Author's Note: Okay, after much debate I have come up with a nickname, so
read on to find out! That, and the BIG decision that I talked about earlier
will be revealed in this chapter. Please be kind and review!
P.S.- Thank you to those of you who wished me good luck on my finals, I didn't think any of you actually would so it means a lot to me.
Chapter 10
"Hey, Tris! Happy birthday!" Rory greeted.
Tristan smiled.
"Hey. Wow, when you say 11 you really mean eleven don't you?" Tristan said as he looked down at his watch. It was eleven on the dot.
"Well, I figured, I could have been late but that would be too cruel considering the circumstances." Rory said gently.
"Thanks, so let's get going." he said enthusiastically, closing the door behind him.
They walked to the Jeep. "So," Tristan asked coyly, "where's my birthday present?"
"Oh, gee I forgot that part. Darn it all!" Rory said in mock disappointment.
"Well, I can think of ways you can make it up to me." he said wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
"I'm sure you can and yet, I'm not in a giving mood right now." Rory said thoughtfully, playing along.
"Oh, I'm hurt." Tristan joked as they got into the car.
"You'll get your gift. Eventually."
A few hours later…
"Okay Mare, I think I found the problem." Tristan said as he slammed the hood of the Jeep down. It was dark out and the only light came from the flashlight that Rory 'just happened to have.'
"Okay, what?" Rory asked.
"See, there's this thing called gas that is kind of necessary to ensure a properly functioning car." he said sarcastically.
"Well, how was I supposed to know we'd run out?" Rory asked. ~God, I deserve an Emmy for this~
"The little gauge, you know the one that was slowly pointing to empty. In fact I recall at least five times today that I asked you to stop and fill up on gas." he said sarcastically as he leaned up against the hood.
"Well, I thought we'd have enough to make it back home." Rory explained as she walked around the car and stood next to him.
"Okay," he said facing her, "what do you suggest we do now?"
"We'll walk into town, its not that far, should take us like twenty minutes."
"What about the Jeep?" Tristan asked gesturing to the car for emphasis.
Rory shrugged. "We'll head to Luke's and use his phone to call a tow truck." Rory started walking towards town as Tristan opened and closed his mouth at a loss for words. How could she just LEAVE a CAR behind!? "Coming?" Rory asked sweetly.
Tristan immediately replaced the confused look for his usual cool attitude and ran to catch up to her. "Ya know Mare, if you wanted to get me to walk with you, alone, in the dark, with no one around," he whispered into her ear, "you could have just asked."
"But that would take all the fun out of it." Rory said sarcastically.
Tristan was worried she was mad but relaxed when he saw her smiling. He returned the gesture.
"So, how has your birthday been so far DuGrey?" Rory asked. ~Fifteen minutes away~ she thought.
"Well all things considered, it's been great. I got to spend the day around town with a beautiful girl," Rory blushed at the comment, "who, in addiction to having great looks, has enough intelligence to hold a conversation."
"Definite change of pace for ya huh?" Rory teased.
"As a matter of fact yes." Tristan answered.
~Ten minutes!~ Rory could barely wait. She was beaming just at the thought of seeing his face light up.
"Well, you know, you're birthday isn't over yet." Rory reminded him.
"Oh no! What have you planned for me now? Let's see, there was the movie, the trip to the mall, making fun of those overly obsessive teeny boppers at the music store…"
"I'm laughing just thinking about that!" Rory interrupted.
Tristan continued. "There was the game of tag in the park, something very un-DuGrey like I must say…"
"Wouldn't want to ruin your image." Rory noted jokingly.
"The countless stops for coffee."
"Hey, it's just as necessary as oxygen!"
"Yeah, yeah." Tristan looked over enjoyed the look on her face. She was happy, genuinely happy…with him. ~Man, things change.~ he commented silently.
"I have to say, that this has been the happiest day of my life." he said as they entered town.
~Why is it so dark?~
"Well, its gonna get better." Rory whispered.
"What do you mean? And why is it so dark?" Tristan asked looking around blindly in the night.
"Let's just say, this is my birthday present to you."
"What, being alone in the dark with me?" he said seductively in her ear.
"No," she whispered as his voice sent shivers down her spine, "my gift to you is giving you something your parents should have."
He looked at her in confusion barely able to make out her face in the near darkness save the flashlight. As if on cue every light in Stars Hollow came back on.
"SURPRISE!!!" came a tremendous shout.
Tristan nearly stumbled back from the shock. In front of his eyes stood the entire population of Stars Hollow. There were strings of lights covering everything, not an inch was spared, Lorelai's handiwork of course. Blue and white streamers started at the gazebo but were strung outward giving a slight tent effect. A large banner hung from two trees saying "Happy Birthday Tristan!" in blue letters. There were tables of food filled with delights that looked too good to eat, Sookie had gone overboard despite Rory's request not to, and there in the center of it all, a dance floor. It looked much like Lorelai's engagement party, she had even suggested purple as a main color because of her fondness for the color but Rory had put her foot down on that one claiming that blue would be a better choice. It looked like a dream. He was trying to register what was happening in his mind.
