"Jesus, Winchester, why didn't you guys call me?" Piper huffed out at Dean's back.
She was sitting on the same sedan she'd been sitting on a few days earlier, watching Dean put the finishing touches on the Impala. She was also trying to not watch the way his muscles moved underneath his shirt, or the way that shirt would ride up a little when he leaned forward and exposed that strip of dark, toned flesh above the waist of his jeans…
Dean shrugged, breaking her out of her reverie. "I don't know, Pipes, it never occurred to me. We were… Busy."
Piper was taken aback. "Busy? You were too busy to let me know that Sam's having visions? Too busy to let me know that you almost died?" She slid off of the hood she was sitting on to stand up, crossing her arms and starting to get mad. Dean turned around to look at her with his eyebrows raised. "You called me when you needed help with that werewolf case. And when you were working that salt and burn in Indiana. So you can pick up a phone when you want someone around, but not when something is actually going on?"
Dean was getting angry. He put the wrench he was using down and stood up. "Why would I call you, Piper?" She watched his face work as he started getting as angry as she was. "You haven't been around for over a year! Why would I have thought you would pick up?" he growled at her, stepping forward.
Piper refused to be intimidated, and stepped forward toward him. "When have you ever called me and I didn't come, Winchester? I have always been here for you guys! I have never said no to you!"
Dean stepped forward, rage coming off of him in waves, until their noses were almost touching. He glared down at her. "Piper, you've been avoiding me for a year! I haven't heard from you for months! If Sam didn't want to call you, I wasn't going to do it, because you wouldn't have answered!" he shouted at her.
Piper stopped, and felt her flushed face cool as she paled. She backed away a few steps, not dropping her gaze. "You… You think I wouldn't answer if you called and said you needed me?" She backed away a few more steps and turned her face away.
Dean sighed. "Piper…"
She shook her head and tried to smile brightly back at him. "It's fine, Dean. You're right, we aren't as close as we used to be." She swallowed, refusing to meet his eyes. "Hey, I'm going to go make lunch for everyone. You can come back to the house and I'll have it ready." She turned and walked away.
She knew that she wasn't close with Dean, and that they had drifted, and maybe she had been avoiding him. But being near him made her feel things, and she didn't want to destroy their friendship. But will there be a friendship if I keep avoiding him?
Piper sighed as she opened the front door to the house. No, there wouldn't be. Dean had been feeling the distance between them, and she needed to remedy it. Even if getting a little closer to him would be hard for her, Piper would have to suck it up. Dean was just as important to her as Sam was, and she wouldn't let her feelings get in the way of the friendship she wanted to have with the Winchesters.
She sighed and squared her shoulders, the decision was made. She started moving around the kitchen, getting stuff together for sandwiches.
xxxxx
Dean watched Piper retreat to the house, her shoulders tense and hunched. Smooth, Winchester, very smooth. He sighed again and turned back to Baby, picking up his wrench again.
He knew that Piper would have come if he called. He didn't know what his problem was. Piper was family, too, and he knew that. He was just frustrated that she had pulled away from him, unsure of what he had done. He tried to run through the last hunt they'd been on together, the last time he'd seen her...
Dean and Piper ran back to Baby, she was holding her left arm to her side. They dove in and he sped away.
"Shit, Piper, are you okay? I'm so sorry, this is my fau-" he started, looking at her with concern.
She shot him a tight smile as she pulled her hand away from her arm. He could see the blood smeared on her fingers. "It's fine, Dean, watch the road. Just get us back to the motel, I can patch it up when we get there," she said, pressing her hand back into her arm.
He sped all the way there, and slammed the Impala into park before jumping out of his side and ran around to open her door. She smiled her thanks at him and headed to the door. He got them into the room and sat her down on one of the beds. "Take your jacket off, I'll take a look at it."
She slipped her jacket off, hissing between her teeth as she pulled her left sleeve off and assessed the damage. "Honestly, Dean, it should be fine, I can just take a shower-"
Dean came over and helped her pull her sleeve off completely. He examined the deep cut in her arm, frowning. "Piper, that's going to need stitches."
She frowned back at him. "Dean, I think it's-"
"Fine, yeah, I got that. Just shut up so I can stitch you up, okay?" He looked at her pleadingly.
She seemed to fight an internal battle, then nodded hesitantly.
After they were done, there were tears standing in her eyes, and she was biting down on the sleeve of her jacket. Dean was wracked with guilt, he had been so focused on stitching her wound that he hadn't noticed the pain she was in. He winced in sympathy. "Okay, Pipes, I need to try to disinfectant it again, this is going to hurt, okay?"
