Hey, sorry this took so long. I tried to post this chapter and instead I got kicked offline! Now I'm sick, or at least coming down with something, but I'm still writing. Mom's making me stay home this weekend so I'll be able to write all weekend. I've started writing this new fic and I'm almost finished with a different one. When I finish I'll post it (hopefully without delays, since it'll be done) and then...well...We'll jump off that bridge into icy cold waters when we get there...

For now, read and review!

charmedmel32: And the OTHER award goes to...YOU! AGAIN AGAIN! yeah, Dan shot Leo, and he didn't tell her. A couple other people mentioned that, too. I'm glad he's dead. (Dan, not Leo.) Thanks! I'm glad you think I'm—I mean...My STORY is great...

piperfairy: I don't think you've reviewed, no. There's gonna be some conflict between Piper and Leo. After all, it takes two to tango. You can't have a relationship with just one person in love. Leo's gotta be in on it too.

Michelle: How can't you believe Piper still loved Leo? They are MEANT TO BE! I'll get Leo in on the deal, too, and then...you'll see...

OTHCharmedHPFreak: Huh?

Linn-LovesPiperLeo: Um...You're welcome for killing him!

piper+leo4eva: Well of course she still loves Leo! And I saw your phone on the counter in my kitchen. I'll ship it to you, K? K.

GeminiPiper: Ask and you shall receive! Maybe...Okay, it depends on what you ask about!

AbbeyT: He didn't tell her because...Uh...Well, BECAUSE! Yeah, that's why!

kk241289: Yup, Dan shot Leo. I'm not sure why they didn't arrest him...but then again, why not? It's my fic!

winter blaze: interesting, huh? Interesting is good, right?

livingwyatt: WOW, SUGAR HIGH? NO KIDDING! OMG! GUESS WHO'S ON A SUGAR HIGH NOW!

lolalex: Thanks, I'm glad you love it!

scullymulder: Ha, your life's been catching up with you, too? It's okay, at least you're reviewing now! And yay! Yeah! She still loves Leo!

LeOaNdPiPeR4eVeR: Well of course there's still hope! There's always hope for Piper and Leo with me!

Chub: Nope, it won't be that simple. They have some emotions to sort out first and then we still have to find out who killed Dan. And then...Never mind, you'll find out later.

Chapter 5 - Broken Pictures, Confused Hearts

Leo slammed his office door shut and went straight to his desk. He sat in the chair with a Huff", crossed his arms on the desk, and put his head in them. He sighed deeply. He should never have gone to the funeral.

There was a quiet knock on his door. A slender woman about his age with blonde hair up in a bun opened it a little and poked her head through the opening. She peered at Leo through her glasses. "Leo…?"

He looked up. "Jessica…" he said, glancing around his office almost nervously. He straightened a couple of paper piles.

She smiled and walked into the office, closing the door behind her. She locked it. She was carrying a clipboard with some papers on it with her, and a pen was stuck behind her ear.

"What's wrong?" she asked, moving up to him. She knelt beside him, her black mini skirt stretching tight.

He looked at her. After a few seconds, he kissed her. She tried to deepen the kiss but he pulled away roughly. She looked taken aback.

"My ex-girlfriend."

"Melissa? What about her?"

He shook his head. "No, not her. Piper."

Jessica glanced briefly at the picture Leo was staring at on his desk. She knew of Piper, the girlfriend he'd been trying to forget. And he almost forgot about her, until she came back into his life with Gordon's case. Jessica knew all about it. Leo told her.

She looked at the picture again. It wasn't a picture of Piper, but a picture of roses. Black roses. She wasn't sure what meaning they held, but she knew it was important to Leo and to Piper. She never questioned them.

Jessica had a feeling she and Leo's office relationship was coming to an end.

"I can't see you anymore, Jess."

She nodded. "I know."

He looked away from the picture at her. "I'm sorry."

Jessica grinned. "You still love her."

He crinkled his nose. "No I don't."

She laughed. "You do." She stood up and patted his shoulder. They were both looking at the picture of black roses. "Stop denying it. You need to work things out with her," she said.

"You're crazy, Jessica."

She shrugged. "So? If I remember correctly, someone once told me that it was my best quality…"

"No, I remember telling you that your ass was your best quality."

She giggled. "I never said it was you who said it, but thanks."

"…I'm serious. We have to break up." He wasn't making eye contact with her.

"I know. You're making this too hard."

"Well here," he said, handing her some papers. "Copy these and fax them to Mark Turner."

She gave him an annoyed smile.

"What do you mean you 'still love Leo'?"

"It means I still love Leo! I still love him! I never didn't!"

"Piper, you're just confused. You're hurting because of Dan…"

"No! I mean, yes, but…I love Dan. No, I loved him. I love Leo now. I never stopped loving him. I—I mean, why did we break up anyway?"

Piper's sisters didn't answer.

"Exactly!"

"Piper…" Prue started.

She wasn't listening. "…But it'll never work."

"What?"

"Me and Leo! It'll never work! He's always working and he's gone and he's out of the house…It'll never work…"

"Piper." Phoebe put her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Piper, listen to me. You are going nuts. You need to grieve right now. For Dan."

Piper wrenched away. "Why? Why should I grieve for him? He deserved what he got!"

"Piper!"

