A Perfection Denied
Reborn...1873
~~~
There are two of us
It's the cycle of our souls
~~~
He looked down at the sickly young women, how frail and small she looked, swathed in bed linen and blankets but still a startling shade of blue. He hated this part, the knowledge he couldn't save her, despite being a doctor.... Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to whisper a greeting. He hated losing patients, but to have such a long drawn out process... it was the worst kind of death, to know each day brought poorer health and more pain. His heart went out to her, remembering the bright young woman who had stepped into his clinic all those months ago. Now, even with the best medical knowledge available, she had been reduced to this, a quivering wreck of a human being, on the very brink of death. He sat down on the small wooden chair beside her bed and smiled softly.
"You don't have good news for me, do you, Dr. Wyatt?" She smiled back, suppressing a cry of anguish. The young man's face changed to one of sadness. It showed genuine sadness, not just that of any doctor for any patient. He had come to think of Miss Halliwell as a good friend, and always spoke to her after his rounds were over, out of choice.
"I'm so sorry, Miss..." She gave him one of those looks he had come to fondly know. "Piper." He corrected himself. "There's......there's nothing more we can do. Your body is too riddled with the cancer to recover now." He bowed his head in shame. He blamed himself for this. His heart pounded, hammering against his rib cage, begging for there to be something he could do.... anything...... A soft hand on his head brought him to look up at her.
"Dr..... Leo, please, don't blame yourself. You've been so good to me, so thoughtful; you put yourself out for me all the time. I can truly say that the last few weeks have been wonderful. Especially given the circumstances." Her every word astounded him. Faced with death, and still she fought it with every breath; did not become a recluse and adorn herself in self pity,
refused to even cry. Instead she thanked him, the man who couldn't save her? He was in awe at her very being.
"Piper, I don't know what to say..... I'm so very very sorry." He meant every word, his every pore oozed guilt and sorrow and rage at himself.
"You don't need to be." She whispered, drawing heavily on her last reserves of energy for the day. "You don't need to be sorry, because I'm not. Fate works in mysterious ways, Leo. This is my time. One day, yours will come too and nothing anyone does can stop that from happening. I'm a firm believer in reincarnation, Leo. I believe our lives take many paths, but our souls are always alive. You don't need to be sorry, because I'm not, because this is not the end." She smiled at him, a small, sad smile, before her eyes flickered slowly shut.
"Piper?" Leo whispered, feeling for a pulse. Relief washed over him. There it was, weak as always, but regular and there. He drew breath in slowly, trying to calm his racing heart, trying to stop the mental images that flashed through his mind. Coffins, coroners, post mortems...... He shut his eyes and focused on what he knew best; Piper. Her frail hand rested lightly
in his, and the ward nurse went by unnoticed. He thought back all those months ago, to when he'd first laid eyes on her, her beautiful chestnut hair flowing down her back, her shy eyes darting around the room.
***
"Miss Halliwell?" The young blonde doctor's eyes darted around his waiting room. In the far chair a woman on her mid - twenties rose, corset forcing her to sit up straight. She started towards the door, full floral skirt sifting along the ground, the silence of the hall broken by the light swishing sound of taffeta. She smiled shyly at Leo, before lowering her eyes as he offered his hand and led her into the room. A perfect gentleman as always, he pulled out her chair and allowed her to sit down before doing so himself.
"Miss Halliwell, what seems to be the problem?" the shy woman's eyes darted, unsure, around the room. He smiled reassuringly, and his green eyes comforted her immediately. They held every truth, every ounce of knowledge, experience beyond their years.
"The thing is, Dr. Wyatt...... I haven't been feeling well for a while; a few weeks in fact. At first I suspected I had a touch of influenza, but it hasn't improved with time."
Leo nodded, absorbing the information. "What symptoms have you been showing?"
"Well, I'm tired all the time for one thing. And......" She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a huge purplish bruise adorning her left forearm. Leo gasped.
"How did you do that?" He asked, moving quickly around the heavy mahogany desk to see better.
"I really don't know, " Piper replied, her eyes cast downwards. "I remember banging my arm on the staircase, but not nearly hard enough to cause that size of bruise." Leo brought his hand up under her chin, and raised her face so she looked in his eyes. They were glazed over with tiredness, heavy lids looking as though they would drop at any second.
Leo asked her numerous questions. Have you felt lethargic? Tired? Had aching limbs? She gave a small nod to each, her face calm, oblivious to the potential causes.
