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Chapter 11

"I'm going to kill him," Luke fumed.

"Calm down," Lorelai said.

Still overwhelmed at the thought of betraying Rory - again - Lorelai somehow managed to get the household under control. She had turned to stove off, so nothing exploded while she sent Luke upstairs to their bedroom to rant. She had allowed April to help herself to any of Rory's books, and even left the young girl her laptop to roam the internet in search of images of the giant African, cave-dwelling arachnid she had mentioned once before.

"How can you say that?" Luke asked in disbelief. "He slept with Rory, Lorelai, and got her pregnant!"

"Don't you think I already know that?" Lorelai asked. "That's not what bothers me."

"Well it bothers me!"

Lorelai felt a sting of pride that Luke considered himself the male protector of Rory's safety. Almost like a father figure. However, it wasn't right for Luke to be mad at Dean. Rory's pregnancy was as much her own fault as it was Dean's. After all, Lorelai had learned the hard way that it takes two people to conceive a child, much to her parents' dismay.

"You can't blame it all on Dean, Luke."

"Like hell I can't!"

"Luke Danes," Lorelai said in a dangerous tone, "your twelve year old daughter is downstairs. Do you really want her to hear you acting so irrationally?"

At the mention of April, Luke discontinued his pacing. He stared long and hard at the wall before turning an ashamed face to Lorelai. "I'm sorry," he replied. "There's just something about that boy that I can't stand."

"I know," Lorelai said, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her head to his chest. "But he loves Rory, Luke. And she loves him. I can see it in their eyes when they talk about each other. I never understood why they each held that look until the night you kissed me, when we had our first test run of the Dragonfly. I was looking in the mirror thinking of you, and I got the same look in my eyes."

After a long pause, Luke asked, "So, they really love each other?"

"They have to… something keeps drawing them back together, and I know my daughter isn't a magnet," Lorelai retorted, smiling. "Then again, I can't rule out the one she ate when she was three."

Luke rolled his eyes with a grin.

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Rory and Dean sat in a wooded clearing. They had come here once before, when they'd been looking for a place to steal away to, shortly after Dean and Lindsay's divorce. Neither of them said anything for a while. They both were at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry," Rory finally whispered. It was all she could think of.

"For what?" Dean asked.

"Not telling you sooner."

His heart skipped a beat. Deep down he knew Lorelai had been telling him the truth. She wouldn't lie about something that hit so close to home for her like that. But part of him refused to believe that this could happen. This wasn't supposed to be the way it happened. "So, you're really pregnant?"

Rory nodded.

"And it's mine?"

Another nod.

"You're sure?"

Rory now had tears in her eyes. "Dean," she said, turning to look at him, "I wouldn't tell you otherwise if I wasn't."

"What about that blonde guy?" Dean asked. He had tried and failed to erase that image from his mind… like he had tried and failed to fall out of love with the woman sitting next to him. "I saw you that night in the square, and he was on his knee - "

"I don't love Logan," Rory stated firmly, reaching her hand out to grab his, and looking him directly in the eyes. "I love you."

It was that simple phrase - those three tiny words with monumental impact - that had them both seeing pools in front of their eyes.

"I am so sorry, Dean," Rory sobbed, squeezing his hand with hers. "I am so sorry that it took me this long to finally realize it. But there is not a single day that I can ever go through without thinking of you. Every good, decent relationship I get in I mess up because I can't seem to stop comparing my boyfriends to you. You loved me with all your heart, and you would go to the most extreme lengths to make me happy. You risked others' happiness and bliss to be with me, and I smacked you in the face. And I'm so sorry. I can't say that enough. I can't keep going on feeling that twinge of guilt knowing that I pushed you away when you were the only person I ever truly loved."

Dean took in the feel of the words as her hand squeezed his again. Shivers rose up his arms, and he closed his eyes, letting go the tears that had pooled there. His heart ached, but with delight. He couldn't believe that this moment was even happening. There was just something so true - raw and real - with the way she spoke the words.

