The sun was starting to set as Logan pulled the car off of the deserted main road and onto Burnell Street. "You know what I like most about vacationing on pretentious New England islands in the middle of winter?" he asked.

"What's that?" Rory asked.

"How quiet it is. There's absolutely nothing to do, nowhere to go; you know? Most of the tourist attractions are closed, heck most of the restaurants are closed. No one expects you to hang out at the beach all day or go to some big party at night."

"That's what you like?" Rory asked, her voice skeptical.

"Yep," he replied emphatically, his 'p' popping with enthusiasm.

"You, Logan Huntzberger…" she reiterated. "Like to go on vacation and just stay at the house and do absolutely nothing?"

"Well, not absolutely nothing," he replied, his lips curving up into a mischievous smirk.

He noticed Rory glance over her shoulder to make sure Lila was still asleep. He knew she was; he'd already checked. "You seriously have a one-track mind."

"I went six months without, Ace. Then you finally give in and sleep with me I've barely seen you since, what with the extra hours I had to pull at work all week to be able to take this time off. So yeah, I plan on having lots and lots of sex on this vacation. I hope you didn't buy me a present because all I want for Christmas is lots and lots of sex. And just to confirm, we are staying in the house next door to your grandmother, right?"

"Yes," Rory laughed. "But we're staying in the same house as Mom and Luke."

"Perfect," Logan nodded, turning on his blinker, "built in baby-sitting." He hooked a right onto Clifton.

"We are not pawning our kid off on family just so we can spend the entire week locked in our room having sex."

"Sure, that's what you say. But now that I once again have access to all my powers of persuasion, I'm pretty sure I can make a compelling case."

His eyes were on the road, looking for the turn so he couldn't see her reaction, but he imagined it involved a pretty impressive eye roll. "I almost forgot how cocky you were about sex. I didn't miss this part."

Logan snorted. "You missed exactly how cocky I was about sex."

Rory lost her fight to pretend to find him annoying and let out a giggle. "Yeah, you have a point there."

"A point I will gladly introduce you to up close and in person as soon as we get to our room."

"You're ridiculous," she scolded half-heartedly. "Now soosh, we're here." She pointed at a blue shingled colonial house with white trim and large windows, just off to their right. He pulled into the driveway. He'd barely put the car into park when the front door of the house flew open and Lorelai came running out.

"Thank god you're here!" Her arms flew around her daughter. "Luke and I have spent an entire week on this deserted island with my mother and no buffer. I need my buffer!"

"Okay, first of all," Rory choked out, trying to extricate herself from her mother's grip. "It hasn't been a week, it's been five days."

"Five and a half," Lorelai corrected, "but who's counting?"

"Apparently you are," Logan laughed, as he started pulling luggage out of the hatchback. "But no judgement here. I know your pain well."

Lorelai released her grip on her daughter and glared at Logan. "If you knew my pain so well, what took you so long to get here? Huh? It's after 5 already. What did you do, stop at Yale on the way so you could rub that dude's toe?"

"Theodore Woolsey," Rory informed her mother. "And no, we don't need luck to survive a week with Grandma, that's just you. Hey Luke," she added, greeting the man who had come to join them.

"Hey Rory!" he gave his surrogate daughter a big hug. "Logan," he added after he'd released Rory. "Let me help you with that," he nodded to the luggage, grabbing a duffle bag and hoisting it over his shoulder.

"Thanks, Luke," Logan replied, lifting the second suitcase out of the trunk.

"I can help too," Lorelai said, opening the back door of the vehicle. "I'll take my favoritist granddaughter!"

Logan let out a quiet chuckle and leaned in to his girlfriend. "See, built in baby-sitting," he reiterated.

"What was that?" Lorelai asked, looking up as she undid the carrier portion of the car seat and removed Lila from the SUV.

"Nothing," Rory said, shooting Logan an annoyed glance.

"Psht!" Lorelai scoffed. "Please, I know dirty talk when I don't hear it."

"Lorelai," Luke scolded as they made their way to the house.

"Oh please, they have a kid together. You think Lila came from a cabbage patch?"

"That doesn't mean we need to talk about it," Luke grumbled.

Lorelai rolled her eyes dramatically at her husband. "Fine, we won't talk about it, but you might want to make sure to set them up in the room that doesn't share a wall with ours." She nodded up the stairs, indicating that Luke should show them to their room. She turned back to Rory and Logan. "We need to be next door for dinner at 6:30 so you have a little over an hour to settle in and get ready. I can watch Lila until then."

