AN: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this! I am plugging along, I am also going to start a re-write of an older fic of mine that was post on FF that I deleted, so keep your eyes open for that. I think this is really the beginning of these two dummies realizing they have feelings for each other. I will also remind everyone, it seems like notifications from FF are getting a bit sketchy, this could just be a glitch, or it could be that things are deteriorating. Either way, please consider making an account on A03

Read, review, enjoy.

Summer 2002

"Do you want a cooler or something?" Honor held out a Smirnoff Ice and Rory shook her head. "Your loss," she smirked. "When did you get back in town?" Honor had run into Rory in town earlier in the day and asked her to come over. While the two girls were hardly besties, they got along and Honor liked who her brother was when he was with Rory and so as far as Honor was concerned, Rory Gilmore was always welcome in their house.

"Couple days ago," Rory told her. She followed as Honor went out to the pool and the pair got in the water. Honor wearing a red string bikini and Rory in a black two piece with a high neck and racerback. It was decidedly sexier than the girl who had started coming to the Vineyard several years earlier, but certainly wasn't as risqué as most of the girls in the area. "How about you? I thought you weren't coming for a few more weeks? Logan said August?" Rory and Logan had kept in touch through the year. They had seen each other at Christmas. He had attended the Gilmore Christmas party which had gone well until her mother had loudly gotten into an argument with her grandmother about Rory's new boyfriend. She had been dating Jess Mariano for a little bit over 7 months now and unlike the summer before when things with her and Dean had been…complicated, things with Jess were good. He wasn't worried about her going away, he had even made plans to come up and see her in a few weeks later when her grandparents were going away for a wedding. Of course Richard and Emily didn't know he was coming, but she would figure that out later. Rory wasn't looking to cause waves, but was it really so much to ask to see her boyfriend once during the summer? She would figure all that out later. Jess had suggested it and she had simply agreed, but it wasn't like she couldn't change her mind.

"Some of the girls went off to Ibiza and I just wasn't interested," Honor shrugged, "plus Josh is going to be around. His parents have a place in Sag Harbor but they actually stay at their house, so until Mitchum and Shira arrive, we're going to hang out here."

"Josh?" Rory wasn't sure she remembered hearing about Honor having a boyfriend, but at the same time, Honor always had a boyfriend.

"Yes, Josh, you met him at Christmas!"

"Oh!" Rory laughed, she had met Josh, she was just surprised that Honor could possibly be dating the same guy she had been six months earlier. "He was really nice!" It was a half truth, Rory couldn't remember anything particularly interesting about Josh, but maybe that was ok? He hadn't been a complete dick either.

Honor grinned as she took a sip of her drink. "And my baby brother mentioned that you are dating someone?" Of course Honor left out that Logan had seemed frantic about the fact that Rory would once again have a boyfriend for the summer. Logan cared for her, Honor could tell that much. She knew that it was strictly platonic, but she was starting to wonder if her baby brother might finally be experiencing his first crush where the object of his affection seemingly had no interest in him.

Rory shrugged as she dipped her hair back in the pool, effectively wetting all of her hair before she continued, "yeah I guess."

"You guess?" Honor knew that Rory was a little on the square side, but certainly she wouldn't keep dating a guy if she wasn't interested, wouldn't have mentioned bringing him to the Vineyard to Logan if she wasn't somewhat serious about him. As serious as a high school relationship could be.

"I mean, yeah, we're dating. Jess. His name is Jess. We've been dating almost 8 months," Rory explained. They had gotten together just before Christmas, he had met her grandparents exactly one time and it hadn't exactly been a perfect introduction. Rory couldn't quite decide if it was her mother or her grandmother who disliked Jess more. Neither were big fans, miraculously something to agree on for the two Gilmore women, and her grandfather…well, he was mostly indifferent to it, but it had been quite clear that he was thrilled that Rory had broken up with Dean who he had decided on first sight that Rory was much too good for.

