Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls

Chapter 4

"I swear to god Paris, listening to him say that he missed us, that he missed me. Who the hell does he think he is? I've been here. I've been here this entire time. It was him who was never here. It was him who missed birthdays and anniversaries and made endless broken promises."

"Men are scum," Paris lifted her wine glass in a faux toast between the two women as Rory stood in her closet silently critiquing the outfit she had so carefully chosen. "You look great. You look like the poster for a mommy makeover only you didn't need to have one because you're the only person on earth who eats what they want, breastfeeds and then just instantly bounces back. You're the kind of woman that women everywhere hate," she wasn't serious of course, but she was hoping to get some sort of reaction out of Rory who was clearly in a Logan induced rage.

"How do you miss something you never did? How dare he? He puts this on me like the divorce was something I just chose. I got a divorce because it was the only way I could protect my kids from the constant disappointment of their father not showing up. At least if they didn't expect him to be a full time parent, they wouldn't be let down when he wasn't. But no, no, now, now the ink is dry and the papers are filed and now he wants to show up like he should've shown up then?"

"You know, at least he's showing up," Paris finally spoke seriously to her friend. "Doyle has been in LA for months and hasn't seen the twins since before he left. Barely calls them. I'm not saying Huntzberger deserves a medal…I'm just saying that if he's trying…roll with it. Maybe it's good. Maybe he's maturing. Maybe he realizes what an idiot he was. But no matter what, Christian and Riley are going to be better off having their parents getting along. Take it from someone who knows."

Rory crossed her arms over her body and sighed as she took in her appearance in the floor length mirror, "you're supposed to hate him."

"I do hate him. I hate him for being a shitty husband and a shitty father, but it sounds like he's trying to make up for the shitty father part, and I wish that Doyle was concerned about that. I wish that my dad had been concerned about that…"

Rory sighed as she grabbed her earrings and began slipping them into her ears. Paris was right, and as much as she hated that Paris was right, she supposed this was exactly why she went to Paris with this type thing. Paris told her the truth, even when she didn't want to hear it. The earrings had been a gift, he had given them to her shortly after Christian had been born when they finally got out for a date night and she had a reason to dress up. Beautiful clustered diamonds, the second she saw the dress she had rented for the evening she knew she needed to pull the drop earrings out of the safety deposit box they were stored in along with many other pieces of priceless jewelry she had been given over the years. "Logan is a wonderful father," she conceded, "but he was a crappy husband towards the end and a few weeks of doing the right thing doesn't change that," of course she was saying this to herself, she wasn't looking for Paris to respond and both women knew it. "Do I look ok?"

"You look like hot shit Gilmore," Paris grinned. "Are you sleeping here?" It had become somewhat of a tradition that when Rory had to come into the city, and Logan had the kids, she would come back and she and Paris would have a girls night. Paris always made sure the fridge was stocked and the pantry full and in the morning they would go for brunch and it was almost like the old days except their hangovers lasted for much longer and they both had significantly more money than they did when they'd been working in the dining hall at Yale.

"Unless I get swept off my feet by some hot, rich man and taken away for a night of great sex with no consequences," Rory rolled her eyes as she slipped on her shoes. A pair of black, satin Manolo's with a jewelled detail that matched her earrings. The earrings were meant to be the show stopper. She knew that people would talk, they always did when she and her ex-husband were in the same room. It was as if these people thought they would have some sort of public brawl? She chose a rented dress for a few reasons, the environment being one of them - she was increasingly aware of how wasteful it was to buy an overpriced dress and wear it once, leaving it to die in the back of her closet after with dozens of gowns she'd worn before, but also because she didn't want people talking about alimony or divorce settlements. She wasn't going to stand by while people whispered about how she spent money because she walked in wearing a $10,000 Oscar de la Renta gown - she was already in a fishbowl, she wasn't looking to make it worse.

"That wouldn't be so terrible, would it?" Paris sighed, "a night of great sex with no strings, no attachments and no pimples on their backs to pop in the morning?"

