Norman N. Holland, from the University of Florida, defines the willing suspension of disbelief in four parts- we no longer perceive our bodies; we no longer perceive our environment; we no longer judge probability or reality-test; we respond emotionally to the fiction as though it were real. Please keep this in mind as you read this chapter.

*AN- IMPORTANT: In this chapter, there's a mention of Habitat for Humanity, which is a really good program I've volunteered for before. For more information, go to .

Thanks to Loz for betaing this and bugging me to update; Joan, Helen, Michelle, Lauren (LiteratiFan), Ruth, Princess Lia and Katherine for their support. And everyone who listens to me complain at ORG.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hi. Sorry. Is this Mrs. Henderson?"

"This is she."

Rory let out a deep breath. "Um, my name's Rory Gilmore. My, uh, friend and I would like to meet with your granddaughter, Grace."

"Is this a life insurance personnel or something? Are you aware Grace isn't even a year old? Please don't waste my-"

"No, Mrs. Henderson. You don't understand. We met your daughter, Hannah, last night. She gave us your number. She thought that in case my friend wanted to see Grace-"

"Who's this friend of yours? And why isn't she the one talking to me?"

"Uh, my friend's kind of worried about this whole thing. See…he just found out…my friend's Tristan DuGrey, ma'am."

"Oh, oh! My lord! Um, he's not going to take Gracie away, is he?"

"No. See, he didn't even know she existed. He found out last night when Hannah told him. He just wants to meet his daughter."

"Oh, um, okay. Well, could you come over later today?"

Rory glanced at Tristan, who was sitting nervously by the kitchen table, tapping his hand against the surface. "Today?" Tristan's eyes widened, but he quickly nodded. "Today's fine, Mrs. Henderson. What time?"

"How about around two?"

"That sounds fine. We'll see you then."

"Oh my God. Oh my God." Tristan paced down the aisle of the clothing store, his eyes not focused on the clothing. "Rory, what am I going to do?"

Rory checked her watch. "Well, it's one now. So you're going to pick out some cute outfits and buy them."

"Rory…" Tristan's voice held a silent warning, but after a moment, he conceded. "How's this?"

Rory crinkled her nose. "Too pink. You don't want her looking like cotton candy, do you?" Rory pulled a set of three solid colored bodysuits from a rack. "Be practical, Tris. They'll need these, coveralls, pants, things like that." She selected a few more articles. "What do you think?"

Tristan nodded. "That's good. I like them. Lets get them."

"I don't want to go in." Tristan sat in the parked car in the Henderson's driveway, eyes trained on the front door.

Rory frowned. "Tristan, we drove all the way here. We're not leaving. Plus, you know you want to see your daughter. You'll feel better once you hold her."

Tristan's face blanched. "What if I drop her?"

Rory stifled a laugh. "Tris, you aren't going to drop her. Now stop wasting time and lets go inside."

Tristan nodded. "Okay. But make sure I don't hurt her, okay?"

Rory smiled. It was nice to see Tristan so concerned. "You won't, Tris."

"Mrs. Henderson? I spoke to you earlier. I'm Rory Gilmore." Rory extended her hand to the older woman, whose complexion made her look older than she must be.

Mrs. Henderson nodded. "Thank you for being on time. And this must be Tristan." Her smile was tense.

Tristan gulped. "Um, yes. I'm Tristan DuGrey, ma'am."

Mrs. Henderson frowned. "Don't call me ma'am. My name's Teresa." The woman was fair-haired with light eyes.

"Um, okay, Teresa." The three stood in a tense silence for a few moments.

"Mama, the baby is crying." A little boy, about five, appeared in the doorway. He frowned at Tristan and Rory, his dark eyes narrowing. "Mama, who are they?"

"This man is Gracie's father, Michael."

Michael bit his lip. "Is he here to take Gracie away from us?"

"No. No, no, no. I just want to see her." Tristan shook his head vigorously, not wanting to offend anyone.

Teresa smiled tightly. "Michael, be a good boy and bring these two to Grace."

