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Last time: "Logan, we need to talk."

Logan felt his stomach contract when he heard those four words. There wasn't anything wrong was there? Could Rory be, oh God, could she be pregnant? But surely, she would have told him if she was when he came home this afternoon. He tried to remember what she'd been drinking at her grandparents.

"Logan?" Rory gently touched his arm and he jumped.

"Sorry, sweetie. Um, you said you wanted to talk? Do you want a glass of wine?" he asked. Rory nodded and he felt a feeling of relief sweep over him, with a touch of disappointment. He'd never thought about having children until he'd become involved with Rory. He knew he'd be expected to have an heir to carry on the Huntzberger legacy, but that was before he had walked away from HPG. Now, if everything went the way he was hoping it would, he and Rory would have children because they wanted to. Rory eyed him as she took her coat off and hung it up.

"What's with you tonight?" she asked. Logan mentally shook himself and quickly slid his arms out of his coat and hung it up.

"Just lost in thought, I guess. Red or white?" he asked, heading toward the kitchen.

"Red sounds nice, thank you," Rory said as she went into the living room and settled down on the couch. She could hear Logan opening and closing cupboard doors. A second later he came into the living room with a bottle of red wine and two wineglasses. He set everything down on the table and opened the bottle before he filled the glasses. He handed Rory hers and she quietly thanked him as he sat down next to her with his own. Rory took a sip of her wine and swallowed before she took a deep breath.

"What's going to happen to us Logan?" she asked. Logan looked at her, puzzled.

"What do you mean, Rory?"

"You've accepted the job in Palo Alto, you're moving out there within the next week, or the next couple of weeks. I, on the other hand, have no idea what's going to happen for me career-wise. I've been applying to jobs in Connecticut, New York, and Philadelphia. I've heard nothing back yet, and I'm-I'm scared," Rory stopped talking and took a slightly longer drink of wine before she continued. "For the last twenty-two years, I've always known what was coming, had a plan. First it was Stars Hollow High, then Chilton, and then Harvard which changed to Yale. For the first time in my life, everything is unplanned and I don't know where I'm going to end up. I know I still want to be a journalist, but—" Rory stopped and tried to get her breathing under control, she was getting more worked up with every word. Logan watched her in concern, he'd never seen her this agitated. Rory took another deep breath and continued, "But I also want to stay with you. These last three years have shown me there's more to life than studying and working hard. I've learned how to have fun and be adventurous with you and I know you're the one for me and I don't know if we would survive long distance again, or how it would work if I was on the road for months at a time." Rory stopped talking and took another long drink of her wine, draining her glass. Logan, who had been quiet the entire time, had felt his heart soar when Rory told him she knew he was the one for her. Would she come with him to California, then? He turned his attention back to Rory, who said, "We were able to have a transatlantic relationship, but I don't know if we would, if we could survive a transcontinental one." Logan nodded in agreement. He took a drink of his wine and set the glass on the coffee table before he took Rory's hands into his own.

He swallowed hard before speaking. "I was hoping you would want to come with me to Palo Alto. There are newspapers there, you could submit your resume and portfolio, and you could continue writing pieces for Hugo until you find something. I-I found a house while I was there. It's beautiful, Rory. It's two stories and has a big backyard with an avocado tree. It's not for sale, but the owners are looking for someone to rent it to," he said.

"I do like guacamole!" Rory said enthusiastically. She'd listened to Logan like a woman in a dream. He'd really thought about this. He'd thought about the next chapter of their lives together and gone looking for a place to live. The house sounded perfect for them. Logan smiled and nodded before he turned serious.

"I agree with you about the long-distance relationship. We've done it once, and the entire time I was in London I couldn't stop missing my life with you here." Rory blinked back tears as she stroked Logan's hands with her thumbs.

"A year ago, you asked me to tell you not to go to London, to tell you that you could figure something else out and blow off your dad and your whole pre-destined life. In the deepest, most selfish part of my heart Logan, I wanted so badly to tell you to stay. I-I missed you so much while you were in London, and every day for the past year I've regretted not telling you to stay here. I think, no I know, I didn't tell you to stay because I was afraid of what it would do to your relationship with your dad. With your family. That was a year ago, and now instead of asking me to tell you to stay, you're asking me to come with you. You have figured something else out. And my answer is yes, I'll move to Palo Alto with you," Rory finished. The moment Logan had told her his hope for her to come with him, all of her anxiety and uncertainty had cleared. Rory knew what it was like to lie beside Logan in the dark, how his hand would always find hers under the blankets and the cover of darkness, how she would wake up in the morning to find herself curled in his arms and breathing in his scent.

But she also knew what it was like to go to sleep alone, his side of the bed cold. How she would reach out in the night to touch him only to find he wasn't there. Now that Rory knew what it was like to live without Logan, she was positive she did not want to live the rest of her life without him.

Logan smiled and pulled her towards him, and for a few minutes they just held each other. Eventually, Logan drew away and wiped Rory's tears away with his thumbs.

