Chapter 3: Snookums

When Rory got off the plane at Hartford Airport, Lorelai was waiting for her. "Hey kiddo!" Lorelai said pulling her daughter into a hug. "How've you been?"

"I just spoke to you this morning," Rory said, walking with her mother to the baggage claim.

"Well, I thought something might've happened since then."

Rory smiled, "Nothing happened after your call," she said mysteriously.

"So you're saying something happened?"

"Yes."

"Before my call?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me about it during my call?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I didn't discover it until after your call."

"Well then it happened after my call didn't it?"

"No. Technically it happened before your call but I discovered it after your call."

"But you were aware of it after my call therefore it counts as happening after my call."

"May-hey that's my bag!" Rory started to run towards her bag that was just about to disappear through the black curtain.

Lorelai grabber her arm, holding her back. "It'll come around again. Now tell me what this thing is that happened."

"Ok, I got a message from Logan. Sent last night, so technically before your call but I didn't notice it until I went to hang up."

"Well," Lorelais said, "What did it say?"

"It said," Rory dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Flipping it open she found the message from Logan. "By the way Ace, I love you too."

"What's with that?" Lorelai asked, grabbing Rory's bag as it came around again.

"What's with what?" Rory asked, getting her bag from Lorelai as they walked out to the car.

"Ace, why does he call you Ace?" Lorelai asked. "Does anyone else call you by a nickname?"

"Mom, everyone calls me by my nickname. My real name's Lorelai, remember? But no, only he calls me Ace...I don't know why actually."

"It's cute," Lorelai commented as they headed towards Stars Hollow.

"What is?"

"That he calls you Ace, that you have pet names for each other."

"We don't have pet names for each other. Ace is not a pet name. It's a nickname. A pet name is snookums, or diddles, or something."

"I'm so calling you snookums from now on."

"Mom!"

Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner and Luke looked up as the door jangled open. "Rory!" he exclaimed coming over to give her a brief hug.

"It's snookums," Lorelai said in a stage whisper.

Luke and Rory ignored her. "Hi Luke," Rory replied returning the hug and giving Lorelai a strange look. Luke wasn't exactly known for his hugging. He barely hugged Lorelai in public and they were engaged.

"You hug your step-daughter-to-be, but not your wife-to-be? I'm appalled," Lorelai said taking off her jacket. Luke stepped forward giving her a quick peck on the lips. "Much better," Lorelai commented, as Luke blushed and went around to the other side of the counter.

"How was London?" Luke asked, getting two cups out and pouring them coffee.

"It was wet, cold, and depressing." Rory replied as she and Lorelai sat down at the counter.

"Oh, so a typical winter in London," he said with a smile. "Coffee's on the house, it's good that you're back."

"Yeah it is. I've missed this crazy town," she said, taking a sip of her coffee and looking outside to the square. Kirk was helping Taylor hang the Bid-a-Basket banner.

"Do I really have to go to that?" Luke asked Lorelai, pointing at the banner Kirk was holding.

"Yes! Of course you do. You're my fiancé and this year I am making my basket so I can have a romantic lunch with my guy, not because I need the window sills painted," Lorelai said.

"What about you Rory, are you making a basket for this ridiculous festival?" Luke asked.

"Well yeah, if mom isn't using her feminine wiles to get the window sills painted, then I guess I'll have to use mine."

"That's my girl," Lorelai said grinning at Luke.

Rory stared out the diner window contemplating what would happen next with her and Logan. As far as she knew he was still on the West Coast. You know what? she thought to herself. This time he can call me.

That night Logan was sitting staring at the cursor on his blank lap top screen, trying to work but all he could think about was a certain blue-eyed brunette. Should I call her? Or will she call me? She called me last time, maybe I should call her. He reached for his phone just as it began ringing; he flipped it open without even checking the caller ID.

"Rory?" he said into the phone.

"No, it's me," Honor said, "Why would Rory be calling? You guys, like, broke up ages ago. Are you back together?" She continued without waiting for a reply. "I'm so glad; you two are perfect for each other."

Logan sighed. "No Honor, we're not back together."

"Well, then, why did you think she was calling?"

"She called me last night and we talked."

"Oh, you guys are getting back together! Logan, I'm so happy for you!"

"There was no talk of getting back together. We're just going to try being friends."

"Logan, you aren't just friends with girls, except Stephanie but she's Colin's so guy loyalty goes first. How are you going to be just friends with Rory?"

With much difficulty he thought but instead he said, "It's Rory. I hadn't ever had a girlfriend before her, so I can have her as my first not off limits friend."

