"Come on Logan! Don't you want to kiss me?" Rory asked him. He leaned in to kiss her and she backed away. "Gotta catch me first, Huntz," she teased as she backed further away. He chased after her, but no matter how fast he ran she was faster. Soon she was so far away he couldn't see the features of her face anymore.

"RORY!" he called out to her.

He bolted upright in his bed, his heart was racing and his breathing labored; it was just a dream. The same dream, or a variation of it, that he'd had every night for the last week. He looked over at the clock on his nightstand, 3:30 in the morning – too early to get up, too late to take something to help him sleep. He sighed deeply and laid back down on the bed. He sat up again, and adjusted his pillows and realigned his top sheet with the down comforter, then he pulled the covers up to his chest and flopped back down.

Ten minutes later he was still laying there, staring at his ceiling. He'd been back in California for a week. He hadn't heard a word from her. He learned from Finn that Luke was out of the hospital and settled in at Lorelai's house in Stars Hollow, he learned from Stephanie that Rory only stayed another few days in Connecticut, and he learned from the internet that she was back on the campaign trail. Her absence was explained in a brief paragraph on her blog citing a family emergency. He didn't really expect to hear from her, but for some reason he couldn't stop himself from being disappointed. The best he could do was cling to the last line in the paragraph about the emergency. I want to thank all of my friends for all of their help and support, and let them know that everything is going to be okay eventually. He assumed the reason she underlined the word 'all' was to let him know that he was included amongst her friends, at least that was what he told himself. He sighed and rolled over onto his stomach – this forced him to close his eyes – and then began to count sheep.

Four hundred and thirty seven sheep later he got out of bed. The sheep weren't helping. He padded into his office and opened his laptop. He opened his email and went straight to the drafts folder.

He was trying to give Rory her time and space, so he refused to contact her. Instead he'd started a running email. Every time he thought of something he wanted to tell her, or something happened that reminded him of her, or he just felt like talking to her, he added it to the email.

July 22- 4:03 AM
This counting sheep thing is crap. I think the only reason it would ever work would be that it bored the counter to sleep. Unfortunately I am not bored to the point of sleep easily. Too many years of Mitchum yelling at me for falling asleep in meetings I guess. (Since I know you'll ask, I got all the way to 437 before I gave up and got out of bed). I had the dream again. (Scroll up a few days, you'll find it). God Rory, I just miss you so much. I know if you were here you'd wake up with me and talk to me until I fell back asleep. But then if you were here I bet I wouldn't be having this damn dream to begin with…

Anyway. How's Luke? Finn told me that he's home with Lorelai, but I bet you have more information on the situation than that. I know things were difficult with your mom and Luke when the accident occurred, and Luke doesn't seem the type to just let something go, even for just a little while… I bet tensions are high in that house. Maybe it's a good thing we're both out of the state of Connecticut for while. (Yes, I know you probably won't be reading this for quite some time… but I still wanted you to know that I'm thinking about your family. Family has always been a big deal to you – and somehow that's rubbed off on me – at least in regards to YOUR family).

Well, since the gym I go to opens at 5 it's officially late enough for me to start being productive… (stop laughing Ace!)

Love, Logan

He clicked the save button, updating the file, and then closed the lid to the laptop. He stood up and returned to his bedroom to throw on some clothes for the gym, and headed out the door.

Logan liked the gym first thing in the morning. It was when the people that actually wanted to work out were there. He tried coming after work, but everyone at the gym that time of night was more interested in having other people see them, and seeing other people, then actually working out. And Logan needed to work out.

He first realized this the week after Colin, Finn, Stephanie and Honor visited; his pants were a little snug. He hadn't gained a lot of weight, but all the nights of eating take out and drinking to excess, without any exercise to counteract it, had gone to his waist.

Now Logan wasn't normally one who worked out in a traditional sense. His preferred method of burning calories was sex. But right now, that was off the table. At Yale, between Rory (and the sex), and constantly being on the go, for Mitchum, for the Life and Death Brigade, or corralling Finn, he'd never had a problem surviving on take out and copious quantities of liquor and still maintaining his weight. Here in California however, all he did was sit. He sat in his office, he sat in his car, and he sat in his apartment. He needed to do something.

