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Rory slid the straps of her dress over her shoulders and Emily moved to zip her up and hook the little clasp before resting her hands on her granddaughter's shoulders.

"You look lovely, Rory. Logan's not going to know what hit him," she said, brushing a piece of hair out of Rory's eyes. Rory smiled and reached up to cover one of Emily's hands with her own. The two of them, Honor, Lane, and Paris had spent the morning getting pampered at the spa before having their hair and makeup done. Louise, Madeline, Olivia and Lucy, Rosemary, Juliet and Steph had been invited but hadn't been able to make it due to previous commitments. Rory's hair had been swept into an elegant updo with a few tendrils framing her face. On her feet were silver heels encrusted with small crystals. Her makeup was light and natural and her jewelry was simple.

"Thank you, Grandma, and thank you for organizing this party on such short notice," Rory said as the laughter of Richard, Logan, Honor, Josh, and the boys came up the stairs. Emily squeezed her shoulders.

"Of course, sweetie. We couldn't let you and Logan go without a party. The guests will be arriving soon. Shall we go down?" Emily asked. Rory nodded excitedly and hooked her arm through her grandmother's arm before the two of them left the room.

Logan stood in the foyer with Richard, Finn, Colin, Robert, and Honor and Josh when he heard footsteps on the stairs and turned his attention to the stairwell. Emily came down first and smiled at her husband as she came to his side. A moment later, Rory appeared on the landing, and the oxygen left Logan's lungs as he saw his fiancée. She was wearing a midnight-blue floor length gown with spaghetti straps. Looking closer, he saw a thin ribbon at her waist that was the same colour as the dress, with a slit showing her right leg from mid-thigh to ankle. Logan's mouth was dry as Rory picked up her skirt and walked down the stairs towards him. A throat clearing from Honor broke Logan out of his trance and he stepped forward to offer Rory his hand for the last few stairs. Rory slid her hand into his and looked into his eyes as she stepped onto the main floor.

"Hey," she said softly. Logan swallowed hard a few times.

"Hi," he managed to squeak out. Behind him, Honor and Emily exchanged a smile. They knew the moment Rory had tried the dress on it would be the one for tonight. If this was Logan's reaction to Rory in her dress for their engagement party, they could only imagine his reaction on the couple's wedding day. Richard motioned for the rest of the group to follow him and Emily into the sitting room, leaving Rory and Logan alone. Rory grinned at her fiancé and squeezed his hand.

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you speechless," she said. Logan cleared his throat and wet his lips to speak.

"Rory, you-you look absolutely amazing. No, not amazing. I mean you do, but that doesn't seem like the right word for how beautiful you look tonight. I think my heart stopped when you came down the stairs," Logan said, finally recovering his powers of speech. Rory blushed and smiled shyly at him.

"Thanks, Logan. You look very handsome," she said as she took in the black suit Logan wore. A white dress shirt and silver tie completed his look. Logan lifted the hand he was holding to kiss it before they went into the sitting room where their family waited. No sooner had Logan and Rory sat down that the doorbell rang and they heard the maid answer it.

"Here we go," Rory said to Logan as Lane, Zach, and Luke walked into the room, closely followed by Paris, Doyle, and the girls. Rory had to smile as she watched her grandmother jump up and begin handing out drinks, Emily was loving every moment of this. Then again, Emily loved hosting parties so Rory shouldn't have been surprised. Little did Rory know what the evening had in store for her.

Half an hour later, the party was in full swing. Rory had greeted the D.A.R. ladies, who were all enraptured with her ring, and answered dozens of questions. She'd retold the story of Logan's proposal so many times she could tell it in her sleep. As another group of the D.A.R. ladies walked away, Rory headed over to where Paris, Lane, Honor, Madeline, Louise, Olivia and Lucy stood.

"Here's the lady of the evening!" Honor cheered as she handed Rory a glass of champagne, who accepted it gratefully. She took a couple of sips to moisten her throat, which had grown hoarse from all the talking.

"Remind me to make sure the bartender for the wedding has an en masse of water bottles," Rory said, half-joking. Her girlfriends laughed.

