It was 6:00 sharp on Friday night and Christopher Hayden pulled into the driveway of the Gilmore's house in Hartford. He looked over to see Lorelai's Jeep™ parked on the other side of the driveway and instantly felt better. He opened the door to his BMW and stepped out in to the warm summer night. He went around to the passenger side, and opened the rear door to help Gigi out of her booster seat. He quickly inspected her as she got out of the car, hoping that she managed to stay clean between Boston and Hartford. Emily Gilmore would never let him hear the end of it if Gigi showed up messy.

"Daddy? Where are we again?" Gigi asked.

"We're at Aunt Lorelai's parents for dinner, you remember Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore," he told her.

"Oh yeah. Is Aunt Lorelai going to be here?"

"Of course! Don't you see her Jeep™ over there?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. I forgot," Gigi said quietly, taking her father's hand as they approached the very imposing front door. "This house is almost as big as Grandma Francine's."

Christopher nodded in agreement. "Almost as big," he said, and then added under his breath, "and almost as scary." He reached out and rang the doorbell.

Half a minute later no one had come to the door, so he rang again. A few seconds later Emily Gilmore opened the door.

"Hello Christopher, hello Georgia. Please come in," she said. Gigi ran into the house to go find Lorelai.

"Hello Emily," Christopher said politely, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "You look well."

"Thank you Christopher. I'm sorry to make you wait, the new maid is so incompetent that she's probably answering the phone every time the doorbell rings," Emily said with frustration. Christopher knew the maid would probably be gone by tomorrow morning.

"Aunt Lorelai!" he heard Gigi shriek in the background. He and Emily headed back towards the living room for cocktails and he encountered Lorelai attempting to walk towards him, but being held up by Gigi launching herself into Lorelai's arms.

"Hello G, you look very pretty today," Lorelai told her.

"Thank you, you look pretty too," Gigi responded. Christopher smiled at his daughter's best society politeness and the sight of them together.

He approached Lorelai and kissed her cheek, "The mangoes were ripe, thank you very much." He realized she tensed up immensely when he touched her. He looked up to see a very angry Luke Danes in the living room behind her.

"Sorry," she whispered tersely. Christopher plastered a fake smile on his face and continued into the living room.

"Christopher, my boy, how are you? Can I get you a scotch?" Richard asked him.

"Thank you Richard, a scotch would be terrific. I'm doing well, how about yourself?" Christopher responded.

"Very well, very well. Does anyone else need a drink? Luke? Lorelai?" Richard asked.

"Martini please!" Lorelai answered holding up her glass.

"I'm fine at the moment, thank you for the offer Richard," Luke answered. Christopher seated himself on the couch across from Lorelai and Luke, and Gigi was sitting next to him nervously.

"Daddy," she whispered in his ear, "who is that man with Aunt Lorelai?"

"Why don't you ask her?" he whispered back.

"Aunt Lorelai, who's that?" Gigi asked pointing at Luke.

"Gigi, it's rude to point," Emily scolded.

"Emily, give the girl a break," Richard scolded in return.

Gigi ignored them both in favor of waiting for an answer from Lorelai, as did Christopher.

"This is my friend Luke. He makes the French fries you enjoy so much when you come visit me in Stars Hallow." Lorelai explained with a smile. Gigi nodded in understanding and the room remained quiet for a moment. Christopher and Luke were exchanging death stares.

"Excuse me Mrs. Gilmore, dinner is ready," the maid said meekly from the doorway.

"Thank you Louisa. Let's head into the dining room." Emily led the way into the dining room hoping conversation would pick up once dinner began.

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Dinner conversation was equally awkward. Christopher and Richard discussed business, Lorelai and Emily argued about a possible expansion at the inn, Gigi picked at her food and Luke alternated between looking at his plate and looking at the ceiling.

"Excuse me," Lorelai said as she scooted her chair back. Emily gave her a curious look and she responded by very obviously mouthing the word bathroom to her mother, which of course made Emily cringe at the very thought of such a topic being mentioned at the dinner table.

A minute later Christopher excused himself and followed Lorelai into the bathroom.

"Christopher, what are you doing in here?" she asked him when he entered the bathroom.

"I thought it was the code."

"Nope, today I just have to go to the bathroom."

He cocked an eyebrow at her, knowing there was more to it.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"About what?" he asked, having a pretty good idea what she was talking about, but wanting to hear her say it.

"Luke."