One night a few weeks back he decided to take a drive through his neighborhood. That was when he'd spotted the gym. It wasn't one of those ultra fancy 24-hour places, but it was open from 5 am to Midnight, and it had all of the things he wanted. Basketball courts, racquetball courts, weights and treadmills, it even had a pool and a hot tub if he ever felt so inclined. The membership office was having a promotion when he signed up, and he got a yearlong membership for the price of 6 months. He'd been coming every day he'd been in town since.

He pushed the door open and scanned his tag.

"Good morning Mr. Huntzberger," one of the trainers said from behind the counter.

Logan merely nodded and went to the locker room. He stuffed his wallet, watch and keys into a small locker, grabbed his iPod and headed out to the main area. He took the treadmill on the end and hoped no one would take the one next to him. He didn't want to have to make conversation at 5 am.

He was jogging along, listening to The All-American Rejects, when he heard a voice next to him. He couldn't make out the words, but he had a feeling they were meant for him. He ignored them hoping they'd go away.

"Hey," the voice said louder.

Logan turned up the volume on his headphones, and cranked up the speed on the treadmill. He then turned to look at who was talking to him. Yet another blue-eyed brunette had found him. What was it with these girls? Was there a 'likes and dislikes' page out there on the internet for him? Huntzberger, Logan, Age: 25, Status: Potentially available. Likes: Blue-eyed brunettes. Dislikes: None really, but you might have better luck if you fit into the likes category. "Sorry," he huffed at the accelerated speed. He pointed to his earbuds and just kept running. A look of disappointment crossed the girl's face, but instead of leaving, she put in her own headphones and started to run along with him.

The problem with running on a treadmill was that it was stationary. His body didn't wander, so his mind did instead. He thought of going to the Vineyard with Rory, and their trips to the gym there. He'd play basketball with the locals, but he wasn't really sure what she'd do. He assumed since she never broke a sweat, that she people watched and drank cucumber water, but he never knew for sure. He felt the treadmill slowing down beneath him, and looked down to find that his 30-minute run was up. He wiped off the machine with his towel in accordance with proper gym etiquette, and walked over to the drinking fountain.

The girl from the treadmill next to him followed suit. "Hey," she said again when he stood up from the fountain. "I'm Stacy."

He really wanted to say 'I'm busy,' but his society training was far too ingrained to allow that. "I'm Logan," he said instead.

"Do you think you could spot me on the bench press?" she asked as she batted her eyelashes.

"Sorry, I uh," he stalled trying to think of an excuse. Should he say he had to leave? Or that he was waiting to play racquetball? Or… "I'm biking next this morning. Training for a triathlon." Where the heck did that come from he wondered.

"Oh, okay," she said with a chipper smile. "Maybe next time. It was nice to meet you Logan."

"You too," he said as he made his way to the exercise bikes. He hated bikes, unless they were motorcycles. Stationary bikes were the worst form of torture he could imagine. No matter how hard you worked you didn't go anywhere, and the seats were painful after two minutes. He looked up to find the brunette still watching him. Dammit, that meant he had to ride the stupid bike, at least for a little while. He climbed on the bike and set the timer for 10 minutes. He could do anything for ten minutes.

Ten minutes later his ass was sore and he gratefully climbed off the bike. Before the brunette could find him again he darted into the locker room to collect his stuff. Then he headed straight out the door. He needed to get home and shower before heading to work.

Logan sat down at his computer as he toweled his hair dry. He opened his email once again, went straight to his drafts folder.

July 22 – 6:43 AM
What did you do all those times we went to the gym in Martha's Vineyard? - L

He saved again, and shut down his computer. He got up and went back to the bathroom to artfully style his hair for the day.

The office was busy enough to keep Logan focused on work all day. He'd gotten a little behind with his impromptu trip to Connecticut last week, but he was almost all caught up now. He heard a knock at his door which made his head pop up. "Come in," he called.

"Hey Huntz," his partner Jacob said from the door. "You want to get dinner with Michael and I tonight?" Michael was the third partner in the business.

"Is there a problem?" Logan asked, his voice filled with concern.

"No, none at all. I just thought it might be nice if the three of us could catch up."

"Sure, that'd be fine I guess," Logan told him.

"Great, we'll leave in about an hour," Jacob said as he backed out of the door.

Logan looked at his watch, surprised to find it was 4:30 already. He logged into his personal email account to check his mail, hoping for something from Rory. Instead he found something from Finn. He clicked on the message.

