered, he stood up immediately.
"I brought his hat," she said. She walked over and placed it on the table next to him. "I'm sure he'll want it as soon as he wakes up." She sniffled again and Christopher pulled her back into a hug.
They stood like that for a few minutes. Christopher facing Luke's bed, and Lorelai burying herself in his shoulder crying. Christopher finally closed his eyes and rest his own head on Lorelai's.
"What the hell are you doing here?" a low gravelly voice asked from the bed.
Christopher looked over to the bed to see a very pissed off Luke Danes staring at him.
Lorelai let go of Christopher immediately and spun around. "Luke?" she asked. He headed towards the door. "Chris, wait, don't go." She reached out and grabbed his hand to stop him.
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Despite the atrociousness of the situation, Christopher Hayden couldn't help but smile. The situation was more confusing than ever, but at least he knew she wanted him there.
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AN: I know, I know, another long time. I swear I'll be better soon. Finals are done in two weeks, then I'm on vacay for almost a month!
I don't own Gilmore Girls. If you're still reading, I'd love to know what you think!
S