Dean woke already knowing that someone was in the room with them. Piper's subtle change in breathing told him that she did, too. He was on his stomach, his arm under his pillow. He was slowly, carefully reaching for his gun when he was interrupted.

"Looking for this?"

Dean heard the cartridge pop out of his pistol, and closed his eyes in defeat. Fuck.

He turned, meeting Piper's eyes as she did the same. They sat up and looked at the two masked men, pointing shotguns at them. They raised their hands. "Mornin'," Dean drawled nonchalantly.

Piper was frowning. "Roy?"

Dean turned to the man standing in front of their bed. "Roy? That you?"

Piper turned to the other man. "Which makes you Walt. Hi, Walt, you rat bastard."

The men looked at each other, and then Walt removed his mask. "Don't matter," he muttered as Roy did the same.

Piper tilted her head. "Been drinking, Walt?" she asked softly. Dean watched the other man flinch. "Because that's the only way I can think of you getting brave enough to come in here, after what I did for you in Atlanta." She was furious. "You motherfucker, you have the nerve to point a gun at me?"

Walt shook his head stubbornly and kept his gun pointed at Sam. "You think you can flip the switch on the apocalypse and just walk away, Sam?"

"Fuck you, Walt," Piper snapped, then turned to glare at Roy. "You, too."

Sam, however, was pale. "Who told you that?"

Walt shook his head. "We ain't the only hunters after you," he said as he pumped his shotgun. "See you in the next life."

Sam held his hands up. "Hear me out. I can explain, okay? Please."

There was a pause, and the gun went off. Dean's heart jumped to his throat and Piper screamed a little. He tried to stand to go to his brother, but Roy interrupted him. "Stay the hell down."

Piper hadn't moved, but her eyes were wide and her face tight with anger. "Go fuck yourself, Roy," she said softly. Her eyes turned to Walt. "You, too, Walt."

Walt shook his head stubbornly again. "Shoot them."

Roy stared at the other man. "Killin' Sam was right, but these two…"

"They made us! And we just snuffed their brother, you idiot! You want to spend the rest of your life knowing Dean Winchester and Piper Finley are on your ass? 'Cause I don't!"

"Winchester," Piper snapped. "We got married, Walt, it's Piper Winchester who's going to be on your ass."

Walt turned to Roy again. "Shoot them."

Dean looked at the men in front of him evenly. "Go ahead, Roy, do it. But I'm going to warn you, when I come back, I'm gonna be pissed."

"Come on, Roy," Piper said softly, dangerously. "Let's get this show on the road."

The gun went off again. Dean felt a flash of terrible pain, then blackness.

xxxxx

Piper woke up in a bedroom that she didn't immediately recognize. She reached down to find her gun, but realized that she wasn't in the clothes she had been in. She looked down, seeing a tank top and shorts she vaguely recognized.

She sat up and looked around. "What the fuck?"

She was in her childhood bedroom. Band and movie posters covered the walls, along with pictures of her and her friends, and her and her parents. She stood, looking around, nostalgia washing through her. "Oh, wow."

"Piper, honey?"

She whirled, her heart in her throat, to look at her mother. "M… Mama?"

Her mother smiled, auburn hair in a braid draped across her shoulder, a long dress brushing the tops of her feet. "Happy birthday, sweet sixteen-year-old!"

Piper was frozen as her mother came in and hugged her. Snapped out of it by her mother's touch, she gripped her mom tight, tears gathering in her eyes. "Don't make a big deal out of it, Mama," she whispered, realizing she was in a memory.

Her mother leaned back and smiled. "Hey! It's not every day that my favorite daughter turns sixteen! I will make just a big a deal as I want to!"

Piper was finding it very hard to breathe. "I love you, Mama. I miss you so much."

Her mother laughed. "Don't sass me, miss." Piper realized that her mother wasn't hearing her. She's not really here.

