She was woken the next morning by the sound of retching coming from the bathroom. She flopped her arm on his side of the bed, finding it empty and cold, meaning the noises were being made by him. It wasn't a surprise, but a part of her hoped Finn had snuck in again and had a hangover. She stood up, pulling on his shirt from the night before and making her way into the bathroom.
When she opened the door, she knew what she was supposed to see - Logan leaning over the toilet vomiting. What she didn't expect to see was the bright red that accompanied it. She pressed her palm to his back, feeling like she'd just touched a stove. This was not good, not good at all. There was no way she could get him downstairs without problems, so she did the one thing she could think off.
"911. What is your emergency?" the man said on the other line. She knelt next to him, his eyes drifting shut every couple minutes between the rounds of retching. His hair was matted to his forehead, skin pale.
"My fiance is vomiting blood," she said, voice on the brink of panic.
"Where are you located?" he then asked. She relayed the address, her hand cupping his cheek. "Has this ever happened before?"
"No, but he just finished his last round of chemo yesterday."
"Keep him awake, and stay on the line. Paramedics are on their way." She put the phone on speaker, setting it on the floor. He looked at her, dark rings under his eyes.
"Sorry we can't make it to Stars Hollow," he said softly. She chuckled a little bit. It was just like Logan to turn a situation like this into an apology for not visiting her mom.
"I don't care that we're not going to Stars Hollow. As long as you get better," she told him, kissing his cheek before he started heaving again. When he was done, he leaned his forehead on her shoulder, his body trembling. Softly, her fingers combed through his hair. They only parted when the heaving resumed, then returning to their positions.
It didn't take long for the ambulance to get there. She pulled on shorts as they started an IV and hooked him up to oxygen. She grabbed the phone and walked with them down to the ambulance while answering the usual questions: was he on any medications, what was his medical history, allergies, etc. She knew them all, responding without hesitation.
The ride to the hospital was uneventful - an outcome she was grateful for. She sat on one side of him as one of the paramedics sat on the other, monitoring his vitals. His blood pressure was low which was to be expected, his temperature was high which she had figured, but the part that worried her was his mind. He knew who he was and who she was but he didn't know the day. He didn't know the president, he didn't know what was happening, all things he'd known not even an hour before.
She sat in the waiting room, her phone still in her hand. She hadn't made the phone calls she needed to make, she just stared at the wall waiting to be told she could see him. She'd told them which doctor to call, told them to move him to a private room when he was admitted, told them she was his emergency contact. All this telling was one sided, they didn't know what was wrong yet and it worried her.
"Rory," Doctor Martinez said softly. She looked up at the man as he sat next to her. "His tests came back. The bleeding was caused by a tear in the esophagus most likely caused by the vomiting. The vomiting in turn was being caused by a bacterial infection." A bacterial infection? How had something so simple done so much damage? "With both the chemo and the radiation, his immune system was not working properly. Add that to the already compromised immune system caused by the cancer, it's honestly no shock. What's shocking is that this didn't happen much sooner."
"You're telling me that this was all caused by a minor illness?" she asked, still shocked by what he was telling her. He just nodded. "Where do we go from here?"
"We have him on antibiotics and an antiemetic to help with the vomiting. Now that we know for sure his immune system is compromised, we have to start taking more precautions. Start watching what he's eating - only the freshest foods, check the expirations on everything, avoid fast food. Keep away from crowds. At his next appointment, we're going to check his ANC to get an idea of how compromised his immune system actually is. He's going to be in here a few days, and we're going to do blood work around the clock to be able to compare next week." She muttered a thank you before he left. She continued to just sit there, not knowing what to do next. She could see him, that much was obvious. But she knew there were other things that she needed to do.
First, she called her mom and told her what was going on. The older Gilmore understood and would cover for Friday night dinner that night. Next, she called Colin and Finn to let them know their friend was back in the hospital. She knew having those two around would lift his spirits. Finally, she called Honor to let her know that Logan was back in the hospital. She was met with tears and promises that she'd be in New Haven within the hour. When she hung up the phone, she finally stood up and made her way to the nurses' station.
"I'm looking for Logan Huntzberger's room," she told the woman sitting at the desk. She was given directions, not met with hostility or claims she wasn't family. What she was met with at his room was another story.
"Mr. Huntzberger," she said softly. "What are you doing here?" This was the last thing she expected to see. Mitchum hadn't been to visit his son since the diagnosis. She wasn't even sure he'd spoken to Logan since he sent him home from London.
"I got a call from the hospital about an hour ago," he told her, "telling me that my son was admitted." She figured that was the case, but she still doubted it. "I know you think I'm hard on him, and I'll admit that I am. I haven't always been there, but we're on the same side here, Ms. Gilmore. We both want what's best for him, for him to pull through. He's still sleeping. Do you want to grab some coffee?" She agreed, allowing him to lead her to the cafeteria.
It hadn't been open long. She could tell by the atmosphere and the sluggishness of the kitchen staff - not to mention everything was still stocked, something she'd never seen. He let her sit as he went and grabbed two cups for them, handing her one as he sat.
"He was doing better," she said softly. "I know he doesn't want you to know what's going on, but he was doing better. I actually came home to him playing pool with Colin and Finn. It reminded me of everything before…Well, you know."
"I do know, Rory," Mitchum chimed in. "I was the first one to know of the diagnosis. I know it broke him, but he doesn't realize it broke so many others also." She looked at him confused. "You may not believe it, and he may not believe it, but I love my son."
"I know you do, but you have an odd way of showing it." There was a moment of silence between them. "He proposed. I don't know if he told you, or if Honor did, but he proposed. I said yes, not because of the situation. Not because of his money as Shira and Elias would like to believe. I said yes because I love him and want to show the world how much I love him. And I know you guys don't approve, and to an extent I can see why, but at the same time I wish you would let him be happy for once without interfering. Just let him be happy with the time he has left." She didn't meet his eye, didn't want to know what was painted on his face.
"How much time does he have left, Rory?" She glanced up at the man. This wasn't the same man who dragged Logan to London, the one who told her she didn't have it. This was a father worried for his son.
"They said he'd be lucky to make it three years, Mitchum. He's not going to be the heir you want him to be. If not for him or for me, but for you, let him be happy with his time. Be there for him and maybe you can have your son back before-" She didn't let herself finish the thought. "Thank you for the coffee, but I'm going to go check on Logan. Consider what I said."
As she walked away, she heard his voice. "Welcome to the family." She continued walking, letting the rest of the conversation be a battle for another day. Instead, she was focused on getting him better and getting him home.