Fandom: Gilmore Girls

Pairing: Literati (Jess/Rory); there will also be some moments of Sophie (Logan/Rory) and very brief moments of Narco (Dean/Rory)

Story Type: AU in which Rory never met Jess in her teens and Jess grew up in the Mafia.

Disclaimer: I do not own GG, its characters, or any other references that will occur in this story. Please don't sue me.

(See Author's Note at the end for more details)

Chapter 1: The Pitch

"There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted within the human breast" ~ Charles Dickens

"You can't be serious."

Logan Huntzberger stared in disbelief at the man sitting at the desk in front of him.

Mitchum sat silently, watching his blond heir with cold blue eyes as Logan stood in front of him slack-jawed. As a man of high status and founder of his own ever-expanding empire, Mitchum Huntzberger exuded strength and dominance easily in his demeanor, a demeanor his son sorely lacked.

He inwardly sighed. It's been 28 years. How much longer is he going to have to wait for his son to finally become a man? "When have I ever been anything but serious, Logan?"

He could feel his irritation rising, but he kept it in check by slightly squeezing his hands that were folded on the mahogany desk in front of him.

"You've been asking me to give her a chance, telling me that she can handle taking Carson's spot overseas when he leaves in the summer. Despite my objections, might I add. Well, if you're so confident in her abilities, here's her chance to show me she can handle it. Or -" he stopped, hunching forward ever so slightly across the desk. He looked his son square in his eyes before continuing. "Do you have as little faith in her abilities as I do?"

When he saw the slight twitch in Logan's jaw, Mitchum leaned back in his chair and allowed a smirk to grace his normally stoic features, a clear sign he knew he had won the argument.

Logan felt his jaw tighten and clench along with his palms that had been resting against the outside of his thighs. He could feel his hatred for his father burn inside of him like acid corroding metal. That pompous, condescending, all-knowing attitude was why he wanted out from underneath his father's thumb and legacy. He had never wanted to work for him or follow in his footsteps.

Except he knew he had to.

His thoughts briefly turned to his failed investment in the media company and the failed business in San Francisco, in which he once again saw sweat turn into disappointment when the company went under. As much as he wanted to break away, he couldn't. Because he was nothing without his name, his father's name.

God how he hated him. God how he hated himself: for being a failure, for being weak, for being half the man that Mitchum was. After San Francisco, he had resigned himself to being tied to his father, (who took him back into the fold after two years of resistance), to having his life spelled out, to having it ruined before he had even lived.

Mitchum had ruined his life.

But he didn't have to ruin Rory's life too.

Rory Gilmore, or Leigh Hayden according to everyone in the office or her articles, was a special girl, the special girl. She was the first person that he had ever fallen for, the only one for whom he felt the need to change his playboy ways. He was struck by her intelligence, her wit, her beauty, and most of all her ambition. He knew she had big dreams, dreams that his father had almost killed.

When Mitchum first told her that she didn't have what it took to be a journalist, Logan watched as Rory fell apart, dropping out of Yale and becoming estranged from her mother, an estrangement that had never healed, especially after Lorelai and Luke's elopement. Rory saw the elopement as a final betrayal, after both her mother and grandparents had kicked her out; after learning the news, she broke all contact with them.

During that year away from Yale, she had accompanied him to the bars with his friends almost every night. Yet, despite all the partying they had done, eventually he saw how depressed she had gotten away from her family and friends. He watched as her blue eyes gradually turned dull gray and her bright and carefree smile became tight and timid, an act she learned to put on when dealing with the ladies in the DAR. Though he loved their time together, he knew she wished for the world beyond tea parties, galas, and charity auctions. He knew she wanted excitement, adventure, and immersion in culture.

After that year, he convinced her to go back and finish her final two years. With renewed ambition (and her father's financial help), Rory reenlisted and finished her degree in an exhausting, but hard-earned year. He was in London for most of it, but he could hear the absolute joy in her voice every time they were able to talk. That drive to report, to travel and experience the world was her dream. It's why she declined his initial proposal at her graduation. It's why they were broken up for three years. She lived the dream, traveling all over the country on a bus reporting on the Obama campaign.

Until she was fired.

Three years after he walked away, after she declined his proposal, Logan walked into a bar in downtown Manhattan and saw her drunk and disheveled, her brown locks in knots around her face, her silver sequin dress an inch away from slipping off her body as she rambled incoherently to the bartender behind the counter. She looked utterly defeated.