"Happy birthday Tristan." Rory whispered as the town came up to meet the two.
Tristan was speechless, all he could do was give her his famous smile as the town surrounded them. She returned the smile and took a few steps back to blend with the crowd
"Happy birthday doll!" Babette shouted as she threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Such a handsome young man, Happy Birthday Tristan!" Miss Patty greeted by placing a kiss on his cheek.
"Hey kid, Happy Birthday." Luke said giving him a pat on the back then taking a step back to let others say their greetings.
Luke, Lorelai, and Rory watched from a short distance as the town showered him with their well wishes. Slowly Jess and Lane joined them in watching. Henry stood behind the crowd a bit, unsure and nervous about greeting Tristan. A few other Chiltonites had already gone up and said hello to Tristan, a shock to him to say the least, but Henry just watched.
"Okay, everyone! Let's get this party started by digging in to this huge and expensive dinner that Sookie made for us!" Lorelai shouted at the top of her lungs.
The crowd slowly dispersed and headed towards the table, ready to start the evening off right. Rory went over to Henry.
"Don't be afraid." she whispered taking his arm and leading him to Tristan who was hugging Paris.
"Hi Paris." Rory greeted the blond who let go and gave a small smile in return.
"Happy birthday, Tris." Henry said quietly.
"Henry." Tristan breathed.
"We'll leave you alone." Rory said quickly. She nodded her head towards Paris and the two set off towards the buffet lines.
Once the two girls were out of earshot Henry spoke.
"How are you doing?" he asked mentally cursing himself for sounding so lame.
"Pretty good I guess. So, I heard you're going out with Lane now." Tristan said shifting his weight from one foot to another in nervousness, though he didn't know why. DuGrey's don't get nervous.
"Yeah, I few months now."
"Good."
There was an awkward silence between the two.
"I'm sorry." they said simultaneously. They both let out a few laughs.
"Look," they both started again.
"You go first." Henry offered.
"Thanks, listen, Hen, I'm so sorry about these past two years. I don't know what happened." he said sadly.
"We grew apart. It's understandable."
"Yeah, but it's not acceptable. Henry, you're the only one who I know was my friend for me, not for my image."
Henry nodded. "It's not all your fault. A good part of it is mine."
"Well, I'm willing to fix things if you are?" Tristan asked hopefully holding out his hand.
"Hey, friends for life." Henry took the hand. They laughed again and hugged.
Henry nodded his head towards the party, "Let's go party!"
Tristan smiled. "So what are you doing here? What are Jake and Callie and all of our old friends doing here? How did they know?"
"Rory." Henry said as they got to the end of the food line and starting piling their plates. "She planned everything."
"Really?"
"Yeah, by yesterday she was ready to pass out from exhaustion, in fact she did. She wanted me to be here and to bring a few Chiltonites, but not the evil ones as she called them."
"That sounds like Rory." Tristan laughed.
He looked over and saw her sitting at a table with Lane, Jess, Lorelai, and Luke. Emily and Richard sat next to Lorelai looking surprisingly like they were having a good time. Paris sat on the on the other side of Rory, cracking smile every now and then. Finally to fill the last two seats of the table were Sookie and Jackson. They were all laughing about something. It brought a smile to his face when she put her head down in laughter and then looked back up, tossing her hair over her shoulder in the process.
"Tris, come on!" Henry called.
Tristan snapped out of his stupor and followed Henry to their table. He was slightly disappointed to see that they weren't sitting at Rory's table but instead were with his old friends.
"Rory set it up this way." Henry whispered. "She wanted you to get reacquainted with us."
"What do you mean?" Tristan asked, faking confusion.
"DuGrey, I know what you're thinking. I may not have hung around you for the last two years but I've known you since kindergarten." Henry answered.
Tristan laughed and shook his head. After a half an hour of talk and food they moved on to dessert. The tables had been forgotten and now guests just carried around their after dinner delights in order to mingle. Tristan had yet to cross paths with Rory.
'Hey, wonder boy."
"Hey, Jess." Tristan said turning around to find the owner of the voice.
"Have a seat." Jess said gesturing to the bench behind him. They both sat down enjoying the cake Sookie had made. "Having a good time?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, this is amazing. Rory is unbelievable." Tristan answered between bites.
"Agreed."
"How did she rope the whole town into this?" Tristan asked amazed.
Jess laughed. "Because she is heir to the throne, the current princess of Stars Hollow. You're dealing with royalty here pal."
"What?!" Tristan exclaimed curiously.
"Well, it's a well known fact that the town practically centers around the Gilmore Girls. They have the entire population wrapped around their coffee grabbing fingers."
"Okay, continue."
"Well Lorelai is like the official queen of Stars Hollow and Rory is next in line."
"Who's king, Luke?"
"Well yes, by fear only. Although soon it will be official," he added quietly, "See, Taylor thinks he rules the town but Luke, Lorelai, and Rory are above the law so to speak."
Tristan shook his head in amusement. "Small town politics."
"Yup, crazy, especially this town."
