Author's note: Thanks y'all for the encouraging comments you've written. I'd like to thank Lunaticbabe, Alex, and Samantha for their advice concerning the following chapters. God bless.

The next morning

"Mary, wake up. It's already 1o'clock," said a very tired Tristan. He obviously did not have much sleep the night before and on a parole trip around the apartment, found a still sleeping Rory. 'She probably has some plans, I think she overslept', thought Tristan. He shook her, trying to wake her from the dreamless sleep.

Rory sat up, blinking, and rubbing her eyes. She looked at the clock, opened her mouth, and screamed. "Tristan! This is all your fault! It's Monday isn't it? Look what time it is! Now, I've missed my history and English lit lecture. Do you know what will happen to me? I'll get kicked out of Harvard! No, even worse than that. I'll get sent to jail! If I get sent to jail, my grandparents will disown me," she shouted. Each exclamation was followed with a blaming poke of her finger. Tristan smiled at her.

"Can you please stop smiling? What are you so happy about?" asked a calmer Rory.

"Nothing," replied Tristan. His smile grew larger. She had evidently forgotten all about her tirade the night before, and how much of her past had been revealed to Tristan by Tanya.

"ARGGGHHH! I don't get it! Here I am, almost pulling my hair out of it's ends and there you are, cool as a cucumber. Stop smiling!" shouted Rory. She jumped out of bed, and ran to the bathroom. Tristan sat in the armchair, and watched her as she ran around like a headless chicken. Rory then ran out of the bathroom.

"What's wrong, Mary?" asked Tristan.

"I forgot my clothes," Rory said. She ran to her closet, and started sifting through it to find appropriate clothes.

"Mary, Mary. Look at me, I'm in a state of bliss," said Tristan.

Rory stopped what she was doing and turned around. She took a look at him and burst out laughing. "I'm sure you love to be covered in women's lingerie, Tris."

Tristan laughed, and pointed at her. "And I get a show from you at the same time."

Rory glanced about confused, and then took a look at herself. She was only wearing a bra and undies. She smiled at him, and gave a bow. Tristan clapped for her, and she returned to the bathroom carrying a handful of clothes.

After Rory finished taking a shower, she stepped out (fully clothed) and saw that Tristan was in the same chair.

"Tris, don't you have anything better to do than sit there waiting for a lap dance?" asked Rory. Obviously she was in a better mood. Tristan let that comment slide.

"Rory, have you forgotten? It's mid terms for me," said Tristan.

Rory gave him a shocked look and ran to her calendar. She then gave another squeal and turned around to hug Tristan. Since he was sitting down in the armchair, it was very difficult for her to maneuver into a hug, so she ended up sitting on his lap. She smiled up at him.

"It's mid terms for me as well! Oh, this is sooo great!" said Rory. She jumped up and started looking through her bookshelf.

"Mary, you haven't had breakfast… or lunch, yet. Let's go to Starbucks. I'll treat you," bribed Tristan. Without waiting for an answer, he dragged her out of their apartment and into his car.

At Starbucks, 

"Can we have 3 large coffees, 2 muffins and a roll, please," said Rory. Tristan looked at her. "Ok, you can order now, Tristan." 
Tristan laughed, and shook his head at the confused waitress. "I'll just have 1 medium coffee." 
When the waitress went away, Tristan smiled at Rory. "I have no idea how you can eat that much and still stay so trim. You don't even go to the gym or anything."
A frightened look overtook Rory's features. "The gym? Are you planning my death? I run so slow that even a tortoise can overtake me. I think, anyway," she commented. 
Tristan gave a loud guffaw. "Right, Mary. I guess you won't be following me to the gym then."
"You got that right, DuGrey."

After their brunch, Rory was contemplating where she should venture for the 2 week long holidays. On the drive back to their apartment, Tristan asked Rory on the bad dream she had last night.
"So, Mary, what happened last night?" asked Tristan. He took his eyes of the road for a minute, just in time to see the confusion on her face. 
"Nothing. I just had a nightmare. That's it. Nothing more," mumbled Rory. She then looked around the car, feeling uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what to tell Tristan, that was, if she should tell him anything at all. 
"Why so quiet all of a sudden?" inquired Tristan. 
"Just thinking," replied Rory. 
"Uh-huh," said Tristan. He pulled in to his parking space, and they walked up to their apartment. 

That night, after dinner

As they were clearing up the plates from the Chinese food they had picked up, Rory set her mouth to motion and argued with her mind that Tristan had the right to know about what happened to her in the past. 

"Tris, I need to tell you something," she started. Tristan smiled at her affectionate nickname for him. From her serious tone, he could tell that she had a serious issue on her mind. A very serious issue. 
"Yeah?" 
"I think we better sit down," she said, and pulled him to her bedroom. They sat on the bed, face to face. 
She continued, "Two years ago, when I was walking to Lane's party, a guy picked me up. He took me to this dark alley and raped me." Pausing slightly, Rory closed her eyes. She felt Tristan clutching her hands in support. "I didn't turn up and Lane's party that night. I wandered about, and met Tanya. She made me swallow the morning-after pill, and I stayed at her house that night. Mom was worried about me. I didn't tell her or Lane what happened. In a way, I blamed Lane for it."
At this point, Rory broke down. She had never spoken the last sentence out loud, nor did she feel the need to admit to herself why she had never spoken to Lane after that. Now, after letting all her disconcerting thoughts out in the open, she ran to the bathroom, sat on the toilet seat and cried. 
Tristan ran after her, knocking on the door but to no avail. Rory would not open the door. Finally after about three hours of crying her heart out, she opened the door to find Tristan leaning against the wall. His head was down and he seemed to be mulling over something. 
"Tris…" she said. 
Tristan looked up into Rory's eyes, and jumped up to hug her. 
"I'm so sorry about what happened, Mary. I know for a fact that you did not deserve it," Tristan said soothingly. He led her to her bedroom, and tucked her in. "Get some rest."
"Tris… you know something? Lane's getting married," said Rory. Her eyes felt heavy; she was extremely tired. 
Tristan nodded. " I know, I'm Henry's best man." 
"Oh? I didn't know you guys were that close. I think I should go to her wedding. I feel like I owe it to her. Can I come along with you, please?" asked Rory. 
"Sure, Mary. We'll leave tomorrow," said Tristan. Rory shut her eyes, and fell into a blissfully peaceful sleep.