WHAT IT IS: A sequel, to my other Trory, What Happens When. Now, I had no
intentions at all to do a sequel. However, you're getting one, because of
all the Jess/Dean/Rory angst currently on the show—it's stressing me out.
So, since I had decided that fluff was probably all I'd get out of a sequel
and fluff is what I need right now (it's either fluff or unbearable angst
coming out of me right now)—here's a sequel.
WHAT I OWN: Nada.
RATING: PG-13, just to be safe. It is fluff after all.
AN: Okay, this is the continuation of where the last one left everyone, and then some!
Rory had been opening presents for what seemed like hours. She never dreamed they would get so much stuff. Things she hadn't even though of, like kits to childproof the house once the kid was old enough to crawl, bottle warmers, and more common things like onesies and blankets. Lorelai handed her another stack of gifts, and she gingerly took the card and read it first. It was from Erin and Jess. She smiled at Erin and tore open the first box. She opened it to see a mobile. It played John Lennon's "Imagine", and had original characters that went around. She looked up at Erin, speechless.
"Thank you so much, it's perfect!"
"You're welcome. It was all Jess' idea, I honestly can't take any credit."
"Well, you're still getting some. This is seriously perfect," Rory said again. She opened the other boxes to see the coordinating crib sheet set. She thanked her again, and immediately was given two boxes from Lane.
"These are from me. Now, one is practical, and the other is more from Aunt Lane to my favorite little person," Lane whispered to Rory.
Rory smiled, and opened first a baby monitor. "You got it its very own radio station!" Rory giggled.
"Well, I figure you guys will want to hear every sound it makes, until it learns to talk back to you!" Lane laughed.
"Isn't that the truth!" Emily agreed. Lorelai shot her a look, but hugged her anyway.
The next box contained a tiny bongo drum. Rory looked at Lane in amusement.
"Bongos?"
"Well, we'll start small. It's more of a promise to pass my talent on."
"Yeah, cause this kid has any hope of having rhythm," Lorelai laughed.
"Hey, I have rhythm!"
"No, you don't," Paris interjected.
"Well, Tristan does," Rory protested.
"More like he used to bang on all the pots and pans in the house. I don't remember that doing anything other than bringing on migraines, though," Elizabeth informed them.
Rory looked at Lane in desperation. "Okay, please, teach this child to have rhythm. Then it won't be mocked when it decides to pass along its genetic code!"
Everyone laughed and Rory continued opening the pile of gifts. Paris wrote down who got her what, so she could do thank you cards easier later on.
Much to Tristan's delight, the men finally reached the 15th hole. Just another forty-five minutes, tops. He checked his watch, and sure enough it was now 4:00pm. If he left in forty-five minutes, he would be safely out of the range of the baby shower. They hadn't done a lot of talking; they had stuck to mainly safe topics. His mom hadn't been brought up at all after the first few comments.
"So, Tristan, have you enrolled your child in school yet?"
"Dad, Rory's only in her second trimester. She's not even four months pregnant."
"Tristan, we put you on the list for the preschool that enabled you to go to Chilton the moment we found out you were on the way."
"Dad, I'm sure we'll be fine."
"I'm just saying, you can't leave these things to the last minute. You want your child to have all the advantages you had."
"Advantages, huh?"
"What does that mean?"
"That means, I would rather be around for this kid than have it go to a top school."
"Are you saying I wasn't ever there?"
"No, you were there when it was convenient for you."
"Tristan, now, calm down," Janlan tried to quiet Tristan.
"No, he wants to push this, we should get everything out of the way, now."
"Go ahead, tell me what's on your mind."
Janlan shook his head and stepped back. He knew that Tristan had been holding a lot inside himself. He knew how Thomas and Elizabeth had been too busy most of the boy's life to properly look after him, and even though he felt better after the truth came out about Thomas' affair it wasn't all cleared up by any means.
"You really don't want me to."
"No, but obviously we're never going to get past this if you don't."
"Why do you even care? Why now?"
"Your mother and I are trying to reconcile things, Tristan. I would like that to include you."
"Again, you never cared to include me before! And I'm on my own now, I have a family of my own!"