"Honor did you order the keg for tonight?" Logan's voice bellowed through the patio door as he walked out towards the pool looking for his sister and only noticing her brunette counterpart after a moment. "Shit, sorry, didn't know you had friends." His eyes lingered for a minute before he realized who he was ogling and even if she had been the subject of more than one dream he'd had since seeing her in a black velvet cocktail dress at Christmas. He thought it might've been the first time he had seen her dressed up and not in some summery ensemble. "Ace, Jesus. Didn't know you were here yet," he stammered as Rory couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Maybe if you answered my e-mails," Rory retorted dryly as Honor assured him she had ordered the keg. "Having a big party?" She asked, she hadn't been invited to any party, but that was probably because Logan got oddly big brother-y when it came to Rory and drinking and guys she didn't know. It was equal parts endearing and annoying, but she knew it came from a good place. He would never stop her from coming to a party, but he certainly would warn her about the crowd.

"Didn't know you were in town, because my phone is busted, I haven't checked my e-mails," Logan explained, "you coming?"

Rory shrugged, "I've gotta see when I'm working."

"I swear Rory Gilmore," Honor interjected, "you are the only girl I know who voluntarily gets a job. Summer is about fun and tanning and boys."

"If I stayed in that house all day with my grandparents," Rory countered, "I would lose my mind. Plus the coffee at the bookstore is better." The truth was, Rory enjoyed having something that was hers. She enjoyed working at the store, making a bit of her own money that was a bonus, and mostly it just got her out of the house and away from everything. She had learned to love her grandparents, getting to know them on her own terms had certainly been a blessing, but it didn't mean she wasn't frustrated when her grandmother would question her about relationships and boys. Being out of the house meant that she could do what she wanted to do.

"You know what is better than coffee?" Honor smirked, "a margarita."

Rory hadn't spent any significant amount of time thinking about how Logan had looked at her that day. She hadn't thought about it in the weeks since, or the lead up to the upcoming weekend where her grandparents were out of town and Jess was coming for a visit. Of course only her friends knew Jess was coming. Back home, Luke thought Jess was going away with a couple of friends from his job, and her grandparents thought she was spending the weekend with Honor and some girlfriends. She supposed that part wasn't untrue. She would be spending some time with Honor and their friends, Honor was hosting a party after all, but she and Jess would make an appearance and then go back to the house.

It had been over 6 months and Rory…well, Rory wasn't so sure se wanted to be the Rory that everyone had thought she should be. Sometimes she wanted to throw responsibility to the wayside and just be a teenager, but then other times she looked at her peers both at Chilton and in Stars Hollow and she didn't think she could relate to teenagers any less. She remembered her mom forcing birth control and condoms on her the first summer she had come out, she remembered the same mother having a freakout of epic proportions when she had overslept with Dean after the winter formal and that time nothing had happened. But this, this felt right. Jess was a little rough around the edges, but they were in a relationship and he had never pressured her and it was what she was supposed to do, wasn't it?

"C'mon Rory, we should go," Jess nudged her shoulder with his chin. He had pulled her into his lap almost half an hour earlier as the group sat in front of a bonfire on the beach. Of course Rory had tried to keep the thought out of her mind that he was trying to be possessive. Jess didn't get jealous. He hadn't been jealous of Dean when they had tried for a minute to be friends after their split, and certainly there was no one at this party that was interested in her, much less her interested in them. So she wasn't sure why she had been firmly planted in him, his arms wrapped around her while he nursed a beer and she drank a Coke while a group of people laughed and told jokes that were not even remotely relatable to the life that Rory lived. "Go for a drive, you can show me around," he suggested.

"We aren't going for a drive," Rory made a face. He'd been drinking, of course they couldn't drive anywhere, "come on, it's a nice night. We can just hang out."

"Drink?" Logan interrupted them, he had been across the fire from them, keeping a quiet but distant eye on his friend. Rory looked happy. Rory laughed when the broody guy she was dating whispered something in her ear, and she seemed happy to be with him, to be around him. He didn't think she seemed any happier than when she was with Neil and Jane at the bookstore, or with Colin and Finn on the boat, but he supposed that wasn't really for him to decide. Jess mumbled something about being fine and Rory stood up saying she would come with him to get one, not offering to bring Jess with her as she began following him to the kitchen. "Coke ok?"

"I could have a beer you know," Rory countered. Of course she was just being defensive. Logan wasn't offering her a Coke to be rude, he was offering her a Coke because she preferred Coke and she knew he wouldn't be making a pot of coffee this late at night. He assured her he knew and handed her the can. "He's nervous," Rory explained, maybe she was nervous too. "It's a lot of people, he does't know anyone…this isn't exactly his normal crowd," she continued. It wasn't her normal crowd either, but she had managed to adapt over the years.

