Part 29: To Get To Know You

The rest of lunch had gone pleasantly. Lorelai and Rory talked. Hesitantly, but they talked. The trust still wasn't there on Rory's part. It could never be the way it had been a month ago, but the bridge was rebuilding. Slowly, but Rory was willing to give it a try. She missed her mom.

"So what are you guys going to do?" Lorelai asked as Rory and Logan finished their meal.

"I think I'm going to show Logan around. Then we'll probably head back to Yale."

"Be sure to stop by Luke's. He missed you, kid. I swear I heard him sniff when someone mentioned your name."

Rory laughed. "I doubt that, but we'll stop by."

"So, I heard about Dean."

"Oh… really?"

"Yeah, he was pissed yesterday because of the paper. I'm guessing you hadn't told him?"

"No, I told him last night. I didn't even know about the papers. But Logan and his friends helped me."

"Our friends, Ace. I'm starting to think they like you more than me now."

Rory blushed. "We had a movie night."

"Did you wallow properly?"

"The only way Gilmores can." Rory said.

"Good. Well, I've got to get to work. I can already feel Michel's evil glare at the back of my head. Come by before you go."

"We will."

"Logan, it was really nice to meet you. Formally."

"Same here, Lorelai," Logan said standing up as both women did. Rory started to pay for the meal when Lorelai put her hand on Rory's.

"My treat. Plus, first-time customers don't pay."

"But I'm not…"

"But Logan is." Lorelai said with a sly smile. Rory smiled back. "I'll see you two later," Lorelai said, "have fun." She turned and went to the kitchen with Sookie.

"Your mom is a very cool woman."

"You don't know the half of it. Come on." Rory said grabbing his hand and leading him out of the inn.

"That was a really evil thing you did earlier." Logan stated as they started walking around Stars Hollow.

"No way am I doing all this wedding crap alone." Rory stated.

"So you drag me into it?"

"It's your wedding too."

"Why not Paris? Or Finn? Finn would love to do this kind of stuff."

"Finn is still asleep at two o'clock and Paris is busy with Doyle."

"Steph, what about her?"

"Steph doesn't want to do this even more than I do. She's in it for the dress. And don't even think about saying Colin."

"Wasn't going to." Logan muttered.

"It won't be that bad, Logan, we can probably get by with just saying a quick yes or no to everything."

"Right."

"If anything, my opinion is going to be the most asked."

"Why?"

"Cause you're a guy." She teased.

"You're getting great enjoyment out of this, aren't you?"

"You have no idea how high my enjoyment level is." Rory said

"So this is your town?"

"Very smooth." She said at his change of subject. Logan just smirked. "This is where I grew up." She said leading him down her neighborhood.

"It's small."

"I like it that way." He felt her stop and turned to see them standing in front of a yellow two-story house with a wrap around the porch.

"Is this…"

"This is my home." Rory said. "Come on." She said pulling him forward. She walked up the porch and opened the door that was unlocked as always.

"Lot of trust in this town to keep the doors unlocked."

"Low crime rate too." Rory said. "The closest we ever came to a murder was the fake one Jess staged when he made a chalk outline of a body in front of Doose's. It was the talk of the town for weeks."

"That is very sad and very odd."

"It's my life." Rory said. "This is the living room, upstairs is my mom's room. Kitchen," Rory said, "and my room." She pushed the door open and walked in, Logan followed. He looked around and smiled. He could see Rory growing up in this room. The shelves filled with books, the walls with their posters of foreign places and the Yale memorabilia in one corner. Her bed was tidily made with her throw pillows and stuffed bear in the middle arranged neatly. He walked over to the closet and smirked as he opened it.

"A school girl's uniform, Rory? Do you harbor kinky fantasies?" He asked pulling out the pleated skirt and blue Chilton blazer.

"Don't get any ideas, Huntzberger." Rory said grabbing it out of his hands and putting it back. "I had to wear it for school. You know, Chilton."

"You sure you won't even play around with the idea of wearing it for our wedding night?"

"Shut up, Logan," Rory said as she closed the closet. "And get your mind out of the gutter." He smirked.

