Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls

A/N: Thank you as always for the kind reviews, PMs, encouragement. In the next couple of chapters we will find out how Logan and Sarah know each other ;)

Chapter Nineteen

"I was surprised to get your call," Sarah swung open the door to her Malibu rental.

Rory shrugged her shoulders, "we need to talk about this Sarah, this has gotten out of control."

"Wine?"

"Please," Rory followed her inside, it was just after lunch and the two women walked to the back deck. Sarah's rental was on the beach, it was the first place she had rented that had a dedicated space for Eli, maybe that was why she was fighting this so hard, she felt she had made the effort to include him and now she was afraid of losing it all. They both sat down and Rory took the glass of wine from her, "Thank you," she swallowed, "Sarah, I don't want it to be this way. What do we need to do to make this better?" she asked.

"You want to take him away," Sarah took a sip of her wine, "how did you think I would feel about that. Perry called me, Perry called and said he was going to New York and my son would be splitting his time between Buffalo and Manhattan."

Rory sighed, it suddenly made sense, why Sarah wouldn't just talk to her about it from the get go was beyond her instead of storming into the house and making demands before Thanksgiving. "Sarah, maybe Perry just went about this the wrong way," she explained. "We want Eli to be in Manhattan, but we aren't up and moving the kid tomorrow, there are still a lot of things to sort out. Where are you going to be after Christmas?"

"I'm not due back in Italy until February maybe March," Sarah stated, "I wanted to spend some time with him."

"So if Perry and I agree to keep the kids in Encino until spring break, you could stay here with Eli…"

"It would help," Sarah agreed.

"Why didn't you just tell me that?" Rory asked, "We would have figured it out…it didn't need to be like this. Do you know what this did to Perry? Do you care what this did to Perry? If Eli had found out? Or his brothers…he went through a paternity test because you couldn't communicate, do you have any idea how juvenile that is?"

"Why do you care so much what this does to Perry? You two are divorced."

"I care about Perry because I care about the boys," Rory rolled her eyes. "This is what you have missed…all along Sar, what you tend to ignore. It isn't about Perry and I, or you and Perry, it isn't about you and I, it is about the kids. What do you want me to tell Luca, James and Chris? You used to have an Auntie Sarah, but she's gone now because she wanted to hurt Mommy and Daddy?"

"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just wanted you to pay attention," Sarah hold her.

"Sarah, you didn't even try to talk to me about it. Ok, Perry said something that pissed you off, and rather than calling and asking what was up, you stormed my house making demands and big statements. You just needed to talk to me, as a woman, as a mother…. at the very least, did you not respect me as a Mom?"

"He loves you more than he loves me," Sarah sighed.

"He thinks that the sun rises and falls with you," Rory told him, "it is his birthday, he wants you there. But I can't have you there if you aren't going to play fair."

"Play fair?"

"You need to sign the papers. You need to agree to the plan, Perry and I keep physical custody, you will get him one weekend a month to be planned two weeks in advance at at the least, and up to one month in the summer wherever you are living. We will spend holidays and birthdays together, like we always have. I will keep them here until Easter, and then we will move to Manhattan." Rory paused and Sarah nodded, "I'm going to call Perry on the way home, make sure he is fine with this, and then I will call the lawyer, the new paperwork will be drawn up. You can sign it at dinner for Eli. Do we have an agreement?"

"Did you ever question if you loved him?"

"I haven't questioned that I love Eli from the moment I saw him," Rory admitted, "and because I love him, I care about you. Don't come tonight if you aren't going to sign. Do you understand?"

"I will sign," Sarah agreed.

xxx

"Hello?" Rory called as she walked in the front door, she had confirmed with Perry that he was comfortable with keeping the boys in California until after Easter and the new papers were being drawn up so that Sarah could sign them at dinner. "Logan?"

Logan appeared from the kitchen and smiled, "hey beautiful, you look relieved?"

