Disclaimer: We don't own Gilmore Girls.
Rory studied her reflection and twisted her engagement ring around her finger. It had been two days since the showdowns with her mother and Patty, Babette and Taylor, and tonight she and Logan were telling his family about their engagement. Rory shuddered at the thought of it. The memory of the last time she was in that house had had her on edge all day. She was staying in the pool house again, but would join her grandparents in the main house for meals. After she had woken up from her nap, she and Logan had gone downstairs to join her grandparents and Emily had ordered Chinese food with all of Rory's favourites before the four of them had gotten to work on the invitations for the engagement party.
Rory was so lost in thought she didn't hear the knock on the bedroom door. Emily watched her worriedly. Rory had been quiet and withdrawn for the past few days, only speaking when Emily or Richard had asked her a direct question. Not even Logan had been able to pull Rory out of whatever train of thought she was in. Emily knew Lorelai had tried to call Rory a few times, but she had let them go to voicemail. Emily knew that Rory needed space and time to cool off from the confrontations she'd endured, and she had made up her mind if Lorelai called the house looking for Rory, she would tell Lorelai to leave Rory be, she would reach out when she was ready. Emily cleared her throat.
"Rory?" Startled, Rory jumped and turned to face her grandmother, who came to stand next to her in front of the mirror. "Logan just called, he's on his way here," Emily said gently. Rory nodded and looked back at herself, studying the black dress she'd chosen for tonight's dinner. It was the one she had worn for Logan's launch party, and she'd chosen this outfit because it boosted her confidence and self-esteem, two things she needed tonight. For jewelry, she wore the diamond set Logan had given her for graduation. Rory smoothed a non-existent wrinkle in her dress before turning to face her grandmother.
"Grandma, I think I need to get help," she said. At Emily's puzzled look, Rory explained, "I need to start seeing a counsellor." Emily's eyes widened.
"My goodness Rory, what brought this on? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you feel comfortable enough with me to share something so personal but what made you come to this decision?" she asked as the two of them walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. Rory sighed as she picked up her coat and purse.
"It's something I've been thinking about the last few days, especially after what happened in Stars Hollow. It may be my hometown, but the thought of going there makes me anxious. I feel like I can't go back there now because of what happened with Miss Patty and Babette and Taylor, and I'm sure Mom didn't waste any time spreading the news about our fight," Rory said, her voice shaking. Emily shook her head.
"Rory, listen to me. You did nothing wrong, in fact you did the right thing. You stood up for yourself and that's one of the most empowering things you can do, not just for yourself but others as well. Is there something else contributing to your feeling you need to see a counsellor?" Emily asked. Rory nodded as they walked across the deck and into the main house.
"Some days I feel like there's a storm swirling inside me and others I feel like there's a weight pressing down on my shoulders. It's so heavy I feel like it's going to crush me without warning. There's things from my past I need to deal with and get closure from," Rory replied. Emily nodded.
"All right. If you like, we can start researching potential counsellors in California that you could get in touch with when you get there?" Emily suggested as the two of them arrived in the parlor and saw Logan and Richard sitting there. Rory nodded. "If you like I can start looking tonight while you're at the Huntzbergers," Emily offered.
"That sounds good, Grandma. Thank you," Rory said before she turned her attention to Logan, "Hey. I'm sorry, were you waiting long?" she asked. Logan shook his head as he stood up.
"Nope. I just got here. Are you ready?" he asked. Rory nodded even as her stomach churned with anxiety.
"As ready as I'll ever be," she said. Emily squeezed her shoulder in support.
"Logan, you're more than welcome to stay here tonight," she said. Logan nodded as he helped Rory with her coat.
"Thank you, Emily, I might take you up on that," he said. After bidding Emily and Richard goodbye, Logan and Rory headed to his car. It was a silent drive to the Huntzberger mansion, and all too soon, Rory and Logan arrived at their destination. As they sat in the vehicle, reluctant to go in, Rory looked at the house that had so impressed her the first time she'd come here. Now it just made her palms sweat. Logan exhaled and glanced over at her. Rory reached over and grabbed his hand as she met his eyes.
