Title: Fearless
Summary: And I don't know how it gets better than this, you take my hand and drag me head first, fearless. Logan surprises Rory at her goodbye party.
Author's Note: Still have a bad taste in your mouth over how the show ended? Here's another glimpse into what could have been… a fun, breezy read to start off summer!

Lyrics are to the song Fearless, and belong to Taylor Swift.

Feedback, though not required, is always appreciated!

there's somethin' about the way
the street looks when its just rained
there's a glow off the pavement
you walk me to the car
and you know i wanna ask you to dance right there
in the middle of the parking lot

Rory smiled and waved one last time as her grandparents' car turned the corner and they disappeared from her sight. They had been the last two people she had expected to see at a Stars Hollow shindig, but she had been happy to see them again before she left.

If she was truly honest with herself, there was one other person she would have been more surprised to see show up at the party that was still going strong behind her. Unfortunately, that person wanted nothing more to do with her.

Rory was reluctant to return to everyone who was still huddled underneath the tarp that stretched over the town square. The noise, the people; it was all a welcome distraction from everything that was troubling her but the sad moments, the angry ones, they were still hitting her in waves and when this one hit, the last thing she needed was for everyone to witness her falling apart.

She hated that she still felt this way, that she hadn't been able to properly wallow over the end of her relationship with Logan, but how do you wallow over something that's your own doing? She was the reason he had broken up with her. It was her fault because she simply couldn't say yes.

He'd haunted her for the last couple of days; she was hearing his footsteps when he wasn't anywhere near her. Every time her phone rang, she checked it anxiously, hoping to see a text message from him. Getting dressed was impossible, all of her clothes still had his scent on them, a result of sharing a closet for so long.

Yes, the waves of sadness and anger were still coming on strong and there was no was she could face her family and friends in that condition.

So she walked. She wandered up and down the street, pausing every now and then to peer into storefront windows. The rain was beginning to let up, but the skies were still grey. She noticed the colors around her, the greens and the purples especially, seemed more vivid than usual.

After a short time, she had regained control of her emotions and began making her way back to the party. She was stepping sideways to avoid a puddle when she heard the unmistakable roar of an engine behind her. She held her breath when she realized the car had slowed behind her. Wrapping her arms protectively around herself, she turned slowly, bracing herself for the inevitable fact that her head was playing tricks on her, just as it had been all day long.

But this time it wasn't. Squinting against the headlights, her heart jumped into her throat. "What are you doing here?" she managed to squeak out as he rolled down the window.

"We need to talk."

"Right now?" The wind picked up, whipping strands of hair across her face. She pushed them away furiously, intent on keeping her eyes on him so that he didn't disappear on her.

"If we wait any longer you'll be on a bus to god knows where," he pointed out.

She blinked, startled that he already knew about her leaving. "I..." her voice trailed off hesitantly, unsure of what to do.

"Come on and get in before the rain starts again," he pressed. He followed her gaze to the tent where they both found Lorelai staring at them with an unreadable look on her face. "Come on Ace," Logan pleaded gently. "Please, get into the car."

Rory cast one last look over her shoulder at Lorelai, who was definitely frowning at this point. "Okay," she agreed finally. She motioned to her mother, letting her know she would be back shortly and slid into the passenger seat of his car. The door clicked shut soundly and they sat there silently for what seemed like an eternity. "Why are you here?" she finally blurted out, not being able to take the thick silence anymore.

"Were you really just going to leave?" he shot back. "Just pick up and go? Run around the country without even letting me know?"

She stared at him incredulously. "You broke up with me," she reminded him harshly. "Why would I have to explain anything I'm going to do to you when you turned around and walked away from me?"

"Just explain it to me. Explain to me how you would willingly run all over the United States but you wouldn't move to San Francisco with me."

Rory was dumbfounded. "You didn't ask me to move to San Francisco! You asked me to marry you!"

