AATT- The Lunch

Rory laid her head on Logan's chest still tucked away in their bungalow before she felt the pillow beneath her start to move to check his phone and she knew what was coming. "Hey, you, we have to get up." Logan nudged her and she buried herself further into his chest. It was too early and she was in no mood to get the day started even though it had already been started long ago, she knew they had to get up and she just wasn't ready for it.

"I don't want to, it's the day after we got married, who decided to have a luncheon the very next day, shouldn't people know we want our privacy?" She whined as she thought about getting up and facing the group that were all going to be in the Dragonfly for their after-wedding lunch.

"Um, babe, it was your idea, you said that it would be good for all the family to get together since they were finally one unit or something about unity. I don't know, you talked a lot about it and eventually I had to tune you out." He smiled down at her as he heard her scoff. "Personally, I think we should avoid putting them all together in the same room ever, especially after the faux paus my mother had yesterday."

"Let's not remind me of that." She groaned, she really didn't want to remember the fact that her new mother-in-law was so against this marriage, this marriage that she felt so incredibly content and happy with, and just the remembrance of the black outfit made Rory feel sick to her stomach and sad. Logan watched her face fall and felt awful for bringing it up, however, where Rory felt sadness at the choice his mother made Logan just felt anger and was fully prepared to let his feelings be known to his mother in the coming hours.

"You're right, sorry. What do you say you join me in the shower and then we deal with this lunch and then head back home and spend the next few days completely disconnected from the whole world and having a small honeymoon before our actual honeymoon in Greece?" He asked, even though he planned on it despite whatever excuse she may come up with in response, however to his surprise she agreed.

"That all sounds great, except the shower, I figured I would go see Colin and Finn, see how Colin is doing, maybe make him squirm a little bit." She smirked at Logan, she had wanted to talk to Colin before they were around all of the guests from the night before, and the way he kept blowing up her phone she figured it would be easiest to just check on him in his room.

Logan looked down at her in shock. "I'm sorry, you're telling your newly minted husband that you'd rather forgo a shower with him to go see his best friends?" He scoffed as her smile grew wider. "I am offended, I am appalled, I am heartbroken."

"You are a thesaurus apparently." She tried to have a deadpan delivery, but she couldn't stop smiling at him. "And boy do I love hearing you call yourself my husband."

"That doesn't have to be a permanent title if you keep leaving me for Colin and Finn."

"Oh, calm down, I'm going to go talk to them because Colin seems really sorry and I want to talk to him, plus I want to make sure he's doing okay after the hell that this week has been for him. I feel bad that our wedding landed on this weekend for him."

"Fine, but I do get at least one dirty shower with you on our honeymoon, right?"

"Oh, you'll get so many you'll be bored by having me in the shower after Greece I promise you." She smiled as she climbed out of the bed and threw on the sweater and leggings she had chosen to wear for today as she made her way out the door and onto the snow-covered grounds of her mom's inn. She could see the remnants of the wedding that had just taken place there just last night, her wedding. Sometimes it didn't even feel real, the fact that she was married, again. The fact that she felt like her life restarted, the fact that she was now having a baby despite the fact that she had been pretty ambivalent to the idea for as long as she could remember. Suddenly she saw a movement in the decorations, and she smiled when she saw who it was.

"Decided to return to the scene of the crime?" She couldn't help but smile.

"Oh god, Rory. I'm so happy to see you. I'm so sorry about everything, I'm so sorry about the fact that I made the stupid toast, I'm sorry about the fact that I called you a bitch, I'm sorry Fucking Finn had to be left in charge of me, and in true Finn fashion, didn't. I'm just really sorry." Colin pleaded when he saw who it was.

"Col, your wife left you this week, and still you stood up in front of a bunch of people you don't know, in a town that could fit in a FedEx envelope, just to be there for your best friend. You have nothing to apologize for, and honestly, because Finn was responsible for you, I didn't have any horrific reenactments from Finn so I should be thanking you. I won't, but I should. Colin, you didn't do anything wrong, and I'm sorry about all of the shit you dealt with this week. With that in mind, since you'll need a place to stay, do you think you could stay at the house when we leave? It'll be two weeks and you can take one of the guest rooms while you find a new place."

"You sure? I can stay with Finn."

