Instead of picking up the phone to call his mother-in-law straight away, Logan decided to see if he could figure out why Rory left first. He left the kitchen and headed upstairs. The door to the guest bedroom was open, so he wandered in. He found the closet open and Rory's favorite suitcase missing. It was the suitcase she'd used as a foreign correspondent, she could pack for weeks in that thing and return home with clothes that she hadn't worn.
He left the guest room and headed into their bedroom. At a glance, he could already feel her absence. The book she was currently reading was no longer on the nightstand. Her toothbrush, her flat iron, and her makeup case were no longer on the counter in the bathroom. Her favorite pumps were no longer in the closet. But none of this brought Logan any closer to understanding why she left.
One last stop. He headed down the hall again, but this time to her office. Merely entering the room gave him an overwhelming sense of Rory. It smelled like a mix of coffee and oranges. The orange was from her body spray. The only way Rory would have anything to do with fruit was if it was a scent or if it was covered in chocolate. Currently she favored a citrus scented line. He walked around her office, and took it all in. The leather chair next to the window looked as if she'd just vacated it. There was an empty coffee cup and a Pop Tart wrapper on the end table, along with a well-worn copy of Pride and Prejudice. The walls were covered in photos from her life. Pictures from Stars Hollow, pictures from Chilton, pictures from Yale. Pictures from her time on the campaign trail, pictures from her travels abroad. Pictures from their wedding. There were only two events that were conspicuously absent from the walls, one was her marriage to Jess. And even then, hints of their relationship were still there. The goofy look on her face in some of the pictures from that time indicated that she was posing and he was the one behind the camera. Her at the airport leaving for her first foreign correspondent assignment. Her office at the Philadelphia Observer. The only pictures Jess was in were the ones from Luke and Lorelai's wedding. He was the best man and she was the matron of honor, as they had beaten Luke and Lorelai to the alter by a few months. Rory looked extremely happy in those pictures. Everyone did. Except maybe Richard and Emily. The other event that was absent from the wall was her relationship with Logan, the first time.
There were no pictures whatsoever indicating that Rory knew Logan prior to the Yale Daily News fundraiser four years ago. Photographic evidence existed, Logan knew that it did, she just didn't have it on display.
After he'd taken in the photos on the wall, he moved over to her desk. Her laptop was missing, but that was to be expected, she took it to work every morning. The calendar that was her desk pad was filled with doodles instead of actual appointments. Sitting on the desk was a small leather bound book. It didn't look like an actual book, but more like a journal. Logan picked it up and examined it. If it was a journal, he'd feel like an asshole reading it, but if it would give him a clue as to what was going on, he'd deal with it later. He started thumbing through it. It was typeset. Not a journal. He found her marker in the middle of the book, it was a strip of pictures from one of street machines. It was pictures of the two of them, before they started dating again. He flipped back to the beginning of the book, and saw the title page. One of Jess's books. He sighed and rolled his eyes. He knew he'd never be fully rid of Jess. He was part of Rory's family, regardless of their failed marriage. He snapped the book shut. Then picked it right back up and opened it to the strip of pictures. "What happened Rory?" he wondered aloud to the pictures.
A little less than four years earlier
After running into Rory at the Yale fundraiser, Logan's life had returned to its prior state. He worked, he ate, he slept, and he had the occasional first date, which was never followed by a second date. It was a month or so after the fundraiser that he found himself headed to New York on business, and decided to see if Rory wanted to have dinner or drinks.
It took him a few minutes to track down her number, but she was right, she was easy to find. He dialed her office and sat back in his chair to wait for the voicemail to pick up.
"Gilmore," she answered on the third ring.
"Oh Rory, hi. I didn't think I'd actually get you," he said, tripping over his words.
"Logan? Is that you?"
"Yeah." He blushed even though she couldn't see him, embarrassed that he would be so awkward.
"How are you?" she asked, glossing over his awkward start.
"I'm good. I'm going to be in New York next week, and I thought I'd see if you wanted to get together for dinner or drinks or something."
"What days?"
He looked at his schedule, "I'm going to be in town the 24th through the 29th."
"Bummer, I can't. I'm leaving for a two week trip to Libya on the 23rd. Next time?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. Don't forget to wear your Kevlar under your radiation suit," he teased.
"Well since I'm not trading a nuclear weapon for plutonium, I think I'll be okay, but I'll keep your warning in mind."
