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

Chapter Fourteen

*One Day Until The Wedding*

They danced for a long time, until Piper stepped up, pausing the music right in the middle of Y.M.C.A. Dean started clapping, since he hated that song, and Melinda laughed at him. She looked over, a smile crossing her face when she saw Kate, sound asleep against Sam's shoulder. He held her in his big arms, and Peyton stood right beside them. Wyatt walked up, touching Sam on the back, and Sam passed Kate to him. She linked her little arms around Wyatt's neck, and he patted her back as he carried her inside, up to bed. Piper looked to Melinda and smiled.

"Well, it's getting close to midnight. You know what that means."

Melinda smiled, turning to Dean. He smiled, opening his arms as she walked into them. She held a hand to the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair.

"The next time I see you…"
"I'll be marrying you."

She shook her head against his, letting out a laugh.

"Have we lost our minds?"
"A long time ago, Mel."

She laughed again, and Dean took her face in his hands as he kissed her.

"I love you."

She smiled.

"I love you. Don't have too much fun tonight."

Dean let out a laugh.

"You either. Get some rest."
"You know I can't sleep without you beside me."
"Just try, babe. And tomorrow…"

She laughed, and Sam and Chris walked over, each taking one of Dean's arms and walking him backwards. Melinda let out a laugh as Peyton came and draped an arm around her shoulders. Dean smiled and called out to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mel."

She smiled.

"I'll be the one wearing white."

Sam and Chris took him around the corner of the house and Melinda let out a sigh. Peyton rubbed her arm.

"Come on. We have girly movies and popcorn and pajamas and we'll paint each other's nails and braid each other's hair and have fun, fun, fun at our slumber party."

Melinda laughed as they stepped into the kitchen. She and Peyton slid off their heels, letting out matching sighs of relief. They walked upstairs to Melinda's bedroom, changing into their pajamas, and Peyton let Melinda's hair down. Just as she'd suspected, it curled gently, making Melinda even more beautiful than usual.

They made their way downstairs, just as Paris walked out of the kitchen.

"Hey, there you are! Come on."

They walked into the living room, where pillows were everywhere, and Phoenix and Anna were already on the floor, looking through movies. Jenny came in with a tray, and Melinda laughed as she set it down.

"Are you kidding me?"

Jenny put her hands on her hips.

"You think we can have a bachelorette-ish slumber party without margaritas? Come on, Mel!"

Melinda laughed again, shaking her head, until Paris handed her a glass.

"We're not planning on more than two each. Not going anywhere near as hard as we did the other day."

Groans sounded through the room, memories of the horrible hangovers they'd all suffered. Melinda gave her margarita a look, then shrugged her shoulders as she took a drink. The girls laughed, but followed her lead. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige walked in, climbing onto the couch, and Phoenix popped a DVD into the player. They all settled in, sipping their margaritas and watching The Princess Bride.

In Matt's apartment, what his sisters had named Bachelor Central, Dean leaned over the pool table, lining up his shot, smiling as the ball rolled right into the pocket. Matt let out a groan, slapping a twenty onto the edge of the table.

"Bastard."

Dean laughed, and Sam handed him a beer. Wyatt took the beer out of his hand, handing him a shot instead.

"Let's loosen him up a little. How 'bout it, Dean?"
"Oh God, yes."

Dean threw back the shot, wincing at the burn and letting out a breath. Wyatt laughed and clapped him on the back.

"Matt, you up for another round of pool?"
"Oh, hell no. Not with that shark."

Dean laughed again, and Wyatt steered him toward a table. Coop shuffled a deck of cards, and Dean sat down between Leo and Henry. Matt, Wyatt, and Sam came and sat down, joining Chris, who was already sitting. Coop smiled.

"All righty, boys. Little bit of Texas Hold 'Em okay with everyone?"

They all nodded, and Coop handed out chips, then dealt the cards.

"You know, I always wanted to be Buttercup."
"Who didn't, Mel?"
"What would you do if tomorrow, instead of saying 'I do', Dean said 'As you wish'?"

Melinda laughed, looking over to Paris.

"What do you think I'd do, Cupid?"

Paris let out a laugh, finishing off her margarita. Phoenix held up her hands.

