AN: Thanks to all who reviewed, but a special thanks to charmedmel32, it's nice to know that people out there, really truly have a love for people's work. Thank you so much, it makes me happy enough to cry when I hear from people like you. Thank you.

Read on!

Leo sighed involuntarily. He knew it would come to this. He sighed again. Amy had abandoned them a few weeks after Emma's birth. The closest thing Emma had ever had to a mother was Piper. It was no wonder that fresh from recovery, she would be screaming for her surrogate mom, for lack of better term. Now, he was pissed. The stupid bitch wanted to waltz back into their lives and ruin them, tear it to fucking shreds. Why? Because she had to have everything handed to her on a goddanm silver platter and when it wasn't, she turned into a pouty, bratty, overbearing, whiny… He couldn't find a word strong enough. Where the hell did this hospital keep its Valium, because if he kept spiking his blood pressure like this, he was going to need one.

And Emma was still screaming. "Who are you? Who are you, who are you, who are you? You are not Piper, where's Piper? It's supposed to be Daddy and Piper, where's Piper? Daddy, where's Piper?"

Good damn question. "Honey," Leo said in his calmest voice, "Calm down, Piper's not here right now. She's out. I'm here and…" He couldn't bring himself to say the words "Your mother". "Amy's here."

Finally, the pseudo-parent spoke. "Emma, sweetheart, I'm your mother." She said the words so casually, it was almost frightening.

Emma finally stopped yelling. Her lengthened into slits. "My mother ran away." She said matter-of-factly, and it pained Leo to hear her say that. "She ran away." Emma said again.

Amy flushed. Good. She ought to feel not only embarrassed, but deeply ashamed. She wasn't worth his cheapest cologne—he'd bought it way back in high school to impress Piper. It had promptly made her vomit. Oh well. "Well, sweetie, I—" and then she realized that there was no excuse for her behavior. She'd made a horrible mistake, too many years ago for it to be undone. What was done was done. And wounds take long to heal.

88888888

Piper hefted a large box of straws onto her shoulders with a small huff of breath. Damn, who knew straws could be so heavy? She wiped a strand of hair out of her eyes and proceeded to carry the box behind the bar. But all the toil would be worth it in the end. This property would be hers, this building would be hers, and finally, P3 would be standing and it would be hers. Gave one a certain sense of achievement. Piper bent down to place the box on a hidden away shelf, and when she stood again, Ross was standing on the other side of the bar. She gaped and stumbled back a few steps. He reached across to catch her, and grabbed her wrist, steadying her.

"I'm sorry!" He gasped. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Piper gave a low breath. "I, ummm. It's okay." She paused. "What'd you need? We won't actually be up and running until tonight."

Ross laughed and glanced at his watch. "A little mid-morning pick-me-up?"

Piper laughed as well. She'd forgotten what time it was really. The whole day would drag on. "Oh. Yeah. So, what did you need?" She always had been a get-to-the-point sort of gal.

Ross looked at his watch again. "Actually, I was wondering if you needed any help with the final preparations."

Piper smiled. "Well, if you're good with a box and can move a table, have at it."

88888888

Piper and Ross stood side-by-side, hauling boxes away in the store room. "How long does margarita mix keep?" Piper wondered aloud.

Ross laughed. "Well, I'll tell you this. If a group of twenty-five people can get smashed off of three year old mix, I would say you won't have to worry."

Piper laughed as she pushed up a box of napkins. "That's something I like about you, Ross. You have a great sense of humor." She turned to grin at him, while pushing another box of napkins away. "Girls like that."

His smile was slow and easy. "Good to know." Suddenly, a box came tumbling off the shelf and Ross grabbed her before it had the chance to smack her head. She was crowded into his chest, and felt the warmth emanating from him. Her fingertips were splayed wide across his collarbone. She had one leg propped in the air, classic damsel-in-distress style. "Are you alright?" The words were breathy, as though he would ruin something by speaking too loudly.

Piper, still dazed from her near-miss accident, nodded slowly. "Yes. I think so." And then, all at once, Ross's mouth was covering hers. She pushed him away violently. "What is wrong with you?" She yelled. "I'm with Leo, remember? And, you are married to Kerry, only the most loving woman on earth!" Piper wiped her mouth. "You asshole! Get away from me, and out of my club!"

Ross turned a left with no other words.

8888888

Hours later, Leo and Emma were riding home in a friend's car, she was talking a mile a minute about the doctor and the hospital. Leo tuned out. He loved to listen to her, but he was still so goddamn mad. Who did Amy think she was? She couldn't just come back in their lies and announce that she was Emma's mother. He hated that. He hated her. But most of all, he hated himself. But why? He hated the fact that he had to protect Emma from her own mother. And that he'd failed.

