An Author's Post Wake Up Ramblings- Hi Everyone! Bet you never actually thought that this chapter would every be written, huh? Well, guess what! I finally got that kick in the ass that I needed to update TC! Please, don't kill me, I know I suck. There is this thing called life, in which I have a full time job and a full courseload of college courses, so unless someone wants to pay my bills and do my homework, you'll just have to deal with the infrequent updates. Just remember, I hate not writing as much as all of you (hopefully!) love reading.
Special thank you's go out to my two very favorite people on Sara, (Shouhei) my super de duper beta who originally talked me into not only expanding this story from its original one shot form, but then helped me to decide on the direction that this story should go. And Amy, (abc79de) for stepping in when I was in a jam, and kindly offering her amazing betaing skills. She is not only an amazing author, but also a great friend, and I am so lucky to have both of these girls in my corner!
Chapter Three- Parental Resentment
"There we go." Rory smiled triumphantly at Lori, who finally, after much bargaining and bribery, had agreed to wear a lilac sundress with tiny lacy socks, provided that her shoes were tappy and loud.
She really was Lorelai's grandchild.
"Any luck?" Tristan asked, sticking his head into the room. Rory nodded, and motioned to the tie that was on the bed. It had been a small victory, finally getting Lori to relinquish her father's current favorite tie. She rolled her eyes at his sigh of relief at getting the garment back.
But then, Tristan had every right to be nervous about it, as his last favorite tie had met its untimely demise in his paper shredder at the hands of TJ.
"Daddy!" Lori skipped over to her father, her shoes clicking and clacking on the hardwood floor. "I'm going to name him Mighty Mouse!" She informed him, before rushing past him, down the hall to find her twin brother.
"I know that Lori gets her incoherent babbling skills from your side, but what exactly is she naming 'Mighty Mouse?'" Tristan asked, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer.
"The pony that I promised you would buy her if she wore something that didn't require a snorkel as an accessory." Rory told him, handing the precious scrap of silk to her husband, who slipped it around his neck.
"Great." Tristan groaned dramatically as Rory looped the tie around, expertly pulling the knot into place. "And who, may I ask, is going to take care of this horse?"
"It's a pony, Tris, not a horse." Rory corrected. "There is a difference, you know."
"Oh right, a horse is a horse, of course, of course." Tristan joked, not wanting to ruin the moment just yet. He was enjoying the feeling of having his beautiful wife in his arms, in the first kid-free second since early this morning.
They were supposed to leave to head over to Chilton to expose their prank in less than two hours, and he knew that she was already wound up enough about that. How could she not be? She was Rory after all. And Rory did not trick people. She didn't deceive them for entertainment. At least, not normally.
However, as she had said last night, it was fun, pulling the wool over the eyes of the old Chilton crowd. He had never actually expected her to be so convincing. But she was. Rory played every single person in that room, and in an odd sort of way, it was a turn on.
But then, everything she did turned him on, especially with the way that she had been winding him up this morning, and last night… last night! What a wow factor. The sixteen-year-old Chiltonite that lurked somewhere inside of him was still cheering for nailing the 'Mary' in the hallowed halls of the institution.
"Earth to Tristan!"
He snapped out of his reverie as Rory waved her hand in front of his face. "Where'd you just go?" She asked him, cocking her head to one side.
"Nowhere." Tristan blinked a few times, shaking himself from his thoughts. "What were you saying?"
"Oh, nothing, I just made a brilliant and witty comment about how annoying you are when you try to keep something from me." She raised an eyebrow. "And that 'horse' comment is screaming that you aren't telling me something."
"Oh, no, you've caught me!" Tristan tried to play off her suspicions, not sure if he wanted to have this particular conversation at the current moment. "I'm running away with Louise. We saw each other last night, and we realized that we couldn't be apart any longer, so we're flying to Bermuda tonight, where I plan to divorce you, take all of our money, and start a new life cruising around the Caribbean, without a care in the world."
"Tristan." Rory looked at him, knowing that he was attempting to distract her, and letting him know that it wasn't working.
"We'll share custody of the kids of course; they'll spend six months of the year with me, December to May, and then June through November with you. Fair is fair, I always say."
"When have you ever said that?" Rory asked, laughing as he pulled her into his insane rambling.
"Just now, weren't you listening?"
"And how is that fair?" Rory narrowed her eyes playfully, leaning back in his embrace to see his face contort into that irrepressible smirk of his. "You get them for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter and Earth Day."
"Yes, but you get them for Thanksgiving, Labor Day, and the Fourth of July." Tristan brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face. "Plus, they'll be with you for their birthday."
