Authors Note: Ok, I know the song's associated with Twilight, but i don't care. I think it's beautiful and fits well for Mer/Dean. So please, well prompted, listen to "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! Gah! I'm excited for the sequel though. Thank you so much to Deangirl93 and Record 7 for reviewing the previous chapter.

The four Winchesters roamed through the hospital hallways on their way to their mother's hospital room.

"What do you mean you didn't okay it with the hospital staff? Now we won't be able to use it after the wedding!" John exclaimed, stopping all of them as Jude broke the news to him.

"Sorry, I forgot," Jude shrugged. "Look, I'll go do it now. It'll be fine."

"This last minute?" John challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"Chill out, Princess. I've got it," Jude shot back.

"Dick," John grumbled.

Wuss," Jude snapped.

"Man child!" John exclaimed in an accusatory tone.

"Guys!" Victoria yelled, interrupting the two. "Cut it out. We're not getting anywhere with you two calling each other names."

"She's right. Look, why don't Jude and I go down to the cafeteria and sort everything out. John, go get Dad and tell him what's going on and Victoria, you can get Mom ready," Flynn said, attempting to find some order in the chaos.

John sighed, "Fine."

"Yeah," Jude agreed.

"Good. Now come on," Flynn said, nodding for Jude to follow him towards the cafeteria, leaving John and Victoria alone.

"We better go fill them in. Everyone will be arriving soon and it takes us girls quite a while to get wedding-ready," Victoria said to John, holding a makeup bag and a white sundress in her arms to give to her mom once they finally surprise their parents with the news that they were throwing them a wedding.

"Yeah, whatever. I was right though. You're always supposed to call ahead!" John protested.

"Yeah, okay, Princess," Victoria teased, nudging her brother playfully.

"Hey!" John protested.

"Come on. You know I'm just teasing you," Victoria chuckled.

In the cafeteria, Jude and Flynn stood right at the entrance, carefully examining the hospital staff to see which one they should approach about it.

"So how do we go about this? Do we even have a plan?" Flynn asked his older brother.

Jude narrowed his eyes, singling someone out. Bingo. "Yep. Just watch, little brother," Jude said, strolling over towards the woman in the pink scrubs, dark, wavy hair, and perfect smile. He stealthily pretended that he wasn't looking as he 'casually' bumped into her. "Oh God. I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright. You're-… Winchester, right? I've seen you around here. Your mom's been in the hospital, right?" she asked.

"So you've been paying attention to me," Jude smirked, causing the woman to blush.

"We all talk and the cute guy that keeps showing up definitely makes the daily gossip," she answered, flirtatiously.

"So listen, we're uh, we're throwing a wedding for my parents. The accident made my dad want to repropose so we're just helping him out," Jude started.

"Cute and sensitive," she giggled.

"I guess," he shrugged. He cringed inside. This was him four-five years ago but not now. It just felt weird becoming this person again. He had given up those ways a long time ago. "We wanted some place to have a little reception afterwards. It'll be kind of late, but I know people'll be working late. You think it'd be okay if we used the cafeteria?"

She thought it over, "I could talk to someone about it, but honestly, between you and I, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Thanks, I really owe you one," Jude winked.

"Well, you could buy me a drink," she said.

"Yeah," Jude said, convincingly, although on the inside, he knew he wasn't over Anna.

"Margaret," she introduced herself.

"Jude," Jude said, taking her hand and shaking it.

"I'm working all night. Maybe I'll stop by," she said.

"Maybe," he said back.

Flynn laughed, watching his brother flirt his way through a solution. Finally, Jude returned with a little slip in his hand and Flynn snorted with laughter, "You got her number? You better have gotten more than that – and by that, I mean the cafeteria privileges."

"Yeah, I did, dude," Jude chuckled.

"So.. you actually into her?"

Jude shrugged, "I don't know. Just using the old Winchester charm. It's for Mom and Dad, okay?" He already felt guilty and reminded himself he had no reason to, considering he and Anna were broken up, so why did he still feel that way?

"Sure," Flynn replied, unconvinced.

"Well, the doctor said that they were keeping me one more night. I don't know why…" Meredith trailed off.

"Yeah, too bad," John replied, unconvincingly, causing Victoria to glare at him. Victoria smiled on the inside. The doctor had lied to her for them so that they could keep her there just in time to throw their parents the wedding. There was an awkward silence before John spoke again. "Hey, Dad? Can I ask you about something? Out in the hall?"

"Uh.. sure," Dean said, hesitantly leaving Meredith's side.

"Don't worry. She'll be here when you get back," John reassured, leaving Victoria and Meredith alone in the hospital room.

"So…" Victoria started.

