Title: Breathe Author: Madelyn (madelyn184@yahoo.com) Summary: Dean seems like a devoted boyfriend, but just how far will he go to make sure Rory is his? Distribution: Sure, just ask first so I know where it is and can send you the prequel, 'P.O'V', if you want it. Spoilers: Up through the season finale Authors Note: This is a sequel of sorts, and I recommend that you read my first fic, ‘POV’ so you have a little bit of background. It’s R/D in the beginning, but will have a nice R/T ending, so Trorys, just hang in there. This also kind of deals with a sensitive, scary subject, so if you aren’t into dramas or that kind of thing steer clear. FYI, Bria is pronounced /Bree- ah/. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 1- Rory couldn’t believe how well things were going for her and Dean. They had gotten back together on the last day of her sophmore year, and things had been going wonderfully since then. It was the middle of July, and Rory and Dean had been spending a lot of time together. In fact, they had just taken his little sister Clara, who was six, into Hartford to see a new children’s exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. They had just gotten Clara back home and set out again for a night out by themselves. “So, what is this wonderful surprise you have planned for me?” Rory asked playfully as they pulled out of Dean’s driveway. “Well, I was thinking that maybe we should head out to a nice little restaurant, and that is all I will tell you.” Dean teased, reaching out to smooth a piece of Rory’s hair. “Rory, you should wear your hair up tonight. It would be so pretty.” “Okay, why not?” Rory responded, though somewhat puzzled by Dean’s request. Rory reasoned as she fashioned her hair into a loose bun. They chatted aimlessly for the duration of the drive, though to Rory it almost seemed forced, not quite as easy as it had started to become with--- Rory chided herself before she could start thinking on those lines again. With a small shake of her head, Rory returned her attention to Dean as he said something about a part he had just found for her car. “—and it is absolutely perfect for you, Rory. I’m glad the car will be finished before you start school. Who knows what can happen to you on that bus. I wouldn’t want you to have to deal with all of that for another year, Rory. What if someone just won’t leave you alone like that guy from a few weeks ago?” Dean asked. “Dean, you have blown that out of proportion. He was just talking to me, that’s all. It wasn’t like he had clubbed me over the head and claimed me for his bride.” Rory sighed, exasperated as she remembered what Dean was talking about. Some guy had sat next to her and began hitting on her, just like all guys do when they come in contact with a pretty girl, though Rory didn’t consider herself pretty. She had chatted with him, but had refused to give him her number. By the time she had reached her Stars Hollow stop where Dean was waiting for her, the guy, Brad, was still playfully trying to get her number. Dean heard Brad trying to weasel it out of her, and immediately went into confrontation mode. The argument became a screaming match, and had nearly come to blows, with Dean firmly stating that Rory was his girlfriend, and that she wasn’t interested in him, so he needed to back off. Rory had to drag him off, and the whole incident had left her incredibly embarrassed. “Rory, I just don’t want you to be harassed by every whacko in the tri-county area, is that so much to ask? Now, we are going to have a nice little evening and forget all this mess, got it?” Dean stated firmly, letting Rory know that the argument was over. Rory, never one to really want an argument, dropped the subject. As a tense silence permeated the car, she looked out the passenger side window, wondering when Dean got to be so possessive. He just seemed…..different than he was before they broke up. Always wanting to know where she was, or freaking out when she so much as talked to a guy. It was really weird. Still, this was a lot safer than following whatever was telling her to go to--- “Oh, I don’t know if I told you, but my older sister Bria is coming to Stars Hollow for a few weeks. She has a break from college and wants to visit.” Dean broke the silence. “I didn’t know you had a sister in college. How come you haven’t told me about her?” Rory asked, perplexed that she had never heard of Bria before. “Well, Bria and I don’t get along too well. Just call it a difference of opinion. Anyways, mom and dad want you to come to dinner tomorrow so she can meet you and vice versa. It shouldn’t be too bad. Just don’t put any thought into what she says. She seems to stir up trouble wherever she goes.” Dean cautioned. “Alright, what time should I be there?” Rory asked, reading into Dean’s words to correctly deduce that he could hardly stand Bria. “Seven. Wear that green dress, the one you wore last week? You looked really good in it. Oh, Rory, close your eyes, we’re almost there. Wouldn’t want the surprise to be ruined.” Dean said as he made a left turn. Rory complied, wondering where all Dean’s dislike for Bria had come from. She had always thought that Dean got along with his sisters. Oh well. Next she wondered at Dean odd behavior. “We’re here! You can open your eyes now.” Dean veritably chirped Rory opened her eyes, and saw the very restaurant that she and Dean had had their fateful three-month anniversary at. “Dean, I can’t believe it. I loved this little place!” “Well, I just want us to have a few happy memories of this place. And I plan on making some very happy ones tonight.” Dean replied, a glowing smile on his face. They entered the restaurant, and Dean had managed to reserve the very table that they had had. Rory was absolutely enchanted. It was even more magical than before. “Dean, I can’t believe you managed to make this so perfect. Thank you.” Rory said after they had finished their dinner. All they were waiting for was dessert. “You deserve the best of everything, Rory. I can promise you that.” Dean told her, looking straight into her eyes. “ Rory, I have something to give you.” He said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a long, narrow black velvet box. Getting out of his seat and kneeling besides Rory, he opened it, revealing a perfectly clear crystal pendant on a silver chain. “My grandmother left this to me to give to the girl I love. And I love you, Rory.” “Dean, it’s beautiful.” Rory said in awe. The necklace was beautiful, and she shivered in delight as Dean lifted up her hair to put the necklace on her slim neck. Jumping a bit when she felt his breath just behind her ear, she was confused by what he said next. “You’re mine, now, Rory, and no one can take you from me. Remember that.” *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 2- As Rory lay in bed that night, fingering the necklace, she analyzed the night. It had been perfect. Dinner, the necklace, Dean, she couldn’t have wished or dreamt of a better night. Except for that odd comment Dean had made. She thought to herself. She felt her thought process slowing down, a sure sign that she was falling asleep. As she waited to sleep to claim her, she wondered what dinner the next night would be like. She wanted to make the right impression. These people could very well be her in-laws one day, if Rory and Dean stayed together. As sleep finally claimed her, she felt herself involuntarily whisper the name of the person she wished was with her at that very moment. Being too far gone, her mind didn’t even register the name. “Tristan……….” *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “Why are you so stupid!” Rory yelled out, not caring just how crazy she sounded. “Rory, you are yelling at an inanimate curling iron. Why?” Lane asked from her vantage point on Rory’s bed. “Because I have to be at Dean’s in 20 minutes and it won’t fricken curl my hair. Is it so much to ask to have curled hair, you stupid curling iron?” Rory growled. “Calm down, Rory. It’ll all be okay. Do you want me to help?” Lane offered. “Would you? I seem to only have two hands, and this appears to require more than that. Thanks for helping.” Rory said, relinquishing the object of torture. “Why are you going to so much trouble to curl your hair? You hate curling your hair.” Lane observed at she wound a wisp of hair around the barrel. “I told you. I have to go to Dean’s house for dinner tonight and meet his parents and sister. Î need to make a good impression.” Rory explained. “How could you have known Dean for so long and still not have met his parents?” Lane asked, a little confused. “They travel a lot for business. But they’re going to be there tonight, and I need to look nice. Oh, I’m nervous. What if they don’t like me and forbid me to ever see Dean again. What if Dean decides he hates me tonight and tells me he never wants to see me again?” Rory wailed out, completely panicked. “Rory, that boy is head over heels in love with you. There is no way he would ever say that. You could show up in a burlap sack and talk about the latest episode of Jerry Springer and he would still love you. And his parents would have to be idiots to not see how absolutely sweet, gorgeous, smart, and nice you are. They will love you.” Lane assured. “There, I’m finished with your hair. Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” “It was too. Forget the iron maiden or Chinese water torture. Next time I need to torture someone I’ll threaten to make them curl their hair. Now, dress, dress, where is my dress?” Rory asked as she searched her room, letting out a small squeal when she found it hanging over her door. Slipping out of her robe, she pulled it off the hanger and stepped into it. She had started zipping it up when she heard Lane giggle. “What’s so funny?” Rory asked, fear creeping into her voice. “Is there something wrong with my dress? A stain, a torn seam? Lane, tell me!” Rory pleaded, twisting around in an attempt to see what could be wrong. “You must be really stressed Rory. You put on the wrong dress.” Lane laughed out. When she saw Rory’s blank look, she elaborated. “You hate that dress, remember? You said it wasn’t even worthy of being a dishrag. That it deserved to be cut into a million pieces, jumped on a few times, electrocuted, burned, and for the ashes to be locked up in a dark corner of the earth to make sure they never got loose. You called it the dress commissioned by Satan, Hitler, and the guy who invented soap operas all rolled into one. The only reason you even wore it last week was because you had to go to your Grandparents later on and that was the only thing that was clean.” “Well, after careful reevaluation, I decided that it had rehabilitated itself and was ready to reenter society.” Rory sniffed. “Besides, Dean likes it.” “Since when does Dean decide you’re wardrobe. You’ll be wearing the dress, not him…….at least, I hope he’ll never be wearing that dress.” Lane said in obvious distaste. “Rory, how will wearing a dress you hate make Dean like you anymore than he already does?” “Well…” Rory uttered slowly, stretching the word out. “I guess you’re right. Besides, I think this atrocity has just had a relapse. Lets go raid Mom’s closet and find something better.” Rory said, wriggling out of the horrid scrap of fabric someone had the nerve to call a dress and back into her robe. “Mom! I need your help! I need a different dress, now! I’ve got to leave in 15 minutes!” Rory called out as she ran up the stairs, closely followed by Lane. “Okay! I’ll start looking” Lorelai called back. “What are you looking to achieve? Flirty, classic, modern, trendy, calm, wild, European, sophisticated, catwalk, give me a clue.” “Something nice. I have to meet Dean’s parents tonight, and I want them to like me. Nothing too wild, okay? And no leather!” Rory cautioned. “Honey, that leaves out half my wardrobe.” Lorelai joked, rifling through her closet. “If your hadn’t made me get rid of my wonderful red zebra halter with tassels, we’d be all set.” “Now is not the time, Mom.” Rory called out from the other side of the room by Lorelai’s dresser. “How about this red mini with the white v-neck?” Lane asked, holding up the combo. “No, I’d feel like a sailor.” Rory said after a moment of consideration. “And what is wrong with that? You’d get to meet all those great one-legged, eye-patched, hygiene-challenged man-sailors.” Lorelai quipped. “We don’t discriminate in this house, missy!” “Fine Mom, I’ll save you the big fat one that insists that brushing his teeth will shorten his life span.” Rory shot back. “Ouch. That hurt Rory. I’ve taught you well. Hey, here’s a thought. What about this one?” Lorelai asked, holding up a rose colored bias-cut silk dress. Walking around Lorelai, examining the dress from all angles, Rory found excitement building within her “Mom, that better not be a mirage because that is perfect!” Rory proclaimed, taking the dress from her mother’s hand and pulling the hanger out. Slipping out of her robe and into the soft silk, she knew that it was the perfect color. Zipping it up and smoothing it down, she turned a quick twirl. “Well, what do you two think?” She asked with a smile. “Rory, like I said, I’ve got to get some dumb, ugly friends. You look way too good in that dress for it to be legal.” Lane affirmed. “Oh, my baby is turning into a beautiful woman.” Lorelai said, mock tears filling her voice. “Seriously, baby, you are gorgeous. Now, for make-up. Can I do it? I haven’t done your make-up for you since you and Lane went out for Halloween as movie stars in the sixth grade. I’ll let you use my perfect, never been worn wooden platform shoes with the dress.” Lorelai bribed in a sing-song voice. “Fine. But nothing too showy.” Rory consented. “Why do I feel as though I’ve just taken my life into my hands?” She asked no one in particular. “Don’t look so worried. You’ll be pretty by the time I’m done with you.” Lorelai admonished, dragging an absurdly large make-up box out from beneath her dressing table. Five minutes, two eye shadows, one lipstick, and several other make-up supplies later, Lorelai stepped back from her masterpiece. “Okay, I’m done. Go look.” “I better not look like an extra from Pretty Woman, Mom. In fact, if I do, I’ll have to—“ But Rory didn’t finish her threat after catching her image in the mirror. Lorelai had done up her eyes in grey and slate blue to give them the perfect smoky appearance, and the mascara darkened her lashes just the right amount. A little blush brought out her cheekbones, while the dewy rose lipstick complimented her skintone like nothing she had ever seen before. “Mom, your talents are wasted at the inn. You should be a make-up artist and get the really good money if you can make me look this good.” “You were beautiful to begin with baby. I just brought it out. Now you two better get going or you’ll be late. I am going to go bug Luke and have coffee. Don’t stay out too late.” Lorelai called as she bounced down the stairs and out the door. Rory and Lane followed, though less exuberantly. “So, this is it. You better be home when I call you tonight to hear all the details about your night at Dean’s.” Lane said, giving Rory a hug. “Only if you’re home to tell me all about your date with Henry.” Rory answered, grabbing the keys to the jeep from the table by the door. “Have fun, okay?” “Don’t need me to tell you twice!” Lane called back as she opened the gate and started on her way home. Rory watched as her friend walked further into the distance, then stepped into the jeep and started giving herself a mental pep talk. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 3- Sitting in the Jeep in Dean’s driveway, Rory couldn’t bring herself to get out just yet. She hadn’t quite finished putting together a worst case scenario. Rory’s panicked stream of thought was interrupted by a knock on the car window. Jumping, she turned to see a tall, thin woman in her twenties with long white-blond hair and deep brown eyes. Opening the door and stepping out, she was immediately swept into a one-sided conversation. “You must be Rory. I mean, who else could you be, sitting in our driveway like that. Besides , you match the pictures. I’m Bria, Dean’s sister. Glad to finally stick a name on the face. I can see why Dean likes you so much. If you’re half as sweet as you are gorgeous, then you’d be a lot nicer than most people I know. Have you ever thought of modeling? My friend Amy models, and it made her a mint. A great thing to have at college. I wonder why I never got into modeling? Oh well, I’m happy with what I do. I work with computers, by the way. Kinda geeky, I know, but with a salary over 100 grand a year, I’ll happily take whatever jokes you want to make, though I think you’d be too nice to make fun of me about that. Well, you are quiet, aren’t you? Then again, I probably haven’t even given you a chance to say a word.” Bria finished suddenly. Rory was about to assure Bria that she didn’t mind when she was interrupted by voice from the porch. “Then again, you never were good at keeping your mouth shut.” Dean spat out, venom dripping from the words. “Hey there, Baby Brother. Miss me while I was at the store? Oh, that’s so sweet.” Bria said sarcastically. “Well, now that Dean’s here, it’s time to share family stories! Hey Rory, want to hear about the time Dean was eight and thought that—“ “Bria, that’s enough! Can’t you just leave me and Rory alone?” Dean asked angrily. “Whatever you say, Dean-Bean. I’ll see you two inside. Later Rory! Nice meeting you!” Bria called out airily as she waltzed through the door. As soon as she was out of sight, Dean pulled Rory close to him, crushing her lips with his. As the kiss wore on, Rory found herself again wondering about the loss of sparks. Its not that it wasn’t a nice kiss, she just didn’t feel that special something anymore. After what seemed like an hour, Dean released her, and Rory stepped back. “Hi.” He said simply. “Hi yourself. What was that with Bria? I’m surprised she didn’t spontaneously combust from those looks you were sending her.” Rory joked. “I told you , we don’t get along. Hey, what happened to the green dress you said you were going to wear?” Dean asked, an unidentified look entering his eyes. “I changed my mind. I like this one better anyways, don’t you?” Rory inquired. “You’d look better in the green dress.” Was all Dean would say. “Come on, let’s go meet the family. Remember, Bria stirs up trouble wherever she goes. Just stay away from her.” He cautioned. “Fine. Geez, what is this obsession with Bria?” Rory asked, but her request was met with silence. Following Dean through the foyer and down a hall, she found herself in the living room. Sitting in the couch in front of her was a woman with dark hair and deep brown eyes in an orange dress and sweater set. Besides her sat Clara. Perched on a recliner was Bria, who was animatedly talking about something. But whatever Bria was talking about was forgotten when the woman caught sight of Rory. “Dean, is this Rory? Well, what a precious little thing. I’m Kate, Dean’s mother, and you already know Bria and Clara. I’ll have to introduce you to my husband, Will when he gets in. He’s out at the grill cooking some of the best steaks you’ll ever have. He’s probably more at home there than anywhere else. I hope you’re not a vegetarian. Dean said you weren’t, and I suppose he would know. I’m so glad to finally meet you. You’re all Dean ever seems to want to talk about. Now don’t give me that look, Dean. You know its true.” Kate admonished. Rory had a good idea of where Bria had gotten her habit of monopolizing a conversation. “It’s good to finally meet you.” Rory said, still a little nervous. “Well, why don’t we just go into the dining room? Will’s nearly done with the steaks, and that’s all we were waiting on.” Kate directed. Following Kate’s direction, she was led into a bright, airy dining room with six places set at a mahogany table. Dean sat on one side of the rectangular table, and sat in the chair next to him. Bria sat directly across from Dean, and Clara bounced into the seat right next to her sister. “Rory, Rory, guess what Bria bought me? The Powerpuff Girls CD!” Clara chirped exuberantly. “That was nice of her! Makes me wish I had a big sister!” Rory said. “You’re an only child?” Bria asked. “Yeah. It’s just me and my Mom. And Burt.” Rory answered. “Burt?” Bria questioned. “Is he your cat?” “No, our toolbox.” Rory said. When she saw the confused look on Bria’s face, she elaborated. “I’ll tell you later.” Bria opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a man carrying a plate of steaks walked into the room. “Hi, I’m Will. I’d offer to shake your hand, but mine are a bit full right now. Still, it’s good to meet you.” Will said. Then, he turned to Bria. “Bria, I made tri-tip, just the way you like it.” “Daddy, you’re the best.” Bria thanked him. Rory took a moment to consider Will. Where Kate was dark, Will was light. He had light blond hair, crystal blue eyes, and was clothed in light khakis with a light blue polo shirt. It really seemed like a case of opposites attracting. In fact, he reminded her a little bit of someone else she knew. Someone else that she would not think about while at her boyfriend’s home, but I think we all know who. (Okay, it’s Tristan.) When everything was set at the table and everyone had taken their seats, Kate said, “Well, shall we begin? I know that I can hardly wait.” Dinner was pleasant. Most of the conversation was centered around either Rory or Bria. One parent would talk with Bria while the other talked with Rory. “So, Rory, I heard your mother runs the inn. How does she like that?” Kate asked her. “She loves it. In fact, she wants to open her own inn sometime. She’s just looking for the right place to renovate.” Rory answered. “Isn’t that ambitious!” Kate said. “I’ll have to talk with her sometime. She sounds like such a great person.” And so the night went. Rory was asked about Chilton, her parents, her hobbies, just about everything Kate, Will, or Bria could think of. Though it wasn’t horrible, Rory was almost relieved when dinner and dessert was over. Kate had just started clearing the table when Bria stopped her. “Mom, you cooked this meal. You know the rules. She who cooks, doesn’t clean. I’ll take care of it.” Bria commanded. “Here, I’ll give you a hand.” Rory offered, ignoring the looks Dean was sending her way. She really did want to get to know Bria better, and this would be a good chance. “See Mom, I’ll have Rory to help me. We’ll be fine. It’ll even be fun, I promise.” Bria assured her mother as she took the stack of plates from her hands. “Well, okay. I’m no fool. If I get a chance to get out of cleaning, I take it. We’ll be in the living room when you two are finished.” Kate said as she stepped out of the dining room. Will, Clara, and Dean followed. He stared at Rory as he left, and Rory felt chills run down her spine. She knew he didn’t want her to be alone with Bria, but what could go wrong? “Come on, Rory, let’s get started.” Bria called from the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, Rory braced herself for a possibly catastrophic experience. What if Dean had a reason to be weary of Bria? Well, there was only one way to find out, and it was in the kitchen. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 4- Rory walked into the kitchen, surprised to see Bria filling up the sink with soapy water. “Bria, what are you doing? Aren’t we going to use a dishwasher?” “Well, my parents love old houses. They refused to mess around with the original layout of the kitchen. They said that handwashing dishes has been productive far longer than a dishwasher. Whatever. It’s their house.” Bria shrugged. “So, do you want to wash or rinse?” “Um…….Wash.” Rory decided as she stepped up to the sink. “So, what’s your major at college?” Rory asked as she and Bria carried dirty dishes and the leftover food into the kitchen. “I’m studying psychology, specifically profiling. You know, the human mind is such an uncharted territory. It’s amazing when you can find out why a person does what they do, or predict what kind of person would do something, and why. It’s just such a fascinating field.” Bria said, awe filling her voice. “Sound like fun. I always thought psychology was interesting, too. I think I’ll go into journalism, though. I love to write. It’s something I’ve always been good at.” Rory said. “But I change my mind too often to stick to one thing. Who knows what I’ll end up doing. Still, it’d be nice to stay consistent for once on what I wanted to do with my life.” “That’s where you’re wrong. People who change their outlook on life statistically have a healthier state of mind than people who fixate on one thing. Not to say goals aren’t good—in fact, they’re necessary to succeed. It’s just that our lives change all the time, and we should be able to roll with the punches instead of unhealthily going after one thing, say getting a certain position at work no matter what the cost, or if they fixate on someone---” Bria abruptly stopped. After an awkward silence, Bria started them on a different subject. “So, you and Dean have been dating for how long?” “Well, we started dating on my birthday back in October, then broke up around January on our three-month anniversary, then got back together on the last day of school in June. And we’ve been going out ever since.” “Wow, talk about commitment. I always had a hard time with that. But then again, it’s a lot more fun to play the field, huh? But when I find the right guy, I’ll settle down. Although, since you and Dean seem long term, I guess you’re more into that.” Bria stated. “Yeah, I guess. It has its perks. Like, he gave me this necklace that your grandmother gave him.” Rory held it up for her to see. “Isn’t it----“ But Rory was cut off by the sound of a plate falling from Bria’s hand onto the floor. Bria ignored the broken shards of glass. Instead, she stared unblinking at the necklace, her face ghostly pale. “Bria, what’s wrong?” Rory asked, a little scared. “Bria, talk to me!” Suddenly, Bria jerked her head away and began cleaning up the mess. “Nothing’s wrong, just got a little spooked. Now, where were we? Well, I can’t remember. New subject. Hey, Rory, do you ever watch ‘CSI’? I love that show. In fact, I’ve always loved forensic science. What about you?” She asked quickly. “Yeah, I watch it sometimes.” Rory hedged. Bria was hiding something, but Rory didn’t know what. Still, Rory chose to ignore it. She’d think about it later. “Hey, do you ever watch ‘Medical Detectives’? That’s fun, too.” “Yeah, I do! Yay, we have something in common!” Bria squealed. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to go out shopping for a while now. I heard Hartford had some great shops. Why don’t we go out tomorrow and get to know each other better? I think we could get to be good friends.” “I’d like that. You seem like a great person, Bria.” Rory agreed. “How about we meet tomorrow at my house? Say about noon?” “That would be perfect. And then I could meet your mom. I overheard you and Mom talking about her. She sounds like a phenomenal person. Definitely role model material.” Bria affirmed. “Only if you want to become the world’s biggest coffee consumer. She has got to go through at least a gallon a day!” Rory exclaimed. “My kind of woman. Believe me Rory, at college coffee becomes a food group. So, noon tomorrow? Sounds like a plan! Well, looks like we’re done here. How about we go into the living room and join the rest of the family?” Bria asked as she rinsed the last dish. “Definitely. Unless we want to barricade the kitchen and become left-wing crazies.” Rory joked. “We would get to wear army fatigues.” Rory sang. “Wow, how could I refuse? I think we both know that green is my color.” Bria laughed. “Come on, before Dean gets worried. He’s lucky I haven’t shared any embarrassing stories yet.” Once they got into the living room, they found Dean, Clara, Kate, and Bill watching something on TV. “Hey Dad, what are we watching?” “Well, I found this great little movie called ‘That Thing You Do’. Have you seen it before, Bria?” Will asked. “Yeah, I have, actually. It’s a great movie. Mom, Dad, can I talk to you privately for a moment?” Bria asked. “Sure, baby.” Kate said as she pulled herself off the couch. “Will you kids be alright for a moment?” “Mom, it’s not like we’re five. We’ll be fine.” Dean said, moving over on the loveseat to give Rory room. Rory sat and watched the movie for a while after Kate, Will, and Bria left. Dean was rubbing circles into her hand, and Rory supposed she should feel something, but she didn’t feel anything. It was just a hand on hers. As she sat there, she felt an intense need for something peppermint-y. Getting up, she said something about getting her purse from the dining room. Walking through the hall into the dining room, she found her purse right where she left it—on her chair. Pulling out a tin of Altoids, she popped one into her mouth. Rory then decided she was a little bit thirsty, and a glass of water was in order. It was as she was about to reach for a glass that she heard her name. Moving closer to the bearly propped open office door right next to the kitchen, Rory could hear snippets of the conversation going on within. “Mom, it’s not fair to Rory to not tell her about what happened in Chicago!” “Bria, keep your voice down. Dean is past all that, and it wasn’t all his fault. It won’t happen with Rory. She is a nice girl. Nothing at all like that Jenna.” “Mom, she is just like Jenna and you know it. Rory is a nice girl, that’s why I want her to be safe.” “He went through this nightmare already, Bria, why does he have to go through it again?” “Daddy, we all know this is turning out just like Jenna all over again. He even gave her the necklace. Do I even need to remind you of what that means?” “Bria, I will not have you poisoning that girl against your brother. I want you to drop all this nonsense. Nothing is going to happen to Rory, and if you bring all this out in to the open, it is only going to hurt, not help.” “Your mother’s right. This is a fresh start, and you can’t ruin it for him. Just drop it, honey. Everything is going to be okay. You don’t want to worry the girl over nothing do you? I’m sure Dean’s already told her about that misunderstanding. You’ll only kill any chance of friendship the two of you have by acting as though this is a huge problem.” “It’s not like you’re perfect, Bria. Need I remind you of how you just got out of the clinic a year and a half ago? Dean is doing just fine, and you need to accept that. Now lets go back out before they get to wondering where we are. Just be civil, Bria. I’ve seen how you and Dean have been going back and forth.” “Mom, it is not all my fault—“ “Bria, I said that’s enough! Can you please just leave it be? I don’t want to have to tell Karen you’ve had a relapse.” That was all Rory heard, as the voices were getting closer and she knew she shouldn’t have heard that. Forgetting her thirst, she quickly went back into the living room, beating Will, Kate, and Bria by maybe 10 seconds. “Well, have we missed anything?” Kate asked, no sign of the argument in her voice. “Not much, Mom. It’s been a montage of concert moments, mostly.” Dean answered. Rory stayed long enough to finish the movie, and when it was over said her goodbyes. “It was great getting to know you two. Thank you so much for having me over.” Rory said politely. She was surprised when Kate pulled her into a hug. “It was our pleasure. You’re such a darling young woman. I’m so glad Dean found someone as sweet as you. Come back soon, okay?” “Yes, Rory, you’re welcome in our home anytime.” Will added, shaking Rory’s hand in standard guy fashion. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rory. It’s been fun seeing you tonight.” Bria called out from the couch as she got up to hug Rory goodbye as well. Rory reasoned just as she was attacked at the legs by Clara. Dean had a different version of goodbye. They sat out on the porch for a few minutes, the first couple taken up by a token goodnight kiss, akin to another public mauling that took place when Rory had a half day and met Dean after school (A/N- That scene seriously bugged me. All he was trying to do was get in her pants, not listen to her.) When it was over, they talked about their plans of going to the movies on Friday with Lane and Henry. Then he asked her a question she didn’t expect. “What did Bria mean by, she’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked. “Oh, we made plans to go shopping. We’ll do the girly bonding thing.” Rory answered, not expecting the reaction she got. “Rory, why won’t you listen to me?” Dean exploded, stalking his way to the opposite side of the porch. “I told you not to be alone with her. I let it slide when you and Bria cleaned up, but you won’t go with her anywhere. You will go inside right now and tell her you aren’t going.” He commanded. “Since when is your sister a criminal? She’s a perfectly fine human being. Even if she wasn’t your sister I’d want to spend time with her. Where do you get off telling me I can’t go shopping with her?” Rory questioned angrily. She hadn’t been raised to blindly follow the directives of any man—or boyfriend. Yes, Lorelai raised quite the liberated little girl. “Rory, you are my girlfriend, and I am telling you to not go with Bria. Now go tell her you aren’t going.” Dean growled. “No. I will not tell her that. You don’t have the right to tell me what to do, girlfriend or not. I don’t know what caused this power trip, but I don’t like it. This is not the dark ages, I don’t have to follow your every whim. You obviously need to cool off, Dean. I’ll see you later.” Rory stalked off, knowing that Dean had crossed a line with her. She was surprised when she felt her arm sharply yanked back, and was face-to-face with Dean. “Rory, you will do what I say.” Dean said emotionlessly, though his eyes seemed to glow with anger. He dipped his hand down and captured the necklace, pulling her even closer to his body. “You are mine, Rory , and that is the way it will be.” Rory, to say the least, was livid. “Dean, I am NOT yours. Here, you can have this back. As far as I’m concerned, we need a break, because this is not going to work for me!” Rory yelled as she unclasped the necklace and threw it into Dean’s hand. She ran to the Jeep, tears forming in her eyes. She never looked back, she just drove. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 5- Rory was still crying a little when she got home, but took a moment to compose herself. She didn’t know what to make of what had just happened, and didn’t want to talk about it with Lorelai just yet. She knew she would eventually, but she needed time to think about it herself. After a moment, she was ready. Drama camp was going to have to come in handy again. She just didn’t know how long she could pull it off. Walking up to the front door, she was surprised to see a note taped to the doorknob. Rory- Hey babe! I’m at Sookie’s. She and Jackson had a fight, so we’re doing a Girl’s Night. I’ll be home around midnight, and you better be ready to talk all about your night at your future in-laws. I want details, so be prepared to dish. I love you! -Mom Heaving a sigh of relief, Rory unlocked the door, happy to know that she had about two hours before Lorelai would be home. Plenty of time to have an edited version of the night down pat. Going into her room and changing into some red silk pajamas, Rory felt somewhat empty. She needed to talk to someone. It was too late to call Lane, the grandparents were out of the question, Dean had gone crazy, she wasn’t ready to talk with Lorelai……..the only person she could think of calling-the only person she really wanted to talk with--was a person she had pretty much burned her bridges with. She prayed as she dialed the number from her address book. She felt herself shaking as the phone range once…..twice…..on the third ring, someone picked up. “Hello?” Rory heard a male voice asked. She was almost shocked out of her skin. She honestly couldn’t speak. Finally, she mentally kicked herself into gear. “Hi, is Tristan there?” “Speaking. Hi Rory.” Tristan replied. Rory could almost hear the smirk over the phone lines. “Hi. How did you know it was me?” Rory asked, vaguely confused. “Caller ID. Now, the question of the day is, why is the girl who claims to hate me calling me at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night?” “Sometimes, you just don’t get an answer that can satisfy you.” Rory flashed back, feeling a slight rise of anger at Tristan’s caustic tone. “Look, as fun as this is, I don’t enjoy talking with people who hate me. Why don’t you just go see your little boyfriend. I’m sure you want to see him a hell of a lot more than you want to see me. Goodbye Rory.” Tristan finished, starting to hang up. Rory knew she had to think fast, but her brain wasn’t cooperating. In her frustration, she let out a cry, a sound Tristan heard before he hung up. Whipping the phone back to his ear, he couldn’t help the small feeling of hope building in his stomach. He thought to himself. “Rory, what’s wrong? What could have happened that I am the only person you could think of to call?” He asked, worry saturating his words. “I’m scared. Dean, he, he---“ Rory sobbed out, she couldn’t seem to stop long enough to get her composure back. “Rory, did he hurt you? I swear to God, if that son of a bitch hurt you I’ll-“ “No! I mean, I don’t think he meant to. He just got angry. Tristan, he scares me. I heard his sister talking about something, and I don’t know what to do, and I’m scared of him and I don’t know why.” Rory said quickly, stopping only to take a breath. “Rory, what did he do to you?” Tristan asked again. “I need to know if I’m going to help you.” Tristan was beginning to think that the psych course he had taken during the school year was going to become indispensable. “He just, just started yelling at me for going shopping with his sister and told me to not go with her, and I said I was going, and then I started to leave, and he yanked my arm back, and said some weird things. I don’t know what it means. And my arm hurts a lot.” Rory sniffled, her crying jag nearly over. “I’m alone right now, and I don’t know how to tell my mom about all this, and I needed to talk with someone. I just didn’t want to feel alone.” “Rory, I want you to stay on the line and make sure all the windows and doors are locked, okay? I think that will make you feel safer.” Tristan instructed, knowing that if Rory had something to do she would be less afraid. “Okay. Thanks, Tristan. You didn’t have to help.” Rory said, her breathing still a little heavy. “Sure I did. They would take away my chivalry badge if I didn’t help.” Tristan joked lightly, hoping to lift Rory’s spirits. He was rewarded by a wry laugh. “You aren’t trying to tell me you were a boy scout, are you?” Rory asked incredulously. “I was up until junior high. What, you don’t think I can have layers?” Tristan asked defensively. “Well, I have many layers. I even a creamy center of chocolately goodness.” “Right.” Rory said skeptically. “Well, I guess you learn something new everyday.” “That is what they say.” Tristan agreed. He was about to ask how things were going when he heard Rory scream. His heart stopped. “Rory, what is going on over there?” There was no answer. Tristan found that breathing was now a problem. “Rory, answer me!” “Tristan, it’s okay. I just thought I saw someone outside one of the windows. God, that was scary.” Rory reassured the panicked Tristan. “Oh, I’m losing it.” “Rory, I think you should have someone over at your house with you. Where’s your mom?” “Oh, she’s at Sookie’s. I can’t call her, though. She’ll want to know what’s wrong, and I can’t talk about it with her, yet. I don’t even know what happened yet.” “Well, is there a friend you can have stay with you?” Tristan asked, racking his brain for solution. “No one that could come without a lot of questions. I just don’t know what to do.” Rory replied, trying to think of something. “Rory, just call your mom. She’ll understand, and I don’t want you to be alone right now.” Tristan veritably pleaded. “I can’t, Tristan. I just can’t. I don’t even know how to approach the situation. How do I tell my mother that freaked out when Dean dumped me that he hurt my arm and seems to have an anger problem? She’s kill him.” Rory tried to make him understand. Then, she got an idea. It was a little bold, but had a good chance of working. Maybe she could use an indirect approach. “I just can’t think of anyone that would come, no questions asked. Too bad you aren’t close by.” As predicted, Tristan took the bait. “Well, I do have a car, you know. If you want, I could drive over.” Rory feigned innocence at the plot. “Oh, Tristan, you don’t have to do that. I can always just put on a movie and stay by myself until my mom comes home.” “Rory, that is out of the question. I’ll be over there in about 20 minutes. I’m going to hang up and call you back on my cell so I can be in touch with you as I drive, okay?” Tristan asked. Rory could hear rustling in the backround. “Alright. Do you know where I live?” She questioned, knowing that he had never come to her home. “Oddly enough, yes. I’ll call you right back, okay?” Tristan said, more of a statement than a question. “Bye Rory.” Click. He had hung up. As Rory waited for him to call back, she felt herself smiling. He didn’t still hate her. But almost as quickly the smile was whipped off. Somehow, talking with Tristan had almost made her forget what had happened with Dean. But now that she wasn’t taling with Tristan, she couldn’t put what had happened with Dean out of her mind. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 6- * Click * Tristan clicked off his cordless, suddenly feeling emotionally drained. He had always had a bad feeling about Dean, and what he had just heard only cemented those fears. He thought back to the few occasions he had actually seen Dean, and remembered the cold look in his eyes that night of the dance during their fight, or even the day Dean and Rory had gotten back together. Tristan had hoped he’d been wrong, but it appeared that he had been 100% right. He was still surprised Rory had called him, though. He wondered what that had meant. Still, he refused to get his hopes up too high. Dialing on his cell, Rory picked up before the first ring was over. “Tristan?” “Yeah, it’s me. Still okay over there?” He asked softly. “Yeah, just still a little spooked. My imagination is running overtime, and I feel trapped in a bad horror flick.” Rory sighed. “Well, I’m on my way. Just have to grab my car keys and go out to my car.” Tristan replied. “So, pick a subject, any subject.” “Doesn’t that line go, ‘Pick a card, any card’?” Rory asked, laughing softly. “I have creative license. That line can use any words I want, and fits almost any occasion.” Tristan teased. “Just like the phrase, “Oh yes. It’s true’. It has become a staple in my house.” “Ah, from Saturday Night Live. I can tell you have good taste.” Tristan approved. “Are you kidding me? I love watching SNL. Especially the old reruns. There is absolutely nothing better than vintage SNL.” Rory stated, practically daring Tristan to disagree. “Oh, but that is where you are wrong. Though vintage SNL is a very good way to pass the time, the best thing in the world would have to be the Weekend Updates of any era. Though connected with SNL, they have taken on a life of their own.” Tristan challenged. “You’ve got a point there, but I’m not sure that counts. Weekend Updates are only a segment of SNL, like a long-running skit.” Rory argued. She could almost feel electricity building up between the two of them. “Rory, I am all-knowing, remember? I think I know what I’m talking about.” “But you are of the male persuasion, my dear Tristan, an immediate point against your intelligence.” Rory countered. “Ouch, that wasn’t playing nice, Rory. I think I want to find a less painful subject now.,” Tirstan conceded. “So you admit my superiority? I accept.” Rory chirped triumphantly. All her fears seemed to have vanished. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone-or something-was watching her. Tossing her head back, she thought she saw something in the window, but the image was so fleeting she was sure it was her imagination. Changing the subject quickly to allay her fears, she asked, “So, how are you doing so far with that paper-slash-project Mrs. Caldecott assigned?” “Really well, actually. What did you pick as your subject?” Tristan inquired. The over-the-summer project would be a large chunk of their first quarter grades in history the next year, and any subject could be chosen, as long as it was a problem in American society today. “I chose violence in schools. There seem to be lots of problems with that, you know. I mean, wouldn’t it suck if someone decided to shoot up Chilton? Anyways, what did you choose?” “Um, I chose violence as well.” He hedged. Thankfully, Rory did. “Nice.” Rory said, then she let out a little laugh. “What’s so funny?” Tristan asked, his heart going faster at the sound of Rory’s giggle. It was a sound he had yet to actually hear well. “I was just thinking about this one 4th of July from when I was about six years old. Mom had convinced me to sing ‘America, the Beautiful’ in front of the big finale fireworks. I agreed, and as I started to sing, the sparks started flying. On me. It was a little disconcerting. But I didn’t want to leave the song unfinished, so I just continued singing as I dodged flames, shrieking every time a spark got too close. Someone managed to get it on tape, so now every 4th of July someone shows that tape before we start the fireworks. It’s become a part of Stars Hollow legend.” Rory finished, her voice taking on a fey-ish quality. Tristan had been utterly entranced by the sound of her voice. It was just so….golden. Shaking himself out of his reveary, he managed a small laugh. “So, when do I get to see this famous video?” “Never, if I can help it. In fact, I somehow managed to keep Dean from seeing it this---“ Rory cut off suddenly when she realized who she had mentioned. Even that small thought managed to tear up her eyes again. A deep silence sprung up, and for a moment the only sounds were that of Rory sniffling and the traffic sounds from the road. “Rory, it’s okay. He’s not there, and he can’t hurt you. I promise, I won’t let him near you.” Tristan vowed, feeling anger build up inside. “You know, I should have seen this coming.” Rory said in a toneless voice. “He just started to become more and more controlling. I keep thinking back to this one time, about two weeks after school got out. I had been talking with Lane on the phone in my room, and I said something about how it was time to dump Dean because he was taking away prime bonding time from her. I wasn’t serious, though. It was just a joke. But the next day, Dean was all distant, and out of the blue started asking if I had met someone else or if I was going to dump him. It was kind of scary. I assured him that I wasn’t getting rid of him any time soon, And pretty much forgot it after that. But that night it got me thinking. Was it really a coincidence that Dean worried about me breaking up with him after I talked with Lane-alone, in my room? But I just put it out of my mind. Tristan, I feel like I’ve lost my privacy. What if he was spying on me?” Rory was crying by the time she had finished. Cursing silently to himself, Tristan wished he was already at Rory’s. He didn’t like her being alone. And although there was no doubt in his mind that Dean had invaded Rory’s privacy, he also knew that Rory didn’t need to hear that right then. “Rory, I’m sure it was just a coincidence. Don’t worry. I’m only a few minutes away from your house, and I assure you, nothing will happen to you.” “Thanks, Tristan. For everything, I mean. Coming over, talking to me, everything.” Rory thanked, emotion choking her voice. “I don’t mind, Rory. I’d do anything to make up for being a jerk to you most of the year.” Tristan said hoarsly, knowing that he had a long way to go before he was completely out of the doghouse. “Yeah, you were pretty horrible, huh?” Rory affirmed. “Well, as you said, I am of the male persuasion. We do stupid things occasionally.” Tristan agreed. “If it’ll make you feel better, you can list the many stupid things I or others of my race have done.” “No, that would be mean.” Rory decided after a moment of thought. “Tristan, do you think,” (long pause)”do you think that maybe we can just start new again?” She finished quickly, the words all running together. Tristan wasn’t sure he had heard right, though he knew he had. After a moment of silence, he answered, a fuzzy feeling permeating his body. “Rory, if you can forgive me for all the crap I’ve put you through, then I am going to take it. You don’t have anything to be sorry for. Whatever you’ve done to me has been deserved.” “I wouldn’t go that far, but I think that we could be friends if we just start fresh.” Rory said, her soul feeling at ease now that Tristan had accepted her truce. “Rory, I just pulled onto your street. I ‘ll be at your house in a moment.” Tristan said after a short silence. “Aliright. I’ll be by the door” Rory walked to the door, peering out of the window. From down the street she saw a silver Mustang convertible driving down. It had to be Tristan. Unlocking the door, she stepped out onto the porch. “Rory, I can see you.” Tristan said in a sing-song voice. “Really, Einstein. I knew there was a reason they let you into Chilton.” Rory said dryly. Tristan pulled into her driveway, and after he turned off the car, said, “Alright, I’m hanging up now.” “Got it.” Rory answered, clicking her phone off. She was mesmerized by Tristan’s movements as he stepped out of the car. Rory though idly. Rory found it impossible to pull her eyes away from him. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. Finally, she realized Tristan was talking to her. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” “I said, is it okay if I park here? I wouldn’t want anyone gossiping about a strange car in your driveway.” Tristan asked. He knew small towns were almost as bad with gossip as Chilton was. He didn’t want her reputation ruined by an innocent visit. “Um, yeah, there’s fine. It would cause even more scandal if I tried to hide the car. Come on in, I was getting some food together while you were driving.” Rory motioned for Tristan to enter. He obliged, crossing the distance with ease. Rory knew he was a swimmer, and on the soccer team, and it showed. His movements had a certain grace to them. Rory knew that if she didn’t turn away fast, she would be unable to keep herself from climbing into his arms. Using every ounce of self control she had, she turned and entered the house, with Tristan following. “So what now?” He asked as he eyed a toolbox sitting on a table in the entry. “I’m not sure. I’ve never had this happen before , so I guess anything goes.” Rory said, just as a loud crash was heard just outside the door. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 7- Rory could feel fear seeping into her at the sound of the crash. Her breathing quickened, and she found that she couldn’t move or talk. Tristan saw the effect it had on Rory, and was torn between comforting her, and finding out what the crash was. After a moments deliberation, he decided he needed to comfort her before he investigated. Pulling her close to his body, he could feel her rapid heartbeat against his chest. Taking a stab at the direction of the living room, he led Rory down a hall, finding a room that seemed to fit the description of a standard living room, all the while trying to placate her with comforting words. He sat down on the couch besides Rory, and was surprised when Rory launched herself into his arms, clinging to him as though her life depended on it. “Rory, it’ll be okay, I promise. I’m here, and I won’t let anything happen to you.” Tristan tried to assure her. Rory had always seemed so calm and collected. The complete antithesis of the fragile girl in his arms. Beginning to extract himself from Rory, Tristan said, “Rory, I’d like to see what’s going on outside, okay? I’m going to leave you here in the living room-“ “NO!” Rory shot up. Tristan stopped letting Rory go. “Don’t leave me alone.” Rory finished, her voice bearly above a whisper. Tristan could see that she was still completely freaked. “Alright, do you want to come with me? Rory, I need to go see what that was.” Tristan tried to explain. Rory nodded, then started to stand up, though she didn’t release her hold on his arm. Following Tristan down the hall, she thanked God he was there with her. After the way she had treated him, she was surprised that he had given her a second thought. AS they neared the door, Rory felt her already rapid pulse speed up. She honestly thought she had never been that scared in her life. Just before they reached the door, Tristan turned around to speak with her. “Rory, I’m going to check the outside on my own. There’s probably nothing there, but I want you to be safe. “ She nodded, still not having found her voice. Tristan cautiously walked out the door. Though he didn’t think anything was there, he had enough healthy doubt to know that anything was possible. As his eyes scanned the porch, he saw that a potted plant had been knocked over. In the dirt that had fallen, he saw some tell-tale cat pawprints. Heaving a sigh of relief, he again thanked whatever deity that was watching over him for there being no danger. He was glad this had happened after he’d gotten there. Rory was nearly catatonic, and that was with someone else there. He was just so relieved that Rory had forgiven him for all his wrongdoings to let him help her. “Rory, it was just a plant that was knocked over by a cat.” Tristan assured as he walked in the house. He saw Rory visibly relax as the color returned to her skin. “Thank God. I didn’t even know there were cats big enough around here to knock the planters over.” Rory mused. Feeling calm again, she motioned for Tirstan to follow her into the living room. Once in the living room, Rory felt her legs fall out from beneath her. Practically falling into the couch, the enormity of the situation had finally hit her. “He’s not capable of doing anything dangerous, is he?” Rory asked softly, more to herself than anyone else. She was surprised when Tristan crossed the room to sit beside her. “Rory, I don’t think anyone could intentionally hurt you. And even if he could, I wouldn’t let him do anything to you. I’m not leaving you alone until your mom gets back. You won’t be alone tonight. He can’t hurt you.” Tristan tried to reassure Rory. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how helpless she must feel. He knew that if it came to a physical fight, Rory didn’t stand a chance. And he knew that she knew that as well. “This is all just so surreal, you know? I feel like I’m in a dream. Who knows. Maybe it’s just my imagination.” Rory stated. “Lets do something other than talk about my life. A movie or something.” Rory finished, her voice falsely cheerful. She knew that it was just a defense mechanism, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t in the mood to think about Dean anymore, and she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. Maybe a movie would distract her enough so she could feel normal. “Okay.” Was all Tristan was able to say. This seemed like a 180° turn from the scared Rory from a few moments ago. Still, if she wanted to avoid the problem for a while, he was okay with that. “Well, I grabbed a few movies before I left. Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, Blue Streak, Better Off Dead…...” “Wait, you have Better Off Dead?” Rory interrupted. That was a favorite movie of hers. “Yeah. I love the old 80’s classics. Got a problem with that?” Tristan defended. “None! I love Better Off Dead! You have such incredibly good taste.” Rory gushed. She couldn’t believe that Tristan liked movies like that. She had met only a handful of people that shared her love of the classics….well, modern classics anyways. “You’ve got to be one of the first people I’ve met that like the old John Cusack movies. So I take it we should watch that?” Tristan asked, though he was already halfway to the VCR. “Definitely.” Rory agreed. “I’m going to make popcorn. Do you want anything else? We’ve got just about anything that will put you in a sugar coma, so don’t be shy.” “You’ve got to have to have licorice when you watch a movie. Do you have any?” “Vine, rope, shoestring, or bits?” Rory called out from the kitchen. “All!” Tristan called back. He was absolutely addicted to Red Vine licorice. That small familiar voice teased. Tristan shook his head, deciding that now was not the time to go down that road. He had his hands full figuring out the whole Dean problem. Something about it just didn’t seem right. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 8- “You’ve got to be kidding me! There is no way you have more Collective Soul CD’s than me!” Tristan accused. “Ah, but it’s true. I’ve got all five and by your own admission, you are missing Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid. I’ve got you beat!” Rory was triumphant in her point. “Fine.” Tristan begrudged, though secretly he wasn’t in the least bit angry. He had missed sparring with Rory. It just made him feel so…….alive. A little voice teased. Tristan ignored it, though he knew the wise and powerful voice had a point. “You’ve got me there. But I know I’ve got more signed sports memorabilia.” “So not fair! You’re a guy, your suppose to have that kind of thing. It’s like me challenging you to saying I had more Teddy Bears than you.” Rory laughed out. It was such a guy thing to go on to sports to beat a girl, though that ploy didn’t always work in the guy’s favor. Lucky for Tristan, he had a point. Rory didn’t even have a baseball, much less a signed one. “Admit it, I’m superior.” “I am not saying that!” Rory could not believe the ego on him. It had to be the size of Idaho. Rory could feel the evil idea forming. Luke had taught her a few basic wrestling moves a while back, in case she was ever attacked. Rory felt a small giggle escape her mouth against her will. Tristan looked at her oddly, but ignored it, deciding to continue his words of praise towards himself. “Yes, I know it may be hard to choose the right words to fit my perfect, God-like self, but you know you want to say it. In fact, I’ll give you something to say since you obviously have become speechless at the sight of my greatness. Tristan, you have an impeccable physique, vast intelligence, and-“ Tristan was cut off by Rory throwing all her weight into him, knocking both of them off the couch and onto the ground. Tristan was surprised at her strength. She couldn’t weigh all that much, and he knew she wasn’t a big sports buff. Still, she somehow had him effectively pinned. Still, he could fix that. With one quick motion, he kicked his legs up and released himself from Rory’s grasp. Rising onto his knees, he was surprised when Rory again managed to bring him down. He had no idea of how she was doing it. Every time he got a little bit of leeway, she drew up more power and took him down. Tristan thought, an idea forming. Going almost limp, he let Rory pin him down. He smiled inwardly at the pleased smile on her face. “Alright, admit it. I’m superior!” Rory threw back his words from a moment ago right back in his face. She was incredibly happy. She had his smug little face right where she wanted it. The small voice was back. Rory shoved it away. “Oh Queen Rory, you are superior in all ways but one.” Tristan said cryptically. His plan was working just the way he wanted it to. He could feel Rory’s grasp weakening. Just one more moment…… “Oh, and what way is that?” Rory asked tauntingly. “I have better combat tactics!” Tristan yelled as he broke free of Rory’s grasp and flipped her over, effectively holding her down by straddling her with his legs and holding her arms above her head. “You were saying?” Tristan asked, leaning down closer to her face. It took him a moment to realize exactly what kind of position he had her in. He felt his pulse quicken, his breathing become erratic. He noticed that Rory seemed to be having the same problem. “I still uphold my statement.” Rory finally said, finding it impossible to tear her gaze away from Tristan’s eyes. She could feel his breath on her face, he was so close. She saw him lick his lips, and suddenly felt this urge to lean up and kiss him. Her rational mind was saying no, but was obviously not the part in control as she felt herself leaning up towards his face. Tristan made no signs of trying to move away, and in fact began to move his face closer to Rory’s. Time seemed to have stopped, and Rory found herself wondering where her boldness had come from. Tristan’s mind was going on overload. He was with Rory in a way he had only dreamed of. When he had gotten the call from Rory that night, he had never dreamed that it would lead to this. His mind, his senses were on overload. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted this to happen, and he wished that this kissed turned out better than their last kiss. He was millimeter s from kissing Rory, when a loud noise cause both he and Rory to jerk away. Rory’s eyes flew in the direction of a wooden chair covered with magazines. Nearly jumping up from under Tristan, she ran towards the pile and started tossing on the ground unti she came up wit h a cordless phone. Clicking it on, she puffed out a breathless, “Hello?” “Rory, it’s Mom. How are things so far?” Lorelai asked. “Mom!” Rory gasped out. “Hi, what are you calling about?” Rory had completely forgotten about her mother. She had forgotten just about everything within those last few moments, including the name of her first, third, and forth grade teachers and all the times tables between 5 and 8. Her eyes flew to the clock, which read 12:17. “Well, I know I said I’d be back at midnight, but, well, you know Sookie. She’s just so broken up over this. So I was thinking you could just drive over here and spend the night with the both of us at Sookie’s. What do you say? We have chick flicks….”Lorelai tempted. “Ah, Mom, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I was just….um…yeah…working on my paper! Yeah, my paper, and I have notes everywhere and I think I’m making a breakthrough. I’ll be fine here alone.” Rory threw out in rapid fire. Rory was panicking, and the fact that Tristan was inching closer wasn’t helping her any. She could see the concerned look in his eyes. “Rory, I really don’t want you to be alone all night.” Lorelai said slowly, though she knew how her daughter was when schoolwork was involved. “Mom, you know how important this paper is to me. I’ll be fine, I promise. You and Sookie just work this thing out. How about we meet for breakfast at Luke’s?” Rory was trying everything she could think of to get her mom to leave her alone. She just needed one more night to sort things out about Dean, and she hoped the mention of Luke would lead to thoughts of coffee, then she would be home free. “Yum, coffee….” Bingo, Rory thought. “Alright, Rory. I’ll just stay at Sookie’s, and we’ll meet at Luke’s at ten for breakfast, okay? Don’t stay up too late, baby.” Lorelai said, still in a coffee heaven. “I won’t, Mom. See you at ten. I love you.” Rory said. “Love you too baby. Bye.” Lorelai answered, then hung up. Rory heaved a sigh of relief. Turning around slowly, she saw Tristan staring at her. She smiled at him, then felt her insides turn to gel at the thought of what almost happened. If only her mother had called a minute later….. “Rory, was that your mom?” Tristan asked, though he knew exactly who it was. “Yeah, it was. She’s gonna stay at Sookie’s.” Rory said, turning away from him to straighten up the videos and DVD’s around the TV, though they were already fine. “Rory, did you just tell her to stay there and not come home?” Tristan prodded, lightly grabbing her arm and turning her towards him. He could see the guilt in her eyes. “Well, Sookie’s having a hard time, and I know Mom wants to be with her, and she doesn’t need to be with me, so I just told her….” Rory trailed off when she saw that Tristan wasn’t buying it. “Alright, so I just don’t want to tell her yet. Are you happy now?” “Rory, I thought you had a good relationship with your Mom. Why won’t you tell her?” Tirstan asked, concern filling his voice. He trailed a hand down her cheekbone, wishing there was some way he could fix this for her. “It just-“ Rory started, her voice cracking as she began to cry. “I don’t want to believe this could happen to me. If I tell my Mom, then I know its true. I can’t just say, ‘Oh, it didn’t happen. This isn’t true’. “ Rory fell against Tristan as sobs racked her body. The phone call from her mother had triggered all her emotions. Rory felt helplessness wash over her. “This isn’t your fault! You did nothing to deserve this. Bad things happen, and nobody deserves to have their trust broken like yours was.” Tristan tried to reassure her. Running his hands up and down her back, he could feel her delicate shoulder blades. He felt her sobs dying down. He guessed the fury in her outburst had begun to die down. He knew Rory wasn’t a person that sat around feeling sorry for herself. “I just wish…”Royr said, her voice clear and devoid of tears. “I just wish I had let it end back on the night of our anniversary.” Rory could feel his deep breathing, and feel his heartbeat against her ear. She bagan to idly play with the soft hairs at the base of his neck, wondering where else he had that soft hair…... “Things aren’t going to change overnight. It’ll take time, but things will work out. But Rory, you have to call your mom and either get her to come home or go to Sookie’s. I’m not leaving you here alone.” Tristan was surprised he could still speak. With Rory this close, he felt all soft and fuzzy inside. He wished that he never had to leave. “Tristan I can’t talk to her about this yet!” Rory said, pulling back a little to look him in the eye. “Can’t you understand?” “Rory, I know you want to sort this out, but I will not leave you here aloe!” Tristan reiterated. He had a bad feeling that if he left her alone, something bad would happen. “Tristan, I just can’t. You know this already. I can’t tell my Mom yet. And I told you, there’s no where else I can go. I’ll just have to stay here.” Rory tried to reason. “ I mean, the only person I could think to call and come over for a few hours was you.” There was a small silence, and then the same idea hit both of them at the same time. But neither of them wanted to say it. Or, neither of them was bold enough to suggest it. Either way, an uncomfortable silence enveloped both of them. “Listen….” Rory started, feeling asmall flush of color rise to her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she felt her color return to normal. “Maybe you should just stay.” *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 9- Tristan was stunned. “If you want me to, I’ll stay. I promised I wouldn’t leave you alone, didn’t I?” “Yeah.” Rory remember, laughing a little bit. She felt her body relax after Tristan had agreed to stay with her. But now she had to think of what to do next. “Do you want to change for bed or something? I know we’ve got some of my Dad’s stuff somewhere.” “Yeah, that will be good.” Tristan said, though he knew that answer meant Rory would leave his arms sooner. “Alright, then I’ll go get the stuff and be right back.” Rory said as she went upstairs. Tristan watched as she went up the stairs. He had seen that Rory was already dressed for bed, in red silk pajamas. She had seemed completely comfortable in them. He knew most girls would have put normal cloths back on, or put on sluttier nightclothes. A moment later, Rory came downstairs with a white t-shirt and some black sweats. “Will these do?” She asked, holding them up. “Yeah, they’ll be fine.” Tristan said, grabbing the clothes and going into the bathroom to change. Rory called through the door, “Oh, and beneath the sink we have some extra toothbrushes and things like that.” Tristan was quite grateful for that. He was fanatic about dental hygiene. After a few moments, he was done and came out to find Rory setting some blankets and pillows on the couch. “I hope you don’t mind staying on the couch.” Rory said as she set down one last blanket. “The couch is