Dean watched Piper press her fingers to her temple, knowing that she was fighting back a migraine. They had been on the road for a week solid now, working to find a way to kill Lucifer, moving nonstop since they had lost Adam. The three of them had gotten maybe five hours of sleep in the last five days, and he could tell that it was taking a toll on his wife.

Even if she was the most beautiful woman in the world, which she was, and always had been, she looked tired. There were bags under her eyes behind the sunglasses she was wearing, he could tell she had lost some weight, and she was paler than usual. He didn't like it.

He took the coffee from the woman at the stand he'd stopped at and sipped it to make sure it was right before he approached Piper. When he got to her, she was facing away from him, on the phone with a hoodoo woman in New Orleans. He pressed his chest against her back and laid little kisses on her neck. She tilted her head and he heard the smile in her voice. He wrapped his arms around her and put the cup of coffee in her hand, listening to her finish her conversation.

The sight of her coughing up blood, falling to her knees, fighting to save Adam, was burned into his mind. It still made his heartbeat quicken with fear to think of it, and he pulled her close and buried his face in her neck to banish the image.

She hung up the phone and leaned back into him, taking a sip of the coffee. She took a deep breath, then let it out explosively. "All right," she said calmly, "Mara in New Orleans is a go. She'll be ready in two days." She turned to look at him. "Do you think we can get there by then?"

He nodded. "Yeah, kitten, we can do that."

"Do what?" Sam asked, coming up from Piper's other side.

She smiled. "The hoodoo woman in New Orleans is willing to help. She says she's sensed some bad going on for a while, so she wants us to come to her, so she can 'see what she can see.'"

Sam nodded. "All righty, when do we leave?"

xxxxx

Sam watched Dean drive while Piper dozed in the back. With the way his brother was driving, they were going to make New Orleans in plenty of time, so Sam sat back and tried to sleep.

They had all been stretched thin, anxiously running from one source to another, desperately trying to find a way to fix the second biggest mistake he'd ever made in his damn life. Sam knew that Dean blamed him, although his big brother never said anything. It was the look in his eyes when he looked at Sam, the way he had subtly stopped putting Sam behind him. Only Piper was trusted to watch Dean's back now.

Piper, however, hadn't changed a bit. She was still affectionate and warm. She insisted, as she had from the beginning, that they had been played, that it wasn't their fault. Sam and Dean grumbled and reluctantly agreed, at least out loud, where she could hear them.

Piper was scary.

Although right now, curled up in the backseat, her hand tucked under her cheek, she certainly didn't look it. Right now, she looked more like the teenager they'd saved than the woman who had faced off against angels and demons alike and come out on top.

"Dean," Sam said softly. "After this apocalypse thing, you and Pipe should take some time away from hunting."

Dean raised his eyebrows and looked over at him. "What?"

Sam nodded. "I'm serious, Dean. I mean, you guys just got married. You should… I don't know, take a month. Take Piper on a honeymoon, go get drunk on a beach somewhere. You guys should… Take some time off."

Dean stared at the road for a while, and Sam assumed that he was being ignored until his brother spoke again.

"You might be right, Sammy."

Sam smiled when he realized that Dean had already planned on taking Piper away. Sam was a little overcome, all of the sudden, by how happy he was for his brother. Sam had been the one who wanted the wife and kids, the career and the picket fence. But if someone else had to get it, if someone else had to get even a piece of what Sam had wanted, he couldn't think of anyone who deserved it more than Dean and Piper.

"Dean, why don't you let me drive the rest of the way?"

xxxxx

Piper sighed when the car pulled over, woke up enough to realize she wasn't needed, and let herself fade back into sleep.

She woke up a little again when Dean slid into the backseat with her. He sat on one side and pulled her into his lap, where she went willingly. She didn't know why he was back there with her, and she didn't particularly care. She tucked her head under his chin and cuddled into his chest as the Impala started moving again.

The last few days had been terrible. They had been met with dead end after dead end after dead end. Bobby was on the job, as was Garth, but nothing had come up yet. Piper was fighting a near-constant migraine, and she was absolutely exhausted.

But the pain in her head faded a little when Dean wrapped his arms around her. She breathed in his musk deeply, letting it relax her more than she had thought possible. She cuddled into him with a sigh and fell back into a warm, almost happy sleep, filled with dreams of beaches and tiny umbrellas.

xxxxx

"Piper Finley, as I live and breathe!"

