Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed. Nor do I own the song 'My Last breath' by Evanescence or 'The End of the World', which is used at the end of the chapter, I have two copies of it, one by Mud, one by Vonda Shepard and I also know that The Carpenters sung the song, and unfortunately I'm not big on the history of music, so I'll just say that it doesn't belong to me.

A/N: Well sadly this is the last chapter of the story, but don't worry I'll be doing a sequel. So the last time I'll be responding to your reviews in this story-I'll probably say something in the sequel about all the reviews. Oh yeah, I hope you all have a box of tissues handy, for this emotional ending.

*sings*

Oh yeah

Oh yeah

I'm good, I'm good

Who's da best?

*stops singing from all those glares*

Right...that was because I finally completed a fic and also because I had over 100 reviews!!!! Yeah, baby, yeah!

Big thanks to all my regulars(or those who have become regular reviewers):

HyPeR_PiPeR: Well if you almost cried during parts of the fic, you will cry at some point during this chapter! I did or almost did. And thank you so much for your review-it made me so happy!

Charmboy4: I will post it at the weekend, before I go off top Scotland. And as I keep saying, yes I will be doing a sequel.

Huge-holly-fan: Hey, yeah I think Leo makes a great father (when he's around), so I just have to put in some very sweet Leo and Mel moments. And the name just popped into my head, I wanted the first name to be Melinda, but couldn't think of any good middle names, I came up Charlotte Melinda at one point and I like the name, but it wouldn't be the same as having her called Melinda; I must of either been thinking about the brownie pack I help with (one of them is called Grace, and I've known her ages-she's really sweet) or the 'Charmed Ones' ancestors, I believe one of them was called Grace and so she was named after two ancestors and the names just seemed to fit. And as they say on Charmed trust your instincts.

Charmed Love: Ya, as I said to huge-holly-fan, I think Leo is (or would be if he was around more) a great father. I can't believe it's almost over either, it only seemed like I first started posting last week...and yes I am definitely doing a sequel. I'm also planning on doing a kinda trilogy thing with this. And I have another Piper/Leo fic under wraps, that I just started, so you'll still see me around.

Classicchic: It was wasn't it? I just love writing all my little Leo- Melinda moments, they're so sweet!

Piperlover/Leo: Glad you thought it was great.

Pipery03: No, this is my last chapter. Thanks for saying I'm a great writer, and yes I am definitely going to do a sequel-already started on it!

ChArMeD-101: Yup, Melinda and Leo sweetness; there's a little bit in this chapter too. Glad you loved it.

Charmed4ever: Yeah, I just have this picture in my head of Leo being like the perfect Dad, and I just had to put that into this fic...I can really picture the moments with him and Melinda in my head, I love it.

Anjana: Yup-you gotta love the sweetness of it all. Yup, this is the last chapter, where tragedy strikes...hope you have a box of tissues ready.

PaulaS: Yay, glad you loved it. I kinda made Leo into the perfect guy(not much needed to be done there though!)-I like writing Melinda and Leo moments...I did hope to put a beautiful picture in your mind.

Gryffindor620: Oh-if that made you cry, you are sooooooo gonna cry at this- just don't kill me for it. You think it's extraordinary???? Wow! No-one's said that before-I'm so happy!!! *does little happy chant/dance* Thank you so much!

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It happened when our baby, our angel was two months old. One day my world just fell apart, sure I have my beautiful daughter Melinda and I have my sisters and friends, but my life will never be the same, for I was losing the one thing I cared about most, I don't know how I've survived or if I actually will get over it, only time can tell...

***

I was walking around the nursery, rocking Melinda trying to get her back to sleep after her feed when I felt some strong arms wrap around my waist and felt someone breathing on my neck, there was only one person it could be, it was Leo.

"Hi, beautiful...how's our beautiful little angel?"

"Hey you, this little one may be beautiful, but she's not quite so angelic." I sighed, "She's getting quite fussy and she just won't go back to sleep, I've tried practically everything."

"Piper honey, you look tired, why don't you sit down and I'll get her to sleep."

"Okay, what would I do without you Leo?" I said handing Melinda to her father.

"I don't know, but I'm sure you'd survive."

