Early the next morning, Piper was cooking breakfast with Monster at her feet when Bobby came in.
The situation felt very… Familiar, comfortable. She may not have known what the hell was going on with Sam, or where Cass was, or what to think about the Alpha thing, but she did know how to cook breakfast for her family in Bobby's kitchen.
This is the closest thing I have to my own kitchen now, she thought mournfully as she stirred the waffle batter.
"Mornin'," Bobby muttered warily.
Piper sighed, just a little, and totally gave up on any anger she had for her father. She loved him, and her recent experiences with a child she'd known for about twenty hours had given her some perspective. One would do strange, seemingly thoughtless things to protect one's child, and she and Dean were Bobby's.
On top of that, she had too many other things to worry about to be mad at him.
So she turned and smiled. "Morning. Coffee's ready."
She turned back to pour the first waffle as Bobby made himself a cup. "Dean still in bed?"
She nodded. "Yeah, he is. We, um, we kind of got into the habit of sleeping in a little." She smiled sadly. "I'm sure we'll get over that soon enough."
They both let an awkward silence pass before Bobby spoke again. "Look, Pi. I'm sorry that you guys got dragged back into this. I know… Well, I got the impression you were doing all right, living the life."
She took in a deep, shaky breath, then let it out explosively. This was what she had needed. Just acknowledgement of what she and Dean had lost. The Campbells had all been hunters since childhood, so none of them had understood. But Bobby knew, both from experience and from seeing them, that they had had something good.
So she smiled for real for the first time in days. "Thank you, Bobby. I needed that."
He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, then went to grab the paper and sit at the kitchen table with it and his coffee.
When the first waffle was ready, she absent-mindedly prepared it the way Bobby liked it. Her organized brain, wasted on serving jobs for the last year, was kicked into high gear now. She ran through the list of things that needed to be done as she set breakfast down in front him.
He looked surprised. "You didn't have to do that."
She smiled, distracted. "My pleasure."
Surely he took care of it. He's not just walking around without it.
Nonchalantly, "Bobby, you got your soul back from Crowley, right?"
xxxxx
Piper sat in stunned silence when Bobby was done telling her about his soul. How Crowley wouldn't return it, and about Bobby finding out that burning a demon's bones would, in fact, kill them. Even about Crowley becoming the king of hell.
"That rat bastard," she breathed out.
"Who?" Dean's sleepy voice had her turning in her chair. He was leaning in the doorway, rubbing his face with one hand.
Her heart thumped hard in her chest. Her poor, handsome husband hadn't slept well the night before. The result of all the new concerns they had now, she thought. The Alphas, the Campbells, and the ever-present worrying about Sam.
So she stood and went to him, taking his face into her hands and rising up to press her lips to his. His hands settled at her waist and held her close. His heat made her feel sheltered as it seeped into her and his mouth moved against hers. She pulled away and smiled up at him. "Breakfast?"
He nodded and kissed her forehead. She turned to make him a waffle, wishing she could let him have a few minutes of peace, knowing he wouldn't let her.
True to form, "Who's a rat bastard?"
"Crowley," Bobby answered. "Son of a bitch still has my soul."
Without turning around, Piper heard the frown in Dean's voice. "What?"
"Some fine print bullshit."
"Well, what are we gonna do?"
Piper smiled. "I'll come up with something," she said confidently as she poured the batter for Dean's breakfast. "We're getting that damn soul back."
xxxxx
Piper found the information about Crowley's son, and called Sam to get the ring from the museum in Andover. He apologized profusely for forgetting about Bobby's soul. She hung up with more questions about her brother-in-law than ever. Dean had gone with him, also suspicious.
It must have shown on her face, because Bobby frowned when he sat across from her and handed her a cup of coffee. "Somethin' wrong, kiddo?"
She sighed. "I don't know. I think…" she stopped herself and shrugged. "This can wait until we have your soul back."
He shook his head. "Looks to me like we got some downtime. What's on your mind?"
She kept her gaze down on her coffee. "I don't know. It's just… Something is wrong with Sam, Bobby. Something huge."
His brow furrowed. "Like?"
