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Part 1

Rory stepped out on the terrace to let the view hit her with full force. Her grandmother was sound asleep in her bedroom and Rory smiled as she thought back at her tiny excursion to the catacombs.

She had let the management give her directions and after some hesitant strolls around the cramped streets of Rome she had found the goal, the catacombs. This was of course just a tiny tiny bit of the vast underground passages below the old city but still one of the most interesting things Rory could think of to see here.

Smiling to her self she moved to enter and was abruptly stopped in her tracks as a shorter energetic frame hit her in the front causing them both to fall, Rory on her bottom and with the other person right on top. As they went down, Rory could hear a, "Maddie look out!"

When Rory's head cleared after the collision she looked down into a pair of brown worried eyes, "Uh, hi?" she said hesitantly with a slight smile. "Maybe you should be a little more careful wherever you run?"

The girl to whom the eyes belonged blushed accentuating her lightly tanned skin with a healthy color, "I-I-I," she stammered before looking away at some undetermined point not on Rory's face, something that made Rory's heart melt, it somehow hit her right in the heart with a marksman's precision.

"I'm sorry, Maddie usually is a very considerate young girl," a mature voice said before either girl could say anything else.

The voice made Rory look up and into a face so similar to the girl's it had to be the mother. "Ah, it's okay, none got really hurt you know," hastened to reassure the older woman.

"I'm sorry, I just had to..." the girl began to apologize before her face twisted and she quickly stood up and hurried towards a café some yards away.

Rory looked at the disappearing form and when she turned her head to give the mother a silent questioning she got a simply reply, "Too much soda."

Rory nodded with a grin, it was really funny actually and if her bottom hadn't hurt so much she would probably laugh out loud.

"Oh, sorry for my bad manners!" the woman suddenly called out, startling into motion and reached out to give Rory a helping hand.

Rory accepted the hand as graciously as she could considering the circumstances and then smiled as she deiced to introduce herself. "Thanks and hi, I'm Rory."

The other woman, sandy blonde hair reaching just below her shoulders smiled back and returned, "I'm Ally, nice to meet you."

"Same, visited the catacombs?" Rory asked feeling some how she wanted to further their conversation.

Ally shook her head negatively and then said, "No soda incident came in-between."

Rory made an understanding noise and the two silenced, Rory not sure what to say to satisfy the sudden urge to be close to this woman.

Before she could come up with something the other woman asked, "Going down too?"

Rory nodded and then as a spur of the moment added, "Wanna do it together?"

Ally smiled at her and then answered, "Sure if you're willing to wait for my daughter Maddie."

Rory shook her head, "No problem at all."

After some more silence Rory asked, "Vacation huh?" as soon as the words left her mouth she cursed her current loss of words.

The other woman nodded and replied, "Yes, we're here for a week. It's her first international trip," she emphasized 'her' obviously meaning her daughter.

"Oh, this is my second time here, first time was with my mom. She and I went backpacking through Europe last summer." Rory rambled, suddenly having her words flooding out.

"Nice I take it?" Ally inquired her left eyebrow raised.

"Oh it was a blast, kinda dirty after a while, not many chances to get a shower. I think we went through two weeks between ones at the longest," Rory still rambled.

Ally cringed, "Maddie or me either wouldn't last a day without bathing."

"It was hard for us too," Rory agreed. "But seeing everything was really worth it."

"So are you here all alone this year?"

"No, this year I'm with my grandma and since they are rich we're living in a five star hotel this time."

Before the two women could continue their conversation the girl returned, "Thank god they had a restroom," she said with a relieved breath.

Ally motioned to her daughter to greet the younger woman properly, "Maddie this is Rory,"

Maddie gave her mother a roll eye that most of their friends thought was a perfect imitation of her mother's and then turned to Rory, "Hi Rory, I'm sorry I knocked you down, I really was in a hurry."

Rory smiled at the girl, "No worries, I presume there were no queue?"

Maddie grinned back, "Nope, I just had to enter, or rush in to be literal."

"Good, shall we?" Ally asked, as it was evident that Rory did not need any further apology.

