Disclaimer: We don't own Gilmore Girls. Trigger Warning: This chapter mentions miscarriage.

Logan watched Rory worriedly as she placed another shirt in her suitcase. Tomorrow they were flying back to Connecticut, and Logan had seen an increasing change in Rory's mood since their visit with Honor and Josh. As their departure date crept closer, Rory had become quiet and withdrawn. Logan wasn't a mind-reader, but he knew that she was thinking about the upcoming confrontation with Stars Hollow and talking with Lindsay.

In his heart, Logan knew that Rory would do everything she could to keep things calm and respectful when she was talking to Lindsay. She had told him a bit about the blonde woman, about their shared history before Dean came into the picture, and with that and what he had been able to piece together from Rory and Lane's Skype conversations over the past month, Lindsay was open to hearing Rory out.

Logan chewed his lip as he folded another blazer, thinking back to his and Rory's conversation the day Honor and Josh went home.

FLASHBACK

Rory sighed and set her keys in the dish. She had just dropped Honor and Josh off at the airport, and as much as she loved her future siblings-in-law, it was nice to have a quiet house after the busyness of the weekend. For the next couple of hours, she cleaned and caught up on laundry.

After lunch, she sat down to work and was so invested in what she was doing she didn't come back to reality until Logan arrived with takeout.

"Hey sweetheart," he said, depositing the food on the dining room table and leaning down to kiss his fiancée.

"Hey, how was your day?" Rory asked. She stood and embraced him, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"It was good. How was yours?"

"It was good. Honor and I went to my dress appointment this morning while Josh did some work, and after I took them to the airport, I came home and cleaned and then sat down to write. Pretty low-key," Rory said. Logan nodded, his brown eyes searching her blue ones.

"I thought we could talk about the counselling appointment that you had on Friday over dinner if you're up to it," he said gently. Rory hesitated before nodding. She'd known this moment was coming all weekend, and Logan had been patient with her as she came to terms with her realizations.

After they'd settled at the table with their sushi, Rory opened her mouth and closed it again.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where to start." Logan shook his head.

"It's okay, sweetie. Take your time," he said, abandoning his chopsticks to take Rory's hand. He squeezed her fingers. "We don't have to talk about it if you're not ready."

"I know, but I want to," she said, even as she held Logan's hand like it was a lifeline. Rory paused for a few minutes as she thought about what she wanted to say. Her eyes lit upon her journal at the other end of the table and her thoughts cleared. Getting up, she walked over and picked up the book, which she handed to Logan as she sat down. He looked at the book and then at her, a silent question in his eyes. She nodded and Logan blew out a breath before opening the book to the marker.

His dinner lay forgotten as Logan read Rory's words with growing horror. When he finished the pages, he sat with parted lips and damp eyes. A gentle touch from his fiancée brought him back to the present.

"Pretty bad, huh?" Rory said, her fingers stroking the inside of his wrist. Logan swallowed and tried to find the words to speak, but he found they were stuck in his throat. As waves of anger, shock, horror and disbelief rolled over him, Logan realized why Rory had been so shy and sheltered when they'd first met. He couldn't believe that she had been raised in that environment, and the knowledge that this had been the first nine years of her life sickened him.

Rory watched her fiancée as he digested the words she'd written three days before. Logan had never been this quiet, and it frightened her. Her relationships with Dean and Jess had taught her to be wary of silence from a partner. When Jess was silent, it meant he was withdrawing from her, leaving her to second-guess herself. When Dean was silent, it had masked the anger roiling just beneath the surface.

Just when Rory thought she wouldn't be able to stand it anymore, Logan stood up, drawing her to her feet in one swift movement. She didn't have time to question what he was doing as he pulled her into his arms and wrapped them tightly around her waist. She could feel the tension rolling off of him as tremors shook his muscles.

How long they stood like that, Rory didn't know. Logan moved one hand to run his fingers through her hair over and over. When he pulled back to look at her, his eyes were shiny as he finally spoke.

"I'm so sorry, Rory. I wish I'd known sooner," he said. Rory smiled sadly.

