Author: Lady Eliza
Characters: All Characters
Rating: T
Summary: Total AU Rory and Logan Spoiler Warning
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of its characters.
AN: Thank you to my wonderful reviewers for constantly supporting my fic. Blazergrl17: I'm sorry I don't remember where pdld appears. If you can e-mail me as to which chapters you found this in or where it appears I might be able to clear things up for you. I'm sorry I am absolutely no help. Beeno: Thank you for reviewing and I'm glad you went to my blogspot. Thank you for the lovely compliment on my name.It's origins areHindusince it is the name of a Hindu Godand it means earth or goddess. I love the books you mentioned and I did the same thing by not reading them in order, the last one I read was the second in the series. I can't really talk about the books or the author since it's against therules on this site, so feel free to e-mail me if you want. Shelley:The last chapter wasn't as long as my otherone's and the reason for that is I was concentrating on just the engagement partyand I wanted to end the chapter withJess' secret hanging in the air. Hopefully I can write a longer chapter soon.I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and please continue to review.
Chapter 34: Bow Out Gracefully, Or Not
Jess didn't know how it happened but he became very aware of Elias Huntzberger's possible threat. Jess had only told his family that he had left the Peace Corps because it was time for a change. But in reality that wasn't the truth at all. Jess had been asked to leave after some information had surfaced about him, which had been proved to be correct when he was under investigation.
Jess watched Rory as she laughed at something her cousin said to her. He didn't want Rory or any of his family members to find out about the reason he was forced to leave the Peace Corps. Not many people knew the real reason that he had left since everyone had been told that he had left voluntarily. Some very powerful people had covered up the situation, but then again some very powerful people had uncovered it.
Jess had thought long and hard about the situation he found himself in. Was Rory worth all the trouble she was causing him? He wanted her back, but maybe the right thing to do at the moment was to bow out gracefully. He wasn't going to give up he would simply lie in wait for the perfect time to win her back.
Rory was chatting with her cousin Sarah who was beyond happy that she looked like she was going to burst out of her dress. Sarah was so excited for Rory's wedding that she'd already hired a seamstress to make her dress, which Rory knew would be changed every other week from now until her and Logan's wedding day.
"Rory, I'm so happy for you and Logan. When you're in London next do come and see Stewart and I, darling," said Sarah.
"Of course, Sarah. We shall come and see you on every trip we take to your fine city," said Rory.
"Rory, there is a man at that table sitting and staring at you. Should I go tell him that it is quite impolite to stare especially at an engaged woman?" asked Sarah.
Rory looked in the direction her cousin had pointed at and she realized that it was Jess who was doing all the staring. She had known he'd be here, but she hadn't thought that he would stay for all of the festivities. She gave him an 'I despise you' look and turned around to talk to her cousin. "Don't waste your breath on him, Sarah. That man is actually Jess Mariano."
Sarah gasped, "NO, that is the crazy, psychopath, ex-boyfriend that has been stalking you. Darling, I can't believe he has the nerve to stay for your entire engagement party. I know Elias invited him to try to drill it into his head that you were unavailable but staying for the whole occasion is rather tasteless. He did get a pity invite, poor lad probably has no life besides stalking you."
Rory just rolled her eyes at her cousin's comments. She had felt that Sarah should be told about what had happened with Jess during these last few months, but is seemed her overdramatic cousin was at it again.
Logan couldn't take his off of his bride-to-be. He sure was a lucky man for having found her and asked her to marry him. He watched affectionately as she chatted with Sarah Gilmore-Hartsworthy, who was beyond happy that the two of them were getting married. He was talking with his mother and only listening with half an ear.
There was only one thing that was dampening his mood, and it or more specifically who, was sitting at a table filled with his father's secretary's and many other people that worked for the Huntzberger Publishing Group. Logan wanted to go over to Jess and punch him, but that would not look good in front of so many witnesses. His grandfather had spoken with him and told him that he was handling the situation and he did not want the family interfering.
Logan just wished Jess would stay out of their lives for good. He and Rory were planning a future together and he did not want Jess' shadow marring their happiness.
