Crossing the Rubicon
Chapter 2: The Shakedown á la Blondie
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except the insanity that is my mind.
Right when the watch beeps Des rises from his seat. "Blondie, Leo; get your lazy asses up and help me serve dinner. Rory, would you help too?" Tristan looks like he's in a talkative mood. When Tristan and Leo get up, Rory does too.
"Sure." Why not? They walk to the kitchen in silence.
"Des, why must you insist upon asking for my help serving dinner?" Leo asks him curiously. It never fails, you ask me every time. Des steers him towards the stove and the cupboards.
"Cause you're my bitch, Leo. You just don't realize it yet." Rory and Tristan stay at the door. The kitchen is spacious despite Moonshine's exterior. Tristan's blue eyes land on Rory's.
"What are you doing here?" Out of Stars Hollow and away from the Stock Boy?
Rory sighs already expecting his queries but not really in the mood for them. "I left," Before I could make everything else worse. "I packed the duffel bag and got on the bus." Just took a cue from mom...and Jess. A twinge of sadness seeps into her at the thought of his name. But she pushes it away.
"What, did you have a fight with your mom? You're not pregnant, are you?" A small flicker flashes in her blue eyes. And she defensively puts her hand on the flat of her stomach. His throat dry, he swallows. Please don't let it be the Stock Boy's.
A silence ensues, the only sound coming from Des and Leo serving the food. Then, "I'm pregnant." It's said softly but through the silence she's certain that even Des and Leo heard her. As if to back up her certainty, the noise they're making stills...and realization hits her. I couldn't bring myself to tell mom, because saying it out loud makes it more real. And the look of disappointment she'd give me would've been unbearable. But why can I only say it so freely miles away from Stars Hollow and away from mom? She pauses. Because here I don't feel like I'm going to be judged harshly, I don't feel suffocated here and here I don't have to see the look of disappointment she'd give me for being pregnant.
"It's not the Stock Boy's, is it?" Tristan asks softly, slightly unsure if he wants to know her answer. Because neanderthals should not be allowed to procreate.
She smiles at Tristan and shakes her head. "No, it's not Dean's." It's my Diner Boy's. She looks down at her hand on her stomach and then stays quiet.
A throat clears. "Well, if you guys are done there. I'd like your help." Des calls to them from over his shoulder and they both make there way over to help. Rory inhales the scent wafting from the stove.
"What is that?" She asks in a daze. Tristan and Leo chuckle while Des just smirks.
"That smell you're practically salivating over is emanating from 'Arroz con pollo y habichuelas'. Translated its: rice with chicken and beans. It's a very common Hispanic meal. I was bored so that's all you're getting."
Tristan laughs. "Oh, right. See, Des has this tendency that when he's extremely bored he doesn't bother himself with trying to impress you. It pisses off his boss but he knows if he complains to Des about it, it still won't get him to dish out his best."
"I see." She laughs softly then appraises Des silently. Des notices. He sets the dish that he just finishes preparing, on the tray, and gets ready to prepare another one. "Who is the father?"
"Damn, Des. That isn't any of your business." Leo states angrily at him. He then eyes Rory. "You don't have to answer him. He's too nosy for his own damned good." Tristan nods in agreement while Des snorts.
"I am not nosy...merely curious. And he's right; you don't have to answer me." There's a pause and three pairs of eyes land on Rory.
"His name is Jess." She pauses wincing at the pain that falls on her heart by only saying his name causes. She catches the look of concentration on Tristan's face. "You've never met him." She busies herself by piling food on the plate she's currently working on. "He's Luke's nephew. He worked at the diner with Luke." She catches the amused "Diner Boy," that Tristan mutters and decides that she doesn't have to add more.
They all resume quietly. When they finish, it becomes an unspoken agreement between the three males that Des should attempt to erase that melancholy look from her face. Tristan and Leo take two trays and walk out of the kitchen. Rory doesn't know why she stays behind along with Des but stays regardless.
