Disclaimer- Gilmore Girls and the characters associated with the show are not mine.

Chapter Seven: Sanding

Shane was slowly coming back to herself. The doctors, although they refused to confirm completely, were confident they removed the cancerous tissue, and by removing the whole breast instead of only the part with the tumor, her chances were even better. By undergoing the chemo, they said her chances of recurrence were slim. Her next appointment was in two months, and she was happy to be free from doctors till then. Looking in the mirror, she thought her face was filling out and she was beginning to look healthier. The shadows under her eyes were gone, which was good, because the purple shirt she was wearing might have matched them too well otherwise. Today was a special day, and she wanted to look her best. Today, Dean was going to unveil the attic for the girls.

"Mom! Are you coming? Everyone's here," Kat yelled from the living room. Adding a bit of color to her lips, Shane took one last look in the mirror and headed in.

"I'm here, I'm here! Hold your horses, Kat. Hey everybody, glad you could come," Shane said to Rory, Lorelai, Garret and Jess, before turning and looking at Dean. These last two weeks had proven Dean uninterested in her, despite what Rory said, as he ignored her presence in the house while working. But what really pissed her off, was the way he'd been with her girls. He was interacting with them less. He wasn't mean or anything, but he was standoffish. He found excuses not to read to them before he left, disappointing Kat. He only came over when he knew Veronica would be napping. He was having a harder time shaking Bianca, but even she seemed confused. If he kept it up, there were going to be words. Turning to glance his direction, she gave him a smile.

"Well Dean, Garret? Are you ready to show us what you've done to the attic?" Letting the girls walk on ahead, Dean placed his hand on the small of Shane's back as he followed her up the main steps. Stopping at the top, he leaned his head down to hers, her hair was beginning to grow back. The scent of her shampoo with its hint of coconut made him long to bury his nose in her neck, and breath deep.

"Are you okay? Feeling all right?" he asked. Shane glanced up in surprise. His eyes were so close to hers, and his full lips were inches from her own. Sucking in a shaky breath, she ran her tongue across her lips to moisten them. Looking down at her feet, she missed Dean's eyes darken as his pupils dilated.

"I'm good, my energy level improves every day," Shane said, stepping forward to the end of the hall and the steps into the attic. Dean moved with her, keeping his hand on her back, not being able to let go, not yet. Both of them missed the elbowing and knowing looks going on behind them as a smiling Rory, a grinning Lorelai and a smirking Jess followed them to the attic.

Waiting at the top, Garret tried to control his excitement. Working on this project had given his art purpose. Plus, Dean listened to him. Respected his ideas. The first time Garret saw the dark wooden door with iron accents, he knew it had to be Sleeping Beauty. But not the pink and blue animated version. He'd seen a poster once, in New York, for the ballet, and wanted to use jewel tones instead. Some quick sketches of the outside rose covered wall, and an internet search to show Dean the colors had Dean changing gears and adjusting his ideas to fit Garret's vision. Dean installed stained glass in parts of the windows, in deep rich colors, and Lorelai had gone to town with draping materials in the same shades, creating reading nooks, and secluded play areas against the pale grey, almost white, walls. The floor was carpet, to help muffle sound, but it looked like mosaic wood. In the center of the room, Lorelai had placed an eclectic outdoor table with swirly iron legs and a wood top. There were matching chairs, and a beautiful tea set Grandma Gilmore found in her basement. She had come to visit the room to see what Garret had been spending so much of his time on, and after being thoroughly charmed by Veronica, dug out the flowered plates and cups along with the silver plated service. All had been gifts from Richard's mother, and regulated to the basement of the Gilmore house, so it wasn't like she'd miss them, but it was still a nice gesture. One which had Lorelai talking in amazement for days. Garret was proud of what they'd done here, and couldn't wait for Shane and the girls to see it.

"Alright, let's go into the attic. The first room is for storage," Dean said, and Garret opened the door, hanging back to watch the girls enter. Kat was the first to notice the wall at the end of the room.

"Mom! Look! It's a rose covered castle wall."

"Are those real?" Bianca asked, awed by the pinks and reds of the flowers, along with the buzzing bees, butterflies and ladybugs Garret had added.

"Garret painted those using a special technique called Trompe-L'oeil. It makes the wall look farther back than the flowers. Pretty incredible, don't you think?" Dean said, watching the girl's expressions change as they reached out to touch the flowers and thorns. "I knew I wanted this area to be special, for you girls, your own secret space. But Garret, he had the ideas, and chose the colors. Jess had one of Truncheon's artists come help Garret with the perspective stuff," Dean reached forward and opened the door. Hearing their excited squeals, he shut his eyes against them, trying to find his equilibrium. Their reactions were everything he'd hoped for. A soft whisper caught his attention.

