Disclaimer: I wish I owned Gilmore Girls. Unfortunately, I wasted my birthday wish on my CD player. Oh well... there's always next year.

A/N: Hallo loves! I have ironed out most of the wrinkles for the rest of the story, so yay! I really hope y'all enjoy this installment!!!


Thanx: To my special beta, Katherine (rosie4299) READ HER STORIES. And of course, to all my reviewers; you're the ones that make me get up in the morning... well u and my alarm clock ;)

Rating: Pg-13 (if that)

Chapter 17: Make-ups and Meetings

The sirens wailed, as the ambulance rushed to Hartford Memorial. Tristan held Rory's hand tightly as they sped through the streets of Connecticut. He could tell that Rory was nervous just by one look into her eyes. They usually shimmered with excitement, but now they were darkened with fear and uncertainty. He squeezed her hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her face; she smiled, grateful for the gesture.

"Okay, Miss Gilmore. We're here," the young paramedic said.

"Oh... ok-kay."

The door swung open and half a dozen people in scrubs raced to get her out. They began wheeling her down the hall and Tristan held her hand, trying to keep her calm. He knew Rory well enough to know when she was close to one of her meltdowns. She was definitely freaked out before the accident, and he really didn't want to see what she would be like if she started to have an anxiety attack. He felt her hand trembling in his and he knew she was close to breaking down when they slowed the gurney down in front of a room.

"Excuse me, sir. You can't go in there with her."

Rory heard this, and Tristan cringed when he heard her voice. "Please. I need him with me. Please."

That was all it took for the tears to pour like the dams in her eyes broke. She began to choke on her sobs, since she was lying down, and the nurse's heart went out to the poor girl. It was obvious that she had been through quite an ordeal, so she spoke to a doctor.

"Okay, you can stay," she said, mostly to Rory. Then she turned to Tristan and whispered, "Try to keep her calm."

He nodded and went into the room with her. A young orderly gave Rory a gown and asked if she needed help. Rory shook her head softly, and so the woman left. Rory sat on the side of the bed with the gown in her hands. She looked at Tristan, and he knew in a moment that she wanted him to help her. Carefully, he slipped her arms through her sleeves and pulled her shirt up and over her head. He unhooked her bra and slipped it off her shoulders, exposing her breasts. Laying her down on the bed, he tenderly eased her jeans off of her and then put her gown on and tied it in the back. Kissing her lips, softly, he helped her into the bed and covered her up. Then, they waited.

"I had a fight with my mom."

"What?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I told her we had sex. She asked if we used a condom. I said no. She freaked. I stormed out. The accident happened. And now here we are."

"Whoa," Tristan stated as he tried to process it all.

"So, that's why you left?"

"Yeah. I had to get out of there."

A moment later, a young woman in a white lab coat knocked on the door and opened it before waiting for a response.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Landers. How are you feeling?"

"I...I'm okay. Just a little shaken up."

"Understandable. Now, we're going to take you to X-Ray, just to make sure everything is okay."

Rory nodded, and a couple of orderlies helped her into a wheelchair. During the X-rays, Tristan had to wait outside, but Rory definitely calmed down some so she was okay. In a few minutes they were finished and she was taken back to her room. Dr. Landers had a nurse put some pain medication through Rory's IV, and told them she would be back to check on her once the X-rays came back. Tristan held Rory's hand as her eyelids became heavy and darkness closed in around her.

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Frantically, Lorelai ran into the ER and looked around at all the people sitting in the waiting room. She knew she looked awful, because sobs had took hold of her body only minutes before. She spotted a line by a desk and raced to it. Luke stood beside her, nervously eyeing all the people there. If Lorelai had been in the right state of mind, she would have noticed that his face was a few shades paler than it usually was. Finally, it was her turn.

"My baby. Where is she? Do you know? Can you help me? I'm her mother and she was in a car accident, and I just want to see her. Please tell me where she is," Lorelai rambled in desperation to the nurse.

"Name?"

"Oh, Lorelai Gilmore. Wait, why do you need to know my name?"

