"Come on, it will be fun!" Piper insisted, moving around Bobby's kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner. Dean was at the table next to Sam, ignoring the argument around him to concentrate on his beer and not staring at Piper's ass.

"Piper, we really don't have time to-" Sam started.

Piper whipped around, wielding a mixing spoon at the youngest Winchester. "Time for what, Sam? We're at a dead-end!" She turned back around to finish icing the last cupcake she'd made. She had been cooking like a mad person. Dean thought it had something to do with the few moments they had thought Sam was dead, but he wasn't going to complain.

"We need to take a break," she continued, while Dean didn't watch her ass. "We can take one day, then come back at it the next. We're going to go crazy if we don't go do something."

A carnival had come in two towns over, and Piper wanted to go. Dean gathered she thought it would be relaxing. He couldn't think of anything less relaxing than being in a crowd of people, lights swirling around and noises popping off. But if Piper wanted to do it, Dean was fairly certain that he would go, too. Woman is messing with my thought processes,he thought half-bitterly to himself.

"Pipe, it would be insane-"

"Fine, Sam," she said crossly, putting plates in front of both of them. "I'll go by myself."

Dean frowned, unable to concentrate on the spaghetti in front of him. "Piper, no."

She turned to glare at him. "Finally getting into the argument, Winchester? Interesting. I'm going, neither of you have to go with me."

Dean shot her with a glare of his own as she sat down opposite to him, next to Sam. "Piper, no."

"Piper, yes!" she said happily. She sobered. "Look, neither of you have to come. It's dumb, I know it is. But I'm going to go," she said as she stabbed at her plate with a fork. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

xxxxx

"I can't believe you weaseled me into coming here," Dean brooded as he surveyed the brightly colored stalls and swirling rides.

Piper laughed, and the sound made his heartbeat quicken. "I told you guys you didn't have to come."

Her hair was down around her face, wavy, now a much lighter purple, more of a lavender color. She was in a pair of jeans and a tank top, with a leather jacket over everything because it was getting colder. Dean was having trouble keeping his eyes off of her.

Sam, on the other side of her, scoffed. "Yeah, okay, like we weren't going to come."

She grinned. "Shut up, Sam, let's go win me something."

The afternoon passed in a blur, and Dean found himself actually having a good time. There was more food than he would have expected, the highlight of his night being Piper showing him whatever the hell a funnel cake was. They played the stupid rigged games, and Piper made out like a bandit.

Dean found himself standing closer and closer to her as the night went on. Her joy was infectious, and he couldn't believe he was actually having fun at something as stupid as a carnival in a podunk town in South Dakota.

She had gone to talk to someone who ran one of the booths. Dean was watching her toss her head back and laugh out loud, her her hair swaying, when Sam said, "Oh, for God's sake, Dean, this is ridiculous."

Dean started and turned to his brother. "What?"

Sam was smirking. "You have been staring at Piper all night. It's getting kind of creepy, honestly."

Dean felt his face get hot. "Shut up, Sam. I'm just making sure she's okay."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, dude."

"What's helping who sleep?" Piper asked as she joined them again.

"Nothing. What next, kitten?" Dean said quickly, eyeing Sam.

She grinned. "Let's go ride the ferris wheel!"

Sam's face creased into a smile. "Absolutely not, Pipe. I have this thing about heights. Dean, why don't you take her?"

Dean felt his eyes widen as Piper glared at them. "I don't need to be 'taken.' I'll go by myself." She turned to walk away. "Once it's done, we can go home!"

Dean glared at Sam. "You have never in your life been afraid of heights," he snarled as he turned

to follow Piper. "Pipes, wait up!" he shouted, trying to drown out his brother's laughter.

xxxxx

Dean, as it turned out, kind of had a thing about heights. "How often do you think these things get maintenance?" he asked nervously as their car slowly made it's way to the top.

Piper was sitting next to him, laughing. "I have seen you look a werewolf in the face and not bat an eye. How are you afraid of a ferris wheel?"

He glared at her. "I'm not afraid, Piper, I'm cautious. No self-respecting person would put themselves on a ride that didn't have some geek making sure it was safe."

She rolled her eyes and leaned into him. Her warmth was a little distracting. "Shut up and enjoy the moment, Winchester." She lay her head on his shoulder. Something in him stilled, while something else celebrated. Slowly, he moved around so he could put his arm around her. She made a soft noise of surprise, then moved closer until they were touching shoulder to knee.

