"So I was visiting Tristan yesterday," Paris stated. Rory looked up from
the book that she was reading to see Paris standing in front of her, one
hand on her hip and the other supporting a pile of schoolbooks.
"Oh! That's nice," Rory said, sincerely. "I am sure that he appreciates it." She placed the book that she had been reading on the bench beside her and tugged off her earphones.
"Yes, I am sure that he does. He mentioned that you had been by to see him several times," Paris spat, icily.
Rory scrunched her brow. "Actually only twice. I'm sorry, have I done something to offend you?"
"So is that your plan now? You going to try to win him over while he is weak in the hospital. That's classic," Paris accused.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you are talking about."
"This is just the opportunity that you have been waiting for isn't it? Make him think that you are all sweet by coming to visit him everyday. What? Do you think that by being nice to him it will make him fall in love with you or something? Make him come to the conclusion that you are not the pathetic being that you have been pegged as?"
Rory help up her hands in surrender, "Paris, I thought we had been through this before. I don't like Tristan. You can have him. Really."
"Then why have you gone to see him so often?"
"First of all, I have only gone to see him twice. Secondly," Rory held up two fingers, "I went to see him because I was concerned about him. I went back the second time because he asked me to."
"I think that you are trying to get him to like you by playing nurse."
"You do realize that you are making no sense, right. I mean, nothing that has come out of your mouth in the last two minutes has even resembled any sort of rational thought."
"Deny it if you want Gilmore, but I know that you want him. Too bad that you can never have him."
"I don't want him Paris!" Rory began to gather her things together, putting her stuff into her book bag. She stood up to leave, "If you will excuse me, I don't feel like continuing this conversation." Rory left the bench and began walking towards the school, planning on spending the rest of her lunch period in the library.
"I'm onto you Rory." Paris said, following closely behind her.
"Has anyone mentioned lately that you are seriously deranged? Go away Paris, stop following me." Rory hurried the rest of the way to the entrance, leaving Paris standing alone, gawking at her.
"What is going on with people?" Thought Rory. First Dean exploded, then Paris. Granted, Paris getting sensitive and defiant over an issue was not an uncommon occurrence but still… Was there some sort of chemical leak that was making everyone hypersensitive? Maybe it was something in the water.
Finding the library to be virtually empty Rory settled down into one of the overstuffed chairs at the back. As soon as she had pulled her book out of her bag the bell signaling that lunch was over rang. "Argh…" groaned Rory in frustration. After shoving her book back into her bag Rory stood with an exaggerated sigh. "Chemistry," she thought, "perfect."
****
"Hi!" Rory was cheerfully greeted as she walked into Tristan's hospital room. Tristan was sitting up in his bed, his leg out of traction. What Rory noticed the most was the grin that was on his face, something that she hadn't seen in a while. He looked good, she thought. His cheeks had color in them that they didn't before. Even the pale yellow of his hospital gown didn't wash him out.
Placing her bag on the ground beside the door Rory turned to Tristan, smiling. "Hello to you too."
"Guess what?" Tristan said to Rory while she was pulling her chair closer to his bed.
"What?" she asked, playing along. The stupid grin had not left Tristan's face.
"Two things actually. One- tomorrow my bandages come off." Tristan held up his bandaged hands. "Two- to celebrate I have convinced the nurses to let me out of here for a while."
"Really?"
"Yes, they said that if you came today we could take a walk around the hospital grounds. Granted, you would actually be pushing me in a wheelchair, but it still means that I get to get out of here!" Tristan hopped up and down in his bed the best that he could. Rory had to laugh along with him.
"Okay, do you want me to go get the nurses? It's a pretty day outside. It will be nice to walk around for a while." Rory stood to leave the room.
"Nah, it's okay," Rory sat back down. "I can get them in here pretty quickly." Pursing his lips Tristan let out a shrill whistle.
Rory stared in mock disbelief. "Can you really be that obnoxious?"
"Hey," Tristan said, shrugging his shoulders, "A man's got to find a way to get what he needs. You know, just the essentials."
Rory was rolling her eyes at Tristan's cockiness when a nurse entered. Not Nurse Gertrude, Rory observed.