She nodded and kept her eyes on the motel door, biting down on her sleeve again. Dean got the whiskey and poured it over her wound. She whimpered and shut her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek. Once he put the whiskey bottle down, Dean wasn't sure what to do, so he did the first thing that came to mind. He sat next to her and pulled her into his arms, being gentle with her wounded arm. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his lips against her head, closing his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Pipes, this was my fault," he whispered to her.
She gave a shuddering sigh and leaned into him. "Dean, it was not. I didn't realize he was so close. You saved my bacon, Dean, so don't forget it," she sighed at him as she snuggled closer.
They had been running on fumes for days, the vengeful spirit had a high body count and it was getting more frenzied by the time they understood what was happening. They had gotten in and started the salt and burn before realizing there were two spirits, and the second one had slashed Piper's arm open before they knew what hit them. Dean had salted and burned the bodies, and they had gotten the hell out of there.
He held her tighter, guilt hurricaning through him. "Pipes, I should-"
"Dean!" she stopped him, laughing as she pulled away to look at him. "Dean, it happens. We have a dangerous job, and you know it as well as anyone else." Her hazel eyes searched his, urging him to hear what she was saying. He was mesmerized. "Dean, you have to stop this. You're a hero , Winchester. Everyone knows it but you." She smiled gently at him. "I see it every day, so trust me. I'm an expert."
Dean was floored. He had been called many things, but never a hero. He looked at Piper, really looked at her, looking at her auburn hair spilling over her shoulder, her wide hazel eyes looking at him with dawning surprise, her soft lips opened a little.
His gaze didn't leave her lips for a moment, and then flicked back up to her eyes. Dean felt like something important was happening, and he memorized her face, so he wouldn't forget any of it.
Before he could lean forward, Piper had jumped out of his lap, tearing herself from his arms. "Thanks for patching me up, Winchester, I really appreciate it. I'm going to pop an Aspirin or six and take a bath. Thanks!" She grabbed her bag and retreated to the bathroom.
Dean shook his head, clearing his mind of memories. If something had happened, he could have understood, but she had left before anything had. They had gone back to normal the next day, but she had pulled away after that. And now that he thought about it, it was when she stopped saying his first name.
This isn't helping, he thought sullenly, putting his stuff away. He started back to the house, determined to not let it be awkward.
He opened the front door to Piper and Sam laughing in the kitchen. He smiled at the sound, it was nice to hear them both being lighthearted. Her eyes met his and she quickly looked away, handing him a plate with a sandwich on it. "Here's lunch! I'm going to go take one to Bobby," she said brightly, and walked out of the kitchen with another plate.
Dean watched her go with a frown as he picked up his sandwich and sat down next to Sam at the table. "Does she seem weird to you?" he asked, pointing to the door.
Sam shrugged. "No, no more than usual. Hey, how's the car?"
Dean looked back at him, glad to be back on a subject where he had solid footing. "Good, she's almost done."
"Good, because I think we have a case. Some mutilated cattle, and in the last few days, two beheaded bodies."
Dean grinned. "Sounds like our kind of thing."
"What does?" Piper asked as she reentered the kitchen.
"I think we found a case, and the Impala is almost done." Sam told her.
She brightened. "Great! Do you think we can leave today?" She directed the question at Dean.
He nodded. "Yes, Sam and I can leave today. You are staying here."
Her eyes squinted down to dangerous slits. "Look, Winchester, I'm going, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. So shut it and get ready." She pushed her chair back and stormed out of the kitchen.
Dean huffed as Sam looked at him quizzically. "Dude. What's your problem? You know she can hold her own."
"Look, Sam, it's going to be dangerous, and she should stay here to be safe." Dean muttered, still glaring at the doorway that Piper had left through.
"Jesus, Dean, how caveman can you get?" Sam scoffed, standing up. "Piper is an adult, you know that she can do everything we can do. Handle whatever issue you have, because I want her with us." Sam left to get his stuff ready for the hunt.
Dean looked around the now empty kitchen that had been happy before he walked in. "What the hell just happened?"
xxxxx
An hour later, Piper had decided again to leave the awkwardness behind her. Seeing Dean so happy made her heart lift, even as she clutched the seat to avoid the inevitable death that would come as a result of his driving. "So, Sam, what other details do we have about the case?"
"A few mutilated cows, and a couple of beheaded bodies, and not much else. We'll have to visit the morgue when we get there."
Dean grinned. "How far, Sammy?"
"Uh, about another three hundred miles."
