Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, settings, music, or movies mentioned.

AN: OMG FINALLY! I'm so, so sorry, I'm actually the worst person ever to keep you guys waiting so long. I'm taking three AP courses this year and they are kicking my ass! Anyway, here is the LOOOOOONNNNGGGGG awaited chapter 18, enjoy!

The week went by in a literal blur, for both of them. Between Rory avoiding her mom like the plague, talking to Logan every night like he was her therapist, one who even came to the conclusion her mother was the root of her problems, working on her news article like crazy, studying like crazy, and phone sex, she was relieved once Thursday rolled around and she could get her Logan fix. Logan's week had been just as hectic as he was studying like crazy because of Rory, working on articles because of Rory, talking to her on the phone every night, dealing with his dad's phone calls, putting up with Colin and Finn, and well, phone sex. There was a lot of that this week.

So, considering the last few days, life was looking pretty good as he parked his car at Chilton and got out, cupcakes and a sweatshirt in hand, to find his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Paris had called an impromptu newspaper meeting so Rory was stuck here for another hour. He was already on his way when she told him, and they decided he could just come and sit in on the meeting. He could mess with Paris and he would get to see Rory, win-win. Well, win-win-lose if you count Paris.

He made his way up the stairs and through the door leading to the main hall. Rory gave him the room number but having never been here long enough to get the lay of the land, it took him some time to find what he was looking for. Wandering the halls for about 5 minutes, he finally found room 2-707. Opening the door, he heard Paris stop mid-sentence, to confront the person who dared to interrupt her meeting.

Stepping in he was immediately bombarded by two girls he vaguely recognized from the last time he picked Rory up. "Hi Logan!"

"Um… hi," he said, not having any clue as to their names. Thankfully Paris was quick to put an end to the nonsense, yelling at him and scaring the girls back their seats as the giant table in the room. He saw Paris standing at the head while Rory sat to her immediate right.

"Hayden, take care of your boy toy," she said, rolling her eyes at the intrusion.

"Nice to see you too Paris," he smirked, walking further into the room. "Did you change your hair? Because I love it."

"I will cut off your dick pretty boy," Paris snapped before turning her attention back to the paper in front of her.

"Please don't," Rory snapped back. Logan reached the girls up front and set his things down on the table. Realizing there were no unoccupied chairs, he took Rory's hand and pulled her up, much to her displeasure until she knew what he was doing. Sitting down in her chair, he pulled her back to him and onto his lap.

"Oh no, no way. This is news room, not a strip club," Paris said.

"Well first of all, this is a classroom, not a news room. I know what a newsroom looks like and this isn't it. Second of all, Paris, I will sit how I want to sit and if you don't like it I will walk right out here and bring her with me. This meeting can go on without your features editor if you so wish," he said, leaning back in the seat with Rory.

"Suck a bag of lemons Huntzberger," she bit out.

"With pleasure Geller," he nodded. "So am I staying?"

"She is," Paris said, pointing to Rory with her folder.

"Great, then so am I," he said.

"You two could have your own sitcom," Rory mused. "So you have some things for me?"

"I do. Cupcakes, from New Haven's best bakery, as promised. And my grey Yale sweatshirt, also as promised," he said, handing her both.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, giving him a chaste kiss before sitting up and pulling on the sweatshirt. "It's freezing in here."

"What the lady wants, the lady gets," he said, wrapping his arm around her.

"Ok, Paris. Ignore him and let's get this over with," Rory said.

"Fine," she sighed. "Ok, we stopped at the Op Ed piece. Maddie, you cannot write about lip stick shades. No one cares except you and Louise. I'm not publishing that."

"What?" Maddie whined. "But it's great. And Summer cares too."

"And I really care," Louise chimed in.

"Isn't Summer the one that tried to hit on me last time?" Logan whispered to Rory.

"One in the same," she nodded, inspecting the box of cupcakes. "Did you get the cookie dough one?"

"I got, a chocolate, a red velvet, two cookie dough, a brownie, and a strawberry cheesecake," he said.

"Oh yummy," she said.

"So, which one is getting eaten off of me?" he asked quietly.

"Who said it would be just one?" she teased.