"Good. So how have you been?"
"You know, the usual. Eat, sleep, work, repeat. You?"
"About the same. Don't you ever get time for fun?"
"Mostly my free time goes into trips to Stars Hollow."
"How is your mom?" he asked, honestly curious.
"She's good. She and Luke got married around the same time that Jess and I did. No inbreeding jokes please. They're still together, in fact, I now have both a younger brother and a younger sister."
Logan chuckled at her joke about inbreeding. "How old?"
"Will is four, and Ella is three."
"Kids at that age are cute. Honor has three now. Hunter is six, Max is four, and Abby is two and a half."
"Wow. How are Mitchum and Shira taking to being grandparents?"
"Pretty much with the same detached sentiments they had when Honor and I were kids."
"That's sad."
"No, what's sad is that Honor has three amazing kids, and instead of fawning all over them, they just give me grief about not producing any heirs."
"That really sucks," Rory agreed.
There was a long pause in the conversation, and finally Logan spoke, "I'll be in New York the end of next month as well. Will you be in town?" He could hear her clicking on her keyboard, then flipping through pages.
"I should be in town. Shoot me an email with your exact dates when you know them and I'll double check my schedule and get back to you."
"And your email address?" He wondered if she'd give him her personal address.
"R Gilmore at NYTimes dot com," she answered. "I check that one the most."
"Okay thanks. Well have a safe trip to Libya."
"Enjoy New York, and hopefully I'll see you next month."
"Bye Rory."
"Bye Logan." He stayed on the line until he heard the click of her hanging up.
He hung up his own phone and stared at it in wonder. He'd told Rory more about his life in a three-minute phone conversation than he'd told any of the women he'd dated since his divorce. And she got his Back To The Future reference!
A month later, they actually did manage to meet up in New York.
He pushed open the doors to the New York Times building and headed to the elevator bank. He knew her office was on the 14th floor. As he stepped off the elevator, he was immediately greeted by a perky blonde sitting behind the front desk.
"Hi Sir, how can I help you today?" she asked.
"I'm here to see Rory Gilmore."
"Is she expecting you?" the girl asked.
"Not really. We were supposed to meet a bit later, but I'm early."
"Can I let her know who's here?"
"Logan Huntzberger."
The girl blushed bright pink, apparently she knew who he was, not like there was anybody in the publishing world who didn't, but oddly, it made him feel slightly uncomfortable. She picked up her phone and dialed an extension he assumed was Rory's. "Ms. Gilmore, there's a Logan Huntzberger here to see you." She paused for a response then hung up the phone. "She'll be right out."
Logan walked over to the sitting area, grabbed a paper, and took a seat. It took Rory less than a minute to get to him.
"Logan what are you doing here?" she asked.
"My meeting ended early, so I thought I'd come pick you up for lunch, this way I can see your office," he answered honestly. He stood up and put the paper down, and then leaned in to hug her hello.
"You know this is going to cause gossip!" she hissed in his ear as she hugged him. "My office is this way, follow me," she said in her normal voice.
He followed her down the hall, smiling and nodding as she gave him the tour, pointing out various departments, and writers. They were almost to her office when a graying head popped out of a door.
"Who's this you've got with you Rory?" the man asked.
"This is my friend Logan. Logan, this is Art Matthews, my editor," she said by way of introduction. She'd purposefully left out his last name, and he knew it.
"Logan Huntzberger, pleased to meet you," he said to Art, holding out his hand.
The man shook his hand as though he had leprosy. "You're not planning on leaving us, are you Gilmore?" Art asked in a tone that showed he was trying to keep things light, but was actually worried about the possibility of HPG poaching one of his best writers.
"Logan and I are old college buddies, you have nothing to worry about Sir. He's in town on business and just stopped by to have lunch with me and catch up."
"Wonderful," Art said, relief evident in his voice.
"Speaking of, we'd better get the tour moving again, I'd hate to miss our reservations," Logan stated, trying to get back to their original purpose. "It was nice to meet you Mr. Matthews."
"Uh, nice to meet you too Mr. Huntzberger."
"Please, it's Logan, Mr. Huntzberger is my father."
"Ah yes, well, say hello to your father for me. I used to work with him once upon a time in Washington."
"Will do."
Rory grabbed Logan's arm and pulled him down the remaining length of hallway before they got to her office. "If your little impromptu visit makes my life around here difficult in anyway, I will cut you Huntzberger!" she told him vehemently, once she'd closed the door to her office. Well as vehemently as she could with a smile on her face.
