"WHEN I AM QUEEN"
Installment #5: "You and Whose Army?"

I sat on the couch, flipping through channels. I had a giant bowl of extremely buttery popcorn in my lap and Lorelai had covered me in about 12 blankets. She had to go to work, but Chris was still here, which made me feel somewhat safer. The drugs had worn off by now, considering it was two days later, and I was kind of wishing I still had them. My wrist felt like somebody had smashed it with a hammer, although it was nowhere near that bad, my eye wasn't so swelled up, but it still stung, and my nose felt like it was on fire.

However, all of that seemed feeble considering I was watching Passions. I had never bothered to watch Passions or any soap opera before, but for some unknown reason, here I was, watching Passions. I blame the already-worn-off-after-effects of the drugs.

Life without school, friends, and mom was boring, let's face it.

"Hey kiddo, how're you feeling?"

"Fine, thanks." My father sat down in front of the couch and reached up to steal my popcorn.

"You are eating like a pregnant woman, my god. Is there salt, pepper, cheese, and extra butter on this stuff?"

"Don't avoid my needs, kind nurse. Now fetch me some hot dog which I can put on this."

"That's even more disgusting."

"That's why I said it."

"Can I have some more?"

"Be my guest. I thought you said it was disgusting."

"It is, but it's like drugs. Addicting, I tell ya."

The two of us sat there, staring at the television. I could tell that my father had no idea what to do in this situation. I didn't either, really.

Chris had passed out on the couch, and I sat on my bed. Mom was due home soon. I flipped through a book that Jess had recommended to me earlier when I heard a knock on the door. I got up, considering Chris was sound asleep in front of the TV, and went to the front door. The glass hid a blurry figure, and I pulled it open slowly. The figure smiled to her. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Good. What are you doing here?" He stepped inside, and I took a small step backwards. He had a light black eye and a little bit of a limp.

"I had to see you… I had to make sure you were okay," he whispered. I threw my arms around his waist and breathed in his scent. He stroked my back. "So, I take it you're okay."

"Yeah. I'm going back to school in a few days. Did you get into a fight?"

"Kind of."

"With Dean?"

"Kind of." Jess smirked down at me and I smiled shyly back.

"You didn't have to beat him up."

"Yes I did, Rory." He kissed me on the forehead, but my lips met his cautiously. It was a gentle kiss, and he pulled away slowly. "You're still not up to par. I'll let you rest."

"You don't have to leave yet."

"I think your dad's waking up," he said to the sound of Chris's groans.

"I suppose he is. You'd better get going then," I said. He kissed me quickly and went out the door. I stood, holding the door with my good hand, staring off at his back. Chris groaned and the floor creaked in that one spot where he got up.

"Who was that?"

"A friend," I said. "He just wanted to check on me."

"He? It wasn't the boy who did this to you, right?"

"No, it wasn't."

"Ah, so it was the other boy then."

"Yeah… the other boy." I closed the door and walked back to the couch, where I flopped down and picked up a book. The door opened again and then closed.

"Hello loving family, how are we this beautiful day?"

"Hi mom!" I called from my spot on the couch. She came into the room holding something behind her back. "How was work?"

"Work was good. What'd you two do all day?"

"I watched TV. He knocked himself out. Guess there's been a few too many late nights for this boy."

"I didn't pass out, I just… took a short nap. That's all," Chris said shyly. Lorelai smiled and I rolled my eyes. "What'cha got there?" He asked to take attention off him. Lorelai smiled and pulled a large bouquet of flowers – tulips, roses, daisies, etc. "They're for Rory," she said.

"Who're they from?"

"I'm pretty sure that they're from Jess. Somebody ordered them and sent them to the inn saying they're for you. There's a note, too." She handed me the bouquet. "I didn't read it. I would never breach your privacy like that," she said, winking. The note read – Feel better soon. I miss you. I looked at it carefully and winced. Lorelai looked at the horrified look on my face. "Oh, god," she murmured, rushing to my side and pulling me into a tight embrace.

"What's going on?" Chris asked helplessly.

"They're not from Jess," Lorelai replied rather blankly. She held me tightly and stroked my hair while I stared at the note. "It's okay. He isn't going to hurt you, okay? He's not going to hurt you. I won't let him - neither will Chris, Luke, or Jess. Understand?" I nodded slightly in her hold.

"Can I see the note?" Chris asked. I handed it to him and he spent about twenty minutes reading over it. Or at least that's what it seemed like. For once, I felt like he was being the strong, protective father figure he'd never been before. I knew he wanted to rip Dean in two pieces for doing anything to me at all, but this qualified as stalking in my book. Or it would if it would go any further at all.

"I was kind of hoping we could go to Luke's this afternoon, but if you want to stay in, it's okay." I nodded and stared at the flowers. I wished I had never met Dean and I wished he had never come to Stars Hollow. However, these wishes were in vain as clearly, he had come to Stars Hollow, and clearly, I had met him.

Have you ever felt so tired that your entire body ached, but the exhaustion was so bad you couldn't shut your eyes? That's how I felt. I just wanted everything to be over with so that I could go back to my normal life. I had already missed a few days of school. Pretty soon Chris was going to have to go back to Boston and the house would seem emptier. I didn't really want to think about anything anymore – I didn't want to think about what had happened, what was happening, or what was going to happen – I just felt like if I did, I would explode.

I'm sorry this took so long, but I had hit a wall with this story. I feel like this isn't a good chapter or a long enough chapter for all the wait you guys went through. I had no idea where to go with it, and this is where it went. This took me probably three months to complete mainly because of all the outside work I had, and plus I spent four weeks in another country, away from my beloved computer. So, please review, and I'll make sure the next chapter comes a lot quicker.