Rush hour made Logan Huntzberger's commute even longer than normal. He had nothing else to do but sit in traffic alternating between thinking about what to say to Rory and how nice it would feel to tell his father off. By the time he finally arrived home he'd mentally drafted three emails to Rory, none of which were exactly what he wanted to say, and had five imaginary phone conversations with his father, ranging how it would probably go (him yelling, his father yelling, him getting so mad he couldn't speak and his father getting the last word), to how he wished it would go (him thundering away like Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men and his father apologizing profusely).

He pulled into his driveway, shut off the car, pulled his briefcase off the front seat and headed into his house. He paused like he did most every day when he walked in the door, fighting the urge to call out 'Honey, I'm home!' to no one, and set his briefcase down in the entryway. He went straight into the kitchen, bee-lining towards the fridge. Of course, it was empty except a few bottles of beer and some take out boxes that were likely growing mold. He slammed the door shut and kicked it for good measure, annoyed at his own life.

Heading into the living room, he paused to pour himself a scotch and hit speed dial two on his home phone. Two rings and a weary voice answered "Gianni's Pizza, will this be for delivery or carry out."

"Delivery please," Logan answered.

"Okay, is this Mr. Huntzberger?"

"Yes it is," he replied, still not able to get used to the local pizza joint having caller id.

"Are you still on Nickerson Street?"

"Yes, I am."

"Last time you had a large Vegetarian Supreme, would you like the same thing this time?" the girl asked. It must have been quite some time since he ordered pizza, he ordered vegetarian pizza for the first month or so after he and Rory split, when all things overly meaty reminded him too much of her.

"No, I think I'll get what ever you have that's like a meat lovers, and an order of breadsticks."

"Alright, that would be the Artery Clogger. Anything else?"

"It's called the Artery Clogger?" he asked curiously. Rory would love that, he thought with a smile.

"Yes sir."

"Just those two will be enough," he said responding to her earlier question.

"Okay, you've got a large Artery Clogger and an order of breadsticks. Your total will be $25.07. That'll be out to you in about 30 minutes. Would you just like us to charge the same credit card as last time?"

"Uh sure," he answered, again a little disconcerted that the pizza place had his credit card info on file.

"We just need to confirm the last four digits on the card and you're all done."

Logan fumbled around in his pocket for a moment before coming up with his wallet, "It's 2-9-5-6," he recited when he had the card in hand.

"Perfect. Your food will arrive shortly. Thank you for calling Gianni's Pizza. Have a nice day."

He heard the phone click before he could even say 'you too.'

As Logan waited for his dinner to arrive, he went into his office to snag his laptop and start replying to Rory. He grabbed it off the desk and headed back to the living room. He returned to Rory's email and reread it, looking for clues as to what he should say aside from 'I'm sorry about my dad.' He hit reply and started typing, hoping inspiration would hit while his fingers moved.

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

Rory,

I am SO sorry. I'm sorry my dad stopped to talk to you, I'm sorry your coworkers now have bad thoughts about you, and I'm sorry you have to deal with all of it. But, I am glad that you're still thinking about me, and us, in a positive light, despite interruptions from my father. That's progress, right?

Everything is moving along out here. Colin and Finn are coming out next week for a guys visit (so don't say anything to Steph if you talk to her, I think she and Colin are having one of their loathe each other phases), and work is keeping me busy.

Let's see, what else is going on… oh, the local pizza joint has a meat lover's pizza called the Artery Clogger, (I thought you'd get a kick out of that). I finally finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo; it was pretty good for a translation. Oh yeah, and I met your Californian doppelganger, she delivers Indian food.

He paused, not sure what else to say. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her, and how he found what he knew would be the coffee shop if she ever moved out here, but then he decided it would be too much.

Thanks for trying not to further injure my relationship with my parents, but I think I demolished it all by myself when I left HPG. So if you see my dad again, you can tell him you passed along the message, but I'm not calling my mother.

He stared at his last paragraph, and wondered if he should delete it. He wanted everything to be light and happy with Rory right now, he didn't want to burden her with his parental issues.

