Please allow me to apologise, I accidently posted the wrong version of chapter 10, what is below is the correct version. I apologise to everyone particularly my beta team for the mix up, your contribution as all ways is invaluable.

On another note: Words fail me at the amazing reviews that I have received in the three weeks since posting chapter 9. Whilst many of you do not take the time to post with every chapter, (I'm just as guilty of this as everyone else,) it is very comforting to know that when I make the call for reviews, not only did you answer, but you answered with incredibly articulate and thoughtful reviews. Thank you all for taking the time to read and review. You truly are motivation for continuing to write.

The heavy rain had begun to peter out to a mere mist by the time they pulled up behind Lorelai's Jeep in the Gilmore's driveway. The short drive over had been quiet.

"So, you're sure you're up for doing this again?" Logan looked at Rory closely; he was worried. The doctor had said that her blood pressure was a little higher than he would have liked it to be, but had gone on to say that it was nothing to worry about, just that Rory should try not to get too stressed out. Tonight was going directly against what the doctor had ordered.

"No, I don't want to do this again, but it's better that we get this over and done with."

"Okay, but if it gets to be too much we should leave. Just say the word and we're out of there." What Logan left unsaid was that if he felt it was too stressful he would walk out the door and take Rory with him.

The silence was broken by the sound of the car's door at the passenger side opening. "My babies!" Lorelai half dived into the car, wrapping her arms around her daughter and holding her tight. The action was awkward for both, Rory was being strangled by her seat belt and Lorelai was bent in, too. Despite all of this, there was nowhere else either Gilmore would rather be.

Rory loved the feeling of being back in her Mom's arms; there was just something incredibly comforting about being held by her Mom. She just sank into the hug and let go of all her worries and concerns. Rory found it reassuring that her mother was still one of her refuges during a storm. She felt grateful that she could use her Mom as an emotional support, giving Logan a break. She knew he needed one. Other than when they were at the Huntzberger's, Logan had been so calm since finding out about the pregnancy. Rory believed her Mom was right – Logan's real reaction to all of what was happening was building up. She just hoped she would be strong enough to give Logan the same support he had been giving her.

Rory was stirred out from her deep thoughts by the feeling of mist spraying on her face; she opened her eyes and realized what a ridiculous position she and her mother were in. "Mom, your ass is getting wet."

"Oh! Please, the only person who cares about my ass is Luke and he's not here."

Logan sat back and watched the interaction between mother and daughter. He hoped the family he was going to have with Rory would be that close. He hoped that no matter how old their kids would be, they would always be comfortable with them. The thought of more children didn't frighten Logan; in fact, he hoped that the child they were expecting would be the first of two or three children that he and Rory would have together. Logan was surprised at how easily he found himself settling into the role of being a family guy. Before Rory, a family of his own was something he always associated with obligation – passing on the Huntzberger name. Rory coming into his life caused Logan to completely re-evaluate his concept of love and what a family could and should be.

Logan had no idea how Rory felt about his dream to have more children in the future. There just never seemed to be a right time to bring the subject up, and it was just frustrating for Logan. Here was a girl who loved to plan and make lists and yet she seemed unwilling to discuss their future.

"Mom, you can let go now."

Lorelai shook her head, her voice muffled by the headrest. "No! Omar isn't ready yet."

Rory withdrew her arms from around her mother. "Well, if we don't move soon, Grandma and Grandpa are going to come out and get us."

"Please, Emily wouldn't want to get her hair wet."

"Well, I think that they could scrounge up an umbrella or two in that fancy shmanshy house of theirs." Rory looked at Logan for help. She needed to get out of the car, now, or she may not make it inside at all. Logan just looked at Rory and shrugged, the look very much said, 'She's your mother.'

"Just a few more minutes."

"No." Rory pulled away from her Mom as much as she could in the confined space of the car. Lorelai felt Rory's body stiffen; she pulled back a little and could see the fear in her daughter's eyes. Lorelai was taken aback by the fearful look and thought that maybe she had been the cause of it. She had been joking and building up this evening to be Armageddon since she found out Rory was pregnant. Lorelai was now regretting it.

"Rory, my baby, it's not going to be that bad."

"It will. They will be horrible and it's entirely my fault." Rory's face dropped. She was on the brink of tears.

