AN: Here is the next installment of The Way You Look Tonight. I realized before that the link for Rory's dress wasn't working, I think I finally fixed it. I'm on break from school right now and I'm hoping to work on a chapter for About Time too, but I'm not making promises.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and encouragement, it means a lot to me.

Enjoy! And don't forget to review!

Rory playfully hit him. "Logan isn't that protective."

"Reporter Girl, you clearly have forgotten about my birthday party last year, when Logan was chomping at the bit because you showed up with Robert. We had to restrain him for most of the night so that he wouldn't punch the guy out!"

Rory sighed, she actually had forgotten about Finn's Quentin Tarantino party. "Yeah I did manage to block out that particular incident. I wasn't even his girlfriend at that point."

Finn was about to respond when he heard a loud noise from across the ballroom.

Rory whipped around looking for the source of the noise. She quickly noticed that a tray of dishes had toppled over near the kitchen. She let out a sigh of relief that the noise had no relation to her. She couldn't handle any more drama in her life right now.

Finn chuckled to himself, "Luv, you should know better than that."

Rory looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean Finn?"

"Francine Hayden does not cause the kind of public scene that involves loud bangs and crashes. Your Grandmother is much more subtle, much more calculating. Whatever plan your grandmother has for Shira and Mitchum, I can guarantee you that it will take their egos down a few notches and put them in their place, but it likely won't involve any yelling."

She sighed, "I know Finn, I just don't want this to be a big scene. Announcing my engagement is supposed to be a happy thing, not something I dread." She put her head on his shoulder, "I know it is silly, but I really wanted my wedding to not be filled with the drama I've dealt with in all the other parts of my life. I've been the talk of society, in a bad way, my entire life. I just want everyone to be happy…"

Finn rubbed his hand on Rory's back, "I know luv, you deserve to be happy right now. If Logan could make his parents more open-minded about your relationship, he would do it. Unfortunately, Shira and Mitchum Huntzberger are as closed-minded as they come."

Rory closed her eyes while Finn held her as they danced. This is not going to go well.

As Francine Hayden waited patiently for Straub to find her, the final touches of her plan formed in her mind. She knew that Rory would never forgive her for causing a fight and making a scene with the Huntzbergers, the poor girl had been the subject of enough scandal during her life that she didn't need any more.

"Francine, what could possibly be so important that you tore me away from a dance with Rory?"

She turned around to face her husband, "they insulted Rory and Lorelai. The Huntzberger's were talking about the girls as if they were the dirt beneath their shoes." Straub heard the pain in his wife's voice and quickly pulled Francine into his arms. "I hate that Rory has been treated like this her entire life Straub, and it is all our fault. We rejected our granddaughter because we thought she destroyed Christopher's future; we were so blinded by our anger with him, that we couldn't see the innocent child that was caught in the crossfire."

Francine let out a small sniffle, "I can't help but wonder if we had accepted her from the beginning, if things would have turned out differently for her."

Straub Hayden pulled back from his wife and looked her in the eye, "Francine, you know that things would have been different for Rory, but not in a good way. Rory became the woman she is today because of everything she went through; she wouldn't have been as driven to get into Harvard if she grew up in society because she would gotten in without trying based on her name alone, she wouldn't be the strong, independent, capable person she is right now without knowing adversity. And while I regret every day that we did not know our granddaughter while she was growing up, I do not regret the wonderful person she has become."

Francine quietly nodded her head, "I know Straub, but the fact that people think they can treat my granddaughter like garbage because of how she came into the world is unacceptable. Rory might not have had married parents, but she had parents who loved her more than anything, which is more than what a lot of Hartford children have." She quickly looked over her shoulder, "be that as it may, I still want to but Shira and Mitchum in their place."

She quickly explained her plan to Straub, who adamantly agreed with it. The Hayden's put on their society smiles and crossed the ballroom to where the Huntzberger's were standing.

Shira was thrilled when she saw the Hayden's coming towards them. She had been waiting all night to speak with the couple. They were the epitome of Hartford Society, no one got anywhere in their circles without the approval of the Hayden's. She desperately wished she could join her family to theirs somehow.

"Francine, Straub, it is so good to see you both, it has been far too long!" Shira and Francine hugged and kissed each other on the cheek while Mitchum and Straub shook hands.

Straub nodded in agreement and smiled at them, "far too long. Its been what, almost two years?" Straub turned to look at Mitchum, "how is your son Mitchum? Is he still at Yale or has he started at one of the newspapers yet?"

Mitchum contained his smile, he was beyond happy that Straub Hayden remembered that Mitchum had a son and that he went to Yale. "Logan is doing well, he is around here somewhere. Probably hunting down his next girlfriend as we speak. He is in his last semester at Yale and is working part-time at one of my papers to get him ready for after graduation. He is doing quite well, I guess some of my lessons sunk in over the years because he seems to have a knack for aspects of the newspaper business that I didn't think he would be bothered with, like layout and editing. I can't remember ever teaching him about those things, and yet he is one of the best editors I have ever seen."