"I mean… How often did he contact you in the year we were gone?"
"Not a lot."
"Exactly." She ran a hand through her hair. "That's not like Sam at all. And, I…" She took a deep
breath, feeling her cheeks flush in embarrassment. "This sounds really selfish, but when the shifter attacked me, he didn't… Um, he didn't ask if I was okay."
xxxxx
"Um, he didn't ask if I was okay."
That, more than anything that had come from his daughter's mouth, gave Bobby pause.
"I know it's dumb," she rushed to explain, her pretty cheeks pinkening. "I'm really not that self-centered, it's just, I mean, he usually checks on me, and I, I mean it's not like I… Oh, I don't know," she finished, groaning and burying her face in her hands.
Bobby thought carefully for a few moments.
Despite their self-sacrificing ways, despite the tight unit they had established before she had come, Piper had always been the center of their family. She'd been worrying Bobby, messing with Sam, and driving Dean to distraction since she'd walked onto the salvage yard behind John Winchester, skinny and traumatized and angry.
Bobby would have died for Piper in a heartbeat, should the occasion call for it. And God knew Dean had come close more than once to throwing himself in front of the bullet for her. And Bobby would have sworn that Sam was the same. He knew that Sam was the same.
Something was wrong. If he wasn't making sure that she was all right, like all three of them had been making sure she was all right since they'd met her, something was wrong.
She gave him a smile. "Look, just… I mean, just think about it for me? Make sure I'm not crazy when you talk to him. Something's off."
He nodded. "I will, Pi. And don't worry, you're not crazy. If you think something's wrong, something's definitely wrong."
xxxxx
The brothers got back late that night. Piper knew Dean had the creeps by tightness in his shoulders, the quick way he walked, and the way he made sure to stay between her and Sam.
Sam didn't seem to notice. "All right, we've got the ring. What now?"
"We summon Crowley's kid," Bobby said simply, eyeing the tallest Winchester. "Get what we need from him."
xxxxx
Piper was frowning up at him, and Dean was having a hard time standing his ground. "No."
"You don't get to tell me what to do," she snapped.
He tilted his head back and groaned. "I know I don't, kitten, this isn't about that." He looked back down and cupped her lovely face in his hands. "Pipes, we have to fly. To Scotland." He sighed. "I don't want you on a plane with him for nine hours."
She frowned. "You'll be with us."
He shook his head. "Even then, I don't want you there."
There was real fear in her hazel eyes now. "You… You don't trust him that much?"
He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, hating that he was scaring her. "No. Not with you, Pipes."
She burrowed into him, and he relished the way it made him feel. No matter what was going on in their sometimes terrible life, when she tucked herself into his arms that way, it made him feel strong. Like he could protect her, like he could shelter her from whatever danger was coming their way. It was one of the thousands of reasons he adored her, her ability to make him feel that way.
"Okay," she said softly into his chest. "I'll stay here, if you want." She leaned back a little to look up at him. "Will you be all right? On the plane?"
He kissed her thoroughly. "I'll figure it out."
xxxxx
The next afternoon, after she received a terse text from Dean, letting her know they were in position, Piper finished the summoning spell and watched Crowley appear.
Bobby smirked when they saw the rumpled, annoyed condition Crowley was in. "Well, you look like hammered crap."
Crowley sneered. "And you're a vision." He looked over at Piper, and smiled a little. "You really do look lovely, as always, peach. Love the hair."
She nodded without smiling. "Thank you."
Crowley looked up to see the devil's trap painted on the ceiling, then back to Bobby. "Don't we both know how this game ends? Really, you gotta know when to fold 'em."
"Word on the street is," Bobby said evenly, "that ever since Lucifer went to the pokey, you're the big kahuna downstairs."
Crowley nodded, eyebrows raised. "I see you've been reading the trades."
Piper smirked. "Ruling not the delight you thought it would be?"
The demon sighed. "Peach, dear, you… Have no idea." He walked over to the table that was within the trap and poured himself a glass of scotch. "I thought… When I got the corner office..." He took a drink. "I thought it was all going to be rainbows and two-headed puppies." He sighed and met her gaze. "If I'm being honest, it's been hell."