"Honestly Leo, I don't think I would, I don't know how to not be with you. I love you." I said sighing, watching Leo hum to his daughter, he really loved her, and I'd always thought he'd make a good father, but I didn't know he'd be this good; almost as soon as Melinda had gotten into her father's arms she calmed down; she really was her daddy's girl.

"I love you too Piper." Leo said before he looked down at Melinda. "Melinda baby, don't you think you could lighten up on Mommy; look at her she's exhausted; do you think you could do that, be quiet and let Mommy get some sleep?" I smiled at the two of them, it was a real Kodak moment, Leo was so protective of her and of me; he knew it was hard looking after a baby and he really did try and make it easier on me, he would always get up in the night and watch her, even when she didn't wake us up-he was so sweet, just watching the two of them together I knew that I never wanted to lose either of them...

"Piper, honey, Melinda's asleep now, you going to come back to bed?" Leo asked me softly, breaking my train of thoughts.

"Yeah...Leo you're a really good father to Melinda, you know that?"

"I do try, I know it's hard on you, but I don't regret getting you pregnant one bit...sometimes I think we're too young, but to be honest I don't care and I'm so happy right now." Leo said kissing me.

"I really want to thank you for trying to make it easier on me, you don't have to, but you do it without having to be asked; not many men would do that, you're a real catch."

"Hmmm, I am aren't I?" Leo said smiling.

"Yeah and you know it." I said as we got back into bed.

***

Looking back we were so happy and in love; but I still think you never know how much you love something until you lose it, and when I lost him I found out that I loved him more then I could say, back then I loved Leo so much that I couldn't quite put it into words, but now I know that no matter how long or how many words I had I can't even begin to describe my love for him. Sometimes I love him so much it hurts. It's these happy moments I try to look back on, the moments that I know I can think of and smile on, remembering how much I love him and how happy I was...but it doesn't matter how much I try to focus on the good times, somehow I always end up remembering the day I lost him, it was the worst day of my life. Just thinking of Leo makes me cry, I cry for my lost love and for Melinda. That little girl has been left without a father and part of me dreads the day that she asks about him, she won't remember him and when she asks about him she'll ask why he isn't here, and then she'll see me as a nervous wreck and I don't want her to see me like that, but I know that one day it will happen and I'll have to tell her everything, I think that may be part of the reason why I wrote this down, so that if I don't have the words or the heart to tell her what happened to her father, maybe she can read this and find out that he was an amazing man, so kind, caring and loving and that he was a great father; I just hope that she knows that no matter what she will always be loved both by me and by the father that she never knew.

***

That morning I woke up to find Leo propped up leaning on the headboard, with Melinda contently sucking on her pacifier in his arms, watching me.

"Hi, beautiful." Leo said softly as I stirred.

"Hey honey, how's Mel?"

"She's fine; I think she really took in what I said earlier, I went into the nursery to find her happily watching the mobile above her crib. How are you?"

"Me? I'm fine, still a bit tired but I'm okay." I answered, then looked at Leo, he looked as if he was about to say something that he didn't want to.

"Piper...work called me, they want me to go in, just to check on something, I think it was a new contract, or something like that." Leo said sadly, I sighed.

"But Leo, today's your day off, you said you were going to spend it with me and Melinda...how long will you be gone?"

"Just an hour or two, don't worry, I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise, is there anything you need, because I can swing by the store on my way home?"

"Nah, its okay just hurry back."

"Okay, I love you both." Leo said kissing me passionately and giving Melinda to me.

"We love you too, bye Daddy." I said holding Melinda's little hand and waving to him with it, he laughed and then quietly left the room.

"Looks like it's just you and me then baby." I smiled down at her and stroked her hair as she started fussing, "Honey, don't cry, Daddy will be back soon, shh, shh, it's okay." I said softly stroking her cheeks.

A few hours and passed and Leo hadn't come back yet, or even called, Melinda was napping so I decided to ring him at work.

"Hello, Wyatt Productions, how can I help you?"

"Hi, it's Piper, Piper Wyatt, I was just wondering if I could speak to Leo. Can you put me through?"

"Sorry Mrs. Wyatt, but Leo left about 30minutes ago."

