Part 33: Surprise!!!

Rory awoke with a start. She looked at her clock and sighed. Eleven. She had four hours before she and Logan had to go look at the house. Ten hours till Stephanie and Paris dragged her to the pub, for a night out with the girls. So they said. She just shook her head and got out of bed.

She had told Logan about the house and he had been.... well, livid was the first word that came to mind. She had to say it was fun watching a ranting and pacing Logan. He waved his arms, every once in a while mumbled and flat out yelled some things. It had made her laugh. Then he accused her of mocking the situation to which she had readily agreed saying that if getting married meant seeing him do that more often, well, bring on the pastor. In which he had glared and took out his cell phone.

In that one call, he had talked to his father, a task that Rory assumed he didn't do often by will, and had convinced him to convince his mom to reschedule the house tour or get rid of it altogether. Well, the convincing had worked, only he had managed to get the showing moved on to Friday, the day of her birthday. The day that she had wanted all to herself, to sit in her room and sulk with the fact that she was going to be named the heiress on Saturday at the party her grandparents were throwing, and was going to be a wife in a week's time.

She sighed as she grabbed her towel and went to the bathroom to get ready. God, today was going to be hell.

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Logan pulled on his green turtleneck and kicked his closet door closed as he grabbed his leather jacket and keys and left his room. He saw Colin and Finn sitting on the couch playing with the Xbox.

"At least some of us are having fun." He muttered as he grabbed his cell from the kitchen counter.

"Hey, you guys get a house, while me and Finn will probably be living together for the next four years." Colin said.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Remember, we're not getting this house because we want it."

"You still get a free house, stop complaining." Finn said then turned to Colin. "And it's not that bad living with me."

"You keep thinking that, Finn." Colin said.

"I'll see you two later, I have to go pick up Rory."

"Have fun, try to see the lighter side of things; after you see the house you get the drink the night away."

"Right." Logan said. He went to the door when Finn stopped him.

"Just wondering, mate, what did you get Rory?"

Logan turned, "Why?"

"Well, we haven't seen you out and about as of late and you only said yes to going yesterday."

"Well, I got her something."

"What?" Colin asked.

"Um... It's... just trust me when I say I got her something."

"Okay." Finn said turning his attention back to the game. Logan took that as his cue to leave. He opened the door and walked out.

Today was the day that he and Rory would see the house that they would be spending the rest of their lives in, and it scared the shit out of him. Not only because the reality of the situation was finally, finally, sinking in, but because Emily and Shira had picked this house out and who knew what was running through their minds when they had picked it.

He reached her door and knocked only to be greeted by the ever friendly face of Paris Geller.

"Huntzberger."

"Geller," he said as he walked in.

"Rory, your fiancé's here." Paris yelled as she walked to her room.

"Shit." He heard her say behind her door. He smirked.

"Not the greeting I was expecting, Ace." He said as he walked towards her room.

"Sorry." She said as he spotted her at her mirror fixing her makeup. "You're just freakishly on time."

"I said I'd pick you up at two."

"I thought two meant two thirty in guy time."

"No, only in your language."

"Right." She said.

"By the way, happy birthday." He watched her smile at him through the mirror.

"Thanks."

"Big two one."

"Yep."

"You feel any different?"

"Um, no, not really." He could tell she was upset about something.

"You all right?"

"Just not ready to see this house." He could tell she was lying by the way she looked down at her makeup instead of him like she had been doing.

"Well, like Finn said, the minute this is done, we get to drink the night away."

"You just gave up the surprise, Huntzberger." She said with laugh as she grabbed her jacket and put it on. She was in jeans, with a red v-neck sweater and a denim jacket over, a blue scarf thrown around her neck and her brown hair down around her shoulders.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yep." She said grabbing her purse off the bed and following him out. "I'll be back later, Paris."

"Just be back by seven." They heard Paris say before they shut the door to the common room.

They walked out and Logan led her to his car. She was quiet, he noticed, biting her lip, checking her watch.

"Got a date?"

"Huh?" She asked confused looking at him.

"You keep looking at your watch," he said as they reached the car and he opened her side.

"Oh. No, just... never mind."

