Author Note: I own nothing. Logan's inner thoughts in italics.
Logan sits up and swings his feet over the edge of the bed.
"Okay… Okay… How late are you?" he asks.
"Well, I should have started today," Rory says.
"Today… So you're not technically late yet. Right?"
"Yes, I am," she says. "I normally wake up and start the third day of placebo."
Logan rubs his eyes. Okay. Stay calm. Rory needs you to be calm.
"Rory, obviously you know your period better than me, but I don't think we need to worry yet."
"I'm freaking out, Logan. I can't believe I was so irresponsible. Why do you have to be so great at sex? It makes me do stupid things."
One hundred quips enter his mind, but he is not even capable of smiling at this point.
"And my boobs seem bigger. And my belly is pooching," she continues.
Stay calm. Reassure her.
"I'm not sure that's how it works," Logan says. "But don't freak out. Alright? What's the worst case scenario?"
"Are you even listening? That I'm pregnant!" she says, her voice rising.
"Okay, but… Baby. We are adults- I mean, technically. We're financially set, and we love each other. Babies are born in way worse circumstances every day. Your mom had you at sixteen with a lot less, and look at how great you turned out," Logan says.
Rory is silent.
He continues. "So it speeds up our timeline by a few years. Everything is going to be fine. I promise."
"But I'm about to graduate. How am I going to get a job if I'm having a baby? Christiane Amanpour didn't wear a Baby Bjorn in the Middle East!" she says.
"Well, Rory, we have options. I'll support whatever you decide," Logan tells her.
"I don't think I can have a baby. I was sure I wanted… but you just gave such a lovely speech about how we can do this."
"We can do this. We just have to decide if we want to. But first, we need to find out if you're actually pregnant," Logan says.
"I'm sure I am. I can tell," Rory says.
"Do you want me to fly home? You don't seem like you should be alone right now."
"Maybe. I'll take a test tomorrow, and we can decide. I would love for you to come home anyway though. I miss you so much," Rory says.
"I know," Logan sighs.
"Will you stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?" she asks.
"Of course."
"It may take a while. I'm so anxious," Rory whispers.
After only fifteen minutes or so, Logan can tell by her rhythmic breathing that she is asleep. He, on the other hand, is wide awake. He runs through every scenario.
A baby is terrifying. I still feel like a kid myself. But I do want to have kids someday. With Rory. It would be hard, but we could do it.
An abortion is also terrifying. What if something goes wrong, and Ace gets hurt? What if she can't have kids someday when we want to? What if that decision haunts us for the rest of our lives?
I'm sure it would surprise people to know I've never actually had this dilemma.
God. Why were we so irresponsible?
Because we hadn't seen each other in months, and we were starved.
This is Mitchum's fault for making me live here.
Fucking Mitchum.
Eventually, Logan gets out of bed, takes a shower, and heads to the office.
Normal day. You can do this.
And I should call Finn. He has dealt with this. Several times.
"Steven, coffee won't cut it today. I need espresso. Double shot," he says as he walks into his office. "And if Rory calls, get me immediately."
Logan goes through the motions, but truthfully, he spends the entire morning waiting for Rory to call.
At lunch time, his cell phone rings with an unknown number. It has a Hartford area code, so he picks it up just in case it's her.
"Hello?"
"Huntzberger!"
Oh crap.
"Paris."
"My friend Rory just called me with a pretty frightening tale," Paris rails. "How irresponsible are you?"
"Is she okay? She hasn't called me back this morning," Logan says.
"Of course she's not okay. She's freaking out. She thinks she's pregnant because you can't be bothered to wrap it up!" Paris shouts. "What did you say to her?"
"Come on, Paris. What do you think I said? That I loved her and would support any decision she made. That I would fly home as soon as we knew for sure."
"Oh," Paris softens. "That's probably the right thing to say."
"When it comes to Rory, you and I are on the same side," Logan says.
"I don't like being on the same side of things as you. But I'm heading there right now with a pregnancy test."
Nick and Will stop by his door. "Are you ready for this meeting?"
"Paris, I have a meeting right now, but tell Rory to call me the second she knows anything."
He silences his phone and heads to the conference room.
Nigel counts heads and begins with the agenda. Logan is trying, but his mind is not present. He is thinking of Rory and how scared she must feel.
His phone buzzes against his hip, and he pulls it out under the table. He sees that it's Rory, and stands to go out to take the call when he hears Nigel.
"Ah, Logan. Are you ready to present?"
Fuck.
"Uh, yes… Um, I need to… Um, okay," he stammers. He slips the phone back into his pocket and heads up front to deliver the quarterly projections of profit and loss for Mashable.
He opens the floor for questions and thankfully there are none.
"Okay. Bobbi is going to lead us through the launch party. Excuse me," Logan says as he hightails it out of there and back to his office.
He has a missed call and a missed text from Rory.
Call me ASAP.
Jesus Christ. She's pregnant.
He dials her as quickly as he can. She picks up after one ring and says "False alarm."
