DISCLAIMER: The characters are property of WB and Spelling Inc.

NOTE: Part two of the Ana Hidalgo Series.

2000

She was running down a dark street—strange, unknown, yet oddly familiar. How she knew this she had no idea, for the buildings passed by in a blur as she ran, and ran, and ran. She could hear her heart pounding. How near your ears is your heart, anyway? Why was she deafened by that thundering beat? Won't someone help? She ran and ran, as far and fast as her legs could carry her. How much farther? What from? All she knew was that she had to run. Where was she even going? The space before her was dark and alien, but she still ran.

"Piper."

She was running. Her heart was due to explode from exertion any moment now. Her hair, fragrant with a scent so haunting for no reason known to her, whipped against her face, covering her eyes.

"Piper!"

Why can't I stop? She could feel the muscles of her calves tightening, and a panic overcame her. She gasped for breath.

"Wake up!"

She sat up from the bed and gasped for breath. She blindly reached for support, and was comforted by warn hands rubbing her cold arms. A glass of water kissed her lips, and she took it and thankfully drank from it. Someone was holding the hair from her face, and she slowly opened her eyes to meet two pairs of curious, concerned ones.

"Again?" She nodded. "It's the third time tonight."

She felt a strange tingling feeling at the tips of her fingers, spreading, crawling to her hands and arms. She felt lightheaded. As if still in the throes of a dream, she slowly held up her hands.

"What's happening?" she asked calmly, unsure if she was seeing rightly or if she was imagining it.

Her sisters gasped. "Piper…"

"Am I—"

Phoebe tried to touch her hand, and her own passed through thin air. Piper's hand blurred and then dimly began to clear again. A little while later it was as though nothing happened.

"Were you vanishing just there?"

"Yes. Yes, Phoebe, I think I was."

Leo stood at the ancient church, breathing in the fresh sampaguita and ylang-ylang. Nothing really changed here. Bless the historical societies that preserve monuments and buildings. He looked around. A couple of devotees were praying before the image of the Virgin. A young woman knelt in the confessional. What was up with the open confessionals? In his day, those were closed, heavily curtained wooden booths. There were still some of those. Maybe they're experimenting.

Leo walked to the second pew to the front and sat down. He felt the fine wood beneath his hand. It was still smooth and polished the way it was before. He looked up at the image of Christ. Very slowly, he knelt on the cushioned pad and bowed his head. He had never felt this peace in fifty eight long years.

Long moments later he walked out of the church. He tread those steps that he had replayed over and over in his mind those long decades. He stopped before the huge Colonial and looked up.

"I'm still missing you," he whispered.

Leo stood in the middle of the street for a long time, just staring up at the house. That window was her room's. It was probably nothing like the way it used to look fifty eight years ago.

"Senor? Senor Wyatt." Leo turned around at the sound of that trembling voice. It was an old woman being escorted by a young man, probably her grandson. "It is I, Prudencia."

"Inang, inang, come on. My apologies, sir. My grandmother's sight is weak."

"No, no. It is Senor Wyatt." Leo couldn't look at the Hidalgos' eighty year old maid. Not while there were people milling about. He merely nodded at her grandson, who led her away.

About half an hour later he entered her small room. "I knew it was you. I knew you'd come back. Unfortunately, the senorita was unable to wait."

"Prudencia—"

She held up a gnarled hand. "Please, senor. I don't care that you appear after almost three score years looking not a day older than you were when you left us that Christmas Eve. I gather there are things in the universe that are best hidden." She paused and motioned for him to sit down. "I know why you came. You want to find out about the senorita."

Leo heard that ringing in his ears. It wasn't the elders calling. Faintly he heard traces of Prue's and Phoebe's voices. The distance made it impossible for him to hear clearly why they were calling him.

"The senorita—"

He stood up. "I have to go. I'll be back."

At the manor, Prue and Phoebe were wearing the carpet thin by their pacing. "Leo!"