"Oh...okay, thank you." I said as I hung up the phone.

Five minutes later I was in the nursery watching my daughter sleep, her rhythmic breathing, giving me a calming affect, as I wondered where my husband was.

"You're so cute when you sleep Melinda. That daddy of yours still isn't back, where is he?" I asked her deciding to try his mobile.

"Hello?" I heard Leo's comforting voice down the phone, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hi, Honey, where are you? I called you at work and they said you left a while back, I was getting worried."

"I'm on my way home Piper. And I didn't mean to worry you; I just had an errand to do. I'll be home so..." I heard tyres squealing and a scream of pain, and I dropped the phone, as I fell to the floor fearing the worst. I was shaking all over, even my breathing was unsteady, I tried to collect my thoughts and picked up the phone.

"LEO!! Leo, Leo honey are you okay?" I said down the phone unsteadily.

"Piper...I...love...you..." I heard Leo say faintly and weakly. I started panicking on hearing his voice.

"Leo! No, don't you dare leave us, you're going to be okay; I'll call an ambulance." I said down the phone, I got no reply and broke down into tears. Then I called an ambulance.

I rushed around the bedroom, getting things that Leo would need, then I grabbed Melinda, and ran out to the car so that I could drive to the hospital. I drove fast, my heart hammering in my ribcage, fearing the worst, as tears clouded my vision. I kept telling myself that everything was going to okay, but I had a horrible feeling at the pit of my stomach. I pulled up at the hospital and was in such a state that I almost left Melinda in the car. I ran into the hospital and asked where Leo was, they told me the room, but they also said that I wouldn't be allowed to take Melinda in there until Leo was well enough to see her. I didn't have the energy to fight with them so just went of looking for the waiting room. I decided that I would wait in there for Leo's parents to get here, although they still lived back in San Francisco, they had come to L.A to visit us so hopefully they wouldn't take too long to get to the hospital, and when they got there I would ask them to look after Mel while I went to see Leo. To my surprise they were already in the waiting room, it was obvious that they had been crying, they came up to me and hugged me.

"Piper, dear, how are you holding up?" Leo's Mom asked

"Would you like us to watch Melinda for you whilst you go see Leo?" Leo's father asked.

"To be honest, I really don't know how I feel. Would you mind looking after her? I was hoping I could leave her with you, I just have to see Leo."

"Of course we don't mind, she's our granddaughter." They said as I handed my daughter to her grandparents. I then turned and ran out the room to find my husband.

A few minutes later I found myself standing outside Leo's room. I was shaking with my arm extended towards the door handle, but I hadn't moved since I got there. I thought that if I could delay going in there, I could delay facing the facts of Leo's health and seeing how bad he looked. With a very shaky breath I breathed in and turned the door handle and rushed to Leo's side. I looked around the room, trying to avoid looking directly at my husband who was attached to several machines that were beeping at a steady pace. My gaze fell on my lover, my husband, my soul mate, my best friend, the father of my child and the man of my dreams, and my heart broke. I took his hand and sat on the chair next to the bed, my body wracked with silent sobs as I looked down at his hand; one of my tears fell onto his hand as I finally said something.

"Come on Leo, wake up, please wake up. I need you, Melinda needs you, I love you, we love you. Don't you dare leave me to raise that little girl on my own, right now she's an innocent little baby and she needs her father...if...if...if you leave us you'll miss out on so much of your little girl's life, I know you don't want that, I know you can't wait to see her stand up, take her first step, say her first word and all those other firsts, but if you don't wake up you'll miss it, you'll miss it all. Leo, I'm just asking you to do one small thing, it's not hard, it's something you do every day, one of the simplest movements, Leo please, just open your eyes; or move your hand or fingers, just do something to let me know that you can hear me and that you're going to be okay." I sighed.

"Leo, Honey, I know I should be the one telling you that it's all going to be okay, but I can't. I need you to wake up right now, to tell me that you love me and that it's all going to be okay. Damn it Leo! Wake up, I need you. I love you so much." I said between tears, staring at my husband's frozen body. I stared at him, thinking of all the things we would do together as a family, me, him, and our little angel Melinda. I desperately wanted Melinda to grow up in a home filled with love and happiness; she didn't need her father lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life, when he could have been at home with his family.