"Well, you'll mostly be dancing at the wedding, so you might want to bring a pair of flats to the reception. Bring them to the venue the day before and put them under your chair at the head table," Lucy suggested.

"Good idea, Lucy. I can't believe a year from now Logan and I will be saying 'I do.' It is unreal to think about," Rory said as Logan and the boys joined them.

"Ah, yes, the wedding. But before we get to that, there's the bachelor weekend to think of and plan!" Finn exclaimed a little loudly, causing Colin and Robert to shush him. "I will not be shushed when we have to come up with an epic boys' weekend for Logan's bachelor party. Maybe base jumping, we never got to go after Logan went, since we had to get him medical attention," Finn said. The smile slid off of Rory's face as she gripped her glass hard and glared at Finn. She had never completely forgiven him or Colin for the ill-planned stunt in Costa Rica. Logan saw her expression and spoke.

"We're not going base jumping again Finn. Once was more than enough for me, and whatever we end up doing, we'll all be sober," Logan said firmly. He knew his accident had scared Rory half to death, he remembered vividly the nightmares she'd had after he had come home from the hospital. He'd experienced nightmares too, but while he had come to, paralyzed with terror, Rory's had been much more severe. She would shake uncontrollably before waking up gasping for breath or sobbing or screaming, sometimes all three at once. After one particularly bad nightmare had ended with them on the couch with warm tea, Logan asked Rory about her nightmares. Rory had wrapped her arms around her legs and hugged her knees to her chest before telling him. It was always the same dream; she was there at the cliff and she saw him jump and no matter how loudly she called to him, he couldn't hear her, and she was forced to watch every time as he jumped off the cliff and fumbled to pull his pack open. Logan had felt sick after hearing her describe that, and he promised himself then and there he would never do anything that dangerous again unless he was stone cold sober and with a trained professional. Logan was broken out of his memory by Rory touching him on the arm.

"Logan? Nick, Philip, Bobbi and Hugo just came in, we should say hello," she said. Logan nodded before turning his attention to the rest of the group.

"We'll catch up with you in a bit. I'll keep an eye on them," Honor said. The senior Huntzbergers' had arrived shortly after the D.A.R. ladies, and while they interacted with the other guests, they had yet to talk to Logan and Rory. Logan nodded in thanks as Rory took his hand and laced their fingers together before they walked over to Logan's former coworkers and Hugo. Out of the corner of her eye, Rory saw her mother and hoped she wouldn't make a scene. Rory hadn't wanted to invite her this evening but she couldn't invite her father and not Lorelai.

"There's the happy couple! Congratulations you two!" Philip exclaimed as he shook hands with Logan before hugging Rory and giving her two air kisses. Bobbi was next to greet Rory.

"Congratulations, sweetheart! You must be over the moon, let's see your ring!" Bobbi exclaimed. Rory held out her hand and Bobbi took it to examine the ring closer. "Oh, it's stunning!" Bobbi gushed. Nick, Philip, and Hugo took their turns studying the ring.

"You did good, Huntzberger! Has the wedding date been set?" Nick asked. Logan shook his head as he wrapped an arm around Rory's waist.

"No, not yet, but we're leaning towards a spring/summer wedding next year. Rory's grandparents have been wonderful helping us organize everything for Palo Alto and we're flying back at the end of the summer to begin meeting with wedding planners with Emily," Logan explained.

"Ah yes, they're the host and hostess, aren't they? Any chance we could meet them?" Hugo asked. Rory nodded as she spotted her grandparents a few feet away talking to Richard's business acquaintances. Emily caught her eye and Rory gestured for them to come over. Rory watched as they excused themselves and walked towards the group.

"Grandma, Grandpa, I'd like you to meet Nick, Bobbi, and Philip, they worked with Logan, and this is Hugo, he owns the online magazine I told you about," Rory quickly made the introductions.

"Lovely to meet you all, I'm so glad you could attend," Emily said graciously.

"It's delightful to meet you too, Mrs. Gilmore. Thank you so much for the invite into your beautiful home. This is a wonderful party," Bobbi replied. Emily smiled at her, charmed.

