"I don't even want to do this! If it wasn't for Orie demanding that we 'stick to tradition', I wouldn't even bother!" Rory said, slamming one of Lorelai's kitchen cabinets shut. "I hate this stupid bid on a basket fundraiser."

"Hmmm she's a stickler for town tradition. . . wonder where she got that from?" Lorelai teased.

Rory glared at Lorelai. "Are you going to just sit there and heckle me or are you going to help?"

Rory threw two packs of Pop Tarts into the open picnic basket.

"Hey!" Lorelai protested, "That's my secret stash! You know how Luke feels about Pop Tarts!"

" He always made the best picnic food for our basket." Rory whined. "Now instead of a nice club sandwich, whoever bids on our bakset will be stuck with Pop Tarts, some trail mix with all the M&M's picked out, and some reheated orange chicken leftovers from Al's Pancake world."

"Oh hun, Don't be silly. People don't bid on a Gilmore's basket for a good meal. They bid out of pity!"

Rory scowled at her mother. "Gee thanks''

"Hey I threw myself under the bus too! I'll make some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I think Luke has some carrots in the fridge that will help offset the missing m&m's. Why don't you throw on that blue v neck sweater that makes your eyes pop, maybe you can seduce some bids."

"Aw yes, let me seduce people who have known me since I was in diapers. Nothing creepy or dateline-ish about that."

Lorelai glanced into the basket and shuddered. "I don't know about Dateline but you may end up on the First 48 if someone eats this basket."

Rory groaned. "Maybe I can bid on myself."

…

"Thirty two dollars going once! Going twice! SOLD! Congratulations Kirk, you only outbid yourself two times this year." Taylor Doose called, as Kirk came up to collect the small wicker basket.

"Worth it to get to eat lunch with this beautiful woman." Kirk gloated to Taylor as he linked arms with Lulu. "and she packed carrot sticks."

Lulu smiled. "They're krinkle cut."

"Well hot dog woman let's get going!" Kirk exclaimed.

"Our next basket is this absolutely exquisite number. . . if I'm not mistaken it's an antique Longaberger basket! Whatever lucky duck gets this basket sure is the winner of the day! I'd bid on this basket myself if I could" Taylor chuckled into the mic.

"A Longaberger picnic basket? Some people really are desperate for people to bid huh?" Lorelai scoffed.

"That's our basket momma!" Orie cheered.

Lorelai turned to Rory, who was shrinking further and further into the cowl neck of her sweater. "You bought a Longaberger basket?!"

"I didn't buy it!" Rory exclaimed. "It was in the box of stuff grandma gave me that 'didn't bring her joy' anymore. I didn't know it was some kind of fancy basket!"

"Ten dollars!" Babette called out. She turned around to Rory and Lorelai. "Don't worry doll I have a pastrami on rye in my purse."

"Twelve dollars!" Mrs. Kim bid, to everyone's surprise.

"What?! Don't look at me. That basket would be a great addition to my shop." She said glaring.

"Twelve dollars. Do I hear fifteen?"

"ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS!" A voice called out from the back.

"Young man, did you say one hundred dollars?" Taylor asked skeptically.

'

Rory whipped her head around at breakneck speed. "LOGAN?!"

The crowd turned to see Logan approaching town square. "Yes sir, one hundred dollars."

"Pssssttt! Dollface! Isn't that. . . HIM?" Babette screeched, so loud Rory was sure the whole town heard.

"Oh that's definitely him!" murmured. "I'd remember those dimples anywhere."

"One hundred dollars going once, going twice, SOLD to the gentleman with great taste." Taylor slammed the gavel down, making Logan the official owner.

"Daddy bought our basket!" Orie screeched, jumping up and down.

"I didn't know he was coming." Lorelai whispered.

Rory groaned. "I didn't either."

"I invited him!' Orie quipped, a proud smile across her face.

Whispers erupted as Logan walked to the front to collect his basket. Logan collected his basket, and walked over to Rory. "So where should we go Ace?"

Rory rubbed her temples aggressively. "I hope you're not too hungry, Huntzberger. C'mon." She grabbed his hand, leading him away from the gazebo.

…

"Look at her! She's obviously still in love with him! I don't blame her." murmured, watching Logan, Rory, and Orie in the distance.

"You know he bought her a house with an avocado tree and everything and she still said no?" Gypsy replied, passing a bag of chips.

Babette shook her head. "I see why Rory went back to shake that avocado tree though!"

licked her lips thirstily. "I wouldn't even need tequila or chips for that avocado."

They stopped gossiping as the trio approached . "Babette, Gypsy, , you remember Logan? Orie's father?"

"Yes we sure do!" Ms. Patty said seductively.

"Looks just like Orie!" Babette yelped.

"Hello, glad to see you again ladies." Logan asked, extending his hand.

grabbed him, pulling him close to her. "Oh Honey! I don't shake, I hug!"

" !" Rory chuckled, as enveloped him in a hug.

She reluctantly released him from the hug, leaving Logan a bit disoriented. gave him one more once over. "My My Logan do you work out? Those biceps are something else."

Rory giggled as Logan turned beet red. "We really should be going." She held up her basket, shaking it gently.

"If you must!" whimpered, giving Logan elevator eyes.

"Nice meeting you again Gypsy, Babette. . . " Logan stammered.

"I feel like I'm the prize calf at a meat market." Logan whispered to Rory, glancing at the huddle of women.

Rory laughed. "Well they made a Stars Hollow Hunk of the Month calendar a few years ago, and the only people who would volunteer to model were Kirk, Taylor, and Jackson's cousin Rune, so someone with your looks is really a hot commodity around here."

Logan perked up. "My looks eh?"

