I'm so sorry! I just got back from 3 weeks of trips and stuff so this was the first time I was able to post in 3 weeks! I love you all for being patient and stuff. You're all brilliant.

Recap:

1) a. Honour hired Josh Cole to help coordinate a summer camp for the children in hospital
b. Rory revealed to Honour that she knew there was something other than friendship there

2) a. Logan and Rory discussed enrolling Sophie in private school
b. Logan took all sorts of legal documents to Sacred Heart because of the National Enquirer incident.

3) a. Colin kissed Steph at the Foundation carnival, then left without saying a word to Steph.
b. Steph talked to Rory and Honour about the whole thing and admitted she hadn't talked to Colin since

Honour rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, the numbers and words still blurry before her eyes. Between helping Rory plan her wedding and working on this camp, her days were filled with work. Caterers, sponsors, reception halls and camp facilitators… she needed a break. Ironically enough, Josh wasn't helping, not that he hadn't tried.

She'd allowed him to take over the planning for the large majority of the camp, thinking it would be the greatest help. Usually, she'd be all for it, and she'd take the help willingly. Unfortunately, he also haunted her dreams. It was those dreams that stressed her out more than the work she was doing. Seeing Rory marry her brother would be the highest of happiness for her. Seeing this camp up and running would give her a supreme sense of satisfaction.

Her dreams of Josh weren't dreams of simple friendship, like she'd imagined from the beginning. Honour's friends had been stars in her dreams many times since she could remember, it wasn't anything new. But the dreams of Josh were dreams of moonlight dinners and sunset kisses, dreams that evoked happiness and love.

Honour wasn't some little child. She knew that Josh wasn't as imperfect as she wanted to believe. She also knew that, like Rory, her parents would flip. He was as far from her status as rich he could possibly be while still being part of the middle class. He worked for his living, and not as a CEO as per the regular definition. In fact, he worked for her.

"Hon?"

Honour snapped her head up, looking at Josh's concerned face. "Sorry, got lost there."

Josh sighed. "You're exhausted. Have been for days. What's going on?"

"Nothing," Honour promised, leaning her head back against her chair. "It's nothing."

"It's obviously something," Josh replied, with that uncanny ability to read her he'd displayed so often. "You've been distracted."

"I'm always distracted," she pointed out, not willing to give Josh an inch.

"Is it Rory's wedding?"

"I can't give up Rory's wedding," Honour replied snappishly.

Josh held up his hands. "I'm not asking you to give up Rory's wedding."

Honour sighed. "I'm sorry."

Josh moved behind her so fast that there was no way Honour could have found a polite way to stop him. He placed his hands on her shoulders, kneading in all the spots he knew she liked. This wasn't the first time he'd felt it necessary to rub some of the tension out of her shoulders. Honour had the bad habit of not only leaning over her computer to type, but also in general. Her shoulders were stiff.

"I can take over all of the camp, if you want," he suggested.

Honour moaned as his thumb dug into a particularly sore spot. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You wouldn't be asking," he pointed out.

Honour sighed. "Josh, you've been awesome."

He chuckled. "You didn't have to tell me that."

She smiled. "You've been awesome."

He laughed again, lowly. "Thank you."

They fell into a comfortable silence as Honour continued to simply allow his hands to relax the knots in her back.

"It's been everything," she finally said. Honour knew it was a very helpful tactic, silence. She'd used it a number of times on Logan.

"Everything?"

"I'm working all day, every day. After that I try and sleep. Try, Josh. But I can't. Not properly, not like I should with all of the work I'm doing."

Josh sighed. He knew she wasn't getting sleep. Much to his surprise and annoyance – and probably even more to a beautiful woman like her – it was obvious even with the makeup she piled on. There were still purple circles under her eyes. Light, but they were there. It drove him nuts. "Why not?"

Honour groaned. It wasn't a groan of pleasure, either. Instead, it was one of annoyance, probably more at herself. The two of them had bonded over the course of their partnership, and even that was an understatement. They'd cultivated a close friendship, a friendship that Honour cherished almost as much as she valued her friendship with Rory.

