Chapter 9: Let 'Em Go
A Month Later........
[Rory]
Lora seemed better now. She now started making preparations for college. Rory was glad to see she was better, but it made her kind of sad. Ross was already gone and it was hard for Rory to part with him, but she still had Lora.
Now, Lora was leaving, Ross was getting married, and both her kids would be gone. These were her babies and her best friends. She, Dean, Lora, and Ross were all one happy family as corny as it sounds and they were also like best friends. Now they were both going to be gone. Rory now understood what it must've been like for her mother when she left.
No matter how hard it was for Rory to let go, she was going to and she wasn't going to let sentiment get to her. She was very proud of her kids and all they had done. They didn't even have to go to Yale, but they wanted to and that made Rory proud. They had made that decision on her own and she was proud.
She made sure Lora knew that, but also, she was going to miss her. She knew Dean felt the same way, but as it came closer and closer for Lora to leave, he got more and more quiet. It wasn't until a month before Lora left when Dean finally cracked.
[Dean]
Dean was trying so hard not to get emotional. Lora was leaving for college and Ross was getting married. He loved them both and he was very proud of them, but they were growing up so fast. Too fast.
But, he wouldn't let it show. He knew Rory felt the same way, but she was so good at hiding it, but he wasn't. He knew how quiet he was, but it was his only way to keep from screaming, "STOP GROWING UP!"
One day, a month before Lora left, Dean, Rory, Lora, and Ross were going to have a garage sale to get read of all the junk they didn't need. Ross came for the summer to help Lora move and to help with the garage sale. Lorelai and Luke were also going to help. That morning, he put his stuff down by the doorway.
"That's the last of it," he said to himself.
"Really?" Rory asked, sipping her coffee at the kitchen table. "That's a lot of stuff."
Rory got up and rummaged through his boxes and pulled out a worn out football.
"You've had this since high school," Rory said.
"It's all worn out," Dean said.
"You're selling this because it's all worn out?"
"I've had a million others just like it since high school. My dad gave me one every year."
"I'll leave this with the 50 cent items."
Rory sighed and put the ball back and took out a baseball.
"Got one just like it?" she asked.
"Yeah," Dean replied.
Rory put the ball back and dug through the box and pulled out a gray turtleneck sweater.
"I got this for you last year for Christmas," Rory said.
"It gave me a rash," Dean said.
"I thought the black v-neck I gave you the year before gave you a rash."
"No, I wear the black one all the time. I never wear the gray one."
"I thought you exchanged the black v-neck for a different one."
"You thought wrong."
Rory shrugged. "I don't know what's going on in my head lately," Rory sighed, putting the sweater away.
"Mom," Lora called from upstairs. "Ross and I need help with these boxes."
"Coming," Rory said.
Rory rushed upstairs and moments later she and Lora came down carrying very familiar boxes and Ross followed carrying what looked like a crib.
"Rory, you're selling the crib?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, why?" she asked.
"Aren't we still going to use it?"
"For what?"
Dean looked down at the box that Rory was holding. It was full of baby clothes. On the top was a pink dress with a purple stain on it.
"You're selling the baby clothes?" Dean asked.
"We don't need them anymore," Rory said. "Look, I'm going to start setting up. Hi, Mom! Hi, Luke!"
"Wait," Dean said. "We have to talk about this!"
But, Rory didn't respond. She ran out to the edge of the lawn to greet Lorelai and Luke.
"I can't believe she's selling these," Dean said, looking down at the pink dress that had dropped from the box Rory was holding.
"I know," Lora said, picking it up. "I mean who's going to buy a dress with a purple stain on it? 'Aw, how cute. A grape juice stain.'"
[Rory]
"Excuse me," a lady said to Rory later that day. "How much is this stuffed globe?"
Ew, Rory thought. Rory guessed it was one of her mother's items that she wanted to sell. The woman was holding Rory's old hug-a-world. Rory and Lorelai were cleaning out the garage so Lane and her band could practice and Rory had stumbled upon her hug-a-world. But, when she dropped it, they found something living in it. Mom is going to be in so much trouble if this woman finds the thing still living in hug-a-world, Rory thought.
