A/N: I think this is the longest chapter I've written for this story, which makes me happy. It's a mixture of our usual angst, but also there's some fluff, I promise. Next chapter will be the fluffiest of all. Hope to read your reviews, they keep me going. So, without further adieu!
"Rory!" Lorelai called out, standing from her stool as soon as the door to Luke's opened. Rory rushed over, embracing her mom in a tight hug. When the two separated, Logan made his way over, hugging Lorelai as well. "Let's sit, catch up, have some amazing food." Both Rory and Logan smiled, sitting at a table with her mother.
"What do you want?" Luke asked with his usual gruff, grumpiness. She looked at her mother, smirks on both their faces.
"Coffee, pancakes, bacon, waffles with blueberry syrup and hashbrowns," Lorelai said matter-of-factly. "And don't try to slip any fruit into that. Blueberry syrup, no blueberry chunks." Luke just sighed with exasperation before turning to Rory.
"Coffee, cheeseburger loaded, and chili fries." This time Luke rolled his eyes before turning to Logan.
"House salad with ranch and a water."
"I hope one of these days one of those two will take after your better eating habits." Rory and Lorelai just laughed, Logan smiling along. It had been a week since the Huntzberger dinner and neither of them had spoken about the topic since the car ride. This was a fact Rory had filled her mother in on.
"So, how are you enjoying your break?" Lorelai asked, finally breaking the silence.
"It's nice to not have to worry about classes. Getting to catch up on pleasure reading and time with Logan." The conversation stayed small, catching up with each other until the food came out. Then, it was the same between bites of their food. Lorelai and Rory downed theirs like champs, but Logan was barely halfway through when he pushed his plate away.
"The Firelight Festival is tomorrow. Were you two planning on staying that long?" Lorelai asked.
"It's one of the reasons we came," Logan answered. "After everything I've heard from, Ace about this town, I figured I needed to see it for myself." He smiled as Lorelai nodded along. "You'd think that after nearly three years together, I'd have come here at least once that did not include dropping her off in a limo, and might I add, drunk." Both Logan and Lorelai laughed as Rory blushed. She was glad they were getting along, but she'd rather not remember the embarrassments that came with the fiance and the mother talking.
"Oh yes, Limo Boy," Lorelai responded in awe. "I remember many a tale. I still can't believe sub-parties are a thing. Also, vaguely something about Passion of the Christ." Rory just shook her head again. She could never hold her liquor and her mom was always on the receiving end of her stories.
"Nothing seems that bad after Finn's Passion of the Christ, except Finn's Passion of the Christ," Logan told her, laughing. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he and her mom shared more stories, some from his boarding school days, some from the many ways she found of sneaking out of the Gilmore household. She didn't know if it was unnerving or reassuring, but she saw both of her parents in Logan. The rebellious, carefree attitude, but the love that could move mountains.
"I'm going to go over to Lane's. Can I be assured that when I return to the Crap Shack, Logan will still be in one piece?" she asked, pulling on her coat as she stood up.
"No promises, especially with Ms. Patty and Babette. You know how their pinches can be," her mom responded. She just chuckled as Logan asked what that meant. Instead of answering, she gave him a quick kiss before walking out of the diner and to Lane's house.
She looked around, not sure how home didn't feel like home any more. Stars Hollow had always been home to her, had raised her and nurtured her. Now, when she returned, she felt like a visitor. But as she thought back to the conversations in the diner, she made the realization. Home was with Logan, and since she and Logan didn't live in Stars Hollow, home wasn't truly there anymore. She pushed those thoughts aside as she walked up to Lane's, knocking on the front door, only to be greeted by Zach.
"Hey, is Lane home?" she asked. Before he could answer, Lane was pulling her to the bench on the front porch with a blanket and two steaming cups.
"Go back inside, Zach," her friend told her husband as she made herself comfortable on the bench, pulling Rory down beside her. "We haven't talked in forever. What's going on? How's Logan doing? Any plans for the wedding? Oh my god, we need to talk more."
"Lane! You literally saw me a month ago," she said with a chuckle. "Is he hovering that much?"
"You wouldn't believe. And my mother has it in her mind that she's going to be moving in with us. They're trying to get me to eat all this healthy crap that I avoided when I lived with her. I swear, if I wasn't pregnant I would kick both their asses!" She took a sip of what Rory would assume to be tea, however, when she drank her own she was met with the bliss of coffee.
"I still can't believe you're pregnant," she told Lane. "Mitchum asked if we wanted kids." Lane turned towards her, obviously interested in this story. "Middle of dinner and he asks the question. Me and Logan talked about it for like two minutes on the car ride home, but every since… I can't get the idea of it out of my head, and I know there's a big possibility of us having a baby and then me raising it alone."
