The next morning, Piper sat with Dean, holding his hand beneath the kitchen table. His calloused hand was like a vise grip on hers, and she ran her thumb along his knuckles, trying to be comforting. He was looking at Sam, who was sitting on the hood of the Impala. It would normally bother him, she knew, but Dean had bigger things on his mind.

Apocalypse-ending things.

"Dean, go," she said softly, pushing on his arm gently with her free hand. "Go on, you can do this."

He ran his own free hand down his face. "I don't know if I can, kitten. It's Sammy, Pipes, how can I-"

"Because he has that streak of Winchester stubbornness that makes you both so lovable," she said softly, smiling sadly. "Dean, he's going to do it whether you give him your blessing or not. So go now, while you have a chance, and then let's get to work."

xxxxx

Dean drove on the road to Detroit, dread and guilt and grief swirling in his stomach.

As was habit, he sought out his touchstone. She was currently leaned against Castiel in the back, his arm slung around her shoulders, both of them deeply asleep.

Dean smirked. "Aw, they're like little angels."

Sam scoffed. "Angels don't sleep."

Dean fought it for a moment, then, "Sam, I got a bad feeling about this."

"Well, you'd be nuts to have a good feeling about it."

Dean rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Detroit. He always said he'd jump your bones in Detroit." He waved an agitated hand. "Here we are."

Sam nodded. "Here we are."

"Maybe this is him rolling out the red carpet, you know? Maybe he knows something that we don't."

Sam sighed. "Dean, I'm sure he knows a fuckload we don't. We just got to hope he doesn't know about the rings." Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, um... On the subject, there's something I got to talk to you about."

Dean glanced at him briefly. "What?"

Sam looked over at him. "This thing goes our way and I… Triple Lindy into that box… You know I'm not coming back."

Dean nodded, more dread building in him. "Yeah, I'm aware." His eyes flicked to Piper, and the sight of her sleeping calmed something in him, just enough to keep having this stupid conversation.

"So you gotta promise me something."

Give the kid something. "Okay. Yeah, anything."

"You gotta promise not to try to bring me back."

Shocked, Dean stared at his brother. "What? No, I didn't sign up for that."

Sam groaned. "Dean-"

"Your hell is gonna make my tour look like Graceland," Dean snapped. "You want me and Piper just to sit by and do nothing?"

Sam shook his head. "Once the cage is shut, you can't go poking at it, Dean. It's too risky."

Panic joined the terrible emotions in Dean. I can't do this, sorry, Pipes. "No, no, no, no, no. As if I'm just gonna let you rot in there," he scoffed.

Sam nodded his head stubbornly. "Yeah, you are. You don't have a choice."

Dean struggled against the tears fighting to get to his eyes. "You can't ask me to do this."

"I'm sorry, Dean. You have to."

Dean ran a hand through his hair, nearing the end of his rope. "So then what am I supposed to do?"

"You take Piper somewhere nice, you pray to God she's dumb enough to stick with you, and you… You have barbecues and go to football games."

Shocked, Dean turned to Sam. "What?"

"You and Piper have given enough, Dean," Sam said earnestly. "I mean, you guys just got married, and for your honeymoon, you went to try to kill Lucifer." Sam sighed. "Dean, you and Piper should go… Be happy. Leave hunting, Dean, go with Piper and live a normal, apple-pie life. Go… Go have a bunch of kids, drink beer with other husbands, drive Piper crazy. Go be normal, Dean. Promise me."

xxxxx

I'm going to vomit. Oh, God, don't vomit on Sam the last time you see him. Oh, fuck, don't vomit, please don't vomit, don't vomit.

Bobby put the binoculars down. They were standing around the Impala, and Piper kept her face still, but couldn't help wrapping her arms around her middle.

"Demons," Bobby said gruffly. "At least two dozen of them. You were right, something's up."

Dean sighed. "More than something. He's here. I know it."

Sam turned to Piper, and she felt tears gather in her eyes. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face into his warm skin. "I love you, Sam, it's gonna be okay."

He crushed her to him for a moment, then pressed his lips to her forehead. "Love you, too, Pipe. I know." He leaned back to look down at her. "Make Dean keep his promise, okay?"

Before she could ask for clarification, he stepped away from her and approached Bobby. She sniffled hard, trying to control herself.

Dean walked over to Piper and led her away to the back of the car. She stood straight, refusing to lean on him. He needed her to be strong, he didn't need her being all weepy.

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to him. He placed a hand on the back of her head and pressed her face into his chest. "How you holdin' up, kitten?"

Can't keep secrets from him, she thought wryly. "Let me ask you that, instead, handsome." She tilted her head up to look at him. "How are you holding up?"

He scoffed. "Let's just get this over with."

"Oh, I was supposed to lie." Piper turned to see Castiel looking at Sam, a guilty look on his face. "Uh… Sure. They'll be fine."

Sam smiled tightly. "Just… Just stop… Talking."

Sam clapped Castiel on the shoulder, then walked around to the trunk of the Impala. Piper sighed and turned back to press her face into Dean's chest. The jugs of demon blood were in the trunk, and she didn't think she could watch.

