A/N: Here it is! The very last installment of 'For You I Will'

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The title of the epilogue comes from For You I Will by Teddy Geiger

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Epilogue: For You I Will

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Rory smiled at her mother's question and nodded happily. She wasn't sure why she was doing this. All signs pointed to her loss of sanity, but she didn't care. She needed to do this for Tristin and for herself. After all, this is exactly what she would have done had she not been in the accident.

Tristin had done so much for her. This was the least she could do for him.

He'd relived the pain of losing her through telling her about them and he'd stuck by her. He'd even stuck by her when she had told him she needed some space to think about everything. That final night, when he'd shed light on how they had broken up, she had ended things with him in order to figure everything out. She didn't want to drag him down or hold him back from everything he deserved. She saw the pain in his eyes when he agreed to go back on the tour and give her space. He had even stopped calling her everyday, letting her contact him when she needed to.

And she had. She'd called him a few times to see how he was doing (tired from his recent trip to Europe for a few shows) and to let him know how she was doing. She'd gone back to school when she was ready and had been able to catch up on everything she had missed. She had even rejoined the lacrosse team. And her grandparents had even come to a few matches. She had even switched majors, giving up her dream job of being an event planner to chase her other dream: journalism. Tristin had, of course, supported her with that, too.

There was one thing she never told him, though: she had finally remembered all of it. Which is what had led her to today, packing. Getting ready to meet up with Tristin in Washington, DC, where he was performing a show in three days. It had been a long and tiring road, but after so much thinking and mulling over everything she had been told, it was like a light bulb had finally turned on in her head. And she had finally been able to see all the dark corners of her mind.

She had been sitting in her magazine writing class when it happened. She was looking through some old newspapers and had come across a headline about her parents. "HAYDEN AND GILMORE FAMILIES ANNOUNCE THE BIRTH OF GRANDDAUGHTER, LORELAI II." She wasn't sure why, but when she read it, she'd remembered Finn. And everything had fallen into place after that.

The first thing she did was patch things up with her Gilmore grandparents. Not that there was much to patch up. Emily Gilmore, though a proud woman, was more thankful that her only granddaughter had finally remembered everything. Rory had insisted, though, that she hear from her grandmother herself that all was well. Richard, though also very proud, had been more than happy to tell Rory that everything was fine. She and her grandparents had even started a Friday night dinner tradition. And every Friday night she, her mother and Luke showed up at the Gilmore house in Hartford for dinner with Emily and Richard.

Rory had also started back up at school. She and Paris found an apartment close to campus. Rory was currently living with Paris and Paris' boyfriend Doyle, a former editor of the Yale Daily News. Paris was the new editor, and had been more than happy to not only offer Rory a place to stay, but a spot on the newspaper as a features writer. Things at school were only back to normal, though, when Rory found her way back to the lacrosse team. She had even found her way back to Logan and Colin, who were more than happy to have her around every Thursday when they ventured to Rich Man's Shoe, a pub just off campus where they had a beer and shared some old high school war stories.

Lorelai had taken Rory's leaving the hardest, but after every Friday night dinner, Rory would spend Friday night and most of Saturday with her mother and Luke, watching bad movies and mocking them mercilessly. Rory and Lorelai had even shared some conversations about Rory's father Christopher, who had even stopped in to visit a few times with Rory's step sister Georgia, affectionately known as GiGi.

It was after patching everything up with everyone in her life (she and Lane had even scheduled a one-weekend-a-month outing) that Rory had finally realized that the only loose end left in her life was Tristin – who was more akin to a long thread hanging from one of her old knitted sweaters. She realized that she missed him the most. And that it was because, in reality, she loved him.

The realization that Rory loved Tristin wasn't like her memory coming back. It didn't hit her like a ton of bricks one day when she listened to one of his CD's. In fact, she didn't realize that she loved him until she had gone out with Colin and Logan one afternoon. And it was while they were sitting in the pub that Colin had brought up Finn, which had inevitably led to him talking about Tristin.

"I had never seen you that way before," he said. "It was like, Tristin brought out something in you that Finn had never been able to. Whether it was because he wasn't given enough time or what have you. Tristin just made you… different. And in a very good way."

"It was like he awakened you," Logan added drunkenly. "However cliché that sounds."

And she had realized that they were right. Tristin had awakened her. He'd brought out everything that was daring about her. He had made her feel for once in her life. And she had loved him, in fact, all along. She realized that though she had only thought about it before, it really was love she felt for Tristin. And her stubbornness had gotten the best of her.

Rory sighed, shaking all of these thoughts from her mind. She didn't need to dwell on what had made her realize all of this. What she needed to do was get going so she could see him. She fingered her keys in her coat pocket (it still amazed her that it had taken her nearly a year to remember everything) and took a deep breath. It was now or never. And the latter was just not an option.

"I have one more place to stop before I head to the airport," Rory told her mother. "So I should probably get going. I'll call you when I get there, okay?"