"Wouldn't have it any other way though. So, Rory just asked everyone if they wanted to throw me a party?"
"Basically. She brought a few of us into it to plan but she pretty much did it by herself. She even calculated how much driving she would have to do to make sure you guys ran out of gas just outside of town."
"Oh man," Tristan snorted, "I almost forgot about that. She planned that?!"
"Planned what?" Rory said coming up behind them.
"Nothing Mare." Tristan assured her.
Rory opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when they heard Lorelai's voice. She stood in the center of it all, talking through Kirk's bullhorn.
"Bring out the pony!" she squealed happily.
"Oh no! How did she sneak that by me?" Rory sighed heading in that direction. Tristan and Jess followed a few steps behind her.
"Water polo anyone?" Lorelai asked.
Rory took off in order to save the innocent pony from her mother's crazy schemes.
"Lane was right, you do throw some interesting parties." Tristan mused.
It had been an hour since Rory had called up the trainers to take the pony away much to Lorelai's chagrin. The party was in full swing and nearly half the female population had approached Tristan to dance. Luke looked over at Lorelai. To him she looked heavenly with one cup of coffee in her hand as she talked with her mother. The night brought out a good side to everyone that night so instead of fighting the mother and daughter were having a pleasant conversation. Luke hated to pull Lorelai away but after a reassuring wink from Richard, who knew and approved of the proposal, he approached the women.
"Excuse me Mrs. Gilmore but could I possibly steal your daughter away for the moment?" he asked politely.
"Well of course Luke." Emily answered pleasantly.
"What is this about?" Lorelai asked as Luke pulled her up to the gazebo, grabbing a mike from the band along the way.
"You'll see." he whispered softly in her ear. Turning back towards the crowd Luke spoke into the mike.
"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Everyone stopped what he or she were doing and crowded around the gazebo. Rory and Jess stood in front giving each other excited looks. Once everyone was silent he continued.
"Thank you. Okay this is for Lorelai but I thought that maybe you would want to hear it to since I know this town and I know it's better to hear something in person than from the gossip hotline." There were a few laughs and then Luke turned to Lorelai. "Lorelai, I have loved you since I could remember. You drove me nuts with your crazy schemes and unhealthy coffee obsession but I loved you. It nearly crushed me when you almost married Max because I thought I had lost you. I thought it was too late and I kicked myself for not telling you my feelings sooner. There was only one person who I loved besides you, and that was Rachel. As much as I hate to admit it, she made me afraid of falling in love. That's why I tried to make myself hate the idea of marriage. But being with you made me see that marriage is not a bureaucratic civil ceremony, and it's not about signing our lives away and sticking ourselves in little boxes. I meant what I said before about people growing and evolving, the only difference now is that I want to grow, with you." Lorelai and a few other women in the crowd were crying at this point. "What I'm trying to say is, I love you, more than I could possible express. Lorelai Gilmore," he began getting down on one knee and pulling out the ring, "will you marry me?"
Lorelai let out a sob and fell to her knees in front of him. "You wanna be ducks?" she asked in a childlike voice.
"What?" Luke asked getting worried that she was trying to change the subject.
"That day, when you said all those things about marriage you said that humans weren't supposed to mate for life with the exception of ducks, and I quote you said 'who the hell cares what ducks do?' So are you asking me to be your duck?" she asked in the same voice.
Luke laughed. "Yes Lorelai."
"Aw, you wanna be ducks!" she said in a teary voice.
"So, Lorelai Gilmore, will you be my duck?" he asked with a nervous smile.
She let out a happy squeal and threw her arms around his neck.
"Is that a yes?" he asked laughing.
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Quack, quack!"
Luke wiped away a tear of his own as he slipped the ring onto her finger. She wiped away her own and pulled him in for a kiss. Rory and Jess hugged excitedly before running up the steps of the gazebo and hugging the two adults who had finally pulled back from the kiss.
"I'm going to get married!" Lorelai squealed as she hugged her daughter and jumped down to hug Sookie.
'Lorelai, are you going to go through with it this time?" Emily said with a stern look on her face.
Lorelai tensed up slightly. "Yes." she said bravely.
Emily broke into a smile and hugged her daughter. "Good."
When the two Gilmores pulled back Emily had tears running down her face.
After much celebrating and congratulating everyone calmed down enough for the band to play a slow song in honor of the recently engaged couple. As Luke and Lorelai took the floor Tristan walked over to Rory.
"So, I take it you knew what Luke was planning?" Tristan asked her as he sat down on a bench beside her.
"Yeah, for the past few days. Jess and I knew but were sworn to secrecy. The only other person who knew was my Grandpa." Rory looked dreamily over at her "parents". "They make each other so happy."
Tristan looked at her. "I haven't had a dance with my Mary yet."
"Is that a request, DuGrey?" Rory asked coyly.
"Only if the answer is yes. If not then this conversation never happened."
Rory just stood up and walked towards the floor. "Coming?"
Tristan smiled and walked over. Then he pulled her closer to his body, as her arms wrapped around his neck his snaked around her waist.
