OMG, it has been WAY too long! I honestly forgot about this fic!Most of youwill probably have to go back and read the whole thing again!I was putting this up when my mom banged on the window and showed me this box full of baby chicks! We only have one other chicken and we were waiting for the stores to get Easter chicks. Right now my year-old chicken Bubbs(honarably named after my grandma. Yeah,I know, we named a chicken after her...But she's really smart!) is pecking around outside and my dog is staring inteltly at the chicks...drool coming down one side of her mouth...lol. j/k. She likes chickens. Gets along with them well. Anyway, enough about my baby chicks (who I have to go name!) and more about...Well...Reading and reviewing!
A week passed. Then two. Then three. Time flew.
Piper looked up from behind the bar of P3 when she heard the door open. She looked up, expecting to see Dan, but instead saw Leo. She smiled. That was when she saw Ally with him, and her smile grew. Ally's hand was wrapped tightly around Leo's as she jumped down the steps after him.
"Hey," Piper greeted.
"Hi, Mommy."
"What're you doing here?" Piper asked her daughter.
Leo lifted Ally up and she sat on a stool at the bar. "Leo picked me up fwom school 'cause Daddy couldn't."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, uh, Dan called in to her pre-school and told the secretary that he would have to work later. The school couldn't get as hold of you, so they called me," Leo explained, sitting next to Ally at the bar.
"See, I knew putting you on her emergency card was worth it," Piper said with a smile.
"Yeah…"
"Ally, did you thank Leo?" Piper asked.
"Yes, I did," Ally said matter-of-factly.
"Good." Piper smiled, but her smiled was directed toward Leo, who returned it. She reached over and took his hand. "Thank you," she repeated. Then she looked down at her daughter. "Ally, there are some coloring books behind the bar for you, okay? There're crayons in there, too. Why don't you…"
"Okay, Mommy." Ally nodded and jumped into Piper's arms. When her feet were on the ground, she grabbed the coloring books and set to work.
Piper walked around to the other side of the bar and grabbed Leo's hand, leading him into her office. As soon as she closed and locked the door behind them, she whipped around and kissed him passionately.
"God, I missed you so much," Piper whispered when they pulled apart. "Three days is just three days too long…"
"Huh. No kidding."
Piper smiled and kissed Leo again.
A week later, Piper asked Leo to pick Ally up again. She told Dan Ally had asked for it, but the truth was that she just wanted to see her daughter with Leo. Something about it...Something about seeing them together was just...right. It was right.
"Hey, thanks for picking her up."
"Anytime."
Ally hugged Leo and ran to Dan. He picked her up.
Piper stood behind Dan and Ally. She wasn't watching them, thoughshe was watching Leo. Dan carried Ally into the kitchen. Piper looked up and caught Leo's eye.
She smiled at him. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
"Want me to, uh…I'll walk you out," Piper suggested.
Leo nodded. He and Piper walked out to the front porch. She turned to him and smiled. She looked around shyly.
"I'd kiss you, but Dan…"
"I know." There was a stretch of silence between them. After a moment, Leo asked, "What're you going to do about him?"
Piper sighed. "I don't know…But he's getting suspicious of something, because we've been sleeping on opposite sides of the bed, if you…know what I mean…"
Leo nodded.
"It's just…I can't…It's hard to be close to him knowing you're over there, just on the other side of town…I can't think about it."
"I'm actually glad."
Piper smiled again. "I…I can't avoid him much longer before he starts asking questions…I mean, a month and a half is kind of a long time to not be in the mood…" she said, smiling nervously. It was a strange topic to speak about with Leo.
"I think I would understand that…But you can't fend him off forever…"
"I know…I can't talk about this now…I'll come over later?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Good…I love you."
"I love you, too."
Leo left, and Piper's hand slipped out of his as he walked away. When he was gone and his car was out of sight, she turned and went back inside the house.
The next day, as Piper was sneaking into the house, a sudden, shocking realization hit her. It had been bothering her for a while now, but she wasn't sure what it was. Now she knew.
She didn't love her husband.
It wasn't that he was a bad father—he was a great father—and they weren't fighting or anything, at least not more than a married couple normally fought. She just…She didn't love him anymore. They'd drifted apart, and they had been for a while.
She decided to tell Leo.
"Oh," was all Leo could manage when Piper explained her reasoning to him.
"Oh? That's all you have to say? I just told you I don't love the man I'm married to." Piper almost laughed. "Oh?"
Leo shrugged. "Yeah."
Piper laughed out loud. She ran a hand through her hair. "Oh…Okay."
"What are you going to tell Dan?"
She looked up, and he could tell she'd never even thought about it. Another sudden realization hit her. "I think I need to talk to my sisters."
"What? Piper, if someone finds out—"
"What are we gonna do, Leo? Just keep up an affair for the rest of our lives?"
He was silent, unsure.
"Now…I need to talk to my sisters," she said pointedly.
He nodded.
Piper called her sisters and they agreed to meet at Prue's house. When Piper got there, she was shaking. She was terrified to tell them, terrified of what they would think, what they would say. When they were all sitting in the living room giggling over small talk and amusing work stories, Piper realized something else.
She had no idea what she was going to tell them.
She cleared her throat suddenly, before she even knew what she was doing. That was how she did things she was afraid to do, just…do it before you even realize what you're doing. "I have to tell you guys something…" she said."What? What is it?" Phoebe asked.
"I, uh…" She took in a deep breath and swallowed. "I've been having an affair."
"Oh my God, what?"
She repeated it, with slightly more confidence this time.
"With who?"
She nodded a little and closed her eyes. "Leo."
Her sisters were silent for a moment. "Does Dan know?"
"No…" Piper shook her head. "Just you guys."
"How long?" Prue asked.
"About…a month and a half."
"Oh my God, Piper, why haven't you told us?"
She shrugged. "I was afraid."
"I…We had no idea."
Piper nodded again. "Hidden in plain sight."
"Wow…"
"So…you guys aren't mad?"
"Mad? Why would we be mad?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know…Are you gonna tell Dan?" Piper asked them.
Prue and Phoebe exchanged a glance. They looked back at Piper and shook their heads. Piper breathed a sigh of relief.
"I just…" Prue started. "I wanna know why you didn't tell us?"
Piper shrugged. "I told you, I was afraid you would freak out…or tell."
"It's not kindergarten, Piper."
She nodded. "I know, but…I mean, when I said my wedding vows, I meant to be true to them. I feel like I've broken them, I have." She paused for a few seconds as tears formed in her eyes. "But it doesn't feel wrong."
So...I think it was okay, considering the delay. Don't forget to review, and I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP!
