"IS THIS A CASTLE?!" Orie exclaimed as they pulled up to the Huntzberger mansion.

Logan chuckled as he eased the car into park. "My parents live here. This is where I grew up."

"MY DAD GREW UP IN A CASTLE?! MOM! DID YOU KNOW MY DAD GREW UP IN A CASTLE?!"

Logan turned to Rory, who hadn't said a single word the whole drive from Stars Hollow. "You've been awfully quiet."

Rory stared out the window at the mansion, looming in front of her. She had thought about canceling multiple times, but couldn't stand the thought of Orie going into the warzone alone. She sighed heavily. "Why would the pig oink as it goes to slaughter?"

"Rory, We're not dumb kids anymore. I am not going to let them talk to you like they did."

"I know we're not dumb kids. I'm just not ready for a confrontation. Logan, if they say one wrong thing to Orie. . ." Rory began to protest.

Honor appeared in the doorway, motioning for Logan to come in. Logan turned to Orie. "That's your Aunt Honor! Do you want to meet her? Your cousins should be here too."

"I have cousins?!" Orie cried. "This day keeps getting better and better!" she quickly unbuckled her seat belt, all but jumping out of the car when Logan opened the door.

Logan opened Rory's door, offering her his hand. She shot him an anxious glance as he helped her out of the car, nervously smoothing the red skirt of her cocktail dress. She had spent hours inside Bergdorfs trying on almost every dress they had before deciding to borrow a red satin sheath from Lorelai's closet. "It's the perfect mix of class and sexiness" Lorelai had beamed. She had felt so confident in it, like she could take on anything, but now, standing in the driveway of the Huntzberger residence, she felt scared and exposed. Rory froze as they approached the house. It was even bigger than she remembered, the cold, stone exterior just as harsh as it's owners.

Logan placed his hand on the small of her back. Any other time, this action would have sent her senses through the roof, but right now she was just too distracted to notice. He leaned in slightly as Honor opened the door. "Just breathe."

"Logan!" Honor called out cheerfully, hugging him. She then lowered her voice a bit. "Just a warning, Mom's already on her third Marlboro."

Logan glanced at Rory, the confidence he had outside quickly dissipating. "This evenings off to a great start."

Orie tugged at Logan's pant leg. "Is that my Honor?"

"My Honor?! Oh aren't you just the cutest!" Honor squealed. She crouched down next to Orie. "You must be Orie. I'm your Auntie Honor."

Orie stretched out her hand. "Hi Auntie Honor."

Honor shook Orie's hand, giggling. "Such manners! You are just a little doll!"

Orie flashed a wide smile, showcasing her two missing front teeth. "Grandma Emily taught me Manners. She said over her dead body will I be a savage child."

Honor snorted. "Well tell your Grandma Emily I approve. You're no savage child."

"Has Logan finally arrived?" Shira called from the sitting room.

Rory grabbed Orie's hand, holding on for dear life, as they entered.

Logan kissed his mother gingerly on the cheek. "Mom, Dad, you remember Rory."

Rory waved politely, fighting the strong urge she had to run. "Hello ."

"Yes, Hello Rory." Shira said, brushing her off.

"And this beautiful lady is Orie." Logan said, ignoring his parents' cold reception.

Orie grinned. "Hello, nice to meet you."

"Orie? Did I hear that correctly?" Shira asked, looking the girl over.

Orie nodded. "It's short for Lorelai, but that's also my mommy's name. And my grandmas. . . and her grandmas. . . it gets confusing."

Shira turned to Mitchum. "Lorelai. Such a beautiful name,. . . only to be called Orie."

"Shira. . ." Mitchum grumbled.

Shira smiled at Orie. "Well. . . Orie, I'm Shira, but you can call me Cookie, that's what Theodore and Liam call me."

Rory screamed internally, making a mental note to tell her mom that Shira's grandmotherly nickname was "Cookie".

Logan turned to Rory, "Mom picked out Cookie, because she's much too young to be called grandma."

"Or so she thinks." Honor whispered to Rory.

"What do I get to call you?" Orie asked, looking up at Mitchum.

"You can call me whatever you want as long as it's not late for dinner!" Mitchum joked.

Orie blinked at him, unamused at his joke. "That's an old joke."

This only made Mitchum laugh harder. "You're blunt. I like you."

"Well let's not keep your father waiting. . . ." Shira said, displeased at Orie and Mitchum's friendly repertoire. She ushered everyone towards the dining room.

The giant twelve seater table in the middle of the room was beautifully decorated. large clusters of orange chrysanthemums and sunny marigolds ran the length of the table, elegant white tapered candles in the middle. Each place setting had lovely bone china, a place card sitting atop each plate.