"She's beautiful, Tris." Rory stood over Tristan's shoulder as he sat in a chair, holding Grace.

"Grace Isabella. A name fit for a princess." Tristan smiled. "She is a princess, Rory."

"I know. She's beautiful."

Tristan frowned. "Rory?"

Rory mirrored his expression. "What's wrong, Tristan?"

"How am I going to leave her here?" He sighed. "I don't even want to put her down for a second."

Rory gulped. "Tris, there are some things you don't have a choice about."

Grace babbled, letting out a gleeful sound. Tristan and Rory laughed. "Rory, isn't she the best?"

Rory nodded. "Tris, we should let her have a nap. We can talk to Mrs. Henderson while she sleeps."

"Okay." Tristan stood up slowly, staring at his daughter. He placed her in her crib. "I'm going to miss her, Rory."

"She's amazing," Tristan said, glancing at Teresa. "I wish Sarah had told me…" He trailed off.

Mrs. Henderson nodded. "She's a little angel. She was the only good thing that came out of something so bad."

"I want you to know, if I had known, I would've-"

"Mama! Jesse told me that if I didn't leave him alone, he'd make me!" A girl of seven or eight ran into the kitchen, wearing a ripped dress.

"Gretchen, Jesse didn't mean it. I'm having an important discussion." Teresa pulled the little girl up into her lap. "This is Gracie's daddy."

Gretchen smiled a toothy grin, and Tristan realized she was missing a tooth. "This is Rory and I'm Tristan."

"Sarah talked about you a lot." Gretchen cocked her head to the side, taking him in seriously. "Sarah really liked you."

"I really liked her too." Tristan gulped. "Your sister was a good person."

Gretchen bit her lip. "I know." She turned to her mother. "Mama, there's a leak in my bedroom."

Teresa took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll see if Jesse can fix it later. Can you let Mama talk to these people now?"

Gretchen nodded. "Bye." She scampered off, leaving Tristan, Rory, and Teresa alone.

"I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry about the condition of my house. I'm sure you must think I'm dirty."

Tristan shook his head. "No. Your house is fine. And you can't complain until you've seen the inside of Rory's mother's house."

Rory giggled. "You should really visit us sometime. Here's my address." She scribbled her number on a scrap of paper, handing it to Teresa. "Bring your kids."

"My daughter's living in a shack." Tristan stated the words, testing them out.

Rory frowned. "Tris, it's not that bad. They don't have a lot of money. Of course it's not going to look like the house you grew up in."

Tristan frowned. "God, Rory. I hate to be like this but…Grace is a DuGrey. I'm not usually big on the family name, but she won't even get any of the benefits. Did you realize that half those kids were wearing ripped clothes?"

"And the leaks."

"The leaks! God knows what comes off those roofs and into the house and gets the kids sick. And the faucet was leaking."

"You noticed that too?"

"Drip. Drip. Drip. How could I not?" Tristan heaved a sigh. "They're nice people, Rory, but…"

"I know, Tris." Rory bit her lip. "What are you going to do?"

"What's wrong with T?" Callie asked when Tristan walked right into Rory's room and shut the door behind him when they got home.

Rory shrugged. "He's upset because the Hendersons don't have enough money to keep their house in good shape. You know, leaks, bad heating, that kind of thing."

Callie frowned. "Is there anything he can do?"

Rory shook her head. "Not that I can think of. But we just have to let him come to that conclusion on his own."

Callie shook her head. "You know Tristan. Giving up's not in his vocabulary. He'll find something."

Rory nodded. "That's what scares me."

Tristan was sitting alone in a booth at the diner when he heard the voice. "Hi."

Tristan swore under his breath. He didn't need this right now. "Hey, Jess."

Jess sat down opposite him. "I heard what happened with you…Sorry."

Tristan shook his head. "You don't need to be sorry. But how did you know about it?"

Jess shrugged. "Stars Hollow gossip chain. And I'm at the end of the list. Sorry to tell you this, but by now, everyone in town knows about your kid."

