I Never Knew... (GG)
7 Feb 2010 16:13![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skylar0grace Title: I Never Knew...
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Complete in ten parts.
Rating: PG.
Summary: Sometimes it's the little moments in life that make all the difference.
Spoilers: All of 'Gilmore Girls'. Set after season seven.
Disclaimer: ‘‘Gilmore Girls’ and all related characters are copyright Amy Sherman-Palladino, David S. Rosenthal, The WB & The CW Network. No infringement intended.
Notes: My submission for the D.A.T. Challenge (November '09) at Paradise Lost using the Table One prompts (Warehouse, Bar, Graveyard, Home, Hospital, Official Building, Supermarket, Woods, On The Road, Author's Choice). Lyrics by Kim Carnes.
Rory sighed and slumped back into her seat. The tip appeared to have been a complete bust. This was the third night she'd sat outside of the warehouse waiting for the drug deal to go down, a story that may just get her the front page.
She was about to reach for her coffee again when the headlights of a car appeared in the distance and she ducked quickly in her seat. As the car pulled up to the warehouse, a good-looking man hopped out of the car and looked around nervously.
She began taking pictures immediately.
A second car, much nicer than the first, pulled up and a tall blonde man climbed out leisurely. Rory frowned as she tried to place his familiar face. She sometimes forgot tiny details like names, but a face – she would always remember one and she definitely remembered this one.
As he shook hands with the other man and walked with him over to the boot of his car, Rory tried to place his walk or dress style. Anything that would give her an idea. If she'd met him before, chances are he was an upper-class member of society and that just absolutely breathed scandal.
As the blonde man walked back to his car and pulled out a briefcase, he smiled at the dealer and recognition hit her like a ton of bricks. Tristan. Tristan DuGrey. How the mighty had fallen. She sat still thinking of the last time she'd seen him – just before he was shipped off to military school – and couldn't help but think that obviously the punishment hadn't taken. She wondered what had happened for him to stoop as low as drugs while the camera sat soundlessly in her lap.
The dealer opened a bag and Tristan placed the bundles inside. He then carefully arranged the plastic bags filled with a white substance in the now-empty briefcase. The other man simply smiled before climbing into his car and leaving Tristan standing by his own car.
Bright, flashing lights broke her out of her reverie and she automatically brought her camera up to her face and started clicking. Police quickly surrounded the dealers car and raised their weapons before he could run. With reluctance, he got out of his car with his hands raised and was taken into custody. After he was placed into the vehicle, Rory turned her camera toward Tristan. She didn't relish having to record his arrest.
Instead of watching him get handcuffed, she watched as he handed over the briefcase and shook hands with the officer. The scene cleared and she was left feeling more confused than before she started. Ten minutes later, Rory started the car and began the long drive home.
Tristan accepted the glass with a nod and looked back at the newspaper. He didn't need to be sitting in a bar, with all the money he had he could open his own, but he liked the anonymity of sitting with a crowd of strangers knowing that nobody could care less if he was rich or not.
The bi-line caught his attention and he was draw to a familiar name that he hadn't seen in a while. Lorelai Gilmore. He knew enough about the Gilmore's to know that only one of the Lorelai's was interested in following a journalism career and it looked like she'd done just that.
He almost choked on his scotch when he began reading the article and could recall the details with great clarity. The drug bust he had helped with the previous night had apparently not gone as unnoticed as he supposed. Apparently she had been there and based on the accompanying picture, she'd seen the whole thing.
She hadn't named him in the article, he was just an unnamed source, and she'd picked a photo which showed a vast amount of the scene that night but did not include him. Tristan wondered if she'd recognised him and purposefully left him out of the very newsworthy article or if she'd just thought that the 'unnamed source' wasn't important enough to include. He reasoned it was probably the latter because it had been at least a decade since that last time they'd seen each other and he'd changed a great deal.
“She comes in here some nights; mostly if it's been a bad day at work. She's an amazing writer.”
Tristan looked up at the bartender and noticed the almost fatherly affection on the older man's face. He wasn't at all surprised that Rory had drawn that out of the usually gruff bartender and as the man went back to cleaning glasses, Tristan looked back at the article. It had been too long since he had last seen her and he wondered if he'd even recognise her if he saw her again.
