A/N: Thank you to all the reviewers. I know a lot of people are wondering about what else will happen with Rory at work, and I promise there will be more going on, just please be patient.

Now, enjoy the chapter!

--

On Friday morning, Rory was getting ready to meet Steph and Bri to go dress shopping when there was a knock at the door. She opened it to reveal Finn.

"Hey," she greeted, letting him in the door.

"Hi Love," he replied.

"Why'd you knock?" Rory asked confused.

"It's rude just to walk into someone's home."

"Finn, you've always just knocked and walked into our apartment before we could answer," Rory pointed out.

"Not true, I only did that when I thought you wouldn't be too busy."

"Which is now, so what changed?"

"I didn't know if you were home," Finn replied.

"Then the door would have been locked," Rory said without a thought.

Finn mumbled something that Rory couldn't understand.

"What?" Rory asked, not catching any of what he said.

"I came over last week to see if Logan wanted to have a drink before dinner."

"I don't remember that."

"Well, when I came in you were busy so I left."

"Doing what?" Rory asked confused, "Work? You could have interrupted me."

"Logan," Finn blurted out.

"Logan was busy?"

"That's what you were doing...Logan," Finn said quickly, remembering when he walked into their apartment to see a bra fly and hit the floor and Logan on top of Rory on the couch as he began sucking on her breast, already having entered her.

"Oh," Rory said, now blushing, as she remembered some of the rendezvous she and Logan had in the last few weeks.

"I think I'm going to knock from now on."

"So why aren't you at work?" Rory asked as she glanced at the clock, seeing it was a quarter after nine and knowing she needed to leave soon to meet Steph and Bri.

"I'm on my way there now, but I wanted to talk to you before I left. Now, I know Steph might be more comfortable with this, but frankly, I trust you more."

"With what?" Rory asked, a little wary.

Finn didn't say anything, but held out his Black Card.

"Thanks Finn, but I already have Logan's," Rory teased, but didn't move to take the card.

Finn rolled his eyes, "Not for you, for Bri."

"You know this will make her very uncomfortable right?"

"Yes, and I know you always feel weird about it, but like I said, I don't trust Steph."

"She does like to shop."

"I know," Finn deadpanned.

"How am I supposed to get Bri to accept this?"

"She can't afford it Rory, and I don't want her to try to."

"You know not every society acceptable dress needs to cost a small fortune," Rory pointed out.

"I know you've gotten away with it before, but they know you. She isn't society in any way and is coming there with me. You know they are going to be looking to exploit any flaw, I need you and Steph to make sure she has none."

Rory nodded in understanding, "Is that it?"

Finn shook his head, "She needs jewelry."

"There is no way I can convince her to buy that. A dress is going to be hard enough."

Ignoring her small rant, Finn asked, "Will you call me and tell me what the dress looks like?"

"What?" Rory asked, not really paying attention to what Finn was saying.

"I'm going to buy it for her: I just need to know what she's wearing so it will match." Seeing Rory's nod, Finn suggested, "But try and get her to buy a dress that matches with green."

"Green? Finn, emeralds? No!" Rory exclaimed. Genuine emeralds, although not always eye popping as diamonds, were just as rare and almost as expensive.

"They'd look amazing on her," Finn argued.

"I'll try, but I make no promises," Rory offered.

"One last thing…" Finn began. At Rory's look, he just kept talking, "Talk to her so she knows what to expect. I've tried, but I think she's convinced I'm exaggerating."

"I'll make sure she's prepared," Rory said, nodding to reaffirm the promise.

"Thank you Rory," Finn said, finally looking relived and giving her a quick hug before heading out the door.

--

Rory walked up to the café where the girls were meeting and saw she was the first to arrive. Soon, Bri and then finally, Steph came in and sat down to join her. After they finished their breakfast, Steph smiled and asked, "Where are we starting?"

"Don't ask me, but remember, I don't have that much to spend."

"About that," Rory started, not sure how to continue.

"I'm not letting you pay for anything," Bri said firmly.

"What about Finn?" Rory questioned.

"What about him, he's not here."

Rory pulled Finn's credit card out of her purse, "He gave this to me to pay for what you need to buy today."

"I'm not spending his money," Bri replied.

"Why not? He has enough to spare," Steph said casually.

"I can buy my own dress, how much can one be?"

Steph knew how much this bothered Rory at first so just said, "Enough."

"How much?" Bri asked again.

"For this event? Probably three to five thousand," Rory told her.

"For a dress?!" Bri exclaimed.

"Yeah," said Steph.

"He should save his money," Bri said seriously.

"It won't make a dent," Steph brushed off.

"Bri, Finn just wants you to fit in," Rory stated trying to convince Bri to let Finn pay, "people at these things can be harsh enough as it is, you don't want to give them a reason to criticize you."

"How bad can they be?" Bri asked.

"I'll make you a deal, agree to let Finn pay because we need to get going, and we'll tell you everything you want to know about society."

Bri reluctantly nodded. Seeing this, Steph smiled and said, "Again I ask, where to?"

"There are a lot of stores on Fifth Avenue, we should head there," Rory suggested.

--

The girls were entering the first store when Bri asked, "So any type of dress I'm looking for in particular?"

"Something elegant, but sexy," Steph answered.

"Nothing too revealing. It needs to be floor length and fitted, but not unnecessarily tight," Rory added.

"That would fall into the category of slutty, trust me, you don't want to be associated with them," Steph informed her.

"Who?" Bri asked confused, thinking of some of the sluttier girls she knew in high school and didn't picture anyone from society dressing like that.

"The slutty society girls," Steph said like it should be obvious.

"Also known as the girls who throw themselves at any guy with a nice trust fund. So, as a warning, don't listen to anything they say. They will more than likely try to upset you and doubt Finn."

"Which there is no reason to, Finn really likes you," Steph added quickly.

"Why would they do that?"

"They want Finn. And before you ask, they want Logan and Colin too, but we've been with them long enough that they're starting to accept that their schemes to break us up won't work."

"Which, unfortunately for you, means they've set their sights on Finn even more," Steph explained, then asked, "what do you think about this dress?"

Rory and Bri looked at it then to Steph before Rory answered, "You should try it on, but keep looking as well."

Steph nodded and kept the dress in her hand. Rory found a dress and held it up to Bri, but shook her head and put it back.

"So why is this the first event I have to go to?"

"A lot are in Hartford, so we get out of them. Plus, some are only for the older members of society, you know the over 40 crowd," Steph answered.

"So you couldn't get out of this one?"

"We didn't even try," Rory answered.

"Why not, you talk about them like they are torture?" Bri asked confused.

"Because one, it would never work, and two, this is one of the biggest events of the year."

"Finn said it was for St. Jude's," Bri said, remembering talking to Finn briefly about the event.

"He's right: It is the marquee event for Hartford Society. The tickets for the event are the most expensive ones of the year, and yet, they are in the highest demand.

"How much are they?" Bri asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"A thousand a ticket," Steph said quickly.

"Oh," Bri let out quietly, now more nervous about the evening.

"I know you're nervous," Rory sympathized, "but Finn bringing you really is a good thing."

"Good for whom?"

"You and Finn. You'll be there as his girlfriend. By the end of the night, everyone will know Finn is taken," she explained.