"You want to tell me what's going on? You want to explain the dress and shoes?" Meredith asked.

Damn it.

"Uh… well, there may be a reason the doctor's keeping you," Victoria began. Meredith raised an eyebrow and Victoria could feel the pressure building. Gah. She wasn't good at this and her mother was way too good at playing the intimidating mother card.

"We may be throwing you and Dad a wedding," she blurted out.

"You're what?!" Meredith exclaimed, her eyes practically bulging out of her head as she stared at her daughter in disbelief.

"Surprise?" Victoria said, almost as a suggestion.

"Wh-, but I don't even have time to get ready. I don't even have anything to wear and-," Meredith began to ramble.

"That's why I brought this," Victoria interjected, holding up the dress and hanging it on the bathroom door. "And this." She held up her makeup bag so that her mother could see as well. "And these." Lastly, she held up the elegant white flats that her mother had a long time ago. "I figured you probably wouldn't want to walk in heels considering you've just begun to get out of bed."

"I'm a still a little sore. I-, I don't know what to say," Meredith said, in awe.

"Just say, 'I do'. No runaway brides, okay?" Victoria joked, causing Meredith to laugh.

"You're funny like your dad," Meredith mused, looking at her beautiful daughter. Since when had she gotten all grown up?

Victoria snorted, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It is one," Meredith replied. She took a deep breath. "Ah, now I'm nervous! I don't know why."

"Frankly, I don't either. You and Dad love each other," Victoria shrugged.

"Yeah, but… I wouldn't know what to say or-, I don't know. To walk down the aisle with Dean again… it's sweet but I sure as hell wasn't expecting this. But I love it. It's a great surprise. And you know how much I hate surprises," Meredith confessed.

"Oh yeah. Don't worry. We'll never repeat your forty-fifth birthday party ever again," Victoria chuckled.

"Oh God," Meredith groaned.

Dean and the kids had thrown a surprise birthday for Meredith, nearly giving her a heart attack. She loved that they had wanted to do something nice, but those were the days that Meredith had begun to long for the days of the simple family dinner birthdays and the Falcon.

"Well, why don't we start with your makeup and so you don't get nervous, just… tell me about Dad," Victoria started.

"Like what?" Meredith asked.

"I don't know…" Victoria trailed off. "Nothing gross because we already get enough of that from you guys now."

"Hey!" Meredith protested.

"I'm kidding, Mom," Victoria said. "Uh… tell me about when you knew Dad was the one."

Meredith smiled. She knew the exact moment, "I think I always knew. But the actual moment I realized? It's a long story, sweetie."

Victoria looked around, "We've got time, Mom, remember? Hospital room? Car accident? Big bad demon that-."

"Okay, okay! Listen to you. Just like your father…" Meredith groaned, playfully.

"Alright, I'll cut it out as long as you tell me the story. I mean, we've heard all about when you and Dad first met, the proposal, the wedding… all that big stuff. But when did you know?" Victoria asked, earnestly.

"Well, your dad and I had gotten into a really big fight the night before," Meredith recalled fondly. "Instead of staying with him, I left in the morning. It was right after the told me about the deal he made with the crossroads demon, which, by the way, you are never allowed to do, and I just-, I was scared. But we talked…."

~Flashback~

"Can we talk?" I asked.

"Sure," Dean replied.

"Look, I'm sorry for this morning… leaving you. I just… I needed to clear my head," I started.

"Do you not want to do this… us, anymore?" Dean asked.

"No, that's not what I'm saying, Dean! I love you so much and I don't want you to go through this alone. I want to be here for you through it all, I-, I'm in this, Dean. I just, I've had to process a lot. You just, last night, you told me that you were dying, we screamed at each other and then had angry sex. That's a lot for me to take in," I explained, sighing.

"Very good, angry sex," Dean corrected, a small smirk on his face.

I chuckled, "Yes, very good, angry sex. I'm not running away from you, whether you like it or not. You're stuck with me." I nudged him playfully and he smiled. "See, there's that smile. I've missed it."

"I just don't want to drag you back into this or hurt you in any way. It seems like we're both all over the place right now and sometimes… you just happen to be in my line of fire and I can't help it," Dean said.

"No, I know. But I'm crazy about you, Dean. I know it's a little masochistic but I don't care. I want to be here for you and hell, you may not even want me to be here for you. I know you want your time and your space, but I just want you to know that I'm not scared. I'm not afraid of this and I'm not going to run away from this," I said back.

"You're the strongest girl I know," Dean nodded.

"I highly doubt that. It's just the crazy things you do for love," I joked.

Dean leaned in and kissed me quickly, "I love you too. I'm sorry if I don't say it enough to you."

