Piper had to stay for a week before she was allowed to go home, so Leo and the others stayed at a nearby hotel, splitting up into four rooms, two people in each. Jo offered to take a room with Leo, who didn't object. Jake and Ron took a room, while Tom and Jeff took another. Gary and Cortez took the last room.

Leo laid on the bed on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Jo walked into the room quietly. She watched him for a moment before saying, "You know none of it was your fault, right?"

Leo sat up just enough to look at her. "Don't say that."

"It wasn't."

"Jo…"

"Well, Leo, it wasn't, and you know it." Jo sighed. "None of it was your fault. It was Dan who took her, not you, Leo."

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what you say. It's still my fault."

"L--"

"I shouldn't have let her go…"

"What, go to her sister's? That had nothing to do with you."

"Fine, Jo. Fine."

"Leo…"

()()()()()

Piper wanted to go home so bad, but she was scared. She missed her sisters and her daughter terribly, but she was afraid of what they would think…

"Leo, I don't think I can do this," she said, sitting up in her hospital bed the day before they were supposed to leave. "It just… I can't go back home…"

"Piper, you can't stay here. Your sisters… Melinda… They're all back home," Leo coaxed.

"Melinda…" Piper smiled. "I miss her so much…"

"Just another couple of weeks, then you can see her."

Piper nodded. "Do we have to fly?"

"It's the quickest way home. We'll all go."

"…I wanna go home," Piper whispered.

()()()()()

The flight home was short, but it seemed to drag on forever. Piper slept most of the way, leaning up against Leo. She was never out of his sight. Prue and Phoebe were at the airport.

They came through the crowd, Piper limping heavily, leaning on Leo for support. They made their way slowly up to the two Halliwell sisters, who were frozen in place.

Piper looked up at her sisters, her eyes glazed over with tears.

"Piper…?"

Piper smiled a little and nodded slightly. She took a step forward on her own, and Leo stepped back as her sisters hugged her, careful not to hurt her.

"Oh my God, Piper…" Phoebe sobbed.

()()()()()

Piper woke with a jolt, breathing hard. She looked at the digital clock on the bed stand, only to notice that it was two o'clock in the morning. She was hot and sweating, and it made the blanket on her feel sticky. Her whole body was shaking. She tried to control her breathing, but was sobbing uncontrollably, making it hard to breathe. She couldn't stop crying. She felt so terrible right then. The dreams...

Then the terrible feeling started to subside. She felt a hand fall lightly on her shoulder, another gently pulling the hair back from her face. She could feel her leg throbbing now, though. She was still sobbing, taking in deep gulps of air for breath. Tears streamed down her face. The hand on her shoulder moved to her back, holding her up so that she didn't fall, and rubbing it in an effort to calm her down. Her hair had been pushed back behind her shoulders now, and the other hand was stroking her hair behind her head.

"Shh... Piper, calm down... It's okay..." a voice whispered.

Piper cried and sobbed. She took in a deep breath and found it was hard to breath. She tried again, getting a little air. "No! No, it's not!" she managed to get out, despite the shortness of breath.

"Shh... Piper..." Leo soothed. She buried her face in her hands and he pulled her closer to him.

She kept crying, and stayed in his embrace. She felt safer, and soon could breath easier. She could feel his arms wrap around her, one still wrapped around her back to hold her close to him, the other closer to her face, wiping her tears away with his thumb. He let her cry, knowing she needed to.

Finally, after long minutes, her tears subsided. She was asleep in his arms, a sob escaping her lips here and there. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and waist. She was curled up against his chest, finally asleep.

Great... Leo thought. He finally got her to calm down, and he couldn't move. Still, he held onto her, Piper the only thing on his mind, and made sure she slept as peaceful as possible throughout the night, though he got no sleep.

Piper woke the next morning, her leg still throbbing. She hadn't said anything about it to Leo earlier that morning, since she could barely talk, but now it hurt, and there were no other feelings or sobs to drown out the pain.

Piper whispered for Leo, but didn't reach for him, knowing he wasn't in bed.

Leo came into the room from where he'd been watching in the doorway. Piper smiled. She'd only been home again for a few days, and hadn't seen Melinda yet--she wouldn't for another week--though she'd seen her sisters.

"You okay?"

"No." Piper shook her head a little and found it was throbbing, too.

"What do you need?"

"It hurts..." Piper mumbled.

Leo knew instantly what she needed and had it beside the bed on the dresser. Piper, with Leo's help, sat up and took the two pills. The painful throbbing and her headache went away slowly.

"Better?" Leo asked.

"Much, thank you." She smiled.

"You sure you're gonna be okay, Piper?" Leo, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, looked down at Piper, lying on her side. He brushed some stray strands of hair from her face. "You can go back to the hospital if you want to."

Piper shook her head a little. "It'll never be okay... It can only get better, though, right?" She smiled again, a hopeful smile.

Leo nodded a little. "Right."

So now he had to break it to her. "Piper... They want you to go in... Just for a lineup."

"What?"

"You're the key witness. The only one who can connect Dan to yourself solidly," Leo explained.

"Leo, I--I can't," Piper whimpered, her voice trembling.

"I'll be there. So will your sisters. And Adam, Cortez, Jo, you name it. I could even call in a favor and bring Rick down here. Besides, Dan won't be able to see you," Leo reminded. He couldn't imagine how hard it was for her.

"I--"

"With you, he'll be gone--for good."

Piper sighed. "When is it?"

"In two days. Today I have to arrest him interrogate. It's procedure."

"And--"

"And Prue and Phoebe will be here, yes."

Piper sighed again and nodded.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

A/N: It'll be a little bit before my next update, so savor. Savor.