AN: Just love your comments! You are really thinking along with this one. One of you has so far been very close to what I have planned (not 100% but close), and so I am encouraging those who do not want spoilers not to read the reviews too much.

I'm not intentionally trying to make this story too complicated when it comes to their circumstances, they've had enough of that so I can say already now that no surprise pregnancy is in the works for Rory when it comes to her low caffeine intake. All these little things are just to show how much they and their lives have changed.

Legal aspects in the US law system are a mystery to me, lol, but I guess even if they didn't undo the agreements - who would really be the plaintiff in that case? But I guess in theory he could just adopt Emma to get his rights back. If anyone knows whether there is some other way to get the name onto the birth certificate later, I would be grateful if you let me know (I love spending my time on details for my stories - walking around google maps, looking up exact items of clothing by 'window shopping', finding fitting soundtracks and browsing through real-estate listings etc, but reading up on the legal aspects isn't one of them).

And about this chapter: it's not very long, but I think it's emotion filled enough on its own. We'll move forward soon enough. Weekends are good like that :) Hope you enjoy yours. Please keep your reviews coming! They make me smile!

Chapter 6

"Well I wasn't going to cut off all the ties I have to London before I knew you were even going to see me, was I?" Logan replied.

Rory paused for a moment, suddenly feeling a bang of guilt.

"I'm sorry… of course you weren't. This situation with us… it's so weird. I keep trying to think how all the things I've seen, read, or even heard from Luke would apply to us, but nothing applies to us," Rory replied, shrugging her shoulders helplessly.

Logan nodded.

"You didn't give her up because you wanted to, obviously… You did what we decided after careful consideration to be for the best. So I can't throw something like that at you. I can't blame you for your absence, I can't - I know that. But she is my baby, and I can stand the thought of her hurt," Rory replied, suddenly realizing how her automatic line of thinking to interrogate him like that had indeed been wrong.

"I don't want her to get hurt either," Logan replied, humbly. "And thank you," he replied, the fact that she'd admitted that meant more to him than he'd thought.

"So, I do think we should consider this just as carefully - the two of us," Rory said, truly believing like the two of them were able to make some pretty well thought-through decisions based on past experiences. The thought of the two of them as co-parents was still very foreign to her.

"I agree," Logan replied, feeling a sense of relief. He'd already done a lot of thinking about this, but he'd always done it with caution, not wanting to get his hopes up.

"So we have the positives - she deserves to know you, I do think that," Rory said.

"She could also get to know Honor's kids and Honor herself. I've felt horrible hiding this from her…," Logan admitted, regretfully.

Rory let out a weak but bitter chuckle.

"What?" Logan asked.

"My mom doesn't even know," Rory replied, her look regretful and very sad at that.

Logan had always sort of assumed Lorelai knew something or at least assumed it had been him, even they hadn't spoken about it. Who else did Rory have in her life back then who came with that kind of a veil of secrecy? Logan realized how significant the fact was, however, knowing well how close the mother-daughter team had been.

But there was a lot he didn't know.

"We're not talking, you know..," Rory confessed. The wound was not fresh, hence she was quite composed, saying that. "It wasn't just this but also the book I wrote, and some other things too... Basically she didn't approve of my choices…," Rory felt she needed to share. It was always so easy to open up to Logan.

"I'm sorry," Logan replied, knowing that this would be very much equivalent to the loss he'd been through. "But, hey, maybe now that you can tell her - maybe things could improve?" he suggested, hopefully being quite clueless in how bad things had gotten.

"I doubt it, but… maybe," Rory said, tucking her hands between her thighs as if searching for warmth.

Logan took a sip of his tea, observing her. It was difficult to imagine what had happened. Honestly, he didn't even know there was a book out there - he hadn't heard of it at least and that made him wonder why.

"Okay, so we have two positives. You two should know each other, and that certainly counts as more than one positive I think. Being able to tell people - number three," Rory listed, needing the change in topics. "What about your dad?" she asked.

