Rory rolled over and slowly crawled from her warm comforter cocoon. Miraculously, she had slept the whole night through. In a daze, she glanced toward her clock.

"9:30?" exclaimed Rory. Panic rushed through her as she grabbed at the baby monitor. It tumbled to the floor. She tried to jump out of bed quickly, but her feet were tangled in the sheets. Instead, she fell from the bed. She managed to get her hands out in front of her before her face hit the floor.

When she finally managed to get the monitor into her hands it was turned off. She frantically pressed the power button as she climbed to her feet, but couldn't get a picture of her sleeping baby to appear. She burst from her room.

"Hey, Ace," called Logan from the kitchen. Charlie sat in his high chair as Logan worked at the stovetop.

"What are you doing?" demanded Rory. She went immediately toward Charlie. "Do you even have him strapped in?"

"Whoa – just making breakfast." Logan held his hands in the air, including the spatula that he was holding. "Chocolate chip pancakes. I thought you might want something when you got up."

"I overslept. We have to go."

"I thought you might want to sleep in," explained Logan.

"Charlie always wakes me up. For the past 10 months I've never woken up after 7:30. We have to be in New York, Logan."

"I'm sorry," responded Logan, visibly taken aback. "I thought I was doing you a favor. I looked in on him and he was standing in his crib, and I thought I'd let you sleep. I didn't know."

"I'm not even packed," exclaimed Rory as she walked into the living room and began grabbing papers from different stacks.

"What can I do to help?" Logan followed Rory into the living room carrying Charlie in his arms.

"Nothing." Rory continued to shove paper into her bag. She reached for her laptop and couldn't make it fit. With an exasperated groan, she began removing papers to make room.

"Breakfast to go?" offered Logan, motioning with his free arm toward the pancakes he had made.

"You've done enough, Logan," responded Rory. Rory returned to the kitchen and began piling Charlie's things on the kitchen table. The mountain grew rapidly.

"I can watch Charlie," volunteered Logan, still following Rory around the apartment. Logan's face lit up at the idea. He watched the previously stacked bottles roll toward the edge of the table.

"No." Rory picked up the bottles one at a time and began to assemble them from their separate pieces. She filled each one with premeasured amounts of water to later mix with formula.

"It would be fine, Ace. We could spend the day together. You could do your meeting. I promise not to burn the house down while your gone," implored Logan.

"No, Logan."

"He's my son too, Rory. This would be perfect. I could spend some time with him, and you could just focus on your meeting." Logan looked picturesque standing in the small kitchen with Charlie happily on his side.

"You don't just get to show up and demand to watch Charlie," snapped Rory. She began searching the apartment for Charlie's travel bag.

"I'm not trying to. I'm just trying to help," offered Logan.

"Do you even know the first thing about babies? Diapers? Bottles? Burping? Don't let them stick their fingers in sockets?"

"Sounds like taking care of Finn." Rory wasn't amused.

"I don't have time for this," responded Rory dismissively as she retreated to her room, still looking for Charlie's bag. Logan stood politely outside the door. "I can't find his bag anywhere."

"I have nieces," Logan called, watching as Rory crawled under the bed. "I've held them. I've changed diapers. They threw up on me. Honor even let me babysit on multiple occasions."

"You've watched your nieces?"

"You want to check my references?"

"Logan - "

"I'll send you updates every hour."

"I don't think - "

"It'll be fine."

"I usually just take him - "

"Updates every half an hour?"

"You promise you know what you're doing?" Rory asked, sitting up on the floor.

"No light sockets."

"I need to change," stated Rory. Logan nodded and walked away from the doorframe. She stood and closed the door.

Rory emerged from her room in a high waisted mid length A-line skirt with a tucked in white blouse. She was pulling a mustard yellow cropped cardigan. She walked directly to the door, where all of her shoes were piled. She started searching for a matching pair of simple tan heels.

"All the phone numbers are on the fridge. 9-1-1, poison control, the pediatrician. My mother always has her phone on her if you need anything. You have my number."

"I've always wondered how to reach 9-1-1," Logan gleefully joked.

"There are CPR and first aid instructions there too," instructed Rory.

"At 9-1-1?"

"On the fridge." Rory indicated the diagrams on the front of the refrigerator.

"This will be great," responded Logan, lifting Logan from his side into the air.

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

"Go to your meeting," encouraged Logan as he lifted his son up and down above his head. "Aren't you running late?"

"If you need anything, call me." Rory studied the pair carefully.

"We'll be fine." Logan's gaze didn't leave Charlie.

"Are you sure?"

"Updates every half hour," promised Logan.

"Bye, Charlie." Rory stepped toward them and stopped Logan mid decline. She kissed her son on the forehead. "I love you. Don't let him steal any yachts, okay?"


