"Thought you might need this." Sue handed Rory a steaming cup of coffee as she entered the newsroom. "I was gonna Irish it up for you but I figured some people might find that a little unprofessional."

"Thanks," Rory said softly, taking the cup from Sue.

"Oh no, there's been crying," Sue pointed to Rory's red, puffy eyes. "What'd he do? Am I going to have to kill him? Or maim him? I don't know him too well but I bet he's kind of fond of those pretty boy looks of his; a good maiming could really do the trick."

"No, Sue, it's fine. No maiming," Rory said flatly. She went to sit at her desk but Sue stopped her.

"I don't think so Gilmore, you're not going back to work until you tell me what happened…Come on, let's go." Sue pulled Rory to the elevator.

"Where are you taking me to talk?" Rory asked on the way down.

"Just outside."

"So hundreds of strangers can hear my business?" Rory asked.

"You're not in Stars Hollow anymore, kid. This is the big city, no one out there cares about your business unless you're name is Angelina Jolie or Paris Hilton," Sue told her stepping out of the elevator and leading her to the bench outside. "Now what happened at lunch?" Sue asked, sitting down.

"Well it started off great. A little awkward but that was expected. His father apparently sent him to London for the last year and he just got back and then his father sent him here…indefinitely."

"So if he buys The Liberty he'll pretty much be around for good?" Sue asked.

"Exactly," Rory replied and Sue nodded in understanding. "I asked him not to buy the paper," Rory added after a few moments.

"What'd he say?" the red head prompted.

"He apologized for the way things ended and he said he didn't want things with us to be awkward," Rory continued.

"Well that's good."

"Then he explained why he broke up with me," Rory looked up at Sue, tears once again pooling at the margin of her eyes.

"Oh no, what was his reasoning?" Sue asked, suspiciously.

"He said he'd loved me. That's why he broke up with me. He realized he loved me and I guess it scared him," the tears were rolling down Rory's cheeks now.

"Ouch."

"He's never said that before Sue. When we were together, he never told me he loved me. I said it to him once and he told me he didn't want to say it back until he was sure."

"So he told you he loved you for the first time?" Sue asked incredulously. Rory nodded in response. "Did he say anything else?" Sue asked.

"He said that breaking up with me was a mistake."

"Well I figured he didn't send the roses as a consolation prize. So then, how'd he take the news about Jess?"

Rory shifted her eyes away guiltily. "Jess kind of didn't come up," she said.

"What do you mean he 'didn't come up'?" Sue asked suspiciously. "How could he not come up? You've got a big honking….Oh no! Rory tell me you didn't."

Rory lifted her still bare, left hand up to show Sue. "Oh honey, this is worse than I thought." Sue said, chewing on her lip. "What are we going to do with you?"

"It gets worse…" Rory told her friend.

"Worse than you lying about being single and him telling you he loves you for the first time?" Sue asked, wide eyed. She could only imagine what her friend was going to say next.

"I told him I'd go to lunch with him again."

"So he was in love with you, most likely still is and he thinks you're single and you agreed to go on a date with him…Please tell me that's it, I don't think my brain can handle anymore," Sue said.

"You're brain? What about my brain?" Rory asked.

"You mean your heart?" Sue corrected.

"Yeah, that too."

"So you do still love him then?" Rory nodded her head to answer her friend's question. "What about Jess?" Sue asked.

"I love him too." Rory said, burying her head in her hands. "What am I going to do Sue?"

"Honey, if I had answers to those kinds of love problems I could make a fortune off the book…Tell you what…tomorrow night, girl's night. Out on the town. Just the two of us. No men...unless they're buying us drinks. Maybe it'll help clear your head."

Rory smiled slightly at her friend. As messed up and confused as she was, it was good to know that there was someone out there who would support her. "Girl's night sounds good. Thanks Sue."

"Hey little bro!" Honor said, answering her cell phone. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"You're a woman," he said

"Word on the block is. Why? What's up?"

"I need some advice…in the romance department."

"Mr. Casanova is asking for love advice?" Honor asked mockingly.

"This is serious Honor," he told her, his voice indicating that he wasn't lying.

"So there's a new girl in Logan Huntzberger's life?" Honor pried.

"Not exactly," he said.

"So you're asking for some serious love advice but there's no girl?" Honor was confused

"I didn't say there wasn't a girl; I said there wasn't a new girl."

"So you finally got to meet Alyssa Milano?" Honor teased.

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" he asked.

"Probably not," she admitted.

"I had lunch with Rory today," he told her after a few seconds of silence.

"Rory? Rory Gilmore? You had lunch with Rory and you didn't tell me," Honor said, slightly offended at not being in the know.

"I'm telling you now," he rolled his eyes at Honor's dramatics, though she couldn't see him.

