Disclaimer: do not own Gilmore Girls
A/N: There will be a couple of more chapters that are clustered in this time frame, near the graduation. I want to connect Logan and Honor, Luke and Lorelai, and Logan and Lorelai. It feels like these are important conversations/interactions that need to be established before I start having Rory on the road with the campaign. I also have gone back and listened to Mitchum, and pretty much decided that he is selfish and self-centered, but he does see Rory as helping him to get Logan where he wants him to be, a hardworking businessman, and he has an end game. And I will write something with Shira, but I dread it because she is just a witch of a mother.
hope you find this interesting ...
Logan and Mitchum
Logan is putting the final items from his bedroom into a box to take to California. He is happy Rory has agreed to marry him but frustrated she won't be living with him. He really wanted to come home to her every night. But as he thinks about it, he realizes that they are both starting their careers, and there will be long hours and a lot of dedication to the jobs. He has a copy of her schedule and is figuring out the days and nights when he can swoop in or she can come to California. There are stops on the schedule where it will be a short flight and he can plan to be out of the office, but then on the days she isn't there he can work the insane hours it will take to get this going. Quality time, not quantity is becoming his mantra. A knock on the door startles him out of his thoughts, "come in."
"Logan" Mitchum greets his son.
"Dad" Logan's voice is not happy, they have not had a good interaction since he quit HPG and was cut off, "how did you know I was here, I came during the day when I knew you were at work at Mom was at one of her charity meetings."
"I asked the staff to call me when you showed up, I knew you still had stuff here to collect. I wanted to talk to you."
"Ok, well, you have me, so what do you want." Logan was short.
"Sit down." Mitchum sat on the bed and pointed for Logan to join him, Logan sat down giving himself plenty of space, "Logan, I know our last conversation was …"
"not a conversation Dad, it was you yelling at me for being an idiot." Logan interrupted.
Mitchum nodded his head, "Yes, well, that is behind us. There is a rumor that you are engaged."
Logan looked at his hands, he knew he was going to have to face another dressing down from his parents on his choice of wife, but he was hoping it would come later, "yes, she said yes. And before you start, we are having a long engagement, because that is what she wants." Logan states.
Mitchum interrupts, "I also hear that Rory has a job with Hugo, coving the Obama campaign."
"Yes"
"I am glad she got a job, I know that other papers contacted me about which paper she was going to be working for in HPG, but she never applied. She is stubborn that one."
Logan agreed, "yes, she is. Didn't want anyone to think she got the job just because of my name. Wants to do it on her own."
"Well, I am not a fan of you not being with HPG."
"Dad, I am not coming back, and there won't be any more discussion about it. I have to do this."
Mitchum held up his hand, "This is about Rory. I still don't think she has 'it', although, after reading what she wrote in the Yale Daily News it is clear she can write."
Logan is practically eating the inside of his mouth trying to not explode, and through gritted teeth, "what do you mean she doesn't have 'it', she is an incredible writer, her research is amazing and she has a way of captivating the reader."
Mitchum nods, "yes, she is a great writer, but she doesn't go after the sources, she doesn't jump into the fray, she is an observer and that will get her so far, but her lack of boldness will be a hindrance. It's ironic, you have the bold, jump-off-the-cliff personality and she can write, not that you can't write, but she is a better writer. I realized when I heard she said yes, that the best writing team would be the two of you together."
Logan was in shock, did his father just say that they made a good team?
"Don't look at me like that, I call it as I see it. You jump, often without looking, but you aren't afraid to leap. Rory, thinks it through carefully, I can see her taking the materials that you gather and turning them into extraordinarily well-crafted stories. So, yes, I think you will make a good team. I wanted you to know that, I think it can work. Just don't get lazy, relationships are hard work, and ones, where one person is traveling all of the time, are really hard. Anyway, since I know that she didn't want to work for HPG, that is fine with me. I would suggest that if she really wants to make it, then maybe you should tell her to consider a pen name. Gilmore and Huntzberger are linked, and it will take longer for her to get recognized if she goes by Gilmore."
"Thanks, Dad." Logan was still processing what had just happened. He wished he had a recorder to make sure that he had heard correctly, but it sounded like his Dad just supported his relationship and Rory becoming a reporter.
Mitchum didn't stick around, he stood up and walked out the door.
