A/N: I hope you all enjoy this!

Chapter Nine

There were many milestones to be had in a relationship. The first date. The first night spent together. The first fight, first makeup. Over spring break, Rory and Logan were checking another first off the list – the first trip to a significant other's hometown.

Technically, Logan had already been to Stars Hollow for the Festival of Lights. But both him and Rory agreed that the quick foray into Stars Hollow festivities was not enough to qualify as an official trip. He hadn't gotten to see even half of the primo Stars Hollow sights.

Rory drove up to Logan's dorm and parked outside. She'd agreed to drive with the one caveat that Logan chose the music in the car. They'd driven to New York a few weeks prior and she'd made him listen to Blondie for the entire drive. Just the mention of "The Tide Is High" made him shudder.

She knocked on his door, checking her watch as she heard him walk toward the door. When he opened it she saw Colin and Finn sitting in front of the television, swearing loudly as they played some video game. Something particularly bad happened on Finn's side and he threw the game controller on the ground, yelling some foreign word that she could only guess was an Australian curse word.

"They take that game way too seriously," Rory noted.

"Video games are serious business, Ace," Logan said with a small grin, stepping forward and kissing her on her cheek. "Let me just get my bags and we can go."

"I'll help."

They walked back to his bedroom, the boys giving Rory a noncommittal wave as they continued on with their game. She walked into Logan's bedroom and watched him pick up a midsize duffel bag from his bed. Beside it was a nice gift bag with pearlized tissue paper peaking decoratively out of the top. Logan caught her glancing at it and said, "Oh yeah, can you carry that for me?"

"Sure. Who's it for?"

"It's for your mom."

She followed him out of the bedroom and said, "You got a gift for my mom?"

"Yeah." He glanced back at her. "That's not weird, right?"

"No, it's nice," she said earnestly. "My mom's going to love it. She loves gifts."

"You don't even know what it is," he pointed out.

"Doesn't matter," Rory returned easily. "My mom will just love the fact she gets to open something."

"So, Rory, kegger at your place tonight, right?" Colin called out from the couch.

Rory shook her hand and said, "Ha ha, very funny Colin."

"No, love, I heard about that too!" Finn piped in. "A little party in the Stars of Hollow. Eight o'clock! Hawaiian theme!"

Rory looked to Logan in horror and said, "There's not actually-"

"There's no party at your house," Logan placated. "Stop freaking her out, guys," he directed at Colin and Finn.

The boys grinned like chesire cats and Colin returned, "Have fun, you love birds."


Rory noticed several things when she pulled up to her house. First, there was an unfamiliar car parked outside. Their street was known for minimal traffic, and Rory could remember only a handful of times there had actually been a car parked outside that wasn't their own. Then she noticed the gutters. Usually they were stuffed with leaves and other sorts of natural-clogging-gutter-stuff, but today they were clear.

She turned the engine off and climbed out of the car. It only took a moment for Lorelai to fly out of the house, black hair blowing around her face as she ran to the car.

"This is an unusually frenetic greeting," Rory said, wondering why Lorelai looked so uncomfortable.

"Babe, you're early."

"Yeah, there was hardly any traffic."

"There's something I actually need to tell you."

"Okay, what…" she trailed off when someone else walked out of the house. "Dad?"

"Yeah, that would be the thing."

"Hey there, kiddo," Christopher said, walking toward her with a wide grin. She gave him a quick hug and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm actually staying here for a while."

Rory glanced over at Lorelai and said, "Huh, is that so?"

"Yeah, they're fumigating my place in New Haven. So, I needed a place to stay for a few days. Your mom was nice enough to let me crash. So, introduce me to this boy you brought home."

"Right, sorry," Rory stammered. She stepped back toward Logan and said, "Dad, this is Logan Huntzberger."

"Huntzberger," Christopher said, mulling over the name for a moment. "No relation to Mitchum, is it?"

"That's my dad, actually," Logan said.

"No way," Christopher said, laughing. "I knew your dad during my boarding school days. We almost got each other expelled."

"How?"

"We tried to make a sort of Andover fight club. Went over really well with the students. Not so much with the faculty."

"Wow. That's pretty cool," Logan said, voice tinged with disbelief. He couldn't imagine his dad doing anything remotely cool. And, he thought, there is no way his dad could give him any shit for the stuff he did now.

