A/N: I'm baaaack. I've had some major health issues come up in the last few weeks, but gladly I am recovering and back to writing! Enjoy!

The rest of the night had continued to be bliss-laden and when I woke up the next morning I was literally being held onto. Logan had one arm under the pillow behind my head and the other draped around my waist, and for a minute I just let myself sink into him… perfect.

I drifted back to sleep for a little while, waking up to him kissing my shoulder, and then my neck, and then my lips. "Hey you..."

"Hi…" He kept kissing me, "…what are you up to?"

"Nothing..."

"Nothing, huh? It seems like you might…" Is that really what time it is? I sat up in bed, leaving Logan mid-kiss, realizing that I had turned off my phone the night before.

"Ace…"

"It's after nine…"

"And we took today off."

"So…"

He pushed me back into bed, smiling now. "So, you're going to let me kiss you, then we're going to go take a hot shower, and then we'll order some room service before you even think about working."

I eyed him skeptically. I had agreed to take the day off, but I really wanted to check my phone. "Just once?"

He rolled his eyes, kissed me and got up to start the shower, "Once, then you're cut off."

I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed my phone. A couple of text messages from Leslie, but nothing else. Nothing? I had gotten Gerry my article early, nothing back from him. I had gotten Dominic another draft of that piece, and nothing?

I sent Leslie a quick text message to let her know that I had called in for the day and then set my phone down on the counter behind Logan.

"Well?"

"Nothing."

He looked me in the eye very intently, "Relax."

I took a deep breath. "Okay… You're right. Gerry knows I'm not in today, and Dominic has other things to work on. I just need to…"

"Relax." I nodded, and he proceeded to kiss me a few more times to convince me to join him in that shower.

Half an hour later we had breakfast spread across the bed and C-Span on television when my phone rang. For a second I panicked, unsure of where I had left it, when I remembered it on the bathroom counter.

Dominic. "Hey."

"Gilmore, looks good."

"Good? Good is what you said last time."

"Okay, it's better than good. I'm sending it on."

I could see Logan looking at me from the other room, so I nodded. He didn't look surprised in the least.

"Okay, so now what?"

"Well, keep sending me what you've got, but…"

"But?"

"You did a couple of interviews with Obama, right?"

"Yea… one at the Daily News, and a couple while I was on the campaign… nothing exclusive or anything like that, but…" He can't expect me to have those kinds of contacts anymore. "That was years ago."

"Yea, but if you've got an in with anybody, it could be big. Having your own contacts could be huge even. I'm not saying you need a direct in with anybody at the White House, but somebody on the hill or close to it even; someone with ties to the top."

Ties to the top? Did he really think I could pull this off? "Dominic, I don't know if…"

"Look, in the meantime get me what you can otherwise; keep the pieces coming, but see what you can do in terms of a contact, alright?"

I hesitated; all of this was very surreal. "Okay; I'll see what I can do."

"Good. Get me something soon, Gilmore."

By the time we finished I was sitting at the table in the other room with my phone in my hand, suddenly exhausted. I had just finished getting pieces off to Dominic and Gerry, and yet again I was overwhelmed. I sat there for another second before I headed back to the bedroom.

I poured myself another cup of coffee and collapsed into the chaise at the end of the bed.

"They're running it."

"Good." He paused, waiting for a response, "That's good, right?"

"Right." I was less than enthusiastic.

He raised an eyebrow at me, obviously attune to something being amiss. "So… What's wrong?"

"Nothing, theoretically…" He continued his look of uncertainty. "Dominic wants me to find contacts. Dig up some sources with the in on the campaign."

"Okay..."

I sat up on the chaise and looked at him directly, "Okay? I haven't had connections like that in years. I've been toiling away in the land of features for the last three years. I…"

He was trying to hide it, but I could see the look on his face. He was biding his time until he could put his two cents in; I eyed him incredulously.

"What?"

"Don't…"

"Don't what? I didn't say anything…"

"I know what you were thinking."

"Oh you do, do you?"

"Yes."

"And exactly what am I thinking?"