Francine had to bite her tongue when Mitchum made that snide comment about Logan hunting for his next girlfriend, but she took the opening Mitchum gave her about Logan. "Perhaps he learned some of those things from his editor from the Yale Daily News? I hear that it has gotten quite good the past two years."

Shira scoffed, "I doubt that Logan picked up anything from the Yale Daily News. The editor had an internship with Mitchum last year, and Mitchum told us that she was totally ill suited for a life in journalism. But enough about that subject, how are the both of you doing? How is your family?"

Straub took Francine's hand and gave it a squeeze, "Christopher is doing quite well. He started his own company last year and business is booming. He was engaged a few years ago, but his fiancée ran off to Paris after their daughter Georgia was born. As hurt as he was, I have never seen Christopher so determined or happy."

Elias saw Straub wink at him and knew that he needed to somehow bring the subject around to Rory, "I'm glad to hear Christopher is doing well Straub, I always liked that boy. I knew he had it in him to achieve his goals. But what about your other grandchild, how is she doing?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Elias saw Mitchum and Shira do a double take. They had no idea that the Hayden's had another grandchild and were frantically trying to remember who she was. Francine broke out in a huge smile, "oh she is doing wonderfully Elias, thank you for asking. She is in her final year at Yale and absolutely loving it. She took a semester off so I think she is a semester behind Logan. She isn't sure if she is going to go straight to work when she graduates or if she wants to get her MBA from Harvard. But she is absolutely thriving. We couldn't be prouder of her."

Francine took a pause, giving Straub the segue he needed. But before Straub could open his mouth he was interrupted by Logan, who had just joined the group. "Mom, Dad, here you are, I was wondering where you disappeared to." He held out his hand and shook Straub's hand, "Judge Hayden, it's good to see you again," he then leaned over and kissed Francine on the cheek, "Mrs. Hayden, a pleasure as always."

Straub smirked, "Logan, we were just talking about you. Your father was just telling us how well you are doing at his paper. Before I forget, I was wondering if you could find our granddaughter and let her know where we are? I believe you two know each other from Yale?"

Logan laughed, "sure Judge Hayden, I know her very well. I believe I saw her a little while ago, I'd be happy to pass on that message in a few minutes."

Shira blinked several times while she tried to process the conversation that was happening. Her son knew the Hayden's granddaughter, and from the sound of it had a fairly close relationship with the girl. When she finally regained the power of speech, she asked the question that was burning in both her and Mitchum's minds, "Logan, how come you never told us that you know the Hayden's granddaughter?"

"Because Mom, you don't need to know everything about my life and who I hang out with. Besides, I didn't realize she was a Hayden until recently and she has been keeping it quiet to avoid a frenzy in the press. Of all people, I understand why she wanted to keep this information private until it was the right time."

Straub cleared his throat, "speaking of the "right time," Francine and I were wondering if you would mind if we made an announcement tonight. Our granddaughter just agreed to be named our heiress, and we would love to make the announcement at this charity because it is one of her favorite causes and would mean a lot to her. Of course, we understand that this is your party Shira, and we completely understand if you don't want the focus taken away from the event itself."

Mitchum and Shira looked at each other, each thinking about how this twist of events could turn out. If they said no, they would be offending the Hayden's and their granddaughter, but they had no idea who this girl was.

Elias finally butted in, "Of course you can make the announcement Straub, we would be honored to be a part of such a special day for your family. I know how much your granddaughter means to you."

Logan realized that this was his cue to leave and find Rory. "Well, I better go find her and let her know that you are looking for her. Grandpa, would you like to come with me? I know you haven't seen the Hayden's granddaughter in a few months."

"I would love to see her before the announcement is made, lets go."

Logan and Elias took their leave of the group and headed to another part of the ballroom. Logan waited until he was out of earshot of his parents before bursting out laughing. "I have to hand it to you and the Hayden's grandpa, you managed to sufficiently freak out Mom and Dad and you never once used Rory's name."

The eldest Huntzberger just smiled, "torturing your father is a skill I perfected decades ago. I am also particularly good at it when I think he is being an arrogant ass and needs to be put in his place." Elias patted Logan on the shoulder, "now why don't you go give Rory a heads up about what is going on and I will fill in Emily and Richard, and Honor and Josh. Something tells me we are going to need a large group to set your parents straight after the announcement is made."

Logan nodded in agreement. "Sure thing. Can you do me one more favor grandpa? I think I saw Lorelai come in before, can you find her and fill her in what is happening. I don't want her to be blindsided either."

