Disclaimer: Rory's job takes her to North Carolina, and her first assignment is to interview one injured soldier. She walks into that army base expecting to get her first story, but that's not all she gets, right? This is a Trory! :)


As soon as Tristan came back inside, Justin was high on his tail. "So," Justin said, "That was Mary, right? The girl from your school back home?"

Tristan ignored him and just kept walking in the direction of the training center. He really needed a run right now. A long, exhausting run, where the only thing he would be able to think about was to put one foot in front of the other, and keep breathing. Because it would be a long, long day if he didn't manage to get that girl out of his mind.

Justin stop in front of the training center, and saw his friend and Captain take off his usual training uniform and go for the sweats and running shoes. So, that's the girl he used to talk about. It has to be. Tristan hates running, and he only does that when he needs to clear his head. In Military School it would always be after one of his father's visits. Or when he was thinking about his Mary." Justin mused.

He turned and walked back to Ryan's room. He knew that he wouldn't get anything out of Tristan right now. Maybe after his run, he would cool down enough to talk about it. In the mean time, he would go find out what Ryan thought about the reporter.

Tristan hit the gym hard that day. He ran almost five miles, and when that wasn't enough to take his mind out of Rory, he decided to lift some weights. But nothing he did seemed to do the trick. He couldn't stop thinking about that damn card. He showered, and decided to finish his duties for the day and go home.

Meanwhile, Ryan was telling Justin all he could gather about the reporter during his interview. He didn't know Captain DuGrey for that long, just the two years that they served together, since he enlisted. But Justin was friends with him since the military academy.

Justin and Tristan had roomed together at Oak Ridge Military Academy, and then at West Point. And then, they decided to be based in North Carolina for their obligatory five years of active duty. Tristan's family, being from Connecticut, were not happy with his decision. But Justin had grown up in North Carolina, and only left the state when he was accepted to West Point. But for both of them, Raleigh was home nowadays.

Ryan didn't really know what happened in one of their rescue missions, but when they returned, Tristan was promoted to Captain, and made the request for Justin to stay on his unit. After three years, Ryan joined their team, and despite the age difference, he became fast friends with Justin, and Tristan by default.

But until today, he had never heard of any girl that had manage to capture DuGrey's attentions for more than five minutes. Sure, they went out from time to time, and they all had their share of girls. But not for more than a couple of dates. So, when Justin started asking questions about that reporter, Ryan was more then happy to oblige.

Tristan made his way back to Ryan's room later that day in time to hear their opinions about what happened today. And was happy to know that both of his friends had taken a like to Rory. He was almost certain that Justin knew who Rory was, but was just as certain that Ryan had no idea.

"So, DuGrey, are you going to just stand over there or are you going to talk about this morning, now?" Justin started.

"What's there to talk about? It was just someone that I used to know from back home, whom I had not seen since I got shipped off to North Carolina." Tristan said, trying to dismiss this conversation.

"Yeah, sure..." Justin said. "And you just ran five miles today because you're really into running, right?" he continued.

"Wait, you were running? You hate to run! You only do that when your-" Ryan started but was cut off by Tristan.

"I felt like it, okay? Now, I just stopped by to see if Ryan needed something, and to say that I'm going home. That's it."

"I'm okay, Captain. Don't worry about me. The Docs said that they think I will be able to go back home in the end of the week." Ryan answered, changing the subject. But Justin was not ready to do that yet. So, when Tristan turned around to get to his car and go home, he was just behind him. "Hey, DuGrey, wait a sec..." he shouted.

"I'm going home, Justin." Tristan replied. He really didn't want to talk to Justin yet.

"Yeah, sure, I got it. I just wanted to know how you were. You know. Because it's not everyday that the girl of your dreams just pops up out of nowhere, totally blindsiding you. Must have been a shock, seeing her like that. But hey, from all you said about her, I was kind of not expecting that hug. Man, she was all over you!" Justin said, totally ignoring his friends wishes of not talking about that. Justin wasn't one to drop something before he got what he wanted.

"I'm fine, Justin. Just fine. And as soon as get the confirmation that she didn't ask me on a date I'll be even better." Tristan blurted out. "And, for the record, she wasn't all over me. It was just a friendly hug." He new that there was no way out of this conversation. Justin could be as stubborn as him, on his best days. And he had a whole day to be stubborn about it.

"Wait, what? She asked you on a date?" Justin yanked his friend around, when they reached Tristan's car. Friendly my ass... He thought

"No, I'm sure she didn't. She wouldn't..." Tristan said. "She doesn't even like me like that." He continued, thinking about all the times he asked her out when they were at Chilton.

"Well, I beg to differ, man. Maybe Mary didn't like you like that, but that girl in there, that had interviewed Ryan this morning? The one that jumped in your arms and then proceeded to have the weirdest form of foreplay I've ever seen? I'm pretty sure she does." he said. "She asked you out, on a date? That's a surprise."

"They are the same girl, Justin. I'm sure you already got that." Tristan said, not really listening to most of what his friend said. And then, he opened the door to his car, and got inside, effectively ending the conversation. He just needed to get home and stop thinking about her. So he started the car, turned on the radio, and started driving.

Twenty minutes later, it downed on him that this was not his usual way home. He didn't even notice the left turn he made, to take the interstate to Durham. Shit. Well, it seems I'm not going home just yet... Tristan thought, halfway to Rory's new address. I just hope she wasn't kidding when she told me to stop by anytime.