Disclaimer : Nothing is mine, nope, not mine.
Feedback : Thank you people. So very kind, you are.
Authors Note : Originally I was going to revolve this entire story around Rory and then bring the other elements in later, however my better half (hi you! hehe) demanded I inform people what Tristan's been up to since we last seen him (think Run Away, Little Boy).. So this chapter will explain that and answer whatever questions you may have had about the whole Madeline situation presented in the last chapter. Enjoy!
And btw, to the person who mentioned the last chapter was incredibly short.. I know and I intended that. This ones longer, promise :)
One more note *sorry!* -- I don't know if Madeline has a last name on the show, so I just made one up. If one was given to her, let me know, Thanks!
Your Faith In Me
Chapter Three
Groaning, 24-year-old Tristan DuGrey wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel that laid beside him and stood up. He was definitely not one to spend time in a sauna. Nodding to the other occupants of the unbearably hot room, he exited quickly, dressed and headed out into the bright, warm sunlight of southern California. His thoughts plagued him as he made his way to the parking lot of the Hidden Hills Country Club, where the valet promptly greeted him with his car.
He was going to be a father. In less then five months there would be somebody in the world who would look to him for advice, someone who was entitled to his unwavering love and yet, he knew he couldn't give that. Hell, he couldn't even give it to the woman who was carrying the child.
Madeline Stewart.. God, he couldn't even remember how long it was that he had known her. Since their early days at Chilton Elementary back in Hartford.. they had never really been friends, but when they had run into each other at a party shortly after he had moved to Los Angeles, it had been a welcome reunion. Just to have a familiar face was a great relief and they had spent lots of time together after, getting to know each other. Tristan had been surprised to find how much she had changed. No longer was she the bubbly, slightly air-headed girl he had known, but instead she was a confident, intellectual woman. They had gone out on a few dates, off and on through those few months until one night of complete drunkenness they had slept together. It had been a mistake, they both knew it, and vowed to not let it interfere with their friendship. That was short lived, however, and it all came crashing down a month later when she had informed him she was pregnant.
To say that their parents had freaked out was an understatement. His parents, upon hearing his situation, had demanded that they marry. It was the proper thing to do, and the fact that the Stewart's were an influential family was an added bonus. They ignored Tristan's protests that he didn't love her and proceeded to plan the wedding. Three rushed weeks later, they had wed in a small, private ceremony at the very country club he had just left. And that's where the bigger problems started.
They didn't love each other. That was obvious to the most ignorant of people. And being forced into the marriage took their toll, causing them to fight constantly. Madeline was seeing someone on the side, Tristan knew that, he had seen them together and he was surprised to find that it didn't bother him in the least. More than likely because while, physically, he was with no one, his heart belonged to someone else. Someone who had occupied his mind for the past seven years.
So three months into the impromptu marriage, they had come to the agreement to have an annulment, much to the disapproval of their parents. Madeline was going back to Hartford to stay with her brother until the baby was born. He figured he'd probably go back too, when it was time for him to play the role of father. He didn't think he could give the child unconditional love, but he wasn't going to be an absentee father like his own had been. No child deserved that.
And so now he sat, in the middle of rush hour traffic on the highway heading back into Los Angeles, these thoughts pounding through his brain. There was one dark side to all of this, going back to Hartford and the likes. Madeline was still friends with Paris and from what she had told him, Paris was friends with Rory Gilmore. And the prospect of seeing her again scared him. Not that he'd admit that to anyone. He was, after all, a DuGrey.
*****
"What can I get for ya today, Tris?" The long legged blonde asked, popping her gum and seductively giving him the once over.
Tristan grinned up at her. "The usual, Chrissy. You're looking good today, by the way."
Chrissy, the waitress who worked at his everyday stop, smiled back coyly. "You think? How about we head across the street, then.." she said, nodding towards the motel across the way with her head.
Chuckling, he shook his head. They did this everyday. "Alright, just let me eat first. Need my energy, you know."
"Sure thang," Chrissy giggled, her eyes twinkling. "I'll get your order in. Mind if I sit with you on my break?"
"Do I ever?" Tristan replied, his trademark smirk appearing.
Chrissy gave him a knowing look at headed off in the direction of the kitchen. Once she was gone, Tristan sighed. As natural as it was to flirt or say provocative things to women.. his heart just wasn't in it as much as it once had been. Something had changed.
He had changed.
After leaving Chilton so many years ago, he had been sent off to Alvenwood Military School in the the lush green countryside of North Carolina. As much as he had hated going there, looking back he realized how much it had helped him. He had made friends, got good grades and graduated Salutatorian. From there he had gone on to Colorado State University, majoring in Finance-Real Estate and now was working his way up in one of the most prestigious real estate offices in southern California.
And although he had had his fair share of women through the years, not one of them had come close to making him feel as he did during those days in the hallways of Chilton. There was only one person who could aggravate and intrigue him so much all at once. Rory.
Mary.
