Harrisburg Municipal Courthouse
June 24, 2009
1425 hours

The trial had begun the previous morning with a very smug looking Logan strolling into the courthouse in a sharp suit, joined by an equally sharp dressed older man whose reputation as a shark proceeded him. As the day wore on, Logan began to look more and more disheveled from fidgeting nervously with his tie and running his fingers through his once perfectly coifed hair; a nervous habit he'd never been able to break. It wasn't just the evidence piling up against him, but the fact that his shark of a lawyer severely underestimated Paris "The Pitbull" Gellar who was taking perverse joy in destroying the man's defense strategy. By the time they'd returned from lunch, much of Logan's support had migrated to Rory's side of the room, including Colin and Finn who were now shooing disgusted looks at their former friend.

The court had heard from the room service porter, the nurse who had examined Rory, Marty, Jess, and had seen all the evidence from the attack as well as the emails and voicemails Rory had received. Just before one o'clock Rory was called to the stand.

"Ace, why are you doing this to me?" Logan pleaded with her for the hundredth time since the trial had begun.

"Mr. Huntzberger, one more outburst and you will be held in contempt of court." The judge chastised him, "Counsel, I strongly suggest you get control of your client."

"Yes, your honor." The older man nodded.

"Miss Gellar, you may proceed," The judge nodded.

Just as they'd planned, Paris asked Rory a series of questions outlining her relationship with Logan both past and present before leading her into more difficult questions regarding the unwanted contact and eventual attack. Rory answered all the questions, her blue eyes never leaving Paris's brown ones, even when the defense counsel cross-examined her, trying to sully her character.

"Tell me, Miss Danes," The older lawyer gave her a smarmy smile, "Have you ever been in trouble with the law?"

"Objection, your honor!" Paris interjected, "Relevance?"

"Setting a precedent for decision making and mental state." The older man stated as if it were obvious and Paris was just trying to pester him.

"I'll allow it, but only because I'm curious as to how you are going to make this line of questioning relevant to the matter at hand, but tread lightly, counselor." The judge warned.

"Thank you, your honor. Now Miss Danes, have you ever been in trouble with the law?"

Rory spared Logan a brief withering stare, knowing full well that her record had been expunged and the only way the lawyer would have known anything was if Logan had told him. "Yes," She sighed, "Logan and I stole a yacht when I was 20 years old." She attempted to point out that she had done her community service and the charge had been expunged, but the lawyer cut her off, pacing the floor like a jungle gat stalking its prey.

"What was your mental state at that time?"

"I was upset," Rory explained.

"So you are prone to making bad decisions when upset?" The lawyer pressed, it was more statement than question.

"No, I…" She started.

"How are we supposed to know you didn't just sleep with my client and regret cheating on your boyfriend so you called rape?" He demanded.

"Do you think I wanted this to happen?" Rory's voice rising as she spoke, "Do you honestly think I would want to sleep with the man who had been stalking me for months when I have a boyfriend who I love and want to spend the rest of my life with?"

"Maybe you just like it rough and were embarrassed by the bruises," The smarmy lawyer speculated.

"No! You hear that word?" Rory shot back, ignoring the proud looks on the faces of her friends and family, even Paris was smirking, albeit hidden by a carefully placed pseudo-thoughtful hand. "I was just as capable of saying it that night as I am today, and I used it repeatedly along with 'stop,' 'leave,' 'you're hurting me,' 'I don't want you here,' and 'get off of me.' Not that those phrases mattered because the moment I said 'no,' it became rape." Rory was breathing heavy by the time she was done; long gone was the slightly glazed over look her eyes had been sporting since the attack, they were now laser focused and staring daggers at Logan who was sliding lower in his seat, almost as if he wanted to melt into the floor.

"I think I've heard enough." The judge broke in, "Miss Danes you may sit down now."

Rory simply nodded and returned to her seat at the table by Paris, sharing a quick hug with her parents as Jess gave her a knowing smirk and mouthed, 'No coffee.' She smiled back and mouthed the same back to him over her father's shoulder before taking her seat. Everyone sat in reverent silence as the judge shuffled papers on his desk before clearing his throat and organizing the notes in front of him.

With a small nod from the judge, the bailiff had everyone rise. Rory reached back and felt a strong hand grasp hers and give it a small squeeze, she didn't have to look to know who it was.

The judge slowly looked over the courtroom before beginning to speak. "Based on the evidence presented and testimony given, this court has reached its verdict. Mister Huntzberger, you have been found guilty on both the charge of Rape and the charge of Harassment by use of Telephone or Media. You will be remanded into custody until your sentencing hearing next Tuesday, July first."