"If you really want to have kids with him, tell him. Even if you lost him, you know you'd have an army behind you to make sure that child knew it's father." She knew Lane was right. She would have her family and some of his family, not to mention their friends and the entirety of Stars Hollow to help her. But it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same as Logan getting to see every milestone, every t-ball game, or dance recital. She just shrugged.
"So, we set a date for the wedding. May twenty-ninth. And I was wondering if you would be my maid of honor. I know you'll be like seven months pregnant, but I'd love if you were up there with me." Lane's face lit up with joy.
"Of course I'll be your maid of honor!" she practically yelled as she hugged Rory. Rory just smiled, their conversation drifting between wedding planning, married life, and children. It would occasionally delve into other aspects of their lives, their hopes and dreams and fears. It was as if they'd never been separated.
"I'm going to go make sure they made it back to the Crap Shack in one piece. Are you going to be at the festival tomorrow?" Rory finally asked as the sun started to set. She couldn't believe she'd just spent five hours talking to Lane.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world, especially since you'll be there. Don't flatter yourself, Gilmore," Lane then concluded jokingly. Rory feigned shock as she stood up, hugging her friend before walking back to the house. She couldn't believe that Lane was married and having a baby, or that she herself was engaged. As she walked through the town, she could pick out the spots that held so many memories. The first, second, and third place she fell off her bike, the tree she fell out of, the spot where she and Lane would spill all their secrets. It held so many memories, but she was walking towards the one place and two people that held the most for her.
"Hey, Mom," she said, walking in and sitting next to her mother on the couch. The older Gilmore just wrapped her arm around her, pulling her close. "Where's Logan?"
"He passed out about an hour ago. I guess I never really knew how real it was until now for you, kid. I mean you told me, but I guess I didn't really understand." She looked at her mother with confusion. "He's scared. We talked about you and this marriage and he even told me about the baby conversation. I know you know all this, all his insecurities, but I guess I didn't really get them - both for you and for him - until now."
"It's hard for him to talk about it. I try to bring it up sometimes, the inevitable or the things I saw us doing that we may never. But he shrugs it off and changes the topic. I'm glad he talked to you about it, though. I mean, that's better than not talking to anybody." Was she jealous of her mother in that moment? Yes. Apparently, he was able to talk to her mother easier than he could talk to her.
"I know those wheels are turning, but don't go there. He told me something else. He knows you're scared and that you're overprotective and that you see him at his worst and at his best, and he thinks you're emotionally drained. You've been handling school and homework and family obligations all while taking care of him and making sure he's at his appointments on time and sitting up with him all night while he's sick. And he's right, Rory. You may not believe it, but he's right. And he's waiting for the other shoe to drop. He's waiting for you to decide that love isn't enough, for you to decide that you can't keep taking care of him. He's scared he's going to spend however much longer he has without you." She took in what her mother was saying. She knew she was wearing herself out, but she was on holiday break so she was able to pull herself back together. At the same time, she couldn't understand why Logan thought she'd leave. She'd said yes to his proposal, had done all those things her mother had said.
At that moment, it hit her. She finally understood what her mom said in the rambling. Logan knew she loved him, knew she wanted to be with him. But he wasn't sure if she could handle it, or if she was going to run. "And I also got a look at something else. Even though he didn't eat a lot, he sure knows how to get sick. I swear, I didn't think it was going to stop. And you know me, I don't do vomit."
"Yeah," she said softly. "I didn't at first either, but you become desensitized after a while. At first, you're thinking you're going to vomit too, or when it doesn't let up, that he's going to die."
"Rory, I hate saying this because it's going to come off the wrong way. I am so proud of you, babe. Not because you're staying with him. I'm proud of you for juggling it all, for turning to me and Paris and Lane and even Finn when you need to. I'm proud of you for not running, because if there's one thing you took from me and your dad, it's the ability to run." Rory knew the ultimate answer to that statement.
"Well, Mom. Gilmore Girls don't run." Her mom kissed her forehead before letting her go. She stood up and made her way to her childhood bedroom. When she opened the door, she saw Logan laying on the bed in just his sweats. He looked peaceful. She knew she thought that every time she saw him sleep, but it was true. It seemed like when he was asleep, it was as if he wasn't sick.
She quietly changed into her sweats and a lightweight t-shirt. When she laid next to him, he instinctively wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. She looked at him as he slept, thinking back to what her mother had told her. She didn't really understand why he would think she'd leave. She was in this for the long run, and as she'd told her mom, Gilmore girls don't run.