Disclaimer & Summary : See chapter 1. Plus flashback of this chapter don't belong to me, it was greatly inspired by the song of Simple Plan "Untitled" which I don't own even though I share the same city.
Author's
Note 2005/05/15: I want to thank everyone who reviewed last
chapter, So here is the new chapter, expect another one soon.
Special thanks to Arlene (Angel Moon Princess ) for her
constant support and insights. Another special thanks to Jayde (
coffeechick87 ) for her tips and notes on this chapters. Now
enjoy!
Didi
- - - - - -
The
Seventh Stranger
Chapter 14: Little fury
- - - - -
Three thirty in the afternoon, Tristan paced the room with eyes red rimmed from being awake for over thirty hours; Rory had fallen asleep on her chair with her head resting on the bed; Gabrielle tried to read a book. Gabrielle watched her brother over her book in pure annoyance, "Could you stop that?"
Tristan snapped his head up, "Huh?"
Gabrielle stood up and went to embrace her brother, "Why don't you help me put Rory on the bed and rest with her a little?"
"I'm not tired." Every part of his body was denying the fact that he was extenuated.
She forced a smile on her face, "You know that you can't lie to me? Get some sleep; you're no use to anyone in that state."
He didn't try to argue with her and let her guide him.
- - - - -
Five fifteen in the afternoon, Rory woke up from what she imagined a bad dream; she opened her eyes lazily and saw Gabrielle flick pages of what looked like a scrapbook. She tried to get up but someone was lying behind her. She whispered, "It wasn't a bad dream."
Gabrielle closed the scrapbook, "Unfortunately." Rory tried to sit up in bed once again but Gabrielle's tone was soft but firm, "Don't move; he needs to sleep. I don't want him to wake up just yet."
Rory nodded and snuggled closer to Tristan while he unconsciously held her tighter, "How long has it been?"
"Almost twelve hours. No news; nothing." She crossed her arms around the scrapbook, "He was the first person, beside Tristan that is, to make me feel beautiful and worth caring for."
Rory quirked an eyebrow and asked, "How can anyone not find you beautiful?"
Gabrielle half-smiled, "my parents I guess. It was always about Tristan this, Tristan that. I tried to be better than him, I did, but it was never enough." She stifled a laugh. "I suppose I never had the good gender to please them."
"But that's horrible!"
"I know but Tristan made sure I was loved." She closed her eyes, "Did you know that Tristan was the one telling me bed times stories when I was a kid? He's more than my big brother to me, he's my home." A tear escaped her eye and she continued, "I got so scared when I almost lost him. Did he tell you he was in a coma for a while?" Gabrielle saw Rory nod and continued, "I wanted him back; I needed him to be back. His skin was so cold but I just wanted to speak to him, to hold his hand. My father stayed the first couple of days then business was more important. My mom came everyday, she held his hand three times a day for a maximum of five minutes and whispered sweet nothing to him." She whipped a tear away. "The first day that I came, when my parents left, I stayed, I screamed at Tristan, I wanted to hit him but couldn't do it." She sobbed, "Then Jeremy spoke, in was in the bed facing Tristan's."
- - - - -
Gabrielle held Tristan's hand, "Tristan, please, I need you. You're my only family and you can't leave me alone."
"Hey little fury, come over here."
She snapped her head and looked at the stranger who watched her with his emerald green eyes from the bed across the room. "I don't know you; I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."
Jeremy saw her hand pass over her face, an action that made her make-up smudge all over her face, "We're not strangers Gabrielle, I know everything about you. I'm Jeremy by the way."
Stubbornly, she crossed her arms over her chest, "I never heard about you."
He chuckled, "You're way more beautiful than he described you."
She froze, "Who told you about me?"
Gabrielle saw the most charming smile she'd ever seen, "Big T. Who else? Why don't you come and talk to me a bit, it'll change your mind. I would go join you but I can't move my legs anymore."
Jeremy watched Gabrielle walk over to him and as she sat beside him, she asked, "How do you know my brother?"
"We're friends."
- - - - - -
Gabrielle had a dreamy look on her face, "He was there for me, when Tristan wasn't. He extended my family to two persons."
