AN: Hey guys… what's with the declining reviews? Please keep reviewing… pretty please? I'm writing his for you guys… and only for you. Otherwise I just might as well keep it in my head. But thanks to all that are sticking with me! I love you guys... you're reviews are really great.

CHAPTER VIII

OOO Some Things Never Change OOO

Leo inhaled deeply.

He was standing right outside the bathroom door where he had sensed Piper from the basement.

Even with the door between them, he could hear clear sobs and convulsive weeping.

Bravely, he put his hand on the handle, but all that courage had swept away in a matter of seconds. What would he tell her? He wasn't possibly capable in calming her down, or helping her for that matter. She would probably hate him anyway, after their episode that morning.

He could sense her very strongly now, after all he was only a few feet away.

He could clearly sense the need to escape… from life. She was completely broken, and he knew he had to help. To fix. To heal.

Determined now, Leo twisted the door knob open and opened the door.

At first he was surprised that he could not see her anywhere, yet hear her whimpering. But then he looked down.

She was sitting against the wall to the right from the door, her knees tight against her chest.

She looked up at him, and Leo's heart pounded hard against his chest.

Piper's head dropped right back down.

Leo kneeled in front of her and placed a hand on a shaking shoulder.

"Leo, don't." She said.

So Leo didn't.

"Come on, we need to talk. It's too stuffy in here." He said, and offered her his hand to get up.

Piper hesitated, and pulled herself up on her own instead.

He opened the door and they walked out back to the hall. Piper had her arms around herself. He felt the urge to put his there too, but knew she wouldn't let him. Besides, he didn't have the guts.

Leo opened the first door that led to an upstairs family room (one which was once the room they used to sleep in together), and walked inside.

The way Piper walked in seemed to Leo that she would collapse and he'd have to catch her. Finally she flopped down on the couch, close to the corner, and looked down at her fingers.

Leo set down on the small table in front of her, determined to talk to her so she can see his eyes.

"You're powers… they didn't work did they?" He started out by asking.

"They worked alright." She mumbled, drying her cheeks with the sleeves of what seemed to be Phoebe's sweater. It was too big for her.

"Not your which powers."

"I don't have them anymore."

"Yes, Piper. You do. Always have, always will. There is no way to take them out, unless a spell is involved. And that only your sisters could do."

He saw her mentally drift somewhere when Leo had mentioned a spell.

"No, the source can do it too. I've seen him." She said.

"What? He took your powers away? How?"

"Not mine. It was too late for me. He tried, nevertheless. But he couldn't. He took the baby's powers." She said. She hasn't yet looked up.

Leo swallowed. He mustn't forget what he came to talk to her for… so he pushed away the overwhelming feelings that came with the thought of their son, and concentrated on the woman before him.

Her eyes finally landed on his.

They were shiny with tears, but they were the same cinnamon eyes Leo had remembered from years ago. Some things never change.

Unaware of it, Leo extended his arm and put it on the side of her head on her soft hair.

At first, she leaned her head on his hand, closing her eyes, until they suddenly shot open and she jumped up to her feet.

"Don't do that!" She exclaimed.

Leo, realizing his mistakes, put his hands in the air, regretting.

She was breathing faster again, but as he was so calm, she followed his example and calmed herself too. Piper took her place on the couch again, this time putting her legs under herself.

"Sorry. It just seemed natural." He explained.

She didn't respond.

"And I'm also sorry about this morning. I didn't mean to burst like that. It's just that… I thought… I knew you were dead. I didn't even give a thought to the baby… I naturally assumed he was never born." Leo explained.

"Stop it." She suddenly said.

"No Piper, we have to talk."

"No, we don't." She insisted.

"Something is about to happen. Something big… everyone is feeling it, even the Elders. You do too. Piper, I know that after two years of… chaos, all of this is unnatural to you, I know that you are scared-"

"I am not scared." She said, looking up at him. Her eyes were strong, like they have always been. Some things never change.

"The charmed ones need to be again. To revive… Piper, you are here, now, for a reason you can't ignore. You can make a change. This family is long fallen apart; it's time to bring it out of the dark."

"Why the hell do you think I can do it Leo? I'm not Piper anymore, you need to understand that! And so do they!" Piper said, pointing towards the door leading downstairs where her sisters were.

"You are the same Piper, weather you like it or not. And I swear I won't rest until we turn you, save our son, and kill every one of those bastards." Leo was surprised by his own determination.

"You can't, they are too strong…" Piper said, getting up with frustration.

"They are not! Not if you are on our side!"

"But I can't be on your side Leo! I'm not good anymore! EVIL! That is what I am! The best you can do is kill me; otherwise they will get to me sooner or later and change the world as you know it! They need a charmed one to do whatever the hell they are planning, and they will do anything to get me!" Piper exclaimed. She was trying to convince him of the desperate situation they were in, but Leo strictly refused to give up hope. That was all he had at this point.

"We will stop them Piper, you just have to tap into… your old self again."

"Well that is too damn much to ask Leo." Piper hissed.

"I know it is Piper," Leo started, getting up and walking around the couch to where Piper was now pacing, "but it's the only way out. You have to tap into your powers again…"

Piper was shaking her head in denial.

"No Leo, stop this." She warned.

He ignored; "And you might not want to accept it, but so many people rely on this; your sisters, maybe even the fate of the world, if that's how big what the source is planning to do is-"

"Don't! Stop!" Piper begged, her eyes crystal.

"-And from what I heard from the elders, it's pretty damn big. And you need to know how much it all depends on you…"

"Shut up!" She screamed.

Leo didn't. She had to know, and to understand. They didn't have much time.

"You have got to try harder Piper, use your powers, they are still in you… force yourself to!"

"Why are you doing this to me…"

"Do it Piper! You don't have another choice! DO IT!"

"I CAN'T!" She screamed, throwing her hands up. And magic happened, only not the kind Leo was hoping for. It was an energy ball, right between her hands. And the next thing he knew she lunched it at him, hitting him right in the chest.

He stumbled and fell back. He put his hand on his chest, but the ball wasn't strong enough to leave any pain.

The pain was in Piper's features. The shock on her face was probably of her own actions.

Like that, she crumpled to the floor, her face hidden in her hands.

Leo, unable hide the shock himself, rubbed his chest again; just making sure it really happened.

Piper seemed completely distraught. She had crawled to the corner of the room, pressed herself against the wall, and cried silently. Maybe he had gone too far, she wasn't ready for the kind of pressure he had put on her.

He got up, walked over to her, and kneeled down again.

"Hey… hey… look at me." She didn't.

"It's ok Piper, you don't need to be ashamed." Naturally, he put his hand on her shoulder. This time she didn't resist, but didn't show any sign of awareness.

"Piper…"

She moaned something, but Leo couldn't tell what.

"Piper..." He tried again, and surprisingly she looked up.

"I love you." He said, out of the blue. He himself wasn't sure why. He didn't need to say it; he had always loved her.

"No Leo… You can't love me. I've been dead for two years." She said.

"Bull. You haven't changed one bit." And with that, he pulled her in for a kiss. A long, almost painful kiss. A kiss which one has been waiting and longing for for far too long.

Piper didn't pull away. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and let him have his hand under her sweater, along her spine, his hot lips fighting her cold ones.

AN: Ok, You can't get more PiperLeoness then that. Well, I guess you can, but I mean considering the circumstances… this chapter was pretty much all PiperLeo, so you better review, cause you all keep asking me for it… well there you have it. And let me tell you, it was fun to write! Please review….