Disclaimer: I don't own a thing

"Do you remember the day we met?" She asked as she nodded towards the house.

"How could I forget." He said as he picked up her legs and put them over his lap. "Cora was staring out her window at Logan, thinking he was crazy." Rory smiled.

"I was mean to you." She pouted.

"I wasn't exactly kind to you either." He pointed out. "You brought up all of these memories of Hartford and rejection that I had managed to repress up until that point."

"I figured that after that we would never see each other again." She said.

"Me too." He said as he ran his hand up and down her calf. "You're cold." He noticed as he watched the goosebumps pop out all over her legs. "Come on, let's go in." She shook her head stubbornly.

"I'm fine. It's nice out here."

"You sure?" She nodded. "Let me at least grab a blanket." He said. "If you get sick, I'll never hear the end of it." She watched as he ran in the house, smiling at how well he took care of her.

OOOOO

"Rory! Where's my glittery black dress?" Lorelei asked as she stuck her head out into the hallway.

"Did you look in your closet?" She asked, not in the mood. "Oh! Check the bottom drawer!" She yelled upstairs.

"Found it!" She said, surprised. "I love that you're home!" She came downstairs. "Obama can't keep you forever can he?"

"The election is less than a year away." She said. "Crap, we are going to be so late." She said, staring at her watch. "Mom, hurry!"

"We'll just blame the Christmas traffic." She said. "Emily Gilmore can't argue with traffic, especially when you are coming to dinner. Now get in the car." She said as she threw her coat on.

"I feel so used." Rory pouted.

OOOOO

Tristan stood making small talk with some old neighbors when he felt someone rush past him. Turning to look, he saw a woman grabbing a pastry.

"If anyone asks, I've been here for ten minutes." She said, despite the fact that she looked flushed from rushing. She grabbed another and smiled. Tristan chuckled at the welcomed and unusual sight. He took a sip of his drink and put two and two together.

"You must be Lorelei." He guessed.

"Yeah, and you are?"

"Tristan DuGray. I went to Chilton with Rory." She nearly choked on her apple tart.

"I remember you. I don't think we ever met."

"No, although I did run into Rory at Mia's wedding. How is she doing? Did she survive graduation?"

"She's doing fine. I'm sorry, did you say you knew Mia?"

"I'm her next door neighbor actually." He smiled. "I got sent off to military school down there and stayed."

"Really. Huh, small world."

"That's what we thought." He smiled. She smiled back, surprised to find herself thinking of Christopher at that moment.

"So, what do you do Tristan?"

"I'm in Computer Graphics. I design logos and ads for companies."

"That's cool." She said, sounding impressed.

"I like it."

"So are you in town for Christmas?" She asked as she took a sip of her wine. He nodded.

"I'm afraid my parents, while being negligent ninety-nine percent of the time, feel that Christmas is a family holiday. In reality, I think they just like to prove to their friends that I'm still breathing." He smiled.

"Speaking of which…" She saw Emily heading their way. "Hi Mom. Great party."

"Your father snatched Rory away from me and wandered off into his office. I haven't seen the girl since May and he's got her locked away in there like some sort of literary prison."

"She'll tunnel out eventually. I make her carry a spoon in her purse just in case."

"Are you ever serious?"

"Never." Tristan bit back a smile. "There she is!" Lorelei said as her daughter walked over. "Grandma was just about to send out a search party." Tristan was surprised at how elegant she looked. Her hair was longer, still curly, but in her dress she was a knock out.

"Did you tell her about the spoon?" Rory asked.

"I did."

"You two." She rolled her eyes as she walked away.

"Sorry I left you alone so long. New books." She said as she lifted up her purse.

"Oh, I wasn't alone. I believe you know Tristan." Lorelei gestured to her left. It took her a moment to recover from the shock of seeing him, especially with her mother.

"Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, stalking you." He said with a smirk.

"Well that is the second time I've had to ask you that in a year." She pointed out.

"Just Christmas." He shrugged. "I see you survived your last two weeks at Yale." She smiled and Lorelei took it as her sign to leave the two alone. No one noticed her leave.

"Yes, barely, but I did."

"And what are you doing now?" He asked.

