AN: Thanks to all SOOO much for reviewing… I very much appreciate it. I liked writing this chapter, so hopefully you will like reading it as well. Finals this week… so I'll just update what I already have written, and hopefully it will be enough till I have to write more…
Enjoy!!
Chapter 8
OoO They Didn't Pull Away OoO
"Fuck."
Piper tried to read his expression.
"What is it?" She hurried to ask.
Leo had the face that he usually had when he was in deep thought on.
"Well?" Grams asked, not very patiently.
"Martini. He broke out of my house and ran away. He ran away!" Leo exclaimed.
"Fuck." Piper muttered, taking it in.
"That's bad isn't it?" Phoebe asked.
"Most likely." Prue answered.
"Fuck." Leo said ones again.
"What do we do?" Piper asked, panicking a bit.
"Fuck!" He exclaimed.
"Leo, you need to get there before the press does." Piper said.
"I'll come with." Andy added. Piper remembered that he was an officer.
Leo was getting up and putting his jacket on, when he stopped to stare at Piper.
"Will you be ok?" He asked.
"I will be, unless you don't go. They will blame us both for this." She gestured with her arms. A new feeling suddenly rose deep from her stomach. She didn't want him to leave.
Leo nodded, bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek while Andy did the same to Prue, only with a bit more passion seeing as they were actually a couple, and the two men took off.
"This is really bad isn't it?" Phoebe asked.
"Yes Phoebe. This is very, very bad."
As she said it, the doctor taking care of Brie walked up to the family.
Piper looked up at him, suddenly forgetting completely about Martini and focusing back to her precious little daughter.
"Mrs. Halliwell," He started. Piper still couldn't tell if he was carrying good or bad news.
"How is she doctor?" Grams asked.
"We managed to lower her temperature; she is not at risk any longer." He said, giving them a small reassuring smile.
Piper finally could let out a breath she's been holding ever since she heard Phoebe's voice back in Milan.
Brie was going to be ok.
"It's time for her dinner… do you want to do it?" He asked, gesturing towards Piper.
She smiled, and hopped up.
"You guys coming?" She asked the others.
"I think you need some alone time with your daughter." Grams said with a grin, and Piper nodded thankfully before leaving towards Brie's room.
She looked… Pale. But she had some redness to her cheeks. Her lips were bright pink, just like they were as she remembered them.
Piper smiled at the sight of her little Brianna, and walked around her small bed to take her to her arms.
"Just press that button if anything goes wrong." The doctor instructed, then walked out after closing the door behind him.
"Hey there big eyes…" Piper said with a baby voice, leaning forward and placing her hands under the baby's arms, picking her up that way.
She brought her against her chest, letting her lean against it, holding her with one arm on her lower back and the other supporting her fragile head.
Brie let out a slight moan, and Piper started rocking her.
"Shh… You're ok pickle…"
The girl was slowly starting to calm down. Piper settled down on the rocking chair in the room, and brought her shirt up, prepping Brie comfortably.
Brie seemed delighted that she could finally feed from her mother. She held Piper's finger tightly in her little fist, and when Piper seemed to make a motion to pull her away Brie let out a squeak, warning her not to.
Piper smiled at her daughter, happy to have her safe in her arms again.
Her smile faded as a cold breeze entered her.
She remembered Leo… Martini had broken out. They should have known better then to leave him alone. It was now obvious that he and no other was the one who robbed the bank…
Although that seemed unlikely. She'd had time to meet Martini's character in the past day or so. And besides; why would he come all the way to San Francisco just to run away?
"Hey, pickle, what do you say; Martini, yay or nay?"
Brie just gripped Piper's finger tighter.
"I agree. We like Martini. And the verdict…?"
Brie stopped sucking to look up at her mother with her big brown eyes.
"Not guilty. I agree. We'll kick your father's ass. Don't tell anyone I said that."
--OoO--
The window was broken. From the inside.
It was the glass door to his backyard, and it was now shattered in pieces.
"You know, it doesn't seem like someone had broken in from the outside. Maybe he just got out on his own." Darryl pondered.