"What do you mean, we never cared?"
"You were too busy going off to Europe or working, and any other extracurricular activities you had going on than to pay any attention to me. You hired people to look after me."
"Everyone does that," Thomas told him.
"Not everyone, Dad."
"What did you want us to do? Quit working and record every moment of your young life?"
"No, I just wanted my parents to love me. Not ship me off when I was inconvenient for them."
"Is this about military school?"
"This is about every summer vacation I ever had. All the times you ever sent me away!"
"I'm sorry you think you had it so horrible, but I'll have you know we sent you to the finest programs in the country, or the world for your matter! We were always thinking of your best interests."
"That is crap. You sending me to military school had nothing to do with my best interests. Whether or not it was good for me was besides the point."
"Tristan, I have made mistakes. You obviously know that. I want you to know that I know that. I've spent the last two years getting my life back together. I want to be a part of this family again."
Tristan glared at his father. Janlan watched both men, wondering what would be said next. It seemed to be in Tristan's court, but he wasn't even moving. Thomas looked back at Tristan expectantly.
Tristan finally just shook his head and put his club back in his bag. He turned and walked away.
"Tristan!" Janlan called after him.
"I need to be alone right now," Tristan answered as he continued to walk away, off the golf course.
"Well, I hope you're happy now," Janlan said.
"Dad, we need to talk about this, it can't be avoided."
"Thomas, have you ever considered that you've done too much damage? That no amount of talking about it can make it better? How about the concept of moving forward from where you are, building a relationship that has nothing to do with the past?" Janlan left Thomas to mull over what he suggested and walked back to the clubhouse as well.
Jess stepped back from the crib. It was perfect, they had it all put together and sanded. They were almost done staining the wood to match the bookcase Luke had built. Will even got to help sanding and staining the crib.
"Luke, this is amazing."
"It did turn out well, didn't it?"
"She is going to love this much more than any store bought crib," Jess nodded, looking at it again.
"We should let it dry, it should be done by the time the shower is over."
"We can give it to her tonight?" Will asked.
"Yep. It's our gift to them," Luke told his son as he ruffled his hair. They cleaned up the mess and made their way back to the house to clean up. Luke cleaned up Will, then let Jess take him to the kitchen for a snack while he showered off.
Rory was now eating cake and looking over at the mound of gifts they had accrued in such a short amount of time. Their parents had gone all out, getting them way more than they should have, and everyone had been overly generous as well, since most of the town saw Rory as a daughter. Lane looked at the expression on her face and sat next to her on the 'throne'.
"What's with the long face? Mood swing?"
"No, it's just, this all came about 'cause I was excited to get a crib. Not that I don't love all the stuff, but there's no crib over there."
"So, you'll go buy one when you get back. Actually I'm not sure if you'll have room for a crib once you get all this stuff in that room."
"You're right. I'm just being silly. Right?"
"Right. You want some more cake?"
Rory smiled and hugged her best friend to her. She rested her head on her shoulder.
"Are you sure you have to go back on tour?"
"Kansas City will be bummed if there's no drummer tomorrow night," Lane informed her.
"Are you saying Kansas City is more important than me?"
"Never. But unless you're going to pay me to stay, I have no choice."
"Damn." Rory smiled and let go of Lane.
Tristan walked straight through the clubhouse and got into his car. He didn't want to talk to his grandfather or anyone else. He just couldn't forget all the things his father had inflicted on him over the years. It was just impossible. If his mom had to take him back, sobeit, but he just obviously couldn't be a part of it. He put his car into drive and sped away from the country club. He glanced at the clock, realizing he couldn't just go back to the Inn, and decided to drive around to clear his head.
Thomas stayed on the course for a few minutes, before walking back to the clubhouse. He didn't see a sign of his father or his son, and took out his cell phone. He dialed the number and waited.
"Hello?"
"Liz, it's Tom."
"How is golfing going?"
"Not well. Tristan left, angry, a few moments ago."
"Oh, Tom," she sighed.
"No, I should have expected it. I did, it's just I was hoping to get past it. Wishful thinking."
"Is he coming here?"
"I don't know. Eventually, I'm sure."
