Little bit of girl talk, little bit of fluff, a lot of realizations and coming-to-terms-withs.
And I've learned if I really want to wrack up the reviews to always ask you guys questions! Actually, I want to thank you for your opinons. The general gist is you don't care, so long as I continue, right? I've actually got another question, but I'll wait a bit before I ask. For now, you enjoy the newest installment and leave me a line.
Oh, and hugs to EvenAngelsFall22, who is my absolute hero. Thank you. Tell me how my Lorelai is now.
"Zach's looking after the twins, Mama's going to check in periodically and I come bearing a Lorelai."
Those were the first rapidly spoken words out of Lane Kim's mouth as Rory opened the door late Saturday afternoon. Rory had called her while Sophie and Logan watched the penguins at the Central Park Zoo and Lane had promised to be there. Something, apparently, had been off with Rory when she'd called and Lane didn't think twice about leaving
"Hey," Rory greeted, enthusiastic to see her best friend but weighed down by the worries that had compounded over the past two days.
"Whoa, tone it down a bit there, the enthusiasm's going to strangle me," Lorelai said, her tone completely concerned. "Everything okay, babe?"
"Been better," Rory admitted, removing the containers of food and goodies both women had brought in. "Sookie?"
"Yeah. So is this 'been better' the reason we've got snacks and girls only movies?"
Rory glanced up from the counter where she'd moved to unpack. "I needed a girls' night."
"I was wondering when the insecurities were going to come up," Lane said wisely, leaning her elbows on the counter beside her best friend. "What happened?"
Lorelai looked over her daughter critically. "It can't be the sex," she decided. "And you're still wearing the diamond, so you're not mad at him."
"Mom!" Rory exclaimed, blushing at her mother's off-handed mention of her sex life.
"Definitely not the sex," Lane agreed easily, eyeing her best friend. "Nah, this torture is all in the mind."
"Whoa, sex is all in who's mind?"
Rory groaned as Honour and Steph stepped through the still open door. Leave it to Steph to put the two sentences together to make something dirty. "No one," she spoke quickly.
Lane raised an eyebrow. "Rory, with a man like yours…"
Rory groaned again as she watched the gleeful expression spread across Steph's face.
"Ah yes, Logan certainly is well known for his…"
"Prowess," Lorelai volunteered helpfully.
Steph's grin widened as Rory's face reddened. "Exactly."
"Okay, we're all aware this is my brother we're talking about, right?" Honour inquired with a look of disgust, "I'm not sure I want to know about his sex life."
"He's dating your best friend, you should already be privy to the deep dark details," Steph pointed out.
"Can we not talk about mine and Logan's sex life, please?" Rory begged, her face turning, if it was seriously possible at this point, even redder.
"Isn't that why we're here?" Lane asked in confusion.
"No!" Rory exclaimed in exasperation. "We're here to talk about marriage and the fact that his parents hate me and the fact that Sophie's gotten so attached to him!"
The room was silent for a few moments before everyone finally reacted to Rory's outburst.
"Logan's talking marriage?"
"What's wrong with Sophie's attachment?"
"Screw my parents!"
"You're grandparents are going to go through the roof."
"Enough!" Rory yelled. She hadn't meant to blab it all out at once. She's meant to go slow and open each topic up bit by bit. She turned to her mother. "I haven't told Grandma and Grandpa yet."
"Oooh, you're going to be so dead. You're going to be deader than dead," Lorelai said with a twisted grin. "They're still fixated on Mr Wall Street."
Rory, Honour and Lane all stiffened simultaneously.
"Whoa, there's something we don't know here," Steph said. "And these are the Gilmore grandparents?"
Rory picked up the story. "They were not happy with me when I broke up with my ex. I haven't really talked to either of them since except for polite at society functions."
"Well the family's always been closer to the Gilmores. Emily and Marcy had the whole wedding planned," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "The break up seemed out of the blue."
Honour stepped in then. "We all know Logan could charm anyone to do anything. The Gilmores shouldn't be a problem. I want to hear whatever you've got in your head about marriage before I even touch on my parents."
"Logan and marriage in the same sentence is kind of terrifying," Steph agreed.
"We haven't actually talked about getting married," Rory prefaced, "Just in passing because we were talking about how Shira doesn't like me at all. He mentioned it. Then we talked about how I wasn't going to be anyone's trophy…"
"You talked about the future?" Steph asked, her voice still surprised.
"Not really," Rory corrected gently. "It was more a quasi-future talk. But he did have this fixation on 'we'..."
"Okay, slow down here a minute," Lane requested. "Fill in the best friend that is suddenly feeling out very out of the loop."
"Logan Huntzberger has never had a girlfriend before our very own Rory," Honour said, her tone implying that the simple sentence explained the world. For all intents and purposes, it pretty much did.
"His parents have had a plan for him since they found out he was a boy. He always fought back, doing crazy things throughout college and whatever. When he started working at Daddy's company, his rebellion came in the form of his one night stands," Steph added. "He'd never kept a girl for longer than a week until Ror."