Logan shot Rory a look, arching his eyebrows in a manner that silently said built in babysitting.

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said, ignoring him.

Luke readjusted the bag on his shoulder and started making his way up the stairs. He led them down the hall, opening a door on their left. "Bathroom's across the hall," he grunted, pointing behind him with his thumb. No en suite, Logan noted; that would make dirty bathroom stuff a little harder, but he was sure they'd manage.

Logan walked past Luke into the bedroom, rolling a suitcase behind him. He let out a sardonic chuckle upon entering the room, shaking his head at the sight before him.

"There a problem?" Luke asked, eyebrows raised pointedly.

"Nope, no problem," his lips pressed together to suppress any further laughter. "I just didn't realize this was the Brady Bunch."

"I didn't design the room, I just carried your bags to it," Luke replied, dropping the luggage on one of the twin sized beds.

Logan looked at Rory who was shaking her head with an amused smile on her lips. "Thanks Luke," she said. "I think we've got it from here."

With a grunt, Luke turned and headed out of the room and back down the stairs. Logan shut the door behind him.

"It's not staying like this," Logan immediately informed Rory.

Rory laughed, dropping the diaper bag she was holding onto the window seat that faced the side of the house. "It could be worse, it could be bunk beds. And at least it doesn't share a wall with Mom and Luke."

"I haven't slept in a twin bed since…I have never slept in a twin bed." Logan was already making his way around the first of the two twin beds so he could move the nightstand.

"Sure you have. You spent many a night in my dorm room."

"And how much sleeping did we do?"

"Oh please, don't pretend like it's the sleeping part that has you all up in arms," she chuckled zipping open her suitcase and starting to unpack. Logan set the night stand down next to the dresser.

"Yeah, well, we're not 20 anymore. I need room to do my best work. Now come on, help me push these beds together so we can get in a quickie before dinner."

"A quickie before dinner at my grandmother's is your best work?" she teased.

"Okay, maybe not my best but I can make it quite satisfactory," he huffed as he tried to close the space between the beds.

Rory stopped her unpacking and walked over to him, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. She leaned in to place a firm kiss against his lips. "We've got all week," she promised him. "We'll get settled, we'll fix the beds, we'll go have dinner and then tonight, once Lila is asleep, you can have all the time and room you need to show me just what you're capable of."

"Honestly," Emily said as she handed Lorelai her martini, "It's a six-foot tall, blow up Santa's workshop. With an ugly plastic reindeer. And some weird yellow creature in a Santa hat that I'm told is called Spongeboy SquareHead or something," Emily scoffed.

"I believe his name is SpongeBob SquarePants," Logan informed her matter-of-factly, taking a sip of the scotch he'd been handed shortly after arriving at Rory's grandmother's house. Lila was on a play mat next to the sofa he and Rory were sitting on and she was, at the current moment, trying to shove a star shaped block into the square hole of her Fischer Price Baby's First Block set, leaving her entertained enough to let the adults converse.

"Yes! That's it!" Emily confirmed.

"But what is he doing in Santa's workshop?" Lorelai asked. "I mean, the North Poll is a far cry from his pineapple under the sea."

"What does a pineapple have to do with anything?" Emily asked her daughter in bewilderment as she took a seat on the sofa.

"It's where SpongeBob lives. In a pineapple under the sea. In the land of Bikini Bottom. I think it's somewhere near Australia."

"Well, right now he's living on my neighbors' lawn and it's obnoxious. And apparently there's nothing I can do about it. The HOA says it doesn't technically violate any of the rules."

"Well, at least it's almost Christmas, I'm sure it'll be gone in a week or two," Rory put in, trying to placate her grandmother.

Emily rolled her eyes dramatically. "It's not like it matters, once it's gone it will be something else. These are the same people who got in trouble for not keeping their trashcans out of sight. Do you know what they did?" She paused dramatically.

"What'd they do?" Logan prodded after a few seconds of silence. "You can't keep us hanging like this, Emily."

"They erected a little fence in front of the place where they keep the cans, and then they painted the image of garbage cans on it. Can you believe that?"

Logan let out an unceremonious snort in awe of Emily's neighbors' evil genius. Lorelai chuckled right along with him. "I think I like these neighbors of yours," she said.

"It is not funny," Emily scolded. "One unaesthetically pleasing house can bring down the prices of all the other houses in the neighborhood. When I die, you're inheriting this home, Lorelai, do you want your property values tarnished by unsightly neighbors? They might as well throw the trash all over their front lawn; which by the way, is teeming with dandelions in the spring. Have they never heard of a gardener? Or at least a weed killer?"

