AN: This is a shorter chapter, but a needed one. We are approaching the finish line, and I wanted to be able to spend time on the last few chapters/elements, but have some of the below out of the way. The comments and the feed back have been nothing short of amazing for this relatively new writer. It's much appreciated. Enjoy.

P.S: I really loved the idea of adorable Logan with messy bed hair and glasses. :-)

She laid her head on the couch armrest with her feet tucked comfortably behind Logan, where he sat with his laptop balanced on his knees. His fingers were flying across his keyboard, and she couldn't help but notice how adorable her work dork looked, still wearing his grey pajama pants, black t-shirt and messy bed head from where his fingers absent mindedly ran through his hair when deep in thought. At some point in the past seven years, his perfect vision had escaped him, and he wore glasses in the mornings before putting his contacts in. He would adjust the frames every few minutes, without losing focus on his feverish writing.

It was impossibly charming.

Her head throbbed, but she wasn't quite sure if the pain was coming from her hangover or from the dizzying events of the morning.

"Hey, babe? Before you continue this little experiment of yours, I'm going to need tacos. Plural. Multiple tacos. Burritos even. Can't function properly without."

Without looking up from his screen, he continued typing. "Already ordered."

"Excuse me?"

"I ordered them from the study when I went to grab my laptop. Two rice and bean burritos and three chicken tacos. Although the delivery guy did sound both scared and impressed that I was making a 9 AM request for Mexican." He looked away from his computer and smiled proudly at her. "See, I'm going to be a great husband."

"I can see that."

He turned his attention back to his typing, and Rory began poking his back with the foot that laid behind him. "When are you going to show me the list? You've been working on that now for 40 minutes."

"I'm almost done, but you can't rush greatness, Ace. I seem to remember you taking days to finish your pro/con list about which shampoo to purchase."

"Hey. College is a very pivotal time for a young co-ed. Deciding between Herbal Essences and Pantene Pro-V was a huge decision."

"Whatever." He typed a few more keystrokes, and then he hit the enter button with a flourish. "Done."

When he had suggested they get married before she left for Egypt, she'd been completely taken aback. She knew it was completely in character for Logan to rush into a big life decision, and she had to admit he had convinced her to do the same here recently. And while she didn't necessarily disagree with him about pushing up their wedding date, she also couldn't justify making that decision without fleshing out every angle.

Unfortunately, her headache was growing worse by the second, and she told him she couldn't think logically enough at the moment to put her thoughts down. Plus, there was the annoying fact that she couldn't stare at the unnatural light from the LCD computer screen for more than two seconds. He had eagerly agreed to do the list for them instead, insisting that he wanted to give the classic Rory Gilmore Pro/Con list a try for himself.

He draped his arm against the back of the red sofa and shot her a classic smirk. "Are you ready to be blown away by my list skills?"

"Oh completely. I might have to relinquish my organizational crown depending on how this all goes."

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and began reading. "May I present for your education and edification the "Gilmore/Huntzberger Elopement Pro/Con List." Drafted by the one and only Logan E. Huntzberger."

"Nice start. Continue."

"I'll begin with the items on the left hand column. Pro: We love each other."

"Simple start. Right to the point. I like it." She teased.

"Pro: We already live together, but Con: We just moved in together."

"But unless you're planning on kicking me out when I return from Africa, then I think we can stick that one in the Pro list." Her eyes washed over the list. "Hey!" She exclaimed. "Why does it say, Pro: Adoption of Ugly Red Couch?"

"I've already accepted that you brought this hideous monstrosity into my bachelor pad. I feel like if I've accepted this thing, we can face anything."

"You need to apologize to Couchy. He's very sensitive and very comfy to your hungover roommate." She laid her head back down on the perch of the arm rest.

They began volleying back and forth on the different points of discussion: money, insurance, property. Despite how lousy she felt, it brought a surprising sense of comfort and stability to really talk through these issues with him. There was a mature practicality about him that was missing so many years ago. He was still the young man who was impulsive and took risks, but she could see an underlying sense of maturity as he talked about the stocks and the buildings that he owned.

"Hey Logan?" she interrupted as he talked about the investments that he had in certain media companies.

"Yeah, Ace?"