"I am," Rory put her hand son his chest and kissed him gently, "she agreed."

"She agreed?" Logan repeated, Rory had told him her plan before she left after lunch and he had hoped it would all work out, but having seen how this was all playing out, he really couldn't be sure. "That is amazing Ace, you must be so happy, downright joyful."

"Only one catch," Rory told him, he frowned slightly and she shook her head to suggest that it wasn't that bad. "We're staying in Encino until Easter."

"Easter, that isn't too long."

"Do you think you'll stay in Palo Alto until then and then we'll all move together? Or if you need to start in Manhattan sooner…I mean, I get it, I said we could go, so you probably made plans, told your Dad, got a new assistant…oh my god I didn't even think…" Rory began to ramble.

Logan put his hands on her shoulder, "Ace," he said calmly, "you're freaking out."

"I didn't consider you. You have been so considerate through all of this, you haven't pressured me," Rory continued, "Honor has been looking at places, hasn't she? Oh my god, I've wasted her time too. I'm the worst! I just agreed to all of this stuff without even thinking about how it impacted everyone around me. I just worried about me."

"And the boys."

"I'm the worst!"

"Rory, calm down. You are not the worst!" Logan exclaimed, "This is not a big deal. I will stay here for a few more months, we will look for the perfect place, we will look at schools for the kids, we will figure it out. Perry can stay here on his weekends, and you can come to Palo Alto and crash at my place."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive, are you sure?" Logan asked her.

"I just want to be with you," Rory told him, "but I feel like I'm spread in every different direction and I can't make anyone happy. The Sarah situation is a mess, the kids are in this weird limbo with Perry going to Buffalo and crashing here, you and I are kind of stuck int he same limbo…"

"Why don't we take a trip," Logan suggested, "you and I, take some time away. Perry has the all-star break at the end of January, so why don't you and I go away. We can go to Aspen, we can go to Paris," he paused to think of options, "my parents place in Martha's Vineyard would be deserted, my apartment in London…"

"Just the two of us?" Rory repeated.

"Just us, take a week to decompress," Logan nodded, "the only thing is, if we are going to do that, then I will probably have to spend the rest of January buried in my work, so I won't be able to get out here to see you and the boys."

"But I can come to Palo Alto on my weekends alone?" Rory asked, Logan nodded in response and kissed her forehead, "You need to take a breath."

xxx

Rory and Perry were giving Eli his gifts when there was a knock on the door. Perry gave her a knowing look and Rory stood up, "I'll get it," she smiled, "you keep opening," she added as Eli momentarily stopped opening his gift while Rory walked to the foyer. There was an envelope sitting on the table by the front door and she grabbed it as she swung the door open. "You came," she smiled at Sarah, hoping this was in fact a good sign.

"Brought my own pen," Sarah nodded, her eyes were a little bit puffy, Rory knew it wouldn't have been easy for her, none of it had been easy for any of them…the difference was that other than Sarah, they were all acting like adults. Rory handed Sarah the envelope and Sarah produced the pen from her purse, glancing through the details of the custody arrangement, "Do we need a witness?"

"I'll do it," Logan was standing by the stairs, "sign away."

Sarah nodded once more and scrawled her signature, Logan followed suit and handed it back to Rory. "Thank you," Rory gave Sarah a quick hug, as always, the empathy Rory felt towards the woman was usually rooted in a bond she felt they shared as mothers. "Do you want to go see the birthday boy?"

"Please," Sarah smiled genuinely, "I got him the gift we talked about."

"Perry told me, he will be thrilled. You go ahead, I will be right there." Rory told her, Sarah complied, walking into he family room, Rory could hear James and Christopher greeting her excitedly and Rory let out the breath she didn't even realize she had been holding. "It's over."

"Come here, Ace," Logan pulled her in for a hug, "let it out."

