AN: Loved your reviews! Thank you!

As for Rory's thoughts not being consistent with her intellect - I think she has always kind of had that problem when speaking unprepared. She's better in writing or when she's had time to plan.

One of the guest reviewers hit the nail by saying that a large part about Lorelai being more on board now is the fact that she saw in their actions that they went against the society rules.

And as for opening the 'door' for Lorelai - I think so far it's only just ajar and there's no going back to exactly what was. Logan is Rory's priority now even if they make an effort to catch up and do more things together.

Chapter 73

"I don't like this…," Logan exhaled into his phone nervously, having just heard Rory, undoubtedly excited in the moment, tell him about the fact that she'd reconciled with Lorelai. And that she'd told her mother their secret.

Logan was in Atlanta this time around, his dad having acquired another paper. It was all very similar to what had gone on in Stamford, as far as Rory could understand.

"She won't tell… That much I do know. I know her - this is just the type of thing that she herself would do and then keep from them. And I've kept similar secrets for her from them just like this...," Rory assured, referring to her mother.

"Yeah, but I don't have those great experiences with her, nor do I have a lot of reason to trust her," Logan remained hesitant.

"I know. And I don't blame you. I just don't want you to worry," Rory replied. "It just needed to come out. I've been a ball of nerves about this and grandma was just going on and on about how we need to pick the best hotel for our wedding guests and how the flowers I sort of wanted weren't in season… At the very last now mom might actually join me for Friday night dinner sometime and help me with these things a little." she added.

"Yeah, I get that… I'm sorry you're getting the majority of that load," Logan exhaled, having been spared of those decisions. "I would just appreciate it if we managed to keep it under wraps until I've graduated," Logan expressed his concerns.

"What happens then?" Rory asked to be reminded.

"I just want to have my degree first so if my dad freaks out or I don't know… wants to disown me, then I genuinely have some option of telling him to go fuck himself," Logan explained crudely, revealing also that that day had not be a good day travelling with Mitchum. There was also the fact that he would then get the entirety of his trust fund, his seed money so to speak.

"And we can tell that to mom when we go to see her next weekend, she invited us… nothing formal. Just spend the day, watch a movie together or something," Rory explained. Logan knew she'd missed those kinds of things with her mother, so despite it not feeling like his favorite activity or the place in which he felt most comfortable he knew he should be there. Even if not to see Lorelai, then for Rory's support.

"And she wants me to be there?" Logan asked, sounding like he found it hard to believe.

"Yes, said something about apologizing too," Rory shared, hopefully.

Logan chuckled lightly, not knowing how to take that. He had his reservations too. But he had to admit, the prospect didn't sound bad. He had a feeling the act would be shifting around the power dynamic. It was now not about him winning Rory over from Lorelai but rather Lorelai convincing him that she could be a constructive part of Rory's life, not that he was ever going to try to keep them apart, but certainly he knew that his opinion mattered to Rory.

"Well, okay..," Logan agreed.

"Good," Rory said decisively.

"Oh, I forgot - did you check the mail today? There should be one in my name. But it's actually for you," Logan said, peaking Rory's curiosity.

Rory climbed off from the couch where she'd been snuggling with a book, and headed for the console table where they placed the mail usually. There were a couple of catalogs, a car magazine Logan liked to peruse sometimes and exactly one envelope with Logan's name on it.

"There's one," Rory said. Somehow opening Logan's mail hadn't yet been something she did regularly, usually just leaving his things waiting for him.

"Open it," he suggested.

For a while Logan could just listen to the sounds of paper and the envelope's plastic window being torn, awaiting for her reaction.

"Logan - it's too much…," Rory replied after opening the envelope up and realizing what it was, having needed a moment.

"What's mine is yours. It isn't millions yet, but it's for everything you want or need in between. I mean it. This way you'll not be dependent on that card from your grandfather," Logan explained his reasoning for ordering her a duplicate of his own black Am-Ex. It was his name on the card, considering she was yet to change her name, but she as his wife was authorized to use it.