"And since he is bringing you to this for your first event, they'll know it's very serious."

"Serious?" Bri asked, she knew things were going well, but wasn't sure what she meant by this.

"Well isn't it?" Steph asked confused.

"I mean we're exclusively dating, yes," Bri answered, not sure what else to say and so picked up a dress and asked, "What about this?"

Steph and Rory nodded. "Good choice," Steph offered.

"You think Finn would like it?" Bri asked.

"I'm sure he will like anything you get, but yes, he'd like that," Rory offered.

They were now towards the back of store near the dressing rooms and Steph was already carrying three dresses so asked, "Find anything Rory?"

Rory shook her head to which Steph answered, "Well then you can give us your opinion on what we try on."

Steph came out first and Rory immediately said no. Bri cam out in her dress, and after some consideration, they decided it would work, but didn't like it enough to buy it before they looked at more stores. Steph's second dressed was okay, but when she appeared in the last one Rory just smiled while Bri nodded. A few minutes later, Steph came back out and the group headed towards the register.

"So I'm all set, where to next?" Steph said happily as they left the store. Walking down the street, Rory spotted a store and proclaimed, "Here!"

Following Rory into the store, they were once again greeted and began their search. Rory found two dresses to try on. She hadn't been sure at first, but after some words of encouragement from them, well mostly Steph, she decided to buy a light pink dress.

After Rory paid, they walked into the store next door, but left almost immediately. The next shop however, had a dress that looked like it would be great, and Bri was happy when it looked just as good on. After getting the approval of both Steph and Rory, she made her way out of the dressing room area and towards the register.

She had been so excited to finally find a dress that she almost chocked when the sales clerk said, "Your total comes to three thousand six hundred seventy two dollars."

Bri was so shocked that she couldn't even begin to protest when Rory silently handed Finn's card over to pay.

--

Now that they had each found a dress and had some time to spare before their appointments, Rory asked if they could stop by Vera Wang's.

"Is your dress ready?" Steph asked, hoping she would get a peak.

"Not exactly, but when they called wanting me to come by, I said I would stop in today."

"For what?" Bri asked, now curious.

"Well, I came down about a month ago to see the drawings she did with the changes I requested, but when I got here she had actually done two."

"What were they?"

"The first, was the design we had talked about, based off the dress I tried on. The second took the ideas I wanted but was a little more unique, she said she thought I might like it."

"And you did?" Steph said, although she already knew the answer.

"Yes," Rory confirmed as they walked into the store and told the woman who greeted them that she was there to check on a custom dress being made. They were lead into the back and were soon joined by Vera herself.

"Miss Gilmore, how are you?" she said with a smile.

"Wonderful and you?"

"I am well. Now, let me show you what I've done." Vera walked them over to an office and turned the computer so they could all see.

"That is amazing," Steph said honestly.

"Thank you," Vera said, but then continued, "This is a three dimensional rendering of the dress, if there is anything you don't like, I need to know now."

Rory studies the picture from various angles, zooming in and out before shaking her head, "I love the dress," then turned to Bri and Steph and asked, "Is there anything you see?"

"It's your dress, it only matters if you like it," Bri answered.

"But if I asked what you thought?" Rory asked, just wanting some confirmation.

Steph laughed, "I'm jealous."

Rory nodded, "I think we're all set on that."

"Wonderful, now I also had the cut of the dress made in some very basic material based on the measurements we took earlier. It should let you know the way it fits to make sure you like it and also lets me see if any sizing adjustments need to be made."

Vera went and retrieved the dress and sent Rory to the dressing room. She emerged a few minutes later.

"Do you like the cut of the dress? It's very similar to the one you tried on originally, except for the bodice line."

"I like it though," Rory said, looking herself over in the mirror.

"Okay then, stand still while I check over the fitting."

The girls stood in relative silence as some pins were added and new measurements taken. Soon, the three were out the door and headed to a salon where they had made appointments to have their hair and make up done before heading home to finish getting ready. Normally, Rory and Steph would do their own hair and make up, not having time to go to the salon, but thought it would be fun to do as a group, especially given the event they were going to.

--

Bri was sitting on the couch fidgeting while occasionally glancing at her daughter who was now sleeping on the floor, having been ready for almost ten minutes now. It wasn't that Finn was running late, but now that she was ready, she was thinking more and more about tonight. The appearance of Finn dressed in a tux interrupted her thoughts. She had heard her sister open the door, but it didn't register in her mind that it was likely Finn. Seeing him, she stood up as he entered and gave him a quick kiss.

Finn took a moment to enjoy her appearance. Bri was clad in an emerald green strapless dress that had a wrapped look to the upper portion before falling to the ground. Her hair was down and wavy, all of this caused him to smile and say, "You look gorgeous Doll, almost perfect," as a smirk came across his lips.

"Almost?" Bri asked looking down at her dress, wondering what was wrong.

"Yes, almost," Finn repeated. The next thing Bri knew, Finn was standing behind her, and she felt something cold hit her skin. Glancing down, she saw a gold heart pendant with an emerald in the center hanging from a thin gold chain. She was trying to think what she should say when Finn's hand opened in front of her to reveal matching earrings.

"Finn…" Bri started, but stopped still not sure what else she should say.

"You don't like them?" Finn asked, confused by her lack of response.

"Finn, they're beautiful, but they're too much. I can't accept them."

"Yes, you can," Finn argued.

"I can't wear these," Bri said again, moving to take off the necklace.

Finn reached out and stopped her and softly said, "But they match your dress."

"How did that happen?" Bri asked, now seeing they went perfectly with her dress. Finn looked away, but didn't answer. Suddenly, she asked, "Rory or Steph?"

"I'm not telling!" Finn swore, the turned serious again, "Bri, you should wear them. I want you to have them, but regardless, you need to wear them tonight. You're expected to wear jewelry. Jewelry that matches your gown is even better."

"Matches?"

"Not literally, but it's the idea that you have different jewelry to match each outfit, meaning you're more wealthy."

"That doesn't mean I need to keep them," Bri pointed out, knowing she would end up wearing them now.

"No, that is because I want you to have them, a gift," Finn said with a nod and then took a step back and smiled. "Now you look perfect Doll," he complimented and gave her a kiss.

"We're not done discussing this."

Finn laughed, "We'll see, but for now we need to head down to the limo or we're going to be late."

Bri walked over to Maddy, kissed her sleeping daughter, and then let Finn escort her down to the limo.

--

The three couples were now all sitting in the limo for the ride to Hartford. Just after they pulled out, Finn started pouring glasses of wine for everyone.

"Starting already?" Bri asked surprised.

"Yes," Finn, Rory, and Steph answered simultaneously.

Seeing her confusion, Colin offered, "It's better to deal with these people after you've had a drink."

"Everyone's warned me."

"You sound skeptical."

"Not really, but part of me is convinced you're all exaggerating."

"Nope," Colin assured her.

"Just don't take anything they say too seriously," Rory offered.

"And know that we all like you. We're your friends so don't feel like you can't come find one of us to tell off someone for you. Trust me, we're quite an intimidating group," added Steph.

