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.
Thomas arrived home to find his son playing chess with his father. He walked over to them as he surveyed the game. It was obvious Janlan was winning, and Thomas smiled.
"So, I see you still can't beat the old man," he said to his son.
"I'm letting him win, you know, always be respectful to the elderly and ill," Tristan smiled at his grandfather.
"Hogwash. You never have been able to beat me."
"Are you ready to get out of here?" Thomas asked Tristan.
"Yeah, let's go. We'll finish this later, okay, Gramps?"
"Sure, I'm always available to finish mopping the floor with you," Janlan smiled, waving them off.
They made the drive to a cozy restaurant in Hartford, and were seated in a small booth. Once they ordered, Tristan cleared his throat.
"I know it's taken a while, but now since you and Mom are going to get married, I have to know some things."
"Alright."
"So, what is it that caused the big change in you?"
Thomas raised an arm to scratch at the nape of his neck for a moment, and then returned his gaze to his son. He was never glad or proud to tell people what happened, honestly he had only told a handful of people.
"Well, it's not something I'm proud of, I want you to know that. But the truth is I decided it was time to get my life back together the morning I woke up in a hospital in Atlanta."
"You were in the hospital and no one notified us?"
"No one knew who I was, I didn't have any ID on me. I had OD'd on heroine and probably a number of other things, and felt like someone had turned me inside out. I had been in the hospital for weeks, and when I woke up, I just had the realization that this was it. This was rock bottom, if not lower than that."
"When did you start doing drugs?" Tristan asked, incredulously.
Thomas let out a long breath through his lips. "God, you must have been in junior high school."
"Wait, you're telling me you've been a drug addict for years?" Tristan asked, more and more in shock by the moment.
"Well, not at first. At first, it was just a method by which to occasionally blow off steam."
"Was, I mean, did Mom ever ...?"
"Your mother didn't join me, no, nor did she know about it. I would do it with some friends from work. It just got to be more and more over the years. It didn't get bad until your freshman year of high school. I started to do it before work, during work, I would not come home. I'd call your mother and tell her I was sent away suddenly on business, then not come home or go to work for days. That's when I started sleeping with other women. My secretary, when you found us, we had been shooting up before we, well, you know. That was one of the reasons I was so angry with you for coming home, I didn't want you to see the needles, and tell your mother. I knew if she found out it was all over. She'd tell Dad, and bam, it would all be over."
"Wow. And after that? It just continued?"
"Well, actually, I did try to stop after you left for North Carolina. But I couldn't. And even after you came back and I moved to Georgia, I continued."
Tristan sat in silence. He couldn't believe all this had happened, and he had never known. It made sense, suddenly, all the times he and his father had gone at it, all the times his father had been gone suddenly, everything just became clear.
"Son?"
"I just, can't believe it. I can't believe no one ever found out."
"Well, if nothing else, the junkie usually does care about maintaining some sort of cover, so they can keep using."
"So, you're completely done with all that now?"
Thomas smiled and nodded. "I did pick up smoking in AA, but that's about it."
"AA?"
"I joined it the second I got out of the hospital. I wanted to get my life back. I didn't think your mother would take me back, but I wanted to be able to have a life again."
"Wow."
"I know this is a lot for you to digest, and you have a lot going on in your life right now. And I must tell you, I am so proud of you. You've made a wonderful life for yourself."
"Thank you." Tristan said, for the first time the two men were able to maintain eye contact for more than a moment. He noticed how happy and at peace his father looked. He almost appeared younger again.
"So, you're okay with your mother and I getting remarried?"
Tristan smiled at his father, for the first time in probably over ten years. "Yeah, I'm happy for you. Both."
"And you'll be there?"
"We'll be there. Hopefully the three of us."
"Wonderful."
Meanwhile in New York, Jess and Rory were approaching the house again. After ice cream, they had gotten dinner. Jess had complained about how they were doing this backwards, but Rory informed him that if he insisted on babysitting her, he was at the mercy of her food cravings.
"So, you tired of me yet?"
"I'm not leaving you 'til Tristan comes home," he informed her.
"Man, he has you whipped!" Rory giggled.
"I promised him to hang out, just in case."
"Jess, really. Go home to Erin."
"I'm staying. Erin's fine."
"The wedding's still on?"
"Yep. In fact, she's out dress shopping."
"Ah, so you can't be around anyway."
"Evidently. What is that about, anyway, it's just a dress."
Rory gasped. "It is not just a dress!"
"Oh, God," Jess rolled his eyes.
