AN: Yes, I'm back. Hopefully the updating can get back to normal, or at least there won't be a huge gap again for a while. Most of you have been so very patient, and I thank you. I hope you enjoy this new installment.

Tristan had been gone for just over a half an hour, and Rory was debating over going out on her own or staying in to relax. They'd been out til all hours of the night last night. New York is known as the city that never sleeps, but Paris by night was otherworldly. The whole city becomes illuminated and swirls with people. She'd risen when he had, after just five hours of rest, and watched him as he moved about sullenly. She hesitated to ask what was wrong, figuring his displeasure of seeing his parents was hard for him to mask, as they'd had a magical evening. He'd promised her that she would witness things of this nature on this trip, and this was probably to what he was referring.

Just before he left, he leaned down to kiss her cheek, promising he'd be back as soon as he could. She gave her best smile, and promised to be there upon his return. She should probably just stay put; sightseeing would be difficult anyhow, since she felt like lead weights were attached to her eyelids. Perhaps a nap might not be the worst course of action. She smiled as she remembered him saying how best he'd like to find her upon his return. His words had caused her to blush, but she had to admit he had a talent for exciting her.

The key turned in the door, stopping her in her thoughts. She smiled as she continued to look out the window, anticipating his arms wrapping around her in mere moments.

"That was quick," she mused, when at first he didn't speak.

"Rory, I presume?"

Rory whipped around at the stranger's voice. Her eyes widened even more at the slightly familiar looking woman, though she still couldn't place her. Perhaps she reminded her of Shira Huntzberger—it was obvious this was a pampered, slightly jaded woman.

"Yes?"

The strange woman smiled and let the door close behind her. "I'm Jara Dugrey. Tristan's mother."

Rory took the woman's outstretched hand and shook it politely. "Nice to meet you," she said warily. This meeting felt strange. Tristan would have told her if he'd arranged for his mother to come by. He kept saying he had a business meeting with his parents, which she took to mean both his mother and father.

"Would you care to join me for brunch?"

Rory shook her head. "I'm waiting for Tristan."

"He'll be a while, dear. I'll wait downstairs while you get, dressed," she paused before saying the last word, causing Rory to draw her robe tighter around her body. As soon as Jara took leave of the suite, Rory pulled out her cell phone and dialed Tristan's number. It went directly to his voicemail, and she swore under her breath. His phone was off. She caught sight of herself in the mirror and realized she better change. Jara had a key and probably wasn't going to wait long.

XXXX

"So, you must be wondering what this is all about," Jara said, smiling as she lit up a cigarette. The waiter had just taken their orders, and they were sitting at an outdoor café near the hotel.

"I'm intrigued, yes. I thought Tristan was meeting you both for some business meeting."

"Ah, yes. The business of family," Jara exhaled slowly. "I'm not generally involved in these meetings. Unleashed to my own means. Kieran thinks I'm purchasing a new fall line," she said bitterly.

Rory sipped her coffee, wishing more than anything that Tristan would call her phone inquiring as to her whereabouts. Surely his knowledge of this event would put a swift end to it. Jara snuffed out the last of her cigarette, and eyed Rory carefully.

"What has Tristan told you about his father and me?"

"Not much. Just that he had to meet you in Paris this week."

"And he invited you along?"

"Yes."

"I have to admit, his father and I were quite surprised. Tristan's never been much for relationships."

"I know."

Jara smiled. "Do you?"

"I've known him for years."

"I see. Well, then you probably have an inkling that Tristan and Kieran aren't what you'd call close."

Rory nodded, giving up the ghost. No matter what this woman wanted to tell her, she wished she'd get it over with so she could get back to the room. The longer she sat here, the more she felt odd about the entire situation.

"I've surmised so much."

"And I know you've met Janlan."

"He's a lovely man."

"He is. And he has a very high opinion of you."

Rory smiled. "We spent some time with him at the country house."

"I'm not here to run you away from Tristan, or scare you, dear. Am I correct in assuming you're serious about my son?"

