Pairing: Established relationships for L/L and P/J; R/T…eventually

Rating: R

Spoilers: May reference anything from seasons 1 & 2

Summary: Seven years after graduating Chilton, Rory and Paris are business partners. What happens when they strike up a joint venture with Tristan DuGrey?

Disclaimer: The characters depicted here were created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, and are the property of Hofflund-Polone and Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions. They are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended, and no profit is being made from their use.

Author's Note: It turns out that one of the "perks" of being unemployed is having more time to devote to my writing. That's not to say that I have actually been using my time effectively, or for that purpose, but it's nice to know that it's there. Anyway, I finally managed to crank out the next chapter of this fic, after Lord knows how long of a hiatus. I fear that some readers may find Jess to be out of character, but please have faith that he is still his devious old self.

And finally…this chapter's quote is from The Princess Diaries, which was my primary motivation for purchasing the Rooney CD.

Unholy Alliance

By Grace

Part Thirty-four: "Well, that's the hardest place to be, between friend, and, uh, friendlier."

Tristan had been awake for well over twenty-four hours, and it showed. He was running purely on fear and adrenaline, his nerves frayed to the breaking point after a round trip to Rome in less than a day. His world had narrowed to tunnel vision as he slid into his car and turned the key.

He had spoken to Paris earlier, before he got on the flight out of Italy, and was relieved to learn Rory was still stable after her first night in the hospital, albeit not out of the coma. Nevertheless, the guilt he felt was overwhelming. Rory was coming after him when she nearly got killed. What he didn't understand was why.

Tristan made the twenty-minute drive to the hospital on autopilot, and headed straight up to the ICU. He found Paris and Jess in the waiting room. Paris pushed herself to her feet, her protruding belly preventing her from leaping, and threw her arms around him.

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

"So am I, finally," he replied. "Where's Lorelai?"

"She and Luke are in with Rory. Only two of us can go in at a time."

"Has she woken up yet?"

Paris shook her head.

"But she will wake up, right?"

Paris glanced away. "Well…probably. The doctors say she came through the surgery really well, but with these types of injuries, there's always a chance…" she trailed off.

His eyes were wild with panic. "A chance of what? Level with me, Gellar. I need to know the truth."

It was Jess who responded. "There's a chance she won't wake up. Or, if she does, there could be brain damage."

Tristan sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands. "This is all my fault," he moaned. "Lorelai must be ready to kill me."

"Don't be ridiculous," Paris snapped. "This isn't about you, Tristan. The only thing Lorelai is worried about is her daughter. This was a terrible accident—no one is going to hold you responsible for it."

Tristan snorted. "I bet RJ will, if he finds out what I did." He glanced around the small waiting room. "Where is RJ, by the way?"

Paris and Jess exchanged glances. "He said he'd be here later," Jess replied. "Since we can't all see her at once, he figured he didn't need to spend all day in, and I quote, 'that depressing place.'"

Tristan stared in shock at the couple. "I'm going to kill him," he breathed. "He should be here! What if she wakes up? How can he be so selfish at a time like this?"

"According to him, too much time in hospitals makes him panic, and he claims he'd just be a burden if he was here," Paris said.

"I don't care if hospitals make him break out in hives," Tristan growled. "Rory needs him, and he should be here for her. And I'm going to tell him that as soon as he drags his sorry ass down here."

"Talking about Ryan?" Lorelai asked. The trio turned and saw her standing in the doorway, leaning heavily on Luke. Tristan stood and made his way over to her. Taking her hands, he murmured, "I'm so sorry, Lorelai."

She pulled him into a fierce embrace. "Not your fault, kiddo, and I don't want you thinking for a second that it was. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How many times do I have to tell people not to call me 'ma'am'?" Lorelai sighed in exasperation. "Now go on, get in there—my baby girl needs you."

"Not as much as I need her," he replied before heading down the corridor.

Tristan paused outside Rory's room, bracing himself for what he was about to see. Swallowing hard, he pushed open the door. He cringed at the sight before him, although it really wasn't any worse than he'd expected. Rory was even paler than usual, and the variety of softly beeping monitors she was hooking to created an eerie disharmony within the room.

A chair had been pulled close to the side of the bed, so Tristan sat down and took Rory's hand in his, being mindful of the IV protruding from her ashen skin.

