The first time Dean Winchester took Piper Finley to dinner, there was still a spill of blood on her shirt.
He realized it when he walked around and opened the car door for her. She was just sitting in the passenger seat, still in shock, he suspected. He knelt, examining her face. "How you holdin' up, kitten?"
She turned to look at him slowly, and her hollow eyes hurt his heart. "I'm okay, Dean," she said softly, unconvincingly.
Instead of calling her out, he just nodded. "All right, come on, Pipes." He took her hand and gently helped her out of the car. Once she was standing, he shrugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "Hold this closed, there's some blood on your shirt."
She obeyed, but looked down. "Oh. Maybe I should go home to change."
He shook his head and put a hand on the small of her back. "Nope. Pancakes first."
A small smile touched her lips, and it made him feel better. "Okay, Dean. Pancakes first."
He led her into the diner and to a booth, signaling the waitress. Piper stayed quiet while he ordered for both of them, which worried him even more. Normally, if he tried to order for Piper, she'd gut him. Now, she sat docile, eyes glazed over, staring at nothing.
Once the waitress left, he wrestled with himself.
Maybe I shouldn't say anything? When Sam or Dad was upset about a hunt, he never said anything. But she's a girl. More importantly, she's Piper. So? What, just because she's Piper, suddenly he wanted to make sure she was all right?
"Stop it, Dean," she said softly. "You don't have to comfort me. I'm fine."
He blinked. "What?"
She looked at him evenly. "I'm fine, Dean." She took a deep breath. "I… I wish we'd been able to save that little girl, but we got the spirit. So I'm fine."
He winced. "Look, Pipes… We can't save everyone."
Tears filled her hazel eyes. "I know. I just… I just wish we could."
Dean didn't fight with himself about leaning over to take her cold, slender hand into his. "Hey, come on, Pipes, it'll be all right."
She gave him a watery smile. "Okay, Dean."
xxxxx
"It sounds crazy, right?" Dean asked.
Piper shook her head. "Not really, there's some lore on it that goes back centuries. A travelling card player comes into town, you beat him, you get years of life back. Of course, most people lose."
She was sitting on the table, talking to Dean on speakerphone with Bobby.
"Well, that would explain the crunchy corpse."
She smiled. She missed him, which was ridiculous. He and Sam had only been gone for a couple of days, and she was already pining for him. Get it together, Finley.
Bobby was nodding. "Supposedly, this player's a hell of a card shark. Got a lot of years in the bank. You find the bar he's working in yet?"
"There's a lot of dives in this town. We're gonna have to split up."
Bobby frowned. "Well, why you still talking to us?"
He hung up and looked at Piper. "Idjits."
She smiled fondly and hopped off of the table. She leaned over to press a kiss to Bobby's cheek. "They are, but they're ours."
He rolled his eyes, then looked away. "Hey, Pi, why don't you take a break from cooking tonight?" He dug into his pocket for his wallet and pulled out several bills. "Go grab us something from town."
Her eyebrows went up, and she smiled. It was the first interest Bobby had shown in anything since that weird night she'd found him staring out the window. "Okay, I can do that. Do you care what we get?"
He shook his head and handed her the money. "Whatever you want."
She smiled and grabbed her keys. "Okay, well, then, I guess I'll be back soon."
xxxxx
Bobby didn't feel too bad for lying to Piper. He just hoped that when he walked back into the house instead of rolled in, she'd be too happy about that to care.
She kind of scared him.
xxxxx
Piper was frantic as she sped toward the city Dean and Sam were in. Dean wouldn't answer his phone, but Sam did.
"He's going to do something stupid, Sammy, I don't know what to do."
"Maybe he just… Went for a walk, or roll, or whatever."
"His car is gone." She was fighting the angry tears threatening to come to the surface. "He lied to me, I'm going to kill him."
"We'll find him, Pipe," Sam said soothingly. "Hang on, I think that's Dean at the door. I'll call you as soon as we have anything, okay?"
She nodded, then realized he couldn't see that. "Okay, thank you, Sam."
She pressed the accelerator harder, praying.
xxxxx
Piper couldn't quite remember the last time she'd been so mad. She was frozen in the doorway, staring at Bobby, who looked normal, Sam, who looked normal, and what was pretty obviously Dean fucking Winchester as he would be in his late seventies.
