Part VIII

--

I believe that if I should die,
and you were to walk near my grave,
from the very depths of the earth
I would hear your footsteps. -- Benito Perez Galdos

--

The rain was hitting the window, but Leo didn't really see or hear it. The mugginess of the evening coupled with his disappointment in himself made him take his suffocating gray t-shirt off and fling it across the bedroom. He flung himself onto the bed once again and started tracing over the events of that Saturday night. There were so many things he had wanted to tell her. So many things he had wanted to do, but he felt as though he was a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming freight train. He had clammed up for the first time in his life. In previous years he would have run after her. He would have done something to keep her with him. He would have moved Heaven and Hell to get her, but he had sat there and then prayed. At work Darryl treated him with kid gloves. Just like he had done when Piper had disappeared, and Leo figured that they all thought he was going to break at any second. Maybe he was. For the first time in a long time Leo felt like a loser, but what made it worse was that he had had the opportunity to do something about it and didn't do one damn thing! Paige had finally found a place near the hospital and was now back in San Diego packing everything up to move. He was alone.

He sat up and then looked over at the picture that had caused the problem. He picked it up from his night stand where he had moved it after he came back from the church that night. He traced over her face and sighed as he stopped at her eyebrow. Her eyebrow was so much a part of her that it just never occurred to him as a distinct mark. It was part of who Piper was and it wasn't until Heather pointed it out that Leo thought about it. Of course he felt like a complete and utter idiot because it was the proof he needed to prove she was in fact Piper, but with Heather out of his reach he didn't know what he was going to do. It sickened him to no end. He had called her apartment and even went there a couple of times, but she never answered and she was always gone. He wanted to shed tears, but he felt too stupid to do so. This was his legacy. 

--

Heather glanced out of the window as a particular bright flash of lightening lit up the night and shone bright through the stained glass windows. She was not having a particularly good week. Ever since Leo's party she had been struggling trying to get herself back to a sense of normalcy. It just wasn't working. Nothing fit right anymore. The apartment was too small, Haley was too offensive, Dan's kisses even seemed to chafe her lips. They both knew the writing was on the wall for their relationship, but if they could just play the game of denial for a little while longer they would. She blamed it all on Leo Wyatt, but what made her even more angry was the fact that she wasn't that upset with him. The fact that he had a younger picture of her didn't really freak her out all that much. Leo just didn't seem like the type to follow others around. He had a life. A life that consisted of high powered friends and lots of money. A life that almost seemed familiar to her. And to top it all off she was at the hospital on a Saturday night. She had enjoyed working the day shifts, but Dr. Edwards had called in sick, so Heather took her shift.

"How are you doing?" Paige asked. Heather had seen her in the glass and therefore didn't flinch. "I'm doing okay. Is everything upstairs going okay?" Heather inquired. One of their new patients was a ten year old girl, Lucy, who had been abducted and found two days later. Dan had visited her in New Mexico weeks before, but it wasn't until Paige had signed on that he had taken the little girl. She had been abducted on a stormy night and they were having problems getting her to settle down, "We finally gave her a small sedative. Dan's monitoring her and I came down to get us some coffee." Paige explained. 

Paige had thought it would be difficult to talk to Heather knowing that everyone else believed her to be Piper, but she didn't find it difficult at all. In fact the girls had started forge a friendship that Paige hoped would last. Paige had a lot of respect for Leo and she did not want to see him hurt. Ever since the party she had avoided talking about her, but just like all pink elephants it wouldn't go away. "I just made some. I was going to bring some up to you, but I got entranced by the lightening." Heather told her. Paige smiled, "I can see that. It looks very beautiful in the stained glass." Heather nodded her head in agreement and Paige went and got two cups of coffee.

Heather was finishing up the reports that the state required when she heard a large explosion and felt the house shake. She thought for a moment it was an earthquake but the shaking stopped as soon as it began. Instead she heard screaming and went through the glass doors so she could upstairs. She was running when Paige met her head on, "Lightening struck and now the upstairs is on fire!" she shouted. "We have to get the patients out of here!" "I'll call 911 and be up there in a second." Heather yelled back and went to the kitchen and made the call. 

