He'd Be A Fool Not To Chapter 8: Get Over It, a gilmore girls fanfic

He'd Be A Fool Not To…

It was late, the little red numbers on her clock had spelt out and passed three am already, but Lorelai couldn't sleep. She moved out of her bed, and padded silently across the room to the window and pulled it open, allowing a cool night breeze to creep in. The storm had passed and the rain had stopped but she could still feel it in the air.

Wrapping her arms tight around herself she watched the desolate town below her, everything seemed so peaceful and calm in the early hours of the morning. The hours she should be spending curled up in her blankets and sleeping soundly. But not tonight because the hours now belonged to her thoughts and it made her feel distant.

Sighing as she turned away from her window, Lorelai slipped languidly back into bed. She hated not being able to find the relief of sleep. Leaning over to her bedside table she flicked on her stereo and skipped a few tracks. Rory had called earlier and asked if she could stay at Lane's for the night, and Lorelai had said yes even though Rory was grounded. The both of them just needed a slight breather right now.

Sitting up in bed she curled her knees and hugged them to her chest, staring transfixed at a small picture of her and Rory, huge smiles on their faces and laughing uncontrollably. Something inside her knew that the distance between her and Rory was her fault but the anger she felt towards him was still fresh in her mind.

She remembered when she'd gotten off the bus at Chilton. She'd stood there for over an hour, frozen to the same spot she had been in when reality hit her, and she realized that she might have lost her daughter for good. She'd argued with herself out loud that that was stupid and a lie; Rory would never turn her back on her mother especially not for a guy. But some small part of her had fought back. Rory did need him, even if Lorelai didn't like him; she knew he would be there for Rory. But Lorelai wanted to be that constant person in Rory's life…

I'm here, sitting in a bed
In a place where I don't feel at home

Lorelai looked around her room; it looked blue and icy cold in the moonlight sifting in through her window. Furniture, clothes and knick knacks were scattered all over the room, some hers and some Rory's. A reminder that she had blown up everything they had had, all on a whim of anger. She questioned herself, 'What do you know about their relationship?' He was from high society but she'd seen the way he'd looked at Rory the night of the play.

Lorelai looked around her room for the longest time, dredging up old memories and wandering about in a dream. Absentmindedly she'd gotten out of bed and headed downstairs. She walked silently around the house, the soft notes of Lene Marlin drifting down the stairs.

Where are you, I sure wonder why
You haven't called me, you promised you would
The phone must be broken it has to be broken
I'm sure there's a reason, say there's a reason

Lorelai walked over to the fireplace in the living room, bringing her hand up and trailing it softly over the pictures. There was a small photo tapped to the side of a frame of her and Rory. She remembered it as the one Sookie had taken at Christmas time. Lorelai smiled at the faint recognition of that Christmas and the silly presents her and Rory had exchanged.

Closing her eyes Lorelai walked over to the couch and sat down, pulling a blanket up over her body. The window in the living was also open to the night, and the breeze caught her soft beige curtains and made them dance. Lorelai looked down at the photo in her hand, staring at it she felt so alone and empty at the sight of happier times. She realized that she couldn't just take for granted that Rory and she would always have that mother-daughter-best-friend relationship until the end and beyond. Lorelai sighed and watched the movements of the curtains as the music washed over her.

I fight against the hours, I cannot go to sleep
I know that if I lay down now,
Inside I know I'll weep
Guess I'm holding on to treasures
To things that just aren't there
To people that I used to know,
To words I wish to hear.

She stood up slowly and took the picture with her back up to her bedroom, holding it to her chest, flush against her like it was her lifeline. She felt a rather large crack in her defences as she wished her and Rory could get back to those times. Laying herself down on her bed she lay the picture down next to her.

I'm here, thinking only of you
Wish to know, if I need to go

Looking at her pillow she replayed the last time she'd seen Rory smile at her, a true smile. She remembered Rory's eyes when she'd turned back around after Tristin had left. They'd been shining blue like summer skies, and as Lorelai thought about that she wanted nothing more then to give up her fight and let this Tristin kid in.

And I try, I swear to you that I try
But you haven't called me, you promised you would

The phone must be broken, it has to be broken
I'm sure there's a reason, say there's a reason

Lorelai knew that Rory would be here that night, asleep in her own room, if she hadn't pushed her away, not yelled at her and broken her promise. She didn't like the feeling of knowing that she was alone in the house. She wasn't the type of person who ever really wanted alone time. She always felt lost or bored, but right now she only had herself to blame.

Letting her eyes fall closed again, Lorelai curled up into a ball. She wanted to be able to get up in the morning and walk down to Luke's for breakfast with Rory. She wanted to be able to talk to her and joke around and just have everything return to normal with them.

And she knew for that to happen she would have to get over her stubbornness, get over her pride and finally get over her hatred towards anyone from her parents world.

