Rory couldn't believe it. She was sick. She hated being sick especially around Christmas time. She had so much to do with wrapping the gifts, finishing setting up the tree and of course taking care of Eli. She had called Honor this morning apologizing for canceling and they let Phoebe and Eli talk on the phone. They had made plans to meet up after Christmas and for that Rory was grateful.

She had also called Lorelai and informed her that she was sick but that they should still be there the next day. Lorelai understood and promised to try and come to Hartford but she wasn't sure since the inn had a Christmas wedding going on.

Rory was relieved that Eli didn't mind staying home and watching movies all day because that was about as much energy as she had. She had provided him with a Gilmore style breakfast that he didn't get too have very often which included pop tarts. They had been watching it's a wonderful life all morning and she decided to order some pizza for Eli.

Expecting the pizza delivery person when she answered the door, Rory had not managed to look very presentable. Her hair had been pulled up into a bun and she was in sweats and a sweatshirt. Eli had yet to make it out of his pajamas. To her surprise, it was Logan standing there holding the pizza and a paper bag.

"Hey" Logan smiled. He couldn't help but find her beautiful even when she was sick.

"Hey, what are you doing here? Oh my goodness, I forgot to let you know, we aren't doing the gifts today. I'm sick. " Rory rambled.

"I know. Honor told me you were sick so I figured I would come over and bring some soup and help out with Eli. I also ran into the pizza delivery guy downstairs so here is the pizza." Logan said still standing in the hallway.

"Oh you don't have to." Rory said surprised at the gesture.

"I would like to. Can I come in?" Logan asked motioning to the apartment.

"Oh, of course. Sorry." Rory said sheepishly.

"No worries. So where is the little guy?" Logan asked

"He's in the living room over there watching some movies." Rory answered.

"I'm assuming this pizza is for him." Logan said.

"Yeah, I'll put some on a plate for him and bring it over to him if you don't mind waiting in the kitchen." Rory instructed.

Logan nodded and once he saw Rory head to the living room, he found a pot and warmed up the soup.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked perplexed at Logan cooking in her kitchen.

"Oh, I picked up some soup for you. I was just warming it up."

"You didn't have to." Rory began before Logan cut her off. "I know I didn't have to but I wanted to. Why don't you go into the living room with Eli and I'll bring it in."

Rory agreed only because she knew Logan wouldn't take no for an answer.

Logan couldn't help but be nervous. He wanted this to go well and this would be the first time they had spent an extended amount of time together.

They had been watching movies for a couple of hours when Logan realized that Rory had fallen asleep on the couch. He motioned for Eli to go to the kitchen while Logan covered Rory with a blanket before joining Eli.

"So Eli, what would you like to do?" Logan asked nervously. He was good with kids but for some reason he really wanted Eli to like him as more than just Phoebe's uncle.

"I want to make mum a get better card." Eli exclaimed excitedly.

"Okay, do you know where the paper and crayons are?" Logan asked unsure of where anything was in this house.

"Yeah! I'll go get them." Eli said scurrying off to what Logan assumed was his room. He returned quickly which made Logan laugh at Eli's excitement.

"Do you want to make some too, Logan?" Eli asked innocently.

"Sure, why not?"

Logan didn't know what to draw on his card but he knew he wanted to make it special. He finally had the perfect idea and got started on his card. He looked over at Eli's card and couldn't help but smile. Eli was drawing what Logan assumed was Rory and Eli.

"How do you know my mum?" Eli asked

Logan looked up, caught off guard. "Oh, ummm, we knew each other back in college but then I moved away so we lost touch." Logan figured this was a safe answer.

Eli nodded and seemed satisfied with the answer before catching him off guard once again.

"Do you know your dad?" Eli asked curiously.

"Yeah… but in my case, my dad and I are not very close. He's not too involved in my life." Logan admitted not sure where Eli was going with the questions.

"Why not?"

Logan couldn't help but chuckle at this kid's curiosity. He was definitely a lot like Rory.

"I guess we never really got along. We have different visions of what my life should look like. He hasn't ever agreed with any of my choices." Logan reflected.

"My mommy lets me choose everything!" Eli exclaimed.

"Yeah, your mum is pretty special. Just like you."

"Special? Like weird?" Eli asked confused.

"No, like unique and interesting. Special can be a good thing. It means you have more to offer the world." Logan said trying to figure out how to explain it in children's terms.

