Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hand

by Sarmoti

Piper feels lonely when Leo chooses work over her, and she finds comfort in a man she shouldn't touch. Cole/Piper

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE CHARMED CHARACTERS. THIS STORY IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.

This is my first song fic. It is based on the song Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands, sung by Reba McEntire, Written by Don Goodman, Pam Rose & Mary Anne Kennedy.

Set: Season Four, Piper & Leo are married, Phoebe & Cole are married, Cole isn't evil.

Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands

Lyrics:

I stood before God, my family and friends
And vowed that I'd never love anyone else again
Only him
As pure as my gown of white I stood by his side
And promised that I'd love him till the day I died
Lord, please forgive me even though I lied
'Cause you're the only one who knows just how hard I tried
I had a ring on my finger and time on my hands
The woman in me needed the warmth of a man
The gold turned cold in my wedding band
It's just a ring on your finger
When there's time on your hands
When I add up all the countless nights I cried myself to sleep
And all the broken promises he somehow failed to keep
He can't blame me
He's the one who left me too many times alone
In a three bedroom prison I tried to make a home
My love slowly died but the fire inside still burned
And the arms of a stranger was the only place left to turn
I had a ring on my finger and time on my hands
The woman in me needed the warmth of a man
The gold turned cold in my wedding band
It's just a ring on your finger
When there's time on your hands

I tried. I really tried. I love Leo. I always have and I always will. He is a strong person, and he is very passionate about his destiny. I just didn't love the loneliness that came with being married to a whitelighter. He was gone for long periods of time. Always leaving at the worst moments. There were job secrets he could never talk about with me.

I know, how could I be lonely? I live with my two sisters and my brother-in-law, someone was always around. I mean that I was lonely in that intimate way. I was lonely when it came to a bond between man and woman. I don't mean just sex, although that's part of it. I was lonely for touch, hugs, talk, knowing someone was there, knowing someone put me first. I wanted to belong to a man, and I wanted him to belong to me.

The more Leo gave to his job, the less he gave to me and our marriage. "I have to Piper, it's my job." he would say as he orbed out at two in the morning. The only time I really talked to him was when I needed him for magical reasons.

I understand he has an important job and that people depend on him. I am proud of him for what he does, and I know he saves innocents, which is extremely important to me. But sometimes I am selfish and I want to scream at him. I want to tell him I depend on him also, and he is letting me down.

I smiled instead. I kept those feelings inside. I supported him, I never yell. I never tell my sisters what is wrong. I feel ashamed that I am that selfish, so I don't want nobody else to know.

Except I thought my brother-in-law might have known. Cole would look at me with a sympathetic glance, and I felt like he could see through my shield and read my soul's pain.

Thankfully, if he did know, he never said anything. He gave me a smile if he saw I was sad, but he always stayed out of it.

Until that night. Even as I think about that night, and most of the nights since, I feel a strange mix of pleasure and pain. A mix of joy and guilt. A mix of desire and shame.

Leo and I had the opportunity to have a rare night alone. Paige had been on an overnight trip for her job, and Phoebe had gone with her, hoping to find inspiration for her new job at the paper. I thought this would give me and Leo some much needed time.

I had waited until Cole left for dinner with his boss's family. I ran upstairs and put on my new black dress, that I had bought for that night.

I still have it hanging on my closet door. Thin spaghetti straps, short skirt. It was something I usually don't wear, but I was determined to get all my husband's attention that night.

I had lit the candles around the table. The food was set up on Gram's best china. I had checked my reflection one more time. I had spent a hour curling my hair into soft ringlets.

Everything had looked perfect. I turned the radio on and soft music drifted out. I gathered my breath and called for my husband.

When Leo orbed in, he looked around the dinning room, a confused expression on his face. I smiled my best smile as his eyes met mine. I'll never forget the frown that was on his face as he said. "Piper, I was consulting with a coven of witches. You can't interrupt that for dinner. I'll heat some leftovers up when I get home." he had said, before orbing out again.