"Don't get it twisted. Personally, I think you've got nothing on Rune's spread. I mean the leaf placement alone. . ."

"Very funny Ace. So where are we going?"

"I figured we could eat out by the lake. It's quiet and less. . . cougarish."

"Sounds good to me." Logan said smiling.

…

"How on Earth did our daughter make it to five years old!?" Logan exclaimed as he shifted through the picnic basket.

"Hey I offered you one of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches." Rory said, as she munched on a sandwich. "There's orange chicken in there, that's full of protein."

"And salmonella." Logan muttered as he dangled the aluminum foil wrapped chicken in front of his face. He fished a small container of carrot sticks out of the basket. "I guess I can skip the gym today, since this will be my lunch."

Logan glanced at Orie. "She feeds you vegetables right?"

"Don't worry dad, Grumps has me covered."

"I have you know I ate two green beans just last year." Rory joked.

"You have the pallet of a five year old."

"That's so not true. I eat tons of stuff that mommy wouldn't touch." Orie retorted.

Logan smirked. "You may look like me, but you've got that Gilmore sass."

"Hey you liked my sass!" Rory protested.

"Watch your mouth in front of my daughter!"

Orie shook her head. "You guys are weird."

Logan gasped. "You know what that means?!"

Orie's eyes grew wide. "No, what?"

"IT'S IN YOUR GENETICS! AAAAUUUGGGGHHH!" He tickled the little girl until she collapsed into a fit of giggles.

Rory laughed. "You two are so crazy!"

Logan glanced at Orie. "LET'S GET HER!" The two pounced on Rory, knocking her over.

"Truce! Truce!" Rory called, unable to catch her breath. Logan stabbed his finger into her rib, tickling her softly.

"LOGAAAAANNN!" She giggled, her face red and flushed. "STOOOOPPP!"

Orie laughed, her peals of laughter echoing against the trees.

Rory tried to shimmy out of Logan's reach, and the three of them collapsed into a pile on the blanket. Logan glanced over at Rory. Her eyes were closed, a huge smile spread across her face as she laughed. Her cheeks were flushed, strands of hair haphazardly strewn across her face. Orie was curled up next to her, happiness so very present on her face. He thought he'd never want to erase the mental picture he took of Rory in New Hampshire, but this is how he wanted to remember Rory from now on.

Rory opened her eyes. "What. . . what are you looking at?"

Logan smiled. "You."

…

"Be careful up there!" Rory called. "I'm still paying off the last broken arm!"

Orie grinned from the top of a giant oak tree in the distance. "I'm always safe mom!"

"You're really good with her." Logan said, sitting down next to Rory on the bridge.

"I try." Rory replied.

A comfortable silence settled between them for a minute, as they watched Orie climb the tree.

Rory glanced over at Logan. "I'm sorry."

"For that picnic lunch?" Logan teased.

"For keeping her from you. . . .all these years."

"You've already said you were sorry."

"But that's not enough. . . It was too easy. You should be livid! You should be furious, irate. . . you should hate me!"

He turned to face Rory. "I could never hate you."

"How could you feel like that? If anyone ever kept her away from me, If I had missed everything you missed. . .."

"Yes, It feels like my heart has been ripped from my chest. It hurt, I'm still hurt. I'm never going to see her first steps, or feed her a bottle or feel her kick while she was in your belly. . . and it really sucks. At first I couldn't understand how you could love me, and do what you did. . . but now I get it. You did what you did, because you love me. You thought it was best for our family. Yes, I missed out on those things, but I'm here now. I'm not going to miss out on her driving a car, or her first dance, braces, dancing at her wedding. So no Rory, I don't hate you."

"I. . . I don't deserve how well you've handled this. I thought for sure that you we're going to storm in here, with some crazy good custody lawyer and take her from me. It would only be fair."

He grasped her chin with his hand, tipping her face up to look at him. "I've said it once and I'll say it again. I would never take her from you."

She held his gaze, but didn't say anything, her giant blue eyes practically melting a hole right through him.

Logan hesitated for a minute. "Were you ever going to tell me? I mean, if Honor hadn't found you, would you have ever found me?"

"Yes.. . No. . . I . . .I told myself that I wouldn't, that I had made this plan, and was sticking to it, but I knew I was lying. I tried to forget you, leave the past behind, but I couldn't. I mean look at her, She's your twin for crying out loud! Do you know how hard it would be to forget you, when every time I looked into her bassinet, all I could see was you?"

"She's definitely a Huntzberger." Logan nodded.

"It wasn't even how much she looked like you. I didn't want to forget you. The way my heart skipped a beat when you smiled, the way you held me when we danced. That electric feeling across my skin. . . I . . I didn't want to forget any of it! The only thing I wanted to forget was the heavy feeling that followed me. That gutted feeling when I realized that never telling you, meant never seeing you again. The pain that I knew you would feel if you found out . . . I wanted to forget that, but never you."

Logan met her gaze, struggling to swallow a still beating heart. He was perfectly aware of her eyes flickering between his eyes, to his lips, then back up again. Logan leaned in, their lips mere inches away.

"Moooooommmm watch this!" Orie called from the top of a tree.

Rory jerked away. She stood up, smoothing out her pants. "Orie! It's getting late! We need to get going!"

"Rory," Logan protested but Rory was already walking away from him. "Rory, wait!"

She quickly turned around. "That. . . .you and me. . . we shouldn't do this."

"Give me one good reason." He demanded. Logan could see in Rory's eyes that they both wanted the same thing, but were both lost on how to get there.

Rory motioned to Orie, who was running up the path towards them. "You and I? We're like matches and gasoline. . . explosive. But I'm done playing with fire, because now it's not just me that gets burned."

She grabbed Orie's hand and Logan watched them walk away until they were just small dots on the horizon.