Author's note: Writer's block + real life getting in the way this chapter. Took forever and a day to get out and now I'm just happy it is so I can concentrate on the rest of the next chapter which is coming along much nicer! As for some of you who were promised new General Hospital stuff from me... it's coming, sometime this week it's coming! And finally, thank you all who took the time to review the last chapter, I'm so happy it went over well with everyone and I'm really happy that you're all enjoying it!
It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's what you do with your dancin' shoes
---Vince Fontaine, Grease
"I thought you'd be sleeping," Lorelai said as she stepped onto the front porch and shut the door behind her.
Rory looked up from her spot on the glider and shook her head. She moved over and lifted a corner of her blanket up so Lorelai could cover up as well. "I'm just watching that," she said, jerking her head towards the front lawn where Logan was busy doing something. "Any idea what's going on?"
"Oh. Well. Okay, so I managed to get Taylor's megaphone away from him and it needed some alterations."
"Alterations?"
"Rhinestones and glitter." Even in the dark, she could see Lorelai's eyes sparkle.
"I see. And that's really necessary?"
"Absolutely," Lorelai confirmed. Her smile faded at the look on Rory's face. "Hey, he wanted to do it Rory! He's the one that made me queen for day."
"Logan did not make you queen for a day," she argued.
"He did if you read between the lines," Lorelai explained. She rested her head against Rory's and they watched Logan quietly for a moment. "He showed me the ring," she confessed.
"He did?" Rory felt Lorelai nod against her. "Will I like it?"
"Oh yeah, no question about that." She hesitated. "What about what's included with the ring?"
"You mean Logan?" Rory lifted her head off of her mom's shoulder to look at her.
"Marrying Logan," Lorelai corrected. "And everything that goes along with that. Think about it Rory, you're going to be Mrs. Huntzberger. Your life is going to be a whirlwind of charity events, fundraisers, cocktail parties and DAR meetings."
"Yes, my social calendar will be a little bit busier," Rory interrupted her. "I get it mom."
"But do you want it?" Lorelai pressed. "Because like it or not, that's how it's going to be. I know Logan shields you from a lot of that now, but once that ring is on your pretty little finger not even he can save you from the Shira's and the Emily's of this world. What about school Rory, and work? Is he going to let you work or will you be too busy breeding little Huntzberger heirs?"
"Let me work?" Rory sighed. "Logan?" she called. She waited until he straightened up and looked at her. "If we get married are you going to let me finish school and work?"
"I'm afraid not Ror," he called back with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm expecting you to stay home and run the household while I bring in the money. Sure, I'll let you out once in awhile for the mandatory social engagement and well, of course you'll be busy with the kids and all. Really I just want you to sit there and look pretty." He flashed a grin at her and then turned back to his work. "I'm loving the purple rhinestones Lorelai!"
"He's joking!" Rory insisted once she saw Lorelai's wide eyes.
"He doesn't like the purple rhinestones?" Rory shoved her sideways. "Oh, the other thing."
"Mom, of course he's going to let me finish school, he wants me to. He wants me to work and you know that! You're not really worried about any of this, are you? You're just looking for an excuse not to like him."
"I want you to be happy Rory, that's all. Are you sure he's the one that's going to do that?"
"We wouldn't be here if I wasn't. Yeah mom, I'm sure. I mean, we'll have a slight problem if he wants me to join the DAR, but I think he'll be okay if I don't."
"Yeah, you say that now." Lorelai paused. "And if I don't like him?"
"I think you like him already. Admit it, you're impressed that he's here."
"Yeah well, it depends on what he's done to my megaphone," she grumbled. She stood up and stretched. "It's late Kid, we've got to be at the school in about six hours, you should get some sleep."
"I know I'm just going to wait for Logan."
"Logan!" Lorelai called from the doorway. "Are you almost done with that?"
He turned around again. "I will be done in five minutes, do you have something else I need to do?"
"Yeah, get my daughter to bed, I know you've seen her on less than five hours of sleep and we both know it ain't a pretty sight."