Eli nodded, "Do you like my mommy?"

"I do. I like you too." Logan answered.

"You do?"

"Of course, little man. You're a pretty cool kid!" Logan smiled.

"Thanks! I guess you're pretty cool too, especially since your related to Phoebe."

Logan laughed before they resumed making their cards for Rory.

Rory woke a few hours later and was surprised to find herself alone on the couch with Eli nowhere to be found. She immediately got up to figure out where he was but she didn't have to go too far. She heard talking coming from the kitchen and peeked around the door. At the table, she spotted Logan and Eli reading Eli's books. The scene warmed Rory's heart because not only had Logan taken care of her but he had also stayed and taken care of Eli.

Before entering the kitchen, she took a moment to compose herself.

"Having fun, I see."

"Mommy! Are you feeling better?" Eli exclaimed while Rory made her way to sit next to him.

"I am. Thank you, honey."

"We were just reading all of my books!"

"All of them? Well, that's a lot of reading." Rory laughed at seeing her son's enthusiastic nod.

"We also made you cards! Look!" Eli pushed the cards at Rory.

Rory was surprised at the sweet gesture but she knew it was something her son would do.

"Oh.. Thank you honey! Thank you Logan."

Logan nodded and smiled hoping his card would get his point across.

Rory opened Eli's card first. She couldn't help but smile as she saw that he had drawn a picture of him and her smiling at the park, his favorite place. The picture was also accompanied by a little note, "Feel Better Mommy! Love you!"

"This is the best card I have ever gotten. Why don't you go hang it on the fridge." Rory said handing it to Eli who rushed to the fridge to find a magnet so he could hang his card.

Rory turned to Logan, "Thank you for staying, you didn't have to. I hope he wasn't too much, he can have a lot of energy."

"I wanted to stay. Besides Eli's awesome and he's pretty special…and not the eating the paste kind of special." Logan winked and Rory couldn't help but chuckle.

Before she could respond, Eli was back at the table.

"Mommy, open Logan's card!"

"Okay, okay."

Upon opening the card, Rory's breath hitched. Inside the card Logan had drawn a Rocket, much like the one he had gifted her years prior. But he also drew what looked to be Rory, Eli, and Logan looking at the rocket.

Logan was nervous as he watched for Rory's reactions. He knew he was taking a big risk but he wanted to show her he was serious about winning her over and if the last couple of weeks had been any indication, he was still crazy about her.

Rory didn't know what to say. She had rarely been speechless but this was one of those moments. "Wow. This is some card. Thank you, Logan." Rory said sincerely.

"I hope you liked it. It means a lot to me." Logan stated staring at Rory with what she could only assume was love.

"Can I see the card, mommy?" Eli asked

"Of course, honey." Rory passed the card to her son.

"Woah! This is so cool! Look at the rocket. And that's me and you and Logan. Can we hang this one up on the fridge too?" Eli asked excitedly.

"Well, you'll have to ask Logan. He made the card."

"Logan, can we hang this card up on the fridge?"

"Of course, buddy. Go ahead."

Eli got off his chair to hang the card on the fridge giving the adults a moment to process.

"That was a beautiful card, Logan." Rory said slowly.

"Well, I just want you to know how much it means for me to be back in your life and that you're giving me a chance, at least as a friend. I hope one day we can be more but I understand that you need time. Just… if or when you're ready, just say the word." Logan explained nervously.

Rory sighed knowing they would need to have this conversation at some point.

"Look Logan, it's been wonderful having you around and I know how much you want to be part of my life again. There are just so many things to consider, including where you are going to be living, Eli, our families, our past. I just think that we need to really sit down and talk about it all before we can really decide. I'm not saying no, I'm simply saying I think we should maybe table the discussion until after the New Year when Eli is back in school and maybe we can meet for coffee to figure things out." Rory rambled hoping he understood.

" No worries. I think that's a good idea but I do hope we will still see each other over the next week and a half of break."

"We most likely will considering how much Phoebe and Eli are attached at the hip." Rory laughed as Eli came back to the table.

"I'm hungry!" Eli whined causing Rory to move her attention to her son from the serious conversation she had been having.

Rory looked at her watch realizing it was getting late.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Chicken tenders and French fries, please!"

Rory laughed knowing her son loved chicken tenders and French fries. Before she could ask Logan if he was staying, Eli beat her to it.

