Consider this story kind of an alternate Home Sweet Home. Same people (with some added characters), same Piper and Leo, same Officer Wyatt…kinda. Same friends and family (except Leo's dad has a different name, and there is no Melinda or Rick, because Rick is Leo's dad's new name). It's a different plot. A different story…
In Home Sweet Home, Leo was like the family guy cop, you know? He went to the schools and took the dogs to the park and trained them as often as possible. Got that? Okay, throw it all out the window.
This is my new version of everything I've written in Home Sweet Home. So take Home Sweet Home and everything about it and forget it…DISCLAIMER: I don't own Charmed. I am not making any profit off of this story, and I do not intend to, unless I change the names of the characters from Charmed…Then I can make a profit. But I don't own Charmed. Understand that? I do not own Charmed, God damn it!SUMMARY: Leo always worked alone, and because of that, he made a lot of enemies. When the IA did an investigation, they decided he couldn't work alone any more. That it was too hard and he may not come back from a case one day.
But Leo didn't want a partner. He refused to be friendly to the guy, and when the "intruder" started asking questions about Leo's wife, he got protective. But it wasn't really his fault, because Piper and Leo went through things that no one ever should, and it is still haunting Leo.
Leo takes a job alone one day and ends up right where the IA, and even Piper, thought he would be if he worked alone.
Because of all of it, he promised Piper that he would come home to her every night, and he stayed true to that promise. Every night, no matter how late—or early in the morning—it was, or how tired or how beaten up he was, he made it through the front door, at least. There was nothing more Piper could ask of her husband, apart from quitting his job, which she knew very well would never happen.
So every night, Leo walked through the front door and saw Piper waiting. If he was early, he waited for her. Even if it was only once a day, they saw each other. That was all they could ask.
But one night Leo came home and Piper didn't. Everyone knew what happened and everyone knew who did it. Everyone.
Leo was out for blood.
Chapter 1 - Michael Connor
Piper Wyatt opened her eyes slowly, cursing the birds singing outside the bedroom window for waking her. But then she felt she should bless them when she saw who was beside her. She smiled and stared at her husband for a moment before rolling up against his chest as close as she could be. She smiled again and looked up at his face. He was awake and staring down at her with a little smile.
"Did I wake you?" Piper whispered.
He shook his head. "No."
"Don't you have to be at work?" she asked, confused as to why he was still there; usually by now he was at the police station that he worked at.
"Not until six o'clock."
"Six o'clock tonight? Seriously?"
"Yes, Piper, seriously," Leo told his wife.
Piper eyed him suspiciously. "Who died?"
Leo smiled. "No one. No occasion. Just a morning off."
"…That means you'll have to work late," she said sadly, glancing away from him momentarily.
"I would have to either way, Piper, you know that."
"I know."
Leo sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up close to him. "I'll be home as soon as I can," he whispered into her hair.
"Promise?"
"You betcha."
Piper smiled. "Thank you." she leaned forward and kissed Leo, rolling him over so that she could lie on his chest. "God, it is great to have you here…" she sighed as she looked down at him. It had been ages since she was able to see him and feel his touch this early in the morning. "Hungry?"
"No."
"Great, I'll cook breakfast."
After a half-forced breakfast, a shared shower that had been blissful in every sense of the word, playing with the dog in the backyard, three episodes of Maury and two of Jerry Springer, and falling asleep together on the couch, the couple's morning and afternoon together came to a close.
Leo looked up at the clock, tipping his head over the back of the couch. "I gotta go," he said quietly, not moving to get up.
Piper snuggled up into her husband's chest as he stroked her long dark hair. "Please, stay a little longer…"
"Piper, I have to go."
She tried pouting. When it didn't work, she tried to fake tears. "Fine…Go. I'll just wait here for you, then, I guess…" she mumbled.
He kissed the top of her head. "If I could stay, I would. You know that."
She sighed. "I know." She stood up and almost forced him to stand with her. "Go. Go before I chain you up so you can never leave…"
He smiled and gave her a quick kiss before heading into the foyer closet to grab his police jacket. She watched from the living room as he put the black coat on and walked to the kitchen to grab his keys from the counter.
