Hand in Hand

"What?" Leo coughed out. He hadn't been expecting that. He could feel the Elders' disapproving glares and he shrunk back a little bit.

"That's right. You wouldn't keep a child from growing up in a stable family situation," Piper said, her voice confident. She'd been working this over in her head since she'd seen that little boy in the future. Perhaps she should have told Leo what she was going to do but she didn't want to tip the Elders off.

"Is this true?" one of the Elders demanded of Leo. Leo cleared his throat.

"Uh…this is the first I heard," Leo admitted, looking over at Piper.

"Well this is…" the first Elder babbled.

"This is unacceptable," the other Elder blurted.

"Deal with it," Piper spat. The Elders shared a nervous look.

"We…we will have to talk this over with the other Elders. We will return with our decision," the second Elder said, trying to calm down. With that they orbed out of the attic. Leo slowly turned to face Piper.

"How can you be pregnant? We haven't slept together," he hissed. Piper cringed at his tone. She hadn't thought about that. Piper looked around; getting the feeling they were being watched.

"I'm not really pregnant…I just said it so they'd let us get married," Piper whispered.

"You lied?" he sputtered.

"What was I supposed to say?" she countered.

"They'll figure it out, Piper. What happens then? Did you even think about this?" Leo demanded.

"I thought you wanted to get married," she shot back.

"I do…but not like this, not with deception and lies," he said, lowering his voice.

"I don't care what they say. They don't control our lives," she grumbled and walked downstairs. Phoebe had returned from the park shortly after Piper and Leo had orbed into the attic and was sitting on the bottom of the stairs.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, seeing Piper bounding down the stairs.

"Nothing," she said. Just then Leo appeared.

"Piper, you have to tell them the truth," he called. Phoebe raised a brow in her sister's direction.

"I told the Elders that I'm pregnant," Piper said.

"What? You…" Phoebe stammered, looking between her sister and their whitelighter.

"It's not true, Pheebs. I just want to get married," Piper said and headed for the kitchen. She hadn't realized she'd said it so loud until Victor stormed into the kitchen.

"Please tell me I did not just hear you say that you are pregnant," he said, trying to control his temper. Piper stared at her father, caught off guard.

High above them, the Elders were gathered, all looking grim. The announcement that Piper was pregnant had come as a shock to all of them.

"Could this really be true? A Charmed One carrying a whitelighter's child?" one of the Elders asked the group. It couldn't be true. They had tried so hard to keep them apart, to keep them from falling in love.

"If she is with child and it is Leo's, what are we going to do? This is very dangerous territory," another admitted.

"She is powerful and will not give up easily," a third added.

"But there are rules and they must be followed," the first replied. From the corner, a dark haired Elder cleared his throat.

"If we allow this child to be born, there is no telling how powerful it will be. The combined magic of a Charmed One and a whitelighter would be too much for one being," he said.

"Then what do you suggest, Gideon?" another asked.

"I do believe even if we deny them our blessing, they will attempt to wed. I suggest we allow them to marry…but we must do something to keep this child from being born," Gideon answered.

"Are you saying we should force her to terminate?' several others questioned in shock.

"If it will preserve the Greater Good, then yes," he said. The room fell silent for a while, all contemplating their own thoughts. They could not rush into this decision.

Far below them, Piper was trying to convince her father that she had been lying. Leo didn't say a word. He didn't want Victor to flip out on him.

'Dad, I swear I'm not really pregnant. I...going to the future gave me the idea. We haven't even slept together," Piper rambled but Victor didn't seem to believe her.

"Get your purse," he ordered.

"Why?" she shot back.

"We're going to the drug store," he answered sharply.

"Dad…come on. You know Piper would never do something like this," Prue defended.

"I thought I raised you better than this…better than lying," he sighed.

"You did, Dad. I just don't want them to take away the greatest thing in my life," Piper said, reaching out to take Victor by the arm. He just shook his head. He wasn't too keen on Piper and Leo getting married right now but he knew it was a battle he was going to lose. She'd seen a future and it was clear she wanted it at all costs.

"Dad, I just want to be happy….I've always wanted to be a wife and a Mom. And…I've known who my perfect husband was going to be since I was eight years old," Piper reminded him. Victor nodded.

"I know, sweetie. I just…I don't want you to get hurt in the end. Magic owes you girls a lot for what you've done and sacrificed over the last ten years but that doesn't mean it's going to cut you any breaks," he said.

"I guess we just wait and see what the Elders have to say," Prue said. Everyone nodded in agreement and went their separate ways. Leo and Piper headed out for a walk and Phoebe and Prue ended up in Phoebe's room. Phoebe was staring at her hands in silence. Should she tell her sister about seeing Cole? She knew it was the right thing to do but she knew they didn't need the added stress of his situation.

"So what do you think the Elders are going to say?" Phoebe asked.

"For Piper's sake, I hope they say yes. But it's kind of weird…I didn't think she'd get married young," Prue answered.

"You think we'll get to be bridesmaids?" the fifteen-year-old asked.

"Uh…yeah," Prue replied with a laugh and playful shove.

"I wish I could have seen what she did," Phoebe muttered.

"Feeling left out?" Prue teased.

"I'm the one who is supposed to see the future…I mean why didn't I see anything?" Phoebe replied.

"Who knows, Pheebs," Prue sighed, leaning back in the desk chair.

"So…are you and Andy going to get married?" Phoebe blurted. Prue burst out laughing.

"Uh…maybe when I finish college and he's got a job," she answered.