But Honour knew there was more to her relationship with Josh and it definitely wasn't just from the dream. There was something about him from the beginning that had caught her eye, something that made her seriously consider, then blatantly offer the job of camp coordinator to him. Much like the charity picnics and games were Rory's pride and joy, Honour had hoped that this camp would be hers and Josh had been an integral player in ensuring that dream came true.

And that was where their relationship differed from the simple friendship Honour had with Rory. Besides the fact that Rory and Josh were fundamentally different – a man and a woman, after all – and Rory had helped Honour make her dream of the charity for Catherine come true, Josh, it seemed, went beyond that. He wasn't a partner. For all intents and purposes, the man was a glorified babysitter that organized a camp for kids with enough medical problems to require a full staff of hospital employees. And yet, Josh didn't seem to mind or care that there was nothing in it for him. Instead, it seemed to Honour that he had absolutely no problem giving up perceivably everything.

But the day camp had been a success and as a result, Honour had been able to figure out wages or volunteer hours for all of those that had helped out. Beyond that, Josh had been the one to propose extending the camp into a week-long, overnight camp.

"It'll give kids the chance to really experience life, even if they weren't, well, normal."

Honour had almost swooned. Actually, she had swooned, and refrained herself from launching herself at him. She'd managed to smile and instead, calmly walked over to kiss his cheek. He was a prince among thieves, she'd told him.

The camp required planning, planning and more planning. Honour had a charity to run, and a camp to plan, not that it really mattered in her life anyway. She wasn't attached, hadn't even been looking for any type of connection to any other person. Single and loving it, really. But then Josh had proposed the full-out camp experience, and thing started to change.

Honour noticed that she and Josh had been sharing more 'business' meals, and at any time of day. Sometimes he'd call her and say he had an idea he wanted to talk through with her. Sometimes she'd call him to say she had some numbers to double check. Regardless, she'd been to his apartment and he to hers a number of times since they'd originally met.

The attraction had snuck up on her.

It had come to her in bits and pieces, in dreams and in moments of distinct clarity throughout the last couple of months. Honour liked to believe she wasn't totally off her rocker in believing that some dreams did have semi-prophetic qualities to them. They were haunting her though, and getting hotter and hotter each time they happened. It was part of what was driving her crazy.

"Dreams," she said, finally answering Josh's earlier question.

"Nightmares?"

The genuine worry in his voice warmed Honour from the inside. "Thankfully no."

"Then what?"

She opted for shrugging. "They'll pass."

"Honour, you're not sleeping and as much as you try to hide it, it shows."

Honour blanched. "Rule number one, never tell a girl she looks like hell."

Josh grinned as he leaned around to her ear. "Honour Huntzberger, you look like hell," he whispered.

Instead of angering her, his breath on her ear sent her temperature rising just that bit higher. "You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself," she said wryly.

Josh simply chuckled. "Come on. We'll go out for dinner to that Mexican place you like so much then I'll get you home. There's no way either of us are going to get much done tonight."

"We have so much to finish," Honour protested.

"Hon, come out with me. Please?"

Honour's head snapped up. "What?"

Josh moved around her, sitting on the table, a little bit to her left. "This shouldn't be a surprise."

"I don't…"

"I'm asking you out on a date, Honour," he said quietly. "One date."

Honour looked down at herself. "Now? When I, and I quote, 'look like hell'?"

Josh chuckled and shrugged. "What can I say? Even looking like hell you're beautiful."

She groaned. "Flattery!? You try and go with flattery after that?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, Honour, but even as a working relationship everything we do is unconventional. We're trying to iron out the details for a camp of children that's definitely going to require a fully equipped hospital and all of the staff. We're tying to figure out the things the kids can do, how long we'll run the camp and how important the camp will be to the kids. And yet, there's definitely more than friendship in what we're doing, Honour."

He didn't have to tell her that. She was well aware that something had grown out of control as soon as she'd accepted his invitation to dinner at his apartment the first time. "Okay," she finally said. "But if we're going to do a real date we have to iron out a few things."

