Logan parked his car near his parents front door, realizing his subconscious directed him to prepare for early flee in case something bad happens. Memories from a dozen years ago flashed in his head from the first and last time Rory was here. A disaster dinner if he could say. His Grandpa ambushed her and his Mom basically told Rory that she wasn't good enough to marry into the family. What an irony because apparently she had no intention to marry him at all.

Logan dreaded that last time, he regretted how his family treated Rory and what they said to her that night. But his family was always so proud and think highly of themselves, and he prayed to God that this time will be different. He didn't need his family give Rory more reasons to doubt him or their relationship.

He inhaled deep before knocking. "Are you ready, Ace?"

"Why are you so nervous?" she gave him a side smile.

"I'm not. I'm just... why are you so calm?" he asked her back.

She chuckled. "I'm not a college kid anymore, Logan. I am an independent and successful woman. And I have socialized with your parents several times now, they won't scare me away if that's what you're worrying about," she hooked her arm into his and landed a peck on his cheek.

"You promise?" He sounded skeptical.

"I promise. Let's go in. I'm starving,"

His parents' doorman greeted them and led them to the lounge where Logan's parents, Honor, Josh, and their kids were in.

Honor jumped to hug Rory, "Rory!" Shira followed close giving her air kisses.

"Hello to you too, Mom and Sister!" Logan commented feeling neglected and making his way to the drink cart where his father stood making drinks. "Hi Dad,"

"Hello, Logan. Scotch?" his father offered. Logan nodded at him. "And Rory, martini?" Mitchum turned to Rory.

"Yes, please. Thank you, Mitchum." Rory replied. "Hi Eli, hi Harper..." she proceeded to greet Honor's kids who are busy playing with their iPads.

"Hi, Aunty Rory... Hi Uncle Logan," they replied briefly without really looking up from their gadgets.

Aunty Rory? What did he miss? And his father knew Rory's drink? What on earth?

"We're sorry, Logan and Rory. We've been warning them about their gadgets, but kids these days..." Josh apologized as he greeted Logan and Rory.

"That's okay, Josh. This is actually better than their video game addiction last summer," Rory replied.

Wait, she knew about their last summer?

"I'm so glad you both back together. Now we don't have to speak in codes and cautiously not mention Rory in conversations where Logan was in. Come, Rory. Sit here. Let me show you the hideous decor Marry Hathaway chose for our DAR Annual Christmas Party, I tried to talk her out of it but she was stubborn that one. I think magenta is such a tacky color," Shira talked so fast but Logan caught every word she'd said.

"Oh, Shira. You know I'm far from expert about those things," Rory protested, although she went over anyway.

"But your choice for the Easter Gala was such a hit. Do you know Rory suggested a very creative Easter Egg Hunt for the DAR ladies, Logan?" His mother continued.

Logan shook his head.

"Oh! It was crazy! Instead of hiding eggs, Rory hid vouchers inside egg toys. We've got spa vouchers, shopping vouchers, staycations, and many more! It was really fun. Have you ever seen Miss Fallon duck under a table? A horrible sight but so funny!" Shira explained with a laugh.

"One would think that woman had never seen vouchers all her life!" Honor added scrunching her face. "Lucky you didn't end up with her, Logan!"

Logan stood amazed at how Rory catching up with his mom and sister like they have been doing this for years. Rory fit right in. Among the millions of scenes he'd imagined Rory in in his life, this was never one of them.

"Your mother went crazy when she found out that Rory was a Hayden." Mitchum's voice startled Logan's thoughts. "She found out just after you went to California and Rory started the campaign trail. It was such a mess. She ranted for days about how she hadn't seen it coming, the fact that Rory was a Hayden and that she turned you down. And how she'd lost the chance to merge our most powerful families in the state,"

"What? Mom wanted me and Rory together?"

"Well, yes. She didn't when Rory was just a Gilmore. But when the Haydens were added in the mix, it certainly turned the table around. She blamed me for not telling her sooner before she called a double heiress a gold digger," Mitchum grinned painfully.

Logan wasn't surprised at that, it was too typically Shira.

"Then Rory started to hang out with Honor and we started to meet her regularly during the holidays and birthdays, and she started to help with DAR parties, and Shira just... well, your girl Rory isn't exactly hard to love. Especially when Elias wasn't here to drive your mom's opinion,"

Logan straightened his back.

"Are you telling me that Mom started to like her?" he had to reconfirm.

Mitchum chuckled, sipping his drink. "Rory grew on her. Your Mom started to see another side of Rory, who is in control, and she started to appreciate the difference between them, with one being a dedicated house wife and a career woman, and she regretted her disapproval of your relationship before. Not that she had any power actually, because it wasn't her nor me who broke you up,"

"True. It was me. I moved to fast. I made a reckless and hasty move, contrary to your teachings," Logan admitted.