"Okay." She got in and he shut her door before walking over to his side and climbing into the black SUV. He started the car and backed out of the parking spot. "Do you have the address?"

"Yeah, let me just..." She rummaged through her purse grabbing a blue post-it and recited the address to him.

"So, any presents yet?" He asked trying to make conversation as they drove; she was really upset about something.

"No... Well... Paris, she took me out to breakfast."

"That's nice."

"Yeah, then I went back to my dorm and slept, then started getting ready for this. You?"

"Not my birthday." He said with a smirk.

"Oh no, I know that, just wondering what you did."

"Oh, um, nothing really, just sat around and watched TV. I didn't have any classes so I didn't have to wake up early today."

"It's always nice to have days like that."

"Yeah."

"Yeah." She repeated as she stared out the window. Logan sighed frustrated at the uncomfortable silence in the car. He knew that their incident a couple of days ago had been resolved. There had been no uncomfortable silence or strained conversations. In fact, she had been right out teasing him about it.

"Is everything okay?" He asked. She turned and tilted her head to the side a bit.

"Why?"

"You just seem quieter than usual, usually I'm not racking my brain for something to talk about with you."

"This is a Bop-It moment, isn't it?" She asked with a small laugh.

"A what?"

"Bop-It. Never mind." She said turning to look out the window again. He was about to say something when she cut in before he opened his mouth. "This can't be right."

"What?"

"That." She said pointing out the window. He parked as he looked at the house, the address on the gates and the address on the paper and sighed.

"It's definitely my mother." He muttered.

"It's Emily Gilmore." She said back. Logan parked on the curb and got out of the car and went around her side to open her door. She smiled getting out as he closed the door. They stood against the car staring up at the building.

"It's...." She started.

"Huge." He finished.

"Extravagant was the word I was going for."

He smirked. "Really, Ace, I mean that thing is extravagant, looks like some boarding school, not a home."

"The fountain's nice." She said.

He laughed. "Yeah, sure."

The house was a brown brick mansion, the grass dried from the weather covered the entire front and a cobblestone driveway led to the side of the house and a fountain that she had pointed off to the side. It was three stories from where he was standing, big and not at all homey. Something he was used to, but Rory was not.

"Can I help you?" They heard someone ask. They turned and saw a young woman wearing a pantsuit and blonde hair up in a bun, a stack of papers held tightly against her chest.

"I'm Logan Huntzberger, my fiancée Rory Gilmore. Are you the realtor?" He asked. He saw her give a breath of relief.

"Yes, I am. I'm April. Would you guys like to look inside?"

He watched Rory look at him and he shrugged. "You want to?"

"Do we really have a choice?"

"Not much of one, Ace." He saw her turn; send the realtor a smile and nod.

"We'd love to see the inside." She said. April nodded and smiled.

"Follow me then." They followed her up the walk and he turned to Rory.

"Now, I wouldn't say we'd love to see it."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm acting polite, Logan."

"Why are you acting?" He asked curious. He heard her sigh.

"Never mind."

"Seriously, are you all right?"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now."

"So something is wrong?"

"It's nothing serious, Logan, don't worry about it. It's just me overanalyzing something. My problem."

"We're getting married."

"No need to remind me." She said a bit bitterly.

"Your problems are my problems."

"Just let it go, Logan, it's not even a problem."

"Okay."

"Now, Emily and Shira have the copies of the keys." April said as they walked.

"Of course they do." Logan muttered. She led them to the front of the house, where the walkway was, the entire right side of the house was a makeshift carport. That, if you drove on, led you to the garage. The front had double doors that made the front doors. They were a wood frame with glass in the center of them, with fancy designs engraved on them.

"The code for the gate can be changed. For now it's 73689."

"Can you remember that?" Logan asked Rory.

"Already wrote it down." Rory said tucking in a small little notebook and pen back into her purse and smiled at him. April opened the door and they walked in.

The foyer was all an off white color, the walls all bare. To the right was a big living room with a fire place and a small bar built into the far right corner of the room. There was a marble staircase leading up the floors above in the far left corner of the room. There were also sliding glass doors at the opposite end of the room leading out to a patio area and the backyard.