"Oh, thank God," Logan sighs. "It was negative?"
"I didn't even have to take it. I went to the bathroom to pee on the stick, and I had started my period," she explains.
Logan exhales loudly.
"You're more relieved than I thought you would be. You were so positive last night," Rory says.
"Rory, I meant everything I said this morning, but… I am thrilled we are not having a baby right now."
"Uhh, me too! I'm sorry I got us both so worked up."
"I'm okay. Are you okay?" he asks.
"Honestly? No. Not being pregnant should have made me feel so much better, but I don't," she says.
"Is something else going on?"
"Yeah. I haven't talked about it much, but today is my last day as editor. I'm handing it over to Bill this afternoon. I'm sadder than I thought I would be, and I think my period was just something else to fixate on," she says.
"Of course you're sad, Ace. Ever since I've known you, you've been all about the paper. But it might be nice not to be the editor anymore. You'll have way more free time, and you'll actually be able to write again. Haven't you missed that?"
"I have," she admits. "It's just… I... It's too egotistical to say."
"You like the power, don't you?" Logan laughs. "I know. It's one of the best parts of my job, too. There's nothing wrong with enjoying it."
"It just sounds so much like…"
"Paris?" Logan asks.
"Yes!"
"You know, I'm not her biggest fan, but I admire the way she speaks her mind and goes after what she wants. If you want to be successful as journalist, you're going to have to stop feeling bad about liking authority.'" Logan says. "Now you got great experience as editor. Use this last semester to write some kick-ass features so your portfolio is ready when you need it. Especially since you're not pregnant, and you can get whatever job you want."
"Oh, thank God I'm not pregnant! How do you always know exactly what to say?"
"Because I'm awesome."
Three days later, the phone wakes Logan up once again. "Hello?"
"Logan? Are you asleep? I'm sorry," Rory says.
"No, its fine," he says, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
"I'm just… really struggling."
"How can I help?" he asks, struggling to wake up. "Is this still about the paper?"
"It's about... everything. I just feel lost… directionless. I mean, I just dyed my hair pink," she says.
"Pink? Like Gwen Stefani pink?"
"Yes. Lucy and Olivia came to Stars Hollow with me, and we dyed our hair because… What else am I supposed to be doing? I don't know what I'm doing with my life, Logan. No employer is going to hire me with pink hair!"
"First, I'm sure you look gorgeous, because anything else is an impossibility. And second, you have plenty of time before you meet with prospective employers," Logan says.
"Do you think anyone will hire me?" she asks, quietly.
"Ace… You were the editor of the Yale Daily News. You just have to decide who you are going to let hire you. I'm hoping to be home in a couple of weeks, and we'll look at papers and grad school programs. We'll figure out what you want to do, okay?"
"Thanks, Logan. I'm sorry I woke you. I'll call you tomorrow," she says.
"And hey- I love you. That part of your life is certain," he tells her.
Bobbi pops into his office the next Tuesday.
"We can get the Orchid Room this Saturday night!"
"This Saturday? How? Can you pull it together this fast?" Logan asks her.
"Some couple broke up and their engagement party was cancelled. I don't know if we can do it, but like Tim Gunn says, we are just going to have to make it work. We all have to start making calls. Today," Bobbi says.
"Okay. I'll have Steven call everyone in."
They meet in the conference room to divide up tasks. Logan knows the most people in New York personally, so he is tasked with calling the majority of the guest list.
He feels like the phone is glued to his head for the next two days. But the best call comes when his father phones him Thursday with huge news.
"Pete has decided that he likes you. He wants you running point on the whole conversion."
"That's great. Right?" Logan asks.
"I imagine you'll think so when I tell you that you'll be in New York most of the time," Mitchum says.
"What? I'm moving to New York?"
"I still need you to finish out all of your projects in London, but then I want you full time on Mashable. So while you're in New York this week, find a place to live. We'll base you out of the New York offices work-wise until you're big enough to warrant your own space."
"Wow… Wow…" Logan's mind can barely process what his father is telling him.
"Who else from your team might be interested in trans-Atlantic living? Black guy? Gay guy? Legs?"
"Geez, dad. How many politically incorrect things can you ask in one question?"
"Well, you'll use their names. Feel them out so we can know how much housing we need in Manhattan," Mitchum instructs.
Logan checks in with his team that afternoon.
Bobbi fills them in on the PR, and Phillip runs through the bar, catering, and staffing for the actual party.
Nick begins explaining their travel and accommodations.
"I had to get red-eyes Friday night. Anything sooner was out of our budget, and the jet is not available. Logan- I assumed you need car service to Connecticut, and the rest of us will head into the city. We're staying at the St. Regis in Midtown which is only a couple of blocks from 21. Its walkable. Bobbi, we'll carry you if your shoes are too high. Good?"
