A/N: I've worked out chapters and what will happen in each, so, with any luck, this fic will be finished in…16-18 chapters. Whew, that means I'd better get writin'. Uh, this chapter starts just as Piper gets home.
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Chapter Five--This Changes Everything…Or Does It?
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Piper opened her front door in a daze. She reached to hang her coat up on the hook and missed as she walked, but didn't seem to notice. She set her purse on the foyer table, missing by about seven inches, and it fell, but she also didn't seem notice. She stumbled into the kitchen and sat at the table, her head in her hands. She dreamt it all. That was it. She was dreaming. It was all an illusion… A dream…
But her mind and her heart were screaming at her, both saying it was all real. Her mind told her it was a terrible thing she had done. She had betrayed her husband. The father of her child! But her heart was cheering her on.
Besides, it was just a… goodnight kiss. Right…?
Piper knew that was a cop out, and a dumb one, too. She shook her head. She was wrong to do something like she had… But it felt so right… No! No, no, no! It was wrong! It was a mistake! One she had to fix…
"Piper?"
Piper whirled around. "D--Dan, hi!"
"Lock up the club?"
"Yeah," Piper lied. Amanda had locked up…
"I figured you'd be at Leo's late tonight…"
Hearing Dan say Leo's name… and the way he said it… Piper knew there was something she had to do… Hell, she already screwed up, so why not?
"Um… Dan I--I--I have to go…" Piper ran for the door.
"Where to?"
"I'll uh, I'll call you," Piper stammered as she opened the door and left.
)))()((( (I'm gonna call this little guy PSD--Parenthesis Spider Dude)
Piper walked up the steps and knocked on the door nervously. It opened slowly and she could see Leo's face. He was wide awake.
"Piper, what…"
"Leo, I couldn't leave it like that. I just… I couldn't."
"Piper, you have to leave. You can't be here."
"Leo, please."
Leo came outside and stood in front of Piper. "It's not right. You have to go home," he said, going against everything in his heart.
But Piper wasn't about to do the same. She followed her heart and did what she needed to do and what she knew Leo needed, too. In one swift motion, she pulled him down for a kiss. It caught Leo by surprise, but once he realized what was happening, he pulled her closer and didn't pull away.
Piper started to push Leo through the open door. He backed up but didn't break the kiss. Once they were both inside, they pulled apart hesitantly, neither wanting to. Piper closed the door with her foot.
She pulled back for a second, smiled, and kissed him again. He guided her backward, and she fell onto the first thing under her, which happened to be the couch in his living room.
Piper pulled away suddenly, realizing what she was about to do. "Leo, this isn't right. We can't do this," she whispered from under him.
"Piper, if this wasn't right, would you be here right now?"
Piper nodded. "Yes, I would. You know I would."
"You can turn back now, Piper. I'm not forcing you to do anything."
Piper shook her head. "I'm not being forced."
Leo didn't say anything. He was searching her face for any resistance.
Piper opened her mouth to speak. As she did, Leo kissed her, and her thoughts floated away. There was something in his kisses, something Dan never had. There was more passion, more intimacy. More love.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself tugging at his shirt and he broke the kiss to pull it off. Piper took a second to admire his chest, something she missed. But she closed her eyes again as he pulled her into another passionate kiss.
He reached for the bottom of her shirt and as he started to pull it up, Piper pulled away. "Mmm mmm." She pointed up and smiled.
Leo got the simple enough hint and scooped Piper up, standing up with her cradled in his arms, and carried her upstairs.
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Piper woke the next morning with a strange feeling. She looked at the arm around her waist and caught her breath. She remembered everything. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping it would all go away, but when she opened them, she was even closer to Leo. Did she do that?
"Crap…" Piper muttered. Her mind started to race. What was she going to do? What would she tell Dan? Wait, did she have to tell him? Well, she did, right? He was her husband. Or… Maybe… Maybe Leo was really her husband and she was dreaming everything with Dan and Ally and she just woke up and--No, no, that's not right, Piper thought, shaking her head.
The reality hit her.
She slept with Leo.