"I meant the patient, honey. What is your daughter's name?" the nurse replied, looking at Lorelai as if she was the stupidest woman alive.

"Oh, well her full name is Lorelai Gilmore, but it could be under Rory."

The nurse really stared at her then, because she realized the hysterical woman named her daughter after herself. Sighing, she typed Gilmore into the computer and saw that the young woman in question was already in a room upstairs.

"Ma'am, she's in room 307, which is upstairs."

Without thanking the nurse, she pulled Luke down the hall to the elevators, only hoping that everything was okay. If the rational part of her brain was working properly, she would have realized that it was a good sign Rory was in her own room.

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Tristan watched Rory as she slept and traced his hand over her cuts. A knot was already formed on her head, where she hit the steering wheel. She complained that her whole body hurt, but they weren't sure if she had broken anything and they advised her to remain still. Her eye was slowly getting puffy, and he knew from experience that she would have a black eye by the next morning. He was wrapped in his thoughts when he heard some kind of commotion from outside. Tristan couldn't contain his curiosity, so he exited Rory's room with one last longing look at her.

His mouth dropped at the sight he beheld. Lorelai was yelling at a nurse in the middle of the hallway. Luke was standing beside her, looking like he was about to puke, and the poor nurse was terrified. That was understandable, though, because anyone would fear the wrath of Lorelai. He quickly snapped out of his bewilderment and darted to his girlfriend's mother.

"Lorelai, what's the problem?"

She turned her focus away from the frightened young woman and glared at Tristan. He wanted to squirm under her scrutiny, but his time in military school, heck even when his father used to look at him like that, trained him not to move a muscle. She spoke in a low voice to whoever was on the other end of the telephone before turning it off.

"There! Are you happy now? I turned my damn cell phone off!" she yelled before rushing to the room.

Luke and Tristan shot an apologetic look at the nurse before hurrying after the panicky woman. They reached the room, and looked in and saw Lorelai staring at Rory's unconscious form. Luke's heart almost broke when he saw the look on her face when she turned around.

"W...what's wrong with her?" she asked.

"Oh, she's okay," Tristan reassured her. "They just gave her some pain medication, so she's knocked out."

Relief quickly relaxed Lorelai's tense features and she turned her attention back to her sleeping daughter. Tristan decided to leave her alone because Rory had told him about the fight the two of them had before she left. He felt sick inside just thinking about what that could feel like. Motioning to Luke, they stepped into the hall, so Lorelai could have some private time with Rory.

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"Sooo, how are you handling this?" Luke asked Tristan.

Running his hand through his messy hair, he replied, "Not well. I mean, I may seem calm on the outside, but I'm a wreck right now. I saw her in the car. Oh God, she was so scared I just wanted to hold her in my arms until she stopped crying. I hate it when she cries."

"Yeah. Lorelai was a mess, too."

Tristan nodded, he knew how close Rory was to Lorelai and he hated driving a wedge between them, but he really didn't mean to. In a way, he thought the fight was more about the fact that he took Rory's virginity more than the fact that they hadn't used a condom. Rory was on the pill, so Lorelai was overreacting. He thought the reason she was so mad was because this meant Rory didn't have to confide in her anymore. Lorelai felt that her job was done because Rory wasn't a virgin anymore and she didn't need to talk to her mother about everything. Tristan knew this was completely untrue because the two of them were inseparable.

"I just hope she's okay, I love her so much." Tristan said, he felt weird talking to Luke of all people about this, but for some reason he felt comfortable.

"I know you do. I can tell by the way you look at her. She'll be okay, and Lorelai will accept you, just be patient."

Tristan nodded and weakly smiled at Luke. He was glad he could talk to him, he never could talk to a grown man other than his grandfather when he was growing up. It felt nice to be able to spill your troubles to someone who wasn't alive during World War II. Just then, they saw a young man run into Rory's room. That sparked their curiosity, so they went to see who it could be.

