An hour and a half later, Lorelai had just gotten Rory home, and was trying to get her into bed when there was a knock at the door.
"You better have Girl Scout Cookies!" Lorelai called out as she headed toward the door, and looked thru the peep hole.
"That's a pretty tough order when it's not cookie season" Logan answered as the door opened.
"Damn! I was hoping you had some kind of magical powers."
"Actually, I've heard that Dollar General carries Girl Scout cookies under a private label, but they're made by the exact same company. And they're less than half the cost."
"Is this true?"
"The nurses eat them all the time."
"There's a store down the street. It closes at 11." Rory told her. "Get me Thin Mints."
"Wait a minute? You knew about this magical cookie land?"
"You didn't?"
"Hello, I live in the Hollow!"
"You better hurry up. It's after 10."
"Crap!" Lorelai said grabbing her purse off the couch. "Logan, will you please tell Rory that she needs to go lay down?"
"I promise to go lay down if you grab ice cream too."
"Um hi, who raised you?! I'll be back shortly!"
"Thanks Mom!" Rory said closing and locking the door behind Lorelai.
"Ace, you really should be in bed."
"I know. I just have a lot to do around here. This place is a mess! I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't had any time to do anything else. I haven't even been getting home until after 9pm, and then I'm scarfing down food while doing more work on my laptop until around 2am, when I finally pass out from exhaustion."
"You know that isn't healthy."
"Yeah, well, neither is living off pop tarts and coffee for my entire life, but it hasn't killed me yet."
"Have you taken your medication yet?"
"No. I'm still really numb."
" Trust me, that won't last. And when it wears off, you're going to be in a world of pain!"
"Well, until that happens I have time to get some stuff done." Rory said as she moved over toward the couch, and reached for the blanket that was thrown there in a heap.
"Ace, come on. Let's get you in bed. You don't need to do anything other than rest."
"No, Logan, I'm fine. Really, I can do this."
"Rory. You've been thru a lot today, and I know from experience that you are on the verge of a major breakdown." Logan said, grabbing her arm, and pulling her back toward him. "I've been with you for most of the last 10 hours. You've been pretending to be ok all day, and you haven't shed a single tear. I've seen grown men cry over lesser injuries. I know you Rory. And I know what you've been thru. It's been a really rough day. You don't have to be strong anymore."
"I'm fine Logan."
"No you aren't. You're drugged is what you are."
"And who's fault is that?!"
"Rory. . . Come on. Let's get you into bed."
"Logan, no! I need to get this place cleaned up!" Rory snapped at him. "This apartment is a disaster, and I need to get it cleaned up! I haven't had any time lately, but now you've pulled me out of work for the next two weeks, so I finally have some time to get things done around here. You've forbidden me from going to work, and for once, I don't have my laptop, so it's not like I can get any actual work done, so I really have nothing better to do that to finally clean my house!" Rory said getting more upset as tears started to threaten to fall from her eyes. "Please, just let me clean my freaking house!!"
Logan pulled Rory into his arms, hugging her tight as the tears began to overflow, and she burst into hysterics.
"It's ok Ace. Just let it all out. I've got you." Logan said in a calm voice as Rory cried in his arms.
"I hate this Logan! I hate this! I'm not supposed to be hurt! I have so much to do! I don't have time to sit home and do nothing! I need to work! I have so much work to get done!"
"Not anymore you don't. I think that maybe you getting hurt today was actually a blessing in disguise. You've had so much going on that you aren't sleeping, you aren't eating decently, and you don't have anytime for yourself. You don't even get to come home at night and lounge in front of the TV to decompress. You just come home and jump right back into whatever work you were doing at the office until you finally pass out from exhaustion. That isn't healthy. You need to slow down."
"Logan, I work for a major newspaper!" Rory snapped trying to pull herself away from him, but Logan just held on.
"I know you do. And I was raised in that business. If anyone knows how overwhelmingly consuming that job becomes, it's me. Rory, you are exhausted!"
"But it's my career Logan! This is what I've worked my whole life for!"
"And it'll be there waiting for you when you get back."
"No it won't! As soon as I don't show up at the office tomorrow, I won't have a job anymore! I'll be fired, and they'll replace me with someone else!"
"That's not true Rory. And it's illegal."
"How is it illegal?! That's how these things work. You have a great job that a million other people would kill for, and you think they won't be replacing you the second you can no longer perform on demand?! Are you crazy?! They'll have me replaced before lunch time!"
