Chapter 9

"Did Charlie talk to you?" Sam asked after the wedding as everyone was walking back to the house. They had said goodbye to all of their dead family and friends, and the living ones were all cheerful and happy, chatting and laughing as they hiked the mile long trail between the barn and the house, the light from paper lanterns and Christmas lights adding their glow to that of the moon and stars above and illuminating the path just enough to see the way back.

Dean nodded. "Yep."

Sam didn't expect any elaboration. "Did she tell you that she's considering coming back? For a visit at least."

"Yep." Dean said.

Sam sighed. "And you're still mad at me for what happened, aren't you?"

Dean looked up at his brother. "Can you blame me, Sam?"

"Dean."

"I know, Sammy." Dean said. "You were trying to save me, you didn't force Charlie to help, I wouldn't have any of this right now if you hadn't done what you did. I get it. And I'm grateful. Really, Sam. I am. I've got a beautiful wife, and a kid, and everything I ever dreamed of, you're alive and working out your own little family situation. It's awesome. But Charlie's still dead."

"I get why you're mad at me, but why aren't you mad at Charlie too?" Sam asked. "She chose to be a part of it, and she chose to fight back when Eldon went after her instead of giving up."

"I never said I wasn't mad at her." Dean sounded weary. He was tired of talking about it. "I'm just more mad at you. You started it."

"Yeah, and if I hadn't then you'd be God knows where right now, Dean." Sam snapped angrily. "And I'd be dead too. Meredith would be miserable, and my son would still be fatherless. So, I get why you're mad and I'm okay with it, but you need to get over it. It sucks that Charlie died, and I've felt guilty about it every single day since it happened. I don't need you punishing me for it too."

"Hey." Meredith said, stepping between them before they could start throwing punches. "Knock it off. Both of you. The wedding may be over, but this is still supposed to be a happy day. Charlie died over a year ago, and you both need to get over it. It wasn't Sam's fault, so no one should still be feeling mad or guilty. Especially because Charlie's fine with it. She doesn't blame either of you. She's happy. Let it go."

She didn't give them a chance to argue with her before she picked up her skirt and ran ahead to catch up with Kate and the Fitzgeralds.

"Your wife just yelled at me." Sam said.

"Yeah." Dean said. "She does that."

"And she's right." Brooke added, taking Meredith's place between the brothers. "You two really do need to stop holding onto things so hard. At least the bad things. You may be superheros, but you're still only human."

Dean looked at his brother over Brooke's head. "This isn't gonna work out so well for us is it?"

"Nope." Sam said. "They're gonna force us to be happy, healthy, and well-adjusted."

"Well, how are we supposed to be happy if you two are miserable?" Brooke asked.

Dean draped his arm around her shoulders. "Now, how can we be miserable with you lovely little rays of sunshine around?"

Brooke smiled up at him. "Exactly."

She kissed his cheek and ran off.

Dean grinned. "I know you don't wanna hear this, but you really do need to marry that girl, Sammy."

"Dean."

"I know, I know." Dean said. "Weird situation, taking it slow. I get it. I'm just putting my two cents in. Besides, you marry Brooke you don't have to live with Gabriel anymore."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

%%%

"Congratulations, Dean." Donna said as she hugged him goodbye when everyone got back to the house.

Dean smiled. She was a bit too continuously perky, but she was a good friend, and she was definitely one tough cookie. When he'd first met her he hadn't thought he'd ever run into her again. Then he had, and he hadn't thought he would like her so much simply because she was practically made out of sunshine and sugar. But he did, and he was glad she'd been able to make it to the wedding. "Thanks for comin', Donna. It's good to see you again."

Donna smiled, flashing those dimples of hers, and swatted his arm gently. "Hey. You guys saved my life, and then you showed me how to save other people's lives. The least I can do is show up to your wedding. Besides, I think the last thing I ever need is another sheriff's convention."

