Laws Of The Less Traveled Road

I own Austin, Kyle, Evan, Shayna, and Nick. Gilmore Girls is not mine.

Pairing: Trory

I hope you enjoy :)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Come on Rory. Push!" Rory closed her eyes and let out a small scream and she pushed one last time. Quiet cries could be heard in the small room. When she saw the newborn fully in the doctor's hands, she collapsed back onto the bed, breathing deeply. Tristan leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Once again, nicely done." The doctor nodded and smiled. Rory barely managed a smile back.

"No more." She said pointedly to Tristan. He nodded frantically. "Had I known you were going to knock me up this many times, I wouldn't have agreed to marry you."

"If you say that one more time…" Tristan playfully threatened. She grinned up at him.

"We're going to have to buy a minivan, you know." Tristan frowned.

"What about one of those really manly trucks?" Rory shook her head, dismissing his idea. He huffed.

"Here you are, Mrs. Dugrey." The nurse leaned down and handed Rory the small child. She held the child against her chest, staring down at baby.

"Hi Isabel." Rory cooed.

"She doesn't look like a Isabel." Tristan grumbled. He'd lost the naming battle for this child.

"She'll grow into it. You'll see." The two parents stared down at the newborn.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Mommy. Mommy." The little boy stared at his mom's sleeping form, continuously poking her. "Moooommmmyyyyyyyyy." He gave Rory a shove.

She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Eli, are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Max is keeping me awake. He's reading and won't turn off his light." Rory frowned and turned her head to see that Tristan was still awake. She sighed and pulled the covers back, following Eli towards his room. True to Eli's word, Max was staring intently at the book in his hands. Eli climbed back into bed.

"Hey Max, what are you reading about?"

"Some story." She caught a glimpse of the title but didn't recognize it.

"Honey, it's after 1am. You need to go to sleep. You can read this in the morning." He shook his head rapidly.

"But I want to finish it!" Rory shook her head.

"You're keeping Eli awake and this commotion is going to wake your sisters up." Max frowned.

"Can I just read till the end of the chapter?" Rory smiled softly and nodded.

"Yes. Eli, is that okay with you?"

"Fine." He said grumpily. For a 4 year old, he was pretty verbose except when he was angry. He was a bit like Tristan in that regard. He tended to carry his burdens by himself. Rory smiled and got up after kissing Max's head. She kissed Eli's and headed toward the door.

"Goodnight boys."

"Goodnight mommy." They both murmured. She walked down the hallway and stopped at the entrance of the girls' room. They were fast asleep. She was walking back towards her room when the phone rang. Her eyes shot open and she ran to her bedroom to pick up the phone before it woke up the baby.

"Hello?" She asked, breathily. She looked to her side to see that Tristan had gone to sleep.

"Rory Gilmore?"

"Yes, this is she. Is everything okay?" A million thoughts were going through her head. The voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"Ohh, on the contrary Rory. Everything is not okay. You see, I've been on really good behavior so I can make a phone call once a week and I chose you!" The voice sounded gleeful. Rory's jaw slackened and she unconsciously moved her hand to grasp Tristan's. She squeezed it hard, waking him in the process.

"Oww, baby that hurts." He mumbled tiredly.

"How did you get this number?" She tried to keep a steady voice.

"You're in the phone book!" He laughed. It sounded icy.

"Rory, baby, that hurts." Tristan said, more awake now, trying to loosen her fingers that were around his in a vice grip.

"Jeremy, what do you want from me? I haven't heard from you or anything about you in fifteen years."

Tristan sat up in bed, staring intently at her. Chills were sweeping through his body. Rory released his hand when he wrapped his arms around her.

"You ruined my fucking life." Rory moved the phone between her and Tristan so he could hear as well. "I thought I'd get parole by now but apparently they really didn't like how I murdered that slut and whatever I had in the works for you."

"In the works for me?"

"Not important."

"This is against the law. I have a restraining order against you!" Rory gasped.

"Woops." She could hear him breathe. "Have a good night Rory." The phone disconnected. She whipped her head towards Tristan, wide eyed. Then she broke down. He gathered her in his arms and took the phone from her. He called the police, explaining what had just happened. They promised to look into it and have a detective return the call in the morning.