"I'll talk to him. Tom, he just needs time."
"He needs more than that. Dad is right; we can't just get over this. We have to start new, like you and I are doing."
"Sounds like a smart idea to me," she encouraged him.
"I promise you, I'm not that man anymore."
"I hope so."
"I'll see you later, then," he more asked than stated.
"Yes, tonight."
She closed her cell phone and made her way over to Rory. She deserved to know that Tristan was upset. She stepped in front of Rory and Lane, who got up and excused herself when she saw Elizabeth's face.
"Rory, dear, I need to speak with you."
"Is everything okay?"
"Tom just called me. Tristan just took off from the club, and he's not in the best place."
"It didn't go well?" Rory's face fell.
"No, evidently not. I just wanted you to know, he'll need you tonight."
"I figured this might happen."
"I just want you to know, Tom is trying. He's just never has been good at relating to Tristan."
"Thanks for the heads up. Try to enjoy the rest of the party," Rory offered.
"I'm going to hang around until Tristan shows up, is that alright?"
"You're always welcome here. You're family," Rory assured her.
At long last, it was five o'clock. Tristan wound his way to Stars Hollow via the back roads. He pulled up outside the Inn to see the crowd had most definitely dispersed. He walked into the dining room to see the remains of the event. The room was filled with wrapping paper bits, papers and left over food. Lane and Paris were trying to get all the wrapping paper into garbage bags, while the kitchen staff and Lorelai and Sookie put away the food. Elizabeth was talking with Emily and Rory was resting back against her chair back, with her eyes closed. He noticed the pile of presents off to the side of Rory, and shook his head in amazement.
"So, we raked it in, huh?" he said as he kissed her forehead.
She opened her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, someone likes us. But, no crib," she made a face.
"I think we can get one of those ourselves. We seem to have everything else we'll ever need. What is that?" He pointed at one of the items.
"It's called a diaper genie. Evidently, it's a life saver, or so I'm told."
"Huh."
"So, someone is hanging around to talk to you."
"Did Dad call her?"
Rory nodded. She ran a hand down his face, and stroked his cheek with her thumb. He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
"I just can't forgive him. Is that terrible?"
"No, it's understandable. But someday, for yourself, you might want to."
He looked at her and then turned to his mother, who was still talking with Emily. He squeezed Rory's hand and went to walk over to his mother. Lorelai intercepted him, with a piece of cake.
"Hey, not so fast! Rory went on and on about how you'd need cake, so here, before it's all gone!" she handed him the piece of cake and smiled.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Oh, and if Ms. Patty asks you anything about sexual positions, run."
"Yeah. That's something you didn't need to tell me."
Lorelai laughed, apologizing for the amount of harassment he had to endure to know that, and telling him to be glad he'd missed certain moments.
"She had fun, though, right?"
"Yeah, she had a blast. I think seeing Lane was good for her, too."
"Good. I need to talk to my mom, excuse me," he said turning back towards his mom.
Emily had departed to say goodbye to Rory, leaving his mother watching him. He stopped short of her and looked around.
"Tristan, I know today didn't go well," she started.
"That's almost laughable, it's such an understatement."
"Tristan, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"That your father and you have so many problems talking to each other. You have to understand, that I'm not going back to him because of what he and I used to have. I'm starting something new, with a man that isn't much like what you remember of your father."
"How can you forgive him?"
"I've already forgiven him because I realized that whether or not he deserved it, I deserved it. I deserved to let it go and move on. You should, too."
"I suppose that makes sense."
"I'm not saying you have to give him a chance now."
"I know," he paused, thinking for a moment. "Mom, what made him change?"
"That he'll have to tell you. If you decide to talk to him again, that is. I promise not to throw you two together anymore."
Tristan nodded and hugged his mother. He walked her out to the door and then rejoined Rory and Erin. Lane and Paris had headed out to the airport again, but Jess had showed up with Will and Luke. The mess had been cleaned up for the most part, and he pulled Rory up to stand next to him.
"I guess we should load this stuff into the car, huh?"
"Are you kidding, you'll have to rent a U-haul to get this stuff back!" Lorelai joked as she pulled Will up on her hip.