Logan again considered calling Mitchum to tell him to leave Rory alone, but he'd been successfully dodging his father's calls since he quit HPG, and he knew that if he called, Mitchum would leave Rory alone, but it would cost Logan something, and he wasn't sure if it would be worth it.

Several Months Earlier

Logan couldn't believe his deal had blown up. And he couldn't believe that in response he was being treated as a child by all of his coworkers. He worked his ass off for that deal, and now everyone was treating him as though he was just someone they had to put up with because of his last name. He could take the consequences, he knew what he was doing, he'd spent months proving himself and he didn't need everyone reverting back to thinking that he was only there because he was a Huntzberger.

He strode towards his father's office to put an end to things once and for all. He was furious, he could feel the anger radiating from him, if he were Bruce Banner he would be big and green right now. He paused quickly to ask the secretary if his father was alone, and when she nodded that he was, he continued towards his office. He threw the door open so hard that it slammed into the wall behind it and came flying back at him. He put his hand out to catch it moments before it came in contact with his face.

His father was sitting behind his desk, looking as unflappable as usual, just talking on the phone. Mitchum looked up when the door slammed, but didn't halt his conversation. He finished his sentence then sighed. "Ron, it looks like my son is here to throw a temper tantrum, I'll have to call you back." He hung up the phone and looked at Logan. "Hello son, what brings you here today?" Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

"I quit," Logan said firmly.

"You quit?" Mitchum repeated. "You quit what?"

"My job."

Mitchum sighed, "Right. Fine. I'll reassign you," he said in a voice that he used to placate his wife all the time.

"No Dad, I'm leaving HPG."

Mitchum snorted in disbelief. "You're the heir, you can't leave," his father reminded him in a cold voice.

"Well if I could quit being a Huntzberger I'd do that too, but I can't change my genes," Logan retorted.

"Logan, you're acting like a child."

"No Dad. I'm not. If I were acting like a child I'd run away and stop answering your calls, forcing you to come track me down based on charges to my American Express card and drag me home," he explained, thinking of his year off, and any number of other occasions where he'd gotten into a fight with his dad. "I've grown up. And I'm quitting. I'm tired of having everything I do, either good or bad, be credited solely to the fact that I'm a Huntzberger."

His father stared at him, but didn't say a word. For the first time he could ever remember, the great Mitchum Huntzberger was speechless. Logan decided to take advantage of this by making his exit, and slamming the door behind him, all but sprinting to the elevator before his father could reply.

Logan hadn't spoken to Mitchum since he walked out of his office all those months before. Not that his father didn't try to change that. He called at least once a week, which Logan refused to answer. He emailed every once and while and Logan deleted them without reading them. The only thing Mitchum hadn't done was come out to California himself and try to talk to his son face to face. But Logan knew that Mitchum knew exactly where he lived, and where his office was, so should he ever want to visit, he could with ease.

He knew if he called to tell Mitchum to back off, it would reopen the lines of communication, and his father would expect him to return phone calls and emails, and even worse, visit. Was his potential relationship with Rory worth it? He would make the call without hesitation if he and Rory were together, but was giving up his hard won freedom for maybe getting back together with Rory the right choice? He sighed deeply and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" his father answered on the second ring.

"So, Rory said you said hello," he replied, making it very apparent the only reason he was calling was because of Rory.

"Did she now? I was quite surprised to bump into her when I was in New York."

"Sure you were." Logan knew his father better than that.

"I hadn't seen her since before you left HPG," Mitchum told him. And it was probably the truth, Mitchum may not have seen her, but he'd probably kept tabs on her.

"Could you please leave her alone? We're not together anymore. You got your wish. You don't need to torment her."

"She told you I tormented her?" Mitchum asked with a laugh.

"Not directly, but I'm assuming that since you managed to turn all of her colleagues against her, it's tantamount to torment."

"Logan, it really wasn't my intention."

"Sure. Whatever. Could you just leave her alone?"

"Logan, I- " Mitchum paused, "It's not my wish that you aren't together anymore. I've been following her stuff all summer. She's actually a decent writer."

"Dad," Logan started, but he was cut off.