"Yes, after the fact. You must have had the plans before and I didn't know about it," Honor said defensively.

"So do you want to hear about it now or do you just want to complain?" he asked, knowing that would shut his sister up.

"Alright, spill."

"So apparently she works at one of the papers Dad has me looking at. I had a meeting there yesterday and she was out on assignment but I recognized something on her desk that I had given her," he started.

"Ooh, she kept something of yours, and she kept it somewhere she would see it. That's a good sign, little brother."

"You think so?" he asked hopefully

"I know so. That's why you called me. I know this kind of stuff."

"Well then, it was very smart of me to call you."

"Yes, bully for you. Now on with the story," Honor prodded.

"OK, so I sent flowers to her office this morning and invited her to lunch."

"And she showed up, another good sign."

"I already figured that one out. I mean, I didn't sign my name on the card but she knew it was me before she showed up so..."

"Well Rory always was a smart cookie, wasn't she?" Honor offered.

"She most certainly was," he said, smiling to himself.

"Alright, so tell me about the lunch already."

"It started off alright. I was really nervous but I managed to keep my cool, I think. I could tell that she was nervous too but she also did a pretty good job of hiding it. God Honor, she was everything I remembered and more; her coy little smile and hypnotizing blue eyes, the way she blushes when she says something inappropriate, the way she smells of coffee and lavender…God I missed her."

"So Logan Huntzberger does have a sensitive side. It's very endearing and just a little bit wussy," she told her brother.

"Don't mock me, or no more gossip for you," he warned.

"Fine, fine, continue…"

"After a little while things started to get a bit more…intense."

"Intense? Not there in the restaurant I hope, I don't need another reason to have to bail you out of jail," Honor said playfully.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Honor. I meant the conversation," he sighed audibly.

"You're testy today," she commented.

"Well than stop interrupting me unless you've got something useful to say."

"That's no fun," she said but let him continue.

"She asked me not to buy the paper she works for. I was afraid she was still mad at me or something but she said she wasn't mad anymore. She said she just thought it would be too 'awkward'," he paused to give Honor a chance to analyze this bit of information but she said nothing. "Well…" he prodded.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to say anything," she said, feigning innocence.

"You're not supposed to say anything that isn't useful, but this is the part where your expertise is needed."

"Ok well, 'awkward' could mean a couple of things. She says she's not still mad at you for the way things ended and she did show up to lunch so we'll rule that out. She could just be worried about her co-workers and how they'll perceive things or she's afraid of having to answer a lot of questions about you two. Or she could still have feelings and she's afraid to let herself fall for you again. Did she say anything else?" Honor offered her two cents.

"Well then I told her that I didn't want things to be awkward between us and that I owed her an explanation for why I left, even though it was probably too little, too late."

"What was your reasoning again?" Honor asked.

"I told her that I'd realized I was in love with her and I was scared because I'd just found out I was going to have to move to London and so that's why I ran," he said all in one breath.

"You told her you loved her? You see her for the first time in two years and you profess your love? What were you thinking? Are you insane?" Honor practically screamed.

"She deserved to know," he said defensively.

"Not right away she didn't," Honor said, exasperated with her little brother. "I can only imagine how she took that kind of news. So come on, how did she take it?"

"She got up and started to walk away."

"I knew it. You scared her away."

"I stopped her and she turned around and told me that it was all too much for her. But I couldn't just let her walk away so I made her a promise. I told her that I wouldn't buy her paper if she would see me again and she agreed to another lunch. That's it. So what do you think?" he asked after finishing his recap.

"I think you're an idiot."

"Thanks."

"You came on way too strong…but in the end she stuck around. I think that's a good sign."

"Really?" he asked, smiling.

"Really. But you need to back off a little. No more declarations of undying love; no more begging for dates. You hurt her, Logan and it probably took her a while to get past that and start moving on. She's probably afraid of moving backwards."

"So then, what should I do?" he asked.

"You need to make your presence known, but not too strongly. This way she has some time to get comfortable with the situation. It's a balancing act Logan. If you push too much she could run the other way but if you lay too low she may not have the chance to remember what she's missing."

"So how do I know how much is too much?" he asked.

"You have to play it by ear, judge how well she's adjusting. I don't know what else to tell you, Logan."

"Yeah, well thanks, Honor," he told her. "I guess I should get going."

"Keep in touch, I want to know how it goes," she ordered.

"I will," he promised. "Bye."

"Toodles!" Honor said cheerfully.

Logan hung up the phone, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. He let out a deep breath. The talk with Honor had been both calming and frightening at exactly the same time. She seemed to think he had a shot with Rory but it was going to be tough. He didn't know if he could find the right balance to win her back over. He had to though, failure wasn't an option. He was absolutely positive that Rory Gilmore was the girl for him.