"My session with Sasha was the first time I've ever talked about it," she said before telling him about her phone call with Emily. Tears fell from both their eyes as Rory opened up to Logan in a way she never had. When she finished talking, Logan wiped her tears away with his thumbs. They were silent as they sat down again.

Quietly finishing their meal, Logan led Rory to their bedroom, where they lay down on the bed. They watched the last signs of daylight fade to be replaced by night, arms around each other.

END FLASHBACK

"Logan?" He jumped at the sound of Rory's voice. "Is everything okay? You've been staring at me for ten minutes."

"I was just thinking about when you shared your journal entry about the potting shed with me," Logan replied, placing the last of his clothes into his bag and zipping it shut. Rory looked down at her bag.

"Oh. I thought you were thinking about something else," she said, unconsciously placing a hand on her stomach. Logan followed the movement with his eyes and felt his throat tighten.

"Ace…" Rory's eyes filled with tears.

"I just – we haven't talked about it and I thought maybe because we weren't that you- "Logan came around their bed and stopped in front of Rory.

"That I what?" Rory licked her lips and her hands trembled as she locked her fingers together.

"That you blame me for losing our baby," Rory choked out, the thought that had been reverberating in her head for two weeks finally coming out. Logan stood frozen in shock before he snapped out of it.

"Rory. Of course, I don't blame you," he gasped out, taking Rory's hands and pulling her into his arms as the floodgates opened and Rory sobbed into his shoulder. It was the first time she'd cried since they'd gotten the news in the hospital room. As he held his heartbroken fiancée, tears rolled down Logan's cheeks and dripped onto Rory's shirt. Turning slightly, Logan sank onto their bed, settling Rory on his lap.

Rory sniffled and used her hand to wipe her tears before brushing Logan's away. She saw her heartbreak reflected on Logan's face, but there was hurt there too.

"Rory, why would you think I blamed you?" he asked. Rory licked her lips, tasting the salt from her tears.

"Maybe because I blame myself. I keep wondering if I could have done anything differently, and the rational part of me knows that there wasn't. I know the doctor said miscarriages happen for many reasons, but I … I wish I'd been able to prevent it," she finished.

Logan didn't think his heart could break even more, but he felt a few more shards fall at Rory's words. Although neither of them said it out loud, Logan suspected that both of them had the same thought: that Rory's miscarriage had been caused by the emotional distress caused by the words and actions of Stars Hollow and her resulting lack of sleep.

They didn't know that for sure, but Logan would be damned if he let Rory shoulder this grief alone and continue to blame herself. He was already cursing himself for not bringing it up sooner. He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers.

"It's not your fault, my love," he whispered against them. Rory kissed him back and rested her forehead against his.

"I know, and I know it wasn't planned, but I wish we could have met our baby," she whispered back. Logan framed her face with his hands.

"So do I, Rory. I'm always going to remember the baby we lost and love them the way I would have had they lived." Rory nodded.

"I am too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you how I was feeling sooner, Logan. I think part of me thought if I didn't say the words out loud, maybe I would wake up and find that these last two weeks were just a bad dream. I was hoping that they were, but that's not the case, is it?"

Logan swallowed hard as he shook his head. There had been more than one time when he'd hoped it was a bad dream too, but as the days passed, reality set in.

"What's going on in there?" Rory asked, resting a hand against the side of his face. Logan covered it with his.

"I think that when we come back from Connecticut, we should talk about this with Jane. I'm sure she's had clients who have had a miscarriage before, and she'll know ways to help us move through it."

"I think that's a good idea," Rory said. Logan gave her a small smile before turning serious.

"Rory, I'm sorry I didn't see how much pain you were in. I knew you were sad, but I didn't know you were blaming yourself and thought that I did too. Don't keep stuff like that from me, okay? Let me – let me be there for you." Rory nodded, her eyes filling with tears again. She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder.

Logan rubbed her back as they sat in their darkening bedroom in silence. After some time, Rory glanced at the clock.