Rory cringed, she didn't need to know if that was something that had happened in Paris and Doyle's marriage because it sure as hell hadn't happened with Logan. The man was blessed with great skin, a great body, a remarkable sex drive and a gift with his tongue in addition to all of the other things about him that had made her fall in love. His ability to prioritize his family was his fatal flaw. "And I don't know if you remember this or maybe you're choosing to forget, but I'm not single. I'm dating Jess. Have been for a few months now."

"And how is that going?" There was no world in which Paris thought Jess and Rory were right for each other. It wasn't specifically that she thought Jess wasn't good enough for Rory, it was that she felt like they could never both fully be a part of each others lives. Whether Jess liked it or not, the society life he had so much disdain for when they were teenagers, Rory was fully immersed in it. She was a mom with a couple of kids and carpool and sports and dance classes. Paris had joined them for dinner once in the city and Jess had laughed about how much fun it was to be carefree without responsibility, but except Rory had responsibilities. She had a house to run, she had deadlines and chapters due, she had her kids and she had a relationship with her ex-husband to manage. Paris just didn't think Jess fully understood who Rory was now. It wasn't entirely his fault, Paris had no problem pointing that out to Rory when they had talked a few days after the dinner.

Why hadn't he met the kids? I'm not ready yet. Has he spent time at your house? The house is too big for just the two of us to hang out in. Is he coming to Christmas? I have Christmas with the kids, but he'll be in Stars Hollow, so maybe we'll meet up.

"It's going. It's fine."

"I just want you to be happy Gilmore."

"I'm happy," Rory grabbed her small evening bad. "I'll text you on my way."

"I'll order the pizza when you do," Paris smiled.

A car took Rory to the St Regis where the party was being held. For many years it had been held at The Plaza, but apparently Mitchum had some sort of tiff with the bar manager and they'd changed locations the year before. She was less than thrilled by the change of venue. The Plaza was old and stuffy and she and Logan never visited there when they were in the city, but the St Regis? They loved the St Regis. He had taken her on a mini baby moon when she was pregnant with Riley so the two of them could get away. They had booked a suite, she couldn't remember which one and somehow the room had been oversold. In a way that she had become accustomed to in her marriage, the man at the front desk started to sweat realizing who they had displaced and she would never forget the bile in her throat as she worried about how her husband would react, but then he was just him and gave the man his trademark grin, the one she'd fallen in love with so many years earlier. "I assume you have a room in this place available, with a bed?" The man nodded, "well my wife and I will be just fine with a king sized bed and a soaker tub." And with that, all had been saved and they had spent the majority of the weekend in the spa being pampered or curled up in that bed enjoying each other in ways they hadn't in months. Rory wished they were back at The Plaza. The Plaza didn't make her miss her marriage, The Plaza didn't fill her with happy memories of feeling so fucking important to him, it didn't fill her with hope for their future. The Plaza was just a place where they went once a year to appease his parents.

The St Regis held a part of her marriage, a part that had failed.

Her first order of business when she got inside was to find her kids. It had only been a day since she'd seen them, but she missed them. The reality was, her entire world worked around her children. She was there when they left for school and home when they got off the bus. She knew their friends and their schedules, she kept track of birthdays and assignments and sports and dance classes on a giant acrylic calendar in the mudroom. She missed them. She spotted Christian first. It wasn't hard to find them, they were several feet shorter than most of the other attendees and it was a little gang of children. Four of them to be exact. Christian in a black Gucci suit that she was certain would match Logan, Riley in a red dress that Shira had insisted on buying her and Riley had loved it, and then her niece and nephew, Charlotte was 7 and Nate was 9 and they were every bit Honor's children, much to the dismay of their father.

"You guys all look wonderful," Rory approached them where they stood. She was relieved when her daughter lunged into her arms, followed closely by her niece and then the boys each gave her a somewhat reluctant hug. "Bored yet?" She smiled broadly. Of course she knew these kids well, she knew they wanted nothing more than to make it through dinner and then Josh would suggest they go upstairs with the babysitter they hired for the evening and watch some movies and order room service in the suite. It was their tradition and she figured it was the only reason that Christian and Nate continued to tolerate the event. "Where is Dad?" She looked at her two children. Riley was the first to point, finding him across the event space with some people Rory knew as his employees while Christian mumbled something about how he had 'needed to talk to Grandpa'. "Alright, well, I'm going to go say hi, does anyone want to come with me? Or are you guys good?" Of course she knew that none of the kids would be chomping at the bit to come with her. Tucked away in their little corner of the somewhat busy room, they could get away with being silly with the babysitter watching them from a table away. If anything Rory pitied the sitter, but she knew full well the woman would be well payed for the evening.

