Part IX

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"You do not marry the person you can live with. You marry the person you can not live without." - Unknown

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Heather walked through the front door and Leo shut the door and turned to where she was pacing. She stopped pacing for a moment, "Oh, I woke you. I'm sorry... I should leave..." she started to walk to the door, but Leo stopped her. "No, It's fine. Please stay." Not really wanting to leave she nodded her head in consent, "Why don't you sit on the sofa." he directed. She didn't say anything, but went to the over stuffed cream sofa. "Can I get you anything?" he offered. She shook her head, "No thank-you." He went and walked over to the coffee table and sat down across from her. He wasn't sure what she wanted and he wasn't going to push her in either direction. 

Abruptly Heather stood up and started pacing again, "I need your help. Last night... last night I was watching the fire. I had this memory of being at a house and watching a woman cry." she stopped for a moment to gauge Leo's reaction. He could teach someone about bluffing for his face gave away nothing. She continued to ring her hands and pace, "Anyway in this scene, if you will, a girl came and stood next to me. It took me until today to remember the girl's name... Prue." Heather stopped pacing once again and came sat down across from Leo. Leo wasn't sure what to say, but before he could come up with anything Heather continued, "That's not the only thing I remember." she whispered.

Leo looked up at her and caught her eye. She could feel herself blushing but couldn't stop. "This is where your help is needed... I know that, well I don't know how I know, but I know that you wouldn't lie to me." She stopped for a moment, but Leo refused to say anything. "I was at the church tonight. There was a stain glass window that caught my eye and I had this flash of you standing in front of it with the sun shining through, but I thought that was from the tour of the hospital. Then I kept seeing you in a tux and I couldn't shake the idea that I was remembering our wedding day..." she trailed off not sure what answer she was wanting.

"Is it the one of Jesus' crucifixion?" he asked. Heather's head shot up and she stared into his eyes, "So, I'm not imagining things, you were in front of it for our wedding..." she trailed fully realizing what it was she was admitting. They sat there for a long time in silence. Leo wanting to comfort her, but scared to touch and Heather realizing that she was Piper. Finally Leo stood up, "I'm going to make some tea would you like some?" Piper nodded and watched him. She was so entranced watching him that it took her a minute to realize that he was standing in front of her offering her the tea. "Thank-you." she said shyly. She wasn't sure how to act now or what to do. 

"So." she stated. "Sew.." Leo started "Buttons?" they said unanimously. "Phoebe used to say that." Piper told him. He had a small smile on his face, "You remember that?" She nodded, but try though she might she couldn't keep the tears at bay. She started crying and couldn't seem to stop. Leo gathered her into his arms and sat down on the sofa rocking her. "I'm sorry..." she started. He ran his hand down her hair and back, "It's okay. Everything will be okay." he whispered. She didn't say anything and stayed in his arms for a long time.

Finally when Leo knew that she was asleep he gently placed her on the sofa and covered her with her favorite fleece blanket. He looked at her for a long moment, but quietly went back to his bedroom. He looked at the time noting that it was 12:02 AM which would make it 3:02 EST. He picked up the phone anyway and dialed. It was a good six rings before a gravely voice answered, "Turner." "Cole, it's me Leo. I need your help. Heather, Piper, is starting to remember who she is. I'm not really sure what to do." Cole was silent for a few minutes which made Leo wonder if he had fallen asleep. "Okay, I'm going to book an early flight and call you back." Cole stated. Leo nodded, "Okay." Leo listened as Cole hung up the phone. He went back out to the living room to check on Piper. 

The phone rang and Leo went back into the bedroom, "Okay, I can't get a flight out of here until seven my time, which is four your time. I will be there 8:36 am. Do not go anywhere else and do not let her out of your site until I get there." Cole instructed. "Okay. I'll see you there." Leo told him. He took his alarm and set it for 6:30 am and then checking on Piper once more went back to his bedroom and fell into an exhausted sleep.

Piper woke up crying. It was almost too much for her to take. In her dreams the flashes of funerals and the woman in her dream avalanched her...her mother and Grams, they had died. She had flashes much like she did when she first met Leo, but now she was able to put names to faces. It tore at her and she remembered leaning on her sister, on Prue, as Prue leaned on her. She sat up for a moment and looked at the beautiful and comfortable blanket that Leo had provided for her. More tears slid down her cheeks as she thought of everything that was happening. She was confused and hurt and right now she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. She stood up and walked softly to Leo's bedroom. Above all else she knew that he would not hurt her and would care for her.