"I'll get right on it," he promised.
"As long as you're not getting on her." Lorelai turned back to her daughter. "You're really sure?" she asked.
Rory nodded emphatically. "I'm really sure, Mom," she said softly.
Lorelai nodded back. "All right then. Good-night." She disappeared inside the house as Logan walked up the steps.
"Can't sleep without me anymore Ace?" he asked, as he sat down next to her.
She rolled her eyes. "Please, I was protecting you from Babette," she explained. She rested her head on his shoulder and picked up his hand, which was covered in pink and purple glitter. "You know you only encouraged this whole slave boy thing by decorating the megaphone, right?"
"Yeah I know," he said easily. He dragged his knuckles across her cheek, smiling at the trail of glitter. "She'll run out of things for me to do soon enough though."
Rory chuckled. "Well that's a nice thought, isn't it? I can't wait to see you at the fourteenth hour mark."
"Well, it'll be worth it in the end," he said decidedly. "Come on, it's time for bed." He stood and pulled her up with him. He was about to open the front door when he paused and turned back to her. "She's going to put me through hell tomorrow, isn't she?"
"Oh yeah." Rory grinned and kissed his cheek. "She may go easy on you though."
"Really?"
"Sure, just tell her you won't make me join the DAR." She laughed at the skeptical look on his face and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek before she pushed him into the house. "Never mind, come on, let's go to bed."
Rory sighed and looked at her watch. They had exactly twenty minutes to get to the school and she wasn't even that Stephanie and Colin were awake yet. She wasn't even sure if they were still fighting or not, though she hoped not. "Guys, come on!" she yelled up the stairs as she slid into her shoes. Her mother had failed to tell her that this dance was themed, she had been surprised to see that an outfit had been laid out for her, as well as clothes for everyone else. She didn't know who was responsible, but both Logan and Lorelai were already gone. Rory had woken up to a note from him, saying that he was already at Lorelai's bidding and would see her at the school.
"Look at you, you're Sandra Dee!" Finn drawled as he danced his way into the kitchen.
Rory giggled and twirled around for him, her skirt billowing out slightly. "What, I couldn't be Cha-Cha?" she asked.
"Well you're no Rizzo," he said. He spun around himself. "What about me love? Do I pass for a T-Bird?"
She burst out laughing. "The heels are a great touch," she observed. "Wearing them to the school, are you?"
He nodded gravely. "I'm wearing them for the next twenty-four hours," he said.
"He'll break his neck before then," Stephanie said assuredly as she skipped down the stairs. "Rory, this dress is so fun! Where did it come from?"
She shrugged. "Either my mom or Logan has an eye for your size as well, which wouldn't surprise me. Where's Colin? We need to get going."
"And the dress code was enforced when?" Colin grumbled his greeting as he shuffled down the steps himself.
"I don't know why you're complaining," Stephanie said with a roll of her eyes. "You and Finn are in jeans and white t-shirts…Oooh, that's such a costume! Look at Rory and I, we have skirts and heels and—"
"And you look gorgeous," Finn cut her off before she could really get into her rant. "Both of you do." He looked around. "Where's my lovely Lorelai?"
"With her husband," Colin said dryly, cuffing Finn on the back of the head.
"Actually, she's with my boyfriend," Rory corrected. "But I'm sure Luke's there already."
"Oh really?" Finn stood up a little bit straighter. "Did you happen to see what he was wearing when he left?"
"Who Logan? No, he was gone before I woke up." Rory pushed everyone out the front door and they started towards the school.
"No, Luke." Finn's giggle only slightly worried Rory as they walked into town. He situated himself between Rory and Stephanie, and held their hands, swinging them back and forth. "Good morning!" he called cheerfully as they passed the town troubadour.
"Why do you want to see what Luke is wearing?"
Finn shrugged. "I haven't gone to bed yet Love, and I was terribly bored last night without you all, and I came upon some glitter and rhinestones, and well, I kept myself busy while you all slept."
