AN: So a few chapters ago when Emily was complaining about the neighbor's dandelions and Rory said she loved dandelions and told Logan she wanted an entire yard full of them...someone asked me didn't Rory know dandelions are weeds? Well, yes...Rory and I are both aware that some people classify dandelions as weeds. We both reject your arcane, and specious labels. Dandelions rock. And for all you dandelion haters...this one's for you...

The loud buzzing that cut through the suburban air was amplifying her nerves, making every cell in her body vibrate in tune with the chaotic energy of the mowers. She cringed, a jolt of fear shooting through her as the landscaper took the turn a little too sharply by her estimation. It had to be just right; if he cut off the front half of the "M" is would look like a "N" and then everything would be ruined. Which she knew was a bit hyperbolic, but still…she wanted this to be perfect; the perfect start to their perfect life in their perfect new home.

She remembered the exact moment she knew this was where they would live. They'd started house hunting about a month ago even though there was still time left on Logan's lease; spring was when all the houses went on the market, he had argued. Plus, it would take time to go through the closing. And what if they wanted to do work on the house before they moved in? Rory had thought it was over the top to be stuck paying three or four months of his obscene rent and a mortgage. But it wasn't like Logan couldn't afford it…they couldn't afford it, he kept reminding her. And truth be told, she was a little excited to get a place together.

The moment they had pulled the car to a stop in front of the colonial, Rory had felt a little thrill. At just over 5,600 sq feet it was far more home than Rory had ever imagined living in, yet it still somehow felt quaint and homey. Even so, as they had toured through the 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 2 family rooms, living room, and office, a war had waged within her. The thought of sitting in that office looking out through the wall of windows and the glass paned French doors which opened onto the magnificent stone patio…it excited her. But she just couldn't seem to let go of the niggling doubt inside of her telling her it was too much. Telling her that it was overly extravagant and unnecessary. Telling her that, despite her book money, this house would be bought and paid for by Logan and she didn't deserve it.

But then, they had stepped outside into the backyard.

"I'm sorry about the yard," the realtor immediately said. "The landscapers were supposed to come last week. But the owners are in Florida—snowbirds who decided to stay down there permanently. Anyway, you can imagine what a pain it is to organize anything when you're living a thousand miles away. So anyway, the dates got mixed up and they're not coming until next week now."

Rory's hand clenched down on Logan's. It was a sign. "No," she shook her head. The realtor turned to look at her.

"I swear, once they clean this place up it will..."

"No," Rory said again as her eyes swept over the lawn. A large patio of paver stones gave way to a spacious yard that was full of yellow as far as the eye could see. "Tell them they can cancel the landscapers." The realtor gave her a confused look. Rory turned to Logan, a beaming smile on her face. "A whole yard full of dandelions," she breathed out excitedly. The second she had laid eyes on the lawn full of so-called weeds, all her reservations had melted away. Logan smiled back at her.

"I know dandelions can be a pain to get rid of, but…"

Logan cut the realtor off with a chuckle. "Don't worry," he assuaged her. "The dandelions aren't hurting your sale, they're helping it." She still didn't seem to understand. "It's…a thing, just trust me." He turned back to Rory. "So, this is it?" he asked for confirmation, though she knew that he knew it was. She nodded her head excitedly. They were home.

"I'm done," Luke's voice interrupted her from her thoughts. She turned to face her stepfather.

"Thanks Luke, it looks great." He had just finished hanging twinkle lights from the eaves of the house as well as along the pergola. Lorelai was on baby duty, and as soon as the landscapers were done blowing grass cuttings all over the place, it would be time to set up the luminaria lanterns and set out the blankets and pillows along with the picnic basket she'd made (and by 'made' she meant put together with gourmet food lovingly cooked by Sookie.)

"Are you sure this is what you want?" her stepfather asked gruffly over the sound of leaf blowers.