"Relax Ace, if nothing else, they'll suck up to you for a while to make sure you're sticking around." He looked around her office. It looked like her, piles of research everywhere, and post-it notes covering most surfaces. "Some things never change," he said, gesturing to his surroundings. "So this is where the magic happens?"
"Not really," she replied. "I spend a lot of time on the road, so it's gotten to be that I write my best in a loud place, in a cramped, uncomfortable position, with my laptop battery dying."
He laughed at her description of writing in war zones. "So do you head over to gang territory when you've got to write a local story?"
She laughed in return. "Are you ready to go get lunch?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Do you really have reservations?" she asked suspiciously.
"Weeellll," he wheedled.
"Logan! Do not joke about food with a Gilmore! You know the consequences."
"I don't have reservations, but I'm pretty sure I can get us in anywhere you wanna go. And I intended to buy anyhow."
"Fine." She pulled out her coat and Logan took it from her to help her into it. Then she led the way back to the front of the office, and into the elevator so they could go for lunch. "I'll be back in an hour or so," she called to the perky girl at the desk.
They ended up grabbing lunch at a nearby diner, nothing fancy, but really good food. "Is this place your new Luke's?" Logan asked as he took a bite of his cheeseburger.
"There will never be a new Luke's," Rory replied, shocked at the suggestion. "I like this place in it's own right. My mom and Luke also approve, even though Luke doesn't usually eat the fare at his own diner."
Logan laughed, remembering that the gruff diner owner was somewhat of a health nut when left to his own devices. "I do miss Luke's coffee," he admitted.
"You used to give me such a bad time about it!"
"I know, but he really does have the best coffee."
"You live close enough that you could go get someone once and while you know," Rory reminded him.
"Yeah, but as good as the coffee is, I'm not sure it's worth risking death. Last I remember Luke was a charter member of the We Hate Logan fan club."
Rory snorted. "After Jess… well, he just needs to keep his opinions to himself."
She opened the door to the ex spouse discussion, but Logan wasn't ready to go there just yet, so he changed the subject, back to something safer, work.
A while later, Logan's cell phone rang, breaking them out of their conversation. "Huntzberger," he answered quickly.
"Logan where the fuck are you?" a very pissed off voice asked. "We were supposed to meet 45 minutes ago."
"Honor! I'm so sorry, I'll get there as soon as I can, and I'll tell you all about it when I'm there." He looked over at Rory to find her scrolling through messages on her phone.
"This better be good Logan," his sister threatened.
"It is." He hung up the phone. "So I guess our hour lunch went a little long," he said looking up a Rory rather sheepishly.
"A little long? It's been two and half hours! We completely lost track of time."
"Let me walk you back to work. You won't be in trouble will you?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"I think I can find my way back to the office alone, it's only a few blocks. You go meet Honor since you're already late. Say hi to her for me."
"I will." They both stood up, and Logan dropped a handful of bills onto the table before helping Rory back into her coat. "It was good to see you."
"Likewise. We should do it again next time you're in New York."
And just like that, it became tradition. Whenever Logan was in New York, he'd call Rory, and if she was in town, they'd get together. At first it was just lunch, or dinner, or coffee. Then it became lunch, and dinner, and coffee. Soon it became reciprocal, when Rory was in Connecticut, she'd stop and see Logan too. She, however, seemed to make it a policy to never meet him at work.
They were just friends. They would talk about work, and life, their families and bad first dates. Logan had forgotten what it was like to have a friend that understood so many parts of his life so well. He'd forgotten what it was like to talk to someone that he hadn't known all of his life, and yet still had no interest in what he could do for them. Since high school, virtually every person Logan came in contact with wanted something from him. His money, his connections, his status. The only person that wasn't like that, excluding Colin, Finn, and Stephanie of course, was Rory. That was one of the few things that hadn't changed about Rory over the years.
It was a Friday afternoon, about six months in to Rory and Logan's friendly visits, and they were again, sitting in that diner in New York. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.
"What do you have going on this afternoon?" Rory asked as she dragged one of her fries through a puddle of ketchup.
"I've got a meeting at the Daily News at 3:00, then dinner at 6:30 with some of the editors from the Post."
"Lame."
"Why, something you'd rather do?" he asked.