"Jess, a woman's wedding day is the most important day of her life. And it's photographed, so it lives on and on for everyone to see forever!"
"It's just a dress."
"It sets the mood for the whole occasion," Rory countered.
"She could wear a garbage bag, at the end of the day, we'll still be married, no matter what either of us wears."
"Man, she could totally do better than you. You seriously don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?"
"It just seems silly to get wrapped up in things that won't matter at all in the grand scheme of things."
"Just wait, 'til you see her at the end of the aisle. You'll feel differently."
"Whatever you say. You're all hopped up on baby hormones. Talking crazy."
"Jess, no matter what you think now, your wedding day is going to be something that you'll never be able to put into words, and something that you'll cherish for the rest of your life."
Jess looked at Rory, who looked sort of dreamy and sentimental. "So, what do you remember about your wedding?"
"Not much, because everything just happens so fast, and there is so much going on. But the thing I remember is walking down the aisle. Mom was the one walked me down and handed me off, and we were holding onto each other's hands so tightly. She insisted we walk really slowly, so I take the time to really live in the moment. She's good at that, that's one of the things I want to do for this one," she paused, putting her hands under her stomach, and sort of lifting it up a bit. "So we're walking down the aisle and all I can see is Tristan standing there at the end. He's standing just outside the huppah, the one Luke made for Mom, and the sun was hitting him in such a way that he seemed to almost be glowing. He looked so calm and joyful, and while everything was going on so fast around me, he just seemed to be this unmoving constant. It was like magic."
Jess smiled at Rory, who was sitting against the swing on the front porch. They had sat on it, and he was swinging them lightly back and forth. It was nice to hear her so happy.
"Well, for something that you can't find the words for, you do a pretty good job."
"It is what they pay me for."
"True. So, are you ready for this kid?"
"More than! I have really liked being pregnant, but I'm ready for this kid to come out," she groaned a little.
"I see that. You shift every three seconds."
"I can't get comfortable. Just another week or so."
"Then we can go back to eating dinner before dessert," Jess chided.
"Please, like you've ever followed a rule a day in your life!"
"Hey, you act like I'm some hoodlum!" Jess exclaimed, feigning hurt.
"So?"
"I'm no hoodlum, I prefer hooligan."
Rory giggled. "Nah, sounds too much like gigolo."
"And what's the matter with that?" Jess raised an eyebrow at her.
Rory erupted into a new fit of giggles, and swatted at Jess. He easily ducked her hand, and shook his head.
"When is Tristan coming back?"
"Whenever their dinner is over. The longer the better, as far as I'm concerned. He's talking with his dad finally."
"Lot of bad blood there, huh?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Well, I can relate to that."
"Can't we all?" she offered a small smile and closed her eyes, enjoying the rocking motion.
By the time Tristan had returned home, Rory and Jess had moved into the living room to watch movies. Rory was completely sacked out on the couch, and Jess was on the floor in front of her head.
"Hey, man."
"Hey. Thanks for staying. Did she have anymore contractions?"
"Nah. She was fine."
"Good. That's a relief. Hopefully the next time it'll be for real."
"How was your night?"
"It was surprising. But good, I think."
"Good. I'm going to take off."
"It's late, just stay in the guest room. She has it all done up, and it's a good bed."
"Alright. Thanks." Jess stood up and headed up the stairs, leaving Tristan to wake Rory up and help her to bed.
Tristan knelt down in front of Rory and brushed a finger against her cheek. She murmured, but didn't open her eyes. He brushed his lips over her forehead, which caused her to smile.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hey. What time is it?"
"It's late. Come to bed."
"Did Jess leave?"
"I sent him to the guest bedroom."
"Good. How was dinner?"
"I'll tell you about it in the morning. But it was good."
"Mmm, good." She almost purred, sleepily. She let him help her up, and he put his arm around her waist as the walked up the stairs. She leaned against him, trying to stay in that gray area between sleep and wake. He pulled back the covers and then moved so she could slip underneath them. He pulled off his clothes and slid in next to her, allowing her to move up against him. He wrapped his arms around her, glad for the comfort of their life. He was still in shock, but now at least everything made sense.
The next morning, Rory came downstairs to find Tristan and Jess at the breakfast table, both reading the paper. She went over to the counter, where someone had made pancakes and bacon, and poured a big glass of orange juice for herself and took her plate and glass to the table.
"It's like My Two Dads in here."
"Which one of us is Paul Reiser?" Tristan asked.
"Why?"
"He just wants to know which one you think is the funny one," Jess snorted in laughter.
"Why?"
