Barely awake, it took me a second to remember where I was… in Logan's bed, wearing one of his sweatshirts. A noise had pulled me out of deep sleep; I smiled, recalling last night as I rolled over to see that it had been him closing the closet door.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep"

I looked at him sleepily; he was dressed, except for shoes which he had hooked on his fingers. "What time is it?"

"It's like six, I'm sorry I woke you."

Six? Why was he up? We had gotten to his apartment at close to two in the morning, between ice cream and… the rest of the night… it must have been well after three by the time we fell asleep. "Where are you going this early?"

He rolled his eyes as he sat down on the edge of the bed to put his shoes on. "Ah… breakfast with Mitchum. He just bought a paper in Toronto, so he's heading out there for a couple of weeks to do his usual turnaround. He made sure to schedule a meeting with me before he left to make sure we were 'on track' with everything."

Damn Mitchum… Logan had moved to the dresser, putting his watch on, so I sat up to ask him, "You knew you had to be up this early? You should have sent me home last night."

He turned around and looked at me, before walking back towards the bed and leaning down to kiss me. With his hand cradling my head he made sure to look me in the eyes, "Ace, I wouldn't trade last night for anything."

I smiled. "Are you coming back?"

He sighed and looked disappointed, "Probably not, I'm supposed to meet the rest of the board at the office to relay whatever vital information my father has for us."

If he's not coming back I should head home. I started to get out of bed, but he pulled the covers back over me, "I'm serious, Ace… stay in bed. There's coffee downstairs when you're ready; and there's towels and stuff in the bathroom if you want to shower or whatever. Take your time."

He kissed my forehead before returning to the dresser. "Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

I was still half asleep; I had to think about it before I remembered, "I'm supposed to meet up with Leslie… It seems she's been feeling neglected, with someone else monopolizing so much of my time this week."

"Well, I'm sorry to be such a burden." He grinned, knowing I had been kidding. "Well, if you're up for it, Finn's in town, and I haven't see Colin since I've been back in the city, so we're putting the band back together… you guy's should meet us."

I thought about how dangerous it could be to put Leslie in the boys' crosshairs, but it might be fun to see them. I nodded, but couldn't stop a yawn from escaping as I did.

"Go back to sleep… I'll see you tonight."

He started to walk to the door, before turning back to the bed one more time. He had a big smile on his face, like he was really going to enjoy what he said next, "I love you."

Now the smile was on my face as he kissed me. "I love you, too."

He leaned his forehead against my for a second before he actually had to leave; he heard me yawn again as he walked out, and called from the stairs, "Sleep, Ace…"

This bed was awfully comfortable… I laid back with the intention of closing my eyes for a few minutes, but woke up an hour and a half later. I stayed in bed for a couple minutes longer , thinking about everything that had happened in the last eight or so hours. I guess we might have skipped ahead a bit in the dating plan, but it didn't matter. Things were exactly what I had hoped for… It was right.

Remembering what he had said about coffee, I made my way downstairs. I found a note by the warm coffee pot,

"Hate that I had to leave you this morning… Make yourself at home. – L"

He had also left instructions that I could call downstairs and have the doorman arrange a car to take me home when I was ready. I shook my head as I poured myself a cup of coffee… the man certainly knew how to treat a girl.

I realized I had left my phone in my purse last night, and figured I should check it. I had two missed calls from Leslie.

I took my phone and my coffee into the living room and curled up in one of the cushy chairs. I called Leslie back and she answered with a groggy 'Hello?' I had obviously woken her up, but she would be more upset about me not telling her than she would be for having disturbed her beauty sleep.

"Guess where I am…"

Sure enough, she was totally alert when she replied, "Naked in Logan's bed?"

Still in his sweatshirt, I had to be honest, "Half naked in his living room."

"Bow chicka wow wow!"

"Really?"

"What? It's about time… So, was it awkward, like your first time all over again?"

It had definitely not been awkward. "It was… great."

"I knew he was good in bed."

"Leslie!"

"Am I wrong?"

She couldn't see the 'of course not' look on my face, but she took my silence as a response.

"So, did you sneak out of bed to call me, or what?"

"No… He had to go to work."

"You're there by yourself? I hate you. A hot millionaire ravishes you and then gives you free reign over his place. Is it fabulous? Oh, can I come over?"

