CHAPTER 18

Dawn broke over the horizon when Tristin got to see Rory again. Everything outside the building was washed clean by the rain. The birds chirping seem to act like a storm never passed.

He stared at her longingly. Her face and skin was pale but her breathing was calmer and rhythmic compared to the shallow sounds she made earlier that morning. One thing he was glad the staff didn't do was take off the ring he gave her. She made the loose ring part of a charm bracelet she wore. He never recognized it before this moment but he was glad she made a choice to have him part of her somehow. Part of Tristin felt like he was with her the whole time. In his head, he helped carry her through the crisis, especially the hardest parts.

Rory heard the door creak. She doesn't know how long she's been out but she was groggy and numb. She wanted to open her eyes but she felt so tired and limp, she cannot move any of her muscles.

"Hey Rory," he said almost inaudibly. "You scared me there for a second, princess."

Silence is all Tristin heard. Rory tried talking to him.

'Tristin! Thank goodness you're here. I'm glad you didn't leave me alone,' she said silently.

"Dr. Bennett told me that you're going to do fine. You have been a bad girl, though. She said that you could've died because of that bleeding thing. Don't you do that again!" he proceeded to chastise her as he grabbed her hand and got comfortable on a chair next to her. "But she said that the next time we're going to have kids, you have to be watched by the doc at least for the first couple of months."

He looked at her limp form before giving her hand a squeeze. "Rory, I won't lie and say that I was willing to take the next big step with you and the baby and all but part of me is relieved that this happened. Call me jealous and selfish. Maybe I am still childish," he defended his rationale. "But I promise you that next time you get pregnant, it will be our child and I will be prepared to take care of our baby."

Rory's heart soared as she felt his big hand cover hers. It was warm and soothing. He still wants her. He wants her to have his children! If Rory could shed a tear, she would be a sobbing mess right now. She admitted she was scared. She was confused, hurt and numb. She was upset that the life she carried in her was gone. It was a blessing and a curse her baby was conceived and lost. Did that give her a license to be reborn herself and look at life differently? Again, her physical state left her void of any emotion. She cannot blame him for his thoughts and his confessions. She herself battled the demons he faced only she got to sleep through the whole thing. Tristin had to witness it. Only a superhero would take the abuse the way he had.

She heard the sadness on his voice. She wanted to put her arms around him and tell him not to cry. She was the one who was supposed to grieve, not him!

"Rory, I called your mom," he continued on. "She'll be here soon. She might be able to give you better support than me. I just wanted to tell you that I am so sorry for you and the baby," he said as he started crying. "Rory, you had a baby boy."

She had a baby boy. How would he have looked like? What would he have become if he grew up? Now her dreams and wishes for her baby had been banished as quickly as she had known she was with child. What was she to tell her mother? Rory worried that her mother would think that Tristin was responsible for her current state. She prayed that Lorelai would see reason and would talk to her first before accusing Tristin of something he had no clue of until a few hours ago. And at that, the point is moot.

He felt her squeeze his hand. He got up and tried to wipe his eyes with his other hand. "Baby, Rory, wake up."

She still cannot open her eyes but she gave his hand another squeeze.

"Okay. Get some sleep. I'll talk to you later on when you've rested. I love you," he whispered as he kissed her cheek. He sniffled and walked out of the room.

'Don't go!' she tired to say but her voice wouldn't project. 'I love you, Tristin. I love you.' She wept inside as she heard the door shut behind him.

He had to get out of the building after seeing her. Finding her hooked up on gadgets and tubes made him uneasy. He felt suffocated. The crisp air provided him with a sense of solace as he got out of the sterile environment.

"Tristin!" a female voice called out from the side of the building.

"Lorelai!" he acknowledged her.

"Oh my God. I was so worried. What happened? I drove here as fast as I could," she spoke as quickly as she walked toward him.

"She's fine now. She's stabilized but she lost the baby," he informed her.

"What? What baby?" Lorelai asked. "Rory's not pregnant."

"She isn't now," Tristin said.

With a sharp crack, Tristin's cheek stung. "How dare you," she growled. "I trusted you, Tristin."

Tristin was shocked. How could he tell Lorelai that he wasn't the sperm donor to Rory's little package? He touched the sensitive side of his face. "I trusted Rory, too!" he defended himself.

"How could you?" Lorelai responded. She huffed at Tristin's silence. "Where is she? I want to talk to her, see her."

"You'll find her at the OB ward, third door on the right," he instructed her.

"I want you to stay away from my daughter as far as you could or so God help me I will hurt you myself," Lorelai threatened him. She took long strides away from Tristin, not even giving him a glance back.

"Damn it," he swore. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Graham.

"Hello?" a sleep induced voice responded.

"I'm sorry, Graham," Tristin muttered.

"Sorry about what?' Graham asked, still half asleep.

"Rory," he said.

"What about Rory? You're not making sense," he responded almost too detached.

"She lost the baby, man," Tristin clarified.

"Oh, that sucks," he said, taking a deep breath.

"You're taking this very well, Graham. I bet your son is happy that you're not grieving him all that much," Tristin said sarcastically.

"She had a boy? Wow," he replied. "I mean yeah, I'm sad to hear her lose the baby but I really can't be depressed about it. I mean, I proposed to her just to take care of her and the baby."

"Yeah? What the hell was that all about, proposing to her and crap?" Tristin asked. He just felt like punching his cousin if he was in the vicinity.

"Look, get this in your head," Graham said, a little irate at this point. "The baby's not mine, Tristin. It's Dean's," he clarified.

Now it all made perfect sense.

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"Rory?" Lorelai's voice broke into the room.

Rory lifted her head despite her groggy state. "Mom," Her scratchy throat croaked.

"Hey, I heard this is the most happening joint in town," Lorelai tried to lighten up the mood.

"Ha, ha, mom. You're a regular Penn and Teller act," she responded. Rory's body's aches and pains started stinging. However, the lower half of her body was still numb with anesthetics.

Lorelai sat on the chair that had been vacant for a while. "Rory, why didn't you tell me you were carrying Tristin's kid?" she asked cautiously.

"I wasn't," Rory responded.

"But Tristin said you were with child?" she asked again.

"I was," Rory said somberly. She remembered bits and pieces of what Tristin told her. She lost her son with Dean. Maybe it was for the better. "But it wasn't Tristin's."

"Then why are you here?' Lorelai asked.

"Because I had to tell Tristin I was pregnant," she answered calmly.

"That's what phones are for, honey. If it isn't Tristin's, then whose was it?" she asked.

"Dean's."