I know it wasn't very sporting of me to leave you hanging with Lorelai's realization that maybe she wasn't right in the way she'd handled things with Rory and her relationship with Logan, and there is a bit more in here on that, but this is mostly about Logan and Rory and where they stand on everything. I haven't got a lot done on the next chapter but I figured that I might as well put this up for now... I'm able, finally, to get back to some writing once in a while so it shouldn't be to terribly long before that is up...

I really appreciate all of you who have read and enjoyed this story and then reviewed after each chapter... Even more, I am so entirely thankful for all of you who have inquired about and/or posted notes about the chapters, the story and what was happening with me in general... I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your words of encouragement, advice, support and for every hopeful plea that something new would be coming soon.

I have not forgotten you. Nor have I forgotten Rory and Logan and the mess that was their relationship when last we saw them and the promise I made to them and all of their fans to see that they got the life that they both so rightly deserve...

I do not own Gilmore Girls, the characters, original plot or storyline, nor anything else that was written, produced or directed by ASP or the WB/CW. I do however own my own plot and storyline, characters and point of view!

Chapter 10 - One Step Forward

Logan shuffled himself in through his front door, carrying two bags and pulling his suitcase behind him. His business trip had lasted two days longer than he'd expected and though things had gone extremely well, he was tired and glad to finally be home. After dropping his bags he collapsed on the couch and sat for a couple minutes in silence. Eventually he reached over the arm of the sofa and pressed the playback button on his answering machine that sat on the end table.

There was a message from his sister, and one from Mitchum, and two from Rory. The first, she'd left on Tuesday evening, when he'd been planning on being home. She said that she wanted to take him out for something to eat because she'd found a great Thai place and for him to give her a call when he got in. The second message she'd left only that morning, and it told him that she'd gone to LA for the day with Finn.

Colin, he knew, had flown back to New York for a couple meetings and was going to be back on the weekend, but Finn had refused to go back and had convinced her to drive down the coast with him and to spend the afternoon with him. She apologized for being out of town when he got back but asked if he'd go out with her the next night for dinner.

He had to laugh but he knew why she'd called and left such a detailed and long message. She didn't want him to think that she'd left. She wanted to make sure he knew she wasn't going anywhere. He understood but at the same time he wondered if she'd really stick. He spent some time thinking about her and them, while he put his things away and made himself something to eat. After he'd settled down in bed later, he picked up the phone and called his sister back. He waited for her to answer the phone and on the third ring she finally picked up.

"Hello." She said in a breathless tone.

"Am I interrupting something?" Logan asked in a teasing tone.

"What? No!" Honor answered shyly.

Logan smirked and rolled his eyes. "I'm sure."

"How was the business trip?" She asked, effectively changing the subject.

"It was good." Logan replied with a laugh. "I think we managed to bag three different investors and made contact with a company out of San Diego that seems interested in doing production. We'll see."

"Aawww, you sound like a grown up, with all your important business stuff going on and the investor talk." Honor teased him.

"Shut up."

Honor giggled. "That mouth! What would your mother think?"

"Who cares?" Logan countered, laughing with her. "How have you been?"

"Good," She told him and he caught something in her tone that made him sit up slowly. "Oh, Logan. I'm so excited, but I'm scared too. And nervous, that's a big one."

"Honor." The name whispered between his lips. He was pretty sure where this was going and if she didn't tell him soon he was going to... well, he didn't know what, but he didn't want to find out.

He heard her take a breath, and then a second. "I'm pregnant."

Logan sagged back onto his pillow. His sister was pregnant. He was going to be an uncle. A vision of himself holding a baby came to his mind and then whisped away. He swallowed to clear his throat and attempt to control his emotion.

"Congratulations, momma." And after he spoke he heard her sniffle.

"What if I end up like her Logan?" She asked him in a whisper and even without a name, Logan knew who 'her' was.

"You won't end up like Mom, Honor. For one, you're in love with your husband. Two, you and Josh are happy together and together you'll love your child in a way that our parents would never understand." He told her in a firm voice.

Honor sniffled again when she replied. "I'll bet she thought the same thing at one time too."

