A/N: Here it is! Chapter four! Just an FYI- The first climactic scene is coming up in Chapter 6, so review review review or I wont put up the next chapter. 4 ReviewsChapter 5!

Chapter 4:

It was the next morning. Lorelai showed up to the inn a little later than usual, having had a hard time convincing Luke to give her one last cup of coffee for the road. The conversation had started with "Hey Luke, one more cup, please," And ended with Lorelai on her knees giving Luke Bambi eyes. Which wasn't really fair, considering she knew he couldn't say no to either of the Gilmore girls when they pulled that tricky maneuver. As a matter of fact, Lorelai and Rory didn't know very many guys who could resist the look.

It was using this nice little weapon that she had finally convinced Michel to man the desk and behave while she went back into the kitchen to talk to Sookie. He had complained for a while in French, but eventually conceded.

"Hey, Sook!" Lorelai said, announcing her entrance to the kitchen.

"Oh, hey Hun! There's a fresh pot if you're interested," Sookie responded, slightly distracted by the meal she was preparing.

"Aren't I always?" She answered, heading over to the coffee pot and pouring a cup, her fifth that day.

Meanwhile, at Luke's diner, a certain Mr. Danes was nearing the end of his patience. Sitting in his diner at this very moment were the four most annoying people in town: Babette, Miss Patty, Kirk, and the worst of all, Taylor. Taylor was talking about this year's Dance Marathon, begging Luke once again to donate free coffee for the event.

Luke was not budging. It was after ten minutes of babbling in his ear that Miss Patty and Babette started in, listing all the benefits to him and the town if he gave in to Taylor. Kirk was sitting there trying to decide what to order. Every ten minutes, he called Luke over, determined that he had decided what to eat. About half way through his order, he would change his mind, and Luke got a little closer to snapping.

"FINE!!!" He shouted, finally having gone to the very limit of his patience. "I will give free coffee. I will give free coffee. Now get out of my diner!!!"

School ended, and Rory sighed before gathering her books and heading for the door. Logan beat her there and stopped her at the door.

"Need a ride?" He asked, smiling. He had taken her to school that morning, after their movie marathon.

Rory debated for a minute. She wanted to accept Logan's offer, but if Dean happened to see his car driving through town, she knew it would be bad.

"Um, I want to, but… I don't think if… Dean…"

"I got it, Ace, its ok," Logan said, putting on an understanding front. In truth, he felt like he had just been punched in the gut. It was a common side-effect whenever Dean's name was mentioned.

"It's just because he was kind of mad yesterday that I was going to be hanging out with you guys instead of him, and I don't want to add any more fuel to the fire, so…" Rory said, truly apologetic. Logan smiled at her. It was obvious that she really did want to ride home with him.

"Its ok, Rory, really," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Ok, well, I'll just, um, go catch the bus," Rory said, stepping reluctantly away from Logan and turning to the bus loading area.

"Dean?" Rory said, stepping up to her boyfriend slowly.

Dean turned around from stacking canned foods in Doose's Market slowly, facing Rory and crossing his arms over his chest.

"What?" Dean said, his glare icy.

"Look," Rory said, getting angry. She had wanted to approach Dean calmly and work this out, but now he was acting like she had done something wrong. "I came here to try and work things out with you. Logan is my friend. Jess is my friend. Colin, Finn and Tristan are my friends. They were my friends long before you were my boyfriend. Just because you have issues with them, doesn't mean I am going to just ditch all of them. I need to spend time with them, too. I hate fighting with you, Dean."

"I… I hate it too," Dean said, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry, Rory, I just… I care about you and I don't want to lose you to anyone. Can you forgive me?" His voice was soft, caring. Rory looked into his eyes, and saw sincerity there. He opened his arms to her, and she stepped in to him. Dean buried his face in her hair, and Rory tried to ease the knot in the pit of her stomach. Things with Dean were going great. Great, just great.

Later that night, Lorelai was sitting at home alone on the couch. Rory was off on a date with Dean. After their recent fight, they apparently needed time alone together. Lorelai was trying hard to ignore the uneasy look that crossed Rory's face every time Dean's name was even brought up. She glanced at the clock and noticed it was 10:15. Rory was due home any second.

She turned back to the TV, flicking through the channels randomly.

Suddenly, her frantic daughter ran into the room, grabbed the remote from her hand, and clicked off the TV.

"MOM! I've got news," Rory said. She seemed freaked out, possibly excited, and more than a little scared.

"What? What? Are you ok?" Lorelai asked, suddenly worried for her daughter.

"No, no… I mean, its good news. I think. This is why I need you to give me some maternal advice," Rory said, visibly shaking.

"Ok…" Lorelai said, unsure where this was heading.

"Dean… well, tonight, he told me he… well, we were… eating, and then… he said something, and… I…well-"

"RORY! Spit it out!!" Lorelai yelled, frustrated by Rory's nonsensical babble.

"He told me he loves me," Rory said.

Lorelai stared at her, open mouthed. "Did you…" she finally got out. "Did you say it back?"

"Yes," Rory said, smiling softly to herself. "Yes, I did."

A/N: Don't hate me! I hate Dean, and Rory and Logan will get together soon! Just wait for it!