Days past and she came back every second day to do more tests. Countless vials of blood were drawn and without fail, she fainted every time, her body too weak to counteract the loss. Leo used it in every test he could think of, doing everything to prove his worst fears wrong. Even with the recommended bed rest and increased consumption of billing's root, Piper
seemed to get no better and he knew the time had come to tell her what he thought was wrong. He called her into his surgery once more.
"Miss H..." He began. She cut him off.
"If this is serious, Dr. Wyatt, you're going to have to start to call me Piper, because we're going to be seeing a lot of each other and Miss Halliwell is going to get annoying."
In awe at her forwardness, and despite the knowledge of the news he was about to disperse, Leo grinned. "Well, in that case, Leo will be fine." He gasped at his mistake.
"Then it is serious?" He bowed his head, but then forced it up again. She was his patient. It was up to him to tell her properly, not mumble it while scraping his shoes on the floor like a schoolboy.
He crouched down it front of her, no chair available, and looked her straight in the eyes. "We've done every test possible, Piper. Checked all the symptoms numerous times, drawn blood, changed your diet. I'm afraid I can only see one conclusion. She visibly swallowed and hers eyes darted frantically from him to her hands. Whispering in a frightened voice.
"Leo...what's...what's wrong with me?" Her eyes met his, their hearts surged. Why did it have to be something he could do nothing for? Why did this have to happen now? Finally he gathered up the courage to tell her.
"Piper...." He knew he shouldn't but he took her hands in his as a way of comfort. "You..... you have cancer." She gasped, not knowing where to look, not knowing what to say or do. He squeezed her hands tighter and held on to them even more. "I'm so sorry... I assume you know..." she cut him off.
"You can't cure cancer, can you?" Her voice wavered as she looked him square in the eyes, and knew his answer before he told her.
He shook his head sombrely, his eyes cast downward by way of an unspoken apology. "No." The words echoed around the room, filling the empty space. A barrier which he thought would form between them never did, as her eyes met his once again, and the only thing she could think to say escaped her lips.
"How long do I have?" The words entered Leo and shook his very soul. He didn't want to answer that question, didn't want her to know the miniscule amount of time she had left. Her drawn back, taunt eyes searched his for an answer. They found none as he looked away.
"Weeks." he whispered. His skin tingled with her every touch, her heart longed to hold her and reassure her and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. I Why?/I He asked the heavens silently. I Why now?/I He pressed his forehead against hers, drawing on his own reserves of strength and trying to force them on to her in some way. He could fell her shallow breath against his neck, light and sweet and willing him further. Eyes met, hearts surged, souls ached for a further contact.
The haven they formed around themselves was abruptly broken as the duty matron marched in unannounced, stopping quickly as she saw the two so close, foreheads together. They snapped apart at the presence of another, her eyes looking anywhere but his. The nurse cleared her throat and blinked.
"Dr..., Dr. Wyatt, it's quite alright, I can see you're busy, I'll come back some other time." He jumped up, and opened his mouth, trying to explain himself. No words came and he nodded dumbly, as she heavy door creaked slowly shut and the two of them were alone once more. Piper looked guiltily up and Leo and grinned.
"Will you get in trouble? I mean, it's not like we were..." She blushed. "You've just told me I'm dying, I think that's allowed."
His very being hurt at the words..... I'm dying. he tried desperately to maintain some composure. Leo knelt down in front of her and their hands met once again, sending fireworks through them both. "I don't care what Sister Judith thinks, Piper. Are you going to be okay?" He felt like hitting himself. She had cancer, of course she wouldn't be okay. His eyes left hers
and he tried desperately to focus on something else.
"We couldn't... It wouldn't be........" Her every word caused his heart to skip a beat. His very soul cried out to be near her, and he fought hard against it. An unspoken agreement was reached; they were friends, no more, it would be wrong for there to be anything more. Even so, as she got up to leave, Leo couldn't help but hold her hand to help her up, and as his lips
brushed it lightly, the two both knew they would never be friends.
