Chapter 3: Hurting

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap…

Professor Ulm threw a dark look her way and, chastised, Rory stopped tapping her pen against her notebook. Returning his attention back to the projection screen in front, Professor Ulm picked up his lecture again.

"As you can see, the coverage…"

His words faded away and Rory stared blindly at the large photo, not seeing the Second World War scenery, nor hearing any of Ulm's words, just like she had failed to pay attention since the beginning of the class. But how was she supposed to concentrate on the effects of journalism while covering WWII when she had just learned that morning that soon she'd be in a war of her own? Because one thing was for sure, as soon as their families got wind of this ridiculous marriage there would be war, especially with the Huntzbergers. She'd bet all she had that they were going to blame everything on her, accusing her that this had been some strange, crazy plan of hers to trick Logan into a marriage with her.

Fuck it.

As if she would ever do such a thing! She was through with Logan and his whole clan! The whole circle for that matter! Her mother had been right when she had fled it while she still had been able to! If she hadn't… Rory shuddered. She'd fear of what would have happened if Lorelai hadn't refused to marry her dad back then and left Hartford. Probably, she'd be some Gilmore version of Honor – and though Rory really liked Logan's sister, she would never want to be like her. Oh yeah, then she undoubtedly would be perfect daughter-in-law material for the Huntzbergers, all the more reason why Rory had to be thankful that fate had been merciful to her and let her grow up far, far away from that world. When she was thrown into high society at sixteen she had been strong enough to not let herself get impressed by the money and power that was behind the Gilmore name. Okay, so unlike her mother, she could also see the advantages of that world, as well as the disadvantages. And yes, there were times when she enjoyed being part of the Gilmores, and of course, there were times when she was ashamed to be associated with that world.

At least, it had taught her how to deal with those people and what she had to expect from them – and how they could be handled if necessary. Her mom had been the perfect teacher where that was concerned. She had survived Chilton, had come to Yale, braced for everything. After all, one of her best friends was Paris Geller, the shark of all sharks, and if she had managed to win her friendship, then everything else had to be a piece of cake. And for a while it had just been great.

Then Logan had come along.

Irritable, snobbish, silly, arrogant, playful, irresistible, womanizing Logan Huntzberger.

He was richer than rich. She could deal with that. He was an arrogant asshole. She could deal with that also. He was a silly, mischievous, little boy. She could deal with that and laugh about it on top of it. He was a controlling, obsessed snob who couldn't and wouldn't accept a 'no'. Why should he? He had always gotten what he wanted, either through money or through the influence of his family. Okay, Rory could deal with that as well and even give him a little lesson here and there.

But she couldn't deal with the fact that Logan, despite all his traits which she hated in others and in him especially, was also smart, intelligent, funny, caring and had a heart that was at the right place. Not to mention that he was downright sexy and when he had flirted with her, no matter how much she had tried to resist, there were butterflies dancing in her stomach, giving her a warm feeling in her heart. No, she hadn't counted on that dangerous combination and, therefore, she had fallen, hard.

It had all started when he had gotten her into the Life and Death Brigade event for her article. Yeah, she had had some hard facts – but it would never have been enough to write an article out of what she had, nothing that hadn't been already covered by other reporters, years before her. Logan didn't have to get her in. She knew that, had always known it. But for some reason he had wanted her to have that chance and so she had been able to write her best article ever. Then, there had been the event itself. Not that he had been around much, actually, she had talked more with Stephanie and Colin than with him. But there had been that beautiful dress. Lorelai had once said that if a man could find her such a perfect dress, then she'd better keep her eyes on him. The blue ball gown had been perfect. Probably the one single piece of clothing she had ever worn that suited her perfectly. And then the jump... of course Rory had only let herself be talked into that madness because Logan had taunted her, saying a few things to her that had really hit home – and if anything, she would forever be grateful to him for that exhilarating experience. It was something she wouldn't want to have missed. But of course, even that moment was tainted by the simple fact, that in the moment Logan had grabbed her hand and jumped with her from that scaffold, never letting go, not even when they landed, Rory had not just fallen seven stories down, but also had started to fall in love with him.

