Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls.

The sharp rap at the door woke Rory from a dead sleep. She rubbed sleep from her eyes as they tried to focus on the clock by her bed. It was a little after eight. Tristan had woken her at seven thirty to tell her that he was leaving and that he would pick up Jake from preschool on his way home so that she wouldn't have to take Aiden out since he had been sick the day before. Apparently Maddie had left for school early.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed and crossed the room, not bothering to grab her robe. She paused for a nanosecond at the boy's door to check to see if Aiden was awake. The room was as quiet as a tomb but it wouldn't be if the person at the door knocked much louder.

Rory finally made her way to the door still in a fog. She looked through the peep hole to see her grandmother standing impatiently in the hall. She exhaled a silent ragged breath before looking pleadingly up at the ceiling.

"You couldn't have warned me?" she asked God darkly.

"Rory, is that you?" Emily asked from the hall.

Rory opened the door giving her grandmother the nicest smile that she could manage as she let her in. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her driver follow Emily into the apartment with a trunk and several bags.

"Uh Grandma, are you planning on moving in?"

"Don't be silly, Rory," Emily said with a scoff.

"Did you talk to Tristan about coming to visit?"

"Does your mother talk to you about coming to visit?" she asked, miffed.

"Yes, she does, so that we can make room for her. This is only a three bedroom apartment. You're luggage looks like it would require its own room."

"I can stay at the Plaza if that would be more convenient," she said suddenly accommodating.

"Why are you here?" Rory asked confused.

"I went to see your mother at the Inn last week and Sookie mentioned that you were having trouble."

"She did?" Rory asked her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"You aren't on medication for Post-Partum Depression?"

Rory mentally counted to ten as she tried to control her breathing. She couldn't be mad at Sookie. She probably hadn't known that Rory hadn't wanted her grandmother to know. It was her own fault for not explaining things to Sookie.

"It's Temporary Post-Partum Depression and I'm on medication for it. You really didn't need to come all this way," Rory said once she found her voice.

"Nonsense, I don't mind at all."

"Grandma I appreciate that you want to help but Tristan and I have everything under control," Rory said politely.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you should have called before coming al this way."

"You don't want me here?" she asked, her with pursed lips.

"It's not that we don't want you here. It's that we have a lot going on and things are really crazy right now, but we can handle them. I really do appreciate you coming down, but it wasn't necessary."

"Well, I can say that you have a better way of telling me no than your does. At least you didn't lie to me like your mother sometimes does," Emily said unhappily.

"Maybe you could stay in the city for a few days. See your friend that lives in SoHo that you never get to see and take in a Broadway show," Rory ventured.

"That would be nice, and I could come by and see you, Tristan and the children before I leave?"

"Why don't you come by on Friday night and we'll have dinner?"

"That would be wonderful," Emily said with a pleased smile.

Rory nodded as she opened the door for her grandmother. She was at a loss as to how to get the luggage back down the stairs when she saw her neighbor coming out of his apartment. She offered to pay him if he would take the luggage downstairs and load it into her car. He agreed and Rory quickly paid him forty dollars once she heard Aiden crying from his crib. She closed the door and fell against it with a sigh of relief. She was so glad that she had dodged that bullet.

XXXX

Maddie was being incorrigible and Aiden still wasn't feeling well by the time Tristan came home that night. He took one look at Maddie on the phone in his recliner and jerked his thumb to let her know to move. She rolled her eyes before getting up with a sigh. He took the phone as she passed him and she growled in aggravation.

"You can have it back when you get a better attitude," he called just before she slammed her door.

Rory came out of the kitchen carrying a crying Aiden giving Tristan a helpless look.

"I should have made her do her homework before she got on the phone but I have been dealing with him for the past hour. I think I might need to take him to the emergency room," she said in concern.

"Let me have him," Tristan said after he had taken off his jacket and tie.

"I made you something Momma," Jake said holding up a sheet of paper.

Rory took it from him seeing that he had colored her a picture of the Easter Bunny and even written his name at the bottom by himself. She smiled as she took his hand and leading him into the kitchen.

"I have just the place for it," she said pulling a push pin from the cork/message board by the refrigerator.

"Can I put it up?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," she said picking him then handing him the picture.

He pinned the picture to the top where there was nothing else so that it wouldn't cover anything else and Rory admired it.

"I love it Baby, thank you," she said kissing his temple.

Tristan came in with the baby thermometer to show her. Aiden's temperature had gone back up since the last time she had given him medicine three hours before. Her eyes met Tristan's concerned ones and she knew what she had to do.

"I'm going to call Dr. Voyeur to see what he thinks. If I can't get in touch with him than I really am taking the baby to the emergency room.

"Good idea," Tristan, his lips forming a thin line of concern.

Rory grabbed her phone from off the coffee table before flopping onto the couch with a silent sigh. She was able to get in touch with the doctor and he gave her a couple of options and asked her to take the baby straight to the hospital if they didn't work. She made an appointment for the morning hoping that she wouldn't have to take the baby to the hospital.

"What did the doctor say?" Tristan asked.

"He says that we should try to wipe the baby down with a cool clothe to see if that helps. Also he may be dehydrated so we can try to get him to drink a bottle of water or maybe we can give him some of the juice that we give Jake when he's sick. We'll just have to dilute it."

"What did he say about seeing him?"

"I made an appointment for the morning, could this day be anymore crazy?" she asked with a laugh.

