AN: Okay, I know you guys must so hate me right now, with my putting "Profiling Love" and "The Reunion" on hold, but I can't help it! I got this idea through a mix of two songs and riding at night in the car. It was making me crazy not to post it and I can't seem to write any other of my fics with this one just here…In front of me…With no one reading it. Anyway, I have this fic planned out all the way to the end and I think you'll like it!! Okay, on with the chapter!!
Love is a painful, heart wrenching thing. Be it a love for a significant other, a parent, even a best friend, all of them can disappoint you and leave you stung. But if you continue to search for the silver lining, I have no doubt love can be all three. –Piper-Girl.
The visible edge of the sun brushed the top of the Golden Gate Bridge as Piper's eyes opened slowly, hands underneath her head. It was a beautiful day and she felt empowered from the moment consciousness reached her. The world was her pie and damn if she wasn't the ice cream!
This mood instantly deflated when she remembered. She rolled over into her husband. "Honey," she said evenly, "Don't you have work?"
Dan shook his head, eyes half open. "No, Piper. I don't have to go into work until 12:00."
Piper smiled slightly and rolled off the bed, tapping the alarm clock along the way. She padded to the master bathroom of the midnight blue and cream colored house she shared with Dan. She quickly went through her morning routine, stopping briefly to contemplate who the hell had squeezed the toothpaste from the top of the tube. Dan.
Piper walked back into her bedroom to find Dan was gone. She crossed the navy blue, very plush carpet, to her closet. She flung the door open and sifted through her clothes until she reached a professional, but casual pair of white khakis. She paired them with a low-cut red blouse and red pumps. She brushed her brown hair until it shone like new money.
She walked down the stairs, dapper and stately. "Good Morning, Lucille." She said, greeting the live-in housekeeper as she folded laundry.
"Good morning, Mrs. Gordon. Mr. Gordon is in kitchen eating his Cocoa Puffs. I not know why he eat filth when I make perfectly good omelet."
Piper smiled warmly. "I'll eat it, Lucy."
Lucille nodded.
Piper walked into the kitchen. It was decorated brightly, in colors alternating between yellow and white. Eggshell to be precise. "Hey, honey." Piper said, walking over to the coffee pot. Dan grunted, absorbed in the stock market pages of The Bay Mirror, cereal at his side. She poured a cup of coffee and heaped up a plate of omelet.
She sat at the island, across from her husband. There was a morning rule in the Gordon house, with its three members. Don't disturb Dan while he's reading the paper. Piper had already broken the rules once, and she was about to do it again.
"Honey," she began tentatively, almost sure she knew that there would be no response, "are you free for lunch today?"
"Can't." Dan responded quickly, "I've got a meeting."
Piper raised her eyebrows. He'd actually responded. And fast.
-----
By the time Piper was driving to work, the bright sunny day had quickly morphed into a rainy, dreary one. Nonetheless, Piper sped down a little street, whizzing by the trees and grass on either side of her. She still didn't like to drive, not since…it happened, but this car, the silver convertible, this was her baby, and for some reason, the speedy little sports car made her feel safe.
Just as she approached an intersection, another car came careening around the corner. Facing the possible fatal situation, Piper's heart pounded, the pressure making her feel as if she were going to pass out. All of the memories came flooding back, the screaming, the blood…She shook and swerved, veering into the grass alongside. After a terrifying moment, she realized she was safe.
She leaned back in her seat, sweat pouring down her face before a voice came to her.
"Oh my God, lady, I'm so sorry!"
Piper looked up into the face of a young man, no older than 18. He was holding an umbrella, and looked visibly shaken and sorry.
Piper sighed and smiled weakly. "That's okay, nobody got hurt, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I was going to fast because my girlfriend," he said, sneering the word and gesturing to an angry redhead in his car, "kept yelling at me."
Piper chuckled. "It's okay, really. So long as you're not going to say that I gave you whiplash."
He smiled at her, apologized again and trotted back to his SUV.
-----
Piper walked into her office around ten that morning. "Cindy," she said to her blond bombshell assistant, "am I open for lunch?"
Cindy smirked lightly at her boss before checking. "Everyday this week."
For some reason, Piper's cheeks burned faintly with a blush. "Um…Well, could you see if A—" Piper cut herself off. Oh God, why did she want to say that name, after all these years? Cindy looked up at her employer, wondering about the abrupt stop of her speech.
"Nothing." Piper said quickly. She dashed into her office and awaited her first patient.
-----
Leo Wyatt walked into the law office of Gordon, Harper and Crisp. He looked around the impressive marble floored lobby with a deft smirk and crossed it to the elevators, ignoring the plush burgundy chairs, the potted plants and the calls of the receptionist. He stepped into the mirrored elevator, pushing the button for the top floor.
He critically studied his reflection in the mirror. He had on a grayish-brown duster, that somehow went well with his blonde hair. He had on slightly baggy black pants and a gray blazer underneath. He smiled arrogantly, and did a little twirl, tapping his heel on the floor. He looked like a billion bucks.
Leo sauntered onto the floor. He walked up to the largest office in the firm. The plaque read: Dan Gordon. Leo smirked again, and opened the door.
"I don't need this shit!!" Dan yelled, absolutely livid at the person on the other end of the phone, "I haven't done anything!" At this point, he noticed Leo, who stood, sneering amusedly at him from the door. His frown deepened and he was silent, giving the person on the opposite end a chance to speak. After hearing what they had to say, he promptly hung up.
"Who the hell are you?" He snapped angrily.
Leo turned his lips up in half smile and blinked lazily. "I'm Leo Wyatt. I'm taking the job in accounting, you know, dealing with the books."
Dan eyed him suspiciously. "Why are you in here?" He barked, leaning across his paper covered desk.
"They told me to get the books from you."
"They…" Dan murmured, continuing to mutter incoherently as she walked to a file cabinet. Leo joined him. Dan pulled out a select stack and put them in Leo's arms, but not before Leo noticed a whole separate set.
"What about those?" Leo asked nonchalantly.
"Those, I handle myself. They are kept here, in my office." Dan said darkly. After a moment, he glanced at his watch. Noting the time, he groaned. Then, with a sudden smile, he looked at Leo. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"
Leo eyed him warily, first time sense he'd gotten there, his face shifting from the egotistical smirk. "What?" he asked finally.
"My wife," he began, "is home at this time of day and the maid's out."
"So?"
"Well, she doesn't like to be at home alone…It scares her. But if you have the key" he stopped to jangle it in the air, "she'll know that you're safe. We don't keep a hide-a-key." He said flatly.
Leo smirked again. "What's in it for me?"
AN: So, what'd you guys think? Piper obviously has a very twisted, sad past and we all feel for her, right? Please review!!