"I didn't say anything," Logan shrugged as he took a long swig of a water bottle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Must be weird for him, we all know each other…he knows you…maybe a different side of you?"

"A different side of me?" Rory repeated, she wasn't sure who the comment was a jab at but she knew it wasn't exactly a compliment. "Yes, poor Rory…working through the summer…"

"You know that isn't what I mean Ace," Logan shot back, he wasn't sure why she was being so testy. He was trying to be nice to her, to her boyfriend, trying to make sure the guy was comfortable but apparently he couldn't say anything to her. "I mean this world is a far cry from Stars Hollow."

"Everything good Ror?" Jess came from behind them, his arms instantly wrapped around her body and Rory froze for a moment before relaxing into him. The freeze was barely noticeable but somehow the three of them were all acutely aware of it. "Thought we should get outta here?"

"You're right," Rory took a long sip of her Coke and smiled at him, "we should go."

"Nice meeting you Jess," Logan nodded politely as Rory said goodbye to him. He wasn't going to fight with her. He was trying and that was all he could do. She was his friend, this was her boyfriend…he understood where lines needed to be drawn.

Jess didn't say much as he directed her back out of the house, he seemed to know his way to the exit even though he had pretended he couldn't follow the basic instructions to get to the washroom half an hour earlier when he made Rory walk him through the house. "How 'bout that drive?" He suggested once they were outside. The sound of the ocean was nearby and the breeze was nice enough that it kept the evening from being too sticky.

"Jess," Rory shook her head, "we can just go inside." She nodded to her grandparents house. It may have been empty but it still loomed over the couple as they walked towards the house, the familiar path felt different when she was walking it with him. It didn't feel like it should've to be there with Jess. Logan might've been right, Jess was part of a different world for her. "Watch a movie or something," she knew of course that the plan was not to watch a movie. He stopped in his tracks and pulled her towards him, pressing his lips gently against hers and whispered something about how he wanted the night to be special. "Let's call a cab," Rory countered, wherever they needed to go, it didn't need to be in a car with someone who had been drinking. "I've got some cash upstairs," Jess seemed to agree and the pair made their way inside the house. He pulled her in for the occasional kiss and Rory smiled against his lips. Maybe with that group of people it had felt like things were off kilter, but in their own little bubble, Jess still felt perfect. She went upstairs and grabbed the cash from her bedside table, she freshened up a little bit, put on a Harvard sweater that she and her mom had gotten on a road trip and pulled her hair into a ponytail on top of her head. This was happening. She could do this. She wanted to do this. They called a cab and then they waited.

Rather than sitting on the chairs on the porch, they both sat on the steps leading up to the house, Jess tried to keep his knee from bouncing and he watched as Rory bit her bottom lip. "We can stay," he told her, a reassuring, crooked smile on his face. "Watch a movie?"

Rory shook her head, the lights from the taxi came into view along with the sound of tires on the driveway. She stood up and extended her arm to him, "C'mon."

They got into the taxi and Jess gave him an address, a little motel down by the marina. He had clearly thought about it, and was trying to make the entire night special and that alone gave Rory a feeling of excitement. This was the side of Jess that others didn't see. The side of him that brought her books and sat with her and read, the side of him that didn't want a trade for hanging out at a bookstore after school because he was happy to do it with her. They all saw broody Jess, and Rory knew someone else. The rest of the night felt like it was supposed to. There were nerves and butterflies and whispers. Noses bumping and the scratchy feel of a motel quilt on the bed…but as far as first times went, it had been perfect.

Perfect until the light filtered into the room and with that same scratchy quilt over her chest Rory realized they had overslept. They had overslept and they were running late and her grandparents who had assured her they would be home by brunch would be home in 20 minutes and it would take them at least 15 to get a taxi if there was a hope in hell of making it back in time.

The events that followed were a blur. Rushing to get dressed, quick kisses and assurances that they were fine, that she was fine. Running to a car and Rory telling the driver what a hurry they were in and then…then it was the sound of screeching tires, mangled metal and a few shouts.

The airbags had deployed and the driver was fine save for a few scratches on his face, and as Rory looked down at her cast and then at her grandparents who were standing in front of her with nothing but disappointment on their faces, she realized just how lucky she was that all she had was a fractured wrist. Her mother would be there any moment, of course that was the first call the hospital made when she was admitted, then she called her grandparents and then she realized that once she was there, once she was admitted and being seen, Jess had bolted.

