Author's Note: Thank you to all of the reviewers, those reviews meant the world to me. I would like to thank Nate for his support on this chapter and Raven for being hard on me to help me get the best chapter possible.
With that, I hope you like enjoy it.
Didi

It Doesn't Matter
Chapter 2: I Know Somewhere You Are Dreaming Though it's Definitely Not of Me

Rory had been sitting in her car in front of the DuGrey manor for what could be perceived as the past couple of hours. From Rory's point of view, it could have been more called castle than manor, but that was beside the point. She was still trying to get the inner strength to ring the bell at the front gate for someone to acknowledge her presence. She would definitely have to do it soon by the tardiness of the hour. Knowing that she still didn't get the vigor to do it and that she would probably cower in her car again tonight; she started the engine of her car and drove away, to the nearest motel where she'd been residing for the previous nights.

Lorelai came inside the house, exhausted like she had been for the subsequent three nights; she slumped down on the couch. Luke joined her almost immediately with a cup of coffee that he offered her instantly. He asked, "So?"

Lorelai sipped the coffee, whispered, "She was alone. She didn't look sad or happy."

Luke looked at his fatigued girlfriend and asked, "Do you want me to go follow her in the morning?"

Hopeful eyes met Luke's, "I wish but what about the Diner? What if she needs me?"

Luke held Lorelai in his arms, "Caesar will open and take over until I come back; if she needs you, you'll be just a phone call away."

She relaxed in his embrace, "I'm not sure about that."

Rory woke up from a dreamless sleep, took a quick shower, dressed hurriedly and ran to the vending machines at the end of the hall. She bought a pack of Twinkies and watched as the machine brewed her three large cups of coffee. She gathered her breakfast and left the motel after she checked out, well aware that her credit card wouldn't have enough credit left for another night.

Rory parked in front of the DuGrey manor, unaware of the pick-up that was parked a street behind. She started to drink one of her coffees, tore open the Twinkies wrapper, and started to eat.

After eating her breakfast, she leaned back against her seat, watching the manor as she drank her last cup of coffee. She closed her eyes feeling desperate; knowing that she didn't have many options for the night coming up. She closed her eyes, wondering what she'd do; certain that she would still not have the courage to ask Tristan for refuge, she had three options left; either she asked her grandparents for help, go back home or sleep in the car, so much for good options left. The soft music diffused by the radio lured her to sleep as she contemplated her options.

Rory knocked on the front door a young maid opened the door welcoming her, "Miss Gilmore! What a pleasure!" The door opened wider for Rory to step inside. "Are you here to see Tristan?"

Rory smiled widely, "Of course."

The maid looked apologetically, "I'm so sorry, he is not here right now. But he should be here soon. Do you want to wait for him? Or should I relate a message?"

She smiled brightly, "Oh, I wanted to go check something at the library, tell him I'll wait for him at Chilton."

"Don't worry Miss. Gil…"

A soft knock on the window woke Rory up. Startled, she pressed the button to slide the glass pane down. She saw a middle aged, mysterious man bending over her window. With all the manners he was trained to have, he asked softly, "Are you alright m'lady?"

Rory rubbed her eyes, not certain of the way to answer the strange-mannered man. She looked at the clock over her radio, and realized that the afternoon was almost over. A grunt from her stomach was heard. She blushed slightly, "No, everything's fine, thank you."

She was about to close her window but the man put both of his hands on the frame, preventing her from doing so. He scrutinized her and Rory shifted lower on her seat, feeling more uncomfortable as the man kept silent. As she glanced at the middle aged man, he started to talk again, his voice cold this time, "I'm afraid I need more explanations than that."

Rory looked around frantically, trying to find something that would help her get away, seeing nothing, she replied with a shaky voice, "I don't know what you are talking about."

As she looked into the cold black eyes of the man with the stoic face, she felt shivers run over her body. She saw a cold and fake smile forming on the man's lips, "Then I'm afraid I'll have to call the authorities. You've been parked here, not really discreetly I might add, for the last three days; For all I know you're a private eye trying to dig up some old dirt on my employers. You were probably registering the incoming and outgoings of the mansion. Now, do you have something to tell me?"

Rory felt trapped and as panic started to rise, she leaned over the passenger's seat to retrieve her pack of cigarettes. She lit one up before she whispered, "I wasn't… I just." Not knowing how to explain her cause without being utterly humiliated, she breathed out, "I just came looking for help."

The man raised an eyebrow, intimidating her the best way he knew, observing her as she lowered herself deeper in her seat. As if on cue, he said, "Smoking will kill you." Then with a smirk he added, "If not something else before." He registered the fright in her eyes and enjoyed every moment of it. "If you were seeking help, why didn't you ring at the gate?"

