Chapter 41

"You two know each-other or something?" Rory asked, sensing something odd about the way her father and Logan looked at each-other. Rory had told her dad Logan's name before, so that made her even more confused. Surely, he would've said something then had he been familiar with the man she'd fallen for.

"Ah, yeah… we've actually met before," Christopher replied, a smile creeping onto his face.

"On the plane, London to New York a few months ago," Logan replied, laughingly.

"I just never knew his last name," Christopher added.

"Yeah, we got seated next to each-other in first class, and we talked quite a bit actually," Logan filled in the gap, chuckling lightly at the coincidence.

"Oh, really?" Rory exclaimed, feeling both amused and terrified at the fact.

It had been when Logan had been on his way to the States with kids, most likely, and her father had been coming from a business trip - Rory figured. Rory hadn't exactly known her father's itinerary, and she hadn't known Logan altogether back then.

"Yeah… where are my manners!" Christopher replied, lightly, adding, "Come on in," to invite the visitors inside before introducing himself to the girl.

"Eléa, hey!" Corinne chimed, appearing from upstairs and hugged her. Logan and Rory exchanged glances, finding a small sense of comfort in the fact that at least their girls were getting along.

Logan and the girls seated themselves in the living room, which while more modern, wasn't too different in its setup compared to Emily and Richard's renown seating area. Christopher had been raised by very similar standards, and even despite Lorelai's influence and his own detours, being in the business that he was, eventually he'd still succumbed to the expected standards that came with his job, having to entertain his colleagues, not that there were many left with Christopher himself being on the verge of his voluntary retirement.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Christopher asked, his host mode kicking in. It was funny, how now when he was older some of his mannerisms shined through as Straub's, despite the two of them being seemingly as different as personalities could be.

Some refreshing beverages and casual small-talk on the topic of the drive over, including how Logan and his family were adjusting to life in the States, the girls made themselves scarce, excusing themselves to go check out the house a little. There was a vast entertainment room upstairs, after all, and Corinne liked to hang out here every now and again when she was in Boston.

For a moment the three just stared at their drinks, a little awkwardly.

"I'm sorry. It's just so weird to me that you two know each-other," Rory exclaimed, jolting herself out of the awkwardness. This was not how she'd imagine this meeting going. Not that it had been initially her idea when she'd heard Logan suggest coming over to Boston for a few days. But here they were.

Logan and Christopher just chuckled, casually, but did exchange a few glances.

"What exactly did you talk about, if I may ask?" Rory inquired.

"Just… life. Kids, work, experiences," Logan replied, broadly, leaving out that they had, in fact, also talked about exes, and in terms of kids - also about being the absent parent, finding that something they had in common. It had been an oddly personal connection to make on a plane even if in this case Logan had been the one to talk a little less on the topic.

"Oh, and we actually figured out we've been to quite a few of the same boarding schools in our day," Christopher added, cheerfully. Thankfully, it was obvious they hadn't gone to school together as such, there still being at least a good 14-15 year age-difference there.

"Uh-huh," Rory reflected, finding the roudedness of their expression peculiar if not suspicious.

"No, seriously. You've got a good man here," Christopher praised Logan.

"Trust me, I'm far from perfect," Logan replied, modestly.

"It takes courage to admit to one's flaws and it's not like I'm perfect either," Christopher replied, happily.

"Um… wow," Rory exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever been in this position before," she added.

"What position is that?" Christopher inquired.

"Having my dad actually not hate my boyfriend," Rory replied, struggling to formulate the thought for a second.

The two men chuckled.

"On my defense, I think I was perfectly nice to Dean, and what was that other guy… Marty?" Christopher replied, trying to show the cool dad side of him. Christopher had had a running joke about Marty being forgettable, you see.

It was now becoming more and more evident to Rory how similar Logan and her dad really were. They'd both taken their time growing up, struggled similarly with their children, put for many phases of their lives their work first, having complicated relationships with their families. Sure, there were differences too… but there was just something identical in them - some hint of mischievousness - maybe?

"Oh, wow… no need to go down those lanes," Rory said.

"Oh, please do…," Logan encouraged, jokingly.

Rory punched Logan's shoulder at that note.

When Rory excused herself to the bathroom in a little while, the two men were left alone in the living room.

"So, I take it you weren't much of a fan of that ex-husband of hers," Logan decided to inquired, quietly, glancing towards the other rooms to make sure no-one was overhearing. He'd taken note that Christopher hadn't mentioned Tucker as a guy he'd liked when first meeting him. He wondered whether that had been intentional.

"I'm pretty sure Rory wouldn't appreciate me dissecting that much," Christopher replied, apologetically.

"I understand that. I've barely heard a few stories of the guy, heard him on the phone like once," Logan admitted, expressing his concern but also remaining apologetic for the question.

Christopher shrugged, but remained skeptical.

"I honestly can't say I got to know him very well," Christopher replied.

Logan found that hard to believe, considering they'd lived in the same city for a while and his expression showed it.

"Why's that?" Logan inquired.

"I was still working and traveling a lot more a couple of years ago. And sure, there was an occasional dinner or holidays or something similar. But he too, worked passionately so… He's clearly a very intelligent man when it comes to his field. Mostly it was just Rory and Cor who made their way into this house," Christopher replied, wanting to remain polite and neutral on the topic. He hadn't hated Tucker - as far as he'd known mostly Rory and him had worked, and he'd been more than forgiving once it no longer had, Christopher feeling like he was the expert of bad timing and 'not quite right'.

