Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Gilmore Girls, actors, characters, plots, etc, that would be the wonderful people at WB. Although if I did, I'm pretty sure they'd be some big changes coughChadcough. Nor do I own anything to do with Stanford University. Anyway if you do feel inclined to sue me, some people have strange urges and we must accept them for who they are, I'm currently flat broke so all you will get is a used textbook, on organic chemistry.
AN: Sorry about the delay in updating, I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter, I just couldn't get the right tone… and it was Australia Day last Thursday, which meant lots of drinking in the sun, charred meat and sport. And what's more Aussie than throwing a sickie, so the fun and Finn-esque behaviour continued until late Sunday night. Monday was non-functional, but now I'm back, with a new chapter too! Warning: any of this chapter doesn't make any sense, I may be still inebriated!
Bethany Inc: Oh I didn't mean to break you heart! As for slapping someone with a water bottle… that's one I haven't heard before!
Photoboothromace: I'm glad you like that one better, I do aim to please. Look out! More Tristan up ahead!
Emmy: I started writing a response, then deleted and started again so I was just being too weird. I'm happy to provide the inside info and let you know that it is a trory, although I think I revealed that in an early chapter already. Thanks for reading.
Mamashirl: I have decided on the father, and just between you and mean, the answer might me in this chapter!
Danger1Zone1998: Oh my, what a LOUD review! But that's good, I'll take what I can get. I have to agree, Lorelai was mean in that chapter, but I think she's still in character. Thanks for reading.
Rscpgx: Love the review, am updating, see!
Rockrose: Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Omeomy: Oh, reviews are never boring! Sometimes I'm afraid that my responses are repetitive and uninteresting. I try to show my appreciation, but it's just so hard to be creative!
Fallen Heart: Well Camilla, I'm glad you like my story, I must say I like your name, both of them! Rory running into Tristan's arms… hmm, let's think about that phrase for a second… Rory running – drat, exercise, I don't think so… as for Tristan, he is in this chapter! (oh and I was kidding, I don't mean to mock, it just happens some times! Sorry.)
LoVe23: You say 'drama' and I say 'would you like fries with that?'… okay that was random. Yes Logan is still part of the story, right to the very end! Thanks for reading.
Emily: I'm guessing Lorelai's the meaniehead this time! I love, where do you come up with words like that! Did you ever say imbecile? That's another one that brings up images of primary school sandpits. Why was the fight incomplete? I'm confused, but that's okay, confusion is good, it adds colour to my life! As for Tristan saying he'd marry her if she wanted him to, I think he would have made it happen and also, he and his gf haven't been together for that long (it'll be explained a little in this chapter).
Yourlastkiss: Thank you for reading, reviewing and enjoying!
FairyGirl07: Thanks for being so understanding, I'll have to read your story.
GGluvr1987: That's okay for reviewing late, actually it's not that late considering I'm updating late, so I guess that makes us even. And I've never been that great with technology, we have issues, he says I nag, I say he's lazy!
RavensWritingProphecies: Ohh, maybe! You'll have to keep your eyes peeled for that one! But I doubt I'll kill Logan, too much backlash, plus I only just got out!… uh, no, that's not true, I have absolutely no criminal tendencies at all and have never done time for the things I could have done if I did have such tendencies… I'm weird and I know it!
The chapter is for the kiddies starting school today. I know I've already dedicated a chapter to them, but as a uni student, it is my duty to point and laugh at them while I relax in another month of holidays…
Chapter 13Life was a see-saw, not a roller-coaster. On a roller-coaster, at the very least, you had the slow build before you are hurtling back down again, but on a see-saw, it's just one up, one down after another, you don't see it coming. One moment life seems perfect, and no matter how hard everything seems, you know you'll be all right. In the next second, you loose everything and everything seems hopeless. Reality was a dish best served never.
