This 3rd and final chapter is dedicated to Rayc Petite, who I've promised it sooner to way more then I should have.

And loads of gratitude to my beta BeautyAce, who was me ego-booster when it came to getting this chapter out. )

"Thanks to you all for coming today. The Gilmores have informed me that they are holding a wake in his honor for anyone who would like to attend at their mansion in Hartford. The reading of the will shall be done tomorrow evening. All family and close friends are welcome to come. Good night."

I still can't believe it. I can't believe that he would do this to her. That he, after only two years of marriage, would leave her without a warning. Without a goodbye.

Whenever I think about the situation, hatred overcomes me. I hate him. I hate him for leaving. I hate him for not being here right now, as everyone quietly moves about the gravesite, getting ready to head over to the wake. For not being here with her. I just want to shake him, punch him in the face and call him an idiot. Why? Why did he do this? Why did he have to go to that business dinner on that particular night? Why didn't he see the headlights coming toward him earlier? Why didn't he swerve faster? Why did he have to leave her to go about life on her own? Why didn't he fight harder to survive? God knows he had a good reason to.

He didn't, never, deserved her. I knew it, even if no one else did. But, despite that, she chose him. She loved him.

He made her happy.

Of course, as I watch her now, she looks anything but. Everyone else has left, and are more then likely on their way to the wake. But not her. She's standing perfectly still in front of his gravestone, staring down at it.

I sigh, and look down. The only thing I want to do is go over and comfort her. To just wrap her up in my arms, and whisper into her ear that it will get better. That it will get easier.

Of course, I don't know that for sure.

I know I can be empathetic to her for numerous reasons. I do, after all, know what it's like to lose someone you love in an accident. I know that unbearable pain and breaking you feel in your heart, the hole that you think will be impossible to mend. And it is. But, I also know that it does get easier. The pain never goes away, but it does get easier to live your life with it.

The first time.

I might know what it's like to lose someone in a crash, but I have no idea what it's like not to be there. I can't imagine getting a phone call with a stranger's voice on the other line, telling you the news that someone you loved was gone from your life, when not even ten minutes earlier they had called you, saying they would be home soon and would bring Chinese for dinner.

I have no idea if it get's easier the second time around.

So, in the reality of things, I suppose I have no idea what she's going through.

After a few more minutes, I notice her sighing, before slowly kneeling down. She slowly touches his name with her fingertips, tracing very mark. After pausing for a second, she stands back up. She doesn't notice me as she walks away from the grave, since I am a few yards away leaning against a tree. But I notice her. She doesn't have any tearstains on her face, but I know from that look in her eyes that this situation is killing her.

After a minute or two of quiet footsteps and then silence, I hear a car engine start and then pull away. She's off to the wake.

I shake my head, and can't help but roll my eyes at the world. The last thing that she needs to be doing right now is going to her grandparent's house to talk to friends and family, and act as if she is fine and pulled together. Right now, she needs to…what was the word Lorelai used? Ah, right. Wallow. She needed to wallow.

I found out the news from, of all people, my father. He was in my office, in the middle of giving me a huge lecture of how disappointing my recent articles had been, when his cell phone started ringing. Once he heard the speaker's news, his voice had grown grim.

"Oh, I am terribly sorry to hear that. Send my regrets to Kimberly and Steven…Yes, how's she doing?...Well, no one can really blame her for being that way…Yes, yes, of course Shira and I will be there…Alright. Goodbye."

Once he hung up his phone and out it back into his suit pocket, I stared at him, waiting for him to explain. He paused for a few seconds, before uttering the words. "Tristan DuGrey died last night. Car accident. That was his cousin on the phone. Apparently, a drunk driver hit him, and he died on impact."

More should have come to me in that moment. I immediately should have thought about Tristan, and how on earth he could be dead. After all, he was so young. I should have thought about his parents and grandparents, and how badly they must be taking the news. However, only one thing, one person, came to my mind once my dad told me the news.

Rory.

She didn't deserve this. No one did, but especially not her.

"How is she?" was all I could think of to say after a few moments.

