Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls. Although it would be nice if I did, then I would be a genius. I would also like to say thank you to Amy Sherman Paladino for creating a show that not only young girls can watch but it is one that they can watch with their mothers like I used to do.

He stared at the empty living room in shock. How in the hell had Casey convinced him to move here? This was the last place that he wanted to live. He would rather live on Jupiter than live in Stars Hollow again. He imagined that pretty much everyone in town knew that he was back. Luckily, Taylor was long gone; he was the one that had given him the most trouble other than Dean. He would have to deal with Dean again. He had matured a lot since the sixteen year old rebel that he had been then. Maybe they could get along now that they were older and more mature…But he wasn't counting on it.

"Jess, I thought that you were going to help me with these boxes," Casey said as she walked in with her arms loaded down with boxes.

"I'll be right there," he said with a shake of his head.

"I know that this is a huge step back for you but you are going to have to suck it up and take one for the team. We'll be close to your family and the girls will have a normal childhood."

"You don't think that they'll have a normal childhood in New York?"

"I grew up in New York so I can answer that for you and the answer is no. Not the one that I want for her at least. The girls will have such a wonderful life here."

"I know," he said in defeat.

He climbed into the back of Luke's truck and grabbed a small stack of boxes. They had sold all of their furniture before leaving Atlanta, leaving them with only a few things that they would bring to the new house. Casey and Lorelai planned on going shopping for new furniture in the morning. They could sleep on the floor in sleeping bags for the night.

If someone had told him that he would someday move back here when he left as a teenager he would have pulled a gun on them. Casey had made a good argument. He would be able to focus on his writing and he would be able to help out at the diner. Luke was looking to retire and had asked Jess to take over the restaurant. That was something else, he never would have thought that Luke would hand the restaurant down to him. What was the world coming to?

XXXX

Tristan woke up to find Jake sitting Indian style on the bed a few feet from him with his chin in his hands.

"It's my birthday today Daddy," he said innocently.

"Happy Birthday Buddy," Tristan said with a sleepy smile.

Tristan opened his arms and Jake crawled over to him to lay his head in the crook of Tristan's shoulder. Tristan held him as tight as he dared; wanting to let the boy know how much he was loved. The past moth hadn't been easy on any of them. Talking to Rory was like pulling teeth, she wouldn't listen to reason. She wouldn't admit that there was anything wrong.

Maddie wasn't making things any easier. She had developed an 'I don't care' attitude and was so ignorant that she and Tristan went round and round almost daily. He wished he knew what had changed so that he could make it right. He felt like everything was careening out of control with no end in sight.

Every day there was something new for him to worry about. Rory was so emotionally closed off that he was pulling off both of their parental duties. It was time to take drastic measures. He was going to bring in the big guns. That way Rory would have no choice but to listen to him.

"Maddie is on Momma's computer again," Jake said to break the silence.

Tristan sat up with a sigh. He threw his legs over the side of the bed, telling Jake to stay where he was and that he would be right back. He could hear Maddie clicking the computer keys furiously making him shake his head in dismay. He came to the end of the hall to see Maddie hunched over the computer, her face a mask of rage.

"Did your mom say that you could use that?"

"She was here when I got up but she left while I was in the shower. I don't know where she went," she said not looking away from the computer.

"That would be a no," Tristan said as he crossed the room.

He pulled the laptop from Maddie's lap, much to her complaint.

"Dad, I was talking to Gran!" she shouted.

"Then use the phone," he said shutting the laptop down.

She growled in frustration before slamming her hands down on the coffee table. Aiden cried from the boy's room and Tristan walked to the kitchen.

"Get your brother," he said over his shoulder.

"Why can't you?" Maddie asked with an attitude.

"Because you woke him up," he said before pushing the kitchen door open.

He could hear Maddie come back into the living room as he started breakfast. The kitchen door opened, making him look over his shoulder. Jake sat at the table with his head in his hands.

"You forget me, Daddy, I was waiting for you," Jake said with a pout.

"So I did, I'm sorry," Tristan said, ruffling his hair.

"Where's Momma?"

"I don't know, I'll call her," he said, grabbing his phone from the counter.

"Hey," Rory said, answering on the first ring.

"Where are you?"

"I'm on the roof, working in the garden. I told Maddie before she got in the shower."

"She must have forgotten. I'm making breakfast if you want to come in."

"I'll be right there."

Rory came in with baskets of vegetables and flowers. She brought them to the counter, unloading everything into the sink. She washed the vegetables and trimmed the flowers before coming to the table.

