A/N: Thank you for the reviews and support. i'm enjoying writing this one. I think just knowing I can do whatever and then move on to something else the next year makes it more fun. The dialogue between father/son this chapter is based on how my own son speaks (26m) so take that as you will

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls

July 19, 2028

Rory hated July 19. She had never hated it before, but this year, and for all future years, it would be the beginning of the now as opposed to the before where they had been blissfully happy. It wasn't to say they were unhappy, they were still very much in love. Rory and Logan were almost sickeningly in love as they entered their mid forties. July 19 the year before is when the ground shook beneath them. The shooting in Scranton had rocked Logan to his core, and by way of the fact that they were two halves of one whole, it shook Rory too. She put her hand protectively on her growing stomach and stood in the kitchen of her newly renovated Upper East Side apartment.

"Charlotte, Dad is going to take you to camp today." Rory called to her daughter as she poured a hot cup of decaf coffee.

"The other kids just have a driver that takes them," Charlotte huffed.

"Well maybe the other kids have more money than us because we don't employ a separate driver to take you to camp when Dad can have his drop you off on the way to work."

"Misty says you and Dad have a lot of money, and she doesn't understand why I don't have nicer things."

Rory rolled her eyes, her 11 year old daughter was dressed in head to toe Ralph Lauren, went to the most prestigious prep-school that money could buy, and went to the best camps in Manhattan. They would leave in a week for the East Hampton estate that they spent the month at…but yes, her daughter, their daughter, was telling her she was deprived. "Well, tell Misty that when she or her mother want to pay for all of the nice things you apparently don't have, then you can have them. Maybe let her know how much it costs for us to board your horse while you are at it."

Charlotte let out an audible grumble as Logan joined them in the room, "not happy about sharing a driver?" Logan looked to Rory and smiled. It was the second time he had watched her literally grow a life and there was something about it that he found incredibly sexy. Maybe it was the fullness in her breasts that took her from a small B cup to a full C cup, or maybe it was the glow, or the fullness of her hair, but he would never get sick of looking at his pregnant wife. "How did you sleep?" He asked as if he didn't know the answer, she had a restless night.

"Terribly," Rory told him, "but it's still decaf, don't worry."

"Where is the little monster?" Logan referred to his namesake.

"Still asleep, miraculously. I'm going to drop him off at daycare because I have work to do today."

"Where?"

"The office," she told him, referring to HPG where she had set up a corner suite for herself upon their move to Manhattan. She worked in mergers and acquisitions, specifically looking for publishing houses to bring into the fold. "Lunch?"

"I would love to -"

"I feel a but coming…"

"There is a but," Logan laughed as he drank a pre-made smoothie from the fridge, noticing how Rory made a face as he drank it quickly, "I'm having a lunch meeting with Jess, I'm sure he would be fine with it if you crashed."

Rory smiled. Truncheon had come under the HPG umbrella three years earlier. Still operating independently out of Philly, but the money that came with having HPG as a backer helped them to woo better talent, and occasionally it meant that Rory got to work with Jess. "You two being friends…it will never not be weird for me," Rory admitted.

"He's a good guy," Logan shrugged. "Whadya think Char, should I see if Uncle Jess can come for dinner?"

"Doesn't he have to go home to Auntie Kelsey?"

Logan couldn't deny that logic. "Probably, maybe I'll see if they can come to the Hamptons for a week?"

Rory nodded, "that would be nice. Why don't I text Kels, see what she thinks, and then I will crash your meeting at lunch and we can talk to Jess. In the meantime," she looked at the time on her phone, "you have to go…you have the…memorial stuff," she paused, referring to the unveiling of a newly re-landscaped and equipped park in Scranton that had been funded by HPG in honour of the lives lost one year prior, as well as a newly built reflection garden that had been build at HPG head office in Manhattan. Logan and sent his number two to Scranton, and he would be doing the honours in Manhattan. They would also be announcing a scholarship fund in honour of the twenty four year old woman who was killed, and gifting scholarships to the grandchildren of the long time employee who was gunned down.

"You're right, I should go, come on kiddo, grab your bag," he looked at Charlotte who begrudgingly stood up from her seat and mumbled a goodbye to her mother. "I'll send the car back for you and Logan to get him to daycare. Come see me when you get in?"

