Early September 2011

Sophie walked through the empty halls of Sacred Heart Elementary School on her way to the principal's office. He'd called her down to talk to her and Sophie was busy wracking her brain to come up with what he would want to speak with her about. She hadn't done anything wrong at any point in the last week or so since she'd been back to school. Her teacher, a strict but kind woman by the name of Mrs Bittle, barely even knew her name.

Tentatively, she knocked on the door of the principal's office. The door swung open presenting Ms Hunt, the secretary. "Sophie, perfect. Come on in."

Sophie stepped into the room and froze.

Two men sat in front of Mr Barkley's desk and one of them held a camera. Logan and Rory weren't idiots. They knew if things came out after their engagement announcement, Sophie could be a target and they'd been careful to sit down and talk to her about the paparazzi and the press. This was the first time she'd ever had to face them on her own.

Sophie was bright for a ten-year-old and Rory and Logan had explained that they were both very important people. Sure, the large majority of her adoptive parents cared more for her well-being than any reputation that could be created from a news article, but Sophie had seen first hand what the news could do to Rory and Logan's relationship. Rory and Logan, more the latter than the former, had even gone as far as to outline how to spot undercover reporters.

I'm only ten! her mind screamed. What could they want with me?

"Sophie, have a seat," Mr Barkley invited and the photographer moved out of his seat to give it to her.

Tentatively, Sophie took the seat, keeping her gaze fixed on the principal. When her parents got a hold of this… "Did I do something wrong Mr Barkley?" she asked, playing the perfect part of the innocent little girl terrified to be in the principal's office. Well, terrified wasn't a far cry from what Sophie was feeling, really.

He chuckled, shooting a glance at the reporter still seated. "Of course not, Sophie. You're our best student."

Sophie kept her gaze fixed on her principal but saw the reporter scribbling in a small notebook. She tried to take an indiscernible deep breath. She'd been coached in this. Logan had more experience with the press than she did. He'd told her that her most important weapon was her attitude. If she stayed calm and vague they couldn't hold anything over her head. "Then I don't understand why I'm here. I have classes, I have work."

"Sophie, these two men are from The National Enquirer," Barkley said, waving to the reporter and the photographer. "Jason Grenier, Jerry Stevens, this is Sophie Wilson."

The National Enquirer? Ooh, Logan was really going to kill Barkley when he got a hold of this. "I still don't understand why I need to be here," Sophie said carefully.

"We just want to talk to you," the reporter, Grenier, began.

Yeah, talk to me my rear end. You want to interrogate me. You want me to be Deep Throat to your Woodward and Bernstein, Sophie thought to herself. You want me to start giving up national secrets, that's what you want.

Okay, maybe she was being a little overdramatic with the last thought, but she had the right, didn't she? She took her schooling very seriously – a trait she knew she'd picked up from Rory since she'd begun school and also one she'd developed as an escape from her cancer – and she wasn't impressed with being pulled out of classes to talk to a couple of reporters that were going to spin whatever she said.

Regardless, she stayed silent.

Grenier exchanged a look with Barkley. "Sophie, can I call you Sophie?"

Sophie shrugged.

"This will be easy and relatively painless. We understand Logan Huntzberger came to pick you up from school at the end of last year."

Sophie gave herself a mental pat on the back. But she wasn't going to play the spy. She loved Rory and she loved Logan.

"Just give them enough to satisfy without giving details. Silence is your strongest weapon."

"I was sick with the flu." Neither confirming, nor denying.

"And how do you know Mr Huntzberger?" Grenier asked, trying to put a calm curiosity in his facial expressions.

Sophie resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but only just. She could see the hungry spark and she hated it. "I know his sister," she said carefully.

"And Miss Hayden?"

Oh good Lord, Sophie screamed in her head. "She adopted me when my biological parents died."

Grenier considered her for a minute. "You look like her, you know."

Sophie wished she could mumble under her breath, wished she could just hit the smarmy reporter in front of her. Sometimes it drove her nuts that these were the types of people that Logan had working for him. Then again, Logan's employees worked to report the news, not the latest gossip. Well, not as much.