******
Shoooooop.. oh yeah.. more soon. I swear.
Feedback : Thank you people. So very kind, you are.
Authors Note : Originally I was going to revolve this entire story around Rory and then bring the other elements in later, however my better half (hi you! hehe) demanded I inform people what Tristan's been up to since we last seen him (think Run Away, Little Boy).. So this chapter will explain that and answer whatever questions you may have had about the whole Madeline situation presented in the last chapter. Enjoy!
And btw, to the person who mentioned the last chapter was incredibly short.. I know and I intended that. This ones longer, promise :)
One more note *sorry!* -- I don't know if Madeline has a last name on the show, so I just made one up. If one was given to her, let me know, Thanks!
Chapter Three
Groaning, 24-year-old Tristan DuGrey wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel that laid beside him and stood up. He was definitely not one to spend time in a sauna. Nodding to the other occupants of the unbearably hot room, he exited quickly, dressed and headed out into the bright, warm sunlight of southern California. His thoughts plagued him as he made his way to the parking lot of the Hidden Hills Country Club, where the valet promptly greeted him with his car.
He was going to be a father. In less then five months there would be somebody in the world who would look to him for advice, someone who was entitled to his unwavering love and yet, he knew he couldn't give that. Hell, he couldn't even give it to the woman who was carrying the child.
Madeline Stewart.. God, he couldn't even remember how long it was that he had known her. Since their early days at Chilton Elementary back in Hartford.. they had never really been friends, but when they had run into each other at a party shortly after he had moved to Los Angeles, it had been a welcome reunion. Just to have a familiar face was a great relief and they had spent lots of time together after, getting to know each other. Tristan had been surprised to find how much she had changed. No longer was she the bubbly, slightly air-headed girl he had known, but instead she was a confident, intellectual woman. They had gone out on a few dates, off and on through those few months until one night of complete drunkenness they had slept together. It had been a mistake, they both knew it, and vowed to not let it interfere with their friendship. That was short lived, however, and it all came crashing down a month later when she had informed him she was pregnant.
To say that their parents had freaked out was an understatement. His parents, upon hearing his situation, had demanded that they marry. It was the proper thing to do, and the fact that the Stewart's were an influential family was an added bonus. They ignored Tristan's protests that he didn't love her and proceeded to plan the wedding. Three rushed weeks later, they had wed in a small, private ceremony at the very country club he had just left. And that's where the bigger problems started.
They didn't love each other. That was obvious to the most ignorant of people. And being forced into the marriage took their toll, causing them to fight constantly. Madeline was seeing someone on the side, Tristan knew that, he had seen them together and he was surprised to find that it didn't bother him in the least. More than likely because while, physically, he was with no one, his heart belonged to someone else. Someone who had occupied his mind for the past seven years.
So three months into the impromptu marriage, they had come to the agreement to have an annulment, much to the disapproval of their parents. Madeline was going back to Hartford to stay with her brother until the baby was born. He figured he'd probably go back too, when it was time for him to play the role of father. He didn't think he could give the child unconditional love, but he wasn't going to be an absentee father like his own had been. No child deserved that.
And so now he sat, in the middle of rush hour traffic on the highway heading back into Los Angeles, these thoughts pounding through his brain. There was one dark side to all of this, going back to Hartford and the likes. Madeline was still friends with Paris and from what she had told him, Paris was friends with Rory Gilmore. And the prospect of seeing her again scared him. Not that he'd admit that to anyone. He was, after all, a DuGrey.
*****
"What can I get for ya today, Tris?" The long legged blonde asked, popping her gum and seductively giving him the once over.
Tristan grinned up at her. "The usual, Chrissy. You're looking good today, by the way."
Chrissy, the waitress who worked at his everyday stop, smiled back coyly. "You think? How about we head across the street, then.." she said, nodding towards the motel across the way with her head.
Chuckling, he shook his head. They did this everyday. "Alright, just let me eat first. Need my energy, you know."
"Sure thang," Chrissy giggled, her eyes twinkling. "I'll get your order in. Mind if I sit with you on my break?"
"Do I ever?" Tristan replied, his trademark smirk appearing.
Chrissy gave him a knowing look at headed off in the direction of the kitchen. Once she was gone, Tristan sighed. As natural as it was to flirt or say provocative things to women.. his heart just wasn't in it as much as it once had been. Something had changed.
He had changed.
After leaving Chilton so many years ago, he had been sent off to Alvenwood Military School in the the lush green countryside of North Carolina. As much as he had hated going there, looking back he realized how much it had helped him. He had made friends, got good grades and graduated Salutatorian. From there he had gone on to Colorado State University, majoring in Finance-Real Estate and now was working his way up in one of the most prestigious real estate offices in southern California.
And although he had had his fair share of women through the years, not one of them had come close to making him feel as he did during those days in the hallways of Chilton. There was only one person who could aggravate and intrigue him so much all at once. Rory.
Mary.
******
Shoooooop.. oh yeah.. more soon. I swear.