Title: Taking a header or staying the course

Author: Joy

A/N: I had to change the rating... This chapter got a little raunchier than I had intended.

Please Read: I have no idea where Logan was supposed to be for his break nor do I know who was supposed to be with him. I have decided that for my purposes he's close by...no more than an hour away.

Chapter 16: Long distance

Logan stepped out of the cabin he and his friends were staying at to call the moving company that was delivering Rory's (...and his) new bed, plus all the other enjoyable things he had included. He hoped Rory was roughly on schedule (she had changed plans once already) so Lorelai wouldn't be throwing a fit. The clothes Asia picked out for the elder Gilmore Girl, he could only assume that were good enough to cover over this transgression. The last thing he wanted to do was upset the woman who could potentially stand between himself and living with Rory.

These thoughts consumed him until his phone began to ring...that special ring that meant Ace...his lovely girlfriend was calling. "Hey Ace," Logan murmured into his cell.

"Hey yourself," she said in what he could only describe as a sultry tone. "Guess where I am?"

"Star's Hollow."

"True but be more specific," she continued to taunt.

"In your house."

"Logan."

"In your room?"

"Fine...never mind... I'll talk to you later," Rory said sounding miffed.

Confused he just called out. "No...Don't hang up. Please don't hang up," Logan begged. He knew it made him sound pathetic but he really didn't care at the moment. "I'm sorry...I was just teasing."
"I overreacted. Thanks for all the surprises...mom thanks you too."

He could tell things were still off but he couldn't quite figure out how. Rory sounded distant...put out...like she was trying not to sound hurt. Logan could only sigh, "I'm glad you like them. I wish I could have seen your face like last time..." He paused before speaking intimately, "Truthfully, I wish I could be there because I miss you so damn much."

"Yeah?" she whispered back.

"None of us are having fun... as a great movie you made me sit through said...we're all grieving for our girls."

Logan heard Rory sigh, "Is that so? Where are you right now?"

"Outside. I was going to call the delivery company to make sure everything went okay. But you called so..."

"Do you have a separate bedroom from the other guys?"

"We're all rather wealthy...so in a word...yes, I have my own room. Why?"
"That's seven words Logan," Rory teased.

"You didn't tell me why you asked."

Rory chuckled in a low voice, "All right spontaneous-trust guy, you will do as I say and you will not ask why? Got it?"

"Got it."

She murmured in a low breathy tone, "Go in your room Logan, but first tell the guys you are going to take a nap."

He blinked several times but did as he was told. Logan called to his buddies. "I'm gonna lay down for awhile. Don't disturb me, 'kay?"

"Okay," Colin said as Finn nodded.

"I'm thinking about a rest me self," the Aussie yawned and cuddled a pillow on the couch.

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Logan slipped into his room and breathed in his phone. "I'm in," he whispered conspiratorially.

"Lock your door and draw your shade."

"Wh..."

"We stop if you ask the question," she murmured.

Logan locked his door and pulling the shade. "It's done. What next?"

Rory sounded confident, "Did you bring your sound maker with you?"

"Yes."

"Put it by the door facing out," she instructed.

Logan was intrigued, so he did as he was told turning the noisemaker up in volume and facing toward his shut door. "I have the sound making thing in place... Now that I have been a good, compliant boy can I find out what's going on?"

"Guess where I am Logan," Rory murmured.

"I'm hoping your room Ace...with your new bed...our new bed."

"That's right. They made it up beautifully. Blue silk sheets, comforter, and of course mom hung the netting you sent," she explained.

Logan groaned as he lay himself down on his bed while toeing off his shoes and socks, "I can picture you in it."

"Yeah...well do you think your image of what I am wearing is close to what I am really wearing?"

"Since you aren't wearing anything in my mind, I will have to say no... why? What are you wearing?" He muttered unbelieving where this conversation was heading.

"You sent that lilac colored chemise and short robe combo with the matching underwear... I'm wearing that. It feels so good against me skin."

Logan's brain filled with the necessary image along with ones that involved him removing said garment. "Thanks for waiting for me to get in my room before teasing me," he moaned. "I really wouldn't want to explain why I was sporting a..."

"I know Logan," she murmured confidently. "So...are you getting comfortable Logan?"

"At the moment I am rather uncomfortable," he confessed.

"Well, what can I do to aid that predicament?"

"You are the one giving instructions, tell me what to do," Logan challenged.

"Take off all your clothes Logan...except your boxers," Rory stated.

