<how is he doing?> Rory wrote
<he had another nutty last night. We've got Robert on his case now > Finn replied
<would it help if I came over? Or make it worse?>
<let me suss it out and let you know. If I think you should come, I'll let you know asap >
Finn turned to Colin and showed him the texts from Rory. Colin shrugged and said "I don't think she should come yet. He's not even talking to us yet."
Logan had yet to come out of the bedroom even though it was starting to get dark again, and the boys were taking turns checking on him. He mostly just lay there, staring into nothing. He would give short responses when asked a direct question, but declined to talk or tell them what he was thinking.
The boys began to make dinner plans and had a long debate over the merits of Indian versus Thai food. In the end they had been unable to make a decision.
Logan finally came out of the room and sat with the boys. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink all night and had a days worth of stubble on his face. He ran his hands over his face and finally began to speak.
"I'm sorry for shutting you all out today, but I needed to think this through for myself. Rory and I are going to have a baby. It's terrifying. I don't know how to be a good father. I have no idea what this means for my relationship with Rory. But... I'm going to be a father. That means at the very least that I have to be present. I'm going to call Mitchum and tell him that I need to transfer back to the states. Hopefully he'll go along with my request without too much resistance. If he's not going to accommodate me, I'm quitting HPG. I need to be close enough to Rory and the baby to be a real presence." He finished and looked around the room. Finn and Colin were smiling and nodding. Robert had a pensive look on his face.
"Good. Step one, I guess is to call Mitchum." Robert agreed.
"No, step one is to talk to Rory." Finn replied.
Logan sighed. "I'm not sure what I want to say to her right now."
Finn immediately responded "Tell her exactly what you just told us. She's been texting me since yesterday, making sure we were with you and that you are ok. She really does care about you and is trying to make sure that she can give you time to process, but she's offered to come to you when you are ready. I think you should talk to her."
Logan thought about what Finn had said. "She's been texting you? What about you two?"
Colin nodded and held up his phone. "It's mostly been Finn, but she's checked in with me as well. Do you want to see?" He extended his phone towards Logan but he shook his head, and raised an eyebrow to Robert.
"Nothing to me. I'm not sure she has my cell number though." He shrugged.
Logan sat back and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He saw a missed text from Rory.
<I don't know how to say this by text, but I think I have to just get this out there. Logan, I have no idea if I would have reached out to you if I wasn't pregnant. We will never know for sure, but I want you to remember that I did call you even though I freaked out and couldn't speak to you. I did want to tell you not to marry Odette, I just didn't want to mess up your life.>
Logan reread the text a few times trying to absorb it. He wanted so badly to believe that she would have said something even if she wasn't pregnant. He wanted her to want to be with him aside from the baby.
He typed out his response. <Ace, I think we should talk.> He was surprised by her immediate response.
<Yes. I meant what I said yesterday. I'm here and ready to talk any time. I can be in Hartford in 30 minutes.>
Logan finally let a small smile break through on his face. <No, I'll come to you. I'll be there within the hour.>
"Ok. I'm going to need the keys to the SUV. I'm going to Stars Hollow."
Fin immediately jumped up. "Go grab a shower and we will all go. Luke's for dinner!" he laughed.
Logan smiled. "Ok. Let's try this again. Give me 15 minutes." Logan hurried to the bedroom to shower and change.
Finn and Colin high fived each other, but Robert was a bit more reserved. "Don't get your hopes up, boys. This is far from sorted."
Barely ten minutes later, Logan came back in the room, freshly dressed with his hair still wet. The four men headed out.
As they settled into the SUV, Colin turned to Logan. "So. Are you ready for this?"
Logan shook his head and laughed. "No. I'm not ready for any of this. But I guess that's just how it's going to be. I will have to figure it out as I go along."
Finn's voice from the back seat carried over the group. "In omnia paratus!"
Logan chuckled. "Sure. But I gotta tell you, this is a lot scarier than any of our stunts."
"The bigger the risk, the better the reward." Finn replied.