Piper rolled over quietly and stared at Leo, who was asleep. She never imagined being back here. Never in her wildest dreams. She was with Dan. She was married. This was wrong. It was so, so wrong.
But it was so right. Everything about the night before felt so right. She couldn't have imagined it like that. It was nothing like any night with her husband…
Her husband. What would she tell him? He'll never know, Piper thought. She looked at Leo lovingly and smiled. She then forced herself out of the bed, careful not to wake him up. She didn't bother to take the sheet up with her, fearing that it may wake him. She collected her clothes and threw them on as quickly and quietly as possible. As she walked out of the room, she stole one last glance at Leo, not smiling or frowning. She turned and left.
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"Piper? Where the hell have you been?"
"I'm sorry, Dan, I… I went over to Prue's and stayed with her," Piper lied.
"Well, when you came in here earlier, you rushed back out like you forgot something," Dan noted.
"I--I did. I uh, had to go back for it…" Piper decided to change the subject. "How's Ally?"
"Fine. She's sleeping still."
"Good. I think I'll sneak in her room and maybe get--" Piper glanced at the clock. Ten o'clock. "--some sleep…"
Dan stepped aside, offering Piper the right-of-way.
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Piper slipped into her daughter's bed and laid down with her, wrapping her arms around the small body tightly. Ally snuggled up to her mom, but didn't wake up.
Piper stared at the little girl for a moment. Somewhere in the back of her mind, in the bottom of her heart, she wanted her daughter to be Leo's child. Something inside of her wanted Ally to be Leo's, not Dan's…
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That night at P3, Piper didn't see Leo. She stayed in her office most of the time. When she finally came out, boom! He was the first thing she saw. Of course, he was across the club behind the bar, but her eyes found his immediately.
Piper nodded for Leo to come over to her, and after handing a couple their drinks, he came out from behind the bar and walked slowly up to Piper. She walked backward into her office and he followed. She closed it behind them.
"Piper…" Leo started, though he didn't know which words to use.
Piper took a deep breath. "It isn't right."
"No."
"But…" Piper closed her eyes. When she opened them, Leo was still standing before her. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."
Leo was silent, waiting for her to continue speaking.
"…It was right… It was perfect, and it was right, and it was…"
"It was leading us on. A taste… A memory… of what could never be."
"Says who?" Piper took a step forward.
"Piper, you're married. You have a daughter."
"I've been waiting for this, Leo. For something new to happen to my life. This is it. I have to follow it. I have to follow you."
"You can't."
Piper shook her head. "Leo, last night reminded me… It reminded me of how we used to be. How we could be again… I want that, Leo… I miss that."
"It can't happen, Piper."
"Says who?"
"Says everything right! Everyone! Piper, it isn't possible for us to be together again. It didn't work out then, and it can't work now. There's more at risk."
"Like what?"
"Like your daughter!"
"Leo, she loves you!"
"She is not my daughter! She never will be! Think about what would happen to her! She wouldn't understand why her mom and her dad just can't get along."
"She can learn."
"What about Dan? You've been married to him for years now!"
"And I wish it could have been you instead."
"Piper, you're talking on impulse! It was a mistake! It cannot work."
"Leo, there is only one thing at stake here for me!" Piper cried.
"And what's that?"
"Love."
Leo was about to speak, but he stopped short.
"I love you, Leo… Oh God, I love you so much," Piper said quietly, shaking her head to get some fresh tears out.
"Piper, don't say that."
"Why not? Why do I have to deprive myself of what I want? Of who I want."
Piper stepped forward, and when Leo didn't back away, she pulled him down for a passionate kiss. When they pulled apart, he took a moment to answer her. "I love you," he whispered. "…But this changes everything."
"This changes nothing. But no one can know."
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A/N: Sorry 'bout the delay, but I'm spending all my spare time looking at schools because I'm so damn stubborn I refuse to go back to that hellhole they call a "learning facility"…
Anyway, I'm working on the other stories, but no ideas are coming up… I tried the open-it-up-and-just-start-typing trick… Didn't work…
I'll keep on keepin' on, though, and should have another update soon.
