The seal had been broken. Samhain had risen. Sam had used his demon powers. And Piper was lying to him.

Dean glared down at her from his place next to her on the bed. She wasn't meeting his eyes. "You're honestly going to try to pass this off as a fall?"

She kept looking at the door. "I did fall, Dean, I don't know what-"

"If you're going to lie to me, Pipes, don't insult me."

She finally looked at him, tears starting to form in her eyes. Don't give in to her, she's lying to you. "Dean, please let it go. It's not a big deal."

He leaned forward to press his forehead against hers, fighting with himself. "Piper, you can't keep stuff from me, please."

"You don't want to know." She whispered softly.

"Tell me anyway."

She seemed to be fighting with herself. "The nightmares you've been having," she said finally, "Sometimes you… Lash out."

He sucked in a breath, realization and guilt washing through him. "I did this?"

She shook her head and put a hand on his arm. "No, you didn't mean to, Dean, so don't go blaming yourself. I can usually wake you up before it gets dangerous, but I wasn't fast enough. Dean, I'm fine."

He had hurt her. She was the most important thing, she was his one good thing, and he was beating her up in his sleep. "Jesus," he muttered, sick to his stomach, the guilt too much. He stood and ran a hand through his hair.

"Dean, please, it wasn't your fault." She was crying, which was also his fault, no matter what she claimed.

"I just need a minute, Pipes." He walked out the door, ignoring her protests.

Sam was leaning against the Impala, upset. Dean frowned. He wasn't happy with his brother, either, but his guilt was too heavy to be mad right now. So he just sighed and leaned against the car next to him. "Did you know about her ribs?" he asked quietly.

Sam, at least, didn't lie. "Yeah, she, uh, told me yesterday morning."

"Any reason you didn't clue me in?"

Sam chuckled humorlessly. "Because you're going to try to get her to stay behind, or you're going to try leave her, or some other bullshit to put her out of what you think is danger. And as much fun as you being dead was, I don't love the idea of Piper murdering you."

Dean frowned and looked at Sam. "Sam, if I'm hitting her in my sleep, she should go home."

"Try telling her that."

Dean groaned and leaned his head back. "Why the hell is she sticking with us? She's gotten hurt more times since she's been with us-"

"Because she's in love with you, idiot."

Something in Dean stilled. He wanted that to be true. God knew he… Felt that way about her. But even if it was true, it wouldn't be for long. Not if she found out.

So he snorted. "No, she's not."

Sam studied him for a long time. "You're an idiot, Dean."

xxxxx

Piper was watching Dean sit on a park bench, watching kids play on a playground. Her heart ached, almost as much as her damn ribs. He looked so forlorn, so lost.

She moved towards him slowly, trying to keep the pain in her ribs to a minimum. It didn't work, and he turned around at her soft grunt.

He was next to her in a flash, one arm around her waist, the other holding her hand as he guided her to the bench. "Jesus, Piper, did you walk here?"

She sat on the end of the bench with a sigh of relief. "It's only like a mile, and you took Baby."

He only growled in response, and she smiled. "Relax, Dean, I'm fine. I just didn't think you should be alone."

He sighed and sat next to her, arm wrapped gingerly around her shoulders. "Piper, I-"

"I can heal your ribs, Piper Finley." Castiel had appeared next to Dean out of thin air. He was leaning forward to look at her, frowning. "Your injury has become much more severe."

Piper had jumped when the angel appeared, and was now gasping in pain. She considered his offer for a moment. "Okay, wings." Dean frowned down at her, but said nothing.

Castiel leaned forward and pressed two fingers against her forehead. She felt a comforting warmth envelop her ribs, then nothing. She blinked and sat up. There was no pain at all.

She gave the angel a half smile. "Thank you, Castiel."

He smiled. "You're welcome, Piper."

There was a beat of silence, then Dean turned to Castiel. "Let me guess you're here for the, 'I told you so'."

Castiel looked forward again. "No."

"Well, good, cause I'm really not that interested."

Castiel sighed. "I am not here to judge you, Dean."

"Then why are you here?"

"Our orders-"

"Yeah, you know, I've had about enough of these orders of yours-"

Piper put a hand on Dean's chest to interrupt him. "Dean, hear him out."

Castiel continued. "Our orders were not to stop the summoning of Samhain, they were to do whatever you told us to do."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Your orders were to follow my orders?"

"It was a test, to see how you would perform under... Battlefield conditions, you might say."

Piper felt her brow furrow. "It was a witch, not the Tet Offensive."

Dean ignored her. "So I, uh, failed your test, huh? I get it. But you know what? If you would have waved that magic time-traveling wand of yours and we had to do it all over again, I'd make the same call. 'Cause see, I don't know what's gonna happen when these seals are broken, hell I don't even know what's gonna happen tomorrow. But what I do know is, that this, here? These kids, the swings, the trees, all of it is still here because of Piper, my brother and me." Piper nodded and slipped her hand into his.

"You misunderstand me, Dean, I'm not like you think. I was praying that you would choose to save the town."

"You were?"

Castiel looked toward the playground and gestured. "These people, they're all my father's creations. They're works of art, and yet, even though you stopped Samhain, the seal was broken and we are one step closer to hell on earth, for all creation. Now that's not an expression, Dean, it's literal. You of all people should appreciate what that means." Dean's hand tightened on Piper's. "Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul?"

Dean nodded slowly. "Okay."

