Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING
Chapter 1: ER rotations
Lights, sirens noise. That's all Rory could comprehend as she felt herself being wheeled into the hospital. She begged her mother not to take her to the hospital, but Lorelei being Lorelei wouldn't listen. She immediately called 911, ignoring Rory's protests and constant shouting.
Rory was thankful though. She wondered where she would be if her mother wasn't with her this particular weekend. Rory was a reporter at the New York Times. She made it; her life long dream came true. She realized she would probably still be lying in the ally next to her apartment, if her mother hadn't been out looking for her.
Rory's eyes involuntarily snapped shut as she was wheeled in to the bright room. She didn't want to deal with this, it was too much. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep…
Tristan sighed as he looked at the board. ER rotation…again. 'I guess that's what residents are for' he sighed as he walked towards the Emergency ward. Tristan had been sent to military school after Chilton, and to him…after some time of course, it was one of the best things that ever happened to him. He finally realized who he was, and what he wanted to accomplish in his life. He went to war…as a medic. It was one of the most fulfilling experiences he had ever felt. After he had finished his obligatory 5 years in service, he decided to practice medicine in the United States.
He walked through the doors of the ER and a nurse immediately began briefing him on his patient.
"Female, 28, Rape victim. No trauma to the head, but may be some internal bleeding." The nurse said quickly
Tristan took the chart and he stopped dead in his tracks at the name.
"Doctor" the nurse called out
Tristan remained silent, Rory? Raped?
"Doctor Dugrey!" The nurse called out loudly. He looked around to see if there were any other attendings in the ER, and looked back down at the chart when he saw they were busy.
He shook his head and quickly walked towards the stretcher that held the love of his life. Rory Gilmore. He looked down at her, she looked so broken, scared. For a moment he wondered if she was unconscious. He was corrected when he heard a small whimpering sound coming from her that sounded like "No, please don't" and just as quietly as she said it, it was gone.
Tristan's heart broke for her. His Mary had been raped…how could this happen to her? "Doctor we have to get her into the ER!" The nurse shouted making Tristan snap out of it and nod.
"Okay, I need her fully awake and conscious, the clothes on her lower half need to come off and I need 0.5 mg of Lorazapam, she's not going to like this" he ordered as he went around to snap on some gloves.
He took a deep breath and made his way to Rory. He lifted her gown up and cringed as he noticed there was a lot of bleeding. Just as he did, he felt Rory try to resist, but the Lorazapam making her unable to do so.
"No please don't…please" She cried weakly
"Honey, you're in the hospital now. No one's going to hurt you okay? But we need to take a look at your injuries" The nurse said softly
Rory shook her head slowly and sobbed. "It hurts" She cried
Lorelei broke down crying at that point. She was standing in the corner, demanding to ride with her in the ambulance. She couldn't take it anymore; she ran out of the ER and called Luke.
"Luke?" She sobbed when he answered the phone.
"Lore?" Luke asked groggily "is everything okay?" he asked concerned
Lorelei shook her head "Luke…please. Can you come?" She sobbed into the phone
Luke was fully awake now "Lorelei. What's wrong?" he demanded as he began putting his clothes on.
"I….I-Its Rory. She…..She's b-been Raped" she cried quietly
"I'm on my way. You at New York Central?" he asked gently
"Yeah. Please Luke. She has to be okay" She cried
"She will be Lore. Shh I'll be there as soon as I can okay?" he said softly
Lorelei nodded "Thank you" she said before clicking the phone shut and collapsing against the wall.
"What hurts?" Tristan asked as softly as he could
Rory sobbed even louder at that point, hearing a mans voice. She couldn't even comprehend what was going on.
"Hey, Hey Rory. Calm down okay? You're safe now, I'm just the doctor. I just need to know what hurts so we can fix you alright. You think you can tell me when something hurts?" he asked gently
Rory calmed down considerably but silent tears still ran down her face. She nodded.
