Thank you for all the reviews, you've all been very extremely kind!

For the people who want to know what's up with Chloe's Tale, it's being reworked, because it doesn't quite meet my standard. And * whisper * don't tell anyone, but I removed the chapters and I forgot that I didn't save them on my hard drive, so now I don't even have the basic plot to refer back to. * smack myself on the head * I feel so stupid! I blame it on… my HAMSTER! * groan * Now I feel stupider.

Chapter 12: Lost and Found

Linda took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. "Okay. The sun's down so we're going to need some torches. There are some heavy-duty ones in that drawer over there - Paris, please take out eight and line them up on the table. Andrew and I know the forest like the back of our hands so it wouldn't be that hard to find them. Jess please gather 4 other counselors - Trent, Kaye, DJ, and Su-Ann, and we'll pair off. Meet back here in 10 minutes."

She cleared her throat, and gave them a shaky grin. "Well, go on then. Shoo! We're wasting time!"

Paris and Jess immediately went off to do what they were asked to do, whilst Andrew went to gather some maps that outlined the forest. The forest wasn't all that huge, but it could be enormous if you didn't know your way around it.

Linda heard a knock on the door, and wondered who it was.

"Come in," called out Andrew, his voice slightly muffled as he bent down to search in the cabinets.

Linda looked up for a while. The door creaked open, and Lorelai's face popped out from behind it.

Linda looked down, and then up again in surprise when her brain registered who was at the door. Wait, Lorelai?!"

Lorelai cleared her throat slightly. "Hey, Linda!" she chirped brightly.

Linda was still quite shocked. "Lorelai! What are you doing here?"

Lorelai walked and gave Linda a hug. "We decided to drop in and see how Rory's doing because we missed her!"

"We?" asked Linda puzzled.

Lorelai nodded enthusiastically. "Yep - me and my coffee supplier!"

"Your what?" asked Linda, flabbergasted.

"Well, his name is Luke!" She turned around, and called out, "Luke-y, honey! Come in, don't be shy! No one will know about your obsession with… uh… um, ya know. I promise I won't tell them!"

A tall, broad shouldered man strode into the General Cabin. He was wearing flannel and a baseball hat, although it was already night. He strode forward and shook Linda's hand firmly.

"I'm Luke. Pleased to meet you."

"Linda," said she.

Andrew strode up to the little group exchanging hellos, and extended a hand to Luke.

"Hello, I'm Andrew, Linda's husband."

Luke nodded politely, and you could see that he wasn't very comfortable in this situation. He glared at Lorelai, who pretended that she didn't notice that he was feeling distinctly upset with her.

Lorelai smiled at Andrew. "Hey! It's good to see you again."

Andrew grinned. "It's been what, five years?"

Lorelai reddened slightly. "Well, yeah, sorry about that, I would have come up to see you guys more often, but I've been kind of busy."

Linda smiled. "Don't worry about it, the same is true for us."

The door burst open unceremoniously a few seconds later, and in walked in Jess, Trent, Kaye, Su-Ann and DJ.

Jess stopped in his tracks and stared, gob-smacked, at a very familiar back.

"Uncle Luke?" he asked incredulously.

Luke turned around and saw Jess. "Jess? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be spending your summer at New York."

Lorelai elbowed Luke. "What he meant was, it's nice seeing you again."

Luke grumbled under his breath about insanely sharp elbows and disappearing nephews.

"Oh, I had to get away from the city life," muttered Jess.

Luke wanted to laugh at the very un-Jess like comment, but kindly refrained from doing so.

Luke glared at Jess. "You and I need to have a little talk…"

The counselors sat in a semi circle around the middle table as the waited for instructions from the heads of the camp.

Andrew handed each pair a map, and passed out the torches.

He cleared his throat slightly, and motioned for Luke and Lorelai to take a seat.

"We have a small problem," said he. "Two counselors are thought to be lost in the forest."

Trent laughed slightly. "Are you sure? Maybe it's just that they don't want to be found. You know, they want to gather some stolen moments."

Linda raised an eyebrow. "Please remain quiet, Trent. Anyway, the two are Tristan and Rory."

She darted a quick look at Lorelai, whose face had slowly turned the colour of puce.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Lorelai. A worried Luke instantly put his hand around her shoulders to calm her down.