Rory moved across the room efficiently. She dodged people she had no interest in seeing, separating them from those she only had an interest in seeing once she had a drink in her hand, and then there were the people she was looking forward to seeing. She was excited to see Honor and Josh, she loved the prospect of having dinner with her niece and nephew, something she got to do ever so rarely since the split. Seeing her former mother in law would need to wait until dinner or at least until her second drink had kicked in, and she knew that she would find Mitchum at the bar within a moment or two. He wasn't a bad father in law. She had expected him to be more…involved, more overbearing. The truth was, he tried to help. He made sure they published Rory's book, had a solid (but fair) contract for her second book she was just finishing up and an option on her third. He had encouraged her and Logan to seek counselling, he had tried to remind her of who they were when they were just two kids in love, but unfortunately by the time Mitchum had gotten the message through to his son, by the time anyone had gotten the message to Logan, it was too late. They were too far gone.

"I'll have a vodka soda with a lime please," Olivia smiled at the bartender. She reached into her clutch and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, slipping it into the glass that was out for tips. She knew all too well the fight Mitchum had with the bar at both venues. He did not want tip jars out, but had ultimately conceded and Rory liked to make sure everyone was taken care of. She knew how this crowd could get by the end of the night.

"And here I thought you were avoiding me," Mitchum tapped his fingers on the bar and smiled as he adjusted his bow tie, "but if memory serves me, we do tend to meet for a drink first at these events, don't we?"

If you didn't know the dynamic between the pair of them, Rory knew it might seem odd, but they had managed to get along eventually and Rory was grateful for that. She leaned forward and kissed Mitchum on the cheek, "don't be ridiculous. Your wife I am avoiding. You, I'm just making sure I'm hydrated."

"Last I heard, my darling wife was going to find her grandchildren. So you should be safe for the moment." Mitchum asked the bartender for a scotch when he returned with Rory's drink. "Glad you made it. It wouldn't be the same without you."

Rory smiled as she took a much needed sip of her drink, "well, I do work for you Mitchum, so I suppose it makes sense for me to be here." She was making it clear that she was not here in any capacity as a member of the family. "And it's nice to get to see the kids an extra night."

"They are good kids," Mitchum nodded. Being a grandparent had been something he enjoyed more than he ever would've expected. Maybe he was a sadist, but he liked watching the kids give his own children the same attitude that he had received from them when they were younger. But he also genuinely loved watching them turn into little people with their own beliefs and hobbies and interests. Being a grandparent was a far cry from being a parent and he was thankful for that.

"I like to think so," Rory smiled.

"Have you thought about Aspen?" Mitchum asked as they both took sips of their drinks.

Rory inhaled as she swirled her glass before turning to the sea of people in front of her. "Whatever Logan wants is fine," she responded simply. She wasn't going to stop him from making memories with their children. "I don't have any plans with them and Aspen is beautiful this time of year." She knew from the times that she had been a guest on the trip. She didn't do the winter sports, but she was great at relaxing with a book by the fire.

"They'll have fun with their cousins. That is what is important. When Logan and Honor were kids, we used to go with my sister and her family and this kids would ski from sun up until sun down."

Rory had heard the story before. Mitchum left out the part where his sister and her family stopped speaking to them when Elias had stated they would be cut out of the business completely. Of course he did still leave them a sizeable amount of his estate, being cut out of the family business had a way of tarnishing relationships. Susan and Brent hadn't even come to the wedding, their daughter Collins and her fiancé had come, and so had her brother Eli, but Rory was pretty sure their parents had no idea they had attended. She could only hope that Nate, Christian, Charlotte and Riley never suffered the same fate. "Logan has always loved the mountains."

