Well, talk about some major neglect! Excuses won't cut it (how many times can you hear that "I'm busy"), but I hope you will forgive me and enjoy this new chapter. I've read in the reviews that you want it to focus more on the present, so I've tried to incorporate that more in this chapter. However, I think it's important for this story to see what happened in the past, especially next chapter (the m-bomb will be dropped!)

Quick recap of what has happened up to now:

Past: Logan wanted to be with Rory. She loves him (she thinks) but can't commit since she doesn't want to risk their friendship. Tristan joins Chilton Prep and Rory falls for him – hard. As a result, Logan develops some kind of playboy persona. At Rory's bittersweet sixteen, Tristan and Rory call it quits, since she is not ready to sleep with him. Saving herself for Logan perhaps?

Present: Logan and Rory have reached the all time low in their complicated relationship. After he almost cheated on her in London, he flew back home to Hartford, fully committed to making it work! Unfortunately for our boy, duty calls and he's back on a plane to London. However, this time around he has arranged for the lovely Rory to fly out and see him.

This chapter deals with the aftermath of the tragic Trory break-up and s-l-o-w-l-y reuniting our favorite couple!!!

Let me know what's on your mind by reviewing (and again: I know – waaaay to long to wait for an update!)

Love & laughter,

GilmoreGirl19

PS: I do not own the fantasticness that ASP created!


Rory could not help smiling broadly, as she felt the private jet descend into London. She drank the last sip of her coffee, and switched off her I-pod. She pushed her window shade up, and saw the London landscape through the tiny break in clouds. She could not help smile widely as she fastened her seatbelt. Logan had finally taken her to London!

Of course, he would be working but at least they would be spending more time together. Besides, Rory was out of Hartford, finally escaping day-to-day of society she had come to loath intensely.

Jared, the flight attendant swiftly picked up her coffee cup and the half-eaten bag of M&M's.

"Mrs. Huntzberger, we will be landing in fifteen minutes. There will be a car waiting for you at the gate."

"Thank-you, Jared," Rory nodded, "Do you, by any chance know if Mr. Huntzberger will be in that limo?" She smiled, though her eyes gave away her insecurity.

"No, ma'am I don't," he replied apologetically, "But you'll find out soon enough," he quipped as the plane made another fall in altitude. Rory felt her stomach turn, and gripped the leather armrest. She did not hate flying itself, but take-off and landing made her nervous.

She closed her eyes; as she felt the plane, dip into its final descend. Her breathing increased and she tightened her grip on the armrests.

Oh, she wished Logan were here to tell her stupid facts, like the chance of getting struck by lighting is greater than dying in a plane crash. She imagined herself replying to him, resulting in some form of banter. She smiled at the little show playing in her head, and before she knew it, the plane landed gently on the tarmac and she opened her eyes. She was in London!


"Can we talk?"

Rory's question hung anxiously in the room. Finn, Colin, Lane and Stephanie exchanged worried glances, knowing that this Rory/Logan exchange could fix their somewhat damaged relationship, or hurt it even more.

"Yeah," Logan nodded and consciously avoided inquiring looks from his friends as he led her out the glass sliding patio door.

He placed his hand on the small of her back, as he instinctively led her down to the lake.

"So," he said after a while of silence, "What did you want to talk about?"

"It's been forever since we've been down here," Rory replied, deliberately ignoring the question.

"Ace," he nudged gently.

"I know – I'm sorry. It used to be so easy to talk to you, and now it just seems weird."

He nodded, "It's been a while – just us, like this." She detected regret in his voice, "But you can still talk to me no matter what, Ace."

She remained silent as she looked at him, her eyes filling up with tears.

"Rory," he strongly wrapped his arms around her, "Don't cry."

She allowed herself to cry for a good five minutes, recapping the evening's events in her mind, sniffing in Logan's scent and realizing that perhaps, just maybe the break-up with Tristan wasn't a bad thing.

"Tristan and I broke up," she informed him, as she pulled away from his embrace and wiped her remaining tears for Tristan away.

"I know," Logan said sympathetically, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she said in reply, "At the end of the day he was a big, big jerk."

"Really?" he tried to sound as if this was new information, but of course, he had always thought of Tristan as a 'big, big jerk,' albeit he described it a little more colorfully.

"You know why we broke up?" Rory asked, now traces of anger filling her tone. She answered her own question, "Because I didn't want to have sex with him."

"What?"

"You heard me," she said bitterly, "He wanted sex, and I wasn't ready – I told him!" She paused, and took a step closer to Logan and spoke softly, "I told him, Logan." She was too busy fuming to notice the heartfelt concern in his eyes.

She continued in anger, "But he didn't listen. He didn't care. He said if I loved him, I'd be with him. But, I didn't want to. Not now, at least. So, so, you know what he does?"

Logan didn't dare speak, and interrupt Rory's rant.

