A/N: Sorry it has been so long since I updated, between the holidays and writer's block this chapter was just a beast to write. I am starting to find my inspiration again now that things are calming down and I have some time to sit down in the evenings and write. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

Chapter 20

The dinner was going well so far. Lorelai had kept her snide remarks to a minimum and was even being nice to Logan; in fact, she had even made some small talk about how work had been going for him and congratulated him on the engagement. Rory was thankful, but she was also waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Before she knew it dinner was over and they were heading to the parlor for some post dinner coffee and dessert. Unfortunately, at Logan's insistence, she had given up coffee completely because it wasn't good for the babies, especially at the high volume that she consistently consumed it; she missed it, but she knew it was for the best. She walked over to the drink cart and poured a cup for her mother and then looked at Logan, with a nod he told her that he would also like a cup; she just loved how they could communicate with simple looks and gestures, words not always necessary. Her gaze moved over to her mother and she saw her scrutinizing the exchange between the two of them, the look on her face one of disdain instead of happiness, which she quickly masked when she realized that Rory was looking at her.

Rory walked over with two cups in her hand, she handed one to her mother, sans any cream or sugar, and one to Logan, with three sugars and four cream just the way he liked it. She took a deep whiff before handing it off and then stared longingly at the cup as he took a sip.

"I'm sorry dear, you know you can't have any" Logan told her with pure amusement on his face, "but I can have them make you a pot of decaf if that will help you with your withdrawals from the real stuff." He laughed as she pouted.

"Yes please, and will you ask them to bring that pumpkin spice creamer I love so much?" She could hardly believe that she was agreeing to such a sacrilege as decaf coffee, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do and she loved the taste of coffee more than she needed the caffeine.

Lorelai looked back and forth between the two during the exchange; she felt sad because she felt like she didn't connect with this version of her daughter and she felt angry that she was changing so much into exactly what she had never wanted her to be; and she felt happiness that she could see the love between Rory and Logan, even if he wasn't who she wanted her daughter to end up with.

"So, how is everything going with the pregnancy? Have you gotten any cravings yet?" Lorelai attempted to make some safe small talk, it was hard to start a fight over pregnancy cravings and she was trying really hard to maintain a positive attitude towards the whole situation.

"Everything is going great" Rory subconsciously started rubbing her swollen stomach. "They are moving more and more and have less and less room, so that is interesting. As far as cravings go, I have craved salad and fruit more than anything, that and steak! Oh my goodness I think Rita has made me steak about three times a week for the last month or so." Rory and Logan shared a look and both started laughing.

"I still can't believe how much healthy food she makes us keep in that kitchen. It is crazy to hear Rory Gilmore have a craving for carrots in the middle of the night." Logan reached over and rubbed her stomach affectionately and she reached down and put her hand on top of his in a natural way that just made his heart swell.

"Wow, healthy stuff huh? That's crazy. So no tater tots and pizza and pickles with ice cream?" Lorelai felt so out of place and awkward and she hated feeling like that with Rory; they were supposed to be best friends and things between them were supposed to be easy and happy, not stressed and forced. "So, uhm, have you picked any names yet?" Hopefully this was another safe topic that should not lead to an argument.

Rory and Logan looked at each other and silently communicated with one another. He gave her a small nod indicating that he thought it would be fine to share it with her. They weren't completely sure on the names yet, but they weren't too sure that Lorelai would like what they were leaning towards. "Uhm, yeah we are still throwing names around, but we are pretty set on the boy child's name; Richard Elias Huntzberger and for the girl child we are leaning towards Emily Olivia Huntzberger. We plan on calling him Eli and her Livy." Rory was nervous, she wasn't sure how her mother would respond to hearing that they were naming their children after both her and Logan's grandparents, but it was really important to both of them that they carry on that family name and legacy and her grandparents had played such a big role in her life that she felt strongly about them being her children's namesake.

"Those are nice names. Very strong society names." Lorelai felt like she had been punched in the gut; she wasn't sure what it was about the names that bothered her so much. Perhaps it was the fact that it was just one more thing that proved her daughter was running head strong into society; the names just screamed old family and old money, it was everything she ran away from, and everything that Rory wanted. "Well," she looked down at her watch, "I should really get going, it is getting late and I still need to drive back to Stars Hollow." She stood up and walked over to Rory and they just sort of awkwardly looked at one another, neither completely sure of what to do.