"What about Luke? That he's here? Or that you didn't even give me warning that he'd be here?" Christopher hypothesized angrily.

"Either. Both. Take your pick," she told him quietly.

"What's going on Lore?" he asked. She looked at him hesitantly and didn't say anything. "I thought we just decided this week that we could be friends," he reminded her.

She exhaled loudly before starting to speak. "Luke and I, we're trying to make things work. But it's hard."

Inside Christopher felt his heart crack. He remained silent waiting for her to continue, but it didn't appear that she was going to. "Does that mean you can't even talk to me?" he asked.

"No, of course not. I've made it clear to him that I won't abandon Gigi, and that he's going to have to get used to it. But it just makes things tough."

"He has a daughter too right? He should know what it's like." Christopher stated, trying to make a case for their friendship.

"I don't know. He refuses to talk about it," she said sadly. "He just won't let me in. And me talking to you seems to make it worse." Lorelai looked close to tears. He couldn't help himself, he did what he always did, he opened his arms to give her a hug. She stepped into his arms and his heartbeat quickened.

"I'm sorry Lore. Is there anything I can do?" He hoped she wouldn't ask him to try to back out of her life.

"This is good." Her voice was muffled against his chest. She stepped back and looked at him. "Well there is one thing…."

"What?"

"Could you leave so I could use the bathroom?" she asked with a grin.

"Of course." He smiled at her and then left the bathroom, returning to the dining room.

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Upon returning to the table Christopher made a point to be nice to Luke. He wanted to stay in Lorelai's life, and if Luke was going to be around for the foreseeable future, the least he could do was try to be the bigger man.

"So Luke, how's the diner business?" he asked, hoping that all traces of sarcasm were gone from his voice. "Have you had to reduce your coffee order since there's only one Gilmore Girl in town to consume it?" He knew how much his girls loved their coffee.

Luke looked up at him with a curious look on his face. "Now that you mention it, I have needed less coffee since Rory went on the campaign trail. I guess that explains that mystery." Lorelai reentered the room just as Luke was finishing his sentence.

"What mystery?" she asked.

"Why I've been going through coffee slower than usual," he explained.

"Well Rory is on the other side of the country at the moment," Lorelai teased. Christopher smiled, as the look on Luke's face was priceless. He was stunned. "What?" she asked likely noticing his expression.

"I never even put two and two together," Luke said.

"Never underestimate the power of a Gilmore and her love of coffee," Lorelai told him.

"Lorelai, really-" Emily started.

"Oh Emily, goodness knows you love your coffee too," Richard chided his wife and she smiled and turned slightly pink.

Christopher laughed quietly at how pleased Emily seemed to be to have something in common with her daughter and granddaughter.

"Daddy," Gigi asked, "can I be done yet?" He looked at her plate and tried to remember how much was there in the first place. The maid had cut it up for her so he didn't have to, which was nice, but now he had no clue how much she'd actually eaten. He glanced over at Lorelai silently asking for help, wondering if she'd noticed how much Gigi had eaten. She nodded her head once in a hardly noticeable manner.

"Just three more bites G, then you can be done," he told her. He noticed a small smile playing on Lorelai's lips.

Gigi stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, but went ahead and ate the requisite bites. When she finished Emily called out to the maid, "Louisa can you come take Georgia's plate?" The maid entered the room and looked around likely trying to determine who Georgia was. Emily sighed loudly and looked at the maid, "This is Georgia," she used a wave of her hand to point to Gigi. The maid nodded and picked up her plate.

"Gigi, would you like to watch a movie while the grown ups finish dinner?" Richard asked. Lorelai's jaw dropped, and Emily gave him a sharp look. A look of delight filled Gigi's face.

"No fair Dad, I never got out of dinners when I was her age," Lorelai whined.

"Well Lorelai, times have changed. Gigi if you'd like, you can go up to Rory's old room, I believe there are some old videos up there." Richard told her.

"Come on Gigi, I'll take," Lorelai piped up.

"Nonsense Lorelai, the maid can do it," Emily told her curtly. Lorelai pouted at her mother.

"Actually I'll take her, that way I can help her find an appropriate movie," Christopher said. "Come on Gigi." Gigi hopped out of her chair to follow him and Lorelai stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled and Luke grimaced.

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Christopher got Gigi settled in with The Wizard of Oz and a promise that the maid would bring her dessert.