Who was he kidding? He'd know her anywhere.
Folding the newspaper in half and handing it back across the bar, Tristan laid out more than enough money for his drinks twice over and nodded genially at the man. Who knew, maybe he'd get to again meet the woman who'd helped him turn his life around. She may not remember him but he'd always remember her.
He'd come to the funeral officially; it was his duty as a DuGrey. But deep down he'd come for her. She had a tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see and there wouldn't have been a person in the room who'd thought she wouldn't be grieving for her beloved Grandfather.
The man had been a pillar in her life and had helped her navigate the waters of life. He would be missed in the community but as the coffin was lowered into the ground, the grief that was etched across the faces of his family proved that they would miss him more. That hole would never be filled again.
Tears trailed down her perfect, alabaster cheeks. Her hair had been left down, the waves framing her face and acting as a curtain from the crowd of well-wishers. To her credit, she delivered her words succinctly and without too much emotion – something which showed just how long she'd been in society. She dropped a single red rose into the open grave as words silently escaped her lips and stepped back. Her mother dropped in two roses as Emily stood stoically nearby and as each rose hit the coffin, Rory blinked in anguish.
It had been too long since they'd been in each others lives, too long since that once tentative thread of a forming relationship had been snatched from their grasp. And while he wanted to comfort her, he knew it was not his place. There was no Logan, or Dean, beside her but Huntzberger did offer her comfort before he left. A brief, awkward hug that screamed both the closeness they'd once had and the distance that had now formed.
Tristan followed the crowd as the family was left to grieve alone but he stopped a distance away and watched the three women looking down. He sent a silent prayer upward for her as he watched her involuntarily shudder from the cold before he turned and walked away.
She sighed as she angrily slammed her papers down on her desk and put her head in her hands. She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. Her deadline was in just a few hours and she still had to finish typing up her article. A bunch of leads had just walked in and her boss had left her a stack of paperwork to catch up on. It looked like it was gonna be another all-nighter with no reprieve.
Rory got out of her chair and headed for the break room. When she'd first started working here, there had been a kettle and a jar of instant coffee. Rory had been disgusted and had, at least for a few days, tried to drink it. But Luke's had spoiled her – him and his awesome coffee – and now she had a standard that she had to set that didn't seem to be met anywhere outside of Stars Hollow. So Rory had don the only thing she could.
She'd brought in Bob.
Bob was the massive, and very important, part of her life – her coffee machine. She couldn't count how many grateful looks she got when she'd made that first batch of coffee. She had, however, gotten a disapproving look from her boss. But the coffee machine had proved invaluable and now instead of a mass exodus at coffee break time, the office remained busy. That had been what had eventually won over her boss and left her in relatively good standing.
Her office had become home to her. Sad, but true. She had barely slept in the apartment in Hartford she rented off her Grandparents and everything of importance in her life, like Bob, had eventually found their way into the office. Her apartment was now only used when she was showering and getting dressed and if her Grandparents decided to stop in.
Rory brought back her extra large mug of coffee to her desk and drank deeply of the liquidy goodness. It coursed through her and gave her the extra boost she needed. Placing the mug down on the desk, she opened her laptop and began typing; losing herself in a wash of words.
'Uptown Girl' began playing softly in the room and Rory hummed along to it for a moment before she realised that she hadn't turned on any music. Frowning, Rory turned toward the sound. It was coming from under her stack of papers and Rory grinned in recognition – it was her phone. Obviously the last time she had seen her mother she'd sneakily reset Rory's ringtone.
“Hello?” she answered, a grin plastered across her face.
“Hello. Would I please be able to speak to a Miss Lorelai Gilmore?”
“Speaking.”
“This is Tara Holston from Hartford General. I am sorry to inform you that your grandmother, Emily Gilmore, has been involved in a car accident...”
He was on his way out after seeing a friend when he saw her in the waiting room. She was slumped in her chair, eyes downcast with a solemn look on her face. His feet began approaching her long before his brain had registered that that is what they were doing. She didn't even look up as he stood in front of her and he took the opportunity to sit beside her.
