A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I updated this one. I had a few kinks to work out before I could write anything. I hope you enjoy and read the Authors note at the end if you are confused at all. Enjoy.

Things I own: A Gilmore Girls T-shirt and mug.

Things I don't own: Gilmore Girls.

An Offer She Couldn't Refuse

Chapter Three: Confronted with the Past

"I would like to thank everyone for coming and making this such a wonderful evening." Emily greeted the crowd, "With your generous donations the Carolina Forbes Foundation will live to fight another day, just like the woman herself. And as chairwoman of the DAR, I would like to say thank you. Now, enjoy the rest of your evening and I highly recommend the Salmon Puffs. They are simply exquisite!"

Loud applause and laughter followed Emily off the stage. She was beaming with pride and exhilaration. The night was proving to be another success and she was excited to marvel in it with her beloved granddaughter. Life couldn't get much better for Emily Gilmore.

"Rory!" She made her way over to where Rory was standing at the side of the stage. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a look of concern on her face. Emily didn't notice at first that something was troubling her only granddaughter. She was too enthused with her achievements. "Isn't it wonderful? Everyone is having a magical time and the donations are flying in."

"That's great, Grandma." Rory gave her a forced smile but her brow was still furrowed and she kept fidgeting with her dress. It was too loose fitting and it kept making a strange rustling noise whenever she moved. She wasn't sure what kind of material it was made from, but it wasn't the most flattering for her slender frame.

"It's more than great, Rory! It's incredible. It's overwhelming. It's life affirming to know that in these troubled times, people are still willing to help the less fortunate out." Her eyes pierced through Rory's and she let out a sigh.

"You should feel proud, Rory. You were a big part of this. Congratulations."

"Um, Grandma. One of the waiters threw up all over Mrs Berkinson's coat and we can't get the stain out." She said quickly and all in the same breath. She watched as Emily's bright features faded and were replaced by a look of horror.

"Did you fire him?" Emily wanted to know.

"Well, no. I sent him home. I think he has food poisoning." Rory informed her with a grimace on her face as she remembered the rather disgusting sight of him being sick.

"Does she know?"

"That he has food poisoning?" She queried arching an eyebrow.

"No. About the coat!" Her voice went up an octave. "Of course we will pay for dry cleaning. Take it out of the waiter's pay check and apologise profusely." Emily started walking and Rory scuttled along behind her, scribbling notes in her pad. Her black dress crackling as she moved.

This had become part of her routine since joining the DAR; following her Grandmother around whilst taking notes. A certain someone was right; she did make a good assistant.

She still remembered the conversation clearly. Having taken the internship with 'he who shall not be named', she had spent a couple of weeks thinking that she was doing a good job, only to have the rug pulled out from under her, causing her to lose her confidence and to lose her way.

Several months had passed since she took that overwhelming blow and decided that Yale wasn't the place for her. The words he used to tell her that she wasn't good enough to achieve her dreams were recited over and over again in her head as a mantra. A constant reminder of how big a failure she was.

Now she lived with her Grandparents; in their pool house, to be exact. She was a fully fledged member of The DAR and she hadn't spoken to her mother and best friend in months. She felt cut off. She felt alone, which was why she had begged her Grandmother to give her more to do at this latest event. She needed something to take her mind off her messy life. She needed something to focus on and be good at. She was a good assistant.

She did take some pride in the fact that the evening had been such a hit. She had put a lot of effort and time into making sure things went off without a hitch. Excluding the vomiting waiter, her evening had gone almost according to plan. That was until, while following after Emily, she heard familiar voices in the distance. Her blue eyes automatically searched for the owners of said voices and she froze on the spot. Her face paled and her heart started thumping frantically in her chest as her eyes fell upon the blonde duo. The voices belonged to Mr and Mrs Huntzberger; the parents of her ex-boyfriend and the two people she would least like to be trapped in a room with.

Their combined efforts in ruining her life had lead her to where she was right now. And right now, she couldn't breath, she felt sick and she was pretty sure it wasn't from food poisoning.

She had to get out of there. She couldn't face them. She couldn't look them in the eyes without wanting to give into the overwhelming urge to pour some kind of liquid all over them. She was pretty sure that Emily wouldn't approve if she were to soak the two most powerful and influential members of their circle.

Feeling her stomach dip, she knew she had to get away to the nearest bathroom and soon. Especially given that her grandmother was heading in their direction.

As Emily continued yammering on about how wonderful the event proved to be, Rory took advantage of the fact that she was distracted to step away. She quickly made a beeline for the stairs and headed to the closest bathroom. She grasped for the door handle but found that the door wouldn't budge. She felt her stomach swirling and knew she needed to get inside that room, so she pounded on the door with her tiny fists until, finally, the door opened and she was staring into the dark eyes of her past.

"Hello, Love!" Finn greeted her with a smile on his lipstick smeared face. Rory glanced from his dishevelled appearance to see the girl behind him who was readjusting her dress. Once she heard Finn greet her, the girl looked up in horror. "Long time, no-"

Rory cut Finn off as she pushed passed him and headed straight for the toilet. She fell to her knees and hugged the bowl while proceeding to heave the contents of her stomach up.

