Outside, SAC St. John was watching the scene unfold. He was carefully weighing his options. Dugrey seemed to be doing a great job of keeping Mendoza distracted, but how long could he last? The inn was cleared of all civilians and the agents gathered outside were anxious to resolve the hostage situation. The elder Gilmore had already been rescued from her house. Mendoza's man had been arrested and was presently cooling his heels in the custody of the FBI. But the most important objective was to ensure Rory Gilmore's safety. She was the key to the destruction of the biggest drug ring in Philly.
He looked at the floor plans of the inn. According to the surveillance cameras, Dugrey and Gilmore were being held on the first floor. Mendoza's other man was covering the door to the room. If agents were able to penetrate the building, they would have to take out the man outside the room without Mendoza's notice. He looked at his watch. They had been in there for nearly half an hour. He needed to act soon.
***
Inside, the room was filled with tension. Tristin mentally kicked himself. The point of that outpouring had been to distract Mendoza, not reveal his feelings to Rory. Not that it was a bad thing. But he hadn't wanted her to find out that way. It was neither the right place or time. Too late now.
Rory looked shell shocked. Tristin's words were beginning to sink in. She had no idea that he had felt that way about her for so long. She was touched. But damn! What a way to find out. He had to have the worst timing in the world. Way to tell me how you feel, she ranted internally. You couldn't have mentioned this earlier? Or maybe you were waiting for the funeral.
Tristin kept his gaze firmly on Mendoza, not daring to look at Rory. If they got out of this alive, she was going to kill him. But he had more important things to worry about at the moment.
Mendoza sensed the discomfort and saw the way that Rory and Tristin refused to look at each other. This was very interesting. Too bad he had to put both of them out of their misery. "I'm afraid time has run out. It really is time to finish this. If you have anything to say to each other, I suggest you say it now."
***
St. John listened with rapt attention. Time was up. He spoke quietly but left no room for argument. "Alright, boys. Here's your chance. We're going in."
***
Tristin spoke first. "Rory, I messed up. And I'm sorry. I messed up over a decade ago when we first met and I messed up right now by failing to protect you. I guess some things never change. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I'm sorry that I never really got a chance to know you as well as I would have liked to. But most of all, I'm sorry that I never acted on my feelings for you. Who knows what might have been? All I can say now is that if I die tonight, it'll be okay because I got to see you again."
Mendoza's attention was momentarily lost when he heard suspicious sounds coming from another part of the inn. As he turned to tell his guard to check it out, Tristin lifted his pant leg and pulled the spare gun from his ankle holster. He aimed it point blank at Mendoza. "Drop your weapon," he said in a dangerously low voice.
Mendoza was outraged that Tristin had somehow managed to hold onto a gun. He casually pointed a pistol at Rory. "No, I don't think so. You can't touch me. You need me to finger the higher ups."
Tristin watched in horror as Mendoza's finger moved to tighten on the trigger. Time seemed to slow as Tristin launched himself at Rory. "Get down!" he yelled.
Rory uttered a wordless shriek as a shot was fired and the full force of Tristin's body sent her sprawling to the ground. The next few moments seemed to stretch into a lifetime...a team of FBI agents wearing Kevlar vests knocked the door down. "FBI! Drop your weapons! Don't move!"...Mendoza's look of panic as he was shoved up against a wall and read his rights...Rory sitting up, dazed, as she looked at her bloodstained hands...the relief that engulfed her when she realized she wasn't hurt...the gut wrenching despair that immediately followed when she saw thick red blood oozing from a gun shot wound in Tristin's chest...the terror she felt when her eyes locked with a cloudy, murky gaze instead of the clear blue she was used to.
Time snapped back to normal as realization set in. Rory flew to Tristin, her eyes wild with panic. She propped his head up in her lap as she pressed the palm of her hand into his chest, applying pressure. He let out a painful moan. "Help!! I need help over here!" she cried desperately.
St. John rushed over. "Shit!! Agent down! I repeat, agent down! Send an ambulance!"
"Rory," Tristin whispered weakly. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm not the one you should be worried about," she said shakily.
"...Need to tell you something..."
"Not now," she pleaded. "Later."
"No," he whispered with more force. He could feel himself getting weaker and weaker as the blood flowed freely from his chest. He was getting lightheaded and he needed her to understand.
"You're going to be fine," Rory babbled on. She determinedly pressed harder, trying to diminish the flow of blood.
"I meant everything I said..." he whispered, ignoring her. "...love you...even if I die, I wouldn't change a thing...as long as you're okay," he trailed off.
Rory looked him straight in the eye. "You think I'd be okay without you? Think again. You're not going to die. I'm not going to let you. So don't even think about it."