She glanced sideways and when she saw his face she gave the smallest of smiles before looking back at her feet. He desperately tried to think of something to say to her, to find out why she was there when she wrapped her arms tightly around him and sobbed onto his shoulder. He sat momentarily in shock before wrapping his arms around her smaller frame and holding her tightly.
“She's here. I was at work and they called to say that she'd been in a car accident.”
Tristan pulled back in shock. “Your mum?”
“I just don't think she can live without him,” she continued on, as if she hadn't heard him. “Now that he's gone, she's been so depressed. She hasn't been to any of her meetings and she bit Biddy Charleston's head off when she called around last week.”
“Emily had it out with Biddy? I would have paid to see that.”
Rory pulled back and looked at him, an astounded look on her face. Tristan shrugged and brushed her hair back behind her ears. “Rory, she's gonna be fine. She still has you and Lorelai. It will take some time but she'll make it.”
Rory smiled as fresh tears fell. “Thanks Tristan,” she said as she laid her head back down on his shoulder. “Thankyou.”
“Can you identify this man?”
“Yes, sir, it is the defendant.”
Rory scribbled furiously. Others around her were casually typing on laptops but Rory found something comforting in the feel of pen on paper. Something primal and natural. Blue ink on white paper in loop and swirls as she wrote down what was going on in the courtroom. She had no need for the words being said – her recorder was doing that for her – but the feel of the room, the sights, smells and sounds, that was something she alone could record.
She looked up at Tristan on the stand and noticed his attention was on her. The lawyer continued to ask him a question and he answered it without pause, though his eyes remained focused on her. Rory gave him a small smile of encouragement before turning her attention back to her notes.
The piece she was working on was a companion piece to her earlier one. This time Rory was here to see what would happen to the man who had been running an underground drug ring that sold primarily to the teens in Hartford. It had been a good scam; the Hartford elite had more than enough money from the parents to keep themselves well and truly spun but the ring had been noticed when a fifteen year old boy had overdosed and then there was no way the dealer had been able to hide from the wealthy.
Tristan had known the teenager and had helped aid the police in the dealers capture, something he wanted no attention from; merely to help aid the family in their grieving. It had certainly swayed Rory's opinion of Tristan and she realised her premature assessment had been way off. Not much had been heard of Tristan since his departure from Hartford but it seemed as though he had worked hard to turn his life around – something Rory was proud of.
“Who would have thought that one of Chilton's most notorious playboys would end up being something more than just a pretty face.”
Rory grinned. “I did.”
Supermarket
Rory dropped the box in her trolley and pushed forward. A bright orange box with the word 'NEW' across the top caught her attention and she barrelled straight into somebody walking around the corner.
“I'm so sorry!”
“It's okay, I didn't need that toe.”
Rory looked up at the grinning face and smiled.
“Hey Tristan.”
“Pop Tarts, huh? That's... a lot of Pop Tarts.”
“Well, you can never have too many Pop Tarts. Besides, my mum is coming over this weekend and I'm gonna need them.”
“What are you two planning on doing?”
“Just watch some movies and eat junk food – mostly just catch up. Hey, you should come!”
Tristan blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah sure, Mum would love it; though we are kind of an acquired taste together. Apart we're sort of watered down.”
“I'm sure I can learn to cope.”
Tristan grinned and began walking away. “I'll see you then.”
Rory started after him. “But, don't you want my address?”
Tristan waved over his shoulder and grinned mischievously. “Trust me, I'll find you.”
Rory watched as he disappeared out of the store before looking back at the shelves. She paused for a moment in thought before taking another couple of boxes off the shelf for good measure.
Woods
Tristan walked through the trees with ease. The large woods behind his house had been bought by his family generations ago and they'd had the presence of mind to never sell. Though it was currently worth a fortune and many developers were desperate to get their hands on it, the DuGrey's had declined and Tristan had had a small reprieve from the suffocating vortex that was his childhood home.