Logan ran his hand through his hair, leaned his head back and groaned. He truly hated his parents and the way they could make Rory feel worthless. He was used to them making him feel that way, it was the price he had to pay for the privileges he had in life. Rory shouldn't have to pay as well but, unfortunately, there was no way Logan could keep Rory from them. Logan may have walked away from the family business but he would never be able to walk away from who his family was.

Lorelai glanced at Logan and could tell by his body language that their visit at the Huntzberger's had been as bad as expected, if not worse.

"Rory, look at me." Lorelai drew back and crouched down. "This isn't going to turn out like it did for me. Your grandparents love you, they will be shocked at first, but they will get over it. You hooked yourself a Huntzberger… Emily will forgive anything in light of that."

Rory knew that her Grandmother's elation at her 'hooking a Huntzberger' would only last until Rory confessed that the wedding would not occur until after she had given birth. "And Grandpa?"

Lorelai smiled at her daughter reassuringly, tucking a strand of hair behind Rory's ear in the process.

"And Grandpa will love his great grandchild as much as he loves you. Rory, you're older than I was, you finished school and you're getting married. You're doing everything I was supposed to do then." Lorelai couldn't help but feel melancholy; as much as she enjoyed rebelling against her parents, she always felt disappointed in herself that she couldn't be the daughter that they had wanted.

"Rory, listen to your Mom." Logan placed his hand on Rory's thigh, "I'm sorry that my parents were so bad… please, don't take what they said earlier in there to your grandparents' house. Don't let them poison our time with your grandparents tonight. Your grandparents actually care about you. We'll work this out, I promise." Logan knew he shouldn't be making a promise that he might not be able to keep, but he truly wanted to believe that together he and Rory could and would achieve anything and everything because together they were more of a force to be reckoned with than when apart. Or at least they would be if only Rory would let him in.

Rory looked at Logan. His face never betrayed that he was starting to doubt her; he looked so calm and confident. Logan had never broken a promise to Rory; she knew that she was being naive but she truly believed that he never would. "Okay, get me in that house now. The longer I sit here the more my courage floats away."

Lorelai gave Rory a smile of encouragement, and tapped her on the knee, "Just burp a few times… that will solve the floating problem."

On that lighthearted note, Lorelai stood up and skipped to the front door.

"Am I supposed to get the burping comment?" Considering how serious the conversation had been just moments before, Logan had no idea how the release of digestive gases was relevant. Logan hoped that Rory and Lorelai would never stop being a mystery to him.

"Well, since you've seen Willy Wonka you should." Rory watched the door to see her Mom bouncing around. "I think this is the happiest that I've seen my Mom when going into that house since the time she had to bail Grandma out from jail."

Logan looked up to see Lorelai making her way into the house. "Why is she so happy?"

"Because for once she won't be the one who is going to give Adolph a coronary."

Logan had no idea what to say to that, so he stuck with something relatively safe. "Come on, Ace, they're waving at us to come in." Rory looked up to see her grandmother and Mom standing inside the foyer, waving at them.

Rory and Logan made a dash to the front door. The Gilmore's front door was much closer to the driveway compared to the Huntzberger's, which meant that they were hardly wet at all by the time they made it inside. They took their coats off and handed them to the waiting maid.

"Rory, how wonderful to see you… I'm so happy." Emily pulled Rory into a backbreaking hug.

"Wow! With a greeting like that I can tell you're happy." Rory deliberately avoided saying that it was good to see her grandmother; because of the circumstances, Rory wished that she could be on another continent when she relayed their news.

Emily looked around and realized for the first time that Richard was absent from the family reunion. Emily had grown sick of Richard's attitude since the phone call from Rory announcing that she would be coming home and that she would be bringing Logan with her. Emily understood Richard's animosity towards Logan; it's not like she had been thrilled when Logan had broken Rory's heart, but if Rory could find a way to forgive Logan, who was she to hold a grudge?

"Richard, come in here and greet our granddaughter and her guest, Logan."

"I'm making the drinks, Emily… I can greet them just as appropriately when I'm done."

"But they won't have just entered our home."

"Well, when I greet them it will have been when they have just entered our living room. This way they will have two greetings, making them very special… you know." Richard's voice dripped with sarcasm. It was very apparent that he was not as happy as Emily welcoming their guests.

Emily sent her husband a glare through the wall and turned to Logan, smiling as if she was not annoyed at her husband. "Logan, how pleasant to see you again." Emily leaned in and gave Logan a light squeeze on the shoulders and a fake kiss on the side.