"And you said no! You didn't... you wouldn't even consider it, you just said no and handed back the ring and--"

"I did think about it!" Rory protested. "You were the one with the all or nothing attitude. You're the one who demanded an answer I couldn't give you." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Why are we doing this?" she asked finally. "We can sit here and throw bitter words back and forth all night long and it's not going to change anything." When she opened her eyes again, she saw he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"Logan," her voice was quiet as she reached over and covered one of his hands with hers. "What's going on?"

"I talked to Hugo," he said finally. "He told me everything about how the two of you had talked, how he offered you the job, and how you're leaving tomorrow." He shook his head. "It's an amazing opportunity, Rory."

"It is amazing," she agreed. "But you didn't drive all the way to Stars Hollow to congratulate me on my new job."

"Of course I didn't!" He stared straight ahead again. "God, I can't do this here. Not with your mother glaring daggers at me. Can we get out of here?" He was still gripping the steering wheel.

"We're in Stars Hollow," she pointed out again. There weren't many hiding places. "Okay, okay," she relented at the look he gave her. "I know a place." He put the car into drive, following her directions as she lead them away from the town square.

She navigated them through town, trying to think of a spot secluded enough to keep them away from the town's prying eyes. Down Cherry Street, past Peach, a left on Orchard Lane; without realizing it she had lead them directly to where the Independence Inn had been. She directed him to behind the Inn, down the dirt road until they were in front of the lake.

"What is this place?" he asked as he turned the engine off.

"The Independence Inn. I grew up here," she reminded him. "Logan, what's going on?" she asked again.

He turned completely sideways in his seat and stared hard at her. "I don't want you to get on that bus."

It was then that Rory looked down and realized that her hand had been firmly entwined with his the entire time.

we're drivin' down the road
i wonder if you know
i'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now
but you're just so cool
run your hands through your hair
absentmindedly making me want you

His hand felt heavy over hers, almost foreign despite the fact that it hadn't even been 72 hours since the last time they had held hands. Without thinking, she rubbed her thumb over his knuckle. His grip tightened and then he quickly let go as if he'd just realized their hands had been connected. Before she could stop herself she reached over and grabbed his hand again.

She wasn't sure she had heard him right. "You don't want me to get on the bus," she repeated. He didn't say anything. "Logan, why are you here?"

He shook his head, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he looked down at their hands. "Do you know what my favorite memory of us is?"

She hadn't expected that. She opened her mouth to respond but he rushed on.

"My favorite memory of us is that first Life and Death Brigade event. When we were standing underneath the scaffolding and I dared you to climb up with me. To jump with me. In that split second it took for you to make your decision, you trusted me. You knew that you shouldn't, that in all probability I could get you killed, but you did it anyway. You didn't hesitate, you grabbed my hand and Rory, we jumped."

"Logan..."

"How many chances have we taken since then?" he pressed her. "How many times have we jumped? And every single time has been incredible and in spite of anything in our way, we've always been right. We've trusted each other, and even when we've let each other down," his grip tightened on her hand again. "Even when I've let you down, we've always found our way back to each other, back to something really good. We are really good together.

"I can't do this," Rory whispered, more to herself than to him. "What do you want from me?"

"What I want Rory, is for you to grab my hand and jump with me."

"Logan," she whispered again. She couldn't meet his gaze. Why was he doing this to her? She had already turned down his proposal once, there was no way she could bring herself to do it again. When she finally looked up at him, there were fresh tears in her eyes.

"Remember my last trip here?" He asked, not giving up. "Spring Fling, you and me in the hay bale maze. "I meant what I said, I'll factor you in."

"Yeah, you did a real good job of that when I said no to your proposal."

"We can build a life together in San Francisco!" he exploded. "Don't you get that? We can both finally get away from Hartford, from the expectations of our families, and we can start with a clean slate. We can start over together. How could you not want that?"

She shook her head firmly. "Because I'm scared!" she finally cried out. "Don't you get that? I'm scared." It was the one thing she had never said to him before.

"So what? Who cares? I'm scared too. That's never stopped us before, why let it stop us now?" he asked. "You trust me, Rory, I know you do. So why can't you trust that we can do this?" He smiled faintly, and tightened his grip on her hand. "We go right, remember?"

and i don't know how it gets better than this
you take my hand and drag me head first
fearless
and i don't know why but with you i'd dance
in a storm in my best dress
fearless

"Just go right, Ace!"

