Oh, how cool! I changed the color of that line thingy! Awesome!
I tried to login earlier and it wouldn't let me! Weird...Stupid site...I mean happy site! Don't upset the site!
Thanks for the reviews! I love 'em!
charmedmel32: You'll see if he's okay now. Don't worry. I'm not heartless. (just kidding--I am)
Magical Princess: Swept under the rug? My parents...Oh, God, every other word they say has to do with sex. Very open at my mom's house, very open at my dad's. You're right, though...People are very immature. Me and my friends stay up late at night to talk about stuff like that. We can cover everything in one night...Everything from dumb guys to sex to hot dogs (no pun intended).
kk241289: Don't assume. You know what assuming does? It makes anass out ofu and me. Don't assume! (lol, I love that. My History teacher did that to some kid in our class, too!)
anjana: Hey anjana! "...at least he could get a slut." Well then. Yes...at least. But he had to pay her...Joey has no relation to Dan...Dan did something much worse, but you guys can't know about it yet. Not for a while. Think about the worst possible things Dan could ever do to Piper and Leo...Dan is going to be a living hell.
Nakita: Next time I'll wait to update, because we don't have any brownies here...Are they good? And yes, I shall remain the Goddess for a while, but even though I can pick and choose, it doesn't mean I can't stay away from fluff for too long...You spelled "thickens" right, by the way. lol. Yes, I was going to punish you and wait. Everybody should be thanking you for threatening me with the brownie. For all I know, it could be poisonous.
jenny: lmao? You thought it was funny? Oh, come on! ...Actually...It was kinda funny...There wasn't too much conflict, but Victor does hate Leo. He's gonna have to loosen up, though, because Piper's in for her own little emotional roller coaster ride. He'll have to make an attempt at being nice to Leo, but I love writing fights between then, so hint hint. How do I think of these things? I have a sick, horrible, awesome mind!
Chub: Yeah, the last chapter was one of my favorite cliffies...I have a better one, but it's time to be posted isn't for a while. You're guessing Leo is okay, but how okay? I'll just say that he's not gonna get up and chase Joey for a while.
It was balanced, huh? That's a good thing. I didn't think about that, so that's a plus that I can balance unconsciously, especially because I'm not physically balanced. My name is not Grace.
piperleo4eva: You're the second person to actually call me talented! Wow! Is that sad, or good? Now as for genius...I get that a lot. lol. Good question: how can you stop me from oh, say...killing Leo?
patricia: I know, I'm evil...But it's soooooo good!
scullymulder1234: I know, this is moving along really quickly...I still have a few more chapters already written, and that's why it's going so quick. Once I hit Chapter 11, I think I have to start actually writing it again...Enjoy it while it lasts!
charmedangel429: Wow, you're spunky.
meenyrocks: And you're hyper!
When Piper got to the hospital, Adam, Cortez, Ron, Jake, Tom, Rick, and Emily were already in the waiting room. Piper rushed up to them.
"Where is he? How is he?" she demanded.
"He's fine. Actually, Emily and I were about to leave. We were waiting for you," Rick said.
Piper sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "So he's not dead?" she asked.
Adam chuckled. "No, he's not dead. He's right down the hall. But the doctor is in there, so they kicked us out. Won't let us in."
"Ha, we'll see." Piper ran up to the desk. "My husband was shot. What room is he in?" she asked the nurse.
The nurse behind the desk was on the phone. She held up her pointer finger at Piper, telling her to hold on, but didn't look up at her.
"I will not hold on! My husband was shot and right now you have to tell me where he is!"
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait for a moment," the slightly irritated nurse said to Piper before going back to the phone.
Piper grabbed the phone from the nurse and held it out of her reach. "Tell me where he is," she demanded.
"Your husband is in room 215, but he is with a doctor at the moment. You'll have to wait out here--"
"Thanks." Piper handed the phone to the nurse and wandered down the hall.
"Ma'am! Ma'am, you can't go back there--"
"So ten years on the force and this is your first shooting?"
"No…It's just the first time the bullet hit me." A shirtless Leo shifted a little and managed a little laugh. "My dog took the last one for me…"
"Well you're lucky this time, too."
Piper rushed in. "Oh my God, are you okay?"
"Piper, what are you doing here?"
"Jake called me."
Leo groaned.
"How is he?" Piper asked the doctor.
