AN: Thank-you again to all my lovely reviewers! You are all so wonderful and I really appreciate the feedback! I hope you enjoy! This chapter is a little short, but it's tomorrows post that has earned this story an M rating. Let me know what you think!
Three weeks later
Logan was pretty sure that the last three weeks were the longest three weeks of his entire life. He still had two more weeks to go, before he was able to see Rory again.
She had called, shortly after arriving in Virginia and had told him that it didn't look like she would be back in New York until the end of September at the earliest. Since it was only mid July, they had decided to compare schedules to see when Logan might be able to come to her. They had settled on a day in Nebraska two weeks from now.
Although they had been talking on the phone almost every night, he missed her, more than he thought possible. They had been apart so long, that now that she was back in his life, he didn't want to waste any time. They had already lost eight years, he told himself, they couldn't afford to lose any more.
It was almost 11pm, the scheduled time for their nightly phone call, and Logan was anxiously awaiting the phone to ring. When it finally did, he answered with excitement.
"Logan, I've got bad news." She started off without even a hello.
"What is it?" He asked, suddenly worried.
"It's about Nebraska" she told him. "They're taking me off that story, sending me to Florida instead."
"Even better Ace" Logan told her. "We can spend a day soaking up the sun."
"Logan, I don't have that day off anymore."
"Oh" was all Logan was able to say, the disappointment seeping through the phone.
"I'm really sorry." Rory told him.
"It's ok Ace, there'll be other times, other places we can meet. When's your next down day?" He asked.
Rory sighed, "In about a month."
"A month?" Logan sounded slightly exasperated. "Where?"
"Chicago" she told him.
"I hate this so much" she sighed. "I'm so sick of living out of a suitcase." She said.
"Rory, you know there's plenty of papers here in the city. You could consider applying to some of them." Logan mentioned.
"None of them are hiring!" She said, practically on the verge of tears.
"You're forgetting one thing Ace, you have Huntzberger connections." Logan smiled.
"Logan, I am not using any Huntzberger connections to get a job. I want to be hired on my own merits, not because of who I am kind of dating."
"Kind of dating?" Logan asked defensively.
"Logan, you know I didn't mean it like that. It's just, we're just starting to explore this again, and other than that one weekend, we haven't even been in the same state." She said, the tears were definitely flowing now.
"Plus, are you really ready to tell your parents about us?" She asked.
"Rory, I'm ready to shout from the rooftops about us, in fact I can go do that right now if you'd like."
Rory chuckled. "Logan, no. That's ok. Look I've gotta go. I need to finish this article on the best trout fishing in Montana. I'll talk to you soon ok?"
"Look, can't we talk for a few more minutes?" he asked her. "Tell me about your day."
"My day" Rory scoffed. "My day was certainly not exciting. I got eaten alive by bugs as I watched people fish for trout."
Logan laughed, trying to imagine Rory standing next to a lake, looking annoyed."
"Well tell me Ace. Did you at least try fishing?"
"No." She told him.
"Ouch Ace, did I teach you nothing? What happened to the great ace reporter getting into the thick of it? You jumped off a tower with me, in formal wear I might add. All for the sake of a story."
"That was different." She told him.
"How was that different?" He asked.
"That was with you coaxing me, telling me to live a little. You convinced me to do it, because of your passion. You are very good with words you know."
"But you did it Ace. You faced your fears, you jumped. That's the spark that's been missing from your writing. You need to jump." He told her.
"Writing about trout does not come close to writing about that day, that adventure." She told him.
"Look Rory, you just need to find your angle. Try it. Throw yourself all in. Jump." Logan told her.
Rory sighed, her frustrations of the day still present.
"You know Ace, it was then, when I grabbed your hand and leapt off that tower, that I started to fall for you." Logan told her.
"I almost kissed you then and there." Logan continued.
Rory smiled at the memory. "You know Logan, I wanted you to kiss me that day. I hated myself for it, I had a boyfriend. But looking at you, thinking about what we had just done. That was a connection unlike any other."
"Well you know Ace, I could round up a few members of the Life and Death Brigade, kidnap you for a few hours and recreate it. You know, for the sake of getting your spark back." Logan laughed.
"Just for the sake of that? Or do you have any ulterior motives mister?" She laughed.
"Look Logan, I'm sorry. I really need to go finish this article now." Rory told him.
"I miss you Ace." He told her.
"I miss you too Logan. Goodnight."
Logan hung up the phone and sighed. This situation was really starting to get to him.
...
The next morning Rory woke up with a smile. She had been dreaming about the day she spent with the Life and Death Brigade. They had just landed from the jump and Logan was about to kiss her, just as her alarm clock went off. She cursed, "foiled by my alarm clock." She sighed.
Climbing out of bed she brewed a cup of bad motel coffee as she packed her things, getting ready to head off to her next story- something about something else she didn't care about in Wisconsin.
As she was getting ready to go check out, her cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID she saw that it was her boss. Sighing, she answered the phone.
"Gilmore!"
"Hi Jerry" Rory said trying to be enthusiastic.
"How do you feel about Alaska?" Jerry asked
"Ok I guess?" Rory answered. "Why?"
"Excellent! Change of plans Gilmore. I want you to fly up to Alaska and spend the next month learning about surviving in the wilds of the north. I'm trying to finagle an interview with Sarah Palin while you are up there. Maybe she can take you hunting." Jerry told her excitedly.
"What about Wisconsin, and New Mexico, and Florida?" She asked.
"Pish posh, this Alaska story is way more interesting." Jerry told her.
"Jerry, I'm really not an outdoorsy kind of girl." Rory told him
"That's the best part Gilmore! You can write about all the trials and tribulations of living in the bush for a month. No electricity, no indoor plumbing. It'll be great!"
Rory sighed. A month in Alaska? No electricity? No indoor plumbing? She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. How would she make her coffee? She thought back to last night's conversation with Logan, encouraging her to jump, she decided to follow his advice. She smiled.
"Jerry. No." She said.
"What do you mean, no?" He asked.
"I mean, I don't want to go to Alaska." She said.
"Gilmore, this story has promise. Much more promise than Wisconsin, New Mexico, or Florida."
"I don't want to go to Wisconsin. Or New Mexico. Or Florida." Rory said with more confidence this she had displayed in years.
"What are you saying, Gilmore?" Jerry asked.
"I'm done" she told him. "I'm sick of living out of a suitcase, writing articles that I don't care about, in places I don't want to be."
"I quit." Rory said, resolutely.
"Gilmore, you're going to regret this." Jerry told her.
"You know Jerry, I really don't think I will. Thank you for the opportunity, it just isn't for me. Not anymore. I need my writing to bring me joy. I lost the joy a long time ago. It's time I found it again."
"Gilmore…"
"Bye Jerry."
Rory hung up before he could say anything else.
She sighed. "I can't believe I just did that." She said to herself.
Throwing her luggage in the trunk of her rental car, she knew what she had to do.
A few hours, several cups of coffee, and a long phone call with her mother later, Rory smiled as she buckled her seatbelt and waited for the plane to take off.