Des walks up to her but Rory's eyes stare at the linoleum floor of the kitchen. "Hey, querida, look at me." Rory's eyes dart up to his in question. And he smiles. "Would you prefer 'sweetheart'? That's what 'querida' means and regardless of if being in English or Spanish; it will be your nickname." She smiles at his explanation.
"But you don't know me at all."
"Technicality," He waves away her statement, jokingly. And she laughs at him. But suddenly he's serious. "Jess doesn't know." She realizes that it isn't a question; it's as if he can read her.
The way that his mocha eyes stare down at her tells her of his seriousness, and she involuntarily takes a step back. Is he bipolar? "How very perceptive of you." Rory is sure that she surprises herself as much as she surprises him with the way sarcasm drips out of that sentence.
"That's the only reason that I can see as to your being in Boston. Because if he was smart, which I'm guessing he is 'cause you don't seem like the type of girl that goes out with just any guy, he wouldn't have let you go. Baby or not," There my job is done. He picks up two trays and walks out the door.
She looks at the two remaining trays, and feels her heart tighten in her chest. I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight. She sighs, resigned to her sleepless fate, and picks up the last two remaining plates heading towards the front.
Stars Hollow
When she opens her eyes Lorelai realizes that she isn't in her room, on her bed, but on a couch. She looks at her surroundings and realizes that she must've fallen asleep sometime during her meltdown. Lorelai sits up just as the door to the apartment opens to admit Luke. He clears his throat and makes his way over to her armed with a glass of water and two Advil pills. He stretches out the hand that holds the pills to her. "I thought you might need it." He offers awkwardly as she gratefully swallows the pills and downs half of the water.
She clears her throat. "Thank you, Luke." The way that her eyes shine tells him that she's not just thanking him for the pills.
"Don't mention it. You fell asleep after awhile and I thought you might need your rest." She gets up to leave. "Whoa, where are you going?" She points towards the door.
"Home...if that's okay with you?" She asks highly amused now.
"W-wouldn't it be better if you didn't go back there after-" He cuts himself off.
"Luke, it's getting dark out and I'll be fine in my own house," In the house where Rory walked out on me. It hurts less than she expected but she outwardly winces nonetheless, and Luke notices.
"You take my bed, and when I close the diner, I'll take the couch." He says it as a command and to leave no room open for discussion, he walks her towards his bed. "Tomorrow you can be strong. Tonight," He eyes her seriously. "No." She nods too tired to argue.
She pulls the covers back and gets in. Luke busies himself setting up the couch for later and upon finishing he walks towards the door to head back to work. There's silence and then,
"Thank you, Luke."
"Go to sleep." He grumbles. And when she surrenders to sleep, he silently leaves the apartment to head back to the diner.
Boston
Dinner goes by smoothly. And Rory is shocked to find that she's more comfortable after Des' inquiry. Her eyes fall on him. Or maybe because of it, she realizes. She smiles at her fourth plate and dinner goes on. The atmosphere is calm as they all eat. They trade jokes: crude. Compliments: friendly. Inquiry: polite.
They speak of their senior classes and of movies they found crappy. There expectations for college. And when questions are aimed at Rory they're never prying. They all went as far as to invite her into their conversations.
As dinner finishes every one the guys thanks Des for dinner and bid their good nights to him, Leo, Rory, and Tristan. The four left in Moonshine all silently set the dishes back on the trays and bring them to kitchen. Rory eyes the kitchen sink sullenly and the three guys laugh at her. She furrows her brows in question and Des nods to a dish washer.
"I threatened to quit if the boss man didn't install it. One of the perks of being a 'culinary godsend' I guess." He says it sarcastically.
Rory places her dishes almost meticulously in the washer. "You regret being a chef?" How is that possible? Food is second to coffee. Tristan and Leo snort beside her.
"Hmm...No; it's more like I regret becoming 'up-and-coming'." He spots the question in her eyes; and sighs. "Tristan?" Will you field this one?
Tristan sighs. "You see, Mary. Des's problem is that while he realizes that he has an awesome gift," Tristan pauses smirking at the "Thank you," that Des gives him. "He doesn't care much for attention." I still say that's weird, but then again we are talking about Des. All the dirty dishes loaded Des adds the detergent and presses the button.