"Hang on a second," Rory said.
Rory took hug-a-world from the woman and took it inside, holding it arm's length and saying "ew" over and over again. When she got inside, she sprayed it with Lysol and then washed her hands and put on rubber gloves and took it back out to the woman.
"Sorry about that," Rory said. "That's five dollars."
The woman smiled and gave Rory five singles. Rory took the singles and put it in her metal box.
"Hey, kiddo," Lorelai said. "I just made ten bucks."
"For?" Rory asked.
"The bed sheets Luke and I got for a wedding present that we don't use," Lorelai said.
"Ah, clever," Rory said. "I just made five bucks for hug-a-world."
"Really?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah," Rory said. "Mom, let me ask you. How could you sell hug-a- world? Did you not forget the thing that lived inside hug-a-world that wanted to see the world?"
"I sprayed Lysol on it," Lorelai said.
"So did I," Rory said.
"I think that thing is as good as dead."
"Yeah."
"So, how are you holding up?"
"About......."
"Lora leaving for college and Ross getting married."
"I'm fine, but I'm a little sad. You know? I'm so proud of them, but it's going to be sad because they're going to be gone and I'm really going to miss them."
"Now you know how I felt when you left."
"I knew you'd understand."
"Yeah, but at that time I had no one. You on the other hand can cry on the shoulder of your hunky hunky hubby."
"Well, I don't think my 'hunky hunky hubby' is taking it that well either. He keeps getting quiet."
"I'm sure he's just trying to deal with it. But, remember. They're not babies anymore. Look how far they've come. You just have to remember how proud you are of them."
"Lorelai!" Luke called from across the lawn. "You're selling my white belt?"
"I have to go," Lorelai said. "I'll be right back."
Lorelai walked away and Rory took off the rubber gloves.
"Rory!" a voice exclaimed.
Rory looked up. Right in front of her was Lane who looked just as large as when she last saw her, Dave, and a little girl, which was her daughter.
"Oh, my god!" Rory exclaimed, giving Lane a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"We're moving back!" Lane said.
"Oh, my god!" Rory said. "That's great. Hi, Dave."
"Hi, Rory," Dave said.
"Is this Caitlin?" Rory asked, gesturing to Lane's daughter.
"Yes, this is," Dave said.
"Hi, Caitlin," Rory said.
Caitlin smiled and hid behind Lane. She was shy. She had Lane's hair and her eyes while also having Dave's nose and mouth. Rory finally took notice of Lane's stomach.
"Are you pregnant again?" Rory asked.
"Yup," Lane nodded. "Second child."
"Wow," Rory said. "Well, we're selling the crib. Do you want it? I'll give it to you for free."
"Sure," Lane said.
Rory escorted Lane, Dave, and Caitlin over to the crib. Suddenly, Dean ran over.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked.
"Lane and Dave are having another child and they need the crib," Rory answered.
"Hi, Lane, hi, Dave," Dean said, turning back to Rory. "We are not selling the crib."
"Right," Rory said, noticing Ross and Lora watching them. "We're giving it to them for free."
"No," Dean said, wheeling it away from them. "We're keeping this."
"Dean, stop it," Rory said, grabbing the other end and trying to pull it back.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Ross said, grabbing the end that Rory was on and pulling it.
"Mom, need some help?" Lora asked, grabbing Dean's end and pulling it.
Soon everyone was engaged in the tug-of-war with the crib.
"Dean, why are you acting like this?" Rory asked.
"I WANT ANOTHER BABY!" Dean yelled.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face the four. Dean grabbed the crib and wheeled it over to the boxes of baby clothes. He took the boxes and put it inside the crib and pulled the crib inside the house.
Rory sighed. "I'll be right back," she said to Lane.
[Dean]
Dean went in the fridge and grabbed a bottle of diet coke. He was so ashamed of himself. He knew he shouldn't have acted the way he did, but he did want another kid and he wanted to keep the clothes and the crib. The door slammed and Rory walked into the kitchen.
"What just happened?" Rory asked, angrily.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"Did you not see yourself five minutes ago?" Rory demanded.