"I like dandelions," Rory piped in. Emily glared at her. "What? I'm just saying…they're pretty and yellow. Seeing them makes me feel like a little kid. And can't you just picture Lila as a toddler, toddling through a field of dandelions and blowing the little puffers through the air?"

Logan could imagine it and he smiled brightly at the image that manifested in his mind. "Plus, they're good for bees," he added.

"Bees?" Emily replied aghast. "Like we need more of those."

"Umm, well actually, I hear the bee population is declining and that could mean real trouble for our crops…at least that's what my produce guy tells me," Luke put in nervously, speaking for one of the first times all night.

"Seriously? Bees are nothing but a nuisance, buzzing about, landing on your food—stinging you…"

"Yeah," Lorelai piped in. "Plus, they killed Macaulay Culkin. I mean, not the real Macaulay Culkin. If he'd really died, we wouldn't have had to suffer through the disaster that was the Pizza Underground. But you know, that kid he played in My Girl. Man, that was like, the saddest movie ever."

Emily sighed. "Honestly, Lorelai, can't you ever take anything seriously?"

"What? I was serious. That was a seriously sad movie."

Emily just shook her head. "Logan, how are things with you? With work? The family?" She added the last part with less than total enthusiasm. Emily Gilmore had never quite forgiven his parents for the way they'd been less than welcoming of Rory in his life.

"Work's good. The news business has been booming the past year. Although news generated revenue is way down. That's why we've been trying to expand into other types of media. Now if only this one," he laid a hand on Rory's knee and gave it a squeeze, "would sell us her book, we'd be in great shape."

"Really, Rory?" Emily asked in surprise. "You would let someone else publish your story…your daughter's story; when it could be in the hands of family?" she scolded.

Rory rolled her eyes and shot him a glare. "Of course not, Grandma. Logan is just being dramatic. It's going to be published with HPG, we just have to go through all the hoops and such to make it official." It was true, he was just being dramatic. But he felt like talking her up. Plus, anything to get the subject away from SpongeBob SquarePants and bees.

"Her agent is playing hardball," he added. "Got her a competing offer and is trying to use it to drive up the price."

"You're not trying to lowball my granddaughter, are you?" Emily tsked.

Logan laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it. Diapers are expensive, we need all the income we can get."

"Yeah," Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You're really suffering over there in billionaireville."

"We?" Emily asked, her head cocking to the side, intrigued by his choice of pronouns.

Honestly, Logan wished it hadn't just been a slip of the tongue; or maybe wishful thinking. Rory was still as stubborn as ever when it came to finances. Sure, she'd let him cover dinner or buy Lila toys that she kept at her house, but when it came to anything more, she wouldn't hear of it. He knew she only used the child support payments to pay for what was necessary for Lila and put the rest away in an account in her name. Fortunately, he knew they were close to closing the deal on her book and the advance would help.

"He was just joking, Grandma," Rory said. "Don't worry, there are no diaper shortages. I can take care of myself and Lila just fine for now."

"Well, I know that you can," Emily replied. "But that doesn't mean you should have to. You three are a family, isn't it time you started acting like it?" She had a point, but no way was he going to say so in front of Emily. He still intended to have lots and lots of sex on this vacation and contradicting Rory in front of her grandmother was not a good way to ensure that happened.

"We're just taking things one step at a time, Emily," he said instead. "When we're ready to start merging finances we'll let you know. In the meantime, Rory knows if she or Lila ever need anything, she can come to me."

"And vice versa," Rory put in defiantly.

"Sure," Lorelai scoffed. "I can totally see Logan knocking on our door asking for a little help with the rent."

"Hey, it's happened before," Logan replied. "When I lost my trust fund and left the company, Rory took me in."

"Exactly," Emily put in. "It's a partnership. Sometimes one of you needs help, sometimes the other one does. Sometimes everything's great, or you're both struggling. But no matter what, you take care of each other."

Rory's hand found his, entwining their fingers together. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and there was a pensive look on her face, like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. At that moment, Emily's maid Berta walked into the room, speaking a language he didn't understand and beckoning them into the dining room for dinner.

Logan's hand stroked slowly up and down Rory's bare arm as she cuddled into him, her sweaty body pressed against his, her head resting in the crook of his arm. Sure, the whole 'two beds pushed together' thing was a little awkward, and honestly, he'd been slightly worried at the beginning that the beds would slide apart and he and Rory would fall right through the gap. But luckily the bed frames were made out of solid wood and were heavy enough to withstand their…activities. And now, with Rory practically laying on top of him, they were basically only utilizing one of the mattresses anyway.