For the second time she had fallen in love with another guy while she was still together with Dean. Though this time around, it had been very different. First of all, she hadn't been really together with Dean this time: neither her heart, nor her head had been fully in it. And if she was honest, she had been bored whenever she had been together with him. The sex had been good, at least that was what she had thought back then, but that was about it. And after the LDB event, she had started to realize that more and more. When he hadn't been able to tell her anything about her article about the LDB but that he had found it good, not even why he had found it good, she had known that it was over. She hadn't wanted to admit it – but she had known it. But then, she didn't stay in that relationship much longer, did she? Oh no, the shindig her grandparents had organized had only been a few days later.

And once again, Logan had been there. It had surprised her to see him there, though she probably shouldn't have been. And not only him, but also Colin and Finn and several other guys she knew from Yale, at least by sight. Yet, the least she had expected when that idiot had come to flirt with her, not very original by the way, was that Logan would hurry up to her side, out of the blue, pretending to be her boyfriend. Of course, she could have gotten rid of that guy herself – but, silly as it was, she had appreciated that he had come to help her. Then she learned that his parents were friends with her grandparents. Not a good sign, one that should have sent the alarm bells ringing like mad. But before she had been able to distance herself, he had whisked her away to her very first sub-party. To her surprise, she had had a splendid time there, not something she had expected, not with that bunch of guys and especially not with being the only girl there. And Logan had talked with her about the article, not just commenting casually about it, but had given her a real, honest opinion and feedback. It had been the second arrow from Cupid. Followed shortly by the third and last: He had been there for her, ready to console her, when Dean had broken up with her, right in front of all the guys from the sub-party. She hadn't been so hurt about the actual break-up – but the way Dean had done it, again in front of so many people, that had hurt. But Logan and the guys had done everything in their power to cheer her up and it just had been so cute and sweet.

From that moment on, she had been lost. Yeah, she had been attracted to Logan before, but now? Not even that stupid prank he had pulled on her had been able to change her heart again. Quite the contrary actually – at least once she had cooled down. Her heart had decided that despite everything, it wanted Logan. By God, she had struggled against it because she had known instinctively that this time, she could get hurt like never before. But her head and her logical reasoning had failed and her heart had won out. So, during her grandparent's wedding renewal celebration, she had finally given in and followed her heart. Hell, she had practically thrown herself at him, inspired by her Dad's memories of his first kiss with her Mom. She had been the one who convinced Logan because he had been reluctant to get even more involved with her, knowing in his gut that she probably would later want to have a serious relationship with him.

Apparently, at one time or another, they both had known that their being together would be a very bad idea. Because they were too perfect for each other on a level Rory couldn't explain or name. Because on the surface, they didn't fit at all together. Because they each held too much power over the other that it was impossible for both of them not to get hurt in the process.

And their subconscious had been right.

It hurt so much. So damn much.

And now she was married to him.

She did not need that! She had to concentrate on school. There was so much that she had missed! And yet, here she was, in a class, one she actually very much liked, and she hadn't heard a single word of what had been said. No, her mind was, surprise, surprise, still at the events of this morning. With him.

Just as she had thought that perhaps she could actually get over him, he had to come back into her life, like a wild force of nature as he always had been. She had stood there in Finn's room, seen Logan in his bed and for a moment, it had been as if the last two months had never happened, as if he hadn't broken her heart like it never had been broken before. Oh no, at the mere sight of him, her heart had started to beat faster and butterflies had danced in her stomach. Wouldn't that have been bad enough, he had looked at her and smiled. 'Hey, Ace', he had said, in that sleepy, happy voice he had always used after a night spent together and of course, she had fallen once again. Only for a moment, but it had been enough to make her furious with herself.

She couldn't let it happen again. So she fought that treacherous feeling the only way she knew: with anger. She had fueled every hurtful memory into that anger and it had grown until she had blown up at him.

Rory sighed and cringed, remembering his eyes when she had thrown all those terrible things at him. She may have sometimes had trouble believing his words, but his eyes had never lied to her. She had hurt him with her words and now, that she had time to cool down and most of all, was away from him, she was sorry for that. This hadn't been the reason why she had gone to hunt him down this morning. Really not. Hell, she would have preferred to stay far, far away from him, but they really needed to talk about this mess. But Logan just had that talent to bring out the worst from her. Also the best, for that matter. He just could push her to her extremes, be they good or bad. From the very first moment on he made her forget herself, be it in her anger or in her love. He made her exceed her limits and sometimes, that was good, and sometimes, it was bad. This morning, it definitely had been bad.

