"Of course we keep our promises. Of course you have our gratitude. You served us well. Your work is done. It's time to go home now. Your real home. You'll rest forever in the fields of the Lord. Rest now, Jimmy."

Piper watched Castiel, possessing Claire Novak, talk to Jimmy Novak. She was sick to her stomach, her head hurt where that bitch demon had hit her before Dean ganked it, and Sam still had blood on his face from when he had been drinking demon blood?

Worst. Day. Ever.

Jimmy was clutching his bloody stomach, looking horrified at Castiel. "No. Claire?"

The little girl shook her head. "She's with me now. She's chosen. It's in her blood, as it was in yours."

"Please, Castiel. Me, just take me. Take me, please."

Dean wrapped an arm around Piper and they leaned on one another, both exhausted. She watched, tears spilling down her cheeks, as this brave man begged for his daughter.

"I want to make sure you understand," the angel was saying. "You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, picture a hundred, a thousand more like it."

"It doesn't matter. You take me. Just take me."

The little girl seemed to consider for a moment, then spoke. "As you wish."

She leaned forward and touched Jimmy's face, and Piper winced as a bright light symbolized Castiel changing vessels. Claire fell to her hands and knees, and Amelia rushed forward and swept her daughter into her arms.

Castiel, now in the familiar face that Piper knew, stood and turned to leave.

"Cass, hold up. What were you gonna tell me?" Dean said, walking forward to the angel.

Castiel didn't turn around, but he did stop. "I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve heaven, I don't serve man, and I certainly don't serve you."

"Hey," Piper snapped, ignoring Dean's restraining hand on her arm. "Castiel, don't you dare walk away from me."

"Was there a part of 'I don't serve man' that you didn't understand, Piper Finley?"

She was incensed, but kept her walk slow as she circled Castiel until she was facing him. "Cass, please," she said softly. She gently, slowly placed a hand on his face. "Please, tell us what's going on. What did they do to you?" She whispered the last question. She didn't quite understand her attachment to the angel, but the thought of heaven hurting him upset her greatly.

"No." He said firmly. He kept her gaze for a moment, then looked away as he stepped around her and walked out of the warehouse.

xxxxx

The only displeasure Dean had shown so far was to tell Piper to get in the front seat, banishing Sam to the back. She had sat against the passenger side door, but as soon as Dean had gotten into the car he had placed a hand on her leg and tugged her toward him until she was curled under his arm.

Suddenly, from the backseat. "All right, let's hear it."

"What?" Piper asked, turning to look at him. She placed a hand on Dean's chest to look back at Sam.

"Drop the bomb. You guys saw what I did. Stop the car, take a swing, yell at me. Something."

Dean shook his head, not even looking at the rear view. "I'm not gonna take a swing."

Piper turned back to the front and rested herself against Dean again as he spoke. "I'm not mad, Sam."

Sam scoffed. "Come on. You're not mad?"

"Nope."

"Right," Sam said skeptically. "Look, at least let me explain myself."

"Just stop, Sam. No one cares," Piper said softly, tired of hearing them fight. It felt like the boys were always fighting now.

Sam sounded shocked. "You don't care?"

Dean exhaled sharply. "What do you want me to say, that I'm disappointed? Yeah, I am. But, mostly, I'm just tired, man. I'm done. I am just done."

Suddenly, Sam's phone rang. "Hey, Bobby. What's going on?" Sam hung up the phone after a few moments.

Closing her eyes against the tears that were forming in her eyes, Piper tried to keep her voice light. "What did he say?"

xxxxx

Dean watched Piper out of the corner of his eye as he talked to Sam through the little window in the panic room door at Bobby's. Her had was clasped over her mouth, and her shoulders were shaking. He wanted nothing more than to go to her, to comfort her, but this had to be dealt with.

Sam had to be dealt with.

"Okay. Let me out. This is not funny." Sam was saying through the door. Begging through the door.

Dean was so tired of this. He was tired of everything. He just wanted to take Piper away from here, give her a good life, and maybe do something with his hands for money. He wanted to stop this.

But this still had to be dealt with. So instead, he snapped, "Damn straight."

"Dean, come on. This is crazy."

"No. Not until you dry out."

Sam was starting to look scared. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you. Just open the door."

Dean shook his head, his gaze flicking to Piper, watching the tears drip down her face. "You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. It's not your fault that you lied to me over and over again. I get it now. You couldn't help it."

"I'm not some junkie," Sam snapped.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Really? I guess I've just imagined how strung out you've been lately."