It had been only a week since the last time they'd shared a bed; which had also been the first time they'd shared a bed in well over a year and the first time he'd shared a bed with anyone in six months. He had gotten used to sleeping alone. Even when he was with Odette they both travelled enough that he often slept alone. And yet, somehow, his bed had felt incredibly lonely the past week. Laying here with Rory again, he felt a sense of tranquility that he hadn't realized he was missing. He knew he'd been teasing her about all the sex he wanted to have during this week spent together—and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't eager to engage in plenty more of the activities they'd just finished engaging in. But just getting to spend this week together like a real couple…a real family; the thought of not having to leave them at the end of the night; the thought of getting to see them all the time—that was what he was looking forward to the most.

"I love you," he whispered. He felt the rise and fall of Rory's chest against his. She tilted her head up to look at him.

"Logan?"

"Yeah, Ace?"

"I was thinking of what Grandma said earlier."

"Which part? The stuff about SpongeBob SquarePants? Or about how much of a nuisance bees are?"

Rory turned her face into his chest, burying a laugh. "Don't forget the dandelions."

"Yes, the damn dandelions that feed the bastard bees."

"The horror!"

They, went comfortably quiet for a bit. "Actually," she said eventually, "I was thinking about what she said about…about being partners. And about what you said about how I let you stay with me after you left the company."

Logan shifted so he could see her, sensing that this conversation was going to be more serious than lighthearted banter about cartoon characters and pollination. He brushed her hair off her face. "What about it?" he asked. "Do you not feel like we have that kind of partnership?"

"No, I…I do," she admitted. "That's what I was thinking."

"Well that's a good thing," he gave her a gentle smile, his hand running down her side.

"I know," she nodded. "It's just, for so long I feel like I was afraid. Afraid of being some damsel in distress. Afraid of letting myself…be rescued. I didn't want to be that girl. The one who needed a prince to come and save her. And you felt so much like a prince sometimes that it scared me. Everything always came so easy to you and being with you made it come easy to me to. And that…felt like cheating somehow."

"Rory…"

"No." She held a finger up to his lips. "Let me finish."

He nodded.

"I know things didn't always come so easy to you. I know that there are things in your life that you struggled with. I know that there are times when everything around you was falling apart. I know that. I just maybe forget it sometimes, especially when my life is falling apart and you're there to save me. But grandma was right. You were right. It's okay to let you save me sometimes. Because there will be times when you'll be the one needing saving and when that happens, I'll be there."

He smiled down at her, his heart beating joyously in his chest at her admission. "There's no one I'd rather have save me."

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Her lids fluttered back open, staring directly at him. "I want to move in with you," she exhaled.

He blinked in disbelief, his chest constricting in shock. "You…" he swallowed down the lump in his throat. "You want to move in with me?" he repeated.

"If you'll have me…and Lila of course," she replied nervously.

"You want to move in with me," he said again. He wasn't sure why those were the only words he could make come out of his mouth.

He felt Rory start to squirm uncomfortably. "I mean, if you think it's too soon, I…I understand, I…"

He needed to say something. Something that wasn't just repeating her words back to her in stunned disbelief. She started to pull away and reached out a hand to stop her. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes." He nodded, trying to control the overwhelming swell of emotions that seemed to have affected his ability to speak. He leaned in to kiss her passionately. "A hundred times yes," he whispered back. He could fall asleep with her like this every night; wake up with her every morning; do every Sunday New York Times crossword together until they finally found the one they could complete without cheating. And they could do it all with their daughter asleep in her nursery right down the hall. Yes. It was the only answer.

She smiled in relief, letting her body relax back into the mattress as she snuggled back into his side. "Just promise me one thing," she said.

"Endless cabinets full of coffee? And entire library with one of those ladders you have to climb up to get to the top of the stacks? Your own personal movie theater for you to invite your mother over to where you can reenact your favorite scenes from Mystery Science Theater 3000?"

Rory laughed. "I mean, I wouldn't say 'no' to any of those."

"Anything you want, Ace."

"Just promise me we'll have a whole yard full of dandelions."

AN: Aww, aren't they sweet? Are you happy now? They're finally moving in together!

Also, just a heads up-I'm going to be changing my pen name. If you have me on your alerts, you should be just fine. If not, make sure to put me on them. Or just look for me under my new penname-especially since this story is rated M now and you won't just find it on the main GG page of stories.

My new name is going to be QueenOfTheSloths

Thanks for reading, as always, reviews are much obliged.