A/N Sorry, that I haven't updated. I'll try hard to keep them coming, if you guys want. Review and let me know how I'm doing. All comments welcome.
Rory enjoyed the rest of the weekend in Stars Hollow, with Luke and Lorelai. Dean came back from NY, Sunday afternoon. Before Rory went back to Yale, she and Dean met at Taylor's Shoppe for some ice cream. "Hey!" Rory said when she saw him. "I miss you." She went in to kiss him. He accepted it, but was not with as welcoming as usual. They sat down at a table by the window. "How was your trip to Rochester?" Rory asked.
"Fine." Dean looked nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. We had the most annoying neighbors. They invited me over to play that game life, they get screaming nonsense and then the younger kids started-
"Dean…"
"Lindsay called."
"Oh." Rory gets up and starts to leave.
"No. It's not like that."
Rory turned around and made this face as if to say, I'm listening.
"She called. She missed me. But Rory, I don't miss her. She did everything she could to make me happy. She's a wonderful person, who deserves someone who loves her. I don't love her. I- I." He began to stutter. "I love you." He took a deep breath. "I always have."
Unlike, when he said this to her 6 years ago, Rory had no pause of hesitation. "I love you, too."
Dean and Rory sat there, for 2 hours, sharing a banana split and catching up, on the week they had been apart. But it had felt like much longer, to them.
"Whoa, it's 5, I got to get back to Yale."
Dean looked so disappointed.
"I know." Rory said, disappointed, too. Rory gave him a quick kiss and went on her way. She popped into the house, and grabbed her bag. "Bye, mom! I'm leaving." She shouted up the stairs, to her mom, who was watching TV in the bedroom.
"Wait!"
"What?"
Lorelai came running down the stairs. "You sound happy."
"Huh?" Rory said but she couldn't successfully hide her grin.
"Come on… spill!" Lorelai exclaimed.
They sat on the couch, and Rory filled her in. At a quarter to six, "Mom, I've got to go!"
"Fine, fine." Lorelai gave in. "Just leave your old mother here to rot."
"Bye!" Rory said as she shut the door behind her.