"I don't think he's hearing us. He doesn't usually take this long. It's been ten minutes. Leo!"

"Leo, there's something wrong with Piper."

"Help us, Leo!"

Leo materialized at a corner of the room. "What's wrong now?" he snapped.

Phoebe was taken aback. "We need your help."

"With your enemies again? I am supposed to be your messenger, your guide. Not your instant answer vessel."

"It's Piper, Leo. There's something wrong with Piper."

His demeanor instantly changed. "Where is she?"

The three ran upstairs and into Piper's room. Carefully, Prue wakes her up. Leo knelt by her side, taking her hand. He was surprised to see it fade right on his. His eyes snapped back to her face. The color was coming on and off.

"Leo, I'm scared," she whispered. "I'm vanishing."

"Shhh. How do you feel?"

"I don't feel a thing! It's as if I'm floating in a vacuum."

Leo stood up and pressed his lips against her forehead. "I'll check with them. They must know something about this."

Leo orbs into the Elders' Council room. "We feel your emotions from a distance, Leo. Something's bothering you."

"Show me how to make it right."

"Are you sure?"

Leo was impatient. "What do you mean am I sure? Of course I am."

"If we send you off to resolve the problem, you will not be able to return until you have."

"I'll do anything to fix this."

"All right." The elders nodded to a whitelighter who stood by the sidelines. The whitelighter raised up his hand until it lit with a green glow. He drew a circle on the floor. "The answer is in there, Leo. Remember, you cannot return until you've found a solution."

Leo looked down at the gaping hole that seemed to have no bottom. He would do anything for her. Taking a deep breath, he jumped in, free falling for an eternity.

At the manor, Phoebe watches in horror as Piper stops fading. She would have rejoiced except that as her body returned to its normal appearance, her breathing slowed and got shallower. "Prue! Prue!"

Prue runs into the room. "Piper. Is she all right now? Did Leo do it?"

Phoebe frantically shakes her head. "Piper. Piper, can you hear me? Wake up, Piper!" Phoebe grabs Piper's shoulders. "Dammit, Piper, you're making me nervous!" She lifted her to a sitting position. "Come on, honey," she begged. "Open your eyes." Piper's head rolled down to fall against Phoebe's arm. "Leo!" she screamed. "Leo! Get your whitelighter's butt down here. Please!"

"He's not coming." Prue puts her hand above Piper's mouth. She felt the faint breath against her palm and sighs in relief. At least she was still alive. "We can't let Piper go through this alone."

"What are you talking about?"

"We have to go to her subconscious and wake her up. Quick, Phoebe. Before we lose her, make a spell."

"Uhhh… Take us where you'll take her, be it land or sea or air. Let the power of three forever, be not distant from the other." She felt Prue looking at her strangely. "What? You were rushing me! Hold Piper's hand, Prue!"

They felt the slight wind blow into the room. It was a weird feeling, Phoebe thought, as she felt her consciousness floating with it, away from her body. The last thing she remembered was falling…

His whole body ached. Gingerly he stretched his arms and lifted himself up. He looked around. He was standing in a dark corridor that he could swear he'd seen before. He heard footsteps and he immediately hid in the darkness. Prudencia was carrying an oil lantern.

He was stunned. He was back in the past, probably at that point right after his death. After all, from the looks of things, Manila was in a blackout. The Japs probably took out the power.

Piper! She was in some sort of trouble. He had to be there. He tried orbing to the Manor but he failed. And then it hit him. The Elders took him here where he had an unfinished business. And he won't be able to return until he'd resolved it here. He hoped Prue and Phoebe can handle what was happening to Piper, because he was stuck here until he sees Ana.

Ana. It may be selfish of him when Piper had some mysterious malady. Still, this was the chance to see her, to finally know where his heart lay. Sure, he loved Piper for countless lifetimes. But this was that one time, that wonderful and fantastic crease on the record. He had to figure out a way to let his emotions rest so his future with Piper would be secure.