I ignored her crude comment about being 'ravished', "It's pretty fabulous; and no, you cannot come over… But he does want us to meet up with him and some old friends tonight. Interested?"

"Hell yea. Are we going somewhere fabulous?"

If she kept using that word it was going to lose all meaning. Besides, knowing the three of them, and the fact that they were celebrating being reunited, it was probably a safe bet that they would avoid any place where they might garner too much attention, or get themselves into trouble. "Doubtful… also, in the interest of full disclosure, there is a pretty good chance that one or both of these guys might try to pick you up."

"Excellent. What time?"

"I don't know yet, I'll call you later."

After I hung up with Leslie I meandered my way through the apartment, though I guess penthouse would be the more appropriate word. It really was 'fabulous'… huge windows, a patio outside, an office, two more bedrooms… plus I think my whole apartment could fit inside the bathroom upstairs. Totally different worlds.

One thing I did notice was that other than the kitchen and the bedroom, the place looked pretty much unlived in. I know he couldn't have moved in more than a week ago, but it was clear that he wasn't spending much time at home. Long hours and late nights at the office, the trademark of a Huntzberger.

I took up the offer of a hot shower before I left, but elected to walk the couple of blocks to the subway to get home, figuring I should make the transition back to reality. I should call Mom. We'd both been busy during the week, so other than a few quick updates we hadn't really had a chance to talk since I explained the whole dating thing.

When I got home I check my email and snacked on a PB&J, before settling in with a cup of coffee to call her.

"Hey, hun." She was struggling with something in the background, "Here…"

"Rory!"

She had handed the phone off to Landon, "Hey, bud! How's it going?"

"We're trying to take Paul Anka for a walk, but he won't get off the porch… Oh! Bye!"

"Still not liking the stairs, huh?"

"Yea… Oddly enough, it's only the outside stairs, he has no problem inside. I don't understand it."

"To be fair, a lot of people don't understand you, so it seems fitting..."

"I guess. So, what's up, Doc?"

"We haven't had a chance to talk this week…"

"Ah, like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of our Lives…"

I waited to see if she was finished…

"Sorry… I have a two year old and an inn, you guys are the only soap opera I have time for these days. Are you ready to talk to Luke yet?"

"Well, I should get around to it at some point."

"Over taking it slow, already?"

I didn't want to admit that she had been right about the dating situation not lasting…

"Honey, we both knew this was going to happen. To be honest, a week is longer than I expected you to hold out. What did you make it like two dates?"

"Three, actually."

"Three? Well, at least you crammed several baby steps into your week-long courtship. So how serious are we talking?"

"I think it qualifies as pretty serious."

"Pretty serious? Did you…" She trailed off, alluding to a topic unsuitable for Landon's two year old ears.

"I just got home from our date last night."

"Bow chicka wow wow…" I really need to vary the types of people I hang out with.

"Mom, please… Besides that not what I meant."

"More serious than bow chicka wow wow?"

"He told me he loves me."

"Like, said it out loud?"

"Yea."

"You okay? You said you weren't ready for that before. Did you say it back?

"I did. Things are different than I expected I guess… We're different."

"Good different?"

"Really good." I was processing all of this as I was talking to her; moments like this made me really appreciate the whole mother-daughter-best friend thing we had working for us. "He was so okay with things when I told him I didn't want to dive in where we left off, and took me out to dinner the other night and finally told me everything about what he has going on in his life, which… well, that is a whole other conversation. We still have everything we did, but we're.."

"Better?"

"Yea."

"I get it. Luke and I had to royally screw things up before we could make it work. We had to figure out how to make our lives work together, and to be honest with each other… The two of you just took the screwing things up part to a whole other level."

"Real funny."

"So what happens now?"

"I don't know. This was a big step..."

"Huge… Neil Armstrong would have had a tough time with that step."

"… I guess we just see where it goes. Things are going so well, I don't want to mess them up now with any expectations or presumptions."

"Okay, kid. Just keep being honest with each other, you know. Enjoy the happy, but keep your head on."

"Thanks, Mom."

"All in a day's work."

Speaking of work, I had some of my own to do. In my bliss, I had abandoned my excitement about my news from Dominic yesterday. I had some article spinning to do. I pulled out my laptop and rededicated to making use of my day.