"I love you," Rory kissed her husband and then looked at her daughter, "you too kiddo, I love you."

"Whatever, Mom," Charlotte shrugged and gave Rory a quick hug.

"I love you too, Ace."

xxx

Rory was watching the dedication in Logan's office, she had arrived a few minutes before it was set to start and she could see how pained he was. Not by the dedication itself, but by the fact that there was a need for it. The fact that he hadn't been able to protect his employees was a hard pill for him to swallow. She watched as he spoke, softly but firmly of his personal anguish over the loss, and also about the safety measures the organization had taken on, additional coverage for mental health benefits and a plethora of other things that Logan had pushed through over the last year. It had been a stressful time, for him, for her, but oddly enough, not for their marriage. They had decided to try for one more child and, much like her other two pregnancies, Rory had found the process of getting pregnant to be fairly easy. This time however, with her second and final baby boy, it was a bit more challenging during the pregnancy. She was 28 weeks along and hoped that her morning sickness would eventually ease up, but it never did. She felt more sluggish and tired this time around, but maybe that was more to do with her age than anything else, not to mention chasing after two year old Logan.

"You saw?" Logan walked into his office and immediately started undoing his tie, "I swear this thing is going to suffocate me."

Rory smiled and stood up as Logan struggled with his tie, she calmly placed her hands over his and helped to loosen the tie, "you were wonderful," she told him with a sweet kiss. "Are you sure you are up for lunch? Jess will be fine if we cancel. Kelsey said they would love to come see us so we can push it to when we are on vacation?"

Logan shook his head. He appreciated the offer, but he needed it, he needed to be surrounded by normalcy, his family, friends, he was exhausted by everything else. "I have been looking forward to lunch all morning," Logan smiled. "Thank you for the help," he laughed as Rory handed him his tie.

"I've found a little publisher in Hamburg that I think could be…interesting."

"Hamburg?" Logan repeated, "Nothing closer to home?"

"There is plenty closer to home, but nothing that I think will actually expand our market. There is no point in buying publishing houses that we could simply woo authors away from. I want new authors, fresh perspectives…I think that will help with this. There is one I found in Australia that I think could be good, but we'll have to wait until this nugget comes out, or I could ask Jess if he would go for me."

"Do you think he would? He has been very against expanding his role beyond Truncheon whenever I've discussed bringing him into the corporate fold."

"We can ask him at lunch, but I think as a one off, he would do it for me. Plus we could tell him he could bring Kelsey and the kids, free vacation," she winked.

"You know how I feel about misuse of that expense account of yours," Logan laughed as he undid his top two buttons. "

"You typically feel great about it," Rory laughed. "Ready?"

"Am I overdressed?" Logan asked, knowing the answer was yes, even without the tie and jacket.

"Very, but you also look handsome."

Logan put his arm loosely around her shoulder, much like he had when they were at Yale and they walked out of his office, smiling broadly at Matilda, his most trusted assistant as they went. They walked a few blocks to the restaurant they were meeting Jess at quietly made their way to where Jess was waiting for them.

"You look like hell," Jess stood up and embraced Logan, "sorry man."

"Thanks," Logan gave him a grateful smile.

"You on the other hand," Jess turned his attention to Rory, "look way too good to be having another baby with this guy," he nodded to Logan as Rory gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You sure he's the Dad?"

Rory laughed as they all took their seats, "I mean, I would have to get a paternity test to be sure, but I'm 99.9% positive this baby belongs to Logan…you can't get pregnant from dreams about Ryan Reynolds, right?"

"Here's hoping not, might need to get a test for my two too," Jess laughed. "Seriously though, how are you guys doing? I know today is a tough day."

Logan took a sip of the water that was waiting at the table for them, "it is tough," he agreed, "but I think all we can do as a company is prove that we are taking safety seriously. Keep stepping up, keep increasing our commitment to our employees. The mental health stuff, it is just so important, I don't want me and my executives having a couple of extra zero's on our bonus to come at the expense of my people."

"Well, I now that everyone I talk to is raving about it, but that could be because they know I'm friends with the boss."