"Logan, this is absolutely ridiculous!" Rory protested. She had barely blinked when he had woken her up in the middle of the night and told her to put on the blindfold. They were in Stars Hollow, there weren't many places he could take her. She was surprised however, when he had left her in the middle of the hay bale maze, blindfolded, and dared her to come find him. "Logan!"

His voice floated towards her from the right. "You're so close!"

"What is the point of this?" She stumbled through the maze, keeping her hands against the hay, trying not to trip. "Seriously, when I fall and break my leg, you better feel really bad about it." She stumbled as she hit a dead end. "It's not funny!" she called back as she heard him chuckle. "Where are you?"

"You know exactly where I am."

"You so suck," she mumbled under her breath as she wandered along, using her hands to feel her way around. "Logan?" she called again, but he didn't answer her this time. "I swear, when I find you, I'm so going to get you back, I'm going to... oof!" She rounded a corner and collided with something solid. "This better not be Kirk," she muttered into his chest.

Logan laughed and slid his arms around her. "See, you found me," he said as he bent his head to kiss her fully on the lips.

"Mmm," She sighed as he pulled her closer, wrapping her own arms around his neck. She didn't protest as he turned them around, walking her backwards until her back collided with a wall of hay. "Logan, what--"

"Shh," he whispered, reaching up to untie her blindfold. It fell to the ground between them and she blinked at him, her eyes adjusting to what little light there was. He was smiling at her, but she recognized the look in his eyes. She started to protest but before she could say anything, his lips were back on hers. "Do you know why I brought you here?" he asked.

"I think I have an idea," she said, running her hand down his thigh to rest on him.

He moved her hand back to her side and chuckled softly. "That too, but that's not the only reason. Today when you decided not to take the ProJo, I told you we'd be okay, even if neither of us knows where we're going to end up."

She smiled and reached to touch his cheek. "I know, Logan, and I love you for that. But what does that have to do with this?"

"I wanted to make sure you really believed it." He gestured to the maze around them." So I brought you here. We're in a maze at midnight, and you were blindfolded, but Ace, you still found your way to me. You found me, just like I'm always going to find my way to you. No matter what."

Rory stared at him for a moment, trying to find her voice. "Just go right," she whispered before crashing her lips against his. Her hands fumbled with his belt as his went to the buttons on her shirt. They were both quickly divested of the necessary clothing and she didn't hesitate until he was pushing against her entrance. "This is crazy," she breathed as he wrapped one of her legs around his waist. She gasped and her head fell back against the hay as he entered her swiftly.

"You make me crazy," he returned, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Her hands moved frantically across his back, her nails scratching him as she tried to steady herself between him and the wall behind her. "Don't ever stop making me crazy, Rory."

"You make me crazy, Ace." His voice snapped her out of the memory, bringing her back to the present. They stared at each other for a long moment before she could find her voice.

"Don't ever stop making me crazy," she whispered back. In an instant she was across the front seat and in his arms, their lips and limbs tangled in a frenzy neither had expected or experienced before. They struggled against the space confinements, but soon Logan was able to rid her of her clothes and had eased her back into the passenger seat, hovering above her. Their eyes connected and she nodded slightly at him; it was all the permission he needed. He took her so suddenly and surely that she cried out in surprise, digging her nails into his arms. He dropped his mouth to hers, sucking her tongue into his mouth greedily as he dove into her.

She kept her eyes on him, determined to memorize every single second of their coupling. His eyes were closed and she reached a hand up to run her fingertips over his eyelids. She startled him and he bent down to brush his lips across her forehead. "Look at me," she whispered. "Please."

He did, his eyes never leaving hers. "You're beautiful," he said hoarsely. One of his hands fisted into the hair at the base of her neck and she recognized by the expression on his face that he was close.