Logan was the epitome of good manners, returned the greeting, "It's good to see you again, Emily."

Emily ushered the trio inside to where Richard was.

Richard stepped away from the drinks cart and smiled when he saw Rory approach him. Rory noticed Richard's eyes glanced to Logan with a less than pleasant look. Rory ignored the look and hugged her grandfather. There was just something amazingly secure in being held in her grandfather's arms. She relished the sensation, unsure of when she would be able to feel it again. Rory was fearful her grandfather would not be able to forgive her for the mistakes that she had made.

Richard released his hold on Rory and stepped up and offered Logan his hand. When Logan accepted the handshake, Richard couldn't resist the temptation to squeeze his hand just a little too hard. As much as he liked Logan, he would always be the boy who was having sex with his granddaughter. The boy who had left her stranded on what was meant to be the happiest day of her life thus far – her graduation from Yale.

Logan, who was used to businessmen's stand over tactics, smiled at the moment and squeezed back the elder man's hand just as hard. "Logan, my boy, I've just gotten a new bottle of scotch in… would you like to help me break it in." Richard's voice was pleasant; it did not give away Richard's true feelings for Logan.

Logan, who had originally intended to stay dry for the night decided that a little Dutch courage was needed. "You know me, Richard… I can't turn down good scotch."

Richard released his grip on Logan's hand with the pretense of fixing Logan's drink. In reality, Richard used the moment to flex his now aching hand. Richard was reluctant to give Logan any points on the respect scale – men much older than Logan hadn't had the guts to grip his hand so tightly.

Emily, having missed the exchange between Richard and Logan, smiled pleasantly at the room and gestured for everyone to take a seat. Emily was about to take her own seat when she realized that Lorelai was still wearing her coat. "Lorelai, take off your jacket."

"No, thanks, Mom… I'm cold."

"Lorelai, it may be raining but it's eighty-two degrees in here."

"Mom, I told you I'm cold. Would you rather I freeze?"

"You're sweating." Emily looked skeptically at Lorelai's flushed face.

"Well, I must be coming down with a fever." Lorelai wrapped her arms around herself, rubbed her arms as if for warmth and pretended to shiver. "I feel cold. Brrr."

Emily gave a very disapproving look, and then turned to Rory and Logan who were seated on the love seat. "Fine, suit yourself. I have precious little time with my granddaughter and I am not going to spend that time arguing with you about a silly coat."

After handing Logan his scotch, Richard addressed the Lorelais, "Lorelai, Rory… I've made martinis."

"No, thanks, Grandpa… could I just have a soda?" Rory was thankful that turning down alcohol was not as thought provoking as when she had to turn down coffee.

"Right you are… Lorelai?"

"I'll have her share."

Once everyone was seated with drinks, the small, useless chitchat began. Richard quizzed Logan on his new business venture and Rory filled in the details of life on the campaign trail. Emily, all throughout the conversation, would send beaming looks at Logan and Rory. Emily's heart had been filled with joy since Rory's phone call that she was coming home with Logan for a couple of days and that they had some important news to share. Emily had been sure that Rory was going to announce that she had come to her senses and accepted Logan's proposal. Emily had been so disappointed when Rory had turned down Logan's proposal; she didn't understand why Rory had said no. Logan was a perfect match for Rory. Considering Rory's passion for the written word, the fact that he came from a newspaper and publishing background was just too perfect. And, on top of that, he was exceptionally talented, good looking and charming and very well off. However, Emily's hopes of an engagement had been shattered when Rory entered the house with a naked left-hand ring finger.

Emily took a moment to consider the situation: clearly an engagement announcement was not in the cards for tonight. Obviously the couple had reconciled and perhaps that was the reason why Rory called to request a family dinner, but, to Emily, dinner seemed a little excessive to announce that they had reconciled. Nevertheless, she was still delighted to see Rory under any circumstances, and besides, Rory and Logan dating again provided some hope that marriage would be in the cards down the road.

Emily gave up on her rambling thoughts. If she wanted to know what was going on she would just have to ask, and never having been a patient woman, she skipped any further pleasantries and brought up the topic that everyone was very clearly avoiding. "So, Rory, when you called you said that you and Logan had an announcement to make?"

Emily's eyes glanced once again to Rory's left hand, 'hmmm no ring,' she had been so sure that she was going to see a ring on Rory's finger.