"So have you thought of a nickname yet?" Tristan asked as they slowly swayed to the music.
"Actually, yes. After a lot of thought and consideration I have thought of an appropriate nickname for you."
"Well?" he asked waiting for her to say it. "I'm dying of curiosity,"
"Okay, well, at first I thought, how about Romeo, it kind of fits what with you being the ladies man and all," she pulled back to see his rich boy smirk, "but then I thought, your ego is big enough without me calling you that."
"Okay." Tristan said flirtatiously.
"Then I thought, what about Joey?"
"Joey?"
"Yeah, short for Joseph. You know Mary and Joseph, but then I thought, no I need to think of something more creative than Bible references."
"Okay so what did you choose?"
"Mac." Rory announced proudly.
"Mac?!" Tristan asked confused. "Where did you get that from?"
"From the Irish god of youth, beauty, and love."
"Really, tell me more about this guy." Tristan said interested.
"Well, he had a harp that made irresistible music and he had this fairy palace called a brugh located on the banks of the Boyne River."
"Really? I'm liking the sound of that."
"It gets better. His kisses turned into birds that carried messages of love."
"Okay, okay." Tristan said nodding in approval.
"His full name is Angus Mac Og which means "young son." I didn't like the idea of calling you Angus so instead I settled on the second best thing, Mac." Rory finished happily.
" Genius. I actually like the name, you definitely did your research."
"Yeah, well. I wanted something that described you perfectly. I'm taking a risk here because that is also very ego boosting. It's basically another way of saying Romeo."
"Yeah but this one doesn't carry the connotations that Romeo does." Tristan pointed out.
"Hm, well noted. So happy?" Rory asked hopefully.
"Definitely. Mac and Mary it is."
They were silent for a few seconds.
"Hey Ror?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you." he said sincerely.
"For what?"
"For all of this. The party and for fixing things with Henry and I. Not to mention all my other old friends. You didn't have to do this, I didn't give you any reason and yet, you did. How can I repay you?"
"How about you stop being when Evil Tristan I'm around?"
Tristan laughed. "Deal."
"Are you mad that no one else from Chilton came?" Rory asked biting her lip.
"No, I'm relieved actually. Without them around I was able to act like myself. Besides could you imagine them coming here?!"
"No, but people will surprise you." she said resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes.
"Hey Mary? Thanks again." Tristan said gently.
"You're welcome, Mac." she replied.
"Call it." Jess said looking over at Tristan and Rory.
"7:45 PM, Stars Hollow officially adopts Tristan DuGrey." Lane said with a smile as she snuggled deeper into Henry's embrace.
"Want to dance?" Henry offered. Lane nodded and they joined the other couples on the dance floor.
Jess looked around, he was now alone. Then a certain blond caught his eye.
"Care to dance?" Jess asked. Seeing her skeptical face he continued. "Just a dance, nothing more."
"Okay, sure." Paris answered.
Lorelai and Luke stayed on the floor as the one song ended and another slow song followed.
"I can't believe how magical this place looks. It's like a dream." Lorelai sighed happily.
"I love you." Luke said looking in her eyes.
"I love you too." she replied.
"Hey, look over there." Luke said pointing her to Rory and Tristan.
"They like each other." Lorelai mused.
"Yup." Luke agreed.
"How do you know?" Lorelai asked.
"Because of the way he looks at her. It's the same look I had when I first met you. It's the look you wear when you love someone but you're trying to convince yourself not to love them."
"You didn't want to love me?" Lorelai asked.
"I didn't want to get hurt." he answered quietly.
"Same here." Lorelai agreed. "You can tell she likes him, she wouldn't have gone through all of this for someone she doesn't like."
Lorelai's eyes suddenly went wide with excitement.
"Oh no. What are you planning?" Luke asked tiredly.
"They like each other right? It's obvious they belong together so…"
"So?" Luke asked irritably.
"We're going to set them up." Lorelai finished proudly.
Luke began to object but decided against it. "Okay, sure. No use in arguing."
"Yay! This is why I love you!" she exclaimed giving him a kiss.
Luke just nodded and smiled.
"Hey Luke?" Lorelai said in her childlike voice again.
She gave him a pleading look and he knew that whatever it was there was no way he could refuse.
"Yes? What do you want?" he asked. Time stopped around them as the music and happy voices faded away. All he saw was Lorelai. He couldn't believe how much she had changed him, how much he loved her, how much he wanted to marry her. She looked at him with a mischievous grin. That only meant that she wanted one thing…
"Coffee please?"
THE END!!!
IMPORTANT: Thank you all! I wanted to write about the inn and the rest of the party but I felt like this was a good place to end it. Yes that is the end but I'll tell you why. By the time I figured out what I wanted to do, the story was already have over and had somehow developed a plot on its own, so instead of combining two stories into one I wrote a sequel. So FIVE REVEIWS by today at 8 o'clock PM, that's 11 for ya'll on the east coast and I post the sequel tomorrow. TEN REVIEWS by then and I post tonight! So that was my important decision, please respect it. I hope that ya'll didn't mind the nickname. I'm sorry that nobody officially won but I just didn't see anything that really got my attention. Oh well, please review!