"Good. Now, does this hurt?" he asked as he felt around
Rory nodded "Everything hurts" she whispered
Tristan nodded "I need more light" he demanded
"Immediately a nurse brought him a small flashlight. The ER room was well lit, but to protect her privacy, Tristan wasn't just going to flip open her gown for the whole staff to see. He kept her fairly covered, making sure she felt as comfortable as possible. He saw with the flashlight that she had cuts all over her lower region and although she wasn't heavily bleeding, they were going to have to stop the bleeding somehow. But first they would have to find the source. He covered her up again with the gown and rolled his chair over to her.
"Rory" he sighed softly "I need to know what happened" he said softly
"No…don't make me" She whimpered
"Would you be more comfortable telling someone else? Your mom? A nurse?" he asked gently
Rory shook her head "I-I can't" she cried
"I need to know what happened so we can find the source of the bleed okay? We need to know what caused it. Right now, we can't tell where it's coming from…" he whispered
Rory's eyes remained tightly shut but she nodded slightly "I-My mom" she whispered
Tristan nodded and arranged for her to be taken to a small private room. Once in he told Lorelei that they didn't have much time, but since the bleeding wasn't extensive or heavy, he believed it would stop on its own. But they needed to know just incase.
Lorelei nodded as a few tears escaped "Hi hon" she said softly
"Mom" Rory whispered desperately
Lorelei took Rory's hand and talked softly to her "Rory, can you remember what happened?" she asked
"I-I was walking home from work……when this guy, he pulled me into the ally. He-He ripped…I tried to get him to stop mom! I'm sorry" She sobbed
Lorelei pulled her into a hug "Shh Rory, it's not your fault okay? Come on" she soothed
"Mom…it hurt so bad. I-I just couldn't take it anymore. He……..forced himself into me…..so many times." She broke down, not being able to go on.
"Baby, nothing else right? He didn't do anything else?" She asked desperately
"I don't know I'm sorry. I-I passed out mommy…I'm sorry" She cried.
Lorelei pushed the nurse call button. Tristan immediately arrived and looked at Lorelei to see if she had any answers.
Lorelei shook her head "She said he just forced himself into her…she passed out. She doesn't remember. Will she be okay?" she cried
"She's going to be fine. We need to take her to the Operating room now though if he bleeding hasn't stopped." Tristan explained softly
Lorelei nodded. "Would you like me to check in the ER, or is it alright if I assess it right now?" he asked
"Whatever you need to do. I don't care. Just make her…please….just let her be alright" She whispered
Tristan nodded and checked for any signs of the bleeding stopping. He stood up. "Mrs. Gilmore, we are going to have to operate, the bleeding hasn't stopped. Granted, there is not much…it could just be a tear in the tissue, and from my experience, this much blood, that's what it probably is. Don't worry. She is going to be fine" he said
Lorelei nodded tearfully "Rory, don't worry honey okay? I'll see you in a few hours" she soothed
"Mrs. Gilmore. As I predicted, there was a small tear in the tissue, probably from when he forced himself into her. We've repaired it, and she should be fine. You can go see her in about 30 minutes if you would like. She is going to be in room 33A." Tristan said as he walked out of the OR.
Lorelei didn't say anything.
"Hi, I'm Luke Danes, Rory's step father" Luke said, standing up.
"Tristan Dugrey, I'm Rory's attending" He said
Lorelei's head shot up at the name "Bible boy?" she asked quietly
Tristan smiled sympathetically "I tried to find someone else to take her case in the ER Mrs. Gilmore…everyone else was busy. I'm sorry" he said
She shook her head "It's good to see you Tristan." She whispered "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you" she added
Tristan shook his head "Hey, no apologizing. You guys hang in there. She's going to be fine." He assured them "I have to go, I'll be back to check on her in about an hour?" he asked
They both nodded and said goodbye
Both Lorelei and Luke decided to go up to the Hospital cafeteria to grab something to eat while Rory was asleep.
Tristan finished up his paperwork and walked towards Rory's room. Hoping she would be awake.
He knocked softly on the door and heard a small 'come in'
He walked in and saw her huddled up on the bed with a blank look in her eyes.