The large trees towered over him and as a child he had marvelled at the site. Now, as an adult, the trees still towered over him but he knew the woods better than his own home and felt more comfortable there than anywhere else. The woods were still filled with an abundance of animal life and as he walked down a well worn path, his eyes remained focused on one spot. He moved off the path into a net of vines and branches before emerging into a small clearing.
He walked slowly toward a large rock off to the side and laid a yellow rose in front of it. He remained kneeling as his head dropped and he placed a hand on top of it.
“I miss you. It's crazy that after all this time, I still feel like it was just yesterday that I saw you.”
He laughed softly to himself and looked at the trees around him.
“You know, we spent so many hours out here...”
A bird flew onto a nearby branch, it's brightly coloured wings moving effortlessly in the sunlight. Tristan gave a small smile.
“I ran into Rory again. We're gonna meet up with her mum for a movie night. You know, after all of these years, she still hasn't changed much... she's still as beautiful as ever. I know you'd just tell me she's out of my league – trust me, I know that. But I can't help it. She made me see all of the things you'd been pointing out to me for years. You always said that you'd have liked to meet her; you guys would have gotten on like a house on fire.”
He stood slowly and looked back at the rock.
“Issy, I really wish you were here to help me. I wanna make this work – I have to make this work. I want my big sister to give me advice, kick my butt when I get things wrong...”
He looked once more at the surrounding trees. She wasn't buried here. She was buried in some expensive family crypt but she'd loved it in the woods and if it hadn't been a family tradition, if he'd had his say, he would have had her buried out here.
“I love you,” he whispered as he turned and walked away.
Tristan climbed into his car and began his drive to the Gilmore house. He'd been to the town before, more often than Rory had known, and he'd seen her house. He'd looked at the quaint little town and thought that there couldn't have been a better place for Lorelai to bring up her daughter. Away from the pressures of society, Rory had grown up with only the things she truly needed in life. He couldn't imagine a better way to raise a child nor could he imagine better influences.
It was dark as he travelled down the highway and despite being a Friday night, there wasn't a single car on the road. He turned on the radio and couldn't help but roll his eyes at the music.
Bette Davis was an alluring woman and Rory was no less so. The only difference was that Rory couldn't see it. She certainly hadn't been able to when they'd gone to school together and although he seen the world-weariness that she'd somehow obtained in the years since, it hadn't actually changed who she was as a person.
He was enough of a man to admit that he'd long ago fallen in love with the blue-eyed beauty and though many years ago he hadn't realised the real reason he wanted her, he had realised he wanted her. He wanted to be the one to give her all the things she needed in life, to cross all of the milestones with her...
As the lights of the highway gave way to the lights of the upcoming small town, Tristan took a deep breath. This was it – this was the moment where they would either make or break it as friends and even if she didn't ever end up loving him the way he wanted, he hoped she would always be in his life. She somehow made it better.
Rory bit her lip as Lorelai placed a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.
“He knows where we live, right?”
Rory looked out the window. “He said he'd be able to find it.”
“Did you tell him about Monty?”
“Didn't get a chance to. He left before I could even give him an address.”
Lorelai suppressed a grin as she walked into the kitchen and Rory rolled her eyes. Her mother was more obvious when she was trying to hide it but at least she was okay with the impromptu guest. Rory nervously wrung her hands together before shaking them and trying to act nonchalant. She didn't understand why she was so nervous now.
Tristan had changed a lot in the years since they had first met but in truth, Rory knew it had always been there – that same spirit that she admired now. She'd barely given Tristan a chance, not like the one she'd given Logan, but they were raised similarly and being in society couldn't have been easy. She wondered what had caused the change in Tristan and whether or not it had been military school or a later event. Maybe even both.
Maybe this time around they could pick up where they left off and spark up that friendship once more.
Lights momentarily flooded the window and Rory glanced toward the kitchen. Lorelai walked out with hot Pop Tarts and grinned at her.
“Showtime,” Rory whispered to no one but herself.
~Fin.
Author: SkylarGrace.
Status: Complete in ten parts.
Rating: PG.
Summary: Sometimes it's the little moments in life that make all the difference.
