Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls is not mine, nor has it ever been mine. Only an idiot would sue me, because I own about $20 to my name. Oh, and some CD's. But that's all you'd get... suckers!!!

A/N: Sadly, this is the last chapter before the epilogue. I'll save the sappy speech for then, but I thought I'd better warn you!

Thanx: To all my reviewers! Y'all rock! And especially to Katherine (rosie 4299) who has become a friend throughout the turmoil of this story. Read her stories!

Rating: PG-13

Chapter 21: No More Sleeping On Couches

Rory awoke to a very sore body from sleeping on the couch. She used to like doing it when she was in high school, but now her body needed a comfortable bed. She groaned as she rolled onto her back and she heard her back pop from the movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pink and white foot right next to her head! Rory almost jumped off the couch, but then realize it was Lorelai. Her mother's sleeping form was curled up on the opposite end, except for one leg, which is what scared the crap out of Rory.

As Rory continued to shift around and get comfortable, the events of the night before came rushing back to her. She felt the overwhelming desire to throw up when she remembered what Tristan had said the night before. She took a couple of deep breaths to settle her churning stomach. When she felt well enough, she carefully climbed off the couch, rubbing her stiff limbs. She really needed to stop sleeping on couches. Rory glanced at Lorelai and felt relief when she realized she wasn't mad at her!

The fear that Lorelai would hate her for being pregnant haunted Rory on the drive to Stars Hollow. The drive with Tristan. Tristan. Hot tears stung behind Rory's eyes, but she blinked them back refusing to cry over what he said to her. How dare he? A light tapping at the door interrupted her thoughts. A small part of Rory hoped it was Tristan, but another part was praying it wasn't; she didn't know what she would even say to him.

She heard someone hiss a Lorelai through the door, and curiously she opened it. Luke was standing on her porch, and his comfort level dropped down to zero as soon as he saw Rory standing there. She looked awful. Her hair was a tangled mess and her mascara ran into dark circles under her eyes. She still had a few tearstains that ran from her eyes to her chin. Luke wanted to just scoop this terrified little girl into his arms and hold her. She was the closest thing he had to a daughter, and although he'd never told her, he loved her like he was her father.

"Hi Rory, uh, is your Mom awake?" he asked.

"Oh, not yet," Rory replied.

Even though she was an emotional wreck, Rory sensed something was off. Luke's eyes were focused on the floor, almost as if he knew about...

"How?" Rory said in disbelief.

"What?" he replied, his eyes left the floor momentarily to look at Rory's puzzled face.

Rory stared him down, with an intensity she learned only from her mother. He felt like squirming, but the "manly" part of his brain refused to do that. It was still pretty unnerving.

"How do you know? Did my mother call you? How?"

Luke swore in his head as he felt Rory's fear about other people knowing her dark secret. She wasn't ready to tell people and he knew it. Luke decided playing dumb wouldn't solve anything so he did what his instincts wanted to do in the first place. He pulled Rory into a hug.

Luke thought it would be awkward, but as soon as his strong arms circled around her petite frame, the hug felt natural. As if he should have done it last night as she slept with the terror of her future awaiting her. Rory was taken by surprise, but returned the hug and buried her face into his chest to muffle her sobs.

"Shhh, it's okay. Everything will be alright."

"I ca-an't do this al-alone," she sobbed.

"You won't, Rory."

Luke pulled away from her and firmly grabbed her by her shoulders and looked into her dark blue eyes. They seemed darker than usual. More troubled and less innocent. He shook those meaningless thoughts out of his mind, and looked at this petrified young girl in front of him.

"You will never be alone, Rory. Your mother will be there, I will be there. Hell, this entire town will be here for you."

Rory shook her head negatively, "I know all that, but Tristan won't be here and I need him. I need him here."

A fresh round of tears sprang up, and Luke embraced her again while gritting his teeth at the little punk. He thought that boy was trouble the moment he laid eyes on him, but he kept his mouth shut and refused to listen to his intuition. Now, he was holding Rory as her body shook with sobs. He was going to punch that kid's lights out.

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Tristan groaned as he woke up. It wasn't even 7 a.m. and he was already wide-awake.

"Damn military school," he muttered.

His was desperate for a workout, but his mind refused. His muscles cramped up as he moved into a sitting position. The couch was about a foot too short and that was very uncomfortable. Wait, why was he sleeping on the couch? Whose house was he in? It took a second for the terrible night to come back to him. He must have been trying to repress it, but it was one of those things that just kept replaying in his mind.