As soon as she was assured that the fire fighters were on their way she quickly ran up the stairs. As fortune had it they had practiced their fire drill only three days ago and now with it fresh in their minds the three of them, got each patient and started calmly walking down the stairs. Heather turned back only once to see flames licking up the stairway to the attic. Dan had Lucy in his arms and Paige was escorting three other patients while Heather had two.

They had just made it out of the door when they heard wood cracking and a large boom. They hurried out of the door and stumbled into the firefighters coming to their rescue. An ambulance showed up two seconds later and the three of them got the patients in. "We have to take them to the county hospital." Dan screamed at Heather through the sirens and pelting rain. "You two go ahead. I'll stay here." she screamed back and watched as Paige and Dan left with the patients. She stood back at a rather large distance and watched as Bennett Hospital burned to the ground.

She was entranced by the fire and felt herself being sucked into it. She was playing a scene in her mind of walking down the stairs and seeing a fire. She strained further to try and remember what happened. She no longer felt the rain soaking her clothes and skin and the sirens were but a distant memory as she tried to remember a past memory. She was young. She knew that. She saw a woman sitting on the couch. She looked sad, but Heather couldn't remember why, or who she was.... she tried to remember further, but the woman kept looking like the woman in the picture at Leo's apartment. She sucked in a breath. She knew it was from some distant Christmas, but she couldn't remember further. "Miss!" someone was screaming at her. But she only heard, "Piper!" She was answering the girl that had snuck out of a room and stood next to her whispering. She knew this girl. She wanted to answer her, but she couldn't seem to. A large hand clapped on her shoulder and scared her out of the memory, "Miss. We got it under control, but we need you to come with us." 

Heather turned to the man and looked at him. It took her a moment to realize that he was speaking to her, "I'm sorry. What do you need?" she asked shaking herself out of her stupor. "We need you to come with us." he told her. She nodded her head and started to follow when she heard a woman call her name. She turned to the voice and the cop whose hand was still on her shoulder turned with her. "Haley." Heather said to herself. Still thinking of the memory she knew that Haley was not the right name of the girl who stood next to her. "Heather! 
I tried calling, but when I couldn't get you I drove here and saw the fire... Are you alright?" Haley looked nearly petrified. Heather took her into her arms, "I'm fine. Everyone got out. I was just leaving with the officer to talk about what happened." she soothed.

Heather didn't have one memory of her sister having a freak out, but she was now and Heather had no explanation as to why. "Are you okay?" Heather asked while her sister clung to her. "I'll be fine." Haley stiffened. She parted from Heather and looked at her, "Why don't you come with me. You can take me home afterward." Heather gently suggested. Haley nodded, "I'll follow you in my car." she said more to the officer than to Heather. The police officer turned back to where his car was and Heather followed him. It would be her first time in a police vehicle. At least she would be in the front seat. 

She glimpsed Haley's car a few times, but for the most just stared out of the windshield. The rain was now coming down in sheets, but Heather didn't really notice. Her mind was sweeping between two schools of thoughts. She was worried about Haley. She wanted to chalk it up to the fact that Haley was scared that something had happened to her, but for some reason she knew that wasn't the only reason. And then she had the memory that was trying to come into fruition, but she was stuck trying to talk to the girl and remember her name.

They had made it to the precinct rather quickly and Heather was nearly stunned when the officer, who had introduced himself as, Officer Greg Smith, told her they were there. Haley walked up next to Heather a few minutes later and followed Officer Smith into the building. He got a chair for Haley while Heather sat in the chair next to his desk. "Are you okay?" Heather asked Haley again. "I'm fine, I just had this feeling something was wrong and then when I saw the flames... I panicked okay? I just don't want something to happen to you." Haley stammered. Heather took her sister's hand and held it firmly in hers. Officer Smith had come back, "Okay, if you'll give me a minute we will go over what happened." he told Heather.

When she was nearing the end of her statement she heard a commotion and looked over to the doors and saw a rain soaked Leo Wyatt looking at her. When he saw her he walked over there to her ignoring anyone who dared ask him a question. "Are you okay? What's going on? I got a call from Paige that said I needed to go to the police station." Leo's questions ran together, but Heather who was still feeling very subdued stood up as did Haley. "A lightening bolt hit the hospital and it caught it on fire. We got the patients out and Dan and Paige went to the county hospital with them. I stayed behind so I could talk to the police officer." Her calming demeanor mollified Leo. "Oh. I had no idea what happened. I'm glad everyone is okay." Leo said through heavy breathing. For most of the ride over Leo had though Heather/Piper was dead and now with the proof in front of him he could finally breathe.