"You got that right." Jody said as she joined them. "How'd you get outta that, by the way? I think the only reason I still have a job right now is because no one else wants it."

"Mayor of Stillwater's a real family oriented kind of guy." Donna said. "Or at least that's how he wants to look anyway. I happen to know for a fact he's got a lady friend over in Hibbing. I just told him a little white lie that my brother was getting married, and that it might not look so good for Mr. Family Man to keep the sheriff from going to her own brother's wedding. Especially when he's spending so much time over in Hibbing while Mrs. Mayor's home with the kids."

Dean and Jody were both stunned.

"You blackmailed your mayor into letting you come out here?" Jody asked, her eyes practically bugging out of her head she was so surprised. "Wow. I knew you could swing a mean machete, but I never expected that move."

Donna shrugged. "I feel a little guilty about it, but not too much. I really did need some time off, and I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Best wedding I've ever been to. Including my own."

"And we've still got Thanksgiving." Dean reminded her. "You're sticking around for the turkey, right?"

"Oh, you betcha." Donna said enthusiastically. "Your wife sure can cook."

Dean grinned. "Yes, she can."

"Did I hear that someone almost lost a job over this wedding?" Shelly asked as she walked over with a very worn out seven-year-old on her hip.

Jody raised her hand. "That would be me."

Shelly smiled and adjusted Kaylie. "Well, if that ever happens you can come on out here and Travis'll put you to work. Same for you, Donna. We're always short a few hands around here. I keep telling Dean he should consider it, but he won't."

"Sorry, Shell." he said. "My plate's full. But I wouldn't mind if Donna or Jody decided to take Travis up on your offer."

"I love you guys," Jody said. "But I think small doses is best. And I'm pretty sure Donna's job is safe as long as the mayor's still stepping out."

Shelly easily put the pieces together. "You're blackmailing your mayor?"

Donna shrugged. "I know. It's surprising, but I didn't have much choice. Apparently the family only comes first if family's actually in town. I'm a single woman with no kids, and my parents retired and moved down to Florida, so he thinks he can work me like a horse while he has an affair with a girl half his age? I don't think so, Buster. I love my job, but I have a life too ya know."

Dean wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug. "Well, you're welcome here anytime, Sheriff. And if you ever need a real vacation we've got a house right on the beach in Naples."

"Oh, that sounds nice." Donna said.

It did sound nice, but Dean wasn't sure they'd be able to keep it with three more babies on the way and the older kids getting so close to going off to college. Dylan would probably end up hunting, but it was pretty obvious that Rowan wanted to go to a good school. She wanted to be a doctor, and she had the grades and everything else to get in. It was just the money that would be a problem. And, of course, she was his niece and not his daughter, so it wasn't really up to him to put her through school, but he'd be damned if he wouldn't help out if she needed it.

"We'd better get back to the hotel." Jody said to Donna. "I don't know about you and the girls, but I'm wiped out."

"Oh, me too." Donna said. "I think I'll just sleep all day tomorrow."

Dean hugged them both and turned around to say goodnight to Shelly and Kaylie, but he was attacked by Claire and Alex instead. Both of them clearly still had energy left, and he gave them a warning to behave as he hugged them and watched them run off to catch up with Jody and Donna.

"You really are good at that." Shelly said, smiling.

"What?"

"Being a dad." she clarified. "Kit's gonna turn out just fine."

"She'd better."

He said goodnight to the Archers, and Krissy headed across the street with the Mitchells while Garth and his little family piled into their rented car and headed back to the hotel. Brooke and Meredith took the kids inside to get them ready for bed, and Dean found himself standing in the glow of the porch light with Sam and Mrs. Tran.

"Thank you for inviting me, Dean." she said. "I had a wonderful time."

"I'm glad you came." he replied with a smile. "I didn't think you would."

"I almost didn't." she admitted. "But I couldn't resist the chance to see Kevin again, and I figured it was about time to put the past behind us. I was angry at you boys for along time, but I know it's not really your fault that Kevin's gone."

