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

    Source: geocities.com/gilmoregirlsff/ff