Gilmore Girls
These Things I Know
A/N: Happy reading! Genevra.
Summary: You might finally have what you thought you always wanted but the truth is this- you don't know what you've got 'til its gone.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Gilmore Girls in anyway.
Chapter Eleven: Recline
"Do you know what date it is?" Rory asked as soon as her mother answered the phone.
"It's the eleventh of December," Lorelai replied. "Don't worry, honey. You haven't missed it. Santa hasn't come yet. There's still fourteen more sleeps."
"No, not Santa," Rory shot-back. "My anniversary. In six days."
"Why so it is," Lorelai agreed. "So what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. That's why I called you," Rory exclaimed. "What do you do when you and your husband live apart and you don't know where you stand?"
"I don't think they ever told us that in Pippi or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and I'm almost positive it wasn't in Rambo Parts One, Two, Three, Four or Five," Lorelai admitted. "And because of that, I'm at a loss."
"Mum," Rory groaned. "Be serious."
"I am being serious," Lorelai replied. "You wanted a cool mum, not a mum who had all the answers."
"Well, this is one time I'd rather not have the cool mum."
"You know you don't mean that," Lorelai cried, aghast. "Are you honestly saying that you'd take back all the time spent watching 'The Office' together so I can tell you what to do?"
"Yes!" Rory shouted.
"I don't believe you. I can't believe you," Lorelai gasped. There was a frustrated groan from Rory's end.
"I have another call," she sighed. "I'm putting you on hold."
"Please, not on hold," Lorelai cried dramatically. She 'hmmphed' when the cadence of Rory's voice and the sounds of the busy NYT office morphed into Mozart's 'Requiem.' Lorelai made a face. Hold music was so depressing. 'Requiem' quickly turned into 'Blue Danube', which was marginally better. It seemed to Lorelai that in the two weeks Rory had been in New York, she was always waiting for her. Their phone calls had been peppered with interruptions and although Lorelai was happy that Rory was finally living her dream, she wondered if her daughter wasn't maybe pushing things too hard. The music dragged on and just as Lorelai was contemplating hanging up the phone, Rory came back on.
"Sorry," she said quickly. "It was Finn."
"How is Finn?" Lorelai asked. She had always liked him and secretly thought he was the closest a guy could come to being a Gilmore Girl.
"Finn is… Finn," Rory replied. Lorelai knew what she meant. Asking how Finn was was akin to asking how Kirk was. It was an unanswerable question that shouldn't ever be attempted. "What did Finn want?"
"Apparently, he's found the love of his life and the five of them are coming up to have dinner so I can meet her," Rory explained. Again, Lorelai understood. She didn't need to ask who the five were, she knew.
"So it's sort of going to be like a little suicide group meeting?" Lorelai asked.
"I thought you'd gotten over that," Rory replied.
"Nah. Never. So, is she a red-head?"
"You know, I didn't actually think to ask," Rory admitted. "I just assumed. Hang on, I'm putting you on hold again."
Lorelai sighed but took the time to take a few bites of her lunch as 'Fur Elise' played. Rory was back almost instantly and she sounded angry.
"That was Shira," she spat. "Apparently, Logan and I are hosting a party on Christmas Eve."
"You're what?" Lorelai asked.
"You heard me. This is all Mitchum's doing."
"You don't think maybe it was Emily's doing?" Lorelai asked. "Mum has been pretty quiet lately."
"I don't think so," Rory sighed. "I talked to her yesterday and as far as I knew, we we're having Christmas Eve at their house. I don't really think she would let herself be outshone by a Huntzberger function."
"You actually agreed to spend time there?" Lorelai asked.
"Yes, I did," Rory replied.
"And I thought I taught you better," Lorelai sighed. "But I think you have a point about Grandma not wanting to be outshone. I mean, look what Italy did in the Second World War. They pretty much just latched themselves onto whoever was winning."
"How do you know what happened in World War II?" Rory asked.
"Lost the remote and I didn't feel like getting out of bed to change the channel," Lorelai admitted.
"Oh. I understand," Rory mused. "I thought for a second you'd gone all intellectual on me."
"Are you kidding? I'm much too good-looking for that. And besides, the crew at the Playboy mansion would just die."
"You're not blonde," Rory shot-back.
"Whatever. You know, you could always just say no to Shira," Lorelai suggested.
"Invitations have already gone out," Rory replied. "And besides, Grandma would kill me."
"It's damned if you do, damned if you don't with that woman," Lorelai countered. She looked at her watch. "I've got to go, kid, but maybe you should call Logan."
"Good idea," Rory answered.
"I believe you meant to say 'Smart thinking, ninety-nine,'" Lorelai argued.
"I stand corrected," Rory deadpanned. "Say hi to Luke for me."
"Hi to Luke for me," Lorelai cried triumphantly. "Ha! Gotcha."
"You're a real comedian," Rory replied.
"I know. And lucky for you, it's in the genes."
"Goodbye, ninety-nine."
"Wait! Just one more," Lorelai begged.
"I'm hanging up now," Rory said. She paused for effect and then slammed the receiver down. She immediately picked it up and dialed her secretary's number.
"Yes, Rory," Elaine greeted her.
"Hey Elaine. Can you please try and get Logan on the phone for me? It's Tuesday before one so he should still be in the office but if not, you should be able to get him on his mobile," she instructed. "Thanks Elaine."
She hung up and then picked up the nearest blue pen to mark the following night's activities and the Christmas Eve party into her diary. She looked around at her simply decorated office. She didn't plan on staying long but she had bought in a few things to make her feel at home. She was acting as Features Editor for the time being. The current editor had left on maternity leave and Mitchum had insisted she take the position.