"Yeah, but if we hadn't—" Dean started to argue, still feeling guilty over what had happened to Kevin just like Sam still felt guilty over Charlie.

Mrs. Tran held up a hand to stop him. "Did you make my son a prophet?"

"No ma'am." Dean said.

"Then it wasn't your fault." she said. "I know neither of you ever intended for him to get hurt, and I know he helped you do good in the world. I'm proud of him for that. And I'm proud of you too. Both of you."

Neither Winchester was really sure how to react to that. They knew they'd done good, or at least tried to do good, in the world, but there had been so much bad as well. Good people were dead because of them. Kids were dead because of them. And now they had both found themselves in a completely new world with families of their own and they were happy, but neither of them felt they truly deserved it. And they certainly didn't feel like they deserved Mrs. Tran's pride or forgiveness. Not after what Crowley had done to her, and especially since her son had been killed on their watch.

She seemed to sense this when they both remained silent, and smiled softly. "Sam, Dean, please stop kicking yourselves for things you had no control over. It's not your fault. None of it is your fault."

"She's right." Meredith said, coming back out onto the porch with Kit all bathed and ready for bed.

"I feel like we've heard that a lot tonight." Sam said. "That it's not our fault, and we should get over it."

"Maybe you should listen to your friends then." Mrs. Tran said.

Meredith smiled at them. "Trust me. I know it's not easy to let that stuff go, but I know you'll both feel a lot better if you do. At least try."

Both brothers nodded, silently agreeing to try to move on and stop hating themselves for the bad things that had happened in their lives. Deep down they knew everyone else was right.

"I think Kit's ready for her song." Meredith said, drawing Dean's attention to the baby who was already nodding off on her shoulder. She looked up at Sam. "And Trevor wants to say goodnight to both of you."

"We'll be in in a minute." Sam said.

"Don't be too long." Meredith warned, kissing Dean's cheek. She turned and gave Mrs. Tran a hug. "I'm so glad I finally got a chance to meet you, Mrs. Tran. You're welcome to come back anytime. I know Dean would love it."

Mrs. Tran smiled and scratched lightly at Kit's back. "I think I will just so I can see this little nugget again. She really is a beautiful baby."

Dean and Meredith both smiled proudly as the baby yawned.

"We don't exactly have an abundance of grandmothers around here." Dean said. "The job's yours if you want it."

"I'll take it."

"That goes for Trevor too." Sam said. "He's got Brooke's mom, but she doesn't like me. At all."

"We'll I'll just have to go and have a talk with her." Mrs. Tran said. "See if I can't make her understand how lucky she is to have you in the family."

"It's not like she's got much of a choice." Dean commented. "But, uh, it is getting late."

They said their goodbyes, and Mrs. Tran was at the bottom of the steps, on her way to Jake and Kim's, when she froze. "Sam, Dean? You've got another visitor."

They all looked toward the street where a man stood in the middle of the road, unable to come any closer because of the iron devil's trap buried under the yard.

"Crowley." Dean growled. "Mere, take Kit inside."

"He can't get to us, Dean." she reminded him.

"I don't care." he shot back. "Take Kit inside."

Once he knew his wife and daughter were safely inside he stalked across the yard, Sam and Mrs. Tran close on his heels.

"What the hell are you doing here, Crowley?" he demanded.

Crowley was perfectly calm. He rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Squirrel. I didn't come to kill anyone. I simply wanted to congratulate you on your nuptials. I may be the King of Hell, but I still have manners. See? I even brought a gift."

Dean eyed the package warily.

"It's not a bomb, Squirrel." Crowley said. "I know you don't trust me, but what would I stand to gain by blowing you up on your wedding night? You should know me well enough by now to know that I don't do anything unless it benefits me, and you and Moose here have actually proven to be quite useful over the years. I'm not going to kill you, and I value my life so I know better than to go after your family. Hello, by the way, Mrs. Tran. So nice to see you again."

