The next few days flew by. We'd been to Reno, Sacramento, and yesterday we had reached Fresno. This morning we had left for Los Angeles, our final destination. I could barely contain my excitement as we neared LA. I couldn't believe it as we entered the city. It was so much more amazing than I had imagined.

"Alright, so we're going to drop our stuff off at the hotel. Do you want to stay there and rest, or look around?"

"Look around!" I practically shouted. "Oh, Leo, we have to go see the Hollywood sign!"

He laughed at my excitement. The city was so incredible. We went everywhere and saw everything. Life couldn't have gotten better.

My mood plummeted as Leo and I were walking along downtown LA. I looked up to see a picture of myself pinned to a telephone pole. It felt so odd to see myself staring back at me.

"Missing girl," I whispered, reading aloud. "Please call the number below if you have any information of this girl, Piper Halliwell. Her family is desperate. $5000 reward to any info leading to her safe return. Please help."

The last two words broke my heart.

"Leo," I whispered, looking up at him.

He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead.

"Do you want to call them?" he asked. He frowned. "Do you want to go back?"

"I can't. It's not like it would be better. They would think you did all this, and I'd never be able to see you again," I sighed.

I shook my head and tried not to feel guilty. This is what we had to do.

I approached the next payphone we came to and put in the coins. I dialed home, looking anxiously at Leo.

"Hello?" I heard my father answer in a weary voice.

"Victor?" I asked.

"Piper!" he said, snapping alert. "Where the hell are you?"

"Dad, I'm fine," I said, trying to reassure him.

"Piper! You get your ass home this instant! Do you know how worried your mother is? Do you have any idea what you've put your sisters through?" he raged.

"I know. I know. I'm sorry. But... I'm not coming home."

"The hell you aren't!" he bellowed.

"I'm not," I whispered.

"Where is Leo? I know you're with him!" Victor roared.

I looked up at Leo and smiled.

"Leo's taking good care of me," I said. "I'm just calling to let you know I'm okay. We're doing fine. Please tell Prue that."

"Piper!-"

Suddenly, I heard a lot of noise from the other line. A fight for the phone, I guessed.

"Piper? Piper, is that you?" I heard Prue say, obviously she won.

"Yeah, Prue. It's me," I said.

"Piper, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I repeated. "Listen, Prue. I have to go. I'll call your cell tonight. Don't let anybody else know."

"Okay, Piper. Okay," she whispered. Prue and I had always been close. This had to be killing her.

"Bye, Prue."

"I love you, Piper. I miss you."

I missed her too. I miss her so much...

With a shaky hand, I dialed the numbers into the hotel phone. My mind was racing. I was so nervous that she wouldn't understand. But of course she would, we had been best friends our whole life. We always supported each other. She had to understand.

But what if she didn't?

My finger reluctantly punched 'Talk'.

"Hello?" Prue answered in a low voice.

"Hey, Prue," I said.

"Piper!" she said, sounding relieved. "I miss you so much! Where are you?"

"LA," I said, a bit surprised she didn't figure that out.

It surprised me when she started laughing a little.

"All these years," she said. "You always told me you'd run away to LA. You always told me..."

Then I heard her soft laughter change to a shaky voice..

"Why, Piper? Why did you do it?" she asked.

"Prue, they weren't going to let me see Leo anymore!" I said, knowing things had just taken a turn for the worse. I tried a different angle. "Besides, we both know I don't fit in there."

"Is that the only reason? Piper, this is ridiculous. Leo isn't worth all this! Come home! This is your home," she sighed, exasperated. "Piper... this is your home," she repeated.

"Not anymore," I whispered.

I slammed the phone down in anger. How could she not understand? How did my sister, my best friend, the only member of my family that ever understood anything about me, not understand the simplicity of how much Leo meant to me?

I threw myself back on the bed.

I decided that if Prue couldn't understand, none of them ever would. I tried my best to forget them. It was their fault. They should feel guilty. So I didn't let myself think of them. It had been a month since I'd left. I just had to forget...

"Babe," I moaned as the alarm blared the next morning. Leo was going to start his job today. Temporarily, he was working at a construction site.

I laid in bed while he got ready. Finally, I got up and walked into the bathroom while he was in the shower.

"I saw an ad for some apartment today," he called from the shower. "750 a month."

We had decided to get an apartment, I just didn't know he'd find one so soon.

"Really?" I said, smiling.

"Yeah, and the we could move Monday next week."

I smiled, that was only four days away.

"That would be so great," I mused, sitting down on the toilet to think about it.

An actual apartment. With nice carpet and a real fridge. Maybe even a kitchen table and a pretty dresser and-

"Can you toss me a towel?" Leo asked, interrupting my daydream.

"Yeah," I said. He pushed the shower curtain back a little bit to take it.

It was foggy and dark outside that morning. Leo's hand was tight on mine as we stood in the doorway to say goodbye.

"Love you," I whispered.

"I love you, too," he whispered back. He leaned in and his lips met mine. I could feel the heat coming from us through this cold November morning.

I bit my lip after we separated. He smiled at me.

"Get inside, before you freeze."

"I'm not that delicate," I protested.

The inevitable shiver came right on time. He laughed softly.

"Aren't you?" he contradicted, with the smile that melted my heart.

I walked back inside and began to clean up. Leo was going to sign some papers on his lunch break so we could move in on Monday. I was so happy. Finally, some stability. It was everything we'd dreamed of running away to. A nice little place to call our own.