Rory sat down next to her mom on the couch.

L: "Who was that cutie who walked you home?"

R: "Dan. He stays at the Inn"

L: "He's older. Like way older.....he's so my type!.."

R: "Mom! You can't go after my friends"

L: "So, he's your friend?"

R: "No.....I don't think so. I just met him. I don't even know him. He's a great listener. I told him all about my problems"

L: "What problems? All those awful A's they've been giving you at school? You're right, that is a problem"

R: "I'm talking about the Dean-Jess issue"

L: "Oh...."

R: "I can't stand it. Why can't they just get along?"

L: "Does jalousy ring a bell?"

R: "Well, there has to be a way"

L: "We could take them both to the fridaynight dinner at my parents"

R: "And that would help me how?"

Rory leaned her head against her moms arm. With her other arm Lorelai stroke Rory's hair out of her face.

L: "Just lock them up and throw away the key"

R: "And then what? Clean up the blood afterwards?"

L: "Oh right......bad idea. Just imagine the look on my moms face when there gets blood on the carpet.............." she paused and thought about what she just said.

L: ".......On second thought.....great plan!"

R: "This is so not funny!"

L: "Oh, I know honey."

R: "Sometimes they act like little children and I'm in the middle of it. I don't want that anymore"

L: "I wish there was something I could do"

R: "Well, you can't"

L: "Just keep the blood on the carpet-thing in mind. It might work"

R: "In a dead-Jess and dead-Dean kind of way?"

L: "They wouldn't kill each other, would they? They would just talk......"

R: "Talk? You see them talk? Just picture it in your head. Jess and Dean talk. In friendly way.....without blood and punches......I'm sorry, but I don't see that happen in a million years"

L: "A million years is a long time. It's not even possible, cos they'll die when they're like 80, maybe......so that's not even close to a million years........unless they come back.....as zombies.....or ghosts............that would be kinda funny. Jess and Dean as ghosts......transparant and all........they would be like Casper the friendly ghost. Haunting people and all"

R: "Mom. You're rambling"

L: "I know, but just imagine how much fun it would be.....we could invite people over and ask money for it....and then turn this house into a haunted house.....like in the movie, just without the killing-part and we could make a fortune"

R: "I can't believe you're actually talking about this"

L: "You don't believe in ghosts and zombies?"

R: "No!"

L: "Well I do! Not in zombies of course, cos they eat brains and I kinda like mine, but I do believe in ghosts...."

R: "No, you don't."

L: "You're right I don't. All that supernatural stuff.....Talking about supernatural...I had the weirdest dream last night"

R: "What kind of dream?"

L: "Well, it involved midgets and the Blair Witch"

R: "Eery!"

L: "No, I like midgets"

R: "I mean the Blair Witch"

L: "She was friendly"

R: "The Blair Witch friendly? Remember when we first saw the movie and we couldn't sleep for weeks?"

L: "Nobody was able to sleep after seeing that movie! My point is that she was friendly in my dream and she and the midgets were cleaning the house"

R: "That was the dream?"

L: "No, that was the beginning. Then the midgets walked into the livingroom with a blue box and the Blair Witch did her witchy-stuff on me and I was flying through the room and she put me in the box. And I was getting all claustrophobic....but then I was in Wonderland with Alice and she showed me around, but then she turned into the Blair Witch....and I screamed and ran away, but 'hello, it's the Blair Witch we're talking about here' so I couldn't escape and...."

R: "Mom, I thought we were talking about Jess and Dean?"

L: "You don't wanna here my dream?"

R: "Of course I wanna hear your dream. Why don't your write it down and give it to me then....or send me an e-mail"

L: "Computers hate me"

R: "Of course computers don't hate you. They don't have feelings. They don't live"

L: "They hate me. They always give me the black screen"

R: "The what?"

L: "You know......sometimes people can give you certain looks and then you say: he gave me the look....well, computers do the same thing, but they don't have eyes, so they give me the black screen. A sign that they hate me"

R: "Either that or you should try turning the computer on"

L: "Oh God, you're so smart! I never would have thought of that myself"

R: "There's a reason why I go to Chilton"

Before Lorelai could respond the phone rang. Rory looked up. Lorelai got up of the couch and wanted to answer it.

