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Chapter 8: All Star Tackle

When she heard Andy's voice, Piper would have given a shout of joy if she hadn't been crying so hard. She heard Andy and his partner, Darryl, shouting out commands and Toby surprisingly following them. It wasn't until Toby raised his hand with the knife and looked menacingly at her, did she realize something was wrong.

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Andy and Darryl instructed Mark to wait outside, but when he heard Andy's shout of 'don't', he raced in the room, just in enough time to see Andy make one of the best tackles ever. The tackle Andy made on Toby would have made professional football players envious.

Andy and Toby flew halfway across the room, finally landing with a thud. Andy immediately had Toby flat on his stomach, slapping on handcuffs, and reciting the Miranda warning.

Darryl went over to help his partner, and Mark went to the couch where Piper lay crying. He picked up a knife that lay harmless on the floor and cut the tape that bounded Piper's wrists and ankles.

Piper immediately threw her arms around Mark's neck. She began sobbing into his chest. He just held her close, thankful she was alive. As she cried and he held her, Mark couldn't help but let a tear run down his face.

After Piper calmed a bit, Mark took off his jacket and wrapped her in it, covering her half-exposed body. Darryl did the same to Sky, wrapping her in a blanket he got from one of the EMS people that just arrived.

Mark and Piper both watched through the window with some satisfaction as Andy put Toby into a police car, making sure he hit his head as he was put in the car.

Mark put his right arm around Piper's waist as they watched the proceedings go on below. Sky, now through with her exam by the paramedics, joined them at the window. She laid her head on Piper's shoulder and all three watched as Darryl drove Toby to the police station. Andy slowly began making his way up to the apartment.

Andy stayed behind to take witness to the police stations to take statements. As he was entering the apartment, the paramedics were leaving with Sky. Having checked out Piper and diagnosing her with a bruise on her face from being slapped by Toby, the paramedics were leaving to take Sky to the hospital to have a rape test performed.

Andy stood in front of Mark and Piper, who were hugging each other closely. He hated to see Piper hurting like this; she was practically a sister to him.

"Piper?" he softly called, and she turned her tear-stained face to him. "Are you okay?"

Piper just shrugged her shoulders, unsure how to answer. A man attacked her, tried to rape her, and attempted to kill her, all in the same day. How was she supposed to feel?

Andy twirled his cell phones in his hands, dreading having to call Prue and tell her what happened to Piper.

"Andy," Piper said and he turned to her. "It would be easier if you press the buttons."

Andy didn't know what she was talking about. Then he looked down at his hands where he still held the cell phone. "Oh. I was just contemplating the best way to tell your sister. Not a conversation I look forward to."

"I don't blame you," Mark said with earnest.

"Andy, don't call her. All I want to do is go home and sleep. I'll call her tomorrow and tell her, but if I tell her now, it will be another three days before she shuts up long enough to let me sleep."

Mark and Andy looked at her in surprise. Piper never talked about her sisters in a negative way. Piper, seeing their looks, said, "I love my sister dearly, but you know as well as I do that she worries too much."

"True," Andy said. "How about you come down to the station tomorrow to give your statements? I think the best thing for you now would be to get some sleep."

"Thanks," Piper said and walked out of the apartment with Mark holding her hand.

The car ride to Mark's apartment was silent. Piper leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the car window, trying to take in the events of the night.

Mark looked over at her every few seconds, worried she was going to have a break down. Except for crying when Mark, Andy, and Darryl had first shown up, Piper had shown no emotion since.

He noticed she was shaking, even though she wore his jacket, so he turned up the heat in the car. It didn't seem to help; she was still shaking uncontrollably.

Mark soon pulled up to his apartment and pulled to a stop. Piper still sat in the same position against the window, shaking. Mark helped her out of the car and she leaned on him as they walked up to his third floor apartment.

Piper still hadn't said a word when they walked into the apartment. She changed into her pajamas and got under the covers of the bed, still shaking. Mark quickly followed her, changing into his pajamas and lying in bed next to her. Piper wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest.

Mark held her close, happy she was finally showing some emotion. She cried for a few minutes, but finally calmed down.

"I love you Mark," Piper said. "If it hadn't been for you, I don't know what would have happened to me. You saved me, once again."

Mark held her close. "I love you too."

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Piper was the first one to wake up in the morning. Surprisingly, she felt awake. Sore and uneasy, but awake. She looked over at the sleeping Mark and kissed him lightly as not to wake him. Then she quietly slipped out of bed and shivered with cold as she left the warm blankets.

Her first stop was the bathroom. Piper quickly turned the shower on to as scalding hot she could stand. She began scrubbing herself, adding more soap until the bottle was empty. She felt dirty and unclean, as if Toby left an invisible film on her. She scrubbed harder and harder until her shoulder began to bleed. She dropped the sponge and washed off her quickly bleeding shoulder. She watched as the bright red blood swirled into a funnel and was sucked down the drain.

Wishing she could linger under the warm shower, but knowing she couldn't, Piper flipped off the warm water, letting icy cold-water rain down on her before turning off the shower.

Piper dressed in jeans, a white tee shirt, and a zip-up red fleece sweater. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and looked into the mirror. Except for being slightly pale, she looked like normal Piper. But she didn't feel normal. She felt exposed, vulnerable.

She headed out of the bathroom and found Mark in the kitchen. "Good morning," he said, giving her a kiss.

"Good morning to you, too," she replied, kissing him back.

"Do you know how disappointing it is to wake up in the morning and find you gone?"

Piper just smiled and poured herself a cup of tea. Mark fell silent and looked at her. "What?" Piper asked.

"Andy called. He wants you to come down to the station to give a statement."

"Oh," Piper said, emotionlessly.

"And your sister called."

"Oh," she said with a little more emotion.

Mark grabbed one of her hands. "I'll be with you the whole time."

"Thanks," she said, a squeezed his hand in return.

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Two hours later, Piper was at the station, giving a statement to Andy. Mark was with her, along with a pissed off Prue and a concerned Phoebe. The looks Prue gave Andy the whole time were hardly ones of love.

Piper gave her statement, and as they were leaving, Toby was being taken to be processed. Toby saw her and nodded his head at her, a sick smile on his face.

Prue, beyond pissed now, took a threatening step towards Toby. But Andy and Mark held her back before she could do anything rash. Toby just laughed and the cops took him away.

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But as this took place, no one noticed the Chinese man who stood in the corner, shoulders hunched, hoping not to be noticed. His intent gaze focused on Mark, who remained unaware. The Chinese man laughed silently, finally recognizing his victim.