"Ah, but I won't have any money to buy them presents, since you and Louise are going to hoard it all for yourselves." Rory laughed slightly at the absurdity of the conversation. How had this started? Oh, that's right. He's attempting to get out of telling me what's going on. Well, it wasn't going to work.
"Then you'll know that they love you for you, and not for your flashy gifts."
"Nice try, Tristan." Rory gave him a pointed look. "Tell me what you're hiding."
He sighed loudly, knowing that there was no way out of his predicament. "I was downstairs, searching for your coffee."
"There is no coffee Tristan, it's all in your head."
"Sure."
"Seriously, why do you think that there is some sort of coffee conspiracy?"
"Because there is one." He answered, attempting to derail her again, but she was relentless.
"Nice try. Continue."
"I was downstairs, poking around, and the phone started to ring. So naturally, I search, and search and search, only to find it stuck in the piano bench. Why was it there, anyway?"
"Ask TJ, he did it." Rory answered, laughing as she remembered her mother's antics as Lorelai recounted the story of the missing cordless. Of course, they had many phones in the house, but Lorelai would only use that specific one, citing volume control and the perfect ear comfort level as her reasons behind it. "Mom spent two hours trying to find it last night. TJ told her that he hid it, but he wouldn't tell her where."
"That sounds like TJ, alright." Tristan grinned proudly. "He's really coming into his own."
"Yeah, by five he'll be selling our house to Chinese businessmen, or organizing the town pools for profit." Rory rolled her eyes. "Now, keep going. Stop trying to worm your way out of this, because you know it's not going to work."
"Fine. I answered the phone, and your dad was on the other end." Tristan reluctantly spit out. He winced as he watched her eyes darken, but he held her to him, despite her valiant attempts to disentangle herself. "Rory…"
"No, Tristan." She said firmly, angrily. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again, so maybe, just maybe, this time it will sink into your thick skull. I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to see him. I don't want to have anything to do with him. I'm done."
"But Ror, he's your dad."
"No Tristan, he's not." Rory snapped, ducking under his arm, heading for the door. "Dads are the men who scare away the monsters that live in the closet. Dads read you stories, and tuck you into bed at night. You are a dad. Luke is a dad. Christopher is NOT a dad. He never was, and he never will be."
"He said that he's going to be in Hartford next month." Tristan said, grabbing her arm to prevent her from leaving. "He just wants to drop by and see us."
"No."
"Rory, just give him a chance." Tristan whispered softly, trying to soothe her, but she was too angry to be placated.
"Give him a chance?" Rory's eyes shot up, full of suppressed ire, with a gleam of hurt. "Give him a chance? Tristan, I gave him eighteen years of chances. And do you know what he did? He replaced me."
"He didn't replace you."
"Yes, he did. He had Georgia, and forgot all about me." Rory yelled, yanking her arm away from his grasp. "He had another daughter, and he didn't need me anymore. You know what? I don't need him."
"Rory…" Tristan trailed off as she whipped around, her blue eyes gleaming.
"Don't Tristan. You know how I feel about this. Please, just drop it." She glared at him. "I'm going to go and get ready, I'll meet you at the car." He winced at the loud slam of the door that resounded through his daughter's room, but he didn't go after her. Rory definitely needed some time to cool down.
-
"Aaragh!" Rory fumed, her anger sated slightly as the bedroom door slammed, shaking a framed family portrait that hung nearby on the wall.
Why would Tristan think that she would be the least bit open to talking to her father? After everything that had happened, he should know better. So should Christopher, for that matter.
Rory paced the length of the room, still seething. They had been having such a good morning too. The kids had behaved themselves for the most part, despite Lori's mutinous coffee theft, and TJ's continued interest in the humidifall.
The phone rang, and after three rings, Rory picked up the handset. "What?" She barked into the mouthpiece, in no mood to speak to anyone.
"Geez, what's up, Dugrey?" Rory's mood brightened slightly at the sound of her best friend's voice.
"Lane! How are you?" Rory asked, sitting down on the bed, getting comfortable against the fluffy down pillows that hid the bottom of the headboard from view. "How is the album coming? You've been so cryptic about it lately. I mean, I am your best friend, after all. I deserve the inside scoop."
"Wow. The album is… coming along. It's actually going a little slower than I thought that it would, but that's okay."
"Well, how are the guys?" Rory asked, trying to extract more details from her friend. Why was she being so reluctant?
"Brian is doing well, he just started taking a new allergy medication, and it turns out that he has a pretty good voice now that he's not so nasal."
"Huh."
"And Gil just moved his family out here, so he's happy that he gets to see the kids more often."
"Aw, does that mean that he sold the sandwich shop?" Rory asked, a little disappointed. "I loved those subs."
"Yeah, they sold it. But on the bright side, that kid that knows the perfect mayo-to-mustard ratio for a sandwich is still there."