"The sooner we go in, the sooner we can leave," she said. Logan nodded and they exhaled deeply before getting out of the car. As Rory stepped onto the sidewalk, Honor and Josh pulled in behind them, with Honor waving at Rory and Logan. Josh stopped the car and the two of them got out.
"We thought it would be better to arrive at the same time so we can all walk in together. Ready?" Honor asked as she took Josh's hand. Rory and Logan nodded as the four of them walked up the stairs. Logan rang the doorbell and one of the maids answered it.
"Mr. and Mrs. Huntzberger are in the sitting room with your grandfather," she said as she took their coats and Rory and Honor's purses.
"Thank you," Logan said. The group made their way down the hall to the sitting room, where Mitchum, Shira and Elias waited. Honor and Logan greeted their parents and grandfather while Josh and Rory sat on the love seats. Josh looked across at Rory, who had her hands arranged to hide her engagement ring. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her and Rory nodded. Honor and Logan joined their respective partners on the love seats with Logan sitting next to Rory and covering her hands with his own. There was a tense silence, the only sound was the ice cubes clinking against Elias' glass.
"So, Rory, how does it feel to be a Yale graduate?" Mitchum asked. Rory sat up a little straighter. She could do this. She focused on Mitchum and looked him straight in the eye.
"It feels wonderful, thank you for asking. It's hard to believe my undergraduate degree is over, but I might go back and get my Master's degree in a few years," she replied. That brought a snort from Elias and a sniff from Shira.
"You still want to be a working woman, I see, Rory," said Shira, not even attempting to keep the disdain out of her voice. Rory switched her gaze from Mitchum to his wife.
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to work, Mrs. Huntzberger. If I had an aversion to it, I wouldn't have spent the last four years attending lectures, completing assignments and taking exams, or working at the bookstore in my hometown or at the Yale dining hall to make extra money," Rory said. Shira narrowed her eyes at Rory, but before she could say anything Mitchum spoke.
"Have you had any job offers yet, Rory?" he asked. Rory shook her head.
"No, I've been applying but nothing has come up here. I'm going to apply at the newspapers in San Francisco when Logan and I move next week," she answered.
"And why would you be moving halfway across the country with my son?" Shira asked. Rory exhaled and Logan squeezed her hand before facing his mother.
"She's moving to California with me because I asked her to come with me. Rory and I talked about it and agreed we don't want to do long distance again, especially not now we're engaged," Logan said. For a moment there was only silence, and then the shouting began.
"Logan you can't be serious! We already discussed this; you need the right kind of person by your side when you take over this company!" Elias said.
"I left the company, remember?! I do have the right person by my side. I don't know what your definition of "the right person" is, but Rory is the one for me because she's the first person who actually believed in me, who made me want to do better, be better! She's not afraid to call me out on my crap and she challenges me! Rory is everything I've always wanted and needed," Logan said. As he paused to take a breath, Shira spoke.
"Is she pregnant? Did you trap my son into marriage by becoming pregnant out of wedlock? I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Shira said. Honor and Josh gasped.
"Mom!" Honor exclaimed. She was about to say more but Logan beat her to it.
"You will not speak to Rory like that! She is going to be my wife and you need to show her some respect! I'm marrying her because I love her, and if she were pregnant, I would still marry her because I want to build a life with her," Logan said.
"Mitchum, tell Logan he can't do this. Tell him he can't marry this nobody who is the daughter of a sixteen-year-old who got impregnated by the pool boy or the gardener," Shira said, completely disregarding Logan's warning. Rory's eyes flashed and she stood up, her back ramrod straight. As angry she was at Lorelai, she wasn't about to let Shira Huntzberger insult her and her mother again and get away with it.
"Don't you dare speak of my mother that way! Yes, she got pregnant at sixteen, but it wasn't by the pool boy or the gardener. My father is Christopher Hayden, and my paternal grandparents are Francine and Straub Hayden," Rory said. Logan, Mitchum, Elias, and Honor's mouths dropped open. Shira, however, remained unfazed.