She had lost Logan, there was no way he would come to her and give her another chance. She had run out of chances with him when she had walked out of his dorm room and she was not going to grovel at his feet, even after everything she had been through, she wasn't going to give up her last shred of dignity. Her mother was a different matter, she needed Lorelai, even if she kept pushing Rory away.
Rejection was the bitterest pill. First Logan, then Lorelai. There was only one person left to complete the odd trifecta, but still Rory hoped that he might give her another chance. They had parted with bitter words and she had treated him harshly without reason, but he was all she had left and she needed all the hope she could get. And that was why she now stood in the middle of a bustling courtyard, filled with students ambling through the Saturday afternoon, so familiar and yet so different, staring apprehensively at the entrance to Lockwood College.
Beyond the heavy double doors, inside room 261, was the other man. Tristan Du Gray. He had changed so much since Chilton, gone was the arrogant, smirking boy, replaced by a world-weary man, and hopefully more forgiving too. Or at least that was all she could think of as she had made her way from Yale to Stanford.
"Hello?" someone called out to Rory, startling her out her thoughts, "Can I help you? You seem a little lost."
Rory turned to the speaker, a young man about her own age, with light brown hair, sticking out in all directions, dressed in a very Colin outfit, tan trousers and a sky blue polo that set off his eyes, which seemingly twinkled with a life of their own.
"Ugh," Rory made an incoherent sound, cursing her extensive and expensively obtained vocabulary for failing her at that moment.
"Oh Will, you've scared the poor girl," someone else cried, a young woman, giving 'Will' a healthy punch in the arm.
Rory examined the pair that had taken up residence a little to her left. Will, the guy who had spoken to her first, stared at her expectantly. The girl looked like a female version of Will, same hair cut pixie style and blue eyes, she wore jeans and sweater yet she looked a million dollars.
"Excuse Will's lack of subtlety," she said turning to Rory, "My little brother skipped etiquette classes to go chase sewer rats."
"Do you have to keep reminding me, I'm only younger by two minutes?" Will retorted, "And Angie was not a 'sewer rat' she was just very comfortable in her own skin."
"And very comfortable with greasy hair and not showering for weeks."
"Not everybody's skin deep like you."
"Or in Angie's case, dirt deep," she fired back at him, "Anyway, as I was saying, I'm sorry if Will startled you, most of the time we just tolerate his presence. But he is right, you do look a little lost, maybe we can help you."
"I'm fi – " Rory was about to explain that she wasn't actually lost and didn't need help, at least not their's when another voice interrupted them.
"Oh my god, Rory Gilmore!" someone near-shrieked, pulling her into a bear hug.
"Uh hi," Rory replied weakly, staring shocked at the girl who had accosted her.
"I'm Kate Henderson," the girl explained, still not letting Rory go, "From that party in Florida?"
"Of course I remember," Rory squeezed out, "Hi. A little oxygen?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Kate said, immediately releasing Rory from her death grip, for a slight girl, she had a lot of strength.
"I'm surprised you remember me," Rory exclaimed, when feeling returned to her extremities.
"I never forget anyone who is nice to me," Kate told her, with a grin, "So what brings you to Stanford, I thought you were at Yale?"
"I'm visiting an old friend," Rory replied vaguely.
"No way, I'm actually visiting a friend too," Kate exclaimed excitedly, "Actually she's standing right there."
She waved a hand to the two who had spoken to Rory just before, the girl gave a cheerful wave back and bright smile.
"Rory, I want you to meet one of my newest friends," Kate said, dragging Rory closer to the other girl, "We're going to be working together on my next film. Rory Gilmore meet Ivory Lancaster."
Everyone beamed at Rory and she wasn't sure whether it was due to the brightness of their smiles or the fact she was standing in front of Tristan's girlfriend, but she suddenly felt incredibly light-hearted.
"Ivory Lancaster?" she repeated dumbly, eyes wide with shock.
"It seems we've run into another one of your fans," Will commented dryly, misinterpreting the reason for her reaction.
"Call me Ivy, all my friends do," Ivory exclaimed, ignoring her brother and giving Rory a winning smile, "Just don't ask me to sign anything embarrassing."