He looks to Logan, who nods his assent and begins his own report. "As for me, The Orchid Room only holds sixty, and on this short of notice, every other room at 21 is booked. The four of us plus Pete's team is twenty-two. So I've tried to fill the room accordingly. Bobbi got more press than I anticipated- good job on that, by the way- so the room is going to be crowded. It should be great.
Let's all take tomorrow to pack and rest. Don't forget about the time difference. Saturday is huge for us, and we all need to bring our A-game.
Now, before we break, there is one other matter to discuss. Pete wants us close while the merger is underway, which means a lot of time in New York. As in getting apartments there and splitting time. Obviously, I'm gonna do it, but I wanted to see if any of you wanted to come with me."
They stare at him in stunned silence.
Phillip finally says "Count me in. This accent will do well with the ladies there."
They all laugh, with Nick and Bobbi promising to think about it.
Bobbi hangs back as the other men leave.
"This sounds amazing, but I don't know how this will affect my relationship with Harry," she says.
Logan tells her honestly, "Unless he wants to and is able to travel with you, it's really, really hard. And lonely."
"I'll talk to him. See you tomorrow at the airport."
Logan heads home and calls Rory as soon as he is in his flat. He's been trying to check in on her as much as possible, given her recent fragile mental state. He has decided to surprise her again this weekend, so he limits what he tells her about his work.
She mentions some plans she has on Friday night with her new friends, and he wonders if he is making a mistake.
What if she has other plans Saturday and can't come to my party?
I'm too far into this now. I'll have to risk it.
He sleeps almost his entire flight and is feeling great when he steps into his apartment in New Haven. He expects to find Rory sleeping late, but is surprised to find the place empty. He opens the fridge, laughs at the number of take-out containers, and helps himself to the lone apple.
He is dying to see her though, and he just can't wait.
She answers his phone call after few rings.
"Hey! Are you up? I called you at the apartment and you didn't answer. I figured after your wild night, you would have slept in."
"It's a long story, but I'm up, so I ran out for a second," Rory says.
"Well, how was last night?" he asks. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, I did. We went to this organ concerto, which was boring, but Lucy and Olivia make everything fun."
"You really liked the chamber music?" Logan asks incredulously.
"The part I was awake for anyway," she quips. "And then after that, we went to see a basketball game."
"Slightly less obscure."
"Yeah, right?" she says. "A lot of people seem to be into the sports thing. And I can see why. The fast pace, the school spirit."
"You liked it?" he asks.
"Again, the part I was awake for."
He hears the key in the lock. Oh, she's here! He quickly throws his apple core in the trash.
"Wow, a real basketball fan, huh?"
"Ahhh," she squeals as she lays eyes on him. "Oh my God!"
Rory races into his arms, and he squeezes her tight.
She smacks him and says "What is wrong with you?"
"You're not happy to see me?" Logan asks.
"Well, of course I am, but why do you insist on scaring me half to death every time you're in town?"
"Besides the fact that it's really fun- actually that's it. It's just really fun!" Logan leans into kiss her cheek.
"Aw, man. Just once, call me and tell me you're coming home like a normal person."
Where's the fun in that?
"Normal's boring. Normal's over rated. Normal's not why you love me," he says, going for her mouth this time.
"So what's going on? Why are you here?" Rory asks.
Logan regales her with the whole story of why and how they got the Orchid Room.
"So it starts at 9:00. You can be there, right?" he asks as he begins unpacking.
Please say yes. I need you there with me.
"Oh, yeah. I'm having dinner with my parents, but I can stop by right after," she says.
"When did they get back from France?" he asks.
"Last night," she says. "I would just skip it, but my mom really wants to see me... and apparently make me snails."
"O-kay. Well then I guess I'll see you post-snails."
"Mm-hmm."
"It should be a pretty good time," Logan tells her. "We've got a huge guest list. Bobbi's pulled out all the stops. She's contracted like five of the hottest PR agents in the city and has them hunkered in a war room. I'd be surprised if she lets them take bathroom breaks."
"You can't stop Bobbi," Rory says sarcastically.
I thought we were past this. There is nothing to be jealous of.
"Ace..."
"What? No, I like Bobbi. I do. I don't like the fact that she's not a big swarthy dude, but I recognize that my issues with Bobbi have nothing to do with her. She's lovely, she's your colleague. It doesn't matter that her legs come up to my nose."
Her legs have nothing on yours. I know how yours feel wrapped around my body.
"'A big swarthy dude?'" he mocks.
"With a cheesy goatee," she finishes.
"Well maybe she'll agree to the goatee," Logan laughs. "And hey, you want to come with me tomorrow to check out apartments?"
He drops the big news nonchalantly as he puts his dop kit in the bathroom.
"Apartments? Like to live in?"
"I know it is cliche," he says from the bathroom, "but, yes, I intend to live in my apartment."
"In Manhattan?" she asks.
"Unless I strike you as more of a Staten Island guy," he jokes as he comes back to face her.
"You're moving to New York? Which is an hour away."
"It's actually an hour and twenty minutes," he corrects her.