"My parents died when I was five, Mr Grenier," Sophie said, sitting up straighter. "My biological parents."

"And then Miss Hayden adopted you."

Since it was a statement, Sophie didn't have to answer.

"And since her engagement to Mr Huntzberger, he has since adopted you too, has he not?"

"Yes."

"And how old are you, Sophie?"

"Ten." She didn't like the smile that flitted at the corner of Grenier's mouth.

"Thank you, Sophie. You can head back to class."

She made a beeline for her bag once the door closed behind her, digging out the cell phone Rory and Logan had given to her in case of emergencies. Her fingers were shaking when she pulled it out. She loved Rory, but she hadn't liked the insinuation that they looked alike. Hadn't liked it at all. She found the phone book's five pre-programmed numbers and selected the last one. Frank wouldn't ask questions.

"Frank? It's Sophie. Can you come and get me at school please."


Finance meetings were boring. Logan was sure he'd almost fallen asleep twice and definitely had zoned out through the large majority of the meeting. He was thankful he was the boss and wasn't responsible for the minutes. He blinked, trying to place what had broken him out of a really nice day dream of him and Rory relaxing on a Mexican beach when the guy making the presentation called 'enter'.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," Sheila said gracefully, her eyes searching the room until they landed on Logan. "You have an emergency visitor, Mr Huntzberger."

Logan stood quickly, putting everything in a pile. "How about we continue this tomorrow? Say… eleven?" He stayed long enough to see all of the men nod their heads before walking quickly but calmly towards his office. He figured it wouldn't be Honour and if it was Colin or Finn he'd have to thank them profusely for getting him out of such a boring meeting. But something in his gut told him it wasn't any of his friends and it definitely wasn't his sister.

Sophie stood at the window of his office, her hands clutching the window sill and Logan took a minute to assess his daughter. There was tension in her shoulders and she was here not two hours into the school day. Emergency was definitely the right word to use.

"Half-Pint?" His gut twisted when he saw the fear in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Sophie took a deep breath. "They called me to the principal's office this morning," she started slowly.

Logan raised an eyebrow. "You? Why? Did you get an eighty on an assignment instead of a ninety?"

That got a small smile out of her. "I didn't get it either until I was already in there."

Logan moved to stand beside her, placing his papers and files on his desk as he passed. "Lion's den?"

"Two men from The National Enquirer."

Logan raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"I wouldn't lie about something like this. Jason Grenier and… um… Stevens… Jerry Stevens."

Sophie had no reason to lie and Logan felt the anger and frustration slowly building within him. He'd known there was something off with the principal's personal oversight when he'd taken Sophie home in June. "What happened, sweetheart?"

"I was… I was…" Sophie huffed out a breath. "What's that word you and Rory use when you go to your parents?"

"Shanghaied?" Logan asked, trying to hide the small smile creeping up on him.

"Exactly! By a reporter and a photographer from The National Enquirer! They ambushed me! My own principal used me for his own gain! He's supposed to keep the students safe, not have them put on the spot in front of reporters for their families!"

Logan was again struck with the number of habits Sophie had picked up from Rory. And she was adorable. "Hey, hey, hey, take a breath there Deep Throat."

Sophie glared. "I'm no one's stupid Deep Throat, okay? I didn't want to talk to them, I didn't want to deal with them, I wanted to be in class."

"We told you this was likely to happen," Logan said calmly, pulling Sophie into a hug. He could be mad later. Maybe he'd even call and give a piece of his mind to that principal. And he'd talk to Rory about putting Sophie in private school, preferably one that kept riffraff like that out of their hallowed halls.

"It doesn't mean I have to like it," Sophie pouted stepping back just a bit.

"This is true. But whatever story they come up with we deal with then, okay? Nothing can be changed now and I'm not sure it's really worth calling and ranting to the tabloids until we know exactly what spin they're putting on the whole article."

