TITLE: No Longer

PAIRING: L/L, L/D, R?

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, just this story and the made up stuff about this show…such as Tristan Dugrey this late in the show or them getting married.

SUMMARY: Tristan divorces Rory, but fate disagrees.

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A Jess Thing:

Lorelai walked into her daughter's room. Her chest was going up and down with her rhythmic breathing. Rory's eyes opened.

'Mommy?' Rory asked groggily.

'Baby!' Lorelai said hugging her daughter.

'How do you feel?'

'Like shit.' She said seriously.

'I know.'

'Hey mom, what happened?'

'I don't know…apparently you got into an accident…a car accident. Yea were on you war to Jess and you had just gotten off the phone with Tristan.'

'Tristan! Where is he? I need to talk to him!' He's not here, the doctor made him go home and get some sleep. You know the only time he left was when the doctor thought that it would better for you if he left the hospital.'

'Wow.'

'Yea, you got a pretty good man there.'

'I know.'

'So do you remember anything?'

'Dad. Oh my god! DAD! He, he came to our house and I got really mad at Tristan for letting him sleep over! I forgave him and in the meantime badly insulted Tristan, which we forgave each other on the phone. I broke a confidentiality law and read one of his cases, but he forgave me for that too!'

'Speaking of your father my dear, we should call him.

''No mom please don't. I don't want him here, mom. I don't think he really cares about me. He tried to make everything better but yet he's not here is here?'

'Rory, I'm sure he wanted to.'

'It's hard to believe I actually trusted him to make things better. I mean it could be his fault that I got into this accident. After all I wouldn't have gotten mad at Tristan if it weren't for him.'

'We'll give it some time.'

'Okay.' Mrs. Dugrey is here.'

'Oh really?'

'Yea.' As if on cure Mrs. Dugrey knocked on the door and came in.

'Hi, Mrs. Dugrey.' Rory said.

'Hi dear, how are you? Doing better I hope.'

'I had my baby. The doctor said if I feel up to it I may be able to see her today, but she doesn't think I should go today…wants me to get my energy back.'

'Your gonna need it.' Mrs. Dugrey said. Rory smiled.

'Yea but I'll have Tristan so it'll be alright.'

'He actually was just here! He come up to your door then turned around and walked out! I don't know what happened!'

'Strange. Oh well he'll be back later, but I really do wanna talk to him.'

'You can later sweets, but now you need to get some rest.' Rory nodded and soon fell asleep. Lorelai and Mrs. Dugrey quietly left the room and went to the waiting room.

'I don't think Tristan's coming back.' Mrs. Dugrey said.

'What?' Lorelai was confused.

'He seemed pretty upset.'

'He'll get over it.' Mrs. Dugrey nodded knowing otherwise.

'Come, I'll take you out for coffee.' Lorelai accepted and followed her out her car where Mrs. Dugrey drove to a Hartford café. They spent two hours there talking before going back. When they got there, Mrs. Dugrey left for home. Lorelai saw Rory was still sleeping and would be till the next morning, so she just camped out in the waiting room. The next morning, Lorelai woke up and jumped three feet in the air.

'Mom!' Lorelai jumped.

'How is Rory?'

'Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you were in France!'

'I was in London and my flight just came in a few hours ago and I decided to come and see how Rory was doing.'

'She's good. She's gonna make it.'

'Wonderful!' Emily celebrated.

'Yea, she should be awake in a little bit. Have you seen your great grandchild yet?'

'Oh, the baby survived?'

'Yes mom.'

'Huh, and what about that boy she has been so close with?'

'Tristan? Oh he hasn't been here since yesterday. His mom thinks he was mad, but he'll turn around.'

'Oh, yes. It would be a shame if she had to raise her daughter all by herself.'

'You don't seem so surprised to hear he's missing.'

'I suppose not.'

'Why…?'

'I am very close his Tristan's mother.'

'I know.'

