Okay, something I probably should have put in the first chapter...Someday when I'm not lazy like I am now, I'll change the following notes and put them in Chapter1...But for now...

This is Rated R for a few reasons, even though it may not seem it right now...Um...After like, Chapter10, it gets really violent and...bad-languagy...In all chapters, there is and will be a lot of swearing. Expect that.
As far as sexual scenes go--mild. Nothing too inappropriate, (did I spell that right?) though. But there are some conversations about sex, mostly between the Halliwell sisters, or Leo and his brothers, but not all.

I think that covers it...If anyone has any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Um...this chapter starts like 5 minutes after Chapter1 ended...

Chapter 2 - Bad Dream

"So how many years have you put in on the force?" Mike asked. He and Leo were driving downtown, and Leo was looking for a certain place that he hadn't spoken up about yet to Mike.

"Ten."

"So you're what…thirty-eight?"

Leo looked over at Mike. "Thirty-four."

"Oh." Mike couldn't help but smile. He looked around the SUV. On the dashboard, there was a sticker that read, Car 18—SFPD. "I'm assuming you don't like to talk much, huh?"

"Not to you."

"Okay, I get that I kinda came in a pretty much screwed up your whole feeling about your job—"

"Wrong. I love my job, I'm just not so fond of the IA investigator that got the insane idea to stick you with me instead of someone else…"

After a few silent moments, Mike got bored and turned around in his seat and looked in the back. He found a bag that looked similar to a cheerleading bag, though it was all black and had no writing on it. He pulled in onto his lap, unzipped it open, and rummaged through it.

"Nosy, are we?" Leo asked, not bothering to look over or stop Mike. He knew what was in the bag.

"Just curious as to what my partner's up to." Mike pulled a gun out of the bag. "This is not the gun that was on you earlier," he said.

"No, it's my wife's."

"She a cop?"

"No…Might as well bring it to her. She's on the way…"

"What's her gun doing back here?"

"Ah, she forgot her bag after we had sex back there," Leo answered simply, doing his best not to laugh. Mike rolled his eyes. "It's true," Leo laughed.

Mike obviously didn't believe him. He looked back into the bag and pulled out a black, lacy bra. He held it up with one hand over the bag.

Leo looked over. "Yeah, she forgot that, too." He couldn't help but laugh.

"Where exactly are we going?" Mike asked, putting the bra back into the bag with the gun.

"My house, then Joey's house."

"Who's Joey?"

Leo glanced over. "You'll see…So what about you? Married?"

"Yeah, right," Mike laughed. "Single."

"Lucky bastard," Leo said flatly.

"How long've you been married?"

"Uh…Almost…It'll be eighteen years in a month or so."

"Eighteen years? Wait, you said you were thirty-four."

"Yeah, we got married with our families'—well…excluding her father's—blessings at the ripe 'ole age of seventeen," Leo said honestly.

"So how many kids come from eighteen years?" Mike asked.

"None."

"None? Really?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, we've always worked too much to think about kids and stuff like that," he said, keeping his sentences short. He didn't like sharing his life with this man who was practically a stranger to him. "But now…Maybe."

"Oh so you're considering?"

"No, but she's out of birth control pills and I'm out of condoms," Leo said. He had to laugh at his own joke as he pulled into his driveway, putting his head on the steering wheel. Light from a television could be seen from the bay window in the living room of the house before them. When Leo got over his own stupid joke, he looked up. "Good, she's home." He grabbed the bag from Mike's lap and got out of the SUV. "Stay," he told Mike.

Leo walked up the sidewalk to the front porch and opened the door. Mike could see a figure sitting on the couch from the bay window. The figure stood up and walked out of sight toward the door.

"Leo, what're you doing home?" Piper asked.

"Dropping this off." Leo handed Piper her bag. "I thought you said you were going over to your sister's."

She smiled and gave him a thank-you kiss. "Thanks. Oh yeah, Prue and Andy had plans for tonight and Phoebe's on a date…So it's just me…" Her sister Prue was engaged to Andy Trudaeu, a police officer at another station.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Baby," he said, taking her into his arms.

She smiled. "So…Your, uh…He with you?…Or is it she?"

"He, and yes. So please, take your time."