Dean wasn't sure what to do. He had a great deal of affection for Piper, she was by far his best friend. She had fought to stay by their side, and known when to lead and when to follow theirs. He didn't want to be in a relationship, but he wanted Piper, and Piper was not going to be a one night stand.

The car rose higher and Dean's thoughts were becoming scattered. He could feel her against him, soft but tense. She placed her small hand on his chest and looked up at him. Her eyes were warm, questioning, her mouth was held open the tiniest bit.

Dean's heart was beating hard, his blood thundering in his ears. His hand came up to push her hair behind her ear. Her eyes widened as his thumb traced down her jaw and over her bottom lip. He tilted his head until his forehead was pressed against hers, his eyes closed. "Piper…"

The car jerked to a stop, pulling them apart. She jumped and his arm tightened around her, both of them looking around. Dean realized that the ride had stopped. Unidentifiable emotions went through him, disappointment taking the lead as Piper stood up and got off the car.

He sighed and followed her, refusing to meet her or Sammy's eyes.

"So," she said too brightly. "Everyone ready to go?"

xxxxx

A noise startled Dean awake. He sat straight up, breathing hard, trying to make sense of his surroundings. It looked like he was in a bedroom, and not in a motel. The bed was too nice, there was only one of them, and he wasn't wearing a stitch.

A soft sound next to him made him turn, and his heart stopped completely. Piper was next to him, purple hair clouding around her face, yawning. She didn't appear to be wearing anything.

"Dean? Honey, what's wrong?"

Dean was in shock. He just looked at her, watching her stretch under the blanket. She sighed again, not opening her eyes, and patted the space in front of her. "Come back here, baby, come back to sleep."

Oh, no, what the hell? Dean got up slowly, not disturbing Piper, and found a pair of sweats. He walked through the apartment, what was apparently Piper's apartment, and tried to absorb the details. There were lots of posters on the walls, of movies and bands. They were crammed between pictures of Sam and Piper, Piper and John, Dean and Sam, Dean and John. He paused at a picture of Piper and he. It looked like they were on a beach somewhere, kissing while he took the picture.

"What the hell?" he asked softly

He found his cell phone, flipped it open, and called Sam.

"Dean?" he answered.

"Sam?"

"What is going on?" Sam sounded wary.

"I don't know. I don't know where I am."

"What? What happened?"

"Well, the uh, the djinn. It attacked me."

"The gin? You're… Drinking gin?"

"No, asshat. The djinn. The… Scary creature. Remember? It put it's hand on me and then I woke up... Next to..."

"Who?" Sam chuckled. "Piper, hopefully?"

Dean frowned. "What?"

"Dean, you're drunk. You're drunk-dialing me."

"I am not drunk. Quit screwing around!" Dean growled.

"Look, it's late. All right, just get some sleep and, um, I'll... see you tomorrow. Okay?"

"Wait, Sam! Sam!"

Sam hung up on him. Dean sighed, considered calling him back, and put the phone back in his pocket instead. He looked around, trying to figure what the hell was going on.

There was a little table next to the front door. It had a bowl with some keys in it (he was bemused to see that some of them were his) and a few envelopes tossed carelessly on top. He picked up the top one to read the address.

Piper Finley

53 Barker Ave.

Apt. 38

Lawrence, KS 66044

"Lawrence?" he whispered to himself. He looked at the next envelope.

Dean Winchester

53 Barker Ave.

Apt. 38

Lawrence, KS 66044

"What the hell?"

"Honey? What are you doing?" Piper asked from the doorway. Dean turned to see her wrapping a long, silky robe around herself, her hair still wild.

"Hey, uh, Pipes, uh…"

She tilted her head. "Aw, couldn't sleep?"

"Yeah, uh, heh." Dean tried a smile, it felt awkward on his face.

Her eyes heated up and something low in him tightened in response. "Well," she said softly, "Why don't you come back to bed, and we'll see if I can do anything to help."

Dean swallowed hard and nodded. "Sure. Yeah. In a minute. You… You, you go ahead."

Her slow smile was making him dizzy. "Okay. Don't stay up too long." She walked to where he was and raised on her toes to kiss him softly. Dean's head spun as she kept her lips pressed against his, her hand on his bare chest. She lightly scraped her fingernails all the way down to his waist, and smiled at his growl against her lips. She pulled back and grinned at him. "Seriously, come to bed soon." She turned and walked back to the bedroom.

"Jesus," Dean muttered as he tried to catch his breath. He turned, hoping to distract himself.

