A/N: Thanks to Piperleo4eva, kk241289, halli-halliwell Miggs for reviewing the last chapter, this chapter is here because of you; collectively you managed to remind me why I started writing in the first place so thank you.

This picks up from the same flashback as chapter 4 ended on. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I forgot to say last time but this is a flashback of 3 and a half years.

Chapter 5

Happiness. She hadn't felt it in so long and now it overwhelmed her. It was the morning after Leo had taken time off work and the two of them lay entwined in bed. She'd missed this so much; just waking up next to him. The feeling of his naked body next to hers as they lay under the covers was like heaven to her; her head on his chest, an arm over his waist and his arm was holding her to him. Their clothes lay scattered around the flat, a result of built up passion for one another which had exploded the night before

But with happiness, Piper experienced guilt, she always had. All through her life she had never felt good enough to be happy, call it strange or messed up; call it whatever you want, but she felt it all the same. Then when she met Leo, for the first time this was somebody who loved her because they wanted to and not because they had to. Through this love Piper's self esteem soared but there was still a part of her who felt she didn't deserve the happiness she had found. When she miscarried 6 weeks ago, this part of her grew and now all the doubts and emotions of her teenage years had resurfaced and collided with the hurt of losing her baby to result in a dominating feeling of inescapable pain.

End flashback

Piper was sitting in the same position on the chair as she had when she started telling her story. She had tears rolling down her face now and her voice wavered and cracked but her eyes stared at something unseen to Phoebe and Prue.

She was lost in her past; all she could see was the events of those fateful moments about four years ago when everything changed. Her voice described aloud what had happened without any prompting from her brain, and her sisters sat there in disbelief, they had no idea that anything to do with Piper's miscarriage had been going on.

"I worked out afterwards that it was that night when Melinda was conceived but I didn't know then. Maybe if I had things would have turned out differently. But when his time off was over Leo went back to work and everything went back to normal" She gave a small laugh "We were so stupid and naïve to think those 3 days off work could solve the problems we were having. It just got too much, we barely saw one another and we were having so many different experiences and growing apart that I felt like I didn't even know him when we were together.

"Then about 3 weeks after that night, Paige phoned from New York. We'd always dreamt of opening our own nightclub when we were in college but had never thought seriously about doing it but she phoned and said that she had found a great venue where we could do what we had always dreamt of for real. She said, of course, that Leo could come too and that she knew a few of the hospitals had openings available. But, I don't know where from, something told me that I had to do this by my self. Maybe it was because we had been having so many problems, or maybe it was because we were so young that I just needed to be single again.

"I don't know why," she gave another small laugh, "but I told Paige right then that I'd move to New York. Just me. I told Leo and left our apartment a few days later."

The room was in silence; Piper was finally over come by the emotions she had been bottling up for the past four years- the pain of a love lost, the guilt that she'd played a part in that and the emotion involved in raising a child alone.

For Prue and Phoebe they were taken aback by the intensity of what Piper was saying; they had never expected that something like had been going on. They also felt a slight sense of betrayal that it had been going on and their sister had never before confided in them.

Also, the way Piper had finished her story- abruptly and with no real explanation- coupled with the cascades of tears she was now in, made it glaringly obvious to them that she had not told them the full story. They still had questions that were unanswered, such as why did Leo have no involvement with Melinda.

But right now the most important thing was that their sister was crying and in pain. In other words, she needed them and they were only too happy to oblige, getting up from the settee and walking over to her they surrounded Piper in a hug- just letting her know that they were there for her.

-xOx-

Leo walked past his boss's office.

"Leo, come in here please"

"Yes Dr. Carter"

" I just wanted you to know that an opportunity for a transfer to another hospital has come up. It's for a position I think you'd be excellent for "

"What position is it for?" Leo's curiosity had risen, this was exactly what he needed- an opportunity to get away from this town.

"do you remember about a year ago and there was a little girl ….Kimberly Fletcher her name was?" Leo nodded, he remembered. Kimberley had been knocked down by a car and had suffered some pretty major injuries which meant she was in hospital for about four months. " Well Kimberly's father, Mr. Fletcher is, as you probably know, one of the East coast's most up and coming business men but he is looking to expand to the West Coast too. His company has recently finished building a new, small private children's hospital. They're looking for an executive pediatrician. He remembered you from when you treated Kimberly and asked for you personally."

"Well how can I say no to that?" Leo's curiosity had risen, this was exactly what he needed- an opportunity to get away from this town. "Where exactly is this new hospital"

"San Francisco"

x-x-x-x-x

A/N: oh my god! An update! I'd almost forgotten what typing one of these was like :D

Hope you all liked it and please Review. Thanks