They were standing in the salvage yard, looking over a map that was laid out on Bobby's trunk. Piper stood close to Dean to ward off the chill, smiling a little when he put his big hand on the small of her back.
Bobby came over, flipping his phone shut. "Police found my car. Abandoned in an alley in Jamestown, North Dakota."
Dean looked up. "He's switching up. Any other cars stolen in Jamestown?"
Bobby nodded. "A ninety-nine Honda Civic, blue. Nice and anonymous, like Sam likes."
Dean shook his head. "What was the other one?"
"White oh-five Escalade with custom rims. It's a neon sign."
"You're right, he'd never take that," Piper mused.
Dean nodded. "Which is exactly why he did."
Bobby cocked an eyebrow. "You think?"
"I know that kid. All right, Pipes and I will head in that direction. You stay here, ride the police databases. We gotta find him quick."
xxxxx
Piper watched as Dean flipped his phone shut and glanced at her. "Bobby says we're only a couple of hours away."
She nodded. "Good."
She let the silence draw out for a while. "Dean, honey, when we find Sam…" She swallowed hard. "When we find Sam, it has to be about bringing him back, not pushing him away, okay?"
Dean's face hardened. "Yeah, yeah."
Her temper flared. "Don't you 'yeah, yeah' me, Dean Winchester. I know you're mad, and you have every right to be. But this situation is delicate, if we handle it wrong, we may lose him forever."
"I'm not going to get mad, Piper."
She actually laughed out loud. "Please, you have three total moods, Dean, and two of them are anger. I'm just saying we need to be careful. You need to be careful. He won't listen to me, but… But he'll always listen to you."
xxxxx
They had found the room that Sam was renting. Piper watched Sam walk out of the room. Before Dean could stop her, she slipped in.
Ruby was there. Her eyes widened as Piper approached, furious. Piper swung, and Ruby defended herself. They fought until strong hands gripped Piper's shoulders and pulled her away.
"No," Sam was saying as he lifted her. "Let her go, just take it easy."
"God dammit, Sam, let me go!"
"Ruby, go." He said instead, still holding Piper off the ground.
"Well, it must've been some party you two had going," Dean said from behind them. "Considering how hard you tried to keep us from crashing it. Well, solid try, but here we are."
Ruby was walking out the door, passing Piper with a smug look on her face. Piper twisted suddenly, breaking Sam's hold on her. She stepped forward and slammed Ruby against the wall, an arm at the demon's throat. "When Sammy realizes that you're not on our side, you unbelievable bitch," she snarled into the demon's face, "I am going to be the one who kills you, understand me?" Piper stepped away and let the demon scurry out of the room, smug look forgotten.
Sam sighed. "Look, let's just talk about this, guys."
Piper whirled, trying to catch Dean's eye before he spoke. He avoided her gaze. "Talk about what, Sam? She's poison, look what she's done to you! She leaves you hanging for weeks, while you're strung out and acting crazy-"
"She was looking for Lilith."
"That is French for manipulating your ass ten ways from Sunday!" Dean shouted, coming to stand next to her.
Sam shook his head. "You're wrong, guys."
Dean came around to stand in front of Piper, which she let happen. "Sam, you're lying to yourself. I just want you to be okay. You would do the same for me, you know you would."
"Just listen for a second. We got a lead on a demon close to Lilith. Come with us, Dean. We'll do this together."
Dean nodded eagerly. "That sounds great. As long as it's you and us. Demon bitch is a dealbreaker. You kiss her goodbye, we can go right now."
Sam shook his head. "I can't."
Dean turned away as Sam continued. "Dean, I need her to help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your head around it, but maybe one day you'll understand. I'm the only one who can do this, Dean."
Dean turned back and shook his head. "No, you're not the one who's gonna do this."
Sam gave a derisive snort. "Right, that's right, I forgot. The angels think it's you."
Dean stiffened. Piper came forward and placed a hand on his back, standing next to him, offering support. "You don't think I can?" he asked softly.
Sam shook his head. "No, you can't. You're not strong enough."
Piper frowned. "And you are?"
Sam sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm being practical here. I'm doing what needs to be done."
"Yeah?" Dean asked. "You're not gonna do a single damn thing."
"Stop bossing me around, Dean. Look. My whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots, and I trust you because you are my brother. Now I'm asking you, for once, trust me."
Dean shook his head. "No. You don't know what you're doing, Sam."
"Yes, I do."
Piper closed her eyes. "Guys, come on, let's not-"
"Then that's worse," Dean interrupted, glaring at Sam. "Because it's not something that you're doing, it means…" Dean turned away, not meeting Piper's or Sam's eyes.
"No." Sam said, furious. "Say it."
