I think people are confused about Emily. She is dead. Richard had a stroke which causes memory loss so sometimes he thinks she's still alive….but she is in fact dead.

Chapter 2: An unexpected day

"Hey, how are you?" Tristan asked as he saw Rory walk in the next morning.

She looked up from her cell phone and smiled "Relaxed but that wont last for long. How are you?" she asked, hoping he was their therapist today as well

"I'm alright. Listen I'll come get your grandfather just before lunch so he can be sitting up while he eats" Tristan said making Rory smile inwardly

Rory nodded "Sounds good"

"Alright. I'll see you later then"

She smiled to herself and walked to Richards's room, praying he was asleep. As she walked in, she saw her wish had been granted…he was lying peacefully on his bed fast asleep. Sitting down, she took out a book and began reading, hoping to get some time in before he woke up.

Before she knew it; it was 12:00 and Tristan walked in promptly. "Hey" he greeted "How are we today?" he asked, directing the question at both Richard and Rory.

"You again? I'm not going anywhere" he said petulantly

Tristan chuckled at Rory's fuming features "Relax" he said simply

"Grandpa. I don't know how many times I can say this. You need therapy…so stop acting like a little brat and just do it. For god's sake, it's just 2 hours a day" she snapped exasperated

"Well that was rather rude" Richard said uncertainly.

"Well so are you. Lets go" Rory said, fed up with all of his shit.

Tristan shook his head "I said Relax not have a panic attack" he said amused as he moved to the side of the bed and lowered it down.

"I'm so sick of it…I just cant take it anymore" Rory said defeated, sighing and lowering herself into her chair with a thud making Tristan stop helping Richard and sitting down in the chair next to her

"It gets better" he said with a small shrug and a soft smile "You just have to hang in there."

"But for how long?" She asked desperately blinking tears back "I just lost my grandmother; I go to Yale, my boyfriends an asshole…my mothers pregnant. I just don't know how much more I can take" she whispered

"Take it one day at a time." He advised "Don't think too far ahead, it's not worth the stress" he said shaking his head. "You'll get through this…both of you. As far as I can tell, you have the same stubbornness"

Rory laughed "Thanks" She said with a nod in Richards direction

Tristan shrugged "Don't mention it" he said standing up again.

"Okay, standing frame. A bit longer this time Richard" Tristan announced, wheeling him into the rehab room again. He merely nodded, not having enough strength to fight them anymore.

"You have lunch?" he asked

"Why?" she asked

"Because I thought you might like to eat with me" he said sarcastically

Rory blushed slightly "Oh. Well I'll sit with you, but I didn't really bring anything" She said

"Again?" He asked incredulously "I thought we agreed yesterday and food was important. Come on, since I'm such a gentleman I'll split my sandwich with you" he said in mock annoyance

Rory shook her head "No Tristan, you should eat…its okay" she protested as she sat down at his desk with him.

He unwrapped his sandwich and grabbed a plastic plate before giving it to her "Eat"

"Demanding" Rory muttered, picking up half and taking a bite

"Here" he said, pulling out a bottle of Pepsi from a drawer and grabbing a cup, pouring some for her.

"Thanks…you don't have to do this you know" She said with a small smile

"Well I don't want to be doing therapy on you if you fainted from exhaustion and hurt yourself…something tells me you'd be more difficult than your grandfather" he teased

Rory glared and took another bite of the sandwich "And you were being so civil"

"What's this?" Rory heard a voice ask

"I'm sorry are you lost?" Tristan asked not knowing who this was

Without turning around "Dean what are you doing here?" She asked annoyed

"Well since you're here all day I decided to bring you some lunch. Forgive me for wanting to spend some time with my girlfriend" he retorted

Rory rolled her eyes "Yes Dean. We know I'm yours…you chauvinistic caveman" She spat "I'm having lunch with someone who I can stand to talk to right now…you know someone that doesn't think my best friends a raging lunatic, that my grandfather deserves to be alone because I don't spend enough time with my boyfriend, and someone who isn't using me!" She said irritated

Dean scoffed "Right. I'm using you?"

"Intelligent Dean…very intelligent." Rory sneered "I don't wan to talk about this here, so why don't we go home have this oh so civil conversation there"

"Bitch" She heard him mutter before walking out

"Bastard!" She shouted back before closing her eyes and resting her head on her palm not daring to look at Tristan who had just witnessed all of that.

"So uh how's your mother?" he asked changing the subject

Rory looked up at him gratefully "She's good. About 6 more weeks to go…" She said with a smile

"Wow, boy or girl?" he asked

"Boy" Rory said with a smile "I've always wanted an older brother but I think having a younger one would be fun too"

Tristan laughed "Why does the entire female population want an older brother?"

