Chapter 4

The second ceremony, taking place in what Dean called the angel-verse, was going to be a little less casual than the first one had been. It was also going to be much more traditional, with a proper procession, music, Gabriel as the officiant, and a proper reception afterward. The reception would include most, if not all, of the usual wedding reception fare, and Dean wasn't so sure how he felt about all of that. Actually, he felt a little uncomfortable with all of it. He wasn't one for dancing in public, or having speeches made about him, or having all the attention on him, and he certainly wasn't looking forward to the whole removal of the garter thing. Reaching up his wife's skirt to slip a garter off her leg in the privacy of their own bedroom, or anywhere really as long as it was private, was one thing. But there would be an audience. Their parents would be watching.

He shuddered as he thought about it as he stood waiting outside the tent that had been set up in the pasture. Their guests were all in the barn, and Dean wasn't allowed to see his bride before she walked down the aisle. He knew she'd changed, but it seemed a little silly to be so secretive about the dress when he'd not only seen her already, but married her already just a couple of hours ago. Not to mention the fact that she hadn't been wearing anything when their alarm clock had gone off this morning. He didn't understand it all, but if this was the kind of wedding Meredith wanted then he was going to do his best to enjoy it for her sake.

Inside the tent, that had apparently been sound-proofed because Dean couldn't hear anything, Meredith looked beautiful in a full length gown made of white lace over a beige mini dress. The skirt had ruffles and she wore a cropped white leather jacket to guard against the November chill because the dress only had thin straps instead of sleeves. Her hair was woven into a pretty, but complicated looking updo and a pair of gold and white earrings dangled from her ears, the same ones she had worn earlier. She had taken off her wedding band and entrusted it to her nephew, and the charm bracelet she hardly ever took off jingled lightly on her wrist.

Her matron of honor, sister, and best friend wore an olive green gown with fluttering sleeves that made it look like she was wearing a cape and a high turtle neck collar. It was obviously inspired by the sixties, and the color suited her perfectly, bringing out her green eyes.

Claire and Alex were dressed in gold, wearing twin gowns and sequined jackets against the cold, and had their hair curled and pinned back on one side like Kim's. They looked a little like goddesses.

Meredith's gown was probably the only one that truly looked like it belonged at a wedding held in a barn, but somehow the other three looked like they fit perfectly with the setting, and the four of them certainly meshed well together as friends and sisters.

All of these observations were running through Cas' head as he watched the wedding party mingle for a little while before the ceremony started. It was a shame Dean couldn't be here to see Kim and Meredith's glowing, happy faces as they greeted their father with hugs and kisses and a few tears.

Cas listened as Dan Fairchild told his daughters how beautiful they were and how proud of them he was. Meredith spoke for both of them when she tearfully told him how much they'd missed him.

Dan spoke to Sam briefly, and then Cas watched the girls interacting with Lucy Jackson, Jake's former mother-in-law who had stepped in to play mother to Meredith and Kim just like Bobby had filled the role of father for Dean and Sam. He noticed that while this was going on Dan stepped outside to speak to Dean.

"Uncle Danny." Dean said when the other man emerged from the tent. He always thought of his father-in-law as being older simply because he should be, but Dan had only been twenty-nine when Hanna had killed him. Dean was actually the older man in this situation. By ten years.

"I hear you've made my daughter a very happy woman." Dan said.

Dean smiled. "Well, she's made me a very happy man. I figure the least I can do is return the favor. She's an amazing woman, and she's pretty easy to please most of the time, so it's really not a hard job."

"She had a rough time after her mother died, didn't she?" Dan asked.

"They both did." Dean said. "They still do now and then. Mere cries. A lot. Over everything. And I mean everything. I'm not real sure how Kim handles it. You'd have to ask her or Jake, but Mere's doin' pretty good. I think partly because of me, but mostly just because she's strong."

"What happened?" Dan asked. Cas had filled him in on everything he knew, but Cas didn't know anything about what Meredith and Kim called The Dark Years. He only knew they existed. "Your angel friend couldn't tell us much about what happened with the girls before you came into their lives."