"I think for the sake of everyone in that building I'm going to say you're fine to stay at our place. Plus, you're always welcome there." She smiled at him. "Just remind me to give you a key before we leave, okay?" Suddenly Colin's face looked even more ashamed than it did earlier. "You and Finn already have keys, don't you?" When he didn't answer and just hid his head she scoffed. "I thought we changed the locks!"

"You did, but Logan got us in touch with a very powerful locksmith and…"

"You know what, it's best that I don't know. And speaking of Logan, I should probably get back, I'll see you at the lunch in an hour." She turned to leave, and she made it about 15 feet before Colin called out to her and she turned back to look at him.

Colin walked to where she was and stopped a few feet short. "You know, at Yale we really liked you, thought you'd break Logan, I mean he did like you, quietly, but he did. We always thought something would happen and then it seemed like you just kind of stopped coming around and all was fine, we didn't hear your name anymore and we didn't think anything of it. But I remember after your very first date with him back in New York he called me and couldn't stop talking about you and then when we saw you the night after your second date, I knew he was a goner, but I'll never forget what he told me that night, you were distracted with a conversation with Finn and he barely nudged me and said 'Can you believe I get a second chance with her? Who would've thought I'd ever get that lucky.'" Colin stopped for a few minutes and smiled. "I know you guys have had some fights like everyone else, I know you guys took a while to get here, but just know that there hasn't been a single moment he has taken for granted. It seems like whenever he looks at you, he can't believe it. I just wanted to say thank you for making him that happy and giving him his second chance."

"There's nothing to thank me for, he think I don't get how lucky I am? You think I didn't want him back at Yale? Trust me, that wasn't a one-way street between the two of us. I almost asked him out more times than I can count, but never got the courage, so this is just as much my second chance as it is, his."

"Well, you make it seem like everyone gets the chance to find that. I guess, that should have been my toast last night, huh?"

"Much better than hoping I don't turn into a horrid bitch." She winked at Colin and then walked away back to her bungalow with Logan. She had planned to join him in the shower but stopped short when she heard the music filtering through the door. Covering her mouth to not let the laugh escape and alert Logan to the fact that she was back she decided to wait until she heard the music and shower stop and she opened and closed the door, pretending to just arrive as she made her way into the bathroom. "Hi husband!"

"Hey you." He smiled as he wrapped the towel around his waist. "You missed a hell of a shower, you know."

Rory stifled a laugh as she smiled at him. "I know but like I promised earlier, so many in Greece you'll start kicking me out."

"Never going to happen, in fact, it's a rule. If you ever feel like getting in the shower with me, just hop on in. Even if I'm in a rush and I'm supposed to be going to work, join me and I will gladly be late."

"Oh, that's cute in theory but I've seen you stressed about being late for work and no way am I getting in the way of that tornado, but any other time, I will keep your new rule in mind. Now, you ready to go?"

"Dressed like this?" He motioned down to the towel and nothing else he was wearing.

"Hey, if your mom got away with the all black, I think you can pull off the shirtless 'Eligible Men of New York' calendar look." She openly and exaggeratedly checked him out.

"I'm not so eligible though." He smiled, pulling her closer to him. "And on the wardrobe discussion, it's cold and this is drafty, so I think I'm going to go put on a sweater, and you know, actual pants."

"Fine, suit yourself. It doesn't mean I won't live in my fantasy world."

"You always do." He winked at her as he walked into the room and to the closet that was holding his clothes, pulling out a grey chunky sweater and dark jeans.

"Wear sexy little reading glasses and I swear you're every fantasy I've ever had." She said as she walked into the room he was in. It wasn't until he turned around and looked at her did he realize his sweater almost perfectly matched hers and the dark wash of his jeans looked close to the dark leggings she was wearing as well.

"Are you always this openly sexual or is it the pregnancy, because if it's the pregnancy, we're getting you knocked up as soon as this one is out."

"Oh look, all sexual urges are gone, let's go." She smiled at him as she passed him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Hey, how did things go with Colin?" He had wanted to know if all was okay, not sure if Colin or Finn would say something and make her upset.

"It's fine, he said he was sorry, I told him not to worry about it because it was a small thing in the grand scheme of things, and I told him he could stay at the house while we were gone."

"That's good, remind me to make him a key for while we're gone… they don't need a key, do they?" At her silence he groaned and threw his head down. "I forgot they entered unannounced earlier this week."