"You whistled?" The nurse asked sarcastically, making Rory smile.
"Yes," Tristan answered, ignoring the sarcasm in her voice. "I am ready to go outside now. Could you get me the wheel chair, please?"
"Sure, just a moment." The nurse disappeared into the hallway for a moment before returning, pushing a wheel chair. "Now, this might take a while, so you have to be patient. Do you think that you can handle that?"
Rory smirked. Obviously this nurse had Tristan pegged. "Yes," countered Tristan. "Patience is my middle name." Winking at Rory he added, "Along with devilishly handsome."
"Devil is right…" Rory muttered, before joining the nurse to help Tristan out of the bed. With very little help from Tristan, the Rory and the nurse finally got him situated comfortably in the wheel chair. Afraid that he might be cold, Rory grabbed two blankets from the bed; one to cover his legs and the other to wrap around him. Tristan smiled at the gesture.
"Now," said Tristan, referring to the transfer from the bed to the wheelchair. "That wasn't so bad was it?" Both the nurse and Rory groaned under their breaths. "I didn't think so. Ready to go Mary?" After a few quick instructions from the nurse and a warning to be careful Rory and Tristan set off towards the elevator.
******
After walking around the grounds for almost an hour, Rory convinced Tristan that they should find a bench so that she could sit down.
"Fine," he said, then continued with his story. He had been talking almost the entire afternoon, which suited Rory just fine. Finally they found a bench which Rory, after securing the brakes on the wheelchair, collapsed upon.
"So then John looked at Brian and was like, "I didn't put that there you idiot!" To which Brian replied," Tristan noticed that his audience wasn't paying him any attention. "Rory… hey Rory," he said, poking her with his bandaged hand.
"Huh? What?" Rory was shaken from her thoughts.
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, Mary. You stopped paying attention to me at the good part of the story." Tristan grinned obnoxiously.
"Oh," said Rory, rubbing her eyes, trying to seem interested. "What happened?"
Tristan looked at her concerned. "What up Rory?"
"Nothing, sorry I just spaced out for a minute, that's all." Rory tried to assure him by offering a small smile. "Please… continue with your story."
Tristan refused to be fooled by her act. "No… there is something wrong. You have been unusually quiet today? Normally I can't shut you up. What gives?"
"Maybe the fact that you have been unusually chatty today," Rory replied. "I just wanted to give you the chance to talk, that's all."
"I don't believe you."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"There is something wrong. Come on Rory… tell me what it is. Uncle Tristan can help."
Rory raised an eyebrow. "Uncle Tristan?" She questioned.
Tristan sighed. "Come on Rory, I am trying to be supportive. Cut me a little slack, I haven't done this very often."
"Obviously," Rory jabbed, but smiling.
"So…" he pried, gently. "What's going on?"
Rory shrugged her shoulders. "I just had a long day that's all. And a run in with Paris. I am just really tired. Sorry… I don't mean to be rude."
"You're not being rude. I understand." The took sat in silence for a moment before Tristan asked, "What happened with Paris?"
"Oh, it was nothing. I don't know why I let it bother me." Rory tried to brush the issue of with a wave of her hand.
"What happened?"
"Why are you so pushy today?"
"Why are you so closed off today?"
"Tristan, I told you. It was nothing." Seeing him raise and eyebrow and knowing that he wasn't going to give up before she spilled everything, Rory relented. "Fine. Actually, it was about you."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. She accused me not being able to stay away from you and of coming to visit you to "get in on your good side" or something like that."
"Aw," Tristan covered his heart with his bandaged hand. "You to had an argument about little ole me?"
"Forget it," Rory said, standing up. "I knew I shouldn't talk to you about this. You can't be serious."
"Wait, Rory. Sit down. I will be serious I promise." Rory stared at him questioningly before relenting.
"Do you think that?" She asked.
"Do I think that you are trying to visit me to get in on my good side?" Rory nodded her head. Tristan shook his head. "No. I think that you are visiting me because you are a very nice person who is worried about me."
"That's what I told Paris but she wouldn't believe me. The girl is really hung up over you Tristan, it's quite sad." Tristan nodded his agreement.