P.S.- Thank you to those of you who wished me good luck on my finals, I didn't think any of you actually would so it means a lot to me.
Chapter 10
"Hey, Tris! Happy birthday!" Rory greeted.
Tristan smiled.
"Hey. Wow, when you say 11 you really mean eleven don't you?" Tristan said as he looked down at his watch. It was eleven on the dot.
"Well, I figured, I could have been late but that would be too cruel considering the circumstances." Rory said gently.
"Thanks, so let's get going." he said enthusiastically, closing the door behind him.
They walked to the Jeep. "So," Tristan asked coyly, "where's my birthday present?"
"Oh, gee I forgot that part. Darn it all!" Rory said in mock disappointment.
"Well, I can think of ways you can make it up to me." he said wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
"I'm sure you can and yet, I'm not in a giving mood right now." Rory said thoughtfully, playing along.
"Oh, I'm hurt." Tristan joked as they got into the car.
"You'll get your gift. Eventually."
A few hours later…
"Okay Mare, I think I found the problem." Tristan said as he slammed the hood of the Jeep down. It was dark out and the only light came from the flashlight that Rory 'just happened to have.'
"Okay, what?" Rory asked.
"See, there's this thing called gas that is kind of necessary to ensure a properly functioning car." he said sarcastically.
"Well, how was I supposed to know we'd run out?" Rory asked. ~God, I deserve an Emmy for this~
"The little gauge, you know the one that was slowly pointing to empty. In fact I recall at least five times today that I asked you to stop and fill up on gas." he said sarcastically as he leaned up against the hood.
"Well, I thought we'd have enough to make it back home." Rory explained as she walked around the car and stood next to him.
"Okay," he said facing her, "what do you suggest we do now?"
"We'll walk into town, its not that far, should take us like twenty minutes."
"What about the Jeep?" Tristan asked gesturing to the car for emphasis.
Rory shrugged. "We'll head to Luke's and use his phone to call a tow truck." Rory started walking towards town as Tristan opened and closed his mouth at a loss for words. How could she just LEAVE a CAR behind!? "Coming?" Rory asked sweetly.
Tristan immediately replaced the confused look for his usual cool attitude and ran to catch up to her. "Ya know Mare, if you wanted to get me to walk with you, alone, in the dark, with no one around," he whispered into her ear, "you could have just asked."
"But that would take all the fun out of it." Rory said sarcastically.
Tristan was worried she was mad but relaxed when he saw her smiling. He returned the gesture.
"So, how has your birthday been so far DuGrey?" Rory asked. ~Fifteen minutes away~ she thought.
"Well all things considered, it's been great. I got to spend the day around town with a beautiful girl," Rory blushed at the comment, "who, in addiction to having great looks, has enough intelligence to hold a conversation."
"Definite change of pace for ya huh?" Rory teased.
"As a matter of fact yes." Tristan answered.
~Ten minutes!~ Rory could barely wait. She was beaming just at the thought of seeing his face light up.
"Well, you know, you're birthday isn't over yet." Rory reminded him.
"Oh no! What have you planned for me now? Let's see, there was the movie, the trip to the mall, making fun of those overly obsessive teeny boppers at the music store…"
"I'm laughing just thinking about that!" Rory interrupted.
Tristan continued. "There was the game of tag in the park, something very un-DuGrey like I must say…"
"Wouldn't want to ruin your image." Rory noted jokingly.
"The countless stops for coffee."
"Hey, it's just as necessary as oxygen!"
"Yeah, yeah." Tristan looked over enjoyed the look on her face. She was happy, genuinely happy…with him. ~Man, things change.~ he commented silently.
"I have to say, that this has been the happiest day of my life." he said as they entered town.
~Why is it so dark?~
"Well, its gonna get better." Rory whispered.
"What do you mean? And why is it so dark?" Tristan asked looking around blindly in the night.
"Let's just say, this is my birthday present to you."
"What, being alone in the dark with me?" he said seductively in her ear.
"No," she whispered as his voice sent shivers down her spine, "my gift to you is giving you something your parents should have."
He looked at her in confusion barely able to make out her face in the near darkness save the flashlight. As if on cue every light in Stars Hollow came back on.
"SURPRISE!!!" came a tremendous shout.
Tristan nearly stumbled back from the shock. In front of his eyes stood the entire population of Stars Hollow. There were strings of lights covering everything, not an inch was spared, Lorelai's handiwork of course. Blue and white streamers started at the gazebo but were strung outward giving a slight tent effect. A large banner hung from two trees saying "Happy Birthday Tristan!" in blue letters. There were tables of food filled with delights that looked too good to eat, Sookie had gone overboard despite Rory's request not to, and there in the center of it all, a dance floor. It looked much like Lorelai's engagement party, she had even suggested purple as a main color because of her fondness for the color but Rory had put her foot down on that one claiming that blue would be a better choice. It looked like a dream. He was trying to register what was happening in his mind.
"Happy birthday Tristan." Rory whispered as the town came up to meet the two.