"We should get some sleep. We've got a long day of travelling tomorrow," she said. Logan nodded and Rory slid off his lap. They were silent as they got ready for bed and crawled under the covers. Rory moved until she was pressed against Logan and he kissed her on the forehead as he rested one hand on the middle of her back. Their bodies touching, the couple fell asleep.

The next morning on the plane, Rory held Logan's hand tightly as they took off. After the routine announcements about safety and emergency procedures, the aircraft became silent. Logan yawned as he checked his watch.

"I can't believe we got up at five am to move to Palo Alto and we got up again at five this morning to drive to the airport," he said. Rory chuckled and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yup, but a five-hour flight beats a 44-hour drive. The thing that's going to mess with me is the time difference. By the time I'm used to East Coast time again it will be time for us to go home," she said. Logan hummed in agreement. When he'd first moved to London, it had taken him a while to adjust to the time change, and it had baffled him that while it was daytime for him in London, it was evening for Rory in New Haven. A slow smile spread across Logan's face and he nudged Rory so she would look at him.

"What?" she asked, seeing the twinkle in his eye.

"Do you remember those text messages we sent?" A blush heated Rory's cheeks as she caught Logan's meaning. The text message she'd sent him after perusing books about sensuality while Lane read pregnancy books had brought a new element to their relationship.

"Yes, I remember. We haven't had to do that for a while," she said. Logan smiled impishly.

"We could always start it up again," he said. Rory nodded and patted his chest.

"Let's talk about it when we're not in a public space," she said. Logan agreed and kissed Rory's forehead as she fell asleep. He adjusted his head slightly, missing the spacious seats of the first-class cabin, and closed his eyes.

An hour or so later, Rory and Logan were awoken by the announcement that the flight staff would be bringing the refreshment cart around. Rory yawned and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she turned to look out the window. One of her favourite things to do when she had been flying to London was take in the scenery. There was something beautiful about seeing things from the sky like life's problems couldn't reach you if you were up high enough.

Rory pressed her lips together as she thought about what awaited her in Connecticut. When she'd spoken to Emily last night, her grandmother had told her that Theresa's court date was set for Tuesday and Rory was hoping to speak to Lindsay beforehand. It was Saturday now, and by the time they landed in Connecticut it would be mid-afternoon and they already had dinner plans with her grandparents and Honor and Josh tonight. Rory knew that her meeting with Lindsay would have to take place either tomorrow or Monday. A gentle squeeze of her hand brought Rory back to the present and she looked over to see Logan watching her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her. Rory sighed and settled back into her seat.

"Nervous. I know the lawyers are confident that Theresa will be charged with something, but I'm worried about being called to the stand. Lane told me that a lot of the people from Stars Hollow are planning to be there, and I keep thinking "What if I look at one of them?" and completely lose confidence?" Logan shook his head.

"Rory, that won't happen. The police have statements from Luke, Lane, Zach, Lindsay and your grandparents. Your statement matches theirs and unless the judge is a complete idiot, they'll rule in your favour," he reassured her. Rory nodded and laid her head against the headrest. "Anything else bothering you?"

"I'm anxious about the town meeting on Wednesday. I wish we were back in California; can we just stay on the plane and fly back home?" Rory asked. At Logan's look, she said, "I know, I have to get my side of the story out there, but I'm worried it won't make a difference. They all chose to believe my mom's side without even giving me a chance to tell mine, and Lane told me that every time she and Zach, Luke or Lindsay tried to tell them the truth, they shut them down. I don't know if I can do this, Logan, I don't," she said. Logan squeezed her hand harder.

"I know you can, Ace. You know how I know?" Rory shook her head. "I know you can do this because of that phone call you made to my dad after my accident. You stood up and fought for me and our relationship, and I know you can do it again. And I'm going to be right by your side for all of it, as well as Honor and Josh and our friends," Logan said. He wasn't wrong about that last part. Rory nodded as she thought about Paris's reaction.

When Paris and Doyle had arrived back in the States, they'd had an overnight layover in California and had stayed at Rory and Logan's. While they'd been catching up over dinner on the deck, Paris had asked if things were any better between Rory and Lorelai, and Rory had told her and Doyle everything that had happened since they'd left Connecticut.