"Happy birthday Jakey," she said kissing him temple.

"Thank you Momma," he said before giving her a loud kiss on the cheek.

"How old are you today?" Rory asked.

"I'm this many," he said holding up four fingers.

"That's right, you're four. You are so smart," she said, touching the tip of his nose.

There was one thing that Tristan could say about what was going on with Rory. She acted like nothing was wrong around the kids. She didn't want them to worry, she left that to Tristan. She crossed the room to Tristan, reaching around him for a coffee mug from the cabinet. Her hand grazed his arm as she leaned into him from behind. She pressed her lips to the side of his neck in greeting before pulling away.

Maddie came into the room with Aiden and Rory took her from him so that she could finish getting ready for school. Rory set Aiden in his bouncy seat which on the table next to Jake. Jake played with the baby quietly while Tristan finished breakfast. Rory got in the shower and was back in the kitchen in time to make a plate for Jake. She dressed his pancakes the way that he liked them before setting them in front of him.

"It's a clown!" he said, clapping excitedly.

"You're right; your pancake is shaped like a clown. Daddy is so creative, isn't he?"

"Yes," Jake said around a mouth full of food.

Maddie called from the living room to let them know that she was leaving and Tristan excused himself. Rory fed the baby while Tristan finished getting ready for work. When he came back into the kitchen his tie was draped around his neck. Rory wiped Jake clean and told him to change his shirt before moving to Tristan's side. She took hold of his tie and had it fixed within seconds. It was a ritual that they did every morning. She leaned in to kiss him quickly before Jake came back into the room. She pulled away giving him an imploring look. He gave her a tight lipped smile, hearing Jake in the living room.

"I'd better go. I'm going to be late," he said quietly.

Rory turned to watch him go, tears stinging her eyes. She knew that she needed help and that he wanted her to be happy. She had thought that she was doing a good job of faking it until he had pointed out to her that he could see right through her. What was she going to do? She felt like she was trapped inside herself screaming to get out most days. She hadn't known anyone who had dealt with this before. Her mom sure hadn't. Had her grandmother? She would have had all of the symptoms, even if she hadn't been clinically treated.

Going to the doctor scared her, it always had. She would have to suck it up and deal with it because things weren't going to get any better on their own. The baby cooed, getting her attention. She smiled at him sadly, taking in his features. Unlike Jake, he was the spitting image of Tristan, right down to his cute little nose. Jake took after Rory and her mom was known to mention that if he were older he would have been confused for one of the twins. He had her wavy chestnut colored hair and big vibrant blue eyes.

She picked up the baby, holding him close to her to take in his distinctive baby smell of baby powder and formula. She carried him to his room to ready him for the day. She would need to call around and see if she could find a doctor to see her as soon as possible. She had been putting it off long enough. The sooner she got better, the sooner she and Tristan could work through their problems.

XXXX

The smell of cleaning products and dog shampoo mixed together as soon as Tristan walked into the room. He fought the urge to scrunch up his nose in disgust, glad that at least it didn't smell like animal feces. All around him dogs, faces were pressed to the doors of their cages, clamoring for his attention. Some barked happily, some whined while others barked in warning.

He knew that he should have talked this over with Rory, but Jake had been asking about Jack a lot more in the past few weeks. He couldn't understand why Jack wasn't with them. Tristan hoped that adopting another dog would take Jake's mind off of Jack, so that Rory would stop blaming herself for what had happened.

He stopped midway through the room, trying to decide what kind of dog he wanted for Jake. He was brought out of his thoughts by a warm tongue lapping at his hand. He looked to his right to see a Pit Bull with white and brown spots. He smiled, scratching the dog's muzzle. The dog nuzzled his hand, encouraging him to go on. The dog couldn't have been more than a year old.

"That's Louie. He's been here since he was six weeks old. Most people won't adopt him because they think that Pit Bulls are dangerous," One of the workers said from the end of the row.

"A dog is only as dangerous as its owner trains it to be," Tristan said, continuing to show the dog affection.

"You sound like someone who knows what they're talking about."

"My grandfather was a dog breeder. Pit Bulls were just one of the breeds that he worked with."

"Do you want him?"

"I'll take him," Tristan said with a smile.

Tristan followed the girl to an office and the owner of the shelter had some paper work for Tristan to fill out. Half an hour later Tristan was loaded down with toys, supplies and enough dog food to last the dog for a year. He paid one of the volunteers to load everything into the bed of his truck while he went to the back of the shelter to pick up the dog. Louie trotted beside him, happily wagging his tail.

