Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:05:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: AMANDA PLOGGER <love4fun4life@yahoo.com>
Subject: upside_umop_insideout-20

Okay, this story contains sexual acts between two females if this offends
you then don't read it. If you are not 18 or whatever the age maybe where
your from, don't read it. If you just don't like the idea of love between
two ladies, go somewhere else. Don't read it. The characters are not
real. Any similarities are just that.

First I want to thank everyone who has stayed with the story this far.
Secondly, I would like to thank those who have written me telling me
how much they have enjoyed it. You all are the reason I continue to write.
For those who haven't written yet. Please do so. I could always use that
much more encouragement and I love talking to new people. I have meet some
interesting people along the way and hope to talk to many more.

 As always, enjoy.
  Amanda

  upside_umop_insideout


  Chapter 20
     Day Out


An hour later, Piper was refreshed and dressed and ready to take on a new
day no matter what happened. She took a deep breath and squared her
shoulders and opened her bedroom door with every intent on apologizing to
Brant and figuring out a way to make it up to her Rachel. She took two
steps into the room and stopped.

"Collin took Brant out to do some running around. I thought that you and I
could use sometime together." Sarah said softly from where she sat on the
deep red couch in the middle of the room.

"Did you think that I might not want to?" Piper asked defensively.

"I did. I was hoping that some how I could convince you otherwise."
Sarah said, a smile tugging at her lips.

Piper couldn't help but smile. She could tell from the same impish grin that
had covered her face more than once that her aunt was up to something and she
was dying to know what it was. "Okay, I'll bite. How were you planning on
convincing me otherwise?"

"Oh, I don't know. A little girl talk, a day out on the town," Sarah
hesitated to see if she had Piper's attention yet. "Maybe a little
shopping."

The first two sounded inviting enough, but Piper was sold with that one little
word. "Well... seeing as I would like to see the sites while I am
here..." Piper hesitated just long enough to grin from ear to ear. "I
would love to. I think... I think because of me we started off on the wrong
foot. I would like to change that. I mean, after all you are my only
aunt."

Sarah stood up and gave Piper a hug. "I just hope after everything is said
and done that we can still be friends." Sarah said into her shoulder as
she let her go.

"Me too." Piper said, trying to keep the edge out of her voice. She
really did want to get to know her aunt but she really needed to know the truth
too. "Where are your kids?" Piper asked as she grabbed her bag and
they headed to the door.

"Actually they are with Brant and Collin right now. They were here earlier
but you were sleeping. I think you'll get a chance to meet them later
today." Sarah said light heartily.

"I think I would like that. You never told me their names, or if they were
boys or girls or anything."

Sarah stopped at the elevator and stood there silently. "Our little girl
is named Rae Lee, she is almost six now."

"Rae, that's..."

"You're mother's middle name. Yes I know." Sarah said with a laugh at
the look of shock on Piper's face. She was still chuckling as the elevator
doors finally opened. "We also have a little boy. Alex Jordan. We call him
AJ."

"Alex?" Piper repeated softly. It was what her mother called Lexie a
lot. She knew it wasn't a coincidence. "How old is he?"

"He's almost four. Do you want to see some pictures?" Sarah asked reaching
into her bag. Piper nodded as Sarah pulled out her wallet. Piper opened the
leather wallet and began to flip through the small album of photos. They were
adorable children. Piper thumbed through as the elevator came to a stop.

"Piper, are you coming?" Sarah asked as Piper stood there long after
the doors had opened. Piper looked up at her aunt with tears in her eyes.
"What is it, Piper? Is everything okay?" Sarah stepped back onto the
elevator. Piper stared at the picture in her hand. Sarah looked down at the
picture of her family. Brant was sitting on Emily's lap and Alexis was holding
a squirming but smiling Piper. Collin looked like he was tickling Sarah.

"Piper." Sarah said mournfully, forcing her to look into her aunts
eyes.

"How? How could you leave us?" Piper cried softly. "I mean, they
were right. Look. We were so happy."

Sarah pulled Piper into her arms as the elevator began to rise again. Soft
stands of music were the only sounds aside from Piper's soft sob. "Shh,
baby. I will explain. I will tell you everything you need to know. I promise.
I'm not going anywhere ever again." Sarah held her as people got on and
off the elevator. It wasn't until she heard Piper's stomach growl that she
leaned back.

"Piper, I know you have a lot of questions and a lot that you need to
know. Why don't we wait till we are with your brother to talk though? I don't
know if either one of us could handle going through it all twice."

Piper sniffed and nodded. "That sounds okay."

"Alright, well why don't we go get you something to eat and then talk
about what we want to do today? I still plan on taking you out on the
town."



Piper ate and listened to her aunt go on and on about what they would do that
day. They settled on stopping at Navy Pier to do a little shopping. Of course
there was always the "Magnificent Mile" on Michigan Avenue. Sarah
told her that these were the huge high end stores that carried almost
everything. If they wanted to do some walking they could head down North Avenue
where there were some smaller boutiques that Sarah thought Piper might enjoy.

"That sounds like a full day." Piper said as she sat back, overly
full from the huge breakfast.