Dean sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, sitting down. "I'm really ashamed."
"Everyone's talking about it," Rory said, sitting across from him. "It was all over the yard by the time I got to the door."
"In ten seconds?" Dean asked.
"Half the town is on our lawn," Rory said. "News will travel fast."
Dean sighed. "Again, I'm sorry," he said. "I just want another kid, you know? I mean, Lora's leaving for college and Ross is getting married. I just want another kid."
It was Rory's turn to sigh now. "Okay, Dean," Rory said. "Kids. We have two. Do you know how tough it was raising the ones we had now?"
"I know," Dean said, looking at the box and taking out the pink dress and a little suit.
"Oh, god," Rory said, smiling. "That was from the Christmas party at my grandparents. Remember how much they both cried and screamed when we tried to put it on them?"
"I know," Dean said. "They cried through the whole party. Actually, Lora got even with us by dribbling grape juice all over the dress. Ross kept yelling, 'I want to take the suit off!'"
"Yeah," Rory said. "Remember when they both got the stomach flu. They threw up everywhere."
"And then we all got the stomach flu and your mother and Luke had to come take care of us," Dean said.
"Nobody got any sleep for the rest of that week," Rory said.
"Or five years after that," Dean said.
"You remember how hard it was taking care of them?" Rory asked. "And do you really want to dress up as Prince Phillip again?"
"No," Dean answered.
"And do you really want to go through that all again just because Lora and Ross are leaving?"
Rory was right. Dean knew Rory was right. He only wanted a kid just because his other two were going, but that was the only reason. It was a stupid reason.
"You're right," he said, finally. "I'm just really going to miss Ross and Lora."
Rory reached over and grabbed Dean's hand.
"I am, too," Rory said. "Trust me, I've been getting emotional about this, too. But, remember, they're all grown up now. They're not babies anymore. Look how far they've come. We have to remember how proud we are of them."
Dean smiled. "When did you get so wise?" he asked.
"Actually, I'm half quoting my mom," Rory said. "But, it's been working for me for the past year. My mom's smart."
"Yeah, she is," Dean said. "When she's trying to take the pizza away from me on movie night going, 'I want the piece with the bubble.'"
Rory chuckled.
"Can we still keep the crib and clothes?" Dean asked.
Rory sat there for a while looked thoughtful. "Yeah," she said, finally. "I think we should. Maybe Ross and Lora will use it."
[Rory]
Rory left Dean to deal with the prices while she went to find Lane, hoping she hadn't left thinking they were being rude. Rory found her near Rory's old toys.
"Hey," Rory said to Lane.
"Hey," Lane said back.
"Listen, I'm really sorry about that," Rory said. "But, we really can't sell the crib. It's too important to us."
Rory closed her eyes waiting for Lane to scream at her and tell her how selfish she was, but to Rory's surprise, she didn't.
"It's okay," Lane said.
"Really?" Rory asked.
"Yeah," Lane said. "Is Colonel Clucker still with you?"
"I gave him to Ross," Rory said. "He found it when he was too and it hasn't left his side ever since."
Lane laughed.
"Hey," Rory said. "I'll come with you to buy a crib. What do you say?"
"I say 'sounds good,'" Lane said. "But, we're going to use Caitlin's old crib. We don't want to waste money on another crib."
"I'm really sorry about all this," Rory said.
"It's okay," Lane said. "You're a Gilmore/Forester, you're life has always been like this."
Rory fake-punched Lane and they both laughed.
"So, anyway," Lane said. "Can you guys come to the house for dinner Saturday night?"
"Sure," Rory said. "What's the address?"
"Actually, I'm back at the old place," Lane said. "Mama gave me the family business. She and Dad moved back to Korea."
"Really?" Rory said.
"Yeah, but we're going to have to go to Korea for holidays," Lane said. "And you don't know how happy I am about that. So, seven o'clock Saturday?"
"Sounds great," Rory said.
After saying good-bye, Lane, Dave, and Caitlin left.
