AN: Thanks for the reviews

"Rory, I need a pencil." Tristan whispered, sitting across from her in the Chilton library.

"Don't you have your own?" she asked, glancing up at him to glare for a moment.

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking you for one, would I?"

"Well, I don't have one."

"Then I need a pen or a piece of charcoal or any other writing implement you could offer."

"Except that I'm not offering."

"Come on, I'm begging you here."

"Remind me to kick Miss Ness for partnering us up again, would you?" Rory requested, putting her backpack on the table and pushing it across to Tristan.

"Will do," he replied, unzipping the bag and searching through it, for something to replace his dried up pen with. "What's this?" he asked, holding a booklet, having given up his search for something to write with.

"Uhh... not what you were looking for. Put it back."

"When did you decide you wanted to go to Harvard?" he asked, flipping a few pages. "Coz, I thought you were going to live my dream – escape the clutches of crazy family and avoid college. While I'm forced to take boring lectures for many years and am then chained behind a desk, you'll be off travelling somewhere exotic and making me so jealous that I decide I have no other alternative but to shoot myself."

"Can we skip to that last part now?" Rory whispered menacingly. "Please?"

"Seriously though, how come neither of you mentioned this? It would be nice to be kept in the loop."

"We didn't mention it because there is no we. Jess doesn't know."

"How does he not know? This is his dream school he has to know you're going with him."

"I'm not going with him. It would be virtually impossible for me to go with him, unless my grandparents got together – both sets – and bought a new astronomy building and a football field or something. Probably more than that. I was thinking about it, for about a second, but then I realised that fact and moved on to a slightly more visible reality."

"Boston University?" Tristan read off one of the sheets Rory had printed from the web.

"Yeah, maybe. I don't really know just yet so, you can't say anything to Jess, ok?"

"Well why not? I'm sure he'd be pretty happy about it."

"Yeah, he probably would. And then when something goes wrong and I don't get in anywhere, what then? I mean, I've only just started thinking about this, so I'd have to work my ass off in order to make it happen which I'm fine with but the less people that know about this, the better, until I'm sure there's actually a chance, so please don't say anything to anyone, ok?"

"Alright, alright, I'll keep your secret."

"Thank you." Rory grabbed her things and pushed the booklet as far down into her bag as it would go before returning to her reading, making a mental note to put it somewhere in her room so this didn't happen again.

"Rory?"

"What?" she hissed, glaring over at Tristan again.

"I still don't have a-"

"Here!" she tossed her own pen across the table at him and turned to rummage through her bag for a spare.

A few nights later at Liz and TJ's, after everyone had finished dinner and retired to the living room, Jess had volunteered to do the dishes. Rory opted to help him, rather than sit in a room full of people so taken with a baby.

Liz came back into the room with Lorelai to get some plates and the pineapple meringue pie for dessert. As she headed for the door behind Lorelai, she stopped before she got too far and turned back.

"Rory, if you're planning on staying the night, I'd like a little heads up, ok?" She asked. Jess dropped the plate he was rinsing in the sink and it made a loud clattering sound as Rory stood perfectly still, biting her lip not sure what to say, or if there was anything at all to say "Yeah, I know. I've known for a while now," She explained and Jess' face paled while Rory was trying to decide if she should make a break for it.

"I had hoped you would come to me so we could talk about it," she continued to her son, "but I realised that's not going to happen. I just hope that you know what you're doing. You both know where sex can lead you, right? Right here!" Liz pointed to her own pregnant belly before turning to indicate where Sookie and Lorelai were fussing over Davey in the living room, where thankfully, everyone else was out of earshot. "And then there; kids are great, they are, don't get me wrong. I never regretted having you, and I'm sure your mom didn't either." She added, for Rory's benefit. "But it's hard, especially at the age you're at now, we should know. I just want you to remember that, please, and be careful, because I know I can't stop you, just... Be careful." The two teens nodded mutely and Liz lifted the stack of plates she'd put on the table while she'd been speaking. "Ok. Good. Well, I've said my piece, so now I'm going to get my pie."

Rory dropped into a seat once they were alone and Jess just stood by the sink, the dishes forgotten. "Please tell me I imagined..."

"Your mother talking to us about sex? Nope. Sorry. Unless we're both sleeping right now and we're having the same nightmare that did actually happen."

"God! That is so embarrassing. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, well, I guess we can be thankful it was just her."

"That's true, if your mom was in here too, that would be... what? Why do you look like that?"

"I don't look like anything." Rory objected, hastilly, trying to change the look on her face.

"Yes you do. What?"

"Mom knows." Rory finally replied. "She's known the whole time."

"How is that possible?"