Mitchum shot him an appraising look. "Came to your senses I see," he raised his glass. "Although as the years went by, your mother's hopes started to diminish. Especially when you were living in London and made excuses to avoid coming over for birthdays and holidays. We thought that you had moved on, or came back to your old life with your half witted friends. I noticed they went to London frequently,"

"Yeah, they just couldn't stay away,"

"Or have not enough responsibilities." Mitchum countered. "People like us, Logan. We have responsibilities. We have the ability to change the world. I'm sure you understand the meaning of it."

"Yes, Dad. Responsibilities. That and disappointment were the highlight of my youth," he replied bitterly.

"Well now they aren't. No more disappointments, Logan. I was tough at you, but look what you've become. And I don't have to remind you about responsibilities anymore." His father leaned on his chair satisfied.

"You did."

"When?" He shot a surprised look.

"About getting a wife and continue the Huntzberger name," Logan reminded him, remembering their conversation morning after the Haydens engagement/wedding party.

"Ah, yes. You needed the nudge. Besides, we didn't want the lovely Miss Gilmore went away for the second time, did we?" His father grinned.

Logan felt chills ran through his spine when a thought crossed and putting the pieces together.

"You told me to go to that party, that night I first met her." He stated, tilting his head to the side, thinking hard. "And you also told me to go to the Haydens party. 'Your attendance is of utmost importance you said'. You set us up? This is your plan?"

Mitchum grinned and for a while he looked so much younger.

"It wasn't hard. You clearly are still mooning over her. That first journalist party was just a test. I wanted to see if you still have feelings for her. And son, you were embarrassingly obvious. She showed indications that she still has feelings for you too, no matter how hard she tried to resist it. My project was just conveniently fell into the timeline,"

"I can't believe this. I fell right into your trap," Logan shook his head in disbelief.

"Stop looking at me like I killed your cat. And don't give me that crap about how your control your own life." Mitchum sighed clearly feeling annoyed. "This is the outcome you wanted, I just happened to have the same goal. People who has the same goal work together. That's how it is,"

"But we weren't working together. You worked behind my back," Logan tried to calm himself. The arguments between the two Huntzberger men nowadays were not as heated as they used to before. But his father has ways to get in his nerves.

"I merely just build a bridge. You and Rory were the ones who decided to cross it. And if you want to be angry at me for interfering, you're a child who can't move past the process and focus on the outcome. And Logan, you could be angry at me all you want, but I would do it all over again seeing how life came back to your eyes after you met her again. You were a robot, and now you're not. She's your breath of life, and I want that for my only son. You know when I want something, I do everything in my power to get it,"

His father's words were cold and stern as if he was talking to a business partner. Logan knew that his father was a shark, but having him using it on Logan, for Logan's benefits, kind of threw him aback. Not to mention that sentence that implied Mitchum was did this for Logan's happiness. Which was weird.

"You better watch yourself if I found out you have a hidden agenda for this," Logan warned.

Mitchum laughed loudly. "Adorable."

The lunch was delicious but equally weird. Logan kept picking up proofs that Rory had been a part of his family for years, way more that he had been. And truth be told, he hadn't been a part of this family for years, even before he moved to California.

This fun and light Thanksgiving lunch was never part of his life. They had never spent Thanksgiving like this. It was as if they were a normal family. Logan had to pinched his own under arm to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"So, things are going well between you two? Are we to expect a ring soon, Logan?" Shira asked suddenly in between a story of Eli hiding his sister's doll and Harper retaliation of crayon cover his bike.

"Shira," Mitchum warned his wife.

Logan moved his gaze to Rory who looked like a deer in the woods.

"That's... we, I mean I... um," Rory sounded like she was choking on her turkey.

"We haven't talked about it Mom," Logan jumped in. "We just started dating again. And we're taking it slow, baby steps, no sudden moves," he put his hand on top of hers, squeezing it gently and relaxed when the colour came back to her cheek.

"Yes, I agree. Take it easy on her, she's been through too much," Mitchum agreed casually, then proceed to focus on his turkey. But Logan caught something in his tone that made him uneasy.

"You should have seen how these to acted in the lunch meeting with Adam. You would think that no time passed by and they were still together,"

"What do you mean?"

"You did it just now, passing the salt for Rory before she asked, and she took your garlic bread to rub it with the sauce for you to eat. You did it too at lunch with Adam he had me bet him that you guys would end up together before Thanksgiving. I lost, I thought that Rory would need more time considering, uhm..." he cleared his throat and sipped his water. "So, I owe Adam five grand,"

His father almost slipped something, and he skillfully masked it with a small cough. But he couldn't fool Logan. Mitchum knew something.

Logan decided to be straight forward and asked Mitchum directly when Rory was busy saying goodbye to the others before they continue to Stars Hollow.

"So Dad, what you said at lunch. I assume you know about Texas? "

"Of course I know, Logan. I own half of the media in the country." Mitchum clenched his jaw. "That poor girl." his father sounded protective, like a father.

"Yeah, but she's strong. I know she'll get through this. And I'll be there every step of the way. Can I assume that you're okay with it Dad?"