Rory and Logan shared a nervous look; Lorelai had almost fallen off her seat in an attempt to get her camera phone and a bag of popcorn out of her coat pockets. She couldn't believe that the show was going to start before dinner.

Emily looked at Lorelai in horror, "Lorelai, what are you doing?"

"Why do I do any of my crazy things?"

"Because you get some kind of sick pleasure out of it?"

"Darn right!" Lorelai shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth and readied her camera phone.

Emily turned away from Lorelai and gave Rory her full attention. "Rory, dear, just ignore your mother… if you pay attention to her, you'll only be encouraging her."

Rory looked around, she had hoped to build up some courage for this moment, but it seemed that she was doomed to make the announcement without having laid any prep work. Rory had no idea what kind of prep work she needed, so maybe the band-aid method was the only way to get their news out and over with.

"Well, Grandma, Grandpa." Rory took a final sip of her drink and placed it on the coffee table next to Logan's now empty glass of scotch. "We have something very important to tell you… Logan and I are engaged."

"Oh! Rory, Logan… that's wonderful." Emily smiled broadly at the news. She was about to rush out of her seat when Rory held up her hand, gesturing for Emily to stay seated. Hugging distance was not going to be a safe distance.

Richard just sat there and made a dissatisfied humph, he had been expecting news like this. He thought to himself that at least Rory wasn't announcing that she was pregnant.

"Wait, Grandma, I'm not finished. We are engaged and ahhh, we are going to have a baby."

Both Richard and Emily just sat in stunned silence for a moment. They both had to process the news which dumbfounded both of them, and then, Emily spoke. "Well, at least one Lorelai can do the right thing." Emily spared a pointed look at her daughter who was still happily munching away on her popcorn.

Rory, not wanting her mother to become her whipping girl, spoke up, "Leave Mom out of this. She did what was right for her. This is what's right for us."

"Well, how far along are you?" Emily gave Rory's stomach a critical look.

Rory was reluctant to answer this question. How far along she was had been the only real unexpected information they learned from the doctor's appointment earlier that day. Rory had first feared that she was pregnant just a few days into her new job. She had felt overwhelmingly tired all the time for no apparent reason. At first she had tried to simply pass her symptoms off as the pressure of starting a new job and the loss of Logan, but as time went on she had known that those reasons were just fanciful lies that she was telling herself.

Rory looked down at her hand that was still clutching Logan's, "About seven weeks."

Seven weeks. Emily was astonished that Rory was so far along. That meant Rory had been pregnant when she had graduated. Emily couldn't help but think she had done something wrong that not even Rory could graduate from school without getting pregnant.

"Well, then we will have to get everything organized. It will be an effort but I think we can arrange the wedding before you start to show."

The idea of a shotgun wedding struck fear into Rory's heart; she looked from her and Logan's linked hands to the disappointed eyes of her Grandmother. "Ahh… Grandma, we're not planning on getting married until after the baby is born."

"What?"

"Well, Logan and I don't see the need to rush. It's just another pressure on top of everything."

Emily started to look distressed, "Rory, that's not the way things are done. And, Logan," Emily turned to Logan for the first time since the announcement of the shocking news, "Shame on you… asking a girl to marry you and not giving her a ring."

Rory jumped to Logan's defense before he could speak. "I have a ring." Rory pulled out her necklace which was hidden by her shirt. "Here, the doctor said that your hands can swell during pregnancy. I didn't want to have the ring cut off when it gets stuck to my swelling finger, so I'm wearing it in a chain around my neck."

For the first time since all the drama had started, Lorelai made a comment, "Hey, it's true. I forgot about that. Everyone tells you about how your feet and ankles swell up, but no one tells you about the hands. Towards the end of my pregnancy, it looked like I had baseball gloves for hands."

"Lorelai, you are not helping!" Emily sounded exasperated.

"I didn't know I was supposed to. Not to mention I have no idea how I could be of any help in this situation."

"You should be encouraging her to do the right thing."

"I am encouraging her to do the right thing for her."

Emily gave up on the notion that Lorelai would be of any help in convincing Rory that delaying the wedding was not acceptable, Emily didn't know why she thought that Lorelai would be of any help in this situation. Emily turned back to Rory who was still fidgeting with the ring that hung from a chain around her neck.

"Well, put it on so I can have the full effect." Emily gestured to the ring.