"You're such a prude," Kate declared, "Last week some guy asked me to autograph his you-know-what."
"You didn't!" gasped Ivory, shocked.
"I didn't," Kate conceded, "Brad told the guy some story about some guy who's well-you-know-what fell off because of the chemicals in permanent markers."
"It's not true, is it?" Will asked, looking seriously afraid, he winked at Rory conspiratorially.
"That is a complete over share, William Lancaster, I did not need to know that," Ivory punched him in the arm again.
"So, Rory you were saying you were visiting a friend," Will not-so-subtly changed the subject, "Maybe we can help you find her… or him."
"Actually I know where he is… he lives in there," she nodded toward the building they were standing in front of.
"No way!" Ivory exclaimed excitedly, "So does my boyfriend. Maybe they know each other."
"Maybe," Rory agreed, with a weak smile.
"You're still with Tristan right?" Kate asked, turning to Ivory.
"Yes, we are," Ivory replied with a contented smile.
"Oh please, don't get her started," Will groaned, "Or for the rest of the day, all you're going to hear is how wonderful Tristan is."
"Can't you just be happy for me?" Ivory exclaimed, glaring at her brother.
Will and Ivory started to bicker, with Kate acting as the peanut gallery while Rory considered her options. She could somehow ditch the three of them and go find Tristan but she would run the risk of bumping into Ivory again and that would be an awkward meeting, to say the least. Alternatively, she could tell Ivory she was meeting Tristan, awkward now, but significantly less so in the long term.
"Did you say Tristan?" Rory interrupted the siblings, choosing option B.
"Yes," Ivory confirmed, confused.
"Tristan Du Gray?" Rory clarified.
"How'd you know?" Will asked, curious.
"That's who I'm visiting!" she pretended that it was the most exciting thing that had happened in her life.
"No way! That's so crazy, but cool," Ivory laughed, "Tristan didn't mention you were coming."
"No, it's kind of like a surprise," Rory answered, continuing to feign happiness.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Ivory asked, she didn't wait for an answer, linking her arm through Rory's, she practically dragged her toward the building, where Tristan lived.
--
It was spinning, too fast and too far, out of her control. She needed to stop and take a moment to collect her thoughts. The unexpected encounter with Tristan's girlfriend had turned all of her carefully thought out plans upside down. She wanted to hate Ivory Lancaster, but she just couldn't. Not only was she completely gorgeous, in a refreshing, make-up free way, she seemed genuinely nice and considering she was at Stanford, she had to be smart too. Ivory Lancaster was the whole perfect package and they were of completely different calibres.
"So, how do you know Tristan?" Will asked, as the foursome trouped through the dorm.
"We went to Chilton together for a while."
"Like you and Brad?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, like Brad and I," Rory nodded.
But not quite, she thought to herself, Brad never tried to ask her out. He didn't turn every sentence into an innuendo and she never told him she hated him. He never called her 'Mary' and she never felt exhausted just speaking to him. He never picked fights with her boyfriend and they never kissed.
"Chilton sure has an extensive alumni network," Kate mused.
As they reached suite 261, Rory started to panic. Tristan was bound to have a heart attack, seeing her and his girlfriend standing together like this. She desperately tried to think of an excuse as they rounded a corner. But it was too late…
"Suite 261," Ivory announced, reaching Tristan's suite, she knocked on the door, tapping out a rhythm.
A moment later, the door swung open and Rory held her breath.
"You're not the pizza guy," an Asian-looking guy answered the door, glaring at them, disgruntled.
"You say that every time, Chris," Ivory laughed, squeezing passed him and into the room, You need new material."
"Yes, but I'd be wasting it on you, you're Du Gray's girl," Chris answered with a friendly smile, "And I see you've brought an entourage, the brother and two hot chicks. Either of you available and looking for the time of your life?"
He eyed Rory and Kate expectantly.
"Oh, shove off, you know I have Brad," Kate grinned, "And leave Rory alone, she's much too good for you."
