Disclaimer- I own absolutely positively nothing…not even a penny. Which sucks because that means I have no money to buy people Christmas presents.
Reviews- Umm… yeah I love you guys. If it was still legal, and I was a Mormon, I would marry you all. Haha… just kidding, no really, I am.
QuEEnSeRb716- Oh hush up… go find Daniel.
Gilmorefan31, abh, princetongirl, Gilmoregirl7878, LoVe23, piper-h-99, britts, tickle582, x Dead-on-Arrival x, smartmonkey101, papaslittlecj, errrrrr (an estimation on the rrrr's), Danger1Zone1988, estick, Trory Lover- Muchas gracias to you all. Seriously you guys are love.
Kylie1403- Aww… thanks.
Kelz3192-I love sugar…
Riotgirllina- I know, seriously, Tristan, what is that boy thinking?
maxmouse23- I've kept writing, so you totally have to keep reading ;)
soloveable- Katies rock. And I'm sorry it makes you cry, but this chapter is definitely going to jerk some tears…
LHTDfan- Aww… I was called peanut.
Alenor- Amnesia would be too much.
southerncoffeeaddict- Oh don't worry, he is.
tristansgurlmary- Have you died yet? 'Cause I totally think this chapter is worth the wait. And I feel a little guilty…
A/N- So yeah… you're probably all looking at me right now with pitchforks and torches in your hands, but… I have a feeling that by the end of this chapter… you will be thoroughly pleased. I know they have that new thing where you can reply to the comment on the comment, but I like it this way. But if you seriously have an urgent question I'll definitely reply back there. So yeah, there is a definite time skip in this chapter. Like four years. Enjoy! Yeah I completely lied, this chapter's the time lapse.
Chapter 21- Confessions from Father to Daughter
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Four years later, and Tristan was still in a coma. By now, Rory could rarely visit, only once or twice a month if she was lucky. Bella was about 9 years old, and she really was a beautiful child. Jules was now 4. She had bubbly blonde hair and navy blue eyes, just like Rory predicted. Rory worked at The Hartford News, Bella went to Stars Hollow Elementary, and Bella went to a preschool in Hartford. It was very early December, and it was the time of year when kids were sick at least once every other week. Today it was Bella, and Rory was stuck home taking care of her, and Lorelai was picking Jules up from preschool. "Bella, do you need any more medicine?" Rory called from her laptop at the dining room table. The three girls lived in a small house very near Lorelai and Luke's house.
"No mom, I'm fine," Bella sighed from her quite comfortable position on the couch. She was surrounded by pillows and blankets, along with a remote control, a stack of books, and a half full cup of water.
"All right fine, but when you have another coughing fit, don't come crying to me," Rory taunted.
"Medicine would be ok," Bella agreed.
Rory chuckled and walked into the bathroom to retrieve the liquid version of Children's Tylenol, and a small measuring medicine cup. Rory set the bottle and cup down onto the counter and squatted to eye level with the cup. She poured the liquid to the 1 tbsp mark, and capped the bottle, then placing it in the cupboard. "Oh Bella-bee, your liquidy goodness is awaiting!" Rory called as she walked to the cuddled up girl on the couch. Rory held out the cup and Bella reluctantly took it. "Bells, it's not that bad."
"Have you tasted this stuff? If this tastes like bubble-gum, then Alex Mozwitch likes me," Bella scrunched up her nose.
"Alex does like you honey, that's why he pulls your hair," Rory smiled as the girl downed the liquid quickly, then grabbing her water and gulping most of it down as fast as she could. "You better enjoy this freedom for the next few minutes. Nana will be here soon with Jules. Soon, I'll have to divide my attention up between the two of you."
"But I'm sick," Bella whined.
"Yeah, and she's four years old. She has the attention-span of a fly," Rory replied.
"Rory! Bella-bee! It's Jules and Nana!" Lorelai exclaimed as she walked into the house carrying a bright-eyed blonde girl.
"Mommy!" the girl squealed as she jumped out of her Nana's arms and straight into her mom's.
"Hi Peanut, how was your day?" Rory asked.
"It was great! I colored, and drawed, and played, and read, and it was lots of fun! Miss Manda says that I'm the bestest reader there," Jules exclaimed in great detail.
"That's great honey. Why don't you go see how your sissy is doing, she's not feeling so good," Rory explained as she put Jules down.
"Sissy! How are you?" Jules yelled as she walked into the living room.
Rory turned to face her mother, and smiled, "Thanks for the help."
Lorelai laughed and said, "Anytime. Jules was really excited to see that Nana was picking her up for once. Now she says that Uncle Jess or Aunt Susie should pick her up."
"Oh great, I got her poor little hopes up," Rory sighed.
"Ok, so here's her folder, and her backpack, and her toy from share time. Although, judging by her report, she didn't exactly share," Lorelai noted.