"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" Dean asked as his brother seethed beside him, Mrs. Tran tucked safely behind them.

Crowley sighed, exasperated. "Oh, alright, fine. Here."

Dean took the box Crowley shoved at him. "What is it?"

"Open the bloody thing and find out." Crowley said, and disappeared.

"It's okay, Mrs. Tran." Sam said when she didn't release the vice-like grip she had on his arm. "Dean put in iron devil's traps around both houses. You'll be safe inside. Come on. I'll walk you to the door."

"Just when I thought I'd gotten over what he did to me." Mrs. Tran said as Sam lead her toward Jake and Kim's front door.

"He knows better than to mess with you again, Mrs. Tran." Sam said.

He got her safely inside and then headed back across the street to his brother's house, still finding it weird that his brother owned a house.

"Technically it's Mere's house." Dean said when Sam made the comment to his brother after the kids were both tucked in for the night. "My name's no where on it."

"Yeah, but it's still your house." Sam said. "Right Mere?"

"Definitely." she agreed, eyeing the package Dean had set on the counter. "What's that?"

"Correction." Dean said. "It's my home, not my house. There's a difference. And that," he said pointing at the package. "Is a wedding present from the King of Hell."

Meredith stared at him as Brooke joined them in the kitchen. "A wedding present from...Crowley?"

"Is it a severed head?" Brooke asked as she replied to a text from her brother. "Nate says hi."

"Hi Nate." Sam, Dean, and Meredith all chorused.

"Severed heads aren't Crowley's style." Dean said. "It's probably a toaster or something."

"Open it and find out." Meredith said.

"You think he wrapped it himself?" Dean asked, gesturing to the fancy wrapping before tearing it off. "Well, I'll be damned."

"What?" Meredith asked.

Dean held up the box so the others could see it. "It's a toaster."

"So the King of Hell's also the King of cliches?" Brooke asked.

"Apparently." Meredith said. "We already have a toaster that works just fine, so make sure that's not cursed or something and toss it in the Goodwill pile."

"If it is cursed we can just give it to Krista." Dean said. "I swear if that woman doesn't leave me alone."

"We don't want to kill her, Dean." Meredith reminded him. "And don't forget that we actually like the rest of the family."

"True. But still. She needs to back off. Last time she brought that damn car in she grabbed my ass."

Meredith glared at the thought and took a deep breath. "If she keeps it up I'll just have to have a little talk with her."

Dean grinned. "Make sure you mess up that perfect hair of hers."

"You have no idea how badly I want to just...ah!" Meredith said, illustrating with her hands how she would like to ruin Krista's ever perfect hairdo. "Ever since we were kids. I can't believe Jake ever dated her."

"Jake dated Krista?" Dean asked, shocked.

Sam and Brooke weren't familiar with Krista Miller, so they were both a little lost.

Meredith nodded. "For about a month in high school. Not his finest hour."

"I'll say." Dean said. "Man, I'm gonna give him so much crap about that. Who else's dating history don't I know about?"

Meredith climbed onto a stool and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Well, you know that Travis and I dated."

Dean nodded. "You dated Jake in high school too, didn't you?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it dating."

"Oh." Dean said. "So that's what you mean when you talk about your wild days."

"There were a lot of piercings, a lot of pot, and a lot of sex." Meredith explained. "Travis and I were the worst. Carrie and Shelly were the good girls, Jason couldn't be too wild because he had to try to keep me and Kim in line, Kim was depressed, bulimic, and just as obsessed with looking perfect as Krista was, Krista was Krista, and Jake and Shawn were kind of in between the good and the bad."

"The sex I believe, but I'm not sure you'll ever convince me that you smoked pot." Dean said. "And what piercings? I think I'd know if you had any piercings. You've got some holes in your ears, but..."

"Piercings close up, Dean." Sam pointed out. "Brooke used to have her belly button pierced."