Damn it. It looked as if she would have to apologize to him. He was responsible for a lot of things, but not for their likely marriage. That had been both their fault. Or Finn's. No… none of them were at fault but that wrong-minded nut case of a fake priest/real lay magistrate.

If one could believe that idiot. But unfortunately, every instinct she had told Rory that it was the harsh reality. And knowing her life, she doubted that this marriage business with Logan would be easy to clear up. This in turn meant that at least for a while longer, he would be far from being out of her life once and for all. They'd need to discuss things. That meant meetings.

God, how was she supposed to get through those meetings? She didn't trust herself where he was concerned. It was so easy to fall for him, even with everything she knew about him. Even when she knew that it would only bring her more heartache and as strong as she was – she didn't think she could survive it a second time. Still, this morning, when he had talked to her as if she was a dream… all she had wanted to do was take him into her arms and comfort him, show him with a tender, passionate kiss that everything was all right, that there was no reason for all that hurting, that she still loved him so much. He had looked so confused, so lost…

Oh, yeah, she had almost given in again. In the last moment there, she had realized what she was about to do and had turned away from him, slinging her arms around herself instead of around him. It had helped. She had remembered. Everything. And with that her anger had come, angry at him because he dared to almost seduce her again, angry at herself because she was so weak to fall for it again.

Why was everything so different with Logan? She was strong and confident, but not when he was concerned. One sleepy, intimate smile from him and a few words of apparently true sorrow and she melted down to a mushy pool.

It was so disgusting. So pathetic. She hated it. And she hated herself. And she hated him.

Boy did she show him just how much she hated him this morning. And this time around, apart from that vicious comment about a pregnancy trap, he hadn't deserved it. Actually, considering the circumstances, he had taken the news pretty well and had acted surprisingly reasonable about it. Well, apart from wanting to kill Finn.

The bell sounded, finally ending this farce of a class. Relieved and frustrated at the same time, Rory packed together her things and left the classroom. She needed to turn off this musing and concentrate on her classes. Right, the next class should go better.

Her eyes fell on the person who was waiting outside the classroom.

Or perhaps not.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly went over to him. "Any news?" she asked, determined to keep the conversation civilized this time.

"Some. I need to go over a few things with you," Logan said rather vaguely and carefully looked at her. "So I came by to see when we could sit together to do just that. Preferably still today," he added with a sigh.

Rory looked away and bit her lips. Her day was full with classes. Then she had to work on her next article. And in the evening she had arranged and set-up a sort of private lesson with a fellow student to catch up a little. But if Professor Ulm's class was any indicator she wouldn't be able to concentrate on school work today anyway, no matter how many times she told herself that she needed to pay attention. Besides, she knew she was good enough to be able to catch up soon, anyway. She had done it when she had started at Chilton, she had done it in her first year here at Yale and she would be able to do it once again, once she was able to get her full concentration back. But that wasn't going to happen as long as they had this marriage nonsense to deal with. Right.

"Okay. Let's go," she said with a nod and pushed the book she had kept out for the next class into her bag.

"Now?" Logan asked, stunned.

"Yes. No time like the present, right?" Rory asked with a sigh.

Logan shook his head. "But your classes. I thought…"

"Logan, I didn't hear a word of what Ulm had said," Rory interrupted him. "You could say my mind is preoccupied with more pressing things and I doubt that this will change anytime soon this day. So, you want to have that talk now or not?"

For a moment longer, Logan stared at her incredulously… such a long moment that Rory finally rolled her eyes and turned away to head out. Really… they knew each other for over a year and a half, they had been together almost a year and here he really thought that she would managed to simply forget that they were married? That she was listening to her professors instead of going over the possibilities on how to make said marriage be dissolved in a very secret way? Did he really think that she wasn't dreading their families' reaction if they couldn't solve this in an easy and private way?

