Disclaimer: If I really owned this stuff, would I really be sharing this with you right now? No, I'd be making you wait till the middle of September, torturing you as Amy tortures us. LOL I own nothing.

A/N: Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews! Yes, I know I'm evil and should be destroyed (bonus points if you can tell me what movie that's from) but I can't help it, it's in my nature….just ask my hubby. LOL

This chapter is in Logan's POV again since I feel he got gypped…his chapter was the shortest. As always, thoughts are in italics.

This is my longest chapter yet…there was just no good place to split it into two, but I didn't figure you'd mind.

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Logan was sore in places he didn't even know he had.

Jeezus! Where am I? And why is my ass numb?

He cracked his eyes open and took in the interior of the Gilmore kitchen.

Ah yes, the plan.

There was an odd weight against his right side.

Luke. He's heavier than he looks

He tried straighten his neck to the upright position, but thought the better of it when an excruciating twinge streaked through his body at the slight movement.

Shit! Oh crap, what time is it? He looked at his watch. 10PM! Shit! The guys are gonna kill me.

He fished around in his pocket for his cell phone trying to move as little as possible.

Aha! Ok. Gotta move the neck to talk on the phone. One…two…three….

He jerked his head up in one fell swoop, stifling the urge to scream like a little girl so that the only sound that came out was a very high pitched….

"Gaaah"

He dialed the number. It only rang once.

'It's about time you bloody bastard! Much longer and I was going to come and kick your arse myself!' Finn shouted.

"Sorry Finn, we fell asleep. You can stand down and go to phase two, and call Colin and let him know will you?" Logan whispered.

'At least tell me it worked!' Finn demanded.

"I have no idea. It's quiet, but that could be interpreted either way," sighed Logan

'Right. Well…good luck, Mate…you're gonna need it.'

"Don't I know it. Enjoy your reward, Finn, and thanks again for everything."

'What are friends for?' Laughed Finn as he hung up.

Logan went to close his cell phone when he noticed something odd.

Why is there whipped cream on my cell phone? As he was pondering this thought his hand went up to the back of his neck massaging it as he turned it this way and that. He froze as he faced Luke.

Oh. My. God.

He began to laugh. His whole body shook, and Luke began to stir.

"Whaa--" said a groggy Luke.

But Logan was still laughing too hard to speak.

"You--" He managed to force past his guffaws, pointing at Luke.

Luke opened his eyes and straightened his neck, producing a slightly more manly "Gaaaah" of his own. His hand was massaging his own neck as he turned his head toward Logan and began to speak in an irritated gravelly voice.

"What the hell is so fu--" Then just as suddenly, he was laughing as hard as Logan.

This broke through Logan's mirth.

Wait a minute…why is he laughing? He's the one with a whipped cream beard and hat; complete with M&Ms and rainbow sprinkles and….Realization hit and Logan's laughter died away. NO! She wouldn't dare!

Luke had stopped laughing as similar thoughts drifted through his mind, and they both reached up as if hypnotized and touched the tops of their heads, encountering a sticky, fluffy mess.

She did.

They sat in disgruntled silence.

Wait a minute….

Logan looked up to find Luke staring at him with a bemused look on his face, which quickly blossomed into a grin.

They did this…together. This was definitely a together thing, and they did it! We did it!

Logan grinned back at Luke and then they both spoke…

"They're baaa-aack!" they trumpeted before resuming their laughter and trying to stand up.

Ok, that was a little creepy…

They were laughing even harder than before and slapping each other's backs, totally ignoring numb asses and sore, stiff muscles. Logan let loose with a rather loud "Whooooohooo!"

"Enjoying yourselves, boys?" came a low voice from the doorway.

Uh oh.

The two men turned and faced the music.

My God she's stunning…and all mine. Well, at least she was…. Logan thought nervously as he spied Rory standing next to her mother, arms crossed over her chest.

Why am I so intimidated? I wasn't this intimidated a few hours ago…maybe it's the whipped cream. It's hard to feel confident while wearing a top hat made of whipped cream. Well, here goes…

"Ah, hey there A--" Rory's eyebrow quirked.

Not an 'Ace' moment. Gotcha.

"—Ror--" Her head tilted to the side.

Hmmm…maybe more trouble than I can handle this time.

"—Ma'am." He finished lamely, and thought he saw the ghost of a smile.

He heard Luke mumble from the side of his mouth, "Geez. You need to Man Up."

