Just a quick chapter! Another one later this week! Read and Review Please! It boosts my self-esteem. ; )
It had been almost a week since she had said goodbye to Cole. She tried not to think about him. Not that trying did any good. She and Phoebe were keeping it civil for the sake of their powers. Leo had explained to them how their powers had weakened as a result of the rift between them. The situation wasn't as dire as the time that they lost their powers back when Prue was alive, but it was still dangerous. Leo kept trying to get them to warm up to each other but Piper really didn't see how that could possibly happen. Phoebe was furious with her. Hateful even. Piper was mostly just hurt by Phoebe's reaction and she was angry as well. She hadn't apologized for what she had said that day in the hall but part of her wasn't really sorry. The steaming water continued to pound down on her back. She felt Leo in front of her. In a guilty attempt to mend things with him she had re-instigated their co-showering habit. She had to admit, though, that she was enjoying it far more than she had expected. Years ago, they had started showering together so that they could steal some time alone together. It had turned into an almost therapeutic thing. In the midst of all the chaos in their lives they had still been able to enjoy those minutes alone together. Sometimes they had talked. Other times they had made love, and sometimes they had just gently washed themselves clean. Today, Piper was just thinking, her eyes shut tight, the jets of water streaming down over her. She felt Leo, take a hold of her hand. She reluctantly opened her eyes. She couldn't help herself, she laughed out loud. Leo had used the soap bubbles to give himself a clown-like mustache and beard. He grinned goofily at her and she smiled appreciatively. Leo had been very patient with her the past week. He hadn't tried to force any information out of her and he had given her space when she needed it. Now, he was just trying to cheer her up. She smiled and tenderly wiped the soap off of his face. Her hands lingered on his face. He truly was an angel. She had betrayed him but she was going to make it up to him. Slowly she stepped out from underneath the shower head and kissed him softly on the lips. He still tasted soapy but she didn't mind. He was her husband. That was all that mattered. He looked down at her, lovingly. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her back, first tenderly, gently then slowly he became more passionate. As the kiss deepened and she leaned closer to her husband's body, she felt his hard desire against her. For a flicker of an instant, she recoiled. Something about the act of sex made the guilt swell up inside her again. She squashed the doubts in her head. She definitely wasn't in the mood but if Leo wanted it she'd try her best to act like she wanted it too. It was her duty as the cheating wife to pay penance for her sins.
Piper sleepily woke up from her nap. She and Leo had made love for the first time in nearly a month and she had fallen asleep afterwards. She heard yelling and crashes from upstairs and her groggy brain immediately went on the alert. She jumped out of bed. She realized she was only clad in a very long shirt of Leo's. Quickly, she grabbed her bathrobe, stepped into her slippers and hastily ran out the room.
The crashing and explosions got louder as Piper raced up the attic stairs. As she entered the room, she immediately took in what was going on. Her sisters were greatly outnumbered. Phoebe was levitating and fighting with the demons and Paige, was, at the moment, hiding behind the couch, throwing potions at demons with bad aim. Piper through out her hands and blew up the closest demon she could see. It wasn't a normal vanquish though, the demon first stumbled back and it was as if the combustion of his body was in slow motion. He looked like he was fighting through her power. She threw out her hands again and this time he really explode. Several demons instantly began approaching her. Piper quickly, began throwing her hands out, trying to blow them up but they dodged and fought through her attacks. She glanced at the potions table across the room and knew she had to get to it. She breathed in deeply, focusing her power and threw her hands out. The demons stopped in their tracks, frozen, though kind of wavering in the freeze. It almost looked like they were jiggling, yes, like jello. Piper wasted no time and dashed across the room. The demons came out of their semi-frozen state just as she reached the table. She managed to scoop several potions bottles into her hands and turned around to face them. One, particularly scary looking one aimed an energy ball straight at her. The force-field immediately emanated from her uterus and deflected the attack but she was thrown backward, to the ground. Another ball hit the table and all the other potions were shattered. She threw a potion straight at a demon as she crawled towards Paige's hiding place behind the couch. He burst into flame, momentarily distracting the other demons, long enough for Piper to freeze them one more time. She clambered over to Paige just as a fire ball singed the side of the couch.
"Okay, here's the plan." Piper whispered quickly. "I freeze, you vanquish. Got it?" Paige nodded in admission and Piper quickly popped up from behind the couch and froze the room. Instantly Paige, threw a potion, and nearly missed a demon, but he was vanquished just as the rest were fighting through the freeze. They ducked down fast. The fire and energy balls continued to fly towards them furiously.
"Ready?" Piper asked again and raised her hands above the couch, freezing the room. She and Paige each managed to throw one potion and duck down just in time.
"This isn't going to work." Piper said worriedly. "They're fighting through my freezes."
"Not to mention we're almost out of potions." Paige said motioning towards the 5 potion bottles lying between them.
"Alright, new plan." Piper said, thinking quickly. "Here, take four potions," she said, shoving the bottles into Paige's hands. "And orb. I'll try to keep them distracted okay?"
"But" Paige began to object. Piper was left with only one potion? That wasn't fair.
"Hey, I'm still invincible remember?" Piper smiled fleetingly. "Now, come on missy Paige. Go." She crawled to the other end of the couch as her sister's orbs diminished.
"Over here boys!" Paige sing-songed as she reappeared behind the demons advancing towards Piper.
They turned around and Piper took the opportunity to run towards them, blasting. The attic was filled with explosions as the sisters continued to fight. Paige orbed their fire balls and used them against the demons and Piper's force-field protected her from the huge onslaught of fire and energy balls. She continued to blast her way through the demons, blowing off limbs and wounding them.
Suddenly a demon shimmered in behind Piper and threw her to the ground. Piper gasped in surprise and, instinctively threw her arms out, one to break her fall, the other to protect her stomach. She winced slightly as she felt her left wrist twist beneath her. Instantly the demon was above her. She threw out her hands and it blew him up. She sighed. Gingerly she got to her feet and saw her sisters fighting with their own sets of demons. Phoebe was being overpowered. Piper rushed towards them and threw out her hands repeatedly, blowing up several of the burly men. Without warning two demons shimmered on either side of her. They roughly twisted her arms behind her back. Piper shrieked in surprise. She twisted against their strong arms, but to no avail. They held her tighter. Their large hands digging into her arms. Her feet were off the floor and she flailed and kicked. "Phoebe!" she screamed. Phoebe was standing yards away. Stone still. "The potion!" Piper screamed as a demon clamped his hand over her mouth. Piper saw Phoebe's wide eyes slowly lower to the discarded potion bottle on the floor as she was shimmered out of the attic.
Tell me what you think!