Under the scrutiny of her grandmother's glare, Rory's hands started to shake, her hands fumbled with the dainty clasp. Seeing her hand tremble, Logan moved in closer to undo the clasp. He slid the ring off the chain and held Rory's hand in his.

The room went quiet as everybody saw the look on the young lovers' faces – it was an intimate moment and they all felt like they had intruded on it. Just like the first time that Logan had slid the ring on Rory's finger, he felt so sure that he was supposed to be with Rory. Once the ring was safely in place, Logan gently cupped Rory's face and smiled, leaned in and kissed her. Logan had only intended the kiss to be a simple brushing of the lips, but Rory, having forgotten that they were not alone, deepened the kiss. It was only in moments like this that Logan could feel how sure and confident Rory was about them and that puzzled him. He was sure of them all the time and yet Rory only seemed to have fleeting moments of certainty.

Suddenly Richard, who had yet to speak a word, stood up and marched passing the lip-locked couple. The movement startled Logan and Rory, breaking their kiss.

"Richard, where are you going?" Emily watched her husband storm up the stairs.

Richard paused on the landing and looked back into the living room. "I'm going to kill him. That's what I'm going to do. It's what I should have done when she was still under this roof." Richard gave Logan a seething look that would cause even the bravest of men to flinch.

"Richard! No!" Emily jumped out of her chair and took off after him.

"I got the best photo of my mother's face." Lorelai shuffled through the photos that she had taken in the last ten minutes, seemingly oblivious to the ordeal that Rory and Logan were going through. "She looks like she's laying an egg.'

"Do I want to know where he is going?" Logan nervously looked around.

Lorelai stopped looking at the pictures she took with her phone and saw the anguish on the young couple's faces. She put on her best hick accent and stated, "Daddy gonna get his huntin' rifle."

"What!" Rory stood up with her hand still clutching Logan's.

"It is okay," Lorelai wondered why her sense of humor was never appreciated at times like this.

"He'll make it into the gun room, Emily will calm him down and then he will march downstairs, scowl at Logan, and then, lock himself in his office for an hour, and then, he will come out declaring that he has the solution."

Rory chewed her lower lip in worry, wondering which would be the safest escape route from the house. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because Dad did it three times to Christopher." Lorelai stood up and started to unbutton her coat. "Thank god I can take this off… I'm roasting." Lorelai pulled off her coat to reveal a hot pink T-shirt with rhinestones – the rhinestone formed the image of a large erect penis with two well-proportioned balls.

Rory started laughing. Logan's mouth dropped open. Rory had told him the story of the first time that Lorelai had worn this particular T-shirt to dinner; he could not believe that Lorelai would actually wear such an extremely scandalous top to her parents' home until he saw it with his own eyes. Logan leaned to Rory and whispered, "Is your mother insane?" His words went unnoticed by Lorelai who was still entertaining herself with the photos that she had taken so far.

"Nope, she is just making it easier for us. She has given Emily something else to complain about."

Rory started laughing again; she felt so good to be laughing, releasing some of the bottled-up tension and stress of the evening. Her laughter, however, was stopped by the sound of Richard storming down the stairs. He paused at the landing and glared at Rory and Logan. It seemed that he now placed the blame for the whole mess on both of their shoulders. He then stomped off into his study, slamming the door behind him.

Emily, who had followed Richard downstairs, was clearly embarrassed by his behavior. She looked around with no doubt about making some kind of apology for Richard's outburst when she noticed what Lorelai had been wearing under her jacket. "Lorelai! I thought I told you to destroy that T-shirt."

"Nope. You said that I could never wear it in your presence again at a family dinner unless the subject matter was appropriate."

"I would hardly deem this," Emily gestured to Rory and Logan, "appropriate."

"Well, I think that it's incredibly appropriate, because without one of these," Lorelai pointed to the rhinestone phallus. "You cannot have a baby." After a moment of thought Lorelai added, "Well, you can have a baby without one of these but where's the fun in that?"

Rory could barely hide her smile; she knew that as good as Lorelai's talking abilities were, there was no way that her Grandma would allow her mother to wear the T-shirt for the rest of the night. Rory decided to give her mother's cause a hand. "You know, Grandma, you should just ignore your daughter… if you pay attention to her, you'll only be encouraging her." Rory gave her most demure look as she repeated her Grandmother's words from earlier.

Emily, being a smart woman, recognized a losing battle and decided to let the matter slide.