"Yes, well apparently you introduced them to a very powerful locksmith, so I blame you. Now come on, we're already 15 minutes late."

RLRL

In the Dragonfly dining room Lorelai was popping another aspirin as the morning wore on, she wasn't sure why her mom and her daughter had both thought this lunch was a good idea but the fact that Rory was late, and her mother was currently, wait, what was her mother doing? Lorelai looked over the dining room and saw Emily leaned in close to Shira Huntzberger's ear whispering with a very polite smile on her face. As Lorelai inched closer to the conversation, she could finally hear what was being said.

"It will do you well to remember exactly who you are before you go around judging my granddaughter and her mother. My daughter built this place from the ground up, my granddaughter is of great social standing and is successful on her own merits, she didn't have to marry her way into anything, she was born into it, she was brought into this world at a later age and she still has more social grace in her finger than you could ever have, as proven by your little stunt at the wedding yesterday. The tackiness that you exuded would have you black-listed, excuse my choice of words, if this wedding was held anywhere else and my granddaughter wasn't nearly as forgiving as she is. As it stands, you need to be very careful in how you proceed with your treatment of her and the rest of my family. Those kids are married now and they're happier than you could say about your own marriage." Emily spoke through gritted teeth and a painted-on smile as she looked around the room, cowering over a now pale Shira.

Slowly, Lorelai backed away before her mom saw her, not wanting her mom to feel like she had been caught in the game of societal warfare, even though Emily had been the clear victor. A few minutes later Emily came up to Lorelai. "Do you know where the kids are? They should be here by now." Emily asked as she looked around the room.

"Well, maybe they got a jumpstart on the honeymoon." Lorelai smiled as her mother rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Lorelai, we can't have one function without your crude humor?"

"You know, I don't think that's possible." There was a few minutes of silence before Lorelai spoke again. "Hey mom, thank you…" At Emily's questioning glance she quickly amended. "For all the help with the wedding. Rory was busy and it was a rush wedding, it meant a lot to have your help." She wanted to thank her for more. Thank her for defending her and Rory to Shira, thank her for all the help over all of these years, but for now this moment of thanks seemed to cover enough.

"Well, it was insulting all of the work you had on your plate, there's no way you could have gotten that all done. But, you're welcome." Just as she was about to say more, she saw the couple of the weekend enter the dining room. "Oh, there they are! Finally! I think I need to go have a talk with them about how impolite it is to keep the guests waiting."

"Mom leave them alone, it's the day after their wedding, if there's ever a time to be late it's today. Plus, I have a few questions I need to ask them anyway. And, dad has been sneaking steak kabobs every time you turn your back." Emily turned on her heel as Richard was placing another kabob in his mouth.

"Richard! We talked about this!" Emily raced over to the appetizer table as Lorelai rolled her eyes and went over to Rory and Logan.

"Well, to catch you up on today's events, your grandmother and Logan's mom had words, and by had words I mean Emily verbally bitch slapped Shira. Grandpa has been sneaking food that's bad for his cholesterol, Paris has caused 4 of my staff to need an emergency Xanax and threaten to quit. We're about out of liquor because I'm pretty sure Finn is just getting it through an IV at this point, his exact words were 'I'm off Colin duty, parties on.' I called him Wayne, he didn't understand the reference. Your brother and Luke went home, I told them to save themselves. Oh, and Emily keeps complaining that you guys are late. You better have been enjoying the benefits of marriage for all the shit I've had to deal with so far today."

"We were late fifteen minutes; how could things have possibly gone this bad?" Rory asked her mom.

"I don't know, but look at my mom, she's as white as a sheet." Logan answered, even with the question not directed at him. He pulled on Rory's sleeve as she looked over, sure enough Shira was sitting quietly and with a false smile on her face, but her color was completely gone.

"What did grandma say to her?" She directed to Lorelai.

"About remembering her place when she tries to disrespect you again."