"It means you're a monster." Dean finished. Piper fought the tears trying to come into her eyes, losing that battle when she saw both brothers had tears in theirs.
She gasped when Sam pushed her away and punched Dean in the face. Dean flew back and hit the floor. "Sam!" she cried, approaching Dean.
He stood and pushed her away, too, gentler than Sam had been. He hit Sam back.
The fought the way that only the Winchesters could fight with each other. They flew across the room, both bleeding and battered and neither one backing down. Finally, Sam had Dean pinned down, his hands wrapped around his brother's neck.
"Sam! Stop it," Piper snapped coming forward and pushing Sam off of Dean.
Dean lay his head back against the ground for a second as Sam stood. "You don't know me," Sam snarled. "You never did. And you never will."
Piper stood and grabbed his arm. "Sam, don't go, let's-"
He turned and backhanded her. His hand was huge, it was like being hit with an oar. She gasped and stepped back, trying desperately to blink back tears and deal with the pain. Sam had never once hit her, but in the last two days he had done it twice. "Sam…"
He looked at her coldly, until Dean stood and gently pulled Piper behind him. She saw a flash of the hot fury in Dean's eyes. "We can still make this right, Sam," he said softly, dangerously. "But you walk out that door… Don't you ever come back."
Sam left.
xxxxx
They were in Bobby's living room, and Piper was furious again. "Dean, are you listening to a word I've said?"
He held the package of ice to her face, avoiding her gaze. She glared into his beautiful green eyes. "I'm not calling him, Piper."
She stood and pushed his hand away from her face. "God dammit, Dean! You're so stubborn, both of you, and you can't see that this is a mistake! You can't see that you're stronger together, you've always been stronger together!"
He stood and glared at her. "Piper, armageddon is here, you don't think we have bigger fish to fry?"
"There will never be bigger fish to fry than the two of you!" She screeched, slamming her hands down on the table. "You two are never going to be able to stop this if you don't patch things up, Dean."
He shook his head. "I told him, Piper. He hit you, Piper. I told him that if he walked out, he shouldn't come back, and he walked out anyway."
"You sound like your father Dean," she said softly, angry beyond belief. "You have always, always, been better than John was. And he was a coward."
Dean stiffened. "A coward, Pipes? Dad was a lot of things-"
"Including a coward," she snapped. "He let Sam walk away rather than reaching out. He let him walk away all the way to Stanford. You gonna do the same thing? You going to let him go down this path alone?"
He shook his head again. "Piper-"
"No, stop it, Dean," she said softly. She came around the table and looked into his face. God, he really is beautiful. "I don't want to fight with you. We're a team, and this is crunch time. I love you, but you're wrong about this, and you know that." She put a hand on his cheek, smiling a little when he placed the ice pack against her bruised face again. "Dean, Sam is your brother. You can say whatever you want, but he's the most important person in your life. You can say that he's not your family anymore, but you know that he is. So just… Stop. Let's not argue, let's just go find our Sammy."
She saw the smile in his eyes before he disappeared, the ice pack falling to the floor.
xxxxx
"Castiel! Get your feathery ass down here right this second!"
Piper was standing in the middle of the yard, screaming. She felt unhinged, unable to put herself back together. Dean had disappeared, and she had lost it.
Her hair was wild around her face, and she ran a hand through it to push it back. "Castiel, you motherfucker, I know you can hear me. If you don't come down here and tell me where you took Dean, I will find a way to tear you apart. I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands without the boys distracting me, Castiel, I will find a way."
"Why are you shouting at me, Piper Finley? There are more important things in the world than your boyfriend."
She whirled around and punched him in the face. She felt her hand break, but her fury overrode her pain. "No, there really aren't, you son of a bitch. Where is he?"
Cass was frowning at her. "You and Dean are very well-matched. I cannot tell you where he is."
"Can not, or will not?"
He met her eyes. "Piper, this is important. This is the end times."
She examined him for a second, her mind becoming crystal clear as it whirled. "Oh, my God," she whispered, taking a step back from him, her hand covering her mouth. "Oh, my God, you aren't trying to stop it. You took Dean so he wouldn't stop Sam. What is Sam about to do? What are you bastards making Sam do?"
Guilt and uncertainty flashed in his eyes before they hardened. "That is not something I can discuss with you, Piper Finley." He stepped forward and pressed two fingers to her forehead as he spoke. "The three of you are under the impression that you're more important than the world. You're not." His fingers were gentle despite his tone, and warm healing spread over her face and down to her hand.