"Do you think we did this backwards?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we are sitting here, living together and freshly engaged, and it's only now that we are talking about some of this stuff. It seems very Brittany Spears/Jason Alexander of us."

"Wow. The comparison to Jason Alexander. What you must think of me..…."

"I'm serious, Logan. Are we doing this backwards?"

He unleashed a hearty laugh. "Yes, Ace. We absolutely are doing this backwards."

"And you're ok with that?"

"I'd be even more ok with that if this list convinces you to marry me today." He set his laptop on the coffee table in front of him. "We've got a lot of stuff to sort out, but it's really not going to make a difference whether we are married or not when we do it. We can live our whole lives without really living for a minute. But if we go ahead and just do this, it's one less minute we spend apart."

She was struck by his words and the familiarity of them. "Hey, you're quoting yourself."

"I am?"

"Yeah." She smiled as the memory flooded back to her. "That's exactly what you said to convince me to jump with you at the Life and Death Brigade gathering."

"Well, maybe I thought since it worked last time, I might give it a try again." He joked.

"There's a lot more to it than just us being ok with it. There's my mom. Your mom. And my grandmother…Emily Gilmore will not approve."

"Who cares if they approve or not?" He pulled her legs to his lap and began tracing the outer seam of her sweats. "I don't really care what they think, to be completely honest with you, Rory. I watched you in Russia. I read that piece you did about the refugee camps in the Middle East. And that piece you did on Malawi? I drank my salary in Jack Daniel's Black Label that week. I just know that the next time I watch the television terrified for your safety, it would be nice to know that I'm worried about my wife." He laughed, and she could detect a bit of uneasiness in his voice. "That sounds weird. What I mean is, it would just be kind of great to know that no matter what happens or where you are, we've got bonds—that I'm always connected to you."

She sat up from her perch on the couch and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I think that's the biggest pro on the list."

"Good. I'll highlight that."

"You know," she began. "I had a Malawi moment myself. Costa Rica 2006."

"Well, the good news about that one? It was 2006. I haven't been to Costa Rica since."

"You know what I mean. I may put myself in dangerous situations. But it's my job. That was not what Costa Rica was. Or Las Vegas."

"No, that was me running away. Something I haven't done in 7 years. I may be impulsive, Rory, but I'm a little bit smarter about my risks these days. And that includes only taking sure bets."

"So are we a sure bet?"

"100 percent guaranteed ROI."

She snickered. "Our marriage will be a return on investment. I kind of like that analogy. It's very Glenn Beck." She took a happy breath and changed the subject. "Hey Logan? Where did you take me on the Life and Death Brigade camping trip?"

He pulled his glasses off his nose and amusingly smiled at her. "Where in the world did that come from, Ace?"

"I've just always wanted to know. And I think I'll have to absolutely refuse to marry you if you don't tell me right now." She teased.

"Right now, you say? Well, I suppose I'll have to divulge my greatest secrets." He leaned over and whispered to her. "Nipmuck State Forest."

"Nipmuck?! You mean to tell me that one of the most romantic moments of my life….one of the first places where I thought I might kind of dig you was named Nipmuck?"

"That's accurate."

"What about the gorilla masks? Are you ever going to explain that to me?"

"Nope. Not even marriage vows can get that secret out of me."

"Drats."

He tickled the back of her knee, and looked back at the pro/con list. "Ace, if we are going from the list, the pro's have it."

She sat up to look at his computer screen. "But the three cons are three very Mount Olympus sized ones."

And the three massive cons on the list? She saw them in big bold font on the right side of the spreadsheet.

Emily. Shira and Lorelai.

"I get the first two, Ace. But do you really think your mom's going to object? I kind of thought she liked me."

"Just because you once upon a time shared pie and had a moment in the Dragonfly Stables does not mean she's going to be a fan of you eloping with her daughter."

"Valid point."

"Besides, I wouldn't want to get married without her. She did that with my dad. Remember how that turned out?"

"I seem to remember a scathing article that came out of that anger."

"I apologized for that. And I grew from it."

"Yes you did. And I'm thankful you directed that sword towards something other than myself, thank you very much."

"And I really wouldn't want to get married without her there. And April and Luke and William."

"But if they were there…you'd be on board?"

She thought for a minute. He looked so happy at the prospect. And she knew she wanted to marry him, and the pro/con list was in their favor.