"He'll live." The doctor sitting on the stool was bandaging Leo's left side. He finished and sat up straight. "The bullet hit the inside of his chest wall and grazed his left lung. Less than an inch to the right, and it could have punctured his lung."
"But you're not admitting him?"
"I've found no reason to. He can go home today. He just has to take a week or two from work."
"Two, then."
The doctor stood up. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said as he left the room, giving Piper and Leo some privacy.
"Where was Mike?" Piper asked as soon as the door closed.
"He wasn't there."
"Leo, they gave you a partner to prevent this from happening!" Piper exclaimed breathlessly, throwing her arms to her sides.
Leo grabbed Piper's wrists and held her hands down, saying, "Piper. Piper! It's okay. We're not going to my funeral or anything."
"But Leo, you don't understand! It could have been your funeral if you were barely standing to the left. You wouldn't be here right now, or you could be in a coma or--or--"
"Piper…" Leo reached over and took her hand in his. "Please, calm down…Where's your dad?" he asked suddenly.
"At home with Phoebe and Prue. Jake called and said you got shot, and I was out the door before anyone could question me…" Piper shook her head furiously. "Leo, you can't keep doing this. They gave you a freaking partner so that things like this would not happen. Do you realize what would have happened if you were standing less than an inch to one side?…You don't realize how much people need you. You can't keep risking your life, going into places at two in the morning to do check-ups on people like--like Joey. That bullet had your name on it. One of these days, Leo, it's gonna get you…" Tears were already forming in Piper's eyes.
"Piper, Sweetie, look, I love you, but after ten years, you couldn't have imagined that nothing would happen."
"No, I--I…I didn't think that--" Piper stopped denying it and quieted.
Leo's features softened. He held his arms out and Piper crawled into them, lying on the hospital bed beside him. She lay on her side, her chest on his. He buried his face in her hair. "I love you," he said quietly, his voice a soft rumble in his chest.
Piper relaxed in his arms. "I love you, too," she replied. "You don't know how much I love you."
"I'm sorry that I scared you," he apologized.
"Don't let it happen again…" Piper warned.
"I won't," he promised.
Piper nodded. "I know…" She looked up as her hand ran over Leo's bare right shoulder. She hesitated over a slanted two-inch scar just under his shoulder. Her eyes darted from that to another exposed scar on the left side of his stomach. She sighed deeply. "But that's what you said last time," she said quietly.
Leo had nothing to say to that. She was right. He brought her closed fist to his lips and kissed it.
"Hey, oh my God, are you okay? What happened?"
"Okay--Just walked in the door," Leo said sarcastically. He hung up his coat.
"Sorry," Prue apologized. "But Piper took off outta here so fast we thought you were dead."
"Ha. Funny. Me, dead."
"Nope, not yet," Piper said, hanging her coat up as well.
"What happened?"
"I got shot," Leo replied, heading for the living room.
Phoebe and Prue stared at their sister. Piper was standing against the door, watching Leo go.
"Is he okay?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, he's okay," Piper said quietly. "…Where's Andy?" she asked Prue.
"Working, I assume. He left right before Leo, I guess."
"Oh. Where's Dad?"
"In the living room."
Piper rushed into the living room with her sisters at her heels. Leo was collapsed on the couch, and Victor was just coming into the living room from the kitchen. He saw Leo on the couch.
"What happened to you?" Victor asked.
"He got shot," Piper answered for Leo.
Victor's gaze fell on Leo. "What?"
Leo gestured into the air vaguely. "Not really…It was a graze…"
"It hit your lung," Piper reasoned.
"Scraped."
"Leo…"
Leo closed his eyes and stretched out on the couch. Piper sighed. Victor pulled her into the kitchen.
"What happened?"
"It's not huge," Piper said, trying to convince herself more than her dad. "He just needs to take a couple of weeks off work, is all. He's okay."
"He needs to be more careful."
"You aren't a cop, Dad. You don't know what you're talking about. He has been careful, but things happen."
"That's not how you feel. I know that."
Piper sighed. "…You're right, but…"
"He swore to you the last time--"
"Don't, Dad…Just don't. It's not worth it. I know what he promised me then, and I know what he promised now. But none of that matters. Stop being so protective of me. Leo's been taking care of me and working on the force for ten years. And now he's shot again. Go on, say it. Say, 'I told you so.'"
Victor didn't say anything.
"Then just drop it, Dad. It's never going to end if you don't just drop it. Leo's shot--he's hurt. He's all right. It's over, okay? Stop it, please." Piper fixed her dad with a pleading expression. He still didn't say anything.
