When Its Meant To Be

Chapter Sixteen: Breakthrough

Rory stood in the common room waiting for her coffee to brew, anxiously waiting for some word about Logan. He had called about two hours ago asking her to get in touch with his sister so she could go and bail him out of jail. He hadn't gone into details about why he was in jail or about what had happened. And so, Rory was beside herself with worry.

She checked the clock; her eyes kept shifting frantically from the coffee pot to the clock while she nervously tapped her foot on the floor.

She should have insisted on going with Honor to bail him out, at least that way she would be able to see for herself if he was alright. Her brain started going into overdrive, dreaming up all different kinds of scenarios. And she needed to see Logan for herself to make her feel relaxed.

Twenty minutes passed and she had drunk a lot of coffee in the process before she heard muffled voices in the hallway. She sprang from the couch and ran over to the door, pulling it open as she saw a tired and bloodied Logan scowling as his sister laid into him. He raised his eyes to Rory in recognition but didn't say anything as he and Honor entered the dorm room. Rory just stood there, holding the door open feeling relieved that Logan was there. He was finally there.

"Of all the stupid, moronic, idiotic things you've done, I cannot believe you got into a bar fight!" Honor's voice was full of condemnation. Logan ignored her and sat on the couch and turned on the TV. He began flicking through the channels as Honor continued on her tirade. Rory finally shut the door and walked over to where Honor was pacing back and forth. Her eyes fell upon Logan and she noticed the rather large cut on the side of his face. She saw that his shirt was bloodied, his hair was a mess and he looked so pale and tired. When he ran his hand through his messy hair, she winced as she saw his knuckles were cut as well. Immediately she went into autopilot and made a beeline for the drawer with the first aid kit. She pulled it out and went over to the couch. She sat beside Logan and went about cleaning him up.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Honor babbled on, "You weren't thinking, were you? That's your problem. You never think! You just do stupid stuff all the time. You could have gotten really hurt. You could've hurt somebody else. Did you think about that? Of course you didn't. You don't think about anybody but yourself!"

Logan gazed down at Rory curiously as she reached up to dab some antiseptic to his cut. He winced in pain as soon as she made contact with his bleeding skin but let her continue. She whispered sorry to him but carried on doing the same to his knuckles. She cleaned him up and then applied a dressing over the cut on his head. She wrapped a bandage over his knuckles and stared up at him with concern on her face as she appraised her work. She brushed her fingers softly over the cut on his lip. Logan leaned towards her and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead as a thank you and as way of alleviating her fears. He could see the horror and worry in her eyes and he wished he could kiss it away. He squeezed her hand in his and then winced as the pain rushed through his body.

"Do you have any idea what Dad's going to say when he finds out about this? He is going to kill you. You know that, right? He is going to kill you!" Honor shook her head and slumped down on the chair across from both Rory and Logan. Logan placed another kiss on Rory's forehead and she rest her head on his shoulder. She could relax now. Logan was alright and he was safe. They needed to talk about what had happened, but right now she was just happy that he was okay.

"Honor, look I'm sorry about all of this. I appreciate you bailing me out…"

"Again. How many times is this?" she interrupted him with annoyance in her tone.

Logan sighed. "I owe you."

Honor brightened at this. She sat up in her chair and placed her hands on her lap. "You do owe me, don't you?"

"Whatever you want," Logan said calmly as Rory traced her fingers softly over his bandaged hand.

"You could come to the funeral tomorrow. Or I guess its today now. I haven't even been to bed yet."

Logan sighed and lay back against the couch. "Honor," he whined. He had managed to forget about the fact that his Grandfather was getting buried tomorrow. He didn't want to be reminded. He didn't want to deal with it at all.

"Logan, you have to come. He loved you and you loved him. This is your chance to say goodbye." She tried to reason with him, her tone becoming softer in the process. She knew how hard he had taken his Grandfather's passing. But he couldn't bury his head in the sand. It wasn't healthy.

Logan frowned as he dropped Rory's hand and pulled himself up from the couch.

"Maybe I don't want to say goodbye," he muttered as he made his way through to Rory's bedroom, leaving his girlfriend and his sister to look on with concern on their faces and in their hearts. As he banged the door shut behind him, Honor sighed and turned her gaze to Rory. Rory smiled sadly and then stared back at the door.

"He needs to be there. He can't keep going the way he's going. Grandpa wouldn't want him to be so depressed." Honor explained. Rory glanced back at her and saw how tired and defeated she looked.

This past week, Rory had put so much energy into being there for Logan. She understood how hard it must be. She couldn't even contemplate losing her own Grandfather. Nothing terrified her more and so she had tried to do whatever she could to help Logan and understand. But as she watched Honor closely she could see how heavily the strain of trying to hold everything together was taking on the blonde. She looked so tired and frail. She wasn't the bubbly, happy Honor. She was a sad, lonely young woman who had not only lost her Grandfather but also had been pushed away by the one remaining family member that she could stand. From what she had heard and seen, Honor had always been the peacemaker in the Huntzberger family, backed up by a stern old man. Now he was no longer in the picture. She was on her own and receiving pressure from all sides. Rory couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Logan was too far absorbed in his own grief that he couldn't see how much pain his sister, his closest relative was in. And she knew that he would hate himself for that.