"I love you," she breathed, bringing his head down to hers. Their lips met again and she tightened her legs around his waist, driving him deeper inside her. There were no more words; only their soft moans and hushed murmurs mingling through the car when with a strangled groan, Logan thrust into her once more. Rory tightened around him and he was gone. She couldn't keep herself from crying out as she felt his release and it was enough to give her hers.

so baby drive slow 'til we run out of road
in this one horse town i wanna stay right here
in this passenger seat
you put your eyes on me
in this moment now capture it, remember it

It seemed like hours passed before either of them moved. Finally, Rory lifted her head from his chest and looked at him, her eyes sparkling. "Better than the drive to New York?" she asked, reminding him of their first time in the backseat of a car.

He laughed with her, and shook his head as he dropped a kiss onto her naked breast. "We may have had more room in the town car, but I think this definitely tops it," he agreed. He shifted in the seat, trying to give them each more room, but she was content to stay as close as possible.

Their giggles trailed off and she drummed her fingers against his chest. "Where did you go?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"After graduation, after I... after I gave back the ring, where did you go?"

"The pub," he admitted without hesitation. "I sat there all afternoon drinking anything the bartender put down in front of me and staring at that ring box. I don't even know what time it was when Finn and Colin came to get me, but I do know that we continued drinking long into the night."

"Did you..." her voice trailed off hesitantly.

"Did I what?"

"Take anyone home with you?" She felt his body stiffen beneath her and then relax again.

"No one but Colin and Finn, and you know we're all strictly platonic, even under the most impressive amount of alcohol."

"I'm sorry."

"Nah, you have every reason to ask, I know." He paused. "What about you? What happened after graduation?"

"I came home," she said. "Mom and I started planning this across the country rollercoaster tour, and then I got the call from Hugo and..." she shrugged. "Everything has been a blur since then," she admitted. They fell into an easy silence.

"It's too soon," she said quietly. "I don't want to leave in the morning. I don't think I can do it."

He sighed, and ran his hands through her hair. "Of course you can do it. You don't give yourself nearly enough credit, but believe me, you can do it. I can't wait to see the articles you come up with."

"I'm scared," she admitted quietly. She twisted to look him in the eye. He leaned down and kissed her. She clung to him, not pulling away until he did. They settled into a comfortable silence again, with Logan dropping kisses onto the crown of her head every now and then.

"That was my favorite memory too," she said, craning her neck around to see him.

"Hmm?" His eyes were closed as his hands played with the ends of her hair.

"Us jumping off that ledge. Logan, in that moment everything was perfect. It was a chance I didn't want to take, but you're right, I trusted you. And I'm happy I did."

"I'm glad."

"I still trust you," she went on. "I've never stopped." She sat up in the seat and faced him fully, taking a deep breath. "Okay."

"Okay what?" Finally he opened his eyes and smiled at her lazily.

"Okay, let's do it." She grinned widely at him as he began to realize what she was saying.

"Logan, marry me. Tonight."

cause i don't know how it gets better than this
you take my hand and drag me head first
fearless
and i don't know why but with you i'd dance
in a storm in my best dress
fearless

"Tonight?" he echoed. "Ace, there's no way we can..."

"We can," she confirmed, her eyes sparkling. "Logan, let's do this! I want to. I don't want to wait. I want to marry you, and I want to do it right now."

"This is crazy!"

"We're crazy!" she reminded him. "Logan, I love you. You love me, right?"

"You know I do. More than anything."

"Do you trust me?"

He looked at her for a long moment before nodding his head slowly. "I trust you, Ace."

"Good. Then hand me your phone." She took the offered device and punched in the phone number. Her fingers entwined with his again as she waited for Lorelai to answer the phone.

"Mom, it's me. I need you to not freak out on me right now, but I need your help. Yes, yes, I'm with Logan still. Yes, I know I'm supposed to leave in the morning. Mom, I... yes, I know I just up and left the party but Mom I...Mom!" She closed her eyes and waited for the rambling to stop. "Mom, please, just listen to me." Logan smiled at her encouragingly. "Logan and I are getting married," she said in a rush. "Tonight. Yes, tonight. Yes, married. Yes Mom, I know that sounds crazy, it is crazy, you're absolutely right. Yes Mom, it's what I want, but I need you to-" She held the phone away from her ear as Lorelai began to rant in earnest. She made a face at the phone and Logan laughed at her. Finally, she brought the phone to her ear again.

