It was late in the evening before Chris got up the nerve to try and talk to Piper again. Finally, he orbed into the nursery, where she was putting Wyatt down for the night.
"Hey, kid," he greeted when the baby looked up at him.
Piper turned around at the sound of his voice. "Hi," she said softly.
"Hi," Chris returned. "Can we talk?"
She turned her back to him, suddenly feeling nervous in his presence. "Um, sure. Just give me a second, okay? I need to get Wyatt to sleep, or else he'll be cranky tomorrow."
"Yeah, sure, I'll just wait in here," he said, backing out into the bedroom. He sat down on the corner of her bed, twiddling his thumbs and trying to think of what to say next. Meanwhile, in the nursery, Piper was just as apprehensive as he was. As much as she tried to act calm about it, she was completely unsettled by what had happened between them the previous night. She'd spent all day trying not to think about it, but she hadn't been able to stop obsessing. The small, rational part of her knew that she was on the rebound from Leo and should be distancing herself from romance as much as possible to give her heart time to heal. However, there was another, larger part of her that couldn't help getting excited whenever Chris orbed in...
Shaking her head, she spun the mobile above Wyatt's crib and then walked steadily into her room, where Chris was still waiting patiently.
"Piper, there's something we need to clear up, and we need to do it now before I lose my nerve," he began quickly. "What happened last night - Well, let's start with what did happen, exactly? I mean, you're beautiful and all, but I never really thought that we'd... Not that it was bad or anything, because you were... Um, I guess what I'm trying to ask is, why? Why last night, why me, why us?"
"I don't know," Piper said honestly, taking a deep breath. She sat down beside him. "I've just been really... confused, I guess, since Leo left, and then after we kissed I guess I just... I don't know. I'm sorry I can't give you a better explanation, and I'm sorry that you got caught up in my temporary insanity, but I'm having enough trouble trying to rationalize this to myself right now."
Chris nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling. So maybe we should just call it an impulse thing, a one-time-only indiscretion, and leave it at that. And maybe... Maybe I should stop hanging around here so much, at least for a little while. Give us some time apart to clear our heads and let this all blow over."
"Right," Piper agreed, "Time apart. That would probably be best."
But their bodies betrayed them. Without even realizing what they were doing, they leaned closer and closer until they were kissing, and once they were, they couldn't stop. They leaned back down onto the bed. Piper slid his shirt off over Chris' head, and he started to unbotton her blouse. He was about to tear it off of her when she suddenly pushed him away.
"I'm sorry, Chris, I can't," she said, her voice cracking. "We can't."
"You're right," he conceded. "I'm sorry, too."
He got up, and put his shirt back on. She quickly buttoned hers, glancing over toward the partially open nursery door, beyond which Wyatt was still asleep.
"I should go," he said, and orbed out before she had a chance to say anything.
He orbed over to P3, where he was living for the time being, and sat down on the couch that served as his bed. The more he tried to understand Piper, the more she confused him. He felt bad about what had just happened, but it hadn't been entirely his fault. He thought she'd wanted to - no, he knew she'd wanted to, at least until she changed her mind and pushed him away. But why had she pushed him away? Had she simply come to her senses, or was there something more going on? He shook his head, deciding not to think about it. Maybe if he could just lay low for a while, the whole thing would go away...
Back in the manor, Piper was mulling over the same unanswerable questions. She honestly didn't know why she was doing this, other than to say that it was some subconcious way of filling the whole that Leo had left in her. Worse still, she didn't know how to make herself stop. She'd think she had everything under control, and then suddenly Chris would appear and she'd be all over him again.
Sighing, she pulled on a nightgown and crawled under the covers. Maybe, she thought, maybe all she needed was a good-night's sleep, and everything would fall into perspective.
She never got to test that theory. As much as she tossed and turned and as exhausted as she felt, she couldn't get comfortable in the large, empty bed. As hard as she tried, Piper could not fall asleep.
****************
A/N: Sorry it's been a while between updates. I'll try and get another chapter started soon, but November is a really hectic month for me, so yeah. But please review, because the fics with the highest review counts are the ones that get the most attention from me.
