"Ace, before we go into my Dad's office, I want to talk to you." Logan said as they headed out of the kitchen.
"What's up?"
"Come here. I don't want to talk near anyone." Logan said, leading Rory down a long hallway, then opening a door at the far end.
"Where are we?"
"This used to be my grandpa's office. I don't think anyone has been in here since he died."
"It's been what, like 8 or 10 years?"
"Something like that."
"An dno one has been in here since then? That's crazy!"
"That's Huntzberger." Logan said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, we need to talk."
"What's going on?"
"I just want to be sure that we're ok. It's sounding like things could start to get really ugly for us with that psycho IA lady wanting to dig into our past. I have nothing to hide. If I did, the medical board would have found it already, and rejected my license application. And I know that you don't have anything to hide either. I'm not worried about any of that at all. But I am worried about us. You and I. This relationship. We've been through a lot. But I also know that it wasn't easy for you earlier, having the whole bridesmaids thing brought up. I know that it was a really long time ago, and that we've gotten past it, but that still doesn't make having to hear or talk about it any easier. We have a lot going on right now, and we definitely have some big challenges ahead of us. But at the end of the day, this is our relationship, and whatever happens, I need to know where we stand. I'm in this. You know that I am. I asked you to marry me 9 years ago, and I would have married you even before that if I thought that you would have been ok with it. I'm not going to back down and not fight to make things better for us. But if this is all too much for you, I need to know right now."
"Baby, you didn't do anything wrong. You didn't ask for any of this bullshit. If this ridiculous investigation isn't fair to someone, it's you. I'm not even really a part of this. It's you that woman is after. I'm just the person she's hurting by extension."
"I know, but you don't deserve this crap either."
"This is all so ridiculous. Why would she come after you like this? Did you sleep with her and piss her off or something?"
"Never! I've never seen her before, in my entire life. I had just met her at 4am yesterday when we were introduced in the hallway outside your room. I don't even know her last name. I only know that she goes by Patrice."
"Why would she be after you like this then?"
"I honestly wish that I knew. At least then maybe some of this crap would start to make sense."
"Paris said that the hospital board knows you and that they don't support this investigation."
"It's the internal affairs office having a vendetta."
"Do you know anyone in internal affairs?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Have you ever slept with Annie Eubanks?"
"I've never slept with anyone named Annie."
"Do you know anyone with the last name Eubanks?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"So that woman that came in to question me yesterday, you've never seen her before?"
"Not even once. Collin knows everyone that I've ever slept with, so if he remembered something I didn't, he would have said something by now."
"This just doesn't make any sense."
"I know . . ."
"It almost makes you wish that you had accepted the position with Doctors Without Borders, doesn't it?"
"Not even a little bit. I would never walk away from you."
"What if I went with you?"
"And give up the amazing life that we have here?"
"We could always come back to it."
"If you want to go after Ayribella is born, I'll apply again. How's that?"
"Baby, I want you go do everything. Volunteering for Doctors Without Borders could be an amazing experience for you."
"But having a life here, with you and with Ayribella means so much more tome than anything else in the world. Even if I lost my medical license tomorrow. Even if this investigation completely destroyed my career. As long as I have you, and our beautiful little baby girl, I'll be just fine. I don't need anything else. I could give up right now. I could call and tell the hospital to take their ridiculous investigation and shove it where the sun doesn't shine. I could forfeit my medical license and let Patrice win, and I wouldn't even think twice about it as long as you and I were ok."
"Logan, I won't let you do that. I won't let her win."
"I know you won't. I'm going to fight this, but I need to know that this is what you want. I won't put you through all of this bullshit if it's not what you want. You can back out right now, and I won't question it."
"What are you talking about back out? Why would I back out? What would I even back out of? Our marriage? Logan, don't even talk like that. That's just stupid. I am in this. I married you, and I am standing by you through all of this. You have worked so hard for your career, and I'll be damned if I let some crazy bitch try to take it from you. I am in this. And I'll take this thing public, and completely destroy that woman's life if it means keeping your career intact."
"Are you sure that you want to do this? Because it's going to be tough to have the past thrown in our face. I don't want to put you through any of that if I don't have to."
"So let's dig up Patrice's past. Find out how many bodies she has hidden behind that self-righteous attitude. Let's pull every single deteriorated skeleton out of her closet. See how much she likes it. And we'll take Annie down at the same time. If they want to make an example out of us, then they have another thing coming. Because I own the media. I have all the power and the tools to completely destroy both of them. If they want to play dirty, let's play ball. Let them drag up our past. We have absolutely nothing to hide."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Babe. . ." Rory smiled, reaching up to cup Logan's face with her hands, and place a gentle kiss on his lips. "Who is the master prankster in this relationship?"
"You are. It used to be me at one point, but you clearly stole that trophy and completely ruined my reputation with it."
"That's right. And I would gladly do it again too." Rory chuckled. "But really . . . Of everyone we know, who makes the best team in the world?"
"You and Lorelai. Well, you and your Grandpa actually. You two are amazing together!"
"Who else?"
"You and Doyle make a pretty good team. And you and Honor are just vindictively comical together."
"This is true. But Who else? Who is my favorite team member? Who makes a better team than all of those people?"
"I have no idea."
"Really? Because the last time I checked you and I have done pretty well together . . ."
"I guess that's true."
"You guess?"