Upon hearing the story, Paris had gone on one of her famous tirades. After making various suggestions, such as her using Krav Maga on those who were the guiltiest, and Rory assuring her that wasn't necessary, Paris had calmed down enough to whip out her phone and contact Madeline, Louise, Lucy and Olivia and bring them up to speed. Within minutes, Rory had received text messages from her friends chastising her for not telling them sooner and asking what the plan was before assuring Rory that she had their support.

"I wonder if Paris made 'Team Rory' T-shirts like she said she was going to," Logan mused. As he'd hoped, Rory giggled.

"I'm sure she came up with something. Out of everything happening this week, I think my talk with Lindsay is going to be the easiest," Rory said. Logan nodded and released Rory's hand to put an arm around her shoulders. Rory leaned into him the best she could with the armrest between them and they were silent for the rest of the flight.

When they landed in Connecticut, Rory thought longingly of her yoga mat that was leaning against the wall at home in California. She'd need to do something to get the kinks out of her body. Once she and Logan were off the plane, they held hands as they walked to the baggage claim. An excited yelling of their names drew their attention to Honor and Josh who had come to pick them up. Rory and Logan waved and made their way towards them, with Honor leaving her husband's side and barreling towards them, her arms outstretched.

"Oof!" Logan grunted as his sister nearly knocked him over with the force of her hug. "Talk about a power hug, Hon! Any harder and we would have landed on the floor," he said, patting his sister's back.

"Oh, stop it! I've missed you guys, and yes, I know we just saw each other five weeks ago but it seems like forever!" Honor exclaimed, releasing Logan to hug Rory. Rory's eyes nearly popped out of her head as Honor squeezed her.

"Let her breathe, Honor," Josh chuckled as he exchanged a quick hug with Logan. Honor pulled back and put her hands on Rory's shoulders as she surveyed the younger woman.

"How are you holding up?" she asked. Rory made a non-committal gesture with her head.

"I'm okay," she said. Honor nodded and started to ask another question when her husband suggested that they head to the car while he and Logan got the bags. Honor nodded and linked arms with Rory. As she led her sister-in-law away, Logan and Josh overheard her tell Rory that they'd picked up Starbucks on their way to the airport.

Josh looked at his brother-in-law as they lifted the roller suitcases off the carousel. "So how are you?" he asked. Logan shrugged as they started walking to the exit.

"I'm not great. Rory told me yesterday that she's been feeling like the miscarriage was her fault. I feel helpless because I know this week is going to be hard for her, and when we lost our baby two weeks ago, I felt like I had failed her in some way. I'm supposed to be able to protect her, Josh, and I couldn't protect her from this. I can't protect her from anything that's happened this summer, and that kills me," he said, repeating some of the thoughts that had come out in his counselling sessions. Josh put a hand on Logan's shoulder as they walked.

"Logan, I understand why you feel that way. But the one thing you're forgetting is that you've been there for her and that's what matters," he said. Logan nodded, struggling to swallow past the lump in his throat. Josh gave him a few minutes to gather himself, and then asked, "Have you told your parents and grandfather?" Logan snorted. "I'll take that as a no."

"I called Emily and Richard after I called you and Honor, but I didn't call them. And I'm not going to tell them while we're here because knowing the Dark Lord and Bellatrix, they'd probably use that to try and break me and Rory apart, and they wouldn't be the only ones," he said bitterly.

They'd reached the car by this point, and Honor and Rory were leaning against it. Drawing closer, Logan could see that both Rory and Honor had been crying. He put his arm around Rory and Josh did the same with Honor. The four of them stood like that for a few minutes before loading Rory and Logan's luggage into the trunk. While Logan rode up front with Josh, Rory and Honor sat in the backseat, Honor holding Rory's hand tightly in hers.

When they pulled into the Gilmores' driveway 45 minutes later, Emily and Richard were outside waiting for them. As soon as Josh stopped the car, Rory unbuckled her seatbelt and got out.