"Hi, how are you doing?" Tristan asked softly
"I-I don't know. It doesn't hurt as bad" She whispered weakly
"Rory…" Tristan sighed "I don't want to embarrass you or anything, but I have a feeling you'll be more upset if someone doesn't tell you now." He said softly
Rory's head snapped up, and she looked at him…really looked at him for the first time.
"Its me Rory…it's…" before eh got a chance to say it he heard her whisper "Tristan"
"Yeah" he confirmed
"Y-You were my doctor?" She asked quietly
"Yeah, I'm sorry Ror…I tried to get someone else…but it was the ER, and everyone was busy" he whispered
"Thank you" She quietly said
"What?" Tristan's head snapped up
"Thank you Tristan. I'm not angry. You saved my life" she said
"I-I'm sorry Rory" Tristan whispered sadly
"Yeah well…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say.
"If you ever need to talk. About anything…I'm here" he added
Rory nodded "Yeah…I might take you up on that. I want to talk to my mom, but every time I do, I see what it does to her…it kills her. I-I don't want to do that to her…" She said, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You…you'll really listen?" She asked hopefully
Tristan nodded and took her hand "Of course" he said sincerely
"I don't know how I let it happen Tristan…I know what he did to me. I-He…raped me…more than once. How could I let him! I should have fought harder…" She sobbed
"No Rory, you couldn't have done anything okay? It's not your fault." He whispered as he stroked her hand.
"I couldn't even see who it was. I can't fucking remember. I just-I am so stupid. I shouldn't have been walking alone…" she cried
"Shh Ror. Its okay, you're okay." He whispered
"I-it hurt so bad…" she sobbed
"Shh I know, its okay." He whispered, trying to keep his own emotions in check. He rubbed her arm up and down in a comforting way until she had cried herself to sleep.
It was about a week later and the hospital was discharging Rory, much to her dismay. She knew she had to go home at one point, but she didn't want to go back to work. She called in and put in a leave, luckily for her they understood and told her to take all the time she needed.
"Hey" Tristan said, smiling warmly at Rory. "You ready to get out of here?" he asked
Rory nodded mutely. "It'll be okay Rory" he said, noticing her sad expression
"I know my mom's staying with me" she said, convincing herself more than him.
"Good. I'll call you?" he asked as he unhooked all of the machines from her and gave her some clothes.
She nodded "I'd like that" she said
It had been about 2 weeks since she had been released from the hospital, her mother needed to get back to work. She tried desperately to convince Rory to come back to Stars hollow with her for a while, but Rory protested, saying she was okay. Lorelei reluctantly agreed and went on her way.
Rory sighed and looked around her apartment. She had been fine all day, but at night…she didn't know what to do. She hadn't slept alone in nearly a month…she couldn't. She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number before she knew what she was doing.
"Hello?" A tired voice answered
Rory looked at the time and felt guilty. Realizing she couldn't just hang up… "Tristan?" She asked quietly, exhaustion and desperation evident in her voice.
"Rory? Are you okay?" he asked immediately hearing the tone in her voice
"No…" she cried "My mom left today" she added
"Do you want me to come over?" he asked kindly
"If you don't mind" She said quietly
"Of course not. Give me 20 minutes, I'll be there. You gonna be okay until then?" he asked
"Yeah" she whispered "Thanks" she added before hanging up.
True to his word, about 20 minutes later, she heard a knock on her door. Too scared to open the door she called him.
"Is that you?" she asked
"Yeah, its me" he said softly
She hurried to the door and opened the door, letting him and locking it back up immediately.
"What's up Ror? You alright?" he asked concerned, looking at her current state. She was wearing her pajamas, her face was tear stained and she looked exhausted.
