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~~~ Still Quarantined ~~~
What day is it today? Is it Monday? Because it feels like a Monday.
Thank you everyone who has posted a review for me to read! I absolutely LOVE reading them! Fanfiction went down for 3 days, and none of the reviews were showing, which was making me completely crazy! I kept watching the number of available reviews go up, but nothing was loading on the site until just a little while ago. Freaking FINALLY! I am so glad so many of you loved the last chapter. It definitely took an unexpected turn at the last minute, that even I didn't expect. I don't have anything planned out as I write. I'm not one of those people who sits down and plots everything out piece by piece, before starting a story. I just start typing, and whatever comes out through my fingers, is what comes out. I am just as surprised as all of you. But I am so glad that you are all loving it. Your kind words mean a lot to me. Thank you all so much! :-)
"Ok, so that was a really big unexpected blow." Rory whispered as she moved across the room with Logan, to take a seat on the couch with Josh.
"The entire thing just occurred to me as I was talking. I didn't mean to upset mom, but I do think that she deserves to know. She's been manipulated enough. Plus, it all completely makes sense. It's like a huge part of my life suddenly makes so much sense."
"So what do we do about it?"
"I have no idea."
"What are you guys whispering about?" Josh leaned over to ask, whispering himself.
"Bombshell." Logan answered.
"This all just now occurred to you?"
"Literally just now."
"Your mom is really upset."
"I can see that."
"You should go talk to her."
"ME?!" Logan asked shocked.
"Yes, you. Honor is already over there. You're the one who said the words. You two are her kids. You need to go talk to her. I think right now, sending your Dad is just going to upset her more."
"I'm wondering how much of it Dad knew about."
"I'm sure we can figure that out later. Your mom just suffered a major blow though. I know that you aren't close, but if she was as close with her family as Rory and I are with ours, this is a gigantic blow to her, and she's got over 30 years of loss to deal with."
"Logan, you need to go over there." Rory agreed
"I don't know what to do. What do I even say at this point?"
"I have no idea . . . Treat it like if this happened to me. What would you do if I were in that situation?"
"Besides kill somebody?"
"Other than wanting to kill somebody, if it was just me and you, what would you do? Just do that. That is what your mom needs right now."
"Are you sure?"
"I agree with Rory." Josh told him.
"This is just too weird."
"I know, but she really needs you guys right now. Go!" Rory said again, patting Logan's leg. Josh slid over to sit next to Rory and put his arm over her shoulders.
"Just so you know. You're an amazing wife. And I really like having you around. Thanks for everything you said about me."
"You're welcome. I like having you around too." Rory smiled. "Thanks for what you said as well. It means a lot."
"You and I have a lot in common, being the outsiders in this family."
"That's for sure. But at least we have a good relationship, right?"
"Yes, definitely! I'm sorry the crazies have hated you for so long. I've never understood it. I happen to like you a lot."
"Thanks Josh. I like you too. I actually need your help with something."
"What's that?"
"Logan's birthday is next week."
"We'll definitely do something. Let's talk later, ok?"
"Thank you." Rory said as she looked toward Mitchum who was hunched over in his chair, with this hands clasped together, looking at the floor. "Do you think Mitchum is ok?"
"Probably."
"Should we check on him?"
"Do you think we should?"
"Is it weird that I'm scared?"
"Want me to do it?"
"Will you?"
"Sure." Josh said then slowly got up from his seat and walked over to Mitchum. "Hey, you ok Mitchum? Do you need anything?"
"I'm fine. That was an awfully big blow Logan just threw at his mother."
"I know. How much of it did you know about?"
"Very little. I only knew about as much as Shira."
"Maybe you should go comfort her."
"She's got the kids."
"But you're her husband. If it were Honor, I'm who she would want."
"Shira and I aren't like you and Honor."
"I know that you two have had your differences, and haven't had the strongest marriage, but you're still her husband. I think it would go a long way to helping things between the two of you." Josh told him, then went to sit back down with Rory.
Meanwhile . . .
"Mom, I'm sorry." Logan said as he crouched down on the floor next to Honor, and looked up at his mother as she cried. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm really sorry."
"Mom, what can we do to help you?" Honor asked as she hugged Shira.
