a/n Lozzyonline: I promise, this won't be a typical car crash. And the whole death thing, don't stress about it. No one big will die. I repeat no one that you love will die. That goes for everyone. So if anyone needs more of an explanation it won't be Luke, Lorelai, dean, Lindsay, rory, or Tristan. Sheesh. I'm just gonna keep my mouth closed from now on.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore girls or the characters or the town or anything.
Chapter Fifteen: Changes
"Nope."
"Rory, come on. This is the seventh condo we've looked at today. Doesn't anything appeal to you?"
"Tristan, I think a condo is a really bad idea. It's so… permanent. I still think we should just go for an apartment."
"Apartments don't have enough space."
"And neither does this condo. Let's keep looking."
"I'm sorry Miss Gilmore, but this is the largest town house you will be able to find that is within your price range."
"The price range is not an issue," Tristan told the real estate agent. "We can go as high as necessary."
Rory shot him a frustrated look. "Tris, I already told you that I want to be able to chip in and pay my half of the rent. I can't go any higher than this."
"But I can. Rory, money isn't an issue. I can buy you a mansion made with gold bricks if you would only let me."
"But I'm not going to let you," she insisted. "How many bedrooms is this place?"
"Two," the agent replied.
Rory sighed. "Can you show us something with three bedrooms?"
"It will be a little more expensive."
"I'm going to talk to my fiancé for a moment," Rory said to the woman, pulling Tristan aside.
"Tristan, I really think this is a bad idea."
"Why?"
"Buying a house is such a commitment."
"Are you saying you don't believe I'm committed?"
"No."
"Yes you are. Rory, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me until you can't handle me any more. And even then you're still stuck with me."
"What if you meet someone?" she asked.
"Like Frank the donut guy at Dunkin' Donuts down the street?"
"No. Like Sarah the waitress. And you fall in love and want to get married. Or if I find someone. What then?"
Tristan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "We'll deal with that when we get there."
"We need to deal with it now Tristan. Look, I know that over the past few months you've been on a woman sabbatical of sorts, but someday you will find someone that you want to be with."
I already found her, he wanted to say.
"What will happen to the house?"
"You and the baby can keep it. But I will still be around all the time."
"So I would just kick you out if I find someone?"
"Yup."
"I'm starting to think this is a really crappy idea."
"Are you insulting my intelligence?"
"This plan is hardly intelligent Tristan. Say you get married, and I get married. You stick around and get 'joint custody' or whatever just like it was a divorce. Then this little kid will be brought up in a broken home just like we were. Isn't that what we were trying to avoid?"
Tristan sighed. "Rory, I don't think that that'll be happening."
"And how are you so sure?"
"Because. Rory, I can only imagine myself spending my life with one person, y-"
"Alrighty." the agent interrupted. "I found a property across town that should be appropriate for your needs. It's a regular house, not part of a condo community. If you guys would like to see it we can go right now."
"Yah, that would be great," Rory said.
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"Rory, where the hell did you get so much crap?" Lorelai asked as she dragged yet another box into the new house. She read the label on the box. "KITCHEN APPLIANCES?" she cried. "Rory, I'm offended. You actually bought kitchen appliances? What happened to eating out for the rest of our lives?"
Rory looked up from where she was arranging pictures on the mantel and shrugged. Tristan had insisted she didn't lift anything heavy since she was pregnant. So she had been enjoying watching her mother complain to Luke all afternoon about his 'moving method,' one that included Lorelai helping out with the heavy boxes.
The house was perfect for them. It was two stories with three bedrooms, but it was rather small, less than 1400 square feet total. But all the same it suited their needs perfectly.
"That's the last of it," Lorelai said, coming back into the house with one last box and a basket balanced on top of it. "Oh man I'm tired," she said, sinking onto the couch.
"You and Luke should go home," Rory said, sitting on the sofa beside her mother.
"No baby. We can stay and help put things together."
"This is the fun stuff. I like doing all this organizing. Plus Paris is coming tomorrow and she'll be a big help. You know how she is with organization. You and Luke have done so much already."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Well then, I guess we should be getting off. It's a long drive back to Stars Hollow."
She stood and kissed her daughter. "Call me if you need anything."
"I will."
Lorelai called for Luke and he emerged from upstairs. They left after a final round of goodbyes, leaving Rory in silence. She stretched and stood up, walking to the kitchen to find some pop tarts.
"Hey you," she said, spotting Tristan kneeling on the floor in the kitchen installing new knobs on the cabinets.
"Hey yourself," he answered, looking up. She stood on her tiptoes to reach the pop tarts in the cabinet above the counter. Her shirt raised up a little as she did so, revealing several inches of bare skin. Tristan stared at her stomach, enthralled. He reached out and placed his hand on her soft skin.
His cold hand against her warm stomach surprised her, and she looked down at the man kneeling on the floor.
"You're starting to show," he said, a smile spreading across his face.
"Good, I thought it was all the pop tarts adding up over the past four months," she joked.
He stood up, his hand still on her stomach. He ran his free hand through her hair. She closed her eyes, leaning against him. When she opened them again she saw Tristan staring down at her. His hand slid from her stomach to her hip, and his other slid from her hair to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. Rory looked at him, surprise apparent in her big blue eyes. He lowered his head. "I love you Mary," he whispered when there were only centimeters separating their lips.
And then he kissed her.
