An author's late night ramblings- Hi, long time no see! So sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I didn't mean for it to be this long, but I got my wisdom teeth out, and I wasn't exactly what I would call coherent. Actually, I wasn't what anyone would call coherant. I don't exactly react well to anesthesia, or pain killers, but I have a pain tolerance of like -20! Seriously, I can't handle pain at all, I scream bloody murder when I get a paper cut!
As always, much love goes out to the supremely wonderful beta extrordinaire, my darling Sara (Shouhei). I love her to pieces, she totally rocks. Go and read her story 'But I love him, it is absolutely awesome! And thank her profusely for the fact that this chapter is readable, because God only knows what I sent her while taking my meds!
I had a blonde moment while writing the author's note in the last chapter, and forgot to thank my favorite little sister, my Eri Berri! She and I actually had the 'Chapstick' convo in the car the day that I started to write chapter two, and I fogot to give her credit for it. So, here and now, I thank my awesome, super, beautiful Zibby for all her help, with that chapter and this one! My space bar queen, I love you!
Okay, so has everyone seen the previews for season five? Is everyone as annoyed and angry about the way that they are taking the Rory that we all know and love and throwing it out the window and onto the street to get run over by a steamroller? I swear, if I didn't know that they had already cast a love interest for Rory, (who isn't Dean, for those of you who don't know) I'd totally stop watching! (Alright, alright, we all know that's not true... I'm hopelessly addicted to the show!)
Oh, yeah, and one more thing. I wrote a little one shot fic on Saturday night, called 'Going For the Gold' but for some reason, it isn't showing up on the GG page with all the stories on it. So I'm going to give myself some free advertising, and ask you to please read it, and review!
Okay, enough of my yakking, on with the story!
Chapter Three- Who'da Thunk It?
"Damn."
Tristan watched as Rory walked, no, as she ran back out of his life as quickly as she had entered it. He could still feel her lips on his, her hands in his hair. He had wanted to feel that for so long, it seemed like a dream. But this time, it wasn't a dream.
It was REAL.
Why didn't he stop her? Why did she run? Why did she always run from him? If he didn't know better, he would have sworn she thought he was a bad kisser. But if it wasn't the kiss, what was it?
Maybe it was him.
He definitely didn't want to think about that possibility. But then, she was the only girl who had ever run from him, and she hadn't just run once. What else could it possibly be?
He needed to talk to someone about this.
Meanwhile...
"Mini Me!" Lorelai called, bursting through the door of Rory's room at eight the following morning. "Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!" She sang loudly, jumping on the bed where her daughter was currently residing.
Rory yelped as something big and loud landed right on top of her. Scrambling out from underneath whatever was crushing her, she groaned. "Mom, what are you doing here at this ungodly hour?"
"Waking you up."
"Well, thanks for that."
"No problem. I was happy to do it!"
"I was being sarcastic, Mother."
"Ah, but you see, I wasn't."
"Why are you so chipper this morning?"
Lorelai just smiled, or rather, grinned from ear to ear. Rory, now fully awake from the shock of her mother landing on her, realized why her mother was so happy.
"Oh, ew."
"What?"
"I don't want to know anymore." She repeated, making a face. Rory really didn't need to about her mother's relationships in that much detail.
"I was just going to tell you that my Blaine is going to the Olympics!"
"He is? I love Blaine Wilson! He is so hot!" Rory exclaimed, surprised by her mother's answer. It was not what she had expected, to say the least.
"I know!"
"It's too bad he's married. Even though he's too old for me, and too young for you."
"He's not too young for me!"
"Mom, he's thirty."
"So?"
"You're thirty six."
"That means nothing. Demi has a decade and a half on Ashton, what's six years?"
"I think that you've lost sight of reality in this situation. He's married, and his wife's not you, Mom."
"Thank you so much for reminding me, Ror."
"Well, what are daughters for?" Rory smirked, turning to pull a tee shirt from her drawer. "At least you have Luke."
"Yeah, I guess I do."
"Gee, can you be more excited?"
"No, I mean, yes, I can be more excited." Lorelai rambled. "I am excited. This is going good. It's just..."
"Just what?"
"Well, last night, he came over, and we... had coffee." Lorelai amended, catching the look on Rory's face.
"So you... 'had coffee.'"
"Yeah, really good coffee. Really, really good coffee. Really, really, really..."
"I get the picture." Rory held up her hand to stop the words flowing freely from her mother's mouth. "No need to elaborate."
