Rory awoke with a start the next morning, surprised to see that she was in bed alone. Her heart sank as she wondered if Logan had changed his mind or had second thoughts. Opening her bedroom door, she sighed with relief as she saw him sitting there at the kitchen table drinking coffee.
"You're still here," she said quietly as she sat at the table.
"You're surprised, Ace?"
"Yeah. No. I mean, there's just so much going through my head," she replied.
Logan got up and poured her a cup of coffee before returning to the table to place the mug in front of her.
"There's so much going through my head, too. I know we talked last night, Ace, but there are still a lot of things to figure out."
"Yeah, I guess there are. What does this all mean, Logan?"
Logan shifted in his seat and turned to take Rory's hands in his own before he continued. "Well, Ace. I'm not sure. I think we have to figure that out together."
"Yeah, I guess we do," she replied. "So…"
"So," he said, lifting her hand and kissing it lightly. "Look, Ace. I don't want to push you for something you don't want again and have you flee, okay? I'm here, Rory. I love you. I want to be a real father to this baby, not just the guy who writes the checks and sees his kid every other weekend. We've danced around this relationship for too long, neither of us wanting to ask for more out of fear. But you know what, Rory? I'm done with that. I don't want my fear to keep us from what we want. Do you?"
"No, I really don't," she said as she tightened her grip on his hands. "I'm not scared, Logan. I mean, sure, I'm a little freaked out about becoming a mom, but I'm not scared about us. We've both grown and changed a lot over the last ten years, and I think it's been good for us. We're not fresh out of college now. We know what we want. At least, I know what I want."
"Tell me, Ace. Tell me what you want."
"I want you, Logan. I want you, and no one but you. I want you to have me and no one but me. Whatever we want to call it or however we make it work, I want you. I wasn't ready ten years ago, but I am now."
Logan pulled her chair closer to him and rubbed his thumb over her cheek before kissing her softly. "Look at me, Rory. You have me. All of me. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"
"Okay," she answered with a sigh of relief. "And I'm not going anywhere either, Logan. This...this is it."
Logan pulled her into his lap and kissed the top of her head, holding her close. "I'm never letting go, Ace."
"Don't. Even if I get scared, even if I have a Rory freak out, don't let go."
"It seems like your mom said something similar," he said with a laugh.
"Oh? What's that?"
"She told me to push a little and make sure that there were strings this time."
"Did she, now? She's a wise woman, that Lorelai Danes," smirked Rory.
"So, how about we shower and I take you to breakfast?"
"Actually, all of my stuff is at the apartment over the diner. How about we have breakfast and then shower?"
"What's your stuff doing in the apartment over the diner?
"Luke and Mom said I could stay in the apartment for as long as I wanted. It gives me some privacy and independence and gives them some time to do newlywed things without me hearing," she replied with a laugh.
"Alright, let's go then. Out to the car. Breakfast at Luke's and then showers?"
"Nope," replied Rory with a mischievous grin.
"Nope?" he asked. "Why not?"
"Breakfast? Yes. Showers? No. One shower together? Absolutely."
"I do love the way you think, Ace," he said with a sly smile.
Logan settled on the couch in the apartment above the diner, pulling Rory down next to him. He couldn't seem to get enough of having her nearby, constantly wanting to be able to touch her. It just felt so good to be in the same place at the same time for the first time since he had graduated. They were going to figure this out and they were going to make it work.
"So, Ace. Are you planning on staying here?" he asked, figuring they might as well get some more of the important conversations out of the way.
"Well, I hadn't really thought about it, honestly. I mean, I have the paper here, although that doesn't pay. I don't know, it just seemed convenient. Where will you be?"
"I really don't know. For the first time in a long time, the world is wide open to me. I don't have to be anywhere; I can just figure out what I want."
"Any hints on what you want?" she asked quietly.
"I know that I want to be close to you and the baby. I need to find a job, although I have made contact with several different people and have some offers on the table."
"What kind of offers? Do you know which one you're going to accept?"
"Not yet. I actually wanted to talk to you about that."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I did. Remember that promise that I made you all those years ago in front of the hay bale maze? I'd like to make good on that promise."
"You would?" Rory asked as her face lit up.