"Ace, that isn't going to happen. I promise! They can't do that to you. When you get hurt at work, there are laws forbidding them from terminating your employment. By law, they are required to continue to pay you and keep you on staff for as long as your doctor deems necessary for you to be out of work for recovery. And then, even when you are released to go back, they have to continue to accommodate you while you continue to recover from your injuries. You won't even have to go back to working full-time if you don't want to. You can work part-time for a while, or you can work from home. Whatever you and your doctor feel is best for you. And your boss has no choice but to shut up and go along with it, or they'll have a monster of a lawsuit to deal with!" Logan told her. "Trust me, no one is losing their job over this unless your boss is a complete jerk, and tries to fight me on not releasing you to go back. And in that case, all I have to do is make one phone call, and he'll no longer have a job!"
"What?! You can't take his job!"
"You wanna bet? Have you met my father?!"
"But the New York Times isn't even part of HPG. Your dad can't fire someone he's not in charge of."
"Which leaves only two options. Either my dad makes a call to his buddy Arthur Sulzberger, at NYTC, and lets him know what is going on, so Arthur can fire the guy, or my Dad buys NYTC, and goes in and fires the guy himself. And trust me when I tell you that my dad has been wanting to buy NYTC for a couple decades now."
"Logan, your dad wouldn't do that just so I can keep my job."
"Trust me Ace. He won't have to. But if it came down to you being in danger of being terminated, I wouldn't have to call my dad, because I would be in Arthur's office myself."
"Logan. . ." Rory said softly, finally starting to calm down.
"Come on Ace. Let's get you into bed. You're exhausted! Your mom will be back with cookies and ice cream soon. Let's get you in bed and comfortable so you can chow down before passing out."
"Logan, we need to talk."
"Not tonight. This isn't a conversation that we should be having while you are drugged up on pain killer. We'll talk once you are feeling better."
"Logan. . ."
"Rory, I need you to trust me right now. Nothing is going to change between us. I know what I want, and that isn't going to ever change. But I won't discuss anything important or emotional with you, until you aren't completely drugged up, and you are capable to making lifechanging decisions."
"Lifechanging decisions Logan? Really?!"
'Rory. Trust me on this one. I won't do this while you're drugged up. It's not right."
"Fine. Whatever." Rory said turning her back, and moving away from Logan.
"Rory, come on! Don't put this on me. This isn't fair."
"Oh, you want to talk fair?! Really?! You just pulled me out of work. For 2 weeks! You just took away my job that I love!"
"Rory, we just discussed this. No one is taking your job away from you. You will be able to go back as soon as you are recovered enough to actually be productive."
"So you say . . ."
"Rory, I'm not going to argue with you about this. We literally JUST had this discussion!"
"Just had what discussion?" Lorelai asked as the door opened, and she walked back into Rory's apartment with a few bags from Dollar General.
"The workers comp discussion." Logan told her.
"Rory, you and I have already had that same discussion tonight. You are overly tired, loaded up on pain killer, and need to get some sleep." Lorelai told her. "Why don't you go climb into bed, and I'll bring you some cookies and ice cream to eat."
"Do I get an opinion on this?!" Rory asked.
"Sure! Would you like chocolate or Vanilla ice cream?"
"Vanilla. And I want the container."
"Go get in bed. I'll be right in."
"Thank you." Logan sighed as Rory turned and headed to her bedroom.
"Has she been like this since I left?"
"For the most part. I might have pushed her into the emotional breakdown that I knew was coming, and now she's just exhausted and irrational."
"Oh good, so breakdown over?"
"Maybe? I hope so? It wasn't too long. I actually thought it would have lasted a lot longer. I kind of thought she would be so exhausted that she would cry herself to sleep."
"That rarely happens with Rory. But the anger part, that is definitely something she holds onto until she passes out."
"I think I'm going to head out."
"But I got ice cream and cookies!"
"I know. Thank you Lorelai. It's been a really long day though, and Rory is pretty upset right now. I think it's best if I just go. I need to go take my dog out."
"You have a dog!?!"
"I have a German Shepard. He's two years old."
"What did you name him?"
"His name is Rocky." Logan said, pulling his phone and showing her the picture of him and Rocky on his lock screen.
"He looks really happy! I never pegged you for a dog person."
"I wasn't. But then one day I was really bored, and realized just how lonely my empty apartment was, and I just went out and adopted a dog."
"You pulled a Lorelai!"
"Yeah, I guess I did." Logan laughed. "I need to get home, and take him out, but I'll check in with you tomorrow, ok?"
"Alright. Thank you for everything today! Make sure you say goodbye to Rory, or she'll freak."