Emily only had time to look at Rory's face before she was embraced by her granddaughter, and Emily felt her eyes grow misty as Rory buried her face in her grandmother's shoulder.

"Oh Rory," she said softly, rubbing her granddaughter's back. Rory sniffled as she held onto her grandmother for dear life, her body shaking with muffled sobs. Richard exchanged a look with his wife and gestured to Logan, Honor and Josh to follow him with the luggage to the pool house.

Once Emily and Rory were alone, Emily stood quietly with Rory in her arms until her granddaughter's tears had slowed. Rory pulled back and wiped the last of the liquid away with her fingers. Emily watched her with concern. Rory had been through a lot this summer, and what should have been some of the happiest days of her life had been overshadowed by drama.

"How are you doing, dear?" Emily asked, putting an arm around Rory and leading her to the house. She was heartened when Rory slid one of her arms around Emily's waist.

"I'm all right. I haven't been able to talk about it with Sasha yet," Rory admitted. Emily squeezed her.

"There's no time limit, Rory. You can take as much time as you need," she said. Rory nodded as they joined Richard, Logan, Honor and Josh in the sitting room. Being the good host that he was, Richard had poured each of them a drink and he got up to get one for his wife and granddaughter. Rory intercepted him before he reached the drink cart and hugged him tightly. Emily took over pouring the drinks, and she set Rory's down on the coffee table next to Logan's.

After a few minutes, Rory and Richard parted and took their seats. Now that they were all seated, no one seemed to know what to say.

"How was your flight?" Honor asked just as the silence was beginning to become awkward.

"It was good, long. There wasn't any turbulence so that was nice," Rory answered. Logan covered a yawn as he nodded.

"There weren't any delays either. Those always put a downer on travelling," he said. The rest of the room agreed as Danielle came in carrying a tray of refreshments.

"Since it will be a while before dinner, I thought we could have a sort of Happy Hour," Emily explained. "I asked the cook to make some guacamole, Rory, I know how much you love it." Rory smiled at her grandmother.

"Thank you, Grandma. Logan and I have guacamole a lot at home. We have it in salads and smoothies too," she said as they all served themselves. As everyone ate, the talk turned to plans for that week.

"Now, Rory and Logan, I know we said we would start the wedding planning this week, but it can't be all work and no play. If you're open to this, Richard and I thought it would be fun to host an end-of-summer soiree and invite your friends," Emily said.

"That's a fantastic idea, Emily!" Logan said enthusiastically, with Honor and Josh nodding in agreement. Rory grinned at her grandparents, touched that they were opening their home to Rory and Logan's friends while she and her fiancé were in town, and again she wondered if this is what her life would have been like had she not been raised in Stars Hollow. A nudge from Logan made Rory realize that she hadn't responded.

"I think that would be perfect. It will give everyone something fun to look forward to before school starts again," she said.

"Wonderful! Is there anything else you'd like to do this week, Rory?" Emily asked. Rory swallowed some of her mojito before nodding.

"Yes, there is. I need to see Lindsay before Tuesday, so I should look up her number and make a plan with her for either tomorrow or Monday," Rory said. Her grandparents exchanged a look.

"There's a phonebook in the study if you'd like to go call her," Richard suggested. Rory nodded and got to her feet. Promising she'd only be a few minutes; Rory headed towards her grandfather's office and closed the door behind her.

She walked over and sat down behind the desk. Locating the phonebook, she flipped it open to the 'L' section and trailed her finger down the list until she found the Listers' number. Rory took a deep breath and eyed the phone.

"Come on, Rory, you're being ridiculous. It's a phone not a snake, pull yourself together!" she told herself sternly. Summoning her courage, Rory lifted the phone and dialled the number.

She listened as it rang one, two, three times. On the fourth ring, someone answered.

"Hello?" a soft voice asked, and Rory relaxed. She'd been nervous that Theresa would be the one to answer the phone.

"Hi Lindsay, it's Rory," she said.

