The next morning Rory awoke to the sound of an alarm clock's obnoxious beeping. Burying her head beneath her pillow she groaned in protest. Having already been out of bed for nearly an hour Logan chuckled as he hit the snooze button on the alarm clock and chided, "Come on Ace; we've been playing this game for an hour. I thought we agreed to get up early today." Unintelligible groaning could be heard coming from under the pillow. Logan left the bedroom to fetch a large cup of coffee for his groggy fiancé. Upon returning to the bedroom he placed the coffee on the nightstand and jumped onto the bed.
"Logan," Rory whined.
"Rory," Logan replied in the same sulky voice Rory was employing, "We really need to get moving if we are going to stick to our schedule."
"I know," Rory groaned, "You should have thought about that last night when I wanted to go to sleep and you had other ideas."
Logan smirked at her and said, "I didn't hear any complaining last night."
"I didn't say that I didn't enjoy it," Rory said with a grin, "You just need to expect that I'll be tired the next morning if you won't let me get my sleep."
"Coffee's on the nightstand, Ace," Logan said as he got back up off the bed.
"Where are you going?" Rory asked.
"I've got 4 suitcases to take with me when we leave here. I was going to haul a couple of them to the car," Logan said.
"You're all packed?" Rory asked.
"Pretty much," Logan replied, "Besides clothes I didn't have much here. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Rory got out of bed and took a long drink of her coffee. She rummaged through her suitcase and selected an outfit for the day. Entering the bathroom she turned the shower on and let the water warm up. Logan was right; they did have a busy day ahead of them. First, they needed to visit the management office for the apartment complex. There Logan needed to sign some papers to break his lease and turn in his keys. Rory still had a whole list of sights she wanted to see before they left London; which meant they only had 11 hours left to see them. Logan and Rory had decided to squeeze Salzburg, Austria and Venice, Italy into their trip. Tonight they were getting on a train to Salzburg. Rory quickly showered and dressed. She could hear Logan flipping through channels on the television as she applied her make-up. She dried her hair, styled it and quickly packed everything back into her suitcase.
She hauled her suitcase to the front door and announced, "I'm ready, let's go." Rory glanced around and said, "You said you're all packed but what about this coffee pot and the television, they aren't yours?"
"No, this is a pre-furnished apartment. It is set up specifically for people like me. All the little necessities are already here, I just bring my personal effects. It's kind of like a hotel I guess," Logan explained.
"Nifty!" Rory said, "You do realize that you're going to have to feed me soon right?"
Logan laughed as he picked up his remaining suitcases and opened the front door, "Of course, Ace. We'll bring our bags to the car, then we'll visit the management office and finally we'll stop somewhere and eat breakfast and plan our sight-seeing schedule for the day."
Rory and Logan's morning had been a whirlwind of sightseeing. They were trying to squeeze as many sights in as they possibly could. It was early afternoon and the couple had already seen Big Ben, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. Rory's list still included more sights that it was going to be possible for them to see before they need to board their train this evening. The couple stopped for lunch and as they ate they prioritized the rest of the sights on her list.
"So what all is left Ace?" Logan asked.
"Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court and Stratford-Upon-Avon," Rory listed.
"Which sight is most important for you to see today?" Logan asked.
"That is a tough choice but I'm going to have to say that Stratford-Upon-Avon is probably my number one pick, but Madame Tussaud's is a close second" Rory said.
"Okay, here is what I suggest," Logan said, "We have about 5 hours until we have to catch our train to Salzburg. Stratford-Upon-Avon is outside of London and we'd have to take a train to get there and that would eat up valuable time. I know it is your number one pick but can we save it until the day we fly back to Hartford from here?"
"I can wait, until then," Rory said.
"We should be able to squeeze everything else in if we just save Shakespeare's birthplace until then. Let's do Madame Tussaud's first so that we're sure to have enough time to enjoy it. We can always do a really quick stop at Kensington Palace and Hampton Court if we need to and still do them justice," Logan said.
"Sound like a plan," Rory agreed.
Logan and Rory ended up spending close to four hours at Madame Tussaud's.
"That was amazing," Rory gushed, "They were so life-like."
"What was your favorite?" Logan asked.
"Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly. What was your favorite?" Rory asked.
"I liked the interactive celebrities. Making J-Lo blush was cool," Logan said with a smirk.
"Yeah, what did you say to her anyway," Rory asked.
"That is my secret," Logan replied.
Looking at her watch Rory exclaimed, "We only have an hour until we have to catch our train; how did that happen?"
"Time flies when you're having fun," Logan replied, "Can we check out Kensington Palace and Hampton Court at a later date too?"
"I supposed," Rory sighed.
"I'm sorry Ace," Logan said, wrapping an arm around her, "We just tried to squeeze too much in."
"That's okay. Besides, it's not like we won't be back," Rory said.
"That's right, Ace; I'll always take you where ever you want to go," Logan said, "Right now I'm hoping you want to go to the car rental place so I can return my car."
"Sound great," Rory said.
