Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed, so don't be alarmed, this story does no harm, so please keep calm!
A/N: Thank you to all the lovely people whop reviewed and the other people who might have read and didn't reveiw. You're all so kind. xjelliepotatoex- No Piper and Leo in this chapter! I'm sorry! But everything that you predicted with Patty did happen! piperperson- thank you very much for reviewing, are you ever gonna update that crazy monkey story of yours? piper15- thanks for reviwing! Only I don't think there will be any teary confessions for a while! prue's-clues- you updated! yay! sory but i really love your stories even though you're so so cruel to poor piper. thank you for your kind words. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Patty smiled at Piper in a way that only a mother could. "It's me…"
Piper stared. "Oh My God… how?"
Patty shook her head. "There's only one way I could've travelled here. Through your soul."
A car suddenly sped past through a puddle causing water to fly up, soaking Piper and Patty.
Patty shifted some wet hair from Piper's face to the side. "Come on…" she whispered. Taking Piper's hair she lead Piper to a bench underneath a tree.
Piper just stared at her mother in awe. She had seen her only a few weeks ago at her wedding, but…but she was here now. It seemed so unreal.
Patty smiled at Piper again, this time with sympathy. She touched Piper's cheek again, waiting to see if Piper would say anything. She didn't. Patty sighed. "Piper… it's been a long road for you…"
Piper nodded. But kept silent. She knew Patty knew. She knew if she had to talk she'd break down. She knew she couldn't do that.
"Piper… what are you doing?" she asked, softy.
Wind rustled past as Piper as Piper tried to answer. She didn't know how to say it without breaking down, a tear rolled down her face.
"Piper, why are you running away?"
Piper bit her lip. She couldn't stop doing that, she thought. Soon she'd bite her whole lip of… If she lived that long.
"Piper, talk to me… look at me…"
Piper was avoiding her mum's eyes. She just wanted to hug her but she couldn't or she'd break down. Though it did strike Piper that she couldn't just sit here in silence. Her mind was trying to control her fear but the more she tried to avoid thinking about it, the larger the fear grew.
"Piper please…"
"I can't!" Piper cried. "I can't mum… I just… I…" Piper broke of, biting her lip again.
Patty tried to put her hand around Piper but she brushed her off. "Piper why are you leaving Leo?"
"You know why…"
She shook her head. "Tell me…"
"Damn it! You know exactly why!"
"Ok Piper calm down…"
"No!" Piper shouted. "You know I have Breast Cancer or you wouldn't be here."
Patty tried to move towards Piper again but Piper moved away again.
"Why are you asking me a question you know the answer of?"
Patty turned to her daughter. "I know Piper… I know… but why are you leaving Leo? Why didn't you even tell him?"
Piper closed her eyes and buried them in her hands. "Because I can't!"
"You can't what?"
"I can't make him go through this, I can't even do it myself how can I make him?"
Patty listened. "Did you even ask him?"
"I couldn't… I can't. He doesn't deserve it. He's the purest most loving person that ever lived and he doesn't even live. He's an angel, literally, and he doesn't deserve this! I don't deserve him! How could I put him through more pain then I already have?"
"Piper he loves you."
"Exactly! And I love him, and I would do anything for him and that's why I can't go back. Because if I tell him it would just cause more pain and more hurt and I don't want him to go through that."
"He deserves to know-
"No! He deserves to move on. He deserves a life with someone who won't die on him."
"No one said you'd die-
"42, 000 die of it every year! Mum. I can't put my sisters through that. Prue and Phoebe. They watched as Grams got more ill and ill, I had to deal with looking after her, it's not easy, and it hurts. It hurts to see someone you love gradually die away and then die. I'm not putting them through that. I'm not putting Leo through it."
Patty looked at her daughter, wiping away a tear with her finger. "Piper I know you think your doing the right thing but-
"How would you know what the right thing is? You've never lived this nightmare. You don't know what it's like to try and conceive of the fact that you could die and your going to have to give up the one thing you love."
"Piper, you don't have to. That's the easy option!"
Piper felt her throat clog up with the pain. "Easy option?" she stammered. "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Goodbye is the only thing I can do."
"No, you could go back and tell Leo. He loves you, he'll stand by you!"
"Exactly. I know he will because that's what Leo's like. But I don't want to put him through the pain. Why can't you understand that?"
"Piper, the pain will be worth it. It's been a long road for you and Leo and you've had to fight a lot of things. But you've always done it together and you've always got through it and I am so proud of you for that. What stops you now?"
"Because…because. Isn't it obvious? Leo and me were never supposed to be together. An now I'm being paid to pay the ultimate price, and I'm not letting that happen to Leo."
"Piper, you should at least give Leo the chance!"
"No! I can't. I won't. I'm only doing this because I love him."
Patty suddenly rolled her eyes. "How many times have I heard that before?"
"What?" Piper asked, confused.
"That, you're doing it because you love him. It may seem like that but it's not. You're just running away. When something gets tough and you don't know what to do you run away. It's a Halliwell tradition. I thought you were stronger then that!"
"Damn it, I'm not running away for Christ's sake. I'm just doing what I thinks best!" Piper screamed.
