~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a traveling soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letter said a soldier's coming home
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After not seeing each other for so long, that morning made Leo and Piper both realize how much they'd missed each other. They made an effort to rearrange their schedules, and spent nearly every spare moment together over the next few weeks. They also got into the habit of going together for Leo's traditional Friday-night dinners with his grandmother.
Piper was with Leo for the third week in a row when he pulled up in front of Lillian's house. She greeted them at the door, as usual, but this time she wore a slightly wistful expression.
"Okay, Gram, what is it?" Leo asked, wondering what his grandmother was up to.
Lily sighed. "Do you remember when I gave you your grandfather's old army papers? Well, I went back into the attic this morning to look for something, and I stumbled on a few more things of Leo's."
"Like what?" asked her grandson.
"Come on," she said, motioning to the stairway. "I'll show you." She led Piper and Leo up two floors to the attic.
"Gram, you shouldn't be coming up here so much," Leo protested. "It's too dusty."
"That just means I need to get up here more, and clean the place a bit," Lily retorted. "Now stop worrying and just come look at this."
She pulled out a cardboard box, and lifted open the flaps. On top of a pile of various other things, a green army uniform peeked out.
"This was his," she said, taking it out and patting it lovingly before handing it to Leo. She pulled out a few more things - medals, awards, files, pictures - until she finally came to one stack of envelopes, bound together with a paperclip. "Here it is. This is what I was looking for."
"What is it?" Piper asked gently.
Lily didn't answer. Instead, she turned and went out of the attic. Leo and Piper followed her down to the living room on the first floor, where she motioned for them to sit down.
"These," she started, "Are letters we sent to each other. Letters we both saved, and that I didn't even remember I'd kept until today. Love letters."
She handed a pile each to Leo and Piper, and let them look the letters over as she talked.
"Leo was an army medic, shipped out just three weeks after your father was born. We promised to write to each other every night, and we did. I'd tell him how the baby was, what was happening at home, but mostly I just told him how much I missed him, and how much I wanted him to come back to me. As you can see, his letters are for the most part the same way. Then one day, the letters stopped coming." The old lady sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "I worried, of course, but at first I tried to tell myself that he was okay, that his company was just in a position where they couldn't write for a while. Then one day, two men came to my door, and told me that Leo really wasn't coming back. I don't think I heard a word they said after that."
She was interrupted by a timer going off in the kitchen. "Oh, look at me, a silly old woman crying over something that happened years ago. Let's go get dinner, shall we?"
As they left the room, Piper put a hand on Lily's arm. "It isn't silly. Not at all."
Lily smiled at her. "Come on, dear, let's eat."
Piper smiled back, and went into the kitchen to help bring out the food.
Over dinner, Lily told them a few more pleasant memories she had of her husband. Piper and Leo listened carefully, captivated by each anecdote. By the end of the evening, they all felt as if he'd been there.
"Kids," she said as they were leaving, "Take some advice from an old lady who knows. Don't lose each other, okay?"
"I don't intend to ever let that happen," Leo assured her, giving Piper a quick kiss on the cheek to demonstrate his point.
"Lily, thank you so much for giving us these stories," Piper said earnestly. "Your husband must have been an amazing man."
"He was," Lily replied. "And he gave me a wonderful son, and an equally wonderful grandson. But I don't think even he could have asked for as wonderful a young woman as my grandson has found. Take care of each other."
Piper nodded, hugging the old woman good-bye. "We will," she promsied. "We will."
****************
A/N: I wasn't sure if I was going to do this kind of one-shot theme-type chapter, but at least it's sort of P/L. I know I've gotten a bit off-track lately, but I am trying to get back on.
~from the song "Travelin' Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks~
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a traveling soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letter said a soldier's coming home
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After not seeing each other for so long, that morning made Leo and Piper both realize how much they'd missed each other. They made an effort to rearrange their schedules, and spent nearly every spare moment together over the next few weeks. They also got into the habit of going together for Leo's traditional Friday-night dinners with his grandmother.
Piper was with Leo for the third week in a row when he pulled up in front of Lillian's house. She greeted them at the door, as usual, but this time she wore a slightly wistful expression.
"Okay, Gram, what is it?" Leo asked, wondering what his grandmother was up to.
Lily sighed. "Do you remember when I gave you your grandfather's old army papers? Well, I went back into the attic this morning to look for something, and I stumbled on a few more things of Leo's."
"Like what?" asked her grandson.
"Come on," she said, motioning to the stairway. "I'll show you." She led Piper and Leo up two floors to the attic.
"Gram, you shouldn't be coming up here so much," Leo protested. "It's too dusty."
"That just means I need to get up here more, and clean the place a bit," Lily retorted. "Now stop worrying and just come look at this."
She pulled out a cardboard box, and lifted open the flaps. On top of a pile of various other things, a green army uniform peeked out.
"This was his," she said, taking it out and patting it lovingly before handing it to Leo. She pulled out a few more things - medals, awards, files, pictures - until she finally came to one stack of envelopes, bound together with a paperclip. "Here it is. This is what I was looking for."
"What is it?" Piper asked gently.
Lily didn't answer. Instead, she turned and went out of the attic. Leo and Piper followed her down to the living room on the first floor, where she motioned for them to sit down.
"These," she started, "Are letters we sent to each other. Letters we both saved, and that I didn't even remember I'd kept until today. Love letters."
She handed a pile each to Leo and Piper, and let them look the letters over as she talked.
"Leo was an army medic, shipped out just three weeks after your father was born. We promised to write to each other every night, and we did. I'd tell him how the baby was, what was happening at home, but mostly I just told him how much I missed him, and how much I wanted him to come back to me. As you can see, his letters are for the most part the same way. Then one day, the letters stopped coming." The old lady sighed, wiping a tear from her eye. "I worried, of course, but at first I tried to tell myself that he was okay, that his company was just in a position where they couldn't write for a while. Then one day, two men came to my door, and told me that Leo really wasn't coming back. I don't think I heard a word they said after that."
She was interrupted by a timer going off in the kitchen. "Oh, look at me, a silly old woman crying over something that happened years ago. Let's go get dinner, shall we?"
As they left the room, Piper put a hand on Lily's arm. "It isn't silly. Not at all."
Lily smiled at her. "Come on, dear, let's eat."
Piper smiled back, and went into the kitchen to help bring out the food.
Over dinner, Lily told them a few more pleasant memories she had of her husband. Piper and Leo listened carefully, captivated by each anecdote. By the end of the evening, they all felt as if he'd been there.
"Kids," she said as they were leaving, "Take some advice from an old lady who knows. Don't lose each other, okay?"
"I don't intend to ever let that happen," Leo assured her, giving Piper a quick kiss on the cheek to demonstrate his point.
"Lily, thank you so much for giving us these stories," Piper said earnestly. "Your husband must have been an amazing man."
"He was," Lily replied. "And he gave me a wonderful son, and an equally wonderful grandson. But I don't think even he could have asked for as wonderful a young woman as my grandson has found. Take care of each other."
Piper nodded, hugging the old woman good-bye. "We will," she promsied. "We will."
****************
A/N: I wasn't sure if I was going to do this kind of one-shot theme-type chapter, but at least it's sort of P/L. I know I've gotten a bit off-track lately, but I am trying to get back on.
~from the song "Travelin' Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks~