"Love's such a delicate thing that we do

with nothing to prove

which I never knew..."

~The Shins, Simple Song

Logan rolled over and immediately groaned. The sheets felt like sandpaper. "Ugh! Rory!" He called out to her.

Popping her head out from the bathroom, toothbrush hanging out of her mouth, she answered "yes dear?"

"Crumbs! There are so many freaking crumbs in our bed. It's like I'm lying on the beach."

Rory shrugged, and her eyes danced in mirth. "What can I say? Baby likes chips."

"Baby likes chips?" Logan asked. "Just like baby wants to go shopping, and baby doesn't want to get the door?" His words seemed annoyed, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

"Hey, you have a kid the size of a cantaloupe crawl into your stomach and then you can see if you feel like answering the door" she said.

Logan shook his head. "How about this. If baby likes chips so much, you and baby can go eat them in her crib, where the tiny little crumbs won't be anywhere near me."

Rory's eyes widened. "Oh? That's how you want to play this?" she asked with mock annoyance. "How about you sleep on the couch, which isn't anywhere near me."

"Are you threatening to withhold sex, Mrs. Huntzberger?" he challenged her.

"Absolutely," she said. "You don't get the goods if you're not going to submit to the baby's chip addiction."

Logan narrowed his eyes. "Who would that actually hurt?" he asked, knowing that she was the one who initiated the more intimate side of their marriage more than he did these days. Her third trimester libido was through the roof, not that he minded, but he knew she wouldn't last a whole night without sleeping next to him.

Rory just smiled and crawled into bed, snuggling into his side. It wasn't long before her hands started wandering.

"Cotton candy! No, apple cider! No, fried pickles! Yes, that's what I want, fried pickles dipped in marshmallow fluff and topped with hot mustard. Oh! And apple cider!"

Logan tried not to throw up in his mouth as he assured his wife he would be back with her chosen delicacy.

They were at the Stars Hollow winter festival. After walking around a bit, Rory had taken up residence on one of the benches with a blanket. When she had gotten cold, Logan offered to get her a warm snack of her choosing. He didn't understand her weird cravings, but he was happy to give her what she wanted because it kept her happy. He had always wanted her to be happy, but he couldn't explain the sudden need to bend at her every whim.

When he returned with her snack, he saw his wife surrounded by Miss Patty, Babette, Morey, and Taylor. They were patting her belly and talking at once. Her head was looking between each person rapidly, and the smile on her face was fake. She hated when people touched her belly.

Bracing himself, he flipped on the charm and sauntered up to the group.

"Ace, love, here is your snack," he said handing her the apple cider and pickles. Looking at his watch, he casually mentioned "Isn't it time for the Dance of the Snowflakes?"

The four Stars Hollow residents jumped up and made their way to the gazebo.

"Rory, doll, ain't ya coming?" Babette asked.

"We'll be there in a second," Logan answered for her, knowing that they had no plans of moving from their spot.

"Thanks," she said, biting into one of her pickles. "Yum! Want one?" she offered.

"No thank you. That's all yours," he answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Rory groaned and rubbed her belly. "She's very active today," Rory explained. "I think she's getting too big for me."

Logan placed his hand over Rory's, interlocking his fingers with hers. He leaned down and placed his hands on her belly. He was the only one she didn't mind doing that. She heard his quiet whispers but couldn't quite make out what he was saying. Almost immediately, their daughter stopped kicking. Logan looked up at her. "Better?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said incredulously. "What did you say? She's been kicking my ribs all day."

"I just told her that she was hurting you and asked her nicely to stop," he shrugged.

From that moment on, when Alice was using Rory's organs as a punching bag, the only thing that would calm her was Logan's voice. Every time it happened, he looked at her like he was the cat that ate the canary. Rory couldn't even bring herself to be jealous, she was just happy to get some relief from the growing baby.

Logan loved his wife. He loved her quirks and the times that she didn't make sense. He just smiled when she insisted that their kitchen appliances have names and when she ate the smallest apple first so its feelings wouldn't be hurt. He thought it was cute that she paid more attention to ugly dogs than the cute ones so they wouldn't have low self-esteem.

The woman in front of him, however, was not cute. He was genuinely worried about the way she went from zero to crazy in 60 seconds. She was happy when he had gotten home from work. He kissed her on the cheek and offered to help with dinner. She said she had it under control and asked him about his day. They were joking about something dumb Finn had done. And then he did the unthinkable: he asked if she wanted milk or water with dinner. Apparently, that was his way of telling her that she wasn't getting enough calcium to their child and she was going to be a bad mother; at least that's what he gathered through her screeching and tears as she stormed upstairs. He wasn't sure what to do. If he went to comfort her, he'd probably get his head handed to him on a spike. If he didn't comfort her, and instead started eating dinner, there was a chance that he would get his head handed to him on a spike. He figured he would finish making dinner, giving her time to cool off.