"Oh come on, you two can't just sit by the bar all night," of course his booming and intoxicating voice interrupted them and Rory was somewhat thankful. She and Logan had perfected this dance. Behaving appropriately in public. Colin had joked they could run a course on coparenting and being diplomatic in social situations. "Talking about me, are we?" Logan kissed Rory on the cheek and nodded to his father.

"How did your ego even make it in the room?" Rory grinned as she took another sip of her drink. "Your Dad and I were just talking about Aspen. Did you ask the kids if they want to come?"

"Riley does," Logan nodded and then he raised his eyebrow and exhaled, "Chris isn't so sure."

"Well he doesn't want to spend the entire day on the slopes," Rory countered. She knew that Christian sometimes felt bowled over by his father and sister and their larger than life personalities. He needed more time on his own and Rory had always supported that, she could certainly relate to it. "So maybe if you promise him a couple of afternoons in?"

"You make it sound like I'm cracking a whip to get him onto the slopes?" Logan chuckled before they were interrupted, "Madison, hey," he smiled. His assistant had been working for him for almost 3 years now and he wasn't sure she had met Rory more than twice before. "Madison, you remember Rory," he couldn't quite handle calling her his ex-wife even if that was who she was to him. "Ace, you remember my secretary? Madison?"

"Of course," Rory extended her hand and surveyed the woman with a warm smile. "Nice to see you again."

They engaged in pleasantries for a moment before Madison excused herself with her drink and left Rory, Logan and Mitchum together again. "Nice girl," Mitchum commented.

Logan was noncommittal in his response, saying something about how she was good at her job and Rory couldn't quite put a sentence together on the subject. Madison would forever be a sore spot for her, which wasn't entirely fair to the girl because she hadn't done anything wrong, but there she was in the middle of the circumstances that gave Rory the final shove she needed to end her marriage.

"Babe, babe, sorry I'm late," Logan came bursting into the house. He was late. He was an hour late to be exact and he knew that Rory was going to kill him. To add insult to injury, he'd forgotten his phone at the office so he couldn't even call to tell her he was running late. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had. Had to fire Pete. You know Pete? From accounting? Anyway," he was loosening his tie as he walked into the kitchen and caught sight of her sitting at the island staring into her coffee mug. "Hey, happy anniversary," he hadn't woken her in the morning to say it, so he pressed a kiss to her cheek and scanned the counter, relieved to see the flowers he'd ordered had arrived. "You ready to go?"

"Hmmm?" Rory looked up at him, seemingly coming out of whatever trance she was in. "Hi," she smiled and put her hand on his cheek, kissing him gently one more time.

"You're not ready?" Logan repeated. They were cutting it close for their reservations, but he was sure he could call and get that sorted. But all he had to do was change his shirt from the blue Oxford to a white one and he'd be set to go. "Shit, did the dress not come?" He rolled his eyes as he leaned down and kissed her once more, "I swear Ace, I had a dress sent. Supposed to be all wrapped up and everything," he remembered telling Madison to make sure that she ordered the gift wrapping. It had seemed like a stupid question when she asked. He had sent her the link earlier in the morning to a dress he had seen the week before that he thought Rory would like. He'd paid a small fortune to ensure that Bergdorf's would guarantee same day delivery to Hartford and he'd be pissed if his wife hadn't gotten her anniversary gift.

"No the dress arrived," Rory exhaled. She had hoped they'd have a few minutes. Maybe a few minutes to pretend this wasn't happening. A few minutes where she could hold on to the shred of hope that her marriage was salvageable.

"Ok…is something wrong? Was it torn or damaged? I'm sure you have something in your closet you can wear."