"Hey Rory, hang on a second, okay?" Lindsay said. For a few seconds, Rory could hear Lindsay moving around and then a door closing. "Okay, I'm here. Sorry about that, my mom is home and…" Lindsay trailed off.

"She doesn't want you talking to me," Rory guessed. Lindsay exhaled.

"Pretty much," she admitted. She was silent for a second, and then said, "You flew home today, didn't you?"

"Yeah, Logan and I landed about an hour ago and his sister and her husband met us at the airport and brought us to my grandparents' house. But that's not why I'm calling," Rory said, laughing nervously. "I wondered if you had time to meet either tomorrow or Monday?"

"I can meet tomorrow. Where do you want to meet?" Lindsay asked. Rory twisted the phone cord around her fingers.

"There's a great little ice cream parlour in Hartford that's good. How does one o'clock work for you?" Rory asked.

"That sounds good. I'll see you tomorrow," Lindsay said. She paused, then said, "Thanks for calling, Rory." Rory smiled.

"I'm really glad I did. See you tomorrow," she said. They said goodbye and hung up. Rory sat back in her grandfather's chair and exhaled deeply. She sat there for a few minutes before getting up and leaving the room to rejoin her family.

Lindsay rested her head against the headboard and stared up at the ceiling. Tomorrow, she was finally going to find out the truth from Rory and get answers to the questions that had been plaguing her all summer. It was time to truly put the past to rest and move forward with her life.

After a dinner of grilled chicken breasts, Caesar salad and garlic toast, followed by chocolate mousse and fresh strawberries for dessert, Honor and Josh left. Emily, Richard, Logan and Rory retired to the sitting room for half an hour before Emily gently suggested that the two of them go to bed. She'd been watching her granddaughter all evening, and there had been more than a few times when Rory had struggled to keep her eyes open.

Rory and Logan took her grandmother's suggestion and bid Emily and Richard good night. They made the short walk from the main house to the pool house and Rory grinned as they entered.

"This hasn't changed at all," she said, taking in their surroundings. Logan shook his head. The pool house hadn't changed, but the two people standing in it had. In the course of a single summer, their lives had changed again and again, and as they got into bed and Rory rested her head on Logan's chest, she knew her life was going to be altered again tomorrow.

The next day found Rory putting the finishing touches on her makeup while Logan did some work on his laptop. As Rory came out of the bedroom, Logan looked up.

"Everything's going to be fine, Rory," he said, seeing the apprehensive look on his fiancée's face. Rory nodded and bent down to kiss him goodbye. "I love you."

"I love you too, I'll see you in a bit," Rory said. Logan nodded and kissed her one more time. Rory waved as she headed out the door and over to the garage. The night before, Richard had handed her the keys to the SUV that he and Emily had decided to invest in for the coming winter.

As Rory drove, she felt calmed by the classical music floating softly through the speakers. The ice cream parlour she was meeting Lindsay at was a ten-minute drive from her grandparents' house, and before Rory knew it, she was in the parking lot.

Walking in, she quickly found a table by the window. When the server came over to ask what she wanted, Rory asked for a glass of water. She sipped at it while she watched for Lindsay. At five minutes to one, she saw her pull into a parking spot a few spaces down from Rory's.

A few minutes later, Lindsay walked into the parlour and looked around. Rory waved at her and Lindsay gave her a hesitant wave back and walked over to her table.

"Hi Rory," she said, setting her bag on the opposite bench and sitting down next to it. Rory gave her a tentative smile.

"Hey, Lindsay. Thanks for meeting me. Do you want to order first?" Rory asked. Lindsay nodded and reached for a menu. Opening it, she looked up to see Rory perusing hers.

"Any recommendations?" Lindsay asked. Rory nodded and flipped her menu around.

"The chocolate fudge sundae is really good and so is their strawberry shortcake sundae. I think I'm going to go for the chocolate," she said. Lindsay nodded and closed the menu.