An hour later I got a call from Logan.

"Hey, you… How's it going?"

"Oh, now that he's had his fill of hearing his own voice, Mitchum is finally on his way to the Great White North."

I pulled out my best, read: terrible, Canadian accent, "He took off, eh?"

Never one to miss an opportunity to tease me, he laughed, "Nice try, Ace."

"It was worth a shot… So how did things with your dear, old dad go?"

"Well, I'm actually on my way to our board meeting now, but I'll fill you in later. I was just calling about tonight."

Is he cancelling? From the look of his place, I gathered that all this success meant very little time for a life, and it would probably only get worse being back with HPG. It's not like there were any big plans, but I really wanted to 'enjoy the happy' for a little longer before real life got in the way.

I readied myself for the possible disappointment, "What's up?"

"Nothing really, just thinking that maybe we should meet at McConnell's, give you girls home court advantage…"

I was glad we were still on for tonight, but was 'home court advantage' really necessary? "Why? Should I be worried about something?"

"This is Colin and Finn we're talking about, isn't that a given?"

"Fair point. McConnell's sounds good."

"8:30?"

"Sure."

"And you might want to warn Leslie of what she's walking into…"

"Already taken care of."

"Beauty and brains… Do I know how to pick 'em, or what?"

"Well, you have always had quite the eye for women." Maybe a low blow, but he deserved reminding of his once reproachable ways every so often.

"Ouch… Listen Ace, I have to get into this meeting but I'll see you tonight."

I sent Leslie a text, "8:30 at McConnell's."

"Meet at my place?"

"Roger."

I still had the rest of the afternoon to get work done. I was trying not to get my hopes up too much; even if they liked it enough to take the rights, chances were slim that it would make it to print. When I finally called it a day I wasn't quite finished, but I made enough progress that I should have it ready for Dominic on Monday.

As per the plan I headed over to Leslie's. She wanted more juicy details from the night before, but refrained from sharing much after the ice cream.

"Oh, you're no fun…"

"Just call me Mrs. Grundy."

Leslie was fussing with her makeup when it occurred to me to ask a question that had been plaguing me for several days now, "Why are you so okay with this?"

"With what?"

"With me and Logan. What did he say to you on the phone that night? One minute you're threatening medieval torture, and the next you're partners in crime."

She closed her tube of lip gloss, sat across the table from me and sighed..

"Okay, you can't tell him that I told you, because I was sworn to secrecy."

I held up three fingers, "Scout's honor."

"He confessed his undying devotion to you."

"Les, come on…"

"I'm serious. I thought that all of this was just dredging up old feelings and going to turn into one big mess that ended with you getting your heart broken all over again, but he made it clear that that was not what he intended."

"And that's it? I know he has his charms Leslie, but you pretty much did a 180."

"Rory… He told me that he loved you. That he never stopped loving you. That leaving you was the biggest mistake of his life… and not a like cheesy, rom-com confession sort of way, even though that's kind of how this has played out. He said it like his only goal in life to make you happy. I had no choice but to believe him."

I had to laugh, "He Huntzberger'd you."

"What?"

It was a power both he and his father had, though I much preferred Logan's charming approach to Mitchum's intimidation.

"Nothing, he just knows how to get what he wants…" I smiled to myself, knowing that what he told her was more than a move to get Leslie on his side.

"Hey, you haven't told me how your date went."

"Ugh, nothing to tell."

"That bad?"

"Let's just say, that you're lucky things seem to be working out between the two of you, because the pickin's are slim for the rest of us."

I knew I was lucky, especially if things keep going the way they have been.

"So anyway, these 'old friends' we're meeting tonight…"

"Ah yes, Colin and Finn."

"And are they friends of yours or his?"

"Well there was a time when they might have qualified as ours, but they are definitely his."

"And they…"

"…Are nothing but trouble." I was mostly joking. Despite their penchants for idiotic antics and drunken pursuits of females, I had always had a soft spot for them. They made Logan happy, and were parcel to the adventure that came as part of being with him.

"Well alright then… Let's go!"

We walked in to find the boys standing around a bar table, but before we even got close, Colin's voice rang above the crowd, "Well, well, well, if it isn't the one that got away!" as he hand Finn met us in the middle of the bar.

