A/N: What do I do when I have two papers due in the morning? Stay up way too late finishing this update instead of writing one of those papers! I'm sure I'm going to regret this decision in the morning. So I hope you enjoy this long awaited next chapter, because I'm avoiding a large pile of school work to bring it to you!


Chapter Nine – Lies I Told My Grandparents

"I just feel like he's rethinking everything."

Now that the immediate stress of the doctor's appointment was over, Rory was immediately thrown into the chaos of having only a few days in which to help plan her mother's wedding. A lot needed to be done, and it was Rory's job to organize it all. At the moment, she was out looking for a bridesmaids dress with Lane, who had dropped the twins at her mother's house in order to help Rory with her wedding duties.

"What makes you think that?" Lane asked, pulling a dress off the rack and presenting it to her. Rory made a face, scrunching up her nose in disapproval, and Lane carefully placed the dress back on the rack.

"It was just the way he was acting on the ride back. He barely said a word. And I know he promised me that he wouldn't leave, but really, what's keeping him here?"

"Please tell me tour joking," Lane replied as she pushed aside a rather hideous group of dresses. "How about you! Or the baby?"

Rory scoffed. "Since when is that enough to keep someone around? It wasn't enough when my mom got pregnant. What makes this any different?"

"Well for one thing, your dad was only 16, and Logan's 25. Completely different situation."

"Yes, and when it happened to my parents, my dad was still in love with my mom. He hadn't moved on."

Lane rolled her eyes. "Rory, what are you talking about? Logan's crazy about you! The guy moved across the country, for you!"

In her heart, she hoped that Lane was right, but Rory's logical side was taking over. She wanted to believe that was the reason behind his move, but he'd made a point of talking about wanting to be there for the baby. Not her. "No, he moved across the country for the baby. I had nothing to do with it."

"And you really think he'd do that for just anyone?" Lane asked. "Think about it, Rory. If one of his other exes wound up pregnant, do you honestly think that Logan would drop everything, give up an amazing job and a life, just to be near that kid? If he really wanted to be closer to the baby just for the sake of seeing his kid grow up, he could have gotten a job in New York or Boston."

"He moved to Connecticut because his new job was located in Connecticut. Not because of me."

"That's beside the point!" Lane looked like she wanted to shake some sense into her friend. "Look, from everything you've told me, Logan was moving back to Connecticut whether or not his job took him here. Think about it, Rory. There's a much bigger market for him in some place like New York. Hell, there's a bigger market for you in New York! But you want the help of your family while you raise a kid on your own, so you moved back home. And Logan rearranged his entire life around that decision. He dropped everything and moved back to Connecticut. Guys like Logan don't do that for just anyone. He's still crazy about you! "

Rory shook her head. She wanted to believe it. She wanted to really believe that Logan wasn't going to bolt. Not an hour ago, she'd listened to him tell her just that. But she had too many conflicting thoughts and emotions making her think otherwise.

"Yeah, he's so crazy about me that when I wasn't ready to get married, he left me."

"Okay, do I really have to dignify that with a response?"

"I'm serious, Lane!" She stopped flipping through the dresses and turned to face Lane. "He's moved on. And now that the reality's starting to settle in, he's reevaluating his decision. It's only a matter of time before he leaves again."

Lane rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Rory, my friend, you know I love you. But you're being ridiculous."

Maybe she was. Maybe she was completely misreading the situation, and maybe she was just unable to separate Logan now from her past experiences. But she didn't know how to turn the uncertainty off.

"I know," said Rory. "I know I sound crazy. I hear myself trying to rationalize Logan's actions and prepare myself for that moment he leaves, even though he's trying so hard to prove to me that he won't, and I don't know how to turn off that doubt. I just…" Rory sighed, her thought trailing off. "I miss him," she finished. "I barely had a chance to get over him." Maybe that was why she refused to believe that he'd stick around. It was easier for her to deal with not actually being with him by preparing for his possible departure. "We keep fighting, and I cry all the time. And I always feel like I'm on the verge of having a major freak out. I hate it. I hate the way
I feel."

"You're pregnant, Rory. You've got a good nine months of feeling like this."