He had sighed, looking at me with sympathy. "Well…not that great. He told me that she doesn't talk to anyone, as if she's in a daze. She's hasn't cried, she hasn't mourned. She's just...sat there, as if she doesn't believe it's real."

After I found out the news, I spent days contemplating why this had happened. Why was it, that, whenever Rory found happiness, a tragedy found its way to ruin everything? Was she just meant to be miserable?

About a week after I heard the news, Emily Gilmore called me, and tearfully asked me if I would be attending the funeral service. I had raised my eyebrows at her question, partly because I wasn't close to Tristan, and partly because I was surprised I hadn't thought of the idea myself. Rory would be there, after all. After five long years, I would have the opportunity to see her.

I had agreed after a moment, and mentally hit myself on the head for my selfishness. I was using another man's death to see my ex-girlfriend. But, as I analyzed the situation further, maybe it was supposed to happen. Maybe, this was sign that something wasn't finished.

Maybe, just maybe, she needed me just as much as I needed her.

I had packed while Scarlett was at work, and left her a quick note on a napkin that I would be out of town for a few days, since one of my father's business partners had died. It wasn't a complete lie; after all Janlan DuGrey was a good friend of my fathers. Not that it would have mattered anyhow if I was lying or not. Chances are she would throw away the napkin without a glance.

Marriage with Scarlett was just as I had imagined it to be. We were happy at first, or at least she was. I was as happy as I could possibly be anymore. However, I suppose that after almost a year, my lack of enthusiasm and frivolousness attitude when it came to our relationship had started to get to her. Now, we were more and more distant every day, sometimes only communicating by a short, few second phone call telling the other we would be working late, and not to wait up.

Once Rory left, I slowly walked over to his gravesite. There were fresh flowers everywhere. Taking a single daisy from my back pocket, I gently placed it on the top of his gravestone.

"You weren't supposed to leave her," I harshly whispered at the marble stone. "She wanted you. You put that smile back on her face." I closed my eyes, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "You shouldn't have left," I repeated once, before walking away and back to my car.

The wake was exactly how I expected it to be. Everyone clad in their black outfits, either huddled in little groups or at the buffet table. After all, free food is free food.

I immediately went to the bar when I got there, asking for a champagne glass. Once I received it I turned around, scanning the room for her. Spotting Lorelai and Emily talking in a corner, I decided to start there.

Emily spotted me first. "Logan! Oh, thank you so much for coming. How are you?"

"Good, Emily, thank you." I glanced at Lorelai, who gave me a small smile. Turning back to Emily, I gave her one of my charming smirks. "Would you mind if I talked to Lorelai alone for a few minutes?"

Emily raised her eyebrows, and I knew she was curious. "Of course, Logan. I actually see Tilly from the DAR over there; I've been meaning to talk to her about our last meeting. Excuse me." And with that she walked off.

Once she was out of hearing distance, Lorelai pounced on me. "Well, where is she?"

I raised my eyebrows. "That's what I was going to ask you. You haven't seen her?"

Sighing, Lorelai shook her head. "No. I mean, she told me she was coming to the wake, so she's got to be here somewhere."

I nodded. "I'll look around for you. How's she been doing?"

She looked at me sadly. "Not well at all. She hasn't cried. I mean, it's been two weeks since she found out the news, and she's so…emotionless. I know how depressed she must be, but she refuses to shed a tear, or even wallow. She told me she has to be strong for him."

I rolled my eyes. Ace, will you ever learn?

I exchanged quick parting words with Lorelai before making my way around the Gilmore mansion, trying to spot familiar chestnut hair and cerulean eyes. After about 20 minutes of searching, I still couldn't find her. Sighing in frustration, I was considering giving up my search, until a small, almost unnoticeable cough made me pause right when I was passing by Richard's study. I walked closer to the door, and slowly cracked it open. Peeking in, I saw the top of a brunette head sitting in a huge leather armchair. Looking behind me, I made sure no one was paying attention to me before walking in.

The room was dim, with only the small desk lamp illuminating everything. She didn't notice me as I crept inside, but jumped the moment she heard the door quietly shut. Spinning around on the huge armchair, she looked around and spotted me.