I shook my head, "You're perfect."

"I highly doubt that," Dean replied.

"You are," I said, leaning in and kissing him. He may not believe it, but to me he was. For me, he was. Sure, he had his flaws. We could all see that, but to me, that didn't matter. They only made me love him more and if he only had a year to live, well then hell, I was going to give him all the love I had.

~End Flashback~

"And I just told him that I wasn't afraid and that, essentially, he was stuck with me. Dean's death was horrifying and something I never wanted for either of us to go through, but it made me realize that he was the one. I didn't care that he was dying, I just wanted to be married to him, even if it were for only a few months," Meredith concluded.

"Mom, that's so sweet. I always forget that you and Dad had that whole dark, twisty romance thing going on," Victoria replied.

Meredith nodded, "Yeah, we've come a long way from where we used to be.

Down the hall, near the church chapel, John led his father towards it.

"So the thing is, I know that people say not to bring your girlfriend to college, but Renee and I will try it out for a year and if it still works, it still works," John said.

Dean scratched the back of his head, "You sound like you have this all figured out."

"Yeah," John nodded.

"So why did you need my advice?" Dean asked, confused.

"See, the truth is, Dad. I didn't need your advice at all," John said.

"Wh-," Dean began to ask but was cut off as the chapel doors were pushed open, revealing the rest of the Winchester-Walsh clan, congregated in the little room, bright smiles plastered all over their faces.

"You said all our friends and family, right?" John asked.

"A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri (please listen to it!)

"Heart beats fast. Colors and promises. How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone, all of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow. One step closer…"

"Dad, look," Jude whispered to him, before John, Flynn, and Jude went to sit down in the front row of church pews. Dean looked to the chapel door and watched as Meredith entered the room, beautiful as ever, in that white sundress with only a few flowers in her hand, Victoria at her side. Dean sighed, taking her in as she smiled at him from the aisle.

He smiled back and chuckled, rolling her eyes playfully, as if to say, "I really can't believe this is happening" and "I'm so embarrassed to be the center of attention." He nodded but knew in his heart, that he wouldn't have this wedding any other way.

Meredith carefully took her steps toward the altar. She could barely believe that her kids had pulled all of this together in less than twenty four hours. All of the people she loved and were important to her were here, happier than ever. She smiled back at Molly and Sawyer who sat next to each other, overjoyed.

"You look beautiful. Go get 'em, Mom," Victoria said, before sitting next to her brothers on the front church pew as Meredith joined Dean at the altar.

"We have gathered here today to celebrate and renew the vows of Meredith Isobel Winchester and Dean Winchester," the priest started.

Meredith and Dean exchanged glances, pure love in their eyes.

"I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more…"

The priest went through the routine wedding speeches before leaving it up to the bride and groom, "And now, if the bride and groom would like to say a few words of their own, they may."

Meredith and Dean exchanged glances, trying to decide who would go first until Dean spoke up.

"I'll go first," Dean volunteered. She nodded, smiling and biting her lip as she waited to hear his words. "Meredith, twenty two years ago, I promised you that that day, our wedding day, was the day that I grew up. Well, that's what I've been doing. You've given me the world, Mer. You've given me a beautiful family, a place to come home to after being out of the road, and an incredibly sexy wife." There were laughs from their friends and groans from their kids before Dean continued. "I promised you that I'd grow and I want to promise you again that I'll keep growing. We'll continue to build our life together and… and well, since we've already been stuck together for the past… a thousand years," earning another chuckle from the guests, "I promise to love and cherish you for a thousand more."

"Dean, everyone said you'd break my heart. I mean, everyone!" Meredith started, causing everyone, including Dean to laugh or make a comment in agreement. "But you didn't. I mean, you did, but you somehow managed to waltz back into my life and put it right back together again."

"It wasn't easy," Dean said.

Meredith chuckled, "No. It was far, far from easy. You know, earlier, when we were getting ready for the wedding, your daughter asked me when I knew you were the one. I told her that I always knew, but the moment I realized was the day after you told me about the deal. Talk about "through thick and thin", huh? We have been through so much together, Dean, and I just want to tell you that, yes, we've practically been together since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but I wouldn't have it any other way. And yeah, I can't wait till the next worldly explosion to the point where the dinosaurs will somehow magically re-evolve and come back again. But even when they do, I know it'll still be you and me. So I think you for that: for putting me back together again, for sharing this life with me, and for loving me, Dean. And I promise to do the same for you."

There were aw's from the family and they even noticed several hospital staff that had slipped into the chapel.

"By the power vested in me by God and the state of South Dakota, I now pronounce you husband and wife, again," the priest announced, noticing the wide smiles and looks of love shared between Dean and Meredith. "You may now kiss the bride."