The group moved indoors, Christopher taking Rory's luggage. He offered to take Logan's, but the younger man politely declined, lugging his duffel bag himself. Rory glanced at the couch and noticed that there were no blankets or pillows. Her mom wasn't exactly a cleanup-for-guests type, especially for her, and she wondered where her dad was sleeping.

"I've been taking the couch at night," Christopher said, seemingly answering Rory's question. "But, since you are the official guest now it's yours."

"Where will you sleep?" Rory asked, glancing at Lorelai who suddenly found her nails very interesting.

"I'll just bunk on your mom's floor. I probably should make her vacuum it first, though."

"Vacuum," Lorelai said slowly. "What strange contraption is that?"

Christopher smirked and said, "I'm sorry, I meant that I should probably vacuum it first."

"That sounds more like it."

"So, we just ordered Chinese food," Christopher began, sitting down on the couch. "You guys are more than welcome to join us." He looked at Rory and added, "Your mom, per usual, ordered enough to feed all of Stars Hollow."

"Chinese is pointless without a selection," Lorelai said. "Everyone knows that."

"I was actually going to take Logan to Luke's," Rory said.

"Okay, well you two have fun," Lorelai said quickly. Rory gave her a strange look, surprised that her mother hadn't at least tried once to get Rory and Logan to stay back with her and her dad.

"Okay then," Rory said slowly, glancing at Logan who seemed also to sense that something was a little strange in the Gilmore house. "Well, we'll see you guys after?"

"Sounds good. Bye, babe."

Rory and Logan walked out, both of them a bit befuddled by what just happened. Rory glanced over at Logan and said, "You don't think…"

"I don't think what?"

"My parents. They're not back together, are they?" she asked, gnawing on her bottom lip.

"I don't know. Why would you think that?"

She shrugged, turning the corner toward Luke's. Christopher stopping by unexpected wasn't exactly uncommon. That was practically how all of his visits happened when she was growing up. Besides the major holidays, his visits were sporadic at best. Still, something felt different about this time.

"I don't understand why he wouldn't just get a hotel for a few days. I mean, fumigating can't take that long, can it?"

"Not being a fumigator, I have no answer to that."

She smiled a bit, knocking her arm against his. "You know what I mean. He lives an hour from here, so the commute to work can't be easy. He could have just gotten a hotel room near his apartment, but he chose to come all the way to Stars Hollow?"

"Maybe he missed it?"

Rory shook her head. "He hasn't been here enough to miss it."

Logan frowned, slipping his arm around her waist. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and murmured, "Would it be that bad of a thing if your parents got back together?"

"It wouldn't be bad. It just…wouldn't last."

"Why do you say that?"

Rory bit her lip again, staring off into the distance. Why would she say her parents wouldn't last together? Maybe it's because after eighteen years or so, it still hadn't stuck. Maybe because every time her dad came home, there was that small hope he'd stay, and every time he left. Maybe it was easier to just believe it wouldn't last, because it meant she wouldn't be hurt again.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," she said softly, shaking her head as if she could erase the conversation like her head was an etch-i-sketch. They rounded onto Luke's street and she pressed herself more firmly against Logan's side, slipping her hand into the pocket of his jacket.

He chuckled and asked, "What are you doing?"

"My hand's cold."

"You're trying to cop a feel aren't, you? Ace, if you want to get frisky all you have to do is ask."

She laughed, using her free hand to swat his chest lightly. "Behave. You're a guest here, remember?"

"I'm sorry," he said with mock contrition. "I promise to be on my best behavior from this moment on."

They stopped just short of the diner and she turned to face him, winding her arms around his neck. She tugged his face down to hers and kissed him lightly.

"I'm really glad you're here."

He grinned, touching his forehead to hers. "Me too."


The next morning Lorelai took her time driving in to work. She could still feel the sugar coma from the night before, and her mouth was dry and prickly, a sure sign that she should have grabbed a glass of water before she left. When Rory and Logan got back the four of them watched I Love Lucy re-runs until way past midnight. She kept telling herself that she should get to sleep, but it felt so nice to be sitting there with Rory…and Christopher.