"Jesus, can this meeting go any faster?" he sighed.

"Take it up with the warden," she said, laying her head on him.

"Rory do you have any articles banked?" Paris asked.

"I do, but not suitable for Op Ed," she told her.

"Any topics Maddie could use to rewrite it? We can publish the features article alongside it as background and then Maddie can give the opinion I tell her to have," Paris suggested.

"What about that one you wrote on student protests," Logan said. "That would make a damn good Op Ed."

"The newspaper prince wants to chime in?" Paris asked.

"Hey, does that make me the newspaper princess?" Rory asked Paris.

"It absolutely does," Logan, kissing her temple. "Paris I would love to help, if you'll listen."

"Fine," she sighed. "Shoot."

"As I was saying," he started. "There were a lot of student protests going on at Yale over the colleges and dorms still being the namesakes of former slave owners, a lot of southern politicians and business men. It carried over to Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, a lot of Ivy League. I'm sure you heard about it. It seems obvious to just change the names. But you have to take into account that George Washington has a state, a monument, and the capital named after him. He owned slaves. A lot of founding fathers were slave owners, so shouldn't their names be removed too? It's, in a sense, a double standard."

"I like it. Its controversial, its hard hitting. I actually love it," Paris said. "And Rory already has a features piece ready?"

"She does," Rory answered.

"Perfect. Maddie get started, I want it on Monday," she said. "Alright, now that we've taken care of that, we should be done. Just meet with your editors before you leave to get everything in order." With that everyone stood up, Rory included, to gather into groups. She leaned against the table, right next to Logan and let the other features staffers find her, just like they always did. Louise, Sebastian, and Carson, came over to her and handed in their hard copies which she put in a file folder for Paris.

"Ok, remember to turn in your electronic copies some time before Monday if you haven't already, I think I only have Carson's. I also need to approve your article topics for the next issue so if you have those now, great. If not, get started and turn them in Monday. Any questions?"

"Isn't there some kind of policy on PDA?" Louise asked.

"Any questions that apply to the features department and not my relationship?" Rory asked.

"I think there is a policy," Sebastian agreed.

"Great, find it for me and we'll talk," Rory said, rolling her eyes.

"I just think it's unprofessional and inappropriate," Louise said.

"You have yet to see inappropriate, believe me," Logan smirked.

"She was sitting on your lap man, how much worse does it get," Sebastian pointed out.

"Well she could have been sitting on my face," he sighed.

"Logan," Rory laughed as a blush came over her features.

"Which is really what I'd like her to be doing right now, so if you have no real questions, she'll see you at Monday's meeting," Logan said.

"No questions here," Carson told her as he started walking away. "Have a good Halloween Ror."

"You too Carson," she said, setting her folder down. "Anything else from you two?"

"Ugh, fine," Louise rolled her eyes and walked back to Maddie who was waiting for her impatiently.

"Whatever," Sebastian muttered as he too left the couple alone.

"Well, Ms. Hayden, looks like you're all mine now," Logan standing up, grabbing the cupcakes and her backpack in the process.

"In about two seconds, let me go give these to Paris and then I'm done," she said, giving him another quick kiss before walking off. Once she returned, she grabbed his hand and they made their way out together. He slid his free arm around Rory's waist and led her down the hallway.

"So, are we eating cupcakes before or after dinner?" she teased him.

"Before," he said. "After dinner you are going to sit on my face, because I know for a fact you taste much better than anything in this box. And that will be my dessert." No matter how much she loved when he spoke like that, she would always blush, bite her lip, and hide her face in his chest when he did it. And he fucking loved it. She was absolutely adorable. How on earth can one person be so cute and so sexy at the same time? He would never know.

Pulling her close into his side, he kissed the top of her head as they walked out the large doors that led to the parking lot. "Sounds like a plan," she giggled.

"Fuck," he sighed as they neared his car.

"What?" she asked, looking up.

"Look," he said, nodding to the car. 'Fuck' was right. Standing there against her boyfriend's car was Summer in her cheer outfit chatting wildly with Maddie and Louise who had clearly made it out of the room before them. As they walked up, Summer stopped talking and fixed her hair.