"You're lying. I've seen Francine and Straub at events and they've never mentioned you. And judging by Logan's reaction, he hasn't met your father," Shira said.
"I have met Rory's dad, actually. On a number of occasions," Logan said. Rory's focus remained on Shira.
"Francine and Straub haven't mentioned me because I don't have a relationship with them. They've been against my existence from the beginning and they made that abundantly clear at our first and only meeting when I was sixteen. As for my engagement to Logan, it doesn't matter to you I love your son and want to make him happy. You would rather see him in a loveless marriage, like yours, with a woman who is only interested in shopping and planning events," Rory finished. Logan let out a low whistle at Rory facing his mother down before taking Rory's hand.
"All right, everyone, calm down. We still have a family dinner after all," said Mitchum. Logan snorted.
"If you think for one second, I'm going to stay in the same house and share a meal with two people who just insulted my fiancée, you're wrong. We're leaving," Logan stated before he and Rory left the room. Honor looked at Josh before the two of them stood up.
"I didn't speak up when Logan first brought Rory home three years ago and I should have. Mom, Grandpa, if you could pull your heads out of the sand and see what everyone else sees when they look at Rory and Logan, you would see they're perfect for each other. Rory was the first to be by Logan's side after he had his accident in Costa Rica. Where were you grandpa? Smoking cigars at the club with your friends? Mom, you checked into a spa as soon as you heard, while Josh and I cut our honeymoon short to come home because that's what family does!" Honor said, breathing hard. She sucked in a lungful of air before turning to her father. "As for you, Dad, would you have gone to the hospital if Rory hadn't called and told you to swallow your pride and get your ass down there?" she asked. Flabbergasted, the three Huntzberger elders stared at Honor, who nodded. "I thought so. Richard and Emily Gilmore are hosting an engagement party for Rory and Logan before they move, they mailed out the invitations yesterday. If you come, all of you had better be on your best behaviour. I won't let any of you ruin Rory and Logan's night. Okay Josh, let's go," Honor said, grabbing her husband's hand and leading him to the door, leaving her parents and grandfather behind them. Mitchum looked at his father and wife.
"Well, that was nicely handled," was all he said before walking to his study. As he locked the door behind him, Mitchum ran a hand over his face. He wasn't a man who liked to admit he was wrong, but Honor was right. Rory had shown a different side of herself when she'd called him that day, and after he'd gotten over his shock of her saying what she did, he'd felt a respect for her begin to grow. He hadn't known Honor knew about Rory's call to him. Mitchum poured himself a generous glass of scotch and settled down at his desk. He had some thinking to do.
Outside, Rory stood locked in Logan's arms as he rubbed her back. After they'd left the sitting room and collected their belongings, they made it to Logan's car before Rory sagged into him, all the fight having gone out of her. Her head laid against his chest; Logan rested his chin on the top of her head as he stared across the driveway. At the sound of footsteps, he looked around to see Honor and Josh approaching.
"Another disastrous gathering at the Huntzberger residence, and we didn't even make it to dinner," Honor said. Logan gave a half-hearted chuckle as Rory turned her head to look at her future sister and brother in-law.
"Well, we could pick something up and go to my grandparents' place? There's dishes and cutlery in the pool house where I'm staying," she offered.
"That sounds good, what should we get?" Honor asked.
"How about Chinese food? I have a hankering for some sweet and sour pork and chicken chow mein," Josh suggested. The other three nodded in agreement. After some back and forth about food orders, Josh called a nearby Chinese food restaurant to place the order and the two couples separated. Josh and Honor would pick up the food while Rory and Logan were on dessert duty. As they drove to the grocery store, Rory looked over at Logan.
"Well both our families know now," she said. Logan sighed as he nodded.
"Yeah. I'm sorry my mom and grandpa were so awful, it felt like last time," he said.
"They weren't any worse than my mom was, and this time we knew what we were walking into. Last time we were blindsided," Rory pointed out. Logan nodded and signaled to turn into the grocery store parking lot. After finding a parking space, the two of them headed into the store and went straight to the dessert aisle.
