Chapter 6



He drove silently, his cold fingers gripping the steering wheel. They had only been driving for 10 minutes, and she had fallen asleep 5 minutes into it. He couldn't seem to get the look of shock on her face out of his mind, the way she felt pressed against him, shaking and crying. He had led her up to the car, and he had to pry her fingers away from his shirt as he went to grab the blanket from the trunk. Wrapped it around her, he had wondered if he should kiss her forehead, before letting her step inside the warmth of his car. His mother had done it to him many times before, to calm him, comfort him, but he wasn't sure it would be welcome. She might have been shaking from the cold, but he was shaking as well, from fear. It did nothing but calm his mind when he found her. His heart was still beating rapidly, his hands still shaking. He watched her as she laid her head against the window, wrapping the black blanket around her small frame and pulling her knees up to her chest. He hadn't said a word.

Mostly because words wouldn't come to him at the moment. He was glad she had falling asleep, now he didn't have to worry about comforting her, because he had no idea how to. He didn't have to worry about trying to be the strong male, because he had no idea if she would accept that. So, he just drove, glancing over at her ever so often to check if she was still sleeping and if the blanket was still tightly wrapped around her.

He wasn't sure how he was going to handle tonight. This afternoons thoughts still ran through his head. The way she had treated him, the way she had reacted. He wasn't willing to forgive her yet. The words and her actions still stung at his heart, and frankly he was embarrassed to be around her. It saddened him to think he actually regretted his actions around her, regretting ever letting his guard down, just for her. He'd made plenty of mistakes in his life, and this was just one more to add to that already full list. He was hurt, and he knew himself. His pride wouldn't let her get away with it. Forgiveness, even with her, would have to be earned.

"I guess that goes both ways." He said softly, gripping the steering wheel, ringing his hands around it nervously. He wished he could turn on the radio or something, anything to get out of the complete silence. He had never done well in silence. To others it could be completely relaxing and comforting, to him it was the exact opposite. Silence made him nervous. Bad things happened in the silence. Bad things could always happen in the silence.

Suddenly, a piercing cry tore through his car, and he jumped. Grabbing his chest with one hand, he sighed, releasing the tension from his body and reached for the still screaming cell phone beside him before it had a chance to wake Rory up.

"Tristan." He stated.

"It's me," The voice said. Tristan swallowed, wondering why they had to call him now. It had been months since he'd heard from them. "Look, we need you." The voice said, it's scratchy tone making Tristan wince slightly.

"I'm busy. I can't come. I won't come." Tristan spoke, his lips tight.

"Come on, you're one of my best. We need you. Don't make me remind you of how lucky you are..." The voice trailed off, the slight twinge of a threat lingering. "I haven't ask a favor of you in months, Tristan. You owe me." Tristan sighed and did his best to keep himself from slamming his fist down on the steering wheel. He glanced over at Rory. Pure innocence, he was sure of it. He tried to think of a day when he looked like that, completely untouched.

"I owe you shit, and you know that. You may think you're the ruler of this game but I know how to play too, so don't come calling me, threatening me. Don't try that with me, or I swear, you'll get fucked."

The voice on the other line laughed. A harsh, raspy, empty laugh of pure sickness. "You promise? Don't tease Tristan. Don't promise a fucking if you can't come through with it."

Tristan's lips curled up into a snarl, and he mentally counted to ten, knowing it wouldn't do any good. "Look, I'm through, all right? Take my number out of your book, and burn it. Don't call here again, don't expect me to show up. I did what I said I would, and that was it. This was a one time deal. Don't call again expecting more. You've gotten what you wanted."

"Tristan, Tristan, Tristan... Your father is a business man. You are in demand and there is a major profit to be made here. Just one more time, buddy. I promise. It's only an hour drive."

"Your promises are as good as shit to me. I said no. Don't call again." Tristan spat, his body shaking again. He ripped the phone away from his ear and turned it off, throwing it in the back-seat.

Mistakes always come back to haunt you, no matter how well your daddy manages to cover them up. Money never solves anything, Tristan knew that from a very young age. The more you give them to hush up, the more they seem to dig, and the more they want.

He glanced up at the road sign in front of him, thankful for that fact that he would soon be there and wouldn't have to be in the silence thinking for much longer.

Stars Hollow. Next Right

Slowing down, he realized he had been doing well over 70, and wondered what the speed limit around here was. He glanced over a Rory again, and felt a feeling he'd never felt towards her before. Jealously. He closed his eyes harshly for a slight moment, pushing thoughts that he didn't want to think of away, before turning on the road that would lead him to her home town.

