Authors note: Hey, sorry I took so long to update. I had to restart this chapter, because it wasn't working, and I still don't like it. It just seems like a 'lets-all-shout-at-Piper-for-any-old-reason' chapter, but I promise it's in the story for a reason, and it has to be in there so that something later on makes sense. But I still hate it.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
Heather1021: Patience my dear friend, lol. Fluff will come in time. Thanks for reviewing.
SnOzbOz: Thanks for reviewing!
-0-charmed-freak-0-: Thanks; I'm glad you liked it.
Piper luva 4eva: Thanks! I was kinda worried because I changed Victor so much, but I'm glad he's having the right effect! I'm glad you like the chemistry.
Reneexoxtyler15: Drama's good right? Lol. I got the Italian stuff off a translation website.
PiperandLeoFan101: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Of course they'll get together- what's the point of a Piper/Leo fic without Piper/Leo right? Lol.
Chapter four.
Intervention.
Piper was bored. It was something she should be used to. The word hadn't stopped buzzing around her head for days. Especially now. What else would she be, sitting in an awkward silence with Leo, his sister, and his soon to be brother in law. It wasn't exactly the stuff dreams were made of.
After the initial introductions, she'd learned that Chelsea was Leo's younger sister by four years, she had a cat called Floopy, and that they're dad was currently having a midlife crisis at a ski resort in Alaska. Pretty irrelevant stuff really. Nick, her fiancé had gushed about how cool the mafia were, with childish enthusiasm, until Piper shot him an 'I-could-have-you-killed' look, and he shut up about it. Eventually the conversation had fizzled about. Now she was bored. And tired.
Her second night at Leo's hadn't been much more comfortable. Which meant hardly any sleep, bags under her eyes, and an awful mood. She still didn't understand why she had to stay here.
She glanced around Leo's apartment. It was nice enough. Modern, but at the same time homely. He seemed to be very into simple minimlistic wall filling art. That and a few other choice items, like his plasma screen T.V gave away the fact that he was pretty well paid. His place was pretty small though. Definitely not made for lawyers who decided to bring their clients daughters home to stay.
Leo had told her that he was legally responsible for her for the duration of the case, because she was a major witness. If she got lost somewhere along the way, it would jeopardise everything and put his neck on the line. Piper had argued that she wasn't an odd sock and would be very hard to loose, but Leo had been adamant. Lawyers were so damn stubborn.
So here she was, stuck in an unenviable situation. Chelsea and Nick seemed nice enough, but they obviously had no idea what to say to her, or how to act. Piper kept catching Chelsea's glances, which she tried to disguise with smiles. She looked a lot like Leo. She had the same startling green eyes, and dark blonde hair, but she'd highlighted hers. Good looks definitely ran in their family. Nick, on the other hand, seemed to have drifted off into his own little world. His dark eyes were glazed over, and he was nodding his head absentmindedly to some nonexistent music. Right now bored didn't cover how Piper was feeling.
She was pretty relieved when the doorbell rang. As long as it wasn't more of Leo's family come to join the party, it was a good thing. She could even deal with a gun wielding mass murderer at this point. Anything was an improvement.
"You have absolutely no idea what your doing."
Piper closed her eyes. Maybe 'anything' was going slightly too far. She turned around to see Prue storm past Leo, looking as Italian as ever. She looked pretty much the same as always. Long raven hair. Daring outfit. Annoyed expression.
"Erm… I'm sitting in a lawyers living room, with people I don't know." She said sarcastically, suddenly regretting the phone call she'd made to her sister the night before. "What I don't understand is how you know where I'm doing that."
"Please. My husbands a cop. Traced the call." Prue snapped impatiently. "And we didn't come here to listen to your sarcastic quips, okay?"
"I guess it's too much to assume that you came to see your sister?"
"I came to see my sister." Another voice interrupted.
Phoebe, who obviously hadn't ran up the stairs in an angry fit, desperate to yell at her, wandered into the room, closely followed by her husband Cole.
"Hey Pheeb's" Piper smiled, returning the hug that her younger sister wrapped her in. at least someone in this damn country was happy to see her.
Piper froze, and pulled away, staring down at Phoebe's huge stomach.
"You're pregnant…?"
An exited smile lit up Phoebe's already glowing face, as she nodded.
"Well either you got six of 'em in there, or you're really pregnant."
"Eight months." Cole informed her, with fatherly pride.
"Oh, right…"
Piper didn't even try to pretend that she wasn't hurt. Her little sister was eight months pregnant, and nobody bothered to tell her? Okay, so maybe they weren't as close as they used to be, that came with the territory of living in separate countries, but this was huge news.
Phoebe read her expression, and nervously raked her blonde hair out of her face.