Tristan stirred in the bed as Rory moved to get closer to Gabrielle, "Don't leave just now." He kissed Rory's neck softly, "Let me hold you a little longer, Rory."
Rory didn't answer because at that time, they brought Jeremy back on a rolling bed. She pushed Tristan a bit to wake him up and whispered, "Tristan, hurry. I'm not sure we are allowed to sleep in Jeremy's bed since surgery seems to be over."
Tristan was on his feet in a matter of second, pulling Rory up with him. They shifted Jeremy on his bed and the doctor spoke, "The surgery went very well. We'll know if it was a success when he wakes up."
Gabrielle asked hurriedly, "When will that be?"
The doctor put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "That doesn't depend on us."
- - - - -
Six forty five at night, Gabrielle looked at her brother, "You should go; I'll call you if he wakes up."
Tristan shook his head, "I can't; I want to be here when he wakes up." He retrieved his keys from his pocket and looked at Rory, "Take my car, go sleep. I'll call you tomorrow." He kissed her softly on the lips.
Gabrielle took Rory's hand and pulled her into the bathroom, "Rory, take my brother away, he needs to sleep and I need time alone. Please."
Rory went back in the room; she took Tristan's hand, "Come with me. You need sleep, she needs to be alone." She saw that he was about to protest and smirked sadly, "I'll scrub your back."
Tristan went to Gabrielle and whispered in her ear, "Call me the minute he wakes up." He took Rory's hand to make her follow him; she turned to look at Gabrielle, winked and left.
- - - - -
Almost seven, Tristan smashed Rory against his childhood bedroom wall and kissed her passionately. She didn't resist, she simply followed his lead.
- - - - -
Seven sharp, Gabrielle dozed off with her head against Jeremy's shoulder.
- - - - -
Gabrielle followed her Mother inside the room where her brother laid motionless, but stopped beside Jeremy's bed. "Good morning Jey."
Jeremy opened an eye and closed it muttering, "Morning, little fury."
She sat beside him on the bed, her face flushed with indignation, "I'll let you know that I'm far from being little, I'll be fourteen soon!"
He smiled and opened his scrapbook, "I want to show you something."
She looked at him questioningly and simply looked at the page he was showing her. There on the paper she saw herself with different eyes. Big fierce eyes that poured tears, disheveled golden locks and make-up spoiled all over her face. She felt uncomfortable because she had let weakness show to a stranger and he had pictured her distress perfectly. But what was weirder was the fact that she saw herself beautiful. For the first time she saw herself as a beautiful creature. Her nose that she hated wasn't so bad on the drawing, her ordinary lips looked inviting, and her eyes that she find so plain were filled with life. She gazed at Jeremy shyly, "You made me beautiful."
He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and murmured, "That's because you are."
- - - - -
Seven ten, a knock on the door was heard just as Tristan was working on unzipping Rory's dress, the door opened soon after and an elder version of Tristan entered the room without any ceremony. "I thought I'd heard you come in. You are just in time to dine with us." Then he saw Rory in Tristan's arms, "I wasn't aware that we had a guest."
Tristan groaned and zipped up Rory's dress before letting her go, "Father, I would like to introduce you to Lorelai Gilmore. Rory, this is my father."
With a smirk identical to Tristan's, he exclaimed, "Wonderful, I'll wait for the two of you in the dinning hall."
Tristan straightened his clothes, "I knew I should have brought you to my apartment."
With an amused smile, Rory pecked his lips and asked seductively, "Why didn't you?"
He captured her lips teasingly, "I didn't want to wait the extra twenty minutes."
She laughed as she followed him out, "Now, you'll have to wait longer."
He sent her an evil glare and she laughed even more.
- - - - -
Dinner was rather uncomfortable and the tension in the room could have been cut with a blunt knife.
Xavier DuGrey looked closely at Rory, "So, Lorelai, I would have imagined you to be a little older since the last time I saw you I was graduating and you were barely finished with your freshman year in high school."
Clarissa almost choked on her wine, "Tristan! She must be sixteen years your senior!"