Raising an eyebrow, she nodded. "I am."

Jara smiled. "Good. I want you to know what is going on at this meeting."

"What makes you think I don't know already?"

"Tristan hates what is going on. He's not one to discuss family matters with anyone, except Janlan."

Rory nodded, and sat back in her chair. Jara pulled out her pack of cigarettes and held it out to Rory, in offering. Rory shook her head, and the woman pulled one out for herself and lit it before continuing.

"Tristan doesn't agree with how Kieran does business. His inheritance is contingent on his joining the family firm upon graduation from university. He'd interned for the company the summer before his junior year of high school, that's when this all started.When Tristan got sent off to military school, it was the last straw, for both of them. Tristan had been showing his disproval of his father's dealings, but before breaking into that safe, Kieran had assumed Tristan would come around to his way of thinking eventually. Tristan was doing his best to show his defiance. They had a lot of knock down, drag out fights—and not all verbal either, mind you. Soon after Kieran put the contingency into act."

Rory sat, stunned at the news. No wonder he was so bitter about his father keeping tabs on him. She wasn't quite sure what Kieran did that Tristan didn't approve of, other than the family business was law.

"How do I factor into this, exactly?"

Jara smiled. "He brought you. And Kieran knows. He wanted the two of you to come to dinner with us tonight."

"Tristan didn't mention it."

"Tristan refused the invitation."

Rory sat back as the waiter delivered their food, not sure what to say next. Was Jara going to ask her to get Tristan to agree to dinner? There was no way it would even work, even if she wanted to. And she definitely didn't want to.

"I don't see why you've told me all of this."

"You have influence with Tristan. You can help him see reason."

"Reason?"

"I have a feeling that he's going to push it too far."

"Too far?" she repeated her words again, trying to process all of this.

Jara nodded, and looked down at her untouched plate. She took a last drag off her cigarette and put it next to the other in the ashtray.

"I don't want to lose my son."

"I'm sorry. I don't understand."

"Tristan could very well back out of the agreement—even if it means walking away from the money. God knows there are other means for him, he's not dumb. He's my only son, and I can't say that I like abiding by my husband, but I don't have any other options."

Rory frowned, watching as the woman crumbled in front of her very eyes. A wave of sympathy washed over her, finally understanding her covert means. She didn't have ulterior motives—at least not the kind that she'd been beginning to suspect.

"I'm sorry," Rory offered.

"Perhaps you can make him see reason?"

"I can't do anything; I'm not involved in this."

"Kieran won't stop at this. Tristan walking away isn't an option, at least not one he'll take lightly. He'll pull you into this."

"I think I should go now, I promised I'd be there, waiting for him."

Jara nodded, and stood as Rory did. "Don't mention this to him. I understand your hesitation on helping me, but please, consider what I've said. All of it."

Rory said nothing, only nodded before taking leave of the woman and walking quickly back to the safety of the hotel. Only with the ease that people obtained keys to their room, she wasn't sure how safe she was.

XXXX

Tristan came into the room an hour after she returned, tie undone and jacket open. He looked completely exhausted, and she wasn't faring much better. She'd replayed Jara's conversation over and over in her head, and now seeing him she felt like she might explode without knowing what had happened at his meeting one second longer. She sat in the middle of the bed on her knees, watching him expectantly.

"That's not quite how I was hoping you'd greet me," he said, crawling onto the bed next to her. "Close, though."

She shied a little, looking down at the closing space between them. "How was your meeting?"

He shrugged. "It's over. That's the important thing," he said, brushing off the topic as he leaned in to kiss her. She closed her eyes, kissing him back as she willed her conscience to slip into oblivion with the rest of her body. He ran a hand up the side of her body, lightly skimming his knuckles over her clothes as he leaned her back. She opened her eyes as his lips left hers, and she couldn't take the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had to tell him.

"Tristan," she breathed.

"Shh," he instructed between kisses, and she felt his warm hands uncover her stomach.

"Please, I need to tell you something," she said, pulling her shirt back down and blocking his path with her hands.