Rory's final morning in Stars Hollow
Lorelai is standing in the doorway to Rory's room, she thinks about walking in, but then stops and just looks at her. Where does the time go? How can she be old enough to be a college graduate and starting a job? A feeling of pride and loss wash over her
"Mom, stop staring." Rory pulls back the blankets and starts to get up.
"No, don't" Lorelai walks in and sits on the bed, "don't get up, I'm not ready for you to … I thought we had more, well you know, more time. This is all happening so fast. I have so much more to tell you, most importantly."
"Sit in the back of the bus with the cool kids?"
"Yeah."
"And get a window seat so I can see everything?"
"Right, hey, when did you get so smart?"
"When my Mom taught me how to get to school at Chilton. Same advice then as now." Rory smiles at her Mom and puts her arms around her. "I'm going to be ok. Plus, I've been looking at the itinerary, I am going to be in Iowa a lot. Not actually sure I want the window seat, how much corn do I really want to look at?"
Lorelai kinda scrunches up her face, "huh, didn't think about the corn."
"Good news, though I am in New Hampshire on the 5th of June to cover a debate and then we come to Connecticut, Hartford actually, on the 23rd of June and that is a Saturday, just miss Friday night dinner, but maybe you could come to visit?"
"Seriously, Hartford in a month? That is great, I won't tell Adolf and Eva if you don't."
Rory sits up, "let's go get coffee, we can spend the morning together before I get on the train to New York."
About 30 minutes later they are walking into Luke's, Lorelai is shocked, "there are people here? It is 6 o'clock in the morning and people are here."
Luke turns around and gives her a smile, "Yes, not everyone starts the work day at noon. Hey, Rory, ready to start your new job?"
Rory notices that Luke seems to only have eyes for her mother.
"Hey, Luke, yeah, I am actually really excited. And can we get.."
Luke walks over and puts down two plates, "eggs and bacon and hash browns, pancakes will be here in a minute"
"Thanks, Luke." Rory starts to realize that she won't be getting her Luke's breakfasts again for a long time.
"Coffee, coming up."
Lorelai looks put out, "really, food before the elixir of life?"
"Addict" Luke mumbles under his breath.
Lorelai starts digging through Rory's bag, "What are you looking for Mom?"
"Your world's greatest reporter cap."
"Yeah, kinda left that at home, and not taking it with me." Rory grimaces at the thought of putting it on.
Looking put out, "well how are they going to know you are the world's greatest reporter then?"
Luke walks over with the coffee, "oh, they'll know, they'll just read her stuff."
He beams with pride as he puts down the mugs. Rory glances up, "Thanks, Luke!"
"oh, speaking of people reading my stuff, I need a pen name."
"What? Why?" Babette, Miss Patty, Kirk, and Luke are all at the table with Lorelai looking at Rory like she is crazy.
"Actually, it is so that my work isn't associated with the Huntzberger's, it is going to get out that Rory Gilmore is engaged to Logan, but my pen name will not be. I want people to know that I made it because I can write, not because of my fiancee.
Miss Patty comments, "that makes sense. In the entertainment business if you have a famous spouse, sibling, or parent, it is assumed that the only reason anyone looked at you is because of who you know, and they can be right, but the good ones, they go on to make their own name. Look at Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland."
Kirk piped up, "Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen"
"Yeah, Shirley MacLean and Warren Beatty," interjected Babette.
Lorelai looked at Babette, "no way, they are related."
"Sugar, they are brother and sister, but she wanted to stand on her own," said Babette.
Lorelai looked at Rory, "don't be Shirley MacLean, but hey, how about Leigh Gilmore? That is your middle name and we know to look for Gilmore."
Rory thinks about it for a minute, "I was thinking about Leigh Hayden, but well, what do you think if I used Leigh Danes? Luke? Would that be ok?"
"Oh, Rory, I would be honored if you used my last name." Luke was in shock.
"You've been more like a Dad to me in many ways, and well, maybe soon, it will be closer to the truth?" Rory pushes.
Lorelai looks at Luke and then Rory, "I'd like that."
"We'd all like that, honey," says Miss. Patty.
"Ok, then Leigh Danes, look for it in a week or so," says Rory.
"Sugar, you are not going to need a pen name for long!" Babette pronounces and everyone agrees, but Rory is warming to the idea of publishing as Leigh Danes. Something about keeping her private life a bit more private is very appealing.