Title: The Way To Atlantis
Chapter: Fourteen
Chapter Title: Daddy's Girl
Rating: R
Coupling: Paris/Jess, Lane/Dave, and half Rory/Tristan.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, it belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino, The WB, and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions. I also do not own Moon Tomoshibi's "Daddy's Girl" from the Sailor Moon soundtrack "Lunarock"
Author's Note: N/A

From pigtails to perfume/I'm growing up so soon
Going to parties/I love having my own room
Don't spend as much time at home now
There's so much to do/But I know, it's true

I'll always be Daddy's girl/out in the great big world
He's taught me what's right from wrong
I feel so strong/I'll always be Daddy's girl.

Early January 2018

"How about a tie?" Rory asked, fingering the soft silk of a dark maroon tie.

Gigi looked up from where she was examining a brown leather wallet nearby, "ties are so done. Besides, you're not 10 anymore Rory."

Rory sighed, "true."

Gigi rolled her eyes and dropped the wallet, "he has like a million of them anyway." She looked around with a sigh. "I don't think we'll find anything here, lets go to a different store."

Rory nodded and followed her half sister out of the department store and into the main portion of the mall, "I just don't know what to get him. I mean, he doesn't strike me as the type to want fragrances." Rory paused outside the bath and body works to examine their newest men's cologne.

"That's for sure," Gigi agreed. "I bought him their mountain scent last year, I think he's used it twice."

Rory let go of the bottle and continued walking with Gigi, past a Claire's. "He's not really into art either," Rory commented glancing into a art gallery. She paused outside the Borders next door. "Maybe a book or CD?"

"He's obsessive about Stephen King," Gigi commented looking through the window, "He has a whole collection, in order."

"I think there's a new one," Rory said.

"He'll have bought it by his birthday," Gigi said dismissively.

"Ugh," Rory groaned, continuing walking. "That's his problem, he buys, and buys and doesn't think of us poor little people stuck trudging a mall on a Saturday, at it's peak capacity looking for something in a moderate price range that he doesn't have and won't buy before his birthday."

"Well maybe that's the problem," Gigi said thoughtfully.

"I just said it was his problem," Rory sighed.

"No, I mean, maybe we should pool our resources and buy him something horribly expensive he'd never buy on his own."

"Like a High Definition TV?" Rory asked.

"No, he just bought one," Gigi said.

"Maybe a trip then?"

"What kind of trip?" Gigi asked, curious.

"Oh I don't know," Rory sighed. "Nevermind."

They stopped outside a music store with an advertisement for upcoming concerts. "Look," Gigi exclaimed.

"What?" Rory asked.

"Radiohead is doing a concert in New York two weeks after his birthday. He loves Radiohead."

"Two weeks is enough time to adjust his schedule. We can't get only one ticket though, that'd be weird."

"Then we'll get him two, and let him pick who he wants to take, but tell him he can't take one of us because it wouldn't be fair."

"Sounds good to me," Rory said with a shrug. "If we have enough leftover, we can get him a gift certificate to a restaurant in New York too."

The two sisters started walking away. "Like what?" Gigi asked."

"We'll figure out something. Come on, we can go to my house and buy the Radiohead tickets online, and then look up New York restaurants." Rory and Gigi headed for the nearest exit.

Mid-January 2018

Tristan looked down at six year-old Lola then back at the restroom choices in front of them. Men's, the most comfortable for him; Women's, the most comfortable for her; and Family, uncharted territory for both of them. "Do you really have to go now?" he asked.

"Yes daddy," Lola whined. "I've got to go now."

Tristan sighed and quickly weighed his options. He could ask a nice woman to accompany his daughter into the women's restroom, though that seemed like to much of a come on. Perhaps his only choice was to buck up, be a man, bite the bullet. Yeah, maybe that was it. Resolutely he grabbed Lola's little hand and led her into the family restroom. "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets," he mumbled.