She pulled into her usual parking spot and killed the engine. Glancing in the rearview mirror she rubbed at a bit of smudged eyeliner under her eye, and then headed inside. The inn was already bustling, guests heading back upstairs after breakfast with content smiles on their faces. Everyone left the dining room content, Sookie made sure of that.

Lorelai went into the kitchen for a quick cup of coffee, and nearly ran into Sookie who was rushing to the other side of the kitchen with a large tray of steaming roasted vegetables.

"Oh, these smell amazing!" Sookie said loudly, nearly jumping with excitement. She tried to pick a roasted sweet potato cube from the tray but pulled back with a small yelp when she burned her finger. Manny, her sous chef, appeared at her side with a spatula and she grinned wide at him, happily sliding it under that little sweet potato cube. She popped it in her mouth, eyes widening a bit as she murmured around the food in her mouth, "Hot..hot..but good!"

Lorelai smirked, walking over to the coffee pot. Her smirk died when she met an empty coffee pot.

"Sook, where's the coffee?"

"Oh, sorry, we had a really busy coffee morning. Pretty much every table ordered it." Sookie walked over and began to prepare a new pot. "Don't worry, a new one will be ready in a few minutes."

"Thank God."

"Are you okay?" Sookie asked, glancing over her shoulder at Lorelai. "You have this sort of glazed look."

"Ah, yes, that would be from the four glazed donuts I ate last night. And an entire pack of Twizzlers. I never thought the day would come where I out-eat myself; but, that day has come."

Sookie laughed. "It was bound to happen eventually." She paused, measuring out tablespoons of coffee grounds. "So, was all this eating with Christopher?"

Lorelai gaped at her. "What…how did you-"

"Ms. Patty told me," Sookie returned with a grin.

Lorelai sighed unhappily and said, "Does she have spies everywhere or something?"

"Probably. Anyway, so, is he just visiting or…"

"Or what?" Lorelai asked, although she knew exactly what that "what" was.

"You know what," Sookie said, giving her a look. Lorelai could talk circles around most people to fend off a certain line of questioning, but Sookie was not one of those people.

"It's not that," Lorelai said. "He drove over Tuesday. His place is being fumigated and he needed a place to stay."

"You know, there are these things called hotels. I hear they let people stay there all the time."

Lorelai smiled a bit. "I didn't really question him. He said he needed a place to stay and I sort of just…stepped aside and let him in."

"So, that's it? He's just crashing?"

"Yep," Lorelai said, avoiding Sookie's probing gaze. Sure, they shared a bed last night. And the night before. And there had been that one moment in the kitchen, but that was nothing.

"You know, no one would blame you if it was something more. I mean, it's Christopher."

"We can't," Lorelai said, tone matter of fact. "There's a reason nothing has happened over the past eighteen years."

"Yes, that reason is you saying no for the past eighteen years," Sookie said. "Maybe you should give it a chance."

"There's no giving it a chance, Sookie. He's here temporarily. That's it."

"You honestly believe he wouldn't stay if you gave him even the slightest sign that you wanted him to?"

Lorelai busied herself with pouring a cup of coffee and walking over to the refrigerator for cream. She knew Christopher would stay. All she had to do was ask and he'd be there. He'd grown up over the years. Many of the reasons she pushed him away were no longer there, but there was still something stopping her.

"Thank you for the coffee. I need to go now and fix any damage caused by leaving Michel unsupervised at the front desk."

Lorelai skirted out of the kitchen, but not before she heard Sookie say, "You know I'm right, Lorelai!"


"You know there are a lot of things that I like about Stars Hollow. But this might be my favorite thing."

Rory laughed. "Creep."

"No, really, this is one grade-A bed," he said, slipping his fingers just under the hem of her shirt. "It's firm, but not too firm. It doesn't creak. And, this pillow. Don't even get me started on this pillow."

"It's a Tempurpedic," Rory told him, fighting back laughter. "Especially bought to combat neck pain."

"Hmm, tell me more."

Rory laughed as he kissed her neck. She thought she heard something and pulled away, sitting up in her bed.

"Did you hear that?"

Logan wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her back down. "I think it's just the mailman. It's only two o'clock. You said your parents wouldn't be back until after five."

"My mom sometimes stops back home during the day, though."

"Okay, fine, hold on." He stood up and walked out of the bedroom. Rory sat up again, waiting for him to return. After a few seconds he returned and said, "Your mom's car is not out front. So, I think we're good."