"Please don't hate me," Rory begged, moving her tear-streaked face closer to him, seeking the solace only he could offer her.

"I don't hate you, Rory," Dean said, as Rory's head rested against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her as close to him as possible with the arm rest between them still. "I could never hate you."

They sat there like that for a moment, before Rory's tears had dried and her sobs had grown silent. Dean looked down in her face and smiled. "I love you, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore," he said quietly, as though it was a secret only they shared. He kissed her softly and longingly, taking in the taste of her lips on his.

"I love you, too, Dean Forrester," Rory replied as they parted their kiss.

"Rory, we need to talk," Dean said finally.

Rory sat back in her seat and turned to face him. He looked somewhat apprehensive about something, but Rory wasn't sure what. She had made it as clear as possible that she loved him. There was no other way she could verbally express her feelings for him.

"You and this - Logan, guy - you're not getting married?"

Rory shook her head. "No," she said and then smiled, "I told him I loved you, and he wished us the best as a couple."

"Are you sure? Isn't he the same guy that you were with at your grandparents' party last year when we broke up?"

"Yes, and he feels really bad about that."

Dean was a little bit in disbelief at that statement. From the looks of the man who'd proposed to Rory, he didn't seem like the type to feel bad for breaking up anyone to Dean.

"We used to date," Rory explained, "after you and I broke up. But it wasn't the same. It was much more like a friendship rather than a dating relationship. He never treated me fairly either. We were on again, off again, and he'd sleep with his sister's entire bridal party. I mean, he's not a bad guy," she said, seeing Dean's anger beginning to boil, "He's just not you."

Dean scoffed with a grin, "Yeah, then what do you call what I did to Lindsay?"

Rory laughed a little uneasily. "Alright, so you cheated on Lindsay with me - "

" - and Sarah," Dean added.

" - and Sarah," Rory echoed. "But you would have never cheated on me. You loved me, and I feel so terrible looking back on it now. But that night I ran into you in the storm, everything just seemed to stop. There's no one else in the world that makes me feel the way you make me feel, Dean. And I know, because I've looked."

Dean's face had turned a light shade of red and he shook his head. "You don't have to feel terrible for any of that," he replied. "We were young. We weren't supposed to meet the person we'd want to spend the rest of our life with. Besides," he added, cradling her cheek in his hand, "things hadn't been going that well with us anyway. We were on two different pages."

"I don't want us to be," Rory rushed on. "I want you in my life again, Dean."

"And I want you in mine," Dean replied with no hurry. "And I want to be there for the baby."

A few happy tears fell down Rory's cheeks. "Really?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, of course." He leaned forward and kissed Rory once more.

When they pulled apart, Rory glanced at the clock. They'd been gone for an hour now. Rory had hoped it would be later, possibly passed Lorelai's bedtime so she wouldn't have to get into another yelling match like the ones they'd been having so frequently through the year. She hated fighting with her mom. Still, she and Dean had made their peace, and now it was time to go home.

"It's late," Dean said, reading her mind.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's go home."

Dean smiled and grabbed her hand, giving it a quick kiss as she pulled her car onto the road leading back to Stars Hollow.

AN: Gosh, I'm so sorry you guys! I tried posting this yesterday morning, but I wasn't home, and when I did find a computer to use, the damn thing crashed! Argh, I hate it when they do that. Usually I just use my laptop. Anyway, I'm not very proud of this chapter - I don't know why - and perhaps the computer crashing was a sign. Either way, I don't want this story to drag out much longer - I'm losing interest in getting from point A to point B (I really only do one-shots with no more than 3,000 words, so this one's a stretch... ha) - and I moved Dean and Rory forgiving each other a little fast, quick, and clean... which really wouldn't happen in the series. Still, I'm determined to finish this story, so don't worry. As a side note, I was so happy seeing Jared's face Thursday! Gotta love that man! I found my muse again (and I really think it wasn't lost, just bored with the way this chapter went... sheesh). Well, tell me what you think of this chapter so I know whether my muse is crazy or what... Read&Review!