"She came into the diner that morning and Luke asked her how our night was. Somehow she understood what I needed her to say, and she lied to him for me. But then I had to explain to her. But see how well she's kept it to herself? You didn't even know she knew."

"This is great. I can't ever speak to either of them again. Great!"

"No, it's ok. Really, Mom's been totally cool about it."

"That doesn't matter."

"I didn't really want to tell her, but she dragged me upstairs and started going off at me, so I didn't really have much of a choice. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have told her if I could help it."

"Geez..." Jess pushed a hand through his hair. "At least Luke doesn't- He doesn't know does he?"

"Do you seriously think he would have stayed quiet this long if he did?"

"That's true. We'd be dead right now or possibly locked up in a monastery and a convent."

"Is Luke even religious?"

"No. Well, not really, he's um... nah. But there would definitely be some changes around here, I'm sure."

"Well, we'll just make sure that doesn't happen. Play by the rules and hope that our mothers don't get drunk or stupid and let out things that aren't theirs to tell."

"Yeah, that should be a breeze."

"Hey, don't you guys want any dessert?" Lorelai asked, coming back into the room. "If you don't hurry up it'll all be gone. Apparently your mom has decided that pineapple juice just isn't doing it for her anymore, so she'll probably devour the whole pie if we don't take it away from her."

"We're on our way," Rory replied.

"Ok."

"I don't want to go in there." Jess told her after Lorelai had left.

"They have ice cream in there..."

"Oh man. How do you always know how to control me?"

"Everyone knows the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"But you already got that."

"Just get in there and eat your ice cream!"

"But we don't have any cones!"

"You'll just have to take that up with your mom. If you can face her," Rory added before walking off to the living room.

Standing out the front of a class room, Tristan cocked his head to the side and fixed Rory with a look. "You have to tell him." He told her.

"No." She replied, glancing into the room that the Franklin meetings took place in, where Jess was.

"You do." He insisted, pushing away from the wall and moving to her side of the door. "You can't pretend like it's not important, because it is. Just the idea that you're considering it, and trying hard to get there, that should be enough to make your friends and family and especially your boyfriend very happy."

"Shut up!" Rory ordered, Jess was on his way towards the door and she wanted this over before he returned.

"Come on, Rory, just tell-"

"Shh!" she cut him off as the door closed, Jess standing between them.

"Tell who what?" he asked, looking from one to the other.

"Nothing." Rory told him, shaking her head.

"What's going on? You're both acting very weird." He informed them. "Are you dumping me for him? Is that what it is, the hushed tones?"

"You're being ridiculous. No. Tristan was just being an idiot, but he's going to be quiet now and we'll forget we had this conversation, alright?

"Well, how am I supposed to forget we had it, if I don't know what it is?" Tristan rocked back and forth on his heels, refusing to help Rory end the discussion.

"That should make it easier for you." She took his arm and pushed Tristan to get him to start moving. "Come on, let's go, we're running late to meet up with Lindsay and Lane."

"What happened to keeping my secret?" Rory demanded, on the phone to Tristan as she made her way up to her mom's apartment later that day.

"I'm sorry, but which secret are we talking about?"

"Like you know anything more about me that everyone else doesn't. You know what I'm talking about."

"Ok, yes. I know, but did I say anything to Jess? Think about it, did I even drop any hints?"

"He knew something was going on, by the time you left, they all did. And thanks to all the weird looks you were giving me, he now thinks you're in love with me!"

"Really? Did he say that?"

"Tristan!"

"Oh, look, this is your fault, ok? If you didn't have that stupid catalogue in your back pack, then I wouldn't know-"

"Bring your own pens!" Rory interrupted.

"I wouldn't know what you were hoping to get to after Chilton. I've pretty much always hated the idea of going to college, but the way you're looking at it, it actually kind of makes me what to rethink that, and it doesn't look that bad. So, I'm sorry if you don't want Jess to know just yet, but I was happy and I wanted him to. If it'll make you feel better though, I'll stay quiet."

"Where have I heard that before?" Rory muttered, turning a corner and finding Taylor Doose nearing their door.

"I promise this time I will respect your wishes."

"Good to hear. Now I have to go and deal with another annoyance." She told him before ending the call. "Taylor!" she called out as he pulled a key from his pocket.

"Oh, hello there Rory,"

"This has to be a violation of our rights," she told him, walking over to stand beside him. "How do you have that?"

"I own this building, and I'm well within my rights to conduct surprise inspections. I'm a busy man, if your mother doesn't see fit to return my phone calls, then she'll just have to deal with this."

"But- she's been busy, so very busy."

"Well what about you then? You were too busy to pick up the phone also?" he asked, reaching into his pocket for a spare key.

"Just hang on, hang on. At the very least, let me open the door, we're the ones that live here. I'm sure this is illegal."

"Have it your way young lady, but this inspection will take place. Today."