"What were you thinking?" Lorelai had boomed the second she walked into the room, "where were you? What were you doing?" She took only a moment to confirm that Rory was ok before letting every one of her emotions come spilling out, "why was Jess here?"

Rory shifted uncomfortably in the bed. She would be released any minute, but she felt like a kid staring up at her mother and her grandparents. She wondered for a moment if her father was on his way too? That would certainly be overkill. She was fine, and it wasn't like it was her fault. Well…maybe it was her fault. If you considered that it was her who agreed to go off to that little motel with every intent of losing her virginity rather than going back to the house where she was supposed to be sleeping. But how could she have planned for another driver swerving to miss some sort of wildlife and the taxi careening off the road? No one could have planned for that. "Jess?" Rory repeated, apparently she was taking the path of playing dumb.

"Yes Rory, Jess," Lorelai rolled her eyes, "yay high," she held her hand up to around his height, "broody, chip on his shoulder…loves shoving his tongue down your throat…was supposed to be visiting friends somewhere that wasn't here. Dark haired guy who was seen leaving the hospital shortly after confirming you were alright…" She paused for a moment, seeing the look of fear in Rory's eyes she stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed, "the nurses saw him leaving and like me, they can be bought with caffeine and sweets." Lorelai gave Rory's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "what the hell kid?"

It was a miracle that her grandparents hadn't intervened more, she expected that there would be more shouting, but she supposed there would be time for that when they got back to the house. "Can we go home now?" Rory asked. She would tell the story when they got home, but she wasn't going to do it in this stupid hospital gown and fluorescent lighting that was giving her a headache. Her mother and grandparents agreed and by some miracle she had ended up going home with her grandparents - they were pissed, sure, but there was something different about their anger…it was apparently more palatable to her.

Another hour, a shower with a bag over her arm and a change of outfit into a Chilton t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts was the final act of stalling before Rory was sitting in the living room with 3 adults staring at her and waiting for some sort of explanation.

"It wasn't his fault," Rory began. She hated how everyone just assumed that Jess was always to blame for everything, like she couldn't make a poor decision all by herself. This wasn't even a poor decision. It was an accident. Sure, he shouldn't have been visiting, but could anyone blame her? "Jess came to see me, we accidentally fell asleep by the marina," she left out the part of the story that included her losing her virginity in a motel over the water. That would definitely be too much information for her grandparents. "We woke up and realized it and we were trying to get back…a car veered in front of us…it was just an accident. We're all fine. Everyone is fine."

"What was he doing here?" Emily asked, her lips didn't even seem to move as she spoke, but somehow the words came out as someone rang the doorbell, "Richard can you get the door please?" She asked as she stared Rory waiting for a response. "Why was he here Rory? You didn't tell your grandfather and I. Did you know that he was coming? Were you intending on sneaking around? Don't you know all of the things that could happen with a boy like that?" Rory was frozen, she was frozen in her tracks as the interrogation continued, "a boy only stops in when he knows your house is empty for one reason and one reason only Rory and I will not have you throw your life away. You are not here for that. You are here so that we can make sure that you do not end up in the same situation as your mother!"

"Emily," Richard interrupted with a hand on her shoulder, "we have a guest who thought we might need to hear something."

Rory looked up and for the first time she wasn't staring at a set of eyes who were disappointed in her. "Logan, what are you doing here?" She asked. Normally she would've stood up, but the stare of her mother and grandmother told her she should stay put.

"Look, Ace, I just…I heard about what happened, I'm glad you're alright," he noticed the outline of a hickey on her neck, it was mostly covered by her shirt, but he noticed it. He noticed it because it felt like suddenly he noticed everything about her and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. "But I needed to come and apologize to your grandparents, and your mother."

"Apologize?" Emily looked at him curiously, "what could you possibly have to apologize for dear?"

Logan swallowed the lump in his throat. What was he doing here? All he knew is that Honor had heard from a friend about the accident and that Logan knew what it all meant. "I invited Jess," he explained. "Rory didn't know he was coming. Jess…he called a couple weeks ago when Rory was in the bathroom," god how were these lies coming out so fast? "I answered her phone by mistake, and we just…we were trying to surprise her. So it's my fault he was here, it's my fault that Rory got hurt…"

"Did you know we wouldn't be in town?" Emily countered, she wondered just how involved Logan could've been in that part of the decision.