Josh simply raised an eyebrow.

"I"ll go looking like hell this time, but then you owe me a full out date. Flowers, dinner, an the kiss afterwards."

Josh grinned. "You're on, Miss Huntzberger."

Flashback

Sophie gripped Logan's hand tightly as she stepped through the halls of Oakwood Private School, Rory along on her other side. She was absolutely terrified.

It had been a toss up as to whether or not she'd truly attend private school. She'd been upset to lose her friends, most of which she'd gone to school with for years and years. Sophie knew that if she'd told Rory and Logan she didn't want to attend private school, she'd be left at Sacred Heart and private school wouldn't be brought up again. But Sophie knew there was more at stake than her own comfort and safety.

Private schools were used to dealing with the crème-de-la-crème of high society children, used to the increased security families often demanded in order to keep their precious heirs safe. They'd passed through formidable looking steel gates upon their arrival. Frank, Rory and Logan had all been asked to present identification to the security guard on duty.

Not only was Oakwood secure, but according to Rory's research and her own, it was the best. Sophie had found her classes at Sacred Heart a little boring after a while, too used to challenges and loving school too much to do anything about it. She cared deeply about her education. Both Sophie and Rory hoped that Oakwood would present Sophie with a challenging curriculum

But none of it made the transition any easier.

Oakwood went from junior kindergarten through to the eighth grade. Sacred Heart had stopped at fifth. The idea of any sort of middle school was a daunting one, but Sophie had promised herself she wouldn't worry about it until the following August, right before she started sixth grade. Now, however, it was staring her in the face and another thing that had her less than comfortable with the situation. Rory and Logan had been careful to educate Sophie as to the cruelty that high society could display, but Logan had been little help, simply because he knew the society way to answer problems. Rory was too sweet-tempered. Sophie had an anger in her and a rather hearty backbone.

"Sophie?"

She looked up at Rory, trying to hide the terror in her eyes.

Rory bent down to her daughter's eye-level, glancing around to ensure Logan was still busy finishing the paperwork in the office. Rory had known Sophie would be a little less than comfortable with the whole situation, but there was little she could do about it at the time. When Sophie made decisions, she stuck by them. "How are you feeling? About all this?"

"I'm staying, if that's what you're asking," Sophie replied, her voice much more clipped than usual.

Rory sighed. Sophie couldn't hide much from her and couldn't lie either. "That's not what I'm talking about, Soph, and you know it."

Sophie's mouth was a thin line. "How did you feel?"

"When I started at Chilton?" Rory asked in clarification. When her daughter nodded, she forced a smile. "Terrified," she admitted.

"And what did you do?"

Rory chuckled. "It wasn't easy, that's for sure. I was named Chilton's Mary."

"But?"

"But I took all of the teasing and all of the hazing. I met a few good people in Chilton. Very few, but they were there. Paris is coming to the wedding in May."

Silence fell between the females.

"I'm scared, Mommy," Sophie said softly.

Rory drew her baby into a hug, holding tight and trying to hang onto the tears. The times Sophie called her or Logan 'mommy' or 'daddy' were still few and she cherished them every time it happened. Nevertheless, that wasn't really what she was focused on. Sophie had created a network of friends at Sacred Heart that supported her and often came to the charity things, just like Rory had been the princess of Stars Hollow. "It'll be okay, sweetheart. You'll see."

End Flashback

Sophie took a deep breath in as she made her way to homeroom following lunch. She'd been at Oakwood for three torturous weeks. Weeks of teasing, book snatching, shoving and rude name calling. She figured if she didn't react they'd stop, but she'd been wrong.

Very wrong, she thought to herself when she felt the foot against her ankle and the ground rush up to meet her, Her books scattered and cruel laughter rang through the halls.

"Looks like the wittwe nerdy took a big fwall."

Sophie closed her eyes as she placed the face of Michael Carter, a sixth grader and her own personal version of hell.

"Gonna go cry to Mommy and Daddy?" Cater asked. "Not that they could probably do much. Did they go bankrupt to put you here?"