"Sir, you are?" Officer Smith asked. Leo took a breath and gathered his wits, "I'm sorry. My name is Leo Wyatt. My sister-in-law called me and told me to come down here." he explained to the officer. The officer nodded and turned to Heather, "If we can finish your statement you can go as soon as it's over." She started, but stopped, "Where are my manners? Leo Wyatt this is my sister, Haley Price. Haley this is Leo Wyatt." she introduced the two and then turned back to Officer Smith. Leo stuck his arm out and shook Haley's hand, "It's nice to meet you Ms. Price." he greeted. She gave him a shaky smile, "The pleasure is mine Mr. Wyatt. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get to meet you." she teased. He gave her a confused look, and Haley went on, "My sister has mentioned you several times, but I haven't heard your name pop up for the past week..." she trailed off when Heather elbowed her.

Leo grimaced but didn't say anything. Officer Smith told Heather thank-you and Heather and Haley stood up. "Do you two have a ride home?" he asked. "I have my car." Haley told him. Leo nodded, "Well since everyone is alright. I'll go see Paige and see if she needs anything. It was nice to meet you Haley." he said and quickly left. Haley turned to Heather giving her a questioning look, but Heather said nothing. Haley had to wonder if she was in shock the way she was acting. Although her sister wasn't prone to fits or outrageousness, this subdued side of her made Haley worry. However, she wasn't going to push it. Today had been hard enough on her and she couldn't imagine what Heather was going through. The good news was that they were safe...for now.

Leo was two and half hours late to the brunch. When he showed up wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt it peeked Darryl's curiosity. He let his friend in, "What happened?" he asked. Sheila came into the entrance from kitchen, "My God Leo what happened?" she asked and went to give him a hug. "The hospital burnt down last night. Everyone's safe, but they had to move the patients to the county hospital, so I took some things to Paige and Dan and told Dan that I would take care of the financial stuff as soon as Monday rolled around. I've been getting everything together since then." Leo was tired, but he hadn't wanted his friends to worry. "How did it happen?" Darryl asked. "The storm last night. Lightening hit one of the outlets. According to the fire department it was a miracle no one got hurt. Especially since they were up in the attic monitoring the patients." "I'm so sorry Leo. Would you like something to eat?" Sheila offered. Leo shook his head, "No, but thank-you. I'm going to go home and get some sleep. I just didn't want you to worry." Sheila gave him another hug, "Well if you need something please call us." Sheila commanded. "I will." "I'll see you on Monday and we can sort it all out." Darryl said reassuringly. "Thanks." Darryl patted Leo's shoulder and Leo left.

Sunday hadn't been much of a rest for Heather. She had gone and seen Dan and Paige, but with Dr. Edwards back there really wasn't much for Heather to do. Haley who seemed back to her normal self by early Sunday afternoon had fled the apartment for something to do leaving Heather all by herself. The memory that had tried to escape on Saturday night was still in her mind, but she couldn't seem to get past what she was saying to the girl. So, she decided to do some research on the Internet. She went to Google and typed in the name Piper Halliwell. 
Many links popped up, she clicked on the first link Millionaire Leo Wyatt's Wife is Missing and started reading.

A couple of hours later and she was no where. There was one last link left and with near apathy clicked on it. She was scanning as she had noticed that most of the articles said the same thing. She was scrolling down when a picture caught her attention. There were three people in the picture, Leo, his partner Darryl and a woman. The woman was the same one that she had seen in one of the pictures at Leo's apartment. A red flag raised in her mind. The woman in her memory, the one on the couch, she had seen that woman too... She was that in that first picture that had caught her eye. The little girl. It was her too... Heather's eyes were racing, but seeing nothing but what was in her mind's eye. She looked back to the picture of the woman on the screen...She turned to the little girl in her memory, "Prue, shhh, mommy's crying." No one was there to hear Heather's gasp.