Tristan was speechless, all he could do was give her his famous smile as the town surrounded them. She returned the smile and took a few steps back to blend with the crowd
"Happy birthday doll!" Babette shouted as she threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Such a handsome young man, Happy Birthday Tristan!" Miss Patty greeted by placing a kiss on his cheek.
"Hey kid, Happy Birthday." Luke said giving him a pat on the back then taking a step back to let others say their greetings.
Luke, Lorelai, and Rory watched from a short distance as the town showered him with their well wishes. Slowly Jess and Lane joined them in watching. Henry stood behind the crowd a bit, unsure and nervous about greeting Tristan. A few other Chiltonites had already gone up and said hello to Tristan, a shock to him to say the least, but Henry just watched.
"Okay, everyone! Let's get this party started by digging in to this huge and expensive dinner that Sookie made for us!" Lorelai shouted at the top of her lungs.
The crowd slowly dispersed and headed towards the table, ready to start the evening off right. Rory went over to Henry.
"Don't be afraid." she whispered taking his arm and leading him to Tristan who was hugging Paris.
"Hi Paris." Rory greeted the blond who let go and gave a small smile in return.
"Happy birthday, Tris." Henry said quietly.
"Henry." Tristan breathed.
"We'll leave you alone." Rory said quickly. She nodded her head towards Paris and the two set off towards the buffet lines.
Once the two girls were out of earshot Henry spoke.
"How are you doing?" he asked mentally cursing himself for sounding so lame.
"Pretty good I guess. So, I heard you're going out with Lane now." Tristan said shifting his weight from one foot to another in nervousness, though he didn't know why. DuGrey's don't get nervous.
"Yeah, I few months now."
"Good."
There was an awkward silence between the two.
"I'm sorry." they said simultaneously. They both let out a few laughs.
"Look," they both started again.
"You go first." Henry offered.
"Thanks, listen, Hen, I'm so sorry about these past two years. I don't know what happened." he said sadly.
"We grew apart. It's understandable."
"Yeah, but it's not acceptable. Henry, you're the only one who I know was my friend for me, not for my image."
Henry nodded. "It's not all your fault. A good part of it is mine."
"Well, I'm willing to fix things if you are?" Tristan asked hopefully holding out his hand.
"Hey, friends for life." Henry took the hand. They laughed again and hugged.
Henry nodded his head towards the party, "Let's go party!"
Tristan smiled. "So what are you doing here? What are Jake and Callie and all of our old friends doing here? How did they know?"
"Rory." Henry said as they got to the end of the food line and starting piling their plates. "She planned everything."
"Really?"
"Yeah, by yesterday she was ready to pass out from exhaustion, in fact she did. She wanted me to be here and to bring a few Chiltonites, but not the evil ones as she called them."
"That sounds like Rory." Tristan laughed.
He looked over and saw her sitting at a table with Lane, Jess, Lorelai, and Luke. Emily and Richard sat next to Lorelai looking surprisingly like they were having a good time. Paris sat on the on the other side of Rory, cracking smile every now and then. Finally to fill the last two seats of the table were Sookie and Jackson. They were all laughing about something. It brought a smile to his face when she put her head down in laughter and then looked back up, tossing her hair over her shoulder in the process.
"Tris, come on!" Henry called.
Tristan snapped out of his stupor and followed Henry to their table. He was slightly disappointed to see that they weren't sitting at Rory's table but instead were with his old friends.
"Rory set it up this way." Henry whispered. "She wanted you to get reacquainted with us."
"What do you mean?" Tristan asked, faking confusion.
"DuGrey, I know what you're thinking. I may not have hung around you for the last two years but I've known you since kindergarten." Henry answered.
Tristan laughed and shook his head. After a half an hour of talk and food they moved on to dessert. The tables had been forgotten and now guests just carried around their after dinner delights in order to mingle. Tristan had yet to cross paths with Rory.
'Hey, wonder boy."
"Hey, Jess." Tristan said turning around to find the owner of the voice.
"Have a seat." Jess said gesturing to the bench behind him. They both sat down enjoying the cake Sookie had made. "Having a good time?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, this is amazing. Rory is unbelievable." Tristan answered between bites.
"Agreed."
"How did she rope the whole town into this?" Tristan asked amazed.
Jess laughed. "Because she is heir to the throne, the current princess of Stars Hollow. You're dealing with royalty here pal."
"What?!" Tristan exclaimed curiously.
"Well, it's a well known fact that the town practically centers around the Gilmore Girls. They have the entire population wrapped around their coffee grabbing fingers."
"Okay, continue."
"Well Lorelai is like the official queen of Stars Hollow and Rory is next in line."
"Who's king, Luke?"
"Well yes, by fear only. Although soon it will be official," he added quietly, "See, Taylor thinks he rules the town but Luke, Lorelai, and Rory are above the law so to speak."
Tristan shook his head in amusement. "Small town politics."
"Yup, crazy, especially this town."
"Wouldn't have it any other way though. So, Rory just asked everyone if they wanted to throw me a party?"
