Title: The Waiting Room
Summary: Tristan comes back to Chilton, creating an awkward situation for Rory and Dean. What event will drive Rory into Tristan's arms?
Pairings: R/D, R/T, L/L
Rating: As of now, PG-13
Genre: Romance/Humor
Spoilers: Tristan went to military school. Duh, you all know that. That's about it.
Disclaimer: Own nothing, don't sue.
Distribution: If you so choose, with my permission.
Author's Note: I'm glad you all are still reading after the long wait, and thanks for the great reviews! Don't yell at me for the Linkin Park stuff if you're a fan, okay?
Some of you might get the references I'm starting to put in this story, some of you won't. They amuse me, so I'm keeping them. I don't own the quotes. If you get them, tell me, and you'll get a prize. I don't know what. Maybe a pretty shirtless picture of CMM or something.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE WAITING ROOM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**********Chapter Eleven: Planning Day **********
"Our list so far," Tristan said, reading from the piece of paper he'd put Rory's suggestions on, "Sookie St. James?"
"Right. Good," Rory nodded.
"Luke Danes. The diner guy, right?"
"Right. It might be a tough interview, but I think he'll comply."
"Okay..Miss Patty?"
Rory giggled. "Yes."
"What?" Tristan asked, looking up from the paper, one eyebrow arched.
"Oh, nothing," Rory laughed again, anticipating the meeting between Tristan and Miss Patty.
Tristan shook his head in amusement and read the final name on the list, "Jess Mariano?"
"Yup," Rory nodded. "He'll lie and skirt the issue, but he's blessed and he knows it."
"Okay. Any other people you can think of that we should interview?"
Rory thought for a minute, "Yes. But no." At Tristan's puzzled look, she elaborated, "Dean."
"Right.anyone else?"
"We could do my mom, and maybe Kirk? Although I don't know if I want to torture him like that. Or us. Are cats, dance trophies, Animal Planet and living with your mother a blessing?"
"I really don't want to know," Tristan said. "So we do these interviews, and see if there's any blank spots?"
"Sounds good to me. I'll start looking for background music.how long is it supposed to be?"
"10 to 15 minutes, I believe."
"Okay.I can work that. I'll talk to Lane. Ooh!" Rory remembered, "We should interview her too."
"Lane?"
"My best friend, Lane Kim. Music junkie, she'd be able to help us think of some songs," Rory elaborated.
"Lane.Kim." Tristan wrote down. "Good." He glanced down at his thick Fossil watch and exclaimed, "I've got to go!"
"Why" Rory asked, surprised at her own disappointment. "It's only 3 in the afternoon!"
"Parent thing tonight," Tristan said, collecting his stuff and making sure to grab his camera.
"Well, okay," Rory said, surprised at the slight disappointment she felt.
"I'll call you later," Tristan said as he opened the door and jogged down the stairs and to his car, the camera shining in the sunlight.
Rory shut the door behind him and walked back into the family room. As she picked up the phone to call Lane, it rang in her hand.
"Hello?" She said into the cordless.
"I'm BOOOORED," Lorelai whined on the other end.
"Maybe you should be working," Rory said.
"But there isn't anything to do! Michel's handling the Barrister problem, Sookie's cooking, all the deliveries are set and I've got nothing to do!"
"Mom, you're the boss, can't you just leave if you don't have anything to do?" Rory asked.
There was silence on the other end, "Wow.."
"Oh no. What did I do?" Rory laughed.
"The world. It now makes sense! I'll home in fifteen," Lorelai said, and hung up.
Rory smiled and did the same, and ran to her room to change clothes, confident that the first words out of her mother's mouth would be-
"Luke's! Now!" Lorelai yelled as she came into the house. She didn't even remove her jacket or put down her purse, she just waited for Rory to grab hers and they set off towards Luke's.
They entered the bustling diner and grabbed two seats at the counter. As Luke emerged from the kitchen, he raised his eyebrows at Lorelai. "Shouldn't you be at work?" He asked.
"Rory enlightened me to the ways of the world," Lorelai said.
This pronouncement made absolutely no sense to Luke, so he just grabbed two coffee cups and gave them to the Gilmores.