"Full day?" Sarah laughed. "That's just in the morning. I was
thinking of taking you by one or two of the local museums."

Piper twisted up her face at the word. "Seriously?"

"I
think you might like one or two of them. There is the Art Institute, Field
Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum of Contemporary Art. Right
next door to Field's is Shedd Aquarium and there is also the Planetarium."
Sarah said excitedly.

"Do you ever slow down?" Piper asked with a lop-sided smile.

"I'm sorry. It's just been a while since I've had someone to go out around
town with. Both my kids are too young yet for the most part and all my adult
friends have been here so long that they don't even think about going to half
of these places."

Piper nodded. "Well let's get going."

"Before we make it very far, why don't we go see the Picasso?" Sarah
said as the made their way to the entrance of the hotel.

"The Picasso, what's that? I mean, I know who Pablo Picasso is."

Sarah shook her head. "I'm glad to hear that. The Picasso is this huge
sculpture done by Pablo Picasso. The sculpture was the first large scale major
public artwork in Downtown Chicago. Now they have art work all over the place.
Like Millennium Park. It's one of the newest additions. You can see concerts at
the outdoor pavilion, or go ice-skating in the winter. The park is also home to
some of the city's best public art. There is this humongous mirrored sculpture
that sits right in the middle of the place."

Piper looked over at her aunt as they walked through the busy Chicago streets
and shook her head. She sounded like a kid in a candy store as she talked about
all there was to see and do in the area. Before she knew it Piper was standing
in a large open area with a huge statue in front of her. "What is
it?" Piper asked, turning her head to look at it.

"No one really knows for sure. He never titled it. Some say it looks like
a horse, others say it is his representation of a girl that used to model for
him. I guess every person sees it as they want to see it. What do you see it
as?"

"I don't really know, but it's interesting." Piper said, thinking
that it looked more like a horse than a woman. "Granted he was an
impressionist, if a man ever made a sculpture of me that looked like a horse,
I'd be furious." Sarah laughed as she took Piper's arm and pulled her on to
their next stop.

The
day seemed to go by in a flash. Sarah took Piper all over town. They went to
Navy Pier and walked along looking at shops. Piper dragged Sarah into Magic
Masters magic shop. She explained that Sora loved to put on a good magic show.
>From there they took a very scary cab ride across the city to walk along
Michigan Avenue. They stopped in the huge toy shop and did some browsing inside
Marshall Field's.

By the time the sun was setting they both were laden down with bags and their
feet were dragging. "Why don't we go watch the sun set from the Sears
Tower? Oh, and then we can go to the Cheesecake Factory. It's actually in the
basement of the tower, or sort of any way." Piper shrugged.

"Sounds good to me. What is the Cheesecake Factory?"

"You've never been to one?" Sarah asked astonished.

"Sarah, you have to remember that I am from small town North Carolina. We
take family vacations but never in big cities like this."

"I guess I didn't even think about it. I've been living in the city for so
long I almost forgot what it's like to live in a small town." Sarah
admitted as they made their way into a large building. Sarah walked over to the
wall of lockers and deposited their bags in one.

"So this is the Sears' Tower? Wasn't this like the biggest tower in the
world?"

"Yeah for a bit." Sarah said as they made their way to through the
roped off lines. Sarah paid for their admission and they were ushered into a
large elevator.

"How did you feel when the plane took off?" Sarah asked Piper as the
elevator started to move.

"A little sick to my stomach, nothing too bad. Why?"

"You're going to be sick to your stomach by the time we reach the
top." Sarah said as they both turned their attention to the tour guide at
the front of the elevator. Piper felt her stomach drop as they went faster and
faster towards the top of the building. By the time that they reached the top,
Piper was holding on to Sarah to keep from falling over. "Think you can
walk?" Sarah asked with a chuckle as they came to a stop.

"This is supposed to be fun?" Piper asked, her face turning a little
bit green.

"No, but the view is amazing." Sarah told her as she held her arm and
walked her off the crowded elevator. Piper looked up to see a window that went
floor to ceiling. "Welcome to the 103rd floor of the Sears' Tower."
She said as she released Piper's arm. Piper walked slowly towards the window.
For as far as she could see was the city of Chicago. Sarah pointed out places
they had visited earlier in the day. Navy Pier, Grant Park, Lake Michigan.
Piper watched as the sky turned from blue to the most amazing shades of pinks
and purples she ad ever seen.

"Today has been amazing." Piper said, wrapping her arms around her
aunt, hugging her tightly.

"I'm glad I was able to share it with you. What's say we head down and get
something to eat?"

Piper realized that it had been hours since she'd eaten and she was starving.
"We're still going to the Cheesecake Factory?"

"Unless there was something else that you wanted to try?"

"Well..." Piper said sheepishly.

"No beating around the bush. With the two women that raised you I know
that you aren't one to beat around the bush. So don't even try that shy and
innocent game with me."

Piper felt her cheeks grow red. "Okay, you got me. You're right. I'm not
one to beat around the bush. I have always wanted to try real Chicago style
pizza."

