"Come take a walk with me, Pipe." Sam insisted, standing in the doorway of her bedroom.

Piper sighed. She was laying on her back in her bed, and she had been expecting this. They had come back to Bobby's after Dean had been captured by the djinn, all of them unsure of what to do. Dean still wouldn't look at Piper, but he had started speaking to her again in short sentences. Piper had started not looking at him, either, and pretending that he wasn't there most of the time.

It made her life easier.

But she did feel bad for Sam. Poor Sam, who didn't know what to do about all the tension. Piper didn't know what to do with it, either. I mean, I don't even know what happened. Her fear was that in his vision of a perfect life, because she hadn't been in it, Dean didn't want her around anymore. Which didn't matter a lick to her, she was sticking with them whether he wanted her there or not.

It was hard because she thought they had had a moment on the ferris wheel. She had felt his heart racing, and her breath had quickened at the look in his eyes, a look that she had thought was desire. She had been sure. And apparently, she had been wrong.

But, no matter how unfair it was to Sam, she was doing just fine ignoring the problem. She didn't want to talk about it. "I'm good, Sam."

He stepped into her room and started looking for her boots. "Come on, Finley, we're going." He found one.

Piper didn't move except to glare at him. "Sam, I'm-"

He threw both boots at her. "Piper. You're not the only one who can drag people kicking and screaming to places they don't want to go. And I'm at least a foot and a half taller than you, so it wouldn't even be a big deal. Let's go."

Piper groaned, but with an inner smile. She and Sam hadn't been just the two of them for quite a while. And she could admit to herself that when it was all three of them, she tended to be more focused on Dean. It would be nice to connect with her best friend again.

xxxxx

Piper was laughing more than she had in weeks. "Oh, my God, Dean Winchester, scared of flying." She sank down onto the fallen tree next to her and wiped her eyes. "Oh, God, Sam, how did you even keep it together?"

He was grinning at her. He missed laughing with Piper, and talking about nonsense. He was filled with urgency to find the yellow-eyed demon, but this was important, too. Piper was his best friend, and now could probably be called his only friend, and he wanted her to be okay. He hadn't shared his suspicion with her, but he thought Dean was lying about the vision the djinn had showed him. Sam suspected that Piper had played a big role in that vision.

But he wasn't going to bring that up. She was laughing and smiling, and he hadn't seen it in weeks. "It wasn't easy, but the demon did help."

She was still chuckling. "Oh, jeeze, that would be the only thing that would do it." She stood again, smiling up at him. "Let's go, Gigantor."

"Rude," he scoffed, walking beside her as they started down the path again.

Sam had found this path years ago with Piper, on the very back of what was technically Bobby's property. Piper had said then that she wasn't sure anyone could own anything this beautiful, and Sam had privately agreed.

She stopped at the top of a little hill, looking around quietly. She looked small, and lost. Sam stood next to her and slipped his hand into hers, their fingers intertwining.

She sighed and squeezed his hand. "Sam, this is all so messed up."

He nodded. "I mean," she continued, "Everything. You having visions, John making a deal, us trying to find this damn demon and just gank the bastard." She shook her head and looked up at him. "Do you know what most people our age are doing?"

Sam smiled. "College," he said wistfully.

She nodded. "College, jobs, getting married. Sam, this is…"

"It's crazy, I know." Sam chuckled. "Trust me, I know."

She leaned her head against his arm, and he let go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Now was as good a time as any. "Piper, about Dean."

She shook her head, but didn't move away. "No, Sam. Just… No. I'm not talking about him."

He squeezed her. "Okay, then, just shut it and listen." He paused, gathering his thoughts. He couldn't help but think that this conversation was very important. "Look, Pipe, Dean has lost a lot because of this job. It's made it so he won't let anyone… In. He won't let anyone in, because losing more people might be too much." Sam leaned down to kiss the top of her hair. "Try not to take it personally, Pipe. I'm sure he'll come around one of these days."

Piper was silent for a long time. Sam let her think. She was usually a very careful person, considering every angle of a problem before she acted. This was the same thing, so he just felt the sun soaking into him and kept his arm around her.

"You know, Sammy, I don't give you enough credit for what you see," she said quietly.

He grinned. "No one does. I think it's the height. No one thinks I can hear them."

She chuckled, and Sam heard the emotion she was holding back in it. "Oh, Sam. I'll... I'll try."

xxxxx

When they got back, Dean was in the kitchen, drinking. Sam saw him look up at them, but ignored his big brother to usher Piper into the living room.

"I can't believe you got me to agree to this," she groaned as he pushed her down onto the couch and went to the entertainment center.

"Shut up, Finley, this movie is perfection."

"It's like three hours long, Sam!" she cried out from the couch, but she didn't move, and she was smiling again. Sam wanted to watch the first Lord of the Rings movie, and she had begrudgingly agreed. He thought it would be another good distraction for her, and she might get some peaceful sleep.