"Hi Summer, what can we help you with?" Rory asked, sliding her hand into Logan's back pocket when they stopped.

"Well, you can't help with much, unless you wanted to leave?" Summer suggested. "That would be a big help."

"No," Rory deadpanned. "So, again, what can we help you with?"

"I'm just here to talk to Logan," Summer said innocently.

"Then you should learn to take a hint," Logan told her. "Because I don't want to talk to you."

"Oh come on," she flirted, stepping closer. "Where's the harm?"

"Oh there's no harm," he said.

"Good, so 'talk' with me," she said.

"No," he said. "There's no harm but that doesn't mean I want to 'talk' with you."

"Logan," she said, shaking her head. "What do I have to do? To get you 'talk'?"

"Be me," Rory shrugged.

"Yeah, that would do it," Logan said. "So, Summer you get started on that and then we'll 'talk'."

"Seriously?" Summer whined. "That? She's not your type. I mean look at that awful, frumpy sweatshirt."

"It's Logan's sweatshirt," Rory laughed.

"And she is absolutely my type," Logan added, walking past her to his car.

"Come on Summer, he's not worth it," Maddie complained.

"Shut up," Summer bit out.

"He's definitely worth it, I can vouch for that," Rory said as Logan put her backpack and cupcakes in the car.

"Obviously," Summer said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," Rory sighed. "But I know exactly how worth it he is. And you never will."

"Excuse you?" Summer snapped. "Who do you think you are?"

"I'm his girlfriend. Who do you think you are?" she snapped back, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't take kindly to tramps blatantly trying to fuck my boyfriend. So you'll have to excuse me if I'm not quite as demure and polite as you apparently expected. Now do us both a favor and back the hell off Summer."

Smirking as he took her hand, Logan pulled her to him and opened the car door. She slid in and sighed, trying to keep her temper in check. Logan shut her door and turned to Summer, "Why don't you fuck Tristan? He's more your speed."

"My speed?" she asked, incredulously.

"Yeah," he said, walking around to his side of the car. "If you want me, you have to go through Rory and you sure as hell can't handle her." With that he got in and started the car. Peeling out of the parking lot, he left the three girls standing in shock on the asphalt.

"I think that went well," Rory nodded.

"Well?" he asked his eyebrow raised. "I am so fucking turned on right now, you have no idea. That went far better than just 'well'."

"Hm, maybe we'll just have to take care of each other at the same time," she said suggestively.

"You're joking," Logan said skeptically.

"Would I joke about Finn's favorite number?" she gasped.

"No, no, do not bring Finn into this," he said, shaking his head.

"Sorry," she giggled.

"But you're serious?"

"I am dead serious," she nodded.

"Ace, you just made my day," he groaned.

"Not yet I haven't," she teased him.

"Oh God, can we get there any faster?" he asked rhetorically.

"I would however like to take this time to propose an idea," she said.

"And that would be?"

"Our plan for tomorrow."

"Ah, ok, hit me," he said.

"Well I was thinking you could drop me at school and then take the car service to your parent's house," she said.

"Why would I do that?" he asked.

"Shh, just listen," she said. "That way you don't have to come all the way back to Chilton and I can just come pick you up in the car at your parent's house."

"You do not know how to drive a stick shift," he said.

"I do to," she defended.

"How?" he asked.

"Luke taught me," she said.

"You swear you know how to do it?"

"I can prove it to you if you'd like," she laughed.

"Do you have any orange traffic cones?" he asked.

"Logan," she admonished, slapping his thigh. "I am not taking a road test."

"You said you'd prove it," he reminded her.

"It was a joke," she said, rolling her eyes. "Come on, don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," he sighed. "And even if I didn't I think that pout would get me to do just about anything for you."

"Aw, you really do like me," she feigned swooning.

"Yea yeah," he sighed. "Just don't scratch the car."

"Cross my heart," she said, doing just that.

