A/N: Two updates in the same week! This is would not be possible without NarcoGilmore. Thanks NarcoGilmore! And to those who have taken their time to review.
Chapter 3: Decisions
Lorelai woke up to her stomach growling. Food. Luke's. She pushed the covers back and stepped out of bed careful not to wake her sleeping daughter. After getting dressed she went to Rory's room and opened the door slightly. Peaking inside she saw Dean's sleeping form on the bed. You poor kid. Lorelai closed the door and started to walk outside. No one deserves this, especially not someone like Dean.
Strolling up to Luke's Lorelai noticed that most of the town was gathered in there. How lovely. The thought was sarcastic. Maybe they won't ask questions…In Stars Hollow? Yeah, right. Lorelai barely had the door opened and she could feel their eyes already on her. In seconds her ears were overloaded by voices.
"Lorelai!" Miss Patty's?
"Lorelai!" Babbette or maybe Gypsy?
"Is it true?"
"Are Dean's parents dead?" Andrew's voice?
"I heard his sister was severely injured! Oh she's just a child!"
"I saw it on the news this morning?" Kirk's?
"That car was wrecked! Wrecked I tell you! The right side was smashed in!"
"Lorelai!"
"I heard the other driver was drunk and he died too!" Lorelai closed and opened her eyes to try to register the rest of the voices.
"How is he?"
"The poor boy!"
"Lorelai!"
"Enough!" Luke bellowed. "That's enough! Let her get in the door for God's sake!" Silence finally.
Lorelai walked to the counter and looked around the diner. Every face was staring at her, waiting for her to say something. "His mother died instantly." Gasp filled the diner. "Clara is in a coma and his father was placed on life support. As far as the other driver goes, I don't know. But Dean is staying with Rory and I until his grandmother gets in." Lorelai lowered her gaze to the ground. "I don't know anything about funeral arrangements or what is going to happen with his father or his sister. All I can tell you is that he's devastated and must be going through something that I'm sure some of us here can't understand. For your family to be involved in something like this...it's not fair." Lorelai trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say. Around her the townsfolk were exchanging glances. Luke was the one to break the silence.
"He just needs time to himself. Everything will fall into place." Luke reached across the counter and patted her shoulder. The people in the diner started whispering to each other. "What can I get for you?" Asked Luke.
"Food." Lorelai simply stated. "For me, Rory and Dean."
"Okay so everything on the breakfast menu for twelve people plus Dean, got it. Just give me ten minutes." He scribbled on his note pad and disappeared into the back. "Lorelai!" Lorelai turned around to come face to face with Lane.
"I heard the news! Where's Rory? Is Dean staying with you? How is he? He must be so hurt! Tell me is-" Lorelai held up a hand to stop the ranting Korean girl.
"Yes Dean is staying with us for now. He and Rory were still asleep when I left."
"What's going to happen?" Lane asked concerned.
"I don't know, Lane." Answered Lorelai honestly. "I really don't know. He needs some time. He needs to be around the people who care about him, Rory mainly."
"Right, of course, she being the girlfriend and he being the boyfriend…that makes sense." Babbled Lane.
"Order's ready, Lorelai." Luke called putting two bags on the counter. She picked up the bags and laid some money out. "Thanks Luke."
"Anytime Lorelai."
The late morning sun shone though the window of Rory's room hitting Dean's face. He rolled away from the light pulling the blankets over his head. The blanket felt unfamiliar beneath his hand. He realized the blanket was not his, he was not in his bed, and this was not his room. With a jolt Dean was sitting up in the bed looking around the room. This is Rory's room. The previous nights events came rushing back to him. The car crash, the cops telling him his mother was dead, Clara, and his dad. Dean flopped back down onto the bed. I thought maybe it was a horrible nightmare and soon I was going to wake up. Why can't this just be a nightmare? He remembered the phone call he made to his grandmother and checked his messages.
"Dean, it's me." His grandmother's voice was clear but with a hint of sadness. "My flight will be landing at the Hartford Airport around two. If you're able to pick me up that would be fine but if you can't I can wait until your aunt and uncle arrive. Bye." She would want to go to the hospital to see Clara. I should take her to hospital.
There was plenty to do…the funeral for his mother. Would he have to help plan the funeral and would people expect it of him? They hardly saw other family members and they were not close to them so why would they help? What about dad and Clara? There's still a chance that Clara could wake up. I need to stay close to her but I can't live by myself. That would mean Granny would have to move here. There's so much to think about! A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.
"Dean?" Rory knocked on the door. "Are you awake?"
"Yes." Rory opened the door and stepped inside. "My mom went to Luke's and got food. There's lots of food to choose from. I think she ordered everything off the menu. My mom put aside a few rooms at the inn, four or five I think. I don't remember but I'm sure there will be more if needed." Dean put his hands on her shoulders. "What is it Dean?"