Piper smiled again. "Oh, okay." She nodded.

"I smell popcorn. What movie are you watching?"

"Patch Adams."

"Yeah, it does look like you've been crying." Leo ran his thumb across Piper's cheek. "What part?"

"The, uh, part with the butterfly on the cliff." Piper nodded.

"Aw…Mind if I…?" Leo said, looking over Piper's shoulder.

She pushed him back. "Don't you have someone waiting for you?"

"Ah, he's fine. I can make him wait."

"Leo…"

He kissed her, and pulled away only when he was out of breath. "Damn, I shouldn't have come back here. I knew I wouldn't be able to leave…"

"Well the earlier you leave, the earlier you come home again," Piper reasoned.

Leo considered this. "Okay, okay." He opened the front door. Piper set the bag down and followed him out to the patio in front of the door. He turned around to face her and pulled a little kid face. "I gotsta go…" He pouted.

"You gotsta?" Piper asked, falling forward into her husband. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. He held her close with one arm around her back and the other around her own arm.

A second later, he pushed her away enough to hold her at arm's length. He rested his head against the side of her face. "Uh huh. I just gotsta," he whispered in a baby voice.

"Don't you mean you have to?" Piper asked.

"Nope." Leo shook his head a little.

Piper smiled. "Go on." She pushed Leo away.

"I'll see you later tonight, then…Maybe early tomorrow morning."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you, too." He kissed her on the cheek and stood up straight. He turned his back to her and took a step away. Piper grabbed his arm by his coat and pulled him back to her for a better kiss.

"Go on," Piper whispered.

"I can't move." Leo shook his head.

Piper smiled. She gave Leo a quick but thorough kiss and pulled away again. "Now go," she told him, stealing one more kiss. When they pulled apart, she pushed him away toward the SUV. "Go."

Leo walked back to the SUV. He looked back at Piper, who was smiling at him. A dog ran out the front door past Piper and straight at Leo. "Git back in the house!" he yelled at the large German Shepherd. The dog skidded to a stop, stared at Leo, and whimpered. "Go," he told the dog. Piper called him over, and he trotted up to her.

Leo got into the SUV and closed the door. The dog barked at him. Piper held him back as the car pulled out of the driveway and drove out of sight.

"Nice dog," was the first thing Mike said.

"Hey. Don't talk about my wife like that," Leo replied.

Mike held back a laugh. "What's his name?"

"Yukon."

"Was he born—"

"Yeah. In Yukon."

"And shipped to San Francisco?"

"Yes. He was born in Alaska and was part of a sled dog team there. They named him Yukon."

"Oh, really?"

"Nope." Leo smiled. They turned down a different street.

Mile rolled his eyes. "So he's just your guard dog?"

"Well, kind of…I worked the K-9 unit for four years. Yukon was two when I got him. At six, he took a bullet for me. He survived, and he's now retired and living with us," Leo explained.

"Took a bullet for you?"

"Yeah. He had spirit. It broke his heart and his pride the first few months to wake up at dawn with me and not get in the truck and go to work, too. But he's older now, and not quite the dog he was at two," Leo informed Mike.

"How am I supposed to believe all that?"

"I do not know…" Leo shook his head slowly, as if he actually cared.

"So why's your wife got a gun?" Mike brought up the subject again.

"We're almost at Joey's," Leo said, changing the subject.

"Hello? Leo?"

Leo didn't say anything, so Mike dropped the issue. They parked on the side of a street in downtown San Francisco and both got out of the car. There were street lights up, casting an orange glow over the sidewalk and buildings. "This is Joey's place. I haven't checked in on him in a couple weeks."

"And Joey is…"

"Joey had himself a little drug stash in his…club…I let him slide, but this time, if I find something, he's gotta come into the station…"

Leo and Mike looked up at the decrepit building before them. There were spray paint gang signs and phrases such as "G-Squad", "Da Pimps", and "Hookertown" on the brick. Leo shrugged and opened the heavy concrete door off to the left. Mike followed him inside.

"So this is his club?"

"Yeah. There's a hall we have to go through here to get to the actual place. It's called um…Crib, I think…The name changes by the week."