"Hi, Pipes-" Dean started cautiously.
She held up a finger. "Nope, I'm not speaking to you yet." She pointed a finger at Bobby. "You either."
Instead, she smiled at Sam and walked toward him. He grinned, holding his arms out, and she slipped hers around his waist to hug him tight. "Hi, Sammy," she said softly. "You're the only person in this room I have no urge to murder."
She smiled when he squeezed her tight. "Good," he said cheerfully, "because you're scary."
She grinned up at him. "Yes, I am." She sighed and stepped away, turning to Bobby. "All right, what happened?"
"Pipes, I-" Dean started again, only to be interrupted by her hand in the air.
"Oh, don't you worry, Dean, I'll get to you in a minute," she said softly, "but right now, I'm speaking to Bobby, so shut up."
Bobby looked uncomfortable. "I came and found the witch and played."
She cocked an eyebrow. "And, what, broke even?"
He shook his head, flicking his eyes to Dean. "No, I, uh… I lost. Dean found out and played for my years back, but lost fifty of his own in the process, the idjit."
"Hey," she snapped. "He probably saved your life, so don't you attack him, Bobby Singer." She put her hands on her hips. "All right, wanna explain why the fuck you'd do something like this?"
He sighed. "You can't understand, Pi."
She shook her head. "You're right. I can't. But I can take a guess. You wanted to play so you could get out of the wheelchair. You don't trust me to find something that will help, so you took matters into your own hands. You lied to me, and sent me away so you could sneak off to pull this stupid stunt. Did I miss anything?"
A stubborn look crossed Bobby's face. "Piper, I-"
"Didn't think so," she interrupted. "I'll come back to you."
She turned slowly to Dean, whose eyes widened. "Hallway, Winchester, now." She walked and opened the door without checking to see if he was following her. She knew he would.
As soon as he shut the door behind him, she whirled to confront him. Her hands were shaking, and she curled them into fists to control the urge to deck him. "What the fuck, Dean?"
He threw his hands up. "What was I supposed to do? Just let him die?" His voice had deepened, and it tugged at her heart.
She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Of course not, Dean, but you don't at all see how this is ridiculous?"
"Piper, I couldn't just let him die."
She sighed and tried desperately to keep a handle on her emotions. "Dean, are you really this miserable? Do you value yourself so little?"
He stared at her. "What?"
She looked back at him frankly, tears gathering in her eyes again. "What is it that's so bad about your life that you're okay sacking yourself at any given moment? Why are you so willing to play the martyr? I know things are rough, and I know that it's one of the things that makes you a hero, but… But Jesus, Dean, it makes being your girlfriend kind of stressful."
His eyes widened and he took a step toward her, hesitantly placing a hand on her arm. "Piper, I-"
"I'm not going anywhere, idiot, ever," she said softly, looking into those gorgeous, unchanged green eyes. Good to know those are sticking around. "I just… I just want to understand why you would thinking sacrificing yourself is the only way out of this situation."
He sighed and tugged her towards him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes when he pressed his lips to her forehead. If she wasn't looking at him, she could almost believe everything was normal. "I'm sorry, Pipes, it was just the first thing I could think of to do."
She sighed and kept her eyes closed, reveling in his warmth. Also good to know that that's not going anywhere. "Well, the next time you think about giving away fifty years of life, please call me first."
He chuckled, and it sent familiar, comforting warmth through her. "Deal, kitten."
xxxxx
Dean was watching Piper walk back to her Jeep as they left the graveyard. The witch's woman had given them a reversal spell, and they had had to do a little grave-robbing to complete it.
He never got tired of watching her. The way her hips swayed still made his heart beat faster. And now, of course, that may actually kill him.
Getting old sucked. He was creaky, he couldn't eat burgers, his whole body had a low-level ache the whole time. He also had a sneaking suspicion that he couldn't act on these urges he felt for Piper. This was not something he was looking forward to.
"Come on, geezers," Piper said cheerfully, pushing Bobby's wheelchair. "Let's go get Sammy."
As Dean helped her get Bobby into the Jeep, he took another moment to be grateful for her. Despite his bone-head move, and his general jackassery, she stayed. She always stayed.
xxxxx
The spell hadn't worked. Piper dragged Dean with her into the witch's apartment to find DNA, any DNA. Something was telling her that they needed to hurry.