"I missed you so much while I was in London, and I would have missed you just as much, if not more, if you had said you wouldn't come with me," he confessed. Rory smiled gently at him and reached up to cover one of his hands with her own.

"I missed you too. It wasn't the same coming home to an empty apartment. I love living with you. I love having breakfast in the morning and reading the papers, our banter while we're getting ready to go out with friends or for a quiet dinner. I love our life together, Logan." Logan smiled at her as he poured them both another glass of wine.

"I love our life too, Ace." He kept a hold on one of Rory's hands as he took a long drink of wine and mustered the courage to ask Rory one of the questions he never thought he would ask. "Rory, what would you say if I told you I've been thinking about engagement and marriage?" Rory let out a gasp as her heart began to beat a little faster. They were certainly covering a lot of bases tonight.

"I would say I've thought about the same thing. I've dreamed of marrying you since before you went to London. I love the idea of being married to you, Logan. If you think about it, we've lived like a married couple for the last year and a half." Logan nodded, Rory was right, and he laughed to himself as he remembered how scared he used to be of commitment, engagement and marriage before she came along and changed his mind.

"So, if I asked you to marry me . . ." he said hopefully.

"I would say yes. I want this, Logan. I want to be your wife, I want you. When it comes right down to it, true love is all that really matters," Rory finished his sentence. Logan touched his forehead to hers as the two of them continued to sit side by side on the couch. Slowly, the blissful look on Rory's face was replaced by one Logan knew very well, the look his Ace got when she was thinking hard about something. Before he could ask her what she was thinking about, Rory spoke.

"I'm just thinking about my mom. She's afraid of commitment, you know. I think she has a phobia of our world, to be honest. She hates that I've become part of the world she ran away from. She's always called me her mini-me, and maybe that was true when I was younger, but it's not anymore. I-Why are you smiling like that?" Rory asked, seeing Logan's small smile.

"Because you said our world. I've never heard you say that the world of wealth and cotillions and D.A.R. functions was our world. It was either "your world" or "my grandparents' world."" Rory leaned back into the sofa and took a sip of her wine as she regarded Logan thoughtfully.

"It is my world, it's my birthright. I was born into it, and I would have grown up in it if mom hadn't run away. It's time I embrace it fully. Stars Hollow will always be my hometown, and I love the people there, but this world is where I belong," Rory said before she swallowed the last of her wine and pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Rory. What's going on in your head?" Logan asked.

"I'm just wondering why mom ran away, and why she filled my head with her opinions that this world and its people are so bad, because it isn't and they're not. Sure, I've met people who look down on others and don't treat those who are not as well off the way a decent human being would," Logan squirmed uncomfortably, he knew this wasn't directed at him exactly but he had definitely treated people poorly. Rory continued talking, "But I've also met a lot of good people. And I can't help but wonder if I hadn't been accepted into Chilton if I would have had a relationship with my grandparents. I didn't really have a chance to build a relationship with them until I was almost sixteen because we only saw them at holidays." Rory stopped talking suddenly. She thought about it some more and was struck by a terrible realization.

"I would have gone my whole life without ever knowing my grandparents if Mom hadn't needed their help to pay for Chilton. I wouldn't have met you or the guys, I wouldn't have become good friends with Paris, once upon a time I never thought I'd say that," Logan laughed and Rory laughed with him before she continued, "and I probably wouldn't have gotten into Yale. I'm just thinking about all the 'what ifs'," she finished. Logan set his wine glass down and pulled Rory into a hug.

"Whoa, Ace, calm down. Don't think about the 'what ifs', focus on what did happen. You went to Chilton and graduated at the top of your class. Besides Yale you got accepted into two other Ivy League universities, you have a wonderful relationship with your grandparents, you've made great friends in Paris, Lucy, and Olivia, and the guys, and you came into my world and turned it upside down. You've made me a better person, Rory. When I look back at how I used to be, I shudder. That person and the person I am now are vastly different, and I happen to like this version of myself much more than who I was before." Rory smiled while a few more tears leaked out of her eyes. Without a word Logan shifted on the couch and lifted Rory so she was laying against his chest.

For a few minutes, he just let her cry while he rubbed her back and massaged her favorite spot between her shoulder blades.

"Darn pre-graduation jitters," Rory said as she snuggled deeper into Logan's arms. She didn't know why she had cried so much today.

"Graduation is a stressful time, Ace. We also just had a huge conversation about what the next chapter of our lives is going to be." Rory nodded and lifted her head slightly to look at Logan, who brushed her bangs back gently.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked her. Rory nodded. "Good. We should go to bed; we have a busy couple of days coming up." He gave Rory a quick kiss as she got up to go into the bathroom.

"I love you, Logan."

"I love you, Ace."

So, quite the loaded chapter for Chapter 3, and a much-needed conversation for our favourite couple. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and Chapter 2!