"Because I don't know…it just seems like they would come in handy" she shrugged

"Handy? Is that all we're good for" he mused

"You have a sister?" she asked

"Yeah, she's 3 years younger than me, her name's Chloe" he said proudly, pulling a picture out from his desk and showing it to her

"She's beautiful" Rory commented

"Yeah" he said annoyed "Unfortunately that makes things more difficult"

Rory laughed "This is why we love older brothers…most of the time anyways. They're so adorablely over protective" she teased

Tristan glared "Anyways" he cleared his throat

"Aw come on…"

"What's wrong with your neck" he asked seeing her try to crack it on her own

"Nothing" She answered confused

"Right" He chuckled

"I forgot to bring my medicine, my doctor prescribed me an anti-inflammatory for it" she said

"What happened?"

"Nothing, its weird…for the past 3 years its just bee really bad. Almost every night I get this really bad pain in the back and it starts to give me a migraine so I went to a doctor about it finally."

"She didn't refer you to a neurologist or a physical therapist?" he asked confused

"She did…I went to the neurologist and there's nothing out of the ordinary, he said it might just be tension…" she explained

"And the physical therapist?" he smirked

"Didn't go…" she shrugged "Don't look at me like that…people go to physical therapists after surgery…for something major. Not for a neck ache"

"It could help you know…" he said

"Yeah well…" she trailed off

"Listen I can take a look at it for you if you want" he offered

Rory raised an eyebrow "isn't that illegal or something?"

"Me looking at your neck? No I don't think so…" he said amused

"And then what?" she asked

"Then we can try some ultrasound therapy or Tens therapy" he said

"I guess" she said unsure "Yeah okay…" She said afterwards

"Alright, you going to be here all day?" he asked

"Wait you want to do this today?" she asked "I don't have anything with me…"

"What do you need? You have your neck right?" he teased

"My insurance card…" she trailed off

"Worry about that later. Think of this as a trial run…just fill out a couple forms for me. They won't be going to anything…just to make sure that you're not allergic to anything" he explained

"Thank you" Rory said sincerely "Are you sure you won't get in trouble?"

He shook his head "How about 8 tonight?" he asked

"Yeah sure, here?" she asked

He shook his head "It would be illegal if we did it here" He chuckled "I do sessions at my house so I have all the equipment" He said taking out a card and handing it to her

"Oh" She said blushing slightly "Okay yeah that sounds fine. Uhm I'll be right back"

"Where you going?" he asked

"I just need to make a call…ask someone to drop my car off"

"Oh you don't need to do that…" he trailed off "I can take you if you don't mind"

"Are you sure? I don't want you to go out of your way…"

"Don't worry about it." he waved off

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"Hi" Rory said walking into the rehab room at 8:00 sharp, watching as Tristan hooked his bag around his shoulders. He wasn't wearing his scrubs; he was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Hey" he smiled "Ready?" he asked while shutting down the computer and taking out his keys

Rory nodded "Yup" she said following him out and waiting for him to lock the door before.

"I like your taste in music!" She exclaimed when 'band of horses' began playing

Tristan chuckled as he pulled out of the parking lot "Thank you"

"So what is this ultrasound therapy thing?" she asked slightly nervous

"You're not scared are you?" he asked amused

"I just want to know what it is" she huffed

"Okay" he laughed "It's pretty much a deep heating therapy. It's basically the use of sound waves to warm" he explained

"And the TENS therapy?" she asked

"TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation" he answered

"ELECTRICAL?!" She exclaimed

"Calm down" He said amused "look I'll explain once I figure out what to do okay?"

"I don't like the sound of electrical" She stated

"Its not like I'm going to shock you Rory" he said sarcastically "Don't worry so much…we're here" he said

"Nice place" Rory commented seeing the medium sized house in front of her

"Thanks. You gonna get out of my car?" he teased

"What? Yeah" she said shaking her head trying to wake herself up.

"You want a glass of water or anything?" he asked as they walked in and he set his things down by the door

"No I'm okay" She answered

"Well do you want to get started then?" he asked

"Uh yeah" She said awkwardly pulling at her sleeves as a habit

He chuckled "Follow me" he said leading her to his work room. She looked around; there was a large massage table, a few large balls and a couple of large machines.

"You'll need to change into something else" he pointed out

She looked down confused and realized she was wearing a turtleneck. "Oh I'm sorry…I totally didn't realize I was wearing this."

"That's okay, I have a few shirts handy when patients don't like getting their clothes dirty and things like that so here you go" he said throwing a plain whit tank top at her

"Thanks" She said

"Bathrooms right around the corner" he said "Wait before you go, you have those forms?"

"Yeah" she said grabbing a few pieces of paper from her purse and handing them to him.