Both of them turned to face the older woman and nodded, "Sure," they replied in unison.

* * * * *

"That was incredible!" Maddie exclaimed with shining eyes, "I loved those skulls, they were so creepy!"

The two women trailing her smiled at the displayed enthusiasm. As they departured from the museum Ally turned towards Rory, "Are you doing anything particular at the moment?"

Rory shook her head negatively, "No, grandma is still resting I think and she won't expect me back for at least another hour or so."

"Great, would you accept an invitation for some coffee as an apology for the inconvenience we caused you earlier?"

Rory smiled warmly at Ally, "Sure, I could use some coffee right now."

"Maddie and I found this really comfortable café some blocks away yesterday," Ally said and pointed in a direction some hundred yards down the alley.

"Sounds good to me," Rory replied and after Ally motioned for her daughter to follow they began trotting down it at a lazy pace.

* * * * *

"So when I stood there after telling her I was her daughter she fainted," Maddie grinned as she told Rory about her first encounter with her mother, "She went down like a pin!"

Rory gave Ally an amused smile, "Quite a shocker huh?"

Ally nodded, "Yeah, but it was the best shock I've ever had in my life, it kind of suited me perfectly to have a daughter," she smiled at Maddie.

The group went silent listening on the surrounding chatter and atmosphere, and then suddenly Maddie got up, "I want another soda," she stated and then hurried towards the counter.

"I really don't understand how she can drink all that and still look so thin, as far as I know she isn't even working out," Ally shook her head. "Myself I need to jog at least a mile after drinking one to just stay like this."

"Some people are lucky I guess," Rory agreed, she had managed to damper her babbling to what she felt was a normal conversational flow.

"You're one of them too aren't you?" Ally gave Rory a look that definitely was not innocent.

Rory's cheeks turned slightly crimson, "Both my mom and I are," she replied her blush she hoped would not be noticed.

Ally's sultry smile changed into a grin, "I knew it. I seem to have developed a radar for those things," she stated making a small victorious gesture.

Rory arched an eyebrow, "Knew what?" she inquired.

"You're gay aren't you?"

Shocked Rory shot back, "No I'm not! Why do you think I am?"

Ally gave the other woman a curious look, "Why? Isn't that obvious?"

"Obvious?!"

"You clearly responded to my flirting."

"Uh..." Rory was speechless as she realized Ally was right, they had been flirting since the accidental first meeting at the entrance to the catacombs. "Doesn't mean I'm gay." Rory lamely tried to excuse her self.

"Yes, but most straight women usually don't. Especially not after I do it directly." Ally stated with a carefree voice.

"I didn't respond to your flirting, it didn't even register until you brought it up!" Rory claimed with a slightly raised voice.

"Really?" Ally sounded doubtful.

"Really!" Rory exclaimed now with a clearly higher pitched voice.

Before Ally or Rory could say anything more Maddie returned with her third soda. "You made a move on her yet?" she asked with a disinterested glance at both of them.

Ally shook her head, "I did, but it seems she wants to claim she's not interested."

Her statement made Rory look at her sharply, "Who said I wasn't interested?"

"Um, you reaction perhaps?"

"All I said was that I'm not gay!"

"Wouldn't that imply you're not interested?" Ally asked with wrinkled eyebrows.

"Uh, no..." Rory trailed off of her reply.

"Really?" Ally said with a smile.

"Mom, she probably just realized her preference, don't make her more uncomfortable than she already is." Maddie intervened before the rather repetitive conversation could degenerate further.

"But she's so cute when she's all flustered like that." Ally complained.

"Sometimes I wonder who's the kid." Maddie gave Rory an apologetic smile.

Rory looked at the other two with large eyes, she wasn't sure what to make of the entire situation, then it suddenly registered what Maddie's first question had been. "You thought I was gay too?" She almost accused the younger girl.

Maddie gave her a confused look, "Uh, well the way you flirted with mom, I kinda assumed."

"But I didn't flirt with you mother!"

"Yes you did," Maddie replied giving Rory an almost lecturing look.

Rory looked back and forth between mother and daughter not sure what to say, she knew deep down they were right.

To be continued...