"Daddy, that lady said she was my mommy." Emma said abruptly. "But…my mommy ran away."

Leo chose his words carefully as he eased into their driveway. "Well, sometimes people who run away come back."

Emma frowned heavily. "But, I didn't want her to come back. I wanted you and Piper to get married like that lady on TV, and I wanted her to have a baby like that lady in the commercial. That way, I could have a little sister."

Leo's heart almost broke. "Hey, Emma, I have a question for you." He stopped the car, and turned to face her. "Emma, how would you feel if Piper and I did get married, and maybe, have a baby?"

Emma grinned. "I like that idea! Then, the baby could share my room with me."

Leo looked thoughtful for a moment. How was he going to bridge the subject of losing their house? He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. "Well, Emma, it's good to know that you'd be okay with that." He climbed out of the car, and walked around to open Emma's door for her. Hand-in-hand, father and daughter walked into their soon-to-be-lost home.

88888888

Ten minutes later, Piper jogged up to the house and realized that she had just enough time to get ready, and have nice visit with Emma. She felt horribly guilty about having left the hospital. When she turned the doorknob, she was bombarded by a little body.

"She missed you." Leo said simply. Piper could here the far-away iciness and forced politeness. Uh-oh.

"I sure did!" Emma exclaimed loudly. "This lady said she was my mommy, but I started yelling for you." Emma's big, blue eyes gazed up at her. "But you didn't come."

Piper's guilt intensified. "I know, Em, I'm sorry. I was busy." She looked over at Leo, but he only looked away, taking a long drink off his beer. "Why don't you go check on Miss Maggie?" Piper said in an overly cheery voice. The little girl scampered off. Piper crossed to Leo's chair and bent to kiss his cheek, curling her fingertips behind his ear. It was an overtly sexual gesture, but apparently, he was angry.

"Where were you?" He hissed, keeping his tone an angry whisper.

"At the club, getting ready for tonight opening." Piper said, her tone the same, except, a little more defensive. "Didn't your mom tell you?"

He shook his head. "No, you should have told me. They left because Dad started coughing."

Piper turned on her heel and left the room.

88888888

He found her a few minutes later, soaking in the bathtub. Leo didn't bother knocking, just went in and shut the door behind him. Her eyes were closed, and her hair pulled up in one of Cosmo's messy buns. Her toes suck up out of the mountains of bubbles, but otherwise, you could only see her from the shoulders up. He sat on the tub's edge. She didn't even hear him and he realized that she was sleep. "Piper. Piper. Piper!" Finally her eyes opened. He smiled weakly. "The devil himself couldn't rouse you."

She didn't smile, just closed her eyes again. "If he has his scythe…"

"That's the Grim Reaper." He said absentmindedly, dipping his hand in the water.

"Nice to know you're on the up on your creatures of death."

"The devil has a pitchfork."

Piper shrugged. "Whatever."

Leo sighed. "Sorry. I realize that the club is a priority, I just thought that you should have at least told me before you left that you had to take care of that, because I realize how important it is."

A heartbeat later: "You rehearsed that didn't you?"

"Just a little bit."

Piper pursed her lips. "Look Leo, I realize that I'm a little at fault here, and I accept that. But I can't be her."

Leo scratched his elbow. "Who?"

"Holly Homemaker." Leo raised an eyebrow. Piper sighed. "You know, that perfect bitch who make Momma's apple pie and vacuums the floors every day, and dusts and mops and compulsively cleans the drapes and takes the kids to soccer practice and dance and tap and clarinet and shines the silverware—" she stopped to take a deep breath. "And finally, when Big Corporate Hubby comes home she crawls into bed with him and gives him the best sex of his life—but not loud enough for the 2.5 kids to hear." She stopped to open her eyes and glare at him. That is Holly Homemaker and I can't be her."

Leo sighed. "And I'm not Big Corporate Hubby." He said seriously. "I don't expect you to be her. I just want a baby with you."

She couldn't believe he was being so blunt about it. "Do you really?"

Leo sighed again. "Piper, I want you carrying my child, okay? I need that. I need you."

Piper sighed too. "Leo, I get it. But don't tell me you want this to fill the inner void. Having a child doesn't save a relationship."

