Disclaimer: I've run out of different ways to say I don't own them...
Chapter 9
"Dean?" Lorelai repeated. She hadn't even realized Dean was back in the equation anymore. "Dean Forrester?"
Rory nodded.
"How - when - where -"
"I ran into him in Hartford a few weeks ago. It was during that storm," Rory explained.
"Well, young lady, I'm never letting you out in a storm again."
"Mom," Rory warned. This wasn't a joking matter. This was serious, more so than anything else that had happened in her short life.
"Okay," Lorelai said, sitting up and holding her hands up in defense. "So… you tried to tell Dean, but you chickened out?"
"No, I went to tell Dean everything, but he was having a fight with his girlfriend. I left and came back here to Stars Hollow, and I ran into Logan. He confessed his undying love to me across from Luke's -"
"Great place, that Luke's, huh?" Lorelai interrupted, a dazed look on her face. Noting the long pause in her daughter's explanation, she chanced a glance in Rory's direction. Seeing the 'shut-up-now' look, Lorelai closed her mouth and mimed pulling a zipper across her lips.
"Logan proposed to me - I said no by the way - and I believe Dean either saw it or heard it from someone in the town," Rory said. She sighed heavily and covered her face with her hands. "Mom, I ran into Clara today and she told me Dean came home for a while. Said he broke it off with that girl and he's staying in Stars Hollow."
"You have to tell him, Rory," Lorelai said.
"He won't even look at me. I saw him when I was talking to Clara and he looked angry."
"You have to, kiddo; it's only right."
Rory sighed and pulled the pillow over her face again. She never would have guessed her college years would be so mirrored to her high school years - debating whether or not to tell Dean something, afraid he'd get mad and never speak to her again; worrying about school and the paper; driving to and from Hartford every morning. Her life was becoming an old rerun you watched on Nick Nite.
"Listen," Lorelai said, getting off the bed and patting Rory on the leg. "You look tired, and my jedi mind tricks aren't achieving their goal of reaching Luke, and we still need napkins. So, you stay here and make sure the house doesn't burn down, and I'll go fetch some napkins from the market."
"Alright," Rory agreed.
Lorelai gave a small smile, though Rory couldn't see this because the pillow was still over her head. She left Rory's room, grabbed her coat and purse from the foyer, and left for Doose's Market.
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Hundreds of thoughts raced through Lorelai's head. She had had enough stress with her and Luke's mysterious, no-date-yet wedding. Then April, Luke's 12 year old daughter, came into the picture. She thought the good old guy up there had spared her one when the fall out she'd had with Rory ended, and Rory decided to return to Yale. However, it wasn't more than two months later, and Rory was pregnant. With Dean's baby.
Dean Forrester. When had he come back into the picture? Lorelai was surprised. Not because it was Dean, but because Rory hadn't told her. She had always had an open relationship with her daughter; one where they shared thoughts, feelings, and experiences - no questions asked, no jokes made. Well, okay, jokes. Still, it bothered Lorelai that her and Rory's relationship had been severed so horribly that Rory wasn't confiding in her anymore.
'Then again, she didn't tell me the first time it happened,' Lorelai thought to herself, that fateful night of the Dragonfly's Grand Opening coming so clearly into view. It had been a life-changing night for her - she'd realized that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Luke - and a life-changing night for Rory - she'd slept with her first true love, destroyed a marriage, and possibly set in sync the events that led to the here and now.
Lorelai couldn't help but feel horrible. She'd set a bad example for Rory when it came to love. She, herself, had always had problems committing to one man, one relationship. Since she was sixteen, she had had numerous boyfriends, and at least 3 fiancee's - or at least Chris was close to becoming one at one point, and if not him, then Jason. She had painted this picture in Rory's head that it was okay for it to just be the two of them; Gilmore Girls to the end. However, by the time Lorelai realized her mistake, it was all too late. Rory had broken two boys' hearts, and was moving in on a third. Another trait passed along in the Gilmore bloodline.
Lorelai's thoughts came to a hault as she entered Doose's. Napkins; she needed napkins. There weren't too many people left in the market - it was getting late, and the housewives had gone home to cook their families dinner, and possibly discuss the Town Princess' outburst at Miss Patty from earlier that day. Still, even if the market would've been full of people, Lorelai's eyes would've found their way over to the tall, dark-haired man on the other side of the store. After all, Dean was possibly the tallest person in Stars Hollow - at least a head above everyone else.
Lorelai quickly averted her eyes and ducked down the aisle with the paper plates and plastic silverware. She grabbed a package of napkins, and chanced a glance over the shelf to where Dean had been moments before. He was gone, at least from that particular spot. Lorelai sighed, still not sure how she felt about Rory being pregnant with Dean's child.
