The song is Lady - by Kenny Rogers
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rory got into her car. It was dark outside and she was all-alone. She felt light headed, like it wasn't even her body getting into the car. She started to drive. It was too fast, somewhere deep in her mind she knew it was too fast, but she didn't care, couldn't. Something was happening. She tried to fight out of the mist in her brain, but it kept dragging her back into the delirious images of her mind. She couldn't see. Her car was going faster and faster. She couldn't keep control. It swerved, but stayed on the road. The headlights popped up out of nowhere. She heard a deafening bang. And all she saw was white. She was lost in the snowy darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rory woke up sweating. A scream on the tip of her tongue. She was breathing hard, couldn't get it back to normal. The dream seemed so real. As if it was a forgotten memory. Was it? Oh God. It couldn't be.could it? Then as if on queue the accident flashed in her mind. It had happened Rory thought. She had been driving fast and lightheaded. Why was she light headed? Nothing was clear.
She looked over at the clock. It was 3 am. She was afraid to fall asleep. What if she had the same dream? Oh, how was she supposed to stay awake when she was exhausted? One word flashed in her mind. Tristan. Before thinking about it she picked up her phone and dialed his cell phone number.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tristan was having wonderful dreams. Pictures of Rory flashed through his mind. He could see himself and Rory dancing. Something was playing in the background, but what he couldn't tell, though it was lovely. Suddenly there was a buzzing sound all around them. 'Go away' Tristan moaned. But the buzzing continued. 'shoot!' when he rolled to get the phone he fell off the bed. He searched through his dirty clothes until he found his phone in the pants pocket of one of his discarded pairs. 'hello?' 'hey Tristan.' Rory said with a smile. She knew how hard it was for Tristan to get up. They have had many late night talks. 'Did you fall off the bed AGAIN!?' Laughing she sat up in bed.
'Yeah' He sounded embarrassed. 'What's up?' Tristan got back onto the bed and turned on his light.
'I remembered' Rory put her hands over her face and cried.
He sat for a moment not saying anything. Then as if out of nowhere he said 'Want to tell me about it?' And she did want to. But.she couldn't, not yet.
'No, not now..I want to hear about Tristan, talk me back to sleep.' She yawned and laid back down. 'please' she added.
'Sure.' Thinking about what to say he got up and grabbed a scrapbook. Inside were his memories. 'When I was little' he started 'I use to be a pain, what kid didn't. One day I thought it would be funny if I hid on my nanny. Rosa was a lovely woman. She had jet-black hair and the greenest eyes that you could ever imagine. She was very tiny, barely 5 feet. Rosa got scared easily. I didn't know it then, but she really made me.' He stared down at the picture of the woman he called mother, even if she wasn't blood. 'Anyway, I was 7 years old. I thought I was the big man. I wanted to terrify her. So I left. It was the best thing I have ever done. It took them a few hours to find me, and when they did, I was yelled at, and hugged. It was the first time my parents sat down with me and actually talked like they knew me. It was all because of Rosa. She yelled and begged them to find me, because she would have no part in it. I was their child, she was the nanny. It broke her heart. I noticed. She was the first person to love me, to believe in me. On my 12th birthday Rosa left because her family was sick. I've looked, but I've never found her again.' Tristan turned the page and saw him and Rosa just before she left. They were walking down a dirt road in the fall. Their backs were to the camera and they were holding hands.
Tears were falling silently down Rory's face. She cried for the boy, she cried for the woman. 'Tell me something else.'
'Alright.' Tristan searched his memory for an interesting story. 'I'll tell you what happened at military school.' He tensed up. Never in his life did he think it would happen to him, and he thought he was finished telling his story. 'It was about a year after I went when it happened. It was said that they liked us to be settled before they did it. Every time we did something wrong, or didn't do as well on a test of a drill, we would be taken out back and beaten, then thrown in a little room. Every person was so scared. It took awhile for someone to come forward and tell their story, but when they did, the entire operation came crashing down.' He didn't add that it was him. He told his parents and they believed him. That was a miracle. He thought he would never get their trust back. But he did. He thought he would never see Rory again, but he did. His luck has been turning around nicely.
'Oh Tristan.' She was angry. Not at Tristan, but at those people. You couldn't even call them people. They were animals.
They didn't say anything from then an. They just lay with the phones up to their ear and listened to each others breathing until Rory fell asleep, Tristan never did.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
'darling' I know you missed me b-u-t..you're squishing our baby!' Lorelei breathed a sigh of relief when Luke released the death grip he had around her waist. 'I love you' she whispered.
'I love you to' Luke whispered back. He smiled. 'Rory's upstairs sleeping.' He watched Lorelei's retreating back before he turned to greet Emily. 'Emily, it's good to see you again.' Throwing caution to the wind, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.
