Auld Lang Syne

"Logan..." Rory's voice trailed off as she got choked up.

"I was so stupid to let you go, Ace," he started. "I don't know why it took me standing at the altar about to get married to figure it out, but here I am."

"You were in the middle of the wedding?" she asked in disbelief.

He nodded. "The only thing I could think of was you, and I began to question why I was marrying someone I didn't love."

Rory began to cry. Logan got up off his knee to console her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. She didn't know if it was pregnancy hormones, or if she was truly touched by his revelation. She suspected it was a little of both.

"It's alright," he said softly as he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

They stood on the steps of the diner for a few moments as the snow continued to fall around them. What should have been a happy moment for Rory, left her an emotional mess. She wanted to say yes to Logan's proposal but felt he should know about the baby before she gave him an answer. She felt that full disclosure was the best way to go.

"Let's go inside," she said quietly.

"Good, because I'm starting to get a little cold," he replied with a gentle smile.

After they were inside Rory's apartment, Logan swept her into his arms once again. Instinctively, she wrapped her arm around him just as she'd done so many times before. He looked into her piercing blue eyes, and he kissed her with an intense passion that had been building since she said goodbye in New Hampshire.

Oh, my god, this feels so amazing, but I have to tell him about the baby, she thought.

When they broke the kiss, she gave him a serious look.

"Is something wrong, Ace?" he asked.

"No, I mean, yes...kind of," she replied.

"Talk to me," he stated.

"Let's sit down for this," she suggested.

"Wait!" he said. "Am I completely wrong for coming here? I can just leave right now if that's what you want -" he was interrupted by Rory.

"No, it's not that," she started and paused. "I just...I just don't know how to say this..."

"Then let's not think about it right now," he recommended wanting to avoid any conflict that could mar their reunion.

"I wish I could, but this just can't wait."

Looking into his eyes, she took a deep breath and laid all the cards on the table for him.

"I'm pregnant," she said and waited for his reaction.

Logan sat in stunned silence. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Rory was pregnant. Those words jumbled around in his brain, not making any sense. None of it made any sense.

"Are you sure?" he asked tentatively, but he knew the answer. She wouldn't have said it if she didn't have definitive proof.

Rather than answer immediately, she got up and retrieved a picture from her desk.

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied and handed him the sonogram picture.

Whoa, I can't believe what I'm looking at, he thought. Is this really my...no, OUR child?

"Is this...our..." his voice trailed off before he could finish the question.

"Mmm hmmm," she replied.

He continued to look at her in surprise. He couldn't get out the words or form the sentences to convey his thoughts. He was flabbergasted. Logan had never really thought about children, and now fatherhood was pounding down his door.

"Please don't be mad at me for not telling you before," she said timidly.

"Ace," he said and thought for a moment. "I'm not...angry. Surprised, but not angry. I know my life is complicated and...oh, shit!"

"What? What is it?" she asked perplexed by his sudden shift.

"I've just...I've got..." he tried to get the words out. Logan took a deep breath. "I've just realized that I've got a big mess to clean up after walking out on the wedding. Contracts and other paperwork to nullify, and worst of all, my dad."

"Oh, well, if you've changed your mind -"

"No, no, no. Definitely not. It's just not going to be very pleasant," he replied. "I should really head back to take care of everything."

"Well, it is rather late..." Rory started.

"And?" he asked with a sly grin.

"Why don't you stay here and get a good night's rest? You can head back in the morning," she suggested.

"As much as I'd love to stay here and spend the night with you, it'll be easier to face sooner rather than later, Ace. You know how my dad is," he replied.

"Ok," she said sounding disappointed.

"This is something I've got to take care of now," he explained and took her into his arms. "I love you, Rory, and nothing will change that."

Logan kissed Rory passionately, leaving them both breathless. They stood in the middle of her apartment, quietly enjoying each other.

"When will you be back?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he replied solemnly.