"But Will's available, if you're up for it," Ivory offered, jokingly.
"Hey!" Will exclaimed, annoyed.
"Anyway, is Tristan around?" Ivory asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah, I think he's having a shower," Chris answered, "Make yourselves at home, he'll be out in a bit."
He left them to their own devices in the middle of the lounge room, which looked just like any other college student suite, except maybe a bit more spacious and expensive, and the books. They had drawn Rory's attention the minute she had stepped into the room. It seemed that every available space was a bookshelf and every available bookshelf was crammed with a countless number of books.
"They're Tristan's," Ivory explained, following Rory's gaze, "He loves books, they are like a drug to him."
Standing in his dorm room, beside his girlfriend, looking at all those books filled her with mixed feelings. Anxiousness, knowing that any second Tristan would walk into the room Jealousy of Tristan and Ivory, why did everyone have to keep reminding her that the two of them were 'wonderful' together.
--
The look on his face was priceless. Immediate happiness at the sight of Ivory couple with shock directed at Rory and finally suspicion seeing Ivory and Rory in the same room at the same time. Rory found herself swallowing hard, partly out of nervousness and partly because Tristan stood in front of her, his blonde hair darkened with water that dripped down his bare chest, he obviously worked out.
"Look who I stumbled across?" Ivory exclaimed, greeting Tristan with a chaste kiss on his cheek, as he hurriedly pulled on a shirt, "We found her in the courtyard outside, "Tristan, do you remember Rory Gilmore? She went to Chilton with you."
"Yes, I do remember," he gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he glanced from his girlfriend to Rory and back.
"Actually we bumped into each other last weekend at my grandparents' house," Rory added hastily.
"And, Trist," Ivory continued unfazed, "I want you to meet Kate Henderson. Kate, Tristan."
"I've heard a lot about you," Kate smiled warmly, "My boyfriend went to Chilton too, Brad Langford."
"Whatever he says is not true," Tristan joked, avoiding Rory's open stare.
"According to Brad, you were quite the player," Kate continued with a sly smile.
"Not any more," Ivory replied, looking fondly up at her boyfriend, "Tristan is an absolute sweetheart, I couldn't be happier."
"Man, you're letting the team down," Will groaned jokingly glaring at Tristan, "It's impossible to get a girl now, all they want are guys just like you."
"Maybe if you spent less time planning how to sleep with the girl and more time being sweet and romantic," Ivory sighed, rolling her eyes at her brother, "Anyway, every girl deserves to be treated like a princess, and guys like Tristan know that."
"Rory, what happened with you and your boyfriend," Kate asked, breaking up the sibling rivalry.
"We broke up," Rory replied softly, she could feel Tristan's eyes on her, but she looked away purposefully.
"Oh, hon," Kate sighed sympathetically.
"Things didn't work out," Rory explained vaguely.
"Then he's not worth it," Ivory comforted.
"Anyway, I should get going, I promised some of the guys I'd help them move some stuff," Will interrupted, glancing at his watch, "Tristan, see you around, later Kate, Rory."
"Hey, what about me?" Ivory exclaimed.
"Bye, chicken," Will waved.
"I'm not a chicken!"
"You've got chicken legs, close enough," Will shrugged, opening the door.
"I don't have chicken legs. Tristan tell Will I don't have chicken legs."
"She doesn't have chicken legs," Tristan repeated with a smirk, the dutiful boyfriend.
"Whatever," Will replied, letting himself out.
"So anyway, Kate and I were going to hit the shops," Ivory said, turning to Tristan, "And you did promise to come with us."
"What about Rory?" Kate asked.
"Oh, she can come with us," Ivory decided.
"She can?"
"I can?" Tristan and Rory spoke at the same time.
Tristan shot Rory a look, too quick for her to decipher.
"Oh course you can," Ivory nodded with a warm smile, "We can't leave you by yourself, that wouldn't be fair."
"I guess," Rory replied uncertainly.