"Dean…" Shane said as she turned toward him, into the curl of his arm. "It's beautiful, thank you. Thank you everyone," she added, moving away, further into the room. Letting his arm fall away slowly, Dean stood, silent. Lorelai moved to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You're a prince, Dean. You're a prince," she said as she watched Kat investigate the contents of the new bookshelf Dean had built, and Richard had stocked, each shelf representing another reading level up. Rory moved to Bianca.

"Hey sweetie, here are your Barbies, and you can leave them set up in here. It's like a secret village behind the curtain," she said as she showed Bianca her own special nook. "Veronica, your dolls have their own place too, over here," Rory added. Dean was talking to Lorelai about the improvements he'd made to the house while Shane wandered around the length of the room, looking behind the curtains, checking out the window seat with built in storage. She fought the emotions threatening to overwhelm her as she caught Jess staring at her with an impassive expression.

"What Jess? What do you want to say?" she asked, voice low, hands on her hips. Jess smirked.

"Why are you fighting it?"

"Fighting what? I don't know what you're talking about," Shane replied while straightening her shoulders, and lifting her chin slightly.

"Rory's almost in tears, Lorelai hasn't quit wiping her eyes since Kat found the bookshelf. Why are you holding yourself in check?" Jess asked. Although she hadn't shown much emotion when they were dating, he knew she was trying not to show any today. He'd seen it in himself often enough. It showed in the set of her mouth, her shoulders, the way she let her hands hang, purposefully loose, instead of allowing the tenseness to show. Glaring at him, Shane turned to Garret who was sketching Veronica playing with her dolls and the tea set. With a smug look at Jess, she marched over to Garret, and pulled him into a hug. Jess chuckled at Garret's shock.

"Thank you Garret, for everything you've done here," she said, pulling away. Garret picked up his sketch book, and shuffled his feet nervously.

"You're welcome, it was fun to do," he replied. Jess snickered, walked up to next to Shane and challenged her.

"Bet you won't hug Dean like that," he said, before moving on to wrap his arm around Rory's waist. Nodding Shane's direction as she hesitantly approached Dean, Jess directed Rory's attention to the couple who were unaware of the scrutiny they were under.

"What'd you do?" Rory whispered.

"Practically dared her," Jess replied, shrugging his shoulders as Lorelai moved their direction. Leaving the path free for Shane.

Holding his eyes with her own, Shane walked across the room and into Dean's arms. Letting out an oomph when her body cleaved itself to his, Dean wrapped his arms around her, embracing her. Looking down at the top of her head, confused, he let himself breath in her scent.

"Thank you Dean, for doing this for us," Shane said, giving him a squeeze. She was getting ready to pull away, when his arms tightened around her. Once again she was flooded with the sense of being cherished, protected. No one had ever made her feel protected before. She'd learned early to protect herself. Backing away, she made the mistake of looking into his eyes again. "Thank you for being part of our lives," she added.

Dean stared, her eyes had gone a deep purple because of the shirt she was wearing, and he thought his world was stopping. Ending when she pulled out of his arms. What had she said? Thank you for being part of their lives? Reluctantly letting go of her, Dean took a step back, closing himself off from the look in her eyes, from his own pain. He had to do the right thing here, for everyone. He couldn't be selfish, not when the girls were involved. They didn't need someone involving themselves in their lives who didn't plan on sticking around.

"You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it. I have a meeting I need to get to. I'll see you later to talk about Veronica's room. Bye everybody," Dean called as he turned away and almost ran down the steps. Shane thought she might break into a thousand pieces and then she squared her shoulders, and went to see what book Kat was immersed in. Jess left to catch up with Dean while Lorelai, Rory and Garret sidetracked the younger girls.

"Dean! Wait up," Jess called and Dean ignored him, walking off down the block. Jess glared at his retreating back, and forced himself into a run to catch up. Dean lengthened his stride in response. "Bagboy!" Jess yelled, "You lose your apron again?" Dean whipped around, angry.

"You got a problem, Jess?" he asked. Jess evaluated the threat and decided to keep pushing.

"Nope, no problem here. Just watching the village idiot do something stupid. Why are you running?"

"Back off, Jess. You're not my friend, I don't need your advice."

"Huh. Well, we don't go drinking together. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe you have everything under control, and know what you're doing. Maybe there aren't three little girls who were waiting for their turn to say thank you. Maybe you've said your goodbyes to them instead of abandoning them just like their father did. Maybe you don't have feelings for Shane. Maybe you aren't scared shitless and running. Or maybe you do need a friend, and advice." Sticking his hands in his pockets, Jess turned and walked away.