"Come on, handsome, let's find something and get the hell out of here," she said, quickly headed toward the bathroom. There was nothing, no toothbrush, no cups, nothing. "Shit!"
"Pipes, I think I-" He started. She heard him groan, then a thud.
"Dean?" She came out of the bathroom to find him on the floor. "Dean!" She ran to him, falling to her knees and hauling him into her lap. "Dean, baby, talk to me."
He was clutching his chest, and his eyes were focused on her. "No, no, no, no, no," she chanted softly, one hand placed on his cheek, "Not like this, okay? You stay with me, Dean, you're not going anywhere, understood?"
xxxxx
The pain in Dean's chest worsened, and as he watched Piper's crying, scared face, he wished he had the breath to tell her he loved her.
xxxxx
"Dean, baby, come on, please, please stay with me," Piper chanted, starting to rock back and forth.
Dean went still.
"Oh, God, Dean," she whimpered, leaning forward to press her forehead against his. "Please, baby, don't do this, don't you dare leave me like this!"
The last thing I did was yell at him. Oh, God, I didn't even tell him I love him! I just bitched at him.
She barely heard the low, miserable moan coming from her throat. She just kept her forehead pressed against his, trying to somehow comprehend the pain and self-blame ricocheting through her.
She honestly thought she hallucinated the changing texture of his skin against hers, and the soft inhale she heard. Wishful thinking.
What she didn't hallucinate was his hand coming up to cup her face, or his warm lips pressing against hers. She jerked back, eyes wide as he sat up slowly, his eyes studying her face, his lips twitching up into a smile. He was thirty again. God, he's gorgeous.
"Pipes, kitten, I'm all right, I'm-"
She cut him off by launching herself at him, crashing her mouth onto his. He grunted in surprise, then wrapped his arms around her and crushed her against him, kissing her fiercely.
"Oh, Dean, thank God, I love you, that was awful-"
"Hey, I'm all right, I love you, too, I'm alive-"
They murmured against each other, the soft whine in the back of her throat slowly fading as the reality of him against her set in again. Oh, thank God.
xxxxx
That night, Dean was lying in bed facing Piper, their legs tangled together, and his arm under her head. God, she's gorgeous. He brought his other hand up to her cheek and watched her eyes fill with tears.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as her tears started to fall.
He frowned. "For what?"
She shook her head. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, I shouldn't have even been mad."
He ran a thumb along her cheek and leaned forward to kiss her gently. "Don't cry, kitten, it's okay."
"No, it's not," she sniffled and put her hand over his on her face. "No, it's not, because when I thought you were dead, I would have done anything, anything, to get you back." She looked at him sadly. "I'm a hypocrite, Dean. I would have sold my soul in a second for ten more years with you."
He looked at her closely, then kissed her again instead of responding. Because he was a hypocrite, too. If she'd done something stupid to bring him back, he would have been livid.
When they came up for air, she cuddled close, nestling her head under his chin. He placed a hand on the back of her head, pressing her to him. "What are we gonna do about Bobby?" she whispered.
He sighed. "I don't know, kitten."
She leaned back and looked at him. "I think you should talk to him."
He frowned. "Why?"
She thought for a moment. "Because you're a warrior, like he is. Sam and I, we're more researchers than anything. I think it will mean more coming from you, because it sure as hell didn't work when I said it."
He examined her face. "What should I say?"
She smiled. "You'll know what to say, when the time comes."
xxxxx
The next day, she was standing outside with Sam, who she had dragged outside to give Dean and Bobby time to talk.
She pulled in a deep breath, then let it out in an explosive exhale. "Well, that sucked."
He nodded. "Yeah, it did." He looked at her with a hint of a smile. "Going back to Bobby's after this?"
She thought carefully for a moment, then shook her head and grinned at him. "No, something tells me you guys are gonna need me soon."
xxxxx
Hi everyone! Here's my notes:
I own only Piper Finley, the original character. I don't own Supernatural or the characters. (heartbroken)
Reviews, comments, and kudos give me the warm fuzzies and keep me going.
If there are any mistakes in continuity, canon, or geography, blame me.
**Stay with me, beautiful readers. He's not gonna hold onto that ring forever.