~~~
Let me touch you
Put my hands on you
I'll kiss you
And we'll see things through
~~~
Two weeks passed and he heard nothing of her. He muddled through his daily activities, seeing patients, sterilising equipment, writing up reports. Keeping himself busy so he would not think of her so much. Every night was spent thinking about her, and every morning he would wake tired and groggy, but she was still always his first thought before anything else. How was she? Was she worse? Better? The same? The questions rattled through his
mind all day, and more than once he'd called his patient or the duty nurse 'Piper'. She eyed him suspiciously but let it go each time, recognising a true love and knowing it would never be, given the poor girl's condition. Her heart went out to the pair, as fate forced them apart.
Then suddenly, one day, a frantic knocking interrupted the quiet of his surgery, and the duty matron entered, with Piper's arm draped loosely round her shoulders, eyes closed and body limp.
"Piper!" Leo cried, leaping up from his chair where he had been finishing up the last of his reports for the day. His eyes flew to her, his arms wrapped round her weak form and lifted her gently up on to the bed in his surgery. The duty nurse, forgotten as he checked for a pulse, his own racing, she left quietly as the creases in Leo's forehead disappeared. Piper had opened her eyes.
He looked towards and thanked God silently. "Okay, Piper, I'm going to need to take your temperature....." She nodded groggily as he sat her up and placed the thermometer under her tongue, supporting her weight with his own. A minute later he took the probe out her mouth and had to maintain a gasp when he saw the reading. Thirty-nine degrees? He cupped her chin in his hands; his skin tingled with the sense of hers touching his. Her eyes were edged with purple, pupils wide and confused. Skin flaccid and pale, hair limp and straggly, and still to him she was the most beautiful creature his eyes had ever had the pleasure to gaze upon.
"Piper, we're going to have to admit you, to monitor your condition. You're.... " It hurt just to form the words. "You're getting worse."
"I know." came the whispered reply, as she gazed into his eyes. As much as she was hurting from the cancer; it hurt more to be near him and yet so far. "I'm not going home again, am I?" Leo looked deep into her eyes, his arms still around her from behind, supporting her frail, skeletal form.
"No." His heart pounded against his chest, hating the word. How could a life be snatched so easily from the world? How could someone so healthy be reduced to this? Leo picked her up gently and took it upon himself to carry her out of the room, and down the hall to the ward, where he laid her in the most private bed he could find, and made sure a curtain was brought. Hours later when she woke, as the light of dusk filtered through the tall bay windows, still there he was, sitting staring at her, as if he could cure her by simply looking. Silently wishing that it were possible with every uncertain breath she took. Piper silently took his hand in her own and their eyes met once more, hers, tired and drawn back, but still shining bright as she looked at him. His; bright and alert, and shimmering with the fresh tears that neither of them would ever mention.
***
Now, two weeks passed, and he sat in the same spot, holding the same delicate hand, staring at the same beloved face, and nothing had changed. She grew weaker by the day, but still her strength of mind shone through, and his heart burned to think of the time when the end of the day would mean a lonely house and no Piper to hold or comfort. He could see her strength fading, her breath becoming shallower, her skin looser, but still those eyes sparked to life every time he walked into the room. Still they denied their feelings for each other; Leo denied himself the idea of her love or of his love for her, and Piper convinced herself it was not meant to be; she was dying and it would be wrong. Nurses and other patients alike were touched by their gentleness; how they seemed to have the capability to absorb themselves completely in a world of their own, how he spent his every spare waking moment at her side. Her eyes fluttered slowly open once more, and immediately found his.
"Leo." she whispered softly. He smiled and squeezed her hand. "What time is it?"
Leo looked at the grandfather clock in the corner. "Nearly midnight." He replied softly, not wanting wake the other patients.
"You should go home. You'll have to work tomorrow." Her eyes were so full of concern, it made him to cry. His voice cracked as he replied.
"I'm... I'm not going anywhere, Piper. You're a friend...a good friend." He explained, both knowing they were much more than friends.
"How much longer, Leo?"
He swallowed the ever-persistent lump in his throat. "Hours, maybe." Her pale face was so calm, even at the thought of having only hours to live. He loved her even more.
"Thank you, Leo. Thank you for everything you've done. You've been so...." The first tear he ever saw Piper cry rolled slowly down her cheek. "Wonderful."
She gasped for breath. "Piper!" He exclaimed urgently. "Piper, stay with me!" Her eyes looked into his.
"I can't Leo. It's my time."
"No, Piper!" he yelled, the other patients forgotten in his grief. Those eyes he loved so much gazed upon him one last time, and she uttered the words she had longed to say for so long.