"Logan, there's only eight place settings." Rory whispered.

"What?" he whispered back, as he helped Orie into her chair.

"I. . . I don't have a seat."

Logan took stock of the table. "Mom, where is Rory's seat?"

Shira covered her mouth. "Oh dear, are there not enough place settings? How did that happen? I'm certain I gave the maids Rory's place card."

Logan rolled his eyes. "MOM. . ."

"Logan, this is just some sort of misunderstanding."

"Oh I'm sure it was a misunderstanding." Logan replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.

"Are you implying that I left Rory's place card out purposefully?"

"Well it certainly looks that way, doesn't it?"

Shira clutched at her imaginary pearls. "Why I would never be so. . ."

"Petty?" Logan offered.

"That's enough!" Mitchum said, hitting the table with his fist. "Shira, go ask one of the maids to bring an extra place setting for Rory. And Logan, cut me some slack? Lay off your mother."

Shira huffed loudly into the kitchen, a maid appearing shortly after with dishes, glassware, cutlery and a napkin for Rory.

"I'm sorry that it doesn't match ours Rory, the rest of the set must have gotten misplaced." Shira spat.

Rory smiled, her jaw so tense that it was beginning to ache. "It's perfectly fine Shira, I don't mind at all. No need to feel embarrassed that you weren't prepared."

Logan smiled at Rory, and Honor stifled a laugh.

…

They were well into the second course before Shira spoke again. "Logan, did I tell you that I ran into Katherine McGinnis at brunch the other day?"

"Whose Katherine McGinnis?" Mitchum asked between bites.

She playfully tapped Mitchum's arm. "She's that lovely blonde that was engaged to William Hawkins. Such a shame that he passed away so suddenly."

"He was like eighty years old." Honor retorted.

Shira shot Honor a disapproving look. She turned back to Logan. "I gave her your number. You two should meet up some time."

"I told you I'm not really looking for dates right now." Logan said awkwardly. He peeked over at Rory, who was pushing green beans around on her plate.

"You haven't so much as talked to a potential date since you broke things off with Odette." Shira glanced at Rory. "Well, that I know of."

"Mom this isn't the time or the place." Honor replied.

"All I'm saying Logan is most reputable girls your age are already married and the ones that aren't I'm sure their biological clocks are just ticking away! I'd love a legitimate grandchild to carry on the Huntzberger name."

Logan threw his fork down, hitting the china with a loud clang. "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

"What on earth!?" Shira cried.

"You are not going to treat my daughter or her mother like this!"

"You don't even know for sure that she is your daughter! You won't get a paternity test!"

Rory glanced down at Orie, sitting quietly in her chair, her eyes wide as she watched the scene unfold.

"Do not talk about this in front of my daughter." She said calmly, trying to tame the fiery anger boiling up inside of her.

"You will not tell my wife what to do." Mitchum bellowed from the head of the table.

Rory locked eyes with him, seething. "I will tell her whatever I want to tell her when she's disrespecting my child."

"Disrespecting your child? YOU disrespected OUR child!" Shira shrieked. "Show up with a daughter, claiming it's our son's, ruining his engagement, and dragging his name through the mud. Why did you show up now Rory? Did Richard's trust fund for you run out? Tired of living in that deficient little town, teaching because you couldn't make it? Do you want another taste of the good life?"

Logan stood up, steam practically blowing out of his ears. "YOU WILL NOT TALK TO HER LIKE THAT. RORY DOESN'T WANT ANYTHING! NOTHING AT ALL! I AM THE ONE THAT WANTS TO BE IN ORIE'S LIFE, I MADE THIS CHOICE. UNLIKE YOU, I WANT TO BE A PARENT TO MY CHILD!"

Honor crouched down by Orie's chair. "Orie, did your daddy tell you that this house has a secret passageway?"

Orie shook her head, stunned by Logan's outburst.

Honor scooted her chair out, and offered her hand. "Come on Me, Josh, and the boys will show it to you."

Rory mouthed a thank you as Honor carried Orie out of the room.

Mitchum stood up, walking over to Rory. "This is my house, and that is my wife. Rory, I tried to be civil with you. I kind of even liked you. Lord knows you're one of the few broads Logan's been with that has half a brain. I have extended multiple olive branches, I even offered you a job at your preferred newspaper at one time. However, I draw a line here. You kept my son's daughter a secret from him for five years, Then you pop up here, acting like we are supposed to treat you like royalty. You've disrespected me, and you've disrespected my wife. You are not welcome in my house anymore."

"She was never welcome to begin with." Logan hissed. He grabbed Rory's hand, "Get Orie, we're leaving."