"Good." She spied something in his hand and she visibly paled. "Logan, that's not…"

"A scrapbook filled with pictures of a young Rory Gilmore?" he asked, reclaiming his spot next to her. "Why yes, it is."

"Oh geez," she murmured. "Do we really have to look at this?"

"Yes, we do," Logan said, flipping open the scrapbook. "Aw, look at you, Ace. You're adorable."

She shifted beside him to get more comfortable and said, "Yes, I am. And you know what, I am just as cute in the rest of it. How about we go back to what we were doing before, yeah?" She leaned in to him, taking a hold of his face and kissing him. He laughed, pulling away as he asked, "Are you really seducing me to avoid looking through this scrapbook?"

"No," she lied. She leaned in again, but he had already flipped the page and laughed loudly when he saw the picture of her in her sunflower Halloween costume.

"Oh, this is great."

Rory sighed, resigned to looking through the damn scrapbook. "My mom made it for me."

"Really? She's really good."

Rory nodded. "Yeah, she made all my dresses when I was growing up. She made my Cotillion dress, too."

"You did Cotillion?"

"Yep. When I was a sophomore."

Logan thought about that for a moment and then said, "That would have been in…2001. You know, I'm pretty sure I was at that one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's when that one girl had the big bandage on her face?"

"Yes!" Rory said, glancing up at him. "You were there? That's crazy. I wonder what would have happened if we met then."

"You wouldn't have liked me," Logan said definitively. "I was sort of a jerk back then."

Rory snorted. "Really?"

"Yeah. It's a wonder I kept any of the friends I had back then. But it's probably because they were equally jerky."

She laughed. "So, who did you escort?"

"Stephanie," he said. "Her boyfriend broke up with her a few days before. She called me in a panic."

"Look at you, the knight in shining armor."

He grinned. "I do what I can. How about you? Who was your escort? Did your grandparents set you up with some trustfund?"

Rory swallowed hard and said, "It was Dean, actually."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. You said you dated him during high school."

"Let's look at more pictures," she said, wanting to change the subject. He laid his hand on her leg and gave it a quick squeeze.

"Okay," he said. "More pictures, it is."

He flipped through a few pages without much comment. And then he came upon Rory's short stint in Ms. Patty's dance recitals. The first picture had her in the classic ballet get-up, complete with a pink tutu and her hair wound into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.

"That bun hurt a lot," she pointed out. "My hair's really thin so my mom had about a billion hairpins in it so it'd stay put."

"A billion? That's a lot of hairpins," Logan teased.

"You know what I mean," she said with a grin. "I also was the world's worst dancer."

"I don't believe that for a second."

"Believe it. I lacked any sort of coordination. I couldn't even turn properly. Ms. Patty made it her personal mission to teach me how to spot, and then promptly gave up after one session. I was that bad."

Logan laughed. "So, did you end up doing the recital?"

"Oh yeah, I knocked down Mary Farmington. She still hasn't forgiven me."

Logan snorted. "Poor Mary Farmington."

As they continued flipping through she said, "Next time I'm at your house, I fully intend on finding one of your scrapbooks and making you do this with me."

Logan turned the page and said, "You won't find any scrapbooks at my house."

"Come on, you have to have baby pictures."

"Sure," he said. "There's a few, but they're all staged. And they're not in a scrapbook. My parents aren't really big on memories. Big surprise, huh?"

Rory always felt sorry for Logan when he gave her these little glimpses into his cold childhood. She'd grown up in such a warm and loving home, she couldn't imagine growing up the way he did. She threaded her arm through his and squeezed it gently.

"We'll make our own memories."

He glanced down at her, smiling softly. "Yeah?"

She nodded. "Stay here."

She got up and walked out into the kitchen. She remembered her mom mentioning in one of their phone calls that she'd bought a whole package of disposable cameras from Doose's a few weeks back. She'd made fun of her mom for buying them back then, but now she was happy Lorelai did. She found them in the drawer next to the stove and rushed back to her bedroom. Logan glanced up at her and she snapped a quick photo.

"Is that seriously a disposable camera?" he asked, laughing.

She nodded, settling back next to him on the bed. "My mom bought them a few weeks ago."

"The 90's are calling, Ace. They want their cameras back."

