Chapter 7

The Heart Brings You Back

"Again? You want to do it again?" Piper asked exasperated.

Leo stopped kissing her neck and frowned. "Don't you?"

She forced a smile and nodded. "Of course I do… " She assured him and gave him a quick kiss. "It's just I have a thing. A thing with Paige." She apologised and hurriedly jumped out the bed, grabbing her clothes and heading to the bathroom.

Leo sighed and slumped back on his pillow. "Will you come over when you're finished?"

"Uh-huh…"

XXX

"You look awful," Paige said bluntly when Piper entered the manor kitchen.

"I feel awful. Leo kept me up all and I mean all night," she explained grabbing a slice of Paige's toast and slumping into a chair at the table, "I'm exhausted."

"What were you doing?" Piper just raised an eyebrow and Paige shuddered. "Stupid question."

"Ever since his mum's funeral, he wants sex all the time," Piper went on absently while spreading jam across Paige's plain buttered toast.

Paige grimaced. "I really don't need to hear this-"

"Paige," Piper whined, pouting at her sister.

"Hey, Phoebe is the one that's good at the listening and advice thing."

Piper shook her head. "Not anymore. Didn't you hear she quit the school paper?"

"When?" Paige asked, surprised. "I thought she loved writing that column."

"Yesterday, apparently her new band is taking up more time than she thought so she was forced to rethink her priorities."

"I wonder where Cole ranked on that list because he's called a lot this last week and I don't think she's returned many of his calls. At least we know Cole hasn't turned into a raging sex monster." She grinned and Piper slapped her sister playfully.

"It's not funny!"

XXX

"So how did it go?" Prue smiled as she left the building where she could potentially be working soon and saw Scott coming towards her.

"Why don't you go in and ask? He is your dad after all."

"I'd rather hear from you," he answered with a grin. "How about over coffee?"

She bit her lip. "I think I forgot to mention to you that I have a daughter-"

"I love kids-"

"And I'm married."

That wiped his grin. "You look too young to be married," he commented.

"Most people think I am."

"Do you?" he asked curiously.

"Think I'm too young?" She took a moment before answering but when she did, it was firm. "No I don't."

He nodded and smiled. "Then that's all the matters really isn't it?"

She smiled in return.

XXX

"Are we okay?" Phoebe asked, as Cole sat down beside her on the couch and set the drink her brought for her on the coffee table.

He raised a brow at her, confused. "Shouldn't it be me asking you that? Seeing as how its you who has been avoiding me all week."

"I haven't been avoiding you I swear. I just have to show Alex that I'm committed to the band. We got off to a pretty rocky start … But you've been dealing with a lot recently and I should have been here for you this week." Phoebe moved closer to Cole on the couch and rubbed his arm soothingly.

"It's okay Phoebe. I'm okay, really I am." He took hold of the hand she was using to rub his arm and gave it a squeeze. "I just want to move forward."

She frowned at him. "You're okay?" she asked doubtfully. "Are you sure? 'Cause I'm here if you need to talk-"

"I don't need to talk 'cause I'm fine."

XXX

"Cole is emotionally stunted."

"Nice to see you to Pheebs," Paige grinned as her sister walked into the kitchen plonked herself at the table where Piper also sat and groaned.

"So you're talking to Cole again?" Piper asked teasingly.

"I was never not," she defended. "Anyway he is fine, completely fine."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Paige asked confused.

"No! He just buried the woman he called mum last week, how can he be okay? That's not normal is it?"

Piper shrugged. "People deal with grief in different ways," she shot a warning look at Paige daring her to mention Leo. She just grinned which went unnoticed by Phoebe.

"I just wish he would talk to me." Phoebe sighed.

"I wish Leo would talk to me to."

"I wish me and Glen hadn't kissed."

That caught the other two's attention and their heads snapped up glancing expectantly at their youngest sister. "Explain."

XXX

"You want some lunch? I was just going to make some." Leo said to Cole who was watching TV.

"No, I'm good," he answered and then turned back to the TV. Then he swallowed and turned back around. "Hey Leo?"

