Author: Sunday Rain
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Second season.
Disclaimer: Don't own em.
Summary: Rory has to deal with her past, while Tristan has to deal with the present.
Better Days
Chapter 2: Lost and Found
"So, Tony, can you finish up this final draft of the Neilsen proposition?" It was more of a statement than a request. Tristan Dugray never had to ask to get anything done. After all, he was head of the department, on his way to take over his father's company as CEO.
"Sure boss," came the reply, as usual.
"We'll have the final meeting with the board on Tuesday—Oh shit!" Tristan looked at his watch.
"Pardon?"
"Ah, um, excuse me, I have to pick up my daughter from school, her nanny's off," Before he even finished he was already straightening up his desk and putting his blazer on. "Is that alright with you?"
"Oh, go on, boss…" And with that, the phone connection was disconnected and Tristan was out the door.
"Daddy!" Mary Dugrey squealed happily, as spotted her father outside the Manhattan brownstone that was her school. She quickly ran to him and launched herself at him.
"Hey baby!" Tristan caught her in his arms. He swung her up and gave her a kiss. "So, how was school?"
"Well, we did crafts today, and Mrs. Hanover gave me a gold star for my picture!" Mary showed her father the said picture.
"Wow, that's really pretty, we'll hang it up when we get home OK?" Tristan said. "But Daddy has to go to the grocery store to buy some stuff for dinner first… Do you want to come with me or do you want me to drop you off at home first?"
"Can I come?" Mary eagerly asked. Her tiny hand squeezed his larger one in excitement. "And can you buy me some more Oreo cookies and chocolate milk too?"
"Of course, baby, of course," He chuckled at her request and led her by the hand down the streets of Manhattan.
"Oh, and daddy? Can I come to a birthday party? Pretty please? Its Ellen M's birthday on Saturday, and I was invited! And guess what she told me? They're going to have a real clown there…"
Rory tossed a couple of instant popcorn packets into her grocery trolley, which was already full and loaded with cookies, crisps, and just about every other brand of sugary junk food treats she could find.
It was her third hour in the city and she had taken a walk down the street from her flat and after stopping by at a Starbucks to load up on coffee beans, she ended up at a grocery store.
Satisfied that her sugar quotient would remain on a permanent high for awhile, Rory reluctantly came to the conclusion that she needed some consumables that were of nutritional value, so she headed off to find some.
"Uhm, crap," Rory said, staring at the different pasta sauces in front of her. At times like these, she wished she had been Sookie's offspring. Well, not quite, but she wished that Sookie was here with her. She randomly chose items with tasty looking photographs on the cover, hoping they were easy to make.
Suddenly she felt a little tug on her expensive DKNY pants. Rory looked down and stared into the enormous and round sky blue eyes of a young, young girl. "Oh!"
The girl did not seemed taken aback by the stranger. "'Scuse me, but could you hewp me fwind my daddy?" Her adorable face lit up expectantly at this stranger that she hoped would be kind.
Oh my Goodness, how adorable!!! Rory squealed inwardly. Then she realised what this little girl had just requested of her. "Oh, sure, darling, lets go find your daddy, okay? We'll find him." The girl smiled widely at this.
"Thank you… I'm Mary," the little girl said, suddenly remembering her manners. She held her hand out like her father had taught her.
"Well, I'm Rory, nice to meet you."
"Well, Mare, I'm not quite sure what you want for dinner, we could have some tacos, we haven't had those in awhile, have we? …But what do you want, Mary?" Tristan turned around to face his daughter. Instead, he found an empty space beside him where Mary had been just a minute before. His heart skipped a beat. Thoughts of dinner slipped his mind as he frantically searched up and down the aisle.
Tristan abandoned his cart and ran to the next aisle. "Mary? Mare, where are you?" She wasn't there either. "Shit, Mare!" He continued through to the next aisle.
"…Well, daddy was going on and on about dinner and I just got bored, and I wanted to get the cookies, so I thought I could find them myself," Mary explained. Rory smiled to herself. For a lost child, this girl was extremely calm. "And then I forgot where he—" Her story was interrupted by someone else's voice booming down the aisle in front of them.
"Mary? Mary, where are you?"
"Well, is that your dad looking for you?" Rory said, as a tall, blonde man turned into their aisle. His hair was ruffled and he looked panicked.
"Daddy!" Mary let go of Rory's hand and ran toward him.
Tristen breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted his little girl. "Aw baby!" He scooped Mary up and tightly held his daughter close to him. "Thank God! I thought I'd lost you—You almost sent me to my grave! Where have you been?!"
"Aw, daddy, I just went to get cookies, I'm sorry," Mary gave him a sloopy kiss on his cheeks. "But this lady helped me." Mary wormed out of his embrace and lead him toward a rather attractive brunette in expensive attire.
Rory eyed the man that was Mary's "daddy". Young, she thought. Not bad looking,in fact, quite Adonis-like, hrrrm…Wonder if he's—No, stop, don't think about that. Its barely been a year since Colm!
She snapped out of her reverie when she noticed Mary drag her father toward her. The man was smiling and his face looked even better up close than she had thought possible. His eyes were the same cerulean blue as Mary's and yes it was clear she had inherited his lips, which was cocked into a thankful grin. He ran his hands over the back of his neck, and she noticed his ruffled hair. He was, in no uncertain terms, sexy.
"Aw, man, thank you so much for taking Mary here, I hope she wasn't inconveniencing you," the man started.
"Oh, no it wasn't a problem at all, she's very sweet," Rory replied. There was something so familiar about this man. "Just glad you found your daddy, Mary."
It hit him as she said, "…found your daddy, Mary." The mention of his daughter's name on her lips brought back memories from long, long ago. She was… No, it couldn't be. Could it?
"Rory?" Tristan questioned, interrupting. The woman shut her mouth and studied him carefully.
"How did you know…?"
"Its Tristan. Dugray. From Chilton?" The last part Tristan added with a rueful smile. "I'm sure you don't remember—"
"Tristan?!" Rory's own blue eyes widened in disbelief. "King of Chilton Tristan? Tristan who broke into a safe and got sent to military school Tristan? Romeo Tristan?"
Tristan couldn't help but laugh at that outburst. "It has been awhile…"
"Yes it has," Rory said. "I never thought I'd… So, Mary here is a Dugrey, eh?" She looked down at the girl who was looking between her father and her with a confused look on her face.
"Yep she is, she's my baby girl," Tristan said, fatherly proudness coated that comment. "Mary, this is Rory, an old old school…"
"Friend," Rory finished, smiling at him.
"Really?" Mary said, while Tristan was taken aback by Rory's comment. He didn't really remember very much about Chilton, his old high school, he didn't really enjoy bringing the memories back, but he couldn't help but feel that indeed back in those days he and Rory weren't really…friends.
A silence fell between them. A cellphone ringing at another part of the store brought them out of it. "Well, Tristan, it's great to see you here," Rory said, she knew she would have to get back home, she had to rest and get an early start for tomorrow. "We should, um, keep in touch, yes?"
"Oh, oh, yes of course," Tristan replied, still in somewhat of a daze. He dug around in his jacket for his wallet. In it he found what he was looking for. "Here, maybe we could reminisce about old times sometime." He handed her a business card.
"Yes, we must," Rory said, reciprocating his action by giving him her own card. "Alright, it was very nice to meet you, Mary," she smiled and patted her on the head. "Hope we'll meet again soon." This was to both of them, and she began heading toward the cashier.
"Bye!" Mary said, and Tristan echoed his daughter.
They stood there for awhile after Rory was gone. "Hrrm, well, we'd better start home to, sweetie, or else you'll never get your dinner!"
