How's everyone doing? Hey, I kept up my promise--it's Sunday, and here's the next chapter...Hey, do we have to write a disclaimer for every chapter? Lord knows I'm not gonna do that! Trust me, if I don't own the first chapter, I'm not gonna own the next!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed:
scullymulder1234: Not only that, but I think we got back everything! Even percent signs and plus signs and sideways carrots (>> ...that's what I call them)!
kk241289: Fun, huh? Well, I'm glad you had fun reading, because I had fun writing. And even though you claim that you can't wait, I'm sure (actually, I know for a fact) that you have waited.
meenyrocks: Yeah, I did hint that the bad thing happened to Piper. If I hadn't, process of elimination could be used almost.
Nakita: I like Yukon for a name. I want a German Shepherd named Yukon, too...He's my fantasy dog. My dogs are mutts.
piperleo4eva: Hyper some? Oh, and the window thing? It was a really big window, and it was open and all...I got the idea from watching my dad...Don't ask.
foureverCharmed: Yes, Piper was drunk. I'm working on the other stories. So far, besides this one, Myth is in the lead.
Chub: I don't know what to say, either!
Magical Princess: Gotta love me, too! I'm the one who wrote it!
patricia: Oh, don't worry about the tradegy...be afraid...be very afraid...
This chapter is set at Hell's Haven still. They haven't left.
Chapter 6- Joy to the World
An hour and a half later, a man entered Hell's Haven alone. He was tall and thin, with short-cut blonde hair and bright hazel eyes. He was dressed in dark blue jeans, his upper body covered by a closed leather coat. He walked up to the bar counter and sat down on a stool, where he observed the scene. There were still drinking competitions going on, and there was a group of people on the stage, setting up the karaoke machine. The bar was still packed. It was twelve-thirty in the morning.
A few seats down, where the bar ended and met the wall, Leo was sitting on the last stool, with Piper sitting on his lap straddling him, kissing him passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her close with one arm below her waist, the other around her lower back.
The man sitting at the bar looked at them and shook his head with a smile. He got up and walked over. He cleared his throat and tapped Piper on the back. She jumped and pulled away from Leo before looking up at the man. The immediate reaction of annoyance faded quickly as her face lit up in a smile. "Kyle!"
"You know, I came in this bar and I thought to myself, where would I find Piper and Leo? Then it hit me: you guys are always the couple sitting at the bar making out. So I came over here and here you are!" Kyle explained sarcastically.
"Kyle, what do you think you're doing here?" Leo asked, not bothering to release his hold on Piper.
"I was in town."
"You live in Colorado," Piper pointed out.
"Exactly, so where's my hug?"
Piper immediately stood up and wrapped Kyle up in a hard embrace. She sat back down on Leo's lap, feeling his hands come up around her waist by habit. Kyle held his arms out at Leo in a sarcastic gesture of an "air hug".
"Ah, fine." Kyle and Leo pulled out their guns. They hit the two barrels against each other. "Next time, I got a feeling you'll shoot me."
"I was going to this time," Leo said, shifting a little to put the gun back under his coat. "It's been a year and a half, Kyle. Where the hell have you been?"
"At home with my daughter, which is nothing you would know about." Kyle glanced from Piper to Leo. "When are you two going to have a baby?"
"Different subject. How long are you here for?" Leo asked. He sounded cold, he wanted the subject to change.
"'Til I get bored."
"You're never leaving, are you?"
Kyle laughed. He was a young man, only a couple of years younger than Leo, with a thin but strong build. He was an architect and had grown up with the Wyatts and Halliwells. They always teased him because his last name was Brady, but he never really had the "Brady Family Life". He was an only child, so he was found a lot around Leo and his brothers. He never knew his mother because she had walked out on him and his father after he was born. His father died when he was twelve, and he was sent to live with his father's sister, who luckily lived only on the other side of San Francisco, so he didn't have to move away too far. He moved to Colorado five years ago, where he met the woman he married three years ago. They had a daughter who would be turning two in a month. No one from San Francisco had seen or talked to him in too long.
"No, I do have to go sometime."
"So where's the family?" Piper asked.
"I'm alone this time."
"Great, that means I have to hang out with the guys," Piper complained.
