Disclaimer: All characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the WB.

Spoilers: Takes place after "Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days"

Author's Note: Okay, we've all seen it - the way that Lorelai always talks up Dean to Rory and always tries to convince Rory how great he is - and it got me thinking about this unconventional couple. . . and well, this story is the result of all that thinking. I know it's not very good and I know it would never happen, but my silly little imagination felt like exploring something different. :)

* * *

Lorelai was sitting at the kitchen table sipping her coffee. Rory wasn't home - she'd gone out somewhere with Dean, trying to make good on the promise that she had made to give him her full attention.

Lorelai wasn't safe in an empty house, because an empty house always made her think. From the disastrous dinner at her parents' house to her weepy confession to Luke to her discussions with Rory - all of the events of the past few days were running through her head.

As she started thinking about Rory, Lorelai sighed loudly and glanced up at the ceiling. "God, I hope you don't make her love life as complicated as you've made mine." She pushed her coffee mug aside and rested her head on the table.

Rory didn't know how good she had it - to have a boyfriend as devoted as Dean. Sure, sometimes he was overprotective, jealous, possessive even, but it just showed how much he really loved her. It just showed how much he didn't want to lose her. Lorelai could only hope to find someone to love her the way Dean loved Rory.

Lorelai knew firsthand how difficult it was to find someone - she'd been searching forever, looking for that one person to have the 'whole package' with. Lorelai couldn't bear to see her daughter go through the same thing that she was going through. She didn't want Rory to be thirty-three years old and still searching for love.

Sure, Rory said that she wanted to make things right with Dean, but Lorelai knew better - because Rory's a terrible liar.

As much as she hated to admit it, Lorelai knew that Rory was developing feelings for Jess. She saw her drifting away from her relationship with Dean - perfect, responsible, reliable Dean - and it made her sad. Lorelai found it hard to imagine losing something that was so rare to find - someone to love you for who you are, someone who was as understanding and patient as Dean was.

"You don't know how good you have it, kid," Lorelai mumbled, her voice echoing throughout the empty kitchen.

* * *

Over a week later, on the following Sunday, Lorelai walked into Luke's Diner and sat down at a table. Within a few seconds, Luke walked over with a mug of coffee and set it on the table. "Hey."

Lorelai looked at the coffee mug, then looked up at him and nodded approvingly. "Wow, you're like Speed Racer with the coffee today. Impressive."

"Yeah, well, the people from Ripley's are doing a story on my amazing coffee-serving skills," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled, happy that their banter had quickly returned to how it once was. "Ah, good luck with that."

"Thanks," he replied. "What'll you have?"

"Pie, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge," Lorelai replied. "In that order, please."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Is that your lunch?"

"Yup," she replied. "And if you start to lecture me, I'll climb up on this table and start singing the chorus to 'I Touch Myself' as loud as I can."

Luke smirked. "You would not."

Lorelai stood up and started singing softly, "I don't want anybody else, when I think about -"

"Okay," Luke interrupted. He put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her down into her seat. "Okay, enough. No lectures."

"Thank you," Lorelai replied. "Pie, vanilla ice cream, hot fudge - I'm timing you for the record books." She glanced down at her watch. "Go!"

Luke rolled his eyes as he walked away from her table.

Lorelai smiled to herself as she strummed her hands on the table and waited for her food. She gazed out the window and watched the townspeople walking by.

Her smile was replaced by a look of suspicion when she saw Rory and Dean sitting on the steps of the gazebo. She watched them talk for several minutes, and didn't even look up when Luke brought her plate to the table.

The strong feeling in her gut told Lorelai that this was the conversation that she knew was coming - they were breaking up. She tried to determine which one of them looked more hurt, but she couldn't tell from so far away.

As she continued watching them, her ice cream slowly melted into a vanilla- and hot-fudge-streaked moat around her pie. Luke walked past her table and narrowed his eyes at her, then cleared his throat. "Uh, you do realize that your - "

"Shh!" she hissed at him, waving him off. As he shook his head slightly and walked away, Lorelai ran over the contents of her refrigerator and tried to remember if she had enough food for wallowing. As she was making a mental list of some things to pick up from the market, she saw Rory and Dean stand up, hug loosely, and go their separate ways.

Lorelai quickly dropped some money on the table and rushed out of the diner. She speed-walked down the sidewalk toward Rory, and when she caught up, put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking.

"Hey," Lorelai said as she stepped in front on her. "What's - " Her voice trailed off when she saw Rory's teary eyes. "Honey?"

