Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls
A/N: Again, thank you all for the kind reviews. I'm so thankful, so here we go again. I will say, and I'm sure you will all know what part I am talking about after you read it, but Rory is being sensible, she is being rational, and Logan is being...impulsive, which is I think his go to defence mechanism on the show...but the thing that happens will not be a setback for them :)
Chapter Thirteen:
"Daddy?" Charlotte pouted, "I want pizza."
"So have some pizza." Logan gestured towards the table with the food, his nephews surrounding it.
"Too much boys."
"It's just Liam and Hunter." Logan laughed, "Do you want me to come with you? Are they being nice?"
"Not nice." Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest.
"C'mon, kid." Logan put a hand gently on her shoulders, "Liam, Hunter…you're not hogging the pizza, you are?" he asked his nephews.
"Hunter was." Liam looked at his older brother with a smirk Logan was all too familiar with.
"Be nice." Logan warned as he took a piece of pepperoni pizza for his daughter, "Or you have to sleep with Uncle Finn."
"Not Uncle Finn!" Hunter groaned, "He farts!"
"I know." Logan laughed, "I'm telling you, just be nice."
xxxx
"Kids are asleep?" Logan looked at his sister who nodded, they were out like a light. It probably helped that they thought it was midnight and were easily convinced that was a fact. "Charlotte too."
"So now we get to be adults?" Honor grinned.
"Logan only got me on board with this by assuring me that for one night, we did not act like adults." Rory countered, "He promised me…what was it? 2005?"
"I believe that was it."
"Well, 2005," Finn paused and looked around at the group of friends. "Robert, you should be with…that weird girl with the pink hair, don't recall her name. Colin, Stephanie, get away from each other. Josh and Honor you two can continue as is, I was with Rosemary, but we know not to speak her name in front of me." he added dramatically, "And you two," he winked at Rory and Logan, "should probably be making out in a closet or something. Have I got that about right?"
"If Finn insists." Logan looked at Rory and winked.
"I need to make a quick call." Rory smiled, "I'll just be in the study."
"I was kidding, Ace." Logan looked at her.
"It's not about that." Rory assured him with a smile as she held up her cellphone and walked into the safety of the study. "Hi." she smiled into the phone.
"Didn't expect to hear from you tonight."
"I just wanted to make sure you weren't sitting home, alone, doing nothing."
"I am not." Jess promised her, "Does Luke have you on suicide watch or something? I thought Christmas was fun. We were all mature about it."
"You were very mature about it." Rory agreed, "What are you doing tonight, Jess? Tonight was always our thing."
"It was our thing for a couple of years Ror, I would hardly call it always." Jess stated simply. "I have a date."
"A date?" Rory was surprised, he hadn't mentioned anything when they had spoken on Christmas day.
"A date. One of the guys from Truncheon set it up, we went out the other night and we're going out again tonight in a group." Jess explained.
"Good." Rory told him honestly, "I just…I didn't want you to think I had forgotten."
"What are you doing tonight Ror?"
"We're having a party, Logan does it with his friends every year, they pretend not to have responsibilities for a few hours. Tonight we are partying like it is 2005."
"That should be right up his alley." Jess smirked, he immediately regretted letting the words slip out of his mouth, "I'm sorry. I'm happy for you Rory. If he makes you happy, and I can see how happy Charlotte is…that is all I want."
"He isn't a bad guy." Rory told him, "I think…a different time, different circumstances…you would have liked him."
"I have to go Rory, have a good night. Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year." Rory hung up the phone. She smiled, she was relieved to know that they were going to be alright, they could still be friends, and she could move into the next chapter of her life without worrying that he hated her. A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts as she absently tossed her phone on the desk. "Come in."
"You decent?" Logan peaked his head in the door, a childish grin on his lips.
"What the hell kind of call did you think I was making?"
"How is Jess?" Logan asked, he knew she had been worried about him, she had mentioned it a couple of times since they saw each other at Christmas.
"He is good." Rory told him truthfully, "He has a date." she added, "We…I just wanted to check on him. We used to do the New Years Eve thing together…as friends."