When he once again returned to the dining room he found Richard and Emily discussing their upcoming social calendar and Lorelai and Luke having a whispered conversation so he could not discern the topic, but the forced feeling of calm that was emanating from them gave Christopher the feeling that the topic was not a happy one. He resumed his seat and began to finish the now cold steak on his plate.

"So Christopher," Emily started, "I heard that Georgia had a dance recital last week, is she going to be the next prima ballerina at the American Ballet Company?"

"Well, I'm not sure about that. She enjoys it a lot though, so I'm sure she'll keep taking lessons for a while."

"Lorelai took dance lessons at that age," Richard said fondly.

"And I hated every minute of them," Lorelai said. "Rory took them at that age too, and she loved them, but she was so clumsy it was painful to watch."

"Lorelai!" Luke scolded.

"What? It's the truth, she knows it and she's not even here. I don't see what the big deal is."

"She's your daughter. It's just wrong," Luke told her. Christopher hid his smile behind his napkin. If Lorelai and Rory had a typical relationship he might be tempted to agree with Luke, but since that was not the case, he just kept his mouth shut.

All of the plates were now clear, so Emily called the maid to come clear the table and bring dessert. Soon goblets of chocolate mousse were placed in front of all of them.

"Excuse me, Louisa," Christopher said quietly as the maid placed his cup down. "Please don't forget to take my daughter some chocolate mousse, but only about half this much."

"Of course sir, I'll do it right away." She quickly left the room.

"Mom, this mousse is delicious," Lorelai said with a slight moan.

"It really is Emily," Christopher chimed in. Richard nodded in agreement, and Emily smiled happily at the end of the table.

"Thank you. Luke, is there something wrong with your dessert?"

Christopher looked over to see Luke staring at his dessert with his spoon in his hand.

"No, nothing at all Emily. I'm just not much of a dessert fan," Luke told her.

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I'll eat it," Lorelai said eagerly. The remainder of the dessert was consumed in relative silence.

"Well gentlemen, shall we retire to the study for brandy and cigars?" Richard asked.

"Uh sure," Luke said hesitantly.

"I'll join you guys in just a moment, I'm going to go up and check on Gigi," Chris said. Richard nodded in understanding and Christopher headed up stairs.

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Gigi was enjoying her mousse, and Dorothy had just met up with the Tin Man, so Christopher left her to the rest of her movie. Instead of going downstairs to join Luke and Richard for brandy, he went into Lorelai's old room, and out to her balcony. He just needed some fresh air and some time to think. He leaned against the house and pressed his palms into his eye sockets. He probably could have picked a better place, because memories were everywhere here, and merely closing his eyes brought them flooding back.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out there when a voice broke through his fog. "Thought I'd find you out here." His eyes snapped open.

"Isn't this fraternizing with the enemy?" he asked.

"Shut up Chris. You want a drink?" She held out a bottle of tequila.

"Do you remember what happened last time we had tequila out here?"

"Fine. I won't share," she said sarcastically taking a swig from the bottle. He held out his hand for the bottle and she gave it to him. He took a healthy drink. She slid in next to him and put her head on his shoulder, he slid his arm around her shoulder. "When did it get so hard?"

"What?" he asked.

"All of it. Life, love and otherwise."

"I don't remember it ever being easy." They stood in companionable silence for a few minutes.

"Lorelai?" Emily called from the hallway.

"Damn it. I've gotta go."

"Lore, stay." She shook her head.

"I'll call you next week," she said and she kissed him on the cheek, and headed back into the bedroom. "You should probably come in too." He nodded but didn't move. She gave him a funny look over her shoulder.

"It'll look less suspicious if I don't walk out of the room with you."

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An hour later The Wizard of Oz was over and Chris and Gigi were leaving to head back to Boston. When Christopher had rejoined the men Richard gave him a knowing look and Luke gave him a dark scowl, the brandy was consumed in an awkward conversation about golf. He was very glad when the maid came to tell him that Gigi was looking for him, so that he could finally be on his way home.

Gigi fell asleep before they reached the interstate, and he spent the rest of the drive in silence.

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Christopher Hayden arrived home tired and confused. The night did not go the way he wanted, but he was oddly hopeful for the future.

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It was 4:00 on Friday afternoon and Logan Huntzberger was trying to find his way out of the Seattle Tacoma International Airport. He had called ahead and hired a car, not wanting to try to navigate in a new city on a tight time frame. Eventually, after most of the passengers from his flight got their luggage and left, he found his driver. He climbed into the back seat and told the driver the name of the hotel he needed to get to.