On the ride to the apartment the dog stuck his head out the window, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Maddie was outside when Tristan pulled up and her eyes were honed in on the dog. He barked in greeting as Maddie cautiously made her way to him.

"He's not gonna hurt you Mads," Tristan said as he started unloading things from the truck.

Maddie got the dog out of the truck and followed Tristan into the apartment building. He instructed her to put the dog in the laundry room then help him bring everything in. Five minutes later they were finished and Maddie sat on the couch watching Tristan play with the dog.

"Do you think getting another dog was a good idea? Mom hasn't dealt with Jack yet," Maddie said in concern.

"I'm hoping that Louie here will help with that. Plus, you're brother still expects Jack to somehow materialize out of nowhere," Tristan said with a sigh.

"Does Mom know about him?" she asked, gesturing to Louie.

"No. I didn't talk it over with her. Where is she anyway?"

"She left not long after I got home, she said that she had somewhere that she needed to be and that she would pick up Jake from preschool."

"Where's the baby?"

"Sleeping, Mom said that he gave her trouble when she tried to lay him down for a nap. He should be waking up soon."

"Do you know if your mom got the stuff for Jake's party this weekend?"

"It's in your closet," she said with a nod.

"Is your homework done?"

"Yes, Dad," she said with a sigh and an eye roll.

"Good. Come on Louie, let's find you a hiding place," he said before heading into the kitchen.

The dog's nails clicked on the wooden floor, following behind him. Pots and pans could be heard clanging together as Tristan started dinner. Rory came in, juggling a birthday cake, balloons, and more handmade birthday cards than Maddie had ever seen. Jake held onto her coat tails, smiling broadly. Louie barked manically from the laundry room making Rory stop in her tracks.

"Jack!" Jake said excitedly.

"No, Honey, Jack is gone, remember?" Rory said soothingly.

She gave Maddie a curious look and Maddie grinned evilly.

"Jake, go put your cards in your room, okay Baby?" she said handing Jake a fist full of cards.

Jake took off down the hall, making as much noise as possible.

"Well, Aiden isn't asleep anymore," Maddie said with a sigh.

"I'll get him in a minute. Tell me what is going on."

"Dad should be the one to tell you. I'll get Aiden," Maddie said, rising from the couch.

Rory entered the kitchen still carrying the balloons and birthday cake. Louie barked from the laundry room making her eyes widen in surprise. She set the cake on the island before tying the balloons to Jake's seat at the kitchen table. She shouldered off her jacket, staring at the back of Tristan's head, waiting for him to acknowledge her. She cleared her throat to get his attention after waiting for another half a minute.

Tristan set down the spatula that he was using to fry the hamburger for dinner to look over his shoulder at Rory who was giving him an expectant look. She gestured towards the dog, wanting an explanation. He turned back to the stove to turn off the burner before walking to Louie. He rubbed behind the dogs ears and Louie lapped at his hand sweetly.

"Are we dog sitting?"

"No, he's ours," Tristan said with a shake of his head.

"Don't you think that you should have talked to me before getting another dog," she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"When was I supposed to do that Ror? You're so emotionally closed off that I can't talk to you about anything," he asked credulously.

"I guess that I deserve that," she said with a sigh.

She crossed to the refrigerator, rifling through its contents for something to snack on.

"What are you doing? Dinner will be ready soon," he asked in confusion.

"I have to take my medicine half an hour before dinner, I also have to take it with food," she said, the upper half of her body stuck in the refrigerator.

"What medicine are you on?"

"It's in my purse," she said, finally deciding on a clementine orange.

He stood at the island, where her purse lay open. On top was an orange medicine bottle. He lifted it out of her purse to read what it was. It was an antidepressant.

"You went to the doctor?"

"Yes, I have Post-Partum Depression. You were right, I just didn't want you to be," she said quietly.

She folded in on herself almost immediately, her body shaking uncontrollably from the sobs that were racking through her. She slid to the floor as Tristan crossed the space between them. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close to him tightly. Maddie came into the room with Aiden and Jake followed close behind her. She watched her dad and Rory worriedly and Tristan shook his head, telling her to let it go. She ushered Jake out of the room quickly before he saw their parents behind the island.

"It's going to be fine. The first step is admitting that there's a problem. We'll get through this," he promised her.

"You don't think any less of me?" she sniffled.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I don't," he said before kissing her temple.

He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly as he rocked her. She cried into his chest, gut wrenching sobs took over her making Tristan's heart ache. They would handle this the same way that they handled everything else. They would get through it together, and they would come out the situation stronger than they had been before.