Rory stood up and moved over to where Honor was sitting. She sat down on the coffee table in front of her and placed her hand over Honor's. As the older woman gazed up at her she could see her eyes full of unshed tears. Rory's heart broke for her. She squeezed her hand tighter and smiled fondly at her. "He'll be there. I'll make sure he's there."

Her voice was barely a whisper but the comfort Honor took from her words was visible on her face. A stray tear fell down her cheek and Rory wiped it away. Honor smiled and squeezed her hand firmly. "Thank you, Rory. For everything. I'm glad he has you. I don't want him to be alone in this. I wish I could make it better for him. I wish…"

"Honor, you're an amazing sister. Logan knows that you're there for him. Just give him time and he'll be there for you too." Rory assured her and Honor smiled. Another tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away.

"God, I must look ridiculous!" she said as she clutched her purse and pulled out her compact. As she began surveying the damage to her face after a night of no sleep and no make-up, Rory stood up and walked over towards the kitchenette to make some more coffee.

"Do you want some coffee?" she offered. Honor finished assessing her puffy eyes and gathered her stuff together. She stood up and started walking towards the door. She shook her head as Rory filled up the coffee pot.

"No thank you. I need to get some sleep and I won't if I have any caffeine."

"Are you sure?" Rory offered again seeing how tired Honor looked.

"No. I'm good." Honor shook her head and peered over towards the bedroom. "I should go. Just keep an eye on him, okay?"

Rory nodded and then met her at the door. Honor grabbed the notepad from beside the telephone and began scribbling on it. She ripped the sheet of paper off and handed it to Rory.

"These are all the details for the funeral. It starts at 9.30 am. Try and get him there. I'll be forever indebted to you." She said pleadingly. Rory smiled and nodded her head.

"He'll be there," she said firmly. Honor sighed and offered her a grateful smile. Rory gave her a warm hug and held the door open as she slid out into the hallway. "Goodnight."

Rory shut the door and poured herself some coffee, her eyes drifting towards her bedroom. She sighed as she thought of Logan and all that he was going through. Her sympathy turned to anger though as she remembered what had happened tonight. He had gotten into a fight and then wound up in jail. Honor was right; he was an idiot.

Finishing her coffee, she cleaned the mug and turned off all the lights before heading to her bedroom where she was planning on confronting him. She opened the door and stopped in her tracks as she saw Logan sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. He looked so lost and sad that her resolve to quiz him on his antics melted a little. She slipped into the room and quietly shut the door behind her. She made her way over to the bed and stood in front of him, watching him for a few seconds before he finally lifted his head up and gazed up at her with sad eyes.

"Logan…what happened tonight?" she asked while trying not to throw her arms around him and ease his pain. Logan just sighed but kept his eyes locked on hers. He didn't reply but placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer to him. He rest the side of his face against her stomach and just closed his eyes. Rory hesitated for a few seconds before running her fingers through his hair. She leaned down and kissed his hair and then cupped his face with her hands. "Logan…?"

"Can we talk about it in the morning?" he pleaded with her, "I just want to go to sleep."

Rory nodded and made her way to the other side of the bed. As she climbed in, her eyes stuck on Logan as he removed his shirt. She noticed him wince in pain once again and then her eyes widened in horror as she saw a large purple bruise on his lower back. She gasped and had to stop herself from flying across the bed to examine this new blemish on his otherwise perfect skin.

"Logan…?"

"Just go to sleep, Ace." Logan's voice sounded flat and tired. He didn't have the energy to get into another fight. He just wanted to forget this night had happened and go to sleep. He waited for Rory to say something else but she remained silent and so he unbuttoned his pants and pushed them off before climbing into bed and lay on his side facing away from Rory. He reached over to turn off the bedside lamp and felt his injuries again. When he lay back down, he let out a long heavy sigh and closed his eyes. He didn't say another word but he didn't go to sleep either. He couldn't. He had too much on his mind. He had screwed up tonight, he knew that much. If it hadn't been for Colin and Finn pulling him off that guy in the bar, things might have been a lot worse. Although right now he couldn't think of anything worse than having to bury his grandfather in the morning.

He felt Rory shift on the bed and he knew that she was still awake. He wanted so desperately to reach out to her. For her to tell him that everything would be alright. Right now, she was the only thing keeping him even remotely sane and he knew that he was taking advantage of that. He knew that she would do anything for him and while he had once thought that he was falling for her, he was too mixed up right now to deal with letting someone else into his heart. He couldn't afford to lose anyone else right now. But he didn't want to be alone. He couldn't go through this by himself. He really didn't want to admit it to himself, but he needed someone to remind him to take a breath and Rory didn't seem to mind being that person.