Rory's lower lip trembled as she whispered, "We broke up."

Lorelai frowned and pulled her into a hug. "Aw, I'm so sorry."

Rory hugged her back tightly as she sniffled. "No, actually, it's okay, it was a mutual thing. . ."

"It was?"

"Mmhmm." Rory wiped her tears and pulled back. "I mean, it's still emotional and everything, but . . .trust me, we both wanted to do it."

Lorelai rubbed Rory's shoulders. "Aw, that's still . . ." She paused and narrowed her eyes. "Do it?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Not do it, like 'do it'. . .I meant we both wanted to break up."

Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, good." She paused a moment and took a deep breath. "So, tell me. . .does this mean that you want to go out with . . ." Her voice trailed off, as she couldn't bring herself to say his name.

Rory swallowed hard. "I think."

"You think?" Lorelai asked. "Or you do?"

"I do," Rory confirmed.

"But what about that other girl?" Lorelai reminded her.

Rory looked down at the sidewalk. "They broke up," she said quietly. "I talked to him this morning. They broke up."

Lorelai pursed her lips and nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. "Okay, well. . ." She put her arm around Rory's shoulder and they started walking home. "I guess we don't need to go buy wallowing food, then, huh?"

Rory shook her head. "Not this time."

* * *

A few nights later, Lorelai was sprawled on the couch watching television in the darkened living room when Rory walked out of her bedroom. "I'm going to Lane's," Rory said. "I'll be back by nine."

"Okay," Lorelai said, not looking away from the television.

"How many margaritas have you had?" Rory asked.

Lorelai glanced at the coffee table at her half-filled glass. "Um, that's my third."

"And when are you gonna tell me the reason behind this random over- consumption of alcohol?" Rory asked.

"When I figure out how Justin made it to the end and Tamyra didn't," Lorelai replied. "Or when I'm able to watch a complete episode of Alias without becoming confused."

"So you're never gonna tell me?" Rory asked.

"There's really nothing to tell, hon," Lorelai said with a shrug. "It's one of those 'I really need to just hang out and let loose' kind of nights."

"So you're letting loose by drinking margaritas and watching 'Coming to America'?"

"Yeah, I'm a wild one, aren't I?"

"The wildest," Rory agreed.

Lorelai smiled. "See you later."

"Bye." Rory walked out the front door.

Lorelai continued watching the movie for another half an hour when a noise outside caught her attention. She sat up and muted the television, then turned around and stared out the front window. When she saw a shadow on her porch, she jumped up and ran to the front door.

She peered out the window until she saw the shadow approaching the front door, then she quickly pulled it open and yelled, "Ha!"

Dean, startled, dropped the box he was carrying. "Whoa, geez! It's just me!"

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief and clutched her chest with her hand. "God, Dean, you scared me."

"I scared you?" Dean asked with a laugh. "You just gave me a heart attack, but I scared you?"

"Sorry about that. I'm home all alone, I've been drinking - it all adds up to me being easily scared," Lorelai said. "What are you doing here?"

Dean kneeled down and picked up the spilled contents of the box he had dropped. "Uh, dropping this stuff off. . . literally."

"Oh. . what is it?" Lorelai asked.

Dean stood back up with the box. "Some of Rory's things. . .books, CD's, just . . .stuff I found around." He held it out toward Lorelai. "Can you give it to her?"

"Oh." Lorelai nodded and took the box from him. "Sure."

Dean took a few steps back. "Okay, I know you probably hate me now, so I'll just be on my way," he said. He turned around and started to walk down the porch steps.

"No, I don't hate you," Lorelai insisted.

Surprised, he turned back around and walked back over to her. "You don't? Really?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, I know it wasn't your fault. I have nothing against you, I promise."

Dean shoved his hands into his pockets. "Thanks." He shifted his feet uncomfortably and stared down at the ground.

"Uh, you wanna come in and talk?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't really have much to say," Dean replied with a shrug.

"Well, I do," Lorelai replied. "Hard to believe, huh?"

Dean gave her a small smile. "Yeah, that's so unlike you."

Lorelai smiled. "So. . .you got a minute to come in and listen?"

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, I got a minute."

Lorelai stepped back and he walked into the house. She closed the front door and set the box on the floor, then led him to the kitchen. "You want a drink or something?" Lorelai asked.

"Nah, I'm good," Dean replied.