'His mother called me late last night and told me that Tristan left.'

'Obviously! He's not in sight is he?'

'Lorelai, gone I mean. As in he wont be back for Rory.'

'What?' Lorelai wasn't sure if she was shocked or confused.

'He doesn't want responsibility for the child and he doesn't want to be part of Rory's life anymore.'

'That's not true! He loves her!' Lorelai yelled.

'Lorelai quiet your voice!'

'Mom, do you understand the impact this will make on Rory? She'll be devastated, heart-broken; depressed…her daughter won't meet her father! Am I the only one seeing this as bad as it is?'

'Lorelai it really isn't horrible. I mean that boy got her pregnant. Life goes on, your father died and I've moved on.'

'You were divorced! Don't you understand? Tristan is Rory's life! She doesn't have one besides with him!'

'I think you should tell Rory.' Emily said.

'Me? Why me?'

'Because you're closer with her.'

'Mark my words: Tristan will come back!' Lorelai said and walked towards Rory's room. She had tear-brimmed eyes as she opened her door and saw Rory had just gotten up.

'Hey sweetie.'

'Hi mom. Are you crying?'

'I have some bad news.' She said biting her lip.

'What happened?' Rory was very much alert now.

'Tristan, he's gone.'

'Gone? Where'd he go?' Rory didn't see what was so bad about it.

'He ran away Rory, and I want you to know, if you want me too, I'll be there every step of the way in raising your daughter.' It took a few moments for the words to register in her brain. He eyes quickly teared up as her mouth was moving like she was talking, but no words came out.

'I'm so sorry Rory.'

'He can't!' she found her voice.

'He promised me he'd be there! He wouldn't do that to me!'

'He didn't want to raise his daughter. Maybe he thinks it's to soon to have a child.'

'We both wanted this!' she was crying hard at this point.

'I know.' Lorelai rubbed her back as her daughters' body shook under her arms.

'He wouldn't leave me! Prove to me he left!' she said scrunching up Lorelai's shirt.

'Why don't you try his cell phone?' Lorelai thought suddenly. Rory nodded and moved back and grabbed the hospital phone dialing #9 to reach outside, Dialing the familiar number, she waited for it to ring but reached a voice recording, " I am sorry but this wireless customer is no longer able to receive calls, or check the number and dial again." Rory dropped the phone and gasped for air. Lorelai quickly rubbed her daughters back soothing her until her daughter had cried herself to sleep. Lorelai kissed her forehead and left the room. She took out her cell phone and called Jess.

'Yea?' he answered.

'Jess, it's me.' She said sniffing back tears.

'Lorelai?'

'Yea.'

'Is everything all right? Is Rory okay?'

'Rory's fine, but can you—can you come here now?'

'Can you give me a few minutes?'

'Yea, just come when you can.'

'All right, Ill be there in a little.' They both hung up. Lorelai started to go through the phonebook in the cell phone and didn't recognize a lot of the names. She realized it was Rory's phone. It started to ring. She looked at the screen and noticed that two calls had come in. She agreed to the first one.

'Hello?'

'Hey Rory.' A female voice said.

'This is her mom, but could you hang on for a sec?'

'Sure.' Lorelai sighed relief and answered the other call.

'Hello?' she said.

'I think I have the wrong number.' A male voice said.

'Who ya looking for?'

'Rory?'

'No, this is the right one, I'm her mom, Lorelai.'

'Hi, is Rory around?'

'First, who is this?'

'Oh sorry, my name is Kyle. (A/N: Remember him from when Rory and Tristan were at the club: Blondie's Cove? The woman is also from then just so you know.)

'Okay Kyle, Rory is currently sleeping, would you like me to tell her you called?'

'Could you?'

'Sure.'

'Thanks.'

'Okay bye.'

'Bye.' Lorelai switched back to the first call.

'Hello?'

'Yea, I'm here.'