"Well, thank you, Bobbi. Have you all had a drink, there's a bar right over there," Emily said. The four of them nodded before Hugo spoke.

"Where are you thinking of applying in Palo Alto, Rory?" he asked. Rory took a sip of her champagne before she answered.

"I'll probably apply to all the newspapers in the city. I can't thank you enough for publishing some of my work in your magazine, Hugo. It's been a huge confidence booster for me," Rory said. Hugo nodded as he picked up a cracker with caviar from a passing waiter's tray.

"Of course. You're a great writer, Rory, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I'm sorry I don't have any full-time positions currently, but you never know, somewhere down the road that will happen and if it does, you've got a job waiting for you," Hugo said. Rory grinned at him and nodded.

"Thank you, that means a lot. It's always nice to hear when people appreciate your work, and I enjoy writing pieces for you," she said.

"Maybe when you get to San Francisco and are settled you'll find something that will inspire an article and you can send it to me," Hugo said.

"That would be great, thank you," Rory said, a warm feeling overtaking her. It was nice to know while she hadn't had any job offers yet, Hugo was still interested in pieces from her. Philip looked around and noticed there were people waiting to talk to Rory and Logan.

"We should stop monopolizing you, we'll try to catch up later in the evening, but if that doesn't happen, congratulations again and let us know when you're back on this side of the country," he said.

"Yes, and let us know about the wedding and how all the planning is going," Bobbi chimed in. Logan and Rory nodded and after saying goodbye to the foursome, Logan turned to Rory.

"Are you still intimidated by Bobbi?" he asked. Rory made a so-so motion with her hand.

"I am and I'm not. I think the part of me who felt threatened by her is disappearing the more I talk to her and spend time with her. She's a wonderful person, Logan, she is. I think, maybe, I was intimidated by her confidence and her glamour the first couple of times I met her. I could put something on I felt like a million bucks in at home, and then when I stood next to Bobbi, I felt like the small-town girl I grew up as. She looks like a supermodel and I-I don't," Rory admitted, completely forgetting her grandparents were standing beside her and Logan and listening to every word she said. Rory hated how insecure she sounded, she'd never felt this way around Steph or Rosemary or Juliet or even Madeline and Louise, so why did she feel uncertain around Bobbi? Logan smiled and took her hands.

"Rory, I'll let you in on a little secret. I found Bobbi daunting when I first met her. She seemed so sure of herself, and there were times I felt like she could see right through me. But the more I got to know her I realized behind her chic appearance is a warm, lovely person. The first thing she said to me back in London after meeting you was "Rory is such a charming, lovely woman. I would love to get to know her better." She wants to be friends, Rory," Logan said sincerely. Rory smiled and nodded.

"Well, maybe I'll ask if she'd like to go to lunch before we move. How long do you think she and Nick and Philip are here for?" she asked.

"I don't know, they had business here for Dad as well as coming for our engagement party," Logan looked over Rory's shoulder and spotted Bobbi, Nick and Philip chatting with their group of friends. Observing the group more closely he spotted Hugo in deep conversation with Josh. "She's over there with the gang right now, why don't we head over there, Ace?" Logan suggested. Rory nodded and was about to turn around to walk back over to their group of friends when she spotted her father. She opened her mouth to tell Logan Chris was approaching and they should greet him when she spotted the two people behind him. Rory's eyes widened in shock as the warm feeling she'd had a few moments ago evaporated and was replaced by a cold, empty feeling in her stomach. She turned to Emily, who was chatting with one of the D.A.R. ladies, and gently touched her arm to get her attention. Emily glanced over at Rory and noticed the stricken expression on her face.

"Excuse me, Nancy. Rory, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Emily said worriedly. Emily hoped Lorelai wasn't going to cause a scene tonight of all nights. She had had second thoughts about inviting her after her treatment of Rory at her graduation, but social appearances had to be upheld.

"Grandma, did you invite Francine and Straub Hayden?" Rory asked in a panicky voice.