Spoilers: All of 'Gilmore Girls'. Set after season seven.
Disclaimer: ‘‘Gilmore Girls’ and all related characters are copyright Amy Sherman-Palladino, David S. Rosenthal, The WB & The CW Network. No infringement intended.
Notes: My submission for the D.A.T. Challenge (November '09) at Paradise Lost using the Table One prompts (Warehouse, Bar, Graveyard, Home, Hospital, Official Building, Supermarket, Woods, On The Road, Author's Choice). Lyrics by Kim Carnes.
Warehouse
Rory sighed and slumped back into her seat. The tip appeared to have been a complete bust. This was the third night she'd sat outside of the warehouse waiting for the drug deal to go down, a story that may just get her the front page.
She was about to reach for her coffee again when the headlights of a car appeared in the distance and she ducked quickly in her seat. As the car pulled up to the warehouse, a good-looking man hopped out of the car and looked around nervously.
She began taking pictures immediately.
A second car, much nicer than the first, pulled up and a tall blonde man climbed out leisurely. Rory frowned as she tried to place his familiar face. She sometimes forgot tiny details like names, but a face – she would always remember one and she definitely remembered this one.
As he shook hands with the other man and walked with him over to the boot of his car, Rory tried to place his walk or dress style. Anything that would give her an idea. If she'd met him before, chances are he was an upper-class member of society and that just absolutely breathed scandal.
As the blonde man walked back to his car and pulled out a briefcase, he smiled at the dealer and recognition hit her like a ton of bricks. Tristan. Tristan DuGrey. How the mighty had fallen. She sat still thinking of the last time she'd seen him – just before he was shipped off to military school – and couldn't help but think that obviously the punishment hadn't taken. She wondered what had happened for him to stoop as low as drugs while the camera sat soundlessly in her lap.
The dealer opened a bag and Tristan placed the bundles inside. He then carefully arranged the plastic bags filled with a white substance in the now-empty briefcase. The other man simply smiled before climbing into his car and leaving Tristan standing by his own car.
Bright, flashing lights broke her out of her reverie and she automatically brought her camera up to her face and started clicking. Police quickly surrounded the dealers car and raised their weapons before he could run. With reluctance, he got out of his car with his hands raised and was taken into custody. After he was placed into the vehicle, Rory turned her camera toward Tristan. She didn't relish having to record his arrest.
Instead of watching him get handcuffed, she watched as he handed over the briefcase and shook hands with the officer. The scene cleared and she was left feeling more confused than before she started. Ten minutes later, Rory started the car and began the long drive home.
Bar
Tristan accepted the glass with a nod and looked back at the newspaper. He didn't need to be sitting in a bar, with all the money he had he could open his own, but he liked the anonymity of sitting with a crowd of strangers knowing that nobody could care less if he was rich or not.
The bi-line caught his attention and he was draw to a familiar name that he hadn't seen in a while. Lorelai Gilmore. He knew enough about the Gilmore's to know that only one of the Lorelai's was interested in following a journalism career and it looked like she'd done just that.
He almost choked on his scotch when he began reading the article and could recall the details with great clarity. The drug bust he had helped with the previous night had apparently not gone as unnoticed as he supposed. Apparently she had been there and based on the accompanying picture, she'd seen the whole thing.
She hadn't named him in the article, he was just an unnamed source, and she'd picked a photo which showed a vast amount of the scene that night but did not include him. Tristan wondered if she'd recognised him and purposefully left him out of the very newsworthy article or if she'd just thought that the 'unnamed source' wasn't important enough to include. He reasoned it was probably the latter because it had been at least a decade since that last time they'd seen each other and he'd changed a great deal.
“She comes in here some nights; mostly if it's been a bad day at work. She's an amazing writer.”
Tristan looked up at the bartender and noticed the almost fatherly affection on the older man's face. He wasn't at all surprised that Rory had drawn that out of the usually gruff bartender and as the man went back to cleaning glasses, Tristan looked back at the article. It had been too long since he had last seen her and he wondered if he'd even recognise her if he saw her again.
Who was he kidding? He'd know her anywhere.
