Summary: There isn't much of a summary. Just my take on an AU Piper/Leo spin of Tim McGraw's "Don't Take the Girl." Read and see, lol.
Pairing: Piper & Leo
Disclaimer: I don't own Piper or Leo, other people with lots more money than I got do. Yay for them. The song is Tim McGraw's "Don't Take The Girl", which I also don't own. Everything in italics is song lyrics.
Johnnys daddy was taking him fishing
when he was eight years old.
An eight year old Leo looked up at his father with a huge grin, the anticipation for this day clearly written in his face. His father had been away for nearly a month and had promised Leo a father/son fishing outing upon his return. Leo had been so excited about this event that he'd been talking about the 'manly' outing non-stop since his father had gone away.
Stuck listening to his consistent rambling about it was his neighbor and playmate Piper Halliwell, and her sisters (though the latter of which began avoiding Leo after two or three days of the annoying excitement). Piper, on the other hand, thought the idea of going fishing was really neat and wanted to go too, so she didn't mind Leo's talking about it.
Being eight years old, Leo still didn't really like girls. He didn't mind playing with them once in awhile, since there seemed to be only girls in the neighborhood to play with, but he still would rather go play with a boy. Piper was the closest thing to a boy in the neighborhood, so he often would play random backyard sports with her.
As his father packed the fishing poles in the back of the truck, he sent Leo inside to get a box of cheese for bait. When Leo opened the door with the cheese in hand, he glared at what he saw.
a little girl came through the front gate
holding a fishing pole
Leo's glare lingered on the little brown haired girl that had come into his yard, but she didn't seem to notice. Who did she think she was? This was his fishing trip with his father. She had no business intruding on his special day with his father. He knew that her daddy wasn't around, but still… that didn't give her the right to come with them!
Leo ran over to his father, handing him the cheese with a look on his face that was half dread, half pleading that he wouldn't allow the girl to come along.
His dad looked down and smiled, said "We can't leave her behind." The look on the little boy's face spoke volumes about how pleased he was with the situation. "Son, I know you don't want her to go, but someday you'll change your mind."
Leo pouted, "Take Jimmy Johnson, take Tommy Thompson, take my best friend Bo! Take anybody that you want as long as she don't go, take any boy in the world! Daddy please! Don't take the girl!" The fact that she was a girl and only that stood between him and wanting her to come along. Girls don't fish. Fishing was a boy's thing.
Leo's dad simply shook his head and put Piper's fishing pole in the back with his own and Leo's. He opened the door, "In you get, Piper," he said, with Leo still glaring at the both of them. Piper grinned, ignoring the look Leo was giving her and hopped in the truck.
"Come on Kiddo," he said to Leo, "it'll be fine." Leo sighed and reluctantly jumped in the truck beside Piper. His father just shook his head with a knowing smile, climbed in the truck on the driver's side and drove off with a very excited little girl and a very grumpy little boy as passengers.
Same old boy
same sweet girl
ten years down the road
Leo curled his arm around Piper's shoulder as they watched the most recent superhero movie that had been released. Piper had almost been more excited about it than he was, but he didn't mind, it wasn't like they paid a whole lot of attention to the movie anyhow.
he held her tight and kissed her lips
in front of the picture show
"I love you Piper," he whispered to her as he pulled his face away from hers to look at her. He opened his eyes to find her beautiful brown eyes staring back at him, her calming voice repeating his gesture of love to him with a smile.
As the movie ended, they walked back toward Leo's father's truck which he'd inherited. The same one from the fishing trip… the fishing trip that seemed to be an eternity ago for them. Their hands and hearts intertwined, with her head laying on his shoulder. The grumpy little boy from ten years ago was now a very proud young man.
Stranger came and pulled a gun, grabbed her by the arm. Said "If you do what I tell you to there won't be any harm." Piper's face was one of terror as Leo panicked hearing the clicking to signal that the gun was loaded.
Frantically digging into his pockets, he emptied the money from his wallet on the ground, "Take my money," he said, "take my wallet, take my credit cards." He threw each thing on the ground as he said it, going to his wrist he undid the clasp, "Here's the watch that my grandpa gave me," he said, dropping it on the pile of stuff as well.
Seeing no reaction, a desperate Leo dug in his pocket one last time for the only thing remaining there, "Here's the keys to my car, mister give it a whirl… but please, don't take the girl."
The mugger looked puzzled for a moment, as though he was contemplating what to do. Maybe they were lucky, maybe he was impressed with what Leo was willing to give up, or maybe he had a bit of a heart and the desperate look on Leo's face hit him somewhere deep inside. He shoved Piper back at Leo, causing them both to tumble onto the ground while he gathered up everything Leo had thrown on the ground and took off.
Leo didn't notice the man running off with all of his stuff, he was too busy pulling Piper snugly into his protective embrace, and holding her there. She shivered, shaken and afraid, but his love gave her strength. "It's okay baby," he whispered, "You're alright." He bent down and kissed her forehead, with no intention of letting her go.
Same old boy
same sweet girl
five years down the road
theres gonna be a little one
and she says its time to go
Leo held Piper's hand in the delivery room as Piper was giving birth to their first child. He held her hand in both of his as she squeezed him almost enough to cut off the circulation in his fingers. He smiled, offering words of encouragement which she only had sarcastic remarks to. In another situation, her comments may have offended him, but he knew they'd look back on this day and smile.
Leo heard the baby cry, and Piper's grip on his fingers immediately loosened. He grinned at his newborn son before looking at Piper and smiling, but that smile faded quickly as he saw her slipping away. The doctor says "The baby's fine, but you'll have to leave, cause his mommas fading fast."
A nurse grabbed Leo and pulled him outside as the doctor and nurses swarmed around Piper's bed. She had looked so weak in that moment he'd glanced at her, it scared him. He collapsed in a chair just outside the room. And he hit his knees, and then he prayed "Take very breath you gave me, take the heart from my chest. I'll gladly take her place if you'll let me, make this my last request: take me out of this world… but God please, don't take the girl."
The grown man let a tear escape from his eye as he stood again to watch through the window. Finally unable to bear just watching, he paced back and forth, counting the tiles on the floor for what seemed like hours before he heard the door open. He looked up to see Piper's doctor standing there, and braced himself for what would be said.
Johnnys daddy was taking him fishing
when he was eight years old.