Chapter 190

November 9th, 2006

"Logan. Hey! How you doing, man?" Hugo said, as Logan and Rory approached him at Logan's launch party, seeing him standing all alone.

"Not to bad, this is my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore," Logan introduced her. These were the kind of connections he wanted her to be making. This was the way he wanted and believed she too wanted to be making connections. Sure, he was using his own name and association, but he hoped Rory wouldn't mind. Not with this guy.

"Hey Hugo Gray, nice to meet you," he said, shaking Rory's hand briefly.

"You to," Rory replied, friendlily.

"Hugo spent two years working at the New York Times, another couple at Slate, and then the Paris Review under George Plimpton," Logan explained, bringing out some pretty notable names for Rory, which definitely left her impressed.

"Wow! Did you just worship at his feet?" Rory commented. She dreamt of working in places like that and with people like that.

"I tried, but he kept telling me to get off the ground," Hugo joked, clicking with Rory instantly.

"Hugo's starting a new online magazine - lots of buzz," Logan filled Rory in.

"It could mean nothing," Hugo replied, modestly.

"Could mean something," Logan encouraged.

"See why I like this guy?" Hugo said, laughingly.

"You don't have to convince me," Rory replied, smilingly. God, she loved him, and his greatness was emphasized especially when he showed up out of the blue like he had the day before.

"Rory's the editor of the Yale Daily News," Logan said, taking pride in introducing her like that. Part of what he loved about her was that she was great at what she did, but it wasn't conditional to it. He would've been proud of her even without the fancy title, but he did believe she deserved it, even if her getting it had been kind of a 'being at the right spot at the right moment' kind of thing. She was great in action - when she had three papers to get done in just a couple of days, or when she'd gotten that YDN edition out when Paris had had her melt down. She was excellent at working from the road, and she was great in crisis mode too - like when he'd been at the hospital for weeks. How her mind worked - putting her studies first when they'd first met, wanting to read about his take on ethics, how he was more than content when left at her devices with a book at hand during his poker games, how she never tried to control his time or who he hung out with… How she loved him for him not his money - it was what had drawn him to her. Already then, with having been doing long distance with her for nearly six months, he was definitely thinking about how they could again be together more, what that would be like and what the next step would be.

"I was the editor. I just abdicated my throne - or, rather, my swivel chair," Rory admitted with a chuckle.

"That's impressive," Hugo commented, and Logan could already see a slight blush on Rory's cheeks. He loved how clueless she was about her greatness sometimes, but he wanted her to get used to hearing it.

"Your drink - sorry it got waylaid," Philip arrived, bringing Rory a drink.

"Need you help buddy, Dan Cryer's about one drink away from hitting on Jerrickson's wife," Philip said to Logan.

"That would be bad," Logan replied, causing a chuckle amongst the group. "Excuse me," he said, leaving Rory and Hugo talking amongs themselves.


June 2nd, 2022

"Are you sure, inviting her here was such a good idea?" Rory asked, hesitantly, as she soothed over the same floral wrap dress she'd worn to the Yale reunion party, standing in their foyer expecting the journalist to arrive any minute. Earlier this morning they'd had a maid over to help them tidy up the place a little, but they hadn't gone too over the top. There were no freshly cut flowers in vases on every flat surface, no hiding of Em's toys or signs of normal life like Emily Gilmore would've insisted to be proper.

"Annabel said this would be good, and I do want it to be different. It's not just an interview, it's a first step at showing the new face of HPG, more open, less uptight… we don't have anything to hide here. And it's not like she's going to wander around unsupervised," Logan explained, referring to the HPG's PR manager that had arranged this on behalf of them.

The plan was simple - bring the journalist through the house, giving her a little glimpse - an impression that they were just a boring middle-aged couple, and have the interview out there in the backyard.

Rory took a deep breath, clearly feeling a little nervous. She felt like pretending, at least a little. This was about showing how perfect they were, but they both knew they had their issues.

"We're good, Rory," Logan assured, reading her unsureness, holding her as he stroked her upper arms and pressed his forehead against hers.

