A/N: Thank you all for the reviews and the support. This story sadly will be winding down in a few chapters, so hopefully we like a little bit of happy Rogan!
Chapter 25:
Disclaimer: I own nothing - Lyrics belong to Dierks Bentley - Say You Do
Don't worry about the damage done,
Just let those words roll off your tongue
Even if you're lyin'
"Mason don't you dare colour on that wall!" Rory glared at her son as she walked into the play room. "You have paper, and you have a whole chalkboard wall. We do not use markers on the wall."
"You mean!" Mason glared at his mother, "Where Bridgette!"
"Bridgette isn't coming today. It is just you, William and I today." Rory walked further into the playroom, noticing how it probably needed a good clean out. "Mase you know better."
"I want to make big picture." Mason pouted, still holding the orange marker.
"Mason you can make a picture on that wall over there." Rory pointed to the wall which had been painted with chalkboard paint, "Dad had that done especially so that you would not paint on the walls. Remember?" Rory picked up a piece of chalk, "Please don't yell, you're going to wake your brother up."
"I don't want a bruffer!" Mason screamed as he tossed the orange marker onto the ground, Rory was immediately grateful for the fact that they had dark hardwood floors in the playroom, if it had been carpet they would have had a mess to contend with.
"Mason Logan!" Rory crossed her arms, "You pick that up right now."
"No." he told her defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest. "I no want a bruffer! He cries and poops and cries and I no want him!"
"Mason, you have until the count of three to pick up the marker, drop the attitude and apologize, or else you are going to go to the time out chair." Rory told him, referring to the chair they had put in Logan's office, they had chosen Logan's office, long before the accident because it had nothing that would excite Mason. "One..." she began. Mason eyed her as he stood stubbornly on the spot, "Two..." she continued before taking a final deep breath, "Mason Logan Gilmore-Huntzberger, this is not a battle you want to have with me." she gave him another moment, "Three." she walked towards Mason and picked him up. "Fifteen minutes in the timeout chair.", the punishment was much harsher than usual, but Mason also didn't normally throw this kind of fit.
"No!" Mason began to scream as Rory held him tightly and walked down the stairs, "No! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't be bad! I won't be bad! I promise! Mom! Mama! Ma!" he whaled as Rory reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Too little too late Mason." Rory told him as she let herself into the office and put him down on the chair. "I don't want to hear a peep. Understand?"
"I'm sorry!" tears streamed down Mason's face as he wiped his nose on his sleeve, "I sorry! Don't go! Don't go away Mommy! Come back! Don't leave me again!" he shouted as Rory had begun to leave the room. She immediately stopped in her tracks, "Mama please don't go! Peaaase!" he sobbed.
Rory turned around and went back towards the chair, "Mason, why do you think I'm going to leave?" she asked as she pulled his tiny, shaking frame into her arms. "I'm not going anywhere." she assured him as she rubbed circles on his back as he continued to cry.
"You!" his body heaved as the words came out, "You left!" he told her, terror in his voice, "Before, you left and Will-em and I had to stay here! You left!"
"Honey I'm not going anywhere." Rory promised him, his chest slowly stopped heaving as Rory calmed him down, "You can't throw tantrums like that." she told him.
"Promise?" Mason sniffed as he pulled his body away from Rory.
"I promise I will never go anywhere again, not unless its just a vacation with Dad, ok?" Rory assured him, "But you still get a timeout."
"Will you stay?" Mason asked.
"I'll stay." Rory glanced at her watch as she stood up and sat in Logan's desk chair, "I'll sit in Dad's chair, no talking though. We are on time out."
The fifteen minutes passed quickly, Mason tried to make conversation a few times but was quickly reminded that he was not to speak while on a timeout.
"Mase, can I ask you something?" Rory asked as she carried her son to the kitchen to make him a snack.
"Hmmm?" Mason nodded, resting his head on Rory's shoulder as she walked.
"Do you like having a little brother? You said up in the playroom that you didn't want William anymore, and that wasn't very nice of you."
"I like Will-em" Mason told her simply, "He smells funny though."
"That is because he is a baby." Rory tickled Mason's stomach as she set him on the counter, "You used to smell like that too!"
"No way Mommy, I a big boy, I never smelled like a baby." Mason corrected her.
"Of course you didn't." Rory exhaled, she couldn't believe how quickly he had grown up, how much he had changed. She took a moment and kissed the top of his head, inhaling his scent as she did, she loved them more than anything in the world. Mason, William and Logan were her family. "I love you Mase."
xxx
If you really don't mean it, I don't care,
If you need a little buzz to get you there,
Then baby I'm buyin'
"Where are the boys?" Logan asked as he walked into the kitchen to see the island set for two.