"'Cause the other one was the one all the girls liked."
"You guys are weird. Forget I said anything," Rory rolled her eyes in amusement, turning her attention to the stack of pancakes in front of her. They talked for a while, then Jess stood and thanked them for letting him stay over.
"Hey, you had to be offered compensation for babysitting, right?" Rory asked, shooting a look at Tristan.
"Right. And on that note, good luck, man," Jess said to Tristan and headed out.
"Is it wrong for me to want you to be entertained and looked after?"
"I'm not going to break, I'm just pregnant."
"Very pregnant. I figured your rather have someone around should the unexpected happen."
"Well, thank you. We did have a fun day, I guess."
"Good."
Rory looked at Tristan, who went back to his paper. Frowning, she then cleared her throat. He bent the paper, so he could look over it at her.
"Well?"
"What?"
"Your dad? How did it go?"
"Right. That."
Rory cocked an eyebrow at him and put her fork down to properly give him all her attention.
"He told me that basically he's been a drug addict for the better part of the last ten years."
"He, what?" Rory gaped at him.
"Yeah, he said it got really bad my freshman year of high school, and he continued using until he OD'd in Atlanta. He was lucky to come out of it, and then he joined AA and started putting his life back together."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"So, you guys, you're better now?"
"Now it just makes so much more sense. I mean, it doesn't erase what happened, but it makes sense. And to know that he's really changed, he's back to the man that I remember from when I was little, that's reassuring. It's enough for me to want to move on and build something from here."
"That's great, Tristan."
"So we have a wedding to go to in a couple of weeks."
"Let's have the kid first, then we'll worry about the other events we'll have to deal with."
"Sounds like a plan. How are you feeling today?"
"Good. I got a lot of rest last night. We could do something, if you want."
"How about a movie? We'll go out, nothing really exhausting, have a nice dinner."
"Sounds great."
They spent the rest of the morning relaxing and reading the paper. They found a movie they both wanted to see, and spent one of the last few precious days they would have, just the two of them with no other responsibilities for a long time just relaxing and having fun together.
AN: ahh. Yeah. I've been busy/lazy/crazy. Excuses, excuses, I know. But here's another chapter, and hopefully I'll update sooner this next time.
WHAT I OWN: Nada.
RATING: PG-13, just to be safe. It is fluff after all.
Thomas arrived home to find his son playing chess with his father. He walked over to them as he surveyed the game. It was obvious Janlan was winning, and Thomas smiled.
"So, I see you still can't beat the old man," he said to his son.
"I'm letting him win, you know, always be respectful to the elderly and ill," Tristan smiled at his grandfather.
"Hogwash. You never have been able to beat me."
"Are you ready to get out of here?" Thomas asked Tristan.
"Yeah, let's go. We'll finish this later, okay, Gramps?"
"Sure, I'm always available to finish mopping the floor with you," Janlan smiled, waving them off.
They made the drive to a cozy restaurant in Hartford, and were seated in a small booth. Once they ordered, Tristan cleared his throat.
"I know it's taken a while, but now since you and Mom are going to get married, I have to know some things."
"Alright."
"So, what is it that caused the big change in you?"
Thomas raised an arm to scratch at the nape of his neck for a moment, and then returned his gaze to his son. He was never glad or proud to tell people what happened, honestly he had only told a handful of people.
"Well, it's not something I'm proud of, I want you to know that. But the truth is I decided it was time to get my life back together the morning I woke up in a hospital in Atlanta."
"You were in the hospital and no one notified us?"
"No one knew who I was, I didn't have any ID on me. I had OD'd on heroine and probably a number of other things, and felt like someone had turned me inside out. I had been in the hospital for weeks, and when I woke up, I just had the realization that this was it. This was rock bottom, if not lower than that."
"When did you start doing drugs?" Tristan asked, incredulously.
Thomas let out a long breath through his lips. "God, you must have been in junior high school."
"Wait, you're telling me you've been a drug addict for years?" Tristan asked, more and more in shock by the moment.
"Well, not at first. At first, it was just a method by which to occasionally blow off steam."
"Was, I mean, did Mom ever ...?"
"Your mother didn't join me, no, nor did she know about it. I would do it with some friends from work. It just got to be more and more over the years. It didn't get bad until your freshman year of high school. I started to do it before work, during work, I would not come home. I'd call your mother and tell her I was sent away suddenly on business, then not come home or go to work for days. That's when I started sleeping with other women. My secretary, when you found us, we had been shooting up before we, well, you know. That was one of the reasons I was so angry with you for coming home, I didn't want you to see the needles, and tell your mother. I knew if she found out it was all over. She'd tell Dad, and bam, it would all be over."