Sophie hadn't said a thing to anyone about her parents' death, nor had she spoken to anyone about the fact that she was the adopted child of the media's darling couple, Huntzberger and Hayden. Nevertheless, she scoffed, deciding now was as good a time as any to let the world know she wasn't going to be walked on any longer. "Trust me, my parents are far from bankrupt."

"There's no Wilson in high society." Ah Carter's female side-kick and unspoken 'girlfriend' Carry Harper.

"Of course not," Sophie replied, looking up at them. "My parents are dead."

"What's going on?"

Sophie sighed as she grabbed another book and added it to her pile. God bless the heart of Katie Sanders, but really, she was doing just fine on her own. Sophie had a backbone, she just didn't always use it.

Katie was an eighth grader with her locker beside Sophie's. The student that had left to allow Sophie's admittance was in the eighth grade, so Sophie had simply inherited the empty locker. Katie wasn't the 'in crowd' per se, but she commanded the respect of the student body. And she got it. No one messed with Katie.

"I'll ask again. What's going on?" Her tone brooked no argument.

"Nothing," Sophie answered finally. "Nothing."

Katie eyed Sophie bending down to help the younger girl collect her belongings. From day one Sophie had been under Katie's care at their lockers. They weren't really friends, but they weren't strangers either. Katie had hoped to be able to take Sophie under her wing, to ensure that someone admitted to the school on merit, just like Katie and Sophie were, had someone who understood what life among the rich and bored was like. "You sure about that?"

Sophie sighed, her eyes scanning over the surrounding, and suspiciously silent crowd. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Katie nodded once, sharply. "Okay. Where are you headed? You're all pretty late to class."

That had the uncanny ability of clearing out the hall way. Carter and his gang were a bunch of bullies, yes, but they were raised by bullies. Bullies that didn't take well to failing, doing poorly or skipping. It left Sophie and Katie to finish picking up the fallen books and supplies.

"They've been picking on you," Katie said softly as she handed Sophie her pencil case. "Why defend them?"

Sophie shrugged. "Because I don't have a choice? I don't say anything, I get picked on. I tell a teacher, I get picked on even worse."

"It's bullying, Sophie." But Katie knew Sophie wasn't budging. So she sighed. "Come on. I'll sign you out of class."

"I can't," Sophie protested immediately. "I'm already ages behind." The transition academically had been much harder that Sophie had anticipated, but she'd taken up the challenge. She was sure she was almost caught up.

Katie waved her hand dismissively. "I'll tutor you. You're probably still behind anyway. We'll get you caught up no problem. Consider this government business." Not only did Katie's voice tell her there was little she could do to stop, but Katie was the student body president. She had ins at the office that Sophie, even with her Huntzberger connection, would never be able to replicate.

"I should be in class…"

"Missing one won't kill you, even if you are behind," Katie promised. "We'll talk in the government office, okay? No one around."

Sophie didn't really get why Katie was being so nice, but she followed anyway. "Why are you doing this?"

Katie looked at Sophie over her shoulder as she unlocked and pushed open the door. "Because you need a friend."

Sophie didn't want friends out of pity.

"Or at least you need an ally. The people in Oakwood are…"

"Stuck up snobs here on Daddy's money?"

Katie grinned at the apt description. "Assuming Mommy's the trophy wife, yeah. I'm here on merit, just like you."

Sophie swallowed. Katie was just being nice, trying to be a friend and make Oakwood a little bit more bearable for Sophie. As she said, she was an ally. Sophie couldn't lie to her. "I'm only partially here on merit," she admitted. "I scored above average on the entrance exam, yeah, but my parents…"

"I thought they were dead."

Ah, so she'd over heard. "I'm adopted."

"And your adoptive family is rich."

Sophie nodded. "Most people would say so."

"But you wouldn't?"

Sophie shrugged. "To me, they're just my parents. Money isn't talked about, considered or even really taken into consideration."

Katie was intrigued. "Who?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" Sophie asked, remembering the last time her parents had come up.

"Promise," Katie replied.

"You might have heard of them, actually. Um, Rory Hayden and Logan Huntzberger."