Logan did not yet have access to his inheritage beyond his yearly allowance. But that was still a lot. And right now the company was paying for his car, car service use, apartment and travel. And while Logan certainly knew how to party and shop, he actually wasn't a huge spender, being the quality over quantity kind of guy.

"Thank you," Rory managed, her throat feeling dry and grew quiet.

"You okay there?" Logan asked, mostly just hearing silence from the other end.

"It's an odd feeling, holding this..," Rory explained.

"It doesn't have to be," Logan assured.

"Yeah, I guess. It just still feels like your money," Rory shared, looking at the card in her hands, finding this surreal.

"Well, you better get used to calling it ours," Logan chimed in a friendly manner.

Rory continued to stare at the card in front of her like some world wonder, while he allowed Logan to unload about his day. She didn't mean to be impolite and it wasn't that she wasn't interested, it was just the same thing on most days. Mitchum did this, said that, or some local manager was brownnosing them in a particularly revolting manner. All she could do about any of that was be there and listen. The change needed to come from Logan, whatever it was.

Since Logan had a day off Thursday, and so did Lorelai, only needing to pop in at the inn briefly, Rory and Logan drove to Stars Hollow, as agreed. Luke had miraculously made it happen so the construction was finished early and Lorelai was eager to show her guest the new and improved house.

They'd done a quick tour of the house, Rory especially loving the upstairs bathroom with the dual sinks which had provided her some amusement since while she lived way fancier than her mother, their bathroom sizes were not comparable, the Taft building being rather old when it came to things like that.

So far Lorelai hadn't really addressed the Logan issue - i.e the apology - keeping things casual. But Rory agreed, it wasn't the moment.

As they'd gone through the house, Logan was still finding cute little knick-knacks and photos of Rory he'd never laid eyes on, the house being cluttered as usual, there seemed to be one thing missing.

"I thought you said you had a dog here," Logan pointed out.

"Yeah, where is Paul Anka?" Rory said, sounding already a little worried,

"He's laying low until he figures out you're not gonna eat his pigs' ears or something," Lorelai explained.

"The chicken's got to show his face so I can prove myself," Rory insisted as she headed downstairs. The two others followed after her.

Unexpectedly Rory came to a sudden halt.

"He has emerged!" Rory exclaimed, seeing Paul Anka for the first time since a week ago when she'd been over to make amends.

"I'm assuming that's Paul Anka," Logan commented.

"Well, it ain't Louis Prima," Lorelai said.

"Shoo, shoo," Rory tried to get the dog to come off the table. "He shouldn't be on the table," she added, awkwardly.

"That's his favorite spot. What are you gonna do next? Tell him he can't drink out of my water glass?" Lorelai rolled her eyes at her.

"Sorry," Rory said.

"How should I approach him?" Logan asked, having heard the dog being on the odd side.

"Honestly, Logan - I find it very odd you never had a dog growing up. Somehow when I imagine the ultra rich I always them having a half a dozen Corgies or Shih Tzus running around," Lorelai replied.

"I wish," Logan replied, trying to look past Lorelai's stereotypes. "I always wanted a golden retriever though," he added.

"Aw..," Rory chimed, finding that image adorable. She almost wished that they were a little older, settled at a house somewhere and she could just find a way to give him that - a dog. That sounded so much easier than even thinking about the possibility of a baby some day, and Rory was relieved her fertility issues had been pushed into the future, there having been no other issues with her other ovary between spring and now.

"Follow me," Lorelai suggested, and the three moved closer to the canine.

"Okay, stop," Lorelai instructed. "Now go into the kitchen and put sugar on your toes," she continued.

"What?" Logan asked in disbelief.

"And quickly, because first impressions are crucial. And you're blowing it big time," Lorelai added.

Rory pulled Logan by his hand into the kitchen, urging him to go along with it. There she dipped a kitchen paper towel under running water.

"Take off your shoe," Rory instructed and did the same, finding this actually kind of fun.