Riiiiight easy for you to say….you got that whole 'I provide the coffee' thing going for you.

"Something you'd like to share with the class, Lucas?" Lorelai bit out.

Somebody's in trouble…. Logan ducked his head to hide his grin.

Luke looked up at her, startled, then squared his shoulders "Lorelai," he began in a firm voice, until her eyebrow quirked.

"We--" and the head tilt.

You gotta love genetics.

"—that is—I—er—well--"

"Yes Lucas?" inquired Lorelai in a sweet voice. Too Sweet.

Oh this is too good to pass up…Logan glanced at Luke and then trying not to move his mouth said,

"Why don't you just Man Up?"

This earned him the patented Luke Danes Death Glare. Logan shrugged and then froze as he heard Rory say,

"Logan, I think you and I should leave these two alone to talk."

Meaning: We each want to bust your respective balls, but we are at least going to be considerate enough to do it in private. He sighed and followed her up the stairs.

Halfway up the stairs he stopped. "Rory I--" He got no further as she turned back and gave him a look that said, in no uncertain terms, that he would be wise not to continue. She pulled him forward so he was walking in front of her and used his shoulders to guide him into the bathroom.

Great! She's going to drown me in the bathtub like the butt-faced miscreant that I am.

She closed the door behind her, locked it, and pointed to the toilet.

Trapped!

"Sit," she commanded.

Logan sat and watched as she reached in the cabinet and got a washcloth. She filled the sink, testing the temperature carefully, and dunked the cloth. Squeezing it out, she stood in front of him, grasped his chin in her hand to tilt it up towards her, and began gently washing his face. As the rag became saturated with candy and cream she would turn, rinse it in the sink, squeeze it out and begin again. Logan's eyes drifted closed.

Okaaay if this is punishment, count me in! Our kids will run wild with the lack of discipline though….WHOA! Kids? Who said anything about kids? Her kids will be gorgeous…those eyes….ack! There I go again! Hmmm…odd that it doesn't seem that scary though. Something to think about at a later date…children with my Lorelai…

She captured his attention again as she let the water out of the sink. Having finished with his face, she used both hands to scoop the 'hat' from his head and dump it in the tub. She got a towel and wrapped it around his neck.

"Stand please," she said.

At least I got a please this time…

She guided him over in front of the sink and pushed on his shoulders to make him bend over. He heard the water turn on and out of the corner of his eye saw her hands cupping water and lifting it to his hair.

Well….this feels nice…..

His eyes drifted closed again, and he felt her fingertips begin to slowly massage the shampoo through his hair. He couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

She is going to be the death of me yet….

"You ok?" she asked softly, her lips right next to his ear.

Oh God! Down boy! Now is not the time to get aroused…Danger Will Robinson!

"MMhmm fine." He managed in a choked voice.

She finished washing and proceeded to rinse his hair. When she was finished, she brought the towel up over his head and helped him to straighten and then sit again on the toilet. She used the towel to dry his hair, standing in front of him, straddling his lap. Logan's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and his jaw was clenched.

She has to be doing this on purpose. Okay. Okay, I'm Okay. Think of horrible, unsexy things. Finn naked. Colin naked. Rory naked….ack no! That's not helping! Um Paris and Doyle…ok that worked. He let out a sigh, just as Rory finished and threw the towel over her shoulder. She plopped down on his lap, facing him, while securing her fingers in his hair, cradling his head.

"What--" She kissed his eyes.

"—am I--" She kissed the tip of his nose.

"—going to do—" His jaw.

"—with you?" Finally his lips. Logan brought his right hand up to her neck to deepen the kiss while his other landed gently on her hip. The kiss was tender and loving and slow. They separated reluctantly, and he buried his face in her neck.

"Well, I'm good with what you've got going so far," he mumbled into her skin.

He felt her laugh.

Laughing is good, I just may survive.

"I still can't believe you had the entire LDB poised and at the ready to deplete Connecticut of coffee." Rory said, shaking her head.

Logan shrugged. "Well, it was something we'd definitely never done before. They looked at it as a challenge," he grinned

Suddenly Rory's eyes went wide. "Oh my God, Logan! Where are they? You called them off, right? They aren't doing it now are they?" She was panicking.

She can be soooo predictable sometimes…

"Rory, relax. I called them off," he chuckled.

She still wasn't relaxed.

