A Different Kind Of Life

Chapter 15

"How'd it go?" Lorelai asked as Richard, Doyle, Collin and Honor walked back into the conference room a few minutes later. "Where are Rory and Logan?"

"It went really good." Richard told her. "Everyone is good to go for the press conference."

"I think Rory needed a few minutes." Honor told her. "She looked really stressed out."

"Do you know where they are?" Lorelai asked getting up from her chair.

"I saw them go into Rory's office." Doyle answered.

"Excuse me." Lorelai said quickly exiting the room, and heading to help her daughter as quickly as she could, gently knocking on the door as soon as she arrived at the office.

"Who is it?" Logan asked.

"It's Lorelai, can I come in?"

"Sure." he said softly, still holding Rory who had calmed down a little bit.

"Oh, Honey . . ." Lorelai said softly as she walked into the office and saw Rory crying in Logan's arms.

"I think she is just really overwhelmed right now."

"What happened in that meeting?"

"The hospital was able to get my Dad's medical records, and as it turns out, he has had a heart condition for years. Dating back to when I was in college, but has been refusing treatment, and hiding it from everybody! Honor and I are going to be setting up a treatment plan to force Dad into getting the help that he needs, including a stay at a rehab facility, forbidding his return to work until his treatment plan is completed and signed off by his medical team. The idea was then brought up to keep Rory on as permanent co-CEO even after my Dad eventually comes back. Just in case something happens down the line, whether it's in a few months, or even a few years. It prevents us from having to go through any of this all over again."

"Wow! He's lucky it took this long for him to have a heart attack! And he's probably lucky that this heart attack didn't immediately kill him."

"Exactly my thoughts!" Logan told her.

"That is a lot to take in."

"Honor and I are going to meet with Dad's care team next week to get a treatment plan set up., including sending him to some fancy celebrity rehab facility out of state until we are all confidant that he can come back to work without jeopardizing his health. And we are kind of hoping that by sending him to a fancy resort type facility, maybe he will love it so much that he won't want to come back."

"Yeah, good luck with that one!" Lorelai chuckled as Rory sniffled, and started to pull away from Logan. "Honey, are you ok?"

"I need coffee." Rory said super softly.

"Ok, why don't you sit down on the couch with Logan, and I'll go find you some coffee, ok?"

"Thanks." Rory murmured as Logan moved her toward the couch, and helped her to get comfortable as Lorelai quickly left the office in search of coffee.

"You can skip the press conference if you want to." Logan told her.

"No, I have to go. What's the point in the press conference to discuss the new CEO, if said CEO isn't in attendance?"

"Rory, you aren't in any condition to deal with a press conference right now."

"I just need some coffee. I'll be ok."

"Rory. . ." Logan sighed adjusting his arm around her as they sat together on the couch. "You don't have to pretend for me. I know you. It is perfectly ok for you to not be ok. You have had a stressful couple of weeks, and in the last few days, the hits just keep on coming your way. It is ok for you to meltdown. It's perfectly ok for you to need a break right now. This is all a hell of a lot to deal with. You are handling all of this with such strength and grace. I can't think of a single person who could possibly handle all of this better than you are."