"I'm not a… Hammer as you say. I have questions, I have doubts. I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore, whether you passed or failed here. But in the coming months you will have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that's on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don't."

xxxxx

CRASH!

"God dammit, Piper, quit throwing things!"

"Screw you, Winchester!" CRASH!

"This ain't gonna change my mind, Piper. You're staying here." CRASH! "God dammit, Piper, that almost hit me!"

"Yeah, I missed! You can't stop me, Dean, I'm a grown-ass woman and I'll go wherever I damn well please!"

Sam winced as another crash rang through the house. "How long have they been at it?"

"An hour at least," Bobby said miserably. "Wish they'd cut it out."

xxxxx

"God dammit, this is for your own good!"

Dean watched as she swung to point at him, fury radiating off of her. "You don't get to decide that! You aren't in charge of what I do!"

He closed his eyes and tried count to ten. "Pipes, baby, come on-"

"Don't you dare 'Pipes, baby, come on' me, Dean Winchester!" He watched her take a deep breath. She really was lovely when she was mad, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Look, Dean," she started, the first words she hadn't shouted at him for an hour. "How many times do we have to do this? What do I have to do to convince you I'm in this for the long haul? I have stayed with you, I have fought with you, I don't know what you want from me."

He blew a breath out and ran a hand through his hair. An idea had taken hold, but he hated it. "Piper, I just want you to be safe."

She stepped closer to him. "I can take care of myself, Dean."

God dammit. If he could make her see reason and stay here, maybe he wouldn't have to lie to her. "I know you can, Pipes, I just… I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I could get hurt anywhere. I'm staying with you."

He had to put his foot down. She couldn't even sleep next to him safely, much less hunt. She'd been kidnapped, tortured, had bones broken, and she still insisted she was fine. "Piper, I don't want you with us."

She snorted. "Well, tough."

He had to. He had to. "Piper, I don't want you with me."

He watched the color drain from her face, trying to conceal the misery in his heart. If she thought he was leaving her, maybe she'd go be safe somewhere.

She stepped close enough to look up at him. "Are you trying… To break up with me?"

He couldn't say the word, so he just nodded.

He didn't expect the slap, but he took it passively, closing his eyes, hoping she couldn't see the pain on his face.

He expected heartbreak, so her anger caught him by surprise. "How dare you," she said softly. He opened his eyes and watched her eyes fill with outrage. "How dare you use ourrelationship in some half-assed attempt to get me to stay safe. How dare you hold us hostage!"

He frowned. "Piper-" He caught her hand as she swung again. "Piper, it's for the best, we weren't going to make it anyway."

"Bullshit." She ripped her hand out if his grasp. "We're fine. We're great. Screw you, Dean."

She walked to the door of her bedroom and turned back to him. "When you get your head out of your ass and realize that I'm in love with you, you come find me. And be prepared to grovel." She slammed the door behind her.

What? Dean was floored, hearing her words echo over and over in his head. She couldn't be in love with him. She didn't know what he'd done.

I could tell her. No, she would turn away from him. Maybe she wouldn't. He couldn't take that chance. What are you doing now, jackass? She just walked out.

Dean ran to the door and down the stairs. He stopped in the kitchen to look at Bobby and Sam, but no Piper. He met Sam's eyes. "Where?"

"Out back. She was running."

Dean ran out the door without another word. His heart was racing, panicking in his chest. What if she really left?

He found her a minute later, walking through the salvage yard away from the house. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, and her shoulders were hunched. "Piper!"

She didn't stop, but he saw her tense. "Piper!"

She stopped and turned to him, still mad. "I don't want to-"

He grabbed her arms and pulled her into him, his lips crashing down onto hers. She cried out and pulled her arms out of his grasp to wrap them around his neck, her fingers spearing through the hair at the nape of his neck. The urgent little sounds she was making were driving him crazy.

"I'm sorry, kitten, I'm so sorry," he murmured against her lips, lifting her onto the hood of a nearby car.

"I know, it's okay, I love you," she whimpered back, hands fishing in his shirt to pull him close.

Her hands went to his belt buckle and he pulled away. "Are we going to this right here?"

"God, yes," she gasped, fumbling with his belt.

He grinned. "I have a better idea."

He pulled her off of the car and put his hands on her ass, moaning when she bit his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. He felt her suck hard, briefly, and grinned. Being a marked man didn't seem so bad.

When they got to the Impala, he bent his knees so she could reach behind her and open the door. He basically tossed her into the backseat. The heat in her eyes was intoxicating. The heat of her hand wrapping around his length before they could get all of their clothes off was intoxicating. The sight of her underneath him, coming apart in his arms, was intoxicating.

But mostly, her sweet, low voice, whispering "I love you," over and over again was intoxicating.

xxxxx

Dean lay on his back, arm around Piper, who was curled around him, snoring softly. He had thrown the blanket he kept in the backseat over them, and he was staring at Baby's ceiling, considering.

She loved him. She was in love with him. He was in awe, put there by the woman sleeping next to him. She had seen almost the worst of the bad, and she was still in love with him. She was amazing.

He had tried to say it back, but there was a soul deep fear that stopped him. If he said it, even to himself, it meant if he lost her, it would kill him. And he would lose her, they were hunters. It was part of the job. When he had been dying, he hadn't had her to lose. He was the one being lost, so he could admit to himself that he… Felt that way.

Crap, he thought to himself as he shifted to pull her closer. He closed his eyes to try to sleep, mind racing.

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

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