Disclaimer: I really need a customized stamp that says "not mine" on it...
Chapter 4
They sat on the bench under the gazebo as they finished eating their ice cream. Lucas had already finished his and was throwing pieces of bread, which Dean had gotten for him from Luke's, to the birds.
"I want to do this again," Lucas giggled, running around chasing one of the birds.
Dean shook his head with a smile and replied, "Sure, I'll take you to the park sometime tomorrow."
Rory realized then, that Dean got on a whole lot better with her baby brother than she did. Of course, Lucas loved her - he loved everybody that paid him the littlest of attention - but he really was close friends with Dean. Rory couldn't help but wonder why, which is why she acted nonchalant when the thought slipped from her lips.
"How come you and Lucas are so close?"
Dean looked over at her, taken aback by her voice. He'd almost forgotten she was even there; she'd been quiet the whole time.
"He doesn't even seem that close with my mom."
Dean shrugged, "I don't know." Seeing the expression on Rory's face, and from years of knowing the woman, he knew that wasn't a satisfying enough answer for her. And if he didn't give her one, she'd drive herself crazy of inquiry, trying to find the exact answer herself. "I'm the Dragonfly's resident handy-man when Luke isn't available, and after doing that for a while, Lorelai seemed to think of me as her resident handy-man when Luke wasn't around. Then Clara started her whole baby-sitting gig, and Lorelai would - whether purposely or accidentally, I haven't figured out yet - she'd forget to pick Lucas up, and I'd have to take him home after I got back from work."
Rory nodded, her mind analyzing every word in great detail. Maybe too much.
"I guess I became like a big brother to him, I don't know," Dean shrugged again. "I do stuff with him; talk and hang out, treating him like a big kid."
Rory didn't reply. She was still lost in thought.
"Rory? Does that bother you?"
Rory looked up and shook her head. "No, I was just curious," she said.
"Because Lucas is like that with everybody…"
"No, he's closer to you. Or at least, he thinks more of you than he does anybody else. Believe me, I've been paying close attention to that little boy."
"Because you haven't been around a lot?"
Dean knew the moment it fell from his lips that it had been a mistake. But was it really his fault that Lorelai entrusted information such as Rory's three year absence from the quirky town, to him?
"Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry," Dean apologized. "It's just, Lorelai tends to ramble off big secrets she's excited about. Really, the entire town knew the day before you arrived that you were coming."
"And I didn't get a parade?" Rory laughed.
Dean laughed with her, relieved at the light-heartedness of the situation. "No, I guess not."
They were both caught up in laughs that they didn't notice Lucas standing before them, his head cocked to the side as it always was when he was inquiring something, staring up at them with an expression of mixed confusion and happiness.
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"Thank you for the ice cream," Rory said as Dean walked her and Lucas up to their door.
They had stayed in the town square until it started to get dark and Dean walked them both home, offering to be the good gentleman rather than just letting them go their way and he his.
"Yup, thank you," Lucas mimicked.
Dean smiled, "No problem."
He ruffled Lucas' hair, something Rory noticed only Luke and Dean were allowed to do - Kirk had tried it earlier that week and Lucas had stomped on his foot. Dean's gaze was caught by Rory's stare, and the two fell into an uncomfortable silence with Lucas in between them, hands clutching one of Rory's and one of Dean's.
Before anything could be said, the front door swung open to reveal Lorelai.
"There you are," she said in a breathy voice to Rory. "Oh hi, Dean," she said to Dean before turning back to her daughter. "Do you know how freaked I was to not find my hurt son wallowing on his race-car bed with a bag of cookies?"
"What?" Rory asked confused.
"I always give him cookies when he gets hurt," Lorelai replied.
"Ah, eating habits of the Gilmores," Dean noted.
"But he's a Danes, not a Gilmore," Lorelai pointed out.
Dean furrowed his brow. "I thought you gave him the hyphenated version like yours?"
Lorelai shook her head.
"We got ice cream, Mommy," Lucas replied giddily, pulling on the sleeve of Lorelai's shirt.
"Really?" Lorelai asked the small boy with an excited smile. It faded to one of adoration and she replied, "That's great, baby, but who's going to eat all that candy I picked up from the market tonight?"
"I will, I will!" Lucas declared, jumping up and down.
"He's too much like your mother," Dean whispered into Rory's ear while Lorelai's attention was beheld by Lucas.
"Aren't we all just a little bit?" she retorted.
"Mommy, can Dean watch Movie Night with us? Huh, huh, please, please?" Lucas begged, still pulling on Lorelai's shirt sleeve.
Lorelai looked up at Rory and Dean, searching their faces for answers, responses, or even clues on how to avoid answering Lucas' question without upsetting him. Both Rory and Dean looked a little taken aback at the audacity of the inquiry, and turned to each other, exchanging glances. Lorelai saw the uncomfortable silence between the two of them and frowned down at Lucas.