"Done. Let's breeze." I'm beat. The three males all head for the door and pause turning back around to face Rory.
"Mary, this is the part where Des locks up." Tristan states amused.
"You're just going to leave the dishes in the washer?" They chuckle at her.
Both Leo and Des proclaim, "I like her." While Tristan smirks. And Rory blushes.
Des clears his throat. "Querida, I'm the first one here every day. Its okay, come on." He nods towards the front door while Leo and Tristan busy themselves securing the windows and shutting the blinds. "We're roommates; our condo is a few blocks away. We have a guest room, so you're staying with us." Whether you want to or not.
"I wouldn't want to impose." I could just go rent a room at a hotel. Des scoffs at that and picks up her duffel bag.
She gapes at him. "Follow the duffel."
She laughs at him. Together they exit Moonshine, and head towards to the condo.
---
The condo, to Rory's surprise, is spacious and clean. The walls are completely painted with drawings of street art and fantasy. Every drawing looks so captivating that it's difficult to care which ones are supposed to be detailed or sketchy. Rory closes in a wall of fantasy and tries to take it all in. The three males stand back and let her thoroughly inspect the wall.
"Who drew all of this?" The utter awe in her question slightly baffles them. Leo clears his throat awkwardly.
"I did. It's nothing big and if it offends you I'm sorry." Leo shifts his weight from one foot to the other. And the three roommates wait for Rory's opinion.
Rory turns away from the wall to face them. "Leo it's beautiful. How would I be offended?"
"Every girl that Tristan and Des bring over gets freaked out by the walls."
She eyes Tristan and Des, and then looks at Leo. "You never bring your girls home, Leo?" Her blue eyes are full of mirth and her voice is teasing.
Tristan throws an arm around Leo's shoulders and smirks at Rory. "Our boy, Leo, here is one of those men who feels he should devout his best years to just one girl." Leo's determined, "There's nothing wrong with that," makes Tristan's smirk widen.
Rory smiles sweetly at Tristan, "If I recall correctly you spent most of your time at Chilton with just one girl at a time." She wipes the smirk from his face and Tristan regards her in-kind. Mary has grown a backbone.
"I grew up. What's with the change in geography?" Rory sighs and makes her way to a couch in the living room.
"I didn't plan on getting pregnant, it was just a miscalculation." Tristan's "Be still my fucking heart," is heard through a smirk and the three friends resume looking at her. "I felt that it'd be better for me and this baby if I just left." Leo and Des nod at her.
"But why come to Boston?" Tristan sits down next to her giving her his full attention.
"Harvard," She answers him. And Tristan smiles at her. "But I'm not sure if they'll still accept me. I mean I'm expecting a baby and I have no way to pay..." Rory gets cut off by Leo's laughter.
"My dad is the Dean of Admissions, I'll talk to him. As for money that's what scholarships, grants, and financial aid is for and what those can't pay Tristan, Des, and I will chip in."
She's opens her mouth to argue when Tristan cuts in. "Did you forget that we're privileged rich kids." When he sees that doesn't placate her, he starts again. "Are parents are real close so we sort of grew up together and if we decide to help you by giving you food, shelter, and money then they'll help us. Face it Mary, you're stuck with us." Des and Leo sit across from them and again nod at Rory.
"So...I'm going to Harvard?" She breathes out her tense shoulders deflating with relief.
"You with us, querida."
They talk a little more of Stars Hollow, Jess, and their plans during and after her pregnancy. They talk of things that they'll all need to keep from invading each others privacy. Then Leo leaves to his girlfriends' and Des heads to bed. Rory and Tristan stay sitting on the comfortable black leather couch together enjoying the others company. "Why a condo? Why not stay at your parents place?" Why move out when you could have everything you ever wanted so easily? Tristan glances at her.