It took a few seconds, but Logan eventually got over his astonishment and caught up with her. "Okay then… uh… where do you want to go?" he asked tentatively.

Oh… that was actually a damn good question. Rory stopped outside the building and looked at him. "Any ideas?" she asked back.

Logan pushed his hands into his pockets, just like every time when he was nervous. Oh, he had them in his pockets a lot of times, but always when he was nervous or unsure about something. Before, Rory would mostly have smiled and be very calm and reasonable or whatever else she sensed he needed to get his confidence back. But not anymore. Instead, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, I guess we could go to the pub or the coffee shop. Or the cafeteria for that matter," Logan suggested slowly. "But…"

"But what?" Rory wanted to know.

He avoided her eyes. "But perhaps it's better if we're not at someplace public," he finished, pushing his hands even deeper into his pockets, if that was possible at all.

Oh, did he think so? What the hell… No! Reasonable. She had to be rational and calm. After her fit this morning it was no wonder that he wanted to avoid a similar scene in public. And to be honest, Logan probably was right. Though she was determined not to explode again like that in the near future, she also knew that with Logan, everything and anything was possible. Besides, in all those places were people who could overhear them and she may be paranoid, but she didn't want the slightest risk that this marriage somehow got public – or even worse: into the news. But still…

"We're not going to your place," Rory firmly stated. No way would she go there again!

"Uhm okay… Finn and Colin are out, though they wouldn't mind…" Logan started to say.

Rory shook her head. She wouldn't want to go there either. Way too many memories there as well. Okay, that more or less left only one possibility and she made a face. "We could go to my place. Paris and Doyle have classes all day," she offered.

When she had come back to Yale she had been determined to not let Logan mar even more places for her. There were so many. Almost everywhere, every place or another was connected to Logan, always some memory attached to a place. At this coffee stand they met, at that coffee stand they kissed, at another they met regularly to have a short chat, and at yet another he would always catch her to say goodbye to her before she needed to head out to Hartford. That was the reason why she barely drank coffee anymore. Hell, she even had trouble drinking the coffee she had prepared herself. And why? Because back when they had been together, Logan had started to buy her some fine, expensive but simply heavenly coffee, the sort from Brazil or Columbia and had seen to it that she never would be out of those coffee blends. It had been the best coffee she ever had had, even a little bit better than Luke's. So now, not only did other coffee blends taste shallow in comparison, but she also couldn't help but think about that most adorable habit of Logan's every single time she tried to make coffee. It wasn't fair! She had drunk coffee all of her life! Her mom never had the problem that even coffee was marred for her after a break-up, even the terrible one with Luke. Why couldn't Rory be like that? Why couldn't she simply enjoy the wonderful brew without being reminded of Logan every single time? And hence, be hurting once again? Because he wasn't there, because never again would he kiss her almost senselessly, because he wasn't joking about her need for coffee, because she wasn't enjoying it together with him. Simply, because they were no longer together, not anymore.

No, she had been adamant to not letting Logan into her new home in New Haven. So she would have at least one place where she wasn't reminded time and time again of Logan. Or so she had thought. She had barely moved in when Logan had shown up to declare his love for her, all of a sudden. To beg her forgiveness. Had he any idea how much he had hurt her? Did he think it had been easy to learn from Honor that they apparently had broken up? Did he think that it hadn't hurt like hell when she had to find out that he didn't trust her, after everything they've gone through: first, the things they went through to become friends at the beginning; then, to become a couple; and then, to stay being a couple despite the heavy tries of his family to change that fact or the pressure from her grandparents that they'd marry and produce children with blond hair and blue eyes as soon as possible? After she had told him that she loved him? Something she never had done before!

But then, he didn't know that. He didn't know that every single time she had said those three powerful words before she had only done it out of a sense of obligation. How could he? She hadn't known it herself, until he had stood there, being so relieved that her grandparents had finally understood that they needed a lot more time before marriage even would become a topic, and just looked adorable. And he had recently given her a wonderful, terrific, perfect gift, out of the blue, and… and she had known it. Before, it always had been almost an agony to say it. Not this time. This time it had been so easy, so natural. She had looked at him and known it and just hadn't been able not to tell him. And she hadn't even been angry or disappointed that he couldn't say it back. In fact, just because he hadn't said it, she had been happy. Because then she had known that she was important enough to him that he didn't want to say it to just make her happy – but because it was what he wanted to say, once he was sure.