"Been treating her like a part of the family for years, Logan..."

Logan nodded and inhaled deep.

"I need a favor, Dad." Logan shifted his legs feeling anxious.

"Name it."

"I need you to find out about this Lewis guy, where he's at, what he do for a living, his family, his friends. Anything." He looked at his father in determination.

"No problem." Mitchum replied instantly. "Take care of your girl,"

"Thanks, Dad."

Strange day indeed. His house was the last place he would thought to get information and support about Rory, and yet there he was. Getting information from his father, and support from his whole family. Even Eli and Harper seemed to listen to Rory when she persuaded them to read a book instead of playing with their gadgets.

Ironic how ten years felt so fast to him, with so little changes, but here, in everyone's lives, the ten years changed a lot of things. He felt like his life was put on pause, but when it played again, everything had changed.

Everyone had moved on. Even Jess who he thought was still mooning for Rory had already moving on and about to be married. The world he once knew was changing and apparently he was the only one caught up in the past. Although one thing he thanked God wasn't change was his feelings for Rory and vice versa. He had a feeling that as long as they're together, they could face anything. He just have to convince Rory about that.

He reached for Rory's hand as they cruised out of his family's main gate towards Stars Hollow.

"So you never tell me you're now BFF with Shira Huntzberger,"

"Don't tease. She's actually pretty good once you get to know her. Shira and me, we found our common ground. I am grown enough to understand her point of view, and she started to open her mind more of my world and aspirations. She knows that the world is changing, and I even convinced her to support some of Women Empowerment causes. You had to see her talking with some of the powerful women in New York. She was actually beaming,"

Logan chuckled. "I'm not complaining. It's just weird. It was like I went for a summer camp and came back to a whole different world,"

"You weren't went to a summer camp. You were gone for ten years," she reminded him.

"Yeah but it felt short to me. And yet everything is different now. Like I would never think of my Mom as this chirpy Rory supporter, and my father being so warm and protective of you. I felt so out of place. Like I'm watching a movie."

"You are part of it, Logan. You were the one thing that connect us together..."

"Hmph, I bet even if we weren't together in college you still will end up in my house, getting set up with me. You're the kind of girl they shove on to me, you know?"

"I'm the new Fallon girl?"

They both laughed hard remembering how Shira used to force Logan to date that Fallon girl.

"You know Mitchum orchestrated this whole thing? I mean, he put us together in the same places to encourage us getting back together,"

"That makes sense. He couldn't stand not interfering. But I don't mind when at the end I got you," she smirked, rubbing Logan's arm up and down.

"If you put it like that. Besides, I am thankful that I don't have to fight them to approve you again. It's just won't work well for my old bones," he grinned.

"What do you mean?"

"When I first decided to pursue you again, I never thought you had form connection with my family. I had prepared myself to protect you from my Mom and Dad. And given my current relationship with my Dad, I wasn't looking forward to it. But I was willing to stand up for you even when I wasn't sure you were taking me back," he stole a glance at Rory who was blushing with a wide smile plastered on her pretty face.

"You have the sweetest mouth, Logan."

"It's true. The moment I saw you again I knew you were what was missing from my life. And no Mitchum nor Shira would get in the way of it,"

She smiled even wider. "You know your parents love you, don't you?"

"They have weird ways to show it," he shrugged.

"Logan, everybody express themselves with their own ways. We're adults now. We have higher tolerance levels," she started to scoot over, trying to be as close as she could be with him.

"Yeah about that. What about Lorelai and Chris? You think you can expand your tolerance level enough to forgive them?"

Rory sighed.

"Come on, Rory. Don't tell me you and Lorelai had gone apart these ten years? Somehow I find it hard to believe. I know you're dying inside to talk to her," he prodded.

"I know. She called this morning when I was in the shower and I hadn't called her back. It's just, she needs to stop doing reckless things. Stop for moment to think before doing something. Think about what it would make me feel for once," she pouted.

"Ace, I hate to break it to you but you are a big girl now. Your mother spent her youth taking care of you. Her life was put on hold to raise you, she had to put you first. But now, now that you're a big girl she doesn't have to worry so much, she doesn't have to protect you the whole time. She could start putting herself first. Cut her some slack, Ace."

She looked out the window, scrunching her face.

"Come on, Ace! What say you?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But let's not invite her to our wedding, see how she'll feel to that," she said seriously.

"Our wedding, Ace?" He couldn't help the wide grin induced by a happy balloon growing inside his chest.

Her cheeks suddenly turned tomato red. "You know what I mean,"

He squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, I know. But you're heading to the right direction, Ace. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm here to stay. I'm all in. I want to marry you and have three and a half kids with you. And I don't care if they're all inseminated, surrogated, adopted, or dropped in front of our door by a stork. What I care is what you want. So I'll be here forever, Ace."

Rory sniffles. "Surrogated is not a word."

"You have been reading the wrong dictionary," he countered stealing a glance at her. She was wiping the corner of her eyes.

"I want forever with you too, Logan."