She saw the goose bumps formed on her arms and stammered, "I'm sorry. I won't come here again, ever." The hands stayed still on her window frame, she added, "I'm sorry." The man still stared at her with a penetrating gaze colder than ice; she felt a tear escape her eyes. "I'll just leave."

As she was about to belt herself up the man held her higher hand, "I would strongly suggest that you leave me a message for whomever you wanted to talk to in this mansion." He grinned and somehow Rory felt more shivers approach. "Or I won't second guess calling authorities…" He leaned close to her as if conspiring and whispered, "I have a perfect description of your car and license plate." His grin widened as he stood up straight, "Have a message for me?"

Not knowing what to answer, Rory blurted out, "I wanted to gather the courage to ask for Tristan but I couldn't." A couple of tears fell down her face, "but I didn't because I know he wouldn't care."

His stoic face softening to become almost caring, he put a hand on her shoulder, softly massaging it, "What would be the message that I should give my young Master?"

Rory looked at the man, "I don't know." Seeing his face hardening, she whimpered thinking of the dream she just escaped, "I'll wait for him at Chilton."

The stoic man's hand left her shoulders and the window frame, his features and voice becoming amicable, "Then I will bid you a good evening young lady. I will relate the message and hopefully," The man's voice changed once again, this time threatening, "we will never meet under such circumstances."

Rory nodded her head, uncertain of the way her words would come out. She sped away, watching in her rear window as the stoic man watched her car but remained by the gate unmoving.

Lorelai got home late that night, Luke waited for her patiently while watching the baseball game. He clicked the TV off as she slumped down on the couch beside him. She rested her head on his shoulder as his arms surrounded her. She closed her eyes and heard, "She still went back to the same hotel?"

She breathed deeply, "I don't know, I was too tired to go check." Then she raised her eyes to meet his, "Actually, I didn't see the time pass and when I realized what time it was, I decided to come here instead." Upon seeing Luke's stunned expression, she added, "I'm tired Luke, I know her online banking password, I'll check it tomorrow. I'll see where she used her credit card instead of burning myself to death by following her." The astonished expression on Luke's face made her say, "I just can't do it anymore. I love her, but I have a business to run as you do. I know she has a lot to deal with, but she wants to do it alone."

Luke kissed Lorelai tenderly, "Have you thought about eating tonight?"

Lorelai whispered against his neck, "I forgot."

Luke stood up, took her hand and forced her up, "Well, I'll make you something, then you'll take some much deserved sleep."

Lorelai followed Luke into the kitchen, slumped down on a chair while Luke opened the refrigerator, "How about an omelet?"

Her head rested on the table and she muttered, "Anything would be fine."

Luke started to break the shells of the eggs, "So, do you want to talk about why she ran away?"

A sad smile escaped her lips, "Not anymore than I did yesterday." Seeing the rejected look on his face, she muttered, "It's just not my secret to share." She closed her eyes.

Luke stayed quiet, processing the best way to help Lorelai and Rory while focusing on cooking for Lorelai. He placed the cooked omelet on a dish, turned to give it to Lorelai only to find her fast asleep on the table. He left the dish on the counter and gathered Lorelai in his arms. As he saw her eyes flicker open, he whispered, "Shush, close your eyes, I'll get you to your bed." Her head fell from exhaustion on his shoulder as he started to walk toward her room.

Rory was looking at the stars, lying on a bench just outside the school that had meant so much to her for so long. She had seen the sunset, the moon rise; the stars flicker in the sky. Now the sky was a deep shade of blue, and the weather was dropping sending shivers to her fragile body. She sighed deeply as she realized that Tristan wouldn't come at this late hour. She laughed softly, sadness surrounding her. She didn't have many options anymore. Paris being in London for the summer, Lane being on tour with her band for the remainder of the month, her grandparents were out of the question as well as going back to Stars Hollow. She wasn't ready yet. She had three options left, sleeping there on the bench, finding a shelter or spending the night in her car.

She retrieved her last cigarette, savoring each drag as she curled on the bench to stay warm. Her eyelids becoming heavier, she murmured, "somewhere, you must be dreaming, thought it's definitely not of me."

The vision in front of him was as always, breathtaking. Rory read a book as she sat comfortably on a bench as students strolled by her unnoticing her. A small kiss on her neck broke her concentration. She hurriedly stood up to welcome the new comer with a warm smile. "Well, sure took you a while to join me."