"No, that is true. You and I make an amazing team."
"So let's wipe the floor with this crazy bitch."
"You have no idea how much I love you right now."
"Really? Because it's probably a good thing that you know how to get these monitors off."
"Oh, they're definitely coming off! I promise you, tonight, they're coming off!"
"I'm going to hold you to that." Rory smiled as Logan wrapped his arms around her. "We'll get through this, ok?"
"I know . . . I just don't want you getting hurt in the process."
"So let's go wipe the floor with that little wench. We'll teach her to mess with the Huntzbergers."
"Damn I love you!"
"I love you too baby." Rory cooed as Logan kissed her. "Oh hey, baby, I just thought of something . . ."
"What's that?"
"I think maybe I might have to let my inner Emily Gilmore out to play."
"Oh, I am definitely going to have fun watching this one play out!" Logan said excitedly
"Should we go light some fires?"
"Let's blow their world to microscopic little pieces."
"I like your style Huntzberger." Rory smiled, kissing Logan again, then opening the door behind him, and pushing him out of the office. "It's time to have for us to have ourselves a little bit of fun."
*~ * ~ * ~ * Mitchum's Office * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"So Mitchum, are you still enjoying your retirement, or are you ready to go back to work?" one of the men asked as they sat, chatting, waiting on Rory and Logan to join them.
"You know, I am enjoying it. I didn't really think that I would when I was first forced out last fall, but it's definitely grown on me."
"So you like being free from the grind then?"
"I actually do. I've been spending a lot of time with my daughter, and now I've got my son and his wife here, and it's actually really nice. There is nothing that I actually have to do. I get to play golf, I've been doing a little bit of yoga with my wife, doing some swimming. It's been relaxing and peaceful."
"Where is Shira? We haven't seen or heard from her in months."
"Shira is out of town right now. She'll be back in a few weeks. She's doing some traveling. Getting a new perspective on things."
"You didn't go with her?"
"I did. I've met up with her a few times. I actually just got back last night. The kids called saying that Logan needed help, so I jumped on a plane and flew home."
"What kind of trouble is Logan into this time? Did he steal another boat? Maybe a plane this time?"
"Oh no. His troublesome days a long behind him. He actually didn't do anything at all this time. It's actually what's been done to him. Completely unfairly might I add. It's been at least ten years since I last had to bail Logan out. He's usually the one doing the bailing now."
"I don't think anyone ever expected to see the day that kid would finally grow up."
"You know, I don't think that Logan ever expected for that to happen either. But I did. Logan is a good kid. He's done very well for himself. Ah, there he is! Logan, Rory, please join us." Mitchum smiled as Logan entered the office. "Rory, please, come take my chair."
"Thankyou Mitchum, that is very kind, but I'm happy to take the couch. I need to put my feet up.
"Oh come on, that's what desks were made for! Come sit." Mitchum said standing up and holding his arm out toward his chair.
"Mitchum, that chair is huge. It will swallow me."
"Share it with Logan then. This chair is mighty comfortable. Please sit. Make yourself comfortable." Mitchum told her.
"It's fine. I'll share it with you." Logan whispered in her ear, leading Rory behind Mitchum's desk, and taking a seat in the extra-large chair, pulling Rory down with him
"See, the chair fits both of you." Mitchum said as Logan pulled Rory's legs across his lap, and up over the arm of the chair, then moved his arm behind her, to help support her back.
"Gentlemen, this is Rory. She's the new CEO of HPG. Rory, this is Gilbert, Ronald and Mitchell. They've been my legal team for about 20 years now."
"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Rory said with a polite smile as Mitchum pulled a chair up next to them.
"Rory, Mitchum must think very highly of you to let you take over his company." Ronald spoke up.
"Well Mitchum worked really hard to build HPG to what it is today. I am honored to follow in his footsteps."
"Rory is doing a wonderful job. I couldn't be prouder." Mitchum told them.
"Well thank you! Actually Mitchum, would you mind if I used your computer while we all talk? I need to do a little bit of research on the situation, and my laptop is upstairs."
"Yes, of course, that's not a problem at all. But uh . . . I'm actually not sure where exactly my computer is right now . . ." Mitchum said as he looked around the office, pulling open a couple of drawers, but not seeing it.
"It's actually at my house." Logan told him. "I took it there months ago after your first heart attack. Sorry, I forgot all about that. I'll call Honor and have her go grab yours for you."
"Thanks Honey." Rory said as Logan pulled his phone out of his pocket to call his sister.
"So I guess while we're waiting on that, have you gentlemen met our other two guests today? This is Collin McCrae, he's mine and Logan's personal attorney, and our good friend Doctor Paris Gellar. Doctor Gellar works at the hospital with Logan, and is also my doctor."
"It's nice to meet you." Mitchell greeted them.
"So things seem to have changed a lot around here Mitchum. Rory is now running your company, you no longer have a maid greeting your guests, and everyone in the house seems to be wearing gym clothes. Life definitely has changed for you."
"Logan and I are more or less on vacation while we're here. We decided that we are going to enjoy ourselves while we are away from home, and that starts with ditching the corporate clothing style." Rory told them.
"So you are all wearing gym clothes."
"I'm pregnant and Doctor Gellar put me on bed rest yesterday, so I'm just wearing whatever fits and is most comfortable for lounging around all day. And Logan . . . He's just nice to look at."