"You don't owe me an explanation of what you did before I was in the picture Rory. I think it would be better," he paused, "if we just let the past be the past and try to move forward with whatever we are doing. I was married to someone else, so I can't say I spent holidays alone or even that I was miserable the entire time we were apart."
"What are we doing?" Rory asked. They had avoided it since Christmas, focusing instead on Charlotte and making sure she had a good time. They had snuck a few makeout sessions in when no one is looking, but they hadn't discussed it.
"Marry me." Logan stated simply. It was the second time he would ask her that question in that house.
"Logan." Rory shook her head with a laugh as she walked towards him.
"I'm serious. Marry me. I'll go to City Hall, Finn can get ordained online, we can fly to Vegas, take a chopper to New York, do it at the Inn. Wherever you want, just tell me we're going to make this work."
"Logan," Rory was standing in front of him now, her hands cupping his face, "is this about your Dad?"
"My Dad being on the verge of death?" he asked her, Rory nodded in return, "No. Yes…I don't know." he admitted. "I just know that I don't want to spend another minute of another day not knowing that we are going to be a family."
"Is the piece of paper what makes us a family?" Rory countered. She had to admit, she had become somewhat jaded about the idea of marriage over the years. Her parents had divorced, she knew plenty of unhappily married people and only a handful of happy ones. "I can promise you that we are a family in every way that matters. I can promise you that whatever happens with your Dad, I will be here. I can promise you that if you play your cards right, you might just get lucky tonight. I can promise you that you will always have a relationship with our daughter, and that we will always be good to each other. I can promise you all of that. But I will not agree to marry you because you are afraid that my word isn't enough of a commitment to you."
"So you're saying no?" Logan grimaced, mortified was not a strong enough word to describe how he felt for blurting it out. He hadn't planned to ask. If he had planned it, he would have had a ring, he would have done something elaborate. She was right, the words just slipped out of his mouth before he knew what was happening. He just wanted them to be together.
"Did you really mean it? Are you actually asking me to marry you?"
"I can't lose you again. Losing you again, being away from Charlotte…it would be too much."
"You aren't losing us." Rory promised him. "I will tattoo it on my forehead if you want. Property of Logan Huntzberger."
"That sounds a little too permanent." Logan smiled, "Can I kiss you?"
"Anytime you want." Rory grinned as their lips met once again.
xxxx
"Everyone in bed?" Rory looked around the living room, she had to admit, if they were partying like it was 2005, it was far less messy than it used to be.
"Finn is passed out in my room." Logan nodded, "So I'm just going to -"
Rory cut him off, "You are going to come with me." she took his hand and pulled him along behind her, turning off the lights as she did. "You don't get to tell me a few hours ago that you want to marry me, and then go sleep in the basement."
"You did say no." Logan countered with a chuckle, "I'm sorry about that."
"Don't be sorry." Rory understood it, she knew Logan was feeling like he was drowning, like the situation with Mitchum was too much, he wanted to hold onto something safe. "I'm not saying we'll never get married."
"You just need some space?" Logan winked.
"No space." Rory laughed, they were upstairs now, "No funny business. I'm tired."
"I'm going to grab my sweats and I will meet you in there."
"Can't wait." Rory smiled as they went their separate ways for a moment. It was probably another ten minutes before Rory heard the floorboards creak and the bed shifted as he climbed in. Silently, Rory pressed her body against his as he kissed her hair, "Goodnight, Logan."
"Goodnight, Ace."
xxx
"Do we have all of the gifts?" Rory stood in the foyer counting presents in front of her. "Liam, Hunter…Honor, Mitchum, Shira…do you get something for Josh?"
"He and Honor go together." Logan told her as he helped Charlotte zip up her jacket, "You all ready?" he asked his daughter.
"Yup." Charlotte grinned, she was holding the stuffed Mickey Mouse Logan had given her for Christmas.
"And what do we say when we get there?"
"Happy. New. YEAR!" Charlotte grinned, stepping on her tiptoes as she spoke.
"Perfect." Logan kissed the top of her head and turned his attention to Rory, "We're good." he assured her.
"Are you sure this isn't too…casual?" Rory looked at her outfit. Dark jeans, a cable knit sweater. She was used to seeing people at the Huntzberger Estate wearing evening gowns and more diamonds than their necks could possibly support.