"There are going to be girls who tell you that we aren't really your friends just to try to come between us – more specifically you and Finn. Whatever they say, don't believe them," Rory added to Steph's comment knowing Bri would be blindsided without a specific warning.

"Ignore anything my mother or her group says to you," Logan said.

"And I'm sorry if my dad hits on you," Colin said in a serious tone, but still managing to lighten up the mood.

This last comment finally made Bri look up in surprise and Finn explained, "He likes to marry, and the bride gets younger and younger every time."

"Oh," Bri said not sure how else she should respond.

The limo was quiet until Bri asked, "Is there anything I should remember to do?"

"Stand and sit with good posture, tall and with your shoulders back," Steph recited.

"No matter what anyone says or how bored you are, always smile politely, but most of all never let them know you are nervous or intimated," Logan said, knowing what some people there were capable of.

"They like to set a very formal table, which means a hundred different forks," Rory said seriously.

"Not one hundred forks Ace, only four. Stop exaggerating," Logan teased, having heard Rory's rant before.

"Four?" Bri asked confused. She knew the standard salad versus dinner fork, she wasn't sure what the other two would be.

"Well you have the standard Salad and dinner fork," Finn explained.

"Yeah, I got that far," Bri shot back.

"Then, there is a fish fork and seafood fork."

"Fish is seafood," Bri replied.

"Thank you!" Rory exclaimed.

Finn rolled his eyes, but continued his explanations, "Technically, but in this case the seafood fork is for a seafood appetizer like oysters or shrimp."

"It's the baby fork," Rory added with a smile.

"Oh," Bri said, now knowing what Finn was talking about.

"The fish fork is for and actual piece of fish, like salmon or swordfish. But, don't worry you still work from the outside in so it's not too hard to remember."

"Just watch Finn if you need to," Logan offered which got a smile from Bri.

"Beside that, there's a fish knife which is the only addition to the dinner knife and soup spoon," Colin said.

"Fish knife, got it," Bri said to herself.

"That's the silverware, all that's left to know are the glasses."

"Which are?" Bri asked, ready to make another mental list.

"Normally there are three. A water goblet, then the red wine and white wine glasses."

"How do you tell them apart?"

"It's hard to describe because the style of glasses can make them look different, but generally, the red wine glass is wider and the white narrower. The water goblet is the largest," Finn explained.

"But here's the nice part," Rory said, knowing Bri was getting overwhelmed, "they come to your table and pour the wine for you, and they know which glass is which."

Hearing that, Bri let out an auditable sigh. From there, the group continued talking lightly while having another drink when Rory randomly said, "Don't mention Maddy."

"What?" Bri asked, not following the random topic change.

"Tonight around society," Rory said seriously.

"I'm not going to pretend she doesn't exist," Bri said slightly angry.

"I know," Rory said, trying to soothe her friend, "I didn't say to lie. If they ask, which I doubt they will, tell them. I just wouldn't bring it up voluntarily."

"Why not?"

Logan looked at Rory and answered for her, "She was born out of wedlock."

Before Bri could say anything, Steph jumped in, "No one here cares about that, it's just something that would make them talk about you more. You're goal for the night should be to minimize that."

Finn leaned over and said, "It'll be fine Doll, but if something happens promise to tell me."

Bri nodded her head, and Finn kissed her head to tell her he got her reply then turned their focus to the group as they talked about past events. Then, they started going through all the excuses they had used when they were younger and how the biggest thing was to not repeat the same one too often.

--

The limo pulled up in front the country club since the event was being held in their Grand Ballroom. Someone opened the door allowing Logan to step out and offer a hand to Rory. This process was repeated by Finn and Bri then finally Colin and Steph. As they walked in, there were a few photographers covering the event who took some pictures. But since the event was being held on private property, the staff was able to keep the number to a minimum.

Once safely inside, the group found their seats. Rory would have to thank Nora from the DAR later. Normally, they sat you by family at these events, but Rory had called hoping to get the six of them at one table. To her delight, she succeeded.

After they found their seats, the couples split off to greet their respective families. It wasn't long before Rory spotted her grandmother coming towards her.

"Rory, Logan, how are you?" Emily greeted.

"Fine Grandma," Rory said giving her a brief hug.

"We're well Emily, how are you?" Logan said smoothly.

"I'm fine, thank you. Rory dear, you look absolutely lovely."

Looking down at her ensemble, Rory smiled, knowing she had received a similar reaction from Logan earlier in the evening. She was wearing a pale pink dress with the top half covered in a textured material, with thick straps and a v-neck. It wrapped around the waist before extending in a smooth material all the way to the ground. "Thank you Grandma."

"Now Rory, remember there are people here you need to greet, especially the women from the DAR. Since you no longer live in the Hartford area, it's important to make a good impression at these sorts of things."

"Of course," Rory smiled and nodded as her grandmother excused herself to greet some people then watched as she hurried off, probably looking for certain women from the DAR to catch up with. Logan decided he should find his parents, and spotting them across the ballroom, he gestured to Rory and led her across the room.

Finally reaching them, he smiled, "Mom, Dad," shaking his father's hand and kissing his mother's cheek.

"Mrs. Huntzberger, Mitchum," Rory said, her smile set firmly in place.

"How are you feeling?" Mitchum asked.

"Much better, I promise."

"Good," Mitchum said shortly.

"You were sick, what happened?" Shira asked, with her perfectly practiced false sincerity. "Did you catch a cold?"

Stepping in Mitchum said, "Rory was rushed to the hospital after fainting."

"What was wrong?" Shira asked trying to appear interested, but never stopped looking around the room to see who at the event she needed to impress.

"A combination of things, but mostly food poisoning and…" Logan began to explain.

Before he could even finish, Shira interrupted, "Oh, Francine Hayden just walked in, I need to go say hello."

"Well, I know Logan and I have some people we need to talk to," he said, sending a silent reminder to his wife about the behavior he expected from her.

After a moment to think over what she knew Mitchum wanted, Shira finally gave in and offered, "Rory, you should join me, I have known Francine for years. I can introduce you."

"Thank you for the offer, but I have some people I should find as well," Rory said, not wanting to have a confrontation with Francine nor spend more time with Shira.

"Francine is from a very respectable family Rory, it's important you talk to her."

"I'd rather not," Rory said firmly.

"Mom, just let her be," Logan said, knowing very well that Rory should steer clear of Francine.

"This is why you need someone who was raised in society, we can't have her ruining our name," Shira chided under her breath, but making sure she was still heard and walked off, hoping she made her point.

"Ace, you going to be okay? I need to talk some business," Logan pointed out, knowing he still needed to go with his father.

"I'm fine, come find me when you're done," Rory said truthfully.

"Of course," Logan replied before kissing the corner of her mouth and following his father.

As they walked, Mitchum spoke, "Logan, I know she's never going to be the typical society wife, but there are certain society standards she needs to follow."

"Okay…" Logan asked, not sure where this was leading.

"I didn't say anything before because I know it would have caused more of a scene."

"Be specific Dad, what is it that you think she's done wrong?"

"The Hayden's are wealthy, not quite as wealthy as us, but they also have an excellent reputation, one of the best."

"Dad," Logan said, now knowing what he was upset about.

"No, Logan meeting Francine and being polite is not asking too much."

"Trust me, Francine knows who Rory is, they've met before" Logan said, cutting to the point.

