-1Disclaimer: I wish… I wish… I wish… I wish to go to the festival… I wish… I wish…. I wish to own Gilmore Girls… I wish…. (from the musical Into the Woods)

A/N: You should all thank "Alternate Personalities" for knocking me out of a writer's block phase!!! Also, I'd like to thank all my loyal readers/reviewers! You guys are fantastic, and without you I don't know if I would have the same desire to write, so thanks! Also, a quick shout out to Christi, my wonderful beta. You rock!

Previously:

"He drew that p-picture. Tristan was s-so mad. H-he beat the c-crap out of h-him for it. Now, h-he's l-l-leaving m-m-me. I can't do th-this all alone."

At that point she was crying, and Luke walked over and gave her a hug. Rory buried her head into his chest and bawled. She couldn't take this anymore. She had to get out. Rory had to get out of there.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go."

Rory opened the door and ran down the stairs and out the door. Everyone stared at Luke as he came down. Tristan just sat their, completely stupefied as to what happened.

Luke turned to Tristan. "She's not doing so good. I'd go after her if I were you."

Tristan understood and ran out of the diner. He had no idea where she would be, but he had to find her.

"Rory!" he screamed, then he tripped over something.

He looked down and saw it was a small paperback book. He knew which way Rory had gone and he began to run. He'd run forever if he had to.

Chapter 20: The Mask

Rory's body ached as she ran, but there was no way she could possibly stop. She had to go to the one place she felt safe. The only place where she could be alone without worrying about people whispering about or laughing at her. The conversation with Luke still echoed in her ears. After what seemed like an eternity, she reached the place that made her feel like a child. The place made her feel strangely at peace. Her childhood home.

Rory silently opened the door and looked at the yellowed wallpaper her mother had put up so many years ago. She quietly walked over to the place their bed used to be and laid down on the floor. Pulling her knees to her chest, she closed her eyes. She was exhausted, and the old potting shed was so familiar and so comforting that she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Tristan stared at the cover of The Catcher in the Rye and knew exactly where Rory went. She told him once during lunch that Holden Caulfield was her character of choice whenever she found herself feeling depressed.

"Tristan, you can't tell anyone this, but when I'm really feeling bad, I take that book and go to the potting shed behind the Independence Inn to read."

Tristan started laughing. "Why there, Mary?"

Rory grinned. "Because that's where I grew up. My mother ran away from home after she had me, and she got a job as a maid at the Inn. Mia, the owner, let us stay in the shed out back. Whenever I'm there, I just feel comforted. It's hard to explain."

Tristan ran towards the Inn, but had trouble locating the small one-roomed building. Finally, as he circled around the Inn, he saw it sitting in the middle of a field of flowers. There were a couple of trees around it, keeping it partially hidden from the rest of the world.

Opening the door, he saw Rory lying in the fetal position sound asleep. He shut the door just as quietly as he had opened it and joined Rory on the floor. When he wrapped his arms around her, she immediately leaned into him. Tristan inhaled her scent and silently prayed that Rory would be okay. That they would both be okay. It seemed that all hope was lost, but he refused to give up. All he had to do was get emancipated, but there was no way in hell that he was going to tell Rory about it. If he got her hopes up just to have them smashed, it would break her.

Leaning forward, Tristan stared at her mesmerizing ear and smiled.

"I love you, Rory," he whispered quietly to the sleeping form.

He didn't know why he couldn't bring himself to tell her that while she was awake, but Tristan just couldn't. He had tried in the past, but every time his voice failed him, and he ended up making some crude joke. This was different, though. The thought of how badly Rory was hurting made him want to take all her pain on himself. Tristan hated the thought of her being in so much emotional torment, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was hold her while she slept in an undisturbed slumber, and hope they would both make it through this trying time.

Rory opened her eyes to find two strong arms encircling her waist. She shifted positions and was startled to see two intense blue eyes staring into hers. His eyes were full of guilt, sadness, and concern. She gave him a weak smile and turned around to completely face him. Words were not needed. Rory knew he felt what she was feeling. It was almost spooky, but they didn't need to verbally express their true feelings because they both knew. Tristan leaned forward and kissed Rory, tenderly. She lost herself in his soft lips and just let herself be taken care of. Tristan kissed every part of her face, and Rory let out an involuntary shiver when he leaned forward to kiss her eyelids. This wasn't the horny, 'I need you right now,' kind of kissing. It was sweet and gentle. Full of… Rory's heart sank with that thought. His kisses were full of love. Rory felt his love the same way she had in the hospital. Tristan showed it by softly caressing her tongue with his and just holding her close to him.