"They work just as good as the digital ones," she argued. "And they're more fun."

"And how are they more fun, again?"

She snapped another picture and grinned as she scrolled through the film until it clicked ready for the next picture. "Because I get to do that. I love that sound."

Logan laughed, leaning in and kissing her. " You are very strange sometimes, Ace."

"Come on, it's time to hit the town."

"It is?"

She nodded, standing up and coming around to his side of the bed. She held out her hand for him and said, "We're going to make some memories."


They went all around Stars Hollow, snapping pictures along the way. They posed at Luke's, and the gazebo, and the bookstore. Rory even did her best ballet-dancer-impression outside of Ms. Patty's. Ms. Patty spied that part and called out, "Where was that dancer's poise when you were a little girl, Rory? You look wonderful!"

It was in the town square that they used up the last photo, Rory stashing the camera in her pocket. She took Logan hand and said, "I think we have some good ones there. We can take more tomorrow."

He grinned and told her, "I think we pretty much covered the entire town, Ace."

"That's fine," she said. "It'll just be pictures of us, then."

They headed to Luke's for a mid-afternoon cup of coffee. On the way they also decided to share a slice of peach pie. It was Luke's special on Saturdays, and Rory thought it practically a sin to go there on a Saturday and not order it.

They sat down at Rory and Lorelai's usual table and Luke came over to take their order.

"Two coffees and one slice of peach pie with two forks," Rory said.

"You're sharing, huh?" Luke said. He glanced at Logan and said, "You're a brave man. It'll be right up."

"Thanks Luke," Rory said.

The door opened behind them, bells jingling, and Lane rushed in, taking the seat next to Rory. She went to ask Lane how she was, but the diminutive girl launched into a story before Rory could even get in a word.

"You will not believe what just happened!" Lane enthused. She glanced at Logan and quickly said "Oh, hi Logan."

"Hi Lane."

"Anyway," Lane said quickly, back on track. "I got a call this afternoon from this random New York number. I almost didn't pick up, because I've been getting weird telemarketing calls lately, but I picked up. And, Rory, I am so glad that I did because it was Mark Fuller!"

"Mark Fuller," Rory repeated, understanding that this was exciting but not exactly knowing why.

"Yes, Mark Fuller!" Lane all but yelled. Luke looked at them from behind the counter and said, "Hey, keep it down over there."

"Sorry, Luke!" Lane said, voice still about a decibel too loud for the room. "But exciting things are happening. Really exciting things!"

"Wait, who's Mark Fuller?" Logan asked.

"Who's Mark Fuller?" Lane repeated, eyes wide. "He's only one of the biggest talent scouts in New York. He's discovered some of the biggest alternative bands out there. Nirvana. Radio Head. Alice In Chains. And now us!"

"Lane, that's amazing!" Rory said.

"I know," Lane breathed out, eyes bright and cheeks flushed. "I can hardly believe it. I mean, I always hoped we'd get discovered. But it was more of a thing you think about before you fall asleep at night, you know? I didn't think it would actually happen. But it did. I mean, Mark Fuller? Mark-freaking-Fuller?! I'm so excited I can barely function."

"So, what happens next?" Logan asked.

"He said that he's talked to a few record labels and they're interested in signing us."

"Lane, this is the big time," Rory said excitedly. "You're going to be a rock star!"

"I know! Ugh, I can hardly think straight I'm so excited! Okay, I need to go and tell the guys. I just saw you in here and wanted to tell you."

Lane stood up and Rory gave her a tight hug. "Promise me you'll remember all us little people when you become a big famous rock star."

Lane laughed and joked, "No promises, but I'll try. Anyway, I'll see you guys later!"

Lane rushed out and Rory sat back down, grinning wide. If there was anyone in her life that Rory wanted to see succeed, it was Lane. She'd watched her struggle to pursue her passion all through high school, and she was ecstatic to see that her hard work was paying off.

Luke came up to their table with their coffee and two slices of peach pie. Rory went to tell him they only ordered one slice when he said, "Just take the extra slice. I've seen you share a slice of pie before and it's not pretty."

Rory smirked. "Thanks Luke."

"You're welcome."


Lorelai pulled up onto the driveway, seeing that Christopher's car was already parked out front. She walked in, surprised at the distinct smell of cooked steak.