"It's not like he isn't used to demons and stuff," Phoebe remarked.

"Pheebs, I'm not saying we won't get married…I'm just saying now isn't the right time," Prue retorted.

"Grams would never approve," Phoebe giggled.

"She won't be happy about Leo and Piper that's for sure. When she was alive, she had really bad luck with men," Prue snorted. Over the years they'd heard stories from both Patty and Grams about her bad luck with men, especially after their grandfather, Allen, had died.

Afternoon soon passed into evening and still there was no word from the Elders. Piper was growing impatient but the rest of the family had managed to keep her temper under control. Finally, around eight o'clock, there was a flurry of orbs and the two Elders from before appeared in the sun room. Everyone stood up, slightly startled.

"We have come to a decision," the Elder on the right said. Piper grabbed for Leo's hand in anticipation. She hoped her lie had persuaded the Elders. Of course she was prepared to do anything necessary to get married even if their blessing wasn't granted.

"Well what did you decide?" Prue prompted. The Elders shared a glance before speaking again.

"We will allow your union but caution you that we will be watching over you carefully. If it interferes with either of your duties to magic, we will be forced to intervene," the second Elder answered. Piper couldn't speak. She was too happy to hear they were being given permission. She embraced Leo, holding him tightly. Prue and Phoebe looked at each other in shock. They couldn't believe the Elders had actually sided with them for once.

"Congratulations, Piper," they both squealed, pulling their sister from Leo's grip. Victor just stood by and watched the emotions flow from his three girls. He looked at the robed individuals. He was going to have to accept that his little girl was growing up faster than he could keep up with. With that, the Elders disappeared.

The next few weeks were hectic in the Halliwell household, trying to plan a wedding and pack for college at the same time was putting a lot of pressure on Piper. Presently she was sitting in her room, staring at the boxes on the floor. There was a knock at the door and she looked up.

"Come in," she called, her voice sounding tired. Prue walked in.

"How goes the packing?" she asked.

"Ugh, don't even ask," Piper groaned.

"Want some help?" Prue offered.

"Want to go to college for me?" Piper asked.

"Already doing that," Prue said.

"What's bothering you?" Prue asked after a minute. She wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"This is just all really stressful. I mean, even though it's just going to be us for the wedding, I want it to be perfect," Piper mumbled, resting her head on Prue's arm.

"As your older sister I'm taking charge. We're going to make a list of everything that needs to be done for the wedding and for school and we're going to divide it all up," Prue stated, pulling Piper to her feet. They headed downstairs and made two lists.

"Hey, can everyone come in here?" Prue called. Footsteps resounded from around them and the rest of the family appeared.

"Ok…we have a wedding to get ready for. And we need to help Piper finish packing," she said authoratively.

"Well what is left for wedding plans?" Andy asked. Prue looked at the list.

"Pick up the cake, dresses and flowers," she answered.

"And packing?" Victor asked. Prue handed him the list. It didn't seem to be too long.

"How about I go pick up the cake and flowers. You girls go get the dresses," Andy offered.

"Victor and I can pack up the rest of the boxes," Leo offered.

"Oh, what about rings?" Piper said. She was starting to feel a little less overwhelmed now that everyone was pitching in.

"We can pick them up after we get the dresses," Phoebe suggested.

"Ok…everyone knows what they're doing, let's go," Prue said and they went their separate ways. The girls piled into Piper's car and waved goodbye to Andy as he climbed into his own. They arrived at the gown shop in record time. The woman who ran the shop recognized them immediately and led them to the back of the store for a final fitting.

"You look amazing, Piper," Phoebe said, staring at her sister's wedding gown.

"Thanks, Pheebs," Piper said, blushing.

"Dad said he'd pay for the dresses," Prue said, handing over Victor's credit card.

"Has anyone summoned Mom and Grams to tell them what is going on?" Prue asked as they climbed back into the car.

"I did yesterday. They weren't too happy but Grams agreed to officiate the ceremony," Piper answered. She knew deep down Grams was happy for her. Picking up the rings took much less time than the dresses and they pulled up to the Manor just as Andy was walking up the front steps with the flowers.

"Nice timing," he said, holding the door open for them.

"The flowers look beautiful," Prue said, giving her boyfriend a kiss.

"Well you're all packed, sweetheart," Victor said as he and Leo came down the stairs.

"Thanks everybody…I couldn't have done all this without you…I was going crazy," Piper said, beaming.

The next day dawned and everyone was up early. Even though the ceremony was going to be in the early afternoon, everyone was filled with jitters and nerves. It was their first wedding in the family that the girls had been a part of.

"You look so beautiful," Prue said, pulling Piper's hair back from her face.

"You too," Piper said. There was a knock at the door and Andy stuck his head in.

"You ready?" he asked. The girls nodded and walked to the top of the stairs. Patty and Grams had been summoned that morning and both were in high spirits. Prue walked down to join Phoebe and Andy in the sun room. Prue gave Leo a kind smile. Victor met Piper at the bottom of the stairs.

"I love you sweetie," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks, Dad," she said, trying not to cry and ruin her make up.

They walked into the other room and Patty had tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe my little girl is getting married," she sniffled. Victor handed Piper off to Leo and went to join his ex-wife, wrapping an arm around her. With that, Piper and Leo turned to face Grams. She smiled down at them and turned to look at Prue and Andy. They each handed Piper and Leo a ring.

"Place the ring on each other's finger," she said. They did so and as they completed the action she placed her hands atop theirs and spoke a simple spell.

"Heart to thee, body to thee. Always and forever, so mote it be."