Lorelai POV

I had nightmares that night. Or, I did until Rory started screaming.

It was my turn to run around getting water and the bucket and dealing with that side of things since Luke did it last time. He got to rub her back as she emptied her stomach, her body almost vibrating from the fear. Until this point, her nightmares had been about the possibilities, but the encounter with her father yesterday made it very real, which meant she was even more shaken than usual.

She ended up asleep against Luke's chest, her fingers gripping onto his top to the point he wasn't able to go anywhere, even if he wanted to. And for the first time in a long time, I ended up asleep in the rocker in the corner, unable to leave the room.

When her alarm went off that morning, we all collectively groaned. Luke attempted to move but Rory told him 'no' in a very young voice.

"If we don't get up now, you're going to be late," He reminded her, and she snuggled back into him, not caring.

"I'm not going."

Those words had me up immediately. She has never refused to go to school, and even though I knew exactly why she didn't want to go, I couldn't let her skip school, "Come on, Rory, you love school."

She opened her eyes and turned to face me, her eyes wet, "What if he's there?"

"We will deal with it. We won't let him hurt you," I promised, even though it felt like I was lying.

"He almost did yesterday, and that was his first try!" She insisted.

My heart broke for her, and as Luke wiped away the tears with his thumb, he made a suggestion, "What about that Tristan kid? He helped yesterday and he seemed to have an idea about what was happening... he offered to help again and he gave you his number. Ask him for help, just so you won't be alone if you're outside."

She nodded, "Okay, maybe that could work."

She still sounded unsure but she let go of Luke and sat up. She very quietly left the room, presumably to shower or go through her morning routine, leaving me and Luke in her room. We slowly got up and stretched, having slept awkwardly.

I started on the coffee and Luke made some quick breakfast. He turned to me randomly, and asked, "Did you have nightmares last night, too?"

I looked at him, confused, "I did... did you?"

"So, all three of us had nightmares last night? That's fantastic," The comment was very sarcastic and pissed off, "How can someone have such a hold on a whole household?"

I shrugged, "I don't know... all I could think about was the phone call I got from the school saying she was missing. I remember it like it was yesterday, and it feels like I'm waiting for another one like it, except she wouldn't have gone of her own will."

Luke was about to say something, but the bathroom door opened, with Rory coming out in her school uniform. She sat down at the table and silently ate her cereal, almost completely withdrawn. She suddenly looks up at me, "The bake sale is today!"

"It's covered," I told her. I had Sookie cooking up desserts that rich people would love, which was actually Luke's idea in the first place. She started to protest, so I inwardly rolled my eyes and then told her, "It's all going to be homemade, I wouldn't do that to you. It's covered and we'll be there. I promise."

When she was ready to go, we all climbed into the Jeep and took the long drive. I knew that both of us didn't need to take her, but I knew that we felt protective because of what happened yesterday. When we dropped her off, a blonde boy was waiting for her. I presumed it was this Tristan kid that helped Rory out yesterday, which was confirmed when Rory greeted him as she got out.

"Thanks for meeting me here," She said shyly, looking around to see if he was anywhere.

"It's okay, really," He said with a kind smile, "It's not like you asked for this to happen."

He looked up at me and Luke, "I'll keep her as safe as possible, don't worry. I'll see you at the bake sale?"

I nodded, "Yes, you will. And thank you, Tristan; it's nice to know that someone's looking out for her."

"I've been there," He admitted, "I don't know the story for you guys, but I testified against my uncle and he came after me when he got out of prison, so I get it. My parents tried to keep me safe but there's a limit to how much you can do and I wish I had someone to back me up and to keep an eye out for me. And I knew that Rory was about to be hurt because they seem to have the same face when they're thinking about it."

"I'm sorry you went through that, but I'm still glad you were there for her. See you later, and Rory?" Rory looked up at us, suddenly distracted from looking for Christopher, "Call us if you need anything. I love you."

"Love you too," She said as Tristan wrapped an arm around her, guiding her to the school. I could see that he was talking to her, but she seemed more interested in checking her surroundings.

I leaned back against Luke, already exhausted and the day has barely begun.

Rory walked up to us, Tristan following. She beamed as she looked over the options, already wanting a taste. She seemed a little brighter, but she still wasn't herself.

"Now she's safe with you, I'm going to find my own family. Come and find me later, Mary," Tristan said with a wink before sauntering off.

"He has a crush on you," Luke said, nudging Rory.

She pulled a face, "No, he doesn't. He was quite horrible until yesterday, and now he's just helping me out."

"He had a crush on you at that party and he definitely has one now. Does he know about Dean?" Luke asked, and she nodded.

"It came up but I told him that Dean's not technically my boyfriend yet," She said, putting a dollar down and picking up a macaron and eating it in one bite. I was glad she was eating since I knew her appetite tended to fluctuate in stressful times (unlike me who was pretty much always hungry unless I was sick), and I didn't care what she ate as long as she had something.

"Very Henry VIII," I heard Mr Medina say, and I turned around to face him.

"Well, we don't do subtle in this family," I told him and Luke chuckled from behind me. I could tell he also rolled his eyes.

"It's good to see you again, Lorelai," He said flirtatiously. For a smart man, he's pretty thick; I am wearing two rings on my ring finger, and my last name is Gilmore-Danes. It's not common to hyphenate names so it should be pretty damn obvious that I'm married.

"It's good to see you, too, Mr Medina," I turned to Luke, "Mr Medina, this is my husband, Luke. Luke, Mr Medina is Rory's English teacher."

They shook hands politely since that's what you do, and while he looked a little disappointed when I said the word 'husband', he didn't act like it, "You've got a great kid, she's doing really well and is getting used to the pace of things here."

"We're very proud of her for how well she's doing," Luke said, looking over at Rory, who was talking with Sookie while looking around, still paranoid.

"She did seem a little distracted today in class, though; is everything okay with her?"

"She's having a tough time with some personal stuff; the headmaster has been made aware of it but it's a 'wait and see' situation. She'll be back to normal soon," I told him, careful to not include any details while others were around.

"If you want details, you'll have to speak to Rory herself as it's her information to share and not ours. And if it starts becoming a problem, please call us and we'll see what we can do," Luke told him.

"I'll ask her if it continues but I'm not too worried right now. Thanks for sharing that with me, though," He said and he seemed genuine, "I've got to make the rounds, but I'll definitely be back for some of that food since it looks amazing."

"Thanks, Mr Medina."

As he walked off, Luke turned to me and asked, "Do you think that will be the end of his flirting?"

"I hope so."

AN: A pretty calm chapter, but a good one. Let me know what you thought, but I hope you enjoyed it.