He was 26 then. He had just moved to New York from London, helping to spearhead his father's acquisition of the New York Times, and went to drink away his self-deprecation for doing exactly what his father wanted. Seeing her there a complete mess, he immediately went over and comforted her through several drinks, which turned to the night in his bed. Which turned into another, then another, and now two years later, here they were finally engaged.

During the first month of their rekindled relationship, after a lot of drinking and sex, she told him all about her struggles as a journalist. First came her termination on the Obama campaign, in which she was fired for "not being seasoned enough." Then came her stint as a beats reporter in Chicago, but she quit after a year because she missed the east coast. Then the next year, which saw her termination from The Phoenix in Boston due to budget cuts.

When he saw her again, she was drinking away the last of her severance and her dream as a journalist, believing that his father had been right.

After hearing her story, Logan had begged Mitchum to give Rory a job. Two months later, he relented (if only to get his son to shut up), but he offered her the job of executive assistant, not reporter. Knowing that was a dig, Rory initially bristled at the offer, but eventually took it given it was at The Times, and she would be grateful to work as anything there. After a year, Mitchum allowed her to publish a few articles as a freelance contributor.

Still though, Logan knew she wouldn't be happy fetching coffee and scheduling meetings for the rest of her life. Rory's dream was to be a foreign correspondent, like Christiane Amanpour, and so the last year, he had been imploring his father to give Rory a chance to prove herself, to give her something bigger. And now there was a job opening, and it could be hers.

Except Mitchum had never liked her, had never approved, so he was going to ask the impossible of her, an impossible that would either kill or crush her.

He looked back at his father who was still sitting behind his desk in smug satisfaction. He had detested his father for years now, but never before had he felt such disgust. He opened his mouth to finally tell Mitchum exactly what he thought of him – fuck you – when he heard a knock on the door. He turned and the words died in his throat.

"Mr. Huntzberger? You wanted to see me?"

Rory stood in the doorway, her small hand resting against the door.

"Ah yes! Miss Hayden. Perfect timing. Please come in." Mitchum stayed seated in his chair and gestured the brunette forward with his arm.

Rory glanced at Logan and gave him a brief smile before closing the door and walking forward to take a seat opposite Mitchum at the desk. She brushed her hair behind her ear, took a deep breath, and looked at the man in front of her. "What can I do for you?"

"As you should already know, Carson's leaving us in the summer."

Rory gave a small nod in response and bit back her irritation over his condescension. She was quite used to it after being his assistant for nearly two years.

"And, as you should know, we'll be needing to find a replacement for him overseas."

Rory kept her face neutral, unsure of where Mitchum was going with this conversation.

Mitchum coolly watched the woman in front of him, waiting to see her reaction. As he expected, she did nothing, just continued to sit in front of him, still as a mouse. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. Any other reporter would have expressed some kind of excitement over this opportunity and would have tried to find a way to pitch him/herself. But not Ror— no, Leigh Hayden. He silently scoffed. A name doesn't change the person.

After no response, he continued. "As I've told you before, I find you highly competent as an assistant. Although the few articles you've done for the paper were done fairly well, I still find you completely green as a journalist. Your former work history would seem to support my opinion…"

Rory bit her lip hard, feeling anger start to boil in the pit of her stomach. She did not need a rehashing of just how spectacularly she failed in her early career as a journalist. She was already painfully aware of it. Her ears perked up with his next words.

"…However, my son here -" he sneered slightly, his eyes flickering to Logan in irritation for a second before switching back to Rory. "- thinks that you would be perfect to replace Carson. Although whether he believes that because of your skills in the workplace or in the bed remain to be seen." He gave a forced smile before leaning back in his seat.

Rory felt herself freeze as the implication of Mitchum's words registered in her mind. She shrugged off the veiled insult, quite accustomed to those from her dinners with her grandmother, and instead focused on the opportunity in his words. She stared at Mitchum wide-eyed, her jaw slackening a little in shock. "I – What?"

He said nothing, simply stared back at Rory.

She blinked rapidly as she forced her mouth to speak. "Mr. Huntzberger, thank -"

"I, however, remain unconvinced."

Rory felt her head drop, her excitement dissipating. Of course, she thought to herself, slightly mad that she had gotten her hopes up. How could she forget that Mitchum hated her?

"Although," Mitchum continued, breaking Rory's thought. "I'm willing to be convinced."

Rory's head snapped back up.

This was it. This was her shot.