"Of course I will. No go hurry up. The Hayden's can only stall with Rory's name so long."

Logan hurried off to find Rory and prepare her for what was about to happen.

Elias quickly scanned the ballroom looking for his granddaughter, Emily and Richard, and Lorelai. He was pleasantly surprised when he spotted all of them together at a nearby table. He caught Emily's eye when he walked up to the table and simply nodded. A smile spread across her face. "Elias?"

He chuckled, "I have to hand it to Francine, she certainly knows how to put my family in its place. Mitchum and Shira are terrified that they have offended the Hayden's because they didn't know Straub and Francine had a granddaughter at Yale with Logan, who Logan was good friends with. The entire conversation occurred and Rory's name was not mentioned once. Straub and Francine managed to convince Mitchum and Shira to let them announce that their granddaughter agreed to be their heiress tonight, because this charity is their granddaughter's favorite."

He sat down at the table and continued to explain what had transpired, and filled Lorelai and Christopher in on the situation. They all knew that as soon as Rory's name was announced as the Hayden heir the Huntzberger's were going to be doing serious damage control. Honor informed them all that Logan had devised a small plan of his own for telling their parents about his engagement so as to inflict maximum discomfort on their parents for what they did.

Shira and Mitchum walked the Hayden's over to the small stage that had been set up for the evening. The Hayden's had just stepped up to the person running the microphone when Shira saw Logan walking up to them with Rory. She groaned, "Mitchum, why is he bringing her over to us right now? Don't we have enough to deal with, without her getting in the way."

"I don't know Shira, but the faster we speak to them, the faster we can turn our attention back to the Hayden's and their announcement. In fact, I see their son Christopher walking over to them right now, the girl must be nearby."

Logan watched the conversation between his parents from afar and knew that this was simultaneously both the best and worst time to share the news with them. They were going to be furious at him for proposing to Rory, but if he waited until after the Hayden's announcement, their reaction would be fake and he wanted to show the Hayden's what his parents were really like.

As stealthily as he could, Logan removed the ring from Rory's purse and slid it onto her finger. He felt her freeze when the familiar weight returned to her hand. She looked at him, "Logan, no." Her tone clearly conveyed that she did not support his plan. He squeezed Rory's hand to reassure her, "trust me Ace. You jump, I jump. Remember?"

Rory took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "You jump, I jump Jack. Let's do this Logan."

Rory and Logan quickly walked the remaining distance over to the Huntzberger's. Logan knew that it wouldn't take much to set off his parents, but he wanted to make sure that the damage would be controlled. He spotted Honor and Josh standing next to Lorelai and her parents, they were all ready to step in as soon as the words left his mouth. Lorelai nodded at him and smiled, silently giving him the assurance that he needed.

"Mom, Dad, I have some important news that I want to share with you."

Mitchum glared at his son, "really Logan? This can wait until after the Hayden's have made their announcement. We don't have time right now to discuss whatever horrible decision you made with Miss Gilmore."

Mitchum expected his son to back down, to cower in fear as he usually did, but Logan stood his ground. "No Dad, it can't wait. And I would appreciate it if you would stop acting like you are better than Rory and her family, because you're not."

"Oh please Logan," Shira laughed at the comment, "we are far better than Rory Gilmore. The girl was born to a sixteen year old who refused to marry the boy who got her pregnant. Her existence is painted by scandal and you will not associate with her. You are better than her, you can do better than her."

Rory signaled behind her back for Elias and Honor to come over, and they quietly joined the group. Honor caught the tail end of Shira's comment and almost slapped her mother. "Give it a rest Mother. Why don't you let Logan share his news with you before your horns start to show."

Shira was aghast at the remark. "Honor Huntzberger you will NOT speak to me that way, I am your mother!"

Honor folded her arms over her chest, "I am not a Huntzberger anymore Mother. I am a married woman and I can speak however I want, especially when dealing with such small-minded people."

Logan cleared his throat. "Mom, Dad, all I've ever wanted is for you to be happy for me. I know that that is never going to happen unless I do exactly what you want me to do, but then I won't be happy." He slipped his hand into Rory's and pulled her hand out from behind her back.

"Rory and I started dating again last year and have been living together for quite some time." He saw both of his parents getting ready to interrupt him and held up his hand to silence them. "Before you launch into one of your tirades, let me finish. I love Rory, she makes me happier than anything else in the world and I refuse to let both of you get in the way of our relationship again. Last month I asked Rory to marry me and she said yes."

Shira quickly glanced down at Rory's hand and saw her mother-in-law's ring resting on Rory's finger. She felt the steam coming out of her ears.

For Rory and Logan each second of silence felt like an eternity, but they had no choice other than to wait for the reaction.

Suddenly Shira's voice could be heard throughout the ballroom. "YOU DID WHAT?!"

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