Logan loved this side to Rory. Honor had told him all good girls do like to be bad girls every once in a while...they like to take control. She had warned him though that the kinkier or wilder the activities were, the more he would need to reassure his affection for her later. He had followed his sister's instructions to the letter, and what a benefit it had reaped him.

His clothes came off piece by piece, before getting situated in the proper attire. "I'm ready Ace."

"Good...tell me what you were picturing doing when I told you what I was wearing," she instructed.

"I was thinking about pushing the robe off your left shoulder along with the strap to your nightgown," he murmured back.

"Did you want to take off my robe?"

"Yes."

"I removed it and I have pushed my strap off my shoulder... what do you want to do now Logan."

He moaned, "This is your game Ace. I am just a very willing participant. You pick the direction; I follow the instructions."

Rory spoke in her now husky voice, "Then it goes without saying you don't get to touch yourself until I say so."

Logan groaned out loudly, removing his hand from his shorts, "That is just cruel."

"You wanted the minx...you got her. Suck it up, rich boy."

"Another image from earlier exploits that only serves to make me harder." Rory chuckled at him. "What's funny Ace?"

"The fact that I am actually going to get myself off with you on the phone listening and there is not a damn thing you can do about it," Rory taunted while Logan panted... hard... gripping his sheets.

"Oh god," he whispered.

The next while was torture in every sense of the word as Logan strained to listen to all the wonderful little noises Rory usually restrained for the sake of roommates or mothers. He had murmured to her through out encouraging every action, praying she would have mercy on him. When he heard her on the edge of ecstasy, Logan whimpered.

"What is it baby?" Rory panted.

"I want permission to stroke myself...thinking about what you're wear, how you look in the bed, and how the sheets will feel against my body," he begged in one breath.

"Granted," she gasped.

Logan groaned in satisfaction. "You are a goddess," he moaned lost in this wonderful fantasy.

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The college students lay panting in their own beds enjoying the after effects of the intimacy they had just shared despite their distance. "That was good."

"Very good," Rory responded.

"I liked hearing my name screamed rather than murmured like usual," Logan teased.

There was a long dead silence on the end of the phone that caused him to worry he had pushed their game too far. He sat up and pulled on his boxers as he heard fabric rustling and a zipper pulled. "Ace," he began. Still no response. But then he heard a knock on a door in the background that quickly turned to pounding. "Rory...Rory," Logan called.

"Give me a minute," she whispered.

"RORY!" he heard a male voice yell. "Let me in damnit! I know you're with him!"

There was squeaking of metal then a thump.

Logan was getting worried. He threw open the bedroom door. "Finn! Do you still have Lorelai's number?"

"I do, why? What's wrong?" Colin answered.

"I don't know really. Someone was yelling outside Rory's room... Call her, Lorelai I mean...Call her NOW!"

Colin dialed the number as fast as he could.

Logan went back to his phone, "Ace...Ace...Rory can you hear me?" There was no response. "ACE, please. You're scaring me."

Logan heard muffled voices and pound feet on pavement.

"Come back!" he heard a distinctive male voice yell again in the background. "I..."

Colin got through to Lorelai, telling her enough to scare her. Colin passed the phone to Logan. "Lorelai...I think someone is chasing Rory. Her phone hasn't disconnected and I heard someone pounding on her door."

"I'm in my car," Lorelai snapped, "Luke's with me...take the phone." Logan could here the engine race.

"Kid, what happened?" Luke asked.

"I'm not really sure," Logan stated desperately.

"Oh no," Lorelai muttered.

"Damnit," Luke growled and the phone disconnected.

Logan put the other phone back to his ear. There was a lot of yelling and Rory was crying with Lorelai murmuring softly to her.

"Rory," Logan called. "RORY!" he shouted.

Lorelai came on the line, "Logan, she's okay. Just shaken up."

"What happened?"

"Dean...he was chasing her...I think Dean broke in the house."

"He did," Logan heard Rory say softly.

"Can I talk to her?" Logan asked quietly.

There was an uncomfortable pause. That could only mean Ace was asked if she wanted to talk and she said no. "Let her call you back, okay?"

"Yeah," he said defeated.

"She's okay...You did good kid. She'll be fine."

"Yeah," Logan murmured again.

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Finn woke up to a flurry of activity, there was yelling and pacing. Logan was in the living room in his boxers. It was all very confusing and he didn't remember drinking that much. Presently, Colin looked worried, Logan seemed distraught, and Finn, himself, still didn't know what was going on. "What the bloody hell just happened?"

Logan got up and headed for his room with his friends trailing after. He mechanically put his clothes back on and got out his suitcase. "Logan, what are you doing?" Colin asked.