Folding the newspaper in half and handing it back across the bar, Tristan laid out more than enough money for his drinks twice over and nodded genially at the man. Who knew, maybe he'd get to again meet the woman who'd helped him turn his life around. She may not remember him but he'd always remember her.
Graveyard
He'd come to the funeral officially; it was his duty as a DuGrey. But deep down he'd come for her. She had a tendency to wear her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see and there wouldn't have been a person in the room who'd thought she wouldn't be grieving for her beloved Grandfather.
The man had been a pillar in her life and had helped her navigate the waters of life. He would be missed in the community but as the coffin was lowered into the ground, the grief that was etched across the faces of his family proved that they would miss him more. That hole would never be filled again.
Tears trailed down her perfect, alabaster cheeks. Her hair had been left down, the waves framing her face and acting as a curtain from the crowd of well-wishers. To her credit, she delivered her words succinctly and without too much emotion – something which showed just how long she'd been in society. She dropped a single red rose into the open grave as words silently escaped her lips and stepped back. Her mother dropped in two roses as Emily stood stoically nearby and as each rose hit the coffin, Rory blinked in anguish.
It had been too long since they'd been in each others lives, too long since that once tentative thread of a forming relationship had been snatched from their grasp. And while he wanted to comfort her, he knew it was not his place. There was no Logan, or Dean, beside her but Huntzberger did offer her comfort before he left. A brief, awkward hug that screamed both the closeness they'd once had and the distance that had now formed.
Tristan followed the crowd as the family was left to grieve alone but he stopped a distance away and watched the three women looking down. He sent a silent prayer upward for her as he watched her involuntarily shudder from the cold before he turned and walked away.
Home
She sighed as she angrily slammed her papers down on her desk and put her head in her hands. She took a few deep breaths and closed her eyes. Her deadline was in just a few hours and she still had to finish typing up her article. A bunch of leads had just walked in and her boss had left her a stack of paperwork to catch up on. It looked like it was gonna be another all-nighter with no reprieve.
Rory got out of her chair and headed for the break room. When she'd first started working here, there had been a kettle and a jar of instant coffee. Rory had been disgusted and had, at least for a few days, tried to drink it. But Luke's had spoiled her – him and his awesome coffee – and now she had a standard that she had to set that didn't seem to be met anywhere outside of Stars Hollow. So Rory had don the only thing she could.
She'd brought in Bob.
Bob was the massive, and very important, part of her life – her coffee machine. She couldn't count how many grateful looks she got when she'd made that first batch of coffee. She had, however, gotten a disapproving look from her boss. But the coffee machine had proved invaluable and now instead of a mass exodus at coffee break time, the office remained busy. That had been what had eventually won over her boss and left her in relatively good standing.
Her office had become home to her. Sad, but true. She had barely slept in the apartment in Hartford she rented off her Grandparents and everything of importance in her life, like Bob, had eventually found their way into the office. Her apartment was now only used when she was showering and getting dressed and if her Grandparents decided to stop in.
Rory brought back her extra large mug of coffee to her desk and drank deeply of the liquidy goodness. It coursed through her and gave her the extra boost she needed. Placing the mug down on the desk, she opened her laptop and began typing; losing herself in a wash of words.
'Uptown Girl' began playing softly in the room and Rory hummed along to it for a moment before she realised that she hadn't turned on any music. Frowning, Rory turned toward the sound. It was coming from under her stack of papers and Rory grinned in recognition – it was her phone. Obviously the last time she had seen her mother she'd sneakily reset Rory's ringtone.
“Hello?” she answered, a grin plastered across her face.
“Hello. Would I please be able to speak to a Miss Lorelai Gilmore?”
“Speaking.”
“This is Tara Holston from Hartford General. I am sorry to inform you that your grandmother, Emily Gilmore, has been involved in a car accident...”
Hospital
He was on his way out after seeing a friend when he saw her in the waiting room. She was slumped in her chair, eyes downcast with a solemn look on her face. His feet began approaching her long before his brain had registered that that is what they were doing. She didn't even look up as he stood in front of her and he took the opportunity to sit beside her.