He looked up at her for a moment, into her troubled eyes. She bit her lip and diverted her gaze for a moment. She'd sworn she saw recognition sweep over his face.

"Did something happen while I was gone?"

She nodded. "What happened at your meeting?"

"Rory, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing, maybe, I don't know. Why did you meet your father?"

He sighed. "It's not important."

"Tristan. You had to fly to Paris for a week, during a semester abroad."

"My father doesn't really care about disrupting my schedule, what can I say?"

"Your mother came to see me today."

He sat up immediately, the color draining from his face. "What?"

"You heard me."

"What did she say to you?"

Rory sighed, and put her hand over his. "She seemed, concerned. About you."

"What did she want?" he asked, his tone firmer.

"She let herself in, and then she took me to brunch. She wanted me to encourage you to reach some sort of truce, with your dad. She said she didn't want to lose you, and that if I didn't help them, your dad would probably pull me into this anyhow."

"Unbelievable. I should have known," he said, now standing, beginning to pace by the bed.

"Tristan, what is going on?"

"I didn't want to drag you into all of this. I'm done with this, I told him today. What he does is no longer of concern to me, and you certainly don't need to be dragged into it. I will make sure of that," he said.

"Into what? You've been talking to me about letting you in and telling you what is going on, why can't you do the same for me?"

"Because what he's doing is illegal, Rory," he spat out. "I just want out of the obligation of working with him when I'm out of school. I've been trying to put it off, coming to England defers my graduation date, and it made him mad. I've been figuring out the best way to do this, with my grandfather, and I told him today I'm done. He's probably afraid I'll use my knowledge to uncover his dealings, but honestly I just wanted out before I could be implicated in the whole mess."

"Your mother," she began, still feeling sympathy for the woman.

"My mother will stand by my father, no matter what. If I cut ties with him, it means cutting ties with her."

"But, Tristan," she sat in awe, unable to imagine completely cutting either of her parents out of her life forever.

"It's over. In fact, I'm done here now, so we can return to England whenever you want."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry she came to you. She shouldn't have. When he found out I was seeing you, he assumed I might transfer, putting my graduation date off ever further, and which is why he wanted to have dinner with us tonight, and probably the main reason my mother came to see you today. I should have anticipated all of this better; this will be the last you have to deal with my parents," he said, his anger still flowing through his voice, though his actions were much softer as he came next to her again and pulled her into his arms. She let him hold her for a moment, her mind swimming with the new information she'd received today.

"It's okay," she said, slipping her own arms around to hold him as well. "This is over now, right?"

He kissed the top of her head. "Sort of. He'll make attempts to change my mind, but I told him I'm out. I'm free to do as I please. Including finding my own source of income."

"What about your grandfather?" she asked, still filled with so many questions.

"I've got money, Rory, I don't need my father's," he answered, figuring she was worried for his altered financial situation.

"It wouldn't matter to me, you know."

He looked into her eyes and smiled. "What?"

"If you didn't have any money. At all. It wouldn't matter to me."

He nodded. "So you're saying I'm not winning you over with Parisian suites and sapphires?"

"Nope."

"Great," he groaned.

"You're winning me over, period."

He held her gaze, feeling the depth of her words as they broke over him. He moved against her with raw emotion, not taking care in gentle caresses or soft kisses. He was finding that he expressed love as he did anger; fiercely and without caution. Holding it back wasn't an option, and all he could think of was how amazing this woman in his arms, moving underneath him, truly was. She wasn't with him for 'reasons.' She was with him because she needed him the same way he craved her.

He just hoped she would still feel the same way after this whole mess got straightened out. It was true that he'd thrown his father's threats into his face today, but he knew this was by no means over. Kieran Dugrey was not going to take this lying down; he was too afraid that his tracks would be uncovered. But one thing was for certain—he was going to have to work harder to keep Rory out of it. Now he had more to consider than just his own personal happiness. He wanted to get her back to their isolated bubble of school and London.