'Hold on to me love

You know I can't stay long

All I wanted to say was I love you an I'm not afraid

Can you hear me?

Can you feel me in your arms?

Holding my last breath

Safe inside myself

Are all my thoughts of you

Sweet raptured light

It ends here tonight

I'll miss the winter

A world of fragile things

Look for me in the white forest

Hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)

I know you hear me

I can taste it in your tears

Holding my last breath

Safe inside myself

Are all my thoughts of you

Sweet raptured light

It ends here tonight

Closing your eyes to disappear

You pray your dreams will leave you here

But still you wake and know the truth

No one's there

Say goodnight

Don't be afraid

Calling me, calling me as you fade to black'

My train of thoughts was broken when one of the machines started beeping faster and faster, lots of doctors and nurses ran in the room. One of the nurses came to my side and asked me to leave, she then directed me towards the door. I stopped as the beeping changed to a long continuous beep. No, he couldn't...I wouldn't let him...they had to save him.

"NOOOOOO! Leo, Leo, can you hear me? You are not allowed to die, I won't let you!" I screamed out to him as I was dragged out of the door. I got past the door, but didn't have the energy to go anywhere else, my husband was in that room dying, he needed me by his side, I need to be there, I needed him by my side. I stepped out of the doorway and slid down; leaning on the wall I pulled my knees up to my chin and started crying hysterically. I couldn't think straight, all I wanted was to be in my husband's arms, to hear him telling me everything was going to okay, I wanted him to kiss me passionately and make all the pain go away, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I sat outside Leo's hospital room for what seemed like an eternity, then one of the doctors came out, I looked up at him, and felt rage and hatred burning up inside. I knew what had just gone in there, I knew what he was going to say, I wasn't stupid.

"Ma'am..."

"He's gone isn't he?"

"Ma'am..."

"God damn it! Why? Why couldn't you save him? You should have saved him, he was young, he has a family-he has a two month old daughter, he didn't deserve to die."

"I'm sorry ma'am."

"Oh, you're sorry are you, you're sorry that he died, that you couldn't save him, you're sorry that his daughter will never know her father, are you really sorry? Or is that just you're job, you don't really care do you, as long as you get paid at the end of the day, you don't give a damn who dies or who lives do you?"

"Mrs Wyatt, please calm down, we truly are sorry, we did everything we could but we just couldn't save him. Would you like to see him? Would you like me to tell the rest of your family?" He said softly, I nodded weakly.

I walked back into the room...a hospital room...where Leo lay, still, motionless, not even his chest was moving up and down in a soothing rhythm. It dawned on me when I saw him that he was never coming back. The tears were still flowing; I took Leo's hand into mine and let my head fall onto his motionless chest. I would never hear his soothing voice again, I would never wake up to see Leo staring at me watching me sleep, I would never sit down and watch Leo putting Melinda to sleep. Melinda. I had to stay strong, for Melinda's sake, she'd just lost her father, she didn't need me like this, but I couldn't help thinking about all that he would miss in her life. He'd miss everything, her first step, her first word, her first day at school, her first crush and boyfriend, he'd miss her graduation, her time at Uni, and he'd never see her walk down the aisle-he wouldn't be the one giving her away; he'd never meet his grandchildren or anything else like that. He'd left me all alone to raise her, and I hated him for it.

It really is quite amazing how in just a few minutes your world can fall apart all around you; how you can wake up happily married with a child, and within a few hours you can be left as a grieving widow, bringing up a child without her father...I didn't like the term 'widow' it was so...so old, that word is meant for someone old, you know, an OAP, with grandkids or maybe even great grandkids. It wasn't meant for me; Leo and I were going to grow old together, we were going to watch Melinda grow up together, we may even of had more children, but none of that's going to happen now...now that I've lost the only man I've ever loved; and I don't know how to live without him.

I heard someone enter the room, I looked up and saw Leo's parents holding Melinda, who was fussing; I didn't care I looked back down and buried my head into Leo's chest. They came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder, I could tell they were crying too, I mean they had just lost their son.