Lorelai sat down at the table, then gestured to the chair next to her. "Have a seat."

As Dean sat down, he said, "Feels like déjà vu."

"Yeah, it does," Lorelai agreed. She bit her bottom lip for a moment. "Are you okay. . .I mean, with the whole breaking-up thing?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"She told me it was a mutual thing," Lorelai said. "But I know you were a lot more invested in this relationship than she was, so. . .it would make sense if you were taking it a little harder."

"I'm taking it fine," Dean replied. "It's not something that just happened out of the blue, you know. I'd been thinking about it for awhile. I mean, not to sound rude or anything, but over these last few months she wasn't exactly in contention for Girlfriend of the Year."

Lorelai nodded. "I know she wasn't. I tried to tell her that. I told her she wasn't treating you right."

"You did?"

"Yeah." Lorelai leaned forward and smiled admiringly at him. "Dean, you were amazingly sweet to her. You put her up on this pedestal and treated her like she was the most special thing in the entire world."

"Yeah, well, that's what I thought you were supposed do when you love someone," Dean said. He rolled his eyes and added, "I guess I was wrong."

Lorelai shook her head. "No, you weren't wrong. You had such good intentions, but it just. . .didn't work out this time. She didn't really. . ." Her voice trailed off.

"Love me the way I loved her," Dean finished. He let out a disappointed sigh. "I know."

Lorelai nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry." She paused a moment, then asked quietly, "Do you miss her?"

Dean shrugged. "Sure, I miss her."

"I just want you to know," Lorelai said, "that I really, really wanted it to work out with you two."

"Thanks," Dean replied appreciatively.

"I mean, it was probably crazy for me to think that you two would be together for the rest of your lives, but. . . part of me was hoping that she'd be that rare girl who fell in love once and it would last forever," Lorelai said, her eyes staring off into space. "You know, so she'd never have to go through all the usual hardships of dating." She sighed softly and brought her gaze back to Dean. "But. . .things happen."

"Things happen," Dean agreed. They were both quiet for a few seconds, and Dean glanced around the kitchen. His gaze wandered over to Lorelai and eyed the low-cut neckline of her tank top, then he swallowed hard and quickly glanced away before she could notice.

Lorelai reached over and placed her hand on top of his. "You know, you're gonna find someone else, someone who loves you as much as you love them. You're gonna make someone really happy."

Dean smiled shyly. "Thank you. I appreciate that."

"I think that's why I wanted Rory to realize how great you are, because I know what it's like out there in the dating world. Trust me, I've been looking. . .guys like you are very hard to come by," Lorelai said. "I mean, trying to find someone to treat me even half as good as you treated her. . ." She exhaled loudly. "Well, it ain't easy. In fact, it's damn near impossible."

"Uh, I'm sure you'll find it someday," he said, keeping his gaze on her delicate fingers that were still resting atop of his.

"I highly doubt it," she muttered as she pulled her hand back. Her lower lip trembled as she said, "I've just about given up on this whole 'finding love' business."

He watched her as she stared down at the table. Her wavy hair had fallen forward and was blocking his view of her face, but her sniffling tipped him off that she'd started to cry. Embarrassed, she covered her face with her hands and turned sideways in her chair so she was facing away from him.

His eyes widened slightly and he became unsure of what to say. He glanced around the room questioningly, trying to figure a way out of this situation, and contemplated just quietly sliding out the back door.

However, as he brought his gaze back to Lorelai, he felt too sorry for her to just get up and leave. His eyes glazed over her body, watching it shake slightly as she cried, and he suddenly felt a wave of compassion.

He slid his chair closer to Lorelai and put a hand on her back. "Hey, you'll find it," he said soothingly. "You know what they say - that you find something when you stop looking for it, right? You just. . ."

Surprised by his initial touch, Lorelai's body tensed up slightly. However, as he began rubbing her back as he spoke, she relaxed and began enjoying the feeling of comfort it brought her. She tuned out his words and concentrated on his actions, and as his hand continued gliding over her back, she felt a small surge of arousal that she knew she shouldn't be feeling. She opened her eyes and shook her head slightly to bring her back to reality. He had finished talking and had removed his hand from her body, and Lorelai had almost forgotten why she was crying in the first place.

Lorelai turned around to face him and gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you." She stared at him for a few seconds before she added, "You know, I was jealous."

"Jealous of what?" he asked, narrowing his eyes with confusion.

