Hey everyone! Just thought I'd note that I've updated the summary for this story. Don't worry, it's still the same fic. Anyway, many apologies for the lateness of this chapter, but please read on!

***

Rory was feeling, well, fragile. Reluctant to talk, and harbouring a number of doubts over James. She didn't want to question James' faithfulness, but…that girl…

It didn't help that Anna-Marie, the girl behind the counter at the gas station, had been so flirtatious in giving Tristan her number.

What she really needed right now was a pep talk from Lorelai, something that dwelled upon the fact that James was very honest. Definitely trustworthy. Super-duper loving. Unfortunately, no one could do it like her.

"I don't see them," Rory said, anxiously, scanning the car from a distance. "Do you?"

"I see lots of empty beer bottles."

"That's not good."

"I know." Tristan shook his head sorrowfully. "Jess promised he wouldn't drink anything without me."

Rory rolled her eyes.

***

Up close, the scene was peaceful, Paris and Jess snoozing, the quiet only disturbed by an occasional snore. It was all rather cute. Well, if you ignored the stench.

"You know," Tristan said, gazing at the unlikely scene, "this has the makings of A-grade blackmail material." He grinned. "All we need is duct tape and superglue."

"I must say, Tristan," Rory replied, smiling, "I never appreciated this latent vein of evilness in you."

Tristan turned to face her, suddenly serious. Rory felt her smile slowly fade away in the wake of his intense stare.

"There are many things you didn't appreciate, Rory." Suddenly, he smiled. "My perfectly chiselled abs, for instance."

"Very funny."

"I'll bet you also didn't know this." Tristan lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper. "I can hypnotise people." Seeing Rory's sceptical expression, he said, rather grandiosely, "Let me demonstrate."

Pulling off his watch, he proceeded to dangle it in front of Jess' face, waving it from side to side.

"You are feeling drowsy, very drowsy," droned Tristan in a terrible imitation of a hypnotist. "From now on, you will do as I tell you. Your first command is…stay asleep."

Jess remained asleep.

"Do not move," continued Tristan, enjoying this pantomime immensely.

Strangely enough, Jess didn't move.

"Keep your eyes closed."

Miraculously, Jess did just that.

"I am completely astounded by your depths of control," Rory said, smiling.

Tristan bowed.

"Well, I am, after all, a master at the craft."

"Truly. The fact that you haven't yet been recognised for your contribution to the art of hypnosis is a travesty."

Tristan shrugged.

"I guess I'm used to rejection by now." Rory didn't look at him, but he looked at her, and thought if only.

***

The bright yellow-and-black Jeep arrived soon after Jess and Paris had woken up. All four were surprised when a petite blonde jumped out of the monster 8-seater vehicle.

"Trixie!" Sophia screeched, running as fast as she could on teetering stilettos towards Tristan.

"Hey, Sophia," was all Tristan could get out before he was forcibly accosted.

They kissed, Sophia insistent, Tristan willing, for something like 5 minutes, without coming up for air.

Rory, standing nearby with Paris, saw all of this.

"How are they breathing?" Rory asked, aghast.

"Through their noses," Paris guessed. "That amount of affection could be dangerous, though, if they ever ran out of oxygen."

Finally breaking apart, Tristan started packing luggage into the two cars.

Rory didn't notice Sophia walking purposefully towards her.

"Hi…uh…" Rory watched Sophia's face scrunch up with unaccustomed mental effort.

"Rory," she offered. "My name is Rory."

"Oh, right, Laurie," said Sophia, smiling insincerely. "I haven't seen you for a while."

"Yes, it has been a long time, hasn't it?" Rory forced herself to smile. "Where's Mira?"

"Oh, she doesn't like being a passenger, so I had to drive all by my self. She's back at the house. Speaking of members of our family, how's James?" Rory saw a trace of a condescending smile on Sophia's face, and mentally frowned. She knows something.

"He's been detained. He did say he'll catch up later."

"I'm sure he will." Sophia smiled nastily. "So don't you worry." She turned and flounced away, already smiling at the other two, who were wearing rather irritable expressions. Rory gritted her teeth.

***

10 minutes into the trip, the occupants, with the exception of Sophia, were feeling a giant headache coming on.