Once they made it to the house, they were practically tearing each other's clothes off as they walked through the door. There was a significant learning curve to what they were trying to do as neither had ever attempted it before, but after a few adjustments it proved to be just as mind blowing as they predicted. So, 2 blow jobs, 7 total orgasms, 1 pizza, and 3 cupcakes later, they were passed out on the couch in Logan's sweats with a movie on in the background. They had turned all the lights off with only the glow of the tv to illuminate the room. Rory laid on top of him, their legs entwined, as a semi-awake Logan rubbed her back, which is what made her fall asleep an hour ago in the first place.

The distinct sound of a key in the door made him jump. What the hell are her parents going to do when they find them like this? Probably kick him out. Why didn't he think about this? Why did he let them fall asleep here? He should probably wake Rory up and make a break for it, maybe they could get upstairs before they came into the living room. Or maybe he could carry her and just run? Never the less, he simply didn't have the heart to wake her so instead he decided to feign sleep right along with her. Unfortunately his shock at their arrival had already woken her, but by now there was no time to leave.

"Logan?" she whispered, her eyes fluttering open.

"Shh," he soothed her, stroking her hair and holding her to his chest.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine, go back to sleep," he assured her. There was clearly more she wanted to ask but two raised voices came through the doorway, and by raised he meant yelling, they were yelling. He felt her tense up and tighten her grip on him, he tightened his in return and held her close. She clearly knew what was coming and she needed him to hold her.

"I'm acting irrationally?! Really Chris that's all you have to say?!"

"Yes!" he bellowed. "That is all I have to say, because it's the truth!"

"Oh my god!" she yelled in frustration. "I should have divorced you when I had the chance!"

"Go for it! See if I care!"

"I know you won't care! That's what sucks about all of this! I'm stuck in a loveless marriage because I was stupid enough to get pregnant! Twice!"

Rory hid her face in his chest and he felt her body start to shake. "Shh," he whispered. "It's ok Ace, I got you. It's ok honey."

"Yeah sure! Blame me, that makes sense! You know what Lor, if you hadn't been such a crappy wife maybe I wouldn't have cheated on you!"

"Gee, well you were quite the shitty husband so maybe I should have cheated on you!"

"So much for date night!" he growled.

"Date night? Let's call this what it fucking is Chris! It's the one night a week that we pretend to tolerate each other for the sake of our kids. Tomorrow you'll be back getting blow jobs from your secretary!" she screamed.

"At least she knows how to do it right!" he yelled.

"Oh my God! What is wrong with you? Who says something like that?" she asked incredulously.

"Your husband apparently!" he shouted back at her.

"I should have had Elle on my own and left you when I could!" she shouted angrily.

Logan felt her freeze, gasp and then shakily release her breath. Did she just say what he thought she said? Did she actually just imply that leaving and therefore never having Rory would have been the best choice? How could they not love and cherish everything about her? Consequences be damned. He sure as hell did.

Wait I what? I love her? Do I love her? Is it too soon to love her? Can I love her? I mean I love spending time with her and I love how she makes me feel. Oh and I love her laugh, or the way her eyes sparkle, or how her nose crinkles up when she reads and then her tongue pokes out of her mouth. Not to mention, her entire personality and her- Oh my God, I love her. I'm in love with Rory Hayden. Holy shit. Well, this isn't quite the best time for that little realization now is it? I couldn't have done this an hour ago when I was eating a cupcake off her tits? No, it had to be now, while she is sobbing into my chest and her parents are fighting in the next room. Good going.

She was still shaking, and tears were cascading rapidly from her cheeks to his sweatshirt. Holding her tight, he rolled over slightly to tuck her safely between himself and the back couch cushions, hoping to help make her feel more stable. The silent sobs of the woman he loved were enough to make him tear up as well. And he couldn't do much to stop what was happening.

Her parents continued to yell and scream at each other for minutes on end and Rory had to hear it all. He wanted them to stop. He wanted to take the pain away. He wanted her to fall back to sleep. He wanted anything, anything that would stop her from hearing this. But there wasn't a damn thing he could do other than hold her and soothe her as best he could.

The voices grew louder as her parents made their way through the first floor until they got to the living room. They were likely to see them laying here since the tv was on so Logan took his ques from Rory and closed his eyes when she did.

"That's it you're sleeping on the couch tonight!" Lorelai yelled. "I am not sharing a bed with you!"