"Look! Look how pretty."

The girls all oohed and ahhed over her now-painted nails. Jenny moved over to Melinda.

"Want me to do yours, Mel?"

Melinda nodded, moving her feet to Jenny. Anna held out a hand.

"Wait a minute. Do you have everything you're supposed to have?"

Melinda, and the rest of the girls, gave Anna a confused look. She smiled.

"I mean the something borrowed, something blue stuff. You know."

Melinda nodded, looking back to her mother. Piper smiled from her spot on the floor, where Phoebe was braiding her hair.

"The dress is new."
"However, the veil was Mama's. So that's my borrowed."

Melinda smiled at Piper, who winked at her.

"I have a pearl bracelet that Grams' mom wore for her wedding, so that's the old."
"And her shoes are a beautiful Tiffany blue."

Melinda bumped Peyton with her shoulder.

"You are going to steal those shoes before all is said and done, aren't you?"
"They're gorgeous, Mel. Hey, maybe I can borrow them for my wedding! Oh, who are we kidding? That's never going to happen."

Everyone let out an "Aw" and Melinda put an arm around Peyton.

"Come on, Peyt. You'll find him. Hell, if I can marry Dean Winchester, you're bound to find your guy."

Laughter rang through the living room and Paige stood up.

"Okay, are we wanting to go sappy sad, with Steel Magnolias or The Notebook? Or would we rather do obnoxiously cute musical, like Mamma Mia!"

Melinda smiled.

"Mamma Mia! I can't handle sappy sad tonight."

Peyton leaned over to kiss Melinda's hair. Paige smiled as she switched the movies.

"Well, just get ready. I'm planning on singing, and singing loud."
"Uh, it's ABBA. Who isn't going to sing loud?"

Jenny shrugged her shoulders as everyone else laughed.

Leo let out a groan, tossing his cards on the table as Henry smiled.

"Poker's never been your thing, brother-in-law."
"Shut up, Henry."

Henry laughed, tossing some chips into the middle of the table. Matt shook his head.

"I fold."
"Yeah, me too."

Wyatt set his cards down, stretching his arms behind him. Sam tapped a finger on the table, then tossed some chips in. He looked to Dean, who smiled and tossed his own chips in. Chris shook his head and laid his cards down. Coop let out a laugh, then laid his cards down, too. Henry smiled.

"Well, boys. Looks like it's just us in this."

Henry glanced at his cards again, then tossed a chip on the table, looking to Sam, who nodded.

"Call."

Sam tossed the chip in, then turned to Dean. Dean looked at his cards, then to Henry and his brother. He was fairly sure he knew what Henry had in his hand, but Sam… He'd learned the hard way that Sam had the best poker face of anyone he'd ever seen. Dean shook his head, laying his cards on the table.

"Fold."

Henry smiled, turning his attention to Sam.

"What do you say, Winchester? We sweetening the pot, or you ready to go now?"

Sam smiled, then shrugged his shoulders. Henry nodded slowly, then tossed a couple more chips in the middle. Leo let out a low whistle, and Sam matched the bet. Henry smiled, then laid his cards down, a huge smile on his face.

"Straight, in diamonds."

Sam nodded, not letting his emotions show on his face. Everyone started to congratulate Henry, everyone except Dean. He gave Sam a look, and Sam smiled. He set his cards down, and when Dean let out a laugh, everyone turned to Sam.

"You're shitting me."

Dean laughed harder at Henry's face. Sam shrugged his shoulders.

"Royal flush."

Dean laid a hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Little brother's always been a bit of a card shark. Guess I should have warned you boys."

Leo shook his head, smiling wide as he walked by Sam, slapping him on the back.

Melinda blinked her eyes wide, dozing for about the third time in ten minutes. She looked around as she stretched her arms, catching her mother's eye. Piper smiled at her.

"Go on to bed, sweetheart."

Melinda yawned, gently moving a sleeping Peyton off of her shoulder. Anna was sprawled on the couch, and Jenny was on the floor beside her. Phoenix had her head in her mother's lap, and Phoebe had her head on Paris' shoulder. Paige was in a chair, huddled under a blanket. Melinda looked back to Piper, yawning again.

"What time is it?"

Piper looked over to a clock.

