Last time on Winning Back the Gilmore Girls:

"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.

They'd been sitting in his car in silence for the last five minutes, him staring at her, refusing to be the one to break the silence, and her looking around the car desperately searching for an answer to his question.

"Just forget it," Lorelai finally said stubbornly. "Now do you want me to buy you that cup of coffee or not?"

Christopher had known Lorelai Gilmore long enough to know that she wouldn't talk until she was ready, and no amount of begging, bribing or bullying would speed up the process. "Sure," he acquiesced. "I could use a cup of coffee."

"Good, because even if you didn't want one I was going to make you wait while I went in and got one for myself," she said in her usual sassy manner.

"You know I would never deprive a Gilmore Girl of coffee."

"I know." She opened her door and stepped out of the car so quickly, Christopher didn't have time to question the telltale brightness he saw in her eyes.

He got out of the car and locked the doors, then followed her across the parking lot and into Café Caffeine.

The café was dimly lit, and surprising cool for the middle of summer. Lorelai had found her way to the end of the coffee line and Christopher joined her as he looked around for a private corner for them to enjoy their coffee in.

"What do you want to drink?" she asked.

"Just get me one of whatever looks good to you," he said, flattering her inner coffee snob. "Shall I go snag a table, or are we taking the drinks to go?"

She pulled her mobile from her pocket and checked the time, then pondered his question for a moment. "We can get a table," she finally agreed.

"I'll go find one." She nodded and he wandered off in the direction of the empty table that offered them the most privacy. While Lorelai didn't talk until she was ready, when she was ready it was all coming out whether the other person was ready for it or not.

He found recently vacated corner table with a pair of comfy chairs and settled himself into one of them. While he waited for Lorelai and the coffee he thought back on the first time he experienced her need to talk about things on her own time.

October 1983

It was 8:00 am on a school day, and Christopher was putting his books into his locker when he felt a pair of cool soft hands slip over his eyes and a feminine body press into his back.

"Guess who," a familiar voice cooed in his ear.

"Hey Lore," he said automatically, pulling her hands down and kissing the inside of her wrists.

"I'm not Lorelai," the voice said in a soft but irritated tone.

He spun around to see Sally-Ann Johnson staring at him with a hurt look in her eyes, and Lorelai standing 20 feet away from him in the other direction, having just witnessed the whole scene, but not being close enough to hear his words.

Before he could say anymore Lorelai spun on her heel and walked away.

"Lorelai! Wait!" he called as he started after her.

"Christopher!" Sally-Ann cooed, pulling on his arm.

"Not now Sally-Ann," he said harshly. He slammed his locker door and literally ran after Lorelai.

He finally caught up with her heading into the library. "Lorelai!"

"What?" she said coolly as she turned to look at him.

"About earlier," he started.

She held up her hand, "I don't want to talk about it Christopher."

"But-"

"Not right now," she told him, then she turned and walked a few feet down the hall to enter the Ladies Room. Knowing he couldn't follow her, he sighed deeply and headed back to his locker, just in time to hear the bell ring indicating that first period would be starting in five minutes. He grabbed his books, slammed his locker door again, and headed into his geometry class.

Lorelai walked into class two minutes late, presented Mr. Morrison with a tardy slip and walked purposefully towards her seat, which was directly behind him.

"Hey," he mouthed as she passed him. She merely gave him her best fake society smile and walked on by, sliding into her seat behind him with out a word.

He tried several times to get her to talk to him over the course of the hour, but the notes he slipped onto her desk went unanswered.

The bell rang, and before he could say a word to her, she slipped past him and stopped to ask Mr. Morrison a question.

He merely sighed and walked out the door, knowing she would continue her conversation with Mr. Morrison as long as it took for him to leave.

Three hours later, despite several attempts, he still hadn't been able to talk to her. By afternoon history, he'd all but given up.

"Okay class, take out a sheet of paper, it's time for a pop quiz," Ms. Parks announced. Christopher rolled his eyes and ripped a sheet of paper out of his notebook.

"Christopher," Lorelai hissed from behind him.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"What were you doing with Sally-Ann Johnson this morning?"

"It was… do we have to do this right now? There's a pop quiz going on!"

"Yes we have to do it now!" she whispered in a voice that he could tell she wished was a scream.

"Ugh! Fine… I thought it-"

"Mr. Hayden, Ms. Gilmore, no talking, I'm giving a quiz!" Ms. Parks said loudly. "Now either be quiet and take the quiz, or take a zero on the quiz and go have your conversation in the hall!"

Lorelai slammed her pencil on her desk, grabbed her bag and stormed out the door, giving him a look that gave him no choice but to follow her. He exhaled sharply and followed her lead.

