Title: The Mountain

Chapter 2: As the Dark Falls...

Disclaimer: This story is for entertainment purposes only. I do not own anything but my VERY wild imagination.

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long to update again, but this chapter is a little longer to help make up for it :)

Previously on: THE MOUNTAIN

"This is incredibly rude of you two! I can't believe you've kept us waiting!" Emily rushed towards them, waving her hands while ushering them closer to where they could see a man standing with his back to them holding four pairs of skis.

"I know mom but Rory didn't believe me about early snow being better and she went back to bed!" Loreali pointed a finger at her daughter for emphasis.

"Loreali, honestly. Don't blame Rory because you don't enjoy rising early on the weekends. Or ever from the looks of you." Rory giggled but the tables were turned when the "instructor" turned around, then it was Loreali's turn to giggle.

"Looks like we've got two Satan's in one place ladies and gentlemen!"

"Loreali, honestly!"

"Ror?" Her mother's voice floated into the room and her subconscious, making Rory turn her head in the other direction. When her mother lifted the covers she felt the familiar sting of the cold.

"Honey, you do know that there's a heat button on that thermostat, right?" Rory nodded. "Do you know how to use it? I can show you?" Rory shook her head no.

"We haven't really talked about it, maybe we should." Rory turned her back to her mother when she felt the tears come and could only shake her head. And as she sobbed, her mother held her as she remembered.

"So I take it this wasn't your idea?" His voice filtered through her thoughts.

"No." Staring at the boy before her and the slope he expected her to climb, and then not die skiing down. He tilted his head to the side, simply considering the brunette before him. Turning, looking behind him, he let out a low laugh.

"Come on." He motioned his hand for her to follow him to the lift, the elder Gilmore women following behind. Securely on the lift, Rory's fears grew with their altitude.

"You've never been skiing before." His voice once again broke her out of her own head. It wasn't a question, it was a fact and they both knew it. She shook her head, speechless.

He didn't say anything else to her until they reached the top. He held his hand up to the operator , who promptly stopped the lift longer than normal. Turning back to Rory, he held out his hand. A beat passes as she looked down at the proffered hand like one might look at a rattle snake approaching you in the desert. Then looking up at the boy before her she saw something she'd never seen there before, it was something that told her he wouldn't let her die on this slope or any other. And she hoped she would see it a lot more often on this excursion.

Reaching the top of the slope he helped her ready herself as much as he possibly could before putting his own gear in place.

"You love snow, the snow won't let you get hurt." He said quietly and then paused. "And neither will I. You just have to trust me Rory." All she could do was nod.

He gave her a small smile and then pushed off with Rory following suit. And then like that Rory felt free.

When they reached the bottom he looked at her, laughter in his eyes. "Tell me you didn't love that." She smiled at him, exhilarated.

"I would lie to you, but I just can't." The excitement was evident in her voice and he smiled wider, conveying his approval of her reaction.

"How about we go again for some more practice?" Rory heard her mother mutter the word 'dirty' under her breath earning a glare from Emily. And once again, all Rory could do was nod.

The temperature was dropping. Again. Just when they thought it couldn't get any colder... She watched him start to unpack their bags. He took out the sleeping bags first and zipped them together, creating one large bag. He laid them in the corner closest to the fireplace and placed all the food around the hearth. He took out their flashlights and put them next to where their heads would go and then took out the walky talkie, placing it in the window. There was something so methodical about his movements, she wondered if he could have been a boy scout and then couldn't stop the laughter at the image of "grown up" Tristan in the little green shorts with the badges sash that Taylor liked to tote around. And then thinking of Taylor led to thoughts of home. Would she ever see her mom again? Or Lane or Luke? Or Dean?

And that's when the tears came. She could pinpoint the moment he realized that she was crying. Through her clouded eyes she saw his motions still.

"You have to keep warm and not panic. I promised you remember? I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you Rory Gilmore. Even if it's the last thing I do." There was just something so ominous in his voice it stopped her tears and made her nod, she was too cold to speak anymore.

"How about you have another look around the place. We'll need to know it backwards and forwards for when night falls. I'm going to look for firewood." Panic once again seized her.

"I promise I'll come back and in one piece. We'll be warmer with a fire." Ah, warmth. To this she nodded again.

He started out the door then turned and gave her a funny look. And before she knew it his lips were on hers, soft and sweet. "I owed you one I think. Plus, don't want your lips falling off or anything." She couldn't help but laugh at the lame line. "I'll be back soon."

She made her way into what probably used to be a master bedroom from the main room. It had a bathroom area and by some miracle the pipes hadn't frozen and the water ran, which meant no having to use the bathroom outside. There was no power, so no hot water, but there was a toilet. That was silver lining if ever she saw any.

Looking around the main room again there was a kitchen area off to the side and looking there was some food she hadn't seen previously. She moved it to the hearth with the rest of their supplies and then took out a piece of paper and made a list of what all they had and marked it "Day One."

She kept unpacking their bags and found the matches and put them next to their food for when Tristan came back. Then she had an idea. They would run low on water, but there was a TON of it right outside the door. She took a bowl she found in the kitchen and filled the bathtub up with snow. They could melt it for drinking water. The downside? By the time she was done, she was twice as cold as when she had begun and it was starting to get dark. And just when she was about to go looking for him, there he was, looking even colder than she did.

He made a pile behind the main door and locked it. As if reading her mind he spoke. "Not sure how much good it'll do, but I thought it would give you some piece of mind." Then he took a look around. "We can work with this." She nodded and gave him a tight smile as he began his own tour of the place. He came back into the main room with a smile on his face. "The snow IS for water right? Not just some sick love of it?" She laughed out loud for the first time in days and nodded. "Good thinking Gilmore." And then, he lit the fire.

When they got home that night Rory was still blabbing on about how incredible it had been. Loreali smiled, placating her. "Emily wants you to go again tomorrow." Rory nodded excitedly and started the coffee for the pair. "Okay."

The next morning Loreali didn't have to harass Rory out of bed, in fact they were early to Loreali's dislike. Tristan was standing there waiting for her and to their surprise, without Emily.

"My mom's not here?" Tristan shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess not." Loreali smiled sympathetically.

"Not a morning person either?" He shook his head and handed Rory a bigger jacket.

"I'll be..." She yawned, cutting her sentence short. "Coffee." Both the teens nodded and laughed.

Once they were on the lift she started talking. "She likes you." He looked over at her, a little surprised, almost as if he'd forgotten she was there but smiled at her all the same.

"I like her too." He turned his head away from her and she thought the conversation might be over. "I can see where you get all of it from." His voice was laughing, but not in the normal way when he was baiting her. This time he was honestly amused. He heaved a heavy sigh as the lift started nearing its stop. It was the same as yesterday. He stopped the lift and helped her off, but she was much more willing to grab onto his hand today. And then, she looked at the slope.

"They're going to keep getting bigger. You know that don't you?" His voice had changed again, baiting her so she shot him a look.

"Well, I mean..." He smiled kindly at her.

"Just focus on how you felt yesterday when we hit the bottom of that slope alright?" She nodded and followed him to the peak. This hill was steeper but he assured her it was still a "bunny" hill.

They skiied this hill three more times after the first. On the last lift up he smiled over at her.

"You're a natural." Something about his tone told her he meant more than just skiing and all she could do was smile widely at him.

A/N: Thanks for reading you guys! Y'all are awesome! I'm going to update a few of my stories today and tomorrow. I'll be out of town til April so be watching for more then! :)