"Wow. And after that? It just continued?"
"Well, actually, I did try to stop after you left for North Carolina. But I couldn't. And even after you came back and I moved to Georgia, I continued."
Tristan sat in silence. He couldn't believe all this had happened, and he had never known. It made sense, suddenly, all the times he and his father had gone at it, all the times his father had been gone suddenly, everything just became clear.
"Son?"
"I just, can't believe it. I can't believe no one ever found out."
"Well, if nothing else, the junkie usually does care about maintaining some sort of cover, so they can keep using."
"So, you're completely done with all that now?"
Thomas smiled and nodded. "I did pick up smoking in AA, but that's about it."
"AA?"
"I joined it the second I got out of the hospital. I wanted to get my life back. I didn't think your mother would take me back, but I wanted to be able to have a life again."
"Wow."
"I know this is a lot for you to digest, and you have a lot going on in your life right now. And I must tell you, I am so proud of you. You've made a wonderful life for yourself."
"Thank you." Tristan said, for the first time the two men were able to maintain eye contact for more than a moment. He noticed how happy and at peace his father looked. He almost appeared younger again.
"So, you're okay with your mother and I getting remarried?"
Tristan smiled at his father, for the first time in probably over ten years. "Yeah, I'm happy for you. Both."
"And you'll be there?"
"We'll be there. Hopefully the three of us."
"Wonderful."
Meanwhile in New York, Jess and Rory were approaching the house again. After ice cream, they had gotten dinner. Jess had complained about how they were doing this backwards, but Rory informed him that if he insisted on babysitting her, he was at the mercy of her food cravings.
"So, you tired of me yet?"
"I'm not leaving you 'til Tristan comes home," he informed her.
"Man, he has you whipped!" Rory giggled.
"I promised him to hang out, just in case."
"Jess, really. Go home to Erin."
"I'm staying. Erin's fine."
"The wedding's still on?"
"Yep. In fact, she's out dress shopping."
"Ah, so you can't be around anyway."
"Evidently. What is that about, anyway, it's just a dress."
Rory gasped. "It is not just a dress!"
"Oh, God," Jess rolled his eyes.
"Jess, a woman's wedding day is the most important day of her life. And it's photographed, so it lives on and on for everyone to see forever!"
"It's just a dress."
"It sets the mood for the whole occasion," Rory countered.
"She could wear a garbage bag, at the end of the day, we'll still be married, no matter what either of us wears."
"Man, she could totally do better than you. You seriously don't have a romantic bone in your body, do you?"
"It just seems silly to get wrapped up in things that won't matter at all in the grand scheme of things."
"Just wait, 'til you see her at the end of the aisle. You'll feel differently."
"Whatever you say. You're all hopped up on baby hormones. Talking crazy."
"Jess, no matter what you think now, your wedding day is going to be something that you'll never be able to put into words, and something that you'll cherish for the rest of your life."
Jess looked at Rory, who looked sort of dreamy and sentimental. "So, what do you remember about your wedding?"
"Not much, because everything just happens so fast, and there is so much going on. But the thing I remember is walking down the aisle. Mom was the one walked me down and handed me off, and we were holding onto each other's hands so tightly. She insisted we walk really slowly, so I take the time to really live in the moment. She's good at that, that's one of the things I want to do for this one," she paused, putting her hands under her stomach, and sort of lifting it up a bit. "So we're walking down the aisle and all I can see is Tristan standing there at the end. He's standing just outside the huppah, the one Luke made for Mom, and the sun was hitting him in such a way that he seemed to almost be glowing. He looked so calm and joyful, and while everything was going on so fast around me, he just seemed to be this unmoving constant. It was like magic."
Jess smiled at Rory, who was sitting against the swing on the front porch. They had sat on it, and he was swinging them lightly back and forth. It was nice to hear her so happy.
"Well, for something that you can't find the words for, you do a pretty good job."
"It is what they pay me for."
"True. So, are you ready for this kid?"
"More than! I have really liked being pregnant, but I'm ready for this kid to come out," she groaned a little.
"I see that. You shift every three seconds."
"I can't get comfortable. Just another week or so."
"Then we can go back to eating dinner before dessert," Jess chided.
"Please, like you've ever followed a rule a day in your life!"
"Hey, you act like I'm some hoodlum!" Jess exclaimed, feigning hurt.
"So?"
"I'm no hoodlum, I prefer hooligan."