Adrenalin rushed through her veins, her fingers and legs suddenly unable to stop twitching. Mitchum was going to give her a story, an actual real story, and she could not fail, not if she wanted to achieve her dream.

"Of course," she said, her mind swirling with ideas on the possible stories she could write. "What would you like me to cover? I could do a news report on the ongoing war in Afghanistan. It's been 11 years, and the death toll is still climbing. There's also the uprising in Syria with Dictator Assad. I could do a follow-up story on all the journalists that have died during the conflict so far. Or, if you'd like something a bit more domestic, I could do a story on the Sandy Hook shooting and the call for gun reform. I could even turn that into an exposé on school shootings in general and how they -" she stopped short when Mitchum began to laugh.

Rory narrowed her eyes at the man chuckling at his desk, and suddenly her patience was gone. She quickly shot up from her seat. "I'm glad you find me so amusing. But as I'm sure you know, time is money, and since this meeting seems to be a complete waste of my time, I'm going back to my desk." She turned and started making her way to the door.

Mitchum quieted himself and cleared his throat. "There's no need for that. I apologize. It's just been awhile since I've heard you talk that fast."

Rory gave a sharp exhale before turning around, still standing close to the door. "People often tend to talk a lot when they're passionate about something. And despite your opinions, I'm passionate about journalism." She met his blue eyes with cold ones of her own.

Mitchum smiled wryly, silently appraising her defiance. He pursed his lips thoughtfully before continuing towards his point. "Hmm… well unfortunately the stories you mentioned are already being covered by veteran reporters. Not to mention, those are bit more on the dangerous side for someone of your status -"

"I'll cover any story," Rory interjected firmly.

Mitchum rose an eyebrow. "Any?"

She stared back in response.

He smirked. "In that case, I have a story in mind."

Logan had remained quiet, watching in silence as his father and fiancée exchanged words. He bristled slightly at his father's veiled slur against Rory, but bit his tongue, knowing Rory could fight her battles herself. She may have changed her name, but she was still her mother's daughter. Now however, as he saw Rory fall right into his father's trap, he had to speak up.

"No, Dad."

Logan flinched slightly as both heads turned sharply towards him. Rory's eyes were full of disbelief while Mitchum's held satisfaction. Logan glared at the man before reiterating. "No. You just spoke about Rory's suggestions being too dangerous, but want to give her a story that's more dangerous than all three of those combined. I'm not just gonna stand by and watch you try to get my fiancée killed."

Rory bit her lip hesitantly before flicking her eyes back to Mitchum. "What story?" she asked, trying to quell the slight quiver in her voice. She didn't want to admit it, but Logan's words just shook her. If Logan, the bravest and most reckless man she had ever met, didn't want her covering this story, then it must be incredibly risky.

She waited for Mitchum's reply, but quickly repeated her question when she noticed the staring match between father and son. "What story?" she asked again firmly.

MItchum broke eye contact with his son as he glanced back at Rory. "How much do you know about the crime scene in the city?"

"Crime scene? Like, crime in general, or organized crime?"

"Organized crime."

"Well, the crime rate has been dropping. The gangs have been pretty much decimated thanks to the FBI's wire tappings and cameras. Same goes for the mobs. Almost everyone has packed their bags and left the city."

Mitchum nodded, slightly surprised by her knowledge. But then again, knowledge was never her problem. "Almost."

"Who's left?"

"The Bennellis."

Rory felt a chill run up her spine, like spiders were dancing on her skin. "The Bennellis?" she repeated softly. The Italian mob. One of the five families. No. She shook her head. "That's not possible. The FBI shut them all down a decade ago. There's nothing left of the five families."

"Not true. They're the last family, and they're still kicking. Barely."

"How? How do you know this?"

"I have my sources. And for starters, they never got into the drug trade. Kept their racket simple. Robbery."

"Robbery? You're telling me some random muggings are enough to keep the last of the New York Italian mobs going?"

"No. They've had some help."

"Help? Oh sure," Rory said sardonically. "Let me guess, they found a young Charlie Croker hiding in the streets of New York. They figured if he can steal from the mob, why not let him steal for the mob. Ooh, or better yet, a John Robie. Hey, he came out of retirement once to catch a copycat. Who knows what he'd do to work for the mob?"

Mitchum scowled at Rory while she mocked his statement, but kept quiet, waiting for the realization to hit the young woman.

Logan sighed, feeling his father's patience crumbling. "Ace, come on."