Bobby scoffed. "I thought that was the point."
Crowley slammed the rest of the drink and placed the glass back down. "You know what the problem with demons is?"
"They're demons?" Piper guessed.
"Exactly," Crowley snapped. "Evil, lying prats. The whole lot of them." He was pacing, gesturing wildly. "And stupid. Try to show them a, a new way, a better way. And what do you get? Bugger all!" He took a deep breath. "You know, there's days that I think Lucifer's whole 'spike anything with black eyes' plan wasn't half bad." He smiled a little and looked over at Piper. "Hmm. Feels good to get it off my chest. We should make this a thing."
Bobby was scowling. "Do I look like Dr. Phil to you?"
"A little," Crowley said with a smirk. Then he looked over to Piper. "But I was speaking to the peach."
She wrinkled her nose. "Quit calling me that."
Crowley ignored her. "Obviously, I'm not here for a social call. So on with it."
"I want-" Bobby began.
Crowley held a hand up to interrupt. "Save you the recap. In fact I'll do the shorthand for you." He pointed to Bobby and made his voice low and gravelly. "'I want my soul back, idjit.'" He pointed to himself and spoke normally. "'Fraid not." Back at Bobby, back to gravelly. "'But I'm surly and I got a beard. Gimme!'" The demon rolled his eyes. "Blah, blah, blah. Homespun cornpone insult, witty retort from yours truly. The bottom line is, you get bubkes, and the lovely Mrs. Winchester continues to look lovely." He smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Are we done?"
Piper smiled. "Oh, we're just getting started."
She looked over to her left and the ghost of Gavin, Crowley's son, appeared. When she looked back at Crowley, who appeared to be startled. "Gavin? Is that you. It's… It's been so long. I love you so-"
Piper rolled her eyes when Crowley started to laugh. "Sorry," the demon said with a smile, "Your soul for my boy, is that it? I've got to give you credit for thinking outside the box on that one, I suspect it was Piper's idea. But the problem is, I loathe the little bastard. You want to torture him?" he waved his hand carelessly. "Just let me pull up a chair and watch. Hell, burn his bones and send him down to me and we can have a family reunion." He looked at Gavin again. "That right, son?" He smiled evilly at Bobby. "You picked the wrong bargaining chip this time, my friend."
It was Piper's turn to chuckle a little. "Not a bargaining chip, Crowley."
"I was just using him to dig up dirt on you," Bobby said cheerfully.
"And since Gavin hates you maybe even more than you hate him," Piper said with a smile, "he was more than happy to tell us whatever we wanted to know."
Crowley started to snarl. "What did you tell them, son?"
Gavin's ghost smiled wickedly. "Everything." He flickered away.
"We know everything now, Fergus," Piper said softly, approaching the king of hell, but not going into the devil's trap. "You may be the king now, but in life, you were just a tailor."
"Who sold his soul in exchange for an extra three inches below the belt," Bobby said smugly.
Crowley winked at Piper. "Just trying to hit double digits." He looked over at Bobby. "So, you got a glimpse behind the curtain. And?"
"And now," Bobby said slowly, "I know where you're planted."
Piper tossed a burner phone they'd picked up to the demon, who caught it, stared at her for a beat, then put it toward his ear.
She heard her husband's voice over the phone, and some part of her yearned for him. He'd been gone less than twenty-four hours, but he was with his shady younger brother, and across the world, and she hated it.
"Dean," Crowley said genially, "It's been a long time. We should get together."
She only heard Dean's voice, not his words, so she only got Crowley's side of the conversation.
"Back?"
The demon looked anxious. Then, "A kilt." Another wink to Piper. "I had very athletic calves. What's the game?"
Crowley looked at Bobby after a few more muffled words from Dean. "This is ridiculous. The whole burning bones thing. It's a myth."
Bobby shook his head. "I know an employee of yours who would disagree."
Crowley sighed. "That's where she got to."
"You know," Piper said thoughtfully, "You guys, demons, you think you're something special. But at the end of the day, you're nothing but twisted, perverted spirits. Ghosts with an ego."
Bobby's face was set in a mask of determination. "We torch your bones, you go up in flames."
