A/N: I wrote a letter to Princess Rory-Sue explaining my future work with her. It's at my LJ. There will be four affair scenarios.

Disclaimer: I borrow characters and some dialogue.

Take One: Ignorance is Bliss

Rory fumed as she watched that jerk Graham leave the pub with his friends. They were still talking about some idiotic football game—or maybe it was basketball. She didn't know or care which. She asked the waitress where she could find an ATM, but was dissuaded from walking in this neighborhood at night. Terrific, she was stranded here.

She looked through the contacts on her phone, hoping she'd find one who could rescue her from this miserable night. She scrolled up and down between a few names. Her mother was her first choice, and the most convenient. If Lorelai could come to New Haven, she could take some of the boxes that were sitting in Rory's dorm. But her mother didn't answer when Rory tried the house or her cell. Where could she be? She and Jason broke up, so she couldn't be out on a date.

Oh that's right, she was at a wedding with Luke. Were they still out? Apparently so.

Paris would have been the next logical choice, except she was already finished with her finals. It wouldn't be a big deal if she was just at her parents' in Hartford, but that wasn't where Paris was tonight. She was with Asher, or perhaps tending to him was a better way to put it, after his recent health scare. The thought of her roommate showing up with Professor Fleming in tow was enough to cross Paris off the list.

There were her grandparents, but she didn't want to explain to Emily why things with Graham didn't work out. Her grandmother had meant well, but it was disconcerting if she thought that guy was Rory's type. No, her grandparents weren't an option. They had enough on their plate with their secret separation.

Rory skipped over a couple names to go back up the list. Lane—what could she do? She didn't have a car. Rory landed on Marty then.

She and Marty had exchanged numbers after the Harvard-Yale Game back in the fall. It had been a smart trade, as they had a couple classes together and helped each other study throughout the year. It was nice to have a new friend. Rory liked Marty, he was nice and cute. And after his embarrassment over his first naked night at college wore off, he wasn't as awkward as she first found him.

Rory pressed the dial button and waited for an answer. When Marty answered, she relayed the Cliff's Notes version of her plight and gave him the address when he agreed to come get her.

"Tell me again where you met this guy," he asked when he arrived and took a seat opposite her at the table.

"I feel so stupid," she said. "It was someone my grandma knew since he was in diapers and she set us up. She was blatant and shameless about it too." Rory added, "He and his friends were rowdy and rude—and oh, they were going to drive themselves to another pub even though they're all drunk."

Marty smiled and shook his head. "Sorry you had such a bad night."

"It's okay. I wasn't too heartbroken to see him go," she said. "I hope I didn't catch you in the middle of anything important."

"No, no, don't worry about it. I was just finishing packing up my car," he said. "Do you have any big summer plans?"

"Not really," Rory answered. "I'll probably just be helping my mom at her new inn. She's having a test run next week. Are you doing anything exciting?"

"I'll be working the whole time. You know, keeping myself out of trouble."

"Right," she said with a small smile. She was sure Marty would have no problem keeping his nose clean. She was going to miss him over the summer. "Hey, if you aren't doing anything, and if you don't live too far, we should get together and hang out," she hedged nervously.

Marty smiled easily. "Sure, just give me a call."

They sat and ordered food, while the conversation turned from their finals to Paris and Professor Fleming. That particular subject made them both shudder. When they were finished eating, Marty drove her back to their dorm building.

Rory started talking about all the reading for pleasure she was planning to do over summer break. "I'm not going to think about Chaucer or Kafka or Machiavelli. They can all stay in their boxes," she said pointing toward her door. "I'll be too busy reading Jane Magazine and wondering why Uma wore that dress. Fun stuff, like that."

Marty's lips pulled into a slow grin. "You'll probably think about Kafka a little."

"Maybe, but forget those other bozos." They were both quiet for a moment as they approached her door. For some reason, she didn't want see him go. It was nice to get out and laugh with someone she shared inside jokes with. She tried to think of something else to say to stall him.

He looked around the dark campus that was void of students. He commented, "It's so quiet."

"This is a weird time to be here," she said. "We must be the only two people left." She fiddled with her keys and thanked him for rescuing her.

"Hey Rory," Marty said, turning his intent gaze on her.

"Yeah?" she said, looking up at him, her pulse quickening.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

She could only shake her head and lift herself on her toes, as Marty's lips were descending.