"I was thinking today would be a great day for Coney Island." She looked wistfully out the window.
"You can blow off the rest of your day for an amusement park?"
"Sure. I'm working on articles for the next few weeks, but I have plenty that are ready to go now."
"I can't cancel dinner, but I bet I could postpone it. If I moved it to 8:00 would that give us enough time?" he asked.
"Logan, you don't have to rearrange your schedule on my whims. My mom will be in town soon, and I'll drag her out there. Or maybe I'll call Paris and get her to come for a visit, it's no big deal."
He didn't respond to her, he was too busy dialing. "Mark Jamison please," he said. He waited while he was transferred. "Mark, it's Logan Huntzberger."
"Hello sir, what can I do for you?"
"Something's come up and I was wondering if I could possibly delay our meeting until Monday."
"Of course Mr. Huntzberger. Shall we say 10:00 am on Monday?" Mark replied accommodatingly.
"That sounds perfect, thank you." He snapped the phone shut. "Now we can go to Coney Island."
Rory looked at him in awe. "You just blew off a meeting for an amusement park."
"I didn't blow it off, I rearranged it."
"Now you'll have to make an extra trip to New York."
"I'll just stay in town, it'll be fine. It'll give me a chance to spend some time with Honor and Josh and the kids. Now let me call my assistant and have her rearrange the dinner reservations." Once that was done, he took one last sip of his chocolate shake, and stood up. "Come on, let's go ride some rides!"
They spent the afternoon riding rides, eating greasy fair foods - Rory insisted on Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, frozen custard, funnel cake and cotton candy - and playing boardwalk games. Logan won Rory a teddy bear at the Strong Man booth, and Rory won him a goldfish at the Ping Pong Ball toss.
"What am I going to do with a goldfish?" Logan asked as he held up the bag. They were walking back towards the entrance to head back to the city.
"Keep it in your office."
"How am I going to get it home?"
"On the airplane with the rest of your stuff."
"It can't last that long in a plastic bag, can it?"
"So buy it a bowl."
"You just have all the answers don't you?" he said with a smile.
"They're not hard questions Logan. Haven't you ever had a fish before?"
"No pets."
Rory looked up at him, her eyes filled with something that looked a lot like pity. "Never?"
"Nope." She wrapped her arm around his and gave it a squeeze.
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well. It happens. Oh look! A photo booth, we should totally do that!" he exclaimed to change the subject and lighten the mood.
They climbed into the booth, and prepared for the pictures. The first one was one of them smiling side by side, then Logan tickled Rory, so she was laughing like a maniac in the second one. To get him back she gave him a noogie, so his hair was all messed up for the third one. The final one showed her with a look of shock on her face as he leaned in and kissed her moments before the flash went off.
"If these turn out, I'll make a copy for you," he told her as they climbed out of the booth.
She walked beside him in silence. He knew from past experience that she was processing what had happened. It was just a quick peck, but his lips hadn't touched hers in almost 7 years, and still, he got the same tingle he used to get. He wondered if she did too. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as they walked back to the car. Her hand came up and rubbed her lips gently.
"I'm sorry Rory," he finally said. "I didn't plan it, it just seemed like the thing to do at the time."
She stopped walking and turned to face him. He stopped a few steps from her, not sure how she was going to react. She closed the distance between them, and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him to her, and then she kissed him. Not the peck he'd given her, but an actual kiss. It felt like there were fireworks going off in his head, but just as soon as he could get into it, she backed away.
"I'd forgotten that kisses could be like that," she admitted as she blushed.
"Me too."
He stared down at the strip of pictures in his hand. Their kisses were still like that. Every time he kissed her, he wanted more. It had been 3 and a half years since that first kiss at Coney Island, and yet each kiss was just as exciting as that first one. He couldn't just let her walk away; he had to figure out what was wrong, and how to fix it.
He picked up his phone to dial Lorelai, but decided to try a different tactic first. As much as he knew Rory loved Lorelai, she still wasn't Logan's biggest fan, and since Rory's note professed that she still loved him, maybe that would send her somewhere else first. He scrolled through his contacts until he found the one he wanted, then hit send.
The phone rang twice before a familiar voice picked up. "Geller."
"Hi Paris, it's Logan. Don't hang up," he said in a rush. He could hear that she was still on the other end of the phone, but she didn't say a word. "Rory left me, and I don't know why. Have you talked to her? Have you seen her?" Paris was silent a while longer. "Please Paris, I'm worried about her. I love her, you know that."