Rory's face when she ordered him to get out was all he kept thinking about. It was like he had that moment paused in his mind. Tristan knew he'd never be able to forget it. Inflicting that kind of emotional pain on someone you love doesn't fade easily. Tristan rubbed his eyes and glanced over when he saw his niece stumbling down the stairs. At least he wasn't the only early riser.

"Morning sunshine," he greeted her, trying to act like nothing was wrong.

Morgan walked over to him and climbed onto his lap. He put his arms around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. His heart skipped a beat when he pictured his own daughter climbing into his lap. He thought about how happy he was when Morgan was born, and the joy he felt when he held her for the first time. He could be a father. He had to be.

"Uncle Trithtan. Why are you here?"

Damn. He knew he couldn't lie to her. Kids were too perceptive. Santa Clause was one thing, but lying about why he was at her house and why he stayed for dinner was another.

"Well, I needed to talk to your mommy."

"Why?"

Damn. Stupid inquisitive stage.

"Well, your mommy's very smart and she's always helped me with my problems."

"Why?"

"Hey Morgan, do you want to watch cartoons?"

She agreed and he sighed in relief as he flipped the channel to Wylie Coyote and the Roadrunner. This was Rory's favorite, he thought, as a lump formed in his throat. He had to get down to Stars Hollow. It would take him a couple of hours to get there, and by then he assumed Rory would definitely be awake. Well, maybe he should stop by his apartment first to change his clothes, and that way Rory will have some more time to deal with everything.

"Hey Morgan, honey."

"Yeth Uncle Trithtan."

"When your mommy gets up, can you tell her that I had to leave?"

"Okay, but why do you have to leave?"

"I need to go correct a big mistake."

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Rory finally pulled away from Luke and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. Luke looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. She tried to smile back, but it was hollow. Her eyes were still that dark blue that signaled her true pain.

"Hey, why don't you go shower and get dressed. I'll wake your mom up."

Rory nodded and began to trudge up the stairs. She was about halfway there when she heard Luke say her name. She turned around and looked at him.

"Everything will be okay."

For some reason, she believed him this time. She thought about that as she took a long, slow shower. As she soaped her flat stomach, she let her hand linger there for a moment. She thought about having a baby in there. Rory knew Tristan would apologize. He had to, right? She couldn't even bring herself to think about him not being there, so she didn't. In her mind, she thought about him holding her hand though the entire scary process. If he was there, she knew she could do it.

While she showered, Luke slowly shook Lorelai. Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Luke standing over her. She put her right hand on his arm and smiled. Her smile fell from her face, however, when she noticed the absence of her daughter. Luke saw her smile leave and gave her a chaste kiss. They pulled away, and he looked into her eyes.

"I came here to see how everything was. Rory's showering right now, and I think she's going to be okay."

Luke felt the need to leave out their moment on the porch. That was something Rory needed, and he wasn't going to say another word about it. He knew that they would both pretend it never happened, but they had somehow formed a bond in those brief minutes.

"Yeah, I know she will be. She is half mine, right?" Lorelai said, faintly.

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Tristan pulled into an empty parking space and jogged up the stairs. Glancing at his watch, he realized that he'd get to Stars Hollow sometime after lunch, depending on how much traffic there was. He unlocked the door and entered his home. It seemed like forever since he had been there, then he remembered that he'd been living at Rory's since the accident.

Greg walked out of his bedroom and looked at Tristan with a puzzled expression.

"Hey man, where have you been? Paris and I were just on the phone and we both thought you and Rory had spent the night at the other's place."

Tristan really didn't want to discuss what a jackass he was, so he opted for vagueness. "Oh, yeah. We went to Stars Hollow."

"Oh, why? I thought you wouldn't let Rory even leave her dorm," he teased.

"Well, we decided to go there, and that was it," Tristan said, shortly.

"Woah, what's with the attitude?"

Tristan ran his hand through hair, which was even messier than usual, and sighed. "Hey, I'm sorry I just had a really bad night."

"Oh okay, well I take it you don't want to talk about it, so I'm off to get Paris. We're going to go "looking" at wedding stuff. Even though she claims we won't get married until after we graduate."

Tristan let out a weak laugh, "Well, have fun."

Greg left the apartment, and Tristan quickly showered. The hot water definitely helped to relax his stiff muscles, which relieved him. He changed into a fresh pair of clothes, and hurried out the door. He'd dawdled enough, and now all he wanted to do was get to Rory. He only had one more stop to make... the flower store.