…

"She stayed asleep. I just laid her in her bed, party dress and all." Rory said, stepping out onto the porch.

"Good. That's good." Logan mumbled, his focus somewhere else.

"You. . . you can come in if you want?" Rory offered.

Logan ignored her, lost in his thoughts.

"Logan?" Rory said timidly.

He turned and looked at her. "Huh? Sorry. What were you saying?"

She sat down on the steps next to him. "Some night huh?"

"Some night? It's been some month." He replied, " Honestly, Ever since you've come back into my life it's been one thing after another."

Guilt washed over Rory. "I'm sorry, but what happened tonight is not my fault."

"Nobody said it was. My parents rival the villains in a bad superhero movie, we all know that."

"Thanks for standing up for me tonight."

"I didn't do it for you, I did it for Orie. Orie deserves to have a father that respects her mother."

"Are you mad at me?"

"You lied to me and were never going to tell me about my daughter. I missed out on five years of her life. So please forgive me if it takes me some time to get over it."

"Logan I can only tell you sorry so many times."

"This month's just been a whirlwind and honestly, I'm still trying to process it all. I get the feeling that we're going to get reactions similar to my parents, the more people find out."

"I thought it was the right thing to do. I was trying to let you live out your life, I thought it was best."

"The best for who? How was Orie growing up without a father the best for her? How was I missing out on seeing my child the best for me? This plan was only best for your ego. "

Rory turned to him, looking like she had just been slapped in the face. "Excuse me?"

"All my life, people have planned out my every action, my every move. Planned out my whole life. Just once I wish I could decide."

"That's just it, you still wouldn't have decided for yourself, by telling you I would have made the decision for you. You would have dropped everything and moved here, regardless of what you wanted."

"DON'T YOU SEE? BEING WITH YOU IS ALL THAT I WANTED!" Logan shouted.

He sighed deeply, burrowing his face in his hands for a minute. He looked up at her, His eyes dull and tired, missing their sparkle. " I held my breath, waiting for you to ask, ask me not to get married, ask me to break from my parents stupid plan, ask me to just be with you. Rory, I would have chosen you over everything. Every time."

Rory gasped, surprised by his confession. "If you wanted more, why didn't you say anything? Why did you just go along with the plan?"

"All you had to do was ask and I'd be all yours. I was waiting for you to ask, because the last time I asked, you broke my heart. If you would have asked, it would have meant you were ready."

Rory paused, her eyes widening. "That's a big thing you were asking of me. To ask you to call off your wedding? to commit to me when I didn't know if I could commit to you the way you deserve?"

"Why couldn't you commit to me?"

Rory hesitated. "Good night Logan."

Logan stood up. "We're not done here. Lay it out Rory. This is our chance. If we're ever going to move past this, We need to get it all out."

"Commitment is scary for me. No matter how good anyone is to me, there's always that little voice in the back of my mind that reminds me of my father. . . history repeats itself, and that's not a relationship I ever want to repeat. I can't just close my eyes and jump."

"I'm not your father!" Logan shouted.

"I know you aren't!" Rory snapped. "But the thought is there, and I can't fix that, do you know how many times I've tried? Call me damaged goods, but I'm stuck with it."

"I never said you were damaged goods." Logan lamented.

Rory stood up and started to pace back and forth across the porch. "Do you know what people would have said if I broke up your engagement, only for it not to work out? I've already been called a homewrecker once before, I'd rather not go down that road again."

Logan shook his head, letting out a delirious chuckle. "You care too much what people think! Guess what Rory, Other people aren't holding you back, you're holding yourself back! Our relationship, your book, everything, you're the one that's holding it back.. Contrary to what you believe, Not everyone has to like you. You are this amazing, beautiful, talented woman, and if someone doesn't like you, that's their problem. You don't need to keep people happy every minute of every day. That's not your job!"

Rory rolled her eyes. Logan's words were harsh and abrasive, no one being this truthful with her in quite some time. "You're such a hypocrite! You protest about your family all the time, their expectations, their planned destiny for you, but you never truly leave them! You're holding yourself back! What is it that you want? You want to just pick up where we left off? Move into a house with an avocado tree and pretend that the past fifteen years didn't happen?"

"I didn't say forget the last fifteen years. They were bumpy, and ugly, and awful but I don't want to forget them, but we need to figure out a way to move past them, because we keep going in circles, having this same fight, and frankly, I'm getting dizzy." Logan sat back down on the steps, sighing loudly. "You make me crazy Ace, you know that?"

"You don't do my mental state any favors Huntzberger." She said sitting down next to him. "So how do we get past this?"

He glanced over at her, and smiled coyly. "I don't know Ace, but I think we'll figure it out. . . together."