Rory turned away, pulling a dress off the rack and draping it over her arm.

"Look," Lane continued, although Rory was trying to ignore her. "I don't blame you for feeling this way, but you've got to relax a bit. You're spending way too much energy freaking out about Logan, and whether or not he still has feelings for you, and whether or not he'll stick around for the sake of your kid. You can't control any of those things, Rory! Stop worrying about what Logan's doing or thinking and start worrying about your baby."

So that's what Rory tried to do. It was easy for her to not dwell on Logan as she threw herself into wedding preparations. There was so much to do! She had to help Sookie plan the menu, work with Lane on the music, organize the decorating of the town square, rent the tables and chairs, pick out the flowers, and organize the guest list. She had more than enough to keep her distracted until the day of the wedding.


"I look weird."

"You look great, Mom!"

It was the morning of the wedding. The town square was packed with waiting guests as Rory and Sookie helped Lorelai put her dress on in Miss Patty's.

"I look like such a bride."

Sookie chuckled. "Well, sweetie, you are a bride."

"Do you think it was a mistake going with the perfect dress?"

The perfect dress, which Lorelai had picked out years earlier the first time she'd planned her wedding with Luke, had been sitting, untouched, in her closet ever since, as though it was waiting to be worn.

"Mom, the dress is perfect!"

"That's what I thought last time, and it turned out to be cursed! Oh my god, what if the dress is still cursed? I've ruined the whole wedding by wearing a cursed dress!"

"You're right, you've ruined everything. I guess we're just going to have to do this wedding without you. I'm sure we can get Miss Patty to stand in for you."

"Hey, no mocking the bride. This morning I found you crying over a rerun of 7th Heaven. Which begs the question, 'what the hell were you doing watching a rerun of 7th Heaven?'"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Hey, don't mock the pregnant girl. I couldn't sleep and it was on TV."

There was a knock at the door.

"Give us five more minutes, Patty!" Rory yelled.

"It's not Patty."

It was a familiar male voice, one Rory hadn't heard in well over a year.

She frowned. "Jess?"

The door slide back as Jess stepped into the dance studio, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "Hey," he said with a nod of his head.

She'd never seen him dressed up before. He was clean shaven, and his usually unruly hair looked as though he'd attempted to tame it. "You're wearing a suit," Rory commented with a frown. "And a tie! What happened, did you lose a bet?"

"Someone swiped my jeans at the laundry mat and replaced them with a suit. Imagine that," Jess joked.

"That's some laundry mat you're going to. Think I can exchange my old jeans for a new pair of Jimmy Choo's"

Jess rolled his eyes. "Hey, do you think we could talk real quick? Outside?" he said, pointing towards the door.

Rory hesitated. "Um. Yeah, I guess. Are you all set?" she asked, turning back to her mother.

"Yes, go," Lorelai insisted. "You've been running yourself ragged all week. Take a breather."

Rory hesitated a second time, and then followed Jess out the door. He led her around the studio and away from the town square. She was nervous. They hadn't been alone together since the awkward kiss in Philadelphia.

"So Luke filled me in on…everything," Jess finally admitted. His hands were back in his pockets, as though he didn't quite know what to do with them.

Rory felt her cheeks turning red. "Oh. That."

"Gotta say, not exactly what I expected when Luke called to tell me about the wedding."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Well, it was a bit of a shock to me too. And Logan."

"So what, are you and him…together? I thought you guys split up."

"We did," Rory confirmed. She wasn't sure why Jess was asking all these questions. "We're not together, we're just…trying to figure out how to deal with this. I mean…I'm pregnant. God, I still have trouble believing it sometimes." Rory stopped walking. "Why are we even talking about this?

Jess shrugged. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. And to clear the air a bit after our last meeting."

She remembered it well. How she'd driven down to Philadelphia to see him at his publisher's Open House. How she'd let him believe things were over between her and Logan. How she'd kissed him because she was mad at Logan, but she couldn't bring herself to go through with it.

"We were never really right together, were we?" Jess asked.

Rory shook her head. "No. The timing was always off. And…I think we worked better as friends. Don't you think we made better friends?"

