I own nothing associated with Gilmore Girls

Chapter 3

Saturday morning found Rory and Dean in each others arms. Dean was the first to awaken. He smiled, then stretched being careful not to wake her. Things were definitely looking up this morning. He smiled, even as the thought of today filled his mind.
"Maybe today is the first day of the rest of my life! Gee, that was just a little too cliche."
He shifted his weight, and Rory stirred. She felt herself wrapped up in strong arms, with that familiar scent...

"Oh god, Dean?" she asked not wanting to look up

"Good morning, Rory." he said smiling " How did you sleep?"

She smiled, remembering the morning at Miss Patty's studio. " It was a good sleep. I had wonderful dreams! Dean, I think we need to talk."

He heaved a big sigh " Yeah, I know. Come on, let's go make breakfast... let's go make coffee." He stood up gingerly, not wantiong to hurt his feet. He was plesantly surprissed that while still extremely tender, they were not the painful mess of yesturday.

In the kitchen 10 minutes later, coffee mugs in front of them they began to talk.
Rory began " Okay Dean, it's time to start talking. Start from the beginning."

" After we broke up, I was lost. Nothing made sense anymore. When I lost you, a big part of my heart went with you. Cliche, I know. But true. When I met Lindsay, she helped ease the pain a little. I thought we were in love, so I asked her to marry me. It was good at first, but then I started noticing..." he continued with his story until he had caught her up to the current situation. " ... So today, I have to go and clear out the apartment. You don't have to go, and neither does your mom."

"Do you want help, Dean?" Both kids jumped at the sound of Lorelai's voice

" I wouldn't turn you down. Though it's not your responsibility."

" But we want to help, right Rory?" both of them jumped, not realizing she was standing there.

" Yes, yes of course."

" So I thought we would all get dressed, and go. You have 45 minutes, to get dressed and ready. We can stop at Luke's for breakfast. 45 minutes." with that said, she turned and walked upstairs toward her room.

In her own room, Rory was getting dressed. Thinking about Dean. It was nice to have him back in her life. She however, didn't want to fool herself into thinking it was a permanent thing. He would probably get back on his feet, recover and leave. Or maybe, he'd stay... but he could leave... " Gawd! Tis a sad, sad day when I can make my own head hurt!" She laughed to herself, and continued to get dressed.

After a hot shower Dean was in the bathroom getting dressed. He smiled to himself, remembering waking up with Rory in his arms. Today was going to be hard. But thanks to the amazing women he had with him, it seemed a little less stressful. The only thing that was stressing him out was thinking about the mess they would have to clean up. As if on cue, his feet started throbbing. He pushed past the pain, and continued to get dressed. By the time he was finished his feet were screaming , (and leaving bloody prints on the floor), and his eyes were filled with tears. He wanted to crawl out of the bathroom, but pride kept him from giving in. So, he did the next best thing. He called out to Lorelai.

"Lorelai, I need help!"

She heard the tears in his voice, and answered him. " Coming Hon, just give me a second." She knocked on the door and slowly opened it. Lorelai felt her heart break a little more, when she saw Dean on the floor of her bathroom with bleeding feet, and misty eyes.
"Oh geez Kiddo. What happened?"

"I took a shower, and when I got out my feet just hurt. I didn't realize they were bleeding. I'm so sorry, I made a mess!" he stated, beginning to sob.

"Oh Gawd Hon, no! Don't cry, it's okay. Let me see your feet." she took his left foot in her hand, then his right, and heaved an exaggerated sigh. " Well, looks like I'm going to have to amputate. Just kidding, it looks like a couple of the deeper cuts reopened. Let me go get the first aid kit." She was back in no time, and had his feet bandaged.
" Come on, it's time to go. I am starving!" Dean laughed, as he got up.

Luke's was busy. There was only one table, so the three of them sat and waited. Dean looked up just in time to see his mom and Clara walk in. He tried to shrink down into his seat, but couldn't make himself smaller.

