Ben didn’t disbelieve him. Maybe he should have. Maybe he should have been telling him off or something, walking out the door and delivering the message to Penny that Rory had, in fact, been the one to make her feel like she had lost her chance with Bast. But he couldn’t. Because he believed Rory, as much as he didn’t want to, something deep in his gut wouldn’t allow him not to. He hadn’t done it intentionally. Obviously it hadn’t been one of his better ideas, but he hadn’t meant to do it.
That, however, didn’t make it any better. Ben looked at Rory, at how he flinched and retreated a little subconsciously when he asked the undoubtedly uncomfortable questions, but he didn’t back down. Rory may not have been willing to explain to Fiona, but Ben was going to get the truth out of him.
He watched the other man’s eyes wander around the room and land somewhere for a moment, and followed his gaze. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly where he was looking from the distance he was sitting, but the central object in that direction was a photograph of Eisen Bradbury. It seemed odd for him to keep that on his desk; Ben certainly didn’t keep photos of Jacen or Calvin on his desk. Photo albums, maybe. But not on his desk. Odd, he thought calmly.
He didn’t agree or disagree with what Rory said, mostly because he wasn’t sure if he actually agreed or disagreed with it. But he did give his opinion as Fiona’s brother. “It seems to me that Fiona doesn’t want better. And if you think she’s so great, why can’t you get past it and just give the two of you a chance?”