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A/N: This chapter has been coming slowly… There's a lot of lines from the actual show, because I wanted to go with what happened in the show up to Logan's accident and I find that really hard to write seeing as it is not really my own words and it's hard to build something around them (and no matter how I do it, it always seems to turn out with a lot of –he said's and –she said's). I'm not pleased with how this chapter turned out, but it is more of a transition-chapter anyways, so hopefully you'll bear with me and I promise the next chapter will be better (and more exciting!)

Thank you for the reviews I've been getting so far – I appreciate them highly and hope for more seeing as they always get me in the writing-mode!


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"We have a wonderful idea" Rosemary announced as she and Juliet made their way through the Yale Daily News.

"We are going to Costa Rica" Juliet filled in before Rory had a chance to react.

"What?" She asked, confused and not really willing to rip herself away from the work she had on the computer in front of her.

"We're gonna fly out tonight and meet the guys at the end of their river-rafting trip." Rosemary declared, looking rather proud at the idea.

"We thought we'd set up a fabulous camp, dress up like natives, in grass skirts and coconut bras and meet the boys with food, fresh booze and shaving cream. What do you think?" Juliet said and Rory could feel both girls staring at her, waiting for an answer.

"I think you should double-check your guidebooks, 'cause I don't think Costa Rican natives wear grass skirts and coconut bras" Rory answered, still not really taking her focus off of the piece she'd been editing.

"Oh, who cares" Juliet smiled, not letting anything get her down. "There's only a small window of time were a girl can pull of a coconut bra"

"Well, thanks for the invite, but I can't" Rory answered, with her whole body trying to show them how engulfed she was in her work, that way hoping they wouldn't pick up on what was really on her mind, or rather: who.

"What, why?" Rosemary sounded as if she couldn't really believe what she was hearing.

"Don't you want to see Logan after six days without a shower?" Juliet interjected before Rory had a chance to answer.

"Or styling gel?" Rosemary continued her friend's argument.

"I have a wedding to go to, and I'm leaving in a minute to head home." Rory tried to explain, hoping the girls would settle for that explanation.

"Rats!" Rosemary exclaimed.

"Logan will be very disappointed" Juliet said in a last attempt to convince Rory to accompany them.

Nothing compared to what he'll be when he gets home, she thought and sighed. She needed to keep up appearances in front of these girls, there was no need to make anyone suspicious of her plans before she got the chance to talk to Logan.

"Well I'll hide the soap and the Kiehl's, and we can re-enact it when he gets back." Rory said and attempted a smile.

"Hmm, I'm feeling a chill from the north." Juliet said and interchanged a look with Rosemary.

"Okay, well, if you change your mind, and please change your mind, call my cell, we leave at ten." Rosemary's leaned forward as she spoke in a pleading voice.

"Have a safe flight" Rory answered the plea, hoping they would leave soon, which they in fact did.

Rory finished the last details of the layout and with a minor interruption from Paris she left the newsroom and headed towards her car and Stars Hollow.


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Walking home from Lane's bachelorette party Rory felt happy. Happier than she had done in a long time. She had had an amazing night out with two of her best friends, one of which was getting married tomorrow – and with every hour passing she was getting closer to starting her new life with Jess.

"I have to make a call" Rory said as her mother stepped onto the porch, heading for the door.

"Hit the lights when you got to bed" Lorelai answered when she reached the top of the stairs. "And if I don't make it to the bedroom, please make sure I'm not sleeping on any shoes." She turned around added before entering the door. "Shoes leave marks on the face and I have to look pretty tomorrow"

Rory smiled. "I promise"

She waited until her mother had closed the door behind her before she picked up her phone and dialed Jess' number with a smile on her face.

He picked up at the second tone. "Party's over already?"

"Already?" She laughed. "It's two o' clock in the morning."

"But still, I've always figured bachelorette parties were wilder than that, especially when the bachelorette in question is a rock star."

Rory sat down on the porch steps. "Well, we had to call it a night rather early, 'cause guess what?" She waited a second or two for the dramatic effect. "We have to attend two ceremonies tomorrow."

"Two ceremonies?" He sounded confused. "Who else is getting married?"

"No one. But get this: Lane's grandmother showed up. Turns out she's a Buddhist and Lane's mother has been hiding the fact that she's a seventh day Adventist. So they have to perform two ceremonies, one for the grandmother and one for the mother and the rest of us."