"Huh," Logan chimed, thoughtfully. Logan didn't know whether Christopher knew about the relationship between Rory's sister and her ex, so he decided to stay clear of it, not wanting to create unnecessary uproar. It was not his place. But his gut feeling was definitely screaming at him, so there was one comment he let slip over his lips, "There's just something that bugs me about him. I might be wrong… I guess she just brings out a protective side of me. But it's like… it's like she's still scared of him on some level."

"Well, mostly - as far as I know - they're not really in contact much these days. And I've heard nothing negative about his parenting. I mean, but then again who am I to say," Christopher replied, shrugging a little.

Logan could tell he could've said the same thing about him too, hence it really was hard for him to criticize this guy. Tucker had been the good dad - the man who'd been around to change diapers and do school runs, tuck Corinne in, taught her to ride a bike - at least so he assumed.

"But it's endearing to know there's someone looking out for the welfare of my girl," Christopher added, sensing Logan's thoughtfulness.

"Just trying to balance this new role," Logan replied, raising his palms apologetically.

Rory returned right about then, now allowing them much chance to discuss Rory's past in a lot of detail.

While the initial plan had been for Logan and his daughter to stay for lunch before heading to their hotel to freshen up for their evening outings, Christopher, kindly enough, had insisted they stay. He had floors of empty space in that townhouse of his, and had clearly taken a liking to Logan, and intended to welcome him with open arms.

"Is it still weird for you, that I'd spoken to your dad before?" Logan asked, as the four of them strolled towards the Boston Common, aiming to go exploring the city. The program held visits to a few small galleries and museums, some shops maybe, dinner and the ghost tour later.

It had by now become evident to Rory how the two really did seem to like each-other, having a lot in common on many levels. But it felt oddly comforting, to her surprise and at her age, there was mostly just a sense of relief of not having to convince anyone to give the other a chance, not that her dad's blessing was what she needed these days.

"Weird, yes. But, no, I don't hate it," Rory replied.

"What I can't figure out though…," Logan began, sneakily, checking briefly to glance behind them to see whether the girls were overhearing them. And seeing, they were not, he added, "is why it took so long for you to go for someone like your dad," teasingly and chuckled.

"Ah!" Rory exclaimed. "I'm not sure I want that mental image in my brain tonight, or I might just have to put you in the other guest room instead," she added, pushing her chin up in the air playfully, and laughed.

Their flirting was not lost on the girls, but it was kind of cute, even if the underlying grossness of the idea of their parents having a thing was not lost on them.

"And what would you describe 'his' or rather 'your' type as?" Rory inquired.

"Well… besides the obvious," Logan began, hoping to hop over the 'privileged white male who looked handsome enough to be pleasant to the eye' aspect. "Reasonably intelligent, kind of a 'bad boy', I guess? Going by some of his own mischiefs at Groton," Logan continued. "Has taken a while to grow up, I guess?" he added, a little bit more hesitantly, but still wanting to be brutally honest.

"Wow, that's actually pretty insightful…." Rory replied, sounding a little surprised. "How much did you two talk?" she asked.

"I mean it's a 7-hour flight," Logan shrugged, innocently.

"You talked the full seven hours?" Rory reflected in disbelief.

"Not the entire time obviously… there was dinner and drink service… bathroom breaks, I might've taken a short nap at some point, worked a little," he replied.

"Still," Rory said, getting a sense that it really had been a good chunk of that time.

"I was in a weird mood flying over. I usually never talk to anyone, thinking someone might take advantage of my personal information or recognize me… but I don't know, somehow, I just wanted to take a different kind of chance for a while and just relax. Like I hoped my life would be like when I move back here. Not more secrets, just honest and sincere relationships. He seemed like a good guy," he added.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you and my dad being in cahoots," Rory replied, skeptically.

"We're not in cahoots!" Logan shot back, finding the choice of word quirky.

"But I do think it's nice of you to have trusted him. Because he is a good guy," Rory confirmed.

"Yeah, I gathered as much," Logan replied.

They continued to walk, almost seeing the gallery ahead. The girls had some interest in the arts, plus Eléa had gotten in her mind that she needed to make her room more personal if she was going to stick around. And Logan was more than happy to make that happen.

"You two go on in, we'll be in in a minute," Logan said to the girls and held the door open for them.

"Uh?" Rory asked, curious as to what this was about.

"I don't know if I should tell you this or not… maybe you already know. But when we talked, your dad and I, he also told me quite a bit about the regrets he had from the time you were growing up. He's sorry he missed that. I hope you know that, if he doesn't have the guts to tell you that himself," Logan replied.

"Yeah, I know," Rory replied, knowing some bits and pieces but she'd never really fully comprehended how deep those wounds must've been for her dad. It was a difficult thing to picture - her dad sharing his deepest regrets, one of them being her upbringing, with someone he'd just met and shared a few drinks with.

It was then the comparison really resonated with her. It was another layer of the two men being bizarrely similar. Rory couldn't help but to wonder, maybe it was some likeness to her dad that had indeed seemed attractive to her about Logan. Christopher had always been her mother's kryptonite after all, some unexplainable draw, which against all odds still hadn't worked. Did the same logic apply to her in that case?

AN: A few notes this time: First of all I know you were left hanging with the cliffhanger there and I apologize for that. It was not my intention. Life got away from me - lots of work and now on top of everything I got sick, so I'm a bit slow still at this. I hope you keep reading, even if the pace might be a little patchy from now on. (And I know I don't need to apologize for having a life and a "health" that I have no control over, but just that I left it like that and unexpectedly). Thanks for reading and commenting!

Also just want to point out that I know it's a little longer flight from London to NYC, but I just imagine as this is set in the future there might be some improvement on that.