"Logan is a very devoted husband. He's been there with Rory, every day of her pregnancy. Logan doesn't leave her side." Mitchum told them.
"Happy wife, happy life." Gilbert commented.
"Exactly!"Logan agreed. "Has my Dad explained to you why you are all here?"
"He has not." Mitchell answered.
"Alright then. So it's kind of a long story. Shall we get started?"
"Yes, please." Collin answered.
"Collin, Paris, scoot your chairs over here. I feel like you aren't even here, you are so far away." Rory told them, seeing them at the far side of the room. "Come over here. Especially you Paris. I'm going to need your help."
"My help? What do you need my help for?"
"I need information. Come help me."
"Alright, so here's what is going on. Collin is doing his best to handle everything, but Dad thought that maybe you guys would be a good source of information on this fight since you have all kinds of crazypeople experience." Logan said as his friends pulled their chairs up closer to Mitchum's desk. "Super early yesterday morning, Rory woke up feeling like something was off with the baby. Her heart was racing, and being a doctor myself, I had the equipment I needed to check thing s out at my office, so I took her down there to find out that she has very high blood pressure. Everything else seemed stable, so I called her doctor, Doctor Gellar, who told me to take Rory to the hospital to have some tests run. I couldn't run the tests myself because I don't have a lab in my office, and it was 3:00in the morning. When we got to the hospital, I took Rory up to labor and delivery like Paris asked me to. I've been an employee of the Columbia University system and Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for the last 5 years, but it's a big place, and all staff members don't know each other. I know a lot of them, and we all have a great relationship. But newer people I only know if I worked with them in the emergency room. I only know a couple of people on the labor and delivery floor, and unfortunately for me, only one of them was working while Rory and I were there, which we found out after everything happened. I got Rory into her room, changed and in bed, then went to talk to the nurses to get her tests run, and the person running the shift on that floor was someone I had never met. From the second this woman was introduced to me, she decided that she didn't like me. Columbia's hospital policy dictates that no staff member can treat a patient who is family, meaning that my wife is not allowed to also be my patient. However, the hospital does give doctors consulting rights pertaining to the treatment of their family and friends."
"What does consulting mean?" Gilbert asked.
"It means that even though Rory is my patient, Logan is allowed to have an opinion on the treatment she receives. It basically makes us team doctors. I am the one handling Rory's care and making all of the decisions, but Logan has the right to question my practices. Question the way I do things, and suggest other methods of treatment and/or medication. I don't necessarily have to agree with how Logan sees things, because being Rory's doctor, her care is ultimately my call. But we make a team effort with our patients in order to give them all the best care possible. We actually do it with all of our patients. We all have different specialties, but that doesn't make any single person an expert on everything. I specialize in obstetrics and Logan specializes in immunology and internal medicine. Logan knows more about viruses and the common cold than I do, while I know more about pregnancy and babies than he does. I actually consult with Logan all the time, whenever I have a pregnant patient who is sick and I need advice on how to treat them, because a lot of family doctors are afraid to treat their pregnant patients, out of fear of hurting the baby. Doctors team treat their patients all the time."
"Alright, Logan, go on." Mitchell urged him.
"I went to talk to the nurses about the tests that Doctor Gellar had told me to request for her."
"So Doctor Gellar, you weren't there?"
"No ,I was at home with my children, I didn't anticipate a problem so I came in at my regular time of 8am." Paris answered.
"When I went to speak with the nurses, I was introduced to the new Physician's Assistant that was running the shift. Her name is Patrice."
"Paris, I need her last night." Rory commented.
"Patrice immediately decided that she doesn't like me. Rather than work with me to help my wife, Patrice decided to patronize me, and lecture me on hospital policy. She didn't care that I have 5 years seniority on her, and that I am a doctor in good standing in the hospital, with a great relationship with the administrative leadership team. This PA decided that it was her job to judge me, and make it hard to get my wife the care that she needed, which is the right of every patient that comes through the hospital doors. Patrice called me manipulative and controlling, when I asked the nurses to allow me to assist them with my wife's care, and give me diagnosis and treatment information, so that I could take the burden off of my wife. My wife has a very high risk pregnancy, which is dangerous to both her and our unborn daughter. All I asked was that they give me the test results and discuss things with me first, allowing me to choose how to break the news to my wife, rather than delivering the information right to my wife who has zero medical background, and could easily misinterpret and over react to the information, putting both her and our daughter at a greater risk. As a medical professional, I thought it was both courteous and helpful to have me to shoulder the burden. But rather than allowing me to help my wife, Patrice decided that not only was she going to refuse to help my wife yesterday, but that she was going to call in a resident to do it. As it turns out, the resident that was on staff is someone who I helped train, and have a great relationship with. Everything was going great as soon as Patrice refused to work with us. I got to work with Wendy, my old resident, and some really great L&D nurses. We were able to get Rory hooked up to all of the monitors that we needed, and get all of her testing done so she could get a couple hours or sleep before Paris came in for her shift at 8am. When Paris came in, she had all of the test results in her hand, which she gladly handed to me for review while Rory slept. Paris diagnosed Rory with Gestational Hypertension."
"What does that mean?" Ronald asked.
