"Where is that birthday girl?" Logan shouted as he came through the doors of the pool house.

They had been planning this first birthday party for the past few weeks and now the day was finally here.

"Logan! What have you bought! Did you actually leave anything in the shop? Oh man, my baby is going to be completely spoilt." Rory stood open-mouthed at the mound of presents Logan had brought into the pool house. "You realise I have to live here too and have zero space! Where do you think I am going to put all this?"

"Don't worry, we'll sort it out. Anyhow, I think I am allowed to spoil my daughter on her birthday, don't you? You're only one once, right Lily?" he said leaning in to kiss his daughter who was looking like the proper star of the party in her baby blue party gown. The colour worked with her eyes perfectly.

"You look nice," Logan said looking Rory up and down. She was wearing a deep blue satin cocktail dress that stopped mid-thigh. It was shorter than she normally wore but suited her perfectly. "In fact, that's one show-stopping dress, bit unfair to try and steal Lily's thunder though Ace"

"Well, you know, I thought I'd make an effort seeing as everyone will be no doubt be staring at us all day." She rolled her eyes. She knew full well that every tiny move would be dissected today. If she even so much as talked to Logan the rumor mill would be in full flow so Rory had decided that if everyone would be looking at her, she had better make sure she looked nice. Though, if she was being honest, she had another agenda too and she'd wanted to make an extra effort for Logan so she was very happy that he had noticed.

"Grandma I don't know how you managed to pull this all off when you weren't even in the country, but thank you," Rory said to her grandma.

The party was in full swing and was so far a great success. Lily was on top form and she had so far avoided any awkward conversations.

"Ah the overbearing skills of Emily Gilmore, they can span oceans." Lorelai joked and Emily scowled at her daughter.

"I hope you're not too jetlagged and you can enjoy the party?" Rory asked with concern. "I know I should have timed it better with your return but I really wanted to do the party on her actual birthday and…"

"Rory, honestly, we're fine. Where is my great-granddaughter anyway?" asked Richard, scanning the room.

"She's somewhere around here with Logan," Rory said nervously.

"Logan Huntzberger?" Emily asked with an incredulous look.

"The one and only." Lorelai chirped in and smiled at Rory.

"He's back on the scene? Well, I never. Are you two…?" Emily raised an eyebrow.

"No we're not grandma, and please don't get any ideas!" Rory begged.

Emily really had done a fantastic job with the party, even though she had coordinated everything from Europe. She'd used her regular caterers for the food and brought in an events company to organise the theming that Rory had chosen – a whimsical woodland party, with a sophisticated color palette of gold, mint green, and blush pink. Sookie had made the most stunning cake. It was a two-tiered double chocolate fudge cake covered in white chocolate ganache, decorated beautifully to fit in the with the woodland theme.

"I think it's time for the birthday girl to blow out the candle," Rory said lighting the big number one candle that Sookie had carefully positioned in the middle of the cake. "Logan" she called "Can you bring Lily over?"

Logan walked over to where Rory was stood with the cake and handed over Lily to her. Everyone started up singing happy birthday and when they were finished Lorelai shouted "make a wish Lily" as Logan and Rory leaned in to help their little girl blow out her first birthday candle.

Rory had felt Logan gently place his hand on her lower back as they leaned in. It was a completely non-threatening move and done so naturally but once the candle was extinguished and people stopped taking photos she felt uncomfortable and quickly moved away.

"I'm just going to go get a knife to cut the cake up" she turned and said to Logan but darting off.

Lorelai followed her into the kitchen. "Everything seems to be going well?"

"The party?" Rory asked, "Yeah it does."

Lorelai smiled "That was a nice moment out there kid."

"What was?" Rory looked at her mother questioningly.

"The little family, blowing out the candle together"

"Mom…" Rory warned.

"Look," Lorelai said holding her digital camera up for Rory to see "I even captured it on film for posterity."

"You do know there is no actual film in that camera don't you…" Rory joked.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. It's a nice photo right, a proper Kodak moment" she said raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever you say, mom," Rory said as she walked out of the kitchen. She stopped when she got to the door and poked her head back around the door. "Send me a copy?"

Lorelai smiled to herself and put the camera back in her pocket.

After the party had ended and everyone had gone home, worn out from the day, Rory had changed into a tank top and shorts and collapsed on the sofa in the pool house. Logan had volunteered to do the bath and bedtime routine so she took advantage of having someone else there for a change and relaxed.

Once Logan had Lily settled he sat down on the sofa, bringing with him two large pieces of birthday cake. He handed one to Rory who accepted it gratefully.

"You know, I think this is the first thing I have eaten all day." She said bringing the cake up to her mouth. "I am worn out. Who knew that one-year-old's birthday parties could be so exhausting?"

"Not me," Logan said laughing as he finished off his cake.

"This is a good cake," she said. "Ahh, my feet are in total agony. Heels were a mistake – however good they looked with that dress," she said bringing up her feet and placing them on Logan's lap.

"What you need is a good foot massage," he said firmly rubbing circles on her feet.

"Oh god, that feels too good," Rory said before they both realised the intimacy of the moment they were sharing and Rory sat up.

"I think I'll just go get a drink, do you want a drink?" Rory said standing up.

As she stood up she felt Logan grab her arm and pull her back down on the sofa and before she realised what was happening, she was completely lost in one of the most passionate kisses she'd experienced in a long time. It had all happened so quickly that Rory had no idea who had actually started it but after a few moments she relaxed into it and she opened her mouth and allowed it to deepen.

Rory pulled away. "What are we doing Logan," she said, searching his eyes for an answer.