He slowly rocked her back and forth, hushing her hysterics. A light crying started from beside their bed. Isabel had woken up. Rory hung her head in defeat and took the baby from Tristan's hold. She pulled down her nightgown and waited for Isabel to latch on before looking back at Tristan.

"What am I going to do?" She whispered.

He shrugged. "He's still in jail. Don't let it get to you."

She sighed. "You're right. We live far away from him." He nodded and rubbed her back. "He just wrecked havoc in my life back then and it's a chapter in my life I never want to remember."

"I know."

"What if he hurts one of the kids?" He could see the alarm in her eyes.

"Even if he was given a new sentence, he's still on surveillance. He can't cross state borders."

"Lawyer Tristan." She said, with a weak smile.

"I gotta make enough money for all those kids. There are so many!" He said, jokingly.

"You're telling me! I had to push them all out."

There was a pause.

"I could get a vasectomy." She turned her body towards him fully.

"I could get my tubes tied."

He shook his head. "It's an outpatient procedure for me and it would only take about 20 minutes. It'd be more in depth for you. Plus, you're breastfeeding now. I don't want to put your body through any more stress." She looked at him with adoration.

"We could always stop having sex." His face made her words worth it.

"Hell fucking no." Her eyes widened. "I don't care how many babies we have, I will never stop making love to you."

"If I get pregnant again, I'm not getting rid of any of my kids…I'm getting rid of you." She teased. Tristan took the baby from her arms and placed her back in the bassinet. He crawled back onto the bed and towards her.

"You'd regret that fairly soon, I think."

"You think so? I don't think so."

He grinned and placed his hand between her legs, moving his fingers into her pajama shorts. She let out a soft moan. "Still don't think so?"

"No, you win." She leaned against him, filled with sensations. He grinned evilly and pushed her back against the bed.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Morning light streamed through the windows. Tristan squinted and looked at the clock. It was 7am. He sighed and got out of bed, padding down the hall and seeing Eli, Max, and Sofie sitting on the couch watching cartoons.

"Morning daddy!" Sofie greeted and jumped up, running towards him. He picked her up and gave her a kiss on the head. She was definitely a daddy's girl, although she was also only 6.

"Where's your sister?"

"Amelia's playing with her Barbie's." Sofie volunteered. Tristan nodded.

"Are you guys hungry? Your mom is still sleeping. I don't think we want to wake her up yet." The 3 kids shook their heads. They knew how grumpy their mom could be if woken up.

"Can we have pancakes, daddy?" Sofie asked, batting her eyelashes. Tristan had to laugh. His kids got far too many of his genes in his, and Rory's, opinion. Him and Rory were going to be in trouble when the kids got older.

"I want chocolate chips!" Eli shouted.

Max pushed him. "Eli, the baby is sleeping. Stop being a shouty-mouth." Eli pushed him back.

"Hey boys, knock it off." Tristan said quietly, but sternly. Both boys let their hands fall to their sides. Tristan made himself busy making breakfast for the family. As he prepared the food, he let his mind wander to the phone call Rory had received. It was for that very reason that Tristan was letting her sleep as long as she could. He wanted her to think about it as little as possible.

It had been almost 15 years since either of them had thought about him and almost 20 since he had actually been in their lives. This sudden phone call had the power to knock Rory off her axis.

His thinking was interrupted by two sets of footsteps. One was light and scampering and the other was slower and more deliberate. He saw Amelia glide in, in a flash of pink pajamas. A present for Lorelai, no doubt. Next he saw Rory come in, Isabel cocooned in her arms. He put his arm out and she walked to him and leaned against his side.

"Morning, baby. You ok?" He kissed her forehead. She nodded slowly. "I don't have any meetings until 3pm. I thought we might go into the station." She nodded again and took the bag of chocolate chips and poured half the bag into the mixing bowl. Tristan rolled his eyes. He was prepared to temporarily refuse being the father while the kids were all hyped up on sugar.

"Mommy, can I hold Isabel?" Eli asked eagerly.

"Yes, but come sit down." She led the child to the sofa and placed the baby on Eli's lap, helping him with how to hold Isabel's head.

Two hours later, the kids were running around the house, yelling as they went. Rory had already put 2 bandaids on Max and Sofie each. Tristan gave Rory a look. She grinned and shrugged.

"I will not deny my children the greatness that is chocolate. Or coffee."