"Jess, bring me the coffee pot!" Luke called to his nephew, who was filling the cups of a pair of Stars Hollow High students with a sour look on his face. The girl at the table, a dark-haired girl with an eyebrow ring, was chattering away, and the guy, who had a stud in his nose, was bobbing his head along to unheard music.
"Yes, please do," Lorelai whined, "Addicts need their fix over here!"
Jess came over quickly, poured the coffee, and whispered, "Thank you so much."
"Who are they?" Rory questioned, glancing over her shoulder at the two.
"'Punks'," Jess said, the quotations marks implied in his tone of voice. "They've suddenly decided that Jillian and I-"
"Ooh!" Rory interrupted, "They're 'Jillian and I'. It's so cute!"
Jess opted to ignore her and continued, "That we are their new leaders, and are consistently asking us to listen to bands they've discovered or are in and what they should pierce next."
"Sounds serious," Rory said.
"It is, that one," Jess said, gesturing slightly to the guy, "His favorite band is Linkin Park."
"I'm so sorry," Rory said sympathetically.
"It is."
"Linkin Park? Totally manufactured," Lorelai said helpfully, reciting information Lane had spewed during a tirade on the quality of today's music.
"Yep," Rory said. "Didn't write the lyrics or the music, didn't know each other before they became a band."
Jess sighed as the girl yelled for some fries, and walked over.
"Poor guy, " Rory said. "At least he's got Jillian," she giggled. "Let's go find her!"
"Good idea, but I'm too tired," Lorelai sighed, "All that work."
"But you didn't work very hard today, did you?"
"Totally irrelevant," Lorelai sighed. The two sat in silence for a moment, before she began to speak again, "Our lives are boring."
"Indeed," Rory nodded.
Luke came over to see if they wanted anything to eat, but at the look on the two's faces he changed his question to, "What're you doing?"
"Watching our barren lives pass us by..." Lorelai sighed, "Ooh. Look. A cockroach."
"Where?" Luke asked, alarmed.
"Nowhere," Rory said. "That would be interesting."
Luke stared at them in confusion, "Alright then."
They watched him walk away, and Lorelai's mood went from depressed to joyful, "Movie night?" She inquired.
"Sounds good!" Rory replied, and they ran out of the diner, leaving a bemused Luke.
Summary: Tristan comes back to Chilton, creating an awkward situation for Rory and Dean. What event will drive Rory into Tristan's arms?
Pairings: R/D, R/T, L/L
Rating: As of now, PG-13
Genre: Romance/Humor
Spoilers: Tristan went to military school. Duh, you all know that. That's about it.
Disclaimer: Own nothing, don't sue.
Distribution: If you so choose, with my permission.
Author's Note: I'm glad you all are still reading after the long wait, and thanks for the great reviews! Don't yell at me for the Linkin Park stuff if you're a fan, okay?
Some of you might get the references I'm starting to put in this story, some of you won't. They amuse me, so I'm keeping them. I don't own the quotes. If you get them, tell me, and you'll get a prize. I don't know what. Maybe a pretty shirtless picture of CMM or something.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE WAITING ROOM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**********Chapter Eleven: Planning Day **********
"Our list so far," Tristan said, reading from the piece of paper he'd put Rory's suggestions on, "Sookie St. James?"
"Right. Good," Rory nodded.
"Luke Danes. The diner guy, right?"
"Right. It might be a tough interview, but I think he'll comply."
"Okay..Miss Patty?"
Rory giggled. "Yes."
"What?" Tristan asked, looking up from the paper, one eyebrow arched.
"Oh, nothing," Rory laughed again, anticipating the meeting between Tristan and Miss Patty.
Tristan shook his head in amusement and read the final name on the list, "Jess Mariano?"
"Yup," Rory nodded. "He'll lie and skirt the issue, but he's blessed and he knows it."
"Okay. Any other people you can think of that we should interview?"
Rory thought for a minute, "Yes. But no." At Tristan's puzzled look, she elaborated, "Dean."
"Right.anyone else?"
"We could do my mom, and maybe Kirk? Although I don't know if I want to torture him like that. Or us. Are cats, dance trophies, Animal Planet and living with your mother a blessing?"
"I really don't want to know," Tristan said. "So we do these interviews, and see if there's any blank spots?"
"Sounds good to me. I'll start looking for background music.how long is it supposed to be?"
"10 to 15 minutes, I believe."