"Piper, we want you to know that we will always be here for you and our granddaughter, what ever happens next, we want you to know that." My mother- in-law (or should that really be my ex-mother-in-law?) said between tears. I lifted my head and blinked, letting them know that I had acknowledged what they had said. A while later I broke the silence.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything, but I don't know what I'll do...what we'll do next, I don't even want to think about it; I don't know how to live without Leo, I...I just wish that they'd saved him." I said weakly as I took my daughter into my arms giving her a hug. I hadn't realised that I was still crying until I saw my tears falling onto her head.

"I'm sorry sweetie, Mommy's so sorry. I wish your Daddy could still be with us, but he can't. And I'm sorry that you'll never get to know him properly, but I promise that you will always know about him and he'd want me to tell you that he loves you. I'm sorry baby, I know you probably don't have a clue about what's going on or what I just said, but one day you will understand, you will understand everything." I said softly stroking my daughter's small mass of darkish hair.

"Piper, why are you sorry, this wasn't your fault." I heard Leo's father say behind me.

"No, it is my fault. Today was supposed to be his day off, but he got called in to work, when he didn't come home, I called the office they said he'd already left. So I called him on his mobile, if I hadn't he wouldn't have taken his eyes off of the road and he wouldn't have been thinking about us, so he wouldn't have crashed...I'm sorry, but it is my fault."

"No, Piper it isn't. It's not because you called him it's because the other car was speeding, Leo did see it and he tried to stop, but they still collided." I heard him say. I decided not to say anything back, instead I continued to stare at Leo, the tears still fell, they just wouldn't stop; I began to think that they would never stop. I decided I had to get out of there so I walked up to the top end of the bed and kissed Leo's forehead lightly.

"Leo, why did you have to leave us why?" I sighed, "Leo, wherever you are; if you can hear me I want you to know that I will always love you. Goodbye." And with that I walked out of the room and out of the hospital. I couldn't believe it, I'd just said goodbye to my husband, he'd just died, and I'd never see or hear him again.

************

A week later I was getting ready for Leo's funeral when my eyes fell on a photograph of Leo, me and Melinda, it was taken just after she was born. I picked it up and ran my fingers over his figure,

"Why did you have to leave us? Huh? Will I ever know why you had to be taken from us? Leo you were the love of my life, and you were such a good person, you didn't deserve to die." I said putting the picture down, I hadn't realised I was doing it, but I hated having to talk about Leo in the past tense. A couple of times I thought I had felt his presence or heard his footsteps or even heard is soft breathing, but every time I turned looking towards where I thought I had felt it, the feeling was gone and it was almost as if I'd lost him all over again. I didn't know how I'd get through the day, I would be giving a speech during the service, but I didn't have a clue what to say or how to act.

"Piper, honey you ready?" I heard Prue saying from the door, I looked over to her and saw that she was holing Melinda; I couldn't help but smile, every time I looked at her, it was as if I saw more of father in her.

"What do you think? I'm not ready to say goodbye for the last time Prue. After today it'll be as if there's nothing to hold on, I don't want to go, I don't want to say goodbye, I can't. I want him to walk through that door holding Melinda, telling me how much he loves me, but that's stupid, because it's never going to happen."

"Piper, it's not stupid, it's just natural, of course you'd expect him to walk through the door, it's something he did everyday, but unfortunately it's something he won't be doing; but I'm sure that wherever he is he wants you to know that he loves you very much and that he wants you to be at his funeral as his wife, his soul mate and the mother of his child." Prue said as she hugged me tight, or as tight as you can with an infant in one arm.

"Okay, I suppose you're right. I'm ready now, or as ready as I'll ever be." I said sadly, I really didn't want to go; I wanted to lie, curled up in bed with my baby Melinda next to me sleeping. When I got really bad somehow she always managed to calm me down, I wondered if that was something all babies did or just something Melinda did. I walked out of the room past Prue and Melinda and I headed for the stairs.

A while later I was sitting at the funeral service with Melinda on my lap, I still don't think she knows what's going on, but she knew something was up and that she hadn't seen her Daddy in a while, at home if I walked past a picture with him in, I noticed that she would whimper as if she was calling out to him....

