**Nothing from Charmed or Supernatural belongs to me.**

Chapter Nine

*Three Days Until The Wedding*

Melinda hung up the phone, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. Don't freak out. Everything will be fine. It will work out. She kept on repeating those sentences to herself, but they really weren't sinking in. She stood up, still trying to take in a deep breath. She walked into the kitchen, where her mother was at the stove, and her aunts were at the table. They turned to look at her as she walked in the room. Phoebe looked over to Paige, who glanced over to Piper, who turned from the stove, wiping her hands on a towel. Piper looked back to Phoebe, who spoke.

"Melinda? Honey, is something wrong?"

Melinda turned to Phoebe, forcing a smile on her face.

"Oh, no. Not at all. There are three days until my wedding, and the church decides to call today to let me know that it's not available after all."
"Oh no."

Melinda nodded to Paige.

"Now I have nowhere to get married."

Melinda plopped down in a chair, pillowing her arms on the table and dropping her head on them. Her voice was muffled, and made the women smile.

"What are we going to do?"

Piper shut the stove off, then walked to lay a hand on Melinda's back.

"Well, first of all, we're not going to panic."

Melinda lifted her head, pushing her hair out of her face as she looked to Piper.

"Mom, there are … people coming to this wedding. And now we have nowhere for the people to go! I'm thinking panicking is something we should be doing right now!"

Paige bit her cheek, trying to stop her smile, while Phoebe kicked her under the table. Dean chose that moment to walk inside, wiping his hands on a red rag, with Sam behind him, covered in sweat from his run. They stopped in the doorway, trying to decide whether to walk in and take their chances or hide outside some more. Melinda looked over at them, pushing her hair out of her face again. Dean cleared his throat.

"Babe?"

She shook her head, letting out a long sigh as she dropped it back on the table. Dean glanced back at Sam, who shrugged his shoulders. Piper sighed, pointing to the chair beside Melinda.

"Sit."

Dean sat, putting an arm around the back of Melinda's chair. Melinda lifted her head, pushing her hair back and rubbing her temples, where a dull, yet persistent ache had begun.

"The church just called. Long story short, there's nowhere for us to get married."

Sam and Dean let out a long "Oh" together, and Melinda sighed. Sam glanced around, while Dean rubbed Melinda's back. Phoebe and Paige kept exchanging glances, and Piper stood to putter around the kitchen some more. After a minute, Sam spoke up.

"Why don't you just have it here?"

Piper whirled back from cleaning the stove, dark eyes wide. Melinda lifted her eyes to Dean's, who pursed his lips. Phoebe and Paige exchanged a smile. Piper stepped from the stove, holding up her hands and shaking her head, a smile on her face.

"Oh no. No, no, no. That would not—just … No."

Melinda turned in her chair, facing her mother.

"Mom, we could have the wedding here."
"Prudence Melinda, have you lost your mind?"

Melinda smiled, reaching back to grasp Dean's hand.

"Mama, it would be perfect. You know how much I love the Manor. I was born here. And now I could get married here."
"Melinda, honey—"
"You and Daddy got married here! And so did Aunt Paige and Uncle Henry."

Piper sighed, crossing her arms as she glanced out the window. Melinda turned back to Dean, who shrugged his shoulders. She bit her lip, and turned back to her mother. Phoebe elbowed Paige, who nodded. Piper looked back to Melinda, blowing out her breath.

"Oh, don't give me that look."
"Come on, Mama. Please?"

Piper sighed, looking back out the window.

"It just … It will be so much work! We'll have to scrub this house and decorate."
"We can do it! We're all living here anyway, so we can stay up late and everyone can pitch in."

Piper shot Phoebe a look, but Phoebe just smiled. She was a hopeless romantic, and always had been. Piper looked to Paige, searching for an ally, but Paige just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Sorry, Pipes. I'm with them. Besides, Mel's right. I got married here, and it was romantic and wonderful, and—"
"Oh, shut up, Paige."

Paige laughed, and Piper shot Sam a look. Sam looked down at the floor. Piper closed her eyes, leaning her head back.

"All right, fine."

Melinda jumped up, rushing to hug Piper. Phoebe and Paige just laughed, and Dean smiled as he watched Melinda. Piper pushed back from the hug, keeping Melinda at arm's length.

"I am not doing this all on my own, little girl."
"You won't, Mama. I promise."

Piper smiled, reaching over to slap Sam's shoulder. He laughed, lifting a hand to rub it.

"Next time a brilliant idea pops in your mind, Sam Winchester, you can just keep your mouth shut."

Since Piper said the words with a smile on her face, Sam laughed. Piper let out a sigh, taking Melinda's hand and bringing her back over to the table.

"We have three days, and our work cut out for us. We need all available hands on deck, which means, all of you had best be ready to work. Let's rally the rest of the troops and get started."

Melinda taped up another box, stacking it on top of yet another one, blowing her bangs out of her face. Across the room, Kate looked up from scrubbing the baseboards and did the same thing to her bangs. Melinda smiled as Kate caught her eye.

"This is a tough job, huh, Katie?"