Dean smirked. "Good."
xxxxx
Piper was still giggling when they got to the hospital, poking fun at the boys about the terrible attempted interview that they had conducted with the sheriff. Sam laughed and elbowed her side as they walked up to the desk, at which sat an intern with a name tag reading, "J. Manners."
Dean took charge. "John."
The intern glanced up. "Jeff."
Dean chuckled. "Jeff. I know that. Dr. Dworkin needs to see you in his office right away."
Jeff paused. "But Dr. Dworkin's on vacation."
Dean raised his eyebrows. "Well, he's back." Jeff's face paled. "And he's pissed, and he's screaming for you, man, so if I were you I would-" Dean whistled.
Jeff ran out of the room. Dean looked at Sam as they made their way into the morgue. "Okay. Hey, those satanists in Florida, they marked their victims, didn't they?"
"Yeah, reversed pentacle on the forehead," Sam replied.
Dean sighed. "Yeah. So much f'd up crap happens in Florida."
Sam and Piper chuckled. She handed the boys latex gloves as Sam opened the drawer and pulled the body out. There was a box between it's legs.
Dean looked at Sam. "All right, open it." Piper grinned.
Sam scoffed. "You open it."
Piper laughed. "Wusses."
The boys glared at her as Dean carried the box over to another table. He flipped the lid off, grimacing. Sam and Piper moved closer, wincing.
Dean sighed. "Well, no pentagram."
"Poor thing." Piper said sadly.
"Maybe we should, uh, you know, look in her mouth, see if those wackos stuffed anything down her throat." He grinned and elbowed Sam. "You know, kinda like the moth in Silence of the Lambs."
Sam pushed the box toward Dean. "Yeah, here, go ahead."
Dean shook his head and pushed the box back. "No, you go ahead."
Sam looked at Dean. "What?"
Dean grinned. "Put the lotion in the basket."
Piper rolled her eyes and pushed them both out of the way, trying to keep contact with Dean short. At least I'm wearing gloves. "Like I said, you're both wusses."
Piper steeled herself and pushed her fingers into the head's mouth. She paled. "Dean, would you please get me a bucket?"
Instead, he leaned forward. "You find something?"
Piper shook her head and winced. "No, I'm going to puke."
Dean looked back into the bucket. "Wait, lift the lip up again?"
"Dean, do you want us to throw up? Is that it?" Sam snapped, looking a little green himself.
Dean glanced at him. "No, no, no, I think I saw something." He lifted the lip with his own finger. "What is that, is that a hole?" He pressed down the gum and a narrow tooth descended.
Piper's eyebrows went up. "It's a tooth."
Dean looked at her. "Pipes, that's a fang. Retractable set of vampire fangs. You gotta be kidding me.
Sam looked at both of them. "Well, this changes things."
Piper was pulling her gloves off as Dean put the lid back on the bucket. "Ya think?"
xxxxx
A few hours later, and changed out of the white coats they had worn, the three of them walked into a bar. Dean led the way to the bar to talk to the bartender.
While the boys talked to the bartender, Piper stood between them with her backs to them. She scanned the room. A man in the corner caught her eye briefly, although she didn't let her gaze rest on him. She heard Dean say, "Thanks," as he turned back around to her. She brushed his hand with hers, ignoring the electricity that shot up her arm. When he looked down at her, she smiled flirtatiously and stood up to whisper in his ear. "There's a guy near the door watching us, black guy, by himself."
Dean nodded and smiled back at her. She tried to suppress the heat that spread in her belly at the sight. "Let's go, babe," he said as he slung his arm around her shoulders. "Let's go, Sammy."
As soon as they left, Dean took his arm off of Piper's shoulders and pushed her in front of him as they went down the alley right next to the bar. The moment the man was in sight, clearly having followed them, Sam and Dean shoved him up against a wall.
"Smile." Dean snarled.
The man looked confused. "What?"
Dean shoved him harder against the wall. "Show us those pearly whites."
The man rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of... You want to stick that thing someplace else? I'm not a vampire." Sam glared at him. "Yeah, that's right. I heard you guys in there."
"What do you know about vampires?" Sam asked suspiciously.
The man renewed his baleful stare. "How to kill them. Now seriously, bro. That knife's making me itch."
Dean cocked his head. As the man started to pull away, Sam shoved him again into the wall.
"Woah, easy there, Chachi," the man said soothingly. Piper felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. The man pulled his hand and pulled his lip back, revealing his very human gums. "See? Fangless. Happy?"
The boys stepped back, Sam stepping back to stand next to Piper as Dean snarled again. "Who the hell are you?"
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.