"She doesn't listen very well, since I told her to have you call your mother, but I wasn't trying to harass her. Talking to her got me to be able to talk to you."

"Of course, I should have seen that coming."

"Son, you need to come back to HPG."

"I'm happy where I am. The company is doing really well."

"I know it is, and I'm proud of you," Mitchum mumbled the last part of the sentence.

"Excuse me?" Logan said, not sure he heard the words right.

"I said, I'm proud of you, you just needed a little push."

"Oh no you don't. Don't you dare turn my successful company into your success. I did this on my own. Without you. Without HPG. Without using my name to get what I wanted."

"You're right. But I am proud of you. And now you should come back to HPG and be even more successful here."

"No."

"Really Logan, it's your legacy."

"I'm well aware, I've been hearing about it my entire life."

"You belong at HPG."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Look, I'm not saying I'll never return to HPG, but I'm just not going to do it right now. I'm enjoying being on my own, responsible for my own life. For once in my life I'm having to work for what I want, and I actually like it."

"Well I guess I can't argue with that," Mitchum said with a chuckle. "My son, actually working and enjoying it. I can't believe it."

Logan laughed. "I know. I never thought the day would come."

"I guess that Gilmore girl was good for you."

He stiffened at his father's mention of Rory. "I tried to tell you that before. So will you leave her alone?"

"Logan, honestly I wasn't trying to bother her. Really. But I will leave her alone as you ask. So will you do me a favor and call your mother?"

"No."

"Logan!"

"Dad, I'm not trying to be difficult or stubborn, and surprisingly, I've actually, somewhat, enjoyed our conversation, but I'm not calling Mom. After what she said…" he trailed off not wanting to think about it.

"What she said when?" Mitchum asked curiously.

"When I proposed to Rory."

"What did she say?"

"You don't know? I got the feeling it was the Huntzberger family press release," he replied sharply.

"Logan," his father growled.

"She said it was for the best that Rory turned me down, and that now I could focus my attentions on the right kind of girl. Rory had just turned me down! And do I get sympathy from my family? No. My mother is elated that "that girl" won't be part of the family, and offering to fix me up with that lovely Fallon girl. She didn't give a single moment of pause for my feelings or show any concern for me. Rory broke my heart, and my mother was happy about it!" Logan shouted. He tried so hard to block the memory and the pain, but it all came back, washing over him. "So needless to say, I'm not going to call my mother."

"Alright son," Mitchum said quietly. "I understand, and I'm sorry. For what it's worth, that wasn't the Huntzberger family press release, as you put it. I was sorry to hear that Rory turned you down. After seeing you two together, and seeing you change your life for the better with her, I thought you were good together. You complimented each other."

"Right, you just thought if you could control her career, you could control me," Logan scoffed.

"If that's what you want to believe," Mitchum replied in a resigned manner. Maybe his father was telling him the truth after all.

"Thanks Dad," Logan said sincerely.

"So… does this mean you'll start returning my calls?"

"If you promise not to bug me about coming back to HPG right away, then yes, I will return some of your calls."

Mitchum laughed. "It's a deal."

"Good night Dad."

"Good night Son."

Logan hung up the phone just as the doorbell rang with his pizza. He tipped the driver, and carried the boxes to the coffee table. He opened the pizza box to find the Artery Clogger looking better than he could have expected - pepperoni, salami, pancetta, Canadian bacon, and Italian sausage all smothered in a layer of thick mozzarella cheese - not a veggie in sight. He took a bite, smiling as a warm feeling of bliss overtook him, and returned to his email.

He deleted the last paragraph and tried again.

Thanks for trying not to further injure my relationship with my parents. If anything you helped it out. I called my dad to ask him to leave you alone. It was the first time we'd spoken since I left HPG, and it actually turned out to be a good conversation. He shouldn't bother you anymore. I'm still not going to call my mother, but at least I'm speaking to one of my parents now.