"Basically. She brought a few of us into it to plan but she pretty much did it by herself. She even calculated how much driving she would have to do to make sure you guys ran out of gas just outside of town."
"Oh man," Tristan snorted, "I almost forgot about that. She planned that?!"
"Planned what?" Rory said coming up behind them.
"Nothing Mare." Tristan assured her.
Rory opened her mouth to reply but was cut off when they heard Lorelai's voice. She stood in the center of it all, talking through Kirk's bullhorn.
"Bring out the pony!" she squealed happily.
"Oh no! How did she sneak that by me?" Rory sighed heading in that direction. Tristan and Jess followed a few steps behind her.
"Water polo anyone?" Lorelai asked.
Rory took off in order to save the innocent pony from her mother's crazy schemes.
"Lane was right, you do throw some interesting parties." Tristan mused.
It had been an hour since Rory had called up the trainers to take the pony away much to Lorelai's chagrin. The party was in full swing and nearly half the female population had approached Tristan to dance. Luke looked over at Lorelai. To him she looked heavenly with one cup of coffee in her hand as she talked with her mother. The night brought out a good side to everyone that night so instead of fighting the mother and daughter were having a pleasant conversation. Luke hated to pull Lorelai away but after a reassuring wink from Richard, who knew and approved of the proposal, he approached the women.
"Excuse me Mrs. Gilmore but could I possibly steal your daughter away for the moment?" he asked politely.
"Well of course Luke." Emily answered pleasantly.
"What is this about?" Lorelai asked as Luke pulled her up to the gazebo, grabbing a mike from the band along the way.
"You'll see." he whispered softly in her ear. Turning back towards the crowd Luke spoke into the mike.
"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Everyone stopped what he or she were doing and crowded around the gazebo. Rory and Jess stood in front giving each other excited looks. Once everyone was silent he continued.
"Thank you. Okay this is for Lorelai but I thought that maybe you would want to hear it to since I know this town and I know it's better to hear something in person than from the gossip hotline." There were a few laughs and then Luke turned to Lorelai. "Lorelai, I have loved you since I could remember. You drove me nuts with your crazy schemes and unhealthy coffee obsession but I loved you. It nearly crushed me when you almost married Max because I thought I had lost you. I thought it was too late and I kicked myself for not telling you my feelings sooner. There was only one person who I loved besides you, and that was Rachel. As much as I hate to admit it, she made me afraid of falling in love. That's why I tried to make myself hate the idea of marriage. But being with you made me see that marriage is not a bureaucratic civil ceremony, and it's not about signing our lives away and sticking ourselves in little boxes. I meant what I said before about people growing and evolving, the only difference now is that I want to grow, with you." Lorelai and a few other women in the crowd were crying at this point. "What I'm trying to say is, I love you, more than I could possible express. Lorelai Gilmore," he began getting down on one knee and pulling out the ring, "will you marry me?"
Lorelai let out a sob and fell to her knees in front of him. "You wanna be ducks?" she asked in a childlike voice.
"What?" Luke asked getting worried that she was trying to change the subject.
"That day, when you said all those things about marriage you said that humans weren't supposed to mate for life with the exception of ducks, and I quote you said 'who the hell cares what ducks do?' So are you asking me to be your duck?" she asked in the same voice.
Luke laughed. "Yes Lorelai."
"Aw, you wanna be ducks!" she said in a teary voice.
"So, Lorelai Gilmore, will you be my duck?" he asked with a nervous smile.
She let out a happy squeal and threw her arms around his neck.
"Is that a yes?" he asked laughing.
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Quack, quack!"
Luke wiped away a tear of his own as he slipped the ring onto her finger. She wiped away her own and pulled him in for a kiss. Rory and Jess hugged excitedly before running up the steps of the gazebo and hugging the two adults who had finally pulled back from the kiss.
"I'm going to get married!" Lorelai squealed as she hugged her daughter and jumped down to hug Sookie.
'Lorelai, are you going to go through with it this time?" Emily said with a stern look on her face.
Lorelai tensed up slightly. "Yes." she said bravely.
Emily broke into a smile and hugged her daughter. "Good."
When the two Gilmores pulled back Emily had tears running down her face.
After much celebrating and congratulating everyone calmed down enough for the band to play a slow song in honor of the recently engaged couple. As Luke and Lorelai took the floor Tristan walked over to Rory.
"So, I take it you knew what Luke was planning?" Tristan asked her as he sat down on a bench beside her.
"Yeah, for the past few days. Jess and I knew but were sworn to secrecy. The only other person who knew was my Grandpa." Rory looked dreamily over at her "parents". "They make each other so happy."
Tristan looked at her. "I haven't had a dance with my Mary yet."
"Is that a request, DuGrey?" Rory asked coyly.
"Only if the answer is yes. If not then this conversation never happened."
Rory just stood up and walked towards the floor. "Coming?"
Tristan smiled and walked over. Then he pulled her closer to his body, as her arms wrapped around his neck his snaked around her waist.
"So have you thought of a nickname yet?" Tristan asked as they slowly swayed to the music.
