"Fine, fine. You know, same old… the baby's good too, thanks for asking," Charlotte ground out with a sharp, bitter edge to her voice.

"What?!" Logan exclaimed. Rory looked over at him flabbergasted, her mouth opening and closing in an Oscar-worthy impression of a fish.

"B-baby?" Rory spat out incredulously. Her heart felt as if it had fallen into the pit of her stomach and was now being dissolved by the acids within.

"No, no Ace." Logan turned to her, "It's not mine! I've never slept with her!" he denied adamantly.

"Oh, that's right," Charlotte snapped her fingers feigning an epiphany, "You didn't end up picking me up for prom; you were too busy, shall we say, entertaining my best friend at the time… in a hotel room down the street."

"Wow, I didn't even see that one coming," Logan broke in genuinely impressed with the sophisticated yet underhanded way the girl brought his past discretions to light. "Kudos to you." Logan tipped an imaginary hat towards her.

"Huntzberger!" Rory whispered from across the booth.

"Yes, dear?" he prayed that if he kept his wit about him that somehow the ladies would be charmed into letting the issue dissolve away.

"So not the time," Rory warned, "Careful, she'll spit in our food."

"I'm sorry, you're absolutely right. I must say, Charlotte," he turned to the fuming young woman still standing stiffly beside him, "that was a beautiful sneak attack. I've never seen a dead horse resurrected so gracefully…" he waved his hands through the air in a gesture implying insignificance.

"You stood me up at my PROM!" wailed the waitress.

"Shhh. Yes, you are very correct, and I am truly very sorry… but it was two and a half years ago. I apologized the next night and twice more since then, I believe," Logan's voice became low and soothing as he tried to reason with the woman from his past who was quickly becoming hysterical.

"It was still my PROM and my BEST FRIEND, Logan. That may not have meant anything to you, but it sure as hell meant a lot to me!" she fumed.

"Charlotte, you're making a scene," he spoke sternly through clenched teeth. "I don't much care, but you work here and this is probably not the best time for this."

"Oh, that's rich! Now you care about my welfare?" she threw her pencil at him. Luckily it missed him and landed nicely on the seat beside him. He picked it up and placed it calmly on the table in front of him.

"I-- uh--" Rory cleared her throat awkwardly, "I left something in the car…" She rose from her seat and pointed vaguely towards the exit.

"We walked…" Logan replied dumbly. "Oh," he exclaimed a second later as understanding washed over him, "don't bother making the excuses. We'll just find another place to eat." He stood up and made to join her.

"Not so fast," Charlotte exclaimed as she forced him back into his seat.

"Hey, hey! That's not necessary," Rory lightly bumped the girl out of her way and offered Logan a hand to get up again.

"Thanks, Ace. But I'll handle this," he smiled at her gratefully. She nodded her head silently and moved aside so that he could face his past.

"Ahh, you've got a pet name… maybe that's why he offered you breakfast after the walk-of-shame, ACE," she said patronizingly. As soon as Charlotte turned her attention back towards Logan, Rory pulled a small diamond ring that her grandmother had given her for her birthday from her right hand. As discretely as possible she moved it to her left ring finger. Logan, who had been eyeing Rory to see her reaction to the insinuation, caught the shift.

"Actually, I've given her a lot more than a pet name…" Logan lifted his arm, holding out his right hand and inviting Rory to come to his side.

"And I've never experienced the walk-of-shame…" Rory added as she laced her left hand with his right and twirled into his embrace. This brought her into the position where her left arm was across her body and her hand was entwined with his resting on her right shoulder, proudly displaying the diamond ring on her 'betrothed' finger.

It didn't take long for the glint of gold and the sparkle of the modest yet expensive diamond to catch the waitress' eye. She opened and closed her mouth frantically searching for the proper words to use in this situation. The pair took advantage of her confusion and began to saunter towards the door.

"Don't think you're getting out of buying me breakfast," Rory cast a sideways glance at him as she dropped his hand and put her arm around his middle on the way to the door. Logan pulled her a little closer, leaving his arm resting around her shoulders.

"The thought hadn't crossed my mind," he grinned at her. As they passed through the doors back out into the cold air outside, Logan took a quick glance through the window to catch one last look at the fuming Charlotte as her boss approached her looking quite aggravated.