'Yeah, I really would. So how about I tell you where my options are and we can go from there?"
"Sounds like a good plan, Huntzberger. So, these options?"
"Let's see. I have one in Chicago, one in Dallas, one in New York, one in Hartford, and one in New Haven. Do any of those sound intriguing to you?"
"Sure, I mean, lots of them do," she replied. "Tell me more...who are the offers from?"
"Not so fast there, Ace. I said I would tell you where, not who."
"Seriously? How am I supposed to make a proper pro/con list without details, Huntzberger? That's crazy!"
"Well, that's actually the whole point. I don't want you making your decision based on what you think I might like most, which you would do if you knew who the offers were from. I want you to tell me where you want to be and I'll make sure I'm as close to you as possible."
"You're really serious about this?"
"Yeah, I'm really serious about this," he answered with a smirk.
"You're serious? Well, okay. I don't really like the idea of Chicago or Dallas. They're too far from my family."
"Then Chicago and Dallas are off the table. Any other thoughts rolling around in that pretty head?"
"Just like that? They're just off the table?"
"You aren't listening to me, Ace. They are off the table. This is a decision that we make together."
"Okay then, you eliminate some options now," she replied.
"Me, huh? Okay, I'll eliminate New York City," Logan answered quickly.
"New York City? Why?"
"Did you have your heart set on the Big Apple? Because I want more of a single-family home, white picket fence, 2.5 kids and a dog kind of life," replied Logan.
"Okay then. I like that. So, Hartford or New Haven?" asked Rory.
"Honestly, I could be happy either place. They're both about the same distance from here, if you choose to stay here."
"If I choose to stay here? So, you might want me to…?" Rory asked, her voice trailing off.
Logan pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her tightly before he began to speak.
"Am I holding on tight enough that you won't run or freak out, Rory?"
"Umm...yeah. I'm good. Go ahead," she answered.
"Alright. If you want to stay here in Stars Hollow, I'll get an apartment for myself in whichever place I take a job and we'll both make the trip as often as possible."
"Okay. Totally not freak out worthy. I'm good, so you can let go now if you want to."
Logan just tightened his hold on her. "Or we can find a place together in Hartford or New Haven, and you can move with me. We'll still be close enough to make sure that we can come back here as often as you'd like, and your mom can visit us whenever she'd like. We could get a place with 4 bedrooms so we would have a nursery, a guest room, and a study."
"You're serious?"
"I'm serious, Rory. I've never been more serious about anything in my life. I want this to be forever. I'm not going to rush you to get to the forever part; I'll give you all the time you need. But that's what I want, and I'm in it for the long haul."
"Ask me," Rory said as she met his gaze.
"Ask you? Are you sure?"
"I'm completely sure, Logan."
"You know I'm only going to ask once, right?"
"I know. Ask me. I mean, if you want to."
Logan didn't say anything at first. He scooted her off of his lap onto the couch and and moved to his briefcase, taking something out before returning to her and kneeling in front of her.
"Rory Gilmore, I've loved you for more than a decade, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband. I have no expectations of you being a society wife. I want you to follow your dreams, and I will be next to you every single step of the way, no matter what. Will you please do me the honor of being my wife?"
Rory was brought to tears by the simplicity of what was going on in front of her. It was perfect. This was what she had always wanted. Not some grand gesture or elaborate plan; just raw emotion and honesty.
Unable to even form words because of the emotions she was feeling but unwilling to make him wait for an answer, she simply slid off the couch in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck, nodding her acceptance before putting everything she felt into a kiss that was 13 years in the making. Finally pulling apart when the need for oxygen became urgent, she was able to speak.
"Yes, Logan. Yes, I will marry you. Yes!"
She wished that she could bottle up the feelings in that room at that moment. Such joy and relief and love that it was tangible. She watched him as he opened the ring box and gasped as she saw that it was the same ring that he had proposed with ten years ago.
"You kept it?"
"I couldn't let go of the desire to someday see it on your finger, Rory. I couldn't let go of you."
"Thank you, for not letting go of me and for fighting for us."
Her fingers shook with excitement as she watched Logan slide the beautiful engagement ring on her finger. This was it. She would finally get her happily ever after.