Patchwork heart

17

Chapter 17

"No! We don't need to go!" Rory insisted, pacing around the room, still trying to make it look like the evening was casual enough to just continue to eat her dumplings.

"Why not!?" Logan replied, following her.

"I can wait to see my doctor just like everyone else! There's no need to do this tonight! Besides - I don't have that kind of money!" Rory exclaimed, clearly shifting from one thought to another way too quickly for her own good right this minute.

"I can swing it. I have...," Logan replied, pausing for a moment. In his head he was now doing a very different kind of math now. He had savings, his salary and some assets too. He could most definitely pay for one urgent care visit. But it wasn't exactly the way he had been once used to throwing his money around. If he did this - it'd leave a gaping hole in his fairly frugal budget living in New York City had forced him into, being the kind of guy who didn't like to dip into his savings.

"Logan!" Rory chimed as if reprimanding him, adding - "I haven't even taken the test yet. It might be nothing. I'd hate to spend your money if it all turns out to be nothing."

That end of the sentence touched something in Logan - a part of him that he didn't really know existed in him. If this turned out to be nothing - would he really hate it?

"Ugh, I just hate not knowing," Logan groaned, running his fingers through his hair, frustratedly, being not quite ready to go into the discussion of whether they actually wanted this. It was terrifying, that was for sure.

"So do I," Rory agreed, sounding relieved to be on the same page.

"Then just let me do this. Let me pay for...," Logan insisted, pleadingly, and held her hands in his. He didn't even know why he felt so comfortable slipping into his former self and using money to 'fix' situations. Today's news suddenly looked a lot less like a punishment to him. It was a relief to feel like he had something to fall back on again. But at the same time he knew it to be a very slippery slope. If he leaned on the possibility too much, he'd be making the decision without actually thinking things through.

"If I am... this would be the least of all the expenses I'll have," Rory replied. Logan could tell she knew more about this than he did - possibly through Lane or maybe she'd already had a chance to go into research mode on this. It wouldn't have surprised him the least bit. Truthfully, he felt a little silly for not having considered that this could just be the beginning.

"We'll have," Logan corrected her. His arms found her hips, steadying her from her nervous body language. Closing in on her was intoxicating, feeling her breath on him. He just wanted her to feel like she wasn't alone in this and vice versa.

"I love you," Rory said, touching his cheek and leaning in to kiss him gently.

"I love you too," Logan whispered, and gently kissed the skin just below her ear.

"Maybe...," Rory began, still unable to let this go.

"What?" Logan asked, hopefully.

"False negatives are a lot less likely - maybe we could just try to do the test now? I don't think I could sleep a wink if I don't do something. But I don't want to overreact, and Dr. Simmons really would be overreacting," Rory suggested, trying to reason with him.

"Fine. Do it," Logan encouraged.

Rory disappeared to get her purse and took its contents to the bathroom with her. Upon her return, the test in hand, Logan tucked his hands into his pockets and waited anxiously.

"I guess now it's just left to wait," Rory exhaled, taking a seat on the couch. "I swear, the last thing I expected to be doing a couple of months into my fellowship," she added.

In these brief moments Logan hadn't really considered this. But then again he knew that her fellowship wasn't a long term one - just 6 months. She could still finish this. It was just what she did after that would be put in limbo. Knowing her background, the way her mother had had her, Logan knew putting her career on any kind of hole was a big insecurity for her. This was something to make him tone down his enthusiasm - maybe for her this wasn't something to cheer over.

"While we wait... there's something I need to tell you," Logan inhaled sharply, feeling he needed to come clean about the day's events. Better now than never. Better late than never.

"Okay..," Rory hesitated.

"I saw my dad's lawyers today," Logan began.

"I know, you told me..," Rory replied.

"And, it seems he didn't quite cut me off the way I'd thought he did," he continued.

"What!?" Rory exclaimed, sounding surprised.

"But I have a decision to make. It's all or nothing - I mean, of course, mom and Honor and.. Everyone else will get their designated shares. But I need to decide whether I'll take the controlling share at the company or not. If not - it will be divided up amongst others," Logan explained.

"Oh my...," Rory reflected, taking in everything.

"And I honestly don't know what to do," Logan confessed, failing to add that the situation was looking even more fuzzy in the light of this new possibility.

"So, you didn't know at all?" Rory asked.

"I had no idea. I hadn't talked to him, not really... He never said anything since I confronted him about it, and I didn't ask. I just assumed," Logan explained. He hadn't had a lot of time to process it, but some small part of him wanted to believe that it was not just forgetfulness or revenge that had caused this to happen. Maybe this was the best his father could do, hoping to let him take the hint that he'd been at least a little proud of him for doing his own thing?

Rory didn't say anything.

"I was ready to turn down whatever there was in store for me... I expected him to just have forgotten something. Something small like an old sail boat or something," Logan continued.

"Yeah, small," Rory tried to laugh about it.

"But now with this...?" Logan began, gesturing at the test in front of them, but didn't really get to finish his thought.

It was then Rory's phone alerted them, indicating the two minutes were up.

It was the moment of truth. Was there a 'this'?

"I don't think I can look," Rory said nervously, sounding awfully cute like that.

Logan was the one to look, while Rory squeezed her eyes shut. "Well, it's not negative..," Logan said, feeling his entire world turn around. His priorities were shifting, his worldview becoming less focused on proving something but simply wanting to provide without limitations. He could do it, he knew it. It would almost be the easy thing to do, if he figured out how to live with himself if he did.