Maybe, if only for just one night, he could be Tristan.


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She looked around the dark room again, trying her hardest to figure out how she had come about it. It looked the same as last night. Dark, brown walls. A deep, oak bookcase sat in the corner, completely empty of any books. The deep green walls were completely void of any pictures or paintings. There were no light switches, no outlet plugs. Just plain green walls. The oak desk beside the far wall sat alone, no chair and nothing scattered on top. Completely bare and empty. The plush green carpet felt cold and scratchy under her feet, and she wondered why her feet were bare in the first place.

Spotting the door, she made her way over to it. She trailed her shaking fingers over the cool service of the wood, shocked. There was no door handle, no key hole, no way out. It just looked like another part of the wall, a large brown piece of wood, perfectly sculpted and completely unused, laying between the dark green walls. She trailed her fingers over the small breaks between the door and the wall, finding no way to pry it open.

She turned, staring directly at the desk and found there to be no window in the room either. She ran a hand over her forehead, no completely surprised to find a cold sweat laying upon it. There was no way out, she was stuck.

"Rory..." The voice called from behind her, and she turned quickly.

"Dean?" She asked, her brow scrunched in confusion.

"You'll protect me, wont you?" He asked. He stood still, his hands connect in front of him, his eyes looking into hers, awaiting an answer. He was dressed just as he normally would have, and his face held the same, natural way he always held it. She starred at him for a moment. Since when did Dean talk like that?

"Protect you from what?" She asked, stepping towards him slightly. "Are you okay?" She asked. He dropped his head down, now starring at the ground.

"Rory..." Another voice called from behind her, the same tone Dean had used. She turned slowly, her eyes locked on Dean's form for as long as they could be before turning to the site in front of her.

"Tristan?" She cried. He stood, just as Dean had. His hands in front of him, connected.

"You'll protect me, won't you?" He asked.

"Protect you from what? Where are we? What's going on guys?" She turned quickly, trying to look at them both. They said nothing, just stood there, their heads now down.

"Answer me! What's going on!"

And as sudden as an earthquake, the room began to shake furiously. The empty bookcase in the corner didn't move though, nor did the desk. Now that she looked closely, nothing in the room was shaking except the floor, and the three standing on it.

"Answer me!" She cried, before being thrown down the shaking floor.


Rory awoke with a start, finding herself much too hot. She pried a hand out from underneath a massive blanket and pushed the hair that was sticking to her forehead away.

"You're awake?" A voice said beside her, causing her to jump.

"Huh?" She answered, and began looking around, her mind seeming to clear up slightly. She was in Tristan's car, wrapped tightly in a blanket, and her neck hurt furiously.

"We're almost there. Not even 5 minutes I'm sure." He said, glancing over at her again before turning his eyes back onto the road.

Sure enough, he was right. Looking out the window, she spotted the usual signs of her town and relaxed against the seat.

"Are you all right? I thought I heard you whimper, but the heater was going on so loudly, I wasn't sure."

She looked over at him and starred for a moment before shaking her head. "Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine, thanks."

"Bad dream?" Tristan asked.

"I'm not sure." She said, lowering her head and starring at her knees, her mind searching for pieces of the dream.

"You're not sure?" He asked, pulling the car into what looked like a completely full town. Lights were lit everywhere, and people were running around with their families smiling.

"Yeah...You know?" She said simply, wrinkling her forehead and she began pulling the blanket out from around her.

He laughed slightly, and she could tell it was slightly forced. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he parked the car.

"I'll help you look for your Mom. She should be here by now, right?" He asked, unbuckling himself and grabbing the blanket from her hands, throwing it into the back seat. She looked at it, crumpled on the floor of the car and nodded her head.

"Yeah. Yeah, thanks." She said. She opened the door and almost wished she still had the blanket wrapped around her. The cold weather hit her full on the face, quickly making her nose and ears cold. She heard the car lock and walked around to the front of it.

"As soon as we find her, I'm going to have to go. I promised my cousin I'd meet her here." He said, looking straight in front of him.

"That's fine." She said simply, and watched him nod his head.

"You sure you're all right?" He asked again, but she knew he meant more than just her dream. She pursed her lips nervously, slightly embarrassed and nodded her head.

"Thank you..." She whispered softly. He nodded his head quickly and turned, walking towards the fair. She had to jog to catch up to him.

"Christmas is a great time." She stated, doing her best to break the tension.

He shrugged his shoulder and looked at the little kids playing with their families. "Yeah, it's great."

He just didn't know where he'd be spending it this year.