"What?! My heavens, no, we haven't had anything to do with them since that disastrous evening seven years ago," Emily said.

"Oh. Well, they're here and heading this way with Dad," Rory squeaked out. Logan watched and listened in bafflement, what could have happened between Rory and her paternal grandparents to make her react this way? Emily whispered to Richard the Haydens were approaching, but there was no way to pretend they hadn't seen them and slip away, plus they weren't going to leave Rory to face them alone. Not after last time. Rory plastered a smile on her face as her father stopped in front of her, his parents just behind him.

"Hey kiddo, you look stunning!" Chris said as he embraced Rory. Rory hugged him back as she watched her paternal grandparents over his shoulder. Chris let go of her and looked behind him. Before he could say anything, however, Francine spoke.

"Rory, dear, you look so lovely. Your grandfather and I saw your engagement announcement in the paper, and when your father told us tonight was your engagement party, we thought we would come along," Francine said, as though the last seven years and that horrible night had never happened. Rory drew herself up to her full height and squared her shoulders. Across the room, Paris noticed who was talking to Rory and Logan and immediately felt worried. She remembered an evening from a couple of years ago where, after too much wine, Rory had told her the story of her grievous meeting with the Haydens. She would keep her distance for now, but if it looked like Rory needed her, she would be by her side in a heartbeat.

Rory locked eyes with her paternal grandmother, her grip tightening on her glass as her whole body tensed, like a lion preparing to spring. "And why did you think coming here tonight, without an invitation, would be a good idea, Mrs. Hayden?" she asked coldly. Francine and Straub's smiles faltered, they had thought Rory would welcome them with open arms, but now they weren't so sure. It was Straub who answered.

"We came because we're your grandparents, and why we didn't receive an invitation to our oldest grandchild's engagement party I don't know but we do have a right to be here, young lady," he said. Rory snorted. Around them, the party guests noticed the confrontation, Mitchum, Shira, and Elias among them. Was it possible Rory had been telling the truth?

"No, you don't have a right to be here, Mr. Hayden. You didn't receive an invitation for tonight's event because you chose not to be in my life when I was sixteen, remember? Actually, if I remember correctly, you didn't want me at all, did you?" Rory said.

"Rory, please. Your grandfather and I want to be in your life," Francine pleaded. Rory shook her head.

"Mrs. Hayden, if the only reason you want to be in my life is because you saw the announcement for our engagement, that's a pretty poor reason. Do you honestly think that what you said to and about me after I left the room that night didn't affect me? Because it did." A cold, bitter laugh escaped Rory at the shocked looks on her paternal grandparents' faces. "What? You thought because I was gone, I couldn't hear what you said about me, about my mother? Mr. Hayden, you never once called me by my name, it was always "young lady," or "that girl," or "that baby." You never cared about me!" Rory's voice rose and she didn't try to lower it. The entire party was paying attention to the scene in front of them now, but Rory didn't care. The Haydens had come here expecting to be welcomed back into her life as though nothing had happened, but Rory wasn't the sixteen-year-old they'd met seven years ago, the girl who was desperate to be liked by everyone. She was going to hold them accountable for their hurtful words, social graces and appearances be damned. Paris tapped Lane on the hand and gestured with her chin.

"I smell trouble," she said. Lane nodded, reading between the lines and they started in the direction of the confrontation, with the rest of the group following. Logan had a hand on his fiancée's back as he tried to calm her down. Rory took a couple of deep breaths before speaking again.

"You never cared about me, and you didn't want me! Mrs. Hayden, I know you suggested to Grandma and Grandpa they send my mother away when she was pregnant with me so you didn't have to deal with the scandal, while Mr. Hayden suggested she have an abortion!" Rory exploded. Gasps echoed around the room. Rory and Logan's group of friends froze in shock and horror, Paris' face was an unreadable mask. Rory hadn't told her that, and for the first time, Paris wondered how many other pieces of Rory's life story she didn't know. Logan felt cold all over as he thought of the possibility of Rory never coming into existence.

"Rory," he said softly. Rory ignored him as she focused on the grandparents who would never know her.

