Note: This chapter is more of a filler than I had originally wanted it to be. We are slowly moving towards the end of season five, which comes with a bunch of important events. Logan's thoughts and perspective are in italics.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

Part 045 Season 5

Episode 21

Title: Blame the Booze and the Melville

After Logan finishes classes for the day, he drives down to Stamford to meet Rory. He told her he wanted to grab dinner, and staying near Stamford seemed like a fun idea. Rory didn't really know of anything around there other than the nearest coffee places, but exploring new places is something Logan really enjoyed.

He was still a little surprised that Mitchum hadn't forced him into any meetings at Stamford Paper, not that he was complaining. The idea of having Mitchum focus his attention on Rory and the actual operation of the paper served as a great distraction. But Logan wasn't sure if he should be feeling guilty about basically passing his dad off to someone else, that someone being his girlfriend. Rory did seem to genuinely enjoy it there, since being able to get into a normal routine. Anytime she would fill him in on her days, or anything related to the paper her eyes seemed to light up, she was excited about everything she learned, every conversation she had, and really anything and everything she did while in the Stamford Eagle Gazette building.

Once he pulls into the parking lot, he parks his car and walks into the building knowing what floor her workspace is on; Rory having explained the layout of the building, and the exact location of her cubicle in great detail.

Once he gets off the elevator he immediately sees her. She is moving quickly and is glowing. She loves it here, he can just tell.

"Hey Ace."

"Hey, you're early!"

"Well, there's a first for everything. Where's the fire?" He continued following her, trying to keep in step with her fast pace.

"Oh, just south of the 95. It's four alarm, we've got Kessler on it. How did you know about the fire?"

"I didn't. I mean, where are you going in such a hurry?" If we were going any faster I think it would qualify as jogging.

"Oh, I'm at half speed compared to this morning. Oh no…" she whines, while they enter her work space.

"What?" Logan asks while looking around for the thing that is causing her grief.

"I'm gone for five minutes, and this place becomes a dumping ground."

I can't believe this is your cube. It just looks so plain, so gray. "I'm loving the totally non generic feel to your space here." He teases her.

"I have customized it, somewhat." Rory says, making an attempt to defend herself.

"Eccentric uncle?" Logan asks, gesturing to a picture pinned to the wall.

"Brian Eno."

You are so odd sometimes. "I was close. So let's go."

"It's 4:30."

Are you saying no? "So cut out early, there's nothing going on here."

"We're doing our rough front page, we are picking our leads, our photos, this is our busiest part of the day." Rory explained.

You sincerely like being here, god my dad must love having someone who cares around. And he's not even paying you! "So the people of Stamford don't get their paper tomorrow, they'll turn on the radio."

"I can't go." She explains further.

"I know the boss." he says, trying to convince her to just head out early. At this point he knows there is no convincing her, but he doesn't want to just give up on his argument, so he continues.

"So do I."

Right, I forgot about that part. "But I know how to work the boss, at least a little. I know he's somewhere in the vicinity."

"Who? Your dad?"

I'm surprised you haven't picked up the signs on his presence yet. It's like there is a complete shift in the room whenever he is approaching. Word travels slightly faster than the speed he walks, which means that based on the shift on the floor, he will be here in the next 30 seconds or so. "Can't you sense it? The flurry, the fright, and the shuffle of sycophants?"

As if he was somehow summoned by Logan, Mitchum appears, walking right up to the half wall to Rory's cubicle.

"Hey, someone new. Have we been introduced?" He jokes.

Logan recognizes that his dad catching him in the newsroom by choice is probably a shock to the system for him. But he plays along, things with his dad have never been this light before. "Jose Conceco, post steroids, should be a warning to people."

"Are you keeping Rory from her work?"

Wow, I don't even recognize this man as being my father.

"I was just about to call security." Rory plays along.

Okay, Rory is now able to joke with him? Wasn't it just a week ago that she could barely form words around him?