[Dean]
After cleaning up from the yard sale, Rory, Dean, Lora, and Ross decided to have a movie night with just the four of them. After that, Lora and Ross went to sleep. At one in the morning, Dean still couldn't fall asleep so he found himself wandering around the house.
First he went into Ross's room. There were some empty boxes in the corner of the room for when Ross would move out permanently into his apartment with Chloe. Dean left the door open. The light from the hallway was bright enough so Dean could see Ross's face, but it didn't wake Ross up.
Dean walked over and sat on the edge of Ross's bed. Colonel Clucker still sat on top of his pillow. Dean remembered when Ross had first gotten Colonel Clucker.
They were at Luke and Lorelai's house for movie night. Lora was an infant and Ross was three. He went into Rory's old bedroom, which still had the bed and books and stuffed animals the way they were when Rory left for college. Ross went into her rooms and found the chicken. When they had to go, Ross started to cry and clutched Colonel Clucker to his chest and Rory and Lorelai had to let him keep it.
Now Ross, Dean's first born, was a full-grown man about to be married and he couldn't be more proud. He pushed a very short stray hair out of Ross's face and quietly shut the door.
Next, Dean wandered into Lora's room. Half of Lora's room was packed up into boxes for Yale. Again, from the light in the hallway he could see her face. Once again, his brain flashed back to when he had to dress up as Prince Charming from Sleeping Beauty. It was embarrassing for him to dress that way, but still it was worth making Lora happy.
"Dean," said a voice.
Rory was standing in the doorway. Dean stood up quickly, but bumped his head on the bedpost.
"Ow!" he whispered, rubbing his head.
He slowly walked out of the room and quietly shut the door.
"I was just in Ross's room," Rory whispered.
"I figured," Dean said. "It's going to be really hard when they leave."
"I know," Rory said. "But, I at least got my hunky hunky hubby with me."
"Rory," Dean said. "I love you, but if you call me that again you will have no 'hunky hunky hubby.'"
Rory chuckled and the two of them went back to sleep.
To Be Continued........
A/N: Boring, I know, but I hope that was somewhat funny. The tenth chapter is coming soon along with the epilogue.
A Month Later........
[Rory]
Lora seemed better now. She now started making preparations for college. Rory was glad to see she was better, but it made her kind of sad. Ross was already gone and it was hard for Rory to part with him, but she still had Lora.
Now, Lora was leaving, Ross was getting married, and both her kids would be gone. These were her babies and her best friends. She, Dean, Lora, and Ross were all one happy family as corny as it sounds and they were also like best friends. Now they were both going to be gone. Rory now understood what it must've been like for her mother when she left.
No matter how hard it was for Rory to let go, she was going to and she wasn't going to let sentiment get to her. She was very proud of her kids and all they had done. They didn't even have to go to Yale, but they wanted to and that made Rory proud. They had made that decision on her own and she was proud.
She made sure Lora knew that, but also, she was going to miss her. She knew Dean felt the same way, but as it came closer and closer for Lora to leave, he got more and more quiet. It wasn't until a month before Lora left when Dean finally cracked.
[Dean]
Dean was trying so hard not to get emotional. Lora was leaving for college and Ross was getting married. He loved them both and he was very proud of them, but they were growing up so fast. Too fast.
But, he wouldn't let it show. He knew Rory felt the same way, but she was so good at hiding it, but he wasn't. He knew how quiet he was, but it was his only way to keep from screaming, "STOP GROWING UP!"
One day, a month before Lora left, Dean, Rory, Lora, and Ross were going to have a garage sale to get read of all the junk they didn't need. Ross came for the summer to help Lora move and to help with the garage sale. Lorelai and Luke were also going to help. That morning, he put his stuff down by the doorway.
"That's the last of it," he said to himself.
"Really?" Rory asked, sipping her coffee at the kitchen table. "That's a lot of stuff."
Rory got up and rummaged through his boxes and pulled out a worn out football.
"You've had this since high school," Rory said.
"It's all worn out," Dean said.
"You're selling this because it's all worn out?"
"I've had a million others just like it since high school. My dad gave me one every year."
"I'll leave this with the 50 cent items."
Rory sighed and put the ball back and took out a baseball.