To: Huntz
From: Finn
Re: Don't shoot the messenger
Hey Mate,
Just got off the phone with RG, she says to tell you 'Don't forget, I'm still working on it.' Care to tell Finny just what that means? I asked her, feeling, as the messenger boy, I should at least get to understand the message, but she just told me to ask you. So, will you tell me?
Also, I'm thinking we should visit you again before summer is over. Finn needs to go to the beach and Colin, well he just needs a little time to remove the stick from his arse.
-Finn

Logan smiled as he read Finn's message. First, Rory was thinking about him. Him and their situation even! Second, she'd been bold enough to go through Finn, and everyone knew Finn couldn't keep a secret. And third, his friends wanted to visit him again, and with proper planning he could actually enjoy their trip this time. He hit the reply button and dashed of a quick message to Finn telling him that he wouldn't decode Rory's message and that they should totally plan a visit. Then he went back to his drafts folder.

July 22 – 4:52 PM
Got your message via Finn, glad to know you're thinking about me. And us. I hope you find an answer soon. I'm about to head off to a boring business dinner, and I really wish you were here as an excuse not to go. Or at least maybe if you were here I could drag you along and it wouldn't be so boring.

Logan stared at the screen for a while, trying to decide if he wanted to add anything else to the Rory List before closing it again. He must have gotten lost in thought, because he didn't notice the time passing until he heard Jacob and Michael in the doorway.

"You ready to go Logan?" Michael asked.

"Yeah," he said as he looked up. "Give me two seconds to save this and shut down my computer and I'll be right out."

His partners nodded and began making conversation amongst themselves. He saved the draft, shut down his computer, and stood up to pull his suit jacket on. "Alright, lets go get some sushi!" he said. He gave one last lingering glance to his computer, and silently hoped that Rory would get it figured out soon.

Logan Huntzberger hated to wait. He knew the ball was no longer in his court, and all he could do was wait, but he really hoped that Rory didn't make him wait too long.

Christopher Hayden laid in bed staring at his ceiling. It was almost 6:00 am and his alarm was due to go off any minute. It had been a week since Luke was checked out of the hospital and Rory headed back to the campaign trail. Christopher hadn't heard a word from Lorelai since the day Luke woke up. He knew from Rory that Lorelai was taking Luke to her house to take care of him, at least for a few days. The broken arm wasn't hard to manage alone, but with the head trauma the doctor apparently wanted someone close by just in case. Rory said that April was staying in town, but a teenager wasn't considered responsible enough to be a caretaker. He wondered how Lorelai was managing the intrusion, and if this was going to be the event that finally got Luke over his aversion to Lorelai and April spending time together.

'I lost myself in a familiar song, I closed my eyes and I slipped away…' The radio came blaring on in the middle of a song. He usually loved this song, but this morning it was just too painful. He reached over and slapped the off button on the clock and climbed out of bed.

He padded into the master bathroom and turned on the shower. He examined himself in the mirror while the water heated up. His eyes were bloodshot, not from drinking, but from lack of sleep. He'd spent every night since he last talked to Lorelai tossing and turning in his bed. Wondering if the last time they spoke would be the last time they ever spoke. He knew Lorelai needed to figure this whole mess out on her own, but he couldn't help wanting to point her in his direction.

Assuming his shower was finally hot, he abandoned the mirror and climbed into the shower. Twenty minutes later he was feeling as refreshed as he was going to get, as he stepped out of the shower to go get dressed. After he was dressed, well shirt and pants, the jacket and tie would wait until he was on his way out the door, he went to go wake Gigi.

"Gigi, honey, it's time to get up," he told her as he slightly shook her tiny arm.

"Ungh," she groaned softly and pulled at her covers.

"You remember what you're doing today?" he asked.

The five year olds eyes popped open. "Summer camp!" she said, suddenly wide awake.

"That's right!" Gigi flung herself out of bed and headed towards the clothes that Molly had laid out for her the day before. Christopher smiled as he watched her, she was so excited to go to day camp. He wondered if all kids loved camp.

Summer 1976

"Christopher, hurry up!" his mother called. "We have to go pick up Lorelai! You don't want to be late for camp do you?"