"Chris?" she called out.

"I'm in the kitchen!"

She walked in, smiling softly when she saw him in front of the stove wearing an apron that Sookie had bought her years ago as a gag gift.

"What in the world are you doing in the kitchen?" she asked, walking toward the stove. There was a sauté pan filled with green beans and tomatoes, and he was stirring them around like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"This is called cooking," he said slowly, glancing back at her. "I know you might be unfamiliar with that, but it's what people do in a kitchen."

She nodded and said, "Oh, so that's what the kitchen is for. You know, I've always wondered."

Christopher laughed and reaching for the salt. She watched him add a dash of salt to the green beans and tomatoes, wondering whether it was a good or bad thing he looked so comfortable in her kitchen.

"You don't have to cook for us, you know," she said. "We have very good relationships with all the takeout places in Stars Hollow."

Christopher grinned and said, "I have no doubt you do. I thought I'd do something nice for you guys. You're letting me stay here, after all. I figure I should pitch in a bit."

"Well thanks," she said. "We like when the pitching in involves food. What are you making?"

"It's an Italian themed dinner tonight," he began. Lorelai nodded and said, "We like Italian themed things."

"Well, good. It's going to be minestrone soup to start," he said, nodding his head toward the covered soup pot at the back of the stove. She hadn't even remembered she had that pot. "And then herb crusted filet mignons and stewed tomatoes and green beans. Oh, and garlic bread sticks. I know how you get when your meals don't have any carbs."

"Good boy," she said with a soft grin. "You're really pulling out all the stops, Chris. When did you start cooking like this? If I remember correctly, the last time I saw you, you could barely make ramen."

He laughed. "Yeah, this is a recent development. After Sherri and I broke up I realized just how much time I spent with her. You don't realize how much time a relationship takes up when you're in one, you know?"

Lorelai nodded, thinking just how long it had been since she'd had one to take up her time.

"Anyway, I had all this free time and thought I'd do something productive with it. I took some cooking classes, and here we are."

Lorelai scrunched her eyebrows together and said, "Hold on, you went to cooking classes?"

He glanced back at her with a grin and said, "Yeah, I did. The Williams and Sonoma by me had a different one each month."

"I can't believe it," she said. "You at cooking classes. You cooking. You're not the Christopher I remember."

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

She studied his face. So much of him was so familiar. So much of him wasn't. "I haven't decided yet."


Rory and Logan came home right around dinner, and Rory smelled the unfamiliar aroma of a home cooked meal. The kitchen table was set with real plates, not their usual plastic, and she noticed that were drinking wine from the wine glasses that were usually shoved in the back of the cabinet. The four of them shared a meal, Rory finding the entire evening feeling strangely natural. It felt completely normal to be sitting around the dinner table with her parents and her boyfriend, and she'd never realized how long she'd wanted to feel like that.

"This is really good, Dad," Rory said, taking another large bite of the steak. "Really, really good."

"Yeah, Chris, I think those cooking classes paid off," Lorelai said.

"You took cooking classes?" Rory said, fighting off a bout of laughter. Lorelai gestured toward Rory and said, "That's exactly how I reacted!"

"Hey, a man is entitled to have different facets of himself," Christopher said. "Right, Logan?"

"Definitely," Logan said. "And they're right. This filet is amazing. And I've had my fair share of filets."

"Well, thanks Logan. I officially approve of you dating my daughter."

Lorelai exhaled loudly and said, "That was close. I was worried for you, Logan."

Rory grinned, laying her hand on Logan's knee underneath the table.

"So, what did you guys all do day?" Christopher asked.

"If it's PG-13 or above, please alter the story accordingly," Lorelai chimed in.

"I assure you, it was all very appropriate," Logan said. "We looked through that scrapbook you have on the fireplace."

"Oh, that's a good one," Lorelai enthused. "Did you see the sunflower Halloween costume? It's still my favorite thing I've ever made."

"It was pretty awesome."

"Yes," Lorelai said happily. "Yes, it was."

"And then we took some pictures around town. I used one of those disposable cameras you got."

"And you made fun of me for buying those," Lorelai said with feigned disapproval, shaking her head. "How quickly you change your tune."