"They are at Honor's for the night." Rory told him, after Mason's meltdown Rory realized that she needed to fix things. She needed to clear things up with Logan otherwise Mason would live in a constant fear that his parents were going to split up, and that Rory was going to leave. "I made lobster." she told him, "Your favourite."
"It smells amazing in here." Logan smiled, "Mind if I go change first?" he asked, "You look amazing, by the way." he added as she nodded to tell him to go change out of his work clothes.
Rory quietly poured them each a glass of wine and waited, she had made the decision to fix things today, she had worn a pair of dark jeans and a black boat neck sweater, her hair was down and all she had accessorized with was her engagement ring. She needed things to get better. "I poured you some wine." she smiled as she handed Logan his glass upon his re-entrance to the kitchen.
"Thanks." he smiled and took the glass, "This is..." he looked around, the neatly set places at the island, he could see that she had cleaned the house, "Rory you know I don't have some weird vision of our lives where you treat me like a 1950's wife would treat her husband? I mean, I love a home cooked meal, but you aren't a slave."
"I know." Rory smiled as she began putting food on the plates, "I just...thought it would be nice."
"It smells amazing, and I'm sure it will taste even better." Logan smiled genuinely, "How were the boys today?"
"Well, William was great, he was pretty low key all day." Rory told him as she nodded to the seats, "Mason on the other hand...was a bit of a terror."
"He does that sometimes." Logan sighed, "Tells me he wants Bridge, or you, or anyone who isn't me, and then he loses his mind."
"Well he certainly did that today." Rory laughed, "He had a meltdown thinking I was leaving, so once I talked him down off that ledge, we had a bit of a time out, and then he did better."
"I wonder if he would be better off in daycare?" Logan suggested, "I mean, he would learn how to interact with other kids from different backgrounds, different parenting styles, the teachers would be the disciplinarians."
"We should look into that." Rory agreed as she took a sip of her wine, "How was your day at work?"
"Work was...long." Logan shrugged, "You know how it is, it can get tedious. Dad is looking at expanding again, he always wants more."
"Does that mean more travel?" Rory asked, glad to see that they seemed to be able to carry on the conversation.
Logan shook his head as he ate a bite of his salad, "Ace this is phenomenal." he told her, "As for travel, no, we are going to do a lot of work remotely, there is no need to fly everywhere. I don't really want to be away from here anymore. The kids are here, you're here." he added.
Rory smiled, "I'm glad. I hope I can talk to your Dad about getting back to work soon." Rory told him, "I would like to see if I can work at a paper though. The business side of everything is really cool, but I would love to actually be a reporter again." she thought back to her times at the Daily News.
"I'm sure Dad could find something that would work. Are you feeling up to it?"
"Well if we are considering putting the kids in daycare." Rory shrugged, "I can't sit here all day waiting for you to come home."
"You're right." Logan nodded, "Seriously though Rory, this dinner is amazing."
Well couldn't you,
Say you do,
Say you might,
For tonight,
Have a heart,
Bend the truth,
Even if you don't,
Couldn't you
"Well save room for dessert, we have cheesecake." Rory told him.
"Cheesecake?" Logan repeated, he had to admit, he was surprised, "You hate making cheesecake."
"I never said I made it." Rory grinned as she stood up and took his plate.
"Nope," Logan stood up and chased after her, grabbing the plates before she got to the sink, "you cooked, the very least I can do is clean." he told her as he rinsed off the plates, "Sit down, at the table, on the counter, relax." he smiled, his goofy grin that Rory loved so much. "You're wearing your ring." he noted.
"I thought it suited the outfit." Rory shrugged as Logan passed her the glass of wine she had left at the table while he loaded the dishwasher, she was leaning effortlessly against the counter as she spoke.
"Well, I'm glad you like it." Logan told her honestly as he kicked the dishwasher door shut and put his hands on either side of Rory, "What would you like to do for the rest of date night?" he asked.
"This is a date night?" Rory felt her breath hitch as she spoke, she felt butterflies, ones she could remember feeling years earlier, before anything had ever happened between her and Logan, butterflies that she felt because of the way he looked at her and joked with her.
"Well if the shoe fits." Logan told her, keeping his body in front of hers, "Unless you don't want it to be date night?"
Rory shook her head as she bit her lip nervously, "I want it to be date night." she assured him.