"What do we want, cake or pie?" Logan asked.
"Pie, and whip cream. Do Honor and Josh have any food allergies?" Rory wanted to know as she surveyed the pie selection. Logan shook his head. Rory pointed to a pumpkin pie and a strawberry one. "Which one?" she asked.
"Both," Logan said. After picking up whip cream and going through the checkout, they drove back to the Gilmore mansion. Honor and Josh pulled into the driveway just as Rory and Logan were getting out of the car. When they exited the vehicle, Honor was holding two bags of takeout while Josh had a bottle of wine in each hand.
"What did you guys pick up for dessert?" Honor asked.
"Pumpkin and strawberry pies, and whip cream," Rory answered, leading them to the gate that led to the backyard. She pulled the key out of her pocket and unlocked the gate before motioning to the others to follow her. Once they were all through, Rory secured the entrance behind them and they continued on to the pool house. Honor whistled as Rory opened the door and turned the lights on.
"Nice place," she said. Rory grinned as she pulled her coat off and hung it on the coatrack before holding her hands out for her companions' coats.
"Thanks. My grandparents had it redecorated when I moved in here during my time off from Yale," she explained as she walked over to the fridge to put the pies and whip cream in. As Rory pulled out plates and cutlery, there was a knock on the door. Rory crossed to the door in three quick steps and opened it.
"Hello Rory, we didn't expect you back so soon," Emily said as Richard nodded behind her. Rory stepped back to let her grandparents enter.
"Things didn't go well. We didn't make it to dinner so Honor and Josh picked up Chinese food for us to have here," Rory explained.
"Come and join us, Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, there's plenty," Honor invited. Rory nodded.
"Well, all right, we'll join you," said Richard as he and Emily accepted the glasses of wine Logan offered. The six of them served themselves before settling down around the table.
"So, what happened exactly at the Huntzbergers?" Richard asked. Rory sighed before telling them about the evening's events, with Logan, Honor, and Josh jumping in with their own anecdotes. Richard and Emily shook their heads.
"Well, I sent invitations to your parents and grandfather. I do hope the three of them will behave themselves, should they make an appearance," Emily said. Honor swallowed a bite of chicken chow mein.
"I told them they have to be on their company behaviour if they attend," she said.
"Good. There's been enough drama over the last few days. We released the engagement announcement for Rory and Logan this evening so it will be in the papers tomorrow, and we've had people respond that they are attending. Once we hear from everyone, we can let the caterer know. Rory, your father has already RSVPed," Emily said. Rory nodded and swallowed.
"He texted me earlier and said he was coming. He's really looking forward to it," she said.
"Good, have you given any thought as to what kind of dress you'd like to wear?" Emily asked as Logan and Josh collected the dinner plates and stood up to get their dessert.
"Something in blue," Rory answered before sharing a look with Logan. She knew how much he liked her in blue. Emily caught the look between the two and smiled to herself as Logan and Josh came back with the pies, whip cream, plates and forks.
"Tomorrow is Saturday, if you like we could go dress shopping and have lunch somewhere," Emily said as they all served themselves pie.
"That sounds great, Grandma," Rory said before putting a bite of pumpkin pie into her mouth.
"Wonderful. Honor, would you like to join us?" Emily offered. Honor nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course! I love shopping and that's something I haven't had a chance to do with Rory very often," she said. Emily nodded as they continued with their dessert. It was decided while Emily, Honor and Rory shopped, Josh and Logan would join Richard at the club for a round of golf and drinks afterwards.
After they'd finished their dessert, Honor and Josh took their leave, with the former promising to meet Emily and Rory at the mall at 10 o'clock the next morning. Emily and Richard stayed and visited with Rory and Logan for a little longer before retiring to the main house for the night. When it was just the two of them, Logan remembered something from earlier in the evening.
"Hey, Rory? When I came to pick you up it looked like you and Emily were having a pretty deep conversation. Is everything okay?" he asked.