"How?" Mitchum asked, wondering what else there was to this story.

"Francine is Rory's paternal grandmother."

"What?"

"Her father is Chris Hayden, how did you not know that?"

"I think I've heard that mentioned, what does that have to do with Francine?"

"Chris is her son."

"I thought her son left the family years ago. I remember it being a big deal that he acted out and didn't follow in his father's footsteps."

"Well, I don't know how much he was around when Rory was a baby, but Lorelai left Hartford when Rory was one, and since then, he hasn't really been around much. I'd assume that was around the time he disappeared from society as well. Anyways, I know he missed almost all of her childhood, she only saw him every once in a while. Rory only began seeing him more during her junior year in college."

"So how often did she see Straub and Francine?"

"I'm not sure what it was like right after she's born, but the only time Rory met them was since she was a baby was when she was 16."

"Only time?" Mitchum asked confused.

"It wasn't good, and she hasn't spoken to them since. I don't know if she plans to," Logan said, simplifying the issue because they were about to join the group his father wanted him to talk too. He also didn't think everyone needed to know her family's business.

--

Finn and Bri walked around the party. Finn's parents weren't at the party, which meant they didn't have to find them upon entering the event. Instead, he had to meet and greet all the appropriate businessmen on behalf of his dad, which he had to say was much worse. Hearing old men drone on about the latest business deals and corporate scandal bored him to death.

--

"We should just find our parents and get it over with," Steph said as Colin tried to look busy.

"Fine, but when you get stuck talking to my father's current Barbie, remember I wanted to stay here."

"That's not funny. I am not talking to her."

Rolling his eyes at Steph, he spotted her parents, and figuring they would be much easier to deal with, led her in that direction.

"Mom, Dad, how are you tonight?" Steph asked, announcing their arrival.

"We're well, Colin good to see you again," Theo Vanderbilt said, giving him a firm handshake. He turned to his daughter and saw she was wearing an almost princess like dress. It was a burgundy strapless dress, the top having a minor amount of stitching and beading then flaring out to the ground. Adding to the image were the diamond encrusted teardrop shaped loops, connecting to form a necklace and matching earrings. "You look wonderful sweetie," he said and kissed her cheek.

"Theo, Cynthia," Colin greeted, having known Steph's parents for many years.

Steph turned and gave a big smile before hugging her brother and his wife. "Alex, Lily, I didn't know you would be here!"

"Well, you know this is the can't miss event of the year," Alex said in a teasing nature.

"Lily, how are you doing?" Colin asked, acknowledging the couple as well.

"Ready to get this one out of me," she said, pointing at her seven month pregnant belly.

Soon the group was joined by Colin's dad, who announced his presence by saying, "Son, were you going to avoid me all night?"

"No Father, we were heading to find you next."

"I'm here now," he said stiffly, then turned to the thirty something leggy brunette on his arm. "Caitlin, you remember my son Colin and his girlfriend Stephanie."

"Of course," she said with a huge smile.

"Andrew, Caitlin," Steph started.

Before she could finish, Caitlin interjected, "Mrs. McCrae."

"Right, Caitlin, how are you?" Steph asked. Steph knew Colin's stepmother wanted everyone to know whom she was married to, and while following her wishes would be more appropriate and fairly easy in this case, she had too much fun riling her up.

"Good, Andy knows just how to treat a girl," she said with a giggle. "Stephanie, you must tell me where you found your shoes, they're to die for."

"Is that a promise," Steph mumbled so only Colin could hear, making him stifle a laugh.

"You alright?" Alex asked, knowing Steph had said something.

"I'm fine."

The group talked for a few more minutes, before Cynthia pulled Theo away saying they needed to find some associates. Next, Andrew was pulling Colin to talk shop, leaving Steph, Alex, Lily, and Caitlin.

"Alex," Steph said, trying to get Caitlin to take the hint to leave, "is Ethan here tonight? I haven't seen him."

"No, he has a party for work tomorrow night and couldn't come today and get back to Nashville for tomorrow."

Caitlin, sensing she should be making herself scare to let the siblings catch up, finally excused herself, making a show of saying, "Well, I must find Shira Huntzberger, we have some girl chat to catch up on."

Steph waited until she was out of ear shot before letting out a huge breath, "Oh thank god!"

"Is she always like that?" Lily asked.

"The real question is, is she a step up or step down from the last wife," Steph joked. "So how is my little niece or nephew?"

"Doing good," Lily said, "but driving it's mother crazy. The baby's decided that 4a.m. is the perfect time to practice for soccer tryouts."

"Awwww. That's so cute. So soccer, huh?"

"We keep telling you, we're not finding out until the baby is born," Alex said, rolling his eyes at his sister's not to subtle attempt to get information.

"Why? I need to know what I should be buying."

"Buy gender neutral things Steph," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You want your child to be the next Pat?" she challenged.

"Pat?" Alex asked confused.

"He was a reoccurring character on SNL, he was sexually ambiguous, no one ever knew if it was a guy or girl."

Rolling his eyes he pointed out, "Rattles and car seats don't need to be gender specific."

"What about clothes and blankets? Do you want someone mistaking your precious daughter as a boy?"

"Won't happen," he said firmly, then wanting to redirect her inquisition he asked, "Enough about me, how is my shacked up baby sister?"

"We're not shacked up!"

"You live together, and you're not married," he pointed out.

"But you say that like he's some guy I found wandering down the street,"

"Didn't you?"

"It was a sidewalk, and I was 10. I think we're long past strangers."

"He's so uptight, I'm surprised he is okay with it."

"He's practical," Steph said seriously.

"Living with you is practical? Dramatic, chaotic, loud, all words I would use to describe the many years we lived together, never practical."

"Yes, practical. Less time wasted driving when we want to have sex," she said, with a straight face.

Alex just glared at her and said, "I need a drink."

Watching him walk away, both girls started laughing. After remaining quiet while brother and sister talked, Lily said, "You're going to give him a heart attack one of these days."

Smiling, Steph asked, "What will happen if that little one is a girl?"

"Let's hope for a boy," Lily said, and Steph nodded.

--

Rory, Bri and Steph were standing in a group avoiding many of the other girls at the party. They were filling Bri in on the hierarchy of the people present.

"Okay, for the guys, it's basically based on what your company is worth, which is fairly easy to figure out," Steph began, gesturing to the groups of men scattered around the room.

"The women is where it gets more complicated," Rory added in.

At Bri's questioning look, Steph began, "At the top, you have the DAR women."

"DAR?" Bri asked, not familiar with the term.

"Daughter's of the American Revolution," Steph answered.

"A women's organization that is made up of the descendants of patriots from the Revolutionary War, those who aided in achieving American independence," Rory explained, methodically.

"So they're at the top?" Bri asked, wanting to clarify.

"Yes, but with them there is a hierarchy," Rory said, then continued, "Like whether or not you're eligible for membership from one or both of your parents and then from there looking at how pure your DAR heritage is."

Seeing Bri's confusion, Steph said, "It's similar to your nationality: If all your grandparents came to the US from France, you are 100percent French. But if one of your grandparents came from Poland, one from Russia, and two from France, you are only 50percent French."