Wiping her eyes, Piper watched her mom walk away, going downstairs to make her a birthday breakfast. "Okay, well that is… Something."

The television in her room turned on. She turned to see Cass's face there in the snowy picture. "Castiel!"

"Piper, are you all right?"

She nodded and approached it. "Yeah, where am I?"

"Heaven."

She nodded again, deciding to stow her shock and express it another time. "Okay, where are Sam and Dean?"

"They're coming for you. They shouldn't be very long."

"What should I do until then?"

"Wait for them. Dean knows what to do, the," static cut in, "difficult," more static, "Joshua." And then the television snapped off.

She blinked. Well, what am I supposed to do now?

She made her way down the stairs, the sight of her parents in the kitchen making her eyes tear up again. Her father turned and smiled. "Happy birthday, princess."

She smiled back. "Thanks, Daddy."

He stepped forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek, then sat at the table. "Let's celebrate!"

Piper was too emotional to eat, so she just watched them. The way they shifted around one another, the way they spoke to her and to each other. They were so in love. She wished more than anything they could meet Dean, that she could somehow let them know how happy she was.

The front door opening made her frown. No one came over on this morning.

"Pipes?"

"Dean!" She stood and ran to the front door, crashing into him. "Oh, God, are you guys okay?" She stared up at his handsome face.

He nodded. "Yeah, found Sammy, found you, now we gotta find Joshua."

"Okay, let's go." She smiled at Sam when he came in behind Dean.

Dean looked around, his arms still tight around her. "This was your house."

She nodded. "Yeah, yeah, it's the morning of my sixteenth birthday." She turned and smiled, tears starting in her eyes. "My, uh, my parents stayed home from work, so they could have breakfast with me."

Without a word, Dean led her into the kitchen, and she let herself bask in the sight of her parents in a sun-soaked room, laughing with one another. From this angle, she could tell they were holding hands under the table, and her chest heaved again.

"She looks like you, Pipe," Sam said softly from behind her.

She nodded, and felt Dean's hand squeeze hers. "Yeah, she does," he said roughly.

She dashed the tears away from her eyes again. "Okay, let's go to wherever we're supposed to go."

xxxxx

"Dad always said they had the perfect marriage."

Piper was watching Mary Winchester argue with her husband on the phone with wide eyes. She was gorgeous. Piper's heart ached for Dean and Sam.

"It wasn't perfect until after she died," Dean said softly, watching his mom. Piper stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Fine," Mary snapped. "Then don't." There was a pause. "There's nothing more to talk about." She hung the phone up and turned her back to them. She sniffled, and Piper's heart broke a little.

"What happens next?" Sam asked gently.

Dean stood and approached his mother. When she turned, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, Mom. Dad still loves you. I love you, too. I'll never leave you."

Piper put her hand over her mouth, her chest starting to heave again. She looked over at Sam, who looked shocked.

Dean stepped away from his mother, and she cupped his cheek. "You are my little angel." She gave him a clearly fake smile. "How 'bout some pie, okay?"

She moved away, and Dean came back to stand with Piper and Sam. Piper wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest.

"What?" Dean asked.

"I just never realized how long you've been cleaning up Dad's messes," Sam said softly.

Dean shrugged. "Whatever. Let's keep moving."

xxxxx

Dean chose a door at random and walked through it.

He heard Piper and Sam follow him, and Dean frowned. They were in he and Piper's bedroom at Bobby's. It was very similar to the way it looked now, but it was subtly different. He realized that it was still Piper's bedroom. None of his things were in it.

He looked down at her. "Looks like this one's your rodeo, kitten."

She looked around, and her eyes landed on her nightstand. She smiled at the two cups of coffee there. "I think this is the day after we got together, Dean. I went downstairs to make coffee, and you… Distracted me before we could drink it."

He blinked, then smirked. She smiled and looked around. "Well, this is lovely, but let's find the next place we're supposed to go."