Too bad that when he had finally found himself able to say it, it was far too late.

Actually, she didn't think that it was what he really felt. Just something he believed because he never before had felt… whatever he was convinced of what he felt after their break-up.

"Rory?"

Startled, she looked at Logan who was watching her with a frown. "What?" she asked, rather shortly and bit her lip.

He looked away. "Are you sure?"

She frowned. "About what?"

"Going to your place," Logan elaborated, still not looking back to her.

Oh yeah… No. In fact, she thought it was a very bad idea. But still the best option they had. After all, the only memories of him she had there were of how she had been able to refuse him for once in their relationship. Yeah, if she felt herself falling again then she could just remember that. That there, she had been strong, if only for a moment. But it had been long enough to protect her heart.

"Let's go," she said and started to walk, taking the lead. Quietly, Logan followed her.

He didn't want to be here. He hated this place. Here was where his heart had been crushed forever. Here was where he had lost hope to ever being able to amend his relationship with Rory. Here was where he had learned that he couldn't have everything he wanted. Well, there had been things before, like, oh what, free choice to do with his life whatever he wanted. But that he had known since forever, he had been born with that knowledge, simply because he was born the heir to the Huntzberger empire. Until that terrible moment here, he had been able to get everything else he had ever wanted. Things had never been a question. There was nothing he couldn't afford. He had made friends with the people he wanted to be friends with. He knew enough to motivate people so that he gets whatever he wanted, to get people to do his bidding, even how extraordinary it may be. And in the cases he didn't have the contacts – well, most people had their price.

Until then, he had even gotten every girl he ever had wanted – even Rory, and boy, she had been a hard case. She had hated his guts in the beginning and it had actually taken a lot of hard work to warm her up towards him. They had to become some sorts of friends before she had even considered going out with him. Strangely enough, it was just that that had backfired at him in the end. By the time she was ready to date him, he had been able to get to know her well enough that he had realized that he'd never be able to just date her. That she could never be one of the many. No, he had realized that when he really started to go out with her then it would immediately be something serious. And as much he was attracted to this strange girl – he knew that he didn't want that. That that would be a very bad idea, one that could only end in a disaster. And he had been right, wasn't he? He should never have let himself be talked into her 'no string' offer of a relationship. He had known that it couldn't work, damn it. But no, he hadn't been able to not give in. How could he have? It shouldn't be legal that a girl looked so damn sexy in a suit, but God, she had and the entire time during that stupid ceremony he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her. Nor had he been able to stop the visions of him slowly taking that suit off her – or ripping the clothes away. Thank God Jewel had been there to keep him in check or he really wasn't sure what he would have done.

It had surprised him when she had come to him. Her close presence had made his want of her only worse and Jewel wasn't there that time, so he feared that he was a bit short with her. But instead of being irritated by it, she had started to question him about Jewel and boy had he liked the fact that she seemed to be jealous. Then, she had surprised him once again by asking him to dance with her. Usually, she was more on the shy side, and definitely not the one to initiate any contact between them. Of course he hadn't said no. And the surprises kept coming. She flirted with him. Actually, she became downright forward when she asked him when he was finally going to ask her out. He had been speechless. And had no idea what to say to that. He, the absolute ladies' man who never had a problem with talking before had no words for an answer! Only when she suddenly drew back confused and embarrassed had he been able to come out of his stupor to tell her the truth. That he wouldn't dare date her. And what did she do? She told him that she didn't want strings. That she'd be okay to just have a casual relationship. He hadn't believed her. And actually, he had been confused. This wasn't quite the Ace he knew. Not that that had stopped him from going after her. To go into that dressing room and let her kiss him. To make out with her. Not that anything could have stopped him anymore after he had finally gotten his first taste of her. Well, anything but her mother. And her father. Oh, and not to forget the boyfriend of her mother who had been a lot scarier than her parents together.