"I don't know, kiddo," she said with a sigh. "It's getting pretty late and I'm sure Dean has to go home."
Lucas looked like he was going to cry.
"No, it's alright with me," Dean rushed in, wanting to avoid hurting the boy's feelings. "I mean, if it's okay with you guys?"
"Fine with me," Rory replied, watching the light slowly drift back into her brother's eyes. Wow the kid was a puppet master.
"You sure?" Lorelai asked, eyeing her daughter and Dean one final time.
Rory nodded.
Lorelai shrugged and said, "Okay," gaining a "Yippee!" from Lucas, who dragged Dean and Rory into the house past Lorelai, having kept hold of both young adults hands. Lorelai shook her head with a smile, and shut the door behind herself.
"So, you two finally resurrected the classic Gilmore Movie Night?" Dean was saying as Lorelai entered the living room.
'Hmm, civil conversation,' Lorelai thought, 'Could be a good sign.'
Being Rory's mother made Lorelai anything but dense and oblivious. She knew very well that Rory and Dean had ended their entire relationship on sore terms - their six year silence had proved that, though Rory had been silent to the entire town for six years also. But Lorelai had heard about their run-in last week, and she'd brought Dean up a couple times after the sour end of their relationship to realize that Rory wasn't so sure of herself when Dean was mentioned much less around. And the same went for Dean when Lorelai brought up Rory.
"Yep," Rory answered Dean back, plopping down on the floor. She turned to Lorelai, "Where's Luke?"
"Working late at the diner," Lorelai said. "Hey Lucas, why don't you help me get the popcorn ready, and then we'll put your pajama's on?" she motioned for the little boy to follow her into the kitchen, leaving both Rory and Dean unaware in the living room.
"Wanna see the cool band-da-dage that Dean and Rory gave me?" he asked, already pulling up his pant leg and thrusting his leg out to his mother.
"Ooh, that is cool," Lorelai commented, sticking the bag of popcorn into the microwave and hitting the necessary buttons to cook it. She led Lucas into his room, which used to be Rory's old room, and pulled out a set of blue pajamas with red sports cars from the second drawer of the dresser. Pulling the boy out of his shirt and pants, she couldn't help but study his behavior. He kept his eyes set on the door with a smile, trying and failing to see around the frame and into the living room where Rory and Dean remained.
He was almost as clever as she was at hiding things. Almost.
"Why'd you get upset when I said Dean had to go?" Lorelai asked the young boy.
"Because I wanted Dean to stay and watch the movie with us."
"Why, kiddo?"
"Because he's my friend."
Wow, this wasn't going anywhere. Lorelai pulled helped Lucas into his pajamas and knelt down in front of him, preventing him from running off to the living room to see whatever it was he wanted to see.
"Lucas," she stressed tiredly, "you never get upset when Dean leaves any other time. Why, when Rory's here, do you get upset?"
Lucas looked down at his feet and frowned.
"Lucas?"
"I want them to be friends."
Lorelai closed her eyes for a minute, her heart aching unlike ever before. It was both out of the kindness her 3-year-old son showed, and the heartbreak he would face at the outcome. She opened her eyes and chewed the inside of her cheek. "Lucas, why?" was all she could ask.
"Because they like each other."
"What makes you say that?"
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They got through watching one movie, and were half way through the second when Lucas yawned tiredly.
"Time for bed," Lorelai said, getting to her feet and brushing off her knees with a drastic groan. "Uh, I'm getting old."
"You don't look it," Rory said, doing the math in her head. She mouthed a 'wow', looking up, "You're 43."
"Thank you, Miss Obvious," Lorelai retorted with a glare, reaching down and picking Lucas up.
Lucas let out a whine of protest but was cut off by another yawn.
Rory watched them leave, and turned back to face Dean. He was standing, gathering his things.
"I should go," he said seeing Rory's questioning look.
"You never finished watching the movie though."
Dean shrugged, "I've seen it before, I know how it ends." He offered her a smile and walked towards the front door.
She heard it click open and click shut with his departure, staring at the floor in front of her the whole time. She looked up at the television screen in time to see a creepily clad Johnny Depp speaking in an unusually high voice to group of children. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Then, Dean's last words seemed to have extra special meaning. They'd watched the original movie on their first date, the date that would end up defining their relationship -- a relationship that didn't end very well.
Tears welled in Rory's eyes and, try as she might to hide them from Lorelai's returning figure, they fell down her cheeks in rivulets.
"Ror? What's wrong? Where's Dean?"
Rory shook her head and, standing to grab her coat and purse, left the house.
Author's Note: Don't you all just love the fact that I have no life and no friends to go away with on Memorial Day Weekend? Heh, lucky you! Hopefully there's still some people who'll review? Purdy puh-lease!
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