Emily was thrown back. It wasn't often she was given that much thought. She kind of liked it though. Showing a rare sign of affection Emily wrapped her arms around Luke's neck.
'That's enough kids' this was coming from Richard who just came through the living room door. Luke and Emily separated. He started to walk towards them. 'I missed you Emily.' He simply said and went upstairs.
She was thrilled. He never said things like 'I missed you'. Things were changing she could feel it. There was only one way to deal with it. Change right along with it. Her family was being pulled together by bad and good circumstances.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lorelei tiptoed into Rory's room. When she saw the phone on her chest..she didn't know what to think, so she went over to her, and took it off her chest.
'Hello? Is this a phone sex line? Cause if it is, I'm gunna come over there and tie your balls to a lamppost!' Lorelei's voice grew steadily louder with every word she said. When she got no answer she decided to go on. 'Hey buddy! Why don't you go find a girl your own a-g-e?' Still no answer. 'Look buddy, I've had enough of your silence, I warned ya, now.I'm comin' to get ya.' She heard a low groan from the other end. A sleepy voice spoke on the other end.
'Rory, are you awake?' Tristan rubbed his sleepy eyes.
'Tristan?' Then the little light bulb in her brain clicked on. Tristan and Rory...it made sense. 'Hey, what are you doing on my daughter's chest?'
Panicked, and a little confused, Tristan scratched his head trying to think of an answer.
'I'm just kidding Tristan. No, she's still sleeping. It's Lorelei, if you didn't know. Are you coming to the party? It's going to be really nice. Rory will be there.' She smiled.
Lorelei was talking so fast it was hard to decipher what she was saying. He didn't figure out much of what she was saying. 'um..hi Lorelei. Yes, I'm coming to the party.' When he stood up and looked at the clock he realized it was after 12. The party started at 6. He still had lots of arrangements to make before then. 'Look Lorelei, can you tell Rory good morning for me? And that I'll see her at 6?'
'Sure Tristan, see you later sugar'
Tristan distractedly mumbled something that sounded like 'yeah, bye'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Where was Tristan? He should have been there by now. It was now 7. Why was he an hour late?
Rory walked on her crutches around the room. Richard had flown in a few key people in her life: Miss. Patty, Babette and Morey, Dean, Kirk, Sookie and Jackson, and her dad. All he others were her new friends from school. But no Tristan. She walked around for another half hour. She was just about ready to give up when someone tapped her on the back.
'May I have this dance?' Tristan asked her. In his hand was a single whit rose.
She could feel her face turn pink. 'You know I can't dance.' She took the rose he offered.
'Sure you can.' He nodded at the DJ Luke hired. He set the rose down on a table and picked her up to sway slightly to the music. Rory rested her head on his shoulder and listened to the words of the song like he hoped she would.
Lady...I'm your night in shining armor and I love you
you have made me what I am and I am yours
my love...there's so many ways I want to say I love you
let me hold you in your arms forever more
.
You have gone and made me such a fool
I'm so lost in your love
and oh, we belong together
won't you believe in my song
.
Lady...for so many years I thought I'd never find you
you have come into my life and made me whole
forever...let me wake to see you each and every morning
let me hear you whisper softly in my ear
.
In my eyes I see no one else but you
there's no other love like our love
and yes, oh yes, I'll always want you near me
I've waited for you for so long.
.
Lady...your love's the only love I need
and beside me is where I want you to be
cause my love...there's nothing I won't do for you
you're the love of my life...you're my lady
When the song was over Tristan set Rory down all she had to say was 'will you take me outside please Tristan?'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tristan reached the outside. When they were safely in the gardens he set her down again.
'Tristan.did that song mean anything?' She asked nervously.
Tristan had his back to her. 'If it did.would it matter?' He needed to know, no matter what the answer was.
She though for a moment. 'I'm not sure. Do you want me by your side? Like the song says?' Like him, she had to know.
'Look Rory, there are some things that I've been hiding. When I left Chilton, I missed you so much, more than anyone, or anything. When I saw you in a wheelchair, my heart stopped, and I wanted to cry. To C-R-Y Rory. And when you were on crutches for the first time, I thought my heart was going to explode from all of the joy it gave me to see you smile and laugh again. And when you fall asleep on the phone it makes me want to be there with you.' He took a breath and turned around to face her. 'So yes, I want you by my side, can you handle that?'