"But what if they decide to do it anyway? You know…cause it's a challenge and they've never done it….and…" Logan interrupted her.

"Seriously Ace. Let it go. They've all moved on to Phase Two."

"Phase Two?" She tilted her head.

Logan nodded. "A very large, very expensive, very alcoholic party…in Rio"

Gonna cost me a fortune…worth every penny. He thought, kissing her neck.

"Rio?" She laughed.

"MmmmHmmm." He continued his way up her neck, nibbling and kissing all the way.

Mmmm definitely worth it…especially since she doesn't seem to be mad.

"Logan," she said in a serious tone, and sighed.

He stopped moving and sighed too. Okaay, not out of the woods just yet.

"I need to know that you will let me handle my problems in my own way and in my own time. You can't always be the one to fix things."

I can see her point, but this was different. He drew his face away from her neck, seeking out her eyes.

"Now, that being said, what you pulled tonight was the most sneaky--"

Definitely still in the woods… His eyes closed and he flinched.

"—underhanded—"

….giant bear heading right for me….

"—most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me." Logan opened his eyes in surprise to see Rory grinning at him.

"You--You're not mad?" Logan stuttered hesitantly.

Maybe she should change her major to acting…little sneak!

"Oh I was. I was livid. But, well, let's just say that things seem to have worked out for the best this time, and I have gotten sufficient revenge, not to mention how much I enjoyed seeing you squirm." She giggled.

Hey!

Logan was incensed. "I did not squirm!"

"Logan…you called me Ma'am." She quirked her eyebrow again.

"Well maybe I was a little…nervous--" Rory grinned at his admission.

But I wasn't the only one….Mr. "Man Up" was pretty squirmy himself.

"--but I was no worse than Luke!" Rory laughed out loud and gave him a fast hard kiss on the lips.

"That's right you were just as manly as the other terrified male in the room…weren't you, baby," she said in a pouty baby talk voice.

Mocked. I will be mocked for all time. For the rest of my life, she will never let me forget this. The rest of my life? Good God! Has the whipped cream seeped into my brain and made it go soft? Kids? And now the rest of my life? Still…it's not a bad idea; life would never be boring, and she…GAH! Stop it Huntzberger! Interesting…the thought of it doesn't make me want to bolt out of the bathroom leaving a Logan-shaped hole in the door. -- I think that's what makes it so scary.

To try and banish the thoughts from his head, he ran his fingers over her ribs, making her squirm and squeal.

"Who's squirming now, Ace?" He waited till she was gasping for breath before he stopped and kissed her cheek loudly.

She gave him a smile full of love before her face turned serious again.

"Logan, I really need you to promise that you won't ever pull anything like this again. I need to know that I can trust you to not arbitrarily interfere in my life just because you don't think I'm handling things right."

Logan sighed. This is not going to be pretty.

"I can't do that, Ace--" he began, and seeing Rory about to interrupt him he raised his finger to her lips to silence her.

"I can't just sit idly by and watch you in pain. I love you too much. Seeing you hurt hurts me…especially when there's something I can do about it." He saw her eyes soften a little.

"But I can promise you this: If you are ever dealing with a problem, I won't interfere unless you ask for my help. Even if I think you're going about it in the wrong way." She nodded her head and tried to remove his hand from her mouth so she could speak, but he refused.

And here I go taking my life into my own hands….again.

He looked deeply into her eyes. "That wasn't the case here. You weren't dealing with it, Rory. You were ignoring it, and it was tearing you up inside. I saw a solution. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I just let you go on hurting and lost when I had a pretty good idea I could make it better? Now, I want you to promise me something: If you're ever in over your head, and can't find the answer on your own, promise me you'll come to me for help. We're a team, Ace." He whispered the last four words as he moved his hand away from her lips and kissed them gently.

As he pulled back, he saw tears glistening in her eyes, and one spilled over and ran down her cheek. He caught it with his lips and kissed his way up to her now closed eyes.

Rory let out a little moan and said in a shaky voice, "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

He smirked. "You can rail at God about that in the afterlife, Sweetheart. I still need your promise."

I'm not gonna let her evade this one.

She sighed. "I promise."

"Good. Now we can move on to more pleasant things." He murmured leaning in for a kiss.

Just as their lips met, there were muffled voices and footsteps going past the bathroom door. Logan froze.

"Guess they're going to bed." Rory whispered against his mouth. "We should too."

