Paris, I need help, Tristan texted with a sigh. He knew she would call him back when she was free, he just wasn't sure if she was at the hospital or not so he hadn't wanted to call her, even though his question really was at least a phone call, considering he had no reason to go to Boston to see her in person without Rory.

Ring ring! Tristan jumped at the sound even though he was expecting the call.

"Hello?"

"What do you need?" Paris asked without any preamble.

"I'm fine Paris, how are you?"

"I don't have time for niceties, what's wrong?" she asked with a sigh.

"I need your help."

"So you said, but unless you get a move on and tell me what you need help with I can't do anything."

"Right, right. I'm just building up to it."

"What did you do? I'm not hiding anything from Rory, or providing an alibi."

Tristan rolled his eyes at Paris assuming the worst, but was glad she wasn't there to see him do it, that wouldn't exactly earn him any favors.

"I do want your help with something for Rory and you would need to keep it a secret but only for the short term."

"I can probably do that, now spit it out!"

"I want to propose, I have two different ideas in my head and I want your help on which I should choose."

"Oh, I can help with that."


"How busy is your March looking?" Tristan asked that night as they lay on the couch watching a movie.

"It's not awful, why? what are you thinking of?" Rory queried, raising her head from his chest to look at him.

"I have some vacation time I need to use, I wondered if you wanted to go away for a week for a small break?"

"I could probably manage that, what are you thinking of?" she said, laying her head back down to relax.

"Ireland?"

"Really? For just a week?"

"Why not? It's only a seven hour flight?"

"Okay, I'll see what I can do, I'll let you know."

"Sounds good," Tristan said softly, kissing the top of her head.


"Good idea to come the week after St Patrick's Day."

"Well I thought St Patrick's Day would be too busy and overwhelming, we wouldn't get to enjoy anything. It's a public holiday here so they close everything down apart from the bars."

"True."

"Where would you like to go today?" She asked, looking over at him as they were getting ready to leave their hotel.

"Well we have a reservation at 3:00, until then we are free. What would you like to do? A bus tour? St Stephen's Green? Shop?"

"Where is the reservation at 3:00?" Rory asked curiously, he hadn't mentioned it before.

"I can't tell you that, it's a surprise, but I will tell you it's not that far away from here," he answered with a smirk.

"Okay, well, how about we go for a walk through St Stephen's Green to the Museum of literature Ireland? Then we could get lunch somewhere?"

"Sounds like a plan, I'm sure there would be a pub around to grab lunch." Tristan said, before smiling at her and taking her hand to walk towards the green.

"It's like their own little mini Central Park," Rory said, as they walked through the pillars into the little oasis in the middle of the city.


"Thanks for humoring me, I know it's not your kind of place," Rory said, kissing Tristan on the cheek.

"No, it was fun. I didn't realize how many stories I read were actually by Irish authors."

"Is this another entrance to Stephen's Green?" Rory asked, as they approached another green space.

"No this is Iveagh Gardens, or so it says on the side. It looks pretty. Would you like a walk through?"

"Do we have time?" Rory asked, knowing Tristan always has his watch on him.

"Yes, and there looks to be a few pubs on the other side of the gardens so we can eat there. Come on." Tristan led her into the gardens, walking through and looking at the fountains and the waterfall. They considered attempting the maze until Rory's stomach made them aware of its presence.


"So where is this reservation for?" Rory asked, as they meandered towards the city center again.

"You will see when we get there," Tristan answered with a teasing smirk.

"Ugh, fine. I can wait ten minutes."

Rory was right, she didn't have to wait long before Tristan started to lead her through the arch way into the courtyard of Trinity University.

"It's gorgeous here, do you think this is where colleges from home stole their campus plans from?" Rory asked, looking around wide eyed.

"Well this has been a university since what, fifteen hundred and ninety something?"

"Fifteen ninety two."

"Yeah then, so they definitely didn't copy from us." Tristan said. "Excuse me for a minute," he said before bounding away to talk to a staff member.

"Come with me," Tristan said, pulling her by the hand along with him to a doorway.

"Where are we going?" Rory asked, realizing she should have been looking closer at their location.

"Really?" Tristan asked shocked, "you actually haven't realized where we are?"

"Umm no, should I have?"

"I assumed you would," he said, leaning in and giving her a kiss, before moving to the side, so she could read the sign behind him.

"Oh My God. Trinity Library. I'm an idiot!" she exclaimed.

"Not an idiot, just overwhelmed by the new scenery. Now come on. We have a private tour booked, the window is very small, before the crowds get in again." Tristan said, dragging a dazed Rory into the museum part of the library, working their way towards the long room.

"It's…" Rory started to speak before freezing.

"I have silenced a Gilmore. I will have to tell Luke what it takes," Tristan said laughing softly.

"It's like Hogwarts meets beauty and the beast. It's gorgeous." Rory murmured, spinning trying to take the whole room in at one.

"I thought you would say that."

"It's amazing. The amount of history in this room. The Brian Boru Harp, the Proclamation of Independence, the book of Kells!"

"Only you, Mare."

"Only me what?" she asked in confusion.

"You forgot that the library was here, but you can list the treasures that it holds."

"Of course. Now I need some pictures before the crowds come back. I need to show the office, maybe I can persuade them to build a library like this."

The tour guide, who had been hovering silently until this point, stuck her hand out for the camera which Tristan surrendered with a smile.

"Can we go up the stairs?" Rory asked, looking at the spiral staircase.

"For a picture you can go up a few so you are on them, but not all the way to the top," the tour guide answered, knowing this played perfectly into what the gentleman had hoped would happen.

"You go up a few, and then you can look down adoringly at me?" Tristan offered, gesturing for Rory to go ahead of him.

"Why thank you kind sir," she accepted with a smile. As soon as her back was turned as she climbed the steps, Tristan dropped to one knee to wait on her turning around.

"Is this high enou-" Rory started, as she was turning around from about five steps up. "Tristan," she whispered.

"Rory, Mare. I have adored you, not so secretly since we were fifteen years old. The past few years as we grew closer as friends, and then as partners have been amazing. Everything that I dreamed off as a dumb teenager is right here between us. Will you make my dreams a reality and spend the rest of your life with me? I love you Rory, Will you marry me?" Tristan managed to gush out, nervously.

"Yes, oh God, Yes!" Rory exclaimed, before jumping off the stairs into Tristan's arms as he stood. Quickly pulling him into a kiss. Once he could bring himself to pull away, Tristan moved, putting just enough space between them, that he could slide the halo diamond ring onto her finger, before pulling her into another kiss.

Unfortunately they were interrupted this time by a burst of noise, signaling the end of their private tour.

"Congratulations," said their tour guide, sincerely. "Hopefully you like the pictures."

"You got pictures of that?" Rory asked, coming out of her daze.

"Yes, I hope they are to your liking. I had it on burst mode. Feel free to stay as long as you want, and congratulations again," the guide said before moving on, helping with the traffic flow as the room began to fill with the usual number of visitors.

Rory looked down at her ring, then back up at Tristan, trying to shake herself out of her stupor before giving in. "I love you," she whispered, dragging him back down into as passionate a kiss as she could reasonably manage now there were people around. "How far away is our hotel again?" she asked as they broke apart.

"I think ten minutes."

"Okay, I need you naked in the next fifteen minutes," she said with a heated gaze, giving Tristan just enough time to check they had everything before she dragged him out of the building.