"Got one just like it?" she asked.
"Yeah," Dean replied.
Rory put the ball back and dug through the box and pulled out a gray turtleneck sweater.
"I got this for you last year for Christmas," Rory said.
"It gave me a rash," Dean said.
"I thought the black v-neck I gave you the year before gave you a rash."
"No, I wear the black one all the time. I never wear the gray one."
"I thought you exchanged the black v-neck for a different one."
"You thought wrong."
Rory shrugged. "I don't know what's going on in my head lately," Rory sighed, putting the sweater away.
"Mom," Lora called from upstairs. "Ross and I need help with these boxes."
"Coming," Rory said.
Rory rushed upstairs and moments later she and Lora came down carrying very familiar boxes and Ross followed carrying what looked like a crib.
"Rory, you're selling the crib?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, why?" she asked.
"Aren't we still going to use it?"
"For what?"
Dean looked down at the box that Rory was holding. It was full of baby clothes. On the top was a pink dress with a purple stain on it.
"You're selling the baby clothes?" Dean asked.
"We don't need them anymore," Rory said. "Look, I'm going to start setting up. Hi, Mom! Hi, Luke!"
"Wait," Dean said. "We have to talk about this!"
But, Rory didn't respond. She ran out to the edge of the lawn to greet Lorelai and Luke.
"I can't believe she's selling these," Dean said, looking down at the pink dress that had dropped from the box Rory was holding.
"I know," Lora said, picking it up. "I mean who's going to buy a dress with a purple stain on it? 'Aw, how cute. A grape juice stain.'"
[Rory]
"Excuse me," a lady said to Rory later that day. "How much is this stuffed globe?"
Ew, Rory thought. Rory guessed it was one of her mother's items that she wanted to sell. The woman was holding Rory's old hug-a-world. Rory and Lorelai were cleaning out the garage so Lane and her band could practice and Rory had stumbled upon her hug-a-world. But, when she dropped it, they found something living in it. Mom is going to be in so much trouble if this woman finds the thing still living in hug-a-world, Rory thought.
"Hang on a second," Rory said.
Rory took hug-a-world from the woman and took it inside, holding it arm's length and saying "ew" over and over again. When she got inside, she sprayed it with Lysol and then washed her hands and put on rubber gloves and took it back out to the woman.
"Sorry about that," Rory said. "That's five dollars."
The woman smiled and gave Rory five singles. Rory took the singles and put it in her metal box.
"Hey, kiddo," Lorelai said. "I just made ten bucks."
"For?" Rory asked.
"The bed sheets Luke and I got for a wedding present that we don't use," Lorelai said.
"Ah, clever," Rory said. "I just made five bucks for hug-a-world."
"Really?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah," Rory said. "Mom, let me ask you. How could you sell hug-a- world? Did you not forget the thing that lived inside hug-a-world that wanted to see the world?"
"I sprayed Lysol on it," Lorelai said.
"So did I," Rory said.
"I think that thing is as good as dead."
"Yeah."
"So, how are you holding up?"
"About......."
"Lora leaving for college and Ross getting married."
"I'm fine, but I'm a little sad. You know? I'm so proud of them, but it's going to be sad because they're going to be gone and I'm really going to miss them."
"Now you know how I felt when you left."
"I knew you'd understand."
"Yeah, but at that time I had no one. You on the other hand can cry on the shoulder of your hunky hunky hubby."
"Well, I don't think my 'hunky hunky hubby' is taking it that well either. He keeps getting quiet."
"I'm sure he's just trying to deal with it. But, remember. They're not babies anymore. Look how far they've come. You just have to remember how proud you are of them."
"Lorelai!" Luke called from across the lawn. "You're selling my white belt?"
"I have to go," Lorelai said. "I'll be right back."
Lorelai walked away and Rory took off the rubber gloves.
"Rory!" a voice exclaimed.
Rory looked up. Right in front of her was Lane who looked just as large as when she last saw her, Dave, and a little girl, which was her daughter.
"Oh, my god!" Rory exclaimed, giving Lane a hug. "What are you doing here?"