A/N2: A big thank-you to Jen for helping me sort out my writer's block and for motivating me to get off my arse and write this chapter. ::huggle::
"Hey, kid," he greeted when the baby looked up at him.
Piper turned around at the sound of his voice. "Hi," she said softly.
"Hi," Chris returned. "Can we talk?"
She turned her back to him, suddenly feeling nervous in his presence. "Um, sure. Just give me a second, okay? I need to get Wyatt to sleep, or else he'll be cranky tomorrow."
"Yeah, sure, I'll just wait in here," he said, backing out into the bedroom. He sat down on the corner of her bed, twiddling his thumbs and trying to think of what to say next. Meanwhile, in the nursery, Piper was just as apprehensive as he was. As much as she tried to act calm about it, she was completely unsettled by what had happened between them the previous night. She'd spent all day trying not to think about it, but she hadn't been able to stop obsessing. The small, rational part of her knew that she was on the rebound from Leo and should be distancing herself from romance as much as possible to give her heart time to heal. However, there was another, larger part of her that couldn't help getting excited whenever Chris orbed in...
Shaking her head, she spun the mobile above Wyatt's crib and then walked steadily into her room, where Chris was still waiting patiently.
"Piper, there's something we need to clear up, and we need to do it now before I lose my nerve," he began quickly. "What happened last night - Well, let's start with what did happen, exactly? I mean, you're beautiful and all, but I never really thought that we'd... Not that it was bad or anything, because you were... Um, I guess what I'm trying to ask is, why? Why last night, why me, why us?"
"I don't know," Piper said honestly, taking a deep breath. She sat down beside him. "I've just been really... confused, I guess, since Leo left, and then after we kissed I guess I just... I don't know. I'm sorry I can't give you a better explanation, and I'm sorry that you got caught up in my temporary insanity, but I'm having enough trouble trying to rationalize this to myself right now."
Chris nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling. So maybe we should just call it an impulse thing, a one-time-only indiscretion, and leave it at that. And maybe... Maybe I should stop hanging around here so much, at least for a little while. Give us some time apart to clear our heads and let this all blow over."
"Right," Piper agreed, "Time apart. That would probably be best."
But their bodies betrayed them. Without even realizing what they were doing, they leaned closer and closer until they were kissing, and once they were, they couldn't stop. They leaned back down onto the bed. Piper slid his shirt off over Chris' head, and he started to unbotton her blouse. He was about to tear it off of her when she suddenly pushed him away.
"I'm sorry, Chris, I can't," she said, her voice cracking. "We can't."
"You're right," he conceded. "I'm sorry, too."
He got up, and put his shirt back on. She quickly buttoned hers, glancing over toward the partially open nursery door, beyond which Wyatt was still asleep.
"I should go," he said, and orbed out before she had a chance to say anything.
He orbed over to P3, where he was living for the time being, and sat down on the couch that served as his bed. The more he tried to understand Piper, the more she confused him. He felt bad about what had just happened, but it hadn't been entirely his fault. He thought she'd wanted to - no, he knew she'd wanted to, at least until she changed her mind and pushed him away. But why had she pushed him away? Had she simply come to her senses, or was there something more going on? He shook his head, deciding not to think about it. Maybe if he could just lay low for a while, the whole thing would go away...
Back in the manor, Piper was mulling over the same unanswerable questions. She honestly didn't know why she was doing this, other than to say that it was some subconcious way of filling the whole that Leo had left in her. Worse still, she didn't know how to make herself stop. She'd think she had everything under control, and then suddenly Chris would appear and she'd be all over him again.
Sighing, she pulled on a nightgown and crawled under the covers. Maybe, she thought, maybe all she needed was a good-night's sleep, and everything would fall into perspective.
She never got to test that theory. As much as she tossed and turned and as exhausted as she felt, she couldn't get comfortable in the large, empty bed. As hard as she tried, Piper could not fall asleep.
****************
A/N: Sorry it's been a while between updates. I'll try and get another chapter started soon, but November is a really hectic month for me, so yeah. But please review, because the fics with the highest review counts are the ones that get the most attention from me.
A/N2: A big thank-you to Jen for helping me sort out my writer's block and for motivating me to get off my arse and write this chapter. ::huggle::