"If you honestly believe I can welcome you with open arms after the horrible things you said about me before I even came into this world, about my mother, you're wrong! We're not going to pretend we're a big happy family, because you've never been and never will be part of my family! It made getting tickets for my graduation from Yale easy because I didn't have to worry about leaving anyone out. You had no right to come tonight, you're not invited to my wedding, and you'll never know your great-grandchildren, not from me anyways. I heard someone say once if you're not part of someone's struggle, you don't deserve to be part of their success. It's too late for you to be part of my life. I need a moment, excuse me," Rory said. She fought back tears as she quickly walked away from Logan, Emily and Richard, her father, the Haydens and fumbled the door open to the patio. Lorelai saw her chance and hurried after Rory. Paris noticed Lorelai going after Rory and she gestured to Lane and the other girls and they followed, Bobbi hot on their heels, the latter's heart breaking and insides boiling at what she'd just heard. Logan turned to the Haydens as Finn, Colin, and Robert came to stand beside him, with Doyle, Zach, Josh, Hugo and Logan's former coworkers right behind.

"I hope you regret your decision tonight, because you have no one to blame but yourselves for what Rory just said. You decided not to be part of her life when she was a teenager and you have to live with that now, you can't come in and out of her life whenever you want," Logan said. Richard spoke for the first time since the Haydens had approached.

"Get the hell out of my house, Straub and Francine. You have no right to be here and you were out of line to come and say what you did to Rory. Logan, perhaps you and your friends would escort them out," Richard said.

"With pleasure, sir," Logan said. Francine and Straub looked at the angry faces of the men standing with Logan and knew it was pointless to argue.

Rory paced along the pool deck and tried to get her breathing under control. Her hands trembled as she came to a stop beside the pool and she squeezed them together to try and stop the shaking. She dimly heard the deck door open and close, and then there were footsteps coming towards her.

Lorelai sniffed as she looked at Rory. "Look at you, you look like everything I raised you not to be. Expensive dress, expensive shoes, you probably went to the spa and salon for them to make you look like the perfect society princess. And with Logan's money you'll have no shortage of fancy clothes and jewelry," Lorelai said mockingly. Rory clenched her jaw, she'd had all the confrontation she could handle for the evening, but she wasn't about to let her mother's taunts go unheard.

"You're right. I did go to the spa and salon this morning with Grandma and Honor, and I went shopping with them for my dress and shoes and we had a wonderful time. You say I look like everything you raised me not to be, but guess what Mom, I belong here. This is my world and I would have grown up in it had you not acted like a proud teenager and run away. As for Logan, what is your problem with him exactly?"

"My problem with Logan is he's a spoiled trust-fund kid who has had everything just handed to him. He's everything he is, Rory, because of his daddy's money. He's unreliable, just like your father, and you will be divorced within a year of marriage," Lorelai said, hoping she would sway her daughter to listen to her. Rory shook her head.

"You're wrong on so many levels. Yes, he has money, but he walked away from HPG to try and make it on his own. Logan is so much more than his family name and fortune. He's kind and loving and sweet and he cares about the people around him. He's not like Dad, not even a little bit! When Grandpa had his second heart attack, who was it that dropped everything to be there for us? Logan and Luke. We won't divorce because we are not you and Dad! If you think our marriage will end, why did you come tonight?" Rory snapped.

"I came because you're making a big mistake! There was a town meeting after you ran off and the town is talking about your engagement and the fact there was no mention of Stars Hollow in the announcement. You're hurting the people who love you Rory, you're hurting the only family you'll ever need," Lorelai said, hoping her guilt trip would work.

"If you think I'm making a mistake, don't come to the wedding! As for Stars Hollow, I'm happy to be away from there, from people who don't understand boundaries, and while we're on the subject, what do you think they would say if they knew you lied to them about Logan trying to get tickets for Luke and Lane? You should know the truth always comes out. It may not come from me, since I won't be living here anymore, but there are people who know the truth," Rory said firmly. She turned and started to walk away but Lorelai grabbed her arm.