"Luke will hurt you," she stated. "And I won't do anything but watch you try to run in heels." They walked into the school and she scanned the gym, searching for either her mother or Logan. She spied them huddled together in a far corner and after pointing out the registration tables to her friends she approached them slowly, listening in on their conversation.
"…now, I want someone from your little posse to win this thing." Rory rolled her eyes as Lorelai's voice reached her ears. "There's no way I can dance but I really do need that trophy, there's a place all set for it on my mantle. If one of you wins, it's mine, and hey, how's this? If you win, you can marry my daughter. It's a win-win situation!" Rory rolled her eyes at that.
"If we win, it's mine," she said as she sidled up and linked her arm through Logan's. She frowned at the dark trench coat her mother was wearing.
"We'll see about that, won't we?" Lorelai asked as she patted her on the head. "Okay, I've got to go talk to Patty real quick and then change into my clothes. Ten minutes until show time!" She winked at them both and disappeared into the crowd, screaming into her megaphone for Kirk to step away from the DJ booth.
"Aren't we official looking?" Rory nodded at the clipboard Logan held in his hands.
"As official as I can holding a pink clipboard and writing with this." He held up the pink-feathered pen. He eyed her up and down. "Sandra Dee!" He dodged as she swung out at him.
"You and Finn both! Ugh! Seriously, have I not proven myself to you guys? I'm still little miss innocent?"
"Well, you're no Rizzo." This time Rory did punch his arm.
"You and Finn need to spend less time together." She held him at arm's length and raised an eyebrow. "Um, interesting choice of wardrobe. Who decided you would go all Richie Cunningham?" She asked, taking in the decidedly Happy Days outfit.
"That would be the lovely Donna Reed," Logan said with a nod of his head.
"Oh she didn't." Rory swung around, the reason for Lorelai's dark trench coat suddenly all too clear. Sure enough, Lorelai was waving at her, in all her orange glory, complete with the pearls. "Where did she find that?" she muttered to herself.
"I hear it's quite lovely on you Ace," Logan teased. He sidestepped Rory's third swing at him in less than five minutes. "You're cranky," he observed.
"It's early, and I've had one cup of coffee."
"Well, why didn't you say something? I have to go get Lorelai a cup, would you like one too?" He nodded at her look. "Right, stupid question. I'll be back."
"Well hurry up, five minutes until my mother's circus begins."
Logan nodded. "Trust me, I know exactly when to be back," he said, tapping his clipboard.
"Sandra Dee!"
Rory gritted her teeth and turned around. "Donna."
Lorelai winked. "I knew you wouldn't mind," she said, swishing her skirt. "So, about that boyfriend of yours."
"What about him?"
Lorelai slung an arm around her shoulder and they began walking. "You know, I didn't know what to expect when I woke Logan up at four this morning, but he was surprisingly chipper and ready to please. That's a good quality to possess."
"Back off my boyfriend."
Lorelai studied her daughter. "Wow, you're cranky today."
"I'm tired!" Rory protested. "And you're the third person to call me Sandra Dee."
"Well hon, you're no Rizzo." She backed away as Rory glared. "Sorry! But seriously, I've made him move things to fix or six different places before deciding they worked best in their original spots, I've made him deal with Kirk more than once. Hell, I even sold him off to Patty and Babette for twenty bucks each and he didn't complain."
"He won't always be this accommodating to you, you know that right?"
Lorelai ignored the last statement and looked at her watch. "Three minutes til show time, where's my coffee?"
"Coffee for the Gilmore Girls!" Logan announced, walking back up to them. "Where's Finn?" he asked suddenly. "I see Steph and Colin, but no Finn."
"Is he still in his heels?" Lorelai asked. "There he is," she said, pointing towards a far corner. "Finn, you better have those heels on!" she called, heading towards him. "Finn, step away from my megaphone!"
Logan pulled Rory into his arms and was about to kiss her as Lorelai wrangled her megaphone away from Finn and called for attention.
