"What are we gonna do?"

Piper sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "I'm not sure. I mean, we don't even know what exactly is wrong with him."

Dean was pacing back and forth across their bedroom, worry and anger radiating off of him. "Shit, I don't even know where to start."

Piper stood and went to him. She took his face in her hands running her fingers along his strong, stubbly jaw. He had shaved after the first case they'd done with Sam. She missed the beard. "Hey, we'll figure something out, okay? We'll put our heads together and we'll find a solution."

He stared down at her, his emerald eyes miserable and searching. "How?"

She didn't have an answer for him, so she just looked up into his handsome face. Despite the situation, he never failed to make her heart beat faster. She ran her thumbs along his cheekbones. "I don't know. But I do know that I love you more than anything, and together we can fix this." She smiled tremulously. "Believe me?"

He put his hands on her waist and pulled her tight against him. "Yeah, kitten, I believe you."

She nodded firmly. "Good."

xxxxx

Later, Piper was sitting on the couch, keeping a wary eye on Sam, who was really just sitting in the chair across the room. But even being still, and completely non-threatening, he made the little hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Bobby came in, and he was giving Sam the stinkeye. She saw the effort it cost her father figure to smooth his face out before he spoke, and his faith in her warmed Piper's heart. The primary reason Bobby was suspicious of Sam was because of her own misgivings, and it was nice having backup.

The three men were discussing a possible werewolf case nearby. Piper felt the weirdness in the conversation, and it made her feel empty. There was a strange… Disconnect somewhere. A distance between all of them, and she hated it. She tried to put her finger on it, but wasn't quite able to pinpoint the change.

Without really meaning to, her thoughts shifted to Castiel.

Sam had said that the angel hadn't answered his prayers. Piper assumed that he was very busy, he had said that it was chaos in heaven. Oh, jeeze, maybe there's even fighting.

Guilt lanced through her. She had hardly even thought of their friend for over a year, and who knew what he'd been dealing with? Poor thing.

She closed her eyes. Cass, I don't know if you're listening, but I'm so sorry. We kind of bailed on you. If you need anything that Dean or I can provide, please let me know, okay?

A fluttering of wings made her jump, and she looked up to meet striking blue eyes.

"Hello, Piper."

xxxxx

Dean was staring hard at his brother as they discussed the case going on, trying to figure out what was different.

Is it… Does he seem colder? Like he doesn't care?

The fluttering of wings made him jump. He whirled, and adrenaline had his heart racing before he recognized the figure standing in front of his wife.

"Hello, Piper."

Before anyone else could react to his sudden appearance, Piper leapt up and flung her arms around the angel's neck. "Cass!"

Dean was frowning, irritated that he'd been surprised. He watched as Castiel wrapped his arms around Piper and hugged her close.

"'Hello?'" Sam scoffed.

Cass turned around and looked at them. "Yes."

Sam was scowling. "'Hello?' 'Hello?'"

Castiel's brow furrowed and he looked back at Piper. "Uh, is that still the term?"

Piper was beaming up at the angel. "Yep!"

"I spent all that time trying to get through to you," Sam snarled, "And now you come to say 'hi' to Piper?"

Dean bristled at the tone in his brother's voice. "Hey-"

"Yes," Castiel said simply.

"So, what?" Sam's voice still held aggression. "You like her better or something?"

Castiel frowned. "Doesn't everyone?" He looked at Dean for guidance. "Doesn't everyone like Piper more?"

Dean grinned. I missed the nerdy little dude. "Yeah, Cass, everyone likes her more."

Piper put a hand on Castiel's arm. "Cass, what Sam means is that he went to hell for us. He went to hell for everyone. And I think we're just wondering why you didn't answer him."

He looked down at her. "If I had any answers, I might have responded. But I don't know." He looked up at Sam. "We have no idea who brought you back from the cage. Or why."

"So, it wasn't God?" Sam asked.

"No one's even seen God." Castiel looked between the Winchester brothers and Bobby, then looked back down at Piper. "The whole thing remains mysterious."

She smiled gently. "It's okay, Cass. I appreciate you coming down to tell us."