"Packing."

"I can see that. Why are you packing?"

Logan took clothes out of his closet and drawers and began to arrange them in his bag.

"Mate...what's going on?" Finn asked.

"I sent Ace a new bed and some other things for her place in Star's Hollow. She called to thank me in the best way possible while separated," Logan said stiffly.

Finn wrinkled his brow, "Reporter girl initiated phone sex?"

Logan glared at him, "It doesn't matter... What does matter is that once we were done she got really quiet...then someone was banging on her bedroom door. She ran away from whoever it was, though as you might have guessed it turned out to be Dean."

"The old boyfriend?" Finn asked.

Logan just nodded, "Luke and Lorelai got to her. She was crying..." He continued to pack all the while.

"So what are you doing now?" Colin asked.

"I am getting the hell out of here and going to be with my girlfriend," Huntzberger snapped. Both guys gazed at him slightly hurt.

Logan sighed and sat down on his bed, "Look guys...I'm sorry. I know this was supposed to be the guys...but I can't be absent for this... I can't not be there."

"It's fine man...go..." Finn told him as Colin grabbed his stuff from the bathroom.

The blond looked at Colin oddly, "If someone came after Stephanie I would go too... We're good. Go...be with Rory... Call us when things calm down."

"Thank you," was all Logan could think to say at the moment.

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Lorelai was hugging a crying Rory on the couch in their house. "It's okay Hun. You're safe. Luke has changed all the locks, re-hung your bedroom door, and the windows were already fixed. Plus, Luke is staying the rest of the week here. You're safe."

"I wish Logan was here," Rory sobbed.

"Why don't you call him? He was worried sick about you," Lorelai pled. "He also sounded pretty hurt you wouldn't talk to him."

"I didn't know what to say...I still don't," the younger Gilmore cried again.

"Ask him to come here," her mother told her.

Luke however was not as happy with that idea. Lorelai didn't know that he had been trying to reach the kid to no avail. He really didn't know what to think at the moment. Then again he had been dealing with Emily unbeknownst to Lorelai as well. First Luke was called because Lorelai wasn't speaking to Emily. Then she called because Rory had called to cancel for dinner to stay on campus a couple extra days. Somehow Luke was totally responsible for everything. He tried one last time to reach Logan before returning from the kitchen with coffee for his favorite girls.

Lorelai and Rory were still debating Rory calling Logan when there was a knock at the door. The room stopped. Luke proceeded to the entrance, checking to make sure it wasn't Emily there to wreak havoc. He sighed when he saw Logan. "Get in here. I have been trying to reach you," Luke grumbled.

"I have Ace's cell phone number set to ring differently from everyone else's. I didn't answer any other calls. I didn't want to tie up the phone," Logan muttered back. "Now can I pass?" he asked.

"Oh sure, sorry," Luke said stepping aside.

Lorelai and Rory both looked up to see the blonde standing there appearing very worn. "Hey Ace," he whispered softly as she stared at him with big soft eyes. Lorelai stood to make room for Logan who slipped down next to his still stunned girlfriend. "Come here," he murmured in a reassuring tone.

Rory stared at him a moment longer then clung to him for dear life, sobbing into his shirt.

After a few minutes, Rory had cried herself to sleep. Logan looked to her parents (Luke of course being every bit as much Rory's dad as Christopher was). "What happened?" Logan asked pitifully.

Lorelai sighed, "Dean saw the trucks coming to our house. He didn't see the stuff being brought in, just the bed and night table going out. Apparently he went a bit nutty that you two were moving or something. He wandered around for awhile then decided to come back to talk to you or me... or something." She shook her head, "Dean knew where we kept the extra key and let himself in. It seems he heard her in her room..."

Luke stared at both Lorelai and Logan as they shared a moment. "And Dean flipped?" Logan asked.

"Dean flipped," Lorelai agreed. "He was there to confront you, thinking you were in her bedroom for obvious reasons... Rory managed to slip out the window before he kicked in the door. Dean saw her through the open window and chased her down the street. He realized that he had completely terrified her and was trying to get to her to apologize."

"At least in theory," Luke griped.

Lorelai continued, "When we showed up he was trying to apologize for breaking down her door, breaking in the house, the works. Luke put him in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground with little force...showing remarkable restraint I might add."

"I wanted to pop his head off his body," Luke growled.

Logan smirked, "I completely understand."

Lorelai sighed, "Dean just kept saying over and over how sorry he was. He's paying to fix the door and replace the locks. Rory just got freaked out really good. I don't think Dean would ever actually hurt Rory but he sure as hell was up for hurting you. The situation did afford him a look at himself he didn't want. Dean was as freaked out by his behavior as the rest of us."