"Okay…" Bri stated, understanding Steph's example but not seeing how it fit into the DAR.

Seeing that Bri was still confused, Steph continued, "Rory and I are have a higher standing in the DAR than say Honor because both of our parents are descendents from some patriot or another. Honor, however, only has the connection from the Huntzberger side through marriage, neither Shira nor the Huntzbergers have patriot blood. She only has patriot blood from Elias's mother who was a descendant. So her blood isn't very pure: She's only an eighth DAR. Now, most people don't know the specifics of how pure someone is in the DAR, we only have a general idea about Honor since she's Logan's sister, and she's one of our closest friends, so we've talked about it."

"Right," Rory said, picking back up the explanation, "then a variety of smaller factors could play into your standing like public service your family has done. Even more important than that is if you are the descendant of a president, vice president, or another high ranking government official."

"Like my family," Steph said offering another example, "the Vanderbilt's founded a University, and that is taken into account."

"It can get complex, but generally yes, the DAR women are near the top," Rory stated.

Thinking for a moment, Steph continued, "Next are women who are old money, but not connected to the DAR."

"Is that what Finn's family is?" Bri asked, knowing they were not from America so could not be part of the DAR.

"Technically yes, since they are Australian, but they have a long history there, so they fit somewhere between the two. Seth's family is old money," Steph said thinking through people Bri would have at least heard of.

"Got it," Bri said trying to keep up.

"There is a slight hierarchy within that group as well, based off of things like prominent family members. Next is new money," Steph kept explaining.

"This is where a lot of the slutty society girls fit," Rory explained with a wicked smile.

"Their goal is to marry a guy from old money, to help elevate their family's status," Steph offered.

"Then, last are the gold diggers," Rory said seriously.

"Like Shira and Caitlin," Steph said, nodding.

"Caitlin?" Bri asked.

"Colin's step-mother of the month," Steph said with the wave of a hand.

"So I would fit in with the gold diggers?" Bri asked, offended at the idea, but seeing she didn't fit in anywhere else.

"Well, there's the undefined groups, let's call them normal," Steph offered.

"Normal?"

"Yeah, not rich, but not gold diggers, just normal. Laura fits in here," Rory said trying to make her see this wasn't bad.

"They generally fit between old and new money, but people tend to forget about them because they fit in unnoticed."

Rory and Steph continued to fill Bri in on various people and things before they were interrupted by Shira, Caitlin, and a few others joining their group.

"Hello," Steph greeted politely.

"How are you girls tonight?" Caitlin asked in a fake cheeriness.

"We're well."

"How's work?" Caitlin asked, with a false smile.

Before anyone else could answer, Steph said, "Work has been going well, I find my research very interesting."

"When are you quitting Rory, you know, to take on the duties of being a wife?"

"She doesn't need to quit, I'm not when I get married," Steph said, trying to save her friend the questioning.

Shira could be seen glaring at Steph for answering the question so decided to be more specific, "Rory, that is an absolutely gorgeous necklace, when'd you buy it?"

"Logan bought it for me along with matching earrings," Rory replied simply, knowing what Shira was trying to do.

"Where did he get them?" another woman asked.

"Harry Winston," Rory said calmly, knowing the name would draw attention.

"So how much are they worth?" Caitlin asked, knowing that he made only the finest jewelry.

"I didn't ask," Rory said truthfully.

"When did you get them?" she asked, wanting more information.

"For our two year anniversary."

"Really?" Caitlin asked snidely, "Well, they are beautiful. But, honestly, what else would you expect for an anniversary than to get some gorgeously expensive jewelry."

"I made him promise not to get me anything. He had gone all out for Valentine's Day, and I didn't want him to do it again. Of course, he didn't listen, he can be so thoughtful," Rory said truthfully, but giving the society appropriate version of the story.

Annoyed that this wasn't going as planned, Shira turned on the last victim, commenting, "Brianna that's a lovely dress you have."

"Thank you," Bri said nervously.

"Where'd you find it?" she asked, appearing to be curious.

"A boutique in New York."

"Finn didn't buy it for you?" Shira asked, seeing Bri's expression she corrected herself, "Of course he did. Was it your parting gift?"

"What?"

"Well, I mean, he's leaving soon right, due back in Australia soon."

"Uh…" Bri started.

Before she could finish, one of younger girls in the group added, "A thank you for all of your services."

"No," Steph said firmly, stepping in.

Laughing, the girl said, "Tell him I say hi," then gave a flirtatious wink and walked away.

As the woman walked away, Bri was starting to let the fact she was upset show through. Rory noticed this and said, "Ignore them."

"Did you hear what they said?" Bri asked astounded.

"I did, but you have to ignore them. That's what they wanted to do, make you doubt yourself and the reason you're here," Steph assured her.

"Which is?"

"You shouldn't doubt yourself because you are a great person, better than they'll ever be, and you're here because Finn asked you. He wants to be here with you," Rory said confidently.

"Let's get you another drink," Steph said, leading the group to the bar all the while chatting.

--

Almost thirty minutes later, Rory and Logan were talking to Seth and Laura about the preparations they had started for the baby when Rory heard her name being called.

Excusing themselves from Seth and Laura and turning around, Rory saw her dad and smiled, "Hey," before giving him a tight hug.

Both Rory and Chris knew that their relationship had improved greatly over that past two years. Ever since Chris started paying for Yale, they had stayed in much more consistent contact. They usually talked twice a month and also met for lunch when Chris was in town on business, which was every few months. Their relationship would never be as close as the one Rory and Lorelai had, but it was now something that had a defined place in Rory's life and she liked it.

"I didn't know you were going to be here," Rory said.

"I tried my hardest to get out of it, but nothing worked," Chris joked.

"I'm sure this place has plausible escape routes," Rory shot back.

Chris smiled at her, she was so much like Lorelai all he could do was laugh, "Hi Logan."

"Chris," Logan replied and the men exchanged a quick greeting, before Logan glanced to his side.

"I'd like to introduce Carmen, my girlfriend," Chris said, looking at Rory to see how she would react. "Carmen, this is my daughter Rory and her fiancé Logan."

"Nice to meet you," Carmen said with a friendly smile.

"You too," Rory offered on behalf of both of them.

"How are the wedding plans coming?" she asked, hoping to break the ice.

"Good, we've got locations and dresses pick. Tomorrow we're meeting to start hammering out details."

"So it'll be exciting, but at the same time stressful," she offered.

Glancing at Shira, who was still standing on the other side of the room, "Stressful would be one word…"

"Don't worry Ror, I'm sure there will be plausible escape routes," Chris replied, mimicking her words from earlier.

"So how long have you two been dating?" Logan asked.

"Officially, almost a month, but we'd been on some dates before that," Chris answered.

After a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, Rory asked, "How's Gigi? I haven't seen her in a while." As she asked this, she thought about her situation with Gigi, and how it was very different than the one she had with her dad. Rory knew she had a younger sister and loved her as such, but to this point their interactions had been very limited. She hadn't seen her in almost a year and only talked very briefly on the phone a couple of times. Part of this was the age difference: Gigi was only now beginning to hold any semblance of a conversation, but also because Rory didn't make it up to Boston often.

"She's good. Talks about her new dress for your wedding to anyone who will listen."