Finn chimed in, "And God are we glad you're back, Love. This sad soul was no good to us after you broke his heart… all work and no play."

Leave it to these two to make light of what it has taken Logan and I years to figure out. Regardless, I was happy to see them, and we shared hugs before I started introductions.

"Leslie, this is Colin and this…" True to form, Finn swooped in, took Leslie's hand, and kissed it, "It's an honor."

She made the connection for herself, "This must be Finn."

"Ah! I see my reputation precedes me!" He turned to Les, "Whatever she's told you, it's a lie…"

"Alright, Finn, stand down…" Logan finally intervened in this exchange, "…besides, she's blonde. What about your redheads?"

He sighed dramatically, "Oh, I've sworn off them. Scarlet maidens are nothing but walking misery."

We followed them back to the table, as Finn shouted to Sam at the bar, "Good sir, drinks for these lovely ladies, if you please."

"Hey, you." Logan put his arm around my waist and kissed me.

"Hi…"

It was an innocent kiss, but all members of our company exchanged glances with raised eyebrows.

Eager to take the attention away from us, I inquired, "So Finn, if you've sworn off redheads, what have you been doing?"

"Oh you know, a little of this, a little of that, wasting my father's hard earned money… basically my life's ambition…"

Leslie was astonished by his cavalier attitude.

"…but you know, now that the gang's all here, maybe I should put down some roots."

With a hint of actual sincerity as he took a drink of his beer, Logan offered, "I don't know if New York can handle you on a permanent basis."

"If Colin can do it, then so can I!"

"Oh that's right, Colin I hear you've got a grown up job and everything these days?"

"Yes and what a thrill it is… Who would have thought that a topless blonde and that pesky Ivy League education would be my undoing?" I think that he was less disappointed about growing up a little than he pretended to be.

Leslie had caught up with the banter, "So you all went to Yale together, right?"

Logan laughed, "If you're using the term 'went' loosely. Rory is the only one here who graduated in a timely manner."

Colin qualified, "The rest of us were busy living our glory days."

Finn raised his glass, which at this point was already mostly empty, "To the glory days!"

The three of them fell into recounting their Life and Death brigade tales, happy to have a new person to impress with their stories, which ended up including the event in which I was convinced to jump off of seven-story high scaffolding.

"What? No way!" She looked at me, clearly shocked.

"Oh no, you haven't been holding out on her, have you Ace?"

I had spent most of the time during their story telling shaking my head and commenting on how ridiculous they had been, but now that I had been called out, I bit my lip and shut up. Leslie looked at me first, but when I volunteered no information, she looked to the boys.

"Ace here held her own with us. All night poker games, big parties…" This was going to be trouble.

"She threw at least one bash herself, a right proper send off for her beloved, on the eve of his departure across the pond." Finn and his dramatics.

Colin, who had also had plenty to drink by this point, chimed in, "And she stole a boat!"

"Colin!"

"A yacht, actually…"

"Finn!"

"Rory!" Leslie was in disbelief. My record had officially been expunged of that particular incident, and I had hoped that it was far behind me. I was going to kill those two.

I looked to Logan for him to come to my defense but he was staring into his beer laughing with the other boys, fully aware that he had started this. When he saw my look, he acted defensive.

"What? Honestly I'm surprised you hadn't told her." Then his smirk showed up, and I should have known he was only going to make it worse, "Besides… what's one night in jail in the grand scheme of things?"

"Logan!"

"Jail?!"

Leslie was really getting excited about all of this. I needed to put a stop to their ganging up on me.

"First of all, my record is clean. Secondly, I did not act alone in the yacht incident…" I eyed Logan accusatorily; he merely shrugged his shoulders trying to look like an innocent bystander. "…and third, I would argue that my biggest accomplishment in my tenure with this group is being able to take at least partial credit for you all living to tell these tales."

The boys fell silent for a second before erupting into a toast, "To Rory!"

I put my head in my hands, "I'm glad you're all so amused by my past digressions."

"Amused? I'm impressed." Of course she is.

"Come on, Ace… Being a bad influence on you was pretty much my highest achievement at Yale."

Colin confirmed to Leslie, "It's true."

"And really, Love..." Finn waved his glass about the table,"… what fun would your life have been if fine gentlemen such as ourselves hadn't stormed in and rescued you from the doldrums of normalcy?"