"Right, like that's ever been a problem for you, Piper."
"Right…" Piper replied mockingly. She saw Mike coming their way and nudged Leo. "Mike, twelve o'clock."
"Michael!" Leo called, immediately wondering why he had done it.
Mike walked up to them. Leo didn't look as if he was about to bite his head off, but his arm was wrapped protectively around his wife. He nodded his hello, and Leo introduced him to Kyle, making no move to get up.
Leo nodded toward Mike. "Uh…Kyle, this is my new partner, Michael…"
"Connor."
"Connor," Leo repeated Mike.
"Ah, shit, Wy, you didn't mention anything like that," Kyle said, rolling his shoulders. This wasn't what he expected.
Leo stared at Mike as he spoke. "Yeah, I was hoping if I just ignored him, he'd go away. It obviously hasn't worked…" He looked back at Kyle.
Kyle shook Mike's hand. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you in person, and not in a casket…" Kyle shook his head. "I can't believe Adam went and stuck you with a partner Wy."
"He didn't, the IA did."
"Why?"
Leo shrugged.
"I'll uh…I'll be right back," Piper said.
"Where to?"
Piper gave Leo a little smile. "I think I'm going to have a chat with Mike." She looked at him for a second and looked back at Leo. "He is part of the station, and your partner, whether you like it or not."
Leo didn't answer at first, just stared up at his wife. Then he barely nodded. Piper kissed him softly and stood up. She nodded for Mike to follow her as she walked away.
"Tough luck," Kyle said, watching them go. Leo nodded. "Not only that, but now Piper's gonna get to know him and try to convince you to like him, too."
"Key word: try."
Kyle chuckled and took a seat.
"Ron had a baby," Leo said.
"Wow, Ron himself? Lemme guess, it was a C-Section."
"Ass," Leo muttered. "But yeah. A baby girl."
"You're next, you know, Leo."
"Quit talkin' trash."
Piper stood against the wall in the back of the bar. "Okay, I figured this would be the only time I could talk to you, because I also figured you were told to stay away from me," she said. "Am I right?"
Mike nodded. "In some subtle ways, yes."
Piper sighed. "You have to excuse Leo sometimes. He's mostly threats. He wouldn't hurt you, not really. I know that. He's got a good heart, and he'd never hurt anybody on his own will…But you just have to be careful. Don't hold it against him. I mean, he's just…" Piper sighed. "Jumpy…Protective…" She trailed off. "It's not his fault."
"I get that he feels like I'm taking over his territory, but really, if I knew it was going to be this big of a deal to him, I would've tried to back out of it. But the IA said they thought something was going to happen so…"
Piper nodded. "Right, I know. I've tried to get Leo to get a partner before, but he refused. I think that could be part of the problem. They just think he might get hurt, and I understand that…I've thought about it, too. Just don't hold anything against him."
"I'm not, it just seems like he's acting as if it's my fault."
"That's Leo. He's a hell of a guilt tripper, better than me if I'm honest, and I'm the one who taught him. Don't let him get to you…"
Rick walked up, scratching the stubble of his two-day-old beard in thought. "Hey, Piper. Mike."
"Kyle's here," Piper informed her father-in-law.
"Kyle? Where?"
"Over with Leo." She nodded to the opposite wall of the bar, but couldn't see Leo and Kyle for all the people on the floor of the open room. "Go see him."
Leo looked up at the clock. One-thirty. Kyle had long-ago disappeared somewhere into the bar to reunite with old friends. He looked up at Piper, who was standing on the stage. She had a microphone in one hand, and a half empty bottle of beer in the other. She tapped the bottom of the beer bottle to the top of the microphone. "Get this thing workin'!" she yelled behind her.
"Hold on, Piper," Cortez yelled back at her from the side of the stage.
Jake walked up and looked at the karaoke machine. The microphone wasn't working. He took another glance at it and kicked it. Piper's incoherent muttering was magnified throughout the bar.
"Finally!" she shouted. "Okay, can I have everybody's attention!" She waited a few seconds. "Hey! Over here! Hello?" A few seconds passed before everyone was fairly quiet. "All right, we're pushing the band aside for a karaoke special!"
There was a cheer.