Even as he had fled back then, he had known that nothing could stop him anymore from going out with his Ace. From sleeping with her. Because he wanted more. A lot more. And he got more, more than he would able to bear – not that he complained. He slept with her, he went out with her, they talked on the phone and he even had cut his vacation short to return early so he could just be with her. Other girls would call and if he took the phone call at all, he'd find an excuse and not just let it go to his voice mail-box. Girls could flirt with him and he would have no eyes for them. Until his friends started to make comments about that. Until one day, Finn casually asked when he and Rory would come even though he never had mentioned any intention of bringing Rory along. Of course that had been what he had planned and it was then that he had realized just how deep he had gotten in. He panicked. He had gone out and called the first girl in his little black notebook and went to have coffee with her. It had gone well – until he had seen Rory. After that he couldn't get away from that girl fast enough, for the first time in his life having a guilty conscience about something. But oh no, it had been okay with Ace. How could it be okay? Angry, he set up another date. And wasn't the only one. He'd never forget the jealousy that raced through his body when he had seen his Ace with that asshole Robert. It was something of a first for him as well.

But that was Rory. Teaching him new things every day, making him think about things he never had thought about before. Making him feel things he never had experienced before. Making him see everything in a different way and until then, that had been an extremely good thing. Back then though, he started to realize that not everything new was good and it had made him running again. He knew that they couldn't go on like that. This wasn't working and he started to understand that Rory was feeling the same way. No, he hadn't been surprised when Rory had come to tell him that they couldn't continue this. Not really. And he hadn't gotten angry with her because of that. No, he had gotten angry because all of a sudden he knew that he had no choice anymore. They had to become a real couple because he simply couldn't loose her. He hated it when he had no choice. But once again, it wasn't so easy to convince Rory that she really wanted him as her boyfriend. In the end though he had managed it, hadn't he? It may not have been his choice per se, but it was what he had wanted after all.

Rory. His Ace.

And he had her, finally, all to himself. And the longer he was together with her, despite the problems his family inflicted on them, and despite the fact that her mom hated his guts while her grandparents loved the idea of them together way too much for his liking, the more she became an important part of his life. Until he messed up.

God, what had he been thinking back then? But he had been so angry about his father and so desperate about his life or rather said, about how his life would soon be like. And as soon as he had seen his girlfriend with that loser, jealousy had once again reared its ugly head. When she had started to rant about her and his life then, it just had been too much. He had forgotten himself, had blown up at her. Had left her, stranded back in that stupid pub, and had just gone home to drink himself to oblivion. Angry with his father, angry with her, angry with himself, simply angry with the entire world, he had let her slip away, so much so that he had even told his friends and Honor that they had broken up. Had they? He wasn't sure. It was his first relationship after all, so he wasn't quite sure. But that didn't matter. He still had left her and kept staying away from her.

He didn't know anymore why. All he remembered about that time was a haze of anger and hurt. So much hurt. Like said, she had become an important part of his life and with her gone… he realized, just how much he loved her. Had loved her for a long time. But it was too late by then. She had moved on. Had picked up her life again, one in which he wasn't part of anymore and he couldn't even be angry about that. If he had only known that this overwhelming, all consuming feeling he felt towards her was love when she had surprised him by telling him those three little, but oh so powerful words! Perhaps then his life wouldn't be as empty and incomplete as right now.

Because that was how his life was now: empty, drained of everything that was good. Rory had taken it all with her when she had left. Or rather said when she had refused his pleas to give him a second chance and had sent him to hell.

Here. Oh yeah, he hated this damn apartment, he thought with a glare at it as Rory opened the door and vanished inside. Uncomfortably, he followed her in and stopped just inside, unsure of what she wanted him to do now. How was one supposed to act around his ex-girlfriend who just happened to be his wife as well?

"Do you want to take off your jacket?"

"Hmm?"

"Your jacket… do you want to take it off? I mean, it's rather warm in here," Rory repeated her question.

"Oh, sure," Logan said, feeling like an idiot. He had completely spaced out there. But then, Rory had spaced out on him as well before. And he really wondered about what she had been thinking then.

"You want something to drink?" Rory asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Sure," Logan nodded. Oh yeah, a drink would be fantastic right now. He doubted though that she had meant anything stronger than a Red Bull.