The angel winced, and Dean frowned as he spoke. "I… I'm sorry, Piper. I didn't just come for this. I need your help."

"What do you want?" Sam snapped.

Piper shot him a quelling look, then looked up at Castiel. "Whatever you need."

The angel look stricken, and Dean thought of the first time Piper had told Cass she had affection for him. He had thought then that he felt a connection to the angel because of the way he responded to Piper, and now he felt that way again. When she was there, telling a person that she was there for him, that she was supporting and loving him, it was hard to tell her 'no.'

Dean grinned and nodded. "Lay it on us, Cass."

xxxxx

After they'd taken care of the child's soul, Balthazar, and Raphael, the four of them stood in the foyer of the opulent mansion. Piper was very tired, and she just wanted to go home.

But that wasn't an option anymore, so she pinned Castiel with a stare, because she knew he was about to disappear again. The angel looked a little guilty as she squinted her eyes at him.

"Cass," she said softly. "Why didn't you tell us all of this was going on?"

She was a little disturbed by the way Castiel had treated the child when he had been searching his soul. It had looked painful, and Dean had protested, but Cass had insisted it was the only way to find out what was going on. He'd been right.

She was more disturbed by the fact that not only had Sam not argued about it, but he didn't seem disturbed at all.

Not now, she told herself firmly. Focus on Cass.

The angel looked uncomfortable. "I was… Ashamed. I expected more from my family."

She sighed and stepped forward to wrap her arms around his waist and hug him close. "You don't have to be ashamed, dummy," she said gently, looking up at him and smiling. "You're family, you can come to us with anything."

He sighed deeply and hugged her back. "Be safe, Piper. And I… I will try to find answers about Sam."

She wished vehemently that she and the angel were alone, so she could share her misgivings about Sam with him. He might even have an idea of what the fuck was going on. But it wasn't an option, so she hugged him hard, then took a step back. "Be careful, Cass," she warned. "If you get hurt, I'll kick your ass."

"She means that," Dean said cheerfully. "She'll do it."

Castiel gave them the barest hint of a smile, then disappeared.

Piper took in a deep breath, then looked back at the brothers and smiled. "Well, that was fucked."

Dean nodded. "How did that dick know you, Pipes?"

She paused for a moment. Balthazar had recognized her immediately, and she him. It was a painful subject, so she hadn't particularly wanted to enlighten them. "When Lucifer killed me," she said softly, "He was there, in heaven. He told me I wouldn't be there for long, and that he was putting his money on you guys and Cass."

xxxxx

Dean winced, then pulled his wife into his arms and held her tight. He didn't say anything, just reveled in the way she cuddled into him, away from the brisk night air.

He hated thinking about… What had happened, but he especially hated thinking about what had happened to Piper. The sight of her lying on the ground, empty hazel eyes staring into the sky, still regularly haunted his nightmares. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent, banishing the dread that always gathered at the base of his spine when he thought about it.

She let him for a few moments, then murmured into his neck. "Let's go home, handsome."

xxxxx

"Kristin's a good kid. A little naive, sure... You try to be a good parent. Girls are hard."

Piper smiled and nodded sympathetically to the victim's father. Sam had them working again, less than a day after the fight with Balthazar and Raphael. She didn't know what was up with him, but he'd only offered a simple, "I like to work," as an explanation.

My ass, she thought bitterly.

She kept her thoughts off of her face, and let the bland smile stay there. "We're working very hard to find your daughter, sir. Is there any way we could see her room?"

He nodded and pointed down the hall. "Last door on the left."

"Thank you," she said as she stood and followed her men to the back bedroom.

"What do you think he was talking about?" Dean muttered to her, stopping so she could slip down the hall ahead of him and placing a big, warm hand on the small of her back.

"Drugs?" Sam said, just as softly, as he opened the door.

Piper shrugged. "Could be."

They opened the door, and Piper reached into turn the light on. Her eyes widened as she took in the blood red walls, covered in posters from "My Summer Blood," with "vampiric" accessories littering the room.

"Oh, this is so much worse," Dean whispered, horrified.

Sam snorted. "Vampires?"

"These aren't vampires, man, these…" Dean glared at the full-size cutout of one of the actors from the movie hanging on the back of the door as Piper shut it gently behind her. "These are douchebags."