"I love you." Leo fell to his knees, knowing there was nothing he could do but comfort her in her final moments.
"I love you too. With all my heart." Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Her eyes flickered shut one last time, her final breath drawn, her last words spoken. Leo gazed upon her beauty, upon the women he loved with all his heart, and his soul cried out. The love and pain collided head on, and through the blur of the room as his eyes filled with tears, his fingers closed around the golden cross that she held in her hand. He picked it up gently, his vision altered, the tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Please...Piper..." He shook her lightly, knowing it was pointless, knowing she was gone. He had never allowed himself to love her, not properly, and only now could he feel the full extent of that love, in its pureness spilling over his cheeks as tears. Overwhelmed with grief, he stumbled out of the room, thoughts rushing through his head as he clasped the cross tightly in his hand, a last memory of Piper playing out in his mind.
~~~
You are silenced by your memory
And if I lose you
I lose a part of me
~~~
Leo blundered through the ward doors, along the corridors, out of that place that was so full of her; her scent hung in the air, her belongings were neatly arranged on the shelf. His heart ached, his mind whirled, his tears fell as a torrent of sadness, grief and self-blame. As Leo crashed through the exit doors of the hospital, his tears and the heavy rain falling, he never saw the horse and carriage drawing away from the curb. It hit him head on, knocking him to the ground, blinding him as his head cracked against the hard tarmac. His last words were uttered, before the horses reared in fright, their hooves unwittingly landing heavily on the young doctor, his spine splintered and skull crushed under the enormous pressure.
"I love you, Piper."
Nurses cried, doctors mourned the loss of a colleague; his parents were overcome with grief. However, through the double tragedy, all those who had seen the two together could manage a small smile and knew in their hearts that it could not have been any other way. A sense of rightness filled them as they realised just how far his love for her stretched, as when the young Dr. Wyatt's shattered body was finally lifted, a small flash of gold fell from his hand. On closer inspection a friend found it to be a small gold cross with the initial 'P' engraved into it.
They were buried side by side, sharing a head stone, as they had shared a secret love. Their souls once again together then parted, they were reborn, the eternal chance to try and find happiness granted.
~~~
There are two of us
It's the cycle of our souls
~~~
It ended...1899
Reborn...1873
~~~
There are two of us
It's the cycle of our souls
~~~
He looked down at the sickly young women, how frail and small she looked, swathed in bed linen and blankets but still a startling shade of blue. He hated this part, the knowledge he couldn't save her, despite being a doctor.... Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to whisper a greeting. He hated losing patients, but to have such a long drawn out process... it was the worst kind of death, to know each day brought poorer health and more pain. His heart went out to her, remembering the bright young woman who had stepped into his clinic all those months ago. Now, even with the best medical knowledge available, she had been reduced to this, a quivering wreck of a human being, on the very brink of death. He sat down on the small wooden chair beside her bed and smiled softly.
"You don't have good news for me, do you, Dr. Wyatt?" She smiled back, suppressing a cry of anguish. The young man's face changed to one of sadness. It showed genuine sadness, not just that of any doctor for any patient. He had come to think of Miss Halliwell as a good friend, and always spoke to her after his rounds were over, out of choice.
"I'm so sorry, Miss..." She gave him one of those looks he had come to fondly know. "Piper." He corrected himself. "There's......there's nothing more we can do. Your body is too riddled with the cancer to recover now." He bowed his head in shame. He blamed himself for this. His heart pounded, hammering against his rib cage, begging for there to be something he could do.... anything...... A soft hand on his head brought him to look up at her.
"Dr..... Leo, please, don't blame yourself. You've been so good to me, so thoughtful; you put yourself out for me all the time. I can truly say that the last few weeks have been wonderful. Especially given the circumstances." Her every word astounded him. Faced with death, and still she fought it with every breath; did not become a recluse and adorn herself in self pity,
refused to even cry. Instead she thanked him, the man who couldn't save her? He was in awe at her very being.
"Piper, I don't know what to say..... I'm so very very sorry." He meant every word, his every pore oozed guilt and sorrow and rage at himself.
"You don't need to be." She whispered, drawing heavily on her last reserves of energy for the day. "You don't need to be sorry, because I'm not. Fate works in mysterious ways, Leo. This is my time. One day, yours will come too and nothing anyone does can stop that from happening. I'm a firm believer in reincarnation, Leo. I believe our lives take many paths, but our souls are always alive. You don't need to be sorry, because I'm not, because this is not the end." She smiled at him, a small, sad smile, before her eyes flickered slowly shut.
