Chapter 4: Butterfly wings

"Rory, you ready to go sweetheart?" Tristan asked softly while he sat down next to her on the couch.

"What if I can't do it Tris? What if they don't have the right guy?" she asked

"Then they don't have the right guy and they'll keep looking until they find him. You can try though, because if they do have him, you're free Ror, I think you'll feel a lot better" he said

Rory took a deep breath and nodded "Okay let's go" she said

"Follow me Ma'am" The officer said

"Ca…Can he come with me?" She asked

The officer glanced at Tristan, and nodded "Yeah that will be fine" he said

She grabbed Tristan's hand and they followed the officer into a large room. There was a glass pane in between them and a small stage.

"Take a seat" He said

Rory and Tristan both sat down and the officer asked if they were ready.

"Will they be able to see me?" Rory asked

The officer shook his head "No, they can't see a thing" he assured her

"Okay then, I'm ready" She said, squeezing Tristan's hand harder.

"Bring them in!" The officer said and a group of 5 Caucasian men walked onto the stage, all holding numbers in orange suits.

The first one was pretty scruffy looking; he had long ratty hair and had a few tattoos all over his neck. The second one was a little more clean cut, he didn't look like a criminal at all…the third was gruff. He had shortly cropped hair and a scruffy beard. The fourth was bald, blue eyes and short, and the fifth as a bit tanner than the others, looking bored as ever.

"Can…could you have them turn around?" Rory asked

The man nodded and gave him the signal for them to turn around. Rory gasped as she saw the distinctive tattoo on the second mans neck. It was of a cross, with four stars covering each end. "That's him, the second one" She said quietly

"Are you sure ma'am?" he asked

Rory nodded tears falling from her eyes "Yeah, that's him" She repeated softly

"Thank you Miss Gilmore. You may go now. You will receive information on the trial date shortly" The officer said while leading them out.

"That was him Tristan…" She said softly when the got into his car

"I know Mare. You okay?" he asked gently

Rory shook her head "He was just in there Tristan. The man that caused me….this…the pain…he was right there" she sobbed

Tristan pulled Rory over the console and into his lap "I know Mary, I know. Shhh, he's in jail now though. He can't get to you ever again" He murmured while placing kisses to the crown of her head

Rory gasped for air and fisted at his shirt, needing something tangible to hold on to. "It's his fault…Tris…why do I care? Why…I can't stop" She cried

"Shhh its okay baby. You're going to be fine. Come on, relax" he whispered into her hair

"B-but I have to see him again don't I Tris…he's…god I hate him" She continued

"Me too Mary, me too. Lets go home, get cleaned up okay?" he asked gently

Rory sniffled against him and nodded "Okay" She whispered

Tristan waited for her to get up off his lap and laughed when she didn't. He lifted her up and set her back down on the passenger side, smiling when she looked at him slightly confused.

"TRISTAN JANLEN DUGREY" Rory screamed into the phone as he picked up

"Shit Rory what the fuck!" Tristan hissed as he almost jumped a foot in the air

Rory leaned back in her chair at the times "You never told me you were the most prominent young surgeon on the east coast!" She shouted

"Where did you hear that?" He asked curiously

"Does it matter? You jackass. How come you didn't tell me you won that award?" She demanded

"Shit Mary, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Could you please tell me why this is so important?" he asked impatiently

"I'm interviewing you" She said simply

"What?" he asked dumbly

"I'm interviewing you Tris…I got the assignment to interview the most prominent young surgeon on the east coast…imagine my surprise when your name was written there. Especially cuz I didn't know you had won that award!" she said, calmer this time

"Sorry Mary. At least you don't have to research though right?" he compromised

"Oh on the contrary. I'm researching harder…not to mention I have to look up all your procedures and all that good stuff. I'll see you at home tonight" she said before hanging up.

"So Tris…your first solo procedure was on a newborn baby?" Rory asked, as she curled up beside him on the couch, notebook and pen in hand.

Tristan nodded "Yeah. He needed heart surgery" he said, fighting the urge not to smirk at how cute she looked, biting her pen and nodding, making notes.

