Disclaimer: I do not own the Gilmore Girls or any of its characters, nor do I have any connection or affiliation with the actors and actresses, producers, show-runners or the CW. Because let's face it – if I did, Gilmore Girls would still be on, Rory would've married Logan, and I wouldn't be writing this fanfic.

Rating: PG for now, for language.

Major Relationships: Rory & Logan, with Luke & Lorelai from time to time.

SYNOPSIS: This story begins on the night before Rory's going away party when she and Lane are talking on her front porch, after Lane has been temporarily taken away to try and get Rory off the porch. When Lane comes back, she tells her how panicked she is, how nervous she is, and how upset she is to leave her Mom.

If I Never See You Again

By Heather Nicole

Chapter 3

It was about 4 a.m. in California when the phone awoke Logan from a not-so-peaceful sleep. In fact, he was barely asleep at all. His eyes were closed. His body was relaxing, at least somewhat. But his mind was racing the entire time, never letting him entirely to sleep.

The call came from a number that Logan didn't recognize – but the area code was one that he did recognize. It was definitely from somewhere in Connecticut. And – unless he was mistaken, or dreaming – it was definitely from Stars Hollow.

He couldn't move his fingers fast enough to hit the answer button.

"Hello? … Hello?!" he answered impatiently.

"Hi, is this Logan Huntzberger?" a somewhat familiar voice said on the other line.

"Yes," Logan answered, defeated. It was definitely not Rory on the other end.

"Oh good, I'm glad I reached you! There were so many different numbers for you in Rory's phone – but I couldn't tell which was work, which was a cell phone. But this is good. It's good I reached you," the voice said.

"I'm sorry, but who is this?" Logan asked.

"Oh, gosh, sorry. This is Lane Kim, I'm not sure if you remember me or not. I'm-" she began.

"Rory's best friend." Logan cut her off. It was one of the first times he'd said her name out loud since he left. It felt like someone had punctured a slow leak in his lung as he said he name and thought about her, and realized he was talking to someone much closer to her than he was, and strangely, he found himself jealous.

"Oh, great. You remember me, well that's good, that's very good," Lane said.

"Is there a reason you called? It's 4 a.m. here, and it's not like I don't want to talk to you or anything, Lane, but I have a hard enough time sleeping these days as it is, without getting woken by random calls early in the morning," Logan said, more harshly than he meant to.

"Right. Well, see … It's about Rory," Lane began.

"Is she okay?" Logan instantly panicked.

"Oh, she's fine, she's fine. It's just … well, I don't know if you heard or not, but she got a job," Lane started.

"So?" Logan said. This wasn't exactly news. He was glad Rory had found a job, but of course he knew she would find a job.

"Well, see, the job is with Hugo Grave – a friend of yours, right? Anyhow, he has that online magazine and he hired her as a political correspondent. She's going to be in the press corp for the Barack Obama campaign," Lane explained.

"Wow," he said. Logan went silent on the line. This wasn't just a job. This was the job. It was a huge opportunity. Following Barack Obama on the campaign trail – he knew this was better than any job offer Rory could've hoped for straight out of college. And then in only a split second it hit him … this kind of job was going to involve a lot of travel. She'd be all over the country. It would be nearly impossible to pin her down for … well, as long as the campaign lasted. And if Obama went all the way … then it meant she wouldn't be slowing down until November 2008. For a year and a half, she'd be moving around constantly. It was the perfect job for any journalist. But it was really the perfect job for Rory … who he knew, in his heart, was really running from the decision she'd just made. It wouldn't give her the chance to settle down for very long, to wrap her mind around the decisions of the past few weeks, to analyze whether or not it was right or wrong. And in this job, where her life would be constantly and consistently moving, there would be little that would remain fixed. Which meant that in Rory Gilmore's new life, it would be almost as though he never existed.

"Well, it's a great opportunity for her. I'm glad she found something like this …" he said, clearly ready to go.

"No wait, Logan, don't go," Lane said.

"Why? You said what you had to say, now I know she got a job. That's great," Logan said, frustrated.

"No, that's not why I called. I mean, yes, the job is part of it … but she misses you Logan. She's leaving because she misses you. You know Rory. She didn't plan for any of this and she couldn't have expected it. She didn't have time to wrap her mind around this idea, this idea of forever with you, coming up sooner than she expected," Lane began.

"Are you saying she's changed her mind?" Logan asked.