There were more pictures of Piper with an older couple he had never met, presumably her parents. What? Another of he and Piper, himself in a dress shirt and slacks and her in a smoking hot black dress. They were looking in the same direction, smiling at something, and the casual way he had his hand on her hip made something in Dean's chest hurt.

He looked at another picture, and all thought and emotion having to do with Piper stopped. He went into the bedroom and found a shirt, ignoring Piper's startled, "Dean? Dean, honey-"

He grabbed his keys and ran out the door.

xxxxx

Dean sped the whole way. He knew he was being reckless, but he had to see her. When he got to their old home, he parked across the street. His stomach was doing flips.

He ran to the front door and started banging on it. He rang the doorbell twice. The light above the door turned on, then the door opened.

Mary Winchester squinted at her son. "Dean?"

He felt tears start to well up in his eyes. She was here, she was beautiful. "Mom?"

She looked concerned. It killed him. "What are you doing here? Are you all right?"

He was honest. "I don't know."

She sighed, smiling up at him. "Well... Come inside."

xxxxx

The next day, after mowing his mom's lawn, Dean was sitting on the front step with a beer. He was thinking of calling Piper. There were pictures of them in the house, as smiling teenagers, and a bad one of them at what was presumably prom, with her in a horrible green dress and him in a horrible suit.

A dark sedan pulled up. Sam and Jessica stepped out.

Dean grinned and walked down to meet them. "I don't believe it."

As Jess got out of the car, he scooped her up into a hug. "Hmm…" she hummed.

"Jessica." Dean was reeling. Was everything actually fixed? Was everything okay?

"Agh! You're, uh... Good to see you, too, Dean. Okay, can't breathe, okay." He laughed and let her go, then turned to Sam.

"Sammy."

Sam gave him a tight smile. "Hey."

Dean couldn't stop grinning. "Look at you. You're with Jessica, it's... I don't believe it."

Another tight smile, and a quizzical look. "Yeah."

"Where'd you guys come from?"

Sam was outright staring at him now. "We just flew in from... Califor-"

Dean snapped his fingers. "California! Stanford, huh? Law school, I bet."

Sam sighed and motioned to the beer in Dean's hand. "I see you started off Mom's birthday with a bang, as usual."

Dean blinked. "Wait. Mom's birthday, that's, that's today?"

Sam rolled his eyes and shared a look with Jess."Yeah. Yeah, Dean. That's today. That's why we're here. Don't tell me you forgot."

xxxxx

Dean parked in front of the apartment and hopped out of Baby. Curious, he went and unlocked her trunk, opening it to find a tire iron, some trash, and a shopping back that he had apparently forgotten was there. He didn't think he could have smiled anymore today. "Would you look at that, Baby. We're civilians."

When he looked up, there was a girl standing across the street. She was wearing a white shirt and a skirt. She didn't say anything or move, just looked at him. He started to walk toward her, wanting to know if she was okay. Suddenly, a car horn blared out, and he jumped back as an SUV almost hit him. When he looked for the girl again, she was gone.

Shaking his head, he walked up to the the apartment he shared with Piper. He fumbled for the keys for a moment, then unlocked the door. "Pipes?" he called, looking around.

She came padding into the living room in bare feet. She was holding her hair up with her hand, and had a lacy dress on that was loose at her shoulders. She smiled warmly. "Hey, handsome," she said as she raised up on her toes to kiss him again. When she dropped back down, concern filled her eyes. "Are you okay? Your mom called. Is she all right?"

Dean was still trying to deal with what she was wearing. "Um, yeah, yeah, just… Needed to go home, I guess."

She smiled in relief. "I get that. Hey!" she turned around. "Since you're here now, can you zip me up?"

Dean was floored again. Her pale, sleek back, blocked only by the shape of the dress she was in. Realizing that he could, he stepped forward and ran a hand down her back, leaning down to leave burning kisses on her neck. She moaned and leaned back, tilting her head to give him better access. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her tight to him.

She pulled away gently and laughed. "Dean! We don't have time, we might be late as is!" She looked over her shoulder flirtatiously. "Now zip me up and go get dressed, and maybe there's something in it for you later."

He groaned and caught her mouth again, running his tongue along her bottom lip, then lifted his head and grinned at her. "Whatever you say, kitten."

xxxxx

They were all sitting at a round table in a lovely restaurant. Dean was staring at his plate, confused by how little of the fancy food was on the plate. "Wow, that… Looks awesome." Piper squeezed his thigh under the table.

"All right." Sam lifted his glass. "To Mom! Happy birthday!"