Did she? She never thought she would. And a part of her was still pretty ambivalent on the whole idea. But then she thought of Logan. He'd told her months ago that he'd be happy no matter what. And then he'd dropped the subject. He hadn't brought it up since. And he was happy, she was pretty sure. He never gave her any indication he was less than thrilled just having her and Lila in his life. And yet she knew, despite his silence on the matter; despite his daily laugher and smiles; despite the way he slept soundly in their bed every night curled around one another, that there was something that could make him even happier. So how could she not want to do this for him—after everything he'd done for her. And she had allowed him to do those things for her on the premise that this was a partnership…that she would give as much as she took. So yes…she wanted to give this to him. She wanted, more than anything, to see his face light up with glee, to have him pick her up and swing her around jubilantly, to hear the words "Yes, Ace, I'll marry you," escape from his lips.

The air went suddenly silent as the landscapers finished their work.

She turned resolutely to face Luke. "I'm sure," she answered without the slightest hint of questioning.

"Good," Luke nodded. "I must admit, the kid's grown on me. And I want you to be happy. Both of you. And Lila."

"Did someone say this little Poptart's name?" Lorelai asked as she approached the group with Lila in her arms. She set the baby down on the patio a couple feet away and Lila took a few wobbly steps towards her mother before grabbing onto her leg for support. She was getting so big, and Rory could barely believe she was starting to walk. Where did the time go?

"Hey there, Princess," Rory smiled at her daughter then reached down to pick her up, running a finger through the lengthening, dirty blonde curls that wisped around her face.

"We're done, Miss Gilmore," one of the landscapers informed her. "Do you want to come see?"

"What do you think, baby girl?" Rory asked her daughter. "You want to go see what the landscapers did for Daddy?" She adjusted the ever-growing baby in her arms and followed the gardener out onto the now mostly green lawn.

"We did a rough cut with the mowers, then came back and cleaned it up with the hedge trimmers."

Rory looked at the remaining patch of dandelions sculpted neatly into the letters "MARRY ME." She felt her eyes fill with tears at the overwhelming emotions that flowed through her.

"He's going to love it." Rory felt her mother's hand land gently on the back of her shoulder.

"You think so?" she asked. It was a proposal, she certainly hoped he'd love it for that reason alone. Still, she couldn't help the well of anxiety and nerves that bundled up inside of her. They would tell this story for the rest of their lives. She needed it to all to go perfectly.

"I know so," Lorelai assured her. "He'd love anything you put together, but this…this he's going to love especially because it's obvious how much you put into it."

"And you're okay with this?" Rory asked her mother. She knew Lorelai had never been the biggest Logan fan. Which she thought was strange because she saw so many similarities between the two. Then again, maybe that was the problem. Logan reminded Lorelai of who she could have been if she had never had Rory and run away from the life she'd been born into.

Lorelai laughed. "You're 33 with a daughter of your own, I don't think I really get a say anymore."

"You get an opinion," Rory assured her. "Your opinion still matters a lot to me."

"So you're saying if I told you not to get married you wouldn't?"

"Well, no," Rory admitted.

Lorelai nodded. "I'm okay with this," She assured her. "He may not have been my first pick, but he's your first pick. And he'd good to you, and to Lila."

"He really is."

"Well then, I'm happy for you."

Rory turned her attention back to the landscaper. "It looks great," she told him. She hurried off to grab her check book to pay the man. She had credit cards, but they were all on joint accounts with Logan. She wanted this all to come from her. Once the landscapers were paid and gone, she looked at her watch, noting the time. "Logan should be finishing up at the office soon. I'm going to call him, then put the finishing touch on things," she told Luke and Lorelai. "Thanks for your help, and for taking Lila for the night."

"No problem," Lorelai said. "I accept payment in the form of a call with all the details tomorrow."

Rory laughed. "Well, hopefully not all of them."

"Aww man," Luke groaned.

Rory finished saying goodbye to Lila, feeling a tiny pang of sadness at saying goodbye to her daughter. Sure, she spent nights with Lorelai occasionally, but it never seemed to get any easier seeing her go. Once they were all gone, she took out her phone and dialed Logan.

"What's up, Ace?" he asked. His voice was distracted.

"You need to come to the house," she told him, trying to make her voice sound panicked. She must not have done a very good job of it, because Logan still seemed like he was only half paying attention when he answered.

"Why?"

"I think it's the septic tank," she told him. This seemed to get his attention.

"What?!" he asked.

"The whole yard is flooded. I don't know what else it could be."