Her reaction was the exact opposite of what I had expected. Instead of gasping in surprise, she instead chuckled, giving me a small smirk.

"I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Ace?" I asked, taking a few tentative steps closer to her. Her hair, put half up during the funeral service, was now completely down and the definition of a mess. Looking at the desk in front of her, I saw quarter-empty bottle of vodka, and a shot glass next to it. "Oh, Rory…"

She looked next to her to where I was looking. Shrugging, she looked back up at me. "What? I'm over 21. I can drink."

I couldn't help but smile, forgetting for a second the position we were both in, and instead remembering how adorable a tipsy Rory was. "Yes, however I don't think that this is the right time to get completely drunk, do you?"

She gave me a weary look before pouring herself another shot. "I won't tell if you won't."

Sighing, I walked over to the desk and took away the vodka and glass before she could drink it. "You've had enough." Once I put the alcohol out of reach, I turned back around to see her giving me a frustrated look.

"You know, you're not allowed to do that."

"Why not?"

"'Cause it's my choice whether or not I drink. You don't get to decide that."

I chuckled, walking back over to her. "Ace, what are you doing in here?"

She looked down. "Drinking. Or I was, until a certain somebody took away my supplies."

I ignored her comment, coming over to her side of the desk. "You do realize that the wake is out there, don't you?"

She sent me a glare. "Yes."

"So you're not out there because…"

She huffed. "I just don't feel like being with…people right now."

I nodded, taking one last sip before setting down my champagne flute on the table. "Okay, come on."

"What?"

"Let's go."

She looked at me like I was high. "Logan, what are you talking about?"

"You said you don't want to deal with people, right?"

She slowly nodded her head, sobering up at my spontaneous idea.

"Then let's go. Come on, we can sneak out the window in here. No one will know." With that I walked over to the window, and shoved it up. I looked behind me to see her in the same place she was before, watching me with a you-cannot-be-serious expression.

"You coming?" I asked, before climbing out of the window.

"Logan…" she drifted off, before slowly walking over to the window. She eyed me nervously. "I haven't seen or spoken to you in a year. Now, you expect me to just spontaneously jump put of a window with you at a wake at my grandparent's house without even knowing where I'm going?"

I smirked at her. "Yes."

She glared at me before looking behind her anxiously. After a few seconds, she sighed in defeat, turning back to me.

"Alright, fine. But no blindfolds."

I smiled. "No blindfolds."

"We're too old to be doing this."

I looked over to her from the driver's seat of my Porsche. "Has that ever stopped us?"

She glanced at me, giving me a small smile. Looking back out her window, she asked, "So, where are we going exactly?"

I laughed lightly. "You're going to love it, trust me."

"Wow…it's just…wow."

I smirked. "I told you."

She took a few steps forward, looking out into the water. "How did you find this place?"

I shrugged, following her. "When I was about twelve, Finn and I ran away from home, and we just ended up here. I just thought you could use a quiet place for a few hours."

Grinning, she walked backwards, lying with her back on the grass. "I love this place," she mumbled, closing her eyes.

I laid down next to her, staring at the night sky. We were both silent for a few minutes, listening to the running water of the lake a few feet in front of us and crickets chirping somewhere in the distance.

Finally, I flipped over onto my side to look at her. "So, how are you doing, really?"

Her eyes fluttered open, and she turned to face me. Giving me a small smile, she answered, "I'm fine Logan, really."

I raised my eyebrows. "You expect me to buy that?"

She groaned, turning to lie on her back again. "I really don't want to talk about this right now."

"You need to."

"Logan…"

"Rory, I'm just asking you to talk. Nothing more, nothing less."

She shook her head, her hair shaking the long grass. "I can't."

"You can do anything; you just have to believe in yourself. Did we learn nothing from-"

"Mad Hot Ballroom," she finished in unison with me, smiling at the memory of when I first told her that. After a minute, she closed her eyes again. "It's just…I still can't believe he's not here anymore, you know? I mean, part of me still thinks he's going to be at the house when I get home tonight. To think that he's…" she drifted off. I didn't say anything, watching her.