"And you two probably want to catch up too," Ivory added.
"More the merrier," Kate concluded.
And with the decision made, they trouped back out. Ivory and Kate leading the way, Tristan trailing after them and Rory caught in the middle.
--
Shopping was something that females seemed genetically programmed to enjoy and that's what Rory put it down to when she discovered, much to her surprise, that she was having fun, despite the fact she was out with Tristan and his girlfriend. Thankfully, Tristan and Ivory weren't particularly into public displays of affection, just occasional handholding. She told herself there was nothing wrong with her as she found herself watching the couple more and more, wanting desperately to see cracks beneath their photogenic, very-much-in-love exterior, but to her dismay, there was no apparent tension.
They didn't finish each other's sentences, at least not most of them. Nor did they call each other sickeningly sweet nicknames like pooh-bear and shnookums, just 'Trist' and 'Ivy'. On the other hand, Tristan did hold doors open and pull chairs out for Ivory and carried all her bags. And Ivory did spend half the time smiling dreamily at him.
"All that shopping has made me hungry," Kate announced, literally stumbling into Tristan's convertible that had been their mode of transport.
"There's a new Italian place I want to check out," Ivory replied, as she stepped more gracefully into the car.
"Near the corner of Harvest and Manning?" Tristan clarified.
"Mhmm," Ivory nodded.
"What about you, Rory?" Kate asked turning Rory.
"I'm not fussed," she replied diplomatically.
"Italian it is," finalised Tristan, starting the car.
The whole trip seemed surreal. Rory hadn't come to Stanford with the intention of shopping and all the shops that the other two girls ventured into had been way out of her budget, but Kate, Ivory and even Tristan had somehow convinced her to let them pay. Between the three of them, they had bought her new shoes, dresses and jewellery. And she would be happy except that with each passing second she grew more and more aware that she and Tristan hadn't been able to talk.
--
All day, he watched her from the corner of his eyes, wondering what exactly she was doing there. Each time Ivory held his hand or kissed him, however innocently, he was all too aware of her presence, just behind them. She looked good considering, but underneath her calm façade, he could sense her strain, her smiles were anxious and failed to reach her eyes. And the tension that stretched between them was thick and oppressive, but somehow neither his girlfriend nor her friend, Kate, noticed any of it.
--
As they were being seated for dinner, Kate received a call from Brad, he had flown down for a surprise visit and Kate left them, literally glowing at the prospect of seeing her boyfriend again. In fact the evening was interrupted twice by phone calls, just as dessert was being brought out another phone buzzed, just loudly enough for them to notice. They scrounged around for a second, trying to locate the source. Finally Ivory pulled her sleek, metallic pink mobile phone out, it continued to vibrate in her hand.
"Please don't be work, please don't be work," Ivory repeated to herself, as she flipped it open, "Hello?"
There was a pause as Ivory listened to the person on the other end, after a while she frowned then grimaced.
"Tonight?" she asked, pulling a face, "Oh fine, Leanne, I'll be there… You'll have to pick me up… Harvest and Manning… yes, that's the one… you'll be here in five? Okay I'll see you then."
She snapped the phone shut before looking up apologetically at them.
"Tristan, I'm so sorry, but Leanne wants me to come in," she explained, "The film from the last shoot messed up – I don't know – anyway, I have to go. I'll call you. And Rory, I'm really sorry about this, it was really nice meeting you. You and Tristan should finish your dinner, catch up, what not."
Tristan stood as Ivory gathered her things, after a quick, chaste kiss, Ivory was gone in a graceful blur, leaving behind a slight hint of expensive perfume.
"Rory, what the hell are you doing here?" Tristan hissed as soon as Ivory was out of earshot, he had been slowly burning with anxiousness to know the nature of her visit.
"I needed to talk to you," she began nervously, they were finally alone and suddenly she wanted Ivory to come back.
"We talked, we argued. What else is there left to do?" Tristan demanded, he ran a hand through his hair, partly out of frustration, partly because he was nervous too.