Sophie took a deep breath. "You're taking this well."

Logan shrugged. "It's not going to be the first time I've been in the tabloids, nor, I'd imagine, is it going to be the last. Unfortunately for you that means a lot more pressure."

"I want it to stop," Sophie said. "I hated being in that room."

"I'm sure you did, Half-Pint," Logan said, hugging her tightly again. "Now what do you say to some ice cream?"

Sophie considered this for a moment. "Barnes & Noble and you've got yourself a deal."

Logan grinned and shook his head. "I should have known. You have something specific in mind?"

"Rory couldn't find her copy of Kite Runner the other day and I've been wanting to read it forever…"


Rory was surprised to come home to Logan and Sophie in front of the television at three. Sophie wasn't even due out of school for another half an hour. She stepped into the den, watching what they were, surprised that it All the President's Men. Logan's interest didn't surprise her for the sole reason that it was journalistic brilliance, but Sophie was another story.

"Did you guys have another political argument?" Rory asked.

Neither of them answered.

Suddenly, Sophie sat up straight. "Ha! I told you! He released national secrets and I barely told the dumbasses that I have any connection to the two of you!"

Rory gasped at her ten year old daughter's language. "Sophie Tessa Lynn…"

"Sorry, Mo-Rory," Sophie apologized, turning wide eyes to blue ones.

Rory jolted. What was Sophie going to call her? "Where on earth did you learn that language," Rory finally settled on.

Sophie shrugged.

"And what are you watching?"

By this point, Logan had paused the movie. "I have a feeling that was a rhetorical question."

"Okay," Rory conceded rolling her eyes. "Why are you watching All the President's Men? Did you have another political argument?"

"Not this time," Sophie answered, exchanging a glance with Logan.

When Sophie didn't continue, Logan picked up the story. "The National Enquirer tried to turn our Sophie into their own inside source."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "They did what?"

Sophie huffed as she plopped properly on the couch again. "Mr Berkley called me down to his office today."

"The principal?" Rory inquired, moving around the couch to sit with her family.

"Yeah, the principal." She looked at Rory's face. "I know, weird, right?"

"Very weird," Rory agreed. "What did he want?"

"Well, that's where the whole National Enquirer thing comes in. There was a reporter and photographer in there."

"Huh. And why was that?"

"Well, you know when Da-Logan picked me up at the end of last year? I was sick with the flu?"

Rory shivered. Oh, she remembered that. "Uh huh."

Sophie turned to Logan for the next part. The latter shrugged at his fiancée. "I figure the principal called someone. Soph says the secretary was in on it too." Then he took a breath. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you both about putting you, Soph, in private school."

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Is that really necessary?"

Logan shrugged. "Private schools are pickier about who they let onto school grounds and if she goes to private school she'll be the daughter of another set of rich parents, you know? Reporters are less likely to get at her because she's one of the many in some respects."

Remarkably, Sophie understood.

Rory, on the other hand, was a little apprehensive. Her Chilton days had not been her favourite and she'd been a Hayden, a known last name. Sophie would have to tell people who her parents were. "Logan, I don't know…"

Sophie recognized the conversation about to occur and stood. "We'll finish the movie some other time. I should call someone to get the work I missed today…"

Once Sophie was safely up the stairs and he'd heard the door closed, Logan turned back to Rory. "Ace, we knew this was going to happen but you didn't see her when she came into my office today."

Rory was confused. "When did she come to your office?"

"Around eleven?" Logan responded with a shrug. "She hates talking to reporters. At a private school not only will people ignore who she is but they're a lot stricter about who they allow on school property and the principals aren't going to go to the tabloids about one simple student. I'd feel a lot better if she was somewhere where she could just be a kid, just go to school without having to worry about the press or about us."

"Don't you think that's a little bit drastic though?"

Logan shook his head with a smile. "You know what she told me today?"

Rory shook her head.

"The thing she was worried about the most during the interview wasn't the interview itself but the fall out from the article. Remember what happened the last time someone published an article without us knowing? Amber and the gala?"

