A/N: thanks to all of you who have reviewed for this fic or my others. I'm amazed at how much you guys like this. Not saying I don't, because I enjoy writing it. So thanks again, and here's Chapter 11...

Oh, PS: I just found out that I was led on my entire life! I've been spelling "minute" wrong! It's m-i-n-u-t-e, not m-i-n-u-e-t! I was always taught "minuet". Like the music... Huh... Shows what teachers these days can do to kids... I learned that word when I was in 2nd grade and I've been spelling it wrong my entire life! Except for a few times when I spelled it right... I never caught it... I need to talk to my 2nd grade teacher... Oh no... I took so many writing tests for the STATE and I spelled MINUTE wrong!... If I do something like that again, someone please, please, please, please, PLEASE tell me!!!

"I'm waiting... And waiting... And waiting... What exactly am I waiting for?" Piper asked Chris.

"Just wait."

"Ugh!"

"Okay, okay, you can look now."

Piper turned around and saw in place of the maze of gardens in the backyard of the First House the inside of the First House of Evil. She blinked a few times, thinking that would clear her vision. Nothing was different when she opened her eyes again.

"What the hell is this?" she asked.

"This is a holographic battle field. It's set up by magic, of course, but it takes place of the gardens. There's the people over there, too. All holographic, only a little different."

"Like..."

"Well, they're solid, for one. And they have their powers. And they act on their own personalities."

"It's like a giant robot," Prue said proudly as she came up with the others.

"Huh."

"Go on in."

Piper took a step inside the foyer of the giant house. She looked to her left and saw a winding staircase going up to the bedrooms. A little farther up and to her right was a large living room. As she walked through it, she found it led to the kitchen. It seemed a lot like the First House of Good. It had changed a little since the last time she'd seen it, though.

"Who was over there to gather the images?" Piper asked.

"Huh?"

"The House, it's different," Piper commented. She turned around to face the people behind her. "Who was in there?" she asked again.

"I was," Grams answered.

"Grams, it's too dangerous going in there. What if they--"

"Don't worry, Piper. It was all for the greater good. And besides, it worked out, right?"

"...Right..."

"So watch this..."

Piper followed Faith into the training room of the House with the others. She watched as Faith commanded for a training field with Decima and Leo. Piper watched as they appeared as solid beings, throwing energy balls and fireballs at each other. The training battle went on for five minuets before Bianca shimmered in between them.

None of them seemed to notice the members of the Houses of Good standing there.

"This happened yesterday, around three o'clock," Nicholas explained to Piper. "It's actually a tape, kinda, if you know what I mean."

Piper nodded.

Binaca looked from Decima to Leo. She looked at her husband and her son. "Are you two finished beating the crap out of each other?"

"The boy's not ready yet," Decima growled.

"Excuse me? 'The boy'?" Leo asked.

"You heard me," Decima said harshly. "If you can't find your own place in the Houses and stick to it, then you're still a kid in my eyes. If you gotta keep runnin' around Earth lookin' for whatever you're lookin' for--"

Leo had already caught on to what was keeping Decima edgy. Holographic or not, Piper could tell that. "You're worried about Cole not being able to pull this off."

"No."

"Then you're worried that he should be part of the fight. That we'll lose him to them if he's not fighting for us."

Decima said nothing.

"Exactly." The holographic Leo walked out of the room and past Piper. She watched him go, orbing out at the beginning of the staircase.

The holographic Bianca and Decima disappeared. Piper looked around. The room stayed the same, but the fake occupants were gone.

"That was weird..."

"Yeah, well, Penny planted a bug in there to read what happens. Anything important in any of the three Houses happens and we'll know in an hour."

"So we're spying on them?"

"And using their holographic images to prepare for a battle. Like... Here." Patty commanded for Leo to come back.

The image appeared in front of Piper, just a foot away from her. His hand was up and in it was an energy ball.

"See? What would happen if he had just orbed in there? It's just as fast. You have just as much time to react."

Piper looked up at his face. She couldn't fight that face... It was a perfect match of him. It was him. How could she fight that? Fight him.

"I... I need a few minutes to process this," Piper lied.

"Process? What's to process?"

"Uh... I just... It's all happening kinda fast..." Piper looked up at the image of Leo and took in a deep breath. "I uh... I think I need to go back to the manor... I don't feel so good..."

"Um, okay... Prue, Phoebe, why don't you--"

"No, I'll be fine. I'll go alone." Piper turned and left the gardens without another look back.

"Poor thing. She's beaten up thinking she's getting picked..."

"We all are," Phoebe said to Brooke.

