"Knock knock"

Rory looked up to see Logan standing at the door with Lily in his arms. Their tête-à-tête a few days earlier had seemed to clear the air a little and she was glad of this. After she had time to stew on it, Rory felt like she had over-reacted a bit about Logan having a drink with someone else, but she had been so annoyed that he had missed collecting Lily she couldn't help but lash out. Of course, it brought a few things to a head and while some things were still unresolved, they were at least starting to open up and talk about their feelings.

They had needed to accept that they had both been hurt by each other in the past. They'd each caused the other untold grief but they needed to move on from that. Logan had only just begun to look past his own pain and realize just how much Rory must have been hurting after her graduation, and throughout her pregnancy. He still felt confused about their current situation, not entirely sure of what Rory wanted from him but she had made it clear that while she may not be ready quite yet to go all in, ultimately it was what she wanted for the future and Logan was willing to wait.

"I'm sorry I was hoping to find Rory but I think I must have got the wrong address as I'm pretty sure I'd never catch her….cleaning" he laughed as Rory through a tea towel at him.

"I'm not cleaning actually – and that was very rude by the way. Just because I've lived with Emily Gilmore all this time doesn't mean that I am too good to pick up a duster" she said. "I'm actually decluttering. I thought I'd make the most of having a few hours to myself. All this…stuff…it's taking over." Rory said as she picked up a box and put it near the door. "I can't wait to get a job so I can get a bigger place. As soon as I finish grad school…You want a drink?" she asked taking Lily off him and giving her a big kiss.

"I'll get it," Logan said walking over to the kitchen and pouring two coffees. He picked them up and put them on the coffee table next to where Rory was sitting.

"So we have some news to share with you, don't we Lily," Logan said.

"Oh?!" Rory looked at Logan suspiciously.

"Someone took some steps today…" he said tentatively, not sure how Rory would feel about missing out on such an important milestone.

"My baby walked!" Rory looked at Logan in shock. "Aww, you clever girl," she said giving Lily a big squeeze.

"You're not sad you missed it?" he asked carefully. "I didn't know whether I should tell you or not…wait for you to discover it for yourself"

"Ah I am little sad" Rory smiled "But I've had lots of firsts, I'm glad that you got to experience one too. Actually, that reminds me of something, can you take Lily for a moment?" she said popping Lily down on his lap. Rory looked at Lily and Logan together. They had become pretty much inseparable in such a short space of time and while she was disappointed to have not witnessed Lily's first steps, she truthfully was really happy that Logan had got to enjoy a special moment with his daughter.

Rory grabbed a box and sat down next to him. "I've had this for a while, I've been meaning to give it to you but there's been so much going on I kind of just forgot about it until I was clearing out today."

"What is it?" he said as he took the box off her looking puzzled

"Open it" Rory instructed. She felt nervous, not sure how Logan would react to the contents of the box.

Logan carefully lifted the lid off the box. Inside it was packed full of photographs of Lily, from the moment she was born until Logan had come into her life. There were copies of the scans that Rory had when she was pregnant and a series of handwritten Post-It notes with key dates and events written on them. He flicked through the contents of the box quietly, feeling a bit sad at realising what he had missed out on.

"I never wanted you to miss out on anything." Rory finally spoke after allowing him a few quiet moments to look at the photos. "I know you probably think that I would never have told you about Lily but I need to you to know, I would have, at some point, and I hope that this demonstrates that I always had that intention? I always hoped that you'd be part of her life one day and so I kind of documented everything and kept it in this box for you."

"What are the Post-It notes for?" Logan asked as he picked one up to read.

"Just milestones and silly things that I didn't want to forget to tell you about – when she got her first tooth, first slept through the night, the first food she tasted…"

"Chocolate cake? At six months?" Logan smiled.

"You can blame my mother for that one!" Rory rolled her eyes.

"Thank you for this," Logan said as he looked up at Rory.

"You're welcome," Rory said quietly. "I just wish I could go back in time and change things. I wish I'd done things differently," she said, a few small tears escaping.

"Hey," Logan said as he put his arm around her and wiped the tears from her cheek. "That's all in the past now, we've got all of the future to look forward to, right?"

A few days later Rory stepped out of her class and into the sunshine. It had been a really long morning and she was hungry. As she walked out of the building she saw Logan and Lily waiting for her on a bench opposite.

"Well, well, this is a nice surprise!" she said as she approached them with a smile.

"We thought we'd meet mommy for lunch, didn't we," Logan said talking to Lily.

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Baby's first trip to Yale?"

"Well she's a legacy isn't she?" Logan smiled.

Rory smiled back. With parents and grandparents who attended Yale, Lily was no doubt a shoe-in. She couldn't ever imagine this tiny little girl being old enough to attend Yale but she was secretly excited about the idea.

"Aren't you meant to be at work?" Rory asked.

"I took the day off I had a few things to sort out…and I also needed to talk to you."

"Ooh, intrigue" Rory teased "So this wasn't just a spontaneous lunch visit?"