"Gestational Hypertension means that Rory developed extremely high blood pressure during the second half of her pregnancy. Normally, it will go away after the baby is born, and not cause any further problems. However, if left untreated, Rory could end up with serious damage to her blood vessels which could decrease blood flow to her liver, kidneys, brain, uterus and the placenta which grows and feeds the baby. As the condition worsens it can lead to pre-eclampsia and eclampsia which could cause placental abruption, poor fetal growth, still birth, seizures, and even death to both mother and baby."
"Wow! So how do you treat this condition?" Gilbert asked.
"With medication, monitoring and lots of rest. Just before we came into this office I hooked Rory up to two different monitors. Rory is wearing an echo cardiogram monitor which monitors her heart rate, and alerts me if there are any changes. She is also wearing a fetal echocardio monitor which monitors the baby's heart rate, the baby's movement and kicks, the placenta feeding and growing the baby, and the fluid surrounding the baby. Because there is a risk of palcental abruption we need to know if the placenta starts to stop working or begins to rupture as it could be fatal to both the mother and baby. Doctor Huntzberger and I will both receive e-mails from the monitors every hour, tracking his wife and daughter's information. We can also monitor them directly from an app on our phones, and see everything that is going on, and the averages for how they are doing. Should there be any changes of event such as Rory's heart rate rapidly increasing, or if the baby's heart were to slow or stop, an alarm would sound on both the monitor and our phones, which would require our immediate attention. Once we open the app, we would immediate see a red bar flashing on the screen to tell us exactly what event was taking place. Along with monitoring his wife via this app, Doctor Huntzberger will be continuing to check her vitals multiple times throughout the day, and report any changes to me. He'll be checking her oxygen, blood pressure, and temperature, as well as monitoring her urine color and output, as well as bowl movements for any abnormalities. While Rory and Logan are staying here in Hartford with Mitchum, they also have help from the nurse the family hired to help Mitchum following his heart attacks. Between, us two doctors, and Mitchum's nurse, we have all hands on deck and both patients are expertly cared for. It's a team effort." Paris explained.
"Alright, so Doctor Gellar reports to the hospital for her shift at 8am, and gave you the test results for your wife. Was that not allowed?" Ronald asked. "Logan, are you listed as someone the hospital is allowed to have contact with on Rory's chart? Because according to HIPAA, your name must be listed on Rory's paperwork, granting the hospital permission to communicate with you, or you are not permitted to have access to any of her medical records."
"Yes, Doctor Gellar and I are well versed in HIPAA practices. Rory and I are both listed on each other's records, as well as on my father's records."
"Both Rory and Logan are also listed on all of mine and my family's records." Paris shared.
"My medical records list Paris, Logan, my mother, and Collin, my attorney, as having access." Rory confirmed.
"Alright Logan, please continue." Gilbert told him.
"Paris and I discussed Rory's results, and then were talking about her care plan, which brought up the events of Rory being brought in. Paris jokingly asked what I did to upset Patrice and make her refuse to care for Rory. Paris doesn't care to work with Patrice, but was curious why Patrice wouldn't work with me since most hospital staff actually really likes me. I honestly had no idea what I did to upset the woman, so we asked Wendy, the resident who had taken on Rory's care, who told us that Patrice's reason for being unwilling to treat my wife was that she feels that I am abusive, manipulative and controlling."
"What makes her think that?" Mitchell asked.
"I wish I knew. Patrice never even laid eyes on my wife. She was nowhere to be seen when I brought Rory in, and Rory was in her room behind a closed door when I met Patrice. She never went into Rory's room, never talked to her. Patrice couldn't pick Rory out of a lineup even if she tried. But somehow from talking to me for 30 seconds, Patrice decided that I am a bad person who she refuses to work with."
"Doctor Gellar, how would you describe Logan? I know that you two are obviously friends, but what is he like professionally? What is he like to work with?" Ronald asked.
"Oh, this is going to be fun!" Paris smiled. "Logan is arrogant. He's smart, he knows his facts. Logan is very educated, and stays up to date on advances in medicine and new illnesses that appear in our society. He is a great diagnostician. He studies, asks a ton of questions, and he does his homework. Logan knows what he is doing, and he is a professional at it. He's definitely got the cocky attitude down, but rightfully so. He is very confidant and honest with his patients. He doesn't lie to them, or manipulate them into any specific treatment the way other doctors do. Logan will sit with you and explain all of the options to you in detail, and if asked, will give his personal opinion on what he feels should be done. He is always open to a second opinion and often initiates additional opinions himself before even approaching his patient with a diagnosis or a treatment plan. He is very easy to get along with, and works great as part of a team. But he's also a great leader. Logan has no problem stepping up and taking the lead on anything, but also doesn't mind taking a step back and allowing someone else to lead either. He almost always has an opinion on everything, and isn't afraid to let it be known. But even when Logan's opinion differs from others, he is at least polite about it, and doesn't cram his opinion down your throat even when he knows for a fact that he is right and you aren't. He's nice about it, and he offers his advice in a calm rational manner that is so nice that it makes you question and hate yourself later on because you wonder just how you were careless enough to not see that your answer was wrong. It takes talent to make people question themselves so deeply."
"So would you say that Logan is controlling? Manipulative? Abusive in any way?"
"Not at all. Especially not when it comes to his wife. Rory and Logan have been together off and on for about 13 years. I've known Rory since high school, and only met Logan in college when we were all at Yale together. But not once has Logan ever been controlling, manipulative, or abusive to her in any way. He's always been kind and gentle. Definitely arrogant and self-centered. He's entitled and a royal pain in my ass. Sometimes secretive. But he's always been pretty good to Rory. He's never lifted a hand to her. Never raised his voice to her. Never called her any names. If anything, he's always acted like a lovesick puppy toward her. Even when him and Rory were broken up, Logan was just hopelessly, disgustingly pathetic when it came to Rory. He would buy her presents to prove his love and commitment to her. Flood our apartment with flowers, chocolates, books, candles, fruit, coffee, anything he could think of that he knew Rory loved, he gave them to her, in abundance. Rory could have made Logan her lapdog, and he would have been happy to be lead around on a pink leash, kissing her ass at any given moment. Logan worships the ground Rory walks on. If Rory says jump, Logan asks how high about halfway up. There is nothing that Logan wouldn't do for Rory. I've never thought that Logan was good enough for my best friend, but he's who Rory chose for a partner, and I have to accept that. But I can assure you that if Logan ever did anything to hurt my best friend, I wouldn't think twice about murdering him with my bare hands."
"When Paris and I were hooking Rory's monitors up in the other room, Paris threatened to chop off my balls and hang them on her office wall if I don't follow her exact instructions on Rory's monitoring." Logan told them. If anyone is controlling, manipulative and abusive, it's Paris." Logan added.
"And I will gladly and proudly admit that I am fully guilty as charged." Paris agreed.
"Collin, you have known Logan for most of his life, as I recall." Mitchell started. "Is what Doctor Gellar said a fair assessment of your friend?"
"I fully agree with everything Paris said. Every single word. And she really will chop off his balls and hang them on her office wall. Then she'll take pictures of her trophy and make sure to send them to you in every text message she ever sends you, just to remind you that she owns you."
"Yes, yes, I am guilty of that too." Paris beamed.
"So then you would agree with Doctor Gellar that the PA made an unfair assumption in her personal opinion of your friend." Ronald confirmed.
"That is correct." Collin answered.
"Alright, let's continue then."
"Paris, would you like to take things from here?" Logan asked.
"I would love to!" Paris agreed. "Logan and I were both upset by Patrice's words, so I left him in Rory's room and went to have a chat with the hospital's chief of staff about what had taken place early yesterday morning. Our resident Wendy, had made us aware that not only was Patrice making unfair, extremely negative judgmental assumptions about Logan, but that she had also shared with the rest of the staff on shift with her. When I got to the chief of staff's office, the door was opened and I saw that Patrice was in his office, already detailing the morning's events to him, making demands that Logan be investigated for patient abuse to his wife."
"Investigated for patient abuse?" Gilbert asked.
"Patient abuse, to his wife." Paris confirmed.
"How is that even possible?" Ronald asked.
"I would like to know that myself." Paris told him. "Our chief of staff, Doctor Schultz, has worked with Logan a lot in the last 5 years. Especially over the last several months as Logan transitioned out of working in the emergency room, to running his own partner clinic with the hospital, in the HPG building. Doctor Schultz knows both Rory and Logan pretty well. The entire hospital board knows them, and I want to say considers them good friends to each board member. I believe most of the board was actually in attendance at Logan's birthday party last month."
"They were. They were also at the clinic opening events." Logan confirmed.
"Logan is very well liked throughout the hospital. Unlike me, who a lot of the other hospital staff is deathly afraid of, because I'm demanding, controlling, manipulative and very boisterous, Logan is friendly, approachable, easy to talk to and get along with. And he's obviously much easier on the eyes. Logan gets along with everyone while I only get along with certain people. But there was Patrice, standing in Doctor Schultz's office, yelling at him about Logan, insisting that he shouldn't be allowed to treat or consult on his wife, and accusing him of being controlling, manipulative and abusive. Doctor Schultz asked Patrice to calm down multiple times, even suggesting that the words and descriptions she was using were hostile and accusatory, and that maybe she should choose to use some different words because the ones she was using are very strong, and very descriptive, and they could force an unnecessary, completely unfair investigation into one of the hospital's best doctors. But the thing is, that investigation is exactly what Patrice wanted. Doctor Schultz tried to assure her multiple times that he would look into what she was saying, and that the situation would be handled. I got so sick of hearing the hatred spewing from the woman's mouth, that I decided to put my two cents in, and apparently made things worse, because a couple minutes later, Patrice stormed out. Two hours later, I was in my office seeing patients, and I received an emergency page to Rory's room, as well as a text message telling me to get there right away. The patient I happened to be seeing was Logan's sister, Honor, so we both went running out of my office, tearing across the hospital as fast as we could to get to Rory to see what was going on. When we walked into Rory's room, Rory had Collin on speaker phone giving her instructions, and a woman from Internal Affairs sitting in a chair next to her, attempting to question her about abuse from her husband."
"Where was Logan when all of this was happening?" Gilbert asked.
"Logan had been approached about twenty minutes prior, and drug down to Doctor Schultz's office to chat about the whole situation. While there, he was made aware that there was an investigation that had just been forced upon them, against the advice of both the board and the chief of staff."
"What kind of investigation?"
"An investigation of alleged abuse to his wife. While I was speaking with Doctor Schultz, Patrice had stormed out and apparently went to the internal affairs office to file a complaint against Logan, and accuse him of controlling, manipulative patient abuse to his wife."
"Shouldn't the only person allowed to file an abuse claim against a spouse be the other spouse?" Mitchell asked.