"Piper?" Leo whispered, feeling for a pulse. Relief washed over him. There it was, weak as always, but regular and there. He drew breath in slowly, trying to calm his racing heart, trying to stop the mental images that flashed through his mind. Coffins, coroners, post mortems...... He shut his eyes and focused on what he knew best; Piper. Her frail hand rested lightly
in his, and the ward nurse went by unnoticed. He thought back all those months ago, to when he'd first laid eyes on her, her beautiful chestnut hair flowing down her back, her shy eyes darting around the room.
***
"Miss Halliwell?" The young blonde doctor's eyes darted around his waiting room. In the far chair a woman on her mid - twenties rose, corset forcing her to sit up straight. She started towards the door, full floral skirt sifting along the ground, the silence of the hall broken by the light swishing sound of taffeta. She smiled shyly at Leo, before lowering her eyes as he offered his hand and led her into the room. A perfect gentleman as always, he pulled out her chair and allowed her to sit down before doing so himself.
"Miss Halliwell, what seems to be the problem?" the shy woman's eyes darted, unsure, around the room. He smiled reassuringly, and his green eyes comforted her immediately. They held every truth, every ounce of knowledge, experience beyond their years.
"The thing is, Dr. Wyatt...... I haven't been feeling well for a while; a few weeks in fact. At first I suspected I had a touch of influenza, but it hasn't improved with time."
Leo nodded, absorbing the information. "What symptoms have you been showing?"
"Well, I'm tired all the time for one thing. And......" She rolled up her sleeve to reveal a huge purplish bruise adorning her left forearm. Leo gasped.
"How did you do that?" He asked, moving quickly around the heavy mahogany desk to see better.
"I really don't know, " Piper replied, her eyes cast downwards. "I remember banging my arm on the staircase, but not nearly hard enough to cause that size of bruise." Leo brought his hand up under her chin, and raised her face so she looked in his eyes. They were glazed over with tiredness, heavy lids looking as though they would drop at any second.
Leo asked her numerous questions. Have you felt lethargic? Tired? Had aching limbs? She gave a small nod to each, her face calm, oblivious to the potential causes.
Days past and she came back every second day to do more tests. Countless vials of blood were drawn and without fail, she fainted every time, her body too weak to counteract the loss. Leo used it in every test he could think of, doing everything to prove his worst fears wrong. Even with the recommended bed rest and increased consumption of billing's root, Piper
seemed to get no better and he knew the time had come to tell her what he thought was wrong. He called her into his surgery once more.
"Miss H..." He began. She cut him off.
"If this is serious, Dr. Wyatt, you're going to have to start to call me Piper, because we're going to be seeing a lot of each other and Miss Halliwell is going to get annoying."
In awe at her forwardness, and despite the knowledge of the news he was about to disperse, Leo grinned. "Well, in that case, Leo will be fine." He gasped at his mistake.
"Then it is serious?" He bowed his head, but then forced it up again. She was his patient. It was up to him to tell her properly, not mumble it while scraping his shoes on the floor like a schoolboy.
He crouched down it front of her, no chair available, and looked her straight in the eyes. "We've done every test possible, Piper. Checked all the symptoms numerous times, drawn blood, changed your diet. I'm afraid I can only see one conclusion. She visibly swallowed and hers eyes darted frantically from him to her hands. Whispering in a frightened voice.
"Leo...what's...what's wrong with me?" Her eyes met his, their hearts surged. Why did it have to be something he could do nothing for? Why did this have to happen now? Finally he gathered up the courage to tell her.
"Piper...." He knew he shouldn't but he took her hands in his as a way of comfort. "You..... you have cancer." She gasped, not knowing where to look, not knowing what to say or do. He squeezed her hands tighter and held on to them even more. "I'm so sorry... I assume you know..." she cut him off.
"You can't cure cancer, can you?" Her voice wavered as she looked him square in the eyes, and knew his answer before he told her.
He shook his head sombrely, his eyes cast downward by way of an unspoken apology. "No." The words echoed around the room, filling the empty space. A barrier which he thought would form between them never did, as her eyes met his once again, and the only thing she could think to say escaped her lips.