"Thank God. I swear, he is a true artist." Rory sighed in relief. "Anyway, on to the juicier gossip. How are you and Zach? Still making beautiful music together?" She chuckled at her joke, but grew silent when she realized that Lane was not joining in. "Lane?"
"Actually, we're on a break."
"Like Ross and Rachel?"
"Yeah, except he didn't wait until he heard that Mark guy's voice before he slept with the girl from the copy place. Or in this case, that chippy from the club we were performing in."
"Ugh." Rory narrowed her eyes. "What was he thinking?"
"I don't know." Lane said quietly. "I don't know."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"Why don't you come for a visit?" Rory suggested. "We haven't gotten together in forever, and your godchildren would love to see you."
"Well, the band did decide to take a little vacation. It seems that we're not gelling like we used to." Lane said, slowly warming to the idea of returning to Stars Hollow for a bit of R R.
"See? There's nothing keeping you there. Come back home for a little while. We can hang out. It'll be just like it was when we were sixteen."
"Yeah, minus your husband and two and a half kids." Lane joked, laughing for the first time in over a month. "That actually sounds like a pretty good plan."
"Duh! It was my plan, how could it not be good?"
"So how is everything on your end, Rory?" Lane asked, trying to move the subject of their conversation away from her own life. "Lori and TJ still terrorizing the neighborhood?"
"Of course they are. They do have their father's genes, after all."
"And how is Tristan?"
"He's fine." Rory said, trying not to let the ire she was still feeling after their last conversation infect the chat she was having with Lane.
"Are you mad at him again?" Lane asked, knowing Rory too well for her to ever be able to hide anything from her.
"Kind of."
"What did he do this time?"
"Well, it's not so much something that he did. It's more something that he wants me to do." Rory tried to explain.
"Oh, God. If this is something dirty, please, stop right there." Lane groaned, making a face. "Because seriously, whatever the two of you do between the sheets is your business. I learned my lesson a long time ago, trust me."
"No, Gutterbrain, it's not something naughty." Rory rolled her eyes. "Besides, I don't think that there's anything left that he hasn't been able to talk me into." She added, grinning evilly just imagining the thoughts racing through Lane's mind at that moment.
"I told you I didn't need to know how any of those children were conceived!" Lane shouted at her, in obvious distress. "Aw, man! Now I have those pictures back in my head!"
"Serves you right." Rory laughed. "But it has nothing to do with any Technicolor snapshots you might have running through your mind right now."
"Well?"
"He got a call from Christopher today." Rory explained, pursing her lips in distaste. "Tristan wants me to let him come here next month while the sperm donor is in Hartford."
"What did you say?" Lane asked, interested as to what Rory's reaction to her father's request would be.
"I said no." Rory said, a little surprised that she would think that she would let Christopher anywhere near her family. "Did you think that I was going to let him close to Lori and TJ?"
"Well, he is your dad, Ror."
"Yeah, and you know how I feel about him, Lane." Rory snapped, getting mad at her as well. "Why doesn't anyone get it?"
"We do get it, Rory. You have every right to not want him in your life." Lane attempted to placate her best friend. "But he's still your dad. No matter what he does, no matter how stupid, he's always going to be your dad."
"After all he's done, why should I give him another chance?" Rory asked, remembering the last time she had attempted to let her father into her life and what a disaster that had turned out to be. "I have given him so many, and all he has ever done is throw them back in my face, and make me remember why I shut him out in the first place."
"But Rory…"
"No buts! Do you not remember that he didn't even bother to show up for my graduation? I was freaking valedictorian, and he didn't even RSVP. Or wait, how about my wedding reception? He said he would come, but like always, something came up, and he disappointed me again."
"Ror,"
"And then there's the piece de résistance, the twins' christening. You were there, you saw that huge scene he made! No matter what, he's always going to do something to screw up, and I don't want to be anywhere near him the next time he decides to implode!"
"I know, Rory, I know." Lane finally broke through her tirade, silencing Rory at last. "But can you really blame Tristan? It's not his fault that your dad has done all of those things."
"I'm not mad at him." Rory said, imagining the skeptical look on Lane's face. "I'm not! It's just that 'shoot the messenger' syndrome, I guess."
"Does he know that?" Lane asked.
"No."
"Are you going to tell him that?"
"Maybe."
"Rory!"
"Lane!" Rory sighed loudly. "I promise, I'll tell him that I'm not upset with him, and that it was a combination of parental resentment and baby hormones."
"Good. I need you two to be back to your sickeningly in love ways when I come back at home. I don't want to deal with a grumpy pregnant woman while I'm visiting."
"I'll still be pregnant while you're here, Lane. I've still got about five months to go before I pop." Rory giggled, rubbing the slight swell of her stomach. "And there is every possibility that I will be grumpy. I'm getting fatter all the time."