And sure enough, when she came back she had two cans of soda pop in her hands. "Coke okay?"

Nodding, Logan took it and opened it to take a long swallow. Anything was better than this uneasy silence between them. How could it be possible that only a few months ago they had been one heart and one soul and now even to be together in the same room felt awkward?

"Why don't you sit down and tell me what news you have. Or what you wanted to discuss with me?" Rory suggested as she pointed to a big chair while she sat down onto the couch.

Right. Business. Perhaps that would help get things on a more normal level. He almost grinned at that irrational hope. As if being married could normalize anything between the two. And married they were, whether they wanted it or not.

With a sigh, he sat down on the chair she had pointed out to him. "I've contacted the author of the article."

"Just like that?" Rory interrupted him.

"We know his editor. I called him and he told the guy to give me a call," Logan explained shortly.

"And?"

"And the story's valid. This Jones guy is a real lay magistrate and has a license to officiate at weddings on top of it," Logan said, making a grimace and glanced at her. "Any couple who were married by Jones, fake or not, are legally married, especially if there were signed legal documents involved."

Rory pulled up her knees to hug them close to her body. "He still deceived us. What about that? Doesn't that count for anything at all? What did your lawyers say about that?"

Ah, here they were. Rory wasn't going to like what he was about to tell her. "I haven't contacted them yet."

As predicted, her head snapped up and a deadly glare was directed towards him. "What?!" she exclaimed. "What the hell are you waiting for? This isn't a time to slouch around, Logan!"

Trying hard to not get offended, Logan took a deep breath and sat forward. "Rory, please, just listen to me for a moment."

To his surprise, she looked away and took a deep breath as well before she looked back at him again, her eyes having lost its fire. "Shoot."

Frowning, Logan watched her for a moment. He would never understand this woman. He shook his head and caught her eyes, making sure that he had her full attention. "Listen, my lawyers are undeniably good. But they are still my father's lawyers. You can be sure that the minute I'm off the phone or out their office, they'll call him. And I don't know about you, but I want to keep the families out of the loop as long as possible."

Rory didn't blow up as he had expected. No, instead, she gave a short, sarcastic laugh. "You're not the only one there. It will be the Third World War."

Nope, never, ever would he understand her. "Second Hiroshima," he muttered darkly.

"But what do we do then? We need legal help. We can't solve this on our own," she said with a sigh.

"Colin recommended someone who's supposed to be really good," Logan told her. "I called him and described our dilemma. He'll look into it." He hesitated. Not something that Ace missed.

"But?" she wanted to know.

Logan shook his head. "But he said that even though he never had a case like that before, we probably have to go to court to have a hearing, where everything depends on the judge. If we're lucky to be assigned to a judge who is open and sympathetic to our case and situation, we probably won't have a problem in having the marriage annulled. But if we're unlucky…"

"We're fucked," summarized Rory.

Logan nodded.

"Do we have a choice?" she asked in a small voice after a moment.

Looking at the resignation on her face, her sudden tiredness, all he desperately wanted to do was to reassure her and tell her that everything would turn out all right. But he couldn't, not without lying to her. "I fear not. Sure, Mr. Wellburn, that's the lawyer, said that he wasn't sure and had to make a few investigations and some research about our case, but we most certainly won't get around that hearing."

Slowly, she nodded and looked outside the windows. "So… what are we going to do with the families?"

Logan snorted. "Frankly said, I would be more than happy if they never get wind of this."

"You think that's possible?" Rory asked doubtfully, glancing back at him.

He shrugged. "Probably not. But it's worth a try, don't you think so? Look, if that hearing goes well then we won't have a problem anymore. Once this marriage is annulled, I don't see why they need to hear about this. If we're really careful then no one but us has to know it. Well, us and Finn and Colin." He stopped as a terrible thought came to him. "Do Paris and Doyle know about it?" he asked fearfully. He didn't trust Doyle. That guy was way too ambitious to finally have a scoop and this marriage would just be perfect for that.

To his immense relief, though, Rory shook her head. "No. I mean, they've read the article, but they have no idea that we're one of the unwilling couples who have found themselves truly and legally married now. Well, Paris could perhaps put it together, but she's too busy with bossing everyone around over at the Yale Daily News right now."