"Here's your coffee," Lorelai said, her voice bringing him out of the past.

"Thanks," he replied, pulling the cup to his mouth to hide his smile. But he was not as quick as he thought.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Just had a random memory is all."

"More summer camp?" she asked with a grin.

"Yep!" he lied, not wanting to divulge his actual thoughts. "So how's the Inn?"

"It's good. Busy. I feel bad being gone so much lately, but luckily Sookie and Michel can handle it."

"Sookie burn anything down lately?"

"Ha ha!" she said tartly. "She did accidentally flambé her bangs though," Lorelai admitted with a genuine laugh.

"Poor Sookie, her health insurance premiums must be insane."

"I know, they really are."

The conversation dried up, and they both looked into their coffee cups awkwardly.

"So how's work going for you?" Lorelai finally asked a minute later.

"Really busy, but not unmanageable."

"Good I'm glad."

Silence again reigned over the table.

"Lorelai," Christopher started.

"This place has really good coffee. Do you like yours?" she blurted out.

"Yeah, it's good. Thanks again for the coffee." He took a demonstrative sip and smiled in appreciation.

"Luke and I done." The words came out of her mouth without any warning.

"Excuse me?"

"I… I couldn't do it."

"Couldn't do what?" Christopher asked, confused.

"I couldn't be the person he wanted me to be." She paused for a moment. "I tried Chris, I tried so hard. But the more I tried to be the person he wanted me to be the less I liked… everything. You know what I mean?"

"I'm sorry Lore," he said sympathetically. "I thought things were going okay for you guys."

She shook her head. "This last week has been the week from Hell. Having Luke and April both living in my house made me feel unwelcome there!"

"Well Luke's just been injured, he's probably having just as rough of a time," Christopher said, unsure of why he was defending Luke.

"Yeah," she grumbled. "I gave him the benefit of the doubt for the first couple days, but it never got any better. Any word I said to April had him giving me death glares!"

"I'm sorry."

"God Chris, how can he not know me better than that? I would never try to take his place, or intrude on his relationship with April!" she exclaimed exasperatedly. The tears welled up in her eyes and Chris slid his chair closer to her to put his arm around her.

"I don't know Lore. I honestly don't know. You're one of the best people I know, and you don't have a mean bone in your body. A malicious one maybe…" he teased.

She gave him a dirty look.

"But hey, you only use that one on your mother!" he added.

She shot him a watery smile, then used his suit jacket as a hanky, wiping her tears on his lapel. "Thanks Chris."

"Any time."

"Why can't he know me as well as you do?" she asked in a whisper.

"I don't know," he said again, murmuring soothingly into her hair.

"Am I ever going to figure this love stuff out?" she asked into his chest in a pathetic voice.

"No clue. But if you do, could you let me know? I'd like to figure it out as well," he responded, wrapping both arms around her for a hug. She chuckled against him. "Are you ready to get out of here?"

"Yes," she answered pushing herself away from him. She scrubbed at her tearstained eyes. "I am such a girl."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he retorted with a wink. They stood up from their table and he draped his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the building.

The short ride back to his office was quiet, but in a companionable manner. He pulled his BMW into the spot next to her Jeep and put the car into park.

"Thanks again, Christopher. I don't know what I'd do with out you."

"Well hopefully you'll never have to find out." She leaned over the console to hug him, so he met her half way. "Call me if you need anything."

She nodded into him, still hugging him tightly. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was crying again, so he began to gently rub her back.

"It'll be okay Lore," he reassured her.

She pulled her head back slightly. "I know." Then she leaned in again and kissed him on the lips.

Out of habit he kissed her back, for about two seconds. When he realized what he was doing he stopped and backed up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Lore," he started.

"I thought… you still… loved me," she got out in a halted sentence.

"I do," he said instantly. "But, I can't be the rebound guy again."

"I understand," she said in a tone that sounded like she did not in fact understand at all.

"No, you don't. I love you Lorelai Gilmore. I've always loved you. I will always love you. But this, 'us', it won't work right now. You need some time. I need some time."

She nodded. "I understand," she said again, but this time it sounded more convincing. She quickly got out of his car and into her own, starting the engine and zooming out of the parking lot before he could even put himself back together to drive home.

Christopher Hayden was on the verge of getting exactly what he wanted, but he knew that one wrong step would screw it all up again, and this time, for good.

Another week had passed in San Francisco, and Logan still hadn't heard from Rory. The Rory email he kept in his draft folder was getting progressively longer, but he was holding strong and hadn't sent it to her yet. He was still giving her space.