"Don't you walk away from me; we are not done here!" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Oh, I think you are," Paris said. She and the other girls had been present for the whole argument, and as she'd listened to Lorelai berate, blame and taunt Rory, Paris wondered how she'd ever seen her as a second mother. Lorelai let go of Rory and spun around. Honor's eyes blazed in anger from the comments she'd heard about Logan.

"Paris, Lane, come on! You see how big of a mistake Rory is making! Paris, talk to her, you've always been able to talk sense into her," Lorelai said desperately. Paris and Lane shook their heads.

"Rory and Logan love each other, Lorelai. There must be something wrong with your eyes if you can't see that, so I'd get them checked if I were you. Then again, an appointment would be a waste of money since optometrists don't offer diagnoses for stupidity and jealousy," Paris said. Madeline and Louise smirked, Paris had always been able to deliver a good smackdown, and after hearing all of the things Lorelai had said and done to Rory over the last few days, they had no sympathy towards her.

"You need to leave, Lorelai. Between you and the Haydens, this evening has been ruined enough, and the only way it can be salvaged is if none of you are here," Lane said. The other women nodded. Lorelai stared at Lane and Paris in shock, she'd been sure they would be on her side, but judging from the cold looks she was receiving, she was done here. She turned back to Rory, who pointed towards the house.

"I've heard more than enough from you, go," she said. Lorelai swallowed her anger and walked away, she would leave but there was still time to talk to Rory and stop her from making the biggest mistake of her life. As the door closed behind her, Rory sighed and walked towards her friends. "Thank you for stepping in and coming out after her, I don't know what would have happened if it had been just the two of us out here the whole time," she said.

"No problem, Rory. Now, there's still some of the evening left to enjoy, so I suggest we all go enjoy the wonderful soiree you, Logan, and your grandparents planned. Oh, and me," Honor added as an afterthought. That broke the tension as the women laughed and headed into the house. Rory found herself walking beside Bobbi and remembered her conversation with Logan.

"Bobbi, when do you fly back to London?" she asked.

"The day after tomorrow, Nick and Philip and I have a few things to do for Mitchum and then we head back on the red-eye on Sunday," Bobbi replied.

"Would you like to have lunch before you leave? Logan and I aren't leaving until Tuesday," Rory offered. Bobbi beamed as they walked back into the party.

"Sure, that sounds lovely! I'll give you my number before the end of the night, now I think I see a certain worried fiancé looking for you," Bobbi said, squeezing Rory's arm. Rory nodded and squeezed Bobbi's arm back before she walked towards Logan.

"Hey, everything okay?" she asked him. Logan nodded and took a big gulp of scotch before telling Rory what had happened after she'd left.

"Rory, I'm so sorry the Haydens said those awful things to and about you. Why did you never tell me?" Logan asked. Rory smiled sadly.

"I don't like thinking about it, and their words and actions left a huge psychological scar on me. I think that's where part of my want and need to be liked by everyone comes from, because they didn't. Something to work through in therapy I guess," Rory said. Logan stepped toward her and wrapped an arm around her waist. He was about to speak when Chris walked over to them.

"Rory, I'm really sorry. I thought if Grandma and Grandpa came tonight it would begin to build a bridge between you," Chris said. He started to say more but Rory held up a hand.

"They're not my grandparents. Just because we share DNA doesn't mean they get to call themselves my family. You didn't stand up for me, Dad, again. That's the second time I've met them and just like last time, you didn't speak up for me or even think that them being here would make me uncomfortable. I don't know what fairytale they're living in, but there is no storybook ending where we magically get along and they're included in my life. That will never happen," Rory said. Chris looked at her sadly.

"Rory, I'm sorry. I knew this was your engagement party and when they called me asking about you and about tonight, I thought it should be a family thing," Chris tried to explain.

"You're not getting it. They will never be family to me. Between you, Mom and your parents, you've managed to take what should have been some of the happiest days and nights of my life and turn them into something awful, based on your own selfish desires. Just promise me you won't let your parents treat Gigi how they've treated me," Rory said as she took Logan's hand and walked away, leaving her father alone.