"No." Logan argued and moved into a full blown rant. "Because Shira married Mitchum for his money and that's the only reason. She never even tried to be a parent to us when we were kids, Honor. Unless you plan on birthing your child and never looking at it again, except to ensure they look appropriate for an event or party, and thus letting him or her be raised by nannies and other household staff and then sending them away to boarding schools when they are older so that they don't have to be in the same house as you, there's is no possible way that you could end up like her!"

"I love you Logan." Honor whispered and Logan smiled.

"I love you too." He answered. "How did Josh take the news?"

She giggled again. "I thought for a few minutes after I told him that he was going to pass out or something. But finally he got this big grin on his face and laughed and hugged me and gave me a big kiss. He's so excited."

"See, you'll be great parents." Logan told her.

"Thanks little brother." Honor said.

"How are you feeling? And when are you due?"

"I'm due right around Valentine's Day and all in all I feel pretty good. A little more tired than usual, and I have to be careful what I eat in the mornings but other than that, I feel fine." She explained to him.

"Valentine's Day?" He asked.

"Yeah." She laughed. "I'll get a little cherub for the holiday."

Logan laughed now too, and the siblings talked on the phone for a while more before he finally said goodbye and hung up. As he settled into sleep, the picture of himself holding a baby came back to his mind but he knew, even in the fantasy, that the baby wasn't his sister's, it was his own. His and Rory's. Things weren't all worked out between them, but he knew they would be eventually and someday, someday he believed they would have that dream.

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Night had already fallen when Rory and Finn arrived back in San Francisco and their hotel. The day trip had been a good one. Eventful, though any day with Finn could be termed as such, but it managed to get Rory's mind off of the fact that she hadn't seen or talked to Logan since the previous Saturday. She had recieved an e-mail from him on Tuesday informing her that he wouldn't be getting back for a couple more days, most likely on Friday.

She was disappointed of course, she had just flown across the country to see him and he wasn't even there but she understood, especially after their conversation on Saturday at the cafe, that his job was really important to him and that he loved doing it. Business trips were something, she reminded herself, that she'd always had to expect with Logan, and his new job didn't mean that they wouldn't occur.

But she missed him.

Seeing him. Talking to him. Just being with him.

She was very grateful to Finn for convincing her to drive to LA with him. She knew that they could have flown there, or anywhere for that matter, but driving had taken as much time as actually being in LA had. They'd made pitstops along the way and Rory had taken a lot of pictures along the way, of the views, of Finn, or of herself, and she'd convinced him to eat lunch at a little hole in the wall diner off of the freeway. The food had been horrible and greasy but they'd both had a fun time trying to decide what was in Finn's salad.

The afternoon in LA had been an experience as well. Mostly for Rory. Finn had drug her from store to store, shopping for clothes for him or for her, he'd bought gifts for his younger sister and his mother. He bought Rory a coffee mug that read 'I'm an Addict' on the side. It was just a fun day and she would forever have fond memories of it.

When they got back to the hotel it was late and Rory immediately checked for any messages with the hotels messaging service. There was nothing and that disappointed her all over again because she'd hoped to hear from him but she considered that it was possible that he hadn't yet returned home. She also checked her e-mail for a message from him, or any one for that matter, and frowned over one from her mother. The subject said only 'Let's talk.'

She couldn't decide whether she wanted to open it and see what it said or delete it and ignore her mother for a while longer. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to her mother yet.

After debating the choices for close to ten minutes she finally clicked the button to open the letter. Slowly she read the note, and then she read it a second time to just make sure that she wasn't hallucinating.

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Rory,

I know that I'm probably the last person that you want to hear from so I'll try to keep this short... I'm sorry, babe. So sorry that I couldn't see what I was doing, that I was thinking more about what I wanted and what I thought was best then considering what you might want or what you believed would be best for you. I don't want to lose you Rory. I don't want us to end up with a relationship like mine with my mother.

You might think that I never gave Logan a chance, but I did. I wrote that letter for him, didn't I? I got you to give him another chance. Or I suppose, I got you to consider giving him a second chance. I did that Rory and I didn't like him. You were right about that, I've never liked him.

I guess I don't really know why.

It's just that every time I've seen him, or spent any time with him, I always feel like he's judging me. I'm the society girl that got pregnant, refused to get married and ran off with my kid. A lot of that I know was because I hated my life in society and with my parents. I can see now that he probably wasn't judging me. I don't know what he was thinking (maybe you've got an idea?) but I'm pretty sure, now, that he wasn't judging.