"Yeah?" Leo called back with his head in the refrigerator.

"Do you and Piper talk?"

Leo stood up from the refrigerator and raised an eyebrow at him, confused.

"I mean… talk about your feelings and stuff. 'Cause earlier with Phoebe she went off on one 'cause I didn't want to… talk."

"I think it's a girl thing. Piper's the same." Leo decided, forgetting lunch for a moment.

"I don't get it," Cole went on. "Why do they need us to tell them how we feel?"

"I know!"

They fell into a silence both thinking for a moment. "Do you… do you think we'd feel better if we talked?" Cole ventured.

Leo shrugged. "Maybe."

Then he went back to making lunch and Cole turned back to the TV.

XXX

"Paige love triangles are not fun, trust me."

"Phoebe don't you think she knows that seeing as she is currently in one." Piper pointed out.

"Right." Phoebe turned to Paige. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," came her muffled reply as she had buried her face in her hands on the table.

"Guess what? I'll tell you- I got the job!" Prue exclaimed excitedly as she barrelled into the kitchen. "What is wrong with Paige?" She asked calming down upon seeing her sister's distress.

"She's got a crisis."

"Oh so I guess now is not a good time for visitors." Prue said and Piper and Phoebe looked behind her to see Glen standing there with Emma in his arms.

"Hi Glen," Phoebe said louder than necessary to get Paige's attention. Her head snapped up at the mention of his name and the two made awkward eye contact.

"Prue why don't you tell us all about your new job-"

"Sure-"

"-In the sitting room." Piper finished as Phoebe led a confused Prue through the house and Piper took Emma from Glen and followed them.

Paige chuckled at her sisters but it sounded nervous. "Hi," she said softly to Glen.

"So you've been avoiding me all week," he mention casually and when she started to protest he cut in with, "You've had your sisters drop Emma off and pick her up all week."

"Okay maybe I've been avoiding you a little," she admitted, "but we kissed and… I have a boyfriend and…"

"Its all very messy," he agreed, " and you need to think?"

She nodded slightly.

"So what have you been thinking?" he pressed.

"Glen-"

"I don't like that tone so I'm just going to cut in." He took a deep breath. "Paige, I want to be with you and I want us to be a family. I don't want Emma to have two dads. I don't want you to be with Kyle, I want you to be with me. That's what I want and I realise that that might not be what you want and if its not then that's okay too. I'll be crushed but I'll get over it if I know you're happy 'cause that's the most important thing. I just want you to know you have a choice, that I'm in this and I want this." He paused and tried to read her reaction but she just looked dazed so he sighed. "I'm going to go now."

"Uh bye," she croaked after him. "Oh boy…"

XXX

Cole stood in the doorway of the manor sitting room watching his girlfriend put her sleeping niece in her bassinet and smiled. She turned and saw him and smiled too.

He walked towards her and sat down on the coffee table and motioned for her to sit down too. She sat across form him on the couch. He took her hands in his.

"So I don't know if you noticed but I don't talk about my feelings and stuff," he grinned at her, "but I can try if it's that important to you-"

"Cole I don't need you to talk, I just want you to know that I'm here if you want to, that's all."

"I know you are… and it means a lot." He was smiling at her, not his cheeky usual one but the soft, sincere one he used rarely, that always without fail made her want to kiss him.

"If we're not talking… " She began with a grin, "We could kiss instead…"

"Now kissing is something I do."

XXX

Piper looked to her bedroom doorway to see Leo in it, smiling at her. "I love you, "he said simply as way of greeting.

"You're not here to have sex are you?" she asked cautiously.

He laughed. "No, I'm not here to have sex with you."

She sighed in relief. "Good, then I love you too."

"I'm going to choose to ignore your relieved sigh there," he grinned and then turned more serious. "I just wanted to say thank you. You've been really amazing since my mum died and I appreciate it a lot."

"Its what I'm here for silly." She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. He breathed her in and stroked her hair rhythmically for a few moments. Then she pulled back a little to look him in the eye and kissed him, slowly, sensually.

"I really love you," he murmured in her ear and then blurted out words that made her freeze:

"Marry me."