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June 30, 2006

It had been a month since the event Rory now referred to as the wedding from hell, and finally, she was able to at least begin letting go of the past. She'd be leaving for a trip to Virginia Beach with Noel in a couple days, just in time for Independence Day, and Noel had promised to teach her to surf.

She figured the best case scenario was she turned out to be a natural and survived the day without a scratch (unlikely) or worst case, she had yet another embarrassing story to tell her kids one day (much more likely).

She'd moved back to the dorms, where both she and Jordan were attending a summer session. Jordan figured that with a baby on the way, she should get all the head start on her education she could, and Rory because... well, she'd skipped a lot of classes over the past year, and if she had any intentions of being a senior come fall...

She'd never forgive herself or Tristan for how much she'd let him screw with her mind, her values, her priorities, this past year. In hindsight, she could see she'd been a moron.

She'd done the other woman thing with Dean, and it had all turned out badly that time, as well. So what had made her think it would turn out better this time?

Honestly, though, she wasn't sure if it could have turned out better. Things were right the way they were. She had Noel, who, although a bit more radical and athletic than her normal type of guy, was honest and understanding and loved her with all his heart.

So she didn't love him. At least not yet.

They had time. She could learn to love him.

...Right?
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The color of a chlorine-treated pool, of Tristan's eyes, of fate rewriting itself. Amelie Rousseau-DuGrey perched on the side of her porcelain bathtub, holding a box in one hand and its contents in the other. Who would've thought that something that cost $14.99 at a local drugstore could change the rest of her life?

Amelie shivered as she raised the stick, the blue line thin, but clearly there.

Well. They hadn't been expecting this, at least not yet. They'd barely talked about it.

With shaking hands, Amelie picked up the box and scanned the back. 'Over 99 accurate...'

Well, that left little room for doubt.

Pursing her lips, she dropped the box in the trash and set the stick on the corner of the sink.

She had wanted kids, and she knew Tristan did as well. But all their conversations about children had been purely hypothetical- neither had considered having any in the immediate future.

Oh, yes. This certainly put a damper on their plans.
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Tristan was ecstatic when he heard the news. After assuring Amelie that it would be alright, that they'd make it work, that really, now was the perfect time to work on that addition they'd been considering for the house anyway, Tristan got in his car.

And drove like a maniac to Jordan's dorm room. He and Jordan may not be as close as they'd been since Jordan learned about his relationship with her roommate, but they were twins, and this was something he needed to tell her.

He ran down the hall until he reached their suite, pounding excitedly on the door. "Coming, coming, coming," he heard from the other side, followed by a few curses.

The door swung open and he found himself face to face with the ultimate buzz kill. "Rory."

Rory raised an eyebrow and took a step back, gesturing for him to come in. "I'll get Jordan," she said, disappearing back into her room as she left him standing in the common room.

Tristan watched her as she walked away, taking in her lithe form. God, she was hot even in pajama bottoms and a tank top.

Tristan shook his head as Jordan entered the room, clearing his mind and refocusing on his good news.

"What's going on?" Jordan asked, arms crossed over her swelling belly.

Tristan tried to picture Amelie like that, but couldn't. He just smiled stupidly at his sister.

"Well?" Jordan questioned, glancing back at Rory's room.

It was then Tristan realized his sister had already chosen a side, and it wasn't his. He frowned. "I just came to tell you that, uh, Amelie found out she was pregnant today. I thought you'd like to know."

Jordan opened her mouth to speak, but there was a creak behind her and she spun around to see Rory standing in the doorway, her expression blank. "Amelie's pregnant?" Rory asked, voice so quiet Tristan had trouble making out the words.

Tristan nodded. "Uh, yeah."

Rory squeezed her eyes shut and after a minute, Jordan cleared her throat. "Rory," she started, her voice sad and quiet, gesturing back toward Rory's room.

Rory shook her head and offered Tristan a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Congratulations. Tell Amelie I'm happy for her."

Tristan gulped. "I will."

But she never heard his words, because the door had already closed, and Jordan was already ushering him out of the common room.

He never heard her quiet sobs, either.
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Jordan glanced over at her roommate in concern. The girl hadn't moved in the last eight hours, or at least not much. She'd changed into different pajamas before crawling back into the security of her own bed, whimpering. Jordan sighed. "Rory."

Rory turned her head slightly, meeting Jordan's gaze. She mumbled something, but Jordan couldn't understand what she had said.

"What?"

"Don't want to talk." Rory glanced past Jordan, at the wall behind her. Rory had perfected the art of not meeting a person's gaze years ago. She'd managed to make it look like she wasn't avoiding that gaze more recently.

Jordan, of course, knew her too well. "Rory…"

Rory groaned, bringing her eyes down to meet Jordan's worried gaze. "I'm fine, Jordan. Really. I just want to be left alone."

"You missed class," Jordan said, raising an eyebrow. "That's not a Rory Gilmore-ish thing to do."

"How do you know I missed class?" Rory asked.

"You're in my Creative Writing class, Rory. You weren't there. And considering you only sit two seats from me, I don't think I could've overlooked you."

Rory groaned. "Fine. I didn't go." She paused. "Still don't want to talk about it, though."

Jordan shrugged. "Fine. Your loss."

Rory sighed. "Look, I'm just going to forget about it. I'm leaving for Virginia with Noel tomorrow morning, and after that, I'll just... move on. It's time I did anyway, Jordan. Just... don't look at me like that, Jordan. I'm serious."

"Whatever you say, Rory."
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