"How long do I have?" The words entered Leo and shook his very soul. He didn't want to answer that question, didn't want her to know the miniscule amount of time she had left. Her drawn back, taunt eyes searched his for an answer. They found none as he looked away.
"Weeks." he whispered. His skin tingled with her every touch, her heart longed to hold her and reassure her and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. I Why?/I He asked the heavens silently. I Why now?/I He pressed his forehead against hers, drawing on his own reserves of strength and trying to force them on to her in some way. He could fell her shallow breath against his neck, light and sweet and willing him further. Eyes met, hearts surged, souls ached for a further contact.
The haven they formed around themselves was abruptly broken as the duty matron marched in unannounced, stopping quickly as she saw the two so close, foreheads together. They snapped apart at the presence of another, her eyes looking anywhere but his. The nurse cleared her throat and blinked.
"Dr..., Dr. Wyatt, it's quite alright, I can see you're busy, I'll come back some other time." He jumped up, and opened his mouth, trying to explain himself. No words came and he nodded dumbly, as she heavy door creaked slowly shut and the two of them were alone once more. Piper looked guiltily up and Leo and grinned.
"Will you get in trouble? I mean, it's not like we were..." She blushed. "You've just told me I'm dying, I think that's allowed."
His very being hurt at the words..... I'm dying. he tried desperately to maintain some composure. Leo knelt down in front of her and their hands met once again, sending fireworks through them both. "I don't care what Sister Judith thinks, Piper. Are you going to be okay?" He felt like hitting himself. She had cancer, of course she wouldn't be okay. His eyes left hers
and he tried desperately to focus on something else.
"We couldn't... It wouldn't be........" Her every word caused his heart to skip a beat. His very soul cried out to be near her, and he fought hard against it. An unspoken agreement was reached; they were friends, no more, it would be wrong for there to be anything more. Even so, as she got up to leave, Leo couldn't help but hold her hand to help her up, and as his lips
brushed it lightly, the two both knew they would never be friends.
~~~
Let me touch you
Put my hands on you
I'll kiss you
And we'll see things through
~~~
Two weeks passed and he heard nothing of her. He muddled through his daily activities, seeing patients, sterilising equipment, writing up reports. Keeping himself busy so he would not think of her so much. Every night was spent thinking about her, and every morning he would wake tired and groggy, but she was still always his first thought before anything else. How was she? Was she worse? Better? The same? The questions rattled through his
mind all day, and more than once he'd called his patient or the duty nurse 'Piper'. She eyed him suspiciously but let it go each time, recognising a true love and knowing it would never be, given the poor girl's condition. Her heart went out to the pair, as fate forced them apart.
Then suddenly, one day, a frantic knocking interrupted the quiet of his surgery, and the duty matron entered, with Piper's arm draped loosely round her shoulders, eyes closed and body limp.
"Piper!" Leo cried, leaping up from his chair where he had been finishing up the last of his reports for the day. His eyes flew to her, his arms wrapped round her weak form and lifted her gently up on to the bed in his surgery. The duty nurse, forgotten as he checked for a pulse, his own racing, she left quietly as the creases in Leo's forehead disappeared. Piper had opened her eyes.
He looked towards and thanked God silently. "Okay, Piper, I'm going to need to take your temperature....." She nodded groggily as he sat her up and placed the thermometer under her tongue, supporting her weight with his own. A minute later he took the probe out her mouth and had to maintain a gasp when he saw the reading. Thirty-nine degrees? He cupped her chin in his hands; his skin tingled with the sense of hers touching his. Her eyes were edged with purple, pupils wide and confused. Skin flaccid and pale, hair limp and straggly, and still to him she was the most beautiful creature his eyes had ever had the pleasure to gaze upon.
"Piper, we're going to have to admit you, to monitor your condition. You're.... " It hurt just to form the words. "You're getting worse."
"I know." came the whispered reply, as she gazed into his eyes. As much as she was hurting from the cancer; it hurt more to be near him and yet so far. "I'm not going home again, am I?" Leo looked deep into her eyes, his arms still around her from behind, supporting her frail, skeletal form.
"No." His heart pounded against his chest, hating the word. How could a life be snatched so easily from the world? How could someone so healthy be reduced to this? Leo picked her up gently and took it upon himself to carry her out of the room, and down the hall to the ward, where he laid her in the most private bed he could find, and made sure a curtain was brought. Hours later when she woke, as the light of dusk filtered through the tall bay windows, still there he was, sitting staring at her, as if he could cure her by simply looking. Silently wishing that it were possible with every uncertain breath she took. Piper silently took his hand in her own and their eyes met once more, hers, tired and drawn back, but still shining bright as she looked at him. His; bright and alert, and shimmering with the fresh tears that neither of them would ever mention.
