A/N - Another two chapter update! The second is a little shorter, but definitely jam packed... Hope you enjoy!

"Why are you awake?"

"Good morning, Sunshine."

Leslie was definitely feeling last night. When she rolled herself off of the couch it was after 11, and I had already been up working on my article for Dominic for a few hours.

"Is there coffee?"

"Does a tree grow in Brooklyn?"

"Too early."

"Hey, I warned you. Those two are nothing but trouble."

She mustered half a smile as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down, "Look who's talking."

"I thought we finished this conversation last night."

"I was drunk last night, and learning about the exploits that you so egregiously failed to mention over the course of our friendship deserves a semi-sober recap."

"I think the boys pretty much covered it all…"

"Come on. You owe me. Lying to me for the last three years…"

"I did not lie to you."

"Rory, for as long as I've known you it has taken serious arm twisting to get you to come out for anything more than a couple of martinis after work, and now I come to find out that you were once a felonious party animal?"

"I was hardly a party animal. Besides, maybe I've just outgrown it…"

She eyed me skeptically, "Or maybe you have been missing you're partner in literal crime."

I knew what she was alluding to, "You heard Colin and Finn… He's no fun anymore either."

"You're conveniently leaving out a pivotal factor… he stopped being fun when you stopped being in his life."

"He was building a company. The fact that my absence put a stop to his hard-partying ways is pure supposition."

She gave me a 'Really?' look, because she and I both knew there was probably something to that theory.

"Look, when Logan and I met we were polar opposites. In fact, our first real conversation was actually an argument. But once we started to get to know each other it became less about one of us being right, and more like challenging each other. He challenged me to be more adventurous, and I challenged him to be more motivated. Sometimes it was frustrating and sometimes I worried that we tried to change each other too much, but for whatever reason it worked for us."

"So, you're admitting that his influence on you wasn't all bad?"

"I may have done some stupid things with him, but no… it wasn't all bad." Some of it was pretty great, even.

"And he's made it pretty clear that your influence on him is more or less responsible for everything he's done."

I thought about everything he said outside the bar that day in the rain, about him only reaching this point because of me. "He doesn't give himself enough credit."

"So, you balance each other out."

I nodded. That's exactly what we did. "We just found parts of each other we didn't necessarily know we had."

She just smiled at me for a second; she got it. But only a moment later she was back to her usual self, "Well, aren't you two just sickening?"

"Hey!"

"You're unbelievable… like a freaking Nicholas Sparks book. As I said yesterday, there's not hope for the rest of us."

All of this was pretty implausible… to have made so many mistakes and be apart for so long, but end up in the same place, and still fit so well together… That's when the phone rang with my mother's number and I came back to reality. Logan and I fit together, but it wasn't going to be easy for us to fit into everything else in our lives.

I held up my phone to show Leslie that it was my mom calling so she got up, "I'm out… See you tomorrow."

I waved to her as I answered the phone.

"So I'm thinking that the two of you should come have dinner at the diner Friday night… Let Luke in on the details…"

"Friday night? You wouldn't be trying to get out of another Gilmore dinner, would you?"

"It was just a suggestion… Oh! You could always bring Logan to the Gilmore's and spring this on them as a surprise. That would almost be better than not going at all."

Yikes. We would definitely need to handle the Gilmores, but not like that. "Oh yea, I'm sure that would go over well."

"Again, just a suggestion… but I would kill to see the look on my mother's face when she finds out."

"How do you think they'll react to us?"

"Well, I imagine it going one of two ways… Option one: They fawn all over the two of you, thrilled that their prized golden couple has been reunited and anxiously awaiting another proposal. You know Emily was devastated that you turned him down; she loved rubbing the two of you in her snooty friends' faces… But on the other hand there's option two: pulling a total Meet the Parents. I can hear it now, "How dare you come waltzing in here, after what you did to our granddaughter; ambushing her in front of all of our friends and then just taking off…" If anybody knows how to put a social miscreant through the ringer it's Emily Gilmore."

"Thanks for that, Mom. They both sound like fantastic options."

"Well better the first than the second. Better to have her breathing down your neck than wringing it."

I sighed audibly, "Just another thing to add to the list."

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Not between us… but it's becoming increasingly aware to me how complicated this is all going to be. Our families, and work, and back to straddling the line between two completely different lifestyles…"

"No one said this was going to be easy, Hun."

"I know… I'm just afraid that when we step out of the little bubble we've been in for the last couple of weeks, that it's just going to be too much."