"Does everyone know about the, umm…" Mitchum starts asking a question, directed toward Rory.

"Noon on Friday, main conference room, come with your A game.'' She responds to the question to the Mitchum never even finished asking out loud.

How have they formed this silent conversation thing? How long has she been working here?

"Good" Mitchum responds cooly. "Did you call your mother about the Vineyard?" He asks, this time directing his attention to Logan.

"She's on my list."

"Push him on that, won't you? I'm going to four, if you want to catch up."

Push him on that? When did I become a directive between my dad and my girlfriend? This is just weird.

"Okay."

"See ya." He says as he exits back into the hallway towards the elevators.

"Enjoy four!" Logan shouts, not even really sure what he is telling him to enjoy. "What's four?" He asks Rory.

"Fourth floor." she chuckles.

"You news people, and your jargon" He jokes with her. "So is he treating you alright?" He asks her sincerely. Even though he is nervous to know how she is really feeling about his dad and the internship, everything seems okay for the most part.

"Who, your dad? He's been great."

Really? "You're sure?" he asks, trying to hide his shock in her response.

"Yeah."

"Just checking." You would tell me if he wasn't though, right? "So what do you think about Friday?"

"An excellent alternative to Thursday."

"My sister's engagement party." Please tell me you want to come! I think I will have to throw myself overboard if you aren't there. I have already been advised that Colin and Finn are not permitted on the boat once it leaves the harbor.

"Oh, right, I'm going to try. I'm dying to see the yacht."

Please try hard. "Well it's going to be full of Honor's ditzy friends. But the harbor's cool. Try and leave your grandparents dinner early. They get you every Friday night, let me have one."

"You're very one note today."

"Well, I miss ya Ace." But I am going to stop begging, because that sounded a little too much like begging for what I am comfortable with.

"Well, I'll have more free time once finals are over and summer's here. Unless I get that summer job here." She says wistfully.

"Well you're probably a shoe in, my father seems to like you." Wow, that feels... Uncomfortable? I don't know why but this whole dynamic between the two of you just seems too good. My dad doesn't like people, like ever.

"Oh I hope so, I love it here." Rory admits.

"Okay, so I'll just go hang somewhere until you're done."

"I'll be done at 6:30, 7:00 at the latest."

Oh my god, you know that you aren't being paid right? "Ace!"

"6:45"

"So maybe I'll hang out on two or five, is that the right terminology?"

"You're getting there."

XXX

Logan sits in the cafe area on the second floor of the building. He is reading today's copy of the Gazette while waiting for Rory to finish her day. He brought his laptop with him, and could probably check his emails and school work, but doesn't really know where to go to plug it in, and is not interested in trying to find his dad's office, which would probably involve some kind of run in and interrogation.

Logan decides to grab a cup of coffee, the time is approaching 6:00pm, so he figures it should be much longer before Rory is done with her day.

As he takes a seat in the casual sitting area, and grabs the entertainment section, hoping to get some inspiration on where to go to dinner. Usually he was a better planner, and would make a reservation somewhere, but with the way Rory wanted to stay until the very end, Logan didn't see any point in making a reservation for a time they probably wouldn't be able to make.

Once he was sitting and flipping through the paper, another person joined him, taking the vacant seat across the low coffee table separating them.

He looks over the newspaper, shifting it down slightly, to see if the person who sat down actually knows him.

"Sorry, were you waiting for someone?" the woman asks. She looks to be a bit older than him, maybe late twenties or early thirties. She is dressed in a pencil skirt, with her legs crossed so that it is hiked up to reveal a bit more of her legs, which seems intentional and very suggestive. Her smart white button down has a couple of buttons undone at the top, and her long blonde hair is pulled back in a sleek ponytail.

"I am waiting for someone, but I'm not saving seats or anything." he responds over his newspaper.

"Great. Do you work here? I don't think I've ever seen you here before."

Do I work here? Well that's kind of loaded right? I mean I work for every newspaper we own, according to my father anyways. "Not technically."