"Okay.I can work that. I'll talk to Lane. Ooh!" Rory remembered, "We should interview her too."
"Lane?"
"My best friend, Lane Kim. Music junkie, she'd be able to help us think of some songs," Rory elaborated.
"Lane.Kim." Tristan wrote down. "Good." He glanced down at his thick Fossil watch and exclaimed, "I've got to go!"
"Why" Rory asked, surprised at her own disappointment. "It's only 3 in the afternoon!"
"Parent thing tonight," Tristan said, collecting his stuff and making sure to grab his camera.
"Well, okay," Rory said, surprised at the slight disappointment she felt.
"I'll call you later," Tristan said as he opened the door and jogged down the stairs and to his car, the camera shining in the sunlight.
Rory shut the door behind him and walked back into the family room. As she picked up the phone to call Lane, it rang in her hand.
"Hello?" She said into the cordless.
"I'm BOOOORED," Lorelai whined on the other end.
"Maybe you should be working," Rory said.
"But there isn't anything to do! Michel's handling the Barrister problem, Sookie's cooking, all the deliveries are set and I've got nothing to do!"
"Mom, you're the boss, can't you just leave if you don't have anything to do?" Rory asked.
There was silence on the other end, "Wow.."
"Oh no. What did I do?" Rory laughed.
"The world. It now makes sense! I'll home in fifteen," Lorelai said, and hung up.
Rory smiled and did the same, and ran to her room to change clothes, confident that the first words out of her mother's mouth would be-
"Luke's! Now!" Lorelai yelled as she came into the house. She didn't even remove her jacket or put down her purse, she just waited for Rory to grab hers and they set off towards Luke's.
They entered the bustling diner and grabbed two seats at the counter. As Luke emerged from the kitchen, he raised his eyebrows at Lorelai. "Shouldn't you be at work?" He asked.
"Rory enlightened me to the ways of the world," Lorelai said.
This pronouncement made absolutely no sense to Luke, so he just grabbed two coffee cups and gave them to the Gilmores.
"Jess, bring me the coffee pot!" Luke called to his nephew, who was filling the cups of a pair of Stars Hollow High students with a sour look on his face. The girl at the table, a dark-haired girl with an eyebrow ring, was chattering away, and the guy, who had a stud in his nose, was bobbing his head along to unheard music.
"Yes, please do," Lorelai whined, "Addicts need their fix over here!"
Jess came over quickly, poured the coffee, and whispered, "Thank you so much."
"Who are they?" Rory questioned, glancing over her shoulder at the two.
"'Punks'," Jess said, the quotations marks implied in his tone of voice. "They've suddenly decided that Jillian and I-"
"Ooh!" Rory interrupted, "They're 'Jillian and I'. It's so cute!"
Jess opted to ignore her and continued, "That we are their new leaders, and are consistently asking us to listen to bands they've discovered or are in and what they should pierce next."
"Sounds serious," Rory said.
"It is, that one," Jess said, gesturing slightly to the guy, "His favorite band is Linkin Park."
"I'm so sorry," Rory said sympathetically.
"It is."
"Linkin Park? Totally manufactured," Lorelai said helpfully, reciting information Lane had spewed during a tirade on the quality of today's music.
"Yep," Rory said. "Didn't write the lyrics or the music, didn't know each other before they became a band."
Jess sighed as the girl yelled for some fries, and walked over.
"Poor guy, " Rory said. "At least he's got Jillian," she giggled. "Let's go find her!"
"Good idea, but I'm too tired," Lorelai sighed, "All that work."
"But you didn't work very hard today, did you?"
"Totally irrelevant," Lorelai sighed. The two sat in silence for a moment, before she began to speak again, "Our lives are boring."
"Indeed," Rory nodded.
Luke came over to see if they wanted anything to eat, but at the look on the two's faces he changed his question to, "What're you doing?"
"Watching our barren lives pass us by..." Lorelai sighed, "Ooh. Look. A cockroach."
"Where?" Luke asked, alarmed.
"Nowhere," Rory said. "That would be interesting."
Luke stared at them in confusion, "Alright then."
They watched him walk away, and Lorelai's mood went from depressed to joyful, "Movie night?" She inquired.
"Sounds good!" Rory replied, and they ran out of the diner, leaving a bemused Luke.