"You're sure?" Rory asked, still feeling guilty about yesterday.

"I am. We will be," Logan replied. Yesterday had included some pretty dark thoughts on both sides, but forgiveness had come easily once they'd talked and explained each side. Concerns and insecurities were still there, but they both realized today wasn't the day to show the public their flaws. If there was anything they both saw perfectly eye-to-eye it was that they would keep trying. Trying, talking and accepting. Neither wanted to go back to being without the other.

Logan gave Rory a quick peck for good measure, and opened the door after the first bell-ring, his arm around her waist.

"Addisson, hi," Rory greeted her, clinging to the door. She was still not entirely comfortable in this role.

"Hi, Addison Murillo," she replied.

"Hello! Nice to meet you, Rory has told me a lot about you," Logan said, accepting her hand in greeting, and gestured to the woman, dressed in a simple pair of dark chinos and a short-sleeved button-up shirt, a large handbag over her arm, into their home.

"Likewise," Addison replied. "I'm so grateful you agreed, and invited me into your home," she added.

"Well, we figured there were only really two ways out of this - hide and hide some more or just let people get what they want," Logan explained with a shrug as if it was no big deal. This had been one of the earliest media lessons from his father when he'd been in his teens.

"And I guess we realized the latter was a lot easier," Rory replied, laughingly, not that this was really necessary to point out.

"How about we go sit out back," Logan invited the journalist along and led her through Rory's study to the back of the house.

They all took a seat on the outside dining table, nothing too grand - just a white eight-person table with a glass top, modern-looking, with six chairs around it for now. It looked out into the yard, lawn freshly mowed and beatiful white jasmine and hydrangea bushes in full bloom thanks to their gardener that came by once a week this time of year.

Addison asked for their permission to record the conversation, as expected, as they got settled.

"First of all I'd like to say congratulations. Both for your engagement and impending wedding, and as I can see you're expecting as well," Addison began, clearly wanting to start off on a good foot.

"Thank you," the two said in unison, causing a slight chuckle. Unlike the time when Logan had been interviewed with Odette, this time it was him holding Rory's hand, not the other way around.

"I'll admit, I did a little digging and I found this picture," Addison said, bringing out a printout of a picture of the two of them from 2006 from the party, with Bobby, Tripp Cavanaugh and the two of them. Clearly she was not aiming to keep things quite as light as they'd hoped. "And I wondered how Rory had failed to mention me he knew you all these years, but then I got a feeling that she probably really knew you. Am I right?" the journalist inquired, showing already a little bit more intelligence than average by not just going by the standard questions. The picture did show his hand around her, which was more intimate than just friendly. But truthfully, they were both a little surprised his proposal from those days hadn't resurfaced somehow that she was even asking this.

"Well that was hardly a secret, I think. We never hid it. It was just a while ago," Logan explained, lightly.

"You never asked," Rory chuckled and shrugged, sounding perhaps more nervous than she would've liked. Logan squeezed her hand a little, wanting her to just relax.

"So how long did you date before this? And when was this, if you don't mind me asking?" Addison inquired.

"In college - what? A couple of years?" Rory glanced over to Logan, not really being very used to counting the exact length of time. She desperately hoped she wouldn't ask about the proposal though. At least it seemed she didn't know about it, which was quite surprising.

"Something like that," Logan replied. "But eventually we just… we loved each other, but we wanted different things," Logan offered a quick explanation to force the journalist to move on.

"So she's the one that got away?" Addison suggested.

"Definitely," Logan said, kissing Rory's temple as it felt so natural at that moment, causing Rory to smile quite genuinely.

"So how did this happen? How did you meet again and realize this was what you wanted now?" Addison asked.

"We actually saw each-other at a conference many years ago," Rory said, going about this exactly as they planned. Not lying but just leaving the truth a little bit more vague. "And we became closer again but we weren't still quite in the same place, I guess," Rory explained.