"Uh huh," Honour said, hoping they would both look around and see that they need each other and do something about it.

"So…" he said after a few seconds silence. "Do you think I should call her?"

"Yes! What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing; ok, well, bye then."

"Bye." He hung up the phone and typed in Rory's number. "Hey Ace," he said when she answered.

"Hi, I was wondering when you'd call," she said, sitting up on her bed, her book now lying ignored on her pillow.

"You could have called me, you know."

"I called you last night, twice."

"Well do you want me to hang up now and call you back again?"

"No, no I'm good. I'm glad you called because I want to ask you something."

"Ask away," he said, wondering what she wanted to ask.

"First off, when are you getting back from L.A?"

"I catch a 10 'o' clock flight back to Hartford tomorrow night, so I'll be back around 1 in the morning."

"Oh, ouch. Well, you'll be back by Saturday?"

"Yes, because tomorrow is Wednesday," he said in a voice often used on small children.

"Shut up, now to the question. You know my crazy town? Anyway they're holding this festival on Saturday where all the women make a picnic lunch and put it in a basket and the guys bid on it, and the guy that bought the girls basket has lunch with said girl. It's kind of sexist but it's a nice idea. Whoever gets me or Mom doesn't normally eat what's in our basket cause its generally week old left overs but this year mom and I were planning on ordering Chinese the night before so the basket will be full of day old Chinese and that's edible."

"That wasn't a question Ace," Logan said after she stopped.

"I know that, I was just setting the scene."

"Consider it set."

"Ok question is: do you want to come? I promise I'll keep you away from Miss Patty and won't make you paint the windowsills because I think Luke will do that anyway."

"Uh thanks about Miss Patty, and I'm ignoring the windowsills comment." Logan paused. He'd just been stalling because he didn't know what to say to her. Was it too soon for them to see each other? "But…I don't know.

"It's not expensive or anything. Trust me, the most expensive basket ever was, um mine actually a few years ago, but that's because two guys were fighting over me. Anyway, the point is this year that won't happen and the most expensive basket will be Sookie's but Jackson will buy that."

"It's not the money Rory, you know that, it's just…I'm really busy at work."

"Oh, ok," Rory said, a little disappointed.

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I better go. Mom and I are planning on having a massive movie night," she said.

"Bye Ace."

She hung up and went into the lounge room. She sat down on the couch next to Lorelai. "Mom, movies now?"

"Hon, what's wrong?"

"I invited Logan to the Bid-a-Basket Festival. He said he couldn't come because he was busy at work. Maybe it was the wrong Stars Hollow event to invite him too. It's too romantic and boyfriend/girlfriendy. I should have invited him to the Halloween one, or the Winter Carnival or the Festival of Living Art, something you can go to as friends."

"Honey, he loves you remember. He doesn't want to be friends."

"Well, he said he wants to be friends."

"I haven't spoken to him but I know that he wants more, and so do you. Saying 'I love you' trumps saying you just want to be friends."

"Well, if he wants more then why didn't he say he'd come."

"Maybe he's scared."

"Of Stars Hollow? It's not like he hasn't been her before."

"Not of Stars Hollow, of you." Rory opened her mouth to argue but Lorelai continued, "Not of you but of seeing you. The last time he saw you you rejected his marriage proposal. That's got to have bruised his ego pretty bad."

"Yeah, but we're not in a relationship. We're just going to be friends so it's not the same type of thing."

"But hon, you want to be in a relationship. And being together again...it'll show you'll feel it. Maybe he doesn't want to run the risk of seeing you too soon and it ruining your new friendship and that resulting to you not being in his life anymore. He gets brownie points for wanting to keep you in his life."

"Ok, I kind of understand you're crazy logic and that's disturbing on so many levels, but if we don't see each other now because it's too soon when will it not be too soon? How will we know when the 'too soon' period is over and its 'soon enough'?"

"I don't know kid. When he asks you and you don't hesitate or when you ask him and he doesn't hesitate. You guys will know when you know."

"I hate it when there's no time frame. I like knowing exactly when something is going to happen."

"I know you do kid, but life isn't always like that. Now what should we watch?" Lorelai asked changing the subject before Rory could get even more depressed. Apparently it was already too late.

Rory went over to the DVD cupboard and pulled out three movies. "Sleepless in Seattle, An Officer and a Gentleman, and Casablanca," she said, holding the movies up for her mother.

"Oh, we're already in wallow mode, huh?" Lorelai asked as Rory put the first movie in the player and settled down on the couch.

"Shhh," Rory scolded. "No talking during movie night!"