He watched Sam run a frustrated hand through his hair. "You're actually trying to twist this into some kind of ridiculous drug intervention?"

Dean shrugged. "If it smells like a duck."

"Dean, I'm not drinking the demon blood for kicks. I'm getting strong enough to kill Lilith."

"Strong? This is about as far away from strong as you can get. Try weak. Try desperate. Pathetic."

Sam shook his head. "Killing Lilith is what matters. Or are you so busy being self-righteous you forgot about her?"

Dean nodded. "Oh, Lilith's gonna die. Bobby, Piper, and I will kill her. But not with you."

Sam looked shocked. "You're not serious."

Dean smiled coldly. "Congrats, Sammy. You just bought yourself a benchwarmer seat to the apocalypse."

Dean slammed the window cover shut.

He turned and walked to Piper, ignoring Sam's cries through the door. She reached for him, and he swept her into his arms, holding her tightly. He rested his chin on her head, his own eyes falling shut. "It's going to be all right, kitten."

"I hate this," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging to him.

Dean pressed a kiss to her head. "Me, too, kitten. Me, too."

xxxxx

He was sitting at the kitchen table with Piper sitting across his lap, her head resting on his shoulder. Giving comfort and receiving it at the same time.

Bobby came in, carrying three glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He set the glasses down, poured everyone a healthy glass, and handed them out. Piper sat up and took hers silently, her arm wrapping around Dean's shoulders.

Sam was crying out from the panic room. Dean winced. "How long is this gonna go on?"

Bobby shot Dean a bitch face. "Here, let me look it up in my demon detox manual. Oh, wait. No one ever wrote one." He sighed sadly. "No telling how long it'll take. Hell, or if Sam will even live through it."

Bobby's phone rang. He looked at it, practically growled, and flipped it open. "Hello. Suck dirt and die, Rufus. You call me again, I'll kill you."

Piper looked up. "What's up with Rufus?"

"He knows," Bobby snapped as the phone rang again. He looked at it, actually growled, and flipped it open again. "I'm busy, you son of a bitch. This better be important."

Bobby walked out of the room to talk on the phone. Dean turned to Piper, who was staring down into her whiskey glass. "How you holding up, kitten?"

She shook her head. "I'm not." She looked up and met his gaze, and the tears in her eyes were killing him. "Are you?"

He shook his head. "No."

She sighed. "I think this is best, Dean. I think this is the best decision we could have made, for Sam. But…" She sniffed. "But I really fucking hate it."

He pulled her close and kissed her gently. "Me, too, kitten."

She pressed her forehead to his. "I love you. It's going to be okay. You know that, right?"

He sighed. "Whatever you say, Pipes." The words were on the tip of his tongue, he wanted to say them so bad, but something held him back.

Dean suspected he wasn't going to make it out of this. He could taste it. The end was coming, and he was going down with the ship. He would do whatever he could to make sure Piper didn't come with him. And burdening her now didn't seem fair. Maybe if she didn't know how crazy he was about her, if she didn't know that there was nothing he wouldn't do for her… Maybe if she didn't know that to ensure she would be safe, he would walk back into hell without a second's hesitation, maybe she would move on after he died.

Maybe she would be better off without knowing how much he adored everything about her.

He was saved from considering these things by Bobby reentering the kitchen. "The news ain't good."

Dean looked up at him, disappointment and relief warring in his heart. "That's what Rufus called about?"

Bobby nodded. "Alaska. Fifteen man fishing crew all stricken blind, cause unknown. New York, teacher goes postal, locks the door, kills exactly sixty-six kids. All this in a single day. I looked them up. There's no doubt about it. They're all seals. Breaking. Fast."

Piper looked at him. "How many are left?"

Bobby shrugged. "Who knows? Can't be many." He examined the two of them. "Where the hell are your angel pals?"

Dean frowned, irritated. "You tell me."

Bobby sighed. "I'm just wondering… The apocalypse being nigh and all… Is now really the right time to be having this little domestic drama of ours?"

Piper frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

Bobby sighed and ran a hand down his face. "Well, I don't like this any more than you two do, but Sam can kill demons. He's got a shot at stopping Armageddon."

Only the fact that Piper was sitting on him, and she had suddenly tightened her arm around his neck, kept Dean from standing to confront his father-figure. "So what? Sacrifice Sam's life, his soul, for the greater good? Is that what you're saying? Times are bad, so let's use Sam as a nuclear warhead?"