"And my nose." she added. "But how do you know I don't still have my belly button pierced. You haven't exactly seen my belly button recently."

"And you don't exactly wear baggy clothes." Sam shot back.

"Aw. How cute. They're flirting." Dean teased, and looked back at his wife. "But seriously. What piercings? Other than the ones in your ears."

"Yes, I still have all my ear piercings." Meredith confirmed.

"Yeah, but what else did you have?" Dean pushed, looking excited.

Meredith smiled in amusement at his excitement. "Belly button, nose, tongue."

"My best friend in middle school tried to convince me to get my tongue pierced." Brooke said. "By the time I got to high school I might've done it, but I didn't think I could hide it from my mother."

"I didn't have to worry about that." Meredith said. "And one of my friends tried to convince me to get something else pierced, but there's no way I was going there."

Brooke cringed. "Oh, no way. Ouch."

"I never understood why anyone would want that pierced anyway." Meredith agreed.

"Want what pierced?" Dean asked, totally lost.

"Think Dean." Brooke said.

It took him a minute, but he finally figured it out. "Oh. That. I've met a few women that had...that, but I never understood why they would want it. Actually I never understood why you would pierce anything no one's gonna see. Isn't the point of decorations so people can see them?"

"And how many people see your tattoo?" Meredith asked.

"Yeah, but that's not a decoration. It's self defense."

"Do you still have your belly button pierced?" Sam asked Brooke, obviously curious.

Brooke smiled, but didn't answer.

"Isn't it hard to eat with your tongue pierced?" Dean asked.

"It was a little tricky." Meredith admitted. "It got really annoying after about a month. I kept getting it caught between my teeth, and I was afraid I was gonna end up tearing my tongue off some day. So I let it close up. But if we're all done talking about piercings, I think I'm about ready for bed."

"Yeah, I bet you are." Dean said, smirking.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Down boy."

"Yeah, Dean." Sam said. "Keep it in your pants until you're in your own room."

"Good night, Sammy." Dean said pointedly.

"And on that note..." Sam said. "Come on, Brooke."

They said their good nights and Sam and Brooke headed upstairs, leaving the newlyweds alone.

"What a day." Dean said as he shut the bedroom door behind him, having decided he could worry about Crowley's toaster tomorrow. "How are you doing after, you know, everything?"

Meredith sat down on the bed and sighed. "Okay, I guess. I haven't really had much time to think about, you know, everything. I can't believe I spent so much time hating my mom."

"You didn't know about the things she went through, Mere." Dean said, sitting down beside her and putting his arm around her. "You keep telling me that I can't blame myself for Kevin and everything else, so why should you blame yourself for the way you felt about your mom. You were just going off what you knew."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "I know, but...I just wish she had told us sooner."

"Aren't you the one that said you wouldn't want to change anything?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And I wouldn't, but still."

He gave her a little squeeze and kissed her head. "Well, let's not worry about any of that tonight. We'll figure out what to do about finding your brother and sisters later."

"What about the babies?" she asked. "Still thinking about selling the Impala?"

"No." Dean said firmly. "Never."

"Good. You were scaring me there for a minute."

"Sorry." he apologized. "We do need to do something about the car situation though."

Meredith patted his knee. "We'll figure it out."

"We always do."

And that, my friends, is the end. For now. I know some of you are probably going to complain about the fact that I didn't include interactions with Bobby, Kevin, Jo, Ellen, and probably a few others, but it didn't work out. I wanted to include them as more than just guests in the background, and I tried to, but those scenes just felt like I stuck them in just to have somewhere to put them and messed up the flow of the story. And I didn't really know what to do with them. There wasn't really anything that needed resolving with those particular characters, and that's really what this story was all about. But who knows. Maybe I'll be able to fit in a flashback somewhere. But that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to finish the next one sooner rather than later, but I won't make any promises. We all know how Meredith feels about promises, and I don't want to upset my darling. ~SG