"And then time passed and I married someone else. Rory had someone else in the picture - life went on as you could say," Logan continued. "But when I came to Hartford after my father passed, running into her again was the best thing to ever happen to me," Logan said, sounding incredibly genuine, almost making both of the women at that table melt.

"So how did you propose, Logan? I bet our readers are dying to know," Addison asked.

"Actually..," Logan began, but Rory took over.

"I actually proposed. Logan has always been the braver one of us to take such leaps, and I felt we were both thinking it, so I just went ahead and did it. We hadn't been together for very long at that point, but with all this history… it really didn't take a long time to realize that we still loved each other and wanted to spend our life together," Rory described.

Logan felt she was being too modest, recalling how Rory had been the first one to say 'I love you' to him.

"So how did you do it?" Addison turned the question around.

"Oh, it wasn't anything too planned, actually. I guess this just makes it less romantic, doesn't it?" Rory replied hesitantly.

"I'd say it was organic. We just had a fun night out in Boston and it was just what we both wanted, she just said it first," Logan added.

"And when is the wedding?" Addison asked.

"End of July," Rory said.

"Is it a big event or just close family and friends?" Addison continued.

"Well, while as tempting as close family and friends would be, with our families it's rather challenging to keep it small," Logan explained.

"Who will you be wearing?" Addison shot Rory a curve-ball that she hadn't really expected.

"Um… gosh, I feel like I should remember, sorry," she apologized, pulling the name up on her phone quickly. "Tony Ward," she read out, adding, "Apparently pregnancy brain is a real thing," with a chuckle.

Addison smiled at her response, forgivingly.

"Any hints on the venue?" Addison kept inquiring.

"We'd prefer not to reveal it, as we really would like to keep it as private as possible. We ask for people to respect our privacy on our special day," Logan said, firmly.

"That's alright, you wouldn't be the first," Addison added, soothingly. "And when are you due, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Fall," Rory replied, intentionally keeping it vague. That was the plan - no names, no sexes.

And Addison got the message from her vagueness, leaving the topic at that.

"And Rory, I hear you've had a bit of a change in careers, right? You used to be a journalist, but now…?" Addison inquired.

"Yes, I used to be a reporter, a writer… but for a few years now I've principally been a teacher at a private school here in Hartford," Rory revealed.

"Rory's just being modest - she's still a writer. Most people just don't get the pleasure of reading her anymore. But I for one am hoping that'll change once she has some more time for it again," Logan added, going a little off script.

Logan could sense Rory grumble at his words but he'd just felt he'd needed to say it.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that teachers are notoriously overworked and the world deserves to see her talent," Logan added, causing Rory to blush again. His words meant a lot to her, even it it was hard for her to hear them.

"Sound like you've got your biggest fan right here," Addison commented.

"That he is," Rory replied. "As am I his," Rory replied, not a doubt in her mind.

"Logan, what have you been up to? Last I've heard you left your position at the HPG about a year ago," Addison inquired.

"I did, I just needed a break from all of that," Logan confessed. "But I am in the process of returning to the family business in the coming months, but in a smaller capacity. My sister has been doing a remarkable job, much better than I ever did," Logan praised his sister.

"Logan's been very committed to becoming a father. He goes to prenatal classes with me, he's read all these books.. He probably knows more about the safety features of the car seats than I ever did with my other child," Rory explained, slipping a little, having relaxed significantly.

"So this is your second child?" Addison asked.

"That's right, but I do believe that's the extent the public needs to know," Rory replied. It helped significantly that she knew Addison and she knew how she did her job. In a way they were both doing their jobs, in a way she could even see how dealing with things like that could be seen as job.

"Alright," Addison replied, letting it go. "But I was thinking we could do a fun little - 'how well do you know your partner' section, would you mind?" she added, and pulled out a list of questions. "We can skip a few, but it's be good to get at least five of these," she added, shedding a little light on the type of interview she was writing. At least it didn't sound like it was going to be an expose type of thing.

"Well, okay," Logan agreed, glancing quickly towards Rory who didn't seem to be fighting it.

"Your partner's favorite dessert?" Addison began with the list.