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Rory finished her shower and came downstairs in her mother's clothes, since she didn't pack anything to stay the night. Her mouth dropped when she saw Luke kissing her mother! Luke kissing her mother. That's how Luke knew! They were dating. Rory was to preoccupied to really think about Lorelai and Luke together. She made some noise, and smiled a little when she saw them jump apart.

"Um, I'm going to go see Lane."

"Okay honey, are you sure you're okay?"

Sending a smile to Luke, she said, "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Rory closed the door behind her and strolled through the streets of her hometown. Friendly faces smiled from everywhere, and Rory knew she wanted to raise her child here. That was the first time she had thought about planning things beyond the child's birth. She smiled as the wind blew her hair away from her face. Finally, she reached her destination and knocked on Lane's apartment door.

"Rory!" she exclaimed. "How are you?

"I'm okay," Rory said. "I need to talk to you, though."

"Oh okay, Zach and Brian are out grocery shopping, so we have quite a while. What's going on?"

"Well, uh, I'm pregnant."

Lane's mouth dropped open as the words tumbled out of her best friend's mouth. This couldn't be happening! Her best friend didn't get pregnant. I mean, she knew Rory and Tristan had had sex. Rory told her after the car accident and they had a long talk about how it was, but Lane couldn't seem to understand how Rory could be pregnant!

"Are you sure?"

"Well I'm late. Really late."

"Rory, that doesn't necessarily mean you're pregnant. You didn't even get a test."

Rory looked at Lane confused, "I didn't even think about that. You're right, I should. You know, just to make sure."

"Well, let's go. We need to get to Hartford."

"Hartford? Why?"

"Well, you don't want everyone in the whole town knowing, do you?" Lane asked her.

"Oh yeah. I didn't even think about that."

The two girls walked to Doose's, to ask Zach if they could borrow his car. He agreed and handed them the keys. They quickly thanked him, and then hurried back and hopped into Zach's car. The drive to Hartford was relatively quiet. Rory was thinking about what she was going to do once the test came out positive. She knew it would, she was always regular. Always.

---------------

Twenty minutes later, Rory squatted over a plastic stick attempting to pee. It wasn't very easy, being that she and Lane were in Walmart and she was trying to aim so the stick would definitely get pee on it. She finished up in the stall and came out. She set the plastic stick on top of the box, which was lying on the counter and Lane looked at her watch.

"We'll know in five minutes."

"Yeah," Rory said quietly.

"So, what are you going to do if it's positive?" Lane asked her.

"I guess I'll just have to be the best mother I can be."

Lane smiled at her childhood friend. She was proud of Rory, because even though she had freaked out in the beginning, she was taking responsibility for her actions. Lane knew Tristan would come back to Rory. In the days after the accident, he gave Rory anything and everything she needed. He would be back, and then they'd be a family.

"Uh, Lane? Is it time?"

Glancing at her watch, she nodded. Rory picked up the stick and prepared herself to see the blue line, indicating she was indeed pregnant. What she hadn't expected was to see the single pink line. There was no baby. After the hell she and Tristan had gone through, it was just a scare.

"Well?" Lane asked.

"It's negative," Rory told her in disbelief.

Tears began to fill her eyes. Even though she wasn't ready to have a baby, she had begun to get used to the idea of having one. Now that she knew she wasn't pregnant what would make Tristan come back? Tristan. He had to know, and that meant that she had to tell him how stupid she was! How could she have told her mother she was pregnant without even making sure? Rory was a planner, she didn't go off the deep end, but she sure did this time. Only a couple droplets escaped from her eyes and she furiously wiped them away. She threw the test back in the box and threw it away, and then washed her hands.

Lane watched the whole thing, a little shocked. She saw how freaked out Rory was at being a mother, but now she was crying. The whole thing didn't make any sense, but Lane sensed that this wasn't a good time to question Rory about it.

"Are you ready to go?" Lane asked her gently.

"Yeah, come on."

The car ride back to Stars Hollow was another silent one, but this time for different reasons. Rory was so sure she was going to have a baby that she didn't even think about the thought of not having one. All of a sudden, her insides felt hollow, when earlier they felt full. Full of a life she would bring into the world.

Once they reached the square, Rory thanked Lane for the ride and asked her to drop her off at the Gazebo. She obliged and gave Rory a quick hug before Rory got out of the car. Rory appreciated the gesture and gave her a reassuring smile, so Lane would know that she was going to be fine. Lane nodded in response, understanding the sign completely. Rory shut the car door and walked over to the Gazebo. Climbing the steps, she sat on one of the benches and wrapped her arms around herself. And that was how Tristan found her.