"I think we did," he agreed. "That's kind of why I wanted to talk to you. I guess we're technically family now. So I wanted to make sure that we're still friends."

"Jess, of course! You didn't have to pull me aside just to ask that."

"That's not all," he said with a shake of his head. "I wanted to tell you that…I met someone."

"Oh!" Rory said in shock. She'd expected the news to sting, but it didn't hurt in the slightest. In fact, it filled her with a sense of relief. Finally, she could close the door completely on the romantic aspect of their relationship, knowing that they were both on the same page. He'd found someone who made him happy. "Good! Jess, I'm really happy for you. I want you to be happy. You know that, right?"

"I do," he responded. "Her name is Chloe. She's great, you'd really like her. She doesn't put up with any of my crap."

Like I used to, Rory thought. But she shook that thought from her head. It was a long time ago, and even if she had stood up for herself, Jess wouldn't have listened. He hadn't been willing to listen to anyone back then. "You didn't bring her with you?"

"No, I think it's a little too soon to put our relationship in jeopardy by introducing her to my mother."

Rory laughed. "Well, I can't wait to meet her."

Jess pulled his hands out of his pocket, running one of them through his hair. "So we're good?"

She smiled. "Of course."


She couldn't lie to them anymore. The strain was too much for her.

It was easy to pretend she wasn't pregnant for a little while. She could forget for a minute as she walked down the aisle, watched as her mother and Luke finally exchange wedding vow, and shed tears of joy as they were pronounced husband and wife to the raucous cheers of their guests. But then came the part after, where she needed to exchange the champagne flutes for the non alcoholic equivalent without anyone noticing. That took a bit of maneuvering. Luckily Sookie, the person whose pregnancy was public knowledge, was able to slip Rory her own glasses, dumping the contents of Rory's cup on the ground discreetly and running back to the bar for her own refill.

It was even harder when she had to talk to people. The whole town was hammering her with questions about her job. She didn't want to lie to them, but it was hard hold a conversation about work while conveniently leaving out the part about her not returning. She'd already managed to work in the fact that she'd been feeling 'under the weather' for weeks; she'd even 'let slip' to Miss Patty that she had a doctor's appointment the next day. All in all, she was playing her part as best she could.

But what she felt the worst about was lying to her grandparents.

She was standing next to her mother, with April standing by Luke's side, as the new family greeted guests who were offering their congratulations. Rory didn't know if it was something in the water, or if they really were happy to see their daughter married, but Richard and Emily politely came over to offer their best wishes to Lorelai, not a hint of insincerity in their voices.

"So Rory, when do you have to return to life as a campaign reporter?" Emily asked her granddaughter.

Rory glanced at her mother, unsure as to how to respond. She didn't want to outright lie, but she couldn't tell the truth here. Besides the fact that it wasn't the appropriate setting, this was her mother's day.

It was hard enough lying to her town, who had supported and encouraged her as she worked her way through Chilton and Yale. Who had sent her off to her first real job by throwing her a wild going away party in the rain. But her grandparents? They were the ones who had made it all possible. If there were two people whose pride from her achievements could rival even her mother's, it was Richard and Emily Gilmore. She couldn't lie to them, but she dreaded shattering the perfect vision they had of her.

"Well, I actually have some free time tomorrow evening. How about dinner?" Rory propositioned nervously. "It'll be just like old times; you, me, and mom."

Lorelai discreetly placed her hand on the small of Rory's back, trying to offer her an unseen touch of encouragement.

Richard frowned. "You don't have to go back right away?"

"No I…" Rory tried to swallow the lump in her throat, willing her voice not to crack. "I can do dinner tomorrow."

"Well that's wonderful!" Emily gushed. "But just the two of you? No Luke and April?"

April skillfully jumped in. "Actually, Dad already promised me that he'd take me out on the boat for a few days before I have to go back to Arizona. And since I won't really be around this summer like I thought, Dad promised - "

"Anyway," said Lorelai, jumping in before April got too off track. "The point is they can't make it. So how about it, guys?"

Richard and Emily looked at each other quickly before returning their gaze to Rory and Lorelai.

"Tomorrow night sounds perfect," Richard responded.

