13 October 2008

The following morning, Dean and Sam appeared in the dining room for breakfast after the main rush had passed. Dean was hanging his head from the headache he had and Sam was just looking at him. He still didn't know what had happened the day before at Lorelai's house. He had a feeling he never would.

As they sat down, a server approached and placed a small plate and some orange juice in front of Dean; on the plate were two pills and a note from Sookie. She then returned with coffee for both boys.

Dean picked up the note and read it,

"Dean, take these, they're Tylenol

and don't argue. Breakfast will be

out in a moment."

He snorted, but took the pills and drank the orange juice. He handed the note over to his brother. Sam read it and smiled, "I thought it was her day off."

Dean just shrugged; he was leaning over the table. His head hurt too much to want to communicate. He started sipping his coffee.

A moment later, the server returned with food for both boys. Dean's plate had sausage, eggs and hash browns with cheese; and another note. Dean knew the food should have turned his stomach, but he decided it was perfect and he started to eat. He picked up the note, read it and laughed.

"This is Lorelai's favourite breakfast

when she's been drinking too much.

It worked with your Dad, too.

Don't worry, you'll keep it down.

I want that ride!"

Grinning a little, he handed the second note to Sam. "She's a pushy broad, isn't she? You can't tell just from looking at her."

Sam was eating the fresh fruit, yogurt and granola that had been sent out for him and he just smiled.

Once again, after they had finished their food, they lingered at the table; a short while later, Sookie came out of the kitchen. She sat down and looked at Dean, examining him, "Lorelai told me you were upset yesterday and that you nearly killed a bottle of Jack. Do you feel better, now?

Dean nodded, but didn't say anything.

Then she took a deep breath and sighed, "I should probably tell you... I don't know what happened to Rory and Dean eight years ago, but I know it wasn't drugs. I figure whatever happened then is why you boys are here now."

Both boys looked at her; Sam was trying to think of something to say, but Dean just looked at her. His expression wasn't giving anything away, "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. I just know I'm right. John never told me what it was he was here for, but I could tell it was something… dark. He had a terrible time the last time he was here. We were still at the Independence back then. The fire at Lorelai's – well he killed a bottle the next day."

"Lorelai and Rory were never the same after John and you boys came here the first time." There were tears in her eyes, but they didn't fall. "They would still make jokes, drink copious amounts of coffee, make obscure references, eat appalling amounts of junk food, but…" She shook her head, "They weren't the same."

Dean looked at her and nodded, silently asking her to continue.

"Rory had been intense about her school work before, but after, it was as if it was a lifeline for her. She and Dean were homeschooled the rest of that year and part of the next. After the baby was born, Rory was either doing school work or taking care of her son, sometimes both at the same time. She was beyond focused; it was as if she was possessed, or… or… driven. Because she was so focused, she kept Dean on track. They both graduated on time and Rory graduated with honours. It all looked normal, but it wasn't."

She paused for a moment, perhaps waiting for Dean or Sam to say something. When they didn't, she continued, "But the clue… the clue was Lane. Everyone in town knew that Lane's mother was a harridan. She pretty much controlled Lane's every movement and Lane allowed it, but when Rory became pregnant… well, the neighbor heard everything. The Kim's neighbor is a terrible gossip – what she heard, everyone found out about. Lane wasn't being quiet about it and Mrs. Kim wasn't either, for that matter. Lane never backed down – never. It was as if whatever had happened to Rory… well, Lane wasn't going to let her mother stop her."

"Lane never missed her mother's curfew and obeyed most of her mother's rules, she kept her grades up, she attended church regularly, but she rarely spoke to her mother in more than one word sentences. As soon as she graduated, she was out the door. It wasn't until Lane met Zach, that her relationship with her mother started to heal. Zach is actually the one who brought them back together. When Zach wanted to marry Lane, he approached her mother first."

"Anyway, after your visit, Lane was… different; more confident, she made more decisions on her own and she started to fight her mother more often. She became a, sort of, well… a warrior and their relationship was seriously damaged. Mrs. Kim could and did prevent Lane from getting her driver's license in a last ditch effort to control her, but it didn't stop Lane. She would go to Hartford on the bus whenever she felt like it. She never told her mother where she was going or what she was doing, but she would come back with a notebook. She would store it at the inn or I saw it once at the Gilmore's house or maybe she kept it in her locker at school; but I know she never took it home."

She looked guilty and paused for a minute while she decided whether she should confess this next part. She glanced up at Sam. He was looking at her with curiosity, but not censure. Quietly she said, "I looked at it. One time! It was full of references to the occult. There were weird symbols and Latin phrases and pentagrams inside circles. I distinctly remember one inside a sun's corona." She looked at Dean, "Dean Forester was an athlete, well… he still is. Sometimes, he goes for a run past my house. Occasionally, he runs without a shirt on." She blushed and worked her jaw a little, "He's lovely to look at…" She looked around the room waiting for the blush on her face to let up a little. The boys grinned at that. Finally she continued, "There's a tattoo on his lower back, you can't see all of it, but it's the same symbol as the one I saw in Lane's notebook."