"You're sure Tom knows you'll be there?" Lorelai asked. "I don't want you getting stranded at Dulles, sweetie. And…"

"Mom," Rory interrupted. "I promise you, I'll be fine."

Lorelai smiled at her daughter and hugged her tightly. "Be safe, please. Don't repeat this last year, okay?"

"I promise," Rory responded, hugging her mom. "I'll be fine."

Releasing her hold on Rory, Lorelai grabbed a suitcase and followed Rory out to the car. She spotted a single white rose in Rory's front seat. "Sweetie…?"

Rory smiled at her mom. "I just need to… to tell him thank you."

Lorelai nodded in understand before putting the suitcase in the car and hugging Rory one last time. "I love you, babe."

"You, too, mom," Rory replied, before starting the car and heading off down the road. To the last stop before Tristin.

--

The small hill to the spot where Finn was buried proved to be only slightly difficult for Rory. The only problem had been that her shoes were a bit slippery, and the hill was a bit muddy from the previous week's weeklong rainstorm. She stopped at the top of the hill and, spotting the marker, made her way over to Finn.

Leaning down to place the rose in front of his tombstone, Rory felt herself tearing up. She knew that, no matter if she moved on, or how much she loved Tristin, her feelings for Finn would never be gone.

"Hi, Finny," she said, wiping away her tear. "I just wanted to tell you thank you, I guess. For being there. I know I said it the day of your funeral. And I know I've thought it at least a dozen times since then, but you were everything to me. So… thank you for giving me my first glimpse of true love. And for sending Tristin along."

The sun shone bright and Rory squinted and shielded her eyes. "I probably won't be back, though. I mean, I know it's not what you would want for me. You're not here. You're probably up there driving St. Peter crazy with all your crazy talk of fouls. Which we know were your way of getting a free shot at the goal." She smiled and kissed her fingertips, resting them gently on the letters of his name. "Just… keep an eye out for me. Be my guardian angel – like you always have been." She sighed and nodded, knowing it was time to get going. "Bye, Finn."

She stood slowly, taking a deep breath. She made her way back down the hill and out the gate to her car. Ready for the next chapter of her life to officially begin.

Everything was right now.

--

"Dammit, Tom," Tristin said. "Why the hell are there scented candles all over my damn roo—Rory."

Rory smiled and stood up from her place at the foot of the bed. "You hate the candles?"

Tristin eyed Rory cautiously. Something was definitely different. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Rory smiled and walked slowly over to him, taking his hands in hers. "Because I distinctly remember you telling me that your favorite smell was vanilla. So I figured vanilla scented candles would be just the right touch in here."

Realization dawned on Tristin and he smiled, feeling like the air was knocked out of him. "You mean to tell me you…"

"I mean, I know you hate candles because of that stupid fear you have of setting something on fire," Rory continued. "But when I thought about it, I figured a candle setting would do just right to tell you exactly what's been going on in my life for the last two months or so." She paused and smiled, interlacing her fingers with Tristin's. "And to tell you… I love you."

Tristin smiled even wider at her confession. "You…"

"I remember it all Tristin, but… I needed time to figure it all out," Rory said. "I needed to plan out just how I wanted to tell you. I didn't want to ruin it with all my thinking and my pondering. The only thing I wanted to think about was how to tell you. And, well, here's the product of it all."

Tristin smiled at Rory. "You did all this for me?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah. After everything you did for me: the first kiss, the first break up, all the fights and then having to relive everything to help me remember. Tristin, it was the least I could do. I heard that loving someone means doing whatever you can to make them happy. And that's all I want to do is make you happy."

And Tristin kissed Rory, and Rory finally felt like everything had come full circle. And everything was definitely, finally in its place. The kiss ended slowly, and Tristin's fingers, which had found their way into her hair, stayed there, and he closed his eyes, just making a memory of the moment.

Tristin tightened his hold on Rory, resting his chin on the crown of her head. "You do make me happy, Rory."

Rory smiled, leaning back just slightly to stare into Tristin's crystal blue eyes. "Likewise."

Wandering the streets, in a world underneath it all

Nothing seems to be, nothing tastes as sweet

As what I can't have

Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair round your finger

Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you

What I feel about you.

Oh I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

and cannon ball into the water

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

For you I will

For you I will

Forgive me if I st-stutter

From all of the clutter in my head

Cause I could fall asleep in those eyes

Like a water bed

Do I seem familiar, I've crossed you in hallways

A thousand times, no more camouflauge

I want to be exposed, and not be afraid to fall.

Oh I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

and cannon ball into the water

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

For you I will

You always want what you can't have

But I've got to try

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

For you I will

For you I will

For you I will

If I could dim the lights in the mall

And create a mood I would

Shout out your name so it echos in every room

I would

That's what I'd do

That's what I'd do

That's what I'd do, to get through to you

Oh I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

and cannon ball into the water

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

For you I will

You always want what you can't have

But I've got to try

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have

For you I will

For you I will

For you I will