"She's really nice," Rory said, after a moment, "I can see why you like her."
"Ivory?"
"Yes."
"I don't want to talk about Ivory with you."
"Why not?" Rory asked hotly.
"Because," Tristan replied stubbornly, "Because it's weird and uncomfortable."
"Fine, what do you want to talk about?"
"How about, why did you come to Stanford?" prompted Tristan, Rory couldn't miss the edge in his tone.
"Logan wants me to get an abortion," Rory replied, matter-of-fact, "And my mother won't return any my calls."
"So I'm your last resort?"
"No, I want you to tell me exactly where you stand."
"What do you mean? I've already told you, it's up to you. I won't tell you what to do."
"You obviously haven't told Ivory anything. When will you? Or are you ever going to? What if you are the father? Will you leave her?" the questions rushed out of her.
"I don't know," Tristan admitted, "Rory, I have no idea what to do, okay? What if I'm not the father? What if I break up with Ivory and you go through with the pregnancy and it turns out Logan's the father and the two of you get back together? Where does that leave me? Ivory won't take me back."
"You don't know that," Rory replied, "She seems to be really understanding."
"Ivory doesn't believe in premarital sex. She knows about my past and that I was never the poster boy for abstinence. She's accepted that, but if she finds this out, it's over."
"Tristan – " Rory started.
"And I don't want it to be over," Tristan continued as if she had never spoken, "It's taken me my whole life to find someone like Ivory and I'm not ready to let that go yet. She let's me be myself and I need that. She's not after my name or my money."
"So, you'll marry her?"
"I don't know, we've only been going out for weeks, not months, but so far, it's perfect, okay?"
"Arabelle thinks you'll get married."
"Of course she does," replied Tristan, there was a hint of weary, bitterness in his tone, "She lives in a world of books and she's plotting a fairy tale complete with a fair maiden and a prince and she's cast Ivory and I in the roles. I'm more of a parent to Arabelle than either of her biological parents. And she and Ivory get along well, they go to movies and shopping and hang out."
"Okay," Rory replied softly.
"Okay, what?"
"That's what I came here to find out and now I know," Rory explained, "So thank you."
Standing, she left the restaurant in a daze, not even waiting for Tristan's reaction. It wasn't until she was in a taxi half way to the airport did she realise she had left Tristan with the bill and all her shopping bags. And it was this seemingly unrelated fact that made her burst into tears, startling the taxi-driver.
--
She returned to Yale, with a heavier heart than which she had left with. Sluggishly she made her way to her suite. The campus was, for the most part, quiet and empty, but distantly she could hear people stumbling home from late night activities. Suddenly a group of people, in varying states of inebriation rushed passed her. But even in the few moments she was surrounded, she still felt completely alone, she had run out of people to turn to. Unlocking the door, she stepped into the room to be greeted with the sight of Paris watching television on mute.
"Rory, hi," Paris greeted her cautiously, her tone full of worry.
"Hey, Paris," answered Rory wearily.
"So you went to Stanford," Paris prompted, she waved the little note Rory had left on Paris' dresser explaining her sudden disappearance.
"Yeah," Rory nodded she folded herself onto the sofa, clutching a cushion, "Since Logan made it pretty clear that he wanted me to have an abortion, I needed to know exactly what Tristan's position was."
"Did you find out?"
"I guess… I met his girlfriend," Rory admitted.
"No!" Paris gasped.
"Yeah," Rory grimaced, "And she's like the perfect girl. She's a model, swimwear, studying part-time at Stanford, ecology or something. And she does heaps of charity work."
"Oh, Rory," Paris sighed sympathetically.
"And they are really perfect for each other. There I was, having dinner with America's sweethearts."
"You had dinner with them?"
"We went shopping and then had dinner… Ivory, the girlfriend, invited me! I mean what kind of girlfriend invites another girl to spend the day with her boyfriend?"
"A romantic day?" Paris frowned.
