A/n: I changed the format of this just a little. I decided to add the song lyrics at the beginning of each chapter instead of the recap blurb. I don't know why I didn't do this to begin with, but I like it much better.

I feel as though I'm back into the swing of this story now that I finished chapter eight. Hopefully I will continue updating it fairly quickly. Right now I'm alternating between this story and Nothing I've Become, the sequel to my Phoebe/Cole story Alone, Eternally. It feels like a nice balance for me, so I shouldn't get off track again.

Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews. I truly appreciate it.

Katie

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed nor do I own anything related to Etta James' song, "At Last." This takes place after the end of "Just Harried."

Through the Years

Ten: At Last

At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
At last the skies above are blue
And my heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I can speak to
A dream that I could call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
You smiled, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
And you are mine at last

-Etta James, "At Last"

"What are you thinking about?" asked Leo, kissing the back of Piper's head. They were both in their bathrobes, curled up in a lawn chair together in the back yard. It was past three o'clock in the morning, but Leo felt absurdly awake. A calm had settled over him and he was perfectly content to stay outside with Piper looking at the stars forever.

"I'm thinking that I've never been this happy in my life."

Leo smiled and she sighed without strain. He believed what she said, not only because he felt the same, but also because for the first time since he had known Piper he could tell that there was not a tense bone in her body.

To say their wedding day had been perfect would have been a lie. Honestly, Leo couldn't have cared less about the pageantry and tradition of the wedding that Piper had been stressing about for weeks, but he knew it was immensely important to her. He had never been so angry with someone he cared about as he had been when Prue ran away on that motorcycle. Piper so rarely asked to be the center of attention in the family and the one time she should have unconditionally deserved it the moment had been ruined. So for her sake, he had been distressed about the carefully constructed ceremony being destroyed.

He would have been perfectly happy just to finish the ceremony with or without one of the bridesmaids, the cake, the decorations or anything else. All he wanted was to be bound to Piper officially, heart and soul. But those things had been important to Piper, perhaps too important, and she had left him there, heartbroken, to pick up the pieces.

But it all worked out in the end, he reminded himself, even better than they originally envisioned. He thought that the ceremony had been rather beautiful in the dark with only the light he provided and the wind-chimes as music. And he'd finally gotten exactly what he had wanted for so long. Piper was finally his wife.

They'd found themselves alone after the ceremony fairly quickly. Patty and Grams, of course, had had to leave almost immediately and Darryl had ducked out after congratulations and a short discussion with Prue. Then, somewhat apologetically, Prue had come up and explained that since she was the reason Leo and Piper had lost their hotel reservation for the night (they were supposed to check in by ten), she and Phoebe were going to spend the night at Victor's and leave the couple by themselves. Only Cole seemed disappointed; he shimmered out soon after Phoebe told him where she was going.

Prue, Phoebe and Victor were the last to leave, right after the girls had changed out of their bridesmaid dresses. As they were headed out the door, Phoebe pressed a cased CD into Piper's hand. "I know you didn't have a song picked out," she said. Then added, "The CD player should run on batteries if you can find some."

But the CD, along with everything that had happened earlier in the day, had been pushed out of his mind once he was finally alone with Piper. Now he wondered just what song Phoebe had picked out for them.

As if she was reading his mind (which he felt was quite possible this night of all nights), Piper suddenly said, "There's one thing I really wanted to do today that we didn't."

"Hmm," said Leo. "What's that?"

"A first dance," said Piper, turning awkwardly in his embrace to look into his eyes. "A first dance as husband and wife." She grinned as she said the words and Leo's heart swelled. Impulsively, he leaned in and kissed her.

"Well?" she said a minute later, after they'd surfaced for air.

"Do we have any batteries?"

Piper smiled. "I'll get them," she said. "And the CD." She stood and walked inside, and Leo followed. As she went into the hall to get what she needed, Leo took the CD player from the living room and brought it into the conservatory. It seemed the appropriate place; Piper had told him it was where they shared their first kiss under the influence of the truth spell. And there was more than enough room.

"I hope this doesn't take any more than three batteries," said Piper, entering the room, "because that's all we have."

Leo popped open the lid to the battery compartment. "Only two," he said, holding out his hand for the batteries.

"Perfect," said Piper, handing them to him. She opened the CD case while he put in the batteries and a moment later they had the CD in the player, ready to go. Piper turned it on and pressed play and after a few seconds the orchestration of "At Last" began.

"Oh," said Piper, turning to Leo. She was smiling, but her eyes looked teary. Leo held out a hand to her.

"Dance with me," he said, and Piper nodded and put her hand in his. Immediately he drew her close to his body, and they began to sway slowly around the room in time to the music.

"I probably should have put on shoes," said Piper, glancing up and him.

"Sorry," Leo joked, "I can't hear you down there."

Piper gave him a glare that quickly turned into a smile and playfully swatted his arm. "I can't help that I'm short."

"You can when you wear high heels," said Leo, and before she could respond he bent down– it really was far–and kissed her.

As they kissed they stopped dancing, and Piper wrapped her arms around his neck. Taking advantage of the moment, Leo straightened up, picking her up as he went so he was holding her. Piper gave a small squeal, mostly into his mouth and Leo broke the kiss for a moment. "Won't strain my back this way," he said with a smile.

"Oh be quiet," said Piper softly, then kissed him again. Vaguely, Leo was aware of the song ending, but it seemed distant. All that he knew at that moment was Piper: his arms supporting her weight; her hands wrapped around his neck, playing with his hair; her lips on his. In that moment, she was the whole world.

Piper pulled away slowly, her brown eyes dark and deep. "Good song," she said softly.

"Remind me to thank Phoebe sometime," said Leo, and Piper nodded. "And," he added, lowering her back to the floor, "remind me to take you dancing more often."

At this, Piper grinned, took him by the hand, and led him upstairs.