Disclaimer: I may have my own ideas about how I want their story to carry on, but sadly I do not own Gilmore Girls or these characters. If you're reading this, you too are a fan and know this already.
Rory's POV
I wake up on Thursday and it is nearly eleven o'clock. I lazily roll over, hoping to curl up with Logan for a few minutes before getting up for the day but the bed beside me is empty. I lie still for a moment wondering where Logan is when I hear the shower turn on in the ensuite bathroom. I decide that sharing a shower with Logan would be an even better start to our day than a cuddle. I slip into the bathroom and quietly drop my pajamas on the floor before stepping into the steaming shower behind Logan and slipping my arms around him. He jumps and I can't help but giggle.
"Am I interrupting?" I ask.
"Yes" he replies. "I was having the greatest daydream. I was back in New York, with the woman I love, the future mother of my child, and we were going to look for our first real home together after." He turns to face me, his eyes smoldering and his perfect lips twisted into the smile that melts me. I feel a familiar racing in my chest.
"After?" I manage to stutter. "After what?"
"After this" He replies, pulling me close to him and leaning in to capture my mouth with those perfect lips.
It's six o'clock when Logan and I return to Paris' house and collapse on the couch. It's been a very long, but productive afternoon. Logan and I met up with his – our – realtor and found the perfect place to live.
I wanted a house like Paris's for our baby to grow up in. A real house with privacy and a yard to play in. I like the idea of the bedrooms being on a separate floor from the living space and having space for mom and Luke to come and visit. Logan made the excellent point that I hate all the stairs at Paris's house, and that a condo would mean less maintenance for us. It would also come with amenities and we could find a condo much closer to where Logan will be working than any house would be, so he would be able to spend much more time with me and the baby, with a short commute.
The third place that our realtor showed us was a wonderful compromise. It's a condo on the Upper East Side like Logan wanted – a penthouse no less - but it's two stories so I still get the separation between bedrooms and living space that I wanted. Since there are only two penthouse sharing the top of the building, the unit takes up 1/2 the floor(s) and the massive terrace wraps around three sides of the building. It gives us more outdoor living space than we could ever need, including a hot tub and an outdoor kitchen, as well as a terrific view of both Central Park and the East River. Central Park is literally on our door step, and between Central Park and the massive balcony I am not worried about having no yard for the baby to play in. The elevator opens into a foyer that is elegant but practical, with lots of storage and a powder room. I love that the main floor of the apartment was open concept like Logan's old place in New Haven, with the kitchen and living room off of the foyer separated only by the massive kitchen island. Standing in the white kitchen, looking out over the marble countertops of the island, you face the longest wall of the two-story living room, made entirely out of floor to ceiling windows. Beyond those windows is the terrace and a stunning view of the river. The left hand wall of the living room is dominated by a gas fireplace with a beautiful mantle and modern tilework that spans the entire height of the two-story room. At the opposite end of the living room is a curved staircase leading to the second floor and the wide arched entry to the dining room. A hallway leads to a large guest bedroom, a full bathroom, a media room, storage room and the perfect office for Logan and I to share. It's more of a library, with floor to ceiling built in bookcases covering an entire wall, but with plenty of room for two desks and a beautiful view of Central Park. Up the stairs is the master suite with his and hers walk in closets, another gas fireplace and the largest ensuite bathroom I have ever seen, as well as three other bedrooms. The biggest of the three bedrooms has it's own full bathroom while the other two are the same size and share a jack-and-jill bathroom between them. Each has a window seat and a walk in closet, and the laundry room separates the closest bedroom from the master suite. Everything is new and fairly modern like Logan prefers, but with traditional elements that make the place feel cozy, like the window seats, fireplaces and built in bookshelves. The entire place is decorated in neutral tones – lots of greys, whites and beiges - which suits us both, but there is enough of my mom in me that I will want to add in some funky colours and patterns here and there. The building has more amenities than we will ever use, but it's close to Logan's future office and we both fell in love with the condo the second we stepped off of the elevator.
My stomach dropped when the realtor told me the asking price, and I felt as though someone had stuck a pin in the perfect little dream bubble forming in my mind. Millions. This place costs millions and millions of dollars. Of course it did. It was over 3,000 beautiful square feet in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
Logan and I left the condo and our realtor to grab a snack and talk about the places we had seen that afternoon. Logan could tell that something was wrong. After a little badgering I relented and told him what was bothering me. He just rolled his eyes and told me that he could afford it, not to worry. The truth was, so could I. My great-grandmother Lorelai had left me a large trust when she died several years ago, and Grandpa had as well. Dad has also set up a trust for me with some of the money left to him by his grandfather and his dad. Most of this money became accessible to me when I turned thirty, but I have been ignoring the money completely, determined to make my own way. After talking it over with Logan I have to admit it would not be the worst thing in the world if I accept that my family is wealthy, it doesn't make me any less independent. My mom's hangups with money don't need to become my hangups. It's a conversation we've had before, back at Yale, but I think its finally something that I am starting be comfortable with. I am not really an outsider to the world of high society and wealth, even if I was raised outside of it. And as much as I shouldn't let it bother me at this point, I don't want anyone thinking I'm with Logan for his money. The fact that I would be able to pay my way with this condo is important to me, even if it doesn't matter to Logan.