Dean took pity on her. He pulled down the collar of his shirt, "It looks like this one, doesn't it?"

Sookie's eyes widened with shock and she just nodded. "What does it mean?"

Dean shook his head, "It doesn't matter." He smiled gently at her, "You should just forget about it; if you can."

She started to protest, but Dean leaned toward her to whisper in her ear, she leaned toward him as well, "You don't want to know. I don't want you to know. Your heart is pure and your soul is without blemish. I need you to stay that way." He kissed her on the cheek near her ear and pulled away. Speaking in a regular tone of voice, he sat up and said, "I'll take you for a ride later today."

He stood up and left the room, Sam followed.

After they left the room, Dean looked at his brother, "We need to talk to Lane."

SPNGGSPNGG

They went to Luke's Diner in search of the girl first, but the guy behind the counter told them it was her day off. He wouldn't tell them where she lived, but did tell them her married name. They found her in the tiny little town phone book.

They arrived at her house and approached the door. Just as Sam knocked on the door, they heard a crash and then a scream. A one or two moments later, the door was flung open by Lane. She took one look at the men at her door and thrust the small child she was holding into Dean's hands. Then she disappeared back into the house. Dean was totally shocked to be unexpectedly holding a toddler and he followed Lane into the house; holding the baby before him. He was carefully maneuvering around the room which was strewn with toys and sippy cups as if it was a mine field and he was holding the mine.

Sam followed behind him into the room. He was moving slowly and carefully as well, but he was also smirking because he'd rarely seen his big brother look so rattled. The scream they had been hearing became louder as Lane came rushing into the room from the hall and passed them as she flew into the kitchen holding a clone to the child Dean was holding. They also noticed the clone was screaming and blood was running from the small child's nose.

Sam immediately followed Lane into the kitchen and Dean set the small child he'd been holding down on the floor. He finally noticed that the child had a growing bump on his forehead.

"Sam! I need an icepack!" He yelled to be heard over the screams still coming from the kitchen.

A moment later, Sam opened the door and tossed a towel wrapped bundle toward Dean, who caught it one handed. Dean sat down on the floor and pulled the little boy onto his lap along with a dump truck and a sippy cup with some juice in it. Carefully he placed the ice pack on the child's head and held it there. The little boy ignored Dean and the icepack. He held the juice in one hand and the truck in the other. Occasionally he took a drink while he played with the truck. After a few more earsplitting minutes, the child in the kitchen stopped screaming and in the silence, Dean could hear Sam murmuring to Lane and water running. A moment later, they both came out of the kitchen and moved over to the couch.

Lane smiled at Dean, sitting on the floor with Steve in his lap, she sighed, "You ever have one of those days?"

He smiled back, "Pretty much every day."

Sam was looking at his brother with an unreadable expression on his face. Dean was holding the child on his lap with care and he looked like it was something he did every day.

Lane was gesturing to the child Dean was holding, "They collided; Kwan's nose versus Steve's head. Guess which one was harder?" She looked at Steve in Dean's lap, "Does he have a bump?"

"A small one."

"Well, your timing is pretty good; I couldn't get the blood to stop." She turned to Sam, "Thanks."

Sam smiled at her and Dean replied, "Sam was always the best of us as a medic." Lane just nodded.

Dean and Sam exchanged looks; Sam's expression clearly told his brother to take the lead on this one. Dean cleared his throat. "Lane, we were talking to Sookie earlier… she told us something… and we just want to clear it up."

Lane looked at him curiously, "Okay."

The look in Dean's eyes was intense, "Are you hunting?"

Lane spluttered and laughed a little, "I… am a rank coward. Why would she tell you I was hunting?"

"She didn't, but she told us about your notebook… we just assumed."

Sam was watching Lane and when she started to look upset, he interjected. "She told us she looked inside the notebook at the same time she told us that she knew drugs were not involved in what happened with Rory and Dean eight years ago."

"She knows?"

Dean answered, "Not everything, not even some things, but she was curious back then and she looked in your notebook and saw a symbol and now that same symbol is on Dean's back." Once again, Dean pulled back his shirt and showed Lane the tattoo.

Lane nodded. "I shouldn't be surprised; curiosity was always something she fought. Leaving it at the inn was probably foolish…" She looked down at her boys and saw that Kwan was asleep. She got up and moved him into the boys' room. Then she came back and got Steve out of Dean's arms and did the same.

Dean got up from the floor and moved over to a chair.

Lane returned and ran her hands through her hair. "No, I'm not hunting, I'm a researcher and, I suppose you could call me a dispatcher."

Sam looked at her with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"Your dad told me I had good instincts – first time we met." Both boys vaguely remembered that and they nodded. "I find hunts and locate the nearest hunters and send them."

Dean was surprised, "You're kidding!"

"Nope.

"No seriously, you're kidding."

Lane grinned, "Nope. Angelina taught me how to read the signs. I've never been wrong. I sent John on one once; down in New Orleans. Just before Katrina actually. I can tell you, I had a few sleepless nights on that one."

Dean cleared his throat, "I took that job. I barely got out of there ahead of the storm. I was in evacuation traffic for most of a day." He looked at Sam, "That was just before I came to get you."