"Who the hell thought you would ever say that?" Logan laughed.

"Not me, that's for sure," Rory admitted, taking a sip of her water and glancing at the menu. "Are either of you going to support me having a cup of proper coffee right now?"

"Sure go ahead," Logan smiled.

"I mean, yeah, right after you call Luke and tell him."

"You two are wimps," Rory pouted, "My doctor says it is totally safe to have a cup of coffee."

"Then have a cup of coffee," Logan smirked, "we aren't stopping you."

"It's like being married to two men when you guys get together!" Rory exclaimed as the waitress came by and took their order.

"Why don't we get down to business," Logan shook his head and turned to Jess, "then we can shoot shit and relax."

"Couldn't agree more," Jess pulled a file folder out of his bag, "Truncheon needs an increased budget. I want 25% more to play with in order to woo bigger talent. I know you are about to say," Jess continued before Logan could interrupt him, "that we can shift those writers to the bigger houses that you guys own, the ones with more money…keep them in the family. But that will not work. These guys want to stay small, they want the attention, the coddling, the hand holding…" he paused and looked at Rory, "like Ror did during her first couple of books. They want the personal experience, but they want the big time money."

"So why should we do that? We could create something under one of the bigger publishing houses we own and just move funds around within them, why should I give you more?"

"First, asshole," Jess said jokingly, "I'm not asking you for anything. Truncheon is asking HPG for something."

"But for all purposes, you are Truncheon, and I am Huntzberger Publishing…"

"You trust me?" Logan nodded his head in response, "So trust this. Trust that I know what I'm doing."

"I'll go over the numbers and get back to you in a week? I will have to pull from somewhere else, so don't go sponsoring too many soccer teams in Philly."

"Wouldn't dream of it, I'm much more into basketball."

"This everything?" Logan leafed through the papers in front of him. "Nothing I should know that isn't in here?"

"That is everything."

"Alright, well, we'll talk business again soon." Logan thanked the waitress as she brought their meals over and the three of them began to enjoy their food. "Ace here tells me you'll be joining us in the Hamptons in a few weeks?"

"My wife just called to inform me…something about free drinks?"

"I mean we normally don't charge guests for drinks, but for you I could make an exception," Rory rolled her eyes. "I think what Kels was actually sold on was a spa day for her and I while you two watch the kids."

"I thought Finn was coming to town too?" Logan asked Rory seriously.

"What does that have to do with you and Jess watching your kids?"

"Who is going to watch Finn?"

Rory playfully slapped at his shoulder as Jess laughed, "you guys are annoying. Be careful or we'll just leave you all at home and she and I will go for some quiet time."

"You wound me," Jess laughed. "I'm glad you came Ror, this was a nice surprise."

xxx

"Dadadadada," Logan bounced into the family room and jumped on his father.

"Hey buddy," the elder Logan laughed as he gave him a hug, "where's mama?"

"Mama seepin'! Chaw-y bring me out," Logan spoke of his sister, the two had been playing in Logan's bedroom while Rory had a rest before dinner.

"Do you think I should make dinner, let Mom sleep?"

Little Logan nodded his head, "peet-za!"

"What does your sister say about that?"

"Chaw-y," Logan turned his head back in the direction he had come from and shouted, "you wan peet-za for dinner?"

He laughed as his son spoke, he had a soft voice but he certainly knew how to use volume to his benefit, Charlotte shouted back that she wanted pizza and Logan used his phone to order it, figuring Rory probably needed the break. He was emotionally drained but relieved to be back at home in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt after his day. There was a mixed response to his comments at the dedication. Some people thought it was too little, others thought it was perfect, some thought that he should have gone to Scranton, other people said he shouldn't have made a fuss…there was certainly no pleasing his critics but the only person he was worried about satisfying was himself, his own need to try to make things better. "What show should we watch?"

"Mouse."

"Mickey Mouse?"

"Mouse house."

"Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?" Logan hated to admit that he secretly enjoyed talking to his toddler, sometimes he was pretty sure that his son was more articulate than Finn on a good day.

"Pease, pease!" Logan grinned, "I wuv you DaDa."

"I love you too, Logan."