Chapter Five

A.N. Can you believe it? I actually carried through with my promise and updated the next day...sometimes I amaze even myself. Hopefully this chapter will be longer (while I wrote everything out I have yet to figure out when to end the chapters). Anyway here it goes!

"So he's really coming here?" Patty and Babette descend on Lorelai Saturday morning. News had quickly gotten around, in true Stars Hollow fashion, quickly that Logan was Victoria's father and that he was coming to see her and most of the residents had conveniently decided on Luke's for breakfast.

"Yes, he's coming," Lorelai sighs before taking a sip of her quickly cooling coffee. When Victoria wasn't crying and keeping Lorelai and Luke up Lorelai had been kept away by to many things running through her head. From how she was supposed to go on without Rory in her day to day life and then once that thought process had run itself (and Lorelai) ragged it was replaced by what Logan would do about Victoria.

"Will you gossip mongers back the hell off?" Luke snaps. He had opened the diner back up the morning after they'd gotten back from New York City, he'd told Lorelai that he couldn't stand sitting around anymore. Lorelai had understood, but she wasn't ready to go back to work at the Dragonfly, she still didn't have enough control of her emotions to deal with people, and Luke lucked out he could storm around the diner and no one would expect any less, Lorelai didn't have that liberty. So instead she'd spent most of the next couple of day's at Luke's with Victoria in a baby carrier beside her.

"Sorry Luke," Babette and Miss Patty retreat to a corner table, their heads bowed in whispered conversation. The Stars Hollow residents had been giving the Danes' a wide berth, the only information anyone was given was mostly through Sookie and occasionally through Jess who had taken up residence in his mother's house. But even those two had given Luke and Lorelai space, understanding that they needed to deal with everything in their own way, Sookie occasionally popped her head at the house to leave baked goods and Jess helped Luke around the diner.

"That can't be him, can it?" Babette's question floats over to Lorelai who turns to face the window, sure enough Logan was walking across the street and toward the diner.

"He looks much less arrogant then the last time we saw him," Miss Patty comments and several of the towns people nod their heads in agreement.

"Time does change people," Andrew points out from the opposite side of the diner.

"Don't I know it, my first husband..." Miss Patty's story is cut off by Logan walked into the diner, the occupants of the diner falling silent at his arrival.

"Hello, Lorelai, Luke," Logan immediately comes off as nervous in his greeting.

"Logan," Lorelai begins as she lifts a wide awake Victoria out of her baby carrier, "this is your daughter, Victoria."

Logan doesn't move for a full minute when his gaze lands on the baby and the diners wait holding their breath for Logan to react. And the instant that Logan bolts back through the door he had entered in the diner erupts in conversation, Luke and Lorelai remain silent sharing only a sad glance.

Logan has no idea where he's going as she stumbles around Stars Hollow nearly blinded by the thoughts and memories of Rory swirling around in his head. He and Rory had never spent a lot of time in Stars Hollow, Luke and Lorelai didn't care for him much and Rory had tried to shelter their relationship from the prying eyes of the town she loved so much. He manages to find himself on a bridge with a another guy who looks up from the book he has in his hands.

"I'm sorry," Logan apologizes. "I don't live here, I guess it's easy to get lost."

Jess closes and sets his book down, "you're Victoria's father, Luke said you were coming this morning."

"They're not big on the privacy around here, huh?" Logan snaps, irritated at this whole day. At the way he reacted to Victoria at the meddling town, a the meddling guy sitting in front of him. "Who are you?"

"Hess Mariano, Luke's nephew," Jess snaps his own response, he doesn't like this guy, Rory's ex and Victoria's father. "Shouldn't you be t the house, or diner or wherever Lorelai set up the meeting?"

"I couldn't deal," Logan confesses, "I took off and here I am."

"You couldn't deal?" Jess' tone is low and threatening as he hisses the words. "That's your little girl. You're daughter, with Rory, and because you couldn't deal," Jess spits the words out angrily, "you took off?" Jess moves quickly to his feet, "that's Rory's daughter and she deserves the best everyone in the world can give her. So you better grow up, learn to deal and be that baby's father."

"You loved her," there's no question in Logan's voice as he states this.

Jess' expression goes almost vacant before he responds, "in all my life I've never loved anyone more." Jess returns the present before his eyes lock onto Logan, "we have a lot in common. We both loved Rory. And we both left her. Her daughter, your daughter, deserves better then that. Rory deserved better."

"It's not that he doesn't like you," Lorelai had returned to the house to feed Victoria. "He just misses your mom and is having a hard time dealing and..."

"Lorelai," Logan appears at the back doorway.

"Logan," Lorelai is surprised by his reappearance. She'd figured he'd be halfway back to New York City by now with no intention of ever setting foot in Stars Hollow again. She hadn't been surprised by Logan's almost immediate departure and she was by far more taken off guard by his appearance in her doorway. "You came back."

"I...yeah..." Logan nods, but then takes a long pause, words seem lost somewhere in the mess that is his brain. "I'll take responsibility for everything. I'll send checks and provide for everything she'll ever need. But," Logan shakes his head, "I can't be her father. I can't watch her grow up. I look at her and I see Rory. I look at her and see the reason that Rory died."

"Logan..." Lorelai begins, her heart pounding.

"I'm sorry Lorelai, I know Rory left her to me but I can't do this," Logan shakes his head. "I'm so sorry, but I really just can't."

"I understand," Lorelai nods, "I really do."

"I'll come and visit her once a week and I'll send money, but that's it."

Lorelai nods again and repeats, "I understand."