She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to risk it.but then she didn't want to risk not risking it. She was so confused. She thought back. Memories of Tristan flooded her brain. The way he kissed her hand at the doctors, their late night talks. His comforting stories. How could she risk everything and turn away? How could she risk her heart again? She looked him in the eyes and saw something there. Something rare and beautiful. That's what made her decision. "yes Tristan, I can handle it.'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rory got into her car. It was dark outside and she was all-alone. She felt light headed, like it wasn't even her body getting into the car. She started to drive. It was too fast, somewhere deep in her mind she knew it was too fast, but she didn't care, couldn't. Something was happening. She tried to fight out of the mist in her brain, but it kept dragging her back into the delirious images of her mind. She couldn't see. Her car was going faster and faster. She couldn't keep control. It swerved, but stayed on the road. The headlights popped up out of nowhere. She heard a deafening bang. And all she saw was white. She was lost in the snowy darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Rory woke up sweating. A scream on the tip of her tongue. She was breathing hard, couldn't get it back to normal. The dream seemed so real. As if it was a forgotten memory. Was it? Oh God. It couldn't be.could it? Then as if on queue the accident flashed in her mind. It had happened Rory thought. She had been driving fast and lightheaded. Why was she light headed? Nothing was clear.
She looked over at the clock. It was 3 am. She was afraid to fall asleep. What if she had the same dream? Oh, how was she supposed to stay awake when she was exhausted? One word flashed in her mind. Tristan. Before thinking about it she picked up her phone and dialed his cell phone number.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tristan was having wonderful dreams. Pictures of Rory flashed through his mind. He could see himself and Rory dancing. Something was playing in the background, but what he couldn't tell, though it was lovely. Suddenly there was a buzzing sound all around them. 'Go away' Tristan moaned. But the buzzing continued. 'shoot!' when he rolled to get the phone he fell off the bed. He searched through his dirty clothes until he found his phone in the pants pocket of one of his discarded pairs. 'hello?' 'hey Tristan.' Rory said with a smile. She knew how hard it was for Tristan to get up. They have had many late night talks. 'Did you fall off the bed AGAIN!?' Laughing she sat up in bed.
'Yeah' He sounded embarrassed. 'What's up?' Tristan got back onto the bed and turned on his light.
'I remembered' Rory put her hands over her face and cried.
He sat for a moment not saying anything. Then as if out of nowhere he said 'Want to tell me about it?' And she did want to. But.she couldn't, not yet.
'No, not now..I want to hear about Tristan, talk me back to sleep.' She yawned and laid back down. 'please' she added.
'Sure.' Thinking about what to say he got up and grabbed a scrapbook. Inside were his memories. 'When I was little' he started 'I use to be a pain, what kid didn't. One day I thought it would be funny if I hid on my nanny. Rosa was a lovely woman. She had jet-black hair and the greenest eyes that you could ever imagine. She was very tiny, barely 5 feet. Rosa got scared easily. I didn't know it then, but she really made me.' He stared down at the picture of the woman he called mother, even if she wasn't blood. 'Anyway, I was 7 years old. I thought I was the big man. I wanted to terrify her. So I left. It was the best thing I have ever done. It took them a few hours to find me, and when they did, I was yelled at, and hugged. It was the first time my parents sat down with me and actually talked like they knew me. It was all because of Rosa. She yelled and begged them to find me, because she would have no part in it. I was their child, she was the nanny. It broke her heart. I noticed. She was the first person to love me, to believe in me. On my 12th birthday Rosa left because her family was sick. I've looked, but I've never found her again.' Tristan turned the page and saw him and Rosa just before she left. They were walking down a dirt road in the fall. Their backs were to the camera and they were holding hands.
Tears were falling silently down Rory's face. She cried for the boy, she cried for the woman. 'Tell me something else.'
'Alright.' Tristan searched his memory for an interesting story. 'I'll tell you what happened at military school.' He tensed up. Never in his life did he think it would happen to him, and he thought he was finished telling his story. 'It was about a year after I went when it happened. It was said that they liked us to be settled before they did it. Every time we did something wrong, or didn't do as well on a test of a drill, we would be taken out back and beaten, then thrown in a little room. Every person was so scared. It took awhile for someone to come forward and tell their story, but when they did, the entire operation came crashing down.' He didn't add that it was him. He told his parents and they believed him. That was a miracle. He thought he would never get their trust back. But he did. He thought he would never see Rory again, but he did. His luck has been turning around nicely.
'Oh Tristan.' She was angry. Not at Tristan, but at those people. You couldn't even call them people. They were animals.
They didn't say anything from then an. They just lay with the phones up to their ear and listened to each others breathing until Rory fell asleep, Tristan never did.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
'darling' I know you missed me b-u-t..you're squishing our baby!' Lorelei breathed a sigh of relief when Luke released the death grip he had around her waist. 'I love you' she whispered.
'I love you to' Luke whispered back. He smiled. 'Rory's upstairs sleeping.' He watched Lorelei's retreating back before he turned to greet Emily. 'Emily, it's good to see you again.' Throwing caution to the wind, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.
