The Beginning of a Beginning?

By Antigone Solange

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, and I certainly don't own Tristan, but a girl can dream can't she?

Chapter 18

::Sinking into Sweet Uncertainty::

Rory woke with a start, sitting up in bed and causing Tristan to jerk awake, as well.

"What's the matter, babe?" Tristan asked, worried.

"My mom is going to KILL me!" Rory responded, wide-eyed.

"No she won't. You're her only child and she loves you like nothing else in the world," Tristan yawned, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at the clock, noticing that it read 6:00am.

"Mary, it's too freaking early; let's go back to sleep! How are you even awake without coffee?" With that, Tristan grabbed Rory around the waist and pulled her back down into the warm comfort of the bed. Rory squealed, trying to get away and grab for anything within her reach. Luckily, or unluckily for Tristan, she caught hold of the heavy bedside lamp. Upon noticing this, Tristan stopped his ministrations to inspect Rory's face for any intentions of actually using said heavy lamp to bash his head in. Rory took the opportunity to fling herself from his arms, far enough away so that he couldn't reach her from the bed.

Tristan whined.

"Oh hush! You sound like a puppy," Rory admonished, straightening out her mussed appearance.

Tristan made his eyes as big as possible and put a pout on his usually smirking lips. "Does it work?" He asked.

Rory started giggling at the sad, boyish-looking Tristan.

"It works?" Tristan hoped.

"No," Rory said sternly. Rejected, Tristan flopped back onto the bed face-first into the fluffy, feather pillow. Soon, he was snoozing soundly again, leaving Rory to take care of business.

Grabbing her cell phone, she let out a stressed sigh. She hadn't talked to her mother in quite awhile now. Lorelai would probably be upset that her daughter hadn't kept in touch. And of course she'd fret at not being informed immediately or Rory's newest relationship status. And after talking to her mom, Rory would have to talk to Logan. This was turning out to be quite a headache for Rory. But first things first; she needed to have a chat with her mom, and maybe Lorelai could even give her some advice on an approach with Logan. And maybe Tristan had a point: it was too early to be awake without coffee. So before calling her mom or Logan, Rory rung room service to bring her a fresh steaming cup of java.

With the warm cup settled in her palm, Rory dialed her home phone number. Of course, Lorelai would be awake by this time because it was past 9:00am on the East coast.

The phone rang three times before it got picked up. Lorelai's groggy voice came over the other end, "whoever this is better have a good reason for waking me up at…too early in the morning on a…Saturday."

"Hi, Mom; it's me, your only daughter whom you love so much you would forgive her for waking you up," Rory responded.

"You know, I honestly thought you'd be awake by now," Rory tacked on. She heard some rustling of sheets and muffled voices.

"Well, you know, I had kind of a late night; ahem," Lorelai responded.

"Oh god, Mom! I don't need to know about your shenanigans with Luke!" Rory cringed.

"Hey, I think I should be the one reprimanding you, dear daughter. You promised to call often!" Lorelai turned the tables, her tone completely offended.

"I know; that's why I'm calling now," Rory hung her head and said, repentant.

"So…how has the trip been? Where are you now? How's Satan's Spawn treating you? How on Earth are you awake so early? Did you drink five cups of coffee?" Questions spilled out of Rory's end of the phone non-stop.

"I hope you know, that I can only answer one question at a time…" Rory interrupted. "And at this rate, I won't even remember the questions you're asking me."

"It's okay, honey; that's what your Yale education is for!" Lorelai commented.

"Right…anyway, the trip has been busy and fun; we're in California, now. Tristan's treating me…well—"

"Oh! Why the hesitation there, Rory? Do I need to come kick his butt for you? Because I swear if that DuGrey kid is being a jerk—"

"No, Mom; it's not like that. Thanks," Rory interrupted.

"So what's it like then?" Lorelai asked getting a little suspicious.

Rory decided not to beat around the bush any longer and merely blurted, "He asked me to marry him, and I said yes." Only, it came out in a condensed mess that sounded more like "."

"Um…I didn't catch any of that. Could you repeat it slower?" Lorelai responded after a moment of trying to figure it out.