She glanced sideways and when she saw his face she gave the smallest of smiles before looking back at her feet. He desperately tried to think of something to say to her, to find out why she was there when she wrapped her arms tightly around him and sobbed onto his shoulder. He sat momentarily in shock before wrapping his arms around her smaller frame and holding her tightly.
“She's here. I was at work and they called to say that she'd been in a car accident.”
Tristan pulled back in shock. “Your mum?”
“I just don't think she can live without him,” she continued on, as if she hadn't heard him. “Now that he's gone, she's been so depressed. She hasn't been to any of her meetings and she bit Biddy Charleston's head off when she called around last week.”
“Emily had it out with Biddy? I would have paid to see that.”
Rory pulled back and looked at him, an astounded look on her face. Tristan shrugged and brushed her hair back behind her ears. “Rory, she's gonna be fine. She still has you and Lorelai. It will take some time but she'll make it.”
Rory smiled as fresh tears fell. “Thanks Tristan,” she said as she laid her head back down on his shoulder. “Thankyou.”
Official Building – Courthouse
“Can you identify this man?”
“Yes, sir, it is the defendant.”
Rory scribbled furiously. Others around her were casually typing on laptops but Rory found something comforting in the feel of pen on paper. Something primal and natural. Blue ink on white paper in loop and swirls as she wrote down what was going on in the courtroom. She had no need for the words being said – her recorder was doing that for her – but the feel of the room, the sights, smells and sounds, that was something she alone could record.
She looked up at Tristan on the stand and noticed his attention was on her. The lawyer continued to ask him a question and he answered it without pause, though his eyes remained focused on her. Rory gave him a small smile of encouragement before turning her attention back to her notes.
The piece she was working on was a companion piece to her earlier one. This time Rory was here to see what would happen to the man who had been running an underground drug ring that sold primarily to the teens in Hartford. It had been a good scam; the Hartford elite had more than enough money from the parents to keep themselves well and truly spun but the ring had been noticed when a fifteen year old boy had overdosed and then there was no way the dealer had been able to hide from the wealthy.
Tristan had known the teenager and had helped aid the police in the dealers capture, something he wanted no attention from; merely to help aid the family in their grieving. It had certainly swayed Rory's opinion of Tristan and she realised her premature assessment had been way off. Not much had been heard of Tristan since his departure from Hartford but it seemed as though he had worked hard to turn his life around – something Rory was proud of.
“Who would have thought that one of Chilton's most notorious playboys would end up being something more than just a pretty face.”
Rory grinned. “I did.”
Supermarket
Rory dropped the box in her trolley and pushed forward. A bright orange box with the word 'NEW' across the top caught her attention and she barrelled straight into somebody walking around the corner.
“I'm so sorry!”
“It's okay, I didn't need that toe.”
Rory looked up at the grinning face and smiled.
“Hey Tristan.”
“Pop Tarts, huh? That's... a lot of Pop Tarts.”
“Well, you can never have too many Pop Tarts. Besides, my mum is coming over this weekend and I'm gonna need them.”
“What are you two planning on doing?”
“Just watch some movies and eat junk food – mostly just catch up. Hey, you should come!”
Tristan blinked. “Really?”
“Yeah sure, Mum would love it; though we are kind of an acquired taste together. Apart we're sort of watered down.”
“I'm sure I can learn to cope.”
Tristan grinned and began walking away. “I'll see you then.”
Rory started after him. “But, don't you want my address?”
Tristan waved over his shoulder and grinned mischievously. “Trust me, I'll find you.”
Rory watched as he disappeared out of the store before looking back at the shelves. She paused for a moment in thought before taking another couple of boxes off the shelf for good measure.
Woods
Tristan walked through the trees with ease. The large woods behind his house had been bought by his family generations ago and they'd had the presence of mind to never sell. Though it was currently worth a fortune and many developers were desperate to get their hands on it, the DuGrey's had declined and Tristan had had a small reprieve from the suffocating vortex that was his childhood home.