After dinner the group watched some television before heading to bed. Logan took the couch, Rory curling up on the end of it as she watched her parents head upstairs. She thought of all the times her dad had showed up before, and this time felt different. Something had changed, but she couldn't figure out what exactly it was.

"Ace?" Logan said, settling next to her. "Everything okay?"

She smiled softly and nodded, resting her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, everything's fine."

Upstairs, Christopher and Lorelai got ready for bed, a comfortable silence between them. Christopher changed in the bathroom like the past two nights, but tonight he accidentally walked back in too early. He opened the door just as Lorelai was tugging her shirt down.

"Sorry," he said quickly, stepping back.

"It's okay," she said. "It's nothing you haven't seen before."

He laughed lightly. "I guess that's true."

Lorelai slipping under the covers on her side of the bed and said, "Can you get the light?"

Christopher nodded, flicking off the light before padding over and slipping into his side of the bed. Both of them laid on their backs, listening to the soft din of the television downstairs. He wanted to say something. They rarely went this long without one of them talking, but he didn't know what to say. She spoke first, a soft murmur barely audible. But he heard her.

"I like you being here."

He hesitated before taking a hold of her hand, intermingling their fingers. When she didn't pull away he said, "I like being here, too."


The rest of the weekend went by quickly. Rory snapped a few more pictures along the way, an idea was forming in her head and there were a few particular pictures she wanted. They left on Sunday, Logan offering to drive since she'd taken the wheel on the way there. She didn't argue, happy to doze off for a bit. They'd stayed up the night before with her parents, playing a cut-throat game of Monopoly. Lorelai won, and lorded it over them for the remainder of the night.

They got back to Yale around mid-afternoon and when Logan suggested they get lunch she told him that she had some work to do, but that they could go to The Pub for dinner.

"Alright," he said, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll see you tonight."

The moment he was out of sight she went straight to the local drug store, handing over the undeveloped film from the cameras. While the film was being developed she walked over to the University bookstore and picked up a few supplies.

When she returned to her dorm she enlisted Paris to help her, thinking that when it came to crafting, there was possibly no one better to consult than Paris Gellar. Her roommate was happy to help, already being a week ahead in her reading.

"You guys are disgusting," Paris said, holding up a picture of Logan and Rory making goofy faces in front of the gazebo. "Seriously, you are the couple that makes everyone gag."

Rory snatched the picture from her and said, "If you're going to help, at least be nice."

"I'm being very nice. Do you know how many comments I've held back?"

A few hours later the project was complete. Rory leafed through the scrapbook, smiling to herself as she was taken through memories of the weekend. She closed the book, running her hand lightly over the cover. Paris had used puffy paint to write "Rory and Logan's Trip to Stars Hollow" on the top, and then just below was a picture her and Logan that they'd taken outside of Luke's. It was her favorite picture from the bunch. She'd gotten Andrew to take it, and he'd snapped a picture before they were ready. Logan's whispering something in her ear, and while she couldn't remember what he said it was must have been funny because she's mid-laugh.

She stashed the scrapbook in her bag and headed out to The Pub. Logan was already at a booth in the back and grinned when he saw her, standing up to give her a quick kiss. They settled down in the booth and Logan watched her with mild curiosity as she pulled something out of her bag.

"I was going to wait until after we ate, but I'm too excited."

"What is that?" he asked, taking the scrapbook from her.

"That is your first official scrapbook," she said with a grin. "I made it with all the pictures from this weekend. Paris helped, by the way. And she only made one mildly offensive comment."

Logan chuckled. "That's so much restraint on her part." He flipped through the scrapbook, falling silent. She watched him anxiously, hoping that he'd like it. He looked up at the end, his face difficult for her to read.

"Well?" she asked. "Do you like it?"

Suddenly, he leaned forward and took a hold of her face, guiding her lips to his own. He kissed her hard, thumb tracing the curve of her jaw. After a moment she pulled away, cheeks bright red.

"Logan," she breathed out, laughing slightly as she glanced around.

"The scrapbook is amazing," he murmured, his hands still framing her face. "You are amazing." He kissed her again lightly and said, "How the hell did I end up with someone like you?"

She smiled softly and retorted, "I ask myself that every day."

He chuckled, kissing the tip of her nose before moving back and settling against the booth cushion.

A/N: Reviews would make my Saturday! Please leave some :)