After a few minutes of throwing up everything she had eaten that day, she felt someone at her side, holding her hair back out of her sweaty face.

As the bout of nausea passed, she sat back against the wall and wiped her face with the damp towel which Finn had offered her.

"Thanks." She smiled faintly and closed her eyes. Finn watched her with concern in his eyes.

"You feeling better now?" He asked as he took a step towards her. Rory opened her eyes and gazed up at him. He was towering over her and the girl was nowhere to be seen. She nodded and felt the colour come back to her cheeks as she blushed with embarrassment that he had just witnessed her throw up.

"Yeah. Sorry." Finn smirked and then joined her on the floor.

"Don't be sorry. Sometimes we just cant hold onto these things. Believe me, I know." Rory glanced sideways at Finn and couldn't stop herself from laughing at him. Finn smiled.

"That's better." He nodded and nudged her arm.

"Sorry I interrupted…things." She told him referring to the girl he had been previously locked in the bathroom with. Finn shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, Love." he assured her. "So, what you been up to lately? I haven't seen you around campus in a while."

Rory shifted uncomfortably and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "Um, I don't live on campus anymore."

"You don't?" He looked perplexed.

"I don't go to school anymore so they weren't too keen to have me stay there." She tried to joke, but it came out sounding anything but. Finn's perplexed expression didn't lessen.

"You don't go anymore? Did you graduate already? I mean, I know you liked to read, but I had no idea you were some kind of genius Superbrain." Rory chuckled slightly as his eyes widened.

"No, Finn. I didn't graduate."

"Did you transfer?"

Rory shook her head and then let out a heavy sigh. "No. I didn't graduate. I didn't transfer. I quit. I dropped out of Yale."

She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye as she didn't want to see the look on his face. The same look that she saw on her mothers face. The look which had been haunting her ever since. Disappointment.

Finn didn't say anything, but she could feel his eyes on her and she felt another bout of nausea come over her, but this time she managed to suppress it.

"Can I ask why?" His thick Australian accent broke through the silence. Rory braved a glance in his direction. His eyes were full of concern and confusion. "Why'd you drop out?"

Rory shrugged and lay her head back against the wall. She closed her eyes. "It just…wasn't the right place for me, right now."

"Why not?" Finn's voice remained soft and non judgemental. Rory opened her eyes and met his gaze.

"I needed to take some time to figure things out, that's all." She shrugged, trying to brush it off as no big deal, but even Finn knew it was. They might not have been close bosom buddies before, but he knew her well enough to know that her life had been so intensely focused on achieving one thing in particular. And he knew how determined she was to get there. However, he chose not to press her. It was none of his business.

Silence covered the room once more; the only sounds to be heard were coming from downstairs. People chatting and laughing, the sound of the band playing.

"Can I ask you a question?" Rory turned her head to face him. Finn smiled. "Why are you here? I thought you would've hated me after what happened."

Finn smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not one to bare a grudge."

At that, he pulled himself up off the floor and staggered a little as he readjusted himself. He gazed back down at Rory and offered his hand to help her up. Rory sighed and shook her head.

"I think I'll stay here for a while." She wasn't ready to go back downstairs. Back into the lions den. She knew she couldn't face the Huntzberger's. And seeing as Finn was here, she knew that the youngest Huntzberger was likely to be around too. She hadn't laid eyes on him since she quit school and she had no desire to run into him tonight.

"He doesn't hate you either, you know." Finn informed her as if reading her mind. Her eyes widened in surprise. Finn smiled and then made his way out of the bathroom, leaving Rory alone with her thoughts.

RLRLRLRLRL

"Man, I hate these things." Colin complained as he chewed on a bread stick. Logan sighed and leaned back against his chair.

"I hear you, buddy." He stifled a yawn and then reached for his glass of Scotch. He took a swig and then pulled on his tie to loosen it from around his neck.

"Can't we just bail? They'll never notice." Colin suggested with hope flickering in his eyes. Logan extinguished any hope of them leaving straightaway.

"Considering that my mother is determined to set me up with my future wife tonight, I would love to leave right now. However, my life won't be worth living if I do. So, we're stuck here for at least another hour."

Colin slumped back in his seat and scowled into his glass of Bourbon. "This sucks!"

"What crawled up his butt?" Finn asked as he approached the table. Logan glanced up to see his friend smiling at them. He had lipstick smeared on his cheek and a look on his face like he had just gotten some action.

Lucky bastard!

"Where have you been?" Colin frowned as he sat up and stared at his friend.

"I had some business to take care of in the bathroom." He filled them in with a smirk on his face. Logan rolled his eyes.

"Nice." Colin commented and then returned his focus to his drink. Finn sat down in the chair beside Logan. He stared at him knowingly with a grin on his face. Logan eyed him curiously as he took another swig of Scotch. He felt very uncomfortable under his gaze.

"What?" He wondered. Finn just kept staring at him and grinning. He was starting to give him the creeps. "Finn, stop staring at me! You're freaking me out!"