Anyhow, my Artery Clogger arrived. It's delicious and I want to enjoy it while it's hot. I'm sorry my dad made things difficult for you, if I can do anything to fix it, let me know. I'll see you at the anniversary party in a few weeks and I hope to hear from you sooner than that =)

Love,
Logan

He quickly hit send, so he wouldn't over think it, and closed the lid on his laptop. He took a long drink of his scotch, grabbed a second slice of pizza, and tried to figure out what to do with the rest of his night. Finally he flicked on the television and began to flip channels.

Surprisingly, Logan Huntzberger felt happier than he had in a very long time.

Christopher Hayden glanced over at his non-ringing phone, and wished for about the hundredth time in the last week that he had Marty McFly's Delorean. He mentally kicked himself for telling Lorelai no. Sure he meant it. But now a week had passed since he'd heard anything from her, and that of course gave him plenty of time to replay their last meeting on a loop in his head, trying to figure out what he should have said or done differently.

He laughed at his own neurosis. There had been plenty of times when he'd gone weeks, if not months, without talking to Lorelai Gilmore. Sometimes it was his own doing, sometimes it was hers, but either way, a week was usually nothing. When did he become such a girl? He hadn't been without his phone since Lorelai got out of his car after the trip to Café Caffeine. He took it everywhere with him. To bed, to the bathroom, he wouldn't even leave it stationary at the house or on his desk at work. It was always on him. And to add to it, he found himself checking his voicemail at home while he was at work, and checking his voicemail at work while he was at home, and checking his email non-stop. This tiny week of no communication had him twisted up like a teenage girl. This had to stop.

"Daddy?" Gigi called from the living room.

"Yeah G?" he called back from his office.

"I'm bored."

It was Saturday morning, and Christopher had been moping around, mired in his own self-pity, to the point of self-absorption. This wasn't fair to Gigi and he knew it. "Well, what do you want to do today?" he asked as he got up from his desk and headed for the living room.

"I want to ride a pony!"

He sighed, he should have known that was coming. Gigi hadn't missed the birthday party. She'd gotten her pony ride as promised, but she fell in love with ponies. Now everything was about ponies. He thought about her request for a moment and an idea struck him. "How would you like to ride a horse instead of a pony?"

"Okay!" she exclaimed excitedly. She jumped up and ran into her room to get dressed. "Can we go right now?"

"Let me make a few calls and see what I can find out. Why don't you finish watching Saturday morning cartoons first?"

"Okay," she said sullenly. She stomped back into the living room and threw herself down on the couch.

Christopher smiled. His girl sure was bright, he wasn't expecting this type of behavior for another few years, but Gigi had it mastered already. Wouldn't her teen years be fun now? He felt a sharp pang in his chest as he hoped Lorelai would be there to help him get through those years, but knowing that it was a distinct possibility that he would be alone. He returned to his office and did a couple quick internet searches to find local stables with trail rides. This was something he and Gigi could do together. He called the first stable and they were full up for the day, but the second stable had some openings.

"We have a trail ride starting at 2:00, sir. Would that work for you?" the woman at the stable asked.

"I think so. My daughter is not quite 5 yet, is that going to be a problem?"

"Not at all, we have some smaller horses, and some that are quite gentle," she reassured him.

"Then 2:00 would be perfect. The last name is Hayden."

"Alright sir, I've got you down." She hung up the phone before he could respond.

Christopher jotted down the address of the stable, and headed back to the living room. He found Gigi on the couch where he'd left her, but her mood seemed to be improved. She was laughing at the cartoon. He sat down on the couch next to her.

"Are we going now?" she asked.

"Not yet. But how about you get dressed and we go out to brunch first?" The stable was about an hour away, leaving plenty of time for food.

"What's brunch?"

Sometimes he really did forget how young his daughter was. "It's the combination of breakfast and lunch," he explained. "Now go get dressed. Wear jeans."

Christopher went to get dressed as well. He pulled on some faded jeans and a sweater, and searched his closet for the right shoes. Somehow neither wingtips nor sneakers seemed appropriate, and his motorcycle boots just seemed too heavy. He sighed and pulled on his oldest pair of sneakers. Maybe he should stop and get some boots on the way.