"That's so much closer than London!"
Now she's getting it.
"You've been brushing up on your geography, huh?" he teases.
"No, I just can't believe it! I mean, it's huge! It's amazing! I..."
"Are you happy?" he asks, seriously.
"I'm so happy," she says as she throws her arms around his neck.
"Come on. Let's get something to drink." Logan steers her toward the kitchen. We deserve to celebrate this. Six months apart, and it's almost over.
"Why do you have to get your own apartment? Why can't you just live here with me?" she asks him.
Already thought of that, and unfortunately the logistics suck.
"I'd love to, Ace, but I think I'd wind up seeing more of the I-95 than I would you. I mean, my hours are gonna be crazy. If I live near the office, I can crawl home at three in the morning, and then crawl back to work at seven," he explains.
"That's a lot of crawling," she pouts.
"It just doesn't make sense logistically." He hands her a beer. It's afternoon in London...
"So it's just gonna be me here?" she asks.
"You were gonna live here by yourself anyway," Logan says.
"I know, but if you're gonna have your whole new apartment, then you're gonna need all your stuff."
Logan laughs. "Don't worry. I'm not gonna clean you out, Ace." Besides isn't everything kind of 'our' stuff now?
"I'll be fine. Take your stuff," Rory says.
"No. New apartment, new stuff."
"Seriously?" she asks.
Yes. Whatever it takes to make you happy.
"Yeah. I want a fresh start," Logan says.
"Okay, well you should take some of your stuff. Like your favorite stuff."
I wonder what she thinks I want. Because the only thing in this apartment I need is her.
"Like what?" He smiles at her.
"Like... you know... you can't live without your suit of armor, can you?" she asks. "I mean, you really want to take that."
"You don't like Henry?"
"Well, it's not that I don't like Henry. It just that he creeps me out," Rory says.
"Now you just hurt Henry's feelings..."
"Well," she jokes. "He's gonna have to grow a little tougher chain mail if he wants to make it on the mean streets of New York."
"You're heartless, Gilmore," he says, going in for another kiss. "Seriously, though. We can fix this place however you want. If you want my stuff out, then we'll just get you some new stuff. But I want you to help me pick my new place and new stuff. I want you to like it, so when you graduate and you're the new ace reporter for the New York Times, you can just move back in with me."
"Aww. That sounds perfect. Like my dream life."
"It's not a dream, Rory." He kisses her again, deeper this time.
She pulls away and whispers "How long until you have to leave?"
He kisses down her neck. "A couple of hours. You available? Or are you planning on going to the football game?" he teases, running his hands down her arms giving her goosebumps.
She laughs. "One sporting event this year was enough. Actually, I was thinking about running over to the newsroom to turn in an article. No one should be there, but I still have a key. Do you wanna... come with me?" she asks with a sly smile.
Logan studies her face closely. "Are you saying what I hope you're saying?"
Rory flushes and takes a big swallow of her beer.
"Let's go. Now," he says.
They rush out the door and wait for the elevator. He has already turned back toward the apartment when she says "Logan!"
"I'm on it," he yells as he runs back inside for a condom.
The party is in full swing, and Logan is in complete kiss-ass mode.
It turns out that prep school and cotillion and all of that other bullshit actually comes in handy in business.
He has had the same conversation six times in a row when he finally spots Rory entering the party. She looks amazing, showing a little cleavage, and his mind is instantly thrown back into the supply closet from this morning.
Get it together. You've got to get through this party.
He heads her way. "Hey you made it!"
"I made it," she replies quietly.
"You look beautiful," he says as he kisses her. "How was dinner? Did your mom really make snails?"
Rory's face is tight. "Not only did she make snails, she got married."
"What?"
"In France. To my dad."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"Wow."
"I know," she says.
She does not look happy.
"How do you feel about it?" he asks her.
"You mean besides really bad?"
"Do you want a drink?" is all he can think to ask.
"No, I'm good for now," she replies.
What can I do?
"Alright. Let's go outside and talk about it," Logan says.
"No, I'm okay," she sighs. "I mean, I will wanna talk about it, but right now I'm still processing."
"Well, it's a lot to process," he agrees. "Don't feel like you have to stay here if you don't want to."
"Oh, no. I want to be," she reassures him.
"You sure?" I'm glad. You're my best cheerleader.
"Yeah. Little known fact. I am quite the compartmentalizer. In fact, I have a blister on my heel. I've been ignoring it all evening," she says.
"Alright. Well if you change your mind and want to talk about it..." Logan says.
"I'm fine," she stresses. "This is your night. So how can I help?"
He smiles. "Just be your charming, blister-ignoring self."
She finally smiles too. "I can do that. So, who's here? Or rather, who's not here?"
"Yeah, we got a pretty good turn out, huh?" He tries his best to keep the smugness out of his voice, but he's fairly sure he's not successful.
He steers her through the party pointing people out and grabbing hors d'oeuvres. Nick and Phillip come rushing up to greet Rory. Phillip comments on how beautiful she is, and Logan beams with pride.