"Rory, don't listen to anything that Paris says. That girl has her hair pulled back a little to tight from her head. She can get delusional sometimes, believe me. I have been dealing with it since kindergarten." Rory chuckled softly. The two sat in silence for a moment. "We should probably be getting back up to my room. Nurse Patty will probably send out the patrol to look for me."
Rory stood up and began to fidget with Tristan's wheelchair, trying to get it ready for travel. "Is that the nurse that I met today?"
"Yeah. She's not very nice to me. I haven't been able to win her over with my charms yet."
"I knew that I liked her." Rory began to push Tristan along the brick path.
"Cute. Hey Rory?"
"Yeah?"
"Although I agree with you that Paris is a little crazy, I think that she was right about one thing."
"What's that?"
"You can't stay away from me, can you?" The cheeky grin that had greeted Rory returned to Tristan's face.
Rory rolled her eyes. "Hey Tristan?"
"Yeah?"
"See those trees over there?" Rory pointed to a small grove of trees one the side of the path. When Tristan nodded in response, Rory asked, "You want me to accidentally send you zooming into them?"
"I'll shut up now."
"What a good idea." Rory and Tristan shared a laugh and walked the rest of the way to Tristan's room in a comfortable silence.
"My bandages come off tomorrow," Tristan told Rory as she was getting ready to leave.
"I know, you told me when I came in this afternoon." Rory walked over to stand by his bed. The nurse had already come to help him back into bed, and he was seated with the blanket pulled over his lap.
"Will you come tomorrow?"
He looked so hopeful that Rory hated to disappoint him. "I can't, I have newspaper tomorrow. If Paris found out I skipped newspaper to come and see you I would really be in for it!"
Though Tristan chuckled, Rory could see the disappointment in his eyes. "But I can come by the next day."
"Oh, that's good. Only if you can, you know." Tristan leaned back against his pillows.
"Well, I need to get going. My mother will skin me alive if I am not home in time to watch "Ally McBeal" with her." Instinctively Rory leaned down to give Tristan a kiss on his cheek. Pausing at his ear she whispered, "I promise I will come." Quickly kissing him on his cheek, Rory turned to leave the room.
Tristan sighed as she left the room, and looked down to his hands. "Tomorrow…" he thought.
"Oh! That's nice," Rory said, sincerely. "I am sure that he appreciates it." She placed the book that she had been reading on the bench beside her and tugged off her earphones.
"Yes, I am sure that he does. He mentioned that you had been by to see him several times," Paris spat, icily.
Rory scrunched her brow. "Actually only twice. I'm sorry, have I done something to offend you?"
"So is that your plan now? You going to try to win him over while he is weak in the hospital. That's classic," Paris accused.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't know what you are talking about."
"This is just the opportunity that you have been waiting for isn't it? Make him think that you are all sweet by coming to visit him everyday. What? Do you think that by being nice to him it will make him fall in love with you or something? Make him come to the conclusion that you are not the pathetic being that you have been pegged as?"
Rory help up her hands in surrender, "Paris, I thought we had been through this before. I don't like Tristan. You can have him. Really."
"Then why have you gone to see him so often?"
"First of all, I have only gone to see him twice. Secondly," Rory held up two fingers, "I went to see him because I was concerned about him. I went back the second time because he asked me to."
"I think that you are trying to get him to like you by playing nurse."
"You do realize that you are making no sense, right. I mean, nothing that has come out of your mouth in the last two minutes has even resembled any sort of rational thought."
"Deny it if you want Gilmore, but I know that you want him. Too bad that you can never have him."
"I don't want him Paris!" Rory began to gather her things together, putting her stuff into her book bag. She stood up to leave, "If you will excuse me, I don't feel like continuing this conversation." Rory left the bench and began walking towards the school, planning on spending the rest of her lunch period in the library.
"I'm onto you Rory." Paris said, following closely behind her.
"Has anyone mentioned lately that you are seriously deranged? Go away Paris, stop following me." Rory hurried the rest of the way to the entrance, leaving Paris standing alone, gawking at her.
"What is going on with people?" Thought Rory. First Dean exploded, then Paris. Granted, Paris getting sensitive and defiant over an issue was not an uncommon occurrence but still… Was there some sort of chemical leak that was making everyone hypersensitive? Maybe it was something in the water.