Everyone raised their glasses in a toast. Mary blushed and smiled. "Thank you."

Sam leaned over and kissed Jessica. Dean smiled.

Piper squeezed his thigh again and leaned close. "What do you say, after this we go home and I cook you some real food?"

"Oh, God, yes." She chuckled. "Piper, how did I end up with someone as cool as you?"

She grinned. "You got me young, before I had higher standards."

He laughed and kissed her.

Sam interrupted. "All right. Jess and I actually have another surprise for Mom's birthday. Ah... You wanna tell them?"

Jess blushed. "They're your family."

Sam smiled. "All right."

Mary looked between the two of them. "What? Tell me what?"

Sam held up Jessica's left hand to show the engagement ring on her finger. Mary laughed, and Piper squealed.

"Oh my God! That's so wonderful!" Mary beamed, getting up to hug Sam.

Piper stood, too, to hug Jessica. "Congratulations, Jess!"

"Thank you," Jessica said demurely, but her eyes were sparkling.

Dean watched his mother and his girlfriend switch places, Piper beaming up at Sam.

"Congratulations, Sammy," she said softly.

He smiled tightly. "Thanks, Piper." They hugged stiffly.

Mary was still beaming. "I just wish your dad was here."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Me, too."

Mary turned. "Jessica, let me see that ring."

Dean stood and shook Sam's hand. "Congratulations, Sammy."

Sam let go of Dean's hand, "Thanks."

Dean kept his gaze. "I'm really glad you're happy."

Sam gave Dean a puzzled look, then turned back to the women oohing over Jess's ring.

Dean looked over Sam's shoulder, his smile fading as he saw the girl from earlier, in the white shirt. She was dirty now. Dean pushed past Sam and walked toward her. By the time he got there, a waiter moved past him, and when the waiter was gone, so was the girl.

Dean turned to see his family looking at him, concerned.

xxxxx

Later that night, Dean was sitting on the sofa in his living room (he had a living room!), thinking about what Sam had said when they had dropped their Mom off. Piper walked in, wearing one of his shirts and a pair of panties, and handed him a beer.

"My favorite." He watched as she settled next to him, her back against the arm of the sofa and her legs stretching across his lap. "I guess you know me pretty well."

Piper smiled and nodded. "I'm afraid so." She searched his face. "Are you all right?"

He frowned. "Sammy and I... We don't get along."

She shrugged. "I just think he hasn't let go of the stuff you pulled in high school. It got rough there for a while."

"You two don't get along, either."

Another shrug. "I don't think he's really forgiven me for forgiving you. He doesn't understand."

"Hmm."

She leaned forward and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. "For the record, he doesn't know what he's missing, keeping you out of his life."

"I can fix things with Sam. I can make it up to him. To everyone." He looked at her. "To you."

She leaned back and fixed him with a piercing stare. "All right, spill, Winchester. What has gotten into you lately?"

He leaned toward her. "This isn't gonna make a lick of sense to you. But I kind of feel like I've been given a second chance. And I don't wanna waste it."

She laughed, and Dean was entranced. "You're right, that doesn't make any sense-" He cut her off by pressing his lips to hers. They kissed for a heated moment, then he pulled away and pressed his forehead into hers. "You know, I get it now."

"Get what?"

"Why you're the one."

She gave him a slow smile that sent his blood on fire. "Whatever's gotten into you, I like it."

Their lips met again, and Dean put down his beer to put his hands on her, desperate to feel any part of her. Desperate to feel Piper, who he had been wanting to feel for so long.

She groaned and pulled away, dropping her head back. He took the opportunity to press his lips to her neck. "Oh, don't do this to me now. I've gotta get ready for work."

She pushed him away gently and stood, walking back to their bedroom. "You've got to work now?" he asked, following her.

She looked back at him before she entered the bedroom. "I told you, I've got the night shift on Thursday."

He followed her into the bedroom. "You work nights at the, uh…" He saw her pull out a set of scrubs from the closet. "Hospital. You're a nurse. I'm dating a nurse. That is so… Respectable."

She chuckled and got dressed. Dean watched her, feeling possessiveness take hold in his heart. Mine, he thought taking a sip of beer.

Life was finally good.

xxxxx

A/N: Hi, everyone! Here's my notes:

I own only Piper Finley, the original character. I don't own Supernatural, or the characters (heartbroken).

Reviews and comments give me the warm fuzzies and keep me going.

If there are any mistakes in continuity, canon, or geography, blame me.