"Uh, well, I don't really know all the details." Dean admitted. "I don't know most of the details actually. They don't like to talk about it much. I just know they had a real rough time after Aunt Shari died, and it just got worse after Jason. Mere pulled it together for Kim, but it wasn't easy for her. Lucy helped. A lot."

"Lucy?"

"Lucy Jackson." Dean clarified. "Jake's first wife's mom."

"Meredith and Carrie were good friends when they were kids."

"They stayed good friends until Carrie died."

"Is she here?"

"No. Uh, Mere wanted her here, but Jake and Dylan...they weren't quite ready for that."

"But they were okay with Lucy?" Dan asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah. Carrie died in a terror attack. She was a nurse at a hospital on the base, and some anti-military nut job decided to blow it up. Lucy had a heart attack a few years ago."

"And Meredith wanted her here instead of her mother."

"From what I understand Lucy stepped in after Aunt Shari died." Dean explained. "There was some foster care, and I'm not really sure how the whole thing worked out, but Mere and Kim were pretty close to her. Especially after what happened with Aunt Shari."

"I understand why they feel the way they do." Dan said. "I don't blame them after what Shari told me, but there are things they don't know."

Dean nodded in understanding. "That's what I figured."

"Hey." Gabriel said, stepping out of the sound-proofed tent. "Show time. Father of the bride, back inside. Groom? You're with me, bucko."

"Already?" Dean asked.

"Nervous?" Gabriel countered.

"No." Yes.

Lucy stepped out of the tent, and Gabriel turned to her. "You're up first, Miss Lucy."

"Lucy." Dan said, stopping the older woman as she passed by him. "Thanks for taking care of my girls."

Lucy smiled. "They're wonderful girls, Dan. Always have been. I was more than happy to help."

"Let's get this show on the road, people." Gabriel said. "Where's the big guy?"

"Sam!" Dean called. "Let's go!"

Sam emerged from the tent, Dan went back in, and Lucy headed for the barn to walk down the aisle as the mother of the bride. Sam followed after her to take his place as best man, and Dean stayed where he was for a moment longer than he should have.

"Too late for second thoughts, Dean." Gabriel said. "You already married the girl."

"I'm not having second thoughts." Dean said. "I just wanted to, uh, to thank you."

Gabriel looked mildly surprised. "Thank me? For what?"

"Well, for helping out with all this, for one, but mostly for looking out for Sam and his family." Dean explained. "I can't say my opinion of you has changed all that much, but Sam says you've been behaving, and my nephew apparently thinks you're awesome."

"That's because I am." Gabriel said, wiggling his eyebrows. "And you're welcome. Now, if we're done with the touchy-feely stuff, you're supposed to be in there already."

"Right." Dean said, and headed for the barn.

The stalls and rooms were gone, replaced with chairs to seat all the guests. The chairs were decorated with ribbons and bows, and there were white Christmas lights strung up on the ceiling. Candles, flickering softly, and fall colored flowers added to the overall effect. Dean had to admit that it looked pretty damn good as he stepped through the open barn doors.

There was no groom's side or bride's side, partly because most of their guests would have been on the groom's side, but also because a lot of the guests knew both bride and groom, so everyone had just picked whatever seat they wanted. Dean looked around when he reached the front of the room and took his place beside Sam while Gabriel came in and made his way down the aisle.

"Wow." Dean said quietly to his brother. "Kinda weird, huh?"

"That's an understatement." Sam replied. "Do you realize that we're both older than Mom?"

"We're older than Uncle Danny and Aunt Shari too."

"Why don't you two Chatty Cathys zip it and focus on the wedding?" Gabriel said.

When they turned their attention back to the ceremony Cas was escorting Claire down the aisle, followed by Jake and Alex. Kim followed them, and then Trevor and Kaylie came down the aisle carrying rings on pillow and scattering rose petals. Kaylie went to sit with her parents and sister, and Trevor handed the rings to Sam.

"Did I do okay, Dad?" Trevor asked almost quietly, drawing a light wave of laughter from everyone else.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, Buddy. You did great. Go sit down."