"Are you in town for the speech, sir?" the driver asked.

"Sort of, I'm here to surprise my girl," he said, surprising even himself by referring to her as his girl.

"Very good, I'm sure she'll be very glad to see you."

"I hope so," he said hesitantly remember the last time he had shown up unannounced. Maybe this was a bad idea.

The drive from the airport to downtown was slow and arduous based on traffic and the weather. Even though it was summer, it was pouring down rain. The ride just gave Logan more time to think about how he might be screwing up. Finally he gave in and called for backup.

"Hel- (hic)-o," a drunken man answered the phone.

"Finn! How are you?" Logan asked.

"Hey Mate! I'm grand, found a beautiful redhead tonight."

"Good for you! Can you spare a minute from your redhead for me?"

"Anything for you Mate!" Finn exclaimed, and Logan heard him telling someone, who he assumed was the redhead of the night, to give him a minute. "So, what's going on? Are you in town?"

"No, I'm in Seattle."

"Why the heck are you in Seattle? It rains there!"

"Tell me about it. It's pouring right now. But I'm here because Rory's here," Logan explained.

"You and Reporter Girl put it back together already? Way to go," Finn congratulated his friend.

"Not exactly. I'm going to surprise her."

"Again? But I thought that didn't work out well last time," Finn asked in a confused voice.

"Ugh, I know. But we had a moment last Friday night, and this week we've had a couple of good emails, so I thought I'd try it again." Logan was seriously doubting his choice of actions right now, and the encouragement he was hoping for from Finn was not forthcoming. "Should I just forget it?"

"You flew all the way to Seattle, go see her, but what ever you do don't surprise her again." Logan ran his free hand through his hair, Finn was right, the surprise thing was exactly what caused the problem the last time.

"I hate to say this, but you're right Finn. I better try to get a hold of her."

"Good luck Mate!" Finn said distractedly.

"Enjoy your red head," Logan told him and then he hung up the phone.

"How close are we to the hotel?" Logan asked the driver.

"Probably about 15 minutes away still."

"Thanks." Logan grabbed his phone and sent a text message. R – Dinner tonight? – L (this is the best I can do for notice) Then he sat back to wait for an answer. He really hoped she had her phone nearby so she could answer.

Less than five minutes later his phone buzzed. L – You're in Seattle? This is not the kind of notice I meant. –R He sighed deeply. "Damn!" he muttered to himself. R – Sorry, I got ahead of myself. Forgive me just this once? – L The driver looked at him in the rear view mirror like he was crazy. "Sorry man… I'm trying to work things out with the woman of my dreams and it's just not going the way I want it to," he explained.

"Good luck, sir. I know that goes. It took me quite a while to win over the missus."

Logan's phone buzzed again Since you're here I guess it's okay. Meet me at my hotel at 7:00. He let out a sigh of relief, she was willing to forgive him at least this one time.

"She giving you a chance?" the driver asked.

"You know, I think she might be," Logan said with a smile. He sent her one last text back to confirm. I'll meet you after the speech.

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He stood in the back of the room watching the speech. It was virtually the same speech he'd seen in Sacramento, the same crowd and the same press corp. His Ace was in virtually the same position she was last time; dark suit, bun, writing notes.

When the speech was over he again positioned himself near the door to wait for her, this time knowing she'd have a better reaction.

She came striding toward him, again talking to Peter. He waved at her and she smiled back at him.

"Mary?" a voice rang our across the room. Logan paid no attention until he saw Rory's head snap around to look for the voice. "MARY!" She stopped and turned to the right. Logan started walking towards her.
"Tristan?" Rory said tentatively. Logan looked at the man she was looking at. He was about six feet tall and blond. He approached her and she ran into his open arms, he picked her up and spun her around.

"Hey Mare, what are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I could say the same to you!" she told him.

"Hey Ace! DuGrey?" Logan said when he reached them.

"Logan, hi," Rory was surprised to see him.

"Huntzberger?" Tristan asked at the same time. The two men shook hands.

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Rory asked.

"I could ask the same question," both Logan and Tristan said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. "Jinx!"

"Yeah, well I asked first," Rory told them impatiently.

"Ace, Tristan and I went to boarding school together as kids. Our parents were friends, but they wised up and separated us before high school," Logan explained.

"It's your turn Mary," Tristan said.