Bed? Here? With her mother and the lumberjack boyfriend upstairs…..uh…color me absent.

"Uh…Gee Ace, I think I'll just take off. Find a hotel nearby maybe. You and your Mom need some alone time anyway..."

Rory giggled and stood up, taking Logan's hand and leading him out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

"Mom and I had plenty of alone time while you and Luke were taking your little nap together—" she threw him a grin over her shoulder.

Another thing I'll never live down.

"--we've mended the bridges. It's gonna be awhile before all the trust is back, but it's a start. It's just gonna take some time. It'll come easier once I move back in here.

Thank God! She's leaving Richard and Emily's!

As they reached the door to her bedroom, he balked, and she said. "Logan, it's fine. You're staying here. In my bed. With me. It's already been decided."

She walked into her room and pulled out a pair of pajamas to change into. Logan stood in the doorway, watching. As she began to undress, he swallowed visibly and turned to look nervously over his shoulder. Rory noticed and laughed again. Wearing only her bra and panties, she went over to him, pulled him inside, and shut the door.

"When did you become such a nervous Nelly?" she teased turning her back to remove her bra and pull her pajama top over her head.

Ok, enough with the mocking already!

He strode up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist just as she finished pulling on the pajama shorts.

"How can I not be nervous with such a beautiful woman standing before me in the moonlight? I swear, Ace, you're practically mythical," he whispered huskily in her ear and felt her shiver.

Like a Siren.

"Logan," she breathed, tears clogging her throat.

Tears? What did I do? He turned her in his arms so she was facing him.

"Rory, Sweetheart, I didn't mean to--" he began. She stopped him with her lips. It was a soft kiss, wet with her tears, and over too quickly. She looked into his eyes.

"Logan—I—Thank you. Thank you so much…for everything. Yesterday, I felt like I had lost everything important…I thought I was even losing you--"

How could she think that?….God and on top of everything else...poor baby! He tightened his arms around her.

She smiled. "—but today…today you gave everything back to me; Yale—"

She's going back to Yale! His face lit up with a smile.

"—and my mom. And it's been such an emotional day, and then you stand there, obviously terrified of my family walking in on us—"

Justifiably nervous…not terrified.

"--and say such beautiful sweet things, and I just—I'm just so thankful for you and I love you so much and well—" she gestured toward her face. "—that apparently equals tears." She sighed.

I don't even know what to say.

So he kissed her. He put everything he felt for her into that kiss; all the joy, love, admiration, pride…everything he had surged from his skin into hers, and when he reluctantly ended it, they were both shaking, and he could see in her shining eyes that she had felt every bit of it.

"Let's go to bed, Ace" he whispered guiding her over to the bed.

As she lay down on her side, he stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt. He climbed in behind her and pulled her as close as he could, his arm draped over her abdomen. She put her arm over his and played with his fingers idly as she often did before falling asleep.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" he asked her, yawning and placing a kiss on the back of her head.

"Oh not much is planned past walking to Luke's for breakfast." She said, and he could tell she was fighting back a giggle.

"Walk?" he said in disbelief.

"Yes city boy, walk. It's not that far, and it should be quite…scenic." And now she was not able to fight back the giggles.

"Oooookaaay." He replied, confused. "Ace, is there something you'd like to tell me?"

"I love you." She replied in the sweetest, most innocent voice.

"I love you too." He sighed. She giggled again.

What the hell could be so funny?

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A/N: Yes, yes, another cliffhanger. You could probably figure this one out though, if you think about it. I hope nobody is disappointed that I didn't do a sex scene. I really just thought it was better as a tender moment…plus I'm not sure I'm up to that yet…this being my first fic.

Incidentally the whole "Man Up" thing came from an evening in the company of my family. My brother was teasing my sister's teenage son about being "whipped" by his girlfriend and told him he needed to "Man Up". Later, when my brother was telling a story about how he had… ahem "deferred" to his wife in making a decision, my nephew threw the words back at him. It was hilarious.

I have considered doing a chapter on the interaction between Luke and Lorelai when Logan and Rory went upstairs. I have a nebulous idea of how it would go. Review and let me know whether you want it or whether you'd rather I just move on to the next morning. Whichever gets the most votes wins.

Now, today is Friday. Human Disease final is Monday. I will be studying, so don't expect a new chapter until at least Wednesday or Thursday.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it…

Love to all!