Finn laughed and then settled back on the chair. "I know something you don't know!"

"Really?" Finn nodded enthusiastically but didn't speak another word leaving Logan fighting the urge to hit him upside the head.

"Care to share with the rest of the group?" He motioned towards Colin, who was still glaring at the people around him. Finn continued staring and smiling in a very disconcerting kind of way. Logan frowned. "Finn!"

"Rory's here." Finn finally revealed. Colin's gaze locked on his friend's face as did Logan's. "You know, Rory Gilmore? You're lovely ex-girlfriend?"

"Gilmore's here?" Colin was suddenly far more interested in the conversation. Finn nodded. Logan kept his eyes on his friend but said nothing. "How'd she look?"

"As ravishing as ever!" Finn admitted with a smile on his face. Logan turned his gaze away and focused his attentions on the glass of Scotch in front of him. He really didn't want to talk about Rory Gilmore. In fact, he didn't want anything to do with the girl.

Finn noticed his silence and studied the blonde for a few seconds. "Did you know she wasn't going to Yale anymore?"

Logan's eyes widened and his head snapped up. "She's not?"

"Nope." Finn shook his head. "She told me that she dropped out."

"She dropped out?!" Colin sounded incredulous mirroring exactly how Logan felt at the time.

"Are you serious?" Logan asked he couldn't wrap his mind around the possibility of Rory Gilmore quitting Yale. She lived for school. It was a part of who she was.

"She told me herself." Finn admitted.

"That doesn't make any sense. I mean, why would she drop out of school?" Logan was puzzled. As much as he didn't care about her anymore, he still couldn't process the information that she would voluntarily leave school. Also, why would she go to all of that trouble of using him to get the internship with his father, if a few months later she was going to quit?

"Maybe she's pregnant!" Colin suggested flippantly.

"Don't be ridiculous." Logan tried to brush off the comment. However, Finn's reaction made him feel uneasy. He froze momentarily. Logan looked at him and saw some kind of realisation growing in his eyes.

"What?" He wanted to know what was going on in his friends mind for the first time in his life. Finn kept his eyes locked on Colin's face as the dots connected in his brain. "Finn! What?"

"She was wearing this really unflattering dress. It looked she was trying to hide something." He admitted with a blank expression. Logan shook his head.

"No. There's no way…"

"Think about it, Logan." Colin interrupted him. "You remember how much of a bookworm the girl was. What other reason would she have to just quit Yale like that? After all the effort she went to. It makes sense."

"I-"

"She threw up."

"What?" Logan narrowed his eyes at Finn's comment.

"In the bathroom, when I saw her. She threw up."

"So?" Logan's brain was whirling as he contemplated what his friends were saying.

"Being sick, wearing loose-fitting clothing, dropping out of school. All these things are the actions of a person who may be with child." Finn reasoned and then fixed his gaze on Logan. "Your child."

Logan shook his head. "No. No, there is absolutely no way!" He insisted. He pushed out his chair. He needed to get away from his crazy friends.

"You should talk to her, man. Find out for sure." Colin advised but Logan was already half way to the bar. He needed another drink. In fact, he needed a lot of drinks.

As he made a beeline for the bar, something caught his eye. The sight of his mother's blonde hair in the not too far off distance made him cringe with fear. He so wasn't in the mood to deal with her trying to marry him off tonight. He needed to avoid her at all costs. He glanced around at his surroundings and noticed an abandoned doorway just inches away.

Taking one last look, he made a hasty run for it and closed the door behind him quickly before anyone noticed him. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the door, breathing a deep sigh of relief. He was alone. He was free to let his brain catch up with the events of the night so far, namely the possibility that his ex-girlfriend could bear his unborn child.

He didn't have too long to contemplate this as he was interrupted by a familiar voice, so soft, he almost thought he was imagining things.

"Hi." Logan slowly opened his eyes and instantly locked onto the same pair of blue eyes which had been haunting him for months. He couldn't speak as realisation dawned on him. His eyes roamed over her body, taking in the hideous dress which may possibly be covering up more than just her alabaster skin. Her shiny brown hair framed her pale face and he couldn't take his eyes off her. Even though, he had spent all of these months hating her, she was still the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

Clearing his throat and his mind, he figured he should probably say something in response to her shaky 'hi'. His brain tried to come up with something intelligible but all he was left with was; 'Hi."

A/N: So, a few things; this chapter picks up about four months after the previous one. Like in the show, Rory took the internship with 'he who shall not be named' and also like on the show, he crushed her. Rory quit Yale, fell out with Lorelai and moved in with Richard and Emily as you all know. Logan went on with his life, went to Europe with Finn and Colin and has no idea about Shira's ultimatum to Rory or how his father treated Rory. I probably should have mentioned this at the beginning of the chapter, but I didn't want to spoil it. Hopefully, it all makes sense and if not, I'll try and clear things up as we go along. Now, please leave me a review. Let me know what you think and whether I should continue with this one. I like the direction I'm going in and I hope you do too.