"Tiramisu, for sure," Logan replied without a doubt.

"He's pretty healthy about his choices usually, fruit salad or something like that, but I do know he really loves lemon sorbet," Rory explained and Logan nodded along it being the truth.

"Name a place that your partner would love to visit, but hasn't," Addison read out. "Rory?" she encouraged them to take turns.

"That's a hard one… he's been to a lot of places," Rory pondered. "Oh! I know… Antarctica. Though he might have to go there without me, as I'm not too fond of the cold," Rory added laughingly.

"I do believe I owe her a trip to Asia. Back in college we used to talk about going together, but the timing never quite panned out," Logan explained, nearly forgetting altogether that they were talking to press. His interview with Odette had been so uptight, such a show - but this was nothing but genuine.

"What's your partner's least favorite task around the house? If of course you even do tasks around the house?" Addison asked, squeezing another question into that quiz question.

"We do quite a lot ourselves, actually, unless we're having a really busy week," Logan explained, despite knowing it was a subjective assesment. "Rory isn't much of a cook, I guess - she has her stand-by dishes which are good, but I've never really seen her enjoy cooking much," he said.

"Hey, thanks a lot," Rory punched him playfully. "But he's right," she added. "Logan… I guess he's not a big fan of snow-shoveling?" Rory said.

"I've never really lived in my own house before, it's always been apartments or townhouses, so it's not exactly been something I'm used to. But it's such a time-specific thing, you need to get a kid to school in the morning then you just need to get the driveway shoveled, don't you?" he explained, laughingly, showing already a fatherly side of him.

"Favorite TV-show?" Addison asked, moving on.

"'The Office' if we're talking all-time favorites, recently she's been pretty into 'This is Us'," Logan replied.

"Um… Logan likes classics more, I guess. Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, Dr. Who, I am not sure on just the one," Rory replied, glancing over and saw him nodding along, agreeing with her.

"What does she like most about you, Logan?" Addison asked.

"Well my charm, naturally," Logan chuckled, not replying completely seriously, causing a burst of laughter amongst the women.

"He does have plenty of that, I won't deny that," Rory replied, laughingly. "I think he likes that I am able to keep up with him intellectually, we've always loved a good, constructive, argument," Rory replied.

"Oh she can definitely keep up, no doubt about it," Logan agreed, appreciatively. "But I think one of the things that has always drawn me to her is that she's genuine - she doesn't pretend to be someone she's not, and she loved me for who I am, not about which car I drove, whether I limped around on a cane or not, where I worked or if I did at all, or how much money I have," Logan added.

"Aw, that's sweet," Rory commented, humbly, squeezing his hand back. And this really did mean a lot to her - him telling everyone how she wasn't after his money and somehow squeezing it in there so naturally that is sounded completely genuine.

"You two look adorable together," Addison commented. "Alright - last one - "If he could bring a famous person back to life, who would it be?"

"She did dream once that Madeleine Albright was her mother, so that's my best bet," Logan chuckled.

"I can't believe you remembered that. Well.. she'd definitely be on the top of the list," Rory replied. "Um…" Rory pondered. Part of her wanted to reply that maybe that person was his father, but she knew this was not the moment to bring that up. While he had had his issues with Mitchum, he was still his father and maybe making amends with him was on some deeper list of his. "Da Vinci? Einstein?" Rory guessed, not really knowing the answer. "I think it'd definitely be some scientist or artist as while I know he'd love to talk to some more famous political or business figures, he'd rather want the world to be advanced for the positive and not more confusing," she added.

"Okay, thank you for this. It's been fun listening to you guys. Would there be anything you'd like to add?" Addison began to sum things up.

"I think…," Logan began, Rory's hand still in his, "People should just trust their gut when it comes to love. Not let other people, various life situations or timing get in their way. We've just been incredibly lucky to get another chance," he added, giving Rory a quick peck.

"I couldn't put it better myself," Rory replied. Addison turned off the recorder on her phone, ending the conversation at that.


AN: went back and changed dates by a few days, as I must've read the wrong month in the calendar.