Rory almost felt happy and whole for the first time since she found out she was pregnant. Tristan stopped kissing her and touched his nose to hers, rubbing them together, softly. It was such intimate togetherness that Rory had craved. She needed him next to her to draw strength from. Lord knew he had a lot of it. His solid chest felt like a shield to keep the nasty world away from her. But he was leaving, and that meant he was taking her shield with him.

Tristan closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss Rory again, but he felt something very wet and salty hit his lips. He opened his eyes and saw that Rory was crying, again. Tristan felt terrible for thinking it, but he was glad that she finally allowed herself to feel. Hard, uncaring Rory had freaked him out. This was how it was supposed to be. Tristan sat up and pulled Rory up, to. Her lower lip quivered as he hugged her. Tristan stroked her hair and Rory buried her face in his shoulder and let out a sob. He ran his fingers through her hair and felt a tear slide down his own cheek. There was a very real possibility that he could be sent away from her, and Tristan knew he couldn't stand it if it really happened.

Rory was stunned to feel Tristan starting to shake, but she felt better at the same time. He was sad, too. She wasn't alone. He really felt upset about how everything was unraveling in their lives. Rory hugged him tighter as the two of them cried together. It was a bittersweet moment, but they both desperately needed to feel a connection with other person. Finally, they both calmed down and Tristan pulled away from Rory, looking into her azure pools.

"Why are you wearing makeup, Rory?"

Rory glanced down, breaking eye contact. He refused to back down, though, so Tristan lifted her chin with his finger and stared into her soul. Rory knew she had to tell the truth.

"I just wanted to hide."

"Why?" Tristan asked her, in a low, soft voice.

"Because I don't want anyone to know how I really feel. Not even you."

"What? Why don't you want me to know, Rory?" Tristan pressed, knowing she had to come clean with him if she wanted to heal.

"I'm supposed to be strong. And I just feel so weak and vulnerable. I hate this. I just want to feel normal again," she ranted.

Leaning forward, he kissed her again and pulled her to her feet. Grabbing her by the hand he led her out of the shed and towards her home. He would have loved to stay there with her forever, but her mother would be home soon. As soon as they walked through the door, Rory remembered something.

"Wait, we still haven't eaten anything."

Tristan smiled. "Oh yeah. Do you want me to go pick something up?"

"Yeah. I don't think I can handle facing the town again."

"No problem, Mary."

Tristan walked out the door, leaving Rory in complete silence. Again. Rory turned around just as she heard the door swing open. Thinking it was her mother, Rory plastered a fake smile on her face and turned around. Tristan saw her pained smile and leaned forward to kiss her soundly. Rory craved his touch and let herself melt into the kiss. He pulled away from her and then disappeared out the door again. Tristan was bothered by that masking smile she had on her face. It was obvious that she didn't think it was him. Was this how it was going to be from here on? She would only let him know what she was feeling. Her mother would be kept out of the loop. Tristan knew that was not healthy or right. Rory had always needed her mother. They were best friends, and Tristan knew when he got back they would have to talk about it.

Unfortunately, by the time Tristan got back, Lorelai was already home. It was obvious to Tristan that Rory hadn't told her mother about what happened at school. They had pulled out some candy and were sitting on the couch chatting about some anecdote that happened at the inn.

"So then, Michel started screaming at these guests about bathrobes and talking about how he knew it was them because of their moles."

Rory laughed, but it wasn't a pleasant sound. It sounded strained, hollow, and… forced somehow. Tristan noticed she had reapplied her eye makeup and it really irked him. He felt like she was slowly slipping away from reality. All the progress they made was fading fast behind her mask. Tristan shut the door and both Gilmore's turned to look at him. Rory's guilty face gave Tristan a tiny bit of satisfaction.

"I brought dinner."

"Thanks," Rory said, quietly.

Lorelai glanced between the two teens and knew something had happened. Rory was hiding her feelings, and Tristan seemed somewhat upset by that. Of course Lorelai knew what her baby was feeling deep down. She was her mother, after all. Lorelai decided to go upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed while the two mature teenagers sorted things out.

"What?" Rory asked Tristan.

"You put your makeup back on. And earlier, when you thought I was your mom, you put on that fake smile."

"It's no big deal."

Tristan silently stood up and went into the bathroom. She heard the water running, and a second later, Tristan returned with a wet washcloth.

"If it's no big deal, then wipe it off."

Rory raised an eyebrow, but his icy stare never left her lined eyes. She met his look with a pout and smeared her makeup as she tried to take it off. Tristan watched her intently. She looked very raccoon-like at first, but the black slowly came off. The washcloth was covered in mascara by the time she finished. Tristan smiled as he looked into her fresh, clean face.

"Now there's my Mary."

