As Lane predicted, Brad pulled strings or called in favors.  Rory barely had time to pack and hit the stores in the hotel lobby for a few items before she was sitting in First Class on an American Airlines plane.  Rory settled into her seat for the short flight to Palo Alto.  It was only about an hour flight, but she figured she could take a little nap and arrive refreshed.  She got out her laptop and reviewed her notes while they sat on the runway.  A flight attendant requested she close it for take off.  Once they were in the air Rory still felt restless, so she got it back out to work on her notes more.

An hour later, a flight attendant was gently nudging Rory asking her to stow her laptop for landing.  Rory looked around confused.  The last thing she remembered was organizing her notes on Zack.  Suddenly she was in Palo Alto.

She grabbed her overhead bag and exited the plane.  She went to Baggage Claim to get her other bags.  She brought her things with her so Lane didn't have to worry about them when they got to Phoenix.  Claiming her bags took a long time as usual. 

Then Rory waited in line to rent a car which also took a long time.  Rory remembered why she hated flying commercial airlines.  She had gotten spoiled traveling with Lane and the band on all the private planes.  She made a mental note to start taking advantage of Logan's private plane for her travels.  She smiled when she realized it was kind of her plane now too.  Logan had said the house was half hers, so she assumed that mentality applied to the plan as well.

Finally, she was in her rental car with all her baggage.  Rory decided to text Logan, hoping to get an idea where he was and what his schedule was for the evening.  She wrote a simple, "Hi Husband!  I miss you.  Busy at work still?"  She waited for a response.  Her phone pinged within seconds.  "Hi to you, Wife.  I am stuck in a business dinner with an old associate right now.  I know you have a concert tonight.  I won't be home for a few hours, but will text you when I get there."

Rory was happy.  By his texts, she figured she had time to get to his house and get settled in to wait for him.  She turned on the GPS system and punched in Logan's address.   Rory hadn't been exactly sure where Logan lived as she had never been there.  Since she didn't want to call him and ruin the surprise, she asked Brad to find out.  The man's career may have been in public relations, but he was a whiz with private investigations as well.  He provided Rory with the address within minutes.

So, Rory was finally on her way.  The GPS estimated a 50 minute drive.  That would put her at Logan's house right around 7 pm.  Since she knew he wouldn't be home, she was thankful she remembered where he told her he hid a spare key.  They had been telling silly stories and Logan confessed to locking himself out once and having to climb through his bathroom window.  He told her how he fell into his huge whirlpool tub that he had accidentally left filled.  Since that incident, he hid a key a key under the third rock on the side of the house. 

Rory glad she was going to beat Logan to the house.  She wanted to surprise him and freshen up before he arrived.  She knew her hair and makeup was disheveled from sleeping on the plane.  And her clothes were hopelessly wrinkled.

She looked around as she drove.  She had never seen this part of California.  It was beautiful.  She could see now why Logan had thought she would have loved it years ago. 

Rory found his house with no problem.  It was a modest sized rancher on a nice chunk of land.  He had professional landscapers design beds and maintain them.  The house was flocked with palm trees, ferns, and a few native flowers.  It was simple but meticulously cared for. 

And from what she could tell, Logan was not home.  She decided to park in front of the neighbor's house on the street.  Logan would never recognize the rental car as hers, so she could definitely surprise him.  She grabbed what she need from the car and locked it behind her.  The rest of her luggage could wait.  Then she went counting rocks.  She rolled the third one to the side and saw a silver key in a small baggie.  Rory smiled as she grabbed it and replaced the rock.

She went to the front door and quickly let herself in.  She still had no real idea when he would be home, so she hurried inside.  She found herself in a spacious foyer with a couple more palms and a decorative table with mirror.  Looking around, she walked out of the foyer.  The house was decorated very much like Logan, eclectic and masculine. She could tell he had a designer organize the house.  The designer had done it in a modern simplistic theme.  Logan had incorporated east coast aspects into it.  He had some Yale mementos next to sleek white floor vase displaying curling sticks.   What should have clashed simply screamed "Logan".

Rory wandered through the living room, noting a few photos Logan displayed.  He had pictures of Honor and his parents.  There were some of Finn and the Life and Death Brigade.  Rory was in two of those photos.  Not that she expected him to, but Logan did not have any photos of her or the two of them in the house.  She knew he had not really been home since their relationship had gotten serious again.  He probably hadn't had much time to update his photos.  But it bothered her that there was a framed photo of Claudia on the mantle.   She made a mental note to ask for its removal.

She glanced quickly into the kitchen, noting it was clean and organized, but not overly inviting.  It seemed more utilitarian.  Then she continued down a hall that she assumed would lead to the master bedroom.  She passed a powder room, a laundry room, and two spare bedrooms. 