"I'm so sorry, Jess," apologized Rory as she took a seat across from him in a small coffee shop. She grabbed at her hair and began pulling it back into a ponytail. She felt like she couldn't catch a break this morning. She felt uneasy without Charlie at her side.

"Busy morning?"

"I overslept," explained Rory. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to waste your time."

"It's no big deal," excused Jess. He took a sip of the mug in front of him.

Rory pulled her laptop bag into her lap and opened it. She threw her head back and sighed dramatically.

"I forgot about this." She tilted the bag toward Jess, displaying the mass of tangled papers oriented in every direction imaginable toward him.

"Very busy morning," reiterated Jess.

Rory began the slow process of pulling each individual paper out of the bag and putting them in the proper order and piles. She pressed them against the table in an attempt to remove some of the wrinkles and encourage them to lay flat again.

"Want something to drink?" offered Jess.

"I'm good," responded Rory, shuffling her papers.

"Where's Charlie?" asked Jess.

"He stayed at home today," responded Rory cryptically. She glanced at her phone and the recent text from Logan. True to his word, Rory's phone had been a constant influx of updates. He had sent a variety of pictures of the pair together and Charlie in his playpen. Earlier Logan had sent a video of him encouraging Charlie to 'wave to Mommy' and Charlie enthusiastically obliging with both hands in spastic gestures. Rory passed the video and selected a photo of just Charlie. She passed the phone toward Jess to see the photo.

"It was a crazy morning. Did I say I was sorry for making you wait?" repeated Rory.

"You may have mentioned it," joked Jess, handing her phone back. "I would have watched him if you wanted to bring him. Whenever you come into the city. It's no big deal."

"Oh, Jess." Rory stopped her paper sorting for a moment and smiled. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"It wouldn't be a big deal," continued Jess. "The guys at work think he's cute. He's a good kid."

"That's a really kind offer, Jess." Rory returned to sorting her papers.

"I bet he'd be a good chick magnet at the park, too," mused Jess. "We could go feed the birds now that it's starting to get warm out."

"He is pretty cute," agreed Rory.

"So, when are you two going to move to the city?"

Rory laughed. "Between you and my mother, Charlie and I will never be able to settle down."

"You would like New York," encouraged Jess. "And, it's less of a commute and there's a ton of good preschools around for Charlie."

"But farther from Stars Hollow."

Jess shrugged. "You could still visit every week."

"It's not even worth considering until the book is published," deflected Rory. "The advance was just enough to cover the apartment."

"Well, you two can always stay at my place," offered Jess. Rory was focused intently on her papers. "I mean, when you have to be here a few days in a row, it might be nice to not have to drive all the way home just to turn around and drive back."

"We couldn't put you out like that."

"It wouldn't be a problem," insisted Jess. "It's nice having you two around."

Rory smiled. "Thanks, Jess."

"Are you sure I can't get you anything?" asked Jess. "Breakfast? Coffee?"

Rory looked at her watch.

"I'm so sorry, Jess," proclaimed Rory. "I have to leave for this meeting. Can we go over the notes some other time?"

Jess nodded and began helping Rory return her papers to her laptop case.


"I'm home, I'm home!" exclaimed Rory as she raced through the door, tossing her heels off at the door. She threw her bag on the couch and looked around quickly. "Where's my favorite guy?"

Logan exited Charlie's room, baby in arms. "I'm right here. Charlie's here too."

"Oh, Charlie!" cooed Rory, extending her arms for her son. Logan passed him over without any dispute. She immediately checked his diaper and surveyed him for any scratches or bruises.

"Did I pass?" asked Logan.

"Was he good? Sometimes he can get a little fussy in the afternoon. Did he take a nap?" questioned Rory in a single breath.

"He was perfect," assured Logan.

"You were perfect?" exclaimed Rory, snuggling her son close to her. She brought her face up to his and kissed him on the nose.

"Absolutely perfect."

"Did he eat well?"

"Yes, he ate. I found your Charlie diary in the cabinet. He's right on schedule."

"It's just a log so I can keep track," responded Rory quickly. Her eyes glanced briefly toward the composition notebook that she filled with Charlie's daily habits. "The Doctor recommended it. It helps when Mom watches him. And he's transitioning off formula. It just makes it easier."

Logan nodded. "Makes sense."

The pair stood awkwardly in the kitchen.

"I was going to make dinner, but you have absolutely nothing anywhere," teased Logan.

"That's not true." Rory snuggled Charlie close to her. She took his hand in hers, allowing him to wrap all of his tiny fingers around just one of hers.

"Are the Puffs just for Charlie, or do you eat them too?" continued Logan.

"There's food!" exclaimed Rory. She smiled. "I only eat the Puffs when we're out of chips. They're actually not that bad."

"I ordered us Chinese," commented Logan. "A whole spread."