She looked at him for a moment. "Cass," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "It's not about being more important than the world. I know Sam and Dean aren't more important than the world. It's just…" She swallowed the tears that were threatening to come up back. "It's just that they are my world. They're my everything, and now you've taken both of them away from me. Please, please, please, Castiel, I am downright begging you." Quickly, she got to her knees in front of him, her hand still on his arm. "Tell me where the Winchesters are. If you won't let us save the world, let me save my world."
xxxxx
Dean was pacing, he didn't know what to do. He looked around at the angelic green room he was in. He had tried everything he could think of to get out, and now he was just cooling his heels until those winged dickbags let him go.
Suddenly, small hands gripped his shoulders and spun him, and his mind went blank with shock as Piper slammed him against the wall and pressed her hand to his mouth. He nodded at her, and she let go to watch Castiel run a knife across his forearm and start smearing blood on the wall quickly.
Zachariah appeared just as quickly behind them. "Castiel! Would you mind explaining just what the hell you're doing?"
Castiel slammed his hand into the center of the sigil he'd drawn on the wall. A huge flash of white light blinded Dean for a moment, and when he looked around, Zachariah was gone.
Castiel looked at Piper. "He won't be gone long. We have to find Sam now."
"Where is he?" she asked quickly, grabbing Dean's hand and pulling him towards the angel.
Cass shook his head. "I don't know. But I know who does." He looked at Dean. "We have to stop him, Dean, from killing Lilith."
Dean frowned. "But Lilith's gonna break the final seal."
Cass shook his head and took Piper's outstretched hand. "Lilith is the final seal. She dies, the end begins."
The world spun away from Dean as Cass transported them away.
xxxxx
"St. Mary's? What is that, a convent?" Dean asked, looking at Chuck.
Chuck nodded. "Yeah, but you guys aren't supposed to be there. You're not in this story.
"Well, we're making it up as we go," Piper said shortly, meeting Cass's eyes.
The ground started to rumble beneath them, and the lights began flickering. A huge white light started shining into the windows. Dean reached out and grasped Piper's hand, pulling her to him.
Chuck groaned. "Oh, man! Not again! No!"
Cass looked at Piper and she saw panic and fierce determination in his blue eyes. "It's the Archangel! Go! I'll hold him off!"
He put his hand on Piper's forehead, the other on Dean's, and the world spun away from them again.
xxxxx
They landed in a huge stone building, Dean assumed it was the convent where Sam was. Piper squeezed his hand and pointed down a hallway. He nodded and they ran down.
They came around the corner to see Sam at the far end of the hallway, in a room with Ruby and Lilith. Sam was holding his hand out, and Lilith was being held by his powers against the altar. Ruby looked back and smirked at them, then closed the door slowly.
They ran and Dean pounded his hands against the closed doors. "Sam! Sam!" Piper did the same next to him.
There was no sound, but there was a rumbling. A terrible aura of power was bleeding out from the doors, making the hair on the back of Dean's neck stand straight up. "Sam! Sam!"
"Sam!" Piper was screaming on the other side of the door. "Sam! Don't kill her! Sam! Lilith is the last seal!"
He wasn't listening. Dean turned and looked around wildly, his eyes resting on a huge iron candelabra in the room, he grabbed it, pulled Piper away from the door, and started hitting it.
The aura of bad power abruptly stopped. Dean paused, then continued trying to beat his way in. Soon after, a different kind of power started emanating from the doorway. A more sinister power, a more subtle power. Dean had a very bad feeling that it was an fallen archangel's power.
Finally, finally he broke through. His blood ran cold when he saw Lilith, dead on the floor, her blood spreading in strange markings. He turned when he felt Piper pull the demon-killing knife from his belt and advance on Ruby, fire in her eyes.
Ruby smirked. "You're too late."
"Not for this, you lying skank," Piper snarled. Sam grabbed Ruby's arms from behind, holding her in place for Piper to run her through with the knife. Ruby crumpled to the floor, dead.
Sam looked at Piper, devastation on his face. "I'm sorry, Pipe," he whispered brokenly.
She was looking at him, and Dean wanted them to have their moment, but the blood coming from Lilith had completed its symbol, and was starting to glow. The room around them started to tremble.
"Guys, let's go." He came forward and grabbed Piper's hand to pull her away.
Sam grabbed her other hand, and Piper pulled Dean gently. "Oh, God… He's coming."
White light started spreading through the room, emanating from the center of the symbol in front of them. Dean grabbed Piper and turned, shielding her from the light. She looked up at him, fear etched on her face.
He couldn't stand it. Dammit, they were going to die, and she was never going to know how much he loved her. He tried to put all the words he'd been too stupidly afraid to say into the kiss he pressed against her lips. He was prepared to die, but only if she was in his arms and her mouth was against his.
As white light spread around them, Dean was finally able to think the words.
I love you, Piper Finley.
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.
**Thank you to Kornerstone234, seaschell, AngelRoze, jessicamarie6509, Kylie Winchester, and Blue Boxes and Vampire Fangs for the follows and favorites!