"Logan and I went to Yale together," Rory told Tristan.

"You here for Herr Huntzberger Logan?" Tristan asked. Logan just shook his head no. He couldn't believe all she told Tristan was that they went to Yale together.

"So how do you know Tristan Ace?" Logan asked.

"We went to Chilton together until his dad dragged him out to go to military school," she said quickly. "Tristan what are you doing here?" Logan got the feeling there was something she was leaving out. If she left of his relationship with her at Yale it was more than likely that she was leaving out her relationship at Chilton with Tristan. He inadvertently frowned.

"I live here."

"I'm going to need more than that," Rory told him. Logan just stood by and watched.

"I moved to Seattle after I graduated from Princeton. I work for an architecture firm down town," he explained.

"So why are you here at the speech?" Logan asked.

"My minor was in journalism, so I occasionally freelance for the local paper just to piss my old man off. I'm covering this for the local paper."

Logan laughed. "I left HPG and moved to San Francisco to start my own venture." Tristan gave him a high five.

"You guys and pissing off your parents," Rory said with a sigh.

"Not every one has a freakish bond with their parents," Logan told her with a pointed look. Tristan nodded in agreement.

"So Logan, if you're not here for HPG, why are you here?" Tristan asked.

Logan inclined his head toward Rory slightly. "I'm just here for dinner."

"Wow Mare, what do you have on Huntz that would make him fly all this way for dinner?" Tristan asked her.

Logan was pleased to see Rory turn a shade of pink at the implications. "History," she said simply giving Logan a quick glance. "Tristan, do you want to join us for dinner?" she asked.

Tristan looked at Logan and Logan forced his face into an expression of pleasant indifference. If she wanted dinner with Tristan so be it, it would be nice to catch up with an old friend. "Sure, if that's okay with you Huntz."

"Hey, the more the merrier," Logan said casually. "I've got a car outside, want to just ride with us Tristan?" He slung his arm around Rory's shoulder in a casual yet proprietary way.

"I'll meet you guys in the lobby, I just want to drop my notes off in my room first," Rory told them both, shrugging herself out from under Logan's arm.

They both nodded and she dashed off towards the elevator.

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Logan stood in the lobby with Tristan waiting for Rory. It was slightly awkward, even though they'd been friends years ago they hadn't spoken in about 7 years. When Tristan's dad sent him off to military school he lost contact with everyone.

"So how do you really know Rory?" Logan finally asked breaking the silence.

"Like she said, we went to Chilton together," Tristan answered.

"And?"

"I had a massive crush on her and she would hardly give me the time of day. We finally started to get along and my dad yanked me out of school so I never got to see where it could go. How about you, how do you know Rory?"

"We were at Yale together," Logan answered just as Tristan had.

"And?"

"We dated." He really wasn't sure he wanted to get into this. He wasn't really a feelings sort of guy.

"Wow Rory Gilmore, one of the many, I can't imagine it." Logan shook his head. He wasn't really sure why he did it. It would have been easier to let Tristan think that Rory was just another notch on his bedpost, but he couldn't defile the memory of them like that. "Wait a minute, you're telling me that someone actually got Logan Huntzberger to settle down?" shock filled Tristan's voice.

"Almost three years," Logan said quietly.

"Holy shit Huntz. I can't believe it."

Rory entered the lobby, and Logan noticed that she'd let down her hair and traded her classic black pumps for some more funky shoes. "You can't believe what Tristan?" she asked when she reached them.

Logan shook his head quickly. "That he finally got out from under Mitchum's thumb," Tristan said. Logan was grateful that Tristan could think quickly on his feet.

"I know!" Rory started, "I'm really proud of him." She gave Logan a smile and he thought his heart might explode. She was proud of him. He knew that of course, she'd told him so before, but it had been such a long time, he really needed to hear it again. "So where shall we go for dinner? I'm starving."

Logan laughed. "A Gilmore girl hungry? Never!" He gave her a look of fake shock and she smacked his arm. "Tristan why don't you pick, you know the area better than we do."

"No problem, once we get in the car I'll just tell the driver where to go," he obliged.

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They ended up in a local eatery with an eclectic menu. It seemed to Logan that Tristan knew Rory better than he thought. They ordered a round of drinks and appetizers. They discussed the speech for a while and the political climate change that seemed to be coming. Conversation was flowing but formal. The waitress returned to deliver a second round of drinks and take their dinner orders. Logan ordered something he knew Rory would like so they could share.

