"Dad's met someone," Georgia stated and Rory immediately stopped pushing her on the swing and grabbed the chain. Her sister looked over her shoulder; solemn caramel eyes meeting wide blue ones. "Her name's Gwen and she's an artist."
"You're kidding!" Rory said half-amused and half-surprised that Christopher hadn't mentioned it to her yet. She sat down on the swing next to Georgia's and started to chuckle. "Oh wow. What's she like?"
"She has long red hair and green eyes. Dad says she's a free spirit." Georgia scrunched her nose. "What's a free spirit?"
Rory lifted her shoulders and let them fall again before glancing across the park at her mother and half-brother, Jacob, playing in the sandbox. "You got me. So, do you like her?"
"I don't want to," the eight year old confided as she reached up to pull her ponytail tighter and then adjusted her baseball cap. "Is it bad that I do?"
Rory's eyes flew to her sister's face again and she shook her head slowly. "It's not bad that you like her, George. It doesn't even mean you love your mother any less."
"Did you like my mother when you first met her?" When Rory furrowed her brow, thinking of a way to answer than question as delicately at possible, her sister gave her a knowing look. "You didn't, did you?"
"No," she replied quickly. "I didn't dislike her, either. You have to understand, sweetie, it was a very awkward situation when I met her. You just be glad that you never had to go through the Lorelai-Christopher-Sherry debacle."
"I'm the debacle," she replied and reminded Rory of how clever she really was, even at eight. "What's a debacle?"
"Georgia, you're not a debacle. Don't ever think that," she said sternly and had a quick flashback of her grandmother saying the something similar to her, all those years ago. "You made Dad and Sherry very happy."
Georgia considered that statement for a minute before she nodded. "Do you think Dad will marry her?"
Rory let out small hoot of laughter before she could stop herself. "If he does, I wonder if he plans on having any more kids. I don't think I'll be able to keep up with any more half-siblings."
Her sister giggled along with her. "It would be funny. Lorelai wouldn't ever let Dad forget it."
After their laughter subsided, Georgia's expression went back to contemplative and Rory watched in amusement as she waited for her sister to voice her thoughts. No one could tell the two were sisters, as they both looked like their own mothers. Georgia's ash-blonde hair and caramel eyes were a contrast to Rory's chocolate hair and deep blue eyes. Meanwhile, Georgia's personality was all Christopher. Sherry's worst nightmare had come true – Georgia was the typical tomboy.
"What's going on in there?" Rory asked her sister as she tapped the bill of her sister's cap. "Serious thinking in a park is no fun."
"I don't think I want to get married when I'm older."
"Really?" Rory asked with a grin, thinking that her sister was just being dramatic. Living with Sherry, you were certain to pick up certain habits. "And why not?"
"Well, look at Mom and Dad and my friend Emily's parents divorced and she moved to Los Angeles with her mom."
"Sweetie, not all marriages are like that. Grandma and Grandpa have been married for so long. And my mom is happy with Luke," Rory explained as gently as she could. She wondered if either Christopher or Sherry were aware of Georgia's issues with their divorce. "Some people make it work."
A beat and then she asked, "Then why can't you and Tristan work it out?"
Georgia asked the question so simply, so innocently - as children her age often do - that it completely threw Rory off her guard. In fact, she couldn't open her mouth for a full two seconds and when she finally did, no words came out. She cleared her throat and looked away from her sister's unnerving gaze. Her answer was lame and trite, even to her own ears. "It's complicated, George."
"You love him."
"I don't -" Rory tried to say but Georgia didn't let her finish.
"He loves you."
"I'm not so sure about that," she muttered and played with the hem of her jacket. Their last encounter hadn't run too smoothly and his words only confirmed her thoughts – they needed to be as far away from each other as possible to maintain their sanity.
"So what's the problem?"
"George, it's not that easy."
"You said that already," she replied and stood up, her jaw set like Christopher's did when he had made up his mind about something. She shrugged and adjusted her baseball cap again. "I'm going to go play with Jake and Lorelai."