Rory stepped off of the stool she had been sitting on and looked at her husband. The man she had fallen head over heels in love with. The father of her children. The person she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. The man who had missed dinner and events. The man who was perpetually late and gone on business more than ever. The man who had forgotten their plans, the man who had been away for her birthday and barely made it back to town for Christmas the year before. The man who'd forgotten she hated ruffles. The man who had at some point had stopped SEEING her. Who had taken for granted the fact that she had changed. That THEY had changed. Rory didn't know the person who he'd bought this dress for because it couldn't have been for her. Because if it was for her then the only explanation was that her husband had no idea who she was anymore. "You know, I've been sitting here since it arrived," she pulled it out, the black dress with the halter neck and asymmetrical ruffled skirt had been sitting in it's bag on the floor in front of her feet while she waited. "It's a six Logan. It's a six and I haven't been a six since before Christian was born, Logan. I've been wracking my brain all day trying to figure out what you were thinking and I can't decide which is worse." Her lip quivered but she kept talking, not giving him the opportunity to say anything else. They had a babysitter. Tonight was supposed to be fun, it was supposed to be memorable. Now it would be memorable for all the wrong reasons. "That you genuinely haven't noticed that my body is different after giving birth to two of your children, or that you do notice, and you are actively telling me to lose weight. This dress looks like something your mother would wear to an event!" She watched the colour drain from his face. He stepped towards her and she recoiled, "go stay at Colin's house, or your sister…god, just get out Logan. Anywhere but here. You can stay anywhere but here. I am done being an afterthought you barely even know anymore."

That was it. The end of her marriage. The last time she had kissed him. The last time she had inhaled the scent of his Chanel cologne. Madison had ordered the dress. She had called and ordered the dress and the associate at Bergdorf's had pulled out the wrong file and because Logan had absolutely nothing to do with the actual purchase, if he had he would've noticed the wrong size, but somehow that didn't make anything better. She'd asked for a divorce and he had given it knowing there was no way to excuse what he had done, the way he had made her feel. So for Rory, his assistant Madison was so intrinsically connected to that moment that she could barely fake a smile for appearance sake.

"I think I see Honor," Rory smiled at Mitchum and Logan, "I'm going to go catch up."

She had caught up with Honor and made it through dinner, made it through the same speech her father in law gave every year, and then she said goodnight to her children and promised she would see them the following day after dinner. This was the part of the night she could live without. The dancing and the drinking and the shots and seemingly all of these people forgot that they were coworkers not friends, but Rory sipped her third drink of the evening and watched as everything happened around her. Logan was dancing with his sister and whether Rory would admit it or not, it made her happy. He looked good. As she'd suspected, he was wearing a Gucci suit that matched Christian and Honor wore a beautiful gown with an embellished crystal neckline, black sleeves and bodice and a fuchsia skirt. It was perfectly Honor with her blonde hair twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck.

"These parties are a bit of a drag," a voice came from beside her and Rory was sure she'd heard it before but as she surveyed the man, she was certain she would remember his face. "Gotta show my face to keep the boss happy."

"Oh?" Rory smirked.

"Well y'know, holiday party and all, guess he made a bit of a scene when he was negotiating our deal to be in house counsel that we needed to be treated like 'part of the team', so here we are." The man paused and his eyes lingered on Rory. He noticed the way that her dress hugged her curves and how she seemed completely unbothered by his presence. Most women had a more obvious reaction to him and he kind of liked how she didn't. "William," he extended a hand to her.

Rory offered hers, hoping her skin wouldn't flush as he brought her hands to his lips and placed a quick kiss on the skin. "Like the Duke?"

The man, William, chuckled. Of course he had heard that a million times. He was from Chelsea and his parents had done him the disservice of naming him after the fucking future king of England. "Oh the Duke is downright boring, he'd be insufferable at an event like this," he was joking of course. "He never knew how to party in Chelsea."

"Rory," she purposely left out her last name. She was still legally a Huntzberger. She'd made the decision not to change her name back to Gilmore because she wanted the same last name as her children. "So you don't work for the company?" She was relieved when he assured her he didn't. He was a junior partner at their new law firm, he'd been relocated from their London offices to support the transition and he would be here for exactly 5 more months. "I'm an author," she glazed over the rest of the details of her connection to the company. "So you're from Chelsea? I could've sworn you were a Manchester boy." She smiled as she bit her lip, boy? Really. This was no boy. He was a man. Rory would have to guess he was 6'3", dark hair that was perfectly styled, a well kept beard and blue eyes that she would happily get lost in for a night. The accent would've been enough to make the guy attractive but as far as she could see, aside from the fact that he worked adjacent to her ex-husband, this man was perfect.