"Dean! Oh Sweetie, are you alright? I've been trying to call you! Come on, I'm taking you home. Now!" She said with disgust, looking at Rory, and her mom

"No mom, I'm not coming home. I am staying at Lorelai's until my new place is finished. I don't want to talk about it right now, so please don't ask. I promise, I will talk to you when I'm ready." with that he turned, and continued his and Rory's conversation. His mom turned away, looking pissed and a bit dejected. A few minutes later, Clara came up to the table.

" Dean, I just want a hug. You, you don't have to say anything... just hug me?" he did as she asked, and said " I love you, Clara. I promise we'll talk soon!" she hugged him back whispering "Okay."

After that moment, everything went quickly. Before they knew it, the three of them were standing in the doorway of his apartment. Though the dust had settled, it was a disaster! His furniture was destroyed, (nothing had been spared) the curtains (that Lindsay had insisted they needed) were in tatters. His 27inch T.V. was face down on the floor. There was glass, and shards of bake ware all over the carpet. It looked as though she really had spared nothing. Not even their wedding photo survived. "BAM!" it felt as though someone had just sucker punched him the gut.

"Please, wait here. I'm going to walk through the other rooms." he silently walked to the bathroom. The bathroom wasn't too bad. No permanent damage done. But on the mirror, written in his favorite shade of red was " I definitely have had better! But at least you tried! The Divorce Papers are on the counter." Part of him was relieved, the other part wanted to curl up into a corner and cry until he fell asleep. He walked from the bathroom, into the bedroom. The sight tore him up, more than he thought possible. Nothing had been untouched. His clothes were strewn about the room, shredded beyond recognition. Their air bed was airless, and flattened. But it was seeing her things still there that broke him. He picked up a pair of her jeans, and the dam that had been threatening to to collapse, broke. Dean found himself in the corner, clutching her jeans weeping. He was mourning the loss of a friend. Crying over their failed attempt at marriage, and weeping just because it hurt.

" Oh Dean come here. It's going to be okay Kiddo!" Lorelai wrapped her arms around around him, and cried with him. " It will get better, I promise! Just let it all out." she was gently rubbing his back. His sobs were beginning to slow, and he was now hiccuping.
" Dean, let's get up, and see if there's anything worth saving. Then we'll get out of here, and I'll call a cleaning service. Okay?"

"Kay." he stood up on his tender feet, and walked to the closet. There were 3 pair of pants, and 6 shirts. All of his work clothes were destroyed. " At least she left me some clothes. But all of my work stuff is beyond repair! What am I going to do? I can't afford all of this!" He looked as though he might cry again, and Lorelai thought it best to get the hell out of there.

" Come on Hon, let's go. We'll work it out, I promise!" She smiled, and looked up at him " Hey, I still have that list of household chores to be done! You get through that list... (and there is a lot!) and we'll call it even... Okay?"

He gave her a watery smile, and said " Yeah, sounds good."

Meanwhile, Rory had walked into the kitchen to look around. Her eyes filled with tears, as she thought about the pain he must be feeling. She glanced at the counter, and saw a journal on top of a rather large manilla envelope. The front said "SIGN PLEASE!"
Rory hopped up on the counter, not knowing what else to do and waited. A little bit later, Lorelai and Dean walked into the front room. Poor guy looked so beat down. She hopped off the counter, and walked up to him with her arms open for a hug. He shook his head, whispering " Not now Rory, please? I hope you understand." he silently begged her to understand

"Of course I do. Oh ummm... this was on the counter" she handed him the envelope, and journal.

" Let's get out of here." Lorelai suggested. The other two agreed wholeheartedly

Back at the house, Dean was sitting on the porch swing. The papers were signed, and ready to be sent off. He had asked Rory and Lorelai for some time alone, and they had willingly complied. He now sat starring at her journal, slowly he opened it and began reading her "letter" to him. He was able to make it through the letter, and most of the entries in the journal. It was unbelievable, she had met this guy 2 weeks after their honeymoon!
His face was void of all color. He sat there, and silently cried, again. This time however, he needed her arms. He needed to tell someone, to share his heartache, and to understand why he wasn't enough.
He walked into the living room. Rory and Lorelai were watching a movie. Lorelai looked up, and paused the movie.
" Dean? Are you okay?" he shook his head no. She got up from the couch, and held her arms to him. Again he shook his head no, and walked over to Rory, who took him into her own. He started sobbing. Gone was the wall he had put up. She held him, until his cries died out. When he was done, sad eyes looked to Rory, and she knew he needed to talk.