Rory watched her run across the park towards the sandbox. Jake smiled brightly and immediately abandoned his truck to help Georgia build a sandcastle. Lorelai looked over at her daughter and waved. Rory waved back half-heartedly while Georgia's words played in her head over and over again. She sighed and leaned her head against the chain.
"This is not going to work anymore, Tristan," she said and sat down beside him on the couch, amid all the boxes and bags that he had already started to pack. "We're heading in different directions."
He ran his hand over his face and let out a tired sigh. She was tired of fighting too. "You're right. I can't ask you to give up your dreams and move to New York with me."
She folded her hands on her lap and pushed back tears. She had made up her mind to let him go and she was going to do it without letting her emotions get in the way. "And I can't give you a reason to stay in Boston with me, either. Not a selfless reason, at least."
His hand covered hers. She took in a deep breath, not prepared for his simple touch or the feelings that flooded her heart with it. "So this is it."
She only nodded in response, not trusting her voice. She managed to meet his gaze and then give him a watery smile. He leaned forward and the rational part of her screamed at her to pull away and not let him kiss her. Her heart won out in the end and she found herself being drawn closer as his lips finally met hers.
After it was over, she stood up and made her way to the door even though she could barely stand. She wanted to turn around and see him one more time, wanted to look for some kind of a sign that there was a possibility that he would stay.
But she didn't. Instead, she left without a backward glance. Without telling him that she loved him.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The study in the DuGrey mansion was quiet, as the two men occupying the leather chairs were engrossed in their own thoughts. Tristan glanced through all the papers his father had handed him one more time and then shook his head, looking at William in wonderment. "Well, I certainly didn't expect this."
"Embezzlement and fraud is not something one anticipates, Tristan," William replied, an edge in his voice.
"Does Grandfather know?"
"I thought it best not to tell him right now. He does not need stress." William leaned forward in his chair. "No one knows in the family, except you and me."
"I'd like to keep it that way for now." Tristan stood up and started to pace in front of the fireplace. He still couldn't get over it. He had never been interested in the family business, it had been the main reason he and his father were at odds but embezzlement was something that affected his family and that worried him. He walked over to the drink cart and filled two glasses with brandy. "So what are you going to do now?"
"The police are investigating. I've managed to keep it as under the table as I can," he replied and accepted a glass from his son. "But as soon as we find the culprit it will be all over the news."
"Well, you can't control that."
"No, I guess not," he answered contemplatively and took a sip of brandy. "I want you to take the case when it goes to court, son."
Tristan froze, glass at his lips and looked at his father incredulously. "You're kidding me." When his father shook his head, Tristan gulped his brandy down in one sip. "You've finally gone off the deep end, Father."
"This is no joking matter," William replied, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. "You are a lawyer, if I'm not mistaken. It's what you do."
"It's what you don't approve of."
"I have never said that."
"You don't need to," Tristan shot back. He sighed and lowered himself onto the leather chair opposite his father again. "Hiring me as your attorney will be a very bad move. Is that why you asked me to come?"
"Yes, of course. Who else could I trust?"
Tristan stared at him disbelievingly. "I don't know if I should be flattered or suspicious."
William's lips twisted into a wry smile. "It's your mother. She's always going on about what a good lawyer you are. Something must have stuck."
Tristan chuckled and leaned against the leather headrest. " If this is your way of accepting who I am, then you have crappy timing, Father. This is not the best thing to reconcile over, you know that, right?"
"This is business. Run by family," he answered decisively. "We're going to keep it that way and the only way to do that is to pool our own resources."
"You're telling me that a DuGrey works on the police force?" Tristan's voice was laced with mock surprise. "Which one of my cousins finally fulfilled their duty to serve and protect?"
William ignored his joke and finished the last of his brandy. "Will you do it?"
"No," Tristan answered quickly. "It's not something I'm comfortable with, Father. And if this is going to turn into a full-fledged scandal, I don't want to put myself in that position. Do you really want to risk it? Besides, it would be unprofessional."