Leo awoke as his bed started moving. Except it wasn't his bed that was moving, "Piper?" he asked. She crawled up the bed and laid her head on his shoulder, "I was having dreams, flashes, whatever. My mom and Grams are dead..." she started, but she couldn't finish. "I'm sorry you have to go through this." Leo said softly. She gave him a pout, but kissed his cheek, "I'm sorry you have to go through this." He moved until he had her fully in his arms and they were looking into one another eyes. "Piper, I don't know why you disappeared and I don't know why I found you, but I really don't care right now. The fact is that you are back. Here in my arms, a prayer that I have been praying for over two years. I have never stopped loving you. Not once and I will do whatever it takes to get everything back to normal, to the way it should be." he softly declared. She gave him a smile then and leaned in to kiss him.

It was a soft kiss, but as he cupped the back of her neck it started to intensify. She had flashes of him kissing her, flashes of her kissing him, and she now knew that those dreams months ago were not just dreams or fantasies, but memories of how much she really loved this man. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her hands through his hair. They both knew that they probably should stop, but neither Leo or Piper were wanting stop...

At 6:30 Leo's alarm went off. He quickly shut it off and turned back to see if Piper had woken up. Noting that she hadn't he kissed her forehead and then went to take a shower. He wasn't sure what last night was going to do to this morning, but if they woke up separately it might help. This whole situation was messed up, or as Sam Wilder used to call it, "a cluster." He needed to call Darryl and have him get the insurance papers because he had no doubt he wasn't going to be able to be there. 

He got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips and then went out of his bathroom to get to his closet and ran into Piper in the process, "Excuse me." he said. "I'm sorry, I..." she trailed off not sure what to say. He stared at her and she stared at him. It was awkward and to Leo frustrating, but he moved out of her way. "I just need to get dressed, feel free to use the bathroom." he stated politely. Piper just nodded. Although a thousand scenarios had run through her head this hadn't been one of them. She could read the frustration and sadness in his eyes, but she wasn't sure what to do about it.

When Piper emerged from the bathroom Leo wasn't in site. She walked back out of the bedroom and saw Leo sitting on the couch with papers and a phone in his hand talking to someone. she had called Haley when Leo had gone to take his shower, but she hadn't told her where she was. After last night Piper wasn't sure where they stood. Part of her cried out that they were suppose to be in bed enjoying each other's company, another part was too confused to really think. Unfortunately that was the prominent side. Leo hung up the phone and looked at Piper, "I was talking to Paige. She's going to meet Darryl and go over the insurance papers." he informed her. Piper nodded her head.

"Listen, would you like a cup of coffee or something?" he asked. "Coffee sounds good, thank-you." she told him. He stood up and walked to the kitchen and started to make the coffee. "About last night..." he started, but she interrupted him, "I didn't mean to make this more confusing." He smiled at her, "You didn't. I just wanted to tell you that I didn't regret it. I'm not sure about anything right now, but I meant what I said last night. I do love you and I will do everything I can to try and get things to a relative sense of normality." Piper smiled then. A genuine, light up the world, smile, a smile that Leo could never resist. He leaned in and kissed her. The phone rang and the couple broke apart, "Could you get that?" Leo asked. Piper walked over and answered it, "Hello?" the phone clicked. "They hung up." she told him. "Weird." Leo said and then set the cup on the counter for her. Piper was about to grab it when there was a knock on the door and she went to open it.

Piper stared at the person in the doorway, Leo came up behind her, "Haley?" Piper asked. She was dressed in a black pin strip suit that made her look authorities and business like. Bianca flipped the black badge, "Special Agent Bianca Lawson. You need to come with me." she stated. Piper and Leo looked at one another and Bianca took a breath. "Listen, I know this is a shock, but you two are in danger. Agent Turner is on his way and if you will please come with me we will sort this all out." she told them. "What is going on?" Piper asked. "I can't tell you here. I don't know if some one else is bugging your apartment, but we have to hurry." Bianca pleaded. "Bugging?" Leo asked. Bianca let out a breath, "Listen, I know that none of this makes sense, but if you will please come with me I will explain everything." she looked directly into Piper's eyes and Piper knew that she was telling the truth. "Okay." she told her. Leo looked at Piper, "Are you sure?" he asked her. She nodded her head and he followed the two women and locked the door behind him.

Bianca watched the couple as they rode down the elevator. This was not how any of this was suppose to go down. They still had two weeks before the trial and if it hadn't been for that stupid fire, it still would have gone on perfectly. Of course she should have known that it wouldn't have gone beautifully nothing had with this case, but still... Bianca rubbed her eyes and looked at the couple next to her. She knew that they loved one another. She saw that deep love as they both comforted one another of what might lie ahead. She had feelings for them, especially Piper, but she also saw them as her case. As people she had to protect. As people she wanted to protect. Pretending to be Piper's sister wasn't hard. She had known Piper when she was Piper and her subtle shift as she embraced the idea of being Heather. Piper was a good person and had a huge heart. It made her vulnerable and loveable at the same time and made Bianca want to do anything in her power to keep her safe. She hadn't had much of a chance to get to know Leo, but from everything she had gathered from both Piper and her other sources he was a good guy. She just hoped that she could keep them alive long enough to continue to be good people.