"Then what do you want to do?" Logan asked, he could see that he was making her nervous, and he was glad, they needed more nerves, more passion in their days.
"We can watch the news? Or a movie?" Rory suggested.
"The news." Logan laughed, "Seriously Ace, that is the best you've got? We have a night without our kids, and you want us to get on the couch and watch the news?"
Mess me up,
Get in my head,
Steal my t-shirt,
Wreck my bed,
All night long,
Like you used to,
Even if you don't,
Couldn't you,
Say you do?
"Alright, fine, if you have a better idea, tell me?" Rory leaned towards him, challenging him.
"Come on," Logan pulled her body towards him and placed a quick kiss on her lips, the first that they had shared since she had come home, "we are going somewhere."
"Where are we going?" Rory asked as Logan held her hand and walked to the door, "Am I dressed alright?"
"You are dressed fine." Logan assured her as he grabbed his car keys, "We are taking the Q5." he told her.
"When did you get a Q5?" Rory asked, she hadn't noticed, she normally parked on the driveway in the summer and avoided the garage altogether.
"After the accident." Logan told her, "It was the replacement."
"Oh." Rory nodded, "Sorry...I don't remember if I ever apologized for ruining your car." she followed him to the garage.
"I don't care about the car." Logan told her as he hit the button to open the garage door, "I'm just glad that you are alright...god that seems like forever ago."
"No kidding." Rory agreed, she still didn't feel completely comfortable driving on highways, but city driving was no problem for her, "Where are we going?" she asked him again.
"That is a secret." Logan told her as they both got into the car and he began to reverse.
"We should call and check on the kids." Rory suggested as they began to drive.
"I'm sure if you call Honor she will assure you that they are fine." Logan agreed.
"Thank you." Rory smiled as she dialed the number on the Bluetooth system.
"Logan, the kids are fine. You literally called as you were arriving at your house, it has been two hours, what do you think has changed?" Honor answered the phone.
"Hey Hon, it's me." Rory laughed as she spoke.
"I'm here too." Logan assured her, "But calling was not my idea."
"Sorry Rory." Honor chuckled as well. "The kids are fine though. Mason is just helping Josh put the little ones to bed. He is adamant that he is a grown up, and he can help too." Honor explained.
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Rory told her, "Well I just wanted to make sure everything was fine. Thank you for watching them tonight, I really appreciate it."
"My pleasure, you two enjoy yourself. Are you driving?"
"Goodnight Hon, thank you." Logan ignored her question.
"Baby brother, answer me!"
"I'm hanging up now, say goodbye to Rory." he warned.
"You are a butt head!" Honor told him, "Bye Rory! Love you!"
"Love you too Honor!" Rory looked at Logan after he hung up, "What is the big secret?"
"Nothing." Logan winked at her as they continued to drive, settling into a comfortable silence.
Yeah baby I'm begging you to lead me on,
Say it feels good to be back in my arms,
And then don't call me,
They drove quietly down the familiar roads to Stars Hollow, Rory smiled as she realized where they were going, she knew what Logan was up to. "Logan..."
"Come on," he smiled as they got out of the car when he pulled into the Independence Inn, "live a little."
"You know I remember when your idea of 'live a little' meant heading to Prague for a weekend." Rory countered as Logan surprised her by going into the trunk and grabbing a small rolling suitcase, "You planned this?"
"I hoped it after you called and said Honor was with the kids for the night and we were having dinner." Logan admitted. "I snuck home when you were at the grocery store."
"What if I didn't want to?" Rory countered quickly with a smile on her lips, they were both making an effort.
"Well then we would have just missed our reservation." Logan took her hand and began rolling the suitcase to the main entrance.
"This place is so different...I mean it looks...similar, but it is not the place I grew up in." Rory sighed, after the fire, the inn had been sold to a private boutique hotel company that had offered Mia a lot of money. Rory had always understood why Mia had sold it, but to see it so different was a sign to Rory of how far she had come since she had roamed the halls and drank coffee in every nook and cranny of the building.
"Checking in." Logan smiled and wrapped his arm around Rory's waist as they stood at the check in counter. "Huntzberger."
"Here you are Mr. Huntzberger, your credit card is already on file, enjoy your night and please let us know if there is anything we can do. My name is Hannah, and I am the manager."
"Nice to meet you." Logan nodded as he took the key, "Thank you."
"I guess it doesn't look that different." Rory admitted as she noticed how most of the historical touches had been restored. When she had come with Logan before and they had run into Dean, they had really only been outside, they hadn't spent any time inside of the inn.