"Mom, do you want to be a part of this or not?" she asked finally, knowing it would get Lorelai to shut up once and for all. "Because either you can help me with what I need right now, or Logan and I can run off to Atlantic City and get married on our own, but either way, we are getting married tonight. So what's it going to be?" She smiled triumphantly. "Now tell me, did Kirk ever get ordained online like he talked about last year?"

A few minutes later she hung up the phone, satisfied, and smiled at Logan. "Last chance to back out, Huntzberger, otherwise we're getting married in exactly one hour."

"Kirk?" he repeated incredulously, unable to contain his laughter.

She laughed with him. "Do you have a better idea?" She sobered for a minute. "I'm sure we'll have to do a real ceremony sooner or later for my grandparents and your family, but--"

Logan silenced her with a kiss. "Being married by Kirk is perfect," he declared. "But why are we waiting an hour?"

She grinned mischievously as she wriggled her way into the backseat and beckoned for him to join her. "Because I really want to celebrate our engagement, don't you?"

"An hour won't be long enough," he threatened as climbed over the seat and joined her. Her laughter was cut off as he kissed her again. He touched his forehead to hers, breathing her in.

"Are you sure?" he asked again. "Because I can't lose you again."

"You never lost me to begin with," she assured him softly. "We just had to take a couple of wrong turns before we found the right way again."

"Wait, wait," he said pulling away. "First things first." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a familiar jewelry box. "Now, technically you asked me and all, but you should still get the ring," he said as he picked up her hand.

"Hmm, you're absolutely right," she agreed when he slid the ring onto her finger. They both looked down at their joined hands for a moment before looking at each other. She held his gaze for another moment before reaching down to guide him to her. "Now, make love to Rory Gilmore one more time before she becomes a Huntzberger," she whispered huskily, reaching up to kiss him again.

When they arrived back at the town square an hour later, their skin was still flushed and their clothes impossibly wrinkled. They were surprised to see most of the townspeople were gathered at their designated meeting spot.

"What is all of that?" Logan asked, pointing at the gazebo as they walked up hand-in-hand. "I thought just your mom and Kirk were going to be here."

"Please," Lorelai said as they approached her. "By the time I finally tracked Kirk down, the entire town knew about this wedding, do you really think I could keep them away?" She frowned at Rory, taking in her appearance. "My darling daughter, I love you dearly, but you cannot get married looking like you were just ravished in the backseat of a car." She held up her hand. "No, I do not want to hear details about you being ravished in the backseat of a car." She grabbed her arm. "Lucky for you, Mommy is always prepared, come with me." She winked at Logan as she dragged Rory away. "We won't be long," she promised. "And to keep you busy, I've asked Jackson to impart a little fatherly wisdom on you before you two go through with this." She nodded at Jackson, who walked over solemnly and guided Logan toward the gazebo, a firm arm around his shoulder.

"What is Jackson doing?" Rory protested as Lorelai pushed her into Luke's and shut the door.

"I don't know," Lorelai answered with a wave of her hand. "Threatening him, telling him what to do on the wedding night," she paused to make gagging noises. "Whatever it is that dads say to their sons on their wedding day. He figures its good practice for Davy, but really, I needed a few minutes with you." Lorelai took a deep breath. "Do you really want to do this, Kid?"

"I really do," Rory said firmly. She looked up at her mom with tears in her eyes. "Mom, I love him. And I know I was scared before, but you know what? I'm not anymore. I know that this is right. I know that more than anything else." She took a shaky breath. "But I need you up there with me. Please tell me that you're okay with this."

"Will you change your mind if I say I'm not?" Lorelai sighed as Rory shook her head. "Okay then, we don't have much time." She held up a shopping bag in her hand that Rory hadn't noticed before.

"What's that?"