"Look, Piper I didn't deliberately not tell you. I just didn't get round to it."
"Don't bother Pheeb's, its not like she actually cares." Prue cut in.
"Excuse me?"
"Your nephew is four years old, and you've seen him twice."
"Prue in case you haven't noticed, there's twenty three hours between us."
"But the second our darling father hollers you come running?"
Piper rolled her eyes. She'd been wondering how long it would take Prue to play the dad card.
"It's not like that."
"Of course it is. You don't owe that bastard anything."
"Hey!" Phoebe yelled, wrapping her arms protectively around her bump. "My baby has ears you know!"
"She's taking it very seriously." Cole told them. "No swearing. No conflict. Lots of calming, neutral colours."
Piper took in Phoebes light flowing lilac top, and wondered how the hell it cold effect the baby, considering all it could actually see was the inside of Phoebe's uterus.
"Its not my fault Pipers being stupid." Prue stated, heading straight back into the argument. "You've always been way too easy to persuade. You need to develop a backbone, and realize that dads never going to be the father you want him to be. And you!"
Prue turned to Leo.
"Where the hell do you get off manipulating my little sister into supplying a murderer with an alibi?"
Leo opened his mouth to spout some professional mediating crap they taught him at law school, but Prue cut him off.
"Don't pretend that you're doing it for anything else than his money. You know he did it, and you know she's lying. Are you really sleeping easy knowing that your actually trying to get a drug dealing, money laundering, murdering scumbag released back onto the streets?"
"Prue stop shouting at the lawyer!" Piper yelled. "I am not a kid, and I know exactly what I am doing."
Prue shook her head incredulously.
"You don't have the first clue! Wake up! Take a good look at him. You have got no idea how many people he has hurt. And what's more you don't even care! You're just thinking about yourself, and trying to get back into daddy's good books. You're just being the same selfish little brat that you always were."
"Oh I was the selfish brat? Look whose talking! You were always the favourite Prue. You know you were. And guess what? You still are. when I saw him yesterday, all he kept asking was where you two were."
"Right before he gave you that fat lip?"
Piper glanced down at the floor. The swelling had gone down since yesterday, but the cut was still visible. Their dad had never been what you might call abusive. Just very strict. Even Prue would know that Piper must have said something pretty bad to have made him that mad.
"Piper, you're his daughter for gods sake." She continued. "And you're not an idiot. You know better than to sit there and take it. So why the hell are you taking his side?"
"Why the hell are you so bothered?"
"Why the hell do you both keep saying 'hell'?" Phoebe snapped, stepping in between the two of them. "This is conflict. Which is not good, for the baby, or for you two. Piper stop being so stubborn, and Prue stop shouting."
She turned to look at Piper.
"Sweetie, we didn't come here to yell at you. We just came to talk."
Piper knew that Phoebe was just trying to calm things down. When she got going, she could shout louder and longer than both her and Prue, but it took quite a lot to wind her up, and she generally tried to stay away from conflict, pregnant or not. If only for an easy life, Piper knew that she should agree, smile and apologize. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was too mad at both of them.
"Well maybe I'm done talking."
"Piper-"
"Maybe you should have picked up the phone eight months ago."
Prue glared at her.
"And maybe we should have deleted your number years ago." She muttered through gritted teeth. "Its not like it appears on the phone bill very often."
"Shut up Prue."
"Are you gonna make me? Do a dad, and give me a backhander?"
Phoebe slipped her hand around Prue's wrist.
"Come on, lets go." She said quietly.
She may be hard to have an argument with, but she was easy to upset.
"Fine!" Prue yelled, walking backwards towards the door. "But do not blame me when everything goes wrong, and all you've got is your asshole lawyer for company!"
She just had to have the last word. Typical Prue.
Cole followed them out, shooting Leo an apologetic look.
"Sorry man." He muttered. "Take some advice. Don't marry into an Italian family. The women are hell."
Leo nodded, too dazed to appreciate the joke, and closed the door. The reverberating echo shivered through the room. Everyone was silent. Chelsea's eyes were carefully fixed on her clasped hands. Nick was staring around warily, like someone had just turned off his imaginary music. Both were probably wishing that they'd planned an escape route. No one knew what to say. Piper wasn't surprised. How did you follow an argument like that?
Leo was the first to meet her eyes. Typical. He obviously had a death wish.
"Piper-"
"Don't." she said simply, shaking her head.
"Look, I know-"
"Know what? You don't know me. You don't know anything. So do yourself a favour, and don't try. Just sit down and shut up." She snapped sharply.
With tears stinging her eyes, Piper stormed out, honestly not caring what anyone thought of her.
Was it as bad as I think it was? I promise I'll try and make sure the next chapters better. Please review.