Finding the library to be virtually empty Rory settled down into one of the overstuffed chairs at the back. As soon as she had pulled her book out of her bag the bell signaling that lunch was over rang. "Argh…" groaned Rory in frustration. After shoving her book back into her bag Rory stood with an exaggerated sigh. "Chemistry," she thought, "perfect."
****
"Hi!" Rory was cheerfully greeted as she walked into Tristan's hospital room. Tristan was sitting up in his bed, his leg out of traction. What Rory noticed the most was the grin that was on his face, something that she hadn't seen in a while. He looked good, she thought. His cheeks had color in them that they didn't before. Even the pale yellow of his hospital gown didn't wash him out.
Placing her bag on the ground beside the door Rory turned to Tristan, smiling. "Hello to you too."
"Guess what?" Tristan said to Rory while she was pulling her chair closer to his bed.
"What?" she asked, playing along. The stupid grin had not left Tristan's face.
"Two things actually. One- tomorrow my bandages come off." Tristan held up his bandaged hands. "Two- to celebrate I have convinced the nurses to let me out of here for a while."
"Really?"
"Yes, they said that if you came today we could take a walk around the hospital grounds. Granted, you would actually be pushing me in a wheelchair, but it still means that I get to get out of here!" Tristan hopped up and down in his bed the best that he could. Rory had to laugh along with him.
"Okay, do you want me to go get the nurses? It's a pretty day outside. It will be nice to walk around for a while." Rory stood to leave the room.
"Nah, it's okay," Rory sat back down. "I can get them in here pretty quickly." Pursing his lips Tristan let out a shrill whistle.
Rory stared in mock disbelief. "Can you really be that obnoxious?"
"Hey," Tristan said, shrugging his shoulders, "A man's got to find a way to get what he needs. You know, just the essentials."
Rory was rolling her eyes at Tristan's cockiness when a nurse entered. Not Nurse Gertrude, Rory observed.
"You whistled?" The nurse asked sarcastically, making Rory smile.
"Yes," Tristan answered, ignoring the sarcasm in her voice. "I am ready to go outside now. Could you get me the wheel chair, please?"
"Sure, just a moment." The nurse disappeared into the hallway for a moment before returning, pushing a wheel chair. "Now, this might take a while, so you have to be patient. Do you think that you can handle that?"
Rory smirked. Obviously this nurse had Tristan pegged. "Yes," countered Tristan. "Patience is my middle name." Winking at Rory he added, "Along with devilishly handsome."
"Devil is right…" Rory muttered, before joining the nurse to help Tristan out of the bed. With very little help from Tristan, the Rory and the nurse finally got him situated comfortably in the wheel chair. Afraid that he might be cold, Rory grabbed two blankets from the bed; one to cover his legs and the other to wrap around him. Tristan smiled at the gesture.
"Now," said Tristan, referring to the transfer from the bed to the wheelchair. "That wasn't so bad was it?" Both the nurse and Rory groaned under their breaths. "I didn't think so. Ready to go Mary?" After a few quick instructions from the nurse and a warning to be careful Rory and Tristan set off towards the elevator.
******
After walking around the grounds for almost an hour, Rory convinced Tristan that they should find a bench so that she could sit down.
"Fine," he said, then continued with his story. He had been talking almost the entire afternoon, which suited Rory just fine. Finally they found a bench which Rory, after securing the brakes on the wheelchair, collapsed upon.
"So then John looked at Brian and was like, "I didn't put that there you idiot!" To which Brian replied," Tristan noticed that his audience wasn't paying him any attention. "Rory… hey Rory," he said, poking her with his bandaged hand.
"Huh? What?" Rory was shaken from her thoughts.
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, Mary. You stopped paying attention to me at the good part of the story." Tristan grinned obnoxiously.
"Oh," said Rory, rubbing her eyes, trying to seem interested. "What happened?"
Tristan looked at her concerned. "What up Rory?"
"Nothing, sorry I just spaced out for a minute, that's all." Rory tried to assure him by offering a small smile. "Please… continue with your story."
Tristan refused to be fooled by her act. "No… there is something wrong. You have been unusually quiet today? Normally I can't shut you up. What gives?"
