Picking up the pieces.
Hey guys, I've found a new Editor so a massive thanks to the wonderful Liz for all her help. So chapters 8+ have been updated and beta'ed.
Many thanks to all the readers, reviewers for not abandoning this story.
Chapter 10: Finn and Logan talk.
Finn woke the next morning, wondering how to approach this meeting with Logan, the guy who was once his best friend. He was still so angry at him. How dare he let Rory down this way! She and the babies didn't deserve this.
Finn had been thinking a lot about Rory recently. He had always thought that she was special and really Finn never believed that Logan was good enough for her, never treated her as well as she deserved. This just proved that. He wondered what Logan wanted to see him for, they hadn't been in contact for a number of weeks; none of the gang had really.
The pair had agreed to meet in a pub in Hartford. Finn got there first. He picked a corner table and sat with his back to the wall. This gave him the opportunity to look out to the pub and therefore see when Logan finally approached. Finn had already made the executive decision, that he wasn't going to let Logan pressure him into talking about his little squirts. He finally arrived, 15 minutes late. The pair shook hands in greeting and after ordering drinks they sat back down. The silence between the boys was uncomfortable to say the least.
"How come you're in Hartford? Thought most of your business was in London or France these days" Finn asked, trying to start with a neutral topic.
"Family emergency." Logan replies, acting slightly guarded. "What about you? Last I heard you were travelling, with whatever girl you were with that week." Logan says. Finn shakes his head in response.
"I've been based in Hartford for a little while now." He responds "Have you seen any of the gang?" Finn asks and Logan sighs in response. Logan debated lying to him. He didn't know whether to tell Finn about Rory, would it just cause more hassle, would it be worth it. So Logan decided to lie and shook his head, indicating the negative. Finn rolled his eyes.
"Look mate." He starts. "I know about Rory" Logan's eyes narrow.
"She told you!" He snaps.
"I bumped into her after her appointment. She was in a right state!" Finn responds defensively, Logan's sudden aggression putting him on edge. This isn't how he expected this conversation to go. It was frustrating.
"Did she tell you how she won't let me be part of the baby's life?" Logan responds, hoping that his ex and his old friend didn't really catch up, or that the former was too ashamed, nervous, or sad to tell Finn the full story. He stared at Logan, feeling disgusted at his former so-called, best friend.
"Try again mate! I know the truth."
Logan laughed at Finn shaking his head.
"Cor, she's really stringing you along" Logan replies knowing that he's lying to himself and to Finn but not knowing how else to approach this. He feels sick to his stomach with all the lies but his mind won't let him blurt out the truth, that he abandoned Rory and their child.
"Don't talk about her that way! You're the arse for letting her down" Finn replies getting angry, so he took a couple of deep breaths, considering how he would approach the next part of the conversation.
"Listen mate." Finn says. "The rest of this conversation is going to go one of two ways. Either we are going to start again from the beginning with you telling me the truth, the whole truth. Or if you're going to keep lying to me I'm going to walk out that door right now." Finn snaps, deciding that an ultimatum it is the only way to handle Logan right now.
Logan sighed, running a hand through his hair. He took a large swig of his drink and his face paled, ready to face the truth of the matter.
"OK" Logan says holding up his hands in a surrender sign. "I didn't go to the first scan, I missed my opportunity." He says quietly. Finn nods, encouraging Logan to continue. "I debated it for ages mate. I really did, however these last couple of days I've begun to really regret the choice I made. Odette is beyond angry at me." Logan adds softly. Finn frowns slightly.
"So you regret it now because your new fling is angry at you."
"No I regret it because I realised the other day that I made a massive mistake by letting Mitchum rule my life again. It was because of him that I didn't turn up for Rory's appointment." Logan tells him. Finn shakes his head.
"What do you mean mate?" He asks, feeling like they may have finally found the root of the problem.
"I couldn't help but think what Mitchum would say, how much it would affect all the hardwork and effort and time I've put into the family business. And then of course I thought of how my mother would claim the situation to be a society scandal."
"So you gave up the chance to be a father! Of twins" Finn snaps out his anger finally hitting boiling point. Then he pales, slapping his hand across his mouth having just realised what he said.
"What?" Logan forehead wrinkles up, his attention suddenly focussed fully on Finn. "Twins?" he repeats.
Finn nods slowly, realising he couldn't get out of this now. "Yes mate. Rory is carrying twins" Cursing himself for doing this. Logan's jaw drops.
"Twins…" he says softly. "Oh God. Finn what am I going to do? How am I going to convince Rory to change her mind? What am I going to do?" He rambles on, holding his head in his hands in desperation. Finn can see the panic inLogan's eyes, the realisation that he has majorly messed up, but Finn can't help but roll his own eyes at the ceiling.
"She's well angry mate." He says chuckling softly. Logan nods.
"I can imagine. I've made a right fool of myself, haven't I? I have a generous fiancé who wasn't angry when I told her about Rory's pregnancy, who was willing to let me be a part of my kid's life, jeez my two kid's lives. She said she was willing to co-parent with me. Now I've gone and thrown it all away because I was afraid of my father." Logan leans his head on the table in defeat. Finn can see he is sincere about what he's just said and tries to calm down.
"Yes mate. You've screwed yourself over this time. What made you change your mind Logan? I know you, you always stuck to your convictions." Finn asks, sad for Rory that Logan came to this realisation far too late. Especially if Logan's fiancé was agreeable to all the terms set by Rory in the first place. Finn's brain began to flicker to life, trying to plan. Could he find a solution that would please and be good for everyone? He knew it could take some convincing but it was worth a try.
"Just a family emergency" Logan says, dismissing the thought. In his mind, that was not the most important thing right now, yes it was his father but this is his future. The most important thing right now, is trying to find a way to apologise to Rory…without upsetting Odette.
"Mate… Will you help me?" Logan asks sensitively obviously feeling vulnerable.
"Listen, Logan." Finn begins delicately. "Rory and me, we're really close now. I really care for her. I'm not going to help you, if it means hurting her. She was so upset at the thought of you not wanting to be involved. I will help you but it will be with Rory's and the twins best interests at heart. Do you understand that? I'm their uncle and I'm taking that role very seriously." Finn finishes strongly. Logan nods.
"I'll play it your way mate." Logan starts. "I get that this is going to be a long process and a slow road to a healthy relationship but I'll do whatever I need to. I need to make this right. I have just made the biggest mistake of my life and I own up to that." He says sincerely. Finn nods smiling for the first time in the conversation.
"First step" Finn says grabbing the paperwork that Rory gave him out of his pocket. He slid it across the table to Logan. "Rory needs this information to pass onto her doctor. It's going to help them make birth plans and know if they need to do any extra tests or anything." Finn informs him as Logan picks up the papers.
"I can do that." He responds as he pulls a pen out of his pocket and begins filling the information out. Finn goes to get another round of drinks and when he returns Logan passes him back the forms all completed. The boys continue to chat, catching up but being careful not to stray onto the topic of Rory or the babies again. Hours later, the boys parted ways. Logan passed Finn his card, with his new number as well as Odette's, just in case and Finn gave Logan his office number, with promises to catch up again soon and talk about the next step. Finn headed to Rory's house to pass on the paperwork and talk to her. He hoped he could get the first part of his plan into motion. Logan headed back to the hotel that he and Odette were booked into. He wanted to tell her the latest developments and get her advice. The last couple of days had been really stressful for Logan, and he just hoped that everything worked out, for all involved.