"I think I'll try the strawberry shortcake sundae," she said as their server walked over. After placing their orders and Lindsay also requesting a glass of water, the server left, leaving an awkward silence behind him. Rory and Lindsay looked at each other nervously. They'd known this moment was coming all summer, but they hadn't been fully prepared for how uncomfortable it was. Rory swallowed hard. She'd asked Lindsay to meet her here, so it was up to her to open the conversation.

"I know I said this back in May, but I'm going to say it again. I'm so sorry, Lindsay. I'm sorry for the damage I caused to your marriage and for all the hurt you've suffered because of what I did," Rory said. Lindsay shook her head.

"I just don't understand why, Rory. I mean at Kyle's party you were nice to me, and then a year later I heard you gossiping about me with Lane about how I didn't do anything all day, and then you and Dean slept together. I didn't think you were the kind of person who would do those things," Lindsay said, some of the thoughts that had rolled around in her head for the past few years coming out.

Rory's face burned with shame, but she kept her eyes on Lindsay's. "That's another thing I'm sorry for. For gossiping about you and then knowing that you overheard me. And you have every right to be upset with me about that because it wasn't any of my business," she said. Lindsay nodded as their sundaes arrived.

"Thank you for your apology," she said, pausing to take a bite of her sundae. Once she'd swallowed her bite of ice cream, Lindsay spoke again. "What about Dean? Lane said that you didn't seduce him."

"I didn't. My freshman year at Yale was not...easy for me. I'd gone from being one of the big fishes in the pond to being a small fish in the ocean if that makes any sense. I was home a lot that first year and Dean approached me wanting to be friends. I had Paris at school, and Lane at home but other than that I didn't have a lot of people to talk to. When Dean approached me, I saw it as an olive branch and I took it." Rory paused to drink some water and get her thoughts in order. "After he said he wanted to be friends, we would talk whenever I came home and exchanged the odd phone call while I was at school.

"At the end of my freshman year, my grandmother set me up on a blind date with this guy, but it didn't go well because he and his friends were drunk, and they ended up leaving me at the bar because I wouldn't get into the car with them. I wanted to go to an ATM and get money out, but the waitress told me it wasn't safe to walk alone in that area at night, and everyone I knew who could have come to get me had already left for the summer. So, I – I called Dean and asked if he would come pick me up," Rory said. She took a few bites of her sundae, which had begun to melt, and waited for Lindsay to speak.

Lindsay was silent as she digested what Rory had told her. She understood why Rory had called Dean, had their roles been reversed, Lindsay would have wanted someone that she felt safe with too. She didn't like to think what could have happened had Rory not called Dean and gone to the ATM anyway. She might live in a small town, but Lindsay had heard enough horror stories on the news of young women going missing at night.

"So, Dean took you back to campus, and what happened after that?" Lindsay asked. Rory took a deep breath. This was the hardest part of the story to tell.

"When I came home, our paths crossed a couple of times, but the night of the test run for the DragonFly was when things went wrong. My mom had sent me home to pick up some CDs. I was finishing getting those together when Dean came and said that Mom had told him where to find me. He followed me into my room and said how he felt like something might have happened between us earlier that day had Tom not come in when he did. I reminded him that you guys were married, and he told me your marriage wasn't working, that you weren't happy and that he couldn't make you happy," Rory said, watching as anger, sadness, and shock chased each other across Lindsay's face. She waited a few seconds, then said, "Should I keep going or do you need a few minutes?"

Lindsay swallowed hard before answering, "I'm okay for you to keep going."

"Okay," Rory said gently. "When he said that your marriage wasn't working, I suggested that maybe you could try marriage counselling or going away together to reconnect. He told me that it was over, but it wasn't, was it?" Lindsay shook her head. Her eyes had filled with tears while Rory had been talking, and Rory felt her heart squeeze in pain for Lindsay. Opening her purse, Rory took out the package of Kleenex she always carried with her and offered it to Lindsay.

Lindsay smiled a watery smile and thanked her, pulling one out. She wiped her eyes and was quiet for a few minutes as she got her bearings.

"I don't think he ever planned to end our marriage or his affair with you. He thought he could have us both," she said softly. Rory sat back in her seat.