Phillip leaves to get her a drink just as Bobbi comes over to greet her. Logan carefully watches their interaction.
They both speak in condescending tones, and Logan hopes this is not going to be a problem in the future.
Bobbi redeems herself in his eyes when she mentions Page Six, and they all smile. This is actually happening. She is really good at her job... I just have to make sure Ace knows that I have zero interest in her.
Suddenly, Bobbi leans in close. "Ooh, Tripp Cavanaugh..."
"Hey, Tripp. Glad you could make it," Logan bullshits, shaking his hand. "Bobbi, you know Tripp?... And this is my girlfriend, Rory Gilmore."
He bites back a laugh as Tripp and Rory awkwardly kiss European-style. I can't look at her, or I will laugh out loud.
"Tripp's just back from Tortola," Bobbi tells the group. "He's building an incredible house there."
"Oh, wow. Congratulations," Logan says.
Rory flips her hair over her shoulder, and he smells her shampoo. The supply closet memory hits his brain again. He starts tuning Tripp out.
Rory had gotten nervous as soon as they had realized the closet didn't lock from the inside. Even though no one was there, she had balked at undressing. But Logan had kissed her until she couldn't resist him. He had unsnapped her pants and gotten his hand into her panties, dirty-talking her until she melted. He had been content to stop there (I just gave Ace an orgasm in the newsroom...), but at that point she was ready to take her jeans down just far enough for him to bend her over a stack of boxes and take her from behind.
He is occasionally chiming into Tripp's construction tales of woe, but his mind is firmly locked into the earlier events of the day. A photographer comes to take their picture and the flash of the camera finally snaps Logan back into reality.
Tripp launches back into his story, and Logan doesn't know how much more he can listen. Bobbi comes over to bail them out, and he finally turns to look at Rory.
"Um, can we please never go to Tortola?" she asks.
He sighs. "I don't even want to meet John Turturro."
"Or eat tortellini."
He looks back over at Tripp to make sure he is engaged in another conversation, when he spies Hugo Grace.
"Oh hey, you'll actually like this guy," he says putting his hand on the small of her back and leading her towards the bar.
"Hugo!"
"Logan. Hey. How ya doin' man?" Hugo asks.
He shakes his hand and introduces Rory. He tells her a bit about Hugo's amazing career, but truthfully he can't wait to brag on her. "Rory's the editor of the Yale Daily News."
"Well, I was the editor," she deflects. "I just abdicated my throne, or, rather, my swivel-chair."
"That's pretty impressive," Hugo says.
Phillip finally arrives with Rory's drink, and he turns to Logan. "Need your help, buddy. Dan Cryer's about one drink away from hitting on Jerrickson's wife."
Logan laughs. "That would be bad. Excuse me." Logan leaves to grab Dan. He pulls him away from Diane Jerrickson and asks him "Hey Dan. I have a quick question for you. Have you tried the Red course at Bethpage? I know you recently played the Black with my father, but the Red lets you use carts, so in my mind, it's infinitely better."
"I have played the Red. I enjoyed it. Not as challenging as the Black though."
"Yeah, yeah," Logan says. "My buddy Phil here is about to move to Manhattan, and he's an avid golfer. Do you think you could give him the skinny on the best courses around here?"
"Sure. Come on. Phil is it? Let's sit."
Phillip mouths a 'Thank you' as Logan leaves, heading back to Rory and Hugo. He arrives just as Hugo is leaving, and he watches with amusement as Hugo gives Rory his card.
"Look at you, getting a card."
"I know," she says. "He said that I should submit a piece for him, like something about this party."
"Seriously? You have to do it!" Logan says.
"I know. I am."
Just then Tripp comes barging back towards him. "Logan, Rory, I am so sorry I got pulled away. Natasha Wolfe actually has a house on another one of the Beef Islands. Not Tortola. Still, she had an interesting experience when she was building. She was allergic to the grass that was planted in her topiary garden! Can you imagine? Now, I feel like I need to fly to Tortola with my allergist and check to see if I might have the same problems."
This guy is killing me.
"Did you know that this is the busy season for allergists?" Rory asks Tripp, whose eyes widen in fear. "Yeah, I had an appointment with mine last week that took over a month to get. You should probably call yours tonight."
"On a Saturday night at ten o'clock?" Tripp asks.
"Well, a good allergist is always on call," Logan chimes in.
"You know, you're right. Excuse me," Tripp says, walking away from them.
"I love when you partake in subterfuge," Logan says, smiling at her and grabbing her waist. He kisses her lips sweetly.
"I'm sorry, I just literally could not take one more word out of him," she says.
"No. I owe you one." He pulls her body closer to his. "I'm having a hard time concentrating tonight. I can't stop thinking about earlier today."
Rory blushes bright pink. She smiles shyly and is about to respond when another guest comes over to greet them. Logan puts on his biggest smile and gets back to work. It is almost another hour before he is alone again.
