Rory stood there in shock. Logan's last words kept replaying in her mind:

"Don't think about it. I'm not thinking about it. Keep planning Asia."

How could she not think about it? It occurred to her that in any other situation, to anyone else, Logan's departure would've looked like kidnapping, and, in reality, it was exactly that- in every sense of the word… being dragged away without notice or consent. Of course! What else should she expect from Mitchum Huntzberger!

The sound of footsteps broke her train of thought. Luke and Lorelei approached cautiously.

"You alright, babe?" Lorelei asked with a half-hearted smile. She knew her daughter's heart was breaking at the possibility of losing the man she loved and of losing the chance to have a future with him.

"I've definitely been better. I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised at Mitchum's antics, but I am. I just need some time to clear my head; time to sort through it all." Rory said, knowing the long drive home to their apartment would give her time to herself.

"Are you sure?" Lorelei questioned.

"Yeah, I'm sure. And, hey, what better ways to clear your head than to let your hair down, blast the jam, and hit the open road?" Rory said, forcing a smile; hoping her meager attempt at light-heartedness had set her mom's worries at ease.

"Do you want us to follow you back?" Luke offered, obviously concerned.

"No, I'll be fine. I promise." She assured them. "I will call you later."

"Okay, hon. Well, we better get back then. Michel was left in charge this weekend since both Sookie and I had romantic, pre-Valentine's Day plans. Sookie managed to con Jackson's mom into babysitting so that she and Jackson could take some time for themselves. He became a little bitter when he realized that he was the only one without a Valentine, though he did try to use his dogs as a ploy. Ha! So, heaven only knows what's awaiting me back at the Inn." Lorelei rambled, only half joking.

Luke and Lorelei got in the truck and pulled away as Rory waved goodbye.

Rory made it back to the apartment in record time. Why am I in such a hurry to get home to an empty apartment? She thought to herself and started towards the elevator with a heavy heart. She knew emptiness awaited her. God, she missed him already.

She stepped inside and closed the door. Rory barely managed to get the door locked when her carefully constructed composure crumbled. She ran to their bed and threw herself down, sobbing. They were tears of doubt, tears of hurt, tears of anger—tears full of questions with no answers. He couldn't go all the way to London! He couldn't leave her! How had she become so consumed by another person? When had their lives become indivisibly entangled? She fell asleep in those thoughts. Alone with her own tears.

She was awakened the next morning by a familiar ring from her cell phone. She grabbed the phone and flipped it open without even opening her eyes.

"Hello." She said with her voice still hoarse from her sob session.

"Ace?" Logan hardly recognized her weak voice.

"Yeah, it's me, Logan."

"Are you okay? I didn't mean to wake you up." He said as she glanced at her clock noticing that it was already almost noon.

"No - - Yeah, I'm okay. I actually should've been up hours ago. Guess I forgot to set the alarm last night."

"I'm so sorry, Ace. I would've called earlier, but this is the first opportunity I have had to sneak out for a minute. He hasn't let me out of his sight since I got in that car. I am not sure what's going on exactly. I have a feeling this is not business as usual. He's never just shown up and dragged me off like that before. I should've…"

"No, Logan," she interrupted, "You don't have to apologize. He did this, not you. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Well, I should've at least told you about London. He sprung that on me Friday. I figured I would tell you when we got back. I didn't want it to ruin our weekend. Ha! I swear I just found out though. I wasn't keeping it from you. You shouldn't have had to find out like that..."

"Stop. Logan, yes, we have a lot to talk about and a lot to figure out, but not now. There will be time for that when you get home. For now, just concentrate on doing whatever it is you have to do to that you can get back here to me."

"I will and I am. I love you, Rory. I will be back before you know it."

"I love you, too."

"Hey, why don't you call Steph to come stay with you? I hate the idea of you there all by yourself."

"That sounds like a good idea, actually. I will call her as soon as we hang up. Don't worry. Just get home."

"Okay, good. And I will, just as soon as possible. Well, I gotta go. My Father is glaring at me from around the corner. Seems he's looking for me. Talk to you later."

"Bye."

"Bye, Ace."

That was the last time she heard from Logan, over three months ago. Not one phone call, message, letter, email, or smoke signal….nothing.