Rory stood up and straightened her black pencil skirt and pale blue business shirt. She walked over and reclined on the black leather couch while she waited for Elaine to find Logan. She pulled the Melrose clip from her hair and let it fall in soft waves around her shoulders. The red light lit up on her phone. She jumped up, hit the talk button and switched it to speakerphone.
"Rory Huntzberger," she said languidly, as she sauntered back to the couch.
"Ace," Logan said. "You rang."
"I did?" she asked innocently, a smile spreading across her face. "I must have forgot."
"You've been hanging around Stephanie too much."
"I disagree," she replied, stretching out. "I don't think I see her enough. And anyway, just think, if it weren't for her, you and I would never have been together."
"I disagree," he replied. "We would have. And you're lying down."
"How did you know?" she asked, sitting up. She heard a rap on the glass pane in the door and smiled.
"I can see you," he told her. "Can I come in?"
"You know how to open a door, Huntzberger," she said. He opened the door and walked in, dramatically flipping the phone closed.
"I really like what you've done with the place," he remarked, looking around at the almost bare surroundings.
"Thanks," she replied, lightly. "I wanted something that screamed me. Like the apartment. It's beautiful. Thanks."
"So you've said," he answered, sitting next to her on the couch. They both sunk back, their shoulders touching. "So, Ace, what compelled you to call me?"
"The in-laws," she answered. "And what compelled you to come here?"
"The parents," he deadpanned. "And I thought I could buy you lunch."
"I already ate," she frowned.
"Two coffees and a blueberry muffin don't count," he admonished her.
"It was an apple and cinnamon muffin," she shot-back.
"But you hate apple and cinnamon muffins," he reminded her, giving her a strange look.
"There was no blueberry ones left. It was that or rolled oats or something. I took my chances," she explained seriously.
"I understand your dilemna," he mused. He jumped up suddenly and held out a hand. "Come on, let's go. I'll even let you pick where we go."
She thought about it for a nanosecond and then extended her hand. He grabbed it and pulled her up. He let go of her hand briefly, to help her into her coat and to loop her scarf around her neck. He brushed a loose strand of hair off her face before leading her from the room.
"Elaine, I'm going out for lunch," Rory said to her secretary. "I probably won't be back so you can leave when you're done."
"Who's he?" she asked, before she could stop herself. Logan and Rory exchanged smiles.
"I'm Logan," he said, holding out his free hand, which Elaine shook. "Rory's husband. And we should probably go."
"See you, Elaine," Rory called as Logan dragged her towards the lift. "What's the rush?"
"I just wanted to do this," he said, pulling her into the empty lift and kissing her softly. She kissed him back, her fingers running through his hair as his hands cupped her face. He pulled away almost as quickly as he kissed her.
"What was that for?" she asked, leaning against the back of the elevator, happily.
"I just wanted to know what it would be like," he said, mimicking her hair. She moved to kiss him again but the door pinged open and people piled in.
"Hey, Rory," someone called. A brunette made her way to the back of the lift and she rose an eyebrow when she saw Logan's arm snaked around her new friend's waist.
"Sharna, this is my husband, Logan," she introduced them. "Sharna's in features. The 'I- can girl.'"
"I know your work," Logan replied. He and Rory had their own secret language when it came to talking about the paper. "Sharna Williams. I loved you piece on public vs. private schools."
"Thanks," she replied, chuffed. The lapsed into silence again. Logan and Rory were relishing being in each other's presence. The lift eventually came to the ground and they reluctantly tore themselves away from each other and tottered across the marble floor.
"Where to?" Logan asked.
"There's a really nice café just down the street," Rory suggested. She saw Logan's face and smiled. "Or I hear Le Cirque does nice lunches. I think it's more in your budget."
"Sounds perfect," he smiled, flagging a cab. They scrambled in and got comfy in a mess of limbs and coats before they spoke again. "I'm sorry about the way things happened at the hospital."
"Don't be," she said quickly. "I was idiot enough to think that with one apology, it could all go back to the way it was."
"That's the thing," he said. "I thought I wanted you out of my life and sending you here was just the easy way out. I even hoped that you'd love it so much, you wouldn't want to come home."
"That could never happen," she said softly, touching his cheek.
"I know which is good because I miss you and I can't do this without you," he exclaimed. "I don't want to do this without you."
"You don't have to," she replied. "I'm right here."
"It cant go back right away," he told her, rehashing the same old stuff.
"I know," she agreed."
"We'll have to take it one step at a time. You know, call each other everyday, spend weekends together," he continued. "And I think we should have the Christmas party. I think we should spend Christmas together."
"I want that too. You know, people thought we were stupid for getting married so close to Christmas but I love Christmas. It just seemed so right," she said. It clicked in Logan's head and he paled.
"Our anniversary," he whispered. Rory took his hand.
"It's okay, Logan. We don't have to make a big deal out of it," she replied. "This hasn't been the best year."
"It's not that. It's just that I completely forgot and I made plans with Colin, Finn and some guys I haven't seen in awhile," he said. A flash of hurt briefly crossed Rory's face but she covered it quickly. "I can cancel. It's fine."
"No," she said. "It's probably better this way."
"Rory," he tried.
"Logan, it's fine. Really. We're spending Christmas together. That's enough."
"We're doing something," he said, suddenly.
"We're what?" she asked.
"On Sunday. We're doing something. It's our anniversary, Ace, it's important. We have to something."
"You sure?" she asked.
"I'm sure," he replied. He sealed the deal by pulling her closer and kissing her softly.
