A Compromising Situation

Chapter One

He was torn. Part of him knew he had no choice. "They" had told him this latest demon disturbance would require the help of the Charmed Ones. The Charmed Ones he thought again, or one particular Charmed One. Piper Halliwell, the middle sister with the power to freeze time. He wished he had that power now. Freeze time so he wouldn't have to see her. It had been quite awhile since their last meeting or parting might be a better word. They had agreed to limit their contact with each other. In fact, he thought a new Whitelighter would have been assigned to them by now. Guess the Powers that Be weren't in a big hurry which left him in the position he was presently in. Going to see the woman he loved. Not only did he have to see her, he had to ask her and her sisters for their help. He knew once he informed the sisters of the situation they would be more than eager to help or at least he hoped that was the case.

Orbing outside behind a large oak tree close to the manor his heart gave a lurch. In the front yard stood Piper and Dan, the man she had started seeing when they realized things between them would be near impossible. He knew he should be happy she found someone. Someone who was normal to fit in that normal life she so cherished. Even though he was an angel, Leo could not be that big a man in his heart. It hurt to see her with someone else and to know they would never be together again. Another part of him was angry that Piper had given up so quickly on their relationship. He would have given it everything he had to try and make things work. Piper was obviously not of the same mind and the pain of knowing she did not love him enough to try tore at his already bruised heart.

Swallowing hard, he witnessed Dan bending down giving Piper a long, deep kiss. Even harder was to watch her return the kiss with as much passion. Unable to bear the scene playing out before him he closed his eyes keeping his turbulent emotions at bay. Turning on his heels he made his way to the back of the manor, concentrating on the problem at hand.

Piper let herself enjoy Dan's kiss. It was nice to be with a good guy. A normal one and for Piper that was quite a feat. If she didn't feel the overwhelming passion she did with a certain Whitelighter, she let it slide. Nothing was perfect. She desperately wanted some kind of normalcy in her life and Dan fit that to a tee. It would work for her. She'd make it work.

"So, you going to miss me?" Dan asked after he pulled back from the kiss.

"Of course. Two weeks is a long time."

"You could still come with me."

She smiled at the hope in his tone, but shook her head. "We've been over this. I can't leave the club."

"I know, but you can't blame a guy for trying. Well, I better get going or I'll miss my plane." He leaned down and gave her one more kiss. "Miss me."

"I will, have a safe flight." She watched as he got in his car and waved him off.

Prue and Phoebe sat at the kitchen table each lost in their own thoughts. Had the two compared those thoughts they would have been surprised at the similarity of them. Both were unhappy with their life. Not the witchy part, but the other parts. Prue was no longer happy at Bucklands, hadn't been since new owners had taken over. Her relationship with Jack was not really something she wanted to seriously pursue. The relationship was not the one and if she was honest with herself she knew she still had not gotten over Andy's death. Changes needed to be made, and she just needed to take that first step.

Across the table her sister was mulling over basically the same thoughts. Although Phoebe had no job or significant other, she wanted to change both. In fact, she had been seriously considering going back to school. There were a few careers out there she wanted to investigate. Who knows, maybe if she went back to college it would expand her social circle thus taking care of her lack of guy problem. The two were abruptly brought out of their musings by the sight of blue and white lights. Instantly Leo appeared just inside the doorway.

"Whoa." Yelped a startled Phoebe, while her older sister eyed the Whitelighter with concern. They hadn't seen Leo in months which meant something was seriously up.

"Sorry." Leo apologized when he realized he surprised them.

"It's okay Leo, it's just been awhile." Prue replied back, with a knowing tone. She knew the real reason they had not seen him was because of Piper or rather the relationship between her middle sister and their guardian angel.

A small smile filled the handsome Whitelighter's face. "I know. It's good to see you again. I wish it was under better circumstances."

Prue nodded her head. "What's up?"

"Demonic problems would be my guess." Phoebe chirped in.

"I'm afraid so and it's big. Something only the Charmed Ones can handle at least that's the hope."

Piper opened the front door and entered the manor. She stopped cold at the sound of voices. Actually one voice made her stomach tighten. A soft, deep voice she hadn't heard in a long time and it sent involuntary warm shivers through her body. "Leo" she breathed quietly. His name reverberated in her head. Taking in a deep breath, she prepared herself and marched into the kitchen.

Leo stopped talking the moment she entered. At first they just stared at each other. It had been so long. She looked wonderful of course. Her long dark hair fell in silky, straight lines down her back and her eyes full of life. His arms ached to hold her. Never had he wanted anything more in his life than Piper Halliwell, but it wasn't meant to be. There were too many obstacles, or at least that is what she kept telling him. Besides she had fallen in love with someone else and she was happy.

She thought she'd prepared herself for see him again, but she was wrong. The moment her eyes fell on him, her heart did a little flip flop. Gazing into those warm green eyes, it was almost too much for her to bear. Those same incredible eyes which at one time looked at her in love. His hair was a bit longer and it stuck up as if he had just run a restless hand through it. She had an overwhelming urge to run her own fingers through it. 'Okay Piper, pull yourself together.' She ordered herself. She did not want him to know how much the sight of him was affecting her.

Retreating behind a mask of indifference she entered fully into the room. "What's going on?" She asked her sisters ignoring Leo for the moment. If her siblings noted her unease they were tactful enough not to mention it.

"Demonic issues, what else." Phoebe quipped.

"Yeah, Leo was about to fill us in." Continued Prue.

When Leo felt Piper put up a wall between them he did the same. This was business not personal. "This particular demonic issue is different on different levels." When the girls just stared at him confused, he elaborated. "For one thing it's not happening in San Francisco. It's happening in the Middle East."

