A/N: Thanks, as always, to those who take the time to leave a review. Just when you thought you were in the safety of the Literati zone, huh? Yeah, I know, what's with the blond dick already? Well, read on to find out, fair reader folk ;)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 14
"Logan?! What are you doing here?"
Rory had no idea what to think as her ex took it upon himself to go striding into the bedroom. He wasn't stupid, he had to know just exactly what he had interrupted, though he didn't seem to care much. Rory just couldn't imagine why he had even come to find her in Philly. He had to have gone to Stars Hollow first and got the information from her mom, but why?
"Well, this is all very... cosy," he said, a look on his face that proved he was completely underwhelmed by the place. "Your standards really vary, huh, Ace?"
He was being an ass, something Logan Huntzberger excelled at when he put his mind to it. Sometimes, it was easy to forget, when he was being so kind and sweet, something he was equally capable of being if he wanted to. Right now, he was clearly happier being a jerk, which was just the way Jess recalled him, Rory was certain.
"No," she said quickly, her hand on his chest when he looked ready to knock Logan into next Thursday just for existing. "Please don't," she urged him, when he turned incredulous eyes on her.
"Hey, relax," said Logan, though whether he was talking to Jess or her, Rory wasn't sure. "I didn't come here to start a fight. I just need a little information, that's all. A friendly chat, what could be better?"
As if he didn't know, Rory thought, watching him grin with all the false charm of a Huntzberger with an agenda. To think that there were times in her life when she really thought Logan was the guy for her. Even when he was leading her astray. Even when he was engaged to another woman. God, she had been such a fool!
Since Matthew was gone, Jess closed the door with a thump, then once again looked at Logan as if he could happily dismember him or similar. Rory was pretty sure she could at least slap Logan's face for his behaviour so far, but she would refrain. She was still curious as to why the hell he chased her all the way to Philly like this.
"What are you doing here, Logan?" she tried again, watching him pull up a chair from the corner and park himself in it, one foot propped on the opposite knee. "Clearly, you've been to Stars Hollow to see me, and my mom must have told you I was here. You couldn't just wait for me to come home, or call me, or something? What can you even have to say to me, after everything?"
"I heard about the baby," he said sharply, eyes straying to her middle. "You know how it is, Ace. The blue blood grapevine likes to work overtime on these things."
Rory nodded because what he said made sense - her grandmother knew about the baby which meant the Huntzbergers would've heard on the usual gossip circuit somehow - but her frown remained in place.
"So, what? You came here to congratulate me?" she asked, completely bemused by the concept but unable to come up with any other explanation, except one. "Oh, no."
Her heart dropped along with her stomach as she realised what Logan thought. Glancing at Jess, she saw that he had figured it out too. It was just one more reason for him to look less than happy about a guy he once referred to as 'the blond dick from Yale' sitting in his home and grinning at him. Not that Logan was smiling anymore. He looked almost too serious, but then, Rory was pretty sure she did too.
"If you got the full story, Logan, then you know that Jess is the father of this baby," she told him succinctly, one hand going absently to the swell of her stomach as she felt Jess' arm go protectively around her shoulders too - she liked that.
"Yes, that is what I heard, but then, I guess you would have to say that-"
"She's not just saying that, asshole," Jess cut in swiftly, eyes like thunder as Rory glanced at him. "The kid is mine. Mine and Rory's. Not a damn thing to do with you."
"Wow, he's well-trained, Ace," said Logan with a smile she really did just want to slap from his face. "Come on, you have to admit the timing isn't exactly proving anything. From what I hear, the last time we were together-"
"I was already pregnant then," she told him, shaking her head. "Not by much and I didn't know, at least, not until later, but Logan, believe me, this is not your baby. No offence, but I'm glad about it too."
She really meant what she said. There was a time when she might have considered it. When the idea of being married to Logan, with kids and a house and the whole nine yards, might actually have appealed, but that was a long time ago. This last time, when they were having their affair, she never really expected it to go anywhere. If they were supposed to end up together, it would have happened long before. Maybe she always knew in her heart that he wasn't the one. If he had been, she might have accepted the first proposal he made to her, instead of handing back the ring on the day of her Yale graduation.