"Everything's fine, Logan. I'm so sorry, I meant to tell you earlier but I think the both of us were feeling too angsty about going to your parents' house. I'm going to start therapy when we move to Palo Alto and grandma offered to help me research counsellors," she explained before telling him about her conversation with her grandmother and her reasons for wanting to go to therapy. Logan nodded as he listened.
"I think it's good you're going to do this for yourself. It sounds like you've thought about it," he said when she finished. Rory shrugged.
"I need to. I don't want my issues to cloud my relationship with you or any of my other relationships more than they already have," she admitted. Logan squeezed her hand.
"Maybe I should go too. Maybe we should go to couples therapy? We've been communicating a lot better, Rory, but I think we both know there's still work we need to do on our relationship," Logan suggested. Rory nodded as she thought about it. Logan was right.
"Maybe when I'm researching counsellors, I could look at counsellors who specialize in couples therapy too? We could look together," Rory said. Logan nodded.
"And while we're doing that, I can look for a therapist too," he said before glancing at his watch. "I'm going to head back to Honor and Josh's place. I'll see you tomorrow at some point?" Logan asked. Rory nodded as she stood up.
"Sounds good," she said before kissing him softly. Logan kissed her back and hugged her tightly.
"Sweet dreams, Rory. Get a good night's sleep, you're going to need it to keep up with my sister tomorrow. She's a force to be reckoned with when shopping," Logan said. Rory giggled and hugged him back.
"Duly noted. Good night," she said softly.
"Good night, Ace," Logan said before letting himself out. Once he was gone, Rory locked the door behind him and put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher before shutting the lights off and making her way to her bedroom. After she picked up her pajamas, she went into the adjoining bathroom and turned the shower on before she put her hair in a bun and undressed. Rory stood under the spray and let the warm water wash the day away. When she climbed into bed a little while later, her eyes drifted shut as her head hit the pillow.
The next morning, Rory walked into the main house to find her grandmother waiting for her in the dining room.
"Good morning, Grandma," she said. Emily looked up from the papers in front of her.
"Good morning, Rory. Did you sleep well?" she asked. Rory nodded as she sat down.
"I did, thank you. Did you?"
"I did, thank you. Your grandfather has already left for the club, he said he wanted to get a few practice swings in before Logan and Josh join him. Have your breakfast, there's something I want to give you before we leave to meet Honor," Emily said as Rory fixed her coffee the way she liked it. After breakfast, Rory headed upstairs with her grandmother and followed Emily into her and Richard's room. Emily opened the safe she and Richard kept valuables and other important things in and took out a dark blue velvet case, which she handed to Rory.
"I figured now would be a good time to give you a family heirloom. Open it," Emily said. Rory unclasped the box and lifted the lid curiously. She gasped as she saw the most beautiful tiara she'd ever seen nestled in a bed of velvet. She looked back up at Emily, who smiled at her. "It's the tiara I wore on our wedding day, I thought maybe you'd like to wear it on yours," Emily said softly. Rory put a hand to her face and sniffled before moving to hug her grandmother. Emily hugged her back, tears coming to her eyes as she listened to Rory sniffling. Rory pulled back to wipe the tears that were falling down her face as Emily pulled a handkerchief out of her jacket pocket and wiped her own eyes.
"I would love to wear it, Grandma. Thank you so much. Could you hold onto it for me? To keep it safe until my wedding day?" she asked. Emily nodded as Rory handed her the box. After Emily had put the tiara away and locked the safe, they headed downstairs and out the door to meet Honor.
When Emily and Rory arrived at the mall, they saw Honor waiting for them out front with a Starbucks drinks tray in her hands.
"I figured we might want some caffeine today, so I stopped and got us all a London Fog on my way here," she said as Rory and Emily approached her.
"Very thoughtful, Honor, thank you! Now, how should we do this? I think we should look for outfits first and shop for shoes after," Emily said as the three women headed into the mall.
"I think that's a good idea, Grandma. We could just walk through the mall and if one of us sees something we like we can go in the store and look," Rory suggested. Emily and Honor nodded and they set off through the mall.