"What the hell?!" he raged. Rory felt a little bad for tricking him, but she hoped it would all be worth it in the end. "We just had an inspection three weeks ago. How the hell could they have missed this. Fucking idiots. Do you know how much we paid them?"

"I don't know how they missed it just…You just…you just need to get here."

"Did you call the plumber yet?"

"Not yet."

"Okay, I'll call them from the car."

"No," Rory's panic was no longer pretend. The last thing she needed was a plumber crashing her romantic proposal for a fake septic tank problem. "I'll call them," she assured him. "Just…get here."

"I'm on my way, but with traffic, it'll probably take me at least an hour, maybe a little more." That would get him there just after 7, right as the sun was setting. Perfect timing.

"Don't rush. I'll see you soon." She hung up the phone and waited.

Rory sat on the front stoop, waiting for Logan to drive up. She couldn't be in the backyard any longer, or she'd keep trying to fix things that weren't broken. There was one lantern she'd adjusted at least a half dozen times, moving it no more than a quarter inch in any one direction at a time. There was no furniture in the house yet, since they'd only just closed two days ago, and besides, it was too beautiful a day to be inside. So she'd relocated to the front of the house. She shifted anxiously and tried to refocus her attentions on the book in her lap, but she'd already read the same paragraph six times. It was obvious she wasn't going to be able to concentrate.

So, when she saw the black town car coming down the street, it was both terrifying and a relief. It was show time.

As soon as the car had pulled to a stop in front of the house, the back door was thrown open and Logan jumped up, rushing to meet her. He stopped a few steps away, his eyes narrowing curiously as he looked around.

"The plumber's not here yet?" he asked, his voice confused and a little annoyed.

Rory stood up to meet him, she swallowed nervously. "Umm, no, not yet," she replied hoarsely. Her throat seemed suddenly very dry.

"What the hell?" he growled in frustration. "How could I have beaten them here? I came from Manhattan and got stuck in a traffic jam on the Henry Hudson."

"Umm, well, they were finishing up another job, they should be here soon."

Logan sighed, running his fingers wearily through his hair. "Well," he said, plopping down on the stoop. "I guess we'll wait then. I can't believe this happened. We've owned the place for two days and it's already falling apart? I swear, those inspectors are going to get an earful. I'm so fucking pissed." He looked around again. "Where's Lila?"

"Mom is watching her."

"That's good," he sighed in relief. "Who knows how long this is going to take."

Rory looked down at him blinking in confusion. Why was he just sitting there? "Aren't you going to go see what's going on?"

"What do I know about septic tanks?" he shrugged. "That's what the plumber is for."

"Right, but…don't you want to see?" she asked.

"I'll take your word for it."

"But…" she gaped at him disbelievingly. She'd gotten him here and now he was just going to sit on the front steps waiting forever for a plumber that was never going to arrive? She needed to get him into the backyard. "Why did you rush all the way here if you weren't even going to see what's going on?"

"You said it's all flooded back there."

"Yeah," she nodded her head.

"With sewage."

"Ummm," crap. "Well, it could be a bust pipe or something, I mean, it doesn't really smell."

"Ace, these are thousand-dollar Prada loafers," he pointed to his feet. "Let's just wait for the plumber."

"No!" Rory insisted, her frustration at his inability to follow the script he wasn't even aware existed, finally bubbling over. She pointed emphatically towards the gate on the side of the house. "I need you to go in the damn backyard and see what's going on!"

"Jeez, fine," he relented. Rory grabbed his hand and started pulling him up to standing. "What has gotten into you?" He looked at her like she had three heads.

"Just follow me," she rolled her eyes as she started towards the backyard. She could see out of the corner of her eye that his hands were held up in surrender.

"Following," he conceded.

Rory reached the fence and paused; her hand positioned over the latch of the gate. She took a deep breath, turning slightly so she could see Logan's expression. With a deep breath, she undid the latch and pushed it open to reveal a path made of lanterns. She watched as Logan's eyebrows raised just a hint and his grimace slowly faded into a smirk.

"I think I've been duped," he noted.

Rory shrugged. "It was for a good cause, I assure you."

"That's good," Logan nodded. "Although for the record, if you're going to go with deception, I prefer to think big…like cosmos big."

