Part 5: The Nile Isn't Only A River In Egypt.

After the night spent out with Logan, Colin, Finn and Paris Rory had gotten out of bed, gone to her classes, caught up with her reports and articles that she had to finish for the Yale Daily News and had had an actual conversation with her Grandfather and was meeting him for lunch in... Rory looked at her clock. She had to meet her Grandfather in an hour. She still had to go to the news office to check some facts for her story on the transformation of high school seniors who become college freshmen. She packed up her notes and left the dorm making her way to the news office. She walked in and sat down at her desk and turned on her computer. Once it loaded she began to type.

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Logan was walking into the Yale Daily News to make one of his very rare appearances. He smirked when he saw Rory typing at her computer looking down every once in a while to check her notes. When she looked at the clock and started to put her things away, he walked over and leaned on her desk.

"Hey Ace." Rory looked up.

"I will get to you in a..." Rory was cut off by a curly blonde. She bounded into the newsroom straight for Logan and wrapped her arms around his neck giving him a small kiss on the lips.

"Logan, I've been looking for you everywhere. Who would have thought Finn was telling the truth when he told me that you were in the newsroom?"

"Hey Steph, this is..." When Logan turned he found Rory wasn't at her desk anymore.

"An empty desk." Steph filled in.

"No, Rory." Logan looked around, but couldn't find her. He then heard a groan from under the desk and looked back to see her hand pop out from under, then her head.

"Sorry, floppy disk fell." She put the disk in the hard drive and pressed save. "I'll get to you two in a minute. I just have to talk to Doyle." She stood up and walked towards the editor's office.

"That's her?" Steph asked.

"Yep."

"She's very... scatterbrained."

"It's a newsroom Steph, what did you expect?" Steph rolled her eyes and leaned on the desk and picked at her nails. Rory walked back to her desk, Doyle behind her.

"I want a finished copy of that story on my desk by six o clock tonight Gilmore."

"I'll try my hardest Doyle, but I'd like you to know that I have a life."

"Six o'clock Gilmore."

"Fine."

"Now on the band review. I need you to have it to me by next week." Rory shook her head as she put her disk in her bag along with her notes and began the process of turning off her computer.

"I can't." Rory said.

"And why not? You're going to the show."

"Yes, Doyle, but my best friend is the drummer in said band and I think I'd be a little biased in the article."

"Right, well, I need another writer to cover the band review."

"Logan can do it." Rory suggested turning off her monitor, hoisting her bag on her shoulder and walking out. Logan and Steph followed her out.

"What do you mean I can do it?" Logan asked when he caught up with her. She stopped in front of a coffee stand.

"Hey Mark, think you could get me two black coffees and a..." Rory scanned the menu. "Carmel macchiato... you two want anything?"

"What I want to know is why you recruited me?"

"Yeah, that's it Mark. Make it fast, I have to get to lunch in half in hour."

"Sure thing Rory." Mark turned around and started on the coffees. Rory turned back to Logan.

"You mentioned my article on Hep Alien on Friday and how they sounded like a good band and I told you they were playing this weekend and I could get you some tickets to see them. I'm going to pick them up after lunch. I can't do the review cause, like I said, Lane is in the band and it would be unfair. I had a lot of time alone in my room and I was looking over the recent papers and I only saw one article under your name..." Rory was interrupted by Mark handing her the coffees. She paid him and started walking towards her car. She took a sip of the steaming coffee and continued.

"I saw one article under your name and it was one on what the hell the mystery was in the mystery meat and let me tell you, I thought it would suck, but you are a really good writer, so I thought to myself you could cover the band." When she finished her rant she turned to Stephanie and smiled. "Hi, I'm Rory, you must be Stephanie. It's so nice to meet you." Logan opened his mouth to protest, but her cell rang before he could say anything. She handed the cardboard coffee holder to Logan and balanced her coffee in one hand while she fished out her cell. Once she found it she answered.

"Hello?"

"Rory."

"Hey,"

"Hey, have you gotten the tickets yet?"

"No, I am picking them up after lunch, why?"

"Because I can't make it." Rory stopped walking.

"What?"

"I'm so sorry. I have to work."

"But you promised Dean. You said you would get time off to see Lane's band with me. This is their first real gig since Dave."

"Come on Rory, I've been to all the rehearsals with you."

"Rehearsals aren't concerts."

"I have to work. I need the money Rory."

"But…"

"Rory, I got to work. Tom gave me the extra hours and I need them."

"It's just I haven't seen you in a week and I miss you. I'm going to kill Tom!""

"I know and I miss you too, but I need the money." He repeated. Rory sighed. "Look; I got to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Fine."

"Okay. Love you."

"Yeah, bye." Rory hung up and got out a yellow legal pad. She grabbed her pen and crossed Dean's name off the list.

"Boyfriend?" Logan asked. Rory glared at him and started walking.

"Are you going to go to the show or not? I need to have the names of all the people going now before I go buy the tickets."