He raced down the hall in his shorts, tennis shoes, and Camp Woodbridge tee shirt. "I'm ready!" he yelled. He tucked his pocketknife into his pocket and hoped his mother wouldn't find it. She would completely freak out if she found a pocketknife, he could almost hear the lecture in his head.

"No running in the house!" Francine told him. He slowed to a walk, and headed towards the garage to climb into the car. He waited a full minute before his mother finally climbed in a started the engine. The ride to the Gilmore's was completely silent until they pulled into the driveway. "You can go get Lorelai," his mother told him as if she was doing him a favor.

He jumped out of the car and ran to the front door, eagerly ringing the bell three times in quick succession.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He could hear Mrs. Gilmore as she approached. "Lorelai, the Hayden's are here to take you to camp."

"Good morning Mrs. Gilmore," Christopher said politely when she opened the door. Lorelai came out of nowhere screeching to a halt beside him.

"Bye Mom!" she said. She was also in shorts and tennis shoes, but her Camp Woodbridge shirt was pink instead of blue like his.

"Be good today, Lorelai," her mother warned. "I'll see you kids at 4:30 to pick you up." They both nodded at her.

"What do you think we'll do today?" Lorelai asked him on their walk to the car.

"I don't know, but I hope it's something cool!" he said in return.

"Anything's better than here," Lorelai told him with a smile.

"No shit, Sherlock," he retorted with a grin of his own.

"I'm telling," she threatened and then dashed towards the car.

"Lore…" he whined as he chased her.

"I'm all ready Daddy!" Gigi told him, bringing him back to the present.

"Alright then, lets go down stairs and get some breakfast!" As Gigi raced towards the kitchen he thought about summer camp again. He couldn't remember any special activity they'd done, all he could remember was how much he loved getting away from his Mom during the summer. Things were different for him, and Lorelai, both of them grew up with mothers that didn't work. Even with all the charity functions they still were around far too often. He hoped Gigi wasn't as excited to be away from him as he had been to be away from his mother.

He dropped Gigi off at camp reminding her that Molly would pick her up, then headed off to work.

For the past few days focusing at work had been all but impossible. He couldn't get Lorelai out of his head. He was tempted to call her just to have some sense of… closure, or… hope, or… anything. He picked up his cell phone and began to scroll through his phone book, he got halfway down the list when an incoming call disrupted his progress.

"Hey Kid," he answered, knowing it was Rory.

"Hey Dad."

"Where are you today?" he asked.

"Uhh… Pennsylvania I think," she told him.

"Cool!" he said. "Did you like summer camp as a kid?"

"That's kind of random."

"Sorry, I just dropped Gigi off at camp this morning and she was so excited. Since I wasn't there to take you to camp as a kid, I just wondered if you were excited for it too," he explained.

"I never went to camp as a kid, Mom couldn't afford to send me," she responded quietly.

"Crap, I'm sorry Ror," he apologized, knowing that it was most likely his fault that she missed out on camp.

"Don't be Dad. Mom and I had a great time during summer. She told me the best part of summer camp was the campfire, so we made s'mores for dessert all summer long."

"Leave it to your mother to only remember the food," Christopher said with a laugh.

"She remembered more than the food. Something about you and a water balloon fight, sports, and making cheesy crafts. But the only part she liked enough to make me repeat were the s'mores." He could hear that she had a smile in her voice.

"So, how is your mom?" he asked, wondering if she'd answer him.

"Luke gets to go back to his own place today, so I think she's feeling a little relieved," Rory told him tentatively.

"Oh?" Christopher said encouraging her to continue.

"Well, Luke isn't exactly the type to let anyone take care of him. And then to have April there too, trying to take care of Luke, I think she just feels a little out of place. Which is hard in your own house, you know?"

"Of course."

"So she hasn't called you?" Rory asked.

"No. I was thinking I'd-" he started, but Rory cut him off.

"Don't call her Dad. She's got to figure this one out on her own."

Christopher sighed, wondering when his daughter had figured out how he still felt about her mother, and knowing she was right. "So how are things going with Logan?" he asked attempting to change the subject.

"I'm working on it," she told him. "And Logan is giving me the time and space to do it," she added pointedly.

"I'm glad Kid."

"Dad," she started again.

"I know, Ror. It's just…" he trailed off trying to think of the right word.

"Hard?" she supplied.

"Exactly."