She walked downstairs, and Dean followed her, emotions making it hard to think. She walked downstairs and grinned at the sight of a two-years-younger Sam in the bathroom rolling his eyes. "Finally," the younger version of his brother muttered.

Dean turned back to glare at Sam. "Shut up," he said roughly.

Sam chuckled. "Dean, it took you ten years to make a move. We were all a little, uh, relieved, to say the least."

Piper laughed from the top of the stairs, her eyes glowing at him. "I think I was the most relieved," she said happily as she started down. Dean followed her, smiling a little, always following Piper.

When they got to the kitchen, Bobby was there, making coffee, shaking his head. "About damn time."

Dean wrapped his arm around Piper and pulled her close. "Did everyone but me know about this?"

She cuddled into him. "Yes, baby, yes we did." She smiled up at him. "Let's go find that angel."

They looked around the kitchen, Dean mulling over her words, a little irritated with himself that he hadn't made his move earlier. All that time they could have had together...

"Hey, I think I've seen this before." Dean turned to see Sam with a postcard in his hand, Piper standing next to him.

"Where?" Dean asked.

When he looked around, there was a wall covered with postcards from all along route sixty-six. He frowned, then took in the little cabin they were in. "Where are we?"

Sam looked delighted. "No way." A big dog entered the room and approached Sam, tail wagging. Sam bent to pet him. "Bones! Hey, come here, come here!" The dog started licking Sam's face.

"Bones?" Dean asked, suspicion starting up in his brain. Piper came to stand next to him, looking confused.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, Bones was my dog." He stood and went to the cheap coffee table in the middle of the room, opening the pizza box there and pulling out a slice.

"Your dog?" Piper asked.

Sam nodded. Dean looked around again, getting irritated. "Sam, is this fucking Flagstaff?"

Sam nodded happily. "Yeah."

Dean was incredulous. "This is a good memory for you?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah. I mean, I was on my own for two weeks. I lived on Funyuns and Mr. Pibb. "

"Wow," Dean snapped, running a hand through his hair. Emotions were raging through him, barely controllable. How could this be Sam's heaven? This was two of the worst weeks of Dean's whole life, and Sam fucking went here when he died. God dammit.

Piper put a hand on his back, under his flannel, and her touch centered him a little. He looked down at her. She was looking up at him sympathetically. "I know, handsome, I know," she said softly, "But there's no use arguing about it, baby, the past is the past." She came up to press her lips to his cheek. "Let him have his memory, Dean."

He sighed. "All right, well, let's roll."

He thought about Piper while they headed toward the door. He'd just been damn close to giving Sam the riot act, but she'd simply touched him, spoken softly, and here he was, following her to wherever she went.

When they came out, they were in a pretty generic motel room. Sam frowned. "Where are we?"

Piper was looking around. "Dean, we stayed here, didn't we?"

Recognition shot through him, and his eyebrows rose. "Uh, yeah, kitten, we did."

She rifled through their bags of clothes. "Do you remember when? Why are we here?" She looked up at him questioningly.

He flushed a little, looking up at the ceiling. "This, uh, was the day we met back up with Sam. After the horseman War."

She frowned. "Well, I mean, you know I love waking up with you, but-"

"This one's mine," Dean said shortly, hoping she would drop it, knowing she wouldn't.

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes warming. "What?"

Sam was grinning, and Dean ran a hand through his hair. He shoved his other hand in his pocket, looking for a way out of this. There is none, shit. "This, uh, this is when I decided to, uh… You know…"

She smiled. "Propose? This is when you decided to marry me?"

He nodded. She came around the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck, then pressed her smiling lips to his. "That's a pretty chick flick moment for you, Dean," she said softly against his mouth.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Only for you, kitten."

"Guys," Sam said softly. "We should go."

Dean sighed, not wanting to leave, especially with his brother, who he was still having trouble even looking at. But duty called, and Piper was already looking as resigned as he felt. "Come on then," Dean said gruffly. "Let's go."