An hour later, Emily and Honor had found their dresses for the engagement party. Emily had, with Rory's help, chosen a light purple jacket and skirt ensemble, with the skirt stopping just past her ankles. Honor had picked a dark green satin cocktail dress with spaghetti straps that crisscrossed in the back and found a black shawl to go with it. Rory had tried on dresses too, but they were all either too tight or low-cut for her liking. She'd tried on a light blue chiffon dress that she'd liked until she spotted the coffee stain on the skirt and a noticeable run in the front of the dress. As they walked through the mall, Rory happened to glance at the window of the store they were passing and stopped dead in her tracks.
"It's close to 12, perhaps we should eat and then we can keep looking for your dress Rory. Rory?" Emily said as she turned to her granddaughter, only to find she wasn't there. Emily and Honor turned around to see Rory a few feet away, gazing at something in one of the store windows. "Rory?" Emily said as they approached her. Rory grinned and pointed ahead of her.
"I think that's my dress," she said. Emily and Honor followed her line of sight and gasped as they saw what Rory was looking at.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see if they have your size!" Honor exclaimed eagerly before leading the way into the store. The salesperson looked up at their entrance.
"Can I help you?" she asked. Rory nodded as she stepped forward.
"That dress in the window, is it the only one you have in stock or do you have other sizes?" she asked. The lady smiled as she caught sight of the dress Rory was pointing to.
"It just came in this morning; the other sizes are over here. If you'll follow me," she said. Rory, Emily, and Honor followed her to a rack against the wall on the other side of the store. "What size are you?" the saleslady asked.
"I'm a six," Rory answered. The saleslady nodded and flipped through the dresses on the rack until she found Rory's size.
"Here you are, the changing rooms are just over here. Let me know if you need anything else," she said. Rory thanked her before the saleslady walked back to the counter and Rory, Honor, and Emily headed to the change rooms.
"We'll wait out here, Rory," Emily said as she and Honor sat down on the chairs in front of the three-way mirror. Rory nodded and slipped into one of the change rooms, closing the door behind her. She quickly undressed before unzipping the dress and stepping into it. The moment she pulled the zipper up and hooked the eye, she knew she had to have it. The dress fit like a glove, highlighting her curves and hugging her in all the right places. She grinned as she opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Emily and Honor gasped.
"Oh Rory!" Emily exclaimed.
"That's it! That's the dress, turn around let's see what the back looks like," Honor said. Rory turned and swept her hair over her shoulder. The dress had spaghetti straps and showed a modest amount of Rory's porcelain skin. Rory turned back around and smiled.
"I'm going to get this one," she said. Emily and Honor nodded as they stood up.
"Why don't you give me the dress and I'll go pay for it? Then we can go to lunch before shopping for shoes?" Emily offered. Rory nodded and ducked back into the changing room. After unzipping the dress and stepping out of it, she opened the door a crack to hand it to her grandmother before closing the door to get dressed. When she came into the hallway, Honor linked arms with her as they headed to the front.
"That dress looks perfect on you; Logan will love it! Especially the part in the leg," Honor said in a low tone with a wink before they burst into giggles. Emily finished paying for the dress and accepted the garment bag from the saleslady with a thank you.
"All right you two, let's go get some lunch," she said before leading the way out of the store.
Francine Hayden sipped her tea as she read through the Hartford newspaper for that day. Turning the page to where the engagement and wedding announcements were, her eyes widened as they lit on an item in the very center of the page.
"Straub! Look at this!" she exclaimed to her husband, who was reading his own paper.
"Oh, for heaven's sake Francine, what is it?" he asked, annoyed as he moved to see what his wife was looking at. Francine pointed to the announcement. Straub's widened as he read: Emily and Richard Gilmore are pleased and proud to announce the engagement of their granddaughter, Lorelai (Rory) Leigh Gilmore to Logan Elias Huntzberger. The piece was short, but it was enough to make the two people reading it question if they'd made the right decision all those years ago.
Ooooh! Dun dun dun!