"You expect me to just take your word on this, Ace?"
She had no control over the loud scoffing sound that came from her mouth then. Rory was incredulous, completely without words, which was no mean feat when it came to the Gilmores. Thankfully, Jess was there to pick up the slack.
"You're leaving," he said, letting go of Rory to approach Logan, who was up from the chair within a second. "You asked your questions, you got your answers, so you're leaving. Bye-bye now, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out," he said, giving Logan a none-too-friendly shove in that general direction.
"Hey, I have a right to know if that's my kid," he argued crossly. "Now, you can say whatever the hell you want, but I know there's a chance."
"There's no chance," said Rory, just as angry by now. "But since you clearly don't believe me, come back after the baby's born, pay for your own DNA test, and then see the truth in black-and-white. Waste your time and money and see if I care, Logan, because I am telling you now that this baby is mine and Jess', not yours."
She hadn't realised quite how loud she was yelling until it was over. Logan looked surprised. Maybe shell-shocked would be a better description actually. Behind him a step, Jess looked almost proud. Even if she didn't need that, Rory liked it all the same. She wasn't quite aware that it had made her smile until she noticed the look on Logan's face as he glanced between her and Jess.
"So, this is why we had to be over? So you could be with him?"
"No." Rory shook her head. "We were always going to be over, Logan, no matter what. Jess and me, that was after."
"After, really?" he challenged her with a look, not that she supposed she could blame him, after all the trouble she took to explain how the baby was Jess' and not his own.
"I don't have to explain myself to you," she said crossly, arms now folded across her chest, "but yes, after. Obviously, there was one night before, but we actually got back together after. Not that this is any of your business because, like I said, it's not even your kid!" she told him crossly.
Logan's eyes remained on her a few beats more, almost as if he was looking for a sign she was lying, or maybe one that she was telling the truth. Since it would be impossible to find the former, she hoped he would believe the latter. Rory knew that wasn't going to happen when he muttered as he swept out; "We'll see."
The door slammed in Logan's wake and Rory let out a frustrated sound. Of all the people to show up when she and Jess had just got things figured out, she never could have predicted her ex. She also never would have dreamed he might think he was the father of her baby, or moreover that he wouldn't believe her when she said as much.
Looking up at Jess, she was half-afraid that everything they had built and promised in the last few hours might just be ruined.
"Please tell me that you still believe me."
"I do," he promised without pause.
"No doubts?" she asked, stepping towards him as he did the same.
"Not one," he said, taking her hands in both of her own. "You okay?"
"I'm okay," she assured him, pushing closer into the circle of his arms. "I love you."
"I love you," he replied in kind. "Nothing's changed, Rory. So, your ex is a dick, we knew that already," he said, smirking some. "Nothing with us has changed."
"Good to know." Rory smiled, kissing his lips.
"I am so, so sorry."
"Mom, you really have to stop apologising," Rory insisted, and not for the first time.
She had been home from Philadelphia for hours now and already she was sure Lorelai had said she was sorry at least forty times for letting Logan know where to find her. It hadn't been deliberate, that much was clear. She was as floored by Rory's ex showing up in the Hollow as Rory herself had been when he appeared at Truncheon.
"But I feel bad." Lorelai sighed. "Just when you're getting things figured out, you know, with Jess, but also with your life in general, and then Huntzberger shows up and I can't even make a good job of keeping him away from you."
"It's really not your job to keep him away from me," Rory assured her, taking a long sip of her decaf coffee and trying not to wince - it just wasn't the same as the real thing.
"I'm your mother."
"Yes, I know that, but I'm well on the way to being a mother myself now, and also, I've been an adult for quite a while anyway. I love that you look out for me still, but seriously, you couldn't have stopped Logan from finding me and you don't have to feel bad that he did."
"That makes it sound like you were in hiding." Lorelai made a face from the other side of the kitchen table. "You haven't been hiding from him, right?"