It was Thursday afternoon, and he was in his office, absentmindedly spinning a pen on his fingers. His phone rang and he answered it on the first ring. "Huntzberger," he barked.

"McCrae," the voice on the other end barked back.

"Hey Col, how are you?"

"Good, Huntz. How are you? Any word from Gilmore yet?"

"I'm… okay. And no, no word from Rory, but it's so nice of you to ask," Logan replied sarcastically.

"Touchy."

"So what's going on Colin?"

"Wanted to confirm the dates of our trip with you. Can we still stay at your place?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Great. We'll be there next week on Thursday, through the following Sunday."

"Wow Col, you're taking an entire week off? Are you okay?"

"Shut up Huntz."

Logan chuckled. "How's everything else? How's Steph? And work?"

"It's going okay. The old man is keeping me busy. Steph is pissed at you."

"What? Why is Steph pissed at me?" Logan asked.

"Dude. When's the last time you talked to her?" Colin asked in return.

"Dunno. A couple weeks I guess," he answered honestly.

"Exactly. She feels like you only call her when you need something. Like say, information on certain brunette reporter."

"Shit!" Logan exclaimed. "I'm such a jerk. I'll call her as soon as we hang up."

"That's probably a good idea," Colin confirmed. "But whatever you do, don't invite her to San Fran with us. Finn and I need a boys weekend."

"You need a boys weekend?" Logan repeated suspiciously.

"Yes," he said tersely. Logan decided it was best just to leave it alone for the time being, he was sure whatever was bugging Colin would come out eventually.

"Okay. Well you guys are all set for your visit. Do you need anything else?"

"Nope. See you next week," Colin said.

"Bye man."

"Bye." Logan heard the click of the disconnect, waited about 30 seconds, then scrolled through his contacts to find Stephanie's number.

The phone rang three times, then an exasperated voice answered. "Hello."

"Hey Steph, how are you?" he asked instantly.

"I'm fine Logan. What do you need?" she asked, still sounding annoyed.

"I'm just calling to chat."

"Really?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah. I realized I hadn't talked to you in a while and thought I'd call and say hi, see how things are going in your life. You know, catch up a bit."

"Okay," she said, still suspicious.

"So what's new? How's work?"

"Work's not bad. Keeping me busy and I actually enjoy it. Who knew I could turn shopping for other people into a job?"

"That's great Steph. So how are things going with Colin? Still in a hate him phase?" he asked with a laugh.

"I think we might be permanently in a 'hate him' phase," she said sadly.

"Oh Steph, I'm sorry. That really sucks, can I help?"

"Can you remove the stick from his ass?" she asked jokingly.

"Maybe."

"Seriously, I don't know what you can do. He's turned into a Katy Perry song!"

"He kissed a girl and he liked it?"

"No, dork. He's Hot N' Cold," she told him.

"I'm sorry. I know how that feels."

"Colin's Hot N' Cold with you too?" she asked trying to lighten the mood.

"No. I wish. Rory."

"I was wondering when you'd get around her," Stephanie said in a tone that told him he'd just confirmed all her suspicions.

"That's not why I called Steph. Sheesh." He ran his free hand through his hair in frustration. "I think I better go."

"Logan, wait," she started, "I'm sorry-"

He cut her off. "I know I've been calling you about Rory a lot lately. But I'm trying to be better about it and you won't even give me a chance!"

"You're right. I'm sorry," she said again. "So what do you want to talk about, instead of Rory or Colin?"

"Why don't you tell me about some of your crazy customers? I know you have them."

She laughed, "That I do." Then she launched into a story, about an older woman and hot pants.

Thirty minutes later Logan hung up the phone with a slight stomach ache from all the laughing, and feeling more secure in his relationship with Stephanie than he had in a while.

He glanced at his watch, and realized it was almost 5:00, he decided he'd check his email and make a quick addition to the Rory email before heading home for the night. He logged in and opened the most recent draft.

4:48 pm

Apparently I'm a bad friend and it's your fault. Stephanie's gotten to the point that when I call she's suspicious about my motives until I ask about you. When did I become this guy? I know, you're laughing, I can hear you in my head telling me 'Logan, you've always been self-centered' but seriously, I used to be more attuned to what was happening in my friends' lives. I hope you make a decision soon, I miss you, and honestly I miss having room in my mind to think of things other than you. (Not that I don't love having you occupy my mind, but I miss having it be in a happier manner.)

He re-read what he'd just written and thought about erasing it, but the email icon in the bottom of the screen flashed and he got distracted immediately. He clicked the icon and it took him to the new message.

To: Logan Huntzberger
From: Rory Gilmore
Re: Your father says 'Hi.'