R: "If it's Dean or Jess I'm not home"

L: "I'll tell them you went fishing"

R: "Yeah, that sounds believable, cos I go fishing so often" she said sarcastically.

L: "I know"

Lorelai picked up the phone.

L: "Hello?.......yes......that depends.........on who you are.......uhuh......don't know......right........hold on"

Lorelai looked at Rory.

L: "It's your collegeboy"

R: "Who?"

L: "Dan"

Rory got up from the couch and took the phone out of her moms hand.

R: "Hello?"

Dan: "It's me"

R: "Hey, Dan. What a surprise!"

Dan: "I was just wondering if you've seen my glasses anywhere"

R: "Glasses? You don't have glasses"

Dan: "Yes I do. I just never put them on. I think I lost them and I kinda hoped you found them"

R: "Sorry. You have any idea where you lost them?"

Dan: "Well, that would be somewhere between the Inn and the big oak where we met, or between the big oak and the diner or between the diner and your house or between your house and the Inn."

R: "Well, at least we know you lost them somewhere in Stars Hollow"

Dan: "Yep"

R: "If I were you I wouldn't worry too much. We have Kirk"

Dan: "Who's Kirk?"

R: "Just some guy. I'm sure you'll like him. He's like our lost and found office."

Dan: "You think we could go there together? Tomorrow or so?"

R: "Sure, why not. I'll take you to them and I hope he found your glasses"

Dan: "Me too. I don't see a thing........I think I've hit the wall a thousand times in the last hour"

R: "You better just sit down on your bed and stay there for the rest of the day. That would be the safest thing to do"

Dan: "I just have to find my bed first"

R: "Well, you found the phone and my phonenumber, so I'll think you'll be just fine"

Dan: "You're right. So, I see you tomorrow around noon at the diner?"

R: "Sounds great"

Dan: "Well, see you then"

R: "Yeah"

She hung up the phone. She stared at the wall for a second. She really liked him. She was really looking forward to get to know him. If she ever would, because she had no idea how long he was staying at the Inn.

L: "Tell me what's so interesting about the wall"

Rory turned around, still a little caught up in her thoughts.

R: "What?"

L: "Oh God. I know that look"

R: "What look?"

L: "The 'wow-I-really-like-that-guy-look'

R: "What are you talking about?"

L: "I bet you're going on a date with him tomorrow"

R: "No, I'm not. I'm just meeting him at the diner. I would never go on a date with Dan. I have Dean"

L: "Do you?"

R: "What do you mean?"

L: "Well, you guys aren't exactly communicating at the moment"

R: "So?"

L: "No so. I just figured it's kinda difficult to have a boyfriend when you never see him or talk to him. Unless you're blind and can't speak, but that would be a totally different situation. One you are not in right now"

R: "Dean and I might not be on speaking terms, but that doesn't mean we're not together anymore. I mean, I never broke up with him, he never broke up with me.......Nobody broke up with anybody, so I would say he's still my boyfriend"

L: "Okay. Just checking...........So, is this how it's gonna be from now on between the two of you? Not talking, avoiding each other.....you hanging out with older, incredibly goodlooking guys?.........Must be real love...."

R: "It is real love. You just have ups and downs in a relationship"

L: "And this is a down?"

R: "A big one"

L: "Like a valley?"

R: "Bigger"

L: "How about a really deep valley?"

Lorelai walked towards her daughter and hugged her. Rory hugged her mom back.

R: "A really really deep valley"

L: "Don't worry. I'll hand you a ladder so you can climb back up again"

R: "I know you will"

L: "There's no way I would let my daughter die in a really really deep valley"

R: "The only question is if Dean and I will get out of the valley together"

L: "You're asking the wrong person, I just walk around with the ladder"

Rory smiled. It was amazing how her mom always could turn the most horrible situations in a joke. That was part of the reason why she loved her so much. There was nobody in the world who could cheer her up when she felt bad like her mom could. Even right now, when she had no idea how things were between her and Dean, her mom could always make her smile. She knew things would get better. Maybe not right away and maybe it wouldn't mean that she and Dean would stay together, but one day things would get better.............she couldn't wait.