Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: Wow, it's been a while since I've wrote any fanfiction, but especially since I've updated this story. I apologize. Big news in my life. I was accepted to grad school! And on a slightly lesser note, Opening day has finally arrived! Go Cubs! I hope you all enjoy this somewhat hastily written chapter and forgive any mistakes that there may be.

"People are going to start wondering where we are." Rory muttered as Tristan rocked the swing side to side with his free leg.

"They know we need a break. They'll come get us if they really need something."

"You told them to leave us alone didn't you?"

"Maybe." He said with a guilty smile. "What? I haven't spent a single moment alone with you since everyone got here."

"You mean since my mother got here." Rory said with a knowing smile.

"That too."

"I miss my mother, okay? I'm sorry, but I do."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing, I'm just saying that I miss being alone with you." As if on cue, Lorelei came bursting through the front door and onto the porch.

"Where have you been!" She cried. "You left me alone with my parents! And your parents!" She pointed towards Tristan. "For an extended period of time!"

"You had Luke." Tristan pointed out.

"Right like that helps the situation, get back in here this instant."

"We've been busted." Rory told him, standing up.

"No!" He begged like a four-year-old throwing a tantrum.

"They're going back to the hotel in less than an hour. I'm heading over to Mia's. Call me when they are gone." Lorelei said as she opened the door. "Luke!" She called inside.

"What?" Tristan stood up like he was about to call a foul. "You're abandoning us?"

"I did my time. Plus, you owe me remember? I let you take Rory away from me and live a thousand miles away." Tristan sighed.

"So this is your fault." He said, turning his attention to Rory.

"But I'm worth it?" She suggested with a smile, hoping he would agree. They both watched as Luke came shooting out of the house, a panicked look on his face.

"Let's go visit Mia." Lorelei pointed over to Mia's.

"Thank God." He let out a sigh of relief as the pain washed away from features.

"The things I do to keep you…" Tristan muttered to Rory as he opened the door for her.

OOOOO

Tristan sat with his back against the headboard as Rory lay sleeping next to him. He wasn't sure of where their relationship was heading, but he knew that he loved having her here next to him. He watched as she sighed and slowly opened her eyes, unaware that he had been watching her. Surprised by him, she smiled and covered her eyes.

"You're creepy when you do that." She teased, her voice still groggy and coated in sleep.

"And you're beautiful." He said, pulling her hands away from her face.

"How long have you been staring at me?"

"Not long." He smiled at her embarrassed countenance. She stretched, a contented groan quietly escaping her lips as she moved closer to him. "I'm going to take a shower. Want to join me?" He asked, his trademark smirk pressing firmly into her shoulder as he kissed her bare skin. Rory closed her eyes and contemplated moving.

"Five more minutes?" She asked, snuggling into the blankets a little more.

"Sure." He said with a smile, happy to stay as long as possible.

OOOOO

"You know, I've got a few vacation days lined up. I think I might use them while I'm already here." She told him over breakfast. "Maybe stay a couple days before flying back home to surprise Mom."

"Really?" He asked, not wanting to get his hopes up too much, but knowing that he would really enjoy her company.

"Yeah, that is, if you don't mind."

"I would love that." He replied. "But how much time do you have saved up? Don't you want to visit your mom?"

"I've got a week. I figure two days here, four or five days in Stars Hollow." She left off the part about already being on vacation for a week. She had planned on using the time to visit home, but she could still do that.

"You miss it don't you?" He asked, not understanding the concept of missing home, but knowing that she would. She nodded.

"Every day. My mom is my best friend. It took her a full day to move me in to Yale because I wouldn't let her go. She actually had to spend the first night on my floor." Tristan laughed. "I know she wants me to go out and experience the world and get to see the things that she never got to experience because of me, but sometimes the only thing I want to do is crawl up on our couch and watch movies with her." Tristan smiled, knowing how she felt. "But you know, I also find myself wanting to see you." She told him with a shy smile.