She was met by a grin over full lips that captured hers in a passionate kiss. "I always knew you wouldn't be able to resist me much longer."

He felt her slap him playfully on the arm, "You're so full of yourself."

"And that's why you find me irresistible." He kissed her again bringing her closer at the same time. He let go of her lips to look into her eyes, "Can't we go some place where would be alone?"

He saw his hand grabbed by Rory's and as he raised his gaze, Rory smiled as she brought him along with her. "Come on big boy!" She stopped on her tracks as she felt a resistance on his part. He watched her walk back to him, snuggle close to him and heard her breathe in his ear, "You know I love you right?" He nodded his head, "But I want us to do other things also." He followed her as she walked toward the parking lot excitedly, "Hurry up Tristan! You promised you'd bring me to the fair!"

He heard his own voice grumbled, "Hopefully, we'll get stuck on top of the Ferris Wheel..."

Tristan was slowly waking up haunted by remaining visions of his dream where Rory Gilmore held his hand and talked frantically about something the he had already forgotten about. He felt a warm body beside him and without opening his eyes; he brought the warm body closer to his before the fog of his dreams could dissipate. The body close to his shifted slightly to kiss him softly. He opened his eyes, certain that he would be met by luminous blue eyes and he murmured "Mary" only to be met by angry emerald eyes.

The woman climbed out of the bed, unashamed of displaying her perfectly shaped and naked body. She searched hurriedly for her discarded clothes while trying to look unaffected.

Tristan watched the fury of the dirty blonde as she dressed hurriedly feeling that he should somehow apologize to her. Unable to do so, he dressed as well and waited for her to be fully clothed.

Without a glance in Tristan's direction, she opened the door and left the room. Tristan ran behind her and climbed down the stairs three by three. He joined her on the threshold, grabbed her wrist and pleaded, "Melissa, wait. I can explain."

She faced him but her gaze averted his eyes. She stayed silent and immobile, waiting for him to say something. Instead of talking, he kissed her forcefully, backing her up against the door frame. When he broke the contact, he saw tears glistering in her eyes, "I thought I meant something to you."

Tristan let go of her and raised an eyebrow questioningly trying to refrain from the laughter that wanted to escape.

She leaned her back resting against the wall, "It's just, you know, I thought you and I would be great together. We have so much in common."

Tristan hid his laughter behind a fit of coughing, his eyes watering under the pressure. He tried to make her stop talking by calling her name, "Alyssa," which was undoubtedly wrong but that didn't stop her.

She continued, "I was already seeing myself moving in with you but no." She whipped her face unseeing Tristan's amused appearance, "And this morning you call me Mary." She looked at Tristan and asked hysterically, "Who is this Mary?"

Tristan started to laugh, unbelieving how ditzy this girl was. He regained control and said, "Now, calm down Vanessa."

She looked at him, her eyes glaring daggers at him, "How can I? You don't even remember my name! Clarissa!"

He chuckled, "And you thought that I would marry you?" He gave her a pitied glance, "We've know each other for what? Two days?"

Offended, she replied, "Three days!"

Tristan became serious, took his wallet out, "Well, here is something for you to remember me by." He dropped three hundred dollar bills on the porch, walked back inside the house and slammed the door behind him. He muttered, "Unbelievable."

"What is it young master?" The stoic man waiting by the stairs said but added before Tristan could say something "Wasn't that a little harsh?"

Tristan laughed, "She'll get over it. They always do somehow." He began to climb up the stairs, "I'll be taking a shower, Geoffrey. If Issa-something calls, tell her I left the country."

Geoffrey picked on his nails, "I will, but I should also tell you that another lady is looking for you."

Tristan sat on the step, "It can't be. No woman that could be called a lady would look for me." He grinned, "They would most probably be called money magnets or something along the line."

Geoffrey glared at Tristan, "Well, this one certainly wasn't looking like your usual type of 'woman' if you get my meaning, a lot less make up and more clothing. She stayed in her car in front of the house for three days… I've sent her away."

Disinterested, Tristan stood up, "Well, we certainly don't need stalkers on top of my 'admirers' do we?. You did a good thing."

He climbed a couple of steps and Geoffrey said, "She did leave a message for you." Tristan stopped, "Very beautiful the little lady but a bit on the thin side. She asked that you meet her at Chilton but she never said when."

Tristan asked coolly, "Did she say her name?"

Geoffrey shrugged, "No, but I didn't care to ask, knowing how well you remember names."