"Great!" Rory said, trying to make her voice sound enthusiastic. All she felt was dread. "If you'll excuse me, I just have to make a quick phone call. Business stuff, you know?"

Without waiting for a response, Rory discreetly stepped away from the group, clutching he purse tightly to her chest. She headed away from the noise of the town square, trying to find some place for a little privacy.

Rory was happy for her mom, she really was. But there was something about weddings that constantly made her thoughts return to Logan. They had a rocky history with weddings. There was her grandparents vow renewal that had been the home of many firsts for them: the first time Rory expressed her jealousy at seeing him with another woman, their first dance, the first time they were openly honest with each other about their feelings for one another, their first kiss. There was his sister's wedding, which she hadn't even seen because she spent the whole time sitting frozen in the dressing room after finding out that Logan had slept with all of Honor's bridesmaids while they were apart. There was Lane's wedding, which he would have been at if they hadn't been so mad at each other that Logan had gallivanted off to Costa Rica. Despite the fact that she'd needed to rush to the hospital after receiving the phone call about his near death fall, the way her heart tightened in her chest in fear for his survival had cemented in her mind the way she felt about him in a way that nothing else ever could. And of course, there was the way their relationship had ended: with a proposal. There was nothing quite like a wedding to remind her of the way things could have been: the ring that could be on her finger if only she was ready for all that it entailed.

But she wasn't ready for that, and Logan wasn't willing to continue without it. In any case, Rory had to be ready for her pregnancy to become public knowledge. That started with telling her grandparents.

Rory sat down on the steps of Miss Patty's with a sigh, pulling out her phone and dialing Logan's number.

"Hey, Ace," he said casually when he answered. "How's the wedding?"

"Good," she answered, her voice shaking slightly. "Still in cocktail hour, and mom's three glasses of champagne in. She'll be dancing on the tables in no time."

Logan chuckled. "Well, it's her wedding. She can be as drunk as she wants." Rory sensed a bit of hesitation in his voice. "Is that why you called? To tell me about the wedding? Not that I'm not happy you did, I just didn't expect to hear from you. Is everything alright?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just…" What was she supposed to say? That she just wanted to hear his voice? That she wanted reassurance from him that they would be okay? That she wished he was here with her, his arm wrapped firmly around her waist as he spun her around the dance floor? That she missed them? That she wished with all her heart that she had been able to just say yes so that she didn't have to face carrying his child without him?

But she couldn't say any of those things.

"Rory?" he said softly when she didn't finished her train of thought.

She sighed. "I'm going to tell them tomorrow. Richard and Emily. Tomorrow night at dinner."

"Oh," said Logan, his voice a little stiff.

"I'm sorry, I'm sure you're not ready to tell your parents yet. It's just…I can't lie to them. I have to do this."

She heard Logan sigh. "Are you sure?"

"Not at all. But it's not like I have a choice."

There was silence for a long time. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," Rory insisted. "It's better that you don't. Mom will be there for backup and moral support. But really, it's better that you're not there. It's going to be bad enough as it is."

"Oh yes, I'm sure the Gilmore's and the Hutzberger's will be having a field day." She heard Logan take another deep breath. "Okay. I guess I'll tell my parent's tomorrow too. Maybe I can get Honor to come as my backup."

"Strength in numbers is always good," Rory added lamely. "I'm sorry."

She heard Logan chuckle. "For what?"

"I dunno. I feel like I should be apologizing for something." She sighed again. "I should go. I guess I'll call you tomorrow after I talk to them." She hesitated for a moment, giving Logan a chance to respond. When he didn't, she hung up without saying goodbye, giving her no chance to say something she'd regret.


Logan held his phone to his ear for a long time after Rory hung up on him. He wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of telling his parents that he'd knocked up his ex girlfriend. It had been humiliating enough listening to them berate him after news reached their ears of the failed proposal. He didn't really know how they'd react, or what he'd need to do to protect Rory from the inevitable fallout. Maybe if he knew what they'd say he could mentally prepare.

What he did have to do was mentally prepare himself for pretending like he wasn't still completely in love with Rory Gilmore.