Logan didn't reply, he knew deep down that in the cold light of day that they would probably regret what they were about to do but he knew that he didn't want to stop it from happening right now. Instead of telling her that it was a bad idea, he tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her lips back to his. They kissed again, first it was light and gentle, but before long it developed into something more urgent, his tongue in her mouth, her hips pressing hard against his – their bodies sending an undeniable message to each other.

Rory felt like she just wanted to kiss Logan forever. She tried to block out thoughts of what this might or might not mean for them or what further mess they might be getting themselves into. All she could think about was she was with Logan and she needed and wanted to be with him.

Logan placed his hands on Rory's lower back slipping one hand down the back of her shorts. They broke away from each other once more and Logan looked at Rory "Are you sure this is what you want" he asked her before she nodded and they started kissing again. She was in a total daze and all she cared about was how good it felt to be kissing Logan. Her tongue fluttered against his and Logan pulled her against him, feeling like he'd never be able to get close enough to her. Rory raised up his shirt and slowly started to move her hands across his body.

"Rory are you really sure about this?" Logan asked, in between kisses as she nodded to signal her certainty. She pulled him into a kiss again and he slowly pushed up her tank top. All at once there was nothing else existing in Rory's universe other than Logan, kissing, touching and exploring every inch of her body. For the first time in a long time, she forgot about everything else. Rory gasped as Logan's mouth found her breasts, his tongue torturing them until she moaned in need.

She peeled off her top completely and pressed her chest against Logan's, slowly running her hand over his crotch. Rory unfastened his pants, and Logan's eyes widened as she slipped one hand inside, found what she was looking for and gave him a gentle squeeze. She carefully slipped his pants down his legs before taking him in her mouth. "Fuck, Rory…." He moaned, eyes shut, thinking about how unbelievably good it felt. When she gave a throaty moan, before rolling her mouth from base to tip, Logan thought he was going to lose his mind. He looked down at Rory before pulling her up so that they were face-to-face.

Logan returned his attention to her breasts, moving his lips slowly down her body. He tugged at her shorts and pulled them off before reaching down to remove her panties. Logan ran his fingers down Rory's thighs and back up again before sliding his hand between her legs. He nuzzled against her, his lips nibbling and kissing her neck where she had always been sensitive. "Oh" she sighed as he moved his fingers inside her and she lost herself, consumed by her own pleasure. Logan watched her as she squeezed her eyes shut and he felt her contract against his fingers.

Before she had the chance to recover, Logan rolled her onto her back.

"Wait. Do you have a condom" she whispered?

Logan nodded and reached over to his wallet. He ripped it open and rolled it on. Rory lay shivering with anticipation and finally, he slipped inside her. She gasped and shut her eyes. As he moved gently inside of her she slowly stroked down his spine in a way that she knew he used to like.

"This feels really good" she whispered in his ear and then with those simple words, Logan could hold back no longer. Rory moaned, her hands locked onto his shoulders. She arched and stretched beneath him, her movements sent him deeper, and she liked how it felt.

"Oh God, Rory," he gasped as she put her lips against his ear, whispering his name over and over sending him tumbling far over the edge.

Rory and Logan lay on the sofa for a few minutes, not speaking, each trying to comprehend what had just happened in their own way. In the aftermath, both felt a little bit awkward, regardless of the fact that it was something that they had both wanted for a while.

"I'm just going to…." Rory gestured towards the bedroom. She sat up suddenly feeling very self-conscious of her own nakedness and Logan passed her top.

"Thanks" she took it out of his hands, without making eye contact. She slipped it on to cover herself. She smiled nervously at Logan and walked into the bedroom. Rory quietly closed the door behind her so not as to disturb their sleeping daughter. She leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. What just happened she thought to herself.

Logan waited until Rory had gone into the bedroom before he started to get himself dressed. Being with Rory like that again after so long had been amazing – and quite unexpected. Sure, he had been the one to instigate the kiss but he had never anticipated it going as far as it did. It had almost felt like they had never been apart and while he was more than into it, he was now feeling utterly confused about his feelings. He wasn't sure what this was going to mean for them or what she would expect from him. Clearly, they were still hugely attracted to each other, that much was obvious but was that enough?

Although he was trying his hardest to move on, Logan was still feeling wounded about the fact that Rory kept her pregnancy from him. He wasn't sure that while he was still harboring some degree of resentment towards her it would be healthy grounds to start any form of relationship. And yet. It had felt so right and more often than not recently, he spent a lot of time thinking about her.

He was just getting his shoes on when Rory emerged smiling from the bedroom in her PJs and robe, hair pulled back into a ponytail. Seeing Logan putting his shoes on, the smile faded from her lips.

"Are you leaving?" she asked quietly.

Logan couldn't quite meet her eye when he replied. "Erm, yeah, I thought I best get going, it's getting late…"

Rory looked at him with slight confusion. "Or you could just stay here…if you wanted?"

"I think I'll go home, early start tomorrow" He was lying and Rory knew it.

"Oh okay." Rory said "I'm going to go to bed, I'm tired. You can let yourself out right?" she asked.

"Sure" he nodded and watched her walk back into her bedroom.

Logan picked up his coat and headed out into the night air and took a deep breath. He knew that he was acting like a total ass and that Rory would be hurt that he had left like that but he hadn't known what to say to her, and so the easiest option was for him to leave, just in case he said completely the wrong thing. He had to get out of there and try and work out what this meant for him. Logan didn't feel very good about himself as he headed home.

Rory got into her bed and pulled the covers up before putting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes. Logan had seemed oddly cold towards her when she had gone back out to talk to him and yet only minutes before that they had felt closer than they'd ever been. She was confused and upset and she couldn't help the few tears that slipped out.

She knew that what had happened that night in the pool house had been a big mistake.