'Good, sorry about that, I just got two calls on Rory's cell phone at the same time.'

'It's no problem. Is Rory there though? This is Liza.'

'Do you know a Kyle?'

'Yea, he's my boyfriend, why?'

'Okay, so you three know each other?'

'Well Rory knows Kyle because of me, and I guess in a way because of Tristan.'

'Hmm. Well Rory is currently sleeping. She was in an accident, she's okay but she's been really exhausted, especially now that Tristan's gone.' Lorelai mentally slapped herself.

'What?'

'Oh umm, I was ya know, checking to see if you were listening.'

'Is Tristan gone?'

'Yea.'

'Oh my god! Poor Rory!'

'Yea she's pretty heartbroken, now that her daughter won't have a father.'

'I thought they didn't have kids.' Again Lorelai mentally slaps herself.

'Oh umm, yea it was kinda unexpected.'

'Oh because Rory and Tristan didn't seem to have any kids when they met at the club we were at.'

'Yea well they're not very open about it.'

'Huh. That's strange. Well tell Rory that I am so sorry about that, but when she's up if she could call me? Maybe we could get together sometime. I haven't seen her in like what 5 or 6 months.'

'Yea uh sure. I'll let her know you called.' Lorelai disconnected the call. She shook her head wishing that, that day's events had never happened. She sat around for a little longer until she saw Jess's familiar form appear close to her.

'What's up?'

'Ally is okay right?'

'Yea, Paris is with her.'

'Okay well you see, Tristan kinda up and left.'

'Up and left?'

'Yea.'

'I don't get it.' Jess said. He thought there was some kind of catch to it.

'Much like the stunt you pulled on her senior year.' Jess thought and look down.

'What?' Lorelai asked.

'Why would he do that to her?'

'Why did you?'

'Did you ask me to come here just so you could question me? Because right now really doesn't seem like the time.'

'No I didn't, but just answer the question.'

'I've gotten over Rory, I'm really happy with my life, and I don't want to be anything more then a brotherly figure to her—'

'Just answer the question.'

'I was scared. She was the first girl that I met that didn't judge me. She didn't and she doesn't judge people. She really wants to get know you, she wants to get to know everyone, and only then after she knows you will she make assumptions if even then. I was scared that I might really fall in love with her, and I didn't know what to do. There I was a lost boy in New York, but then Rory came along and it was like my life just made sense for the first time in my life. For the first time in my life things were going good in an area of my life.'

'You don't love her like that anymore right?'

'God no. That's just disturbing, and when I look back it kinda grosses me out but I know she at one point felt the same way so we get over it. Now she's the sister I never had.'

'It all makes sense for you, but Tristan?' Lorelai asked.

'Does Rory know?'

'Yea, she cried herself to sleep.'

'Bastard.'

'Jess, I need you to do me—or Rory, really Rory a favor.'

'Sure, what is it?'

'Find Tristan. —' They were interrupted by a message alert coming from the cell phone in Jess's pocket. Jess pulled it out.

'Someone call?' Lorelai asked.

'No, someone text messaged me.'

'Ooh, who's it from?''

'Back off, I'm opening it!' He read the subject title and decided not to continue opening it.

'Well?'

'Oh uh Paris, she just wanted me to tell Rory hi for her and Ally.'

'You wanna see if she's up? It's been a while since I was with her, and if she isn't you can go see Rory's daughter, your second cousin I guess.' He nodded and walked away towards Rory's room. He walked in and saw that Rory was lying there peacefully. He walked up to her bed and sat down on the edge,

'You did good Rory, don't forget that.' He whispered and kept going.

'Your mom told me about Tristan…I'm really sorry. He doesn't deserve you. I got a new cell phone after a year and a half; I'll give you the number later. I haven't seen your daughter yet, but on the contrary the rumor mill has, and from it I hear that she's beautiful like her mother. Must run in families, huh?' Rory began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open.

''Jess?'

'Hey.'