"I didn't realize it bothered you that much."

"It's not the makeup that bothers me. What drives me crazy is the fact that you're trying to hide. It scares me, Rory."

"Why?" she asked quietly.

"Because burying your feelings will eat you up inside."

Rory's eyes brimmed with tears, and Tristan knew what she needed. Rory couldn't keep clinging to him, especially because of what could possibly happen in a week. She needed to learn how to rely on her mother for support. The shower had long since been off, and Lorelai was probably just holed up in her room trying to give her daughter some space. Rory didn't need space to get better.

"Rory, I think you should talk to your mother."

"What?" she asked.

Tristan was now confident that a long mother-daughter talk was what Rory needed.

"You need to talk to her about your feelings. Anything you're keeping inside that you can't tell me about."

"But…"

"Don't give me that, Rory. I know there some dark thoughts that you aren't telling me about. We haven't even discussed the fact that my dad is trying to send me away. I know it's hard for you to tell me, so I want you to tell your mom."

Rory looked at this sweet man whom she loved so dearly and gave him a gentle kiss on his lips.

"You're right. I do need to talk to her. Thank you."

"Your welcome, my Mary," he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

Rory gave him a genuine smile and climbed up the stairs to talk to her Mom. She had no idea what she was going to say to her, but she knew a serious talk was definitely going to help her move past this. Lorelai had been through a teenage pregnancy. She truly understood what Rory was going through when it came to the whispering and pointing. Rory quietly knocked on her mother's door when she saw the light was on.

"Come in."

Rory opened the door, and Lorelai smiled when she saw her daughter's beautiful, bare face. Instantly, she knew that Rory had finally come to really talk. Deep down, even though she didn't exactly love Tristan, she knew he was the one that pushed Rory to come to her.

"Hey babe, what's going on?"

Rory's eyes filled with tears and she told her mother everything. She told her about how angry she felt and how she blamed herself for losing the baby. Rory told her mother about the rumor, the picture, the fight, and military school. And Lorelai was an angel. She just sat there and let Rory rant and cry. When Rory finally stopped talking, Lorelai moved towards her and hugged her.

"I know this has been a difficult day, but you'll make it through this. And the miscarriage was not your fault, Rory. God, you were telling me that it wasn't my fault at the hospital, so I'm going to tell you the same thing. Your body just couldn't handle the pregnancy, and it was just too much stress, honey."

Rory sighed. "I know that. I really do, but I just can't help thinking that if I'd waited a little longer to tell everyone. Or if I hadn't let it get to me, my baby would still be here."

As she said the last sentence, her hand moved to her stomach. She rubbed her hollow womb and then let her hand drop.

"I stopped bleeding, today."

Lorelai looked up, a little surprised. "Already?"

"Yeah, the doctors said the cramping and bleeding would stop in a few days. It actually makes me feel worse, though. It's like it's really over now."

Lorelai thought for a moment before replying. "Or it could be a positive thing."

"How?" Rory asked.

"Now you can really move past it. Your body has healed itself, so you can return to normal."

"Mom, I'll never be completely normal again."

"I know, but you can grow from this. You have experienced something more terrible than I could ever imagine, and honey, you're a stronger person than I am."

"Really?" Rory asked, not feeling very strong at all.

"Yes really. I really admire you, Rory. You're the strongest woman I know."

"Woman?"

"I'd say this experience qualifies you for womanhood, so welcome to the club."

Rory smiled softly and gave her mother a hug. "Goodnight Mom."

"Goodnight Rory. I love you."

"I love you too," Rory said as she walked out of her mother's room.

Tristan was lying on the couch, flipping through the channels. Rory walked over to him and he sat up when he noticed her presence.

"You don't have to get up, Tristan."

"It's okay. How did it go?" he asked her, trying not to pry.

"I really needed that talk with her. It was great. Thank you."

"Anything for my Mary."

At that moment, his phone beeped, and Rory looked at him with confusion as he stood up and left the room without a word. Rory was a little surprised when he returned with a glass of water and a Vikadin.

"Oh, I don't need those, anymore."

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked, clearly not understanding the female body.

"I'm not bleeding, anymore," Rory said, turning a little red.

"Oh. So it's…"

"Over." Rory whispered.

Tristan set both down on the coffee table and joined Rory on the couch. They both felt a sense of finality. Maybe their wounds could finally heal, or at least turn to scars. Rory wished she had scars rather than open bloody wounds. Maybe now she could finally move past this nightmare. Of course, she didn't want to move past this nightmare and into the next one. Tristan leaving.

"He promised me he'd never leave me," Rory thought, hoping he would stick to his promise and find a way to stay.

It seemed hopeless, though.