Come Back...Be Here (Gilmore Girls Post-AYITL)

Chapter 9

The butterflies that Rory had felt that morning standing outside the imposing doors to the HPG offices had returned with a vengeance, now she was getting ready to meet with Logan again. If anything, she felt more nervous than ever after seeing him and touching him. All the feelings that she had to try so hard to bury over the past few months had resurfaced.

It had taken Rory quite a while to settle on something to wear, but on Finn's advice, she had opted for a black lace shift dress which stopped mid-thigh. It was a flattering cut on her and showed off her enviable figure. Rory looked at herself in the mirror. She could see that her tummy was just starting to protrude the smallest amount. Might as well make the most of it she thought, don't think I will be fitting into this dress again for a while! She gave herself a final spritz of perfume, slipped into her heels and walked out into the living area of the suite.

"How do I look?" she said, striking a pose for Finn.

"A million dollars! Go knock him dead" Finn whistled through his teeth "And if that dress doesn't knock him out of his socks, then you know where I am darling"

"Finn!"

"What! I am kidding, I am kidding!" Finn held his hands up to defend himself from Rory's playful slap.

"Wow I could really do with some Dutch courage right about now," Rory said smoothing down her dress. "I don't know whether I am going throw up or pass out with nerves".

"Hopefully neither" Finn laughed.

"Here's hoping!" Rory said as she picked up her bag and got ready to leave the suite.

--

Rory made her way down to the bar at the hotel, hesitating slightly at the entrance, aware that regardless of how the conversation went, tonight was going to be one of those life-changing moments. Punctuality always being one of his strong points, Logan was already waiting for her in the bar. She caught sight of him looking over at her as she walked in and she felt her heart skip a beat. Rory took a deep breath and even though underneath it all she was about as nervous as she could be, she fixed on a smile and confidently walked over to the table. Logan stood up to greet her with a smile.

"Ace, you look amazing. Wow, you kind of took my breath away there for a second" Logan said as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. He wasn't lying, Rory really had surprised him. She had looked so vulnerable at lunchtime but here she was stood in front of him, looking more beautiful than he'd ever seen.

Rory smiled, the dress had the desired effect. It had never been quite as lucky as her official lucky dress but she knew that this looked good on her and it made her feel good, which after the past few months was exactly what she needed.

"Thanks for coming Logan, I know things were a little awkward earlier and well, I couldn't really leave it there. There were still an awful lot of things I needed to talk about. Shall we sit?" She said gesturing at the booth next to them. As it was busy in the bar and she didn't really feel like shouting about her private life across the table, Rory slid into the booth to sit down alongside Logan. He handed her a glass of the champagne from the bottle he had already ordered.

"Erm, thanks, Logan," Rory said taking the glass and setting it down on the table. "Do you think we could get some water?"

"Sure – you decided to give up the champagne?" He laughed, knowing how fond she had become of it.

"I can't really drink it at the moment so water will be fine right now"

"Are you sick?" Logan asked, looking a little concerned.

"No, well I have been a little, but no, that's not really the reason"

Logan shook his head, confused.