"Oh geez." Tristan laughed harshly. "That's comforting…what are you doing here, Jess?"

"Work here…at least I'm supposed to work…on some level or another."

"Cut the shit." Tristan sighed. "Reveling in my misery, Mariano?"

"Self-centered, are we, DuGrey? Why do you think I care about your misery at all?" Jess shrugged. "No-sir-ee, mister. I'm just expressing my sympathies."

"Mariano…I don't feel like pleasantries right now." Tristan's tone held a warning.

Jess sighed, hitting the table with his hand. "Fine. I'll cut to the chase."

"And the chase is…"

"You have a trust fund set up for you that would buy the east coast, right?"

"Only six or seven states." Tristan smirked. "Continue."

"When I was in New York, I had to do some community service…" Jess paused.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Jess ignored him. "Anyway, we did this Habitat for Humanity thing. We built a house for a needy family, pretty much. And I'm thinking that maybe you could use a bit of this DuGrey money for a good cause…" Jess trailed off.

Tristan thought for a minute. "That might work."

"Really? I never would have thought." Jess smiled, jumping up.

Tristan held out a hand in front of Jess. "Wait."

Jess turned around slowly, and Tristan realized he had become tenser. "What?"

"Why do you seem… you don't seem sympathetic… you-"

"Do you really expect me to sympathize with you?" Jess said with a smirk.

Tristan shook his head. "No. No, that's not what I mean. You're…empathetic."

Jess glanced around nervously, before sitting down across from Tristan. "I am. Me and Az… Azura was my girlfriend before I came to Stars Hollow. She's kind of the reason I left."

Tristan paused. "Yeah, Rory mentioned that she never even knew why you were sent to Stars Hollow."

Jess's jaw tensed. "And she won't. Well, I left when Liz… that's my mom… found out that Az was pregnant… You can't tell anyone. If Rory found out…"

"Yeah, I get it."

Jess nodded. "Thanks… You should look into that Habitat stuff."

"I will."

"Aren't you in a surprisingly good mood?" Callie stated as Tristan came through the front door. She paused when he didn't respond. "Cat got your tongue?"

"I'm going to my parents' tonight."

"As I said…" She frowned. "You feeling okay?"

Tristan nodded. "I think I may have the solution to that problem of mine." He grabbed a cup and filled it with water.

Callie sighed. "And where'd this idea come from?"

"Jess."

Callie stared at him. "You actually listened to Jess long enough to come up with an idea?"

"What can I say? It was a good idea."

"And it was…"

Tristan nodded. "Oh. Right. I'm going to go ask my parents for $2 million. I'm building Gracie a house."

"That's insane…are you serious?" Tristan nodded and Callie let out a screech. "Oh my God. You have to let me and Rory and Lane pick out all the furniture!"

"God. Screech much? Callie, you can be in charge of furniture. And I was thinking…Jesse Henderson, who I am assuming is the oldest son, seems to do a lot of work around the house. Maybe he'll help."

Callie nodded. "But be careful. He might be upset you don't approve of his house."

Tristan laughed. "I doubt it. I can't imagine wanting to be fixing things around that house 24/7."

Callie shrugged. "Be careful. You don't want to offend anyone."

"Tristan, I heard about everything." Lane fell into step with Tristan as he walked toward the market.

"From who? This town is worse than the Hartford social circles. At least they pretend not to know and only talk about you behind your back."

Lane laughed. "Sorry. But anyway, I think it's a good idea. Even if Jess did come up with it."

"Seriously, how does everyone know everyone else's business around here?"

"Miss Patty. She's Stars Hollows' answer to a grapevine. Although she probably has more wine in her cellar than a thousand grapevines could make." Lane shook her head. "Sorry. My mind wanders."

Tristan laughed. "I've been there." He sighed. "I still can't believe I have a daughter."