"Of Rory," she admitted. "That she had someone like you who loved her so much." Lorelai swallowed hard and shook her head slightly. "I just really . . ." She paused and closed her eyes momentarily, and Dean stared at her expectantly. She opened her eyes and sighed. "I really hope that I'm able to find someone like you. You're just. . .such a great guy."

"Thank you," he said with an embarrassed smile. He hesitated a moment, then rubbed her knee and added, "You'll find it."

"I hope so," she said.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lorelai realized that his hand was still on her knee, and she slowly brought her gaze down to look at it. As he started to pull it away, she placed her hand on top of his to keep it there, then squeezed it gently as she looked back up at him.

He glanced down at their hands, then looked back at her. He stared into her eyes and tried to read what she was thinking. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat and quickly stood up. "Uh, I should get going."

Lorelai shook her head slightly, then nodded. "Right. . .right." She stood up and followed Dean down the hall to the front entryway.

He pulled open the door and stepped onto the porch, then turned around. "So. . ."

"So. . .uh, thanks for the conversation," Lorelai said. "And for not freaking out when I started crying."

"No problem," Dean replied. He lingered on the porch for a few seconds like he wanted to say something else, but then turned and walked down the porch steps.

Lorelai slowly closed the front door, then turned around and leaned against it with a sigh. "What are you doing, Lorelai?" she mumbled to herself. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands.

A few seconds later, a knock on the door startled her.

She turned around and pulled it open, surprised to see that Dean was back again. "Dean, what are you . . ." Her eyes widened as he walked past her into the house. "Uh, come on in."

"Okay, at first I was just gonna go home and think about it and try to make sense of everything, but it'd be a whole lot easier if you told me what just went on here," Dean said.

Lorelai closed the door and followed him into the living room. "What are you talking about?" They stood face to face behind the couch.

Dean gestured toward the kitchen. "You're telling me that you weren't just. . .that in the kitchen, you didn't. . .that. . ." He stammered as he tried to find the right words. "That you. . ."

"What?" Lorelai asked. "That I what?"

Dean stared into her bright blue eyes that reminded him so much of Rory's. He was breathing heavily as he tried to control his emotions, and he took a few steps back from her.

"Dean. . ." Lorelai started.

"Nevermind," he mumbled. "I have to go." He walked past her and headed toward the front door.

Lorelai followed behind him. "If you have something to say, just say it."

Dean paused with his hand on the doorknob. He was silent for a moment, almost too embarrassed to say what he was thinking, but then decided to take her advice and just say it.

He turned around and shrugged. "I don't know, I just . . .you were giving me some pretty weird signals, Lorelai."

Lorelai swallowed hard and glanced down at the floor. "Signals?"

"Yes, signals," Dean said. "I mean, in the kitchen with the touching and the squeezing my hand and the 'oh, you're such a great guy' and all that stuff. . .what am I supposed to think about that?"

"I don't know, maybe that I'm a nice person?" Lorelai suggested.

Dean sighed loudly. "Look, maybe I'm crazy, but I need you to answer me. If you tell me that those things weren't what I thought they were, then I'll leave and forget about it." He folded his arms across his chest as he stared down at her.

Lorelai put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. She looked past him at the wall as she said, "It wasn't. . .what you thought it was."

He stared at her for a moment, then declared, "You're lying."

Lorelai sighed. "Look, you asked me, I told you. I think it's time for - "

Dean silenced her by stepping forward and pressing his lips against hers.

Surprised, Lorelai quickly pulled away from him and took a step back. "Oh my God." Lorelai didn't know what was worse - the fact that he had actually done it or the fact that she had secretly wanted him to.

Lorelai shook her head. "No, this cannot happen - understand? It can't!" She covered her face with her hands and muttered, "Oh my God. This is a dream. I'm gonna wake up and it'll all be a dream."

Dean took a step toward her. He gently removed her hands from her face, and to his surprise, she didn't protest. He stared into her eyes as he ran his hands over her arms, and his touch sent an exciting chill through her body.

Dean cradled her face in his hands and kissed her again. This time Lorelai's lips softened and she returned the kiss. She brought her hands up around his neck and pulled him closer to her as he dropped his hands to her waist.

When they finally pulled apart from each other, Lorelai was panting to catch her breath. She stared up at him with her chest heaving, her body telling her to do one thing but her conscience telling her to do another. He stared back at her curiously, waiting anxiously to see what she would do next.

She ignored her conscience.

"Oh my God, I'm so going to hell for this," she muttered as she leaned in to kiss him again.