Emily was thrown back. It wasn't often she was given that much thought. She kind of liked it though. Showing a rare sign of affection Emily wrapped her arms around Luke's neck.
'That's enough kids' this was coming from Richard who just came through the living room door. Luke and Emily separated. He started to walk towards them. 'I missed you Emily.' He simply said and went upstairs.
She was thrilled. He never said things like 'I missed you'. Things were changing she could feel it. There was only one way to deal with it. Change right along with it. Her family was being pulled together by bad and good circumstances.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lorelei tiptoed into Rory's room. When she saw the phone on her chest..she didn't know what to think, so she went over to her, and took it off her chest.
'Hello? Is this a phone sex line? Cause if it is, I'm gunna come over there and tie your balls to a lamppost!' Lorelei's voice grew steadily louder with every word she said. When she got no answer she decided to go on. 'Hey buddy! Why don't you go find a girl your own a-g-e?' Still no answer. 'Look buddy, I've had enough of your silence, I warned ya, now.I'm comin' to get ya.' She heard a low groan from the other end. A sleepy voice spoke on the other end.
'Rory, are you awake?' Tristan rubbed his sleepy eyes.
'Tristan?' Then the little light bulb in her brain clicked on. Tristan and Rory...it made sense. 'Hey, what are you doing on my daughter's chest?'
Panicked, and a little confused, Tristan scratched his head trying to think of an answer.
'I'm just kidding Tristan. No, she's still sleeping. It's Lorelei, if you didn't know. Are you coming to the party? It's going to be really nice. Rory will be there.' She smiled.
Lorelei was talking so fast it was hard to decipher what she was saying. He didn't figure out much of what she was saying. 'um..hi Lorelei. Yes, I'm coming to the party.' When he stood up and looked at the clock he realized it was after 12. The party started at 6. He still had lots of arrangements to make before then. 'Look Lorelei, can you tell Rory good morning for me? And that I'll see her at 6?'
'Sure Tristan, see you later sugar'
Tristan distractedly mumbled something that sounded like 'yeah, bye'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Where was Tristan? He should have been there by now. It was now 7. Why was he an hour late?
Rory walked on her crutches around the room. Richard had flown in a few key people in her life: Miss. Patty, Babette and Morey, Dean, Kirk, Sookie and Jackson, and her dad. All he others were her new friends from school. But no Tristan. She walked around for another half hour. She was just about ready to give up when someone tapped her on the back.
'May I have this dance?' Tristan asked her. In his hand was a single whit rose.
She could feel her face turn pink. 'You know I can't dance.' She took the rose he offered.
'Sure you can.' He nodded at the DJ Luke hired. He set the rose down on a table and picked her up to sway slightly to the music. Rory rested her head on his shoulder and listened to the words of the song like he hoped she would.
Lady...I'm your night in shining armor and I love you
you have made me what I am and I am yours
my love...there's so many ways I want to say I love you
let me hold you in your arms forever more
.
You have gone and made me such a fool
I'm so lost in your love
and oh, we belong together
won't you believe in my song
.
Lady...for so many years I thought I'd never find you
you have come into my life and made me whole
forever...let me wake to see you each and every morning
let me hear you whisper softly in my ear
.
In my eyes I see no one else but you
there's no other love like our love
and yes, oh yes, I'll always want you near me
I've waited for you for so long.
.
Lady...your love's the only love I need
and beside me is where I want you to be
cause my love...there's nothing I won't do for you
you're the love of my life...you're my lady
When the song was over Tristan set Rory down all she had to say was 'will you take me outside please Tristan?'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tristan reached the outside. When they were safely in the gardens he set her down again.
'Tristan.did that song mean anything?' She asked nervously.
Tristan had his back to her. 'If it did.would it matter?' He needed to know, no matter what the answer was.
She though for a moment. 'I'm not sure. Do you want me by your side? Like the song says?' Like him, she had to know.
'Look Rory, there are some things that I've been hiding. When I left Chilton, I missed you so much, more than anyone, or anything. When I saw you in a wheelchair, my heart stopped, and I wanted to cry. To C-R-Y Rory. And when you were on crutches for the first time, I thought my heart was going to explode from all of the joy it gave me to see you smile and laugh again. And when you fall asleep on the phone it makes me want to be there with you.' He took a breath and turned around to face her. 'So yes, I want you by my side, can you handle that?'
She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to risk it.but then she didn't want to risk not risking it. She was so confused. She thought back. Memories of Tristan flooded her brain. The way he kissed her hand at the doctors, their late night talks. His comforting stories. How could she risk everything and turn away? How could she risk her heart again? She looked him in the eyes and saw something there. Something rare and beautiful. That's what made her decision. "yes Tristan, I can handle it.'