"If it wasn't hard, it wouldn't be love," she told him.

"When did you get so smart?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"Yale. You know, brick buildings, lots of books..."

"Astronomical tuition," he added.

"That's the place. Well, it looks the like the bus is stopping, so I've got to go."

"Alright. Thanks for calling Rory. I love you," he reminded her.

"I love you too Dad."

He smiled, flipped his phone shut, and set it down on his desk. He looked over at his computer screen and began to read the spreadsheet in front of him. He really needed to focus and get his head back in the game. A few seconds later his phone buzzed with a text message, don't call Mom was all it said. I got the message Kid he texted back, then turned his attention back to work.

Christopher some how managed to get through the rest of his day without thinking about Lorelai. He even managed to be productive and catch up on the work that he'd missed while he was in his Lorelai induced stupor the past week or so. It was 5:00, so he shut off his monitor and grabbed his jacket, eager to get home and see how Gigi's day at camp was.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he called to his assistant.

"Have a good night," she said in return.

He exited his office and started for his car, only to find some one leaned up against the car. From where he was, he couldn't tell who it was. He quickened his pace to reach his car faster.

"Hey stranger, I brought you a cup of coffee," Lorelai said. He stopped in his tracks to take in the picture. Lorelai in jeans and a tank top, leaned against his BMW, holding two cups of coffee. He blinked twice to make sure she was really there.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice cracking in surprise.

"Well it's nice to see you too," she said snidely. "If you don't want your coffee…" She raised the take out cup to her lips.

"No! I want the coffee," he said, reaching for the cup.

"Too bad. I was waiting for such a long time that I drank them both."

"No you didn't." She handed him both cups. One was empty, the other was almost empty. "You did! Then why the heck did you say you brought me coffee?"

"That was my original intention."

"So back to my original question, what are you doing here Lorelai?"

"Just thought I'd come by and say hi. Say thanks for all of your help last week." She shrugged.

He knew her better than that. Something else was going on. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said challenging him not to believe her.

"Okay. Well you're welcome I guess. Thanks for coming?" he said hesitantly.

She turned on her heel and headed back towards her Jeep.

"You drove an hour and a half just to say thank you?" he called after her.

"Yep!" she called back over her shoulder.

"Aren't you at least going to buy me a cup of coffee to make up for the one you bought me but drank yourself?"

She stopped and turned around. "I suppose," she said, like he twisted her arm. She started walking back towards his car.

He beeped the car unlocked, and they both climbed in. "So, where to?" he asked, knowing she would know exactly where to go for the good coffee.

"There's a little independent shop a couple blocks over, called Café Caffeine," she instructed.

"I know where it is," he said as he guided the car on to the busy streets.

"So how's Gigi?" she asked. He suspected she was trying to keep the topic of conversation off herself.

"She's great. Enjoying summer day camp this week," he answered.

"God I used to love summer camp," Lorelai told him reminiscently.

"Anything to get away from Emily and Francine for a while," Christopher chimed in.

"What was the name of that camp they used to send us to when we were little?" she asked.

"Camp Woodbridge."

"How do you remember that?"

"I was thinking about it this morning when Gigi was getting ready to go, and how much I loved summer camp."

"Remember the water balloon fights?" she asked him.

"I'm surprised they let us come back to camp after that first summer."

"I think our parents had to pay extra the second summer."

"Really?" he asked incredulously.

"Probably. We were little hellions," she reminded him. They both laughed at the memory.

He pulled the car into the café's parking lot and switched off the ignition. He turned in his seat and faced Lorelai.

"Why are you really here Lore?" he asked quietly and seriously.

"I don't know," she whispered back.

He sat back in his seat and began to wait for her answer.

Christopher Hayden hated to wait. He knew the ball was no longer in his court, and all he could do was wait, but he really hoped that Lorelai didn't make him wait too long.

AN: Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it. I don't own Gilmore Girls, Matt Czuchry or David Sutcliffe. I do however own a copy of I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, which stars Matt Czuchry.

I also don't own Boston's More Than A Feeling (which is the song Christopher wakes up to). I completely made up Camp Woodbridge and any and all stories about Lorelai and Christopher going to camp as children. I also made up Café Caffeine, but don't you think that's a good name for a coffee shop?

Please read and review – I look forward to hearing what you all think!

Thanks for reading - S