"How was that?" she asked

"Honestly? The most terrifying experience of my life. He was so small…I thought he was going to break the second I touched him…it was mind blowing. I wanted to run as far away as I could…all these nurses and doctors looking at me to tell them what to do." He said

"Wow…I think I would have run for the door…" she mused

Tristan chuckled "Yeah well. I was prepared. I just had to believe I was" he said

Rory nodded "What was the toughest procedure you've done? Was it the humpty dumpty surgery?" She asked excitedly

Tristan looked at her amused "Mary do you even know what a humpty dumpty is?" he asked

Rory nodded "Of course I do. It's cardiac auto transplantation. Plus it's really fun to say" she said with a smile

"No, the humpty dumpty wasn't the toughest one I've done. I think the hardest one I've done, wasn't one that I've actually done…it was one I sat in on. There was this woman; in her early 30's…she had multiple brain tumors. We went in and attempted to remove them. The amount of concentration and stability you need when you're inside someone's brain is incredible. One slight centimeter off and you've cut off their ability to speak or hear. I luckily got to assist one of the surgeons during my internship and I actually removed a piece of the tumor…I think it was the most terrified I had ever been in my life. Just knowing that I was literally holding her ability to ever live again in my hands…" he said bemused.

"Wow. Okay. What's your yearly income?" she asked "Sorry if that's an awkward question…you don't have to answer if you don't want to. Uhm I just had to ask…I'll write no comment next to it if you want." She said nervously

Tristan smirked "Mare, calm down. My annual income is around $500,000" he said with a shrug.

Rory's jaw dropped open. Tristan chuckled and nudged it closed. "Sorry. That's amazing" she commented

Tristan just shrugged "Next question?" he asked, not wanting to talk about his income.

"Right sorry. What inspired you to become surgeon?" she asked

"I wanted to do something that would piss my dad off and at the same time…I wanted it to be something that people would be in awe about. I mean…before I left for military school, you didn't exactly think 'Tristan Dugrey, surgeon'" he said

Rory laughed and nodded. "What is the most bizarre thing you've seen so far in the medical field?" she asked

"Bizarre in the sense that it's hilarious or bizarre in the sense that you thought it was impossible?" he asked

"Both" She said

"Alright. Well. I saw a grown man go through a lot of pain once because he bet his friends he could swallow 10 doll heads" he said with a laugh

Rory grimaced "Ouch" she remarked

"As for bizarre…it's still early. I haven't seen much. But I saw Siamese triplets" he said

"Wow…where were they attached?" she asked

"They were all attached at the hip. Babies of course, there was no way they were going to survive if they stayed like that. But it was pretty cool to see" he explained

"That's it. I'm over this" She said, throwing her pen and notebook on the table in front of her

Tristan laughed "What bored already?" he teased

"Far from it. Just know I have more than enough to write on." She said simply

"Come on Ror, you've been getting ready for the past hour!" Tristan said frustrated

"Fine Fine…" Rory muttered, emerging from the bathroom and gathering her things.

"Why are you so nervous? It's just a routine check up" he asked confused

"I'm not nervous. I just hate hospitals" She snapped muttering a sorry afterwards

"It'll be fine" he said with a shrug "Lets go" he added

"I feel like I'm 5 again" Rory joked as she sat in the hospital exam room with Tristan.

Tristan chuckled, looking at her sitting on the sterilized paper, legs dangling making her slightly taller than him. He was sitting down in the corner of the room in a small chair.

"Why can't you just do this again?" she asked

"Because I'm a surgeon. And, I can't sign off without actually examining you…you know you'd be a pain through the whole thing if it were me" He pointed out

Rory huffed "Fine. Whatever" She dismissed as the doctor walked in

"Doctor Dugrey? What are you doing here?" Dr. Stevens asked

"I'm with her. I'm sorry by the way" he joked

Rory glared and shot daggers in his direction. "Shut up Tris" She snapped

Dr. Stevens laughed "Hello Rory, how are you?" he asked, while studying her file.

"Doing very well…thank you" She said politely

"Any sickness? Nausea? Pain?" he asked, still looking at her chart.

Rory was irritated to say the least. She hadn't gotten much sleep because of work and she hated hospitals.