"She's here," Paris finally admitted quietly.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't know, she hasn't told me yet."
"Will you tell me when you find out?"
She snorted. He took that to mean not just no, but hell no.
"Okay fine, don't tell me. Just as long as she's safe."
"You really have no clue why she left?" Paris finally asked.
"None. I thought everything was fine. We haven't argued about anything lately. Family drama is at a minimum, and work is going well for both of us. I honestly have no clue at all as to what's going on."
"Does Lorelai know?" Paris asked.
"I thought I'd try you first, but I guess I'll call her next."
"Logan," Paris started.
"Yeah?"
"I know you love her. If something happens, and she's not safe, I'll let you know."
Given the best friend code, that was the most he could hope for. "Thanks Paris."
"But, if you just show up here trying to take her home before she's ready, I'll kick your ass," Paris informed him.
"I stand warned," he replied. "I don't want her to be miserable Paris. If she's not happy with me, as much as it will kill me to let her go, I'll do it." His eyes stung as they filled with unshed tears at the thought of not being with Rory any longer.
"I'm sure it'll all work out," Paris told him.
"Thanks Paris."
"Bye Logan."
He hung up the phone and stared at for a moment before he dialed Lorelai's number. He dialed her mobile instead of the house or the Inn, not really wanting to take the chance of having to talk to anyone else.
She answered on the second ring. "Hey Kid, did your battery die again?" she said in lieu of greeting. Rory often used his phone to call her mom when she forgot to put her own phone on the charger.
"It's Logan," he said.
"Logan, what's wrong?" Lorelai asked. He could hear panic in her tone.
"Have you talked to Rory today?" he asked in return.
"No. Is she okay?"
"I… I don't know."
"How do you not know? You're her husband, you're supposed to know these things," Lorelai told him, as if he didn't know. She was getting annoyed, and he assumed it was the worry. Well that and the fact that she wasn't super thrilled with her daughter's choice in husbands.
He sat in silence for a moment, trying to put the words together.
"I came home to find a note that she was gone. That she wouldn't fight a divorce, and to send the papers to your house," he finally told her.
"Why on Earth would you want to divorce her?" Lorelai asked him angrily.
"I wouldn't! I don't. That's why I'm calling. Something happened, and I don't know what it is. I was hoping that you would know. Especially since she said to send the papers to you!" He was losing control of his emotions, and had raised his voice. "I'm sorry Lorelai, I didn't mean to yell."
He half expected her to bite his head off. Instead she merely huffed on the other end of the phone. "It's okay. I can tell that you're not quite your usual self at the moment."
"So do you have any idea what's going on?" he asked hopefully.
"No, I don't. I haven't talked to Rory since last night, and everything was fine then." She stopped talking, and they just sat there in silence for a moment before she spoke again. "I haven't seen her either. If she wants stuff sent to my house, I assume that means she'll be staying with me for a bit."
Logan didn't know how to respond to that. He shrugged, then realized that Lorelai couldn't see him, and verbalized his thought, "I don't know."
"What time did she leave?"
"I don't know exactly. She left her office around 10 this morning, and when I got home at 2:30 or so, she was already gone."
"She should be here by now then!" Lorelai said, the anxious tone from earlier, returned to her voice.
"She's at Paris's," he admitted. "But Paris has no clue why she's there yet."
"I'll call her," Lorelai said.
"Good luck. She's not taking my phone calls," he said sadly.
The phone was quiet again for a minute. "I'm sure it'll all work out for the best Logan." He was sure she was trying to be reassuring, but he knew that she meant for the best for Rory.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but if you find out what's going on, will you let me know?" She let out a single, sarcastic 'HA' in response. He expected as much. "I just want her to be happy Lorelai, honestly."
"I know Kid. I'll do what I can." It wasn't much, but it was more than he expected from Lorelai Gilmore Danes.
"Thanks."
The phone disconnected, and he began to pace, completely unsure of what to do next.
AN: I still don't own anything. Oh except maybe Luke and Lorelai's kids and Honor and Josh's kids.
Note, my time line is probably screwy, I have no idea how long it takes to get from New York to Boston by car, forgive my lack of research. And Logan's conversation with Paris takes place while Rory is napping in the guest room.
Please read and review. Reviews will get a teaser from Chapter Five!
Thanks
S