They walked down a hall and into a large room with about fifteen people in it. Music was playing and the room was filled with smoke. Makeshift chairs, couches, and coffee tables were set up here and there. Mike stood in the doorway to the room while Leo walked up to one man sitting on a removed backseat of a van.

"Joey!" Leo exclaimed with enthusiasm. "You know, Joey? You are—" he flopped down on the couch and put his arm around the man's shoulder. "—just the man I was looking for!"

Joey had long straight black hair, pulled into a thin braid in the back. He had a leather vest on and black leather pants. The vest had no ties or zipper and hung open, showing a muscled chest and arms. He looked at Leo with disgust. "Man, fuck you, Wyatt. I been clean," he said.

"Now tell me: how exactly am I supposed to believe someone with a mouth like that?…Where's your whore, Joe?" Leo asked, glancing around.

Joey shrugged Leo's arm off of his shoulder. "Out."

"How do I know that?"

"Because I told you."

"Hiya, guys!" Leo called to the other people in the room. All of them were staring at Joey. Some of them laughed. Some cursed at Leo, others greeting him in their own…special…ways. Besides the enthusiastic greeting, Leo ignored them all. "So Joe, mind if I check the place out?" he asked.

"Yes."

Leo leaned back into the chair. "You know? I like this chair," he informed no in particular. He leaned forward and picked up a small bag off the coffee table. He opened it up and smelled it. "Ah, Joey…"

"Not mine," came the rough answer.

"Yeah, but it's your place." Leo looked from Joey to Mike. "Joey, meet Mike. Mike, this is Joey 'I-like-to-say-fuck' Johnson."

"Yeah, fuck you!" Joey cut in.

"And Joey lives up to his name! Okay, Joe, Mike here is gonna take you in. We're closin' this place down."

"What the fuck, Wyatt?"

Leo nodded to Mike. "Cuff him, Kid."

They came into the station with Leo holding Joey still by his hands, leading him through the door. Mike stood at Leo's side, following him in.

"Okay, everybody! I have an announcement to make!" Leo called. He waited for the people in the station to look up. "Joey's back!" he yelled.

"Joey!" some of the others called back, welcoming him back into the station once more.

"Been a while, Joey. I missed ya," Cortez said, walking past.

"Okay, Joey, you know the way to the back." Leo and Joey went out of sight to the back of the station.

Mike stayed back. He found Adam behind the secretary's desk, trying to pull up an old file. Amy stood behind him, fussing over how he was doing it wrong.

"Adam?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"Can I, uh…Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." Adam led Mike into a corner where they could talk in private. "Everything okay so far?"

"Well sure, except for the fact that he hates me."

"Ah, that's just Leo. He hates everyone before he gets to know them."

"That may be the case, but he doesn't want to get to know me."

"You want me to talk to him?"

Mike shook his head. "That'll make it worse."

Adam sighed. "Okay…Get in touch with his wife. If you can get Piper to trust you, she should be able to talk some sense into Leo. She's the best one to do that."

"That's great, but he'd kill me if I went near her. He's already established that fact," Mike said.

Adam laughed. "Nah. He'd hurt ya, yeah, but he wouldn't kill ya."

"He just seemed to get a little…quiet when I asked about this gun that I found in the back of the car."

"Piper's gun?"

"…Piper…That's his wife's name, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah."

Adam nodded. "Oh, so you found the bag."

"Yeah, why?" Mike asked. No answer. "Anyway…I asked him why she had the gun, and he gave me the silent treatment," Mike said.

"Figures. It's uh…It's best to steer clear of that conversation…"

"Why?"

Adam didn't answer.

Mike shifted and sighed. "How am I supposed to work with him if he keeps things from me?"

"…Some things are just best left unsaid."

"What happened?" Mike persisted.

Adam sighed. "You'll have to ask him."

"Oh, good one."

"I'm serious. What happened is Piper and Leo's business. We don't talk about it and neither do they. If you want to know, I'm not the one to be asking."

It was two in the morning, and Leo was in the lounge on one of the couches, sleeping. He had taken Mike to seven different places, and they had arrested three people since Joey.

But that wasn't what he was thinking about in his sleep. He was having a very different dream…

His brothers and dad burst in the front door of his house with Cortez and Adam just behind. They heard soft sobs coming from the living room and ran in. "She okay?" Rick asked first.