"What the hell is that" Rory asked looking terrified as she walked out of the bathroom now dressed in a white tank top. She was pointing at a machine Tristan had rolled out and was next to the massage table. It looked like a crash cart…

He looked up from his position on one of the balls and tore his eyes away from her forms "It's an ultrasound machine" he said confused

"Oh god" she sighed relieved

"What'd you think it was?" he asked

"I thought it was a crash cart!" she exclaimed

He laughed hysterically "I don't think things will be getting that intense…come on" he said motioning her to come closer and rolling a ball out in front of him for her to sit on

She sat down facing him "So what's up"

"You're not allergic to anything? And you've never had surgery right?" he asked wanting to make sure

She nodded "Correct"

"And you don't have a pre-existing condition that I should know about?"

"Nope…well I mean I broke my wrist in the 6th grade but I hardly think that's relevant" she laughed

"You're right. Okay so hop on, face down" he said pointing to the table

"Okay" she said and awkwardly climbed onto the table, laying face down. She felt him move her hair over her head so it was all off her neck before placing his hand there. She tried not to jump at the sensation but ended up visibly flinching making him chuckle.

"Relax" he said "could you move forward a little? You look like you cant breath" he laughed

She smiled lightly and shifted forward so her head was fully in the designated cushion.

"Okay" he said taking one of her arms and placing it straight along her side, palm up. "Keep your arms like that" he told her before moving back up to her neck. She felt his fingers digging small circles into it, pressing a little harder each time. She sucked in a breath as it became painful and he muttered an apology but held that place. "It could just be a spasm" he said pushing down on that point again nodding when she cringed. "Anywhere else?" he asked

"The other side" she mumbled

"It just feels really stiff…" he commented

"Okay let's try the ultrasound therapy…" he said rolling the cart over

"Uhh…" she protested

"Don't worry about it. Its painless…it feels really good actually" he assured "Okay this might be cold" he said squirting the gel onto her neck and making sure it was fully covered.

"Calm down" he soothed "It doesn't hurt I promise…" seeing her shoulders tense when she heard the machine turn on

God Rory get a grip. She told herself…she was acting like a 3 year old. Willing herself to relax she took a few deep breaths and relaxed her shoulders.

"Here we go" he informed her as he placed a paddle on her neck and moved it in small slow circles over her skin making it tingle. "Hows that? Too intense?" he asked

"No its fine" She mumbled, enjoying the relaxing sensations.

"Can I turn it up a little?" he asked

"Yeah" she answered "this feels good…"

"I told you" He laughed "Tell me if it gets too intense alright?"

"It's fine right now" She said

"How's that feel?" he asked about 10 minutes later as he shut off the machine and took a damp cloth, wiping the gel off

She sat up and moved her neck around a little "good actually" she said smiling

Tristan smiled "Good…" he said

"So how much do you usually charge?" she asked

Narrowing his eyes at her, he shook his head "For you? Nothing as long as you promise to eat lunch with me everyday" he smirked

"Tristan…" she protested

"Don't worry about it." he shrugged

"But I feel bad not paying…" she said

"Why?" he asked "I enjoy your company…you just get a bonus" he smiled

"Fine…" she relented "But this was your choice"

"Yes" he said sarcastically "You're easy…took 10 minutes, why should you pay for that?"

She shrugged "Would you charge them if it was someone else?" she asked

"Yeah" he said truthfully

"Then there you go"

"Fine you can buy me dinner" he said charmingly

"Smooth…" she rolled her eyes

"Is that a no?" he asked raising an eyebrow "I mean I give you a $250 dollar session of therapy for free and you say no to dinner? Such manners" he teased

Rory laughed and nodded "Alright…dinner sounds good actually. I'm starving"

"Alright, I'll let you change and then we can go"

"I am paying Tristan" Rory called out

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"Fancy Gilmore" Tristan commented as they entered a funky hip restaurant

"You like Chinese right?" she asked as a lady took their coats

"Love it" he said "2 please" he told the reception

"This feels oddly like a date" Rory said slyly

"That's because it is" Tristan smirked picking up the menu placed in front of him

Rory blushed slightly "You ready to order?" She asked

He raised an eyebrow "You're ready? We just got the menus"

"Well I usually just order everything that looks good…" she trailed off

"Excuse me?" he sputtered

"Yeah, one time me and my mom ordered the entire chicken menu from Chinese take-out"

"Ambitious" He said surprised

"Well we try" she laughed "So what do you say, order whatever you think looks good and I'll do the same"

"Sounds good" he said laughing in disbelief

"So what made you come?" he asked after they had ordered

"Sorry?" she asked confused

"With me, tonight. You don't seem like the stupid type who would go home with just about anybody…so what made you come?" he smirked

"I'm not the stupid type thank you" She said slightly bewildered that he would ask "And I don't know…I mean I've seen you around for a couple weeks, and you don't seem like the pedophile rapist type" she teased

He nodded "Well I'm not" He said simply "I mean I'm glad you came" he reiterated making her smile

"Yeah?"

"Definitely" he said with a grin

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A/N: There you go, Please please please review…I love them, you know that. Anyways, I'm working on the next chapter so if you have any suggestions or ideas, I'm open! I hope you liked it…