Dean got out of the car while Sam stayed frozen in the passenger seat, caught like a deer in the headlights under Luke's gaze.

"Mr. Danes?" Dean asked, pulling out his phony FBI badge. "I'm Agent Harrison, that's my partner, Agent Hamill."

Luke finally tore his eyes from Sam, looking at Dean with a face that had gone from distraught to annoyed. "No, you aren't."

"Excuse me?" Dean said. A life of lying to pretty much anyone he spoke to made it easy to play it cool when he was actually trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but I can tell you that knucklehead isn't FBI," Luke said, pointing his finger at Sam. "That's my girl's old boyfriend. What are you playing at, Forester?"

Sam finally stepped out of the car, looking from Luke to Dean. "Luke, listen-,"

"You dipped out ten years ago, and now Rory's missing, you show up?" Luke said, stepping towards Sam. "What's the big idea here?"

"Whoa, whoa," Dean said, putting his hands up. "We just came to town, he's got nothing to do with your daughter going missing, man. We're here to help."

A woman with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes stepped out of the diner, her cheeks looking gaunt like she hadn't slept or eaten in days. Dean figured this was the man's wife. "Dean?" She asked, but again, the name was directed at Sam.

"Hi, Lorelai," Sam said, sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, holding her thick sweater tightly around herself as if trying to physically keep herself together. She didn't seem as angry as her husband about Sam being there.

"I was just asking him that," Luke said.

"I heard about Rory," Sam said quickly.

"And?" Luke asked. Lorelai placed her hand on his shoulder, visibly calming him as if she had flipped a switch.

"It's been a long time, Dean," Lorelai said.

Sam shot Dean a look and Dean knew enough to keep quiet, for now. "I know, I'm sorry," Sam said. "But I'm just here to help. This is my cousin, Bobby. He's a private investigator."

"I thought you said you were FBI," Luke said.

"Folks trust government more than PIs," Dean lied easily. He wished he knew what he was lying to cover. He had avoided asking Sam about his stay in Connecticut for the last decade. It had always bothered him that while he had missed his little brother every day that he was gone those two years, Sam had seemed almost sad to be back with Dean and John.

"We don't need any help from you, Forester," Luke said firmly.

"Luke, stop," Lorelai said. "What'd the kid ever do to you? Bag your groceries wrong? Calm down."

"He punched my nephew for one," Luke said. Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"And you pushed Jess in a lake. No offense, but your nephew is a very punchable guy."

"You punched a kid?" Dean asked under his breath, raising an eyebrow at his brother. Dean would be impressed if this were any other time. Sam elbowed him.

"Let's go inside," Lorelai said, waving them into the building. Dean didn't know how welcome they were by the glare of the diner owner, but he and Sam followed Lorelai inside.

"I wish it were a better time," Lorelai said as she went behind the counter, grabbing three mugs and pouring fresh coffee in. "But it's really nice to see you, Dean."

"It's good to see you too, Lorelai," Sam said, taking the coffee from her.

"You're gonna shake out of your skin if you drink anymore," Luke said, coming behind the counter.

"And you're going to lose a hand if you try and take it from me," Lorelai said without breaking eye contact with Sam. Sam didn't seem phased by the couple's banter so Dean figured this must be normal.

"You guys got married, finally," Sam said, nodding to Lorelai's hand. She smiled gently, wrapping her hands around the mug.

"Yeah, about two years ago. We needed someone to kill the spiders after you left us high and dry," Lorelai said.

"I'm sorry I didn't say bye or anything," Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I wouldn't really expect you to, I'm your ex girlfriend's mom," Lorelai said. "We did really miss you around. Rory especially, obviously."

Sam looked as if he wanted to say something but held his tongue. Dean had always been curious about what happened with Sam and his high school girlfriend. When they had dated, Dean heard about her nonstop when Sam would call. Dean was more than happy to give him advice on how to get the girl. Then Sam said they had broken up and that was the end. Sam wasn't offering up any information and Dean didn't ask.

"Your mom said you went back to Chicago-,"

Dean didn't hear the rest of the woman's trip down memory lane. Mom. Dean didn't really care about Sam lying, no matter how odd the lies were, but she had said "mom". Sam didn't just have a life in this tiny town, he had had a family. John and Dean had tried their damnedest to get Sam back to them and now more than ever, Dean felt like maybe Sam hadn't really even wanted to come back.

"Can I talk to you outside for a minute, Dean," Dean said sharply, tugging Sam's arm in a way that told Sam he didn't really have a choice.

Dean pulled him along outside, resisting the urge to slam the door behind him. "Dean, look-," Sam started, only to be cut off by Dean shaking his head.

"Sorry, I thought you were Dean now," Dean said. Sam tightened his jaw, annoyed with his older brother's immaturity. "Explain. Now."

"I was sixteen, okay?" Sam said. "I didn't want to be here, I was in a strange place where I didn't know anyone."

"And you figured you'd just bullshit yourself a new life?" Dean said. "What else don't I know about you? You got a kid somewhere?"

"I wanted to be you."

"What?" Dean said, pulling back slightly.

"I was scared. I was by myself. We'd been in foster homes before, but always together," Sam explained. "I just thought about what you would do and it kind of...got out of hand, obviously."

"So you just...became me?"

"Not exactly," Sam said, pushing his hand through his shaggy hair. "It was stupid, I know."

"You didn't even tell this girl?" Dean said. "From what I remember you were head over heels for her. You just lied to her the whole time."

"Not about everything," Sam defended.

"Do you think whatever it is that took her could be coming after you?" Dean asked. "That's happened before."

"I haven't talked to her since I left," Sam said.

The boys halted their discussion as soon as the door to the diner swung open again, Luke stepping out with his wife close behind him.

"Listen," Luke said, fidgeting with his hat uncomfortably. "The police aren't doing much right now. If you think you can find Rory, we want your help."