"I am in jeans." Logan gestured to himself, "This is casual. It's family Christmas, it isn't the Royal Wedding. My parents are just going to be happy that Charlotte and you came."
"Why I no go?" Charlotte interjected as she listened to her parents.
Logan paused, he still had to get used to the fact that having a four and a half year old around was like constantly having a hot mic on - she listened to everything, and she repeated everything. "I just mean this is the first time you and your Mom will be at this party, and I think that everyone is just going to be happy to see you."
"Of course. We are family." Charlotte shook her head as Rory picked up the presents and Logan led Charlotte to his car by her hand. He helped her into her booster seat and then helped Rory put the gifts in the car. "Hurry up!" Charlotte shouted at them.
"Do you want to tell them?" Logan asked, closing the trunk of his Range Rover.
"Tell them?"
"That we are…dating? Are we dating?"
"I think when you have a kid together you're a bit beyond dating, but we're also not quite at 'monogram the towels', so maybe we just…act normal and let them figure it out?"
"A game, I like the way that mind of yours works, Ace." Logan snuck a quick kiss and gave her the same mischievous grin that had made her weak in the knees since college.
"Are you capable of being normal?" Rory laughed as she walked to the passenger seat and stepped in, Logan turned the ignition on, "This feels like de ja vu."
"It will be fine. Plus, you know who is D-E-A-D." Logan winked, referring to his own Grandfather who had certainly not been warm and fuzzy to Rory at their first meeting.
They drove in relative silence. Charlotte hummed along in the back seat to the Frozen soundtrack Logan had learned to keep on repeat, and Rory had stared out the window as the trees passed her, it was a quick drive before Logan was punching in the code for the gate at the Huntzberger Estate, and the gate opened to give them access. Rory smiled as Logan reached for her hand, giving it a tight and reassuring squeeze. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me, Ace."
xxx
"Wow, this is so…" Rory looked at the beautifully wrapped box in front of her, "Mitchum, Shira, I appreciate the thought so much but you did not need to give me a gift."
"Nonsense Rory," Shira smiled, she was on what must have been her third martini of the evening, "besides, I do love to shop. I just hope you like it."
Rory smiled and opened the box, revealing a tasteful Gucci watch. She tried not to think of how much it probably cost, and also tried to remember that money was not something that the Huntzberger family had to think about, "Shira, Mitchum, this is lovely and is certainly too much."
"Shira is right, that is nonsense." Mitchum shrugged, "Plus Shira noticed when we saw you a few months ago in New York that you don't wear a watch. Everyone should wear a watch."
"I do sometimes." Rory smiled broadly, "but then my Fitbit wouldn't connect to my phone and it was all a mess."
"Give them a hug." Charlotte interrupted her mother who was still looking at the gift in front of her.
"Pardon?" Rory laughed before realizing that Charlotte was repeating the behaviour she had learned from her, "Of course." she nodded and stood up, taking a couple of steps towards Shira and Mitchum and hugging them each, "Thank you very much, I love it."
"Thank you for bringing her to us." Mitchum whispered in her ear, "We really do love her."
"Of course." Rory smiled as she stood up, it wasn't lost on her that this could very well be Charlotte's first and last Christmas with Mitchum, "Charlotte, honey, can you bring Aunty Honor and Uncle Josh their present?" she smiled.
Toys, clothes, wrapping paper, boxes and more were strewn around the family room. It was an image Rory never really thought that she would see, a moment like this, a normal family moment with the Huntzberger family. Josh was playing with all of the kids, Honor was chatting with her parents who were sitting comfortably beside each other on a couch, and Rory had found herself curled up into Logan's arms on the couch opposite them. She was holding a glass of wine in one hand and her right hand was carefully intertwined with Logan's, his fingers gently stroking her thumb. "This is nice." Logan's voice brought her out of her silence.
"I think," Rory turned her head to look at him, "this is the perfect day."
