Part 26: Getting Shanghaied by a Huntzberger:

Silence filled the car. After Logan's mention of the honeymoon and Rory's response, they had come to a silent agreement to not talk. About anything. But Rory couldn't help but to think about the honeymoon. And not the happy thinking where she thought about all the happenings of a honeymoon, but the fear-filled thinking of what exactly was expected of them. She had forgotten all about the honeymoon. Of course, when a person gets married they go on a honeymoon. That's about the time when the firstborn is conceived.

"Where?"

Logan turned to her with a confused look. "Excuse my confusion, but you can't really start a conversation with a question when people haven't been talking for the past twenty minutes."

"Where are we going? For, you know, the honeymoon?"

Logan shrugged. "I don't know. Where do you want to go?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know."

"Then when you figure it out, tell me and I'll run it by the parents."

"Why do you have to run it by the parents?"

"Because they're paying."

Rory sighed and turned right at Monty the rooster. "Of course they are."

"Nothing will happen you know."

"I know."

"Unless you want it to."

"I don't want it to."

"That hurts, Ace. Not once in our whole married life will we sleep together?"

"Only on your death bed, Logan."

"Now, that's necrophilia and I'd rather not have our first time when we're wrinkly and old."

"That's only if I don't smother you in your sleep."

"You'd be sleeping with me before you kill me then?"

"Oh, shut up" Rory said with a roll of her eyes as he laughed. "Shouldn't we pick together?"

"Pick what?" He asked as he calmed down.

"The place for the honeymoon."

Logan shrugged. "I have no idea. Would you rather we picked place together?"

"Wouldn't it be better that way? I mean that way we go to a place we both want to."

Logan gave another shrug.

"Okay, you've got to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Shrugging to answer. It's not helping me. Is a shrug a yes or a no?"

"It's a 'I don't care'."

"Logan!"

"Ace, I'm serious. Wherever you want to go I'll be fine with it."

Rory sighed in frustration as she parked near the inn. They got out of the car and Logan looked around.

"So this is it?"

"This is my mother's pride and joy."

"And I would have thought that was you." He said with a smirk.

"Her second pride and joy." Rory said motioning to the inn. "Come on." Logan followed her into the inn and towards the front desk.

"Hello Michel." Rory greeted. Michel looked up in surprise, then resumed his bored expression.

"What are you doing here?" He said in his thick French accent.

"I have a lunch reservation."

"Lunch reservations are for guests."

"Lane made me a reservation, Michel." Rory said. "See, I see my name right there." Rory said putting a finger on his reservation book. He slapped her hand.

"This is my reservation book. No one touches it but me."

"But..."

"No one."

"We're going to go sit down, okay?" Rory said. Michel just gave her a glare as she went into the dining room. Logan followed her.

"Is he always like that?"

"Yeah, it's fun to see him turn red." Rory laughed. Logan smirked as they sat at one of the tables.

"So are you going to at least look at your mother? Or are we just going to sit here?"

Rory shrugged and Logan just shook his head.

"Rory!" Rory and Logan turned and saw a plump lady waddling towards them.

"Sookie!" Rory said standing up and hugging the woman. "Oh my god, you're big!"

"I know! Isn't it exciting?" Sookie said patting her pregnant belly. "It's so great to see you. You haven't been to the Hollow in a long time."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Oh sweetie, no need to apologize. Now who are you?" Sookie asked turning her attention towards Logan. Rory smiled.

"This is Logan Huntzberger, my fiancé. I don't think you met him at the engagement party." Logan stood and shook the woman's hand and smiled warmly.

"No, I didn't get the chance. He's cute."

Rory laughed. "I guess."

"Hey now." Logan protested. "No need to hold back."

Sookie laughed. "Be sure to take him by Patty's."

"He's met Patty at the engagement party."

"Many times." Logan said rubbing his behind. Sookie laughed.

"I'll go make you guys something special." Sookie said with an excited voice already planning out the menu.

"Sookie?"

"Yeah?"

"Is my mom here?"

"No, she's having lunch at Luke's. She'll be here in a while though. Do you want to wait to eat with her?"

"No, it's fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Can we get some coffee though?"

"I'll get Derek to send some out. Oh... chicken with rice. Oh, oh, chicken dumpling..." Sookie kept going until she reached the kitchen. Rory smiled and sat back down.

"So that's Sookie?"

"That's Sookie. Her cooking's to die for." Rory said with a smile.

"Paris?"

"What about her?"

"No, not Paris the person, Paris the place. How 'bout there for the honeymoon?"

Rory shook her head. "Too clichéd"

"True."

"Greece?"

"I've been there too many times to count. It's getting boring." Logan said. "We can go for our first anniversary though. But we've got to leave the kids with the nanny."

"I'm not sleeping with you. And if by some chance I miraculously get pregnant after NOT sleeping with you, there's no way I'm leaving the kids with a nanny."

"I had nannies."

"Exactly."

Logan scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I just don't want nannies for the kids that will be conceived after me not sleeping with you."

"There's artificial insemination." Logan said just as Derek was placing the coffee on the table. Rory bit her lip and she watched Derek wobble the cups as he put them down, then walk away quickly. "Well, that was awkward."

Rory laughed and nodded in agreement. "And no. Look, Logan, I know that your parents and my grandparents probably expect an heir the minute we return from whatever blasted place they send us to for our honeymoon. But that's not going to happen. I don't want to end up resenting my child. Our child." She corrected after seeing his mouth open. "And I will if I get artificially inseminated. I'm not in the point of my life where I want a kid, let alone get married. So just stop with the sex thing."

