"Logan, Rory, it's so very lovely to see you," Shira said with a saccharine sweet smile as she greeted the couple.

A couple of days had passed since they had achieved the 'official' status in their relationship and after a lovely few days spent in their own little bubble of happiness, they had decided it was time to start sharing the good news with their friends and family.

Rory still wasn't quite used to this new and improved version of Shira so was always a little on her guard.

"Oh Lily, come to grandma," Shira said excitedly with her arms outstretched.

Rory watched as Lily bounded over towards Shira. As much as she would have hoped that any daughter of hers had a better judgement of character, Lily clearly loved Shira and far be it for Rory to get in the way of that. She might have her own strained relationship with Logan's parents but she was never going to come in between the little girl and her grandparents if they were so willing to accept her. She had, after all, had her own taste of what that was like with the Haydens'.

"Drink?" Mitchum asked them as they walked into the room.

"Sure, I'll have a scotch" Logan said "Rory, martini?"

She nodded and smiled in response. "Thanks, that would be nice"

"So it's lovely that you decided to join us for dinner tonight…" Shira started saying.

"Well in the interest of being completely altruistic, we came because we wanted to tell you something," Logan said before his mother could say any more.

"Oh?" she looked at him questioningly.

"Rory and I," Logan said as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand "We're officially back together."

"Well, it's about time!" Mitchum laughed as he handed the couple their drinks.

Logan looked at his father in surprise.

"Oh come on Logan, it was only a matter of time. You two have never been able to stay apart for very long. And you live together…"

It was true, and both Rory and Logan knew it themselves. Though neither had would admit it they knew from the start that the friend thing was never going to work out for them.

"This is fabulous!" Honor said as she smiled at her brother and jumped up to hug Rory.

"Yes, it's lovely news" Shira smiled "You act like a proper family now".

Rory couldn't quite tell if Shira was being sincere or not but she smiled along anyway, happy at the thought of them being a family. She had been so caught up in the whole 'making things official with Logan' that she hadn't really considered that part of it, but of course, now they were back to together they really were a family for the first time.

"Logan, I don't mean to talk shop but as you are here, there are a few things I could do with going through, have you got a minute?" Mitchum asked his son, as he gestured towards his study.

"Ace, do you mind if I…" Logan asked. He didn't want Rory to think he was abandoning her but his parents seemed to be much better at controlling themselves these days so it didn't really worry him as much as it used to.

"It's fine" she smiled "You go"

"Out gamma," Lily said as she looked up at Shira, pleading with the sparkling blue eyes that matched her mom's.

Shira looked at Rory and gasped "Did she…?"

"Yes, she did. That's you, she just can't quite manage 'grandma' yet. I think she wants you to take her outside."

"Oh, Lily!" Shira said as she gave her a squeeze. "Come on," she said as she put out her hand "grandma will take you outside."

Rory watched them leave the room. She still found it hard to believe just how easily the Huntzberger's had accepted Lily.

Honor shuffled up next to Rory on the sofa. "So….! Tell me everything! How come you and my brother are suddenly back at the top of the Hartford power couple list.

"It's just one of those things you know, we…" Rory couldn't finish her sentence because Honor had interrupted.

"….had sex," Honor said, matter of factly.

"Honor!" Rory squealed.

Honor rolled her eyes. "Don't be so coy, these things always start the same, you can tell me."

"Okay, well, yes. We'd kind of been getting a bit closer for a while, you know, going out on a few dates but the other day we were just watching a movie and well, one thing lead to another…" Rory paused.

Honor put her hand up "Okay, actually I don't need those details so skip forward…"

Rory laughed "And it just felt right. Like something clicked into place."

"This is just the best news. The best news!" Honor said as she clapped her hands together. "I can officially start calling you my sister again now."

"Slow down" Rory laughed at Honor's excitement. "I'm not sure we're quite there yet!"

"Are you kidding me? I'm pretty sure Logan would elope tomorrow if he thought you were up for it." Honor winked.

"I think we should probably see how this goes first don't you?" Rory said as she supped her martini.

Honor grinned and gave Rory a knowing look.

After they had all enjoyed dinner, Logan and Rory made moves to leave.

"Can you stay for drinks?" his mother asked them.

"Sorry, we've got to go, we're meeting Finn and Rosemary for a bit." Rory smiled. "And we've got to drop Lily off with Marta for the night first."

"Oh no don't do that!" Shira exclaimed "She can stay here with us. I'd love to have her."

Rory looked at Logan and Logan shrugged back at her. He had no objection to Lily staying with his parents, but he wanted Rory to make the decision on this one. He wanted her to be entirely comfortable.

"Sure, okay, I'll just need to make a call." Rory smiled and headed outside to stand Marta down.

"That went well, don't you think? Rory said as she clipped in her seatbelt.

Logan put the keys in the ignition but didn't start the engine. He turned to Rory.

"Rory, why didn't you tell me you were applying for jobs?"

"What?" she looked at him in surprise.

When Mitchum had asked Logan to come to his study to talk, he thought it was going to be about HPG. What he hadn't been prepared for was a conversation about Rory's future career. Mitchum had wanted to speak to him because he had been asked to provide a reference for Rory from a newspaper that was going to offer her an interview. Logan hadn't been aware that Rory had been applying for jobs or even thinking about returning to work and he'd felt a little bit embarrassed in front of his father that he hadn't been kept in the loop. For once it actually seemed that Mitchum was on his side and rather than stirring up any trouble, he was actually acting out of concern for his son.

"My dad was asked for a reference today…"

"Oh," Rory bit her lip, suddenly realising what Logan was referring to.

"You never mentioned that you wanted to start working or that you were even sending out applications? I mean, just the other day we were just talking about it…"

"It was one application and this was from before we were even a thing. In fact, it's been so long I had kind of forgotten about it." Rory smiled nervously.