"We just…I don't know. I loved him Logan. I really loved him. With every passing day I was able to give more and more of my heart to him. Parts that I didn't think would ever get mended got fixed. He fixed them. And then, he left. Am I just a bad omen or something? Do people…am I just not meant to be happy?" I noticed a lone tear escape and fall down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it off, sitting up. I followed suit. After a minute of silence and her staring at the ground, I gently touched her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Rory. Tristan…he loved you. Believe that. Believe that he loved you and he didn't want to leave."

She looked up at me, her eyes watery. "Logan..."

I shook my head, quieting her. "He did Rory. He loved you. You have to believe that, or you'll never be able to move on."

Two more tears escaped her eyes, and this time she didn't wipe them away. She never lost eye contact with me, her eyes big, blue, watery and thoughtful. "Is that what you did?"

"What do you mean?"

"When…when I left you. Did you believe I loved you even after I left?"

I nodded. "Rory, you could have yelled, shouted, and thrown paper weight at my head, and I still would have thought you loved me. When you left…it killed me. But I knew that your reasons, whatever they were, were not because you didn't love me anymore. They were…different."

She stared at me in astonishment. "So…did you move on?"

I sighed, letting go of her elbow to run a hand through my hair. "I'm still trying."

At that moment, I couldn't really tell you what happened. It could have been the alcohol, or something else, maybe buried deep inside her heart that she was just rediscovering. But when she leaned in to kiss me, I didn't think about why, when, or how. All I could do was bring a hand to the back of her head, tangling it in her hair, and bring her closer.

We lasted a few minutes sitting, before she pushed on my chest a little, making me fall over into the grass with her on top. The…electricity I felt when I was kissing her was incomparable. Nothing passed through my mind, and all I could feel was the buzzing coursing through my body and my heart beating nonstop as our kiss got deeper.

Just as Rory was starting to unbutton my collared shirt, we were broken out of own little world by a bird cawing in the distance. Rory broke apart first, and looked at me with a peaceful expression. Then, after a few seconds, reality cam crashing back down on her and her peaceful face turned into one of horror.

"Oh my god! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…" she drifted off as she got off of me, pulling down her skirt and burying her face in her hands. "Logan…I'm so so so sorry. I didn't mean to…I mean, you said that, and I just…"

"Rory-" I started, but she interrupted me.

"I mean, Scarlett! Oh my god, I just completely forgot! I'm so sorry! And Tristan, oh, he'll kill me when he finds…" she drifted off once again, but this time for a different reason. I was silent, watching as realization struck her. She looked at me, her eyes questioning, and I nodded sympathetically.

She broke down.

I'm not sure how long we sat there in the middle of the field, her sobbing into my arms as I held her tight, gently rubbing her back. All I know is she needed me, just as much I needed her.

And I was there.

The drive back to the Gilmore mansion was silent, although we both had content smiles on our faces. When I pulled in, she stayed where she was for a moment. She had slight tearstains on her face and her eyes were bloodshot, but to me she had never looked more beautiful.

"So…you'll call me?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I'll call you."

She sent me one last smile before opening the car door and walking back into the mansion.

I sighed. Maybe, just maybe, the ending, the finality, I had expected to have with her didn't exist. Maybe we were supposed to find each other again.

As friends.

One week later, I'm sitting on my couch, the TV on but the sound on mute. My cell phone is in front of me, and, taking a deep breath, I quickly dial the number I've known by heart for years.

"Hey Huntzberger." I immediately calm down and relax when I hear her light tone, and I can easily imagine her lying casually on her bed, smiling into the phone.

"Hey Ace," I said back, a smirk in place even though she couldn't see it.

"You know, I've been waiting for quite a while for this call," she said in mock annoyance.

I chuckled, easing back onto the couch and putting my feet on my coffee table, getting ready for the banter and debates to come.

"What can I say? Patience is a virtue."

Well, there it is. I hope it was worth the wait, and that you caught the triple meaning of the last sentence. ; ) Anyway, review please. And if you didn't review the first two chapters, please leave me some parting thoughts on this story. I hope you all enjoyed it.