Before Bianca would let them step off of the elevator she stepped out. She moved through the lobby of the building and seeing that it was secure waved to them with her hand. They quickly moved out of the elevator and followed the agent. They made it safely to the black Ford Crown Victoria and Bianca observing everything around them, ducked into the front seat and locked the door. A walkie talkie started sputtering and Piper and Leo watched as Bianca picked it up, "This is Phoenix, go ahead." "How far?" a voice crackled, "Twenty minutes. Package is secure." Bianca replied. The name rang a bell with Piper, "Who's Mason?" she asked. Bianca turned around, "What?" she asked. "You said Phoenix. Those messages on the machine, They were asking for Phoenix, they said they were from Mason, who is Mason?" Piper asked again. "That would be me." said the driver. He did a quick turn and both Leo and Piper were shocked, "Chris?" Piper asked.

"Hello Piper, Leo." he greeted and looked at Bianca so she could explain, "Bennett is my partner." Bianca told them. Leo wanted more, "What do you mean partner? What in the hell is going on?!?" Leo demanded. "Short version: Piper wasn't kidnapped. She has been in the witness relocation program for the past two years. You have a hit man after you and we've been trying to protect the both of you." Leo tried to let that sink in. "Listen, when we get to where we are going I'll explain everything..." Bianca was stopped abruptly by the blow they received from the back. Both Piper and Leo shot forward. Chris looked in the rearview mirror to see a black Ford Explorer riding his tail. He started to speed again when the Explorer bumped them again.

"What the hell is going on?" Bianca screamed, "I think he's trying to run us off the road." Chris told her. "Put your seatbelts on!" he instructed to everyone and swung the car to the other lane. The explorer was on his tail and wasn't letting him go. The light ahead was turning yellow, so he floored it and then did a swift 360 taking himself back into the other lane. However, as he did so another black Explorer hit him on the side sending the car spinning into an ally way. The blow had knocked him out as well as Piper and Bianca. Leo shook his head when glass came shattering at him. He was grabbed and the door opened and dropped him onto the ground. His head bashed into the cement knocking him out.

A few minutes later Chris and Bianca stirred, "What happened?" Bianca moaned. "I'm not sure, but I think whoever was after Leo and Piper came after us." Chris said. He turned to look at his passengers, "Bianca!!" Chris screamed. HE got out of the car and went around to see where they had dragged Leo away. Bianca jumped out of her seat. "Damn it!" she bellowed. They saw Piper moaning, "What happened?" she asked. Bianca and Chris looked at one another, "What are we going to do now?"

After calling in to headquarters Bianca and Chris cased the scene.  Piper, who felt sore and even more confused than before walked up and down the side walk that Chris and Bianca had told her was safe.  It was probably the tenth trip down the sidewalk when the silver flashed at her.  She picked it up, it was a beautiful silver money clip.  It was engraved with the initials BJ.  Chris had gone to check on Piper when he saw her holding the silver object.  "What's that?" he asked.  Piper shrugged her shoulders, "Not sure.  It was on the ground." she told him handing it over for his inspection.  "Bianca!" Chris called.

Bianca came running up, "What is it?" she asked.  He handed the money clip over, "You've got to be kidding me!" she screamed out of frustration.  "What is it?" Piper asked.  She, herself was getting frustrated with no answers from any one.  Another black Ford Victoria showed up and a man jumped out, "We've got another problem." he told the agents.  "What this time?" Bianca asked.  "Agent Trudeau has been taken as well.  We got a call from the doctor's office telling us that the man who had come in with the baby had left."  "Damn it!" Chris swore.  "Trudeau?  As in Andy Trudeau?" Piper asked.  The new agent looked at Piper noticing her for the first time.  "Yes." Bianca answered, "Piper, this is Agent Matthew Cade.  He is also working on the case."   Matthew held out his hand, "Piper." he greeted.  

"Well let's go.  Leave someone else to clean this up, we have to find where they've taken them." Chris said.  "Who picked up the baby?" Bianca asked.  "I did.  That's why it took me so long to get here.  I had to go get him." Cade explained.  "Where is Agent Seer?" Chris asked.  "Welcome to another piece of the puzzle." Cade grounded out.  Chris and Bianca shook their heads, but got in.  Piper was ushered to the back where a baby boy was happily playing with a plastic ring in a car seat.  Piper immediately started playing with the baby, "He's precious, who is he?" she asked.  Bianca turned to Piper, "Piper, he's yours.  That's baby Wyatt." she said.  "Huh?" Piper grunted.  She had a son?

End of Part IX

Author's Notes: School has been a killer.  I haven't had any time to myself, and absolutely no time to write.  However, I've scraped enough time together to get this written!  Only one part left!  I hope you've enjoyed it and thank-you for your patience in waiting for this update!!