"I'm here! I'm here!" Rory called as she half jogged through the front door of the Dragonfly. She headed toward the front desk and then zigzagged back toward the dining room when she saw that the front was empty.
Lorelei met her in the kitchen doorway. "Shhh…" she hissed. "Get in here!" She pulled Rory into the kitchen and then stopped short to take stock of Rory's attire. "WHAT are you wearing?" Lorelei asked in horror.
Rory glanced down at her cutoffs and faded grey t-shirt. She casually shrugged. "I'm dressed. I'm here. What more do you want?" At her mother's continuing horrified look, she started to become self-conscious and tugged at the bottom of her shorts. "What?" she challenged. "You called and demanded my presence right away; I thought something was wrong. You know, I only get a week off and if this is some kind of evil plan to ruin my vacation itinerary, I am going to have some very strong words for you, missy!"
"Your vacation itinerary?" Lorelei scoffed. "You mean your plans to sleep 'til noon, never take off your pajamas, and watch old movies and eat pancakes every night?" She paused and tilted her head to the right thoughtfully. "Actually…that does sound like a pretty awesome vacation…can I beg off work too and join?"
Rory laughed and shook her head. "Okay, seriously. Why am I here? If I'm not needed, my bed is calling my name."
Lorelei seized Rory by the arm and pulled her out of the kitchen. As they walked to the front desk, her eyes darted about and she stepped cautiously, as if preparing for an ambush.
"What are we hiding from?" Rory whispered, amused. Her mother opened a drawer and fumbled in her purse, finally producing a tube of lipstick with a loud, "Ah-HA!"
"Quick! Go put some lipstick on," she directed and she shooed Rory toward the mirror in the lobby. Rory dug in her heels at the staircase and whipped around to stare accusingly at her mother.
"You did not call me down here to meet some guy," she gasped. Lorelei opened her eyes wide and tried to look innocent. "You did – you did call me down here to meet some guy. I can't believe you! First of all, when has there ever been a single guy who's stayed here who wasn't with his mother and second of all – you…you…" Rory blustered, starting to run out of steam. "You could have at least warned me," she muttered.
"How was I to know you'd run down here in your laundry day clothes?" Lorelei eyed her daughter's ensemble with barely concealed amusement. "But anyway, it's not just some guy I want you to meet. Listen - these two guys came in and asked for a room and-"
"So they're gay? Oh, well, great. Thanks a lot, Mom. Now I'm really glad I rushed down here." Rory rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.
"NO, Rory, listen! They said they're brothers or something…no, the part you're not going to believe is - one of them could totally be Dean's twin and the other one, whose name is Dean coincidentally, is like major hot too!"
"Wait…what?" Rory looked confused. "You called me down here to meet some guys, one of whom looks like my ex-boyfriend and the other who has the name of my ex-boyfriend, and you think this warranted a 10:00 AM wake-up call?"
"No, Rory, you don't understand – this guy…" Lorelei trailed off as she heard footsteps overhead. She blinked exaggeratedly at Rory and fluttered her hands in the universal shhhh gesture. She went to stand beside Rory and craned her head to peek briefly up the staircase. She nudged Rory's shoulder with her own and whispered, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Rory sighed loudly. Clomping down the stairs were two booted feet. As the body began to emerge, Rory found herself standing up a little straighter. In moments, his head appeared and she shot her mom an incredulous look.
Lorelei waggled her eyebrows back at Rory and smirked. The guy coming down the stairs was beyond good-looking. Even with all the layers he was wearing, Rory could tell he was in top physical shape. His face was classically handsome – high cheekbones, straight nose, full lips, green eyes rimmed with long, dark lashes. And he just exuded masculinity.
When he saw them standing at the foot of the stairs, watching him descend, the guy smirked and paused. He looked over his shoulder and tossed a comment back at the booted feet following behind him.
Rory narrowed her eyes as he reached the bottom of the stairs. She couldn't be sure, but it had sounded like he'd said, "Your Rory's here," to his companion…but that couldn't be right because how would he know her name? Maybe her mother mentioned it when he checked in?
Rory didn't have any more time to ponder the question, because the second body emerged after the first and she found that all thought had fled her mind. Dean. It was Dean. And there was that feeling. That feeling in your gut when you see your first love again, after a long separation. There's the initial slam of your heart in your chest and then the butterflies start, and you feel just like that nervous schoolgirl who said, "Because I love you, you idiot!"