He met Gigi in the hall and found her in jeans and tennis shoes as well. Maybe they should stop and get her some boots on the way too. "Ready to go?" he asked.

She nodded vigorously and they headed towards the garage.

As they passed the kitchen, the home phone rang. Christopher thought about ignoring it, if it were important they'd leave a message, but he still couldn't quite shake his girly tendencies that it might be Lorelai.

"Hello?" he answered brusquely.

"Christopher?" a familiar voice asked.

"Yes."

"It's Emily." Why was Emily Gilmore calling him?

"Hello Emily. Is everything all right?" he asked, full of concern. Emily never called him. He'd RSVP'd to her party, so she couldn't be calling about that.

"It's about Lorelai," she replied.

"Is Lorelai hurt?" Panic he couldn't control found it's way into his voice, as Gigi looked at him slightly scared.

"No. Not physically. She just seems out of sorts and I was wondering if you knew what was going on," Emily explained.

He was not going to get in between two Gilmore Girls. He'd learned that lesson many times over the course of the years. "Sorry Emily, I haven't talked to her in about a week, so I haven't a clue," he lied easily. He had a clue, but he wasn't about to divulge Lorelai's personal life to Emily. "I'm sure she's fine. If it was anything serious I know she'd tell you."

"I suppose you're right Christopher," Emily said thoughtfully, "and I don't suppose you'll let me know if you find out anything either."

"You're probably right there Emily." Actually she was absolutely right. Even if Christopher knew exactly what was going on with Lorelai, he would only tell Emily if it were a life or death situation, and even then, he'd have to pause and think about it first.

"I'll see you at the anniversary party then?"

"Of course."

"Good day Christopher."

"And to you as well Emily, give my best to Richard," he said in closing.

"Of course," she replied, and then hung up the phone. He hung up on his end and wondered how altered Lorelai's behavior was to inspire Emily to call him.

"Daddy, hurry up!" Gigi yelled from the garage door, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"I'm coming G."

Brunch was delicious, but uneventful, as was the shopping for boots, and soon Christopher was pulling into the stables for the trail ride.

"Are you ready for the trail ride?" he asked Gigi as he opened her door to get her out of her booster seat.

"What's a trail ride?"

"It's where you get to ride a horse on a trail in the woods."

"By myself?" she asked nervously.

"Well, no. You get to be on the horse by yourself, but there's a bunch of other people on the ride, see all those kids and their parents over there?" he asked pointing to a group of people he assumed were also going on the trail ride.

"They're all going too?"

"Yep."

"But I don't know any of them." He was surprised that Gigi was nervous. She was usually very outgoing when it came to new people.

"That's okay, I'm going with you too."

"You can ride a horse Daddy?"

"Of course I can. I went to summer camp and birthday parties too when I was a kid."

"Really Daddy?" Gigi asked, surprised.

"Yep. Aunt Lorelai loved horses too."

Gigi's face lit up. "Aunt Lorelai loved horses?"

"Yep. We came for a trail ride on her 10th birthday," he confirmed. And her 11th birthday, and her 12th birthday, he recalled. He fought the urge to text Lorelai, or call her and remind her of this memory. Gigi hopped out of the backseat and headed for the large group of people, and Christopher chucked his mobile phone onto the passenger seat, locked the doors and headed after her.

"Did Rory love horses too?" Gigi asked as he caught up to her.

"I don't know kid, maybe you should ask her next time she calls," Christopher suggested, feeling slightly guilty that he didn't know enough about his own daughter's childhood to know if she ever had a horse phase.

"If she does, maybe we can all go on a trail ride together," Gigi suggested. The thought of his daughters together almost burst his heart. "And maybe we can invite Aunt Lorelai too."

"We'll see."

The riding instructors got everyone settled on horses relatively quickly. Gigi was on an older mare called Dolly, and Christopher was on a quarter horse called Thunder. Given the number of children on the ride, there were several instructors to lead and follow, and soon they were off into the woods. Christopher watched as Gigi eagerly held the reins and bounced up and down in her saddle. He smiled to himself and let his mind drift off to memories of the past, knowing Thunder could play follow the leader and needed no guidance from his rider.