Tristan chuckled and Rory babbled, "That would be my mom sir. She named me after herself in the heavily drugged state she was after I was born. She was thinking, men do it all the time, why couldn't she do it too."
Xavier took a bit of salad, "That sounds just like the Lorelai I used to know."
Clarissa glared at Rory's dress in disdain for noting that she had been wearing it since the night before without being able to utter a word or else her husband would know her real whereabouts the previous night. Rory shifted uncomfortably on her seat as she took notice of the stare. She looked at her son and asked nonchalantly with a warning tone to be careful of his answer, "What have you been up to since I last saw you? You look very tired."
Tristan was about to answer while Clarissa sent a evil sideway glance at Rory for being too easy for her son to rest properly when Xavier spoke, "You do look tired son," he winked at his son, "You don't really seem able to properly entertain a lady."
Rory squirmed at the hidden insult and sat lower on her seat. Tristan took hold of her hand and stood up, brought Rory up with him, "Mother, Father, it's not what you think. Yes, I went on a date with Rory last night and yes it's a shame she still wears the same dress. And Father, you absolutely have everything wrong. We just came here to rest a bit because it's closer to the hospital than my apartment. We wanted to take a nap before returning…"
"From what I saw before you were far from taking a nap." Xavier said with a wide smirk.
Tristan half closed his eyes in disbelief, "Whatever, I'm out of here." He saw Rory's face completely flushed, "Come on, Rory, let's get back to the hospital."
They were almost passed the doorway when a sugar-sweet voice halted them, "I'd be careful if I were you, honey. You won't be different than any other girl once he gets in your pants. Just make sure not to call when he drops you like an old sock. I give you two weeks max."
Rory escaped the room with tears in her eyes but heard Tristan's angry voice, "I'll get you back for this one, mother." He left hurriedly after Rory.
- - - - -
Eight thirty, Rory was looking out the window on her way back to Yale, completely ignoring Tristan's pleas. Tristan suddenly drove into the parking space of a Starbucks, "I'm going to get myself a couple of coffees and something to eat. Stay in the car, come with me or not. Right now I really don't care, but I really need something to keep my eyes open."
- - - - -
Nine thirty, Rory was sick of waiting for Tristan to come back; she went to meet him inside. She saw him asleep on a table looking like an angel, two empty cups of coffee and a half eaten doughnut beside him. Across the table, a doughnut and a now cold cup of coffee for her, she ordered a large coffee and started munching on the pastry as she replayed the events of the previous two nights. She drank her coffee and watched Tristan sleep; she felt anger toward his mother to have awakened the insecurities she had felt toward him in high school. Was she still just a game? Would she get hurt and dumped if she gave into her primal instincts like she wanted?
- - - - -
At ten, Gabrielle woke up in the hospital room in panic, she said, "Please, Jeremy, you were my first kiss, are still my first love. Don't leave me."
- - - - -
Jeremy sighed; he tried again to move the toes that he had started to feel lately. But to no avail. The door burst open as Gabrielle lazily took place beside him, "So, Jey what's new?"
Jeremy watched Gabrielle tiredly, "What are you doing here, little fury? Your brother was released over a week ago."
She smiled, "Yes, but you're still here." Hesitantly, she moved forward toward him, "I figured you might need the company once in a while." Then she pressed her lips to his and sat straight back hurriedly.
He looked sadly at her, "Fury, I'm not sure this is a good idea."
She was about to storm out of the room but he caught her arm, "Just listen to me." She sat quietly on the chair, eyes wide open to fight over her first rejection, "You don't want me. I like you a lot but you deserve more than someone on a wheel chair who can't even feel his toes anymore."
Gabrielle gasped, "It's getting worse?"
"Yes."
"Then I want to do this while I still can." She kissed him again and this time he responded, a kiss filled with love and tenderness. He wrapped his arms around her as she fell on the bed over him. "I'll always come back for more."
He watched her get ready to leave, "You'll always be welcome, my little fury."
She stifled a laugh by the door, "And I told you, I'm not little. I'm fourteen now."
- - - - - - -
The sound of 'I Dream of Jeannie' echoed in the little Starbucks slowly waking Tristan up as Rory answered the phone. "Hello?... Gabr…. We're on our way."