Lane nodded. "It's weird." She kicked a rock as she walked. "In high school, Rory had told me that you seemed a bit…fast…but I never thought…" She trailed off. "I guess when you grow up with a girl who's sixteen years younger than her mom, you never really have actual thoughts about teenage pregnancy. It's always right there. You don't have to think about it."

Tristan nodded. "Sadly, I think I understand you." He laughed. "So, what do you think?"

Lane shrugged. "It could work. And right now I think it's a good idea."

Tristan stared at her. "Yeah?"

Lane nodded. "Yeah."

Rory caught up with Jess as he was walking by the gazebo. "Hey! Jess, stop!"


Jess stopped, turning around suddenly. He saw Rory and relaxed. "I know you don't like me but making me have a heart attack could be considered murder. You don't want to rot in jail, do you?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "No. And I'd just say that you've been under a lot of pressure and even if I hadn't been near you, you would have had the heart attack anyway."

"But half the town just heard you scream."

Rory shrugged. "I'll…pay them off."

Jess laughed. "With whose money?"

"Uh…Tristan's. But then again, DuGrey money can't be associated with bad things, and I'm pretty sure murder is included in that."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you just can't be sure if murder counts as a crime among the rich and famous." He paused. "Why'd you want to talk to me?"

Rory frowned. "I can't just talk to you because I want to?"

"You can, but I doubt you would. What's up?"

Rory grasped her hands together in a nervous gesture. "Um, Jess, I just wanted to, uh, thank you."

"Thank me?" Jess arched an eyebrow.

Rory nodded. "Yeah. For your help. With Tristan. You know, the Habitat for Humanity thing."

Jess nodded. "Technically, it wouldn't be with Habitat. But still…it wasn't a big deal."

"Yeah. It was. Tris was freaking out because he thought his daughter was going to live in a sick house forever."

Jess sighed, sinking down on the gazebo floor. "I can't believe he has a daughter."

Rory laughed. "Join the club." She sat down next to him. "You should've seen her though. She's the cutest kid I've ever seen."

Jess smiled, glancing at Rory. "I bet she is…Rory, do you think we could ever be friends again? Really friends, not acquaintances?"

Rory was quiet for a minute, taking in the earnestness in his eyes. Jess's eyes had never been a safe place to look. It was as if there was a magnetic connection between them. "I think that may be possible," Rory murmured, closing her eyes and leaning in to kiss him.

"Jess! Hello. I missed you so!"

Rory jumped back at the voice, just before her lips were to touch Jess's. Jess coughed, glancing at the speaker. He jumped up. Two women were standing outside the gazebo, grinning at Jess. "Hello," Rory said slowly, not knowing who they were.

Jess stepped out of the gazebo and Rory joined him. "Rory, this is Azura Skye." He placed his hand on the small of Azura's back, smiling. "And this," he added, grabbing the other girl, "is our starlet Scarlett."

Rory took in the two girls, hiding her disappointment. The sisters were possibly the most beautiful girls she had ever seen. Both had thick, black hair and creamy white skin. Their eyes were emerald green, their lips full, and their bodies perfect. Rory couldn't compete with these girls. "Nice to meet you." Rory shook the hands of both girls, albeit her disappointment.

"Nice to meet you as well. What did you say your name was? Lori?" Azura could even pull off bright red lipstick.

"Uh, no, Rory. With an R. It's actually short for Lorelai. When I was born my mother was all doped up and she felt feministic…is that a word…for the first time in her life. And she was like, well, guys name their sons after them…junior, the second, you know…so why can't woman?" Rory shut her mouth, realizing she was babbling.

Azura smiled. "How lovely. So Rory…the name suits you." She smiled at Scarlett. "Scarlett's not usually shy; she's probably just jetlagged."

Jess frowned. "Jetlagged. Where were you guys?"

Azura pouted. "I'm sure I told you, darling. Scarlett has been modeling in Milan for the last few days. We figured we'd stop in here before we went back to New York."

"Well, I'm, uh, glad you stopped by." Rory smiled. "Why don't you all come back to my house? I'd love for my friends to meet Jess's fiancée."

"That would be absolutely lovely."