Thanks everyone for the kind comments!

The silence in the room was electric. Logan stared at Rory, wild in the eye, and she saw, beside the book, a bottle of beer. The smell was potent and choking.

"What's going on?"

"Logan –"

"You've been to see him," Logan said. "I know you have, the way you're dressed in those dumb clothes..."

"Logan, nothing –"

"What the hell is this, Rory?"

"Let me explain," Rory said tearfully. "Jess and I are just friends."

"Who you've been seeing behind my back!"

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react like this!" Rory cried. "I knew you'd think the wrong thing!"

"The wrong thing?" Logan shouted. "What's the right thing, Rory? How long has this been going on?"

"About a month," Rory admitted and, as Logan shook his head, she said, "You're acting as if – Logan, I'm not cheating on you. Jess is my friend."

"Your friend who used to be your boyfriend," Logan snapped. "Who you didn't tell your husband about."

"I didn't want you to be jealous!"

"What am I supposed to think, Rory?" Logan demanded, spreading his hands out in mock confusion. "I find out my wife's been seeing her ex-boyfriend behind my back for more than a month, and for what? Him to loan you novels?"

"That is all it is!" Rory pleaded, trying to forget the brush of Jess's lips. "Logan, I'm your wife, don't you trust me?"

"It's kind of hard to trust you when I find out you've been seeing him through the book you've been reading. I guess I should thank Kurt Vonnegut, seeing as you'd never tell me!"

Logan spat the last of the words. His face was red and his breath was ugly with alcohol. Rory took a deep breath.

"Logan, I didn't tell you because you got so upset about when I ate breakfast with him," she said carefully. "I didn't want to fight about it."

Logan stayed silent and, encouraged, Rory went on,

"I'm sorry I kept it from you, it's just – Jess was my friend as well as my boyfriend. He still is my friend. It's been so long since we've seen each other and I liked having someone to talk to. I don't have many friends here," she admitted. "I missed that."

"Aren't we friends?" Logan demanded, moving closer to Rory so the stench of beer was even stronger. "I thought I was more than just your husband."

"You are, but – Logan, you work a lot. I don't know anyone in Hartford."

"That's your fault," Logan said stingingly. "You don't want to make friends with any of people I've told you to meet."

"Logan, I need a friend outside of all this," Rory said desperately. "Someone who I don't know from the club, or your office someone who – Jess knows me so well. We've known each other for so long and I know what you're thinking, but our relationship was so long ago. He's my friend, Logan, and I need that. I need something away from here."

Rory stopped for breath. She stared anxiously at her husband who shook his head.

"Quit seeing him."

"What?"

"Don't give me crap about needing his friendship," Logan said, his words clear despite the alcohol. "You have a friend, you have Lane, and Paris, though I'd call her a neurotic more than –"

"Logan, I can't just hang out with Lane, she's married too, and a mom, and I have to arrange to see her...I love Lane but it's not the same. Paris lives in Boston and – Logan, Jess is my friend. He's someone I can go hang out with and I like that."

"I don't want you see him again," Logan said angrily. "I don't want my wife hanging out with some old boyfriend she had in high school."

Rory stared at him and he added, with a cruel laugh,

"Even if the most exciting thing you did was share milkshake before going to the barn dance. Does he do-si-do? Did he write a thrilling account in the scrapbook he calls a novel?"

"Shut up," Rory said furiously. "You don't know a thing about him."

"I know enough," Logan said, his teasing voice gone. "This is the last night you'll see him."

"You can't tell me who I can and can't see," Rory snapped and Logan stared at her, surprised at the retort.

"You'd listen if you had any respect for me as a husband."

"So respect means you dictating my friendships?"

"It means respecting my wish for you not to get chatty with your old boyfriends!" Logan shouted, making her jump. "Damnit, Rory!"

He strode away and grabbed the bottle of beer. He swigged the rest down, let out a belch, and grabbed his keys.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going out," Logan said. "Getting some air."

"You're not driving?"

"Relax, I can handle it," Logan sneered. "Not that you should be telling me what do – it's not what spouses do, right?"