Piper was sitting on the couch, leaning against Leo's chest. She was sleeping uneasily, a sob escaping from her lips every few seconds. "No," Leo answered, slightly angered by the stupid question. He was holding Piper up to him tightly, rocking her back and forth gently. "She's traumatized." He sighed. "I think I am, too."

"Okay, Leo, I'll stay with Piper, you go in the kitchen," Rick said.

Leo nodded a little. He kissed Piper's forehead and untangled himself from her. Rick sat down on the couch and took Leo's place. She willingly fell into her father-in-law's arms.

Leo walked into the kitchen, and Ron followed him. Leo stood with his back against the island, using it for balance, staring at the floor. His brother stood in front of him.

"You feel okay?" Ron asked.

"…If I'd gotten there a minute later…" Leo trailed off, shaking his head.

"But you didn't."

"…But what if I had?" he asked, looking up with sad, scared eyes. Ron pulled Leo into a much needed hug.

Mike opened the door to the lounge and found Leo asleep. "Leo."

Leo didn't stir. He was lying on his back, and the couch was short enough so that his feet were over the edge of it. His head was on the other end. His legs were crossed and his hands were resting on his stomach.

"Leo!" Mike said in a loud whisper, almost scared to wake Leo up. "Wyatt, wake up!"

Leo jerked awake and, in a split second, grabbed his gun off of the floor, sat up, and pointed it at Mike.

"Whoa! Hey, hey, hey, I didn't do anything!" Mike defended, holding his hands up in surrender.

Leo looked from his gun to Mike and lowered the weapon. He wiped his face down with his free hand in an effort to calm himself. "What do you want, Kid?" he asked. He looked up at Mike, who was standing in the doorway.

"Phone for you."

"What line?"

"Uh, four."

Leo picked up the phone from the coffee table in front of the couch he was sitting on and pressed the Line 4 button.

"Wyatt."

"Girl, named Lauren, eight pounds, three ounces, blue eyes!" came over the receiver to Leo very quickly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there, I just woke up."

Ron took in a quick breath that Leo could here over the phone. "It's a girl. Her name is Lauren. Lauren Allison Wyatt."

"Wait, didn't we have a cousin Lauren?"

"Yeah, the one who died in the navy. That's who we named her after."

"Aw…"

"Yeah, but that's beside the point!"

Ron was obviously more excited than when he learned Marie was even pregnant, so Leo knew he wouldn't calm down too easily. He figured his brother had downed more than his share of coffee, as well.

"Okay, okay, you don't need to bite my head off."

"Okay." Ron took another breath. "She's eight pounds, three ounces."

"Good, good."

"She was born twelve minuets and…thirty-four…thirty-five seconds ago."

Ron was counting the seconds. And look, she took her first step at two thirty-three and fifty-nine point nine, nine, nine, two seconds this afternoon! Leo thought sarcastically.I'll have to see her tomorrow."

"No, today."

"Tomorrow, Ron. It's late."

"Leo, it's two in the morning. Today."

"…Oh…"

Ron was quiet for a few seconds. "Hey…You sounded a little…I dunno, off…when you picked up…You okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. You're the one with the daughter," Leo said, trying to make his voice sound teasing.

"Yeah, well, at least we won't have three boys."

"You never know."

"Oh, but I do. If we have two more kids and they're both boys, then Marie were to have third, he's goin' up for adoption."

Leo laughed silently.

"Hey, we drove Mom and Dad crazy and you know it."

"Maybe you and Jake, but not me."

"Whatever, Leo…And you're avoiding the conversation. Now is something wrong?" Ron asked seriously.

Leo looked over his shoulder and saw Mike still standing in the doorway. "Just the usual," he said into the phone.

"It's been a year, Leo, no one's getting to Piper. He's gone," Ron promised.

"You don't know that," Leo snapped.

"…Did you ever think about seeing a shrink?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

"I'm serious. Leo, if it's still getting to you, then it's a serious problem…How's Piper?" Ron asked.

"Better than I am…Is that even right?"

"Leo, you took care of her for weeks afterward. You were on defense for months…It's right for you to lose some sleep at night."

