I do not own the rights to Gilmore Girls. All characters are creations of Amy Sherman-Palladino.

That night Tristan couldn't sleep, he was so wound up from being around her again. He hoped maybe this would all lead to something. He never got his chance at Chilton. They were young, she had a boyfriend, and he was a jerk to her because he didn't know how to express the feelings he had in his heart. He wasn't going to let her slip away this time. Life was different, they could actually be together. He grabbed his laptop and composed an email.

From: Tristan Dugrey

To: Rory Gilmore

Hi Mary,

I thought I'd email you before I went to sleep. I really had a nice evening getting reacquainted with you. I hope we can do it again when you get back from London. Have a good flight.

Yours,

Tristan

He stared at the email for a moment and then sent it. He had to get some sleep so he could properly function at work. The next morning he got ready for work and checked his email while grabbing a coffee at this great little place down the street from his job. He was disappointed when she hadn't emailed back yet. He knew she was busy, but he still hoped she would shoot him a short reply.

He went about his phone calls, meetings, and case files like any other day. In the back of his mind, he was just waiting on her reply. He knew it was silly of him to be anxious about it. He was a grown man, not a teenage boy. Around 1, when he finally decided to get out of the office and get lunch, his email alert on his phone beeped when he sat down at a small cafe a few blocks from work.

He nearly dropped the water he had just taken a drink of. He calmly put the water glass down before picking up his phone.

From: Rory Gilmore

To: Tristan Dugrey

Hi Tristan,

I read your email this morning before the flight, but did not get a chance to reply.

Yes, I would enjoy getting together again when I return. It's raining here in London. Typical, right? ;) The flight was fine, but I drank a couple glasses of wine and slept most of the flight. Do you know inflight meals are outrageously priced? I mean, $20 for what they call a British breakfast. Insane! Luckily, I travel with pop tarts and other snacks.

I hope your Monday is going well. I'll be back on Friday, midday. Well, I better get dinner.

See you soon,

Rory

It felt like he was grinning from ear to ear. He didn't realize he could feel so happy from a simple email.

From: Tristan Dugrey

To: Rory Gilmore

Hello Mary,

I'm glad you got to London in one piece. Raining in London? Who would have thought? Ha. Wine, huh? What kind of wine do you like? Red or white or both? I never pictured you as a drinker.

Yes, I know inflight meals are crazily priced, even for someone who has money. If I'm going to eat a small meal for $20, then I'd rather do it in a restaurant than in a cramped airplane. That sounds pretentious. I seriously didn't mean it to sound that way.

Well, I need to eat my lunch and get back to the office. What did you eat for dinner? Hope to hear from you soon.

Yours,

Tristan

The rest of the day went by quickly. Tristan seemed to be on cloud 9 and even his colleagues noticed.

"Hey, Dugrey. You seem happier than normal."

Tristan smiled, "Well, I am. I reconnected with an old friend over the weekend unexpectedly."

"A woman?" James made a lewd motion with his hands.

Tristan balled up a piece of paper and threw it at James's head. "Hey, get your head out of the gutter. Yes, a woman. Someone from my Chilton days."

"I see," then James thought for a moment, "Wait! Mary? Your Mary?"

"How did you…?"

"You talk a lot when you're tipsy and you're way too happy."

"Remind me not to go drinking with you anymore." Tristan said sarcastically.

James scoffed, "You never get drunk, just tipsy. You're very controlled with your alcohol."

"I don't like to be drunk. Being tipsy is like sitting on the proverbial fence."

"If you say so," James got up to leave, "See you tomorrow."

"Bright and early," Tristan replied as he gathered his things.

When Tristan got home, he checked his email and there was an email from her. He opened it immediately.

From: Rory Gilmore

To: Tristan Dugrey

Tristan,

The rain finally stopped. Hopefully the sun will show itself tomorrow.

Yes, I do drink. I mean, I don't drink to get drunk. At least not anymore. So I can drink both red or white, but I am partial to Rieslings. Champagne is good, too. I do enjoy a good beer from time to time.

By the way, you didn't sound pretentious about the airplane food. I understood what you meant. I hope your lunch was tasty. I had some delicious Indian food. Some of the best I've ever had.

I'm heading to bed now. I'm exhausted.

Goodnight,

Rory

Tristan and her emailed back and forth for the next few days. Mostly short blurbs about their day. She was busy at the conference and writing up her article. He was busy with a case that James and him were preparing for.

Friday finally arrived and Tristan was thrilled. Rory had asked him to come to her place for dinner. She suggested watching Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, eating pizza, and a bunch of junk food. He didn't care what they did as long as he was with her. He knew they were just friends, but he wanted and hoped for so much more than that, of course only if she wanted that, too.

He picked up the pizza before heading over to her townhouse. She opened the door quickly as if she'd been waiting for him and led him to the living room. He sat the pizza down on the coffee table which was covered in bowls of candy and junk food. Red vines, pop tarts, marshmallows, jelly beans, chocolate kisses, chips, cookies, and popcorn.