"Wait, like in where America is fighting Middle East?" Asked Prue with not a little worry.

"No, no. It's a tiny piece of land well north of there. Actually not many people know of it. It's protected by low level magic. The governor and its people all possess just minor magical abilities. Demons have pretty much left it alone because it is so tiny and not significant."

"Until now." Piper finally spoke.

"Right. Now they have been under constant attacks. People are in constant fear. Most have only the simplest of magic to defend themselves. They are being hunted down and killed and the governor is at a loss on how to stop it. They need help. Powerful help."

Phoebe warming up to the idea grinned. "You mean our help."

"Yes. 'They' think the Power of Three might be the only chance to save the providence."

"We appreciated the confidence Leo, but that's a pretty far away. What about our jobs. I'm assuming this could take more than a day or two."

"I know it's a lot to ask Prue. But it might be their only chance to survive."

Piper began pacing. "I can't leave the club. My assistant is good, but I don't know how I feel about her taking over for any length of time. We can't just abandon that part of our lives."

Prue agreed. "Yeah, I don't imagine the new owners of Bucklands would be too please if I left right now."

Phoebe was appalled at what she was hearing. "What? Are you two listening to yourselves? You can't seriously think of not going?"

"Phoebe."

"No Piper. I can't believe the two of you are considering not helping. Didn't you hear what Leo said? People are dying. Not just one or two but a lot."

"We understand that Pheebs, but Piper and I have responsibilities here as well."

Seeing that this could escalate into a full blown argument Leo's natural peacemaker mode kicked in. "Listen, why don't the three of you sit down and discuss this calmly over the next day. When you've made your decision give me a call." Not that he wanted to influence their decision he did however need to make sure they understood how dire the situation was. "Just remember, a lot of people's lives are hanging in the balance so deicide wisely."

"Gee thanks Leo, no pressure there." Pure replied with sarcasm.

Leo glanced over at Piper. She had not made eye contact with him since the initial meeting. He willed her to do so now, but she presented him with her back as she walked out of the room. Leo caught up with her in the living room.

"Piper wait."

She didn't want to wait, she didn't want to talk to him but obviously he had other plans. "Please Piper, will you just talk to me."

Coming up short, she swiveled on her heels, crossed her arms in front and faced him. Observing her stance he realized he had interrupted her mood correctly.

"Listen Piper, I know you're not happy with the possibility of working with me again. I'm sorry, I know I told you I'd stay out of your life and I meant it. I told 'Them' to assign you a new Whitelighter. I don't know why they haven't yet." When she continued to stand there mute, he continued. "I don't want your personal feelings about me to get in the way of your decision. Too many innocents are at stake. I promise to keep this completely on a professional level."

She fumed at his words. How dare he think she would let her personal feelings effect her decision. She could be just as professional, although he was much better at it, at least in her mind. "Yeah, well you're really good at that."

His brows dipped into a frown. "What do you want from me? I'm just trying to make the best out of the situation."

She was being unfair, she knew it, but she also couldn't seem to help herself. Too many feelings churned up inside her when she was with him. Emotions she wanted to bury because it hurt too much. Yes she had started a new life with Dan, however whenever Leo was around it made her face something she would never openly admit. Leo made her feel and Dan did not. At least not to the same degree and it made her angry.

"There's no way to make the best of this. Every time I think I can get some normalcy in my life something like this happens."

Leo was almost beyond frustrated. How many times did he have to hear about her wanting a normal life? He understood, he really did, but he also knew she would never get it unless she turned her back on her destiny. Using all his calming techniques he brought himself back on even ground.

"Believe it or not Piper I get it. You want a normal life. You want Dan in your life, not me. I tried to avoid this assignment because of what you wanted. I couldn't, I'm sorry. The best I can do is guide you through this as quickly and successfully as possible then get out of your life."

"Fine." She stated with a lot less ire. Realizing this was not Leo's fault and the Whitelighter was only trying to do his job. It was just difficult working with him, being close to him and dealing with all the emotions that went along with it.

When he realized that was all he was going to get from her he replied with his own, "Fine." And orbed out.

The moment he was gone, Piper let her eyes go to the space he vacated. Why was it still so hard to be in the same room with him? You would think after all this time and her having Dan in her life it would be easier. Her younger sister's voice broke through her thoughts as she and Prue joined her in the living room.

"Okay, so let's discuss what we plan to do. My vote is to go and help."

Prue smiled. "Yeah, we got that. But you have to understand it's harder for Piper and me to just pick up and go."

"But its innocents we're talking about. Isn't that always first priority?"

"Don't you think we realize that Pheebs. But I also have a business to think about. A business that pays the bills and is very important to me."

"But Piper being a Charmed One and helping others should be the most important thing. It's what makes us special. Can both of you sit there and do nothing knowing there are people out there that need us. I know I can't."

Prue and Piper looked at each other. Their baby sister was right, no matter how much they wanted her not to be.

Rolling her eyes, Prue said, "Don't you just hate it when she's right."

"Irritating, isn't it." Agreed Piper, while Phoebe's face broke into a huge grin.

"So we're going right?"

"Yes, we're going." The eldest Halliwell decreed. "But you have to give us some time to get things in order. We need at least a day."

With the heat of the discussion over with and a decision made, Prue and Phoebe noticed how quiet Piper had become.

"You okay honey?"

Piper's mind had been elsewhere and she jumped at Prue's question. "What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just making some mental notes before we leave." Luckily her sisters seemed satisfied with her excuse and didn't pry, for if they had they would have discovered an entirely different reason for her distant thoughts. Thoughts that had nothing to do with the club or leaving, but everything to do with spending time with their Whitelighter.