"You mind not watching this?"

Dean turned and took her with him, walking them back slowly to the front of the car. He pressed his face into her hair, and she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close, trying to keep the sounds that Sam was making out of her ears.

When Sam cleared his throat, Piper lifted her head and looked up at him while he wiped his mouth. She was grateful, she wasn't sure she could handle seeing her best friend with blood on his mouth. Again.

"Okay," Sam said. "Let's go."

Dean tensed, and Piper wailed in sorrow in her heart. Oh, Dean.

She felt him look up and nod. "Bobby, Cass."

She felt strong hands on her, and before she realized what was happening, Cass was holding one arm, and Bobby was holding the other.

"What?" At Dean's guilty, sad look, she started fighting and kicking as he took a step away from her. "Dean! God dammit, Dean Winchester, don't you dare leave me here!"

He stepped forward and wrapped a hand around the back of her head and pressed his lips to hers hard. "I'm sorry, baby," he whispered, "I can't do this with you there. I'm so sorry."

She continued to struggle as he and Sam walked away. "Let me go! No! God dammit, Winchesters, don't you walk away from me!"

They did, and she fought like hell, screaming incoherently.

How dare he try to keep her from this? From this, the most important moment, and he was keeping her from it!

"If you two don't let me go, there are going to be some broken arms, gentlemen. Up to you how many," she snarled.

"Quit, Pi," Bobby snapped. "This is between the two of them. Just… Just stop, baby, just stop."

And just like that, with her surrogate father's words ringing in her head, the fight went out of Piper.

Dean was keeping her from this to protect her. Always to protect her, he was always putting himself in the line of fire to keep her safe. Her husband would die to shield her.

When the windows of the building the Winchesters had gone into lit up, she whimpered and bit her lip, sagging between the men holding her up. "Oh, God," she whispered, fear and dread swirling in her soul.

The ground shook beneath them, and she fell to her knees when their grips loosened. She put her hands over her face and tried hard to keep her crying quiet.

Oh, Sammy.

xxxxx

Sam was gone. Lucifer had won.

Piper was in shock as she and Dean walked hand in hand down the street next to Bobby. They passed a display full of televisions, and when she looked, they were reporting on the number of natural disasters that had occurred in the last twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes since her best friend, her brother-in-law, had stood toe-to-toe to the devil and had hit the mat first. Twenty minutes since a huge chunk of her life had been ripped away.

"It's starting," Castiel said ominously behind him.

"Yeah, you think, genius?" Dean snapped. Piper let him. He was angry, she understood. If she wasn't so numb and sad, she would be angry, too.

Castiel, however, frowned. "You don't have to be mean."

Dean ran a hand through his hair. "So what do we do now?"

Cass shrugged. "I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol... Just wait for the inevitable blast wave."

Piper winced. "Oh, God."

Dean, predictably, was angry. "Yeah, swell. Thank you, Bukowski. I, I mean, how do we stop it?"

Castiel looked puzzled. "We don't. Lucifer will meet Michael on the chosen field, and the battle of Armageddon begins."

"Okay, well, where's this 'chosen field?'"

Castiel shrugged. "I don't know."

"You listen to me, you junkless sissy-" Dean began, starting to advance on the former angel.

"Dean," Piper said softly, her hand on his chest. "Stop it. Come on."

She tugged at his hand and looked at Bobby and Castiel. "You guys can stay here, if you want. We're going to find Sam."

Bobby frowned. "How?"

"I know who to call."

xxxxx

They went back at Bobby's after speaking with Chuck. Dean was getting ready, and Piper was watching him pack things they'd never need, things they wouldn't be able to use, things they were going to die with.

"You goin' someplace?" Bobby asked from behind her. "You're goin' to do somethin' stupid. You got that look."

She didn't turn around. "We're going to find Sam, Bobby."

He sighed. "You two just don't give up."

Dean turned around, glaring. "It's Sam!"

Cass frowned. "If you couldn't reach him here, you're certainly not gonna be able to on the battlefield."

Dean gave a sardonic smile. "Well, I guess that I'm just that stupid, then."

Castiel turned to Piper, trying to appeal to her, instead. "I just want you to understand. The only thing that you're gonna see out there is Michael killing your brother."

She smiled softly. "Well, we can't let him die alone, Cass."

She turned and slid into the passenger seat, watching as Dean got into the driver's side.

He took a deep breath and looked over at her. "Pipes, I-"

She held a hand up. "Nope. Can the speech, Winchester, let's go."

When he stared at her, she smiled. "Dean, baby, did you think I was joking when I said, 'till death do us part?' Because I wasn't." She sighed. "Dean, I… I know we're not coming back from this, baby. It's okay. I… It doesn't matter to me." She looked at him and smiled through the tears in her eyes. "Dean, I love you. I'm with you to the end. Let's go get our Sammy."

xxxxx

On the way there, Dean held Piper's hand like it was the only thing keeping him together, because it was.

She was incredible. She was his one good thing. She was a goddess. She was his goddess, and here he was, leading her into death. Just like Famine told him he would.