Kate nodded. She looked up and ducked as Chris and Dean came walking through, each holding the end of some piece of furniture, walking it out to the storage shed. Anna and Paris were right behind them, carrying armfuls of what kind of looked like dishes. Melinda gave Anna a look, and Anna smiled.

"Aunt Pearl's tea set!"

Melinda nodded, as Peyton came into the room.

"You!"

Melinda held up her hands, palms out, as Peyton stepped through the maze of crap on the floor to get to her. Kate sat back on her heels and watched.

"We need to talk."
"Okay, look."
"Don't give me that sh—"
"Little ears, Peyt."

Peyton glanced behind her, and Kate smiled and wiggled her fingers. Peyton sighed.

"Hey, munchkin. Those baseboards aren't going to clean themselves."

Melinda sighed, thumping Peyton on the arm.

"Katie, ignore Aunt Peyton. She's a grouch."

Kate smiled, then went back to work, scrubbing the baseboards with all her might. Peyton waited until Kate finished up in the dining room, moving to scrub in the kitchen, where Piper and Phoebe were. Peyton turned to Melinda, who spoke.

"I know, and I am so sorry! I wanted to tell you, but yesterday was no good, and you were gone before I got up this morning."

Peyton sighed, running her hands through her mass of dark curls. She turned to Melinda, the look on her face hurting Melinda's heart.

"Why is he here?"
"Peyton."

Melinda shook her head, looking at Peyton like she was crazy.

"He's Dean's brother."

Peyton held out her hands, and Melinda sighed.

"I know you've got … issues, but Peyton, come on. Did you really think we could have this wedding without Sam?"
"A girl can dream, can't she?"

Peyton was running her finger over a box, speaking so low Melinda could barely hear her. Melinda blew out her breath, walking over and taking Peyton's hands.

"Look at me."

Peyton did, letting out a sigh. Melinda smiled, pushing a curl behind Peyton's ear.

"You are my best friend, and I love you so very much. I could not imagine getting married without you standing beside me. I honestly don't think I could do it, Peyt. That's what Sam is to Dean."

Melinda smiled.

"Sam is Dean's Peyton."

Peyton let out a laugh, but tears filled her eyes. Melinda let out a breath, pulling Peyton to her and hugging her. Peyton cried into Melinda's hair while Melinda rubbed her hands up and down Peyton's back.

"I just … I don't know what to do, Mel."
"You still love him."

Peyton sighed, pushing back from Melinda's arms. Peyton's dark eyes met Melinda's blue ones.

"Of course I do. I can't just stop; I've tried."

Melinda took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"Well, maybe this can be a fresh start for you two. Just give him a chance, Peyt. Do it for me."

Peyton took in a deep breath, sighing as she nodded and, at the most opportune moment, Sam stepped into the kitchen, a clear shot from the dining room where Peyton and Melinda stood. He lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, giving off a view of his ripped stomach. Peyton and Melinda both stood open-mouthed.

"Holy shit. Has he always been …"

Peyton just shook her head. Melinda closed her mouth, smiling.

"Well. My goodness."

They heard a peal of laughter, and Kate ran into the dining room, running and hiding behind Peyton's legs.

"Aunt Peyton, help me! He's gross."
"Aw, come on, Katie. I just want a hug!"

Melinda laughed, letting it trail off as Sam met Peyton's eyes. Kate peeked around Peyton's legs, looking up at the sudden silence. Kate looked over to Melinda, who cocked her head, and Kate walked over to her. Melinda bent and lifted Kate to her hip, then silently walked to the kitchen. There, she set Kate down, and Kate looked up as Piper and Phoebe walked over. Phoebe put a hand over her heart.

"What's going on?"

Kate tapped her little foot on the floor.

"Well, Sam is all sweaty, and he tried to get me. I ran to Aunt Peyton, and now, they're just staring at each other."

Phoebe's wide eyes met Melinda's, who was smiling.

"Peyton didn't know Sam was here."

Phoebe's mouth opened and closed. She and Melinda leaned over, peeking through the door to see what was going on when Piper sighed.

"Come on. We've got too much to do to be eavesdropping. Little bit, back to the baseboards. Little sister, back to washing. Daughter, you can dry."

They all let out a sigh, then trudged back over to do their jobs. In the dining room, Peyton stood still, staring up at Sam. He had a soft smile on his face as he stared down at her. Finally, he spoke softly.

"Hey, Peyton."

She closed her eyes at the sound of his voice, all his emotions bubbling up in her. Sadness, joy, regret, longing. Most of all, love. She opened her eyes, smiling as tears filled them.

"Hey, Sam. It's good to see you."

His eyes drifted close as the sound of her voice, until he opened them again. He smiled.

"You're beautiful."

A blush crept into her cheeks.

"You don't look so bad yourself."

They stared at each other for a minute, until Sam sighed.

"Peyton, I—"
"Hey! I could use some help in here!"

Peyton and Sam looked towards the living room, where Phoenix had just yelled. Peyton looked back to Sam and smiled.

"I should go help her."

Sam nodded, and Peyton walked away. He clenched his eyes shut, moving a hand to rub at them.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it."
"Hey, you owe me three quarters."

Sam turned to see Kate standing in the doorway, a smile on her face. He smiled back, then started for her, and she squealed as she took off running.