"I'm on the Obama press circuit, covering his campaign."

"Really? Lots of travel, a hurry up and wait kind of thing, I imagine?"

"Pretty much." She grinned. "But I love every minute of it." She leaned in close and confessed softly.

"I can tell." He said seriously.

"What about you? I never asked in North Carolina."

"I work for a marketing company in computer graphics. I design ads and logos for companies."

"Art, huh?" She sounded surprised. "I never would have pegged you for an art guy."

"Well it's not Van Gogh, but I like it. It pays the bills." He smiled as he watched her.

OOOOO

"I just had a flashback to your sixteenth birthday party when you freaked out over there." He said as he pointed to the foyer.

"How do you remember that?" She asked. He shrugged.

"Same place, same girl." He said. "It just triggered my memory."

"You've been witness to some interesting Rory Gilmore moments, haven't you?" She realized. "I apologize for that."

"Please, don't. You haven't seen my best behavior either. At least when you get mad, it's cute." He said. She scoffed at his unconscious admission.

"I don't know about that."

"We'll agree to disagree." He said. She was just about to comment when Emily called everyone in for a speech.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming on behalf of Richard and myself, especially our grand-daughter Rory who has been working so hard these past eight months. We missed you." Rory smiled as people around them clapped, including Tristan. "Please help yourself to some more food before leaving and drive safe." Everyone clapped again.

"Where did that time go?" Rory asked as she glanced at the clock.

"Okay kid, you ready?" Lorelei asked.

"Already?" She said. Lorelei looked shocked by that statement.

"I've got a purse full of apple tarts and you've got a purse full of books, what else is there?" She asked, really wanting to know.

"I guess you're right." She turned to Tristan. "I'm just going to go say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. I'll meet you at the car?" She asked.

"Right." Lorelei winked. "I got it. I'm leaving." Tristan laughed.

"Can I just say? I love your mom."

"Someone has to." She muttered as she grabbed a card out of her full purse. "Here's my number and my email." She said with a smile. "I'm in town until the second. Call me if you're bored and want to hang out or something."

"Or something?" He asked as an eyebrow rose suggestively.

"Or something." She smirked as she sauntered away without another word. Tristan was impressed. She had come a long way since high school. He tucked the card in his pocket and smiled.

OOOOO

"I just gave my card to a blonde society boy. Tell me I'm not nuts." She asked Lane later that night on the phone.

"What? A Logan look a like?"

"I'm starting to think that maybe Logan was the Tristan look a like."

"Tristan. The kid from high school?"

"Yes."

"Rory! You have to tell me everything." As Rory explained the situation, she couldn't believe that she had flirted with Tristan DuGray. The high school girl inside of her was banging her head against a wall, but the grown up Rory was melting like Jell-O every time he came around. "This is the Henry situation all over again. He loves your mother, he understands your references, you two have a past…"

"We kissed once. That's hardly a past." Rory interjected.

"A past is still a past." Lane said, refusing to give an inch. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. The ball is in his court now."

"And when he calls?"

"Maybe he won't."

"He will. And you need to have a plan; spontaneity is not your strong suit. Remember the graduation/New York City incident?" She reminded her friend.

"Yeah." She sighed. "Listen, it's late, you should go to bed. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, let me know how it turns out."

"I will." She hung up the phone and stared at it on the desk. What did she get herself into?

OOOOO

"Just pick up the freaking phone." Tristan told himself. He had been pacing for a good five minutes before he dialed her number and waited anxiously.

"Hello?" He heard her voice pick up on the other end.

"Hey, it's Tristan." He said, waiting for her response to hearing his name.

"Hi. What's up?" She asked. So far, so good, he thought.

"I know that it's late notice, but I just got an invitation to a New Year's Eve party and I was wondering if maybe, if you didn't have any plans, you would want to go with me." He asked, sounding way less cooler than he wanted to. There was a long pause.

"I would love to." She said.

"Really?" He said, surprised she didn't have plans.

"Yeah. Where is this party?" She asked as she pulled out her planner. As she jotted down the details, she felt herself smiling. This will be fun, she thought. Little did she know that Tristan was thinking the exact same thing.