Rory giggled. "Nah, sounds too much like gigolo."
"And what's the matter with that?" Jess raised an eyebrow at her.
Rory erupted into a new fit of giggles, and swatted at Jess. He easily ducked her hand, and shook his head.
"When is Tristan coming back?"
"Whenever their dinner is over. The longer the better, as far as I'm concerned. He's talking with his dad finally."
"Lot of bad blood there, huh?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Well, I can relate to that."
"Can't we all?" she offered a small smile and closed her eyes, enjoying the rocking motion.
By the time Tristan had returned home, Rory and Jess had moved into the living room to watch movies. Rory was completely sacked out on the couch, and Jess was on the floor in front of her head.
"Hey, man."
"Hey. Thanks for staying. Did she have anymore contractions?"
"Nah. She was fine."
"Good. That's a relief. Hopefully the next time it'll be for real."
"How was your night?"
"It was surprising. But good, I think."
"Good. I'm going to take off."
"It's late, just stay in the guest room. She has it all done up, and it's a good bed."
"Alright. Thanks." Jess stood up and headed up the stairs, leaving Tristan to wake Rory up and help her to bed.
Tristan knelt down in front of Rory and brushed a finger against her cheek. She murmured, but didn't open her eyes. He brushed his lips over her forehead, which caused her to smile.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Hey. What time is it?"
"It's late. Come to bed."
"Did Jess leave?"
"I sent him to the guest bedroom."
"Good. How was dinner?"
"I'll tell you about it in the morning. But it was good."
"Mmm, good." She almost purred, sleepily. She let him help her up, and he put his arm around her waist as the walked up the stairs. She leaned against him, trying to stay in that gray area between sleep and wake. He pulled back the covers and then moved so she could slip underneath them. He pulled off his clothes and slid in next to her, allowing her to move up against him. He wrapped his arms around her, glad for the comfort of their life. He was still in shock, but now at least everything made sense.
The next morning, Rory came downstairs to find Tristan and Jess at the breakfast table, both reading the paper. She went over to the counter, where someone had made pancakes and bacon, and poured a big glass of orange juice for herself and took her plate and glass to the table.
"It's like My Two Dads in here."
"Which one of us is Paul Reiser?" Tristan asked.
"Why?"
"He just wants to know which one you think is the funny one," Jess snorted in laughter.
"Why?"
"'Cause the other one was the one all the girls liked."
"You guys are weird. Forget I said anything," Rory rolled her eyes in amusement, turning her attention to the stack of pancakes in front of her. They talked for a while, then Jess stood and thanked them for letting him stay over.
"Hey, you had to be offered compensation for babysitting, right?" Rory asked, shooting a look at Tristan.
"Right. And on that note, good luck, man," Jess said to Tristan and headed out.
"Is it wrong for me to want you to be entertained and looked after?"
"I'm not going to break, I'm just pregnant."
"Very pregnant. I figured your rather have someone around should the unexpected happen."
"Well, thank you. We did have a fun day, I guess."
"Good."
Rory looked at Tristan, who went back to his paper. Frowning, she then cleared her throat. He bent the paper, so he could look over it at her.
"Well?"
"What?"
"Your dad? How did it go?"
"Right. That."
Rory cocked an eyebrow at him and put her fork down to properly give him all her attention.
"He told me that basically he's been a drug addict for the better part of the last ten years."
"He, what?" Rory gaped at him.
"Yeah, he said it got really bad my freshman year of high school, and he continued using until he OD'd in Atlanta. He was lucky to come out of it, and then he joined AA and started putting his life back together."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"So, you guys, you're better now?"
"Now it just makes so much more sense. I mean, it doesn't erase what happened, but it makes sense. And to know that he's really changed, he's back to the man that I remember from when I was little, that's reassuring. It's enough for me to want to move on and build something from here."
"That's great, Tristan."
"So we have a wedding to go to in a couple of weeks."
"Let's have the kid first, then we'll worry about the other events we'll have to deal with."
"Sounds like a plan. How are you feeling today?"
"Good. I got a lot of rest last night. We could do something, if you want."
"How about a movie? We'll go out, nothing really exhausting, have a nice dinner."
"Sounds great."
They spent the rest of the morning relaxing and reading the paper. They found a movie they both wanted to see, and spent one of the last few precious days they would have, just the two of them with no other responsibilities for a long time just relaxing and having fun together.
AN: ahh. Yeah. I've been busy/lazy/crazy. Excuses, excuses, I know. But here's another chapter, and hopefully I'll update sooner this next time.