After Rory left Time Out's offices, she grabbed a cab to head back to Logan's, no - THEIR flat. Rory decided it was time to rip the Band-Aid off, so she sent a quick text to Lorelai during the ride back. It was short and sweet: "Hey mom, if you have a couple minutes, give me a call. I have great news to share!"
A few minutes later, she was unlocking the door to the flat when her phone rang. Lorelai was calling.
"Hello, newlywed!" Rory said in a 'Hello, Newman-Seinfeld-esque' voice.
"Hello, my daughter!" Lorelai replied in the same way.
Rory balanced her phone on her shoulder while she took off her coat and grabbed a glass of water. "So, how's the honeymoon? I hope I didn't interrupt anything?"
"No, not at all. Luke is taking a few minutes to check in on Jess and the diner, so I decided to check in on you."
"So, the trip? Is it going good? Are you having fun?"
Lorelai sighed, "Yeah, its good. We've been spending a lot of time just relaxing and doing nothing. Nevermind all that. You said you had great news. Spill!"
"Okay, are you sitting down?" Rory became nervous to being telling Lorelai everything that transpired.
"Yep! Go on..." she implored.
"Okay, here goes. Are you familiar with Time Out Magazine?" Rory asked.
Lorelai did a quick mental inventory. "British magazine?"
Rory replied, "Yeah, its sort of a lifeftyles entertainment magazine. Anyway, a friend of mine that I know from my days on the campaign trail has been writing a column for Time Out for years. Her editor is leaving and she is being promoted into that position. She called and asked ME to take over her column!"
"Rory! That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" Lorelai squealed. "Hey, what about your little ummm, Logan-souvenir? Is that going to be an issue with the job?"
Rory grinned, "No. I told her and she's cool with it."
"Kid, that's wonderful! Congratulations. So, tell me about the column!"
"Well, that's part of what you might NOT like so much. I have to do reviews of restaurants, entertainment, hotels and music acts - basically anything interesting."
Lorelai asked, "They cover all the costs for this? What's not to like? This is incredible!"
Rory groaned, "Well, its a local column. Local to the Knightsbridge-area of London."
Lorelai replied, "Oh! So you have to live in London?" She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Yes. But I finally have a steady income and health benefits. I haven't had a steady job in probably six years. I finally feel like an adult. And if I'm going to be someone's mother, its time I get my crap together. Don't you think?" Rory asked her mother.
"I - I - I guess so," Lorelai stammered. "Its just... that... I was starting to look forward to the baby. Seeing him or her grow up and etc. I wanted to be there to help you."
Rory let you a big breath. "I know, Mom. And I figured that you might be disappointed. But this is the best opportunity that I've gotten in years and I really want to do it."
"Um..." Lorelai pried a bit more, "Isn't Logan in London? How is that going to work?"
PULL OFF THE BAND-AID Rory thought. "Well, that's something else I want to tell you about."
Lorelai sighed, "O-kay... I'm not going to like this, am I?"
Rory rolled her eyes, "Can I just tell you everything and then you can respond? Please? Without you interrupting?
"Yes," Lorelai said evenly.
Rory began, "So I knew I needed to tell Logan about the baby. And I was trying to think of a way to contact him that wouldn't completely blow up his life. Then I got the call to meet with the people at Time Out. They sent me a ticket for Sunday night to meet with them on Tuesday - I'm actually here now. I boarded the plane in Hartford, but we had a stop in New York before Heathrow. It turned out that the person assigned to the seat next to mine was Logan - he boarded in New York. He called off his engagement to the French woman right after we last saw each other. Then he spent the next several weeks dealing with the fallout. Once that was all complete, he came to Stars Hollow to see me. He arrived the day of your wedding, but he didn't want to interrupt so he left. I had plans to try to see him when I was in London. We had hours to talk and talk on the red eye flight late Sunday night. He told me he missed me and wanted to be with me. He told me that he still loved me and always did. I admitted the same, and that I wanted to be with him. But then I told him about the baby. He was thrilled and so incredibly happy. He convinced me to stay with him while I was in London. We've talked about getting married. Our plan is to raise the baby together as a family." She waited a minute. "Yep, I think that's it."
"Rory," is all Lorelai could say.