As the music faded Lorelai finally drifted off to sleep, one hand holding her blankets up to her chin and the other clasping the picture tightly. Mouth opening in a sigh, she let slip a single tear.

---

When Rory woke up the next morning, her eyes stung, her face hurt and her mouth felt like someone had rubbed it with sand paper. She brought her hand to her eyes and rubbed at them, but it only made them hurt more. She slowly pushed herself up, feeling disorientated at first when she hit a wall with her elbow. Rory reached out to steady herself and finally remembered where she was.

She remembered the night before, the fight with her mom, Tristin comforting her on the bridge, him driving her to Lane's house. She couldn't fight the smile that itched at her lips, when she recalled Tristin's words when he'd dropped her off.

Flashback

Rory was sitting silently in the passenger seat of Tristin's car, her head pressed against the window and letting the coolness seep into her skin. Her small form was swimming in Tristin's coat but she didn't even notice. All she cared for was the comfort and peace she found while wearing it, the scent of him surrounding her and the warmth invading her system.

She felt the car stop, and looked up from the ground and let her eyes travel up to Kim's Antiques, the place she'd told Tristin to drop her off at. She made no move to get out of the car, just stared at the house. She could feel Tristin's blue eyes on her, his gaze leaving a path of fire wherever it landed. She could sense that he was concerned, worried about her, but she didn't know what to say to make him feel better. And so she didn't say anything.

Soon enough she heard Tristin unbuckle himself and open the car door. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him come around the hood of the car and then his form stopped in front of her. She understood what he was waiting for and so she slowly backed away from the door and let him open it. She pulled his coat tighter around herself as the wind from outside attacked her.

She looked up at him, with watery eyes, hair plastered onto her face in a wet mess. Tristin thought she looked absolutely beautiful, but the tears in her eyes made her look different. They made her look small, weak and scared. He never wanted to see her like this, and his heart ached thinking about the pain she must be carrying around with her. He reached down into the car and held out his hand for her, waiting until she placed her slender one in his.

He pulled her out of the car, glad that the rain had stopped so she wouldn't get soaked again. He looked at her with a tender look and then leaned back down into the car and pulled out her backpack and slid it over his shoulder. After he closed the car door he placed his hand at the small of her back and walked her up to the front door.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked, making her pause in her action of knocking on the door. She looked up at him, and his eyes narrowed into a softer look. She felt her heart melt at the look and before she could think she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested the side of her face against his chest.

Tristin was surprised by her abrupt action but his arms immediately curved around her waist, holding her to him and never wanting to let go. He could feel the dampness of her hair seep into his shirt but he didn't care about it at all. "Rory?" he whispered, not wanting to scare her.

Rory slowly pulled back, but kept herself in his embrace. "I'll be fine," she told him but her voice sounded like it was going to break.

"You know I don't believe that," he told her, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I know."

Tristin sighed out and pulled her back to him, resting his head on hers. "I want you to know Rory that I'll always be there for you. No matter what happens, I need you to know hat you can count on me," he told her gently, his warm breath tickling her ear.

Rory smiled at his words, and leaned back so she could look into his eyes. "I think I'm starting to realize that," she said, watching as his smile came back and then she leaned up to kiss him lightly on the lips. "I'm sorry about my mom," she said when she pulled back.

Tristin shook his head and brought a finger up to her lips. "Don't worry about it." He let her backpack slip off his shoulder and down to the porch. He looked over at the front door and then back at Rory. "You'll be okay here?" he asked, not wanting to leave her alone at a time like this.

"Yeah, I can't go home," she told him, her eyes welling with tears when she said the words home. Right now the crap shack felt anything but homey. "Thank you," Rory whispered, not knowing how to express in words how much Tristin had come to mean to her.

"Your welcome Mary," he sighed, the nickname making her lips twitch into a smile. Rory liked knowing that even when everything seemed to be going wrong, some things still never changed.

End Flashback

Rory looked down at the pyjamas she'd borrowed from Lane, fingering the soft cotton between her fingers. Rory felt so grateful to have a friend like her. Someone who would stay up into the late hours of the night just to hear Rory talk about what had happened, someone who would let her crash inside her closet so that she wouldn't have to go home just yet. But Rory knew that she would have to go home now, she couldn't hide in Lane's closet forever.

Slowly Rory pushed the blankets away from her and stood up. She paused with hr ear pressed to the door just to make sure that Mama Kim wasn't in Lane's room. When she didn't hear anything she opened the door and stepped out into the completely different room. Lane was still in bed and so Rory padded over to her desk quietly. She didn't want to wake Lane up so she scribbled a note thanking her and telling she'd call later that night. Rory placed the note on Lane's extra pillow before she grabbed her shoes and uniform and tiptoed out of the Kim house.

Rory walked down the street still in Lane's pyjamas, getting some odd looks from a lot of people. She also noticed they were looking at her with a sad look and she wondered why…until she remembered that she lived next to Babette, the second biggest gossip queen in Stars Hollow. Rory groaned smacking her hand against her head, everyone in town probably knew about their fight already.