"Mommy, we have a surprise!" he whispered into her ear loudly.
"And on that note, Rory, we would like you to come with us," Luke stated.
"Why? Does it involve food?"
"No, it has to do with our gift to you. Jess', Will's and mine, that is."
"But, Jess got me stuff, which I love, by the way," she said, turning to Jess. He smiled at her and nodded.
"I thought you'd like that. It just seemed to speak to me. Which I blame you for, you know. Inanimate objects never used to talk to me."
She smiled back and looked at Luke again. "And you and Mom have done way too much already."
"Well, the surprise is at the house, if you want it or not," Luke baited her.
"Then let's go!" Rory squealed, taking Tristan's hand. Luke promised to come back after dinner and help load the stuff into their car. Jess and Erin said they would load theirs up too, and follow them back on their way to the city.
Once back at the house, Rory followed Luke out to the tool shed.
"I haven't been out here since Lane used this as a place for her band to practice."
"Ah, I'd forgotten that. How is Zach, anyway?" Lorelai asked remembering the first time the band had come over.
"Fine, Mrs. Robinson," Rory replied, rolling her eyes at her mother.
"So, are you ready?" Luke asked as he opened the door.
"We're ready," she turned to Tristan who was just as anxious to see what Luke and Jess had done.
Luke opened the door fully to reveal the crib and bookcase. Rory gasped and ran over to the crib. She ran her hands along the wood and looked back at Luke and Jess.
"It's perfect," she said softly.
"I know you needed one, and I thought if we made it, it'd be much safer than those ones your just slide together."
"Luke, thank you so much! And Jess," she looked at them, teary eyed. Lorelai got a little misty, looking at Rory's reaction, also in surprise herself. She had no idea what they had been cooking up out here.
"I helped too," Will said from his mother's arms.
"Thank you too, Will."
"Why are you crying?"
"It's the hormones, she's okay, Will," Tristan explained, pulling Rory tighter to him.
"What are hormones?"
Jess cringed at the question, but was glad he wasn't the responsible adult at this juncture. That was just too much of a question. Especially right now. No one answered the kid, other than Lorelai laughing and telling him he'd understand when he was a teenager. The group made their way to the diner after Tristan, who was famished, had pulled Rory away from inspecting the crib.
WHAT I OWN: Nada.
RATING: PG-13, just to be safe. It is fluff after all.
AN: Okay, this is the continuation of where the last one left everyone, and then some!
Rory had been opening presents for what seemed like hours. She never dreamed they would get so much stuff. Things she hadn't even though of, like kits to childproof the house once the kid was old enough to crawl, bottle warmers, and more common things like onesies and blankets. Lorelai handed her another stack of gifts, and she gingerly took the card and read it first. It was from Erin and Jess. She smiled at Erin and tore open the first box. She opened it to see a mobile. It played John Lennon's "Imagine", and had original characters that went around. She looked up at Erin, speechless.
"Thank you so much, it's perfect!"
"You're welcome. It was all Jess' idea, I honestly can't take any credit."
"Well, you're still getting some. This is seriously perfect," Rory said again. She opened the other boxes to see the coordinating crib sheet set. She thanked her again, and immediately was given two boxes from Lane.
"These are from me. Now, one is practical, and the other is more from Aunt Lane to my favorite little person," Lane whispered to Rory.
Rory smiled, and opened first a baby monitor. "You got it its very own radio station!" Rory giggled.
"Well, I figure you guys will want to hear every sound it makes, until it learns to talk back to you!" Lane laughed.
"Isn't that the truth!" Emily agreed. Lorelai shot her a look, but hugged her anyway.
The next box contained a tiny bongo drum. Rory looked at Lane in amusement.
"Bongos?"
"Well, we'll start small. It's more of a promise to pass my talent on."
"Yeah, cause this kid has any hope of having rhythm," Lorelai laughed.
"Hey, I have rhythm!"
"No, you don't," Paris interjected.
"Well, Tristan does," Rory protested.
"More like he used to bang on all the pots and pans in the house. I don't remember that doing anything other than bringing on migraines, though," Elizabeth informed them.