"Geez, Rory, how did this happen? Why'd you do it? Why'd you come after me? You weren't supposed to come after me." Unconsciously, he ran his free hand through his hair. "You were supposed to go back inside, pretend I never said anything, and live your life happily ever after with RJ. Who, I might add, should really be the one sitting here holding your hand. Not that I mind," he hurried to add, squeezing her hand a little tighter. "It's just that I can't understand why he's not here. If you were mine…" he stumbled slightly, and cleared his throat before continuing. "If you were mine, I'd never leave your side. Doesn't he realize how lucky he is? I know you're not going to remember what I'm saying, and you're probably going to hate me when you wake up, but…I do love you, Rory, so much. And I need you to wake up. Even if you never want to speak to me again, I don't think I can bear living in this world if I don't know you're out there somewhere in it. Your friendship means so much to me, and I don't want to lose that, but I'll sacrifice anything if you'll just wake up. I love you, Rory."

"Trying to steal me girl, I see," a cold voice said.

Tristan dropped Rory's hand and sprang to his feet, spinning around to face RJ. At first, a pang of guilt assailed him, but then anger took over. "About damn time you showed up," he spat out. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Don't try to turn this around on me. You're the one skulking in a hospital room, professing your undying love for my fiancée."

"She hasn't said yes yet," Tristan said quietly.

"Oh, you're just clinging to that little detail, aren't you? It's only a matter of time, and you know it. She doesn't love you. She never has and she never will."

Tristan shrugged. "Maybe not. But what's going to happen when she wakes up and realizes you couldn't be bothered to be with her?"

Ryan's face hardened. "I don't do well with hospitals."

Tristan advanced on his former business partner, his countenance threatening. "I don't care if they make you break out in a cold sweat and cause terror-induced hallucinations. You will spend every waking moment in this hospital until Rory wakes up, or so help me God, when she does, I am going to tell her every rotten, sneaky, underhanded thing you've ever done. And then we'll just see if she accepts your proposal."

RJ didn't back down. "I really doubt you want to threaten me, T. I'm sure you have plenty more skeletons in your closet than I do—enough to make Lorelai never want to see you again."

Tristan smirked. "That's where you're wrong, buddy-boy. Rory has known since she was sixteen years old that I'm an asshole. It doesn't seem to bother her these days. You, on the other hand, have played up your good-guy image to the hilt. Wouldn't she be surprised to learn you're just as human as the next guy?"

A hint of fear shadowed RJ's eyes. "You can't do this, Tristan. You may not believe it, but I do love Lorelai. I want to marry her. You could have any woman in the world with a snap of your fingers. Why her?"

"Because I love her too. But I promise, if you do right be her, I won't get in the way."

RJ looked skeptical. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Why are you being so noble?"

Tristan's smile was sad. "I just want Rory to be happy, man. For once in my life, I want to do the right thing."

"I appreciate that. I'm prepared to fight for her, T—fight dirty if I have to. So you'd better not be trying to pull a fast one on me."

"Understood. Look, you probably want some time alone with Rory, so I'll, uh, be in the waiting room."

"Okay. See you later."

"Yeah. Later."

When Tristan returned to the ICU waiting room, Lorelai was fast asleep on Luke's shoulder. Christopher had also arrived, after taking a brief nap and a shower at his parents' house. The two men, along with Paris and Jess, looked up when he entered the room.

"Any change?" Christopher asked, a modicum of hope in his voice.

"No. RJ's in there with her now. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you joined him."

"Thanks. I think I will."

When Christopher was gone, Tristan sank down into an overstuffed chair across from Paris and Jess.

"You look like hell," Paris commented.

"Gee, thanks."

"So…Ryan finally showed up," she said.

"Yeah. I have a feeling he'll be here more often from now on."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, really? What makes you think that?"

Tristan sneaked a glance at Luke. The older man appeared to be completely focused on his sleeping wife, but he hadn't gone deaf. He turned back to Paris and Jess, and shrugged. "Let's just call it a hunch."

Paris nodded, understanding that he didn't want to talk about it. "You really do look awful. Why don't you go home, get some rest, and come back in a few hours?"

He shook his head. "I gave up the apartment in Rory's building, and I don't especially feel like facing my parents. Besides, I want to stay here—just in case."

"At least try and get some sleep, okay?" she requested, her concern evident.