Rory glared as she snatched the key off him, and opened the apartment door. Stepping inside they both stopped short.

Rory had been worried that the second Taylor stepped foot in the apartment he would begin raving about the mess, but instead, his attention was focused solely on the couple on the couch. He didn't see the magazines littering the coffee table, the books piled all around the living room floor, the dirty dishes stacked in the sink or the many coffee cups scattered about.

All he saw was the two people engaged in a lip lock.

"Well I never - ! This is just... unacceptable behaviour! And in front of an impressionable young lady as well," Rory couldn't help but laugh at his calling her impressionable but then she refocused on Luke and her mom and grimaced.

"Ugh, so gross..." she muttered tearing her eyes away and reaching for a few items of clothing strewn over the arm chair and throwing the bundle towards her room. "You guys, you might want to put the kibosh on that; we have company."

"Oh! Um, Taylor, hi," Lorelai exclaimed, tucking her hair behind her ears as she and Luke shifted apart "I wasn't expecting... Did... Hi. Did I know you were coming?"

"If you had answered one of the many phone messages I left you, then this visit wouldn't have been such a surprise to you, and you would have appeared much more appropriately, I'm sure."

"Sorry, we just... can I get you a drink of anything?"

"No. That's quite alright. I think I'll just head back to the market for now. But I'll be back. Tomorrow at ten am sharp. So please make sure that you're ready for inspection when I arrive."

"Of course. Thank you, I'll see you tomorrow." Lorelai replied, following him to the door as Rory sat back in a chair, grinning at the embarrassed looks on the adults faces. "You couldn't have given us a little warning?" Lorelai demanded, turning around to glare at her daughter.

"Sorry, but I didn't realise that you were... coupling up here. Next time I'll barricade the door to keep him out so that instead of actually having to see the two of you together he gets some crazy idea about you forcing me to stand guard while you're 'together'"

"Oh, yeah, honey. That sounds great. Thanks." Lorelai returned her tone as sarcastic as Rory's. She turned to look at Luke who hadn't said a word the entire time Rory had been home. "How are you doing over there? Still breathing?"

"Oh, I'm just... Staring at my shoes and trying to pretend that didn't happen."

"Oh forget it, I've seen you guys do this heaps. And you're always walking in on me and Jess doing the same, so-"

"Taylor has never and I mean never seen us do that. And we were teenagers the last time we were together, probably as irresponsible as you and Jess, so it would have made more sense that he caught us then, but not once did he ever see that. I can't believe that just happened."

"We weren't that bad," Lorelai disagreed.

"Well, just think, that's something he can cross off his things-to-see list." Rory added, "I'm sure there's a tonne more things he's yet to find that he's been searching for. You guys probably just helped him earn a trophy that he most likely bought himself a while back. So you should be proud."

"Oh, yeah, now I feel a whole lot better."

"Glad I could help." Rory smiled at Luke as she headed for the kitchen and then with a cup of coffee in hand, moved on to her room. "You can carry on now, but if you plan on upping the rating, please move it behind closed doors. I am, after all, an impressionable young lady."

Walking along the bridge, Rory smiled and stopped as Jess came from the other end. They sat down in the middle and each waited for the other to start talking.

"Just so you know, Tristan was really just being dumb today." She began. "And it's my fault, but he's promised to stop it. I thought I should tell you about it anyway."

"Ok,"

"For a little while now, I've been thinking that college actually sounds pretty great. The night Davey was born, my grandpa talked to me about it and since then, I've just... It's stayed in my mind and I actually did a little research."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I shouldn't have lied to you," Rory nodded, "but I wasn't ready for anyone to know yet that I was thinking of my future. Because I thought that it would just make everyone keel over with laughter."

"Well, what changed then?"

"Tristan busted me. He found the information I had in my bag and that's why he was acting so weird earlier, he was trying to convince me to tell you this afternoon. I didn't want to but I came down here to think about it, and, well, you know the rest."

"Ok. So where are you in your thinking?"

"Boston University,"

"That's a good school."

"Not as good as Harvard, I know, but it is good and it's close to you and-"

"I haven't gotten in yet. I haven't even applied."

"Those are just formalities." Rory waved away his comment. "I'm going to have to put in a lot of work and hope like hell that my time at Chilton is enough to make up for the last couple of years in New York,"

"You've been working really hard, it may just work."

"I hope so." She nodded and then a smile formed on her lips. "Oh, do you want to hear about what happened when I got home today?"

"Sure,"

"Taylor was trying to get in to make an inspection, and when I let him in Mom and Luke were on the couch, being incredibly disgusting and making out. He was horrified and I was slightly sickened, but it was fun to see his face." Jess laughed as Rory continued to explain how the conversation had gone.