When Piper went to the bank again a month later, there was no money there whatsoever, save for a few coins... She walked out onto the dirt road and looked around. People were going about their daily business, riding their horses through town on errands.

Where was her money?

That night, Piper questioned Prue and Phoebe. "Did you take any extra money out for your trip?"

"No, Piper, we didn't take any. Anything we would have taken we would have put back by now."

"And... No one took anything else?"

"No."

"Damn it, I had a hundred twenty-five dollars in there..."

"What, it's gone?"

"All of it." Piper sighed.

Piper went to the saloon the next afternoon. She sat on a stool, listening to the Smalltalk around her, the occasional laugh and grunt, the fight between two men ready to break out. Lee Barlow asked Piper what she wanted, but she turned him down. She didn't want a drink.

One of Lee's boys, Charlie, came up and sat beside Piper. "Heard 'bout yer money, Piper. Tough break."

"Nice try, Charlie, I'm married already."

"Ah, it's not that, I'm just simply... expressing my sympathy toward your situation."

"Thanks, but..." Piper had looked up and a loop on a leather bag caught her eye. As Charlie kept talking, she stood up and walked over to the bag, sitting on the other side of the bar table on a stool. She opened the bag and her eyes widened. "What the hell...?" Every last bit of her money--everything that was taken--was there. Everything. "Whose is this?" she demanded, whirled around.

No one looked up. They ignored her.

"Whose is it?" Piper yelled.

One man looked at Piper, then the bag. "Daniel Gordon's," he said.

Piper froze. She looked at the bag again. "Oh God..."

That night, as Piper got home, she noticed Dan was, too. She smiled to herself, but for different reasons than one would think. She put up her horse and went inside, holding the bag. Dan was asleep on the couch. Piper got about three feet away from him and threw the bag at his face as hard as she could. Dan woke up immediately.

"Piper, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What do I--What do you think you're doing?"

"What are you talking about?"

"My money, you cheat! You've been stealing it!"

"I haven't stolen a thing! It's my money, too!"

"So that's what this is about?" Piper asked. "You married me for my money?"

"Piper, just forget it."

"Dan…"

"I said forget it!"

"How can I forget how you stole from me? I worked for my money, and all you ever do is sit on your ass and stare at cattle!"

"Like you had no idea, Piper! You had to know that money was involved. No one with your kind of cash is that naïve."

Piper stopped, suddenly cold. She felt a chill run through her and freeze her in place and time as if she were some statue on exhibit. She stared at Dan, at her husband. "So you did… You married me for… my money?"

When Dan nodded at her as if she were stupid, the life came back into Piper's body and mind. "How could you be so greedy?" she screamed. "You stole from me! You stole what I worked for! My pride and my life! I gave everything for you!"

"You gave nothing, so I just took what was rightfully mine!"

"Nothing? Dan, I left my home! I took these risks! I offered my entire life to you and you just turned me down now. How could you?" Piper's voice dropped.

"Because you're just that easy, Piper! You're just that easy."

Hot tears were already forming in her eyes as she shook her head. She snatched the bag full of her money with lightning speed and left.

Joanne opened her door and her eyes widened. "Piper, what--"

Tears had been running down Piper's face, but they were mixed in with water from the rain that had been falling as well ever since she left Daniel's. As soon as she had slammed the door, lightning had like up the sky, thunder had cracked, and the rain had poured down on her as if to wash away her pain. But what it had done was wash away her love. Her trust.

"Please… I just need to stay here… I can't go back there right now," she sobbed as thunder boomed above her.

A/N: I felt that was painfully short, but it also seemed like a good place to stop... It was only one line short of being two pages long, but... I'll have the next chapter up shortly. It will include moreverbal fighting, some crying on Piper's part, and even a fist fight, if I'm good, which, if you'll excuse my ego inflation, I am...

I'll be back.