Rory took a deep breath and repeated it much slower, but she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence because Lorelai let out a high pitched shriek after the word "marry."

"Oh the wedding is going to be amazing! I can just picture it in my head! You've done so well, Rory! Think of how rich you'll be—a DuGrey!" Lorelai started gushing.

Horrified, Rory butt in, "You don't even know if I said 'yes.' And since when did money and affluence ever mean anything to you of all people?"

"Of course I know you said 'yes.' How could you say 'no' to the Spawn of Satan? That's right, you can't. But it's ok because you're so lucky he's good-looking. And as for money, you're right, I don't care. I'm just acting how mothers are supposed to act when they hear of their precious daughters' engagements. Did I do a good job?"

"I suppose…" Rory supplied, still a little disconcerted.

While Rory chatted with her mother about the various details of the trip, specifically, the engagement, Tristan awoke again. He could see Rory sitting in the chair across the room, her back to him. A mischievous smile crept across his face as he thought of sneaking up on the unsuspecting girl.

"So I have a problem," Rory started.

"Already? Isn't it kind of soon—you just got engaged and all. It should be like the 'honeymoon' phase…"

"No. Not a problem with Tristan. Well, kind of involving Tristan but not directly," Rory rambled a little nervously. She didn't know why she was nervous because she was just talking to her mom after all.

"I'm not sure how to break the news to Logan," Rory stated.

"Hmm…that is a problem, isn't it?" Lorelai agreed.

"How do you think he'll take it?" Rory asked.

"Beats me, Rory. He was your boyfriend for three years; I'd say you would know best," Lorelai answered. "I guess you should just be honest. He won't turn psycho on you and come after you with a machete, will he? Because that would be a real problem."

At that very moment, Tristan lunged for Rory, running his fingers all over her sides. Rory screamed and flailed her arms, trying to get out of the chair and away from her attacker. Lorelai could hear the shrieks and laughed to herself before hanging up, leaving the two lovebirds to have their fun.

Panting, Rory tried to catch her breath with a safe distance between herself and a smirking Tristan. She had her hands in front of her as a protective barrier in case Tristan tried anything again.

Tristan slowly walked toward the cautious Rory. "Oh c'mon, Mary. You're not really mad at me, are you?" He tried to school his features to appear a little more repentant and serious. But this didn't fool Rory as she started to back further away. However, her plan was foiled as her back hit the wall.

Tristan, thinking he was triumphant in cornering Rory, flashed her an impish smile. Just as he was about to continue the tickling onslaught, Rory ducked under his arms and exacted her revenge on Tristan's bare abdomen. Surprised at Rory's change in strategy, Tristan hastened to retreat, tripping over a chair and bringing Rory down on top of him. They burst into a fit of laughter, entangled on the floor.

Tristan caught Rory's gaze traveling across his face and settling on his lips. He ran his fingers through her hair and brought her face down to his so he could kiss her. It was a soft kiss at first but it quickly deepened, becoming more and more passionate. When they finally broke apart for air, Tristan murmured, "Can we put the phone calls on hold now?"

Rory smiled and nodded, but before she could do anything else, Tristan lifted them off the floor and carried her to the bed where he laid her down gently. There, they continued where they had left off.

Another year, another chapter! At this rate, this story will be done when I'm 30! I'm always sorry for the long hiatuses between chapters. And I'm always very appreciative of the faithful readers (and new readers, too). Thanks so much!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know I said there'd be a phone call with Logan, but I realized that Rory hadn't spoken to her Mom yet. And I would have included the Logan phone call in here, but that might mean another year of waiting. So I hope you all are still hanging in there. Besides…cute TRORY action anyone? To be honest, I have no idea if this is consistent with the characters at all anymore. I have yet to reread the whole story…partially because I don't want to waste any more time before cranking out the chapter and partially because I fear it's just too terrible (and if I reread it now…I may never ever want to finish it).

The title of this chapter comes from Jimmy Eat World's "Sweetness" (which I do not own). The reason I chose this title was because of Rory's state of not knowing how to break the news to Logan (her uncertainty). But at the same time, it's sweet love with Tristan. Aww so romantic, especially the last scene—they're just spiraling! HAHA.

Antigone Solange