"I don't think he really cares about what I do or don't do," Logan replied. Mitchum's health wasn't great either, but as far as Logan knew Mitchum was never the one who had anything against Rory. Some small part of him still wanted to introduce his daughter to him, and do it with pride, even if he realized there was a long road to that.

"Right..," Rory said, seeing how the mess Logan's life had been five years ago had truly cleared up. He had no security detail, he was unmarried - widowed, he was on the right side of the ocean, she hadn't heard of any big scandals, even if the only time she really read gossip magazines was while she got her hair done these days.

"Does she ever ask after me?" Logan asked.

"She did once, like a year ago. Someone in her preschool lost a parent and she asked whether you were dead too," Rory recalled.

That definitely stung for Logan.

"I was a little shocked by her question at the time. It sounded so serious coming from someone as innocent looking as she is… so I just said you were not dead. I told her that you loved her but couldn't be with us. But I am not really sure she got that concept or how much she was really paying attention as half a minute later she was already deep in her Lego play," Rory explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"So, she would get confirmation that I exist, another pro, I guess?" Logan suggested, daring to show a small smile.

"True," Rory replied.

"And I get that you're worried about me coming in and out of the picture. But I really don't want that to happen," Logan explained.

"Yeah, but what if things get out of hand again. What if you're needed back at the company and you'll be back to dealing with those crazy hours of yours," Rory expressed her concern.

"Isn't that just something normal people deal with? But the difference is I have actually now the power over my own time. It's not my father's..," Logan explained.

"So if we do this, you'd actually be ready to make promises to be around, regularly?" Rory needed his assurance.

"Yes," Logan promised. "The press has not had interest in me since Odette announced she was sick… and on this side of the ocean there's nothing... I doubt people even recognize me anymore," he added.

"Okay..," Rory exhaled, relaxing as she was quickly running out of cons. And the truth was - she really did believe Logan had the right to know his daughter, their former agreement be damned.

"And it's not like we need to start with the big news even, I could just start spending time with her as someone more neutral...," Logan suggested, getting a little ahead of himself.

"Wouldn't that be like lying?" Rory asked.

"Well your dad already referred to me as an old friend, and it is technically true too," Logan replied, shrugging.

"Not ideal.. I like to be honest with her," Rory said, it becoming clear to Logan that at least the ground principles of Rory's and her mother's relationship had carried on to this one.

"Is there anyone else in the picture?" Logan felt he needed to ask after a brief moment of thought. "I mean… she's not adopted by someone else is she?" he specified, wanting to exclude this concern from his own list of worries.

Rory had just taken a sip and nearly swallowed it down the wrong way as a result.

"Um… no, she's mine and mine alone," Rory replied. "... and yours," she added, quietly as if needing to practice saying it.

Rory could just see how Logan had needed to hear it. She could swear he was actually pretty close to tears, so she reached out for his hand, ring or no ring - it didn't matter, and squeezed his fist with her both hands, assuringly.

There had been a decision in her earlier words already.

"But we're going to have to do this slowly…," Rory began. "...talk about expectations and boundaries, figure out what to tell her… about where you've been… it'll take teamwork, there might be set-backs and it'll take patience," she continued, while witnessing something she'd never seen Logan do. A teardrop fell from his eye, which he quickly brushed away, obviously feeling embarrassed by it, but Rory could tell how significant this was for him.

Rory couldn't just watch him, so she stood and stepped close and he met her in a hug, much more intimate than the former one they'd shared.

"Thank you, Rory," Logan said, his voice trembling a little, still holding her.

"She was always yours..," Rory hummed, and she wasn't just saying that.

Em had always felt like she was Logan's too, not just hers, even if she'd referred to her as hers. Every time she looked at Em she couldn't help but to think of him. There had been times when she'd hated how much she reminded her of him even, but by now she'd accepted it. Even if her appearance didn't show much of him, the way she was - her braveness, her love for sports and the way she smiled… the list went on. They were all these small properties that were from Logan.

If they had this chance now - she needed to take it or she'd never forgive herself if she denied the girl to know her father. It was her turn to be selfless.