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: Wow, am I actually updating twice within a reasonable span of time? What a novel idea. This chapter's title quote is from Little Women, which is nowhere near as good as the book, but it has Christian Bale as Laurie and Eric Stoltz as John Brooke, so it's worth watching.

Unholy Alliance

by Grace

Part Thirty-seven: "You don't need dozens of suitors. You need only one... if he's the right one."

Although she masked it well, Ryan could see the guilt on Rory's face when he walked into her hospital room. He knew she was wondering if he had overheard her, and if he had, how he would react.

He forced a smile, and watched her relax. It felt like she was stabbing him in the gut, but his expression didn't falter. "Good morning, Lorelai. How are you feeling?"

"Much better. Ready to get out of here, actually. Luke is trying to find the doctor, so I can ask when I'm going home."

"You'll be returning to Stars Hollow, I suppose?"

Her face clouded. "We haven't really talked about it. I guess so, although I'm not sure where mom and Luke will put me!"

"We always have room for you," Lorelai soothed.

"You'd be welcome to come stay with me in New York," he offered.

Her reaction was what he expected but desperately hoped against. Her face grew pale, and she wouldn't meet his gaze. "I couldn't impose on you like that," she demurred.

He decided to push the issue. "Lorelai, we're practically engaged. I hardly think you staying with me would be an imposition."

She exchanged a quick glance with her mother, and in that moment he knew his fate was sealed. Lorelai stood up abruptly and said, "I think I'll go try and track down Luke and the doctor."

Ryan sat down in the chair she had vacated, mentally bracing himself for what was to come.

Rory stared down at her hands in her lap, obviously weighing her next words. "Ryan," she finally began," we need to talk."

Quite possibly the four most hated words in the history of relationships, he thought grimly. "About what?"

"About us," she replied, at last meeting his eyes. "I can't accept your proposal, Ryan. At least not right now."

Fear and rage were warring within him, but he managed to retain his composure. "Why not?" he asked coolly.

She faltered under the intensity of his stare. "I...God, this is so hard. It's...it's complicated."

His tone hardened. "Lorelai, I love you. I want to marry you, and you've just turned me down. At least do me the courtesy of telling me why."

Her eyes were pleading. "Ryan..."

"I want to hear you say it," he demanded in a voice like steel.

"It's Tristan," she blurted out. "He told me he's in love with me."

"As far as I can see, that's his problem," he retorted. "The question is, how do you feel about him?"

Tears started to well up in her eyes. "I don't know!" she insisted. "This is all so confusing. I never expected... You have to understand, I do love you, very much. I just--I can't marry you. Not now."

He regarded her sadly, the silence stretching on for several minutes.

"Say something," she pleaded.

"If you can't marry me now, I guess you can't marry me at all," he said at last.

"What do you mean?" she cried, tears flowing freely now.

He looked away, no longer able to face her. "You claim you don't know how you feel about Tristan, but you're willing to throw away a life with me because of him. I'd say that answers the question pretty decisively."

"Ryan, please..."

His eyes were sad, his expression resigned when he turned to face her once more. "I'm sorry, Lorelai. But I can't see you anymore."

"Don't do this!" she begged. "I just need a little more time to figure things out."

"I can't give you that time," he said quietly.

"I guess this is goodbye, then."

His heart broke as she said the words. Until that moment, he had held onto the tiniest shred of hope that she would say she was wrong, that she loved him and only him, that she could marry him. Now that hope was gone. "I guess it is," he replied, standing up.

He walked over to the door, heard her sobs intensify. When he reached the hall, he turned to face her one last time, and whispered, "Goodbye...Rory."

Luke, Lorelai, Tristan, Paris, and Jess were all in the waiting room when Ryan emerged from Rory's room. Ignoring the other four, he walked over and stood in front of his former business partner and friend. "You win," was all he said before heading for the hospital's exit.

Tristan immediately leapt to his feet, but Paris stayed him with a firm hand upon his wrist. "Sit down," she ordered. "Rory isn't going to want to see you yet. Lorelai and I will go."

Jess helped his wife out of her chair, then she and Lorelai disappeared down the hall.

"What do you think happened?" Jess asked Tristan.

"I'm not sure--but I don't think RJ is coming back," he mused.

"If he hurt Rory..." Luke growled.

"Calm down, Luke," Jess admonished his uncle. "It looked to me like she broke his heart, not the other way around." He turned back to Tristan. "You must have some idea of what caused this," he insisted.

Tristan shrugged. "I'm not positive, of course, but last night I told Rory how I felt about her."

Jess' eyebrows shot up. "I see. And what did Rory have to say about that?"

"She was...surprised. And confused. But it was--good, I think."

"Huh. That's, well, interesting." He grinned suddenly.

Unnerved by the other man's expression, Tristan asked, "What?"

"Nothing. It's about damn time, that's all."

When Lorelai and Paris entered Rory's room, they found her curled up on the bed, crying softly. Lorelai immediately rushed to her daughter's side, folding her into a warm embrace. Paris waddled over a bit more slowly, but soon she, too, was comforting her friend. Lorelai whispered soothing words while Paris somewhat tentatively held Rory's hand, and eventually her tears subsisded.

