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DELETED SCENE

"Rory, Rory, Rory!"

"Lucas, slow down!" Lorelai called as she climbed out of the truck and followed the 4-year-old toward the front door. Luke was behind her, grabbing the fishing gear from the back of the pick-up.

Lucas tried turning the handle on the front door, expecting it to be unlocked since Rory was supposed to be there, but the door didn't budge. He whipped around, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "But Mommy, I wanna show Rory my fishy!" He thrust the net with the fish he'd caught (a little thing about five or so inches long) out to Lorelai as she made her way up onto the porch. "Rory's not here," he added as he watched Lorelai stick the key in the lock and push open the door.

"I know," Lorelai replied as Lucas zoomed passed her towards his room.

"I'm gonna head over to the diner to see how Ceaser's doing," Luke replied. He set the fishing poles and bait box on the porch and leaned over to give Lorelai a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure Rory's fine, just busy."

"Then why won't she answer my calls? She always answers my calls."

"She's fine," he repeated as he climbed in his truck and headed down to the diner.

Lorelai watched him go before entering the house and closing the door behind her. She checked messages and noticed there weren't any. Rory's stuff was still laying around the living room. She headed into the kitchen and eyed Lucas with the fish in his room. "Lucas, get that slimy thing out of there!" she called and he came running out with the fish still in the net.

"I wanna show Dean my fishy!"

"How about we take a picture and you show him that?" Lucas nodded and Lorelai grabbed the digital camera. She snapped a quick photo of Lucas holding the net with the fish and then grabbed her purse. "Alright, let's go."

Lucas ran out the door and Lorelai pulled it shut. She saw Babette sitting with Morry outside on the lawn and called over. ⌠Hey there, Babette, Morry!"

"Hey there, sugar! How was the fishin' trip?"

Lorelai shrugged with a grin. "Luke wouldn't let me steer the boat, but Lucas caught a fish on his own and he's very excited."

Babette looked over to Lucas who was grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down at the side of the car. "That's great news!"

"Yeah, he wants to show Dean the picture of him and the fish, so we're going up to the hospital to see him. If you see Rory, can you let her know?"

"Didn't you hear? Oh, well, of course not, you've been away fishin'." Babette rolled her eyes and waved her hand dismissively through the air. "Dean came home just yesterday. Sherle says she saw Rory dropping him off at his house, going in, and never coming out. What'd you think? Beautiful babies, I always said."

Lorelai could nearly feel her eyes bug out and she waved a hurried goodbye to Babette before helping Lucas into the car and climbing in the other side.

"I'nt the hospital the other way?" Lucas asked as Lorelai pulled up in front of Dean's house five minutes later.

"Yes, but Dean's home now."

She took Lucas' hand as they walked up the drive to the front door. Rory's car was indeed parked in the driveway off to their right. Lorelai knocked twice on the door and rang the doorbell, Lucas bouncing steadily on his feet. Jeeze, that kid never sat still. No doubt he was a Gilmore.

"Rory!"

And Lucas was wrapping his arms around Rory after she'd pulled open the door. Her hair was wet, so she'd obviously taken a shower, and the shirt she was wearing was clearly not hers and must have belonged to Dean. Lorelai eyed her with a questioning brow.

"My, my, my."

"C'mon in and we'll talk," Rory said with a sigh, allowing Lorelai entrance and shutting the door behind her.

"Rory, I caught a fishy!" Lucas replied with excitement.

"That's great."

"Where's Dean? I wanna show him the pictures," Lucas was already trying to snatch the digital camera out of Lorelai's grasp.

"Upstairs, but be careful," Rory said, and Lucas bounded up the stairs.

"Let's talk over coffee," Lorelai replied, heading into the kitchen with Rory following closely.

"Mom, he called and said he needed a ride."

"And what's all this?" Lorelai motioned to the stacks of pros and cons lists on the table, along with the spotless counters and sinks. "You just felt like staying? Cleaning? Wearing his clothes?"

"I didn't bring my own set, and it's just his shirt," Rory defended. "And the cleaning was only the laundry. The kitchen was pretty much spotless when we arrived."

"Rory, you're playing house with a boy you dismissed years ago. Or do you not remember all the heartache the two of you caused each other all those times? Because I can clearly remember the pieces of broken heart I had to glue back together for my daughter."

"It's not like that."

"Then what is it? What are you doing here, Rory?"

"I don't know!" Rory scrubbed at her face and collapsed into one of the chairs. "I just... I tried to hate him, Mom. I really did. But every time I come back to why he's perfect for me."

"Rory, there are millions of guys in this world that are perfect for you. Dean's time is done and over. You made it done and over when you chose someone else. Don't do this to him, don't pull him in and give him the false hope that he finally has you forever only to get scared and rip it away with the next guy that comes along. Don't do that to him!"

"I don't mean to!"

"But you do, Rory. Every single time you do."

"Aren't you supposed to be my mother? Why defend him?"

"Because he's my friend, Rory. He's Lucas' friend. And I know you don't mean to, hon, but you do hurt him. And I wish to God that I could have been a better role model when it came to love, but I can't change any of that. I just don't want you to hurt him because you're afraid. And that's the truth, Ror. That's what upsets me."

Rory glanced up at her, tears coming down her face. "So what do I do? Ignore the feelings? Go back to New York and simply forget about him... forget about Stars Hollow and you, Luke, and Lucas? Is that it?"

Author's Note: Originally, this was supposed to be the beginning of Chapter 11. It doesn't really fit with where the plot's going, so I scrapped it and labeled it as a deleted scene.