"Mom, I'm going to fix this for you, ok?" Logan offered. "I'm going to figure out a way to fix this." he said reaching for her hand, and squeezing it.
"Logan and I will figure out a way to make this better." Honor confirmed. "Everything is going to be ok."
"Shira . . . Dear . . . I'm sorry." Mitchum said stepping up next to his children, and kneeling down at Shira's side, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.
"You know, I think this is probably the only time the four of them have ever been this close to each other." Josh whispered to Rory.
"I know. I'm taking a picture." Rory whispered back as she reached into her purse for her phone, and discretely snapped a quick picture. "Hey Josh . . . I just had an idea."
"What's that?"
"We need to try to find Shira's family."
"I was thinking that too."
"You and Honor brought Shira out here, and got her all registered for the program . . . What kind of leave policy do they have? Like if we wanted to sign Shira out for a couple of days. Do they have anything like that available?"
"I don't know. Logan might know that answer."
"I'm going to go talk to Gayle for a minute. Will you take a picture if anything momentous happens? I want to get a picture for them to have later."
"Sure." Josh answered as Rory handed him her phone, then got up and walked over to Gayle.
"Hey Gayle, can I ask you a kind of random question?" Rory asked.
"Sure."
"With everything that just happened, I feel like I need to do something . . ."
"Alright?"
"Josh and I are going to try to find Shira's family. But I was wondering, is there some kind of leave policy available for Shira's program? I don't want to jeopardize her recovery, but I'm wondering if there is maybe a two day window available that we might be able to sign Shira out, and then bring her back. I was thinking that maybe if we can find her family, maybe we could try to reunite them or something? Do you think that might be possible?"
"Ordinarily we don't do anything like that. Legally, patients can leave the program at any time, of their own will. They are all here voluntarily. Barring a family emergency, leaving the facility before completion of their treatment, jeopardizes the patient's chances of recovery. Shira still has several more weeks to go. And judging by the last 24 hours, I think that we definitely have a lot of work to do. Shira has been doing very well here, but today has obviously been very trying for her. I think we have our work cut out for us right now."
"With this family, you definitely do." Rory chuckled.
"I can see why your husband and his sister speak so highly of you. Even after everything that has been thrown at you, you are still putting your mother in-law's well-being ahead of yourself."
"It's how I was raised. Plus, I've had 12 years to get over my in-laws hating me. It's more of an amusement now than anything else. There isn't anything that they could really say at this point, that would actually upset me."
"It takes a really big person to turn the other cheek."
"I don't know how much I really turn the other cheek. I believe in karma. What goes around, comes around. There is no need for me to make things worse for them. I was raised to kill them with kindness. It's much more fun to watch them wonder what I'm plotting behind their backs."
"You've never wanted to fire back at them?"
"It's not my style. I mean, I am definitely not afraid to stand up to them when needed. But payback isn't my style. I'm more of the girl who eats a 24 ounce steak bite by bite and then washes it down with a giant slice of chocolate cake while watching Mitchum eat his bland soup and salad to go with his post heart attack diet. Normally I would eat much healthier options, but he really deserved it that day."
"I like your style." Gayle chuckled.
"I learned it from my mom." Rory smiled, then headed back to rejoin Josh.
"My plan is a no go."
"We'll figure something out." Josh said as Logan came to sit back down with them.
"She seems to be calming down." Logan told them.
"That's good." Rory said as she snuggled up next to him.
"You know that I didn't mean to upset her, right?"
"No Honey, of course you didn't."
"I have a feeling this is about to majorly backfire in my face."
"No Logan. I think this is actually a very good thing. I've got your back on this. Don't worry."
"I saw you talking to Gayle."
"I'll tell you later. I just had a question for her."
"Are you doing ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you? This didn't exactly go like we thought it would."
"I'm fine. Kind of dumbfounded and confused, but completely fine."
"Hey Shira, you doing alright?" Gayle asked. Shira just nodded and sniffled. "Do you want to continue, or should we take a break?"
"I'll be fine. Let's finish."
"Are you sure? That was a pretty big blow you just suffered."
"I'll be fine." Shira repeated.
"Honor, you should sit." Mitchum said getting up, and grabbing his daughter a chair, then moving one for himself on the other side of Shira.