"Logan –"

He glared at her and slammed out of the apartment. Rory stood alone in shock, her ears ringing, feeling as though she had been slapped. The hum of Logan's car stirred her and she moved to the window to see his car crawling out onto the road and moving away, in a thankful straight line. She stared after it and then shook herself, pouring the last few dregs of the beer down the sink and putting the bottle in the recycling box, along with the company of several others. She picked up the novel where Logan had left it, stained with a drop of beer, and took it into their bedroom where she curled under the covers, still fully-dressed, and opened the book. She couldn't finish it. The beer had ruined the book, the smell overpowering, and Rory put it down. It had been destroyed, along with everything else. Rory closed her eyes tightly, hoping sleep would take away the memory of the night, Jess's kiss and, her secret shame, that part of her had hoped he would kiss her harder.

The sound of her phone woke her. Rory sat up, bleary-eyed, and saw that she had dozed off for two hours. She answered the phone before seeing who it was.

"Rory."

It was Jess. Rory was relieved and anxious at the same time.

"Jess, listen –"

"Rory, I'm sorry," Jess said in an agonised voice. "Please, can you let me talk to you? I –"

"Jess, Logan found out," Rory said, cutting him off. "Not about the – not about what happened but he knows about me going to see you. He found the book you loaned me and it had your name inside the cover."

Rory heard Jess swear and she added,

"He doesn't want me to see you again."

"What?" Jess exclaimed. "He's telling you – you're kidding."

"Jess, I can't talk about this right now," Rory said, her heart as heavy as the ache in her head. "I need some time."

"Okay," Jess said, his voice gentle. "But you're not going to – don't stay away because it's what Logan wants. What do you want?"

"Right now I want some space," Rory said and Jess said, more quietly,

"Okay. I'll let you go."

"Goodnight, Jess."

"I'm sorry," Rory heard him say and hung up the phone, pretending she hadn't heard. She got out of bed, changed into her pyjamas, and crawled back in, hoping to sleep before she cried.

Logan came back in the early hours of the morning, his breath reeking of alcohol. He woke up Rory, slinging his arms around her and saying into her ear,

"Babe, let's make up."

"Logan, you're drunk," Rory said in disgust, trying to push him away. "Go to sleep."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes, I love you."

"I love you, Ace," Logan slurred, putting his mouth on hers and kissing her. "I love you way more than Stu."

"I should hope so," Rory said acidly, pushing him off her and rolling him over, almost choking at the taste in his mouth. "Goodnight."

"I want a baby with you," Logan said happily. "Not a baby with Stu."

Rory was saved from answering by the sudden, loud rumble of snores which kept her awake for the rest of the night.

Saturday was silent. Rory and Logan did not discuss their fight and Rory hid the novel in a drawer, though he didn't ask where it had gone. Rory was still incensed at Logan's demand that she stay away from Jess, yet she didn't feel ready to see him, not yet, and neither said a word about it for the rest of the weekend. Lane came over on Monday, as suggested, and she put Nico in the bedroom in her bassinet before sinking down on the sofa with a satisfied sigh.

"Civilisation," she said, closing her eyes. "A couch that isn't stained, a polished floor and I'm able to walk around or sit down without tripping over a toy. Add some Velvet Underground and I'm in heaven."

"Does it have to be live? Because I could get online and –"

Lane started laughing. Rory laughed too and sat beside her, handing her a cup of tea, and the two sat in contended silence.

"This place is so gorgeous," Lane said wistfully, opening her eyes. "Even without the kids, I could never live someplace like this. You're so lucky."

Rory's smile faded and she gripped her cup.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I'm lucky."

Lane heard the change in tone and looked up.

"Rory? What's up?"

Rory exhaled.

"I had a fight with Logan," she told her. "We yelled, he took off and came home completely wasted."

"What did you fight about?" Lane asked curiously. "Was it the kids thing?"

"The kids thing?" Rory asked, confused, and then understood. "Oh – no, not that, though he did come home saying he wanted a baby, before Mr Responsible passed out and started snoring."

Lane giggled but she pressed,

"Why did you fight?"

"We fought about Jess."

"Jess?" Lane echoed, puzzled. "Who's that, some woman in his office?"

"No, he's not a woman. My Jess, Lane."

"Your Jess? As in – Jess Mariano?" Lane asked, frowning. "Give me a clue here, Rory. Why did you fight about him? Did you keep a bundle of steamy letters or something?"

"Lane, Jess and I never wrote steamy letters," Rory said, her cheeks going pink. "And we fought because Logan found out I'd been going to see him. I've been going to his apartment and Logan found out."

Lane's mouth fell open and Rory hastily added,

"Just as friends."