She dampened both of their toes and sprinkled a light layer of sugar on their feet. That alone was probably one of the oddest things Logan had ever done.

"You're so getting ants…," Logan cautioned.

"Oh, hush," Rory laughed, just going along with this.

"Hurry!" Lorelai encouraged them from the living room.

"Coming!" Rory said. "Okay, toes are all sugared," she added, as they walked back into the living room, getting sugar everywhere.

"Okay, good," Lorelai smiled approvingly. "Now do the hokey-pokey and turn yourself around," she added, barely holding her laughter.

"What?" Rory said, realizing her mother had been kidding all along by making them go through the hoops.

"All you have to do is pet him and you're in!" Lorelai cheered, victoriously.

"You're evil," Rory noted, feeling actually kind of guilty for dragging Logan along into this.

Luckily Logan was laughing.

"Yes, I am," Lorelai agreed.

"Hey, there, boy…," Rory said, and the dog indeed went for her toes and then onto Logan's, licking the sugar away. The sensation of the dog's wet and ticklish tongue felt oddly satisfying, it was definitely a little therapeutic.

"Hey, boy…," Logan said, being actually pretty brave by crouching down on his level and scratching him, revealing indeed that he had a very pet friendly side of him Rory had never really seen before.

Since there was hardly any food in the house, they headed for lunch at Luke's, deciding to walk so Rory could take in the town. There were a lot of friendly, but also curious glances around, most of the people having not gotten a real explanation about Rory's absence.

Kirk was put in charge of putting up Thanksgiving decorations, the town square quickly filling up with pumpkins, hale bale and sheaves of wheat.

"Okay, now wait out here," Lorelai instructed as they made it to Luke's.

"Wait for what?" Logan dared to ask.

"It's a thing, a moment thing. Just wait here," Lorelai explained, forcing the two of them to wait behind the door at Luke's, even if Logan had a pretty good idea this was mostly about Rory.

Luke was right inside so it took Lorelai a moment to greet him first and explain her plan

"You all ready!?" Lorelai began in a celebratory tone, going louder than Rory had anticipated.

"For what?" Luke asked, loudly enough to be heard outside.

"For this - the moment you've all been waiting for!" Lorelai exclaimed and tried to do a drum roll with her tongue, failing and sounding more like a helicopter of some sort. "Ladies and gentlemen, Rory Gilmore and her fiance!" she declared, making the not-so-new news evident for everyone. It was kind of smart really - Babette was in the diner and this would mean in an hour everyone knew, but it was nonetheless something Rory and Logan had not anticipated.

But supposedly, this too was validation in a way, and the people here were not really the kind to read society gossip much. They'd all seen Logan before but not as her fiance - of course Rory couldn't wait for everyone to know him as her fiance. She wanted everyone to know how solid they were - both unofficially and officially. This was her deeper reason for going along with this whole spectacle wedding too.

"Hi, Luke!" Rory stepped in as the door opened for her.

"Hi," Logan said, having not expected such a grand entrance. For him it was even more fascinating how everyone was watching them, and not because of his last name but because he was the guy associated with the long-lost Rory. Rory was the celebrity in this place.

They could both already hear Babette's excited whisper to someone - "Both of the Gilmore girls are engaged!"

"Hey! Rory, you're back!" Luke said, hugging Rory. "You look good - healthy, happy, here with you mom and Logan. All of you are here," he added, approvingly.

"And Logan - good to see you again!" Luke added, shaking Logan's hand. Logan got the feeling that while the man might've been skeptical of him too, he was glad this was happening and he felt assured by it.

"You too," Logan replied, humbly.

"Come - sit, sit," Luke encouraged, leading them to a table. "What can I get you?" he asked. "I'm gonna bring you everything you like," he continued.

"Sounds good," Rory replied.

"Logan?" Luke asked.

"Rory speaks highly of your pancakes, so I guess I'll have to try some," Logan said.