Logan hadn't thought he would ever be thankful for that trait in Paris but he sure was now. "Good," he said, relieved.

She frowned. "I know Paris is… well, Paris. But she's my friend. I'm her best friend. She'd never rat us out Logan."

Growing aware of the danger he was in, Logan quickly held up his hands. "Hey, that wasn't what I meant! Of course she wouldn't rat us out! It's just I think the less people know about it, the better."

Rory looked at him for a very long time, making Logan very nervous, but eventually, she released him out of that scrutinizing stare and looked away again. "Okay. You're probably right with that. Perhaps we really can avoid a massacre."

Sighing with relief, Logan nodded. Yeah, if they were very, very lucky. Not that it looked likely right now, far from it, but perhaps their luck would change.

"But…" Rory hesitantly said, looking back to him and making him instantly wary. "There's one person who needs to know. Well two, because there's no way she can keep that to herself."

Logan said nothing. He had a pretty good idea who she meant. And when Rory spoke again, his suspicion was confirmed.

"My Mom. I can't… I can't not tell her about this. We just managed to get some sort of a balance between us again and I won't risk that," Rory said determinedly.

Taking a deep breath, Logan nodded. He wasn't very enthusiastic about Lorelai hearing that her precious daughter was married to the asshole he very well knew she saw in him. Nor would it help that it happened on one of those crazy, wild trips he whisked Rory away to. Or that they had been drunk at the time this ceremony took place. Not overly drunk, but, obviously drunk enough to sign and seal the marriage. He knew better than to get between the two of them again though. Actually, he was pleased to hear that they had reconciled. He knew just how much Rory had been hurting by the distance her relationship with him had caused between her and Lorelai. And he had no doubt that in Lorelai's eyes he was the cause of their estrangement. "Okay," he said.

Obviously taken aback by his lack of protest, Rory stared at him. "You're not against it? She'll tell Luke, you know. And probably also Sookie. And she'll blame you. Well, she'll be disappointed in me as well, but bottom line, she'll blame you."

Logan snorted. "Ace, do you honestly believe that there's anything that can worsen her opinion of me?" He shook his head. "You want to tell her, tell her. I know she won't tell anyone from Hartford society."

"No, of course not," Rory quickly assured him.

He nodded and spread his hands, staring at them. "Just do whatever you need to do. Believe me, Ace, I don't want to come between the two of you again. I never wanted that. I hope you believe that. And I'm glad that you two got things straightened out again," he quietly said, meaning every word he had said. He was more than aware of the fact that that had apparently happened as soon as he had been out of her life. That she suddenly had been able to reconcile with her mother. To move out of her grandparent's house. To enroll back at Yale. Perhaps her mother had been right after all: that he really had been the source of everything that had gone astray with Rory's life lately. Maybe, for Rory, it really was the best thing that he was out of her life now.

Maybe…

"Logan," Rory started to say and the tone in her voice made him look up and meet her eyes,

But before she could say anything else, there was a frantic knocking at the door. With a frown, Rory excused herself and went over to the door, opening it. Logan's eyes widened at the person that stormed in, speaking a mile per minute, and quickly, he jumped up.

Oh, fuck. He so needed to get out of here.

"He postponed the wedding! Oh, and it turns out that he has a kid! Can you believe that? Luke Danes has a little girl! And so he postponed the wedding! I mean, I get that this is a pretty big thing, of course I know that, I mean, look at me, but…" Lorelai stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes caught sight of Logan and narrowed down on him, fury appearing on her face. "You! What the hell are you doing here?!"

Paling, Logan automatically held up his hands. "Uh…"

And that was about all he knew to say. His mind was blank. Totally void. Problem was that he didn't think that 'uh' would stop Lorelai from ripping off his head. Or other body parts.

Oh, he was so dead.

TBC!

(Author's note: There you have it! Hope you liked the chapter. I know, lots of memories and reminiscing, but I felt it was needed at this point of the story before it can move on. And for those who found Rory a bit too bitchy in the last chapter: I hope you can understand her now a bit better. Soon, there will be more! Thanks for the wonderful reviews – and keep them coming, please!)