"It's not that, Ron. I'm paranoid and this insomnia and—and it's like reverse role-play…" Leo sighed. "It's just…Something doesn't feel right about it."

Mike was listening silently, trying to make sense of what Leo was saying.

"You see? I'm not kidding, Leo. If it's this bad, you need some help outside the house. Another person to vent to. Maybe this is also getting worse because he could be out soon…"

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

"It's a possibility. Just look in to some sort of therapy or something."

"Whatever, Ron. I'll talk to you later. I'll uh…come by the hospital."

"Don't bother. Marie's dying to get out of here. She was about to murder the doctor that delivered Lauren…I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay. I'll come by your place after Jake's graduation."

"Ah, shit, I forgot. Graduation…"

"I think he'll understand. And don't swear around your baby."

"I'm in the hall."

"Whatever. You taking paternity leave?"

"I've got a week of vacation built up, so I figure I'll take it."

"Okay."

"All right, I gotta go, the baby's waking up. I'll see you tomorrow, and I'll try to make it to Jake's graduation."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Leo hung up the phone and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at Mike. "What?"

"Can I ask what that was about? Unless it's personal, that is."

Leo knew what he was talking about, but instead he answered about the baby. "My older brother's wife just had a baby." Leo stood up and went into the main part of the station. Only about seven people were still there. He found Adam in his office and told him about the baby. "Ron's gonna take the week off, he says."

"That's good. He'll need it," Adam said from experience, being a father of three already. "Now go home, Wy…"

Leo sighed. "Well, if I wasn't stuck with a mile-high stack of paper work that you gave me…"

By four in the morning, Mike found Leo at his desk, signing and reading over papers. He looked tired, but Mike could tell he wanted to stay awake. He knocked lightly on the door to Leo's office as he opened it.

Leo didn't look up. "Didn't say you could come in."

"I invited myself. Look, can we go home now?"

"Those faxes read and signed? Talk to Adam? Check on Joey?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

Leo looked up and stared at Mike. "You're free to go. Be in here at seven tomorrow to talk to Joey lawyers. Now git, Kid."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Aren't you leaving, too? I mean, we're partners, right? Clock-in together, clock-out together…Anything here ringing a bell?"

"I have to stay another…" Leo looked at the stack of papers on his desk. "…hour or so…"

"Then I guess I have to stay, too, then."

"Go home."

"Make me." Mike sat down in the chair in the corner of the office.

Leo groaned. Stubborn-ass kid…he thought to himself.

It was a quarter past five when Leo stood up and headed for the door. No one but he and Mike were still in the station.

"Good night, I'll see you in three hours."

"You said to be here at seven."

"Right. You have to be here at seven. I have to be in at eight."

"Why is that?"

"Because I've put in ten years, and you've put in ten days." Leo opened the front door. "Besides, I'm not the single one," he added with a derisive smile.

Piper was asleep when Leo came inside. She was laying in bed, and the television was on. Leo watched her from the doorway for a moment with a little smile before getting undressed and sliding into bed beside her under the blanket.

Piper unconsciously rolled toward Leo and snuggled up against his chest. When she felt a warm body instead of air, she immediately woke up. "Well, it's about time," she whispered.

"Hello to you, too."

Piper smiled. "Hi." She pulled Leo down to her and kissed him. "What time is it?" she asked.

"…Almost dawn. Ron called. He said the baby was born."

"…Do you have to go back in soon?"

"I have a few hours."

"…Work go well?"

"As well as possible."

"But nothing major happened?"

"No."

"You're keeping something from me," Piper noted.

Leo shifted, wrapping his arms around her. "…The uh…dream came back, is all," he mumbled.

"Oh, Leo…" Piper, who was lying on her side facing Leo, reached up and slowly ran her hand up his face and through his hair.

"Ron says I should see a shrink." Leo laughed a little, but Piper could see right through him.

"Probably," she agreed. She brought her hand around to the other side of his face before running it down his shoulder and arm to take his hand. "…I'm past it. I mean, it'll always haunt me, but…not like it does you."

This is a lot longer...Two pages longer. Wow. Eight pages...I figured out yesterday that I've written about seven chapters worth of this story already, so that's good...I'm a little bit ahead of myself!

I'll reread and post the next chapter soon as I can.