Chapter Four
She lifted her hand to her mouth in muted horror. "Are you sure?" Oh Jess, Annie thought sadly. She'd really liked the petite blonde girl the few times Sam had come to visit with his girlfriend in tow. Such a sweet, perky girl. The perfect foil for Sam's seriousness.
"Yeah." Dean replied, his jaw clenching, eyes glinting with barely restrained fury.
"Poor Sam. My God. I have to call him." Annie tried to push past Dean but he held her still against the sink.
"Oh believe me, he's not in any condition to talk to anyone right now. He sent me on ahead to take his place."
Annie was so stunned by this news that she almost missed that last part of Dean's sentence. "Wait. Take his... What? You are not walking me down the aisle, Dean!" Annie burst, horrified at that mental image.
"Sure I am. Got my penguin suit in the car."
"No! No. I'm not--I'll walk myself down the aisle, thank you very much!" Annie snapped. She couldn't do it. She could not walk down the aisle with Dean and have him hand her over to Jack after...their history.
"No you won't." Dean hissed at her, his furious gaze now trained on her. "Sam asked me to do this and I'm gonna do it. His girlfriend was pinned to the ceiling and then set on fire and that boy still sent me here cause he didn't want you to be alone on your wedding day. If you'd stop being a selfish bitch, always going on about we all did you wrong for about five seconds maybe you could take a second to think about that. In his grief, Sam still thought of you."
Then Dean wrapped his fingers around her upper arms and every nerve in her body jumped to attention. Dammit! She did not need the memory of old feelings coming back. Especially not today!
"So as much as I would rather stick needles in my eyes than be here, I will drag you up that aisle by your hair if I have to. For Sam's sake."
He was so close Annie could feel the heat that always radiated off of him surrounding her. She couldn't back up any further without climbing into the sink so she looked away from him and blinked back tears."Okay. You're right. Let'd do this." Annie said, her voice trembling.
"I'm sorry, what was that middle part again? I'm what?" He asked, his lips curving into a small smile as he held a finger to his ear.
"Go get your penguin suit." She said pushing against his chest a fighting a grin. She waited until Dean left her alone to go get the tux he rented and finally allowed the tears she'd been holding back to fall. Sam. Wonderful, sweet Sam. The only Winchester worth a damn. Her heart ached for him. Annie's memories of her mother...she shook herself mentally, Sam and Dean's mother, were fuzzy at best, the woman having died when Annie was only three but she remembered the warmth and sweetness that was Mary Winchester. That was Sam, through and through. How she wished he could be here with her. How she wished Mary could be here with her. But instead, she got Dean. The man who reminded her of one of the most heartbreaking, embarrassing episodes of her young life. The man who she wanted to run through a meat grinder ninety-five percent of the time.
"Stop it, Annie!" She firmly told her tear stained reflection and groaned at her messed up make-up. "He's right. I am being a selfish bitch." Annie had no idea how she was going to get through the ceremony thinking about Sam's grief, Jess's death and Dean's...Dean-ish-ness. She pressed her forehead against the mirror and her breath caught on a sob that she refused to let through. Getting married under such a cloud of doom and gloom. How very Winchester, she thought wryly. But she would do it cause this was what she wanted. A nice, happy, normal life with the man she loved. Peace for her future, to make up for the mess that was her past. She repaired her make up and took a few deep calming breaths.
In jeans or a tux, the man was devastating, Annie thought when Dean came out from his turn in the bathroom. A simply aesthetic observation, Annie told herself as her body tingled just looking at him. Jack was just as sexy, Annie reminded herself. More! More sexy and sweet, funny, smart, kind. She was simply feeling residue from an old crush. That was all.
"Let's go." Annie said, annoyed at the slightly breathless quality of her voice to her own ears. She had a burning desire to get her eyes on Jack ASAP. She grimaced at the discolored splotch on Dean's stubbled jaw. "Sorry about that."
He touched his jaw and scowled at her but then cleared his throat and shrugged. "Oh this. Please. You hit like a girl," he joked.