"That would be Huntzberger, as in the media conglomerate," Katie said.

"Yes, yes it would," Sophie agreed.

"Huh," Katie grunted. "Who'd have thought."

Sophie smiled grimly. "Yeah."

"And you don't tell anyone."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

This time, Sophie truly grinned. "I'd like to make my own reputation, thanks."

Katie understood. "That takes guts. And strength."

"Well, I guess it's good I've got a friend and an ally already, isn't it? Especially one in the student government and all."

Katie grinned,

Sophie grinned.

Friendship grew.

Stephanie sighed as she paced in front of a New York high rise in Manhattan. Leave it to Colin McRae to pick such a place, but that had no real place in today's reason for her presence. She had to talk to Colin and she had to do it soon, before she ripped her own hair out strand by strand. All she needed was the courage.

A phone call wouldn't have cut it either. They were from society and they both knew how easy it was to lie over the phone. Steph knew it definitely had to be done in person. Preferably before Rory and Honour found a way to lock them both in a closet at the upcoming engagement party.

Come on girl! You're going to run an empire someday and you can't even fid the courage to talk to one of your closest friends and the guy you've been in love with forever.

With a deep breath she climbed the steps and entered the lobby all haughty superiority. She played the part well, having the practice. She looked the part too, having just come from the office on her lunch break. She found that if she walked the walk, very few people questioned who she was or what she was doing in expensive stores.

As she got of the elevator she realized that it now came down to the daunting task of actually knocking on the door. Colin was anal to a fault, but it also meant he was habitual. Habit stated he work at home every Thursday and Friday afternoon.

"Ah, dear, we haven't seen you around lately."

Steph turned a charming smile on Colin's next-door neighbours, the Austins. They were nice people with a grandson they constantly told her she'd adore. If it wasn't for Colin, she would probably at least take them up on the offer at least once. "I've been busy," she answered simply. It was a partial truth. She'd been busy, yes, but she'd forced herself to keep busy.

"Well good luck with Mr MrRae. He's been a right grump for a while now," Mr Austin advised.

Steph felt a little guilty, sure she was the reason behind his annoyance. "Has he?"

Mrs Austin patted Steph's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll have nothing to worry about, my dear. He's always happier when you're about."

Now Steph knew she was blushing. "Well, we'll see what happens. I'm afraid I'm not his favourite person right now."

"Nonsense!"

"Come on Phyllis, leave her alone."

Steph watched them leave then with a soft goodbye. When she turned back to the door that led to Colin's apartment, she jumped. "Hi," she greeted him nervously.

Colin stood, leaning against the door, his arms folded across his chest. "Hi."

Steph swallowed. He didn't sound nervous, but he didn't seem that excited to see her either. "Um… can I come in?"

Colin stepped aside and allowed her to pass, closing his eyes at the floating floral scent that inevitably followed her. As he closed the door, he watched her seat herself on the coffee table. "Everything okay?"

Steph pondered the answer to that question carefully. "Not really, I guess."

Out came Colin the Eternal Protector. "What's wrong?" He'd taken a seat on the couch in front of her without blinking.

"Don't be thick Colin," Steph pleaded softly. "You kissed me at the carnival, ran away and we haven't talked since."

Colin could feel hot blood flood his cheeks. "Oh."

Steph rolled her eyes, her patience thin. "I need more than just 'oh' Colin. And you can't blame it on the booth because it wasn't my turn yet."

"I had to get Rory off my back somehow."

"Bullshit," Steph shot back, making Colin jump with the harsh tone she used. Then it dropped to a meek whisper. "Bullshit."

Colin ran his fingers through his hair. Steph was a strong woman, not small, not meek like she looked and like her voice sounded at that moment. It was one of the things he undoubtably loved about her. Her independence was legendary. Unfortunately for him, so was her determination. "I don't know what you want me to say, Steph. You won't believe anything."

"The truth Colin, that's all I've ever wanted."

"You won't believe anything. What do you want me to say?"

