Princess of Stars Hollow

Dean stared for a moment, disbelieving. Rory seemed so out of place in this setting, the city instead of rural Connecticut. It was almost jarring to see her without the mountains or Luke’s as a back drop.”Hey, hi” he responded, glancing around. He didn’t see anyone else carrying boxes. “Isn’t anyone helping you move in?”

Amelia tugged impatiently on his arm “Daddy who’s that?” Dean shifted uncomfortably, trying to find a word for what Rory was to him. “This is Rory, she’s an old friend” he explained simply before turning back to the brunette “This is my daughter, Amelia.”

When the little girl spoke up, Rory realized for the first time that there was a little girl attached to Dean. “Daughter?” She sputtered, her blue eyes widening a little. She knew that her and Dean had fallen out of touch, but how did she not know that he had a daughter? Was she Lindsay’s? Had Dean met someone else? Setting the box down at her feet, she bent down so she could see Amelia better. “Hi, cutie. I’m Rory. It’s nice to meet you,” she smiled at the little girl. 

“Do you wanna help?” She asked the younger girl. She had a bag or something small the girl could take if she wanted to really be apart of this endeavor. 

“Amy, wait–” Dean protested as his daughter leaped out of the car as soon as they pulled up in front of their apartment building. He just shook his head before putting the vehicle in park and following her. The five year old was already peaking inside a u-haul full of boxes with curiosity. He would never understand where Amelia got her enthusiasm from since neither he nor her mother were particularly energetic. 

“Come on kiddo, that stuff’s not yours” Dean said, grabbing the girls hand and leading her away from the truck. “There was so many books” Amelia responded “Like four whole boxes.”

Making her way back downstairs, she huffed, blowing a piece of bangs out of her eyesight as she reached the lobby area. No one was around, which made Rory feel less self-conscious about lugging boxes in by herself. Pushing the door opened, instead of going to get boxes out of the back, she went to the front to grab a box of bath stuff she had sitting up front with her. 

Suddenly the blue-eyed girl could hear voices, but she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Choosing to ignore it, she grabbed the box before heading back to the doors of the apartment complex. Rory wasn’t really paying attention to her surroundings and was busy trying to hoist the box up higher in her arms when she nearly collided with someone just before reaching the doors. “No. This is totally my fault, I wasn’t --” she looked up, her blue eyes meeting the man’s. She froze. “Dean?”

The blue-eyed girl watched as he reached for her backpack, tensing immediately. “No thanks. I've already got notes and I've been carrying a backpack for eleven years now, I think I've got the hang of it,” she quipped, grabbing the last book from her locker before shutting it.

She rolled her eyes. “If I say yes, will you leave me alone after this brief encounter is over?” She asked, quirking a brow in his direction. 

“Rory you had sad written all over your face since talking about him. And I shouldn’t have asked if he was an ex.” He didn’t really ask why she hadn’t seen him in awhile. But coming from a small town he bet he was her first kiss and first boyfriend. He didn’t know what to tell her but she seemed okay talking to him. “So I can only guess he was your first love. And running into Sam is more than weird for you. So once he comes out I think we both should go.

“It's not.. it's not a big deal.” She shrugged trying to play it off. “I-I.. even after all this time I'm not sure what he was... I mean my boyfriend, sure, but... it was just a bit bumpy at parts,” she sighed, shaking her head. She didn't want to talk about this with her mom or Lane, she certainly didn't want to talk about it with a complete stranger. As much as she wanted to object, what reason did she really have? She sighed inwardly. “Yeah.. you've got that thing to worry about or whatever, anyways.”

Dean appreciated her thank you. “Thank you Rory.” He noted she seemed close to Luke. “Well then you’ll have to take us to get some pie.” When she mentioned they seemed close something flicker in her. She must have siblings that she wasn’t as close to. “We’ve been close since we were kids. Dad was always away.”

And that was as personal he was going to get with her until they knew each other better. “You have any siblings Rory?” he asked. And Sam figured he’d let her talk to Dean for a bit. Make it less weird. “Well on that note how about I go get the bread crumbs for you and you can chat with my brother. I’ll go fast and save you the task.” Sam said walking into the store.

“You're welcome, Dean,” she smiled, although she struggled to get the name out. Not because of him, but because the name Dean was associated with someone she had been through a lot with and when it had all ended badly, Rory had been left picking up the aftermath by herself. “Sure.. I mean.. if you've got time on your visit here.” The girl could understand that. It was always just her and her mom growing up and because of it her mom was her best friend-- sure she had Lane and Grandma and Grandpa and even her dad and Luke, but her mom was always number one. “My dad, too...” She said quietly. Not sadly, but with a certain finality to it.

The brunette nodded although she felt like she should shake her head. “Not by blood. My dad and his fiancee have a daughter, so I've a half-sister on that side and my mom's finacee has a kid so a soon-to-be step-sister on that end.. I really don't get on well with either of them. I mean.. not like you two,” she pointed between the two brother's. There was a hint of bitterness in her tone which she hoped she was hiding well enough for them to at least not catch it. Before Rory could say anything otherwise Sam had walked into the store and Rory stared after his path for a few moments before turning back to Dean.