He is sitting on one of the couches with his drink when she comes up behind him and whispers in his ear. "Have you seen the powder room in this place?"
"I haven't," he responds.
"It's amazing. Come see." She takes him by the hand and leads him down the corridor to a small powder room.
Logan looks around. "Okay. I give. What's so amazing?"
Rory shuts the door and turns to him. "It has a lock." She moves toward him and kisses him passionately. "I can't stop thinking about this morning either."
God, she is so fucking sexy.
He pulls her close and kisses along her jawline when a terrible thought hits him. "Dammit, Rory. We don't have condoms, and we can't chance it again."
"Why don't you have any in your wallet?"
"Why don't you have any in your purse?" he shoots back. He pulls her hips against his erection and groans into her hair.
She lets out a low moan. "You're gonna have to get creative," she says, pushing him down to his knees.
He smirks before ducking his head under her dress. He pushes her panties to the side, and Rory wraps her leg around his head. She braces against the sink, rolling her hips at him. He quickly unbuckles his pants to give himself a little room, then focuses all of his attention on Rory.
When she's finally still, he re-situates her panties and comes up for air. Rory hands him a tissue and reaches into his pants.
"I'm almost there already," he whispers hoarsely.
She wraps both of her hands around his dick and kisses him deeply. Within minutes, he comes in her hands. "Baby, I don't know what's gotten into you this weekend, but I like it," he says.
"I don't know what's gotten into me either," she laughs.
Logan cleans up and gets his pants back on, while Rory washes her hands and touches up her makeup.
"We look okay, right?" she asks.
Logan looks at their flushed cheeks and dewy foreheads. "We look like we just fucked in the bathroom."
"Well we didn't!"
Logan throws her a side eye. "Technicality, Ace."
They both start laughing and head out of the powder room, holding hands and grinning at each other.
They have just turned the corner back into the Orchid Room when Bobbi and Nick approach.
"There you are. I have been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been?" Bobbi asks him.
Logan clears his throat. He feels his face flush, and he knows Rory must look like a splotchy tomato.
"Honestly," Bobbi says, raising her eyebrows at them. "I have someone I need to introduce you to. Excuse us for one moment, Rory."
"I'm... gonna get some water," Rory stammers. Logan leans down to kiss her cheek just before she heads toward the bar.
"You are shameless!" Bobbi says as they walk across the room.
"I would say 'I'm sorry', but... I'm really not," Logan responds, causing Nick to laugh out loud.
Rory is gushing from the passenger side of her car as Logan drives them back to New Haven. He smiles at her as she throws out ideas for her article.
"Maybe you can write about how roomy the bathroom of the Orchid Room is," Logan laughs.
"Shut up! This is serious. This could be a really huge opportunity for me." She continues throwing out ideas and writers whose style she wants to emulate. Logan is content to listen to her ramble.
It's not a sound I get to hear enough anymore.
Once in the apartment, Logan heads to the shower, while Rory immediately opens her laptop. He comes out a few minutes later to find her deep at work.
"I'm sorry," she says. "I'll come to bed."
"No, Ace. Write now while your ideas are fresh. I'm exhausted anyway. And I'm here until Monday. We're not in a rush." He kisses her on the top of her head. "I'll read it in the morning. I love you."
"Love you too, Babe," she says, not looking up from her screen.
I'm so proud of her.
Logan sleeps late the next day. He finds Rory next to the coffee pot, and he can tell by the way she's buzzing around that she has already had a few cups.
"Did you even sleep?" he asks her as she hands him a mug of coffee.
"A little," she says. "I climbed in beside you for a few hours, but you were out cold. Then I just woke up this morning and started to edit and finish and... here. Just read it."
"Wow. I can't believe you already finished all this," Logan says as he takes the paper from her and begins reading.
"Let them drink Cosmos." Hmph.
He has pause at some of the harsher jabs in the opening paragraph, but keeps reading.
She's being wry.
As he continues reading, though, he is less and less sure of her tone. This is really mean. And unfair. And... wow. She hates all of these people who I'm counting on to make this website a success. If Hugo publishes this, I could lose investments.
"I don't know. I think the piece is good. I was just on a roll. You know, I mean I was hopped up. I couldn't sleep. I was just way too excited, and I drank way too much coffee. Way too much coffee. Oh, I should really stop talking and let you finish reading," Rory rambles.
He flips to the last page, praying he will find some redemptive note here. Maybe this is satire that I'm just not getting... Nope. Just mean.
"So..." Rory says as she walks back over. "What do you think?"
What do I think? I think you hate everything about the life I grew up in, which I can somewhat understand. But it is obvious that this is not a life you want to be a part of... and that hurts.
He flips the paper back to the front, unsure of where to start.
"I don't know what to say," he offers lamely.
"Oh, I know the ending is a little convoluted, but I-"
"It's not convoluted," he interrupts. "You made your feelings perfectly clear."
"What do you mean?" she asks quietly.
