Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.

CHAPTER 5: THERE WAS A LINE, DAMMIT!

"Logan, c'mon, I gotta go. You gotta go!" Rory moaned, extricating herself from Logan's embrace. She squinted in the midafternoon sun.

Logan pouted. "Not until you do that thing you do, Ace," he said, leaning against his car, lacing his fingers with hers and playing with her hands.

"I'm not sure I'm aware of what thing you're talking about," Rory said loftily.

"You know," Logan said, a lazy smile spreading across his face.

Rory sighed and folded her arms. "But it's so….girly," she whined.

"Maybe," he agreed, "but that only adds to the cuteness."

Rory thought for a moment. "If I do it, will you go?"

"Ouch! I'm not feelin' the love, Ace," Logan said.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Rory said playfully.

"Ok, you stalled enough." Logan looked at Rory expectantly.

"Fine; I hate you," she said in a tiny voice, grinning in spite of herself. She leaned over and gave him butterfly kisses on the cheek, then an Eskimo kiss with her nose, then pecked him on the lips.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it? Come here," Logan said, engulfing her in a bear hug. "Ok, I'll go."

"Have fun," Rory said as Logan walked around the car.

"You know it," Logan said. He paused before getting in the car. "Hey, Ace?"

"Yeah?" Rory said.

"You know that un-Logan-like thing I said?"

"Mm-hm?" Rory said with a shy smile.

"I still do." With that, Logan got in his sports car and drove off. Rory smiled to herself and walked back to the pool house. She all of a sudden realized that she had never responded; Logan had said 'I love you' twice, and Rory hadn't even said it once.

"Darling, I can't understand why you would eat raw fish," Finn slurred.

"I'm watching my figure," Stephanie said defensively, picking up a sushi roll.

"Well I'm watching it too, and it seems fine to me," Colin said suggestively.

"Besides," Stephanie continued, ignoring Colin, "you do know what fois gras is, right?"

"Don't spoil it, love, ignorance is bliss," Finn said. He paused as he considered the sushi.

"I wonder how he died."

"Who?" Stephanie asked.

"The fish," Finn said, as if it were perfectly clear.

"Probably drowned," Colin said sarcastically.

"O-k, no more sake for you," Stephanie said, sliding the drinks away from the boys.

"Oy, this is a saketini, thank you," Finn said, protesting.

"Ugh, I can't believe you're getting drunk at BondSt. Must you get drunk in a Japanese restaurant?" Stephanie said, disgusted.

"I like getting drunk in any language," Finn said.

At that moment, a dark-haired boy walked into the restaurant, sat down at the bar, and lit a cigarette. He casually listened to their conversation.

"Anyway, back to the topic at hand. What make you of the Rory situation?" Stephanie said.

Colin started the discussion. "Well, personally, I think she's hot," he offered.

Finn sat up straighter. "I agree, mate. You do realize that this is unprecedented behavior on Logan's part, right? I mean, the man hasn't been able to stick with one woman for two, three weeks at the most."

"I know," said Stephanie. "I mean, what is it about Rory? There was a line, dammit!"

"I think he finally grew up," said Colin. "But I don't know how long it will last."

Meanwhile, over at the bar, the boy put out his cigarette and signaled the bartender, asking for his usual. That last comment interested him immensely.

"What makes you say that?" asked Stephanie.

"Oh, I know!" cried Finn. "Shira was at Rory's mum's engagement party, and she latched onto the poor girl like there was no tomorrow."

"Exactly," affirmed Colin. "Logan said that Shira didn't take too kindly to Rory's status as 'girlfriend,' something we all know to be out of character for our blond friend, and dismissed her as unacceptable heiress material."

"Seriously?" Stephanie breathed. "Oh, this is good. I can't believe I missed that!"

"Yeah, well, it was weird, though; we hid around the corner, but we heard Shira ask Rory to tea to 'smooth things over,' or something. Who knows what that means," said Colin.

Stephanie sighed. "I guess it means I'll cross Logan off my list. I'll just have to find another billionaire to marry."

"You can always marry me, love," Finn slurred.

"In your dreams, Finn," Stephanie said. They were laughing when someone walked up to their table.

"Logan! Buddy! We were just talking about you. You're late, man," Colin said.

"Yeah, I got held up," Logan said with a wink. "So, anything interesting?"

The boy at the bar finished his drink and dropped a bill on the bar, walking back to his apartment.

Rory took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell of the Huntzberger mansion. She adjusted her clothes, fidgeting until the maid opened the door and let her in. Once she was inside, she didn't have to wait for long before Shira greeted her in the parlor.

"Rory, darling! How are you?" Shira exclaimed, fake-hugging Rory and giving her air kisses.

"Um, fine, Mrs. Hunt- I mean, Shira," she corrected. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know," Shira said breezily. Actually, Rory didn't know, but she kept the smart remarks to herself. "Tea?"

"I'd love some," Rory said cautiously. Shira led her to the terrace. They sat down to an elaborate table set with tea and cakes and other finger food. Shira let another maid pour while she looked Rory up and down, obviously sizing her up. She seemed to come to a decision, and then spoke.

"Well, dear, I don't have to tell you that Mitchum can be a little… insensitive at times," she said.

"Oh, well, he's just very, um, focused," commented Rory.

"Oh dear, you have a lovely way of improving the truth. That will come in handy," Shira said conspiratorially, taking a sip of tea before continuing. "I just wanted to say that it was utterly inappropriate for him to dash your dreams like that."

"Well he was just being honest," Rory insisted. "And when it comes to something like that, he's the expert, and I appreciate his candor."