"We're moving back!" Lane said.
"Oh, my god!" Rory said. "That's great. Hi, Dave."
"Hi, Rory," Dave said.
"Is this Caitlin?" Rory asked, gesturing to Lane's daughter.
"Yes, this is," Dave said.
"Hi, Caitlin," Rory said.
Caitlin smiled and hid behind Lane. She was shy. She had Lane's hair and her eyes while also having Dave's nose and mouth. Rory finally took notice of Lane's stomach.
"Are you pregnant again?" Rory asked.
"Yup," Lane nodded. "Second child."
"Wow," Rory said. "Well, we're selling the crib. Do you want it? I'll give it to you for free."
"Sure," Lane said.
Rory escorted Lane, Dave, and Caitlin over to the crib. Suddenly, Dean ran over.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked.
"Lane and Dave are having another child and they need the crib," Rory answered.
"Hi, Lane, hi, Dave," Dean said, turning back to Rory. "We are not selling the crib."
"Right," Rory said, noticing Ross and Lora watching them. "We're giving it to them for free."
"No," Dean said, wheeling it away from them. "We're keeping this."
"Dean, stop it," Rory said, grabbing the other end and trying to pull it back.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Ross said, grabbing the end that Rory was on and pulling it.
"Mom, need some help?" Lora asked, grabbing Dean's end and pulling it.
Soon everyone was engaged in the tug-of-war with the crib.
"Dean, why are you acting like this?" Rory asked.
"I WANT ANOTHER BABY!" Dean yelled.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face the four. Dean grabbed the crib and wheeled it over to the boxes of baby clothes. He took the boxes and put it inside the crib and pulled the crib inside the house.
Rory sighed. "I'll be right back," she said to Lane.
[Dean]
Dean went in the fridge and grabbed a bottle of diet coke. He was so ashamed of himself. He knew he shouldn't have acted the way he did, but he did want another kid and he wanted to keep the clothes and the crib. The door slammed and Rory walked into the kitchen.
"What just happened?" Rory asked, angrily.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"Did you not see yourself five minutes ago?" Rory demanded.
Dean sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, sitting down. "I'm really ashamed."
"Everyone's talking about it," Rory said, sitting across from him. "It was all over the yard by the time I got to the door."
"In ten seconds?" Dean asked.
"Half the town is on our lawn," Rory said. "News will travel fast."
Dean sighed. "Again, I'm sorry," he said. "I just want another kid, you know? I mean, Lora's leaving for college and Ross is getting married. I just want another kid."
It was Rory's turn to sigh now. "Okay, Dean," Rory said. "Kids. We have two. Do you know how tough it was raising the ones we had now?"
"I know," Dean said, looking at the box and taking out the pink dress and a little suit.
"Oh, god," Rory said, smiling. "That was from the Christmas party at my grandparents. Remember how much they both cried and screamed when we tried to put it on them?"
"I know," Dean said. "They cried through the whole party. Actually, Lora got even with us by dribbling grape juice all over the dress. Ross kept yelling, 'I want to take the suit off!'"
"Yeah," Rory said. "Remember when they both got the stomach flu. They threw up everywhere."
"And then we all got the stomach flu and your mother and Luke had to come take care of us," Dean said.
"Nobody got any sleep for the rest of that week," Rory said.
"Or five years after that," Dean said.
"You remember how hard it was taking care of them?" Rory asked. "And do you really want to dress up as Prince Phillip again?"
"No," Dean answered.
"And do you really want to go through that all again just because Lora and Ross are leaving?"
Rory was right. Dean knew Rory was right. He only wanted a kid just because his other two were going, but that was the only reason. It was a stupid reason.
"You're right," he said, finally. "I'm just really going to miss Ross and Lora."
Rory reached over and grabbed Dean's hand.
"I am, too," Rory said. "Trust me, I've been getting emotional about this, too. But, remember, they're all grown up now. They're not babies anymore. Look how far they've come. We have to remember how proud we are of them."
Dean smiled. "When did you get so wise?" he asked.
"Actually, I'm half quoting my mom," Rory said. "But, it's been working for me for the past year. My mom's smart."