"No! Don't 'Piper' me! He deserved what he got for shooting Leo! He tried to kill Leo! Why should I grieve for him?…Oh, God…That was horrible of me…I should never…"

"Piper, I think you're going manic-depressive. Your emotions are all out of whack. You need to lie down…"

Prue and Phoebe led Piper to her room and laid her down. She couldn't seem to decide whether to grieve for Dan or go see Leo. She wasn't sure if she and Leo should try to get back together or not. She wasn't sure if Dan deserved her tears.

But she was positive that she still loved Leo.

"You broke up with Jessica?" Jacob asked, shocked.

"Yeah."

"But Jessica? The one with the ass?"

"Yes!"

Jake groaned. "I liked her."

Leo laughed. "You're married."

"So? I can't look at someone else's ass now and then?"

Leo gave his brother a strange look.

"What? Oh, I see. You broke up with her because of Piper."

"Piper? No, I—"

"Ah, sure ya did. Everyone knows you still love her."

"No I don't—"

"Ah, sure ya do."

"I don't!"

Jake shrugged. "Whatever. Ruin your own damn life."

Leo sighed. "Sorry. I just…"

"You love her. Just admit it."

"I don't love her. I loved her. We didn't exactly break up on the nicest terms."

Jake nodded. "Right…"

"And she's…grieving…"

"Right…"

"So there's just no way that we…"

Jake laughed. "Are you talking about getting back together with her? Jeez, I just wanted you to admit you loved her. Now it's obvious."

Piper knocked on Leo's office door the next day. He opened the door, expecting to see Jessica or Mark Turner but instead seeing her. She was crying.

"Piper…"

She sniffled.

He took her in his arms and brought her into his office. He closed the door with one hand and led her to his desk. He helped her up to sit on the desk and she started crying even harder. He pulled away long enough to go back and lock the office door but he returned to her and she fell into his arms again.

He thought she was crying about Dan, so when she wrapped her arms around his neck, he whispered to her, "It'll be okay, Piper. I promise. I know it's a lot to handle, but I promise you'll be okay…"

Piper shook her head but didn't pull back. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice muffled.

Leo pulled back. "What?" He was standing in front of her and she was sitting on his desk, her legs dangling. He stared into her eyes. "Why are you sorry?"

Her tears seemed to be drying up slowly. "I'm sorry we broke up."

He wasn't prepared for that one. "What?"

"I'm sorry we broke up," Piper repeated.

"Piper…This isn't something we should be talking about." He took a couple of steps backward.

Piper got off the desk and moved toward him. Her tears were gone but her eyes were still red. "I was…thinking…the other day…" she started.

Leo listened silently.

"I realized something…" She took in a deep breath. "I still love you."

He was stunned. He opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a strangled gasp for air.

"Actually, I never stopped loving you…" Piper continued.

He was still silent. She'd just opened up a floodgate of emotions inside of him. She had no idea the effect of her words. He stared into her eyes.

"I love you," she whispered.

He kissed her. He couldn't think of anything else to do. The kiss didn't stay simple for long, and soon they were locked in a passionate embrace, letting out long pent-up emotions.

He broke the kiss to move to her neck. He kissed her neck and nipped at her ear, pleased with her reaction. Her knees shuddered and he had to wrap an arm around her waist to keep her steady. He moved back to her lips and kissed her again. His hand slid down her shoulder, taking the strap of her tank top with it. Piper twisted away from him.

"Mmm, no, this isn't right," she said.

He didn't say anything, knowing she was right.

She took a step back. "I'm sorry. This is just…" She kissed him softly, then moved toward the door. She unlocked it, opened it, and left without looking back.

Leo closed the door. He leaned against it, his eyes closed, breathing heavily. He walked to his chair behind his desk and fell into it, angry. He looked at the picture of black roses on his desk, the only picture on he had on it. His hand came out and slapped the picture and frame off of his desk. It fell to the floor with a crash.

Why didn't he just say it? It was just three simple words, he could have said them right back to her. He was ready to, he could have.

He should have.

Piper came into the manor and ran straight to her room. She'd been stupid to think that she could barge into his office, tell him that she still loved him, and then leave. What was she expecting from him? What did she want?

She lay on her bed for a long time, crying silently. She looked up at a picture frame on the table beside her bed. In the frame was a picture of a bouquet of black roses, her favorite flower.

Anytime there was some sort of occasion, as far as she could remember back, she would get a black rose. When she was in school plays or concerts for band or show choir, her mother would buy her a single black rose. After she died, it was Piper's grandmother who would buy her a rose. When Grams died, Piper stopped getting the black roses.

Then she met Leo. One night they were talking about nothing in particular, sitting in her living room on the couch. They hadn't been dating for long. Piper mentioned how much she loved roses, and Leo asked her what color.

"Black," she'd said simply, then told him her story about how she would get one from her mother or Grams.

From then on, whenever he showed up at her door to take her out to dinner, he had a black rose with him. They were the most expensive of roses, and she was always grateful. On their anniversaries, he bought her an entire bouquet of them. He would buy her a black rose as a thank you or an apology.

They both had a picture of the roses with them, she remembered. She'd seen the picture on his desk earlier. It was the same as the picture on her table. She picked it up and stared at it for a long time. After a moment, her anger and pain built up and she threw the picture at the wall. It shattered.

So whaddaya think? Not too crappy, I hope...So that explains the roses, and they're not gone yet. And I'll have Piper and Leo confront each other again, then we've got bigger problems. Like...What about the guys who killed Dan? (hint hint to future chapters)

Review, I so love it!