Linda added quickly, "But don't worry, Rory couldn't have chosen a better person to get lost in the forest with. Tristan is a very dependable and qualified in various safety and survival skills. I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Now, you're all given part of the forests to search in. Trent and Kaye, you'll take Part A, Jess and Paris, Part B, DJ and Su-Ann, Part C, and Andrew and I will take Part D. We will therefore have everything covered. I want you to watch out for trampled ground, signs of smoke, and any other disturbances. In case you have found them, signal it with a flare. We'll meet here in 30 minutes, or before that if we're lucky. Any questions?"

Lorelai raised her hand. "Umm, Linda. I don't think I can stay here whilst my little girl is walking around the forest lost."

Linda chuckled. "It's okay, Lorelai. We will find them. Just stay here and help yourself to coffee."

Lorelai immediately brightened up after she heard that there was coffee in this place.

"Right then," said Linda. "Let's go."

Tristan sat on the forest floor, and motioned for Rory to sit in between his legs. She obliged hurriedly, as she had just heard some sounds that sounded like animals.

"Are there, umm… any lions here?" she whispered.

Tristan chuckled slightly. "No, Mary."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Why are we whispering?"

"You started it!"

Rory laughed. "You continued it."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Okay, Mary. The current argument is pointless and leading nowhere."

Rory nodded vehemently. "I agree."

"So, how has school been?"

Rory smiled. "It's great I guess. A bit overloaded on the homework side, but it's worth it to get the recommendations that Chilton has to offer."

Tristan frowned thoughtfully. "Ah. How was graduation?"

"Okay, although I got a little bit nervous when I had to the co-valedictorian speech. There was just so many people there."

Tristan kissed the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Mm-hmm. Your hair smells great."

Rory laughed out loud. "Thank you."

"I mean it," insisted Tristan, a twinkle in his eye.

They stopped talking but the silence was comforting. It was like a blanket that surrounded them, astounding in its serenity.

Tristan placed his chin on top of Rory's head, and that stance was so comfortable that they stayed that way.

Five minutes later

"RORY!!!!!!! TRISTAN!!!!!!!!"

Rory perked up slightly. "Did you hear that?"

Tristan nodded. "OVER HERE!" he yelled back.

A few seconds later, they saw two dark figures heading their way. When Rory saw who it was, she ran up to Jess and gave him a hug, then did the same to Paris.

"I'm so glad you guys are here!" said Rory, her face beaming.

Paris shone the light at her face. "You look okay, you're not hurt, good good."

Rory groaned, and blocked the light. "Paris! That's really bright!"

"Oops, sorry," said Paris as she turned off the light.

Jess looked suspiciously at Tristan. "How did you guys get here?"

Rory shrugged. "Long story."

Tristan walked forward and put his arm around her shoulders. Jess eyed his arm skeptically.

"Did he hurt you, Rory?"

Rory shook her head vehemently. "Nopes."

"Oh, good." Jess fiddled around, searching for the flare-gun in his jacket. When he finally found it, he shot it out into the air, making it shoot out bursts of flame.

Tristan sprinkled some sand over the fire, thus extinguishing it, and they walked out of the forest silently behind Jess and Paris, feeling that it wasn't the time to talk. Rory sagged on Tristan, practically walking like a drunken sailor because she was that tired.

When she walked into the General Cabin and saw her mother there, she was so surprised she almost screamed.

"Mum?" asked Rory. "What are you doing here?"

Lorelai ran over and gave Rory a bone-crushing hug. "Rory, if you ever do that to me again, I swear I'm going to die before I turn 40."

Rory snorted. "I'm sure you're exaggerating."

Lorelai sniffed. "Why, I'm hurt!"

Rory wriggled out of the hug, and glanced over her mum's shoulder.

"Oh my god, you too Luke?" She ran and gave the confused Luke a hug, then stepped back, as she war aware that Luke wasn't very comfortable.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Rory, her brow wrinkled as she thought out the possibilities. "I mean, I did tell you I'll be fine, and that I'll be back in about… 2 weeks."

Lorelai bit her lip, wondering should I tell her now? Should I tell her later? Should I tell her now when there's so many people around? Then, she decided, what the hell?

Lorelai opened her mouth and held out her left hand to Rory to show her the ring. "I'm engaged!"

To be continued…

Be a darlin' and review please… pretty please?

Oh, and if you want to be informed of an update, you can say so in the review and I'll add you to my extremely short list of people… lol… I'm serious! It's so short it's embarrassing! So, whatcha say?