Rory began to cry and put her hands on either side of his face. Logan kissed her again before he let her go. He walked to the door, looking back at the crying woman he was about to leave. It was the most gut-wrenching thing he'd ever done, but he knew that making sure nothing stood in the way of their future would be worth it in the end.

"I love you, Logan," he thought he heard her whisper through her tears.

What have I done? He asked himself. Then he realized he hadn't gotten an answer from her, yet he was ok with that. We don't need to be married. Just being with her for the rest of our lives is enough.

He left to go clean up his own mess.

He waited all night and just left. What the hell is going on, she wondered. If he didn't get married, what kind of mess was there to clean up? Rory stood in the middle of her apartment in disbelief that Logan had actually been there and proposed to her. She looked at the box on her table that told her she wasn't crazy, and he'd actually been there.

The little blue box contained a solitaire diamond on a simple platinum band. Rory slipped the ring onto her finger, just as she'd done so many years before. Memories of packing her New Haven apartment flooded her mind. The night before her graduation, after she had finished packing her boxes, she sat amongst them admiring his ring on her finger. She'd thought long and hard about how she wanted to answer, and here she was in a similar situation. Her future marginally unknown, and his was very set for the moment. She wasn't sure how things would turn out this time, or if he'd even return after Mitchum got done with him.

Needing someone to talk to, Rory realized she didn't have anyone she could talk to about what had just happened. She was resigned to the fact that she'd have to keep this to herself for the night and sat on her bed to watch something to distract her. The next thing she knew, it was morning, and she woke up with the television still on. She had fallen asleep watching a movie.

Rory was due at her mom and Luke's around ten for their Christmas morning ritual of opening presents and stockings after a healthy dose of coffee and donuts. Her clock read half-past nine, and she was in desperate need of a shower. She hoped it would help relieve a little of the stress from the night before, but after the shower, her attention was immediately drawn back to the ring box on her table. She knew she'd have to keep mum about it with Lorelai because she wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen with Logan. Her mom would likely reprimand her for even considering getting back together with him after everything.

Just after ten, Rory arrived at her childhood home. She was greeted by Luke and his daughter, April, who was spending the holiday with him. They drove to Hartford this morning to pick her up, hence the later celebration. In all of the excitement, she'd forgotten April was going to be there. She was thankful for her arrival because she wouldn't be the center of attention.

"Merry Christmas, Luke," Rory said as she hugged him.

"Merry Christmas, Rory!" he replied in a jovial tone.

"Christmas is just another ripped-off Pagan holiday that's been commercialized by the greedy capitalists," April said in disdain.

"And Merry Christmas to you, too, April," she replied with a chuckle.

"Oh, Rory," Lorelai called in a sing-song voice. "I need your help in the kitchen!"

Saved by Mom, Rory thought. She wasn't in the mood to get into an in-depth discussion with April regarding the holiday.

She shot Luke a look of confusion as she'd never heard those words come out of her mother's mouth. He raised his brows, shrugged his shoulders, and nodded his head toward the kitchen. April was helping Luke put presents under the tree, despite her verbal displeasure with the holiday.

Rory went into the kitchen to find her mom dumping a wide variety of items onto baking sheets. Lorelai had turnovers, tater tots, and even some pre-cut sugar cookies with reindeer in the middle. It looked like she had things pretty well under control, so she was still confused as to why she needed her help.

"Mom?" she asked.

"Oh, good. I need you to make some coffee and set the table," Lorelai requested.

"Couldn't Luke make coffee? I mean, his is the best in town."

"It's only the best at the diner. Here, it's just not the same," she explained. "Besides, all of this cooking stuff is way harder than it looks."

"You've got a point!" Rory replied with a chuckle.

Once the coffee was brewing and the table was set, she started arranging donuts and other pastries on a holiday-themed platter. Rory did her best to cover up the fact it was a Halloween pattern. She set it in the middle of the table as she drifted off into her own thoughts.

"Nice touch, Kid!"

