3 Years After

Chapter 13

LOGAN POV

I felt like an idiot. I was being the same schmuck that sat next to a coffee cart for 3 hours in January waiting for Ace to come by, now I am tracking her down. Less pathetic? Maybe but I doubt it. Lost in my thoughts as I approached Ace's building, quite a nice step up from that dingy apartment she lived in the last 2 years at Yale,

"Logan?" Lorelai's voice caught my attention, and I turned to see her and Luke approaching me. Luke still seemed less than impressed with my existence but I can't stay that I cared much, it was Ace's approval I was after, well, hers and Lena's.

"Good morning," I smiled at them, suddenly feeling very exposed as I stood outside her daughter' apartment with peace offering in the form of coffee,

"Would you like to come up with us? We're picking up Lena; she's spending the night in Stars Hollow with us."

"Yes, thank you." I smiled; I reached for the intercom,

"No, let me. More fun this way." Lorelai smiled and pressed the button "LOINFRUIT!" Lorelai sang through the intercom,

"Come on up Mom," Rory's beautiful voice came through the intercom, and annoying buzzer went off. Luke and I both turned to the stairs,

"Hell no, why take stairs there is an elevator right here."

"She's on the fourth floor..." Luke pointed out,

"I am with child, you want me to exert myself like that?" she smiled,

"Freaking mental patient," Luke grumbled as he went to the elevator,

"Such a sweet pet name Butch." She laughed,

"Only Lena can call me that."

"So Logan," Lorelai called his attention, "What are you doing here?"

"Rory told me to come by to work on a piece she's writing on the Huntzburger Publishing Group."

"So, your ex-girlfriend, my daughter, is writing a piece on your and your playboy ways and drunken escapades?" Lorelai snapped at him, all the while a smile on her face, which made him much more nervous than Luke's glares,

"Not a playboy, nor are there any drunken escapes. I'm sober." I told her, her face fell and she looked shocked but we had already arrived at Rory's floor so we hurried down the hall

"Hello my beautiful girls!" Lorelai sang and she entered Rory's apartment. Rory stood behind her daughter, wearing a black cardigan and a blue top underneath that made her blue eyes pop.

"Good morning," she smiled,

"Hogan!" Lena hopped off of a stool dressed just like Rory would, a small t-shirt that said the Bangles and a pair of pink pants, she ran up to Luke,

"Logan," I correct her yet again,

"Nope, I like you so you get a nickname!" Lena smiled as Luke picked her up, "Butch, will you make me pancakes?" just like a Gilmore Girl would, focused on their appetite,

"I think that could be arranged," he smiled at Lena, it seemed so natural for Luke, he had been like a father to Rory while she grew up, I had only met Chris 3 times but I had met Luke so many more times, and he helped moved Rory into her residence at Yale and also into the dive of an apartment in her senior years at Yale.

"Is Butch, Luke's nickname?" I asked as I approached Rory and noticed she had on pajama bottoms with cupcakes dancing on them,

"Nope, it's his name." Lena said matter-of-factly, and took Luke's hat and put it on herself,

"Is it casual Saturday, Rory?" Lorelai smirked taking in Rory's appearance; she looked down at what she was wearing and her cheeks flushed pink,

"Hey, at least I got Lena dressed!" she defended herself and pointed at Lena,

"Mommy, aren't you coming with us?" Lena asked, Luke's hat tipped over her eyes,

"I need to do some work today, but I will be there tonight." Rory smiled at our daughter and kissed her feet that were still missing her shoes that were in Lorelai's hands, "How about we watch Willy Wonka."

"YAY! We can get candy?" Lena smiled, Lorelai's face lit up too, it amazed me neither of them were diabetic,

"As long as you have some apple." Rory smiled, Lena clapped,

"Candy apple?" Lorelai tried to convince her,

"No, a regular apple; washed and cut up please?" Rory directed that at Luke and he nodded,

"Apple is my favourite! I like the green ones!" Lena said to me,

"I know you do." Rory smiled and grabbed a small pink lunch bag and was stuffing things in there, "Okay, Mom here. And remember at lunch she needs to take her vitamins and the green pill. Okay?"

"Yes, my darling." Lorelai smiled and took the lunch bag from her,

"And you also get to explain to her what loin fruit is." She smirked, I blinked a few times before looking back at Lorelai, and Luke covered Lena's ears and took her out of the apartment

"Why?" Lorelai demanded,

"Because you're loud." She smiled and took off to her room; I went to talk to her about our interview today, and stopped just the corner to see her wiggle her hips into a pair of jeans, and leaned over to get on her shoes, she quickly turned around so I took a few steps back so she wouldn't catch me being creepy, I was ashamed of myself,

Jeez Logan, I'm sorry. We can get started in a second, if you just want to take a seat in the kitchen, she smiled some curls of her hair fell out of a clip she had holding her hair back,

"Oh sure, okay." I quickly turned back around before she could get a good look at my face then she'd known I'd seen her change.

"Okay sweetie,"she kneeled down in front of Lena, "You be good for Nana and Butch?" she was smiling, a different smile then I'd seen before, it was so strange to see Rory as a mother, she looked the same as she had when we met she was 18, and she still looked 18 and was a mother...a single mother because I was too stupid not to answer her calls.

"I will be Mommy." She smiled, Rory did the same weird thing she did when she nearly blinded me for being outside her apartment, tapped Lena's nose three times and kissed her nose, and then her cheek, "MWAH!

"Okay, I will see you tonight. I love you." Rory smiled, but I could see her eyes were a litte glassy

"I love you too Mommy!" she waved and walked out with Luke,

"Watching your baby leave never gets easy does it?" Lorelai asked,

"No, now shut up." Rory laughed and kissed her cheek,

"Goodbye loin fruit, by Hogan." She laughed and closed the door

"I'm sorry that my family is insane." Rory laughed and turned to face me, her cheeks a little flushed,

"They are just as I remembered them, plus one." I laughed, meaning Lena, "Why is everyone calling Luke Butch?"

"It was his nickname when he ran track in high and mom found out. The end." Rory summed up, which was pretty accurate, from my understanding even a little information in Lorelai's hand was dangerous. "Oh well, its noon somewhere. Can I get you a drink?"

Oh shit...