Lane nodded slowly. "So for Logan to be talking marriage is huge," she concluded.
"Bigger than the Pope huge," Honour agreed.
The small Korean turned to her best friend. "What do you think?"
"What?' Rory asked, confusion wrinkling her brow.
"About marrying Logan."
Rory blinked. Honestly, she hadn't really thought about a future with Logan Huntzberger because the idea seemed so surreal. It was kind of odd, now that she took a moment to consider the possibility, that she'd never pictured him as her 'one'. Sure, every girl dreamed of her perfect wedding and she'd definitely planned hers with Robert by this time in their relationship, but Logan was so much different, so unpredictable, that she couldn't tie herself down.
"I'm not really taking the stunned silence as a good thing."
Rory blinked herself back to the four women staring at her. "I…I really haven't thought about it," she finally admitted.
"You have never once considered being Mrs Logan Huntzberger?" Steph asked in awe. "You really are an odd one."
"I think that's a compliment," Rory said, shooting her friend a glare. "But it seriously hasn't crossed my conscious mind. I guess we're just taking things as they come."
"That sounds more like Logan than like you," Honour said carefully.
"And any other time I'd definitely agree, but I don't mind it so much," Rory told her friends honestly.
Lane was her only long-time friend in the group that looked seriously contemplative. Being best friends since kindergarten gave Lane a much different perspective on Rory than Honour and Steph had and while Rory and Lorelai were attached-at-the-hip close, Lorelai was still Rory's mother and there were things the two just didn't talk about.
Throughout her life, Rory had always planned for every event, every possible situation or outcome. Every last detail was always taken care of and every possibility considered and provided for. This Logan, a man Lane had only been privileged to hear about over the phone and see e-mailed pictures, had apparently been able to coax Rory into letting go of some of her anal retentive nature to embrace whatever life decided to throw at her. In Lane's opinion, Logan had virtually done the impossible. She cleared her throat. "Hey Ror?"
"Yeah?"
Lane knew she had the rapt attention of all of the women. "Close your eyes."
Rory did so automatically, plunging herself into the inky blackness of her eyelids.
"Picture yourself at your wedding, okay? The whole dress, the crazy bridal party, Soph in a flower girl's dress… you got it?"
"Navy blue bridal party, calla lilies and all," Rory answered, the colours blooming across the blank canvas of her mind. She and Lane had planned their dream weddings out ages ago.
"Okay, you're dancing with your husband, head on his chest, surrounded by family and friends. Now, you pull back to kiss him…"
Rory had been transported by Lane's words to the green back lawns of the Dragonfly Inn, her mother's baby and pride and joy. Pink, yellow and red blossomed all around the inn's back lawns and she could practically smell Sookie's mouth-watering creations. She could feel strong, familiar arms around her body, holding her, loving her, cherishing her. She pulled back and looked up, meeting brown eyes she knew so well.
"Logan."
Rory's eyes snapped open at the confidence and strength in her answer to Lane's unasked question. Her eyes flew to identical blues, seeking reassurance that she was completely insane.
Lorelai simply shrugged. "I think you have your answer, babe."
"We've never talked about it. We haven't even hypothetically talked about moving in!" Rory exclaimed. It felt fast, it felt rushed, it felt chaotic and Rory wasn't sure she was truly ready for all of that. At the same time, she felt deep in her heart the warmth of contentment and happiness that came with that speed and chaos.
Honour rolled her eyes. "Oh please, he practically lives here as it is."
Rory blinked. "What?" Had Logan really become that much of an integral part of her daily life? So much so that she hadn't even noticed how often he was at her house?
Honour grinned at the greedy looks on Lorelai and Steph's faces. "Sophie," she volunteered, naming her source.
"He does not practically live here," Rory protested.
"You really are in that blissful state of denial, aren't you?" Steph said with an affectionate shake of her head.
Before Rory could say anything else the home phone rang. Lorelai, as the closest, picked it up, shushing the others. "Hayden House of Pleasure, we make your hottest fantasies a reality. How may I direct your call?" The person on the other end probably hadn't finished their greeting before Lorelai shoved the phone in Rory's direction.
Please not the Gilmores, Rory chanted to herself out of habit. Please, please, please. "Hello?"
"All of my hottest fantasies?"
Rory shivered at the seductive honey of Logan's voice. "I can be persuaded," she answered, wincing at the cat calls of her friends.
Logan laughed.
"Sure, laugh it up now, Casanova. Where are your friends?" she asked, stepping out of the kitchen and into the study for some privacy. She closed the door behind her.
"They won't be here until after the dinner hour," he replied. "But you, Miss Hayden, stole my favourite Yale t-shirt."
Rory gasped in indignation even as she felt her face flush. She knew exactly what t-shirt he was talking about because it was currently sitting neatly folded on her pillow. She'd thrown it on the night before to wear to bed. "I stole nothing," she denied. "If you left it here, that's your problem, not mine."
There was silence from him.
"Logan?"
"Shh… I'm trying to remember if that was the shirt you all but ripped in half the last time Sophie was over at her friend's."
