I laid in bed that night staring at the ceiling. Logan was sleeping soundly by my side, but his words kept whispering in the back of my mind… quit? He's crazy. I can't quit my job… can I?

Unable to shut off my brain I finally conceded to it. Going around in circles was getting me nowhere. I slipped out of bed and quietly made my way downstairs to the office. I had to let my eyes adjust as I opened my laptop in the bright room, but got right to work…

Pro: Potentially get to put more time and effort into getting published at the Times; diminished stress byway of not dealing with Gerry; getting to choose the pieces that I focus on; devote more time to establishing/re-establishing contacts near the upcoming presidential race…

I read through my list… They were all valid points, and all sounded great, except that now I had to balance it out…

Con: Walk out on a job that I worked hard to get; unstable work as a freelance journalist; no steady work means no steady...

I froze when the hall light came on. "Ace?"

I sheepishly turned around in my office chair to face Logan, leaning against the doorway, half closing my laptop as I did.

"Stroke of genius at…" He checked the clock on the desk, "One-forty in the morning?"

"Um…" He sleepily shuffled into the room and leaned over me from behind my chair, catching a glimpse of what had pulled me out of bed, though I suspect he probably already had a good idea of what it was.

"Ah… Should have known" He kissed the top of my head as he pushed the laptop open to get a better look. I watched him nod his way through the Pro list; his eyes narrowed slightly as he read the Cons. He looked at me skeptically as he stepped back to sit in the cushioned chair in the corner of the room.

"I wasn't finished yet…"

"No, but I can guess where that last one was going."

I shrugged. He knew it, I knew it, but it didn't change anything. "It has to be a consideration."

"Does it?"

"Logan…"

"I'm serious, Ace. I know how you feel about not wanting to rely on me, but it's not like you can't. You're living here, you don't have to worry about…"

The nagging thought in the back of my mind came out before I could stop it, "But what if I wasn't?"

The shock on his face was palpable, even in the dimly lit room. "Are you planning on leaving?"

"No, no… that's not what I meant…" He relaxed a little. "I'm just trying to be objective here. There are a lot of… factors."

"Factors?" I couldn't quite read his tone. Incredulous, maybe. "Ace, I love you. I don't care about what you do or what my parents think…"

"It's not just that, Logan... What if I do end up working for the Times and they want me to be in Washington, or back on a campaign? Or what if you end up needing to be back in California?"

"We've done long distance before…"

Ha! "And we've been here before too. And it was you who…"

Logan stood up before I could finish my sentence, "I know."

"So I don't…"

"I wouldn't walk away again, Rory. I told you…" He was facing the other wall, but I could hear the tension in his voice. This conversation had taken a sharp turn, very quickly.

"I didn't mean to start this, Logan. Especially not in the middle of the night." I closed my laptop and stood up from the desk. I put my hand on his shoulder and started to lead him from the room. "Let's just go back to bed."

He nodded, but I could tell that it still wasn't sitting well with him. Regardless, he fell back to sleep with relative ease. I, on the other hand, continued to mull over the possibilities in my head; I never did finish my list. Where did I leave off? Oh yes, the cons, but no sense in rehashing the money issue now.

Con (continued): Lose the resources I have at The Post; potentially burn bridges I could use in the future…

The cons were definitely piling up. Besides, I've never really quit anything that I've really wanted before. Sure, I quit things like dance when I was a kid, but that was really for the best. I mean, I'm still a member of the damned DAR for goodness sake. How could I really entertain the idea of quitting a job I had worked so hard for?

After finally managing to get a little bit of sleep, I woke up the next morning with a bit more resolve. I'm going to take whatever kind of fluff Gerry is going to throw at me and make it the best fluff he's ever read. This is the parking lot paving all over again. Paris had intended for it to be my undoing all the way back at The Franklin and I proved her wrong. I would do the same to Gerry; I'd show him that I was too good to waste on crap stories.

I told Logan about my decision over breakfast. He was supportive, but I could tell it wasn't the decision he would have made, "Do what you gotta do, Ace."

As we rode down to the lobby together we stood in comfortable silence. He seemed to have put last night's little upset behind him, though I could tell there was something on his mind. After our little spat, I was hesitant to push it, especially since we were both on our way to work. If he's still preoccupied tonight, I'll ask about it.

The tone chimed and doors slid open. I started to step off but Logan grabbed my hand, "Ace…" He pressed the hold button with one hand, while his other moved to cradle my head. He looked me in the eyes and said with all the sincerity in the world, "I love you."

Woah. Maybe our tiff from last night wasn't that far behind him after all. I know he loves me, that's not what I meant at all, so I responded with just as much sincerity, "I love you, too."

On my walk to work I psyched myself up for the task at hand: find a diamond in the rough from that pile of crap leads. At my desk I went straight to work, hell-bent on finding something worth writing about in that God-forsaken yellow folder. Just as my computer was booting up, Les walked toward my desk from the elevators. Okay, quick greeting, back to work.

"Hey, I…"

"This is amazing."

I had no idea what she was… She swung this morning's New York Times from behind her back with a devilishly excited expression on her face. "First of all, this is so much better than Duncan's crap piece. Secondly, getting it run in the same week in The New York Times. Brilliant!"

The Wikileaks article. I didn't know they were running it. I'd been so wrapped up in my determination this morning that I hadn't even touched a paper yet. Had Dominic called me? Has Logan seen this yet? I took the paper from Leslie's hands. This wasn't was International News; first page, above the fold… well on the fold, but still, this was huge!

I pulled out my phone to call Dominic, or Logan, or anyone really, but my state of elation was swiftly defeated when I heard my name ring out across the newsroom, "Gilmore!"

It was Gerry. My heart sank. I could tell from his tone that this was not going to be a congratulatory conversation. Leslie made a face, wished me luck and the skittered back to her desk. I took a deep breath to steady myself. He'd had his chance to publish the article and turned it down. I reminded myself of my determination from this morning. I was going to take whatever he gave me and make something great out of it. I wished momentarily that I already had something prepared to pitch him, but I could handle this.

I walked steadily to his office, ready to take on what was coming, even if that meant covering Girl Scout Cookie sales projections or something equally as frivolous.

I came around the corner only to be face to face with Gerry, standing in his doorway, bankers box in hand, "You're fired, Gilmore. Clear out your desk."

** I do not own any content or characters related to Gilmore Girls or any other entities mentioned**

A/N - Shelter in place and yet another GG rewatch has gotten the best of me. Like riding a bike… kind of. Hope you enjoy! Comment, follow, and favorite if you'd like a little more...