"Finally!" Dean sighed with relief before pulling his wife in close to him and passionately kissing her. Meredith kissed him back with all of her, before pulling away. The two exchanged a smile before the wedding was officially over.

"Time stands still, beauty in all she is. I will be brave. I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me. Every breath, every hour has come to this. One step closer…"

"I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more…"

"I really don't know how you pulled it all off," Meredith marveled, as they sat in the hospital cafeteria eating store bought sheet cake that said "Congratulations, Meredith and Dan". John had incessantly apologized but both his parents had insisted that it was perfectly fine and that he had done enough already. The wedding was beautiful and they couldn't ask for more. That sure got him to calm down some. Then Renee swooped in and he was easily distracted.

"Well, Jude flirted to get his way," Flynn started.

"Hey!" Jude protested.

"You sleazebag, you," Victoria teased.

"It's okay, man. It's a gift!" Dean consoled, causing them all to laugh. Suddenly, the sound of a knife clinging against a glass bottle silenced everyone and Sam had the floor.

"Hello, everyone. I know we've done things out of order, but Flynn and I searched for the perfect dance song and uh… well, we figured we'd give it a shot," Sam announced. "Would the bride and groom come out for their first dance?"

"Sammy, you know I don't dance," Dean glared.

"Come on, man! It's wedding tradition," Sam argued.

Dean scowled and Meredith laughed, rolling her eyes, jokingly, "Come on, Dean. Or Dan, should I say?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I bet Dan's a dancer," Dean groaned.

Meredith just shook her head. The two made it out to the area that the cafeteria tables had been cleared out of as the music began to play. The song opened with the plucking of guitar strings and then the all too familiar lyrics to AC/DC's "You shook me all night long" but in a jazz arrangement. She recognized it as the cover by the Django Reindhardt inspired group, The Lost Fingers.

"Oh my God," Meredith smiled. "This is your song!"

"Yeah, it is, baby," Dean groaned.

"Dean," she giggled.

"What? I've shaken you all night long plenty of times," he whispered in her ear, sending chills down her spine. "You look beautiful."

"I love you," was all she said back.

"I love you."

Soon enough, the other couples had joined them out on the dance floor. Sam and Sawyer. Greer and Cole. John and Renee. Molly and Ethan.

"What're you thinking about?" Cole asked Greer as they danced together.

"Nothing… just how I'm going to remember this when I move to California," Greer answered.

"Oh yeah?" Cole asked.

"Oh yeah. And many more wonderful things," she winked.

Once the more upbeat songs came on, Jude, Flynn, Victoria,Haley, Jackson, and Iz joined everyone on the dance floor. It was a celebration of not only Meredith and Dean, but of victory and family.

"And all along I believed I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more. One step closer. One step closer…"

"I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you. For a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more…"

"Where are the kids?" Meredith asked, as she and Dean walked up the steps to their house.

"Woah there! Someone had a little too much to drink," Dean said, stabilizing Meredith as she wobbled a little. She laughed, using him as support. "I guess I'll just have to carry you now." He swooped her up causing her to squeal, laughing.

"Dean!" she exclaimed.

"Come on! We just got married. You already forced me to dance. I've got to follow through with all the traditions, don't I?"

"You drank just about as much as I did," Meredith shot back, ignoring his question. "Why aren't you drunk?"

"I must be better at it," Dean shrugged, causing her to laugh and poke him in the rib cage.

"Not true," she said. Dean went to unlock the door as they noticed a red envelope on the door. Meredith tore it off, opening it and reading the card. She read it aloud. "We have one last surprise for you. We're all staying at Uncle Sam's house tonight. We figured you'd want the full wedding experience and none of us want to be there when it happens. We already hear it enough as it is. Love, your children, Jude, John, Flynn, and Victoria."

"What?" Dean asked.

"Let's find out," Meredith replied.

Dean unlocked the door, pushing it open, as the two were face to face with the dark house. But instead of its usual darkness, the hallway was lined with white candles and rose petals. Meredith and Dean both stepped in, closing the door behind him.

"Hm… I wonder where it all leads to," Meredith started, playfully.

"You want to find out?" Dean smirked. She nodded, taking his hand as the two walked down the hall, seeing the candles and roses lead straight to their bedroom. The door was closed and there was a sign on it that read: Honeymoon Suite.

"Look, the doctor said no strenuous activity after the surgery and stuff so we don't have to do anything," Dean started, reluctantly.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Meredith smirked.

"Mer, the doctor said-," Dean protested.

"We'll be careful," she shrugged, playfully, pulling the door open behind them and pulling him in after her by his tie.

"And all along I believed I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more…"