"He cheated on me." Her words seemed to echo in the cold night, as she caught Logan's surprised expression.

"Yeah, those rumors: true."

She stopped, realizing that she had never disclosed any of this information to anyone ever before. She and Logan had never really talked about sex. Was she crossing a line? Could she talk about this to him? They never discussed it seriously, only jokingly.

Well, mostly the boys joked about it since Logan had earned his player status, and it was common knowledge that Finn-and-Lane had taken the next step in their relationship. Colin and Stephanie were engaged in a very original take of battle of the sexes – hurting each other by using some other, meaningless person, as a pawn to see who would lose it first. So far, they had both reached third base and decided to call it quits, before it really got out of hand. Only Rory and Tristan remained remarkably mum about their sex-life, mostly because it had not proceeded past second base.

Her anger was now turning back to misery, as she swallowed hard, tears once again welling up in her eyes. "Oh god, Logan," she wailed, "I'm sorry – you don't want to hear about this. I should have talked to Lane. I'm such a dweeb."

He laughed quietly since it had been ages since he heard her use the word dweeb.

"Hey, come here," he said softly as he pulled her into a hug. They fit perfectly; she was able to rest her chin on his shoulder.

"You are not a dweeb. And you do not have to be sorry. If anything, I'm the one that's sorry, Ace. I was too busy with…" he wanted to say other girls but he stopped himself. "It doesn't matter – I was there, I should have seen it. You're still my best friend –I should have known."

She continued sobbing softly and he could not take it anymore, "I should have kicked his ass when I had the chance!"

A tiny laugh escaped the both of them, and he gently led her to the wooden bench out by the lake.

"Ace," he said, "you are better than him."

She nodded slowly, "I know."

"If he loved you – he would have waited," he said earnestly. Logan knew that he would have waited.

"Even if it took years?" she asked.

"Even if it took years," he said firmly.

She bit her bottom lip as s he contemplated this, and finally nodded, "I know."


Ace,

I wish I was sitting next to you in that limo right now, instead of at the Task Force Investors Meeting. I have given Jim – the driver – instructions to make sure your first day in London is brilliant. I will call you later.

Love,

Logan.

Rory sat in the backseat of the limo, waiting for her customs release and for Jim to finish his cigarette. She was not upset at all that Logan was in a meeting. She half-expected it, but her customary bitterness had been replaced by the tiniest flutter in her stomach. The note was written in perfect penmanship, every letter just so.

It was his handwriting. She couldn't remember the last time she'd received a handwritten note from him. His secretary mostly signed the five dollar Hallmark cards with a simple 'With Love," , which was a nice sentiment, but totally out of character for Logan. He was a straightforward note signer, a simple "love" sufficed.

She knew his secretary picked out the cards, too. The frilly, warm-and-fuzzy cards had menopausal, Grey's Anatomy watching, O Magazine reading, Betty Crocker baking woman written all over it. Not that there was anything wrong with any of that, since Rory herself was a Grey's Anatomy watching, O-Magazine reading chick, but it was painfully obvious that Logan wasn't picking out these cards and the over the top meaning of the countless birthday and anniversary cards were worthless.

She quickly washed the bitter thoughts out of her mind and folded up the note, wondering what he had planned for her, just as her blackberry started to vibrate.

"Hello, Hello," she answered in a horrible British accent.

"Ms. Babcock?" The voice on the other end teased.

"No, Mrs. Huntzberger" Rory replied, "Who is this?"

"All it takes is 7 hours to forget how my voice sounds?"

"Logan?"

"The one and only"

She practically saw him smile through the phone. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, "It's this damn jetlag, you know!"

"Tell Jim to stop at Beanery Coffee on First Street. Order the number 4 with an extra shot of espresso and caramel. Works wonders!"

Rory laughed, "Like Finn's tomato juice, milk and cinnamon hang-over shake?"

"Even better!'

Rory nodded, "Just what I need. So, what does Jim have planned for me today?"

"You'll just have to wait and see," he replied suggestively, knowing full well that she was trying to squeeze information out of him.

"Logan!"

"Oh, look… I've got to get back to my meeting now…" She knew he was joking by the tone of his voice.

"Alright," she relented somewhat, "I'll just have to wait until I see you at dinner, right?"

"Dinner?" He asked innocently.

"Logan!"

"Yes, dinner. McDonalds alright for you?" He teased, "I'll share my fries with you,"

"Order me a girl happy meal and I'll be set," she joked back.

Logan and Rory shared a happy laugh. She absentmindedly rubbed her sapphire ring, logging just how much she loved talking to Logan, like this. Relaxed, not worrying about the world, and just being content in their bubble.

"So, Logan," she said teasingly, "Care to tell me about this interest Miss Babcock?"

A laugh escaped him, "The Nanny, Ace!"