She'd always liked Dean. He had been her favorite of all of Rory's boyfriends - even out of the ones that were just friends. There was this simplistic comfort about him. He understood her's and Rory's bits, and went along willingly with all of them. He was always willing to do the chores and help out around the house or at the Inn, even when it didn't pay. He could jump into one of Rory and Lorelai's witty conversations and know exactly what they're talking about. He never complained about Rory's requests to go to Friday Night Dinner, or wear white gloves and coattails for Rory's Debutante Ball, or attend the silly dances at Rory's prep school. The guy, as bad a rep as he'd received when he first moved to Stars Hollow and 'corrupted' the Town Princess, and then cheated on his wife with her four years later, was really not that bad a guy. He'd done everything everyone had ever asked of him, and would willingly do more. 'Especially to make Rory happy,' that inside voice chirped up, 'because he loves her.'
As Lorelai made her way up to the register, she made the final decision that she liked Dean. Sure, he had cheated on his wife, but Lindsay wasn't Rory, and she never could be. No, Dean had eyes for Rory, and Rory only. That is what made Lorelai hate him so much in the beginning - she could see how much he loved her daughter - and it was the same thing that had her pity him - she knew Rory would never get up the courage to tell him she loved him too, or that he would be a father in eight months.
There was only one checkout line opened, but then again, the store was practically empty. While the man in front of her checked out, Lorelai found herself searching for Dean once more. Not seeing his tall figure near the front of the store by the glass window, she turned around to see if he was by the frozen foods. Of course, she got a scare when she found him right behind her in line. She blinked her eyes rapidly, pressing her palm against her heart, a nervous smile breaking her expression.
"You scared me," she managed to say, trying to laugh it off.
Dean offered a small, barely visible, apologetic smile, but said nothing. He focused his attention, instead, on the man ahead of Lorelai and the cashier.
"So, haven't seen you in a while," Lorelai replied. She scolded herself mentally, knowing exactly where this topic of small talk would lead. And she wasn't sure Rory wanted her to spill the beans to Dean.
Dean turned his attention back to Lorelai. He knew he had to reply, as much as he didn't want to. It hurt too much - to talk to the mother of the girl you dreamed about every night; the mother who loved you, but her daughter didn't. Lorelai, however, would ramble on awkwardly until he said something. And then they'd both go on their ways.
"I've been living in Hartford for a while," was his simple reply.
"Really?"
The man ahead of Lorelai had paid and was moving along out of the store. Lorelai handed the cashier the package of napkins. She caught Dean's eye and added, "Forgot to tell Rory to get them."
Dean just nodded. Even hearing Rory's name, spoken so casually, felt like a million shards of glass ripping through his flesh.
Lorelai handed over a five dollar bill and took the plastic bag the napkins had been placed in. As she took the change and receipt, she stepped aside. As awkward and short as her conversation with Dean was, her mouth refused to let her stop talking and walk away from him. "Rory said she saw you earlier."
Dean let out a small sigh. Something told him he couldn't escape from Lorelai, even if he'd been ahead of her. "Yeah," he said, "Mom sent Clara for dinner stuff, but Clara forgot a couple things." Dean paid for his items and walked out of the store with Lorelai.
"She said you looked angry," Lorelai said bluntly, looking him straight in the face to gauge his reaction.
He blinked slowly, as though shutting his eyes would make Lorelai disappear. Then, he nodded his head slowly and looked squarely back at Lorelai. "Yeah, you could say I was angry," he answered before tearing his eyes away from hers. She and Rory had the same cool blue eyes.
"At Clara or Rory?"
"A little frank, aren't we, Lorelai?" Dean asked as they crossed the street and headed through the town square.
"I'm just asking why I have a daugter at home, despaired at the thought of you never speaking to her again."
"Why should she care about me? You know, everytime I give into her, let my guard down, she rips my heart out," Dean retorted, a hint of anger tracing his tone. "I can't do that anymore, Lorelai. I can't wait for Rory to love me back."
"For starters, you are the one who ripped her heart out," Lorelai stated. "You were seeing another girl, andcheated on herwith Rory… again."
Dean stopped and stared incredulously at Lorelai. "She told you that? That we… you know?" he asked, waving his hands around, not able to voice that actual word.
Lorelai shook her head. "No," she said, "Rory didn't have to tell me. She stopped seeing Logan long before she ran into you, Dean."
"He proposed to her - "
"But you didn't wait for her reaction, did you?"
Dean shook his head and muttered, "She belongs with him, Lorelai, in that world. I don't belong there with her."
"You're wrong. Rory was never part of that world, Dean. She was just a - tourist - you could say," Lorelai replied with a grin. After a moment, she reached out and patted Dean's arm. "Just so you know, she told Logan no. She said she loved someone else… you."
Dean didn't know what to say. He just stared at Lorelai's hand on his arm.
With one final pat, Lorelai added softly, so only Dean could hear, "She showed up last week to tell you that. And to tell you that you were going to be a father." Without waiting for his reaction or a reply, she turned on her heel and headed back to her house.
AN: How was that? A little long, huh? I hope you liked it... tell me if you did by leaving a Review!