"Why do all doctors do that!" she asked exasperated

Dr. Stevens looked up at her amused "Do what?" he asked curiously

"I've never seen a doctor look a patient in the eye while asking that question…" She commented

He laughed along with Tristan, both of them stopping when she glared. "I'm sorry Rory. Are you feeling okay? Any nausea? Pain? Dizziness?" he asked, this time looking her in the eye

Rory smiled sweetly at him "No." She stated

"Okay. Good. Let me just take your vitals and you should be out of here" he said

He took all her vitals within 10 minutes and before he was exiting he announced "The nurse will be in shortly Rory. I need some blood drawn and you're overdue for a flu vaccination"

Rory groaned and shook her head. Tristan looked at her confused "What?" he asked

"I hate needles stupid! You never said they needed blood from me!" she said angrily

Tristan smirked "Aw baby, did you just call me stupid…" he teased

"Shut up. I hate hospitals. I hate needles…I hate blood!" She said dramatically

"It'll be over in like 5 minutes" he tried

Rory shook her head "You don't understand. I always get the stupid nurses…the first time interns…ones that don't know how to draw blood yet, or give a vaccine…I always bruise because they have to stick me like 50 times before they find my vein!" She said annoyed

Tristan laughed "You're too funny Mare" he smiled

"You'll do it for me" she stated

"Do what?" he asked

"You will draw my blood and give me my flu shot." She repeated

"Alright you got it" He said with a shrug.

"I'm sorry Tris…I can be a pain sometimes I know that. I'm especially a pain during these types of things" she said apologetically

"Its more amusing than anything Mare, don't worry" he said with a shrug.

Just as he finished a young nurse came in and smiled brightly at them, fiddling with the tray in her hand. "Hi guys! I'm Brenda" she said

Tristan suppressed a laugh "Hi Brenda, I'm Doctor Dugrey, I'll take over from here." He said politely

Brenda was practically drooling over Tristan. And when he mentioned he was the doctor Dugrey, she practically fell over. "Oh! Doctor Dugrey, wow. I've heard so much about you, I was wondering when I would get to see the legend himself" She said in a brown nosing fashion.

Rory rolled her eyes, her irritated state pissing her off more than ever. "Listen. Tris, could we please get this done. Don't we have places to be…you know…like home" she said sweetly

Tristan smirked and nodded "It was nice meeting you Brenda, but I have to get back to work" he said

Brenda offered him a small smile and walked out. As soon as she was gone Tristan looked at Rory with a raised eyebrow as he snapped on some gloves.

"Shut up" Rory said, her cheeks pinkening slightly making him chuckle

"You jealous Mare?" he teased

"Shut up!" She said while blushing darker

"Aw come on Baby, you know I only have eyes for you" he teased as he made her lean back against the wall and extend her left arm out in front of her.

Rory didn't say anything; she just eyed the needle that was lying in the package on the tray. Tristan ripped open an alcoholic wipe and rubbed it on her arm after tapping it a couple times. He then ripped open the package and took the needle and vile out. He noticed she was stiffly staring at it and looked up at her.

"Relax Mary" he said softly "Look at me" he added

Rory looked up at him and took a deep breath "I hate needles…" she repeated

"I know." He said, holding her gaze "Just focus on me alright?" he said

Rory nodded and started into his eyes. Tristan used his peripheral vision to guide the needle towards her vein, still holding her gaze. He expertly pierced it and blood began flowing through into the vile. He smirked at Rory and looked down to watch it filling up.

Rory's jaw dropped open "You are good" she muttered

"I know, I try" he said smugly

"I see you're still as cocky as ever." She said

"Done" he stated as he pulled the needle out and held pressure on her arm for a few seconds before putting a bandage on. "Flu shot" he muttered as he ripped open the syringe package.

He didn't ask or pause. He took it out, wiped her arm with the alcohol wipe and gently pierced her arm, causing her to flinch a little, before expelling the liquid and taking it out.

"Jeez…you're ready to get out of here" Rory muttered

Tristan laughed "That's not it. Its just better if you're not anticipating" he said

"Great. We're done so can we get out of here" She practically begged him

Tristan nodded "Sure, let's go" he said, leading the way.

