Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls (if I did, Rory and Tristan would have ended up together) or the song "In A Second" by Aly and AJ, which this chapter is based off of.

A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews and alerts! HAPPY NEW YEAR! : )

In A Second

Rory Gilmore doesn't even know where he is right now. He was overseas on a business trip for his dad. His dad was sending all over the place. She doesn't know where his dad would send him half of the times. She wished that she could be near him. She was opting to sail the oceans to get a glimpse of him.

You see, they had been friends ever since they ran into each other again at Yale. Paris always hinted that that there was something there but Rory never paid any attention to any of those hints. Besides, she was dating Logan Huntzberger at the time. She didn't want to believe it at all. But, now, is a different story. She and Logan broke up and she finally realized what was right in front of her. Tristan DuGray was the man that captured her heart without her really realizing it. He was there during the Logan and Rory fiasco that she called their break-up. Tristan sat up with her all night being her crying buddy. She called him as soon as she felt her heart breaking and he came with her favorite movie Casablanca and her favorite mocha flavored ice cream.

Tristan is everything that she was looking for in a man. He was considerate to her feelings. He catered to all of her weird cravings for coffee. The big bonus was that her mom loved him. She never noticed that at all. Every single time when Tristan would be over, her mom would be smiling a lot more than she usually did when Logan was over. Tristan even understood how her small town worked. Logan would come to her town and stay at her house during her town's festivities. For the last few years, she had to stop asking Logan to come and hide the fact that she asked Tristan to come instead. Tristan understood how Taylor acts in his weird and funny way. He keeps up with Kirk's oddness.

Her life would change in a minute when she finds Tristan and tell him her feelings. She hoped that he reciprocated her feelings. She just hoped that she was worth it – all of her quirkiness and all. 'Would this thing be an open door where we could walk through toward something more?' she asked herself. 'Just me and him. My life would change in a second.'

She just didn't know how he really felt. Her mom and Paris have been telling her that they can see the love for her reflecting in his eyes but she didn't want to believe it until she saw it for herself. She noticed that he had been keeping something to himself for the longest while. Even before he went off on the business trip, he wasn't himself. He was always a little bit jumpy and nervous around her. He wouldn't keep eye contact with her for at least the last week, she noticed.

She didn't understand it. He kept telling her that he was just nervous and stressed out for the business trip. But, here is the thing, Rory called up his dad's office and asked for Tristan's whereabouts and they told her that his dad didn't send him off anywhere. She got right down to the one person who would know where Tristan was, but, Janlan wasn't in anywhere to be reached. She had to wait until Tristan got back from wherever he was so that she could sit down and talk to him about her newfound feelings.

She never wanted to admit that she liked, possibly loved, Tristan. Tristan always had a past in high school. She knew not to judge him but sometimes she couldn't help it. She knew that she wasn't as innocent back in college but she was afraid that she was just another notch on Tristan's post. 'Would you climb mountains to show me what we have is real, Tristan?' she asked towards the wind, hoping that he would hear her. But, all she got back in return was the wind.

She took her cup of coffee and saw down by the window staring out onto the streets of New York. She had already finished looking over the case that she knew was waiting for her after the holiday season. She could see the new blanket of snow covering the ground and sometimes people if they were walking slow enough.

She pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and tossed around her back. She curled back up around the window and stared at the sight in front of her. She wished that Tristan would come back from his trip early. She really needed to talk to him.

She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard the soft knock on the door. She had to strain to hear the knock. She slowly dragged herself away from the window watching. She was by the window, how in the world did she not noticed anyone walking through the door was beyond her.

She gasped and felt her heartbeat quickened as she looked through the peephole. He was standing at her door, holding something behind his back. She didn't even know that he was here. How did she not see his blond hair walking in the street is beyond her. 'I guess I wasn't looking at the street and more of beyond it into staring off into space territory,' she said to herself.

She slowly opened the door. There Tristan stood in all of his glory and his winter coat with a cup of coffee in his hands. She inwardly squealed at the sight. "Hi," she said softly.

"Hey," he said back as she opened her door further to allow him pass.

"What's up?" she asked, wringing her hands.

"Just wanted to see you," he said, running a hand through his blond hair. She smiled. He usually did that when he was nervous about something. She surprised him and pulled him into a big hug. He laughed, the action calming his nerves. "I heard that you have been calling Janlan?"

"Yeah," she said, feeling bashful all of a sudden. "I…I…" Now that he was in front of her, she didn't know how to say it. She didn't know how she could state it.

"You what, Mary?" he said smiling. She giggled. It had been a while since she heard him call her that. It did help calm her nerves down.

She lightly punched him on the arm and motioned to the sofa. He laughed and followed her motion and sat down. "So, you called my grandfather looking for me?" he asked, making her turn bright red again.

"Um…" she said, trying to find her words. "I…I called…."

"Marrrrrrrryyyyyy," he said, dragging out the nickname. She rolled her eyes. He was being impatient again but that's one thing that she loved about him. She smiled at the thought.

"I called looking for you because, I wanted to know something," she said, slowly.

"Yes?" he asked smiling.

"You know that you're making this kind of difficult, right?" she asked smiling.

"Maybe," he replied grinning widely.

"IhavefeelingsforyouandIwaswonderinghowyoufeltaboutit?," she said rapidly. Tristan smiled and asked her to say it again. He heard what she had said but wanted her to say it again.

She cleared her throat and repeated slowly. "I have feelings for you, Tristan, and I was wondering how you felt about it?"

"How I felt it or how I feel about you?" he asked, making it even harder for her. She stumbled upon her answer. "Both," she replied timidly.

"I think," he said inching closer to her on the sofa. "No, I know that I am totally in love with you and am ecstatic that you feel the same way. That is what you mean by 'having feelings for me,' right?"

Even though he was supposed to be expecting it, he wasn't. She jumped on him and wrapped him in a huge hug. "I definitely love you," she whispered it as their lips get closer and closer.

As they pulled away due to lack of air, he whispered words that she felt for him. "You're perfect to me. I think this is definitely worth it. This new path we're on is like walking through an open door to something more. You and me, babe, together, we will make it. My life changed the second you walked through that Chilton classroom door. In a second," he whispered as he pulled her into another kiss that made her knees weak if she wasn't already sitting down.

A/N: I'm sorry for the late update. I meant to have this up before the new year hits but I got distracted with family things. I hope everyone had a good holiday and may all of your wishes and dreams for the new year will come true.