Abruptly, the bubble burst when they were joined by a third person. Rory looked over to see Jess standing there with a look of determination in his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you," he said, approaching them. He was wearing his black leather jacket and his hair was grown out.

Marty looked back and forth between the two. "Who's this?"

In a pleading tone that asked for his forgiveness, she said, "I need you to go."

His eyes clouded as he frowned. He glanced at Jess and back at Rory. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "Go."

He headed up the stairs toward his own dorm.

When he was gone, Jess turned to her and stared talking. He wanted to go away with her, he wanted them to be together again. He insisted they loved each other and they belonged together. Her boxes were packed, it was perfect, he said. He begged her, he pleaded.

"No!" she said, not wanting to hear any more of this nonsense.

"Don't say no because you're scared or want to get rid of me. Only say no if you don't want to be with me."

"No." She was firm, and was doing her best to remain calm.

Jess didn't say anymore. He just gave her a disappointed look and turned to go. He didn't turn back, and Rory followed him to the door to make sure he really left. She sighed heavily, relieved that it was over. She sat down on one of the boxes and rubbed her face in her hands.

There was a soft knock on the door a few minutes later. She glanced over to see Marty stick his head in. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded and put on a brave face. "Yeah."

He took a tentative step in. "I just saw him go."

Rory realized that Marty had no idea who Jess was, and that he hadn't gone all the way to his dorm room. "That was my high school boyfriend," she said. "He ran off to California last year. No goodbye, no note. He was just gone one day."

"That sucks," Marty said consolingly. He sat down on another box that faced her.

"Any chance you didn't hear any of that?"

"Oh, no," he said. "It would have been rude to eavesdrop."

She eyed him skeptically.

"Yeah, I heard the whole thing," he confessed with an apologetic grin.

Rory rubbed her face with both hands. "This has to be the most embarrassing night of my life." She lifted her hand toward the door where Jess had disappeared. "We haven't even talked—really talked—in a year. He just pops up at random times, like this. He used to do that before we were dating and it was always a surprise I liked." She shook her head. "But now I just wish he'd stop."

Marty was quiet for a moment, letting her mull things over. Then he asked, "Would you still be dating him now, if he didn't, you know, leave?"

Rory shook her head again. "No. He never talked to me about anything important in his life. He just brooded silently. I really liked him," she said. "But I couldn't count on him. It was an exhausting relationship."

Marty nodded slowly. "So, no?"

"No." She didn't say anything for a moment, but then she had to ask, "Why?"

He leaned in towards her. "Because I don't like it when people I care about get hurt."

"And you care about me?" she asked, glancing at his lips, then to his brown eyes.

He nodded and finally closed the distance between them to kiss her full on the mouth. His hand wrapped around her lower back, wanting to pull her closer. It was awkward though, with both of them sitting on boxes. She pulled away enough to say, "The bed would be more comfortable."

Marty's eyes were dark as he practically dragged her up to lead her into the bedroom.

They sat down and continued kissing, and Rory momentarily panicked. She'd only meant that it was more comfortable compared to the boxes. Marty probably heard her implying more than that. But as he kissed a trail down her neck, her resolve slipped away. When his hands pawed at the hem of her shirt, she was the one to pull it up over her head.

XXX

Rory sighed contently from her half of her twin size bed. She glanced over at Marty, admiring the nice abs that she hadn't expected to be hiding under his shirt.

"How are you?" he asked, concern in his eyes.

"Good," she said with a small smile. "Very good."

"I didn't go too fast, did I?"

She shook her head. "Not at all. It was perfect." Her eyes swept around the room. Her sheets were the only thing that still needed to be packed up in the morning. "It's too bad my stereo is in a box. We need a song to commemorate this moment."

They were both startled by the sound of rapping on the outer door.

Frowning, Marty asked, "Were you expecting anyone else tonight?"

"No," Rory said, sitting up. "I hope it isn't Jess again. I thought he got the message."

Marty grinned. "I could go to the door and tell him again for you."

She shot him a look and picked up her clothes. They both quickly dressed before Marty followed Rory to the door. She opened it to find a tall dark haired girl on the other side.

"There you are," the girl said, looking past Rory to Marty. "I've been looking all over for you."

Rory's brows furrowed, glancing to Marty. "Who's this?"

