She was pretty sure that if she kept her eyes closed she'd be able to avoid the almost inevitable conversation with Tristan over her pregnancy. She was pretty sure, but the heat from his intense stare and the way his hand was stroking her stomach made it all that much harder to keep her eyes closed until with a sigh she opened them and came face to face with the man she loved.

His lips were tugged into a small smile as he watched her try and ignore his actions, confident that she'd be unable to hold out for much longer and sure enough, he watched Rory's eyes open and gaze into his, her love for him in her eyes only dampened slightly by the sadness they held. Running a hand through his already tousled hair, Tristan watched as Rory's mouth opened in a jaw breaking yawn, her small hands balling into fists as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead, he rolled out of the bed, watching in amusement as Rory simply rolled over into the space that he had just vacated, curling into a ball as she tried to reclaim her lost sleep. Shaking his head, Tristan padded over to the bathroom to clean up before making his way to the kitchen and starting the coffee. He knew that as soon as Rory smelt the bitter aroma of the brewing coffee she'd make her presence known in the kitchen, and sure enough he could hear her stumbling movements in the bedroom and then the bathroom.

It was the domestic sight of Tristan standing shirtless in her kitchen as he went about cooking them breakfast that had Rory pausing in the kitchen doorway, her arm leaning along the frame as her head came to rest upon it. She marveled at the normality that seemed to surround his actions and found a sharp sting in her chest as she remembered that he belonged to someone else. She felt her eyes well up, closing them to prevent a tear from falling, knowing that there tears weren't due to her hormones. Signing, she opened her eyes, only to be taken surprise by a yawn, unaware of the pole-axed stare of Tristan as he caught sight of Rory leaning against the door frame.

The gentle glow seeming to surround her as the sunlight illuminated her figure where she stood, the messy strands of her hair falling slightly into her now lidded eyes as she tried unsuccessfully to combat a jaw-breaking yawn all tugged sharply at a dominant part of Tristan. He found himself questioning his life so far, wondering at his misfortune of having met Rory after becoming engaged to her best friend, especially as her hands came to rest upon the slight curve of her stomach which held his child. Shaking his head, Tristan walked forward to encompass Rory within his arms, placing a delicate kiss on her forehead before guiding her sleepy form to one of the seats at her table. Getting their plates and of course her coffee, Tristan watched amazed as the woman who couldn't eat more than a couple of bites of Chinese yesterday was wolfing down the French toast he'd made for them, even cheekily reaching over to spear the toast off of his plate, her eyes flashing innocently when he shot her a disapproving look.

The relaxed atmosphere lasted until they'd eaten their fill, both aware that they hadn't even come close to starting to sort out what they were going to do last night especially now that she was carrying his child. Running his hand over his face, Tristan put the dishes into the sink, once again filling Rory's coffee mug before he took his place opposite her, watching as she chewed her lip while avoiding his gaze. "You know that we're gonna have to talk some time, and like I said yesterday, might as well get it over and done with." It would have been amusing to watch her pout if it wasn't a) such a serious moment and b) such a turn on. Mentally slapping himself to stay focused, Tristan continued speaking, "It goes without saying that I'm going to support both you and the baby-"

"And how are you going to do that? I mean it's going to be highly suspicious if you suddenly start giving out money for me and the baby. Also, what makes you think that I want your help? I can manage on my own thank you very much."

"I'm not doubting your ability to look after yourself, though you're going to have to stop dancing, but this isn't about just you. Now we have a child to look after and I intend to look after my child as well as the child's mother... I'm not going away Rory, no matter how much you try to push me away."

Rory chose to ignore the comment about her dancing, that was for another time, "She's my best friend-" "And my fiancée-" "-So you'll understand why I don't want you to become too involved, I mean it's not like you're going to leave her for me so…"

Rory looked up when Tristan failed to back up her comment. She watched as Tristan managed to successfully dodge her attempts at catching his gaze, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as tension radiated throughout his body.

"Please tell me you're not going to leave her."

"Rory-"

"No!... I mean.... No! You can't!"

"Why not? We've already established that it's you I love. It wouldn't be fair on all three of us if I remained with Paris; I'd just be living even more of a lie than I am now. Plus I want to be as close to you and the baby as much as possible."

"No Tristan, I feel guilty as it is… You've got to stay with her."

Tristan felt his frustration mounting at her refusal to be with him. Sure she wasn't out right turning him down, but he felt that her insistence that |he stayed with Paris as a sign that she didn't want to be with him.

"And you're gonna be ok with that? Knowing that I'm with Paris most of the time, eating with her, working with her, touching her, kissing her, sleeping with her? That doesn't faze you? 'Coz it sure as hell does me." He knew it was cruel and by the stunned look on her face, it was something she hadn't thought about. He watched the different emotions play across her face as she imaged the scenarios in her mind, grimacing slightly before trying to pull herself together.

Rory had to take in several deep breaths as she contemplated her words, it was obvious that she wouldn't be ok with him being with Paris like that, but she'd already betrayed Paris, both unknowingly and knowingly, and she couldn't do that again, even if it meant losing the one she loved.

"Don't even think about it." Guilt flashed through Rory's eyes at his words, her mouth opening to deliver the final blow, only to find her words smothered by his lips crashing desperately onto hers. She didn't even have to think about giving in before she was responding to him with the same desperation, tears beginning to leak out of her now closed eyes. He pulled back once he felt the tears tickling his skin, moving his lips to kiss them away, only for them to flow faster, all the while whispering declarations of love as her breathing came in short gasps.

They weren't sure how long they stayed like that, but after a while Rory pulled back, brushing away the remaining tears with the back of hand. She took a deep breath, "I think you should go."

"Rory, please, don't do this."

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't come back, just that you should go. I need time to think and I find it hard to think clearly when you're around."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Tristan placed one more kiss on Rory's slightly swollen lips, then her forehead, before moving to collect his stuff. Stopping in the kitchen's doorway, he watched Rory for several moments before making his way quietly out of the apartment, feeling elated yet completely drained at the same time, the words "I'm not saying you shouldn't come back" providing a small glimmer of hope, something that blazed into a small flame as his phone went of, signaling a text message reading "Don't think I didn't notice that you gave me DECAF instead of regular coffee. Be prepared to suffer the consequences… love you xxx". Chuckling quietly to himself, Tristan made his way out to his car.

This chapter's shorter than the previous one as I'm building up to… something, hopefully it won't be long before you find out what that something is.