DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything involving Gilmore Girls.

Once again, you reviewers are totally awesome! I really don't deserve you! Thanks so much for all of the support! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Rory smiled as she looked across the dark room, the TV casting shadows against Tristan's sleeping face. Rory had convinced Tristan that he hadn't lived until he saw Willy Wonka, but he had fallen asleep within the first half hour. She quietly crept around the room, searching for a blanket. Once she found one, she carefully placed it around his balled up body. She stood, leaning over him and just stared at the peaceful look on his face. His hat had fallen off in his sleep and Rory inwardly gasped at the absence of his tousled blonde hair. Before she knew what she was doing, she lightly ran her hair over the small patches of soft hair.

"Do I look sexy bald?" Tristan asked groggily, his eyes still closed.

Rory pulled back her hand like a child caught with their hand in a cookie jar. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Tristan slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the wide-eyed expression on Rory's face. "It's okay. What time is it anyway?"

Rory clicked on the nearby lamp and glanced at her watch. "Oh, wow, it's 9:00, I should really go home. My mom is probably freaking out."

"Yeah, you're right." He slowly pulled himself up and went to run his hand through his hair; a nervous habit that he was never able to overcome, even when he didn't have any hair.

Rory saw the look of frustration and embarrassment on Tristan's face and reached out her own hand and ran it over his head. "You know I do like you bald."

Tristan raised a thinning eyebrow at her and said skeptically, "I'm sure."

"No, I do. It really makes your eyes stand out."

Tristan smiled at her and said, "And I always thought that my eyes were so gorgeous that they stood out on their own."

"They are, but now they just look…" Rory started. She had always noticed his eyes, but it was because they were always looking over her, overtly trying to make her uncomfortable. Now, she could see real emotion in them; almost as if he let some shield down, letting her see his true feelings. She could see the pain in her eyes, and it broke her heart.

"Tired, lifeless?" Tristan offered, his voice full of bitter sarcasm.

"No! Tristan, no. I was going to say that for the first time, I feel like I'm actually seeing you without the cockiness hiding what is really there."

Tristan looked into her eyes, which he had always loved. Hers were always shining, whether it be from happiness or anger. He loved that when he looked into her eyes, he felt like he knew her. When someone looked into his, all they saw was a scared boy, trying desperately to keep anyone from really looking; from seeing all the fear and pain that hid there. "It had always worked. No one ever suspected anything real could ever be going on with me. Well, no one, except you."

Rory slid closer to Tristan on the couch and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, but I never fell for your little show. I could tell that there was something different about you. I never would have thought that this would have been it, though. And I am so sorry."

Tristan shook his head and said, "Hey, no more apologies for things that you had nothing to do with." A part of him had known that Rory didn't fall for his game. That's probably why he tried so hard to get her attention; he just needed someone to finally take the initiative and realize that he didn't want to be alone through this anymore.

"Okay, I'll try to remember that." Rory smiled brightly at him, trying to distract him from the serious tone their conversation had took.

Tristan had found that her smile was contagious and he couldn't see her smiling without following suit. "I think you should probably go home now. I don't want your mom coming over here. If she's anything like you, I wouldn't stand a chance."

Rory laughed and said, "Oh, normally you would have to be afraid of Lorelai, but I seriously doubt she would hurt a cancer patient."

Tristan rubbed his chin in mock thought and said, "Hmm… That's very good to know."

Rory lightly hit him and said, "You will never change, will you?"

"Not if I can help it. Now, shoo!" He waved his hand towards the door and watched as Rory walked towards the door. He knew she understood why he didn't walk her to the door; he wouldn't be leaving this couch for quite some time.

By the time Rory got home, it was 10:30 and she knew that Lorelai wouldn't be happy. As soon as she opened the kitchen door, she heard, "Rory, oh my god, where have you been?"

Rory looked at Lorelai, who was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and offered her a weak smile. "Sorry, mom. I was at Tristan's and I lost track of time."

"Rory, you really have to remember to call me. I was this close to calling my mom, and you know that's bad." Lorelai took a sip of her coffee as Rory sat next to her.

"I'm sorry, I won't forget again."

Lorelai smiled and said, "Well, I guess you could be doing worse things that keeping someone with cancer company. Unless, you are comforting him in a way that I don't want to know about, because then we-"

"Mom, no! Don't worry, me and Tristan are just friends. Plus, I don't think that would really be appropriate considering his condition."