Rory interrupted, "No, that's not it actually. I'm ridiculously happy. I hope you can be happy for me, but if you aren't, I'm going to ask you to fake it. I really want this, Mom. I've wanted him for so long and I've missed him since we broke up."
"Rory," Lorelai tried again.
"No, Mom. I know you're not a big Logan fan, but the last time you saw him or spoke to him was nine years ago. You don't know him anymore, not that you ever really did. If nothing else, he's the father of your grandchild." Rory sniffled, "Please be happy for me."
"Rory," Lorelai tried yet again.
"Mom, just lie and say you're happy for me. I need you to be on board with this," Rory pleaded.
"Rory!" Lorelai finally got a word in.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"I'm on board," Lorelai said.
"You ARE?" Rory was incredulous.
"Yeah," Lorelai said. "I'm cautious and I'm concerned and I'm not thrilled that you and my grandchild will be on another continent, but if you think this will make you happy, then I think you should give it a shot."
"You DO?!"
Lorelai continued, "I'm not going to lie. There is a huge part of me that wants to keep you and the baby in the basement where no one can ever hurt either of you and I get to see you everyday. But, I don't have a basement. And I've experienced having people try to make my choices for me when I was pregnant and it wasn't fun."
"Thanks, Mom." Rory whispered.
"But," Lorelai said, "I have some conditions."
"Uh-oh," Rory said.
Lorelai began, "We need to see each other once a quarter. I'll travel, you'll travel, but we don't go more than three months without seeing each other. And that way, I still get to see the baby grow up."
Rory smirked, "I can agree to that. What else?"
"I want to really get to know Logan. Not the shiny, coiffed version of Logan that he brings to ballrooms and dinners. I want to get to know the Logan who will be raising my grandchild and joining my family. The same Logan who cooked us lobster and took care of you when you had the flu."
Rory sniffled again, "Okay. What else?"
"We come up with a name for me that isn't Grandma," Lorelai laughed.
"We can do that. Maybe we'll save Grandma for Shira." Rory wiped away tears. "Thanks, Mom. I needed you to be okay with this."
Lorelai smiled so big that Rory could hear it. "I know you did. And I might have concerns, but I'm not going to make this harder for you."
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Kid."
"I'm coming to Stars Hollow next week, to pack and get ready to start my new job. Logan has a meeting in New York so he will come out a few days later, but we will have about three days to spend together before he shows up." Rory used this as a peace offering.
"Sounds good. Can I tell Luke about the baby?"
Rory grinned, "Well, sure... Mostly because I'm sure you already did."
"Wow, you really DO know me," Lorelai smirked.
"You enjoy the rest of the honeymoon. I love you guys!" Rory smiled through the phone.
"We love you, take care of yourself," Lorelai said.
"Bye, Mom!" Rory hung up and held her phone against her heart.
Rory was exhausted. Getting a job, growing a baby and telling her mom about everything left her exhausted. She curled up in the corner of Logan's sectional couch with a throw blanket.
Logan arrived home at the end of the day. He was excited to see Rory. He came in the front door and locked it behind him. While hanging up his coat, he called, "Honey, I'm home!" is a sing-song voice. He peeked in the kitchen but she wasn't there. He went up stairs to the living room and called, "Ace?" He immediately lowered his voice to a whisper once he realized she was sound asleep on the couch. He pulled out his phone and took a quick photo of Rory as she snuggled into the corner of his couch.
Logan leaned over and softly kissed her on the lips. Her eyes opened slowly, and she blinked a few times. "Hey, gorgeous," he said to her.
Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down to her on the couch. "Hey, yourself," she said as she went in for another kiss.
Logan lay on top of her as the continued making out like teenagers for several minutes. Rory ran fingers through his hair as he deepened the kiss. "Ace, I love coming home to you." He moved to kiss her neck and then the spot right below her ear. "And, I love having you under me like this," he whispered in her ear. "You feel perfect against me."
"Mmmmm," she murmured against his hair as he continued kissing her neck and shoulder.
His cell phone rang, interrupting the moment. Logan groaned, "Whoever it is has horrible timing." He grabbed his phone from his pocket and saw that it was Honor - on FaceTime, no less.
Still laying on top of Rory, he answered the FaceTime call. "Hey Honor, what's up?"
"Little brother, what are you doing? Wait WHAT ARE you DOING?" Honor began trying to reposition her phone to correct the fact that he appeared horizontal.