"I mean," Sophia continued, chewing on her watermelon flavoured gum while steering absentmindedly, "I told Antonio I just wanted a trim and a touch of colour, but then he goes and dumps this horrid shade of highlights onto my hair so I was just like 'Tony, watch what you're doing, honey' and then he got all offended and started talking about his 'credentials' and 'clientele' so I got onto my Prada pumps and walked right out of there."

"Good for you," Tristan said, without any real conviction. Sophia smiled sickeningly at him.

"Oh, that's not all sweetie. So the next day, he calls me up and says, get this-"

Paris, who had tried unsuccessfully to block her ears with cotton wool, started banging her head repeatedly against the window. Sophia stopped talking, for a second.

"What's that noise?"

"I have no idea," Paris said, feigning ignorance. "But you know, sometimes cars are very sensitive to noise. If we all stay completely silent, I'm sure that fanbelt will stop flapping."

"Good thinking, Paris," said Rory, thankful.

"Actually, I've heard that too," Tristan chimed in. "Deadly to the engine."

Sophia's mouth actually closed for a good fifteen minutes after that.

***

Finally arriving at the glass-and-chrome, ultra-modern beach house, the first task for everyone was to get unpacked and then try and grab a couple of hours sleep. Rory, however, had something more urgent to do. She started looking for Jess.

She found him slouching against the car, smoking a cigarette, looking out at the dark sea, the sound of waves in the background. His cigarette burnt brightly in the moonlight. He glanced sideways at her and straightened up when she approached.

"Hi."

"Hey," he replied.

There was silence. Rory debated in her mind all the ways she knew of approaching the subject subtly. There wasn't one.

"Jess…does Mira know?"

"About what?" He looked coolly at her.

"Uh, about, um…" Focus Rory, she told herself. Just look at him, and say it. "About you and me," she said firmly, looking into his deep brown eyes as she did so. "Our history." There was emotion there, latent feelings that Jess had tried to hide. Eyes didn't lie.

She felt as if she were seventeen again, with the same helplessness that she had felt then. Were those unmentionable feelings in Jess' eyes reflected in hers? She looked quickly away.

"Why should I have?"

"Well, it's just that I want to avoid any awkwardness between Mira and I. Meeting for the first time and all."

He laughed humourlessly. The alcohol seemed to have worn off.

"Are you ashamed or something?"

"No. I'm not. I just want to know how things stand."

"Between us?" There was a hard edge in his voice.

"Between you and Mira." Rory's voice dropped. "Well, that too, I guess." Raising her eyes to meet his, they both understood the unspoken question. Rory said it anyway.

"Where do we stand, Jess? We…I…" She sighed, passing a weary arm over her eyes. "There are issues we never…that I never resolved. Not properly, anyway."

He said nothing.

"I mean, I know that that time when you called and didn't say anything, I told you how I felt, but I was sad, and angry at you for doing what you did and then leaving." Everything poured out of her in a torrent, all the thoughts and feelings that she had kept hidden for nearly four years. Taking a deep breath, Rory continued. "I, I guess I never dealt with it. I just tried to forget, and move on. But seeing you now, after four years without a word, it's impossible to come to terms with. And when you turn out to be dating James' sister, I just, I just…" Rory felt tears welling up in her eyes. She leant against the car for support, unable to articulate the emotion coursing through her.

Jess turned to face her, seeing her eyes misted with tears. Gently, he brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and tucked it behind her ear. Rory felt his lingering touch, feather-light on her face. They were both suddenly aware of the proximity of their bodies, each feeling the heat emanating from the other. Rory's heart beat just that little bit faster.

"Jess, don't," Rory whispered. The spell was broken, and, all of a sudden, the stars shone a little less brightly in the sky. Jess leant back. "Just tell me. Did you tell her about us?"

"Nope." Taking one last drag, Jess flicked away his cigarette, the ember slowly fading to black. "Rest easy, Rory. My girlfriend doesn't know a thing."

They were both unaware of a pair of green eyes that, peering out on this intimate scene, narrowed.

***

That's right, thought I would throw a curveball right when things seemed nice and fuzzy. Anyway, next chapter, you can look forward to a quick peek inside the minds of Tristan, Jess and Rory. That's right, their personal view on life, love and what it's like to be them. Until then, please review!