"Stop it, Dean," she said softly, her head resting on his shoulder. "I love you, I'm here because I love you and Sam, and if you try to leave me on the side of the road somewhere, I'll break your nose. Deal?"

He smiled a little. "Deal, kitten."

xxxxx

Piper took a deep breath as they sat in the car, looking out at Adam and Sam.

No, Piper. You're not looking at Adam and Sam. You're looking at Michael and Lucifer. Keep it in mind.

"Ready, kitten?'

"No, but let's go anyway."

Dean got out on his side, and Piper got out on hers. She let her face settle into a little smile.

Dean nodded at the archangels. "Howdy, boys."

Piper smiled wider. "Sorry, are we interrupting something?"

xxxxx

Dean pointed at Sam. Not Sam, Lucifer. No, Sam. You want to talk to Sam. "Hey, we need to talk."

Lucifer scoffed. "Dean. Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid."

Dean shook his head, steeling himself. "I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Sam."

Michael shook his head. "You're no longer the vessel, Dean. You got no right to be here."

Dean saw Piper wince out of the corner of his eye. "Adam," she said softly, "if you're in there somewhere, I am so, so sorry."

Michael sneered. "Adam isn't home right now."

"Hey," Dean snapped. "Don't you talk to her." He pointed at Michael. "You're next on my list, buttercup. But right now, I need five minutes with him," he pointed at Lucifer.

Michael advanced. "You little maggot. You are no longer a part of this story!"

Out of nowhere, Castiel's voice. "Hey, ass-butt!"

Castiel threw a Molotov cocktail at Michael. The archangel screamed and went up in flames. Piper gasped, her hand over her mouth.

Dean looked at Castiel, incredulous. "'Ass-butt?'"

Cass shrugged helplessly, then, "He'll be back. And upset. But you've got your five minutes."

Lucifer was glowering. "Castiel. Did you just Molotov my brother with holy fire?"

Cass blanched. "Uh… No."

"No one dicks with Michael but me," Lucifer growled. He snapped his fingers and Castiel exploded in a shower of blood and chunks.

"Castiel!" Piper cried.

Dean stepped around the front of the car and looked at Lucifer. "Sammy, can you hear me?"

Lucifer sneered again. "You know… I tried to be nice, for Sammy's sake. But you…" He grabbed Dean's coat, "are such a pain…" he tossed him onto the hood of the car. Dean gasped as pain exploded in his back and he heard the shattering of glass. "In my ass."

"Dean!" he heard Piper shout.

Gunshots rang through the air, and Dean turned to see Bobby holding the smoking Colt in his hand. He looked at Dean and shrugged.

Lucifer made a hand motion, and Bobby's neck snapped to the side.

"No!" Dean called out, reaching a useless hand to his father figure.

"Bobby!" Piper shrieked, running around to the front of the car.

"Piper!" Dean cried. Too close, she's too close, she's too close!

Lucifer turned and examined Piper, who stared up at him defiantly.

"You haven't won yet," she said in a low, dangerous voice, "So don't get cocky, motherfucker."

Lucifer backhanded her, and Dean heard the snap of her neck as she went flying and became still.

"Piper! No!'

Dean felt everything important in him die as the life fled his wife's eyes.

xxxxx

Piper opened her eyes, and she was in her and Dean's bedroom at Bobby's. Their clothes in the closet, the extra blanket, everything was the same.

Except, of course, her husband wasn't there.

"God dammit," she snapped, standing angrily.

"Calm yourself, dearest," a sardonic English voice said from behind her.

She spun and glared. "Don't call me dearest. Who the fuck are you?"

There was a tall, thin, blonde man standing there. He was dressed in a remarkable amount of leather for an angel. He smiled, his hip cocked to the side as he leaned against the doorway. "Balthazar, dear. And don't get comfy, I have a feeling you won't be here for long."

She frowned. "Why?"

He examined his nails. "Oh, Cassie has a way of getting what he wants. And he has a particular affinity for Winchesters." He winked. "Even married-in ones."

She stared at him. "What?"

He shrugged. "I'm betting on your boys, dearest."

She glared. "Don't call me dearest."

Then everything went dark.

xxxxx

Piper woke up looking at Castiel, who definitely had his angel mojo back. "Cass?" He looked like a soldier again.

She turned and saw Dean, still kneeling on the ground next to the Impala. "Dean!" she cried, scrambling to her feet and running to him, the angel forgotten.

She fell to her knees again and flung herself into Dean's arms. "Piper, Jesus," he whispered brokenly, pressing his face into her neck.

"Oh, God, Dean, it's okay, I'm right here, baby, I love you, I'm right here." She wrapped her arms around his neck and rocked him gently, just holding him.

Because all she could do in her grief was hold him close in his.

xxxxx

Dean clung to his wife like the lifeline she had always been, like the only port in the raging storm of desperation and pain that was his life, like she was the only rock in the terrible river sweeping him away.

Because she was.

Because she always had been.

Because she was all he had left now.

And he had a promise to keep.

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.
**Whew. Hurt my own feelings with this chapter. I hope I did it justice.