I remember my chin had started trembling. He had never even noticed my dress or my curled up hair. He never saw the candles or the dinner I had slaved away on for hours. He didn't hear the soft love song on the radio.

I felt the anger rushing through me. I had started grabbing dishes off the table and throwing them into the trash can. I could hear the china break, but I didn't care. To me it matched the sound of my breaking heart.

When the table was cleared off, I had collapsed on the floor, crying. I lost track of time as I sat there letting all the pain out.

"Piper?" I heard Cole say softly as he had stepped into the kitchen, home from his dinner. "Piper, what happened?" He had said as he knelt beside me, concern on his face.

I looked up in his caring blue eyes and caught my breath. I immediately put my shield back up. "Nothing Cole, I broke some of Gram's favorite dishes, and it had me upset." I had told him, flashing him my 'Piper's ok' smile.

I remember I could tell that Cole wasn't buying my story. He helped me stand up and I turned to walk away. Cole reached out and grabbed my arm. He put his hand on my chin, and lifted my face so that my eyes met his.

"He left you alone again, didn't he?" Cole had asked. His voice was husky, I had never heard it sound like that before. I didn't know what to say to him, so I said nothing, I just looked at him. I was sure my eyes said it all anyways.

"Day after day I watch you walk around here lonely and hurting. You are trying to be brave, but I see it. Night after night I think about you laying alone in bed. I know how you feel Piper. I want to hurt Leo. I want to wake him up and show him what he's doing. He has a goddess, a rare diamond, and he treats you like you barely exist." Cole's eyes had stared into mine as he spoke.

I had a strange feeling in my stomach. Cole's arm was still on mine, and he had let go of my face to bring his other arm around my waist.

I had raised my arms up and locked them around his neck. We began to dance to the soft music on the radio. I don't know why it happened or how, but we were dancing in the kitchen.

I let my body move with his as we spun around. I remember that I realized for the first time in awhile I didn't feel lonely.

I looked up at him, our faces were only inches apart. "Jesus Piper," he had whispered. "I dream of this everyday. I dream of being with you. I watch Leo ignore you and my heart breaks because I want you so bad."

I knew he was my brother-in-law, and I knew I was married, and that I shouldn't have, but hearing him say those things to me, hearing him say he wanted me when Leo doesn't even see me most of the time was all it took. I didn't try to pull away when his lips came down on mine. The guilt that started to rise, I quickly ignored.

He opened his mouth and our tongues met in a fiery dance. My body was on fire, and I finally pulled away from him. I looked up into his eyes, and saw the fire burning in them.

"Phoebe." I was finally able to choke out., reminding him of his wife.

"Piper, how do you think I knew what you were going through? How you were feeling? I feel the same way. My wife acts like I don't exist most of the time. She flirts with every man she sees, she spends most of her time at the damn newspaper, or at school. I'm lonely too Piper, and I don't want to be anymore." he had told me.

I gave up fighting. I leaned into him, full of desire. I felt Cole shimmer us up to his bedroom. I had closed my eyes as he claimed my lips again. I felt his hands on my body, leaving trails of fire.

I felt his lips on my shoulders, and I felt my dress fall to the floor. I quickly helped Cole remove his clothes, our lips never coming apart. His kisses were hot and full of passion. A passion I had been denied for way to long.

Cole took my hand and slipped off my wedding ring. He laid it on the nightstand next to his own wedding ring. "Tonight we belong to each other." he had whispered as we fell on the bed.

Here I am a month later. I look at the picture of Leo and I on our wedding day. I run my finger down Leo's face. "I did try." I whisper.

Cole walks into the room. "Piper love." he says softly. "Are you ok?"

I turn to him. He knows I feel guilt still. He knows I feel guilty every time we come together, and I know he feels guilty too. But we continue to remove our rings and we belong to each other, giving each other the love and fulfillment we both crave.

I look at the picture of Leo again. I shrug my shoulders. " I have a ring on my finger, and time on my hands." I say, taking Cole's hand and leading him to the bedroom.

FIN