"That you could find someone to go all Hugh Sloan and…"

"I'm not saying anybody is going to go Hugh Sloan for you…"

"Logan…"

"Okay… I'm just saying that it doesn't hurt to know people."

"And you know people?"

"Probably..." He was walking a fine line here and he knew it. Things were definitely going to get complicated. I wanted to keep my life at work separate from my personal life, but he could help me meet people that would make it so easy. It was all easy for him.

I shook my head, "No." Maybe I would be okay with it one day, but not now. If I couldn't find contacts on my own, I didn't deserve the job.

"Okay…" He put his hands up, surrendering. "…just throwing it out there."

I decided to change the subject by beginning to pack up our stuff.

"Really?"

"Sorry mister… back to reality."

He gave me one last pleading look.

"I told you, I have research to do… especially if I'm going to start tracking down contacts." He reluctantly consented.

Several minutes later we were in the elevator, and back to complaining, "Do we have to?"

"You sound like Landon."

He made a pouty face, and I countered with a stern glare.

"Ugh. You and your priorities."

"How did you get anything done in the last four years? Obviously something was motivating you, but honestly…"

"I didn't have you to distract me." He gave me a deep kiss, just as the elevator doors opened to the lobby. Of course. I blushed when I saw the group of businessmen, all amused by what they had just been privy to, but Logan just laughed and took my hand as we exited the elevator.

Once the valet had brought the car around and we were on the road and he had finally come to terms with being back on the map. He had let his phone battery die last night - something I'm sure hasn't happened in months, if not years – and when he finally plugged it in in the car he basically had no choice.

In what amounted to less than fifteen hours, Logan had eleven missed calls, multiple text messages and what seemed to be countless emails. I looked at him as the notifications came rolling in with an eyebrow raised, "So, Mr. I-took-the-day-off… how's that going for you?"

He rolled his eyes, "To be fair, my assistant is the only one I officially told about not coming in. Plus, we do launch next week."

"Really?" I guess things were going to be happening fast now…

"As of Wednesday we are officially operating out of the East Coast."

"And then?"

"Then…" He took a second; I think still having a hard time believing he was actually going through with this, "Then we go forward with the merger. There has been plenty of speculation since we announced the move, so it's not like it's actually going to surprise anyone, but we have to go through the formalities… Make the announcements, sign the contracts…"

"Finally receive you destiny…"

He rolled his eyes at me, "Sure..."

"Sorry… On the bright side you've got a few more days before Mitchum is back from Toronto, right?"

He nodded appreciatively. "I'm sure I will hear from him repeatedly, but he should be gone until Thursday… Hey, by the way, on Wednesday there's going to be a dinner for our partners and investors."

"A dinner?"

"Yea... I'm sure there will be some huge thing to launch the merger in a couple of weeks, so it's nothing too big; just the partners and a few investors. I might be going out on a limb here, given the Chinese wall that you're so intent on keeping between work and home, but…"

I already made an appearance at one work function, and I knew this day was coming… the line in the sand between church and state will never be the same. I nodded, "Sure."

"Yea?" He actually looked surprised, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yea… this is your life, Logan. I should meet these people."

"Well, alright then…"

Honestly, I could only imagine what Mitchum had in store for the merger, and this dinner sounds like a good chance to get my feet wet. I knew I couldn't be with Logan and stay on the outskirts of their world; I was going to have to join in eventually.

When we got back to Stars Hollow I knew Mom would be at the Inn with Landon, and Luke would be at the diner, so the plan was to pick up my car, follow Logan to the airport so he could drop off the rental and head back to New York. We would have gotten away scot-free if Logan had stayed in the car, but being the gentleman that he is, he got out of the car to put our stuff in the trunk, and as if an alarm had gone off in her head Babette appeared on her porch.

"Rory!"

Oh boy. "Hey Babette…"

"How's it going, Sugar?"

"Oh, it's…"

She cut me off in as much of a whisper as she could manage as she came down the stairs, "Who's the hunk?"

Logan turned around just in time to answer her question. For a second I thought she might tip over.

"Babette, you remember Logan, right? I think you met a while ago…"

There was another second of stunned silence before she found her raspy voice, "Uh, yea… good to see you…" She waved at Logan as she pulled me to the side of the porch, and with barely a pause between her words she continued, "…does your mother know?"

"Does she know?"

"Does she know about you and him?" She was suddenly very serious, "Oh God, does Luke know?"

I took a deep breath, "Yes, Babette; Mom knows, Luke knows… its okay."

"It's okay?"

I looked at Logan who was standing against the car, waiting patiently for this exchange to play out. I smiled as I nodded, "Yea, its okay."

I think she was simultaneously processing and planning a phone tree in her head as she made her way back onto the porch, "Right… Well, see you round, Sugar."

I nodded as she disappeared inside and I met Logan at the car door. "Well, we've got about five minutes before all of Stars Hollow knows what's going on between us…"

He peered down the driveway, "Should I be worried?"

"I don't know if you should be worried, but it might be best to get out of dodge before word hits the street."

"Fair enough."

We got in our respective cars and headed for the airport. Logan must have given in and answered at least one of those phone calls because when he pulled into a parking spot he was fully engrossed in conversation… one that seemed to be escalating. Mitchum.

I wasn't sure how long it was going to take so rather than wait in aisle, I pulled into a spot as well and decided to scroll through the few emails that I had accumulated that morning. I was about to open one from Gerry when Logan opened the passenger door and collapsed into the seat.

"Wild guess… Mitchum?"

"Yep."

"Do I want to know?"

"That depends… How much are you going to hate going to a Benefit?"

"A Benefit? Like a fundraiser?" It didn't sound like I was going to have much choice in the matter which meant…

"Yea… Apparently welcoming the youngest generation of Huntzberger into the family business is the perfect opportunity to support the Journalists of Tomorrow."

"The Journalists of Tomorrow?"

"Mhm. Not only are we celebrating the merger…" I detected more than a hint of sarcasm on the word celebrating, "… we are hosting an event to support journalism in inner-city high schools."

I was trying really hard to find a silver lining here, "Well… at least it's a good cause?"

He glared at me; he was clearly not happy about this. "It's next Friday."

What? "As in a week from Friday? Like eleven days from now?"

He nodded.

"How are they going to sell…" From the look on his face I could tell that something else was coming.

"Eleven days is plenty of time for people to open up their checkbooks and kiss my father's ass, but they've had more than eleven days."

"But…"

"My mother, who became chairperson of the newly formed Huntzberger Foundation, has set this up."

"Your mother?" Wait… newly formed? Oh no. "How newly formed is the Huntzberger Foundation?"

"Well… she called, what? Like a week and a half ago?"

This was about me. This was Shira, throwing the gauntlet; trying to make it known that I don't belong in their world. I ran my hands down my face. This is not going to be pretty.

"I guess this was coming eventually…"

"This was coming?"

"Well, not this in particular, but something was coming." He was looking at me sympathetically, but I didn't need it. The more I thought about it the more resolve I got. "Shira was never going to let us off easily. She didn't sign some contract to play nice, but that's fine by me."

"It is?" He had that look again; the one he wore when I surprised him.

"Yes."

I drove the rest of the way home, determined to stick it to Shira. It was only after we got inside that I realized I had about a million things to do before I could conquer her. Even still, she had earned herself a spot on my list of priorities.

Not only did I have a ton of work to do, but I had also left most of my things in boxes around the apartment.

"Looks good, Ace…"

"Funny."

"I'm serious… we should get rid of the rest of the furniture. Just keep the boxes."

"Come on…"

"What? It could be cool. We could constantly rearrange it, or it could be like a fort!"

I rolled my eyes as I put my stuff down on the table, "I know, okay. I've just had a lot going on…"

Logan flashed one of his trademark smirks and gestured for me to come towards him with the tilt of his head. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me in close; I was having a hard time trying to keep a straight face. "I love you."

No use hiding it now. I let my lips curl into a smile, "I love you too."