"I … I don't know specifically if she's changed her mind," she started, "But I do know that it is classic Rory for her to pack up and move along to get her mind off of something, especially if she feels she made the wrong decision. Rory isn't good at getting over disappointment, Logan. Rory's used to getting exactly what she expects. That's the part of her that is still kind a little kid. But it's my opinion as the best friend, and as someone who does know her really, really well, that she isn't over you. It is also my opinion that in her saying no to your proposal, she didn't mean that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life with you. She just wasn't quite ready for it to start right that second. But that's only after she thought about it for a day. Rory isn't good at being spontaneous. She had to be here, but if she'd had more time, it may have gone differently. And … I still think she wants to spend the rest of her life with you. I just think your timeline and her timeline are a little different, but I think that they could, with some effort … line up."

"How do you mean?" Logan inquired.

"I think that Rory was always prepared to leave Stars Hollow behind to be a journalist. I don't think she was prepared to leave you behind, not after you both decided you were going to figure each other in," Lane explained. "I think she just figured that if you got a job offer first, she would go with you and find a job there … or vice versa. The proposal didn't really the two of you a chance to do any of that. And in the chaos of it all, I don't think it gave her the chance to say 'No, I'm not ready to marry you yet … but yes, I do want to move out there with you.'"

"Okay. So say that is the case. Say she does really want to spend her life with me, say she does want to move out here … what can be done about that now?" Logan said.

"Are you saying you'd be okay with that?" Lane asked.

"I asked you a question first," Logan said.

"Yes, but your answer to my question depends on how I answer your question," Lane reasoned.

Logan smiled. Her answer was so much like one that Rory would have given. It was easy to see … or in this case … hear, why they were best friends. They were so similar in so many ways. It made Logan ache for Rory. And in that moment, he knew, as much as he may want to, for whatever stoic or selfless reason, he couldn't lie.

"If Rory wanted to be with me … If she wanted to move out here … If she wanted to move forward in that way, living out here with me, starting our lives in that way … Well …" he said, "I guess that wouldn't be so bad. It … might be great, actually. It's not what I'd planned. But it would be better than being out here without her."

"So you do want her to come out there?" Lane said.

"If she wants to come out here," Logan began. "But it's a little late for that, don't you think? She's got this job. I mean, she's got to be packing and getting ready to leave. I mean, when does she start?"

"Well … that's the trick," Lane said, hesitatingly. "She leaves tomorrow."

'It was my own fault,' Logan thought to himself. 'I let myself get my hopes up that this could work. But now, it obviously can't.' He was disappointed and crestfallen once again. Rory was leaving tomorrow. There was no time to make this happen.

"And I know what you're thinking – that this gives us a very limited window, but I think that anything here is possible," Lane said, almost reading his mind, it seemed. "I mean, look at it this way. She's already packed – I mean, not everything in her life, but enough to get by for a few weeks. She's planning to leave anyway. And tomorrow, the town is throwing her this huge, surprise going away party, and it would be the perfect opportunity."

"The perfect opportunity for what?" he asked.

"For you to show up and ask her to come with you," Lane suggested.

"No," Logan said, flatly. "If Rory wants to come be with me, she is going to have to do it of her own volition. I'm not coming all the way out to Connecticut to have my heart ripped out again. I'm barely surviving the last time. Me, Rory, and grand gestures, clearly don't work. No. If she wants to be out here, she can come. But I'm not going to get her. I have to retain a little bit of my pride. And I will not be the one who asks her to give up this opportunity. If she makes that decision herself … well, that's fine. But I love her, and I want her to be happy. Whichever of these things makes her happiest … I will have to be okay with that, too."

"But how is she supposed to know that you want her there?" Lane asked.

"You can tell her. You seem to be good at passing the word along," Logan asserted.

"It's not the same," Lane countered.

"Maybe not, but it will have to do," Logan said. "I love Rory. I want to be with her. I rented this house with the assumption that she and I would be living in it together. Starting our life together in it. She's not here. And I want her here, even if that means I have to compromise a little. Now I won't do the long distance thing again, it hurts too much. But if she wants to move out here, and try living with me in California for a little while … I'm okay with that. I'm game. You can tell her that there is a space for her here. There is a two car garage, with one slot empty. There is a king-sized bed, and her side is still vacant. There are two walk-in closets, one is meant for her. There is room in this life for her, and I want her here. But she's gotta get here on her own. I had to get to the point where I would be ready to marry someone on my own, in a manner of speaking. No one could do that for me. No one could make me ready to commit. I can't make Rory be ready to take a leap and move out here with me. But if she decides on her own that she wants to leap … I will be here to catch her."

"You're sure you won't just come out here, and maybe give her a little push?" Lane needled.

"Nope, sorry," Logan answered.

"Fine," Lane said. "I'm going to need your address if I'm going to give this a try."