Disclaimer: I don't own anything

A/N: First of all, if you can't remember this story, I don't blame you, I had to go back and reread it myself. Because it has been years since I updated…okay, not years, but a long time. I'm giving you two flashbacks to remind everyone where we are…including me. Hehe. No seriously.

Previously on Gilmore Girls:

"I've got an interview with Mike Levrett today at UCONN."

"As in the expected number one draft pick and part time model for the NCAA?"

"Maybe?" She said, not really knowing the answer.

"Don't let him charm you with his un-diseased, perfect ten, collegiate body." Tristan said.

OOOOO

"Will you give him this?" Rory reached out for the photo. It was Tristan, with Troy and Sarah. Rory was taken aback at how similar she and Sarah looked. She did have the same eyes, but also the same nose, mouth and Rory was pretty certain that there used to be the same brown hair.

"I want him to have it." Sarah's mother said, breaking Rory out of her analysis of the photo.

OOOOO

"I can't believe she gave you this." Tristan said, looking at the picture again.

"She wanted you to have it." Rory said, glancing to the passenger side of her car. "You know, I was surprised at how similar we looked, Sarah and me." She mentioned casually. Tristan nodded.

"Oh yeah…I guess I hadn't noticed." Rory knew that was a lie, but she left it alone. "So are we dressing up for this thing or not?" Tristan asked as he put the picture away.

"No, it's just going to be a party at the Inn. Sookie and Jackson have a bounty of crops they are making a spooky feast with." He nodded. "Although, I suppose Mom will have some sort of tricks up her sleeves." Tristan laughed. He could only imagine what antics Lorelei could get into.

"I'm excited to get away for a weekend. We haven't done it in a while." He said as he reached for her free hand. She nodded.

"I got my story done and my editor was so excited about it, he gave me this week off."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm planning on finally tackling the last of my moving boxes." She said with a teasing grin.

"Good." Tristan was glad that she would finally settle into his place. He wanted her to feel like it was hers too.

"Here we are." She said as she turned onto her old street. Tristan laughed as he saw the decorated house, which already had a good haunted house look as it was with it's large porch and double story frame. Lorelei spared no expense when it came to celebrating.

"Is that a noose in the tree?" He asked, trying to get a better view.

"Oh yeah. Babbette always hangs Maury…you know, to scare the kids." She said as if it were common. Tristan just shook his head.

"Stars Hollow never disappoints." He muttered as he opened his car door.

"You sound surprised! It's the home of the Gilmore Girls. You should know things like this by now." Rory said as she kissed his cheek.

OOOOO

"God, we must have ate the entire town's supply of vegetables tonight." Lorelei said as she moved slowly to the couch. "Why did you let me eat that much?" She asked Luke. He looked at her confused.

"She's worried she won't fit into her dress." Rory helped Luke out, knowing that was what she was getting at.

"You will too. And I've been trying to dictate your eating habits for the past ten years, why would you think that I would have any success now?"

"Oh yeah." Lorelei smiled. "Silly me."

"Come on, let's go home." Luke said, taking her hand. "We'll work off all that we ate tonight." He whispered.

"Dirty." She muttered with a smirk as she followed him out the front door. "Bye kids!"

"Bye Mom." Rory called. "Well, upstairs?"

"So soon? Either you have very dirty plans or you have reading to catch up on. I'm going to go with the latter." Tristan guessed. Rory nodded.

"You know me so well." She started up the steps and Tristan stood at the bottom, simply watching her walk. "You coming?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said with a small smile.

OOOOO

Rory had been sitting next to him in bed for the last half an hour watching him. From the looks of the magazine long forgotten in his lap, it was clear that he was deep in thought.

"Are you okay?" She finally asked. He sighed and closed his eyes before glancing over at her.

"I noticed." Tristan said simply as he took off his reading glasses.

"What?" Rory was clearly confused.

"Today in the car, when I said that I never noticed how similar you and Sarah looked. I noticed." Rory tried to read his expression, but she couldn't quite make it out.

"Okay." She said hesitantly.

"I think it's the reason that I got so caught up in her case. And it wasn't just her looks, it was her entire attitude. Every time I looked at her, I saw you ten years ago." Rory didn't know what to say. "I really wanted her to get better." He admitted.

"Of course you did." She knew that this was hard for him and now that they were finally talking, she didn't want to force him to discuss it anymore. "You don't have to explain any…"

"No, it's okay. I told you that I would talk when I was ready, and now I'm ready. It's time to get over it." He said. She nodded for him to continue. "Remember when my mom said that I was always driven?" Rory smiled. "She wasn't kidding. Sometimes, it can be a bad thing. I get tunnel vision and with her case, it was pretty bad. So when she died, that empty room…it killed me too."