"No! She wasn't supposed to get in the middle of this, damn it. It wasn't supposed to be like this, this was supposed to be a nice lunch where everyone could get to know each other with no pressure from the wedding hanging over our heads. I didn't want this, this fighting and your mother feeling insulted—"

"Hey, woah, do not feel about this, I had planned on speaking to my mother too. She insulted you long before your grandmother, rightfully stood up for you. This isn't on you. You've been nothing but nice and cordial and respectful even when you didn't have to be, even this lunch was nicer than she deserved, do not feel bad about this, you're in the right here. Don't let her horrible attitude make you feel bad, especially not this weekend Ace. Please." Rory remained quiet after Logan finished what he had to say, she knew that he was right, but it couldn't stop the tears that started to form. Once Logan saw those, he immediately pulled her out into the hall. "Rory, please don't."

"I just don't understand, I was able to brush it off yesterday, I was able to ignore the glares and the black outfit, and I could put it to the side because I was marrying you and I was so wrapped up in that. But I don't understand, I don't understand why I'm not good enough, why my being married before, or me having a career is so taboo. I love you! I love you and I support you and we're having a baby. How is that not enough!? I don't understand!" She could feel her blood pressure rising the more she spoke, she hated that Shira could get to her like this. She had faced tougher critics, hell Logan's dad in a meeting, for one. But for some reason she couldn't shake how badly this was hurting her.

"They're psychotic, what more is there to understand?! Rory, you are beautiful, and intelligent and loving and supportive and a million more superlatives than I could every express. You don't deserve to be brought down by someone like her, someone whose opinion does not matter, not to me, not to anyone in that room but her. I will do anything I can to prove to you how pointless her incessant babbling is, but the thing that isn't pointless in my world is you. It's you and that baby. Speaking of the baby, you need to calm down, you need to eat something, and then I'm going to spend the rest of my life taking care of the two of you, okay?" Rory barely nodded her head and Logan pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing before leading her back into the dining room and over towards Lorelai. "Hey, I need to go do something, can you make sure she eats please? I'll be back in just a few minutes."

Lorelai nodded her head as she looked at her daughter with tear stains on her face and Logan was off as quick as she did, making his way straight towards his family's table. Once he arrived Mitchum acknowledged him immediately. "Logan! There you are son, how are you doing this morning?"

Logan gave a tight smile as he answered. "Very well dad. Would you mind if I saw you and mom in the lobby?" He asked with a pointed glare sent to Shira. Walking 5 steps ahead of his family, when Logan entered the lobby he quickly stopped and turned on his heel focusing his sights on his mother. "I let you get away with it yesterday mom, because I was to focused on marrying the love of my life, but today the ceremony is done so I can focus back on the stunt you pulled. You disrespected my wife and my family yesterday. The only reason I didn't personally have you escorted out was because I knew Rory wouldn't appreciate the scene you would cause, so I let it go. However, today I had a crying pregnant bride who didn't understand why you hate her the way you do. I just want to make one thing clear, she is never to be disrespected by you again, even a breath of an insult sent her way and you'll be paying for it, do you hear me? She is it for me, she's the mother of your grandchild, and she's here, permanently. It will be wise of you to realize this." Without letting his mother get a word in edge wise he quickly left and made his way back to the lunch.

"I told you that your little power move wouldn't be well received." Mitchum spoke quietly with a shake of his head.

RLRL

As Logan sat down next to Rory he could see the stress that was once causing her shoulders to be bunched up to her ears had slowly gone away and now, surrounded by her friends and her mom and grandparents she seemed truly happy and at ease as she laid her head down on his shoulder and he could barely make out a tune she was humming.

"What are you singing there, babe?" He whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

"Oh, nothing important." She started humming a little bit more before she stopped. "I do have a question would you appreciate if I wore more Abercrombie and Fitch? And why didn't you tell me Chinese food made you sick?" She smirked at him as he realized what song she was humming.

"It was just on a random Spotify playlist, I didn't actually download it!" He defended.

"Sure." She smiled at him. "I just wish I would've known because I just would've saved so much money on lingerie if I would've known how much Abercrombie worked for you."

"You know, I'm pretty sure I can just go to Greece alone, I don't need you for the honeymoon portion." He couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Well, maybe you'll get lucky and meet a few summer girls over there." She winked as she turned back to the conversation at the table but she couldn't stop herself from curling closer into him and smiling as his friends now joined the party that had set up shop in the corner of the room. Logan looked over to where his father and mother were sitting, talking to a few colleagues that had stayed the evening at the inn. When Mitchum caught Logan's eye he raised his glass in a toast, prompting Logan to do the same, it was a small gesture, but it wasn't unnappreciated.