Prue, Piper and Phoebe found themselves standing in an unfamiliar room. They saw a girl sitting with her cheek against the windowsill. "Why are we here?"

"Where's here? And who's she? She's so pretty but so sad." Piper looks at the girl staring sightlessly off at space. A tear trickles down her cheek, but she doesn't move or speak. They walk towards the girl, sure now that they were invisible to her. The girl suddenly stands up and reaches blindly for a small bottle on the shelf. It falls and rolls to Phoebe's foot. Phoebe automatically reaches down and is caught in a premonition.

"Phoebe. Are you ok?" The girl walks in front of Phoebe and they hold their breaths. But the girl only reached down to pick the bottle up, not giving any sign that she felt their presence. "It's all right. She's looking too deeply inside that she's not feeling much from the outside world," Prue assured them.

"I think I know why Piper was sent here. She has to help the girl. I had a premonition of her death. She's going to die sometime soon if it's 1942."

Prue shakes her head. "No, Phoebe. Fate is fate. I don't think we're here to change the past. If she's going to die, then she should. We can't meddle with history."

They see black orbs forming behind the girl. Prue's eyes widen as a darklighter materializes and begins whispering at her ear. She opens the bottle with trembling hands. "Then again, maybe we'd better meddle with the meddlers!" She sends the darklighter out the open window. Phoebe runs to look but can't find him. "I guess she's your mission then, Pipe. I don't understand it, but the darklighters are after her. She'd probably be a whitelighter or something."

"Why me? Whitelighters are supposed to guide their own. This is a weird vice versa if that's true. I'm a witch looking after a whitelighter."

Phoebe walks over to a small cabinet and rifles over the drawer's contents. She took out one black and white photograph and cannot believe what she was seeing.

A blue light appears at the other end of the room. Leo looked magnificent in his army uniform. His entire body glowed with a yellow light. Piper caught her breath. She suddenly remembered Lillian's description of Leo when he visited her. "Leo, I'm so happy you're here." She started to move forward but Prue caught her arm. She looked questioningly at her sister, and Prue shook her head. From their vantage, they could clearly see what was happening. Leo has not seen them yet. He was looking at the girl with such tenderness that Piper's heart ached.

The girl shoved the bottle onto the shelf. Her lips parted at the sight of her soldier. "Leo," she whispered.

Leo took a deep breath. He had to free her, allow her to move on. He had to free himself, allow her to hear his late goodbye. "Ana, I'm sorry I—"

Ana ran to him and wrapped her arms around him, embracing him tightly. "Leo! I love you so much. I would never love anyone other than you."

The feelings rushed back to him. To feel her in his arms again, to smell that scent so uniquely hers. His mind was focused on one thing only. "Ana, I love you more than life. I've never forgotten about you."

From her place at the other end of the room, Piper felt her knees buckle. This cannot be true. No. She was his soul mate. She was the one whom his soul calls for in each incarnation. This wasn't possible!

Phoebe sees the pain in her sister's eyes, and suddenly she knew she can never forgive Leo for this. The photograph in her hand falls to the floor as she embraces Piper.

Leo closed his eyes, relishing the feel of his Ana in his arms again. He opens them to see the three sisters looking at them. The looks of betrayal in the faces of Prue and Phoebe stung. His eyes met Piper's teary ones, and they looked at each other for what seemed like eternity. He knew his eyes proved him guilty, because he apologized to her with a look.

Ana drew his head down to hers to give him a deep kiss. And the five people in the room forgot about the black and white photograph of Ana and Leo taken that Christmas Eve lying on the floor.

Leo is once more drawn deep into Ana's thoughts as he look into her eyes. She had such magnificent almond eyes—black, expressive, bottomless. She pulls him to her bed and sits beside him. His eyes wandered off to a side of the room, but there was nothing there.

"I came only to say goodbye. I have to say goodbye, Ana, and let us both move on."