"It's a nice room."

"Thanks."

"But why are you showing it to me?"

"It's the other side of me, Logan." She said stepping out of the room and opening the fridge surprised to find it full. She grabbed two water bottles and handed one to Logan before closing the door. "Let's go, lots to see."

"You're excited about this, aren't you?" He asked as they walked down the street once again.

"I guess I am," Rory said.

"Well then, no reason for me to burst your bubble. Go ahead, show me around."

Rory smiled. "Really?"

"Really, Ace."

"Okay then." She took him to the town square and then went to the gazebo. "This is the center of town." Rory said. "You can see everything from here. Al's Pancake World that does not, in fact, serve pancakes."

"Of course they don't"

"Though he does a wonderful rendition of "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood with his maracas on TexMex night." Rory said with a smile, Logan looked at her and had to laugh.

"You're serious."

"I'm dead serious," Rory laughed. "Some nights, if Kirk is there, mom and I can convince Kirk to do vocals. Now, that right there is better than Finn's reenactment of the Passion of the Christ."

"Nothing is better than Finn's Passion."

"No, this is better than Finn's Passion. Trust me."

"I trust you, Ace," She pointed to another section.

"Miss Patty's dance studio. She teaches dance, baton, cheerleading, yoga, Pilates and anything else that can be taught in a dance studio she can teach. Luke's is the local diner, best coffee this side of Connecticut if not the world."

"I bet I can get you better."

"That is a risky bet, Mr. Huntzberger. I was raised on Luke's. Yale coffee doesn't even compare."

"We'll see about that." Rory smiled at him and continued to point out various landmarks of her childhood. She took him to Doose's and told him that was where she had had her first kiss, the Independence Inn where she had lived the first five years of her life, Stars Hollow High where she had spent a year and a half at before going to Chilton, and the bridge that had been her and Jess's spot where they had agreed to be together.

"And that's Stars Hollow."

"In a nutshell."

Rory laughed. "In a nutshell."

"It's a great place, Ace."

"It is. I think I take it for granted."

"Nothing wrong with that."

"Nope, nothing wrong with that," she smiled at him. "Maybe you'll show me where you grew up?" She watched the smile fade from his face.

"It's nothing like this, Ace, and it's nothing like your grandparents' house. And I really didn't spend all my years there; I was in Andover for half of my life."

"Andover, isn't that a…"

"Boarding school for boys. That's where I met Colin and Finn."

"What about Steph?"

"She was in the girls' school a few miles away." Logan said as they began walking to the car, neither noticing that their hands joined and neither making the move to change it. "My childhood wasn't all rainbows and sunshine like yours was, Rory."

"It couldn't have been that bad, Logan,"

"Rory, the relationship that my parents have when you're around or when we're at a party is a mask." Rory turned to look at him. "It's all just part of the Hartford mask."

"Logan…"

"But if you want to see the house where I would've liked to have grown up and the man that is deathly against this unholy union, I'll take you."

Rory looked over at him in confusion. "Who's the man against us getting married?"

"My grandfather."

Rory's brows knit further. "I remember you saying something about him after the engagement party. Didn't you say he lived in…"

"Rome." Logan said. "How do you feel about skipping a few days of school?"

Rory laughed. "I think that we've skipped enough, what with the LDB and the impromptu visit to New York a few weeks back. But…"

"What?"

Rory shrugged. "We're going to Italy for our honeymoon, I don't see why we can't go and visit your grandfather for a few days." Rory said looking at him. "I mean, if you want. He is your grandfather."

"I'd like that, Ace, I know he'd like to meet you."

"I'd say the feeling mutual."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

A.N.: I know, I know, sucky chapter. Nothing happened. It's way too short, blah, blah. blah. But I just didn't really want to write this chapter, lol. It's just a filler. Next chappy will be fun for me to write. What with Shira and Emily invading, LOL? Sorry again for the lameness of the chapter. Trust me, ALL of you will enjoy the next chappy.

That's all I'm going to say.

Kassandra

PS. Flynn thanks for the comment...it made me feel loads better about the chappy.