Leslie looked at Finn, "He's pretty eloquent for a drunken person."

Logan corrected her "Don't let him fool you; he's had lots of practice… Let's get him a chair before he falls over."

With that we moved our little party to a table towards the back, and Sam brought the rest of us another round of drinks.

Colin was engrossed in a story Finn was telling about one of his latest trips, but Leslie wasn't ready to move past my past. She looked at Logan first, "You are totally right…" Then she looked at me, "You have so been holding out on me… You were in jail? I can't believe you didn't tell me about any of this."

I shook my head, "Would you have believed me?"

"Probably not, to be honest. I can't believe you guys got away with all of this stuff…"

Thankfully that got the boys started in on more stories about the trouble they had gotten themselves into and barely gotten out of…

In the meantime I got Logan's attention, "Thanks for that…"

"Oh come on. She's your best friend; she has a right to know about your wild child days, even if it was only a very brief period of your life. You're not actually mad, are you?"

"No, I'm not mad. But all of this is totally foreign to her. She did grow up in the crazy world you guys did."

"Us? I'm having déjà vu here, Ace, because I think we've had this conversation before, and established that you fall into that world too." Thankfully this discussion about the subject was much more lighthearted than the last had been.

"But I didn't grow up in it… I kind of got dumped into it, and she and I certainly don't live in it now."

He gave me a look, and I knew exactly what it meant. If he and I were back together I was back in that world.

"It's just…"

"Complicated." He joined in as I finished my sentence.

Finn had finally noticed the sidebar we had been having, "I'm sorry are we boring the two of you over there?"

Logan laughed but kept looking at me, "We know all your stories, Finn."

Before rejoining the group's conversation he put his hand on my knee, "We'll figure it out, Ace."

I could relax knowing that he got it, that it was just one more complication in our lives. And thankfully, as conversation and drinks flowed over the course of the evening, it became apparent that Leslie was more infatuated than appalled by everything she was learning about that world. Before long it really did feel like old times; it was nice.

By the time we were headed down the alley outside of the bar, Finn was once again making passes at Leslie, who was drunk enough to be flattered by it, and Colin was trying to be the voice of reason between the two. Logan and I were following behind.

"I really should get her home before she lets Finn do something she'll regret."

"Come on, they're semi-responsible adults… Besides, I kinda thought I would be the one taking you home tonight…" He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Logan…"

He conceded, "Fine. Call me when you get home."

"I will."

"Like when you're actually in your apartment, door locked…"

"Ha. Ha."

"I really am going to get you a pad lock for that place… or maybe a guard dog."

"Okay, fine. I will call you when I'm safely locked in my tower."

"It's only because I love you."

I know he had said it to me a million times before, but since last night, when he said it I got that silly, fluttery feeling, like it was brand new all over again. I couldn't help but smile when he pulled me in for a kiss.

Suddenly the banter had stopped and the peanut gallery at the end of the alley had taken to hollering at us and whistling.

I bit my bottom lip and Logan groaned as we turned around, caught red handed by the friends we had thought were too drunk to notice. I was glad they were all getting along, but it really was time to get them home.

We parted ways when we got to the street, taking those we were responsible for in our respective cabs.

I took Leslie back to my place rather than leave her to her own devices. After a slight struggle getting up the stairs, I gave her some aspirin, got her to drink a bottle of water, and let her fall asleep on the couch.

I grabbed my phone to make good on my promise to Logan.

"Hey, did you get Leslie home already?"

"Nah, she's already asleep on my couch."

"Imagine that… Finn is passed out on the living room floor; at least Colin made it to a bed."

I laughed at the thought, "Just like the old days…"

"In the old days I would have been right there with them."

"True… I did have fun tonight, though."

"I'm glad, I still stand by having rather taken you home than these two."

"Good to know… Hey, I forgot to tell you something before."

"What?"

"I love you too."

There was a pause, but I knew he was smiling on the other end of the line.

"Goodnight, Ace."

** I do not own any characters or content related to Gilmore Girls, Days of Our Lives, or any other entities mentioned. **

A/N - I couldn't help but bring Finn and Colin in. I have always liked their comic relief. Any ideas about what might be coming next? Follow, favorite, and comment, as always :) xx