"I have syrup and strawberries, marshmallows and chocolate, and lemon zest sorbet," Luke listed.

"The lemon sorbet actually sounds great," Logan ordered, getting a skeptical eye from Lorelai.

"Excellent choice," Luke commented approvingly.

As Luke made his way towards the kitchen to put in their order, Lane stepped close.

"Hey! Mother and daughter… and fiance, together again, and all is right with the world," Lane commented.

"Hey, Lane," Rory replied.

"Next Wednesday night, I need you," Lane declared. "Tell me, you're not busy," Lane added.

"I'm not sure. Why?" Rory asked.

"We're doing a showcase. Me and the band. Not a gig, a showcase. And a label's going to be there," Lane explained, excitedly. "I'm shaking! I shouldn't shake, I'm a drummer - it'll mess up the beat," Lane added, shedding light that she was also incredibly nervous. "But, my god, we're playing for a label!" she exclaimed again.

"Wow, Lane, I'm absolutely there. This is big!" Rory replied. "Logan, you want to come too?" she glanced over to him.

"I'll need to check my schedule, but if I can - absolutely," Logan replied.

"Unless it's a 'waiting for Guffman' thing and the label guys don't show up. Did I just jinx it?" Lane blabbered.

"Let's just do that un-jinxing thing we used to do just in case," Rory suggested, allowing Logan to see a glimpse of her childhood self by doing an elaborate hand-shake type of thing along with a rhyme.

"So I'll put you down for plus one - plus Logan, just in case," Lane reflected, making herself a note of that. "How about you, Lorelai?" Lane asked.

"Working that night, sweetie. But break a leg!" Lorelai said.

"See you guys," Lane said, and got back to work.

The next moment the small diner table began to fill with all sorts of delicious-looking meals, so many that Logan, having for a moment forgotten what it was like with these two, was left in awe.

"Let's dig in," Rory said, jumping right into it, taking a bite of her bacon.

After what had technically been a late lunch, after which Rory and Logan had gotten a bunch of congratulations on their engagement from the townsfolk, the news having reached all interested ears, they took a walk to the Dragonfly, Lorelai essentially wanting to parade Rory around for all of their friends. Logan didn't really think much of this behavior, he was even a little skeptical whether it was a self-centered streak of Lorelai's, but he soon realized Rory genuinely wanted to do it and the people they were going to see were as much her friends as her mothers.

"Logan, I'd like you to meet Sookie, the famous chef," Rory introduced her to the woman, as they stepped into the kitchen, and were welcomed by some of the most delicious scents on the planet.

Sookied turned, gasped and opened her arms wide, her reaction being priceless as usual. Several items of food and utensils fell to the floor, a couple of assistant chefs sighing at the fact they were going to need to pick those things up as a result.

"Oh! Oh, my god!" Sooki exclaimed and hugged Rory.

"Hi, Sookie," Rory replied.

"And this is Logan, Rory's fiance," Lorelai said, clearly needing to practice saying that. Both Logan and Rory had held their breath there for a second, Rory especially considering Lorelai tended to tell Sookie everything. But this was definitely one secret that Sookie could not be trusted with considering she knew Emily.

"Aw… That sounds so grown up," Sookie chimed.

"That's because I am," Rory added.

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Logan. I've heard a lot about you," Sookie said, shaking his hand politely.

"Likewise, and only good I hope," Logan replied, knowingly.

"Of course," Sookie chuckled, but focused her attention quickly on Rory. "You're here! You're with us. Oh, I missed you," Sookie exclaimed.

"I missed you," Rory replied.

"You can set a wedding date - no impediments!" Sookie said, speaking quickly, to Lorelai.

"Yeah, I already told Luke," Lorelai replied.

"You haven't set the date?" Rory asked her mother, that topic having remained undiscussed until now.

While Rory looked at her mother, expecting some kind of an explanation, Sookied began to hyperventilate.