Rory looked at Lane in desperation. "Okay, please, teach this child to have rhythm. Then it won't be mocked when it decides to pass along its genetic code!"
Everyone laughed and Rory continued opening the pile of gifts. Paris wrote down who got her what, so she could do thank you cards easier later on.
Much to Tristan's delight, the men finally reached the 15th hole. Just another forty-five minutes, tops. He checked his watch, and sure enough it was now 4:00pm. If he left in forty-five minutes, he would be safely out of the range of the baby shower. They hadn't done a lot of talking; they had stuck to mainly safe topics. His mom hadn't been brought up at all after the first few comments.
"So, Tristan, have you enrolled your child in school yet?"
"Dad, Rory's only in her second trimester. She's not even four months pregnant."
"Tristan, we put you on the list for the preschool that enabled you to go to Chilton the moment we found out you were on the way."
"Dad, I'm sure we'll be fine."
"I'm just saying, you can't leave these things to the last minute. You want your child to have all the advantages you had."
"Advantages, huh?"
"What does that mean?"
"That means, I would rather be around for this kid than have it go to a top school."
"Are you saying I wasn't ever there?"
"No, you were there when it was convenient for you."
"Tristan, now, calm down," Janlan tried to quiet Tristan.
"No, he wants to push this, we should get everything out of the way, now."
"Go ahead, tell me what's on your mind."
Janlan shook his head and stepped back. He knew that Tristan had been holding a lot inside himself. He knew how Thomas and Elizabeth had been too busy most of the boy's life to properly look after him, and even though he felt better after the truth came out about Thomas' affair it wasn't all cleared up by any means.
"You really don't want me to."
"No, but obviously we're never going to get past this if you don't."
"Why do you even care? Why now?"
"Your mother and I are trying to reconcile things, Tristan. I would like that to include you."
"Again, you never cared to include me before! And I'm on my own now, I have a family of my own!"
"What do you mean, we never cared?"
"You were too busy going off to Europe or working, and any other extracurricular activities you had going on than to pay any attention to me. You hired people to look after me."
"Everyone does that," Thomas told him.
"Not everyone, Dad."
"What did you want us to do? Quit working and record every moment of your young life?"
"No, I just wanted my parents to love me. Not ship me off when I was inconvenient for them."
"Is this about military school?"
"This is about every summer vacation I ever had. All the times you ever sent me away!"
"I'm sorry you think you had it so horrible, but I'll have you know we sent you to the finest programs in the country, or the world for your matter! We were always thinking of your best interests."
"That is crap. You sending me to military school had nothing to do with my best interests. Whether or not it was good for me was besides the point."
"Tristan, I have made mistakes. You obviously know that. I want you to know that I know that. I've spent the last two years getting my life back together. I want to be a part of this family again."
Tristan glared at his father. Janlan watched both men, wondering what would be said next. It seemed to be in Tristan's court, but he wasn't even moving. Thomas looked back at Tristan expectantly.
Tristan finally just shook his head and put his club back in his bag. He turned and walked away.
"Tristan!" Janlan called after him.
"I need to be alone right now," Tristan answered as he continued to walk away, off the golf course.
"Well, I hope you're happy now," Janlan said.
"Dad, we need to talk about this, it can't be avoided."
"Thomas, have you ever considered that you've done too much damage? That no amount of talking about it can make it better? How about the concept of moving forward from where you are, building a relationship that has nothing to do with the past?" Janlan left Thomas to mull over what he suggested and walked back to the clubhouse as well.
Jess stepped back from the crib. It was perfect, they had it all put together and sanded. They were almost done staining the wood to match the bookcase Luke had built. Will even got to help sanding and staining the crib.
"Luke, this is amazing."
"It did turn out well, didn't it?"
"She is going to love this much more than any store bought crib," Jess nodded, looking at it again.
"We should let it dry, it should be done by the time the shower is over."
"We can give it to her tonight?" Will asked.
"Yep. It's our gift to them," Luke told his son as he ruffled his hair. They cleaned up the mess and made their way back to the house to clean up. Luke cleaned up Will, then let Jess take him to the kitchen for a snack while he showered off.