Sam took in Rory's wide-eyed stare and glanced at Dean before deciding to take charge this time. "Lorelei," he nodded in her direction and then shifted his eyes back to Rory. "Hi. I'm Sam. That's my brother, Dean." He jerked his head in Dean's direction.
Lorelei could see that Rory had seemingly no intention of responding, or maybe even moving, so she put her arm around Rory's shoulders and pulled her forward. "This is my daughter, Rory. Rory is a journalist following the Obama presidential campaign and is home for a week visiting with me."
"Daughter, huh?" Dean chimed in. He stepped forward and stuck his hand out. "Hi, Rory. It's nice to meet you. My brother, Sam, and I are on a mini-vacation ourselves."
Rory haltingly reached out to shake his hand, but then seemed to shake herself out of her stupor. She grasped his hand firmly. He had a nice hand – large, dry, warm. Her hand felt clammy and sweaty in his. She pulled her hand away and surreptitiously wiped it on her shorts. Sam noticed and his lips quirked.
Sam was shocked at how he'd felt the moment he saw her. All the dreams seemed so solid now that she was standing in front of him. Everything about her was so familiar and…real. She was real. He could scarcely believe it. He knew, in his dreams, that Dean Forester had loved her completely and painfully. But Dean Forester wasn't Sam Winchester. Yet Sam was shocked by the force of the emotions that had rolled through him when he'd first seen her standing there at the foot of the stairs.
She was beautiful. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her face was clear of makeup; her porcelain skin glowing. He had almost laughed at her outfit – it looked like the one she had described that her mother had worn on Rory's first day at Chilton. But she just looked like Rory – the same Rory he'd dreamed about on at least a weekly basis for more than five years of his life. He just couldn't believe she was there, in the flesh, right in front of him.
"So Sam, here…" Lorelei squinted at him and then turned back to Rory. "He likes antiquing."
Rory looked amused. She focused on Sam. "You do, do you? What are you searching for in Stars Hollow? We could probably point you in the right direction."
"Oh, um…uh…" Sam stuttered. He looked helplessly at Dean. "Well, you know, just this…or that…"
"A teapot!" Dean interjected. He stomped over to stand beside Sam and clapped him on the back. "C'mon, Sammy. Don't be shy." Dean leaned forward, confidingly. "He's looking for a special early…Renaissance…teapot."
Sam glared at Dean and then looked nervously back at Rory and Lorelei. "He's kidding," he gritted through his teeth. "He likes to make fun of me…about the antiques, you know. He finds it hilarious." Dean grinned. He did find it hilarious.
Sam continued, "I'm actually more of an antique weapons collector." He shot a look at Dean, daring him to contradict the story. Dean would do it too, he knew, just to screw with Sam –to make him seem girly or nerdy.
Dean just shrugged and continued grinning. He was finding this all very entertaining. The dynamic had shifted right away as soon as Rory had come into the picture. Sam was all twitchy and nervous. Dean was still worried, sure, about the hunt and the dreams…but he was amused as hell too.
"Ohhh," Lorelei breathed. Sam could have sworn he saw her breathe a sigh of relief, but he wasn't sure. "Well," she continued, "Rory here knows all the great spots to find the best old stuff. I'm sure she'd love to show you boys around. Wouldn't you, honey?"
"Ummm…" Rory and Sam both stammered at the same time. Sam recovered first. "That would be very helpful…if you had the time."
"Ummm…" Rory couldn't believe she was at a loss for words. She looked at Dean, no Sam, and swallowed hard. He looked just like her Dean, although, now that she looked at him more closely, she could see that he held himself in a different way – more confident, more ready, and his eyes – his eyes were harder and there was more sadness in them than she had ever seen in Dean in all the years she'd known him. She suddenly wanted to know more about this notDean. She squared her shoulders and dropped her hesitation.
"Sure," she said. "Let me run home and change and I'll be back in 15. We can run up to Luke's Diner if you want and then I'll take you guys to all the best spots."
"Thanks," Sam gave her a warm smile. "We'll be here." Rory nodded once, raised her eyebrows at her mother and jogged out the door and down the drive.
"So this Luke's Diner," Dean began, turning toward Lorelei and waggling his eyebrows, "they got any good pie?"