"I was just working on my list of what to make for Thanksgiving and I was wishing you were gonna be here, and now you are!" Sooki explained her somewhat odd reaction. "Oh, my god!" she added, continuing to breathe very rapidly.

Suddenly Michelle walked in - "Rory!" he exclaimed, sounding surprisingly excited in a positive way. It was not like him at all.

"Oh, hi. Wow, Michel," Rory replied. "Logan, this is Michel, Michel - Logan," Rory did a quick introduction round again.

"Hi," Michel replied, toning down his enthusiasm.

Logan raised his eyebrow, wondering whether the change in his reaction was about him. It wasn't and Rory would explain that to him later.

"Boy, that was weird," Lorelai commented.

"She just surprised me, that's all," Michel explained. "It's kind of okay that you are here," he added.

"It's kind of okay with us, too," Rory replied, laughing quietly.

"Lunch!" Sookie suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Rory asked, the word having come so out of the blue.

"I'm making you lunch!" Sookie exclaimed again.

"But we just..," Rory began to object.

"Don't fight it..," Lorelai reminded her.

Logan couldn't think of any scenario in which he could eat anything more, having already exceeded what he normally ate in a day, being a pretty health conscious guy.

However, while Sookie cooked, Lorelai gave Logan and Rory a tour of the Inn, there having been a few changes there over the summer as well. And surprisingly enough Logan actually had some constructive comments to say to Lorelai, considering he had been doing a lot of traveling recently and stayed in a number of places, and having an eye for details.

"So - you said before you didn't set a date?" Rory tried to inquire, the fact having caught her ear earlier.

Lorelai was feeling a little conscious about having Logan in a conversation that usually was just the two of them, but she just tried to rise above it.

Logan is Rory's husband. Rory is Logan's wife - just going on repeat in her head, it takes a lot of effort for the realization of what that actually meant to stick.

"Um, yeah. It just didn't feel right. I knew I wanted you in the wedding. I just couldn't imagine doing that without you," Lorelai confessed.

"If you two want a moment alone…," Logan suggested, feeling indeed like a third wheel.

The look on Rory's face, feeling genuinely sympathetic for her mother right then, probably for the first time she'd found out about her mother's engagement, and she glanced at Logan, giving him a look of gratitude as a 'yes'.

Logan swiftly made a quiet exit, deciding to take a trip to the bathroom in the meanwhile.

"You know… for a second there I actually thought that the reason why you got engaged right then, so rapidly… I actually thought it was somehow to 'out-do' me or make my engagement less significant," Rory confessed, knowing that confessing that might actually be a little hurtful. But their policy had always been honesty.

"It was sudden, yes, but Rory..," Lorelai exhaled, getting a tad emotional.

"I'm sorry I thought that… but I was seeing monsters, you have to understand that," Rory said.

"You know… I never want Luke to know it or you to think that it was just that. But I do think that to some extent my eagerness to marry him. Like me doing the asking, not waiting for him to do it and so on… it was because of what had happened with us. It was like I needed something to make me happy right then and I am so relieved it was Luke, and it wasn't the wrong person. So yes - the suddenness had to do with you. But I am really not trying to outdo you in any way, Rory. You have to believe me," Lorelai explained.

"I believe you," Rory replied.

"So, we're okay?" Lorelai asked.

"Uh-huh," Rory nodded.

There was an idea forming in her head, but she wasn't yet sure where to take it. She was getting this overwhelming sense that her mother was going to ask her to be the maid of honor in her wedding, but she was honestly still having some doubts whether she wanted to do the same. She didn't want to hurt her, but there was something she could perhaps suggest to share with her.

"Did you tell grandma about the engagement?" Rory asked.

"She saw the ring at your birthday party. She was… sort of haughty about it," Lorelai replied, and Rory knew she hadn't been very surprised.

"I know you don't really have a date set with Luke yet, but maybe when we go dress shopping for me, maybe we could see if they have something for you too?" Rory suggested, hoping this would be the olive branch. Mother - daughter wedding dress shopping was the dream, wasn't it?