"Logan, are you staying? We can play with my dinosaurs!" Eli asked

Logan laughed and couldn't help but see that Eli was just like Rory with his big blue eyes that could probably make him do anything.

"I'd love to, if it's okay with your mom."

Eli looked at his mother with pleading eyes.

"I hope you like French fries and chicken tenders because if you're staying, you're eating what Eli is eating." Rory teased.

"I love chicken tenders and French fries." Logan laughed

"Me too!" Eli said excitedly.

While Rory went to the kitchen to cook, she could hear and see Logan and Eli in the dining room.

"I'm going to go get my toys" Eli said getting up but before he could get too far, Logan stopped him.

"Actually, I have something for you. Phoebe didn't want to miss giving you your Christmas gift so she sent it with me. I also have a gift for you."

"You do?"

"Of course." Logan smiled at Eli's excitement.

"So I get two gifts?" Eli's asked with wide eyes and after seeing Logan nod, Eli scurried off to his room returning quickly.

"Here! This is my gift for Phoebe. I don't have a gift for you though… I can make you a card!" Eli exclaimed at his own idea.

"That sounds great, little man. I would love a card from you."

"Cool… So, Can I have my gifts now, please?" Eli asked

Logan and Rory laughed at her son's eagerness while Logan passed them to Eli and Rory made her way over to the table.

Eli eagerly ripped at the wrapping of Phoebe's gift.

"Cool! I can't wait to play use these with Phoebe!" Eli exclaimed.

Phoebe had gotten Eli a set of walkie-talkies for them to communicate at school and when they were playing. As well, she had gotten him a building set for trucks.

Rory smiled at the gifts that Phoebe had gotten for Eli. It showed how well she knew him and Rory knew Phoebe would love Eli's gift. Eli had tried to figure out what to get Phoebe and had come up with the gift all on his own. He had gotten Phoebe a big set of crayons, markers, colored pencils, and a drawing pad because Phoebe had disclosed to Eli that she loved to draw and wished to have more supplies. Rory had checked with Honor to see if she had gotten something similar and she hadn't so Rory knew it would be perfect. They had also gotten her and Eli matching Shirts.

Rory was pulled out of her thoughts when Eli started opening up Logan's gift. She was curious to see what it was.

Eli pulled out a stuffed animal doll of a tiger along with some tickets.

"What are these?" Eli asked

"Those are for you, Phoebe, myself, and your mum to go to the zoo the day after Christmas. I thought it would be fun and they are having a special Christmas event all week at the zoo where you can get up close to some of the animals." Logan explained.

"Really?! That is so cool! Thanks, Logan." Eli hugged Logan catching him off guard but Logan felt happy that Eli liked his gift. He had wanted to do something special for Eli and Rory.

"I also have a gift for your mom. You want to pass it to her?" Logan asked Eli.

Eli nodded excitedly.

"Here, mommy! Open it! Open!" Eli exclaimed

"Okay, Okay. I'm opening." Rory teased her son opening the gift slowly and hearing him groan. Rory knew kids were excited about gifts but Eli took it to a whole other level.

Rory opened it and her breath hitched. "What is it?" Eli asked impatiently.

Before she could answer, he had leaned over, "It's us!" Eli exclaimed before continuing, "Can I go play in front of the TV with my new toy?"

Rory nodded so Eli took his building set to the other room where Rory could still see him but where he was out of hearing range.

Logan got up and moved to the chair next to Rory.

"I hope it's okay. I know we talked about this already but I just wanted you to know how much it means to me that you have even given me a chance to be in your life and Eli's life." Logan rambled.

Logan had not known what to get Rory without it being extravagant but Honor had shown him a picture of himself, Rory, Phoebe, and Eli playing at Honor's the other day and it had captured the moment perfectly. They had been playing with the animals and they had all been smiling and laughing. He had made a copy for himself and then decided to get it framed for Rory because it showed them all together.

"This is beautiful." Rory whispered, "I just… Thank You."

"Of course. Thank you for letting me take care of you today." Logan smiled at Rory, which she returned before the timer for the French fries and Chicken Tenders went off.

As Logan left that night, Rory wondered how much longer she would be able to deny her feelings. Eli had given Logan the card he made before he left and Logan had loved it. It was a drawing of Logan with Eli playing. Rory had planned on buying him something too, that she was going to give him when they go to the zoo.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the longer chapter! What did you think?