A collective sigh of relief went up from Rory's side of the room as the judge banged his gavel followed closely by a grown from the Huntzberger camp. Rory and Paris shared a rare hug before turning and being embraced by her family.

"How are you Luv?" Rory recognized the melodic accent of her ex's best friend.

"Better than I was," She sighed, allowing Finn to pull her into his arms.

"I'm sorry," She felt Colin's hand on her shoulder, "If we'd known…"

"It's okay," She assured him, slipping out of Finn's arms and into his, "You didn't know."

"You will let us know if you need anything, won't you Luv?" Finn asked, "Just because Logan's proven himself to be a complete arse to say the least, doesn't mean that we are."

"I appreciate that, but I'm fine, really." She assured the them both, "I would like it if we could stay in touch, though; I've missed you both."

"Absolutely," Colin grinned.

"You haven't already burnt our contact info along with our visages, have you?" Finn asked.

"No, I still have the numbers, assuming they are still your numbers," She chuckled, "I could never bring myself to delete them."

"Hey Ror; ready to go home?" Jess asked, coming up beside her. He had placed his hand at the small of her back and was now rubbing his thumb along her spine, shooting thrills through her body with each pass.

"In a sec. Jess, I'd like you to meet Colin and Finn, they're old friends from Yale." She explained.

"Nice to meet you," Jess shook their hands.

"You too, shame it had to be under these circumstances." Finn nodded, "You take care of our girl here."

"I will," Jess nodded.

"See you later, Luv," Finn kissed her cheek. Colin gave her a quick smirk and squeezed her hand before following his friend out the courthouse door.

"Can we go now?" Jess asked, his thumb never ceasing its motion as he spoke.

"God, yes," She leaned into him, "I think Mom and Dad are starting to get suspicious."

"Do you want to tell them?" He asked.

"Not today," Rory shook her head, "I've had enough drama to last me a few weeks."

"Okay," He nodded and guided her out the door and to his car to head home.

Truncheon Books and Café
July 1, 2008
1307 hours

Rory was just walking into the shop when the phone began to ring at the front desk. A quick look around revealed that none of the guys were available. Knowing her shift would be starting soon, she grabbed the cordless extension and headed toward the apartment stairs. "Truncheon Books and Café, this is Bunny; what can I do you for?"

"Do you have anything in handsome, flannelled, Marine?" Lorelai joked.

"Sorry, fresh out, but we have three 20-something, bookish, Marines left." Rory quipped.

"Too young, I like mine about 20 years older with a nice, big…"

"Mom!" Rory scolded.

"Diner," Lorelai scoffed, "Get your mind out of the gutter."

"What's up?" Rory rolled her eyes, "I'm guessing there was a specific reason for your call, aside from harassing the staff of the bookstore."

"Does a mother need a reason to call her favorite eldest daughter?"

"I'm your only eldest daughter," Rory pointed out, balancing the cordless on her shoulder as she let herself into the apartment. "You better not let Mimi hear you saying that. She may not understand the joke."

"I'm safely tucked into my office away from little ears." Lorelai informed her, "Speaking of, how was the sentencing hearing?"

"How was that a 'speaking of'?" She chuckled, pulling a burgundy blouse and a pair of jean capris out of her drawer, putting her mother on speaker while she changed out of the business clothes she'd worn to court.

"Logan has freakishly small ears." Lorelai offered, causing Rory to roll her eyes in a very Dames-like fashion. "So?"

"He got 10 years for rape and 2 for stalking." Rory relayed as she located and slipped on a pair of black flats.

"Good," Lorelai nodded, "So what are you up to this week?"

"Helping out the guys around the store," She shrugged, pulling her hair up in a ponytail, "Chris is dealing with a couple new artists this week, Jess is in writing overload between his second novel and editing five others, and Matt is on recruiter duty all week."

"Are you ever coming home or are you going to stay indefinitely?"

"Well Marty and Lucy's wedding is in a couple weeks, so I think I'll stick around until at least then." She replied, heading back down the stairs, "The campaign will be coming back through Philly in August, I'm thinking of rejoining when it does."

"I bet your guy will like that," Lorelai chuckled, "How's he feel about you living with your cousin and his two buddies?"

"He's okay with it," Rory smiled, "I do have my own room, you know."

"Still together?"

"Still together," Rory confirmed as a few young adults walked in, "Hey Mom, I gotta go."

"Why so mean to Mommy?" Lorelai feigned insult.

"I have customers, Mom." Rory sighed, "I'll talk to you later."

"Fine leave your poor mother to wither away from boredom."

"So dramatic," Rory rolled her eyes, "Go, bug Michel if you're bored; bye Mom."

"Bye sweets," Lorelai hung up to go pester her concierge.