Rory didn't respond to her mother's compliment and continued staring off into space. She was thinking about her surprise visit from Logan and his proposal. She didn't know how she was going to respond. She'd hoped that he'd come around for the last two years, and here he was giving her a second chance to fix the one thing she'd truly regretted in life. It was hard to believe he'd given her the all or nothing ultimatum on her graduation day because their relationship had never been that way, yet, it happened and she couldn't do it. She wanted to marry him, but not at that point. They still had the world at their fingertips.

When they reconnected in Hamburg, it was as if no time had passed. Things were going great for them until she was faced with the prospect of losing him again, so she suggested the Vegas agreement. It seemed to be the convenient solution, and then Mitchum stepped up his pressure on Logan. When his dad named his intended wife, things got weird for Rory. She didn't know how to handle it and knew it was time to move on with her life because it was obvious that Logan was moving forward with his.

"Rory!" Lorelai called louder.

Finally, the voice of her mom had popped her thought bubble and successfully brought her back to the reality that was happening all around her. She slightly shook her head out of the daze and looked at Lorelai. She seemed somewhat worried about her daughter.

"Sorry, Mom," she apologized. "I was just lost in my own thoughts."

"Care to share?" she asked.

"No, it's nothing. I've just been getting a little spacey lately," Rory replied covering the real reason she'd drifted.

"That's called 'baby brain'," her mother explained just before the timer dinged.

Lorelai started pulling trays out of the oven and setting them on top. Rory grabbed a plate and spatula and began pulling the cookies off one of the trays. Luke and April walked into the kitchen after hearing the alarm go off.

"Aw, you cooked," he said with a chuckle.

"I told you I would cook Christmas brunch as a present to you. I slaved over a hot stove all morning, and this is how I'm thanked for such a wonderful gift. I'm offended!" she replied with faux disgust.

"I figured you'd call Cesar, have him deliver food from the diner, and try to pass it off as your own cooking," he replied. "I didn't think you'd actually make stuff, even if it was from the freezer."

"How do you think we got by for all those meals we didn't eat at Luke's?"

"Al's?"

"Mom does know how to rip and dump," Rory jumped in to defend Lorelai.

"How about we eat? I'm famished," April interjected. "I never get good stuff like this at Mom's!"

"See! April knows quality cooking when she sees it!" Lorelai retorted.

"You're right," Luke said and kissed his wife. "Merry Christmas!"

The not-so-conventional family sat down to eat, and everyone, except Rory, seemed to be engaged in light conversation. Lorelai had noticed that she seemed to have drifted off into her own thoughts again. Her mom didn't know it was because of Logan and her possible future with him, which had brought a slight smile to her face. She simply assumed it was more 'baby brain' and let Rory have her moment in the clouds.

Logan made it back and was able to catch some sleep on the trans-Atlantic flight. He knew he'd need all of his stamina and wit to deal with his father's wrath. Mitchum was a force to be reckoned with, and this would be a battle of epic proportions. This was what he had to face to live the life he's wanted for years. He'd been wrong to give Rory an all or nothing ultimatum and rued the moment he did it.

Thankfully, his best friend had been the voice of reason, something that was rare for Finn. The guys loved Rory almost as much as he did and nearly kicked his ass for letting her go in New Hampshire. Now, he was going to make his final stand, and even if Rory didn't want to marry him, he knew they were meant to be together. There had never been anyone who measured up to her, and there never would be.

Once he landed, he turned his cell phone back on, and it began buzzing and flashing with all of the messages and missed calls. Most of them were from his dad. Just as he was about to reply, his phone started ringing. Fuck, he thought as he saw his dad's name appear on the screen.

"Hello," he said quietly and braced himself for the ass-chewing that was about to happen.

"Prince Charming finally decided to turn on his phone," Mitchum replied snidely.

"Dad..." his voice trailed off because he knew there was no point in trying to talk because it was mostly going to be his father.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You were in the middle of your damn wedding and you take off without a word," his dad began. "Then, you turn off your phone and fly to Hartford. Yes, I had you tracked. Why? Give me one good reason and it better not be who or what I think it is!"

