Rory Gilmore laid a hand across her stomach as she gazed out the window of the taxi. There wasn't any noticeable bump, at least not yet, but she had found herself unconsciously moving her arm into this position over the past few weeks. She was hoping her fellow reporters on the campaign trail hadn't taken notice. It was hard enough hiding her morning sickness from them. Her mother's tip about keeping saltines near her bed was a lifesaver, the sole reason she was able to make it downstairs from her motel room every morning. Rory sighed. They'd figure it out in the next month or so anyhow. Sooner or later her regular clothes would no longer fit.

"Here we are miss," the driver announced, all too soon. Rory paid and exited the taxi, breathing in the still summer air of California. The park they had agreed to meet in sprawled out in front of her, small paths leading off in different directions, quaint little lamp posts providing light in the dusk. And there on the bench, just as he said he would be, he sat waiting.

"Hey Ace."

"Logan, hi."

Rory hated how formal she sounded. Logan, as always, seemed perfectly at ease, the same sparkling eyes and crooked smile as he looked down at her.

"It's good to see you," she said stupidly, trying to fill the silence. Logan just nodded as if to say, you too.

"Here," he handed her a hot cup. "Best coffee in town. I hope you'll forgive me for getting decaf, but I imagine you've had five cups already and I wanted to play it safe."

Rory took the cup, secretly grateful that she wouldn't have to pretend to drink a perfectly good cup of caffeinated coffee. Oh how she missed caffeine!

"Thank you," she said, again at a loss for how to fill the silence. What do you say to the father of your unborn child when the last time you spoke, you were rejecting his proposal? How do you tell him you're carrying his baby? Logan again, seemed unfazed by the awkwardness of it all.

"Shall we?" He gestured into the park. Rory nodded and they set off. They walked for several minutes, Logan asking some polite questions about life on the campaign trail and Rory managing to unfreeze her brain enough to throw in some perfunctory questions about Logan's new business ventures. They soon came to a bridge that ran over a small stream of water. Logan motioned for them to sit down at a small round table overlooking the water. They sat there facing each other for several long moments, surrounded by the flowers and greenery, the gentle bubbling of the stream and muted conversations of passing people enveloping them, creating a bubble in which only the two of them existed. Well, technically three of them, thought Rory. Rory stared into water as Logan looked at her expectantly.

"So?" He finally seemed to be losing patience with her tight lips, a glimmer of the hurt she had inflicted on him weeks ago cracking through his eternally relaxed aura.

"Logan," Rory began. There's no easy way to say this, she realized. "I'm pregnant."

Logan let out a slow breath, his eyebrows raised. "Pregnant," he repeated. Then he looked at Rory with kind concern.

"That's kind of a big deal, isn't it? How are you feeling?"

"How do I feel? I'm…ok. Tired." She stared at him, not sure why she was the more flustered one in this conversation. " You seem a little less shocked than I pictured," she noted. "Actually, a lot less."

Logan leaned back in his chair and studied Rory. "Well," he began, "I'm not, really." In response to her astonished look, he continued. "Look, Rory, the last time I saw you you were rejecting my marriage proposal. I don't hear from you after that, until a suspicious 8 weeks later when you call me out of the blue to tell me that you're in the area and want to meet up. I was pretty sure you were neither interested in getting back together nor maintaining a casual friendship. Plus between campaign events and deadlines I know you probably don't even have any spare time unless it's something really important. That didn't leave much left for the imagination to try and figure out the reason for this little meeting."

Rory looked at him with slight awe. "You shouldn't give up on a career in investigative journalism just yet," she remarked.

Logan smiled, but looked serious. "I think I'll pass. And please," he said, pointing to her cup, "did you really buy that I thought eight o'clock was too late for you to have regular coffee? Now back to my first question. How are you?"

"I'm good," Rory said slowly. "I mean obviously, this was not part of my plan. But lately I've been getting used to life not workin out exactly the way I thought. It's… different. A little scary. But it's not a bad thing. I mean, look at my mom, what she did with her unexpected life, at a much younger and tougher age. Right now I'm just trying to focus on my job, get as much as experience as I can in before I have to stop."

"So you're happy?" Logan studied her. "You're going to go through with it?"

"Yes, of course," Rory answered, without skipping a beat. She had known from the moment the plus sign appeared that she would keep this baby, this life growing inside her. Whatever it took.

"And what about you? How do you feel about… all of this? I didn't come here to ask for anything. I just came to tell you. You don't owe me anything."

Logan sighed.

"Rory, I proposed to you two months ago. I want this, and I want it with you. I don't know how better to show that to you than with a ring." He fell silent, trying to formulate what he wanted to say next. "I just, I don't know what you want, and I don't want to pressure you. You said no to me. I can go and I can get the ring back, or you can pick another ring if you don't like that one. I can marry you and take care of you, and you wouldn't ever have to wonder if it was only because you're carrying my child, because I asked you to marry me before that was part of the picture. We can find the best nanny and daycares so that when you're ready, you can keep working on your career. We can do this together. But if that's not what you want, then I'll be there in whatever way you want me to be. I want to be part of this child's life. But I can't force my way into yours, even though I want to be there too."

Rory felt a burning sensation in her eyes. They glistened as she looked at Logan uncertainly.

"Still? You'd still want that? After everything that happened?" Logan looked down for a moment, taking another deep breath.

"I'm not going to pretend that I wasn't hurt or embarrassed when you said no. It's not so long ago and still feels fresh sometimes. But the way I feel about you Rory, that hasn't changed. I still love you and I still want to be with you. People in relationships can hurt each other sometimes, but if they really love each other they can work it out, they can forgive each other. And I really love you. If you want me, we can work it out. But it has to be what you want." Logan paused biting his lip. Then he spoke again. "I'm not going to sit here and beg you to come back to me, or try to convince you of all the reasons we should try again. I'm just opening the door. But you have to want to walk through. It needs to be your decision. That's the only was this can work."

Rory was silent. This wasn't at all the response she expected. Truthfully, she hadn't really given much thought about what to expect, it had been too much. Telling Logan was just something she knew she had to do. But now, looking at Logan sitting in front of her… she loved him too, she didn't need to ponder that. She just hadn't been ready for marriage, for settling down so soon after college. But now the equation was all different. She'd be settling down one way or another, trying to establish a stable life for her child. And if she could have the love of her life at the same time?

"So far from Stars Hollow?"

"We'll make sure there's a guest room for your mother. And we can go visit often."

"I didn't think you'd react like this."

"Well then I guess you don't know everything about me Ace."

Rory just smiled.

"You don't have to answer right now. You can take time to think it over."

"You know, I thought I would need time to think about something like this. But I was wrong about that too."

"Ace, is that a yes? Yes you'll marry me?"

Rory nodded, wiping away a lone tear that had escaped down her cheek.

"You jump I jump, Jack."

The next morning, Rory sat on the bed in her hotel room. It was close to the motel her employer had been renting out for her but much nicer. She glanced at the sleeping figure next to her. She'd be leaving California soon, onto the next stop along the campaign trail. There were still so many questions, so many loose ends to figure out. But for the first time in a while, Rory Gilmore felt safe and content. She picked up her cellphone and dialed, smiling as she admired the sparkling stone on her finger. She heard the phone being picked up.

"Mom? Are you sitting down? I have so much to tell you."