(manor)

Piper laid on her bed on top of the covers. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking. She sighed a little. How could she tell her family and friends? What would she tell them when she refused to fight him? Would they become suspicious? Piper wondered why she couldn't just get over it and fight him. After all, it wasn't really Leo...

But it was him. It looked exactly like him. The image was taken from the Leo she knew. Only they portrayed him as an evil being. Something Piper knew was not true.

Right?

That also made Piper wonder. Did that mean that Leo was good? That he was becoming good?

"Why does this have to be so complicated?" Piper asked herself. Phoebe's graduation was coming up, then the marriage, and then she would lose a sister. Or she would be lost...

As if on some command, Leo orbed in. He looked at Piper, lying on her bed.

Piper looked up when she heard footsteps coming toward her. "Leo."

"Hey. You seriously need to calm down, Piper. You're giving me a headache," Leo told her.

Piper looked at him strangely. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Leo started, sitting on the bed, "that your feelings are mixed up, and I'm feeling it. What's the problem?"

"Nothing, really... Just little things."

"Little things like what?"

Piper, who was still lying on her back, looked up at Leo. She smiled a little. "Nothing you need to worry about," she told him.

"Okay, but if you're worrying about it and I'm feeling it, then I need to worry. And besides, we're partners, right? You can't keep things from me. I'm bound to find out one way or another." Leo gave her a small smile.

Piper sighed. "My grandmother..."

"What happened? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, but I wonder what will happen when anyone from your Houses find out what she did..." Piper waited, and when Leo didn't say anything, she continued. "She went inside the Houses and planted bugs in there. Bugs that record each and every event that happens in there and shows us an hour after it happens. It's set up in a holographic image that takes the place of our gardens. It looks like the First House. I walked through it. It changed a little."

"Yeah we uh... It was Bianca's idea."

"But the point is I got to see one of the recordings. In the training room? With you and Decima. What was really bothering him?"

Leo sighed. "It was nothing. He was just a little suspicious of me, is all."

"It didn't look like that was all from where I was standing."

"He's just worried. Hey, you think you guys are worried about this? Anackalen hasn't been in his House in two weeks. Decima in one. Bianca thinks I'm just worrying, too. Decima complains about me being on earth, and that's where he is when the Houses are overwhelming. I guess he just thinks I'm copying him or something, I don't know. He's really uptight..."

Piper rolled onto her side, facing Leo. "...They wanted me to fight you."

"A uh... An image of me?"

"Yeah, but they made you out to be evil... It wasn't you, but... It kind of was..."

"Well, Piper, I live in the First House of Evil, so that kinda makes you think I'm... What's that word? Oh yeah-- evil."

Piper smiled. "Right, but you're not to me. I mean, here you are working with a Charmed One, welcome in her house..."

"In her room."

"Yeah, see, that part was totally you. You're the one who orbed, not me."

"You don't want to fight me, do you?"

"I can't. Because then what if I confuse you with... you...?"

"Well, then I'm in for it, aren't I?"

Piper sat up and hugged Leo. They didn't move for a full minute. Leo pulled away from Piper and smiled a little at her. He brushed some of the hair out of her eyes. Their eyes locked and Piper felt like she was going to faint. Whenever she looked into his eyes, she knew she was going to do something she shouldn't. But she had no control over herself.

So why should now be any different? Piper thought with a hint of sarcasm. She barely had time to get the thought out, though, before she leaned forward and kissed him. Leo didn't pull back, so she pulled him down on the bed on top of her, still locked in a passionate kiss. She reached for his shirt and pulled it off.

"Piper, we can't do this," Leo said in between a kiss.

"You're right," Piper agreed, though she made no move to stop.

It was Leo who pulled away. He looked down at Piper under him. "I'm serious, Piper. This changes everything," he told her.

"Yeah, well... I'm welcome for changes... Aren't you?"

Leo pretended to think about it. He opened his mouth to answer, but Piper pulled him down with another deep kiss. Leo reached down and pulled off her shirt, leaving Piper in only a bra and skirt. She started to pull her skirt down, but Leo stopped her.

"Wait."

"What?" Piper asked.

Leo looked at the door and flicked his hand at it. The lock clicked. "Okay, go."

A/N: Ooh, I wonder what happens next... Just to clear up any possible confusion (and because it confused me at first) they didn't sleep together at the end of Chpt9. When it jumps from Sam leaving to Piper saying, "Ugh, I don't wanna go out there," all it really was was that Leo had orbed Piper into her bedroom. Okay, got that cleared up. I'm betting no one was confused at first, and now I've confused you... Okay, ignore me. I gotta go write...

PS: Had to do the italics thingy again. I can't do stars and squiggly lines anymore! It won't let me! How horrible is that?!? I loved those little thingies!