"The dining room, study and kitchen are all on your right, while on your left are the living room and theater and of course, the stairs to the rooms above. You also see that the doors to the backyard are just right there, there is also an exit to it in the kitchen which also leads you straight to the garage." April explained.

"Wanna split up?" Logan asked looking over at Rory who was looking out the glass doors. "We'll probably get more ground covered that way."

"I'll take upstairs." She said heading towards the staircase. Logan nodded and watched her go up. He moved around the empty living room and sighed.

Too big was his thought, especially with it only being the two of them living here. He scoffed; his mother and her grandmother probably expected them to get right down to procreating. He shook his head.

"Would you like some time alone with the house?" He heard April ask.

"No, I think the house and I are adjusting just fine." He said sarcastically.

"Excuse me?" April asked.

"No, it's fine." He said as he walked towards the dining room. His mother and Emily would probably take it upon themselves to decorate the house while Rory and he were in Italy. He would have to make sure Finn, Colin and Steph got a say in the decorating process to make the house more him and Rory instead of what their families deemed appropriate.

He looked at the study, which had a fireplace and makeshift bar as well as enough book cases for all of his books including Rory's massive collection. It was also big enough for two desks. Rory could have one so that she could study in peace. He walked into the kitchen and sighed, marble, all marble, and white and big. He couldn't cook and knew Rory couldn't cook her way out of a paper bag, which was a fact that their families knew, which meant they were getting a staff. Nothing had been left unnoticed by the Huntzberger-Gilmore team.

He walked toward the staircase and started his way upstairs. There were two halls at the base of the steps, one on his right and the other to the left ahead. He turned and walked to the left. He noticed a staircase at the end of that hall and he assumed that led up to the attic.

He continued walking slowly, every once in a while poking his head into one of the rooms when he noticed one of the doors opened. He walked in and saw Rory sitting in the middle of the room looking out of the double doors that led to a terrace, her back to the door. He knocked lightly and she turned.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hey back." She turned back around and he went over her and sat next to her.

"Fifteen rooms." She said. "Sixteen baths and the attic which could make for a bedroom."

"Big."

"Huge."

"Not extravagant."

"It's empty." She said. "Lonely. Not really much of a home."

"Not yet anyway. It's not furnished."

"I know, but it just seems like it won't matter how much we put in, it's still going to be lonely and empty. You're graduating this year, Logan, starting to work for your dad."

"Please, don't make me gag." He said. She smiled.

"And you'll travel a lot leaving me in the house all alone. I don't like the idea of that."

"Look, I've talked to my father. He said I won't travel much, especially not the first year I start working with him. According to him I have to get the hang of things before I actually get to the big time. I'm starting on a paper in Stamford. The Stamford Eagle-Gazette. It's an hour drive."

"Then after you 'get the hang of things'…"

"What's got you thinking about this, Ace?" He asked curious as to why she voiced the concerns now.

"I don't know, just something I've been thinking about since we walked in."

Logan nodded and stood up he walked over to the doors and looked out. It was the perfect view. It overlooked all of the ground in the back including a small lake with its bridge in the middle.

"When it snows, the whole grounds will be covered in snow." He heard her say. "And the lake will freeze over and probably be strong enough to make a makeshift skating rink. I think that view makes living in this house all worth it."

"Come on." He said walking over to her and giving her his hand.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Let's go see the back."

She smiled and grabbed his hand, letting him help her up. They walked out of the room she closed the door and followed him down the hall and down the stairs toward the double doors in the living room. April was in the living room talking on her cell phone to some client. They ignored her and walked out.

They stood on the porch and took in their surroundings. The porch was made of mahogany wood and had a small barbecue built-in. The rest of the backyard was all grass with a stone walkway in the center, and two sets of steps every five feet going down, to the very end of the property where the lake and bridge were. They walked over to it and stood in the center of the bridge looking at their reflections in the clear water.

They stayed silent, Rory staring at her reflection as Logan looked around.

"She didn't call." He heard her whisper. He turned to her and frowned.

"What?"

"My mom and I have this stupid little tradition on my birthday. Every year, at the exact time of my birth she'll wake me up, no matter where I am, and tell me the story of how I was born. Even though I've heard the story since I was like four and know every word by heart, I still like to hear it you know?" She asked turning to him. "It doesn't matter if I'm at Yale or at home, or at a friend's house. It doesn't matter if she wakes me up or a million other people in the process. I always get woken up."

"And this time?"

"I woke up on my own and stared at my cell phone for an hour. She never called. It sort of threw me."

"It seems like a nice tradition."

"It is. I'm just afraid that she thinks I'm still so mad at her that she didn't want to risk our tentative relationship by calling this year."

"Are you not mad at her anymore?"

"No. There's always going to be that little piece of me that says she should have told me the minute she made this idiotic pact. But a bigger piece will always tell me that no matter what she's my best friend and she did it to protect me. I see where she was coming from now. It was a very stupid move on her part. But I see what she was doing."

"And what was she doing?"

"She wanted me to experience the pains of love before I got roped into this. She wanted me to live my life without me feeling bad about how what I did affected you, I guess. She knew that if she had told me during high school, I would have never started the relationship with Dean or Jess. I would have never put myself out there."

"You put yourself out there?" He asked with a smirk.

"In a way I guess. I don't know." She laughed and gave a shrug. "But I love her, I mean she's my mom, and I guess when she didn't call this morning, it hurt."

"Come on."

"Where now?"

"We'll see the rest of this god forsaken house and then I'll take you out for coffee and a late lunch, then I'll take you back to your dorm and let you get ready for your 'girls' night'."

She laughed and nodded "Sounds good."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Logan had left Rory at her dorm, caffeinated and fed. He was now walking back to his own dorm, a million thoughts running through his head. Mostly reassuring him that what he was about to do was the right thing. He took out his cell phone from his back pocket and dialed the number he had gotten from Paris.

He heard it ring before someone answered.

"Gilmore House of Pancakes."

"Mrs. Gilmore?"

"Wrong number." He heard her say. He frowned.

"Isn't this 456-3456?"

"Yes, it is."

"Lorelai?"

"Yes."

"Oh, this is Logan."

"Logan, a lesson in life. Never call me Mrs. Gilmore again if you want to live. Mrs. Gilmore is my mother."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Now to what do I owe this phone call?"

"Well, Rory and I went to go see the house today."

"Okay. Not seeing what this has to do with me."

"And the entire time she seemed very upset, not really talkative."

"Still not seeing the point here, Logan."

Logan sighed as he grabbed his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

"Well, after much prodding, she finally told me what was wrong."

"Logan, get to the point."

"She said that you didn't call this morning." He heard silence on the other end and he could tell Lorelai was thinking.

"I didn't think she'd want me to call this time around, oh wow."

"Logan, get in here!" he heard Finn yell. "I want you to taste this!"

"Just a second, Lorelai." Logan said pulling the phone away from his ear and covering the mouthpiece. "What is it, Finn?" He asked walking to the kitchenette and looking at the counter where various alcohol bottles were sitting. Finn handed him a brown looking drink and smiled.

"I'm looking for the perfect combination for Rory's drink."

"Later, Finn." Logan said as he took a whiff and furrowed his brow, "Less bourbon," then walked to his room and shut the door.

"Sorry, roommates."

"Was she really upset?"

"She said she was hurt. It was something she had been looking forward to. I think it was for her to hold on to some semblance of a routine. Something from when things were normal."

Lorelai sighed. "I just didn't think she wanted me to call."

"Well, see I had an idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, see Stephanie and Paris got together and rented out the campus pub for Rory's surprise party."

"She knows, doesn't' she?" He could hear the smile in Lorelai's voice.

"She figured it out days ago."

"I thought so."

"And, well, a lot of our friends are going to be there. Paris and Stephanie really planned a great party. Finn is mixing drinks so you can never go wrong there."

"Point, Logan?"

"Right, well, I was thinking maybe you and some of Rory's Stars Hollow friends would like to come? It's her 21st birthday and I think she'd like it if you celebrated with her before she gets named heiress tomorrow. Plus you can do that whole story thing."

"You know, Logan, I think I'm starting to like you."

"I'm very likeable."

"Well, I'm in, I was actually in the minute you said a guy named Finn was mixing drinks."