"You're going to have to face the music sometime. Start with Luke. I'm like ninety percent sure I've got him talked down from homicidal…"

She was trying to make me laugh, but I all I could muster was a chuckle… I really didn't want to leave our bubble.

"…We'll deal with the grandparents together."

"And the Huntzbergers?" That was going to be the biggest challenge of them all.

"You're certainly going to be walking into the lion's den there. But on the bright side, at least you'll know."

"At least I'll know what? How much they hate me? I already have a pretty good idea."

"You'll know how much he loves you. If he's really going to stand up to his ass-hat family, then you know he's meant everything he has said; that he's in it for the long haul."

Wow. I had been so determined to take things slow, that I hadn't let myself thing about the long haul, but I guess that really is where we're headed…

"So what do you think, come to Stars Hollow this weekend? Logan won't have to sneak into the house in the middle of the night."

The bubble has to pop at some point… "I have to check with Logan."

"Okay, kid… I've got to get going; the wedding is back on track for this afternoon."

"Finally caught Julia Roberts, huh?"

"Yep, found her out by the stables… pretty cliché if you ask me."

I could hear Sookie in the background yelling to someone about crab cakes, so I let Mom go play mediator, and got back to my work.

Late in the evening I realized that I had barely eaten, so I called up Gino's and ordered a pizza. Thirty minutes later there was a knock at my door. I opened it only to find Logan, standing outside the door, holding my pizza.

"Moonlighting as a delivery guy? That how you afford the new digs?"

He shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "People tip well."

"Clearly I chose the wrong profession."

He kissed me as I let him into the apartment.

"I was coming to ask if you wanted to go to dinner, but I saw the actual delivery guy in the hall and intercepted your pizza."

"Very sneaky, sis."

He turned to put the pizza on the table, but found it to be buried under my laptop and stacks of research.

"Working on your plan to take over the free world?"

"One article at a time…"

I led him over to the couch and put the pizza box on the coffee table.

I grabbed a couple of plates, and sat down next to him.

"So, what has you working on a Sunday night?"

"My freelance piece… The impact of the Saudi Arabia conflicts on global oil prices."

"Ah, some light reading."

"Yea…"

"Dominic found some interest, but it needed a little retooling. He wants it tomorrow morning before he sends it out."

"Did he tell you who's looking? Anyone big?"

I thought about telling him about the offer from The Times, but I was still trying not to get my hopes up.

"We'll see. It's my first freelance piece, so who knows what will happen…"

"Well, if nobody picks it up, I do know of one or two publications that might be interested in a Rory Gilmore byline…"

I put down my pizza. It really was time we start tackling some of these hurdles.

"Logan..."

"I was just kidding, Ace. I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

"It's not that, I just… I've given it some thought and I really want to keep us and my career separate."

He looked surprised.

"It's just another thing that's going to complicate our relationship, you know? If people at work find out we're together, everything is going to be about the fact that I'm dating Logan Huntzberger instead of getting actual stories. I'm not ready for people to know."

"Rory, people are going to know."

I knew he was right. I couldn't be with one of the partners of an industry giant and not have people notice, especially if this was for the long haul.

"Not yet. Please?"

"Whatever you say, Ace… But you're going to have to let me brag about you eventually." He winked and leaned in for a kiss.

I was almost ready to let him keep kissing me, when I remembered that he had promised to fill me in on his meeting with Mitchum. I really was curious to see how all of this dynamic would play out between them, being partners rather than boss and employee.

"Hey, you never told me about your meeting… What did your dad have to say?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Oh, the usual Mitchum crap… Making sure we have our ducks in a row before we can officially start the merger. It will be a couple more weeks before we have fully transitioned to our new offices, and we're actually in the process of acquiring another account that will have to be finalized before the big move. I've got a good team set up to manage the West Coast, but I want to make sure things are running smooth before Mitchum joins the board…"

I sat there listening to him and I found myself smiling. He was so on top of things, and in control of what was happening. I always knew he had the potential to do whatever he wanted, but I couldn't help but be impressed.

He stopped talking when he saw the look on my face, "What?"

"Nothing. You're just… I'm proud of you." I kissed him, as my own personal form of recognition of his accomplishment.

He finished telling me about the new deal they were working on, and what Mitchum's plans were for announcing the merger while we finished our pizza. I would have been happy to stay where we were, sitting close on the couch and talking, but I had an article to finish.

"I should get back to work… got to make sure it's ready for copy before nine."

"Well, I'll get out of your way then. Don't want to interfere with your work."

I glared at him.

"I'm kidding. I promise to remain as removed from you career as I can be, for as long as possible."

"Thank you."

"And, speaking of things that should be put off as long as possible… what are you doing Wednesday?"

His tone was beginning to worry me, "I don't know… Why?"

"Well, I may have let our dating situation to Honor the other day and she wants us to meet up with her and Josh for dinner."

Now I was really worried, "If you told Honor about us, does that mean that your…?"

"God no. She's smart enough to know not to get in the middle of that conversation… "

"Then I'm in, but only if you can swing coming to dinner in Stars Hollow on Saturday."

"Stars Hollow? Does Lorelei need me to inform her of my intentions with you?"

"Not my mother… Luke."

He sighed, "Luke." Now he was the one who looked nervous, but only for a second. "Well, that's bound to be an easier conversation than my family. Saturday it is, then."

I was glad he agreed. It would be better for Luke to hear about us from Logan than from me… he might be able to accept this more if he could see how serious Logan was about us.

I put the finishing touches on my article late that night, and sent my mom a text before I went to sleep to let her know we'd be coming up on Saturday.

The first thing I did Monday morning was messenger my revised article to Dominic's office. I was more anxious about it now than ever… It's out of my hands; all I can do now is wait and see if they hate it. He told me that he would call me when he heard from his friend at The Times, to let me know what they thought.

Every time the phone rang for the next day and a half I jumped, expecting it to be Dominic. I had heard from Leslie, wanted to meet up for lunch since she was out of the office; from my mother, about the upcoming weekend; and from Logan, about Wednesday's plans.

By Tuesday afternoon I had submitted a first draft of my initial piece for the space shuttle series; I had gotten more research done, including quotes from former NASA employees about the importance of the final launch; and I had almost given up hope about hearing back from The Times.

As fate would have it, Dominic called just before I was heading into a late meeting.

"I've got good news, Gilmore."

"They want it?"

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, but they took the rights…" The New York Times took the rights to my article! "…but remember, taking the rights doesn't necessarily mean anything more than that. You know how this game works. It will have to get through copy over there before a features editor will even see it. Then it's up to content, space and what the rest of your competition is to decide whether it sees print."

"Right... Thanks for the reality check." Way to be a buzz kill.

"Gilmore, even if they don't print it, this is a good thing. It gets your name on the radar over there, and there's always a thousand other places to push your work. The agency is impressed that you've got a shot with The Times at all… they're going to want to see more of your stuff."

It was encouraging to hear, but I was very much aware of how hard it was going to be to be rejected by The Times, yet again.

"If they use it, it will probably run in Thursday's edition. I should get word by Wednesday night about what to expect and I'll give you a call."

Breathe. I had to get through the meeting, and I'm sure I would have editing to do tomorrow, plus dinner with Honor and Josh… I had plenty to keep me occupied until Wednesday night.

The next morning when Leslie asked about whether or not I had heard from Dominic I was purposefully vague. I still hadn't told anyone about the prospect of being in The Times. I didn't want to jinx it, and with only a slim chance, I didn't want to risk extra disappointment if it didn't happen.

As expected, I had notes on my article waiting at my desk after lunch that afternoon, but every hour or so I found myself staring at my phone, willing it to ring. He said he would call Wednesday night. After repeatedly reminding myself that I could not make him call me any sooner, I was able to finish up for the day in time to head home and change for dinner.

I was still a little nervous to be seeing anyone from Logan's family, but I had always liked Honor. She, like Logan, had been raised a Huntzberger – as part of an image, rather than a family. The difference between the two of them was that Logan was forced into being groomed to take over the family business, while she was only expected to uphold the dignity of the family name. Of anyone in their family, she was the only one who had ever been genuinely nice to me. Mitchum tolerated me for a while, but only because he thought I was a good influence on his son. Now that my 'influence' has caused him to lose the formerly oppressive upper hand in their relationship, I'm sure that his attitude toward me would not be quite as civil.

As per the plan, Logan was at my door at six, ready to pick me up for dinner. I was almost ready when he knocked so I let him in while I finished with my hair.

"Come on, Ace. You always look great..."

"Give me two seconds… Done!"

"Finally!" He was exaggerating. It was only five after when we left the apartment, which was practically early as far as I was concerned.

"Not used to having to wait for people these days?"

"No, actually. It's amazing how prompt people can be when their jobs could be on the line." Never one to take anything seriously when we were younger, he still did a good job of pretending to be cavalier. I knew the way his father ran his company, and if Mitchum had said that I would have taken him seriously, but from the way he talked I had a feeling that Logan conducted business very differently than his father.