"Actually, yes. After a lot of thought and consideration I have thought of an appropriate nickname for you."
"Well?" he asked waiting for her to say it. "I'm dying of curiosity,"
"Okay, well, at first I thought, how about Romeo, it kind of fits what with you being the ladies man and all," she pulled back to see his rich boy smirk, "but then I thought, your ego is big enough without me calling you that."
"Okay." Tristan said flirtatiously.
"Then I thought, what about Joey?"
"Joey?"
"Yeah, short for Joseph. You know Mary and Joseph, but then I thought, no I need to think of something more creative than Bible references."
"Okay so what did you choose?"
"Mac." Rory announced proudly.
"Mac?!" Tristan asked confused. "Where did you get that from?"
"From the Irish god of youth, beauty, and love."
"Really, tell me more about this guy." Tristan said interested.
"Well, he had a harp that made irresistible music and he had this fairy palace called a brugh located on the banks of the Boyne River."
"Really? I'm liking the sound of that."
"It gets better. His kisses turned into birds that carried messages of love."
"Okay, okay." Tristan said nodding in approval.
"His full name is Angus Mac Og which means "young son." I didn't like the idea of calling you Angus so instead I settled on the second best thing, Mac." Rory finished happily.
" Genius. I actually like the name, you definitely did your research."
"Yeah, well. I wanted something that described you perfectly. I'm taking a risk here because that is also very ego boosting. It's basically another way of saying Romeo."
"Yeah but this one doesn't carry the connotations that Romeo does." Tristan pointed out.
"Hm, well noted. So happy?" Rory asked hopefully.
"Definitely. Mac and Mary it is."
They were silent for a few seconds.
"Hey Ror?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you." he said sincerely.
"For what?"
"For all of this. The party and for fixing things with Henry and I. Not to mention all my other old friends. You didn't have to do this, I didn't give you any reason and yet, you did. How can I repay you?"
"How about you stop being when Evil Tristan I'm around?"
Tristan laughed. "Deal."
"Are you mad that no one else from Chilton came?" Rory asked biting her lip.
"No, I'm relieved actually. Without them around I was able to act like myself. Besides could you imagine them coming here?!"
"No, but people will surprise you." she said resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes.
"Hey Mary? Thanks again." Tristan said gently.
"You're welcome, Mac." she replied.
"Call it." Jess said looking over at Tristan and Rory.
"7:45 PM, Stars Hollow officially adopts Tristan DuGrey." Lane said with a smile as she snuggled deeper into Henry's embrace.
"Want to dance?" Henry offered. Lane nodded and they joined the other couples on the dance floor.
Jess looked around, he was now alone. Then a certain blond caught his eye.
"Care to dance?" Jess asked. Seeing her skeptical face he continued. "Just a dance, nothing more."
"Okay, sure." Paris answered.
Lorelai and Luke stayed on the floor as the one song ended and another slow song followed.
"I can't believe how magical this place looks. It's like a dream." Lorelai sighed happily.
"I love you." Luke said looking in her eyes.
"I love you too." she replied.
"Hey, look over there." Luke said pointing her to Rory and Tristan.
"They like each other." Lorelai mused.
"Yup." Luke agreed.
"How do you know?" Lorelai asked.
"Because of the way he looks at her. It's the same look I had when I first met you. It's the look you wear when you love someone but you're trying to convince yourself not to love them."
"You didn't want to love me?" Lorelai asked.
"I didn't want to get hurt." he answered quietly.
"Same here." Lorelai agreed. "You can tell she likes him, she wouldn't have gone through all of this for someone she doesn't like."
Lorelai's eyes suddenly went wide with excitement.
"Oh no. What are you planning?" Luke asked tiredly.
"They like each other right? It's obvious they belong together so…"
"So?" Luke asked irritably.
"We're going to set them up." Lorelai finished proudly.
Luke began to object but decided against it. "Okay, sure. No use in arguing."
"Yay! This is why I love you!" she exclaimed giving him a kiss.
Luke just nodded and smiled.
"Hey Luke?" Lorelai said in her childlike voice again.
She gave him a pleading look and he knew that whatever it was there was no way he could refuse.
"Yes? What do you want?" he asked. Time stopped around them as the music and happy voices faded away. All he saw was Lorelai. He couldn't believe how much she had changed him, how much he loved her, how much he wanted to marry her. She looked at him with a mischievous grin. That only meant that she wanted one thing…
"Coffee please?"
THE END!!!
IMPORTANT: Thank you all! I wanted to write about the inn and the rest of the party but I felt like this was a good place to end it. Yes that is the end but I'll tell you why. By the time I figured out what I wanted to do, the story was already have over and had somehow developed a plot on its own, so instead of combining two stories into one I wrote a sequel. So FIVE REVEIWS by today at 8 o'clock PM, that's 11 for ya'll on the east coast and I post the sequel tomorrow. TEN REVIEWS by then and I post tonight! So that was my important decision, please respect it. I hope that ya'll didn't mind the nickname. I'm sorry that nobody officially won but I just didn't see anything that really got my attention. Oh well, please review!