"Rory, are you serious?" Lane demanded. "You've been hanging out with Jess Mariano and you didn't tell me?"

"Well –"

"Did something -?"

"Lane!" Rory said angrily. "I'd never – we were just hanging out. I don't know why I didn't tell you, it just felt...special."

Lane nodded, though she didn't look as though she understood.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Rory said apologetically. "It just felt weird, I didn't know how – I fought with Logan a few times and go see Jess. I needed to talk to someone, right then, and he's – he's my friend, Lane. It didn't feel wrong to see him."

Lane smiled and asked

"How did Logan find out?"

"Jess loaned me a novel and his name was in the front. Logan found it. He totally flipped out and told me to stay away from him."

"Wow."

"Yeah. It was like some harlequin romance. He was so unreasonable."

Lane didn't say anything and sipped her tea. Rory stared.

"You don't think he was unreasonable?"

"No, I mean – Rory, you have to see it from his point of view. He's found out you were seeing a boyfriend you used to have a pretty serious relationship with behind his back."

"But we're not in a relationship now," Rory pleaded. "And he didn't even know me then."

"Maybe that's worse – all he knows is that you used to be in love with him when you were eighteen."

Rory nodded, but she couldn't help thinking that she had never even told Logan that. All he really knew was that he was her boyfriend a long time ago.

"I'm not saying that it was okay for him to order you not to go see him," Lane said gently. "Or accuse you of something, I'm just saying that I get why he freaked out."

Rory was silent. She knew she could never tell Lane about the kiss.

"I guess I do too."

"Cut him some slack," Lane said knowingly. "He'll cool off – I bet he's thinking what an idiot he was right now. He loves you, Rory. Isn't it nice that he's a little jealous?"

"I don't know if that's the word I'd use."

"Okay, not nice, but he still sees you as someone hot," Lane teased. "Someone other than just his wife."

Lane sounded sad and Rory hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"It's that he doesn't trust me," she said eventually. "I mean, I like being seen as someone other than his wife, but even if Jess wanted to do something, why did Logan think I'd let that happen? I would never cheat on him."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it that way," Lane said kindly. "He just freaked out a little because you didn't tell him."

"Yeah, I guess."

Rory smiled and looked at Lane, her face lifted from its frown of worry.

"You know, you're a very desirable woman too, Lane Kim," she said, poking her friend's arm. "Zach should worry too."

"Stop, I've had three kids the old-fashioned way!"

"No one could tell," Rory said earnestly. "You're beautiful too, Lane. You're way more than a wife and mom."

She said it in a light, cheerful way but Lane was serious as she sat up, put the cup down and hugged her friend.

"Thanks, Rory," she said, her voice damp. "It's been the longest time since someone's said that."

"Oh, Lane –"

Lane didn't say anything but rested her head on her friend's shoulder. Rory held her until Nico woke up.

Logan came home early for once, right after Lane had left.

"What are you doing back?" Rory asked, almost alarmed. "I haven't even thought about dinner yet."

"Forget dinner," Logan said, going and putting his arms around her. Rory forced herself not to flinch. "I came to say I'm sorry."

"Logan –"

"I'm sorry I yelled," Logan said. "But you can't blame me for being mad, can you?"

Rory looked down and shook her head. Logan grinned.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hand."

"Why?"

"Just do it, Ace."

Rory obeyed and something heavy dropped in. She opened her eyes to see a jewellery box.

"What's this?"

"Open it and find out!"

Rory opened the box to find a pair of diamond earrings. She stared and gasped.

"They're beautiful."

"Real diamond," Logan said proudly, taking the box from her and getting the earrings out. "Here, let me fix them for you."

Rory stood still as he slid the gems in. He fastened the backs and then put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her.

"Let's forget about the fight," he said firmly. "You won't keep anything like this from me again, will you?"

Rory slowly shook her head and he grinned.

"Good. I always knew that Jack guy was a jerk."

"His name's –"

Logan cut her off with a quick kiss and then a heavier one before she could open her mouth. He kissed her and kissed her and whispered,

"You look so hot in those earrings."

"Logan, I –"

"I promise not to tell the guys about it," Logan teased but Rory didn't smile. "Come on Rory, I'm sorry. We can't fight about this forever, can we?"

Rory was silent and he kissed her again, pressing her body close to his. Logan's breath was hot on her neck. They went into the bedroom, Logan undressed her and lay her on the bed yet as he pushed into her Rory's thoughts were on another man.