Hey Logan,

Yep, you read that email title right. Your father says hi. You'd think after all these years, I wouldn't still hate your father, but surprise, I do.

What happened you ask?
Time: This morning at approximately 8:00 am
Place: New York City
More specific place: The Obama Press Corps weekly meeting, some random hotel conference room.

So I walk into the room a few minutes before the meeting starts, grab a fresh cup of coffee, and find a seat in the front near the door. (You know, my usual routine.) The room is half full, and there are more reporters streaming in, and everyone is a-buzz about something. As I'm sipping my coffee I finally overhear someone – apparently since several of the press corps writers are from HPG publications, it was decided that Mitchum would come in and give a lecture about news reporting. I swear Logan, I felt like someone had sucked the air out of me. No one here knows anything about me. They don't know about you, they don't know about my family, they know I went to Yale and that's about it. I decide the best course of action is to just keep my head down and hope that your dad doesn't see me.

Ha! (I know, you're already laughing) Of course, Mitchum comes in one minute before he's supposed to start lecturing and heads straight for me.

M: Hello Rory. Fancy meeting you here.
R: Hi Mitchum. How are you? (I know, I probably should have called him Mr. Huntzberger, but I just couldn't work myself up to giving him that respect, not at 8:00 in the morning and with only two cups of crappy hotel coffee in my system.)
M: I'm well. Busy. Who are you here with?
R: I'm here for Hugo Black.
M: Oh that's right. You met him through Logan didn't you? And speaking of, have you talked to my son lately?
R: Logan introduced us, but I got the job all on my own. (I know, I shouldn't have let him bait me, but I couldn't help it. Again I plead lack of coffee.) And I saw Logan when he was in Hartford a couple weeks ago, but I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him since. (Yes, I know it was catty of me, but I was betting on you coming in and out town without telling him you were there.)
M: Logan was in Hartford? (Score one for me!)
R: (insert noncommittal affirmative noise of your choice here)
M: (insert disgruntled scowl here)
R: It was a quick impromptu trip, I'm sure he would have called if he'd had time. (Yes, the guilty conscious kicked in, and I didn't want to further injure your relationship with your parents.)
M: * snort * Well if you talk to him again, tell him I say hello and ask him to call his mother.
R: Of course.
M: And send my regards to Richard and Emily as well. I'm sure I'll see you in a few weeks at the anniversary party.
R: (nods)

Then the press corps wrangler came over and interrupted us to tell Mitchum that it was time to start his lecture. I looked around, and every reporter in the place was staring at me. I have to listen to your father prattle on, with a lecture that I've heard him give before even, all the while feeling the eyes of everyone in the place burning holes in the back of my head. THEN, he went on to use me as an example for something.

Needless to say, all of the other reporters now hate me, because they think I'm a pet of Mitchum's even though I don't work for him!!! The only time any of them have spoken to me all day is to try to dig around in my life. Oh and a couple of the girls have assumed that we dated (I neither confirmed nor denied), and have asked me how you were in bed. Don't worry, I gave them a rave review in my best sarcastic tone. (Fine everything I said was true, but they don't need to know that!)

This tour is going to get awfully uncomfortable for me until the next big scandal comes along! I really, really, hate your dad.

Okay – end rant.

How are you? I've been thinking about… well, everything, and while I haven't figured it all out yet, I can tell you with absolute certainty that I miss you, and that I can't wait to see you at the anniversary party. I promise I'll try to have it all sorted out by then, if not sooner.

I hope all is well with you. Don't forget to call your mother. =)

Love,

Rory

Logan sat back in his chair and pressed the palms of his hands into his eye sockets. He and Rory had broken up, why couldn't his dad just leave her alone? He knew that his dad was trying to provoke her, or hurt her, and he knew it was just for sport. He picked up his phone to call his father and ream him out, but stopped short of dialing the last digit, knowing that no good would come from the call. He really wanted to send Rory a long missive back apologizing for his father's behavior, even though she knew it wasn't his fault. He hit reply, started typing his greeting, then decided he couldn't do it spur of the moment from his office. If he said the wrong thing, it wouldn't make her feel better. This was going to require careful consideration.

He glanced at his watch again, and found that it was a few minutes after 5:00, so he logged out of his email account and flicked off his monitor. He grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door, heading home to deal with things from there.

Logan Huntzberger was on the verge of getting exactly what he wanted, but he knew that one wrong step would screw it all up again, and this time, for good.

AN: Sorry it's taken so long for an update. School has been kinda hectic, and frankly my muse has been taking me in other places.

I don't own the show. I don't own the Katy Perry songs mentioned, BMW or Jeep either.

Anyhow – I hope you like it. Please read and review.

S