"Oh my gosh, you're right. He played us both," she muttered. Lindsay nodded and was silent for a few more minutes.

"I'm sorry too, Rory. I'm sorry that my mom verbally and physically assaulted you, and I'm sorry that I took what Dean said as gospel," Lindsay said. The two women were quiet as they finished their melted sundaes. "Lane seems to think that you and I could be friends, that all three of us could be," Lindsay said after a while. Rory nodded and tilted her head to one side.

"And what do you think?" she asked. Lindsay observed her.

"I think we could. I'd like it if we could put the past behind us and start over," she answered truthfully. Lindsay had given it a lot of thought since that day at Weston's, and she agreed with Lane that she couldn't expect the Korean woman to choose between her and Rory, not when Rory and Lane had a bond that ran 17 years deep. Rory smiled at Lindsay.

"I think we could too. I've had the same thought running through my head all summer, and it was only strengthened when Lane told me that you'd been joining her, Luke and Zach in speaking up for me, even when you had every reason not to. I'd like it if we could be friends, Lindsay." Lindsay smiled back at her and held out a hand.

"Truce?" she asked. Rory extended her hand and grasped Lindsay's.

"Truce." They shook, and then Rory said, "In the spirit of our new friendship, my grandparents want to host an end-of-summer party at their house while Logan and I are home and invite all of our friends. Would you want to join us? Lane and Zach will be invited, and you could meet Logan and his sister and her husband, and our friends from college, and my friends from Chilton." Lindsay smiled and nodded.

"I'd love to come! It would be nice to put faces to the names I've heard since June! Lane has told me all about your and Logan's friends from Yale, and Paris, Madeline, and Louise, and she said Paris is the most intense person she's ever met, is that true?" Lindsay asked. Rory nodded and laughed.

"Paris is very passionate about a lot of things," she said. Lindsay raised an eyebrow.

"Such as?" Rory laughed again and waved to get their server's attention.

"We're going to need another sundae for this," she said. As they placed their orders, this time each ordering a peanut butter sundae with the works, Lindsay found that she was glad she had come to meet Rory that day. Sure, it had been a little awkward at first, but she had seen the honesty in Rory's face as she talked. And after everything, it seemed that she had gained a friend.

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 22, things are going to get hotter next chapter!

Reviews:

YaleAceBella12: I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! It does take time to move through grief. I don't think it's something you ever truly get over, but rather something that you learn to accept as part of your life and keep moving while remembering those you've lost. I do agree that it can come and go for a long time.

Debbycooke: Aww you are too kind! Thank you so much :) It makes my heart happy to hear that you love this story and thank you for your reviews, I love reading them!

December Jeffries2: I'm glad that Rory and Logan were able to spend some time with their friends and family too, and I agree that it was exactly what they needed after everything they are having to deal with. The confrontation is coming!

Deltagrl: Wow, thank you so much for this review! I'm enjoying writing the relationship between Rory and Logan and the Gilmores, as well as Rory and Logan's determination to strengthen their relationship through communication and support. The bedrock was already there, it just needed to be built up a little more! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter, and thank you again for taking the time to leave a review!

LissaP: Thank you for your condolences ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ There is no cure for grief, and I agree that time helps with perspective and acceptance. I'm so glad you enjoyed Chapter 21! I've never been to Muir Woods but I saw pictures online when I was scouting out places for Rory and Logan to have their engagement shoot and it was a toss-up between there and Marin Headlands! The smackdown is coming! I love that California has been so good for both of them too, but like you, I hate the distance from Richard and Emily and Honor and Josh and the rest of their friends. They did miss so much of Rory's life, and they did have what they wanted only for Rory and Logan to move away, but who knows? Maybe I will write about Rory and Logan moving back to Connecticut later in the story. I also love the distance from the Huntzbergers and SH toxicity. We'll see! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter! Til later!

I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 22 and are ready for a showdown! Quick question before I sign off: what are your thoughts on Jamie, the guy who Paris dated? Should I find a way to bring him in?

Thanks guys! Stay safe and stay healthy!

Till next time, xoxo