Rory was now eating cake and looking over at the mound of gifts they had accrued in such a short amount of time. Their parents had gone all out, getting them way more than they should have, and everyone had been overly generous as well, since most of the town saw Rory as a daughter. Lane looked at the expression on her face and sat next to her on the 'throne'.
"What's with the long face? Mood swing?"
"No, it's just, this all came about 'cause I was excited to get a crib. Not that I don't love all the stuff, but there's no crib over there."
"So, you'll go buy one when you get back. Actually I'm not sure if you'll have room for a crib once you get all this stuff in that room."
"You're right. I'm just being silly. Right?"
"Right. You want some more cake?"
Rory smiled and hugged her best friend to her. She rested her head on her shoulder.
"Are you sure you have to go back on tour?"
"Kansas City will be bummed if there's no drummer tomorrow night," Lane informed her.
"Are you saying Kansas City is more important than me?"
"Never. But unless you're going to pay me to stay, I have no choice."
"Damn." Rory smiled and let go of Lane.
Tristan walked straight through the clubhouse and got into his car. He didn't want to talk to his grandfather or anyone else. He just couldn't forget all the things his father had inflicted on him over the years. It was just impossible. If his mom had to take him back, sobeit, but he just obviously couldn't be a part of it. He put his car into drive and sped away from the country club. He glanced at the clock, realizing he couldn't just go back to the Inn, and decided to drive around to clear his head.
Thomas stayed on the course for a few minutes, before walking back to the clubhouse. He didn't see a sign of his father or his son, and took out his cell phone. He dialed the number and waited.
"Hello?"
"Liz, it's Tom."
"How is golfing going?"
"Not well. Tristan left, angry, a few moments ago."
"Oh, Tom," she sighed.
"No, I should have expected it. I did, it's just I was hoping to get past it. Wishful thinking."
"Is he coming here?"
"I don't know. Eventually, I'm sure."
"I'll talk to him. Tom, he just needs time."
"He needs more than that. Dad is right; we can't just get over this. We have to start new, like you and I are doing."
"Sounds like a smart idea to me," she encouraged him.
"I promise you, I'm not that man anymore."
"I hope so."
"I'll see you later, then," he more asked than stated.
"Yes, tonight."
She closed her cell phone and made her way over to Rory. She deserved to know that Tristan was upset. She stepped in front of Rory and Lane, who got up and excused herself when she saw Elizabeth's face.
"Rory, dear, I need to speak with you."
"Is everything okay?"
"Tom just called me. Tristan just took off from the club, and he's not in the best place."
"It didn't go well?" Rory's face fell.
"No, evidently not. I just wanted you to know, he'll need you tonight."
"I figured this might happen."
"I just want you to know, Tom is trying. He's just never has been good at relating to Tristan."
"Thanks for the heads up. Try to enjoy the rest of the party," Rory offered.
"I'm going to hang around until Tristan shows up, is that alright?"
"You're always welcome here. You're family," Rory assured her.
At long last, it was five o'clock. Tristan wound his way to Stars Hollow via the back roads. He pulled up outside the Inn to see the crowd had most definitely dispersed. He walked into the dining room to see the remains of the event. The room was filled with wrapping paper bits, papers and left over food. Lane and Paris were trying to get all the wrapping paper into garbage bags, while the kitchen staff and Lorelai and Sookie put away the food. Elizabeth was talking with Emily and Rory was resting back against her chair back, with her eyes closed. He noticed the pile of presents off to the side of Rory, and shook his head in amazement.
"So, we raked it in, huh?" he said as he kissed her forehead.
She opened her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, someone likes us. But, no crib," she made a face.
"I think we can get one of those ourselves. We seem to have everything else we'll ever need. What is that?" He pointed at one of the items.
"It's called a diaper genie. Evidently, it's a life saver, or so I'm told."
"Huh."
"So, someone is hanging around to talk to you."
"Did Dad call her?"
Rory nodded. She ran a hand down his face, and stroked his cheek with her thumb. He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
"I just can't forgive him. Is that terrible?"
"No, it's understandable. But someday, for yourself, you might want to."