"I ordered us some champagne," Logan told her as he opened the door to their room, allowing her to enter first, "I just thought it would be nice to lay low and not have to think about anything." he told her, "We have two beds, so no need to rush anything."
"Logan," Rory laughed as he shut the door and put the suitcase against the wall, "this has to stop."
"What has to stop?" Logan looked at her, he had chosen to remain cautiously optimistic about their future, but he wasn't sure how to move forward without possibly making Rory feel uncomfortable, which was the last thing that he wanted.
"This distance crap." Rory walked towards him confidently, pushing her lips against his, much like she had the first night they kissed, "I love you," she pulled away for a brief moment to study his expression. It was quickly changing from surprise to joy as he pulled her in for another kiss, sucking the air out of her lungs as their mouths battled and re-familiarized themselves with each other. "I missed you." Rory whispered breathlessly when they parted.
"I love you." Logan put his hands on her hips and held her close to his body, "I swear to god, my chest would hurt at night, I missed you so much."
"I'm sorry." Rory told him, carelessly twirling the hair on his neck in her fingers, "I just want us to go back to normal."
"I think we are on the way." Logan nuzzled her neck, placing quick wet kisses everywhere he touched, "So separate beds?" he laughed against her neck as his hands made their way under her shirt.
"I think it might be best." Rory giggled and pressed her body against his. "I should tell you something." Rory quickly put some space between them, causing Logan to look at her with concern, "I...I went back on the pill...when I was gone. Not because I needed to then...but I...I assumed I would be coming back to you, and after everything that has happened, I just didn't want any other surprises. William was the best surprise, but I think we can wait a little bit before we have another?"
"You want more kids?" Logan chuckled as he pulled her towards him once more, "Whatever you want Ace, I just want you here with me."
"I don't know if I want more kids...I don't know if I don't want more kids...I just...I want us back to normal." Rory told him as she began playing with the buttons on his shirt.
"Why don't we go watch a show or something?" Logan suggested, clasping her hand in his as he walked over to the bed and tossed the decorative pillows off.
"A show?" Rory repeated as she grabbed the small suitcase and pulled it open to see what Logan had brought for her to where.
"The news, something, lets just relax." Logan told her as he took his shirt and pants off, slipping under the soft sheets with just his boxers on, "Would it kill us to just...be?"
"Do you want to just be all night?" Rory stuck out her tongue as she pulled on one of Logan's Yale t-shirts to sleep in and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
"Well, not all night." Logan flipped on the television, he wanted to have sex with her, he wanted to kiss her and hold her all night, be he also knew they needed to be familiar with each other, and he didn't want Rory to think that he was just looking for sex. "But for a bit."
"Fine." Rory agreed, getting into bed and pressing her body against his as Logan flipped through to find a news station.
I don't mind a little smoke gettin' in my eyes,
Baby, take your hands, and take your lies,
And lay em' on me,
"You have," Logan turned to Rory after watching the news for about an hour, "an eyelash." he gently brushed his thumb over her cheek to remove it and presented it in front of her lips. "Make a wish." he told her.
Rory grinned as she blew on his thumb, "I made it." she told him triumphantly.
"Hopefully it was something good." Logan smirked as he pulled his arm tighter around her and kissed her temple, "And to think, no one has started crying yet, and it is almost midnight."
"You aren't working tomorrow, are you?" Rory kept her eyes glued to his, her hand trailing up his bare chest.
"It is Saturday tomorrow." Logan stated simply, the smile growing up on his lips as Rory brought her lips towards his. "So I guess we aren't in a rush to go to bed."
"I think you're onto something, Mr. Huntzberger." Rory smiled before she kissed him again, smiling against his lips as her hands made their way back around his neck.
"We should probably find another news station to watch." Logan joked as he pulled Rory on top of him, her legs straddling in his waist. "You know the first time we did this it led to a difficult predicament." he told her as he kissed her neck.
"I think that might just be the best predicament I have ever found myself in." Rory put her hands on his chest and inhaled his scent.
xxx
"Hey kiddo, I didn't expect to see you here today?" Chris looked at Rory as she walked into the house.
"Hey Dad," Rory smiled, "Logan is just parking the car, we just thought we would swing by for a visit." she explained.
"Where are my grandsons?" Chris looked beyond Rory and saw Logan walking in.
"They are with Honor." Rory explained, "It was just an impromptu, grownup visit. Hopefully that is alright with you?"
"I'm thrilled to see you both." Chris nodded to Logan, "But I do miss the little guys. Your Mom is just upstairs doing something, want me to grab you a coffee?"