"Not at all." Rory shrugged easily. "I didn't know he was looking for me, so I didn't need to hide. Not that I would have anyway. After we broke up this last time, I haven't given him all that much thought, to be honest, especially not with everything else going on. It was such a shock when he just showed up in Philly, and I really cannot believe that he thinks this baby might be his."
"No offence, hon, but the dates are a little close, right?" said Lorelai awkwardly, hiding her face in her coffee mug the very next second.
"Not that close," Rory said definitely. "Trust me, I know Jess is the father. I never would've-"
"Hey, hey, relax, I know," her mom insisted, reaching to squeeze her arm comfortingly. "I know you, babe, and if you say this is Jess' kid, then it is. God knows why Logan thinks you would lie. I mean, come on, it's you we're talking about here."
Rory wished she could so easily agree with what her mom said, but it was tough. Of course, it was true that Rory would never lie to anyone about the paternity of her child, or anything else so important. At the same time, she was well aware that she wasn't so angelic as her mom would like to paint her sometimes. After all, her latest relationship with Logan had been an affair behind the backs of both Odette and Paul. Plus, there was the Wookie, and of course, there was Jess.
Heaving a sigh, Rory shook her head clear of thoughts and sipped at her coffee one more time. There was no point worrying about any of that now. Her focus needed to be on the present and the future. At least thinking about that made her smile.
"Anyway, Logan is gone for now. If he wants to come back and get a DNA test done after the baby is born, I told him he could. I have nothing to worry about there, and in the meantime, me and Jess are... well, we're together, I guess. Obviously, it's complicated. Me here, him there, the baby to consider, but we want to make it work. That has to count for something, right?"
"It counts for a lot, sweets," Lorelai assured her with a smile, "and you know, as much as I probably wouldn't have been thrilled at the idea of you and Jess back together most of the time before, now is different, and I don't just mean because of the whole having a kid together thing. You know as well as I do, just because two people make a baby doesn't necessarily mean they should be together forever and live happily ever after."
She was talking mostly about her and Christopher, Rory knew, but it was probably true for a lot of people, sadly. Not so with her and Jess, of course, something that it seemed her mom was now ready to accept.
"You and Jess, my God, I hated that you liked each other back when you were young, but I also knew it was inevitable," she admitted, shaking her head slightly. "He just sparked something in you, and out of everybody in this crazy town, nobody seemed to matter to him but you. I didn't want it to happen but, like I said, I knew it would. Even when it was over, I wondered if maybe, someday, you two were going to find your way back to each other. The more he changed and grew up and bettered himself, the less I minded that it might."
"And now it has." Rory smiled. "And I feel like I'm the one running to catch up. Jess has come so far, Mom. I know he doesn't mean to, but there are times when I feel so completely lacking around him. It's stupid, I know, but I can't help it."
"Hey, you're fine. Better than fine," Lorelai insisted with a look. "You went through a rough patch, but you're coming out on top now. Besides, I can't believe that Jess ever pulls the superior thing over you at all. If he tried, I'd kick his ass."
Rory laughed at that. "You know he never would. I just told you that he doesn't."
"Well, that's good."
"It is good." Rory smiled. "Everything with me and Jess is good right now. I never expected this to happen, not any of it. Not the baby or us getting back together, and neither of us has any idea how we're going to make it work, between my being here and him having Truncheon to consider and his whole life in Philly, plus this kid we're having..." she trailed off and heaved a sigh.
"Hey, if it's meant to be," said Lorelai, her hand on Rory's arm, "and after all this, I'm guessing it probably is, then you'll find a way. Love always finds a way. I mean, look at me and Luke," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "At one time or another, just about everything has gotten in our way, but we made it in the end."
"I know you did." Rory smiled. "And I'm so happy for you, Mom. If me and Jess can be half as happy as you and Luke, then I know we'll be just fine."
That made Lorelai smile too, as she moved to reach out and hug Rory close.
For the first time in a while, it seemed as if things really could work out for the best. Rory wasn't naive enough to believe it would be all plain sailing, but life was getting better, as the days and weeks rolled by. She was feeling positive again, in a way she hadn't for quite a while, and it felt good. She planned to hang onto that and never let it go.
To Be Continued...