"No problem." Logan smiled, then headed back through the apartment to Rory's bedroom.
"Hey Ace, I'm heading home." Logan said knocking on the door frame.
"Fine." Rory responded flatly.
"Rory, please don't be mad at me. I just want what is best for you."
"Whatever."
"I'll call you tomorrow." Logan told her, then turned and walked back to the living room.
"She'll be fine." Lorelai told him. "This is just how she processes things."
"I know. She never makes things easy on me."
"I'll talk to her. Things will be better tomorrow."
"Thank you Lorelai. For everything!"
"It was my pleasure! Let me know that you got home safe, ok?"
"I will. Have a good night."
"You too." Lorelai smiled walking Logan out, then locking up the apartment, and getting ice cream and cookies ready for herself and Rory.
"Did he really leave?" Rory asked as Lorelai walked into the room with their ice cream, and boxes of cookies under her arms.
"Did you not want him to?"
"No."
"Well then why were you arguing with him?" Lorelai asked as she handed Rory a bowl of ice cream, then sat down on the bed next to her.
"I don't know. I'm just frustrated."
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"He won't talk to me."
"Did he say that?"
"He said I'm too drugged up to be making life changing decisions."
"Well I actually agree with that. You need to have a clear head before you start having those important emotional conversations."
"But I'm sick of waiting Mom! It's been 8 years!"
"Yes it has. But you both needed that time to grow up. I honestly don't think he would have gone to medical school had you guys stayed together after college. And you wouldn't have gone off on the campaign trail. You guys needed time to figure out who you are, and what you want from your lives. Look at Luke and I. It took us over 8 years before we finally got together, and 20 years to finally get married. And then there's your Dad . . ."
"Why is this kind of stuff so freaking hard?"
"Well ,anything worth having, always takes work. If it was easy, we would never appreciate it."
"I don't even have his phone number so I can apologize for being such an emotional nightmare." Rory said sadly.
"Check your phone."
"What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. Check your phone. I'm going to go get your medication for you, then start on your laundry. Maybe if I start soaking it, I can get all the blood out of your clothes."
"I doubt it. You can just throw them away."
"Rory, you just focus on getting some rest, and let me work my mommy magic, ok?"
"Thank you Mom. I don't know what I would do without you right now."
"Well luckily for you, you'll never have to find out because I'm not going anywhere." Lorelai said as her phone rang. "Hey, it's your Dad." she said, pulling the phone out of her pocket. "Hey Chris."
Hey Lor, are you at Rory's?"
"Yes I am. Why do you ask?"
"I'm at the door, will you come let me in?"
"I'll be right there." She said hanging up her phone. "Your dad is here."
"Here? Like at my apartment?"
"Yeah. He's at the front door."
"Why?"
"I don't know. He must have jumped in the car after I texted him to let him know what happened." Lorelai said leaving Rory's room, and heading to the front door to let Christopher in. "Hey Chris." she said opening the door, and stepping aside to let Chris in.
"I went to the hospital, and they said Rory had been released, so I came here."
"She's in her room."
"Is she asleep?"
"Hi Dad!" Rory called out.
"You go on back. I've gotta get some laundry started."
"Thanks Lor."
"You're welcome."
"Hey Kid! How are you feeling?" Christopher asked as he walked into Rory's bedroom, and sat down next to her on the bed.
"Exhausted!"
"I can only imagine. What happened? Your mom told me you were in the ER, and I jumped in my car without even thinking. I'm sorry it took so long, traffic was a nightmare!"
"I can't believe that you came all the way here from Boston."
"Hey, You're my daughter. Of course I came. I may not be the best father, but I'll always be here for you if you need me."
"Thanks Dad."
"So tell me what happened."
"Actually, would you mind if mom explains everything? I'm really tired, and feel like I could sleep for a month."
"Yeah, of course. Just one more question."
"What's that?"
"Why does your sweater say Dr. L Huntzberger?"
"I'll explain that too." Lorelai said walking back into the room. "Here Honey, take your meds, then try to get some sleep, ok?"
"Thanks Mom. You two have fun fighting over who gets to sleep where."
"Don't even worry about it, I can get a hotel." Christopher spoke up.
"Dad, you can stay here. I don't mind. You came all this way just to check on me. One of you can take the couch, and the other can take the guest room."
" Don't be silly Rory." Lorelai told her. "I'm sleeping right here with you, so I can make sure you are ok. Your dad can take the guestroom. Come on Chris. I have a lot of work to do for Rory, and we can talk while you help me."