"Absolutely not!" he shouted back at her. "I paid for this house and everything in it. I'm sure as hell not sleeping on the couch!"

"You paid for it?! Christopher you don't appreciate anything I do, and I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

"Oh please! Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that from you?"

"Clearly not enough!"

A light flicked on in the room and Logan tried not to open his eyes to see what was happening. Everything was silent now, save for Rory's soft breathing, and it seemed Lorelai and Chris had found them.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Chris asked angrily, though much quieter this time.

"Rory said he was coming," Lorelai sighed. "I totally forgot. I can't believe they didn't wake up."

"I don't give a damn if we wake them up," Chris said. "I don't want them sleeping together like this or at all."

"Get over it Chris, their sleeping together big deal," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "I talked to her like you wanted me to and I'm done. She's happy and I don't want to ruin this for her."

"How can you not see how bad this is?" Chris asked.

"How can you not see how good this is?" Lorelai answered. "Maybe you could learn a thing or two from him. He clearly knows how to treat his girlfriend and I'm glad Rory didn't make the same mistake I did."

"It's amazing how you manage to tie everything back to that," he chuckled humorlessly.

"That's it," she snapped. "I'm done. I'm going to bed and I am locking that door, so you can fucking take one of those guest bedrooms."

"No you're not!" he said. "Lorelai get back here." With that, two sets of footsteps rapidly ascended up the stairs and away from Rory and Logan. As soon as they were gone it was like the floodgates had burst. Rory sobbed into his chest held onto him as if he would disappear if she let go. He was more than willing to let her too, to hold her and be with her until she could calm down.

"It's all going to be ok Ace, I promise," he said, stroking her hair.

"Just don't let me go Logan," she cried softly. "Please don't let me go."

"Shh, I'm not going anywhere," he told her, kissing the top of her head. "I've got you Rory, I'm not going to let go."

He knew exactly how she felt right now. He had been right here, feeling out of control of his own life, and hopeless about his family's future because his parents hated each other. And neither his mom, nor his dad, had the balls to get a divorce. Because a divorce meant family shame, it meant splitting up assets, it meant two Christmases and two Thanksgivings. And no one was willing to put their own happiness before all that.

When he went through it, Honor had supported him and vice versa. They leaned on each other. He needed her, and she needed him. But right now Rory's sister was at Yale and she seemed to have separated herself from all of this. So right now, while she was going through it, Rory needed him. She needed him to be strong for her, she needed to lean on him. And he absolutely wanted to do that for her.

The things he felt for this woman. Well, love apparently. He loved her. And part of loving someone was being there for them and supporting them when they needed you the most. Sure, he was new to this whole relationship thing. But he could already tell that being in love with Rory Hayden was something that would come to him naturally.

"Come on, sweetheart," he sighed. Giving her one last tight hug, he slipped off the sofa and stood up. Leaning down, he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs, away from her parents still screaming in the master bedroom, and down the hall to her own room. Closing the door behind him with his foot, he took her to the bed and laid her down. Knowing she would be more comfortable in just his sweatshirt, he removed the sweatpants before tucking her under the covers. He was careful not to leave her for too long while he went the bathroom and brushed his teeth, especially after her request that he not let go.

When he came back to the room, he crawled into bed with her, her head immediately finding his chest. Logan rubbed her back and whispered sweet nothings in her ear until the crying ceased and a few minutes later her breathing evened out. Afraid she might wake up and need him again, it was another hour before Logan himself managed to fall asleep. They would deal with this properly in the morning, when she was ready.

"You know you're going to have to talk about it at some point," Logan sighed. He knew she was awake, he could always tell. And he had let her sit there and pretend for about a half hour but now it was time to face the music. As much as he did want to give her time to process this, Rory tends to jump to conclusions about situations and its best to get in front of this before she convinces herself her mom never wanted her. She overthinks everything and sometimes that's a bad thing. Actually 9 out of 10 times it's a bad thing.

"I know," she sighed, nuzzling his chest. "Just not right now."

"Yes, right now missy," he said, running her fingers through her hair.

"Why? Why right now?"

"Because if I let you go to school before we talk about this, your mind will run amuck with scenarios," he said.

"I will not," she denied.

"Will too," he said.