"Anyway, this morning, I get up, and there's a note that said that he had to go to the diner and that he would see me later."
"Uh huh." Rory sat back on the bed, next to her mother. "Continue."
"So, I'm up, and I go downstairs, and there's coffee."
"Oh, wow. Coffee in our house. What are the odds?" Rory snickered, rolling her eyes.
"Hey there Missy. If you don't hold back that little wit of yours, I'm not going to finish my story. Then you'll never know the end, and you'll have to spend the rest of your life with my unfinished life story hanging over your head."
"Somehow, I think I'll survive."
"Fine." Lorelai crossed her arms over her chest, and watched as Rory went about her business, getting ready for the two hour ride to Newport. "Ugh, I can't take it!"
"I knew you'd cave."
"I have no willpower." Lorelai made a face. "So, I walk downstairs and see that he made me coffee!"
"Well, he is a professional, you know."
"Yeah, but this is Luke."
"Yes, it is."
"He made me coffee."
"Yes, he did."
"He made me coffee, after we... had coffee."
"Okay, we need to come up with a new code for this." Rory decided, not wanting to get any evil pictures in her head every time she drank her favorite beverage.
"Yeah, you're probably right. I wouldn't want to scar you."
"Thank you for your concern."
"I'm dating Luke." Lorelai stated softly, as if just realizing it herself.
"Yes you are."
"Me and Luke."
"You and Luke." Rory nodded, leaning her head on her mother's shoulder.
"Who'da thunk it?" Lorelai smiled.
"Just about half the town."
"No."
"Yes."
"You're cracked."
"I am not." Rory sat up, turning toward her mother. "Everyone else could totally tell that you two were perfect for each other."
"They could not!"
"They could too!" Rory smiled. "There was a pool."
"A what?"
"A pool. We all put money in to bet on when you two would finally figure it out."
"And everyone knew about it?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"Wow." Lorelai leaned back, taking in this new information.
"Hey, could you do me a favor?" Rory asked, moving off the bed and picking up the list of things she had packed to bring with her.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Could you pick up my money from Ms. Patty?" Rory grinned evilly.
"You! You bet on your only mother's love life?!" Lorelai exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at her daughter. "How could you do that, evil daughter?"
"What can I say? It was easy money." Rory shrugged, checking off the items on her list as she found them in her bags.
"So how long has this been going on?"
"A few years, I think."
"And everyone knew about it?"
"Yeah, Ms. Patty started it, and she and Sookie are in charge of collecting the bets."
"My BEST FRIEND?"
"Yep."
"You've gotta be kidding me."
"Nope."
"What did you bet on?"
"Huh?"
"What were the terms?" Lorelai asked, walking back to the bed, taking a seat on the edge of the pink comforter.
"Well, there were all different ones."
"Like what?"
"I bet on you guys finally getting together before I graduated from college." Rory replied.
"When did you do that?"
"When I was ten."
"This has been going on for a decade?!" Lorelai exclaimed. "How did I not find out about this?"
"How did you not know that Luke was perfect for you?" Rory asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't know. How did you?" She asked.
"He makes the coffee, you drink the coffee. What could be more perfect?" Rory explained.
"Yeah." Lorelai leaned back on the pillows, looking thoughtful. "So, what do you think about me and Luke?"
"Well, I did bet fifty bucks on the inevitability of you two, what do you think?"
"Seriously, you're okay with this?" Lorelai asked.
"Mom, we love Luke, we always have. I mean, he's great."
"So, you approve?"
"Wholeheartedly." Rory smiled. "After all, my 'new daddy' is already knows how I like my coffee, a skill that is very hard to master."
"Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?"
"What do you mean?" Rory asked.
"We've been dating for less than a month. Isn't a little premature to start calling him your 'new daddy'?" Lorelai raised an eyebrow.
"Well, hopefully not."
"And why is that?"
"Because then I'd lose a bundle in the pool." Rory said simply, walking out the door to go and get some breakfast.
"Hey! You bet on my marital status too!" Lorelai exclaimed, following her down the stairs. "What kind of daughter did I raise?"
Three Hours Later...
"Are you sure that you want to go?" Lorelai asked Rory for the millionth time in the last few weeks. "I'm sure that your Grandmother wouldn't be too hard to persuade if you decided to stay with your dearest Mommy."
"I'm going." Rory stated, putting her small car bag in the back of the car. "Mom, we talked about this. I need to go."
"I know, I know. I just miss you." Lorelai relented.
"Well, maybe you could come and visit for a few days." Rory suggested hopefully.