'What are you doing here? I thought I demanded you go and stay home.'

'Your mom called me. She asked me to come.'

'Oh, so I guess you know.'

'About Tristan? Unfortunately, yes.'

'I loved him so much.'

'I know.'

'You've been through this, why did you leave?' Rory asked. He laughed to himself.

'I was scared that I might've fallen in love with you. I mean yea I love you now, but I'm not IN love with you.' Rory nodded.

'I thought he loved me.'

'He did. No one knows what happened.' Lorelai knocked and came in.

'Hi I just wanted to give Rory her cell phone back and Liza and Kyle called on it. They both want you to call them back.' Rory nodded and her mom left.

'Kyle and Liza set me and Tristan up that night at the club, the night after my birthday.' Jess nodded understanding.

'You wanna call them back?'

'You're here.'

'So, I'll wait a few minutes.' Rory smiled and called a number. Liza picked up.

'Hello?'

'Hi, it's Rory.'

'Oh hi! I'm sorry about Tristan.'

'Oh thanks.'

'Sure, look I just wanted to know if you wanted to get together and maybe catch up?'

'Oh uh sure.'

'Great, I'll call you later with details.'

'Okay, bye.' Rory hung up and immediately dialed Kyle.

'What up?'

'The sky.' Came Rory's sarcastic response.'

'Gilmore?'

'Hey Kyle.'

'Look, I just wanted to tell you that Tristan wouldn't be around…at least for a while.'

'I know.'

'What? How?'

'My grandma knew. She's a friend with his mom. How did you know?'

'He called me when he was on the road.'

'Oh.'

'He loves you Rory.'

'Then why did he leave?' the tears were coming again. Jess pulled her into a hug as she talked on the phone.

'He had to. Look it's complicated.'

'Well I'm listening.'

'Did you want him there with you?'

'Of course!'

'You didn't say anything that he could have overheard that may have seemed like you didn't want him there?'

'Positive! I love him, Kyle! He has a daughter! I can raise this baby myself, but she deserves to know her father!'

'Tristan told me about that.'

'Well what else did he say?'

'He didn't think there was a place in your life for him.'

'He IS my life!'

'He also said that he will never forget you and that when he thinks you've forgotten about him, he'll come back and figure out why he left.'

'Kyle, I just want him here. With me. I mean for all I know, he could be screwing some girl!'

'He's not; you can trust me on this one. He's probably just as upset as you are.'

'Then he would've stayed.'

'Look, Rory, I just called to tell you. I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't know everything that happened, but a lot of it I'm not allowed to tell back, and it's not what you think.'

'Okay.'

'Kay, and I just wanted to tell you that Liza and I are moving to Pennsylvania to a suburb of Philadelphia.'

'Oh, when?'

'Well, hopefully by weeks end.'

'Okay, thanks Kyle.'

'Sure, and umm, there's one more thing you might wanna know.'

'What?'

'His cell phone is broken. He threw it against a wall.'

'What?'

"Yea, so don't try to call it, you wont get through.'

'Thanks Kyle.'

Sure, take care of yourself.'

'I will, you too.' She hung up and cried into Jess's shirt. When she had stopped crying, she pulled back from Jess.

'Liza is stupid! She tells me she's gonna get together with me at some point but, she's moving about 8 hours away by the end of the week!'

'Yea, I agree with you on that one. So what happened?'

'Kyle, he's Tristan's best friend—or one of them. He says to give Tristan the benefit of the doubt.'

'No one knows what happened Rory.'

'You agree with him?'

'It doesn't seem like a Tristan thing—at all.'

'What kind of thing does it seem like?'

'A Jess thing.'

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Okay so do you guys get it? If you don't then ask me questions and I'll answer them for you! Oh and just curious if I skipped about 2 years, and did a scene from then and then skipped ahead another oh lets say 14 years, would you be okay with that? Lemme know. Please Review, Kiki