She's doing so much for me. He leaned in and kissed her. She returned the kiss and pulled back a little. "Thank you for everything." He said. Rory shook her head and hugged him. "You don't have to thank me for anything Dean or thank my mom for anything either. You got that?" Said Rory sternly but gentle. "But-" Dean tried to protest but Rory cut him off by putting a finger on his lips. "No, Dean you don't need to thank me for anything. I'm your girlfriend it's my duty to take care of you. I'm going to be here at your side. Clear?" Dean answered her with a kiss. He drew her closer to him and inhaled her scent. She smells like coffee.
"You should eat something." Said Rory taking his hand in hers and pulling him towards the kitchen. Not wanting to argue Dean went with her. Out on the table there were several white trays filled with food. "Help yourself." Rory handed him a plate. Dean eyed the different choices his eyes settling on the pancakes. His mother always made pancakes on Saturday. Not anymore. The thought was bitter and he gripped the plate tighter.
"Is something wrong Dean?" Asked Rory meeting his eyes. Dean shook his head. "No. Everything's fine." He hoped she did not notice the lie. If she had she decided not to say anything and started to eat. Dean gave a quick glance at the pancakes before searching for something else.
He decided to have eggs instead.
The Hartford airport was crowded with people bustling about from here to there. Dean stood in the middle of a hallway waiting for his grandmother to walk through the doors. What am I going to say to her when I see her? I suppose a hello would be the best. He saw her coming towards him, pulling a suitcase behind her. Teresa Knight was sixty-one years old and of medium height. He never thought of her as old. She was pretty healthy for her age but she looked older from the last time he had seen her. Her usual white curly hair was flat and not in its normal style. He walked half way to meet her and saw her face. It looked worn and tired.
Of course she looks worn. Her daughter's dead. "Hi, Granny." Said Dean. "Hello Dean." Replied Teresa. She sat her suitcase aside and gave him a quick hug. "I'm parked just outside." He told her taking her suitcase. "How are you Dean?" Asked Teresa. "I'm okay." Replied Dean. How does she expect me to be? Maybe she's just trying to make conversation. "My girlfriend's mother she runs an Inn, she put aside a few rooms. Would you like to stay at the Inn...or maybe the house?" He had not thought about the house until now. Why not? It's not like anyone is staying there. "I think the house would be fine. You should have someone to stay with you. You can't stay at your girlfriend's forever. What was her name again?"
"Rory. Rory Gilmore." He said. They walked to Dean's truck not saying anything else for a time.
"Have you heard anything else about your father or Clara?" Teresa asked entering the passenger side. Dean shook his head. "Not since last night. Would you like to see them before we go to Stars Hollows?" Teresa was quit for several minutes as if pondering the question. "Yes." She said slowly. "I would like that."
Dean started up the truck and drove to the hospital and not another word was spoken on the way there.
"Clara's room is in ICU right through here." Dean told her as they reached the room. A nurse in green scrubs walked out the room with a clip board in her hand. "Oh hey there." The nurse was short with light blonde hair pulled back into a bun. "I'm Nurse Maggie. You're family I assume." He and Teresa both nodded. "I don't have any better news but I don't have worse news. Her vitals are still the same and she's not breathing on her own just yet but hopefully that will change. When she does start breathing on her own we can move her into a more private room until then she'll have to stay here. You can go in and see her now if you're ready." Maggie told them and left to go to another room.
Teresa went into the room while Dean stood in the door way. He heard her gasp and watched her put her hand over her mouth. Dean turned away so he could give her some privacy. Some time passed and he heard her voice as she spoke to Clara. "Hello there Clara. Your grandmother's here..." He tuned the rest of her out as he thought about his father. The last time he saw him was Friday morning when he left for work. Dean did not even say goodbye. He could only picture what he looked like now. Hooked up to machines like Clara and laying in a hospital bed without a right arm. Dean shook his head to be rid of the mental image.
A hand rested on his shoulder. "Let's go see your father, Dean." Said Teresa leaving Clara's room. "Where is he at?"
"Room 515."
It seemed a while before they reached the room. His footsteps echoed in the hallways. Doctors, nurses, and other people passed them. Some were talking to the other and some were alone hurrying to get to their destinations. Different voices came over the intercom paging doctors to areas of the hospital. Dean stopped outside the room with 515 written in brose numbers. The door was slightly ajar and he could see his dad lying on the bed through the crack in the door. Pressing on the door with some more force Dean opened it enough to step in.