Rory shivered as her mind was bombarded with her own mental images. "Logan!"
"What Ace?'
She sighed at the unrepentant-bordering-on-innocent tone. "You are incorrigible."
"You love me."
"I do."
"Do you have my shirt?"
Rory blushed as she made her way into her room. "You're not getting it back." She stopped in the doorway as the truth hit her. He had drawers in her dresser, he had hangars in her massive closet, he had shelves in her shower and a kit under the sink.
"Ace?"
She shook herself back to the man on the phone. "Sorry."
"Ah, so you did steal it," he crowed triumphantly.
"You left it here." She knew her voice betrayed the newly tumultuous state of her mind.
"Rory? Everything okay?"
"Yeah," she replied with a deep breath. "Nothing copious amounts of junk food and the girls can't cure. Did you want your shirt?"
"Nah, but it was a good reason to call you."
That brought a smile to Rory's face. "You're cute."
"Should I bring a bag tomorrow?" he asked abruptly.
It took Rory's mind a minute to shift gears and understand what he was talking about. "You have three suits here," she replied, counting the fabric quickly.
"Ties?"
"Um… None."
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."
Rory's smile was soft and sweet as she made her way back to the girls. "Tomorrow," she agreed. "Love you."
"Love you too."
Even Lorelai had a huge grin on her face as Rory plopped down on the couch between Honour and Lane.
"Alright, so he practically lives here," Rory conceded.
The girls burst into giggles around their blushing friend.
Hours later, Lane Honour and Steph had all passed into the land of dreams, leaving the original Gilmore girls watching the credits for Breakfast at Tiffany's. They'd all shifted around throughout the night until Rory and Lorelai had been sandwiched together. It had been natural for Rory's head to gravitate towards her mother's shoulder.
"Hey kid?" Lorelai whispered so as not to wake the others.
Rory raised her head.
"I'm glad you found Logan," Lorelai said carefully.
Rory rested her head back on Lorelai's shoulder. "I really love him."
Lorelai ran her fingers through Rory's hair. "I know. You've never looked so happy or content." Silence fell over both women for a moment before Lorelai spoke again. "Ror, why isn't Logan living here?"
Rory sighed. "It just never came up."
"Never came up?"
"We've been trying to go slow."
Lorelai sighed. It wasn't often the happy-go-lucky Gilmore-Hayden was serious, but Rory had been worrying Lorelai since her terrible break up with Robert. The way Rory had thrown herself into her work had haunted Lorelai every day.
Rory stood and headed for the kitchen, very aware that her mother wouldn't be far behind. She poured two mugs of coffee, waiting for her very best friend to join her. She watched as Lorelai grasped the other mug and took a sip, leaning beside her.
"You've been dating for nine months," Lorelai started slowly.
"I know."
"You're being very, very careful."
Rory shrugged. "I don't want Sophie to get used to someone or something and then uproot her when it doesn't work out."
"You're extremely pessimistic."
"Rory shrugged as she sipped her coffee. "I prefer careful."
"Careful? Have you learned nothing from the extensive pop-culture education your darling mother has provided you with? Being careful and letting love go are basically the same thing."
Rory smiled. "But I'm a real person, I'm not in a Hollywood movie where you know there's going to be a happy ending."
Lorelai sighed. "Okay, in all seriousness, kid, he loves you, you love him, I don't understand why you keep second guessing a great thing."
"I.. I want this to last," Rory began haltingly. "I can see a future with him, but I could see a future with Robert and look at how that turned out. I don't want that vision shattered."
"You're still afraid he's going to bolt."
Rory glanced down, then back up at her mother. "I'm nothing like the girls he used to date. I have a job, I have a daughter. I have a life outside of shopping, gossiping and society luncheons. I can't be the trophy wife his family wants for him."
Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "I find it hard to believe that Logan would want that type of life for his wife. And from the little I know of Elias, I don't think he wants that for you or for Logan," she pointed out.
"Shira on the other hand…"
"Her opinion matters?"
"Not to Honour or Logan," Rory agreed.
Lorelai bumped her hip slightly against Rory's. "You know kid, sometimes I forget you weren't raised in Logan and Honour's world."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"There are always going to be people who hate you, Ror. It's the way Hartford works. Not to mention that there's always going to be someone to disappoint."
"His mother though?"
"You're stupid to let something like this go because of a woman with the IQ of a peanut."
Rory met her mother's gaze. "Is it worth it?" she asked, vulnerability blatant in her small voice.
Lorelai considered the question carefully. Francine and Straub had been less than impressed when Lorelai had refused to marry Christopher upon finding out she was pregnant. It had taken time and many fights on Christopher's part to see that not only were Lorelai and Christopher good for each other, but waiting and pushing back against the parental pressure had been arguably the best thing for their relationship. Eventually, Francine and Straub had come around too, but looking back on the bitter fights and the anger, Lorelai decided there was no way she would change a single step in her long, winding road to what she had now.
"You know what, hon," she began with a smile. "It's worth every second."