I still haven't acquired the rights to the Gilmore Girls... and probably never will.

Chapter 16

"Tristan, I think Rory should know."

"Rory should know what exactly, Tristan?" Rory had reappeared from nowhere and unfortunately she had heard the last thing her mother had said.

"Well, ummm.... it's ummm... you should know that I... am really happy that we are now friends." That was all he could think to say without having to tell the girl the truth.

Maybe some day he'd be able to look her in the eye and tell her everything he felt and everything he thought but this moment, with her mother staring at him, was not exactly the best time. At that moment he made a promise to himself that as soon as Lorelei left North Carolina he would have a seat with Rory and tell her everything. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, maybe she wouldn't completely freak out.

"That makes me happy too Tristan. It's nice to have you around." She looked him in the eye as she said that and she thought she saw complete and utter happiness in there. Was he really that happy that she was there with him? Had he forgiven her for how mean she had been towards him? The look in his eyes was so intense she just couldn't look away. They were so blue and so full of emotion. What she saw in there kind of scared her a little. It was so hard to ignore what she saw but she had to. If she was seeing correctly and he really did have feelings for her well, she had to pretend that she didn't know. There was no way that she was ready to face those feelings of his.

"Olay you two, snap out of it!! As much as I'd like to see who wins this staring contest I think we should go have some fun." Lorelei made them come back to reality.

"Umm, yeah, I'll go grab a camera and I'll meet you outside." Tristan told the girls as he got up and started to walk towards the electronics department.

"You've got it bad, don't you kiddo?" Her mother asked her once they were alone.

"What are you talking about mom?" She was trying really hard to fight the fact that her feelings for Tristan had changed dramatically.

"It's okay to have feelings for him hun. If this is about Dean or Jess, it's okay to move on. You have every right to be happy."

She knew that her mother was right. She had been faced with so many heartache and pain in the past and that was something that she never wanted to face again in her life. Admitting to her feelings for Tristan would just open up a whole new opportunity for her to get hurt and she had no intention of doing so.

"It's not going to happen mom so could we just not talk about it anymore." "We'll stop talking about it for now but the subject is not officially closed for discussion. I think you're making a mistake by not being honest." Lorelei didn't want to see her daughter get hurt because of feelings she had chosen to keep to herself.

Before Rory could say anything else Tristan reappeared camera in hand and ready to go.

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After getting all their stuff ready they headed out the door. Their first stop was a park where they cold play like they were kids again. There were swings and slides and a huge water fountain and small swimming pool for the children. There was even a pond where you could go and feed the ducks.

For Rory it wasn't hard to have fun and run around as if she was a child again. Her and her mother had spent a lot of time goofing around and having fun. Lorelei hadn't wanted her daughter to have the kind of "proper" childhood that Emily and Richard had given her. She had made sure that Rory had plenty of fun and laughter in her life. She had encouraged her many times to not be afraid to get her clothes dirty or to mess up her hair if it meant having a good time.

As for Tristan it was a completely different story. Having grown up in Hartford there was no such thing as goofing around or getting dirty when trying to have fun. On this "fun" day with Rory and her mother he felt kind of out of place in the beginning but the more he watched the girls laugh and enjoy themselves the more he wanted to be a part of it.

There was only one little problem, after 20 years of being "proper" how does one go about "having fun"? So as much as he wanted to join in he just decided to stand there and watch as Rory swung on the swings and as Lorelei had fun chasing some ducks around.

In the midst of her fun Rory noticed that Tristan was having zero fun. She kind of felt bad for dragging him on an outing that he wasn't interested in.

"Hey there Tris, you're not having fun are you?" She asked him walking up beside him.

"It's not that...it's just..." how could he say this without embarrassing himself too much? What was he thinking about being embarrassed for? This was Rory Gilmore he was talking to. He knew that she was the least judgmental person he knew.

"It's just that what? You didn't have to come if you didn't want to you know."

"I want to be here Ror and I want to have some fun...but I'm not like you guys. I grew up in the Dugrey mansion where fun didn't exist." He told her looking into her eyes.

"Was it really that awful for you?" She couldn't imagine a life without fun.

"The only thing that made it semi bearable was my older sister."

