Mr. Smooth Gains Ground

"Tristan is in here." The housekeeper indicated as she led Rory through an imposing parlor. Rory looked around briefly. The two then entered another room through a gorgeous paneled wood door. Rory's eyes widened at the floor to ceiling bookshelves. She smiled when she saw Tristan sitting up in the hospital bed.

He had on sweats and a tee shirt and, being unable to smile, he waved briefly.

"This is my kind of bedroom" she said and investigated the impressive collection of books. "May I look?" she turned and asked. Tristan lifted a hand in agreement. Rory put the heavy pile of notebooks on a small table, pulled a large volume off the shelf and ran her hand over the tooled leather binding with reverence. Opening the front cover, she looked at the copyright date. As Rory suspected, it was a first edition of Moby Dick.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed softly.

Tristan watched with fascination. She was going into raptures over a book! Most girls he knew would only do that over a handbag or a pair of shoes. He eyed the pile of notebooks with distaste.

"Looks like leisure time is over." He said through his clenched teeth.

"He speaks!" Rory exclaimed, turning to look at him. She returned the book to its proper place and sat in the chair next to the bed.

"Yeah. I can do a pretty good Kirk Douglas" Tristan said.

"It must be easier than writing everything." Rory offered.

"It is. My face hurts after a while, though." He closed his eyes briefly.

"Your face is an amazing range of colors." Rory said matter-of-factly. "I see purple, pink, yellow, green, black and brown"

"No blue?" Tristan shot back

"Just your eyes. Although, the white of your left eye is still red. It looks kind of scary. " Rory said cheekily.

"New fashion trend?"

"I hope not." Rory shuddered delicately.

"What on earth have you brought me?" he finally asked, waving at the pile on the table.

"Now you know how I felt when I first arrived at Chilton." Rory said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Sorry I was such a jerk." Tristan said quietly.

Rory looked at him and digested his apology again.

"Apology accepted again." She said simply. Just then, Henri Dugrey knocked on the door.

"Good morning." He said as he entered the room.

"This is my Dad, Henri Dugrey." Tristan offered the introduction. "Dad, this is Rory Gilmore."

"It is nice to meet you Rory. Your grandfather says great things about you. Thank you for doing this for Tristan."

"You're welcome Mr. Dugrey. It's nice to meet you, too" Rory said with a smile.

"Has Tristan offered you anything? Can I get you some coffee?" Henri asked.

"I was just about to." Tristan blushed slightly. Rory noticed this and suddenly felt very much at ease.

"I would love a cup of coffee," she said with relish. Henri left for the kitchen.

"Can you drink a cup?" she asked innocently "Maybe with a straw? I myself would need an IV hookup!" she said and tapped her forearm.

"Ha ha ha. I already had one, without the straw." Tristan returned.

Henri returned with a tray and placed it next to Rory. She took a sip and the blissful expression on her face was amusing to see. Henri winked at Tristan who rolled his eyes.

"Don't like it?" Tristan said with a chuckle

"No. It's awful. I have to force myself to drink it." Rory said with a grin.

"Do you need to go anywhere right now?" he asked suddenly.

"Why?" Rory asked, suddenly wary.

"Will you help me go over the notes for the classes we have together? I know you view studying as a solitary activity, but I think I am going to need a little help." He rushed and held his breath.

"Sure. I think I can give you a couple of hours. I just need to call my Mom to see if she needs the car." Rory agreed with a grin.

"Cool" he said with relief. Rory called her mother and everything was okayed. She just needed to pick Lorelei up at 4 o'clock.

Tristan and Rory went over all the notebooks in their shared classes and Rory added things from her own notes. Tristan asked pointed questions and Rory was once again impressed with his intelligence. Tristan was really enjoying himself, and so was Rory. Before they both realized the time, the housekeeper rolled a tray in with lunch.

"Your father figured you might be hungry right about now" she offered and set up the food. Tristan had a big mug of soup and Rory had a sandwich. She watched as he sipped with eyes closed. Rory nibbled at her sandwich.

"What I wouldn't give for a roast beef sandwich right now" he grumbled.

"Is my sandwich bothering you?" she asked with concern

"No, I'm just getting sick of the liquid diet."

"How much longer do you need to be wired?"

"I don't know. Probably for a few more weeks "

"Can't you put a burger in a blender?"

"Gross!" he grimaced as he thought of it.

"That does sound pretty gross" Rory agreed

"There's always baby food." She offered solemnly.

"Good God, no!" he actually blanched

"Strained peas not your cup of tea? I could get you some strained beef? How about chicken noodle mush?" she was really getting into this.

Tristan chuckled "Keep it up Gilmore" he said and sipped more soup.

"Dutch Apple dessert was my favorite," She said with feigned seriousness. Her blue eyes were twinkling merrily as she took another bite of her sandwich. Tristan refused to rise to the bait.

"Mmm Mmmm Mmmm" he said with gusto. "Tomato soup, Yummmm!" Rory laughed out loud.

They ate in silence for the next few minutes and then Rory looked at the clock. "I have to go. I promised Mom I'd be there at four."

"Thanks for the help Rory" Tristan said. "Can you come back again?"

"I guess so. I'm not sure, but I think I can come back again Saturday."

"Do you have an email address?" He asked

"Yes. Why?"

"If I have any questions during the week, can I ask you?"

"Sure." And she wrote it down for him. He handed her a piece of paper with his email address and his cell number written on it. She added her cell number to the paper she gave to him. She noticed the fatigue on his face.

"You look really tired. I hope I didn't stay too long." she said, concern in her eyes.

"No, you didn't stay too long. Thanks for all the help." He said softly and as she turned to leave, he closed his eyes. Rory turned back and was surprised to see he was already drifting off. Tristan's father met her at the door.

"He's asleep I think. I hope I didn't wear him out." She said

"Thank you for your kindness Rory. Tristan's mother and I really appreciate your volunteering time like this." He smiled tiredly and opened the door for her.

"I hope Tristan didn't do too much too soon." She said quietly

"I think he really enjoyed it." Henri chuckled. He had listened with the baby monitor to their banter for a short while and then turned it off. Tristan was right about Rory Gilmore. She was one smart girl, and well able to hold her own against his charm. Tristan had his work cut out for him!

"I'm going to try and come again next Saturday if that is alright." She said with diffidence.

"That would be great! With everyone's help, Tristan won't lose too much ground." Henri said. He was careful not to single Rory out.

"Well, good night Mr. Dugrey" Rory said as she left.

"Good night Rory." Henri said with a smile and shut the door.

Rory drove to the Inn, reliving the afternoon as she drove. She was learning some new things about Tristan. She was still going to be cautious, but he was getting more and more interesting.

She was beginning to look forward to next Saturday!