"We're gonna hear a song from Alex Monroe, Josh Alton, Kevin Dell, and, drum roll please…" The drummer in the band started a drum roll. "Jake Wyatt!"
Half the crowed booed, half cheered. Piper laughed. She handed the microphone to Alex, jumped off the stage, and ran back over to Leo.
"What did you put in?" he asked, eyes fixated on the commotion going on onstage. The four men looked absolutely wasted, having the time of their lives.
"You'll see." Piper gave him a little-kid smile. "Play it!" she yelled at Cortez. He put the CD in and pressed Play.
Jeremiah was a bullfrog!
A large cheer went up.
Was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him a' drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine
Piper sang along with the words. She sat back in Leo's lap, one leg on either side of him, and he leaned against the bar counter. She leaned forward and lay on his chest, resting her head between his neck and shoulder.
"Someone's gonna need to give them a ride home…" she whispered. Leo just smiled at her.
Singin' joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
And joy to you and me
If I were the king of the world
I tell you what I'd do
I'd throw away the cars and the bars and the war
And make sweet love to you
On the last line of the verse, Piper looked up and mouthed the words. She smiled and Leo smiled back at her. He pulled her down and covered her mouth with his in a deep kiss.
Singin' joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me
When they pulled apart, Piper tossed her head and pulled her hair behind her shoulders. "It's just too bad you're just a cop…Cops aren't kings…"
"Hmm…We'll see."
Piper giggled and Leo kissed her again.
You know I love the ladies
I love to have my fun
I'm a hard knock flyer and a rainbow rider
And a straight shootin' sun of a gun
I said a straight shootin' sun of a gun
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me
"So where'd Kyle run off to?" Leo asked, dropping his head to his wife's shoulder momentarily to catch his breath.
"Um…He's around here somewhere…But for now…" Piper flashed him a sultry smile and kissed him again. When she started to pull back, he held fast and she didn't object.
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the world
Joy to you and me
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me
Joy to the world
Joy to you and me…
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea
Joy to you and me
Joy to the world
All the boys and girls…
"Joy to the world!" someone yelled. "Drinks all around!"
Everyone cheered and hollered.
At two-thirty, the bar started clearing out. Jake stood out front on the sidewalk with one arm around Alyssa's shoulders, half asleep. Alex, Kevin, and Josh stood against the brick building. Ron was already gone, and Mike had left, too. The only people left were Piper, Leo, Jake and his friends, Alyssa, Rick, Emily, Kyle, Adam, Kristina, and Cortez. Even the owners of the bar were gone.
"I'm not leaving here 'til I know how you kids are all getting home," Emily said. "You're all drunk, so let me know now—Who's driving?"
Piper shifted her position a little. Leo was standing behind her, his arms around her waist and locked around her stomach, resting his forehead between her shoulder and neck, nodding every now and then when someone spoke. "I'll drive us home," she said with a reassuring nod.
"These two are mine," Kristina said, pointing to Adam and Cortez.
"I can take Josh back to his place and Alex and Kevin back to their apartment. Jake's on the way, so I can drop him off, too," Alyssa volunteered.
"What about you, Kyle?"
"Me Kyle? Kyle has a hotel room three blocks from here. Kyle good." Kyle nodded to himself, giving Emily a thumbs-up, then becoming fascinated by it. "Kyle walk," he muttered, staring at his thumb. He laughed and made a thumbs-up with his other hand, then laughed again.
"Okay," Emily said. She looked at Piper, holding Leo up. "You sure you're okay, Piper? You won four drinking contests—"
"I'm fine, Emily. Don't worry," Piper assured her mother-in-law. "I will get us both home safe. I can even walk a straight line."
Leo hadn't moved an inch. He nodded a little, though, and mumbled something. "Home safe, Mom. Don't worry."
Piper looked over her shoulder, but all she could see was Leo's head. "Go back to sleep," she told him.
Leo nodded again. "Okay."
Hope you all enjoyed! In the next chapter, there's a visitor, but I'll cover him a little more in Chapter 8. There's also a small portion somewhat on women's rights...Oh, and Leo gets hurt. Moahahahaha!
The song was Three Dog Night's Joy to the World. I love that song! I don't own it, but me and my step-mom karaoke it.