"Mom, you don't have to do this. We can take a break." Honor said softly, as she sat down next to Shira, and reached for her hand.
"I'll be fine. Taking a break won't change anything. What's done is done."
"Seriously?" Rory whispered, looking up at Logan who just shrugged. "Since when is she the strong brave one?"
"I'm starting to question my entire life."
"I can't say I even blame you." Rory agreed as she laid her head on her husband's shoulder, and laid a hand on his chest, which Logan took in his own.
"I'm glad you're here. I don't think I could deal with this crap alone."
"Alright, so Shira, let me ask you this." Gayle started. "How are you feeling about everything that just happened? You were quite upset there for a moment. What are you thinking? Do you agree with everything that Logan just said? What are your thoughts about all of this?"
"Well . . . I almost want to say that he's wrong, but Logan rarely is."
"And that's not going to go to his head at all." Honor smirked.
"I mean, Logan is a doctor. He is trained to spot this stuff, right?"
"He did have to take a psychology class, and be tested on how to spot abuse, yes." Gayle confirmed.
"Logan has always been smarter than the rest of us."
"Just keep padding his ego." Honor chuckled.
"Honor, really." Shira chided. "I'm not quite sure what to think at the moment. I want to believe that Logan is wrong, and that isn't at all what happened. But it does sound right for Elias. He was a very manipulative man."
"Mitchum, what do you think about all of this?" Gayle asked.
"I don't like to tell Logan that he is right. He's my son. His ego is way too big already."
"Thank you!" Honor agreed.
"It sounds like something that Elias has done before."
"The man has a history." Logan commented.
"Mitchum, do you think that these accusations could be correct?"
"My father was always very controlling. There was a distinct order to everything, and everyone must fall in line. Anyone who dared cross that man was as good as dead to him. It was very hard to have your own opinion when he was around."
"The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, does it?" Logan commented.
"Logan, stop." Honor scolded him. "Right now isn't the time for that."
"Shira, how do you feel about the way your children were raised. You all mentioned that you had hired help." Gayle asked.
"Yes, the kids had nannies growing up. From the day they were born, Elias hired nannies to take care of them." Shira confirmed.
"How did that make you feel?"
"At first, it was great to have the extra help. All new moms get worn out so quickly, having the extra help was a real blessing."
"But . . ." Honor prodded.
"But they took away from my chance at being an actual mother. Elias had the nannies take care of everything. I wasn't allowed to do anything. Every time I tried to spend time with my babies, Elias would get upset, and have the nannies take the children away. I was scolded for wasting my time on them when I had 'work' to do, which I didn't actually have anything to do at all. I was sent to events; DAR meetings, luncheons at the club, tea parties with other wives of Elias' friends. I wasn't allowed to do what I wanted. I spent very little time with my children because I wasn't allowed. I spent all my time doing what Elias instructed."
"And why did you do that?"
"Because I had to. If I wanted to remain part of the family, and be cut off without a dime, I had to do exactly what Elias instructed."
"What do you mean cut off without a dime?"
"Mom was forced to sign a ridiculous prenup which literally gave her nothing. She's always had a set weekly allowance and if she ever decided to leave, or Dad decided to divorce her, she would be left destitute." Honor explained.
"Wow!" Gayle commented in a shocked voice.
"I got pregnant at 17. I didn't know any better. Elias had me sign it the day I turned 18. He said he would take my baby away if I didn't. What was I supposed to do?"
"Mitchum, did you know about this?"
"I did." Mitchum confirmed. "I couldn't do anything about it. I was locked in a contract as well."
"What kind of contract?"
"I had to work for the family business and fill a certain quota. My contract ended when Elias died."
"So maybe Mom's prenup should end too." Logan told them.
"I'll look into having it amended."
"You should have it voided altogether. Do away with it completely."
"Logan, just because you were ridiculous enough to not have Rory sign a prenup does not mean that they aren't a necessity for the rest of us."
"Really Dad? You REALLY want to go there right now?! You and Mom have been married for over 35 years! You really think that she's going to walk out and take half of your fortune? After all this time? You really think that Mom would do that? After everything that you've put her through? Because I can guarantee that she would get way more than half if she took you to court. Even with that ridiculous prenup! There are a ton of loop holes in that thing!"