"I couldn't sleep Tristan…I didn't know who else to call…I'm sorry" She said quietly
Tristan pulled her into a hug "Hey its okay, you can always call me." He assured her
"Come on, lets get you to bed" he said as he led her to her bedroom. Once she got comfortable he sat up from the bed. "I'm going to go sleep on the couch okay?" he said softly
Rory nodded "it turns into a bed. There's a blanket on top" she said quietly
Tristan nodded and kissed her forehead before retreating to the living room. He sighed as he turned the couch into a bed and took off his shirt instantly fall back asleep.
Rory on the other hand couldn't sleep. All she kept thinking about was what happened to her that night. She slowly slipped out of bed and padded into the living room where she saw Tristan sleeping.
"Tristan" She breathed out softly while gently tapping his shoulder.
Tristan slowly opened his eyes "Mmm?" he hummed
"Can…can I sleep here?" she asked shyly
Tristan sat up a little and saw how scared she was "Yeah, come on" he said while patting the bed next to him. Rory climbed into bed with him. "Goodnight Rory" he said
"Goodnight" she mumbled back
A few hours later, Tristan woke up to someone mumbling and shuffling around.
"No…Don't. Please…I don't-please don't! Please……………………Please just stop" He heard Rory sobbing while she kicked all the blankets off of her.
Tristan immediately turned around and saw tears pouring down her face. She was having a nightmare. "Rory!" He said, while shaking her a little, but she fought against him "Stop! I-Stop!" She cried hysterically
"RORY!" He said louder, shaking her more firmly until she woke up. Her eyes snapped open "Tristan!" She cried as she launched herself into him. Tristan wrapped his arms around her and rocked them both back and forth.
"Shh its okay Rory, its just me. I'm right here. You're okay" he whispered into her ear, hoping to calm her down.
"I was fine Tristan! I was fine!" She cried hysterically
"I Know I know. Shh calm down." He said while rubbing her back
"Rory. Hey, you're alright. You're here with me, and I wont let anything happen to you okay?" he soothed
"It hurts" She said while her face scrunched up in pain
"Okay, okay" he breathed out "You have to take it easy Ror, come on. Let me run you a warm bath okay? Go put on a bathing suit" he said while helping her up
Rory sniffled and went to put on a bathing suit while Tristan went to the bathroom to run a bath for her.
"Here, whenever you're in pain, it helps to run a warm bath and just soak in it. Not too hot though okay?" He said softly while helping her in the tub.
She recoiled from the warm water as she sat down, standing back up. "Too hot" she whimpered
Tristan shook his head and helped her sit down "Sit down Rory. It will be fine in a bit" he said
Rory kept a hold on his hand as she sat down, cringing as the hot water touched her skin.
Tristan was confused, it wasn't that hot. He put a hand on her forehead to feel for a fever, sighing when he felt heat practically radiating off of her.
"Ror, where is your thermometer?" he asked
She pointed to the small cabinet next to the sink. He retrieved it and stuck it in her mouth, taking it out when it beeped. The thermometer read 103.2. He was slightly relieved it wasn't past 104, but it was still high.
"Ror, you have a fever. Let's get you out of there" he said softly as he helped her up.
"Mmk" she mumbled deliriously
"You think you can manage to change?" he asked
Rory nodded but Tristan followed her to her room anyways. He turned around as she got dressed. "Done" he heard her say before he turned around.
"Okay, come on" he said as he led her towards her bed. "I'll be right back" he said
Tristan came back a few minutes later with a glass of water and some Tylenol. "Take these" he said, handing it to her
Rory downed the pills and drank half the water. As she was putting the glass down Tristan lifted it back up "All of it" he instructed
Rory sighed and drank the rest before putting it down. "Go to sleep. Its late." He said while stroking some stray hairs away from her face.
"Will you be here too?" she asked tiredly, her eyes dropping shut
"Yeah, go to sleep………Mary" he whispered, using her old nickname
A/N: First of all. I'm sorry if I offended anyone with anything in here. If I did, please let me know, and I'll remove this story immediately. Now, this was just sort of an idea I had…well the original was Tristan being a doctor and Rory his patient…but I went this route instead. Who knows, I might do one with that scenario…if anyone has any ideas let me know. Please review…should I continue?