William considered it for a moment and then nodded. "Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Get you the best damn lawyer possible," he answered and then grinned. "After me of course."
"Of course."
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
The Gilmore mansion was always quiet, always comforting. Rory didn't mind solitude; in fact, she was at her most creative when it was quiet enough for her to hear her thoughts. But ever since Richard's funeral, it seemed empty – even when there were extra people in the house.
"Beatrice," she asked the housekeeper as she wandered into the living room. "Where's Grandma. Or Mom for that matter?"
"I believe they're downstairs, Miss Rory," Beatrice answered. "In the basement."
What were they doing down there? Rory thought to herself as she made her way down the stairs, towards a part of the mansion she rarely visited. The lights were on and she could hear the older women talking. She was about to announce her presence when Emily said, "Is Rory in Stars Hollow?"
"No," Lorelai answered. "She went to the airport to see Jess and Paris off. Why?"
"Oh, I was just curious. She seems to be doing well, don't you think?"
Rory heard some rummaging before Lorelai sighed loudly. "I guess so. You can never tell with her, though. It's hard for her to be in this house all the time so she finds ways to get out as much as possible."
"It's just as well, I suppose." There was a moment of silence before Rory heard a thud and then Lorelai's heels clicking against the tile floor. Emily, sounding flustered, exclaimed, "I can't believe that I had forgotten about this."
"What exactly is this?" A beat. "Oh wow. Mom, why is all this baby stuff in here?"
"It's yours, Lorelai." Rory heard the distinct sound a rattle and smiled a little. "I kept it in a box hoping to give it to you one day, when you had a daughter. I remembered it after Rory was born but I guess it would have been too little, too late."
"Wow, I can't believe you kept it."
"I wasn't about to throw it away, Lorelai." She sighed. "I guess I should give it to Rory now. If she ever wises up, marries Tristan and has a child."
Rory took in a sharp breath, in the silence that followed, wondering if Lorelai would tell Emily the truth. It had been a difficult week and she was sure she could not handle Emily Gilmore, if she knew what had happened almost a year ago.
"Rory, stop lifting those boxes," Paris ordered as Rory dragged boxes of her stuff from Stars Hollow into her bedroom in their Boston apartment. "Rory."
Tristan, who was standing near the window, turned and raised an eyebrow. "Listen to the woman, Rory. Come here and let's finish our discussion."
"We don't have anything to say to each other," she answered and lugged a suitcase of her clothes by its handle. "I thought I asked you to leave."
"I'm not going anywhere until you talk to me," Tristan shot back and made himself comfortable on the couch.
Jess, who was coming back in with the last of Rory's stuff glared at him. "Leave her alone, DuGrey. Do you want me to take care of this for you, Ror?"
"No," Paris answered sharply and then gave Rory a pointed look. "I think it's time we leave these two alone. She does have something to say to him," the blonde continued hotly. "And I think it's time she told him before things get even more out of hand."
"What is she talking about?" Tristan asked suspiciously as Paris dragged Jess out of the apartment and closed the door behind her. He stood up and walked over to her, looking a little worried. "And why is she concerned about you doing manual labor?"
"Tristan, leave it alone."
"Rory, don't leave me in the dark. You obviously have something to say."
"You wanna know what I'm keeping from you, Tristan? You wanna know why I shouldn't be carrying heavy things and why Jess is upset that you're upsetting me?"
"Yes," he replied through gritted teeth. "I want to know."
" Fine, I'll tell you," she spat at him angrily and then threw her hands in the air for effect. "I'm pregnant."
To be continued…
Author's Note: If anyone picked up on the fact that all of a sudden, Lorelai and Luke had a child - then you've got a better eye for detail than I do. When I started writing this, I planned on mentioning that they had kids in the first chapters but somehow, in all my stupidity, I forgot. So I went back and added a line or two about Lorelai and Luke having a five-year-old son, Jacob. Hope you won't hold it against me.