Lorelai was at a loss for words.

"I'd have to run it by grandma first, I guess. But I don't really see why they should have an issue with this," Rory said.

"I really don't want to steal your thunder," Lorelai assured. Rory's reveal - that she had ever thought she would do something like that still stung.

"I want to celebrate what Logan and I have. But it's not like we'd be doing it for the first time…," Rory said, indicating she would be happy to do it.

"I guess that would be nice," Lorelai agreed, hesitantly.

"And I know Logan is still kind of worried about you knowing about… the marriage," Rory said, adding the latter in a whisper.

"My lips are sealed, I promise," Lorelai said.

"It's just really important for him, so his dad doesn't find out at least until graduation," Rory added.

"Mum's the word," Lorelai assured.

It was then Rory saw Logan in the doorway, hesitating to return, and Rory nodded to him to join them at the table, feeling grateful for him giving her a small private moment with her mother.

"So, your dad called," Lorelai said, after a brief moment of eating. She just wasn't really finding things to talk to Logan about, her attention being drawn to her daughter. She didn't do it to be impolite, it was just the overwhelming emotion towards her daughter causing her to be like this.

"Wow. It's been a while," Rory admitted, actually having last seen him over dinner in the spring when Logan and her had first become public with their relationship. And since then she'd barely spoken to him once on the phone, telling him she was engaged. He'd sounded happy for her, but that had been that, and honestly Rory hadn't really even thought about him, having had a lot of other things on her mind.

"When did he call?" Rory asked.

"The very worst possible time," Lorelai explained.

"He's got a knack for that," Rory said, rolling her eyes.

"He left a message which Luke overheard and it freaked him out. He got all jealous thinking I was speaking to him regularly or something," Lorelai continued to explain.

"That's understandable," Rory sighed.

"We argued. But then we made up and we had a good talk," Lorelai said. "This must be so boring for you, Logan. Sorry… we just have a lot of catching up to do," Lorelai apologized to Logan in passing.

"Fine by me. Catch up all you want," Logan replied, feeling like he was actually in a learning position.

"Then, I listened to the rest of Christopher's message, and he wants to see me," Lorelai shared.

"Why?" Rory asked.

"He didn't say," Lorelai replied, adding - "He sounded very chipper," a little skeptically. "He said he had something very important to discuss with me and that it wasn't a trick and that it was an absolutely 100% positive thing for me and for you," Lorelai continued.

"For both of us?" Rory reflected, looking puzzled.

"Uh-huh," Lorelai assured.

"Meaning there's a 99,9% chance that it won't be," Rory estimated, causing Logan to chuckle lightly at her conclusion.

Logan didn't know the man well, but as much as he had seen of him - he'd seemed like a nice, honest and likable guy. He didn't have an issue with him, but there was clearly a lot there when it came to these two.

"I guess so..," Lorelai said. "So what should I do?" she asked.

"Well you could ignore him now. But that's dangerous because then he tends to just show up at the worst possible time. And even if you don't see him before that, he'll still come to the wedding. I want him to be there, I hope he does too… even if we've been a little estranged these days," Rory said.

"I mean, he wouldn't dare be in cahoots with Emily and Richard on something, would he?" Lorelai discussed.

"He's not that dumb," Rory said.

"Yeah, but he's vulnerable. They prey on the weak," Lorelai added.

Logan was getting a much more authentic image of Rory's father like this - nothing being sugar coated or glossed over - this was how these two actually felt about him.

"He said it's something positive. It couldn't involve them," Rory said.

"Maybe he's getting back together with his wife?" Lorelai suggested.

"That's not technically good news for us, it's just news," Rory pondered.

"Maybe it's about Gigi. Maybe she's a prodigy?" Lorelai suggested.

"I keep forgetting you have a half-sister, Ace…," Logan budded in.

"Me too, to be honest," Rory admitted.

"Maybe he's calling to invite us to her premiere at Carnegie hall?" Lorelai continued.