"I hate flu shots for exactly this reason." Rory muttered as she gently massaged her arm.

"It only lasts 24 hours Mary, you'll be fine" He said, rolling his eyes at her.

"That's long enough." She huffed

Later that night, Tristan was sleeping soundly until he heard a small whimpering noise coming from next to him. He slowly opened his eyes and turned to see Rory curled up into a ball next to him, rocking herself back and forth.

He turned to face her and rubbed her back "What's wrong Mary?" he asked

Rory jumped a little, startled but shook her head "Cramps" she whispered

"Have you taken anything?" he asked

Rory nodded "Yeah about an hour ago" She whispered

"Jesus Rory, you've been awake for over an hour!" he exclaimed before spooning her from behind and moving her hands away from her stomach.

"Tris…it hurts less if I'm like this" She complained

Tristan put his mouth next to her ear while he moved one of his hands down to her stomach, beginning to rub small slow circles there, gently increasing the pressure.

"Shhh relax Mary, try and sleep" he whispered, continued rubbing her lower belly for her. After about an hour of this, Rory had finally fallen asleep. He tried to move his hand from her but she had brought her legs up and trapped it in the process. He sighed and laid his head down on her pillow behind hers, and gave into the exhaustion he was feeling.

"Its Wednesday Tris!!!" Rory shouted happily as they ate breakfast

"Why yes…it is. Wow…" he said bored

"Do you know what date it is?" She asked

"Rory…what is it?" he asked

"Lost comes back on today!" She squealed

Tristan grinned "I can't watch it today…I have work. DVR it" he said

Rory groaned "But I was looking forward to watching it with you!" She whined

Tristan laughed "You still can, I'll be home by 11 at the latest. We'll watch it together" he suggested

"Fine. The things I do for you bible boy" She joked

"Sure Mare, you sacrificed yourself for me. As much as I love where this is going, I have to get going." He said as he got up. He kissed her cheek and was about to walk away when Rory grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him hard on the lips. Tristan smirked against her lips and down at her when she pulled back.

"Bye Mary" he said, smirk still in place

"Finally Tris. I swear to god, I've been going crazy." Rory ranted as Tristan stepped through the door.

Tristan smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips "Hey Mary, just give me 5 minutes to change, and we can watch Lost" he said, just as anxious to see the show as she was.

Rory grinned "Okay, I'll go set it up" she said

"Holy crap. That was one of the most intense episodes of Lost ever…" Rory sighed as it ended

"I agree…damn I've missed this show" Tristan said, tightening his arms around her.

"So…what do you think about Juliet…" Rory asked

Tristan raised his eyebrows "She's hot" he stated "But you're so much better" he added

Rory rolled her eyes "I meant the character" she clarified

"Oh. I don't think she's all bad…" he said

Rory shook her head "NO! She sucks!" she exclaimed

"Why?" he asked confused

"Because, she's getting in the way of Jack and Kate. They're meant to be together!" she said

"I don't really care…but I do have to say Evangeline Lilly is hot as well…" he said

"Is that all you think about?" Rory asked

Tristan shook his head "No. I really like the mystery element to the show…" he said lamely

Rory laughed and shook her head "Well until next time I guess…" she said

"So what do you want to do now?" Tristan asked

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" Rory asked

Tristan shook his head "Nope, and I'm not on call either." He said

"Well I still have work…but I don't have to be in until around 12…soo…." Rory trailed off, biting her lip.

Tristan was just about to ask what was up when she fused their lips together. He responded by pulling her into his lap and placing his hands on her hips, making her arch into him. Tristan gently nipped at her lips, coaxing her to open her mouth for him, he grinned against her when she did. He slipped his tongue inside and gently caressed her tongue with his own. They both pulled back panting for air when the need for oxygen became apparent.

"I haven't made out on the couch since I was in college" Tristan panted

Rory grinned and in response just kissed him again.

A/N: Hey guys sorry it took a little while. But you might not get an update for a while now because I'm moving into my new place and its going to take a while to set up. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not abandoning this story or anything, who knows…maybe you'll get lucky and I'll have time to write. Enjoy and please review!