"I will not," she repeated. "And there's not even that much to talk about."

"Rory," he said.

"There really isn't," she insisted.

"There is," he said. "I heard all of that, everything they said to each other, everything they said about you."

"It doesn't matter, it is what it is," she said.

"It does matter," he said. "How often does this happen?"

"I'm always asleep when they come home, but I've heard them once or twice just not that clearly. Or loudly."

"So they do this every week?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "Every Thursday night, once they're done 'pretending for the sake of their kids'."

"Ace," he started, sliding down in the bed to get closer to her and wrapping his arms tight around her. "Does Elle know about this? Does she talk to you about it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "She's never said anything to me, but she was never home anyway."

"Ok," he sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead before she tucked her head in the crook of his neck. "What are you thinking?"

"I think you know what I'm thinking," she said softly.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," he told her.

"Sorry," she laughed humorlessly.

"Sweetie, please don't pay any attention to what your mom said," he said. "All of that anger and regret is directed at your dad."

"I know," she said. "I just hate that she's so unhappy."

"I know you do," he said. Of course she's concerned about her mother. This whole situation could be twisted to be all about her, but she was worried about her mom, despite everything Lorelai had said last night.

"I mean she's never been totally happy, when Elle and I were little I guess we were enough to distract her. But now, we don't really need her as much as we used to," she said.

"You're probably right," he said.

"Why doesn't she just leave?"

"She could leave," he assured her. "I don't know what's keeping her here, but she could have taken you and Elle and left a long time ago."

"I think that's easier said than done," she said.

"I'm sure it is, but she isn't mad at you and she doesn't regret having you," he said.

"Sounds like it," Rory sighed. "And she shou-."

"Lorelai Leigh Hayden don't you dare finish that sentence," he reprimanded her, stroking her hair.

"Logan-," she started.

"Rory," he said. "Don't even think it."

"Ok, but Logan it makes sen-,"

"Rory, I will take you over my knee and spank that cute little ass of yours," he said sternly, brushing her hair back and looking down at her.

"Ok, I won't say it," she said. He watched her cheeks turn a soft rosy pink color as she tried to hide her face in his neck again.

"Good," he said, kissing her nose and then her lips. "I lo- I um, I just don't want you to feel like that." What the hell?! No, no, no, no, and no. Also, NO. You are not telling her that right now, absolutely not. What if it scares her off? What if she doesn't feel the same way? No, just no. Wait a little and then tell her. By a little I mean months, maybe years, maybe never because it's really damn scary.

"I know," she nodded, capturing his lips again. Rory tried to deepen it before he could pull back but only managed one more, deep kiss.

"I'm not as easily distracted as you seem to think," he whispered, as though it was a big secret.

"Damn," she joked. "What if I take my top off?"

"What if you stopped skirting around the subject?" he fired back. Hypocrite. You can skirt the subject, but she can't?

"I think one of those would work," she nodded.

"Ace," he said.

"Logan," she pouted. "There's nothing to talk about. My parents are unhappy, I hate that they're unhappy. But there isn't anything I can do."

"I'm not suggesting that you do. My priority is you, I couldn't give a damn about your parents right now, I want to make sure you are ok," he said.

"I'm ok," she said. "A little insecure, but overall I'm ok."

"You're too cute to be insecure," he sighed, hugging her close to his chest.

"Just keep saying sweet things like that, I'll be more than ok," she giggled.

"Expect hourly texts," he teased.

"I look forward to them," she laughed.

"Mm," he kissed the top of her head before asking, "When do you have to be at school?"

"In…" she covered his body with hers as she reached for his watch on the nightstand, eliciting a grin and a sloppy kiss on her neck from the man now below her. "2 hours."

"Perfect," he mumbled, taking the watch from her and setting it back down. Rolling them over to lay on top of her once again, he kept his kisses going down her neck. "We have just enough time."

"Enough time for what?" she asked, running her hands through his messy blonde locks.

"What fun would it be if I told you now?" he smirked.

"I'm sure I could guess," she laughed.

"I'm sure you could," he said. Her coming response was cut off by her giggle as Logan stopped at her thigh and started trailing his kisses back up.