"Well, since you volunteered me for the review, yeah, I'll go." Rory wrote down his name the best she could while holding her cup of coffee. Steph took it from her.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Anyone else Huntzberger?" She asked. She unlocked her car and put her bag in the back.

"Yeah, put Finn and Colin on there." Rory wrote the names down.

"Stephanie, do you want to go seeing as Logan didn't ask you?"

"Yeah, I'd love to go." Stephanie replied. Rory put her name on the list and ripped a piece of paper off and started making calculations. She threw the legal pad in the back, took the tray of coffee from Logan and situated them on the seat next to her and grabbed the one from Stephanie. She handed the ripped piece of paper to Logan.

"Sixty dollars?" Logan asked looking at the numbers on the paper.

"Yep, it's what you owe me for the tickets. Now I have to get to lunch, I'll talk to you guys later. Stephanie, it was wonderful meeting you. I hope we can get together before the show." Rory closed the door, waved and backed out of the Yale parking lot driving off.

"I like her." Stephanie said. Logan sighed.

"I was afraid of that." Logan muttered. It seemed like Ace was doing much better than that night they went out. But then he had a feeling she was hiding from the truth. As they said the Nile is not just a river in Egypt.

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Rory parked in front of the little coffee shop that her Grandfather had asked her to meet him at. She got out of the car and threw away the three now empty cups of coffee. She walked into the restaurant and walked to the table that her Grandfather was sitting at. Richard looked up at her and smiled.

"Rory, I'm so glad you came. I was afraid you wouldn't"

"I was thinking about it." She admitted sitting down crossing her arms in front of her. Richard nodded.

"Well, I'm glad you reconsidered." The waitress came and asked for their orders.

"Black coffee and a blueberry scone." Rory answered.

"Iced tea for me." Richard ordered. The waitress nodded, wrote down the orders and left. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Obviously."

"Rory."

"Sorry. Talk away."

"I want to say I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen. After Emily put up this proposition I tried to talk her out of it. I swear I did, but she wouldn't listen. She wanted you to have the best life. You've got to understand, Rory, she had your best interest at heart."

"My best interest? My best interest! She arranged my marriage! MY marriage. She decided who was best for me and when!" Rory shut her mouth when the waitress came. She set down the drinks and the plate that held the scone, then walked away. Rory continued "Sorry isn't going to give me my life back, Grandpa."

"I know that Rory. But if you just give Logan a chance."

"I've talked to him a few times." Richard leaned in, intrigued.

"Really?"

"When I was holed up in my room for three days, Paris wanted to take me out to dinner seeing as I hadn't eaten in four days. Logan was there and he and his friends took me and Paris out. And I just left him when I came here. He's going to Lane's concert with me, Paris and Doyle. Along with his three friends."

"Well then, you've 'hung out' with him." Rory nodded.

"Just because I have doesn't mean I'm happy with this situation Grandpa. Yeah, he's nice, but he's not my type." Richard nodded.

"Rory, I am truly sorry for all of this. I just wish you would have found out differently." Rory sighed.

"I wish my mom would have told me." Rory muttered.

"I hope we can start fresh Rory. I love you and I don't want our relationship to disintegrate." Rory smiled.

"Grandpa..." Rory didn't know what to say. "I'd love to keep a relationship with you but..."

"But?"

"But it's too hard." Rory laughed and ran a hand through her hair. "You know, I went from anger at Grandma's house to sadness to depression and I just realized I was in denial. I don't want to face the fact that I have to break up with my boyfriend because I'm suppose to marry a complete stranger that my grandmother picked out." Rory laughed again. "I'm getting married. Jesus, I'm getting married and I don't even know when."

"The week after your birthday." he smiled sadly

"Ha! I'm getting married in a month. A month." Rory shook her head and ran a hand through her hair again. "You know, this whole week I've been keeping myself busy with papers and stories and work. I tried keeping busy so that I wouldn't have to think about it. I haven't talked to my mother in a week and I miss her, but god, she didn't tell me! A part of me is really mad at the fact that she waited so long to tell me and even then it was Grandma and a part of me understands where she was coming from."

"What part are you going to listen to?" Richard asked covering his granddaughter's hand with his.

"The rational one telling me to call her."

"Good." Rory smiled.

"You know Grandpa, I would like to take you up on your offer." Rory said.

"And what, my dear, was the offer." Rory took a deep breath and smiled.

"To start fresh." Richard smiled brilliantly and kissed her cheek.

"That's great." Rory nodded. "So, how was your day?" Rory laughed.

"It was busy."

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AN: Thanks you guys for the great reveiws! I love them so much! Gah! You guys are the greats reveiwers a girl can have! whenI see my e-mail box is just filled with you're guys responsesI get sooooo happy! Thanks again andI know that some of you probally don't want Rory having a reationship with anyone in her family butI really like Richard and she should at least have someone in the inside to talk to plus he comes in handy in future chapters! I also want to give my thanks to my Beta Flynn who has been just the best at betaing and it's great to have her as a friend! Thanks! Keep on reveiwing and i'll keep on writing!

Kassandra