They walked out the door, into the night. They walked out to the middle of the street, and Dean frowned, trying to get his bearings. When he looked, the only thing around was an older home with a wraparound porch. "What memory is this?"

Sam shrugged. "No idea. All right, come on." When Dean didn't move, "Dean, road, God, remember?"

Realization crashed through Dean, and this time not even Piper's quiet words could stop the pain. "Wait a minute," he snapped. "Wait a minute, this?" He glared at Sam. "This is the night you fucking ditched us for Stanford. This is your goddamn idea of heaven? Wow." He tried to laugh, but it sounded painful and too loud, so he stopped. "This was one of the worst nights of my life."

Memories washed through him.

His fear. Sam's gone, what the fuck am I gonna do? Sam left me here alone with Dad. Fuck.

He'd called Piper. Sam's… Sam's gone, Pipes.

Her gentle voice. Dean, it's going to be all right, I'm on my way, okay? Sit tight, it's gonna be okay.

His sudden worry. Pipes, Dad is… He's pretty pissed, maybe you shouldn't come.

Her steady presence, her calm voice, never leaving him. I'm on my way, Dean, so shut up.

He ran a hand through his hair again, trying to control his emotions.

"I can't control this stuff," Sam said defensively.

Dean turned to look at him, shocked. "Seriously? I mean, this is a happy memory for you?"

Sam, who looked upset, shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I was on my own. I finally got away from Dad."

Dean turned away from him. "Yeah, he wasn't the only one you got away from." Piper was there, and stepped into his arms, her cheek pressed to his chest. Dean crushed her to him, craving the comfort she'd always given him.

"Dean," Sam said gently, "I'm sorry, I just, uh…"

"I know, You didn't think of it like that."

"Dean…"

He let go of Piper and spun toward his brother. "Come on, Sam! Your heaven is someone else's Thanksgiving. Okay? It's bailing on your family. What do you want me to say?"

Sam threw his hands in the air. "Man, I never got the crusts cut off my PB&J! I just don't look at family the way you do."

"Guys!" Piper snapped. "That's enough, we need to go. Let's fight about this later, the angels are still looking for us."

xxxxx

"Then how about I tell you my nightmare, Dean? The night I burned."

Piper's stomach rolled when blood spread on Mary's nightgown. Dean sucked in a breath next to her, and Sam winced on her other side. "Let's get out of here, guys," she said softly.

"Don't you dare walk away from me," Mary snapped. Dean flinched and turned back to her, seemingly unable to disobey a parental figure.

"I never loved you," Mary said softly. "You were my burden. I was shackled to you. Look what it got me." She blinked, and her eyes were yellow.

The light in the house changed around them, becoming green and eery. Mary's eyes turned back to normal. "The worst was the smell. The pain, well. What can you say about your skin bubbling off? But the smell was so… You know, for a second I thought I'd left a pot roast burning in the oven. But… It was my meat."

Piper turned away and looked around, looking for a door. But there were none, they were trapped with the ghost of her mother-in-law. Coming to a decision, Piper reached for Dean's hand and tugged him until he was looking at her. She looked over his shoulder at Sam, too. "Guys, that's not her, okay? They're using her. Look at me, not her."

Dean stared into her eyes, and he nodded slowly. She looked over at Sam, who was also nodding and gazing at her.

"And then, finally, I was dead," Mary continued. "Everybody leaves you, Dean. You noticed? Mommy. Daddy. Even Sam." Sam winced. "You ever ask yourself why? Maybe it's not them. Maybe, it's you."

Zachariah had walked up behind her, but before he could open his mouth, Dean was speaking. "You never left me," he said softly to Piper.

She smiled. "Never will, handsome."

Zachariah was speaking, but Piper couldn't hear him. She raised on her tiptoes to press her lips to her husband's, love washing through her again. When he started to kiss her back, she fervently wished that they were home, away from all this, maybe just waking up together.