"Logan . . ." Mitchum warned.
"And for the record, I refuse to give my wife a prenup because I believe in the sanctity of marriage. And I also love her and I trust her! And for the record, Honor didn't sign one either!"
"She sure as hell was supposed to!"
"Well she didn't. So there's that!"
"Logan!" Honor scolded.
"I'm sorry, but I am NOT taking the brunt of this alone. Prenups are archaic and ridiculous! If you can't trust your spouse, and you don't love them, then what is the point of getting married?!"
"I agree with Logan." Josh spoke up.
"Thank you!" Logan told him.
"Honor, since you didn't sign the prenup you were given, what did happen to it?" Mitchum asked.
"I burned it." Logan answered. "Josh and Honor were both upset about and didn't feel that it was fair to either of them. Neither of them felt right about signing it, so I took it from them, and I burned it. I did everyone a favor, and I don't regret it at all."
"Do Josh's parents know?"
"Yep! They were there when I did it."
"And why were your Mother and I never told about this?"
"Because you and Grandpa would both have had a freaking coronary! Honor didn't deserve to have her wedding canceled. I did what I had to do to protect my sister. And I would do it again in a heartbeat!"
"Alright, we are getting a little off track here." Gayle said, interrupting the argument. "Shira, what would you have done differently had you not been forced into having nannies raise your children?"
"I would have done everything differently. I wasn't allowed to even change a diaper. The only thing I was actually allowed to do was buy their clothing, but only from certain stores."
"That explains a lot." Honor commented.
"Elias had very tight control of everything. He dictated every move you made. The children weren't even allowed to play sports because Elias thought it was a waste of time and talent. The children were sent to private schools, and Logan to boarding school. They learned to speak three languages, and to play piano."
"You play piano and speak three languages? Rory asked, looking up at Logan.
"No." Logan laughed. "That would be Honor. It's a little hard to learn that kind of stuff when you are kicked out of school every couple weeks."
"Logan never stayed in one place long enough to learn much of anything." Honor confirmed.
"Hey, in my defense, I know how to insult people in about ten different languages." Logan defended himself.
"Definitely a marketable talent."
"Logan and his friends are quite the troublemakers." Mitchum confirmed.
"I had to have fun somehow." Logan shrugged.
~ * ~ * ~ * Later that evening * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"Hey Honor, do you happen to know Mom's maiden name?" Logan asked as they sat in the living area of their hotel suite that evening.
"I think it was Ogletree or something like that. Why do you ask?"
"I'm trying to look up her family."
"We could call and ask her, you know?"
"We could, but I would rather not involve Mom and get her hopes up. We don't need to upset her anymore than we already have."
"So what is your plan then?" Honor asked.
"I'm going to track them down, and find out exactly how much of my theory is right."
"What if what Mom originally said about them is true?"
"I doubt that it is, but if by some miracle that is actually the case, I'll deal with it. But if it's not, don't you think that Mom actually deserves the chance to have a real family again?"
"Can you picture Mom living on a farm in Oklahoma?"
"I can't even picture Mom changing the diapers she claimed she wanted to help with." Logan laughed.
"Is it bad that I'm not even sure Mom can be trusted to be alone with a baby?"
"As much as I agree with that statement, I've never babysat a day in my life." Rory told them. "I've got 3 godchildren, but I've never actually done more than hold and play with them."
"I'm pretty sure that Logan hasn't either." Honor laughed.
"See Honor, this is exactly why you were supposed to have the first baby. That we we could all get ourselves some practice."
"Collin has a kid. Why didn't you get your practice from him?"
"Yeah right! Do you really think that Collin and Stephanie are stupid enough to let me anywhere near their kid?"
"Collin, YES! But you're right, Stephanie is smarter than that." Honor agreed.
"We'll be fine. It's not like my mom will be leaving us alone with Ayribella until she's sure we are capable of taking care of her ourselves." Rory told them.
"That's a really good point." Honor agreed. "At least we have Lorelai. She's the baby whisperer."
"What time are we leaving tomorrow?"
"Right after breakfast. Why?" Logan asked.
"I just have a lot to get done this week. The clinic opens in less than one week, and as of right now, we aren't ready."
"We'll be ready." Logan told her.
"We better be! Press releases go out tomorrow.