Annie smiled. It was her wedding day, she reminded herself as the bridesmaids began to file out of the bridal suite. For a little while, maybe she could let go of some of her old resentment and anger. It felt good to have someone from her old life here with her. Even if it was Dean.
They waited beside the church's inner doors while the bridesmaids marched down the aisle. Dean peeked around the door to get a look at the men at the altar. Annie tugged on his arm. "Stop that. You're making me nervous."
"Relax. Just wanted to get a look at Mr. Right. Figures."
"What does that mean?" Annie asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Oh nothing. I'm sure you and Mr G.Q will be very happy together. Raise lots of well adjusted, pompous babies with good hair."
"His name is Jack." Annie scowled at him.
"Jack and Annie. How very apple pie." He sneered, looking away.
"Stop that or I'm gonna tell Sam how big of an ass you were today!" Annie snapped, her stomach tightening in a guilty clench at his words. He made wanting to be happy seem like something she should be ashamed of! She fought the urge to discolor the other side of his jaw.
"Fine, fine. I'll be good." He held up his hands, eyes twinkling mischieviously. Then his expression softened and he ran his eyes down Annie's face and along her dress and then up again.
Annie felt his gaze sizzle through her like an electric current. She wondered briefly if Dean could feel her shiver against his side.
"You look...nice." He said softly, his voice thick.
Annie's breath hitched and she felt her eyes burn with renewed tears.
"Just seemed like something Sam would say if he was here." Dean shrugged then his eyes widened when he noticed her glistening eyes. "Oh no, no. You don't want to do that now. The heroin look went out years ago," he reminded her, getting the desired effect when she gave a soft laugh.
Annie wrapped her free arm around him and drew him close, buring her face in his neck. "Thank you for coming," she whispered, trying to ignore the sharp kick of deja vu at the feel of his body pressed against hers.
When his palm tentatively met the small of her back she was assaulted by the traitorous thought: It should have been you. Annie fiercely veered away from that train of thought. She had the man she wanted, thank you very much.
They both jumped when the musical cue for the bride started up.
"Showtime." Dean said pulling back as the doors opened once again.
Annie nodded, taking a deep breath to try and calm her nerves "Oh and Dean? Sam would have said 'beautiful'."
Dean smiled and rolled his eyes at her. "Everyone's a critic."
A.N:
Zelinia: Thankie for your feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far. Annie's sort of forced herself to try and move on cause Jack means a normal life with a home and babies and the family she's never really had. On top of all the other issues with Dean, he's no where near the 'white picket fence' type. But of course, love doesn't give a squat about what we think we want. (laughs) I remember that movie! Loved it muchly. The stigmata is definitely a sign of things to come with Annie. Definitely more Dean interaction here and for the rest of the story. Just felt I need to develop Annie a bit more since we pretty much know Dean already. Annie will tell Dean first about the stigmata in the next few chapters. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Liz122474: Thankie for your lovely feedback. I think you might be confusing me with someone else though cause I don't write for Firefly (loved the show though so who knows? Maybe someday) The other shows I write for are Battlestar Galactica and Horatio Hornblower. Hope you like this chapter.
Twilite92: It's always a high compliment when someone who doesn't normally read OFC takes a look at my stuff and enjoys it! Everything about how Annie came to be with the Winchesters and who she is will be explained in the coming chapters and books as there will be more than one. I can't write a short story that isn't erotic fiction to save my life. (laughs) Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Dex1: Thankie muchly! Hope you like this chapter.
Renni: I'm so tickled you're enjoying this one too! Hope you like this chapter too! And no, nothing wrong with the Dean. (pets the Dean)
Starrfireflyfan: Thankie for your feedback. I always like injecting a little bit of humor into my stories to balance out the angst and drama of it all. Hope you like this chapter!
Caz: Thank you for your lovely compliment! Hope it wasn't too long a wait for ya. (laughs) Let me know what you think of this one!