"I thought you didn't like the Nanny," she accused, "I've been wanting to get the DVD's, but I didn't since I knew you wouldn't watch them!"

"I won't – but what else am I going to watch on the plane?"

"Aw," Rory mocked sympathy.

"It's not like I could take the jet," he defended himself, "it was reserved…"

"Yes, yes," Rory nodded, 'That is was."

She smiled as she looked at the jet, and noticed Jim was coming towards her.

"Oh, yay!" She squealed excitedly into the phone. "I think Jim has been given the green light."

"Have fun today!" he said, "and, don't forget about the number 4 with …"

"…espresso and caramel." Rory finished. "I won't, and I'll see you tonight?" Rory asked with hope still lacing her tone.

"Yes, I promise"

"See you tonight,"

"Yeah,"


They sat on the bench in comfortable silence for a while, looking out over the midnight blue water, and the glistening moon.

"How about a birthday present?" Logan said as he pulled a tiny Tiffany blue box out of his coat pocket. He caught the surprise in her eyes, and cocked his head to the side. "It's tradition, Ace." He held out the box for her.

She took it, and shrugged. "I know, I just thought…."

"That's your problem," he smiled warmly, "You think too much."

She shot him a mock pissed look, before opening the expertly wrapped package, revealing a small, dark blue velvet box.

"A ring?" she laughed, accustomed to getting jewelry from Logan, "So soon? Why, I barely even know you, Mr. Huntzberger," she joked in a fantastically horrible Southern accent.

"But, Miss Hayden," he replied, not missing a beat. "Your folks, they approve. All I had to do was provide the ring – our marriage is set a sunrise. I, I thought you knew!"

They joked, but it was scary how soon this would turn out to be reality.

The pair shared a hearty laugh, before she slowly opened the ring box. A beautiful blue sapphire ring stared back at her. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh Logan," she exclaimed, "It's beautiful!" She took off her gaudy cocktail ring and replaced it with her new sapphire. "Thank-you, so much," she placed a kiss on his cheek. "I mean it," she said sincerely.

He swung his arm around her shoulder, "My pleasure, Ace."

She gently rested her head on his shoulder as the couple returned to its own thoughts.

"Thank-you for being here for me," she said absentmindedly.

"I'll be there for you," he replied sincerely, and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.


"Have a nice evening ma'am!" Jim said politely as he stood in the doorway of the presidential suite. He fit the part of British chauffeur so well. He was an older, tall man, with a Santa Clause tummy, except he wore a black suit instead of a red one. He had also had dark rimmed glasses, thinning white hair and a perfect British accent.

"But, wait," Rory said, fumbling through her change purse, looking for a tip, "Will I see you again?"

"Perhaps," he said with a twinkle in his eye, as he took her change purse from her hands, and placed it on the foyer table. "Mr. Huntzberger has taken care of that," he smiled warmly at her.

"Oh, okay, "she bit her bottom lip nervously, "And you have no idea when Logan will be here?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that," he glanced at the clock, "but make sure you walk by the master bedroom…"

She caught the twinkle in his eye. "So, I'll see you later?"

"Mrs. Huntzberger…"

"Rory, Jim, call me Rory"

"Mrs. Huntzberger," he tried to avoid her questions once more, but she was determined.

"Will I Jim?"

"I'm leaving now, Mrs. Huntzberger."

"See you later, Jim!"

He smiled, in essence providing her with an answer to her question.

"Women!" The fabulous British driver exclaimed before shutting the suite door shut.

Rory smiled as she looked around the grand entrance to the presidential suite. She knew that this was where Logan always stayed when he was in the city for business.

She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, disappointed to find only a few bottles of water. She quickly examined the cabinets and discovered that Logan did not keep a lot of food on hand. Not that it was necessary since room service were there to meet his dietary needs. Nevertheless, she assumed that her husband would have more than pretzels and bottles of whiskey, rum and vodka on hand.

Leaving the kitchen for what it was, she made her way over to the living room, stopping at the bookcase and running her fingers over the spines. She could tell that most of them had been read many times.

The couch looked as though it hadn't been sat on in ages, though the recliner looked well-used and comfortable. She sat down, and picked up the novel that lay lonely on the side table. Next to, it was a silver picture frame with a wide smiling, sun kissed Rory and a fresh faced, still messy haired Logan. She recognized the shot immediately; it was taken on their pre-wedding cruise with Finn, Lane, Colin and Stephanie. They were insanely happy on that trip, and extremely excited about the impending nuptials. That day, it seemed like nothing bad could happen and she knew, Logan felt the same way.

Suddenly, a wave of melancholy washed over her as she imagined Logan sitting here, at night, reading some novel, alone, drinking, looking at that photograph and feeling awful, while she was across the ocean, feeling the same.

She had only been sitting there for a minute, and she felt miserable, just remembering how happy they had been.

