Disclaimer: I am not Amy Sherman-Palladino, therefore I do not own Gilmore Girls, and you have pretty much no chance of seeing this on your T.V. Sorry.

A/N: This chapter is a conversation between Tristan's parents. Just so you know, Mr. DuGrey is better at business than he is at parenting. He's not a bad person or anything, he's just bad with people whom he's not working with; including family members. Mrs. DuGrey wants to be a good parent, but she has obligations to people who don't understand that she needs to be with her son, and she's never been able to stand up to them(she's the obedient type, a peacemaker). Now that you know what Tristan's parents are like in this story, we can continue…

Mr. DuGrey moved towards his son, but his wife, who had been standing quiet and unnoticed the entire time Rory & Mrs. Jacobs had been speaking, reached out and grabbed her husband's shoulder and talked to him in a quiet, calming tone. "Not now, Philip. Calm down. There are too many people here. It can wait until we're in the car. Besides, I need to speak with you about something." She then looked up at her son. "Tristan, go say good-bye to the rest of your friends. You have fifteen minutes, or else I'll send you to your cousins in Mississippi instead of military school, do you understand me, young man?" Tristan nodded, a bit afraid. His mom may be quiet and subdued around everyone else, but when she told Tristan she was going to do something, she did it. And while he could survive military school, life in southern Mississippi was something else altogether (A/N: to all those from MS who are reading this, don't be offended. I live in southern Alabama, but I didn't want to scare Tristan that much, so I sent him to Miss. instead). He hurried away. "Meet us at the car," his mother called after him. He turned and nodded his understanding.

"I hope military school shapes him up a bit, because there's nothing else I can do," Philip DuGrey said to his wife as they were walking towards the car.

*You could pay a bit of attention to him* Erica DuGrey thought, but she didn't dare say it aloud. It would upset her husband, and besides, it was a bit hypocritical. Between caring for her selfish, possessive mother, keeping Philip's childish temper in check, and attending meetings of the various and assorted high society clubs she was expected to belong to, she barely ever had time for her son.

"Philip, I'm not so sure about this military school idea. If he doesn't like it, he's just going to get himself kicked out. He has a talent for that," she said, thinking of all the donations she had made to keep Tristan in Chilton.

"Well dammit, Erica, what do you suggest? I've scolded him, grounded him, made him quit his teams, nothing seems to work. And he's a bit too old for a spanking."

"Why don't we send him to your sister's house. She never had any problems controlling her boys, and Tristan has never dared lie to her. He always behaves so much better when she's around. Besides, she's home much more than you are, and she's a better disciplinarian than I am." In the DuGrey household, Philip tried to create the punishments and be the strict father figure, but they always worked best when Erica handed them down.

Philip just sighed. "What about the Bowmans? Rick won't be happy…"

"I'll talk to Janet. It's not like her son hasn't caused his fair share of trouble around our place."

"What about those friends of his? If he continues at Chilton…"

"I'll tell Paula that Tristan is not to hang around those boys any longer. I get the feeling he won't object."

"Why's that?"

"He's never been able to disobey your sister. Besides, I don't think he's all that close to those boys. He just wanted someone to hang out with. He'll make new, better friends easily."

"But…"

"No 'buts', Philip," Erica said softly. "You've done things your way, let me try them my way. If this doesn't work, then you can ship him off." She tried not to let the emotion in her voice show. True, she thought military school would hurt Tristan more than it would help him, but that was only half of the reason she didn't want him to go. She may not be very involved in Tristan's life, but that was the way things were. She still didn't want to be shut out of his life, and she had a feeling that that's exactly what would happen were he sent to North Carolina.

Philip sighed in defeat. Erica had been better with Tristan, while Philip's interference seemed to do more harm than good. Truth be told, the only reason he even bothered was he didn't want to see his son spoiled, made soft, by his mother's constant gentle touch. But this time she was right. All this was giving him a headache, and he was glad to turn care of the boy over to his stern sister. In the eyes of society, it would look better than military school. "Where is that boy, anyway?"

Erica looked at her watch and smiled. Philip never told her when she won, they both just knew. "He still has a few minutes." With that, they climbed into the car and waited for their son.

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((Meanwhile, inside…))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

A/N: Wait, why tell you what happened inside? I can just make that the next chapter. And the next chapter is the last time Rory gets some alone time with Tristan for awhile. After that, she gets swept away by her boyfriend (yes, I did put the evil Dean in here. But only for a bit. And I'd just like to mention that he wasn't nearly as evil in the first season as he was in the second. But anywayz…). I don't know how Dean should take the break-up (angry, sad, not care, get insane and stalk Rory…). So pleeze review with your ideas. The sooner you review, the sooner I can get on with this!