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

Piper shrugged as she walked into the room and looked around. "I dunno, the movie wasn't that bad."

A resounding silence had her turning to see both brothers staring at her, wide-eyed. "What?"

"You… You saw it?" Dean asked, deep betrayal coloring his deep voice.

Piper rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Yes, I went to see it with Brandy. Her daughter is twelve, and she wanted to see it to make sure it wasn't inappropriate before taking her."

Piper smiled at the memory of her and her friend giggling through the movie. Despite their gentle mocking, though, at the end of the film, they'd both been on the edge of their seats. During the big fight scene, they'd held hands and squeaked. It had been nice.

"I'm looking at you in a whole new light, Pipe," Sam said with a smile.

She crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed as he flipped back the covers on the bed. It was almost like it had been before, and she warmed. Maybe it's just our imagination. He hasn't been part of the family for a year, maybe he's just out of practice.

"Aha!" Sam pulled out a red laptop from beneath a pillow. He took it over to the desk and flipped it open. "Let's see what we can see."

When he turned it on, it made a screaming noise that made Piper jump, and a picture of a brooding, pale man popped up.

"That's just… Uncomfortable," Sam said stiffly.

"What's he so bummed out about?" Dean asked.

While Sam tried to find the password, Dean found a copy of "My Summer Blood." He glared down at the cover and looked at Piper. "He's watching her sleep. How is that not rapey?"

She chuckled and came to stand next to him. "You've never watched me sleep?"

He grinned down at her. "Not because I 'vanted to suck yore blood.'"

She laughed and watched as he flipped through the pages. Something caught his eye, and he read aloud to her, softly. "'He could hear the blood rushing inside her, almost taste it. He tried desperately to control himself. Romero knew their love was impossible-' Romero? Really?"

She laughed and leaned into him, one arm snaking around his waist. "Oh, it's not that bad. You're just grumpy."

He tossed the book back on the bed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Damn right."

"Got it!" Sam said triumphantly. "It was 'Pattinson.' I think I hate teenage girls."

Piper led Dean over to his brother so they could look at the screen over Sam's shoulder. "Hush," she said with a smile. "Let teenage girls be teenage girls. Not everyone can fawn over the two of you from the get go."

Dean grinned down at her, and she felt her face warm in a blush. "Fawned over me, did you?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed at him. "No, Sam, I was all about Sam."

Sam grinned up at her and winked, and for just a moment, everything was right. Her Winchesters smiling at her, her heart was light, they were working a case. She wallowed in it for a few seconds, before they looked back at the laptop and got to work.

"All right, what are we looking at?"

Sam was scrolling through several pages of content. "Uh, looks like her inbox is full. Some guy claiming to be a vampire."

Dean frowned. "A real vampire?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, here. 'I can only meet you at night.' 'I don't trust myself with you.' 'The call of your blood is too strong.'" He looked up at them. "Vampires fishing for victims?"

"Probably just a human mouth-breather, right?" Dean asked, looking at Piper.

She shrugged. "Maybe. On the other hand, talk about easy prey."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I mean, these chicks are just throwing themselves at you. All you gotta do is… I dunno, write bad poetry."

Piper smiled, thinking of her first crush (outside of the man she'd married). He had been the opposite of Dean, soft-spoken and rail-thin. He'd written some poetry himself, she recalled. "There's something to be said for bad poetry," she said softly, still smiling. Lot of nostalgia on this case.

Dean narrowed his green eyes at her, and she grinned as he hmphed. He tugged her to him and nuzzled her cheek, just a little. "Bad poetry, huh?" She shivered a little at his deep, rough voice in her ear.

Sam watched all of this with a blank look on his face, then looked back at the emails. "This guy wanted to meet her at a place called The Black Rose."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Give me a break."

Sam shrugged. "Just reporting the news."

Piper shrugged, too. "Well, it's probably just a standard-issue weirdo. Let's go check it out, anyway, just in case."

Dean wrapped his arm around her again and held her close. "Whatever you say, kitten."

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.
**This is weird, but I'm really, really excited about the next chapter... I can't wait to share it with you guys.