"If they were there, I'd be completely on board. But you keep forgetting…'Em-i-ly." She sounded her grandmother's name in the mocking tone of her future mother-in-law.

"Decision made then." He closed the laptop with a satisfying click. "We get married before Christmas. Easy enough."

"Logan…how?"

"Well, for first we tell your family to not plan to go to work tomorrow and meet us at the courthouse. And second? We swear them to absolute secrecy. Cause we're eloping in secret. " He smiled at her as he did the moment she'd told him yes. He draped her blanket on top of her and handed her the bag of heavenly tacos that sat on their coffee table. "We tell just them, and we let my mother and Emily plan their party and they'll be none the wiser. It's a perfect plan. Now eat that taco, Ace. I don't need you hungover at the courthouse tomorrow."

Later that morning, Rory heard a knock on the front door of the apartment. Logan had gone to check on his dad after she had started feeling better, and Rory had begun prepping herself for the conversation she was going to have with her mother. But when she heard the knock on her door, she began bracing herself for the windstorm that was about to cross over her threshold.

When she opened up the door, her frantic and wide-eyed sister came bursting through the opening. The curly-haired girl dropped a pile of luggage on by the coffee table and turned to face Rory with her arms crossed. She had managed to catch her right before her plane left for New Mexico, and Rory could tell that the past hour had caught the young girl by surprise.

"You do realize that Anna Nardini is going to kill you for this. That is if I don't decide to kill you first."

Rory closed the door behind her. "I thought you'd be thrilled. You were the first person that I called."

"And you baited me. Again! I swear, I think you and my father colluded this evil genius holiday plan to prevent me from going to New Mexico at all this Christmas. 'Let's tempt April with romantic drama!" You knew I couldn't avoid it! First Stars Hollow and now this!"

"Luke had nothing to do with this."

April fell dramatically on the red couch. "There I was, just sitting there, happily in the terminal at LaGuardia, reading my cardiovascular journals, and bam! You drop your little marriage bomb on me and I'm running down Terminal B."

"You didn't have to come, April."

"Really?" April rolled her eyes dramatically. "You knew there was no way I was getting on that plane and let you get married tomorrow without me." A look of sheepishness crossed her face. "Logan IS going to pay for my cancelled plan ticket right? Cause if I'm out a plane ticket AND missing Christmas, my mother won't just make me pay with spending spring break in the desert with her."

Rory hugged her sister. "Yes, we've got you covered. I'm just so glad you stayed."

"You do realize how fabulous this is. You're going to be freakin' married with a secret husband. This is so out of a rom com."

"It will be if I can convince my mom."

April re-crossed her arms. "Rory, I'm deeply disappointed in you."

"Excuse me?"

"You aren't giving Lorelai enough credit."

"Please. She was happy before when I turned down Logan's engagement."

April rolled her eyes once again. "Oh my God. Not this again. Were you not at the stables? Did you not have a pop-tart chat sesh with her? And I believe she sat there grinning at Junior's just 24 hours ago, beaming? She even made that corny quip about now having three boys in her life. Besides, Logan asked her blessing. She's fine with this."

"Wait." Rory gave April a quizzical look. "Logan asked her blessing? How do you know this? When?

"He didn't tell you?" April looked at her sister incredulously. "God, he's such a romantic. Seriously. I've got to find me one like him."

"April. Point. Get to it."

"He came to visit Lorelai in Stars Hollow the day after you moved to New York. Asked her in person. Apparently told her he'd asked the first time and hoped the yes she gave then still stood. Said he knew it was quick, but that he didn't want to wait or waste the opportunity."

Rory smiled. She ran her fingers across her couch, the one that she knew he hated. He'd known all along that he wanted to marry her as soon as possible. Sure, Egypt put a rush on things, but she had a feeling that if her grandparents and his mother wasn't involved, he would have wanted to marry her immediately anyways.

"So. What are we wearing to the courthouse tomorrow? Please tell me you have at least something in the shade of white we can make do with?"

"Uh, I don't think so. I was just planning to wear one of my suits."

April gave Rory a blank stare. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Uh, no?"

April looked at the coffee table, picked up Rory's phone and slammed it into her hands. "First you tell the mom. And then? We shop."