Disclaimer: After 9 chapters, do you really think that ownership of the characters and series changed from the WB and AMP to me? I wish...

Chapter 10

By the time Lorelai had arrived back at the house, Luke was already there with April. Rory was still in her bedroom, the door slightly ajar. April had gone in and was sitting on the bed, staring at all the books Rory had scattered about. The two of them seemed to be getting along very well, discussing the various titles April's eyes wandered over. And Luke seemed estatic that they were getting along. He nearly knocked Lorelai over when she came through the back door.

"What was that for?" Lorelai asked as they pulled apart from the kiss.

Luke smiled stupidly and pointed towards Rory's bedroom. "April and Rory," he said, his voice giddy, "They're discussing some strange Russian guy that I've never heard of before. Isn't that great?"

"Uh, yeah, wonderful."

"I mean," Luke continued rambling as he continued cooking dinner, "we walked in and Rory explained you'd left for plates or something - "

"Napkins."

" - and she looked at April and asked if she liked reading." Luke looked over to Lorelai then and asked, "Did you tell her April liked reading?" Without waiting for a reply from his fiancee, he continued with his exciting ramblings, "Well, then April was like, 'Yeah,' and Rory was asking her who her favorites were, and they got caught up talking about some foreign guy who's name I can't spell."

"Exhilarating," Lorelai said. She headed into the foyer and hung her coat in the closet.

Luke appeared then, holding a wooden spoon in one hand and wiping the other on the dish towel hanging from his pocket. "Something wrong?" he asked, noting the strange look on Lorelai's face.

Lorelai forced a smile and shook her head. "No," she said. She entered the living room and plopped down on the couch. She was seriously having regret issues about spilling the beans to Dean.

"Lorelai, aren't you happy they're getting along?"

"I'm happy Luke," Lorelai added, seeing the deflated look on Luke's face, "Really, I am."

"Lorelai…"

"Luke, I like April. There was never any question of me liking her," Lorelai stated, standing and moving closer to Luke.

"Than what's the problem Lorelai?" Luke asked, resting his hands on her arms and looking her directly in the eyes.

"I should've let you get the napkins," Lorelai muttered. It was her last attempt at ignoring the regret in her gut.

"What?"

Lorelai sighed and wrung out her hands, as though there was unwanted water or dirt on them. She turned her back on Luke, and her fingers fell around the familiar engagement ring he had given her, her eyes hypnotized by the beauty of such a small thing.

Luke was patient, waiting for the silence to break.

"I told Dean that Rory's pregnant," Lorelai said quietly.

The guilt in Lorelai's gut seemed to multiply as the realization hit her. She'd betrayed Rory; her daughter, her best friend.

"Rory's what?" Luke asked, anger lacing into his tone.

However, what caught Lorelai's eyes as she turned back around to face Luke, was the figure standing in the doorway to Rory's room. Her eyes were dark, and even at a distance, Lorelai could see the tears. Rory shook her head and dashed inside of her room, moments later rushing through the kitchen and slamming the back door shut behind her.

Lorelai sighed heavily. And here comes another rift between the great Gilmores.

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Rory didn't know where she was going. She just knew that she had to get out of that house. Part of her was furious with Lorelai. How could she do that? How could she just go up to Dean and tell him that he was going to be a father? That wasn't Lorelai's place, that was Rory's. It was Rory's responsibility to tell Dean how she felt and what was happening to her… not Lorelai's.

Rory came to a stop at a red light, the town square of Stars Hollow laying out in front of her.

Then again, part of her was glad that Lorelai had told Dean. Rory wasn't sure she would've even gotten the chance. Even if Dean had still talked to her, she wasn't sure she would've had the courage to tell him. It just felt like she was screwing up his life plans and his future - the one he had decided she didn't belong in anymore. And it hurt. It felt like it had last year, when he'd told her he didn't belong in her world anymore.

Her emotions were getting the better of her. She cursed pregnancy and high emotional levels.

For a moment, she felt pure and utter hatred toward her grandparents. Things had started to go so perfect between her and Dean, and they had messed it all up with their party and their alumni friends and sons. They had said it too - Rory and Dean were from different worlds; they didn't belong together.

In the next moment, however, she became angry with herself. She had messed it up. It was her fault. She had let Dean leave that party; she didn't stop him or call out. She could've - she should have. But she had been confused, and the logical part of her had long since sided with her grandparents about whom she should end up with - a prestigious, blue-blood young man with several business degrees, attending medical school and law school at the same time. She scoffed at the thought. Even Logan, heir to the Huntzberger paper dynasty, hadn't made so great an impression on her grandparents. He had let her drop out of Yale, took her out drinking and partying every night, let her steal a yacht, and cheated on her with his sister's bridal party that week during Thanksgiving when they'd been broken up.

Rory managed a chuckle through her tears. Through all of that, and she'd become friends with the Life & Death Brigadier. The light above Rory turned green, but she didn't notice. The streets of Stars Hollow were usually empty of cars at night. People here seemed to prefer walking in the dark.

"We need to talk," came the voice from nowhere.

Rory nearly jumped out of her skin and turned to face the man she'd first fallen in love with. She placed her hand to her heart and shook her head. "Dean?"

Dean gave a small chuckle. "You Gilmores scare easily."

Rory lifted her brow and replied, "Well, it's dark and you just came out of nowhere."

"Sorry," Dean apologized, "But I saw your car, and I think we need to talk."

Rory nodded, clearly hearing her mother's words in her head again. "My mom told you, I know," she said.

Dean glanced around to make sure no one was close by to hear. He already felt a little anxious at the thought of just discussing the subject with Rory. "Not here," he said quietly.

Again Rory nodded. "Climb in."

Dean took one last look at several of the figures walking around the town square before he climbed in the car. Silence fell among the two as Rory pulled off down the street and out of Stars Hollow.

AN: Ah, glad that's done. Again, you're lucky that I managed to get this chapter out - I was half asleep because it was 1:20 in the morning. Hope it meets your expectations... I'm working on the next part, and it's getting to be a pain. I believe I lost my muse... hopefully I'll find it Thursday after I watch Supernatural... seeing Jared always seems to spark the writing bug in me :) . As always, Read&Review!