Logan laughed and Rory giggled. "Honor, I'm not doing anything. Not right this minute."
"Logan! If you're with a woman right now, I really don't need to see this."
Logan laughed again. "Relax, Honor," Logan said. Then he moved his face closer to Rory's and panned the camera over so that they both were in the frame.
"Wait, is that Rory? Rory-fucking-Gilmore? Seriously? LOGAN!" Honor couldn't stop shrieking.
"Hey, Honor. How are ya?" Rory asked her as Logan buried his face in Rory's neck.
"What is happening? Are you guys together? Well, obviously you're currently together, but are you together-together?" Honor was now rambling the kind of ramble that was Gilmore-worthy.
Logan ran his fingers down Rory's side, going particularly slow at the side of her breast. Logan smirked at his sister, "We were trying to be, but my sister called."
Rory decided to tell Honor the truth. "So, yeah, we're together," Rory happily told Honor. Logan decided to be a little mischevious. As Rory was on the phone, Logan traveled down Rory's body. He bit her nipples through her dress and the continued to her crotch. He buried his face between her legs. Through the thin material of her dress, he teased her center with his nose. While Honor squealed, Rory tried to keep her composure and not let on to Honor that Logan was doing everything he could to be distracting.
Honor was elated. "Rory! This is incredible news!"
Logan called to his sister, "There's more!"
Honor asked, "Wait, what?!" More?!"
Rory whispered to Honor, "I'm expecting. And we're engaged."
"Oh my God! That is SO wonderful!" Honor couldn't contain herself.
Rory said, "So, this is all brand new. And if you could keep it under wraps for a little while, I would appreciate it. I need to get back to Hardford to tell my grandma and my dad. I really want them to hear it from me."
Logan reappeared in the frame. "And I guess I have to tell your mother," he said to Honor.
Honor laughed. "I love how she's MY mother."
"Thanks for being happy for us, Honor. It means a lot." Rory said to Honor.
"Oh, Rory. I've always loved you and Logan is never as happy as he is when you're around," Honor assured her.
Logan was laying with his head on Rory's shoulder. "Now that's true," he sighed. "Honor, we will be in Hartford next week. I'll text you with details, okay?"
"Sounds great. I can't wait to hug you both. I love you guys! Bye!" Honor disconnected the call.
Rory and Logan both chuckled. Rory asked, "Why DID she even call?"
Logan shrugged, "Who knows?" He went back to nuzzling her breasts while she ran her fingers through his hair.
"So, I talked to Lorelai..." Rory knew that would get his attention.
Logan froze, waiting for the fallout. "And?"
"Well, she wasn't thrilled, but mostly its because she is disappointed that I will be living here with the baby. I think she was looking forward to seeing the baby all the time. She was super-happy about my new job. And she seemed indifferent towards you - she said that she didn't know you."
Logan tilted his head to the side. "Huh. None of that is unreasonable. What else?"
Rory smirked. "She promised me her support with three conditions."
Logan smiled. "What does she want? A pony or something?"
Rory shook her head. "She made me promise that we see her once a quarter, whether we travel or she travels. But she doesn't want to go more than three months without seeing me or the baby."
Logan shrugged in the affirmative. "Completely doable. What else?"
"She needs us to collectively come up with a name for her other than Grandma. I told her we could save that name for Shira."
Logan snorted in reply. "O-kay... And?"
"Lorelai wants to get to know you. Like really get to know you. She said that the most she ever got to know you was that weekend at the Vineyard - and that was ten years ago. If you're going to be in her family, she wants to know YOU, warts and all." Rory looked him in the eyes.
"Ace, I don't mind any of that. I promise. I'm so glad she is being supportive about all of this."
Rory said, "Well, the last time you talked to her about marrying me, she had just gotten divorced and was very alone. I think that likely had a lot to do with her frame of mind at the time. She's married to Luke now and is ridiculously happy. And she's going to have a grand child. That all will play a part in this. I'm sure she will be moody and have her moments, but she didn't have a full-on tantrum so I think this will be okay with her."
Logan laid his head on her chest and wrapped his arms around her. Rory leaned forward and kissed him on the head while she hugged him back.
"Perfection."
"Hmmm?" he asked without moving.
"You and me. Here like this. Perfection."
"Yep." Logan closed his eyes and snuggled deeper into Rory's body.