fine.” Tristan assured her as he sat down on the couch. “Are you tired yet?” “No, not really. I’m pretty much nocturnal.” Rory admitted. “Though that may be the caffeine talking.” “You drink enough of it, from what I’ve heard.” Tristan teased. “Not you too! I already have Luke getting on my case.” “Who’s Luke?” He asked, his interest peaked. “Oh, he owns the best diner. It has wonderful coffee. It’s out kitchen there. The one in our house is the secondary one.” Rory said, thoughts of yummy coffee filling her head. “I got it. Aren’t you meeting your mom there tomorrow?” Tristan thought he remembered her saying that on the phone. “Yeah, I am. I’ll need to be there at 10. Shouldn’t be too hard to be up early enough.” Rory began mentally calculating how early she would need to be up to be ready on time. “I’m a morning person. I’ll make sure you’re up early enough.” “Alright. So, would it be okay if I stayed out here and watched a movie for a while, or are you going to sleep?” Rory asked. Whenever she knew she would have trouble sleeping, she would watch a movie. “No, that’s fine. What do you want to watch?” Tristan replied. “Um, promise you won’t laugh?” Rory asked in a small voice. “Yes, I promise. Now, what?” Tristan wondered what the movie could possibly be. “Fine. It’s Anastasia. I know, it’s a little childish, but it helps me sleep.” Rory said quickly, a little embarrassed by her admission. “That’s fine. Jane’s the same way. It’s her favorite movie.” Tristan said before he could stopp himself. “Who’s Jane?” Rory inquired. She didn’t know Tristan had a little sister…at least, that’s who she thought Jane was. “She’s my cousin. She’s only 4.”Tristan said, his eyes taking on a glowing quality. He really did love Jane. It was the closest thing he had to a family. “She’s having a bit of a hard time. Her parents are getting divorced, so for the past 2 years she’s basically been raised by her nanny and me. I see her a lot. I don’t think her father’s seen her for a year and a half, and her mother sees her maybe once a month. It’s hard on her.” After that admission, Rory and Tristan were silent for a moment. Then Rory spoke up. “Maybe we could take her to a movie or museum sometime.” It was then Tristan knew why he was so attracted to Rory. She cared about others, not just herself or her social standing. He had never told a girl about Jane before. He had always had a special place in his heart for Jane, and knew that Rory would share that spot with him. He wanted to make sure Jane had love in her life, and he knew Rory would understand that, unlike the bimbos he had been dating before. “Yeah, that would be nice. Come on, are we going to watch that movie or what?” Rory nodded, then rummaged through the videos for the right one. Popping it into the player, Rory walked back to the couch. Tristan sat next to her, though not too close. The near-kiss had left both of them a little shy. As the movie started, Rory felt herself getting sleepy. This movie always soothed her. She began to lay down on the couch, and was mildly surprised when Tristan helped her lay down along the couch and pull a blanket over her. She murmured her thanks, but the thick fog of fatigue left her unable to say anything coherent. As sleep claimed her, she barely heard Tristan’s wish for sweet dreams……. ************** Tristan watched as Rory slept. The tension she had been carrying had melted away. She looked years younger, and much calmer than he could remember seeing her in a long time. Every so often she stirred in her sleep, though not by much. He didn’t think she had meant to fall asleep out here. But since she had, he wasn’t about to move her. He wanted her where he could watch her. He had paid minimal attention to the movie, but he had seen it countless times with Jane, so it was all familiar to him. Surprisingly, he had begun to feel tired. He was in a bit of a quandary. He didn’t want to move Rory, but he didn’t know what she would think if he slept on the couch with her. And he knew the floor wouldn’t be fun to sleep on. Tristan thought logically as he lowered himself on the couch behind Rory. He was slightly stunned when she leaned closer to him and wrapped her foot around his. He hadn’t expected that. Still, he was quickly becoming intoxicated by the scent of Rory’s shampoo and body lotion, and wasn’t about to move her. Instead, he just slipped his arm around her waist and let her soft breathing lull him to sleep. *********** Rory blinked her eyes, trying to get her bearings. All she knew was that it was dark, and for some reason, she felt safe. She also felt a reassuring pressure. Her eyes adjusted, and she saw that she was still on the couch, with Tristan holding her. She was startled, and began to extract herself from his arms, but stopped. She didn’t want to wake him. Besides, it felt……right. The little voice really sucked sometimes. Still, it was only for a night. And he looked so angelic lying there. She had validated in her mind. And she felt so safe. She still had the feeling that she was being watched. ******************* Rory awoke again to the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen. She felt the loss of the body next to her acutely, but didn’t dwell on it too long. Even though it had been really warm, and muscular, and all those other drippy girl thoughts. Instead, she focused on the sounds. It was not a familiar sound in her home, someone in the kitchen. She sometimes heard her mother getting coffee ready, but she was hearing stirring, and crackling, and all those other non-coffee-making sounds. Getting up, she groggily walked to the kitchen. She found Tristan in the midst of the stove cooking…….something. “Tristan, what are you doing?” Rory said sleepily, looking for the coffee and shocked when she didn’t find any. “Making something to eat. I figured you’d wake up from my cooking. I don’t know if you want any, since your going out to breakfast with your mom.” Tristan explained as he stirred the scrambled eggs. “But I made enough for you, if you want any.” “That’s sweet, but I don’t eat before I’ve had coffee. Where is it?” Rory asked, scanning and rescanning the counters in case she had somehow missed it. “I didn’t make any. I’m not a huge fan of it. Is it that important?” “Yes it is that important!” Rory growled. She couldn’t believe he didn’t life for coffee. “Fine, make some. Chew on dry grounds if it will make you feel better.” Tristan answered back, surprised that nice, sweet Rory could be that disagreeable in the mornings before coffee. “I’m taking a shower.” Rory growled, making a mental note to introduce Tristan to the wonder that was coffee. 30 minutes later, Rory emerged from the bathroom completely dressed and ready to go, albeit her barely wet hair which she had decided to gel and scrunch. She found that Tristan had already eaten and cleaned the kitchen up, and was already in the living room watching the news. “I think I feel human again, even without the coffee.” Rory announced as she grabbed a Pop-Tart to eat. “You are addicted Rory…”Tristan cautioned, though he left his attention on the TV. “Tristan, are you telling me you regularly watch the news?” Rory asked in disbelief. She hadn’t pegged Tristan as one to care about the world around him. “Every morning. What, you don’t?” “Most of the time…..but at night. Morning is too early.” Rory answered as she flopped on the couch. Her eyes checked the clock, which read 9:42. Tristan and Rory sat in silence for a while, watching some overly cheery anchorwoman talk about the latest company merger. After a few minutes, Rory began to feel self-conscience again. The near-kiss had left her wanting Tristan even more. “So, what do you think of the idea of Miller’s Pharmaceuticals and Keller Family merging?” Tristan finally asked, turning to Rory. “It ought to be a good move. They’ve been in competition for years, and by merging they open themselves up to higher profit margins.” Rory answered, though her mind wasn’t really on the merger. It was on the fact that Tristan was right next to her, and there was such a slim chance of interruptions at that moment that it was almost impossible to not to lean forward and kiss him right then. “Yeah, that is true.” Tristan replied tritely. Rory started trying to find an appropriate response to that, but something just snapped. “Tristan?” She asked, trailing her hand down his arm. She could see the surprised look in his eyes, mixed with a kind of passion. “I think we need to solve a little problem.” Rory said as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Tristan’s. She could feel his surprise at the moment of contact, though it wore off so quickly that it was almost not registered. His hands guided her closer to him, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She remembered the night before, and how she had fondled the soft hairs. As the kiss deepened, she felt an emotion she had only felt once before, the last time she had kissed Tristan. Dean had never made her feel like that. Not once. And she knew, right then, that she had made the right choice with Tristan. Tristan had been surprised when Rory kissed him. He had thought that after their almost-kiss the night before, she had realized that she didn’t like him that way. He was obviously wrong. He held her close to him, feeling a kind of passion he had never felt with any other girl. He knew that Rory was right for him, no question about it. After what seemed like an eternity, Rory pulled away, leaving a very stunned expression on Tristan’s face. She smiled to herself, surprised that she could have that effect on Tristan. “Does that solve our little problem?” “Uh…yeah.” Was all he could say. “Listen, I would love to stay and…continue working things out….but I have to go meet my Mom. How about we get together tonight?” Rory asked as she got up fro the couch and switched off the TV. “Uh…..yeah.” Rory laughed at his lack of vocabulary. “Okay, so meet me here at, say, seven?” “Uh…..yeah. Seven. Seven is good. What do you want to do?” Tristan asked, finally regaining the ability to speak intelligently. “Surprise me. Listen, why don’t you get going while I finish getting my things together?” Rory asked as she went to the front closet and got her purse. “Okay. I’ll see you at seven then.” Tristan replied as he edged towards the door. “Bye Rory.” “Good-bye Tristan.” Rory said as she summaged to find her car keyes. She heard the door close. She had found her keys, but needed some lip gloss. Running back to her room, she took some from her vanity. She heard the door open and footsteps come towards her room. “Tristan, did you forget some---“ Suddenly a glove-covered hand holding a sickly-sweet smelling rag was held over her mouth and nose. Rory started kicking and flailing her arms, trying to get loose, but to no avail. The person was too strong. She knocked the vanity over, and was pulling pictures off the walls, but her captor didn’t loosen his grip. She felt herself loosing consciousness, but before she blacked out, she heard a fuzzy voice. “You’re going to be mine Rory. You can’t change that.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 10- Bria rummaged through her make-up bag for her favorite pink eye shadow for the fifth time. She just didn’t know where it had gone. Abandoning her search, she threw herself on the bed in a huff. She knew that her attention lay in the events from Chicago, and the problems that led to Chicago, not in her errant make-up. She shook her head, trying to keep the memories from tumbling through her mind, but her brain didn’t want to comply. Instead she relived every moment, from start to finish. She had lived with her mother, biological father, and Dean for the first 8 years of her life in Las Vegas, Nevada. They were not happy years. Her father, Sean Dosman, had been raised very old-fashioned, from the world of Nick At Night families. The husband had the career, the wife stayed home and happily cooked and cleaned, the daughter became a perfect student and Homecoming Queen, the son was the popular quarterback, the best player on the team. Not much room for deviation from The Plan. He was a hard disciplinarian, completely intolerable of anything he considered insubordination. Her mother was raised much more openly, encouraged to dream of a career, to think outside the mold of happy housewife. How her parents had ever become married, she’ll never know. Kate had gone into law enforcement, a great feat for a woman of her time. She loved her job, and when she started dating Sean, she thought things would be perfect. Sean tolerated her working as long as she performed her other ‘wifely duties’ to a fault. It wasn’t ideal, but Kate was sure that Sean was the man for her. After only 2 years of marriage, they had Bria, followed 2 years later by Dean. After the children were born, Sean insisted Kate stay home. Kate was sure she could juggle a career and children, but she had learned that it was usually best to follow what Sean wanted to avoid a big fit. In the beginning, Sean had only been verbally abusive to get his way, but soon after Dean was born, he moved on to physical violence, though not towards the children…at first. Bria and Dean only had to witness brutality. Kate didn’t know what to do. She knew deep down that Sean was a good man, and he provided a good home for her and the children, so she put up with the abuse. She didn’t even know what she would do if she left him. There was no money, and how could they survive without money? She was too embarrassed to go to her parents, whom she knew had health problems, and Sean had long since alienated her from any friends. She was trapped. For six years she put up with the cruelty, both emotionally and physically. She tried her best to distance Bria and Dean from Sean, but Sean wanted to have a hand in raising them. He indoctrinated Dean in the role of a woman, stating that they were inferior to men, not made to have careers and think for themselves. Bria was encouraged to learn to cook, clean, sew, and do other domestic work. She was expected to be meek, quiet, and unopinionated. By Bria’s sixth year, she and her mother could not speak unless spoken to, or they feared fierce punishment. On one occasion, Bria was locked in a closet for 36 hours because she had asked Dean to make his bed. It was obvious that the brutality had come to encompassed Bria as well as her mother, though Dean remained untouched by his father’s methods. Both feared for their lives on a daily basis. Kate was getting desperate. She couldn’t use the telephone without permission. She couldn’t speak in her own home. Her children were being subjected to a madman. She didn’t know what she could do. It was obvious that the violence was escalating. She always had some injury from Sean, and more often than not Bria was under some kind of punishment. Dean took his cue from Sean. He ordered them both about, and there was nothing either one could do about it. One night, Sean came home drunk, as he often did. But this night was different. At this point, Bria knew the worst part was about to come, and again she tried to shake herself out if the memories. But instead, her actions had the opposite affect. She was thrown into them headfirst, reliving them as if for the first time…… ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Eight year old Bria sat in her room sewing some doll clothes. She loved her doll, Alice. It was her favorite, even if her father had given it to her. She could hear her father in the living room, watching T.V. and cleaning his gun. He was muttering something, but she couldn’t hear what. She jumped when she heard his voice, loud and clear. “Katie! What the hell does it take to get some dinner in here? I think it should be obvious that I want to eat in the living room, not that damn excuse for a kitchen. Now get me my dinner!” Bria knew that he was especially angry that night. Even though she would like to get something to eat, she knew that she would stay in her room until morning, when she her father would be sober again and less likely to hit her. It was the way things were. Continuing to sew in small, perfect stitches, she heard her father get off his chair and walk into the kitchen, still yelling and cursing about his dinner and how Kate wasn’t going fast enough on purpose. Bria cringed as the familiar sound of a slap filled the house. She knew that tonight was going to be a bad night. Father, as he insisted on being called, didn’t start hitting anyone until after dinner unless something especially bad had happened. Bria knew for sure that she wasn’t going to leave her room until morning. She heard the soft sobbing of her mother, and Father continued to belittle her, calling her a little bitch whore that wasn’t worth dirt. Bria knew her mother’s tears would only serve to further enrage Father. Trying to push the fighting out of her mind, she hoped Mom would be alright. She didn’t want to have her go to the hospital, leaving herself and Dean alone with Father. It was then she heard the gunshot, followed by silence. Dropping her sewing, Bria felt herself panicking. She knew something was wrong. This had never happened before. She was used to the sounds of kicks, and slaps, and punches. Not gunshots. She found that her hands were shaking, and no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t get up from her desk and get in the box marked ‘Yarn’ that her mother told her to hide in when things sounded really bad. She was frozen to her seat, the sound of the gun echoing in her ears. She felt her fear increase as Father’s heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the hall, passing Dean’s room. Bria knew the only other room down the hall was hers. Her breathing became ragged. She knew that nothing good could come of this. “Bria! Where the hell are you? Aren’t you going to say hello to your father and give him a kiss like a good little girl? Or are you a little whore like your mother? Too good to follow what I say? You know what happens to bad little girls, Bria. I’m going to take care of you just like I took care of your mother!” Sean yelled down the hall. Bria knew her mother had to be badly hurt. Mom would always try to talk him out of beating Bria by now. But her mother’s voice was silent. Bria knew that there was nothing that could safe her now. She began to pray, even though in her family religion was taboo. Bria felt herself chanting over and over. Time seemed to stretch on forever. Distantly, as if from miles away, she heard Dean’s voice mingle with Father’s. “Father, what happened?” “Your bitch mother doesn’t know how to follow what a man says. I though her a little lesson though. I think your whore sister could benefit from the same lesson.“ “Can I help?” “Sure, my boy. You just follow me, and watch and learn. You’ll know how to handle women yet, son.” Bria felt herself shutting down. The fear was gone, replaced with a kind of acceptance, the way she felt during a particularly brutal beating. Finally, after an eternity, Father and Dean walked into her room. Defiantly, she looked Father straight in the eye, something forbidden for her or her mother to do. “Girl, you’re too much trouble. More than your worth. Just like your mother. Tramp. I’ll fix that though. Say hi to that whore when you see her in hell!” Father snarled as he leveled the gun at her. Bria looked over at Dean, who didn’t seem too broken up over what was about to happen. She knew that her lack of reaction to the gun wasn’t normal, but it all seemed so unreal, like it wasn’t really happening. Her body felt like it was in a tub full of water. Moving would be too hard, take too much time and energy. Bria closed her eyes, waiting to the inevitable. When she heard the gunshot, she braced herself. After a moment, she opened one eye cautiously, wondering why the bullet never came. After both eyes were opened, she knew why. She saw her mother standing over her father’s fallen body, holding another one of Father’s guns. There was blood running out from Mom’s upper thigh, though she didn’t seem to notice. Her father had fallen face down, and there was a huge gaping hole in the back of his head. Even Dean, only six years old, knew that it had been a fatal shot. After the fatal shot had been fired. The only noise that could be heard for several minutes was the sound of Bria and her mother’s heavy breathing. Dean seemed unaffected by the whole manner. Nobody moved until the sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance. It was then her mother finally asked if everyone was alright. It was then Dean asked why Mom had hurt Father. It was then Bria finally was able to move to the safety of her mother’s arms and cry. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* After that little trip down memory lane, Bria just wanted to forget that entire part of her life. But it, and the events that followed, had shaped who she was. The act was a part of her. It couldn’t be separated out. Besides, once she started thinking about it, she knew that her brain wouldn’t let it rest until she had gone through the entire story. After the police had arrived, they took statements from the three of them. It was easily ruled as an act of self-defense. There was no trial for the murder of Sean Brian Carpenter. Only two weeks later, Kate packed up Bria and Dean and moved them all to Chicago, where an old friend was able to get Kate a job on the local PD. It was hard to adjust at first. Bria and Dean had intense therapy for the next three years, with at least bi-yearly visits for the next 5. Dean had a very warped vision of women thanks to his father. He truly believed women were inferior, instead of fully capable people just as good as he was. It took mass amounts of therapy for six year old Dean to realize that his idol, his father, had taught him wrong. Not to mention the scarring of seeing your mother beaten often, and seeing your father killed right before your eyes. But Kate was stubborn, and her family would be fixed, damn it. Bria, on the other hand, suffered mainly from nightmares reliving her brutal punishments. She had intense counseling to get her over that terrible night her father had died, the night she could have died herself. Her father’s reign of terror, though horrible, had almost no lasting effects. She became a stable, happy child after a rough year. No one would have guessed how she had spent the first eight years of her life. Kate had a few rough months, but her work became a focus for her, and soon she was able to put those terrible years behind her. She had a good job, a happy life, and two beautiful healthy children. She didn’t think anything could make her happier. That’s when fate stepped in with a helping hand. After two and a half years, Kate met Will Finley, a transfer officer from San Diego. Their friendship blossomed into a romance. Kate was truly happy for the first time in years, and both Dean and Bria approved. On their eight-month anniversary, they were married, with Bria and Dean taking on Will’s last name. Things were nearly perfect. Kate finally had a loving, supportive family. A few years later Clara was born, completing the family. Kate was absolutely sure that Sean’s influence had finally been broken from her family. That’s when Sean’s mother died. Sean’s mother, Angela, had left a few items to Bria and Dean in her will. Bria ended up with a few pieces of jewelry, but Dean got the crystal pendant. It was made from a very rare gem, and was quite expensive. Angela had gotten it from her husband when they were dating. It was sent with a note to Dean saying that any girl he gave it to was sure to be his forever. Dean took that note to heart. Getting the pendant coincided with his meeting Jenna Henry in the beginning of his sophmore year of high school. Jenna had been a beautiful girl, with curly red hair and deep green eyes, much like his grandmother Angela had had in her youth. She was also very smart and driven, like Angela. Dean took it as a sign that he and Jenna were meant to be together. They became casual friends, and after a few months of accidentally running into each other at least 3 times a week, they started dating. Dean was the epitome of the perfect boyfriend. He was chivalrous, didn’t keep her out past curfew, and was considerate of her values. But after their three month anniversary, when he gave Jenna the crystal pendant, things changed. Dean became angry if he didn’t know where Jenna was at all times, or if he saw her talking with another guy alone. He was unhappy when Jenna opted for a night out with the girls instead of going out with him. He began to call her constantly, keeping her on the phone for hours to make sure she wasn’t out getting in trouble. His father’s training was beginning to show through. Jenna was starting to become tired of Dean’s possessiveness. One day, while waiting alone in his room, she started looking for a book Dean had borrowed that she needed back. Opening the bottom drawer of his desk, she was shocked to find not only her book, but surveillance pictures of her in her room, church, and other places, a lock of her hair, a leather-bound journal, and a sweater of hers that had been missing for a month. It had become a veritable shrine. Some part of her urged her to grab the journal, so she did, slipping it into her purse jus t before Dean entered the room again. Murmuring a quick excuse, she quickly went home to study the journal. She was shocked by the detailed logs Dean had kept after stalking her. She found out that their ‘coincidental’ meetings before they had dated had been staged. That many nights Dean had been peeking into her bedroom window, watching her and taking pictures. That almost every time Jenna had been out with friends without Dean, he had been watching from a distance. Jenna was horrified, and rightly so. The very next day she broke up with Dean, demanding her book, sweater, and lock of hair back. She told him to stay away from her, to never speak to he again. Her confrontation turned out to be a very bad move on her part. Jenna never knew what hit her. Dean, enraged with Jenna’s words, reacted with white-hot anger. He began yelling at her, and hitting her over and over. He called her a whore, a tramp that didn’t know what a great guy he was. He yelled it over and over, while pacing ferociously. When Dean’s parents returned home 5 minutes later, Dean was still yelling at Jenna’s unconscious form, which already had bruises forming. Will restrained Dean while Kate called an ambulance. They later found out that Jenna was going to be fine, but she was pressing charges and getting a restraining order. Dean’s parents, not wanting the matter to go to court, managed to quiet the Henry family with a cash settlement and a promise to get Dean counseling. The deal also included moving out of the state. Later, in counseling, they learned that it was the necklace that had spawned the stalking of Jenna Henry. Dean reasoned that Jenna was a lot like Angela, and Dean had always idolized his father’s side of the family. He thought that giving her the crystal meant that she would always be his. It was shoddy reasoning at best, but with Dean’s early childhood to put into the equation, it made a certain kind of sense. His idea of how Jenna should have acted mirrored Sean’s philosophy. It seemed that they were not out of the woods yet. Dean was sent to a three month counseling center. After he was given a clean bill of health, the family moved to Stars Hallow, only a few weeks into Dean’s Junior year at Stars Hallow High. Bria had thought that after the Jenna incident, Dean had changed his ways. But after what she had seen, she wasn’t so sure anymore. She had been in college during the incident, but she had later talked with Jenna about the incident. Dean’s relationship with Rory seemed to be headed down the same doomed path. She knew very little about the inner workings of Dean and Rory’s relationship. But what she did know was that Dean had given Rory the crystal pendant. That spoke volumes more than anything else that could have happened. She also knew that Dean and Rory had had a fight the night before, which ended with Rory driving off in sharply. She was also sure she had heard her name, though she didn’t know what that meant just yet. She hoped for Rory’s sake that Dean was mentally sound, because since she had received the necklace, Dean would be enraged that Rory had fought with him instead of mutely bending towards his will. Heaving a sigh, Bria got off the bed slowly. Reliving that portion of her life always made her tired. Still, she was off to go shopping and get to know Rory better. She started perking up at the idea. In fact, she couldn’t wait. Since her eyeshadow was a lost cause, she decided to skip that altogether and go as is. As she walked out of the guest room, she heard her mother in the kitchen getting lunch ready. “Hey Mom, what are you making?” “Oh, just some sandwiches to take to Dean. He went to work early this morning, and I noticed that he didn’t bring a lunch. Are you going somewhere?” Kate asked as she stacked lunch meat on a French roll. “Yeah, shopping with Rory.” “Oh, what a nice girl. She really is sweet. And so smart! Well, you better get going or you’ll be late dear. You do mean to be there by noon, right? I thought I heard you say noon, but I could be wrong. Do you think you could take this to Dean?” Kate said as she dropped the sandwich into al already full paper bag. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll see you tonight Mom. Love you!” Bria called as she waked out the door to her Jetta. She loved her Jetta…..in fact, she was having a moment of Jetta Heaven as she opened the door to the car and breathed in that nice Jetta scent. Getting in, she drove the short distance to the grocery store where Dean worked. She parked the car, then grabbed the bag and walked in. She scanned the store, but couldn’t see Dean anywhere. After a few minutes of searching, coming up empty handed, she decided to ask the other bagboy to give Dean the lunch. “Excuse me, can you give this to my brother, Dean Findly, when he gets back? He’s suppose to be working here right now, but I guess he’s out running an errand or something.” Bria said as she put the sack down on the floor next to the boy who’s nametag read ‘Scott’. “I wish I could, but Dean never showed up for work. It’s not even his day.” Scott said, as he continued to bag a woman’s groceries. “Sorry you came all the way here for nothing.” “Oh, did he tell you he was at work today? You must be wrong. I saw him park his car outside the Gilmore’s house this morning around ten. He and Rory must have had plans of some kind, because when I looked outside again about a half hour later, his truck was gone. Isn’t that sweet of him to take her out for the day?” Said the woman, her eyes glazing as if she was remembering when she was a teenager and a boy took her out for a day at the park. Bria felt her hands growing cold. Something wasn’t right. She had gotten up at eight that morning, and Dean had already ‘left for work’ by then. Why would he lie? She felt a sense of dread, the same feeling she had gotten a year ago when she later found out that Dean had beaten Jenna Henry. She knew she had to get to the Gilmore house fast. “Oh, that’s right. I was suppose to bring this to the park. Silly me. I’ll be going now. Sorry to trouble you!” Bria called as she backed out of the store and jumped into her car, the forgotten lunch still at Scott’s feet. She must have broken several laws to get to the Gilmore house as fast as he did. When she got there, she saw a site that shocked her. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Bria felt herself going into a panic attack. Lowering her head on the steering wheel and breathing deeply, she hoped it would pass soon. But when she looked again, the police cars were still there, and there were still officers on the lawn, questioning neighbors and taking prints off the door, or casting molds of shoeprints under windows. With her parents both ex-cops turned CIA, she knew what a crime scene looked like. Dazed, Bria stepped out of the car, knowing that she knew who was behind all this. Dean. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 11- “I already told the Krispy Kreme patrol over there what my daughter looked like. How does having 5 written records of Rory’s eye color going to help you? Now I need you to tell me what you are doing to find my daughter!” Lorelai yelled, frustrated by the inept questions of ‘America’s Finest’. She collapsed on her sofa, only to have fresh tears prick her eyes when she saw a picture of 5 year old Rory dressed as a fairy. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. “I just need you to find her, okay?” “I understand, Lorelai. This must be terrible for you.” Sympathized Officer Ethan Bleth, who had known Lorelai since soon after she moved to Stars Hallow. He took a moment to hand Lorelai a tissue, but didn’t abate in his questioning. “Could you tell me if anyone would have a reason to kidnap your daughter? A relative, her father, one of your coworkers?” “No relatives I can think of, her father and I are on good terms with no custody battle, and I get along fine with my coworkers.” Lorelai stated flatly. After a split second, Lorelai realized what had just been asked. “Wait, Ethan, you know I work at an inn and get along fine with those people. I’ve known you practically since I moved here. What kind of question was that?” “Just following procedure. You know the rules, Lorelai.” “Look, I don’t know what happened. All I know is that Rory, the Queen of Punctuality, didn’t meet me for breakfast, and when I got here I found the door ajar, her room a mess, a sticky cloth on the floor, and no Rory. I don’t know who took her, I don’t know who would want to take her, and I don’t know why she was taken. I just know that someone has my baby and I don’t know what is happening to her. Now go find her!” Lorelai ordered as she jumped off the couch to go find coffee. She could see that the police were doing everything they could, and it wasn’t their fault that this was the biggest crime in Stars Hallow since that hit-and-run from five years before that resulted in a woman losing the lower half of her right calf. They never did find the person responsible. Lorelai could only pray that Rory would be found safe. In the kitchen, Lorelai found Luke already at the counter, intensely watching the coffee drip slowly-too slowly-into the pot. He jumped slightly and turned went he heard Lorelai enter. “Hey, do they have any leads yet?” Luke asked as he suddenly busied himself straightening the sugar and cream. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I feel cheated. Like all those tax dollars I paid never meant anything. Damn government.” She fumed as she took the half-full pot and poured herself a cup. Drinking it black, she was disturbed to find that the pleasure of drinking coffee, something she had always been able to count on, was gone. She jerkily threw it back on the counter, feeling betrayed. “Luke, I can’t even enjoy coffee. I mean, my baby is out there. I don’t know if she’s hurt, or afraid, or….or….something.” She finished lamely, not wanting to acknowledge the other possibility. “What if I had been here with her instead of at Sookie’s? Huh? Then what? Then I would have been here, and she’s be safe. I don’t know how long she’s been gone! What kind of mother can I be if I don’t know where my own child is and it’s my fault?” Lorelai sobbed. Luke, unsure of what to do, tentatively put his arms around her, thoroughly stunned when Lorelai grabbed hold of his shoulders and cried deeply. He felt his heart breaking. “Luke, what if she dies because I didn’t do my job as a mother? What if I have to live the rest of my life knowing that my baby got killed because I was too busy with a friend instead of my daughter?” Lorelai asked, tears streaked across her face. Luke couldn’t believe that Lorelai was blaming herself. It took him a moment to shake off the astonishment, but when his vocal cords agreed to work again, he found the words pouring out. “Lorelai, this isn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known that this was going to happen. I was here when you found out that something had happened to Rory. I know that there was nothing you could to keep this from happening. You were a good friend to stay with Sookie, and Rory is a big girl. It was all right for you to leave her alone last night. Bad timing, yes. Bad mothering, no. And I promise, I will stay with you until she’s found. Rory is like a daughter to me, and I will personally make sure that if anyone has hurt a single hair on her head, they will pay.” Luke vowed, staring deeply into Lorelai’s eyes. He saw her smile a tiny smile, one so small that if he hadn’t already memorized every plane of her face, he might have missed it. “Luke, thank you for staying here with me. And for closing the store to come with me when Rory didn’t show up. What would I do without you?” She asked, wrapping her arms around Luke. “You won’t ever need to find out.” Luke promised, holding her tight. After a few moments, both Luke and Lorelai realized there was someone else in the kitchen. Lorelai turned to see a tall, blond woman, looking very timid and scared. “May I help you?” Lorelai asked, letting go of Luke and taking a few steps towards her. “I think I can help you. I’m Bria Findly, Dean’s sister.” Bria said as she lightly grasped Lorelai’s hand in a handshake. “Has something happened to Rory?” “Yes!” Lorelai exclaimed, amazed that the woman knew. “How did you know?” “Yeah, how did you know?” Luke asked suspiciously, stepping in behind Lorelai. “Because this isn’t the first time something like this has happened.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “-and that’s as much as I know.” Bria finished, an hour and a half after starting her story. She looked into the faces of Luke, Lorelai, Rory’s grandparents, friends, FBI agents, and the police officers around her, seeing shock, disbelief, horror, and pain mingled in their eyes. “I’m sorry you had to find out about Dean’s past this way.” She apologized, looking down into her lap self-consciously. “That little prick! I’m gonna kill that bagboy!” Luke yelled, jumping up from the couch to violently pace around the room. “I knew there was something off about him! I knew that there was something other than that hair!” “Luke, calm down. There was no way we could have known.” Lorelai tried to placate him, rubbing his arm. “Besides, I get to torture him first. Slowly. He messed with the wrong family.” “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming. She was my best friend, and I didn’t even know something was wrong. I watch T.V. I know all the signs. This is straight out of some B-rate movie-of-the-week.” Lane said, her voice hoarse. She had already cried herself numb, and Henry’s recent arrival had done nothing to help her feel better. “Lane, we’ll find her. We just have to see if there’s anyone we can call and talk with. I’ll see what my father can do to speed things up.” Henry said, trying his best to help in any way possible. He knew that having a father in the FBI was going to become very handy, very soon. Sure, Agent Parker was in white-collar crimes, but he could speed things up behind the scenes. Henry started scanning the room around him, his eyes resting on a dark blue sweater half-hidden behind the couch. He pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on, and walked over to examine it. It looked familiar. “Hey, when was Tristan here?” Henry asked after confirming that it was a Chilton soccer sweater. He was surprised at the blank stares sent his way. “What? What did I say?” “Henry, Tristan has never been here. It can’t be his.” Lorelai said slowly, as though it was common knowledge. “Rory hates him with a bloody passion, and would never agree to have him here long enough for him to leave a sweater. That can’t be his.” “No this is Tristan’s. His number’s on the bottom right-hand side, see? Number 73.” Henry persisted, pointing at the white numbers. “Mine is 37, and his is 73.” “Lorelai, the boy is right. I remember seeing a picture of the soccer team in the Chilton Newsletter. This is what their sweatshirts look like. It you read your Newsletter, you might have remembered that.” Emily agreed with the boy, taking the sweater from him and folding it into a neat little square before setting it on top of the coffee table. “Lorelai, you mean to tell me there was a DuGrey in your house and you didn’t tell me?” “Mother, now is not the time to recount the greatness of the almighty Chilton Newsletter and/or DuGrey family. I need to know when and why The Evil One was at my house.” Lorelai snapped, her temper flaring. “It was just a simple question, Lorelai. We’re all a little on edge, dear.” Emily replied. “Do you want me to call Tristan and see if he knows anything?” Henry asked, trying to be helpful in any way. “Do you really think he’d know anything?” Lorelai asked hopefully. “He might. I don’t really know.” Henry answered truthfully, wishing he had more offer. “Make the call. I want to know everything he knows.” Lorelai decided. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *Ring* Tristan jerked up from his desk when he heard the phone ring. Locating it quickly, he clicked it on. “Hello?” “Hey Tristan, its Henry.” “Hey Henry. What have you been up to lately?” Tristan asked. He and Henry hadn’t really spoken for a while and the call was welcome. “Nothing much. Listen, I have a few questions for you….” Henry started, only to be cut off by Tristan. “Man, you’ll never guess where I was last night. You know Rory, right? Well, she calls me at 10 and asks me to come over because of some fight with her boyfriend. You now I told you he was bad for her. Anyways, Rory tells me he’s become some kind of control freak, and she broke it off with him. I think he did something to her, because by the time I got there she was so scared that a knocked over flower pot practically turned her hair white. So I stayed for a while and….” “Tristan, wait, you were there last night?” Henry asked, incredulously. “Yeah, didn’t I just say that? Come on Henry, where have you been?” Tristan asked, in too good of a mood to notice the melancholy sound of Henry’s voice. “Tristan, Rory’s been kidnapped. Didn’t you know that? She was kidnapped sometime between midnight and 10:45 this morning. Did you know anything about this?” Henry asked, his mind going on overload after learning that Tristan had been at the Gilmore house less than 24 hours before. “Henry, what kind of joke is this? Rory’s fine, she has to be. I just saw her this morning. How could anything happen to her at 10 a.m. This has to be a joke.” Tristan couldn’t believe his ears. “Tristan, what do you mean you saw her this morning? You said you saw her last night.” “I, well, she was still scared because of that bastard boyfriend of hers, so she asked me to stay the night. Her mom called, but Rory didn’t want to tell her what happened yet, so she told her mom to stay at her friend’s house. Nothing happened, I swear. I left at 10 and she was fine. Henry, she can’t be missing.” Tristan felt like he was in a dream, like all this wasn’t really happening. “Look, man, I think you should come over here. The police and FBI probably want to talk to you, since you were the last person to see her.” Henry said, his mind spinning. “I’ll be right there.” Tristan said, though at that point he was on autopilot. Though his body went through the necessary motions-hanging up the phone, getting his keys-his mind was on Rory, and the fact that he had left her alone after he swore he would keep her safe. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 12- Rory felt a stabbing pain in the back if her head. She groaned, her mouth tasting dry and scratchy. She opened her eyes, the light burning her dilated pupils. She tried to bring her hand up to shield her eyes, but it stayed firmly behind her back. “Glad to see you’re finally awake, Rory.” A voice said. Rory knew she knew that voice, but couldn’t place it. Then again, she seemed to be forgetting a lot. Like where she was, and why. And why her hands wouldn’t move. “You’ve been out so long I was starting to get worried. I’ve never chloroformed someone, and from what I’ve read, you should have come to at least half an hour ago. Oh well, the important thing is that you’re awake now.” The voice continued. Rory’s brain was being sluggish, something she was not used to. Concentrating very hard, she tried to place the voice. It came to her suddenly, causing a gasp. It was Dean! She tried to say something, but her mouth was gagged, and all that came out was a muffled groan. “Well, Rory, I thought we needed some alone time. You were starting to get strange ideas that were hurting the relationship. You know, my therapist always said that talking things out could solve any problem. Let’s see if old Mr. Goldburg was right.” Dean said, reaching a hand down to stroke her hair. Rory recoiled at his touch, but was unable to move far. Her arms were tied behind her back, her legs were lashed together, and she was lying face-down on the floorboard of Dean’s truck. “Shh, Rory. Stay still. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Rory thought, knowing that it wasn’t going to be that easy. “We need to work things out. Since you were so unwilling to listen to me last night, I felt that a change of scenery would help.” Dean continued to stoke Rory’s hair, and Rory had no choice but to allow it. “You know, I was shocked by how little you seemed to care for our relationship. After you left, I turned on the bugs I put in your home and on the phone. I was surprised when you called the accountant. Really Rory, I thought you had better taste. When I found out you had invited him over, I really got angry. You know I always did hate him.” Rory was getting more and more scared. Dean’s voice didn’t sound the same. It sounded…meaner, somehow. Like a different side of him was coming out. “The thing is, I don’t know what to think of your little slumber party with that asshole. You’re a little whore that had him spend the night, Rory. You slept with him, didn’t you Rory? Why else have him spend the night, huh? Or did he force you to let him? I don’t know. But I will.” Dean continued talking. Rory could tell he liked the control he had over this situation. “I keep thinking back to my father. He was right about women. Barely worth the trouble. You know, my mother always was home keeping house until she went to work when my father died. You didn’t know that, did you Rory? Will’s not my real father. Sure, I call him Dad, but he will never be the man my father was. Mom used to have a home-cooked meal on the table every night until the night Father died. Was killed, actually. After that Mom went to work, and then she married Will. He should have put her back in her place, but he never did. He was weak.” “I’m sorry I have to keep you gagged, Rory. But I don’t know what you’ll do if I take it off. I can’t have you getting the attention of another driver. So I’ll have to keep you quiet until we get to where we need to be. “ Dean said suddenly, interrupting his own monologue. “Anyways, where was I? Oh, I remember. Father. He was strict, but he knew how to run a house with order. You know, last night you did the wrong thing yelling at me. That was not you’re place to tell me what you were going to do. I know more than you Rory, and you should have listened to me. Bria is not someone you should get close to. It’s her fault Father got killed. Hers and Mom’s. But soon everything will be right again. I’ll have you, and I can fix the mistakes of the past.” Rory still wasn’t quite on the same page as Dean. She had so many questions, but no way to voice them. “Rory, I’ll bet you don’t even know that it was me that knocked over that plant last night. Good thing Babette’s cat was nearby for be to have walk over the dirt. I had to keep an eye on you, right? To make sure you didn’t do anything you would regret later when you came back to your senses. When that jerk wasn’t around anymore to cloud your judgment. Don’t worry Rory, I’ll forgive you. We just need to work things out first. And I need to know that you’re sorry.” Rory was getting increasingly bewildered. She had no clue of what was going on. She even still felt a little groggy. All she wanted was to be home, in her nice soft bed. Instead, she was on the hard, dirty floor of a truck. She cold feel tears forming at her eyes, but only two fell before she could do anything about them. As Rory’s thoughts ran at high speed, she felt exhaustion clawing at her. The chloroform still hadn’t wore off, and she knew she was going to pass out again fast. She heard Dean’s exaggeratedly slow voice, but not his words. But just before she passed out, she heard a phrase as clear as a bell. “I’ll do anything I have to do to make sure you’re mine, Rory. Anything.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 13- Tristan pulled up to the Gilmore house in a dreamlike trance. There were a few cars in the driveway already, and the outside looked slightly disheveled. Bracing himself, he exited his car and went up to the front door, but he couldn’t bring himself to knock quite yet. The drive over had been filled with images from the night before. Everything still felt as though it weren’t really happening, though Tristan knew it was. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Tristan knew he had to knock. Bringing up his hand, he knocked once, the dull sound filling him with a sense of dread for some reason. It only took a split second for someone to answer. He could recognize from the pictures he had seen before that it was Lorelai Gilmore. “Are you Tristan?” Was all the woman would say. “Yes, I am. I hope I can help you in some way, Mrs. Gilmore.” Tristan answered. Lorelai motioned for him to follow her in the house. “I hope you can help me too. Look, I don’t know why you were in my house last night, and I don’t know why Rory didn’t tell me. Hell, I don’t know if you have anything to do with what happened to my baby. But if you do, you better speak up now, because I will make you life hell if you don’t. You will tell me everything you know, and if I find out you were holding back on me I will personally make sure that the ex-boxer that lives just down the street has a little chat with you. Understand?” Lorelai bit out, much to the surprise and shock to Tristan. He felt white-hot anger that she thought he had had something to do with Rory being kidnapped, but knew that reacting with anger wouldn’t help. Instead, he took a deep breath and just tried to convey his innocence. “Mrs. Gilmore, you have my complete cooperation. I want Rory found just as badly as you do, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure she is found safely. You have my work, I did not have anything to do with Rory’s disappearance. And I want the son of a bitch that did this to her to pay as much as humanly possible. And I will make sure he does.” Tristan promised, and he could see in Lorelai’s eyes that she believed him. “Alright, Tristan, that was a convincing performance. But you better not let me down. My baby’s life could be on the line. And don’t call me Mrs. Gilmore. That would be my mother. Call me Lorelai.” Lorelai said as she led him into the full living room. All conversation ceased when they entered the room. Some man in a suit walked up to Tristan, trailed by a tall, brunette woman. “I take it you are Tristan DuGrey?” He asked. When Tristan nodded, the man continued. “I’m Agent Alan Randall. And this is my partner Agent Claudia Davidson. We’re in charge of this investigation, and we need to know everything that happened last night while you were here. Even the smallest detail could break the case, so please be honest.” From there, Tristan went into an account of what had happened the night before, leaving out the near-kiss that Lorelai’s call had interrupted, though he did tell Agent Randall that he and Rory had made plans to get together that night. “Look,” Tristan said after finishing the account, “I don’t know who is responsible for this. I mean, you still haven’t told me if you have any suspects or anything like that. Tell me what you know about all this.” An uncomfortable look entered Agent Randall’s eyes. “Son, I think you should talk with someone here. She has given us a lead on out main suspect.” Agent Randall said as he pointed to a blond woman. “If you want to know what we know, go ask her.” Tristan looked over at her. The woman looked lost in the room. She was simply sitting on a corner of the couch, nervously playing with a picture frame. Tristan walked over, wondering what this woman could know. “Excuse me, Agent Randall said I should speak with you if I wanted to know about the suspect they had in mind.” Tristan asked. “You must be the boy that was here last night. I’m Bria Findly. Dean’s sister.” Said Bria. She looked down nervously, letting a long pause lapse before she continued. “I do have some information that points to Dean as the person responsible for Rory’s kidnapping.” Tristan was shocked by the admission, though nowhere near as shocked as he was after Bria relayed an abridged version of the story she had told earlier. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Tristan was numb. Bria had told him of Dean’s past, and it made him sick to kn0w what had happened. That, and the possibilities of what could happen to Rory. He felt a primal urge inside to have Rory back, to get her back before it was too late. “Bria, do you know where Dean may have taken Rory?” Tristan asked urgently, pacing the room since he was unable to sit still. “I already told the police. I don’t know where he might have gone. We don’t have a summer home or anything, and I can’t think of anywhere he would have gone. It’s like he just vanished up in thin….” Bria’s voice trailed off as a blank look flitted across her face. “That’s it. He would go somewhere Father might have gone. He always thought that if Father had taken Mom away somewhere they might still be together. Dean will take her somewhere to get away from everyone.” Bria was getting excited. She knew that she was forgetting something about her father’s mother. “I know that Grandmother had a cabin in northern New York. But I forgot where. I’ve never been there, but Father would sometimes talk about it. Dean loved to hear about it. If he found out where it was, he might have taken her there.” Bria said as she jumped up from the couch to search for Agent Randall and Agent Davidson. “Agent Randall! Agent Davidson! I just thought of something that could help us find them!” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 14- “Rory, time to wake up.” A voice spoke through a haze of bright colors. Rory tried to focus, and found that it was becoming easier to think. And, incidentally, move. Bringing up a hand to rub her eyes with, she could feel that she was on a bed. She could also feel the presence of someone right over her. She opened her eyes again, and was startled by a face just inches away from hers. She tried to roll out of the way, but two arms came on top of hers, pinning her to the bed. She tried to speak, but the gag was still on her mouth. “Rory, thank God you finally woke up. I was beginning to think there was something wrong.” Dean said as he slowly released Rory, though he didn’t move away. “If you promise to keep quiet, I can take the gag out. Not that it would matter anyways. There isn’t another person for miles. I just don’t like screaming. So can you keep quiet without the gag in your mouth?” Dean asked, his voice sounding oddly detached, as though he were reciting a simple fact. Rory nodded. She would have promised anything to have the offending cloth removed. Anything. She held her breath as Dean drew a pair of scissors close to her cheek. With one snip, the gag was off. Once it was taken out, Rory was handed a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully. After draining the glass, she tried out her voice. Though it was hoarse, it got the job done. She was terrified, and full of questions, but one stood out in her mind. “Why am I here?” “I told you. We need to fix a few problems in this relationship. I don’t want to lose you, Rory. I love you.” Dean answered as he got up to deposit the gag in a wastepaper basket. “I was very disappointed when you called Tristan over. I don’t understand what you see in him. One minute you hate him, the next you have invited him for a little sleepover. I guess Father was right. Women are whores.” Dean said calmly. “I had thought you were different. Well, I was wrong. I guess we’ll just have to do this the hard way.” Rory was still confused, but she didn’t want to antagonize him. Instead, she tried to defend herself. Somehow, deep down she knew that being submissive would be her best bet to get out of here in one piece. Dean looked high-strung and edgy, and she had a feeling that meekness would calm him down. “Dean, I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way. I don’t really like Tristan, I was just…..mad at myself for making you mad. I don’t know why I called him.” “But you did, Rory. What does that say about you? I think it means we don’t have enough bonding time. We really need to work on that. I even got us some games to play. Word associations, ink blot tests, teamwork, things like that. I even brought Candyland, Risk, Parcheesi and Monopoly! How does that sound?” Dean asked. “Um…great! I love Monopoly.” Rory replied, completely confused. ********1 1/2 hours later******* “Ha! You landed on Marvin Gardens with 3 hotels. That would be $800, Rory!” Dean gloated, oblivious to the fear still evident in Rory’s face. To him, it was a normal date. “Darn, guess I should have though about that before I rolled.” Rory’s half-hearted attempts at humor fell pathetically flat. Still, she made an effort. She wanted Dean to feel as normal as possible. So far, the past hour and a half had been relatively normal, without any outbursts or threatening behavior. Rory hoped to keep it that way until someone could get to her. She was doing her best not to say anything wrong, but she really had no idea what would set Dean off. Forking over the oddly colored cash, Dean added it to his neat piles of money. Rory was doing her best to let him win. She had very little property, and the paltry estates she did own had few houses. None had hotels. The game was nearly over, though, a fact Rory had mixed feeling over. Rory’s thoughts swirled maliciously in her mind. “Okay, my turn!” Dean exclaimed as he happily took the dice. He was loving every minute of this. With a look of extreme determination in his eyes, he expertly tossed the dice onto the board, rolling a 6. “And the master strikes again! That brings me to the Community Chest.” Dean reached over the board to draw a card. He read it out loud in a deliberate manner. “You were the second-place winner in a beauty pageant. Collect $10.” Dean grinned after he read the card. He smiled fondly at Rory. “I bet I know who got first place.” He chanted like a little kid. Rory could see that cute little kid look in his eyes, the look she had always found so endearing. Now, everything about Dean scared her. In fact, this relaxed, easy-going Dean almost scared her more than the Dean with the wild look in his eyes from the night before. Then, once again clearing her mind, she tried to concentrate on Dean and the game. “That’s sweet, Dean. You always were sweet, too. Anyways, lets see what is in store for me.” Rory picked up the dice, not really caring what numbers popped up. She began to let her thoughts wander, going on autopilot to laugh when Dean said a joke, or boost his ego further. She thought about how she could get out. She knew that Dean was a light sleeper, and that he usually didn’t sleep much at all. She had just checked her watch, which showed the time as 12:21 a.m. She was beginning to wear down, but she could tell that the night only seemed to rejuvenate Dean. He always had been more of a night person, anyhow. Rory had also been searching the cabin all night for possible escape routes. But the rustic, one-roomed cabin and small, windowless bathroom left her with no options. Her only chance was to break the three combination locks holding the door shut. The windows all had bars on them. Rory was trapped. Finally, Dean won the game 30 minutes later. Rory smiled, and put up something of a fight against Dean’s gentle teasing about her loosing. Truly, all she wanted was to be home in bed. Seeing as that couldn’t happen, she went for second best. “Dean, I’m starting to get really tired. Do you think I could go to sleep now?” Rory asked in her best damsel-in-distress voice, wanting to gag herself at the tone. “Sure, baby. I even made sure to get you some pajamas. Let me go get them for you.” Dean said helpfully. He walked to the opposite end of the room and untied a brown paper box. He lifted out a pair of green drawstring bottoms and a white tee shirt. “Will these do?” “Yeah, that’ll be fine. Thank you.” Rory said, cringing slightly as her hand brushed Dean. Though Dean had been very tactile since she had woken up, always holding her hand, brushing back her hair, even kissing her chastely, she never got over having him touch her. It made her skin crawl. She started to pull her shirt over her head when she realized Dean was standing right there. Feeling self-conscience, she wondered what she could say to get him to turn away. “Dean, could you leave the room while I change?” Rory asked softly. She tried to gauge his reaction to her words. So far, she couldn’t see anything wrong. “Rory, you know I can’t do that. You might try to leave. I have to stay in here.” Dean chastised, as though the whole question had been silly, dismissing her as though she were a child that had asked to have a chocolate ice cream sundae for breakfast. Nodding her head, Rory felt her heart speeding up. Dean had still not made any moves to avert his line of vision. Rory had always been modest, and this was not the way she imagined undressing in front of a guy for the first time. Feeling tears pricking at her eyes, she jerked herself to face away from him before he could see the wet tracks running down her face. Hot with humiliation, she tugged at her clothes and replaced them with the pajamas as quickly as possible. Her lightning-fast, jerky motions almost reminded her of the first time she had had to change in the locker room. Still facing away from Dean, she began to braid her hair into one long braid down the center of her back, securing it with the elastic band that she always had around her wrist. The small ritual comforted her, though not by much. Taking a moment to compose herself, she turned around slowly, not wanting to look at Dean. Rory tried to walk around him, but he reached out and held her at his side. “Rory, there’s no need to feel embarrassed. You and I are meant for each other.” Rory heard him say, though she still hadn’t looked at him. Dean hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. Rory could see his old tenderness in his eyes. The eyes that she had fallen in love with. Eyes that had now betrayed her. “Don’t worry Rory, I think you just need to get some sleep. Just let me change and we’ll go to bed.” Dean said, leading Rory to the bed and tucking her in. Sitting in bed, her nighttime routine felt out of whack. She nearly always brushed her teeth, flossed, washed her face, then changed for bed. Though she had already brushed her teeth after eating earlier in the evening before the game of Monopoly had started, she felt a need to brush them again, if only for the sake of normalcy. Turning her attention to other matters, Rory wondered where Dean was going to sleep. The one-roomed cabin held only one bed, and Rory was in it. She could already feel her stomach sinking. The bed wasn’t all that big. Just a little smaller than queen-sized. Maybe big enough if she hadn’t minded being close to the other occupant. But Rory couldn’t even stand the small touches Dean had been giving her all night. She was sure having him in the same bed would give her cardiac arrest. It would be nothing like it had been falling asleep next to Tristan. Nothing at all. Rory began to pray that Dean would magically pull out a cot, or open an invisible door to another bedroom. But her prayers went unanswered as Dean, clothed in a wife-beater and flannel pajama bottoms much like hers climbed into the bed. Rory let out a small whimper as her leg brushed his. She tried to keep still, but jumped when she felt him pull her into his chest and breath into her ear, “Goodnight, Rory. Sweet dreams.” It was all she could take. She jumped out of the bed, her legs like jello as she stood a few feet from the bed. “Dean, I’m really not comfortable with sleeping with you. Remember? I go to church….sometimes. And I don’t think people should sleep together before they’re married. Don’t you think we should, um, wait?” Rory said hastily She could feel her heart pounding, her skin burning where Dean had touched her. She ran her hands over her body, trying to rid it of the sensation. Dean looked at her blankly for a moment. Then she saw his eyes darken, his mouth twist into an ugly sneer. “Am I not good enough for Rory Gilmore? Or is that a new ruled you just made? Because that sure as hell wasn’t the rule last night when you slept with him.” He bit out, springing out of the bed to within inches of Rory. Rory backed away, knowing that she has said the wrong thing. “What’s the matter, Rory? You only screw around with snotty rich boys that pay you to lay there while they use you? Is that the problem?” Dean asked darkly, taking small steps forward that forced Rory to back up towards the wall. Her heart was beating wildly. Her mind had gone blank. She honestly couldn’t think of anything. She couldn’t even speak. The only sounds coming out of her mouth were soft, high-pitched vowels. “Huh? What d o you have to say for yourself? Can you not handle anything other than weak little trust-fund boys?” Dean taunted. His sneer had turned into a vicious smirk, and she saw his tongue dart out and lick his lips. Rory again tried to back up, but found she was out of space. She was wedged firmly between Dean and the wall. Her mind raced frantically, trying to think of something to say. “Dean, I swear. I didn’t want to sleep with Tristan. It was an accident. He said we should watch a movie, and I fell asleep. It was an accident. I didn’t do anything bad, I promise!” Rory said breathlessly. She couldn’t seem to take in enough air. She sobbed softly as Dean trailed his hand down her cheek, pinning her body to the wall with his own. She turned her face away from his, unable to stare into his cold eyes any longer. “Don’t you dare look away from me, you slut!” Dean yelled, jerking her by the chin. “You need to be taught a lesson? Hmm?” He asked rhetorically before he crushed his lips to hers. Rory cried out in fear, but the sound was muffled. She felt tears running down her face, an unending cascade. The kiss seemed to go one forever, like time had stretched to cover a lifetime. Suddenly, her legs gave out, causing her to crash down to the floor. She crumpled down further, sobs wracking her body. She cried the tears she had been holding back all night, feeling the salty-sweet wetness course down the plains of her features. She felt Dean move away from her, only to return a moment later and bend down to her level. She let out a shriek of terror when he forced her to sit up, but quieted a little when he let go of her and stepped back a few feet. She braced herself against the wall, afraid to move, afraid to make a sound. She swallowed the deep sobs begging to be let out. Dean had a look of almost regret in his eyes, though it passed quickly. “I’m going to leave for a while, Rory. But I won’t be gone long. Just go to sleep. I’ll be back by the time you wake up.” Was all he before he walked to the door and undid the combination locks, slipping each one into the large pockets of his jacket. He closed the door behind him, and she heard locks snapping on the other side of the door. It took Rory a moment to realized he had locked her in. She crouched by the wall for several minutes before moving to the bed, remembering what Dean had told her. Fear still gripped her body, but exhaustion won out. Rory drifted into an uneasy slumber, with silent, almost unnoticed tears still falling, even in her sleep. She tried to remember the night before, when she had felt safe, and happy. Both feelings were completely foreign to her now. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 15- Bria could feel the beginnings of a monster headache coming on. She pinched the bridge of her nose, but no dice. She tired to calm herself, but her words came out harsh anyways. “Just listen to me, okay? He’s there, I promise you that!” “Bria, honey, we have already told you. Grandmother already sold the cabin. To a very nice couple. It has been verified. It would just be a waste of time to check there.” Kate tried to get her daughter to understand where she was coming from. But Bria was stubborn. “It’s true. The Johansan’s bought it nearly 5 years ago.” Agent Davidson added. “I made the call myself.” “Still, isn’t it worth checking out? What makes you think that Dean wouldn’t break in? He’s already committed a felony, what’s to stop him from breaking and entering?” Tristan challenged. He had a feeling that the cabin was exactly where Rory was. If he believed in girly things like intuition, he would bet his life on it. But he was a man. He had a gut-instinct. That was completely different. “Tristan, Bria, trust me. These people know what they’re doing. I want Rory found just as bad, if not much much more than both of you, but traipsing around New York will not find her faster.” Lorelai supplemented. Her voice, though still strong, had lost it’s vibrance. Rory had been missing since 10 a.m., and it was now 5. No telling what could have happened in those 7 hours. Bria tried to control her temper. “Mom, listen to me. Remember how much Father used to talk about the cabin? Dean is acting just like him right now. He would go somewhere he could feel close to Dad with.” She implored. Why couldn’t they believe her? She was studying the human mind, for crying out loud. Give her a little credit. “Bria, honey, there’s nothing I can do. This is out of my jurisdiction. The FBI are already working on a few leads. “ Kate replied. After a second’s pause she jumped in with another statement. “And don’t even think of asking Dad. I know you’ll have him wrapped around your little finger in no time, but I’m serious. I cannot have you checking this out.” “At least tell me where this cabin is. I’ll go check myself.” Tristan pleaded. He paced anxiously, nervous energy forming an almost palpable cloud surrounding him. “All I want to do is look. I won’t go in or anything. I just need to know for sure that she’s not there.” “Sorry, son, but I cannot give you the location. I have a duty to protect the Johanson’s. They do not want anyone trampling around their cabin. They have family and friends up in Buffalo, and don’t want rumors flying around.” Agent Randall said gruffly. Suddenly Bria got a great idea. She could already feel a broad smile creeping onto her face. Doing her best to control it, Bria tried to look downcast. She even got a slight twang of defeat in her tone. “You know what? You are all right. We need to focus our energy’s where we have leads. Sorry to be such a pain.” Bria said apologetically. “You know, I think Clara’s getting bored at home with the babysitter. How about Tristan and I go and take her out for dinner?” Tristan looked incredulously at Bria. One minute she was fighting with him, the next, shying away from the issue with her tail between her legs. “Now wait a minute, I still think…..”Tristan trailed off as he caught the subtle look in Bria’s eyes. As a student at Chilton, he had become quite adept at reading the signs of an intrigue. “On second thought, that would be a good idea. I need to cool off a little, get my bearings back.” Tristan laid it on as thick as he dared, under the circumstances. Kate looked a little suspicious at the abrupt change of heart, but let it pass. If Bria wanted to finally see reason, then who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? “Alright, that sounds fine. Don’t tell her too much about what’s happened, Bria. We still aren’t completely sure it’s Dean. And if it is, well, I don’t want to burden her with that information any time soon.” Kate cautioned. “Will do, Mom. Tell Dad I love him. Let’s go Tristan.” Bria said rapidly, practically dragging Tristan to the door. When they were finally out in the safety of Bria’s car, Tristan turned to see her. “Alright, what was that all about? First you’re in there, watching my back on the New York issue. Then, you do a 180 and say we pull babysitting duty. What gives?” Tristan asked, completely frustrated. “Elementary, my dear Tristan.” Bria answered cheekily as she deftly pulled out. “They gave us all the information we need to find Rory ourselves. All I need is my laptop and internet access.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 16- “Clara! Where are you?” Bria called as she walked into the house, followed by Tristan. “Here I am! Bria, what’s going on?” Clara yelled back, catapulting herself down the hall. “Baby! How are you feeling?” Bria asked as she reached down to hug Clara. When she stood up, she could see a teenage girl standing in the entry. For the moment she ignored her, concentrating only on Clara. “I don’t know where Mommy or Daddy or Dean are. Where are they, Bria?” Clara asked plaintively looking up at Bria with her deep brown eyes. “Dean had to go away for a little while, and Mom and Dad are with Rory’s mom right now. I don’t know when they’ll be back, Clara.” Bria answered carefully, unsure of how much Clara should know. She turned to look at the brunette standing in the entry. “I assume you’re the babysitter?? “Yeah. Hey, can you just pay me so I can go and find out what’s going on? I heard all kinds of stuff before your mom called, and I need to find out what’s happened. Besides, this place is starting to give me the creeps.” The girl gave a small shudder. She looked nervous to even be in the same room as her. Her eyes kept darting around, and she practically refused to look at Bria. Bria though cynically. “Sure, fine, whatever. What do I owe you?” “$20. I take cash or check.” Bria pulled the cash out of her purse, making a mental note to get reimbursed by her mother. The babysitter left quickly, barely taking time to murmur a thanks as she ran out the door, closing it so fast it slammed. Bria turned to look at Tristan, who was eying Clara with some unease. “Tristan, this is my little sister Clara. Clara, this is Rory’s friend, Tristan.” Bria made the introductions as she walked down the hall to her bedroom, leaving Clara and Tristan standing by the door. “So….” Tristan started, unsure of what to say. The little girl in front of him had the same dark eyes as Dean, though hers where lit with concern, not anger. They also had a softness to them, whereas Dean’s had been so cold. Still, it was unnerving. He tried again. “So, Clara, did you like Rory?” Clara brightened at the mention of Rory’s name. “Yeah! She’s great. Rory and Dean take me places with them. Like we went to the museum a few days ago, and Rory knew all about the pictures there.” Clara said in awe. Tristan smiled a little. Rory had loved the art section in History class. “Yeah, Rory’s really smart. Nice too. She’d do anything for a friend.” “And she’s a lot prettier than the pictures in the Rory box.” Clara added, becoming more comfortable with the strange person in front of her. She glanced around to make sure nobody was listening to them, then whispered loudly, “Dean doesn’t know that I know where the Rory box is, but I do. He has all kinds of things in there, like some of Rory’s stuffed animals and pictures of her in her room. I like her room a lot. It’s pretty.” Tristan, who had been smiling, felt a cold wash over his heart. His mouth became dry, like cotton. He swallowed, then tried to speak. “What Rory box?” He croaked out, his head feeling light. He silently prayed that he had hallucinated the whole episode. Clara giggled. “I just told you. It had Rory’s things in it. I wonder why she gave them to Dean.” She thought aloud. Tristan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, standing completely still until he had his body under control again. “Can you show me the box?” Tristan asked firmly, keeping his voice as even as possible. He couldn’t take his anger out on a little girl. He wouldn’t. It wasn’t Clara keeping the box, it was Dean. “Here, it’s in his room.” Clara said, taking Tristan’s hand to lead him down the hall. She turned into a room which Tristan could only assume was Dean’s. It was furnished with dark oak, with the colors dark-navy blue, black, hunter green. It was a somber environment. Tristan searched the room for signs of inhabitance, slightly disgusted at what he saw. The room had several posters, one of the movie The Watcher, another of Silence of the Lambs; both movies that involved kidnapping. Followed by….well, he wasn’t going to think of that. A bookshelf contained the requisite school books, a dictionary, some volumes of Cliffsnotes®. It also had one of the most complete sets of true crime novels he had ever seen. Books about Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac killer, Ted Bundy, it was a veritable Who’s Who of the deranged killers/kidnappers of the world. Sure, Tristan liked the occasional forensic science show, and with his forays into the world of psychology had become interested in what made people like Bundy tick, but further study of the books revealed that it was the only kind of book Dean owned. He knew that many of those books could teach a person how to avoid the mistakes of the infamous criminals. One could learn how to commit the perfect crime using their examples as a textbook. It was terrifying to think that this was who Rory was at the mercy of. He was pulled out of his shock by the sound of Clara’s voice. “Here’s the box! Want to see me take it out?” She asked, her voice sounding excited. Tristan turned to see Clara crouching in the closet, a section of the wall in her hands. Behind her, there was a hole in the closet wall, nearly hidden by hanging clothes and some sports equipment. Clara reached in and pulled out a rectangular wooden box, barely larger than a shoebox. She bounded out of the closet to the bed, where she set the box down, then stepped back. Tristan slowly sat on the bed, pulling the box into his lap. He wasn’t sure he could make himself open it. Still, he had to, for Rory. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Rory felt fear clutch at her heart as a door opened. She tried to get her bearings and figure out why she was so afraid when a voice chilled her blood stone-cold. “Rory, are you awake?” She tried to control her breathing, to make herself appear calm. She didn’t know which Dean had returned, the nice one she thought loved her, or the deranged doppelganger. She stiffened as the bed shifted, followed by a cold hand caressing her cheek, but made herself stay still. It wasn’t too much of a problem; fear had virtually paralyzed her anyways. “Rory, I know you’re awake. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I just think its time for you to eat now. I brought you donuts.” Dean said soothingly into her ear. His breath felt like acid, eating at her flesh. She sat up carefully, trying to minimize bodily contact with Dean. She felt only fear, but also numbness. Emotions were pretty much out of the picture. All she could think of was escape, ways to make Dean’s guard go down. “Dean, thanks so much. Did you get those cream-filled ones with chocolate glaze?” She asked, in what she hoped passed for a normal voice. She saw that her hand was trembling a little as it lay on the bedspread. She quickly hid it under the sheet. “I did. I know those are your favorites.” Dean said as she produced a pink box from behind his back. He opened it and produced some napkins from his coat pocket. “How are you feeling? You didn’t seem like yourself last night.” Rory bit back a quick retort. Still, that would not be a correct response. “I guess I wasn’t. I hope I didn’t do anything too bad. Last night is a little fuzzy.” She said, trying to sound as meek as possible. “That’s okay, baby. I forgive you.” Dean replied as he placed a kiss on her forehead. Rory felt the bite of donut in her mouth go sour, but she forced herself to swallow. “Dean, this is nice and all, but do you have any plans for while we’re here other than play board games? Maybe we can go on a hike or something.” “I don’t think being outside is a good plan right now. It’s cold up here. Besides, what if you get in another one of your moods? Where would we be if you started making a sceen?” Dean answered, his tone reminiscent of one taking to a small child. “No, we should stay here and just talk. You know, like in therepy.” Rory tried to tamp down her feeling of defeat. “You know best, Dean. I just thought maybe we could go for a picnic all alone in the middle of the woods or something.” She turned her gaze downward, examining the swirls in the chocolate frosting, the peaks of the whipped cream. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Dean, trying to gauge his reaction. His eyes seemed to light up at the suggestion, then took on a pensive quality. They both stayed silent for a while, Rory trying to choke down the sawdust-like donut, Dean staring off into space, thinking hard about something. They stayed quiet for so long Rory jumped when Dean finally spoke. “Rory, I think we need to take our relationship to the next level.” He declared suddenly. He turned to look at Rory, his countenance as gleeful as if he were a child on Christmas morning. “Yes, I think that is just what we need.” He jumped up from the bed and began rushing throughout the room. Rory could do nothing but watch. “Dean, what do you mean?” She asked desperately, hoping he didn’t mean what she thought he meant. “Rory, I think we should get married, right here, right now. I know there’s a Bible around here somewhere. That way, I know we’ll be together forever.” Dean looked positively ecstatic. “I know we’re both young, but Grandmother got married when she was just about your age, and she loved Grandfather so much. I know that will make everything right again.” Everything was happening so fast. Rory didn’t know what to do, what to say. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. In fact, she was almost grateful when the world around her faded into blackness and she fell to the floor. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Tristan stared blankly onto the objects spread out on the bed in front of him. Surveillance photos of Rory, Rory and her mom, Rory and Lane, Rory just about everywhere in town. Many were black and white, though there were a few Polaroids. There were even a few pictures of himself and Rory from last night. Absolutely sickening. There was a baby blue shirt, obviously Rory’s, along with a few stuffed animals. Clara had pointed out every item, like a little Tour Guide Barbie. She didn’t quite realize the seriousness of the situation. Most disturbing was the leather-bound journal. It contained detailed accounts of times Dean had stalked Rory, dating back to when he had just came to town. The journal expressed wishes to be the only one Rory depended one, the only one Rory loved. At this point, all Tristan could do was sit on the bed in a dazed stupor. “Hey, Tristan, there you guys are. I hacked into the Buffalo directory and got the address of the Johanson’s cabin. We’re in business.” Bria said jubilantly as she waltzed into the room. She stopped when she saw Tristan’s listless gaze trained on scattered objects on Dean’s bed. “What’s this?” Tristan turned, finally pulling himself out of his zombie state. He gave a short but detailed account of the contents of the box, being just vague enough to keep Clara from being scared. Bria just looked down, trying to process the information. “He’s escalating. Tristan, we’ve got to get there. fast.” She said, looking from Tristan, to Clara, to the now neatly filled box. “I don’t know if I could forgive myself if something happened.” “We do have to get there. But first we need reinforcements. And I know just where to get them.” Tristan answered, a plan already gelling in his mind. “We just need to drop Clara off with your parents and let me make a few phone calls.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 16- “Clara! Where are you?” Bria called as she walked into the house, followed by Tristan. “Here I am! Bria, what’s going on?” Clara yelled back, catapulting herself down the hall. “Baby! How are you feeling?” Bria asked as she reached down to hug Clara. When she stood up, she could see a teenage girl standing in the entry. For the moment she ignored her, concentrating only on Clara. “I don’t know where Mommy or Daddy or Dean are. Where are they, Bria?” Clara asked plaintively looking up at Bria with her deep brown eyes. “Dean had to go away for a little while, and Mom and Dad are with Rory’s mom right now. I don’t know when they’ll be back, Clara.” Bria answered carefully, unsure of how much Clara should know. She turned to look at the brunette standing in the entry. “I assume you’re the babysitter?? “Yeah. Hey, can you just pay me so I can go and find out what’s going on? I heard all kinds of stuff before your mom called, and I need to find out what’s happened. Besides, this place is starting to give me the creeps.” The girl gave a small shudder. She looked nervous to even be in the same room as her. Her eyes kept darting around, and she practically refused to look at Bria. Bria though cynically. “Sure, fine, whatever. What do I owe you?” “$20. I take cash or check.” Bria pulled the cash out of her purse, making a mental note to get reimbursed by her mother. The babysitter left quickly, barely taking time to murmur a thanks as she ran out the door, closing it so fast it slammed. Bria turned to look at Tristan, who was eying Clara with some unease. “Tristan, this is my little sister Clara. Clara, this is Rory’s friend, Tristan.” Bria made the introductions as she walked down the hall to her bedroom, leaving Clara and Tristan standing by the door. “So….” Tristan started, unsure of what to say. The little girl in front of him had the same dark eyes as Dean, though hers where lit with concern, not anger. They also had a softness to them, whereas Dean’s had been so cold. Still, it was unnerving. He tried again. “So, Clara, did you like Rory?” Clara brightened at the mention of Rory’s name. “Yeah! She’s great. Rory and Dean take me places with them. Like we went to the museum a few days ago, and Rory knew all about the pictures there.” Clara said in awe. Tristan smiled a little. Rory had loved the art section in History class. “Yeah, Rory’s really smart. Nice too. She’d do anything for a friend.” “And she’s a lot prettier than the pictures in the Rory box.” Clara added, becoming more comfortable with the strange person in front of her. She glanced around to make sure nobody was listening to them, then whispered loudly, “Dean doesn’t know that I know where the Rory box is, but I do. He has all kinds of things in there, like some of Rory’s stuffed animals and pictures of her in her room. I like her room a lot. It’s pretty.” Tristan, who had been smiling, felt a cold wash over his heart. His mouth became dry, like cotton. He swallowed, then tried to speak. “What Rory box?” He croaked out, his head feeling light. He silently prayed that he had hallucinated the whole episode. Clara giggled. “I just told you. It had Rory’s things in it. I wonder why she gave them to Dean.” She thought aloud. Tristan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, standing completely still until he had his body under control again. “Can you show me the box?” Tristan asked firmly, keeping his voice as even as possible. He couldn’t take his anger out on a little girl. He wouldn’t. It wasn’t Clara keeping the box, it was Dean. “Here, it’s in his room.” Clara said, taking Tristan’s hand to lead him down the hall. She turned into a room which Tristan could only assume was Dean’s. It was furnished with dark oak, with the colors dark-navy blue, black, hunter green. It was a somber environment. Tristan searched the room for signs of inhabitance, slightly disgusted at what he saw. The room had several posters, one of the movie The Watcher, another of Silence of the Lambs; both movies that involved kidnapping. Followed by….well, he wasn’t going to think of that. A bookshelf contained the requisite school books, a dictionary, some volumes of Cliffsnotes®. It also had one of the most complete sets of true crime novels he had ever seen. Books about Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac killer, Ted Bundy, it was a veritable Who’s Who of the deranged killers/kidnappers of the world. Sure, Tristan liked the occasional forensic science show, and with his forays into the world of psychology had become interested in what made people like Bundy tick, but further study of the books revealed that it was the only kind of book Dean owned. He knew that many of those books could teach a person how to avoid the mistakes of the infamous criminals. One could learn how to commit the perfect crime using their examples as a textbook. It was terrifying to think that this was who Rory was at the mercy of. He was pulled out of his shock by the sound of Clara’s voice. “Here’s the box! Want to see me take it out?” She asked, her voice sounding excited. Tristan turned to see Clara crouching in the closet, a section of the wall in her hands. Behind her, there was a hole in the closet wall, nearly hidden by hanging clothes and some sports equipment. Clara reached in and pulled out a rectangular wooden box, barely larger than a shoebox. She bounded out of the closet to the bed, where she set the box down, then stepped back. Tristan slowly sat on the bed, pulling the box into his lap. He wasn’t sure he could make himself open it. Still, he had to, for Rory. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Rory felt fear clutch at her heart as a door opened. She tried to get her bearings and figure out why she was so afraid when a voice chilled her blood stone-cold. “Rory, are you awake?” She tried to control her breathing, to make herself appear calm. She didn’t know which Dean had returned, the nice one she thought loved her, or the deranged doppelganger. She stiffened as the bed shifted, followed by a cold hand caressing her cheek, but made herself stay still. It wasn’t too much of a problem; fear had virtually paralyzed her anyways. “Rory, I know you’re awake. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I just think its time for you to eat now. I brought you donuts.” Dean said soothingly into her ear. His breath felt like acid, eating at her flesh. She sat up carefully, trying to minimize bodily contact with Dean. She felt only fear, but also numbness. Emotions were pretty much out of the picture. All she could think of was escape, ways to make Dean’s guard go down. “Dean, thanks so much. Did you get those cream-filled ones with chocolate glaze?” She asked, in what she hoped passed for a normal voice. She saw that her hand was trembling a little as it lay on the bedspread. She quickly hid it under the sheet. “I did. I know those are your favorites.” Dean said as she produced a pink box from behind his back. He opened it and produced some napkins from his coat pocket. “How are you feeling? You didn’t seem like yourself last night.” Rory bit back a quick retort. Still, that would not be a correct response. “I guess I wasn’t. I hope I didn’t do anything too bad. Last night is a little fuzzy.” She said, trying to sound as meek as possible. “That’s okay, baby. I forgive you.” Dean replied as he placed a kiss on her forehead. Rory felt the bite of donut in her mouth go sour, but she forced herself to swallow. “Dean, this is nice and all, but do you have any plans for while we’re here other than play board games? Maybe we can go on a hike or something.” “I don’t think being outside is a good plan right now. It’s cold up here. Besides, what if you get in another one of your moods? Where would we be if you started making a sceen?” Dean answered, his tone reminiscent of one taking to a small child. “No, we should stay here and just talk. You know, like in therepy.” Rory tried to tamp down her feeling of defeat. “You know best, Dean. I just thought maybe we could go for a picnic all alone in the middle of the woods or something.” She turned her gaze downward, examining the swirls in the chocolate frosting, the peaks of the whipped cream. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Dean, trying to gauge his reaction. His eyes seemed to light up at the suggestion, then took on a pensive quality. They both stayed silent for a while, Rory trying to choke down the sawdust-like donut, Dean staring off into space, thinking hard about something. They stayed quiet for so long Rory jumped when Dean finally spoke. “Rory, I think we need to take our relationship to the next level.” He declared suddenly. He turned to look at Rory, his countenance as gleeful as if he were a child on Christmas morning. “Yes, I think that is just what we need.” He jumped up from the bed and began rushing throughout the room. Rory could do nothing but watch. “Dean, what do you mean?” She asked desperately, hoping he didn’t mean what she thought he meant. “Rory, I think we should get married, right here, right now. I know there’s a Bible around here somewhere. That way, I know we’ll be together forever.” Dean looked positively ecstatic. “I know we’re both young, but Grandmother got married when she was just about your age, and she loved Grandfather so much. I know that will make everything right again. And you can wear the necklace I gave you. You'll be so beautiful.” Everything was happening so fast. Rory didn’t know what to do, what to say. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak. In fact, she was almost grateful when the world around her faded into blackness and she fell to the floor. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Tristan stared blankly onto the objects spread out on the bed in front of him. Surveillance photos of Rory, Rory and her mom, Rory and Lane, Rory just about everywhere in town. Many were black and white, though there were a few Polaroids. There were even a few pictures of himself and Rory from last night. Absolutely sickening. There was a baby blue shirt, obviously Rory’s, along with a few stuffed animals. Clara had pointed out every item, like a little Tour Guide Barbie. She didn’t quite realize the seriousness of the situation. Most disturbing was the leather-bound journal. It contained detailed accounts of times Dean had stalked Rory, dating back to when he had just came to town. The journal expressed wishes to be the only one Rory depended one, the only one Rory loved. At this point, all Tristan could do was sit on the bed in a dazed stupor. “Hey, Tristan, there you guys are. I hacked into the Buffalo directory and got the address of the Johanson’s cabin. We’re in business.” Bria said jubilantly as she waltzed into the room. She stopped when she saw Tristan’s listless gaze trained on scattered objects on Dean’s bed. “What’s this?” Tristan turned, finally pulling himself out of his zombie state. He gave a short but detailed account of the contents of the box, being just vague enough to keep Clara from being scared. Bria just looked down, trying to process the information. “He’s escalating. Tristan, we’ve got to get there. fast.” She said, looking from Tristan, to Clara, to the now neatly filled box. “I don’t know if I could forgive myself if something happened.” “We do have to get there. But first we need reinforcements. And I know just where to get them.” Tristan answered, a plan already gelling in his mind. “We just need to drop Clara off with your parents and let me make a few phone calls.” *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 17- “-Okay, thank you. This will be a big help. Good-bye.” Tristan said, hanging up the phone. He turned to face Bria, who had just returned from dropping off Clara. “Okay, that was Agent Parker, Henry’s dad. He’s not too happy with vital information being ignored, but he thinks he can get us some agents who will be willing to help. He said that an Agent Davidson would be a good choice, and gave me a number to call. He also said that Agent Davidson would know of a good backup to have, and to just trust whoever ends up helping us.” He reported. Bria heaved a sigh of relief. “Finally, someone who will be able to help. With any luck, we can be in Buffalo in a few hours. Should we fly or drive?” She asked. Tristan didn’t even hesitate before answering. “Definitely fly. I’ve already booked us a flight, with two additional tickets for the agents. The flight leaves in 3 hours. All I need to do now is make sure I have their help. Tristan said, waving a small piece of paper with a phone number written on it. “Agent Parker told me to read off a line of numbers so they’ll know I’m on the level. Here goes nothing.” Bria crossed her fingers, though she had never been overly superstitious. She could hear the phone ringing, and the click of someone picking up. “Hello, Agent Davidson?” Tristan asked. He paused for a minute, then said, “4-29-2-19-10-18-1-16. Yeah, I know that number is classified. And no, I didn’t write it down. I got it from a friend. Someone’s in danger, and I need help to go get her back. One of your superiors said you would be willing to help.” Bria let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. At least she knew the phone number was real, and they had reached whoever it was that they were suppose to. Still, in the back of her mind something was tugging. The voice on the phone was a woman…and she knew she had heard the name Davidson before……. “Tristan! It’s Agent Davidson! You know, from before!” Brai cried suddenly, the lightbulb finally going on. Tristan stopped midsentence, thinking back to before. He barely remembered the FBI agents names. No, that would be way too weird if he had already met this woman. Still….”Wait, are you the Agent Davidson I met before? At the Gilmore’s house?” Tristan was silent for a moment, before he began talking again. “Listen, this is Tristan DuGrey. You know, the one who was the last to see Rory. I know she’s at that cabin. I’m going up there with or without your help, and my friend said you’d be willing to help. Can you?” He asked, praying she would be an ally. He felt a smile break loose when she answered. “Thank you so much Agent Davidson. I don’t think I could do this without your help. Now, I was told you would have another person to back you up while we’re there. Can you tell me who that would be?” Tristan was ecstatic. He could finally do something to help Rory. “Alright, I’ll just wait until we meet up to find out. Why don’t you meet us somewhere so we can talk? A café or something? Yeah, that sounds good…..” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Agent Claudia Davidson hung up her phone, very glad she had been alone in the hall when the call was made. She glanced furtively around, hoping no one had heard the call. She had just made plans to meet with the suspect’s sister and the boy who had been the last to see Rory Gilmore. She tried to think of who she could use as backup. Randall was out of the question. He was very by-the-books agent and would never allow them to go in search of the girl. Many of the other agents she could think of were already on assignment. But there had to be somebody. She just knew it. “Excuse me? Agent Davidson?” She jumped, startled by the invasion of her thoughts. Turning, she saw the police officer, Officer Ethan Bleth. “Can I help you?” She asked coolly, though she was terrified that he might have heard her speaking. “I couldn’t help but overhear your phone call. I want to help get Rory back. That girl is a gem, and I can’t believe the FBI hasn’t already knocked the door down to get her back here where she belongs. Here in Stars Hollow, we take care of our own.” Ethan Bleth said, moving closer to Claudia. “I’d be willing to help in any way that I can. I get the feeling that Agent Randall out there wouldn’t want to help.” Claudia’s thoughts whirled in her head. She knew she would need help-desperately-but she wasn’t sure she could trust him. She just stood there, wrestling with her thoughts so long Ethan got the impression that he better leave. “Look, if you don’t need my help you could just say so. I’m sure you’ve got someone in mind already. I’ll just be going-“ “Wait!” Claudia interrupted as Ethan was leaving. He turned to look at her, waiting expectantly. “Look, I think I’m going to need your help on this. Trust me, Randall would not be a help on this endeavor. If you want to help, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be up there to find the girl and make that bastard pay.” “Well, if you put it that way, how could I not help?” Ethan said, moving back into the hall. “So what happens next?” “I made plans to meet Tristan DuGrey and Bria Finley at a Starbucks in Hartford. We should be leaving soon so we can meet them by 7, like we planned. Will you need to get any kind of clearance to leave?” Claudia asked. “No, once the FBI showed up I should have left anyhow. But in this town, everyone’s family, and when one of your own needs help you do whatever it takes to fix the problem.” Ethan said, looking into Claudia’s eyes. “So, shall we get this thing going?” “Yeah, definitely. Just let me find Randall and tell him I’m leaving on break. I’ll meet you on the front lawn, okay Officer Bleth?” Claudia answered. “Yeah, I’ll be there. And call me Ethan. Here in Stars Hallow we don’t use title like Officer with friends.” Ethan replied. “Alright, Ethan. Feel free to call me Claudia then. I always did hate the FBI’s habit of using last names.” Claudia responded. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Chapter 18- Tristan wanted to kill something. Tristan kept his eyes closed, trying to keep control of his temper. He just wanted Rory back, safe and sound. She had been missing for 14 hours, and anything could have happened in that time. “Tristan? I think we’re about ready to land now. You can open your eyes.” Bria broke into his thoughts. he looked over at her, seeing the weary expression on her face. “Good. I was about to go medieval on their asses. We aren’t even going to get to the town until about 3. We lost too much time as it is.” Tristan was not a happy camper and didn’t even bother to keep the caustic tone out of his voice. Then he inhaled, letting the air out slowly. “Sorry Bria, I’m just a wound a little tight right now. I didn’t mean to be a jerk.” Bria murmured a quiet platitude, knowing things were going to be tense until Rory got back. She could understand his raw nerves. She looked behind her, seeing both Officer Bleth and Agent Davidson-or Ethan and Claudia as they had insisted on being called at the Starbucks meeting-talking quietly a few rows back. Though she could easily read the somber nature of the discussion, there was an undercurrent of…well, something unprofessional. Like she had seen between Luke and Lorelai. Bria shifted in her seat, and pulled on her set of headphones to occupy her thoughts until the plane landed. It wouldn’t be long now. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “Ethan, do you really think the boy is just going to hand her over? He’s gone this far, what makes you think he won’t take it any further? What’s to stop him from killing her?” Claudia persisted. She and Ethan were figuring out a strategy, and so far they had agreed on one thing-the end result will include getting Rory back safely. But on every other level they clashed. “Claudia, I’ve watched these kids. No matter what Dean’s problems are, he loves that girl. And I promise you, if I can go in there acting like it’s some wild weekend the two of them decided to take on a whim and nothing more, Dean will go along with it. He’ll come with us and I can get him in handcuffs and to jail where he belongs. Rory will be safe, and this all ends without blood. It’s a win-win situation.” He tried to argue. He tried to drive his final point home. “He won’t do anything stupid if he has a way out. You saw his psych evaluations. He’s a certified genius. He won’t give up a chance to keep himself out of jail.” Claudia brought her hands up to her temples, trying to ward off a headache. This man was infuriating. Grrrr….. “Look, what if he thinks the girl is going to talk anyways? Then he doesn’t have a reason to want to let this seem like a romantic getaway. And you heard about what he did the last time. What if he thinks the only way to make sure she’s his is to kill her? Trust me, I’ve read about this before. Look what he did to Jenna Henry. I think we need to go in there with our guns drawn and prepared to fire. It’s the only way.” Ethan shut his eyes tightly, trying to find a way to make her believe him. Sure, she was the big bad FBI agent with training in this area and he was the small town police officer who’s town hadn’t had a major crime for 5 years, but knowing the sick little bastard had to count for something. He looked at Claudia, staring deep into her eyes. “I just know that he won’t do anything stupid. I think that if you and Bria go up there and say that the dreamy weekend is over and it’s time to go home, he’ll go along with it and Rory will go along with it to get out of there. Tristan and I will stay out of sight til Rory’s safe. Claudia, trust me, this can work.” Ethan pleaded. Claudia could plainly read his emotions. Determination, hurt, hope, intelligence, all shone bright from his eyes. His warm, deep, hazel, penetrating….. Physically shaking her head, Claudia focused. “Ethan, I trust your judgment. Really, I do. I just think we should err on the side 0f caution. I don’t want to take any chances on this.” She answered. “What if Tristan and I are ready to come in as backup? If you wear your bullet-proof vest and I lend mine to Bria, even if the boy has a weapon we’re covered. If things go south, Tristan and I will be ready to rush in and save the day. Claudia, its virtually idiot proof.” Claudia thought this over. In theory, it had potential. She thought wryly. Still, it did seem like the best of both plans. “You know, Ethan? I think that would work. Its well thought out, had the bases covered, and incorporates the best of both extremes.” “That’s the beauty of the plan!” Ethan replied exuberantly. “Compromise, negotiation, all that other stuff. Claudia, I think we can already count on getting Rory Gilmore back to Stars Hallow without a scratch before tonight.” “Definitely. And all thanks to the wonderful mind of Ethan Bleth.” Claudia retorted. Her eyes caught his. He could see the green and gold flecks that peppered the irises more clearly than before…. “I knew you’d start to see it my way. I never thought I’d see the day when a woman said I was right.” Ethan countered. He could see that Claudia was beaming from the excitement of a possibly successful plan. She had the most beautiful smile….. “Hey, are you guys all right?” A voice interrupted. Both Ethan and Claudia whipped their heads in the direction of the speaker. They could see that the plane was empty and Tristan and Bria were impatiently waiting. Sheepishly, they stood up and got their carry-on from the overhead bin. “Where did every9one go?” Claudia asked as she stepped behind Bria and exited the plane, Tristan and Ethan close behind. She hadn’t even realized that they had landed. “Um, the plane landed and they left. You guys were just sitting there talking for the whole 20 minutes it took for it to empty out. Then you just kinda looked at stared other. What’s the deal?” Bria asked casually. “Nothing! Just figuring out strategy. And I was not staring.” Claudia defended quickly. “Right….” Bria didn’t believe her for a second, but decided that now was not the time to grill her about it. She glanced at her watch, feeling a sort of depression as she noted the time. “It’s already 1:45. We were suppose to be here by 11:30. What are we going to do now?” “Get some rest. We can head out in a few hours.” Came Ethan’s reply. “What?!” Tristan exploded. “We need to find her now! We don’t have time. Rory doesn’t have time. We need to go before something happens, before-well, I don’t think I need to finish that statement. I won’t leave her alone with that psychopath. I just won’t.” Tristan vowed vehemently. “Tristan, we’ve all been up for well over 20 hours, and the road to get to the cabin is dark, rough, and windy. It’s been a long day for all of us, and there is no way it would be safe to make the trip. We would probably get ourselves killed and then how does that help Rory?” Claudia asked gently. She understood his dilemma, but he had to understand her reasoning. “I don’t care. I’ll do whatever it takes to get to her now. I just want her with me, away from that nut case. I’ll just rent a car and go by myself.” Tristan stated towards a car rental desk in the terminal, only to be held back by Ethan. The two stared at one another, mentally battling for dominance. Finally Ethan spoke, slowly and deliberately. “Listen to me, Tristan. Nothing will happen to Rory in four hours. I want that girl back just as much as you do. I’ve watched her grow up. We will leave the hotel at 6 a.m. and get up there by 7. And I mean get up there alive, not get ourselves killed trying to make it on an unfamiliar, unlit, highly curved mountain road. You will not leave without us, or there will be hell to pay. Do I make myself clear?” Ethan drew himself up to his full height of 6 feet, 4 inches, just barely taller than the young man in front of him. Tristan held out the staring contest just a little longer, long enough to realize Ethan was right. Still, he tried to preserve a little dignity. “Alight, but we leave at 6 on the dot, okay? Not a minute later or I’m going up on my own.” He huffed as he stalked away. Claudia, Ethan, and Bria observed him for a moment, then slowly followed, wondering what tomorrow would bring. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Rory awoke to the hummed melody of “Get Me to the Church On Time “, and the opening and closing of drawers. She tried to get her bearings, and realized that she was on the bed again. Her hand trailed to her leg, and she pinched her skin, hoping to find that she was still in a dream, that this had all been a dream and she was at home. Her eyes opened experimentally and were greeted by the sight of a rough-hewn beamed ceiling. She whimpered slightly, trying valiantly to hold back the tears that were forming. But the sound, however small, did not go unnoticed by Dean. “Good, your up. Rory, I think you should get checked out after we get back. You keep fainting and falling asleep. Not healthy.” He chastised as he threw a bundle onto the bed besides Rory. Come on, its time for you to get dressed. I saw a place in town where you could get a dress and I want you to get one you’d like.” Rory was still too shocked to think. Not that she rally wanted to, anyways. It wouldn’t do her any good at this point. Mutely, she looked to see what Dean had thrown at her. It was her clothes from before. She got up form the bed and walked into the bathroom, mechanically changing, brushing her teeth, and combing her hair. She scooped some lukewarm water into her hands, and rinsed her face, patting it dry with the small hinter green towel. The routine gave her a semblance of normalcy, and comforted her a little. Not by much though. She sank down to the floor, leaning her back against the door. She had yet to utter a word since she had woken up. Her forehead rested on her knees, and Rory just wanted to stay there til someone came to rescue her. But her sanctuary would not hold her for long, and Rory jumped when she heard a knock on the door. “Rory darling? Are you okay in there? We really need to go if we want to beat any kind of rush. Do you need me to come in there?” “No! I’m coming!” Rory yelled frantically, springing to her feet and shuffling some of the items in the near-bare medicine cabinet to make it seem like she was doing something worthwhile. Finally, she knew she had to leave. She opened the door, and walked to the small table in the room, sitting down in one of the chairs. She stared stoically at the dark oak surface, shuddering only minimally when Dean rested his hands on her shoulders, leaning in to whisper into her ear. “I think we’re ready Rory. Shall we go?” He asked. Rory just nodded, not trusting her voice. Not much was said on the way there. Dean chatted a little about the car he was building, a little about Clara’s latest skit she had performed. He didn’t mention the ‘wedding’, if it could be called that. Rory nodded, mm-hmmed, and acted as though she loved what she was hearing. “So after Clara reenacts her own one-girl Pretty Woman , she takes a bow and says, “I just want to thank my public, my fans, my agent, and all the experiences that make me who I am. All the drugs, sex, and rock and roll.” Mom just about died and forbid her to ever watch MTV again til she was out of the house. Isn’t that cute?” Dean said after he was finished with his story. “Definitely. You know how much I like Clara.” Rory answered. “Clara really is adorable, isn’t she? I hope when we have kids they’re half as cute. How many are you wanting, Rory? I think I’d like 2 of each. What do you want?” Rory’s heart stopped. This was not something she wanted to answer. Her brain was frozen, the words echoing in her mind. She couldn’t formulate and answer. But Dean was waiting, and she had to say something. ‘You know, I’ve always wanted 4 kids too. Yeah, 4 is just perfect.” She said, false cheer injected to her tone. She just had to stay safe until someone came for her. Just til then. End part 18