"I hope you want to do more than watch movies on my couch." He asked more than stated. Rory's embarrassed smile lit up her blushing face and Tristan couldn't help but follow with a smile of his own. He was truly happier when she was around, even if she was just sitting in his kitchen.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Rory leaned forward in her chair as she finished her meal.

"No." Tristan shook his head. "Saturdays are pretty boring around here. I usually run errands, maybe hit the gym, work a little." He shrugged, wishing he had more important things to be telling her about.

"Well I was thinking, maybe you would want to show me around town, maybe take in a museum or two?" This time it was Tristan's turn to lean forward and examine the woman in front of him.

"You've been googling, haven't you?" He said, as if he were catching her in an illegal act.

"Maybe. What of it?" She said, trying to maintain her dignity. "I wasn't going to come down here ill-prepared. What if you hadn't been home? Or didn't want to see me?"

"Not a chance." He interrupted her.

"I would have had to find some way to spend my time here."

"You really want to go to the museum?" He asked as he got even closer. She nodded, smiling at the way he was covertly closing the distance between them. "Okay." He mumbled before kissing her.

"Thank you." She said, the air of victory in her voice.

OOOOO

Watching Rory's interested face as they passed through exhibit after exhibit within the museum was more interesting to Tristan than the actual information. She was devouring every piece with a passion that he had never seen. Every 'Oh wow, I didn't know that.' Or "Tris, come look at this!' made him smile.

"That was fun." Rory said as they walked out of the museum.

"Yeah, it was." He said, noncommittally.

"You didn't like it?" She asked, hoping she didn't just torture him for two hours.

"It's a museum Ror." He stated what he thought to be the obvious. "You walk through it, you nod and you move on." He said, teasing her a little.

"Well I thought it was fun." She said, defending her statement.

"I'm glad." He smiled. "Okay, now what?" He asked as they reached the sidewalk.

"You choose." She said. "I picked the museum." He pondered for a moment before looking down the block.

"I think there's a library down the street…" He trailed off as she hit him, knowing that he was making fun of her.

"Okay, if you're such a cool person, what do you do in this town for fun?" Tristan got an idea. Rory could literally see the light bulb pop on over his head.

"Come on, I've got it." He said, taking her hand and leading her away.

OOOOO

Within ten minutes and a mysterious phone call later, Rory and Tristan were sitting in a bar. He had convinced her that they needed to eat before their adventure.

"Where are we going?" She asked one more time. "What are we doing when we get there? Who did you call? Am I getting annoying yet?" She smiled as she pelted him with rapid fire questions, hoping he would cave.

"You know, for someone who is constantly surprising me by showing up uninvited to my house, you sure don't know how to be on the other side of the spectrum do you?" He commented.

"Not at all." She said as the waiter brought their food.

"Okay, I'll humor you." He said as he took a bite of his French fry. "We're staying here." He said as he gestured to the crowded pub.

"Really?" She said, unimpressed with his selection. Tristan glanced at his watch.

"That's all I can tell you for now."

"It's" She paused to look at her watch "seven on a Saturday." She said skeptically. "What could possibly be going on here that has every co-ed in the city packing into this place."

"Oh, you have no idea." He said with a smile. "But you are going to like it. I promise." Rory had to admit, she was a little curious when they had first walked in as to why he had chosen here of all the places in town to eat. "Nate and I used to come here in college, every Saturday night." He said, as if it were a lifetime ago and not a year. Just as he was about to continue, the lights dimmed and his face showed the excitement as he turned towards the makeshift stage in the back of the establishment.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…" The bartender was suddenly illuminated with a spotlight that Rory hadn't noticed before. "It's that time again." The crowd went nuts as Rory glanced at Tristan, still unsure of what was going on. "Are you ready to play…Say it with me now, 'Wheel. Of. Torture!'" Rory was still confused. "Our first contestant of the night is…." The crowd fell into a hush. "Megan Foley! Come on down." He said, his voice taking on a game show like tone. The girl rushed up towards the microphone. "Okay Megan, where are you from?"

"Cincinnati, Ohio!" She yelled and pointed towards her friends that she had came with.