April 1978

"Christopher, hurry up!" his father bellowed up the stairs. "You need to get to the Gilmores soon or you'll miss the party."

"I'm coming," he hollered back. He looked in the mirror again, leave it to stupid Lorelai to pick a cowboy party, and now he was stuck wearing these uncomfortable boots, and this dorky plaid shirt. At least the hat was cool, he thought as he pulled on a brown cowboy hat. He stomped down the stairs in his boots making as much noise as possible.

"Did you get Lorelai's present?" Francine asked as he headed towards the garage.

"Yes," he mumbled, holding up a brightly wrapped box.

"Well let's go. Your father and I have dinner plans so you'll ride to the stables with Richard and Emily and then we'll pick you up after the party from their house."

"Great. Why do I have to go to this party again?"

"Christopher, Lorelai is your best friend!" his mother scolded.

"No she's not. Brian Johnson is."

His mother rolled his eyes at him. "Regardless, you're going anyhow. All of your little friends will be there."

"Fine," he replied as he slammed the car door when he got in, sulking in the passenger seat on the drive over.

"Lorelai, Christopher is here!" He heard Emily call when he opened the door to get out of the car.

"I'm coming Mom!" Lorelai yelled from somewhere in the house. She ran outside in jeans and a pink western shirt, with black cowboy boots and a matching hat he could tell were brand new. "Like my new boots?" she asked as she stopped in front of him.

"Sure," he replied, handing her his gift. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks. Mom! Present!" she called to Emily who was getting her purse and coat so she could drive them out to the stables.

"Beatrice, would you come collect this package from Lorelai and put it in the living room for when we return?" Emily called to the maid. "Kids, get in the car, we need to leave right away to meet the rest of your friends."

Christopher and Lorelai piled into the back seat of Emily's Mercedes, and they headed off to the stables to meet the rest of their class for a trail ride.

As they got closer to the stables the more excited Lorelai got. As they approached and fields and got their first glimpse of the horses Lorelai reached out and squeezed his hand excitedly. "I can't believe we're here!" she squealed.

"Lorelai, calm down," Emily scolded from the drivers seat.

Lorelai's head dropped sadly and she relinquished her grip on Christopher's hand, as if she suddenly remembered that boys were icky.

"This is going to be so much fun," Christopher whispered to her, trying to cheer her up, even though he didn't really think it would be fun at all, Lorelai had been talking about her birthday party for months. Every birthday party they'd been to in between he'd heard about how much better hers was going to be.

"Thanks," she whispered back with a smile.

Christopher sighed, coming back to the present day and thoughts of Lorelai. Even at 10 he wanted to make her happy. Even when girls had cooties, he endured the torment from other boys from hanging around her. Amazing almost 30 years later, he was doing the same thing.

"Daddy, look at that!" Gigi exclaimed, pointing to the woods. "It's Bambi!"

"Where?"

"She ran away!"

"Well we'll keep watching, and maybe we'll see her again."

For the remaining hour and a half of the trail ride, Gigi kept a vigilant watch out for Bambi, but never spotted her again. She did however find Bambi's friend Thumper, and a couple of squirrels or chipmunks, Christopher could never tell the difference.

"Did you have fun Gigi?" he asked as he lifted her into her booster seat.

"Yes! Can I call Rory now? I want to tell her all about it."

"Sure." Christopher grabbed his phone and started to dial Rory. He paused momentarily to see that he had two missed calls. One from an unknown number and one from Rory. There was one new voicemail, but it was likely from Rory so he skipped listening to it in favor of just returning her call.

It rang twice before someone picked up. "Hello?"

"Ror is that you?" It was a woman that answered the phone, but it didn't really sound like Rory.

"No. This is Beth, Rory's roommate. She's in the bathroom, can I tell her who's calling?"

"Uh, sure. It's her dad."

"Rory! Your dad's on the phone, do you want to take the call?" He heard Beth yelling even though he could tell she tried to muffle the phone. "Yeah, I'll be out in a sec!" He heard Rory reply.

"Hold on a sec Mr. Gilmore, she'll be right with you."