-FLASH-
Tristin, sixteen again, backing her up against a locker her first day at Chilton.
-FLASH-
Tristin at the birthday party from hell. "Where's my birthday kiss?"
She pressed harder, with all her might.
-FLASH-
Tristin at the piano. "You are very odd, you know that?"
-FLASH-
Tristin in Government class. "Me either...I don't want to be King."
-FLASH-
Tristin walking dejectedly back into the hallways of Chilton as she and Dean reunited in the courtyard.
The EMTs arrived. They gently but efficiently lifted Tristin's body onto a stretcher. Rory mutely followed. The doors of the ambulance closed behind them. Rory heard two thumps on the closed doors, then the ambulance took off for Hartford General.
-FLASH-
Tristin at high school graduation, looking at her with an unidentifiable expression on his face, as she made her valedictory address.
-FLASH-
Tristin, confidently striding into the interrogation room, then coming to a dead halt when he saw her huddled there.
-FLASH-
Tristin walking into her bedroom, eyes as big as saucers, quickly turning his back, though not before she saw the expression in his eyes.
-FLASH-
Tristin laying on the floor, his blood staining her hands.
"You won't die," she said grimly. "You can't."
***
Rory paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. Tristin had been in surgery for over two hours. She was a wreck. He had to make it.
"Rory, sit down," Lorelai pleaded. "You're reminding me too much of the Energizer bunny."
Rory half smiled, grateful for her mother's attempts to distract her with humor. "I can't. Not until I know."
"C'mere," Lorelai said, patting the seat next to her. "Tell me about him."
Rory sat. Her head fell to the crook between her mother's neck and shoulder. Hot tears slowly trailed their way down her cheeks. "I love him," she whispered.
Lorelai gently smoothed Rory's hair away from her face and rubbed her back comfortingly. "Of course you do. And you'll have plenty of opportunities to tell him."
"Dear God, I hope so."
***
Doctor Silvester came striding out of surgery, an optimistic expression on his face. He approached Lorelai and Rory and warmly shook each of their hands. "Now we're not out of the woods yet," he warned. "But I have every reason to believe that Agent Dugrey will be up and running again very soon. We'll know for certain within the next twenty four hours."
"Can I see him?" Rory ventured.
"Of course, follow me, please."
Lorelai, sensing that Rory needed to see him alone, stayed behind in the waiting room. She gave her daughter a quick hug, then pushed her gently in the direction of Tristin's room. "Tell him."
***
Rory stood resolutely outside the door to Tristin's room. She took a deep breath to steady her racing heartbeat, then stepped over the threshold. He lay sleeping peacefully on the standard hospital bed. Rory pulled a chair over to his bedside and settled herself in. Then she took his hand, sandwiching it between hers. She raised it hesitantly to her lips and placed a gentle kiss on the palm of his hand. Then she began talking. "When we were in the cabin hiding from Mendoza, I wasn't scared. When you came to me and told me that he knew where we were and we had to leave, I wasn't scared. Even when he finally found me and held us hostage at the inn, I wasn't scared. Want to know why? Because you were with me. I meant what I said before. You are my rock. As long as you're with me, nothing can ever be wrong. When you took that bullet for me, when I saw the life leaking out of you, that was the first time since I went into hiding that I was truly frightened. I couldn't tell you this before, because I didn't even understand until now. But I'm telling you now. I love you. I'm not sorry that any of this happened, because some miracle, call it fate or destiny or divine intervention, brought you back into my life. I feel as if we've gotten a new lease on life. All we have to do now is take it. But we can't do that until I know that you're going to be okay. So I'm going to sit right here until you wake up. I'm not going anywhere."
***
Tristin blinked his eyes rapidly, as if seeing for the first time. He tried to sit up, but immediately stopped when he felt jolts of pain coursing through him. Where was he? It all came back in a flash. Rory! "Rory!" he croaked out. Where was she? He looked around him in a panic. He was in a hospital room. Good. That meant he wasn't dead...yet. He vaguely remembered riding in an ambulance...and Rory had been holding his hand. That meant that she wasn't dead either. He gingerly sat up and attempted to get out of bed. That's when he saw her. She was curled up in an uncomfortable looking hospital chair, her head resting on his bed.
As if she could feel his eyes on her, she suddenly sat up ramrod straight, immediately awake. Her eyes quickly found his. "You're awake..." she breathed. And then she smiled. A brilliant joyous smile that lit up her face. "You're awake!!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
"Hey, watch it," he teased. "I've been shot."
"Tristin Dugrey, human shield."
"That's me."
He was surprised when she leaned over and tenderly pressed her lips to his.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"
"Because I love you and I'm staying right here until you're well enough to walk out next to me."
"You promise?"
She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I promise."