"Yes, mom," he teased. "Man, you haven't even had the baby and you're already nagging."

Paris turned to her husband. "Hit him for me, please."

Jess held up his hands in mock surrender. "No way. I'm not getting in the middle of this."

"Useless man," she grumbled. Turning back to Tristan, she smiled. He was sound asleep in his chair, overcome by sheer exhaustion. His head was tipped back, his mouth slightly open. "Apparently our marital bickering put him to sleep. Ouch!" she exclaimed with a wince.

"What's wrong?" Jess asked.

"Nothing. The baby's kicking, that's all."

His expression softened, and he placed his hand on her stomach with an attitude approaching reverence. "Wow. The kid's got quite a kick. What do you think—soccer player or punter in the NFL?"

Paris scowled. "Neither. No child of mine is going to contribute to a national obsession that comes at the expense of education and the arts."

Jess chuckled. "I'd argue, but…I don't really like sports."

"Good. Oh, look, Ryan and Christopher are out of the room. We're next."

"You go ahead. I want to talk to Ryan for a minute."

Paris sighed. "I'd tell you not to hurt him, but we're already at the hospital, so I guess this is as good a place as any.

Jess grinned and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm not going to hurt him. Too many witnesses."

"That's so encouraging."

"Go on, I'll catch up in a few minutes."

"Behave."

"Don't I always?"

With one last warning glance at her husband, Paris waddled from the room.

"Hey Ryan," Jess greeted him. "Have a nice visit with Rory?"

He glanced at Tristan before replying. "Oh, sure. It would have been better if she was conscious, but beggars can't be choosers, right?"

Jess carefully schooled his features into an expression of neutrality. Had this guy always been such an idiotic jackass? "Walk with me."

"Sure…" Ryan said hesitantly. He waited until they were out in the hallway before asking, "What's up?"

"Don't worry, I'm not going to chew you out. This has obviously been a very stressful time for all of us. We all just want what's best for Rory. I know you've been catching hell for not being here more, and I want you to know that I'm not trying to add to that. You need to do what's right for you."

"I don't know. Tristan…"

"Don't worry about Tristan. I'll handle him."

Ryan looked wary. "Why are you doing this?"

"Like I said, I just want what's best for Rory. If hospitals freak you out, I don't know, those negative vibes might be detrimental to her recovery or something."

The other man looked relieved. "Wow. Thanks. I was really starting to feel like no one understood."

"Sure. I just want you to feel comfortable."

"Thanks. You know, I think I'll head back to the house for a while."

"You do that. Take your time. We'll be here."

Ryan reached out to shake his hand. "Thanks, again, Jess. This means a lot to me."

"No problem. I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah, I'll be back."

Jess watched as the other man practically ran down the hall, and then went to join Paris is Rory's room. "How's she doing?" he asked.

"No change. How was your little chat with Ryan?"

"Fine. He's on his way back to the house now."

"He's what?" Paris hissed. "Tristan will go ballistic! Why didn't you stop him?"

"Actually, I encouraged him. I told him that I understand how difficult it is for him to be here."

"Why the hell would you do that? How could you side with him?"

Jess grinned. "You underestimate me, Paris. I thought you knew better than that by now. You're not looking at the big picture. Rory needs to see Ryan's true colors. How can that happen if Tristan forces him to be here? She'll wake up and find Ryan by her side, reinforcing her belief that he's the perfect guy from her. Tristan might be willing to be all noble and step aside, but I'm not ready to stand back and watch that happen. Rory needs to see all the players in this fucked-up game."

"You are so incredibly devious," she murmured. "I knew there was a reason I married you."

"And here I thought it was your undying love and devotion."

"That too. But your ability to be as focused and manipulative as I am is a definite plus."

"Thanks. I love you too, Frenchie."

Their conversation tapered off, and they turned their attention to Rory. "I wish she would wake up," Paris whispered.

"She will," Jess assured her. "It's just a matter of time."

"I hope you're right. You know, I checked the web site this morning. We've gotten twice as many hits as expected, and I know it's because of Rory's accident." She sighed. "I don't want success at the expense of my best friend," she said softly.

Jess wrapped his arms around her. "I know, but look at it this way—Rory will be so excited when she wakes up and you tell her."

Paris settled back into his embrace. "Right. When she wakes up."

To be continued…