He looked at her and then turned to his mother, who was still talking with Emily. He squeezed Rory's hand and went to walk over to his mother. Lorelai intercepted him, with a piece of cake.
"Hey, not so fast! Rory went on and on about how you'd need cake, so here, before it's all gone!" she handed him the piece of cake and smiled.
"Thanks."
"No problem. Oh, and if Ms. Patty asks you anything about sexual positions, run."
"Yeah. That's something you didn't need to tell me."
Lorelai laughed, apologizing for the amount of harassment he had to endure to know that, and telling him to be glad he'd missed certain moments.
"She had fun, though, right?"
"Yeah, she had a blast. I think seeing Lane was good for her, too."
"Good. I need to talk to my mom, excuse me," he said turning back towards his mom.
Emily had departed to say goodbye to Rory, leaving his mother watching him. He stopped short of her and looked around.
"Tristan, I know today didn't go well," she started.
"That's almost laughable, it's such an understatement."
"Tristan, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"That your father and you have so many problems talking to each other. You have to understand, that I'm not going back to him because of what he and I used to have. I'm starting something new, with a man that isn't much like what you remember of your father."
"How can you forgive him?"
"I've already forgiven him because I realized that whether or not he deserved it, I deserved it. I deserved to let it go and move on. You should, too."
"I suppose that makes sense."
"I'm not saying you have to give him a chance now."
"I know," he paused, thinking for a moment. "Mom, what made him change?"
"That he'll have to tell you. If you decide to talk to him again, that is. I promise not to throw you two together anymore."
Tristan nodded and hugged his mother. He walked her out to the door and then rejoined Rory and Erin. Lane and Paris had headed out to the airport again, but Jess had showed up with Will and Luke. The mess had been cleaned up for the most part, and he pulled Rory up to stand next to him.
"I guess we should load this stuff into the car, huh?"
"Are you kidding, you'll have to rent a U-haul to get this stuff back!" Lorelai joked as she pulled Will up on her hip.
"Mommy, we have a surprise!" he whispered into her ear loudly.
"And on that note, Rory, we would like you to come with us," Luke stated.
"Why? Does it involve food?"
"No, it has to do with our gift to you. Jess', Will's and mine, that is."
"But, Jess got me stuff, which I love, by the way," she said, turning to Jess. He smiled at her and nodded.
"I thought you'd like that. It just seemed to speak to me. Which I blame you for, you know. Inanimate objects never used to talk to me."
She smiled back and looked at Luke again. "And you and Mom have done way too much already."
"Well, the surprise is at the house, if you want it or not," Luke baited her.
"Then let's go!" Rory squealed, taking Tristan's hand. Luke promised to come back after dinner and help load the stuff into their car. Jess and Erin said they would load theirs up too, and follow them back on their way to the city.
Once back at the house, Rory followed Luke out to the tool shed.
"I haven't been out here since Lane used this as a place for her band to practice."
"Ah, I'd forgotten that. How is Zach, anyway?" Lorelai asked remembering the first time the band had come over.
"Fine, Mrs. Robinson," Rory replied, rolling her eyes at her mother.
"So, are you ready?" Luke asked as he opened the door.
"We're ready," she turned to Tristan who was just as anxious to see what Luke and Jess had done.
Luke opened the door fully to reveal the crib and bookcase. Rory gasped and ran over to the crib. She ran her hands along the wood and looked back at Luke and Jess.
"It's perfect," she said softly.
"I know you needed one, and I thought if we made it, it'd be much safer than those ones your just slide together."
"Luke, thank you so much! And Jess," she looked at them, teary eyed. Lorelai got a little misty, looking at Rory's reaction, also in surprise herself. She had no idea what they had been cooking up out here.
"I helped too," Will said from his mother's arms.
"Thank you too, Will."
"Why are you crying?"
"It's the hormones, she's okay, Will," Tristan explained, pulling Rory tighter to him.
"What are hormones?"
Jess cringed at the question, but was glad he wasn't the responsible adult at this juncture. That was just too much of a question. Especially right now. No one answered the kid, other than Lorelai laughing and telling him he'd understand when he was a teenager. The group made their way to the diner after Tristan, who was famished, had pulled Rory away from inspecting the crib.