Piper smiled and pulled the woman into a hug. "Hi, Mara. And it's Piper Winchester now."

Mara was a beautiful woman, with skin the color of dark chocolate and wide almond-shaped eyes. She was dressed in a long, flowing robe, and had an easy smile and a quick wit.

Piper had met Mara when she was seventeen, still grieving for her parents, still training to become a hunter. Mara had been one of Bobby's contacts, and he had sent Piper to her for a summer for a couple of reasons. The first being that he was on a long-term hunt with Rufus Turner. The second because Piper had been ravenous for knowledge, constantly asking questions and reading everything she could get her hands on. Mara could help with that, and she did.

Piper and Mara had become close very quickly. Piper was in awe of Mara's powers, and Mara was delighted to pass on some of her vast knowledge. Piper learned some voodoo, some hoodoo, and some basic witchcraft. She never used any of the knowledge, but since she had a basic understanding of how the mechanics worked, she was able to use the information to be a more effective hunter.

Piper very much liked Mara, which was one of the reasons she'd called her to help.

"What?!" Mara cried. "And why wasn't I invited? You married your Dean Winchester and I wasn't invited?!"

Piper laughed as Dean and Sam came up to stand behind her. "You know me, Mara. It was an impromptu ceremony in the backyard, very little fuss."

One perfectly shaped eyebrow rose. "That's not the wedding you wanted when we met."

Piper blushed furiously, and Dean grinned. "Really?" He asked happily. "Was it still me?"

Mara tossed her head back and laughed. "Oh, yes. Piper has been in love with you forever, Mr. Winchester."

Piper felt Dean's arm slip around her waist, his chest rumbling with laughter. "Is that so?"

"Well!" She said loudly, "As much fun as this has been, we have some work to do."

Mara nodded, and the atmosphere sobered. "Indeed we do." She backed up and waved her arm. "Come on in, Winchester Three. Let's see if we can't catch a devil."

Piper smiled and led the way in, a feeling of deja vu overwhelming her. "Mara, you haven't changed a thing."

The walls were absolutely covered with tapestries, canvases, and paintings, depicting everything from gorgeous picnics to gory battle scenes. In between the images in the walls were trinkets, beads, dream catchers, and everything in between. Gauzy, colorful curtains covered the windows, and stained glass lamps put off a warm glow through the house. It looked like a hoodoo woman lived there.

Mara chuckled and watched the men look around with wide eyes. "Why fix what isn't broken?"

She led them into a small room that was very different from the busy, cozy feel of the rest of the house. The unadorned walls were painted black, and there was a small table in the middle of the room covered with a black tablecloth.

"Everyone in, sit, let's get right to it," Mara said, shooing them into the room and shutting the door behind her.

Piper moved to take the farthest seat, but Dean's hand on her arm stopped her. He took that seat instead, and directed her toward the middle, between he and Sam. She rolled her eyes, but sat where he wanted her to sit. She didn't want to fight with him right now.

Mara's dark eyes watched the exchange with a smirk. "Very good, Mr. Winchester," she said gently. "I do need your wife in the middle." At Piper's confused look, the psychic explained. "My connection is strongest with you, my dear. Although…" She gave Sam a long look up and down. "We could change that."

Piper tossed her head back and laughed at the flabbergasted look on Sam's face. "Be nice, Mara," Piper chided, "You would chew him up and spit him out."

Mara nodded, her eyes not leaving Sam. "Yes, yes I would." She shook her head. "But, you're right. Let's get started." She held out her hands, palms up. "Everyone hold hands."

Piper nodded and saw Sam and Dean do the same on either side of her as she reached to link hands with the brothers. Piper let her eyes drift shut as Mara closed her own eyes and started to hum.

xxxxx

Mara Pink was a smart woman and a good psychic. She loved Piper like a distant sister you don't talk to anymore, and she wanted to help. She wanted to help because she could sense evil in the air. Ever since Lucifer had stepped foot onto Earth again, evil was in the air. Mara knew it, Piper knew it, everyone knew it.

So here she was, with the Winchester Three, when everyone knew the last psychic who had helped them died. And Pamela had been a friend.