"Ladies and gentlemen, there is a friend of the couple that would like to say a few words about them. Logan and Rory could you please proceed to your places and we will continue on with our festivities," said Frederick who had gone up to the stage to continue the celebrations after an hour and a half dinner, which included a six course meal.
Logan and Rory took their positions in their previously occupied seats. When they saw who was going to make the speech they shook their heads.
"FINN is going to make the speech? I though it would be Robert or Seth," said an aggravated Rory.
"I was under the impression that anyone but Finn would make the speech," said Logan he knew this was going to be bad.
Finn strutted up the stairs and took the mike off its rightful place and started speaking, "Hello one and all. I am Finnegan Sebastian Albert Nicholas Henry Rothschild VI or as I am affectionately called: Finn. I am friends with the couple though I've known Logan longer than Rory. I have watched the drama that is the sagas of Rory and Logan's relationship unfold from the very beginning. Let me tell you, mates, it wasn't pretty. They started out by just dating casually without committing to each other and that turned out to be a disaster. I had to hear Logan rant and rave about where Rory could be if she wasn't with him. He got a tad jealous when we, his friends, would occupy her time or when she was out with her own friends, especially that bartender fellow I wonder where he's gotten to since he was known to make kick ass margaritas and also… Well suffice to say Logan was miserable without Rory and Rory was miserable without Logan. They were a little slow on the up-take. When Logan finally got some sense into him and realized that he wanted to be with Rory his friends were indeed happy since we didn't have to hear Logan go on and on about something concerning Rory. Now for the longest time I couldn't remember who Rory was and I kept asking her if I knew her. But one memorable day she took a permanent marker and wrote her name on my forehead so I wouldn't forget. After that I simply could not forget her. Rory and Logan are perfect for each other and I don't mean because they are two wealthy individuals marrying each other, no I mean they work well together, finish each other's sentences, and even know how the other takes their coffee. These two are the perfect compliment to one another. I know they will have a wonderful marriage and have plenty of children. Logan, Rory I love you both. We've had some fun times together and I hope we have a lot of fun times ahead of us. I would like to ask something of the couple: Rory, Logan I would be honoured if you chose me to be the godfather of one of your children. I know it's a little too early for that right now, but that request is out there. I have actually asked another couple that I will not name at this moment that question, but they didn't answer me, oh well. Darlings, let's raise our glasses to the happy couple. To Rory and Logan."
Everyone was stunned for a moment before they shouted, "To Rory and Logan."
The couple in question didn't know if they should be angry with Finn or just laugh at what he had just said in his speech. Finn came and gave them each a bear hug and a kiss then left the stage just as he came.
Sarah had to follow Finn's performance and didn't know how she could quite possibly top that. "Wow, thank you Finn for that rather informative speech on the couple. Now we get to have some fun. At each table there is a different picture of Rory and Logan from magazine shoots, paparazzi shots, or press releases. Each table must identify where the picture was taken and come up with the right answer. The couple, Rory and Logan, will help you by giving you clues, but the less clues you ask for the more of a chance you get of winning the grand prize of a choice between a week at St. Bartz or $100,000 for a charity of your choice. So one member of each of the tables please stand up and when Fred points to you, you will ask as many questions as you need. If you still don't get the answer after several tries then you must forfeit. Good Luck to everyone."
So began the guessing game. Rory and Logan were trying to be as vague as possible, but some of the answers were just ridiculous. Finn's table actually guessed that the picture of Logan and Rory they had was taken underwater with the sharks. The weird thing was Finn was correct in his guess about the location of the picture since Finn was the one who took the picture, but nobody needed to know that.
The table that housed the Kennedy's thought the scenery in their picture looked like Cape Cod or Martha's Vineyard. The Bushes guessed their picture looked like the couple was on a ranch. Arnold and Maria's table guessed somewhere in California. The Clinton's assumed their picture was either in the White House or Capital Hill. None of them were correct in their guesses.
Jess' table was the only one that forfeited since they had no clue where their picture was taken. Jess didn't like this stupid game since he saw no point to it. The prizes were a little too extravagant for his tastes but he guessed that the rich always shelled out money whenever possible. He just watched the madness unfold.
The table that had Rory and Logan's family thought they had the advantage over everyone else since they had all seen pictures of Rory and Logan, but it was harder than they assumed. Emily and Shira stared long and hard at the picture, but couldn't recognize the scenery. The rest of the family chatted while Emily and Shira did all the stressing. Francine was enjoying herself immensely since she had chatted with many former colleagues of Straub's and their wives. It felt so good to be social again after being cooped up in the house that she and Straub had lived in for 45 years.
In the end the table that took home the grand prize was one that no one considered competition, but they should have. It was the table filled with the news media people. Barbara Walters was the person in charge of asking the questions, she only asked one before Katie Curic yelled out the answer. Finn's table had been disqualified after the judges: Frederick, Lady Sarah, and Lady Ella, found out that Finn had taken the picture so they had lost by a technicality.
The winning table decided to donate the money to charity and the rest of the evening went on.
Jess had seen Luke next to Lorelai but when he met his uncle's eye Luke had looked right through him. Jess assumed his uncle was on Rory's side in this situation since he was dating Lorelai. He didn't much care for the way he was being treated; it wasn't as if he had committed a felony he simply wanted to be with the woman he loved.
When the present opening part of the festivities began Jess decided enough was enough. He didn't approach the couple to say goodnight instead he just left through the ballroom doors. Jess was waiting for his car to be brought to the front when Elias came up beside him.
"So have you gotten the answer you came looking for Mr. Mariano?" asked Elias.
"No, I'm not satisfied with the charade that was put on today. But I will leave Rory and Logan alone," said Jess.
"Do you think I don't know what you are doing, boy? You are waiting for the right moment to jump into to Rory's life and stay there. I'm here to tell you something Jess, that won't work. If you don't stay away from Rory and Logan I will have to tell your family every single thing."
"What is it that you think you know?"
"I know you were told to leave the Peace Corps after one of the authority figures suspected you of hiding something. They had sufficient evidence to publicly humiliate you, dear boy. But they didn't. I talked to some people that headed up the investigation about you and I found out that Theresa Cromwell, a highly intelligent, influential and powerful figure within the Peace Corps had given authority to seal your files. Now that got me curious to find out what was within its content."
"So you paid off a few judges to do so."
"I didn't pay anyone off. I didn't need to since they were curious as to its contents as well. When we saw the information we were quite shocked. Why would an intelligent and married woman such as Theresa Cromwell have an affair with you? She took a fancy to you it would seem. What would your family say to your adulterous relationship Jess?"
"You have no business poking around in my past. Those files were kept under wraps for a reason."
"I don't care if it's you past, present, or future. There are consequences to your actions, young man. You chose to pursue Rory even though she showed no inclination to having feelings for you. You chose to try and break up Logan and Rory. You picked the wrong people to cause trouble for. If you do not cease and desist on your stalking of Rory and Logan I will make your life a living hell."
"Don't try to threaten me with this Mr. Huntzberger."
"Do you think your family will think nice thoughts of you after they find out that you pursued a married woman. You had a six-month adulterous relationship with a powerful figure within the Peace Corps. You didn't think about her husband or her three kids, no you were quite selfish. You furthered your career within the ranks much faster because of you bed partner, how do you think the public will react to such a notion?"
"The public? How exactly will the public find out about this?"
"I own several newspapers Jess. I could accidentally put the photocopies of the sealed files in one of my reporter's desks and let the story run its course. Of course, I could also do the noble thing and add the rest of you accusations to the sealed files."
"You wouldn't dare. The rest of that crap were just accusations they were never proven."
"Don't test me, boy. Accusations can add a little flavour to the story. Think about it Jess, is your reputation and the reputation of your married lover be worth it in an attempt to get Rory?" Elias walked off with those parting words.
His car had shown up a while back so he got into the rusty old thing and drove out of this hellhole. He would have a lot to think about. Now he might have to consider telling his family about what really went down with the Peace Corps.
Neither Jess nor Elias had noticed that Luke had come out for some air and had come rushing from the gardens when the duo started yelling at each other. Luke had heard the entire conversation and first thing tomorrow morning he was going to sit Jess down and ask him some questions.
AN: Please, Please, Please, Review.