"Just that. It must have been really hard for you at my party surrounded by all those people who- how do you put it? 'Who can no more imagine a world without trust funds than a world without water. Imported and bubbly, of course.'" He cannot keep the anger out of his voice.
"Oh, no. That was meant to be funny," she says.
He heads back to the coffee pot for a refill. Anything to keep his hands busy. "It sounds torturous, being stuck there with these 'over-privileged sons and daughters of somebodies who fail to grasp how out of touch they seem to those of us who don't have an errant domestic employee or a construction problem on Beef Island.'" He walks back to her and drops the paper back in front of her.
"You're mad?"
"You're damn right I'm mad," he says, no longer bothering to try and hide his anger. This is my life, my work.
"But you were making fun of these people all night," she rationalizes.
"I was joking. I wasn't standing there judging everyone!"
"I didn't judge everyone," she says.
"The title of your article is 'Let them drink cosmos'," he argues. "I was joking around with my girlfriend. I wasn't comparing a whole class of people to Marie Antoinette."
"I'm so sorry. I really didn't think this would upset you," Rory says.
She sounds sincere. But... come on.
"You didn't think it would upset me?"
"No, no. I was just writing. I was worked up. I was mad at my mom. Maybe that kind of got into the piece somehow. But no, this was meant to be funny. I didn't think you would take it personally," Rory explains. "I mean, you're totally different from these people."
"No, I'm not. And you know what, I don't want to be." I have changed so much of myself for you, but I can't change who I fundamentally am as a person.
"Logan-"
"What?" he explodes. "I'm a rich trust-fund kid. I'm not ashamed of it."
"No, and you shouldn't be. That's not what I meant," she says. "My point- I mean, the point I was trying to make- was that people use connections to get ahead."
"Oh, give me a break. You act like making connections is something nefarious. It's not. It's just people meeting people."
"Well, it's certain people meeting certain people. It's not like anyone's meeting Joe Bus Driver," she says.
There it is. That judgmental tone.
"And you're Joe Bus Driver?" he asks incredulously.
"Well, no, but-"
"Exactly!" he interrupts her. "I mean where do you get off acting all morally superior?"
"That is not what I intended to say at all!"
Logan can feel his anger rising, and he is fairly certain this is about to escalate into something he will regret. But he can't stop himself.
"You clearly think you are. Why? Because you read 'Ironweed'? Cause you saw 'Norma Rae'? Wake up, Rory," he says over her protests. "Whether you like it or not, you're one of us. You went to prep school. You go to Yale. Your grandparents are building a whole damn astronomy building in your name!"
"That is different, okay? It's not like I live off a five million dollar trust fund my parents set up for me," she rails.
"Yeah, well you're not exactly paying rent, either."
Shit, that's not-
"Screw you, Logan." Rory grabs her purse and is out the door before he even realizes she is leaving.
Logan puts his head in his hands.
I totally didn't mean that literally. It was a euphemism.
But honestly, where does she get off? She is only writing this article through a connection she made through me, her rich trust-fund boyfriend.
Ugh. How did this escalate into such a huge thing. I hate fighting with her. We don't have enough time together as it is...
He cancels his appointment with the realtor (I don't want to look at apartments without her) and shoots her a quick text.
I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it like that. Please come home.
She doesn't respond, and after an hour of moping, he calls Colin to see what he's up to. He comes over shortly to watch the Giants game, and Logan manages to distract himself for a little while.
He is constantly checking his phone though, causing Colin to comment.
"Rory can hold a grudge, can't she? Stephanie's the same way. She'll turn every little thing into a big deal. And it's always my fault."
Logan smiles. "Women. What are you gonna do?"
Colin laughs too. "She knows I would never break up with her." He stops smiling and continues. "It's hard when you love them more than they love you."
Logan stares at him, but Colin is oblivious, his attention already back to the game.
Is that what's happening here? Do I love Rory more than she loves me?
Mostly to assuage his own anxiety, Logan says "Come on, Steph is crazy about you."
"Oh, I know," Colin says. "She loves me. Just not as much as I love her. It's okay. Someone has to love more," he says, very matter-of-factly.
Colin's words stay with Logan long after he's left. They replay on a constant loop in his head.
"Someone has to love more."
Later in the evening, after Logan has about driven himself crazy, he gets a phone call from Nick. He pushes Rory out of his mind and tries to get his business head on.
"Dan Cryer left last night without opting in. He told Phillip that he just wasn't sure about this 'social media' stuff," Nick says.
Logan reassures him. "Listen, he's a guy we can easily swing if we kiss his ass enough. My father plays golf with him. I can do that too. And I suck at golf, so he can win big, teach me all he knows, yadda, yadda. Then I can tell him how social media is going to take over in the future. We just have to ease him in. He's old school."
"Are you sure?" Nick asks. "I feel like I should call him, while everything from last night is fresh."
"No. Trust me. Don't call him today," Logan says.
"But we need his money."