"What else happened?" he asked cautiously.

"My grandmother showed up…with luggage."

"You're kidding," he asked in scrutiny.

"Nope, she had all of her best Luis Vuitton including a matching trunk the size of our coffee table, in our living room."

"Where is she now?"

"At the Waldorf," she said with a sigh.

"What was she doing here?"

"Sookie let it slip that I wasn't at my best and Emily came running. Her heart was in the right place, she just acted without thinking."

"How long is she in town?"

"Until Sunday, by the way, she's coming over for dinner on Friday."

"That, I can handle."

Rory smiled ruefully before brushing past him. Tristan had left Aiden in Maddie unwilling care and she took him from her, giving her a thankful look. She took him to her bathroom and unzipped his onesie. She didn't want to make him sicker than he already was so she decided to cool him off in sections. She started with his face and then made her way to his arms and chest then covered him up with a towel so that she work on his lower half.

He cried as loud as she had heard ever him and her heart broke as the vein in the side of his head turned blue. Tristan had one of those; it came out whenever he was mad. Once she was finished she dressed him quickly before holding him close to her. She hummed soothingly in his ear as she bounced him gently. She did this for twenty minutes before he finally calmed down to hiccups before falling asleep. She sighed heavily in relief before taking him to his room.

Tristan stood at the door, watching her endearingly. She turned to watch him with questioning eyes.

"Is he okay?"

"He calmed down enough to fall asleep. He cried for almost half an hour Tristan, that was the straw that broke me," she said with a sigh.

"Lucky for you I have everything else under control," he said as he entered the room.

He draped an arm over her shoulders and led her out of the room. Maddie and Jake were eating in the dining room but Tristan led her into the kitchen where there were two places set at the island. They were eating steak and vegetables while Jake ate pizza and Maddie at a salad. Rory gave him an unsure look as he pulled out her chair.

"Did you know that Maddie was considering going vegan?" he asked as he sat down.

"No, I didn't," she said, placing her napkin in her lap.

"Yep, I told her what we were having for dinner and she practically to order her a salad. And once she mentioned Donnalee's Jake proclaimed that he wanted pizza."

"Our kids are picky eaters and we cater to them," she said with a sigh.

"It's better than the alternative. I would rather give them the kind of food they want than have to listen to a door slam and our four year old throw a temper tantrum loud enough to make the neighbors think that we were abusing him."

"Not only are they picky eaters but they are dramatic."

"Let's hope that Aiden doesn't turn out like that," he said knocking on the butcher block island top.

Rory's phone vibrated before she could respond. Her mom had sent her a text.

Congrats for taking the Ice Lady down a notch. It's about time.

Rory shook her head with a chuckle as she set her phone back down. They ate in silence until Maddie came in with her and Jake's dishes. She sensed them off before loading them into the dishwasher.

"Thank you for dinner," she said politely.

"You're welcome Mads. Do you have any homework tonight?" Tristan asked.

"I finished it at school," she said with a shake of her head.

"Then you can use the phone for an hour."

"Thanks Dad," she said before grabbing the phone and heading out of the room.

The whole house was silent, making them wonder what Jake was getting into. Tristan went to investigate and found Jake coloring quietly in Maddie's room while she talked on the phone a few feet away. He walked back down the hall silently fully intending to spend some quality alone time with his wife.

XXXX

Rory was regretting inviting her grandmother over. She would expect a fancy dinner with finger bowls and silver napkin holders. Luckily she had been able to order food from Tavern on the Green and Tristan was going to pick it up on his way home. All that Rory needed to do was iron the napkins and everything would be ready.

Maddie was vacuuming the living room and bedrooms while Megan gave the boys a bath. Rory had set out the nicest outfits that Emily had given them because the last thing Rory needed was to let her mother know that she didn't appreciate what her grandmother did.

Tristan came in with the food and Emily. Rory hadn't expected that to happen. She rushed around the kitchen plating the crackers and hummus that she had purchased afternoon. Tristan took it out to Emily who was going through the apartment the way she did each time she came to visit.

Once Rory had the food put together and on plates she asked Maddie to help her take it to the dining room.

"Is there anything that I can do?" Emily asked.

"No Grandma, you're our guest," Rory said with a shake of her head.

Rory went to the bedroom to change while everyone else gathered around the table. She sat in between Tristan and Jake quietly while Maddie answered Emily's questions. Food was passed back and forth and when Emily complimented the food Rory could sense that there was a 'but' that she was leaving out.

Rory's cooking skills were limited and Emily was used to a different sort of life so Rory bit her tongue. Ever since Richard had died five years before Emily had become more outlandish and eccentric. Rory didn't want her kids subjected to it any more than her mom wanted the boys around Emily, but sometimes they would appease Emily and let her have her way.

Two hours later Tristan walked Emily down to her car while Rory put the boys to bed. She was coming out of the boy's room when she nearly collided with Tristan in the hall. She gasped in surprise when Tristan grasped her shoulders to keep her from falling.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Let's go to bed," he said, taking her by the hand.

Tristan shut the door before getting into bed. Rory had already fallen asleep in the few minutes it had taken him to get ready for bed. He lay on his side watching her in the moonlight. She was doing a lot better than she had been a month ago. She was still learning that she didn't have to pretend to have it all together all the time. It was okay to ask for help. Her mother was the same way. It would hard habit to break but he was willing to ride it out.