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Chapter 25: In the Clouds

A coma. Piper was in a coma.

The doctors had no clue if she would wake up again. Right now, the only thing that could be done for her is to treat her other injuries. And there were a lot. Multiple concussions, dislocated shoulder, seven fractured ribs, broken ankle, and swelling of the spinal column. No internal injuries, thank God.

The doctors set her broken ankle, relocated her shoulder, and bandaged her rib cage. The doctors were luckily able to reduce the swelling of her spinal column, meaning she wouldn't be paralyzed if she woke up.

If she woke up.

Those four words scared Leo. She had to wake up. How could she not?

When Leo asked the doctor if there was anything he could do, the doctor simply said, "Talk to her. And pray. Those are the only things that can help her now." Leo nodded her head and began to walk away, but the doctor said, "You performing CPR saved her. But you were lucky. With those broken ribs, you're lucky one of them didn't puncture her heart. She landed on top of the dumpster before hitting the pavement, breaking her fall." He was silent for a moment before adding. "She's had lucky on her side so far. Let's hope it holds out." He walked away, not mentioning it again.

Only two people were allowed in Piper's room for the time being. Phoebe and Prue were currently in there, each holding one of her hands, talking to her. Every half hour, Phoebe came out and switched positions with one of them, usually Leo. Andy and Darryl had been in twice to see her, and Eric one. All three had agreed it was more important for Prue, Phoebe, and Leo to spend time with her. Prue refused to leave her side. She once again pulled another all-nighter for Piper.

Leo leaned his forehead against the cool glass window that separated Piper from the rest of the world.

Phoebe walked out of the room, shaking. She leaned against the wall outside of the door, and slid down to the floor, sobbing. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed, and kept sobbing even when Eric bent down to comfort her.

Leo stepped into the eerie silence of Piper's room, the only noise being the steady beep of the heard monitors and the respiratory machine breathing for her. Prue didn't say a word to him; she barely looked up. She just kept on holding Piper's hand, whispering softly to her.

Leo held her other hand and gently smoothed the hair away from her face, careful to avoid the bandaged section of hear head. Leo gently kissed her forehead. "Piper? Can you hear me? Please come back. I need you. Please, don't leave me alone."

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At first the constant fog scared Piper, but now it was comforting. She could hear voices, voices belonging to Phoebe, Prue, and Leo, but she couldn't reply. After a while, she stopped trying to. She just sat on the swimming in the middle of the fog, thinking about everything and nothing. She sat on the swing, cold, like she was that night she ran away to the park.

"Piper," said a voice behind her, and she feared it to be Tony Wong. But when she turned around, the person she saw brought tears to her eyes.

"Mark," Piper said, and ran to him, flinging her arms around his neck. "I've missed you so much."

"But we're together now."

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Leo still sat next to Piper, holding her hand, talking to her. Phoebe had been unable to take the sight of her broken older sister anymore, so Eric took her home. Prue had fallen asleep and one of the nurses had brought the both of them reclining chairs. Prue was asleep in her, still wrapped in the covers Andy put around her.

Leo on the other hand, had no thought of sleep. He laid back in the recliner, holding Piper's hand and talking to her in the dark. "Remember that night in my apartment…"

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Piper sat next to Mark on the swing, her head resting on his shoulder. He held her hand, and for a while they said nothing. But finally Piper said. "This is nice. I wish I could stay here."

"You know you can't."

"Why not? I'd be here with you."

"Piper, I'm dead, you're not. You're not meant to stay here."

"But I want to be with you."

"Piper, you have to move on. You have so much life left to live."

"I know. I just wish you were with me."

"I always will be in some way. I'd never leave you alone."

Piper could hear Leo talking, but she could no longer make out his words. She was falling farther and farther away from him.

"Besides, Piper, you have Leo now. It is possible to love two people."

Piper leaned against him and closed her eyes. "I'm tired."

"Piper, you have to fight it. You need to go back, you need to go back to your sisters and Leo." He took her face in his hands and kissed her. It wasn't warm, as she expected, but cold, and Piper knew she couldn't stay here anymore. The kiss made her think of Leo's warm. loving touch, and she knew she was ready to go home.

"I'll miss you."

"But you need to move on."

"I won't forget you."

"I'm not asking you too. Miss me, but don't mourn me. You're too beautiful to be sad all the time."

Piper smiled at him. "I love you," Mark said to her.

"I love you too, Mark." He kissed her one last time, but Piper began to fade, going back to where she belonged.

Piper was falling through the clouds, back to where she belonged. Back with her sisters, back with Leo. Through the clouds she fell until she was at the place she could call home.

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Leo was still talking to Piper when he noticed her hand moved. Thinking it was a trick of the mind or an involuntary movement on her part, he thought nothing more of it. But when it happened again, Leo's heart leaped with joy.

"Piper?" he whispered and looked at her face. In the soft glow of the moonlight, he could see her eyes were wide open and looking at him. "Oh my God, Piper," Leo, whispered, tears running down his face.

Piper tried to say something, but couldn't because of the tube down her throat. She touched her throat and Leo knew what she was asking.

"They put a tube down your throat because you were having trouble breathing," Leo told her through his tears.

Piper reached up a weak hand and wiped away his tears. Leo grabbed her hand and held it. "I love you so much. I know I've told you before, but I never told you how much. Piper, I need you to go on. When they said you… you might no make it, I thought I was dying. I love you so much."

Piper nodded in agreement and touched her chest to signify, me too.

Besides them, Prue stirred and woke up. When she saw Piper staring at her, she jumped up and hugged her sister, tears of joy streaming down her face. Piper attempted to give her a weak hug in return, but failed.

As Prue hugged her and a nurse came into the room to see what all the fuss was about, Piper looked at Leo and he knew everything was going to be okay.

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Piper had the breathing tube removed the next day, but Leo never got a chance to talk to her alone. Either her sisters, Andy, or Darryl was present, or Piper had fallen asleep.

Leo waited at the back of the room for his chance. It wasn't until later that afternoon that everyone had left, leaving Leo alone with Piper.

"You look like a doctor," Piper commented in a low voice, eyeing the scrubs a nurse gave him to change into. It was still hard for Piper to talk. The breathing tube really scratched up her throat.

"Well, you know, I was thinking of changing professions," He joked and Piper smiled.

"You could if you wanted to. You did save my life after all."

"It was a lot of luck," he said, remembering his conversation with the doctor.

"No, it wasn't," she said, scooting over on the bed, making room for him. "It was you, not luck, that saved me."

Leo gently got on the bed, trying not to jostle Piper and hurt her. But it didn't work. She winced in pain and he apologized profusely.

"I'm fine," she told him, lying on his shoulder. "I feel much better now." And she did. Physically as well as mentally. She finally let go of Mark and was willing to let Leo have all of her.

"Piper?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me you'll never scare me like that again."

"I promise."

That sat in silence for a few minutes. Then:

"Piper?"

"Yeah?"

"Never mind."

"Okay."

They sat in silence for again until Leo spoke up again.

"Piper?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think about being married to a cop who has a terrible fear of hospitals but is learning to get of it?"

"I think I'd like that."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"You talk to much," she told him and kissed him to shut him up.

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Author's Note: This is the last chapter! Well, actually, I'm adding an epilogue at the end. It's just a little thing to tell you how everything turns out. I want to thank all my faithful readers, you guys rock! I am working on another Piper and Leo fic, but I don't know when I'll post it. Thank you all for reviewing, you guys are great!