"That you did it because you wanted to!" Steph cried, jumping up and almost whacking Colin with her purse as she did so. "That I'm not the only one replying it in my dreams. That this whole deal of not talking to each other is bugging you just as much as it's bugging me."

"Of course it's bugging me," Colin said, voice calm despite her outburst. "You're my best girl, Steph, you always have been."

Steph took a small modicum of comfort from his words. "And what about the rest of it?"

Colin blinked owlishly. "What about it?"

Steph groaned and stepped into his personal space thankful that he'd stood to follow her and thankful that he was still taller than she. She was sick of dancing around, of having to quell the urge to touch him, of having to find excuses to be close to him. SO she did the only thing she was sure would force him to react.

Stephanie kissed him.

To say Colin was surprised was probably a large understatement. They were both sober this time, neither of them doing this to make a point to someone else. Steph was probably emotional, but even emotional Stephanie had a rational thought process. Colin was sure this wasn't a reaction to her anger with him.

He was, however, partially aware that she was attempting to force his hand.

And he had to admit she was doing a spectacular job of doing it because react he did. What else was he supposed to do when the girl he'd been lusting about for ages was kissing him? And lust only scratched the surface of what he felt for Stephanie. He'd been in love with her for years.

Steph had done it. She'd kissed him, sober and with no intent of running away when they broke apart. Instead, she had full intent to stay and see this conversation to the bitter end. Well, if she was honest, there was no guarantee it was going to be a bitter ending. In fact, she was sure that if she played her next few cards right, it would turn out a spectacularly happy ending for her.

He was the one to break the kiss. "Steph…"

"Tell me that didn't mean anything to you. Tell me that I'm being stupid and I'll go and we'll forget this ever happened," she whispered, still close to his mouth.

Colin pulled back a fraction further, taking care to make sure she met his eyes. She'd taken the first step. The ball was in his court. "I can't lie to you." He revelled in the spark that now shone in her eyes.

Steph smiled as she sagged against him. "You're an idiot."

"I'm an idiot?"

"Mmhmm."

Colin chuckled. "Why am I an idiot?"

"Because we could have done this ages ago and saved ourselves weeks of agony. I hate not talking to you."

"I hate not talking to you, too," he admitted. "Hey Steph?"

She looked up. "I've been in love with you for years," she said softly.

Colin groaned. "That's not fair!"

"What?"

"You took the words out of my mouth."

Steph let out an unladylike squeal and pushed herself against him. "We're both idiots."

Colin smiled as he pulled back and resituated them. "We're both idiots," he agreed as he bent to kiss her again.

Rory snuggled up against Logan as they watched a movie, wrapping both of her arms around his waist. "Engagement party's coming up."

"Thrown by the Haydens, I know."

"Remind me why we didn't plan it?" she asked. The movie was just background noise and really had been from the beginning. They'd both seen it a thousand times.

"Because your grandparents wanted to do something for you," Logan reminded her, his hand sifting through her tresses.

She sighed, dropping her head to his shoulder. "And all of Hartford."

"You've seen the guest list?" Logan asked in surprise, gently tugging on her hair until she looked at him.

"No," Rory replied on a sigh. "But I do know my grandparents. Quite frankly, I wouldn't put it past them to make this into a Hartford extravaganza."

Logan chuckled, kissing her quickly. "You're paranoid, Hayden. This will be fine."

Rory twisted so she was straddling his lap, completely blocking the view of the television. "You say that now, but wait until we get there! Remember they already ambushed me once."

"With your Gilmore grandmother, I know. If it makes you feel any better, I believe Steph has her own ideas for an engagement party that would be more our style," Logan offered, leaning forward to nibble just under her chin.

Rory tipped her head back. "Actually, it doesn't help much," she admitted. "Do we trust Steph?"

"When she has Colin's influence, yes," Logan replied on a chuckle.

"You heard about that?" Rory asked pulling away in surprise.

Logan groaned and pulled her back. "From Colin himself, actually," he said against her throat. "Can we focus here please?"

Rory knit her brows. "On the engagement party?"

He found the spot on her shoulder that she loved and bit down gently, grinning when she gasped.

"Oh, that's what you mean…"