"Playing what instrument?" Rory went along with that out-there scenario for the sake of the fun.

"The flugelhorn?" Lorelai suggested.

"She's what - 3? We would have read about it in the paper by now," Rory discussed.

"Freakishly talented 3-year-old flugelhorn prodigy discovered," Logan spelled out a news headline, trying to engage somehow, taking the words out of Rory's mouth.

"That would be very positive news," Rory said, appreciating Logan's input and placing her hand over his.

"Well, I'm out. I guess there's only one way to find out," Lorelai sighed. "Ah, and I can't believe I never got to see the ring?" she glanced down on Rory's hand and Rory gladly showed off her engagement ring.

"Good choice, Logan," Lorelai commented approvingly.

"I love it," Rory chimed, and leaned over to Logan to give him a little peck.

It was still a little weird for Lorelai - seeing her daughter so grown up, so together in almost every part of her life. With her husband.

It was later that night - after way too much food, a walk, and then two parts of the Godfather with hilarious banter, and more food, when Rory and Logan were snuggled in Rory's childhood bed, having not bothered with the spare mattress. They'd once slept months on end on beds this small - surely they could fit. But despite enjoying the coziness of sleeping in constant contact with the other, they realized they may be reminded about the downside of this too by the morning i.e by sore sides for not being able to turn around without being conscious of one's position.

"You looked happy today," Logan murmured into Rory's neck, spooning her.

"I was. All of my favorite people..," Rory sighed, embracing his hands that went around her.

"I don't really feel like I fit thought..," Logan confessed.

"You do too… But I know what you mean. Me and my mom we just had a lot of catching up to do," Rory explained, apologetically.

"Your mom apologized to me when you were in the bathroom," Logan shared.

"Yeah?" Rory asked, already having been a little disappointed that she hadn't.

"Just said that she judged me unfairly and what you and I did took courage and she needs to learn to accept my new position in your life. She reminded me to treat you well, kind of … pre-wedding talk post wedding…," Logan summed things up.

"You do treat me well," Rory hummed, enjoying feeling his warmth against her back.

"She explained her former concerns too. But overall I think we're good for now," Logan added.

"I kind of hate when she does that. It sounds like she's making excuses. I mean one can feel those things, have doubts… whatever, but it doesn't give her the right to act accordingly," Rory explained, having maintained a critical view of her mother regardless of reconciling with her.

"But could she have been right?" Logan asked.

"About what?" Rory replied.

"About me dragging you into my world and taking you away from this one? Obviously these two words don't really mix well," Logan discussed.

"Maybe a little. But not 'drag' - I came on my own free will," Rory began. "I mean, it was never about seeing how high society worked or how people who had money lived. I never had such superficial aspirations. I'd seen glimpses of how that made people miserable or uptight, that's all. But you opened me up to so many new and great things too besides the downsides. The LDB, just learning how to have fun, let loose, but also how one should never judge people by how much they have. I wanted to experience new things and I think right now the reality is that I just need to learn how to balance these two extremes. This place is quirky, genuine and at the same time maybe a little like my little pond where I used to be the big fish in. And your world, but also whatever awaits me after I try to rise on my feet again careerwise, which is something I right now feel like I am just going to drown in. There's so much I don't know and so much I need to adjust to. I don't yet know how. But I hope you can learn to like this town's little quirks too in time - I don't think it's just about me learning to live in your world, Logan… but also about you learning to balance this," Rory explained insightfully.

"You've really thought about this a lot, haven't you?" Logan hummed, and kissed her shoulder.

He didn't disagree, but at this point he still struggled to see how he would make this palace accept him or how he would fit here, besides the occasional visit. He could only hope Rory didn't dream about one day making her home here - as that really would've been something he wasn't sure he was equipped to deal with.

What lengths was he actually prepared to go for his wife? He didn't regret marrying her, not for a second, but an occasional reminder of how young they were and how there were still things to learn about the other, especially considering how they were both still developing as human beings - growing, was in moments like this a little troubling.