What does he know? Who does he think I went to see? Logan wondered. Dad is no fool, and if he had me tracked, then he definitely knows.

"I don't want to get into this over the phone. I'm already on my way to your house. Can we just talk about it there?" Logan suggested.

"So, it's still about her," Mitchum commented knowingly.

"Please, can we talk about this in person?" he begged.

"Fine, I'll see you in an hour," his dad said and hung up before he could say anything else.

Logan figured he had just enough time to go back to his place and grab a quick shower but realized there was a good chance Odette would be there. He did not want to deal with her, or her attitude, which would only be multiplied after what he did. On the other hand, she may have stayed in the honeymoon suite she had booked for after the wedding. It was at the Dorchester at her insistence. It was as if she knew it was a special place for him and wanted to ruin any happy memories he had there. He offered a choice of several hotels and countered all of the choices with that one. He'd have to suck it up and go see his father sans shower and fresh clothes.

Once he arrived, Logan was escorted to his father's study. Mitchum pretended to be cordial while the maid was there, but his demeanor quickly changed as soon as the door closed. Anger and disappointment were blatantly displayed on his face before he spoke. He stared down his son, trying to intimidate him, but it wasn't working the same way it used to. Logan had become slightly numbed to his father's bullying tactics. He was tired of being a puppet and was ready to clip the puppet master's strings.

The two men sat in silence. Logan took a deep breath and broke the quiet.

"Dad, I'm not marrying Odette," he said firmly.

"And why not?"

"Have you had a conversation with her?" Logan retorted.

"I don't see what that has to do with any of this. Just find someone else who's discrete," Mitchum replied.

"Why should I have to do that?"

"It's what I did when your mother trapped me," he said bluntly.

I'm glad there was so much love between my parents, Logan thought. "No - I'm not going to do that!"

"You already did," Mitchum said. "With Rory."

Wow, that was a low blow for him, Logan lamented silently. "That's not what that was..."

"It's how things are done - the Huntzberger way," Mitchum explained. "It's what I did. It's what your grandfather did -"

"I don't want to be you, or him! I never have!" Logan said through clenched teeth.

"Things are done in a certain way in this family," his father replied getting louder and paused. "Besides, your mother loves her. She says she's a lovely girl from good breeding who will make the perfect wife."

"You know as well as me that things change, and you need to adapt to those changes, or you'll fall by the wayside. Marriage isn't the institution it was thirty years ago, it's a partnership," Logan clarified.

"I'm going to give you one last chance -"

"No, Dad, I'm not marrying Odette," Logan reiterated firmly.

"You will if you want to stay a part of this family...and that includes employment," Mitchum warned.

"I don't care," he said plainly and thought for a moment. "You know damn well I'm just as important to HPG as you - if not more!"

"There are at least a hundred others who would be more than qualified to take your place, and you are not as important as you think are, Son!" Mitchum said harshly.

"How much business have I generated for HPG? And how many times have I saved your ass in the past year alone?"

"What exactly will you do? There's a non-compete clause in your contract, so it's not like you can go to another media company like HPG," his father reminded him.

"I'll do what I've done before, and build something from the ground up," Logan said. "Then, you'll be begging me to come back, just like last time."

His father was stunned because he knew his son was right. Logan had proven his worth time and time again, and HPG would be hard-pressed to find a more qualified replacement. He had groomed his son to take over, and he had already begun the transition process. Mitchum was impressed that his son had called him out and realized his own self-worth. At that moment, he knew the student had surpassed the master, and yet, it was his own victory as well.

"You know this is going to be a pain in the ass to clean up, not to mention how much this is going to cost you," his father capitulated.

Is he conceding to me? Logan wondered cautiously.

"So, what's the catch?" he asked his father.

"Pierre is a shrewd businessman, and there was a great deal of give and take in this merger," Mitchum started.