"Why don't my kids ever share? I share," Rory whined.
"You never shared when you were little. I was cleaning up your Barbies once, and you flipped out. You screamed louder than I've ever heard, and told me to put them down at once or else you're taking away my coffee. Even at that age, you were brilliantly clever," Lorelai animatedly told the tale.
Rory rolled her eyes, "Well thanks mom, tell Luke I say hi."
"Will do, give the girls kisses for me," Lorelai kissed Rory's cheek and waved good-bye. Rory glanced at the door, and then went to check on the girls, and the two were entranced by an episode of Jimmy Neutron. She put the backpack and toy in Jules's room, and then sat at the dining room table again to check on how Jules was doing in school. The letter read,
Dear Ms. Gilmore,
Jules is doing wonderful. Although, she needs to share better with her other classmates. As you know, it's nearing Christmas time and we'd like a picture of her immediate family: her mother, father, siblings, grandparents, and perhaps even her if possible. If not, that's fine. It would be great if you could have the picture in by the end of the week.
Miss Manda
Rory sighed. She knew where one picture was. It was of her, Tristan, Lorelai and Luke at Lorelai's wedding. Rory went to retrieve the picture out of her top dresser drawer. Nobody knew of the picture, except for Lorelai, and she'd long forgotten it by now.
"Jules, come here," Rory called.
"What mommy?" Jules followed the sound of her voice into Rory's bedroom, where Rory was sitting on the bed, looking fondly at a picture. Jules crawled onto the bed, and snuggled into Rory's side. "Who's that mommy?" Jules pointed to Rory.
"You know who that is Peanut," Rory smiled.
"Well that's you, that's Nana, that's Grampy Luke, and who's that man?" Jules asked. Rory sighed, not fully prepared for this moment, although the minute Jules began pointing out the people, she wouldn't know who that was.
"You know how your daddy is taking a very, very long nap in the hospital, and he's going to wake up very soon for you and your sister?" Rory looked at the inquiring girl. Jules nodded, bobbing her hair up and down. "Well that's your daddy. His name is Tristan Janlen Dugrey."
"He's very handsome," Jules took the picture out of Rory's hands and looked at it closer, squinting as she memorized each tiny detail.
"Yes he is, Jules. He's the most handsome man on the earth," Rory agreed, taking time to remember him.
"And the moon and the stars?" Jules wondered.
Rory chuckled and kissed the girl's hair, "And the moon and the stars."
"So where is Daddy again?" Jules asked.
"You know where he is Peanut. He's at the hospital," Rory sighed, trying not to let her emotions wear her down.
"Well how come I never got to go see him?" Jules fired another question.
"I wasn't sure if you wanted to see him honey," Rory explained hesitantly. She really just didn't want Jules to get attached in case he never really did wake up, and the doctors were wrong.
"Does he know who I am?" Jules laid farther into her mother's side.
Rory laid down on her bed, Jules snuggled up next to her. "Of course he does. Every time I go and visit Daddy, I tell him all about you and Bella."
"I want to go and visit him," Jules sat up. "Can we go now?"
"Not now Jules. Mommy has to finish an article for work, and Bella is sick. How about tomorrow after preschool? I'll pick you and Bella up, and then we can go?" Rory propositioned.
"Okay, you pinky promise?"
"I double pinky promise," Rory held out both her pinkies and linked them with Jules's. "Now what do you want for dinner? I'm making Bella soup, so you can have whatever you want."
"I want mac and cheese!" Jules jumped off the bed and ran towards the kitchen. "Mommy, come on!"
"I'll be right there Peanut. Get out the mac and cheese box for me," Rory went into her closet and sat down, opening a large box. In it were pictures, stuffed animals, and memories. She took out one picture of her and Tristan, one that would be treasured forever. It was also at Lorelai's wedding, when the two were dancing, Kirk took a candid photo. Rory was gazing deep into his eyes while Tristan gracefully led them side to side as they danced. Rory had to say this was her favorite picture of them. She clutched the picture to her, and let a few tears escape. It has been so long since she's actually looked at a picture of just the two of them, or even let herself cry over him. Rory brushed the tears aside as she put the picture back in the box. She composed herself and walked to the kitchen to prepare the macaroni and cheese for her and Jules, and the soup for Bella.
Rory walked into a homey looking building to pick up Jules from daycare. "Peanut!" Rory called as she stepped into the classroom.
"Mommy!" Jules put down her play-doh creation and ran to cling to her mother's legs. "You never pick me up from preschool!"
"Did you forget silly goose? We're going to go see your daddy," Rory hugged the girl, and smiled as her teacher walked over. "Hi Miss Manda."
"Hello Ms. Gilmore. How are you?" Manda asked.