He cradled my head in his hands and kissed me. I was just about to lean in for another kiss when he let his hands fall and walked away from me. "Hey!"

"You know, you should really get your act together. Don't you have work to do?"

I came around the corner to see him smiling at me, and starting a pot of coffee. The man knows me well.

The rest of the afternoon and most of the evening was spent pretty much buried in research. I was starting from square one on this WikiLeaks article and as the night wore on had all but taken over the dining room table with my laptop and notes.

Logan resigned himself to returning phone calls and replying to emails, but late in the evening I was happily surprised by the arrival of takeout he had ordered. After a couple more hours of research, he'd had enough, "Hey, Judith Miller, you planning on coming to bed anytime soon?"

"Huh?" I looked at the clock; it was quarter to twelve. I'd gotten quite a bit of research done… not as much as I'd like, but it was a start. "Yea, I guess I could call it a night."

"It's about time… It is the first night we're officially living together."

I gave him a look that read 'Really?' We had lived together before, and we had spent more than a couple of nights together since we'd been reunited, but I appreciated that he was enthusiastic about it. I shut my laptop and followed him upstairs.

By the time my alarm went off Tuesday morning Logan was already dressed and flipping through the paper downstairs. "We're officially living together and I'm still waking up alone?"

"I know; I'm sorry, but I've got to run…" I watched him as he poured himself a cup of coffee to go and packed up his briefcase, "We're meeting with a group of investors interested in post-merger acquisitions and... what?"

I realized that I was smiling as I watched him. It still amused me how he had matured so much. It had been four years, but having been apart it sometimes it seems like it happened over night.

"Nothing… go take over the world…" I mockingly waved him towards the door and went to pour myself a cup of coffee.

"I'll try." He leaned in from behind with a smile and planted a kiss on my lips, "Love you."

"Love you, too." Realizing that I had plenty to get done today myself, I collected my research from the night before while I drank my coffee and after a quick shower I was on my way to work.

Leslie was waiting at the coffee cart when I walked up, "Hey how was the wedding?"

"It was nice. Paris was… Paris, but she's happy, Doyle's happy. A good day all around."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Oh I don't know… I thought maybe somebody might have…"

"You knew he was coming?" This alliance between Les and Logan was really getting to be too much.

"Well, he called to see if I knew where the wedding was, and you said something about City Hall, so…"

I shook my head as I took my coffee, but Les just stood there and stared at me. "Are you going to try and tell me that your boyfriend flying across the country to surprise you is no big deal?"

"Of course not…" I had to smile at the thought of him outside the church, leaning against his car. "But it is very Logan."

"He's done it before?"

"He used to sneak up on me from across the Atlantic Ocean. He loves stuff like that."

Now it was Leslies turn to shake her head, apparently in disbelief. "You are so jaded."

"I am not jaded…"

"I would swoon if somebody flew across the country for me."

I turned toward the building but made sure she could hear me as I walked away, "You mean if Finn flew across the country for you?"

She hurried to catch up with me, "I said somebody; as in anybody…"I gave her a skeptical look. "…okay, I wouldn't complain if Finn was the one on the plane, but…"

"I knew it!"

"Shut up!"

"Nope; you and your 'having fun' bit is a bunch of crap and you know it."

"It is not a bunch of crap."

"You guys have gone out at least as many nights as you've stayed in over the last two weeks."

She was standing in front of me in the elevator, so I couldn't see her face but when she didn't respond immediately I got worried.

"Not true."

"What?"

"I didn't even see him this weekend."

"What happened?"

"He sent me a text Friday and said that he and Colin were heading out to Vegas for the weekend…" Damn it Finn. Those guys and Vegas are never a good combination.

She was clearly disappointed, even if she wouldn't admit it. "So this is going to be more of an Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton thing?"

"No… this is just a fun thing. If it doesn't turn into anything else, then it doesn't turn into anything else. No big deal…"

Right.

"And don't you have work to do?" We had arrived at my desk, and yes, I had work to do so I gave Leslie a reprieve for now. Lord knows I had a pretty good idea of how she might be feeling right now, given Logan's history, but it would have to wait since she headed off in the direction of her own desk.