"I don't like where this is going," he said. I knew I should have been more involved with the contract, but I didn't want the damn marriage in the first place, he thought.

"Overall, it falls in your favor, but it provided more for Odette in this kind of situation. She's getting almost as much as she would in a divorce," he explained. "That clause was put in at her insistence because she wanted to get paid even if you backed out. I guess she was the only one who saw this situation coming."

"Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not. I told you it would be cheap or easy," Mitchum replied.

Logan didn't want to take the hit financially and certainly didn't want to give in to the money hungry wolves of Odette's family. It wasn't enough to break him, but this was a battle they weren't going to win. One of his best friends was a whiz with contracts and loopholes, so he knew what he had to do. After his options were exhausted, only then, would he submit to monetary compensation.

"I'm going to have Colin look this over for any possible ways out of this," Logan said.

"I doubt you'll find anything. My best lawyers worked on this," his father said.

"You don't know Colin's level of expertise," Logan replied with a grin. "He's highly sought after by high profile clients."

"Go get 'em, Son!" Mitchum replied with a look of pride.

Over the course of the next few days, Rory chatted with Logan back and forth via text. He apologized to her about a hundred times for taking so long in getting back to the states. She knew he probably had a mess to clean up, and it would likely take some time. It gave her a lot of time to really think about everything and what she wanted with him. This wasn't a subject to simply discuss through a phone call or a few late night messages. It was a sit-down face-to-face, bear your soul kind of talk.

Fortunately, growing a baby inside of you took an immense amount of energy causing Rory to sleep fairly well despite anxiously awaiting Logan's return. By the time Friday rolled around, she got the impression that he had finished what he'd set out to do. He was in a very good mood when he called her that night.

"Things are looking up, Ace," he said to her before they said their goodbyes.

She felt giddy even though she still didn't know everything that was going on, but Logan's positive vibe was infectious. Rory hoped he'd come back soon and didn't know how much longer she could wait. She'd just have to distract herself until he was able to get there.

New Year's Eve had arrived, and anticipation was at its peak. Logan hadn't really given any indication when he'd be back, just that it would be soon. He did, however, say that his business was finished, with the exception of a few signatures, which he'd get today. Rory was worried it would take even longer and she'd miss out on the opportunity to spend the holiday with him.

For the most part, she'd managed to occupy herself most of the day and evening at her mom's, but she could feel the sleep calling her name before ten that evening. The cold, crisp air on her walk home felt good but was only a temporary fix. Once she was snuggled on the couch in a pile of blankets, it was lights out for Rory.

About ten minutes before midnight, she was roused by her phone. There was a text from an unknown number that simply said, Drop the Ball! Through her grogginess, Rory desperately tried to figure out what it meant. A moment later, her apartment was cloaked in darkness except for the light from her television. Usually, there was a fair amount of light from the streetlamps and holiday decorations, so it struck her as a little odd. She went over to the window to see what was going on, but couldn't ascertain the cause. If it were the power, her television wouldn't be on either. She quickly threw on her coat and shoes before she went downstairs to the front door of the diner.

The gazebo lit up, without a single streetlight, and Rory could see a figure standing in there. It all clicked, and she knew that it was Logan. The text, the lights off, and now the centerpiece of Stars Hollow was alight in the dark. Quickly, she unlocked the door and went out to meet him.

As she approached, she could see his million-dollar smile as he held out his arms for her. Rory ran to Logan's arms. She felt the warmth of him as he embraced her, and she was on the verge of tears. She managed to stave them off for the moment. She looked into his eyes and could feel the love as he stared into hers.

The church bells began to ring signaling the arrival of the new year.

"So?" he asked quietly and hopefully.

Rory bit her lip, trying to keep the tears at bay, but a single tear flowed down her cheek. Logan started to look concerned until she nodded her head in assent. His smile reappeared just before he pulled her even closer. There, under the lights of the gazebo, their lips met in a passionate kiss as the bells rang in the new year.