"What happened?" Lorelai asked gently.

"I," she sniffled, "I told Ryan that I couldn't marry him, and he," a fresh batch of tears began to flow, "broke up with me. This is all Tristan's fault!" she practically wailed.

"Most things are," Paris commented dryly. "But you did the right thing, Rory. You must know that."

Rory stared at her friend. "How can you be so sure?"

"It's obvious. If you had really wanted to marry Ryan, you would have said yes to his proposal weeks ago. As it is, almost two months have passed. That doesn't exactly scream 'undying love'."

"But I loved him. I do love him," she protested weakly.

"We know you do, sweetie," Lorelai replied, stroking her daughter's hair. "But loving someone isn't the same as wanting to spend the rest of your life with him. I loved your father, but it was Luke I wanted to marry."

Rory sighed and snuggled closer to her mother. "I know. It's just that yesterday things seemed so much simpler. This is all such a mess. I never wanted to hurt Ryan."

"Of course you didn't," Paris said briskly. "But making the right choice was much more important than sparing his feelings. You have to ask yourself, would you have been happy with him five, ten, twenty years down the line?"

"I guess I'll never know, will I?" She laughed sadly. "I think the things we wanted out of life were just too different. I'll always be a small-town girl at heart, and he didn't understand that."

"He always seemed vaguely uncomfortable in Stars Hollow," Lorelai agreed. "And not just in the Miss-Patty-is-hitting-on-me-again way. I know you'll miss him, Ror, but Paris is right--you did the right thing. You were honest with him, and I'm so proud of you for that."

"I just wish it didn't hurt so much. And I wish..."

"What?" Lorelai prompted.

"I wish I knew what to do about Tristan."

Nearly an hour had passed by the time Lorelai and Paris returned to the waiting room, by which time Tristan was practically jumping out of his skin. "What's wrong? Is she okay?" he demanded to know as soon as the two women appeared.

"She'll be fine," Lorelai assured him. "And she'd like to see you now."

He all but sprinted from the room, his heart pounding. Arriving outside her room, he was relieved to see a calm, composed Rory sitting up in bed.

He knocked on the door frame, and she graced him with a smile. "Come on in," she said.

He walked over and took his customary seat beside the bed. "How are you doing?" he asked carefully.

"I've had better days, but I'll be fine." She gazed intently at him, blue eyes unreadable. "You weren't there when I woke up this morning."

He flushed slightly, remembering their conversation from the night before. "I'm sorry. RJ showed up, and we, uh, didn't want to wake you."

"Of course you didn't," she said somewhat cryptically. "Look, about what you said last night..."

His heart dropped to his stomach, and he steeled himself for the killing blow. "Yeah?"

"I turned down Ryan's proposal today." Her voice was quiet, and a little shaky. "So he broke up with me."

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not."

He leaned forward, grasped her hands. "I am sorry, Rory," he insisted. "Not about the way I feel, or even that I told you, but I'm sorry I made things so complicated for you."

She laughed softly. "As much as I'd like to blame you, I know it isn't your fault." She flashed him a grin. "At least, not entirely."

"Gee, thanks."

"Now that Ryan is...out of the picture, things might seem simpler, but they're really not. I don't know what, if anything, is going to happen with us, Tristan. But I do know I need some time to figure stuff out." She paused, and held his eyes for a moment. "And while I'm figuring things out, I think it would be better if I didn't see you."

He tried not to panic, but it wasn't easy. "How long?" he managed to ask.

"I was thinking a week, and then we can see how things go from there."

A week. He could handle that. "That sounds fine. Where will you be staying?"

"Here in Hartford, with my grandparents. My mom wanted me to come to Stars Hollow, but it will just be too crazy and crowded with the kids."

"That's probably a good choice, then. I know Emily and Richard will love having you, too."

She grinned. "Yeah, being pampered by them sounds pretty good right now. Although I was seriously looking forward to a cup of Luke's coffee."

"I'm sure he'd be happy to bring you some."

"Probably. He's accommodating like that."

Suddenly serious, he squeexed her hand. "Everything is going to be okay, Rory. I promise."

Somewhat to Tristan's amazement, the next week went by quickly. He put his apartment in New York up for lease, knowing that even if things with Rory didn't work out, he wanted to return to Hartford, to his roots. He started looking for a new place, deciding that this time around he wanted to buy. It was a buyer's market, which made it even more appealing.

He hammered out the details of his departure from ILRG, as well. RJ wasn't speaking to him at the moment, but his legal counsel had no similar qualms. His ex-partner couldn't afford to buy him out, so Tristan brought in an investor who was willing to act as a silent partner. The papers weren't yet signed, but he had no doubts that the deal would go through.

He started brainstorming ideas for a new business, too. Now that the Italy trip was off, he was going to need something to do. Although he by no means needed the money, business was something he was good at, and it was more satisfying to him than a hobby.

And of course, he thought about Rory. Thought about her, worried about her, even dreamed about her. As tempting as it was, he never picked up the phone to call her, never just "happened to be in the neighborhood" of the elder Gilmores' residence. She had asked for a week, and he would give her that. Once the time was up, though, it was going to be open season on Rory Gilmore's heart.