"Okay, bye." Leo headed for the door.
"Hold up, what do you think you're doing?" Piper asked, standing up.
He turned around and stared at his wife. "Going to work." He seemed confused, but she knew he wasn't.
"Forgetting something?" she said, walking up to the door to meet him.
Leo went over a mental checklist. "No."
"Fine," Piper pouted, and stuck out her lip like a child.
"Oh, that…"
She smiled, then stepped forward and gave Leo a kiss, simple at first, then turning into a kiss that he knew would have him in the bedroom in no time flat. Or on the floor of the foyer right here…He pulled away suddenly.
"No, see, you can't do that, or I won't be able to go to work," he said.
Piper smiled. "That was my master plan."
"Well it's working. Stop being so…you," he teased.
Piper was still smiling. "Fine, go."
"Hey, don't you have to go to work, too?"
Piper owned a restaurant downtown, a small place that had mostly regulars daily and nightly for lunch and dinner. She'd been running it for quite a few years with her two sisters, Prue and Phoebe. They were covering for her this particular Saturday, but she had to help out with the dinner shift. She smiled. "Not for a few minutes. I've still got time. You have to go."
"Ah, I can stay a few minutes, too, you know."
"Leo, go to work. You're making this too hard."
He grinned. "That was my master plan," he mocked, making Piper smile.
"Love you."
"I love you, too." He kissed her quickly and turned for the door. Just as he was about to walk outside and close the door behind him, he whipped around and kissed her again. "I had to, I'm sorry."
Piper pushed him away with a laugh. "Go." Without another word, Leo stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Piper watched him from the window as he climbed into his squad car and drove away.
"Hey, hey, Wyatt!
"Cortez, is that a gun or are you just happy to see me?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Cortez, a man about Leo's height with a dark Hispanic complexion and black hair, greeted his friend and coworker at the door to the police station. Cortez had known Leo since college, and they had graduated together. His parents were Puerto Rican, and spoke little Spanish, and Cortez was fluent himself, making him very useful on the force.
"Adam, what'd I miss?" Leo asked, nodding toward a man standing by the secretary's desk off to the right.
Adam was the chief at the San Francisco 12th Precinct. He was only a few years older than Leo and the two were sometimes mistaken as brothers. Leo, and Adam had known each other since elementary school. Adam was Leo's height and had coal black hair, almost an exact opposite of his blonde, blue-eyed kindergarten teaching wife Kristina.
Leo wasn't the only one in his blood family who worked at the precinct, though. His older brother, Ron, was an investigator, and his younger brother Jake was graduating tomorrow with three other people to become officers at the station. There would be a party afterward at the local bar, just like there was for Leo and Ron and anyone else when they were new.
Ron was four years older than Leo, making him thirty-eight, and was a few inches taller. He, unlike his brother, had brown hair and brown eyes, taking after their mother. Leo hardly looked like his brother, with his dark blonde hair and much lighter eyes. Jake looked more like Leo. He was ten years younger than Leo, and had dark blonde hair and aquamarine eyes. He was the only unmarried Wyatt brother.
Leo's father, Rick, dad also worked at the station, though he was a Sergeant. Leo himself was an officer, and Ron was an investigator.
"What's wrong?" Leo asked, seeing as Adam hadn't answered him.
"Uh…Someone's gonna be here for you…" Adam started cautiously.
This sparked curiosity in Leo. "Who?"
Adam chose his words carefully and spoke slowly. "We um…The IA's been looking into us all for these past two weeks—"
"What?" Joe, another officer, interjected.
"Yeah. I couldn't tell you guys because they thought it would affect your jobs…" Adam said as others came around to listen. Officers and investigators around them laughed and scoffed at the thought. Even those who weren't paying attention reacted coldly.
"They just think that because they got a position above us, they can control us."
"Well, they do, and they can…to an extent," Adam told them all.
"And…" Leo encouraged.
"And…" Adam turned to his friend. "They're assigning you a partner…" he said almost sympathetically, though he looked about ready for a nuclear explosion.