Bobby sighed again. "Look, I know you hate me for suggesting it. I hate me for suggesting it. I love that boy like a son. All I'm saying is maybe he's here right now instead of on the battlefield because we love him too much."

xxxxx

"Bobby! Dean! Help! Hey! Hey! Piper, please! Guys! Guys! Help! Dean!"

Piper closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of Sam's cries. Dean had gone outside a long time ago, and she had let him. He had a lot to think about, and he didn't need her crying all over him while he was doing it. Bobby was in the living room, doing research. Which left Piper here, listening to Sam scream, trying to gauge if he actually needed her, or if it was the withdrawal talking.

When Dean walked back in, she stood and went to him gratefully. She wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to him. "Oh, God, Dean…"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch?" Bobby asked from behind them. Piper jumped a little, then looked up at Dean's face.

He didn't meet her eyes, and she frowned. "Dean?"

He still didn't look at her, just at Bobby miserably. "I'm sorry," Bobby snapped. "You prefer 'sucker?' After everything you said about them, now you trust them?"

Dean scoffed. "Come on, give me a little credit, Bobby. I've never trusted them less. I mean, they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan."

Piper tried to pull away, but Dean's arm kept her close against him. "Dean, what? What is he talking about?"

He finally looked down at her. "Pipes, I…" He swallowed hard. "What other option do I have? It's either trust the angels, or let Sammy trust a demon?"

She fought the emotions building inside her. "Dean, I-"

He suddenly looked up, his arms tensed around her. "You hear that?"

"That's a little too much nothing," Bobby said from behind them.

Dean released Piper, and the three of them thundered down the stairs. Piper got there first and slammed open the little window in the door. Sam was on the floor, seizing. "Dean!" she cried out as she slammed open the bolt.

He came up behind her and slammed it shut again. She whipped around to glare at him, which he returned down to her. "What if he's faking?"

A loud bang sounded from the panic room, and Piper turned to see Sam being slammed into the wall by an invisible force. "Does that look like he's faking it?" she snarled, pulling the bolt open and running in.

Dean was right behind her and they managed to pin Sam to the floor with Bobby. After a what seemed like a lifetime to Piper, Sam finally passed out and relaxed.

Bobby, who was holding Sam's legs, looked up at both of them, worry etched on his face. "We're gonna have to tie him down, for his own safety."

Piper looked over at Dean, whose eyes weren't focused. She reached over to place a hand on his arm. "Dean, baby? Dean, are you with me?"

He seemed to shake himself out of it and looked at her. "Yeah, yeah," he said softly. "Let's just get it over with."

xxxxx

"What if he dies, Dean?" Piper asked quietly. They were arguing about Sam. Bobby thought they were killing him with this forced detox. Bobby wanted to give him demon blood. Piper was terrified to lose Sam, and she was leaning towards Bobby's point of view.

"Then at least he dies human!" Dean shouted across the room at her. She flinched, and hated herself for it when he saw the devastation on his face.

His face hardened, and Piper felt cold. He closed himself off from her completely for the first time since they had gotten together. "I would die for him in a second, but I won't let him do this to himself. I can't. I guess I found my line. I won't let my brother turn into a monster."

Piper scowled, glaring at him. "Screw you, Dean, nobody is suggesting that we do. How could you think that's what I want?" She ran a hand through her hair, struggling to keep a lid on her temper. "I love Sam, too, Dean, you know that. You're not the only one rooting for him."

"Guys," Bobby said softly. "Sam's gone."

xxxxx

Piper was pissed. Dean had relegated her to searching the yard, thinking that there was no way that Sam could have left the house without them knowing. He was being such a bastard. She knew he was scared, but he didn't get to use her as a punching bag, or treat her like she was useless.

There was a sound in the salvage yard, and Piper paused. She moved silently toward the sound, shotgun pointed at it.

She came upon Sam trying to steal a car. She cocked the gun, causing him to swing around to look at her. "No dice, Sammy," she said softly, willing her voice to be strong. "You're coming with me, okay?"

He stood and shook his head. "No."

"Sam, please," she begged. "Come on, please, just come back with me, let us help you."

He looked at her coldly, and for the second time that night, Piper felt cut off completely from one of the Winchester men. "You're not going to shoot me, Piper."

Tears gathered in her eyes. "I will if I have to, Sam. Please don't make me."

A cold smile spread across Sam's face and he stepped forward. "You won't do it, Piper. You can't."

Tears spilled down her cheeks. "Please, Sam, please, please let us help you."