Almost as soon as I sat down, Sherry appeared at my desk, "Gerry wants to see you in his office."

Okay, deep breath. He probably just wants to catch me up since I missed yesterday… He glanced up and saw me lingering in his doorway, then went back to what he was doing on his computer. "Sit down, Gilmore."

Crap. I sat down and he continued typing for what seemed like forever; then he stopped and just looked at me. Double Crap.

"Listen Gilmore, I got your article… looks good. I sent it to copy this morning..." I exhaled. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought…

"…but I spent some time thinking about what you said about pitching the WikiLeaks story… and I decided to assign it to Duncan."

Or maybe it would be worse… I told him I wanted that story. I told him I could handle it. I told him he could trust me with it. "Excuse me?"

"I heard pitches yesterday, Duncan mentioned it but I told him to hold off, but the more I thought about it, the more I think he's our guy."

"But…"

"There's still a stack of leads on your desk for you to follow up on. Find something else."

I was speechless. How could he pull this out from under me? I spent all day yesterday researching. He was already back to looking at his computer, but I couldn't help myself, "Sir, all due respect, but I've already started working on this article. I've put hours into research and…"

He looked up again and folded his hands on top of the papers on his desk, clearly waiting for me to finish. I faltered a little at his sudden attention, "… uh, I'd… I'd really like to follow through. I told you I was up to handling this."

He exhaled, "Look, I just think you're… spread a little thin." He was obviously trying to find a diplomatic way to put it, but his face made it clear. He wasn't going to play nice anymore. He wanted my full attention, or… I don't know… None of it? Would he really fire me? Could he fire me? I started to panic.

"Sir… I really think I…"

He ran his hand along his chin, considering his options. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay… you'll both cover it."

"Both of us? Together?"

"No. You'll cover it, he'll cover it. Bring me a copy by Friday and I'll make a decision." He was already turning back to his computer again.

"So you're only going to run one..."

He paused one last time to look at me before he dismissed me. "Yea… Or bring me something else. It's up to you."

I had a million thoughts running through my head. Why would he do this? I told him I wanted it. How did we go from giving me my choice of leads to taking away the one I really wanted?

I ran my hands over my face. I needed to think this out. I got myself another cup of coffee from the break room and sat at my desk.

I thought about everything else that had transpired last week. I thought I made it pretty clear last week after Mitchum showed up that I had no interest in working for him. I even told him about me and Logan… Was he worried about the merger? He must have heard the rumors by now, but… It doesn't even matter. The Times isn't owned by HPG.

As far as Gerry's other concern, that I send him my work first, I'd cc'd him on the first draft of new article for The Times and he hadn't said anything, which I took for a good sign. If he'd wanted it, he would have said something… right?

What if he hadn't gotten it? What if he did get it and was looking for a reason to be upset with me? This is ridiculous. I got up and marched back to towards Gerry's office. I had to know what was really going on, but when I got there his door was closed, so I checked with Sherry; he was in a meeting. In fact, every time I tried to catch him over the course of the day he seemed to be in a meeting or out of the office. It was like he was avoiding me.

During the rest of the day I decided that I wanted… needed to go forward with my WikiLeaks story. I told Gerry I was going to do it well, and I would. I reread some of my research from yesterday and I delved into some recent articles on the story.

I tracked down some sources close to the trial and in the process it occurred to me any of these contacts could put me closer to the election. I was supposed to be focusing on the WikiLeaks story, but Dominic made it pretty clear that having contacts could make or break me at The Times… Working on one story didn't mean I couldn't work on the other, right?

I put out calls to a handful of sources and sent emails to a few more, including one to a friend… I don't actually know if friend is the right word… who I worked with on the campaign. He ended up in D.C. afterword; last I heard he was mostly reporting on District Cases, but maybe he could connect me with somebody in the Federal System at least.

I still hadn't been able to track down Gerry, but I wasn't exactly surprised at this point. Tomorrow… I'd have to beat him to his office, but I was going to figure out what was going on.

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