"Huh"

Neither of them said anything further, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was a silence that felt good. She just wished he was there, next to her.

She hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell him that. "I don't know if it's wrong of me to say this, as I haven't broken up with Logan yet…" She started. "…but I miss you Jess."

He was quiet for a few seconds before he answered. "I miss you too"

That was all the confirmation she needed to get the courage to tell him exactly how much she missed him. "I know we haven't really been together for years, but now, when we finally figured out that we want to be together I miss you so much I can't think of anything else."

"You want me to come up there? I could say I'm there to visit Luke." He asked, trying to sound casual.

"Nah. It's ok. Apparently there's this big final party in Costa Rica tonight, and after that I'm guessing Logan will be on his way home. I'm thinking it'd be better if you weren't here when I talk to him. Besides, Luke's still on that school trip with April."

"Yeah. You're probably right" She could hear him sigh on the other end. "You should probably get some sleep, it would look bad if the maid of honor fell asleep during the ceremony"

"Yeah, I should" She got up from the porch steps. "Jess…" She said and bit her lip unconsciously.

"Yeah?"

"I love you" She smiled with her whole face.

"I love you too" She couldn't be completely sure, but she was almost certain that he was smiling too.


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The wedding had been a trial. All was well with the bride and the groom; they were happy, both ceremonies had gone well and the party had been great.

But Rory had suffered. There was something about weddings that made people want to talk about things. Things like love and boyfriends and future marriages of other people that wasn't getting married at this wedding.

Her father had given Logan his blessing. He had told her he liked Logan and that he approved of them being together and she had sat there wanting to tell him that she didn't want him to approve; she didn't need him to approve. He might like her and Logan together, but she didn't, not any longer. But she couldn't say any of that, she had to sit through the conversation and pretend she was glad they were having it. He was trying to be a father and it was the worst possible timing.

And her mother… Her mother had accidentally seen a picture of April in Rory's camera and she had been forced to confess that she had gone to Philadelphia to see Jess. Lying to her mother was the hardest part. That; and seeing the hurt in her mother's eyes when she learned that she had met with April.

Now, here they were, having carried her home after what could only be described as The Collapse.

"Get her over to the couch" Rory instructed her father and watched him settle Lorelai down.

"Man, I must say, when your mother does something, she commits" Chris said as he pulled a blanket over her.

"Just prop her up. I'm gonna make some coffee" Rory said as she headed for the kitchen.

"You know hon, if the two gallons we poured down her throat at the wedding didn't do anything, I'm not sure what two more cups will." Her father interjected.

"Hey, no one knows how to wrangle the powers of coffee like a Gilmore. Just prop her up. She hates to get pillow face." Rory said before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Pillow face. Got it." She heard her father say to himself as he moved around the living room.

She was busy filling the coffee pot with water when her phone rang. Her first instinct was to ignore it, but thinking it might be Jess, she decided against that and pulled her phone out.

"Hello."

"Rory?" The voice on the other end, which she recognized, but couldn't quite place, asked.

"Yeah, this is she" She answered, a uneasy feeling starting to build inside her stomach.

"This is Colin – Logan's friend" He explained, as if she wouldn't know who he was only by hearing his name.

"Hey" She said slowly, trying to wrap her mind around why he had called her. Had Logan found out about Jess? No, that was impossible.

The line started cracking up and Colin's voice disappeared at times in a haze of white noise. She could make out the words Logan and accident.

"Colin? Colin?" She almost screamed into the receiver, panic running through her body at the word accident.

"…so they're airlifting him to New York"

"Colin?" She asked again. "Where in New York? What happened? Is he hurt?" She threw the questions at him, hoping that at least one of them would make it through to the other end of the line.

"…call you when we get there…" She heard him say through the noise before the line went dead.

As in trance she walked back into the living room. "Logan's hurt." She said, not really understanding the meaning of her own words.

"What, what do you mean?" Chris looked worried as he got up from Lorelai's side. "Is he all right?"

"I don't know" She shook her head. "That was Colin and the line was bad. Something happened on their trip. They're airlifting him to a hospital in New York."

"Oh boy!"

"I got to go" She said as she started to gather her things. "I want to be there when he arrives."

"Yes, go" Her father ushered her towards the door. "I can take care of your mom."

"Leave her a note that I'll call her from the hospital." Rory said before she stepped out into the hallway and left, heading to her car.