"What?"
"He's supposed to be here soon."
"No! No, I will not work with a partner! I work alone, Adam. You know that. Everybody knows that. I'm not letting some kid come in and work with me side-by-side just because the IA needs me to baby-sit someone that they can't!"
"Leo, there's nothing I can do. I tried to get them out of it, but they were dead set against you working alone. Everyone knows you work alone, but everyone also knows that you take the worst cases in San Francisco. They know the kind of cases you take and the kind of people you deal with daily. They think one day someone in the past might catch up with you and when they do, you will need some backup."
"So I'll call in for it!"
"Oh, please, Leo. Like you ever would. Besides, you don't just do the easy jobs, you take the messy ones. Jobs that require some help."
"Not for me."
"Leo, you go out at two in the morning to check up on people that require a partner's help…If it helps, he's already been on the force for a few weeks. He doesn't need a tight leash."
"It doesn't." Leo turned around, rested his elbows on a filing cabinet, and held his head in his hands. He deflated. A partner was not what he needed. "I won't do this for them."
"Then do it for Piper," Adam said quietly. Leo looked up. "You know she worries about you. Why do you think that I gave you this morning off?"
Before Leo could respond, someone came in through the front door of the station. He had black hair and brown eyes and wore a black suit. Leo stood up straight and turned around. He glanced at the man and groaned. The man walked up to Adam. "Adam Hazel, I presume."
"And you must be the new guy."
The man laughed. "Michael Connor. Mike."
Leo was staring straight at Michael, and he wasn't smiling. He was no more than seven feet away, leaning against the filing cabinet still. The man around him laughed at the situation, then dispersed as Adam led the new guy over to Leo.
"Okay, Mike," Adam said, "this over hear is Leo Wyatt, your new partner."
Leo was standing as still as possible, though he didn't even attempt to look friendly. He glared at Adam and then turned his gaze to Mike.
"Leo, this is Mike Connor, and you will be a kind, good-hearted partner to him," Adam told Leo sternly.
Mike held his hand out and said, "Good to meet you." Leo looked at Mike's hand as if it were some foreign object. He looked back up at Mike's face and stared at him. Mike pulled his hand back. "Okay," he said.
"Leo…" Adam warned.
"Hi," Leo said bitterly, but he made no move to shake Mike's hand.
"Well, I'll just leave you two to get to know each other…" Adam walked away. Leo started to follow him, but Adam pushed him back toward Mike.
Leo sighed. He looked at Mike and sighed again. Cortez came out from his office and hung off of the door. "Leo, Line One."
Leo nodded. He walked into his office, and Mike followed him. He picked up the phone, ignoring Michael, and pressed the button that read Line 1. "Wyatt," he said into the speaker part of the phone.
"Hey!" a voice said over the phone.
"Hey, Baby, you just saved me." Leo moved from the front of the desk over behind it. Mike stood in front of the door and watched him, even though he could tell Leo was trying to ignore him.
"Busy?"
"A little…What do you need?"
"Hmm…Just a question."
"Is this about my family coming over for dinner tonight?" Leo asked his wife.
"Yeah, I was wondering if Marie was coming or not."
"Ah, they skipped out on us. Marie's barely moving around, and she's pretty much pinned Ron down." Marie was Ron's wife, and she was only about two weeks away from her due date. She had Ron on alert in case she went into labor.
"Okay. I'm assuming Jake's with his friends for his last nights of freedom, then," Piper said.
"Pretty much, yeah. Sorry, Honey."
"Ah, it's fine. I don't wanna cook anyway. I've been in the kitchen at the restaurant so long…I don't feel like cooking. Let's order out."
"Oh? I've never heard you say that before." Leo smiled. He looked up at Mike and his smile faded. He looked back down at the desk. "Piper…"
"It's okay, I know you'll be home late."
He wasn't sure of how to tell her the "news". "No uh, Piper…They, uh…The IA assigned me a partner…"
"What?"