"You didn't have to do that, Logan," stated Rory. She looked toward Logan with appreciation.

"You're in a good mood," commented Logan. "Meeting go well?"

"Everything's on track," responded Rory, bouncing Charlie in her arms and making fish faces.

"Ace?"

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you something." Logan looked uncomfortable, but his eyes never left the baby in Rory's arms. His expression was one of resolution.

"Okay? What is it?" Rory continued to bounce Charlie.

"Could I stay here a little longer? A week tops? The couch is perfect, and I would help with whatever you need."

Rory was silent and paused in her baby antics.

"Just until I can find a place of my own," explained Logan. He shifted uneasily.

"You're staying?" Rory's voice was flat.

"I want to be near Charlie," stated Logan, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'll have to move some obligations around with work, but it's all very doable."

"Is this what you want?" Rory studied Logan carefully, trying to gauge where this was coming from.

"To be with my son?" Logan cocked his head slightly to the side, meeting her gaze. He found confidence with every moment that passed that Rory didn't outright say 'no.'

"Logan, you don't have to do to this."

"This is what I want, Ace," insisted Logan.

There was a knock at the door.

Logan smiled. "Saved by Chinese food. Think about it? We can talk about the details later."

Rory nodded slightly. "I'm going to change Charlie into his pajamas." She paused, deep in thought. "We'll talk about it."

Logan went to open the door while Rory went toward her bedroom with Charlie.

Logan opened the door and asked, "How much do I owe you?" He was already pulling bills from his wallet.

Jess stood in front of him. A binder was tucked under one arm and a brown bag was in the other. He pulled the bag away slightly when Logan reached for it.

"Is Rory here?" asked Jess abruptly.

"Oh. I'm sorry," apologized Logan. He stepped back. "Rory! Someone is here for you."

"I'm Logan." Logan extended a hand toward Jess.

"We've met." Jess made no motion to shake Logan's hand.

Logan dropped the handshake and nodded slightly. His eyes focused on Jess, trying to place where they had met previously. Awkwardly, he responded, "Great to see you again. Rory is just changing Charlie. It'll just be a moment."

Jess and Logan stood in silence at the door. Neither made any attempts at small talk.

"Jess," exclaimed Rory as she exited her room with Charlie in arms. Charlie was wearing a gray onesie pajama set with a giant panda bear on front. "What are you doing here?"

"Wanted to get these notes to you," offered Jess. Suddenly, he found something very interesting to stare at down the hall. He handed her the binder.

"You brought dinner." Rory motioned toward the brown bag in Jess's other hand.

"Thought the food might help with the notes." Jess handed the food toward Rory and then promptly hid his hands in his jacket pockets.

"That bad, huh?" asked Rory. Jess was too busy staring at Logan to respond.

"You didn't have to drive all this way," added Rory. "We could have gone over them next week."

Jess shrugged, still not looking at Rory. "I needed to drop off something with Luke anyway."

"Do you want to come in?" asked Rory.

"I'm good."

"Are you sure? We ordered way too much Chinese," encouraged Logan, not faltering under Jess's gaze.

"I'll see you next time you're in New York, Rory?" asked Jess.

"Of course!" exclaimed Rory. "I promise to be on time. I owe you."

"Nice seeing you again," commented Logan.

"Yeah." Jess looked toward Rory and then back toward Logan. He shook his head slightly and turned away.

"Here, let me cover the food," Logan called, reaching for his wallet again and stepping toward Jess as he walked away.

"It's okay," Jess responded holding his right hand in the air with a dismissive wave. He continued walking.

The door shut.

"I'm sorry, Ace."

"What?"

"I can go," continued Logan. "I can get a hotel for the night – for the weekend. Why don't you call him and eat dinner together? It's no big deal."

"Logan," began Rory, but she stalled. She wasn't sure what he was apologizing about.

"We'll figure this out," promised Logan. "This can work."

"What can work?" demanded Rory, completely confused.

"We can both be here, both here for Charlie. I'm not trying to take over your life. I just want to be with my son," implored Logan.

"Oh," laughed Rory. "No. Logan, it's not like that."

"I can go," insisted Logan. "I didn't mean to mess up your night. Just say the word, and I'll find a hotel for the night. Not a problem at all."

Rory shook her head. "I really wasn't expecting him, Logan."

"But if you were, it wouldn't be a problem," stated Logan diplomatically.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I want to get dinner with Jess," countered Rory.

Logan looked perplexed but nodded, feeling they had reached an agreement.

Rory reached out and looped her arm around Logan's waist. It felt simultaneously familiar but strange. It was a platonic gesture, but it reminded her of years past.

"Logan, I'm starving. Let's eat."


A/N: Thank you for reading and a huge shout out to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed the story. It means a lot, and I love hearing everyone's thoughts!