Rory began to sob, her entire body heaved against Logan as she let go of the emotional stress of the last few days. She had been terrified, she had lived these past two weeks in constant fear, fear that she was going to lose Eli, fear that Perry was going to lose him, fear that her boys would lose their brother, fear that this would all become tabloid fodder…she had been afraid of everything. "He's safe," she sobbed, her hands were clutching at Logan's shirt, unwilling to let go or ease up as she felt him stroking her hair.

"Rory, shhhh," Logan whispered, "this is good. You got what you wanted. What can I do?"

"Just hold me?" she asked, "For a few minutes, just hold me."

Logan happily complied and stood with her, arms holding her tight until her breathing calmed and he heard her sniffle a few times. It reminded him of how she had looked when she had been with him in the hospital after his base jumping accident. She was so angry, but so terrified and when she realized it was going to be alright, this feeling of hysteria had come over her. "You good? We should go back in there, don't want to miss the cake."

Rory smiled and pulled herself away from him, "thank you," she whispered as she walked back to the family room. "Have you opened the gift from your Mom?"

"I think he already opened yours," Sarah surprised her by speaking, "right Eli? You said the new books were from your Mom?"

Rory smiled, her breath hitched again, Sarah was certainly full of surprises, and it wasn't lost on any of the adults in the room what she was doing. She was giving Eli her blessing, allowing him to let Rory be Mom if that was what he wanted. "Thank you," she mouthed across the room.

"Yeah, Rory…Mom…Mom got me these great first editions that belonged to Great Grandpa Richard," Eli explained.

"He had a pretty impressive library," Logan added, thinking back to smoking cigars with Richard in his study, or the times that Rory would pull him in to show him something that Richard had found. "Your Great Grandpa Richard was an amazing man."

"I think we can all agree on that," Perry nodded, "he was remarkable."

Rory smiled at the interaction, she missed her grandparents, she wished desperately that they had both lived to get to know their great-grandchildren. "Alright, well come on, what else did you get?" Rory nodded to the gift that Sarah had brought.

"Happy Birthday Eli," Sarah smiled, "I hope you like it."

"Oh my god!" Eli grinned as he opened the small box.

"What is it?" Luca asked.

"Really?" Eli looked to each of his parents who nodded in response.

"You're taking me to Comic Con next year?"

"I am," Sarah smiled, "and Luca, if he wants to come."

"Really?" Luca almost jumped out of his seat.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it, how did you know? Thank you so much!"

xxx

The rest of the evening was uneventful, they had cake, they had tidied up, put the kids to bed and then Sarah had asked to talk to Perry, she had apologies to make, apologies that Rory and Perry both deserved.

"More wine?" Sarah laughed, "I'll be taking an Uber home," she paused and looked at Rory, "and thank you…for the gift idea…he is so excited."

"I'm glad it worked out," Rory shrugged as she took a seat on Logan's lap, his arms securely around her waste.

"So," Sarah looked from Rory to Perry and back again, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Perry was visibly annoyed, "Is that supposed to make it better?"

"Per," Rory sighed, she knew there was no point in being angry, they had gotten what they wanted, they were better off just figuring out how to move forward.

"No Rory, don't Per me. She did something horrible to me, to us…to our son."

"You're right," Sarah agreed, it shocked Perry to hear her say that, "I'm sorry I did that. I'm sorry that we didn't do a paternity test all those years ago, I should have told you the truth then, that there was another guy it could've been. Truth be told, I didn't even know his name…I just…the thought of losing him."

"But Sarah, you didn't listen for long enough to consider if we could make this work. You just freaked the fuck out."

"I'm sorry," Sarah repeated, "I should have listened, I should have talked to Rory. She has always been the translator between the two of us," Sarah gestured between herself and Perry, "I screwed up, and I could have hurt Eli, and I know you don't believe this because I certainly don't have the best track record, but the last thing I ever want is to hurt Eli."