The reality of his dad's condition was even worse then what he had imagined early. There were more machines and tubes connected to his body then with Clara. The top of his head was completely covered in bandages. There were casts on both his legs and a bandage covering below his right elbow where his arm used to be. The sight was enough to make him sick. Oh God, Dad. Dean shifted his gaze to the tiled floor unable to look longer at his father's broken body. Try to remember him before this. He closed his eyes but he could not erase the image of how his dad was just now. Behind him he heard his grandmother let out a choked sob.
"What exactly did..." He could hear her swallow and the rest of her voice came out thick. "What exactly did the doctor say Dean, about him?"
"The doctor said that he wouldn't be able to live without the life support. There's isn't any way he can...come out of it." He continued staring at the floor so he would not have to face her. "So there isn't any hope?" Dean did not answer nor could be bring himself to. His grandmother tugged on his arm. "Come on Dean. I'll go talk to the doctor and then we'll go back to the house. I'll cook something for us to eat and we can go from there. Okay?" Her voice flattened on the last few words. Dean agreed by nodding. There was not anything he could say. Nothing seemed to be right.
Teresa placed the casserole on the table. "This was all I was able to find. It doesn't look like your mother went grocery shopping lately. She never did like dealing with the grocery store. She always complained that you never received a decent amount of food for the price you paid for it. "She smiled lightly and Dean tried to bring himself to return the smile but his mind focused on the word 'was'. Past tense. Dean drummed his fingers on the table, his eyes looking around the room.
The house seemed too empty now. At this time his mother would have been fussing at his dad trying to get him away from whatever he found was so interesting on the television. Clara would be running around chatting away about something she had heard from a friend and asking his mom if what she had heard was true. Once everyone was at the table Clara would eat as fast as she could to get back to the phone to call her friends. Dean would tease her and she would stick her tongue out in return causing their mother to scold Clara about table manners. His dad would ask how he was doing in school and his mother would ask about Rory.
"Dean." His grandmother's voice brought him out of his memory fogged brain. "Your casserole is getting cold." Dean picked at his food and ate a few bites. "I'm not really hungry." He said. "You should try to eat more." Encouraged his grandmother. Dean took another bite. "I talked to your father's doctor. To see what we...what I should do." Dean did not speak and an uncomfortable silence settled around them. "Dean." Her voice was soft and she reached over the table to put her hand on top of his. Dean pulled away before her hand landed on his.
Dean met her eyes briefly and he could see a flash of hurt in hers but she kept speaking. "You already know that without the life support your father can't live-" Dean cut her off. "So we take him off of it and he dies?"
"Dean-"
"I don't want to listen to this." Dean stood up to leave but what his grandmother said next made him stop. "Your father is already gone without the help of the machines. Those machines are keeping his heart beating. Dean it kills me to say this, you have no idea how much I wish for it not to be like this but he's gone the life support is only prolonging the inevitable." Dean refused to look at her. It's true and you know it. He's already dead. "So what now?" He asked helplessly.
"What do you think your mother would want?" He had not thought of that before. What would his mother want? Would she want them to keep her husband living with only machines or would she want them to let him go? What am I supposed to say? "I don't know." His grandmother sighed. "Dean, he can't stay on it. I don't think it's right or fair to him." Dean wanted to scream at her. You think it's fair for me? It was not fair to him that his dad was barely alive. It was not fair to him that his family was hit by a drunk driver and it was not right for him to lose both parents. "What now?" He asked again. "We can go to the hospital tomorrow and I will tell the doctor. You can...we can tell him goodbye." Teresa's voice was low and came out almost in a whisper. Dean did not say anything to her when he walked out of the room. He went to his room and immediately called Rory.
"Hi." Answered Rory.
"Hey." Dean replied.
"Dean? Did your grandmother get in okay?"
"Yes." His voice was unsteady.
"What is it?"
"We visited Clara and my dad after I picked her up. She decided that it would be best if my dad was taken off the life support."
"Oh Dean? When?"
"Tomorrow. We're going to the hospital tomorrow." His hands were shaking and he almost dropped the phone.
"Do you want me to come with you?" He shook his head even though Rory could not see it. "No. It should just be her and I."
"Should I come over there now?"
"No Rory. I only wanted to tell you." In truth Dean wanted to hear her voice. He did not want to act like he was pushing her away but he wanted to be alone right now. He hoped she understood that. "This isn't fair Rory." He told her.
" I know Dean. I wish I can make it better. I love you."
"Love you too. Night, Rory."
"Goodnight Dean." Dean waited for her to hang up before he did.
He was back in room 515 but he was not by himself. His grandmother was standing beside him and Dr. Summers and another nurse were standing by several monitors.
"Are you sure you don't need more time?" Asked the doctor. Dean looked at his father's face. There isn't enough time for me to tell him goodbye.
"We're sure." Teresa answered for them. The doctor nodded to the nurse who started to shut off the machines.
For six seconds the heart monitor beeped and then flat lined. Dean left the room still hearing the sound in his mind.