Logan put his hands up "No, you got me, I have an ulterior motive."

"You boys always do. C'mon on then Huntzberger hit me with it." Rory said taking hold of Lily.

"Okay. Now before I start, I want you to hear me out completely, no jumping down my throat or anything. Promise?" Logan said to Rory.

"Promise" Rory rolled her eyes.

"I took the day off today because I needed to go look at a house and I'm here because I want you to come and see it before I buy it."

"You want me to come and view your new bachelor pad?" Rory asked.

"I thought you weren't jumping in?" Logan said as he nudged her.

"Sorry," Rory said laughing.

"It's not going to be my bachelor pad. I want you and Lily to move in with me"

Rory looked at him in surprise. "Move in with you?"

"Yeah. I mean, I want to be clear before you start to panic, this isn't us 'moving in' together in that sense. It wouldn't be like that." Logan said seriously.

"So how would it be?" Rory asked him carefully. "You think this would work?"

"I don't know," Logan said honestly. "All know is that I've already missed out on so much and I don't want to miss out on anymore. I want to see Lily, every day, as much as possible."

"Just Lily?" Rory questioned, pretending to pout.

"Well I think her mother kind of comes as part of the deal," he said as he kissed Rory on the forehead. "You want to come see it before you shoot me down?"

"Sure" Rory nodded. "Let's go look."

"So, what do you think?" Logan asked Rory after she had walked around the whole place for the second time.

The house, which was in Hartford, not too far away from her grandparent's place was a stunning colonial style. It had four bedrooms and four bathrooms and a beautiful modern kitchen with granite counters. There was a stylish entrance foyer and a large living room and dining room with French doors. The master bedroom suite had a large bathroom and it's own sitting room and the three further bedrooms were also of a great size.

Rory nodded. "I think it's really nice. Big." She said as she looked out of the French doors and at the rear of the property. Outside was a two-tier patio with a fountain overlooking a large landscaped park-like backyard. She could easily imagine Lily running around out there as she got older.

"Yep, lots of space. Four bedrooms – Lily can have her own room finally, and you of course. I'm not even nearly suggesting…" Logan started to reassure Rory.

"I know" she smiled.

"Good, I don't want you to think that I am jumping the gun. I just think that you'll have more privacy and space here, you said you needed a bigger place, and just think, it's going to make sharing the childcare so much easier."

Rory chewed her lip.

"We've lived together before Ace, it's not big deal. What do you say? You want to go make a pro/con list?" Logan winked.

Rory waggled her finger at him "Don't mock my pro/con lists! I just need a moment." She said pensively.

"Okay, I tell you what. Why don't I take Lily for a walk around the block and leave you for ten minutes?"

After Logan and Lily left Rory sat on the floor in the kitchen and pulled out her cell phone.

"Dragonfly Inn. Lorelai speaking"

"Mom, have you got five minutes, I really need to talk to you"

"Ooh this sounds serious, you have your most serious telephone voice on. Sure, hang on, let me take it out back" Lorelai said as she walked into the store room where it was a bit more private. "Okay, go for it"

Rory took a deep breath, knowing that this might not go well. "Logan asked me to move in with him."

"Move in with him? Isn't that a bit sudden…I mean you're not even…" Lorelai paused.

"I know. He doesn't mean like that. More like Lily and I would live with him here, in his house but we'd be in totally separate bedrooms…"

"You're in the house now?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes, he wanted me to see it before he bought it. Logan has gone for a walk with Lily while I have an internal freak out. Mom. I need you to tell me what to do" Rory said as she rested her head against one of the kitchen cabinets.

"Oh Rory, I can't do that. It's not my decision" Lorelai said resolutely.

"Mom, you love to tell me what to do! Don't stop now!"

"Oh no kiddo, I don't do that anymore, not after the whole Yale fiasco."

"but I don't know what to do," Rory said quietly.

Lorelai sighed. "Well, I'd say the fact you are seriously considering it must mean something. It's a big step though kid and this isn't just about you anymore. I think it's nice he asked though."

"Yeah I know" Rory sighed.

Rory ended the call with her mom and walked around the house again. She had to admit that it was a beautiful place and she would have much more space than at the pool house. Logan was right – they'd lived together before and that had been fine. It was going to be a bit different now as they were still taking baby steps towards a proper relationship but she knew that if she ever wanted to be with Logan at some point she was going to have to push all her concerns out of the way and just leap.

Logan had walked around the block with Lily and started heading back towards the house where Rory was waiting for him. He had been nervous about telling her about the house and asking her to move in, conscious he didn't want it to seem like he was pushing things too quickly but in his head it just all made perfect sense. He needed somewhere to live, she needed somewhere to live – living together seemed like the perfect solution. He just hoped that she felt the same way. When he got back to the house, he walked up the path to see Rory waiting there on the front steps.

"Okay, let's do it" she nodded firmly.

"What?!" Logan looked at her incredulously, not quite believing what she was saying.

"You jump, I jump Jack" she shrugged and smiled.