"Apparently it's ex's night in New Haven," he said with wide eyes.

"I'm not your ex, I'm your wife," the girl said, offended. She glared at Rory. "Who are you?"

Rory's eyes grew wide in horror. She turned them on Marty. "Wife? You're married?" She turned back to the inside of her dorm. "Oh my god. Oh my god," she muttered. "You have a wife? And we just—oh my god."

"Rory, no it isn't what it sounds like."

"What does it sound like?" the other girl asked Marty with narrowed eyes, head tilted inquisitively.

He looked back and forth between the two girls. "We aren't really married," he said in defense to one girl and in defiance to the other.

"According to the state of Maine we are."

"It was a big mistake, Lucy, we agreed," he said to his wife. His wife. He had a wife. He frantically turned his head between the two young women.

"I didn't agree to anything."

Rory regained her nerve and said, "You made sure I didn't have a boyfriend—you asked directly, but you have a wife? A wife." She put a palm to the side of her head. "I have to get out of here."

"No, don't leave, I want to explain," Marty pleaded.

"I don't want to hear it," Rory said. She looked over at Lucy. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to come between you."

"Rory—"

She moved between them to get to the door, not caring that she was leaving them in her dorm with her stuff. She'd deal with that later. She just needed to get away from this, the worst night of her life.

XXX

"Don't worry dear," Miss Patty said sympathetically, patting Rory on her arm. "It happens to the best of us. Some weasels want to have their cake and eat it too. It doesn't mean they're all like that though."

"Have you thought about how you're going to get even?" Babette asked. "Maybe you and the wife can team up and come up with something that'll really teach him a lesson."

The two women had stopped Rory as she passed their table in the dining room at the Dragonfly. They rendered her speechless. She was beyond mortified that they found out about what she'd done a week ago. A married man. She slept with a married man. Rory was still coming to terms with it. She felt sick every time she thought about it. And without classes and roommates to distract her, she had no choice but to think about it constantly. She used to be such a good girl. Now she was the other woman. She was someone's mistress.

Marty kept calling her. Her voicemail was full of messages of him trying to explain. She listened to one, out of curiosity. Lucy was his high school sweetheart. They got married on a whim at the end of their senior year, not wanting to breakup just because they were going to different colleges. But after Marty got to Yale, he felt like it was all a big mistake. He told Lucy as much, and mailed divorce papers, but she didn't want to give up without talking in person.

Rory listened to the message once before deleting it. He called so often she had to turn her phone off.

Now she cowered in the kitchen, hiding from the citizens of her town, who were all discussing the train wreck that was her first time.

"Hey, why are you hiding in here?" Lorelai asked when she found her daughter beside the large refrigerator.

"Why do you think?" Rory asked, exasperated. She pointed to the door. "They all know what I did and they're talking about it amongst themselves." She added, "I'm so sorry about ruining your big weekend. This is supposed to be about you and the inn."

"It's okay. It isn't your fault—you didn't know Marty was married. They know that. Trust me, they are all on your side."

"How did they even find out?"

Lorelai gave her a look of pity. "This is Stars Hollow. And that's Miss Patty and Babette out there. They were always going to find out."

"But it didn't happen here. It was in New Haven," Rory argued.

"Aw, it's cute that you think distance would stop them from hearing about it," Lorelai said. "With Eastside Tilly, we basically have a telephone operator listening in on everyone's calls."

Rory groaned and sat down, pulling her knees up and rocking back and forth. "I can't believe I broke up a marriage."

Her mother put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, you did not break up a marriage. You're Rory, you would never do that."

"But I did," Rory protested. "Marty and Lucy could have worked things out, but now he cheated on her with me."

Lorelai's expression softened, "Ah, honey, I hate that your first time went so bad. It was supposed to be—well, it was supposed to be when you were in a retirement home, when I'm not around to know it ever happened."

Rory's lips pursed grimly.

"But it was supposed to be special, and with a guy who was single. Not single single, but in a relationship with you and you alone."

Rory stood up and sighed. "Is there anything I can do? I hate sitting here, it gives me too much time to think."

Lorelai thought about it for a moment, then brightened. "Actually, there is something you can do. I wanted to have some CDs at the front desk in case any of the gusts wanted to listen to music before they go to bed, but I forgot to bring some. Can you make a trip home?"

Rory nodded. "Definitely."