"Watch it, missy. You'll pay for that in a few years." Tristan pointed at her, smirking. A knock at the door interrupted them. They saw Sofie and Eli shoot passed them, skidding to the door. It didn't take long to know who it was.

"Nana!" Sofie shrieked and jumped into Lorelai's arms.

"Rory, why don't you do this anymore?" Lorelai asked, carrying Sofie to the living room where everyone else was.

"Because I'm not 6?"

"Alright, so you have everything under control?" Tristan asked, retying Amelia's dress, which had come undone from all of the running around. She was further developed than most 2 year olds, but still got a bit rough handled with two older brothers.

"Please, I was born for this. Just no more, please." Lorelai winked. Rory rolled her eyes and picked up the diaper bag for Isabel.

"We should be back by early afternoon. We're meeting with a lawyer and some police staff."

"Good thing your husband isn't a lawyer."

"It's different, mom. You know that."

"I do. Good luck, honey." Lorelai hugged her daughter and gave Tristan a tight hug as well.

"Be good, everyone. If nana tells me any of you misbehaved there won't be anymore chocolate pancakes for a whole month!" Rory said pointedly. The 4 kids nodded in comprehension. "Ok, come on." Rory looked at Tristan, who followed her outside. He took the diaper bag from her and put it in the backseat while Rory put Isabel in the car seat.

Once Rory and Tristan were both seated in the car, Tristan let out a deep sigh. "Silence." He murmured. Rory gave him a playful nudge. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"We'll get this all worked out, I promise."

"I know I just really don't need this added stress." He saw a teardrop fall down her cheek. "I had trouble this morning." She swallowed noisily.

"Trouble?" He steered the car onto the main street.

"I didn't have enough milk this morning. It's lucky that I pump, too." Tristan grabbed Rory's hand and squeezed it. In the past when Rory felt great stress, she wasn't able to produce as much milk. The doctor was only worried for the baby's sake, which is why the doctor suggested that she pump on a semi-regular basis.

Moments later, they pulled into the police station where they would be meeting with a police officer and a lawyer that specialized in criminal cases and witness protection. Tristan shook the lawyers hand and made quick small talk, having met many times before for business reasons. He introduced Rory, who awkwardly shook his hand while trying to hoist Isabel up more onto her hip at the same time.

"Please, let's sit." The officer said and shut the door of the meeting room behind them. They complied.

"So Rory, technically your restraint order is no longer valid. This type is only acceptable for 10 year increments." Jordan, the lawyer said.

"So he can't be penalized for calling me?"

"Not really, seeing as he didn't break any laws. However, the court never takes these kinds of matters lightly and it is highly frowned upon that he called you. That being said, I would suggest we put in a request for a lifetime restraining order and have Jeremy re-tried."

"His own lawyers could get his sentence lessened that way." Tristan piped up.

"This is true in most cases, however, his original sentence was life without chance for parole. We also have the advantage of bringing in the new evidence."

"New evidence?"

"Well it's old by now, but new to the case. As far as I can tell from the paperwork, it was never introduced because he was given life without needing it."

"And what is this new evidence?" Rory asked, tentatively. Jordan looked at Tristan carefully before looking at Rory. He looked back down to the documentation in front of him.

"Journals mostly."

"Journals of what?" Rory held her breath after asking the question.

"Mrs. Dugrey, I think it would be highly unwise for you to know what was in those journals." Jeremy's words from the night before rang in her ears, '…apparently they really didn't like how I murdered that slut and whatever I had in the works for you.'

Whatever I had in the works for you.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a week and a half after the phone call that Tristan received a phone call from Jordan.

"Hey Tristan."

"Jordan, tell me something good." Tristan stopped what he was doing and paid attention to the phone call. He wasn't used to personal calls at work and they always made him overly attentive.

"Your whole family, extending to Rory's parents, was approved for the long-term restraining order."

"What are the conditions?"

"Everything I could think of. Phone calls, writing, indirect contact of any kind, and of course visits."

"Great! And the retrial?"

"His lawyer decided not to go through with it based on our new evidence. They really didn't have a chance. Instead, we've convinced them to agree to a private agreement where a judge looks over the information again with the new evidence. I got his ruling this morning."

"Good, I hope?"