But this was Piper, and Piper was family. Distant family that Mara tended to not want to get mixed up in, because Piper and her little crew tended to get into some fucked up stuff, but family nonetheless. So she would help.

Despite her unending curiosity when it came to Sam and Dean Winchester, Mara swore to herself that she would do her best to stay out of their minds. It was rude to read someone's mind without their permission, and that was not what she was here to do, anyway. She had to try to help them.

Sam was easy to ignore, and she had taught Piper basic shielding skills, so Piper's mind was easy it ignore, too.

What distracted her was Dean.

There, from his chest, it was like a goddamn spotlight. Shining across the veil, and the three planes of existence that Mara Pink could see, was Dean Winchester's absolute, soul-deep, romance-novel-level love for his wife. It shook Mara to the core, and she couldn't help but reach into his mind just a bit.

Love for Sam, love for Bobby, mixed feelings for his father. Admiration for Castiel, Angel of the Lord, a burgeoning friendship there. A sick feeling about the apocalypse, a feeling of being a soldier without a commander. He doesn't realize how smart he is, how good he is at what he does. He sees himself as a grunt, not a genius. Betrayal from Sam, worry for Bobby, wariness still of the angel.

All of that, buried under how much he adores Piper Winchester.

Endlessly curious now, Mara went against her usual code and took a peek around Piper's shields. And was floored again. The same light, just as radiant, shone from Piper's chest.

Love for Bobby, love for Sam, love for her parents, love for Castiel, good Lord the woman is made of love. Determination to stop the apocalypse, determination to convince the Winchesters that it wasn't their fault. Grief for friends recently lost, old wounds from family lost long ago. Happy, bright, warm.

All of that, buried under how endlessly she loves Dean Winchester.

Mara felt tears pool in her eyes, but she fought with herself to keep her composure. She wasn't here to get all goo-goo eyed about her friend and her husband. She had shit to do.

So she entered the second plane of existence, looking for the future.

What she saw there didn't surprise her, but it did sadden her.

There would be a battle. The angels appeared as lights, almost as bright as Dean's love for his wife. The archangels were misshapen, almost double the size that beings were on this plane. It told Mara that they were possessing humans.

They faced each other, posturing, like men tended to do (Mara was of the impression that the only reason anything ever got done was because men were so busy posturing that women could work in peace). There were three humans. She recognized Piper warm lavender hue in her light, much dimmer than the angel lights. There were two men, but she couldn't distinguish who was who. And one more angel, just this side of dimmer than the two archangels.

Suddenly, one of the archangel lights disappeared. Then the other angel, Piper's light, and one of humans followed suit, leaving just an archangel and a human. Some time passed, and the lights got very close. Mara thought they were probably attacking one another.

Then the archangel stepped back, and the other archangel appeared again. A few beats, and they both disappeared.

The other, dimmer angel reappeared. As did Piper and the other human.

Mara opened her eyes to look at the brave people in front of her.

"What?" Piper asked, her voice filled with dread.

Mara sighed. "You will win. There won't be a big battle. But there will be a heavy price."

xxxxx

Dean pulled Piper close in the front seat of Baby on the way from New Orleans. Her head rested on his shoulder, her warmth sinking into him.

The news wasn't good. A heavy price. That sounded like someone was going to die. And Dean had already decided it would be him.

He couldn't give Sam up. He couldn't. The instinct to protect Sam was too much a part of him. If it came down to it, Dean would die a thousand times to save Sam. So when it happened, Dean would take the bullet for his brother.

And Piper wasn't even an option. Obviously Piper wasn't going to die.

"Whatcha thinking, handsome?" She asked sleepily from his shoulder.

He smiled, knowing she would disapprove of his actual thoughts. "So, you wanted something different for our wedding?"

She smiled and pressed her face into his shoulder. "Maybe…" She chuckled. "I was seventeen, shut up."

He sobered. "Seventeen?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I was a little crazy."

He squeezed her lightly. "I dunno, look at where we are now."

She smiled up at him. "I always knew it was you, Dean. We just took the long way around."

He nodded, thinking about the life he'd led. The women who hadn't meant anything but a night of fun, the drinking, the botched attempts at relationships.

All because he'd fallen in love with a skinny sixteen-year-old with hazel eyes the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

"Yeah, kitten," he said thickly, "The long way around."

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 thought we deserved some fluff before the heartbreak.