Rory and Tristen were lying on his bed, looking at each other. Reaching over, he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"You are so beautiful." He whispered, leaning forward to kiss her.
They pulled apart slowly. Rory smiled at him.
"I'm hungry."
"Typical Hayden." He said, a smile forming on his lips, "We'll let's see what's downstairs."
They sat up and slid off the bed. Slowly they made their way into the kitchen. Mrs. Phillips was just putting her coat on when they walked in the room.
"Good evening Tristen, Rory. I was just coming up to say good night." She said, "Is there something I can get for you before I leave?"
"No thanks Mrs. Phillips." He said, "We can manage on our own."
"Are you sure. I can stay a little longer if you need something."
"We will be fine." Tristen said, slipping an around her, leading her towards the door.
He opened the door for her. She stepped outside, turning back to him.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Why don't you take tomorrow off."
"I can't afford to…"
"With pay." He added
"But what about your parents."
"My parents are in Greece until next week." He said, "And I'm going to be working on a project at the library tomorrow."
"What about food?"
"I can manage to take care of myself." He said, "I promise that I will be fine."
"Well…all right." She said, turning away.
Slowly she made her way down the walk, towards her car. Tristen stood in the doorway, watching her until she was in her car. As she backed down the drive, he turned back towards Rory.
"She sure worries about you."
"She's more of a parent to me than my real parents are." He said, making his way to the refrigerator.
Rory walked over to him, slipping her arms around his waist. Leaning over his shoulder, she said
"So what looks good in there."
"There's spaghetti and meatballs leftover from dinner last night." He said, "And I think there's some garlic bread left over too."
"Sounds good."
Tristen pulled out a couple of containers, handing them to Rory. She set them on the counter and said
"Where do you keep the plates?"
"Cupboard over the sink." He said, opening the containers.
Rory set two plates on the counter then went off in search of silverware. Soon they were sitting down to a meal of spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread.
Half an hour later
Tristen and Rory were sitting in the living room, watching a movie. Rory leaned her head against Tristen shoulder, closing her eyes. A few minutes later, Tristen looked down to see her sleeping softly beside him. Slowly he slipped off the couch, trying not disturb her.
He walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. Leaning against the counter, he dialed a number. It rang twice and Lorelai answered
(Lorelai/Tristen)
"Hayden Residence."
"Lorelai, its Tristen."
"Tristen, have you seen Rory. She ran out earlier after we talked and I haven't heard from her. I think she was heading for your house but I'm not sure."
"She's here Lorelai. We had some dinner and started watching a movie but she fell asleep."
"Do you want me to come get her?"
"She can stay in one of our guest rooms."
"Are you sure its not an inconvenience?"
"Its fine Lorelai." He said, "I'll bring her home tomorrow morning."
"All right. Tell her I said good night."
"I will, night Lorelai."
"Night."
Tristen hung up the phone and walked back into the living room. He knelt down next to Rory.
"Rory?" he whispered
She opened her eyes slowly.
"What time is it?"
"Almost 10:00."
"I need to get going. My mom's probably worried about me."
"I just talked to her. She said it was fine if you wanted to stay here tonight."
"Great." She said, closing her eyes again.
"Rory?"
Her eyes opened again.
"You might be more comfortable upstairs." He said
Holding out his hand, he pulled her up and they walked down the hall, towards the stairs. Slowly they made their way up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom. He led her over to the bed, then walked over to his dresser.
A few minutes later, he returned with some clothing. Setting some next to her, he said
"I'm gonna change in the bathroom and you get changed in here." He said, "Just give a shout when you are done."
"Okay."
Tristen took his clothes and carried them into the bathroom. He changed his clothes, throwing the dirty ones down the chute to the laundry room. Leaning against the sink, he waited for Rory to call him. After about 10 minutes, he walked over to the door. Carefully he opened the door but didn't see Rory anywhere.
He stepped into the room to see her lying on her side on the bed. Slowly he approached the bed. Walking around to the other side, he saw she was fast asleep. He reached down, pulling a blanket from the edge of the bed over her. Leaning forward, he pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead.
"Good night Rory." He whispered, "I'll see you in the morning."
He straightened up and turned around. As he was about to walk away, he heard her mumble.
"Don't go."
He turned to see her eyes open slowly.
"What?"
"Stay here tonight."
"Rory I can't…we…"
"Please Tristen." She said, scooting over on the bed.
She pulled back the blanket. Slowly Tristen walked back to the bed. He sat down next to her and after a moment, he laid down beside her. Rory scooted closer to him, pulling the blanket over them both. She rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist. He slipped his arm around her, pulling her closer.
"Good night Tristen."
"Night Rory."
As he drifted off to sleep, he heard her whisper
"I love you."
A smile formed on his face.