RLRLRLRLRLRL

Morning light crept through the window awakening Logan from his sleep. He took a few moments to let his brain adjust before slowly opening his eyes. He let out a yawn and slid his hand over the other side of the bed, feeling for Rory. She wasn't there.

A feeling of disappointment flooded over him. He had grown accustomed to waking up beside her lately.

He lay in bed for a moment longer before the pain of his newly sustained injuries registered. His body ached all over and he could really do with some painkillers to take the edge off. Sitting up, he surveyed the room before his eyes landed on a glass of water and two little white pills sitting on the nightstand. He smiled to himself, touched that Rory would be so thoughtful. He reached over and swallowed the pills washing them down with the water, wincing in pain all the way.

He lay back down on the mattress and shut his eyes hoping to drift back to sleep, however at the back of his mind, he knew there was an important event taking place today, and as much as he wanted to forget all about it, he couldn't.

He wasn't going to the funeral. His mind was made up but that didn't stop him from feeling guilty. He just couldn't face it. He couldn't watch them bury his Grandfather. He couldn't bear to see his mother and father acting like they actually gave a damn.

His throat tightened and he felt tears prickle the back of his eyes. Letting out a deep breath, he flung off the covers and slowly climbed out of bed. He searched for a clean t-shirt and pulled it on, covering his bruised ribs.

Logan then made his way through to the common room, where he fixed himself a cup of tea and plopped down onto the sofa. He turned on the TV and began his daily ritual of flicking through channel after channel until he came across something that spiked his interest.

He could feel the painkillers start to take effect and he wished for something that could numb his mind as well as his body from the physical and emotional pain he felt. The TV would have to do.

Ten minutes passed and the door to the common room opened. Logan pulled his eyes away from the TV to see Rory standing there with a coffee container in one hand and suit bag in the other. He furrowed his brows and turned off the TV.

"Hey, where have you been?" he asked as she draped the suit bag over the chair and finished her coffee.

"I just had to drop by your apartment to pick up some things for you," she explained while removing her jacket. She sat down on the chair opposite him and began searching through her own bag.

"What things?" he asked leaning forward, holding his side. He was curious now.

"Um, just a suit and shoes and a tie," she answered him distracted in her quest to find whatever it was she was looking for in her bag. Logan was growing frustrated with her.

"Why would I need a suit, shoes and a tie, Rory?" he asked already knowing the answer to that question. Finally, she looked up at him and met his gaze.

"For the funeral," she said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Logan let out a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, trying to maintain his cool.

"But I'm not going to the funeral," he said firmly, his jaw clenched.

"Yes you are."

"Rory-" She cut him off before he could start his tirade.

"Logan, this is your chance to say goodbye."

"I don't want to say goodbye."

"Well tough. You're going."

"No, I'm not," he said childishly and sat back on the couch, glaring at her.

"Okay, I have tried to be patient with you. I have tried to be understanding because I can't imagine what you're going through, but you're not the only one who lost someone, Logan. Will you stop being so selfish?" she lambasted him, "Honor needs you. She lost her Grandfather too, but she isn't sitting around in her underwear watching TV. She is running around, bailing out her brother from jail, trying to help arrange everything, whilst dealing with your parents."

"Have you even once stopped to consider how she feels? No, of course you haven't. You just shut her out, just like you shut out Colin and Finn and me. Honor lost her Grandfather too. And in a way it's actually worse for her, because not only did she lose him, but she lost you too. You cut her out of your life when she needed you the most and I'm not going to sit around and just watch you hurt the people you claim to love. So, go take a shower and get dressed, because you are going to that funeral, Logan. Finn will be here in one hour and you better be ready."

Logan let her words sink in and he instantly knew that she was right. Growing up, Honor had been his closest family and they had always been there for one another. But now when they both needed each other the most, he had pushed her away and let her go through all of this by herself. He had been so consumed with his own feelings of guilt and anger that he had forgotten to consider the feelings of the only family member he had left who really meant anything to him. He was a terrible brother. She had always been there to take care of him, to clean up his messes and this was how he repaid her.

"You're right," he admitted shamefully. Rory's anger dissipated and she sat down on the couch beside him, taking his hands in hers.

"You have to go, Logan. You should have seen how upset she was last night. She needs you," Rory said softly, squeezing Logan's hands.

"I know," he nodded and lowered his gaze to their entwined hands. Breathing a heavy sigh, he stood up and made his way through to Rory's bedroom. Rory watched him as he went with a triumphant smile on her face. She had finally managed to get through to him. She was so relieved. Her smile dropped slightly when he turned back to face her.

"Hey Rory?" He met her gaze and she could see how much he was struggling with all of this.

"Yeah?"

"Will you come with me?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly. She had never seen him look so vulnerable. Her heart swelled with sympathy and love for him. She smiled and nodded slowly.

"Of course."

AN: Next chapter will be the funeral. I hope you liked this one and are sticking with me despite my poor updating record of late. I'm trying to rectify that. Thanks for reading.