"Or are you doing the only thing you know how to? Piper you are a fighter, you can fight anything."
"You can't fight death," Piper reminded her mum. "You know that."
"You can't fight love," Patty reminded her back. "You know that."
Piper turned away. "Why won't you let me leave?"
"Because you will live to regret it Piper."
"Live?" Piper question, starting to laugh, slightly hysterically. "I'll live to regret it, will I? Well what I'm not the one living to regret it. What if it's Leo? What if it's him who turns around at the end of that day and goes 'why did I love that Piper Halliwell, all she did is cause me pain?'"
"Piper you can't believe that!"
"I don't know what to believe anymore. I don't know whom to believe. I can't even believe in myself so don't ask me! I'm just doing what needs to be done and one day Leo will thank me."
"Piper I understand why-
"How could you understand?" asked Piper. "How could you? You don't know what it's like to love someone and have to say goodbye because you want to protect them. You don't know what it's like to fight for someone for years before realizing it was all for nothing. You don't know what it's like to be bleeding inside and wishing people could see the blood or…or see how it's raining over me but no one can see me drowning in the floods. You just don't know. You don't know! YOU DON'T KNOW!" Piper shrieked across at her mother before bursting into tears. Her body started shaking violently.
Patty wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. Piper leaned against her crying continuously.
"I'm just…scared Mum. I'm just scared… I don't know what to do and I can't…I can't… I can't do it on my own…"
"Then why are you, honey?"
"Because I love them. I'd do anything for them…"
Patty hugged Piper closer to her and whispered in her ear. "If you mean that then tell them… If it were you wouldn't you like to know? If Leo was hurt wouldn't you like to know? Or if it was Prue or Phoebe?"
Piper ran quickly down the road, the rain had stopped but hail was raining down on her. Leo could not read that letter. He could not read the letter. Then things would get so screwed up. Oh God, what if she was too late, what if she didn't get there in time?
She opened the door of the manor and ran through it. "Leo? Leo?"
She ran into the living room and then approached the kitchen table. "Leo?"
Leo was against the kitchen table, reading a piece of paper.
'Oh Crap' was Leo's first reaction.
Leo turned around. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Leo it's not what you think?"
"What else could I be thinking Piper? I can't believe you kept this from me!"
"Leo listen to me-
"Do you know how much this could ruin the power of three? You have to talk to Prue!"
Piper tilted. "What?"
Leo turned the letter around. "Prue's got a job in New Orleans. We can't let her leave."
Piper opened her mouth. "Oh… Uh-
She was interrupted by her phone ringing. "Hello?"
"Piper, it's Prue. We need to talk. Meet me at 415 now."
Piper started at the phone surprised as Prue hung up. "Um, I think Prue needs me. I'll be back."
Piper walked out of the house. Leo had read the wrong letter. That's good. But then where is the right letter? And why did Prue need to talk to me?
Piper caught a look at herself in a shop window. She looked like a drowned rat. Her hair was wet and soaked and her eyes, very red. She sighed fiddling with her appearance a bit to try and make herself look better. It suddenly dawned on her that she'd have to tell someone soon, she couldn't try and run away again.
She entered 415 building. "Hi, is Prue here?" Piper asked.
The blonde woman at the desk stared at her sharply. She took the pen she was sucking, out of her mouth. "This is a big firm, mam. You're gonna have to be more specific. Prue who?"
"Uh, Halliwell…"
"Prue Halliwell?" she said, typing in her desk. "Ah… yes. She's on the second floor."
Piper said thanks and walked up the stairs. She walked into a little room, which had Prue's name on it.
Prue was facing away from Piper, leaning against a table. "Well, well, well…" She turned around and smiled at Piper, although it was a very weird smile. "Nice of you to join me…"
Piper stared. "Uh, yeah… what did you want to speak to me about?"
Prue smiled, that odd smile again. "Well I met Phoebe today and she said my post was on the kitchen table. I took a letter but it must've been the wrong one."
Piper could feel her body going cold. "Oh…"
"But I'm glad I picked up the wrong letter, even though it wasn't for me."
She held up Piper's letter. "This made better reading then the article I'm working on…"
Piper froze, her heart skipping a beat. "It's not what you think…."
Prue raised an eyebrow. "Shall we read it out?"
Piper opened her mouth but Prue started reading before Piper could even say anything.
"Dear Leo, I don't really know how to say this but I'm leaving. It's not you, I love you…. It's me… I had an affair. I can't live with what's happened, but I want to tell you I'm sorry and I didn't plan things this way. I don't want to leave you but it's the only thing I can do to save you from me. Don't come looking for me, I won't be coming back. I just hope you can find happiness in someone who deserves someone as good as you. I love you, goodbye… Always, Piper."
Prue stared at Piper, straight in the eye. "So… Would you like to explain?"
A/N: Hey. I hope you kinda liked this chapter. If you don't understand why Piper wrote that you should read Chapter 3 again. Oh in this story Cole isn't a good guy (he is on the surface but not really), so if you like him, I'm sorry! Please Review… Pretty pretty pretty please with sugar and sprinkles on top?