It was six o'clock and Logan Huntzberger was exiting his office and striding towards the elevator. Not to go to a meeting, or to check in on something on another floor, he was going back to his apartment and he wasn't coming back to the office until Monday. This revelation shocked his employees earlier in the day. They knew that Logan had lightened up considerably in the past week, but the thought of him leaving work at 6 and not coming in on either days of the weekend almost knocked them over. Various employees smiled and wished him well as they passed him as they continued the light work which he assigned. He responded, wishing them a good weekend as well. The elevator doors opened and he got in, pushing the button for the lobby, nervously anticipating the night ahead.

The drive back to his apartment was uneventful but longer than he had remembered it to be, he stepped out of the car and looked at his watch, it was 6:45 pm, he was due to leave his place for Rory's hotel at 7:15 so that he would have plenty of time to make their 7:45 date. He had made reservations at the restaurant and everything was ready to go, except for his attire. Logan entered his apartment and went straight for the shower. After showering and shaving Logan headed towards his closet, hoping that something would jump out for him to wear. When he called Honor earlier from work and asked her opinion, she told him that for something like this, "casual but sleek and sophisticated would be nice. It tells her that you didn't spend hours pouring over the choices, but that you still want to look your best for her." Logan didn't really know what she meant then, and he didn't know now.

His eyes scanned the many shirts, sweaters, coats and pants that he had in London. Logan laughed at the thought of him worried over what to wear. He was having dinner with Rory, with someone who he had once lived with, once shared a bed with, and once shared his heart with, his concern over his choice of pants seemed silly. Finally he settled on a plain white dress shirt, with a black sports jacket, and a pair of black pants. Logan looked at his watch after getting dressed and putting on Rory's favourite cologne, it was 7:13 and Logan was ready to go. He turned off the lights in his apartment and made his way to the elevator, to his car, and to Rory.

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Rory looked at the clock the hotel provided, it read 6:45 p.m. only five minutes had passed since the last time she looked and she still didn't have a final decision. Today she had went shopping once again, in desperate need of a dress, but a question was repeated in her head: What do you wear to a last ditch dinner to save a relationship with the guy you see as your future? Rory needed a second trusted opinion, so during her shopping she took camera phone pictures of the options and sent them to her mother, who gave her fashion seal of approval on three dresses, leaving the final decision to Rory.

The choices were spread out on her bed while Rory stayed standing, wrapped in the towel she had used to dry herself off after showering. She laughed at how she was making the biggest deal out of the least important decision this evening. Whether she wore the blue or the black wouldn't matter. Her choice of fabric or print wouldn't sway Logan to the side of giving her another chance, it was what she was going to say that was pivotal tonight, and right now she was thankful that she had more confidence in her words than in her fashion sense.

Rory grabbed the blue one and headed back into the bathroom to get changed and put the final touches on her light makeup. She was just putting some emergency lipstick in her purse when a knock on her door caused her stomach to jump to her throat. It was time, Logan was at the door, and their future was to be decided in the next few hours.

Rory made her way to the door, and slowly opened it to see a smiling Logan checking her out. Rory smiled when she realized what Logan was doing, "You like what you see?"

"I do Rory, that's an excellent dress, you look stunning," Logan said.

"This old thing? I just threw it on last minute," Rory fibbed not wanting Logan to now how much effort she put into something so frivolous. "But you mister, you look great. I'm going to have to beat the other ladies of with a stick, maybe two."

Now it was Logan's turn to blush and fib, "Just grabbed the first thing that I saw from my closet, but I'm glad you like it. So are you ready to go?" Logan asked.

Rory nodded and stepped out of her hotel room, they stood outside of her room for a moment while she made an adjustment to her dress. At this point Logan was unsure of what to do next, would they just walk side by side? Would they maintain a distance? Would they hold hands? He decided to extend his arm, as a gentleman is prone to do. Hoping that it would be appreciated by Rory, but not lead her to jump to conclusions. Rory took the extended arm and looped hers around it, "are all the men in London this gentlemanly?"

"There's only one way to find out."

"I'd prefer not knowing for sure." Rory said as she looked at him and smiled, relishing the feels of their arms touching once more. The elevator came and together they made their way down to the lobby, to Logan's car, and finally to the restaurant.

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Upon entering the restaurant the host took their names and they were seated in a quiet area, where they would be able to talk about things privately and without fear of someone listening in. They ordered drinks and appetizers to start with and began talking, like this was just another one of the many times they had gone out to eat together.

"So how did you pick this place? Come here often?" Rory asked, wanting to ease in to the conversation.

"Not often, but you don't have to come here a lot to know that it's great. When Honor was in town she suggested this place and later there was some business lunch that was done here. It's a very different atmosphere at lunch, less candles," Logan said with a smirk, his first smirk at Rory since her return.

"Well we wouldn't your business associates getting the wrong idea. With candlelight and fettucini alfredo you're impossible to resist."

"So it wasn't my business guile but the special sauce that sealed the deal. That's going to bruise the ego a little a bit," Logan said feigning hurt.

"Somehow I think you and your ego will survive."

The conversation came to a close as their appetizers came and the pair started to eat. In the midst of eating and drinking they spent time making small talk. Television, music, movies, books. Everything was covered, a few laughs were had and the lightness of the conversation helped them prepare for what was to come. After Rory and Logan had finished their entrees, they declined dessert in order to pay full attention to each other. It was during their entrée when Logan had told Rory that they would need to discuss what they came here to talk about eventually, and eventually was staring right in front of them.