Tristan was in the shower and felt the hot water dripping on his skin. Somehow, it wasn't as relaxing as usual. Something was bugging him, was it the dream? He didn't even remember the details; all he knew was that Rory was in it. He couldn't understand why he dreamt of her, he had gotten rid of his addiction to her shortly after he had been transferred to military school. After he finished washing, instead of lingering in the shower like he usually did, he came out.

The club lights reflected on the dance floor and sometimes hit the sitting attendees. Tristan left the table in the shadowy corner where he had sat bored out of his mind as his friends rated women on a scale from one to ten to go get another drink. Before he reached the bar, a short beautiful brunette with blue eyes and short dark hair wrapped her arms around him. "Tristan! It's been so long."

He held her back mostly to steady her drunken steps and answered back, "It's good to see you too… hummm… it's been too long."

Happy with his response, the girl kissed him. He held her closer and kissed her back. Memories invaded his head, of another girl in another place. He brushed the memory aside, setting his mind to enjoy whatever that girl had to offer him and pushed her against the bar. Behind the girl's shoulder, he made a motion to the barman who knew his tastes without interrupting kissing the girl. He heard the shot being place on the counter, broke the kiss just long enough to take his shot of Tequila. He closed his eyes as the pretty girl kissed his neck, sucking on it softly and was invaded by a vision of a girl smiling at him with a nearly empty bottle in her hand. He broke the contact feeling dizzy, not wanting Rory to ruin this for him as well, but in the back of his head he heard Geoffrey's voice 'She said she'll wait for you at Chilton.'

He cursed and broke the embrace, gently pushing the girl away. He tried to look apologetic before he muttered, "I'm sorry, there's some place I forgot I needed to be." He left without another word.

He walked over Chilton's ground for the first time after four and a half years. As he walked by the parking, he saw the place where he lost his virginity in the backseat of a car as well as the place when he took many others. He stopped walking and closed his eyes momentarily trying to block any other memories that he might want to forget.

Rory stirred from an uncomfortable sleep as she felt something warm her up. She looked around; trying to figure out what could have awakened her. She squirmed further under the blanket. Her eyes shot open, realizing a jacket was covering her. She shook her surroundings and tried to find a clue of where that jacket had come from. That's when she saw him, comfortably sitting at the other end of the bench, lazily smoking a cigarette. She whispered, "I had lost hope that you would come."

He slowly exhaled the smoke from his lungs while watching the sky. He didn't turn to look at Rory, but asked directly, "Why are you here?" Then he finally glanced in Rory's direction to add, "Or more precisely, why aren't you asleep in the comfort of your bed in that weird little town of yours?"

She blushed when an uncomfortable feeling invaded her. She sat up straight and gave him back the jacket. "I'm sorry, I've bothered you. I don't know what I was thinking." She looked into his eyes, sadness evident in hers, "Thank you coming but I won't bug you any longer."

Rory was about to stand up when Tristan grabbed her wrist, "I came didn't I? What is it that you want from me?"

She pointed to his cigarette, "Can I have a drag?"

He pulled his pack out, retrieved one from her, quirked an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you've waited for me on a bench… just to smoke."

Her cheeks blushed, "No, but it took you so long to get here that I might have forgotten what I wanted."

His head rested over the head of the bench, "You didn't leave your name or a time to meet you. I'm a very busy person." He turned his head a bit to glance at her profile, "I've always knew you liked me but stakeout my house to boot."

He got the reaction he wanted, those furious blues she sent in his direction so many times before, "You're still an insufferable spoiled boy, I see."

Tristan grinned, "Maybe I am, but I'm not the one looking for you."

She blushed furiously, "I did not…" She realized the stupidity of her words as it was exactly what she was doing. Tiredly, she asked, "Why would you care anyway?"

Bluntly, his eyes cold, he told her, "I don't."

Her knees came up against her chest to keep the chills of the night away, "Why did you come then?"

Tristan looked at the sky, "I don't…" instead of finishing his sentence, he stood up, "You came to me. If you changed your mind after spending a whole night waiting on a bench, that's fine with me." He leaned closer to her face, "That is your problem; you wanted something that you don't want anymore, fine." He straightened his body, started to walk away, "Just don't come back tomorrow."

She watched his retreating form, exhaled the smoke in her lungs and figuring she had nothing more to lose, she screamed, "I need a place to stay." Tristan turned around to face her and under his shocked features, she added hurriedly, "Temporarily, a week?"

The sky was slowly turning from night blue to deep blue, Tristan remained rooted on his spot, "I don't know about you Rory, but I'm starving. I'm going for breakfast, feel free to join me." He retreated to his car without a backside glance.