Rory blinked. "That's what Sophie was worried about? What on earth could she tell them that would result in us fighting like that?"

Logan laughed. "Ace, I don't claim to understand what goes on in Sophie's head. First of all, she's a woman. I'm genetically predisposed to not understand her. Then she's a kid and as much as I love her and I'm pretty sure she loves me, she's still an intensely private kid."

"I'm still not sure, Logan," Rory said, looking away.

"Hey," he said, cupping her chin. "It's not boarding school. She'll be home every night like she always is so you'll still see her. And she's a great kid."

Rory smiled slightly. "Um… I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay," Logan nodded. "Though the faster we can get her in the better it'll probably be."

"No pressure," Rory said with a small chuckle.

Logan kissed her forehead. "So, want to finish the movie with me?"

Rory sighed and rolled her eyes but snuggled into his side as he pressed play.


Mid-September 2011

She'd finally given in.

There had been message upon message left at home and on her cell pertaining to when she was available to meet a wedding planner. Rory had ignored them all trying to figure out the best way to avoid planning her wedding along with the devil's daughter. However, after a threat from Francine to call Emily and plan the wedding themselves, Rory had bitten the bullet and arranged a meeting.

"Are you sure you want to tackle this on your own, Ace?" Logan asked as they drove from New York to Hartford. The club had been neutral ground that allowed Logan to be close by – on the golf course, but it wouldn't take him long to reach her should the need arise.

"Yes, I'm sure," Rory repeated for the hundredth time.

Logan sighed in defeat. Rory was stubborn. "Dad and your grandfather know I'm only playing nine holes so I should be no more than three hours. My cell is on vibrate if you need a rescue."

Rory rolled her eyes. "I may dislike the fact that your mother hates me but I can play polite society with the best of 'em. My grandmothers are queens of it in their own rights."

"And my mother is the queen of subtle barbs." He did give her credit for the grandmother's thing though.

"She won't make a scene, Logan. Why do you think I chose a public place with enough of Hartford to discourage an outburst?"

Logan blinked, his eyes still on the road. He was impressed. "You've really thought this out."

Rory smiled. "Oh yeah. And here's the creepy part: I'd rather deal with the DAR congratulations and snobbery, not to mention the dirty looks from the women who couldn't keep you than even consider doing this behind closed doors."

"Sometimes, Ace," Logan began, shaking his head in impressed disbelief. "Your understanding of elite society baffles me for a woman that wasn't immersed in it from birth."

"It's that separation that gives me perspective," she shot back. Then she rested her hand on his over the stick shift. "Now stop fussing. I'll be fine."

Her reassurance came just as Logan pulled into the club's parking lot and stopped in a spot. As a result, any argument would be useless at this point. He held out a hand to her as she came around the car and grasped it tightly as they made their way to the front doors. The men were predictably the first group the couple crossed.

"Rory, Logan! There you are!" Mitchum greeted. "Rory, the women are already in the dining room having tea."

"Thank you, Mitchum," Rory said with a polite society smile, accepting his requisite kiss on the cheek. Rory then turned to Straub, repeating the motion. The final man caught her by surprise.

"Grandpa," she greeted. "What are you doing here?"


Ha ha, I know... Three days between updates and I'm leaving you with a cliff hanger. Just remember, you shoot me and you don't get the rest of the story anyway!

Now, I do have a legitimate question before signing off on this chapter. For the next six weeks, updates will be anywhere from 2 to 12 days apart. With 24 counted characters, some of which are participating in different storylines, do you want a recap of the people who are going to be in the chapters at the beginning or do you want to just go back and read it all? Basically

Option A: I continue writing as is and if you are confused about something you go back and read the other chapters

Option B: I write a little recap at the beginning of each chapter, but only about the characters and storylines that are appearing in the chapter. For example, the next time I talk about Steph and Colin's relationship, I put a recap at the beginning to remind you what's already happened in their relationship.

Let me know! And tell me what you think while you're at it!