Those eyes looked at him in that same wonderful way, full of love and devotion that he found himself wishing he never died. "Stay with me, Leo. There's still so much—"

"I can't."

"Nothing's changed!"

"I died, Ana! Tell me that nothing's changed."

Ana closes her eyes. When they opened, Leo found himself looking into pools of weariness and pain. She raised her hands and touched his face. "See here, this face I love. It's still the same. Your beautiful eyes. Death didn't change their color." She runs her thumb across his lips. "These fantastic lips are still as soft as before. Death changed nothing. I can still touch you, Leo. Tell me," she lays a palm on his chest. "Did death take away what was in here before you left? You told me you'd always love me."

"And I always have—will." He noticed Piper's reaction from the corner of his eye. He never wanted her to find out about Ana, which was precisely why he didn't tell her. She didn't have to know. "Come, Ana, you have to sleep." He assisted her as she lay down on the bed. He pulled the covers over her.

Leo watched as she closed her eyes. He stood up and turned to walk over to where the sisters stood. He knew he had to explain at least. "You won't leave me, will you? Lie beside me? At least I know that I slept with you beside me even once."

"I'll stay with you, Ana." He climbed in beside her and she snuggled to his warmth.

Piper walked over to them and stood looking at Leo and Ana on the bed. Leo was looking at her, pleading with his eyes for her to understand. He wouldn't speak to her, and Piper knew he didn't want to scare the girl off. She shook her head at him. Ana wouldn't hear her. "I never will."

She turned and walked away from Leo, knowing he wouldn't follow, knowing he would stay with Ana for as long as he can. He'd grieved her loss for almost sixty years. Piper couldn't take the truth. The reality had hit her in the face as though it were cold water. She tried to deny what was happening, but the evidence was bare before her eyes. "Get me out of here," she murmured. "Please get me out of here. Get me out of here."

Before her sisters' eyes, she vanished. "Piper!"

Prue raised a finger. "It's all right, Phoebe. Remember the spell? It hasn't even been an hour. I'm sure we'll—" The two of them suddenly found themselves standing on a stone bridge. Piper was leaning over the railing, looking at the clear waters below. "Be with her shortly. And voila!" She walked over to Piper and hugs her. "It's okay, honey."

"What's okay, Prue? The man lied to us all! Piper deserves to feel bad."

"I'm not taking that away from her, Phoebe. Of course she should feel upset. He did lie. But it was also his choice to keep those private parts of himself from anyone. And we should be able to make the effort to, now that we've seen it, understand him."

"Him and his Ana?" Phoebe retorted.

"Yes, Phoebe. Him and Ana."

Phoebe walked towards the cemented railing and looked at the water. She caught her breath. Pictures flooded her mind. Events passed before her eyes as though a madman pulled at one end of a film reel and forced her to watch. Laughter, whispers, promises played in her ear. She pulled her hands away. The carving was almost fresh. It was a heart pierced by an arrow. How utterly elementary. Phoebe squinted at the initials. AMH. LW. Forever. Were those their times? She was suddenly grieving. Not for Piper. No, Piper will recover. Phoebe grieved for the promise of a beautiful future that was Ana Maria and Leo. Their love held too much prospect to have been killed so abruptly. She guiltily looked back at Piper.

"I know that they must have loved, Prue. I can see that! But their time is past and it's supposed to be mine now. I'm scared. I'm scared that he'll decide to stay here now that he can and continue with whatever it was between them before he got killed. It wasn't his choice to leave her after all."

Prue took Piper's hand and squeezed it, lending support. "He won't."

"Have you seen the way he looks at her?"

"He looks at you the same way."

"That's what scares me! If he only looked at other women the same way, I know he'd still be mine, because that's just his way. But he has never looked at anyone the way he looks at her and me."

Ana opened her eyes to find herself in his arms, and she savored the feel of it. "Hi."

"Hi." Leo smiled at her. "I've almost forgotten how lovely you are." He saw a look of disappointment cross the delicate features. "No, I was kidding. Your face and your voice is immortalized in my mind."