"Manchester? I'm insulted," he laughed. "You spend much time across the pond?"

Rory paused for a moment. How much time did she really spend there outside of her relationship with Logan? They had spent enormous amounts of time travelling the countryside, staying in little inn's and villages, trying pubs and visiting little used bookstores whenever Rory saw one that caught her eye. "When I was younger," she nodded, "I live in Hartford," she explained. "I always loved London. Spent a lot of time in Belgravia," she continued, "another lifetime ago."

"A man, if I may presume?"

Rory laughed and took a sip of her drink, "good guess."

"What are the chances I can convince you to let me take you for a drink?" His voice was low and Rory watched as he licked his lips while his eyes trailed over her body. He wasn't being creepy or grotesque, he was just appreciating her.

She tried to ignore the way her heart was racing, she couldn't remember the last time a man had really looked at her, and this man was looking and it made her feel good. "The bar is open," she countered with a raised eyebrow and another sip of her quickly diminishing drink.

"Too many people," William smirked. "C'mon, I had to pass a background check to get the job, I promise I'm not a serial killer."

Rory laughed, a full blown laugh and it wasn't lost on her how rarely she really laughed anymore. She knew he was telling the truth. Everyone got a background check to work for or with Huntzberger Publishing Group. "Well then, I guess you owe me a drink." She looped her arm in his as they made their way towards the exit. She purposely kept her eyes on him as they walked, asking how he was liking his time in New York, making sure she didn't catch the eye of anyone who would interrupt her. They hit the cool December air and Rory regretted the fact that she hadn't worn a coat. She couldn't help but smile as William put his around her shoulders and pulled her a bit closer to him. Whispering into her ear about not catching a cold.

"You're smooth," Rory giggled. The Uber William had ordered was another 5 minutes away and suddenly being in such close proximity to this man. He smelled good, she caught hints of bergamot and sandalwood, "too smooth," she smiled broadly as his lips came closer to hers. Rory didn't do casual. She had made a life out of not doing casual, but…what good had that done her? So when his lips met hers, she didn't pull away. No. She snaked an arm around his neck and gave him easy access to her mouth. He tasted like the cabernet he had been drinking inside and between his hands on her hips and his tongue in her mouth, Rory was on cloud nine. She was on cloud nine until her bubble burst. The sound of her name being called, the sound of her name being called by the man she had once been married to and it was getting closer by the second. She pulled away reluctantly and turned to face the direction of the door, where Logan was coming, a light jog until he was in front of them. "Logan, what's going on?"

"Thought I saw you leaving," he explained as he surveyed the man who just had his tongue down her throat. He tried to ignore the rage he felt inside him. He had never felt this way about Jess. Jess annoyed him. He didn't like Jess, but Logan didn't worry about him. This guy…this guy who was tall and handsome and for some fucking reason at the Huntzberger Christmas party…he seemed like the kind of guy who could talk a girl out of her panties and that wasn't Rory. Rory didn't cheat. Rory wouldn't cheat on Jess? Who was this woman he was watching ogle a man she had just met. She probably didn't know his last name, he was pretty sure that she'd made a pro-con list before she'd slept with him all those years ago. "Just wanted to say goodbye, make sure you were good. Hey man," he nodded to the man, noting how he kept one hand on Rory's hip as he shook Logan's hand with the other. "Logan Huntzberger."

"Huntzberger?" William repeated as he greeted the man, "some party. I work for Grubler, Young & Brand, we just came on."

"I'm good," Rory said at the same time. "Just enjoying the evening. Great party," she glared at him.

"A lawyer? Of course," it wasn't meant as compliment and both of them knew it. "Look, Ace, I'm sorry to interrupt," they all knew he wasn't sorry, this was the grown man equivalent of a dog marking their territory. "Just thought you might want to say goodnight to the kids?"

Rory fought the urge to slap her ex husband. How dare he come out here and loudly declare to this stranger that her children were upstairs in the hotel. It was cheap. It was unfair, and if she did it to him, a woman would fawn over what a good father he was, but in reverse…in reverse it was more likely that this man, this gorgeous man was going to freak out and run away. "I said goodnight before they went upstairs," she answered calmly.