"I have something to say." Mitchum announced, it was as though he had noticed that Rory and Logan were no longer caught in a daze. "You all know about the terms of Logan's leave of absence from work," he spoke softly, establishing to his children and their partners that he was in fact referring to his own death, "before Logan returns to work, I want you all to go away together, as a family. After the services and everything is over, take two weeks, and take the kids to Florida. I want you to take them to Disney World." he admitted.
"Dad, why don't we go now, we can all go together." Honor suggested with a smile, "We haven't been since we were all kids."
"I don't think I have the energy for it sweetheart," Mitchum told her honestly, "but you can tell them about me, and the times we went."
"Dad," Logan shook his head, "this is…Honor is right, we should just go now. Even if you just want to stay in the hotel or whatever, but you should come."
"No." Mitchum shook his head.
"I think it's a great idea." Rory interjected, she hoped that she wasn't speaking out of turn, but she understood what Mitchum was trying to do. He didn't want them, any of them to wallow and be sad. He wanted them to take his death and turn it into a happy moment, a new beginning of sorts.
"Thank you, Rory."
"Mama," Charlotte had been listening, "Are we going to see MICKEY MOUSE?"
"One day," Rory assured her, "why don't you give Uncle Josh a break," she suggested, "I'm sure Dad could turn a movie on for you. Uncle Josh must have sore knees by now."
"Thank you." Josh laughed from his spot on the floor, "Hard to believe last night we were all partying like it was 2005."
"Isn't it though?" Rory laughed as Logan turned the television on and the volume low. "I'm going to run to the washroom." she excused herself for a moment. She immediately heard Logan's footsteps behind her, "I know where I'm going." she promised him.
"Why did you do that?" Logan asked her, he wasn't mad, but she could tell he also wasn't happy with her.
"Do what?"
"Give my Dad an out? We could have left for Florida in a week, made that memory. Isn't that what you said? We should be making memories with him?"
Rory sighed, "Logan, he doesn't want to go to Disney. Your Dad is tired." she told him, running her hand against his cheek, "I'm sorry for overstepping. But your Dad wants us to go because he doesn't want us to mope around Connecticut being sad after he passes, he wants us to go and live."
"How do you know that?" Logan shot back.
"I just do."
xxx
The rest of the evening had been fine, somehow there had been more gifts and more sugar. Logan clearly wasn't happy with Rory, and it wasn't lost on her, but he was still incredibly kind to her and most importantly to Charlotte. "Charlotte, honey," Rory put her daughter in the carseat and buckled her, "it is a really short drive, please don't fall asleep.". They had made the decision to push bedtime by an hour and they knew they were pushing their luck, but the family was having so much fun together that no one wanted to leave.
"I will stay awake." Charlotte enunciated every word as she spoke, "Did Dad bring home all my presents?"
"Dad is bringing your presents." Rory laughed, "You got too many presents, I think we're not going to keep them all." she told her. After Christmas Day, Rory had explained to Charlotte that some of her gifts would be given to other kids who needed them. Charlotte had no idea of her privilege but Rory also tried to keep a somewhat level head on her, even before Logan had entered their family, Charlotte had not missed out on anything.
"Should we give them to our friends who need them?" Charlotte asked, repeating the sentiment that Rory had initially told her, that other kids, other friends might need the toys more. Rory nodded her head proudly and Charlotte smiled back, "I love to share with my friends."
Logan finished loading the remainder of the gifts in the back of the car, "We might need a bigger car next year." he noted as they both got in their seats. "Do you like the watch?"
"It is a bit much."
"Honor talked her down, she was looking at a Rolex originally."
"I would have never accepted that." Rory admitted, "Are we ok?" she looked at him.
"I'm sorry for overreacting inside." Logan admitted. "This stuff with him…the idea that he will be gone, it's still pretty new, even if we've been dealing with it for a while. I guess…I'm just not ready, and that is my issue, not yours."
"It's our issue." Rory corrected him, "I just…I remember after Grandpa died, everyone was just so sad…he would have hated it. He would have preferred that we were all happy, but it was so sudden, and we were all so broken. He is just trying to prepare you guys, control it as best he can. In his own weird way, and trust me…it is still weird because despite how we're all adults, he is still Mitchum, and that is hard for me, but I think he is trying to protect his family one last time."