Logan stared at her for a minute, then nodded. "Okay,"

"Thank you. And what about Italy?"

"Venice?"

"Sounds nice."

"I like it."

Rory nodded and took a sip of her coffee. They spent a few minutes talking about classes and what their plans for the weekend were when Lorelai walked in.

"Michel, I need these faxed to Hartford. The linen delivery is late, and by god, we need sheets." She laughed as she walked into the dining room. She fixed a table setting and went over to tables, chatted a bit, then made her way to theirs. She was about to say something when she stopped and looked at Rory.

"Rory?"

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Um… this is Logan." Lorelai looked over at the blonde.

"Yeah. I sort of remember you from that dinner from hell."

"Nice to meet you formally." Logan said shaking her hand.

"Yeah, same here. So what are you guys doing here?"

"Lunch. Sookie's in the kitchen busy with it."

"She missed you, kid. She's probably going crazy in there."

Rory laughed "Probably, but I'm not complaining."

"Anything Sookie makes is a miracle to taste."

"Wanna sit?" Rory asked. Lorelai bit her lip and nodded.

"Sure, I have few minutes to spare." Lorelai said sitting down at the table. They were silent for a few minutes, Rory playing with her napkin, Lorelai looking straight ahead out the window and Logan looking between the two.

"So how's school?" Lorelai asked.

"Good…Classes are hard."

"Damn that Yale."

"Yeah." Rory said. She looked up at Logan and glared at him. He was supposed to be the buffer. The person to eliminate the uncomfortable silences, not just to sit there. He shrugged and smirked.

"So what were you two talking about before I came?" Lorelai asked.

'Our honeymoon." Logan answered. Rory's eyes widened.

"Oh…" Lorelai said in surprise.

"We couldn't decide where to go." Logan said. "And my parents are paying for it. So we were trying to decide what was going to cost them more."

"It's not the trip that costs money. It's the hotels." Rory said.

"So you're going to go to the most expensive hotels just to get back at the parents and grandparents?" Lorelai asked.

"Not much else we can do." Logan said

"I like the way you two work. I'd add restaurants too. The ones where a hamburger costs like two hundred dollars."

Rory laughed. "Mom is the master of revenge."

"Oh Rory, revenge is such a strong word. I like the word retribution so much more."

Rory laughed. Just then her cell phone started to ring. Rory got it out of her pocket, looked at the caller ID and frowned.

"Who is it, Ror?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know. It says unknown." She answered her phone and put it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Oh Rory, I finally got a hold of you!"

"I'm sorry, but who is this?"

"Shira… Huntzberger. Logan's mom."

"Oh! Um… just a minute please." She put her hand over the mouth piece. "It's your mom." Logan frowned.

"How did my mom get your number?"

Rory shrugged. "I'll be right back." She got up from the table and went outside sitting down on the porch swing. "Sorry, Mrs. Huntzberger."

"Please, dear, call me Shira. Or mom." Rory held in a scoff.

"Sorry Shira. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I've been trying to get a hold of you for a few days now."

"I didn't get a message."

"I don't leave messages, sweetheart. Anyway, as you know the wedding is getting nearer and nearer."

"Yes, it is." Rory agreed bitterly.

"And we have yet to get together to go over plans."

"Plans?"

"Color schemes, china patterns, dress fittings."

"I have a dress."

"I heard your mother never married."

What?"

"Well, I didn't know your mother had a dress to pass down."

"Oh, it's not a passed down dress. It's just I saw one I liked and got it."

"Did you at least shop around first?"

"No."

"Well, then how do you know it's the right one?"

"I just know."

"Well, no matter, we can find you another one."

"But I want to use this one." Rory said.

"Sweetie, you have to try many dresses before settling down on just one."

"Trust me on this, I'm using this one."

"Well, Emily and I will have to take a look at it."

"That's no problem." Rory said through gritted teeth.

"Also, you have to choose bridesmaid dresses, food and reception details."

"Well…"

"Now, I have already talked to Emily about this and we think that tomorrow is the best day to get together."

"Oh, well, I was actually..."

"Great. Can you try to convince Logan to come too?"

"I'm sort of busy at the moment." Rory said with a smirk. If she talked to Logan, there was no way in hell he would go. But if Shira talked to him there was no getting out. "I'm not even in New Haven today and I might not even make it back to New Haven." Total lie. "If you could call him, I would be forever grateful."

"Oh, of course. I haven't talked to him in ages anyways. I'll get right to that. I'll see you tomorrow around two." With that Shira hung up and Rory smiled. She stood up and made her way inside. Just as she closed the door she heard a slight noise of a phone ring. She stood against the opening to the dining room as Logan had the conversation that would get him shanghaied into choosing china patterns. She sat down across from him at the table and smiled to her mother who raised an eyebrow in her direction and Logan had a look of pure confusion.

"No, I know this is important, mom. Well, why can't she… She didn't tell me anything… What did Rory say?" He looked up at her and glared while she smiled at him. "I sort of had plans with Finn and Col… I know that I need to get fitted… Yes, Colin and Finn too… Okay… But I… See you at two." Logan hung up the phone and glared at Rory. "I hate you."

"Love you too, sweetheart." Rory said with a smug smirk, then turned to Lorelai. "So how's everything in the Hollow?"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

A.N.: No, she really doesn't love him. I'm saying that right now cause I know at least three of you will say "OMG, She Loves Him (or something along those lines)… No, that's not it… Also, she doesn't hate Logan and that's not the reason she told Shira to call him. I mean come on! If you were Rory, would you want to deal with Emily and Shira talking about wedding patterns all by yourself? No, I didn't think so.

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Kassandra