She turned the picture away, so it was facing the uncomfortable looking couch and got up, wandering through the otherwise typically bacheloresque suite. The only other thing that made the suite look somewhat lived in was the photo of Rory on the nightstand, next to the expertly made up bed.

She sat on the bed, and picked up the picture. She knew where this one was from, too. It was a shot taken by him, of her sitting under a tree reading. They had just moved into their Hartford house, and she remembered being a little sad. It was weird to suddenly be 'grown up', out of college and now be homeowners. Besides, she missed her reading tree at Yale. Logan had spent that morning with Colin and Finn, doing some manly thing and she had noticed that this particular tree in the backyard seemed perfect for reading.

She hadn't even noticed he was home, and equipped with a camera. The flash had brought her back to the real world. She had smiled at him, he had replied something incredibly sexy and they started making out right there – under the tree. She had stopped it, and dragged him back into the house, since she was mortified someone, some Hartford Wife, would catch them. Logan thought she was being silly, since the house was practically closed off. She hadn't wanted to risk it.

She smiled at the memory, placed the photo back, and hit speed dial on her phone. She walked back to the living room, sat down in his recliner – it smelled like him – and waited for the other end to pick up.

"He has pictures of me," she said as soon as the other end picked up.

"Sexy pictures?" the Australian laughed into the phone.

"Finn´ Rory heard Lane exasperate, "Little ears!"

She smiled, since she loved how her 'wild-child' friends evolved into a bright and shiny Martha Stewart household.

"No, Finny, not sexy pictures."

"Oh," he sounded somewhat disappointed, "Well, it's still nice I suppose…"

"Yes, it is nice," she really wanted to talk to Lane about this – not that she didn't love Finn, but this was girl talk. However, she knew that if she asked for Lane, Finn would give her a hard time.

"What do you think it means?" she asked, "I mean, things have been bad for a long time…."

"Hmm," Finn acknowledged.

"and, they are really good pictures, you know…"

"Hmm"

"Do you think he left them out purposely for me to see?"

"I don't know.."

"It could just be a ploy; maybe he wants me to feel worse than I already do!"

"Well…uh,"

"What do you think, Finn?"

"Uh," the Australian mumbled, "I'm, uh, just, uh, going to give you to Lane…"

"Hey!" Lane exclaimed, "You've really become an expert on putting the kibosh on Dr. Finn "

Rory laughed, "I know!"

"So, how's London?"

"British," Rory sighed, "Cold, rainy….confusing. I don't know, Lane. We talked on the phone, and it was like we were 14 again. Smooth, funny, stress-free."

"That's nice," Lane nodded.

"Yeah," Rory picked some lint off her jeans, "So, he had to be in a meeting,"

"Big surprise," Lane replied sarcastically, immediately followed by an apology. "It's just typical, Rory."

"I know, but he made up for it," she was quick to say, "He got this fabulous driver – Jim – and he scooted me around London all day. We had fish and chips for lunch; saw all the sights and now I'm here in Logan's suite. There's no food, just booze, books and pictures of me."

"That sounds like the makeup for a very bad Lifetime movie network. Drunk depressed guy murders his estranged wife in a foreign country…"

"Yes, that is very helpful, Lane!" Rory laughed into the phone.

"Well, Logan is not a killer – at least I don't think."

"Nah," Rory shook her head, "But, I mean, those pictures. It's the cruise picture and the tree picture."

"Wow," Lanes eyes widened in surprise, now knowing in what state Logan was, all her concern vanished.

"I know" Rory nodded, "I guess he's not as cold as I thought…."

"I guess not," Lane shrugged, "those pictures mean something, Rory. He loves you."

Rory remained silent, so Lane continued, "He's as messed up as you are, okay. But you guys will get through it."

"I hope," Rory sighed. "We are having dinner tonight."

"Did he get you a dress?," Lane asked.

"Probably, I haven't looked – but Jim, you know how those guys are our husbands employ."

"Sure," Lane giggled, "Twinkle in the eye, suggestive eyebrow movement. They can't ever keep a secret."

The girls chitchatted for a while, until Lane needed to go.

"Thanks, Lane" Rory said.

"Anytime."

Rory hung up the phone, and walked over to the only room she had not been in to. It was a bedroom, similar to Logan's – the same navy curtains, the same cream rug, the same perfectly made up bed. The only exception was the big black and white Chanel box that lay horizontally on the bed.

She opened it and a gorgeous little black dress appeared. Just like she and Lane had predicted. Ever the gentleman Logan supplied designer pumps and a satin clutch as well.

She smiled as she looked at her watch and figured she had enough time for a catnap. She had had a busy day after all.

Carefully, she set the box of designer duds on the leather armchair in the corner of the room, and got in bed. As soon as her head it the pillow, she fellin into a content asleep.


Soooooooooooooooooooooooo? Whaddya think?