Shira looked satisfied. "Well, my dear, you certainly know how to maneuver your way around delicate subjects. Grace will be important."

Rory finally asked the obvious question. "I'm sorry, I think I missed something here."

"Well, obviously Logan has become serious about you; and with you dropping out of Yale, temporarily I hope, it appears that journalism is no longer your chosen path. If you return to Yale, you have plenty of time to, of course, alter your course of study to a more appropriate major."

Rory began to understand. "More appropriate to what?"

"Well, dear," Shira said, obviously annoyed at Rory's unwillingness to comprehend, "if you're going to marry the heir to the Huntzberger fortune, you need to learn what it takes to be Logan's wife."

"He hasn't proposed!" Rory shrieked, highly shocked.

"Oh darling, it's only a matter of time," Shira said, patting Rory's hand. "We needn't wait for such technicalities. There's so much we can do in preparation without waiting for the men to make up their minds."

Rory jerked her hand back. "What changed?" she said incredulously. "I mean, I'm a Gilmore! We came over on the Mayflower! That wasn't good enough last time, so what's changed? My major? You seriously think that I will sacrifice all personal ambition to be someone's wife!"

Shira blanched. "No, no, it's good that you understand the publishing world, after all, you will have to endure many a business dinner; you just have to know that your primary role will be to support Logan in his endeavors. There's a lot more to it than you think."

Rory was shaking with fury. She calmly stood up and dropped her napkin on the table. "I may or may not get married in the foreseeable future, and I may or may not be a journalist, but I will have my own life's purpose, and I can guarantee that that purpose will not be to serve someone else!"

Rory began to walk out of the room and paused in the doorway. "Oh, and thank you for the tea," she said in belated politeness before turning on her heel and leaving. Shira just sat there, numb with shock.

Rory stepped off the platform at the train station in New York City. She shivered in the twilight breeze, wishing she had brought a sweater, and headed toward the party Logan said he was at.

"Do I know you?" Finn asked, falling on Rory when she walked in the door. She looked at him dubiously and tried to pry his arm from around her shoulders. "Nah, I'm only teasing, love. I could never forget you, Lori," he slurred. Rory just shook her head and went off to find Logan.

"Ace!" she heard. She sighed in relief and ran over to hug Logan. "Whoa," he said, looking down at her. "You ok?" he asked with concern.

"You have no idea," Rory started, "what I've been through today."

"Well, don't mind Finn, he's been drunk going on four hours; he should pass out soon," Logan said, walking Rory to the balcony.

Rory sighed. "Oh believe me, that's the least of my worries."

"Wait a minute," Logan said, a lightbulb going off in his head. "Today was the tea, wasn't it?"

Rory merely nodded.

"Ace, I told you not to go," he admonished.

"I know, I just couldn't think of a graceful way out of it," she reasoned.

"Well don't listen to a word she says; I told you, the whole family's certifiably crazy. They'll grow to love you. Look, if it will make you feel better, I'll sic Honor on my mom. She can talk you up nonstop, and maybe they'll see the light, at least in time for Honor's wedding."

Rory played with the hem of her shirt. "That's not exactly the problem," she said.

"Huh?"

"Well, apparently, me dropping journalism was the best decision I could have made in your mother's eyes," she said, leaning on the railing.

"What do you mean?" asked Logan.

"Apparently, now I'll have time for more important majors like home ec or something," she said wryly.

Logan laughed. "C'mon, Ace. Does Yale even have a domestic degree?"

"Logan, you don't understand!" Rory insisted. "She wants to groom me for life as a billionaire's wife! She is already planning our wedding. She says you're serious and she's serious and this whole thing is just getting out of hand!"

Logan looked uncomfortable. "Listen, Rory, when I said that thing, you know, I didn't mean…"

Rory looked at him, trying to decipher his face. "I know; you're not ready for that; I'm not ready for that. I'm not asking for a proposal here."

"Look, maybe this is going too fast, maybe we're going too fast…" he said slowly. "I know I said I could do the whole boyfriend thing, and you're special, but -"

He was interrupted by his cell phone. He held up his hand as he answered. "Yeah," he answered. "What? When? Well where did it happen? At the office? Which hospital are you at? Ok, I'll be right there; no, calm down, I'm on my way." Logan hung up the phone.

"I gotta go," he said brusquely.

"What happened?" Rory said, concern filling her voice.

"My dad had a heart attack." Logan said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, Logan," Rory said, touching his arm.

"Look, I gotta go take care of things…I just…" Logan was at a loss for words.

"No, I understand; um, do you want me to go with you?" Rory offered quietly.

"No, I should just go. Um, Colin should be around here somewhere; he'll get you home."

"Ok," Rory said uneasily.

"Look – I'll call you later, ok?" Logan said quickly.

"Ok," Rory said, not sure of what else to say.

"Ok," Logan said. He rushed out of the party.

Rory suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Everything was a mess; she couldn't exactly ask Logan to analyze their relationship when he just got news like this, but she wasn't sure what just happened. She slowly walked out of the party, oblivious to her surroundings, and called a cab as it started to rain.

Jess heard a knock at his apartment door. His face fell in surprise when he saw Rory standing in the rain, shivering from the cold.

"Hey, I still had your address in my purse, and I don't know anyone else in the City, and I don't think I can go home tonight…" Rory said, tears suddenly choking her throat.

"Come in," Jess said, opening the door wider. He watched Rory walk into his apartment and then shut the door.

Dum dum dummm! Aren't you so glad the next chapter is out there waiting for you?