"No one did," another lie that just rolled off the tongue so easily. "Jess was surprising Rory so he hadn't asked about her weekend and I was trying to keep it quiet…it completely slipped my mind that Mr and Mrs Barth were hosting the wedding this weekend." Of course he knew, he planned a party around it, but Emily and Richard had know way of knowing that. "Just please, its as a series of decisions that were out of Rory's control that led to this happening. You know she's responsible…I wouldn't want my poor decisions to sully her stellar reputation."

Emily mumbled something about Jess and Logan took it as his opportunity to see himself out. Rory wasn't making eye contact and he knew it wasn't about the lie he had just spewed to keep her out of trouble. It was about the sinking feeling in his gut that he hated the idea of her and Jess being together. It was palatable to him just a couple of months earlier, but apparently something had changed. He felt the urge to protect her. Of course Jess had run off, that was the kind of guy he was - couldn't face the consequences of his own actions.

He didn't see Rory again for another week. He had texted her and she had replied to say that she was only allowed out to work, and they had left it at that. Logan had busied him with a flavour of the week who was just distracting enough that he didn't think about the light marks on Rory's neck that she had tried to cover with concealer. That feeling in his stomach and his desire to avoid feeling that way again didn't stop him however from making his way into the book store a whopping eight days after the whole chaotic incident. He heard her first, telling a couple of kids where the comic books were and then he waited until she made eye contact. He had come with gifts of course. A fresh cup of black coffee from the place down the street that they liked and a slice of pizza for lunch.

"Hey," Logan nodded as he held up his offerings. "Thought you might be taking a lunch?"

"I thought maybe you'd died," Rory walked towards him and took the coffee first, inhaling the scent and then plucking the plate from his hand. "Or had been eaten by wolves…but I suppose that probably would've led to death. I guess I just thought in the eight days since you showed up at my grandparents house with a whole lie about what happened with Jess, I might've heard from you."

"What did you want me to say?"

"I didn't want you to say anything," Rory admitted softly as she took a seat in a chair. She didn't get official breaks, but right now the only kid in the store was looking at comic books and she could take a minute to eat. "I wanted to thank you. You didn't have to get involved, or lie to my mom or grandparents…I know you don't like Jess…but I appreciate that you stuck your neck out for me."

"It wasn't your fault," Logan shrugged. "I should go," he nodded towards the door. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"You can't stay?" Rory was admittedly disappointed by the thought that he was leaving so soon. It had been strange not to see him, not to talk to him, but she hadn't wanted to upset her grandparents and she figured he wasn't exactly looking to come over for a visit. Her grandparents hadn't figured it out, but Rory was pretty sure her mother had an idea of what she and Jess had been up to. Rory was surprised when Lorelai stayed for a night and then removed herself from the situation, it was probably the right move. Bringing Rory home would've brought her back to Jess. Leaving her at the Vineyard left Rory away from her boyfriend and Lorelai had no qualms about that.

"I've got plans," he explained. He left the plans vague, they weren't exactly plans he was looking to shout from the rooftop. They were plans with a girl named Cassidy who was friends with Colin's flavour of the month and they didn't involve doing anything except sloppily groping each other until hopefully Logan forgot about the girl who had haunted his dreams all week long. "Maybe Friday?" He suggested. Another few days apart wouldn't hurt anyone, he figured some distance would make his predicament better. "I'll take you for dinner?" His heart soared when he saw Rory visibly perk up.

"Only if you come over to watch a movie after?" She suggested, "my grandparents say you can come over because you're such an upstanding man," she laughed thinking of just how impressed with Logan her grandmother had been 'what a fine young man, willing to face the music of his poor choices. Where did Jess go? He just ran off as soon as things weren't going to plan?'

He thought of Cassidy, how she had said she wanted to go to a party on Friday. He knew he could do dinner, but later in the evening was spoken for. "I'll pick you up at 7?" He smiled at her, his grin reaching his eyes and his hand running through his unruly hair. "You pick the movie, but it cannot be something with a sequel."

"What if we watch all of them in one night?"

"Like your grandma won't be kicking me out by 11?" He laughed.

"Upstanding citizen," she winked and it went straight to his chest.

Logan was a goner. There was no world in which he would deny her anything and he would have to come to terms with that. "See you Friday Ace."