"See that's the thing. Only a spouse can press domestic abuse charges against their partner. However, a medical professional who is trained to spot abuse can force an investigation should they see the signs and feel that it is necessary for the safety and well-being of their patient."
"But Rory was never her patient. You said that this woman never laid eyes on Rory, nor did she talk to her."
"That is correct! That is exactly correct! You could give Patrice a picture of ten women, heck, 4 of them could be various pictures of Rory, and you could even throw in one of her mother and grandmother, and Patrice still wouldn't be able to tell you which one of the woman Rory was, and she would have a 40% chance of getting it right, and a 60% chance of getting someone in Rory's family! It's completely ridiculous! Hell, you could even throw in a picture of my sister, and give the jerk a 70% chance of getting someone in the family, and she still wouldn't be able to pick the right photo." Logan told them.
"So what you are saying is that Patrice is using her position as a medical professional, to charge you with abuse of your spouse."
"That is correct. She is citing patient abuse of my spouse."
"That's illegal."
"Well, then you need to tell the internal affairs office that, because they are trying to make an example out of me. Because of the seriousness of the allegations, IA is trying to prove that they take these kinds of cases serious, and they've suspended me from work. I am not allowed on hospital property, nor am I allowed to step foot into my own clinic inside of HPG to treat my patients who happen to all be HPG employees. Because the clinic is the HPG employee clinic that partners with the hospital to treat only HPG and Columbia University employees. I am suspended pending completion of their investigation where I need to be found innocent beyond a shadow of a doubt." Logan told them.
"So you are losing business because of the suspension."
"That is correct. I am on paid leave for the time being."
"Who pays your salary?" Ronald asked.
"Both HPG and Columbia University. They are splitting the difference which allows me to both work as a doctor, but also allows me to help Rory out with the business rather than having to be cooped up in the clinic at all times. I am free to see patients as needed, but also to take care of any work that needs to be done around the office whether it be working with the security team to implement new procedures, write and edit articles for one of our papers, or even attend board meetings which I've been doing with my Dad since I was ten years old. I'm an employee of both businesses.
"So essentially they are still paying half of your salary for you to be out on leave pending an end to this ridiculous investigation."
"That is correct."
"And because technically your clinic is on HPG property, technically you aren't allowed on HPG property."
"Well, technically, but you and I both know that they would have a really hard time fighting that one because my wife owns the property, and she would have to be the one to press trespassing charges."
"Just as your wife should also have to be the one to press abuse charges." Mitchell told him. "Technically you are allowed on HPG property as much as you want, and as long as you aren't treating patients inside of the office you share in a partnership with the hospital, you can still work. Does your medical license state that you can only practice medicine inside of the Columbia facility, or are you allowed to practice elsewhere?"
"Since finishing my residency, I am allowed to practice anywhere I want, in both the states of Connecticut and New York."
"So in other words you can treat patients out of your home, or Rory's office, as long as you aren't treating them inside the clinic that you share with the hospital."
"You are completely right." Logan agreed.
"So the internal affairs office launched an abuse investigation against you for the alleged abuse of your wife, and then manipulated you to get you out of your wife's hospital room during a stay for her high risk pregnancy, so they could send someone to question her without your knowledge?" Mitchell asked.
"That is correct."
"That's sneaky and wrong!"
"Yes it is!"
"So Paris walked into the Rory's room to see what was going on, and what happened from there?
"Oh, now this is where it gets comical." Collin commented. "Rory, why don't you take over."
"Logan and I had been up since 2:30 in the morning, after going to bed around 11, and then arrived at the hospital at 4. We were up until about 6 while I got blood draws, urine testing, IV fluids, ultrasounds, an EKG and a bunch of other stuff. We were asleep when Paris came in at 8, but Logan woke up. They didn't wake me until Paris was able to get my new medication started around 9:30. Within an hour of that, someone came in asking to speak with Logan privately. He tried to get them to just talk to him in my room, butt hey refused, so he made sure that I was ok, then stepped out into the hallway, telling me that he would be right back. 15-20 minutes later, this Annie chick comes into my room asking to speak to me about a patient abuse investigation where I was named a victim. I was super confused because I've been in the hospital for a couple injuries, and severe morning sickness, but everyone has always been super amazing to me. The staff always knows exactly who I am, and why I'm there, and they are always so sweet to me and go out of their way to take care of me. I've never once been treated anything other than amazing, and I told the woman that. So then she tells me that the investigation is patient abuse by one specific doctor, and when I ask who, she says my husband. Immediately I thought 'what the HELL is going on?!' So I asked her to give me a second, and I immediately called Collin. There was no way that I was going to be answering questions about anything without an attorney present, especially nota bout some bogus investigation into my husband. So Collin answers the phone, and I told him that I was in the hospital and it was an emergency and I needed him to get there right away."
"Did he come?" Gilbert asked.
"Of course I did! Rory doesn't call me for no reason. When my best friend's wife calls me telling me that there is an emergency, I drop everything to go take care of it. Especially when she tells me that she's in the hospital. I was just leaving my office to run an errand, so I jumped in the car and drove straight to the hospital." Collin told them.
"So I put Collin on speaker phone, making sure that the woman could hear him. Collin asked me what was going on and if I was ok and safe."
"What did you tell him?" Mitchell asked.