"Oh, okay." Rory responded, caught a little off guard by her mother's abrupt desire to leave for the night. "Well thank you for driving over and having dinner with us. Drive safe and please let me know when you make it home." Rory leaned in and gave her mom an awkward hug that Lorelai tentatively returned.

"Yeah, no problem Kid. It was, uhm nice." She pulled back from the hug and looked over to Logan. "It was nice to see you again Logan." She reached out her hand in order to shake his and he returned the gesture.

"Yes, it was nice of you to join us. You are welcome any time." Logan felt extremely awkward. He saw the looks pass over Lorelai's face through the evening, he knew she wasn't happy about the situation and that she didn't want him and Rory together. He knew that he was the epitome of everything that she ran away from and turned her back on; but, she was just going to have to accept that Rory was not her and she had made different choices in her life.

"Yeah, we are planning on having a big Thanksgiving dinner here next week if you and Luke would like to join us." Rory added on "Grandma is coming, so are Mitchum and Shira, and our friends from Yale Colin, Finn, and Stephanie are also coming." Rory doubted her mother would actually take her up on her offer, but she felt it only right to extend the invitation to her.

"Uhm, yeah, uhm, I don't know, maybe?" Lorelai stammered, completely caught off guard, she would rather eat her own foot for Thanksgiving than sit in a room with that crowd. "I will talk to Luke, but you know how Thanksgiving is in Stars Hollow, I don't know if I will have time to get over here. Thanks for the invite though, I will keep it in mind." Lorelai knew she should accept the olive branch invitation, but she just couldn't. She could not sit through a dinner with all those people and listen to Rory plan her 'perfect society life'; she just wasn't there yet.

"Okay, well just let me know so I can let Rita know how many people to cook for." Rory was slightly relived that her mom wouldn't be coming and that made her feel guilty.

Rory walked Lorelai to the front door while Logan stayed back and allowed them to have a private moment. They exchanged another awkward hug and made promises to meet up again soon.

After she shut the door behind her mom, Rory walked back into the parlor where Logan was drinking a second cup of coffee and she saw her freshly brewed very delicious smelling decaf coffee with just the right shade of brown from the added creamer. "Thank you baby, this smells delicious." She said fondly and leaned down to give him a kiss on the lips, which he gladly returned. "So . . . that didn't go too terribly bad right?"

"Definitely better than I thought it would, although it is obvious that she isn't too happy about the names we picked out." He responded guardedly, despite the fact that Lorelai and Rory were on the outs right now, he still respected that relationship enough that he wasn't going to say anything too negative about Lorelai; after all, she is still Rory's mom and at one point her best friend. While he doubted they would ever get to that point again, he really hoped that the two are able to work through their issues and at least have a cordial relationship with one another.

"Well that is just too bad for her because I love those names and I don't plan on changing my mind." Now that her mom was gone, she knew she could drop her guard and let her real feelings be known; she didn't have to force herself into false niceties or bite her tongue. "And I think we both know that there isn't a chance in Hell that she is going to come to Thanksgiving. I was the one who had to drag her here when I was younger and that was hard enough, there is no way she will come if there are 5 more 'society snobs' in attendance and more reminders of how I am completely immersing myself into this world that she hates so much."

At this point, the hormones kicked in and she was angry and sad and frustrated and she really just needed to let out some frustration. Logan walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "It will all work out the way it is supposed to work out. If she doesn't come, she doesn't come, we will still have a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends and family, the first of many Thanksgivings we will have in this house. If she doesn't like the names, too bad, they are our children and those are the names that we have picked and the names that mean something to us and our grandparents and my parents; she doesn't get a say, it isn't her life." He pulled back and looked down into her eyes and saw so much sadness in them and it killed him. He leaned in and kissed her face just above the cheekbone on either side. "I love you, and I love our life, and I love the way we are going. That is what matters; that we love each other and we are happy. Everything else will just fall into place. Now let's go upstairs and relieve some of that tension." He winked at her and slapped her on the butt; she giggled and blushed and then gladly followed him upstairs. She could definitely use some stress relief.