"Really," Logan interjected, "you think she could rub off on Rory here…I can't get a peep out of her about her dress."

"But sweetie," Rory responded super sugary, "you can't know anything about the bride's dress – it's bad luck."

"Aren't you two just the cutest couple ever!" Carmen exclaimed, obviously not realizing that Rory was teasing Logan. The couple didn't know how to respond to her exclamation so they didn't say anything.

Luckily for them, Carmen continued, asking, "So how long did you date before getting engaged?"

"Just over two years," Logan answered and then turned to Chris and asked, "You said Gigi's excited about coming to the wedding. I hope she's not too upset about having to miss out on the reception."

Chris nodded in acknowledgment, saying, "She doesn't understand why little kids aren't invited for cake. But, I promised her a piece of cake which seemed to satisfy her. Besides, she'll have more fun at your mom's with the nanny than behaving properly at the reception."

"Very true," Logan laughed.

The group was so busy talking that none of them noticed Francine Hayden approach her son. Unfortunately, Rory and Logan didn't have time to get away before she reached the group. Halting conversation, she exclaimed, "Christopher, darling, I've been looking all over for you."

Rory froze when she saw who had just joined the conversation. It was the last member of the Hayden family, her paternal grandmother, Francine. Rory had not spoken to her since the incident in high school, she had heard her mentioned a few times and had even seen her once or twice at society events. When she did, she always made sure to keep her distance. Rory wasn't even sure that Francine would recognize her.

Seeing his daughter tense up, he sent her an apologetic glance and replied, "Mother, how are you? You look lovely this evening. I was going to search for you as soon as we finished talking with Rory and Logan."

"Really. Your daughter is here. I didn't realize."

"Yes Mother, she's right behind you."

"Oh Rory, hello."

"Hi Francine," Rory responded.

"I didn't see you speaking with Christopher. Have you been here long?"

"We've been here about a half hour, right honey," Rory said stressing the honey.

"Right," Logan jumped in seeing that Rory was not comfortable with the situation.

"Mother, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Carmen," Chris spoke allowing his daughter a moment to collect her thoughts.

"It's nice to meet you," Francine responded with a nod, halting all conversation.

After a few moments of silence, Logan noticed how nervous Rory looked. He held out his hand to Francine and interjected, "Logan Huntzberger, Rory's fiancé. It's nice to see you again."

"Oh yes, Logan. I spoke with your mother a little while ago, she mentioned you were here somewhere. How are you this evening?"

"Fine, thank you."

"Rory," Francine began and then paused. Francine looked at Rory's outfit and noticed the silver chain holding a slightly larger teardrop diamond with a smaller pink round diamond about it. She also saw she had matching earrings and took a moment to gather courage, then said, "your dress and jewelry are beautiful. The pink looks exquisite on you. Even the diamonds match."

"Thank you Francine, but Logan must take all the credit for all the jewelry since they were gifts from him."

"I should have known you would have impeccable taste in diamonds Logan, and that ring, simply breathtaking…why I just wish my Straub had such taste," she said wishing that her late husband had been better at picking out jewelry for important occasions rather than her having to do it herself.

Logan chuckled uncomfortably at such praises of his jewelry picking ability and replied, "I don't think it's the diamonds, I think it's the woman wearing them." He had always been uncomfortable when people complemented him on things he bought Rory. It was more about the thought and meaning behind the gift than the flawlessness of the actual diamond itself.

Another silence fell over the group; however, before it could become too awkward, the start of dinner was announced and the group moved to find their seats.

--

The dinner was good, except that it lasted for nearly two hours. Luckily, they were all sitting together and could keep things lively. Once dessert was finally cleared, Finn was out of his seat and at the bar in what was probably a record time.

"Is he always like that after a long dinner?" Bri asked.

"Yes," Logan and Colin said simultaneously.

Music began to play in the back ground and a few of the older couples made their way onto the dance floor, while the group continued to talk.

Not much later a flustered Honor came rushing over and grabbed Logan by the hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.

"Something wrong?" Logan asked laughing, noticing how frazzled his sister was.

"This guy would not leave me alone."

"Why didn't you tell him you are married?"

"I did, he wouldn't believe me."

"Speaking of, where is Josh?"

"Having a cigar outside with some friends."

"So you need me to save you?" he asked with a smirk.

"Don't gloat," she said with an eye roll. "So how have you been?"

"Good."

"And work?"

"It's work, but I'm actually enjoying it."

"Good. And Rory?"

"Rory's good."

"She was in the hospital Logan."

"You already called and got a full 30 minute Q and A session on the issue."

"Logan," she said in warning tone.

"She's fine. I'm making sure she sleeps and eats well, and has water along with her coffee."

"So Rory's good?" Honor asked, wanting one more confirmation.

"Yes! Is this some sort of check list?"

"Yup, almost done too. Wedding plans?"

"Good so far. Call me tomorrow…that may change."

"The honeymoon?"

"A secret, and since that's all I'm telling you, I know it will stay that way."

"You're no fun," Honor said, with a playful pout. Then thinking of payback she asked, "And the wedding night?"

Logan groaned, "You already had Josh talk to me about this, must you do it too."

"I just want it to be perfect for the both of you."

"I know," Logan relented.

"Do you know what you're going to get her?"

"For what?" Logan asked, not sure which event she was referencing.

"On your wedding day," Honor said as if it should be obvious.

"No. I've thought about it, I mean the easy choice would be jewelry, but somehow that seems so impersonal."

"Well, what does she like to do?"

"She likes coffee, reading and watching movies. None of those are anything I would want to give her on our wedding. I want something she would like, but is romantic, would remind her of us."

"She has to like other things too. Keep thinking, I'm sure you'll come up with something. Now, I think you need to go save Steph."

Logan glanced over his shoulder to where his sister was looking, then turned back, gave Honor a quick kiss on the check before heading towards his friend.

--

Steph, Bri and Rory were chatting, and Colin was sitting, hoping to avoid his father, when Finn came back with a tray of drinks. Setting it down and then passing them out, the five talked a while before Finn stood up, turned to Rory and demanded, "Dance with me Love!"

Rory laughed and set her drink down and let Finn drag her onto the floor.

"Is it okay for you to be dancing?" Finn asked, looking Rory over from head to toe.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Don't want you to faint on me," he said playfully, but Rory knew he was concerned.

"Logan told you to keep an eye on me didn't he?" Rory accused.

"I would have been looking out for you anyways, but yes, yes, he did."

"Thanks," Rory said with a small smile. "How's work going?"

"Work? Really, is this conversation that boring?" Finn teased.

"No, we just haven't talked about things like this in a while, I miss it."

"Good, I've been extremely busy."

"Crisis?"

"A long drawn out one, yes."

"What happened?"

"Well, we've been having some issues with our Latin American hotels."

"Really!" Rory exclaimed, "What kind of issues?"

"Well, you know how Pinochet died about this time last year…"

"Yeah."

"So, now most of Latin America is in chaos with the power struggle in Chile and speculation on what is going to happen in Cuba after Fidel and his younger brother Raul die."

"I've been reading about everything that's going on there."

"Right, so my dad's been handling most of the problems, while I've been taking over some of his work. But I've been keeping up on the issues there as well, it's really quite interesting to see the fallout from his death, especially the affect it's had on the country and region."