His heart had leapt into his throat when he saw her name flashing across the screen of his phone. But she'd been all business. Maybe that was the way their relationship was now. It was his own fault really. If he hadn't been so pig headed...but Logan was always like that. He'd dug his heels in the sand, convincing himself that it had to be all or nothing. Now they were stuck in this weird in between limbo. They couldn't talk about their relationship it turning into an argument, Logan couldn't act on his feelings for Rory, and he couldn't tell her that he'd take it all back if he could. She was simply there, and there wasn't anything he could do to change that. His only option was to pretend like he didn't still love her, pretend like he didn't regret pushing her away, pretend like it didn't kill him to think that they were having a baby but weren't together.

He knew she had her doubts about him; she had to. What with the less than stellar father figures in both their lives, it was no wonder that she was hesitant to trust him completely, especially coming right after he'd abandoned her after turning down his proposal. If she didn't want to get married before, she certainly wouldn't want to after the way he treated her.

Logan sighed as he put his phone down on the nightstand, running his hands over his face. He'd gone to stay at his sister's in New York for a few days while the realtors get the papers in order for the apartment he planned on renting in Hartford. Logan leaned back on the guest bed, closing his eyes against the light.

"I take it that was Rory," said Honor, who was standing in the doorway.

Logan opened his eyes, but didn't sit up. "She's telling the Gilmore's tomorrow. You up for facing the Huntzberger warzone?"

Honor stepped across the threshold, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. "I'll bring the battle armor, you bring the grenades."

Logan didn't respond, instead choosing to close his eyes again. "I'm already mentally exhausted, and I haven't even told them yet."

Honor patted his knee sympathetically. "I'm sure. The strain of pretending you're not in love with Rory must be killing you."

Logan frowned, pushing himself into a sitting position. "Hey, I haven't said - "

"Not to me, no. But seriously, Logan, it's written all over your face. You might be able to fool her, and our parents, but you can't fool me."

He ran a hand through his hair. "There's nothing I can do about it. We agreed not to talk about us because when we do, we fight. So I can't tell her how I feel or what I've been thinking, and she's such an emotional mess right now that I don't think she'd even believe me if I told her." Despite himself, Logan laughed slightly. "The funny thing is, it doesn't even matter. Especially now that she's pregnant, I know what I want."

Honor gave him a puzzled look. "I'm sorry, but how does it not matter?"

"I mean when I left her because she couldn't say yes, I thought that I was leaving because I wanted to get married and she didn't. But that's not it at all. I want to be married to her. I want to be with her. I can look for a hundred years, and I won't find anyone else in the world that I care more about that that woman."

Honor smiled. "That's the Logan I know and love. We Huntzberger's don't go down without a fight."

But Logan shook his head. "That's the old Logan. The old Logan would fight took and nail to get Rory back, whatever it takes. But that's not what she needs right now. She needs trust, and she needs patience. So that's what I'm going to do. If she doesn't believe that I'm always going to be here, then I'll wait for her to start believing."

"Logan," Honor said with a sigh. "Are you out of your freaking mind? You're just going to sit there waiting for this girl to come to her senses?"

Logan nodded.

"I'm sorry, but that's insane. You could be waiting for a very long time."

"I don't care," Logan said. "I'll wait as long as I have to. She told me once before that she just wasn't ready yet, and I didn't trust her enough to believe that she'd ever be. Now she doesn't trust me when I say that I'm not going anywhere. But I get it now. One day she'll be ready to get married, and one day she won't be so afraid that I'll bail on her."

Honor pushed herself off of the bed. "Well, little brother, for your sake, I hope you're right."


A/N: I'm sure you wanted to see way more of the wedding than I showed here, but to be honest it wasn't really all that relevant to the story line. Which is probably why this chapter gave me so much trouble for a while. So instead you got to see Logan and Rory angsting, as well as some insight as to what happened to Jess. I always thought that they worked better as friends, and I thought that they'd both realize it given enough time. As for the Rory/Logan angst...well, that seems to be what they're good at. At least they're not arguing anymore! The next chapter, whenever I get a chance to actually work on it, will be the long awaited Gilmore/Huntzberger confrontation. It's gonna be quite the showdown!