Christopher laughed. "Thanks."

"Hey Dad!" Rory said less than a minute later. "What's going on?"

"You called, I'm just calling you back."

"Dad!" Gigi whined from the back seat.

"Oh, and your sister wants to talk to you."

"Well let me talk to Gigi first, then I'll talk to you."

"Alright," he told Rory. "Gigi here's your sister." He handed her the phone and proceeded around the car to climb into the drivers seat, and head for home. Smiling as he listened to the 5 year old half of a conversation.

"Do you like horses Rory?"
"Did you have pony birthday parties?"
"I do, and Daddy does, and Aunt Lorelai does too! We should all go on a trail ride together."
"Ohhhh. When are you coming home?"
"Are you going to visit me?"
"Did you bring me any presents?"
"I miss you too sissy."
"Okay, here's Daddy."

Christopher reached his hand backwards to retrieve the phone from Gigi.

"Wow. She's very inquisitive," his eldest daughter said as he put the phone to his ear.

"That she is. Sorry if she put you on the spot, she's in a horsey phase. We went on a trail ride today."

"Ah. Well rest assured, I like horses and we can go on a family trail ride when I get home," she told him.

"Thanks Rory. So what's going on with you?" he asked.

"You know. The usual journalism thing. You can't keep a secret from 100 reporters that you spend all of your time with."

"Uh oh, what happened?"

"They found out I know the Huntzbergers," Rory said him sullenly.

"Did you and Logan get back together?" Christopher asked curiously.

"No. Not yet. Mitchum showed up to give a lecture."

He cringed at the thought. "Sorry kid."

"Yeah well. Hopefully the next big scandal will come around soon enough and people will stop treating me like a leper."

"A leper? Really?" he questioned.

"Okay fine, not like a leper. What's the opposite of a leper? They all keep trying to suck up to me, to my face, hoping to get an in at HPG. And they all talk about me behind my back. Whatever that is," she explained in an exasperated tone.

"That's celebrity Ror. You should know that," he teased.

"Arg! I just wish it would go away."

"I hear ya. I bet that sucks."

"Anyhow. So have you talked to Mom lately?" Rory asked.

"Not in about a week."

"What happened with you two?"

Christopher paused for a moment, vacillating between lying and telling her nothing happened, and deflecting and telling her to ask her mother. He opted for door number three, honesty. "I'm not really sure. Is your mom doing okay?"

"I don't know Dad. She called for advice on making a pro con list. And she's refusing to wallow over Luke. You know the importance of wallowing to a Gilmore Girl!" she exclaimed.

"I know hon."

"Will you call her?" Rory asked, pleading.

"Ror, I can't."

"Please?"

"The ball's in her court. I HAVE to leave it there this time," he said emphatically.

"Fine. I'm just worried."

"Your mom's a strong lady. She'll be okay. I'm sure as soon as she figures her stuff out, she'll call you and tell you all about it," he reassured his daughter.

"Will you call me if you hear anything."

"If I can I will."

"I love you Dad."

"I love you too. Hey are you coming home for your grandparent's anniversary party?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah."

"Good. Then I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Alright. Bye Dad."

"Bye."

He hung up the phone and glanced in the rearview mirror. Gigi was sound asleep in the back seat. He dialed into his voicemail to clear it, only to find that the message wasn't from Rory.

"Hey Chris, it's me," Lorelai's voice filled his ear. "I'm at some wacky little B & B in Salem for the weekend, just trying to get away and sort stuff out. Call me back if you get a chance at The Broomstick - isn't that a horrid name for a B & B?- I'm in room 4."

He wasn't quite sure what to do with her message, as whatever was coming from Lorelai was not something he wanted to deal with while driving, but he couldn't help smiling.

Surprisingly, Christopher Hayden felt happier than he had in a very long time.

Author's Note: So sorry for the delay, it's been MONTHS since I've updated. I hope I still have some readers. Please read and review, even if it's only to give me grief about how long I've taken to update.

I don't own anything. I made up Logan's pizza place, and Lorelai's 10th birthday party.

Thanks for reading, if you're still out there.

S