"That's romantic. I missed you."

"I'll miss you."

"You're really leaving, Leo?"

"I told you, Ana. I never wanted to, but I didn't have a choice. I'll always love you."

"This is some sick joke, isn't it? We have the perfect love."

"The timing just isn't right. We found each other when I was fated to die months later." Leo was worried about Piper. She didn't even give him the time to explain. He had to find her with his mind, so he could at least know how she was. "Ana, love, your bathroom's still where it was in December?"

"You're dead, Leo," she reasoned.

"I still have needs," he answered, grinning. When she nodded, he kissed the top of her nose and left the room.

Dark lights swirled behind her. Soon, the darklighter that Prue sent flying out the window was back, and Ana was alone. "Do you think you can live without him, Ana? Tell yourself the truth. No more pretending to be the brave young woman now. You know you need someone. That's who you are. What happens to you now? No diplomatic father, no caring mother. Not even a lover. What was he up to anyway? He's dead and shows up to show you just what you'll be missing. Wasn't that a bit cruel, don't you think?"

The wind was against her face, and she couldn't see much of anything. Her sight was blurred by the tears. She knew she had to just let herself slip away. Suddenly she was enfolded in those familiar arms again. This time she sobbed out loud.

Leo almost had a heart attack when he saw Ana on the ledge in her thin shift. He immediately tackled the darklighter standing behind her. Leo grabbed the darklighter by his neck, and his hands glowed a hot red. The darklighter howled in pain, and immediately orbed out. Seeing that Ana was still on the ledge, he did not bother to go after him, but instead wrapped his arms around her.

"Shhh. Don't cry, Ana."

"You're really leaving. I can't live without you."

He shook his head. "You can. Of course you can. Just live the way you did before you met me."

"I can't go back. Anyone who's seen heaven won't go back to earth, Leo."

"I've seen heaven, Ana. But I went back because I wanted to see you. You can go on because you have to. Just promise me right now that you'll never take your own life. No matter how hard you find it to live, never kill yourself."

She wiped her tears away. 'Don't you want us to be together? If I die now, then we'll live together in heaven."

"You know that's not true. Since you were a child, you've been told that it's a sin to take your own life. If you commit suicide do you know what will happen? I'll never see you again. You'll not be given a chance to live again. We'll never meet again. Don't take our next chance away from us." Ana is quiet. "Tell me you understand. Promise me you'll do as I say, Ana. That's what I want to hear from you."

She nods hesitantly. "I promise," she whispered.

Leo smiled. This was what he needed to hear. He was sent back to keep her safe. Now he was at peace. After all, Ana had the will to live again. He felt a strange energy emanating from his body, the way it did when he said goodbye to Lillian. He knew he was glowing. "I won't forget you."

"I won't forget you, Leo."

"Don't be afraid when I slowly disappear, Ana. It means I'm moving on to heaven. And someday I know we'll meet again—when the time is right. I'll be waiting for you." He slowly begins to fade when he remembered his last wish before he died. "Dance with me, Ana. We've never danced before."

She smiled tremulously and held her hand to him. He wraps her in his embrace and sways. He was feeling less pressure and warmth from her body, and realized he was almost gone from that plane.

Ana closed her eyes and savored the hardness of him pressed against her. They will dance for all eternity if she chose. She wanted to freeze the world and leave only the two of them dancing without though to time and space. Too soon he faded away, and she was left holding on to nothingness. The emptiness within her arms was like the toll of a death bell. She crumpled to the floor, sobbing out her heart, her hopes, her dreams.

Piper opened her eyes and found herself lying on her bed, her sisters sitting on chairs on either side with their heads on the bed, holding her hand. They woke up slowly not long after she did.

"It was a dream," she thought hopefully.

Piper did not notice that she said it out loud. She only realized it when Prue answered her. "No, sweetie. I'm afraid not."

Phoebe tightened her hold on Piper's hand. "I guess you were sent there so you will find out."