"Maybe. I'll see what happens with the inn, we are going to be pretty busy for a while." Lorelai said. "Maybe you could come up here for a few days, and then go back."
"Mom, visiting Stars Hollow during my vacation would kind of be like going back home, wouldn't you say?"
"Damn." Lorelai sighs dramatically as she snaps her fingers together. "You have discovered my master plan."
"Well, I do go to Yale, you know." Rory smiled, giving her mother another hug. "I'll miss you though."
"Well, it would be impossible not to, wouldn't it?" Lorelai joked, fighting back the tears that she can feel starting to form.
"Yeah, it would."
"Rory! We have to go!" Emily stuck her head out of the back of the car, for the third time. "Honestly, how did you two survive the school year if you can't say goodbye for a month?"
"Well, we were going to have the summer together." Lorelai mumbled morosely. "I'm horrible at goodbyes."
"Lorelai, we know that." Emily rolled her eyes. "Hence why you two have been bidding your farewells for a half an hour!"
"Alright, alright." Now it was Lorelai's turn to roll her eyes. "My darling daughter, I bid you farewell!" She swooned dramatically, putting a hand to her forehead. "Now go, before it becomes too unbearable!"
"Bye Mom." Rory kissed her cheek and gave her a final hug, then slid into the backseat next to her grandmother. "I'll miss you!" She cried out the window as Charles, the chauffer, pulled the car out of the driveway.
As the window closed, Rory could feel the tears start to fill her blue eyes. She knew that this moment would come, but she didn't think it would be that hard. Before, when she was staying in Hartford, Lorelai had been visiting every few days, and she was only a twenty minute car ride away.
Now, she was traveling further than she had ever been from her mother. A whole one hundred and three miles and two hours away from her. Okay, so that was a little dramatic, and maybe she had spent a few weeks in Washington D.C. the summer before her senior year, but she hadn't stayed for this long. A tear rolled slowly down her cheek as she stared out the window.
"You are going to love Newport, Rory." Emily smiled, patting her arm encouragingly. "It's a lovely place, full of history and beauty. The old mansions are utterly breathtaking, and the views are to die for."
"I'm sure they are, Grandma." Rory said softly, turning to face her. "Tell me about the place we're going."
"Chateau du Sable is one of the most beautiful by far." Emily gushed. "The grounds are exquisite, you'll adore the gardens. Lulu keeps them in amazing and rare form. The house is impeccable. Like I told you yesterday, it is the only home left on Bellevue Avenue that doesn't have people trampling through it all day long, snapping pictures, and loitering about."
"That sounds nice." Rory smiled slightly, picking up the travel pillow next to her bag. "I think I'm going to nap for a while."
"Are you feeling alright?" Emily asked, pressing the back of her hand to Rory's forehead. "Is your headache back?"
After leaving Tristan in the music room the night before, she had convinced Emily to leave early, pleading a headache. "Maybe." Rory closed her eyes. "I'll be alright."
"What do you mean he had you pulled out of school? What happened?" Rory asked, a feeling of panic rising in her throat.
"Nothing. Just ticked the old man off, that's all."
"By doing what? Tristan, come on, tell me." She prodded, trying to understand why this was happening.
"I got in some trouble."
"Trouble involving?"
"Involving Duncan and Bowman, and Bowman's dad's safe." He told her, reluctantly.
"Oh no."
"I mean, Bowman had a key. It was supposed to be no big deal. And the crazy silent alarm kicked in."
"You broke into Bowman's dad's safe?" She asked incredulously.
"Yes."
"Stupid."
"Yes."
"Well, okay, you can apologize and you can put back the money and you can explain that, I don't know, you were going through something." Rory suggested, trying to think of a way to get him to stay.
"I was, I was going through his safe." Tristan said simply.
"Why would you do this?"
"I don't know. I guess that's something I can ponder at military school."
"Military school?" She repeated, surprised.
"The police are letting our parents handle it, and in my case that means military school in North Carolina." He explained further.
"I don't know what to say." She struggled to find the words.
"Well, I imagine you're overwhelmed with the relief in knowing that soon I will be gone."
"I'm so sorry." She said lamely.
"Well, I'm a big boy. I can handle it."
"There's nothing you can..." She trails off as a figure appears at the end of the hallway.
"Tristan, come on." His father calls to him.
"I gotta go. So, I might kiss you goodbye but, uh, your boyfriend's watching. Take care of yourself, Mary." He says with a final smirk. Rory smiles as she watches him walk down the hall, and out of her life...
