Lorelai POV

My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt sick. My mind was practically blank, with the exception of 'Christopher is here' running through my head like a mantra.

"There's a shortcut to the main entrance that only students and teachers tend to know. You're going to go to the end of this corridor, take the first left..."

Tristan cut Mr Medina off, "I'll take them."

"No," I said sternly, "I am not putting you at risk like that. It's one thing for him to be watching the school, but to actually come looking for her? This isn't going to end well."

"I don't care," He said simply, "I am going with you."

"We don't particularly have time for this argument, so let's go," Luke prompted. I could tell he didn't like the idea of bringing Tristan along when there was a definite risk, but he also knew it would work.

Tristan took Rory's hand and led us down the corridor, keeping Rory behind him when he got to the end so he could down both ends before pulling her into view. The corridor was relatively empty, with a few students milling about. I saw some parents, too, making me feel less nervous about sticking out like a sore thumb.

He led us through to a tiny corridor that even Rory hadn't noticed before, and up some fire-escape-like stairs, ending up just before the main entrance. We were halfway to the car when we heard Christopher shout Rory's name. Rory almost stopped, but Tristan easily pulled her forward, telling her to ignore him.

Luke handed the keys to me, "Keep walking and get straight in the car. Don't look back."

I heard Luke start speaking to Christopher, "You need to leave Rory alone. She is not your daughter anymore and she has no interest. All you are doing is hurting her."

He knew that Christopher wanted to hurt Rory, and Christopher's response proved it, "Good; she ruined my entire life!"

"No, you did that when you put her in the hospital. Now, instead of making a scene and getting yourself arrested, you need to leave."

I didn't clearly hear Christopher's response, and I unlocked the car with shaky hands, making both teens get in. Sat in the driver's seat, I could see them in the rear-view mirror, clearly arguing. I held Rory's hand, and when I looked over, I saw that she was resting her head on Tristan's shoulder, her other hand in his. I looked back into the mirror as Christopher stormed off, clearly giving up for today.

Luke came up to the window, but his eyes were still on Christopher's retreating back, "He's gone for now, but he said this wasn't over."

I nodded, resting my head back, "There's got to be a quicker way of dealing with this."

He smiled at me, "We're on two. We only need two more major occurrences before we can contact the police."

"That's not comforting to me," I told him, "What if he gets smarter next time?"

"Not helping, Mom," Rory muttered, her eyes closed, and I apologised to her.

Tristan started to get out knowing he had to go, but before he did, he turned to me and said, "I'm coming down to Stars Hollow tomorrow. She'll need to write out my notes so she can study and I would like to see her outside of school, even though I know she can't really go anywhere. Where would she be during the day?"

"She'll be at 'Luke's Diner' – that's the name, but it also has a sign above it saying 'William's Hardware'. If you get lost, which isn't easy to do, just ask someone for directions," I told him.

"Thank you, Lorelai," He said. He pulled his hand free from the death-grip Rory had it in, kissed her head, got out of the car and sauntered off, a very small smile on his lips.

Oh, he so has a crush on her.

That evening, we arrived at Friday night dinner, with Luke this time, and were let in by this weeks' maid. Rory was pretty catatonic and needed help just getting to the sitting room.

"What's wrong with Rory?" Mom asked, concerned, "Has she been drugged or something?"

Luke quirked an eyebrow at her, amused, and I responded, "Christopher showed up at the school today and it really shook her. She probably won't eat, but it's worth trying."

"That's what happens when she sees Christopher?" My mother asked, almost like she had trouble understanding.

"She's terrified of the man, of course this is what happens. And tonight, she's going to scream the house down because of the nightmares that follow any mention of Christopher."

I wasn't exaggerating; this was exactly what happened. I had been telling my parents about the nightmares for years, and they even witnessed it for themselves once. But the actual shock of it wore off fast and it was almost like they forgot how terrifying it was to wake up to your child - or grandchild, in this case - screaming.

My mother looked down at her glass, shame taking over her face.

"What is it?" I asked, but my gut knew exactly why she felt guilty.

She hesitated, looking up at Rory, her eyes glistening, "He came here a few days after his parole was up, and asked about Rory, because I could now legally tell him. He promised that he wouldn't do anything with the information, and I told him that she was doing well at Chilton."

"So not only did you go against my direct wishes of not telling him anything, but you told him where she goes to school? And you put your only grandchild at risk?"

I drained my glass and stood up, Luke already fetching the coats. I bent over and pulled Rory up since she wasn't paying attention. I ignored the sick feeling in my stomach as Emily spoke, "He told me he had changed."

"I'll send you the box of letters that says other things; he wanted to kill her, and I didn't want to take that kind of risk. You don't play with someone else's life. And you're not that naïve to have believed him."

I led Rory to the door, Luke taking her hand and walking to the car.

"I don't give a damn about her tuition; we won't be coming back. Her life is more important than an education."

I pulled the heavy door shut behind me with a satisfying slam. I knew my mother would do a lot of things to get her way, but I would have never imagined her doing that to someone she loves. I felt sick with anger and pure fear, and if it wasn't for Luke's hand on my back, rubbing in a soothing motion, I would have probably been sick.

I was almost in the car when the door opened and my father stepped out. He walked up to the car and gestured for me to roll down the window, and when I did, he apologised.

"When Christopher showed up at my work, I turned him away. Your mother never told me about telling him since I had asked her not to; I felt there was a reason you had asked us to not tell us anything, and tonight has proved me right... Rory's tuition will continue to be paid if you want it to be, and you will not be paying a penny back as the start of an apology for what happened, nor will you have to come for dinner ever again if you don't want to."

I sighed, "An apology won't keep her alive, Dad. She will get the choice when she is more herself, but this does not fix what Mom did, especially since this hasn't come from her."

I backed out of the driveway and left him standing there.

AN: Please tell me you saw that coming? Let me know what you thought.