"Oh, I know you do," she admitted, remembering the time he had quite literally used the entire cosmos to trick her. "After you, Mr. Huntzberger…" she gestured him into the yard. He walked through the gate and she followed, coming up beside him and slipping her hand into his. Logan walked slowly down the path laid out, stopping to look at the framed photos Rory had placed along the way, starting from their very first picture together, jumping off the scaffolding with umbrellas at the Life and Death Brigade event and proceeding in chronological order until they reached a photo of the two of them standing with Lila in that very same dandelion covered yard.

She noticed the moment his eyes looked up from that last picture and landed on the words spelled out in flowers at the end of the pathway. His eyes widened considerably and his grasp on her hand tightened. "Ace," he breathed out. Looking at her beseechingly. She swallowed nervously.

"I know that I haven't always been easy to love…"

"No, Rory, that's…"

She held a hand up to stop his protestations. "Please, just let me say this." He nodded.

She inhaled deeply and started again. "I know that I haven't always been easy to love. I kept you at a distance, I pushed you away. I never fully let you in because I loved you so much, and that scared me. And it wasn't because I thought you might hurt me," she shook her head. "I knew you'd never hurt me, that you would do everything in your power to make me happy. That's what scared me the most…knowing that you would always be there to pick up the pieces, to push me forward, to make things better, to ease my pain. I was scared of all the ways you made my life better, made me better. Like somehow if it came from you that made it less valid or less of an achievement somehow. Which is kind of insane, because you do make me a better person. And I want to be the me that you make me. How could I ever not want to be the best possible me I can be for our daughter?

"But the thing is, no matter how hard I pushed you away, you always came back to me. Even when I did the unforgivable, you found a way to forgive me and to love me through it all." The tears were welling in her eyes now and she swiped them away. She could see Logan struggling to stand still and not just reach up to brush away the moisture and take her into his arms. She wanted that too. Rory was all about the words, but right now she was ready to move past them. And so, she pressed her eyelids closed to center herself as she got down on one knee, looking up at the man she loved.

"I don't want to push you away anymore. I don't want to live a single day without you. I want to be the happy, loving family that our daughter deserves. So, Logan Huntzberger…" she could feel her heart pounding through her chest as she prepared to say the words. She took a deep, steadying breath…"Will you marry me?"

He was silent for a moment, just staring down at her, his face completely devoid of emotion. Her heart was beating faster than that time she had to run the mile in gym class. Time was moving in nonsensical increments. "Logan?"

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice choked up, "I just…is this…is this really happening right now? I mean, I'm not dreaming or, on some sort of hallucinogenic drugs or, in a simulated computer reality."

"This is really happening," she assured him from her place on the ground. This was weird…was she supposed to stay down? Get up?

"You really want to marry me? You're not just doing this because it's what I want?" Well, it wasn't technically an answer but at least it was sort of an admission that he still wanted to get married.

She decided to get up, brushing off her pant leg with one hand, and reaching up to caresses Logan's face with the other. "Logan, I want to spend my whole life with you. And yes, I would still be happy to do that with or without a marriage certificate. So I guess, in that sense I am asking you because this is what you want. But what I want, is to make you happy. To make you as happy every day as you've made me. And knowing that this is what you want and being able to give it to you…that means more to me than I can say. So, yes, I really want to marry you."

He reached out to cradle her face, so they each had a hand on the other's cheek. He leaned forward to rest his forehead on hers. "I want to marry you too."

"So that's a yes?" she asked expectantly.

He pressed his lips forcefully into hers for a moment before pulling back. "Yes, Ace. I'll marry you."

AN: And, that's all she wrote kids, at least until I decided to write some more interludes or future one shots. The way I figure it, the "Rediscovering: Interludes" story will be reserved for missing scenes or other characters perspective of things that happen during the time frame of RLH (Anything from Rory telling Lorelai she's pregnant to this engagement). Anything from before or after will either be a one shot, or I might consider making a different "story" to collect them in. Either way, I'm probably going to focus on Family Affairs and Missing Pages for a bit. But I have no doubt this universe I've created will continue to inspire me to update you on the lives of our favorite duo. Until then-go read MP and FA! And any story by Caro1414 and LoveRocket09. Honestly, if you haven't done so already, what the heck are you waiting for?