"Welcome! Welcome to Stars Hollow's 55th annual dance-a-thon!" Lorelai stood on stage next to Miss Patty and waited for the applause to die down. "We've all been here before, well most of us," she glanced over at Rory and her friends and shrugged. "So I'm not going to go over all of the rules, because we already know them right? Right." She took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, maybe just two rules. The first being, you quit dancing, you lose. Use the yellow cards people; they are your friends. Rule number two?" She grinned again. "Patty and I are running things differently folks, it's a new year and a new dance so your best bet is to go with the flow, after the first hour we'll be announcing something different each hour and I promise you, it will be a wonderful time!" She paused and waited for everyone to finish clapping again. "All right, one minute until six, so everyone find your partners and wait for the music."
Logan turned to Rory. "I'm sorry Ror, you're dancing this one with Finn."
Her eyes widened. "Finn?"
He nodded. "Not all day though," he assured her. "Your mom's got it all figured out and well, we both know Finn won't last through the morning anyways, so I don't know what she has planned for him later but for right now, I'm still hers."
"Fine," Rory grumbled, searching the floor for Finn.
"Logan!" Lorelai's voice boomed through the megaphone and he turned to her apologetically.
"I gotta get up there, but I promise, this isn't all day, remember, she wants you and me to win that trophy and well, Lorelai makes the rules so you can pretty much trade partners all day long and you'd still be good, hell, who knows, you might be anyway." He gave her a wink and a kiss and took off for the stage.
"Well, you're stuck with me Gilmore." She turned around and was greeted by Colin, who still looked as if he was asleep.
"What about Stephanie?" she inquired, looking over his shoulder to see Stephanie holding firmly onto Finn, who was staring longingly at the bleachers.
"She's refusing to talk to me," he admitted. "So I guess that leaves you and me." He winced as the music started and Lorelai and Patty began a ten-second countdown.
Rory laughed. "Well I'd rather dance with you than with Finn anyways," she decided as she stepped into his arms. "But I have one question for you."
"What's that?"
"Do I really strike you as Sandra Dee over Rizzo?"
"Who?"
She laughed at him. "Never mind." As they danced she let her eyes wander over to where Lorelai and Logan were talking very seriously. Lorelai's eyes said it all, there was definitely a plan in the works and while that was reason enough to be scared, Rory was even more concerned that the look in Logan's eyes matched her mothers. She had never considered that the two of them together could be a dangerous combination when left to their own devices, and no matter what happened, she knew she wouldn't be able to blame either one of them because it really was her fault for putting this whole day into action.
"Is dancing with me really so appalling?" Colin asked, snapping her back to attention.
"Not at all, why?"
"The look on your face."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm just concerned about my mom and Logan spending too much time together, who knows what could happen today." She shrugged. "So, what's going on with you and Stephanie now?" she asked, realizing she didn't even know what they were fighting over this time.
Colin rolled his eyes at her this time. "It's all your fault," he informed her. "Well, not yours, but Huntzberger's," he amended. He went on before she could speak. "All the wedding talk whipped Steph into a frenzy, and we've spiraled from there."
"Ah, so she wants to get married now?"
He snorted. "Well that's what I thought but no, she turned me down."
"You asked her?" Rory's head whipped around to look at Stephanie and Finn, who were engaged in some animated conversation.
"Yes, and she said she wouldn't marry me if I was only asking her because Logan asked you and I thought she expected it."
"Oh Colin," she smiled sympathetically. "Why didn't you just tell her you've had the ring for the last four months?"
Colin sent a glare over in Logan's direction. "He needs to stop telling you things," he muttered.
She laughed. "He doesn't tell me everything," she assured him. "Just about the ring and well…" her eyes sparkled mischievously. "I might know a few other things that we won't get into right now."
"Careful Gilmore, or you really will end up more Rizzo than Sandy."
Her eyes widened and she gasped at him. "I knew you couldn't know who they were," she said with a playful push. "Oh look!" she said excitedly, as the music switched from a slow song to something faster. "Kirk's breaking out the robot!"
"I'm so glad I grew up in New York," Colin muttered under his breath but he couldn't help but stare in fascination at Kirk as he contorted his body into positions nobody should be able to move into.