"Piper, honey, it's time for you to go up." Phoebe whispered, I gave her Melinda and got up and walked slowly towards the place where I would have to make my speech. I got there and I looked at the crowd; there were quite a few people I didn't know, people that used to be friends with Leo, people he worked with, but I also saw some more familiar faces, the faces of people who had attended our wedding less than a year ago, faces I recognised from San Francisco, those people were mostly known from school and there were our families, my family and Leo's family, they were different now, not our family but mine and his, everything was different. But I was glad my family was there, all of my sisters, Grams and Dad, they were all there, giving me support, they all want to help me through this; both the day and my grief.

"I really don't have a clue what to say, so I'll apologize in advance in case it's not what you expected. A lot of people loved and will continue to love and miss Leo. I'm one of them, I loved Leo so much, we used to be so happy and carefree, we were even happier when we first found out about Melinda. Each day our happiness and love for each other grew, but now everything's changed. I still love him and my love continues to grow, but I'm no longer happy, I miss and Leo and I keep thinking about all the good things in life that Leo never got to experience and never will, most of them concern Melinda, she'll never get to know her father, and he'll never get to see her first step, hear her first word or any of those things that fathers are supposed to see, he'll never see her grow up, or get married or have her own children; but I hope that she will always know about her father. Leo was: a great man, a great friend, a great husband and an amazing father and he will sorely be missed by us all."

Later that day I decided that we would return to San Francisco, I couldn't stand to be in his house for much longer, I didn't want to be left there by myself, at least not yet, I wasn't ready to face it all alone. I decided I would return home and stay at the Manor, I didn't know for how long or even if I'd ever return to L.A. I just desperately needed to get away and think. And so the next day we all returned to San Francisco, a place that held my past, and some of our past, I didn't think of that then, I just thought of it as home; because home is where the heart is, and without Leo, my heart just wasn't in L.A.

***

So far a month has gone by and I'm still crying, still grieving, one day I may move on, but until then I have my family to lean on and I'm grateful. I remember once hearing this song that goes something like this...

'Why do the birds go on singing?

Why do the stars glow above?

Don't they know it's the end of the world?

It ended when I lost your love.

I wake up in the morning and I wonder

Why everything is the same as it was

I can't understand, no, I can't understand

How life goes on the way it does.

Why does my heart go on beating?

Why do these eyes of mine cry?

Don't they know it's the end of the world?

It ended when you said goodbye.'

That song pretty much sums up the way I feel since Leo died, people go on doing whatever it is that they've always done, it's as if no-one knows what happened. But something has happened, in the blink of an eye something so precious was taken, and I shall never forget it and it does seem like it's the end of the world, at least it does sometimes.

As I write this, I'm reminded of that phrase; 'I love you more than yesterday, but less than tomorrow.' And that's how I feel about Leo, at the moment with each day that passes my love for Leo deepens and with it my pain gets worse; I'm told that one day it won't be so bad and that I'll be able to move on but...I don't know, I really don't know whether it will ever go away or even subside. Sometimes the pain gets to much to bear and I just go numb, I can't feel or hear anything, I'm just numb, not even thinking, just lying on my bed staring at the ceiling crying. But I do know that I never, ever want to forget Leo, and part of me says that I never will. All I want is for Leo to know wherever he is, you know in heaven or whatever happens after death; that I love him and we miss him.

Leo, I love you and I'll never forget you...

Piper Halliwell-Wyatt

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A/N: So there it is, the final chapter of this story, I just sat down and wrote this all in one go one Saturday, actually I'm writing this when I'm only on chapter 8 or 9. But I just had this idea for the perfect ending so I put pen to paper, or fingers to keys or....you know what I mean! Anyway this was a really emotional chapter, I hope I caught the emotion in it, writing this was hard and I was kind of nervous about it and at one part of writing I myself was getting emotional, so hopefully this chapter has done its job...

But if you thought that this was the last of what you'll be hearing from me, you're wrong...I'll be doing a sequel, especially if enough of you ask for it. So please review and tell me what you'll like to see in the next chapter of Piper's life; I already have ideas, but maybe I can work around them, putting what you lovely people want into it.