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Finally, Tristan reached Stars Hollow and he drove through the Town Square headed for Lorelai's house. He had to apologize to Rory and just pray that she would forgive him for his behavior the night before. Finally he pulled up to the home of Lorelai Gilmore and he trudged up the stairs, hoping Rory would be the one to open it. He had a feeling Rory would be more inclined to forgive him than Lorelai would.

The door swung open and Lorelai stood there, looking very unhappy. A disheveled Luke stood beside her, and when Lorelai spun around and walked into the house Tristan knew it was bad. Luke glared at Tristan and stepped onto the porch.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked him, sharply.

When Tristan didn't answer he continued. "Because last night, you left a VERY upset girl here. You made her feel terrified and all alone, and this the time when she needs you the most."

Luke watched the shame on the boy's face, and he saw his usual military posture go into a slump. He kind of felt sorry for the kid, but then he remembered rocking a sobbing Rory on the very porch they stood on just a couple of hours ago. Tristan finally looked up, to see a slightly softer Luke, but Tristan knew the older man was still very angry with him.

"I'm sorry. I just... I need to talk to Rory. I'm so sorry."

Luke finally took pity on the guy and put his hand on his shoulder. "Listen, she's at Lane's right now. Probably talking about you, so go. Talk to her. She needs you, trust me."

Tristan nodded in thanks and took off running. He ran as fast as he could, just thinking about Rory. He remembered her at the party and it seemed to be a lifetime ago. Tristan smiled when he remembered how drunk she was. Their relationship skyrocketed from there. He didn't want that ever to end. He was thinking about this as he jogged past the Gazebo. He almost missed seeing the beautiful brunette that had stolen his heart as a teenager, but he did see her.

"Rory! Thank God I found you," he called out to her as he climbed the steps to get to her.

As soon as Rory heard her name being called, she wiped away the tears that had been trickling down her cheeks to join their millions of friends that had fallen from her eyes in the last 24 hours. Tristan noticed this, but wasn't sure how to react. He decided to just apologize to her.

"God Rory, I was such an asshole!"

When she didn't try to stop him, he continued. "I'm so sorry, Mary. I really am. It's just that I was so angry, and the words just came out of my mouth. I couldn't stop it, and you're mother... well, you know how your mother is, and I'm so sorry..."

Rory almost smiled in spite of herself. Tristan DuGrey was babbling! He never babbled. In fact, he made fun of Rory when she did. Having him standing in front of her made her feel so much better; almost as if he could take away all the turmoil of emotions she'd been forced to endure over the last couple of days, hell over the last couple of weeks.

"Tristan," she said quietly, finally taking pity on him. "You're babbling."

He cut off abruptly and looked into his girlfriend's eyes. The mother of his child's eyes.

"Yeah, well I just want you to know that I'm sorry about what I said. It was completely uncalled for and you did nothing to deserve what I said. And I also want you to know that I'll be here for you. Always. I want to be a part of our child's life, and nothing, I mean nothing, will get in the way of that. I love you."

Tristan watched as Rory's face fell when he finished. At first, he thought that she didn't want him to have any part of her life, or their child's. After analyzing her facial expressions and body language, he realized that wasn't it. Rory was struggling with something, but he couldn't figure out what that could possibly be.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he asked her, hoping it was alright to call her honey.

Rory swallowed and then replied, "Uh, I'm not pregnant. There is no baby."

It took two minutes for that information to seep in, and Tristan had to sit down. This was an overload on his senses. He hadn't even thought about that possibility. She said baby, and he didn't even question it. No baby. He wasn't going to be a father. There wasn't going to be any of that huge responsibility awaiting him. There wasn't going to be a soft little bundle that he could call his own, either. This news saddened him somehow, but he knew that neither he nor Rory were ready for a child.

"Is it wrong to feel a little disappointed?" he asked.

Rory turned to look at him and almost smiled. "You feel disappointed?"

He nodded, and she leaned over and hugged him with all the strength she had. For the rest of the afternoon, the couple sat there holding each other just waiting for the pain to go away. They still needed to work on the blows to their relationship, but that would come tomorrow. Tonight, they would just hold each other mourning the loss of a child that never was.

A/N: All that's left is the epilogue now!!! Must save long speech for next chapter! Ugh, this is hard! I'd love to know what you thought of this extra long chapter (I didn't want to break it into two separate ones), so please review!!!