The couple returned the car that Logan had been renting through out his stay in London. The car rental company offered a free shuttle service to the train station or the airport that Logan and Rory took advantage of. Arriving at the train station the couple tracked down a porter to help them stow their luggage; then they boarded the train. Logan had reserved them a unit in a sleeper car for their trip to Salzburg. It would be an 11 hour trip including about an hour stop in Paris. They could have flown from London to Austria but Rory had once told Logan that someday she wanted to travel somewhere by train. The couple also had a lot to discuss for their return to Hartford and their meeting with his parents. This might present a good opportunity to decide some things.
Rory and Logan settled themselves in their car until the train left from the station. Once the train was underway they planned to head toward the dinning car to have dinner. Logan watched in amusement as Rory explored their unit. Finally she settled herself on the seat opposite Logan and said, "I feel like Harry Potter!"
"Who now?" Logan asked.
"You don't know who Harry Potter is?" Rory asked in surprise.
"Never heard of him; should I have?" Logan replied.
"I think so, yes." Rory said.
"Who is he then?" Logan asked.
"Harry Potter is a wizard who attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Rory said as if this explained everything." Seeing that Logan looked completely perplexed she added, "He is the main character in the Harry Potter books."
"Hmmmm; are they good?" Logan asked.
"They are great!" Rory exclaimed, "I own them all, I will lend them to you."
The train lurched to a start and started down the tracks. Rory rose from her seat and waved to the people on the platform as they pulled out of the station.
"Did you know them?" Logan asked sarcastically.
"No," Rory said and smiled, "Let's go have dinner."
The couple enjoyed watching the scenery flash by as they ate their dinner in the dinning car. During dessert Logan warned Rory that he wanted to discuss the meeting with their parents when they returned to their unit. Rory agreed but quickly became subdued. When they returned to their unit Logan folded down the seats on each wall turning them into beds. Logan settled on one and Rory on the other. Logan took a notebook out of his bag and faced Rory.
"You're taking notes?" Rory asked.
"I want to be sure that I don't forget any of our demands when we meet with them," Logan said.
"Okay, where do we begin?" Rory asked.
"Well, first…where are we going to live when you finish college?" Logan asked.
"I don't know," Rory said, "Why is that important."
"I thought if we knew we could say in our list that this is where we plan to live and I would demand that my job with the company be near that city," Logan explained.
"I was kind of thinking that we could live halfway between Hartford and New York. Like in New Haven or Bridgeport," Rory said.
"That sounds good," Logan said.
"Good, I'm glad we agree," Rory said.
"There are going to be a lot of conditions that revolve around my return as the heir to the Huntzberger media conglomerate but my most important one is this," Logan said as he began to write, "Rory and Logan plan to live somewhere between Hartford and New York. Logan's permanent job must be located in either Hartford or New York. Logan can go on assignment to other locations but cannot be away from his wife for more than 2 weeks a time."
"Two weeks!" Rory exclaimed.
"Should I change it to one week?" Logan asked.
"Yes, please do," Rory responded.
"Okay, done. What other conditions do we have?" Logan asked.
"Well, I have a few," Rory said, "For starters I want to plan my own wedding. I do not want a high society wedding where the majority of the people there were invited because they are in business with your father or my grandfather. I want a small, personal wedding."
"Okay," Logan said scribbling on his legal pad, "Done, next."
"Next, I think we can fully expect that my grandparents if not your parents will try and buy us a house as a wedding gift. I would prefer to buy our own house. Or, if they absolutely insist on buying us a house, we need to be involved in the process and able to make the final decision," Rory said.
"Good one, Ace," Logan said, grinning, "Isn't this kind of fun?"
Rory smiled back at him and said, "It's not the most fun I've ever had, but yeah it is kind of nice to feel like we are taking some control of our future."
"Setting this aside for a minute," Logan said, "When are we going to get married?"
"I don't know, when do you want to get married," Rory asked.
"Honestly," Logan began, "I want to get married to you as soon as possible. If I thought that you would agree to elope, we would probably already be married,"
Rory looked surprised and said, "Whoever said you feared commitment had no idea what they were talking about."
Logan got up from his bed and joined Rory on hers. Pulling her close to him he kissed her and whispered, "I can't wait until I can call you my wife."
Rory kissed him back and replied, "I can't wait either. But admit to me that part of you wants to get married quickly to prove to your parents that you are completely serious about this."
"A little tiny bit; but in no way does that take away from the fact that I am just ready to be with you forever," Logan said.
The couple kissed some more until Logan broke away and said, "So, when are we getting married?"
"Well, it's mid-July now. I start school at the end of August. I don't want a big wedding and my Mom will be a huge help. I think we can still have an outdoor wedding if we get married at the end of September," Rory said.
Logan pulled his Blackberry out of his pocket and scrolled to the calendar. "How about Saturday, September 29th?"
"Sounds perfect," Rory said.
"Sounds like you should call your Mom and start planning we're getting married in just over two months from now!" Logan said excitedly.
"Not yet," Rory said brazenly as she pulled him back toward her on the small bed.
Author's Note: Please review—I love to hear how I am doing or if anyone has any good ideas for me to incorporate into my story. Thanks!