"I told him that I didn't know. I told him that I thought that I was ok and safe, but then this woman suddenly showed up, and I had no idea what was going on and what to do. Collin asked where Logan was, and I told him that I didn't know. That someone had asked to speak to him out in the hallway, and I hadn't seen him since. The lady then told me that she believed that Logan was in a meeting with the administrative team, which instantly worried me. Why was my husband in a meeting that neither of us knew anything about, and why was there suddenly some strange woman in my room, questioning me? Collin was on the road heading in my direction, but he told me to have Paris paged and told that I had an emergency and to get to my room, and then I sent her a text message too. I knew that Honor had an appointment with her, but I didn't know if Honor was still with her, or if she had already left the hospital. I didn't know what to do, so I just kept Collin on the phone, and did as he told me to. I hit my call button and asked the nurse to page Paris and tell her it was an emergency, then I sent a text to Paris, and one to Logan to tell him what was going on and that I needed him to get back there, and to see if he was ok and what was going on with him. I was scared and I was all alone except for having Collin on the phone."
"Which wasn't a good combination for a high risk pregnancy with already extremely high blood pressure." Gilbert commented.
"Exactly!"
"They could have caused Rory to have a heart attack, to go into premature labor, or a number of other things." Logan told them.
"Doctor Gellar, were you able to check Rory's monitor readings to see if they spiked during this time?" Mitchell asked.
"I did check, and they did significantly spike. Rory was clearly panicking. Her numbers dropped from the original spike a couple minutes after she got Collin on the phone, but they definitely shot up." Paris answered.
"Alright Rory, please continue." Gilbert told her.
"So I sent the text messages and I sat there with Collin trying to keep me calm, asking me questions while we waited for Paris to arrive. About 5 minutes after sending the text message, both Paris and Honor stormed into the room, which was a huge relief. Paris snapped at the woman, demanding to know what was going on, then left Honor with me, and stormed out to go find Logan. Honor immediately got into bed with me, and we sat talking to Collin, cracking jokes about how pissed Paris was, and how much hell she was going to raise when she found Logan, then how furious Logan was going to be, and how there were going to be epic explosive fireworks. We even asked Collin if he could bring us gummy bears, because gummy bears are a random funny joke in our circle of friends. Whenever there is drama, we need gummy bears to munch on while watching. It's just something that has become hilarious to us. So Collin tells us that he is almost to the hospital, but if he sees a vending machine that has gummy bears, he'll grab us some. The IA lady was just sitting there staring at Honor and I like we were completely crazy, laughing away over what a great show was being put on for us."
"Hey, perfect timing!" Logan said as Honor walked through the door with Rory's laptop.
"Sorry it took so long, we were trying to figure out what movie to watch, and get everyone situated with snacks." Honor told him.
"It's no problem at all Honey. Would you like to join us? Rory was just telling us about your comical morning in the hospital." Mitchum told her.
"Oh geez! That was definitely an eventful morning." Honor agreed, handing Rory her computer.
"So Honor and I were sitting in my bed cracking jokes when Collin finally got there, and tossed us gummy bears, which just made everything even funnier. So then the IA lady asks if we can get started with the interview, and Collin tells her that we could, but his other client has yet to arrive. He then tells me that I need to head into the bathroom with Honor to get changed out of the hospital gown that I was wearing, and put my regular clothes on, because I would be leaving. I reminded him that I had an IV in my arm, and couldn't do anything about it. So then Honor tells us that she knows how to turn the IV off after spending 5 years helping Logan study through medical school. Honor jumps out of the bed, grabs my IV line, turns the drip off, and then disconnects the line from the port in my arm. Part of me wanted to question her, but the other part of me knows Honor pretty well. She's one of my best friends, and I know that both her and Paris spent 5 years helping Logan through medical school, and I know that Logan used her as a pin cushion several times, while learning how to start an IV, so it doesn't really surprise me that Honor knows how to turn the drip off and disconnect the port from the line. She probably could have pulled the port from my arm too, had I asked her to."
"I'm sure I could have, it's not that hard. I'm pretty sure that I can successfully place an IV on my own too." Honor confirmed.
"So Honor disconnected me from the machine, I grabbed my things from where Logan had stashed them when we got there, and went into the bathroom to change with Honor. A couple minutes later Collin called for us to hurry up because the fireworks were coming. So Honor and I finished getting me changed as quickly as we could and got ourselves settled back on the bed about a minute before we heard Logan and Paris coming down the hallway. When Honor and I had gone into the bathroom, I guess Collin called for my discharge paperwork, because we heard a nurse say that some guy in my room had requested it a few minutes prior, when Paris demanded it from the nurse. Honor and I were sitting there giggling like idiots because we knew exactly the storm that was coming, and we knew that Logan and Paris wouldn't dare disappoint, which actually was slightly disappointing because there really wasn't any yelling. They were actually incredibly calm about the whole thing. They came storming into the room, and Paris told Logan to pull my IV and that we were leaving, and for Honor to go with us. She told Logan not to say a single word, just to get me out of there. Paris had me sign the discharge paperwork, and told me exactly what to write. So then two security guards show up at the door, and Paris tells them to escort us to the car, and make sure we get off the property safely, and she sends us on our way." Rory explained.
"Doctor Gellar, what happened when the Huntzbergers left?" Gilbert asked.