Logan laughed. "It's at the campus pub, do you know where or do you need the address?"

"No, I know where."

"Okay, the party starts at nine."

"I'll be there."

"Okay."

"Hey Logan."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for fixing this up and being there for Ror. You'll make a great husband."

"Sure." He said as she hung up. He closed his phone. He stared at it for a moment before sighing. It that really what he wanted? To be a great husband?

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Come on, Rory!" Paris said as she knocked on Rory's door one more time. Steph rolled her eyes.

"Come on!"

Rory came out in a dark blue pleated empire jersey top, slightly faded black skinny jeans, and black peep-toe slingbacks. Her makeup was all natural colors except for the blue eye shadow that brought out the blue of her eyes even more, and a clear lip gloss coating her lips, her hair was down in curls.

"I don't see what the rush is." Rory said while she smiled on the inside. "I mean it's just a girls' night."

"But it's your twenty first birthday girls' night. It's the night that you officially take your first drink." Steph said as she grabbed Rory's purse, handed it to her and pushed her out the door.

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Well, legally." Steph corrected as they made their way to the pub.

"For a girls night you're both dress exceptionally well." She pointed out.

Steph was dressed in a grey silk halter blouse that ended just above her thighs, instead of jeans she's opted for form fitting, leather looking leggings and faux snakeskin peep toe heels. While Paris was in a white low neck Grecian style top, dark wash straight legged jeans, and black patent leather rounded toe pumps.

"Well just because we're going to the pub doesn't mean we shouldn't dress for a night out." Steph said as an excuse.

Rory bit her lip and started to turn back to her room. "You know, I really don't feel like going out. I just sort of wanted to stay in the dorm and have a movie marathon with loads of junk food and all the crap."

"Gilmore, you're going out whether you like it or not!" Paris said as she pulled Rory towards the pub.

"I really don't see the big deal." Rory said with a shrug. "I mean, now that I'm 21 I can drink any time I want doesn't necessarily mean I have to get drunk tonight."

"Gilmore, shut up."

Rory smiled, she loved getting Paris irritated. They stopped her a few blocks from the pub.

"What's up?" Rory asked.

"We have to blindfold you." Steph said.

"You're kidding me?" Rory said. She knew there was a surprise party, but the blindfold was a crazy idea.

"Oh come on, Gilmore, you're used to it by now." Steph said taking it out of her purse and tying it around Rory's eyes.

"I hate you." Rory said.

"Love you too, Gilmore." They guided her the few blocks to the pub and then stopped her.

"You ready for this?" Steph asked. Rory rolled her eyes, but played along.

"Ready for what?" They took off the blindfold and everybody jumped out from behind the doors to the pub.

"SURPRISE!" They all yelled throwing confetti and popping poppers. Rory gasped in mock surprise.

"A surprise party for me?" She asked.

Paris rolled her eyes. "Okay, who told her?"

"No one told me, Pairs." Rory said with a smile. "But I love it. Thank you." She said giving Paris a hug.

"Yeah, yeah, happy birthday, go get drunk."

Rory smiled as she hugged Steph and they walked into the pub.

"Happy birthday, love." Finn said giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Finn." She said kissing his cheek as well.

"Happy birthday, Rory." She turned and saw Colin.

"Thanks, Colin." Everyone told her happy birthday, giving her hugs and kisses. People she had met from the LDB and friends from Yale that she had gotten to know.

"You know, I think you're missing something." Steph said to Rory as they went to the bar where Finn was standing mixing drinks.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

"This." Steph placed a plastic crown with the numbers 21 on her head making Rory laugh.

"How do I look?" Rory asked.

"Perfect." She turned to the sound of the voice and saw Logan standing behind her.

"Happy birthday, Ace."

"Thanks, Logan."

"It just so happens that this party isn't the only surprise."

"Really? What's the other?" She asked with a smile.

"Hey, babe." Rory turned and saw her mother along with Luke and Lane standing there.

"Mom?"

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AN: There you go. I made it extra long cause I just could not get that part out of my head. Hope you all enjoyed!

Thank you all for all the kind words! I really love reading all the reviews!! So thank you all for giving them to me, it made me want to write this faster!

Next part on Sunday!

Kassandra