8. A Starry Not Hollow Reunion

Logan contemplated Rory from outside the diner, appreciating the blue of her sweater which he knew set off her brilliant eyes. He couldn't wait to look into her eyes. She was hunched over the counter, her left hand supporting her head, her right stirring her coffee. She's been stirring for the last 7 minutes, not pausing since receiving his message. He could hazard a guess about what was going on in her mind, what was keeping her preoccupied enough to leave her coffee out cold.

His gaze turned to Luke, who was balancing two plates and staring at him from inside the diner. He glanced at Rory and opened his mouth as if to speak, but Logan waved a hand, shook his head don't. Luke obediently shut his mouth.

He looked up at the sky, noted the clear weather. He hoped that Finn was taking care of matters at his end. With that thought, Logan entered Luke's, a historic place in his girlfriend's life but a first for him, ironically. He made his way slowly to Rory, oblivious to the surreptitious looks of the customers who were quick to notice that a stranger had entered their midst.

"Coffee for me, Luke, and a honey-glazed doughnut for this lady here," Logan calmly told Luke, moving onto the stool beside Rory. "She looks like she's in dire need of a sugar boost."

Rory moved her head a fraction as if to shake off a dream where Logan was saying, "Hi, Ace." Spinning around on her stool, her blue eyes widened and her mouth unabashedly hung open in disbelief at seeing the leather-clad blonde grinning beside her, in the flesh. Did she conjure him up, magically, with her thoughts?

"Now I really wish I was the one with a camera to capture that picture-perfect face," Logan chuckled. "That would be a real keeper."

With a whoosh, Rory let out the breath she had been shallowly holding all day (no wonder her chest hurt) as she flung herself at Logan, causing him to fall back against Kirk as he readily caught Rory in his arms.

"Yeow!" Kirk complained. "Stop with the jostling. I have to keep very still while eating or the nutrients aren't properly absorbed by my body," he said loudly, chewing a forkful of pie.

Luke glared at Kirk, but for the life of him couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he watched Logan nearly lose his balance, and Rory holding on to him and helping him steady himself. They had on silly faces. Lorelai should see this, the thought came, unbidden.

"What are you doing here?" Rory demanded, kissing Logan once, hard, on the mouth. "What are you doing here? In Stars Hollow?"

"I swear you don't sound happy to see me, Ace," Logan replied, burrowing his nose in her hair and kissing her in turn, gently, before releasing her enough to take a look around.

"Well…I thought this was as good a time as any to visit my girlfriend's childhood home…you know, meet the folks, have coffee at Luke's, dinner at the Dragonfly, and a movie at…" he broke off as Rory rolled her eyes and clutched his leather jacket like she was about to strangle him.

"Oh, and I suppose you'll just hustle along back to London after this little detour?" Rory retorted. Her chest still hurt, but now with wonderment at what Logan here in the Hollow can mean.

"Ah. Well. About London…" Logan's face turned pensive. He was too full with words and explanations and hopes, that for a moment he couldn't speak. "You won't believe this, Rory, but…I went to see my dad."

"I went to see your dad," Rory blurted out.

They stared. "You did what?" they asked each other, simultaneously.

"Hey Toots!" Babette called out to Rory. "You've got quite a little vaudeville act goin' on and I'm about to pass the hat 'round here, 'cept that we don't know who your leading man is!" she cackled.

"And we're always on the look-out for blonde boys who might look good in tights," Miss Patty chimed in, making eyes at Logan. "Doesn't he remind you of a young Robert Redford?" she turned to the folks seated at the surrounding tables.

"Babette…Patty…" Luke growled. "Okay now, show's over for God's sake!" Luke's voice boomed. "Rory, Logan, why don't you go upstairs and talk over there? You really don't want to do this out here…"

Rory and Logan finally looked around them and realized that everyone in the late afternoon coffee crowd was staring at them with great interest.

"Oh. Right," Rory dropped her arms from around Logan, running her hands through her hair in embarrassment. "Right, oh hello everyone! Er, this is Logan Huntzberger, my…boyfriend…" she said in a small voice.

"Hi, Logan!" the crowd replied in sing-song, Miss Patty the loudest.

"Oh yeah, uh…Hey! My pleasure," Logan replied vaguely, a bit startled but still flashing his vintage smile. Rory sure wasn't kidding when she said the townspeople were "quaint".

Rory grabbed his hand and prodded him to the stairwell up to Luke's apartment. Luke looked after them as they disappeared, and heaved a sigh. Why did it seem so much easier for those two, he wondered. In those 5 minutes that they got together, it was patently obvious to the entire town how much they cared about each other. Logan did seem to love Rory, he admitted grudgingly. Luke began to vigorously rub the countertop with a rag, as his thoughts unwillingly descended once again to Lorelai's face the night before.

"Hey, your countertop is jiggling, and I can't have jiggling," Kirk said, interrupting his train of thought.

"Here's a piece of toast to make up for those lost nutrients," Luke muttered, plopping blackish toast on Kirk's half-eaten pie, before throwing the rag on the counter.

"I thought everyone was feeling the love here?" Kirk called out, as Luke left the diner, slamming the door behind him.