"At least it's not twins this time around."
"There is that." Rory said, a little relieved. "I would have killed myself if I ended up with four children under the age of five."
"Are you kidding? I would have tied the noose for you." Lane laughed. "Or at least sent you over to MIT to be studied."
"Thanks Lane."
"Anytime."
-
Tristan sighed as he heard the soft splashing from the top of the stairs. Lori was still in the playroom where he had left her and TJ only a few minutes ago. TJ, however, couldn't seem to control himself.
The humidifall had been installed only a few weeks ago, one of the few things that hadn't been done by the time that they moved into the new house. Something about a shortage in the marble, Tristan remembered.
From the moment that his eyes had landed on the water that cascaded over the Dugrey family crest, TJ had been unable to resist it. The four-year-old boy seemed to be drawn to it, as if an unseen force brought him to it.
"Hey Buddy." Tristan greeted his son after climbing the stairs.
"Hi Daddy," was TJ's nonchalant reply.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Nothing." The little boy answered, not bothering to turn around. A large puddle already lay at his feet.
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Positive?"
"No."
"TJ…" Finally, his son turned around, and Tristan groaned once he took in his appearance. The tiny polo shirt that Rory had picked out for him to wear to the brunch was soaked through. He couldn't have been wetter if he had jumped into the backyard pool fully clothed. Again.
"Great, just great. Your mother is going to kill me when she sees you." Tristan grumbled, leading him to his room to change. Maybe if he found a similar outfit, Rory would be too worked up about the brunch to even notice that TJ was no longer wearing the same outfit as before. It wasn't likely. Rory's attention to detail was uncanny.
"Why?" TJ asked, looking up at him, an inquisitive look in his eyes.
"Because she's mad at me right now."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because she is."
"That's a stupid reason." TJ said, jumping on his bed. "Hey Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Lori said that you were going to buy her a pony for getting dressed."
"Mmhmm." Tristan murmured absently, bending over drawers to find another shirt. Thank God for the maid that sorted the clothing into the dresser by color. Otherwise, he would never have been able to find anything. TJ had accumulated far too many outfits in his short time on this earth.
However, Tristan learned soon after starting his hunt that there was a perfectly good reason for that. Rips, tears, stains and spots, (and wait, was that a singe mark?) were found on many of his shirts. How in the world had he managed to get permanent marker on the back of his shorts?
It was probably better not to know.
"I have to get dressed twice, you know." He informed his father, who had located an appropriate shirt that seemed to be absent any proof TJ's penchant for playing with matches, and was currently attempting to force the fabric over his head.
"Uh huh." Tristan helped him free an arm, which had gotten caught in the soft cotton.
"Does that mean that I can keep my turtle?" TJ asked, smiling innocently up at his father.
"Since when do you have a turtle?" Tristan asked, looking around the room, unable to spot anything that might be able to move or breathe on its own.
"Since Wednesday." He answered, in a very matter of fact manner. "Can I?"
"Where is this turtle?"
TJ took his hand, and lead him into the bathroom down the hall. It was seldom used, because of it was far away from the main bedrooms, which all had adjoining bathrooms anyway. Sure enough, a turtle was in the bathtub, sitting among spongy-looking blobs that were stuck to the bottom of the tub.
"That's a turtle!" Tristan stared on in disbelief.
"Yep!" TJ grinned, picking up the reptile. "I named him Speedy!"
"How original." Tristan smiled slightly, focusing on the fuzzy gunk in the tub. "Um, TJ, what are those?"
"Cheerios."
"You fed him Cheerios?"
"The frosted ones."
"Aw, geez." Rory was really going to kill him.
"So, can I keep him?" TJ looked up at his father, an expectant and hopeful look in his eyes.
How was Tristan supposed to say no? "We'll see."
"Yay! I'm gonna go tell Lori!" TJ exclaimed, before putting the turtle back into the tub and taking off toward the door. "LORI!" He called, and was halfway down the hall before Tristan caught up with him.
"Shh!" Tristan shushed him, lifting the small boy effortlessly off his feet. "This has to stay our little secret, just for now, okay?"
"Why?"
"You know how Mommy feels about animals in the house." Tristan reminded him. "We have to pick the perfect time to tell her, otherwise you might not get to keep Speedy."
"But you said I could!"
"No, I said 'we'll see.' That wasn't a yes."
"Please?" He pleaded, pouting a little. "Pretty please?"
"We'll see. Come on, let's go find Lori, it's almost time to go." Tristan said, before heading off to find the other half of the Terrible Twosome.
Yes, I know that we're not at the brunch yet. But I swear, that the next chapter, we will finally arrive at Chilton, and all will be revealed.
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