Leo whipped around to look at her. "Are we on the rocky side?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

88888888

Piper was standing behind the bar, in her little black dress and her little black platform shoes. P3 was finally up and running, but for some reason, she wasn't happy about it. Oh, she was happy to have her club standing, and she was happy to have people in it, paying for drinks and things, but Leo hadn't been there all night. Not that she'd really been expecting him, he was at home with his child. But it would have been nice to get a phone call, or something. Piper looked up towards the stairs, for the umpteenth time that night. And there he was. He wore sort of a gauzy, diaphanous red shirt and black pants. His hair was that messy chic that GQ was all over. And his blue eyes glinted darkly as he searched for her. Finally, his eyes rested on her. He made his way slowly through crowd, only to slide onto the seat directly in front of her. His eyes met hers in a silent greeting, and it was understood that he was there because he loved her, not for the fact that he could get free drinks. A hard rock beat—an erotic beat, she realized—pounded through her body, and probably through his too.

"No." Piper said suddenly. "No, we aren't on the rocky side."

Leo smirked. "Good."

She mindlessly wiped a glass, flicking a piece of hair out of her eyes. "Where's Emma?" She asked.

"Emma is…" he let out a slow breath, followed by a bark of laughter. "In Mrs. Shultz's care." He said carefully.

Piper laughed. "Oh, she's gonna hate you for that." She slid a beer in front of him and watched as he cracked the top.

Leo shrugged. "She'll live." A heartbeat later: "I wasn't going to come."

Piper sighed and felt a twinge of pain somewhere in her chest. "You weren't?"

He shook his head and sipped his beer. "No, I wasn't. I was mad as hell. I think Big Corporate Hubby has anger management issues."

"I thought you weren't BCH."

He shrugged. "All that matters is, I wasn't going to come, because I was pissed, and then, I realized that if I didn't come then maybe…"

"We really would be rocky." She finished with a sigh.

"Yeah." He took a pull off the beer. "Do you have time for a dance?"

Piper's lips twitched with a smile. "For you I've got all the time in the world."

And where there should have been a slow dance, they danced to fast rock music, with hordes of people singing the words around them.

AN: I wanted to thank ya'll so much! I love how much you support me and my writing and I love ya'll so much for it! It's just so nice to see people who care. I think my first magic fanfiction is going o be long as hell. With any luck. The plan is it'll span 5 generations of the Halliwells, starting with Piper and Leo and ending like… a long time in the future. But it'll have something for everyone, angst, romance, inter-familial backstabbing, pre-generational pain carry-over and well, just plain old magic. I may get the first part up soon, probably after I finish this. I figure I'll start the magical fic, and probably keep Profiling Love up. The Reunion…I'm feeling so uninspired, but hold on, if I'm not working on that, I'll get more to you. I also have ideas for three more AUs, in addition to the magic fic. Here's a brief description of my three AU ideas:

Idea A: Piper and Leo have been married for a few years. Long enough to have settled into a routine of spring cleaning, not long enough to a have run a rut in the easy chairs. At the moment, they are having heavy marital issues. It doesn't help that Leo, the senior homicide detective in his precinct, is being sucked into his case, the 7 Deadly Sin Murders. Piper, finding a new friendship with the neighbor across the street, and Leo, becoming closer and closer to his new—female—partner, have there world rocked by 8 things: Pride, Lust, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, Anger, Envy and… Murder. Working Title: Seven Deadly Sins. Note: Would I have a married Piper and Leo not end up together?

I guess so, Idea B: Piper is a strong businesswoman and proud owner of Charmed Incorporated. Leo is the arrogant owner of Wyatt Investigations. They are both attractive. They are both part of the corporate business world. Oh yeah, one more thing in common. They've been divorced for 4 years. But when she needs him to save her from her murderous ex-husband, Grant Lawry, and he has secrets of his own, will they find love again, against all the odds? Working Title: Dangerous Odds. Note: This'll be a fun one, I think. They'll be stuff I haven't tackled yet, car chases, big guns, hit men, Oh my!

Idea C: Leo Wyatt, a cop, is interested broadening his horizons, so he wanders into a bookstore. Where he meets Piper Halliwell, a woman who thinks that the ultimate love is the stuff of romance novels. He teaches her that all men may not a have "cast-iron chest" and "hot, steel in velvet manhood" but there are good ones out there. Beyond the realm of romance novels and maybe, just maybe, he wandered into a bookstore, looking to broaden his horizons. Working Title: Romance Novel Love. Note: This one could end up a little cliché, I think, but maybe a fun read anyway.

I would love to hear which story you'd be most interested in reading first! Thanks! Peace, love and soul!

PS: Did you know Darryl hosts Soul Train now?