Chapter Sixteen

Sunlight streamed in through the open curtains, rousing Rory from the best night's sleep she'd had in a long time. She relished the feeling of Logan's warm, strong arms wrapped around her, and peered up through her lashes to stare at his sleeping face. Sighing contentedly, she snuggled back into his chest and closed her eyes again.

A sudden scream tore through the air making Rory jump. She turned too quickly as she tried to get out of bed to investigate.

"OW!" she cried as she landed on the floor.

Logan was by her side in an instant. "Ace! You ok?"

"Yeah. My mom screamed! Logan…"

Logan didn't need further instruction. Without hesitation, he turned and ran from Rory's room in search of her mother. Rory clambered to her feet to follow him, fear spiking in her heart as her mother's scream reverberated around her head.

Reaching the living room, Rory's eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. Lorelai stood at the foot of the stairs, one hand clapped over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. Logan was doubled over next to Lorelai, clearly laughing hard. Casting her eyes to the couch, Rory realised what the source of all the commotion actually was.

"Oh, Colin." Rory started to laugh. Colin was fast asleep, sprawled across the couch completely naked, clutching his cell phone to his chest. Paul Anka was curled up at his feet, also fast asleep. Then Rory caught sight of Finn and Robert cuddled up together on the floor. Glancing back to her mother's horrified face, Rory couldn't control herself. She laughed so hard she woke Colin.

"Ten thousand dollars!" Colin cried as he sat up.

"Seriously?" Rory managed through her laughter, "You dream about buying things?"

Colin looked around through bleary eyes. "Rory? Logan? Where am I?" He looked down. "Am I actually naked or is this still my dream?"

Logan wiped tears from his eyes. "You're naked, dude."

"Ah."

Lorelai grabbed what looked like a shirt up from the floor in front of her and threw it at Colin, who gratefully covered himself up. Turning to Rory, Lorelai spoke quietly. "Sure you want Logan? I mean, did you see that…"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother. "Dirty!"

Lorelai grinned and flicked her hair off her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen. "I'm just saying. Coffee everyone?"

Logan followed Lorelai. "I'll give you a hand."

Rory walked over to Finn and Robert, snapped a quick picture on her cell phone and then nudged Finn with her toe.

Finn squirmed. "No, mother. Not yet."

"Oh no. Tell me I didn't." Colin sounded mildly amused.

Rory spoke without looking up as she continued to try and wake Finn. "What did you buy this time?"

"Er, a house, I think. Thicken house? No, that's not right. Wicken… Nope."

"Twickham? You bought the old Twickham house?"

"So it would appear. I have an angry email from my financial guy."

Rory couldn't help but smile. "When will you learn?"

"Never, Rory, never. What do I want with a house in Hell's Hollow? No bars, no unmarried women with poor morals, some potent punch though. Any idea why I'm naked?"

"Was there punch at the party? Never, ever drink punch from here. Ever." Rory chided Colin, remembering her own Founder's Day punch experience. She shuddered at the memory and finally gave up trying to wake Finn. "Can they get you out of it?"

"Well, from the tone of the email I have, I would say no. It would appear that I signed some form of legally binding contract last night. The real estate guy… Kurt? He's a sneaky one."

"Kirk." Rory corrected as Logan and Lorelai returned bearing large cups of coffee. Rory gratefully accepted hers. Taking a big gulp and burning her mouth in the process, Rory wrinkled her nose. "Ugh. Decaf."

Logan simply shook his head. "No caffeine for you or my kid, ace."

Rory pouted. "Hey, I'm allowed a little bit. Now get over here and sort your overgrown kids out."

"Aha!" Colin jumped up, dropping the shirt he was using to cover his groin. Lorelai squealed and covered her eyes.

"Colin!" Rory and Logan yelled in unison. "Jinx!" they said, pointing at each other, before giggling like children.

"Sorry." Colin said as he hastily snatched up the shirt again. "I just had a brain wave. You need a house. I have a house. It's yours. Call it a wedding gift."

Rory was gob-smacked. "Wow! I- are you sure? That's a huge gift, Colin. I mean, wow."

"Well, it looks like im stuck with it, and you two need it, so yeah, I'm sure."

Logan walked over and shook Colin's hand, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you."

Finn had finally woken up and disentangled himself from Robert with a grimace. Looking at Logan and Rory with an innocent expression on his face, Finn spoke loudly. "I'll need the biggest room, of course. Come on, darlings, there is much work to do. Oh, for the love of all that is sacred, Colin, put on some damn clothes."

Rory glanced at Logan with a helpless shrug. "Sort the boys out, Peter."