"Technically? That sounds intriguing."

"It's not meant to be." Logan says, smirking as he lowers the newspaper into his pal.

"I'm Coleen, by the way. I work upstairs, I just come down here when I need a breather, kind of like a cigarette break without the cigarette."

Ha, that's funny. Maybe she should get a coffee. "Nice to meet you Colleen, I'm Logan. The coffee is pretty good, if you're looking for a cigarette substitute." He said, raising his recently acquired travel mug.

Logan broke eye contact and went back to looking at his newspaper. Flipping through the sections reading the titles. Coleen didn't move. She was buying time to extend the conversation. The old Logan certainly would have continued to engage, the old Logan probably would have flirted, and gotten himself a date. But the new reformed Logan had no interest, he would rather spend the evening with Rory, getting dinner, watching a movie, staying up late.

"Oh I can't drink coffee this late. I'll be up all night."

"Bummer." Logan says, at a loss for words. Is she insinuating what I think she is?

"That is, unless there was a reason to be up all night."

Yup, she is saying precisely what I thought she was saying. "Right. So do you live around here Colleen? Do you know any good places to grab some dinner?" Engaging in some mild flirtation in order to get some dinner recommendations .

"Maybe I should go ahead and get that coffee then…" she made the statement open ended, like a question but not quite.

"Free country." Logan quipped. I definitely need to stop talking to this girl. Where is Ace?

Logan flips his wrist to check his watch.

"Got somewhere to be?" Colleen asked, while standing up.

"Just waiting on my girlfriend to get out of work."

"Oh your girlfriend? I thought you worked here."

"Yeah, my girlfriend is interning with Mitchum HUntzberger. And, actually, I said I don't technically work here. Because I don't."

"Mitchum Huntzbereger? He is like my boss's boss's boss."

"Yeah, that's the guy."

"I heard he's only here for another week."

"Sounds right."

XXX

Logan managed to get two restaurant recommendations out of Colleen before she left to go back to work, and before Rory came down the elevator wearing a broad smile on her face.

"I heard there was a hottie down here reading the newspaper… Colleen told Tracy she thought she was getting a date but ended up recommending a place for him to take his girlfriend." Rory starts to laugh while telling her story.

"Wow. So you came down here to shoot your shot?"

"No, I've got a pretty okay guy right here. And it sounds like you may have some dinner places in mind."

"Sure do."

XXX

At dinner Rory and Logan catch up on each other's lives. They have both been so extremely busy lately, studying for finals, finishing up on articles for the Yale Daily news, and Rory being tied up with her internship.

Rory tells Logan about the ballerina that her grandma is sponsoring, or adopting, or something like that. She has him in near tears over the whole story, where along with her mom and grandma she was sitting and looking at pictures of ballerinas deciding which she should choose.

She also filled him in on her plan to go to Stars Hollow the next day to throw a baby shower for Sookie. She confided in Logan that she finds the whole birthing process somewhere between disgusting and terrifying. He laughed and told her that the idea of parenting and the responsibility that comes with it is terrifying.

Things are kept pretty light, and the talk of babies doesn't last long. But Rory does confide in Logan that she is mostly terrified because of how her mom has been depicting pregnancy as a terrible experience for as long as she can remember.

Logan jokes that although he hasn't been scared straight in regards to the physical pain, his parents have been spending his entire life being told the importance of not getting someone pregnant before being sure she's the one. I'm pretty sure knocking someone up would end with me losing my trust fund. But that's probably not good to share with the daughter of a teen mom. "I have always been safe, I'm sure it's no shock to you but on top of the fear pounded into my head by my parents, commitment has been an issue for me up until pretty recently."

"Well, aren't we quite the pair."

"I suppose we are."

Note: I am going to try to continue to insert my interpretation of Mitchum behaviors, leading into his one-on-one meeting with Rory. My opinion will hopefully slowly seep through that event and events and conversations that follow. To those who celebrate, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving this week.