There was a noise over the phone, and Crowley looked down at it, irritated. Dean's voice, still smothered by distance and a bad connection.
"Your bones or my soul," Bobby said softly.
"Going once…" Piper said, just as quiet. "Going twice…"
Crowley tossed the ground on the phone, exasperated. "Bollocks."
He raised his hand, and Bobby held out his arms to show Piper the terms of his contract appearing on them. Crowley moved his hand, and the text started to disappear.
"Leave his legs alone, Crowley," Piper said coldly, "Or you will be nothing more than smoke before you can say, 'read the fine print.'"
The demon rolled his eyes, but when the contract was finally gone, Bobby was still standing. Piper nodded sharply, satisfied.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Bobby said evenly.
"Now, if you don't mind," Crowley said with a glare at the hunter, then looked up at the devil's trap on the ceiling.
Piper dragged a chair over, pulled the knife from her belt, and stood on tiptoe to scrape the paint off. When she was done, she came back down onto her heels. The chair rocked beneath her, and she squeaked as she fell.
Strong arms caught her against a chest that smelled like sulfur, smoke, and good, expensive liquor. She looked up wide-eyed at Crowley, who set her down gently, with a smirk on his face. "Careful, peach. Wouldn't want to hurt that pretty behind."
Then he disappeared.
She frowned at Bobby. "What the hell was that about?"
Bobby shrugged. "We've got him by the short and curlies, Pi. We can't take anything he says seriously."
Piper frowned, but didn't argue. She was unsettled by the brief exchange with the king of hell, but there were more important things, like the fact that her husband was still a nine hour and one very stressful plane ride away from her.
She walked over and picked up the phone. "Dean?"
"What the hell happened? Why was Crowley talking about your ass?"
She smiled a the jealous possessiveness in her husband's voice. "I just fell and he caught me, Dean. It was no big deal. Here, talk to Bobby, then get yourself home."
She handed the phone over, ignoring Dean's irritated mumbling. Bobby took it with a smile. "I appreciate you boys lending a hand," he said into the phone as he put it to his ear.
Both of the brother's voices, then, "Still, knowing how much you love flying the friendly skies, I guess a nine hour plane tip was no picnic." Piper laughed, and Bobby continued. "What did you do, drink your way through it?"
More mumbling, then Bobby laughed. "Well, head on back, boys. I appreciate your help."
There was more mumbling, and Piper's heart warmed when she realized that Dean's voice had the cadence it did when he was being genuine, when he was being kind.
"All right, all right, let's roll credit on this chick flick."
xxxxx
Piper was waiting at the airport for them, dancing from foot to foot in anticipation. He hates flying, poor thing.
When the passengers started pouring out of the gate, it never even crossed her mind to look for Sam's long hair. Normally, when she was searching them out in the crowd, she was looking for her tall brother-in-law, standing head and shoulders above the rest.
But now, she realized in the back of her head, she didn't even consider the man who had come back Sam. He looked like him, and mostly spoke like him, but he wasn't him.
Her thoughts about their predicament scattered when she saw Dean. She held herself to a serene walk as she approached him, but couldn't contain her grin. Ridiculous as it was, she always missed Dean, regardless of how long he'd been gone. And the wave of relief that washed over her when they were back together never changed.
Apparently it didn't for him, either. As soon as he saw her, he grinned that heart-melting grin at her and opened his arms. She was already running toward him, and flung herself against his strong frame when she got there, breathing him in.
"I missed you," she muttered against his warm skin as she buried her face in his neck.
"You, too, kitten," he whispered into her hair, crushing her to him.
He stiffened just a little. She may not have even noticed it had she not been pressed against him. She stayed where she was, taking her cue from him. "What's wrong?" she whispered low, for his ears only.
"Kitten, we were right," he muttered into her hair. "Something's definitely wrong with Sam."
xxxxx
Hi, beautiful readers! Here are my notes:
I own only Piper Finley, the original character. I don't own Supernatural or any of the characters. (heartbroken).
Reviews, comments, and kudos give me life and keep me going.
And, as always, thank you for reading, you beautiful, beautiful people.