***
Now, two weeks passed, and he sat in the same spot, holding the same delicate hand, staring at the same beloved face, and nothing had changed. She grew weaker by the day, but still her strength of mind shone through, and his heart burned to think of the time when the end of the day would mean a lonely house and no Piper to hold or comfort. He could see her strength fading, her breath becoming shallower, her skin looser, but still those eyes sparked to life every time he walked into the room. Still they denied their feelings for each other; Leo denied himself the idea of her love or of his love for her, and Piper convinced herself it was not meant to be; she was dying and it would be wrong. Nurses and other patients alike were touched by their gentleness; how they seemed to have the capability to absorb themselves completely in a world of their own, how he spent his every spare waking moment at her side. Her eyes fluttered slowly open once more, and immediately found his.
"Leo." she whispered softly. He smiled and squeezed her hand. "What time is it?"
Leo looked at the grandfather clock in the corner. "Nearly midnight." He replied softly, not wanting wake the other patients.
"You should go home. You'll have to work tomorrow." Her eyes were so full of concern, it made him to cry. His voice cracked as he replied.
"I'm... I'm not going anywhere, Piper. You're a friend...a good friend." He explained, both knowing they were much more than friends.
"How much longer, Leo?"
He swallowed the ever-persistent lump in his throat. "Hours, maybe." Her pale face was so calm, even at the thought of having only hours to live. He loved her even more.
"Thank you, Leo. Thank you for everything you've done. You've been so...." The first tear he ever saw Piper cry rolled slowly down her cheek. "Wonderful."
She gasped for breath. "Piper!" He exclaimed urgently. "Piper, stay with me!" Her eyes looked into his.
"I can't Leo. It's my time."
"No, Piper!" he yelled, the other patients forgotten in his grief. Those eyes he loved so much gazed upon him one last time, and she uttered the words she had longed to say for so long.
"I love you." Leo fell to his knees, knowing there was nothing he could do but comfort her in her final moments.
"I love you too. With all my heart." Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Her eyes flickered shut one last time, her final breath drawn, her last words spoken. Leo gazed upon her beauty, upon the women he loved with all his heart, and his soul cried out. The love and pain collided head on, and through the blur of the room as his eyes filled with tears, his fingers closed around the golden cross that she held in her hand. He picked it up gently, his vision altered, the tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Please...Piper..." He shook her lightly, knowing it was pointless, knowing she was gone. He had never allowed himself to love her, not properly, and only now could he feel the full extent of that love, in its pureness spilling over his cheeks as tears. Overwhelmed with grief, he stumbled out of the room, thoughts rushing through his head as he clasped the cross tightly in his hand, a last memory of Piper playing out in his mind.
~~~
You are silenced by your memory
And if I lose you
I lose a part of me
~~~
Leo blundered through the ward doors, along the corridors, out of that place that was so full of her; her scent hung in the air, her belongings were neatly arranged on the shelf. His heart ached, his mind whirled, his tears fell as a torrent of sadness, grief and self-blame. As Leo crashed through the exit doors of the hospital, his tears and the heavy rain falling, he never saw the horse and carriage drawing away from the curb. It hit him head on, knocking him to the ground, blinding him as his head cracked against the hard tarmac. His last words were uttered, before the horses reared in fright, their hooves unwittingly landing heavily on the young doctor, his spine splintered and skull crushed under the enormous pressure.
"I love you, Piper."
Nurses cried, doctors mourned the loss of a colleague; his parents were overcome with grief. However, through the double tragedy, all those who had seen the two together could manage a small smile and knew in their hearts that it could not have been any other way. A sense of rightness filled them as they realised just how far his love for her stretched, as when the young Dr. Wyatt's shattered body was finally lifted, a small flash of gold fell from his hand. On closer inspection a friend found it to be a small gold cross with the initial 'P' engraved into it.
They were buried side by side, sharing a head stone, as they had shared a secret love. Their souls once again together then parted, they were reborn, the eternal chance to try and find happiness granted.
~~~
There are two of us
It's the cycle of our souls
~~~
It ended...1899