Rory rolled her eyes. "No, you come on. You know what these people have in common? They're fictional characters. You know why? Because the mob is dead. Kaput. Belly-up. In fact, the only city criminal that seems to have any type of truth behind him is -"

Rory cut off when her thoughts focused on the one infamous robber of the city, infamous because he's never been caught and no one knows who he is. The FBI nicknamed him after the best fictional thief in the world. She darted her eyes back over to Mitchum, who was now leaning back in his chair, another smirk on his face.

Her eyes widened. "Dodger's working for the Bennellis?"

Mitchum nodded slightly. "That's the rumor."

She swallowed hard, now suddenly aware of what Mitchum wanted and why Logan was worried. "You want me to find out who Dodger is," she whispered to herself. Her gaze turned to the floor as she brought her arms around to hug her torso. A feat that no one had ever done, not even a government agency, and Mitchum wanted her to accomplish it. The dream of being a foreign correspondent, that finally felt within her grasp, now suddenly felt very far away.

Logan reached out and touched her on the arm. "You don't have to do this, Ace," he said soothingly. "We'll find some other way to let you be the next Christiane Amanpour."

"Not while I own this paper."

Logan turned to round on his father. "Dad, that's enough! This is completely unfair and you know it! These aren't just people! They're criminals and murderers!"

"And Bashar Assad isn't?"

Logan's reply died in his throat, the truth of his father's question weighing down his tongue.

"Seven years ago, I told her that she didn't have what it took. Now's her chance to prove me wrong." Mitchum turned his gaze to Rory. "What do you say, Ms. Hayden?"

Rory could feel the familiar grip of fear in her nerves and closed her eyes tightly, trying to calm herself down. She mentally assembled a pros and con list, quickly running through the most obvious observations. If she succeeded in writing this story, she would finally have her dream job. If she didn't, it would most likely be because she was dead. Was this job worth losing her life?

Her head drooped forward, knowing defeat was highly likely. The cons piled up in her head: she could lose her life, she could lose Logan, she'd never get another chance at being a journalist, she would never reconcile with her family, Mitchum would have been right all along…

Mitchum. She peered her eyes upward at him, seeing the victory behind his eyes, and recognized it as the challenge it was. He was testing her. He wanted her to say no. He wanted her to admit that she could never handle reporting on war. That she could never handle being in a foreign country and watching as bombs blew up all around her. Trying to find Dodger within the last of the five families would be the same as trying to report on the Syrian uprising. It was all war.

She could feel Logan's gaze on her, pleading with his brown eyes in that soft charming way, and though she loved him and knew the logical thing would be to find another way, she couldn't stop herself from thinking this was her last chance. The few pros flashed repeatedly in her mind, and she knew what she had to do.

She lifted her head and stared back into Mitchum's blue eyes confidently.

"I'll do it."

A/N: So this idea has been stewing in my head for the better part of a year. It just popped into my head one day and wouldn't leave, and I'm just now starting to put it all down on paper. It's a suspenseful slow burn (as well as I can write it) so expect this story to be a bit on the longer side… probably around 20 chapters or so.

A little bit about it: as the summary suggests, this will be an AU that focuses on Rory's journey for her dream and discovering what her dream actually is. Jess' entire background will be completely different as he's growing up in the Mafia, which I will explain in chapters to come. Rory's background is pretty much the same up to Season 7, minus a couple of departures. Since Jess wasn't there to influence Rory, her relationship with Dean lasted longer, meaning there's no second breakup and no Lindsey affair. Also, I made the season 6 rift between Lorelai and Rory bigger in this story, but it won't be permanent cause you can't keep the Gilmore girls away from each other forever.

This first chapter is setting the stage for the main plot of the story, so I apologize that there's no Jess yet. He is coming, but he won't be arriving until around chapter 4 or 5. Please stick with it though as I promise this is a Literati story (not a Sophie). Rory's got to work a bit before she can come into contact with Jess :)

If there's anything that feels really out of character, please let me know. I've only watched seasons 5-7 once and it was a long time ago, so my knowledge of these characters' relationships from that time is a bit murky. I'm trying to avoid watching those seasons (cause I didn't enjoy them as much), but I will to get the characters right.

For those of you wishing to see a sequel/continuation to "For The Love Of Howl," please stay tuned. Thanks to the wonderful reviews both here and on AO3, my mind's working to write a bit more in that particular universe.

As always, if you would be so kind, please leave a review and let me know what you think.

Thank you for reading. Until next :)