Rory wondered down the street, the closer she got to her house, the more her stomach knotted. She didn't know what to expect, when she'd talked to her mom on the phone she'd been so formal. She knew by far that this was there biggest fight ever but right now she just wanted it to be over. And as she came up to the house she realized that maybe her mom wanted it to be over to.

---

Lorelai had awoken early that morning, around five-thirty. She hadn't even tried to fall back asleep; she just rolled out of bed and padded down the stairs and into the kitchen. She on instinct made herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. Her head was pounding. She didn't know if it was from all the heavy thoughts she'd entertained last night or because of the two hours of sleep she'd gotten. But no matter what reason, she felt awful and she knew she would feel awful until she made things right with Rory.

Could she really stay this mad at Rory because of a guy? Was she even mad at Rory? Or was this all directed at the fact Rory was falling for someone from her parent's world? Lorelai had always hated that world, those people. She'd run from it and never looked back in hesitation. At many different times throughout the last year or so she'd had to be reminded that Rory might like that world. It shook her to the core every time but she just didn't want to accept that Rory wasn't running with her. But she knew right now that deep down inside of her she wanted to be able to get over it, she'd just never had the incentive. Until now…

Lorelai jumped up from the table, knocking her chair backwards onto the kitchen floor in her haste. She didn't know what had just happened but she knew that something had. Something inside of her clicked on at that moment. Maybe it was her stubbornness, her pride? No, it was something else. She could scarcely remember it but it was there: a memory of her cradled in the arms of a younger Christopher, sitting on the bench on his front porch. It was that memory, the emotions she'd seen in his eyes: love, devotion, concern, worry, that had her mind running a mile a minute. Like an onslaught, she remembered different things from when she was growing up in Hartford, things she'd blocked out because they were the things keeping her there, the only happy times she'd had.

And suddenly in her mind and in her heart, being compared to Christopher wasn't all that bad because he'd been a good guy and he'd loved her.

---

Rory folded her arms in front of her as she stepped onto the driveway. Lorelai was sitting on the steps leading up to the porch, a mug of coffee in her hand and another one beside her. She walked even further, her footsteps becoming louder and announcing her approach to Lorelai. The older Gilmore looked up from her coffee and when she saw Rory coming up the drive she set her mug down beside her and walked over to meet Rory halfway.

"I'm sorry," she gushed, not even waiting for a reply before engulfing her daughter in her arms.

Rory was completely stunned by her mother's turn around but she managed to bring her arms around her, the still damp uniform pressed between them. The two girls hugged, standing on their front lawn in their pyjama's for five minutes straight before Rory pulled back a bit. She looked up at Lorelai and she saw the smile on her face.

"I'm sorry," Lorelai repeated. "I'm sorry for breaking my promise, I'm sorry for yelling at you…I'm just really sorry."

Rory was speechless for a minute before she broke out of it and let a smile part her lips. "I kind of got that," she joked light-heartedly. Rory backed away a little more her uniform falling to the ground but she didn't notice. "What happened?" she asked, this time more serious.

Lorelai let out a low chuckle and met Rory's blue eyes. "I freaked," she started, "Rory I've never seen you this serious about a guy. I mean when you first met Dean and you said didn't want to go to Chilton I always knew that you weren't really considering it. But with Tristin…" Lorelai trailed off for a second, racking her brain for how to describe what she had felt. "Everything with him is so much more intense. And I freaked because I realized that I could lose you."

Rory was quick to shake her head. "Mom you would never lose me," she promised, feeling quite confident about that. No matter how much Tristin had come to mean to her she would never be able to turn her back on her mother for good.

Lorelai brought her hand up and placed it on Rory's shoulder. She had a smile on her face and her eyes were gentle. "Glad to hear that," she said, sounding more like her true self. "I've finally turned a new leaf," she stated bending over and picking up the uniform and guiding Rory over to the steps. "Maybe and just maybe, the people from my parent's world aren't all evil."

Rory could have screamed when she heard her mom say that. She couldn't stop her small smile from turning so big she felt it might takeover. She accepted the coffee her mom gave to her, not even noticing that it was colder then it was hot. "So you've finally figured out that the grass is greener on the other side?" Rory asked, teasing her mom.

Lorelai laughed and pretended to look serious for a moment. "This is true, although just between you and me," she said leaning forward like it was some top secret information. "I think they might just be hiring people to make it so green."

"You don't say!" Rory exclaimed like she was shocked.

The two girls sat on the steps, sipping at there respective coffee's until both were done. They looked at each other; glad that they were back to normal and that there was only one thing on each of their minds.

"Luke's!" they both exclaimed, rushing back into the house to change and head down to their favourite diner.

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Thanks for all the amazing reviews, you guys make my day! This is the last update for about two weeks because I'm leaving for vacation in about an hour! Yeah!

Hugs and Kisses,
-Ella