The large trees towered over him and as a child he had marvelled at the site. Now, as an adult, the trees still towered over him but he knew the woods better than his own home and felt more comfortable there than anywhere else. The woods were still filled with an abundance of animal life and as he walked down a well worn path, his eyes remained focused on one spot. He moved off the path into a net of vines and branches before emerging into a small clearing.
He walked slowly toward a large rock off to the side and laid a yellow rose in front of it. He remained kneeling as his head dropped and he placed a hand on top of it.
“I miss you. It's crazy that after all this time, I still feel like it was just yesterday that I saw you.”
He laughed softly to himself and looked at the trees around him.
“You know, we spent so many hours out here...”
A bird flew onto a nearby branch, it's brightly coloured wings moving effortlessly in the sunlight. Tristan gave a small smile.
“I ran into Rory again. We're gonna meet up with her mum for a movie night. You know, after all of these years, she still hasn't changed much... she's still as beautiful as ever. I know you'd just tell me she's out of my league – trust me, I know that. But I can't help it. She made me see all of the things you'd been pointing out to me for years. You always said that you'd have liked to meet her; you guys would have gotten on like a house on fire.”
He stood slowly and looked back at the rock.
“Issy, I really wish you were here to help me. I wanna make this work – I have to make this work. I want my big sister to give me advice, kick my butt when I get things wrong...”
He looked once more at the surrounding trees. She wasn't buried here. She was buried in some expensive family crypt but she'd loved it in the woods and if it hadn't been a family tradition, if he'd had his say, he would have had her buried out here.
“I love you,” he whispered as he turned and walked away.
On The Road
Tristan climbed into his car and began his drive to the Gilmore house. He'd been to the town before, more often than Rory had known, and he'd seen her house. He'd looked at the quaint little town and thought that there couldn't have been a better place for Lorelai to bring up her daughter. Away from the pressures of society, Rory had grown up with only the things she truly needed in life. He couldn't imagine a better way to raise a child nor could he imagine better influences.
It was dark as he travelled down the highway and despite being a Friday night, there wasn't a single car on the road. He turned on the radio and couldn't help but roll his eyes at the music.
Her hair is Harlow gold, her lips a sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold - she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll turn the music on you, you won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow - she's got Bette Davis eyes
Her hands are never cold - she's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll turn the music on you, you won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow - she's got Bette Davis eyes
Bette Davis was an alluring woman and Rory was no less so. The only difference was that Rory couldn't see it. She certainly hadn't been able to when they'd gone to school together and although he seen the world-weariness that she'd somehow obtained in the years since, it hadn't actually changed who she was as a person.
He was enough of a man to admit that he'd long ago fallen in love with the blue-eyed beauty and though many years ago he hadn't realised the real reason he wanted her, he had realised he wanted her. He wanted to be the one to give her all the things she needed in life, to cross all of the milestones with her...
As the lights of the highway gave way to the lights of the upcoming small town, Tristan took a deep breath. This was it – this was the moment where they would either make or break it as friends and even if she didn't ever end up loving him the way he wanted, he hoped she would always be in his life. She somehow made it better.
Author's Choice
Rory bit her lip as Lorelai placed a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.
“He knows where we live, right?”
Rory looked out the window. “He said he'd be able to find it.”
“Did you tell him about Monty?”
“Didn't get a chance to. He left before I could even give him an address.”
Lorelai suppressed a grin as she walked into the kitchen and Rory rolled her eyes. Her mother was more obvious when she was trying to hide it but at least she was okay with the impromptu guest. Rory nervously wrung her hands together before shaking them and trying to act nonchalant. She didn't understand why she was so nervous now.
Tristan had changed a lot in the years since they had first met but in truth, Rory knew it had always been there – that same spirit that she admired now. She'd barely given Tristan a chance, not like the one she'd given Logan, but they were raised similarly and being in society couldn't have been easy. She wondered what had caused the change in Tristan and whether or not it had been military school or a later event. Maybe even both.
Maybe this time around they could pick up where they left off and spark up that friendship once more.
Lights momentarily flooded the window and Rory glanced toward the kitchen. Lorelai walked out with hot Pop Tarts and grinned at her.
“Showtime,” Rory whispered to no one but herself.
~Fin.