"He's going to put his money down," Logan promises. "He just doesn't like the aggressive stuff. We have to sit back, relax, let him come to us. If we don't hear from him in a week, then we panic."
He hears the lock turn and the door open.
Rory.
"Yeah, Nick. I gotta call you back."
"Okay, but-"
"Alright, bye." Logan hangs up the phone. "Sorry," he says, turning to Rory. "I hope it's okay that I'm here."
"Hey, it's your apartment," she says with an uneasy smile.
"Rory," he sighs. "I'm so sorry I said that."
"Yeah, well..."
Someone has to love more, and I don't care if that someone is me.
"I was way out of line. I just... I love it that you're here. You know that I love it that you're here," he says.
"Yeah, no. I know," she says.
"I was just upset."
She looks right in his eyes as she walks past him. "Well you had every right to be. That article was awful."
She's backing down?
"It wasn't awful," Logan says.
"It was awful. And mean and judgmental, as you said," Rory sighs. "I don't even know why I didn't see that or what I was thinking, except that maybe I wasn't thinking."
He follows her into the kitchen. "Look, it's okay."
"No, it's not okay. I was just trying to write a clever article, and I didn't mean to upset you, but I should have thought about it. I should have known," she says.
"But if that's the way you feel..."
"But that's just it. It's not the way I feel," she protests.
"You don't have to approve of every thing I do," he says quietly.
"I know that, but I actually do. I mean, I have total respect for everything that you're doing. I'm so proud of you," she says.
Logan's heart thumps in his chest. "I know you are."
"Do you? Because I really need you to know that."
He smiles. "I really know that."
"Because I am."
"I know."
"Promise?" she asks.
"I promise," he says, laughing. "And the truth is I wouldn't be so upset if you weren't such a good writer. I mean, talk about the pen being mightier than the sword. It's true. That pen of yours is a Howitzer."
"You don't have to say that," she deflects.
"I wouldn't, if it wasn't true."
"Can we talk about something other than the article?"
Logan laughs again. "Hey! You got to compliment me. Let me compliment you."
"We're complimenting each other now?"
"If you'll let me," he says.
She concedes. "I guess that's okay."
"You're a really great writer, Ace."
"You have really great hair." She smiles that 1000-watt smile that he can never resist.
"You've got awesome teeth. I've always admired your teeth," he says softly as he moves closer to her.
"Really? I never knew," she says coyly.
"Yep. Particularly the bottom ones," he says pulling her in by her waist.
"I love you so much," she whispers.
"I love you too," he replies, kissing her deeply.
She pulls away before he is ready.
"Um... but here's the thing."
No. No things. Just kissing.
"I have to move out of this apartment," she continues.
"No, you don't." I want you here.
"Yes, I do. I always thought that you would come back and live here, but now that you're getting your own place nearby, it's just different," she says.
"No, it's not," he protests.
"Yes, it is. It's just something I have to do... for me. But you should know, I plan on taking Henry with me."
He leans in for another kiss when there is a knock at the door.
"You'll have to take that up with him. You did insult him earlier," he quips as he heads toward the door.
"Did I? Hmm."
He is surprised to find Lorelei behind the door. "Hey," he says.
"Hi. I'm sorry. I would have buzzed up, but I saw a delivery guy coming in, so I just slipped in with him. Boy, they sure do eat well over in 4-F. Can I come in?"
I don't know that I've ever seen Lorelei nervous.
"Oh, yeah. Sure. Come on in." He opens the door wider and leads her in.
Rory is standing there, with a blank look on her face.
"What are you doing here?" she asks her mother.
"Well, I just... I wanted to see you," Lorelei sighs.
Chilly in here. Time to exit.
"Look I gotta run out and take care of a few things," he says, grabbing his coat. "Good to see you Lorelei."
"Good to see you too."
He heads down the elevator and out into the cool night. He walks around the block for a while, enjoying the quiet New Haven air.
So what if I love her more. She does love me. I know she does. And once I'm close again, I can convince her that hobnobbing with rich snobs is not so bad, as long as we're doing it together.
Eventually, Rory calls to tell him it is safe to come home.
He walks into the apartment to find Rory lying on the bed in lingerie he has never seen before.
Wow. Yes, please.
He strips off his clothes as he makes his way toward the bed. Her eyes rake over his body as he climbs on top of her.
"Make-up sex?" she asks.
"Only good thing about fighting," he says before he puts his mouth on hers.
A/N: So I apologize for any confusion from last chapter's cliff hanger! I always work within the canon of the show, so Rory was never going to be pregnant. I just wanted the conversations where we can see how Logan is actively planning a future with Rory, and she is just completely unsure about everything. He's having thoughts that will led him to the proposal, and her head is not in the same space.
I agree with those of you who think that pregnancy is a trite fanfiction trope, and I hate that ASP wanted that to be our ending all along. Never been more grateful for Season 7!
And if you've never read Mashable, I highly recommend it. It's a real website, whose timeline matches close enough that I could fudge it into this story.