A/N: Sorry for such a long wait! I need inspiration for this story and all my others as well. Anything you would like to see happen please tell me! It would help a lot! Now, on with the show! :)

Dean waited a couple days to go over and talk to Lindsay's parents. As he walked up the steps to the front door, he thought about what he was going to say. He wasn't sure how his in-laws would feel about him coming over, but he hoped they would be okay with it. Dean hated how he had torn two families apart and wished he'd figured this out before he had proposed to Lindsay. He rang the doorbell and waited.

Theresa Lister heard the doorbell ring and answered the door. When she did, she was surprised to find Dean standing on the other side. "Dean," she said. "This is a surprise. What brings you here?"

Dean was uncomfortable and hesitated before answering. "I, uh, I need to talk to you and Mr. Lister, if you don't mind."

Theresa held the door open and gestured inside. "Please, come in and sit down. I'll go get Thomas." She left Dean in the living room and went to find her husband. He was in the office on the computer when she found him. "Dean is here."

Thomas looked up at his wife. "Dean? What's he doing here?" Thomas wasn't thrilled about the fact that Dean had broken his daughter's heart and lead her on for so many months.

"He said he wants to talk to us. I think we should hear him out, Thomas. I know he left our daughter, but I'm sure he has a good reason." Theresa noticed that her husband thought she must be crazy and added, "I don't like this anymore than you do."

"I just hate seeing Lindsay so depressed these days," said Thomas. "But I guess you're right." They headed towards the living room and sat down across from Dean. "So Dean, what did you want to talk to us about?"

Dean cleared his throat and began. "Mr. and Mrs. Lister, I want to start out by saying I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt Lindsay like I did. She really is a wonderful girl and I do love her. I just couldn't love her the way she needs to be loved."

Theresa looked at Dean. "Is this because of Rory Gilmore? "

Dean laughed and shook his head. "I don't know why everyone keeps asking me that. But no, this is not because of Rory. She's not the reason I left Lindsay. I honestly was never in love with Lindsay the same that I was in love with Rory. I know that's wrong and I should have figured it out before we got married."

Thomas spoke up. "Dean, I know you say it's not because of Rory, but why did you propose to Lindsay in the first place if you knew you couldn't love her in the same way? It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble."

Dean nodded. "I agree. I proposed because I thought it was the right thing to do. Lindsay was jealous of Rory at the time and was upset after the fight I got in with Rory's boyfriend Jess at Kyle's party back in May. I know I should have thought more about that than I did but at the time I didn't. I'm very sorry."

Thomas and Theresa looked at each other for a minute. They were surprised by Dean's apology and were speechless. "Dean, we accept your apology," said Theresa.

Dean looked up, surprised. "You do?"

Thomas nodded. "We do. I'm sure it took a lot of courage to come and talk to us. Yes, we're not happy about everything that's going on, but we're glad you came to explain your side. I wish we could have figured all this out last spring."

"Yes, sir. I agree. I want you to know, I want this divorce to happen quickly and without any drama. I'm willing to split everything with Lindsay equally. Please know, I really do care for Lindsay. But I really couldn't love her the way I loved Rory."

"Dean, will you be honest with us?" asked Theresa. "Do you still have feelings for Rory Gilmore? We won't think less of you, but we want to know what's going on. Lindsay won't tell us anything about what's going on."

Dean hesitated. He knew his in-laws wouldn't like his answer. "Honestly? I am still in love with Rory. But I would never have done anything about it. I'm not that kind of guy that would cheat on his wife. I was raised better than that. But I can honestly say that the reason I want a divorce is not because of Rory. Lindsay didn't enjoy our first semester of college and she didn't sign up for the spring semester and she didn't want me to either. But I need to go to school because I want to get a good job to support myself."

"We didn't realize Lindsay didn't enjoy school this semester. I'm sorry she didn't want you going back either. I'm proud of you for wanting to continue your education," said Thomas. He couldn't believe his own daughter didn't want to go to college. She had been excited about it and was even talking about majoring in education.

"That's okay. I wish she understood how I felt about it. It was really because of Rory's encouragement that I even applied for college. She saw the best in me and what I could be. I just wish Lindsay saw that. I've decided to major in business and after I graduate I'm going to get my general contractor's license. I'm really enjoying working with Tom at the Dragonfly Inn and I know that's what I want to do."

Thomas and Theresa congratulated Dean for choosing a career path and then the three of them said goodbye. Dean was walking back towards home and was feeling relieved that the conversation was over. While Lindsay's parents were somewhat understanding, Dean could tell that the Lister's were disappointed that the marriage fell apart. He sighed. How did his life turn out this way? He always thought he and Rory would end up getting married. Of course, only if Jess hadn't shown up in Stars Hollow three years ago. He wished he knew what really went wrong in his and Rory's relationship. Things would have been much different.

Dean walked into his house and up to his bedroom. And once he shut his door he pulled out the box of stuff he had stored in his closet after he and Rory broke up for the final time. Really, he wondered, what went wrong? I thought we would get married. Yes he had had plans to really make a commitment with Rory after they had graduated high school. Of course, a wedding wouldn't have happened until after both of them had finished college and they both got jobs. He decided that he and Rory really needed to talk about what went wrong in their relationship. And soon.