He would have stopped just inside the door if it hadn't been for Lola pulling him along. The place was packed with women. Women coming out of stalls, at the sink, leaning on the wall, even two changing babies against the far wall. The only males in the room aside from him were all under at least eight, mere kids. Inwardly he groaned, the kids. They were everywhere, there were more kids than women, and they were literally everywhere, in stalls on sinks, under sinks, trying to climb into the trash can.

Lola stopped at an empty stall and looked up at him expectantly. "Oh," he exclaimed, "Uh, I'll wait here." Lola entered the stall and closed the door behind her. Tristan turned and leaned against the door. He was surprised to see the place had emptied out a bit. Only one of the diaper changers was still there. As well as only three other women, and six children, not counting Lola. The diaper changer tossed the diaper away, lowered the baby into a stroller and washed her hands. Then she turned towards him. She pushed the stroller along while leading a young boy by the hand. She gave him a small smile.

"You're a good father."

His head snapped up and he realized she'd spoken to him. Before he could respond she continued, "My husband wouldn't set foot in here."

"Oh," Tristan said, relaxing, she was married. "I really had no choice as my wife isn't here. It's been an interesting experience, though."

"I bet."

Just then Lola came back out, "All done, daddy."

"Okay, honey, wash your hands," Tristan ushered her to the sinks.

"It was nice to meet you," the woman said.

"Oh, you too," Tristan said, his attention flitting to the woman then back to Lola as she tried to squirt soap into her hand. It missed and ended up on the floor.

"Oops," she said. He sighed.

Lovely.

Late January 2018

Rory sighed and shut the door behind her and Lola as they entered the hall behind Tristan. She glared quickly at Tristan's retreating form as he headed for his home office. She turned to Lola, "Lola, honey, go on up to your room and get on your favorite pajamas and I'll be up in a minute okay?"

"Okay, Mom." Lola said hurrying up the stairs. Rory watched and made sure she was gone before turning and following Tristan into his home office. She shut the dark wood door behind her and looked at him, sitting in his chair slumped over his desk looking at some papers.

"I cannot believe you," Rory hissed at him.

Tristan looked up reluctantly, his eyes tired, "What is your problem?"

"What is my problem?" Rory's eyes widened. "What is your problem? You've come home late every night for the past month. I never said anything though. I know you're working on a big project. Tonight though, was the one night I needed you to be the Tristan I knew. Sure, when you said you'd meet me there I thought fine, that will be okay, he'll still be there in time, lots of people do that."

"I met you didn't I?"

"You were two hours late Tristan! Two whole hours. You knew this was important to me but you still couldn't pull yourself away from your work for it."

"It was just a birthday party."

"It was my father's fifty-fifth birthday Tristan, that's a big deal."

"Well excuse me if I didn't view it as such."

Rory groaned aloud and moved closer to his desk, "I can't believe you, you're so damn infuriating. What's so important Tristan? What's so important that you're home late every night, in the office every Saturday, and when you are home you're holed up in this stupid office."

"I told you," Tristan sighed, leaning forward on his elbows. "I'm very busy right now Rory."

Rory leaned forward so that her face was level with his and she was looking right into his eyes. When she spoke, she was quiet, "Are you having an affair?"

"How can you even ask that?" Tristan demanded indignantly.

"I don't know what to think Tristan. You never tell me anything except 'I'm very busy right now Rory,' and 'Don't wait up." Rory gripped the side of the desk. "Sometimes I just want to.. to..." Rory's hand flew off the desk of it's own accord, smacked Tristan squarely across the cheek, his head snapped to the side from the surprise attack, and as he turned to look back at her a red mark was already forming on his cheek. "Oh my god," Rory breathed, eyes wide.

Tristan's eyes darkened, then suddenly he leaned forward and kissed her passionately. Rory twined her arms around his neck and kissed him back as she climbed up onto his desk. His hands moved up her legs and under her skirt. His mouth moved to her neck and she arched her back and neck in pleasure.

To be continued...