"Are you ready to play?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, spin the wheel." He said as another person wheeled out a giant spinner with songs on it. Rory was completely wrapped up in what was going on that she didn't notice Nate and Cora slide chairs up next to them.

"Did we miss anything?" Cora asked, hopeful she hadn't. Tristan shushed her and shook his head.

"A shot says she gets Wind beneath my Wings." Nate offered Tristan. He took that bet, knowing there were seven other options for her. "Rory! A shot says Wings?" Rory nodded, still not sure why they were betting, but as she glanced across the crowd was all doing the same thing. As the spinner slowed, the crowd let out a mixed reaction to the choice: Wind Beneath my Wings.

"NO!" Tristan said as he slammed his hand on the table. "How do you do that?"

"Pick your poison baby. You're getting an early start." Nate said as he did a victory dance. Tristan left and quickly came back with a round of ten shots.

"Tequila." Tristan told her, ignoring her whimper of protest. The girl on stage started singing horrifically. Rory turned to Cora.

"The name starting to make sense?" Rory nodded.

"If the singing doesn't get you, the tequila will." The three of them said in unison.

OOOOO

Eight rounds later, Rory had only had four shots, but Cora and Tristan were not doing so well. They had both lost six rounds. Nate had won a spectacular seven rounds.

"Nate's a champion." Cora slurred a little. "He's only lost twice." Nate laughed at his wife's behavior.

"That's the great thing about the Wheel." Nate explained to Rory. "The drunker you get, the more you enjoy the singing."

"Okay, thank you Tanya." The announcer said as she left the stage. "Our next and final contestant is…a duo!" The crowd cheered. "Give it up for the vocal stylings of Tristan and Nate!" He said as he started clapping. The boys looked at each other with confusion. Rory just smiled.

"What did you do?!" Cora said with a giggle.

"Go on, he's calling for you." Rory said with an evil smile. "Who says I don't know how to have fun." She told Tristan. They were shoved up towards the stage.

"Give the wheel a spin." The announcer said. Nate did as he was told and watched as the wheel went around.

"A shot says its My Way." Rory said to Cora. She nodded and sure enough, the dial stopped directly on Frank Sinatra. "Yes!" Rory said as she pumped her fist. The boys looked at each other and laughed, shaking their heads. They picked up the microphones and turned their attention to the TV scrolling the words.

"You start." Nate mouthed to Tristan, knowing that he was the better singer of the two, and clearly more drunk.

"And now, the end is near; And so I face the final curtain." Tristan sang out

"My friend, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case, of which I'm certain." Nate followed.

"I've lived a life that's full. I've traveled each and every highway;" Tristan sang.

"And more, much more than this," Nate sang. "I did it my way." They sang the last phrase together as if they had practiced it.

"Regrets, I've had a few; But then again, too few to mention." Tristan sang.

"I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption." Nate took over.

"He planned each charted course; each careful step along the byway," Tristan motioned with his hands, cheese-ing up the song and getting the crowd into it.

"But more, much more than this, we did it our way." They sang together.

"Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew. When I bit off more than I could chew." Tristan sang.

"But through it all, when there was doubt, He ate it up and spit it out." Nate said, changing the words again.

"I faced it all and I stood tall; And did it…" Tristan took a deep breath and looked at Nate. "My way." They belted. The crowd went nuts and Rory and Cora were screaming their support from their table.

"Well well well. Looks like we've got some competition for best of show tonight." What do you say folks?" The crowd went crazy and two small promotional shot glasses were given to the boys for their efforts.

"They won!" Cora shouted and jumped up and down in her seat. As they sat back down and handed their prizes to their dates to examine, Tristan waved his finger at Rory.

"It's a good thing that you are worth all this." Tristan told her. "If you were any other girl…" He didn't finish his sentence. Rory was distracting him by sitting on his lap

"Never, ever, insinuate that a Gilmore Girl doesn't know how to have fun." She said before kissing him, the tangy flavor of lime and salt still on his tongue.