"Piper?" said Paige, breaking the silence on the way home. "What did Prue mean when she said those things about Leo?"

I took a deep breath.

"Ahh," I said, having forgotten that Paige had heard that. I glanced over at her and smiled. I decided to dodge the question. "Just something from a long time ago. Nothing to worry about now."

"What happened?" she persisted.

"Forget about it, sweetie," I said, looking the other way, pretending to be watching for cars.

"Piper, why won't you tell me what Leo did?"

"Paige, nevermind," I said, wishing she'd let it go. I didn't want to bring up the past, didn't want her to know, but mostly, I didn't want to relive that pain.

"I want to know," she said plainly. "What did Phoebe mean? What was Leo's mistake? And why did you get so upset when Prue brought it up?"

I decided to tell her. After all, she opened up to me about Mom hitting her.

"A long, long time ago," I said, passing her a glance, then turning away again, "not long after we moved into our apartment, Leo and I started to have fights."

I glanced over at her again, she was listening, clinging to every word.

"And one night," I continued, "we were in a fight, and I got very upset and walked away. It made Leo very angry," I glanced at her again, "and he hit me."

"Leo hit you?" she said after a brief pause.

"Yes," I sighed. "It was the only time he ever did it, and he is very sorry and regrets it very much."

"Wow," she breathed.

"But I don't want you to have any bad feelings about Leo just because you know this, and I don't want you to bring it up, okay?"

"That's what I wanted when I told you about mom..." she mumbled. "But I didn't really want that. I wanted you to help me. Maybe you secretly want help."

"No, no," I said softly. "I don't need help. Leo and I are happy now, and he would never do it again. There is a difference between what mom did and what Leo did."

"How?" she asked. "How is it any different?"

"Well, for one, mom is an alcoholic," I said.

"So, it makes it okay because Leo was sober?" she asked. I knew she didn't mean to annoy me with these questions. I stayed calm and continued explaining.

"No, it wasn't okay. There was a long time that we didn't talk to each other after he did it, but I finally forgave him," I said. "But it's different in other ways, too. Like the fact that mom needs help, Leo just had a bad temper back then. And like the fact that Leo was sorry about it."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Well, I won't say anything. Thanks for telling me...nobody ever tells me anything."

I smiled. I knew she was a good kid. I started thinking about what I would do if mom sobered up and wanted Paige back. Then I stopped. I couldn't think about that without getting upset.

**************

"So," Leo said as we settled into bed one night a few days later. "Something happened today."

"What's that?" I asked, pulling the covers over my lap.

"Well, I was offered a promotion," he said. As he saw the smile on my face, he continued, "but it's not at my station. It's in the downtown L.A. station."

"Wow," I whispered.

After a moment, he started talking again.

"I've looked into it. There's a condo that would be just perfect for us. Paige could have her own room, we can afford it, and it's closer to your work."

"Yes, but right there in downtown L.A.? It'd be different if it was just us, but downtown L.A. is much too rough for Paige. Plus, she just got settled into her new school. We can't just pick up and move now," I reasoned.

"Yeah," Leo said, disappointed. "You're right."

"How about we go look at the condo tomorrow? If it's a safe enough place, we might be able to work something out," I said.

"Really?" he said, hope coming back to his voice. "What about Paige?"

I shrugged. "I can drive her to school. It's not that far."

He smiled and immediately hopped up and rolled on top of me, hugging me and covering my face in kisses. I couldn't stop giggling. What a great life I had...

**************

"Paige," I stumbled into the living room to wake her. "Paige, time for school."

Her body remained lifeless.

"C'mon, Paige. Gotta get up," I yawned.

"Uggghhhh," she moaned.

"Ah! It's alive!" I said, laughing.

She sat up and looked around with an upset expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" I wondered.

"The sun came up again," she frowned.

I laughed. "Well, get ready. Come on!"

After I drove her to the bus stop and watched her get on, I rushed back to get ready for work.

"Leo!" I called. "You gotta get to work!"

"Pass," he moaned.

"No passes. You've used all your vacation days," I scolded. "Get up!" I called again as I entered the bathroom to take a shower.

After, I rushed to get dressed. When I walked into the bedroom, Leo was asleep again.

I hit him hard on the butt.

"Leo! Wake up!"

"Wha-? Ughhh," he moaned, finally getting up, rubbing his eyes.

After getting dressed, I went into the kitchen and grabbed my nametag. After pinning it on my shirt, Leo walked in.

"I gotta go," I said, standing on my tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too," he said lazily.

I grabbed my purse and I was out the door. A few weeks ago, I was just a kid myself. Now I felt like a working mother.