That woman. That was her sister, that was Prue. Prue Halliwell. She had take a deep breath. She didn't know what to do now. She didn't have any other memory, but the one that had been playing in her mind. It had been Christmas time. She was only seven years old, Prue was nine. She screamed at the frustration of only having a small part of the memory. She couldn't access anything else. The only one who could really help her was Leo. She would have talked to Paige, but Paige had never met Piper... her... until this year. Heather racked her brain trying to come up with something when the door opened and Haley burst in. "Hey!" she greeted. She put her jacket on the rack and walked over to the computer, "What are you looking at?" she asked. Heather shook her head, "Nothing. Leo Wyatt's wife. I got bored." she dismissed. Haley's face became unreadable, but she didn't say anything. "So what do you want to do for dinner?" she asked. Heather shook her head again, "I'm not really hungry. In fact I think I would like to take a walk." she all but ran out of the apartment grabbing her purse and keys.

Haley watched her go and wondered what was going on. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she knew beyond doubt that it would be soon.

Heather walked the gray shaded city trying to come up with answers. If she really was Piper Halliwell and not Heather Price then who was Haley? What was Haley's part in this charade? Despite the questions reeling she knew that Haley really did care about her. Her reaction to Heather and the fire wasn't fake. She knew when Haley was being fake and last night she really was worried. Of course this only added to her confusion. Why would someone care about her if they knew she was someone else? If she was Piper Halliwell why couldn't she remember anything more than a Christmas memory? Why had she been abducted in the first place? Was Dan in on this? He didn't act like he was, but Heather was questioning everything she ever knew.

It wasn't until much later when the strain of trying to remember if she was in fact Piper Halliwell and wondering what on earth had happened that she found herself at North Pointe Baptist Church. She was feeling the weight of her mental anguish and so she went in. There were people moving about and for a moment Heather forgot that it was Sunday night. She sat in one of the back pews and waited for the service to start. She was willing to do anything to take her mind off of the problems that were weighing her down. A man in jeans handed her a white bulletin, "Welcome to North Pointe Baptist Church" it read on the top. It had the address underneath and the name of the pastor, Dr. Shawn Jeffries. The picture was of a gate. She didn't look further, but looked straight ahead as someone said hello into the mike. "I want to welcome you all to tonight's service. Why doesn't everyone stand and we'll sing a few hymns." he said and everyone around her stood up.

During the service Heather's eyes wandered. She was looking at all the beautiful stain glassed windows of depictions in the Bible. One of Jesus on the cross caught her eye. She had seen that somewhere else before. It had been sunny then and it was shinning on someone. She strained her mind, but could only come up with Leo, but she knew that was from their tour of the hospital. She tried to shake it out of her mind, but she just couldn't. The more she thought the more she saw him in a tux. The pastor was standing in front of them. She took deep breaths trying to keep her mind from convincing her she was remembering her wedding to Leo, but with that thought she knew that was exactly what she was remembering. She thought harder and remembered thinking how beautiful he looked with the light shinning on him. Her personal angel who had saved her when she needed it the most. He had helped her and Prue through some tough times... She quietly got up and walked out of the church. She hailed a cab and gave the address.

Leo woke up and looked at the clock, 9:38 PM. He then pushed himself up on his arms and listened for whatever it was that woke him up. A moment later he heard knocking on his door. He slowly got up. When he had reached home earlier that morning Paige had called and needed something else. When he went to the hospital an insurance agent was there and he had taken her aside and for the better part of three hours talked until they decided to meet early Monday morning. He had come home at 4:48 and crashed onto his bed not bothering to move until now. He walked out to the living room and scratched his stomach and opened the door. He drew a big breath when he saw Heather Price standing there. "We need to talk." she told him. He nodded and let her in.

--

End of Part VIII

Author's Notes:  Well Part VIII in it's original form was okay.  I didn't particularly like it all that much, but it was finished and out there.  Then I tried to write Part IX and nothing was helping.  I kept thinking of different things I could have done with Part VIII to make Part IX better.  Finally I knew what I had to do.  I had to re-write Part VIII so Part IX could be written and written well.  I hope you all enjoy this new version much better.  Now on to Part IX.