I promise you that if you manage to get him to take you back, or give you a chance, that I will at least try to get to know him... mind you that will be more complicated with the two of you being on the west coast, but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

When you're ready to talk, get in touch.

I miss you,

Mom

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Rory leaned back and away from the computer screen and rested her hands on her stomach as she stared blindly at the computer screen. Was that really all her mother could say?

'I'm sorry that I manipulated you, though I didn't realize it. I thought I was doing the right thing. You're wrong. You're right. I'm insecure. I'll try to do what will make you happy, but chances are I won't like it. I miss you.'

She sat there contemplating the e-mail for several minutes and then decided that she just wasn't quite ready to talk to her mother. Not about this, not about anything really. It might seem harsh, Rory could admit that even to herself, but this was something that she needed to do on her own, by herself, and she needed to do it without any input from her mom - good or bad.

From her words Rory couldn't be completely sure that Lorelai had truly seen the error of her ways. She was sure that she felt sorry, could even believe that Lorelai believed she wanted to try, but Rory didn't feel like she could reach out to her mother yet. It was too soon, she'd been hurt too badly and things with Logan were still undefined. Until she had a clear idea as to whether he was really going to give her a chance to make things right between them again, Rory wasn't sure that she could talk to her mom, or if she really wanted to.

With no further thought on the issue, Rory shut down the computer and got ready for bed. As she slid between the sheets she glanced at the clock one last time and banished the fleeting thought to call Logan before she went to sleep.

She missed hearing his voice before bed.

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Rory sat working on her computer, on an article for Hugo's online magazine, when her phone rang. Immediately, she snatched up the device, opened it and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" She said anxiously, hoping, praying that the caller was Logan.

It wasn't.

"Miss Gilmore?" a woman's voice asked her across the line.

"Yes." Rory responded pulling the phone away from her ear to check the caller id. "Yes, this is Rory Gilmore."

"Good day Miss Gilmore. My name is Linelle Campbell, I'm Marcus Andrews' assistant." The feminine voice told her. "Mr. Andrews would like to schedule an other interview with you next week sometime. I'm just working out his timetable now and was wondering if there was anytime on Tuesday that would work for you."

"Oh!" Rory managed to say as her mind went painfully blank. "Hhmmm?" She hummed as she glanced around the hotel room and snagged a bottle of water from the fridge beside the desk where she was working. She took a sip to moisten her throat and answered.

"Any time on Tuesday is good for me actually." She forced out and took another drink as her mouth was suddenly dry.

"Okay then, here, let's see. Would 10am be okay?" Linelle asked.

"Ten is great. Thank you Ms. Campbell." Rory replied.

"Wonderful. We'll see you than Ms. Gilmore." The assistant told her. "Have a nice day!"

"You too. Goodbye." Rory said then disconnected the call.

Marcus Andrews, Rory thought to herself after the call was over, is the Print Editor for The Bay Chronicle. He'd been one of the editor's that Tammy Harlin, the Editor-in-chief had snagged into her initial interview with the paper a week earlier. He was younger than the other editors and from everything that she'd since researched about the paper and it's major employees, Marcus was a man that had every intention of getting to the top of the news food chain. He was described as highly ambitious, brilliant and having amazing natural talent that he'd groomed with years of experience and his Stanford education. He was someone that Rory was anxious to get to know and would be ecstatic to work for and learn from.

Rory smiled to herself as she settled back at the computer, opened up the day planner that she had on the laptop and entered the appointment information in. A call back interview. Things were starting to look up.

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It was nearly three in the afternoon before Logan had a moment to himself to breath and even consider making a phone call. Just as he was reaching for the phone, his intercom beeped and his secretaries voice filled the room.

"There is someone here to see you Mr. Huntzberger." Cecilia said in that monotone voice she used when she was annoyed, angry or flustered in any way.

Logan flipped his appointment book open, looking to see if he'd missed an appointment. "I don't have any thing scheduled, do I?' He asked when he saw that his book showed some free time.

"No, sir. The gentleman doesn't have an appointment." Logan could hear the disapproval in her voice. It was a tone that he'd been raised on.