"Please." Rory nodded as she kissed Logan gently, "I'm going to go see Mom. Are you two good down here?" she asked.
"We're good." Logan laughed, the question seemed a little bit redundant given that Rory was already halfway up the stairs when she asked it.
"Mom?" Rory called as she entered Lorelai's bedroom.
"Hey babe, what are you doin' here?" Lorelai looked up, she was wrapping a gift, "It's for your Dad, I saw this great motorcycle jacket when I was shopping, and then there were these awesome boots, so I just said, what the heck. Yolo...isn't that what the kids are saying? Where are my grandsons?"
"Logan and I spent the night at the Independence Inn last night." Rory quickly began rhyming off the answers to the questions, "Does Dad even have a motorcycle? Yes, kids say YOLO, I don't think adults do though." she stuck her tongue out, "And the boys are with Honor for the night so that Logan and I could have the previously mentioned grownup night at the Inn."
"Why would you go to the Independence Inn? You realize that is my competition?" Lorelai pretended to be offended.
"Because." Rory told her, "Seriously though, does Dad have a bike?"
"No, but now, he can look like he does. Duh!" Lorelai wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulder, "So a grownup night with Logan, does that mean things are back to normal?" she whispered.
"Things have been tense." Rory admitted, Lorelai obviously knew, she had been Logan's biggest champion when Rory was away, "But these past couple of weeks, we have been working on it, and progressing and things...things seem to be back on track."
"You guys stayed up all night doing it." Lorelai giggled.
"Mom!"
"Did you make me another grandbaby? I would looooooove a granddaughter. I mean if you take requests. Or maybe it is your uterus I should be asking."
"Mom!" Rory scolded her, "I am not having another baby, and my uterus does not take requests, but Logan and I...we seem to be back on track."
Well couldn't you,
Say you do,
Say you might,
For tonight,
Have a heart,
Bend the truth,
Even if you don't,
Couldn't you,
Mess me up,
Get in my head,
Steal my t-shirt,
Wreck my bed,
All night long like you used to,
Even if you don't,
Couldn't you,
Say you do?
"Chris!" Lorelai shouted as she ran down the stairs, Rory trailing behind her. "Chris! Guess what!"
"Mom!" Rory shouted behind her, clearly her emotions were caught somewhere between amused and annoyed.
"What is it Lor?" Chris smirked as he handed Rory her coffee.
"Rory's uterus takes grandchild requests now!" she told him, giving Logan a quick peck on the cheek when she reached them in the kitchen, "I asked for a girl! Do you have any requests?!"
"Mom!" Rory groaned as Logan chuckled and put his arms affectionately around Rory's waist and rested his head on her shoulder.
"I do not have any requests." Chris laughed, "But that is mighty considerate of your uterus to take requests kiddo. Maybe it can take a break for a while?" he suggested.
"Agreed." Logan laughed.
"Well, we should head out." Rory took a large sip of her coffee, "We just wanted to say hi while we were in town."
"Well we appreciate being an afterthought." Lorelai joked.
"Thank you for coming is what your Mom means to say." Christopher corrected her, "Drive safe, and bring those boys here for a visit soon."
"We will, I promise. Or you guys can come to the house?" Rory suggested as she hugged her father and mother quickly. "Love you guys."
"Love you too babe!" Lorelai shouted as they began to leave.
xxxx
"So Honor will be back with the boys in an hour." Rory looked at Logan as they pulled into the driveway to enter the house.
"That is the plan." Logan agreed. "I think we need to clean the playroom."
"I noticed that too." Rory agreed, "Midway through Mason's tantrum yesterday I said to myself 'this place could really use a once over', and then had a marker thrown on the floor so it had to wait." she laughed.
"Well, that should take about twenty minutes." Logan stepped out of the car and got the bag from the trunk, "So that leaves us 40 minutes to do whatever we want." he raised an eyebrow to her.
"Whatever we want?" Rory repeated.
"So I was thinking...ice cream sundae's in bed?" Logan suggested.
"You know me well, Huntzberger."
Well don't worry about the damage done,
Just let those words roll of your tongue,
Even if you're lyin'
Well couldn't you,
Say you do,
Say you might,
For tonight,
Have a heart,
Bend the truth,
Even if you don't,
Couldn't you,
Say you do,
Mess me up,
Get in my head,
Steal my t-shirt,
Wreck my bed,
All night long,
Like you used to,
Even if you don't,
Couldn't you,
say you do,
Say you do,
Just say you do