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Lorelai stood in the doorway and gazed over her daughter's fragile form. In her sleep, Rory looked like the little girl that Lorelai used to wake up to see the first snow. Slowly, Lorelai made her way over to the bed and sat in the chair that Tristan had occupied only moments ago. She took Rory's limp hand and gave it a small squeeze. Lorelai didn't even notice that she was crying, until she saw a droplet fall onto her daughter's pasty white flesh. She sniffled and shook with grief, but all of a sudden she felt movement in her hand.

"Tristan?" Rory hoarsely whispered.

"No honey, it's me."

"Mom," she choked out.

"Yeah. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I'm sorry..." she started.

"No. You have no reason to be sorry. I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I didn't mean it. Not one word of it. I was just scared because this was just one more step away from me," Lorelai said as the tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.

"It's okay, Mom. I'm glad you're here. I'm scared."

"It's okay, I know you are and I'll be here with you the whole way."

The two Gilmore Girls sat in the room together holding hands and listening to all the monitors beep around them. Lorelai was relieved that they had patched things up on the surface at least. She knew a long talk awaited them, but for now Rory needed her and had momentarily forgiven her. The entire ride to the hospital, all she thought about was the conversation she had with Rory right before the accident. The thought of not being able to make up with Rory physically made her ill, so she tried to push those thoughts from her head. At that moment, the door to Rory's room opened and someone walked in.

"Lor?"

Lorelai turned around and was stunned. "Oh my God! Chris."

"Dad?" Rory whispered.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I'm glad you're here."

Luke and Tristan entered the room just in time to see the strange man lean over and give Rory a kiss on the cheek. Tristan felt his blood start to boil, and at that same moment Luke realized who it was. Tristan decided to keep his mouth shut, though, because he knew it would be best for Rory if he didn't blow his top.

"How did you get here so fast?" Lorelai asked him, thinking about the phone conversation the nurse interrupted only a mere half-hour before.

"I was in Hartford on business, so I raced over here as soon as you called me."

Just then, Chris noticed the two men at the door. He knew Luke, and although they weren't friends on any level, they were at least civil to each other. The young man was tall and athletically built with messy blonde hair. The scowl on his face made it obvious that the kid didn't like him.

"Oh, hi Luke. Uhh, I'm Chris," he said as offered his hand to Tristan.

Putting on a smug look, Tristan accepted the gesture, "Tristan."

The two kept their hands and eyes locked, as if challenging each other. Chris reluctantly pulled away when he saw the fire in the young man's eyes. He focused his attention on Rory, but could still feel Tristan's eyes burning a hole into the back of his head.

"Tristan? Come here," Rory's small voice said.

He obliged and pushed past Chris with a haughty smirk and sat on the opposite side of the bed that Lorelai was sitting on. He took her other hand in his and bushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. Chris watched this and knew in a second how much this guy cared for his daughter. It made him feel a little jealous because he didn't even know she was dating anyone. That was probably his fault, but he still wanted to be a part of his daughter's life! Just then Dr. Landers entered the room, and smiled at all the people.

"Hello Rory. I'm glad to see you're awake."

"Yeah. Is everything okay?"

"Yes it is. I looked over all you're X-rays and it seems that you most likely have a concussion, but other than that you're fine."

Everyone in the room visibly relaxed and the doctor continued, "I do want to keep you overnight for observation, but you can go home first thing in the morning."

"Thank you, Doctor," Lorelai said as the young woman left the room.

"I'm tired, I think the drugs are kicking back in."

"Okay, sweetie," Chris said. "We'll be in the hospital if you need us."

"Thanks Dad. Good night."

The word 'Dad' sent waves of relief through Tristan. He thought it was an ex-boyfriend or something, but now that he knew it wasn't, he was glad. Tristan knew her father was important to her, and she only got to see him every once in a while. He didn't have a good relationship with his father, either, so he was glad they at least got along. He leaned over her bed and gave her a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you," he whispered in his ear.

"I love you, too," she replied sleepily as she slipped off into dreamland.

A/N: Yay! I finished this chapter, FINALLY! The Crucible is over, sadly, but at least I have more time to write! I hope you liked this chapter. Please tell me what you thought about it!!!