"Well, I'm sorry to cause such an inconvenience…"

He smirked and with a kiss assured me, "It was worth the wait."

Logan held my hand as we walked into the restaurant, toward the table that the host had directed us to. Honor was already there with Josh, and the wide-eyed, open-mouthed smile she had on her face when she saw us put my nerves at bay.

"Oh my God. I can't get over this!"

"Settle down, Honor." Logan gave his sister a kiss on the cheek before she wrapped me in an overwhelming hug.

"Rory, I just can't believe you're here. I mean, Logan said you guys were… well, anyway, it's just so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, it's been a long time."

As we sat down, Honor continued very enthusiastically. "Too long… but to be honest, I wasn't sure if we'd ever see you again. Really, after the stunt he pulled he's lucky you saw him at all."

"Very lucky." Logan, always quick with the charm.

"I lost track of how many times I told him to call you after that whole mess, but you know how stubborn he is…"

Logan rolled his eyes at his sister, "Yes, we've established that."

"…honestly, Rory, I almost killed him for walking away like that. You are the best thing that ever happened to him."

This time he looked at me and put his hand on my knee, "A fact that has also been well established."

I felt myself blush a little, and that was all Honor needed to start up again. "This is so fantastic…"

Throughout dinner we traded updates on work, and life; Honor insisted on hearing all about what I had been up to. Logan did his best to get Josh to join in on the conversation, but as per usual he let his wife do most of the talking, which is probably why they are still happily married.

Over desert I asked Honor about living upstate.

"We moved almost a year ago now… had to get out of Hartford. It's so pretty up there, we love it. And we keep a little apartment in the city for when we're passing through or in town for the night… though I'm not sure how often we'll be using it now, considering…"

She left a dramatic pause, "We're having a baby!"

I wish I had a camera because the look on Logan's face was priceless. He managed to look like he got slapped in the face, but happy for his sister all at the same time. I knew Honor had seen it too, because after congratulations had been given she shared a sly smile with me, and then turned to her brother, "So… I take it you're surprised?"

"Well yea, kind of but… it's great. Really… Have you told Mom and Dad?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes… Well, we had dinner with Mom last night. She has already called me about fifteen times today, and I know it's only going to get worse. As for Dad, he wasn't exactly involved in our childhoods, so I'm not sure how invested he will be anyway." She focused her attention on the two of us. "Have you told Mom and Dad?"

"No, but now that you've got them distracted with a baby maybe we'll be able to fly under the radar."

"Right. Dad finally has you exactly where he wants you, and you think he's going to ignore the fact that a certain someone is suddenly in your life again… No offense, Rory."

"None taken." It's no secret how the elder Huntzbergers feel about me.

"First of all, if Dad had me exactly where he wanted me I would be his employee..."

"So not the point, Logan. You know shit is going to hit the fan when you tell them."

"Oh nice language to use in front of that kid of yours." This was turning into a good, old fashioned brother-sister spat.

"Forget the language Logan, you know I'm right… Oh my god. What about your grandparents? Do they know? If they know and it gets back to Mom before you tell her… "

She was really on a roll now… "We know, it's going to be a mess."

"Holy crap… if you guys are really doing this, you better mean it. Hartford is going to flip."

She was right. Between Emily and Shira, all of Hartford society knew about Logan and I before, and they had sure as hell heard about what happened when he proposed… half of them were there. Shit really was going to hit the fan when they find out we're back together after all this time.

On the way home, I could tell that Logan was feeling a little defeated.

"So, have you thought about how you want to tell your parents?"

His head was leaning on the seatback, and he dramatically rolled it towards me, "Do you really think it's going to matter how we tell them?"

"I don't know… They're your parents. I'm already dealing with mine… Well, Mom and Luke, anyway. I don't know if it will even bother my dad… Richard and Emily are another story…"

"Ace, can we just take this one set of family members at a time? Tonight, I would really just like to take you back to my place and forget about everybody else."

"Really?"

He kissed me in response.

"I have to work tomorrow…"

"And you're not allowed out on school nights?"

"Logan..."

"Come on, we'll stop at your place and grab your stuff…"

"You want to go to my apartment, that's thirty blocks from here, just to turn around and go to your place that's down the street?"

He was laughing at me. "What?"

"You're just something else… Are you done trying to be rational, or do I need to do some convincing?"

I shook my head, "Alright, let's go… you're still welcome to do some convincing though."

That smirk of his crept across his face, and he leaned in start supporting his argument.

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

A/N - I'm glad so many of you have liked the friendship that Leslie and Rory have, it's been a lot of fun to write! As always, follow, favorite and comment! xx