"I can't believe they're that cruel. I was sent there to see just how much he still loves her?" She shook her head. "There must be some other reason."

Phoebe frowned at her watch. "We were gone for… two hours?! I thought it was a lifetime."

"Well, after all we were only there to see Ana and the bridge. Something must have happened fast that we were sent back that quickly. Or rather, that Piper was sent back quickly. We were only following her through time after all."

"I hear the phone ringing. I'll get it downstairs. I'm starving!" Phoebe ran out of Piper's room. A few seconds later she called out, "Piper! It's Leo from P3!"

Piper raised herself up from the bed and yelled, "I'm not available." She turned to Prue. "I'll be at the attic if anyone needs me."

"You mean you're still mad at him? What happens now, Piper?"

She shook her head and left the room. When she was out of earshot, she answered, "I don't know, Prue. I really don't." She climbed the stairs that led to the attic and went directly to the Book of Shadows.

Leo busied himself at P3 checking on the sound system. After testing it, he tried if all the lights were working. Having done that, Leo went behind the bar and checked on the stocks. Piper won't talk to him. He couldn't blame her. What she saw was something he never planned on telling her. Ever. There was no point in hurting her, but as fate would have it, she had to see his and Ana's reunion. And he hurt for her because he knew she had felt in her trip to the past what he did for Ana.

Ana… until now he thought of her. He prayed to heaven she lived until her time came naturally. At least then perhaps he'd see her again in some other life. Even though that meant a life without Piper, he only wanted to be with Ana once more.

And Piper… How he wished she understood.

"We had the right love at the wrong time."

Leo's head raised as he heard the song.

"Guess I always knew inside
I wouldn't have you for a long time.
Those dreams of yours
Are shining on distant shores.
And if they're calling you away
I have no right to make you stay."

Leo's eyes met Piper's as she stood in the middle of the dance floor. "Dance with me, Leo. We haven't danced for a long while." Leo walked over to Piper and took her gratefully in his arms. For her to choose to dance with him to this, it must mean that she finally understood.

"But somewhere down the road
Our roads are gonna cross again.
It doesn't really matter when.
But somewhere down the road
I know that heart of yours will come to see
That you belong with me."

He held her in his arms and moved with her. Her arms on his shoulders felt like paradise. He thought he'd lost her, but she finally accepted his past.

"Sometimes "goodbyes" are not forever.
It doesn't matter if you're gone.
I still believe in us together.
I understand more than you think I can.
You have to go out on your own
So you can find your way back home.

"And somewhere down the road
Our roads are gonna cross again.
It doesn't really matter where.
But somewhere down the road
I know that heart of yours will come to see
That you belong with me.

"Letting go
Is just another way to say
I'll always love you so."

He thanked Heaven that in this life, he had Piper. And he was again thankful that once, in all those lifetimes, he met Ana. Yes, his life with Ana may have been a stray one. A beautiful stray life. But he will still relish the dream that one morning he would wake up and know that for at least one more time she'd share a life with him.

"We had the right love at the wrong time.
Maybe we've only just begun.
Maybe the best is yet to come.

'Cause somewhere down the road
Our roads are gonna cross again.
It doesn't really matter when.
But somewhere down the road
I know that heart of yours will come to see
That you belong with me."

I'll love you forever, Ana, he thought, and I'll see again somewhere in time. "Goodbye, Ana," he whispered. Piper smiled against his shirt as she heard his farewell. Yes, Leo will see Ana again, over and over in a hundred lifetimes. And Ana will always look forward to seeing him.

Piper remembered the page in the Book of Shadows that told her what she needed to know. Vanishing, it headlined. A person who vanishes in her time is sent back for a while to view a past life that may be in jeopardy. He/she returns to his/her present life only when the past life is safe and secure.

But that wasn't all. What truly gave her peace was the line at the bottom of the page.

The soul is without body or form. It is spaceless, timeless, ageless. Endless.