Lane nodded, "I'm glad you got out okay. John never told me that he sent you. He just said he'd take care of it."

Dean nodded. There was nothing more to say so, as one, they stood up to leave.

"Okay…" Sam looked at her and smiled; then he gestured to the boys' room, "How old are they?"

"They're one and a half."

Dean looked surprised, "Same age as Lorelai's?"

Lane smiled, "They're about a month older." She looked at the boys, "Can you imagine? A small town like this; with two sets of twins born so close together? And then a third set born the following year? It was the most excitement this town has seen in… well, ever. Lorelai and I held a joint First Birthday bash for them last spring in the square and Taylor was threatening to create a Twin Festival out of it! Especially after Sookie had hers! He kept going on about some town in Ohio..."

They laughed.

She turned to Sam, "Thanks again, Sam, for…" She waved her hands at the boys' room.

Sam smiled down at her, "It's no problem – take care."

The boys left and Lane closed the door with a sigh.

SPNGGSPNGG

Later that day, Dean pulled up across the street from Sookie's house. Two small children were playing in the front yard and Sookie was coming out of her house. A man was following her, carrying two babies in his arms and talking urgently with her. Dean assumed this was Jackson, but made no attempt to go meet him. He was afraid one of those babies would be plopped into his arms like before. He leaned against his car with his arms crossed and waited for her.

"Jackson! Don't worry! The kids'll be fine while I'm gone." She giggled as she turned around to him. She put her hand on his face and leaned over the babies to kiss him. Then she kissed the babies and waved to her other children. "Bye, bye! I'll be home soon!"

She walked up to Dean, who smiled at her, took her arm and escorted her around to the passenger side door. He opened it and helped her in and then moved around to the driver's side. As he did, he gave Jackson a cocky little grin and a salute and then he got into the car and drove away. Sookie was grinning and giggling excitedly beside him.

SPNGGSPNGG

After his drive with Sookie, Dean arrived back at the inn to find Lorelai at the front desk, on the phone. He was grinning as he thought about the ride with Sookie. Lorelai smiled at him, but stopped him from going to his room and pointed to the library, wordlessly asking him to wait for her there.

He lost his grin and just nodded and went into the little room. He knew she was getting ready to kick them out. While he was waiting, Sam came in.

Sam smiled at him, "Hey, how was your drive?"

Dean smiled a little at the memory, "She chatted and giggled the entire time. I managed to make her husband jealous and she loved it."

Sam grinned at him, "I think she has a little crush on you." He paused for a moment, "I think you have a little crush on her, too."

Dean gave him a look and ignored his brother's last comment, "Yeah well, we'll be gone soon, so it doesn't matter."

"What do you mean?"

"Lorelai stopped me from going up to the room. I assume it's because she's wants to kick us out in person."

Sam had doubts about that, but didn't voice them, "I don't know, maybe. She called me down."

At that moment, Lorelai came in with a tray of cups and a coffee pot. She set it down on the table and started pouring.

As she handed them cups, she grinned at them, "I don't know if you noticed it or not, but I practically inhale coffee. It's my lifeline. It drives Luke crazy; he keeps telling me it'll kill me."

Dean and Sam exchanged a look and took sips of the hot drink. They didn't say anything.

Lorelai took a couple of sips of her coffee before she started talking. She took a deep breath and sighed, "We owe your dad… everything." She was looking down at the cup she held in her hands. "There's nothing we can do about that, though, because he's gone."

Then she looked at the boys, "But we can… honour him by taking care of his sons."

Dean was looking surprised at that, "Lorelai…"

She held up her hand, "Lane tells us things from time to time… so I have an idea about the work you do. And from what I understand… it takes you all over?"

The boys just nodded.

She continued, "Well, from now on, whenever you're in this area, please come see us; and call every once in a while to check in, like your dad did. Whenever you come here, you'll be welcome. There's a room for you when you need it; a safe haven."

She smiled at them, "This inn is an important thing to me. It's my home just as much as the one I share with Luke and the babies; so consider this your home, too."

She turned to Dean, "You had a bad day yesterday. I hope today has been better?"

He nodded.

She grinned, "Sookie called me. She said you made Jackson jealous. You walked her to the door, kissed her on the cheek and waited until she went into the house before you left."

Dean looked a little embarrassed and Sam was grinning again.

"She loved it! She'll think back on that and smile, which will make Jackson crazy. You made her whole year!"

Lorelai took another sip of her coffee. She looked a little uncomfortable about this next part. She put down her cup, "When you arrived the other day, Luke called me. He said you were alive and in his diner. I can't tell you how happy I was to hear you two were okay! Later though, Lane called, she told me to really look at you boys. She said something was seriously wrong. She only saw you once before, but she knew something more than just John's death had happened. We've learned to trust Lane's instincts."

Neither Sam nor Dean was looking at her.

"Now I know what it was." She reached over and grasped Dean's hand. "You need to rest; for a couple of days… if you can. Stay here and rest." She took Sam's hand then, "You, too. So much has happened. Stay."

She got up and left.