Logan nodded and kissed Rory's forehead, "Mind if I spend the rest of my break here? After what I heard today, I'm not sure how eager I am going to be on letting her out of my sight."

"That would be good," Lorelai said quietly.

"Just no funny business," Luke warned.

Both Lorelai and Logan stared at him. Lorelai shook her head and walked him to Rory's room to see her grand delivery; "Luke, it's Spring Break, and he is spending it in Star's Hollow of all places. The ultimate bed of sex was delivered today... there is no way on earth there isn't going to be 'funny business'."

"Ah jeez," Luke whined. "I didn't want to think about that," he muttered coming back in the room.

"We can just have 'funny business' upstairs to make up for it," Lorelai said coyly.

"Ah jeez," Logan mocked Luke perfectly. "I didn't want to think about that."

Lorelai just smirked at the exchange.

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Rory woke slowly to her head on a pillow that smelled like Logan. She cuddled closer to it before she realized the pillow was Logan. "You're awake," he muttered sleepily. "Emotionally exhausting day, Ace?"

"Yeah," she murmured quietly.

"We're in our new bed...what do you think?"

"I think I am going to require your presence to sleep for a while in the near future," Rory contended.

Logan pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, "Well, I will be here all this week and then when we get back to school and then the summer...and so on and so on. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah..."

"Good."

"Sorry about your trip," Rory murmured.

"Wasn't having fun since you weren't there," Logan told her running his fingers through her hair rhythmically.

"Thank you for calling mom."

"Thank you for not hanging up."

Logan wrapped his arms around her securely. "I talked to the guys about maybe not living with them next year."

"Do you really want that Logan? You only get next year with them...then you'll be living with me. Are you sure you want to see that up?"

He stared at her in the pale moonlight as she said the words that changed everything in his heart from tentative to permanent. "We're living together your senior year? You've agreed to that...you want that?"

She stared back at him. His features were obscured by the light of the moon, "Yeah...Did you want next year to be a trial run or something?"

He shook his head, "No...it's just..." There was a depressing silence about him.

"What is it?" she whispered touching his face.

Logan was again staring hard at her. "No one's ever cared enough to want to stick around...to fight me for more."

Rory smiled softly, "Logan, you abandoned your best friends on Spring Break to be with me because I was crying and scared. I woke up in your arms and felt safe even though a few hours ago I was having my door kicked down." She sat up more and touched his face again. "That first night you told me you knew 'that feeling' that made you want to stick around for the first time ever. We are so close to it... I didn't have to leave when we could be so right. And I want it in the worst way. What was happening between us...what we had the potential to become was so tempting, but I fled. Now we're here. You're different. I'm different. Hell, even Colin and Finn are different. There is no reason for me not to look to the future... We're good together. You coming here today just enforced that."

Logan played with Rory's fingers, "So maybe we'll wait and see about next year?" he asked.

"We'll see. But tonight we sleep."

"Good night Ace."

"Good night, Butt faced Miscreant."

"Oh that's it. You're gonna pay for that," Logan murmured before rolling to her tickling her sides and kissing her as she laughed and squealed happily.

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Lorelai listened to her daughter laugh and giggle in her bedroom, much to her relief.

"I hate to admit it," Luke began to grouse. "But I have learned to like him."
"Me too."

"You know you are going to have to talk to Christopher and your mother at some point... especially with how serious they're getting."

"I know," Lorelai said with serenity. She looked up at him with a smile. "You'll be the guy next to me, so I can do anything."

"I am what gives you your secret powers Wonder Woman?" Luke asked.

"You and your coffee," she chirped.

"It's weird," Luke suddenly became serious.

"What's weird?" she asked.

He shrugged, "At the wedding I got this weird sensation when I was yelling at Logan... like I was justified. Today...today I really felt like her dad."

Lorelai smiled, "In all the important ways you are Luke... Let's go to bed."

"The world will still be broken in the morning," Luke said oddly.

"Yes...and I will be the pretty one."

"You're always the pretty one... Come on...time for bed."

TBC...but only for the Epilogue. (It will be tense but hopefully I can work in the funny.)

A/N: Bonus points to anyone that can guess what movie Logan is referring to when he mentions 'grieving for our girls'?

Your hints are:

It's old

It's a musical

It has the father of a famous teen actress, who's show is on Friday nights where her character talks to God each week.

Good luck.

Make me happy...Please REVIEW. Please REVIEW. You know you want to. All the kids are doing it.