"It's probably the same reason your mother left her parents' mansion. We just got tired of it, of being spoiled all the time. We talked to all our parents and they put up the down payment then the three of us went out job hunting. I'm currently working three jobs and an endless number of girls." She smiles at him amazed by him. It's quiet after awhile until Tristan speaks. "You love him." A feeble noise escapes her throat and he takes it as a protest. "You're happy about having his kid and you love him. But...you're here?" She jumps up off the couch angry at him.
"Don't," She warns as he gets up too.
"Help me, Mare. 'Cause I really don't get it. You ran away from Stars Hollow, your mother, and Jess. Why-no I get why you ran from your mother, and maybe Stars Hollow...but Jess?" I don't care if I never met him. She left and didn't tell him she was having his kid. Her blue eyes glare icily at him. But he continues. "I mean with Dean that was a joke. Any self-respecting player could spot the punch-line a mile away. 'Cause when you were with him at that dance I never thought you'd actually sleep with him, which you didn't. Hell I thought you were gonna be the 'Virgin Mary' forever. Then you sleep with Diner Boy and you're having his baby then you leave him? 'Cause you love him? Why did you leave him? Did he cheat on you? You caught him, didn't you?"
Rory's eyes narrow menacingly up at him. "He did no such thing! You want to know why I slept with him, because he didn't see me as a porcelain doll that'd break at the slightest abrasion, he wasn't afraid to damage me and he never did! And I didn't leave him because I caught him cheating on me. I left after he left!" Before he can question her she continues. "He left three weeks ago and I thought it'd be better if I didn't tell him I was having his baby." She pauses, her throat sore from yelling at him. Tristan eyes her.
"But that's bullshit! He should know; if I was him I'd want to know if I impregnated my girlfriend. Why didn't you call him? You said Luke had father's number."
"Because you're right, I love him. I love that he loved literature and that he'd argue with me about it. I love that he likes the music I like. I love that he was upfront about everything and I never had to worry if he was keeping something from me because he told me everything," Sometimes. She finishes silently, her second wind over but then she catches the doubt in Tristan's eyes and she starts again. "He did...maybe not right away but he did and he never thought to cheat on me," She says it with absolute certainty that he's eyes widen at her. "I love his unpredictability and that he's only nice to me. I love the way he looks at me, so unashamedly. I love that he writes in the margins. I love how he's able to make his sarcasm sound so serious that people actually think he's being sincere. I love that he isn't rich or perfect and that he's battered and broken because he fills me; all of me."
She lets herself drop back down on the couch, emotionally exhausted. Tristan sits across from her on the coffee table. When she meets his eyes he sees the tears threatening to fall. "If I would've called him and told him about the baby, he would've come running. He'd leave the one chance he ever had at getting to know his father. He'd come back to a town that hated him to be with me and our baby. He'd come back to apologize to Luke. And he'd have to repeat his senior year over. He'd do all that for me and our baby. Tell me Tristan, how long before he'd start to resent me for all of it?" And Tristan gets it then and he can't help feel like an utter asshole at breaking her more. She's openly crying now. "I couldn't bear it if he resented me along with my mother." I wouldn't be able to pretend away the resentment and hate that I know I'd see if I told him. Tristan moves from the coffee table to sit beside her. He puts his arms around the broken girl, attempting to console her.
"I know, Mare. You're not there anymore. You didn't call him. You didn't tell your mom or Jess." He says, rubbing her back. She's sobbing into his very nice shirt and she thinks that she should apologize for it later, if she remembers. They stay like that, her ruining Tristan's shirt and him rubbing her back. When she's spent and he's sure that she fell asleep he picks her up bridal style and takes her to the guest room. Her room. He corrects himself placing her gently on her bed. She stirs and mumbles a "Goodnight, Blondie." He smiles at her tearstained cheeks. I have a new roommate. He sighs. But she's not certain if Diner Boy loves her. He scoffs silently. You better love her, Diner Boy. He steps out of her room shutting her door behind him. Because she sure as hell loves you. He walks to his own room to sleep off his extremely eventful day. At least it's the weekend. He closes his own door and throws himself on his bed letting sleep overtake him.
A/N: So? What did you think? I apologize if it's too long. Let me know what you think.