Rory took a sip of water, set the glass back down on the table, and started. "So, how do you want to do this? Should I just start, or do you have any questions or what happens? This is the first time I've ever done this. I want to know what to do, but I might need a little help."

Logan always liked being reminded that this was the first time Rory had truly fought for something as hard as she was for him, and asked her a question, "Okay, I guess my first question, and probably the biggest, is why? Why did you do it? Why did you end things."

Rory knew this question was going to be asked, but she didn't know if her rationale tonight was going to be any better, or different than that of which she gave in September. "Okay, but no interrupting, I need to get his out. I was scared of losing you; losing you to your job, losing you to the city, to the people in it, scared of you thinking that you no longer needed or wanted me. I didn't, I couldn't get used to the idea of us being together for the long haul, so I put an end to things before I became too attached."

Logan stayed silent, soaking her words in, "Did I even factor into your decision at all? Was I just a subject of a pro con list Rory?" Logan's voice carried a hint of anger and frustration.

"Of course I did, but to be honest this was about me primarily. I thought about you in that I knew you wouldn't have any problems finding someone else. You are everything a woman could ask for. I guess I just didn't know how you really felt about me, I was insecure."

This drew Logan's ire, "How the hell could you not know how I felt about you Rory? God, I spent every day we were together making sure you knew how I felt about you. How could you miss that? How could you doubt that?"

"I don't know. I saw the signs Logan, I knew that you loved me, but I let myself doubt that when you went to London. I know I shouldn't have, but I did and I regret feeling that way everyday and I'm ashamed at my level of faith in you, in us. At the time, in September, I thought ending it was the right thing to do. Of course now I know it wasn't, I tried hard to convince myself it was, but it wasn't right. The way I was feeling wasn't right, the way I was acting wasn't right. Logan, nothing in my life will be right without you in it," Rory told him, each word containing a bevy of emotion.

"I know the feeling," Logan softly said, causing Rory to smile slightly for the first time since the talk began, "but how long will it last this time, before those doubts creep in again. You know my life Rory, you may have to deal with a long distance relationship for a couple more months longer, and after that I'll be away on business once a month at least. Not for lengthy trips, but I won't always be able to be home. How will you cope then?"

"I get that your position will mean travel and time apart, I know that and this time I'm not going to give up. I'm going to trust you, trust in your feelings for me. I'm going to trust you because I love you, and I know that you love me," Rory said the last words with her piercing blue eyes locked with Logan's eyes.

Logan wanted to give in, he wanted to believe everything she said and rush out of his seat and kiss her like the day he left for London, but his brain was telling him otherwise. "Rory, this is a big decision, I mean I'm glad we had this talk and everything, but I don't think I can say for certain what I want right now. It's all too much, like information overload. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's out there, but we're not talking about a simple get back together high-school fling. This is serious. It is to me, is it to you?"

"I wouldn't have come all the way to London if I was just interested in some sexual fling Logan," Rory answered.

"Yeah, so I think I'm going to have to take some time and process everything."

"Sure Logan, I completely understand," Rory said getting up.

Logan was puzzled at Rory's movement, "Where are you going?"

"Logan, I want you to have as much time to think about this as possible, and you won't be thinking about it if you're driving me back to my hotel. I had already made secondary plans if tonight went south back in my hotel room, got a few good books today just in case, it will also give me some time to recharge some of my batteries after tonight as well."

"Rory, I'm driving you back, I'm not going to let you walk the streets of London at night. That's crazy."

"Logan, I'm taking a cab and that's all there is to say in the matter and don't try and stop me. This is the new, assertive Rory who gets what she wants – hopefully. Bye Logan, take all the time you need." Rory went over to his side of the table and kissed him on the cheek and walked out of the restaurant and into a waiting cab, leaving Logan sitting at the table to be alone with his thoughts.

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Rory was just about to call it a night; she had returned to her hotel and waited by her phone hoping that the familiar caller ID would appear. It wasn't long until thirty minutes of waiting became six hours and Rory grew tired. She pulled down the comforter on her bed in preparation to get in, when her phone rang. She sprang into action and picked it up halfway through the second ring, not looking at the caller ID.

"Logan?"

"Sorry hon, it's just me. You forgot to call like you said you would after the date and I was just checking in to see how things went. I guess by your hello they didn't go well," Lorelai said apologetically.

"Well, I don't know yet there might be some…" Rory was interrupted by a knock on the door,

"Some what, Rory? Come on, don't leave your mother hanging."

Rory opened the door, "Logan?"

"Good things come to those who wait, Ace," Logan said, calling her Ace for the first time in months, but sounding like it was still completely natural.

"Rory smiled wider than ever, brought the phone back to her mouth and quickly said, "Gotta go, Mom," hung up the phone and yanked a smirking Logan into her hotel room. She turned to make sure she threw her cell phone onto the bed safely and when she turned back around to face Logan she was met with his lips crashing down upon hers.

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Author's Note: So there is chapter eight, another lengthy one. I think the angst will be toned down many notches, I can't do sustained angst well enough. Continued happy reading, as always reviews are appreciated.