"He's been given a double life sentence without chance for parole for either. All privileges have been revoked and he's being transferred to a higher security prison." Tristan's eyes closed in relief.

"Thank you, Jordan. You don't realize how much this means to me and my family."

"I think I do. Maryann told me Rory was having trouble lactating because of it?" Tristan rolled his eyes. Maryann was Jordan's wife and was in the same playgroup circle as Rory.

"Yea, that's true. I took off a day earlier this week so Rory could have a day by herself to just do whatever she wanted. Perhaps it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been since she had to bring Isabel with her, but I think it worked. She's smiling again, which is a blessing."

"Most definitely. Well I don't want to keep you, just wanted to call with the good news."

"Thank you, Jordan."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy BIIIIRTHDAAAAAYYYY dear Isabel, happy birthday to you!"

"Make a big wish Ellie!" Rory said, hovering over her daughter to help to blow out the candles. When the big "2" candle was blown out, everyone cheered. Isabel giggled hysterically as people blew on their birthday horns and cheered for her.

After the last guest left and Rory and Tristan were in bed alone, they finally had a chance to breathe. "It's been a good 2 years." Rory said, reflecting.

Tristan agreed. "A wonderful 2 years."

"Can we have a date night soon? We haven't had one in a long time." Her words were true. It had been months since the two of them had really had a night to themselves.

"Do you think Lorelai would want 5 kids under the age of 10 at her house for a night?"

"I think she'd love it!" Rory grinned. He scoffed and wrapped his arms around her. He nuzzled her neck.

"Are you pregnant?" She turned her head and looked at him like he had 3 heads.

"What?"

"I want another boy and if we're keeping up with the trend, you need to be pregnant now or giving birth soon."

"Tristan, we have 5 kids." He kissed her neck.

"I know. But 6 is so even and we already have a mini van."

"But 7 is a prime number." She retorted.

"But 8 is a good number for sitting at a table. No uneven sides." His logic was faulty and he knew it.

"If this is your persuasion tactic for your clients, I really feel bad for them. You have no right to charge a small fortune when you can't even adequately persuade your wife into having another baby." He grinned and lightly bit her neck. His hand slid up her shirt.

"It's not. They're much easier to convince."

"So I'm a hard ass?"

"A little." She laughed and pushed her body against his.

"Well you never got that vasectomy."

"No, other things happened." She knew exactly what he was talking about.

They were quiet for a few minutes. "I haven't gotten my period in 6 weeks." He looked at her face and then her hands. She had 6 fingers up, having just counted the weeks.

"Oops." Tristan smiled and leaned down to kiss her stomach.

"Do we have enough money for this, Tristan? I thought we agreed no more kids."

"We have plenty of money, plus my bonus this year will be hefty. As for the kids' part, we did but I think your body just stores my sperm for when an egg is dispatched. No other explanation for how many times I've gotten you pregnant. If you really are pregnant now, it will be absurd."

"9 times?" Tristan nodded. Over the years, she'd had 3 miscarriages early on in pregnancies. "Maybe we just have sex too much," she teased. He tackled her.

"No such thing." He lowered his face to hers and caught her lips on his.

They hadn't heard a thing from Jeremy since the one phone call 2 years before and they would never hear from him again. He was a thing of the past, a nightmare if you will. It was quite the journey to get where they are now. They had traveled many roads and paths to lead them to this point. It could have gone so many other ways, but luckily everything turned out for the best.

The group from high school still remained in touch with each other despite the years and the distance. Nick was a constant presence in their lives, bringing his own 3 children around often to play with their first cousins. Things were going well for everyone but if you put the time into the journey, your wanted destination will show itself no matter how untraveled the road is to get there.

A/N: Well, I think that's it. Horrible ending, but I was really at a loss as to what to do. I started this story at a very different point in my life and so much of it was no longer relevant for me.

As for the internet dating thing, I feel like I need to briefly address it. Some of the happiest couples I know met online. Even I met a boyfriend online, and even though it didn't work out, we still keep in touch. Just be careful. Take the time to get to know people before you let them into every part of your life. And always, always, always get help if he, or she, is demonstrating strange behavior or abuses you either emotionally or physically. You're worth the best.

Ok, getting off my pedestal now. Thank you SO SO much to everyone who has read this and who has stuck by me. I can't thank you guys enough. Love, Kiki 3