Sarah grabbed Piper by the hand and dragged her towards the elevator. "I
have to perfect place." In a flash Piper was seated in the center of one
of Chicago's best, Lou Malnati's Pizzeria.  Piper and Sarah talked about
there day and different things about their lives. They both carefully steered away
from anything to do with Emily or the past. The conversation went smoothly as
they laughed and ate. It was almost two hours later that Sarah's phone rang.

"Sorry, it's Collin." Sarah said as she sat back in her chair. Piper
listened to Sarah's end of the conversation and knew that they would be heading
back to the hotel to finally have their talk. "I take it that you
heard." Sarah asked flipping her phone shut. Piper nodded her head slowly.

"I have really enjoyed today." Piper said as she put her napkin on
the table and looked around. The eatery was still packed and everyone was busy
eating, talking, serving food. Piper wished that she could be one of the people
that was carefree. Instead, she felt like she was walking towards death row. No
matter what happened or what was said, she knew that after tonight her world
would be completely changed.

The bumpy cab ride back to the hotel was made in silence, each of them in their
own world, each stuck with their own thoughts. As the cab pulled up to the
grand hotel Sarah turned and looked at Piper. "I hope that one day you
will forgive me. Before we walk in there I want you to know that I do love you
and your family and I always have. None of that has ever or will ever
change." Piper nodded silently and allowed her aunt to hug her one more
time before they climbed from the cab.

The lights of the lobby seemed brighter, blinding Piper. For the millionth time
in the last few days she wondered what she was doing. She mumbled a hello to
the bell boy that greeted them as they walked towards the elevator. The white
marble floors and gold covered walls made Piper dizzy. She waited for the
elevator to ding its arrival and looked over to her aunt. She wasn't surprised
to find her face twisted up in agony and pain. Her skin looked even paler than
it had the day before, her eyes more tired. Sarah looked up at her and gave her
a half smile and bored the elevator silently.

"Can I ask you what happened last night?" Sarah said softly as they
began to move.

Piper looked at her feet. "Something that I am not proud of."

"Brant
was upset this morning. He wouldn't say what happened. You know, no matter
what, if you need to talk to anyone," Sarah left her sentence unsaid as
Piper nodded.

"I'll remember that." Piper said, never meeting Sarah's eyes. She let
out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding as they reached the
floor and the doors began to open. Piper couldn't remember feeling such relief
to be off an elevator ever. Not even looking back to see if Sarah was following
her, Piper made it their room. As soon as she entered she saw her brother and
uncle.

"Where are the kids?" Sarah asked from behind her.

"I think we wore them out today. Brant let me use his bed to lay them
down. They are completely out." Collin said, tilting his head up to
receive a kiss from his wife.

"That's good. That means we can all talk together and someone doesn't have
to sit with them. I am going to go check on them." She told Collin,
standing behind his chair.

"Sarah, let me. Go ahead and get comfortable." Piper said, her eyes
relaying the message her mouth wasn't. She needed to get away for a moment to
pull her self together. Sarah nodded her understanding.

"Plus I would like a chance to see the rug rats
in person." Piper added with a grin. Piper walked towards Brant's room and
thought about all that was going to happen. She wondered if she could ever
truly see her aunt the same after she learned the truth. Piper looked at the
two sleeping children and smiled. They really were beautiful kids. Even in the
dark, Rae's dark hair shimmered and shined. Piper ran her hands through the
girls shoulder length hair. She wondered what it would be like to have
children, not that she ever really wanted any of her own. Brant was the one who
was the family person. Ever since he was little he swore that he would marry a
beautiful woman and have a house full of them. Piper looked over at the sandy
haired little boy and was taken by the fact he looked so much like Sora. She
didn't see it in the pictures but now looking down at him she wondered how she
had missed it. Piper took a deep breath and looked out to the light filled
common room. Collin and Sarah sat together on the love seat, sitting so close
you couldn't see where one ended and the other began. Brant sat forward in the
over stuffed chair talking animatedly about something or another. Piper could
tell from where she stood it was something that he was passionate about. He
always talked with his hands when he was passionate about something. Whatever they
were talking about, it made Collin and Sarah laugh. The soft harmonic sound
trickled into the room. Looking at them sitting and talking she wondered what
life would have been like if her aunt and uncle hadn't left. Piper shook her
head and made her way back out. No point in dwelling in what could have been.
She knew that she needed to look towards the future. She had to find a way to
make this right for her mother that had given up so much for their family.

The laughter and smiling seemed to simmer down as Piper came into the room.
Everyone knew that the day of relaxation was over and that it was time for what
had to happen. The truth had to come out. Brant gave Piper a reassuring smile
as she sat down on the empty couch. Sitting on the table in front of her was an
open can of Dr. Pepper and a bag of Doritos. Piper looked over at Brant would
smiled at her. She knew that this was his doing. He was the only one present
who knew that it was her favorite snack, unhealthy yes, but still her favorite.

Piper and Brant looked over at Sarah and Collin expectantly. "Where do you
want me to start?" Sarah asked.

"'Begin at the beginning,' the King said, very gravely, 'and go on till
you come to the end: then stop.'" Brant and Piper aid as if on cue.