Rory followed Tristan to a small highway restaurant that stayed open 24/7. She sat in front of him but as he finished his order and she remained silent, he asked to have his order for the lady also. They ate in an uncomfortable silence, Tristan waited for her to say something while she hoped he would make the first move.

The waitress stopped at their table and asked in an indifferent tone, "Can't I bring you anything else?"

Tristan eyed Rory before answering, "More coffee please."

The waitress left, leaving Rory to watch him. "Thank you for breakfast."

He lay back lazily, "It was a pleasure to have breakfast with you Rory."

She looked back at him and gave him a sad smile, "But?"

He shrugged, "I'm not sure how much good could come out of having you stay at my house."

She forced herself to sound cheerful, "It's okay, I'll find something else." She forced a smile, tired and ashamed, "Just forget I asked."

Tristan brushed her off, "That's not what I meant Rory." He placed his hand over hers, stroked it softly, "It's just that I think you might have been right the first time around."

She watched his hand and melted under the gentle touch. Her questioning eyes met his, "What do you mean?"

A sad grin on his lips, he whispered, "You wanted nothing to do with me." Then he smirked and winked at Rory, "I would have probably corrupted you."

The pressure on her hand increased as she smiled brightly but her humor never reached her eyes, "Funny how life turns out sometimes." Her smile disappeared as her gaze became vague, "The people you trust the most are sometimes the most unworthy of your trust."

Tristan felt uncomfortable, uncertain of where she was going with that, with his free hand he forced her to look into his eyes, "What are you expecting from me exactly?" He saw the cloud of confusion in her eyes, "If I bring you home with me? What do you want to be?" She blushed and averted her eyes, "Because I don't think you would like to be considered as my new flavor."

Rory retreated from his hold, hurt in her eyes soon replaced by sadness. Sarcastically she muttered, "Could never let that happen."

Tristan quirked an eyebrow amused, "Has little Mary became wilder into rebellion than I thought?"

Rory diverted her eyes, ashamed to have let that out, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He smiled brightly, "Well, now I do have a week with you under my roof, I'll be able to find out." He winked as she grumbled something incoherently.

Her eyes hopeful, she asked, "Really? You'll let me have a room?"

He smirked deviously, "Yes, but not just any room." He leaned over the table in a slow motion, "I'll let you share my room."

Rory blanched, "I can't… I don't… We can't…"

His grinned at Rory before he kissed her softly, "Relax, it's just a week." He stood up, took his wallet out, brought a couple of twenties that he discarded on the table, held out his hand to help Rory up.

Rory glanced at the offered hand, "I… It's not the…" She looked away, "I can't be your plaything Tristan."

He chuckled, "Come on Rory, I'm not asking you to sleep with me and I certainly won't force you but I won't make any promises not to try and seduce you." He saw her hesitate, "The offer is there, you take it or not? A week is that all I can offer."

Rory felt him nudge her, she silently agreed by taking his hand.

Rory stopped at the gate in front of the mansion, and saw Tristan pushing the gates open; he climbed in the passenger seat. "You'll park you car in the third garage. You won't need it while you're staying here, we'll use mine."

She followed the directions and parked the car. They climbed out, and as the garage door closed, Tristan wrapped his arm around Rory's waist bringing her closer. She tried to get free of his hold without any results, "What are you doing?"

Tristan kissed the lobe of her ear that sent her a bolt of excitement; he replied huskily, "Relax Rory, I'll just introduce you to Geoffrey."

She blushed and stopped struggling. She watched him open the front door and followed him inside. They were about to climb the steps, when Geoffrey asked, "Will my young master expect breakfast anytime soon?"

Tristan swiftly turned around to face the elder man and forced Rory to follow his motion. "No Geoffrey, we already ate. I would like you to meet Lorelai Gilmore. She'll be staying with us for a while."

Geoffrey made a tentative smile, "Young lady Lorelai, a pleasure to reacquaint with you under circumstances that doesn't involve stalking."

Highly uncomfortable, Rory whispered, "I would prefer to be called Rory."

He bowed his head slightly, "Very well, young lady. If you need anything, you know where to find me." Geoffrey disappeared around the corner, leaving the youngsters to find their way to Tristan's room.

Lorelai opened Rory's laptop later that afternoon. She connected to the web and opened a web browser to access Rory's bank account. She went to check the latest transaction of Rory's Visa card. She took a double take, it should have been there. She called 411 and asked for the phone number to the Voyageur Hotel in Hartford, with fear gripping at her heart.

A little while later, she called Luke, "Luke! Her credit card is loaded. She signed out of the motel yesterday morning. Where on Earth could she be?"