"I know."

"And when things get to me, I shut down. I always have."

"I know that too." She said, unable to hide the disdain in her voice. "Why is that?"

"I have no idea." He thought about it. "I guess it started as self-preservation and now I'm slowly figuring out how to dismantle it. I know that this relationship is hard work for you," He said.

"No, it's really not." She said.

"But you always catch me at the worst times in my life. What's up with that?" He asked. She shrugged. "You are always there when I need you. It's a strange concept, but it's one that I'm thankful for."

"People don't always leave, Tristan." She sighed. "I know that I can be…" she searched for the right word, "relentless in my curiosity." He laughed. "But I ask these questions because, well A) I can't help myself." He smiled. "And B) Because I care about what's best for you. I want you to be happy."

"I know you do."

"And I'm not leaving." She said adamantly.

"Really?" He said, teasing her.

"You're going to have to kill me first."

"Til death huh? Well it's a little sudden but okay." He said with a smile.

"You know what I meant." She said in her mother voice. The one that said she wasn't going to play along with his teasing.

"Yeah. If I asked you to marry me right now, you would run out of this room so fast…"

"If you proposed to me right now, I would hit you over the back of your head for doing it while we were both in our pajamas." He laughed. "Why, you planning on asking?" She thought he was joking, so she laughed at his suggestion.

"Maybe I am." He said with a smirk. She couldn't hide the stillness that overcame her as her body tensed at his answer. "Tonight reminded me for the first time in a while that I should focus on all that I have, and not all that I've lost." He looked into her eyes. "But you don't want to marry me right now." Remembering to breathe, she took a deep breath and sighed.

"No." She said a little too honestly. He laughed at her. "What? I don't!" She said, defending her reaction.

"Thanks for that."

"You're welcome." Rory smiled.

"Instead, I'm going to start appreciating the small stuff, like the fact that I get to lay here next to you and feel you worrying about what a screwed up mess I am."

"Well," Rory smiled as she leaned in close. "You may be a mess." His gaze flickered between her moving lips and her eyes. "But you are my mess and I love you." He could hardly wait for her to finish talking before bridging the gap between them and kissing her intensely. He didn't realize that he took her breath away when he kissed her like that. She giggled as he began to kiss her neck, one kiss never enough for him.

"I love you too." He mumbled against her skin, happy that the talking they had been doing lately had finally come to a close.

OOOOO

When Tristan woke up the next morning, things were perfect. Rory was snoozing comfortably on his chest, her arm draped over his stomach. Tristan watched as she stirred and clung closer to him.

"Good morning." He said as he kissed the top of her head.

"Breakfast." She mumbled.

"Started half an hour ago."

"Sookie's breakfast." She said a little more coherently. "Coffee." At her sad attempt to sit up, Tristan pulled her close again.

"Bed." He said as he kissed her. "Boyfriend."

"Mmm. Touché." She settled back on top of him, this time using his shoulder as a pillow. Her stomach growled and she giggled, hiding her face in his chest. "It's because of all the hard work we did last night."

"Glad to know some of my skills are effective." He chuckled. "Because my persuasion skills clearly need some more work."

"Oh don't worry." She said with a dirty smile. "That definitely still works." He laughed. "Come on, we both need a shower." She said as she crawled out of bed.

"See, now that was persuasive." He said as she rolled her eyes.

OOOOO

"Hey Ror." Lorelei said as they came down the steps. "Can I talk to you for a second, about the wedding." She added when Tristan gave her a funny look.

"Sure. I'll meet you in there." She told him as she followed her mom to the front desk. "What's going on?"

"The Sunday paper came today."

"On Sunday? How dare they?!" She said with a giggle.

"Page Six." Lorelei said as she handed her daughter the paper. Rory opened it and was surprised by her photo. It was from her interview with Mike Levrett, and it definitely looked suspicious. She read the headline.

Is Levrett playing off the field as well?

The All-star collegiate baseball player, and part time model, was caught having a lunch date with a pretty brunette this week at a local café in Hartford. Both were seen laughing and holding hands at the (very public) sidewalk table. The woman, who could not be identified, left with a kiss on the cheek. Could this be the reason that the much desired college senior did not enter the draft earlier? We will have to wait and see.

"Oh my God." Rory was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe. She was just about to speak when Tristan walked into the room. From the look on his face, he had seen the paper already.

"Tristan, please, let me explain!" She cried.