"Oh I didn't realize," Logan lied.

"Kids?" William smiled, "go say goodnight if you want, love," both of his hands were back on her hips now, "we can get another Uber. I'd say you're worth the wait, wouldn't you say Mr. Huntzberger?"

"I'd say."

"I've already said goodnight," Rory put her hand on William's chest, "thank you Logan. I'll see you tomorrow when you drop them off," she made clear that there was a custody arrangement involved. "We're just going to head out to grab a drink. William is new to the area and found a great little wine bar."

Logan shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded his head, acknowledging that his attempt to keep her from leaving had failed, knowing that he would likely have his ass handed to him when he dropped the kids off the following day. Rory watched from the car as he watched, he watched as she got in an Uber and she drove away with a man she didn't know, he watched as she drove away from him and she didn't feel bad. No matter how broken he looked as she drove away, she wouldn't feel bad about moving on.

Rory couldn't recall how many drinks she had. She remembered the bar, she remembered the drinks. She remembered kissing in the back of an Uber, she remembered dancing, regretting her long dress as William had removed his tie and unbuttoned his top two buttons. She remembered a coffee and then another cab and more kissing. She supposed it made sense that she was naked in bed and the light was pouring in. What time was it? She hoped she hadn't made a fool out of herself in front of this guy but she wasn't prepared to open her eyes to find out. Instead she stuck her arm out beside her and patted around, ignoring the feeling in her stomach when the space beside her was empty and cold. No signs of anyone being there recently. Where had he slept? Hadn't they been going back to his place?

"Rise and shine sleeping beauty," the door burst open and the open curtains suddenly made all the sense in the world. "I've got coffee and bacon and waffles and eggs and a burrito from the place down the street that you like."

"Paris," Rory groaned, "god I was having the most amazing dream," she covered her eyes with her forearm as she felt the mattress move as Paris took a seat beside her. "Go away!"

"Oh I want to hear about the dream, because that tall glass of water with an accent who dropped you off last night…we deserved him and it is a damned travesty that he was such a gentleman and dropped you off once you reached the point that you were basically incapacitated."

"He dropped me off?" Rory groaned. "Why am I naked?"

"You stripped as you ran up the stairs," Paris explained as Rory sat up and grabbed a piece of bacon off of the tray, taking a bite while Paris continued explaining. "Then you asked if I wanted to snuggle."

"I was drunk. Too much wine."

"You were drunk, which is why the nice man brought you home and left his card and said I should have you call him because he would love to take you out again."

Rory exhaled and looked at her friend. "I dreamed I was at his place. Multiple orgasms…"

"Rory…"

"I know," she sighed as she grabbed the coffee. "I'll break up with him tomorrow." She felt bad. Of course she felt bad. Rory hadn't set out to cheat on her boyfriend, but the truth was, even in her drunken state, she was aware enough to know what she was doing and she would've gladly slept with Will. She wasn't sure she wanted to see him again, but last night she would've been a willing participant in whatever he wanted. It was a testament to him that he had simply taken her back to Paris, maybe he was worth a phonecall. But no matter how she looked at, it was clear that her willingness to have sex with another man told her she needed to break things off with Jess.

"You aren't being fair to him."

AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it. You'll start to see the ways we diverge from the original story here, so don't expect a verbatim repeat of Home. I will also say, after I complete my WIPs on FF, all new works will be posted on AO3 - this includes a oneshot I posted this weekend. So please keep that in mind. If you haven't read the most recent chapter of The Best Deceptions, go read, enjoy. QueenOfTheSloths has also updated and it is a goodie! As always, please read, review, enjoy. Let me know your thoughts on the new friend we meet this chapter? Rory's behaviour is definitely a bit OOC, but maybe she's just enjoying being appreciated? What are your thoughts on the anniversary situation? That one is hard because it isn't the dress, it's that her husband doesn't see her anymore. Also, LoveRocket09, QueenOfTheSloths - thank you for all of your help on this chapter!