"I know. I can't believe the American government supported Pinochet's military coup over President Allende's government in '73," Rory exclaimed, not understanding how the country could not support a popularly elected president regardless of the fact that he didn't get 50percent of the vote. Apparently, the fear of communism was so severe during the Cold War that Britain and the US would rather aid the military junta than support a president who wanted to revolutionize the economy into a more socialist state.

"Under Pinochet, the government was the strongest in Latin America. Our hotels in Chile were doing well and we could keep a steady workforce there – I think it had something to do with them being too scared to be out and about when so many people went missing. But now, we can't keep a staff at our hotels. And, tourism industry is plummeting as well."

"Wow, I had no idea. I guess it's true that Chileans were scared of Pinochet and for good reason too. Tons of people went missing during his reign. It's just shocking that Reagan and Margaret Thatcher were two of his strongest allies when they claimed to support democracy above all else."

"But," Finn cut in, "they actually supported capitalism above all else."

"Exactly!"

With that, Rory and Finn continued to discuss politics in the Middle East and Russia for the rest of their song.

--

Steph watched as Finn took Rory off onto the dance floor. After a few moments, Colin turned to Bri and asked, "Want to join them?"

"I don't want to leave Steph all by herself," Bri said with worry.

Normally, Steph would agree with her, but what Colin was doing was so sweet, she had to let him, "I'll be fine, I'll get Huntz if I have to."

Colin walked Bri out onto the dance floor and said, "Congratulations."

"For what?" she asked confused.

"You survived."

"It's not over yet," she pointed out, glancing around.

"Trust me, you survived. Once dinner is over, people have had a few drinks, much less stressful of a crowd."

"I was nervous."

"And, I must say you handled the silverware like a pro," he said with a playful wink.

"There was a high pressure moment when I saw the fifth fork."

"They don't always set the dessert fork, sometimes they bring it out with dessert," Colin said in mock defensiveness. He then asked, "Did anyone corner you?"

"There were some girls when I went to the restroom earlier. And don't worry, they weren't very nice, but thanks to all of your warnings, I was prepared."

"Good. My father didn't hit on you did he?"

Mustering up the most serious face she could, she said, "You don't want me to be your step mom?"

"You're hysterical," he said dryly and the two continued to talk and dance.

--

After leaving Honor and walking up to the table, Logan took Steph's hand and raised it slightly, asking, "May I have the honor of this dance?"

"Of course, kind sir," Steph replied, standing gracefully from her seat, leaving two teenage boys, awe-stricken boys behind.

"What was that about?" Logan asked.

"They're high school seniors, wanted to show me a good time."

"I'm just a regular knight tonight," Logan smirked.

"Are you?"

"You're the second damsel in distress I came to the aid of tonight."

"I see, but you know what I was thinking?"

"What?"

"They are exactly like you guys were at that age, well mostly you and Finn."

"I was not!"

"You guys hit on anyone, and shamelessly too," Steph reminded him.

"You're forgetting one thing."

"What that?"

"I always got the girl. So really they're just a cheap imitation, otherwise, you'd be in the coat room right now."

"Are you propositioning me, Mr. Huntzberger?"

"I wouldn't want to shatter your virginal innocence," Logan said sarcastically.

Steph couldn't keep playing along and just started laughing. "My virginal innocence?"

"I thought it was a nice touch."

"I'll be sure to tell Colin tonight."

"Do you really want my death on your hands?"

Steph shook her head, "Back to my wild ways."

Each pair finished their dance and then switched around, going back to their significant other, with Logan forcing Rory to sit down and drink some water every few songs, not wanting her to over exert herself.

When they decided to leave, Colin, Steph, Finn, and Bri headed out to the limo they arrived in to go back to New York while Logan and Rory took another limo to the Dragonfly where they were staying so they could meet with everyone the next day to work on the wedding plans.

--

The four heading back to New York spent most of the ride in silence after spending the better part of the last 5 hours socializing. Only after Steph and Colin were dropped off at their apartment did Bri think to start a conversation.

"Thanks," Bri said barely above a whisper. The night had been such a whirl wind, and it wasn't until she was sitting in the silence of the limo that she had a chance to think everything over in her head. When she did, something Shira had said kept coming back into her head.

"What's wrong Doll?" Finn asked, knowing something was bothering her.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just all overwhelming," Bri lied, not wanting to bring it up, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Really?" Finn asked, knowing there was something more she was thinking about.

The two sat silently before Bri blurted out, "Are you moving back to Australia?"

"What?" Finn asked surprised.

"Are you moving back?" Bri repeated.

"I don't know," Finn said honestly.

"You don't know?"

"I guess it's an eventual possibility. But I don't have to, I like living here, I would only go back if I wanted to," Finn explained.

"Why?"

"Well, the headquarters for the corporation are there, but like I said, I don't need to move."

"So you're not moving next year?" Bri asked, wanting to make sure she understood him clearly.

"No. I plan on being in the US for a number of years."

"Okay," Bri said, accepting that answer.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

"What corporation?"

"Morgan Corporation."

"Your family owns it?"

"Yes," Finn answered simply, knowing more questions would come.

"So they own a hotel in Australia and America?"

"A hotel?" Finn asked, almost wanting to laugh at the question.

"Well, the hotel you work at here and the company is Australian so I would think you own one there."

"We do," Finn said still amused.

"And you run the hotel in New York?"

"I work out of the hotel in New York," Finn corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"I help run that hotel, but there is still a hotel manager because I have other duties as well."

"Like what?" Bri asked curious.

"I have to keep an eye on other hotels."

"In Australia?"

"No, here."

"You have more than one hotel in America?"

Laughing, Finn said, "Yes."

"How many?"

"Where?"

"In America," Bri replied.

"About 600," Finn answered almost embarrassed.

"600!" Bri exclaimed.

"Well that's in North America, around 450 in America" Finn corrected.

"How many total?"

"Almost 1500."

"Where?"

"Well, roughly, 300 in Australia, 300 in Europe, 150 in Asia, and 150 in South America," Finn answered, ticking through the list in his head.

"So you own 1500 hotels, that's it?" Bri asked sarcastically, not even able to comprehend what that meant.

"No."

"No?"

"Well I don't own them, Morgan Corporation does, but there are other things too."

"What other things, and who owns the corporation?"

"Mostly my dad owns the company right now, but I hold some stock, and I will inherit his eventually."

"Okay and what else?"

"Morgan Corp owns a cruise line in Australia that has eight ships. And from my mom's family, there is a vineyard," Finn explained. The vineyard was something his mom had inherited as the only child. It was a successful business, and her family was wealthy, but they never were ones to get caught up in society. When his parents married, his mom's family had consciously made a point to keep the company independent of the Morgan conglomerate, but he knew some form of a merger would be made when he was given control of both.

"Wow," Bri breathed out not sure what else to day. "So you're really rich."

"Yes."

"How rich?" she asked, trying to grasp the information.

"Are you asking how much I'm worth now, or will be worth some day?"

"What's the difference?"

"What I'm worth now basically consists of what was in my trust fund, my salary, a few stocks, and some property, like my apartment. What I will be worth in the future basically adds on the worth of company to my personal worth now."

