The One - Gilmore Girls

Chapter 10

When Logan went back to Colin and Stephanie's house that night, Colin told him that Ricky wanted to go to bed when the twins did so he set up a sleeping bag on the floor in the twins' room. He set up the guest room for Logan and said he could either stay there or go home and pick up Ricky in the morning. He figured it would be easier to just stay and then asked if he could call Finn to come over and have a couple drinks.

It didn't take long, and Finn was knocking at the door.  "Mates!  How are you?"

"Good brother." Colin greeted him as he gave him a hug. "Grab that scotch and another glass and follow me."

When they got to the living room, Logan got up and gave Finn a hug then refilled his glass. "Rough night?" Finn asked with a raised eyebrow.

Logan didn't answer, but Colin started laughing, "and you'll never guess why!"

Finn looked thoughtful for a moment, "ok since I know love is in town, I'm fairly certain when I say that it's her? And to think, we had a six year reprieve. So what brought our lovely girl back to the forefront of your woes? Last I checked the two of you were just friends and co-parents."

"Ya and wouldn't you think she wouldn't give a damn about me being on a date? Or that she would trust me to take care of our son even if he isn't with me? Or that dancing with another woman in a club wouldn't have Lorelai telling me to leave?" Whoops, hadn't meant to throw in that last part.

Colin and Finn were just staring at me after that outburst. Colin was the first one to recover, only because he had an inkling of what was going down. "So you went huh?"

"Ok what in the bloody hell did I miss tonight?!" Finn exclaimed.

Logan gave them both a run down of the events that had gone on, from the very beginning for Finn's benefit. At the end, Finn reached for Logan's empty glass before topping off both his and Colin's as well. "So would I be right in assuming that you can accommodate us both here Colin?"

Colin nodded, "I won't drink too much though since there are three sleeping kids in the house."

"Even better, I'll get to see both my nephews and my niece! Well Logan, I'd say you definitely found out if Rory is jealous. I just hope you didn't damage your relationship in the process. Now what?"

"Hell if I know man. I was hoping that between the married man and the bachelor that I would get a little worthwhile advice, but if you keep knocking those back I doubt that I'll take it to heart." Logan was grinning as he said it, but it was clear that his voice was weary, and he really needed some sound advice.

Colin was the first to jump in, "man I'm sorry, Steph was always the one to call us on our bullshit before Rory came along and then between the two of them, we've never been short on help. I'm not sure we're worthy." He chuckled but continued, "the best I can do is tell you what I would do if it were me with Stephanie. I wouldn't wait for her to make the next move. I'd confront her, tell her that I've never been happier than I am when I'm with her. Then I'd tell her if she feels even a fraction of what I do then it's time to take the damn chip off her shoulder and admit it already so we can get on with our lives together."

This time it was Logan's turn to stare at Colin. "Wow, you really did get your shit together when you married her huh?" He knew that both Stephanie and Colin weren't the type to bottle up their feelings and that's what made their relationship work. Neither was afraid to call the other out when it was needed. They had an incredibly strong relationship and together they made great parents too.

Colin just nodded. Finn had finally formed his thoughts, "mate, we were all shocked when she got pregnant but didn't want to get married. We all thought it was finally going to work out. Even a blind man could see that she loved you and needed you to be in her life." He shook his head and carefully thought through this next part, "I love Rory and I love you, but you have a son together. He doesn't deserve to be in the middle of this tug of war that you have been doing for years. We all know that's why Rory set these parameters on your relationship. What makes you think that she's willing to change them now?"

That was the million dollar question, but he didn't stop there, "and what happens after you put all this out there if she still says no?" Damn, he was right. Even if she did still love me, she might not be willing to go the distance for it. Co-parenting may be all that she is ever willing to do.

"I don't know man...we have built a great friendship around being parents together, but we all know that I have never passed up a chance before at a relationship with her. She is the only woman that I have ever wanted to commit to. I can't just let it go." He knew now that it wasn't up to him anymore. Anytime Rory had given him the chance, he had jumped in blindly, damn the consequences, she was worth every single one of them. Problem with this time was, she hadn't exactly spelled it out for him. Hadn't everyone else though?

Watching Logan thinking over their words, they knew it was time for lighter conversation, so Finn decide to tell them all about the latest redhead he was seeing. Not much had changed since college. He still chased after every redhead he could find, but he tended to keep them around for a bit longer now. There was one that almost stuck, but after about six months they had parted ways. Finn was an attentive uncle and friend and, as it turns out, a very shrewd businessman, but still didn't seem to be looking for anything permanent in the ladies department.

They had stayed up laughing and drinking until about one in the morning. Since two of them had children that would be awake early the next morning, they decided to call it a night. Finn went to one of the spare bedrooms, and Logan made his way to his own. Much like every other night since he had met her, he fell asleep thinking of Rory, and she stayed there in his dreams as well.

He woke up to Stephanie's voice outside his door, "Logan dear, Ricky is asking where daddy is. He has already had breakfast and is playing with the kids." He rolled out of bed, found some spare clothes on the dresser that Colin must have set out the night before. Colin's transition into husband and father never ceased to amaze Logan. He could still hold his own on a night out, but he definitely loved the road his life had headed down.

As he reached the living room, Ricky looked up and then ran to give his dad a hug. "Geez dad I thought you were gonna sleep forever! Aunt Steph gave me breakfast, and I've been helping with the kids."

Logan could see how proud he was of helping his aunt. "Good deal bud. Aunt Stephanie isn't going to know what to do when you leave."

"You got that right! Can I keep him?" Stephanie yelled from the kitchen, so Logan followed the direction of it and found her making pancakes.

"How is it that you were out later than us and you're the first one up?" Logan chuckled as he watched her so at home in her kitchen. Much like Logan and Rory, Colin and Stephanie had worked very hard to balance the amount of privilege that their children were given in their everyday lives. They had all found it extremely important to keep their kids' feet planted firmly on the ground, and you couldn't do that with servants at your beck and call every moment of every day.

"Just part of being the mom," she happily replied. "So, what on earth were you trying to prove last night?"