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue," Lorelai explained as though it were the most obvious answer in the world. "I didn't have much time, but I think I did pretty good." She pulled out the first item, a blue garter, and handed it to her.

"Something borrowed and something blue," she pointed out as Rory looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"When did you wear this?"

"Oh, it's not mine, it's from Miss Patty's costume trunk so it's doubly borrowed. Don't ask why I have it, trust me, you don't need to know. But it's been washed," she went on hurriedly. "And you can't be a bride without a garter and--"

"Okay, okay, something borrowed and blue. What else?"

"Something old." Lorelai produced a pink Hello Kitty charm bracelet.

Rory drew back in horror. "Wasn't Gran wearing that?"

"No no," Lorelai laughed. "It was a two for one sale and you know how I love the bogo. I promise that Gran still has hers." She fastened the new one onto Rory's wrist and it took a minute for her to let go.

"And now, something new." Lorelai reached into the bag once more and brought out the dress she had bought for her own non-wedding to Luke. "You can't get married in jeans," she explained, her voice catching at the end.

Rory blinked back her tears again. "That should be the something borrowed," she argued.

"No, it's something new," Lorelai insisted. "Luke's already seen it, so I can't get married in it. But you can. So let me give this to you."

"Mom, I..." Rory's own voice caught in her throat. She hadn't expected all of this, and it was throwing her off guard. "Thank you." She reached over and hugged her. Lorelai held on tightly for a few seconds before pulling back.

"Go upstairs and get dressed, so we can get you married!" She smiled at her through her tears.

"Oh wait," she called as Rory was heading up the stairs. She dug around in her purse and tossed a hair brush at her. "Brush your hair, you really do look like you were ravished in the backseat of a car." She winced as Rory's voice floated gleefully back down the stairs.

"That's because I really was!"

well you stood there with me in the doorway
my hands shake
i'm not usually this way but
you pull me in and i'm a little more brave
it's a first kiss
it's flawless
really something
it's fearless

A collective sigh swept through crowd when Rory finally joined Logan in the gazebo. He held out his hands to her and she took them, smiling shyly as he bent forward to whisper "Nice dress." He would have kissed her then, but Kirk cleared his throat loudly and shook his head warningly. Even Rory couldn't hold back a giggle at the look Kirk was giving them.

"Sorry Kirk," they said simultaneously.

"Are we ready to begin?"

Logan looked at Rory, his eyebrow quirked. "Last chance, Ace," he warned.

She smiled brightly at him. "I'm not going anywhere."

Logan looked sideways at Kirk. "I'd say we're ready," he said with a nod of his head.

They exchanged their wedding vows as the Church bells struck midnight, with Logan promising not only to love and cherish Rory, but also to always keep the kitchen stocked with Cocoa Puffs. Rory vowed to support and adore Logan, and to never complain while he watched The Twilight Zone on Sunday afternoons. The crowd chuckled softly in appreciation at the unconventional vows that seemed wholly appropriate for this wedding.

"I promise to let you take as many pictures of me as you want, provided that no one else see the naked ones." Logan cast a look over her shoulder pointedly at Lorelai who had to stifle her laugh.

Rory's eyes sparkled. "I promise to stop dressing up the suit of armor in Santa hats and lingerie."

Kirk cleared his throat. "If the two of you are done, I'd like to--"

"Just one more," Logan interrupted. He turned back to Rory and his grip on her hands tightened. "Rory, I promise that no matter where we end up, no matter what we're doing, we're going to be okay. I will always make us okay. Thank you, for making the man standing here today. For making me want to be that man."

She smiled. "I promise to always jump with you, Logan. And never look back."

After a moment they both turned and looked at Kirk expectantly. "Oh, okay you're ready now." Kirk coughed slightly. "By the power vested in me by the state of Connecticut and the Internet, I now pronounce you, Mr. and Mrs. Logan Huntzberger, husband and wife." Kirk stretched his arms out widely. "Logan, you may now kiss your bride."

Logan held her at arms length and raised an eyebrow at her. "Did we really just do this?"

Rory laughed. "I think we really did!" They were both laughing as he pulled her in close and tilted her chin up with one finger.