"All right. Was Jules good today?" Rory wondered.
"She was pretty good. All day she talked about going to see her daddy in the hospital. She told us all about how he was taking a long nap. I'm sorry to hear that," Manda replied.
"Thanks. Well we should get going, we have to drive to the hospital. Jules, say goodbye to Miss Manda," Rory nudged the girl.
"Bye Miss Manda," Jules chirped. The two walked out and went into the car where Bella was reading Arthur Baby-sits. Rory strapped Jules into her car-seat and Rory then proceeded to start the car and head in the direction of the hospital.
Once arriving there, she un-strapped Jules and took both girls by the hand as they walked into the hospital. She walked into the elevator and pressed the button to go to the fourth floor. "Mommy are we almost there?" Jules jumped.
"Almost," Rory nodded. The elevator door opened, and Rory walked over to a desk. To Jules and Bella, it was very high. Jules tried to see by stepping as high as she could onto her tip-toes. Her attempts were unsuccessful and she in turn slumped onto the floor. Rory rolled her eyes and said to the nurse, "Hey Elsie."
"Well hello Rory, it's been awhile since you've visited," Elsie peaked over the desk, "and who might these munchkins be?"
"These are my girls, Bella and Jules," Rory introduced them.
"Nice to meet you girls. Now go on in Rory," Elsie nodded. Rory took the girls' hands again and walked toward Tristan's room.
"Okay Jules, this is Daddy's room, do you want me to go in with you?" Rory asked.
"No, I want to go by myself," Jules persisted.
"I want to go first!" Bella screeched.
"No, I am!" Jules yelled.
"Girls! Enough! Let Bella go first, and then you, okay Jules?" Rory settled the problem. Jules walked over to a chair in the hallway and fixated herself on top.
"Fine," Jules pouted.
Rory rolled her eyes and looked back at Bella and said, "You go on in Bella-bee. We'll be right here when you're done." Bella opened and closed the door. Rory walked over at sat with an angry Jules. "Oh Peanut, Bella will be back in a minute."
"Uh-huh, that's what they all say," Jules attempted to roll her eyes, but simply crossed them.
Bella came out five minutes later, and said, "I'm done." Jules hopped out of her seat and Rory ran after her.
"Jules! Honey wait up!" Rory replied exasperated. "Are you sure you're going to be ok in there?"
"I'll be fine mommy," Jules patted Rory's hand. Rory patted her back and Jules stepped into the room. She saw a man lying on a bed with wires and tubes hooked up from many places. His eyes were closed, and he looked very peaceful. "Daddy?" Jules asked. "Can you hear me?" Jules walked over and curiously stepped up onto the chair next to the bed. "Daddy, how come you're sleeping?" She stepped onto the bed and sat on his stomach. "You have lots of wires coming out of you. Does that mean you're sick?" Jules paused and looked the man over again. "Mommy says you're just taking a really long nap. I took a really long nap once, Mommy said, but she said it was only for a couple of hours. You must be really tired if you're taking such a long nap. But I hope your nap is almost up, 'cause I really want to do things with you. Kids in my school talk about their daddies. They say that they go to parks, and zoos, and movies. Do you want to do that with me daddy?" Jules inquired. "I want to do that with you. Once we had to draw pictures of our daddies, and I didn't know what to draw, so I drawed a really big man, who was extra handsome and he was holding me." Jules took both of their hands and placed them in his. "I wish you would hold me."
Jules felt a hand moving and saw his eyes opening. Tristan gained consciousness and smiled at the girl staring down at him. He knew everything that happened over the past few years. He knew where he was, he knew who he was, he knew who the girl was, but despite all he tried, he could never wake up. Suddenly, when Jules was talking to him, he felt an emotion he never had felt. His little girls was talking to him. "Hi Princess," he croaked.
"Daddy!" Jules screeched and she hugged the man as tightly as she could.
Rory heard Jules scream from outside and she ran into the room, "Peanut what- Oh my God, Oh my God." She saw Jules hugging Tristan with his eyes open. "Oh my God."
"God, how I've missed seeing your face," Tristan smiled. Rory began to cry, and she walked over to the bed hugging the two tightly.
"I've missed hearing your voice," Rory sobbed. "Meet your daughter Jules. I found out I was pregnant the night we got into the accident."
"I know. You told me," Tristan nodded. "I was going to propose to you that night."
"Oh Tris," she sobbed.
"I know about that, and how you adopted Bella, and how Jules was born a month early, and how you didn't sleep for a week because she was sick," Tristan listed.