"Oh really?" Andy gave him a 'you smartass' look, and Darryl rolled his eyes.
Leo let out a frown.
Martini had so many other chances to get away… why didn't he? There had to be something in the house that he wanted.
Soon, they knew what it was.
All the files that Piper and Leo have collected since they've started the case in Milan were gone, including Martini's private file. All gone.
"Fuck." Leo murmured.
"Sorry man, you were stripped of your clothes." Darryl said, looking around at what ones was a very neat office, now with paper thrown everywhere.
"Looks like Mrs. Halliwell and you are in some deep shit." Darryl continued.
"She doesn't need this right now." Leo commented, finding himself thinking about Piper.
"You better call her Leo. At least before the press gets here." Andy reminded.
But the journalists were already there.
"Point taken." He said, and took out his cell.
When he called, he got Phoebe.
"It's Leo. Is Piper there?"
"Oh, Leo, we've been waiting for your call. Though Piper is with Brie right now…"
"How is she?"
"Good, her temperature went down, we're taking her home tomorrow."
Leo felt bad; he was actually asking about Piper, not Brie.
"Thank god."
"What's going on there? What's all the noise?" Phoebe asked, probably referring to all the journalists that were already attacking the police with questions outside the house.
"Nothing. Listen, when Piper gets time, have her call me. It's important."
"Will do."
It was about three hours later that she called him.
They decided not to discuss anything on the phone, and he promised to be an her house by ten the next morning.
--OoO--
Piper had just put Brie back to sleep when there was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." Grams, who was staying over to help with brie, said.
When Piper came out of Brie's room, she saw Leo waiting in the hall, looking like he hadn't had much sleep.
"Alright. Shoot it at me; what's going on?"
She said, walking towards the living room where they both set down.
He sighed.
"Martini got away with all our stuff. He took his criminal file with."
"I'm sure we can get the police at Milan to send us another one…"
"Yes, but now that Martini has it; we can't know who else will. They will blame it on us."
Piper frowned.
"I don't think Martini did it."
"I didn't think so either; but someone had obviously broke out form the inside. If they would have gotten in first, then who break the glass to get out? They could have just as easily got out the way they got in."
"What if this is a set up? To make us think Martini did it?"
"Darryl is already looking into that. But before that's decided; we're in trouble with the police. We practically freed a criminal, and not just anyone; It's Martini we're talking about here."
Piper found herself frowning again.
"How is Brie?" Leo asked instead.
"She's ok. Not herself just yet, but better."
"And you?"
Piper shrugged her shoulders.
"Tony called." Leo said.
"What did he want?"
"What everyone wants; they're coming to San Francisco due to Martini's get away."
"Fuck. I really wish I didn't have to see that man."
"I know." He said, understanding.
Piper ran her fingers through her hair, tired. So tired.
Leo leaned forward so his elbows were on his knees.
"Listen, Piper… Quit the case. It was a mistake to ask you to join me; I'm sorry." He said. She looked up to see if he was serious, and he seemed to be.
"I can't. Even if I wanted to; I'm too late in the game."
"Piper, with your reputation, you can get out of it even before the hearing. But get out of this while you can… I don't want to drag you in my shit."
"Well now it's my shit as much as it's yours. So bare." She said, giving him a cold glance.
He smiled back.
"You're tired." She stated.
"That makes two of us."
Before she knew it, he was moving further down the couch towards her. But she was moving too.
"Let's be tired together." He said.
"Was that your pitch line?" She asked, not bothering to move any further.
"Now where did you get this idea?" He asked. He was already putting his palm upon her cheek. She took it down, gently.
Only so she could grab him with both her hands, pulling both herself and Leo until their lips touched.
It felt good.
Their kiss was slow, and long. I should pull away before it's too late…
But she didn't. And neither did he.
They just let their lips, tongue and teeth do their gob for them, despite all the mess that they would have to think about when the kiss would be over.
AN: Ok, so I know that wasn't very much Piperleoness… but I think this chapter had some nice mother/daughter moments… right?
Please Review guys! I do my part, you do yours (;