In the midst of the cheers coming from their audience, the shouts for him to kiss her already, he eventually lowered his head to hers. "Get ready for one hell of a ride, Ace," he whispered so that only she could hear and finally, they kissed.

cause i don't know how it gets better than this
you take my hand and drag me head first
fearless
and i don't know why but with you i'd dance
in a storm in my best dress
fearless

"Logan, put me down!" Rory squealed as Logan carried her through the front door and into their new house. "Seriously, you're going to hurt yourself and I don't know my way around to get you to a hospital. Logan!"

"Come on Ace, don't spoil this, I'm trying to show you the house." He nuzzled at her neck. "This," he said with a sweeping motion of his free hand. "Is the living room. That couch right there," he nodded in one direction. "Is brand new, and will need to be broken in."

"Isn't all of the furniture brand new?" Rory pointed out breathlessly as he ceremoniously dropped her on the couch and climbed on top of her.

"Thinking like a Huntzberger already, I like that," he said lasciviously before claiming her mouth in a heated kiss. "God, I've missed you," he muttered into her neck.

"I've missed you too," she admitted, pulling him in for another kiss.

It had been a busy two weeks since their midnight vows. They had spent a blissful honeymoon night at the Dragonfly Inn before breaking the news to their families of the impromptu wedding. As expected, the news hadn't been taken very well, and before either had realized it, they had both agreed to a proper and formal wedding ceremony in the Vineyard at the end of the summer. The day had ended with Logan flying back to Palo Alto alone, both to finalize their living arrangements and to get back to work, while Rory stayed behind, tying up loose ends in Stars Hollow.

She had turned down Hugo's offer that same morning, knowing in her heart, it was the right thing to do. She didn't have a plan yet, for California, but she was quickly learning she didn't need one. Whatever happened, happened; and she would welcome whatever that may be with open arms. After boxing up her life and shipping it to California, she still had one adventure to take. Though the initial plan had been to ride roller coasters all across the United States for an entire month, Lorelai and Rory had been able to reexamine the list and shorten the trip to just two weeks, with the trip ending in Vallejo, CA, not far from where Rory and Logan would be living. Logan had been more than understanding, saying he needed the time to make sure things were completely settled and that they had a place for her to move into and for that, Rory couldn't have been more grateful.

Logan's hand inched underneath her tank top, jolting her back into the moment. "Wait, wait!" she said as she swatted his hand away. "Show me the rest of the house!" She rolled off of the couch, bringing him with her.

He groaned as he obligingly took her hand and led her toward the kitchen. "Don't think you'll be putting me off too long," he warned. "We are newlyweds, after all."

"I know, I know," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him sweetly. "But the sooner you show me this house, the sooner we can begin christening every single room." She punctuated the last three words with three firm kisses.

They raced through the house like children, Logan showing her each room from top to bottom. In every room, he waited anxiously for her reaction, relieved when she was delighted with everything. He saved the best room for last; the study they would be sharing, complete with an L-shaped desk and an overstuffed, extra-comfortable leather couch for the many work breaks he assumed they would be taking. Much to his delight, it was the first piece of furniture they broke in.

"What's that?" Rory asked later, when they lying tangled on that couch.

"What's what?"

"That," she said, pointing out the huge bay window that overlooked their private backyard. She grinned at him slyly. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Ace," he said mildly. "It's just a tree."

"It is not just a tree!" she protested as she pulled him up and dragged him through the house and out into the backyard, not caring that she was clad only in his white dress shirt. "This is the tree you promised me," she said once they were underneath it. "This is our avocado tree!"

"I knew you'd like it," he said, wrapping his arms around her.

"Oh, it's perfect," she sighed. "I love it." She reached up and kissed him gently. The kiss soon deepened, and Logan brought them both down onto the ground, leaning against the trunk. "Everything is perfect," she said contentedly.

Lying there in their new backyard with the sun setting behind them, Logan found he couldn't agree more. He tightened his arms around her and dropped a kiss onto her shoulder as she leaned her head back against him.

"Welcome home, Ace."