A few minutes later, he heard her shuffling down the steps, but he didn't turn around for fear of what mood she was in. He smelled her sweet scent before he felt her arms around his waist with her hands coming to rest over his stomach. She was crying; he could tell by the damp spots that were now on the back of his shirt. Logan put down the spoon he was holding and laid his hands over hers .

"I'm sorry," she sniffled into his back.

"It's ok," he said automatically, but he was surprised to realize that he actually meant it.

"It's not. I'm a horrible person for turning on you like that. And I'm going to be a horrible mother if I can't keep myself in check with the person I love most in the world, let alone our kid."

Logan turned around and wrapped her in his arms.

"Rory, you're going to be an amazing mom," he breathed into her hair.

"How do you know?" she sobbed into his chest.

"I wouldn't be having a kid with someone who wasn't going to be an amazing mom."

He held her until her sobs quieted. "I'm sorry I'm such a mess," she said after a few minutes.

"Your hormones are a little all over the place," he agreed with a smile. She laughed as she wiped the tears from under her eyes. He kissed the tip of her nose. "Let's have dinner, hm?" he asked.

"Okay," she agreed.

"But get your own drink," he said with a smile. She laughed as she got both of them a glass of water and made her way to the table.

The twinge came at 2:03 on a Saturday afternoon. Rory had been feeling extremely uncomfortable since she hit her ninth month, but this twinge was new. She finished putting lunch away, and walked over to where Logan was on the couch watching the hockey game.

He heard her approach and reached up to grab her hand.

"You ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," she responded. "I feel weird. I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit."

"Do you want me to come up with you?" he offered.

Rory shook her head and squeezed his hand. "I'll be fine," she said. "I just need a nap."

She assured him that she would call him if he needed anything and headed upstairs.

She had been dozing for about 10 minutes when she felt another twinge. She groaned, knowing that if these stupid twinges kept happening, she wouldn't get any rest. Just as she was dozing off again, the twinge came back.

Rory groaned and flipped over onto her back. Logan chuckled from the doorway.

"You ok, Ace?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "No, I just want to sleep and this stupid jolt of pain is keeping me awake."

Logan pulled off his pants and crawled into the bed, cradling her frame with his body. "This has helped you before," he said and it had. When she was feeling achy, he cradled her body with his own and it helped to make her comfortable. She snuggled back into him and closed her eyes.

When she hissed in pain about 5 minutes later, Logan noted the time on the alarm clock. Ten minutes later, when she twitched and groaned again, he spoke.

"Rory, how long have you been feeling these?" he asked.

"About 6 weeks," she answered back, only half joking.

"Ace…." he said. "Seriously. How long?"

"I guess they've been getting a little worse since this morning."

Logan tightened his arm around her middle. "I think we should go to the hospital," he said.

She argued, insisting that it was false labor. When Logan pointed out that she had two major symptoms – contractions that were progressively getting worse and were evenly spaced apart – she agreed to go to the hospital. Two hours later, she was extremely happy that she had listened to him.

It was 3:49 in the morning, Lorelai Alice Huntzberger arrived in the world with a deafening cry. Her father was the first to hold her. As he cradled her tiny head in the crook of his arm, she immediately settled, letting out a large yawn and staring into his face. Looking into her big blue eyes, he felt the axis of his world shift with this tiny human in the center. He was terrified, knowing that he was responsible for her life, but he also knew that together, he and Rory were up for the challenge.

He laid the squirming baby on her mother's chest. Tears of exhaustion and joy were running down his wife's face. The family of three were alone in their own bubble, completely oblivious to the doctors and nurses who were buzzing around the room. Logan pushed Rory's hair off of her forehead and kissed her, a laugh bubbling up from his chest. The only time he could remember being so happy was when he and Rory were pronounced man and wife.

Alice had snuggled into Rory's arms and fallen asleep.

"She has your hair," Rory whispered, running her fingers through Alice's downy curls.

Logan smiled and kissed Rory on the lips. "You were incredible," he told her. "Thank you for our gorgeous daughter."

"Louie," she said with a smirk. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful life."

Logan leaned down and kissed his daughter's forehead. He breathed in her soft, baby scent and smiled. "No. This is the continuation of a beautiful life."

A/N: Well, that's it folks! This is the last chapter. I have an epilogue that I'll post soon, but as far as this little story, that's all she (being me) wrote.

Thank you to everyone for supporting my first attempt at writing FanFiction. Your supportive words, notes, comments, favorites, likes have been amazing. I have appreciated every single one of your notes.

To xshynenstarx, you have been my rock, my muse, my polisher, and such an amazing beta. Thanks so much for all of your hard work and support. You rock.

Everyone who has touched my little story has meant so much. Thanks again, a million times. XOXO