"Oh my God, Bella! I need to go get Bella!" Rory ran out of the room. "Bella!" she exclaimed. The girl looked up from her position on the chair and Rory grinned, "Daddy's awake." Bella ran in a blind fury and past Rory's legs. Rory turned around to see both the girls sitting with Tristan. Tristan looked happier than Rory had ever seen him before, with his daughters. Rory began to cry again and she went to go sit on the chair. Tristan took her hand and drew lazy circles into her palm. "Do you know how many nights I kept myself awake crying, wishing you were there by my side?"
"I'm here now Mary. That's all that matters," Tristan soothed her. Rory agreed and she sniffed, wiping some tears away.
"I really hate to break our happy moment, but I have to go tell a doctor or something," Rory laughed. Tristan nodded, and Rory went in search of a doctor. "Dr. Benson! Dr. Benson!" Rory exclaimed.
He turned around and smiled at Rory, "Hello Rory, how's Tristan today?"
"He's awake, he woke up, he woke up for me," Rory exclaimed.
"Oh that's wonderful. We're going to have to perform some tests on him and keep him here for at least another week," Dr. Benson exclaimed.
"Okay, just let me call my mother and she'll take the kids home," Rory agreed. "I should probably call everyone." Rory walked a bit away and pulled out her cell phone.
"Hi Mini-me, how'd the hospital visit go?" Lorelai answered the phone.
"He woke up Mom. He woke up to the sound of Jules's voice. He's here Mom," Rory smiled through her tears.
"Oh babe," Lorelai exclaimed. "I'm so happy. Want me and Luke to come and pick Bells and Peanut?"
"Yeah, do you mind taking them for the week? That's how much longer Tristan has to stay. I'm going to stay here. Just get them clothes from the house, and bring me clothes every once and awhile," Rory explained.
"No problem. Oh hun, I'll be right there," Lorelai hung up. Rory put the phone away and walked in to the room.
"Nana'll be here soon girls to take you home with her," Rory took sight of the two girls animatedly telling Tristan about their lives.
"But mom," Bella whined, "we have to talk to Daddy."
"You can come back tomorrow after school to come see Daddy," Rory replied. "In the meantime, tell Daddy about our Christmas tree adventure."
"Ooh, I remember! So last year, Mommy really wanted a real Christmas tree, and Uncle Jess came with us so Mommy wouldn't have trouble getting the tree to the car. And then once we got the tree, Mommy tried to help Uncle Jess carry it, but then something flew in Mommy's face, and she let go to wave it out of her face, and then the tree fell on Uncle Jess! We had to call Nana and Grampy Luke to come, and Grampy Luke took the tree off of Uncle Jess and Uncle Jess said that he was never talking to Mommy again. But he came over the next day to fix the sink," Bella explained excitedly.
"That's very exciting," Tristan agreed.
"Bella-bee! Peanut! Nana and Grampy Luke are here!" Lorelai called as they walked into the room.
"Ohh," the girls both whined.
"Go with Grampy Luke and maybe he'll play helicopter with you guys," Lorelai crouched down and scooted them off. The two ran off with Luke and Lorelai went to look back and Tristan, "It's good to have you back buddy."
"It's good to be back," Tristan agreed.
"Okay, so I'll take the girls home and we'll come by tomorrow. Bye Ror, bye Tristan," Lorelai stepped out of the room, and shut the door.
"Do you know how much I've missed you?" Rory asked.
"Probably as much as I've missed you. You've grown up so much. You've taken care of two wonderful girls for four years, and you didn't lie to them about me. You told them who I was and where I was. And right now I'm dying to do something," Tristan said.
"Do what?" Rory whispered.
"Kiss you senseless," Tristan brought Rory closer to him and kissed her like he's never been gone. He kissed her with every emotion he's ever felt, and Rory felt herself beginning to cry as she kissed him. Tristan weakly brought a hand up and wiped her tears aside with the pads of his thumbs. "Marry me," he whispered.
Rory looked at him and nodded, crying again, "You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear that."
"Actually I was going to blindfold you, take you to a jewelry store, and tell you to pick one, whichever one you wanted. I wanted to give you the world Rory. I still do," Tristan soothingly replied.
"That's so romantic," Rory smiled and kissed him again. "I've wished I was Mrs. Dugrey the moment you kissed me the first time."
"I love you so much," he said.
"I love you so much too," she replied. Rory lied there in his arms. She's wished for this moment for years. It was nothing like she imagined. She didn't want to worry him with living arrangements, or anything. She just wanted to be there with him. It was the greatest moment in her entire life. The moment she knew that Tristan was here again, and she could finally be completely happy.
"When I get out of here, I'm putting a ring on that finger, and we're going to start planning a wedding," Tristan said.
"That sounds absolutely perfect."
A/N- I know I know, you're excited right? You have no idea how meaningful this chapter is to me. I hope this was the moment you've all been waiting for. Please review!
For once QuEEnSeRb716 has absolutely no comments. She is too choked up to say anything…huh...QuEEnSeRb716 speechless…