AN: As a comment to one of your questions: The pivotal moment for Logan to realize he wanted to do things differently was when he found out about the neglect Odette had caused. To me that seemed like enough, like a real shock that something he wasn't going was genuinely influencing his kids.

Chapter 36

"Aw, this is so sweet. But you really didn't have to, you know that, right?" Rory hummed as Logan had dropped by in the evening just after making it back home. He'd just seconds ago handed Rory the bag containing salsa verde, mole and cocadas, having thought which of the items were to actually travel more or less well. The scent was delicious nevertheless.

"And yet I wanted to," Logan replied, after giving her a lingering kiss.

"Still, I'm feeling spoiled," Rory replied, flirtingly and moved onwards to her dining room, aiming to dig right in.

"Technically it was Liam's idea," Logan confessed.

"Really?" Rory exclaimed with some surprise.

"Well he kind of helped me dodge a rather 'sticky' realtor by pointing out publicly how I ought to bring you back some food and take you on some romantic outing," Logan replied.

"Really?" Rory exclaimed with even more surprise in her tone.

"I guess this means he's okay with us," Logan replied.

Rory hadn't really wanted to think about this as needing the approval of Logan's kids, as she didn't want things to be conditional on something like that and after all they were all just children, even if they tended to think of themselves as adults in their age.

"I guess that's good," Rory commented tentatively, taking two plates without asking and spreading the dish between the two plates.

This wasn't the first time Logan had observed this behavior of eating way too much and rarely asking whether he wanted any, but just assuming. At this point he just found it amusing, even though being around her he was seriously going to have to make sure he didn't forget about his workout routines.

"So, you found him a place to live? Despite the 'sticky' realtor?" Rory said, making a face at the 'sticky', wondering what exactly had he meant earlier. She assumed it was nothing good, and either way how he'd dealt with it sounded a little flattering to her. But she was beyond getting stuck on some small detail and asking about it unless he wanted to share.

"Yeah, we did," Logan exhaled. "And to my surprise, he's all for off campus living," he added.

"Well that's not so bad, is it? I lived off campus my last year, so did you if I remember correctly," Rory replied, remembering the tiny detail about Logan from one of their late-night stories.

"Yeah, I know. But that's no way to make friends, experience the college spirit," Logan replied, gesturing with his hands, clearly showing how in his mind a college experience was about so much more about eat-sleep-study.

"You sound like my grandfather," Rory chuckled, taking the two plates out onto the porch so they could enjoy the evening view.

"Yeah, and it turns out he had these whole big plans about exchange studies and how his priorities are not really friends and connections," Logan shared.

"Doesn't sound a lot like you?" Rory concluded.

"Doesn't sound like Liam to me, but do I even know him?" Logan discussed, glancing briefly towards his own house to make sure no-one was overhearing them speak.

"Well sounds like you know him a little better than you did before today at least. That's got to account for something, right?" Rory discussed, taking a bite of her salsa.

"Yeah, I guess," Logan began but corrected his tone, feeling it hadn't come out right. "I mean, absolutely," Logan agreed on second thought. It was better late than never, though he wasn't entirely sure if late was enough.

"You know just because he's going off to college, doesn't mean you'll stop having a relationship with him," Rory said, trying to understand what he was feeling.

"I tried to assure him of that too. You know, whatever happens I'd be there to hear or help him out. I'm just not sure if that's enough," Logan exhaled, tasting a bite of her salsa.

"You could just, I don't know… set a Friday night dinner and expect the kids to be there unless they have a good reason, or establish some holiday tradition that creates a possibility for all four of you to be in the same place at the same time. Christmas or 4th of July, whatever works for you," Rory suggested, having never even considered an arrangement like her grandmother's had been would be a solution to anything ever.

"It's not like we haven't celebrated holidays before," Logan replied, Rory's solution seeming all too naive to him despite knowing she meant well.

"Yeah, I mean anyone can come together and have a lot of presents, which I assume you've done. But it's the question of whether you are able to make it meaningful. Is it about coming together and being dysfunctional or about being together, keeping tabs on each-other in the best possible way, or sometimes a fine balance of the two," Rory discussed, continuing to eat.

Logan didn't take offense to her assumption. It was correct - after all. There had always been mountains of presents, perfect Christmas trees and idyllic Christmas dinners. It was just that besides the pleasantries they'd never really had much to say to each other because they really didn't know each other that well. Their everyday life was about logistics, not about the deeper understanding.

"You know my mom and my grandparents weren't really getting along all that well when I was younger," Rory began, wanting to share it as an example. "And when I got into Chilton, my mom pulled herself together and she asked them to loan her the money, because she hadn't expected Chilton to want the whole tuition at the beginning of the school year," Rory added, not wanting Logan to think her mother had been entirely clueless about Chilton requiring money.

"They wouldn't just give it to her? To you?" Logan asked, not believing his ears.

"Oh, they gladly would've. That was never the issue. My mom was just too proud to accept charity. It was a constant battle between them," Rory explained.

"So, what does this have to do with…?" Logan began to question the meaning of this example, after swalloing a biteful.

"My grandmother loaned her the money on the condition that we have Friday night dinner and a weekly phone call to give her an overview of what's going on in our lives," Rory said.

"Wow, that's… that's worse than mental abuse, is it not?" Logan replied. He couldn't imagine being forced to do something like that, let alone force something like that upon his children. But then again it was not like the 'gentle' persuasion his family had used on him had been anything else, and Rory knew it too.

"My mom certainly saw it as such," Rory chuckled. "But we stuck with it. I was grateful for the money and little by little I began to enjoy getting to know them. I mean, I'd spent 16 years without really knowing them. All I mean to say it that it's not too late. I pretty much formed my entire relationship with them from the age of 16 up. We didn't do that many things together, but the weekly dinners and calls were like anchors or something. Of course there were times when one of us was sick or abroad or even fighting, but they were a steady point in our lives for a long time. No matter what, dinner was on Friday at 7," Rory continued.

"So you're saying I should force something like that on them? Won't that just drive them away? It's not like I am going to start withholding money from them," Logan discussed.

"No, obviously not. But as a parent you do have a right to enforce some things. Traditions, rules, activities. Even if in the early days it means convincing them somehow, promising a trip or something they've been asking for. I just think that in the end they might start seeing the good in it too, just like I did," Rory replied and gave another part of her meal a . It tasted just like old times, and mentally she tried to picture eating this meal out with Logan back in New Haven, had they ended up at the Mexican place one night after a good date. While they knew they couldn't turn back time, mind games and wishful thinking was surely something they were allowed.

This conversation, and the day on the whole, gave Logan plenty of food for thought. He'd never really been the kind to put his foot down with the kids, always feeling like he had no real right to. Of course there had been moments when he hadn't handled things well, maybe raised his voice even or said something he hadn't meant, but in the end mostly he just hadn't been feeling or acting like a worthy father. He didn't want them to hate him for wanting a relationship with them, but he was nowhere near to give up just yet, and aimed to work on all three of those relationships. If anything, he just appreciated having Rory around to talk to about these things. He'd never really had that either.