"Does he have a name?" Logan was sure that the secretary would have laid in to him, snapping at him for using sarcasm with her but she only continued in the same flat, and yet somehow expressive voice.

"It's Mr. Morgan again." Cecilia answered and Logan's grin spread quickly across his face.

"Send him in then Cecilia. And hold my calls for the next 45minutes please." He told her, happy that Finn had stopped by to see him. The door to his office opened, even as he finished giving his instructions to the woman. "Unless it's a Ms. Gilmore, than send it through. I've been waiting on that call."

Finn raised his eyebrows at Logan. Once his friend had disconnected the voice link to the secretary he chuckled. "And does the estimable Cecilia know who Ms. Gilmore is?"

"No, of course she doesn't." Logan answered with his own chuckle and roll of the eye. "But I'm sure if Rory calls, she'll give her name."

"You know, you could call her yourself." Finn pointed out.

"I am also aware of that." Logan retorted to Finn's not so subtle dig, that he knew that Logan hadn't called. "In fact, I was just about to do that when I was interrupted by Cecilia and her oh, so joyous proclamation that you'd decided to visit the grown up table today. And as soon as you leave, I am going to call her. She wanted to go to dinner tonight and I wanted to make sure that she didn't make any other plans, thinking that I'd ditched her."

Finn watched Logan during his rant and though he made faces at his best friend's tones, Finn was happy that Logan was going to call Rory. Happy that he wanted to go to dinner with her that night, enough that he was worried that she'd make other plans if she didn't hear form him soon. Happy to see the look of, well, happiness on Logan's face for the first time in a long time. When Logan finally finished, Finn stood again and started for the door.

"In that case," Finn said as he gripped the handle and pulled the door open. "I'll talk to you later. Or tomorrow."

"Finn." Logan laughed and he stood from his seat and came around the desk as Finn paused in the door way. "You don't have to go, it can wait a couple more minutes."

Scoffing, Finn replied. "It could, but it doesn't need to. I only stopped by in the first place, to tell you to call her. She's been antsy all week." Logan smiled at his words. "Just call her. I'll talk to you later." And he walked out of the office, pulling the door closed behind him.

Logan stared at the door where one of his oldest and best friends just disappeared. Finn had always been strange, and he'd always liked Rory, but he was truly acting strange with the whole situation.

Shrugging off the distraction, Logan settled back in his chair and picking up the phone, dialed the number for Rory's hotel and then asked to be connected to her room when the desk clerk prompted him. He rolled his shoulders while he listened to the phone ring. And ring. And ring.

Holy Hell. Logan muttered to himself. If it's not one thing it's another. Just as he was about to hang up the phone Rory came on to the line, winded and out of breath.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Still up for some dinner, Ace?" Logan asked with a smirk, even though she couldn't see it.

Her response was quick and exactly what he'd anticipated. "You know me. I can always eat."

"Are we still going to hit the Thai place that you found?" Logan inquired. While he waited for her voice again, Logan imagine that she was making that face that she always made when she was trying to decide what to eat. Apparently she'd found an other new restaurant that she wanted to try.

"Well, we could do that or I spotted this Italian place down on the water front. They're supposed to have really good manicotti, and you know that I like a good manicotti."

He smiled. "You pick and I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sure. Once I decide do you think I should make reservations? Never mind. You don't even know which places I'm talking about. I'll call, if it sounds like we'll need them, I'll make the reservations."

"Sounds like a plan." He replied.

"I'll see you at seven?" She asked and for the first time during the conversation, her tone became shy.

"Yes. See you in a few hours, Ace." Logan answered her and hung up the phone after he'd heard her farewell response.

In her hotel room Rory hung up the phone as a goofy, pleased smile spread across her face. He was going to go on a date with her. He was going to give her the chance to make things right. He hadn't actually said that, but there'd been something about the tone of his voice. the confidence in it maybe, that made her believe he would.

The day just kept getting better.

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Well there it is... A new chapter. I have started writing some of the next chapter but it is no where near finished right now. I do hope that it won't take to long, but I will make no promises as to when exactly it will be up. All I can promise, is that I will post it as soon as it is ready.

Thanks, and PLEASE review.

:) apalusa