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"So what you're saying is that Logan, Rory's ex-boyfriend Logan, the newspaper publishing heir, went to medical school?!" Christopher asked in a baffled tone.
"Yep! Rory ran into him at the coffee shop by her office this morning."
"Wow! This is crazy!"
"I know!" Lorelai agreed as they sat in the apartment building's laundry room, waiting on Rory's laundry. "He told me that he was sitting there checking his email, and in she walked with a friend."
"Wait, so are you and Logan friendly now? Because last I heard, you hated the guy!"
"I guess you could say that Logan and I have a lot I common, and I actually am starting to really respect that kid."
"I can't believe he completely bailed on his family."
"I don't have all the details, but from what I was told by him and Paris, he paid for medical school himself."
"How?!"
"No idea! Student loans maybe?"
"Yikes!"
"I'm proud of him for it! Apparently his parents are still fuming about it. Logan said that they act like they're proud for an audience, but he doesn't even see them much."
"Poor guy!"
"I told him how completely shocked and proud of him I am, and I gave him a mom hug. Poor kid had never had one."
"That's awful!"
"I know!"
"So what's going on with him and Rory? You said she ran into him at the coffee shop. Did she not know he was here in town?"
"You know how Rory is. She completely shut down after they broke up. Paris said that she tried to tell Rory when she first ran into Logan at school, but Rory was apparently so shut down, that she ignored Paris, and has no recollection of it. Any time my Mom or Dad brought up Logan's name, or anyone in his family, she completely tuned them out, and said that if Logan wanted her to know, he would reach out to her himself. She's refused to talk to anybody about him, including me."
"Well, she definitely got both of our stubborn streaks."
"I kind of feel bad now, you know? I mean, I knew she was hurting, but at the time, I really didn't like Logan very much, so I was kind of glad that they split up. I didn't think that he was right for her. I knew that she loved him, and that she wanted to be with him, but she wasn't ready to get married yet. Rory needed to figure out who she is, and what she wanted to do with her life. And I fully applauded her for that. That was such a great decision that she made. But it wasn't until today, that I fully realized just how much she was hurting when Logan left. I never realized just how completely devastated Rory was. I'm supposed to be her best friend, and I had no idea!"
"Lor, I don't think anyone knew. I don't even really think that Rory did."
"Well, it seems to be all hitting her right now."
"How so?"
"I attempted to help things by inviting Logan over tonight to help me get Rory settled in after she was released. Then I stupidly left them alone while I ran out for ice cream and girl scout cookies, and when I got back, they were arguing, and Rory was really upset."
"Wait, did you just say that you ran out for ice cream and girl scout cookies? Because last time I checked, September wasn't cookie season? Did they change it?"
"Ok, so check this out. I had no idea until Logan told me. Apparently Rory knew, but no one bothered to tell me until tonight. So you know those Dollar General stores that are popping up all over the place?"
"Yeah? I've never been in one."
"Well you need to go because they carry girl scout cookies under a private label, made by the exact same company, for less than half the price!"
"No way!!!"
"Way! And I might have bought everything they had in the store down the street."
"And this is why you will always be the Master!" Christopher laughed.
"For real! I bought everything they had. Luke is going to keel over when he finds out!"
"And I'm sure that you'll be stopping at every location on your way back to the Hollow to do it again."
"You know me well Young Padawan."
"I can't believe no one ever told me this! All these years, I've been missing out!"
"Right?! I mean, I have no idea how many years they've been doing this for, but I am about to be their best customer!"
"And I am right there behind you! Gigi is gonna flip!"
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -
Back in her apartment, Rory was laying in bed, staring at her phone screen, with her finger hovering over the send button.
Logan,
I am so sorry for being an emotional nightmare tonight.
I have no reason to be upset with you.
Rory read the message for the hundredth time, racking her brain trying to think of the best way to apologize for the way she acted, and trying to think of what Logan's reaction might be. She had been staring at her phone for at least 20 minutes before she finally got up enough nerve to send the message. Rory stared at her phone for a couple more minutes before finally setting it down, and snuggling down under her blankets to go to sleep, when her phone suddenly beeped, lighting up with a new message.
Don't worry about it Ace.
Get some rest.
We will talk later.
Rory smiled to herself as a second message came in.
Will you let your mom know that I got home ok?
Rory typed out a response then hit send again.
Will do.
Thank you again.
For everything.
Rory only had to wait less than a minute before a response came thru.
No thanks necessary.
Sleep well.
I will check on you tomorrow.
Reading Logan's words made Rory feel a lot better. She set her phone on the table next to her bed, and let sleep take over.