Finally at the end of the hall, she found the master bedroom.  She pushed open the door to find a king size bed and huge, heavy furniture.  The room was done in deep, dark colors.  Again, it was very masculine.  Rory put her bag down and looked around some more.  She opened a door to her left and discovered an enormous walk-in closet.  She felt unsettled when she spotted a small section to the back dedicated to women's clothing.  She knew they were Claudia's clothes.  Rory sighed and stepped out of the closet, closing the door behind her. 

The door next to the walk-in closet was a gigantic bathroom.  It was all white.  There were double sinks on the massive vanity.  A perfume bottle and a few cosmetics were pushed to the side.  Rory glanced at them and scowled, obviously more of Claudia's lingering presence.  Rory was slightly annoyed.  Logan had told her Claudia didn't visit California much.  For someone that was allegedly barely there, she certainly left a lot of things.  She looked at the toiletries for a moment more, then she continued her survey of the room.  There was a very inviting glass shower next to a large whirlpool tub.  The tub had a window next to it with a view of Logan's backyard.  Rory smiled mentally picturing Logan tumbling through that window into a tub full of water.  She could see a pool, a patio area with a grill, and more professional landscaping. She loved the feathery ferns and reminded herself to ask Logan what they were.   Rory wished she had more time.  She would have loved a relaxing swim in that tub gazing at the view.

She decided to settle for a fast shower.  Rory really wanted to be settled and in position to surprise Logan, but reasoned he would be pretty surprised to find her in his shower if he came home while she was in there.  So she quickly took off her clothes and slid open the doors.  She was very pleased to find the dual jets and an endless supply of hot water.  While she would have liked to stand under the spray for an hour, she hastily got cleaned off and shaved in record time.

She toweled off quickly and dried her hair.  Then Rory rummaged through her bag to find the outfit she purchased in Vegas to wear that evening. 

Rory dressed and gazed at herself in the full mirror in the bathroom.  The black sheer nightie hugged the right spots.  It was revealing without being vulgar.   She had fallen in love with the 1930s inspired look of it.  It was more of a gown with a detailed waist, but sheer in the breasts.  She wore a tiny black thong under the sheer gown.

Rory spent a few moments on her hair and makeup.  She wanted a natural look, but highlighted her eyes.  She left her cheeks and lips naked.  Her hair, still slightly damp from her shower, was curling a bit at her shoulders.  She decided to go with what it was naturally doing.  She added a few more loose curls and left it down and just a little messy.  The only jewelry she wore was her wedding ring.

Once back in the living room, Rory got a bit nervous.  She had no idea what she should be doing when Logan finally came in.  She debated making dinner, figuring he would like to see her dressed like that making him dinner.  But she rejected that idea when she looked at the time.  It was after eight o'clock.  And, according to his text, he was in a dinner meeting, so he had already eaten.

Rory wandered the room trying different poses against various pieces of furniture.  She leaned on the table, half sitting, half standing, kind of seductively.  She also rejected that idea.  She had no idea how long he would be.  She couldn't very well stand against a table all night in an awkward position.  Leaning against the archway in the foyer wouldn't work either.  She tried posing on the rug, but thought she probably just looked like a dead body sprawled out in the middle of the floor.  Then inspiration struck.

She went back into the bedroom and sorted through her dufflebag again.  She found the book she was reading and took it back to the living room.  She decided the most natural position for Logan to find her in was on the couch reading.  Logan would not be able to see her when he walked in the door, but she would be front and center when he walked out of the foyer into the living room.

So she arranged herself among the pillows, propping herself so that her chest was prominently displayed.  She stretched her legs out in a manner she thought was sexy.  And she arranged her hair so it draped over her shoulders and the pillow of the couch.  Then Rory opened the book and began reading.

About a half an hour later, Rory was so engrossed in her book she nearly missed the sound of car pulling in the driveway.  She closed the book and set it to the side.  She nervously fluffed her hair and straightened her negligee. She was fiddling with her hands trying to find the perfect position when she froze completely at the sound of voices. 

"Ok, ok, geez, I remember where it is!  I am heading to the bedroom!"  Rory heard stumbling and a giggling voice that she recognized as Claudia's voice.

"Good grief, woman, you're a mess!  You know you can't have more than two glasses of wine.  Go ahead, I'll be in there in a minute.  I just want to take off my shoes,"  Logan's voice said.

Rory sat up straighter on the couch, not sure what to do or think.

Claudia appeared in the doorway of the room carrying what appeared to be a large overnight bag.  She stopped short and stared at Rory with her mouth open.  Frozen in place, Rory soundlessly stared back.

A few seconds later, Logan appeared behind her.  He, too, looked shocked as he said, "Rory?"