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.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback so far everyone. I appreciate the response. I hope you continue to enjoy the installments.

And also, to those readers who have left nasty reviews slamming Logan – no one asked you to read this story, no one forced you. Move along.

If I Never See You Again

By Heather Nicole

Chapter 5

Lane couldn't believe it when she'd woke up at 9:30 a.m. and slept straight through her alarm.

"Zach?" she screamed. "Zach!"

"Whoa, babe, what's wrong?" he asked. "Try to keep it down – the boys are out for the count."

"Zach, did my alarm go off?" she asked.

"Oh. No, it didn't," he said. "I noticed you had it set for like, 5:30 a.m. That was wicked early for you to be getting up, and you've been so worn out lately. I just thought I'd let you sleep in, since I'm around. Thought I'd cut you a break before I left for the tour."

"That's sweet," she said. "It totally messed with my plan for the morning … but it's sweet."

"What did you have to do at 5:30 a.m.?" Zach asked.

"It's nothing," she said. "I just wanted to catch-up with Rory before she made it to the airport."

"Sorry babe," he said. "Maybe you should just call her."

"Yea," she said. "Maybe."

She grabbed some clothes from her dresser and started getting ready for the day. Her plan – until she'd slept in – had been to get up at 5:30 a.m. and meet Lorelai and Rory over at Luke's before they left. She knew Luke was opening early for them – Zach had told her – and she thought it would be the perfect chance to get Rory alone. Lorelai would be distracted, having reunited with Luke. It would be the perfect time to tell her what she'd found out from Logan.

But at this point, even if she did call, it might not make a different. Lane wasn't sure when Rory was supposed to land in Des Moines. She knew that she had to change planes in Chicago. But if she made it to Des Moines and got on the campaign bus before Lane could get in touch with her, there was very little chance that Lane could get Rory to abandon the project. Not that she wanted her to abandon her new job or her career – she wasn't out to be a defeatist and ruin Rory's hard work. She just wanted her to have all the facts, all the options.

Maybe the campaign would make it to California?

Lane went out to the living area, where Zach was stretched out on the futon, watching TV.

"You want some breakfast, babe?" he asked.

"Not right now," she said, sifting through some of the envelopes and papers on the counter. "Hey, did you pick up your pay check from Luke's yet?"

Zach looked sheepish. "Sorry … I forgot."

"You've forgot for three days, Zach. Formula doesn't grow on trees. Diapers don't magically appear. We need money for these things," she said.

"Sorry, babe," he said, getting up, "I'll go pick it up. It's no problem."

"No, no," said Lane, feeling bad immediately. He was so attentive. A little … strange, forgetful, awkward … but so attentive. He'd wanted to let her sleep. He took good care of her and the boys, even though prior to their marriage, he'd barely known how to take care of himself. "I'll go pick it up. I want to go for a walk anyway."

She gave him a quick kiss goodbye and grabbed her keys before heading out the door.

The rainstorm had brought through a cold front, and now, as opposed to the sticky hot of the days previous, it was actually a rather chilly morning. She wished she had brought a jacket, and folded her arms across her chest to keep warm and walked briskly 'til she arrived at Luke's.

She pushed open the door, the bell jangling.

She approached the counter, where Luke was sorting receipts. "Hey Luke," she said.

"Hey Lane, how are you? How are boys?" he asked.

"Good, good. We're all good. And you?" she asked.

"Good, very good," he smiled. Lane was happy to see a genuinely happy smile on Luke's face, something she hadn't seen in about ten months. "What can I get you?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing to eat. I'm actually here to grab Zach's paycheck – he forgot it. Again," she said.

"Oh, sure," he said. "Let me just go upstairs and grab it from the safe. It'll just take a minute."

He disappeared behind the curtain, and no sooner had the sound of his footsteps disappeared than did the sound of the jangling of the door replace it, along with the sound of a pair of high heels clacking on the ground.

"Hey Lane!" Lane recognized the voice immediately and turned to meet it.

"Hey Lorelai! How are you?" she asked, hesitatingly.

"Oh … you know. I'm okay. It hasn't really hit me yet. I mean, I was teary on the way back from the airport and everything. But I went into the Inn today, and you know … life really isn't that much different than when she was at Yale … yet," she began. "It'll probably hit me harder tonight. And later on, when she isn't at Friday night dinner or home for the weekend. But I'm okay. Where's Luke?"

"He ran upstairs to get Zach's check for me," Lane answered. "So did everything go smoothly at the airport?"

"Yep," Lorelai said. "We got her to the airport and she got on her flight."

"Has she gotten to Iowa yet?" Lane asked.

"No, actually," Lorelai explained. "She should have been there by now. But the connection flight that she had to catch in Chicago was delayed – she's been stuck there for a couple hours now."

"Geez, that sucks," Lane said.

"Yea, especially for Rory. You know her – Ms. Punctuality," Lorelai answered.

"Oh yea, she's gotta be jumping out of her skin," Lane said.

And suddenly, it occurred to Lane – this was it. This was her window. This was her chance to call Rory and tell her what she'd found out. Maybe it wasn't too late for Rory to reconsider the facts.

She felt guilty, thinking these things around Lorelai. She knew Lorelai had no doubts that Rory made the right decision. That was hard for Lane. In a way, she felt like she was somehow betraying Lorelai, who was basically another mother to her. What kind of gratitude was she showing her by deliberately undermining Lorelai's motherly opinion on this topic?

But Lane knew that Lorelai didn't know the way Rory was feeling. She also didn't know the way Logan was feeling. She couldn't be sure that either of those things would make a difference. But Lane knew that Lorelai only wanted Rory to be happy. And if she wasn't as happy as she could be … then maybe, Lane wasn't really going around Lorelai after all.

Luke couldn't come downstairs with that check fast enough. She couldn't bolt without it – it would look strange and suspicious. Time ticked away. And though it was probably only a minute, maybe two, it felt like 15 or 20 minutes had passed when Luke finally arrived downstairs with the check.

Lane snatched it from his hand, thanking him quickly. "Gotta go!" she said. "It was nice seeing you Lorelai. I'll talk to later!"

Lane bolted out the door, pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She didn't waste time searching through her contacts for Rory's cell phone number – she dialed it by heart, cursing herself for not setting up her speed dial.

And then she waited, while the phone rang, and rang, hoping she had enough time.