When dinner arrived Logan watched as Rory eyed all three of the plates on the table.

"Wow, you guys both chose so well. Logan, your pasta looks delicious, and Tristan your steak looks like it's done just right," she said wistfully.

"I'll trade you some of my pasta for some of your chicken Ace," Logan said. She smiled at him gratefully.

"You can have some of my steak too," Tristan added. Rory grinned in delight.
"I think all restaurants should just be family style," she told them both. "It's just not fair to make a person choose only one thing." Logan smiled having heard her thoughts on this before, and Tristan laughed.

"I think you might be on to something Mary."

"Why do you call her Mary?" Logan asked. Rory flushed tomato red sitting next to him.

"Go ahead and tell the damn story," she said. Logan looked at Tristan expectantly.

Tristan smiled fondly at the memories. "There's no great story. When she first started at Chilton she was just so pure and innocent looking. I was a jerk and the Virgin Mary was the first thing I thought of."

Logan practically choked on his water. "The Virgin Mary!" He couldn't help himself, he let out a roaring laugh. He knew exactly how innocent his Ace wasn't.

"You know," Rory said quietly, "that name might not be appropriate anymore. It has been years since we went to Chilton together." She gave both men dirty looks. Logan stifled his laugh and Tristan tried to put on a straight face.

Conversation halted momentarily, then moved on in a stilted three-cornered manner. Rory and Logan talking about things Tristan knew nothing about, Tristan and Rory talking about things Logan knew nothing about and Logan and Tristan talking about things Rory knew nothing about.

"Does your family still have that old suit of armor?" Tristan asked at one point. Logan nodded.

"Henry?" Rory asked.

"You named it?" Tristan asked.

"Nah, Ace named it."

"Well he graced our foyer Logan. He deserved a name!" Rory told him indignantly. She stopped suddenly, and Logan figured she realized she'd told Tristan more about them than she wanted to.

"Why do you ask?" Logan said, trying to cover Rory's discomfort.

"I was just wondering if you remember the time we tried to wear that suit of armor as a Halloween costume?" Tristan asked.

Rory burst out laughing. "You guys tried to wear Henry?"

"Give us a break. Tristan was 9 and I was 11. We thought it would be a brilliant costume."

"Remember how mad Shira was when we crashed him down the stairs." Tristan asked.

Logan chuckled and then began to explain. "Tristan tried him on first, and as doing pretty well walking around upstairs,-"

"And Logan thought he could do it better, and decided he would walk down the stairs in the suit of armor and try to scare Honor," Tristan continued.

"I fell going down the stairs and scuffed up the banister. My mother came running in furious. I was grounded for a month," Logan finished.

All three of them laughed. Logan looked down at his watch and realized the time.

"We should probably get going, I've got a plane to catch in a few hours, you know those darn TSA requirements," Logan said, suddenly bringing everything to a crashing halt.

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Logan and Tristan briefly squabbled over the tab, but in the end Tristan one based on the fact that it was his town and his choice, and assuring Logan if he was ever in San Francisco he could return the favor. The driver took Rory and Tristan back to the hotel, and Logan waited with them while Tristan grabbed a cab to go home. He watched awkwardly as Rory and Tristan exchanged contact information and hugged each other goodbye. He and Tristan also shook hands and traded information as well. They were all silent again until Tristan's cab drove away.

"Well Ace, I guess I should get back to the airport. I'm sorry if my showing up tonight ruined your evening," he said more sharply than he intended. Things had been awkward with them all night. She didn't seem to want Tristan to know their history, just as she didn't want him to know her relationship with Tristan.

"Logan," she started, "I'm glad you came. I wasn't expecting Tristan. I'm sorry if it was awkward. Honestly I hadn't seen him since Chilton," she explained.

"I know. I don't care about that, it was really good to see him. It's just not what I planned for the evening." Logan started back towards the car to head to the airport.

"Logan wait!" She came towards him. He turned and she hugged him, and stood up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Even if it wasn't what you planned, I had a good time. It was good to see you. I'll email you next week."

He nodded and got in the car. He was no closer to winning her back than when he left San Francisco hours before. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the seat as the driver took him back to the airport.

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Logan Huntzberger arrived home tired and confused. The night did not go the way he wanted, but he was oddly hopeful for the future.

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Author's Note: I don't own Gilmore Girls. All credit goes to the rightful creators. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I'd love any feedback you've got.