This fic takes place during the first season of Charmed (but no magic). It begins as a love story between Piper and Mark (the ghost Piper fell for, except he is alive) and Leo eventually works his way into the story. I hope you enjoy! Please read and review!
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Chapter 1: A Little More Sage
Piper Halliwell let out a frustrated sigh, and ran her hands through her hair. Quake was bustling with people, and there was a new, inexperienced chief on the job. His first day, to be exact. She felt a major headache coming on and began rubbing her temples when she heard a slightly accented voice call out, "Excuse me, Miss?"
Piper sighed under her breath and headed towards the table, trying to plaster a smile on her face and barely succeeding. "Yes, sir? How may I help you?" She rattled off the familiar phrase.
The young Chinese man sitting in front of her pointed to his risotto and said, "I'm not trying to interfere but if your chef would add a little more sage to this, it would be perfect…" he was cut off by a large commotion in the kitchen.
"Piper!" someone called out from the kitchen, and Piper counted to three before letting out a large sigh and heading to the kitchen.
When she entered the kitchen, there were pots and pans strewn everywhere, and in the midst of it was the new chef. "What the hell happened in here!" she yelled.
"I-I'm s-sorry," Chef Carson stammered.
"Mike," Piper patiently sighed, "what happened?"
"I-I w-was t-turning and I-I, um…" He looked as if he were about to pee his pants.
Sarah Markenson, the quick-witted, caramel-colored woman who was Piper's good friend and right-hand woman, put Chef Carson out of his misery and said, "He was turning around, hit Megan, who slipped, and he tried to catch her, but ended up knocking down all the pot and pans." She then looked at the chef. "Was that so hard?"
"N-n-no, M-miss…"
"Let it go, Mike," Sarah said ending his suffering. "Alright people!" she called out. "You have three minutes to clean this up or you will be looking for a new job tomorrow!"
Piper hid a smile, along with some of the other long-time employees. They knew that underneath Sarah's hard outer shell was one of the most kind-hearted people you would ever meet. But the newer employees didn't know that. They quickly scurried to clean up the mess, believing Sarah's threat.
Piper pulled Sarah to the side and gave her a big hug. "What would I do with out you?" She released her from the hug and asked, "Will you call Chef Moore in Pairs? Tell him we need a new chef."
"Will do, but you know he only likes to talk to you."
"Yeah, well he can get his ass over here and run his own damn restaurant. I have a customer to talk to."
She walked back out to the dinning room, but the young Chinese man was gone. Oh well, she thought, and went to help out at the bar.
As she was leaving the restaurant that night, Piper tried a bit of the risotto. It was pretty good, but it really did need a bit more sage. That guy was right, she thought.
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Mark Chang made a quick decision to eat at Quake on his way home. He didn't feel like cooking anything and the restaurant was on his way home from work.
After a fifteen-minute wait, Mark was lead to a table in the back of the restaurant.
"What can I get you?" his perky waitress, Sky, asked.
"I'll have the risotto," he said.
"Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes with your order." Sky smiled and left the table.
Mark spent the time he had waiting looking around the restaurant. There was a great diversity of all people, different races, ages, and ethnic backgrounds. In the middle of it all was a woman with long dark hair. She seemed to be on damage control, stopping waiters from running into each other, stopping trays from falling over, answering questions, and running to and fro all over the restaurant. Every so often, she would stop to brush her bangs out of her face, and she was soon back on her way.
Mark loved to cook, it ran in his family, but he didn't think he could handle the stresses of running a restaurant. Genetic engineering was more his thing. No nosy customers (except for his boss), no one to tell him how bad he did (except for his boss).
His food arrived soon, and he thanked the waitress as she walked away. The risotto was good, but it could use a little more sage.
Making a quick decision, he called out, "Excuse me, Miss?"
He could tell the smile she had on her face was strained and exhausted. "Yes, sir? How may I help you?"
"I'm not trying to interfere but if your chef would add a little more sage to this, it would be perfect…" he was interrupted by a loud commotion in the kitchen.
"Piper!" someone called, and Mark saw the brunette close her eyes, count to three, and let out a sigh before heading to the kitchen.
Mark felt a little guilty for stressing out the woman, who he now knew was named Piper, so he quickly finished his food and left after leaving a tip for the waitress.
Mark began walking back to his apartment; he didn't drive his car since he lived close enough to where he worked. Mark loved walking back a forth from work. He loved walking through the streets of Chinatown, smelling the herbs used in traditional Chinese dishes, seeing the buildings created to emulate those in China.
Mark finally reached his apartment, unlocked the door, and stretched out on the couch. The woman, Piper, from the restaurant was still on his mind. He didn't know why, the image of her face, wiping the bangs from her face, stuck in his mind, but it did.
Mark smiled as he thought about her, and he decided he wouldn't feel like cooking tomorrow night either. He would eat at Quake and see what the dark haired woman who plagued his thoughts was up to.
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Author Note: I hope you like this chapter. Just in case any of you may be confused, Mark is the ghost Piper fell for in the beginning of season one, before she even met Leo. I really like Mark, so I decided to put him in a story. But I am truly a Piper and Leo fan, so Leo will eventually work his way into the story. It may be a while, so be patient. Please review, I welcome all comments.