Lorelai pointed a finger at Rory and said, "Aha! So you have been thinking about it!"

Rory laughed and grabbed the mug away from Lorelai. "No more coffee for you. Come one, let's go to bed."

The next day at Chilton, Rory ripped down as many of Paris' posters as she could find. She could hear all of the students still talking about Tristan, and it made her want to scream. Sure, they were all just worried about him, but it was hard to listen to when she knew how much Tristan despised the sympathy of others. Some of the things that she heard were awful, though. Many girls were worried about how he would look without hair and the guys were discussing how it would affect "his performance with the ladies." Rory just went through the day, shaking her head. If only they knew what Tristan was really going through; the things that he had to worry about. Who really cares if he has hair, so long as he is alive?

After school, Rory once again went to Tristan's house. She couldn't even imagine going through a day now without seeing him. She knocked on the door, excited to see him. After a few more knocks, the maid finally answered, looking exhausted.

"I'm sorry, miss. But I really don't think today is a good day for visitors." The maid told Rory.

Rory's face fell and she said, "Why? What's wrong?"

"It's just a bad day, that's all. They come and go." The maid gave her a weak smile and slowly shut the door. Rory quickly knocked again and the maid answered, not looking nearly as friendly as before.

"Miss, please just go home." She said, clearly frustrated.

Rory pushed the door open further and ran up the stairs to Tristan's room. She flung the door open and quickly shut it, locking it behind her. She leaned against the door, slightly out of breath and looked towards Tristan's bed.

"Tristan, are you okay?" She practically whispered. She saw Tristan, bundled up in his covers, not moving. She moved closer until she was beside his bed and felt her heart drop to her knees when she saw how pale he looked. There were beads of sweat on his forehead and he was breathing heavily in his sleep. Rory grabbed his hand and almost jumped at how cold it was.

"Tristan, please just say you're okay." Rory watched as he still didn't move and she felt tears begin to run down her face. He looked like he was in so much pain; he didn't even look like Tristan.

"Mary, geeze, can't a guy get some sleep around here?" Tristan said, his voice coming out as more of a croak. He opened his eyes and slowly moved them up to look at Rory.

"Oh my god, you scared me." Rory said, sighing in relief.

Tristan groaned as he shifted and he said, "What, you didn't think I was dead, did you?" He tried to smirk, but it just ended up looking like a grimace.

The tears came more quickly and Rory said, "Tristan, that's not funny."

"I know, I'm sorry. Hey, come down here."

Rory sat down beside his bed and placed her chin on his mattress, staring at him, her eyes full of tears. Tristan reached out and wiped a tear away with his thumb and said, "You know Mare, maybe for your sake you should just listen to the maid from now on."

"What?" Rory choked out.

"I don't want you to see me like this. I don't want to see you cry, because it breaks my heart." Tristan said slowly, staring at her watery blue eyes.

"Okay, if that's what you want." Rory said dejectedly.

"Rory, it's not that I don't want to see you, because I do, but I don't think I can take you crying on top of everything else." Tristan spoke gently, hoping that he wasn't hurting her feelings. He loved her visits, and he definitely didn't want them to stop.

Rory slowly nodded her head in understanding and said, "How about if I promise no more tears? Then can I stay?"

Tristan didn't believe her for one second that she would be able to not cry again. Hell, he even knew that he wasn't beyond crying over the course of the next few months. But, he saw the look of desperation in her eyes and couldn't stand to upset her. "Sure, Mary."

Rory smiled and said, "Thanks."

Tristan reached out and ran a hand through her hair, waiting for the rest of her tears to subside. "Well… I'm not really sure what to do from here. I won't be much for entertainment and there might be some things that you aren't going to want to see."

Rory knew what he meant; it probably wasn't easy for Tristan to let her see him like this. She truly appreciated the trust that he gave her, and she wanted to show him that he made the right decision by letting her stand by him. "No worries. I can easily entertain myself and you for hours."

"Oh, yeah?"

Rory smiled and said, "Yeah. After all, I am a Gilmore."

So, what did you think? I have to admit, writing part of this made me cry a little. I know you are probably wondering what the heck part made me cry, but I really can't explain it. So, I hope you liked this chapter, because it hit me close to the heart. Please review and let me know what you thought!