He laughed, "Holy crap, Mary. You weren't joking."

"Why would I joke about Willy Wonka and junk food?" she smiled at him, "Sit down. After all the years of renting the video from the Stars Hollow video store, I finally own a dvd copy since I have my own home now."

"How many times have you seen this movie?"

"Oh, I don't know. Hundreds of times." she replied as she popped the movie in. "You've seen it, right?"

"Yeah, once. My nanny let me watch it when I was a kid. I wanted to eat a bunch of candy though after seeing it. I threw a fit when she wouldn't let me and then she finally gave in. I got sick because of eating so much candy and my parents were so mad. I think they fired her because of that."

"Wow, well don't eat too much candy. I'm not going to take care of you if you make yourself sick." she retorted with a smile. Her smile lit up the room. He loved it.

"I have learned to control my candy eating habits."

"Good. You had me worried for a moment there." she replied as she sat next to him. She grabbed the remote and pressed play. Then, she leaned over him to get some of the pepperoni pizza. She got two slices and handed him one when she sat back up.

The first 20 minutes of the movie were a little awkward. They were sitting next to each other, but not touching at all. They ate pizza and both munched on various junk. Then, Tristan decided to stretch his arm out onto the back of the couch, getting himself a little more comfortable. She picked up the bowl of popcorn, put it in her lap, and then leaned into him. He took that as a cue that he could put his arm around her shoulders. He could feel her relax and she laid her head on his shoulder. He could sit like this forever, it was like heaven. About 15 minutes later, he heard a small snore come from her and he realized that she had fallen asleep. Tristan didn't dare move. She's probably still jet lagged and on London time. What should I do?

After 10 more minutes, he decided that he had to move. This position was actually getting uncomfortable. He slowly moved his free arm to put the popcorn back on the table. Once the popcorn was off her lap, she was able to move into a more comfortable spot. She cuddled into Tristan more, wrapping her arms around his neck. She was still sound asleep from what he could tell.

He whispered, "Mary, Mary...you are driving me crazy right now, but I know you're tired." He moved so he could pick her up. He had decided to put her in her bed.

She woke up a little and asked groggily, "Tristan, why are you carrying me?"

"You're exhausted, Mary. Keep holding on to me, I'm putting you to bed. Your room is upstairs?"

She snuggled into his neck and nodded. On a normal basis, he didn't think she'd let him do this, but she was just out of it. He walked upstairs slowly so he wouldn't wake her again. When he got to her room, he set her down on the bed gently. He took the blanket that was hanging on the footboard and laid it over her. He kneeled down next to the bed, so he could be face to face with her. He brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face.

"Okay, I'm going to go now." he whispered. Rory's eyes fluttered open and she stared at him. She had the most mesmerizing blue eyes he'd ever seen. She blinked a couple times and then tried to sit up. He put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting up. "Don't get up, Mary. Go back to sleep. I can see myself out."

She bit her lip, "I'm sorry I fell asleep."

"Don't bite your lip like that, Mary. I might not leave this room."

She blushed, "You could stay."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. It's only been a week since we've gotten to know each other again." he said with a concerned look on his face. The old Tristan would have never questioned an invitation to stay.

"I'm not implying anything sexual, I just meant that we'd actually sleep. I am tired and I wouldn't mind cuddling. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but it's my offer. "

Okay, I can do this. I can cuddle. I mean, it's a start. "Okay, Mary. You got yourself a deal, but I need to go downstairs and clean up the living room. I don't want to leave all that stuff on your coffee table."

She tried to get up again. He stopped her again. "You shouldn't be cleaning up, you're my guest."

"It's fine. I'll be back in a little bit. I promise." He got up and left the room.

When she heard him get to the bottom of the stairs, she got up and changed her clothes into pajamas. By the time he got back upstairs, she was almost asleep again. She had however changed into pajamas that had happy little coffee cups on them.

"Nice pajamas."

"They are," she replied and tossed a pillow at his face. He caught it and threw it back on the bed.

"So...do you have anything I can wear? Or should I sleep naked?"

"There are some gray sweatpants over there." She pointed towards a chair in the corner without even looking.

He walked over and picked them up. He went into her bathroom to change. He came back out wearing the sweatpants and the white undershirt he already had on. Then, he felt extremely nervous. Oh my god, why are you nervous? When was the last time you were nervous? It's just sleep and cuddles. Get yourself together!

"Tristan...why are you just standing there? Lay down, so I can turn the light off."

He got in the bed and she turned the light off. He was laying on his back and he couldn't move. He was finally in his Mary's bed and he felt like he'd lost control of his body. He was nervous and afraid. He really did not want to mess anything up this time. She rolled over and moved his arm so that it was around her and she could snuggle into his chest. He pulled her closer to him and she responded by looking up at him. He looked at her and gave her a very gentle, sweet kiss. He could feel her smile and then snuggle back into him.

"Goodnight, Mary."

"Goodnight, Tristan."

Sorry, took me a few days with this one. I hope you like it.