"I guess I'll see you there," he replied in between kisses.

Lorelai ran her fingers through his hair as they kissed and he explored the curves of her back with his. Their mouths opened, and Lorelai let out a soft moan as their tongues grazed over each other for the first time.

Dean pulled back from her lips and kissed down to her neck. As he began sucking on her soft skin, Lorelai looked toward the ceiling and sighed. "Dean," she muttered. "We have to stop."

He pulled his lips away from her neck just long enough to ask, "Why?"

"Because...we just - "

Dean cut her off by kissing her again, and she eagerly kissed him back. Not breaking the contact of their lips, he walked her backwards until she was pinned up against the hallway wall. Her interlocking fingers were resting on the back of his neck as he brought a hand to the bottom of her shirt.

When she felt his fingers against the bare skin of her stomach, finally, as if all the Gods of common sense came together to help her out, she put her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her. "No, we can't do this," she said sternly. "I mean it."

"But we both want to," he reminded her.

"That doesn't matter," she said. "This is wrong on so many different levels! You know it, I know it, the dancing Rabbi knows it - we can't do this!" She turned and walked into the living room, and Dean followed her.

She picked up her margarita from earlier and finished it in one gulp, then collapsed on the couch. She stared up at his disappointed face and shook her head. "Don't give me that look. Did you actually think something could really happen between us?"

"Not before tonight," he replied. "But then in the kitchen. . . "

"What happened in the kitchen was nothing," Lorelai told him. "It was the attempt of flirtation by a desperate woman who had just spent the night drinking - it didn't mean anything."

"But I - " he started.

"And you don't want this, Dean," Lorelai interrupted. "You think you do because you miss Rory a lot more than you think you do and right now I'm the closest thing you can have to her. . .but you don't want me."

"That's not true," Dean insisted as he sat down next to her on the couch.

"It's absolutely true," Lorelai said. "You'll go home and think about it, and you'll come to your senses and you'll realize just how true it is." She gestured toward the front hall. "All that stuff that happened - it was a one time thing. Forget about it. It's never gonna happen again."

Dean leaned back against the couch cushion and sighed. "Fine."

"And it stays between us, do you understand? You can't say a word to anyone about it ever. I mean it - spilling this secret will only cause a lot of pain and trouble and an entire town's hatred against me," Lorelai said seriously. "And I don't even want to begin to think about what Rory would do. There's no doubt in my mind that this would completely destroy our relationship."

Dean nodded. "I know."

They both sat in silence for several minutes before Lorelai glanced at the clock on the mantle and said, "You better go. She'll be home soon."

Dean stood up and walked slowly toward the side door. When he reached it, he paused and turned back to look at her. Lorelai stared at him for a second before she stood up and walked over to him. She reached her arms up around his neck and hugged him. "Bye Dean."

Dean pulled back from the hug. "Bye Lorelai." He walked out the side door and pulled it closed behind him, and Lorelai stared out the window as he walked across the porch and disappeared into the darkness.

Lorelai went upstairs and took a hot shower to try to wash away the pain, confusion, and stress she was feeling. She stared up at the shower and let the hot water cascade over her face to help her ignore the fact that she couldn't stop crying.

When she walked back downstairs, Rory was sitting on the couch with the box that Dean had brought by. "Mom, what is this stuff?" Rory asked.

"Oh, uh. . .Dean dropped it off," Lorelai said.

"He came over?" Rory asked, surprised.

"Yes, he did," Lorelai replied.

Rory grimaced. "Did you talk to him? Was it weird?"

"Uh, it was a little bit weird, yeah," Lorelai admitted.

"Aw, I'm sorry," Rory said.

"Trust me, it's not your fault," Lorelai said. "Forget about it."

As Rory returned to examining the contents of the box, Lorelai walked slowly toward the kitchen. She paused momentarily in the hallway and glanced at the front door, reliving the events of the evening that has occurred in the front entryway. She rolled her eyes and continued walking to the kitchen, muttering, "Forget it, Lorelai. . .it was a one time thing."

* * *

The End

Author's Note:

This was one of those things where the idea pops into your head and you're like "Wow, that could be kind of interesting. Maybe I'll write about it one day." and then you put it off for a long time and it nags at you until you finally do write about it. Well, I finally wrote about it and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my chest, so now I'll be able to sleep better at night. Whew.

Anyway, I know it wasn't good and I know it was probably out of character, but if you have a minute, please review and let me know what you think. :)