"Rory!" She awoke with a start. Emily was lightly shaking her shoulder and calling her name. "We're here."
"Oh." She mumbled, sitting up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep the whole way."
"That's alright dear." Emily said, stepping out of the car as Charles opened the door for her. "As long as you are feeling better now."
"Yeah, I guess so." Rory said, sliding over on the seat and taking the chauffeur's offered hand to get out, and she got her first look at the place she would be calling home for the next few weeks.
The sight took her breath away. She had thought that the homes in Hartford were incredible, but this was definitely not the 'cottage' that her grandmother had described. The marble was tan, the color of sand, and the architecture was unlike anything she had ever seen up close. The columns and pillars snaked their way up to the roof, and there were actual towers! Chateau du Sable really lived up to its name. It really did look like a sand castle.
"Emily!"
Rory had been admiring the sweeping front lawns when she heard a woman call out her grandmother's name. Turning around, she was surprised by the sight that greeted her. Emily was hurrying over to a woman wearing a pair of ancient khakis, complete with dirt and grass stains covering the knees. Her blue button down shirt had a patch on the arm, and a pair of pruning sheers in the pocket. The outfit was finished off by a large straw hat that had a packet of seeds stuck in the blue ribbon that was tied around it.
"Lulu!" Emily exclaimed, throwing her arms around the other woman. This was Lulu Carrington? This disheveled woman covered in dirt from head to toe? She lived here?
This woman was definitely not what she had envisioned when she had heard her grandmother talk about her very best friend. She had thought of someone regal, and stately, and definitely not... like this.
"Rory, come here!" Emily called, giving Lulu another hug. "Rory, this is my oldest and dearest friend, Lulu Carrington. Lulu, this is my granddaughter Rory."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Rory." Lulu held out her hand, which, not surprisingly, had dirt under the manicured fingernails. "Your grandmother talks of nothing but you."
"It's nice to meet you too." Rory said politely. "Your home is beautiful."
"Why thank you." Lulu smiled, leading them into the house. "It has been in my family for generations. I was out in the gardens, which should help to explain the attire."
"Lulu has the most beautiful gardens in Newport, Rory." Emily commented, linking arms with her friend. "She's always outside, dancing among the flowers."
"Well, I don't know about the dancing, but I do love spending time among my beautiful blossoms." Lulu laughed. "They are my favorite part about this house."
She led them down the hall to a bright and sunny room that over looked the gardens in the back of the house. Tall floor to ceiling windows covered two walls, giving the effect of being outside, but inside.
"Rory, you are in luck." Lulu said as they sat down at the table. "Now, I can't imagine that spending your summer with a pair of old ladies is a recipe for a fun summer. What young person in their right mind would enjoy that?" She laughed. "But my two grandchildren showed up on my doorstep yesterday, and it seems that they will be staying with us too."
"Oh." Rory answered, trying not to sound too enthusiastic. As much as she loved her grandmother, she had been spending a lot of time with her. And Emily could be a little exhausting. How many meetings could woman attend, and how many functions could she possibly plan single handed?
"Now, if I'm remembering correctly, you're a Yalie, right? Following in Richard's footsteps?" Lulu continued, motioning for a maid to bring them tea. Rory nodded. "My granddaughter Mollie is planning on attending in the fall. She should be in shortly, I believe she and her cousin are out by the pool."
"Oh, isn't that lovely!" Emily smiled, taking the cup that Lulu handed her. "Now Mollie will have a friendly face on campus."
"Oh, there she is now. Molls!" Lulu motioned to the teen who was currently walking past in the hallway. "Come here and meet out guests."
"Mollie, you remember my friend Emily, don't you?" She asked when the girl was in the room. "She and her granddaughter Rory will be staying with us."
"Nice to meet you." Mollie said politely, holding out her hand to Rory and Emily. She was very pretty, with golden blonde hair, and captivating green eyes. There was something familiar about her though, even though Rory was sure that they had never met before.
"Hey Gran, who's car is in the driveway?" Rory's eyes widened at the sound of the voice coming from behind her. Snapping her head in the voice's direction, her mouth formed an 'O' when her eyes confirmed what her ears had heard.
Standing in the doorway, was Tristan Dugrey.
Here.
In Newport.
With her.
Who'da thunk it?
I must say, I am a bit disappointed that no one caught on to any of my little hints about Tristan in Chapter Two! They weren't very obvious, but then again, I don't think any I ever give you will be!