"No, there were other people there, but still. She's got to be the nicest, most generous person I've ever met, she would literally give the clothes off her own back. And what's worse is you can't hate her."
"So you and Tristan didn't get to talk at all?"
"Only briefly and I could tell, he really likes Ivory and I'm pretty much alone in this."
"No," Paris murmured softly.
"Seeing them together like that, I was happy for them. Just like everyone says, they are special… and I was kind of jealous."
"You'll find that special someone too," Paris comforted her, showing more compassion than most people expected her to.
"I hope so," Rory replied quietly, "What are you watching?"
"Huh?" Paris started at the sudden change in topic, taking a moment to realise Rory was talking about the television, "Oh, some random foreign language soapie."
Rory raised an eyebrow quizzically, since when did Paris watch soapies?
"I was watching the home shopping channel, but the woman was doing this really annoying head-tilting thing when she was speaking and I couldn't bear it any longer," Paris explained, "My other choices were an obscure sport, if you could call it that, from the other side of the world. One of those 'family' movies where the parents are about to get divorced and then the kid gets cancer and they all live in this perfect suburb in upper middle class America with a dog, a cat and white picket fence. Or lesbian porn, which contrary to the reputation I got after that one time on spring break, I have not interest in."
"So foreign language soapie."
"Without subtitles."
"Really living on the edge there, Paris."
"Actually it's really interesting," Paris responded, completely missing Rory's sarcasm, "Marcos, the one with the crazy hair, half mullet, half mohawk, is dating Esther, the one in the hot-pink halter, who's half sister's father is actually Marcos' step-brother's long, lost father. And the father is suing Marcos's bestfriend's mother because she allegedly assaulted his new wife who was childhood playmates with Esther, but actually the new wife is pregnant with Marcos' baby, but no one knows that yet."
"It's Logan," Rory declared suddenly.
"What?"
"Logan is the father," Rory clarified.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," answered Rory sadly.
"Just like that, you know who is and isn't the father when just before you had no idea?"
"I'm sure," Rory replied firmly, "Logan has to be the father."
"Are you sure this isn't because you met Tristan's girlfriend?" questioned Paris.
"No, it's got nothing to do with them," Rory answered, sounding defensive.
"How can you be certain? I know you saw Tristan and his girlfriend together and they were 'wonderful' and it's selfless of you to want them to be happy, but…"
"I know for certain. I worked it all out. When I got back from New York, somehow, the pill I was supposed to take that day got lost in all the travelling. There is now way I could have gotten pregnant with Tristan, but Logan on the other hand…"
"Rory, I know what you're thinking. You think Tristan and you have no chance, which leaves Logan so now you're trying to convince yourself that Logan has to be the father."
"No!" Rory replied forcefully.
"Yes, Rory," Paris nodded sadly, "And who cares what they say. Tristan can have all the girlfriends in the world and Logan can have an abortion himself, but this is your decision, no matter what they say or do. And if Logan doesn't want to support you and Tristan doesn't want to leave his girl friend, screw them! You have me, and Lorelai, even if the two of you aren't speaking to each other, and we all care about, more than any boyfriend can."
"Thanks, Paris," Rory smiled sadly.
"If there's anything you need…"
"A hug?" Rory asked weakly.
Paris, ever the industrious, never-do-anything-in-halves kind of person, pulled Rory into a bear hug, proving that size did not equal strength.
"We should get some sleep now," Paris said as they pulled apart, "It's been a long day, night."
They parted, each going about their own sleep rituals. It wasn't until she was finally alone, lying there in the cold early morning light did Rory start considering her options.
--
AN: That one took a long time to write up! I have never been to Stanford, so I don't know what kind of proximity it has to any shopping complexes or the corner of Harvest and Manning, so I pretty much made that up. If by some crazy fluke I got even part of that right, let me know, so I can bask in my sporadic psychic ability… as per usual, I implore you to press the magic blue button and send me a review! Oh, and I have another story up, Kiss the Sun, check it out!