"Um, both?" Bri asked shyly.

Finn thought about her question for a few minutes, trying to decide if he should answer. He knew this was not a topic that was discussed outside of family, but for some reason heard himself answering before he could stop it, "My trust fund was at 100 million, so my worth is slightly over that now that I've turned 25 and was given access to the funds. The total worth of Morgan Corporation and the Vineyard is around one billion."

"1.1 billion," Bri mumbled.

"I guess, I haven't thought about it much."

"Is that more or less than Logan? Or what about Steph or Colin?" Bri asked. She didn't know exactly what Huntzberger Media was worth, but working in the newspaper industry, knew it was a lot. She wondered how Finn's worth compared to that, it would put it into some prospective.

Thinking about the question, Finn ran through what he knew in his head. Logan's trust was around 80 million, while HM was worth 850 million. Colin's trust was 60 million and his family fortune around 500 million. Steph's, while the Vanderbilt name carried the best reputation had a trust of 50 million and her family was worth 450 million. Rory, had trusts of her own totaling 20 million, he assumed she had money from her grandparents and father, but she had also mentioned her great grandmother, either way he didn't know the details. Going through the figures he knew the answer, but knew he couldn't tell Bri. Finally sighing he let out, "Bri this isn't something we talk about."

"We?" Bri asked confused.

"Me, Logan, Colin, anyone from old money really. We don't talk about what we have or what we are worth, it's considered taboo, but everyone knows. I'm not saying you can't know, but it's not my place to tell you about them."

"So I'm just supposed to walk around clueless?" Bri asked.

"No, it's just not…"

"I could look up how much the companies are worth on the internet," Bri reminded him.

Knowing she was right, Finn relented, "Fine, but I'm only telling you about the family, not them individually."

"Okay," Bri said, trying to brace herself for what he could possibly say.

"The Huntzberger's are worth around 850 million."

"You're richer than Logan?" Bri asked in shock.

Finn just nodded and continued, "The Vanderbilt family fortune is about 450 million, and the McCrae's are worth about 500 million I think – it's hard to keep up with all of Colin's dad's divorces since each of his ex's get a small amount in the divorce settlement."

"So if you're not supposed to talk about why did you tell me how much you are worth?"

"You're my girlfriend," Finn offered simply.

"You didn't have to tell me," Bri pushed, she didn't want Finn to think she needed to know, or that money had anything to do with why she was dating him.

"Bri, I love you, our relationship is great. I told you because I wanted you to know." During Bri's silence that followed, Finn realized what he said and just looked at her and calmly repeated, "I love you."

Bri didn't know how to respond, mentally, she was freaking out. Before she could even try and fumble through an answer, she felt Finn kiss her softly.

"Finn, I…"

"It's okay Doll," Finn said soothingly. Looking out the window, he saw they were about to pull up in front of her apartment. The pair got out and Finn walked Bri to her door and gave her one last kiss and wished her goodnight, before heading home himself.

--

Rory and Logan watched the other limo pull out while waiting to start their shorter drive to the Dragonfly. By the time the limo reached the Inn, Rory was dozing in and out against Logan's chest. When Logan saw the door open, he began to nudge Rory awake.

"Ace," he whispered.

"Mmm?"

"We're at the Inn, we need to go to our room."

"Sleep here," she mumbled.

Not giving up quite yet, Logan started to move towards the door and repeated, "Come on Ace."

Finally opening her eyes, she looked around, and seeing where they were, followed Logan out of the limo. Logan led then to the desk, quickly grabbed their key from the desk where Lorelai had told them she would put it, and led Rory up to their hotel room.

Once in the room, Rory immediately turned on the coffee pot before going to get out of her formal clothes and slipping into her pajamas. She was almost done pulling the bobby pins out of her hair when she heard the coffee beep, indicating it was done.

Logan had walked in and simply removed his tux and was now sitting in his boxers and a tshirt, watching as Rory went through her little routine. He laughed when he caught her practically moaning when she heard the coffee was ready and then watched as she left the bathroom and filled a mug.

After pouring her second cup, she walked towards him, and gave him a very happy, "Hi."

"Hi," he replied, amused at her current behavior.

"What?" she asked, sensing something was off, and sat down next to him on the bed.

"You were practically asleep in the limo and now you're bouncing off the walls."

"Coffee," Rory said in a 'duh,' voice.

"Why not just go to bed?" Logan asked confused.

"That would be boring," Rory said seriously.

"We wouldn't want that," Logan said, then leaned over and kissed Rory, who responded quickly to the kiss. Since she had fainted, the most they had done was a quick kiss here and there. If she had to guess, she would say Logan was nervous about taking it any further.

Rory wrapped her arms around Logan's neck, working to deepen the kiss. Soon, he started to lower her body towards the bed, kneeling over her as he moved. His lips moved off her lips and to her neck and down to her chest that was exposed by her shirt. For her part, Rory was enjoying the sensations he was creating, not wanting it to end.

Logan worked his way back up, and as he did, slid his hand under her shirt. In between kisses, he began to expose her stomach and finally pulled her shirt off completely. Logan kissed her for a few moments before moving his mouth to her breast.

Rory, not to be outdone, reached down and pulled at his shirt. Once it was discarded, she weaved her hands into his hair not wanting him to stop. Logan had his hand under her shorts, running his fingers over her panties. After teasing her for a bit, he removed his hand, causing Rory to groan, he moved to the elastic waist and tugged her panties and shorts down together. Rory moved out from under Logan, and as she did urging him to remove his boxers, before settling herself over him.

She was about move down his body when he suddenly sat up and said, "We need to stop."

"What why?"

"This isn't good for you: You still need to take it easy."

Rolling her eyes, she let herself sit on his stomach and said, "Logan this is getting ridiculous."

"I'm just worried."

"And that's sweet, but do ever plan on us having sex again?"

"Yes," Logan said firmly and in disbelief that she even asked that.

"So why not tonight?"

"It's only been a few days since you were in the hospital."

"Live on the edge Huntzberger."

"I don't want to push you too fast."

"You're not, I really want to do this Logan," Rory said. Then leaned forward, kissing his chest and then neck, up to his ear and whispered, "I've missed you."

This caused Logan to let out a low groan and flip them back over. He moved his lips back down her body, only now continuing further down to her center. Happy to be this close to her again, Logan teased her for a while, he loved watching her react when he did this. Soon, he started to trail his lips back up her body and settled himself him between her legs. Grabbing a condom, he quickly encased his arousal. He kissed her again as he moved to enter her. He paused, enjoying the feeling before he began to move.

A while later, Logan lay on the bed, Rory curled up next to him asleep, on the verge of sleep himself as he dreaded the day to come.

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A/N: We hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always please review!

Now, for a few things: Please check out the blog to see pictures of the dresses and to clear up any questions from all of the family members in the chapter. We didn't mean to make it confusing, but it's a party so naturally there were lots of people. Also while there was a lot going on here some things we did want to explain were society, money and the Hayden's. There will be more Haydens, this was just the first place we planned on bringing them in. If you have any questions surrounding any of this (or the fic in general) please ask!

We're planning on the next chapter to be up quicker than this was, but if you're wondering look at the blog for updates on the progress.