"Logan, are you home?" Rory called as she entered the kitchen in their Palo Alto house.
"Out here Ace," he called.
She stuck her head out the sliding glass door to find Logan on the back porch, wearing an apron, holding very large tongs in one hand and a beer in the other. "How was your day?" she asked.
"My day was great. We've gotten a little more funding for the company, and Honor called to tell me she and Josh are expecting!"
"That's great! So why aren't we going out to celebrate?" Usually they went out to celebrate everything.
"I just felt like barbequing," he told her.
"My little chef," she commented with a smile.
"So how was your day Ace?"
"It was," she paused, trying to think of an appropriately descriptive word, "awkward."
"Why was your day awkward?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"It's nothing really," she said dismissively. "I'm going to go change my clothes, I'll be back in a minute."
"Ace, is everything okay?"
"Yeah. I'll tell you all about it I promise, but I want to get out of this suit."
"Okay." He took another drink of his beer, then set it down to lift the lid on the barbeque and flip the chicken.
Rory slipped her shoes off and unzipped her skirt. She re-hung the skirt and jacket, and grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top from the closet. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail then padded barefoot back outside.
"Much better," she announced when she arrived, wandering over to where Logan was standing to kiss him hello properly.
"I agree," he said a minute later, breaking the kiss to tend to dinner. "So why was your day so awkward?"
"Someone at the Chronicle let it slip that we're engaged," she told him.
"So what," he knew she wasn't keeping the engagement a secret. "I thought every one knew anyhow."
"They knew I was engaged, they just didn't know to whom."
"Are you ashamed of me Ace?" he asked mockingly.
"Never!" she exclaimed. "I just didn't want special treatment for being engaged to a Huntzberger."
"I guess I can see that. So who let it slip?" he asked.
"The editor I interviewed with. Apparently she called Mitchum as a reference check,"
Logan cut her off. "Wait, you put my dad on your references?"
"No!" she stated immediately. "Well not really. But he was my boss at the Stamford Eagle Gazette the first time. There are several other people in front of him, but I guess she couldn't resist a chance to talk to The Great Mitchum Huntzberger."
"So my dad told her we were engaged?" Logan asked confused.
"I guess," Rory told him with a shrug. "She didn't say anything at first, but today something came up about the troubles at The Globe, and she suggested that since I was practically related to Mitchum Huntzberger that I should call and interview him."
"Like my dad would give an interview about one of his tiny papers," Logan said with a laugh.
"I know, right?"
"So what did you tell her?"
"Well first I had to wait about 10 minutes for all of the chatter to die down, and then explain to everyone that while yes I am engaged to you, I'm not actually on great terms with Mitchum, and thus me interviewing him would be a Very Bad Idea."
"You didn't tell her that anyone trying to interview him would be a waste of time?" Logan asked.
"Nope. Might as well let her spin her wheels for a while."
"Wow, that's spiteful of you Ace," Logan said proudly.
"The rest of the day everyone was oddly quiet around me. Like I was a spy for the enemy camp or something," she said quietly.
Logan wrapped his arm around her. "I'm sorry Rory. Can I do anything to help you fix it?"
"No," she said wistfully, "adding more Huntzbergers into the fray will just make things worse. I've just got to ride it out."
"Okay. Well let me know…" She nodded. "Do you want to make some fresh guacamole from our avocado tree?"
"I can do that." She headed towards the tree in the middle of the back yard, and began to look for the ripest avocados.
Thirty minutes later they were sitting on their back deck eating corn chips and guacamole, barbequed chicken and corn on the cob. "You know what would make this perfect?" Rory asked.
"Bacon?" Logan supplied randomly.
"No… well maybe… but I was thinking a margarita."
"I think that could be managed," he said with a smile, standing from his seat to go make her a margarita. "Blended or on the rocks?"
"On the rocks is fine, it's quicker."
He returned a quick two minutes later placing a very large margarita in front of her. "Try that and let me know if it's strong enough."
She took a sip and inhaled sharply making a tight face. "Is there anything but tequila in here Logan?"
"Yes," he said defensively, "just not a lot of anything else."
They spent the next hour and a half enjoying their dinner, each others company, and the lingering sun in their back yard.
"I think with just a few more investors Paul, Bobbi and I will be able to actually start drawing paychecks," Logan told Rory excitedly.
The margarita made her nice and relaxed and she smiled at him. "I love you my little Work Dork."
"Well I'm glad to hear that, because there's something I need to tell you."
"What's that?" she asked smoothly, grateful for the alcohol that was coursing through her veins making it impossible for her to get to an overly tense and worried stage.
"My mother called today. She's put a hold on a Plaza in September."
"But Logan, we JUST got engaged," she emphasized.
"I know Ace, and I told her that," he explained calmly, "She just doesn't listen."
"I'll make her listen," Rory snarled angrily.
"Good luck with that Ace," Logan said with a smile. "And your grandmother called, something about having the shower in the Rose Room."
Rory smacked her forehead with her hand, again grateful for the alcohol, this time dulling her pain. "If we do this, the way they want it done, will they leave us alone after that?" she asked hopefully.
"I doubt it," he responded honestly. She looked up at him, and he could see the tears of frustration forming in her eyes. He reached out and took her hand, then slid his chair close to hers. "Rory, Ace, I am behind you one hundred percent. If you want to give this one to the families, I'll support that. If you want to tell them to screw themselves and elope to Vegas, I'll support that too. Hell, I'll support anything you want as long as it eventually ends up with us married and living happily ever after. Okay?"
She nodded and tightened her grip on his hand. "Thanks Logan."
"Anytime. You stay here and I'll go grab dessert."
While he went to retrieve dessert, she thought about her options. Her mom wasn't thrilled with the fact that she was marrying Logan, and having the wedding in two months would make matters worse, but her grandmother never got to throw Lorelai the society wedding she always wanted to, and the Plaza and the Rose Room may go a ways in healing that wound. She wanted to be engaged longer than two months, and she knew Shira would probably still hate her, even if Rory went along the wedding exactly as Shira wanted. She thought about eloping to Vegas, with Colin, Finn, Stephanie, Honor, Lane and Paris… and probably Lorelai. She thought about her old dream, the town square in Stars Hollow.
"Ace, are you alright there?" Logan asked bringing her out of her thoughts and placing a large wedge of cake in front of her.
"Yep. Just thinking over our options," she told him.
"And?"
"We can't please everyone."
"I know."
"How would you feel about eloping to Vegas?" she asked with a saucy smile.
"You jump I jump Jack."
AN: I don't own the show. I wish I did, then I'd be rich.
Up next – the epilogue… send me your ideas as to who she should end up with… (As a note… I'm not good at new characters… so it will be one of these guys)
Please read and review!
S