We called the realtor to make an offer on the condo, but the owners have already moved to Spain so it is going to be a day or so before we know if they accept our offer. As excited as I am, and anxious to hear back from the realtor, now that we are back at Paris's without the house hunt to distract us, the looming meeting with Mitchum is beginning to wear on my nerves.
"Ace?", Logan asks, looking at me expectantly.
I look at him blankly. Did he ask me something. He smiles.
"I said, do you want to go out for something to eat or order take-out?"
I think for a moment. "I don't think I can go back out again. Let's order food and watch a movie! Chinese food. No, Italian food. Baby wants pasta and cannoli!"
Logan laughs, leaning in to kiss my cheek. "Ok. What baby wants, baby gets."
Logan's POV:
Although Paris and I seem to have reached an understanding, I am relieved when she texts Rory to tell her she has taken the kids back to Hartford for a long-weekend visit to her Nanny's family. We eat our delicious Italian dinner in Paris's media room and Rory has decreed that only an "Italian-ish" movie would suit. After a brief debate we settle on the Godfather, finishing our supper and cuddling together on the comfy sectional. Michael hasn't even shot Sollozzo when I notice that Rory has fallen asleep, curled against my chest. I take a minute to enjoy the feeling, this feeling of happiness that has eluded me for so long, before I shut off the movie and carry Rory to bed.
As I'm brushing my teeth I scroll through my phone and see that I missed a text from Finn earlier this evening. I frown, it must have been while Rory and I were eating dinner. It reads "Mate, when will you be back in the U.S. of A.? I need your help with something." I quickly type a message back to him, telling him I am actually in NYC at the moment and asking what he needs help with, but I don't get a response.
As tired as I still am – you would think I would be immune to jetlag at this point with all of the travelling I have done for work – I lay in bed thinking about my meeting with Mitchum tomorrow. In so many ways the past two months have felt like an eternity, having made the decision to do whatever I needed to do to win Rory back but being forced to wait to take action, yet somehow this meeting with my dad seems to have snuck up on me so quickly. Nothing my dad says or does will change my mind about being with Rory. Her and the baby are my family, and I know that Honour will be overjoyed that we are back together. I have been trying to sound confident for Rory because I know that she is so worried, but my father has the ability to make my life miserable - and decades of experience. Rory sighs deeply in her sleep, and I can't help but smile. My last thought as I drift off to sleep is about how nice it is to have someone love me enough to worry for me.
The light coming in the bedroom window wakes me. I look at the clock and see that it is almost 8:00 a.m. The alarm will be going off soon. I sit up to turn off the alarm before it wakes Rory and head downstairs to make breakfast.
I hear the sound of Rory coming down the stairs as I put the finishing touches on a fruit salad.
"Mmmmm healthy food" she says, smiling half-heartedly as she walks into the kitchen.
It's cute that she thinks I know so little about her, even if we have been 'apart' for years. I say nothing, sliding the plate of waffles out of the oven where they have been keeping warm and place them on the island. I grab a bottle of whipped cream from the fridge and turn to face her. She has a huge smile on her face and throws her arms around my neck, kissing me soundly.
We eat together on the stools at the kitchen island, talking and laughing and actively avoiding the topic of my meeting with my father. I mention Finn's text from last night.
"That's weird" she replies, looking concerned. "He texted me while I was in London saying he needed my help with something too but I haven't heard from him since. Do you think he's okay?"
I laugh, "Okay is not a word I would ever use to describe Finn, but I'm sure if there were something seriously wrong we would have heard about it – if not from Finn at least from Collin. They've both been living in New York for the last little while so they see each other all the time." That's something else I'm really looking forward too – I have not lived in the same city as my best friends since we graduated from Yale.
I take my time showering and getting ready. I know I'm procrastinating but I can't seem to help it. Finally, when I can't stand it anymore I kiss Rory goodbye and head outside to meet Frank. Traffic is not too bad as it is now midmorning, so we are pulling up in front of the HPG building sooner than I would have liked. As we pull up to the building my phone pings with a new text message. It's from Finn. "Great, meet me at the pub on East 75th and 1st at 1:30" it reads. I'll worry about him later. I step out onto the sidewalk and stop, taking a deep breath before walking into the building. For the second time this week I steel my nerves and think to myself, show time.
Dad's secretary looks up from her desk as the elevator doors open on the top floor and I step out. I smile at her as I walk past her desk without saying a word.
"I'm sorry, you can't go in there, Mr. Huntzburger is in a meeting" she says, and this time I stop. This is not a conversation I want to have with Mitchum in front of an audience.
"I"ll wait" I say calmly, taking a seat in one of the sleek leather chairs facing the floor to ceiling windows across from her desk. I think to myself, rather unkindly, that my dad goes through secretaries the same way that Emily Gilmore goes through maids. This one is a redhead and my thoughts quickly turn to Finn. I can hear his voice in my head talking about the lovely redhead secretary. Wait. That voice is not in my head. I stand up quickly and walk into my father's office before his newest secretary can say a word.
"Logan" my dad says, looking surprised. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow. Please, have a seat."
But I'm not looking at my dad. There, in one of the two chairs across from my dad's desk, sits Finn.