An hour later, Sam was watching the movie by himself. He was laying on his left side on the couch, and Piper was curled up in front of him, his arm slung around her middle. He had pulled the blanket down from the back of the couch and wrapped her in it as soon as she had gotten sleepy.

She sighed in her sleep and cuddled closer to him. Sam smiled. It made him think of when they were younger. Piper had had nightmares the first few weeks she was with them. He had heard her one night, and not knowing what else to do, crawled into bed next to her. He had comforted her through the night, and after that, John had found them sleeping in the one another's bed more often than not.

It was as platonic as could be, but when Dean came in from the kitchen, Sam caught his jealous glare. Sam felt the anger he had been squashing rise to the surface and glared back. "What?" he whispered.

Dean shrugged. He was a little drunk. "Just didn't know this was so cozy."

Sam tightened his arm and pulled Piper closer. "Dean, lower your voice. And you know that Piper and I are friends. She's had a rough couple of days," he gave Dean a pointed look, "and she hasn't been sleeping well."

"And Sammy was there to save the day, huh?" Dean snapped, not whispering. "All because big bad Dean hurt her feelings." He was sneering.

Sam let it roll off his back, and pulled Piper's face closer so he could press his palm against her ear. "Dean," his voice held a low warning, enough to make Dean look him in the eye and straighten up a little. "Either shut up and go to bed, or shut up and sit down and watch the damn movie." He paused, and unable to help himself, muttered through clenched teeth, "Haven't you messed this up enough?"

xxxxx

Dean brooded as the credits rolled. He looked over at Sam and Piper, both asleep, his face buried in her lavender hair, snoring lightly. He still felt jealousy burning in his heart, but it was now accompanied by shame.

Sam had been right. He had messed up, but he didn't think he could look at her. Not after hearing his name on her lips, not after being able to hold her, touch her whenever he wanted.

Well, not when she's awake, he thought, surveying her as she slept. He knew he was being an ass, and kind of creepy, but he couldn't help it. He didn't know if he could stand seeing her without the love she'd had in her eyes in his vision. He knew that had been a dream, he knew that it had all come from his mind, but he couldn't seem to help it. He didn't want her to see how much it hurt him to see her and not touch her.

At that moment, Sam turned, and Piper ungracefully thumped to the floor. Dean stifled a chuckle as Sam rolled over, seemingly unaware he had pushed her off of the couch. He stood up to look at her and had to stop himself from laughing out loud when he saw she had curled up in the blanket she was wrapped in and was still sleeping soundly. "You two were always the heavy sleepers," he whispered softly.

He considered for a moment, then decided it couldn't be helped. He knelt and carefully pulled Piper into his arms, with her legs dangling off of his left arm and her head resting on his chest. "Time for bed, kitten."

He walked her up the stairs and finagled his way into her room. He looked around as he walked her to her bed. It was small and tidy, with posters and pictures covering the walls. As he lay her on her bed, his eye was caught by a frame on her bedside table. He sat on her bed next to her to examine them.

It held four photos. The first one was of Piper and her parents, they appeared to be sitting at a dining room table. Her father was quite a bit older, with gray hair that was thinning at the temples. Her mother was an older version of Piper, with dark brown hair that spilled over her shoulder in a way her daughter's hair would imitate years later. Piper was in the middle, a skinny teenager with wide, happy eyes and a big smile.

The second photo was of Piper and Bobby, standing outside the house. She was leaning against her Jeep, which he had given to her as an eighteenth birthday gift. He was ruffling her hair, and she was laughing, and she had been caught in the act of throwing herself into his arms.

The third photo was a picture of Dean and Sam, he was surprised to see. They were sitting at Bobby's kitchen table, and Dean was turned to look at something behind them. They were laughing. That wasn't too long ago, he thought, looking at the length of Sammy's hair.

The fourth made his breath catch a little. It was a picture of he and Piper. They were looking at one another, their mouths tilted up at the ends in the beginnings of smiles. They were leaned against Baby, standing close. The wind was blowing her hair, which was still auburn in the picture, into her face. Her arms were crossed, his were in his pockets.

He was still examining those pictures when Piper shifted in her sleep, muttering softly. He looked at her for a second, then raised a shaking hand to smooth her hair away from her face. "You fell off the couch, Pipes," he whispered to her. "I just brought you to bed."

She nodded sleepily, keeping her eyes closed. "'Kay, Dean."

He should leave. He knew he should leave. "I'm so sorry, kitten, I've been an ass," he whispered instead.

She rolled toward him, cracking an eye open and looking at him. "Mhm."

He smiled, his hand still on the side of her face. "I'll do better."

Her eye drifted close and the ghost of a smile touched her face. "No, you won't, but that's okay. It doesn't matter, I'll stay with you." She fell back into slumber.

Dean stayed where he was, fighting with his emotions. No more drinking before talking to Piper.

Once he felt like he had a handle on himself, he leaned over and pressed a kiss into Piper's forehead. "'Night, kitten."

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.