The world swirled away from them, and on instinct, she reached behind Dean and took Sam's hand.

When she opened her eyes, the three of them were at Bobby's house again. She blinked and looked around, smiling. This was a much more recent version of their room, with Dean's things there, too. Their clothes hung together in the closet, the extra blanket he tended to wrap her in on cold nights folded neatly on the bed. Love and happiness bubbled up in her, and she turned to smile at him. "This is it," she said softly. "This is our heaven."

"Yes, yes it is," a soft, calm voice said behind her. She whirled, eyes wide, to see an older black man standing there, smiling softly. "I've rarely seen anything like it," he continued gently. "Soulmates do sometimes share heavens, but being able to will yourself back here, just by wishing it, is… Rare, like I said. Impressive, Mrs. Winchester."

"What does that mean?" Sam asked, coming to stand next to them.

He turned and smiled at him, then back at Dean and Piper. "It means the bond between the two of you is exceptionally profound. It's a compliment."

The world swirled away from them again. This time they landed in a garden. Piper turned back to the man, who was still smiling that gentle, knowing smile. "You're Joshua."

"I'm Joshua."

xxxxx

"Maybe… Maybe Joshua was lying."

Dean shook his head, turning to make sure he and Piper's bags were ready to go. She was standing next to Castiel, putting a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think so, I'm so sorry, Castiel," she said softly.

Cass walked away, looking up into the entryway of the motel room. As he muttered, Piper came over to stand next to Dean. He held his coat out for her, and she smiled and slipped it on, turning to press a kiss to his jaw. "Glad we're alive again," she said softly.

He turned his head and caught her lips with his. "Better than the alternative," he said against her mouth, his hands falling naturally to her hips. He really loved the sight of her in his too big coat, pressed up against him.

What Joshua had told him about he and Piper's bond hadn't surprised Dean in the least. She was an extraordinary woman, it made sense that her love created an extraordinary connection. He'd rolled with the punches.

Castiel came back in. He pulled the amulet from his pocket and tossed it to Dean. "I don't need this anymore. It's worthless."

He turned away, and Sam frowned. "Cass, wait-" There was the sound of wings, and Cass was gone.

Sam turned toward them. "We'll find another way. We can still stop all this, Dean."

Dean finally, for the first time since heaven, looked at his brother. "How?"

"I don't know, but we'll find it. You, me, and Piper. We'll find it."

Dean stared at him for another moment, then turned to pick up he and Piper's bags and slung them over his shoulder. He looked at Piper. "Ready, kitten?"

She nodded sadly, and followed him toward the door. When he got there, he stopped and opened his hand to drop the amulet into the trash. I can barely look at the kid, don't want the damn thing around my neck.

Before it could fall, her slender, soft hand was snatching it from the air. He turned to look at her, and watched her pull it over her own head. The amulet settled between her breasts, almost hidden beneath her flannel.

She smiled up at him, pressing her hand to his cheek. "I'll just keep this safe until you're ready for it again."

She walked out the door, toward the Impala. Dean watched her leave, completely astounded by her for the hundredth time since he'd married her, and probably the millionth time since he'd met her. Without looking back at Sam, he followed her, feeling peace start to heal his broken heart.

xxxxx

Sam watched his brother and sister-in-law walk out to the car, his chest aching. He wanted so badly to make it up to Dean, to try to get back to what they had been.

On his own, Dean would never let him. But Piper had… Softened his big brother. The way they had gotten them out of that situation with Zachariah had been incredible. Sam had sensed that, underneath the serenity, Joshua had been surprised, too.

All because of Piper.

Sighing, Sam picked up his bag and followed them out, determined to mend the rift between he and Dean.

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.
**I love this chapter. I just wanted you guys to know that.
**I also think Piper is going to have more of an impact than I originally intended. I didn't really think she would change anything, and I was wrong, lol, and she showed me that in this chapter.