"Yeah so uh…I've got some papers to fill out and all that good stuff…I think I'll be here for a while…"
Piper sighed. "…Okay…"
"Look, Piper, it wasn't my choice. They assigned me the guy, not Adam or anyone you or I know."
"I know that…How late do you have to stay?"
Leo sighed. "I don't know, Sweetie, late. I gotta go past a few places and check up on some things…Don't wait up for me. If I make it home then it'll be around...dawn…ish."
"Yeah. It's okay, Leo, I'm going over to Prue's after work anyway. Phoebe's supposed to be there, too. Sister bonding time. I haven't seen them in a while."
"You sure it's okay?"
"Leo, I learned a long time ago I had to share you with your job, and I am."
"You're sure."
Piper laughed a little. "Yes, Honey, I'm sure."
"Okay, then I gotta go. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Leo hung up the phone and looked up to see Mike staring at him. "Girlfriend?" he asked.
"Wife, like it's any of your business." Leo walked past Mike and out of the office.
"Look, Leo, I know you don't want a partner. To be honest, I didn't want the job here either. I already know you don't like me."
"It's not you," Leo said. They were walking toward the back of the station, Mike following a few feet behind. Leo didn't turn around to talk to him. "Trust me, it's not you."
Joe walked past them going the opposite way. "Yeah, you'd know if it were you," he said. As he went out of sight, he yelled. "You wouldn't still be alive!"
Suddenly Ron ran past them from down the hall. Leo grabbed his arm to stop him. "What's wrong?" he asked his older brother.
"Marie's in labor! She just paged me."
"She is? Then what the hell are you still doin' here, go!" Leo pushed his brother away and watched him run off down the hall and out the door. When Ron was out of sight, Leo turned around to see Mike staring at him. "And in case you're wondering, yes, that was my brother."
"Yeah, I think it is me," Mike said. Leo nodded his agreement and continued on down the hall. "Where are we going?"
"To the back. What, Adam didn't give you the grand tour?"
"I thought that was your job."
"They don't pay me for that." They walked through the double doors at the end of the long hallway. Inside the room they were in, there were rows and columns of filing cabinets, full of records and files.
"Why are we here, then?"
"I am here to get a list…" Leo opened up a drawer and started rummaging through it.
"A list of what?"
"People…" he trailed off, stood up, and closed the drawer. He knelt down and started going through the bottom one.
"People like…Who?"
Leo stood up, slamming the drawer shut as he did so. It opened back up and he kicked it shut. "Needs a nudge sometimes…" he said, mainly to himself. With little to no conversation with Mike, Leo made it through five full cabinets before actually getting angry at them.
He slammed the sixth cabinet drawer shut. "Damn it!"
"Why don't you check in your office?" Mike suggested.
"Fine." Leo ran from the back Records Room to his office, Mike trailing just behind him.
Leo rummaged through his filing cabinet before slamming it shut. "Damn it!" He walked out of the office and into the main center of the station. "Amy, where the hell is my list?" he called across the station to the other side of the room.
"Up here, Wy," Amy Callahan yelled back. She was the mother of the station, the secretary of the 12th Precinct. She was a young woman, recently married and out of college. She had back-length auburn hair and sometimes wore reading glasses, but she tried not to because she hated the way she looked in them. Right now she was holing up a sheet of paper from the front desk she was sitting behind. Leo ran up and snatched it. "Your welcome," she said to him sarcastically.
"Thanks." Leo turned around. "Sign me out, call my wife and tell her I'll be home late!" he yelled, walking out the door with paper.
Mike looked around at Adam and Cortez, who were laughing quietly. "He already talked to—"
"It's a Leo thing. Says the same thing every time he leaves," Adam explained.
"Yeah, for the past ten years…" Cortez added.
It was long for a first chapter, I know...Like six pages long. A lot of the chapters are like this, though, only because I can't find a spot to stop them.
Okay, I know we can already establish that Leo doesn't like Mike...He won't. He'll have to learn to work with him, though, but he won't like it.
So was it okay? Too long? Too short (nuh-uh!)? Just right? Too...whatever? Let me know! I'll have the next chapter up shortly.