"Almost 3:00."

Melinda looked over at the TV, and Piper smiled.

"None of you made it past the opening scene."
"I remember dancing and singing through all of Mamma Mia!, right?"

Piper nodded.

"And then we decided to continue the musical theme with The Sound of Music, remember?"

Melinda smiled and nodded.

"And I didn't even get to see the Do, Re, Mi scene."
"You can practically recite it anyway, kid."

Melinda smiled and stood to her feet. She stretched again, going up on her tiptoes, then walking over by Piper. Piper stood up from her spot on the couch, careful not to disturb Phoebe and her girls. Piper walked to Melinda, running a hand over her hair before cupping Melinda's face in her hands. Tears were in Melinda's eyes.

"Don't."

Piper smiled, wiping her thumb under Melinda's eye, catching the tear that fell.

"I'm not. Don't you cry, my sweetheart."
"I'm not sad. I just …"
"I know. But everything is okay."
"I know it is. I just …"

Piper just smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to Melinda's forehead. She understood exactly what Melinda was going through. She wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her close.

"I know it's hard, damn near impossible really, but try to relax."

Melinda sighed, and Piper let her go, keeping hold of her hands.

"Stop worrying."
"I'm not—"
"Oh, don't even."

Melinda smiled, leaning in for another hug. Piper smiled and ran her hand over Melinda's hair. After a few minutes, Melinda pulled back, nodding. Piper moved a hand under Melinda's chin.

"You are dead on your feet. Go on to bed."

Melinda nodded, and Piper pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead. Melinda squeezed her mother's hand, then turned and walked upstairs. She walked into her bedroom, leaning up against the door as she pulled it shut behind her. God, she missed Dean. She eyed the bed, seriously wondering if she'd even be able to sleep without him beside her. She sighed, pushing off the wall and going to pull the covers back, before climbing in the bed. She was leaning to turn off the lamp when she heard a quiet knock at the door. She sat up in the bed, looking over as the door swung open slowly, and Kate peeked her head in the room. Melinda smiled.

"Munchkin, what are you doing up? It's late."

Kate rubbed her eyes as she stepped inside Melinda's room.

"I had a bad dream."
"Aw, baby, I'm sorry."

Kate stepped further into the room, putting her hands behind her back and turning one little foot.

"Can I sleep with you?"

Melinda smiled, pushing the covers back.

"Of course you can. Come on."

Kate smiled and ran in on her tiptoes, climbing into the bed and snuggling in close to Melinda. Melinda smiled and shut off the light. After a moment of silence, Kate spoke quietly.

"Aunt Melinda?"
"Yeah, babe."
"Do you miss Uncle Dean?"

Melinda smiled.

"I do. Very much."
"Well then, why isn't he here?"

Melinda rolled over on her side, and Kate snuggled in closer.

"Dean is off with the boys because it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. So, I'm going to need you to be my lookout tomorrow and make sure Dean doesn't sneak around and try to see me before he's supposed to, okay?"
"Okay!"

Melinda let out a laugh, ending it with a yawn. Kate did the same thing, and Melinda draped an arm across her.

"Go to sleep, Katie. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Okay. Good night, Aunt Melinda."
"Good night, sweetheart."

Kate took in a deep breath, and after a moment, Melinda did the same. They drifted off to sleep, already caught in the hum of excitement for what would happen tomorrow.

The Morning of the Wedding

Sam woke up without an alarm, like he usually did. The sun was just starting to come up, and he let out a yawn as he rolled out of bed. No headache this morning, not one sign of a hangover. Sam smiled as he stood up, walked to the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later, wiping his hands on a towel. He looked to Dean's bed, and his heart sank.

It was empty. Sam walked over, running his hands through his hair as he looked around. Dean's bags were still there, but … Sam went to the window, letting out a colorful curse when he saw that the Impala was missing. He closed his eyes, then looked around, seeing a note in Dean's writing on the little table in the room.

Sam,

Needed some air. Not sure when I'll be back. Don't bother calling.

"Goddamn it, Dean."

Sam tossed the note aside and sat back on the bed, covering his face with his hands. What the hell was he going to do?

Oh, come on. Didn't it seem a little bit like everything was falling together a bit too perfectly? ;)