"Maybe the fact that you have been unusually chatty today," Rory replied. "I just wanted to give you the chance to talk, that's all."
"I don't believe you."
"Why am I not surprised?"
"There is something wrong. Come on Rory… tell me what it is. Uncle Tristan can help."
Rory raised an eyebrow. "Uncle Tristan?" She questioned.
Tristan sighed. "Come on Rory, I am trying to be supportive. Cut me a little slack, I haven't done this very often."
"Obviously," Rory jabbed, but smiling.
"So…" he pried, gently. "What's going on?"
Rory shrugged her shoulders. "I just had a long day that's all. And a run in with Paris. I am just really tired. Sorry… I don't mean to be rude."
"You're not being rude. I understand." The took sat in silence for a moment before Tristan asked, "What happened with Paris?"
"Oh, it was nothing. I don't know why I let it bother me." Rory tried to brush the issue of with a wave of her hand.
"What happened?"
"Why are you so pushy today?"
"Why are you so closed off today?"
"Tristan, I told you. It was nothing." Seeing him raise and eyebrow and knowing that he wasn't going to give up before she spilled everything, Rory relented. "Fine. Actually, it was about you."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. She accused me not being able to stay away from you and of coming to visit you to "get in on your good side" or something like that."
"Aw," Tristan covered his heart with his bandaged hand. "You to had an argument about little ole me?"
"Forget it," Rory said, standing up. "I knew I shouldn't talk to you about this. You can't be serious."
"Wait, Rory. Sit down. I will be serious I promise." Rory stared at him questioningly before relenting.
"Do you think that?" She asked.
"Do I think that you are trying to visit me to get in on my good side?" Rory nodded her head. Tristan shook his head. "No. I think that you are visiting me because you are a very nice person who is worried about me."
"That's what I told Paris but she wouldn't believe me. The girl is really hung up over you Tristan, it's quite sad." Tristan nodded his agreement.
"Rory, don't listen to anything that Paris says. That girl has her hair pulled back a little to tight from her head. She can get delusional sometimes, believe me. I have been dealing with it since kindergarten." Rory chuckled softly. The two sat in silence for a moment. "We should probably be getting back up to my room. Nurse Patty will probably send out the patrol to look for me."
Rory stood up and began to fidget with Tristan's wheelchair, trying to get it ready for travel. "Is that the nurse that I met today?"
"Yeah. She's not very nice to me. I haven't been able to win her over with my charms yet."
"I knew that I liked her." Rory began to push Tristan along the brick path.
"Cute. Hey Rory?"
"Yeah?"
"Although I agree with you that Paris is a little crazy, I think that she was right about one thing."
"What's that?"
"You can't stay away from me, can you?" The cheeky grin that had greeted Rory returned to Tristan's face.
Rory rolled her eyes. "Hey Tristan?"
"Yeah?"
"See those trees over there?" Rory pointed to a small grove of trees one the side of the path. When Tristan nodded in response, Rory asked, "You want me to accidentally send you zooming into them?"
"I'll shut up now."
"What a good idea." Rory and Tristan shared a laugh and walked the rest of the way to Tristan's room in a comfortable silence.
"My bandages come off tomorrow," Tristan told Rory as she was getting ready to leave.
"I know, you told me when I came in this afternoon." Rory walked over to stand by his bed. The nurse had already come to help him back into bed, and he was seated with the blanket pulled over his lap.
"Will you come tomorrow?"
He looked so hopeful that Rory hated to disappoint him. "I can't, I have newspaper tomorrow. If Paris found out I skipped newspaper to come and see you I would really be in for it!"
Though Tristan chuckled, Rory could see the disappointment in his eyes. "But I can come by the next day."
"Oh, that's good. Only if you can, you know." Tristan leaned back against his pillows.
"Well, I need to get going. My mother will skin me alive if I am not home in time to watch "Ally McBeal" with her." Instinctively Rory leaned down to give Tristan a kiss on his cheek. Pausing at his ear she whispered, "I promise I will come." Quickly kissing him on his cheek, Rory turned to leave the room.
Tristan sighed as she left the room, and looked down to his hands. "Tomorrow…" he thought.