The next day, Piper allowed Leo to go to the station, only to get his stuff and rearrange his schedule. He walked into the station, his trench coat open, revealing him to be naked from the waist of, also revealing the bandage on his side. He let the door close behind him and headed straight for his office. Along the way, people shouted their congrats and their jealousy at his two weeks off from work.
Leo closed the office door behind him and sat on the desk, facing the door. The blinds were down, as always. He went to grab the phone off of his desk and winced. He dropped the coat off of his shoulders and arms and onto the desk and rolled his right shoulder. It had been sore that morning, and now it was worse.
He put his hand over his shoulder and over the scar and rubbed it. He rolled it again and rubbed it with the palm of his hand. Damn, it hurt.
The door opened. Leo looked up and groaned. Mike came inside the office, closing the door behind him and standing in front of it.
"What do you want?" Leo growled.
"I want to know what I'm gonna do for a week."
"You're gonna do grunt work, is what." Leo jumped off of the desk. "Ask Adam, he'll give you some jobs."
"What happened?" Mike asked, noticing the scar.
"Nothing."
"Looks like a bullet wound."
Leo put his coat on. He grabbed a manila folder off of his desk and headed for the door. Mike stepped out of his way and watched him go up to Amy at the desk. He crossed his arms on the desk. Amy looked up at him slowly.
"What?"
"I need a schedule rearranged. I've got a week's paid vacation, and it doesn't even take up my vacation days."
"Bastard. Maybe they'll shoot me and give me a week off next time…"
Leo only smiled.
As soon as Leo was gone, Mike approached Cortez.
"Hey."
"Hey, Kid. How's Leo treatin' ya?"
"Uh…That's actually what I'm here to ask about…Leo, that is."
"Ah, don't let ole' Wyatt get to ya. He's kinda picky about who his friends are. I was on his blacklist for a long time, too."
"What I wanna know about is, uh, a scar? Under his shoulder?"
Cortez looked at Mike. "What about it?"
"I asked him about it and he ignored me. It…It's a bullet wound, right?"
"Um…Yeah," Cortez sighed.
"From what?"
"From a long time ago. We don't talk about it."
"Could it have anything to do with his overprotectiveness of his wife?"
"No, and 'overprotectivness' isn't a word."
"Whatever."
"Look, all I'll say is that Leo…and Piper have gone through some things that nobody should ever go through, and they've come out on top every time. Their past is their past," Cortez said.
"Right, and I understand that, but I'm curious to know what happened."
"He…He was in the wrong place at the wrong time…That's all…"
"Right…"
"Okay, he was out late. Real late. It was about three in the morning, and he broke up a simple quarrel downtown. Turned out that the quarrel was more than he'd thought…They pulled guns on him. He took them both down, but he got shot in the process. Um…He made a call into here for help just before he passed out…No charges were pressed against him…There was no double murder trial."
Mike was quiet.
As soon as Leo walked in the door, Piper was there. She looked relieved.
"What?" he asked.
"I just got off the phone with Amy. She said your father and uncle just brought Joey in. They're charging him with murder, theft, and attempted murder of a police officer. They got him about twenty minutes ago."
"Where was he?"
"At his club."
"Stupid bastard. I thought even he would be smarter than that…"
Piper smiled a little. "He went down kicking…but they got him."
"Good."
"You'll have to go in and make a statement, and you'll have to be a witness at the trial, but that's not for a while."
"When do they want my statement?"
"As soon as you can, but--"
Leo nodded. "I'll go now. Get it over with."
"No." Piper shook her head. "If they want a statement, then they can wait until you're well enough."
"Piper, I'm well enough to give a statement. It'll only take a couple of hours, maybe less."
"I don't care, Leo. You aren't working for two weeks. You aren't giving them a statement for two weeks."
"They have to take it early when it's still easy to remember."
"Trust me, Leo, you won't be forgetting any of it." Piper gave Leo a look that said, "And that's that."
He knew it wasn't worth arguing over. They didn't need to fight right now.
A few things:
"overprotectiveness" really isn't a word. I made it up!
I'm pretty sure Leo could get forced to make a statement by law, but this is my story, so screw that.
I was gonna end this chapter sooner, but I decided to go on...I was also going to go into Joey's arrest, but I just couldn't envision it all...
Review on, people, and I will update soon!