"I confirmed with Collin that he would be handling everything, and immediately get a lawsuit filed, then told him to head out, and that I would meet him at his office with all of Rory's medical paperwork. I had given Logan instructions to keep his mouth shut, and to take his wife and sister, and to go straight home and wait for further instructions from me and Collin. So Collin left and then I turned to the idiot from IA and told her that we were going to take a little walk downstairs to have a chat with the chief of staff about the little stunt that she pulled. We went downstairs and Doctor Schultz who knew the exact details of Rory's high risk pregnancy due to our earlier conversation, was pretty pissed. He knew all the risks associated with Rory's pregnancy, and exactly all of the things that could have gone wrong because of this careless woman's sudden interrogation. So we had a chat, and Doctor Schultz agreed that the entire investigation is bogus and unnecessary because there isn't a single ounce of evidence, and that little miss high and mighty Patrice was abusing her power as a medical professional to even suggest such a ridiculous thing. But of course the crazy IA woman decided to insist on continuing her bogus investigation because she says that those types of accusations are serious, and the hospital is forced to hold themselves to the highest of standards, and what kind of example of excellence would they be if they ignored abuse claims against one of their doctors, so they must undergo a thorough investigation to make sure that no patient is harmed, and that they would be doing the same thing had it been any employee, and that they weren't going to ignore it just because it's Logan, who everyone likes. They have to investigate all cases and not pick and choose who to investigate just because one person is liked more than someone else. Which in a way makes sense, but at the same time is completely ridiculous! They are only investigating Logan because Patrice complained to IA and her and the IA woman are friends or something. So now they are digging over a decade into Logan and Rory's past, claiming that they are trying to prove that Logan is innocent in all abuse allegations, beyond a shadow of a doubt. The fact that the entire hospital board has a close personal relationship with both Rory and Logan means absolutely nothing to them. So Collin and I spent all afternoon yesterday, scrolling through 13 years of Facebook posts from all of our family, friends and people that we went to school with at Yale, taking screenshots of everything we could possibly find that showed Rory and Logan's close relationship, and that there has never been any instances of abuse."
"Did you get a lawsuit filed?" Ronald asked.
"We have one ready to go, but decided to wait until we met with you guys today before filing it, because Mitchum thought that you guys would have some additional thoughts on the situation." Collin answered.
"Alright. . . So Logan, do you have any additional thoughts on the situation?" Mitchell asked.
"I do. I am worried for my business and my reputation. I have a brandnew business that is only a month old, and now I am being accused of abuse. Obviously the entire hospital is now going to know about what is going on, so there goes my reputation. And what happens when the media gets wind of this whole thing. Because of who we are, the media loves digging into our personal lives. Rory and I were stalked for weeks when she took over HPG, we got engaged and married. It all happened within a matter of a few days, but we were stalked for weeks. Then then we just got stalked again when the clinic opened and Dad suddenly announced his retirement, officially passing full control of HPG to Rory. Plus, the media found out about the pregnancy. We only told people that the baby is due in early summer, and we've insisted on keeping all pregnancy details to ourselves, and asked our families and close friends to do the same, so we are still getting hounded for that. What happens when word of the investigation gets out? My wife has an extremely high risk pregnancy, and she'll be stalked for months because of rumors of a rift in our marriage. And it's not even like Rory and I can go out in public and shove a show of PDA down people's throats because she's on bed rest. Plus, subjecting Rory to all of that stress, just adds more risks to both her and our daughter. This is just a load of crap that we really don't need to be dealing with right now. This stupid bullshit investigation could completely ruin the entire life and career that I've worked so hard to build for ourselves."
"Rory, what are your thoughts?" Mitchell asked.
"I need Patrice's last name. I'm a reporter, and if those two witches want to play ball, then let's play ball! They can go right ahead and dig into our relationship all they want, because I am going to go digging into their lives as well. I will uncover every single gruesome skeleton that those two have hidden, and I will splash their drama all over the front page of every single newspaper that I own, if that is what it takes to clear my husband's name. I own over half of the newspapers in this country, and a ton more overseas. It won't cost me a single cent to decimate both of them."
"And this is why Dad gave HPG to Rory. Because she is just exactly as ruthless as he is!" Honor said proudly.
"Honor makes a good point." Mitchum agreed.
"I'm going full Emily Gilmore on those two. They have no idea who they are dealing with!"
"That's right, you're a Gilmore." Ronald chuckled.
"You're damn right I am!" Rory told him. "I'm a Gilmore and I learned how to destroy people from my Grandmother. You go for the jugular, and you keep on chomping."
"Your grandmother definitely has some bite." Mitchell told her.
"Yeah she does." Logan agreed. "Rory is also a Hayden. She got all the best traits from all of her Grandparents as well as from her mother. She knows how to both charm and destroy without even breaking a sweat."
"You're a Hayden too?" Gilbert asked.
"I am." Rory confirmed proudly.
"Mitchum, you realize that Rory alone has a larger fortune than anyone in your family, right?" Ronald asked.
"I've been made aware of the situation, yes." Mitchum confirmed.
"Wow! Rory, are you aware of how frighteningly rich and powerful you are?" Mitchell asked her.
"The real question is, are YOU aware?" Rory asked in return.
"Damn Logan! Your wife could decimate your family without even trying." Gilbert chuckled.
"Yes she could!" Logan agreed proudly, ruffling Rory's hair with his free hand. "My wife is amazing. I am very lucky!"