"Yeah, she is," Dean said. "When she's trying to take the pizza away from me on movie night going, 'I want the piece with the bubble.'"
Rory chuckled.
"Can we still keep the crib and clothes?" Dean asked.
Rory sat there for a while looked thoughtful. "Yeah," she said, finally. "I think we should. Maybe Ross and Lora will use it."
[Rory]
Rory left Dean to deal with the prices while she went to find Lane, hoping she hadn't left thinking they were being rude. Rory found her near Rory's old toys.
"Hey," Rory said to Lane.
"Hey," Lane said back.
"Listen, I'm really sorry about that," Rory said. "But, we really can't sell the crib. It's too important to us."
Rory closed her eyes waiting for Lane to scream at her and tell her how selfish she was, but to Rory's surprise, she didn't.
"It's okay," Lane said.
"Really?" Rory asked.
"Yeah," Lane said. "Is Colonel Clucker still with you?"
"I gave him to Ross," Rory said. "He found it when he was too and it hasn't left his side ever since."
Lane laughed.
"Hey," Rory said. "I'll come with you to buy a crib. What do you say?"
"I say 'sounds good,'" Lane said. "But, we're going to use Caitlin's old crib. We don't want to waste money on another crib."
"I'm really sorry about all this," Rory said.
"It's okay," Lane said. "You're a Gilmore/Forester, you're life has always been like this."
Rory fake-punched Lane and they both laughed.
"So, anyway," Lane said. "Can you guys come to the house for dinner Saturday night?"
"Sure," Rory said. "What's the address?"
"Actually, I'm back at the old place," Lane said. "Mama gave me the family business. She and Dad moved back to Korea."
"Really?" Rory said.
"Yeah, but we're going to have to go to Korea for holidays," Lane said. "And you don't know how happy I am about that. So, seven o'clock Saturday?"
"Sounds great," Rory said.
After saying good-bye, Lane, Dave, and Caitlin left.
[Dean]
After cleaning up from the yard sale, Rory, Dean, Lora, and Ross decided to have a movie night with just the four of them. After that, Lora and Ross went to sleep. At one in the morning, Dean still couldn't fall asleep so he found himself wandering around the house.
First he went into Ross's room. There were some empty boxes in the corner of the room for when Ross would move out permanently into his apartment with Chloe. Dean left the door open. The light from the hallway was bright enough so Dean could see Ross's face, but it didn't wake Ross up.
Dean walked over and sat on the edge of Ross's bed. Colonel Clucker still sat on top of his pillow. Dean remembered when Ross had first gotten Colonel Clucker.
They were at Luke and Lorelai's house for movie night. Lora was an infant and Ross was three. He went into Rory's old bedroom, which still had the bed and books and stuffed animals the way they were when Rory left for college. Ross went into her rooms and found the chicken. When they had to go, Ross started to cry and clutched Colonel Clucker to his chest and Rory and Lorelai had to let him keep it.
Now Ross, Dean's first born, was a full-grown man about to be married and he couldn't be more proud. He pushed a very short stray hair out of Ross's face and quietly shut the door.
Next, Dean wandered into Lora's room. Half of Lora's room was packed up into boxes for Yale. Again, from the light in the hallway he could see her face. Once again, his brain flashed back to when he had to dress up as Prince Charming from Sleeping Beauty. It was embarrassing for him to dress that way, but still it was worth making Lora happy.
"Dean," said a voice.
Rory was standing in the doorway. Dean stood up quickly, but bumped his head on the bedpost.
"Ow!" he whispered, rubbing his head.
He slowly walked out of the room and quietly shut the door.
"I was just in Ross's room," Rory whispered.
"I figured," Dean said. "It's going to be really hard when they leave."
"I know," Rory said. "But, I at least got my hunky hunky hubby with me."
"Rory," Dean said. "I love you, but if you call me that again you will have no 'hunky hunky hubby.'"
Rory chuckled and the two of them went back to sleep.
To Be Continued........
A/N: Boring, I know, but I hope that was somewhat funny. The tenth chapter is coming soon along with the epilogue.