Trevor smiled at the praise and went to sit with Brooke.

"It's like you all over again, Sammy." Dean whispered.

"Shut up." Sam said. "Jerk."

"Bitch."

Gabriel cleared his throat to get them to knock it off, and Kit suddenly decided she wasn't happy sitting in Maddie's lap anymore. Dan and Meredith were about to come in and Kit's wailing drowned out the music.

Dean gestured for Maddie to bring him the screaming child. "Give her here."

Maddie got up and passed the six month old to her father. It took a minute or so, but Kit finally gave in to Dean's gentle bouncing and quiet, soothing murmurs and calmed down.

"Alright." Dean said. "We're good."

When he looked back toward the doorway to watch his wife walk down the aisle, his gaze stopped for a moment on his father. There was a look of pride on John's face, and Dean couldn't help but smile as Kit chewed on his brand new tie.

John held his son's gaze for a moment and gave him a little nod to let him know he had interpreted the look on his face correctly, and then Dean saw his bride. Just like it had earlier, everything else melted away, and all Dean could focus on was Meredith.

"Wow."

She always looked beautiful, but the dress and the hair, the smile of pure joy. All Dean could think was wow.

Meredith hugged her father when they reached the front of the room, and took her place facing Dean for the second time today.

This time felt different though. It wasn't any more exciting, but it was just a little more special. Everyone they had loved and lost was here, and she was a little more emotional than she had been this morning. She was even happy to see her mother sitting in the audience, and she couldn't resist the urge to reach out and run her hand over Kit's soft head, leaning in to give her baby a kiss before Gabriel started speaking.

"Dearly beloved," Gabriel began. "We are gathered here today to blah, blah, blah. Let's face it, people. We all know why we're here. These two crazy kids were shot by a cupid, fell in love, saved each other's lives a couple of times, had a baby, and finally decided to get married. We all know the story, or at least the Cliff Notes version, so let's get this show on the road so we can get to the party."

Meredith, like almost everyone else in the room, couldn't help but giggle at Gabriel's words, and stuck her tongue out at Dean when he just rolled his eyes.

"See?" Gabriel said. "Your wife appreciates my humor."

Kit began squirming and Dean shifted her until she was comfortable. "You're hilarious. Can we move on?"

Gabriel gave an exaggerated sigh, earning annoyed reactions from Cas and the Winchesters and more chuckles from several others. "Okay, okay. Dean, Meredith, this is where I'm supposed to remind you how profound and serious this commitment is, but I'm pretty sure you two are the last people in the world that need to be reminded of the significance of your love and marriage since one of you literally went through Hell and back to get here, and the other one came about as close as you can get without actually going to Hell and back. So, let's move on to the vows. The boring, traditional ones that you two decided to exchange to save Dean the embarrassment of having to tell his wife how he feels about her in front of an audience. So, Dean, pretend you're a parrot, and repeat after me."

Vows were exchanged and Kit was passed to Cas while rings were exchanged again.

There were more than a few damp eyes in the room as Gabriel spoke again. "And now, for the second time today, I pronounce you husband and wife. Dean, you may kiss your bride. Again."

Kit let out a happy squeal as she played with Cas' tie, interrupting the kiss because neither of her parents could resist laughing at their daughter's perfect timing.

"Well, at least someone's excited." Dean joked.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Gabriel said, "I give you, drum roll, please...Mr. and Mrs. Dean Winchester!"

He made the announcement as if he were introducing the headlining act at a concert to an arena full of adoring fans, and everyone cheered as Dean and Meredith walked back down the aisle followed by the rest of the wedding party.

I want Gabriel at my wedding. I also wouldn't mind having Dean at my wedding. As the groom. Actually, can we just find some kind of spell that can put me in the story as Meredith? Then again, if I'm in the story who's gonna keep writing the story? * sigh * Fine. I won't sell my soul to a demon to become a witch so I can marry Dean. You guys take the fun out of everything, you rotten snails. Just kidding. Actually y'all are what makes this so fun. ~SG