"The Washington Post? Are you considering moving to Washington? Logan said quietly.

"Yeah, I mean, I was. It felt like a real long shot but I saw a great job opportunity for a political features intern come up and I kind of feel that I am ready to get back into my career…so I just applied."

"What about grad school?" Logan asked.

"I'm nearly done with that and I figured I might be able to finish alongside but it's not really a big deal. I never thought I'd get past the initial resume sift, to be honest."

"But it is a big deal Rory because if you get offered this job, you'll be moving to Washington, which is what, a seven-hour drive?"

"Logan" Rory shook her head, "I told you," she said as he put her hand on his "We're on the same page and I mean that. I applied for this job before I knew that this – us – was even going to happen."

"So what are you saying?" he looked at her.

"Everything has changed now. I'm saying that DC is off the cards. I'll decline the interview when they call."

"But, if that's what you really want to do…" There was no way on earth Logan wanted to see Rory, and by default, Lily moving away from him now but he was really aware that he couldn't stand in her way if there was something she really wanted. He had promised to support her choices and he had meant it.

"Logan, what I really want to do is be with my family. Do you remember when we said we'd factor each other; well this is me factoring you in. They'll be other opportunities. Hopefully closer to home." she said as she leant over to kiss him softly on the lips.

"Well I do own the Hartford Courant you know…" he said as he kissed her back. "It's not quite The Washington Post but it's a short commute and the boss is great".

"Hmm, we'll talk about that another time…" Rory said. Logan knew how she felt about him handing her a job. "Now, I'm sorry this upset you but can we please forget about it and just go out and get drunk".

"Well, well, here they are – Connecticut's ultimate star-crossed lovers" Finn stood up and announced to nobody in particular. "Sit down kids, I've got the drinks in."

"Shots, already?" Rory said, "I remember how well that turned out for me last time, with a painful rejection if my somewhat hazy memory serves me right."

"No chance of that tonight Ace," Logan said as he nuzzled into her neck.

"Right you guys make me sick. I want you to sit at least three feet apart at all times" Finn said "And hands where I can see them Huntzberger!" he scolded as Rory let out a squeal.

After giving in to Finn and downing a couple more shots, Rory was happily tipsy and Rosemary finally dragged her up to dance. Finn and Logan sat in their booth watching the girls on the dancefloor.

"You and Rosemary huh?" Logan winked at his friend.

"I wish mate! I'm hoping I might wear her down tonight." Finn laughed "So you two finally sorted things out then?"

"Yeah," Logan said "We did"

He watched Rory out on the dancefloor having the time of her life with Rosemary. There were a lot of beautiful women in the room but he just couldn't take his eyes off her as she moved her body in time to the music. He loved to see her letting her hair down and having fun. It was so easy to forget that she was still so young and tonight, at twenty-four she was doing exactly what she should be doing, going out with friends, having a few drinks and letting off some steam. It was only when he could see some guy moving in to dance with Rory that Logan felt compelled to join her on the dance floor, even if Beyonce's Single Ladies wasn't really his thing. He couldn't sit there and watch as some other guy put his hands on his girlfriend's waist.

"Excuse me, may I dance with my girlfriend," he said to the guy who was grinding dangerously close to Rory. Rory looked at Logan with a twinkle in her eye, sometimes she really enjoyed him displaying his jealous streak.

"Oh sure," the guy said moving aside "My bad," he said winking at Rory.

Rosemary leant in "You know Logan, if you like it then you should have put a ring on it." She said laughing and singing at Logan.

"Oh, believe me, I tried," he said to Rosemary and raised a single eyebrow at Rory who laughed and put her arms around his neck.

"Just couldn't resist a bit of Beyonce huh"

"Something like that…" Logan said as he moved his lips closer to Rory's before pressing them against hers. She deepened the kiss and open her mouth slightly to invite him as she ran her hands through his hair. He responded by sliding his hand down her body and cheekily grabbed her ass with one hand.

Rory broke away and smiled "I like overprotective Logan…" she laughed "though I am slightly concerned that you might just give in and pee on me in order to mark your territory."

"I won't lie, the thought crossed my mind," he said with a laugh. "Come on let's get another drink," he said leading her by the hand and back to the booth where Finn had replenished the refreshments.

When they returned to the booth, Finn got up to go dance with Rosemary. Rory and Logan sipped their drinks and watched the two grinding against each other in time to the music. Despite all their protestations, the two were so madly into each other but neither of them would make the first move towards an actual relationship.

"Do you think he's going to score with her tonight?" Rory asked Logan.

"Ha, she'll probably lead him on all night and he'll end up going home alone, just like the old days"

Rory smiled. There was something about having a night off from being a mom that made her feel so young and carefree and reminded her of their college days.

"If my memory serves me correctly, they went home together on more than one occasion."

"As did we." Logan reminded her.

"Well if you're lucky, I might just go home with you tonight," she said suggestively.

"I'm counting on it," Logan said as he kissed her neck, slowly moving down towards her collarbone.

Rory breathed in slowly, enjoying the sensation. "Okay keep doing that and I am definitely going home with you"

"Good," Logan said as he slid his hand along her thigh and under her skirt.

"Logan!" Rory squealed. "Someone will see"

"I don't care," Logan said as he moved his hand higher and started fiddling with the edges of her panties.

Rory squirmed in her seat "Well I do! Voyeurism is not really my thing" she said breathlessly.

"Come on then" Logan jumped up "We need to get out of here quick," he said jumping up, taking her by the hand. He caught Finn's eye across the room and signalled that they were leaving and grabbing their coats on the way out he practically dragged Rory out of the door.