Sam reached out and grabbed the end of the shotgun and pointed it at his chest. "Then shoot me, Piper."

She was crying in earnest now, devastated. Where was Sam? Where was the boy who had hugged her at Christmas for a notebook? Or the guy who emailed her jokes while he was in college, because he didn't want to talk about hunting? Or the man who was going to tear the world apart when she had gone missing? Because he wasn't here. This wasn't him. This wasn't her honorary brother, her best friend, her Sam.

He examined her for a minute, then took the gun from her. She just let the butt of the gun approach, welcoming the darkness that swallowed her.

xxxxx

She woke up in the white bedroom, with Loki looking at her. "Hey, precious."

She sat up and held her head in her hands. "Hi," she said softly. She had no fire left right now, no energy to fight him.

He came forward and sat next to her on the bed, placing a gentle hand on her leg. "I know this is hard, Piper. I'm sorry."

She nodded and looked up at him. "Do you know about everything? The, uh, the demon blood?"

He said nothing, just looked at her.

She felt tears in her eyes. "I don't know what to do," she whispered softly.

He slowly placed a hand on her cheek. She felt warmth and comfort sweep through her, and she tilted her head to lean into his hand. "I know, precious," he said softly. "Just… Just have faith, Piper."

She opened her eyes. "Faith in what?"

He looked at her for a long time again. "God?"

She scoffed. "No. I won't have faith in God if he lets shit like this happen to Sammy. Why isn't he interfering? This is the apocalypse, and he's doing nothing. No, I don't want to have faith in a god like that."

He looked uncomfortable for a second, but didn't move his hand away from her face. "Then have faith in Dean."

She thought for a second, then nodded with a soft smile. "I can have faith in Dean. I always have faith in Dean."

He nodded and placed his palm on her head. She felt more warm comfort sweep through her, then darkness took her again.

xxxxx

Dean met Bobby in the living room after searching the second floor of the house. "Anything?"

Bobby shook his head. "No. You?"

Dean shook his head, too. "Nothing. Where's Piper?"

Bobby shrugged. "Outside, still?"

Ice gripped the base of Dean's spine. It wasn't a sensation he was familiar with, but he followed his instinct and ran out the door. He didn't see anything in the front yard, and following a blind instinct, he ran into the salvage yard. That same urging told him to turn left, and he did, almost tripping over Piper's prone form.

"Piper!" he yelled, tossing his gun and dropping to his knees next to her, rolling her onto her back. "Oh, Jesus, Piper, baby? Are you okay, baby? Come on, Piper, wake up for me." He was patting her cheek gently, having rolled her onto her back.

Relief swamped him when her eyes fluttered open. "Dean?" she slurred softly.

Knowing he shouldn't, but not being able to help himself, he pulled her up into his arms, placing a hand on the back of her head. "God, Piper, are you okay? What happened?"

She slowly wrapped her arms around his waist. "Sam, Dean, he, um…"

He pulled back and looked at her, placing a hand on her cheek. "Did he do this to you? Did he hit you, Piper?" He knew that was hypocritical, God knew he had had his own fair share of hitting the beautiful woman in front of him, but the thought of Sam laying hands on her made him furious.

She nodded slowly, pain all over her face. "Yeah. But, Dean, it's not… It's not Sam. Not our Sam. Something is wrong, Dean. Something is so much more wrong than we thought."

He brushed her hair away from her face. "I know, Pipes, we'll figure it out. Let's get you inside, okay?"

xxxxx

When Dean came in, Piper was laying on her back on her bed. He gently shut the door behind him, then came and sat next to her, hand on her leg. "How you feelin', kitten?"

She smiled. "I'm actually okay. I think the trickster healed me."

He frowned. "He pulled you into a dream again?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he told me to have faith."

Dean snorted, irritated. "Where does he get off telling you what to do?"

She laughed softly. "I told him pretty much the same time the last time I saw him." She sobered. "He told me to have faith in you."

Everything in Dean stilled. He had been a dick today, and he had taken it out on her. The look of fear on her face when he'd yelled at her had killed a little part of him. "What did you say?" he asked slowly, looking away.

Her soft hand on his jaw brought his face back around, making him look at her. She smiled. "I told him that I've always had faith in you."

He looked at her, surprised that she was still surprising him. "Piper, I…"

Dammit.

Sadness crossed her face. "It's okay, Dean." She leaned up and kissed him gently. "I know, Dean. I know."

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.

**Hopefully you guys didn't think I was kidding when I talked about a lot of updates...