"You have got to do a better job of showing that," Rory stated before Perry could speak. "But it's resolved, it's signed, a courier has already taken the paperwork back to John," she told her ex-husband softly. "The kids and I will be here until Easter, and then we will move to Manhattan. Can we all get along to get through Christmas?" Rory looked at them all.

Perry rolled his eyes, "I'm not a child."

"I will be on my best behaviour," Sarah agreed.

"Perry?"

"I will behave," Perry shrugged and took a long sip of her beer, "but only for E and the boys."

Logan was the first to stand up, "guys, it is late, I'm going to head upstairs."

"Me too," Rory stood up, "Sarah, thank you for signing, we will see you on Christmas Eve?"

"I will be there," Sarah agreed.

They exchanged pleasantries and said goodbye before Perry returned to the pool house and Rory and Logan put away dishes, "Thank you for putting up with this…the weirdness," Rory sighed, "I mean this must be weird for you. You're here with me, we're together, we're in love…but my ex-husband is staying here…"

"Ace," Logan put the final dish in the dishwasher and took her by the hand, "how many times am I going to have to tell you to relax today?"

"A lot," Rory smiled.

"Well stop, I'm not going anywhere, I am here, I am happy, we are good…"

"I love you," Logan kissed her.

xxx

Rory was sitting in her kitchen with a cup of coffee, her fourth cup of coffee. She was once again surrounded by legal notepads and her computer, jotting things down and furiously typing, her brow furrowing as she worked. Everything going on in the past couple of weeks had put work on the back burner for her, but she was facing a deadline, she needed to submit three articles before they left for Hartford. Perry had flown to Buffalo that morning, Logan was packing his bag and Rory had put herself in lockdown until she submitted her articles for her editor. Two out of three were done and the boys would be home in two hours.

"Logan," Rory called from the kitchen.

"No," he shouted back from upstairs.

"Please," Rory chuckled.

"Work, Ace."

"I'm taking off my shirt," she lied.

"Won't work," Logan retorted, "just focus and it will be over. We leave in the morning and then we are on vacation for a couple of weeks in Hartford and we can just enjoy ourselves. You just have to finish one more article, and I can't yell anymore from upstairs. Just work!"

Rory smiled and took a sip of her coffee before focusing on the work in front of her. Suddenly she was thankful that wasn't writing about current events, they were well thought out and well researched pieces, from the impact of holiday consumerism on the environment to a piece on increasing emissions, somehow Rory had found herself fully immersed in writing about environmentalism and the impact it would have on the next generation. She was even more surprised to find out that she enjoyed it, not as much as she thought she would enjoy being a foreign correspondent, but she enjoyed it, she enjoyed working for Hugo, she enjoyed having something to herself, something that was hers. She wasn't just a Mom, she wasn't just running a carpool and making cupcakes or cookies, she wasn't working with Logan or for Logan, she was just enjoying the freedom, but she was also really looking forward to having a few weeks off to be away from the stress of everyday life. Rory clicked to upload her final document and shut her computer, piling the papers she had been writing on and placing them on top of the Macbook, she was relieved, relieved to be done.

"Logan," Rory shouted once more.

"Are you done?"

"I'm done," Rory assured him, "and we have an hour before the boys come home…" she could hear him coming down the stairs.

"So we have enough time?"

"Maybe," Rory smirked.

"Really," Logan kissed her gently, "are you sure?"

"They would never know," she told him, playing with his tie, "why are you wearing a tie?"

"I had a meeting this morning downtown, you knew that," Logan told her, "now are we doing it or what?"

"You get the candy, I'll get it set up!" Rory squealed and made a beeline to the theatre room, "Mario Kart or 007?!"

Logan laughed and grabbed a bag of sour patch kids, they had been secretly playing Nintendo 64 while the kids were at school and they loved every minute of it, laughing and competing against each other like they were just a couple of teenagers. "No, the one with the dinosaurs."

"Bowzer?"

"He's a dinosaur!"

"I think he's a dragon," Rory countered, "that big spikey tail!"