XXX

She never made it back to the inn. Rory sat and stared at the sheet of paper in front of her. 'Dear Lucy' was as far as she'd gotten in the hour she'd been sitting at her desk. She didn't know what to write other than 'I'm sorry'. Somehow, those two small words didn't seem like enough.

Here she was, an adult, making adult mistakes, and all she could do was sit at her desk writing a letter the same way she'd done two years ago in DC. She couldn't think of anything to say to Jess back then, just like she couldn't offer up anything better than a pitiful 'I'm sorry' to Lucy.

She called herself a writer, and an adult. She was a nineteen year old child who couldn't deal with her problems in person.

She ripped the mostly blank page out of the notebook and threw it in the trash. A letter was a cop out anyway. It screamed 'I'm too ashamed of what I did to face the facts, so here's a measly note'. It was actually quite a lot to be screaming.

She exhaled and turned on her computer. She went to a website that would generate directions and printed off a map detailing how to get from Connecticut to Maine.

It was late, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to be able to live with herself until she faced this—faced Lucy.

The drive was long, but not long enough as she crossed the Maine state line. It made her anxious just to be in the same state as Lucy, the wife who was wronged. Rory shook her head, still in disbelief. She couldn't imagine walking in on a boyfriend, much less a husband, with another girl. It must be horrible to experience that kind of betrayal.

When Rory arrived in town, it was too late to go knocking on anyone's door. She found a hotel to get a few hours of sleep before morning.

She didn't have anything prepared as she stood in front of Lucy's house, or rather Lucy's parents' house. She wondered if word got around this town the same way it did in Stars Hollow. If it did, then Marty was probably keeping a low profile. That was fine by her. She didn't want to hear any more explanations or justifications for sleeping with one girl while still married to another.

Lucy's house was two stories with a few trees in the front yard. One of the trees even had a tire swing hanging from one of the branches. There was a side walk that led up to a large porch. It looked as average and normal as the house Rory grew up in. She knocked on the door and waited. She didn't know if she wanted someone to be home or not.

The door swung open a moment later, and Lucy stood on the other side. She looked slightly caught off guard at the site of her husband's mistress, but hid it well.

"Uh, Lucy, hi," Rory said timidly. "I'm sure you never wanted to see me again, and I understand that completely."
"You do?" the other girl asked skeptically.

"Well, no, I actually don't know what it's like. But I know I wouldn't want to be in your place right now." Averting her gaze, she muttered, "I don't want to be in my place right now." With resolve, she looked back at Lucy in the eye.

"I'm sorry about what happened. You have no idea how sorry I am. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, especially someone I don't know existed." She quickly added, "And I had no idea that Marty was married. He never mentioned you, or wore a ring."

Rory belatedly realized how it sounded after she saw Lucy's eyes cloud. The words that were meant to clear her own name stung the person hearing them. "I mean, I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I'm sure he thought about you and just kept it to himself."

"I know you didn't mean it like that," Lucy said. "It still just sucks to hear it." She stepped out to the porch and walked out to sit at the front step. "We were just dumb kids."

Rory sat down next to her, unsure if she should say anything.

"I mean, who marries their high school boyfriend before heading off to different colleges?" Lucy asked helplessly. "I go to an all-girls school. It wasn't like I was going to regret staying with Marty. And I really thought I could trust him."

"He comes off as a good guy," Rory said.

Lucy swallowed hard. "He is." After a moment, she sighed. "I'll sign the divorce papers. You'll be able to date him. I won't get in the way if that's what he wants."

Rory shook her head. "No. I can't trust him after this. Maybe you guys can still work it out."

Lucy sadly said, "I don't think so. He obviously doesn't want to. He should be free to do whatever he wants. It's college, after all. Everyone should be able to go out and sow their wild oats without being tied down to someone."

Rory wasn't sure Marty had any wild oats in him.

On her way home, she got a call from her mother. "Hey," Lorelai said. "Grandma's booking a trip to Europe. She asked if you wanted to go along."

"Oh, I don't know," Rory said. "I was going to help you at the inn this summer."

"It would only be for a month or so. The inn will still be here then."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm a little worried about Mom," Lorelai admitted. "I think it would be good if you were there with her. And you could use some time away. Things will die down by the time you get back."

Rory considered the offer. It was true that some separation would be welcome. "Okay, yeah. Europe sounds good."

Fin