"Dean, what's going on? What was in the journal?" Lorelai took the opportunity to escape to the kitchen.

"Do you want to read it?" he asked holding it out to her. Rory shook her head no.

"I think you need to talk about it. Come on take a deep breath, and relax. Then, start talking."

He wanted to close up, but knew that Rory wouldn't let him. So, he began " She met someone 2 weeks after we got back from our honeymoon... Look it's all in her journal. I just I can't right now. Please, just hold me. I don't feel strong enough to do this alone."

Rory wrapped her arms tighter around him, and kissed the top of his head. " You are not alone. You have my mom, and I. But Dean?"

"Yeah?"

" I can't read her journal. I can't know why she did what she did to you."
It's true you know. The saying " you don't know what you til it's gone. It's her loss, she's the one that walked away from an amazing love. I did too, and I regret it everyday that live." she said sadly

" Do you really, regret our last breakup?"

" Every minute of everyday. It's gotten a bit easier, but it's still there." she answered him honestly

" Do you still love me?" he whispered

" I never stopped, I don't know how to love anyone else."

A round of fresh tears filled his eyes. " I still love you, but I'm broken. If you're willing to be patient with me, we can try it again. However, we'll have to take it slow." his voice was barely above a whisper. "I know everything happens for a reason, and this time is no different. She, and I weren't meant to be."

Rory was nodding her head in agreement " Slow is good. We need to get to know each other again. You and I are not the same people we once were. Dean?"

"Yes?"

" I am so sorry you're hurting! You are a wonderful man! You are enough, and I feel bad for Lindsay. She never gave you the chance to show her what a good husband you could be."

He got up reluctantly, and started towards the bathroom. " Be right back. My stomach isn't feeling so great. I think it might be all the crying I've been doing."

Rory sat, and watched as he hurried to the bathroom. She listened to the sounds of wretching. Wincing in sympathy for him, she got up and and started heating water for some tea.
When he was finished, Dean sat against the tub rubbing his stomach. He was sobbing again, thinking " What have I done to deserve her? Do I really have what it takes to make a girl like Rory happy? Will I ever accomplish enough for her to be proud of me?" these thoughts, along with the gut wrenching sobs threw him into another round of violent wretching.

"Dean? Hey kiddo, you okay?" sh**! Lorelai!

" Will be..." more retching " Just give me a minute, please?" he rasped.

" Okay, call if you need me."

"K." he called with his head down in the toilet 45 minutes later, he walked out, and into the living room with his arm around his stomach. He walked over to the couch and collapsed, sore and exhausted. He was almost asleep, when Lorelai walked up to him.
" Dean? You okay, Hon?"

" Tired and sore. I'm no longer nauseated though."

" Well, we're going to order dinner soon. Think you'll want to join us? I can get you some soup or something."

" Yeah, I'll be hungry... I really do feel better. I feel like I got rid of a lot more than tears and my lunch."

"Well Hon, crying really does help cleanse the soul. Get some rest. We'll call when dinners here."

3 hours later Dean was sound asleep. He looked so relaxed, and peaceful.

In Rory's Room " Mom, is it too soon for he and I to be "together?" We still love each other... Actually we never stopped!"

" No, I don't think it's too soon. But maybe you should keep it quiet for a while. They just split up."

" Yeah, I thought so too. Good night, Mom I love you!"

Smiling, Lorelai bent down and kissed her daughter's forhead. " Love you too, kid. Good night."

Sorry for the sporadic updates. This story is a little difficult for me to write. Where do you, my readers want this to go?