"Sounds like you two were close. Is she still coming for a visit? I'd really like to meet her."

"We're still close but we don't get to see each other as much. She's coming sometime this weekend."

"Will you tell me more about your childhood Tris?" She really meant this. She wanted to know more about this guy. Tristan knew that too because there was real concern and curiosity on her face.

"Sure I will but not today. We're here to have some fun aren't we?"

"You're right. I'll race you to the fountain. Last one there buys the other one lunch for the next week."

She was running even before the sentence was done but he still managed to catch up to her, a little bit. Unfortunately for him he now owed her lunch for the next week. But that wasn't so bad was it? They sat on the edge of the fountain both out of breath.

"Looks like you're too slow Dugrey."

"That's because you cheated Mary. You started running before I even knew what was going on. I'm surprised at you Mary." There was a smile on his lips and laughter in his eyes when he said this. He was delighted that he'd have lunch with her for the next week.

"You're just jealous because I won." And with that she sent a shower of fountain water on him.

Tristan was a little taken by surprise but when he saw the goofy look on her face he knew that he had the get back at her.

"Now you've asked for it Mary." He put his hand in the water and attempted to send her showers of it but she was already on her feet and running away from him. That got him to his feet as he went after her.

He chased her around the fountain and through the trees. When she went up the slide he was right behind her. Then, just as she was nearing the fountain, he caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. As she fell he lost his footing and fell right on top of her. He was stunned. He looked down at her and saw the laughter in her eyes. She was so beautiful he just wanted to kiss her. He looked deep into her eyes, then down to her lips as he licked his own. Their faces inched closer.

'This is it' Tristan thought. 'Oh no! I can't kiss her she'll freak' then came into his head.

Just as their faces got even closer Tristan moved a bit so that his lips were next to her ear. "I got you Mary. I always knew that someday you'd throw yourself at my feet." He whispered in her ear. It was lame and he knew it but kissing her, as much as he wanted to, could have been disastrous.

Rory just lay there under Tristan's weight wondering why he hadn't kissed her. When she had first noticed his face inching closer her first instinct was to panic but then she had remembered the kiss on the piano bench and how good it had been, before she had burst into tears that is. Maybe he just didn't want to kiss her.

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This whole time, Lorelei had been watching her daughter with Tristan and had taken pictures without them even knowing. She couldn't believe how good they looked together and how much fun they had when in each others' company. The attraction between the two was so obvious to her. She saw as well as knew how much the guy cared for her daughter but Rory could be so blind sometimes. She had to find a way to convince her daughter to listen to what her heart was saying. Deep down though she knew that she couldn't do anything. The girl would just have to realize things for herself.

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After another hour of playing in the park and taking two full rolls of pictures the trio headed to the apartment to have some dinner and their movie night. As a surprise Tristan had bought Rory a copy of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He knew how much she liked that movie and seeing her so happy was just so great. When he gave her the surprise she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"How did you know I like this movie so much?" She asked him a little surprised.

"You told me once when we were at Chilton. We were have an actual conversation about movies and you mentioned it."

"And you remembered even after all this time?"

"Of course I did. It was one of our only civilized moments, how could I forget?"

"You really have changed haven't you? You're being so sweet!"

She hugged him again. Only this time it was more of a 'I just wanted to hug you' type of hug.

It was just a regular movie night except for the fact that Tristan was there with them. There was nothing strange about his presence though, not uncomfortable at all. In fact it was like he had been a part of their movie nights forever. All three of them watched Willy Wonka to the end but half way through movie number two Rory fell asleep with her head on Tristan's lap. It was unbelievable how close they had become in just a month. By the end of the second movie Tristan was asleep also. They were now lying down on the sofa comfortable in each others arms. It was so cute and they looked so comfortable that Lorelei left them there. Maybe it would make them realize what they were feeling and make them deal with it.

A/N: Okay, this is the end of chapter 16. This story is much longer than I thought it would be and it will probably be much longer still. Coming up soon...Tristan's sister... and another important conversation for Rory and Lorelei. I have a little question for you guys...in the show did Tristan really have a sister or is it unknown? I don't really remember if they mentioned much of his family. Once again please review, criticize or whatever.